perhaps that his Fasting and Watching and Scourging the night before had so exceedingly weakened him that he that could beare the burthen of our sinne yet could not heare the burthen of his Crosse but was faine to have Symon of Cyrene to beare it for him and therefore was little better then dead already Or if these were not enough to hasten his death was it not perhaps his own doing who had power to lay downe his life and to take it up againe at his pleasure and therefore dyed the sooner that it might be verified which was Prophesied There shall not a bone of him bee broken For if hee had not dyed when hee did his legges should have beene broken as the two Malefactors were to hasten their death that they might be dead before the Sabbath O deare Jesus what such haste was there for thy death who onely wert worthy never to dye but that by thy death thou hast given us life though all our lives were not worth the hastening it but that thy infinite love never thought it to be haste enough It is an olde Heresie of some that Christ himselfe was not Crucified but Symon of Cyrene in his stead but the Temple and the Sunne make this knowne to bee a Fable For would the Temple have rent in twaine Would the Sunne have beene darkened so long together for Symon of Cyrene No alas too true it is that Christ himselfe was Crucified and woe to us that true it is and yet more woe to us if it were not true but woe of all Woes that true it is in that for us and for our sinnes it was that he was Crucified O my Soule that thou couldst bee alwaies meditating upon this Crucifying of Christ Not that it could be any pleasure to thinke of his being Crucified but the better to make thee apprehend First the great causes of it thy own sinne and his love and then the great effect of it thy Everlasting Redemption for which thou canst never bee enough gratefull if thou bee never so little unmindefull Dead And now having Beleeved that Christ was Crucified our next Beliefe is that hee was Dead and yet how can we Beleeve that hee could Dye For is not Death the Wages of Sinne and could hee receive the Wages that had not done the Service Had committed no sinne But is it not that hee dyed not for any sinne he committed himselfe but for the sinnes of others which he tooke upon him Even as a Surety payes the Penaltie of a Debt that was none of his owne And this reason the Prophet Daniel gives where hee saith Messiah shall bee slaine not for himselfe but for his people to make reconciliation for their Iniquities and to bring in Everlasting Salvation And here appeares another reason why Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate For the same Prophet Daniel fore-sheweth That after seven weekes and threescore and two weekes from the going forth of the Commandem at to restore and build Hierâ—salem Messiah shall bee slaine Which being computed according to 〈◊〉 Prophets sense agreeth just with the time that Pontius Pilate was Governour in Judea And thus as in the Article before the Virgin Mary was justly mentioned to shew that Christ was the true Messiah by the circumstance of his Discent So in this Article Pontius Pilate is justly mentioned to shew that Christ is the true Messiah by the circumstance of the time And for whose sinne was it then that Christ dyed O my Soule this Question reflects upon thee for amongst others even for thine Thy sinnes were the cause that Christ was Crucified Thy sinnes the cause that Christ Dyed and Alas will be the cause to make him Dye continually if continued that if there bee any sparke of Grace if any life of the Spirit at all in thee thou wilt now at last dye to those sinnes that made him to Dye and every nayle that fastned him to his Crosse will bee a nayle to peirce thy heart But if wee Beleeve that Christ was Dead will wee fix our Beliefe upon a Dead man Can we hope for Life from him who was Dead himselfe Indeed therefore we hope for life from him because he was dead himselfe For if hee had not Dyed we could not have Lived seeing hee therefore Dyed that hee might Redeeme us from Death as it is said of him Thou wast slaine and hast redeemed us to God by thy bloud For though hee were now dead yet hee continued not dead long but after three dayes wee shall heare of his rising to life againe and then wee shall heare him say I am hee that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore But howsoever now dead he is and with him is dead all our joy and all our comfort but where is the Lamentation that is made for his death David when he heard Absolon was dead cryed out Oâ— Absolon my Sonne would to God I had dyed for thee my sonne Absolon but where is any now he heares Christ is dead that crieth out O deare Jesus would to God I had dyed for thee most deare Jesus And is it not a grievous thing that David should more lament the death of a wicked Sonne then we should lament the death of the Sonne of God and by whom we are made the Sonnes of God Is it not a shame that a Heathen should say of a Heathen In ignem posita est fletur and that we hearing Christ to be dead should not affoord him so much as a teare Alas it were well if we would floore him but the common office of Humanity to see him Buried but where are they should doe it His friends have all forsaken him Not an Apostle now that will be seen about him even Peter himself that had made such Protestations what great matters he would doe for his sake is slunke away and gone perhaps to looke after the Sheepe committed to his charge never regarding what became of the Shepherd and if it had not beene for one good man the blessed Joseph of Arimathea God knowes what Indignities they might have offered to his Sacred Body being dead who had so vilely abused it being alive But thou blessed Joseph hadst the bâ—lâ—â—esse to begge his Body of Pilate Thoâ— tookest it downe from the â—â—resse Thou wâ—ap'dst it Linnen Cloathes and laid'st it in a Sepulchre where never man was laid that as his Bodie at first came out of a Virgins Wombe so now at last it is laid in a Virgine Tombe thereby perhaps in mysterie to honour Virginity both in Life and Death And thou blessed Joseph for this thy pious Fact shalt live in the memories of men as long as there shall be memories in men and thy name shall bee had in everlasting remembrance It may be thought no great matter what becomes of the Body when the Soule is out of it For lay it where you will or lay it how you will it turnes to Dust and yet I know not how there seemes to
the Sunne left his light and was covered with darkenesse so now that Christ riseth from the Dead the Sunne riseth from the darke and makes the day spring from on high againe with his light Was it ever heard before that two Suns did rise both together And why was it so now but to shew that he is the true light that lighteth every one that commeth into the world and that in his light we shall see light O blessed Sunne of Righteousnesse as thou didst then rise and appeare to thy Apostles with beames of comfort to remove from them all darknes of sorrow so vouchsafe now to rise in my heart with beames of grace to dispell from mee all clouds of errour that I may not take thee for a Cardiner as Mary Magdalen did but that calling me by my name I may answer thee with Rabboni as Mary Magdalen did who though shee came too late to annoint thee with her Spices dead yet she came time enough to be the first messenger of thy rising from the dead and to have the honour to bee Apostola Apostolis the Apostle to thy Apostles who but for her incessant diligence might have languished longer in the ignorance of thy rising But is it true indeed that Christ did rise from the dead and that it is not a tricke put upon us Seeing he appeared not to all the people but onely to some few men and are a few men sufficient witnesses to make so incredible a thing to be credited But though he appeared not to all the people yet he appeared to all the Apostles that their holinesse might well supply their number and to all the Apostles at diverse times that the frequencie might well cleare them from mistaking and if incredulity notwithstanding all this will still bee excepting against their witnesse