to do thy will where you may easily observe that Christ as God sent himself as Mediatour that he might redeem us from the power of the Prince of darkness and the spiritual bondage of our sins Nevertheless because the first Person of the blessed Trinity is the Father of our Mediatour and the Person a quo filius agit from which the Son doth act the sending of Christ into the world for our salvation is particularly attributed unto him as you may see in the 5. Chapter of S. John 36. ver the same works that I do bear witness of me that the Father hath sent me which verily is asserted in many other places of that Gospel and so in that sence we must say my meat is to do the will of him that sent me for indeed you must observe that that person amongst these of the blessed Trinity who sends another is that person from which the person sent proceeds and so we reade in the Scripture that the Father hath sent his Son and the Son misit Spiritum à Patre did send the holy Ghost from the Father but we do not reade that the Son hath sent the Father nor the holy Ghost the Son because the Father proceeds not from the Son nor the Son from the holy Ghost but the Son is from the Father alone and the holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and Son then let us say as before My meat is to do the will of him that sent me And indeed you must consider that the Father is Authour of our salvation by a way which is not given to the Son our Mediatour as the Son our Mediatour is Authour of our salvation by a way which is not given to the Father for as the Learned men distinguish some essential operations of the blessed Trinity respectu termini and make them personal operations as the Creation to the Father the Redemption to the Son and the Sanctification to the holy Ghost so they divide the waies by which the Persons of the blessed Trinity are said to be Authours of our salvation for the first Person of the Blessed Trinity which is the Father is said to be the authour of our salvation by way of procuration because he procured us that great work in the sending of his Son and so Christ saith my meat is to do the will of him that sent me the Son our Mediatour is authour of our salvation by way of merit because the Son of God alone is the meritorious cause of our salvation not the Father for he alone acquired it for us through his bloud the holy Ghost is said to be authour of our salvation by way of application because the holy Ghost our Sanctifier applieth unto our souls the great benefit of our Redemption by his divine vertue Now you must observe in our Text the Father to be authour of our Salvation by way of procuration and the Son by way of merit for in my Text the Father sends the Son and the Son our Mediatour finisheth the work and executeth his Fathers will for Christ speaking as Mediatour saith My meat is to do the will of him that sent me c. But let us come to the explication of Gods will and give me leave to say with some Learned men for our illustration that there are three sorts of wills attributed unto God respectu rerum quas Deus vult extra seipsum in regard of things which God wills out of himself I say in regard of things which God wills out of himself for if you consider the object of Gods will as not being out of himself you must know that the object of his will is God himself and by consequence there is no difference in Gods will for it is nothing else but Deus scipsum volens In regard then of things that God wills out of himself the first sort of will attributed unto God and that properly is voluntas decreti the will of Gods Decrees by which he freely and most certainly from all eternity determined to manifest all things which were to be framed in time of which will it is spoken in the 1. Chapt. to the Ephesians the 9. ver when the Apostle saith that God hath made known unto us the mystery of his will that is the will of Gods decree which by the Schoolmen is called voluntas beneplaciti the will of Gods good pleasure because by it according to his good pleasure and without any merit in our selves he loved us voluntas antecedens Gods antecedent will because from all eternity before any thing was created it was approved in God voluntas absoluta Gods absolute will because it is grounded upon his good pleasure and doth not depend of things which are framed in time and voluntas occulta Gods secret will because a a priori at the first it was not revealed unto the sacred Angels nor perceived by men The second sort of will ascribed unto God and that improperly is voluntas signi Gods will of signe by which God shews us what is agreeable unto him and what he will have us to do which is the mark and testimony of Gods decree manifested in his holy word although not always the signe of that decree which is first conceived by us which will indued with several names as Gods conditional will Gods revealed will and Gods consequent will is declared unto us under the prescription of a commandment or prohibition and under the rule of a promise or threatning for as the Magistrates Commands are called their will so Gods Commandments or Promises are called his will as you may see Act. 13.22 I have found David the Son of Jesse a man after mine own heart which shall fulfill all my will or as it is expressed in the Original in regard of several Commandments and Orders 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all my wills The third and last sort of will attributed unto is voluntas objecti