Iewes hallowed their Sabbath vpon the seuenth day which is the last day of the week So that Easter day is the Sabbath of Sabbaths an high and holy day from which euery other Sunday hath his name being so called because the sun of righteousnesse arose from the dead vpon this day This day is the Lords day the day which himselfe made so good a day that all his true seruants euer since haue reioyced in it and sanctified their Sabbath on it u Eoban Hessus Haec est illa Dies toti celebrabilis orbi Quem facit proprio signat honore Deus The reasons why we should this day reioyce so much are manifold but they may be reduced all vnto two principall heads A motion from euill Promotion in good Christ on this day rising from the dead ouercame the diuell which is the authour of death and the graue which is the prison of death and sinne which is the x Cor. 15.56 sting of death and the Law which is the strength of the sting of death and all this he did for vs men and our saluation The diuell which is the Prince of y Ephes 6.12 darknesse had no part in the sunne of righteousnesse Christ therefore being z Luke 11.22 stronger then he came vpon him and ouercame him he tooke from him all his armour wherein he trusted and diuided his spoyles and cast him out of his hold that he might haue no part in vs or power ouer vs. As a Ser. de quadruplici debito Bernard sweetly Fortitudo Diaboli per redemptoris vulnera traducta deducta ad nihilum in the words of Saint Paul The God of peace shall tread downe Sathan vnder your feet Rom. 16.20 So he who was aboue the Law was made b Gal. 4.4 vnder the Law that he might redeeme those which are vnder the Law that hee might put out the hand-writing of ordinances that was against vs and fasten it vpon his Crosse Coloss 2.14 So hee who knew no sinne made himselfe to be sinne for vs that we should be made the righteousnesse of God in him 2. Cor. 5.21 He was wounded 〈◊〉 our transgressions and broken for our iniquities Esa 53.5 If the tormentours of Christ should aske now as they did once Luk. 22.64 Who is he that smote thee we may quickly become Prophets and answere for him our sinnes smote him euery one of vs might ingeniously confesse with c Ionas 1.12 Ionas for my sake this great tempest is vpon thee sweet Iesus He triumphed ouer hell and the graue for vs also for as for himselfe it was impossible that the Lord of d Acts 3.15 life should be holden of death Acts 2.24 Wherefore let vs say with Saint e 1. Cor. 15.55 Paul O death where is thy sting O graue where is thy victory the sting of death is sinne and the strength of sinne is the Law but thankes bee to God which hath giuen vs victory through our Lord Iesus Christ And let vs heartily sing with our Prophet Easter is the day which the Lord hath made wee will be ioyfull and glad in it f Bonauēt in loc Some Diuines affirme that the yeere wherein our blessed Sauiour arose from the dead should according to the Law haue been the yeere of Iubile wherein g Leuit. 25.10 liberty was proclaimed in the Land to all the inhabitants thereof euery man returned to his possession and family debts were released and oppressions abated And surely the Iubilees in old time were h Dr. Incognit figures of the ioyes in this acceptable time for by the resurrection of Christ euery true beleeuer is set free from the hands of all his enemies his trespasses are forgiuen and he is restored againe to his interest in that heauenly possession and immortall inheritance which he lost in the transgression of his great grandfather Adam The redemption of Christ is a yeere of Iubile the resurrection of Christ is the chiefe day in the yeere Let vs therefore reioyce for it and be glad in it Dauid saith i Psal 41.11 elsewhere By this O Lord I know thou fauourest me that mine enemy doth not triumph against me k 2. Sam. 22.41 Thou hast giuen vnto me the necks of my foes that I might break them as smal as the dust of the earth and tread them flat as the clay in the street That which hee speaketh of his temporall enemies opposing him in obtaining of an earthly kingdome we may well apply to the spirituall hindering vs in our way to the kingdome of heauen O Lord our strength and redeemer thou hast on this day l Gen. 3.15 broken the serpents head and vtterly confounded all such as hate vs. On this day thou diddest laugh them to scorne and haue them in derision Psalm 2.4 and therefore we will in memoriall of this one day sing thy mercies all the dayes of our life sounding foorth vnto the worlds end This is the day this is thy day which thou Lord hast made wee will reioyce and be glad in it Concerning our promotion in good the resurrection of Christ is a proofe of our iustification a meanes of our sanctification a demonstration of our resurrection First it proueth our iustification according to that of Paul Rom. 4.25 He was giuen to death for our sinnes and is risen againe from the dead for our iustification See the Gospell on S. Thomas day Secondly the resurrection of Christ is a notable meanes to