vvhiles I walke in this narrow way seeing that it tends to life and saluation but let me goe forward vvithout faynting at any time yea with much cheerefulnesse and delight knowing that all these light and momentary afflictions are no waies worthy of that glory Rom. 8.18 vnto which through the straitnesse of this gate I shall shortly haue passage All that are of the Church visible or militant shall not be of the Church Inuisible and Triumphant MAny haue accesse into the Princes outmost chamber who are not admitted into the chamber of Presence but excluded and shut out from hauing entrance thereinto In like manner Many are brought to the fellowship of the visible Church which is as it were the outmost chamber of the house of God the palace of that great King and a fauour it is that is vouchsafed them herein for all doe not attaine vnto it Psal 147.19.20 but few are so blessed as to be led by the spirit further into that secret and priuie chamber where God shewes his familiar presence Cant. 2.4 and vnto vvhich none are admitted but they vvho are of the communion of Saints Hebr. 12.22.23 of the court of heauen heires of the glory of that coelestiall kingdome where they shall alwaies attend vpon the Maiestie of the highest the great God of the vvhole world O Lord it is thy mercy that thou hast called mee to haue a place in the visible Church here on earth and to liue among thy Israel thy Saints and chosen to enioy thy word and Sacraments and to looke as it vvere Cant. 2.9 through a câ—euis into the holy of Holies for the greatest part of the world haue not obtained thus much How many thousands of Iewes Turkes heathen doe we see at this day excluded and cast out from the lists and outmost bounds of thy Church Reuel 11.1.2 But it is thy vvonderfull and vnspeakeable goodnesse towards me that thou hast admitted me into the chamber of Presence calling me to the blessed fellowship and communion with thy Saints yea vvith thine owne selfe making me one of thy Israel Iohn 14.21.22.23 Gal 2.20 Phil. 3.10 Reue. 3.20 one of thy Saints and chosen a true member of the Church militant heere on earth and heire of the glorious and triumphant Church in the highest heauens where I shall liue with thee for euer Iohn 14.2 17.24 O blessed be thy name for the riches of thy loue infinite grace vouchsafed vnto me herein through Christ Iesus my Lord. Thou mightest iustly haue excluded me as well as others yea euen from the outmost courts of thy Sion but it hath pleased thee O Father to magnifie thy great mercy towards me thy poore and vnworthy creature that so my heart might be drawne vp the more vnto thee and inflamed vvith an vnfained loue of thee O therefore that thou vvouldest knit my heart and soule vnto thee and cause me to set all the affections of my loue ioy and delight in thee to vvhom onely they are due and to whom alone I desire they may be giuen And teach me withall to seeke daily more and more to presse forward and to striue to get nearer accesse vnto thee indeauouring by a holy life and godly conuersation to obtaine full and comfortable assurance that thou hast called me into the communion of thy chosen ones admitted mee into the chamber of thy gracious presence Iohn 8.35 and that I shall abide in thy house for euer euen in those glorious mansions and heauenly habitations vvhere thine honour dwelleth and where all thy Saints shall reigne and triumph vvith thee for euermore The blessed estate of a true Christian in regard of that spirituall and heauenly vnion that is betweene Christ and him OH how blessed a Vnion is there betweene Christ and euery true Christian Who is able to expresse it who doth not admire and vvonder at it It is a great matter for them to be accounted his friends Ioh. 15.13 15. Mark 3.34 Leuit. 25.25 Heb. 2.11.12.13 his kinsmen his brethren his children as all these names and titles he giues vnto them in the Scriptures But this is not all it is not one halfe for they are not onely tyed vnto him by these strait and sacred bonds of friendship kindred and brotherhood but they are made one with him one flesh Ephe. 5.31 Ephe. 5.30 1 Cor. 12.12 Hebr. 2.11 one bodie yea in a sort himselfe hauing his owne name giuen vnto them as afterwards To shadow out this vnion vnto thee by those types as it were and semblances by which the Scriptures haue declared it vnto vs in that maner that our fraile nature is able to conceiue of it for the vveakenesse and shallownesse of our capacity is such as it is not able fully to comprehend it in the excellencie of it Seest thou not what vnion there is betweene the head and the members of the bodie So it is betweene Christ and true Christians They are knit vnto him as it were by the sinewes of the spirit and by the bond of faith as the members of the bodie are vnto the head and from him as from the head Ephe. 1.22 5.23 Gal. 2.20 life floweth into the whole bodie the life of grace and spirituall