Gods will of object which is nothing else but the things that God wills commands and prescribes unto us that is the object of Gods Commandments as it doth appear 1 The. 4.3 this is the will of God even your sanctification so in the Lords Prayer when we say thy will be done and in our Text Christ speaking of that will of object saith my meat is to do the will of him that sent me Now to know what is meant by that will we cannot have a better Interpreter then Christ himself who saith in the 6. Chapter of S. John ver 39. This is the Fathers will which hath sent me that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day it was that which his Father told him before his Incarnation Isa 42.6 7. I the Lord have called thee in righteousness to open the blinde eyes to bring out the prisoners from the prison and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house and you know when Christ prepared himself for
the angel that came and stood at the altar is our blessed Saviour as the best of interpreters teach us God manifested in the flesh an object which angels and men are not us'd to behold Christ the angel of the great council and the messenger of the covenant as the Prophet Malachy tels us Mal. 3.1 Christ our high-Priest who offered a sacrifice not of beasts but of himself upon the altar of the Cross and therefore at his coming into the world to assume our humane nature to satisfie the divine justice for mens sins he caused a great admiration unto angels and at his manifestation procured in heaven the militant Church a profound silence But that you may have a greater satisfaction I beseech you look upon the 3. verse of our Chapter and you will easily see the cause of this silence to be Christ our Redeemer for it is said in that verse that another angel Christ our Priest and Mediatour came having assumed our humane nature and stood at the altar to shew us that he was offered in sacrifice for our sins where you must observe that Christ is our Priest according to both his natures our altar according to his divine nature for as the altar sanctified the oblation Mat. 23.19 so Christ as God sanctified himself in his humane nature according to which humane nature Christ properly is our sacrifice as you may see in the first Chapter of the Epistle to the Colossians 22. ver and in 1 Pet. 4.1 although the principal vertue of his sacrifice did depend on his divine nature Moreover it is said that the angel had a golden censer to teach us that Christ gave God the Father a perfect and eternal satisfaction that we might be delivered from the eternal slavery of the prince of darkness which our sins had made us subject to and further it saith that much incense was given him to shew us that the peculiar office of Christ is to present God the Father the prayers of the righteous and make them acceptable unto him through his intercession which alone without the intercession of the departed Saints is sufficient for all those that he redeemed by his precious bloud as you may see in the 4. verse where it is said that the smoak of the incense which came with the prayers of the Saints ascended up before God out of the angels hand all which things could not but cause silence in heaven the militant Church and ravish with admiration all the intelligent creatures in the opening of so great a mystery which the angels desire to look into 1 Pet. 1.12 Moreover seeing that the angel Christ took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar as we reade in the 5. verse and cast it into the earth to prepare by that sacred sire the Ministers of the holy Gospel to preach one Jesus Christ and him crucified as he did after his ascension into the glorious palace of his Father as we reade Act. 2.3 the Church could not but keep silence and further hearing voices thundrings lightnings and earthquakes at the opening of the great and sublime mystery of our redemption for the confirmation of it she could not but admire with a profound silence such prodigious effects as many for certain do in this world at the hearing of this great mystery and I hope many in this company cannot but wonder at it and say being ravished in admiration with S. John at the opening of so great a mystery there was silence in heaven but I am afraid of abusing of your patience seeing that this silence should continue but half an hour there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour which leads me to the second part of my Text. The second part As the intelligent creatures are limited and finite so is their contemplation which doth not permit them to consider several things at once for their understandings present them the objects one after another according to the capacity of their natures and indeed God alone is he who can at once comprehend all things because he alone compasseth about all the creatures of the Universe and which is most admirable in the knowledge which God hath of all things is that to know them he doth not look upon them but upon himself for in his wisdom he sees the eternal models of all things and in his will the efficient cause of all the events so that by the knowledge that God hath of himself he knoweth all things but it is not so with the intelligent creatures for they must alternatively and by degrees consider several natures whether they look upon them Intuitivè intuitively as angels or discursivè discursively as men or consider them with admiration as both angels and men as you may see in our Text