execration Mara-natha that is pronounced accursed to euerlasting destruction Whence it appeares that the Church hath power to pronounce men reiected to euerlasting damnation upon some special occasions though I dare not say ordinarily and usually The primitiue Church with one consent praied against Iulian the Apostata the praiers made were not in vaine as appeared by his fearefull end As for priuate and ordinary men for the tempering and rectifying of their iudgements in this case they must follow two rules The one is that euerie member of the Church is bound to beleeue his owne election It is the commandement of God binding the very conscience that we should beleeue in Christ Now to beleeue in Christ is not onely to put our affiance in him and to be resolued that we are iustified and sanctified and shalbe glorified by him but also that we were elect to saluatioa in him before the beginning of the world which is the foundation of the rest Againe if of things that haue necessarie dependance one upon another we are to beleeue the one then we are to beleeue the other Now electiō adoptiō are things conioyned the one necessarily dependes upon the other For all the elect as Paul saith are predestinate to adoption wee are to beleeue our owne adoption therefore also our election The second rule is that concerning the persons of those that be of the Church wee must put in practise the iudgement of charitie that is to esteeme of them as of the elect of God till God make manifest otherwise By vertue of this rule the ministers of Gods word are to publish and preach the Gospell to all without exceptiō It is true indeed there is both wheat darnell in Gods field chaffe corne in Gods barne fish drosse in Gods net sheep goates in Christs fold but secret iudgements belong unto God and the rule of loue which is to thinke and wish the best of others is to be followed of us that professe faith working by loue It may be demanded what we are to iudge of them that as yet are enemies of Christ. Ans. Our duty is to suspēd our iudgements concerning their finall estate for we know not whether God will call them or no and therefore we must rather pray for their conversion then for their confusion Againe it may be demanded what is to be thought of all our ancetours forefathers that liued died in the times whē Popery took place Ans. We may well hope the best thinke that they were saued for though the Papacie be not the Church of God and though the doctrine of popery race the foundation yet neuerthelesse in the very midst of the Romane papacie God hath alwaies had a remnant which haue in some measure truly serued him In the olde Testament when open idolatrie took place in all Israel God saith to Eliah I have reserved 7. thousand to my self that never bowed knee to Baal the like is hath bin in the generall apostasie under Antichrist S. Iohn saith that when the woman fled into the vvildernes for a time euen then there was a remnant of her seed which kept the cōmandements of God have testimony of Iesus Christ. And againe when ordinary meanes of saluation faile then God can doth make a supply by means extraordinary therfore there is no cause why we should say that they were condemned Thirdly it may be demāded whether the cōmō iudgemēt giuen of F. Spira that hee is a reprobate be good or no Ans. we may with better warrāt say no then any mā say yea For what gifts of discerning had they which came to visit him in his extremitie what reasons induced them to giue this peremptorie iudgement He said himselfe that he was a reprobate that is nothing a sick mans iudgement of himselfe is not to be regarded Yea but he despaired a senslesse reasō for so doth many a man yeere by yeere that very often as deeply as euer Spira did yet by the good help of the ministery of the worde both are may be recouered And they which wil auouch Spira to be a reprobate must go further prooue 2. things that he despaired both wholly and finally which if they can not proue we for our parts must suspende our iudgementes and they were much to blame that first published the booke Lastly it may be demādend what is to be thought of thē that make very fearful ends in rauing blaspheming Ans. Such strāge behauiours are oftētimes the fruites of violent diseases which torment the body bereaue the minde of sense reason therfore if the persons liued wel we must thinke the best for we are not by outward things to iudge of the estate of any man Salomon saith that all things come alike to all the same condition to the iust to the wicked Thus much of the parts of predestination Now followes the use thereof it concernes partly our iudgemēts partly our affectiōs partly our liues The uses which concerne iudgement are 3. And first by the doctrine of predestinatiō we learne that there cā not be any iustification of a sinner before God by his workes For Gods election is the cause of iustification because whome God electeth to saluation after this life them he electeth to be iustified in this life Now election it selfe is of grace and of grace alone as Paul saieth Election is by grace and if it be of grace it is no more of workes or else were grace no grace therefore iustification is of grace and of grace alone And I reason thus The cause of a cause is the cause of all things caused but grace alone is the cause of predestination which is the cause of our vocation iustification sanctification c. Grace therefore is also the alone cause of all these Therefore the scriptures ascribe not onely the beginning but also the continuāce accomplishment of all our happinesse to grace For first as election so vocation is of grace Paul saieth God hath called vs not according to our vvorkes but according to his purpose and grace Againe faith in Christ is of grace So it is saide To you it is given to beleeve in Christ. Also the iustification of a sinner is of grace So Paul saieth plainely to the Romanes you are iustified freely by his grace Againe sanctification and the doing of good workes is of grace So it is saide Wee are his vvorkemanshippe created in Christ Iesus vnto good vvorkes vvhich God hath ordained that vvee shoulde vvalke in them Also perseverance in good workes and godlinesse is of grace So the Lorde saieth I vvill make an everlasting covenant vvith them that I will neuer turne avvay from them to doe them good but I will put my feare in their heartes that they shall not depart from mee Lastly life euerlasting is of grace So Paul saieth Life everlasting
churches elect II. they are called elect of the principal part and not because euery member thereof was indeed elect as it called an heape of corne though the bigger part be chaffe Secondly it is alleadged that Dauid praies that his enemies may be blotted out of the booke of life which is the Election of God and that Moses and Paul did the like against themselues Answear Dauids enemies had not their names written in the booke of life but onely in the iudgement of men Thus Iudas so long as he was one of the disciples of Christ was accounted as one hauing his name written in heauen Now hence it follows that mens names are blotted out of Gods booke when it is made cleare and manifest vnto the worlde that they were neuer indeede written there And where Moses saith forgiue them this sinne if not blotte me out of thy booke and Paul I could wish to be accursed c. there meaning was not to signifie that men elected to saluation may become reprobates onely they testifie their zealous affections that they could be coÌ„tent to be depriued of their owne saluation rather then the whole bodie of the people should perish and God loose his glorie As for that which Christ saith Haue I not chosen you twelue and one of you is a deuill is to be vnderstood not of election to saluation but of election to office of an Apostle which is temporarie and changeable The third point is that there is an actuall election made in time beeing indeede a fruit of Gods decree and answearable vnto it and therefore I added in the description these words whereby he hath chosen some men All men by nature are sinners and children of wrath shut vp vnder one and the same estate of condemnation And actuall election is when it pleaseth God to â—euer and single out some men aboue the rest out of this wretched estate of the wicked worlde and to bring them to the kingdome of his owne sonne Thus Christ saith of his owne disciples I haue chosen you out of the world The fourth point is the actuall or reall foundation of Gods Election and that is Christ and therefore wee are said to be chosen to saluation in Christ. He must be considered two waies as he is God we are predestinate of him euen as we are predestinate of the father and the H. Ghost As he is our Mediatour we are predestinate in him For when God with himselfe had decreed to manifest his glorie in sauing some men by his mercie he ordained further the creation of man in his owne image yet so as by his owne fall he should infold himselfe and all his posteritie vnder damnation this done he also decreed that the Word should be incarnate actually to redeeme those out of the former miserie whome he had ordained to saluation Christ therefore himselfe was first of all predestinate as he was to be our head and as Peter saith ordained before all worlds and we secondly predestinate in him because God ordained that the Exequution of mans Election should be in him Here if any demaund how we may be assured that Christ in his Passion stoode in our roome and steade the resolution will bee easie if wee consider that hee was ordained in the eternall counsell of God to be our suretie and pledge and to be a publike person to represent all the Elect in his obedience and sufferings and therefore it is that Peter saith that he vvas