Church and can haue no other partner to share with him in this dignity Iesus Christ is the corner stone in whom all the building fitly framed together growes vnto an holy Temple in the Lord. Hee doth not onely by his authority gouerne it but also by his grace quicken it so that wee liue not but Christ liueth in vs. Let vs hold the head from which all the body by ioynts and bands hauing nourishment ministred increaseth with the increase of God He requires no deputy he needs none For wheresoeuer you are gathered together in my name I am in the middest of you Now euery Commission ceaseth in the presence of him that giues it It is therefore as great arrogancy in the Pope to call himselfe Caput Ecclesiae Head of the Church as for a subiect to keepe himselfe in commission in the presence of the King But they distinguish of heads there is a Principall and a Ministeriall Head Christ is not so weake in himselfe or so respectlesse of vs as to need any Ministeriall head Indeed there be Heads Materialiter who are no other then principall members So Saul was called Head of the Tribes Psal. 18. 43. Thou hast made me the head of the heathen 2. Sam. 23. 8. The Tachmonite head of the Captaines Nehem. 11. 16. Iozabad head of the Leuites The eldest was called head of the familie Exod. 6. 14. These bee the heads of their fathers houses But there is a Head Formaliter to giue sense motion vertue gouernance this none but onely Christ. 3. Wee must know that there is no saluation out of this Church such as neuer become members of it must eternally perish they that are true members shall be saued If they had beene of vs they would haue continued with vs but they went out from vs that it might be manifest they were not of vs. Without are dogs and scorners c. All out of the Arke perished in the waters The Lord added to the Church daily such as should bee saued First because there is no meanes of saluation out of it no word to teach no Sacraments to confirm And especially because out of the Church there is no Christ and out of Christ no saluation Who haue not the Church their Mother cannot haue God their Father This teacheth vs to honour our Mother and like little children to hang at her brests for our sustenance Sucke and bee satisfied with the brests of her consolations milke out and bee delighted with the abundance of her glory Run not to strange nurses for poyson when you may haue pure milke of your owne mother Desire like babes that sincere milke of the Gospell that yee may grow by it Qualis nutritio talis complexio The complexion of your manners the disposition of your liues will witnesse whose children they are The generall assembly this is the property of the Church Generall It is Catholike in three respects of Time of Persons of Place 1. Of Time because the Church had a beeing in all ages euer since the Promise was giuen to our first Parents in Paradise If there had beene a time when no Church had beene on earth the world should haue then perished for it stands for the Elects sake 2. Of persons for it consists of all degrees and sorts of men rich and poore Princes and subiects bond and free There is no order nor state excluded if they exclude not themselues Christ is the Propitiation for our sinnes He may be so indeed for the sinnes of Iohn and the Disciples but how appeares it for mine yes not for our sinnes onely but for the sinnes of the wholeworld euery condition of beleeuers 3. Of Place it is gathered from all parts of the earth especially vnder the new Testament Wheresoeuer this Gospell shall bee preached in the whole world When Christ gaue his Apostles their Commission hee gaue also the whole world for their Parish Goe teach all nations and baptize c. Thus we see the property of this Church Catholike or Generall It is one but not tyed to one time nor one place nor one person it is Catholike to all times to all places to all persons Augustine sayes that the Donatists in his dayes would haue tyed the Church to Cartenna in Africa as the Papists in our dayes to Rome in Italy How is it then a Generall assembly Thus that Antichristian rabble which haue almost nothing in their mouthes but the Church the Church yet doe mostly infringe the liberties of the Church and hedge it in All of them haue made the Catholike Church to be nothing else but the Romane Church and some of them the Romane Church to be nothing else but the Pope So in effect Papa virtualiter est â—…ota Ecclesia say they The Anabaptists imagined a Church like the Ticke all body and no head the Papists haue made a Church like the Toadstoole all head and no body What a monster is their Pope that will bee all in all eye and tongue body and head taile too As Caligula