of his life this man I say is prepared and made fitte to enter into the heauenly Ierusalem come death vvhen it wil he is readie And howsoeuer hee must not looke for heauen here upon earth yet hee is as it were in the suburbes of this heauenly citie and at the ende of this life the king thereof the Lorde Iesus will open the gates and receiue him into his kingdome for hee is alreadie entred into the kingdome of grace beeing prepared also one day when God will to enter into the kingdome of glorie To conclude this point let euery man in the feare of God be mooued hereby to set his heart to prepare him selfe that vvhen God shall call him hence hee may be fitte to enter into that glorie Secondly seeing God hath prepared the thirde heauen for us it teacheth euery man in this worlde to be content with the estate vvherein God hath placed him whether it be high or low rich or poore why so because here he is but a pilgrime and liues in a cottage of clay and in a tent wherein he must abide but a while as a pilgrime doth oftentimes carrying his house about with him and wee shall in better sort accept the afflictions which God sends us in this life if we remember that there is prepared for us a place of ioy which must be our resting place and perfect felicitie for euermore This was the practise of the children of God especially of Abraham for when the Lorde called him out of his owne countrey hee obeyed and by faith abode in the promised lande as in a straunge countrey as one that dvvelt in tentes vvith Isaac and Iaakob heires vvith him in the same promise and the reason followeth for hee looked for a citie having a foundation vvhose builder and maker is God They beleeued that these things vvhich the Lorde promised were shadovves of better things and hereon stayed them selues beeing well content with that estate wherto god had called them So Paul was contented to beare the afflictions vvhich God had laide upon him and his reason was Because saieth hee vvee looke not on thinges vvhich are seene but on things vvhich are not seene for the things vvhich are seene are temporall but the thinges vvhich are not seene are eternall And in the next chapter VVee knovve saith hee that if our earthly house of this Tabernacle be destroyed vvee have a dvvelling given vs of God that is an house not made vvith handes but eternall in the heavens And for this cause his desire vvas rather to remoove out of this bodie and to be with the Lord. And thus much concerning Heauen Now followeth the seconde part of Gods creation in these vvordes And Earth Earth signifieth the huge masse or bodie standing of sea and lande on vvhich wee liue and all things that be in or upon the earth whatsoeuer as Paul saith For by him vvere created all things that are in heaven or in earth c. In other Creedes which were made since this of the Apostles being expositions of that there is added Maker of all things visible and invisible Here wee haue occasion to speake of all creatures but that were infinite therefore I will make choise of these two good Angels and Men. I. That Angels had a beginning it is no question for Paul saith that by God all things were created in heauen and earth things visible and invisible whether thrones principalities or powers And in respect of the creation angels are called the sonnes of God But the time day of their creation can not be set downe further then this that they were created in the compasse of the sixe daies For Moses saith Thus namely in the compasse of the first sixe daies the heauens and the earth were fashioned and all the hoast of them that is all varietie of creatures in heauen and earth serving for the beautie and glorie thereof whereof no doubt the Angels are the principall II. Touching the nature of angels some haue thought that they are nothing but qualities motions in the minds of men as the Sadduces and the Libertines of this time but the truth is that they are spirits that is spirituall and invisible substances created by God and really subsisting for the scripture ascribes unto them such kind of actions which can not be perfourmed by the creatures saue only such as be substances as to stand before the throne of God to behold the face of the Father to carry mens soules to heauen c. yet must we not imagine that they are bodily substāces consisting of flesh and bone And though they tooke upon them visible shapes formes did eate and drinke in the company of men thereupon are called Men in scripture yet they did this by diuine dispensation for a time that they might the better performe the actions businesses among men to which they were by God appointed And the bodies of men which they assumed were no partes of their natures united to them as our bodies are to us but rather they were as garmēts are to us which they might put off on at their pleasure If any shall aske whence they had these bodies the answer is that either they were created of nothing by the power of God or framed of some other matter subsisting before If againe it be asked what became of these bodies when they laide them downe because they used them but for a time the answere may be that if they were made of nothing they were againe resolued into nothing if made of other creatures that then they were resolued into the same bodies of which they were first made though indeed we can define nothing certenly in this point III. Angels are reasonable creatures of excellent knowledge and understanding farre surpassing all men saue Christ. Their knowledge is threefold naturall revealed experimentall Naturall which they receiued from god in the creation Revealed which God makes manifest to them in processe of time wheras before they knew it not Thus God revealed to Gabriel the mysterie of the seuentie weekes Dan. 8. 9. And in the Apocalyps many things are revealed to the Angels that they might reveale them to us Experimentall knowledge is that which they get by obseruing the dealings of god in the whole world but specially in the Church And thus Paul saith that to principalities and powers in heauenly places is the manifold wisdom of god by the Church IV. And as the knowledge so also the power of the good Angels is exceeding great They are able to doe more then all men can Therefore Paul calls them mightie Angels 2. Thess. 1.7 Yea their power is farre superiour to the power of the wicked angels who since the fall are vnder them and cannot preuaile against them V. The place of the aboad of Angels is the higest heauen vnlesse they be sent thence by the Lord to doe some thing appointed by him This our Sauiour
Christ teacheth when he saith that the angels of little ones doe alreadie behold the face of the father in heauen And the wicked angels before their fall were placed in heauen for they were cast thence VI. That there be certaine distinctions and diuersities of angels it is very likely because they are called thrones and principalities and powers Cherubim and Seraphim But what be the distinct degrees and orders of angels and whether they are to be distinguished by their natures gifts or offices no man by Scripture can determine VII The ministerie of angels to which the Lord hath set them apart is three-fold and it respecteth either God himselfe or his Church or his enemies The ministery which they performe to God is first of all to adore praise and glorifie him continually Thus the Cherubims in Esaies vision cry one to another Holy holy holy is the Lord God of hosts the world is full of his glorie And when they were to publish the birth of the Messias they begin on this manner Glorie to God in the highest heauens peace on earth And Iohn in his vision heard the angels about the throne crying with a loud voyce Worthie is the Lambe c. to receiue power riches and strength wisedome and honour and glorie and praise And indeed the heighest ende of the ministerie of angels is the glorie of God The second is to stand in Gods presence euermore readie to do his commandements as Dauid saith Praise the Lord yee his Angels that excell in strength that doe his commandements in obeying the voice of his word And here is a good lesson for vs. VVe pray daily that we may doe the will of God as the Angels in heauen doe it let vs therefore be followers of the holy angels in praising God and in doing his commandements as they doe The ministerie of angels concerning the Church standes in this that they are ministring spirits for the good of them which shall be heyres of saluation The good is three-fold in this life in the ende of this life and in the last iudgement againe the good which they procure to the people of God in this life is either in respect of bodie or soule In respect of the bodie in that they doe most carefully performe all manner of duties which doe necessarily tend to preserue the temporall life of Gods children euen from the beginning of their daies to the ende Dauid saith that they pitch their tents about them that feare the Lord. When Agar was cast foorth of Abrahams familie and wandred in the wildernes an angell comes vnto hir and giues hir counsell to returne to hir mistres and humble hir selfe VVhen Elias fled from Iesabel he was both comforted directed and fedde by an angell And an angel bids the same Elias be of good courage and without feare to go to King Achazias reprooue him Angels bring Lot and his familie out of Sodom and Gomorrha before they burne the cities with fire brimstone VVhen Iacob feared his brother Esau he saw angels comming vnto him and he plainly acknowledgeth that they were sent to be his protectours and his guides in his iournie Abraham beeing perswaded of the assistance of Gods angels in all his waies said to his seruant The Lord God of heauen who tooke me from my fathers house c. will send his angell before thee The wise men that came to see Christ are admonished by Angels to returne another way Ioseph by the directiō of an angel fled into Egypt that he might preserue Christ frō the hāds of the cruel tyrāt the tēts of the Israelites was garded by angels The 3. children are deliuered frō the fierie furnace Daniel out of the lyōs den by angels Whē Christ was in heauines they ministred vnto him cōforted him they brought Peter out of prisō set him at liberty Againe the Angels procure good vnto the soules of the godly in that they are maintainers and furtherers of the true worship of God and of all good meanes whereby we attaine to saluation The law was deliuered in mount Sina by angels and a great part of the Reuelation of Iohn They expound to Daniel the 70. weekes They instruct the Apostles touching the returne of Christ to the last iudgement Angels forbid Iohn to worship them but to worship God the creatour of heauen and earth They set the Apostles out of prison and bid them teach in the temple An angel brings Philip to the Eunuch that he may expound the scriptures to him Lastly they reueale the mysteries and the will of God as to Abraham that he should not kil his sonne Isaac to Marie and Elizabeth the natiuitie of Iohn Baptist and of Christ our Sauiour al this they do according vnto the wil of God Gal. 1.8 Beside all this angels reioyce at the conuersion of sinners by the ministerie of the Gospell And for the Churches sake they protect not onely particular men but euen whole nations and kingdomes The ministerie of Angels in the ende of this life is to carie the soules of the godly into Abrahams bosome as they did the soule of Lazarus And in the day of iudgement to gather all the Elect that they may come before Christ and enter into eternall fruition of glorie both in bodie soule The third last part of the minsterie of angels concerns Gods enemies it is to execute iudgements on all wicked persons and impenitent sinners Thus all the first borne of Egypt are slain by an angel VVhen Iosua was about to sack Ierico an angel appeared vnto him as a captaine with a drawn sword to fight for Israel When the host of Senacherib came against Israel the angel of the Lord in one night slue an hundred eightie and fiue thousand Because Herod gaue not glorie vnto God the angel of the Lord smote him so as he was eaten vp of lice and died And thus we see what points we are to marke touching the good Angels Now followeth the vse which we are to make in regard of their creation First whereas they are Gods ministers to inflict punishments vpon the wicked here is a speciall point to be learned of vs that euery man in the feare of God take heede how he liueth and continueth in his sinnes for the case is dangerous considering that God hath armies of angels which stand readie euery where to execute Gods heauie iudgements vpon them that liue thus Whē the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord Moses saith they were naked that is open to all the iudgements of God euen destitute of the guard of his good Angels VVretched Balaam that wizard went to Balaac to curse the children of Israel and as he went it is said the angel of the Lord stood in his way with a drawne sword and if the asse had not beene wiser then his master the
finite for his humane nature beeing but a creature and therefore finite could not receiue infinite graces and gifts of glorie And hence it is more then manifest that the opinion of those men is false which hold that Christs bodie glorified is omnipotent and infinite euery way able to doe whatsoeuer he will for this is to make a creature to be the creator Thus much of Christs exaltation in generall Now let vs come to the degrees thereof as they are noted in the Creede which are in number three I. He rose againe the third day II. He ascended vnto heauen III. He sitteth at the right hand of God the father almightie In the handling of Christs resurrection we must consider these points I. why Christ ought to rise againe II. the manner of his rising III. the time when he rose IV. the place where V. the vses thereof For the first it was necessarie that Christ should rise againe and that for three especiall causes First that hereby he might shew to all the people of God that he had fully ouercome death For els if Christ had not risen how should we haue bin perswaded in our coÌ„sciences that he had made a full perfect satisfactioÌ„ for vs nay rather we should haue reasoned thus Christ is not risen therefore he hath not ouercome death but death hath ouercome him Secondly Christ Iesus which died was the sonne of God therefore the author of life it selfe and for this cause it was neither meet nor possible for him to be holdeÌ„ of death but he must needes rise from death to life Thirdly Christs priesthood hath 2. parts one to make satisfaction for sinne by his one onely sacrifice vpon the crosse the other to apply the vertue of this sacrifice vnto euery beleeuer Now he offred the sacrifice for sinne vpon the crosse before his death and therefore beeing deade must needes rise againe to performe the second part of his priesthood namely to applie the vertue thereof vnto all that shall beleeue in him and to make intercession in heauen vnto his father for vs here on earth And thus much of the first point Nowe to come to the manner of Christs resurrection fiue things are to be considered in it The first that Christ rose againe not as euery priuate man doth but as a publike person representing all men that are to come to life eternall For as in his passion so also in his resurrection he stood in our roome and place and therefore when he rose from death we all yea the whole Church rose in him and together with