the Passeouer he made a supplie by Manna and by the pillar of a cloude Hence we haue direction to answeare the Papists who demaunde of vs where our Church was threescore yeares agoe before the daies of Luther we say that then for the space of many hundred yeares an vniuersall Apostasie ouerspread the face of the whole earth and that our Church then was not visible to the worlde but lay hidde vnder the chaffe of Poperie And the truth of this the Records of all ages manifest The second estate of the Church is when it flourisheth and is visible nor that the faith and secret Election of men can be seene for no man can discerne these thinges but by outward signes but because it is apparant in respect of the outwarde assemblies gathered to the preaching of the worde and the administration of the Sacraments for the praise and glorie of God and their mutuall edification And the visible Church may be thus described It is a mixt companie of men professing the faith assembled together by the preaching of the word First of all I call it a mixt companie because in it there be true beleeuers and hypocrites Elect and Reprobate good and badde The Church is the Lords field in which the enemie soweth his tares it is the corne flore in which lieth wheat and chaffe it is a bād of men in which beside those that be of valour courage there be white liuered souldiours And it is called a Church of the better part namely the Elect whereof it consisteth though they be in number fewe As for the vngodly though they be in the Church yet they are no more parts of it indeed thē the superfluous humours in the vains are parts of the body But to proceed how are the members of the visible Church qualified and discerned the answear followeth in the definition professing the faith whereby I meane the profession of that religion which hath beene taught from the beginning and is now recorded in the writings of the Prophets and Apostles And this profession is a signe and marke whereby a man is declared and made manifest to be a member of the Church Againe because the profession of the faith is otherwhiles true and syncere and otherwhiles onely in shew therefore there be also two sorts of members of the visible Church members before God and members before men A member of the Church before God is he that beside the outward profession of the faith hath inwardly a pure heart good conscience and faith vnfained whereby he is indeede a true member of the Church Members before men whome we may call reputed members are such as haue nothing els but the outward profession wanting the good conscience and the faith vnfained The reason why they are to be esteemed members of vs is because we are bound by the rule of charitie to thinke of men as they appeare vnto vs leauing secret iudgements vnto God I added in the last place that the Church is gathered by the word preached to shew that the cause whereby it is begunne and continued is the word which for that cause is called the immortall seede whereby we are borne anew and milke whereby we are fedde and cherished to life euerlasting And hence it followeth necessarily that the preaching of the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles ioyned with any measure of faith and obedience is an vnfallible marke of a true Church Indeede it is true there be three things required to the good estate of a Church the preaching of the Gospell the administration of the Sacraments and due exequution of Discipline according to the word yet if the two latter be wanting if there be preaching of the worde with obedience in the people there is for substance a true Church of God For it is the banner of Christ displaied vnder which all that warre against the flesh the deuill the worlde must range themselues As the Lord saith by the Prophet Isai I will lift vp my hand to the Gentiles and set vp my standard vnto the people and they shall bring their sonnes in their armes and their daughters shall be carried vpon their shoulders Hence it followeth that men which want the preaching of the Gospell must either procure the same vnto themselues or if that cannot be because they liue in the middest of idolatrous nations as in Spaine and Italie it is requisite that they should ioyne themselues to those places where with libertie of conscience they may inioy this happie blessing Men are not to haue their hearts glued to the honours and riches of this worlde but they should be of Dauids minde and rather desire to be dorekeepers in the house of God then to dwell in the tents of vngodlinesse In the Canticles the spouse of Christ saith Shew mercie O thou whome my soule loueth where thou feedest where thou liest at noone for why should I be as shee that turneth aside to the flockes of thy companions To whome he answeareth thus If thou knowe not O thou the fairest among women get thee forth by the steppes of the flocke and feede thy kiddes by the tents of the shepheards that is in those places where the doctrine of righteousnes and life euerlasting by the Messias is published When the Shunamites child was dead shee told her husband that she would goe to the man of God to whom he answeared thus Why wilt thou goe to him to day it is neither nevve moone nor sabbath day whereby is signified that when teaching was skarse in Israel the people did resort to the Prophets for instruction and consolation And Dauid saith that the people wheresoeuer their aboad was went from strength to strength till they appeared before God in Sion And oftentimes they beeing Proselytes there aboad must needs be out of the precincts of Iewrie Thus we see what the visible Church is nowe further concerning it three questions are to be skāned The first is how we may discerne whether particular men and particular Churches holding errours be sound members of the Catholicke Church or no. For the answearing of this wee must make a double distinction one of errours the other of persons that erre Of errours some are destroyers of the faith some only weakners of it A destroier is that which ouerturneth any fundamentall point of religion which is of that nature that if it be denied religion it selfe is ouerturned as the deniall of the death of Christ the immortalitie of the soule and such like and the summe of these fundamentall points is comprised in the Creede of the Apostles and the Decalogue A weakning errour is that the holding whereof doth not ouerturne any point in the foundation of saluation as the errour of free will and sundrie such like This distinction is made by the holy Ghost who saith expressely that the doctrines of repentance and faith and baptismes and laying on of hands and the resurrection and the
penned by the Prophets and Apostles the answear is that they doe it with adding to the Canon and by corrupting the natiue sense of the Scriptures in the very foundation and therefore they are but as a lanthorne that shews light to others and none to it selfe Fourthly it is further said that they hold the Creede of the Apostles and make the same confession of faith that we doe I answeare that in shew of wordes they doe so indeede but by necessarie consequents in the rest of their doctrine they ouerturne one of the natures and all the offices of Christ and therewithall most of the articles of the Creede And herein they deale as a father that in outward shew tenders the bodie of his child and will not abide the least blemish vpon it and yet by secret conveiances inwardly annoies the heart the braine or the liuer and so in truth destroies the same Fifthly it is alledged that Antichrist must sit in the Temple of God that is the Church therefore say some that desire an vnion between vs and the Papists popish assemblies are true Churches but the argument is not good For it is one thing to be in the Church an other thing to be of it And Antichrist is said to sit in the Church not as a member thereof but as an vsurper or as the pyrate in the ship of the marchant heÌ„ce it cannot be prooued that assemblies of Papists are Churches but that in them and with them there is mingled an other hidden Church in the midst whereof Antichrist the Pope ruleth though himselfe hath no part therein Lastly whereas some being no Papists think their Churches to be like a bodie diseased and full of soares and wounds froÌ„ the head to the foot the throat also cut yet so as life is still remaining we may better thinke their foule errours considered their worship of God which is nothing els but a mixture of Iudaisme and Paganisme that it is a rotten and dead corps void of spirituall life And therefore we haue seuered our selues from the Church of Rome vpon iust cause neither are we schismaticks in so doing but they rather because the grouÌ„d the proper cause of the schisme is in theÌ„ As for the Assemblies of Anabaptists Libertines Antinomies Tritâ—eits Arrians Samosaâ—eniaÌ„s they are no churches of God but conspiracies of monstrous heretikes iudicially condemned in the primitiue Church and againe by the malice of Satan renewed and revived in this age The same we are to thinke and say of the Familie of loue As for the Churches of Germanie commonly called the Churches of the Lutheranes they are to be reputed of vs as the true Churches of God Though their Augustane Confession haue not satisfied the expectation of other Reformed Churches yet haue they all the same enemies in matter of religion and doe alike confesse the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost and of the office of the Mediatour of faith and good works of the Word the Church and the Magistrate are all of one iudgement They differ indeede from vs in the question of the Sacrament but it is no sufficient cause to induce vs to hold theÌ„ as no Church for that there is a true or reall receiuing of the bodie and blood of Christ in the Lordes supper wee all agree and wee ioyntly confesse that Christ is there present so farre forth that hee doth truly feede vs with his very bodie and blood to eternall life and all the controuersie lies in the manner of receiuing we contenting our selues with that spirituall receiuing which is by the hande of faith they adding therto the corporall whereby they imagine themselues to receiue Christ with the hand and mouth of the bodie And though to maintaine this their opinion they be constrained to turne the ascension of Christ into a dispaâ—ition whereby his bodie being visible becomes invisible yet in the maine points we agree that Christ ascended into heauen that he entred into his kingdome in our name and for vs that we are gouerned and preserued by his power and might and that whatsoeuer good thing we haue or doe proceeds wholly from the grace of his spirit Indeede the opinion of the Vbiquitie of the bodie of Christ reviveth the condemned heresies of Eutiches and Nestorius and it ouerturneth by necessarie consequent most of the articles of faith but that was priuate to some men as Brentius and others and was not receiued of whole Churches and whereas the men were godly and learned and we are vncerten with what affection and how long they held this errour we rest our selues in condemning it leauing the persons to God Againe Popish Transubstantiation and Lutherian Consubstantiation are both against the truth of the manhoode of Christ yet with great difference Transubstantiation is flat against an article of faith for if Christs bodie be made of bread and his blood of wine which must needes be if there be a conuersion of the one into the other then was not he conceiued and borne of the Virgin Marie for it can not both be made of bakers breade and of the substance of the Virgin Againe it abolisheth the outwarde signe in the Lordes supper and the analogie betweene the signe and the thing signified but Consubstantiation doth not so neither doeth it ouerturne the substance of any article of Religion but onely a maine point in Philosophie which is that A body doth occupy only one place at once Furthermore the Churches of Heluetia Savoie the free cities of France the low Countries Scotland are to be reuereÌ„ced as the true churches of God as their ConfessioÌ„s make manifest And no lesse must we thinke of our owne Churches in England and Ireland For we hold beleeue and maintaine and preach the true faith that is the auncient doctrine of saluation by Christ taught and published by the Prophets and Apostles as the Booke of the articles of faith agreed vpon in open Parliament doe fully shewe withal now we are and haue bin ready to testifie this our faith by venturing our liues euen in the cause of religion against forraigne power and especially the Spainard and hereupon all the Churches in Europe giue vnto vs the hand of fellowship And whereas sundrie among vs that separate and indeed excommunicate themselues giue out that there is no Church in England no Ministers no Sacraments their peremptorie asseuerations wanting sufficient grounde are but as paper-shot They alleadge that our assemblies are full of grieuous blottes and enormities Ansvv. The defects and corruptions of Churches must be distinguished and they be either in doctrine or manners Againe corruptions in doctrine must be further distinguished some of them are errours indeed but beside the foundation some errors directly against the foundation and these ouerturne all religion wheras the former do not Now it can not be shewed that in our Churches is taught any one errour that raceth the foundation and consequently annihillateth the