tooke off the head of Iupiter and set on another of his owne so they haue smitten off Christs head and set on the Pope Let them take their imaginary head say we onely to Christ Whom haue we in heauen but thee and on earth none besides thee Our dependance be for euer on our Head the Lord Iesus Before I leaue this point I desire to expresse two things one for distinction the other for instruction First for distinction betwixt this Generall assembly and particular Churches then for instruction to shew who bee true members of this Catholike Church 1. The maine difference betweene them consists in this that the Catholike Church is alwaies inuisible the members thereof only knowne to God particular Churches are sometimes inuisible and lying hid other times manifest in the open profession of Christs name As the Moone is eft-soones ecclipsed or clouded and often shineth in the full 1. It lies hid through want of the word preached and publike administration of the Sacraments So it was in the dayes of Elias when hee wished to die I onely am left Strange Apostacie when so notable a Prophet could not discerne the Church yet vers 18. I haue left seuen thousand that neuer bowed their knees to Baal So it was in the raigne of Asa For a long season Israel hath bene without the true God without a teaching Priest and without the Law The Papists demand where our Church was before the daies of Luther we answer that an vniuersall Apostacie was ouer the face of the world the true Church was not then visible but the graine of trueth lay hid vnder a great heape of popish chaffe But this inuisibility doth not proue a nullitie They cannot impugne the antiquity of our Church vnlesse they conuince themselues For the Church of England holds no other doctrin then that the Church of Rome primarily did hold and that
per eos aliqua nuntiantur they are then onely Angels or it is all one messengers when they are sent on some message Therefore he concludes Hi qui minima nuntiant Angeli qui summa nuntiant Archangeli vocantur They that are sent on businesse of lesse moment are called Angels of greater importance Archangels August Ex eo quod est Spiritus est ex eo quod agit Angelus est They are Spirits in regard of their Being Angels in regard of their Dooing Good Angels saith Isidor are deputed for the ministery of mans saluation God hath giuen man three helps Sense to see danger neere Reason to suspect danger far off Angels to preuent that he neither sees nor suspects Now the ministery of Angels is three-fold to God to his Church to his Enemies 1. To God which consists principally in two things 1. In adoring and ascribing glory to him So the Seraphims cryed Holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts An Army sung Glory to God on high The whole Quire of heauen Thou art worthy O Lord to receiue honour and power 2. In standing in his presence ready at his command They do his commandements harkning to the voice of his Word For this promptnes of obedience wee pray Thy will be done in earth as it is in heauen Quod oramus agamus Thus Angels were messengers that Christ should bee conceiued Luke 1. 31. that he was conceiued Mat. 1. 20. that he was borne Luke 2. 11. that he was risen Luke 24. 4. that hee vvas ascended Act. 1. 11. These were great mysteries therefore were confirmed vvith the testimonie of Angels 2. To the Church Are they not all ministring Spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heires of saluation And by this their ordination to seruice the Apostle shewes how infinitely farre the preeminence of Christ transcends theirs But did not Christ put vpon him the forme of a seruant Doth not himselfe professe that hee came not to be ministred vnto but to minister The answer is easy Non esse hoc naturae sed voluntariae exinanitionis This was not a natural or enforced but a willing abasement of himself Humilitatem non habitam induit celsitatem habitam non exuit Hee put on an humiliation that he had not hee did not put off the glory that he had But the Angels were created to this end that they should serue Totamque conditionem sub ministerio contineri Istis naturale illi aduentitium To them it was necessary to Christ voluntary Now then ministery to the Church is three wayes considerable 1. In this life and that to our Bodies and to our Soules 1. To our Bodies for they necessarily tend to the preseruation of our temporall estates euen from our Cradles to our Graues This is true in Doctrine and in Example In Doctrine There shall no euill befall thee nor any plague come nigh thy dwelling Why how shall wee be protected ver 11. Angelis mandabit For hee shall giue his Angels charge ouer thee to keepe thee in all thy waies They