Ezek. 18.20 falsifie the truth that may not be And then steppes up Righteousnesse and seconds her Righteousnesse seconding her Psal. 145.17 that GOD as He is true in His word so is He righteous in all His workes So to reddere suum cuique to render each his owne to every one that is his due and so to the sinner stipendium peccati the wages of sinne that is death God forbid Rom. 6.23 the Iudge of the world should iudge unjustly that were as before to make Truth false so heere to do Right wrong Nay it went further and they made it their owne cases What shall become of me said Righteousnesse What use of Iustice if GOD will doe no justice if He spare sinners And what use of me sayth Mercie if He spare them not Hard hold there was inasmuch as Perij nisi homo moriatur sayd Righteousnesse I dye if he dye not And Perij nisi Misecicordiam consequatur sayd Mercie if he dye I dye too To this it came and in those termes brake up the meeting and away they went one from the other Truth went into exile as a stranger upon earth The first meeting broken up Terras Astraea reliquit she confined her selfe in Heaven where so aliened she was as she would not so much as looke downe hither upon us Mercie she staid below still ubi enim Misericordia esset sayth Hugo well si cum misero non esset Where should Mercie be if with miserie she should not be As for Peace she went betweene both to see if she could make them meet againe in better termes For without such a meeting no good to be done for us For meet they must and that in other termes or it will goe wrong with us Our Salvation lies a bleeding all this while The Plea hangs and we stand as the prisoner at the barre and know not what shall become of us For though two be for us there are two against us as strong and more stiffe then they So that much depends upon this second Meeting upon the composing or taking up this difference For these must be at peace betweene themselves before they at peace with us or we with GOD. And this is sure we shall never meet in heaven if they meet no more And many meanes were made for this meeting many times but it would not be Where stayed it It was not long of Mercie she would be easily entreated to give a new meeting no question of her Oft did she looke up to heaven but Righteousnesse would not looke downe Not look not that Small hope she would be got to meet that would not look that way-ward Indeed all the question is of her It is Truth and she that holds of but specially She. Vpon the Birth you see heer is no mention of any in particular but of Her as much to say as the rest might be dealt with she only it was that stood out And yet she must be got to meet or els no meeting No meeting till Iustice satisfied All the hope is that she doth not refuse simply never to meet more but stands vpon satisfaction Els Righteousnesse should not be righteous Being satisfied then she will remaining vnsatisfied so she will not meet All stands then on her satisfying how to devise to give her satisfaction to her mind that so she may be content once more not to meet and argue as yer-while but to meet and kisse meet in a ioynt concurrence to save us and set us free And indeed Hoc opus there lies all how to set a song of these foure parts in good harmonie how to make these meet at a love-day how to satisfie Iustice upon whom all the stay is Not in any but the Christian Religion And this say I no Religion in the world doth or can doe but the Christian. No Queer sing this Psalme but ours None make Iustice meet but it Consequently None quiet the conscience soundly but it Consequently no Religion but it Withall religions els at odds they be and so as they are faigne to leave them so For meanes in the world have they none how to make them meet Not hable for their lives to tender Iustice a Satisfaction that will make her come in The words next before are that glorie may dwell in our land Verse 9. This glorie doth dwell in our land indeed And great cause have we all highly to blesse GOD Psal. 16.6 that hath made our lott to fall in so faire a ground That we were not borne to enherit a lie that we were borne to keepe this Feast of this Meeting For bid any of them all but shew you the way how to satisfie Iustice soundly and to make her come to this meeting how GODS Word may be true and His worke just and the Sinner find mercie and be saved for all that They cannot The Christian onely can doe it and none els All beside for lack of this passe by the wounded man and let him lie still and bleed to death Luk. 10.31.32 Bid the Turke All he can say is Mahomets prayer shall be upon you Mahomets prayer what is that Say he were that he was not a just man a true Prophet What can his prayers doe but move Mercie But GODS Iustice how is that answered Who shall satisfie that Not prayers Iustice is not moved with them heares them not goes on to sentence for all them He can goe no further he cannot make justice meet Bid the Heathen he sayes better yet then the Turke They saw that without shedding of blood there was no satisfying Iustice Heb 9.22 and so no remission of sinne To satisfie her sacrifices they had of beasts But it is impossible as the Apostle well notes that the blood of bulls or goats should satisfie for our sinnes Heb. 10.4 A man Sinne and a beast dye Iustice will none of that What then will ye goe as farr as some did the fruit of my body for the sinne of my soule Mic. 6.7 Nor that neither For if it were the first borne the first borne was borne in Sinne and Sinne for Sinne can never satisfie This Meeting will not be there Bid the Iew he can but tell you of his Lamb neither And while time was that was not amisse while it stood in reference to Saint Iohn Baptists Lamb Ioh 1.29 the LAMB of GOD this day yeaned as having the operation the working in the vertue of that That being now past there is no more in the Iewe's then in the Gentiles sacrifice Beasts both both short of satisfying So for all that these can doe or say no meeting will there be had Onely the Christian Religion that shewes the true way There is One there thus speaketh to Iustice Sacrifice and sinne-offerings thou wouldest not have then said I Lo I come He of whom it was written in the volume of the booke Psal. 40.6 c. that He should do
and as much as in us lies Heb. 6.6 even crucifie afresh the SONNE OF GOD making a mocke of Him and His piercings These I say for these all and every of them in that instant were before his eyes must of force enter into and go thorow and thorow his Soule and Spirit that what with those former sorrowes and what with these after indignities the Prophet might truly say of Him and he of himselfe In Me Vpon Me not whose body or whose soule but whom entirely and wholly both in body and soule alive and dead they have pierced and passioned this day on the Crosse. 2. The Person à quibus Of the Persons which as it is necessarily implied in the word is very properly incident to the matter it selfe For it is usuall when one is found slaine as heere to make inquirie by whom he came by his death Which so much the rather is to be done by us because there is commonly an error in the world touching the Parties that were the causes of CHRIST 's death Our manner is either to lay it on the Souldiers that were the Instruments Or if not upon them upon Pilate and Iudge that gave sentence Or if not upon him upon the people that importuned the Iudge Or lastly if not upon them upon the Elders of the Iewes that animated the People And this is all to be found by our Quest of Inquirie But the Prophet heere inditeth others For by saying They shall looke c whom They have pierced he entendeth by very construction that the first and second They are not two but one and the same Parties And that they that are here willed to looke upon him are they and none other that were the authors of this fact even of the murther of IESVS CHRIST And to say truth the Prophet's entent is no other but to bring the malefactors themselves that pierced Him to view the body and the wounded heart of Him whom they have so pierced In the course of Iustice we say and say truly when a party is put to death that the Executioner cannot be said to be the cause of his death nor the Sherif by whose commandement he doth it neither yet the Iudge by whose sentence nor the Twelve men by whose verdict nor the Lawe it selfe by whose authoritie it is proceeded in For GOD forbid we should endite these or any of these of murther Solum peccatum homicida Sinne and Sinne onely is the murtherer Sinne I say either of the Party that suffereth or of some other by whose meanes or for whose cause he is put to death Now CHRIST 's owne sinne it was not that he died for That is most evident Not so much by His owne challenge Ioh. 8·46 Quis ex vobis a guit me de peccato as by the report of his Iudge who openly professed that he had examined Him and found no fault in Him No nor yet Herod for Luc. 23.14 15. being sent to him and examined by him also nothing worthy death was found in Him And therefore calling for water and washing his hands Matt. 27.24 he protesteth his owne innocencie of the bloud of this IVST MAN Thereby pronouncing him Iust and void of any cause in himselfe of his owne death It must then necessarily be the sinne of some others for whose sake CHRIST IESVS was thus pierced And if we aske who those others be or whose sinnes they were the Prophet Esai tells us Esa. 53.3 4. Posuit super Eum iniquitates omnium nostrûm He laid upon Him the transgressions of us all who should even for those our many great and grievous transgressions have eternally been pierced in bodie and soule with torment and sorrowes of a never dying death had not he stept between us and the blow and receiv'd it in his owne body even the dint of the wrath of GOD to come upon us So that it was the sinne of our polluted hands that pierced his hands the swiftnesse of our feet to do evill that nailed His feet the wicked devises of our Heads that gored his head and the wretched desires of our hearts that pierced his heart We that looke upon it is we that pierced Him and it is we that pierced Him that are willed to looke upon Him Which bringeth it home to us to me my selfe that speake and to you your selves that heare and applieth it most effectually to every one of us who evidently seeing that we were the cause of this his piercing if our hearts be not too too hard ought to have remorse to be pierced with it When for delivering to DAVID a few loaves Ahimelech and the Priests were by Saul put to the sword if David did then acknowledge with griefe of heart and say I 1. Sam. 22.22 even I am the cause of the death of thâ— Father anâ— all his house when he was but onely the occasion of it and not that direct neither may not we nay ought not we much more juâ—â—ly and deservedly say of this piercing of CHRIST our Saviour that we verily even we are the cause thereof as verily we are even the principalls in this murther and the Iewes and others on whom we seeke to derive it but onely accessaries and instrumentall causes thereof Which point we ought as continually so seriously to thiâ—k of and that no lesse then the former The former to stirre up compassion in our selves over him that thus was pierced the latter to worke deâ—pâ— remorse in our hearts for being authors of it That he was pierced will make our bowells melt with compassion over CHRIST That he was pierced by us â—hat looke on Him if our hearts be not flint as Iob saith or as the nether mil-stone Iob. 41.15 will breed remorse over our selves wretched sinners as we are II. The Act. To looke upon Him The Act followeth in these words Respicient in Eum. A request most reasonable to looke upon Him but to looke upon Him to bestow but a looke and nothing els which even of common humanitie we cannot denie Quia non aspicere despicere est It argueth great contempt not to vouchsafe it the cast of our eye as if it were an Obiect utterly unworthy the looking toward Truely if we marke it well nature it selfe of it selfe enclineth to this act When Amasa treacherously was slaine by Ioab and lay weltring in his blood by the waies side the storie saith that not one of the whole Armie then marching by but when he came at him 2. Sam. 22.12 stood still and looked on him In the Gospell the party that going from Ierusalem to Iericho vvas spoiled and wounded and lay drawing on though the Priest and Levite that passed neere the place relieved him not as the Samaritan after did yet it is said of them Luc. 31 32. they went neere and looked on and then passed on their way Which desire is even naturall in us so that even Nature it selfe enclineth us to
and ours it must be reposita with him reponenda with us to be lodged and layed up in our bosomes against we be layd into the bosome of the earth Indeed sculpsit in lapide is nothing without reponi in sinu Graving in stone will doe no good without laying it up in the bosome IOB fearing it should seeme if he had but barely propounded the point following I. The Paâ—asâ—â—ue or preparation Iobs wish it would have been but slenderly regarded doth enforce himselfe to sett it downe with some solemnitie to make the deeper impression which I call the Parasceue that we might not reckon of it as a light holy-day but as a high feast He would have the Scio of it stamped in stone as worthie everlasting remembrance and the Spero of it carefully laid up as worthie pretious accompt It is as much as Saint Paul had sayd It is a faithfull saying and by all meanes worthie to be received 1. Tim. 1.15.4.9 For the Scio faithfull for the spero worthie all receiving For the truth to be graven in marble for the comfort to be lodged in the bosome For the first thus he proceedeth He was dying now and seeing he must dye one thing he had he would not have dye with him It was that when he had lost all he kept in his bosome still when all comforters and comforts forsooke him and as he saith his Physicians grew of no value he found comfort in This he thought it was pittie should perish but though de dye it live It was certaine words and because they had been cordiall to him had been to him and might be to otheâ—s he desires they might remaine to memorie and because writing serves to that end they might be written Which his wish of writing consists of three degrees is as it were three wishes in one 1. They be words 1 That it were written Chap 6 26· and because words be but winde his owne Proverbe that they might not blow away with the winde he wisheth they were written Quis mihi tribuat Who will helpe him to a Clerke to set them downe in writing 2. But then he bethinks himselfe better they were no common ordinarie matter therefore not be committed to common ordinarie writing 2. Written in a booke So they might be rent or lost they be more worth then so Therefore now secondly he mends his wish he would not have them to be barely written but registred in a booke enrolled upon record as publike instruments mens deeds judiciall proceeding or as the verie word gives it Acts of Parliament or whatâ—oever is most authenticall 3. And yet upon further advise he calls backe that too by a third wish â— Written in sâ—onâ— with a pen of â—on fâ—â—ever If they were upon record Records will last long yet even them time will iniure No inke no parchmene but will decay with time Now these he would have last for ever therefore he gives over his Scribe and in stead of him wisheth for a Graver no paper or parchmene will serve it must be stone and the hardest stone the rocke For this paper he must have a penne of iron that he wisheth too But here is mention of lead what is to be done with that If we beleeue the Hebrewes that best knew the fashion of their Countrie Monuments when it is graven the graving may be choked with soile and the edges of the letters being rough and uneven may be worne in or broken and so defaced to provide for that the graving he would haue filled with leade that so it might keep smooth and even from defacing and full from choking up That it be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the lâ—st word that is last for ever to the last Ages and Generations to come never to be worne but to hold for ever If it were tâ—e best in the world more câ—nnot be done or wished then this and this he wisheth and not coldly but earnestly Oh that it were would God it were Quâ—â—ihi triâ—uaâ— Who will do so much Who as if he were earnest begging of God and man to have it done Now in the name of GOD what may this be that all this worke is kept about It is the worke of this day And why would not a booke serve for this Why in stone c. Why no remedy but it must be in stoâ—e There want not reasons Let me touch some few Mâ—sâ—s and Iob are holden to haâ—e lived at one time Mose's law was graven in stone 1. Reason Exod. 34 1. 1. Cor. 15.14 we know This of Iob heer is Gospell the substance the chief article of it No reason the law in tables of stone and the Gospell in sheets of paper Good reason Iob as zealous for the Gospell as Moses for the Law If that wrought in stone this no lesse as firme and durable as it every way And the same reason is for the yron penn As the stone for the law so the penn for the Prophetts If in the Prophett Ier. 17.1 mens sinnes be written with a penn of yron meet the discharge should be written no lesse deepe with as hard a penn as it that so the characters of one may match the other at each point 2. Reason 1. Cor. 10 4. This for Moses now for our Redeemer There it was meet ut de Petrâ in petrá Petra autem CHRISTVS Our Redeemer is a Rock O LORD my Rock my Redeemer saith David or my Redeemer of the Rock Psal. 19.15 alluding to this of Iob Kindly it is it should be wrought in the Rocke that is of the Redeemer who is the Rocke And so the resurrection 1. Cor. 15.54 being a putting on incorruption would not be written in corruptible stuffe but in that commeth neerest to incorruption and is least of all subiect to corrupt and decay The words would be immortall that treat of immortalitie 3. Reason A third in respect of those Works that are usually wrought of stone as Grave-stones as Arches Triumphall The resurrection is mors mortis saith Osee ô death I will be thy death Hos 13.14 1. Cor. 15.54.55 for the death of him that is the death of us all heer is a grave-stone allowed and an Epitaphe graven on it Heer it is and so doth Nazianzen call this Scripture Esa. 25.8 1. Cor. 15.54 Death's Epitaphe Either if as Esay saith Death by CHRIST 's rising be swallowed up in victorie a trophee of this victorie would remaine and that as all victories in a Pyramis of stone and that Arch-wise on two pillers 1 One for CHRIST 's 2 One for our resurrection 4. Reason One more That Iob needed this wish in regard of those that were to receive this doctrine It will not well be written there is such unbeleife and hardnesse of heart yea even in the Disciples and so generally in our nature as enough to doe to grave it in us yet so necessarie withall
Merit signifies in Saint Augustine's sense no dignity of work but only a meanes of obtaining For it is impossible that evill merit that is sinne out of the dignity of the work should merit grace and by the same proportion and forme of speech it is as impossible that the dignity of the work should merit a crowne since Saint Augustine in the same place doth say There would be none unto whom GOD the just Iudge redderet coronam should render a crowne unlesse first as a mercifull Father donâsset gratiam He had given His grace And then He adds Dona sua coronat Deus non merita tua GOD crownes not thy merit but His owne gifts His reason is for if they be such that is thine they are evill and if they be evill GOD crownes them not if they be good they are GOD 's gifts and he crownes them not as thy merits but as his owne gifts Cap. 7. But I have troubled you too long with this Schoole-doctrine and pulpit-divinitie of magnifying mans merits before men since their death-bed-divinitie recants it all and then they are all forced learned and ignorant utterly to renounce it and put all their trust in CHRIST 's mercy and merits as their sure Anchor-head Of which I have onely this to say that merit may have some place in their science but their owne consciences unlesse they be seared tells them there is no true merit but CHRIST 's onely I have now done with my Text Applicatio and now I apply my selfe and my Text to the present Text that lies before us Vir nec silendus nec dicendus sine curâ A man whose worth may not be passed over in silence whom all ages with us may celebrate and admite nor to be spoken of without great care and study Of whom I can say nothing but his worth and vertues will farre exceed all mens words Heere I desire neither the tongue of man nor Angells if it were lawfull I should wish no other but his owne tongue and pen Ipse ipse quem loquar loquatur let him speake of himselfe none so fitt as himselfe was of whom I am to speake this day Et jam loquitur And he now speakes He speakes in his learned Workes and Sermons and he speakes in his life and workes of mercy and he speakes in his death And what he taught in his life and works he taught and expressed in his death He is the great Actor and performer I but the poore cryer Vox clamantis He was the Vox clamans he was the loud and great crying Voice I am but the poore Eccho and it is well with me if as an Eccho of his large and learned bookes and workes I onely repeate a few of the last words No man can blame me if I commend him at his death whose whole life was every way commendable Iustus sine mendacio candor apud bonos crimini non est Iust commendation without flattery is no fault in the opinion of the best men And the ancient custome of the Church did celebrate the memories of holy men to the praise of GOD that gave such eminent graces to them and to stirre up others by their example to the Imitation of their vertues I speake my knowledge of him in many things I loved and honored him for above thirtie yeares space I loved him I confesse but yet Iudicio meo non obstat Amor qui ex Iudicio natus est My love doth not blind or outsway my Iudgement because it proceeded from Iudgement Of whom what can I say lesse then that he was vitâ innocentissimus Ingenio florentissimus proposito sanctissimus In his life most innocent in his knowledge and learning most florishing and eminent and in his purpose and life most holy and devout whose carriage was so happy Quem nemo vituperat nisi etiam laudet no man could ever discommend him but will he nill he he must withall commend him And no mans words were ever able to disgrace him Vera necesse est benedicat falsam vita morésque superant They that spake truth of him could not but speake well of him and if they spake falsely of him his life and manners did confute them And if this Text were ever fully applied in any I presume it was in him for he was totus in his sacrificijs he wholly spent himselfe and his studies and estate in these sacrifices in prayer and the praise of GOD and compassion and workes of charitie as if he had minded nothing els all his life long but this to offer himselfe his soule and body a contrite and broken heart a pitifull and compassionate heart and a thankfull and gratefull heart a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to GOD by IESVS CHRIST which is our reasonable service of Him He was borne in this Citie of LONDON of honest and godly Parents who besides his breeding in learning left him a sufficient patrimony and inheritance which is descended to his heire at Rawreth in Essex It is true Senum vita composita the lives of old men many times are orderly and well composed and disposed and stayed whereas in youth many things that are in true judgement not altogether decent are not so indecent in them but that they well enough become their younger yeares In this he was happy Hujus vita composita à pueritiâ His life was well composed and ordered even from his child-hood I may well say of him as the Prophet doth Bonum est portare Iugum Domini ab Adolescentiâ herein was his happinesse that he tooke up and did stoutly beare the yoke of the Lord even from his youth In his tenderest yeares he shewed such readinesse and sharpnesse of witt and capacitie that his teachers and Masters foresaw in him that he would prove Lumen literarum literatorum The burning and shining Candle of all learning and learned men And therefore those two first Masters that had the care of the first elements of his learning Master Ward of Ratcliffe and Mâ—ster Mulcaster of the Merchant-Taylor's Schoole contended for him who should have the honour of his breeding that afrer became the honour of their Schooles and all learning Master Ward first obtained of his parents that he should not be a prentise and at length Master Mulcaster got him to his schoole And from this time perit omne tempus quod studijs non impenditur he accounted all that time lost that he spent not in his studies wherein in learning he outstript all his aequalls and his indefatigable industrie had almost outstript himselfe He studied so hard when others played that if his Parents and Masters had not forced him to play with them also all the play had been marred His late studying by candle and early rising at foure in the morning procured him envie among his aequalls yea with the Vshers also because he called them up too soone Not like to our moderne scholars qui nondum hesternam edormiverunt