him And this point not considered we doe not conceiue aright of Christs resurrection neither can we reap sound comfort by it The second is that Christ himselfe and no other for him did by his owne power raise himselfe to life This was the thing which he meant when he said Destroy this temple in three daies I will build it vp againe more plainly I haue saith he power to lay down my life and I haue power to take it again FroÌ„ wheÌ„ce we learn diuers instructions First wheras Christ raiseth himselfe from death to life it serueth to proue that he was not only maÌ„ but also true god For the body being dead could not bring again the soule ioyn it self vnto the same make it selfe aliue againe neither yet the soule that is departed from the bodie can returne againe quicken the bodie and therefore there was some other nature in Christ namely his Godhead which did revnite soule and bodie together and thereby quickned the manhoode Secondly if Christ giue life to himselfe being dead in the graue then much more now being aliue and in heauen glorified is he able to raise vp his members from death to life We are all by nature starke dead in sinne as the dead bodie rotten in the graue and therfore our dutie is to come to Christ our Lord by praier intreating him that he would raise vs vp euery day more and more from the graue of our sinnes to newnes of life He can of men dead in their sinnes make vs aliue vnto himselfe to liue in righteousnes and true holines all the daies of our life The third thing is that Christ rose againe with an earthquake And this serueth to prooue that he lost nothing of his power by death but still remained the absolute Lord of heauen and earth to whome therefore the earth vnder his feete trembling doth him homage This also prooueth vnto vs that Christ which lay dead in the graue did raise himselfe againe by his owne almightie power Lastly it serueth to conuince the keepers of the graue the women which came to embaulme him and the disciples which came to the sepulchre would not yet beleue that he was risen againe But how came this earthquake Answer Saint Matthew saith there was a great earthquake For the angell of the Lord descended from heauen c. This shewes that the power of angels is great in that they can mooue and stirre the earth Three angels destroied Sodom Gomorha An angel destroied the first borne of Egypt in one â—ight In the host of Senacherib one angel slue in one night 14500 meÌ„ Of like power is the deuil himself to shake the earth and to destroy vs all but that God of his goodnes limits restrains him of his libertie Well if one angel be able to shake the earth what then wil Christ himselfe do when he shal come to iudgemeÌ„t the secoÌ„d time with many thousand thousaÌ„ds of angels oh how terrible will his comming be Not without cause saith the holy Ghost that the wicked at that day shall cry out wishing the hills to fall vpon them and the mountains to couer them for feare of that great and terrible day of the Lord The 4. thing is that an angel ministred to Christ being to rise again in that he came to the graue rolled away the stone sate vpoÌ„ it Where obserue first how the angels of God minister vnto Christ though dead buried whereby they acknowledge that his power maiestie authoritie is not included within the bondes of the earth but extends it selfe euen to the heauens themselues and the hosts thereof and that according to his humanitie Wicked men for their parts laboured to close him vp in the earth as the basesâ— of all creatures but the angels of heauen most readily accept him as their soueraigne Lord and king as in like manner they did in his temptation in the wildernes and in his agonie in the garden Secondly that the opinion of the papists and others which think that the bodie of Christ went through the graue-stone when he rose againe is without warrant For the ende no doubt why the angel rolled away the stone was that Christ might come foorth And indeede it is against the order of nature that one bodie should passe through another without corruption or alteration of either
people of the land became Iewes Well now behold there is a greater matter among us then this for there is the handwriting of condēnation the law therin the sentēce of a double death of body soule satan as wicked Haman accuseth us seekes by all meanes our condēnatiō but yet behold not any earthly Hester but Christ Iesus the sonne of God is come downe frō heauen hath taken away this handwriting of condemnation cācelled it upon the crosse is now ascended into heauen their sits at the right hand of his father makes request for us in him his father is well pleased yeeldes to his request in our behalfe Now then what must we doe in this case Surely looke as the Persians became Iewes whē they heard of their safety so we in life and conversation must become Christians turne to Christ embrace his doctrine and practise the same unfainedly And we must not content our selues with a formall profession of religion but search into our own harts flie unto Christ for the pardō of our sins that earnestly as for life death as the thief doth at the bar whē the iudge is giuing sentēce against him Whē we shall thus hūble our selues thē Christ Iesus that sits at the right hād of god wil plead our cause be our atturny unto his father his father againe wil accept of his request in our behalfe Thē shall we of Persians become Iewes of the childrē of this world become the sōnes of god Secōdly when we pray to God we must not doe as the blind world doth as it were rush upō God in praying to him without cōsideratiō had to the Mediatour betweene us and him but we alwaies must direct our praiers to God in the name of Christ for hee is aduanced to power and glory in heauen that he might be a fitte patrone for us who might preferre and present our praiers to God the father that thereby they might be accepted and we might obtaine our request So likewise wee must giue thankes to God in the name of Christ for in him and for his sake God doth bestowe on us his blessings Thus much of Christes intercession the other benefite which concernes Christs kingly office is that he sitts at the right hand of his father for the administration of that speciall kingdome which is committed to him I say speciall because he is our king not onely by the right of creation gouerning all things created togither with the father and the holy ghost but also more specially by the right of redemption in respect of another kingdome not of this world but eternall and spiritual respecting the very conscience of man In the administration wherof he hath absolute power to command forbid to condemne absolue and therefore hath the keies of heauen hell to open shutt which power no creature beside no not the angels in heauē can haue For the better understanding of this which I say wee are to consider first the dealing of Christ toward his own Church secondly his dealing in respect of his enimies And his dealing toward his own church stands in 4. things The first is the collecting or gathering of it this is a speciall end of his sitting at the right hand of his father Christ said to his disciples I haue chosen you out of this world the same may truly be saide of all the elect that Christ in his good time will gather them all to himselfe that they may be a peculiar people to God And this action of his in collecting the Church is nothing els but a translation of those whom he hath ordained to life euerlasting out of the kingdome of darknes in which they haue serued sinne satan into his owne kingdome of grace that they may be ruled and guided by him eternally And this hee doth two waies first by the preaching of the word for it is a powerfull outwarde meanes whereby hee singleth and sorteth his owne seruants from the blinde and wicked vvorlde as Paul saith He gaue some to be Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the gathering together of Saints And hence we learne two things The first that euery minister of Gods word and euery one that intendeth to take vpon him that calling must propound vnto himselfe principally this end to single out man from man and gather out of this world such as belong to the Church of Christ and as Ieremie saith to separate the pretious from the vile The second that all those which will be good hearers of Gods worde must shew themselues so farre forth conformable vnto it that it may gather them out of the world and that it may worke a chaunge in them and make them the seruants of Christ and if the preaching of the worde doe not worke this good worke in our hearts then the end will be a separation from the presence of God Christ when he came neere Ierusalem and considered their rebellion whereby they refused to be gathered vnto him wept ouer it and said O Ierusalem Ierusalem thou which stonest the Prophets and killest them that are sent vnto thee how often would I haue gathered thy children together as the henne gathereth her chickins vnder her wings and thou wouldest not And by this he teacheth that if the preaching of the worde turne not vs to Christ it turnes to our destruction The other meanes of gathering the Church and that the more principall is the inward operation of the spirit whereby the minde is inlightened the heart is mollified and the whole man is conuerted to God And this ordinarily is ioyned with the ministerie or preaching of the word as appeares by the example of Lydia Saint Luke saith God opened her heart to be attentiue to the doctrine of the Apostle And by the example of Paul when Christ saith Saul Saul why persecutest thou me at this very speach he is conuerted and said Who art thou Lord what wilt thou that I doe And this is manifest also by experience There is nothing in the world more contrarie to the nature of man then the preaching of the word for it is the wisdome of God to which the flesh is enimitie Here then it may be demaunded how it can be in force to turne any man to God Answer The word preached is the scepter of Christs kingdome which against the nature of man by the operation of the H. Ghost ioyned therewith doth bend and bowe the heart will and affections of man to the will of Christ. The second worke of Christ is after the Church is gathered to guide it in the way to life euerlasting He is the shepheard of his Church which guideth his flocke in and out and therefore Paul saith They that are Christs are guided by his spirit And by Esay the Lord saith those his seruants which are turned from idolatrie he
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
heauenly places farre aboue all principalities and powers c. euen by the power of his father well as this power was made manifest in the head so must it be in the members thereof Euery child of God shall hereafter see and feele in himselfe the same power to translate him from this vale of miserie in this life to the kingdome of heauen Wherefore to conclude we haue great cause to be thankefull and to praise God for this priuiledge that he sheweth his power in his children in regenerating them in making them die vnto sinne and to stand against the gates of hell to suffer afflictions patiently as also that he translates thē from death to life And euery one should shew his thankfulnes in labouring to haue experience of this power in himselfe as Paul exhorteth vs in his epistles to the Colossians Ephesians yea read all his epistles we shal finde he mentioneth no point so often as this namely the mightie power of God manifested first in Christ secondly in his mēbers and he accounteth all things losse that he might know Christ the vertue of his resurrection This point is the rather to be marked because his power in the matter of grace is not to be seene with eye fewe there be in respect that haue felt the vertue thereof in themselues for the deuill doth mightitily shew his cōtrary power in the greatest part of the world in carrying them to sinne and wickednes Secondly hence we learne that which Paul teacheth namely to know that all things worke together for the best vnto them that loue God God is almightie therfore able to do whatsoeuer he wil he is also a father therfore is willing to doe that which is for our good But some will say we are subiect to many crosses yea to sinne what can our sinnes turne to our good Ans. If God almightie be thy father he wil turne thine afflictions yea thy sinnes which by nature are euill beyond all exspectation vnto thy saluation And this God will doe to all such as be obedient vnto him yet no man must hereupon presume to sinne Thirdly whereas we beleeue that God is a mightie father it serues to confirme Gods children in the promises of mercie reuealed in his word The chiefest whereof is that if men will turne from their sinnes and beleeue in Christ they shall not perish but haue life euerlasting I know some men wil make it an easie thing to beleeue especially those which neuer knewe what faith meant But such persons neede no meanes of confirmation of faith therfore let all those which haue tasted of the hardnes of attaining vnto it learne how to stablish their wauering hearts in the promises of God by the consideration of these two points God is a father and therefore he is willing he is also almightie and therefore he is able to performe his promises He that will be truly resolued of Gods promises must haue both these setled in his heart and build on them as on two foundations It followeth Creatour of heauen and earth We haue spoken of the title of the first person of his attributs now we come to speake of his effect namely the creation but before we come to it we are to answer a certaine obiection which may be made At the first it may seeme strāge to some that the worke of creation is ascribed to the first person in Trinitie the father whereas in the Scripture it is common to them all three equally And first that the father is Creatour it was neuer doubted as for the second person the Sonne that he is Creatour it is euident all things are made by it that is by the Sonne who is the substantiall word of the father without it was made nothing that was made And againe it is said that God by his Sonne made the worlde As for the holy Ghost the worke of creation is also ascribed vnto him and therefore Moses saith the spirit mooued vpon the waters and Iob saith his spirit hath garnished the heauens How thē is this peculiar to the father being cōmon to al the three persons in trinitie I answer the actions of God are two-fold either inward or outward The inward actions are those which one person doth exercise towards another as the father doth beget the sonne this is an inward action peculiar to the father for all inward actions are proper to the persons from whome they are So the Sonne doth receiue the godhead frō the father the holy Ghost frō thē both these are inward actions peculiar to these persons So likewise for the father to send his sonne it is an inward action proper to the father cannot be cōmunicated to the holy Ghost the sonne to be sent by the father onely is a thing proper to the sonne not cōmon to the father or to the holy Ghost Now outward actions are the actions of the persons in the Trinitie to the creatures as the worke of creation the work of preseruatiō of redemption These all such actions are cōmon to all the three persons the father createth the sonne createth the H. Ghost createth so we may say of the works of gouernment of redemption of all outward actions of the persons to the creatures But some again may say how then can the work of creation being an outward action of God to the creature be peculiar to the first person the father I answer the work of creation is not so proper to the first person the father as that it cannot also be common to the rest for al the three persons ioyntly created all things of nothing onely they are distinguished in the manner of creating For the father is the cause that beginneth the worke the sonne puts it in execution the holy Ghost is the finisher of it And againe the father createth by the sonne by the H. Ghost the sonne createth by the holy Ghost frō the father the H. Ghost createth not by the father nor by the sonne but frō the father the sonne And this is the reason why the work of creation is ascribed here vnto the father because he alone createth after a peculiar manner namely by the sonne and by the holy Ghost but the sonne and the holy Ghost create not by the father but from him Thus hauing answered the obiection we come to speake of the creation it selfe In handling whereof we must withal treat of the Counsell of God as being the cause thereof of the Gouernment of the creatures as beeing a worke of God whereby he continues the creation And the order which I wil obserue is first to speake of the Counsell of God and secondly of the exequution of his Counsell which hath two speciall branches the first the creation the second the preseruation or gouernment of things created The Counsell of God is his eternal vnchangeable decree