have we not then more then five hundred brethren at once that saw him being risen from the dead that if we beleeve it not now having so many witnesses and such witnesses to confirme it neither would wee beleeve it though an Angel should come and tell it us from Heaven and indeede an Angell did come from heaven and tell it to Mary Magdalen He is risen he is not here But why would not Christ being risen from the dead suffer himselfe to be seene of the Jewes was he affraid they would Crucifie him againe as they had done before but there needed bee no such feare seeing his body was now impassible and not subject any more to such indignities But indeede to what ende should the Jewes have seene him For it would but have moved them to more blasphemy they would but have said as they had said before that he was a Magcian and had a devill and though they had beeue allowed the favour of Saint Thomas to put their hands into his sides yet they would never have beleeved him to bee the same man whom they had put to death but rather some Devil that appeared in his likenesse And were these fit men to have the favour to see Christ The penitent Mary Magdalen could not be allowed to touch him and should such reprobate Jewes be allowed to doe it even to the Disciples themselves he appeared but at times and in short fits rather to confirme their beliefe of his resurrection then to keep them company with his conversation So as there was cause enough why he was not seene of the Jewes but why after he was risen he stayed forty daies upon the earth before he Ascended and in those forty daies appeared nine times and but nine times to his Disciples This indeed is a Mystery whereof without divine Revelation wee shall never come to understand the reason But though Christs body might rise from the dead yet how could it come forth of the Sepulchre seeing a great stone was rowled against it to keep him in Was it that the Angel came from heaven of purpole to let him out In this indeed the Doctors of the Church are much divided some of them holding that the Angel came directly for that purpose as amongst others of the Authors Pope Leo I thinke the second and of the later amongst us Master Perkins Some againe holding that the Angel rowled away the stone indeed but not to any such purpose as amongst others of the Ancients Saint Hierome and of the latter Bishop Andrewes who in his seventeenth Printed Sermon saith thus The Angel indeed rowled away the stone but Christ was risen first and the stone rowled away after But seeing Mary Magdalen asked not this question why should we Was it not more that Christs body should rise at all then that rising it should make its way through any obstacle And why more to come out of the Sepulchre while the stone lay there then to come in amongst his Apostles when the doores were shut For indeed who knowes or is able to define what the abilities and priviledges of a glorified body are But how are we sure that it was the true body of Christ that appeared and not rather a phantasme or ghost seeing a phantasme seems also to be a body as the Samuel which the Witch of Endor raised up to Saul Indeed for this we are beholding to Saint Thomas for his doubting hath made this out of doubt For putting his hand into his side without which he would not beleeve hee found it to bee flesh and bone of which a phantasme or ghost hath none and therefore though it may deceive the seeing yet it cannot deceive the touching And here besides the litterall sense there may not unfitly bee drawne a good Morall observation that as Christ did not rise from the dead till he had first descended into Hell so the best meanes to rise from the death of sinne is to descend into the Hell and torment of Conscience by penitent contrition and indeed he that truely feeles the compunction of soule for his sinne may justly be said to be in hell for the time seeing no hell can minister greater torment but yet with this difference that where in the torment of Hell there is utter despaire in this torment of Compunction there is assured hope O gracious God so frame mee to descend into this Hell of Compunction by penitent contrition that I may never come to feele the torments of that Hell where there is nothing but weeping and gnashing of teeth But by what power was it that Christ rose from the dead For there is great difference betweene rising and being raysed to rise is properly by ones owne power to be raised is properly by the power of another and they cannot bee both true and why then are they both said For as it is said here that he rose so in another place it is said that he was raised Is it not that his rising was as his dying voluntary and yet imposed he dyed because he would dye and he dyed because his Father decreed him to dye and in this there is no inconguitie seeing all Opera ad
rising seeing hee therefore did rise that hee might be Primitiae resurgentium The first fruits of them that rise but the first Fruits he could not be if others did not rise as well as hee And therefore having beleeved in an Article before that Christ rose from the dead this Article of our own rising is but Ex Abundanti more then needed but that the difficulty of beleeving it requires as it were a double Buttresse to strengthen our Faith There are some perhaps that look for Naturall reasons to prove Demonstratively the Resurrection of the body but is not their expectation very unjust to expect Naturall reasons to prove a thing that is not Naturall If Naturall reasons could be given of it it should be fitter for the Metaphysicks then a Creed and as able to breed a Knowledge as Beliefe Our Reason onely helps us thus farre to make us know there is something left for Beliefe which Reason cannot reach to and of this nature is the Resurrection of the body our Beliefe shall then be turned into knowledge when we shall come to have experience of it in the meane time wee must content our selves with Beleeving it And O my Soule doe thou beleeve it indeed and be most assured that though thy Body leave thee for a time and bee laid in dust and bee turned to dust yet it will not bee long ere it shall rise and bee joyned with thee againe as now it is but in a far happier condition then now it is Not stubborne and restiffe then but tractable and obsequious not earthly and lumpish then but Aery and light and indeed such a body it shall be as thou wouldst wish it to be Not subject to diseases Not weary with labours Not itching with lust Not drowsie with sleep Not hungring after meat and which is most of all where now it takes upon it to be thy Master It shall then be content to be thy servant but such a servant as shall therefore serve thee because thou servest God For it is sowne a Naturall body it shall bee raised up a spirituall Body It is sowne in corruption it shall be raysed in incorruption the same body in substance that now it is but endued with Spirituall and better qualities Many questions are here moved by the Schoolmen as whether the bodies of Abortives which were never borne but dyed in their Mothers wombes shall be partakers of the Resurrection seeing though they never came to see the light yet they had beene once alive and quicke Then whether bodies shall arise of the same age and stature at which they died as Infants at the stature and age of Infants and others at their severall statures and ages Or else shall all rise at a perfect age and stature because of the words of Saint Paul in his Epistle to the Ephesians Till we all come unto a perfect man to the measure of the stature of the fulnes of Christ Then whether bodies shall arise with the same deformities and defects which they had living as Crooked Lame Blinde or otherwise mutilation of Members seeing Christ arose with the same wounds which he received when his body was pierced with the Speare And many such questions moved more out of vaine curiosity then tending to Edification and which perhaps may probabably be argued as having coulours on both sides but can never directly be defined as having warrant on either side Reason may make conjectures of it but Faith will build no certainty on it It may bee sufficient for