world make a flourish to the contrarie expressely confesseth that the Spirits of the Patriarchs and Prophets before the comming of Christ were not so worshipped and called vpon as the Apostles and Martyrs now are because as yet they were detained in those infernall prisons where they had not the beatificall sight of God Now if the Patriarchs then saw the face of God as farre forth as the Saints doe now as indeede they did the argument is so much the stronger if yet all that while they were never called vpon In the new testament likewise we finde no warrant for it even by their owne confession And Salmeron the Iesuite rendreth reasons thereof For saith he the Iew that never had called vpon any of the Patriarchs or Prophets would hardly haue beene drawne to pray vnto those newer Saints the Gentiles would haue thought that insteed of those many Gods which they had forsaken a multitude of other Gods had beene put vpon them As for the times after Christ and his Apostles it was long before it crept into the Church and when it entred it was but the opinion of some private men and not the publike doctrine of the Church All the Fathers which proued the Deitie of the Sonne of the holy Ghost by this dutie of Invocation must needs if they will not contradict themselues be against it So must they also and they are not the least or meanest part of them who held that the Faithfull hence departed are not admitted into heauen but continue elsewhere in some secret receptacles without the vision of God vntill the day of iudgement For vpon that vision even in the iudgment of our aduersaries their particular knowledge of all things here done on earth dependeth vpon this againe their Invocation In a word whensoeuer or howsoeuer it began as it grew on so was it still opposed and neuer gate publike strength vntill the blinde times of superstition overswaied true devotion The cafe then standing thus that Invocation of Saints and Angels is neither necessary nor pious nor profitable but rather impious and extreamely dangerous as being derogatory to the glory of God the honour of Christs Mediation and that no ground or warrant at all can bee found for it either in the old or new Testament or in the writings and practise of those holy Fathers who flourished when the Church was in her primitiue puritie the case I say thus standing our safest course will be to follow the precedence and direction of our blessed Saviour and with him to addresse our selues vnto our heauenly Father and to none other It is he alone who at all times can both heare and helpe Neither is he more able then ready and willing to grant our requests if we come vnto him in his sonnes name Night and day he stretcheth out his armes towards vs he invites vs with all louingnesse to come vnto him hee chargeth and commandeth vs in all our needs and necessities to direct our prayers immediatly vnto him Let vs not therefore sollicite any other mediators or spokesmen for vs as if we doubted of his fatherly goodnesse and affection towards vs but let vs rather come directly with all boldnesse vnto the throne of grace to the end we may obtaine mercy and finde grace to be holpen in due season So to doe is not Presumption but Faith and Dutie And so much for the first part of our Saviours prayer Quem orat to whom he prayes The second is Pro quibus orat for whom he prayes Hee prayes for the Church mysticall as some tearme it or as it may more fitly be called for Christ mysticall that is the whole body consisting both of the Head which is Christ and all the rest of his members That it may more fitly bee called Christ mysticall we haue the warrant of S. Paul who expressely calleth it so As saith he the bodie is one and hath many members and all the members of one body though they be many yet are one body euen so is Christ Where by Christ nothing can be meant but the whole consisting both of Head and Members Had the Church as it s distinguished against the Head beene vnderstood hee would haue said as St Austin obserueth ita Christi so is Christs that is the body of Christ or the members of Christ but hee saith ita Christus even so is Christ vnum Christum appellans caput corpus calling both the head and the body one Christ. The same doth St Austin elsewhere also obserue vpon those words of the Apostle He saith not and to seeds as speaking of many but as of one and to thy seed which is Christ. Now saith he some perhaps will say if Christ be the seed of Abraham are we so also Remember that Christ is the seed of Abraham and if by this wee also are the seed of Abraham then are we also Christ. Vnto this warrant of Scripture adde we the reason thereof that Christ and his Church being twaine and yet constituting but one mysticall body it is fit the denomination of the whole should be taken from the better and more worthy part which is Christ and not the inferiour which is the Church But of this by the way For Christ mysticall then doth our Saviour pray but first for himselfe and then for his members For himselfe from hence vnto the ninth verse for his members from thence vnto the end of the Chapter If any demand a reason of this order I answere first Christ is the more worthy person For hee is Emanuel God-man appointed by his Father to be the Head of the Church and in all things to haue the preheminence And therefore as he hath in our Creed before the Church so in this Prayer also he deserues to haue precedencie Secondly hee knew it could not goe well with his Church vnlesse first it went well with himselfe For vnder his Father he was to be the fountaine of life and grace the vniversall cause of all good vnto his Church and to this end was hee to be annointed of the Spirit without stint or measure So that vnlesse the ointment be poured vpon Aarons head it cannot descend vnto the beard and from thence vnto the skirts of his garment And vnlesse Christ be first replenished himselfe we cannot of his fulnes receiue either grace for grace or glory for glory That therefore it might goe well with vs he prayes first for himselfe But then in the next place he maketh sute for his Church as if without her welfare it could not be well with him For as for her he was incarnate so without her hee counts himselfe imperfect For so it must needs be if as St Paul saith she be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the fulnesse of him that filleth all in all The reason because he is her Head And therefore though he fill all in all yet without her he wanteth of his owne fulnesse because he
David and Abraham he wept for the miseries which he foresaw would fall vpon them and for preventing of them often would he haue gathered them vnder his wings as the hen doth her chickens but they would not he I say would and they would not Oh the bowels oh the compassion oh the perfectioÌ„ of Christianity wicked men are hard hearted towards vs our bowels yearn melt towards theÌ„ they curse vs we blesse them they afflict and persecute vs and we desire to keepe off all trouble and sorrow from them except that sorrow which will worke vnto them such ioy as shall neuer be taken from them This is a hard lesson to flesh blood yet hitherto must we come or we passe not beyond Scribes and Pharisees and except our righteousnesse exceed theirs we cannot possibly enter into the kingdome of heaven Againe as no man no not the wicked ought to bee strangers vnto our affection so least of all those that are of the same faith with vs. Wee should be like Hippoâ—raâ—es twins weeping together and laughing together In the body of man if but a finger ake all the rest of the members are sensible of it can we be members of the mysticall body of Christ and haue no feeling of the miseries of our brethren If any man offer to strike at our head the arme presently lifts it selfe to ward of the blow and shall not we if God shake the sword of his heavy displeasure against any of his children speedily lift vp our hands vnto him by the importunity of our prayers turne away the plague that it light not vpon them Certainely they that are not touched with compassion in the dangers of Gods Saints are not the true Children of Abraham and because they refused to be advocates for them in the day of need neither shall themselues finde an advocate that will open his mouth to speake for them in the day of their extremity Lastly seeing Abrahams desire is rather that evill men be spared then the good destroyed and his hart inclineth so much vnto pittie it lessons you my Lords also that although through hope of impunity yee may not giue liberty to sinne yet should you rather incline to too much mildnesse then severity In doubtfull matters it is not only more iust but more safe also to follow the favourablest construction and more Christian like is