deliuered by the foreknovvledge and determinate counsell of God And Paul that grace vvas given vnto vs through Christ Iesus before the vvorlde vvas The fifth point is concerning the number of the Elect. And that I expressed in these words hath chosen some men to saluation If God should decree to communicate his glorie and his mercie to all and euery man there could be no Election For he that takes all can not be said to choose Therefore Christ saith Many are called but few are chosen Some make this question how great the number of the Elect is and the answeare may be this that the Elect considered in themselues be innumerable but considered in comparison to the whole world they are but fewe Hence it follows necessarily that sauing grace is not vniuersall but indefinite or particular vnlesse we will against common reason make the streames more large and plentifull then the very fountaine it selfe And this must excite vs aboue all things in the world to labour to haue fellowship with Christ and to be partakers of the speciall mercie of God in him yea to haue the same sealed vp in our heartes Benefits common to all as the light of the sunne c. are not regarded of any Things common to fewe though they be but temporall blessings are sought for of all God giues not riches to all men but to some more to some lesse to some none And hereupon how doe men like drudges toile in the world from day to day and from yeare to yeare to inrich themselues Therefore much more ought men to seeke for grace in Christ considering it is not common to all We must not content our selues to say God is mercifull but we must goe further and labour for a certificate in the conscience that we may be able to say that God is indeede mercifull to vs. When the Disciples would haue knowne how many should be saued he omitting the question answeares thus Striue to enter in at the straight gate The last point is the ende of Gods Election and that is the manifesting of the praise and excellencie of the glorious grace of God Thus hauing seene what Election is let vs nowe come to the Exequution thereof Of which remember this rule Men predestinate to the ende that is eternall life are also predestinate to the subordinate meanes whereby they come to eternall life and these are vocation iustification sanctification glorification For the first he that is predestinate to saluation is also predestinate to be called as Paul saith Whome he hath predestinate them also he calleth Secondly whome God calleth they also were predestinate to beleeue therefore sauing faith is called the faith of the elect And in the Acts as many as were ordained to life euerlasting beleeued Thirdly whome God hath predestinate to life them he iustifieth as Paul saith whome he hath predestinate them he calleth and whome he calleth them he iustifieth Fourthly whome he hath predestinate to life them he hath predestinate to sanctification and holines of life as Peter saith that the Iewes were Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the father vnto sanctification of the spirit Lastly they that are predestinate to life are also predestinate to obedience as Paul saith to the Ephesians Ye are the workemanship of God created in Christ Iesus vnto good workes vvhich God hath ordained that vve should walke in them This rule beeing the truth of God must be obserued for it hath
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
had they then any neede of faith in the same God as he is Messias but this faith is a new grace of God added to regeneration after the fal first required in the couenant of grace And by this faith differeth from the rest of the gifts of God as the feare of God the loue of God the loue of our brethren c. for these were in mans nature before the fall and after it they are but renewed but iustifying faith admits no renewing For the first in grafting of it into the heart is in the conuersion of a sinner after his fall The place and seat of faith as I thinke is the minde of man not the will for it stands in a kinde of particular knowledge or perswasion and there is no perswasion but in the minde Paul saith indeede that we beleeue with the heart Rom. 10. but by the heart he vnderstands the whole soule without any limitation Some doe place faith partly in the minde and partly in the will because it hath two parts knowledge and affiance but it doth not stand greatly with reason that one particular and single grace should be seated into diuerse parts of the soule The forme of faith is to apprehend the promises Gal. 3.14 that we might receiue the promise of the spirite through faith and Iohn 1.12 to receiue Christ and to beleeue are put one for another and to beleeue is to eate and drinke the bodie and bloud of Christ. To apprehend properly is an action of the hand which laies hold of a thing and puls it to it and by resemblance it agrees to faith which is the hand of the soule receiuing and applying the sauing promise This apprehension of faith is not performed by any affection of the will but by a sound and particular perswasion whereby a man is resolued that the promise of saluation belongs vnto him Which perswasion is wrought in the mind by the holy Ghost 1. Corint 2.12 And by this the promise which is generall is applied particularly to one subiect By this sauing faith differeth from all other kinds of faith From historicall for it wanteth all apprehension standeth onely in a generall assent From temporarie faith which though it make a man to professe the Gospel and to reioyce in it yet doth it not throughly applie Christ with his benefits For it neuer brings with it any thorough touch of conscience or liuely sense of Gods grace in the heart And the same may be said of the rest The principal and maine obiect of this faith is the sauing promise God so loued the world that he gaue his onely begotten sonne that whosoeuer beleeues in him shall not perish but haue euerlasting life But some will say Christ is commonly said to be the obiect of faith Answ. In effect it is all one to say the sauing promise and Christ promised who is the substance of the couenant Christ then as he is set forth vnto vs in the word and sacraments is the obiect of faith And here certaine questions offer themselues to be skanned The first What is that particular thing which faith apprehendeth Answ. Faith apprehendeth whole Christ God and man For his Godhead without his manhoode and his manhood without his Godhead doth not reconcile vs to God Yet this which I say must be conceiued with some distinction according to the difference of his two natures His Godhead is apprehended not in respect of his essence or nature but in respect of his efficacie manifested in the māhoode his manhood both in respect of the substance it selfe and also in respect of the efficacie and benefits thereof The second In what order faith apprehēds Christ Ans. First of all it apprehends the very body blood of Christ secondly the vertue benefits of his bodie and blood as a man that would feele in his bodie the vertue of meate and drinke must first of all receiue the substance thereof To go forward Besides the mayn promise which cōcernes righteousnes life in Christ there be other particular promises touching strēgth in temptatiōs cōfort in afflictiōs such like which depēd on the former they also are the obiect of iustifying faith with the very same faith we beleue thē wherwith we beleeue our saluatiō Thus Abrahā by the same faith wherwith he was iustified beleued that he shold haue a son in his old age Rō 4.19.22 And Noe by that faith wherby he was made heire of righteousnes beleeued that he his family should be preserued in the flood And hereupō it comes to passe that in our praiers besides the desire of things promised we must bring faith whereby we must be perswaded that God will graunt vs such things as he hath promised and this faith is not a new kinde or distinct faith from iustifying faith Thus we see what sauing faith is Whereas some are of opiniō that faith is an affiāce or cōfidence that seems to be otherwise for it is a fruit of faith indeede no man can put any confidence in God till he be first of all perswaded of Gods mercy in Christ towards him Some again are of mind that loue is the very nature and forme of faith but it is otherwise For as cōfidence in God so also loue is an effect which proceeds frō faith 1. Tim. 1.5 The end of the law is loue frō a pure heart and good conscience faith vnfained And in nature they differ greatly Christ is the fountain of the waters of life Faith in the heart is as the pipes ledds that receiue in hold the water loue in some part is as the cocke of the cōduit that lets out the water to euery cōmer The property of the hād is to hold of it self it cānot cut yet by a knife or other instrumēt put into the hād it cuts the hād of the soule is faith his property is to apprehend Christ with al his benefits by it self it cā do nothing els yet ioyn loue to it by loue it wilbe effectual in al good duties Now to proceed further first we are to cōsider how faith is wrought 2. what be the differēces of it For the first faith is wrought in by the outward ministery of the gospel accōpanied by the inward operatiō of the spirit that not suddēly but by certē steps degrees as nature frameth the body of the infant in the mothers wombe 1. by making the brain and heart 2. by making veines sinewes arteries bones 3. by adding flesh to them al. And the whole operation of the spirit stands in two principall actions First the enlightening of the minde the second the moouing of the will For the first the holy Ghost enlightens mens mindes with a further knowledge of the lawe then nature can afoard and thereby makes them to see the sinnes of their hearts and liues with the ouglines thereof and withall to tremble at the curse of the lawe Afterward