us to beleeve that the bodies of all men shall rise at the last day and stand at the Tribunall of Christ who shall come from Heaven to judge the Quick and the Dead And now having beleeved the two Articles that properly relate to the Sonne of God Christ Jesus the Forgivenesse of sinnes and the Resurrection of the Bodie It followes fitly to beleeve the Article that properly relates to God the Father The life Everlasting and it followes not onely fitly but very necessarily For if we should not adde the life Everlasting it might be thought that our Resurrection were but like theirs who rose at the time of Christs rising and appeared to many in the Holy City who rose indeede but then died againe at least who can tell what became of them and so our Beliefe should cast Anchor in a very unsafe harbour but now by adding the life Everlasting we make the Resurrection of our Bodies a perpetuity and beleeve they shall rise againe never any more to dy And indeed how can it be otherwise seeing there never was but one sentence of death denounced against man and that sentence once executed by his dying once there is no new sentence of dying any more and therefore the Body being beleeved to be raised from the dead the life Everlasting will bee beleeved of course Death indeede is a debt due to nature and a debt that nature lookes to have payd but yet nature is not so unjust to looke that a debt should be payd her more then once and therefore the body having payd the debt once by dying once if it can get to rise againe and live it will not be then in natures debt any more and therefore cannot naturally dy any more but shall live for ever But why is there no mention made in our Creed of the Immortality of the soule that of this poynt there might be left no scruple for as long as this is in sufpence wee shall necessarily fall into the errour of the Sadduces and never beleeve the Resurrection of the body Is it not that the Immortalitie of the soule is therefore not made an Article of our Creed because it is not so properly credible Per fidem as demonstrable per artem there being so apparent reasons for it that even the Heathen themselves have not denyed it and one of their owne Poets could say Parte tamen meliore mei super acta perennis Astra forar meaning his soule Besides what need is there of mentioning it when it is sufficiently intimated or included rather in these two last Articles For if we beleeve the resurrection of the body we cannot doubt of the Immortality of the soule seeing the body cannot rise without the soule and if we beleeve the life Everlasting we cannot but beleeve the soule to bee Immortall seeing without the soule there can be no life at all And now wee are come to the last Article of our Creed which may well bee the last seeing it brings us to that which is Everlasting And here it may not be unfit to examine a little the extent of this Everlasting life seeing it is not momentary and fading as our present life is but continuing and lasting without having any lâ—st that if we say it shall last a Thousand years if a million of thousand years if so many millions of thousand yeares as there are sands in the sea although an infinite incomprehensible extent of time yet wee shall
Fact What ill hap hadst thou that hee should suffer under thee who suffered for thee Yet when thou hadst shed his bloud and that hee had suffered under thee If thou hadst made good use of shedding it or good use of his suffering it might perhaps have beene happy for thee but to shed his bloud and then to wash thy hands in water as though water could clense the guiltinesse of blood or as though thy hands could make amends for the fault of thy tongue This if lesse impiously done was yet more foolishly done then that thou didst before But O my Soule what a sudden change is this Wee have hitherto thought that the time was now come of our long desired expectation His being Conceived of the Holy Ghost and borne of the Virgine Mary seemed certaine signes unto us of our expected Messias but now his suffering under Pontius Pilate puts us cleane out of heart and takes away al hope that this can possibly be the Messias we expect But do we forget that the Prophet which told us A Virgin shall bee with Childe and shall bring forth a Sonne the same Prophet tels us also that He should beare our Infirmities and by his stripes we should bee healed Let these then bee laid together and it will bee found that his suffering is as true a signe of his being the true Messias as either his Birth or his Conception But how happens this great gap to be in our Creed betweene the Birth and the Suffering of Christ Is there nothing to be beleeved of Christ from the time he was borne till the time he suffered under Pontius Pilate which was more then thirty yeares If there be why is it not here delivered No doubt there are many memorable things of Christ between his Birth and his Death and most worthy of our beleeving as that he was Circumcised the Eighth day that he was worshipped of the Wise men of the East that at Twelve yeares old he Disputed in the Temple with the Doctors that at Thirty yeares old hee was Baptized of John in Jorden that presently after he was led into the Wildernesse to bee Tempted of the Devill that Hee turned Water into Wine at a Mariage in Canaa and many other mosâ— memorable things but are not exprest in this our Creede because noâ— Works efficient of our salvation For without any of these he mighâ— have been our perfect Saviour buâ— not so without these exprest in ouâ— Creed For if he had not taken upon him our flesh which was his being borne of the Virgin Mary and if he had not dyed for our sinnes which was his suffering under Pontius Pilate and if he had not risen againe from the Dead and Ascended into heaven neither could we have had any Salvation by him neither could hee have beene a Saviour to us and therefore these onely are exprest in our Creed and not the other though the other no lesse memorable then these and as worthy otherwise of our Beliefe Or is it that the Articles delivered here concerning Christ are all of them in opposition to some Heresie from which in this Creed we professe our selves to be free as Conceived by the Holy Ghost in opposition to the Heresie of the Prodianitae who held that Christ took flesh from the Elements and to the Elements at his Rising restostored it againe Borne of the Virgin Mary in opposition to the Heresie of Valentinus who held that Christ tooke not flesh of the Virgin but onely passed through her Body as Water through a Pipe Suffered under Pontius Pilate in opposition to the Heresie of Cerdonius who held that Christs Body was impassible and not subject to payne but in appearance Crucified in opposition to the Heresie of Basilides who held that Christ himselfe was was not Crucified but Simon of Cyrene whâ— boâ—e his Crosse Was 〈◊〉 â—n opposition to the Heresie 〈◊〉 the â—â—â—â—chees who held that 〈◊〉 â—yed not but onely made a shew of Dâ—ing Descended into Hell 〈…〉 whom 〈…〉 to deny his descending into Hell Râ—se againe from the Dea in opposition to the Heresie of Cerintius who held that Christ is not yet risen but that he shall rise hereafter The third Day in opposition to the Heresie of the Armenians who held that Christ rose on the Sabbath day and so on the Second Day and not on the Third Ascended into Heaven in opposition to the Hâ—esie of those who because it is said In Sole posuit Tabernacâ—lum suum were therefore of opinion that hee went no higher then the Sunne Shall come to Judge the Quicke and the Dead in opposition to the Heresie of those who held that there shall bee no Generall Judgement but every one to bee Judged at the time of his death and not otherwise And this perhaps might be a reason why onely these Articles are delivered in our Creede concerning Christ though in other respects many other might aswell have been conceived and as well Beleeved Crucified But now wee are come to the suffering of Christ and who can chuse but suffer himselfe in comming to it For what was his suffering but his putting to death And to what Death but the most painefell and the most Ignominious death of