it in such a case to let the guilty escape then to condemne the innocent It is much safer for a man to render account of his mercifulnesse then of his cruelty Nero in his fiue first good yeares when he was to subscribe to the condemnation or execution of any was wont to say Quâ—m Vellem nescire literas would to God I could not write a letter Nay God himselfe saith Why will yee die ô yee house of Israell and as I liue I will not the death of a sinner And therefore it should be your delight also suffundere potius quam effundere sanguinem rather to bring bloud into the face then to shed it out of the body Cuncta prius tentanda sed immedicabile vulnus Ense recidendum ect ne pars sincera trahatur all other waies must first be tried but if the wound grow incurable it is better to cut off a part then to hazard that which is â—ound too And so much for the second part which is Abrahams affection The third and last part is the Argument whereby hee would both warrant his owne affection and perswade God to be of his minde and is laid downe in these words Should not the iudge of the whole world doe right that is as we haue shewed the iudge of the whole world must needs doe right The reason stands thus To enwrap the good together with the wicked in the same punishment seemes not to be iust and therefore neither maiest thou doe it for thou art the iudge of the whole world must doe right Surely if so to enwrap good and bad were vniust God may not doe it and the argument followes necessarily But is it vniust so to doe Abraham seemes to make no doubt of it for he goes not about to proue it and yet we haue in the first part clearely demonstrated that God oftentimes doth so What then is there any vniustice with God God forbid yea let him be iust in all his sayings cleare when he is iudged In rebus divinis magna caligo said Cato in many of Gods actions there is so much obscurity that we see not the reasons of them yet this is certaine Occulta esse causa potest iniusta esse non potest the reason of them may be secret but vniust it cannot be For he is essentially iust even iustice it selfe and in rebus divinis ratio facti est voluntas facientis in divine actions the will of the doer is sufficient to iustify the deed For the will of God is the prime rule of iustice and to seeke higher is to seeke a former then the first which is meere folly whereas therefore I finde a reason I will praise him where I finde none I will admire him and acknowledge my selfe that am but a bubble but a shadow but the dreame of a shadow rather to faile in vnderstanding then God in iustice Howbeit in this point we haue sufficient reason to cleare the iustice of God For which of the Saints of God is without sinne And which of them hath not deserved by sin to be severely punished Suppose they liue vnblamably in the sight of men yet the eye of God that trieth even the heart and raines beholdeth much folly and iniquity in them Doe they not together with the wicked too much loue temporall things Too much I say though happily not so much Doe they not liue too familiarly with them never rebuking them nor shewing any dislike of their wicked courses Questionlesse they doe and therefore no marvell if partaking in the same sin they partake also in the same punishment et amara sentiant quia amari esse noluerunt drinke with them of the same bitter cup because for their amendment they would not bee sharpe and bitter vnto them The action of God being thus cleared from vniustice what shall we say of Abraham and his assertion I might dispatch him in a word and say let God be true and every man a lier saue that I desire to dismisse him with all reverence and as farre as I can to free him from blame also Shall I say then with some that he speaketh in the opinion of infidels who thinke it a high point of vniustice so to involue both good and bad together I cannot for it becometh not the father of the faithfull to presse vpon God the arguments of vnbeleeuers Shall I say his meaning is that it cannot every way and in all respects bee alike to both without vniustice This indeed I confesse would be great vniustice but God never suffers it to be so Sub vno igni aurum
only vpon misprision as some worthy divines haue obserued not well distinguishing betweene Essence and Subsistence whereof that is finite this infinite For Christs humanity though according to its essence or Naturall being it bee not every where but determined vnto one place yet in respect of his Subsistence or Personall being it is every where and circumscribed in no place For proper Subsistence of its owne and in it selfe it hath none only the Subsistence of the Sonne of God is communicated vnto it which is infinite vnlimited Secondly if this Power of Christ though finite yet be incommunicable and cannot passe from him to any other what presumption what arrogance is it in him who not being Christ yet dares say with Christ Data est mihi omnis potestas in coelo in terrâ all power is given me both in heaven and in earth Who therevpon takes vpon him to forge new Articles of Faith and to obtrude them vpon the Church vnder paine of damnation who also takes authority vnto him to make lawes equally binding the conscience with Gods lawes that without any relation vnto divine law at all Who finally for to reckon vp all the blasphemies of this sort would bee infinite pretends a power to dispence with the law of God to grant indulgences for sin to free men from the punishment inflicted by God vpon them for sinne Certainly whosoever challengeth these things to himselfe can be no lesse then Christi aemulus even Antichrist himselfe whose proud vsurpations vpon the power of Christ shall one day bee recompenced with equall shame and confusion The rather because thirdly whereas the power of Christ is not secular but spirituall hee claymeth both and so assumeth to himselfe more then euer Christ did Ecce in potestate nostrâ imperium vt demus illud cui volumus Lo saith Pope Adrian the empire is in our power to bestow it where we please And hence I suppose it is that insteed of the old style Vicarius Christi the Vicar of Christ they now begin to stile him Vicedeum the Vicar of God for that by this they may perhaps wrench in his temporall power which by the other they could not inasmuch as Christ neuer had it Lastly therefore seeing Christ contented himselfe with his spirituall power only reiecting that which is secular let not vs looke after outward pomp or state in his kingdome nor iudge of the Church by such deceitfull notes Rather let vs iudge of it by the lawes thereof and by the rule of Faith professed therein As the power of Christ is Spirituall so is his kingdome also and therefore by spirituall markes and notes to be discerned But to proceed The second point is in quos ouer whom or how farre his authority extendeth It is saith my text Over all flesh This word Flesh is diuersly vsed in Scripture Among other significations vsually it is put for Mankinde As where it is said that God saw all flesh had corrupted his way vpon earth that is all men And againe All flesh is grasse and all the goodlinesse thereof is as the flower in the field And yet againe Except those daies should bee shortned no flesh that is no man should be saued And so is it to bee vnderstood in this place Christ hath power ouer all flesh that is ouer all mankinde Now he that saith all excepts none All men therefore of what age sexe degree condition or qualitie soeuer are vnder the power and iurisdiction of Christ. And as touching the Saints and those that are members of his mysticall body it is questionlesse For to them he is Caput a head to rule and governe them a Husband to order and direct them a Shepheard to feed and ouersee them Hee hath bought them with his most pretious blood he hath conquered them out of the hands of Satan and all that hated them hee rules by the scepter of his word and guides them by the manuduction of his blessed spirit And as he hath many waies made himselfe Lord ouer them and testified his authority and power by his mighty operations in them so haue they freely and voluntarily submitted and resigned themselues vnto him Power therefore hath he over these as over his obedient and louing subiects But question may be made touching reprobate and wicked men whether hee haue any authority and power over them yea or no. For as the Psalmist saith They band themselues and take counsell together against the Lord and against his anointed saying let vs breake their bands asunder and cast their cords from vs. And our Saviour in the parable Nolumus hunc regnare super nos we will not haue this man raigne ouer vs. But notwithstanding all this reluctation and resistance yet power and authority hath he ouer them still Rebellious subiects