Creede is concerning God and the church For in these two points consisteth the whole summe therof Lastly I say that it is gathered forth of the scripture to make a difference betweene it other writings and to shew the authoritie of it There be two kind of writings in which the doctrine of the church is handled they are either divine or Ecclesiasticall Diuine are the bookes of the old new Testament penned either by Prophets or Apostles And these are not only the pure word of God but also the scripture of god because not only the matter of them but the whole disposition thereof with the stile the phrase was set down by the immediate inspiration of the Holy Ghost And the authoritie of these bookes is diuine that is absolute and soveraigne they are of sufficieÌ„t credit in and by theÌ„selves needing not the â—estimony of any creature not subiect to the ceÌ„sure either of meÌ„ or angels binding the coÌ„scieÌ„ces of all meÌ„ at all times being the only fouÌ„datioÌ„ of faith the rule canoÌ„ of all truth Ecclesiasticall writings are all other ordinary writings of the church consenting with scriptures These may be called the word or truth of God so far forth as their matter or substance is consenting with the written worde of God but they cannot be called the scripture of God because the stile and phrase of them was set downe according to the pleasure of man And therfore they are in such sort the word of god as that also they are the word of men And their authoritie in defining of trueth falshood in matters of religion is not soveraigne but subordinate to the former and it doth not stand in the authority pleasures of men councels but in the consent which they haue with the scriptures Ecclesiasticall writings are either generall particular or proper Generall are the Creedes and confessions of the Church dispersed over the whole world and among the rest the Creed of the Apostles made either by the Apostles themselues or by their hearers disciples apostolical men delivered to the Church conveyed from hand to hand to our times Particular writings are the confessions of particular Churches Proper writings are the books confessions of private men Now betweene these we must make difference For the Generall Creede of the Apostles other universall Creeds in this case not excepted though it be of lesse authoritie then Scripture yet hath it more authoritie then the particular and priuate writings of Churches and men For it hath bene received and approved by universall consent of the Catholike Church in all ages and so were neuer these in it the meaning and doctrine can not be changed by the authoritie of the whole Catholicke Church and if either the order of the doctrine or the wordes whereby it is expressed should upon some occasion be changed a particular Church of any cuntry can not doe it without Catholike consent of the whole Church yet particular writings coÌ„fessions made by some speciall Churches may be altered in the words in the points of doctrine by the same Churches without offence to the Catholicke Church Lastly it is receiued as a rule of faith amoÌ„g all churches to try doctrines interpretations of scriptures by not because it is a rule of it selfe for that the scripture is alone but because it boroweth his authority from scripture with which it agreeth And this honour no other writings of men can haue Here some may demaund the number of Creeds Answ. I say but one Creede as there is but one faith and if it be alledged that we have many Creedes as besides this of the Apostles the Nicene Creede and Athanasius Creede c. I answer the severall Creedes and confessions of Churches containe not seuerall faithes and religions but one and the same and this called the Apostles Creed is most ancient principall all the rest are not new Creedes in substance but in some points penned more largely for the exposition of it that men might better avoid the heresies of their times Futther it may be demaunded in what forme this Creed was penned Answ. In the forme of an answer to a question The reason is this In the Primitiue Church when any man was turned from Gentilisme to the faith of Christ and was to be baptised this question was asked him What beleeuest thou then he answered according to the forme of the Creede I beleeve in God c. And this manner of questioning was used euen from the time of the Apostles When the Eunuch was converted by Philip he said What doth let me to be baptised Philip said If thou doest beleeve with all thine heart thou maiest Then he answered I beleeve that Iesus Christ is the sonne of God By this it appeares that although all men for the most part amongst vs can say this Creede yet not one of a thousand can tell the ancient and first use of it for commonly at this day of the simpler sort it is said for a prayer being indeede no prayer and when it is used so men make it no better then a charme Before vve come to handle the particular pointes of the Creed it is very requisite that we should make an entrance thereto by describing the nature properties and kindes of faith the confession and ground whereof is set foorth in the Creede Faith therefore is a gift of God whereby we giue assent or credence to Gods word For there is a necessarie relatioÌ„ between faith gods word The coÌ„mon property of faith is noted by the authour of the Hebrews when he saith Faith is the ground of things hoped for and the demonstration of things that are not seene For all this may be understoode not onely of iustifying faith but also of temporarie faith and the faith of miracles Where faith is said to be a ground the meaning is that though there are many things promised by God which men do not presently enioy but only hope for because as yet they are not yet faith doeth after a sort giue subsisting or being vnto them Secondly it is an euidence or demonstration c. that is by beleeuing a maÌ„ doth make a thing as it were visible being otherwise invisible abseÌ„t Faith is of two sorts either common faith or the faith of the elect as Paul saith he is an Apostle according to the faith of Gods elect which also is called faith without hypocrisie The common faith is that which both elect and reprobate haue and it is threefold I. is historicall faith which is when a man doth beleeve the outward letter and historie of the word It hath two partes knowledge of Gods worde and an assent to the same knowledge it is to be found in the deuill and his angels So S. Iames saith the devils beleeve and tremble Some will say what a faith haue they Answ. Such as thereby they understand both the Law and
must not looke to be taught by visions and dreames yet shall it not be amisse to obserue this caveat concerning dreames that by them we may gesse at the constitution of our bodies and often times at the sinnes whereunto we are inclined The last motiue which caused Pilate to absolue Christ was a speech of the Iewes for they said that Christ ought to die by their law because he saide he was the sonne of God And the text saith when Pilate hearde that hee was afraide Marke how a poore Painym that knew not Gods word at the hearing of the name of the sonne of God is striken with feare No doubt he shall rise in iudgement against many among us that without all feare rend the name of God in peeces by swearing blaspheming cursed speaking But let all those that feare the Lorde learne to tremble and be afraide at his blessed name Thus much for the causes that moued Pilate to absolue Christ as also for the second part of Christs arraignement namely his accusation Now followes the third part which is his condemnation and that is twofolde The first by the Ecclesiasticall assembly and councell of the Iewes at Ierusalem in the high priests hall before Caiphas The tenour of his condemnation was this He hath blasphemed vvhat have we any more neede of witnesses he is worthy to die The cause why they say not he shall die but he is worthy to die is this The Iewes had two iurisdictions the one Ecclesiasticall the other civill both prescribed and distinctly executed by the commaundement of God till the time of the Machabees in which both ioyntly togither came into the haÌ„ds of the priests but afterward about the daies of Herod the great the Romane Emperour tooke away both iurisdictions from the Iewes and made their kingdome a province so as they could doe no more but apprehend accuse and imprison as doth appeare by the example of Saul who gate letters from the high priest to Damascus that if hee found any either man or woman that beleeued in Christ hee might bring them bound to Ierusalem and imprison them but kill or condemne they could not By the fact of this counsell we learne sundry points first that generall counsels and the Pope himselfe sitting iudicially in his consistorie may erre If there were any visible Church of God at that day upon the face of the whol world it was no doubt the Church of the Iewes For Caiphas the high priest was a figure of Christ the Scribes and Pharises sate in Moses chaire and Ierusalem is called by Christ the holy citie Mat. 4.5 27.53 Yet for all this that which was foretold is now verified namely that the chiefe corner stone should be reiected of master builders For by the generall consent of the councell at Ierusalem Christ the head of the Catholike Church and the redeemer of mankind is accused of blasphemy and condemned as worthy of death Wherefore it is a meere dotage of mans braine to avouch that the Pope cannot possibly erre in giuing a definitive sentence in matters either of faith or manners Neither can the Church of Rome pleade priviledge for Ierusalem had as many prerogatiues as any people in the worlde coulde haue Againe by this wee see there is no reason why wee should ascribe to any man or to oecumenicall counsels themselves absolute and soveraigne power to determine giue iudgement in matters of religion considering they are in danger to be ouertaken with notable slippes and errours And therefore the soueraigntie of iudgement is peculiar to the sonne of God who is the only doctour and law-giuer of the Church and he puts the same in execution in and by the written word As for the speech of the Papistes calling the scriptures a dumb Iudge it is little to be regarded For they are as it were the letter of the living sent from heauen to his Church upon earth and therefore the scriptures speake as plainly and as sufficiently unto vs of all matters of faith as a man can speake unto his friend by letter so be it we haue the gift of discerning Yet doe weâ— not barre the Church of God from all iudgement For the ministeriall power of giuing iudgement both publiquely and priuately is graunted 〈◊〉 of God and that is to determine and giue sentence of matters in question according to the worde as the lawyer giues iudgement not according as he wil but according to the tenour of the law Thirdly we learne that personall succession is no unfallible marke of the true faith and of true pastours vnlesse withall be ioyned succession in the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles For Caiphas held his office by succession from Aaron and yet in publike assembly condemned the Messias spoken of by Moses and the Prophets Therefore the succession of the bishops of Rome from Peter is of no moment vnlesse they can prooue that their religion is the religion of Peter which they can neuer doe And thus much for Christs first condemnation The second was by Pontius Pilate who sate in an other court as a civill iudge and the tâ—noâ—â— of his sentence was that the Iewes should take him and crucifie him Here we must consider the reasons that mooved Pilate to determine thus the first was the impatience of the Iewes he for his parte was loth to defile his hands with innocent blood but the Iewes cryed his blood be upon us and on our children which according to their wish came upon them within fewe yeres after and so remaineth still unto this day By which we are taught to take heede of imprecations against our selues our children or seruants or any other creatures for God heareth mens prayers two waies either in his mercy or in his wrath and anger If thou curse thy selfe or any other except thou turne unto the Lorde by speedie repentance hee may heare thy prayer in his wrath and verifie thy curse upon thee to thy utter confusion The second reason that mooued Pilate to condemne Christ was because he feared men more then God for being deputie vnder Tyberius Caesar ouer the province of Iudea for feare of loosing his office and of displeasing the Iewes hee condemned Christ after he had absolued him whereby wee see that it is a grieuous sinne to feare dust and ashes more then the living God And therefore S. Iohn saith that the fearefull shall have their portion in the burning lake that is such as are more afraid of man then of God And this sinne in Pilate wanted not his iust towarde for not long after hee lost his deputy-ship and Cesars favour and fledde to Vienna where liuing in banishment hee killed himselfe And thus God meetes with them that feare the creature more then the Creatour That we may therefore avoid the heauie hand of God let us learne to feare God aboue all els we shall dishonour God and shame the religion which we professe The
AN EXPOSITION OF THE SYMBOLE OR CREED OF THE APOSTLES ACCORDING TO THE TENOVR OF the Scriptures and the consent of Orthodoxe Fathers of the Church By William Perkins They are good Catholickes which are of sound faith and good life August lib. quaest in Matth. cap. 11. Printed by Iohn Legatt Printer to the Vniuersitie of Cambridge 1595. And are to be solde at the signe of the Sunne in Pauls Church-yard in London TO THE RIGHT honourable Edward Lord Russell Earle of Bedford Grace and peace c. RIght Honourable excellent is the saying of Paul to Titus To the pure all things are pure but to the impure and vnbeleeuing is nothing pure but euen their mindes and consciences are defiled In which wordes he determines three questions The first whether things ordained and made by God may become vncleane or no his answeare is that they may his meaning must be conceiued with a distinction By nature things ordained of God are not vncleane for Moses in Genesis saith that God sawe all things which he had made they were very good yet they may become vnclean either by law or by the fault of men By law as when God forbids vs the things which in themselues are good without whose commaundement they are as pure as things not forbidden Thus for the time of the old Testament God forbad the Iewes the vse of certain creatures not because they were indeed worse then the rest but because it was his pleasure vpon speciall cause to restraine them that hee might put a difference betweene his owne people and the rest of the world that he might exercise their obedience and aduertise them of the inward impuritie of minde Now this legal impuritie was abolished at the ascension of Christ. By the fault of men things are vncleane when they are abused and not applied to the ends for which they were ordained The second question is to whome things ordained of God are pure he answeres to the pure that is to them whose persons stand iustified sanctified before God in Christ in whome they beleeue who also doe vse Gods blessings in holy manner to his glorie and the good of men The third question is who they are to whome all things are vncleane his answeare is to the vncleane by whom he vnderstands all such I. whose persons displease God because they doe not indeede beleeue in Christ II. who vse not the gifts of God in holy manner sanctifying them by the word and praier III. who abuse them to badde endes as to riot pride and oppression of men c. Nowe that to such the vse of all the creatures of God is vncleane it is manifest because all their actions are sinnes in that they are not done of faith and a mans person must first please God in Christ before his action or worke done can please him Againe they vse the blessings creatures of God with euill conscience because so long as they are forth of Christ they are but vsurpers therof before God For in the fall of the first Adam we lost the title and interest to all good things and though God permit the vse of many of them to wicked men yet is not the former title recouered but in Christ the second Adam in whom we are aduanced to a better estate then we had by creation Hence it followes necessarily that to omit all other things Nobilitie though it be a blessing and ordinance of God in it selfe is but an vncleane thing if the inioyers thereof be not truly ingrafted into Christ and made bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh The blood vnstained before men is stained blood before God by the fall of Adā if it be not restored by the blood of Christ the lambe of God And hence it followes againe that Nobilitie must not dwell solitarie but combine her selfe in perpetuall fellowship with heartie loue syncere obediēce of pure sound religion without the which all pleasant pastimes all sumptuousnes of building all brauerie in apparell all glistering in gold all delicate fare all delightfull musicke all reuerence done with cap and knee all earthly pleasures and delights that heart can wish are but as a vanishing shadow or like the mirth that begins in laughing ends in woe A happy thing were it if this consideration might take place in the hearts of all noble men it would make them honour God that they might be honoured of God with euerlasting honour and it would make them kisse the sonne least he be angrie and they perish in the way I speake not this as though I doubted of your Lordships care in this very point but mine onely meaning is to put you in minde that as you haue begun to cleane vnto Christ with full purpose of heart so you would continue to doe it still and doe it more and withall to manifest the same to the whole world by honouring Christ with your owne honour and by resembling him specially in one thing in that as he grew in stature and yeares he also grew in grace and fauour with God and men And for this very cause without any consideration of earthly respects I further present vnto you an Exposition of an other part of the Catechisme namely the Symbole or Creede of the Apostles which is indeede the very pith and substance of Christian religion taught by the Apostles imbraced by the ancient fathers sealed by the blood of Martyrs vsed by Theodosius the Emperour as a meanes to end the controuersies of his time and hereupon it hath bin called the rule of faith the kaie of faith And furthermore I hope that your Lordship will accept the same in good part the rather because you vouchsafed when you were in Cambridge to be an hearer thereof when it was taught and deliuered Thus crauing pardon for my boldnesse I take my leaue commending your L. and yours to the protection of the Almightie Ann. 1595. April 2. Your Lordships to command William Perkins The Contents of the booke The Creede pag. 1. Faith 3. God 19 The three persons 25 The Father 31 Gods omnipotencie 43 The Creation 52. 58 Gods counsell 54 The creation of heauen 68 The creation of Angels 73 The creation of man 81 Gods prouidence 91 Adams fall 106 The couenant of grace 118 The title Iesus 122 The title Christ. 129 The title Sonne 136 The title Lord. 145 The Incarnation of Christ. 148 Christs humiliation 174 Christes passion 176 Christes arraignment 182 Christes execution 226 Christes Sacrifice 260 Christes triumph 270 Christes buriall 287 The descension of Christ. 297 Christs exaltation 305 Christes Resurrection 307 Christes ascension 333 Christs sitting at the right hand c. 351 363 Christes intercession 355 Christes kingdome 367 The last judgement 372 Of the holy Ghost 397 The Church 420 Predestination 423 The mysticall vnion 477 The communion of Saints 506 The forgiuenesse of sinnes 516 The resurrection of the bodie 521