arripere apprehendere to seize vpon it with great vehemencie to lay hold on it with both hands as vpon a thing we are glad we haue got and will be loth to let goe againe We know assumpsit and apprehendit both take but apprehendit with farre more fervor and zeale then the other Assumpsit any common ordinarie thing apprehendit a thing of price which we hold deare and much esteeme of Now to the former comparison of what they and what we but specially what we add this threefold consideration 1. That He denied it the Angells 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 denied it peremptorily 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Neither looked nor called nor sent nor went after them Neither tooke hold of them nor suffered them to take hold of Him or any promise from Him Denied it them denied it them thus 2. But graunted it vs and graunted it how That He followed vs first and that with paine And seized on vs after and that with greate desire We flying and not worth the following and lying and not worth the taking vp 1 That he gave not leave for vs to come to Him or satt still and suffered vs to returne and take hold yet this He did 2 That He did not looke after vs nor call after vs nor send after vs only yet all this He did too 3 But Himselfe rose out of his place and came after vs and with hand and foot made after vs Followed vs with his feet and seized on vs with his hands and that per viam non assumptionis sed apprehensionis the maner more then the thing it selfe All these if we lay together and when we haue done weigh them well it is hable to worke with vs. Surely it must needs demonstrate to vs the care the love the affection He had to vs we know no cause why being but as Abraham was dust and as Abrahams seede Iacob saith Gen. 18.25.32.10 lesse and not worthy of any one of these No not of the meanest of his mercies Especially when the same thing so gratiously graunted vs was denied to no lesse persons then the Angells farr more worthy then we Sure He would not have done it for vs and not for them if He had not esteemed of vs made more acompt of vs then of them And yet behold a farr greater then all these Which is apprehendit semen He took not the person but he took the seed that is the nature of man Many there be In Apprehendit Semen that can be content to take vpon them the persons and to represent them whose natures nothing could hire them once to take vpon them But the seed is the Nature yea as the Philosopher saith naturae intimum the very internall essence of nature is the seed The Apostle sheweth what his meaning is of this taking the seed when the verse next afore save one he saith that forasmuch as the children were partakers of flesh and bloud He also would take part with them Ver. 14. by taking the same To take the flesh and bloud He must needs take the seed for from the seed the flâ—sh and bloud doth proceed which is nothing els but the blessed apprehension of our nature by this days Natiuitie Wherby He and we become not only one flesh as man and wife do by coniugal union but even one bloud too as brethren by naturall union Ephes. 5.28.29 Per omnia similis saith the Apostle in the next verse after againe sinne only set aside Alike and sutable to vs in all things flesh and bloud and nature and all So taking the seed of Abraham as that he became himselfe the seed of Abraham So was and so is truly termed Verse 17. in the Scriptures Which is it that doth consummate and knit vp all this point and is the head of al. For in all other apprehensions we may let go and lay down when we will but this this taking on the seed the nature of man can never be put of It is an assumption without a deposition One we are He and we and so we must be One as this day so for ever And emergent or issuing from this are all those other apprehendings or seisures of the persons of men by which God layeth hold on them and bringeth them back from error to truth and from sinne to grace that have been from the beginning or shal be to the end of the world That of Abraham himself whom God layed hold of and brought from out of Vr of the Chaldeans and the Idolls he there worshipped That Gen 1â— 7 Act. 9.4 Luk. 22.62.62 of our Apostle S. Paul that was apprehended in the way to Damascus That of Saint Peter that in the very act of sinne was seized on with bitter remorse for it All those and all these wherby men dayly are layd hold of in spirit and taken from the by-pathes of sinne and error and reduced into the right way and so their persons recovered to God and seized to his vse All these apprehensions of the branches come from this apprehension of the Seed they all have their beginning and their being from this dayes taking even Semen apprâ—hendit Our receiving His Spirit for His taking our flesh This seede wherewith Abraham is made the sonne of God from the seed wherwith Christ is made the soone of Abraham And the end why He thus took vpon him the seed of Abraham was because He tooke vpon Him to deliver the seede of Abraham Deliver them He could not except He destroyed death Ver. 14. and the Lord of death the devill Them He could not destroy vnlesse He dyed Dy He could not except He were mortall Mortall He could not be except He tooke our nature on Him that is the seede of Abraham But taking it He became mortall dyed destroyed death delivered vs was Himselfe apprehended that we might be lett goe One thing more then out of this word Apprehendit The former toucheth His love whereby He so layd hold of us as of a thing very precious to Him This now toucheth our daunger whereby he so caught us as if He had not it had been a great venture but we had suncke and perished One and the same word Apprehendit sorteth well to expresse both his affection wherby He did it and out great perill wherby we needed it We had been before layd hold of and apprehended by one mentioned in the 14. verse he that hath power of death even the Devill We were in daunger to be swallowed vp by him we needed one to lay hold on us fast and to plucke us out of his jawes So He did And I would have you to marke It is the same word that is used to Saint Peter in like daunger Matt. 14.13 when being ready to sinke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christ caught him by the hand and saved him The same heere in the Greeke that in the Hebrue is used Gen. 19.16 to Lot and his daughters in the
like daunger when the Angells caught him and by strong hand plucked him out of Sodom One delivered from the water the other from the fire And it may truly be sayd in asmuch as all Gods promises as well touching temporall as eternall deliverances 1. Cor. 1.20 and as well corporall as spirituall be in Christ yea and Amen Yea in the giving forth Amen in the performing that even our temporall delivery from the daungers that daily compasse us about even from this last so great and so fearefull as the like was never imagined before all have their ground from this Great apprehension are fruits of this Seede heere this blessed Seede for whose sake and for whose truthes sake that we though unworthily professe we were by Him caught hold of and so plucked out of it Rom. 9.29 And but for which Seed facti essemus sicut Sodoma We had been even as Sodome and perished in the fire and the powder there layed had even blowen us up all Heb. 8.9 And may not I add to this apprehendit ut liberaret the other in the 8. Chapter following apprehendit ut manu duceret to this of taking us by the hand to deliver us that of taking us by the hand to guide us and so out of one word present Him to you not only as our Deliverer but as our Guide too Our Deliverer to ridd us from him that hath power of death Our Guide to Him that hath power of life To leade us even by the way of truth to the path of life by the stations of well doing to the mansions in His Fathers house Ioh. 14.2 Ioh. 14.3 Seeing He hath signified it is His pleasure not to let goe our hands but to hold us still till He have brought us that where He is we may also be This also is incident to apprehendit but because it is out of the compasse of the text I touch it only and passe it The reasons of this apprehendit And can we now passe by this but we must aske the question that Saint Iohn Baptists Mother sometime asked on the like occasion * Luk. 1.43 Vnde mihi hoc saith she Vnde nobis hoc may we say Not quòd mater Domini but quòd Dominus ipse venit ad nos Whence commeth this unto us that the Lord himselfe thus came unto us and tooke us letting the Angells go Angells are better then the best of vs and reason would ever the better should be taken how then were we taken that were not the better Sure not without good ground say the Fathers who haue adventured to search out the Theologie of this point such reasons as might serve for inducements to Him that is pronus ad miserendum naturally enclined to pitie why upon us He would rather have compassion And diverse such I find I will touch onely one or two of them First Mans case was more to be pitied then theirs because man was tempted by another had a tempter The Angells had none None tempted them None but themselves Et levius est alienâ mente peccâsse quam propriâ saith Augustine The offense is the lesse if it grow from another then if it breed in ourselves And the lesse the offense the more pardonable Againe of the Angells when some fell other some stood and so they all did not perish But in the first man all men fell and so euery mothers child had died and no flesh been saved For all were in Adam and so in and with Aadam all had come to nought Then commeth the Psalmists question Nunquid in vanum c. Psal. 87.47 What hast thou made all men for nought That cannot be So great wisedome cannot do so great a worke in vaine But in vaine it had been if God had not shewed mercie And therefore was Mans case rather of the twaine matter of commiseration This is Leo. And thus have they traveiled and these have they found why He did apprehend us rather then them It may be not amisse But we will content our selves for our vnde nobis hoc whence commeth this to us with the answer of the Scriptures Whence Luk. 1.78 Esa. 9.7 but from the tender mercies of our God wherby this day hath visited us Zelus Domini saith Esay The zeale of the Lord of Hosts shall bring it to passe Propter nimiam charitatem saith the Apostle Eph. 2.4 Ioh. 3.16 Luk. 10.21 Sic Deus dilexit saith He He himselfe And we taught by him say Even so Lord for so it was thy good pleasure thus to do All this while are we about taking the Seed the Seed in generall But now III. The Choise Why Abrahams Seed why Abrahams seed Since it is Angells in the first part why not Men in the second but Seed Or if Seed to expresse our nature why not the Seed of the woman but the Seed of Abraham It may be thought because he wrote to the Hebrews he rather used this terme of Abrahams seed because so they were and so loved to be stiled and he would please them But I find the ancient Fathers go further and out of it raise matter both of comfort and of direction and that for us too 1. Of comfort first with reference to our Saviour who taking on Him Abrahams seed 1. For our comfort must withall take on Him the signature of Abrahams Seed and be as he was circumcised There is a great matter dependeth even on that For being circumcised He became a debtor Gal. 5.3 to keepe the whole Law of God which bond we had broken and forfeited and incurred the curse annexed and were ready to be apprehended and committed for it That so He keeping the Law might recover backe the chirographum contra nos Col. 2.14 the hand-writing that was against us and so set us free of the debt This Bond did not relate to the Seed of the woman it pertained properly to the seed of Abraham therefore that terme fitted us better Without faile two distinct benefits they are 1 Factus homo and 2 Factus sub lege and so doth Saint Paul recount them Made man that is the Seed of the woman and Gal 4.4 made under the Law that is the Seed of Abraham To little purpose He should have taken the one if He had not also undertaken the other and as the Seed of Abraham entred bond for us and taken our debt upon Him This first 2. And besides this there is yet another referring it to the Nation or People whom He took upon him It is sure they were of all other people the most untoward both of the hardest hearts and of the stiffest necks and as the Heathen man noteth them of the worst natures God himselfe telleth them so It was for no vertue of theirs Deut. 9.6 or for any pure naturalls in them that He tooke them to Him for they were that way the worst of the whole earth And so then
by a deed of gift Datus Of which the one his Birth referreth to himselfe the other the gift to his Father To shew the ioynt consent and concurrence in both For our good Ephes. 5.2 Ioh. 1.11 Ioh. 3.16 So Christ loved us that he was given So God loved us that He gave his Sonne By his very birth there groweth to us an interest in him thereby partaker of our nature our flesh and our bloud That which is de nobis He tooke of us is ours flesh and bloud is our owne and to that is our owne we have good right His humanitie is cleerly ours good right to that But no right to his Deitie Therefore his Father who hath best right to dispose of him Ioh. 3.16 Gal. 4.4 hath passed over that by a deed of gift So that what by participation of our nature what by good conveighance both are ours Whither a Child He is ours or whither a Sonne He is ours We gave Him the one His Father gave us the other So both ours and He ours so farr as both these can make Him Thus God Heb. 6.17 willing more aboundantly to shew to the heires of promise the stablenesse of His Counseile tooke both courses that by two strong titles which it is impossible should be defeated we might have strong consolation and ride as it were at a double anchor I want time to tell of the benefit which the Prophet Verse III. calleth the harvest or booty of his Nativitie This it is in a word If the tree be ours the fruit is If He be ours His Birth is ours His Life is ours His Death is ours His Satisfaction His Merit all He Did all He Suffered is ours Further all that the Father hath is His Heb. 1.2 Ioh 3.35 Mat. 21.18 1. Cor. 3.22.23 Rom. 8 32. He is Heire of all then all that is ours too Saint Paul hath cast up our accompt Having given Him there is nothing but He will give us with Him So that by this Deed we have title to all that His Father or He is worth And now shall we bring forth nothing for Him that was thus borne Our Dutie Psal 116.12 2. Cor. 9.14.15 Colos 1.12 Iam. 1.17 no Quid retribvam no giving backe for Him that gave Him us Yes thanks to the Father for His great bounty in giving Sure so good a giving so perfect a gift there never came downe from the Father of lights And to the Sonne for being willing so to be borne and so to be burthened as He was For Him to condescend to be borne as Children are borne To become a Child great humilitie Great ut Verbum infans ut tonans vagiens ut immensus parvulus that the word not be hable to speake a word He that thundereth in heaven cry in a cradle He that so great and so high should become so little as a Child and so low as a manger Not to abhorre the Virgins wombe not to abhorr the beasts manger not to disdaine to be fedd with butter and hony All great humilitie All great and very great But that is greater is behind Puer natus much Princeps oneratus much more That which He bare for us more then that He was borne for us For greater is Mors crucis then Nativitas praesepis Worse to drinke vinegar and gall Phl. 2.8 then to eate butter and hony worse to endure an infamous death then to be content with an inglorious birth Let us therefore sing to the Father with Zacharie Benedictus Luc. 1.68.46.2.14 and to the Sonne with the blessed Virgin Magnificat and with all the Angells Gloria in Excelsis To the Prince with His government on His shoulders Nothing but thanks Yes by way of duty too to render unto the Child confidence Puâ—r est ne metuas To the Sonne reverence Filius est ne spernas To the Prince obedience Princeps est ne offendas And againe To Natus is He borne then cherish Him I speake of His spirituall birth wherein we by hearing and doing His word are as himselfe saith His Mothers Mat. 12.49.50 To Datus is He given then keepe Him To Oneratus is He burthened favour Him lay no more on then needs you must This is good morall counseile But Saint Bernard gives us politique advise to looke to our interest to thinke of making our best benefit by Him De Nobis nato dato faciamus id ad quod natus est datus utamur nostro in utilitatem nostram de Servatore nostro salutem operemur With this borne and given Child let us then do that for which He was borne and given us Seeing He is ours let us use that that is ours to our best behoofe and even worke out our salvation out of this our Saviour His counseile is to make our use of Him but that is not to do with Him what we list but to employ Him to those ends for which He was bestowed Those are foure He is given us saith Saint Peter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for an example to follow In all but that which is proper to this day 1. Pet. 2.21 to doe it in humilitie It is that which the Angell set up for a signe and sample upon this very day It is the vertue appropriate to His birth As faith to His conception Beata quae credidit So humilitie to His birth et Hoc erit signum Fieri voluit in vitâ primum quod exhibuit in ortu vitae it is Cyprian That He would have us first to expresse in our life that He first shewed us in the very entrie of His life And to commend us this vertue the more Placuit Deo maiora pro nobis operari It hath pleased Him to do greater things for us in this estate then ever He did in the high degree of His Maiestie as we know the work of redemption passeth that of creation by much He is given us in pretium for a price A price either of ransome to bring us out de loco calignoso 2. Pet. 1.19 or a price of purchase of that where without it we have no interest the kingdome of Heaven For both He is given offer we Him for both We speake of Quid retribuam We can never retribute the like thing He was given us to that end we might give Him backe We wanted we had nothing valuable that we might have this He gave us as a thing of greatest price to offer for that which needeth a great price our sinns so many in number and so foule in qualitie We had nothing worthie God this He gave us that is worthy Him which cannot be but accepted offer we it never so often Mat. 7.7.8 Mat. 14.6.7 Let us then offer Him and in the act of offering aske of Him what is meete for we shall find Him no lesse bounteous then Herod to graunt what is duly asked upon His birth day He is given us as Himselfe saith as