they may be yet subiects they are Will they nil they Dominabitur in medio hostium hee shall raigne in the midst of his enimies If they will not submit vnto the gentle scepter of his word he hath an yron rod in his hand wherewith to breake and dash them in peeces like a potters vessell And those his enimies that would not hee should raigne ouer them bring them hither will he say and slay them here before me Authority then he hath though they acknowledge it not and ouerrule them he will resist they neuer so much Overrule them I say either to their salvation by converting them or to their confusion by delivering them vp vnto their owne lusts In a word whether they be good or evill how high or low soeuer they be he is Lord of them all Rex regum dominus dominantium King of Kings and Lord of Lords yea Dominus tum mortuorum tum vivorum Lord both of quicke and dead But what Hath he power only of men and not of other things Yes questionlesse For saith David Omnia subiecisti pedibus eius thou hast put all things vnder his feet And the Apostle applying it vnto Christ addeth In that he put all in subiection vnder him hee left nothing that is not put vnder him Our Saviour Christ also himselfe affirmeth that all things are deliuered him of his Father yea that al power is giuen him both in heauen earth Particularly in heauen ouer the blessed Angels For saith S. Peter he is gone into heauen and is on the right hand of God Angels and authorities and powers being made subiect vnto him Hee is vnto them a Head and Mediator though not of Redemption as vnto man yet of Confirmation in the state of grace and though not to deliuer out of misery yet to preuent their falling into misery Hence it is that they are reckoned in the number of those that pertaine vnto the Church that they minister both to the Head thereof and it also reioycing at the conversion of a sinner and desiring throughly to
CERTAINE TREATISES OF THE LATE REVEREND and Learned Divine Mr Iohn Downe Rector of the Church of Instow in Devonshire Bachelour of Divinity and sometimes Fellow of Emanuell Colledge in Cambridge Published at the instance of his friends Opera eorum sequentur cos OXFORD Printed by Iohn Lichfield for Edward Forrest A.D. 1633. TO THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD the Lord Bishop of Exeter his worthy Diocesan AS ALSO TO HIS FELLOVV BRETHREN THE REVEREND DIVINES of that Diocesse THE PVBLISHER OF THESE ENSUING WORKES makes bold to dedicate them in the name of his deceased Friend The Contents of these treatises 1 The funerall Sermon on behalfe of the author of these ensuing workes 2 A letter of the Lord Bishop of Exeter concerning the Author of these workes 3 A treatise concerning the force and efficacy of reading 4 Christs prayer for his Church 5 A Godly discourse of selfe-denyall 6 An apology of the justice of God 7 An Amulet or preservatiue against the contempt of the Ministry 8 The Dowe-like serpent 9 Subiection to the Higher Powers 10 A defence of the lawfulnesse of Lots in gaming against the arguments of N.N. 11 The reall presence by Transubstantiation vnknowne to the ancient Fathers 12 A defence of the former answere against the replie of N.N. THE FVNERALL SERMON ON BEHALFE OF THE AVTHOR OF THESE ensuing workes PREACHED BY GEORGE HAKEWILL Dr OF Divinity and Arch-deacon of Surrey a neere neighbour and deere friend vnto him OXFORD Printed by I.L. for E. F. 1633. DAN 12.3 They that be wise or teachers shall shine as the brightnesse of the firmament and they that turne many vnto righteousnesse as the Starres for ever and ever WORDS worthy to bee drawne out in Capitall letters of Gold to bee written with a beame of the Sunne or as Chrysostome speakes in another case with a quill taken from the wing of a Seraphin words which as I am now informed this deare and Reverend Brother of ours deceased the occasion of this present meeting aboue twenty yeares since made choice of vpon the like occasion at the funerall of a worthy divine well knowne to a great part here present so that I cannot but herein obserue the speciall favour of God pointing mee as it were with the finger of his providence to the very same text which himselfe made choice of vpon the like occasion but my doubt is that neither the straits of time nor my slender abilities will permit mee to handle it as I am assured hee did though I heard him not They are the words of the Lord of hosts the great Iehovah sent by an Angel to the Prophet Daniel highly favoured of his God and as highly commended for his singular vprightnesse and great Wisdome and by him as a principall Secretary of the holy Ghost left vpon record to posterity for the Churches vse so that whether we regard the matter of them or the Author from whom they are sent or the Person to whom wee haue every way great reason to afford them our best attention Now that we may somewhat the better conceaue the sense of them it shall not perchance be amisse a little to reflect vpon the words going before from the beginning of the chapter 1 At that time shall Michael stand vp the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time and at that time thy people shall be deliuered every one that shall be found written in the booke And many of them that sleepe in the dust of the earth shall awake some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt Where by Michael as I take it mystically at least if not historically Christ is meant hee being the great Prince both of his and Daniels people which is his Church by his standing vp his comming to judgement by the time of trouble the day of the worlds dissolution which shall be indeed terrible and troublesome to the vnbeleevers and impenitent but to the righteous a day of refreshing and deliverance whose names are written in the booke of life Then many that is all of them that sleepe that are dead and buried and it may bee rotten in the dust of the earth shall be awaked or raised vp by the power of God some that is the godly to everlasting life a life of ioy and happinesse and some that is the wicked to everlasting shame and contempt not only so but to everlasting paine and torment To which very words our Saviour seemes to allude The houre is comming in the which all that are in the graues shall heare his voyce And shall come forth they that haue done good vnto the resurrection of life and they that haue done evill vnto the resurrection of damnation The day of judgement and the resurrection of the dead thus described then follow the words of my text resuming the former branch of the precedent division They that are wise shall shine as the brightnesse of the firmament and they that turne many vnto righteousnesse as the starrs for ever and ever Which without straining kindly enough and of themselues fall asunder into two parts the Persons to be rewarded and the Reward In the persons rewardable we haue a gift required and two acts issuing from this gift The gift is wisedome the first act issueing there from is teaching the second turning of men vnto righteousnesse by vertue of teaching As our wisedome is from God so it should be in part referred to the teaching of others and our teaching be directed to the converting or iustifying of sinners as the Hebrew hath it In the Reward we haue the condition of it shining the different degrees of this shining resembled by the brightnesse of the firmament and that of the starrs the latter farre surpassing the former and lastly the perpetuall duration of both these degrees for ever and ever I will beginne with the gift to be rewarded wisedome Wisedome is of all vertues the most eminent and excellent the most soveraigne and divine making vs most like vnto him who is the only wise God shee is the Mistres the Lady the Queene the crowne of them all and where shee is none of them can be wanting Nullum numen abest si sit prudentia If they were all compacted into one body one chaine one ringe the eye of this body the medaile of this chaine the gemme of this ringe could be none other then wisedome The kinds thereof are diverse being taken in the better sense I will reduce them to foure heads Intellectuall Morall Civill and Spirituall whereof the first consists in the activity of the rationall powers of the minde in the knowledge of the languages and the liberall arts and sciences the second in a gracefull a comely and discreet carriage of our selues the third in an orderly government of corporations and societies committed to