the Gospell besides they giue an assent to it to be true and they do more yet in that they tremble and feare And many a man hath not so much For amongst vs there is many a one which hath no knowledge of God at all more then he hath learned by the common talke of the world as namely that there is a God and that he is mercifull c. and yet this man will say that he beleeueth with all his heart but without knowledge it can not be that any should truly beleeue therfore he deceiveth himselfe Quest. But whence haue the devils historicall faith were they illuminated by the light of the spirit Answ. No but when the Gospell was preached they did acknowledge it and beleeued it to be true that by vertue of the reliques of Gods image which remained in them since their fall And therefore this their faith doeth not arise from any speciall illumination by his spirit but they attaine to it by the light of nature which was left in them from the beginning The second kind of faith is Temporary faith so called because it lasteth but for a time and season and commonly not to the end of a mans life This kind of faith is noted unto us in the parable of the seede that fell in the stony ground And there be two differences or kinds of this faith The first kinde of temporary faith hath in it three degrees The first is to know the word of God and particularly the Gospell The second to giue an assent unto it The third to professe it but to goe no further and all this may be done without any loue to the word This faith hath one degree more then historicall faith Examples of it we haue in Simon Magus Acts. 8.13 who is said to beleeue because he held the doctrine of the Apostle to be true and withall he professed it and in the devils also who in some sort professed that Christ was the sonne of the most highest yet looked for no saluation by him Mark 5.7 Act. 19.14 And this is the common faith that abounds in this land Men say they beleeue as the prince beleeueth and if religion chāge they will change For by reason of the authoritie of princes lawes they are made to learne some litle knowledge of the word they beleeue it to be good they professe it thus for the space of thirtie or fourtie yeres they will heare the word preached and receiue the sacraments and yet be as void of grace as euer they were at the first day the reason is because men doe barely professe it without either liking or loue of the same The second kinde of temporarie faith hath in it fiue degrees For by it first a man knows the word Secondly he assenteth unto it III. he professeth it IIII. he reioyceth inwardly in it V. he bringeth forth some kind of fruit and yet for all this hath no more in him but a faith that will faile in the end because he wanteth the effectuall applicatiō of the promise of the gospel is without all maner of sound conversiō This faith is like corne in the house top which groweth for a while but when heate of sommer cōmeth it withereth And this is also set forth vnto vs in the parable of the seede which fell in a stony ground which is hastie in springing up but because of the stones which will not suffer it to take deepe roote it withereth And this is a very common faith in the Church of God by which many reioyce in the preaching of the worde and for a time bring forth some fruits accordingly with shewe of great forwardnesse yet afterward shake of religion and all But some will say howe can this be a temporary faith seeing it hath such fruits Answ. Such a kind of faith is temporary because it is grounded on temporarie causes vvhich are three I. A desire to get knovvledge of some straunge pointes of religion For many a man doth labour for the fiue former degrees of temporarie faith onely because he desires to get more knovvledge in scripture then other men haue The second cause is a desire of praise among men which is of that force that it will make a man put on a shevve of all the graces vvhich God bestoweth on all his children though otherwise he want them and to go very farre in religion vvhich appeareth thus Some can very bitterly weepe for the sinnes of other men and yet haue neither sorrowe nor griefe for their owne and the cause hereof is nothing else but pride For he that sheddes teares for another mans sinnes should much more vveepe for his owne if he had grace Yet thus are many men disposed euen of pride and nothing else Againe a man for his owne sinnes vvill pray very slackly and dully when he prayeth priuately and yet when he is in the company of others will pray very fervently and earnestly From vvhence is this difference surely often it springeth from the pride of heart and from a desire of praise among men The third cause of temporarie faith is profit commodity the getting of wealth and riches These make man to receive religion and if other religion come they vvill receiue it asvvell as this But such studies not the gospell because it is the gospell but because it brings wealth peace and riches with it And these are the three causes of temporarie faith The third kind of faith is the faith of Miracles vvhen a man grounding himselfe on some speciall promise or revelation from God doeth beleeve that some straunge extraordinarie thing vvhich he hath desired or foretold shall come to passe by the vvork of God This must be distinguished from historicall temporarie faith For Simon Magus had both these kindes of faith but yet wanted this faith of miracles therfore would haue bought the same of the Apostles for mony Yet this faith of miracles may be in hypocrites as it vvas in Iudas at the last iudgement it shall be found to haue bin in the wicked reprobate which shal say to Christ Lorde in thy name we haue prophesied and cast out deuils and done many great miracles And thus much for the three sorts of common faith Now we must come to the true faith which is the faith of the elect It is thus defined Faith is a supernaturall gift of God in the mind apprehending the sauing promise with al the promises that depend on it First I say it is a gift of God Phil. 1.29 to confute the blind opiniō of our people that think that the faith wherby they are to be saued is bred borne with thē I adde that it is a gift supernaturall not onely because it is aboue that corrupt nature in which we are borne but also because it is aboue that pure nature in which our first parents were created For in the state of innocencie they wanted this faith neither
the same spirit opens the eye to vnderstand and consider seriously of righteousnes life eternal promised in Christ. This done then comes the second worke of the holy Ghost which is the inflaming of the will that a man hauing considered his fearefull estate by reason of sinne and the benefits of Christes death might hunger after Christ and haue a desire not so much to haue the punishmēts of sinne taken away as Gods displeasure also might enioy the benefits of Christ. And whē he hath stirred vp a man to desire reconciliation with God in Christ then withall he giues him grace to pray not onely for life eternall but especially for the free remission and pardon of all his sinnes and then the Lordes promise is Knocke and it shall be opened seeke and ye shall finde After which he further sends his spirit into the same heart that desireth reconciliation with God and remission of sinnes in Christ and doth seale vp in his heart the liuely and plentifull assurance thereof The differences and degrees of faith are two I. a weake faith II. a strong faith Concerning the first this weake faith shewes it selfe by this grace of God namely an vnfained desire not onely of saluation for that the wicked and gracelesse man may haue but of reconciliation with God in Christ. This is a sure signe of faith in euery touched and humbled heart and it is peculiar to the elect and they which haue this haue in them also the substance of true sauing faith which afterwards will grow vp to a strong faith Reasons I. Promise of life euerlasting is made to the desire of reconciliation Psal. 10.17 Lord thou hast heard the desire of the poore Psal. 143.6 My soule desireth after thee as the thirstie land Psal. 145.19 He will fulfill the desire of them that feare him Matth. 5.6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousnes for they shalbe satisfied Revel 22.6 J will giue vnto him which is a thirst of the well of the water of life freely II. The hungring desire after grace is a sanctified affection vvhere one affection is sanctified all are sanctified where all are sanctified the whole man is sanctified and he that is sanctified is iustified and beleeues III. God accepts the will and desire to repent and beleeue for repenting and beleeuing indeede wherefore this desire of reconciliation if it be soundly wrought in the heart is accepted euen as faith before God But carnall men will say If faith yea true faith shew it selfe by a desire of reconciliation with God in Christ for all our sinnes then we are well ynough though we liue in our sinnes for we haue very good desires J answer That there be in many men sundrie fleeting motions and desires to do good things which grow to no issue or head but in time vanish as they come Now such passions haue no soundnes in them must be distinguished from the desire of reconciliatiō with God which comes from a bruised heart which brings alwaies with it reformation of life therefore such as liue after the couse of this world and thinke notwithstanding that they haue desires that are good deceiue themselues Nowe faith is saide to be weake when a man either failes in the knowledge of the Gospell or else hauing knowledge is weake in grace to applie vnto himselfe the sweete promises thereof As for example we know that the Apostles had all true sauing faith except Iudas and when our Sauiour Christ asked them whome they thought that he was Peter in the person of the rest answered for them all and said Thou art Christ the Sonne of the liuing God for which our Sauiour commended him and in him them all saying Thou art Peter vpon this rocke that is vpon Christ which Peter did professe in the name of them all will I builde my Church And yet after we shall finde in the Gospell that they are called men of litle faith Now they failed in knowledge of the death of Christ and of his passion and resurrection and were caried away with a vaine hope of an earthly kingdome And therefore when our Sauiour shewed them of his going downe to Ierusalem and of his sufferings there Peter a little after his notable confession began to rebuke Christ said Master haue pitie on thy selfe this shall not be vnto thee And vntil he had appeared to them after his death they did not beleeue his resurrection Again weake faith though it be ioyned with knowledge yet it may faile in the applying or in the apprehension and appropriating of Christs benefits to a mans owne selfe This is to be seene in ordinary experience For many a man there is of humble and contrite heart that serueth God in spirite and truth yet is not able to say without great doubtings and wauerings I know and am fully assured that my sinnes are pardoned Now shall we say that all such are without faith God forbid Nay we may resolue our selues that the true child of God may haue a hungring desire in his heart after reconciliation with God in Christ for all his sinnes with care to keepe a good conscience and yet be weake some time in the apprehension of Gods mercie and the assurance of the remission of his owne sinnes But if faith faile either in the true knowledge or in the apprehension of Gods mercies how can a man be saued by it Answ. We must knowe that this weake faith will as truly apprehend Gods mercifull promises for the pardon of sinne as strong faith though not so soundly Euen as a man with a palsie hand can stretch it out as well to receiue a gift at the hand of a king as he that is more sound though it be not so firmely and steadfastly The Church of Rome beares men in hand that they are good Catholicks if they beleeue as the Church beleeues though in the meane season they can not tell what the Church beleeues And some Papists commend this faith by the example of an old devout father who beeing tempted of the deuill was asked how he beleeued he answered that he beleeued as the Church beleeued beeing againe asked how the Church beleeued he answered as I beleeue whereupon the deuill as they say was faint to depart VVell this fond and ridiculous kind of faith we renounce as being a means to nozle men in blindnes superstition perpetuall ignorance yet withall we doe not denie but that there is an implicite or foulded faith which is when a man as yet hauing but some little portion of knowledge in the doctrine of the Gospell doth truely performe obedience according to the measure thereof and withall hath care to get more knowledge and shewes good affection to all good meanes whereby it may be increased In this respect a certain ruler who by a miracle wrought vpon his childe was mooued to acknowledge Christ for the Messias and further to submit him selfe to his doctrine is