Incarnate He was in the Virgins wombe His taking flesh could not be seen but this draweth after it a vidimus dwelt and was seen visibly And this leadeth us to a third conversatus est Factum and factum familiare that he withdrew not himselfe into some solitarie place but was verbum prope nos neer us neer neighbors to us Rom. 10.8 Phil. 2.7 Habitu inventus ut homo In his habit and in his habitation found as a man One might aske him as they at Ver. XXXVIII ubi habitas Sir where dwell you and He invited them to come and see 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dwelt as in a Tent. And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not every dwelling but a dwelling in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a tent that is but for a time Not a house to stand for ever but a tent to be taken downe againe Which as it sheweth His Tabernacle of the nature of ours mortall so withall that He came but of an errand to sojourne till He had done it A worke He had for which He was sent that being done He layd his Tabernacle of againe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pitched his tent as a Soldier And even that worke it selfe is in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For it is a word militar Souldiers dwell in tents As if He were now factus caro incola miles as if some battaile were toward And indeed from the beginning the very third of Genesis there was warre proclaimed Gen. 3.15 Rom. 7.23 betweene the womans seede and the Serpents An enemie we had strong and mightie had and have still not one but many a whole campe of them They had prevailed and let us away captive under the Lawe of sinne Dux nobis opus est A Champion we stood in need of to rescue us And heer we have one now even Dux Messias as Daniel calleth Him He as this day came into the campe Dan. 9.25 set up His pavilion among us The Tabernacle of GOD was with men He might not stay eight dayes in the campe but He must take Sacramentum militare So He did And the ceremonie of it was to be stroken and to bleed some small quantitie So he was at his Circumcision And after He performed the battaile at his Passion Where though it cost Him His life yet the victorie fell on His side Captivitie was led captive and we were delivered Ephes. 4.8 His Tent was but a fore-runner to His combate This for His dwelling Now the Affidavit As the word Habitavit pointeth us to this first day of the feast and His Tent The Affidavit Vidimus We Saw to the middle day when He vndertook our quarrell So vidimus now is proper to the last day the day of Manifestation or Epâ—phanie He dwelt and not invisibly or obscurely but so as He might be and was seene Even this very first day vidimus might the Shepheards say we saw His Angels and heard them sing and then went to Bethlem and saw Himselfe Vidimus might the VVise men say we saw His starre in the East Mat 2.2 Act. 26.26 and we are come to see Himselfe This they might say and truly for these things were not done in oâ—scuro But as we said This clause is the Affidavit it is inferred as a Proofe You tell us of His making and His dwelling Quomodo constat How shall it appeare Vidimus is the best proofe that can be He saw it Ioh. 19.35 was an eye-witnesse of what he testified Anâ— it is not vidi but vidimus more eyes then one Not he alone Vidimus not vidi Wâ— saw others more saw it besides him In the mouth a â—at 17. 1. Ioh 1 3. of two or three witnesses Peter Iames and He vidimus were in the holy mount together and saw Him transfigured Nay a whole b Act. 1.9 Hebr. 12.1 cloud of witnesses CXX saw him taken up into heaven out of their sight in the mount of Olives Well might He say vidimus And that not per transennam at a blush passing by but had a full sight 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Saw it inâ—entively looked well upon Him at leysure did it throughly for a good time together It is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word whence a theater is derived As men with good heed behold things tâ—ere so did we intentiâ—ely all the acts and scenes of His life But I ask what saw they The flesh peradventure The Word they could not see Saw His glory He is GOD and GOD hath no man ever seene True that they could not yet His glorie they might and did Ver. 18. Which glorie was an infallible demonstration of His presence there Through the veile of His flesh such beames He cast Heb. 10.30 as behind those clouds they might know there was a Sunne as that way onely could He be made visible to the eyes of flesh which otherwise could not behold Him But it may be it was some wrong this but such as was seene in MOSES 5. Quasi unigenti Dei or in STEPHENS countenance He answers that and tells us It was not quasi Servi like a Servant nay nor quasi Filij like any adopted Sonnes but this glorie was every way such as well might it beseeme the Word or Onely Sonne but could agree to no creature though never so glorious To none but Him and so being proprium quarto modo might be a medius terminus in a demonstration And if you ask what that glorie might be With a word What this glâ—rie was to say to the winde and storme a Mar. 4.39 Obmutesce and to diseases b Mat. 8.3 Volo mundare And to Death it selfe c Luke 7.14 Tibi dico Surge His Miracles they shewed His glorie is expressely said in the next Chap. v. II. The Starre at His birth the eclÃpse at His death the glorie of His changing in the mount but above all His glorious Ascension and receiving up inâ—o heaven All which they saw as being in the theatre all the while from the Epitasis to the very Catastrophe Therfore he â—ells us heer and againe in his Epistle he writes nothing but what he saw and beheld and even his hands had handled of the VVord of Life 1. Ioh. 1.3 We may beleeve him He and his Contestes suffered many things for the truth of their witnesse and the whole world since hath beleeved this their Affidavit Now are we past the Parenthesis But what is all that a vidimus Nothing but a maske to be seene Came He onely to make a glorious shew to them all The Consequence Full of grace and truth No but as He came not obscure but was seene so He came not emptie but full and was felt of them that saw him not Vidimus is not all a Verse after there is accepimus To see His glorie they receive of his fullnesse They and we Full
this day then doth it spring forth as it were is to be seene above ground then Orta est de terrâ in very deed 4. The Effect Of the effect now Births are and have been diverse times the ending of great dissentions As was this heer For by this Birth took end the two great Howses An vnion of them by it First by this Truth is gained Truth will meet now That truth will come to this truth On Truth she is gained tanquam minus dignum ad magis dignum as the Abstract to the Arcâ—etype And Truth being now borne of our Nature it will never we may be sure be against our Nature being come of the earth it will be true to his owne countrie being made man will be for man now all He can By this meanes one of the opposites is drawne away from the other Got to be on our side It is three to one now Righteousnesse is left all alone and there is good hope she will not stand out long For lo heer is good newes first that respexit de coelo she yet lookes downe from heaven now On Righteousnesse So as this birth in earth you see workes in heaven and by name upon Righteousnesse there For though there were none in heaven but it wrought upon them yet the Psalme mentions none but Righteousnesse For of all she the least likely and if she be wrought on the rest there is no doubt of How can there they are all woon to us already With Righteousnesse it works two waies First downe she lookes Whither it was 1 She lâ—â—kes dâ—wne that she miâ—sed Truth to see what was become of her and not finding her in heaven cast heâ— eye to the earth But there when she beheld Verbum caro factum the Word â—â—esh Ioh 1.14 the Truth freshly sprung there where it had been a strange plant long time before Aspexit and Respixit she looked and looked againe at it For a Sight it was to move to drâ—w the eye yea a fight for Heaven to be a Spectator of for the Angells to come downe and looke at for Righteoâ—snesse it selfe to do so too 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Angells word in Saint Peter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Septuagint's word heer both meane one thing 1 Pet. 1 12. The Greeke word is to look as we say wishly as it as if we would looke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 even through it the Hebrew word that is as if Righteousnesse did beat out a window So desirous was she to behoâ—d this Sight And no mervaile for what could Righteousnesse desire to see and satisfie her selfe with that in Him was not to be seene A cleane birth a holy life an innocent death a Spirit and a mouth without guile a Soule and a bodie without Sinne. In Him she beheâ—d tâ—em all Them and whatsoever els might yeeld her full satisfaction Lay judgement to the rule and righteousnesse in the ballance nothing oblique will be found in Him nothing but streight for the rule nothing minus habens but full weight for the ballaâ—ce Thus when Truth from the earth then Righteousnesse from heaven Then but not before Before Righteousnesse had no prospect no window open this way She turned away her face shut her eyes clapt to the casement would not abide so much as to looke hithâ—r at us a sort of forlorne sinners not vouchsafe us once the cast of her eye The case is now altered Vpon this sight she is not oneâ—y content in some sort to condescend to do it but she breaks a window through to do it And then and ever since this Orta est she looks upon the earth with a good aspect and a good aspect in these caelestiall lights is never without some good influence withall Bâ—t then within a verse after not onely downe she looks but downe she comes 2 Downe she comes Verse 13. Such a power attractive is there in this Birth And comming she doth two things 1 To meet Meets first for upon the view of this birth they all ran first and Kissed the Sonne 2 To kisse And that done Truth ran to Mercie and embraced her and Righteousnesse to Peace and kissed her They that had so long been parted and stood out in difference now meet and are made friends Howsoever before removed in ortu veritatis obviaverunt sibi howsoever before estranged now osculatae sunt And at that birth of His well met they all in whom they meet all The Truth He is and per viscera Misericordiae He came through the tender mercies of our GOD Luk. 1 7 8. 1. Cor. 1.30 Ephes. 2.14 and He is made to us Righteousnesse and He is our Peace All meet in Him for indeed all He is that no mervaile they all foure meet where He is that is all foure And at this meeting Righteousnesse she was not so of-ward before but she is now as forward as forward as any of the rest Mark these three Let ts not Pâ—ace prevent her as Mercie did Truth but as Mercie to Truth first so she first to Peace as forward as Mercie every way 2 Nay more forward then Mercie for Mercie doth but meet Truth and there is all but she as more affectionate not only meets Peace but kisses her And indeed Righteousnesse was to doe more even to kisse that it might be a pledge of forgetting all former unâ—indnesse that we may be sure she is perfectly reconciled now 3 And one more yet to shew her the most forward of them all out of the last Verse At this meeting she followes not drawes not behind Verse 13. she will not goe with them She is before leaves them to come after and beare the traine She as David is before the Arke puts S. Iohn Baptist from his office for the time Righteousnesse is his forerunner Righteousnesse shall goe bâ—fore tread the way before Him the formost now of all the companie By all which ye may know what a looke it was she looked with from Heaven Thus ye see CHRIST by His comming hath pacified the things in Heaven A peece of Hosanna is pax in coelis There cannot be pax in terris till there it be Colos. 1.20 first But no sooner there it is but it is peace in earth streight which accordingly was this day proclaimed by the Angells Luc. 2.14 So by the vertue of this birth heaven is at peace with it selfe and heaven with earth is now at peace So is earth too with it selfe and a fulfilling of the Text by this meeting is there too The Iewes they represent truth to them it belongeth properly For Truth was where were Eloquia Dei Rom. 9.4 the Oracles of GOD and they were with the Iew. The Gentiles they claime by Mercie that is their vertue Where was Mercie but where was miserie and where was miserie Luc. 1.79 but with them that lay in darknesse in the shadow of death And
Matters of more weight then the seeking of GOD. As if His seeking were some petie businesse Slightly to be sought and lightly to be found Any time good enough for it Nay not that but so evill are we affected to seeke Him then that quaerebant is occîderet we endite Him of our death it is death to do it as leefe dye as seeke It maketh us old it killeth us before our time We digest not them that call on us for it but seeke our selves as the Apostle speaketh Magistros secundùm desideria 2. Tim. 4.3 that may enterteine us with Speculations of what may be done by miracle at the houre of death that may give us dayes and elbow roome enough to seeke other things and to shrinke up His seeking into a narrow time at our end and tell us time enough then For thus then we reckon all the time we spend in it we lose the fruict of our life and the joy of our hearts shall be taken from us As if the fruict of life were not to find GOD Or as if any true hearts joy GOD being not found Call we this our fruict and joy not to seeke GOD Call it not so Psal. 105.3 Laetetur cor quaerentium Deum saight the HOLY GHOST Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Yea in lachrymis peccatorum in the very teares of a paenitent there is saith S. Augustine more found joy then in risu theatrorum in all the games the theater can affoord Da Christianum et scit quid dico But our tast is turned and we relish not this Seeking By our flesh-potts we have lived and by them we will dye and so we do Lust hath been our life and we wil be buried in the graves of lust And so we shall and never know what that ioy meaneth Laetetur cor quaerentium Deum Cum Servaret then will not serve Nay cum occîderet will scarse serve 2. Cum occîderet alios it hath much adoe Let Him draw His sword and come amongst us For if as of His goodnesse He doth not He rush not on us at first but begin with others If it be cum occideret alios we seeke not See ye the XXXI Verse He took away others before their faces and those not weake or sickly persons but the goodliest and strongest of all Israël and least likely to die Heere is occîderet Now did this move No See the XXXII verse for at this they sinned yet more and went about their seeking never the sooner It must be cum occîderet eos 4. 3 Cum caederet eos themselves their owne selves or it will not doe it Come then to themselves and smite them with the edge not with the poynt with the edge to wound not with the point to dispatch out-right will that serve Cum caederet eos when He wounded them with some mortall sicknesse the messenger of death would they seeke Him then No not then not for all that would they frame to it For 2. Chr. 16.12 Quaerebant medicum then I say as Asa sought medicos non Deum Not GOD and them but them first and let GOD stay till they be gone And till they give us over and tell us plainely occîderet is now come indeed no smiting or wounding will send us to seeke So that it is not either 1 Cum Servaret eos or 2 Cum Serviret eis His saving or serving us Nay it is not 3 Cum occîderet alios or 4 Cum caederet His killing others or wounding us with any but our deaths-wound will doe it It is Cumoccidere◠which is a Ne fiat Tandem then when we are come to the very last cast our strength is gone our spirit cleane spent our senses appalled and the powers of our soule as numme as our senses when a generall prostration of all our powers and the shadow of death upon our eyes Then something we would say or doe which should stand for our seeking but I doubt it will not serve This is the time we allow GOD to seeke Him in Is this it would we then seeke Him when we are not in case to seeke any thing els Would we turne to Him then when we are not hable to turne our selves in our bed Or rise early to seeke Him when we are not hable to rise at all Or enquire after Him when our breath faileth us and we are not hable to speake three words togither Neither before nor with but even at the end of occîderet No houre but the houre of death No time but when He taketh time from us and us from it tempus non erit amplius Apoc. 10 7· What shall I say Shall I commend this seeking turning rising enquiring No I cannot commend it either in it selfe or to any I commend it not That that may be said is this and it is nothing True some one or two of a thousand and ten thousand that have How then Shall we not therefore follow our instruction and seeke Him before Esay 65.1 Nay then Some have found and never sought Let us not seeke Him at all if that will hold Thus it is Some going a journey have found a purse by the way It were madd counsell to advise us to leave our money behind upon hope of like hap in ours No this is safe and good Though some one or two have found and not sought yet let us seeke for all that Though some one or two have then sought and found yet let us seeke before Though some have found a purse in their way let us not trust to like hap but carry money with us This is a privy deore on speciall favour open to some few Esay 30.21 There lieth no way by them This is the way you have heard Walke in it and you shall find rest to your soules 1 As not CHRIST◠time of seeking To speake then of safe seeking and sure finding I say as Asaph saith it is a Ne fiant This time is not the time CHRIST giveth us he assigneth us another Yea we condemne our selves in that we would seeme to allow it our selves If we were put to it to say plainely Not till He kill me it would choke us We neither have heart nor face we would not dare to answer so we dare not avow it And if it be a ne dicant it is a Ne fiant The time of GODS quaerite is Primum quaerite This Cum is the last of all our Cum's Matt. 6 33. all other before it First and last are flatt ad oppositum This is not it The time of seeking GOD must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as is meet to be received This is not ◠Not the acceptable time Therefore I hope we will not offer it GOD. If we doe take heed He scorne not this time as He doth their price in Zacharie A goodly time that I have assigned me Zach. 11.13 Take
This is the way the right way walke in it And in this way our guiding must be mild and gentle Els it is not Duxisti but traxisti drawing and driving and no leading Leni spiritu non durâ manu rather by an inward sweet influence to be led then by an outward extreme violence to be forced forward So did God lead this people heer Not the greatest pace I wis for they were a yeare marching that Deut. 1.2 Exod. 13 18. they might have posted in eleven dayes as Moses saith No not yet the neerest way neither as Moses telleth us For He fetched a compasse diverse times as all wise Governors by His example must doe that desire rather safely to lead then hastilie to drive forward The Spirit of God leadeth this people saith Esai as a horse is ridden downe the hill into a valley Es. 69. â—â— which must not be a gaâ—opp lest horse and ruler both come downe one over another but warily and easily And sicut oves still giveth us light seeing the text compareth it to a sheepe gate Touching which kinde of Cattell to very good purpose Iacob a skilfull shepheard answereth Esau who would have had Iacob and his flocks have kept company with him in his hunting pace Nay not so Sir said Iacob it is a tender cattell Gen 33.13 that is under my hands and must be softly driven as they may endure if one should over-drive them but one day they would all dâ—e or be layd up for many daies after Indeed 1. Reg. 10.11 Rehoboam left ten parts of his flocke behind onely for ignorance of this very point in Duxisti For when in boysterous manner he chased them before him telling them what yoâ—es he would make for them a farre unmeet occupation for a Prince to be a yokemaker they all shrunk from him presently and falsified his prophecie cleane For wherâ—as he told them sadly His little finger should be as bigg as his Fathers whole body it fell out cleane contrarie for his whole body prooved not so bigg as his Fathers little finger A gentle leading it must be and in the beginning such was the course Therfore yee have the Kings of Canaan in Genesis for the most part called by the name of Abimelech that is Pater Rex a King in place a Father in affection Such was Mâ—ses our leader heer a meeke man above all the men on the earth Num. 12.3 Such was David himselfe who full bitterly complaineth Ah these sonnes of Zervia are too hard 2. Sam. 3.39 too full of execution for me And to end this point thus describeth he his good Prince in the 72. Psalme He shall come downe not like hail-stones on a house top Psal. 72.6 but like the dew into a flecce of wooll that is sweetly and mildly without any noyse or violence at all Last of all All this reducing and right leading and gentle leading must end in an end they must not goe and go still in infinitum that is no leading but trying outright Psa. 23.2 It must be sicut oves whom the good Shepheard in the 23. Psal. leadeth to a place and to a place meet for them where there is green pasture by the waters of comfort So was it in this people heer They were led out of Aegypt to sacrifice to GOD and to learne His Law in the mount of GOD Sinai and from thence also to Sion it selfe His owne rest and holy habitation And even so our people are led from the wandrings of this world unto the folds of GOD 's Church where as the Prophet saith in the 73. Psalme first GOD will a while guide them with His counseile and after will receive them into His glorie Psa. 73.24 And this is the end of all leading To bring us all from the vaine proffers of the world which we shall all finde as Salomon found it vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas to the sound comfort of His word in this Booke Eccles 1.2 which is indeed veritas veritatum omnia veritas in the knowledge and practice whereof when they shall have fulfilled their course heer GOD will bring them to His owne rest to His heavenly Ierusalem where is and ever shal be faelicitas faelicitatum omnia faelicitas But in this life heer we come no further then the borders of His Sanctuarie as he telleth us in the next Psal. in the way whereof if GOD lead us constanter constantly Psal. 78.54 not after our wanton manner out and in when we list all the other inferiour leadings shall acompanie this one For this leading leadeth them all He shall lead our Counselors that they shall advise the counseiles of his owne heart He shall lead our Iudges that they shall pronounce the judgements of His owne mouth He shall lead our forces into Edom the strong cities and holds of the enemie He shall lead our navie in the sea by unknowne pathes to the place it would goe and I can say no more Through all the dreads and dangers of the world through the perills of the red sea through the perills of the desert through the malice of all our enimies He shall safely lead us and sureâ—y bring us to His promised kingdome where we shall see the goodnesse of the Lord in the land of the living And this is the benefit Psal. 27.17 and thus much for that part The third part Popalum tuum The value of which benefit we shall the better esteeme if we consider the state of the Parties on whom it is bestowed set downe in these words Populum tuum which is the third part Populum Deut. 32.6 That all this good is for the people worthy not so much as the least part of it For what is the people Let Moses speake for he knew them Siccine popule stulte insipiens And Aaron too for he had occasion to trie them This people is even set on mischiefe Exod. 32.22 Psal. 68 3â— Exod. 32.9.33 3. And if you will David also Inter Belluas populorum And to conclude GOD Himselfe Populus iste durae cervicis est This is the people We may breefly take a view of all these Act. 19.32 Will you see the folly and giddinesse of this multitude ye may Act. 19. there they be at the Towne-house some crying one thing some another and the more part knew not why they were come togither Therefore Moses truly sayd it was a fond and giddy-headed people Will yee see the brutishnesse of the people In the 22. Acts you shall see them taking up a crie Act. 22.23 upon a word spoken by Saint Paule and casting of their clothes and throwing dust into the ayre as if they were quite decayed of reason that David truly might say inter belluas populorum Will ye see the spight and malice of the people In the 16. Numbers for Coreh's death they challenge Moses and Aaron Num. 16.41 yee