worke inward sanctification as Saint Peter teacheth in 1. Epistle 1. Chap. 3. Verse God hath begotten vs againe vnto a liuely hope by the resurrection of Iesus Christ from the dead And Saint m Rom. 6.4.5 Paul As Christ was raised vp from the dead by the glory of his Father so we should also walke in newnesse of life For if we be grafted with him to the similitude of his death euen so shall we be to the similitude of his resurrection Which words import n Aquin. Aretius Marlorat that as the graft groweth in the stocke and is become one body with it euen so the faithfull haue their liuing and spirituall being in Christ As he by the power of his owne Godhead freed his manhood from death and from the guilt of our sin so doth he likewise free those that are knit vnto him by the bond of one spirit from the corruption of their natures in which they are dead that they may liue vnto God o Raymund de Sabunde Theolog natural tit 277. In the naturall body the head is the fountaine of all motion and sense for the hands and the feet moue by that power which is by sundry nerues deriued from the head and dispersed among the members And so it is in Christs mystical body the Church hee is the head and fountaine of life spirituall and p Perkins exposit Creed art Christ resur that very power of his Godhead whereby he raised vp himselfe when
thou canst not vnderstand this day thou maist happilie learne the next and that which is not found out in one night may be gotten in another Mystically saith Å¿ In loc Hierome Christ is this day who saith of himselfe t Iohn 8.12 I am the light of the world And his twelue Apostles are the twelue houres of this day for Christs spirit reuealed by the mouthes of his Apostles the mysteries of our saluation in u Ephes 3.5 other ages not so fully knowne vnto the sonnes of men One day telleth another x August Hierome Turrecremat that is the spirituall vtter this vnto the spirituall and one night certifieth another that is Iudas insinuates as much vnto the Iewes in the night of ignorance saying y Matth. 26.48 Whomsoeuer I shall kisse that is he lay hold on him Or the z D. Incognitus old Testament onely shadowing Christ is the night and the new Testament plainly shewing Christ is the day In them hath he set a tabernacle for the Sunne That is as a Vulgar Latin August other by way of b Genebrard Hypallage He hath his tabernacle in the Sunne meaning that God the Father dwelleth in Christ his sonne c Coloss 2.9 bodily which is the Sunne of righteousnes Malac. 4.2 by whom he doth d Iohn 1.9 enlighten and reconcile the world to himselfe 2. Cor. 5.18 The e Senensis Bibliothec. lib. 5. annot 160. Manichees abusing this text adore the Sunne conceiuing that Christ at his ascending set his tabernacle that is left his flesh in the Sunne f See S. August contra Faustum Manich. lib. 20. But this idle paradoxe contradicts the Scriptures affirming that Christ ascended far aboue all the heauens Ephes 4.10 and that he there sitteth at the right hand of God as our agent and aduocate til he come againe to iudge the quicke and the dead Ergo his flesh is not in the Sunne but in the highest places Hebr. 1.3 euen in the heauen of heauens Acts 7.56 The sense then of he set his tabernacle in the Sunne in g Apud Senen vbi sup Origens iudgement is briefly this Almightie God placed his Church in the Sunne of righteousnes according to that of Paul Ephes 2.20 The Church is built vpon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles Iesus Christ himselfe being the chiefe corner stone Or as h August in loc tract 2. in ep Ioan. lib. 3. cont lit Petilian cap. 32. other Hee set his tabernacle in the Sunne that is his Church in open view that it may bee so cleerely seene as the Sunne like a Citie that is set on a hill and cannot be hid Matth. 5.14 So the word Sunne is vsed 1. Sam. 12.12 Thou diddest it secretly but I will doe this thing before all Israel and before the Sunne Or because the Scripture calleth our flesh a tabernacle 2. Cor. 5.1 We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle be destroyed wee haue a building giuen of God not made with hands but eternall in the heauens And 2. Pet. 1.13 As long as I am in this tabernacle Therfore S. Augustine and i D. Incognitus Turrecremat other expound it thus He set his tabernacle in the Sunne that is k Iohn 1.14 the word became flesh and appeared in the l Philip. 