in these westerne parts of the kingdome he hath not left his equall neither doe I speake any thing to amplifie by way of Rhetorick I speake lesse then the truth His morall wisdome appeared in the checking of his appetite by temperance and sobrietie free he was in the lawfull vse of Gods creatures but neuer excessiue nor euer could be drawne to it either by example or perswasion which in a constitution so crazie was no doubt vnder God a speciall meanes for the drawing out the thread of his life in his carriage he was graue yet sociable enough courteous yet without affectation or vaine complement a sure friend to the vtmost of his power where he professed it yet without flatterie His ciuill wisdome appeared in the gouernment of his parrish and his family in the education of his Children and the Children of his freinds vpon speciall request committed to his charge in his owne matches and the matches of his daughters and lastly in the preseruing managing and disposing of that estate which God lent him in an orderly manner His spirituall or diuine wisdome appeared in his great knowledge in the sacred scripture in which with Timothy he was trained vp from a Child and as another Apollos grew mighty in them whereunto he added the helpe of the best Interpreters both ancient and moderne the serious study of the Fathers the schoole-diuines the Ecclesiasticall story and the controuersies of the present times aswell with the Romanists as among our selues that in matters not only of Doctrine but discipline in all which he was so well studied and vpon all fitting occasions so willing and ready either by writing or speech to expresse himselfe as many and those not vnlearned Divines were content nay glad to draw water from his well and to light their candles at his torch nay some of his aduersaries in his life time haue in open pulpit since his death to Gods glory their owne comfort and his honour confessed as much But the highest point of his spirituall wisdome appeared in the practise of piety in a due conformitie of his actions to his speculation drawing out as it were a faire coppy in the course of his life of those wholesome lessons which he found in his bookes formed in his braine and taught to others And herein indeede doe I take the very marrow and pith of spirituall wisdome to consist in the possession and fruition of supernaturall truths according to that of the great Earle of Mirandula Veritatem Philosophia quaerit Theologia inuenit religio possidet Philosophy seekes the truth Diuinity finds it but religion possesseth it Religion I say which bindes vs to the performance of our duties to God and man One maine branch of this duty and effect of this wisdome was his Teaching He taught euery where euery way by his example by his pen but specially by his tongue by his tongue both priuately and publiquely publiquely by expounding by catechizing by preaching in which he was so diligent that since his entring into the Ministery which he often professed to be his greatest honour and comfort in this world he waded through the whole body of the Bible from the beginning of Genesis to the end of the reuelation And as he was thus diligent in teaching so was he constant in his course as long as his health and strength would giue him leaue and I may truly say beyond his strength resoluing with that vncle of his no lesse good then great that a General should die in the feild a Preacher in the pulpit The manner of his teaching was not by loud vociferation or ridiculous gesticulation or ostentation of wit or affectation of words but in the euident demonstration of the spirit and power it was demonstratiue masculine and mighty through God to the pulling downe of strong holds deepe it was and yet cleare rationall and yet diuine perspicuous yet punctuall artificial yet profitable calme yet peircing pōderous yet familiar so as the ablest of his hearers might alwayes learne somewhat yet the simplest vnderstand all which was a rare mixture and in this mixture hee ran a middle moderate course most agreeable to the Canons constitutiōs of that Church in which hee was borne and bred betwixt the apish superstition of some and the peevish singularity of others betwixt blind deuotion and ouer-bold presumption betwixt vnreasonable obedience and vnwarrantable disconformitie betwixt popish tyranny grounded vpon carnall policie and popular confusion guided by meere fancie the one labouring for an vsurped Monarchy and to turne all the body into head the other for a lawlesse anarchy and to haue a body without a head Now though in his teaching he ranne this middle course yet did it alwayes aime not only at the information of the iudgment but the reformation of the will the beating downe of impiety and the convincing of the conscience to the drawing of his hearers as from ignorance to knowledge and from errour to truth so likewise thereby from rebellion to obedience from prophanenesse to religion And truely I little doubt but many a good soule now a Saint in heauen did they vnderstand our actions and desires and withall could make knowne their conceits to vs would soone giue vs to vnderstand that vnder God he was the instrument for the turning of them to righteousnesse and so for the directing and conducting of them to that place of their blisse and as little doubt I but many a good soule who heares me this day in secret and in silence blesseth God and the memory of this good man for that spirituall knowledge and comfort which they haue receaued by his Ministery once I am sure that a vertuous Gentlewoman of good note and ranke hath since his death by her letters written with her owne hand to some of his neerest freinds testified her turning to righteousnesse to haue beene first wrought by his meanes and noe question but many others might as iustly and truly doe the like were they so disposed or occasion required it This was the course of his life here now for the manner of his departure hence when his last sicknesse first seazed on him he accounted himselfe noe man of this world when he was in his best health though as a pilgrime he walked in it yet as a souldier he neuer warred after it but now being thus arested and imprisoned he professed to his friends who came to visite him holding vp his hands to heauen that though his body was here yet his heart was aboue and consequently his treasure for where a mans treasure is there will his heart be also He likewise assured vs that though he saw death approaching yet he feared it not death being now but a droane the sting thereof taken out during his sicknes he made his household his congregation his chamber his chappell and his bed his pulpit from whence he cast forth many hloy and heauenly eiaculations and made a most diuine confession of
vnto me Multi sonant voce â—orde muti sunt many sound aloud saith St Augustine with their voice that are dumb in their heart And the contrarie thereof is as true Multi sonant corde voce muti sunt many are silent with their lips yet loud with their affections The common rime though it bee not very elegant yet carries good sense with it Non vox sed votum non cordula musica sed cor non clamans sed amans cantat in aure Dei not the voice but the vow not the harp but the heart not lowing but louing musicke for Gods eares Secondly it serueth for instruction that although Mentall prayer may be available without vocall yet is not vocall so without Mentall For as the body without the soule so words without concurrence of affection are dead The Iewes drew neere vnto God with their mouth honoured him with their lips but the heart being removed farre off it is expressely said they called not vpon his name All Bablers therefore are here condemned who hope to be heard for their heathnish battologie Such are all they who pray in a language they know not like vnto Parrats or the Cardinalls Iay that could repeat the whole Creed but vnderstood never a word thereof A thing vtterly repugnant to nature to Scripture and the practise of all antiquity and is rather the dotage of a drunken braine then the serious exercise of true piety Such also are all they who vnderstand but attend not what they say suffering their thoughts to range about impertinent businesses as if a little lippe labour were enough for God The Schoolemen haâ—e a rule that a generall intention without particular attention is sufficient But it is a profane rule the Gentiles Hoc age shall rise vp in iudgement against it and condemne all those that practise it Lastly it may serue for direction how in what manner to mould and forme our Praying For as our Preaching so our Praying also must be conformed to his example Now if you please to search into it you shall finde this Prayer for the Matter most heavenly for the Method most orderly for the words most expresse and significant and for the length no way tedious as wherein is to vse the words of St Augustine Non multa locutio sed multa precatio not much talking but much praying Every thing is carried with deepe wisdome and advisednesse nothing rashly or tumultuarily