thus wounded thus afflicted and forsaken you shall then have a perfect Non sicut And indeed the Pâ—rson is here a weighty circumstance It is thrice repeated Meus Mihi Me and we may not leave it out For as is the Person so is the Passion and any one even the very least degree of wrong or disgrace offered to a Person of excellency is more then a hundred times more to one of meane condition So weighty is the circumstance of the Person Consider then how great the Person was And I râ—st fully assured here we boldly challenge and say Si fuerit sicut Ecce Homo saith Pilate first A man he is as we are And were he but a man Ioâ— 19. â— nay were he not a man but some poore dumb creature it were great ruth to see him so handled as he was A mâ—n saith Pilate and a Iust man saith Pilate's wife Have thou nothing to doe with that Iust Man Mat. 27.19 And that is one degree further For though we pitie the punishment even of Malefactors themselves yet ever most compassion we have of them that suffer and be innocent And he was Innocent â—uc 2â— 14. â—5 Ioh. 14.30 Pilate and Herod and the Prince of this world his very enemies being his Iudges Now among the Innocent the more noble the Person the more heavy the spectacle And never do our bowels yerne so much as over such Alas alas for that noble Prince Ier. 22.18 saith this Prophet the stile of mourning for the death of a great Personage And he that suffered heer is such even a principall Person among the sonnes of men of the race royall descended from Kings Pilate stiled him so in his Title Ioh. 19.22 and he would not alter it Three degrees But yet we are not at our true Quantus For he is yet more More then the highest of the sonnes of men for he is THE SONNE OF THE MOST HIGH GOD. Pilate saw no further Ioh. 19.5 Mar. 1â— 39 but Ecce Homo The Centurion did Verè FILIVS DEI erat hic Now truly this was the SONNE of GOD. And heer all words forsake us and every tongue becommeth speechlesse Wee have no way to expresse it but à minore ad Majus Thus. Of this book the book of Lamentations one speciall occasion was the death of King Iosias But behold a greater then Iosias is heer Of King Iosias as a speciall reason of mourning the Prophet saith Cap. 4.10 Spiritus oris nostri CHRISTVS DOMINI The very breath of our nostrills The LORD 's Annointed for so are all good Kings in their Subject's accompts He is gone But behold here is not CHRISTVS DOMINI but CHRISTVS DOMINVS The Lord 's CHRIST but the LORD CHRIST himselfe And that not comming to an Honourable death in battaile as Iosias did But to a most vile reproachfull death the death of Malefactors in the highest degree And not slaine outright as Iosias was but mangled and massacred in most pitifull strange manner wounded in body wounded in Spirit left utterly desolate O consider this well and confesse the Case is truly put Si fuerit Dolor sicut Dolor meus Never never the like Person And if as the Person is the Passion be Never the like Passion to His. It is truly affirmed that any one even the least drop of blood even the least paine yea of the body onely of this so great a Person any Dolor with this Meus had been enough to make a Non sicut of it That is enough but that is not all for adde now the three other degrees Add to this Person those Wounds that Sweat and that Crie and put all together And I make no manner question the like was not shall not cannot ever be It is farr above all that ever was or can be Abyssus est Men may drowsily heare it and coldly affect it But Principalities and Powers stand abashed at it And for the Quality both of the Passion and of the Person That Never the like thus much Now to proceéd to the Cause and to consider it for without it 1. Of the cause we shall have but halfe a Regard and scarce that Indeede set the Cause aside and the Passion as rare as it is is yet but a dull and heavie sight we list not much looke upon spectacles of that kinde though never so strange they fill us full of pensive thoughts and make us Melancholique and so doth this till upon examination of the cause we finde it toucheth us neere and so neere so many waies as we cannot choose but have some regard of it VVhat was done to Him we see Let there now be a quest of Inquiry to finde GOD. Luc. 22.53 who was doer of it Who who but the Power of darknesse wicked Pilate bloody Caiaphas the envious Priests the barbarous Souldiers None of these are returned heer We are too low by a great deale if we think to finde it among men Quae fecit mihi DEVS It was GOD that did it An houre of that day was the houre of the power of darknesse but the whole day it selfe is sayd heer plainly was the day of the wrath of GOD. GOD was a doer in it wherewith GOD hath afflicted me GOD 's wrath GOD afflicteth some in Mercie and others in Wrath. This was in his wrath In his wrath GOD is not alike to all Some he afflicteth in his more gentle and milde others in his fierce wrath This was in the verie fiercenesse of his wrath His Sufferings his Sweat and Crie shew as much They could not come but from a wrath Si fuerit sicut For we are not past Non sicut no not here in this part it followeth us still and will not leave us in any point not to the end The Cause then in GOD was wrath What caused this wrath GOD is not wroth Sinâ—e but with sinne Nor grievously wroth but with grievous sinne And in CHRIST there was no grievous sinne Nay no sinne at all Not His. GOD did it the text is plaine And in his fierce wrath he did it For what cause Ioh. 18 22. For GOD forbid GOD should do as did Annas the high Priest Gen. 18 25. cause him to be smitten without cause GOD forbid saith Abraham the Iudge of the World should doe wrong to any To any but specially to his owne Sonne That his Sonne of whom with thundering voice from Heaven he testifieth all his joy and delight were in him in him only He was well pleased And how then could his wrath wax hot to doe all this unto him There is no way to preserve GOD 's Iustice and CHRIST 's Innocencie both but to say as the Angell said of him to the Prophet Daniel The MESSIAS shall be slaine Dan. 9.26 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ve-en-lo shall be slain but not for himself Not for himselfe But oâ—her mens for whom then For some others He took upon
togither holding up but the armes at length I have heard it avowed of some that have felt it to be a paine scarse credible But the hands and the feet being so cruelly nailed parts of all other most sensible by reason of the texture of sinnews there in them most it could not but make His paine out of measure painfull It was not for nothing that dolores acerrimi dicuntur cruciatus saith the Heathen man that the most sharpe and bitter paines of all other have their name from hence and are called Cruciatus paines like those of the Crosse. It had a meaning that they gave Him that He had for his welcome to the Crosse a cup mixt with gall or myrrhe and for His farewell a spoonge of vinegar to shew by the one the bitternesse by the other the sharpnesse of the paines of this painfull death Now in paine we know the only comfort of gravis is brevis if we be in it to be quickly out of it This the Crosse hath not but is mors prolixa a death of dimensions a death long in dying And it was therefore purposely chosen by them Blasphemie they condemned Him of then was He to be stoned That death would have dispatched him too soone They indited him anew of Sedition not as of a worse fault but only because crucifying belonged to it For then He must be whipped first and that liked them well and then he must dye by inch-meale not swallow his death at once Chap. 2.9 but taste it as Chap. 2.9 and take it downe by little and little And then he must have his legges and armes broken and so was their meaning his should have been Els I would gladly know to what purpose provided they to have a Vessell of vinegar ready in the place Ioh. 19.29 but onely that he might not faint with losse of blood but be kept alive till they might heare his bones crash under the breaking and so feed their eyes with that spectacle also The providence of GOD indeede prevented this last act of cruelty Their will was good though All these paines are in the Crosse but to this last specially the word in the Text hath reference 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is He must 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tarrie stay abide under it So dye that he might feele himselfe dye and endure the paines of an enduring death And yet all this is but halfe and the lesser halfe by farre of Cruciatus crucis All this His body endured was his soule free the while No but suffered as much As much nay more infinitely much more on the spirituall then his body did on the materiall Crosse. For a spirituall Crosse there was too all grant a Crosse beside that which Simeon of Cyren did helpe him to beare Great were those paines and this time too little to shew how great but so great that in all the former he never shrunk nor once complained but was as if he scarce felt them But when these came they made him complaine and crie aloud 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a strong crying Heb. 5.7 In all those no blood came but where passages were made for it to come out by but in this it strained out all over even at all places at once This was the paine of the Presse so the Prophet calleth it Torcular wherewith Esa. 61.2.1 as if he had been in the wine-presse all his garments were stained and goared with blood Certainly the blood of Gethsemane was another manner of blood then that of Gabbatha or that of Golgotha either and that was the blood of his internall Crosse. Of the three Passions that was the hardest to endure yet that did he endure too It is that which beliefe it selfe doth wonder how it doth beleeve save that it knoweth as well the Love as the Power of GOD to be without bounds and his wisedome as able to find how through love it might be humbled as exalted through power beyond the uttermost that mans witt can comprehend b The Shame And this is the Crosse He endured And if all this might have been endured salvo honore without shame or disgrace it had been so much the lesse But now there is a further matter yet to be added and that is shame It is hard to say of these two which is the harder to beare which is the greater Crosse the crosse or shame Or rather it is not hard There is no meane party in miserie but if he be insulted on his being insulted on more grieves him then doth the misery it selfe But to the noble generous nature to whom Interesse honoris est majus omni alio interesse the value of his honour is above all value to him the Crosse is not the Crosse shame is the Crosse. And any high and heröicall Spirit beareth any griefe more easily then the griefe of contemptuous and contumelious usage 1. Sam. 31 4. King Saul shewed it plainly who chose rather to runne upon his owne sword then to fall into the hands of the Philistines who he knew would use him with skorne Iud. 16.25.30 as they had done Sampson before him And even he Sampson too rather then sit downe between the pillars and endure this pulled down house and all as well upon his owne head as theirs that so abused him Shame then is certainly the worse of the twaine Now in his death it is not easie to define whether paine or shame had the upper hand whether greater Cruciatus or scandalum Crucis Was it not a foule disgrace and scandall to offer him the shame of that servile base punishment of the whip not to be offered to any but to slaves and bond-men Loris liber sum saith he in the Comaedie in great disdeigne as if being free-borne he held it great skorne to have that once named to him Yet shame of being put out of the number of free-borne men Phil. 2.7 he despised even the shame of being in formâ servi That that is servile may yet be honest Then was it not yet a more foule disgrace and scandall indeed to appoint him for his death that dishonest that foule death the death of Malefactors and of the worst sort of them Morte turpissimâ as themselves termed it the most shamefull opprobrious death of all other that the persons are scandalous that suffer it To take Him as a thiefe to hang Him between two thieves nay to count him worse then the worst thiefe in the Gaole to say and to crie Vivat Barabbas pereat CHRISTVS Save Barabbas and hang CHRIST Yet this shame He despised too of being in formâ malefici If base if dishonest let these two serve use him not disgracefully make him not a ridiculum Capâ—â— poure not contempt upon him That did they too and a shame it is to see the shamefull cariage of themselves all along the whole Tragaedy of His Passion Was it a Tragaedie or a Passion trow A Passion it was yet by
us He and we are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is so grafted one into the other that he is part of us and we of Him So that as Saint Bernard well observeth Christus etsi solus resurrexit tamen non totus That Christ though He be risen onely yet He is not risen wholly or all till we be risen too He is but risen in part and that He may rise all we must rise from death also This then we know first That death is not a fall like that of Pharao into the sea that sunk downe like a lump of leade into the bottome Exod. 15.10 and never came up more but a fall like that of Iona's Ion. 1.17.2.10 Matt. 12.40.25 41. Esay 26.19 into the Sea who was received by a fish and after cast up againe It is our Saviour Christ's owne Simile A fall not like that of the Angells into the bottomelesse pitt there to stay for ever but like to that of men into their bedds when they make accompt to stand up againe A fall not as of a log or stone to the ground which where it falleth there it lyeth still but as of a wheate corne into the ground which is quickned and springeth up againe 1. Cor. 15.36 The very word which the Apostle vseth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 implieth the two later 1 either of a fall into a bed in our chamber where though we lye to see to little better then dead for a time yet in the morning we awake and stand up notwithstanding 2 Or of a fall into a bed in our garden where though the seede patrifie and come to nothing yet we looke to see it shoote forth anew in the spring Which spring is as Tertullian well calleth it the very resurrection of the yeare and Christ's resurrection falleth well with it And it is saith he no way consonant to reason that man for whom all things spring and rise againe should not have his Spring and rising too But he shall have them we doubt not by this daies worke He that this day did rise and rising was seene of Marie Magdalen in the likenesse of a gardiner Ioh 20.15 this gardiner will looke to it that man shall have his spring He will saith the Prophet drop upon us a dew like the dew of herbs and the earth shall yeeld foorth her dead And so as CHRIST is risen from the dead Esay 26.19 even so shall we â— That Christ now dieth not Luk. 7.11.14 8.54 Ioh. 11.43 Our second Particular is That as He is risen so now he dieth not Which is no idle addition but hath his force and Emphasis For one thing it is to rise from the dead and another not to die any more The Widowe's Sonne of Naïm the Ruler's daughter of the Synagogue Lazarus all these rose againe from death yet they died afterward But Christ rising from the dead dyeth no more These two are sensibly different Lazaru's resurrection and Christ's and this second is sure a higher degree then the former If we rise as they did that we returne to this same mortall life of ours againe this very mortalitie of ours will be to us as the prisoners chaine he escapes away withall by it we shall be pulled back again though we should rise a thousand times We must therfore so rise as Christ that our resurrection be not reditus but transitus not a returning back to the same life Ioh. 5.24 but a passing over to a new Transivit de morte ad vitam saith he The very feast it selfe puts us in minde of as much It is Pascha that is the Passeover not a comming back to the same land of Aegypt Deut. 17.16 but a passing over to a better the land of Promise whither Christ our Passeover is passed before us and shall in his good time give us passage after Him 1. Cor. 5.7 The Apostle expresseth it best where he saith that Christ by His rising hath abolished death 2. Tim 1.10 and brought to light life and immortalitie not life alone but lifâ— and immortalitie which is this our second particular Risen and Risen to die no more because risen to life to life immmortall 〈◊〉 the third is yet beyond both these more worth the knowing 3. That from hence forth death hath no more dominion over Him more worthy 〈◊〉 accâ—mpâ— death hath no dominion over him Where as we before sayd one thing it was to rise againe another to dye no more so say we now it is one thing not to dyes another not to be under the dominion of death For death and deaths doâ—â—nion are two different things Death it selfe is nothing els but the very separation of the life from the body death's dominion a thing of farre larger extent By which word of dominion the Apostle would have us to conceive of death as of some great Lord having some large Signiorie Ver. 14.17.21 Even as three severall times in the Chapter before he saith Regnavit mors death reigned as if death were some mighty Monarch having some great dominions under him And so it is For looke how many dangers how many diseases sorrowes calamities miseries there be of this mortall life how many paynes perills snares of death so many severall provinces are there of this dominion In all which or some of them while we live we still are under the jurisdiction and arrest of death all the dayes of our life And say that we scape them all and none of them happen to us yet live we still under feare of them and that is deathe's dominion too Iob. 1â— 14. For He is as Iob calleth Him Rex pavoris King of feare And when we are out of this life too unlesse we pertayne to CHRIST and His resurrection we are not out of his dominion neyther For Hell it selfe is secunda mors so termed by Saint Iohn the second death Apoc 20.14.21.8 or second part of death's dominion Now who is there that would desire to rise againe to this life yea though it were immortall to be still under this dominion of death heer still subject still liable to the aches and paynes to the greefs and gripings to all the manifold miseries of this vale of the shaddow of death But then the other the second region of death the second part of his dominion who can endure once to be there There they seeke and wish for death and death flyeth from them Verily Rising is not enough rising not to dye againe is not enough except we may be quit of this dominion and rid of that which we either feele or feare all our life long Therefore doth the Apostle add and so it was needfull he should death hath no dominion over Him No dominion over Him No for He dominion over it For lest any might surmise He might breake through some wall or gett out at some window and so steale a resurrection or casually come to it He tells
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in another 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in another 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mercy rich exceeding Eph. 2.7 Eph. 1.8 1. Tim. 1.14 grace overabounding nay grace superfluous for so is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and superfluous is enough and to spare superfluous is cleerely enough and more then enough Once dying then being more then enough no reason He should dye more then once That of his death Now of His life He liveth unto GOD. 2. The cause of His living The Rigor of the law being fully satisfied by His death then was He no longer justly but wrongfully deteyned by death As therefore by the power He had He layd down His life so He tooke it againe and rose againe from the dead And not onely rose Himselfe But in one concurrent action GOD who had by His death received full satisfaction reached Him as it were His hand and raised Him to life The Apostles word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the native force doth more properly signifie raysed by another then risen by Himselfe And is so used to shew it was done not only by the power of the Sonne but by the will consent and co-operation of the Father and He the cause of it who for the over-abundant merit of His death and His humbling Himselfe Phil. 2.8.9 and becomming obedient to death even the death of the Crosse not onely raysed Him but propter hoc even for that cause exalted Him also to live with Him in ioy and glorie for ever For as when He lived to man He lived to much miserie so now He liveth to GOD He liveth in all foelicitie This part being oppositely set down to the former living to exclude dying againe living to God to exclude death's dominion and all things perteining to it For as with GOD is life the fountaine of life against death Psal. 36.10 even the fountayne of life never failing but ever renewing to all aeternitie so with him also is torrens deliciarū a maine river of pleasures even pleasures for evermore never ebbing but ever flowing to all contentment against the miseries belonging to deathe's dominion And there He liveth thus not now as the SONNE of GOD as He lived before all worlds but as the Sonne of man in the right of our nature to estate us in this life in the hope of a reversion and in the life to come in perfect and full possession of His own and His Fathers blisse and happinesse when we shall also live to GOD and GOD be all in all which is the highest pitch of all our hope We see then His dying and rising and the grounds of both And thus have we the totall of our Scientes Now followeth our accompt An accompt is either of what is comming to us II. Our Accompt 1. Of our coming in the benefit and that we like well or what is going from us and that is not so pleasing Comming to us I call matter of benefit Going from us matter of duety where I doubt many an expectation will be deceived making accompt to heare from the resurrection matter of benefit onely to come in where the Apostle calleth us to accompt for matter of duety which is to goe from us An accompt there is growing to us by CHRIST 's rising of matter of benefit and comfort such a one there is and we have touched it before The hope of gayning a better life which groweth from CHRIST 's rising is our comfort against the feare of losing this Thus do we comfort our selves against our deathes Now blessed be GOD that hath regenerated us to a lively hope 1. Pet. 1.3 by the resurrection of IESVS CHRIST Thus do we comfort our selves against our friend's death Comfort your selves one another saith the Apostle with these words what words be they 1. Thes. 4.18 Even those of our SAVIOVR in the Gospell Resurget frater tuus Thy brother or thy Father or thy friend shall rise againe And not only against death Ioh. 11.23 but even against all the miseries of this life It was Iob's comfort on the doung-hill well yet videbo Deum in carne mea I shall see GOD in my flesh Iob. 19.25 And not in our miseries alone but when we do well and no man respecteth us for it It is the Apostle's conclusion of the Chapter of the resurrection Be of good cheer yet 1. Cor. 15.58 labor vester non erit inanis in Domino your labour is not in vaine in the LORD you shall have your reward at the resurrection of the just All these waies comfort commeth unto us by it ◠Of our 〈…〉 1. The duty 〈…〉 But this of ours is another manner of accompt of duety to goe from us and to be answered by us And such a one there is too and we must reckon of it I adde that this heer is our first accompt you see it heer called for in the Epistle to the Romans the other commeth after in the Epistle to the Corinthians In very deed this of ours is the key to the other and we shall never find sound comfort of that unlesse we doe first well passe this accompt here It is I say first because it is praesent and concerneth our soules even here in this life The other is future and toucheth but our bodies and that in the life to come It is an error certainly which runneth in mens heads when they heare of the resurrection to conceive of it as of a matter meerely future and not to take place till the latter day Not only CHRIST is risen Colos. 3.1 but if all be as it should be We are already risen with him saith the Apostle in the Epistle this day the very first words of it and even here now saith S. Iohn is there a first Resurrection Apoc. 20.6 and happie is he that hath his part in it A like error it is to conceit the resurrection as a thing meerely corporall and no waies to be incident into the Spirit or Soule at all The Apostle hath already given us an Item to the contrarie in the end of the fourth Chapter before Where he saith He rose againe for our Iustification Chap. 4.25 and Iustification is a matter spirituall Iustificatus est spiritu sayth the Apostle of CHRIST himselfe Verily here must the spirit rise to grace or els neither the bodie 1. Tim. 3.16 nor it shall there rise to glorie This then is our first accompt that accompt of ours which presently is to be passed and out of hand this is it which first we must take order for 1. To be like CHRIST The summe or charge of which accompt is sett downe in these words Similiter vos That we be like CHRIST carie his Image who is heavenly as we have caried the Image of the earthly Be conformed to his likenesse that what CHRIST hath wrought for us the like be wrought in us What wrought for us by his