2.7 shape of a seruant so manifestly that as S. Iohn speakes in his 1. Epistle chap. 1. vers 1. hee was heard and seene and felt that which was from the beginning which we haue heard which we haue seene with our eyes which we haue looked vpon and our hands haue handled of the word of life If Christ had not on earth a true body then hee was not borne of the Virgin Mary nor wrapped in swadling clothes nor laid in a cratch nor circumcised on the eighth day nor presented in the Temple If his body were fantastical as Valentinus imagined how did hee thirst and hunger and weepe and in conclusion how did he dye for our sinnes and rise again for our iustification His natiuitie life death euidently demonstrate that he was made flesh and that hee dwelt among vs Ioh. 1.14 Which commeth foorth as a bridegrome out of his chamber The Sunne of righteousnes appeareth in three signes especially Leo Virgo Libra 1. in Leo roring as a Lion in the Law so that the people could not m Exod. 20.17 endure his voyce 2. in Virgo borne of a pure Virgin in the Gospel 3. in Libra weighing our workes in his n Dan. â—2 7. ballance at the day of Iudgement Or as o Serm. 3 de aduent Dom. Bernard distinguisheth his three-fold comming aptly Venit ad homines venit in homines venit contra homines In the time past he came vnto men as vpon this day in the time present he comes by his spirit into men euery day in the time future hee shall come against men in the last day The comming here mentioned is his comming in the flesh for so the p Hierome August Fathers vsually glosse the text he came foorth of the Virgins wombe as a bridegrome out of his Chamber As a bridegrome for the King of heauen at this holy time made a great wedding for his sonne Matth. 22.1 Christ is the bridegrome mans nature the bride the q Greg. hom 38. coniunction and blessed vnion of both in one person is the mariage The best way to reconcile two disagreeing families is to make some mariage betweene them euen so the Word became flesh and dwelt among vs in the world that he might hereby make our r Ephes 2.14.16 peace reconciling God to man and man to God By this happy match the Sonne of God is become the sonne of Å¿ Matth. 16.13 man euen flesh of our flesh and bone of our bones and the sonnes of men are made the sonnes of t Iohn 1.12 God of his flesh and of his bones as Paul saith Ephes 5.30 So that now the Church being Christs owne spouse saith I am my welbeloueds and my welbeloued is mine Cant. 6.2 My sinne is his sinne and his righteousnes is my righteousnes hee who knew u 2. Cor. 5.21 no sinne for my sake was made sinne and I contrariwise hauing no x Rom. 7.18 good thing am made the righteousnes of God in him I which am browne by persecution and blacke by nature Cant. 1.4 so foule as the sow that walloweth in the mire 2. Pet. 2.22 through his fauour am comely without spot or wrinkle so y Esay 1.18 white as the snow z Cant. 2.2 like a lilie among thornes euen the fairest among women Cant. 1.7 This happie mariage is not a marre age but it makes a merrie age being the a Luke 2.25 consolation of Israel and comfort of b Esay 40.2 Hierusalems heart Indeed Christ our husband doth absent himselfe from vs in his bodie for a time but when he did ascend into heauen
hee was dead he conuaieth from himselfe to his members and thereby raiseth them vp from the death of sinne to newnes of life For the better vnderstanding of this point let vs examine the meanes and the measure of the spirituall life For the meanes if wee will haue common water we may goe to the common well and if we desire water of Life we must haue recourse vnto Christ who saith q Ioh. 7.37 If any man thirst let him come vnto me and drinke and r Ioh. 4.14 hee shall haue a well of water springing vp into euerlasting life Now this well as the woman of Samaria said of Iacobs well is very deepe and we haue nothing to draw with And therefore wee must haue pipes and conduits to conuay the same vnto vs and these pipes are the sincere preaching of the word and the right administration of the Sacraments As for the preaching of Gods holy Word Christ openly proclaimeth in the fifth of S. Iohns Gospell at the 25 Verse The dead shall heare the voyce of the Sonne of God and they that heare it shall liue Å¿ August tract 22. in Ioan. IdeÌ„ Caluin alij in loc Where by dead is meant not the dead in the graue but the dead in sin For so the Scripture speaketh elsewhere t Matth. 8.22 Let the dead bury the dead and Ephes 5.14 Awake thou that sleepest and stand vp from the dead and 1. Tim. 5.6 A widow liuing in pleasure is dead while shee liueth He that hearts the word and abideth in vnbeliefe continueth among the dead but saith our Sauiour u Iohn 5.24 Verily verily I say vnto you he that heareth my word and beleeueth in him that sent me hath euerlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but hath passed from death vnto life because the words that I speake vnto you are spirit and life Ioh. 6.63 that is conueying vnto your dead hearts spirit and life As Christ when he raised vp dead men only spake the word and they reuiued and at the last day when the x 1. Thessal 4.16 trumpet of God shall blow the dead shall rise againe so it is in the first resurrection they which are dead in their old sinnes are raised againe to newnes of life by his powerfull voyce vttered in the Gospels ministerie We reade of three that Christ raised from death y Matth. 