Lorde is eternall and this thirde heauen hath alwaies beene the place of the Lords abode and therefore it is also eternall Ansvver True it is that God doeth shewe his glorie and maiestie in the thirde heauen but yet that cannot obtaine his godhead as Salomon saith Beholde the heavens and the heavens of heavens are not able to containe thee Wherefore though God doeth manifest his eternall glorie in this thirde heauen yet it doeth not follow that therefore it shoulde be eternall for he needes no place to dvvell in for hee is every where filling all things with his presence excluded from no place The seconde question where this thirde heauen is Ansvvere There are some protestants say it is euery where and they hold this opinion to maintaine the reall presence of the Lordes body in or about the Sacrament But if it vvere euery where then hell shoulde be in heauen which no man will say but heauen indeed is aboue these visible heauens which we see with our eyes so the Apostle saith Christ ascended on high farre above all heauens c. And againe it is saide of Steven that beeing full of the holy ghost He looked up steadfastly into the heauens and sawe them open and the sonne of man standing at the right hand of God Thirdly it may be demanded why God created this thirde heauen Ansvver God made it for this cause that there might be a certaine place wherein he might make manifest his glorie and maiestie to his elect angels and men for the which cause it was created a thousand folde more glorious then the two former heavens are in which respect it is called Paradise by reason of the ioy and pleasure arising from Gods glorious presence And our Sauiour Christ calleth it the house of God his father because into it must be gathered all Gods children It is called the kingdome of heaven because God is the King thereof and ruleth there in perfect glorie True it is God hath his kingdome here on earth but he ruleth not so fully and gloriously here as hee shall in heauen for this is the kingdome of grace but that is the kingdome of his glorie where he so reigneth that he will be all in all first in Christ and then in the elect both Angels and men Now followes the duties wherunto we are moved principally in consideration of the making of the third heauen First if God created it especially for the manifestation of his glorie unto men that at the ende of this world by the fruition of Gods most glorious presence there they might haue perfect ioye and felicitie wee haue occasion here to consider the wonderfull madnesse of the vvorlde that reigneth euery where among men which onely haue regarde to the state of this life and cast all their care on this world and neuer so much as dreame of the ioyfull and blessed estate which is prepared for Gods children in the highest heauen If a man hauing two houses one but a homely cottage and the other a princely pallace should leaue the better and take all the care and paines for the dressing up of the first would not euerie man say he were a mad man yes undoubtedly And yet this is the spirituall madnesse that reigneth euery where among men for God hath prepared for us two houses one is this our bodie which we beare about us which is an house of clay as Iob saith VVee dvvell in houses of clay whose foundation is dust which shall be destroyed before the moth and as Peter saith a Tabernacle or tent which wee must shortly take downe and wherein we abide but as pilgrimes and strangers Againe the same God of his wonderfull goodnesse hath provided for us a second house in the third heauen wherein we must not abide for a time and so depart but for euermore enioy the blessed felicitie of his glorious presence For all this marke a spirituall phrensie possessing the mindes of men for they imploy all their care and industrie for the maintaining of this house of claye whose foundation is but dust but for the blessed estate of the second house which is prepared for them in the kingdome of heauen they haue no regarde or care They vvill both runne and ride from place to place day and night both by Sea and lande but for vvhat Is it for the preparing of a mansion place in the heauenly Ierusalem Nothing lesse for they will scarse goe forth of the doore to use any meanes whereby they may come unto it but all their studie is to patch vp the ruines and breaches of their earthly cabbine Now let all men iudge in their owne consciences whether as I haue saide this be not more then senselesse madnesse Againe the body is but a tabernacle wherein we must rest as it were for a night as a stranger doeth in an Inne and so away but the second house is eternall in the heavens an everlasting seate of all felicitie And therefore our dutie is aboue all things to seeke the kingdome of heauen and the righteousnesse thereof as Christ himselfe biddeth us And if the Lorde haue there prepared such a place for vs then wee must in this worlde use all good meanes whereby we may be made worthy the fruition of it also fitte and ready at the day of death to enter into it which at the day of iudgement we shall fully possesse both in soule and body and there reigne eternally in all happinesse with God Almightie our creatour the father the sonne and the holy ghost But some may say how shall a man so prepare himselfe that he may be fitte for that place Ansvver This the holy ghost teacheth us for speaking of this heauenly Ierusalem hee saith There shall enter into it none uncleane thing neither whatsoever vvorketh abomination or lyes The meanes then to make our selues fitte is to seeke to be reconciled to God in Christ for our sinnes past and withall to indeauour to haue an assurance of the free remission and pardon of them all in the blood of Christ. And as touching that part of life which is to come wee must remember what S. Iohn saith Euery one that hath this hope purifieth himselfe meaning that he which hath hope to reigne with Christ in heauen vseth the meanes whereby he may purifie and keepe himselfe from sinne as also he saith after that he which is borne of God keepeth himselfe and the wicked one toucheth him not Signifying that all such persons as are truly iustified and sanctified carrie such a narrowe and straite watch ouer the whole course of their liues and conuersations that the deuill can neuer giue them deadlie wounds and wholly ouercome them Now the man that is resolued in his conscience of the pardon of his sinne for the time past and hath a steadfast purpose in his heart to keepe himselfe upright and continually to walke in righteousnesse and true holinesse all the daies
angel had slaine him VVhereby it appeares that when we rush on into the practise of any sinne we doe as much as in vs lieth to cause God to send downe his iudgements vpon vs for our sinnes and that by the ministerie of his angels Secondly we are taught another lesson by Christ himselfe See saith he that you despise not one of these little ones now marke his reason for I say vnto you that in heauen their Angels doe alwaies behold the face of my father By little ones he meaneth young infants which are within the couenant or others which are like to young infants in simplicitie and innocencie of life and humilitie And Christ will not haue them to be despised A duetie very needefull to be stoode vpon in these times For now adaies if a man carrie but a shewe of humilitie of good conscience and of the feare of God he is accoūted but a sillie fellow he is hated mocked despised on euery hand But this ought not to be so For him whome God honoureth with the protection of his good angels why should any mortall man despise And it stands mockers and scorners in hand to take heede whome they mock For though men for their parts put vp many abuses and iniuries yet their angels may take iust reuenge by smiting them with plagues and punishments for their offences Thirdly seeing angels are about vs serue for the good of men we must doe whatsoeuer we doe in reuerent and seemely manner as Paul giues counsell to the Philippians Brethren saith he whatsoeuer things are true whatsoeuer things are honest iust pure and pertaine to loue of good report if there be any vertue if there be any praise thinke on these things many men doe all their affaires orderly for auoiding shame but we must do the same vpon a further ground namely because Gods holy angels wait on vs. And considering that men haue care to behaue themselues well when they are before men what a shame is it for a man to behaue himselfe vnseemely either in open or in secret he then beeing before the glorious angels Paul saith that the woman ought to haue power on her head because of the Angels that is not onely the ministers of the Church but Gods heauenly angels which daily wait vpon his children and guard them in all their waies Fourthly this must teach vs modestie and humilitie for the angels of God are very notable and excellent creatures and therefore they are called in the Psalmes Elohim gods yet how excellent so euer they be they abase themselues to become guardiens and keepers vnto sinneful men Nowe if the angels doe so abase themselues then much more ought euery man to abase and humble himselfe in modestie and humilitie before God and what so euer our calling is we must not be puffed vp but be content This is a necessarie dutie for all but especially for those which are in the schooles of the Prophets whatsoeuer their gifts or birth be they must not thinke themselues too good for the calling of the ministerie And if God haue called vs thereunto wee must be content to become seruants vnto all in the matter of saluatiō though the mē be neuer so base or simple for no mā doth so farre excell the basest person in the world as the glorious angels of God doe exceede the most excellent man that is therefore seeing they vouchsafe to become seruants vnto vs we must not think our selues to good to serue our poore brethren And thus much of the duties Nowe follow the consolations that arise from this that God hath giuen his glorious angels to serue for the protection safegard of his Church and people If mens spirituall eyes were open they should see the deuill and his angels and all the wicked of this world to fight against them and if there were no meanes of comfort in this case then our estate were most miserable But marke as Gods seruant hath all these wicked ones to be his enemies so he hath garrisons of angels that pitch their tents about him and defend him from them all So Dauid saith He shall giue his Angels charge ouer thee and they shall keepe thee in all thy waies that thou dash not thy foote against a stone where the Angels of God are compared to nurces which carie litle children in their armes feede them and are alwaies readie at hand to saue them from falls and many other dangers When the king of Syria sent his horses chariots to take Elisha the Lords prophet because he reuealed his counsell to the king of Israel his seruant saw them round about Dothan where he was and he cried Alas master what shall we doe then Elisha answeared Feare not for they that be with vs are more then they that be with them and he besought the Lord to open his seruants eyes that he might see the Lord opened his eyes he looked behold the mountains were full of horses and charriots of fire round about Elisha So likewise not many yeares agoe our land was preserued from the inuasion of the Spainyards whose huge Navie lay vpon our sea coasts but how were we deliuered from them surely by no strength nor power nor cunning of man but it was the Lord no doubt by his Angels that did keepe our coasts and did scatter our enemies and drowne them Let enemies rage and let them doe what they will if a man keepe himselfe in the waies which God prescribeth he hath gods angels to guide and preserue him which thing must mooue men to loue and imbrace the true religiō to cōforme thēselues in all good conscience to the rule of Gods word For when a man doth not so all the angels of God are his enemies and at all times readie to execute Gods vengeance vpon him but when mē carrie themselues as dutifull children to God they haue this prerogatiue that Gods holy Angels doe watch about them and defend them day and night from the power of their enemies euen in common calamities and miseries Before God sends his iudgements on Ierusalem an angel is sent to marke them in the foreheads that mourne for the abominations of the people And this priuiledge none can haue but he whose heart is sprinkled with the blood of Christ and that man shall haue it vnto the end And thus much of the creation of Angels Nowe it followes to speake of the creation of Man wherein we must cōsider 2. things I. the points of doctrine II. the vses For the points of doctrine First Man was created and framed by the hand of God and made after the image of God for Moses brings in the Lord speaking thus Let vs make man in our image c. in the image of God created he them which also must be vnderstood of Angels The image of God is nothing els but a conformitie of man vnto God whereby man is holy as God
