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A09442 Lectures vpon the three first chapters of the Reuelation: preached in Cambridge anno Dom. 1595. by Master William Perkins, and now published for the benefite of this Church, by Robert Hill Bachelor in Diuinitie. To which is added an excellent sermon, penned at the request of that noble and wise councellor, Ambrose, Earle of Warwicke: in which is proued that Rome is Babylon, and that Babylon is fallen Perkins, William, 1558-1602.; Hill, Robert, d. 1623. 1604 (1604) STC 19731; ESTC S114472 318,460 389

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and place and not before fit persons So Paul saith that if to eate should offend he would neuer eate 1. Cor. 9. So here Balaam giueth offence they of Pergamus take it to commit sinne and to be stirred vp to fall from God The meanes by which Balaam cast these offences before the Israelites namely by prouoking them to eate of the meate offered to idols and commit fornication Numb 25. When Balaam had vsed many waies to curse them and could not preuaile he vsed new meanes which was to send out most wicked and beautifull women to inuite them to their idole banquets and to fornication and they condescended to them Hence we gather this is the peculiar note of a false Prophet to draw men to offence to cast stumbling blockes before them in the way to saluation for Balaam a false Prophet is noted by this and as Paul saith godlinesse and true religion is a great mysterie to saluation so false teaching is a mysterie tending to the destruction of mens soules So that by this note we may iudge of all religions both of the Iew and the Turke but especially of the Papists which most trouble vs in this Church for all religions whose doctrine tendeth to stop or hinder men in the way to saluation they be the doctrines of diuels The Papists religion which our ancient folke call the old religion is a doctrine tending to destroy men to ouerturne the whole morall law of God especially to maintaine adulterie and idolatrie The first commandement is thou shalt haue the true God onely for thy God But the Papists make moe then one they make the creatures Gods they inuocate Saints which what is it but to make them Gods to giue them his honour seeing he alone is present euery where seeth the hart and seeing they say they can merit which none can do formans sin but onely God no not Christ himself if he were not God Nay they make the wooden crosse not Christ on the crosse to be God in that they call it their hope and so the virgin Mary calling her our Ladie putting hope in her and saying she can commaund her Sonne in heauen in the matter of saluation The second Commaundement they in practise breake in making images of God the Father like an old man the Sonne as he was on earth and the holy Ghost in forme of a doue with religious worship adore and worship Saints They erre against the third commaundement teaching that a man may sweare by Saints and the fourth in that they make festiual dayes of men and saints to be equal with the Sabbath of the Lord and take away mens libertie of labouring six dayes to worship their saints As for the fift commandement in this they make subiects free from their lawful loyalty to their lawful Princes In the sixt they make and appoint places to which murderers may flie and be safe and in keeping the word from lay men as they call them and so murder their soules In the seuenth they maintaine stewes and houses of professed adultery and hold that the vncle may marry his neece or his great neece For the eight commandement they ouerthrow it in that they make all things saleable heauen hell purgatory and all which is manifest robbery They wrong the ninth commaundement in that they falsly make mens writings the canon of Gods word nay they maintaine lying seeing that they hold a man being asked of a thing he knowes as when one hath confessed his sinnes another askes him he may though he know the same say he knoweth not that is they know not them to tell them to you but that is a slender excuse For the tenth commaundement they make concupiscence and lust to be no sin and put out that commaundement So that we see this whole religion which is called of old people the old religon is cleane new from the true religion nay it is a doctrine of diuels seeing it tends to leade men to destruction and ouerturning of the whole law of God To come to our owne church true it is men slaunder our doctrine saying it is scandalous three wayes first that we teach God creates men to cast the greatest number of them into hel destroy them First we answer we hold that though the scripture speakes not of any certaine number yet the elect are said to be a small number Secondly the end why God created men was not to destroy them but to manifest his own glory in their due iust deserued damnation destructiō not that he created men to this end to cast them to hell Secondly they charge the doctrine of our church to be a blasphemous doctrine seeing we hold that God decreed mans fall and so do make him the author of sinne Answ. We say indeed that God decreed mans fall permitted him to sin yet teach we not that he is the author of sin for his wil is double generall and particular in his generall wil he decreed to permit man to sin and fall yet so as in respect of God it was good though in respect of man euill for as he can draw out of darknesse light so out of euill he can worke good to himselfe Secondly there is his speciall wil by which he wils and delights onely in that which is good and by this he hated mans fall And euen as the Magistrate hates would not the death of the malefactor yet he wils it in that he executes the same so the Lord he in his general wil willed the permitting of mans fall not as it was euil but as it turned to his glory and honour and the good of the elect Lastly they charge our doctrine to be a doctrine of securitie and carnall carelesnesse in that we teach men may be certaine of their saluation and to perseuere to the end but seeing we withal teach a man must vse the meanes daily pray heare the word receiue the sacraments and performe all the duties of faith and religion to the end we teach no doctrine of carnall securitie but a doctrine of paine and trouble which maketh men not carelesse but careful to come to heare to be certaine and to perseuere therefore they charge vs wrongfully in all these Seeing it is so great a sinne to giue offence we must take especiall heed we giue no offence in our life conuersation word or deed but so to cary our selues that we liue vnspottedly for if we giue offence we are Balaams scholers and tread in his path Let vs then in our callings so cary our selues vprightly that we giue no offence for wo to them by whom offences come nay it were better they had a mil-stone tied to them and they cast into the sea for that is to plunge our brothers soule as much as in vs lieth to the gulfe of hel But we must rather labour to help him to take from him al blocks of offence which if men would do then our Church should flourish