is one thing to beleeue in this or that is another thing and it conteineth in it 3. points or actions of a beleeuer 1. to know a thing 2. to acknowledge the same 3. to put trust and confidence in it And in this order must these three actions of faith be applied to euery article following which concerneth God And herein is contained a speciall matter For alwaies by adding them to the words following we doe applie the article vnto our selues in a very comfortable manner As I beleeue in the father and doe beleeue that he is my father and therefore I put my whole trust in him and so of the rest Now we come to the obiect of generall faith which is either God or the Church in handling of both which I wil obserue this order I. I will speake of the meaning of euery article II. Of the duties which we ought to learn thereby III. And lastly of the consolations which may be gathered thence Concerning God three things are to be considered And first by reason of manifold doubtings that rise in our minds it may be demanded whether there be a God many reasons might be vsed to resolue those that haue scruple of conscience otherwaies we are bound to beleeue that there is a God without al doubting As for those Atheists which confidently auouch there is no God by Gods lawe they ought to die the death nay the earth is too good for such to dwell on Malefactours as theeues and rebells for their offences haue their rewarde of death but the offence of those which denie that there is a God is greater and therefore deserues the most cruell death The second point followeth namely what God is Answer Moses desiring to see Gods face was not permitted but to see his hinder parts and therefore no man can be able to describe God by his nature but by his effects properties on this or such like maner God is an essence spirituall simple infinite most holy I say first of all that God is an essence to shew that he is a thing absolutely subsisting in himselfe by himselfe not receiuing his being from any other And herein he differeth frō all creatures whatsoeuer which haue subsisting beeing from him alone Againe I say that he is an essence spirituall because hee is not a kinde of body neither hath he the parts of the bodies of mē or other creatures but is in nature a spirit inuisible not subiect to any of mans senses I adde also that he is a simple essence because his nature admits no maner of composition of matter or forme or parts The creatures are compounded of diuers parts of varietie of nature but there is no such thing in God for whatsoeuer thing he is he is the same by one the same singular and indiuisible essence Furthermore he is infinite and that diuers waies infinite in time without any beginning and without end infinite in place because he is euery where and excluded no where within all places and foorth of all places Lastly he is most holy that is of infinite wisdome mercie loue grace goodnes c. and he alone is rightly tearmed most holy because holinesse is of the very nature of God himselfe wheras among the most excellent creatures it is otherwise As for example a man is one thing and the holines of man is another Thus we see what God is and to this effect god describes himself to be Iehova Elohim Paul describes him to be a King euerlasting immorall inuisible onely wise to whom is due all honour glorie for euer The thirde point is touching the number of Gods namely whether there be more Gods then one or no. Ans. There is not neither can there be any more Gods then one VVhich point the Creede auoucheth in saying I beleeue in God not gods and yet more plainly the Nicene Creede and the Creede of Athanasius both of them explaning the words of the Apostles Creede on this maner I beleeue in one God Howsoeuer some in former times haue erroneously held that two Gods were the begining of all things one of good things the other of euill things others that there was one God in the old testament an other in the new others againe namely the Valintinians that there were 30. couple of gods and the heathen people as Augustine recordeth worshipped 30. thousand gods yet we that are members of Gods Church must hold and beleeue one God alone no more Deut. 4.39 Vnderstand this day and consider in thine heart that Iehovah he is God in heauen aboue and vpon the earth beneath there is none other Eph. 4.8 One God one faith one baptisme If it be alleadged that the Scripture mentioneth many gods because Magistrates are called gods Moses is called Aarons god the deuill and all idols are called gods The answer is this They are not properly or by nature gods for in that respect there is onely one God but they are so tearmed in other respects Magistrates are gods because they be Vicegerents placed in the roome of the true God to gouerne their subiects Moses is Aarons god because he was in the roome of god to reueale his will to Aaron the deuill is a god because the hearts of the wicked would giue the honour vnto him which is peculiar to the euerliuing God idols are called gods because they are such in mens conceits and opinions who esteeme of them as of gods Therefore Paul faith an idole is nothing in the worlde that is nothing in nature subsisting or nothing in respect of the diuinitie ascribed vnto it To proceede forwarde to beleeue in this one God is in effect thus much 1. to knowe and acknowledge him as he hath reuealed himselfe in his worde 2. to beleeue him to be my God 3. from mine heart to put all mine affiance in him To this purpose Christ saith This is eternall life to knowe thee the onely God and whome thou hast sent Iesus Christ. Nowe the knowledge here meant is not a bare or generall knowledge for that the deuills haue but a more speciall knowledge whereby I know God not onely to be God but also to be my God and thereupon doe put my confidence in him And thus much of the meaning of the first wordes I beleeue in God c. Nowe followe the duties which may be gathered hence First of all if wee are bound to beleeue in God then wee are also bound to take notice of our naturall vnbeliefe to checke our selues for it and to striue against it Thus dealt the father of the childe that had a dumme spirite Lord saith he J beleeue Lorde helpe myne vnbeleefe And David Why art thou cast dovvne my soule and why art thou so disquieted in me wayt on God And that which our Sauiour Christ said once to Peter should a man say euery day to himselfe O thou of little faith why hast thou doubted But
especially of such as are olde in yeares and yet remaine ignorant without knowledge they must turne to the Lorde by repentance otherwise if they continue still profane and wicked they must knowe this that their damnation comes post hast to meete them and they to it And thus much for the dueties Nowe followe the consolations which Gods Church reape from this that God the father is omnipotent First the wonderfull power of God serueth to strengthen vs in prayer vnto God for he that will pray truly must onely pray for those things for which he hath warrant in Gods word all our prayers must be made in faith and for a man to pray in faith it is harde therefore a speciall meanes to strengthen vs herein is the mightie power of God This was the ground and stay of the leaper whome our Sauiour Christ clensed Lord saith he if thou wilt thou canst make me cleane And in the Lords prayer when our Sauiour Christ hath taught vs to make sixe petitions in the ende he giueth vs a reason or motiue to induce vs to stand vpon and to wait for the benefits before craved in these words Thine is the kingdome thine is the power c. Secondly hence we learne this comfort that all the gates of hell shal neuer be able to preuaile against the least mēber of Christ. I doe not say they shal neuer be able to assault or tempt them for that may be but they shall neuer ouercome them How will some say may we be resolued of this I answer By reason of faith for if a Christian man do beleeue that God the father and in Christ his father is almightie no enemie shall euer be able to preuaile against him So S. Iohn reasoneth Little children yee are of God and haue ouercome them that is all false teachers because greater is he that is in you that is Christ Iesus by his holy spirite who is God and therefore almightie then he that is in the worlde that is the spirit of Sathan therefore you neede not to feare So Dauid compareth him selfe to a sillie sheepe and saith Though I should walke through the valley of the shadow of death that is as it were in the mouth of the lyō yet I will feare none evill why so because the Lord is with him thy rodde saith he and thy staffe comfort me Thus much for the benefits Now whereas it is saide the first person is a father as also almightie ioyne these two together and hence will arise singular benefits and instructions First whereas we are taught to confesse that the first person is a father almightie we and euery man must learne to haue experience in himselfe of the mightie power of this almightie father Why will some say that is nothing for the deuil and all the damned soules feele the power of the Almightie True in deede they feele the power of God namely as he is an almightie Iudge condemning them but they feele not the power of an almightie father this is the point whereof we must learne to haue experience in our selues Paul prayeth that the God of our Lord Iesus Christ the father of glorie would giue vnto the Ephesians the spirite of wisdome to see what is the exceeding greatnes of his power in them which beleeue according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ. Which place must be cōsidered for here the Apostle would haue vs haue such a speciall manifestation of Gods power in our selues like to that which he did once shew forth in Christ. But how did Christ see and find the power of God as he was man Answ. Diuers waies I. On the crosse he died the first death which is the separation of bodie and soule and he suffered the sorrowes of the second death For in his soule he bare the whole wrath of God and all the panges of hell and after was buried and laide in the graue where death triumphed ouer him for the space of three daies Now in this extremitie God did shew his power in that he raised Christ from death to life And looke as his power was manifested in Christ the head so must it be manifested in all his members for euery man hath his graue which is naturall sinne and corruption which we draw from our first parents and looke as a man lies dead in the graue and can mooue neither hand nor foote so euery man by nature lieth dead in sinne Now as God did shewe his power in raising Christ from death so euery one must labour to haue this knowledge and experience in him selfe of the mightie power of God in raising him from the graue of sinne to newnes of life For thus Paul makes a speciall request that he might knowe Christ and the vertue of his resurrection that is that he might feele in him selfe that power whereby Christ was raised from death to life to raise him also from the bondage of his sinnes to a new life more more Furthermore whē Christ was vpon the crosse and all the gates of hell were open against him then did hee vanquish Sathan he bruised the serpents head and as Paul saith he spoiled principalities and powers and made a shew of them openly and hath triumphed ouer them in the crosse he ouercame the deuill and all his angels by the power of his almightie father and by his owne power as he is God And euen so must Christian men labour to finde the same power in themselues of this almightie father by which Christ did triumph ouer sathan◠that by it they may tread him vnder their feete which men can neuer doe by any power in themselues Againe Christ praieth that that cuppe might passe from him and yet he saith Not my will but thy will be fulfilled For it was necessarie that Christ should suffer And this request was heard not because he was freed from death but because God his father Almightie gaue him power and strength in his manhoode to beare the brunt of his indignation Nowe looke as this power was effectual in Christ Iesus the head to make him able and sufficient to beare the panges of hell so the same power of God is in some measure effectuall in all the members of Christ to make them both patient and of sufficient strength to beare any affliction as Saint Paul saith beeing strengthened with all might through his glorious power vnto all patience and long suffering with ioyfulnes And this is a notable point which euery one ought to learne that wheras they confesse God to be their almightie father they should here withall labour to feele and haue experience in themselues that he is almightie in the beginning and continuing of grace vnto them and in giuing thē power and patience to suffer afflictions Further Christ Iesus when the worke of our redemption was accomplished was lifted vp into heauen and set at the right hande of God in
their fall by God himselfe in these words The seede of the woman shall bruise the serpents head and afterward it was continued and renewed with a part of Adams posteritie as with Abraham Isaac Iacob Dauid c. but it was most fully reuealed and accomplished at the comming of Christ. In the Couenant I will consider two things the parties reconciled betweene whome the couenant is made the foundation thereof The parties are God and man God is the principall he promiseth righteousnes and life eternall in Christ Man againe binds himselfe by Gods grace to beleeue to rest vpon the promise Here it may be demanded why man is more in the couenant then angels Answ. The will of God in this point is not reuealed vnlesse it be because angels fel of themselues not mooued by any other but man did fall by them Againe it may be asked whether all mankind were euer in the couenant or no Ans. We cannot say that all euery man hath bin now is in the couenant but onely that little part of mankind which in all ages hath bin in the Church of God hath by faith imbraced the couenant as Paul plainly auoucheth The scripture saith he hath concluded all vnder sinne that the promise of the faith of Iesus Christ should be giuen not vnto all men but to thē that beleeue Without faith no man can please God and therfore God makes no couenāt of recōciliation without faith Again since the beginning of the world there hath bin alwaies a distinctiō between mā man This appeares in the very tenor of the words of the couenāt made with our first parents where God saith he wil put differēce between the seed of the womā the seed of the serpēt meaning by the seed of the womā Christ with all the elect whō the father hath giuen vnto him who shall bruise the serpents head and tread Satan vnder their feete And by the seed of the serpent he meaneth wicked mē that liue and die in their sinnes as Saint Iohn saith he that committeth sinne is of the deuill And according to this distinction in times following was Abel receiued into the couenant and Cain reiected some were the sonnes of God in the daies of Noe some the sonnes of men In Abrahams familie Ismael is cast out and the couenant established in Isaac Iacob is loued Esau is hated And this distinction in the families of Abraham Isaac and Iacob Paul approoueth when he maketh some to be the children of the flesh and some other the childrē of the promise And again the Iewes a people of God in the couenant the Gentiles no people For Paul makes it a priuiledge of the Iewes to haue the adoption and couenants the seruice of God the promises belonging vnto them where as he saith of the Ephesians that they were alients from the common-wealth of Israel and were strangers from the couenants of promise had no hope were without Christ and without God in the worlde And the same may be said of the whole bodie of the Gentiles excepting here there a man who were conuerted and became Proselites And this is manifest in that they wāted the word the sacraments and teachers And this saying of the Prophet Ose I will call them my people which were not my people and hir beloued which was not beloued is alledged by Paul to prooue the calling of the Gentiles Some doe alledge to the cōtrary that whē the couenāt was made with our first