motion and action is conueyed and communicated vnto the Church and all the faithfull members thereof vvhich are the bodie of Christ 1 Cor. 12.27 Eph. 4.12 Againe this vnion betweene Christ and them is compared to that which is betweene the Vine and the branches So Iohn 15 1.2 that as the stocke and the branches grow together so the faithfull being rooted in Christ and set as it were into him a Rom. 6.5 as branches of that heauenly Vine receiue life and sappe from him growth of all spirituall and heauenly graces It is compared to a fountaine and the waters issuing and steaming therefrom b Ioh. 4.14 Likewise to the corner-stone in a building and the stones that are built vpon the same c Ephe. 2.20.22 For so Christ is often in Scripture compared to the corner-stone vpon which as their manner of building in old time in those parts was the whole building was fastened combined and so reared vp and the faithfull compared to liuing d 1 Pet. 2.5 stones built vpon that sure foundation and thence also called the temple of the holy Ghost e 1 Cor. 3.16 6.19 Ioh. 14.23 Reue. 3. wherein God himselfe dwelleth f â—0 and will dwell for euer It is compared also to the bodie and the apparrell vvhich clothes and couers it and shelters it from cold and raine and from the iniury of the weather whence the faithfull are said to put on Christ g Rom. 13 14 Gal. 3.27 And lastly to the Husband and his Spouse whence Christ is often called the Husband of his Church h Ephes 5.23 Mat. 25.6 the Bridegroome which is preparing for his marriage solemnities and
vnto him in a more strait and neare vnion then the members of the naturall body are knit and vnited vnto the head For they may be seperated from it and so perish but there is no seperation no diuision no dis-vnion possibly to be made betweene d Rom. 8.39 Christ and any one of his members much lesse the whole Church Againe for I had rather bee too plentifull then too sparing in the illustration of this so excellent and so heauenly a truth as all the members of the body are vnited vnto the head and quickened by one and the same soule vvhich animates them and conuayeth naturall life vnto euery one of them So all the faithfull vvhether they be in Heauen aboue or in Earth below of the Church militant or triumphant are ioyned and vnited vnto CHRIST by one and the selfe-same Spirit vvhich comming from the Head CHRIST IESVS giueth spirituall life quickening and motion vnto them so that the vvhole body being coupled and knit together e Ephes 4.16 by euery ioynt receiueth increase of grace by degrees and groweth vp daily more and more till the body of CHRIST vvhich is his CHVRCH bee fully perfected and consumated receiuing the f Ephes 4.13 accomplishment of all Grace and Glory in the highest heauens This is the first meanes whereby this vnion is made betweene CHRIST and the faithfull euen this sacred bond of the Spirit And from this efficacie and operation of the spirit vniting vs vnto CHRIST it is said by the Apostle that wee euen all beleeuers haue drunke into the same g 1 Cor. 12 13 Ephes 4.4 Spirit And againe that wee are baptized into one body that is wee are made one Body vvhereof Christ is the Head Now that other bond by vvhich they are tied and vnited vnto Christ and that on their part is Faith For the Spirit of God hauing begotten a true and liuely faith in vs by the preaching of the Word by meanes of this excellent grace we are vnited vnto Christ For thereby we lay hold on Christ with all his merits and h 1 Cor. 1.30 2 Cor. 3.18 Phil. 3.21 1 Ioh. 3.2 Gal. 2.20 benefits and apply them in particular to our selues and so become one vvith him all vvhich he hath done for mankinde being made as proper vnto vs as if it were our owne And hence it is that Christ is said to dwell in our hearts by i Ephes 3.17 Faith Faith is the hand as it were whereby vvee receiue Christ being offred vnto vs in the Word by meanes of it Christ is made ours and we his by an inseparable vnion And thus wee haue at large described that spirituall and mystical vnion vvhich is betweene Christ and the faithfull his members So neare and so strait a vnion that the holy Ghost in Scripture giueth sometimes as was sayd the name of Christ himselfe vnto the Church and calleth it by his owne name euen as the name of the husband by reason of that vnion betweene them is giuen vnto the Wife and she called by his name As k 1 Cor. 12 12. the body is one saith the Apostle hath many members euen so is Christ that is the Church of Christ Such is the nearenesse and efficacie of that spirituall coniunction of Christ and the faithfull that he cals them not onely Christians as sometimes they are l Acts 11.26 named or his Spouse his Sister his m Cant. 5.2 Loue his Doue his Vndefiled c. but euen Christ his owne name Whence also it is that that vvhich is done to the Church or any member thereof he accounteth it as done to himselfe whether it be good or