of mediation as he is mediator or as he is mā yet as he is God he doth designe and set himselfe apart to the same worke For to designe the mediatour is a common action of the 3. persons the father the sonne and the holy ghost and yet cōsidering the father is first in order and therfore hath the beginning of the action for this cause he is saide especially to designe as when S. Iohn saith Him hath God the father sealed The second part of Christes annointing is the pouring out of the fulnesse of the spirit or grace into the manhood of Christ and it was particularly figured by the holy oile For first that oile had no man but God alone to be the authour of it so the most excellent and unspeakeable graces of the manhood of Christ haue their beginning from the godhead of Christ. Againe though the same oyle was most pretious yet was it compounded of myrrhe calamus and Casia and such like earthie matters to signifie that the spirituall oile of grace whereof the manhood of Christ was as it were a vessell or storehouse did not consist of the essentiall properties of the godhead as Eutiches and his followers in these daies imagine but in certaine created gifts and qualities placed in his humane nature otherwise we should not haue any participation of them Thirdly the sweete sauour of the holy oyle figured that the riches of all grace with the effect thereof in the obedience of Christ doeth take away the noisome sent of our loathsome sinnes from the nosthrilles of God and withall doth make our persons and all our actions acceptable unto him as a svveete perfume as Paul saith VVe are unto God the sweete savour of Christ c. And Christes death is for this cause tearmed a sacrifice of sweete smelling sauour And wee must further understand that these giftes of Christes manhood are not conferred in a small scantling or measure for Iohn saith God giveth him the spirite not by measure because the graces which are in Christ are farre more both in number and degree then all men or angels haue or shall haue though the good angels and the saints of God in heauen are verie excellent creatures stored with graces and giftes of God For this cause Christ is called the head of man because he is euerie way the most principall and glorious man that ever was Yet for all this are not the gifts of Christs manhood infinite any way because it is finite being a creature and therfore not capable of that which is infinite By Christes annointing the people of God reape great benefite and comfort because they are partakers thereof For this cause the oile where with he was annointed is called the oyle of gladnesse because the sweet sauour of it gladdeth the heartes of all his members and brings the peace of God which passeth all understanding The holy oyle powred vpon Aarons head came downe to his beard and to the verie skirtes of his garments and it signified that the spirituall oile of grace was first of all powred upon our head Christ Iesus and from thence consequently derived to all his members that by that meanes hee might be not onely annointed himselfe but also our annointer Now the benefites which we receiue by his annointing are two The first is that all the elect when they are called to the profession of the gospell of Christ are in and by him set apart and made spirituall kings priests and prophets as S. Iohn saith He hath made vs kings and priests vnto God his Father And S. Peter out of Ioel I will powre saith the Lord my spirit vpon all flesh and your sonnes and daughters shall prophesie The second benefite is that all the faithfull receiue the same oile that is the same spirite of God in some measure which he receiued aboue measure as S. Iohn saieth The annointing which ye have received of him dvvelleth in you and teacheth you all things where by anointing is ment the holy Ghost And hence it is that men are called Christians of the name of Christ that is annointed with the same oile wherwith Christ was annointed And the holy oile might not be giuen to a stranger to signifie that to haue the spirite of Christ and to be guided by it is peculiar to them that are Christes Now then let vs all lay these things to our hearts and extoll the unspeakeable goodnesse of God that hath advaunced vs to the dignitie of kings priests prophets before him and hath giuen his spirit unto vs to inable us to be so indeed Nowe follow the duties which are to be learned hence And first whereas all Christians receive annointing from the holy one Christ Iesus to become prophets in a sort wee must doe our endeavours that the word of God may dwell plentifully in vs and for that cause we must search the scriptures euen as hunters seeke for the game and as men seeke for golde euen in the mines of the earth There is nothing that is more unbeseeming a man then grosse ignorance a Christian. Therfore the authour of the epistle to the Hebrues reprooues them that whereas for the time they ought to haue beene teachers they had need againe to be taught the first principles of the word of God Againe that portion of knowledge which we haue received of God is further to be applied to the benefit good of others this is that most precious baulme that on our partes should neuer be wanting to the heads of men And here euery man that is set ouer others must remember within the compasse of his calling and charge to instruct those that be under him so farre forth as possibly he can Gouernours of families must teach their children and servants and their whole housholde the doctrine of the true religion that they may know the true God and walke in all his waies in doing righteousnesse iudgement If housholders woulde make conscience of this their dutie and in some sorte and measure prepare their families against they come to the publike congregation the ministers of the Gospell vvith greater comfort and farre more ease should performe their dutie and see farre more fruit of their ministerie then now they doe But whereas they neglect their dutie falsely perswading themselues that it doeth not belong to them at all to instruct others it is the cause of ignorance both in townes and families in masters themselues in seruants and children and all Lastly by this we are admonished to take all occasions that possibly can be offered mutually to edifie each other in knowledge saying among our selues as it was foretold of these times Come let vs goe up to the mountaine of the Lord to the house of the God of Iacob and he vvill teach vs his waies and we will walke in his pathes and withall we shoulde confirme each others as Christ saith to Peter
but he which is very God IV. It was the pleasure of God to shewe his incomprehensible goodnes in this that his grace should not onely be equall to our sinne but also by many degrees goe beyond it And therefore the first Adam beeing but a meere man the second Adam must be both God man that as the second was more excellent then the first so our comfort might be greater in our redemption by the second then our miserie and discomfort was by the fall of the first Hitherto wee haue shewed howe Christ is the sonne of God Now let vs come to the second point namely that he is the onely sonne of God And he is so tearmed because he is the sonne of the father in that manner as nothing else can be but he Angels indeede are tearmed the sonnes of God but that is onely in respect of their creation and all that beleeue in Christ are the sonnes of God by adoption being receiued into the familie of God which is his Church by the merit of Christ whereas by nature they were the children of wrath Christ also as he is man I say not his manhood which is a nature and no person is the sonne of God by the grace of personall vnion and not by nature or by adoption Lastly Christ as he is the second person in trinitie the eternall worde of the father coeternall and consubstanciall with him is also the sonne of God But how neither by creation nor adoption nor by the vertue of personall vnion but by nature as he was begotten of the very substance of the father before all worlds and therefore he is called the proper and onely begotten sonne of God It may be obiected on this manner If the father beget the sonne he doth it either willingly or against his will if willingly then the sonne is begotten by the freewill of the father and no sonne by nature Answer The father did communicate to the sonne his whole Godhead willingly without constraint yet not by his will and therefore he is the sonne of the father by nature not by will It may be further said that if Christ be the sonne of God by nature as he is the essentiall word of the father by personall vnion as he is mā then is he not one but two sonnes Answ. As he is but one person so is he but one sonne yet not in one but in two respects two respects make not two things whereas one and the same thing and so remaining may admit sundrie respects Thus much of the meaning of the third title Now follow the comforts which may be gathered hence Whereas Christ Iesus is the sonne of God it serues as a meanes to make miserable and wretched sinners that are by nature the children of wrath and damnation to be the sonnes of God by adoption as Saint Iohn testifieth Now what a benefit is this to be the child of God no tongue can expresse Christ saith Blessed are the peacemakers but why are they blessed for saith he they shalbe called the sonnes of God Whereby he testifieth that the right of adoption is a most excellent priuiledge and not without cause For he which is the childe of God is spiritually allyed to Christ and to all the saints and seruants of God both in heauen and earth hauing him for his elder brother and all his members as his brethren and sisters yea if we be Gods adopted children we are also heires euen heires of God and heires annexed with Christ. Well how great soeuer this prerogatiue is yet few there be that rightly waigh it and consider of it Children of noble men and princes heires are had in account and reputation of all men they are the very speach and wonder of the world But it is a matter of no account to be the sonne of God and fellow-heire with Christ. The dearest seruants of God haue beene esteemed but as the offscouring of the world And no meruaile for they which are after the flesh sauour the things of the flesh Fewe men haue their vnderstandings inlightned to discerne of such spirituall things as these are and therefore are they little or nothing regarded A blinde man neuer seeing the sonne is not brought to wonder at it and earthly minded men neither seeing nor feeling what an excellent thing it is to be the child of God cannot be brought to seeke after it But let all such as feare God enter into a serious consideration of the vnspeakeable goodnes of God comforting thēselues in this that God the father hath vouchsafed by his own sōne to make thē of the vassals of Satā to be his own deere childrē Now follow the duties which are two First we beleeue that Iesus Christ who was to be the Sauiour of mākind must needs be God what is the reason hereof surely because no creature no not all creatures in heauen and earth were able to saue one man so vyle wretched and miserable is our estate by Adams fall And therefore the sonne of God himselfe pitied our estate and beeing king of heauen and earth was faine to come from heauen and lay downe his crowne and become a seruant and taking vpon him our nature was also faine to take vpon him our case and condition suffer death for our sinnes which otherwaies euery one of vs should haue suffered both in bodie and soule world without end To make this more plaine let vs suppose that some one hath cōmitted an offence against a prince now the trespasse is so grieuous that no man can appease the kings wrath saue onely the kings onely sonne and which is more the kings sonne cannot release him vnlesse he suffer the punishment for him in his owne person which is due vnto the malefactour Now what is to be thought of this mans estate surely all men will say that he is in a most miserable taking and that his trespasse is notorious and so it is with euery one of vs by nature whatsoeuer we are No man could saue our soules no not all the angels in heauen vnlesse the king of heauen earth the only sonne of God had come down from heauē suffered for vs bearing our punishment Now the cōsideratiō of this must humble vs and make vs to cast down our selues vnder the hād of God for our sinnes pray continually that the Lord would send some Moses or other which might smite the rocks of our hearts that some tears of sorow repentāce might gush out for our woful miserie Secondly whereas God the father of Christ gaue his only sonne to be our sauiour as we must be thankfull to God for all things so especially for this great vnspeakeable benefite Cōmon blessings of God as meat drink health wealth liberty must at all times mooue vs to be thankful but this that Christ Iesus the onely sonne of God redeemed vs beeing vtterly lost this I say must be the mayne point of al our
creation first received Gods image and after lost the same for himselfe his posteritie Now Christ to remooue the sinne of man is made the secoÌ„d Adam the roote and very head of all the elect His manhoode was filled with holinesse aboue measure that from thence as from a storehouse it might be deriued to all his members And therefore by his most holy conception our sinnefull birth and conception is sanctified and his holinesse serves as a cover to hide our manifold corruptions froÌ„ the eyes of God Yea it serues as a buckler to awarde the temptations of the deuill for when he shal say to our hearts on this maner no uncleane thing can enter into the kingdome of heauen but thou by reason of the remnants of originall sinne art uncleane therfore thou canst not enter into the kingdome of heauen we returne our answere saying that Christs righteousnesse is our righteousnesse seruing to make us stand without blame or spot before God And as Iacob put on Esaus garments that he might get his fathers blessingâ— so if by faith we doe put on the white garment of righteousnes of our elder brother Christ Iesus present our selues in it unto our heauenly father we shall obtaine his blessing which is eternall happinesse Now remaines the third and last part of the conception which is the unioÌ„ of the godhead the manhood concerning which many pointes are particularly to be handled The first is what kind of union this is Ans. In the Trinitie there be two sortes of unions vnion in nature and vnion in person Vnion in nature is when two or moe things are ioyned and united into one nature as the Father the Sonne the holy ghost being and remaining three distinct persons are one and the same in nature or godhead Vnion in person is when 2. things are in that maner vnited that they make but one person or subsistance As a body created by God a reasonable soule ioyned both togither make one particular man as Peter Paul Iohn c. And this second is the union whereof we intreat in this place by which the second person in Trinitie the sonne of God did vnite unto himselfe the humane nature that is the body and soule of man so as the godhead of the sonne and the manhoode concurring togither make but one person The second point is in what thing this union doth consist Ans. It consists in this that the second person the sonne of God doeth assume unto it a manhod in such order that it being void of all personall being in it selfe doth wholly and onely subsist in the same person As the plante called Miâ—tell having no roote of his owne both growes liues in the stock or body of the Oke or some other tree so the humane nature hauing no proper subsistance is as it were ingrafted into the person of the sonne and is wholly supported sustained by it so as it should not be at all if it were not sustained in that manner And for the better understanding of this point we must consider that there be foure degrees of the presence of God in his creatures The first is his generall presence and it may be called the presence of his providence whereby he preserueth the substances of all creatures and giueth unto them to liue moove and haue beeing and this extendeth it selfe to all creatures good and bad The second degree is the presence of grace whereby he doeth not onely preserue the substance of his creature but also giueth grace unto it