there was silence in heaven for the space of half an hour because the sacred attendants of the militant Church could not at once in a moment perceive all those wonders which we have told you were seen in heaven during the celestial silence of which S. John speaks saying there was silence in heaven for the space of half an hour But this duration of time half an hour hath some difficulty in its explication for some learned men will have it to be the duration of the external peace of the Church of God under Constantine the Great which seemed to have lasted but about the space of half an hour for soon after that peace heresies and schisms did spring up in the Church as it did appear by the Arians against whom the great Council of Nice was held being called by Constantine the Emperour Lyranus will have the space of half an hour to be the duration of the persecution of Julian the Apostate who imposed silence unto the Church and commanded her not to instruct her children nor give them any consolation grounded upon the merit of our blessed Saviour which continued but a little while about the space of half an hour for soon after he died in the wars which he did undertake against the Persians where this monstrous Apostate vomited out a damnable blasphemy against our blessed Lord whom he used to call Galilean for he dying took some of his bloud cast it up in the air and said Vicisti Galilaee vicisti thou hast overcome Galilean thou hast overcome at last but Leaving those interpretations with many others give me leave to tell you that by the space of half an hour is understood all the time of the actings which S. John saw in heaven the militant Church at the opening of the seventh seal from the 2. ver of our Chapter to the 7. for the things which are represented unto that verse did seem to Saint John to have continued but a little while about the space of half an hour so short a time that S. John was nothing weary in the contemplation of them and indeed if you observe our Chapter you will easily perceive a perfect silence kept in the
the accidents that is what you see of the consecrated bread so that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this demonstrates the body of Christ sub speciebus vel accidentibus panis under the accidents of the bread for say they this Proposition this is my body is the Will and Testament of our blessed Lord where sigures are not admitted as being something obscure But first I have shewed you that this Proposition this is my body is not a proper saying but a figurative one by the nature of all the Sacraments which are the same in signification and use in the New as they were in the Old Testament as S. Paul evidently teacheth us 1 Cor. 10.23 for saith he they were all baptized in the cloud and did all eat not onely among them but also with us the same spiritual meat and so S. Austin lib. de utilit poenit saith that whosoever apprehended â— Christ in the Manna cundem quem nos cibum spiritualem comederunt did eat the same spiritual meat which we do eat which saying of Austin made such an impression on the Jesuit Maldonat that he said if S. Austin had lived in his time he had changed his opinion seeing that the interpretation of the Protestants which he calls Calvinists is almost the same Maldonat on S. Job 6.50 num 80 81. As for what they say that it is a Testament we confess it with them but we say that the expression of our blessed Saviours Will is figurative and tropical as it doth appear by what we have said and by S. Luk. 22.20 where you read after Christ had said this is my body this cup is the New Testament in my bloud which is confirmed by S. Paul 1 Cor. 11.25 for it is evident that the cup was not the testament and it will not much serve them to say that this passage hath two expressions where the first must be rendred so this is the cup the new testament in mybloud the second this cup is the new testament in my bloud because the verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is is exprest in 1 Cor. 11. and omitted in S. Luk. 22. for although in the first expression the verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is is taken by them properly because it was a cup that Christ presented to his disciples nevertheless they confess a sigure is in the 2d expression for they say that in that expression the cup is taken for what was in it and that the testament is that by which we have right to the Covenant but it is certain that that which they will have distinct is but the same thing and the same Proposition in that passage of S. Luke of the Corinthians to signifie that the cup or the wine in the cup is the signe of the New Testament confirmed by the bloud of Jesus Christ Concerning tropical locutions which are not admitted as they say in testaments as being something obscure I say that it is not always so seeing that they themselves use them for illustration and it is clear enough that sigures have places in testaments let them consider the testament of Jacob Gen. 49. that of Moses Deut. 33. and that of David 2 Sam. 23. and they shall with us observe them to be allegorical moreover besides the Civilians observe that in mens Testaments there are oftentimes sigurative expressions for which they have some restrictions which cause them to say that in Testaments they must not come to a proper or strict signification of words Cum plerumque abusivè loquuntur testatores seeing that the Testators oftentimes speak improperly I say if