parēts it was also in thē made with all mankinde not one man excepted that the distinction difference between mā and man ariseth of their vnbeleefe contēpt of the couenāt afterward Answ. Indeed in the estate of innocency Adam by creation receiued grace for himselfe his posteritie in his fal he transgressed not only for himself but for all his posteritie but in receiuing of the couenant of grace it can not be prooued that he receiued it for himselfe for all mankinde nay the distinction betweene the seed of the woman the seed of the serpent mentioned in the very first giuing of the couenant shews the contrarie for if after the fall all euery part of mankinde were receiued into the couenant then all men without restraint should be the seede of the woman bruising the serpents head and the serpent should haue no seede at all And againe all men cannot be charged with vnbeleefe and contempt in respect of the couenant but onely such persons as haue knowne it or at the least heard of it And therefore sundrie heads of the nations may be charged with vnbeleefe as Cain Cham Iaphet Ammon Moab Ismael Esau Madian for they beeing neere to the fathers heard the promises concerning Christ offered sacrifices and obserued externall rites of the Church but afterward fell away from the syncere worship of the true God to idolatrie and all manner of wickednes and became enemies of God his people But we plainly denie that there was or could be the like vnbeleefe and contempt of Gods grace in their posteritie which for the most part neuer so much as heard of any couenant their ancetors indeauouring alwaies to burie and extinguish the memorie of that which they hated It is obiected againe that the couenant was made with Abraham and with all mankinde after him Because saith the Lord thou hast obeied my voice in thy seede shall all the nations of the earth be blessed Answ. Paul giues a double answer first that the place must be vnderstood of many nations secondly that it must be vnderstood not of all nations in all ages but of all nations of the last age of the worlde For saith he the scripture foreseeing that God would iustifie the gentiles through faith preached before the Gospell vnto Abraham saying in thee shall all the nations be blessed VVell to conclude this point in the making of the couenant there must be a mutuall consent of the parties on both sides and beside the promise on Gods part there must be also a restipulation on mans part otherwise the couenant is not made Now then it must needs follow that all vnbeleeuers cōtemning grace offered in Christ are out of the couenant as also such as neuer heard of it for where there is no knowledge there is no consent and before the comming of Christ the greatest part of the world neuer knewe the Messias nor heard of the couenant as Paul saith to the learned Athenians the time of this ignorance God regarded not but now he admonisheth all men euery where to repent The foundation and groundworke of the Couenant is Christ Iesus the Mediator in whom all the promises of God are yea and a men therfore he is called the angel of the couenant and the couenant of the people to be made with all nations in the last age Nowe then that we may
point should moue us all to repent us of our sins past to reforme our selues throughout to be plentifull in all good works And undoubtedly if wee seriously thinke upon it it will holde us more straitly to all good duties then if with the Papistes we held iustification by workes Furthermore in this triall tvvo things must be skanned I. how all mens workes shall be made manifest II. by what meanes they shall be examined Of the manifestation of euery mans vvork S. Iohn speaketh And I saw saith he the deade both great and small stande before God and the bookes were opened and another booke was opened which is the booke of life and the dead were iudged of these things which vvere written in the bookes according to their workes God is saide to haue books not properly but because al things are as certen and manifest to him as if he had his Registers in heauen to keepe rolles and recordes of them His bookes are three the book of Prouidence the book of Iudgement the book of Life The book of his providence is the knowledge of all particular things past present to come Of this the Psalmist speaketh Thine eyes did see me when I vvas vvithout forme for in thy booke vvere all things vvritten vvhich in continuance vvere fashioned vvhen there was none of them before The booke of iudgement is that whereby he giues iudgement and it is two-folde The first is Gods knowledge or prescience in which all the affaires of men their thoughts wordes and deedes are as certenly knowen and set downe as if they were put in bookes of record Wee may forget our sinnes but God keepes them in a register he knovves them euery one The seconde booke is euery mans particular conscience which also brings to remembrence and testifies what men haue done and what they haue not done The booke of life is nothing els but the decree of Gods election in which God hath set downe who be ordained to life eternall Now the opening of these bookes is a thing wherin the endlesse power of God shall most notably shewe it selfe For when we shall stand before the iudgement seate of Christ he then knowing all things in his eternall counsell shall reueale unto euery man his owne particular sinnes whether they were in thought worde or deede and then also by his mightie power hee shall so touch mens consciences that they shall a fresh remember what they haue done Now indeede the wicked mans conscience is shut up as a closed booke but then it shall be so touched and as it were opened that he shall plainly see and remember all the particular offences which at any time he hath committed his very coÌ„science shall be as good as a thousand witnesses whereupon hee shall accuse and utterly condemne himselfe The consideration of this ought to terrifie all those that liue in their sinnes For howsoeuer they may hide them from the worlde yet at the last day God will be sure to reveale them all Now after that mens workes are made manifest they must further be tried whether they be good or euill And that shall be done on this maner They that neuer heard of Christ must be tried by the law of nature which serues to make them inexcusable before God As for those that liue in the Church they shall be tried by the Law and the Gospell as Paul saith As many as have lived in the law shall be iudged by the law And againe At the day of iudgement God shall iudge the secrets of our hearts according to his gospell And By faith Noah builded an arke whereby he condemned the olde world If this be true then we must in the feare of God heare his word preached taught with all reuerence make coÌ„science to profit by it For otherwise in the day of iudgement when all our workes shalbe tried by it the same word of God shall be a bill of indiâ—ement and the fearefull sentence of condemnation against us Therefore let us be humbled by the doctrine of the lawe and willingly embrace the sweete promises of the gospell considering it is the onely touchstone whereby all our wordes thoughts workes must be examined The sixt pointe in the proceeding of the last iudgement is the giuing of sentence which is twofolde the sentence of absolution and the sentence of condemnation both which are to be obserued diligently that we may receiue profit therby And first of al Christ shal begin his iudgemeÌ„t with the seÌ„teÌ„ce of absolutioÌ„ which shews that he is ready to shew mercy slow to wrath In this sentence wee are to consider foure pointes I. a calling of the elect to the kingdome of heauen II. the reason thereof III. a reply of the elect IV. the answere of Christ to them againe The calling of the elect is set downe in these wordes Come yee blessed of my father inherit the kingdome prepared for you from the beginning of the world And the wordes are to be obserued one by one Come ye blessed Though Christ now sit in glorie and maiestie in iudgement yet hee ceaseth not to shew his tender affection of loue unto his chosen And this ouerthroweth the opinion of the Church of Rome which would haue us rather to come vnto Christ by the intercession of saints then by our selues immediatly because he is now exalted in glorie and maiestie But mark when he was heare on earth hee saide Come vnto me all yee that are heavy laden and I vvill ease you And when hee shall be most glorious in maiestie and power at the day of iudgement hee will then also say Come ye blessed of my father and therfore we may resolue our selues that it is his will now that we should come unto him without any intercessioÌ„ of saints Yee blessed of my father The elect are here called the blessed of God because their righteousnes saluation and all that they haue springs of the meere blessing of God Nothing therefore must be ascribed to the workes of man Inherit that is receiue as your inheritance therefore the kingdome of heauen is Gods meere gifte A father giueth no inheritance unto his sonne of merite but of his free gifte whereupon it followes that no man can merit the kingdome of heauen by his workes The kingdome that is the eternall estate of glorie and happinesse in heauen therfore in this life we must so use this worlde as though we used it not all that we haue here is but vaine and transitorie and all our studie and endeauour must be to come to the kingdome of heauen Prepared Here note the unspeakeable care of God for the faithfull Had he such care to prouide a kingdome for his children before they were then wee may assure our selues he will haue greater care ouer them now when they haue a being For you that is for the elect and faithfull Hence it appeares that there is no uniuersall election whereby God decrees
sure to haue his house in a readinesse all matters in order against his comming so as euery thing might be pleasing unto so worthy a guest well now behold wee put our confidence and affiance in the holy ghost and doe beleeue that he will come unto us and sanctifie us and lodge in our hearts He is higher then all states in the world whatsoeuer and therefore we must looke that our bodies and soules be kept in an honourable and holy manner so as they may be fitte temples for him to dwell in S. Paul biddeth us not to grieve the holy spirite where the holy ghost is compared to a guest our bodies and soules unto Innes and as men use their guestes friendly and courteously shewing unto them all seruice and dutie so must wee doe to gods spirite which is come to dwell and abide in us doing nothing in any case which may disquiet or molest him Now there is nothing so grieuous unto him as our sinnes and therefore we must make conscience of all manner of sinne least by abusing of our selues we do cause the holy ghost as it were with griefe to depart froÌ„ us When the arke of the couenant which was a signe of the presence of God was in the house of Obed Edom the text saieth that the Lord blessed him and all his house but whâ—n the holy ghost dwelles in a mans heart there is more then the arke of the Lorde present euen God him selfe and therefore may we looke for a greater blessing Now then shall we grieue the holy goost by sinning seeing we reape such benefite by his abode It is saide that our Sauiour Christ was angrie when hee came into the temple at Ierusalem and saw the abuses therein Now shall hee be angrie for the abuses that are done in a temple of stone and seeing the temples of our bodies which are not made of stone but are spirituall figured by that earthly temple seeing them I say abused by sinne will he not be much more angry Yea we may assure our selues he can not abide that And therefore if wee beleeue in the holy ghost wee must hereupon be mooued to keepe our bodies and soules pure cleane And further to perswade us hereunto we must remember this that when we pollute our soules and bodies with any manner of sinne wee make them euen stables and styes for our wretched enemie the deuill to harbour in For when Sathan is once cast out if afterward wee fall againe to our olde sinnes and loosenesse of life and so defile our bodies they are then most cleane and neate for him to dwell in whereupon he wil come and bring seuen other deuils worse then himselfe and so a mans last ende shall be worse then his beginning Now what a fearefull thing is this that the body which should be a temple for the holy ghost by our sinnes should be made a stable for the devill Further S. Paul biddeth us not to quench the spirit The graces of the holy spirite in this life are like sparks of fire which may soone be quenched with a little water Now so oft as we sinne we cast water upon the grace of God and as much as wee can put out the same therefore it standes us in hand to make conscience of euery thing wherein wee may offende and displease God And wee may assure our selues that so long as wee liue and lie in our corruptions and sinnes the Holy Ghost will neuer come and dwell with us Hee is a pure spirite and therefore must haue an undefiled temple to dwell in Thus we haue heard what is to be beleeued concerning the father sonne holy ghost now looke as we beleeue in God distinguished into â— persons so we must remember that when wee perfourme diuine worshippe to him we may distinguish the persons but wee are not to seuer them when wee pray to the father wee must not omit the sonne or the Holy Ghost but make our praiers to them all for as in nature they are one and in person not deuided but distinguished so in all worshippe wee must neuer confounde or seuer the persons but distinguish them and worship the trinitie in unitie and untie in trinitie one God in three persons and three persons in one God Hitherto we haue intreated of the first part of the Creed concerning God now followeth the second part thereof concerning the Church and it was added to the former upon speciall consideration For the right order of a confession did require that after the Trinitie the Church should be mentioned as the house after the owner the temple after God and the citie after the builder Againe the Creed is concluded with pointes of doctrine concerning the Church because whosoeuer is out of it is also forth of the number of Gods children and he cannot haue God for his father which hath not the Church for his mother Question is made what the wordes are which are to be supplied in this article the holy Catholike Church whether I beleeve or I beleeve in and ancient expositours haue sufficiently determined the matter One saieth In these vvordes in which is set forth our faith of the godhead it is said In God the father in the sonne and in the holy ghost but in the rest where the speech is not of the godhead but of creatures and mysteries the preposition In is not added that it should be in the holy Church but that we should beleeve there is an an holy Church not as God but as a companie gathered to God And men should beleeve that there is remission of sinnes not in the remission of sinnes and they shoulde beleeve the resurrection of the body not in the resurrection of the body therefore by this preposition the Creatour is distinguished from the creatures and thinges pertaining to God from things pertaining to men Another upon these wordes This is the worke of God that yee beleeue in him saith If yee beleeve in him ye beleeve him not if yee beleeve him yee beleeve in him for the devils beleeved God but did not beleeue in him Againe of the Apostles we may say we beleeve Paul but vvee doe not beleeve in Paul wee beleeve Peter but wee beleeve not in Peter For his faith that beleeveth in him which iustifieth the ungodly is imputed to him for righteousnesse What is it therefore to beleeve in him by beleeving to love and like and as it vvere to passe into him and to be incorporated into his members Novv the reasons which some Papistes bring to the contrarie to prooue that wee may beleeue in the creatures and in the Church are of no moment First they alledge the phrase of scripture Exod 14.31 They beleeved in God and in Moses 1. Sam. 27.12 And Achis beleeved in David 2. Chron. 20.20 Beleeve in the Prophets and prosper Answer The Hebrewe phrase in which the servile letter Beth is used must not be translated