flesh the like wrought in us by his Spirit It is a Maxime or maine ground in all the Fathers that such an accompt must be The former what CHRIST hath wrought for us Deus reputat nobis GOD accompteth to us For the latter what CHRIST hath wrought in us Reputate vos we must accompt to GOD. And that is Similiter vos that we fashion our selves like him Like him in as many points as we may but namely and expresly in these two here sett downe 1 In dying to sinne 2 In living unto GOD in these two first and then secondly in doing both these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but once for all 1. In dying to sinne Eph. 5.1 1. Pet. 2.21 Like him in these two 1 In His dying For He died not onely to offer a Sacrifice for us saith Saint Paul but also to leave an example to us saith Saint Peter That example are we to be like 2 In His rising For He arose not onely that we might be regenerated to a lively hope 1. Pet. 1.3 saith Saint Peter but also that we might be grafted into the similitude of His Resurrection saith Saint Paul a little before in the fifth verse of this very Chapter That Similitude are we to resemble So have we the exemplarie part of both these wherevnto we are to frame our Similiter vos He died to sinne there is our paterne Our first accompt must be Compt your selves dead to sinne And that we do when there is neither action nor affection nor any signe of life in us toward sinne no more then in a dead bodie when as men crucified which is not onely his death but the kind of his death too we neither moove hand nor stirr foot toward it both are nayled downe fast In a word to die to sinne with Saint Paul heer is to ceasse from sinne with S. Peter 1. Pet. 4.1 To ceasse from sinne I say understanding by sin not from sin altogither that is a higher perfection then this life will beare but as the Apostle expoundeth himselfe in the very next words Verse 12. Ne regnet peccatum that is from the dominion of sinne to ceasse For till we be free from death it selfe which in this life we are not we shall not be free from sinne altogither onely we may come thus farr ne regnet that sinne reigne not weare not a crown fit not in a throne hold no Parliaments within us give us no lawes in a word as in the fourth verse before that we serve it not To dye to the dominion of sinne that by the grace of GOD we may and that we must accompt for He liveth to GOD. There is our similitude of His resurrection â— In living to GOD. our second accompt must be Compt your selves living unto GOD. Now how that is he hath already told us in the fourth verse even to walke in newnesse of life To walke is to move moving is a vitall action and argueth life But it must not be any life our oâ—d will not serve it must be a new life we must not returne backe to our former course but passe over to another new conversation And in a word as before to live to GOD with Saint Paule heer is to live secundùm Deum according to GOD in the spirit with Saint Peter 1. Peter 4.6 And then live we according to Him when His will is our law His word our rule His Sonnes life our example His Spirit rather then our owne soule the guide of our actions Thus shall we be grafted into the similitude of his Resurrection Now this similitude of the resurrection calleth to my minde another similitude of the resurrection in this life too which I finde in Scripture mentioned it fitteth us well it will not be amisse to remember you of it by the way it wil make us the better willing to enter into this accompt At the time that Isaac should have been offered by his Father Isaac was not slaine Gen. 22.7 very neere it he was there was fire and there was a knife and he was appointed readie to be a Sacrifice Of which case of his the Apostle in the mention of his Father Abraham's faith Heb. 11. Abraham saith he by faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 11.19 made full accompt if Isaac had beene slaine GOD was able to raise him from the dead And even from the dead GOD raised him and his Father received him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in a certaine similitude or after a sort Marke that well Raising Isaac from imminent danger of present death is with the Apostle a kind of resurrection And if it be so and if the Holy Ghost warrant us to call that a kind of resurrection how can we but on this day the Day of the Resurrection call to minde and withall render vnto GOD our vnfeigned thankes and praise for our late resurrection 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for our kind of resurrection He not long since vouchsafed us Our case was Isaac's case without doubt there was fire and in stead of a knife there was powder enough and we were designed all of us and even ready to be sacrificed even Abraham Isaac and all Certainely if Isaac's were ours was a kind of resurrection and we so to acknowledge it We were as neere as he we were not onely within the Dominion but within the Verge nay even within the very gates of death From thence hath GOD raised us and given us this yeare this similitude of the resurrection that we might this day of the Resurrection of His SONNE present him with this in the Text of rising to a new course of life And now to returne to our fashioning our selves like to Him in these As there is a death naturall and a death civill so is there a death morall both in Philosophie and in Divinitie and if a death then consequently a resurrection too Every great and notable change of our course of life whereby we are not now any longer the same men that before we were be it from worse to better or from better to worse is a morall death A morall death to that we change from and a morall resurrection to that we change to If we change to the better that is sinn's death if we alter to the worse that is sinn's resurrection when we commit sinne we die we are dead in sinne when we repent we revive againe when we repent our selves of our repenting and relapse back then sinne riseth againe from the dead and so toties quoties And even upon these two as two hinges turneth our whole life All our life is spent in one of them Now then that we be not all our life long thus off and on fast or loose â— And that once for all in docke out nettle and in nettle out docke it will behoove us once more yet to looke backe upon our similiter vos even upon the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 semel
with the fields that we need a feast of first fruits a day of consecration every yeere By something or other we grow un-hallowed and need to be consecrate anew to re-seize us of the first fruits of the Spirit again At least to awake it in us as Primitiae dormientium at least That which was given us and by the fraud of our enemie or our owne negligence or both taken from us and lost we need to have restored that which we have quenched to be light anew that which we have cast into a dead sleepe 1. Th. 5..19 Ephes. 5.14 awaked up from it If such a new consecrating we need what better time then the feast of first fruits the sacring time under the Lawe and in the Gospell the day of CHRIST 's rising our first fruits by whom we are thus consecrate The day wherein He was himselfe restored to the perfection of His Spirituall life the life of glorie is the best for us to be restored in to the first fruits of that spirituall life the life of Grace IV. The Application to the Sacrament And if we aske what shall be our meanes of this consecrating The Apostle telleth us Heb. 10.10 we are sanctified by the Oblation of the bodie of IESVS That is the best meanes to restore us to that life He hath said it and shewed it himselfe He that eateth Me shall live by Me. The words spoken concerning that are both Spirit and Life Ioh. 6.57.63 whither we seeke for the Spirit or seek for Life Such was the meanes of our death by eating the forbidden fruit the first fruits of death and such is the meanes of our life by eating the flesh of CHRIST the first fruits of life And herein we shall very fully fit not the time only and the meanes but also the manner For as by partaking the flesh and blood the substance of the first Adam we came to our death so to life we cannot come unlesse we do participate with the flesh and blood of the second Adam that is CHRIST We drew death from the first by partaking his substance and so must we draw life from the second by the same This is the way become branches of the Vine and partakers of his nature and so of his life and verdure both So the time the meanes the manner agree What letteth then but that we at this time by this meanes and in this manner make our selves of that conspersion whereof CHRIST is our first fruits by these meanes obteining the first fruits of His Spirit of that quickning Spirit which being obteined and still kept or in default thereof still recovered shall heer begin to initiate in us the first fruits of our restitution in this life whereof the fulnesse we shall also be restored unto in the life to come As Saint Peter calleth that time the time of the restoring of all things Then shall the fulnesse be restored us too Act. 3.21 when GOD shall be all in all not some in one and some in another but all in all Atque hic est vitiae finis pervenire ad vitam cujus non est finis This is the end of the Text and of our life to come to a life whereof there is no end To which c. A SERMON PREACHED BEFORE THE KING'S MAIESTIE AT VVHITE-HALL on the XXVII of March A. D. MDCVIII being EASTER DAY MAR. CHAP. XVI Et cum transisset Sabbatum c. VER 1. And when the Sabbath day was past Marie Magdalen and Marie the mother of Iames and Salome bought sweet ointments that they might come and embalme Him 2. Therefore early in the morning the first day of the weeke they came unto the Sepulcher when the Sunne was yet rising 3. And they said one to another Who shall roll us away the stone from the doore of the Sepulcher 4. And when they looked they saw that the stone was rolled away for it was a very great one 5. So they went into the Sepulcher and saw a yong man sitting at the right side clothed in a long white robe And they were afraid 6. But he said unto them Be not afraid Ye seeke IESVS OF NAZARET which hath beene crucified He is risen He is not heere Behold the place where they put Him 7. But goe your way and tell His Disciples and PETER thâ—t He will goe before you into Galilee there shall ye see Him as He said vnto you THE Summe of this Gospell is a Gospell that is The Summe a message of good tydings In a message these three points fall in naturally 1 The Parties to whom it is brought 2 The Partie by whom 3 And The Message it selfe These three 1. The Parties to whom Three women the three Maries 2. The Partie by whom an Angell 3. The Message it selfe the first newes of Christ's rising againe These three make the three parts in the Text. 1 The Women 2 The Angell 3 The Message Seven verses I have readd ye The first foure concerne the Women The fifth the Angell The two last the Angell's message In the Women we have to consider The Division 1 Themselves in the first 2 Their Iourney in the second and third and 3 Their Successe in the fourth In the Angell 1 The manner of his appearing 2 and of their affecting with it In the Message The newes it selfe 1. That CHRIST is risen 2. That He is gone before them to Galilee 3. That there they shall see Him 4. Peter and all 5. Then the Ite dicite The Commission Ad Evangelizandum not to conceale these good newes but publish it These to his Disciples they to others and so to us we to day and so to the worlds end I. The Parties to whom Three Women AS the Text lyeth the part that first offereth it selfe is The parties to whom this message came Which were three Women Where finding that Women were the first that had notice of Christ's resurrection we stay For it may seeme strange that passing by all men yea the Apostles themselves Christ would have His Resurrection first of all made knowne to that sexe Reasons are rendred of diverse diversly We may be bold to alleage that the Angell doth in the Text Verse 5. Vos enim quaeritis for they sought Christ. And Christ is not vnrighteous to forget the worke and labour of their Love Heb. 6.10 that seeke Him Verily there will appeare more Love and Labour in these Women then in Men even the Apostle's themselves At this time I know not how Men were then become Women and did animos gerere muliebres Ioh. 20.19 and Women were Men Sure the more manly of the twaine The Apostles they satt mured up all the doores fast about them sought not went not to the Sepulcher Ioh. 21.15.20 Neither Peter that loved Him nor Iohn whom He loved till these Women brought them word But these Women we see were last at His Passion and first at His
It is well knowen it is the proper word for rising and not standing The LXX so turne it not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shall stand but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shall rise againe The Fathers so read it Nec dum natus erat Dominus saith Saint Hierome Athleta Ecclesiae Redemptorem suum videt a mortuis resurgentem He was not yet borne and the Churche's champion Iob saw his Redeemer rising from the dead Victurum me certâ fide credo Liberâ voce profiteor quia Redemptor meus resurget qui inter impiorum manus occubuit with assured faith I beleeve and with free courage confesse that rise I shall inasmuch as my Redeemer shall rise who is to dye by the hands of wicked men saith Gregorie upon these very words Rise againe then shall our Redeemer from the dead There he was then or he could not rise thence How came he there So that heere is His death implyed evidently that brought him thither Rise he cannot except first he fall Fall therefore he must and be layd up in the earth before he can rise from thence againe Specially seeing we finde him first alive in the fore-part of the verse and then rise againe in the latter For how can that be vnlesse death come betweene Yea the Fathers goe further and from the words carne mea set downe the very state of his death In my flesh that is say they such flesh as mine rent and torne As to say true betweene CHRIST 's flesh when Pilate shewed Him with Ecce Homo Ioh. 19.5 and Iob's no great odds Vnum in toto corpore vulnus One resembled somewhat the other scarse any skinne left on Him no more then Iob postquam pellem meam contriverunt might CHRIST as truly say In his case he saw Him brought to the dust and thence he seeth Him rising againe and so now it is Easter day with Iob. For this Text this day was fulfilled Then He rose againe and rising shewed Himselfe a perfect Redeemer Then for till then though the price were payd nothing was seene to come backe Now His soule was not left in hell Psal. 16.10 Act. 2.31.13.35 and so that came backe Nor His flesh to see corruption and so that came backe And having thus with a mighty hand redeemed and raised Himselfe He is able to doe as much for us Quam in Se ostendit in me facturus est saith Gregorie Exemplo hîc monstravit quòd promisit in praemio What He shewed in himselfe He will performe in us and what we see now in this example then we shall feele in our owne reward But thus have we in this verse comprised His Person His two natures God-head and Man-hood His Office His Death and his Resurrection and his Second comming for at his first Iob saw Him not as Simeon but at His second shall What would we more with a little helpe one might make up a full Creed IOB'S owne resurrection Very well then on He goeth and out of this Scio quòd Redemptor he inferreth Scio quòd ego arguing from His Redeemer to himselfe Eâdem catenâ revincta est CHRISTI resurrectio nostra One chaine they ate linked with His and ours you cannot stirre one end but the other moveth with it The sinewes of which reason are in this that the Redeemer doth but represent the person of the redeemed For a Redeemer is res propter alium all he doth is for another Lives not dyes not rises not to or for himselfe but to or for others him or them he vndertakes for His life death resurrection theirs and the consequence so good Scio quòd ille quòd ego So there is no error in reading as we doe in our Office of the dead I shall rise againe at the last Though it be the third person in the Text the first is as infallibly deduced by consequence as if it were there expresly set downe as sure as He shall rise so sure He shall raise for to that end is He a Redeemer The Benefit We see the coherence let us see the Benefit which standeth of these foure points First He shall see GOD Secondly See Him in his flesh and with his eyes Thirdly in the same flâ—sh and with the same eyes and no other Fourthly and he shall see Him sibi for his owne good and benefit and all this non obstante the case he was in which gave but small likely-hood of it The first and maine benefit His Redeemer will raise him to is to see GOD. That Videbo Deum 1. I shall see GOD. he lost when he became aliened that he recovers being redeemed Heere beginns all miserie to be cast out of His presence heere all happinesse to be restored to the light of His countenance Visio Dei all along the Scriptures is made our chiefe good and our felicitie still set forth vnder that terme In Thy presence Psal. 16.11 Ioh. 14 8. is the fullnesse of ioy saith the Psalme Ostende nobis Patrem sufficit and we will never desire more A conjecture we may have of the glorie of this sight from Moses he saw Him and not His face neither and that but at a glimpse and but as He passed by yet Exod. 33.22.23 got he so glorious a brightnesse in his countenance he was faine to be veiled no eye could endure to behold Him And a like coniecture of the joy by the transffiguration they did but looke up at it they desired never to be any where but there Matt. 17.2 never to see any sight but that so were they ravished with the beholding of it See GOD and so he may in spirit as do the soules of the righteous departed 2. Vidâ—bo in Carne See him in my flâ—sh it skils not for the flesh Yes see him in the flesh That as proper to this text and this day which offers more grace This day CHRIST rose in the flesh and this Text is we shall see Him in the flesh It is meet the flesh partake the redemption wrought in the flesh and He be seen of flesh that was seen in the flesh He will doe it for the flesh it is now His nature no lesse then the God-head He will not forgett it we may be sure It were hard the Redeemer should be in the flesh and the flesh never the better for it For the soule is but halfe though the better half yet but half 1. Reason and the redeeming it is but a half redemption and if but half then unperfect And our Redeemer is GOD and GOD 's workes are all perfect if He redeem He doth it not by halves His redemption is a compleat redemption certainly But so it is not except He redeem the whole man Soule Flesh and all his soule from hell his flesh from the grave both to see GOD. His redemption is unperfect till it extend so farr Therfore at His comming againe they are willed to
and point both felt His despising the scorne and malice both of the twaine this the more but both He felt When they made furrowes on His backe Psal. 129.3 Mat. 27.29 with the scourges when they platted the Crowne of Thornes made it sit close to His head when they digged His hands feete He felt all He endured it patiently Psal. 22.16 tanquam lapis but He felt it sensibly tanquam vivus Had quick sense of His paine in graving had lively apprehension of His contempt in refusing And these very two words in the Text Lapidem and Reprobaverunt set out unto us both parts of His Passion fully As if He had been Stone so layd they on Him As if He had been a Reprobate so powred they all disgrace upon Him And even as a Stone He was in His Passion For as the Stones give against the weather so was there not to be seen upon Him a bloudy sweate Did He not give as it were of Himself Luc. 22.44 against the tempest came And when it came was it not so strange even that which this living Stone suffered as the dead Stones that had no life as if they had had life and compassion of His case rent in sunder with it Lapidem then is true And for reprobaverunt that is as true For how could they have intreated a reprobate worse then they entreated Him In His thirst In His prayer Mat 27.51 Ioh. 19.20 Mat 27.47.49 Phil. 2.8 In the very pangs of death what words of scorne and spitefull opprobrie What deeds of malice and wretched indignitie Of Himselfe it is said and by way of exaggeration He humbled Himselfe to death the death of the Crosse of them it may be no lesse Reprobaverunt ad mortem mortem crucis they rejected Him to death the death of Reprobates the death whereunto a Curse is annexed the death of the Crosse. And never gave Him over till they brought Him Lapis ad lapidem into a grave of Stone Mat. 27.60 and rolled a Stone upon Him and there left Him And thus much for Lapis quem reprobaverunt It is the Feast of the Passover we now passe over to His other estate His Exaltation ad Caput Anguli Were it not strange the stone should be rolled away and this Stone should be digged up againe and set up in the Antes the place most conspicuous that is made a Corner-stone and that in the very top the highest part of all that is made a Head-stone Were not this a strange Passeover from death to life from lowest reprobation to highest approbation from basest reproach to greatest glorie But seeing builders we see may be deceived and that in Capite as we finde heer and that though Caiaphas be one of them and a stone may have wrong Would it â—ot bâ— well we called to scrutinie againe Is there any builder yet left before whom we may bring the matter 〈…〉 Yes there is Every house is built of some man saith the Apostlâ— but He that is the builder of aâ—l iâ— GOD. He that sett up this great vaulted worke Ioâ—â—â— 6 Pâ—al 104.3 Iob. 26.7 of Heaven over our heaâ—â— that layed the Corner-stone of the earth He is a Builder But He that laieth His Chamber-beames in the waters Et appendit terram super nihilum hangs this great Masse no man knowes upon what He that beginneth at the topp and buildâ— downewards Heaven first and then Earth as He did He passeth all ours He is a skilfull Builder indeed Is He of the same minde Offer CHRIST to His probation He will reprobare reprobantes condemne them that so refused Him And all will turne quite contrarie Saint Peter saith it He was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. Pet. 2.4 reprobate with men but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 chosen of GOD 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nothing worth with them but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pretious with Him Meet to be in the building Nay no building meete to be without Him And in the building if any part more obiect to the sight then other there And in that if any place higher then another there In aedificio Angulo aedificij Capite Anguli In the Building the Corner of the building the Heâ—d of the Corner that is in the highest place of the chiefest part of all This He thoâ—ght Him and as He thought Him so He made Him and made Him so this day the day of His Resurrection Whom they cast downe GOD lift up from the grave whom they vilified He glorified glorified and made Him Caput Anguli The Head of the Corner Anâ—uli How of the Corner The Corner is the place where two walls meete and there be many two's in this Building The two walls of Nations Iewes and Gentiles The two of Conditions Bond and Free The two of Sexe Male and Female the great two which this day we celebrate of the Quicke and the Dead above all the greatest Two of all Heaven and Earth The two first meete in Him There was a partition but He downe with it Et fecit utraque unum Ephes. â— 14 So that there is neither Iew nor Greeke neither Bond nor Free Gal. â— 28 neither Male nor Female but all one in CHRIST IESVS Yea the Quick and the Dead both live to Him And all these so many Combinations as in the Center meet in Him and He in the midst of all drawes all and knitts all in one holy Faith and blessed hope of His Comming one mutuall unfained love towards each other Zach. 10.4 Ex te Angulus well said Zacharie Caput And as Vnitie is in the Angle so Order is under the Head As all one in Him so He is Head of all Head of the Iewes Iesus in their tongue Head of the Gentiles Col. 1.18 Col. 3.10 CHRIST in their tongue Head of the Church Head of all Principality Power Therefore this day CHRIST that dyed rose againe that He might be Lord both of Quick Dead Rom. 14.9 And of the great Angle of all consisting of Heaven and Earth Mat. 28 18. for all Power was given Him in heaven and earth and He made Head of both Now then will ye lay these togither There can come to a stone no greater dignity then there to be in the Head To any stone but it is much increased by that Circumstance that it is not onely Lapis barely but Lapis quem reprobaverunt that now is there in the Head Not any stone but a stone so refused as we heard for such a stone there to be from that Terminus à quo to come to this Terminus ad quem from so base an estate there to be that is a great encrease to it And thirdly by such a person a Builder so match-lesse there to be that is yet a degree higher And this triplicity eâ—alteth much His Exaltation That by God and not God's suffering but His doing and that factum mirabile His
