〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Essentially thus God is onely immortall 1 Tim. 6.16 Secondly Ex dono creationis by creation as the Angels and the soule of man Immortale multiplex 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ex dono creationis ex hypothesi ex dono novaecreationis Thirdly Ex hypothesi by condition as Adams body had beene immortall if hee had stood in Innocencie Fourthly Ex dono novae creationis by the resurrection as our bodies and the new Heavens shall last perpetually after the resurrection The Physitians observed three estates in man Illust 2 First 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cum plus accedit quam decedit when more nourishment remaines with the body than goeth from the body this should have beene in Adams posterity if hee had not fallen The second estate is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cum quantum decedit per pugnam nutritio tantum apponit When as much nourishment remaines as decayeth The third estate is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Declinans aetas Cibos assumimus ut corruptio quae posset accedere ex consumptione naturalis humidi evitetur ubi accedit minus quam deficit this is the decaying estate of man when lesse nourishment remaineth than decayeth and this was not in Adam before his fall When wee put water into wine at the first the wine converts the water into it but put often water to it then all turnes to water The body of man before the fall should not have turned to corruption but still should have turned the nourishment to wholsome food It is true there was some contrariety here for otherwaies hee could not have beene nourished but this was without the hurt of the whole which remained whole and perfit so that his body should have beene aequivalenter incorruptibile licet non videretur eadem numero materia It should still have remained that selfe-same body although in it there was some alteration for even as Theseus Shippe after that he had scoured the Sea from Pirats by her they hung her up as a memoriall to the posterity and the Athenians Plutarchi Moral when any planke or board decayed in her they put a new planke or board in place of it so that she was still eadem numero navis that selfe-same Shippe shee was before So should the body of man have beene still the same body by supplying new and equall strength for that which failed The Church of Rome holds The tenet of the Church of Rome concerning the immortality of the body that the body of man before the fall was mortall of it selfe and that the immortality of it came onely from without from that supernaturall righteousnesse which God cloathed Adam with and that death is onely but by accident from sinne because it removeth the bridle originall righteousnesse which held backe death and they say that the soule required a fit body to exercise her functions Bellarm. de grait primi hominis cap. 9. but it could not have such a body except made of contrary humours hence it received a body joyned to it by accident mortall which defect they say is supplied by that supernaturall righteousnesse Againe they hold that this necessity of death which was in nature before the fall is now turned since the fall into a punishment of sinne It was naturall before the fall say they for a woman to beare children but after the fall it was painefull and a punishment of sinne It was naturall before the fall for the Serpent to glide upon her belly but after the fall she was to glide with paine upon her belly this was the punishment of sin So say they death was naturall to man before the fall in his Pure naturals but now it is turned to him unto punishment of sinne and as the beasts which sinne not yet die so should man in his Pure naturals have died although he had not sinned if supernaturall righteousnes had not restrained his death In sensu coniuncto non poterat mori sed in sensu diviso poterat mori But wee hold that Adams body in his innocent estate was naturally incorruptible ex hypothesi that is so long as hee stood in holinesse there was such a harmony amongst the qualities of his body that they could breed no distemperature or bring death to him his body before the fall might have died but this power should never have beene reduced into act so long as he obeyed his maker but it is otherwise mortall now for now of necessity hee must die then it was in potentia remotissima in a most remote power to death now it is in potentia propinqua in a most neere power Angeli non poterant mori neque necesse erat eis mori Adâ—â—â— poterat mori sed non necesse erat ei mori sed Adaâ—â— corrupt necesse est ei mori The Angels could not die neither was it necessary that they should die Adam might die but it was not necessary that hee should die but Adam being corrupted it is necessary that he should die Our reasons to prove the immortalitie of Adams bodie before the fall are these Our reasons to prove that the body was naturally immortall and not supernaturally First the soule desireth naturally alwayes to be in the body therefore naturally it might attaine to this end Reason 1 for naturall desires before the fall were not frustrate so that it behoved the body naturally to be immortall and not supernaturally as they hold for the further clearing of this we must consider the soule either in the separation from the body or as it exists after the separation In the separation from the body it is contrary to the desire of the soule to be separate from the body therefore the naturall desire of it is to remaine in the body Againe Aliquid est contra aliquid praeter naturam animae when the soule exists out of the body est praeter naturam ejus it is beside the nature of the soule although it be not contrary to it therefore it must naturally long to be in the body againe Esth lib. 2. dist 19. They answer that the understanding creature desires naturally some things which it cannot attaine to but by supernaturall meanes as the soules of the blessed naturally desire to be joyned to their bodies againe yet they cannot attaine to this but by a supernaturall power to wit by the resurrection So say they the soule naturally desires the eternitie of the body although by nature it cannot attaine to it but there must be some supernaturall righteousnesse to cause it attaine to this Answer The case is not alike after hee hath sinned and before for after hee had sinned and the soule separate from the body naturally it cannot be joyned to it againe but by the supernaturall power of God but before the fall the soule should naturally have attained to that desire to have enjoyed an immortall body for it had no desire in it before the fall which it should shun
and flee as repugnant to the nature of it to remaine a little while in the body and afterward to remaine still without the bodie De summo bono lib. 1. sect 68. Secundum vegetativam sensitivam facultatem habuit actum naturalem sed secundum superiorem facultatem habuit actum super naturalem Secondly Lessius the Iesuite answers after this manner that there are three faculties in the soule the vegetative sensitive and understanding facultie he saith that the soule should have had an inclination and desire to the body naturally according to the vegetative and sensitive faculties but not according to the understanding or supreme which required a supernaturall power to worke this desire The soule saith hee being satisfied in her naturall desires in her vegetative and sensitive faculties cannot long for those againe by a supernaturall desire for it longeth now to be like the Angels of God neither marrying nor giving in marriage Matth. 