the humane Testaments should be so plain that there should be no figures it would not follow that there should be none in divine and spiritual Testaments for in a humane Testament there are nothing but Legacies and express commands which ought to be plainly understood but in a divine and spiritual Testament there are mysteries to exercise our understandings our faith hope and patience as the Learned men most judiciously observe there are some things for this life and some things for the life to come some things are clearly seen and some things darkly perceived Moreover in humane Wills men ought to speak plainly because they can speak no more when they are dead but in the spiritual Testament which is here mentioned the Testator can speak after his death as you know that he did and doth truly know it for Christ after his ascension into the glorious Palace of his Father spâ—ke unto S. Paul who was the grand Persecutour of his sacred members Act. 9.4 5. as now by his holy Spirit he speaks unto us and makes the Church understand as much as he pleaseth and as much as is necessary for the glory of his Father and her eternal salvation By this you may see that our Proposition this is my body importeth nothing else but this bread signifies or is the signe of my body and indeed if the body of Christ were corporally in the Sacrament under the accidents it should there be passible that is subject to alteration and sufferings or impassible that is not subject to any alterations or sufferings but the body of Christ cannot be there passible or subject to any alteration for if it were so he should be there with all his dimensions in order to a certain place otherwise he could not suffer as they will confess with us and so the body of Christ could be divided which they will not grant in the Sacrament saying that it is totum in tota hostia totum in qualibet parte hostiae wholly in the host and wholly in every part of it and although Pope Nicholas forced Berengarius to recant in those words I Berengarius assirm that Christs slesh is sensually handled and broken by the Priests hands in the Sacrament and grinded by the teeth of the saithfull nevertheless they will not admit of that expression and confess it is not so insomuch that the gloss on the Canon de Consecr distinct 2. cap. Ego Berengarius affirms it to be a worse heresie then that of Berengarius unless it be soberly understood for generally they hold that Christs body is in the Sacrament sub speciebus panis impassibly which yet cannot be for if it were so his body had been a glorious body before his resurrection impassibility being one of the chief qualities of a glorious body as they confess with us for you know that Christ did celebrate the holy Sacrament before his death moreover if the body of Christ were impassible under the accidents in the Sacrament I would ask them the Apostles having consecrated at his death whether Christs body had been alive or no in the Sacrament I suppose they will not say that it had been alive for in the same time it had been alive in the Sacrament under the accidents and dead in the grave which is a manifest contradiction nor dead I hope for that should be contrary to their assertion of Christ
from hence which manifestly contradicts the Chiliasts or Millenaries opinion for if Christ as they say will govern at that time as earthly Monarchs do in a worldly visible and earthly glory how is his kingdom not of this world Moreover if there were such a kingdom given to our Saviour we should have heard in the Scripture of a third personal coming of Jesus Christ which we do not for the Scripture makes onely mention of two personal comings of our blessed Saviour where the first is his coming in humane weakness to make us strong against our powerfull enemies the devil the flesh and the world the second his coming in majesty and glory to give judgement to the quick and dead after their resurrection and we confess in our Creed that from thence that is heaven where Christ now is he shall come to judge the quick and the dead which is confirmed by the Athanasian and Nicene Creed to whith we must keep close as being the saith which was once delivered to the Saints And if some Millenaries will not understand that Monarchical kingdom of our Saviour personally then that kingdom fals of it self for Christ now reigneth by his Spirit in the hearts of his regenerated Subjects as they will confess with us and they reign with him for as our Text saith and they lived and reigned with Christ But further that Monarchical Kingdom of Christ cannot stand without two general corporal resurrections the one of those Saints which were dead before that personal coming of Christ at which he shall take the administration of his Monarchical kingdom the other at the end of the world at his sinal coming to judgement as they themselves acknowledge which is a thing that the Scripture makes no mention of for the Word of God makes onely mention of one general corporal resurrection at the end of the world as you may see Job 19.25 where it is said by that most patient Patriarch I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth and though after my skin worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God nay Martha as you reade S. Joh. 11.24 confesseth to Christ that her brother shal rise again in the resurrection of the last day and not at the day of the administration of Christs Monarchical kingdom and you know that S. Paul 1 Cor. 15.52 