and this agreeth to the Church and people of God upon earth The third degree is the presence of glorie peculiar to the saints and Angels in heauen and this standes in three things for God not onely preserues their substances and giues them plenty of his grace but also admittes them into his glorious presence so as they may behold his maiestie face to face The fourth and last is that whereby the godhead of the sonne is present and dwelles with in the manhood giuing unto it his owne subsistance Wherby it comes to passe that this manhood assumed is proper to the sonne and cannot be the manhoode of the father or of the Holy Ghost or of any creature whatsoeuer And this is a thing so admirable and so unspeakeable that among all the workes of God there can not be found another example hereof in all the world Hence it followeth necessarily that the manhoode of Christ consisting of bodie and reasonable soule is a nature onely and not a person because it doth not subsist alone as other men Peter Paul Iohn doe but wholly dependes on the person of the worde into the unitie whereof it is receiued The third point is in what order the divine and humane nature of Christ are vnited togither Answere The common consent of divines is that albeit all the partes of the manhoode and the godhead of Christ be united at one instant yet in respect of order hee unites unto himselfe first and immediatly the soule and by the soule the body For it seemes not to be meete that God being a most simple essence should immediatly be ioyned to a compound bodie and therefore he is united unto it by the more simple parte of man which is the soule Againe the manhood of Christ is first and immediatly ioyned to the person of the sonne himselfe and by the person to the godhead of the sonne The fourth point is whether there remaine any difference or diuersitie of the two natures after that the union is made Answer The two natures concurring make not the person of the sonne to be compounded properly but onely by analogie for as bodie and soule make one man so god and man make one Christ neither are they turned one into another the godhead into the manhood or the manhoode into the godhead as water was turned into wine at Cana in Galile nether are they confused and mingled togither as meates in the stomacke but they are and so remaine without composition conversion or confusion really distinct and that in three respectes First in regard of essence For the godhead of Christ is the godhead and can not be the manhood and againe the manhood of Christ is the manhood and not the godhead Secondly they are distinguished in proprieties the godhead is most wise iust mercifull omnipotent yea wisdome iustice mercie and power it selfe and so is not the manhood neither can it be Againe Christ as hee is God hath his will eternall and uncreated which is all one with the will of the father and the holy ghost And as hee is man he hath another will created in time and placed in his reasonable soule and this Christ signifieth when he saith Not my will but thy will be done Thirdly they are distinct in their actions or operations which though they go together inseparably in the worke of redemption yet they must in no wise be confounded but distinguished as the
whether Christ lie in the manger betweene the Oxe and the Asse or in the pallace of the king it matters not in regard of our saluation IIII. He came in this maner that there might be a difference betweene his first comming in the flesh and his last comming to iudgement In the first he came onely for this end not to make any outward alterations in the worlde but to change the conscience and to put in execution the worke of our spirituall redemption and therfore he hath reserued the ouerturning of all earthly estates with the manifestation of his owne glorie to the latter V. Lastly hee was borne in a poore estate that hee might procure true riches for vs in heauen and withall sanctifie vnto us our pouertie upon earth As Paul saith Ye know the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ that he being rich for your sakes became poore that ye through his povertie might be made rich Hee was content to lie in the manger that wee might rest in heauen This serues to teach us to be content to beare any mean condition that the Lorde shall sende upon vs for this is the verie estate of the sonne of God him-selfe And if for our cause he did not refuse the basest condition that euer was why should we murmure at the same for what is the best of vs but miserable sinners and therefore utterly unworthy either to goe or lie upon the bare earth and though wee fare and lie better then our Lorde himselfe yet such is our daintinesse we are not pleased therewith whereas hee for his part disdained not the manger of the Oxe And if the Lord of heauen and earth comming into the worlde finde so little entertainment or fauour we for our parts being his members should willingly prepare our selues to take as hard measure at the hands of men The last point is the manifestation of Christes birth that it might be knowen to the worlde Where consider two circumstances the first to whome namely to poore shepheards tending their flockes by night and not to great or mightie men louers of this worlde nor to the priests of Ierusalem contemners of Gods grace and that for two causes one because the shepheards were the fittest persons to publish the same at Bethleem the other it was Gods pleasure to manifest that in the birth of Christ which Paul saith Not many wise men after the flesh not many mightie not many noble are called but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise The second is by whome by the angell of the Lorde appearing in great glorie unto the shepheardes For the priests of Ierusalem and the rulers of the synagogues to whome this office did belong helde their peace beeing blinded in their manifolde errours and wicked waies The duties to be learned of the birth of Christ are these First wee are admonished hereby to magnifie and praise the name of God saying with Mary My soule doth magnifie the Lord and my spirite reioyceth in God my saviour And with Zacharie Blessed be the Lorde God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his people And with the angell of the Lord Glory to God in the highest heavens For in this birth is made manifest the wisedome the truth the iustice and mercie and goodnes of God towards us more then euer it was before yea as Christ God and man is more excellent then the first Adam created according to Gods own image and as the spirituall life is better then the naturall life and as the eternall and most holy mariage of Christ the husband and his spouse the Church rising as it were out of the bloode that trickled out of his side is more wonderfull then the creation of Eue of the rib of Adam Lastly as it is a far greater matter by death to overcome death and to turne it into eternall life then to command that to exist and be which was not before so is the worke of redemption begun in the birth of Christ more unspeakeable and admirable then the first creation of man Hereupon not 6. cherubims as in the vision of Isaiah not 24. elders as in the Apocalyps but a great multitude of Angels like armies were heard to praise God at the birth of Christ and no doubt the like sight was not seene since the beginning of the world And the angels by their example put vs in minde to consider aright of this benefite and to praise God for it But alas this practise is verie rare in this fruitlesse and barren age of the worlde where sinne and iniquitie abounds as may be seene by experience for by an old custom we reteine still in the Church the feast of the nativity of Christ so commonly called which neuerthelesse is not spent in praising the name of God that he hath sent his sonne from his owne bosome to be our redeemer but contrariwise in rifling dicing carding masking mumming in all licentious libertie for the most part as though it were some heathen feast of Ceres or Bacchus Secondly Christ was conceiued and borne in bodily maner that there might be a spirituall conception and birth of him in our hearts as Paul saith My litle children of whome I travell till Christ be formed in you and that is when we are made new creatures by Christ and performe obedience to our creatour When the people said to Christ that his mother and his brethren sought him he answered He that doth the will of God is my brother my sister and mother Therefore let us go with the shepheards to Bethleem and finding our blessed sauiour swadled and lying in the cratch let us bring him thence and make our owne heartes to be his cradle that we may he able to say that we liue not but Christ liues in vs and let vs present unto him ourselues our bodies and soules as the best gold myrrhe and frankincense that may be and thus conceiuing him by faith he remaining without change we shalbe changed into him and made bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh The world I know neuer so much as dreameth of this kind of conception and birth for as Dauid saith Men travell with wickednesse conceive mischiefe bring forth a lye And S. Iames saith Men are drawn away by their owne concupiscense which when it hath conceived bringeth forth sinne And these are the ougly and monstrous birthes of these daies But let us I pray you contrariwise waile and mourne for the barrennesse of our heartes that doe so little conceiue the grace of Christ in heart and bring it foorth in action The mother of Christ vndoubtedly was a blessed woman but if shee had not as well conceiued Christ in her heart as shee did in her womb shee had not beene saved and no more can wee unlesse we doe the same The birth of Christ to them that haue touched hearts is the comfort of comforts and the sweetest balme or confection
upon the same crosse he himselfe gaue tvvo signes of his triūph one vvas a monumēt of the victory the other an opē shevv of his cōquest Novv the monumēt of Christs victory vvas the crosse it self vvheron he nailed the obligatiō or bill vvhich vvas against us vvherby satan might haue accused condēned us before god For vve must cōsider that god the father is as a creditour and vvee all debters unto him hee hath a bill of our handes vvhich is the lawe in that it giueth testimonie against us first by the legall washings which did shewe and signifie that we vvere altogither defiled uncleane secondly by the sacrifices that were daily offred for propitiation for our sinnes Now Christ was our suretie and paid euery iotte of the debt vvhich we shoulde haue paid and requiring the acquittance taketh the ceremoniall law and the curse of the morall law and nailes them to the crosse Furthermore in the shewe of conquest the chariot is the crosse likewise for it was not onely a monument of victory but also a chariot of triumph And the captiues bound and pinioned which follow Christ are principalities and powers that is the deuill and his angells hell death and condemnation all which are as it were taken prisoners their armour and weapons are taken from them and they chained and bound ech to other The meditation of this point serueth to admonish vs to abandon all manner of sinne and to make conscience of euerie good duety if we will aright professe the gospell of Christ for vvhen vve sinne we doe as it vvere pull Christ out of his charriot of triumph and untie sathans bonds giue him weapons and as much as we can make him valiant and strong againe Now for any man to make sathan and sinne valiant and strong against himselfe whereas Christ hath weakened him and euen bruised his heade is no better then to become an enemie of the crosse of Christ. Againe hereby vve are taught to pray unto God that our blind eyes may be opened that vve may discerne aright of the passion of Christ. It is a wonder to see how men are caried avvay with a liking of vaine shewes games and enterludes how they spend euen vvhole daies in beholding thē and their money also that they may come to the places vvhere they are oh then how exceedingly ought our harts to be rauished with this mast admirable shevve in vvhich the sonne of God himselfe rides most gloriously in his chariot of triumph and leades his and our most cursed enemies captiue yea treades them under his foote This triumph is set forth unto us in the preaching of the Gospell and may be seene of us all freely without money or money-worth What wretches then shall we be if we suffer our heartes to be filled with earthly delights and in the meane season haue little or no desire to beholde with the eyes of our mind this goodly spectacle that is to be seene in the passion of Christ that serues to reuiue and refresh our soules to life eternall Thirdly if Christ when he was most weake and base in the eyes of men did most of all triumph upon the crosse then euerie one of us must learne to say with the Apostle Paul God forbid that I should reioyce in any thing but in the crosse of Christ Iesus our Lord. That we may say this truely first of all we must labour to haue the benefite of the crosse of Christ not onely in the remission but also in the mortification of our sinnes secondly wee must not be discomforted but rather reioyce and triumph therein A Christian man can neuer haue greater honour then to suffer for the Gospell of Christ when God calleth him thereunto and therefore S. Paul setteth forth another most glorious shewe which all those must make that suffer any thing for Gods cause They must encounter with the world the flesh and the deuill and are placed as it were on a theater and in this conflict the beholders are men and Angels yea the whole hoast of heauen and earth the umpire or iudge is God himselfe it will giue sentence of victorie on their side and so they shall ouercome We must not hereupon thrust our selues into danger but when it shall please God to call vs thereunto wee must thinke our selues highly honoured of him As when God sendeth losse of friends of substance or good name or any other calamitie wee must not dispaire or be ouer grieued but rather reioyce and addresse our selues then with our sauiour Christ to make a triumph Thus much of Christes triumph and the passion of his crosse Now followeth the second degree of his humiliation in these words And buried Where we must consider these pointes I. why it was needfull that Christ should be buried II. who was the authour of this buriall III. the maner or preparation to his buriall IIII. the place and time where and when he was buried Of these in order For the first the causes are many but especially foure why Christ was to be buried I. that the truth and certentie of his death might be confirmed unto us and that no man might so much as imagine that his death was a fantasticall death or his body a fantasticall bodie for men use not to bury a liuing but a dead man or a man in shewe but a true man II. that his buriall might be vnto him a passage frō the estate of humiliation to the estate of exaltation which began in his resurrection and he could not haue risen againe if hee had not bene first buried III. that the outward humiliation in the forme of a seruant which he tooke upon him might be continued upon him to the lowest degree of all and therefore it was not sufficient that hee should be crucified euen to death but being dead he must be also buried IIII. Christ vvas buried that he might not onely vanquish death on the crosse but euen after the maner of conquerours subdue him at his owne home and as it were plucke him out of his owne cabbin The authors of Christs burial were Ioseph of Arimathea Nichodemus who came to Iesus by night Now concerning them this their fact there are many things worthy to be considered in this place First of all they were disciples of Christ and the difference betweene them and the rest is to be considered The other disciples though in number they were but few yet in the feast before his passiō they openly followed him but when Christ was to be arraigned the persecution of the Church of the new Testament began in him then Iudas betraied him Peter denied him the rest fled away yet euen at the same instant these two secret disciples of our Sauiour Christ Ioseph of Arimathea Nicodemus take courage to themselues in time of daunger openly professe themselues to be Christes disciples by an honourable and solemne buriall God no doubt opening their heartes and