22.30 But supernaturally in the estate of blessednesse shee desireth such a body which shall not hinder the body to attaine to her supreme and last end Answer It is true that after the fall the vegetative and sensitive faculties hinder the intellectuall facultie to attaine to the supreme end God but before the fall and in the conjunction of the soule with the body againe these inferiour faculties were subordinate and shall be subordinate to the superior facultie and did no wayes hinder or shall hinder the superior facultie therefore the soule naturally before the fall desired according to all those faculties the conjunction with the body and so it shall in the resurrection These be Lessius words Non abhorret a corpore nisi tale sit quod libertati functioni intelligentiae officict It abhorres not a body but such a body which hindereth the libertie and function of the understanding But so it was that the body of man was such before the fall therefore the soule desireth naturally the conjunction with the body in the estate and likewise shall doe in the life to come Hence wee may gather Consequence that the soule after the resurrection shall enjoy a greater measure of blessednesse and joy then it did before and that the body shall not be a hinderence to it as it is now for now when it begins to thinke of God and spirituall things it must be abstract from the senses as the Prophets had their heavenly visions intellectuall and not by sense but after the resurrection the senses shall not be a hinderance but a furtherance to the soule Adam after his fall lived 930. yeares Gen. Reason 2 Methusalem 960. yeares wanting this supernaturall 1 righteousnesse what made this nothing but the reliques of that naturall immortalitie which was in man before the fall Therefore it was not supernaturall righteousnesse that made him immortall God made the Israelits cloathes last forty yeares in the Wildernesse Deut. 29.5 And Manna in the golden pot Reason 3 Heb. 9.4 corruptible in it selfe yet to last so many hundred yeares And if Iosephs bones lasted 215. yeares Iosh 24.31 And if the Egyptians could embalme bodies artificially that they could continue without corruption for so many hundred yeares how much more could God make Adams body to have continued without corruption naturally if hee had stood in innocencie The fourth reason is taken from the cause of death Reason 4 which is sinne there was no sinne in his naturall body and therefore no death There are three things which follow sinne First Dominium peccati the dominion of sinne Secondly Sensus peccati the sense of sinne Thirdly Vltinum consequens peccati the last consequent of sinne upon his body when it is turned to dust The dominion of sinne is taken away by regeneration the sense of sinne is taken away by death the last consequent of sinne when the body is turned to ashes the body all this time being neither Purum nor impurum but non purum this is taken away by the resurrection Corpus consideratur ut est purum impurum non purum There was no dominion of sinne in Adam before the fall therefore hee had no need of regeneration there was no sense of sinne in him therefore hee could not naturally die the last consequent of sinne was not in him therefore his body stood not in neede of the resurrection Man before the fall A collation betwixt the innocent and old Adam his body was immortall naturally Christ the second Adam his body was mortall willingly but not necessarily for he tooke our infirmities upon him Esu 53. Ioh. 10. therefore Augustine saith well Traxit quidem mortalitatem sed non contraxit non fuit necessitas in Christo respectu peccati sed respectu paenae Hee tooke our mortalitie upon him but hee contracted it not by sinne there was no necessitie whereby Christ should die in respect of sinne Triplex necessitas illata innata assumpta but in respect of the punishment But man now necessarily dieth It is appointed for all men to die Est illata necessitas Adamo est innata necessitas nobis est assumpta necessitas in Christo Necessitie of death was layd upon Adam for his sinne necessitie of death is inbred in us but death was willingly assumed by Christ But yet when he had once willingly taken upon him our nature and infirmities hee must die for it is appointed for all who have taken our naturall infirmities to die A man gives his word willingly for such a summe for his friend but when hee hath willingly given it a necessitie is laid upon him to pay it So Christ willingly tooke this debt upon him and now must of necessitie pay it The first Adam before his fall his body was immortall A collation betwixt the innocent old and glorified Adam Ex hypothesi that is if hee had stood in obedience to God there should have beene no contrarietie betwixt the humors of his body to have bred corruption there should have beene no deformity or defect in his bodie But since the fall the body is a mortall body a deformed body and corruptible Dos But in the life to come the soule shall be satisfied in all her desires 1 Immortalitatis sive impassibilitas Duplex malum actuale poientiale and all evill shall be removed from it both actuall and potentiall there shall be no actuall evill because grace being consummate in them it excludes all sinne there shall be no potentiall evill in them because they being confirmed in goodnesse they cannot sinne Now the body in the life to come shall be fully subject to the soule not onely in respect of the being of it but also in respect of the actions and passions the motions and corporall qualities of it and then it shall be free from corruption both actuall and potentiall it shall be free from actuall corruption because there shall be no deformitie or defect in it and from potentiall corruption because then
things serve for the maintenance of our life utility for our vocation sufficiencie for our delectation superfluity for wantonnesse and excesse In wishing temporary things we should put our selves in the first degree and our neighbour in the second that which is out of superfluity I should wish for his sufficiency and out of my sufficiency I desire his utility to further him in his calling and out of my utility I should further him in his necessity to preserve his life that is with things necessary to my calling I ought to relieve his life But men now will not give of their superfluity to entertaine their neighbours necessity and life as Nabal would not give to David 1 Sam. 25.10 And the rich glutton to Lazarus Luk. 16. out of their superfluity to supply their necessity Quest Are wee bound to love all our neighbours alike Answ Some answer that we are bound to love them all alike affectu sed non effectu we are bound say they to love all alike in our internall affection but we are not bound to helpe all alike for wee are more bound to these who are neerest to us and to help them most with our goods But Aquinas sheweth this to be false and sets downe this as a true position that some of our neighbours are more to be loved than others tum affectu tum effectu Amor est tum in affectu tum in effectu His reason is because the hatred of some of our neighbours is a greater hatred than the hatred of other of our neighbours therefore we are more bound by the rule of charity to love some of our neighbours quoad affectum internum in our internall affection than other as well as wee are bound more to helpe them externo effectu This is cleare by the rule of contraries The antecedent is proved He that curseth his father or mother shall die the death Levit. 20. But the Law appoints no such death to him who curseth another of his neighbours therefore it must bee a greater sinne to curse their Parents than other of their neighbours or to wish them evill Therefore we are more bound to love them in our affection as wee are more bound to helpe them than others Quest Whether are we bound to love those more Amor objectivu◠appretiarivus in whom wee see more grace although they be strangers to us than those of our kindred in whom we see not so great measure of grace Answ Wee are to love those most in whom we see most grace objectivè that is in respect of the blessednes that is desired because they are neerer joyned to us in God A center out of which issueth many Lines the further they are extended from the Center they are the further dis-united amongst themselves and the neerer that they draw to the Center they are the neerer united So those who are neerest to God should be neerest to us and we should wish to them the greatest measure of happinesse But those who are neerest to us in the flesh and in the Lord Phil. 2.21 should be more deare to us appretiativè and in our estimation although they have not such measure of grace And so Christ loved Iohn better than the rest of his Disciples Ioh. 13.23 because he was both his cousin german and had more grace in him but he wished not a greater measure of glory to him