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
commended for a beleeuer and in the like case the Samaritanes And thus much of weake faith which must be vnderstood to be in a man not all the daies of his life but while he is a yong babe in Christ. For as it is in the state of the body first we are babes grow to greater strength as we growe in yeres so it is with a Christian man First he is a babe in Christ hauing weake faith but after growes from grace to grace till he come to haue a strong faith example whereof we haue in Abraham who was strong and perfect both in knowledge and apprehension This strong faith is when a man is endued with the knowledge of the Gospel grace to apprehend and applie the righteousnes of Christ vnto himselfe for the remission of his own sinnes so as he can say distinctly of himselfe and truly that he is fully resolued in his own conscience that he is recōciled vnto God in Christ for all his sinnes accepted in him to life euerlasting This degree of faith is proper to him that begins to be a tall man and of ripe yeares in Christ. And it commeth not at the first calling of a man vnto grace And if any shall thinke that he can haue it at the first he deceiueth him selfe For as it is no nature first wee are babes and then as we encrease in yeares so wee growe in strength so it is in the life of a Christian first ordinarily hee hath a weake faith and after growes from grace to grace till he come to stronger faith and at the last he be able to say he is fully assured in his heart conscience of the pardon of his sinnes of reconciliation to God in Christ. And this assurance ariseth from many experiences of Gods fauour and loue in his life and preseruation which brings a man to this that he is fully perswaded that God is his God and God the father his father and Iesus Christ his redeemer and the holy Ghost his sanctifier Now howsoeuer this faith be strong yet is it alwaies imperfect as also our knowledge is and shall so long as we liue in this world be mingled with contrarie vnbeliefe and sundrie doubtings more or lesse A great part of men amōgst vs blinded with grosse ignorance say they haue faith yet indeed haue not For aske them what faith they haue they will answer they beleeue that God is their father the Son their redeemer c. aske them how long they haue had this faith they will answer euer since they could remember aske them whether they euer doubt of Gods fauour they will say they would not once doubt for all the worlde But the case of these men is to be pitied for howsoeuer they may perswade themselues yet true it is that they haue no sound faith at all for euen strong faith is assaulted with temptations and doubtings and God will not haue men perfect in this life that they may alwaies goe out of themselues and depend wholly on the merit of Christ. And thus much of these two degrees of faith Nowe in whom so euer it is whether it be a weake faith or a strōg it bringeth forth some fruit as a tree doth in the time of sommer And a speciall fruit of faith is this confession of faith I beleeue in God c. so Paul saith With the heart a man may beleeue vnto righteousnes and with the mouth man confesseth to saluation Confession of faith is when a man in speach and outwarde profession doth make manifest his faith for these two causes I. That with his mouth outwardly he may glorifie God both in bodie and soule II. That by the confession of his faith he may seuer himselfe from all false Christians from Atheists hypocrites and all false seducers whatsoeuer And as this is the dutie of a Christian man to make profession of his faith so here in this Creede of the Apostles we haue the right order and forme of making it set downe as we shal see in hādling the parts therof The Creede therefore sets downe two things concerning faith namely the action of faith and his obiect which also are the parts of the Creede The action in these words I beleeue the obiect in all the words following in God the Father almightie maker c. And first let vs begin with the action I beleeue in God We are taught to say I beleeue not we beleeue for two causes First because as we touched before in the Primitiue Church this Creede was made to be an answer made vnto a question which was demanded of euery particular man that was baptized for they asked him thus What dost thou beleeue then he answered I beleeue in God the Father c. and thus did euery one of yeares make profession of his faith and it is likely that Peter alluded hereunto saying the stipulation or answer of a good conscience maketh request to God The secōd cause is howsoeuer we are to pray one for another by saying O our father c. yet when wee come to yeres we must haue a particular faith of our own no mā can be saued by anothers mans faith but by his own so it is said The iust shall liue by his faith But some will say this is not true For children must be saued by their parents faith the answer is this the faith of the parents doth bring the child to haue a title or interest to the couenant of grace and to all the benefits of Christ but yet it doth not applie the benefits of Christs death his obedience his merits and righteousnes vnto the infant for this the beleeuer doth only vnto himselfe to no other Againe some may say if they doe not apprehend Christs benefits by their parents faith how then is Christs righteousnes made theirs Answ. By the inward working of the holy Ghost who is the principall applier of all graces whereas faith is but the instrumēt And this is true men of yeares are iustified by their own faith the infāt by some other special working of Gods holy spirit Furthermore to beleeue signifieth two things to conceiue or vnderstand any thing and withall to giue assent vnto it to be true and therefore in this place to beleeue signifieth to know and acknowledge that all the points of religion which followe are the truth of God Here therefore we must remember that this clause I beleeue placed in the beginning of the Creede must be particularly applied to euery article following For so the case stands that if faith faile in one maine point it faileth a man in all and therefore faith is said to be wholly copulatiue It is not sufficient to hold one article but he that will hold any of them for his good must hold them all and he which holdes them all in shewe of words if he ouerturne but one of them in deede he ouerturnes them all Againe to beleeue
vnderstood with two caveats The first is that infirmities be either certaine vnblameable passions or else such defects as are sinnes in themselues nowe Christ takes the first onely and not the second Secondly infirmities be either generall or personall generall which appertaine to the whole nature of man and are to be found in euery man that comes of Adam as to be borne vnlearned and subiect to naturall affections as sorrowe anger c. Personall are such as appertaine to some particular men and not to all and arise of some priuate causes and particular iudgements of God as to be borne a foole to be sicke of an ague consumption dropsie pleuresie and such like diseases Now the first sort be in Christ and not the second for as he tooke not the person of any man but onely mans nature so was it sufficient for him to take vnto him the infirmities of mans nature though hee tooke not the priuate infirmities of any mans person And the reason why Christ would put on not onely the substance and faculties of a true man but also his infirmities was that hee might shewe him selfe to be very man indeed also that he might suffer for vs both in bodie and soule and that he might giue vs an example of patience in bearing all manner of euill for Gods glorie and the good of our neighbour Now the things which may be alleadged to the contrarie for the infringing of the truth of Christs manhood are of no moment As first because Christ appeared in the forme of a man in the old testament beeing no man therefore he did so at his comming in the newe testament but the reason is not like For Christ in the old testament as the angell of his father in some speciall affaires tooke vnto him the bodie of a man for some space of time but he did not receiue it into the vnitie of his person but laid it downe when the busines which he enterprised with men was ended Now in the fulnes of time he came from heauen as the angell of the covenant and for that cause he was to vnite into his owne person the nature of man And when as Paul saith that Christ came in the similitude of sinnefull flesh his meaning is not to signifie that he was a man onely in resemblance and shewe but to testifie that beeing a true man indeede void of sinne was content to abase himselfe to that condition in which he became like to a miserable sinner in bearing the punishment for our sinne For Paul doth not say that he tooke vpon him the similitude of flesh simply as it is flesh but of the flesh of sinne or sinnefull flesh The third question is why the sonne of God must become man Answer There be sundrie reasons of this point and the most principall are these First of all it is a thing that greatly standes with the iustice of God that in that nature in which God was offended in the same should be a made satisfaction to God for sinne nowe sinne was committed in mans nature Adam sinned first and in him all his posteritie therefore it is very necessarie that in mans nature there should be a satisfaction made to Gods iustice and therefore the sonne of God must needes abase himselfe and become man for our sakes Secondly by the right of creation euery man is bounde in conscience to fulfull euen the very rigour and extremitie of the morall lawe But considering man is nowe fallen from