shall beare thee vp in their hands lest thou dash thy foote against a stone In example an Angel comforts directs feedes Elias Angels plucke Lot out of Sodome An Angel aduiseth Ioseph to fly into Egypt with Iesus Abraham so encouraged his seruant The Lord will send his Angell before thee Iacob went on his way and the Angels of God â—…et him Peter was in prison and the Angel of the Lord freed him 2. To our Soules furthering the meanes of our saluation The Law was giuen by them sayth Steuen Yee receiued the Law by the disposition of Angels GOD makes them instruments to conuey knowledge to his Church It was Gods charge Gabriel make this man to vnderstand the Uision it was the Angels performance Daniel I am come forth to giue thee skil and vnderstanding Saint Iohn acknowledgeth in his Reuelations that an Angel shewed him those things They preserue vs in the true worship of God and cannot endure any attribution of his glory to a creature no not to themselues When Iohn fell downe at the Angels feete to worshippe him he preuented him See thou doe it not They reioyce in our conuersion There is ioy in the presence of the Angels of God ouer one sinner that repenteth They ioy in this for two causes 1. To behold the glorious fruite of their labours for it delights a man to see the works of his hands prosper GOD hath sent them to guide vs to good to gard vs from euill when we follow their guidance they reioyce Let vs hate to sinne as we would not wish to bring griefe to the thresholds of heauen 2. That their number might be made vp againe They lost a number of Spirits they are glad to haue it made vp with Soules The Angels ioyned company with men praysing God on earth so they delight to haue men made their fellow-Choristers in heauen 2. At the end of this life to carry our soules to heauen When the begger died hee was carried by the Angels into Abrahams bosome He that in life was scorned of men and had no companions but the dogges is so regarded of God that he is garded by Angels Hee that could neither goe nor sit nor stand is now carried not on the shoulders of men as the Pope the proudest on earth but hee rides on the wings of Angels He is carried to a glorious Port by gracious Porters 3. At the last day Christ shall send his Angels vvith a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together the Elect from the foure winds from one end of heauen to the other These are those Reapers that in the time of haruest must gather the tares to the fire and the Wheat to Gods barne This is their ministerie to vs. But it is the Lord that ordereth all our steppes hee spreads the gracious wings of his prouidence ouer vs and the Lord Iesus Christ is all in all vnto vs. Now the rule is Non multiplicanda Entie sine necessitate and Frustra fit per plura quod fieri potest per pauciora It seemes then the helpe of Angels is more then needes For hee that keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleepes I answere that Angelicall custody doth not extenuate but extoll Gods goodnesse and Greatnesse towards vs for this is but the execution of his high holy Prouidence It is the wisedome of the King that gouerns all the Cities and Castels in his Dominions yet he leaues not these vnfurnished of men and munition to withstand the enemies inuasion The diuels range and rage against vs in euery corner therefore God hath ordained for our gard an Host of Angels The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that feare him and deliuereth them True it is that God is able to defend vs himselfe by himselfe through that immediate concourse
which S. Paul deliuered to them in sacred writing Iustification onely by the bloud of Christ. If they be falne from this who can blame vs for falling from them It was high time to leaue them when they left the Lord Iesus So long as we preserue the truths antiquity wee must smile at their fond obiection of nouelty The Church of God is Catholike not Romane Catholike that 's iust as foolish a phrase as the by-word of Kent and Christendome Particular and vniuersall are contradictories If we haue any thing from them that they had from God it is our blessing that we haue kept it their woe that they haue lost it Esau's blessing and birth-right is lost to himselfe and giuen vnto Iacob They haue not so much reason to boast as we to reioyce Our Church had a substantiall being before but hath gotten a better being by the repurgation of the Gospell which is maintained by our Christian Princes iustly stiled Defenders of the ancient Faith It was Gods Floore before though full of chaffe but now since hee that hath his fanne in his hand hath purged it it is clearer in shew and substance It was before a wedge of