than to Paul Duplex ratio amoris objecti originis objectivè For he that doth most his will are his brother and sister Math. 12.50 So that we come under a threefold consideration of Christ here for he is considered as God as Mediator God and man and as man Christ as God loved not Iohn better than the rest Christ as Mediator loved him not better but Christ as man loved him better than the rest We are more bound to love our Parents than any other of our neighbours both in temporall and spirituall things 1 Tim. 5.4 If a widow have children let them learn to requite their Parents in the Syriacke it is rependere faenus parentibus A man divideth his goods into three parts first so much he spends upon himselfe his wife and servants secondly so much he gives to the poore thirdly so much he lends to his children looking for interest backe againe Againe we are more bound to them than those of whom we have received greatest benefits yea than him that hath delivered us from death Dijs parentibus non possunt reddi aequalia Arist lib. 8. Ethic. This is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the young Storkes uphold the old when they are flying Hence comes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is as the fathers have sustained the children so should the children the fathers againe The Hebrewes say What is the honor that the children owe unto their parents They owe to them maintenance and reverence they should give them meat drinke and cloathing they should leade them in and leade them out And they adde further we reade Honour the Lord with thy substance and Honour thy father and mother thou art to honour God with thy substance if thou haue any substance but thou art to honour thy parents whether thou haue any substance or not for if thou have not thou art bound to begge for thy parents So saith R. Salomon in his Glosse upon Levit 10.3 Wee are to love our Parents more than our Children in giving them honor Arist lib. Ethic. for they are neerer to us than our Children being the instruments of our being Wee are to succour our Parents in case of extreme necessity rather then our children Filium subvenire parenti proprio honestius est quam sibi ipsi It is a more honest thing to helpe the Parent than a mans selfe and there is a greater conjunction betwixt the father and the sonne in esse absoluto than betwixt us and our children and therefore in that case of necessity he is more bound to helpe his father than his child Where there is not such a case of extreme necessity hee is more bound to helpe his Child than his Parent The Children lay not up for the Parents but the Parents for the Children 2. Cor. 12.14 And the reason is because the father is ioyned with the son as the cause with the effect Sed causa influit in effectum The cause workes in the effect so should the Parent communicate with his child Secondly the father is ioyned with the sonne as with a part of himselfe and comming from himselfe which cannot be said of the child to the father Thirdly the love of the father towards the child is elder and continueth longer for the fathers loue their children even from their Cradle but the children love not their fathers till they be come to the yeeres of discretion for the more old that love is the more perfect it is Wee are more bound to love our father than our mother Prop. How a man is
their judgement made man such that concupiscence did necessarily follow Before the fall there was no reluctation nor strife betwixt the superiour and inferiour faculties in man That there was no concupiscence in man before the fall and therefore no concupiscence our reasons are these First our first parents were not ashamed when they were naked Gen 2. but after that Adam had sinned and saw himselfe naked hee fled from the presence of God and hid himselfe even for very shame it is the rebellion betwixt the superiour and inferiour faculties that makes men ashamed Secondly in Iesus Christ the second Adam there was no rebellion and yet he was like to us in all things sinne excepted taking our nature upon him and the essentiall properties of it As to bee tempted Mat. 4.1 Iesus was carried by the Spirit into the desert to bee tempted So to feare Hebr. 5.7 he was heard in that which hee feared So to be angry Mark 3.5 Hee looked round about on them angerly So forgetfulnesse of his office by reason of the agonie astonishing his senses Father if it bee possible let this cup passe from me Mat. 26.39 Wherefore if this strife betwixt the superiour and inferiour faculties was the consequent of nature in our whole estate then Christ should not have beene blamelesse which is blasphemy for concupiscence is sin Rom 7.7 Thirdly if there had been rebellion betwixt the superiour and inferiour faculties before the fall then man in his whole estate had not beene happy for Paul in respect of this concupiscence is forced to cry out Rom. 7.11 O wretched man that I am who shall deliver mee from this body of death and originall iustice had not beene such an excellent gift in that estate but only a restraint to restraine this concupiscence that it bursted not forth Fourthly if this rebellion flow from nature how can God be free from sinne who is the authour of nature qui est causa causae est causa causati in essentialiter subordinatis he who is the cause of a cause is likewise the cause of the effect in things essentially subordinate but God is the author of mans nature and concupiscence therefore according to their position Of mans originall justice according to the Church of Rome he must bee the author of sinne this is blasphemie The Church of Rome holds that this holinesse was a supernaturall thing to man and not naturall in his first creation and they goe about to shew the matter by these comparisons They say mans righteousnesse in his innocent estate was like a garland set upon a virgines head the garland is no part of the virgins body and although the garland be removed yet she remaines still a virgin So this originall righteousnesse they make it as it were a garland which being taken away from man no naturall thing is blemished in him Secondly they compare it to Sampsons lockes which when they were cut off nothing was taken from Sampsons nature Thirdly they compare it to a bridle in a horse mouth which is no part of the horse nor naturall to him but serves to bridle the horse and keepe him in So say they this originall righteousnesse was no naturall thing in man before the fall but served onely as a bridle to restraine concupiscence and they put a difference betwixt a naked man and a robbed man Duplex homo nudus spoliatus Man before his fall say they he was naked but God did cast his cloake of supernaturall righteousnesse about him to cover him but since the fall say they hee is not homo nudus sed spoliatus a naked man but spoyled of the graces of God Hence is that division made by the Iesuites of the estate of man Perer. lib. 5. in Gen. disput de excellent pag. 118. the first estate saith he is of man considered without grace or sinne as they terme it in his pure naturals the second estate is of man in his purenaturals cloathed with supernaturall righteousnes the third estate is of man degenerate and sinfull the fourth estate is of man regenerate and the last is of man glorified But to consider a man both voyde of grace and sinne such a man was never nor never shall be neither did the Iewish or Christian Church ever divide the estate of man thus The Iewish Church taketh up the estate of man in these three the first they call Adam ratioue creationis because hee was made out of the red earth the second they call Enosh man subject to all miseries the third they call Ish man restored to blessednesse and happinesse The orthodoxe christian Church divides the estate of man thus the first estate is gratiae collatio the bestowing of grace the second is collatae amissio the losse of that grace bestowed the third is instauratio amissae the restoring of lost grace and the fourth is confirmatio instauratae the confirmation of restored grace We will shew that his originall righteousnesse Of mans originall justice according to the reformed Church was naturall to man and not supernaturall where we must consider that nature is take five wayes First a thing is