Not a word but breatheth forth perfect holinesse and charity and to bee briefe nothing but what every way may become the son of God himselfe Oh that our Prayers might alwaies bee framed according to this patterne How acceptable would they then be to him to whom they are addressed But indeed wee imitate it not as wee ought For on the one side some of vs present vnto God I know not what curious contriuing of words as if he were sooner to be taken with the froth of humane wit then with Christian gravity and simplicity Others on the other side and those God wot sillie ones though they know neither what to say nor how yet least they should seeme destitute of the Spirit of Prayer they presume on the sudden without any meditation to poure out whole floods of words without one drop of sense spinning out their prayers to an enormious length forgetting that God being aboue in heaven themselues here on earth their words should bee both weighty and few Would a man preferre a petition to his Prince without due consideration of all things before hand But these loue to be too homely and familiar with God and I cannot better compare them then to little children who would faine tell a tale to Father or Mother not knowing either what it is or how to vtter it My advice vnto these should be first that they would no longer overweene themselues mistaking the Lips of Calues for the Calues of the lips Then that vpon knowledge of their owne inability they content themselues with short Ejaculations and such Prayers as graue and learned men haue provided for them Lastly that Humility and Charitie be their ordinary Prayers For besides Mentall and Vocall there is also Vitalis Oratio the Prayer of a godly life which cries as loud vnto God for a blessing as Abels murder or notorious sins doe for vengeance Without which though a man roare like Stentor and multiply words as the sand God turneth the deafe eare and will not vouchsafe to heare him But of this as also of the whole Preface thus much Howbeit before I conclude I must craue leaue to addresse a few words vnto you also my Lord who are the Angell of this Diocesse You haue heard what foule abuses there are both of Preaching and Praying it belongeth vnto your Lordship to see them redressed Some are silent and say nothing it were good their mouthes were opened Some insteed of Gods truth broach their owne perverse opinions it were fit their mouthes were stopt Others with their rude behauiour and outcries disgrace Preaching these might be taught a little more civility And others weaken the power of Preaching with too much curiosity these might be persuaded to a little more simplicity As for Publike Prayer it is too much neglected and despised and I feare the scandalous liues of Ministers is in part the cause thereof For although the efficacie as of the Word and Sacraments so of it also depend not vpon the quality of the Minister but Gods ordinance and the blessing of Balaam though a false Prophet were availeable yet the people are not so considerate but the lewd liues of Hophni and Phinees may soone bring the Sacrifices of God into contempt with them Your Lordship therefore may be pleased to haue a speciall eye vnto the reformation hereof And seeing the remisnesse of Heli will not effect it by rigor and severity to procure it that so the liues of your Clergy being answerable vnto their high calling exemplarie to their flock the Liturgy of the Church may recover its ancient credit and dignitie to the glory of God the honour of the Ministry and the building vp of Gods people in their most holy Faith which the Lord grant for his Christs sake V. 1. Father the houre is come glorifie thy Sonne that thy Sonne may glorifie thee Hauing dispatched the Preface wee are now to enter vpon the Corps or Body of the Prayer wherein you may be pleased to obserue with mee other three particulars Quem Pro quibus Quid to whom for whom and for what he prayes For vnto these three heads as I conceaue the whole prayer may conveniently bee reduced Of them therefore in order as it shall please God to assist And first of the first Quem orat to whom hee prayes This appeareth by the very first word of the Prayer Father the houre is come glorify thy sonne It is his Father to whom he prayes even the first Person in the Trinity For although
pleased haue vsed some other meanes for the appeasing of his wrath Yes doubtlesse for he had abundance of spirit wisdome But he chose this as the best course for the declaration of his iustice and mercy justice in the rigorous exacting of satisfaction for sinne yea even from his owne sonne mercy in the free pardon of sinne by the death and passion of his sonne Excellently to this purpose Cameracensis God in the beginning gaue vnto man truth to instruct him iustice to direct him mercy to preserue him and peace to delight him But he rebelling against his creator they all fled from him returned vnto God Where iustice called vpon him for satisfaction and truth required performance of his word but Peace sought mitigation of wrath and mercy sued for pardon In this difficulty wisdome interposed her selfe and found out a meanes to content all namely by the incarnation and suffering of the sonne of God Wherevnto the Father yeelding all were soone accorded and so mercy and truth met together and justice and peace kissed each other For further ratification whereof it pleased the Father solemnely and vnalterably to decree that his sonne should suffer in the flesh Wherevpon our Saviour saith it was so determined and the Scriptures as they foretell it so they affirme that thus it must be and that Christ ought to suffer And according to this determinate counsell and fore-knowledge of God when the houre appointed was come he was delivered and taken and by wicked hands crucified and slaine Of which great worke being now to speake and to enquire into the Punishment fore appointed vnto him by his Father because some extenuate it too much as if he seemed only to suffer or suffered not what indeed hee did others againe too much aggravate it as if he suffered the very paines of the damned in hell wee will as warily and as carefully as we can steere betweene that Scylla and this Charybdis And to this end wee will diligently enquire foure things the species or kinde of punishment he suffered the extention the intention and the duration thereof And of each of these briefely in a word The kind of punishment was that which was due to sin and every way equivalent for the expiation thereof howbeit so farre forth and no further then was convenient for such a person First therefore he suffered not that Punishment of sinne which is sinne for God many times and that iustly punisheth one sinne by another The reason for that then he should haue beene a sinner either by inherent or actuall sinne and so could never haue made sufficient satisfaction for the sinnes of others Neither secondly did he suffer the personall punishment of this or that man as the gout the stone the dropsie and the like For he tooke not the person but the nature of man into him and so made himselfe subiect not to Personall but to Naturall infirmities only To say nothing that those paines are many of them so contrary and repugnant one vnto another as they are incompatible in the same person Nor yet thirdly did he suffer those punishments which proceede either from the conscience of inherent sinne or the eternall continuance of sinne such as are Remorse and despaire For in him was never any sinne whether Originall or Actuall Only it was imputed vnto him inasmuch as he vndertooke to satisfy for it These foreprised and excepted all other sorts of Punishment were laid vpon him And because in Sinne there is a double act an Aversion or turning away from God the chiefest good and a Conversion or turning vnto that which is only a seeming good and consequently the desert of a double Punishment the one of losse to be depriued of the true good in regard of the Aversion the other of sence to feele smart both in body and soule in regard of the Conversion our blessed Lord and Sauiour suffered both The Punishment of Losse being in regard of present comfort and ioy left vnto himselfe and in a sort forsaken of his Father of which againe anon in the due place The punishment of Sence for he felt during the while extreame both torment and paine outwardly in the body and horror and anguish inwardly in the Soule The Extension whereof was also exceeding generall for he suffered from all that any way could afflict him and in all whatsoever belonged vnto him From his Father therefore he suffered who for a time abandoned him and delivered him into the hand of sinners from the powers of darknesse who laid vpon him whatsoever their malice could devise from