all the death of the Crosse John Baptist when in Herods displeasure he was put to death had yet a faire death was onely Beheaded a kind of death that seemes to hold good quarteâ— with a Delinquent no Terrour no Ignominy no Lingring as soot ended as begunne and in which the Sense hath no leisure to feele Paine but the death of the Crosse which Christ suffered had in it all the parts of a cruell death painefull and lingring and which to a generous minde is more grievous then both these full of Ignominy and Shame and that nothing might bee wanting to the measure of the Ignominie Crucified betweene two Malefactors and to increase the Ignominy yet more put in the midst as the greatest Malefactor of all the three And what was it to bee Crucified What alas but to have his Handes and his Feet nayled to the Crosse and there left hanging till hee should bee dead which could not chuse but bee a long time there being nothing to cause his death but Paine and Bleeding and Paine though intollerable is seldome deadly Bleading though immeasurably is oftentimes healthfull But how then happened it that with being nayled onely to the Crosse he should be dead so soone For after six houres he gave up the Ghost No doubt it made him shed blood in abundance and therefore in that space of time he might well bleed to death But so did the two Malefactors who yet lived a longer time was it then that his death was hastened by having a Speare thrust into his side But that was not done till after hee was dead Although one Peter Iohn an Hereticke would needes against plainetestimony of Scripture maintaine this Opinion that it was done while hee was yet alive Was iâ— then
be a kind of Honour in being fairely Buried and perhaps besides the Honour a further mystery in it in what place the Body is laid For why else should Joseph be so earnest to have his Bones carried out of Egypt and be brought to Canaan to be buried there But what needes expressing in our Creed that hee was Buried seeing what needes beleeving that he was Buried Our salvation had sufficiently beene wrought by his death though he had not been buried at all and is it not then sufficient that I Beleeve he was Dead unlesse I beleeve also that hee was Buried But seeing our salvation was wrought by his Death It was fit to make the Opinion of his death undoubted and to leave no scruple in the minde about it which could not well bee done but by adding that he was Buried For if he had not beene Buried it might bee thought hee was but in a Traunce and then no great matter to revive againe and so his Resurrection have been sleighted but Buriall is a thing that consummates death and makes men dead though they were not dead before as it is reported of the subtile Schooleman Scotus that falling into a Trance by some Fit of Infirmity he was whether out of Officious or Malitious hastinesse suddenly buried and found afterwards by evident Signes that he was buried alive And therefore to leave no scruple for doubting of the true Death of Christ it was necessary to be added that he was Buried And now that wee have seene Christ Dead and Buried One would thinke there were an end of Articles of Beliefe concerning him and yet there are other behâ—â—de that must bee Beleeved no lesse then thefe and happy it is for us that there are other behind for Alas if our Beliefe should end in his Death and Buriall what hope could we have of benefit by beleeving in him But now Christs humane nature consisting of a Body and a Soule and they being by death parted as that Article tels what being dead became of his Body That it was Buried So this next Article tels what became of his Soule That it Descended into Hell For his Soule is all the He now that in this Article is intended But is this an Article to make us be glad off had we not beene better to have left him at his being dead and lying quietly in his Grave then to bring him afterward to Descend into Hell Not at all For marke the consequence of this Article that if notwithstanding his Buriall wee should bee doubtfull still of the death of Christ For one may bee buried for dead and yet revive againe as Scotus did Yet this Article that now comes in will stricke the matter dead and indeed if there were nothing else in the Article but that it makes us infallibly certaine of his Death It were cause enough for giving it a place in this our Creede seeing there is nothing that requires so great a confirmation as the death of Christ because upon his death it is that the maine work of our Salvation depends and certainely a greater confirmation of his death there cannot bee then this that while his Body was lying in the Grave his Soule descended into Hell For to have the Body in one place and the Soule in another both at once is manifestly and infallibly to bee dead Seeing Death is nothing else but to have the soule and body to be divided But now concerning his descent into Hell It is wonderfull what diversity of opinions there is at this day about it Partly concerning the place and partly concerning the motion First what is meant by Hell and then what is meant by Descending so differing all in the understanding of the words as if they were not all of one language at least had a taint of Babell remaining stil in them Some have thought that by descending into Hell is meant nothing but the extreame sorrowes and torments of soule which Christ suffered in the Garden and on the Crosse but this the time and order of the Articles which hath hitherto been precisely observed will not allow For hee descended not into Hell till after he was dead and buried And besides if this were so it should rather bee said that Hell ascended up to him then that he descended into Hell especially seeing those agonies were violent this descending voluntary those were sufferings this an action Some againe have thought that by Hell is meant the Grave and by descending into Hell his being held under the power of death but this the soule will not allow for the grave is a place but for the body no place for the soule and the soule must have a place to bee in aswell as the body and it is the soule onely that in this Article is intended Some others have thought that by descending into Hell is meant the going of his soule to the place of all just soules after death which is to Paradise but this the manner of the motion will not allow for to Paradise certainly is an ascent and not a descent and therefore most unlikely that ascending into Paradise should bee exprest by descending into Hell For though the Poet Virgil maks amaena vireta Fortunatorum Nemorum sedesque beatas to be a part of Hell yet this is but a Poeticall fixion and not worthy to have place in Divinity which makes it more plaine Christ told Mary Magdalene at his rising that he was not yet ascended to his Father But to go about to meet with Errour in every corner would bee both troublesome and tedious and perhaps not worth the labour It may be sufficient for us to see the truth by it selfe and Rectum est Index sui Obliqui by viewing the right wee shall the better discerne the falsehood The truth â—hen in this Article seâ—mes to bee this That the soule of Christ being pâ—rted from his body descended locally into Hell properly so called though it may seeme strange that having promised the good Thiefe to be this day with him in Paradise he should be this day with the bad Thiefe in Hell and yet not strange seeing the soule is no such slow mover but that it might bee in Hell and Paradise both in one day and lesse strange if it bee true that he meant it perhaps of his Deity and not of his soule And that the soule of Christ did locally descend into Hell may thus appeare The soule though a spirit must yet have a place after its kind to be in 〈◊〉 if not Circumscriptive at least Definitive and the soule of Christ stayed not with his body for then his body should not have been dead no it ascended not up to heaven for this is a contrary motion to descending nor it hovered not about in the ayre for this is but a Fictiâ—n of Poets when they speake of soules departed and what place then remained but onely Hell And if it were not the true Hell into which his soule descended then must the