9.25 Iairus daughter newly dead the z Luke 7.15 widowes sonne dead and wound vp and lying on the hearse and a John 11.44 Lazarus dead and buried and stinking in the graue Now these three sorts of Coarses as b Serm. 44. de verbis dom de hac allegoria vide eundem tract 49. in Ioan. Augustine notes are three sorts of sinners Iairus daughter lying dead in her fathers house resembleth those that sinne by inward consent the widowes sonne being carried out of the gate of the Citie those that sinne by outward act Lazarus hauing been dead and buried foure daies those that sinne by continuall habite The first day saith Augustine hee was dead by conceiuing sinne the second by consenting to sinne the third by committing sinne the fourth by continuing in sinne The young maiden lay in a bed the yong man in a coffin Lazarus in a graue The first was dead but an houre the second but a day the third foure daies After their raising vp Iairus daughter instantly walked because for her that had stept aside but by consenting to sinne it was easie to recouer and to walke foorth-with in the waies of Gods holie Commandements The widowes sonne sat vp began to speake was deliuered to his mother because for him which had actually transgressed it was a matter of greater difficultie to recouer and therefore by little and little hee came to it as c Con. de misericord Domini Erasmus obserueth excellently First sitting vp by raising vp himselfe to a purpose of amendment then beginning to speake by confessing his owne miserie and acknowledging Gods mercie lastly being deliuered to his mother by returning to the bosome of the holie Church and enioying the remission of his sinnes Lazarus came foorth of his graue bound hand and foote with bands because for him that had a d Moles imposita sepulchro ipsa est vis dura consuetudinis August ser 44. de verb. Dom. stone laid vpon him and had made his heart as hard as a graue-stone or as a e Iob. 41.15 nether milstone by making a custome and as it were a trade of sinne it was in the iudgement of man impossible to recouer And yet Christs omnipotent voyce brought him foorth bound hand and foote and brake these bands asunder and restored him againe to the libertie of the sonnes of God The f Confess Anglican art 25. Sacraments are conduit-pipes also whereby God inuisibly conueieth his vitall or sauing graces into the heart if they be rightly vsed that is if they be receiued in vnfained repentance for all our sinnes and with a liuely faith in Christ for the pardon of the same sinnes And in this respect aptly compared vnto g Cant. 2.5 flagons of wine which reuiue the Church being sicke and fallen into a swound As for the measure of spirituall life deriued from our head Christ it is but small in this world and giuen by little and little the which is figured in the h Ezech. 47.3.4.5 vision of water that ranne out of the Temple First a man must wade to the ancles then after to the knees so to the loynes and last of all the waters grow to a riuer that cannot be passed ouer euen so the Lord conueieth his gifts and graces by little and little till his children at the last attaine a large measure thereof and haue full growth in Christ The same wee may likewise see liuely described in the vision of drie bones Ezech. 37. The Prophet in a vision is carried into the middest of a field full of dead bones and the Lord commanded him to prophecie ouer them and to say to them O yee drie bones heare the word of the Lord. At the first there was a shaking and the bones came together bone to bone vers 7. then the sinewes and flesh grew vpon them and vpon the flesh a skinne couered them vers 8. â—â—en hee prophecied vnto the winde and they liued and stood vpon their feete for the breath came vpon them and they were an exceeding great armie of men vers 10. i These bones are the whole house of Israel vers 11. but the faithful are Gods Israel Hereby doubtlesse is signified not only the state of the Iewes after their captiuitie but in them the state of the whole Church in whose heart God almightie worketh his graces of regeneration by little and little First he giueth his children flesh and then a skinne to couer the flesh and afterward hee powreth vpon them further gifts of his spirit to quicken them and to make them aliue vnto God 3. The resurrection of Christ is a k Non modo per seipsum probauit resurrectionem Saducaeis sed in seipso omnibus Tertul. lib. de carnis resur demonstration of our resurrection according to that of S. Paul 1. Cor. 15.12 If it be preached that Christ is risen againe from the dead how say some among you that there is no resurrectioÌ„ of the dead Yea but ye will obiect what promotion is that vnto the godly seeing all men at the last day must of necessitie rise againe Answere is made that the wicked are raised by the power of Christ as a Iudge to condemne them on the contrarie the faithfull are raised by the power of Christ as a Iesus to saue them Almightie God said vnto Adam At what time he should eate of the forbidden fruite he should l Gen. 2.17 dye the death Hereby m August de Ciuitat dei lib. 13. cap. 12. Aquin. Dion Carthus in Gen. 2. meaning a double death as the Scripture speaks n Apoc. 20.6 elsewhere the first