pure gold but vsurped by the hands of Impostors that by their mixtures and sophistications for gaine and sinister respects augmented it into a huge body and masse It had the tincture of gold still but mingled with the drosse of traditions superstitions will-worships You ask where was the gold shew vs the place We answer it was in that masse now for extracting and purifying it from the drosse God gaue vs the touchstone of his word which made it sound manifests it to be sound The Lord doth not then forsake his the time was that the whole world seemed to groan factum se videns Arrianum beholding it selfe made Arrian yet God had his nūber Sardis is said to be dead thou hast a name that thou liuest but thou art dead yet there be a few names in Sardis which haue not defiled their garments When ordinary meanes faile by extraordinary the Lord gathers his elect The Israelites in the wildernesse wanted both Circumcision and Passeouer yet GOD made supply by Manna and the Pillar of the cloud 2. A Church is visible when it flourisheth not that the faith and secret election of men is seene but there are apparant signes by frequenting the Sanctuary and submitting themselues to the Ministery of the Word Now this visible Church is a mixt company of men professing the faith I call it mixt for in it are both beleeuers and hypocrites corne and tares it is a band of men where be some valiant souldiers and many cowards It is called a Church from the better not from the greater part The vngodly though they are in the Church are not of the Church as the superfluous humours in the veynes are not parts of the body but rather the sicknesse of it These professe veram fidem sed non verè the true faith but not truly Hence it appeares that there be two sorts of members in the Church members before God such as beside the outward profession keepe a pure heart a good conscience and faith vnfained Members before men such as haue onely the colour and huske of Religion in heart denying the power of godlinesse yet these are by vs to be esteemed members according to the rule of charity iudging the best 2. Now for Instruction what I haue to say consists in the examination of two points First whether the Church of England be a part of this Catholike Church then next whether the Church of Rome haue the same prerogatiue For our selues the most infallible marke of the true Church is the right ministration of the Sacraments and sincere Preaching the true Doctrine of the Gospell That is the true Mother and Spouse of Christ that brings forth children to him of immortall seed by the Word of GOD which abideth for euer not of traditions miracles dreames but of this incorruptible seed And when they are borne anew feedes them with syncere Milke out of her tvvo brests the two Testaments This you know in your cōsciences to be true in our Mother shee doth not giue vs pro lacte venenum but milke euen the same that Christ himselfe put into her brests When we grow strong shee giues vs meate not bones troubles vs not with the subtilties of the Schooles that haue Plus argutiarum quà m doctrinae plus doctrinae quà m vsus but Quod accepit a Domino what shee hath receiued of the Lord neither more nor lesse but iust weight She doth not say Haec dicit Papa but Haec dicit Dominus not thus saith the Pope in his Decretalls but thus saith the Lord in his Scriptures She doth say the truth in Christ and lyeth not her conscience bearing her witnesse in the holy Ghost She doth not sophisticate truth not mingle wine with water not dawbe the walls of Gods house with vntempered morter not build vpon the foundation straw stubble not adulterate the Word like a lustfull man whose end is not to encrease mankind but to satisfie concupiscence O then let vs hang vpon her lips that preserue this true knowledge and say with Peter Lord to whom should we goe Thou hast the words of eternall life Thus wee haue prooued the truth of our Church by Scripture but our aduersaries oppose the sufficiencie of this proofe by disabling the Scriptures They say wee cannot know Scripture to be Scripture but by the testimony of the Church It is false for the witnesse of man subiect to error is nothing to the testimony of GOD that cannot erre Therefore the Scripture is called the Testimonie because it beares witnesse to it selfe Besides the Church hath her beginning from the Word for there can be no Church without faith no faith without the Word no Word without the Scriptures So the Church depēds on the Scripture not the Scripture on the church The Lawyer that hath only power to expound the Law is vnder the Law But they obiect that Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the voice of the Church Paul