distinction it will keepe us right in the true understanding of this Article For if hee descended into Hell as an Agent then not as a Patient and if not as a Patient then not to Suffer but onely to Triumph Lastly if Christ descended into Hell to suffer why did not then his body descend aswell as his soule seeing our bodies aswell as our soules should have suffered the paines of Hell Which cannot be objected if wee hold hee descended into Hell but only to Triumph For as it was a sufficient and proper triumph for the soule to triumph over Hell so it was a sufficient and proper Triumph for the body to triumph over death which it did by rising the third day as it followes in the next Article Indeed for his descending into Hell to triumph over Satan there was great reason seeing hee it was that had offered him so many great indignities here on earth He it was that had tempted him in the Wildernesse Hee it was that put it into Judas heart to betrary him It was therefore very expedient that the first thing he should doe when hee came to be an Agent should be to goe into Hell to be revenged upon him as it were in hot bloud and for his greater disgrace to triumph over him within his owne Kingdome Now which of these opinions is the more probable perhaps wee may but which is the truer who can bee sure Seing probability and truth doe not alwaies goe together and sometimes the more true is the lesse probable there being fallacies aswell in Reason as in Sense and indeed in matters obscure and not recalled in Scripture we may sooner mistake all then take any at all right and never know in any of them when we be right or wrong and therefore of such poynts though it may be tolerated to make Disquisitions yet it is not safe to make conclusions Sapere ad sobrietatem is an excellent rule in all cases but where the truth is but conjecturall as in this case most of all and it was justly said of Christ Yee erre not knowing the Scriptures For if our knowledge be grounded and not upon Scriptures not onely Errour is easily let in but it is hardly kept out What the Scripture delivers in plaine termes we may be bold to build upon but inferences and deductions are for the most part fallacious seldome so cleare to induce a beliefe seldome so certaine to breed a knowledge and therefore in this poynt our safest course is to content our selves with that which our Creed delivers that Christ descended into hell and not be too curious in examining much lesse too peremptory in concluding either the manner or the causes of his descending But if Christ descended locally into Hell How could he ever come from thence againe Seeing it is said and truly said Omnia te advorsum spectantia nulla retrorsum That from Hel there is no returning No returning indeede for those that are damned and are brought thither to live and die there but for him who descended into Hell to overcome Hell for him who by descending into Hell merited ascending into Heaven It was not onely possible that he should returne but impossible he should be there detained There have beene Hereticks of old at least if they were Hereticks called Psychopanichitae who held this opinion that when the body dyes then the soule falls asleepe and that there is an Interstitium of living as wel in the soule as in the body the soule lying asleep and not waking till the body at the last day rise againe because it hath beene said of men when they dyed that they slept with their Fathers and Saint Paul also expresseth death by sleeping where he saith For this cause many of you are weake and many sleepe and by this meanes it may bee justly said that when a mandies he knowes his judgement presently For though there bee a million of yeares betweene his death and the day of Judgement yet the soule lying all the while asleep they are to him as contiguous And this seemes to bee no improbable opinion and by which many difficult places in Scripture may be cleared for if it were not thus how could it be said that where the tree falleth there it lyeth for if the soule be in action while the body is dead how will the Tree lye where it falleth Seeing the good soules will alwaies be doing of good and the evill soules of evill But if notwithstanding these reasons this opinion bee not suffered to passe Can it better bee confuted then by that which is said here Hee descended into Hell for what Hee but his soule If then his soule descended and descending bee a voluntary action and no voluntary action but of that which is awake then certainely was Christs soule awake after death and not asleep and if his soule then ours aswell seeing there is no difference that we know off betweene his soule and ours but propension to sinne But what a kind of perswading is this to seeke to perswade us to beleeve in Christ by hearing hee was scourged and crucified and hanged amongst common Malefactors and after all this to descend into Hell Is he like to be a Saviour to us that could not save himselfe For if he had saved himselfe and come downe from the Crosse the Jewes pretended at least they would have beleeved in him But when he did not this upon so just a Motive what reason had they but to thinke he could not doe it and then what reason had they to thinke him a Saviour This indeed was the mist that blinded the Jewes eyes they could never be brought to think him the true Christ because he came in such meannesse humility where they looked for a Messias that should come in state one that should domineere in the world and restore the temporall Kingdome to the Hebrew Nation And yet is this one of the maine reasons which makes us know and beleeve him to be the true Christ because it is most agreeable to all the ancient Prophecies that such a one the true Christ should bee And indeed seeing hee came into the world to bee a Redeemer and Redeeming consisted no lesse in suffering then in doing It was necessary hee should come in such an Estate as might be fittest for suffering so to pay for us the uttermost farthing of our debt not onely by Active but aswell also by Passive obedience which hee could not have done at least not made appeare to have done if hee had come in such state as the Jewes expected But though he descended into Hell and no doubt The third day hee rose againe did great matters at his being there yet it seemes he was not long about it for the Third day he rose againe Not sooner then the third day that it might appeare hee had beene certainly dead Nor later that he might not leave his Disciples too long in discomfort Not sooner then the third day that
there might be time sufficient for his soules triumphing Nor latter that there might not be time sufficient for his bodies corrupting Not sooner then the third day that hee might not abolish the old Sabbath upon the old Sabbath Nor later that he might not leave the world without a Sabbath for if hee had not risen till the fourth day then had the third day beene neither Sabbath-day nor working-day Not a Sabbath because hee was not then risen whose onely rising made the new Sabbath not a working-day because but one day by it selfe and none of the six that were at first ordained to bee working-dayes And now is performed the thing signified of which Jonas was the signe for as Jonas went down into the Whales belly and after three dayes was cast out safe upon the shoare So Christ having descended into the Whales belly of Hell was the third day set a shore on the earth and rose from the dead Now is verified the saying of Christ at which the Jewes tooke such scandall Destroy yee the Temple and in three dayes I will build it up againe For when the Jewes had destroyed the sacred Temple of his Body by putting him to death upon the Crosse in three dayes he built it up againe and rose from the dead And now was verified the Prophecie That the glory of the second Temple should bee greater then that of the former For so was Christs body being risen from the dead farre more glorious then the body in which he dyed And now the third day being come hee rose from the dead but why from the dead For onely his body from the dead his soule from Hell and why then from