and the second death Naturall death is the dissolution of the bodie spirituall death is the destruction of the soule eternall death is both of body and soule Prima constat ex duabus secunda ex omnibus tota saith Augustine Now Christ as a Iudge raiseth againe the reprobate from the first death that hee may inflict vpon them all the punishments of the second death as a reward of sinne but hee raiseth his elect as their head and redeemer that they may bee partakers of the benefit of his death enioying both in bodie and soule the kingdome of glorie which hee hath so dearely bought for them Wherefore seeing on this day wee haue been deliuered from so much 〈…〉 promoted vnto so much good let vs o Chrysost Euthym. Placidus spirituallie reioyce being p Dr. Incognitus glad inwardly ioyfull outwardly q Colos 3.16 singing vnto the Lord with a grace in our hearts This is the day which the Lord hath made FINIS
Israelites are the land of the Lord and the captiuity here mentioned is bondage vnder sinne so Paul Rom. 7.23 I see another law in my members rebelling against the law of my minde and leading me captiue vnto the law of sinne which is in my members O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from the body of this death In this captiuity Satan is the Iaylor the flesh is our prison vngodly lusts are the manicles a bad conscience the tormentor all of them against vs onely Christ is Emmanuel God with vs he turneth away the captiuity of Iacob in forgiuing all his offences and in couering all his sinnes For the blessed order of our redemption is x Bellarmin briefly this God out of his meere loue to the world quia bene voluit terrae gaue his sonne the sonne by his death appeased the wrath of his Father and abundantly satisfied the diuine iustice for the sinnes of the whole world God pleased in his sonne Iesu forgiueth all our offences and couereth all our sinnes and remission of sinne releaseth our captiuity Whosoeuer then is a true beleeuer in Christ is the Lords y 1. Cor. 7.22 free-man z See Aquin. lect 4. in Rom. 7. in this life so set at liberty that sinne shall not raigne in his mortall members Rom. 6.12 but in the world to come fully free from all corruption and concupiscence when as his vile body shall bee made like to Christs glorious body Philip. 3.21 the which is called by Paul the glorious liberty of the sonnes of God Rom. 8.21 Turne vs then O God our Sauiour Heere begins the a Bucer Bellarmin petition or b Genebrardus application of the former prophecy wherein the Church heartily desires the father of mercies that he would execute his holy promise concerning our deliuerance by sending his onely Sonne and our only Sauiour Christ Iesus into the world Where as it is said in the prophecie Thou hast turned away the captiuitie of Iacob it is said in the Prayer Turne vs then O God our Sauiour In the prophecie Thou hast taken away all thy displeasure and turned thy selfe from thy wrathfull indignation in the Prayer Let thine anger cease from vs wilt thou be displeased at vs for euer and wilt thou stretch out thy wrath from one generation to another In the prophecie Thou hast been fauourable to thy land thou hast for giuen the offences of thy people and couered all their sinnes in the Prayer Quicken vs O Lord that thy people may reioyce in thee shew vs thy mercie and grant vs thy saluation c Euthym. that is thy Sonne Iesus d Acts 4.12 by whom onely thou sauest The whole Prayer hath as e D. Incognitus one notes two parts 1. The Churches request vnto God that the Messias of the world may come and that for foure causes especially 1. For our reconciliation vnto God vers 4.5 2. For our iustification vers 6.7 3. For our illumination vers 8. 4. For our glorification vers 9. 2. Gods grant to the request of his Church in the fulnes of time Mercie and truth are met together c. I will hearken what the Lord will say The word of God is a lanterne vnto our feete and a light vnto our paths a trustie f Psal 119.24 counseller in all our affaires in our afflictions especially The Lord speakes peace vnto his people both in the bookes of his holy Scriptures and by the mouthes of his godly g Tileman in loc Preachers And therefore such as h 1. Thess 5.20 despise prophecying for some by-respects of tithes and other worldly toyes hate their learned and vigilant Pastors i Luke 19.42 vnderstand not these things which belong vnto their peace It was euer held commendable policie both among Christians and Heathens that a good thing for the Common-weale should be broached by the gratious lip of some man highly honoured in his countrie because his precept is vsually dis-respected whose person is despised And this among other is one cause why some men in Gods house during the time of praying and preaching prattle so much vnto their mates or if their pew-fellow be more deuout prate by nods and fleares and other secret signes vnto their lewd companions further off It is hard for any said Plutarch to change himselfe so much but that a man at one