the Iewes who stumbled at him and despised him from the Gentiles who made a game and laughing-stocke of him from Magistrates who convented and condemned him from the people who arrested and accused him from the Clergie who charged him with cozinage and blasphemy from the Laity who cryed out crucifie him crucifie him from his enimies who cruelly persecuted him from his friends who in his greatest need started aside from him from forrainers who disdainfully shooke the head at him from those of his owne houshold who most treacherously betraied him and in a word from all sorts both of men and women yea from the Heaven which denied to giue him light from the aire which refused to vouchsafe him breath from the earth which would not so much as beare him frō what not And as from all so hee suffered also in all In his goods being stript even of his raiment and lots cast thereon in his good name being esteemed a deceiuer a blasphemer a drunkard a glutton a magitian a traitor to Caesar in his friends who were scattered as soone as the shepheard was smitten in his mother through whose heart a sword was driuen in his soule by strong feare before his passion and extreame sorrow in his passion in all the parts of his body his head being crowned with thornes his face spit vpon his cheekes buffited his hands feet nailed his sides peirced his backe armes scourged and the whole vpon the crosse barbarously stretched and racked in all his sences the touch by wounds the tast with myrre and vineger the smell with the loathsome savour of Golgotha the hearing with shamefull taunts and revilings and the sight with mowes and disdainefull behaviour finally in the whole person by death the separation of the soule from the body The Intension of all which was likewise exceeding vehement even proportionable vnto the desert of sinne wherefore he sticketh not to say Behold and see if there be any sorrow like vnto my sorrow And againe the sorrowes of hell compassed me round about Not that he felt the flames of hell fire or the same kind of torment which the damned suffer in hell farre bee such impiety from our thoughts but that which is equivalent therevnto Had he suffered only the death of the crosse and no more his martyrs might seeme to haue endured more bitter paines and
and last is the Knowledge he had both of the worke and the houre The Houre saith he is come Hee knew it therefore else how could he say it And out of this knowledge was it that so often he foretold of both Of his Passion As saith he Moses lifted vp the serpent in the wildernesse even so must the sonne of man be lifted vp And againe more plainely vnto his disciples hee shewed that he must goe vnto Ierusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chiefe Priests and Scribes and be killed Of the Houre For sometime saith hee Nondum venit hora mea my houre is not yet come Another time Iesus knew that his houre was come And if Simeon and Anna and other of the Iewes foreknew the time of his comming in the flesh and accordingly expected him should not hee much more know the houre appointed vnto his sufferings and accordingly prepare himselfe for it For as himselfe witnesseth for that houre he came into the world But how came he to the knowledge hereof First by the Scripture and the prediction of the Prophets For thus saith he it is written and thus it behooved Christ to suffer But where is it written Every where almost And concerning his Passion in the Psalmes of David especially the prophecy of Esay And touching the houre in the blessing of Iudah by Iacob recorded in Genesis and that memorable prophecy of seaventy weekes in Daniell as is aboue already specified All which Scriptures he himselfe could not but vnderstand who opened the minds of others that they might vnderstand them Againe he came to the knowledge hereof by speciall revelation as being a Prophet yea the greatest of all Prophets For being in his humane nature assumpted into the Deity and to this end assumpted that when the houre was come in it hee might suffer it could not be that either the houre or the worke of the houre should be concealed from him The Word vndoubtedly knew it for he appointed it As vndoubtedly he made it knowne vnto his manhood which he had so neerely taken vnto him for that the same so mainely concerned it If this be so will some say why then knowing it did he not avoide it was it because he could not Not so For he was omnipotent and hee only had power of his life to lay it downe or to take it vp neither could any without his owne permission take it from him If hee would hee might haue prayed to his Father hee would haue sent him more then twelue legions of Angells to preserue him And if before the houre was come hee had so often freed himselfe from the hands of his most violent enimies why should he not in the very houre be as able to deliver himselfe For his power was still the same and never a whit diminished He could then but would not avoide it And why would he not First because his Father had decreed it and he would in no case bee disobedient vnto him For he came to doe his will and therefore professed it was vnto him meat and drinke to doe it In regard whereof he disclaimes his owne will Not my will saith he but thy will be done Wherefore though hee were the Sonne yet he learned obedience and became obedient vnto death even the death of the crosse Secondly because of the tender loue his Father inspired into him towards mankind For it was the loue he bare them which made him so willing and out of it though wee were his enimies yet he was content to dye for vs and to lay downe his life though it were so deare vnto him Lastly had he not bin willing neither had he satisfied His willingnesse proceeding from such loue was the very forme of his sufferings and made them meritorious Without theÌ„ sacrifice is vaine and without vertue according to that misericordiam volo non sacrificium I will mercy and not sacrifice and againe melior est obedientia quam victimae obedience is better then sacrifice But it will bee said that all this notwithstaÌ„ding he seemed very vnwilling to dye For did not he very passionately entreat his Father to bee delivered from that houre And that if it were possible the cup might passe from him For satisfaction of which doubt we are to know that Christ though his manhood were assumed into the Deity yet was hee not thereby freed from ought that is humane Being man therefore as man he was measured by time and his apprehensions could not all be in an instant but one after another successiuely Wherefore the first apprehension of his Passion was simple as of a thing evill in it selfe and afflictiue to his nature without any further consideration for so only Sence inferiour reason at the first presented it vnto him And thus farre it is true he desired to decline it Neither was it evill so to doe it being agreeable to that law of nature which in creation was imposed vpon vs. But when in the second place it was by superiour reason presented vnto him invested with other circumstances as namely that it was his Fathers will that for this end he was sent to the world and that without it the world could not be redeemed there being no other meanes besides to effect it forthwith apprehending it in this manner hee yeelded most willingly therevnto and said vnto his Father not as I will but as thou wilt Iust as a Patient who considering the potion offered him by the Physitian only as bitter distastfull loatheth and abhorreth it but considering with all the operation thereof and what good it may doe him he readiy admitteth and accepteth of it And thus much touching the knowledge Christ had of his Passion and the houre thereof together with his willingnesse to suffer in obedience to his Father and out of the loue he bare vs. Whence we may learne first from his knowledge that as he knew both what and when hee was to suffer in his owne person so he knowes also both what and when to suffer in his mysticall body This may minister matter of singular comfort vnto vs. For if it be so what harme can at any time betide vs Hee will not suffer so much as a haire to fall from our head but as hee pleaseth For hee hath numbered them all and there is not a teare we shed from our eyes but he laies it vp in his bottle Many may be the troubles of the Righteous but as he foresees them all so will he support vs in them and one day deliver vs from them all Secondly from his willingnesse to suffer for vs to assure our selues that his free-will offering is accepted of his Father we may confidently râ—ly thereon as a full satisfaction for all our sinnes Withall that we be also ready and willing to suffer for him What ever can be laid vpon vs is nothing to that which hee endured for vs.