saith that in a moment in the twinkling of an eye we shall rise at the last Trumpet and so in our Creed we confess the refurrection and not the resurrections of the flesh and that will not serve the Millinaries to say that in our Chapter in the 5. ver it appears clearly that there are two general resurrections of the flesh when we hear of a first resurrection which insinuates a second one for that first resurrection which is mentioned there is the resurrection not of the body but of the soul from the death of sin to the life of grace as S. Aust did well observe I know that some take that first resurrection for the glorious happiness of the soul by which she alone passeth by the death of the body into eternal life and that by the preceding words of the 1. verse which are but the rest of the dead that is the wicked and reprobate lived not again c. because they experimented in hell the first death and damnation which is of the soul alone which obligeth S. John to say in regard of the Saints departed who are opposed to the wicked this is the first resurrection and blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection on such the second death hath no power for those that live with Christ in heaven in regard of their souls onely shall live with him eternally in regard of both bodies and souls in the celestial Jerusalem but although this explication be true in it self yet you must observe that it is not proper in this place of Scripture which considers the wicked and godly men not as departed from this world but as living upon the earth and so S. John considers the wicked as dead in their sins and having part in the first spiritual death and the godly men as living by grace and having part in the first spiritual resurrection I could raise many more Arguments against the doctrine which the Millenaries hold concerning that Monarchical kingdom but I will not be tedious I shall pass by the three several assensions of Christ which they hold for we know no such thing in the Scripture I shall also omit the place which some Millenaries maintain besides heaven and hell where the souls of them are who shall rise to reign with Christ a thousand years for you know that the Scripture makes onely mention of two places after death the one of which saith S. Austin in his hypognost is according to the Catholick faith the kingdom of heaven and the other according to the same faith saith this Father and Doctour of the Christian Church is hell Etenim tertium locum penitus ignoramus for we are wholly ignorant of a third place which is confirmed in his Book de precat merit cap. 28. and insinuated in the 22. artic of the Church of England I will not trouble you with the several passages of Scripture which they bring to prove that Monarchical kingdom which they will have with Christ it is enough to tell you that they put a meerly literal construction upon the Prophesies and promises of Scripture which the holy Ghost intended to be spiritually understood for if the Prophets speak concerning the kingdom of Christ the re-edifying of the Jewish Cities the pomp and magnificence of restored Israel and their large priviledges they draw those things to a gross corporal and syllabical sense which the judgement of the whole Christian Church seconded by the event hath upon good ground ever construed not of the letter but of the spirit to shew the comfortable condition great advantage of the Evangelical Church under Christ manifested in the flesh which evidently teacheth us as I said before that Christ had onely two several kingdoms of which the one is providential and the other spiritual in which the Saints live and reign with Christ as you may see in my Text where S. John speaking of that kingdom saith and they lived and reigned with Christ But for a clear illustration of those kingdoms you must observe that the providential kingdom of Jesus Christ is his essential universal and natural kingdom which he administreth as God over all his creatures in Majesty and glory with his Father and the holy Ghost and obtaineth as the onely Son of his Father jure naturali which kingdom is mentioned in Daniel the Prophet 4.34 and 6.26 but the spiritual kingdom of Jesus Christ figured by the kingdom of Judah is the donative personal and oeconomical kingdom which the Son of God received from his Father as you may see in Psa 2.6 8. where
Dorcas full of good works your thoughts are always in heaven though you live upon the earth your words tend continually to union and peace and your great care is to work out your salvation with fear and trembling which is seen not onely in your private devotions but in the publick ones where I may say that you are a pious and godly example to all others of your Sex indeed the Church of England among all the daughters she did procreate there are few to be compared with you but if your humility will not accept of that expression permit me to make all the English world know that the Church never possessed a better one for every one knows that your house is a Temple and a little Church where Vows and Prayers are continually sent up to heaven for the preservation of the Church of England our mother and for our gracious Prince nay for the conversion of those that are distant from the true knowledge of our Saviour who came into the world to redeem us from our iniquities the redemption of men being our Saviours meat which I present you with as it was delivered by me in a Sermon which I hope you