considering that euery bodie occupies a place and two bodies at the same instaÌ„t caÌ„not be in one proper place Furthermore it is said that when the angel sate on the stone his countenance was like lightening and his rayment as white as snow this serued to shew what was the glory of Christ himselfe For if the seruant and minister be so glorious then endlesse is the glorie of the lord and master himselfe Lastly it is said that for feare of the angel the watchmen were astonied and became as dead men which teacheth vs that what God would haue come to passe all the world can neuer hinder For though the Iewes had closed vp the graue with a stone and set a band of souldiours to watch least Christ should by any meanes be taken away yet all this auaileth nothing by an angel from heauen the seale is broken the stone is remooued and the watchmen at their wittes ends And this came to passe by the prouidence of God that after the watchmen had testified these things to the Iewes they might at length be conuicted that Christ whome they crucified was the Messias The fifth last point is that Christ rose not alone but accompanied with others as S. Matthew saith that the graues opened and many bodies of the Saints which slept arose and came out of the graues and went into the holy citie and appeared vnto many after Christs resurrection And this came to passe that the Church of God might know consider that there is a reuiuing and quickening vertue in the resurrection of Christ wherby he is able not only to raise our dead bodies vnto life but also when wee are deade in sinne to raise vs vp to newnes of life And in this very point stands a maine difference between the resurrection of Christ the resurrection of any other man For the resurrection of Peter nothing auailes to the raising of Dauid or Paul but Christs resurrection auailes for all that haue beleeued in him by the very same power whereby he raised himselfe he raiseth all his members therefore he is called a quickening spirit And let vs marke the order obserued in rising First Christ riseth then the saints after him And this came to passe to verifie the Scripture which saith that Christ is the first borne of the dead Now he is the first borne of the dead in that hee hath this dignitie priuiledge to rise to eternal life the first of all men It is true indeede that Lazarus sundrie others in time rose before Christ but yet they rose to liue a mortall life and to die againe Christ he is the first of all that rose to life euerlasting and to glorie neuer any rose before Christ in this maner And the persoÌ„s that rose before with Christ are to be noted they were the Saints of God not wicked men whereby we are put in minde that the elect children of God onely are partakers of Christs resurrection Indeede both good and bad rise againe but there is a great difference in their rising for the godly rise by the vertue of Christs resurrection and that to eternall glorie but the vngodly rise by the vertue of Christ not as he is a redeemer but as he is a terrible iudge and is to execute iustice on them And they rise againe for this ende that besides the first death of the bodie they might suffer the second death which is the powring forth of the wrath of God vpon bodie and soule eternally This difference is prooued vnto vs by that which Paul saith Christ is the first fruits of them that sleep Among the Iewes such as had corne fields gathered some little quantitie therof before they reaped the rest offred the same vnto God signifying therby that they acknowledged him to be the author and giuer of all increase this offering was also an assurance vnto the owner of the blessing of God vpoÌ„ the rest this being but one handful did saÌ„ctify the whol crop Now Christ to the dead is as the first fruits to the rest of the corne because his resurrection is a pledge an assurance of the resurrection of all the faithfulll When a man is cast into the sea and all his bodie is vnder the water there is nothing to be looked for but present death but if he carrie his heade aboue the water there is good hope of a recouery Christ himself is risen as a pledge that all the iust shall rise againe he is the heade vnto his Church therfore all his members must needes followe in there time It may be demaÌ„ded what became of the Saints that rose againe after Christs resurrection Ans. Some think they died againe but seeing they rose for this ende to manifest the quickning vertue of Christs resurrection it is as like that they were also glorified with Christ and ascended with him to heauen Thus much of the manner of Christs resurrection Now follows the time when he rose againe and that is specified in the Creede The third day he rose againe Thus saith our Sauiour Christ vnto the Pharisies As Ionas was three daies and three nights in the whales bellâ—e so shall the sonne of man be three daies and three nights in the heart of the earth And though Christ was but one day and two pieces of two daies in the graue for he was buried in the euening before the sabbath and rose in the morning the next day after the sabbath yet is this sufficient to verifie this saying of Christ. For if the analogie had stoode in three whole daies then Christ should haue risen the fourth day And it was the pleasure of God that he should lie thus long in the graue that it might be knowne that he was thoroughly dead and he continued no longer that he might not in his bodie see corruption Againe it is said Christ rose againe in the ende of the sabbath when the first day of the weeke beganne to dawne And this very time must be considered as the reall beginning of the new spirituall world in which we are made the sonnes of God And as in the first day of the first world light was commaunded to shinâ— out of darknes vpon the deepes so in the first day of this new world the sonne of righteousnes riseth and giues light to them that sit in darknes dispells the darknes that was vnder the old testameÌ„t And here let vs mark the reason why the sabbath day was changed For the first day of the weeke which was the day following the Iewes sabbath is our sabbath day which day we keepe holy in memorie of the glorious resurrection of Christ and therefore it is called the Lords day And it may not vnfitly be tearmed Sunday though the name came first from the heathen because on this day the blessed sonne of righteousnâ—s rose from death to life Let vs now in the next place proceede to
to leaue our flesh behinde vs. For the purchase that is made is worth tenne thousand worlds And besides if we loose it by fainting in the way our purchase shalbe the blacknes of darknes for euer with the deuill and all his angels who therfore would not striue though he lost his life in the gate The vrging of this point is needefull in these daies There is striuing ynough for worldly preferment but a man almost may goe alone in the straight way that leadeth to heauen he shall haue none to beare him companie And where are they that striue to enter in where is the violence offered to the kingdome of heauen where be the violent which should take it to themselues as in the daies of Iohn Baptist. Fourthly if Christ haue prepared a place for vs in heauen then we are in this world as pilgrimes and straungers and therefore must learne the counsell of Saint Peter As straÌ„gers pilgrimes abstain froÌ„ fleshly lusts which fight against the soule He that doth esteem him self as a pilgrime is not to intangle himselfe with the affaires of this world nor put in practise the behauiour thereof but to behaue himselfe as a freeman of heauen as straungers vse to liue in forraine countries according to the fashion of their owne And therefore in thought word and deede in life conuersatioÌ„ he must so carrie himselfe as thereby he may appeare to all the world of what cuntry he is An ancient divine speaking of such as had curled and embrodered haire biddeth them consider whether they must goe to heauen with such haire or no and wheras they adorned themselues with winkles made of other womens haire he asks them whether it may not be the haire of a damned person or no. If it may be he further demaundeth how it may beseeme them to weare it which professe themselues to be the sonnes and daughters of God The like may be saide of all other sinnes they that be of gods house must behaue themselues as free men there And when god hath made us free it doth not beseeme us to make our selues bondmen of sin satan and of this world Fiftly seeing Christ went to heauen to prepare a place for all that beleeue in him here is a good duetie for parentes Many of them are verie carefull to preferre their children to great places and noble mens houses and they are not to be blamed therefore but if they would indeede be good parents to their children they should first endeauour them-selues to get roomes for them in heauen they that doe this are good parents indeede Some will say how shall wee get this preferrement for them Ansvver God hath two houses his Church and the kingdome of heauen The Church is his house of grace heauen is his house of glorie Now if thou wouldst haue thy child to haue a place in the house of glorie then thou art first of all to get him a place in the house of grace bringing him up so in the feare of God that both in life and conuersation he may shewe himselfe to be a member of the Church and then assure thy selfe that after this life he shall be remooued to the second house of God which is the house of glorie and there be free-man for euer in the kingdome of heauen Add if thou shalt thus prouide for thy childe thou shalt not leaue him as an orphan but he shall haue God for his father Christ for his brother and the holy ghost his comforter And therefore first of all and aboue all remember to make thy childe a member of Gods Church Let the example of Dauid excite all parents hereunto I had rather saieth hee be a dore keeper in the house of God then to dwell in the tabernacles of wickednesse For a day in thy courtes is better then a thousand else where Lastly hence we may finde remedie against the tediousnesse of sickenesse and the feare of death Thou which fearest death remember that Christ is gone to heauen to prepare a place for thy bodie where it must be glorified and liue for euer with the blessed trinitie and all the saintes and angels though for a while it lie dead and rotte in the graue Remember this also thou which continuest in any lingring sicknes Christ Iesus hath prepared a place for thee wherin thou shalt rest in ioy blisse without all paine or faintnes The fourth benefiâ—e is that Christ ascended vp to heaueÌ„ to send the comforter vnto his Church This was a speciall end of his ascension as appeares by Christs own words It is saith he expedient that I go away for if I goe not the comforter will not come but if I depart I will send him unto you And againe I will pray unto the father hee shall give you another comforter which shall abide with you for euer even the spirite of truth But some will say how can Christ send his spirit unto his Church for the person sending the person sent are unequall whereas all three persons in trinitie are equall none greater or lesser then another none inferiour or superiour to other Ans. It is true indeed but we must know that the action of sending in the trinitie makes not the persons unequall but only shewes distinction and order among equals The father sendes the sonne the father and the sonne both send the holy ghost yet the father is not aboue the sonne neither the father or the sonne aboue the holy ghost but all are equall in degree though in regarde of order one is before another and it standeth with reason For two men that are equall in degree may upon mutuall consent one send another But it may be further demanded how the holy ghost can be sent which is euery where Ans. The holy ghost indeed is euery where therfore he is sent not so much in regard of the presence of his essence or substance as of his operation whereby he renueth guideth the members of Christ. Now here first we haue occasion to consider the miserie of the world When a man is troubled in his minde as no ungodly man but sometime he feeleth the terrour of conscience for his sinnes then he labours to remoue it by mery company pleasant bookes whereas Christ at his ascension sent his holy spirite to be the comforter of his Church therefore when we are troubled in conscience for our sins we should not seek ease by such slender means but rather seeke for the helpe comfort of the holy ghost and labour to haue our sinnes washed away and our hartes purified and clensed by the blâ—od of Christ. As for wine and mirth such like meanes of comfort neither at the day of death nor at the day of iudgement shall they stande us in stead or be able to comfort us Again when crosses calamities fall the counsell of the minister is not sought for but the help of such as are called