his first estate and condition therefore it was requisite that the sonne of God should become man that in mans nature hee might fulfill all righteousnes which the law doth exact at our handes Thirdly hee that is our redeemer must die for our sinnes for their is no remission of sinnes without shedding of bloode but Christ as he is God can not die For no passion can befall the Godhead Therefore it was needefull that hee should become man that in mans nature hee might die and fully satisfie Gods iustice for mans offence Lastly hee that must make reconciliation betweene God and man must be such an one as may make request or speake both to God and man For a Mediatour is as it were a middle person making intercession betweene two other persons the one offended the other offending Therefore it is necessarie that Christ should not onely be God to speake vnto the father for vs and to present our praiers vnto him but also man that God might speake to vs and we to God by Christ. For howsoeuer before the fal man could speake to God euen face to face yet since the fall such feare possesseth mans corrupt nature that he cannot abide the presence of God but flieth from it Nowe whereas I say that it was necessarie that the sonne of God for the causes before alleadged must become man the necessitie must be vnderstood in respect of Gods will and not in respect of his power For if it had so pleased God hee was able to haue laide downe an other kinde of way of mans redemption then by the incarnation of the sonne of God and he appointed no other way because he would not Thus much of the Incarnation in generall Now followe the duties vvhich arise of it And first vvee are taught hereby to come to Christ by faith and vvith all our heartes to cleaue unto him Great is the deadnesse and sluggishnesse of mans nature for scarse one of a thousande cares for him or seekes unto him for righteousnesse and life euerlasting But wee shoulde excite our selues euerie vvay to dravve neare to him as much as possibly vvee may for when hee was incarnate hee came neare unto us by taking our nature upon him that wee againe whatsoeuer wee are might come neare unto him by taking unto us his divine nature Againe when Christ was incarnate he was made bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh therfore proportionally we must labour to become bone of his bone flesh of his flesh which we shall be when we are mistically united unto him by faith born anew by his spirit Moreouer Christ by his incarnation came down frō heauen to vs that we being partakers of his grace might ascend vp to heauen by him And thus we see how the meditation of Christs incarnation should be a spurre to pricke vs forwarde still more and more to come to Christ. Secondly Christs incarnation must be a patterne vnto vs of a most wonderfull and straunge humilitie For as Paul saith Beeing in the forme of God and thinking it no robberie to be equall with God made himselfe of no reputation and tooke on him the forme of a seruant and humbled himselfe and became obedient to death euen to the death of the crosse Yea so farrefoorth abased hee himselfe that as David saith he was a worme and no man And this teacheth vs to lay aside all selfe-loue and pride of heart and to practise the dueties of
alone when these things are taken away then we shall vtterly forsake Christ in like manner The second point is that Herod desires Christ to worke a miracle He can be content to see the works of Christ but he can not abide to heare his word to beare his yoke Like to him are many in these daies which gladly desire to heare the Gospell of Christ preached onely because they would heare speach of some strange things laying aside all care and conscience to obey that which they heare Yea many in England delite to read the strange histories of the bible and therefore can rehearse the most part of it and it were to be wished that all could doe it yet come to the practise of it the same persons are commonly found as bad in life and conuersation yea rather worse then others Let vs therefore labour that with our knowledge we may ioyne obedience practise with our learning and as well to be affected with the word of Christ as with his works The third point is that Herod derides Christ and sends him away cloathed in a white garment This is that Herod whome Christ called a foxe who also when hee heard Iohn Baptist preach did many things heard him gladly How then comes Herod to this outrage of wickednes thus to abuse Christ Answer We must knowe that although Herod at the first heard Iohn preach yet withall hee followed his owne affections and sought how to fulfill the lustes of his flesh For when Iohn told him that it was not lawfull for him to haue his brother Philips wife he cast him in prison and after cut off his head for it after which offence he is grown to this height of impietie that he now despiseth Christ cānot abide to heare him Where we learne that as we are willing to heare Gods word preached so withall we must take heede that we practise no maner of sinne but make conscience of euery thing that may displease God Thou maist I graunt be one that feares and fauours Iohn Baptist for a time wallowing in thy old sinnes but after a while yeilding to the swinge of thy corrupt heart thou wilt neuer heare Iohn nor Christ himselfe but hate and despise them both This is the cause why some which haue beene professours of religion heretofore and haue had great measure of knowledge are now become very loose persons and can not abide to heare the worde preached vnto them the reason is because they could not abide to leaue their sinnes Therefore that wee may begin in the spirit and not end in the flesh let euery one that calls on the name of the Lord depart from iniquitie Now follows the second pollicie of Pilate For when he saw the first would not preuaile then hee tooke a newe course for he tooke Iesus into the common hall and scourged him and the souldiers platted a crowne of thornes and pur it on his head and they put on him a purple garment and saide Haile King of the Iewes and smote him with their roddes And thus he brought him foorth before the Iewes perswading himselfe that when they sawe him so abased and so ignominiously abused they vvould be content therevvith and exact no greater punishment at his handes thinking thus to haue pacified the rage of the Ievves and so to haue deliuered Christ from death by inflicting vpon him some lesser punishment This pollicie is as it vvere a looking glasse in vvhich vve may behold of vvhat nature cōdition all plotts pollicies of mē are which are deuised practised vvithout the directiō of Gods vvord In it we may obserue 2. things the first is the ground thereof vvhich is a most silly simple or rather sensles argument For he reasoneth thus I finde no fault in this man therefore I will chastise him and let him goe A man vvould hardly haue thought that one hauing but his common sense vvould not haue made such a reason much lesse a great iudge sitting in the roome of God But in him vve may behold see the ground of all humane pollicie vvhich is beside the vvord of God namely the foolish and blind reason of men The 2. thing to be considered is the proceeding and issue of this pollicie Pilat must either vvhip Christ beeing innocent or put him to death vvhich are both sinnes and great offences Novve hee maketh choice of the lesser vvhich is to whippe him and is perswaded that he ought to doe so whereas of two sinnes or euils a man ought to doe neither And in doing this Pilate begins to make a breach in his conscience and that is the fruit that all politicks reape of their deuises which proceede by the light of their owne reason without the word of God By this example we are admonished of two things first that before we enterprize any businesse wee must rectifie our iudgements by Gods worde Dauid was a most wise King and no doubt had withall a graue and wise councell but yet he preferred the word of God before all saying Thy testimonies are my counsellers Secondly in our proceedings we must keepe an vpright pure and vnblameable conscience as Paul exhorteth Timothie to haue the mysterie of faith in a pure conscience giuing vs thereby to vnderstand that a good conscience is as it were a chest or cupboard in which we are to keepe and locke vp our religion and all other graces of God as the most pretious iewels that can be and that if we suffer this chest to be broken vp all our riches and iewels are gone But let vs yet view the dealing of Pilate more particularly he whippes Christ puts on him a purple garment puts a reede in his hand sets a crowne of thornes vpon his head and causes the souldiers to mocke him and spit in his face Now in this that Christ standing in our roome was thus shamefully abused we must consider what was due vnto euery one of vs for our sinnes namely shame and reproch in this life and in the life to come endles confusion And we see the confession of Christ to be true which he made to Pilate that his kingdome was not of this world for if it had beene so they would haue put a crowne of gold vpon his head and not a crowne of thornes nothing at all beseeming an earthly king and in stead of a reede they would haue put a scepter into his hand and in stead of buffetting and spitting on him they would haue adored him falne downe before him Againe whereas Christ our heade in this world ware no other crowne but one made of thornes it serueth to teach all those that are the members of Christ that they must not look for a crown of glory in this life because that is reserued for the life to come And if we would then weare the crown of glorie with Christ we must here in this life weare a crown of thorns as he did for as