hatred he beares vnto him so the divill to testifie how much hee hates God himselfe spends all his fury vpon him that beareth the image of God Hence is it that he is so wroth with the woman and from this Wrath is it that hee still persecutes her casts out floods of water to overwhelme her and maketh warre with the remnant of her seede which keepe the commandements of God and haue the testimony of Iesus Christ. As Satan so Satanicall and wicked men are deadly enimies vnto the Saints and holy members of Christ. Qui male agit odit lucem he that doth evill hates the light Now the whole world lyeth in wickednesse and therefore cannot endure the light either of Christs truth or their life If they were of the world the world would loue his owne but because they are not of the World but chosen out of the world therefore the world hateth them They thinke it strange that the Saints run not into the same excesse of riot with them What marvell then if hating them and being separated in life and conversation from them they continually stirre vp persecutions against them But it will bee said why doth not God hinder them being able Doth he not loue his Church yes he loues her as the apple of his eye and because her therefore he permits them For as our Saviour saith As many as I loue I rebuke and chasten the Apostle to the Hebrewes whom the Lord loueth he chastneth and scourgeth every sonne whom he receiueth Whereby it appeareth also that God not only permitteth but hath a hand in the afflictions of his children himselfe delivering them over vnto their adversaries to correct them Yea the Apostle S. Paul yet farther saith that wee are appointed to afflictions predestinated to be conformed vnto the image of the sonne of God as in other things so also to suffer with him that we may be glorified together The ends which God propounded to himselfe herein are partly his owne glory partly our good His owne glory in the manifestation of his iustice power and wisdome Iustice in that he beginnneth iudgement at his owne house not sparing them whom he loues most dearely nor suffering them to recover paradise so easily who had abandond it so wilfully Parvo parari tanta res non debuit it was not fit that such a peece should be won without striking any stroke His power in preseruing such earthen vessels notwithstanding all the knocks and blowes laid vpon them not suffering the bush to consume though flaming and all on fire yea multiplying his Church the more they are slaine and making the bloud of his Martyrs the seede of his Gospell and finally in her greatest distresses and extremities delivering her most miraculously His Wisdome in proportioning the body to the head for it was not fit that Christ should weare a crowne of thornes and we be clothed in purple and fine linnen and fare sumptuously every day but as he entred into glory by the crosse so should wee aspire to the same end by the same way As God in the afflictions of his Church respected his owne glory so also hee intended our good and benefit It is good for me saith David that I haue beene afflicted Hee chastneth vs for our benefit saith the Apostle to the Hebrewes First by the crosse he fanneth away from the church paleaâ— levis fidei the chaffe of those that are vnstable in the faith For the seede that falleth in the stony ground that is he that hath no root in himselfe dureth but for a while and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word by and by he is offended And so the chaffe flying away the heape of corne remaineth more cleane in the garner of God as Tertullian speaketh Againe by it are wee much bettered for as a Corrosiue it frets away our ranke flesh and as a fire it purgeth away the drosse of corruption and refines vs. It worketh repentance of sinnes past it preventeh future sinnes it quickneth the spirit of grace within vs and maketh vs more carefull to obserue Gods commandements Thirdly it honours vs greatly by making our vertues knowne vnto the world For as the valour of a souldier is best seene in the battle and the skill of a pilote in a tempest so is the fortitude and patience of a Christian best discerned in tribulation Spices brayed yeeld the sweetest smellâ— as the broaching of heresies tries how much we know of God so the fire of persecution discouereth how much we loue the truth of God Fourthly it weaneth vs from the loue of this world and worketh in vs a longing to be dissolued and to bee with Christ which otherwise wee would hardly doe even as children would hardly forbeare sucking vnlesse the teat bee striken with wormewood or some other bitter and distastfull iuyce Lastly si compatimur etiam conregnabimus if wee suffer with Christ wee shall also raigne with him Exceeding great shall be our reward in heaven saith Christ. Here on earth shall we reape the peaceable fruite of righteousnesse and in heaven an exceeding weight of glory wherewith our sufferings are no way to be compared Thus by Scripture experience malice of adversaries divine ordinance it plainly appeares that every one that will come after Christ must of necessity beare his crosse I adde farther he must not only beare it but hee must take it vp also and that Daily He must not only endure it with patience but also willingly ioyfully thankfully Willingly for so did Christ who foreseeing it and hauing power to avoide it yet would not Nothing that is forced pleaseth God but only that which is voluntarie Ioyfully so did the Apostles reioycing that they were accounted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ and our Saviour commanded vs in the midst of persecutions to reioyce be exceeding glad Nor but that affliction is in it selfe and for the present greevous not ioyous but inasmuch as it is for Christs sake and to giue testimony vnto the truth Thankfully in regard of the benefit and reward we reape thereby So did Moses esteeme the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures of Aegypt And it is reason wee should thanke the Chirurgion that cures vs as well for his Corrosiues as his Lenitiues Neither must wee only take vp the crosse willingly ioyfully thankfully but also daily that is with constancy and perseverance He fighteth not the good fight that finisheth not his course It is not sufficient to beare out a brunt or two vnlesse hauing done all we stand God regardeth not so much the beginning as the end Finis coronat opus it is the end that crowneth the worke The reward is promised non pugnanti sed vincenti not to him that fighteth but to him that overcometh In a word he that continueth to the end
the Pope himselfe is not exempted from this generality saith Bernard And. God hath made Kings rulers not only over Souldiers but over Priests also saith Pope Gregory In the old Testament Aaron was subiect vnto Moses and Priests and Levites to the Prince in the new Testament Christ himselfe submitted himselfe vnto the secular power and St Paul appealed vnto Caesar at whose iudgement seat hee saith hee ought to be iudged In a word the law of nature requireth Subiection of all the law of Moses requireth the same so doth the Gospell too and therefore let every soule be subiect vnto the higher powers And so much also of the Subiect As touching the Relation or Duty that from the higher Powers to the inferior is Rule Government of which neither was it my purpose neither doth my Text occasion me now to speake but from the inferiour to the superiour it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Subiection Yee must bee subiect This Subiection is not a point but hath latitude and includeth within it sundry duties all which notwithstanding as I conceaue may be reduced vnto three answerable vnto those three eminencies and excellencies that are in the Magisâ—rate For there is in the Magistrate first the eminencie of person and degree then the excellency of power and authority and lastly the dignity of his worke and operation and every one of these deserueth accordingly to be requited with a seuerall dutie First then there is in the superior powers an eminencie aboue others in regard of their persons as being the vicegerent and lieutenants of the King of heauen and earth not as other men but after a peculiar manner in maiestie and dominion bearing the image of God the God of heaven as Daniel saith hauing giuen vnto them a Kingdome power strength and glory In which respect they are stiled in Scripture Principalities and Powers Dominations and Dignities the Lords annointed yea Gods Dixi Dij estis I haue said yee are Gods This eminency and excellency in the Magistrate is to be answered with Honour and Reverence from vs. My sonne feare the Lord and the King saith Solomon Feare God honour the King saith Peter Honour thy Father and thy Mother saith the fift commandement not those naturall parents onely which haue begotten vs but Patres patriae the fathers of the country also This Honour and Reverence as I vnderstand includeth within it a triple act first of the minde in a due estimation and valuing of their place and dignity secondly of the will in an humble inclination thereof vnto them because of their excellency thirdly of the body in outward behaviour carriage towards them as rising vp in their presence baring the head bowing the knee reverent speaking vnto them and such like according to the manner of the country where wee liue Neverthelesse of these three the second is the principall and most proper act of Honour for a man may know the worth of a thing and yet bee no whit affected towards it as the Gentiles knew God yet glorified him not as God and outward demeanure comporement what shew of reverence soever it haue yet may proceede of scorne and derision as was that of the Iewes towards Christ. But if vpon apprehension of the Magistrates worth and excellency the heart