had purposed in himselfe whereby he makes a distinction betweene the creature and the Creatour Men when they purpose the doing of any thing borrowe reasons of their purposes and wills out of themselues from the thinges to be done because mans bare will is no sufficient cause to vvarrant the doing of this or that in this or that manner vnlesse there be iust reason But Gods will is a simple and absolute rule of righteousnesse and a thing is good so farre forth as Gods wills it Therefore there is no cause why he should goe forth of himselfe for externall inducements and reasons of his eternall counsell his very will in himselfe is a sufficient reason of all his purposes and decrees And hereupon Paul saith that Gods purpose was in himselfe to shew that there is no dependance of his will vpon the creature and that in ordering and disposing of his decrees hee had no reference or respectiue consideration of the qualities and workes of men Thirdly by this doctrine there is fastned vpon God want of wisedome who is wisedome it selfe and that is very absurd A simple man that hath in him but a sparke of the wisedome of God first of all intendes with himselfe the ende and euent of the busines to be done and then afterward the meanes whereby the ende is accomplished but in this platforme God is brought in in the first place to foresee and consider with himselfe the meanes which tende to the ende namely the faith and vnbeliefe of men and then afterwarde to determine with himselfe what shall be the ende and finall condition of euery man either in life or death as if a man should purpose with himselfe to builde an house without any consideration of the ende why and afterwarde conceiue with himselfe the particular vses to which hee will applie it Fourthly hence it followeth that faith shall not onely be an instrument but also an efficient cause in the acte of iustification of a sinner before God For the cause of a cause is also the cause of the thing caused but foreseene faith is an impulsiue cause whereby God was mooued to choose some men to saluation as it is said and therefore it is not onely an instrument to apprehende Christs righteousnes but also a cause or meanes to mooue God to iustifie a sinner because iustification proceedes of Election which comes of foreseene faith which is erronious by the doctrine of all Churches vnlesse they be Popish Fifthly this doctrine takes it for graunted that all both young and old euen infants that die in there infancie haue knowledge of the Gospell because both faith and vnbeliefe in Christ presuppose knowledge of our saluation by him considering that neither ordinarily nor extraordinarily men beleeue or contemne the thing vnknowne But howe false this is euen common experience doth shewe Lastly this platforme quite ouerthrowes it selfe For whereas all men equally corrupt in Adam are effectually both redeemed and called the difference betweene man and man stands not in beleeuing or not beleeuing for all beleeue but in this properly that some are confirmed in faith some are not Now when all without exception are indewed with grace sufficient saluation I demaund why some men are confirmed in grace and others not confirmed as also of Angels some were confirmed and stande and some not confirmed fell No other reason can be rendered but the will of God And to this must all come striue as long as they will that of men beeing in one and the same estate some are saued some iustly forsaken because God would Againe as the foreseeing of faith doth presuppose Gods giuing of faith vnlesse men will say it is naturall so the foreseeing of faith in some men alone doth presuppose the giuing of faith to some men alone But why doth not God conferre the grace of constant faith to all because he will not so then those men whose faith was foreseene are saued not because their faith was foreseene but because God would The third faulte is that they ascribe vnto God a conditionall Purpose or counsell whereby hee decrees that all men shall be saued so be it they will beleeue For it is euery way as much against common sense as if it had beene said that God decreed nothing at all concerning man A conditionall sentence determines nothing simply but conditionally and therefore vncertenly and when we speake of God to determine vncertenly is as much as if he had determined nothing at all specially when the thing determined is in the power of mans will and in respect of God the decree may come to passe or not come to passe Men if they might alwaies haue their choise desire to determine of all their affaires simplie without cōdition and when they doe otherwise it is either because they knowe not the euent of things or because things to be done are not in their power No reason therefore that we should burden God with that whereof we would disburden our selues Againe the Maiestie of God is disgraced in this kind of decree God for his part would haue all men to be saued why then are they not men will not keepe the condition and beleeue This is flat to hang Gods will vpon mans will to make euery man an Emperour and God his vnderling and to chaunge the order of nature by subordinating Gods will which is the first cause to the will of man which is the second cause whereas by the very lawe of nature the first cause should order and dispose the second cause But for the iustifying of a conditionall decree it is alleadged that there is no eternall and hidden decree of God beside the Gospell which is Gods predestination reuealed Answ. It is an vntruth There be two wills in God one whereby hee determineth what he will doe vnto vs or in vs the other whereby he determineth what we shall doe to him Now Predestination is the first wherupon it is commonly defined to be the preparation of the blessings of God whereby they are deliuered which are deliuered and the Gospell is the second Againe Predestination determines who they are and how many which are to be saued and hereupon Christ saith I know whome J haue chosen but the Gospell rather determines what kinde of ones and how they must be qualified which are to be saued Lastly Predestination in Gods decree it selfe and the Gospell is an outward meanes of the exequution of it and therefore though the Gospell be propounded with a condition yet the decree of God it selfe may be simple and absolute The fourth defect is the opinion of Vniuersall sauing grace appertaining to all and euery man which may be fitly tearmed the Schole of vniuersal Atheisme For it pulls downe the pale of the Church and laies it wast as euery common fielde it breedes a carelessenes in the vse of the meanes of grace the word sacraments when as men shall be perswaded that grace shall be offered to
shine unto them and to say that faith is partly by nature partly by grace is the condemned heresie of the semi-Pelagian for wee can not so much as thinke a good thought of our selues The last defect in the platforme is that they ascribe unto God a wrong end of his counsels namely the communication of mercie or goodnesse in eternall happines For the absolute soueraigne ende of all gods doings must be answerable to his nature which is not mercy and loue alone but also iustice it selfe and that is the manifestation of his glorie both in iustice and mercy by the expresse testimonie of scripture Againe if this were so all men without exception should be saued because God can not be frustrated of his end purpose if but one man be damned he is daÌ„ned either because God wil not saue him or because he cannot If they say he will not then he is changeable if he can not then he is not omnipotent considering his purpose was to convey happines to all creatures Thus much of the efficient cause of the Church namely Gods predestination which doctrine could not here be omitted coÌ„sidering no man can beleeue himselfe to be a meÌ„ber of the Church unlesse withall he beleeue that he is predestinate to life euerlasting Now we come to the second point namely the Mysticall vnion which is the very forme of the Church whereby all rhat beleeue are made one with Christ. To the causing of this union 2. things are required a Donation or giuing of Christ unto that man which is to be made one with him a Coniunction betwene them both Of the first the Prophet Esai saith Vnto us a child is borne unto us a sonne is given Paul who spared not his own sonne but gave him for us all how shall he not with him give vs all things also And touching it sundry points must be considered The first is what is meant by this Giuing Ansvvere It is an action or worke of God the Father by the holy ghost whereby Christ as redeemer in the appointed time is really communicated to all ordained to saluation in such manner that they may truly say that Christ himselfe with all his benefites is theirs both in respect of right thereto and in respect of all fruite redounding thence and that as truly as any man may say that house and lande giuen him of his ancetours is his owne both to possesse and to use The second point is what is the verie thing giuen Answer Whole Christ God and man is giuen because his humanitie without his godhead or the godhead without the humanitie doth not reconcile us to God Yet in this giuing there must be a diuers consideration had of the two natures of Christ for the communication of the godhead is meerely energeticall that is onely in respect of operation in that it doeth make the manhood personally vnited vnto it to be propitiatorie for our sinnes and meritorious of life eternall And to auouch any communication of the godhead in respect of essence were to bring in the heresie of the Maniches and to maintaine a composition a commixtion of our natures with the nature of God Againe in the manhood of Christ we must distinguish betweene the subiect it selfe the substance of bodie and soule and the blessings in the subiect which tend to our saluation And the communication of the aforesaide manhoode is in respect of both without separation for no man can receiue sauing vertue from Christ vnlesse first of all he receiue Christ himselfe as no man can haue the treasure hid in the field unlesse first of all he haue the field and no man can be nourished by meate and drink unlesse first of all he receiue the substance of both And this is the cause why not only in the preaching of the word but also in the institution of the Lordes supper expresse mention is made not only of Christs merite but also of his verie body and bloode whereby the whole humanitie is signified as appeares by that place where it is said that the Word was made flesh And though the flesh of it selfe profite nothing as S. Iohn saith yet as it is ioyned to the godhead of the sonne and doth subsist in his person it receiueth thence quickening vertue to reuiue and renewe all those to whome it shall be giuen Lastly among the blessings that are stored up in the manhood of Christ for our saluation some are giuen unto vs by imputation as when we are iustified by the righteousnesse indeed inherent in his manhood but imputed vnto us some by infusion as when holinesse is wrought in our hearts by the spirit as a fruite of that holinesse which is in the manhood of Christ deriued from it as the light of one candle from another The thirde point is in what maner Christ is giuen unto us Ansvv. God the father giueth Christ unto his Church not in any earthly or bodily manner as when a King bestoweth a gift with his owne hand and puttes it into the hande of his subiect but the manner is altogither celestiall and spirituall partly because it is brought to passe by the meere diuine operation of the Holy Ghost and partly because in respect of vs this gift is receiued by an instrument which is supernaturall namely faith whereby we lay hold of apply unto our selues the Euangelicall promises And this maner of giuing may be conceiued thus A maÌ„ that neuer stirred foote out of England holdes and enioyes lande in Turkie but how comes it to be his Thus the Emperour was willing and content to bestow it and the man for his part as willing to accept and receiue it and by this meanes that which at the first was the Emperours by mutuall consent becomes the mans In the same manner God the Father hath made an Evangelicall couenant with his Church in which of his mercy hee haâ—h made a graunt of his owne sonne vnto us with righteousnesse and life euerlasting in him and we againe by his grace accept of this graunt and receiue the same by faith and thus by mutuall consent according to the tenour of the couenant any repentant sinner may truly say though I now haue mine abode upon earth Christ in respect of his manhood be locally in heaueÌ„ yet is he truly mine to haue to enioy his body is mine his blood is mine As for the giuing receiving of the body blood of Christ in bodily maner which the Papists maintaine in auouching the reall transubstaÌ„tiatioÌ„ of bread and wine in the sacraments into the body blood of Christ and the Lutheranes also in teaching that his body and bloode is substantially either in or with or under the bread and wine is an erronious conceit flat opposite to sundrie points of the Christian faith For Christ to this verie houre retaineth still the essence and essentiall properties of a true bodie and wee