imputation and application was made his Furthermore Christ was crucified not after the maner of the Iewes who used to hang malefactors upon a tree binding them thereto with cords that wheÌ„ they were dead but after the usuall maner of the Romans his bodie being partly nailed to the crosse partly in the nailing extremely racked otherwise I see not but that a man might remaine many daies togither alive upoÌ„ the crosse And here we haue occasion to remeÌ„ber that the Papists who are so deuout zelous towards crucifixes are far deceived in the making of theÌ„ For first of all the crosse was made of 3. pieces of wood one fastned upright in the ground to which the bodie and back leaned the second fastened towardes the toppe of the first overthwart to which the hands were nailed the thirde fastned towards the bottome of the first on which the feete vvere set and nailed vvhereas contrarivvise popish caruers painters fasten both the feet of Christ to the first secoÌ„dly the feete of Christ vvere nailed asunder vvith tvvo distinct nailes not nailed one upon another with one naile alone as Papists imagine and that to the verie body of the crosse for then the soldiers could not haue broken both the leggs of the thieves but only the outmost Let vs now come to the vse which may be made of the crucifying of Christ. First of all here we learne with bitternes to bewaile our sinnes for Christ was thus cruelly nayled on the crosse and there suffered the whole wrath of God not for any offence that euer he committed but beeing our pledge and suretie vnto God he suffered all for vs and therefore iust cause haue we to mourne for all our offences which brought our Sauiour Christ to this low estate If a man should be so farre in debt that he could not be freed vnlesse the suretie should be cast into prison for his sake nay which is more be cruelly put to death for his debt it would make him at his wits ende and his very heart to bleede And so is the case with vs by reason of our sins we are Gods debters ye bankrupts before him yet haue we gotten a good suretie euen the sonne of God himselfe who to recouer vs to our former libertie was crucifyed for the discharge of our debt And therefore good cause haue we to bewaile our estate euery day as by the Prophet it is said They shall looke on him whome they haue pierced they shall lament for him as one mourneth for his owne sonne they shall be sorrie for him as one is sorrie for his first borne Looke as the blood followed the nailes that were striken through the blessed hands and feete of Christ so should the meditation of the crosse and passion of our Redeemer be as it were nayles and speares to pierce vs that our hearts might bleed for our sinnes and we are not to thinke more hardly of the Iewes for crucifying him then of our selues because our sinnes they also crucifyed him These are the very nayles which pierce his hands and feete and these are the speares which pierce through his side For the losse of a litle worldly pelfe oh how are we grieued but seeing our transgressions are the weapons whereby the sonne of God was crucifyed let vs I say it againe and againe learne to be grieued for them aboue al things with bleeding and melting hearts bowe and buckle vnder them as vnder the crosse Secondly Christ saith of himselfe as Moses lift vp the serpent in the wildernes so must the sonne of man be lifted vp the comparison is excellent and worthie the marking In the wildernes of Arabia the people of Israel rebelled against God and thereupon he sent fierie serpents among them which stong many of them to death now when they repented Moses was commanded to make a brasen serpent and to set it vpon a pole that as many as were stong might looke vnto it and recouer and if they could but cast a glaunce of the eye on the brasen serpent when they were stong eueÌ„ to death they were restored to health life Now euery man that liueth is in the same case with the Israelits Satan hath stong vs at the heart giuen vs many a deadly wound if we could feele it and Christ who was figured by the brasen serpent was likewise exalted on the crosse to coÌ„ferre righteousnes life eternal to euery one of vs therfore if we will escape eternal death we must renouÌ„ce our selues lift vp the eyes of our faith to Christ crucified pray for the pardon of our sinnes then shall our hearts consciences be healed of the wounds gripes of the deuil vntill such time as we haue grace to do this we shall neuer be cured but stil lie wounded with the stings of satan bleeding to death euen at the very heart although we feele no paine or griefe at all But some may aske how any man can see him crucifyed now after his death Answer Wheresoeuer the word of God is preached there Christ is crucifyed as Paul saith Oh foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth to whome before Iesus Christ was described in your sight and among you crucifyed meaning that he was liuely preached among them We neede not to goe to wooden crosses or to golden crucifixes to seek for him but where the Gospell is preached thither must wee go there lift vp our eyes of faith to Christ as he is reuealed vnto vs in the word resting on him and his merits with all our hearts and with a godly sorow confesse and bewaile our sinnes crauing at his hands mercie and pardon for the same For till such time as we doe this we are grieuously stong by Satan and are euery moment euen at deaths dore And if we can thus behold Christ by faith the benefites which comes hereby shall be great for as Paul saith the old man that is the corruption of our nature and the bodie of sinne that raigneth in vs shall be crucified with him for when Christ was nayled on the crosse all our sinnes were laide vpon him therefore if thou doest vnfainedly beleeue all thy sinnes are crucified with him and the corruption of thy nature languisheth and dieth as he languished and died vpon the crosse Thirdly we must learne to imitate Christ as he suffered himselfe to be nailed to the crosse for our sinnes so answearably must euery one of vs learne to crucifie our flesh and the corruption of our nature and the wickednesse of our owne heart as Paul saith They that are Christs haue crucified the flesh with the lusts and affections thereof And this we shall doe if for our sinnes past we doe waile and mourne with bitternes and preuent the sinnes to come into whiâ—h we may fall by reason of the corruption of our natures by vsing all good meanes as
it if we will be followers of Christ and ouercome euill with good The third thing that fell out in the time of Christs crucifying was the pitifull complaint in which he cried with a loud voice Eli Eli lamasabact hani that is My God my God why hast thou forsaken me In the opening of this complaint many points must be skanned The first is what was the cause that mooued Christ to complaine Answer It was not any impatience or discontentation of minde or any dispaire or any dissembling as some would haue it but it was an apprehension and a feeling of the whole wrath of God which seazed vpon him both in bodie and soule The second what was the thing wherof he doth complain Answer That he is forsaken of God the father And from this point ariseth an other question Howe Christ beeing God can be forsaken of God for the father the Sonne and the holy Ghost are all three but one and the same God Answer By God we must vnderstand God the Father the first person According to the common rule when God is compared with the Sonne or holy Ghost then the father is ment by the this title God as in this place not that the father is more God then the Sonne for in dignitie all the three persoÌ„s are equal but they are distinguished in order only the father is first And againe whereas Christ complaineth that he was forsaken it must be vnderstood in regard of his humane nature not of his Godhead And Christs manhoode was forsaken not that his Godhead and manhoode were seuered for they were euer ioyned togither froÌ„ the first moment of the incarnation but the Godhead of Christ and so the Godhead of the father did not shew forth his power in the manhoode but did as it were lie asleepe for a time that the manhood might suffer when a man sleepeth the soule is not seuered from the bodie but lieth as it were dead and exerciseth not it selfe euen so the Godhead lay still and did not manifest his power in the manhoode and thus the manhood seemed to be forsaken The third point is the manner of this complaint My God my God saith he these words are words of faith I say not of iustifying faith wherof Christ stood not in need but he had such a faith or hope wherby he did put his coÌ„fideÌ„ce in God The last words why hast thou forsakeÌ„ me seem at the first to be words of distrust How then will some say can these words stand with the former for faith distrust are flat contraries Answ. Christ did not vtter any speach of distrust but only make his mone coÌ„plaint by reason of the greatnes of his punishment yet still relied himselfe on the assistance of his father Hence we learne first that religion doth not stand in feeling but in faith which faith we must haue in Christ though we haue no feeling at all for God oftentimes doth withdraw his grace fauour froÌ„ his children that he may teach theÌ„ to beleeue in his mercie in Christ then when they feele nothing lesse then his mercie And faith feeling can not alwaies stand togither because faith is a subsisting of things which are not seene and the ground of things hoped for and we must liue by faith and not by feeling Though feeling of Gods mercie be a good thing yet God doth not alwaies vouchsafe to giue it vnto his children and therefore in the extremitie of afflictions and temptations we must alwaies trust and relie on God by faith in Christ as Christ himselfe doth when he is as it were plunged into the sea of the wrath of God Secondly here we may see howe God dealeth with his children for Christ in the sense and feeling of his humane nature was forsaken yet had he sure trust and confidence in God that caused him to say My God my God God will oftentimes cast his deare children into huge gulfs of woe and miserie where they shall see neither banke nor bottome nor any way to get out yet men in this case must not despaire but remember still that that which befell Christ the head doth also befall his members Christ himselfe at his death did beare the wrath of God in such measure as that in the sense and feeling of his humane nature he was forsaken yet in all this he was the Sonne of God and had the spirit of his father crying My God my God And therefore though we be wonderfully afflicted either in bodie or in mind so as we haue no sense or feeling of Gods mercie at all yet we must not despaire and thinke that we are cast-awaies but still labour to trust and relie on God in Christ build vpon this that we are his children though we feele nothing but his wrath vpon vs against mercie cleauing to his mercie This was Dauids practise In the day of trouble saith he I sought the Lord my sore ranne and ceased not in the night my soule refused comfort I did thinke vpon God and was troubled my soule was full of anguish and so continueth saying Will the Lord absent himselfe for euer and will he shew no more fauour hath God forgotten to be mercifull but in the ende he recouereth himselfe out of this gulfe of temptation saying Yet I remember the yeares of the right hand of the most high I remember the works of the Lord certenly I remember the wonders of old Wherefore this practise of Christ in his passion must then be remembred of vs all when God shall humble vs either in bodie or soule or both The fourth thing which fell out when Christ was on the crosse was this after Christ knew that all things were performed that the Scriptures were fulfilled he said I thirst and then there standing a vessell full of vineger one ranne and filled a sponge therewith and put it about an hyssope stalke and put it to his mouth which when he had receiued he said It is finished The points here to be considered are foure The first that Christ thirsteth And we must know that this thirst was a part of his passion and indeede it was no small paine as we may see by this when Sisera was ouercome by Israel and had fled from his enemies to Iaels tent he called for a little water to drinke being more troubled with thirst then with the feare of death at the hand of his enemies And indeede thirst was as grieuous to men in the East countrey as any torment else And hereupon Sampson was more grieued with thirst then with feare of many thousand Philistims Againe whereas Christ complaines that he thirsteth it was not for his owne sake but for our ofâ—ences and therefore answearably we must thirst after Christ and his benefits as the dry and thirstie land where no water is doth after raine and as the hart brayeth after the riuers of water so must we say with Dauid My soule
not learned this doth ouershoote himselfe and herein also many deceiue themselues which thinke they haue no faith because they haue no feeling For the chiefest feeling that we must haue in this life must be the feeling of our sinnes the miseries of this life though we haue no other feeling at all yet wee must not therefore cease to beleeue In Christs dealing with Thomas we may consider three actions The first that he speakes to Thomas alone and answeres him according to the verie wordes which hee had spoken of him in his absence and that word for word And by this he laboured to ouerthrow his unbeliefe and to conuince him that being absent he knew what he spake And by this we learne that though we want the bodily presence of Christ hee beeing now in heauen yet hee knoweth well what we say and if need were could repeate all our sayings word by worde and if it were not so how could it be true that we must giue an account of euery idle word Now this must teach us to looke that our speech be gratious according to the rule of gods holy word Secondly this must make us willing and cherefull to direct our praiers to Christ considering hee knoweth what we pray for and heareth euerie word wee speake The second action is that Christ condescends to Thomas and giues him libertie to feele the printe of the nailes and to put his finger into his side Hee might haue reiected Thomas for his wilfulnesse yet to helpe his unbeliefe he yeeldeth unto his weakenesse This shevveth that Christ is most compassionate to all â—hose that unfainedly repent them of their sinnes and cleaue unto him although they do it laden with manifold wants Dauid saith that the Lord hath compassion on all them that feare him as a father hath compassion on his children and he addes the reason For he knoweth of what we are made And the Prophet Isai He will not breake the bruised reed and smoking flax he will not quench When a child is verie sicke insomuch that it casteth up all the meate vvhich it taketh the mother will not be offended thereat but rather pitie it Now our Sauiour Christ is ten thousande times more mercifull to them that beleeue in him then any mother is or can be The third action is that when Thomas had seene and felte the wounds Christ revived his faith whereupon he brake forth and said My Lord and my God In which vvordes he doeth most notably bewaile his blindnesse and unbeliefe and as a fire that hath bene smothered so doth his faith burst foorth and shevv it selfe And in this example of Thomas we may see the state of Gods people in this life First God giueth them faith yet afterward for a time he doth as it were hide the same in some corner of their hearts so as they haue no feeling thereof but thinke them selues to be voide of all grace and this hee doeth for no other end but to humble them and yet againe after all this the first grace is further renewed and reuiued Thus dealt the Lorde with Dauid and Salomon for whereas he was a pen-man of Scripture and therefore an holy man of God wee may not thinke that hee was wholly forsaken with Peter and in this place with Thomas And the experience of this shall euerie seruant of God finde in himselfe The second appearance of Christ was to seuen of the disciples as they went on fishing in which hee giues three testimonies of his godheade and that by death his power was nothing diminished The first that when the disciples had fished all night and caught nothing afterward by his direction they catch fish in abundance and that presently This teacheth vs that Christ is a soueraigne Lorde ouer all creatures and hath the disposing of them in his owne handes and that if good successe follow not when men are painefull in their callings it is because God will prepare and make them fitte for a further blessing Christ comes in the morning and giues his disciples a great draught of fish yet before this can be they must labour all night in vaine Ioseph must be made ruler ouer all Egypt but first he must be cast into a dungeon where he can see no sunne nor light to prepare him to that honour And Dauid must be king ouer Israell but the Lorde will first prepare him hereunto by raising up Saul to persecute him Therefore when God sendeth any hinderances vnto us in our callings we must not despaire nor be discouraged for they are the meanes whereby God maketh us fitte to receiue greater blessings at his hand either in this life or in the life to come The second is that the nette was unbroke though it had in it great fishes to the number of an hundred fifty three The third that when the disciples came to lande they sawe â—otte coles and fish laide thereon and bread Now some may aske whence was this foode Ansvver The same Lorde that was able to prouide a Whale to swallow up Ionas and so to saue him and he that was able to prouide a fish for Peters angle with a piece of tvventie pence in the mouth and to make a little bread and a fewe fishes to feede so many thousands in the wildernesse the same also doeth of himselfe prouide bread and fishes for his disciples This teacheth us that not onely the blessing but also the verie hauing of meate drinke apparell is from Christ and hereupon all states of men euen the kings of the earth are taught to pray that God would giue them their daily bread Againe when we sit downe to eate and drinke this must put us in minde that we are the guests of Christ himselfe our food which wee haue comes of his meere gift and hee it is that entertaines us if we could see it And for this cause we must soberly and with great reuerence in feare and trembling use all Gods creatures as in his presence And when we eate and drinke wee must alwaies looke that all our speech be such as may beseeme the guestes of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ. Vsually the common practise of men is farre otherwise for in feasting many take libertie to surfette and to be drunke to svveare and to blaspheme but if wee serue the Lorde let us remember whose guestes wee are and who is our entertainer and so behaue our selues as being in his presence that all our actions and wordes may tend to his glorie The thirde appearance was to Iames as Saint Paul recordeth although the same be not mentioned in any of the Euangelistes The fourth was to all his disciples in a mountaine whither he had appointed them to come The fift and last appearance was in the mount of Olives when hee ascended into heauen Of these three last appearances because the holy Ghost hath only mentioned them I omit to speake and with the repeating of them