be inclined and duly affected therewith all externall acts of reverence will surely follow of themselues Such a one will ever set the best construction on all their actions interpreting nothing sinisterly he will conceale their errours and infirmities and with Sem and Iaphet going backward cover them hee will not suffer them either in their persons or actions to bee traduced or dishonoured but will carefully defend or excuse them In a word hee will not somuch as entertaine an evill thought against them so farre is he from saying or doing ought that may detract from them And so much of the first duty Honour and Reverence The second eminencie in the magistrate is the excellency of Power and Authority whereby he enacteth and ordaineth lawes for the well government of the common-wealth commanding that which is good forbidding that which is evill advanceing the well deseruing and punishing those that either transgresse or neglect his commandements briefly hauing the greatest power that can be on earth ius vitae atque necis power of life death Now vnto authority who seeth not that Obedience is due Put them in minde saith Saint Paul to obey Magistrates and indeede to what end is authority and power to command if every man notwithstanding might refuse to obey and doe what he list But here wee are to be advertized that as the Magistrates authority is not infinite so there are bounds set vnto our Obedience Princes though they be soveraignes in regard of their subiects yet are they viceroyes in regard of God Regum timendorum in proprios greges Reges in ipsos imperium est Iovis Kings command their people and God them Omne sub Regno graviore Regnum est every Kingdome is vnder a greater Kingdome If then they command vnder God wee must obey if against God wee must say with the Apostle it is better to obey God then man Hand over head to yeeld a Monkish and blind obedience vnto them is to advance man into the throne of God and to giue vnto another the glory only due to him withall to incurâ—e the fearfull curse threatned vnto Israel for obseruing the wicked statutes of Ahab and Omri True it is wee must giue vnto Cesar the things that are Cesars and so must wee giue vnto God the things that are Gods If any aske quis prohibet who forbids in such cases to obey Say maior potestas a greater power If they threaten answere with Saint Augustine Da veniam tu carcerem ille gehennam minatur thou threatnest the body with imprisonment hee both body and soule with hell fire Only take heede first that thou be not lead by fancies and imaginations but be sure that they command against God secondly that denying obedience thou doe it in all humility without scandall or contempt lastly that yet thou be content to obey passiuely and whatsoever they shall command within the sphere of their activity and not against God that thou bee ready also to obey actiuely And so much of the second duty Obedience The third and last eminency in the magistrate is the dignity and excellency of his worke which is exceeding great For he is the Minister of God for our wealth saith Saiâ—t Paul and thereunto he applyeth himselfe Hee is custos vtrivsque tabulae the guardian and keeper of both the tables of the law that vnder him wee may lead a godly and a peaceable life in all godlinesse and honesty Were it not for him every one would doe what seemed good in his owne eyes and men like wolues would pray one vpon another but now by him every man enioyes his own violence is repressed
Body And wee are stedfastly to beleeue that the Humane nature was so assumpted by the Deity that although they both constitute but one Person yet they still remaine two distinct Natures and each of them retaineth its Essentiall Properties If then as the Apostle saith Christ be made like vnto vs in all things sinne only excepted and our Bodies cannot bee without Dimension of length breadth and depth together with circumscription proportion and Distinction of parts one from the other and the like then neither can the Manhood of Christ be without them Neverthelesse you fancy vnto Christ in the Eucharist such a Body as is vtterly deprived of them all For thus saith your Angelicall Doctor and what he saith is the generall Tenent of the Church of Rome In the Body of Christ in the Sacrament there is no distance of one part from another as of the eye from the eye or the head from the feete as it is in other organicall bodies For such distance of parts is in the true Body of Christ but not as it is in the Sacrament for so it hath not dimensiue quantity O miserable Christ that art driven into such narrow straits that the whole bulke of thy Body should be emprisond and as it were frapt together in every little crum and point of the hoste And more true and seasonable may the complaint now be then it was of old that the Sonne of man hath not so much as a place wherein to rest his head But seeing as Thomas saith The true body of Christ hath distance of parts and the Body of Christ in the Sacrament hath not distance of parts I marvaile what should let but that I may boldly inferre the conclusion Ergo the Body of Christ in the Sacrament is not his true body Againe it is an Article of the Faith that Christ being ascended into Heauen hath quitted the earth and now sitteth at the right hand of his Father This the Scriptures testifie The poore saith Christ yee shall haue alwaies with you but mee yee shall not alwaies haue And I leuae the world and goe vnto the Father And againe Now am I no more in the world but these are in the world and I come vnto thee Hence saith St Peter The heauens must containe him vntill the time that all things bee restored And then as the Angell said This Iesus that is taken vp from you into Heauen shall so come againe as you haue seene him goe into Heauen The Fathers saith the same Origen According to his divine nature he is not absent from vs but he is absent according to the dispensation of the Body which he tooke As man shall he be absent from vs who is every where in his divine nature For it is not the manhood of Christ that is there wheresoeuer two or three be gathered together in his name neither is it his manhood that is with vs at all times to the end of the world nor is his manhood present in every congregation of the faithfull but the Divine vertue that was in Iesus Tertullian In the very pallace of Heaven to this day sitteth Iesus at the right hand of his Father Man though also God flesh and bloud though purer then ours neverthelesse the same in substance and forme wherein he ascended Ambrose Neither on the earth nor in the earth nor after the flesh are wee to seeke thee if wee will find thee Augustine Mee shall you not alwaies haue He spake this of the presence of his Body For touching his Maiesty providence vnspeakable and invisible grace it is true that he said I am alwaies with you to the end of the world But as for the flesh which the word tooke which was borne of the virgin fastned to the crosse laid in the graue you shall not alwaies haue mee with you And why Because hee is ascended into heauen and is not here there hee sitteth at the right hand of the father Cyril of Alexandria He could not be conversant with his Apostles in the Flesh after hee was once ascended to his Father And Notwitstanding he be absent in the flesh yet by that only meanes the power of his Godhead he is able to saue his Finally Gregory the Great The word incarnate both remaineth and departeth he departeh in Body and remaineth in his divinity Thus the Fathers And hence is it that so often in their writings they exhort vs not to settle our thoughts here on earth but to send vp our Faith into heauen and thither to follow him in heart whither wee beleeue him to be ascenâ—â—d in body Now what you The cleane contrary that the Body of Christ is still present with vs here on earth and as ordinarily as he is aboue in heauen Nay more then so For there he is confined circumscribed to one place as also he was here in the daies of his Flesh when he liued among the Iewes but now by your Doctrine he may be and is in more then a thousand places at once even when and where you will For you haue power to reproduce him as often as you list then to keepe him with you as long as you please at least vntill the mouse devoure him or he begin to corrupt and putrifie But is it impossible will you say for the Manhood of Christ to be present in many places at once Impossible if we may beleeue the Fathers neither can you produce any one of them that saith the contrarie If the argument of the Fathers aboue quoted be good Hee is in heauen Ergo he is not in earth then can hee not at one time bee both here and there too And doth not St Cyril expresly say he could not be coÌ„versant with his disciples in the Flesh after he was once ascended to his Father St Augustine likewise Christ according to his bodily presence could not be at once in the Sunne and in the Moone and on the crosse And againe The Body of Christ in which he rose againe can bee but in one place but his truth is every where diffused Vigilius a blessed Martyr and Bishop of Trent The flesh of Christ when it was in the earth was not in Heaven and now because it is in hauen certainly it is not in earth And by and by Forsomuch as the word is every where and the flesh of Christ is not every where it is cleare that one and the same Christ is of both natures that is every where according to the nature of his divinity and contained in a place according to the nature of his humanity Finally Fulgentius One and the same sonne of God having in â—â—m the truth of the divine and humane nature lost not the properties of the true Godhead and tooke also the properties of the true Manhood one and the selfe same locall by that he tooke of Man aâ—d infinite by that he had of his Father