stands in two things the first is to gouerne the Church by such power and authoritie whereby he can and doth prescribe lawes properly binding the consciences of all his members the second is by grace to quicken and put spirituall life into them so as they shall be able to say that they liue not but Christ in them As for the Supremacie of the sea of Rome whereby the Pope will needs stand ministeriall heade to the Catholike Church is a satanicall forgerie For the headshippe as I may tearme it of Christ is of that nature or qualitie that it can admitte no deputie whether wee respect the commaunding or the quickening power of Christ before namâ—d Nay Christ needes no vicar or deputie for hee is all-sufficient in him selfe and alwaies present with his Church as hee him selfe testifieth saying Where tvvo or three are gathered togither in my name there am I in the middest among them And whereas all commissions cease in the presence of him that giues the commission it is as much pride and arrogancie for the Pope to take unto himselfe the title of the heade and universall Bishoppe of the Church as it is for a subiect to keepe him selfe in commission in the presence of his King The seconde rule is that there is no saluation out of the Church and that therefore euerie one which is to be saued must become a member a citizen of the Catholike and Apostolike Church such as remaine for euer out of the same perish eternally Therefore S. Iohn saieth They went out of us they were not of us for if they had beene of vs they woulde have remained with vs but this commeth to passe that it might appeare that they are not all of vs. And againe that such as be holy are in the citie of God but without that is forth of the Church are dogges inchaunters whoremongers adulterers c. And the Arke out of which all perished figured the Church out of which all are condemned And for this cause Saint Luke saieth that the Lorde added to the Church from day to day such as shoulde be saved And the reason hereof is plaine for without Christ there is no saluation but out of the militant Church there is no Christ nor faith in Christ and therefore no saluation Againe foorth of the militant Church there are no meanes of saluation no preaching of the worde no invocation of Gods name no sacraments and therefore no saluation For this cause euery man must be admonished euermore to ioyne himselfe to some particular Church being a sounde member of the Catholike Church The thirde rule is that the Church which here wee beleeue is onely one As Christ himselfe speaketh My dove is alone and my vndefiled is the onely daughter of her mother And as there is onely one God and one Redeemer one faith one baptisme and one way of saluation by Christ onely so there is but one Church alone The Catholicke Church hath two partes the Church Triumphant in heauen and the Church Militant on earth The Triumphant Church may thus be described It is a companie of the spirites of iust men triumphing over the flesh the devill and the vvorlde praising God First I say it is a companie of the spirites of men as the Holy Ghost expressely tearmeth it because the soules onely of the godly departed as of Abraham Isaac Iacob Dauid c. are as yet ascended into heauen and not their bodies Furthermore the properties of this companie are two The first is to make triumph ouer their spirituall enemies the flesh the deuill the worlde for the righteous man so long as he liues in this world is in continuall combâ—te without truce with all these enemies of his saluation and by constant faith obtaining victory in the ende of his life hee is translated in glorious and triumphant manner into the kingdome of glorie This was signified to Iohn in a vision in which hee saw an innumerable company of all sorts of nations kinreds people and tongues stande before the lambe clothed in long vvhite robes with palmes in their handes in token that they haue beene warriours but now by Christ haue gotten the victorie and are made conquerours Their second propertie is to praise and magnifie the name of god as it followeth in the former place saying Amen praise and glorie and vvisedome and thankes honour povver and might be vnto our God for evermore Hence it may be demanded whether Angels be of this triumphant Church or no Ansvvere The blessed Angels be in heauen in the presence of God the father the Sonne and the Holy Ghost but they are not of the mysticall bodie of Christ because they are not under him as he is their Redeemer considering they can not be redeemed which neuer fell and it can not be prooued that they now stande by the vertue of Christs redemption but they are under him as hee is their Lord and King and by the power of Christ as hee is God and their God are they confirmed And therefore as I take it wee can not say that angels are members of the mysticall body of Christ or of the triumphant Church The Church Militant may be thus described It is the company of the elect or faithfull living under the crosse desiring to be remooved and to be with Christ. I say not that the Militant Church is the whole bodie of the elect but only that part thereof which liueth upon earth and the infallible marke thereof is that faith in Christ which is taught and deliuered in the writings of the Prophets and Apostles and this faith againe may be discerned by two markes The first is that the members of this companie liue vnder the crosse and profite by it in all spirituall grace And therefore it is saide that we must through many afflictions enter into the kingdome of heaven And our Sauiour Christ saieth If any man will come after me let him deny himselfe and take vp his crosse every day and follow me The second marke is a desire to depart hence and to be with Christ as Paul saith Wee love rather to be removed out of this body and to be with Christ. And againe I desire to be loosed and to be with Christ which is best of all Where yet we must remember that the members of Christ doe not desire death simply and absolutely but in two respectes I. that they might leaue off to sinne and by sinning leaue to displease God II. That they might come to enioy happinesse in heauen and to be with Christ. Touching the generall estate of the Militant Church two questions are to be considered The first how farre forth God is present with it assisting it by his grace Answere God giues his spirit unto it in such a measure that although the gates of hell cannot preuaile against it yet neuerthelesse it remaines still subiect to errour both in doctrine and manners For that which
is true in euerie member of the Church is also true in the whole but euery member of the militant Church is subiect to errour both in doctrine and manners because men in this life are but in parte enlightened and sanctified and therefore still remaine subiect to blindnesse of mind and ignorance and to the rebellion of their willes and affections whereby it comes to passe that they may easily faile either in iudgement or in practise Againe that which may befall one or two particular Churches may likewise befall all the particular Churches vpon earth all beeing in one and the same condition but this may befall one or two particular Churches to faile either in doctrine or manners The Church of Ephesus failed in leauing her first loue whereupon Christ threatneth to remooue from her the candlesticke And the Church of Galatia was remooued to an other Gospell from him that had called them in the grace of Christ now why may not the same things befall twentie yea an hundred Churches which befell these twaine Lastly experience sheweth this to be true in that generall councels haue erred The counceâ—l of Nicene beeing to reforme sundrie behauiours among the Bishops Eldeâ—s would with common coÌ„sent haue forbidden mariage unto them thinking it profitable to be so unlesse Paphnutius had better informed them out of the scriptures In the third councell at Carthage certaine bookes Apocrypha as the booke of Syrach Toby and the Macchabees are numbred in the Canon and yet were excluded by the councell of Laodicea And the saying of a divine is receiued that former councells are to be reformed and amended by the latter But Papistes maintaining that the Church can not erre alleadge the promise of Christ How be it when he is come which is the spirite of trueth hee vvill leade you into all truth Ansvver The promise is directed to the Apostles who with their Apostolicall authoririe had this priuiledge graunted them that in the teaching and penning of the Gospell they could not erre and therefore in the councell at Ierusalem they conclude thus It seemes good vnto vs and to the holy Ghost And if the promise be further extended to all the Church it must be understoode with a limitation that God will giue his spirit unto the members thereof to lead them into all truth so farre forth as shall be needfull for their saluation The second question is wherein standes the dignitie excellencie of the Church Ansvvere It standes in subiection and obedience vnto the will word of his spouse and heade Christ Iesus And hence it followeth that the Church is not to chalenge unto her selfe authority ouer the scriptures but onely a ministerie or ministeriall service whereby shee is appointed of God to preserue and keepe to publish preach them and to giue testimony of them And for this cause it is called the pillar and ground of trueth The Church of Rome not content with this saieth further that the authoritie of the Church in respect of us is aboue the authoritie of the scripture because say they we can not know scripture to be scripture but by the testimonie of the Church But indeed they speake an untruth For the testimony of men that are subiect to errour can not be greater and of more force with us then the testimonie of God who cannot erre Againe the Church hath her beginning from the worde for there can not be a Church without faith and there is no faith without the word and there is no word out of the Scriptures and therefore the Church in respect of vs depends on the Scripture and not the Scripture on the Church And as the lawier which hath no further power but to expound the law is vnder the law so the Church which hath authoritie onely to publish and expound the Scriptures can not authorize them vnto vs but must submit her selfe vnto them And whereas it is alleadged that faith comes by hearing and this hearing is in respect of the voice of the Church and that therefore faith comes by the voice of the Church the answeare is that the place must be vnderstood not of that generall faith whereby we are resolued that Scripture is Scripture but of iustifying faith whereby we attaine vnto saluation And faith comes by hearing the voice of the Church not as it is the churches voice but as it is a ministery or means to publish the word of God which is both the cause obiect of our beleeuing Now on the contrarie we must hold that as the carpenter knowes his rule to be straight not by any other rule applied vnto it but by it selfe for casting his eye vpon it he presently discernes whether it be straight or no so we know and are resolued that Scripture is Scripture euen by the Scripture it selfe though the Church say nothing so be it we haue the spirit of discerning when we read heare and consider of the Scripture And yet the testimonie of the Church is not to be despised for though it breed not a perswasion in vs of the certentie of the Scripture yet is it a very good inducement thereto The militant Church hath many parts For as the Ocean sea which is but one is deuided into parts according to the regions and countries against which it lieth as into the English Spanish Italian sea c. so the Church dispersed ouer the face of the whole earth is deuided into other particular Churches according as the countries are seuerall in which it is seated as into the Church of England and Ireland the Church of Fraunce the Church of Germanie c. Againe particular Churches are in a twofold estate sometime they lie hid in persecution wanting the publicke preaching of the word and the administration of the sacraments sometimes again they are visible carrying before the eyes of the world an open profession of the name of Christ as the moone is sometime eclipsed sometime shineth in the full In the first estate was the Church of Israel in the daies of Eliah when he wished to die because the people had forsaken the couenant of the Lord brokeÌ„ down his altars slaine his Prophets with the sword and he was left alone and they sought to take away his life also Behold a lamentable estate when so worthie a Prophet could not finde an other beside himselfe that feared God yet marke what the Lord saith vnto him I haue left seuen thousand in Israel euen all the knees that haue not bowed vnto Baal and euery mouth that hath not kissed him Againe it is said that Israel had bin a long season without the true God without priest to teach and without the lawe Neither must this trouble any that God should so farre forth forsake his Church for when ordinarie meanes of saluation faile he then gathereth his Elect by extraordinarie meanes as when the children of Israel wandered in the wildernesse wanting both circumcision and
last iudgement are the foundation namely of religion and againe that Christ is the foundation and that other doctrines consonant to the word are as gold and siluer laid thereupon Secondly persons erring are of two sorts some erre of weakenes beeing carried away by others or of simple ignorance not yet beeing conuicted and informed concerning the truth Some againe erre of obstinacie or affected ignorance which hauing bin admonished and conuicted still perseuere in their forged opinions This beeing said wee nowe come to the point If any man or Church shall hold an errour of the lighter kinde he still remaines a member of the Church of God and so must be reputed of vs. As when a Lutherane shall hold that images are still to be retained in the Church that there is an Vniuersall Election of all men c. for these and such like opinions may be maintained the foundation of saluation vnraced This which I say is flatly auouched by Paul If any man saith he build on this foundation gold siluer precious stones timber hay or stubble his work shall be made manifest by the fire c. and if any mans worke burne he shall loose but yet he shall be safe himselfe And therefore the hay and stubble of mens errours beside the foundation on which they are laide doe not debarre them from beeing Christians or members of the Church A man breakes downe the windowes of his house the house standes he breakes downe the roofe or the walles the house yet stands though deformed he pulls vp the foundation the house it selfe falls and ceaseth to be an house Now religion which we professe is like an house or building and some points thereof are like windowes dores walls roofes and some are the foundation and the former may be battered the foundation standing Againe if the errour be directly or by necessarie consequent euen in common sense against the foundation consideration must be had whether the Church or partie erreth of weaknes or malice if of weaknes the partie is to be esteemed as a member of the Catholicke Church And thus Paul writes vnto the Church of Galatia as to a Church of God though by false teachers it had bin turned a way to another Gospel and imbraced the fundamentall errour of iustification by works But when any man or Church shal hold fundamentall errours in obstinacie or affected ignorance we are then not bound to repute them any loÌ„ger as Churches or Christians but as such to whom condemnation belongs as Paul sheweth by the example of Iannes and Iambres And as IaÌ„nes and Iambres saith he withstood Moses so doe these also resist the truth men of corrupt mindes reprobate concerning the faith Yet withall this caueat must euer be remembred that we rather condemne the errour then the person that erreth because Gods mercie is like a bottomlesse sea whereby he worketh what he will and when he will in the hearts of miserable sinners The second question is where at this day we may finde such visible Churches as are indeede sound members of the Catholick Church And for the resoluing of it we are to go through all countries and religions in the world And first to beginne with Turkes and Iewes wee are not in any wise to acknowledge their assemblies for Churches because they worship not God in Christ who is the heade of the Church As for the Assemblies of Papists which haue bin a great part of the world if thereby we vnderstand companies of men holding the Pope for their head and beleeuing the doctrine established in the councill of Trent in name they are called churches but indeed they are no true or sound members of the Catholick Church For both in their doctrine in the worship of God they race the very foundation of religion which will appeare by these three points First of all they hold iustification by works of grace auouching that they are not only iustified before god by the merit of Christ but also by their owne doings Which opinion flatly ouerâ—urneth iustification by Christ. For as Paul saith to the Galatians If ye be circumâ—ised Christ profiteth you nothing that is if yee looke to be iustified by the works of the ceremoniall law yee are fallen from Christ ioyne Circumcision Christ together in the matter of