that is miserable For this cause that He humbled himselfe And thirdly Humiliavit ipse se Obediens It was not Absalom's humility 3 Obediens 2. Sam 15.5 in shew and complement and his heart full of pride disobedience yea rebellion And yet it is a glory for humilitie that even proud men take a pride to shroud themselves in her mantell that pride weares humilitie's livery But it is not humble courtesie but humble Obedience that is the Propter quod Till it come to that many beare themselves in tearmes and shew low ad humum even touch the ground But come once thither to obedience then give lawes they must but obey none make others obedient and ye will but not factus obediens not made themselves so CHRIST was so made And for this cause And something strange it is why Humiliavit ipse se Obediens would not serve and no more but factus must be added Somewhat there was in that 4 Factus .. An Obedience there is that commeth from the dictamen of naturall reason in some things we so obey we will doe it because our reason so moveth us That is Obediens natus But some other there be wherein there is no other reason to leade us to doe it but onely this that is enioyned us by a lawfull Superiour and therefore we doe it and for no other cause This is Obediens factus and that in true proper termes is the right obedience indeed All looke to the former and very few obey thus But even so obeyed CHRIST erat subditus illis And for this cause then Luk. 2.51 that He was factus Obediens And obediens factus vsque is a fifth For the very size 5 Vsque Act. 26.28 1. Sam. 15.9 the extent of our obedience is a matter considerable For if we come to any it is Agrippa's in modico in some pety small matter Or Saul's in the refuse of the spoiles little worth And that obedience is little worth that is so shrunk up The drawing out the vsque of it is all in all How farre obedient vntill what Vsque quò Which very Extent or vsque is many times as much worth as the Obedience itselfe This also will come into the Propter quod Now many Vsque's there be in this of His. 1. Vsque naturam hominis Thither Verse 7. His very humanity had beene humility enough 2. Vsque formam Servi is more How Even to wash the feet of they servants said Abigail 1. Sam 25.41 Ioh. 23.5 and tooke herselfe to be very humble in so saying Thither He came too What say yee to vsque mortem the sixth point Mortem 6 Mortem Iob. 2.4 Rom. 6.23 that will stagger the best of us We love Obedience in a whole skin Vsque any thing rather then that And to say troth no reason in the world obedience should come to that Death is the wages of sinne of disobedience Factus obediens what and factus reus too Obedient and yet put to death heaven and earth should ring of it if the case were ours Well even thither came His obedience Et ne perderet obedientiam perdidit vitam And rather then to lose His obedience lost his life This is indeed a great Propter quod 7 â—ortem aâ—tem Cruciâ— Enough now For death is vltima linea we say Nay there is yet an Autem more behinde to make it up full seven For One death is worse then another And His was Mortem autem the worst death of all the death of malefactors and of the worst sort of malefactors Mortem Crucis Nay if he must die let him die an honest a faire death Not so nay Morte turpissimâ said they of it that put him to it the foulest death of all other vsque mortem Chap. 2.20 mortem autem Crucis Died and so died Ever the So the manner is more then the thing it selfe in all of CHRIST To be borne So to be borne vsque praesepe to the Cratch To die Luke â— 7 nay So to die vsque Crucem to the Crosse. Vsque naturam hominis vsque formam Servi vsque mortem malefici 1. So great a Person 2. Thus to humble 3. Humble his own selfe 4 To be obedient 5. To be mà de obedient 6. Obedient with an vsque so farre 7. So farre as to death 8. And to a death so opprobrious These Extensives and Intensives put together will I trust make up a perfect Propter quod And this for humilitas claritatis meritum in the first verse II. Verse 9. Now for Claritas humilitatis praemium in the rest And will yee observe how they answer one another For humiliavit there heere is exaltavit For Ipse there DEVS GOD heere For Ipse se DEVS ipsum He humbled himselfe GOD exalted him For humiliavit vsque there heere is exaltavit super For factus obediens there heere factus Dominus For mortem crucis the death of the Crosse there here is the glory of GOD the Father Super-exaltavit Ipsum This exalting we reduced to two 1 Of His Person 2 Of his Name Of His Person in super-exaltavit Ipsum Of His Name in the rest of the verse To begin with His personall exaltation Super-exaltavit is a de-compound There is Ex and Super both in it His exalting hath an Ex whence or out of what His exalting hath a super whither or whereunto Ex. Ex from whence from the two very last words Mortem Crucis His raising to life opposed to Mortem the sorrowes of death The giving of His Name to Crucis the shame of the Crosse. This dayes Ex was from death His humiliavit had beene ad humum to the ground Nay further into the ground Nay further yet Ephes. 4.9 Psal. 9.13.49.15 Pro. 7.27 Matt. 28.3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into the very lowest parts of it His exaltavit then was from thence from death and nor the gates of death then He was not in nor the iawes of death then He was not quite downe but from inferiora and interiora the lowermost and innermost roomes of death From vnder the Stone thence from the Dungcon with a Gen. 40.15 Ioseph From the bottome of the Denne with b Dan. 6.23 Daniel From the Bellie of the Whale with c Ionas 2 10. Ionas All three Types of Him There is His Ex. Super. Now then whither From Death to life From shame to glory From a death of shame to a life of glory From the forme of a servant in factus obediens to the dignitie of a Soveraigne in factus Dominus But will ye marke againe For Non sicut delictum sic donum saith he els-where So here not as His humbling so was His exalting but more That of His humbling was dispatched in one verse Rom. 5.15 This of His exalting hath no lesse then three So the amends is large three to one But that is not it I meane But
His part His resurrection by His owne And first to Excitabo Hitherto we are not come but now we come to the Signe for the Signe is in Excitabo Et Excitabo And I will raise it up Which is spoken as it were by way of triumph over all they could or should doe to Him Goe to dissolve it destroy it downe with it when you have done your worst it shall be in vaine Excitabo illud my power shall triumph ouer your malice I will raise it I will up with it againe Excitabo how opposed to Solvite But to loose and to raise these two are not opposite Rather to loose and to set together againe Raysing is opposed to falling and resurrection to ruine properly But it comes all to one Vpon the dissolving of any frame streight downe it dropps This goodly Temple of our bodie on the decking and trimming whereof so much is daily wasted loose the soule from it but a moment and downe it falls and there it lies like a log we all know In opposition to this fall it is said He will raise But He will doe both as it was loosed yet it fell so will He set it together yet He raise it againe Excitabo illud Three points there are in it 1 The Act â— And the Person in Excitabo and â— the Thing it selfe in illud 1. The act The word He useth for it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in proprietie is a raising from sleepe Excitabo the act As from sleepe And sâ—eepe we know is farr from destruction It is to shew us first what a strange metamorphosis He would make in Death turne it but into a requiescet a requiescet in spe and there is all So made He His owne so will He make ours Psal. 16.9 This day CHRIST is risen again the first fruits of them that sleepe 1. Cor. 15.20 Dan. 12.2 and the rest that sleepe in the dust when their time comes shall doe the like 2. To shew secondly they should misse of their purpose quite They reckoned indeed to destroy Him they were deceived they made him but ready for a night's rest or two They made full account Death had devoured and digested him too they were deceived it was not so Ion. 2.10 Death had but swallowed Him downe as the Whale did Ionas upon the third day to cast him up againe 3. To shew thirdly not onely that this He would doe but wit what ease He would doe it With no more difficulty then one is waked up after a nights rest with no more adoe then a knot that is but loose and untyed is tyed againe But besides the Act Excitabo the person He himselfe we are to looke to the Person in Excitabo It is not destroy you and some other shall raise it but I even I my selfe and none but my selfe will doe it Nec alienâ virtute sed propriá and by none others beside but by mine owne proper vertue and power An argument of His Divine nature For none ever did none ever could doe that Raised some were but not any by himselfe or by his owne power but by a power imparted to some Prophet by GOD for that time and turne CHRIST by none imparted from any other but by His owne from Himselfe And let it not stumble any that elswhere the Father is said to raise and exalt Him That is all one Both will stand well The same power the Father doth it by by the same doth it He. There is but one power of both Of both or of either of them it is alike truly verified This for the Person Now for the thing Illud Templum hoc before and illud heer Illud The same Temple In substance Hoc and Illud are not two but one and the same Not Solvite hoc suscitabo aliud downe with this and I will up with another in the stead No but idem illud the very same again The very same you destroy that and no other will I reare up againe With us with the world it is not so when we fall to dissolve a frame of Governement suppose of the Church it is not Solvite hoc excitabo illud no but excitabo aliud We raise not the same but another quite another nothing like it a new one never heard of before But let them keepe their aliud and give us illud againe Illud we love It is CHRIST'S excitabo that and if we follow CHRIST in His raising the same againe or not at all But though illud be the same againe in substance Not the same In qualitie yet not in qualitie the same for all that but so farr different as in that respect it may seeme aliud another quite At least well may it be now called illud as it were with an Emphasis as qualified far beyond that it was before when it was but Templum hoc And to say truth if it be but the same just and no whit better as good save His labour and let the first stand For it is but His labour for His traveyle if nothing woone by it But if though the same yet not in the same but in a farr better estate then before Cedar for Mulberry marble for bricke as the Prophet speakes then Esai 9.10 ye say somwhat and then we will be content to have it taken downe And such was the estate of this Temple after the raising And such was it to be For the glorie of the second House was much greater then of the first Agge 2.10 Which encrease or bettering is implied in the word excitabo It is I told you a Rising up after sleepe Now in the morning after sleepe the bodie riseth more fresh and full of vigour then it was over night when it lay downe The Apostle speakes it more plainly Templum hoc saith he at the loosing it was in weakenesse dishonour mortalitie 1. Cor. 15.42.43 Templum illud at the raising it is in power and honour to immortalitie And sure one speciall reason of the dissolving this Temple was that as then it was Solvite might be said of it It was dissoluble But being now raised againe it is fâ—ster wrought indissoluble now No Solvite to be said not to be loosed ever any more This for Excitabo illud Now the last point of the Time The Signe is in that too IV. The Time Three daies And when this Within what time Within three daies Which words seemed to affect them most All their exception lay to them He looked not like one that would build Churches But let that passe were He never so likely He takes too small a time for sâ— great a worke as they thought But if we agree once of His power to raise from death the time will slide we shall never sticke at it much but agree of that quickly He that can raise from the dead ten thousand Churches will be built one after another before one be
sing of it in his song Esa. 26.19 resembling the Resurrection to a Spring-garden Awake and sing saith he ye that dwell for a time are as it were sowen in the dust for His dew shall be as the dew of herbes and the earth shall shoot foorth her dead So then He appeared no other then He was A Gardiner He was not in shew alone but opere veritate and so came in His owne likenesse This for Christ's appearing Now to His speech but as vnknowne still VER XV. Iesus saith to her Woman why weepest thou whom seekest thou She supposing he had beene the Gardiner said to Him Sir if thou have borne Him hence tell me where thou hast laid Him and I will take Him thence Still shee weeps So He begins with quid ploras Christ 's question unknown askes the same question the Angells had before onely quickens it a little with Quem quaeris Whom seeke you So quem quaeris quaerit à te quem quaeris whom she sought He askes her whom she sought Si quaeris cur non cognoscis si cognoscis cur quaeris saith Augustine If she seeke Him Augustine why knowes she Him not If she know Him why seekes she Him still A common thing with vs this also To seeke a thing and when we have found it not to know we have so but even Christum à Christo quaerere to aske Christ for Christ. Which however it fall in other matters in this seeking of Christ it is safe Even when we seeke Christ to pray to Christ to help vs to finde Christ we shall do it full evill without Him This quid ploras it comes now twise The Angells asked it we stood not on it then Now seeing Christ askes it againe the second time we will thinke there is some thing in it and stay a little at it The rather for that it is the very opening of His mouth the very first words that ever came from Him that he spake first of all after His rising againe from death There is sure some more then ordinarie matter in this quid ploras if it be but even for that Thus say the Fathers 1 That Marie Magdalen standing by the grave's side and there weeping is thus brought in to represent unto us the state of all mankind before this day the day of Christ's rising againe weeping over the dead 1. Thess. 4.13 as doe the heathen that have no hope comes Christ with his quid ploras Why doe you weepe As much to say as ne plores Weepe not why should you weepe There is no cause of weeping now Henceforth none shall need to stand by the grave to weepe there any more A question veriâ— proper for Easter-day for the day of the Resurrection For if there be a rising againe quid ploras is right why should she why should any weepe then So that this quid ploras of Christ's wipes away teares from all eyes and as we sing in the 30. Psalme whose title is the Psalme of the Resurrection putts off our sackcloth that is our mourning weeds girds vs with gladnesse putts vs all in white with the Angells Ploraâ— then leave that for Good-friday for His Passion Weepe then and spare not But quid ploras for Easter-day is in kinâ—â— the Feast of the Resurrection why should there be any weeping vpon it Is not Christ risen Shall not Herâ—ise vs with Him Is He not a Gardiner to make our bodies owne to grow againe Ploras leave that to the heathen that are without all hope but to the Christian man quid ploras Why should he weepe he hath hopes the Head is alreadie risen the membâ—rs shall iâ— their due time follow Him I observe that foure times this day at foure severall appearings 1 at the first at this heere He askes her quid ploras Why she wept â— Of them that went to Emmaeus quid tristes estis Luc. 24.17 Why are ye sad â— Within a Verse following the 19. He saith to the Eleven Pax vobis Peace be to them â— And to the women that met Him on the way Mat. 28.9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Rejoice be glad So no weeping no being sad now nothing this day but peace and joy they do properly belong to this feast And this I note the more willingly now this yeare because the last Easter we could not so well have noted it Some wept then all were sad little joy there was and there was a quid a good cause for it But blessed be GOD that hath now sent us a more kindly Easter of this by taking away the cause of our sorrow then that we may preach of Quid ploras and be far from it So much for quid ploras CHRIST 's question Now to her answere â—er answer She is still where she was at sustulerunt before at sustulisti now si tu sustulisti we shall never get that word from her But to CHRIST she seemes somewhat more harsh then to the Angells To them she complaines of others They have taken CHRIST she seemes to charge at least to suspect of the fact as if He looked like one that had been a breaker up of graves a carrier away of Corses out of their place of rest Her if implies as much But pardon love as it feares where it needs not so it suspects oft where it hath no cause He or any that comes in our way hath done it hath taken Him away when love is at a losse But Bernard speakes to CHRIST for her Domine amor quem habebat in te dolor quem habebat de Te excuset eam apud Te si fortè erravit circa Te That the love she bare to Him the sorrow she had for Him may excuse her with Him if she were in any error concerning Him in her saying Si Tu sustulisti And yet see how GOD shall direct the â—ounge In thus charging Him Prophetat nescit Origen She sayes truer then she was aware For indeed if any tooke Him away it was He did it So she was not much amisse Her si tu was true though not in her sense For quod de ipso factum est ipse fecit All that was done to Him He did it Himselfe His taking away virtus fuit non facinus was by His owne power not by the act of any other Chrysologus Et gloria non injuria No other mans iniurie it was but His owne glorie that she found Him not there This was true but this was no part of her meaning I cannot heere passe over two more Characters of her love that so you may have the full ten I promised One in si â—a sustulisti Eum in her Eum in her Him Him Which Him Her affection seemes so to transport her as she sayes no man knowes what To one a meer stranger to her and she to him she talkes of one thrice under the terme of Him If thou hast taken Him
brethren sends to them They be my brethren and I theirs and by that name commend me to them Nothing heer that favours of any anger Nor nothing that favours of any pride But even as Ioseph in the top of his honor So he in this the day of his glorious exulting from the dead claymes kindred of them a sort of poore forlorne men and as the Apostle expresseth it non est confusus vocare Heb. 2.11 is not a whit ashamed of them that were ashamed of Him Disdeignes not poore as they were unkinde as they were but vouchsafes to call them brethren for all that Which word brethren implies two things 1. First Identitie of nature His nature is not changed by death The nature He died in in the same He rises againe Thereby lies a matter For If He rose as man then man also may rise If one be risen there is hope for others If the nature be risen the persons in it may So it was with the first Adam In his person was our nature and in him it died and we in it So is it in the sâ—cond In His person our nature is risen In our nature we all This first Risen in the same nature He had before Not changed it 2. And second Risen with the same love and affection He had before Not changed it neither Yes changed it I said not well in that but changed it for the better Before this when He said most He said but I will call you my friends The highest terme He came to Ioh. 15.15 before But heer being risen He riseth we see higher as high as Love can rise to compt them and style them fratres meos And so much for that Goe to my brethren II. Dic eiâ— The Commission Well when she comes to His Brethren what then Et dic eis and say to them or teâ—l thâ—m By which words He gives her a Commission Vade is her Mission Dic eis her Commission A Commission to publish the first newes of His rising and as it falls out of His ascending too The Fathers say that by this word she was by CHRIST made an Apostle Nay Apostolorum Apostola an Apostle to the Apostles themselves An Apostle For what lacks she 1. Sent first immediatly from CHRIST Himselfe And what is an Apostle but so 2. Secondly Sent to declare and make knowen Mat. 28.19 And what difference between Ite praedicate and Vade dic but onely the number the thing is the same 3. And last What was she to make knowen CHRIST 's rising and ascending And what are they but Evangelium the Gospell yea the very Gospell of the Gospell This day with CHRIST 's rising beginns the Gospell Not before Crucified dead buried no good newes no Gospell they in themselves And them the Iewes beleeve as well as we The first Gospell of all is the Gospell of this day and the Gospell of this day is this Marie Magdalen's Gospell 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the prime Gospell of all before any of the other foure That CHRIST is risen and upon His ascending and she the first that ever brought these glad tydings At her hands the Apostles themselves received it first And from them we all Which as it was a speciall honour and wheresoever this Gospell is preached shall be told for a memoriall of her Mat. 26.13 so was it withall not without soâ—e kinde of enthwiting to them to the Apostles for sitting at home so drowping in a corner that CHRIST not finding any of them is faine to seeke Him a new Apostle And finding her where He should have found them and did not to send by the hand of her that He first found at the Sepulcher's side and to make Himselfe a new Aâ—ostle And send her to them to enter them as it were and catechize them in the two Articles of the Christian faith the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ. To her they and we both owe them the first notice of them And by this lo the amends we spake of is made her for her Noli me tangere Full amends For to be thus sent to be the messenger of these so blessed tydings is a higher honour a more speciall favour done her a better good turne every way better then if she had been let alone had her desire touched Christ which she so longed for and so eagerly reached at Better sure for I reason thus Christ we may be sure would never have enjoined her to leave the better to take the worse To leave to touch Him to goe to tell them if to goe to tell them had not beene the better So that hence we inferr that to goe and carry comfort to them that need it to tell them of Christ's rising that doe not know it is better then to tarry and doe nothing but stand touching Christ. Touching Christ gives place to teaching Christ. Vade dic better then mane tange Christ we see is for Vade dic That if we were in case where we might touch Christ we were to leave Christ untouched and even to give our selves a noli me tangere to goe and doe this And to thinke our selves better imployed in telling them then in touching Him Will you observe withall how well this agrees with her offer a little before of Ego tollam Eum She must needs know of the Gardiner Ver. 15. Tell me where you have layd Him Et ego tollam and she would take Him and carry Him that she would Why you that would so faine take and carry me being dead goe take and carry me now alive that is carry newes that I am alive And you shall better please me with this ego tollam a great deale It shall be a better carrying Ego tollam in a better sense then ever was that Stand not heer then touching me Goe and touch them and with the very touch of this report you shall worke in them a kinde of that you see in me a kinde of a resurrection from a dolefull and dead to a cheerfull and lively estate Tell them What Tell them that I ascend that is am about to ascend III. Ascendo The Motion am upon the point of it am very shortly to doe it Quod prope abest ut fiat habetur pro facto that that is neer done we reckon as good as done Tell them that I ascend Why how now What day is to day It is not Ascension day It is Easter and but early Easter yet His Ascension is fourty daies of This were a Text for that day Why speakes He of that now Why not rather Tell them I am risen more proper for this day Why He needs not tell her that She could tell that of her selfe she saw it And besides in saying I ascend He implies fully as much Till He be risen ascend He cannot He must ascend out of the grave yet He can ascend up to heaven Resurrexit must be past yer ascendo can come
speeches or libels of David that was all that Shemei 7. By harbouring or receiving them as the City Abel did Sheba and should have beene sacked for it 8 By furnishing them with money or supplyee otherwise as it might be contributing to the pouder Iud. 9.4 as the men of Sichem to Abimelech 9. By that which Salomon calleth hand in hand Pro. 11.21 that is digging with the pickaxe co-operating with them in the vault 10. By being if not partie yet privie to it and not opposing 1. Sam. 26.9 as David had beene to Saul's death if he had not hindered Abisai Non obstans Esther 2.22 11. Or at the least privie and not disclosing it which had beene Mardochai's case if he had concealed the Eunuch's treason Non manifestans 12. And last which I take to be full out as bad if not much worse then eny of the rest by speaking or writing in praise or defense either of the deed or the doers their case Num. 16.47 calling Core and his companie the people of the Lord for sure if the consenter be in the commender much more All these make up this medley To these or eny of these well may it be said Ne commiscearis Now I know degrees there be in mixture more or lesse but heere is no degree Onely Ne commiscearis simply Not in no great quantitie but not in the least scruple not at all It is ranke poyson the least drop of it is deadly Never so little is too much Therefore absolutely Ne commiscearis Medle not with them at all not with absolving them not with giving them the oath not with praying for them above all not with offering the unbloody sacrifice for so bloudy a treason Iacob's counsel is best In consilium eorum ne veniat anima tua Gen. 49.6 not to come once among them To separate your selves from the tents of Core touching whom you know what GOD gave in charge and what Moses proclaimed Away from them come not neere them touch not eny thing that is theirs Num. 16.26 It is infected they have the plague if you medle with it it will bring you to destruction II. The Pâ—â—naltie So are we come to the second Verse to the penaltie And it is not more then needs 1. For sure even good counsell enters but slowly into us we are so dull if it have not an edge given it be not seconded with some forcible reason to helpe it forward 2. Now no reason more forcible or of better edge to enter us then that which is taken from the feare of some great mischief or maine inconvenience which will surely take hold of us if we take not hold of the counseile 3. And as none more forciâ—â—◠〈◊〉 none more fit for the present counseilc It is to feare Now to enduce feare 〈◊〉 way more fit then to set before us some matter of terror some fearfull object or â—â—â—â—equent it will bring us to And what more fearefull then of all the five fearâ—â—â—â— things set downe by the Philosopher the most fearfull that is the feare of death 〈◊〉 Why it workes with beasts and even with the dullest of them Balaam's beast Num. 22.23 〈◊〉 him strike him lay on him with a staffe ye shall never get him to run upon the Aâ—gell's sword upon his own death that shall ye never Sure we are to think His first câ—mmandement God headed with the best head He had and that was Morte morieris He thought it the surest and most likely to prevaile And if eny thing hold us this will If ye feare neither God nor King yet feare this 1. But yet if we weigh the word destruction there is more in it then death 1. Dâ—struction To death we must all come but this it will bring you to an untimely end Not fall of your selfe but destroyed even plucked downe a great while before you would fall 2. Nay nor it is not untimely death neither 2. Nay Ruine there is more in it then so in destruction All that die before their time are not destroyed God forbid No there goeth some evill touch some shame some foule uncouth end ever with it that is it that makes it destruction 3. But what manner destruction Some may be restored and built againe This is ad ruinam that is added in the latter part of the Verse to ruine So that never built again never repaired more that is to utter destruction 4. And yet there is more still For these two 1 ruine and 2 destruction they be not used of a person properly but as the word gives of an house or structure Add this then that it will be the ruine and plucking downe not of your selfe alone but of your house too And indeed how many great Houses have beene ruined by it Then if this will not hold you from meddling that it is a sinne a double sinne against both Tables that it is a sinn of presumption if this will not let this that it is destructorie a destroying sinne one of those sinns that followes them that meddle with it hard at the heeles and never leaves them till it have brought them to destruction and utter ruine them and their whole House it eradicates it pulls all up by the roots Sinne it selfe is a Nimium yet is there a Nimium in sinne too O be not over-wicked saith the Preacher be not too too folish so very wicked so over-foolish as to shorten your owne dayes to make you die tempore non suo before your time come yea to be destroyed utterly you your house and all Sure if this come of it he bad you not feare for nought Nay this is not all he goes further Of all Retentives feare of all feares the feare of death death and destruction Now of all destructions this for all destructions are not of one size neither some more fearefull then other But this this is no common one it hath two attendants to make it more fearefull then the ordinary destructions or visitations of other men The former two as it were manacles for the hands not to have a hand in it These latter as fetters to the feet not to goe about it But still it runnes upon two as it were one for the King another for God still This is the first Their destruction it shall rise sodenly 3. And that sodenly Everie word hath his weight if you marke them It shall rise fitly For Sedition we call it a rising one rising he punisheth with another Rise it is not Surget but consurget as early up rise as soone as the Sinne it selfe From the first moment of sinne their destruction rises with it followeth it at the heeles is still hard behind it if they could looke backe and see it it is not an ynch from them 2. Rise and rise sodenly Psal. 55.15 Let death come sodenly upon them at unawares it is David's prayer and so shall it come it is Salomon's prophesie
before and then that which is now life shall be then no life And then what is it the neerer What if Adam had lived till this morning what were he now the neerer Yet for all that as short and fraile as it is we do what possibly man can do to eeke it still and think our selves jolly wise men when we have done though we die next yeare after for all that If then with so great labour diligence earnestnesse endeavour care and cost we busy our selves sometimes to live for a while how ought we to desire to live for ever if for a time to put death away how to take death away cleane You desire life I am sure and long life and therefore a long life because it is long that is commeth somewhat neerer in some degree to aeternall life If you desire a long lasting life why doe you not desire an ever lasting life If a life of many yeares Psal. 101.28 which yet in the end shall faile why not that life whose yeares shall never faile If we say it is lack of witt or grace when any man runnes in danger of the law of man whereby haply he abridges himselfe of halfe a douzen yeares of his life what wit or grace is there wilfully to incurre the losse of aeternall life For indeed as in the beginning we sett downe it is a matter touching the losse of aeternall life we have in hand and withall touching the paine of aeternall death It is not a losse onely for we cannot lose life and become as a stone free from either if we leese our hold of this life aeternall death taketh hold upon us If we heape not up the treasure of immortalitie we heape up the treasure of wrath against the day of wrath Rom. 2.5 Act. 8.20 If your wealth be not with us to life pecunia vestra vobiscum est in perditionem We have not farre to seeke for this For if now we turne our deafe eare to this Charge Verse 9. you shall fall into tentations fear ye not that Into many foolish and noisome lusts nor feare ye that neither yet feare whither these lead which drowne men inperdition and destruction of body and soule Feare ye not these doth the Lord thunder thus and are ye not moved Quibus verbis te curabo I know not how to do you good But let aeternall life prevaile Sure if life come not death comes There is as much said now not as I have to say but as the time would suffer Onely let me in a few words deliver the charge concerning this and so I will breake up the Court for this time And now Right Honourable beloved c albeit that according to the power that the Lord hath given us I might testifie and charge you in the presence of GOD the Father who quickeneth all things and of the Lord Iesus who shall shew himselfe from heaven with His mighty Angells in flaming fire rendring vengeance to them not onely that know not GOD but to them also that obey not the Gospell of our Lord IESVS CHRIST that ye thinke upon these things which you have heard to do them yet humanum dico for your infirmitie I will speake after the manner of men the nature of a man best loveth to be dealt withall and even beseech you by the mercies of GOD even of GOD the Father who hath loved you and given you an everlasting consolation and a good hope through grace and by the comming of our Lord IESVS CHRIST and our assembling unto Him that you receive not this Charge in vaine that ye account it His charge and not mine received of Him to deliver to you Looke not to me I beseech you in whom whatsoever you regard countenance or learning years or autoritie I do most willingly acknowledge my selfe farr unmeet to deliver any more meet a great deale to receive one my selfe save that I have obteined fellowship in this businesse in dispensing the Mysteries and delivering the Charges of the Lord. Looke not on me looke on your owne soules and have pitie on them Looke upon heaven and the Lord of heaven and earth from whom it commeth and of whom it will be one day called for againe Surely there is a heaven Surely there is a hell Surely there will be a day when enquirie shall be made how we have discharged that we have received of the Lord and how you have disâ—â—â—rged that you have received of us in the Lord's Name Against which day your consciences stand charged with many things at many times heard Wisd. 1.12 O seeke not death in the error of your life deceive not your selves think not that when my words shall be at an end both they shall vanish in the aire and you never heare of them againe Surely you shall the day is comming when it shall be required againe at your hands A fearefull day for all those that for a little riches thinke basely of others upon all those that repose in these vaine riches as they shall see then a vaine confidence upon all those that enjoy onely with the belly and the backe and doe either no good or miserable sparing good with their riches whose riches shall be with them to their destruction Beloved when your life shall have an end as an end it shall have when the terror of death shall be upon you when your soule shall be cited to appeare before GOD in novissimo I know and am perfectly assured all these things will come to mind againe you will perceive and feele that which possibly now you do not The devill 's charge commeth then who will presse these points in another manner then we can then it will be too late Prevent his charge I beseech you by regarding and remembring this now Now is the time while you may and have time wherein and abilitie wherewith thinke upon it and provide for aeternall life you shall never in your life stand in so great need of your riches as in that day provide for that day and provide for aeternall life It will not come yet it is true it will be long in comming but when it comes it will never have an end This end is so good that I will end with aeternall life which you see is Saint Paule's end It is his and the same shall be my end and I beseech GOD it may be all our ends To GOD immortall invisible and onely wise GOD who hath prepared this eternall life for us who hath taught us this day how to come unto it whose grace be ever with us and leave us not till it have thereto brought us the Father the Sonne and the Holy Ghost be all glorie power praise and thanksgiving now and for ever AMEN One of the Sermons upon the II. COMMANDEMENT PREACHED IN THE PARISH Church of S t. GILES Cripplegate Ian. IX AN. DOM. MDXCII ACTS CHAP. II. VER XLII And they continued in the APOSTLE'S Doctrine and Fellowship and Breaking of
a pardon or m Gal. 4.4 being justified from those things which by the Lawe we could not All these wherein for the most part this is still expressed What speake they but that the sense of this Name cannot be rightly understood nor what manner of righteousnesse is in question except we still have before our eyes This same Coram Rege justo judicium faciente 2. And againe by way of opposition For usually where iustifying is named there condemning which is a term meerly judiciall is set against it In the Law n Deut. 25.1 When there shal be strife the matter shall come before â—hee and sentence to be given see the righteous be iustified and the sinner condemned o Psal. 17.15 To iustifie the wicked and condemne the innocent both are alike abhominable before GOD. p 1. Reg. 8.22 If man cannot iudge heare thou from heaven condemne the wicked and iustifie the righteous In the Gospell q Mat 12.37 By thy words shalt thou be iustified and by thy words condemned r Rom. 8.34 It is GOD that iustifieth who shall condemne s Rom. 5.16 Grace to iustification as sinne to condemnation All these shew manifestly we must imagine our selves standing at the Barre or wee shall never take the state of this question aright nor truely understand the mysterie of this Name For it is not in question whither wee have an inhaerent righteousnesse or no Or whither GOD will accept it or reward it but whither that must be our righteousnesse Coram REGE iusto iudicium faciente Which is a point very materiall and in no wise to be foâ—gotten For without this if we compare ourselves wiâ—h our sâ—lves what heertofore we have beene or if we compare our selvâ—s with others as did the Pharisee we may take a phansie perhapps and have some good conceipt of our inhaerent righteousnesse Yea if we be to deale in Schooles by argument or disputation we may peradventure argue for it and make some shew in the matter But let us once be brought and arraigned Coram Rege iusto sedente in Solio let us set our selves there we shall then see that all our former conceipt will vanish streight and Righteousnesse in that sense will not abide the triall Bring them hither then and aske them heere of this Name and never a Saint nor Father no nor the Schoolemen themselves none of them but will shew you how to understand it aright In their Commentaries it may be in their questions and debates they will hold hard for the other But remove it hither they forsake it presently and take the Name in the right sense t â—ob 1.18 Hast thou considered my servant IOB saith GOD to Satan how just perfect he is This just and perfect IOB standing heere u Iâ—b 9.15.10.15 Though I be iust saith he I wil not hold up my head or as they say Stare rectus in Curiâ will never plead it or stand upon it but putt up a Supplication to be releeved by IEHOVA iustitia nostra David hath the witnesse to have been w 1. Sam. 13.14 a man according to GOD 's owne heart For all that he dareth not stand heere But desireth GOD would not enter into judgement with him For that x Psal. 143.2 In conspectu tuo in His sight not he nor any other living which S. Bernard extendeth to the Angells shall be justified But if he must come as thither we must come all then y Psal. 70.16 Memorabor justitiae tuae solius he will never chaunt his owne righteousnesse but make mention only of this Name IEHOVAH justitia nostra DANIEL z Dan. 9.4 Vir desideriorum as the Angell termed him even he that man so greatly beloved after he saw the a Dan. 7.9 Ancient of dayes sett downe in his Throne and the bookes open before him then b Dan. 9.7 Tibi Domine justitia nobis autem confusio faciei c 9.18 Non in justificationibus nostris Not in our righteousnesse yet was that righteousnesse à Iehovâ but heer it would not serve he must waite for the MESSIAS and the d Dan. 9.24 everlasting righteousnesse which he bringeth with him And e Esai 6.1 Esay likewise at the vision of the LORD sedentis super thronum and the Angells covering their faces before him crieth out f Esai 6.5 Vae mihi Wo is me I am a man of polluted lippes Woe is me for I have held my peace and there he seeth the very sinnes of his lipps and the very sinnes of omission will be enough to condemne him though he had never in act committed any To end this point S. Paul a Vessell of Election So g Act. 9.15 GOD himself doth name him saith plainly if it were before the Corinthians or any Assize of man he would stand upon his righteousnesse But seeing h 1. Cor. 4.4 Qui me judicat est Dominus he will give it over and confesse that though Nihil mihi conscius sum and so had justitia à Domino yet for all that in hoc non sum justificatus it is another righteousnesse and not that must acquite him Thus do the Saints both of the Old and of the New Testament take this Name And do not the Fathers the like Saint Augustine's report it is of S. Ambrose that being now at the point of death he alleadged that the Cause why he feared not death was Quia bonum habemus Dominum and doth he not give this note upon it that he did not presume De suis purgatissimis moribus of his conversation though most holy and cleane but only stood on the goodnesse of the LORD the LORD our Righteousnesse And doth he not in his owne case flye to the same against Cresconius the Donatist That he shunned not to have his life sifted to the uttermost by any Donatist of them all Yet in the eyes of GOD Cum Rex iustus sederit in Solio these very words he alledgeth he saith plainly he dare not justifie himselfe but rather waited for the overflowing bounty of his grace then would abide the severe examination of his judgement And Bernard in his CCCX Epistle the very last he wrote a little before his death to the Abbot of Chartres concludeth he not Calcaneum vacuum meritis curate munire precibus Abandoneth he not then his justitia à Domino and confesseth his heele meaning the end of his life is bare of all merits and desireth to have it by prayers commended to Iehova iustitia nostra Thus doe the Fathers conceive of it Yea the very Schoolemen themselves take them from their Questions Quodlibetts and Comments on the Sentences let them be in their soliloquies meditations or devotions Anselm interrogat Bonaventura in Breviâ—oquio Gers. in Agone and specially in directing how to deale with men in their last agony quando Iudex prae foribus est then take Anselme take Bona venture take