naturall by creation as the soule and the body are naturall to man because they give a being to him Secondly for that which floweth essentially and naturally from a thing as the faculties from the soule Thirdly for that which cleaveth most surely to nature as sinne doth to the soule now Fourthly for that which beautifieth nature and helps it as grace doth Fiftly for that which by generation is propagate to the posteritie as originall corruption Originall justice was not naturall to man in the first sense for it was no part of his essence It was not naturall to him in the second sense for it flowed not from the understanding essentially as the faculties of the soule doe but it was naturall to him in the third sense because hee was created in holinesse and was the subject of holinesse it was naturall to him in the fourth sense because it made his nature perfect It was naturall to him in the fift sense for he should have transmitted it to his posteritie by generation if he had stood in holinesse as man doth sinne now which is come in place of it Originall righteousnesse to the first Adam was naturall to the renewed Adam grace is supernaturall A collation betwixt the innocent renewed and old Adam to the old Adam it is against his nature so long as hee continues in sinne Our reasons proving that originall righteousnesse was naturall to Adam and not supernaturall are these First Reason 1 as are the relickes of the image of God in man since the fall such was the image of God in man before the fall but the remnants of the Image of God in man since the fall are naturall Rom. 2.13 For by nature they doe the things contained in the Law 2 Cor. 11. Doth not nature teach you this therefore the image of God
in man before the fall was naturall Secondly Reason 2 supernaturall gifts are not hereditary nor propagate by generation no more than a colt to use their owne similitude is brought forth with a bridle in his teeth but man before the fall should have begotten children in his image in originall justice therefore originall justice was not supernaturall to him Thirdly Reason 3 by nature we are now the children of wrath Ephes 2.3 therefore originall justice should not have beene supernaturall to man but naturall by the rule of contraries Bellarmine De grat prim hom cap. 5. although he grant that there might have beene a man created as well without grace as sinne yet hee is inforced to acknowledge that this point of erroneous doctrine did never generally prevaile in the Roman Church for there were some saith hee excellently learned that thought as wee doe that man must either be in the estate of grace or sinne and that there is not a middle estate and that originall righteousnesse was required to the integrity of nature and consequently that being lost nature was corrupted and deprived of all naturall and morall rectitude So that man after the fall of Adam can doe nothing morally good or that truely can bee named a vertue till he be renewed by grace as likewise Adam before his fall was not able to doe any thing morally good by natures power without the assistance of speciall grace from God But we must hold for our part this to be the ground of no small errour which the Church of Rome layeth that man in his pure naturals was voyde both of grace and sinne this is the ground of many other errours which they maintaine First that concupiscence is naturall to man following alwayes his creation Secondly that naturall gifts both in men and divels remaine unblemished since the fall Thirdly that the corruption of nature consists not in any corrupt qualitie but onely in the losse of supernaturall grace Fourthly that death is not an effect of sinne properly but it is from nature and it is onely accidentally from sin because sin removes that bridle of originall righteousnesse which held backe death Fiftly that concupiscence is not sinne in the regenerate Sixtly that man now after his fall is in the same estate wherein hee was before the fall in his pure naturals for Adams sinne hath diminished nothing from that which is naturall and the body they say since the fall is no more passible than it was before in the pure naturals So they say the minde of man being considered by it selfe without this supernatuall holinesse is no more weakened by the fall than it was before the fall in things naturall Seventhly that man hath free will left in him after his fall which grounds are all false Here we must doe as Elisha did when hee cured the waters of Iericho 2 King 3. he went to the spring heads and there cast in salt so must we goe to this as one of the springs from whence many errours in popery proceed and cure it first This popish platforme of mans estate before his fall is taken from the schooles of Philosophie but not from Moses and the Prophets The Philosophers were ignorant of the nature of man in his whole estate so were they ignorant of his fall and therefore they tooke up man in a middle estate So these Sophists following the Philosophers and not the Scriptures as though they had never heard of mans creation nor yet of his fall imagine him to be a middle sort of man such a man as never was neither in his whole estate nor after his fall but they ought to have remembred that of the Apostle Colos 2.8 Take heed lest any spoyle you by Philosophie CHAP. XVIII Of the consequents of Gods image in man in his societie with the Angels THe third consequent that followeth upon the image of God being placed in man in his creation is concerning the societie and fellowship that he had with the Angels so long as hee stood in innocency Adam in his first estate was little inferiour to the Angels Prop. It shall bee the greatest perfection of man in glory Illust that hee shall bee like the Angels of God and bee loved of them as they love one another So it was mans great happinesse before the fall that hee conversed with the Angels and they loved him The Angels did neither minister unto A collation betwixt the innocent second renewed and old Adam nor keepe the first Adam before his fall they onely loved him The Angels ministred to Christ the second Adam and loved him but did not keepe him The Angels minister now to the renewed Adam they love him and keepe him but they neither minister to the wicked love them nor keepe them First the Angels neither did minister to Adam before his fall nor did they keepe him because hee was in no danger onely they loved him they ministred to Iesus Christ but they did not keep him for he was comprehensor as well as viator Christ is the head of the Angels therefore hee is not kept by them but they minister to the elect and keepe them by Christ which priviledge Adam had not of them before his fall Object It may seeme that they did keepe Christ Psal 91. they shall keepe thee in all thy wayes Answ This is to be understood de Christo mystico of Christ in his members that is they shall keepe thy members in all their wayes But this part of the Psalme was misapplyed by the Divell to Christ in proper person Matth. 4. for the Angels keepe not Christ but minister to him but they both keepe and minister to his members the elect Object But it may be sayd that the elect have greater priviledges then than Christ hath seeing they both keepe them and minister to them Answ This argueth not any prerogative that the Saints have above Christ but onely their weakenesse and wants that they have need of the Angels to preserve them as young children stand in need of nurses to waite upon them Object It may seeme that Angels are not ministring spirits in respect of the elect but in respect of Christ because the Angell Revel 19.22 calls himselfe not our servant but our fellow servant So the Angels are not called the servants of the kingdomes but The Princes of the Kingdomes Dan. 12. Thirdly the Apostle proves Christ to be God Heb. 2. because the Angels are servants to him A shepheard is not the servant of his sheepe although hee keepes them but his Masters servant So although the Angels keepe us yet they seeme not to be our ministers but Christs Answ The Scripture Heb. 1. calls them ministring spirits sent for them that are elect and although they be more excellent creatures in themselves than the elect yet in Christ and by Christ they become ministring spirits to us Christ himselfe is not ashamed to call himselfe a servant to the elect Mat. 20. I came not to