keepe that day for a Sabbath wherein he rose and the eight day after appeared to instruct his Disciples Now the Sabbath of the Iewes was changed for two causes first to maintaine the liberty of the Church of the new Testament whereof this was a great part that they were freed from the ceremonies of the Iewes for here when this day was changed the Church was no more tied to the Iewes Sabbath day neither had any such regard after of dayes and times Secondly that there might be a more fit time for the remembrance of the worke of redemption for as God in the old Testament appointed the seuenth day to be a day of rest to remember the first creation so there should be a day to celebrate this worke which is a wonderfull creation in which we are made new men so that there is now a new heauen and new earth as Isay speaketh chap. 66. Nay this is a more glorious work then that seeing in that creation Adam was the head in this Christ Iesus he is the head In that Adam was the chiefe in this Christ. In that Heuah was giuen to Adam in this we to Christ his Church to him In that Adam had an earthly paradise in this redemption we haue a spirituall kingdome In that Gods mercy onely in this both his mercy and iustice in punishing of Chirst and giuing vs forgiuenes appeared In that God shewed his wisdome goodnes but in part but herein this he shewed it fully In that he made man of nothing but now he made him of worse then nothing better then euer he was Therfore seeing this day of our redemption is farre passing that and the Lord appointed a day for the remembrance thereof much more should there be one for the remembrance of this now there is no day fitter then that day wherein Christ Iesus rose from death to life to remember his resurrection But may the Church now in the new Testament change the Sabbath to any other day as to tuesday wednesday c. Answ. It cannot I thinke because times and seasons belong to God he alone can dispose of thē Act. 1. 6. the church hath not knowledge of times and seasons much lesse of the ordering and disposing of them for that which the Father keepeth in his owne bosome the Church cannot know but the Father alone so keepeth times and seasons therfore the church cannot know them And as the church of the Iewes had not power to change their Sabbath no more hath the Church in the new Testament to change their Sabbaths Ob. But the Iewes had authoritie to appoint feasts therfore they could appoint Sabbath dayes Hest. 9. 17. they for their deliuerance appoint a day of rest of reioycing So 1. Maccab. 4. 8. They appointed indeed solemne dayes for reioycing and solemne feasts for speciall deliuerance but they appointed not any day for a sabath rest for the whole seruice of God Some hold that the Church hath power to alter it nay to make any day the Sabbath or if it could be conueniently two dayes in a weeke but they haue no warrant out of the word If this day the Lords day be a day to remember the death resurrection and merits of Christ we see three sorts of men here reproued first them which make this day a day of pleasure pastime and delight For most young men and seruants imploy this day wholy on their own delights and pleasures making it a day of carnall reioycing spending it in eating drinking carding dicing riot and excesse so that they turne this Lords day set apart to his worship into a day to offer sacrifice to the diuel The second sort is of them which liue more ciuilly then the former yet they thinke they may do their owne businesse and take iorneys on this day and that vpon this false ground that a man may aswell and with as honest and good an heart serue God in his owne businesse at home as they which go to Church But by this they make the Lords day appointed to his seruice their owne day to do their owne worke and not his The third sort is of those which keepe the Sabbath onely at morning and euening Prayer but as for the rest of the day they may spend it how they will on their owne pleasures and pastimes or their owne businesse and of this sort are many in the world who come to the Church but onely so far as the law of the Land inioynes them and these men part stakes with God they giue him one part and that the lesser and bestow the other on their owne businesse or pleasure whereas it is the Lords day not in part but in whole and so they breake the fourth commaundement Then on the contrary our dutie is to keep this day a Sabbath to the Lord as we are commaunded in the fourth commandement 1. we must rest from all our sinnes secondly from all the workes of our callings and imploy it wholly on the seruice of God sanctifying this day of rest to the worship of God from the morning to the euening Now there is a double sanctifying of the Sabbath first publicke in the congregation when we come to the Church to pray and giue thankes and there to heare the word and receiue the sacraments secondly priuate when men in their owne priuate houses at home sanctifie it in meditating reading and thinking of the word in praying priuatly and giuing thankes for benefits we must not imploy that day in our owne businesse If the Officer should take our seruant from our works set him about the common good we would be grieued And if we take the day appointed to Gods seruice and bestow it on our owne affaires shall not the Lord be offended And the cause why we heare the word publikely and neuer profit is because we sanctifie the sabbath onely publikely and not priuatly so that vnlesse we meditate reade the word pray and sanctifie the sabbath at home we may heare and reade the word publikely but without all increase of grace faith knowledge and repentance but if we performe neither it is not possible to get any grace seeing this day is set apart for that end Now to proceed The reason why the Lord he gaue Iohn these visions rather on this day then another is because though Iohn was absent in body from the Church yet he was present in spirit in praying for it at this time for being absent he would shew his presence in such duties as he could performe in that solitary place as fasting prayer c. Now when he was thus occupied the Lord reuealeth his will to him concerning the estate of the Church to the end of the world Seeing Iohn being in the Isle of Pathmos a desert place yet he kept the Sabboth in all such duties as he could performe hence we see that they which are absent from the Church as in prison sicke of some great disease or