will accept being the meat which daily you and your worthy Family feed upon for I am not ignorant that it is your singular pleasure and delectation nay I am sure that it is so agreeable unto you that you will kindely receive it from him who is Madam Your most humble and obedient Servant James Le Franc. Christs Spiritual Meat Delivered in a Sermon Preached in English at the French Church in Norwich S. JOH 4.34 My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work IT is common amongst men to extoll the persons of merit and reputation but if any amongst you hath ever esteemed a learned and most prudent wit that could upon any matter choose considerations fit for the instruction of his auditours and by the object of the sight and other external senses could with a marvellous industry and aptness awake the internal senses and lift up our understandings to the contemplation of the highest things let him now reflect upon our Master the eternal Wisedom of God the Father our great doctour Christ who is over all God blessed for ever let him say with me that there is none that ought to be parallel'd with him for if you consider the industry which Christ our Mediatour used when he was living upon the earth you will easily conclude that it was admirable for he ever made use of his Celestial Industry to promote his Fathers glory and mens salvation taking sometimes an occasion from their too great inclination which they had after the things of this world to draw them into the knowledge and inquisition of spiritual and eternal things of the heavenly Jerusalem as you may observe in the 6. Chapt. of S. John where Christ seeing the people carefull to seek after him for onely corruptible and common meat took occasion to discourse with them about the sacred bread of God and the spiritual manna which if any man eat of he shall live for ever Now let us follow Christ through Samaria to observe some things of his celestial actions and wonderfull works but seeing that Christ doth stay let us stay with him for I perceive that our Saviour is weary of his journey and forced to rest himself on Jacobs well but while he resteth himself there cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water Christ discourseth with her about the true and spiritual worship of God and takes occasion from the water to instruct her about the celestial fountain of living water which she tasted of with such pleasure that she leaving her waterpot went into the City to call her fellow-Citizens the Samaritans and invite them to the participation of that spiritual water which she had received from our blessed Saviour But while she thus runs to invite them the disciples of our Lord desire him to eat but Christ whose hunger was after the souls of men said unto them I have meat to eat that ye know not of which made them beleeve that while they were absent some body had brought him something to eat saying one to another hath any man brought him ought to eat but Christ that he might no longer keep them in suspence because it was given unto them to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven teaches them with sew but significant words a great and sublime mystery saying My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work which are the words which I have chosen to entertain you with by the special assistance of the holy Ghost but for a clear intelligence of them I shall divide my Text into two parts where in the first I shall entertain you with the will and work of him that sent Christ and in the second part I shall shew you that that will and work of God is our Saviours meat My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work The first Part. As the Philosophers place the moral vertues in two ranks where in the first the vertues are glorious and worthy to be loved of themselves as Justice and in the second rank worthy to be wished for the vertues of the first as Courage which is a sit vertue when justice ceaseth amongst men so the Schoolmen divide the attributes of God into two orders where in the first the attributes are incommunicable unto the creatures as Gods Immensity Independency and Unchangeableness for all the creatures of the Universe even the Angels are dependent changeable and limited natures but the attributes of the second order are said to be proportionably communicable in effectis analogis by the resemblance of the effects as Gods Wisdom Goodness and Will for you know that those attributes are ascribed unto Angels and given unto men and as God hath a will so have Angels and men as being the right of the intelligent creatures But here we shall not speak of Angels nor mens will but of Gods will My meat is to do the will of him that sent me for he that sent Christ is God the Father the Son and the holy Ghost according to the old Maxim of Divinity opera Dei ad extra sunt indivisa seu toti Trinitati Communia the outward operations of God are common to the whole Trinity so that you must observe that the Son the second Person of the blessed Trinity was sent as Mediatour for he was one of those blessed Persons who did consult about mens redemption nay more then that he was that sacred one who of his own free-will offered himself to be consecrated for the performance of that gracious work as you may see Heb. 10.5 6 7. Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not but a body hast thou prepared me in burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure then said I lo I come