intends there not that generall faith whereby wee belieue Scripture to be Scripture but that iustifying faith whereby we attaine saluation And this comes by the voice of the Church not of it selfe but as it is the ministerie of Gods Word Iohn is but Uox clamantis Christ is Verbum clamans Particular Churches haue erred therefore the best securitie from error is in the Scriptures This is a Lesbian rule able to decide all Controuersies and it is vitio hominum by the fault of bad Interpreters that it doth not For whether Aliorum incuriâ that despise it or Aliorum iniuriâ that peruert it it suffers martyrdome and may not be heard declare it selfe The Papist in expounding Scripture after his owne fancie makes himselfe Iudge not the Scripture But all their drift is with Gods losse to promoue
Others will haue something demonstrated to the vnderstanding nothing to the senses Some will haue a demonstration to the senses nothing to the vnderstanding some partly to both others expound it This body then it is thus This body is my body others say it is indiuiduum vagum But Quod multipliciter exponitur communiter ignoratur That which is so variously expounded is generally vnknowne The most iudicious among them cannot explicate it Corpore de Christi lis est de sanguine lis est Deque modo lis est non habitura modum What damnable cruelty then was it in them to burne silly women for not vnderstanding this their inexplicable mysterie Those gunpowder diuines condemned others to the fire for not knowing that which they neuer knew themselues Wee teach such erring soules bee corrected that they may bee conuerted not bee confounded Excommunicated for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saued in the day of the Lord Iesus 2. Whether a separation may bee iustly made from our Church for some errors or corruptions of life I know that diuers who were once among vs neuer of vs haue put out their owne lights indeed excommunicated themselues What 's their plea that our assemblies are full of enormities I answer that the defects and corruptions of a Church must be distinguished they are eyther in doctrine or in manners For doctrine some errors are Citra fundamentum some Circa fundamentum others Contra fundamentum Errors beside the foundation trouble errors about the foundation shake errors against the foundation ouerturne all So long then as no foundation is harmed it is not lawfull depart vntill the Church separates from Christ we must not separate from it In two cases there is warrant of separation First when the substance of Gods worship is quite corrupted What agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols when this is ver 17. Come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord when Ieroboam had set vp Idols in Israel the Priests and the Leuites left their suburbs and possession and came to Iudah and Ierusalem Secondly when the substance of doctrine is quite corrupted If any man consent not to the words of our Lord Iesus Christ and to the doctrine which is according to godlinesse c. From such vers 5. withdraw thy selfe Paul in the Synagogue at Ephesus preached for the space of three moneths together But when diuers were hardned and beleeued not but spake euill of that way he departed from them and separated the Disciples In these two cases lawfull not else For corruption in manners they make not Nullam Ecclesiam sed malam ecclesiam not no Church but a bad Church Wicked Scribes sitting in Moses chaire and teaching the things he wrote must be heard Whatsoeuer they bid you obserue that obserue and doe but doe not after their workes Separate from their priuate society not from the publike assembly But they charge vs that we deny Christ. I answere Deniall of Christ is double eyther in iudgement or in fact Deniall of Christ in iudgement makes a Christian no Christian denyall in fact the iudgement being sound makes him not no Christian but an euill Christian. When the Iewes had crucified the Lord of life they remained still a Church if there were any on the face of the earth and Ierusalem was still called the Holy City To them belonged the promise and to their children To them pertaineth the adoption and the glory and the couenants I would to God this bloudy issue were stanched but what age hath not complained it This mischiefe is intestine Amara persecutio in cruore martyrum amarior in pugna haereticorum amarissima in malis moribus domesticorum The persecution of Tyrants was bitter the poyson of heretikes more bitter but the euill liues of Christians most bitter of all Many walke of whom I haue told you often and now tell you weeping that they are enemies of the crosse of Christ. Whereupon saith Augustine