Spirits Soule and Bodies Answ By the Spirit is not meant here a third thing which joynes the soule and body together but by the Spirit hee meanes the gift of sanctification which is through the whole man both in Soule and body opposite to the Old man Rom. 7. The soule is joyned immediately to the body Conseq therefore Averrois erred who held that the phantasies or imaginations were a middle to joyne the soule and the body together So these who held that the soule was joyned to the Body by corporall Spirits and so these who held that they were joyned together by light The soule being one yet hath three distinct Faculties the Vegetative Prop. Sensitive and Reasonable faculties In the conception the Vegetative and Sensitive faculties are vertually in the seede Illust untill the fortieth day and after the fortieth day the reasonable soule is infused Anima vegetativa sensitiva est virtussemi nis praeparans materiam ad recipiendem formam intellectualem they give place and it animates the body Exod. 21.22 If two strive together if one of them strike a woman with child that she part with her child and there bee no hurt neither to the mother nor to the child then the striker shall not die but if there follow death of either of them then the striker shall die If shee part with the child before it bee quicke in her belly then shee shall not die but if it bee a quicke child and shee part with it then hee shall die Physitians and Canonists hold that before the forty dayes it is not a living child it is then called Golem Psal 139. vers 16. Massa rudis corpus imperfectum before the members bee fashioned in it The seventie reade these words Exod. 21. verse 22. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Non signatum which they referre to the imperfect child when the woman abhorts and the Rabins call it Asiman which word they borrowed from the Greekes as money not sealed or stamped therefore the Law saith Si exierint jeladébha nati ejus her sonnes the Law then meaneth of a perfect and a formed infant when a resonable soule quickens it Why should one give life for life when as yet the life is not perfect Adams body perfectly fashioned saith Augustine received life and not before So infants bodies perfectly fashioned receive the reasonable soule The soule is joyned to the body to make up one person Prop. The soule is not in the body Illust as a man dwelling in his house or a Sayler in the shippe for a house will stand without the man but the body decayeth without the soule shee is not in the body as the Spider in her web as Chalcidius held determinate to one part of the body and from thence giving vertue and influence to the whole body as the spider dwelling in the middle of her Cob-web feeles the least touch in the webbe either within or without Neither dwels the soule in the body as water into a vessell or as one liquor into another or as the heate in the fire but as the morning light imparts the beames here and there and in an instant doth unite her selfe to the transparent ayre in all and every part thereof still resting whole when the ayre is divided abiding pure when the ayre is corrupted So the soule filleth the body beeing all in all and all in every part and as the Sunne bringeth light from above although we behold it in the ayre so the soule springs from eternall light although shee shew her powers in the body and as the Sunne in diverse places worketh diverse effects here Harvest there Spring here Evening there Morning so doth the soule in our little world worke diversely upon diverse objects here shee attracts there shee decocts here shee quickens there shee makes to grow the light shines by it selfe without the ayre but not the ayre without the light so the soule lives by it selfe but the body cannot live without the soule But as in all comparisons there is some dissimilitude so it is here for the light is but a qualitie but the Soule is a substance the light comes from the substance of the Sunne but the Soule is not of the Essence of God This conjunction betwixt the soule and the body is so neere that it makes up one Person and this is the reason why the soules long for the bodies Revel 6.10 to bee joyned againe to them in the resurrection The soule was joyned to the body to make up one Person Consequence and to dwell perpetually in the body but since the fall the soule is from home in the body and absent from the Lord Prop. 2. Cor. 6. The Soule is appointed onely to animate one Body Illust The body of a flee must onely have the life of a flee in it Anima non est unibilis omni corporised organino naturall ad susceptionem corporis apto the Soule of a man cannot animate the body of an other Man or an Elephant Materiae individuales ejusdem speciei sunt ita determinatae ut nullam aliam formam ejusdem speciei recipere possunt that is Every body of that same kinde is so determinate that it cannot receive any other forme of the same kind but the owne The soule can animate no body but the owne body of it Consequence therefore they erre who thinke that the Soule of Man may enter into the body of a beast and animate it 2. The Pythagareans and the Iewes erre who held that the soules went from one body to another Marke 6.16 The soule was placed in the body Prop. to animate and to rule it There are two things required in a forme First Illust 1 that it give a being to the matter Secondly that the forme and matter make up one thing so doth the Soule of man give being to the body and makes up one Person with the body Object But seeing the soule is a spirituall thing and the body corporall of two different natures how can they make up one person Answ The more excellent that the forme is the more nearely it is joyned to the matter and makes the neerer conjunction with it So the soule of man joyned with his body makes a more stricter conjunction then the life of the beast joyned with his body But if the body were of the same nature with the soule it should not make up one person as the life of the beast joyned with the body makes not up one Person because of the basenesse of the forme which is onely drawne out of the matter Wee beleeve that Christ tooke upon him the nature of Man and therefore a soule Illust 2 which would not follow if the soule were not an essentiall part of man but onely a ruler of the body Christs Divinity might have ruled his humanity But Apollinaris was condemned for taking away of Christs Soule and putting onely his Divinity in place of a soule to rule the body There are some
onely followes Gods foreknowledge and is not an effect of it for there is a twofold connexion of things first of the cause with the effect and so the effect necessarily followeth the cause Secondly Duplex connexiorcrum 1. causa cum effectu 2. ante cedentis cum conse quente of the antecedent with the consequent the finne of the Antichrist is the consequent of Gods decree infallibly but not productively because the decree is not the cause of it Object But it may seeme that Gods decree is the cause of sinne Ioh. 12.39 They could not beleeve for Esay said he blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts Here it night seeme that the Prophets prediction was the cause of the hardning of their hearts and not the antecedent of it onely Answ These evill things God foreseeth to fall out because they are to fall out and they fall not out because hee foreseeth them to fall out when I see a man writing he writes not because I see him writing but because he is writing therfore I see him write so the Antichrist sinneth not because God foresaw him to sinne but because the Antichrist was to sinne therefore God foresaw him to sinne God foreseeth other waies good actions for he decreeth them and they fall out as effects of his decree but it is farre otherwaies in mans sinfull actions for they are not the effects of Gods decree but a necessary consequent of it The essentiall property of the Will which is libertie cannot be changed but the equalitie of the Will which is good or evill may be changed There are two things to be considered in the will First 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the essence of it