time or other may catch his heart at the tip of his tongue and so surely no hypocrite can so deeply dissemble but a man euer and anon may see his heart at his fingers end his wandring lookes and other irreuerent behauiour in the Temple bewray that his soule doth not magnifie the Lord nor his spirit reioyce in God his Sauiour When thou commest into the Sanctuary thou must either in thy deuotions speake vnto God or else heare what God by his ministrie speaketh vnto thee It is the fashion of worldlings to sue their neighbors for euery trifling trespasse but a true Christian is resolued here with our Prophet I will heare what the Lord God will say concerning me Now hee saith k 1. Cor. 6.5 Is it so that there is not a wise man among you no not one that can iudge betweene his brethren but a brother goeth to law with a brother and that vnder such aduocates and Iudges l Saluianus lib. 5 de gubernat dei qui hac lege defendunt miseros vt miseriores faciant defendendo like the thornie bush fleecing the poore sheepe which in a storme commeth vnto it for shelter It is the fashion of worldlings if they lose goods out of their closet or cattell out of their Close presently to rake hell for help consulting with abominable witches and other wicked agents of the diuell but a good Christian on the contrary saith I will heare what the Lord will say He saith in his law m Exod. 22.18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to liue Shall I then forsake God who n Deut. 33.26 rideth vpon the heauens for my helpe and the Magistrate Gods deputie to o Rom. 13.4 take vengeance on him that doth euil and seeke comfort at the hands of a Coniurer by blacke Arts and workes of darknesse No Satan if thou wouldest in consideration of my little losse giue me my house full of siluer and gold or couldest as once thou diddest impudently boast vnto my blessed Sauiour bestow on me p Matth. 4.9 all the kingdomes of the world q Numb 22.18 I cannot goe beyond the word of the Lord my God to doe lesse or more It is the fashion of worldlings when their consciences afflict them at any time for sinne to see merry plaies or reade merry bookes or heare merry tales or take merrie cups and so they make the remedie worse commonly then the disease But a good man and a true Christian heares what the Lord saith vnto him in his word and ministrie r Psal 50.15 Call vpon
witnesseth Psalme 39.6 How can he then that begs his bread but for a day promise to spend his breath in magnifying the Lord for euer Answere is made that the Prophet will not only commend the mercies of the Lord in word but also commit them vnto writing h Eobanus Hessus Vt sciat haec aetas posteritasque legat As the tongue of the Prophet is termed i Psal 45.2 elsewhere the penne of a ready writer so the writing of the Prophet is heere termed his mouth as Euthymius vpon the place Liber Psalmorum * Acts 4.25 os Dauid k Wilcox Hee doth intend to note the mercies of God and to set foorth his truth in a book the which he will leaue behind him as an instrumēt to conuey the same from generation to generation from the generation of l Euthym. Incognit Turrecremat Iewes to the generation of Christians m Hierome Or from the old Testament to the new for the blessed Apostles in their Sermons vsually cite sentences out of the Psalmes S. n 2. Pet. 4.6 Peter telleth vs that the Gospell was preached vnto the dead so may we say that the Gospel is preached by the dead For the most ancient Fathers and other iudicious authors which haue spēt their daies in writing learned expositions godly meditatiōs vpō the holy scriptures although they be dead sleep in the bed of their graue yet they sing alway the mercies of the Lord and shew the truth of his word from one generation vnto another It is reported in our o Malmesbur de gestis Reg. Anglorum lib. 2. cap. 6. Chronicles of Athelstan Parum aetati vixit multum gloriae So many zealous and industrious Doctors haue liued in respect of their age but a little yet in respect of their acts a great while shining still in their works and writings as lights of the world Or the Prophet may be said to sing euer intentionally though not actually p Io. de Combis comp Theolog. lib. 7. cap. 21. For as the wicked if he could liue alway would sinne alway so the good man if God should suffer him alway to breathe on earth would sing alway the mercies of the Lord. Hee will in q 1. Thessal 5.18 all things giue thankes vnto God r Psal 92.2 early telling of his louing kindnes in the morning and of his truth in the night season In the morning ſ Dr. Incognit Turrecremat Glossa that is in a prosperous estate when as the Sunne shineth vpon him he will acknowledge that euery good gift in him is from aboue comming downe from the Father of lights and Father of mercies And in the darke night of aduersitie hee telleth of Gods iustice confessing ingenuously t Luke 23.41 We receiue things worthie of that we haue done Hee giueth thankes vnto the Lord in both in the one highly magnifying Gods fauour in the