cunning men cunning women is that is of charmers inchanters figure casters a bad practise Christ at his ascensiō sēt his holy spirit vnto his Church people to be their guide comforter in their calamities and miseries and therefore when any man is in distresse he should haue recourse to the right meanes of comfort namely the word sacraments there he shall finde the assistance of the holy ghost Thus the prophet Isai informeth the Iewes when they shall say unto you inquire at them which haue a spirit of divination at the soothsayers which whisper and murmure Should not a people inquire at their God from the living to the dead to the law and to the testimony Rebecca when the two twinnes stroue in her womb what did she the text saith she sent to aske the Lorde Yet commonly the men of these daies leaue God seeke to the instruments of the deuill To goe yet further God useth for sundrie causes most of all to afflict his deerest children Iudgement saieth Peter beginnes at Gods house S. Luke saieth that a certaine woman was bound of satan eighteene yeeres but what was shee a daughter of Abraham that is a child of God When the like condition shall befall any of vs let us remember the end why Christ ascended up to heauen and pray unto God that hee will giue us his spirit that therby we may be eased deliuered or els inabled to perseuere and continue in patience and this is the true way and meanes to lighten and ease the burden of all afflictions And for this cause Paul prayeth that the Colossians might be strengthened with all might through his glorious power unto all patience and long suffering with ioyfulnesse For to whomsoeuer God giueth grace to beleeue to them also he giues power to suffer affliction by the inward worke of his spirite Secondly if Christ haue sent unto his church the holy spirite to be our comforter our duty is to prepare our bodies and soules to be fitte temples and houses for so worthy a guest If a man were certified that a prince would come to his house he would dresse it up haue all things in as good order as might be and shall not we much more endeauour to purifie and clense our soules and bodies from all sinne that they may be fitte temples for the entertainment of the holy ghost whom Christ Iesus hath sent to be our comforter The Shunamite was carefull to entertaine the man of God Elisha for shee saide to her husbande Let vs make him a litle chamber I pray thee with vvalles and let vs set him there a bed and a stoole a table and a candlesticke Now how much more carefull ought we be to entertaine God himselfe who is content to come and dwell with us and therefore we must adorne our bodies and soules with grace that he may lodge and suppe and dine with us as he hath promised but on the contrarie if we defile our bodies with sinne wee banish the holy ghost out of our hearts and suffer the diuell to dwell in us For the more a man defileth his bodie the fitter and cleaner it is for him And to conclude this point let us remember that saying which is used of some that Christ when hee went hence gaue us his pawne namely his spirit to assure us that hee woulde come to us againe and also hee tooke with him our pawne namely his flesh to assure us further that wee should ascend up to him Thus much for the benefites of Christes ascension Now follow the duties whereunto we are mooued and they are two First we must be here admonished to renounce the ubiquitie and the errour of the reall and essentiall presence of the bodie of Christ in the Sacrament of the Lordes supper as flatly oppugning this article of Christs ascension into heauen For it is flat against the nature of a true body to subsist in many places at once Secondly as the Apostles then did whē they saw Christ ascending up into heauen so must we do also while he was present with them they gaue him honour but when they saw him ascending they adored him with farre greater reuerence and so must we now for the same cause bow the knees of our hearts unto him Thus much of the second degree of the exaltation of Christ Now follow the third in these wordes And sitteth at the right hand of God the father almightie In the handling whereof we are first to shewe the meaning of the wordes secondly the comforts and benefits that redound to Gods Church thirdly the duties that we are mooued unto For the meaning of the wordes if we speake properly God hath neither right hand nor left neither can he be saide to sit or stand for God is not a bodie but a spirite the words therefore containe a borrowed speech from earthly kings potentates whose manner and custome hath beene to place such persons at their right hands whome they purposed to advance to any speciall office or dignitie So king Salomon when his mother came to speake with him rose up from his throne and mette her and caused a seate to be set at his owne right hand and set her upon it in token no doubt of honour which he gaue unto her To the same purpose Dauid saith Vpon thy right hand did stand the Queene in a vesture of golde And the sonnes of Zebedeus made sute to Christ that one of them might sit at his right hand and the other at his left in his kingdome Now their request was to haue the two speciall and principall dignities of his kingdome Thus we see it is manifest that the sitting at the right hand of an earthly prince signifieth aduancement into authority and honour and therefore the same phrase of speech applied to Christ signifieth two things First his full and manifest exaltation in dignitie honour and glorie and in this sense it is saide that to him is given a name that is above all names that at the name of Iesus every knee should bovve Secondly it signifieth his full and manifest exaltation into the authoritie and gouernment of his kingdome which spreadeth it selfe ouer heauen and earth So Dauid saieth The Lorde saide vnto my Lorde Sit thou at my right hand untill I make thine enimies thy footstoole Which place beeing alledged by Saint Paul repeating the wordes but changing the phrase is thus set downe He shall raigne till he have put all his enemies under his feete And to speake in breefe the scope of the wordes is to shewe that Christ God and man after his ascension is advanced to such an estate in which hee hath fulnesse of glorie power maiestie and authoritie in the presence of his father and all the saintes and holy angels Furthermore in the words three circumstances must be obserued The first is the place where Christ is thus aduāced noted in
time take place The first is that the second comming of Christ shall be about sixe thousand yeares from the beginning of the world that for the elects sake some of these daies must be shortned now since the beginning of the world are passed fiue thousand almost sixe huÌ„dred yeares so as there remaine but foure hundreds The grouÌ„ds of this opinion are these First the testimonie of Elias two thousand yeares before the law two thousand yeares vnder the law and two thousand yeres vnder Christ. And for the elects sake some of these yeares shalbe shortned Answ. This was not the senteÌ„ce of Elias the Thisbite but of another Elias which was a Iew no Prophet And wheras he saith two thousand yeares before the law two thousand yeres vnder the law he faileth From the giuing of the law to the comming of Christ was about one thousand fiue hundred yeares and from the law to the creation aboue two thousand Now if Elias can not set downe a iust number for the time past which a meane man may doe what shall we think that he can doe for the time to come And if he deceiue vs in that which is more easie to finde howe shall wee trust him in things that be harder The second reason is this howe long God was in creating the worlde so long he shall be in gouerning the same but he was sixe daies in creating the worlde and in the seuenth he rested and so proportionally he shall be sixe thousand yeares in gouerning the world euery day answearing to a thousand yeares as Peter saith A thousand yeares are but as one day with God and then shall the ende be Answer This reason likewise hath no ground in Gods word as for that place of Peter the meaning is that innumerable yeares are but as a short time with God and we may as well say two thousand or tenne thousand yeares are but as one day with God For Peter meant not to speake any thing distinctly of a thousand yeares but of a long time Thirdly it is alleadged that within sixe thousand yeares from the creation of the worlde shall appeare in the heauens straunge coniunctions and positions of the starres which signifie nothing else but the subversion of the state of the world nay some haue noted that the ende thereof should haue beene in the yeare of our Lord a thousand fiue hundred eightie eight their writings are manifest but we finde by experience that this opinion is false and friuolous and their groundes be as friuolous For no man can gather by the ordinarie course of the heauens the extraordinarie change of the whole world The second is that the end of the world shall be three yeares and an halfe after the reuealing of Antichrist And it is gathered out of places in Daniel and the Revelation abused Where a time and times and halfâ— a time signifie not three yeares and an halfe but a short time And therefore to take the words properly is farre from the meaning of the holy Ghost For marke if the end shall be three yeares an halfe after the reuealing of Antichrist then may any man knowe before hand the particular moneth wherein the ende of the world should be which is not possiblâ— Now the truth which is to be auouched against all is this that no man can know or set downe or coniecture the day the weeke the moneth the yeare or the age wherein the second comming of Christ and the last day of iudgement shall be For Christ himselfe saith of that day and houre knoweth no man no not the angels in heauen but God onely nay Christ himselfe as he is man knoweth it not And when the disciples asked Christ at his ascensioÌ„ whether he would restore the kingdoÌ„ vnto Israel he answered It is not for you to know the times and seasons which the father hath put in his owne power And Paul saith Of the times and seasons brethren you haue no neede that I write vnto you For you your selues knâ—w perfectly that the day of the Lord shall come euen as a thiefe in the night Now we know thaâ— a man that keepeth his house can not coniecture or imagine when a thiefe will come and therefore no man can set downe the particular time or age when Christ shal come to iudgement This must we hold steadfastly and if wee reade the contrarie in the writings of men we are not to beleeue their sayings but accouÌ„t of them as of the deuices of meÌ„ which haue no ground in Gods word To come to the third point namely the signes of the last iudgement they are of two sorts some goe before the comming of Christ and some are ioyned with it The signes that goe before are in number seuen recorded distinctly by the holy Ghost The first is the preaching of the Gospell through the whole worlde So our Sauiour Christ saith This Gospell of the kingdome must be preached through the whole world for a witnesse vnto all nations and then shall the ende come Which place must thus be vnderstoode not that the Gospell must be preached to the whole world at any one time for that as I take it was neuer yet seene neither shalbe but that it shall be published distinctly and successiuely at seuerall times and thus vnderstanding the words of Christ if we consider the time since the Apostles daies we shall finde this to be true that the Gospell hath bin preached to all the world and therefore this first signe of Christs comming is alreadie past and accomplished The second signe of his comming is the reuealing of Antichrist as Paul saith The day of Christ shall not come before there be a departure first and that man of sinne be disclosed euen the sonne of perdition which is Antichrist Concerning this signe in the yeare of our Lord 602. Gregorie the eight Pope of Rome auouched this solemnly as a manifest 〈◊〉 that whosoeuer did take to him selfe the name of Vniuersall Bishop the same was Antichrist Now fiue yeares after Boniface succeeding him was by Pâ—ocas the Emperour entituled Vniversall Bishop pastor of the Catholicke Church in the yeare of our Lord 607. of all Popes he was the first knowne Antichrist since him all his successours haue taken vnto them the same title of Vniuersall Catholick Bishop whereby it doth plainly appeare that at Rome hath bin and is the Antichrist And this signe is also past The third is a generall departing of most men from the faith For it is said in the place before named Let no man deceiue you for the day of Christ shall not come except there come a departing first Generall departure hath bin in former ages When Arius spied his heresie it tooke such place that the whole world became an Arian And during the space of 900 yeares from the time of Boniface the popish heresie spread it selfe ouer the whole earth and the faithful seruants of
ougly then any lazar man can be the contagioÌ„ thereof is so great noisome that the verie heauens which are many thousand miles distant from us are infected therwith Yet here we are to know that this fire shall not consume the substance of heauen and earth but onely change the qualitie and abolish the corruption which our sinnes haue brought upon them The fourth point to be considered is the manner of the last iudgement in which wee may obserue two things I. who shall be iudge II. the proceeding of this iudge The first is expressed in this article From thence hee shall come to iudge Hee that is Christ Iesus the second person in trinitie For the father hath committed all iudgement unto him It is indeede an action common to all the three persons in trinitie but yet the execution thereof appertaines unto the sonne The father indeed doth iudge the world but yet by the sonne But some may obiect that the Apostles shall sit on â—velve thrones and iudge the twelve tribes of Israel And S. Paul saith The saintes shall iudge the world How then is this true that Christ is the onely iudge of the world Answer The authoritie of iudgement and giuing sentence at the last day is proper to Christ alone and doth not belong either to the Apostles or to the saints and they shall iudge at the last day only as witnesses and apprpouers of Christs iudgement at the great day of assise beside the iudge the iustices on the bench are also in a maner iudges not that they giue sentence but because by their presence they approoue and witnesse the equitie of the sentence of the iudge so the definitive sentence doth belong to Christ and the Apostles and saintes doe nothing but approoue his righteous sentence The whole proceeding of the last iudgement may be reduced to seuen pointes or heades The first is the comming of the iudge in the cloudes Here at the first it may be demaunded why Christ holdes the last iudgement rather on earth then in heauen Ansvver He doth it for two causes One the creature to be iudged hath sinned here upon earth and he proceeds after the maner of earthly iudges who hold their sessions and assises there where trespasses are commonly committed The seconde because the deuill and his angels are to be iudged and it is a parte of their punishment to be cast out of heauen For no uncleane thing may come into this heauenly Ierusalem and therefore they now remaine in the lower parts of the world there must be iudged Furthermore the second comming of Christ is sudden as the comming of a thiefe in the night He will come when the worlde thinketh not of him as the snare doeth on the birde The consideration whereof must teach us the same duties which our Sauiour Christ taught the men of his time First hee teacheth them what they must not doe For hee knowing all things knewe also the disposition of mans heart and therefore saieth Take heede to your selves least at any time your hearts be oppressed vvith surfetting and drunkennesse and the cares of this life least that day come vpon you unavvares For these sinnes benumme the heart and steale away all grace This exhortation in these our daies is most needefull For mens heartes are like the smithes stiâ—hie the more they are beaten with the hammer of Gods worde the harder they are Secondly hee teacheth them what they must doe Watch therefore saieth hee and pray continually That yee may be counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to passe and that ye may stand before the sonne of man But you will say how may wee be founde worthy to stande before Christ at that day Answere Doe but this one thing for your liues past be humbled before God and come unto him by true hearty and unfained repentance be changed and become newe creatures pray unto him earnestly for the pardon of your sinnes in Christ and pray continually that God will turne your heartes from your olde sinnes euerie day more and more and then come the last iudgement when it will ye shall be founde worthy to stand before Christ at his comming The repentant sinner is hee that