the dead rather then from Hell Is not the rising of his soule as worthy of our beliefe as the rising of his body And why then not as well mentioned as the rising of his body But is it not that to say he rose from the dead includes them both seeing his body could not rise without his soule besides it more concernes us to say hee rose from the dead then to rise from hell because to rise from the dead is our owne case but to rise from Hell is never like to be the case of any but onely of himselfe Neither indeed can it properly be said He rose from Hell seeing there can bee no rising where there was not a falling first but though his soule descended into Hell yet it fell not in Hell as his body did by death and therefore proper onely to say Hee rose from the Dead and not from Hell Never Cordiall was more comfortable to a fainting spirit then this Article is to us The Article before put us almost cleane out of heart For if his being dead and buried touched us so very neerely how could his descending into Hell but touch us to the very quick But now this Article of his rising from the dead puts new life into us seeing by this we are assured not only of the greatnesse of his power that could so easily vanquish Death and Hell but of the greatnesse of his love that as hee did it for our sakes so for our comfort he would come againe to let us know it And indeed though Christ did well enough himselfe with his descending into Hell yet we for our parts could never well brooke this Article for two unpleasing words that are in it Hell and Descending extreamely distastfull both For Hell is a terrour and Descending a disgrace but now this Article of his Rising cheeres us up againe for Hell is no terrour to him that can vanquish it and Descending is no disgrace to him that can rise againe and indeed there is nothing that more pleaseth us then rising For as long as we be rising wee can never doe amisse as the word never gives offence so the action never takes hurt and specially if wee rise as Christ did from the dead For how much the place from which wee rise is more hatefull so much the rising it selfe is more gratefull and seeing nothing is more hatefull then death therefore nothing is more gratefull then rising from the Dead But though Christ continued longer dead then his Disciples could have wished yet hee rose sooner from the Dead then perhaps they expected and perhaps they expected not he should rise at all For if Mary Magdalene had beleeved that Christ should rise againe would shee have come to the Sepulchre with Spices to Embalme him But how is it true that Christ did rise the third day when it appeares he rose before it was day For the Sunne was not risen when Christ rose and it is the rising of the Sunne that makes it day But though the Sunne were not risen yet it was upon rising and that was enough to denominate it day And besides before the Sun riseth there is alwaies a Diluculum a day-breake and that certainely enough to make it bee called Day But it seems it is meant in the Gospell to expresse not only that it was the third day but what time of the third day it was when Christ arose And indeed whether wee take the day after the account of the Jewes who begin their day at Sun setting or after the account of the Romans who begin their day at Midnight as we do in both the accounts it was the third day and then the Sun rising was the time of the day in which he rose But why then would Mary Magdalene come no sooner with her Spices seeing by this account the Sabbath day that had hindred her was ended long before Was it not that if shee had gone sooner shee must have gone by darke and could shee in the darke have done the worke shee went about And to have gone by candle-light would have bred suspition The Watchmen then might justly have said His Disciples came by night and stole him away but now shee tooke advantage of the first light to bee going to the Sepulchre as Christ may be thought at the same time to bee rising from the Sepulchre and perhaps it was but the distance of place that made the difference of time betweene her comming and his rising and it was well there was that difference of time For if shee had come sooner shee had found Christ lying dead in his grave still and to have Embalmed him then with her Spices might have brought imputation upon his Resurrection have made it be thought that the vertue of her Spices had revived him and therefore to prevent this scandall Christ was up before Mary Magdalen came and as soone as the third day affoorded but any dawning of light for where Saint John saith While it was yet darke is but a phrase of expressing It was not broad day-light He rose from the Dead And is there not in this a Mystery May we not say that Christ would not rise but with the rising of the Sunne because the Sunne could not rise but with the rising of Christ For as when Christ left his life
which they make lying under the Altar may be heard and accomplished They pray for us that we may be partakers of the forgivenesse of sinnes and wee pray for them that they may be partakers of the Resurrection of the body But as this Communion of Assistance is but for a time so the Communion of Love will be for ever For we shall love one another and bee loved of one another as Members of one Body as Inhabitants of one Citie and as Fellow-labourers in the worke of exalting Gods glory a work which because it shall never end there shall therefore never be end of this Communion If the Communion bee of the Saints on earth betweene themselves this is visible charity as it is said If yee love not your brother whom yee see how can yee love God whom yee doe not see And it consists in supplying what wants soever we see in a brother as farre as wee are able and in doing to others as we would be done unto our selves If the Communion bee of the Saints in Heaven between themselves this is Intellectuall Charitie and it consists in a reciprocall love they beare one to another in regard of the love they beare all to God If the Communion be of the Saints in Heaven towards the Saints on Earth this is condoling charity and it consists in a griefe they take at any sinnes we commit least wee should not be found blamelesse at the great day of the Lords appearing If the Communion be of the Saints on Earth towards them in Heaven this is a congratulating charity and it consists in a pious rejoycing at the happinesse wee conceive they enjoy in the fruition of God and of his blessed Angels This Communion of Saints is a Gazophylacium or Treasurie where there is receiving indeed but not without contributing we must do our parts to it or never looke for any part in it and it is to be doubted there are many Hereticks amongst us concerning this Article that either understand it not or at least beleeve it not For if they did truely beleeve the Communion of Saints were it possible they should passe by the man lying wounded in the way and not doe as much as the Samaritan did take care of his curing It is no doubt good to observe the Rule that Charitie begins at home but it is good also to understand the Rule and to know what is meant by home for the Home of Charitie is included in the Communion of Saints and extends as farre as the releeving of a needy brother But alas because Charity seekes not her owne therefore she her selfe is not much sought after and while Charity is neglected this Article stands in our Creed but as a Cypher and as well we may forbeare to fay we Beleeve it as forbeare to shew by our actions that we Beleeve it Or rather better indeed to leave it out of our Profession then not to take it into our Practise And this Communion is therefore necessary to be beleeved because it is the flowre of Charitie and must be set in our hearts betimes that it may take the deeper root as that which shall continue when the flowres of Faith and Hope shall be faded and gone And now having spoken of the two Articles The forgivenesse of sinnes that properly relate to the Holy Ghost It followes to speake of the two next Articles which properly relate to the Sonne of God Christ Jesus whereof this is the first I beleeve the forgivenesse of sinnes And