other humbly vilifying his owne fault u Placidus Jncognitus Or because God hath inspired into man not only the breath of x Gen. 2.17 this present life but of y Iohn 3.16 Apoc. 2.10 that also which is to come the Saints are said to continue their song of Gods praise in the kingdome of glorie which here they begin in the kingdome of grace For so the Spirit Apoc. 19.1 I heard a great voyce of a great multitude in heauen singing Halleluiah saluation and glorie and honour and peace be to the Lord our God It is obiected if the Saints in heauen alway sing the mercies of the Lord then they remember their miseries on earth and if they remember their sinne and sorrow here how can they be perfitly blessed there for the Lord saith z Esay 65.17 I will create new heauens and a new earth and the former shall not be remembred nor come into minde a Gregor moral lib. 4. cap 42. Answere is made that as men in perfit health often remember their terrible fits of their former sicknesse with exceeding ioy yea the more they call into mind their danger past the greater is their delight present euen so the Saints in the kingdome of glorie remember happily their misdeeds and mishaps in this valley of teares but it is without any pollution of sinne or touch of sorrow So b Vbi sup Idem Augustin lib. 22 de Ciuit. dei cap. vlt. Gregorie the Great Erit in illa beatitudine culpae memoria non quae mentem polluat sed qua nos arctius laetitiae astringat vt dum doloris sui animus sine dolore reminiscitur debitorem se medico veriùs intelligat eò magis acceptam salutem diligat quò molestiae meminit quam euasit c August apud Io. de Combis comp Theolog. lib. 7. cap. vlt. Heauenly happinesse consisteth in two things in the necessarie possessing of euery thing which is good and in the necessarie remouing of euery thing which is euill Miserie then is not remembred of the Saints as a matter of griefe but as a motiue to ioy because they bee now d Rom. 7.24 deliuered from this bodie of death and enioy the Crowne of euerlasting life where God is to them e 1. Cor. 15.28 all in all a glasse to their sight hony to their taste musicke to their hearing Balsome to their smelling where f 1. Kings 3.12 Salomons wisedome seemes follie g 2. Sam. 2.18 Ahasels agilitie slownesse Samsons strength weaknes h 2. Sam. 14.25 Absoloms comelines deformitie Caesars empire beggerie Methusalems long life shortnes of daies or a speedie death Thus I haue shewed how the Prophet may be said to sing alwaies the mercies of the Lord in this life vnto the worlds end in the next for euer and euer world without end As for al meanes he praises the Lord with his mouth and all that is without him as also with his minde and al that is within him His i Psal 45.1 heart indites a good matter and his tongue is the penne of a ready writer All his members are for the seruice of his Maker as S. k In loc Augustine glosseth our text Obsequantur membra inquit mea domino meo loquor sed tua loquor annunciabo veritatem tuam in ore meo Si non obsequor seruus non sum si à me loquor mendax sum Ergo vt abs to dicam ego dicam duo quaedam sunt vnum tuum vnum meum veritas tua os meum Now let vs according to this copie draw the lines of our liues vsing all meanes to set foorth the louing kindnesse and truth of the Lord. l Psal 105.1 O give thankes vnto the Lord and call vpon his name tell the people what things he hath done O let your songs be of him and praise him and let your talking bee of his wondrous workes O my soule praise the Lord and all that is within me praise his holie name praise the
true Christians all of vs are by nature barren of goodnesse conceiued and borne in sinne not able to thinke a good thought 2. Cor. 3.5 but the father of lights and mercies maketh vs fruitfull and abundant alwaies in the worke of the Lord 1. Cor. 15.58 he giueth vs grace to be fathers and mothers of many good deedes i Ambros de interpell libr. 2. cap. 4. Idem Dr. Incognitus in loc in Psalm 102.17 which are our children and best heires eternizing our name for euer PSALME 114. When Israel came out of Aegypt and the house of Iacob from among the strange people c. THere bee two chiefe parts of this Psalme the 1. A description of Israels admirable deliuerance out of Aegypt in the foure former verses 2. A dialogue betweene the Prophet and the Creatures about the same deliuerance in the foure latter verses In the deliueraÌ„ce note 1. The parties deliuered Israel and the house of Iacob being Gods Sanctuarie Seigniorie 2. The perill out of which they were deliuered and k Chrysost Mollerus that was 1. Bondage 2. Bondage among strangers in Aegypt 3. Bondage among such strangers as were cruell a barbarous people 3. The manner how they were deliuered not by meanes ordinarie but miracles extraordinarie wrought on the Water vers 3. The Sea saw that and fled Iordaine was driuen backe Land verse 4. The Mountaines skipped like Rammes c. In the dialogue two poynts are to be considered 1. A question What ayleth thee O thou Sea c. Verse 5.6 2. An l Vatablus Tremellius Bellarmine answere Tremble thou earth c. Or as m Vulgar latine English-Geneua other translations The earth trembled at the presence of the Lord c. When Israel The n Bellarmine latter clause doth expounde the former Israel that is the house of Iacob for this holy Patriarke had two names first Iacob that signifieth a supplantor Gen. 25.26 and then Israel that is one which hath power with God Gen. 32.28 teaching vs hereby saith o In loc Hierome as we haue receiued grace to supplant vice that wee may preuaile with God and see him according to that of p Matth. 