Secondly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the operation of the Will the essence of the Will cannot be changed but the operation may bee changed it may lose holinesse and sanctification in the choyce but not the essence of it a clocke when it is out of frame sheweth the time but not the true time of the day and as the saylers compasse striken with thunder the point of the needle stands alwayes at some ayrth but not at the right ayrth and so when Wine is turned into Vinegar it keepeth still the colour and quantitie but it hath lost the right relish so the Will of man after the fall freely chuseth that which it chuseth Non corrumpitur quoad agendi radicem sed terminum A collation betwixt the innocent and old Adam Man in his first estateÌ„ willed onely good both in the end and in the meanes but man in his corrupt estate wils the end either as good or apparant good but he maketh choyse of the meanes often as evill the will respects the end and election the meanes no man wils the end as it is evill but the meanes leading to this end are oftentimes chosen as evill The adulterer and the theefe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sed media eleguntur plerunque ut mala ut finem assequamur they will the proper ends of their adultery and theft which are pleasure and gaine as good or at the least good in show but the meanes they know are oftentimes evill and chuse them as evill that they may attaine to their ends Againe the unregenerate man sometimes wils the end but not the meanes Prov. 13.4 The sluggard wils and he wils not he wils the end because it is good but he wils not the meanes because they are painfull and laborious so Hos 10.11 Ephraim as an oxe delighted in threshing but not in plowing hee delighted in threshing because the oxe might not bee muzled when hee did thresh Deut. 25.4 but hee delighted not in plowing that is to take the paines to plow up his heart and mortifie his sinnes Balaam wished that he might die the death of the righteous Numb 23.14 but hee endeavoured not to live the life of the righteous Man after his fall had liberty in civill and morall actions Prop. This libertie which man hath now in his corrupt estate Illust unto any good hath sundry impediments both outward and inward Impedimenta libertatis humana sunt vel extra se vel inâ—se and although our election be free yet the execution thereof is not in our hands There be three externall impediments in our libertie first Gods overuling of the will of Man who although hee take not away the libertie of the will from us Impedimenta externa sunt deus diabolus externa obiecta yet he oftentimes furthers us in good and hinders us in evill and bridles so the fury of the wicked that they cannot come to the ends which they ayme at as wee see in Ieroboam 1 King 13.5 and Sennacherib Esa 37.29 For the wayes of man are not in his owne power Pro. 16.9 The second inpediment of our libertie is Sathans seducing who oftentimes seduceth the will when it is inclyned to good and perswades it to evill Ephe. 2.2 which perswasion is effectuall in the sonnes of infidelitie sometimes Sathan hindreth the children of God as hee hindered the Apostle that hee should not come to the Thessalonians 1 Thess 4.17.18 The third outward impeÌ„diment is the multitude of objects laid before us which partly allure the minde if they be pleasant and terrifie the minde in they be fearefull Impedimenta interna sunt destitutio imaginis Dei caecitas intellectus infirmitas violuntatis naturalis violentia pronitas ad maluÌ„ vehementia affectionum The inward impediments which hinder the wills libertie are First the want of Gods image Secondly the blindnesse of the understanding Thirdly the infirmitie of the will Fourthly a naturall violence Fifthly a pronenesse to evill Sixtly the vehemencie of the affections which draw the will after them and trouble the Iudgement CHAP. XVII Of Mans Will in his conversion IN the first point of Mans Conversion Prop. God in fufeth a new habite of grace The conversion of Man is not wrought The third property of the Will first by stirring up of his Will Illust or by alluring or perswading him but by powring grace into the heart Socrates said that hee was but to his schollers like a midwife for a midwife doth nothing but helpeth forth the birth already conceived so he said that he onely but drew forth the wit which was naturally within the schollers But it is not so in the first point of a man conversion for the Preacher doth not helpe forth the graces in a man but he is like a father begetting him a new a gaine through the Gospel 1. Cor. 4.15 Man before his conversion to grace is passive Illust There is in some patient a neere power Potentia vel est propinqua vel remoto passiva vel mere passiva as when powder is laid to the fire it hath a neere power to bee kindled by the fire Secondly there is in some patient a remote power as when greene wood is laid to the fire it may bee kindled
not to have willed it for as Thomas in his Booke contra gentiles saith Quaedam eveniunt ex necessitate suppositionis immutabilitatis eo modo quo provisa sunt sciz contingenter liberè ea quae Deus determinavit liberè contingenter eventura ea contingenter evenient necessariò quae determinavit necessanò That is some things fall out by necessitie of supposition and immutabilitie that same way whereby they are foreseene to wit contingently and freely but those things which God hath determinated to fall out contingently and freely they shall fall out contingently and those things that he hath determinate necessarily to come to passe shall of necessetie be Quest Seeing the purposes of God are but absolute why are his promises and threatnings set downe conditionally Answ He sets them downe conditionally to move sinners more earnestly to repent Ion. 3.5 Yet fortie dayes and Ninive shall be destroyed But hee keepes up the condition here to move the Ninivites the more earnestly to repentance and the event sheweth that this was Gods purpose not to destroy the Ninivites because they repented here by degrees he manifests his counsell unto them Example when a towne is beleaguered the Counsaile of warre ordaines that whosoever goes upon the walles shall die the death this is to terrifie souldiers that they goe not upon the wals the enemie make a sudden assault in the night a souldier runnes up upon the walles and repells the enemy whether shall this man die for it or not the Counsell of warre explaines themselves and that which they set out absolutely before they interpret it now this way our meaning was that no souldier should goe up upon the walles that hee might not give intelligence to the enemy but this souldier hath repelled the enemy therefore hee hath not violated our Law neither is he culpable of death See the example of Ionathan 1 Sam. 13. So when God saith fortie dayes and Ninive shall be destroyed keeping up the condition if they repented not when they repent he explaines his former sentence and shewes that it was not absolutely his meaning they should die but onely to terrifie them and to moove them to repentance The Iesuites when they subordinate the Will of man to the conditionall knowledge of God they leave mans will indifferent here to chuse or not to chuse and upon this freedome of mans will they ground the decree of God to predestinate this man and to reject that man But if this platforme hold then it will follow that when the will of this man imbraceth grace Voluntas neque est causa neque conditio predestinationis ut Iesuitae statuunt and the will of that refuseth it it must either be the cause of predestination or the condition but no Christian ever said that the will of man was the cause of predestination except the Pelagians and their followers if they make this act of the will the condition of mans election then they jumpe with the Arminians who measure the efficacie of grace from the event of the will which notwithstanding some of the Iesuits strongly denie Quest If the will be neither the cause nor condition of our predestination which is it then Ans It is but a meane for the fulfilling of mans predestination for a mans name is not written in the Booke of life because hee assents willingly to the promises of the Gospel and beleeves them but because his name is