indeed after the Communion of Saints this Article followes very fitly seeing there is seldome any mention made of Forgiving of sinnes but that there is mention made of Charity also as in the Prayer taught us by Christ we say not Forgive us our trespasses but say withall as we forgive them that trespas against us For Love covers the multitude of sinnes and the sinnes being covered they are the more easily forgiven afterward But whether the connexion of this Article to the former bee for this reason or no there are certainly of this Article many great reasons For if there were not Forgivenesse of sinnes the whole world should bee damned For all the World being guilty of sins and the Wages of sinne being death if that wages be not forgiven how shall any man be saved But seeing there are which are Elect and ordained to salvation this makes me assuredly to beleeve the Forgivenesse of sinnes If we should not beleeve the Forgivenesse of sinnes Why have wee Beleeved that Christ was Crucified For why was hee Crucified but to pay the penalty of our sins And the penalty being paid how can the sinnes but bee forgiven To what end was all the suffering of Christ but to satisfie his Fathers justice That laying the severity of his justice upon him hee might conferre the benefit of his mercy upon us and how is his mercy conferr'd but by Forgiving of sins If we should not Beleeve the Forgivenesse of sinnes how could wee beleeve that God were merciful seeing the chiefest act of Mercy consists in Forgiving And to deny God to be mercifull what were it but to deny him the most glorious and the most eminent of all his Attributes seeing his mercy is above all his workes Alas if we did not beleeve the Forgivenesse of sinnes in what miserable affliction should our mindes be For knowing first that we cannot but commit sinnes dayly and then knowing how grievously our sinnes provoke the wrath of God against us and lastly knowing how fearefull a thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God in what a miserable condition should we be if we did not beleeve the Forgivenesse of sinnes If I should not beleeve the Forgivenes of sinnes what hope could I have they should ever be forgiven seeing all the meanes I have in my selfe to procure their forgiving is onely my beliefe that they shall be Forgiven O how comfortable an Article is this which makes it be truly said of Christ In odore vnguentorum tuorum curremus post te In the savour of thy sweet Ointments wee will run after thee For with this Oyntment hee healeth all our sores he makes us whole in all our diseases he makes us strong in all our Infirmities O my soule if at any time thou either by infirmity fall or by allurements be entised to commit sinne then have recourse to this Article I beleeve the forgivenesse of sinnes and thou shalt certainly find in it both rest and refreshing to thy fainting spirits And of what sins is it then that I beleeve the forgivenesse Indeede of all sinnes how great or many soever they bee for seeing there are no limits of Gods mercy neither is there any bound of his forgiving And therefore though mâ— sinnes be more then the haires of my head though a burden farre greater then I can beare yet I beleeve the Forgivenesse of them all But if I beleeve the Forgivenesse of all sinnes doe I not then beleeve
the Forgivenesse of a sinne which shall never be forgiven For is there not a sinne against the Holy Ghost which shall never bee forgiven either in this world or in the world to come and so my Beleeving will prove a false Beliefe and deceive mee in the end It is true indeed that such a Sinne there is but is it not that the chiefest Ingredient of that sinne is the not-beleeving the Forgivenes of sinnes And therefore hee that truely beleeves this Article is never likely to commit that sinne seeing the beleeving being from the Holy Ghost the sinne against the Holy Ghost can never be committed But is this the uttermost of our beliefe to Beleeve the Forgivenesse of sinnes Is there no place for beleeving the Merit of Workes If there be why hath it not here a place in our Creed Indeede in the Pharisees Creed it might perhaps have a place but in the Penitent Publicanes Creed such as wee professe our selves to be what place can it have seeing all his beliefe is terminated in this O God be mercifull to me a sinner Indeed as Solon amongst all his Lawes made no Law against Parricides not that hee did not thinke them worthy of Punishment but because he thought there would never bee any so unnaturall and therefore thought it not needfull to make a Law against a Non futurum against a fault that was never like to be committed So in our Creede there is no Article of the Merit of good works Not that good works may not Merit but because such Meritorious works are never like to be done by any and therefore not fit to make an Article of a Non futurum of a thing though possible yet not likely or rather so farre from being likely as not being possible And indeed which of the Apostles can we thinke should have been the Author of such an Article Saint John we may be sure would not For he saith plainely If we say wee have no sinne there is no truth in us and where there is sinne there can be no Merit Saint Peter we may be sure would not for though there was a time when hee thought hee could doe wonders of good works and even dye with Christ yet when it cam to the point he was glad to bewaile his infirmitie with teares and to say to Christ when time was Depart from me for I am a sinfull man And Saint Paul wee may well thinke would not For hee professeth directly To glory and rejoyce in nothing but in the Crosse of Christ crucified And for what serves the Crosse of Christ but for the Forgivenesse of sinnes And by the judgement of these Apostles wee may judge of the rest and therefore no defect of our Creed in this but the uttermost bounds of our Beliefe in this point beyond which there is no Plus ultra goes no farther then this to Beleeve the Remission and forgivenesse of sins We may indeed labour we must labour to do good works the best we can but all the Merit of it is but this and it is a great Merit too that we cannot rightly beleeve the Forgivenesse of our sinnes if wee doe not labour not to sinne and doe our endeavour to doe good works O my soule all we have to trust too all we have to hold by is the Forgivenesse of sinnes For these are they that make God angry with us and these forgiven will reconcile him These are the causes why he turnes away his blessed face from us and these forgiven will make his couutenance to shine upon us all Merit must be ascribed to him onely in whom they are forgiven between whose Merit and his Fathers mercy I know not how to distinguish and therefore take them both but as one motive to make me Beleeve the Forgivenesse of sinnes All of us have onely sinne Christ onely hath Merit his Father onely hath Forgivenesse For with him there is mercy and plentious redemption But may not a sinne be forgiven and yet the Penalty be still in arere Was not the sinne of David with Bathsheba forgiven and yet punished afterward by the death of the child that was begotten of her It is true indeed the life of the Child was taken away indeed but this was not properly a punishment for the sinne but a castigation of the sinner to make him the better to resent his sin and to bee the more wary afterward of committing the like Besides it may be thought rather a favour then a punishment to David for in taking away the life of the Childe there was that taken from him which upon his repentance would have beene a perpetuall eye-sore to him if it had lived according to that of St. Paul What fruit have yee of those things whereof yee are now ashamed Withall it was not perhaps without Mystery to shew that the pleasures of sinne never beare but blasted fruits which fall off the tree before they come to ripenesse But at what time is it we beleeve that sinnes may bee forgiven Indeed at all times as long as sinnes may be committed which is all the time that wee are living in this world but if once we be dead as there will be then no more committing of sinne so neither will there