shall finde fauour in the sight of God at that day The consideration hereof may mooue us to change our liues Those which were neuer yet humbled for their sinnes let them now begin and those which haue alreadie begon let them goe forwarde and continue But the deuill will crie in the hearts of some men that this exhortation is as yet needelesse for the day of iudgement is not neare because all the signes thereof are not yet passed Answere Suppose the day of iudgement be farre off yet the day of thy death can not be so for the common saying is true to day a man to morrow none Now looke as death leaveth thee so shall the day of iudgement finde thee Impenitent Cain died long since and yet the day of iudgement when it commeth shall finde him impenitent still The same thing may be saide of Saul Achitophel and Iudas They died desperately and impenitent and the Lord shall finde them so at his comming So it will be with thee whatsoeuer thou art that repentest not Death may come upon thee the next day or the next houre therefore watch and pray Prepare thy selfe against the day of death that at the day of iudgement thou maiest be â—ounde worthy to obtaine fauour in the sight of the Lorde Securitie doeth ouerwhelme the vvorlde but let us for our parts learne to prepare our selues daily For if the day of death do leaue thee unworthy then the Lord Iesus at his comming shall find thee unworthy and the deuill shal stand before thee accuse thee thy conscience shall condemne thee hell shalbe ready to swallow thee up If this admonition take no place in thy heart then at the day of iudgement it shall stand against thee and be a bill of inditement to thy further condemnation The second point followeth that Christ after that hee is come in the cloudes shall sit in a throne of glorie as the soueraigne iudge of heauen and earth after the manner of earthly kings who when they will shew themselues unto their subiectes in maiestie power and glorie use to ascende into the thrones of their kingdomes and there to shewe themselues and appeare in state vnto all the people Now what this throne is and how Christ sittes in the same the scripture hath not revealed and therefore I will not stand to search Yet here must we further marke that this appearance of his in endlesse glory and maiestie shalbe most terrible and dreadfull to the ungodly and therefore in Daniel his throne is said to be like a flame of fire and at the verie sight hereof men shall desire the mountaines to fall upon them and the hilles to couer them The third point is the citing of all men and of
especially of such as are olde in yeares and yet remaine ignorant without knowledge they must turne to the Lorde by repentance otherwise if they continue still profane and wicked they must knowe this that their damnation comes post hast to meete them and they to it And thus much for the dueties Nowe followe the consolations which Gods Church reape from this that God the father is omnipotent First the wonderfull power of God serueth to strengthen vs in prayer vnto God for he that will pray truly must onely pray for those things for which he hath warrant in Gods word all our prayers must be made in faith and for a man to pray in faith it is harde therefore a speciall meanes to strengthen vs herein is the mightie power of God This was the ground and stay of the leaper whome our Sauiour Christ clensed Lord saith he if thou wilt thou canst make me cleane And in the Lords prayer when our Sauiour Christ hath taught vs to make sixe petitions in the ende he giueth vs a reason or motiue to induce vs to stand vpon and to wait for the benefits before craved in these words Thine is the kingdome thine is the power c. Secondly hence we learne this comfort that all the gates of hell shal neuer be able to preuaile against the least mēber of Christ. I doe not say they shal neuer be able to assault or tempt them for that may be but they shall neuer ouercome them How will some say may we be resolued of this I answer By reason of faith for if a Christian man do beleeue that God the father and in Christ his father is almightie no enemie shall euer be able to preuaile against him So S. Iohn reasoneth Little children yee are of God and haue ouercome them that is all false teachers because greater is he that is in you that is Christ Iesus by his holy spirite who is God and therefore almightie then he that is in the worlde that is the spirit of Sathan therefore you neede not to feare So Dauid compareth him selfe to a sillie sheepe and saith Though I should walke through the valley of the shadow of death that is as it were in the mouth of the lyō yet I will feare none evill why so because the Lord is with him thy rodde saith he and thy staffe comfort me Thus much for the benefits Now whereas it is saide the first person is a father as also almightie ioyne these two together and hence will arise singular benefits and instructions First whereas we are taught to confesse that the first person is a father almightie we and euery man must learne to haue experience in himselfe of the mightie power of this almightie father Why will some say that is nothing for the deuil and all the damned soules feele the power of the Almightie True in deede they feele the power of God namely as he is an almightie Iudge condemning them but they feele not the power of an almightie father this is the point whereof we must learne to haue experience in our selues Paul prayeth that the God of our Lord Iesus Christ the father of glorie would giue vnto the Ephesians the spirite of wisdome to see what is the exceeding greatnes of his power in them which beleeue according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ. Which place must be cōsidered for here the Apostle would haue vs haue such a speciall manifestation of Gods power in our selues like to that which he did once shew forth in Christ. But how did Christ see and find the power of God as he was man Answ. Diuers waies I. On the crosse he died the first death which is the separation of bodie and soule and he suffered the sorrowes of the second death For in his soule he bare the whole wrath of God and all the panges of hell and after was buried and laide in the graue where death triumphed ouer him for the space of three daies Now in this extremitie God did shew his power in that he raised Christ from death to life And looke as his power was manifested in Christ the head so must it be manifested in all his members for euery man hath his graue which is naturall sinne and corruption which we draw from our first parents and looke as a man lies dead in the graue and can mooue neither hand nor foote so euery man by nature lieth dead in sinne Now as God did shewe his power in raising Christ from death so euery one must labour to haue this knowledge and experience in him selfe of the mightie power of God in raising him from the graue of sinne to newnes of life For thus Paul makes a speciall request that he might knowe Christ and the vertue of his resurrection that is that he might feele in him selfe that power whereby Christ was raised from death to life to raise him also from the bondage of his sinnes to a new life more more Furthermore whē Christ was vpon the crosse and all the gates of hell were open against him then did hee vanquish Sathan he bruised the serpents head and as Paul saith he spoiled principalities and powers and made a shew of them openly and hath triumphed ouer them in the crosse he ouercame the deuill and all his angels by the power of his almightie father and by his owne power as he is God And euen so must Christian men labour to finde the same power in themselues of this almightie father by which Christ did triumph ouer sathan◠that by it they may tread him vnder their feete which men can neuer doe by any power in themselues Againe Christ praieth that that cuppe might passe from him and yet he saith Not my will but thy will be fulfilled For it was necessarie that Christ should suffer And this request was heard not because he was freed from death but because God his father Almightie gaue him power and strength in his manhoode to beare the brunt of his indignation Nowe looke as this power was effectual in Christ Iesus the head to make him able and sufficient to beare the panges of hell so the same power of God is in some measure effectuall in all the members of Christ to make them both patient and of sufficient strength to beare any affliction as Saint Paul saith beeing strengthened with all might through his glorious power vnto all patience and long suffering with ioyfulnes And this is a notable point which euery one ought to learne that wheras they confesse God to be their almightie father they should here withall labour to feele and haue experience in themselues that he is almightie in the beginning and continuing of grace vnto them and in giuing thē power and patience to suffer afflictions Further Christ Iesus when the worke of our redemption was accomplished was lifted vp into heauen and set at the right hande of God in
the former article he ascended into heaven sittes namely in heauen at the right hand of God The place then where Christ Iesus in both his natures as he is God and also man doth rule in full glory power and maiestie is heauen it selfe To which effect Paul saith God raised Christ from the dead and put him at his right hand in the heavenly places And in the Epistle to the Hebrewes it is said He sitteth at the right hand of the maiestie in highest places This point well considered serueth to discouer the ouersight of sundrie Divines which hold and teach that to sit at the right hand of God is to be euery where in all places and not in heauen onely that they might hereby lay a foundation for the ubiquitie of Christs manhood which neuerthelesse the heauens must containe till the time that all thinges be restored The second circumstance is the time when Christ began to sit at the right hand of God the father which is to be gathered by the order of the articles For first Christ died and was buried then he rose againe and ascended into heauen and after his ascension he is saide to sit at the right hand of his father This order is also noted unto us by S. Paul Who shall condemne saith he it is Christ which is dead yea or rather which is risen againe who is also at the right hand of God And S. Marke saith when Christ vvas risen againe hee appeared to his disciples and after he had spoken unto them he was received into heaven and sate at the right hande of God But it may be demanded how this can stand with trueth that Christ should not begin to sit at the right hand of his father before the ascension considering he is one God with the father and therefore an absolute and soueraigne king from all eternitie Ansvver As Christ is God or the word of the father hee is coequall and coeternall with him in the regiment of his kingdome and hath neither beginning middle or ending thereof yet as Christ is God incarnate and in one person God-man or Man-god he beganne after his ascension and not before to sit at the right hand of his father and as S. Peter saith was made Lord partly because as hee was God hee did then manifest himselfe to be that which indeed he was before namely God and Lorde of heauen and earth and partly because as he was man he receiued dominion or Lordship frō the father which he had not before thereby was euen in his manhood exalted to be king of heauen and earth in this sense Christ saith of himselfe all power is given to me in heaven and earth The third circumstance is concerning the person at whose right hand Christ sits noted in the words of the article of God the father almightie wherby is signified that he receiues all the honour power glory of his kingdom frō his father as he that is set at the right hand of a prince receiues the honour authority which he hath frō the prince Now if it be alledged that by this means Christ shalbe inferiour to his father because he which receiueth honor of another is inferiour to him of whome he receiueth it the answer is that in Christ we must consider his person his office in respect of his person as he is the eternall sonne of God he is equal to the father is not here said to sit at his right hād yet in respect of the office vvhich he beares namely as he is mediatour as he is man he is inferiour to the father receiues his kingdom frō him As he is god he is our king head hath no head more then the father as he is mediatour he is also our head yet so as he is under the father as being his head And we must not think it strāge that one the same thing should be both equall and inferiour to another divers respects considered Now in that Christes placing at the right hand of his father argues inferioritie betweene the father and him hence wee learne that they are deceiued which from this article gather that in the glorification of Christ there is a transfusion of the proprieties of the godhead as omnipotencie omniscience omnipresence c. into his manhoode For this is to abolish all inferioritie and to make an equality betweene the creature and the creatour And whereas againe the word Almightie is repeated it is done upon speciall reason because Christes sitting at the right hand of God doth presuppose omnipotencie For in vaine were all power in heauen and earth giuen to him vnlesse he were omnipotent as the father to execute the same And therefore the song of the Elders was on this maner Worthy is the lambe that was killed to receive power and riches and wisdome strength and honour and glory and praise The benefites which redounde unto us by Christes sitting at the right hand of God are two one concernes his priesthood the other his kingly office The benefit rising from his priesthood is his Intercession for us for this is one of the endes why Christ is now exalted in glorie sittes at the right hand of his father namely to make request in the behalfe of all that come unto him as Paul saieth Christ is risen againe and sitteth at the right hand of God and maketh request for vs. Now that we may rightly vnderstand what his intercession is we are to consider these pointes First to whome it is made secondly in what maner thirdly whether it be made by Christ alone or no fourthly what be the fruites and benefites thereof fiftly the duties whereunto wee are mooued thereby For the first Intertercession is to make suite request or intreatie in some ones behalfe to another and this is done by Christ for vs unto God as Paul saith There is one God one mediatour betwene God and man which is the man Christ Iesus Here at the verie first ariseth a difficultie for in euery intercession there be three parties the person offended the person offending the intercessour distinct from them both Now if Christ the sonne of God make intercession to God for man then he makes intercession to himselfe because hee is true God which cā not be how then shall Christ be mediatour Ans. This point hath so troubled the Church of Rome that for the resoluing of it they haue deuised an errour avouching that Christ is mediatour onely as hee is man not as hee is God which is untrue For as both natures did concurre in the worke of satisfaction so likewise they doe both concurre in the worke of intercession and therefore a more meete convenient answer is this Christ Iesus God-man in both natures is directly our mediatour to the first person the father as S. Iohn saith If any man sinne we haue an advocate with the father