written in the booke of life therefore hee beleeves Act. 13.48 As many as were ordained unto eternall life beleeved If a King should discerne that none should be courtiers with him unlesse they were trained first up in the warres this trianing up in the warres is neither the cause not yet the condition which mooves the King to make choise of them it is a meane whereby they are received into the Court but no motive which mooved the King So Faith whereby a man is adopted to be the Sonne of God is neither the cause nor yet the condition which mooves God to elect Man but whom he electeth freely them he gives to beleeve If it be asked of Bellermine wherfore this man is saved and not that man hee will answere that there is no other cause but the good pleasure and will of God Secondly if it bee asked of him why he gives this man gratiam congruam or fitting grace and not that man hee will answer because his will is to save this man and not that man Thirdly if it be asked of him wherefore this man receives grace and not that man he will answere because grace is fitting for this man and not for that man hee calles this fitting grace not when the will is determinate by grace as wee hold Physica determinatione Triplex determinatio physica eventu moralis or Hyperphysica rather neither will he make it to depend ab eventu as the Arminians doe from the Will of man but hee findes out a middle betwixt these two placing it onely in morall perswasions and the efficacy of the willes determination to depend upon Gods grace for God saith hee foreseeth Duplex sensus divisus compositus that the will cannot refuse because hee hath fitted it so to the will at this time and in this place so that he cannot now absolutely reject the grace of God but conditionally and he saith in sensu diviso hee may reject the grace of God but not in sensu composito Example when I see a man writing he cannot but write and yet considering this act of writing by it selfe he writes freely so joyning Mans Will with Gods Decree a man cannot but Will and yet respecting the Will in it selfe he may Will grace or not Will it when it is offered to him because grace doth determinate his Will saith he here he wills infallibiliter sed non necessariò Dupliciter aliquis vult infallibiliter necessario But the Arminians hold that the conversion of man altogether depends from his Will and that there is no other cause why this man chuseth and that man refuseth grace but onely the will Fourthly if it be asked whether or no this man may resist the grace of God or not he will answer by the absolute freedome of his will hee may resist it by this it followeth that they will establish a reall act in the will which is neither subject to Gods providence nor predestination but if they acknowledged the consent of the will to be a meane for the fulfilling of predestination in this we would agree with them Secondly Triplex gratia sufficiens abundans efficax the Iesuites that they may pleade for free will make three sorts of grace sufficient abundant and effectuall grace and they make abundant grace a higher degree than sufficient grace as that grace which was offered to Corazin and Bethsaida Matth. 11. because they had a more effectuall calling than Tyre and Sidon they make that effectuall grace
leaprous the Doctor prescribes him to drink some poison for his health now in his understanding he conceiveth what a good thing his health is and in that hee rejoyceth there is no sadnesse in the understanding here taking the understanding strictly so hee wils his health taking the will strictly and there is no sadnesse in it neither but when he wils his health by this physicke and remembers that he must drinke this poyson here comes in the sadnesse There was griefe and sadnesse in Christs soule Conseq both in the superior and inferior faculties therefore these who hold that Christ suffered onely in his soule by simpathy from the paines which arose from the body not immediatly in his soule extenuate mightily our Lords sufferings for the soule of Christ was immediately the object of the wrath of God and therfore the Prophet Esay cha 55 9 calleth them his deaths because he suffered the first death and the equivalent of the second death for us The dignity of Christs person 1. made him acceptable in the sight of God 2. it made his sufferings to be meritorious 3. his sufferings were meritorious for compensation in circumstances but not in substance therefore death it self could not be remitted to him neither griefe horror nor sadnesse in the first two respects But because some things were unbeseeming the person of Christ as the torments of hel the compensation of this was supplied by the worthinesse of the person yet he suffered the equivalent of it in paine and smart and this bred his sorrow Example a man is owing a summe of money to his neighbour either he payes him back againe in the same kind as gold for gold or by the equivalent as silver for gold and this is sufficient to discharge the summe So Christ payed the equivalent of the paines of hell to God his Father If a man be owing his neighbour such a summe either he must pay it or goe to prison to goe to the prison is not a part of the summe for if he pay it before he goe to prison hee hath satisfied the debt So Christ suffering these paines for us although he descended not really into hell to suffer yet he payed the debt and for this his soule was heavy even unto the death Math. 26.38 The sadnesse of the regenerate is a sadnesse that hath respect to God A collation betwixt the renued and old Adam which bringeth salvation but the sorrow of the worldlings brings death to them 2 Cor. 7.10 The sadnesse which is towards God brings repentance to salvation which is not to bee repented of but the sadnesse of the world brings death Quest Can godly sorrow make a man sad seeing God is the most comfortable object Answ The beholding of God in himselfe can bring no sadnesse to man for he is a most comfortable object but the beholding of sinne which hindreth us from the cleare sight of that object which is most comfortable it is that which breedes the sorrow in the regenerate The remedies to cure Sadnesse To cure this passion of sadnesse first we must consider that it is sometimes set upon the wrong object sometimes it is immoderately set upon the right object When is is set upon the wrong object Duplex objectum tristitiae verum falsum it must be turned to the right object Wee are not to comfort a man so long as the passion is set upon a wrong object but wee must doe as the saylers doe who when they are in a wrong course turne the ship another way Secondly Verum objectum tristitiae vel est in defectu vel excessu when the passion is set upon the right object if the passion be in defect then the passion must be more sharpened as the sayles are to be hoysed up when it is too calme but if the passion be too vehement then it must be moderate for if the wind bee too great then the sayles must be pulled downe a little Secondly reason must sharply censure this passion and chide it and say with David Psal 43. Why art thou cast downe my soule for if reason speak but gently to this sullen passion it will be more sullen as Eli's insolent sons after the mild reproofe of their father were more insolent 1 Sam. 2.25 The Iewes tooke a wrong course to nourish this passion of sadnesse and to give way to it first they hyred mourning women Amos 5.16 these were called praeficae and siticines quia apud sitos id est sepulchroconditos canerâ—solebant secondly they used in their burials when those of older age were buried to sound the dead sound with a Trumpet or with a Cornet and this the Poet approveth when he saith Cum signum luctus cornu grave mugit adunco _____ That is On cornet pipes they play the mournfull sound When corpse of aged men are layde in ground But when their little children died they used to play upon a Whistle or some small pipe which Coelius Rodigin makes manifest thus Tibia cui teneros suetum deducere manes Lege Phrygum maesta _____ That is Whose use it was with musicke to convay The tender soules the Phrygian mournfull way When Iairus his little daughter was dead Math. 9.23 Christ thrust out the minstrels who played at her death When they hired mourning women and