so deepely eaten into any mettall as sinne into the nature of man and therefore the holy Ghost is as fire to purge and eate out the hidden corruptions of sinne out of the rebellious heart of man Againe the holy Ghost is compared to cleare water for two causes I. man by nature is as drie wood without sappe and the propertie of the holy Ghost is as water to supple and to put sappe of grace into the dead and rotten heart of man II. the propertie of water is to clense and purifie the filth of the bodie euen so the holy Ghost doth spiritually wash away our sinnes which are the filth of our nature and this is the second benefite of the H. Ghost By this we are taught that he which would enter into the kingdoÌ„ of God haue the H. Ghost to dwell in him must labour to feele the worke of regeneration by the same holy spirit and if a man would know whether he haue this worke wrought in him or no let him marke what S. Paul saith They that are of the spirit sauour the things that are of the spirit but they that liue after the flesh sauour the things of the flesh If therefore a man haue his heart continually affected with that which is truly good either more or lesse it is a certen token that his wicked nature is changed and he regenerate but contrariwise if his heart be alwaies set on the pleasures of sinne and the things of this world he may iustly suspect himselfe that he is not regenerated As for example if a man haue all his minde set vpon drinking gulling in of wine and strong drink hauing litle delight nor pleasure in any thing els it argues a carnal mind and vngerenerate because it affects the things of the flesh so of the rest And on the coÌ„trary he that hath his minde affected with a desire to do the wil of God in practising the works of charitie religion he I say hath a spirituall and a renewed heart and is regenerate by the holy Ghost The third worke of the holy Ghost is to gouerne the hearts of the elect this may be called spirituall regiment A man that dwelleth in a house of his owne orders gouerns it according to his owne will euen so the holy Ghost gouerns all theÌ„ in whoÌ„ he dwelleth as Paul saith they that are the sonnes of God are ledde by his spirit a most notable benefit for looke where the holy Ghost dwelleth there he wil be Lord gouerning both heart minde will and affections and that two waies I. by repressing all badde motions vnto sinne arising either from the corruption of mans nature from the world or from the deuill II. by stirring vp good affections and motions vpon euery occasion so it is saide The flesh that is the corruption of mans nature lusteth against the spirit and the spirit that is grace in the heart lusteth against the flesh and that after a double sort first by labouring to ouermaster and keepe downe the motions thereof secondly by stirring vp good motions and inclinations to pietie and religion In Esay the holy Ghost hath most excellent titles The spirit of the Lord the spirit of wisdome and vnderstanding the spirit of counsell and of strength the spirit of knowledge and of the feare of the Lord. Now he is so called because he stirreth vp good motions in the godly of wisedome of knowledge of strength of vnderstanding of counsell and of the feare of the Lord. And Saint Paul saith that the fruits of the spirit are ioy peace loue long suffering gentlenes goodnes faith meekenes temperance c. all which are so tearmed because where the H. Ghost ruleth there he ingendreth these good gifts and motions of grace but among all the inward motions of the spirit the most principall are these I. an vtter disliking of sinne because it is sinne And that is when a man hath an eye not so much to another mans sinnes as to his owne and seeing them is truly sorowfull for them and disliketh them and himselfe for them not so much because there is a place of torment or a day of iudgement to come wherin he must answer to God for them all but as if there were no hell or iudgement because God is displeased by them who hath beene vnto him a most louing and merciful father in redeeming him by Christ. The second is an hungring desire aboue all things in this world to be at vnitie with God in Christ for the same sinnes This is a motion of the H. Ghost which no man can haue but he in whom the H. Ghost doth dwell The third the gift of heartie praier For this cause the H. Ghost is called the spirit of supplications because it stirreth vp the heart makes it fit to pray therefore Paul saith that the spirit of God helpeth our infirmities for we knowe not what to pray as we ought but the spirit it selfe maketh request for vs with sighes which cannot be expressed This is an ordinarie worke of the holy Ghost in all that beleeue and he that would know whether he haue the spirit dwelling truly in his heart shall know it by this A mother carrieth hir child in hir armes if it crie for the dugge and suckes the same it is aliue being obserued many daies together if it neither crie nor stirre it is dead In like manner it is an vnfallible note of a true child of God to cry to his father in heauen by praier but he that neuer crieth nor feeleth himselfe stirred vp to make his mone to God is in a miserable case and he may well be thought to be but a dead childe and therefore let vs learne in praier vnfainedly to powre out our soules before God considering it is a speciall gift of the holy Ghost bestowed on the children of God The fourth worke of the holy Ghost in the heart of the elect is comfort in distresse and therefore our Sauiour Christ calleth him the comforter whome he wâ—ll sende and in the Psalme he is called the oyle of gladnes because he maketh glad the heart of man in trouble and distresse There be two things that fill the heart full of endlesse griefe I. outward calamities as when a man is in any daunger of death when he looseth his goods his good name his friends and such like The second thing is a troubled conscience whereof Salomon saith A troubled spirit who can beare it and of all other it is the most heauie and grieuous crosse that can be When as the hand of God was heauie vpon Iob this was the soarest of all his affliction and therefore he crieth out that the arrowes of the almightie did sticke in his soule Now what is the comfort in this case Answer In the middest of all our distresses the holy Ghost is present with vs to make vs reioyce and to fill vs with comforts that no tongue can
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
6.51 I will giue my flesh for the life of the world Answer By world we must no◠vnderstand euery particular man in the world but the Elect both among the Iewes and Gentiles for in both these places Christ doth ouerthwart the cōceit of the Iewes which thought that they alone were loued of God and not the Gentiles And how this word is to be vnderstoode in the newe Testament Paul doth fully declare Rom. 11. vers 12. If saith he the fall of them that is the Iewes be the riches of the world and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles c. and vers 15. If the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world what shall the receiuing be but life from the dead Where by the world he vnderstāds the bodie of the Gentiles in the last age of the world And thus he fully declares his owne meaning when he saith to the Corinthians God was in Christ reconciling the world vnto himselfe V. Rom. 14. vers 15. Destroy not him with thy meate for whome Christ died 2. Pet. 2.1 Denying the Lord that bought them and bring vpon themselues swift damnation Therefore Christ died for them also which are condemned Answ. The reason is not good For in these and such like places the Scripture speakes of men not as they are indeede before God but as they are in appearance and profession and as they are in the acceptance of men For so long as a man holds and imbraces the Christian faith so long in the iudgement of charitie we must esteeme him to be one that is redeemed by Christ though in deede he be not And this is the meaning of Peter when he saith that false prophets denie the Lord that bought them VI. In the preaching of the Gospell grace is freely offered not onely to the Elect but to all men indifferently and God in offering grace deludes no man and therefore Christs death appertaines and belongs to all men indifferently Answer The preaching of the Gospell is an ordinance of God appointed for the gathering togither and the accomplishment of the number of the elect and therefore in the ministerie of the worde grace and saluation is offered principally and directly to the elect and onely by consequent to them which are ordained to iust damnation because they are mingled with the elect in the same societies because the ministers of God not knowing his secret counsell in charitie thinke all to be elect And though God in offering grace doe not conferre it to all yet is there no delusion For the offering of grace doth not only serue for the conuersion of a sinner but also to be an occasion by mens fault of blinding the minde and hardening the hearte and of taking away excuse in the day of iudgement To conclude this pointe Vniuersall redemption of all men we graunt the Scripture saith so and there is an universalitie among the elect and beleeuers but uniuersall Redemption of all and euerie man as well the damned as the elect and that effectually we renounce as hauing neither footing in the scripture nor in the writings of any ancient and orthodoxe diuine for many hundred yeeres after Christ his words not depraued and mistaken As for universall vocation it is of the same kind with the former because it is flat against the word of God in which is fully set downe a distinction of the whole world from the creation to the daies of Christ into two partes one the people of God being receiued into the couenant the other being the greatest part of the