be any more forgiving of sinne but where the tree falleth there it will lye But is there not a sinne of which it is said It shall never bee forgiven either in this world or in the world to come And why is this said but because a sinne may bee forgiven in the world to come though it be not forgiven in this world and this perhaps is a cause why some have conceived that in the world to come even the Divels themselves shall bee forgiven But is it not that the Not-forgiving of sins in the world to come is therefore mentioned because in the world to come shall be pronounced the sentence of Not-forgiving and so it is but as to say it shall never be forgiven in this world upon private conviction nor in the world to come upon publicke condemnation For otherwise it is most evident if absolutely a sinne bee not forgiven in this world neither shall it ever bee forgiven in the world to come It is no small impediment to the beliefe of this Article that there are few who thinke they sinne at all but are of the Pharisees mind and their Consciences are as cleare as Chrystall and of those againe that thinke they sinne there are few that know the greatnesse of their sinne but they judge of their sin as of the Moone this little because farre from their sight that little because farre from their thought And of those againe that know the greatnesse of their sinne there are few that say with David I acknowledge my iniquity and my sinne is ever before me For sinne being an unpleasing sight they love not to look upon it more then needs they must while they looke not upon the discase they looke not after the
remedy and so between the little knowing of sinne and the little acknowledging of sinne the beliefe of this Article is in no little danger to be very little only Faith stands in the breach and supplies all defects and it is the worke of Faith and indeed of a great Faith that can truly say I beleeve the forgivenesse of sinnes There have been Hereticks of old who held this opinion that no fins should be forgiven that were committed after Baptisme and they grounded their opinion upon the saying of Saint Paul If wee sinne wilfully after we have received knowledge of the truth there remaineth no more Sacrifice for sinnes and grounding themselves upon this Text they would neither Baptise others nor be Baptized themselves till in their old age making account that Age having repulsed in them inordinate desires they might safely then bee Baptized without feare of committing any wilfull sinnes afterward But would any man beleeve that men of common sense could ever fall into so grosse an errour especially having heard it said At what time soever a sinner repenteth him of his sinnes I will put all his wickednesse out of my remembrance saith the Lord. That we may see it is not time that prejudiceth Gods forgivenesse whether before Baptisme or after whether sooner or latter but come at any time and bring Repentance and God at no time will be wanting to Forgivenesse For as it is mercy in God which is the motive to us to Beleeve the forgivenesse of sinnes so it is Repentance in us that is the motive to God to Forgive us our sinnes But why is the Forgivenes of sins put here inter Credenda amongst things to be Beleeved and not rather inter Agenda amongst things to be done seeing to Remission of sinnes there belongs Repentance a thing to bee done and without Repentance no forgivenesse Is it not that forgivenesse of sinnes is an effect of Faith and therefore justly placed amongst things to be Beleeved and though Repentance be necessary to come in the Recre yet Faith must lead the Vant-gaurd and have the Preceedence For if Faith goe not before Repentance will not follow indeed cannot follow seeing without Faith It is impossible to please God And now my soule observe the great extent of this Article it keeps mee from sinning against the Holy Ghost whilst I beleeve the forgivenesse of sinnes by his inspiring it appeaseth the wrath of God the Father whilst I beleeve the forgivenesse in onely his mercy It glorifies his Sonne Christ Jesus whilst I beleeve Gods mercy through onely his Merits that seeing this Article is reguardant to all the Persons in the Trinity I may hope that by beleeving it all the Persons in the Trinity will be reguardant upon me and specially the Sonne For indeed this Article and the next that followes are two flowres I may say that grow upon the very Grave of Christ For as there is no Forgivenes of sinnes but onely by the vertue of his death so there is no Resurrection of the body but onely by the operation of his Rising from the Dead And thus farre wee are brought by this flower of Faith I beleeve the Forgivenes of sinnes The next is the flower of Hope The Resurrection of the Body by which wee Beleeve the Resurrection of the Body and it followes indeed very fitly for seeing the body dyed not at first but by reason of sinne what should hinder if sinne bee forgiven but that the bodie should rise againe and returne to life This indeed is a flower something hard of growing but 〈◊〉 growne sends forth a most 〈◊〉 savour and as of all the Articles in the Creed there is none more hard to be beleeved so once beleeved there is none that ministers greater comfort For what need I care though my body bee laid in the grave and bee turned to dust so long as I am sure and undoubtedly beleeve that hereafter it shall rise againe and bee in the same but a better state then now it is In the same for substance but in a better for quallities and endowments If there were no Resurrection of the body then neither the godly should have Reward in their Bodies nor the wicked Punished but seeing both the godly shall bee Rewarded in their Bodies and the wicked Punished therefore there shall bee a Resurrection of the Body This Article no doubt is hard to be beleeved For who would beleeve there should be Regressus a corruptione ad generationem a privatione ad habitum a going backe from Corruption to Generation from Privation to Habit a thing impossible in Nature and improbable in Reason yet this impossibility in Nature this improbality in Reason must be beleeved before wee can beleeve the Resurrection of the Body Who would beleeve that a Body consumed to dust and that dust scattered by the wind into a thousand places should ever be brought together againe to be the same body it was before who would believe that a Body devoured perhaps by wild beasts perhaps eaten by Fishes and by digestion become a part of those Beasts or Fishes should ever returne to be the Body of a man againe as it had beene before Indeed none would beleeve it that looked only upon the power of Nature as were ledde only with the light of Reason but when we looke upon a Power that is stronger then Nature and are led by a Light that is brighter then Reason what should hinder why we should not beleeve it Shall we not beleeve the Resurrection of the body because we know not by what wayes it shall bee raysed Is it not enough that we know the power of Gods wayes but that we must also know the waies of his Power Doe we know how the body at first is formed in the Mothers wombe and would we looke to know how it shall bee formed the second time in the wombe of the Earth Have wee professed by the first Article of our Creed that God is Almighty and will we not allow him to do the works of an Almighty Doe we beleeve that nothing is impossible for God to doe and yet thinke there is this thing which he cannot doe Looke upon the Corne when it is cast into the earth and after a few daies you shall see it to bee nothing but as a kind of corruption and yet of that corruption doth God make the same Corne to spring up againe and to bee as flourishing as it had beene before and if God doe this in the Corne shall hee not as well doe it in our bodies But it is not perhaps that wee doubt of his Power but of his Will seeing his Will is not alwaies to doe all hee can And can we doubt of his Will his Will so often revealed to us in his Word so firmely assured to us by his Word This is the Fathers Will which hath sent me that of all which he hath given mee I should loose nothing but should raise it up againe at the