iustification and yee doe quite ouerthrow iustification by Christ. Now if this be true which is the word of God that can not lie then we say to the Papists If yee will needes be iustified by works of grace ye are fallen from grace The second point is that they maintaine a daily reall sacrifice of the bodie of Christ in the Masse for the sinnes of the quicke and dead And this is also a fundamentall heresie For Christs sacrifice on the crosse must either be a perfect sacrifice or no sacrifice and if it be often iterated and repeated by the Masse-priest it is not perfect but imperfect The third point is that they worship the Images of the Trinitie and of Saints departed and their Breaden-god which is as vile an abomination as euer was among the Gentiles all beeing directly against the true meaning of the second Commandement and defacing the worship of God in the very substance thereof Thus then it appeares that the old Church of Rome is changed and is now at this day of a spouse of Christ become an harlot and therefore no more a Church of Christ indeed then the carkasse of a deade man that weareth a liuing mans garment is a liuing man though he looke neuer so like him And whereas they pleade for themselues that they haue succession from the Apostles the answeare is that succession of person is nothing without succession of doctrine which they want and we see that Heretikes haue succeeded lawfull Ministers Secondly whereas it is alleadged that in the Popish assemblies the Sacrament of Baptisme is rightly for substance administred and that also it is a note of a Church three things may be answered First that Baptisme seuered from the preaching of the Gospel is no more a signe of a Church then the seale seuered from the Indenture is of force and that is nothing Circumcision was vsed in Colchis yet no Church among the Samaritans yet no people SecoÌ„dly Baptisme is in the assemblies of the Church of Rome as the purse of the true man in the hand of the thiefe indeed it doth no more argue them to be churches then the true mans purse argues the thiefe to be a true man For baptisme though it be in their assemblies yet doth it appertaine not vnto them but vnto an other hidden Church of God which he hath in all ages gathered forth of the midst of them Thirdly though they haue the outward Baptisme yet they by necessarie consequent of doctrine ouerturne the inward baptisme that stands in iustification and sanctification Moreouer whereas it is alledged that they maintaine the booke of the old and new Testament
childe layeth wormewoode or some other bitter thing vpon her brest to make the childe loathe the milke so likewise God makes vs often feele the miseries and crosses of this life that our loue and liking might be turned from this worlde and fixed in heauen As raw flesh is loathsome to the stomacke so is euerie sinner and unmortified man loathsome unto God till the Lorde by afflictions mortifie in him the corruptions of his nature and specially the loue of this worlde But when a man is afflicted how shall hee be able to endure the crosse Surely by resoluing himselfe that the Lorde hath prepared life euerlasting for him Thus wee reade that Moses by faith when he was come to age refused to be called the sonne of Pharaohs ' daughter and choosed rather to suffer adversitie vvith the people of God then to enioy the pleasures of sinne for a season esteeming the rebuke of Christ greater riches then the treasures of Egypt But I pray you what mooued Moses to be of this minde The reason is added Because he had respect to the recompence of reward that is he had alwaies a speciall regard to life euerlasting that was it that made him content and willing to suffer affliction with Gods people in the land of Goshen Here then behold a notable president for us to follow In which wee are taught that the best way to indure afflictions with patience is to haue an eye to the recompence of reward this is it that makes the yoke of Christ easie and lightsome When it shall please God to bring unto us a cup of affliction and bid us drinke a draught thereof to the verie bottom the meditation of life eternall must be as sugar in our pockets to sweeten the cup withall Lastly if this be true that God of his goodnesse endlesse mercie towardes mankind hath prepared life euerlasting yet not for all men but for the elect whose names are written in the booke of life we must aboue all thinges in this world seeke to be partakers of the same Let us receiue this as from the Lorde and lay it to our hearts whatsoeuer we doe euening or morning day or night whether we be young or old rich or poore first we must seeke for the kingdome of heauen and his righteousnesse If this benefit were common to all and not proper to the Church lesse care might be had but seeing it is proper to some alone for this verie cause let all our studies be to obtaine the beginnings of life euerlasting euen in this life For if we haue it not whosoeuer wee be it had bene better for us that we had neuer bene borne or that we had bene borne dogges and toades then men for when they die there is an end of their miserie but man if hee loose everlasting happinesse hath ten thousand millions of yeeres to liue in miserie and in the torments of hell and when that time is ended hee is as farre from the ende of his miserie as hee was at the beginning Wherefore I pray you let not the deuill steale this meditation out of your hearts but be carefull to repent of all your sinnes and to beleeue in Christ for the pardon of them all that by this meanes yee may come to haue the pawne and earnest of the spirite concerning life euerlasting euen in this world What a miserable thing is it that men should liue long in this world and not so much as dreame of another life till the last gaspe But we must not suffer satan thus to abuse and bewitch vs for if we haue not eternall life in this world we shall neuer haue it Hitherto by Gods goodnesse I haue shewed the meaning of the Creede now to drawe to a conclusion the generall vses which are to be made of it follow And first of all we learne by it that the Church of Rome hath no cause to condemne us for heretikes for we doe truly hold and beleeue the whole Apostolicall Symbole or Creed which is an epitome of the scriptures and the verie keie of faith It will be said that we denie the Popes supremacie iustification by workes purgatorie the sacrifice of the Masse for the sinnes of the quicke and the dead the invocation and intercession of saintes c. which are the greatest pointes of religion It is true indeed we denie and renounce them as doctrines of deuils perswading our selues that if they indeed had beene Apostolicall and the verie grounds and pillars of religion as they are now auouched to be they should in no wise haue bin left forth of the Creed For it is an ouersight in making a confession of faith to omit the principall points and rules of faith It will be further saide that in the Creed we beleeue the Church so consequētly are to beleeue all these former points which are taught and avouched by the Church but this defence is foolish For it takes this for graunted that the Church of Rome is the Church here ment which we denie unlesse they can proue a particular Church to be vniversall or Catholicke Nay I adde further that the principall grounds of popish faith for which they contend with us as for life and death are not mentioned in any other Creedes which were made by the Churches councels for many hundred yeres after Christ. Secondly the Creed serues as a storehouse of remedies against all troubles temptations whatsoeuer I. If a man be grieued for the losse of earthly riches let him consider that he beleeues God to be his Creatour who will therfore guide and preserue his owne workemanship by his prouidēce minister all things needfull unto it And that he hath not lost the principall blessing of all in that he hath God to be his father Christ to be his redeemer the H. ghost to be his comforter and that considering he lookes for life eternall he is not to be ouermuch carefull for this life that Christ being our Lord will not forsake us being the seruāts in his own house but will prouide things needfull for us II. If any man be grieued in respect of outward disgrace and contempt let him remember that he beleeues in Christ crucified and that therefore hee is to reioyce in contempt for righteousnesse sake III. They which are troubled for the decease of friends are to comfort themselues in the cōmunion of saints and that they haue God the father Christ and the holy ghost for their friends IIII. Against bodily captivitie let men consider that they beleeue in Christ their Lord whose seruice is perfect libertie V. Against the feare of bodily diseases we must remember the resurrection of the bodie in which all diseases and infirmities shalbe abolished VI. If a man feare the death of the body let him consider that hee beleeues in Christ which died vpon the crosse who by death hath vanquished death VII The feare of persecution is restrained if we call to remembrance
Life euerlasting 532 THE RESOLVTION OF THE CREEDE 〈◊〉 One of the Actions of faith which are To beleeve in God which hath three partes I. To beleeue God as hee hath reuealed himselfe in his worde II. To acknowledge him in particular to be my God III. To put my confidence in him To beleeve a thing and this action hath two partes I. To acknowledge the thing II. To apply the thing to my selfe as to beleeue the Church is to acknowledge the Church that I am a member of it The second the Object which is God distinguished into 3. person I. The first is described by his I. Name Father II. Attribute Almightie III. Worke Creatour of heaven and earth II. The second is described by his I. Titles which are foure I. Iesus II. Christ. III. His Sonne IIII. Our Lord. II. Incarnation it hath 2. parts The conception where coÌ„sider the partes The personn all vnion The sanctification of that masse or lumpe wherof the body of Christ was framed The cause efficient the Hâ—ghâ—st The byrth where is meÌ„tioned the mother of Christ described by her Name Mary Qualitie a virgine III. Estate afterward of Humiliation set downe Generally in these wordes Suffered vnder c. where is noted the time of his suffering when P. Pilat was president of Iurie By partes which are 4. I. His crucifying II. His death III. His buriall IIII. His descending into hell Exaltation hauing 3. parts I. His resurrection II. His ascension III. His sitting at his fathers right hand it is set forth by the Place Heaven The effect his coÌ„ming to iudgement III. The third person described by his name Holy Ghost infolding his office The Church described by his Qualities Holy Catholicke Prerogatiues which are 4. I. Communion of saintes II. Forgivenesse of sinnes III. Resurection of the body IV. Life everlasting AN EXPOSITION OF THE CREEDE I beleeue in God c. NO man iustly can be offended at this that I begin to treate of the doctrine of faith without a text though some be of minde that in Catechising the minister is to proceed as in the ordinarie course of preaching only by handling a set portion of scripture therfore that the handling of the Creed being no scripture is not convenient Indeed I graunt that other course to be commendable yet I doubt not but in Catechising the minister hath his libertie to follow or not to follow a certaine text of scripture as we doe in the usuall course of preaching My reason is taken from the practise of the Primitive Church whose Catechisme as the authour of the Epistle to the Hebrewes sheweth was contained in sixe principles or grounds of religion which were not taken out of any set text in the olde Testament but rather was a forme of teaching gathered out of the most cleare places thereof Hence I reason thus That which in this point was the use and maner of the Primitiue Church is lawfull to be used of vs now but in the Primitiue Church it was the maner to Catechize without handling any set text of scripture and therefore the ministers of the Gospell at this time may with like libertie doe the same so be it they doe confirme the doctrine which they teach with places of scripture afterwarde Now to come to the Creed let vs begin with the name or title thereof That which in English we call the Apostles Creed in other tongues is called Symbolum that is a shot or a badge It is called a shot because as in a feast or banket euery man payeth his part which being all gathered the whole which we call the shot amounteth and so out of the seuerall writings of the Apostles ariseth this Creed or briefe coÌ„fession of faith It is a badge because as a soldier in the field by his badge livery is knowen of what band he is to what captain he doth belong eueÌ„ so by this beleefe a ChristiaÌ„ maÌ„ may be distinguished known froÌ„ all Iewes Turkes Atheists all false professors for this cause it is called a badge Againe it is called the Creed of the Apostles not because they were the penners of it conferring to it besides the matter the very stile frame of words as we haue them now set downe Reason I. there are in this Creed certaine words and phrases which are not to be found in the writings of the Apostles and namely these He descended into hell the Catholike Church The latter wherof no doubt first began to be in use when after the Apostles daies the Church was dispersed into all quarters of the earth II. Secondly if both matter and wordes had bene from the Apostles why is not the Creed Canonicall scripture as well as any other of their writings III. The Apostles had a summarie collection of the points of Christian religion which they taught and also deliuered to others to teach by consisting of two heades faith and love as may appeare by Pauls exhortation to Timothie wishing him to keepe the patterne of holesome words which he had heard of him in faith and love which is in Christ Iesus Now the Creede consists not of two heads but of one namely of faith only and not of loue also VVherefore I rather thinke that it is called the Apostles Creede because it doth summarily conteine the chiefe and principall pointes of religion handled and propounded in the doctrine of the Apostles and because the pointes of the Creed are conformable and agreeable to their doctrine and writings And thus much of the Title Now let vs heare what the Creed is It is a summe of things to be beleeued concerning God and concerning the Church gathered foorth of the scriptures For the opening of this description First I say it is a summe of things to be beleeued or an abridgement It hath bene the practise of teachers both in the new and old Testament to abridge and contract summarily the religion of their time This the Prophets used For when they had made their Sermons to the people they did abridge them and penned them briefly setting them in some open place that all the people might reade the same So the Lorde bad Habakuk to write the vision which he saw and to make it plaine upon tables that he may runne that readeth it And in the new Testament the Apostles did abridge those doctrines which otherwise they did handle at large as may appeare in the place of Timothy afore named Now the reason why both in the old new Testament the doctrine of religion was abridged is that the understanding of the simple as also their memory might be hereby helped they better inabled to iudge of the truth to discerne the same froÌ„ falshood And for this end the Apostles Creed being a summary collectioÌ„ of things to be beleeued was gathered briefly out of the word of god for the helping of memory understanding of men I adde that this