minstrels to nourish this passion they did as if a mother should hire a bawde to prostitute her daughter When thou art in thy griefe behold the joyes reserved for us in heaven this will settle thy griefe the Thessalonians mourned immoderately for the dead like heathen 1 Thess 4.13 because they remembred not that glorious resurrection Remember Christs passion the Prophet Esay saith that it was with his stripes that we are healed Esai 53.5 The first stripe that Christ got in his passion was this sadnesse And hee began to bee sorrowfull Math 26.38 My soule is heavy to the death and this breeds joy to us remember also that Christ was annoynted with the oyle of gladnesse above his fellowes to make us glad Psal 45. Goe to the Preacher to whom the Lord hath given the tongue of the learned Esay 50.4 that he may speak a word in due season to the weary heart the Preacher must not comfort for worldly sorrow but rather make them for this more sorrowfull so when he seeth the sinner cast downe he must then remit of his severity and then begin to comfort him It was the fault of the Church of Corinth 1 Cor. 5. when they saw the incestuous Corinthian too much humbled for his fault and like to be swallowed up with griefe that they would remit nothing of the strictnesse of their censures so the Primitive Church was too strict in their censures continuing the penitents too long under them which brought in Satisfaction afterward in the Church Let us use the remedy of the Sacraments the Iewes used to give these who were carried to execution wine applying that place Prov. 30. to this
fourfold sin the first is called vitium personae Quadruplex vitium personae gentis vocationis saeculi the sinne of the person that they reprooved which was the sin of a particular man Secondly vitium gentis the sinne of a whole nation that sin they reprooved as the Prophets reproved the Iewes for their stiffeneckednesse and hypocrisie Thirdly ther is vitium vocationis the sin of a mans calling as Rahab is called a Taverner by Ios 2.1 But Iames calls her a Harlot Iames 2.25 This sin they reproved Fourthly there is vitium saeculi when the sinne over-spreds all is universally received as polygamy among the Iewes and this ye shall find the prophets seldome to have reproved Quest Whether had the Iewes any dispensation of God in this their polygamie Answ Some hold that God gave them a dispensation and to prove this first they say that some Lawes are stable as the ordinances of the Church Lex sancta vel est slabilis immobilis velincommutobilis which every man may not alter Secondly some lawes are immoveable as the Lawes given by God himselfe in his second Table cannot be dispensed with but by God himselfe who gave them Thirdly some Lawes are incommutable which cannot be changed by God himself without a staine of his holinesse They say that these lawes of the second table which God had made flow not necessarily from him as his justice and holinesse doe but freely for these he wills or not wills without any staine of his holinesse As for example God is to be loved therefore a man may not marry his brothers wife this doth not follow necessarily in the strictest signification but the precepts of the first table cannot bee dispensed with by God without a staine of his holinesse As for example God is to be beloved therfore he cannot dispence that one should hate him sine intrinseca repugnantia They say that God dispensed with the fathers in polygamy because God is aboue the Law which is given betwixt creature and creature which in that respect is immoveable although God himselfe may change it But hee is not aboue the eternall law because hee is not above himselfe therefore hee cannot dispence with that law which is repugnant to his eternity and glory and these are the precepts of the first table But seeing polygamy is in the second table God might dispence with it without any staine of his holinesse Againe when it is demanded of these men what scripture they can bring for this dispensation They answer that God himselfe saith to Abraham Gen. 21. Hearken vnto Sarah in whatsoever she saith to thee by this admonition Abraham was mooved to cast out Hagar and her sonne although this might have seemed contrary to the law of nature therefore the Text saith this seemed hard to Abraham So when God saith to Abraham Hearken vnto Sarah in whatsoever shee saith to thee and Sarah bade him take his owne hand-maide Gen. 16.1 then Sarah was Gods mouth to him in that point also Answ These words Hearken unto Sarah in all that she saith are not to bee vnderstood in whatsoever shee saith but in all that shee saith concerning Hagar and her sonne in that he was to hearken to her Againe Abraham tooke Hagar before he got this direction for to hearken to Sarah so that this place can be no warrant for a dispensation to the Patriarchs in their polygamy it was onely a permission which God yeelded unto for the time as hee granted them a bill of divorce for the hardnesse of their hearts but God cannot dispence with any of his lawes neither in the first nor second Tables they are so neere joyned together that those which breake the one doe breake the other also Quest Why did not God punish this sinne in the fathers Answ God doth three things concerning sin First he pardons sinne secondly he punisheth sinne thirdly he passeth by sinne Triafacit Deus peccatoribus remittit peccatum punit peccatum praeterit peccatum Rom. 3.23 By the forgivenesse of sinnes that passed by A sinne actually forgiven and a sinne passed by differ A sinne is actually pardoned in the elect comming to knowledge when they have remorse for their sinne and finde the benefit of the pardon of the sinne in particular But God passeth by a sinne when the sinner in particular knoweth not this sinne to bee a sinne which hee commits and yet the remission of this sinne is concluded within the remission of the rest of their sinnes The fathers when they got a remission of the rest of their sinnes in the bloud of Christ they got also the remission of the sinne of polygamie which was their sinne of ignorance and therefore they were to offer a sacrifice for the sinnes of ignorance Levit. 4.15.17 and among the rest for this polygamie Quest How differed concubines then from other wives First they were not solemnly married as the other wives neither was there any solemne contract betwixt them as betwixt the man and the wife they had not dowrie their sonnes did not inherit yet when they were married the Scripture cals them wives Iudg. 19.1 2 after that Absolon knew Davids concubines 2 Samuel 16. David shut them up and hee knew them no more but he closed them up to the day of their death and they lived in widowhood whence Lyra gathereth well that these concubines were wives Againe to prove that polygamie is sinne and unlawfull it is confirmed by Christs words when hee reduced marriage to the first institution againe Math. 19. Whosoever puts away his wife and marrieth another commits whoredome much more he who keepes his wife and takes another to her commits whoredome The Apostle 1 Cor. 7. gives the like authority to the wife over the husband as he giveth to the man over the wife as it was never lawfull for the wife to have moe husbands at once therefore it was not lawfull for a man from the beginning to have moe wives at once This neere conjunction betwixt man and the wife Prop. is called cleaving to her Gen. 2. Christ when he expoundes these words Illust hee saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 agglutinatur uxori hee is glewed to his wife for as glew joynes two things together and makes them one so should love be a glewing of their hearts together amor coniugalis debet esse reciprocus the glew must take hold on both sides Triplex est conjunctio naturalis politica spiritualis or else the conjunction will not last long There is a threefold conjunction first naturall secondly polytike and thirdly spirituall the first is common to us with the beasts the second with the heathen and the third proper onely to the Christian this third must be the chiefe ingredient this is that which they say Nuptiae inchoantur in coelis perficiuntur in terris Marriages are begun in heaven and perfected upon the earth then thalamus erit pro templo thorus pro