5.8 Christ Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God As q Gen. 25.22 Iacob and Esau stroue together in their mother Rebeccaes wombe so the r Galat. 5.17 flesh in man lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh If wee play Iacobs part in supplanting sinne which is a red and a rough Esau we shall assuredly gaine the blessing of our heauenly Father By Iacobs house then is meant his Å¿ Euthym. Genebrard posteritie the children of Israel of whom it is reported by Moses Deut. 10.22 Thy fathers went downe into Aegypt with seuentie persons and now the Lord thy God hath made thee as the starres of the heauen in multitude These people were Gods sanctification and dominion t Geneua gloss that is witnesses of his holy Maiestie in adopting them and of his mightie power in deliuering them u Melancth in loc or his sanctification as hauing his holy Priests to gouerne them in the poynts of pietie and dominion as hauing godly Magistrates ordained from aboue to rule them in matters of policie or his sanctuarie x both actiuely because sanctifying him y Genebrardus Iacobus de Valentia and passiuely because sanctified of him It is true that God as being euer the most holy so well as the most high cannot bee magnified and hallowed in respect of himselfe but in respect of y Caluin in loc other onely For God is sanctified of his seruants as wisdome is said to bee iustified of her children Luke 7.35 that is acknowledged and declared to be iust according to that of the Lord by the mouth of his holy z Ezech. 38.23 Prophet Thus will I bee magnified and sanctified and knowne in the eies of many Nations and they shall know that I am the Lord. Wherefore let your light so shine before men that they may see your good workes and glorifie your Father which is in heauen Againe Iuda was his Sanctuary a Bucer Agellius Râ—b Stephanus because sanctified of him adopted his holy heritage chosen a peculiar and a precious people to himselfe b Deut. 7.6 aboue all Nations in the world I haue carried you said the c Exod. 19.4 Lord vpon Eagles wings and haue brought you vnto me that ye might be my chiefe treasure aboue all people though all the earth bee mine consecrated and hallowed to my worship as holy Temples and Sanctuaries in whome I may rule for so the latter clause may well d Bellarmine explaine the former Iuda was his Sanctuarie because his Dominion in whom he e Chrysost Euthym. Bucer reigned as a king by his lawes and spirit And therefore when Israel asked a king of the Lord to iudge them he said to f 1. Sam. 8.7 Samuel they haue not reiected thee but they haue reiected me that I should not reign ouer them According to this exposition Israel is termed Ex. 19.6 a kingdome of Priests or as S. g 1. Pet. 2.9 Peter hath it a royal Priesthood royall as being his Seigniory Priesthood as being his Sanctuary For the beter vnderstanding of this phrase remeÌ„ber I pra'y that there be two kinds of kingdomes in holy Scripture the kingdome of darknes h Coloss 1.13 which is the kingdome of the deuill and the kingdome of heauen which is the kingdome of God When all had sinned in Adam it pleased the Lord out of his vnsearchable Iustice to lay this heauy punishment on all his posteritie that seeing they could not be content to be subiect to their creator they should become vassals vnder Satans tyraÌ„ny so that all men are now by nature the Children of i Ephes 2.3 wrath and k Ephes 6.12 the Prince of darkenesse ruleth in their hearts vntill Christ the l Luke 11.22 strong man commeth and bindeth him and m Iohn 12.31 casteth him out and so bringeth all his elect out of darkenesse into maruailous light 1. Pet. 2.9 Blind ignorant people cannot abide this doctrine they spit at the very naming of the deuill and say that they defie him and all his euen with all their heart and soule and minde Yet whereas they liue still in ignorance and impiety which are the two maine pillers of Satans kingdome they make plaine proofe that they be Children of the n Luke 16.9 world Children of o Coloss 3.6 disobedience Children of p Hosea 10.9 iniquitie Children of q 1. Sam. 26.16 death Children of the r Iohn 8.44 deuill Children of Å¿ Iohn 17.2 perdition Children of t Mat. 23.15 hell Israel is Gods dominion and Iuda Gods sanctuary but Aegipt and Babylon and other parts and persons of the world liuing in sinne without repentance what are they but the suburbes of hell and as it were the