kinde of jangling knowledge and holding of opposition which he calleth knowledge falsly so called Therefore for all their Sermons and all their Lectures 1. Tim. 6.20 a deceipt there is certainly For let us examine it If that which is heard be therfore heard that it may be done and it be not done a deceipt there is somebody there is deceived light where it will Now there be but three in all that be parties to it 1 GOD 2 the Preacher 3 and the Hearer One of these it must be Be not deceived saith the Apostle GOD is not mocked Gal. 6.8 No deceiving of him It is not he sure Then it is we So one would thinke so thought Esai Alas saith he I have laboured in vaine I have spent my strength in vaine Esai 49.4 I finde I am deceived But he receives answere of GOD it was not so That neither he had preached the word nor the word he had preached had beene or should be in vaine For himselfe that his reward was with GOD Ver. 5. whither the hearer profited or no For the word that as the raine or snow Esai 55.11 going forth it should not returne empty without his effects Which answere to Esai was it which put comfort in Saint Paul that were his preaching the savour of life or of death both waies it was in him a sweet smelling savour accepted of GOD. And if neither GOD 2. Cor. 2.15 nor the Preacher then must the deceipt fall on the Hearer and he it is that is deceived Deceived Wherein or how Many waies 1 And first in grossly mistaking the very nature of Sermons Vpon Audiunt non faciunt Ezechiel saith plainly of those in his daies they seemed to reckon of Sermons no otherwise then of Songs to give them the hearing to commend the aire of them and so let them goe The Musique of a song and the Rhetorique of a sermon all is one A foule error even in the very nature of the word for that is a Law a Testament and neither song nor sonnet A Law enacted to be done For Dan. 3.8 it shall not serve the three children to say of Nabuchadnezar's Law They had heard it proclaimed from point to point but doe it they must or into the furnace for such is the nature of a Law A Testament which Gal. 3.15 though it be but a mans as Saint Paul saith must be executed and we are compellable to the execution of it and to GOD'S much more To speake but according to the Metaphore in the Verse before It is a plaine mistaking of the word which is as Seed in a soile Ver. 21. or as a Sient in a stocke to take it for a stake in a hedge there to sticke and stand still and bring forth nothing Or Ver. 23. according to the Metaphore in the Verse next after where it is termed a Glâ—sse which we should looke in to doe somewhat by to take away some spott to mend somewhat amisse 〈…〉 And 〈…〉 to mistake it to looke in it and look 〈…〉 our chief◠〈◊〉 to 〈◊〉 〈…〉 〈…〉 manifest miâ—taking in th◠〈◊〉 So is there a like in the 〈…〉 â—here as thâ—y 〈…〉 and to doe is the End why they 〈◊〉 these Auditore◠〈◊〉 doe even as Saint Paul saith requiescunt in lege 〈…〉 19. make the Laâ— their Pillow lay them downe upon it and there take their rest 〈◊〉 seâ—ke farther and so misse their marke quite But a 〈◊〉 error yet then this is that they which when they have heard 〈…〉 seeme to thinke that hearing and doing is all one in-as 〈…〉 they doe is onely that they heare and so grossly confounâ— the two parts that are plainly distinguished For hearing is a 〈◊〉 and sense is in suffering but the hearing of the Word is so easy a suâ—fering as if we looke not to our selves we often fall asleepe at it Now suffering and doing are plainly distinguished and not onely plainly distinguished but as we see flattly opposed by Saint Iames in the Text either to other Nor to hold you over long seeing the Apostle borrowed his terme of Paralogisme from the scâ—â—oles to speake in schoole-termes In hearing onely and not doing there is first the Elench A sensu compositi ad divisum which they fall into that where two things are required rest in one And again the Elench A dicto secundùm quid ad dictum simpliciter wherwith they are deceived that having a part thinke that part shall serve them instead of the whole Which two are a peece of the Devills sophistry and so you see both 1 that they are deceived 2 and how they are deceived that rest upon hearing onely Deceiving your selves But to be deceived simply is no so great matter wise men many of them are so and any of them may be This is that which edgeth it yet more which giveth it a double edge that they deceive themselves 1. In which point first certaine it is there is no man that willingly would be deceived can endure to be deceived himselfe Saith the first and great est Deceiver to live even then when he came purposely to decâ—â—â—e her Gen. 3.1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Is it for a troth that God hath forbidden you to eate of all the 〈◊〉 As if he should say I would not have you deceive me tell me true 〈…〉 be so or no. Lo he would not be deceived himselfe though he 〈◊〉 about deceipt 2. But 〈…〉 If deceived we must be of all men we would not be deceived of â—uch as we nush that greives us exceedingly Saith 〈◊〉 He hath 〈…〉 whom I 〈◊〉 my Guide my Counselor my 〈…〉 〈…〉 He can never â—ay â—nough of it for it is a griefe above all griefs 〈…〉 〈…〉 if not by 〈…〉 trust leaâ—â— of all by that 〈…〉 of all we 〈…〉 by our selves for we trust none better I suppose If we must be deceived of another of any other rather then of our selves For he that deceiveth himselfe is both the deceived and the deceiver too The deceived may be pitied the deceiver is ever to be blamed Therefore he is utterly without excuse that is the author of his owne deceiving And there is no man pitieth him but every one mocketh him and takes up Proverbes over him of selfe doe selfe have and I wot not what So that this of all other is the worst 1 To be deceived 2 To be deceivers 3 To be their owne deceivers Will ye see an example of this that they doe but deceive themselves that build upon Auditores tantùm You may Luc. 13. where you shall see some that upon their bare hearing bare themselves very confidently as if they could by no meanes be deceived in it and yet they were Christ saith to them Nescio Vos They thinke very strange of that speech and replie Lord why hast not thou Preached in our streets Luc. 13.26 and have not we heard thee duly and
never missed Well for all that for all their hearing He telleth them againe Nescio vos Though he had seene them at never so many Sermons he taketh no notice of them by their being or hearing there but by their doing afterward By which it appeareth that upon this very point they promised themselves very much but found at last they had but deceived themselves And which is word of all found it then when it was too late when no VVritt of error could be brought when it was past time and they no way to be relieved And yet to goe further If this deceipt of themselves were in some light matter of no great importance it were so much the more tolerable but so it is not heere The last words of the last Verse are as you remember salvare animas vestras so that it is a matter of saving our soules a matter as much as our soules or salvation are worth Life or Death Heaven or Hell no lesse matters depend upon our being deceived heer Things which most of all it concerneth us not to be deceived in One point more and so an end They wil be hearers of the word and not doe it what say you to this that when they have been hearers onely all their life long they shall in the end be forced to be doers and doers of that word which least of all others they would doe Is not this evidently ro deceive themselves In the Prophet Ieremie they say Ier. 18.18 They will give GOD the hearing but not doe any of his words But they shall not go away with it so For when they have done what they can they shall finde themselves deceived in that too A word there is they shall not heare onely but heare and doe whither they will or no. And what is that word Even Discedite maledicti in ignem aeternum For Matt 25.41 they that will doe none els that they shall doe and fulfill that commandement that breake all the rest And who is hable to fulfill nay to abide that word Who can endure to go whither that will send him Of all words Ioh. 6 â—0 that is durus sermo nay durissimus the hardest to do of all better do any yea better do all then do that 〈…〉 â—hat an edge 〈…〉 â—ath set upon his advise how 〈…〉 they 〈◊〉 â—â—emselves into that be hearers only 〈…〉 it be intolerable as 〈◊〉 it is 〈◊〉 will import us to take heed to the 〈◊〉 that so we may 〈…〉 double edge 〈…〉 that 〈…〉 beare still For Bene facitis 〈◊〉 Yet not 〈…〉 away with the common error that Sermon-hearing is the 〈◊〉 est of all Christianitie and so we heare our Sermons 〈…〉 safe more needs not But to resolve with our selves that only 〈…〉 doâ— it Somewhat there must be besides And when all is 〈…〉 be Factores verbi 〈◊〉 that we may if we please entertaine other opinions touchâ—â—â— this point but they will deceive us and we in holding them be deceived And that in a matter of great weight and consequence which then we shall find and feele when it will be too late to help it Then that hearing and not doing we shall in the end be forced both to heare and to doe a word the heaviest to be heard and the worst to be done of all others Therefore that we see to it in time and keepe the Caution that we may avoyd the paenaltie Which Almighty GOD open our eyes that we may see c. A SERMON Preached at the opening of the PARLIAMENT An. Dom. MDCXXI PSAL. LXXXII VER I. DEVS stat in Synagoga Deorum In medio Deos judicabit The Greeke word for word the same a The Psalter GOD standeth in the Congregation of PRINCES b The Geneva or in the Assembly of the Godds c The New Translation or of the Mightie Jn the middst will He judge the Godds Which was the Psalme for the day vz. the XVI day of the moneth on which day the Parliament was first begun GOD standeth in the congregation of Princes c. Of a Congregation of Princes is this Psalme as you have heard And behold heer such a Congregation And GOD I trust standing in it And who then can doubt but this Psalme is for this day The words sure seeme to favour it The use much more vvhich hath ever gone with it For standing the Policie of the Common-wealth of Israel their Writers tell us when ought was to be done 〈…〉 â—ulers for 〈◊〉 â—hem and giving them their charge 〈…〉 there was any 〈◊〉 of them in their Synnagogâ 〈…〉 great Congregation this was 〈◊〉 â—he Psalme before they sate 〈…〉 â—urposely set as it 〈◊〉 for the Assembly to set them in 〈…〉 that end 〈…〉 end ever used 〈…〉 Moses 〈…〉 of GOD that by speciall direction from GOD Himselfe Deut. 19. begann and brought up this order first of making mens duety into 〈◊〉 putting it into their mouthes that so with the sweetnesse of 〈…〉 be conveighed into their minds And David since 〈◊〉 it and brought it to perfection as having a speciall grace and 〈…〉 He for a song and his Sonne Salomon for a Proverb By which 〈◊〉 the unhappy Adage and a wanton song Satan hath ever breathed most of his infection and poison into the minde of man Now in this holy and heavenly use of his harp He doth by his tunes as it were teach all sorts of men how to tune themselves And there is no estate whatsoever but in this Booke He sweetly singeth their duety into them Into his Court Psal. 101. and so severally into the rest And heere now in this Psalme hot to preserve harmonie in a Congregation The Division Of which Psalme this is the first verse the key and the Compendium of the whole And thus we divide it 1. Into two Parties first 2. Into two Acts second Two Parties 1 the first word of it is GOD GOD in the singular 2 the last is Gods Gods in the plurall these two Parties are distinct 1 one from another 2 one above another 1. GOD that standeth from the Congregation He standeth in 2. GOD that judgeth from and above the Gods whom he will judge The Gods we consider two wayes as the word is twise repeated 1 Deorum and 2 Deos. 1 In Synagogâ Deorum and 2 In medio Deos. 1 Deorum in the Congregation 2 Deos out of it If you will thus Into the 1 Godds of the Congregation and the 2 Congregation of the Godds Now of the first GOD in and upon the last Godds and in and upon the Congregation of them two acts there are set downe 1 His standing 2 His Iudgement 1. In the Congregation He stands Stat in Synagogâ Deorum 2. Out of it the Godds He will iudge Deos judicabit that is call them to accompt every God of them and even upon this very point how they carried themselves before Him standing in the Congregation 1 This He will doe
hebrew sheweth there is a reason there is a cause why it commeth 1. Sam. 6.9 And the english word Plague comming from the Latine word Plaga which is properly a stroke necessarily inferreth a Cause For where there is a stroke there must be One that striketh And in â—hat both it and other evill things that come upon us are usually in scripture called Gods judgements If they be iudgements it followeth there is a Iudge they come from They come not by adventure by chance they come not Chance and Iudgement are utterly opposite Not Casually then but Iudicially Iudged we are For when we are chastened we are judged of the Lord. 1 Cor. 11.32 There is a Cause Now what that Cause is Concerning which 1. That Cause is 1. Naturall if you aske the Physitian he will say the cause is in the aire The Aire is infected the Humors corrupted the Contagion of the sicke comming to and conversing with the sound And they be all true causes The Aire For so we see by casting * The aire infected ashes of the furnace towards heaven in the aire the aire became infected and the plague of botches and blaines was so brought forth in Egypt * Exod. 9.8 The Humors For to that doth King David ascribe the Cause of his disease that is that his moisture in him was corrupt dried up 2 The Humors corrupted Psal. 32.4 turned into the drought of Summer Contagion Which is cleare by the Law where the leprous person 3 Contagion Levit. 13.45.46 52. for feare of contagion from him was ordered to crie that no body should come neere him To dwell apart from other men The clothing he had worn to be washed and in some case to be burnt The house-walls he had dwelt in to be scraped and in some case the house it self to be pulled downe In all which three respects Salomon saith Pro. 14.16 A wise man feareth the Plague and departeth from it and fooles runne on and be carelesse A wise man doth it and a good man too For King David himselfe durst not go to the Altar of GOD at Gibeon to enquire of GOD there because the Angel that smot the people with the plague stood betweene him and it 1. Chro. 21.30 that is because he was to passe through infected places thither But as we acknowledge these to be true that in all diseases 2 Supernaturall By which GOD. and even in this also there is a Naturall cause so we say there is somewhat more something Divine and above â—ature As somewhat which the Physitian is to looke unto in the plague so likewise something for Phinees to do and Phinees was a Priest And so some worke for the Priest as well as for the Physitian and more then it may be It was King Asa's fault He in his sicknesse looked all to Physitians and looked not after GOD at all That is noted as his fault It seems 〈…〉 It seemes his concâ—it was there was nothing in a disease but 〈◊〉 nothing but bodily which is not so For infirmitie is not only 〈◊〉 bodily there is a Spirit of infirmitie we finde Luc. 13.11 And some 〈◊〉 spirituall there is 〈◊〉 infirmities something in the soule to 〈◊〉 â—ealed In all â—ut specially in this Wherein that we might knoâ— it to be spirituâ—ll we finde it oft times to be executed by spirits We see an 〈◊〉 destroying Angel 〈…〉 12.13 in the Plague of Egypt another in the Plague in Swaâ—â—â—rib'â— Campe 〈…〉 â—7 36 〈…〉 21.16 〈…〉 16.2 a third in the Plague at Ierusalem under David 〈…〉 pouring his phiall upon earth and ther fell a noysome plague upo◠〈◊〉 and beast So that no man looketh deeply enough into the Cause of this sickenesse unlesse he acknowledge the Finger of God in it over 〈◊〉 â—bove any causes naturall 〈…〉 GOD then hath his part GOD But how affected GOD provoked to aâ—ger so it is in the Text his anger his wrath it is that bringeth the plague among us 〈…〉 The Verse is plaine They provoked him to anger and â—he plague brake in among them 〈…〉 Generally there is no evill saith Iob but it is a sparke of GOD 's wrath And of all evills the Plague by Name There is wrath gone out from the LORD 〈◊〉 21.7 and the plague is begunn saith Moses Num. 16.46 So it is said GOD was displeased with David he smot Israël with the plague So that if if there be a plague GOD is angry and if there be a great plague GOD is very angry Thus much for By what for the anger of GOD by which the plague is sent Now for what 〈…〉 â—hich 〈…〉 general There is a cause in GOD that he is angry And there is a Cause for which he is angry For he is not angry without a cause And what is that cause For what is GOD angry What is GOD angry with the waters when he sends a tempest it is Habacuk's question 〈…〉 Or is GOD angry with the earth when He sends barrennesse Or with the aire when he makes it coÌ„tagious 〈…〉 5. 6. No indeed His anger is not against the Elements they provoke him not Against them it is that provoke him to anger Against men it is and against their sinnes and for them commeth the wrath of GOD upon the children of disobedience And this is the very Cause indeed As there is Putredo humorum so there is also putredo morum And putredo morum is more a Cause then putriedo humorum 1 The Corruption of the soule the 〈◊〉 7. â— 2 corrupting of our waies more then the 〈◊〉 6.12 corrupting of the aire The 〈◊〉 8.38 Plague of the Heart more then the sore that is seene in the body 〈◊〉 5.32 The cause of Death that is sinne the same is the cause of this 〈◊〉 38.5 kinde of death of the plague of mortalitie And as the â—panâ— Balme of ilead and the 〈◊〉 48.46 Physitian there may yield us helpe when GOD'S wrath is removed so if it be not no balme no medicine will serve 〈◊〉 us with the Woman in the Gospell 〈◊〉 5.26 spend all upon Physitians we shall bee never the better till we come to CHRIST and he cure us of our sinnes whâ— is the onely Physitian of the diseases of the soule 〈◊〉 â— 2 And wiâ—â— CHRIST the cure beginns ever withiâ— First Sonne thy 〈◊〉 be for giventhee and then a fier â—ake up thy bed and walke His sinnes first and his limbes after As likewise when we are once well CHRIST'S councell is sinne no more lest a worse thing come unto thee As if sinne would certainely bring a relapse into a sicknesse But shall we say the wraâ—h of GOD for sinnes indefinitely Particular sinn That were somewhat too generall May we not specifie them or set them downe in particular Yes I will point you at three or foure First this
six pounds Of which to Pembroke-Hall for the erection of two Fellowshipps and other uses mentioned in the Codicill a thousand pound to buy fiftie pound land per Annum to that purpose Besides a Basen and Ewer like that of their Foundresse and some Bookes To buy two hundred pound per Annum foure thousand pound Viz. for aged poore men fiftie pound per Annum for poore widowes the wives of one husband fiftie pound for the putting of poore Orphans to prentise fiftie pound to prisoners fiftie pound He was alwaies a diligent and painefull Preacher most of his Solemne Sermons he was most carefull of and exact I dare say few of them but they passed his hand and were thrice revised before they were preached and he ever misliked often and loose preaching without studie of Antiquitie and he would be bold with himself and say when he preached twice a day at Saint Giles he prated once And when his weakenesse grew on him and that by infirmitie of his body he grew unable to preach he began to goe little to the Court not so much for weakenesse as for inabilitie to preach After he came to have an Episcopall house with a Chappell he kept monethly Communions inviolably yea though himselfe had received at the Court the same moneth In which his carriage was not only decent and Religious but also exemplary he ever offered twice at the Altar and so did every one of his Servants to which purpose he gave them money lest it should be burthensome to them Now before I come to his last end give me leave to tell you that privately he did much find fault and reprove three sinnes too common and reigning in this later age 1. Vsury was one from which what by his Sermons what by private conference he withdrew many 2. Another was Simony for which he endured many troubles by Quare Impedit and Duplex querela as for himselfe he seldome gave a Benefice or preferment to him that petitioned or made suit for it he rather sent for men of note that he thought wanted preferment and gave them Prebends and Benefices under Seale before they knew of it as to Master Boys and Master Fuller The 3. and greatest was Sacriledge which he did abhorr as one principall cause among many of the forraine and Civill warres in Christendome and invasion of the Turke Wherein even the reformed and otherwise the true professors and servants of CHRIST because they tooke GOD 's portion and turned it to publique prophane uses or to private advancements did suffer just chastisement and correction at GOD 's hand And at home it had been observed and he wished some man would take the paines to collect how many Families that were raised by the spoyles of the Church were now vanished and the place thereof knowes them no more And now I draw to an end GOD 's House is truly called and is indeed Domus Orationis the House of prayer it accompanies all acts done in GOD 's House Of this Reverend Prelate I may say vita ejus vita orationis his life was a life of prayer A great part of five houres every day did he spend in prayer and devotion to GOD. After the death of his Brother Master Thomas Andrewes in the sicknesse time whom he loved deerely he began to foretell his owne death before the end of summer or before the beginning of winter And when his Brother Master Nicolas Andrewes died he tooke that as a certaine signe and prognostick and warning of his owne death and from that time till the houre of his dissolution he spent all his time in prayer and his prayer-booke when he was private was seldome seene out of his hands and in the time of his feaver and last sicknesse besides the often prayers which were read to him in which he repeated all the parts of the confession and other petitions with an audible voice as long as his strength endured he did as was well observed by certaine tokens in him continually pray to himselfe though he seemed otherwise to rest or slumâ—er And when he could pray no longer voce with his voice yet oculis manibus bâ— lifting up his eyes and hands he prayed still and when nec manus nec vox officium fâ—ciunt both voice and eyes and hands failed in their office then Corde with his heâ—rt he still prayed untill it pleased GOD to receive his blessed soule to himselfe And so hujus mortalitas magis finita quam vita his Mortality had an end and he died peaceably and quietly in the Lord but his life shall have no end yea then his life did begin when his Mortalitie made an end that was Natalis his birth-day September XXV being Moonday about foure of the clocke in the morning So dyed he aliâ—rum majore dâ—â—no quà m suo with greater dammage to others even to all this English Church and all Christendome then to himselfe And GOD grant that many Ages may be so happy to bring forth and enjoy such a Prelate so furnished with all endowâ—ents of learning and knowledge with innocence and holinesse of life and with such pittâ—e and charitie as he shewed in his life and death â—y conclusion is short I have spoken somewhat of this most Reverend Prelate but much short of his graces and worth In summe thus much In his life he was Concionator Scriptor potentissimus a most powerfull Preacher and Writer in his deeds and actions he was potentior diuturnior more powerfull and lasting Death hath bereaved us of him but his life and his works of learning and his workes of piety and charity I doubt not but GOD in his goodnesse will make them Monumentum aere perennius a Monument more lasting then brasse and stone even to the comming of our LORD CHRIST For no doubt while he lived he sowed the sincere Word of life in the soules of men and in his life and death posuit cleemosynam in sinu pauperis he put his Almes into the bosome of the poore and shall I say Oravit pro eo it prayed for him and by it he procured himselfe a strong Army and bellatores fortes valiant soldiers whose many prayers and blessings GOD could not resist the rather because they knew him not that is too short and the Text goes further Exoravit it shall pray and prevaile too and he and they have prevailed and he is now at rest and peace in heaven and followes the Lambe wheresoever he goes And after him let us al send this blessing which the voice from heaven uttered Write Blessed are the dead Apoc. 14.13 which die in the Lord. For the Lord there was no cause he should die but he died in the Lord because he alwaies lived to the Lord and a happy death must needs accompanie and crowne such a life From henceforth saith the Spirit they rest from their labours all teares are wiped from their eyes and all sighes from their hearts and their workes follow