How comes that great Champion to fall a weeping Could he endure stripes aboue measure prisons frequent shipwrackes perils by sea and land among enemies among false brethren hunger thirst cold wearinesse painfulnesse Did he fight with beasts after the manner of men was he rap'd vp among the Angels Did hee beare all these miseries was hee honoured with all these mercies and now does he weepe Yes sinne and sensuality was crept into the Church and this made that vndanted spirit fall a weeping Pax a Paganis Pax ab Hâ—…reticis nulla pax a falsis filijs We haue quiet from the Pagans quiet from heretikes but no quiet from wicked and exorbitant professors Our greatest enemies are they of our owne house Lord Iesus heale this plague Now wee haue proued and approued the truth of our owne Church at home let vs examine whether the Church of Rome be also a true member of this Catholike Assembly Errors that annihilate a Church are of two sorts some weakening others destroying the foundation Weakening error is the building of hay and stubble on the foundation the stubble burnt their soules may be saued A man breakes downe the windowes of his house the house stands though defaced he puls downe the lead or tiles the house stands though vncouered he beats downe the wals the house stands though deformed he plucks vp the foundation the house falls and ceaseth to be an house Those which destroy the foundation are the ouerthrowing errors by them a Church ceaseth to bee a Church Yet if an error be against the foundation we are to consider the persons whether they erre of malice or of weaknesse If of malice like Iannes and Iambres that withstood Moses resisting the truth it is no longer a Church But if of weakenesse wee must not so peremptorily conclude for Paul writes to the Galatians as a Church of God though they were peruerted to another doctrine embracing a fundamentall error of Iustification by works The Church of Rome doth wilfully obstinately destroy the foundation therfore may be concluded for no Church If they wil be iustified by the works of the law they are faln from Grace Let vs heare how they quit themselues First they would doe it by retorting all this backe vpon vs they tell vs flatly that we are no Church and thus they prooue it They say we haue no Bishops so no Ministers so no Sacraments therefore no Church Here they clappe their wings and crow Victory Victory As Manasseh against Ephraim and Ephraim against Manasseh and both against Iudah So they haue set our brothers against vs vs against our brothers Papists against vs all Behold the exigent we are in the Papists say we haue no Ministers because they are not made by Bishops the Puritans say we haue no Ministers because they are made by Bishops Which of these speake true Neither First to answer the Puritan Bishops may make
facilitate quanta faelicitate with as much easynes as happynes Desinunt ista non pereunt mors intermittit vitam non eripit Our bodies are left for a time but perish not death may discontinue life not conclude it Intermittitâ—… non interimitur it may be paused cannot be destroyed 2. Obserue that all the dead doe not rise but Many and those Saints The generall resurrection is reserued to the last day this a pledge or earnest of it Now who shall rise with this comfort none but Saints as here Christ takes no other company from the graues but Saints The dead in Christ shall rise first Christ is called The first borne from the dead He hath risen and his shall next follow him Euerie man in his owne order Christ the first fruits afterward they that are Christs at his comming Wormes and corruption shall not hinder he that sayd To Corruption thou art my mother and to the wormes you are my brethren and sisters sayd also I know that my Redeemer liueth and one day with these eyes I shall behold him The wicked shall also be raised though with horrour to looke vpon him whom they haue pierced But as Christ did here so will he at the last single out the Saints to beare him companie 3. This sheweth the true operation of Christs death in all men We are all dead in our sins as these bodies were in their graues now when Christs death becomes effectuall to our soules we rise againe and become new creatures From the graue of this world we come into the Church the holy Citie But thou complainest of the deadnes of thy hart it is well thou complainest there is some life or thou couldst not feele the deadnesse The houre is comming now is when the dead shall heare the voice of the Sonne of God and they that heare it shall liue If this word hath raysed thee from death and wrought spirituall life in thy heart thou shalt perceiue it by thy breathing words glorifying God by