world No-people and forth of the couenant From the beginning of the worlde to the giuing of the lawe the Church was shut up in the families of the Patriarches and the couenant in the verie family of Abraham was restrained to Isaak and the members of these families for this cause were called the sonnes of God the rest of the world beside being tearmed as they were indeede the sonnes of men From the giuing of the lawe till Christ the nation of the Iewes was the Church of God and the rest of the world beside no people of God And therefore Esai calles them prisoners and them that are in darkenesse and Ose Such as are without mercie and no people and Zacharie Such as are not ioyned to the Lord and Paul Such as are set to walke in their owne waies beeing without God and without Christ in the world And this distinction betweene Iewe and Gentile stoode till the verie ascension of Christ. And hereupon when he was to send his disciples to preach hee charged them not to goe into the way of the Gentiles not to enter into the cities of the Samaritanes but rather to goe to the lost sheepe of the house of Israel when the woman of Canaan made request for her daughter he gives a deniall at the first vpon this distinction saying It is not meete to take the childrens bread and giue it unto dogges and againe I am not sent but unto the lost sheepe of the house of Israel It will be said that this distinction arose of this that the Gentiles at the first fell away from the couenant and contemned the Messias It is true indeede of the first heads of the Gentiles the sonnes of Noe but of their posterity it is false which in times folowing did not so much as heare of the couenant and the Messias The Prophet Esai saith of Christ A nation that knew not thee shall runne unto thee And Paul speaking to the Athenians saieth that the times of this their ignorance God regarded not but now admonisheth all men euery where to repent to the Romans he saith that the mysterie touching Christ and his benefits was kept secret since the world began now opened published among all natiōs And if the Gentiles had but knowē of the Messias why did not their Poets and Philosophers who in their writings notoriously abuse the Iewes with sundry nicknames at the least signifie the contempt of the Redeemer Wherefore to hold and much more to auouch by writing that all and euery one of the heathen were called it is most absurd and if it were so the Canibals and the sauadge nations of America should haue knowen Christ without preaching which by the histories of the discouerie of those cuntries is knowen to be false Againe if the Vocation of euery man be effectuall then faith must be common to all men either by nature or by grace or both now to say the first namely that the power of beleeuing is common to all by nature is the heresie of the Pelagians to say it is common to all by grace is false All men have not faith saith Paul nay many to whom the gospell is preached doe not so much as understand it and giue assent unto it Satan blinding their minds that the light of the glorious gospell of Christ should not
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
beleeue that really and visibly he ascended into heauen and there abides till his seconde comming to the last iudgement who then hauing but common reason would imagine a communication of the bodie of Christ pent up in the element of bread and conveyed into our bodies by the mouth and stomacke The third point is whether we are not Lordes of Christ he being thus giuen unto us Ans. No for this donation is not single but mutuall As Christ is giuen to us so wee againe are giuen to Christ as he himselfe saith Those whome thou hast given me Father I have kept And wee are giuen unto him in that our bodies and soules are made his not onely as he is God but also as he is our redeemer and our sinnes with the guilt thereof are made his by imputation the punishment thereof is wholly laide upon him This is all the dowrie which the Church being the spouse of Christ hath brought unto him The fift point is how any man in particular may know that Christ is giuen unto him of the Father Ans. When God giues Christ to man he withall giues man grace and power to receiue Christ and to apprehend him with all his benefits and this we doe when wee utterly renounce our selues this world and all things therein bewaile our sinnes past resting on the death of Christ for the pardon of them all and as it were with both the armes of faith catching hold vpon him in all estaâ—es both in life and death When the heart of any man is truly disposed and inclined to doe these and the like things we may truly say that God hath giuen him grace to receiue Christ. The second thing required to make us one with Christ is the Mysticall vnion which is a Coniunction whereby Christ and his Church are actually coupled into one whol Mysticall bodie Now that we may the better conceiue the nature of it sundrie questions are to be mooued The first what kinde of Coniunction this is Ansvver In the scripture we meete with three kind of Coniunctions The first is coniunction in nature when sundry things are coupled all by one and the same nature As the Father the Sonne and the holy ghost being three distinct subsistances are all one and therefore ioyned in one godhead or diuine nature Now Christ and the beleeuer are not ioyned in nature for then they twaine should haue one body soule The second coniunction is in person when things in nature different so concurre togither that they make but one person as body and soule make one man and the godhead of the sonne with his manhood make but one Christ in whome there is an union of distinct natures with unitie of person Now Christ and a Christian are not ioyned in person for Christ is one person Peter a second and Paul a third distinct from them both and so many men as there be so many seuerall persons The third coniunction is in spirit and this is the coniunction meant in this place wherby Christ and his Church are ioyned togither for the very same spirit of God that dwelleth in the manhood of Christ and filleth it with all graces aboue measure is deriued thence and dwelleth in all the true members of the church and filleth them with the like graces in measure and therefore S. Iohn saith Hereby wee know that wee dwell in him and hee in us because he hath given vs of his spirit Hence it followes that the bond of this coniunction is one the same spirit descending from Christ the head to all his members creating also in them the instrument of faith whereby they apprehend Christ and make him their owne The second is what are the things united Ansvv. Not the bodie of the beleeuer to the body of Christ or the soule to his soule but the whole person of the man to the whole person of Christ yet in this order wee are first of all immediatly ioyned to the manhoode of Christ and by the manhood to the godhead The thirde question is what is the manner of this coniunction Answ. Wee must not thinke that Christ and his Church are ioyned by imagination as the mind of man and the thing whereof he thinkes or by consent of heart as one friend is ioyned with another and as the Iewes conuerted were all of one heart and soule or by any abode in one place or by touching as sea and land are both ioyned togither and make one globe or by any composition or commixtion of substances as when many ingredients are put togither to make one medecine But this coniunction is altogither spirituall as the former giuing was and incomprehensible to mans reason and therefore we must rather labour to feele it by experience in the heart then to conceiue it in the braine Yet neuerthelesse it shall not be amisse to consider a semblance of it in this comparison Suppose a man hauing the partes of his bodie disioyned farre asunder his head lying in Italy one arme in Germanie the other in Spaine and his legges with us in England suppose further all these partes or quarters haue all one soule extending it selfe unto them all and quickening ech of them seuerally as though they were nearely ioyned togither and though the partes be seuered many hundred miles asunder yet the distance of place doeth not hinder the coniunction considering one and the same soule doth inlarge it selfe and giue life vnto them all In the same maner the head of the Mysticall bodie Christ our Sauiour is now in heauen and some of his members in heauen with him and some in earth and of these some in England some in Germanie some in Italie some in Spaine distant many thousand miles asunder and the spirit of God is as it were the soule of this body which giueth spirituall life to all the members distance of place doth not hinder this coniunction because the Holy ghost which linketh all the partes togither is infinite The benefites which we receiue by this Mysticall union are manifold For it is the ground of the conveiance of all grace The first that by meanes hereof every Christian as he is a Christian or a man regenerate hath his beginning and being in Christ howsoeuer as he is a maÌ„ he hath his being subsisting in himselfe as Paul saith Ye are of God in Christ. And Wee are members of his body of his flesh and of his bones How will some say can this be After this maner The comparison is taken from our first parentes Eve was made of a rib taken out of Adams side he being cast into a slumber this being done Adam awaked said This now is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh Christ was nailed on the crosse and his most pretious blood was shedde and out of it arise and spring all true Christians that is out of the merite of Christes death and passion whereby they become newe creatures Secondly euerie one that
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