thy mouing in the waies to the workes of obedience 4 Obserue that these Saints which arose are sayd to haue Slept The death of the godly is often called a Sleepe So it is sayd of the Patriarches and Kings of Iudah they slept with their fathers So Paul saith they sleep in Christ. The Coffin is a couch In quo molliùs dormit qui benè in vita laborauit wherein hee takes good rest that hath wrought hard in the worke of his saluation before he went to bed Foelix somnus cum requie requies cum voluptate voluptas â—…um aeternitate It is a sweete sleepe that hath peace with rest rest with pleasure pleasure with euerlastingnes So the godly sleepe till the Sound of a Trumpet shall waken them and then eternall glory shall receiue them 5. Lastly obserue that Ierusalem is called the Holy citie though she were at this time a sinke of sinne and a debaushed harlot Either as some thinke that she is called holy because she was once holy So Rahab is called the harlot because she was a harlot Simon is termed the Leper for that hee was a leper and Mathew the Publican for that he was a Publican Or els she was called holy for the couenants sake in regard of the Temple sacrifices seruice of God and of the elect people of God that were in it Whence we may inferre how vnlawfull it is to separate from a Church because it hath some corruptions Is apostate Ierusalem that hath crucified her Sauiour called still the holy Citie and must England that departeth in nothing from the faith and doctrine of her Sauiour for some scarce discernible Imperfections be reiected as a foedifragous strumpet But there be wicked persons in it what then Shee may be still a holy Cittie Recedatur ab iniquitate non ab iniquis Let vs depart from sinne we cannot runne from sinners Thus we haue considered the Miracles let vs now looke into the causes wherefore they were wrought These may be reduced into fiue In respect of The Sufferer dying The Creatures obeying The Iewes persecuting The Women beholding The Disciples forsaking 1. In regard of Christ to testifie not onely his Innocencie but his Maiestie His Innocencie that hee was as Pilates wife acknowledged a Iust man His Maiestie as the Centurion confessed Seeing the earth quake and the things that were done Truely this was the Sonne of God He seemed a worme no man the contempt and derision of the people forsaken of his confidence in the midst of all God will not leaue him without witnesses but raiseth vp senseles creatures as Preachers of his deitie Est aterni filius qui illic pendet mortuus He that hangs there dead on the Crosse is the Sonne of the eternall God Rather then the children of God shall want witnesses of their integritie God will worke myracles for their testimonie 2. In regard of the Creatures to shew their Obedience to their Creator they are not wanting to him that gaue being to them These demonstrate it was their Lord that suffered and that they were ready to execute vengeance on his murderers The heauen that was darke would haue rained fire on them the earth that quaked shooke them to peeces the rockes that rent tumbled on them and the graues that opened to let out other prisoners haue swallowed them quicke They all waited but his command to performe this revengefull execution Who shall now dare to persecute Christ in his members The stones are thy enemies the earth gapes for thee hell it selfe enlargeth her iawes if the Lord but hisse to them they are suddenly in an vprore against thee Goe on in your malice ye raging persecutors you cannot wrong Christ no not in his very members but you pull the fists of all creatures in heauen earth and hell about your eares flies from the aire beasts from the earth poison from sustenance thunder from the clouds yea at last also though now they helpe you the very deuils from hell against you All creatures shoote their malignancie at them that shoot theirs at Christ. 3. In respect of the Iewes his enemies to shame and confound them The rockes and graues are moued at his passion not they Lapides tremunt homines fremunt The stones rent the huge earth quakes with feare the Iewes rage with malice We see how difficult it is to mollifie a hard heart harder then to remoue a mountaine raise the dead cleaue a rocke shake the whole earth It is a great mryacle to conuert a wicked man greater then rending of rockes Moses rod stroke a Rocke thrice and did it ministers haue stroke mens rocky harts three hundreth times and cannot The graues sooner open then the sepulchers of sinne and darkenes the vast earth sooner quakes then mens hearts at Gods iudgements 4. In respect of the women that stood by that their faith might be confirmed For seeing him on the Crosse at their mercie