euill The workes of Loue and Charity done to his poore members in the day vvhen hee shall sit vpon his Throne to iudge the World he will pronounce them to haue beene done vnto himselfe I was a hungry n Mat. 25.35.36.40 and ye gaue ME meate I thirsted and yee gaue ME drinke naked and yee clothed ME sicke and ye visited ME c. In as much as ye haue done it vnto one of the least of these MY Brethren yee haue done it vnto ME. And when Saul persecuted the poore Saints of God and breathed out threatnings slaughter against them Christ looking downe from heauen and beholding him cries out vnto him with a loud voice o Acts 9.4 Heb. 4.15 Zach. 2.8 1 Cor. 12.26 Saul Saul why persecutest thou Me The Foote is wounded on earth and the Head feels it and complaines of it from Heauen The persecution or wrong done to his Church or any member thereof he esteemeth it as done to himselfe O my soule raise vp thy selfe vnto the oft and serious consideration of this spirituall and mysticall vnion of the faithfull with Christ their head and Sauiour Oh how full is it of sweetnesse much comfort and inward solace Thinke of it and beleeue it without all wauering and doubting Say not as carnall men are wont and as Nicodemus did in a point of like nature How can this be p Iohn 3.9 6.42 How can Christ being in heauen so farre distant from vs in regard of bodily presence be vnited vnto vs Reason not so as flesh and blood will suggest vnto thee but beleeue this stedfastly and assuredly as if thou beest spirituall and not carnall thou wilt and canst not doe otherwise The trueth of God hath sealed it the Scriptures in many places ratifie and confirme it and it is a great measure of infidelitie to denie it or to doubt of it Thou seest it not vvith the eyes of thy body What then vvilt thou beleeue nothing but that which thou seest with thy bodily eyes then thou wilt not beleeue that there is a Vnion betweene thy soule and thy body for thou seest it not with thine eyes and yet if it were not thou wert a dead man and a liuelesse carkasse Thou wilt not denie but that there is a Vnion betweene man and wife though they be distant in place yea though the one of them be in this country and the other in that for it is a receiued Maxime or rule granted of all that distance of place dissolueth not the marriage-bond both Gods law and mans law so determineth it and wilt thou be so faithlesse as not to beleeue that there is a Vnion betweene that heauenly bridegroome Christ Iesus though he be in heauen and his faithfull members many of them on earth Shall not faith be of more efficacie then nature Thou wilt not denie that which experience teacheth thee except thou beest blinde that the sight of the eye of thy bodie in a moment of time as it vvere and in an instant doth reach vnto the Starres in the firmament and is in a sort vnited vnto them though so many thousand miles distant from thee and wilt not thou graunt much more that faith which is the eye of the soule and of a farre more powerfull and piercing nature may
life by ranging the whole world into certaine sections and seuerall rankes and orders All that euer were or now are in the world may be generally deuided into two sorts called or vncalled Now compare these together and we shall find that the number of the vncalled the Apostles times only excepted hath alwaies exceeded the number of the called those I meane that were called by an outward calling through the ministery and preaching of the word To begin from the beginning and so to proceed and descend lower From the beginning of the world to the departuâ—e into Aegypt which was aboue two thousand yeeres the Church was shut vp in the families eyther of the holy fathers before the flood or of the Patriarchs onely they of their housholds called vpon the name of the Lord only they made profession of religion in the true worship of the true God the rest were Idolatrous and profane people that cast off the Lords yoke Afterwards the Church beganne to be inlarged and the bounds thereof extended the whole people of Israel were called and accounted the people of God according vnto the promise made vnto Abraham and all the rest of the world Gen. 17.7.8 Rom. 9.4 Isay 55.5 Hosea 1.10 Ephes 2.12 Luk. 1.79 a people that were no people vnto whom God did not so much as afford the outward ordinarie meanes of saluation but suffered them to sit in darknesse and in the shadow of death though we denie not but that some few might be extraordinarily called euen as many as ioyned themselues vnto him Now what was Israel to the multitude and ouerflowing of the Gentiles which were scattered ouer the face of the earth euen as a plant among many people Exod. 19.5 Deut. 7.6.7 14.2 a pearle amongst many pebles one grape of a cluster or as the gleaning after the haruest Well to goe on to succeeding ages after many generations the Lord vpon iust cause Acts 13.46 Rom. 11.20 1 Thes 2.16 forsaking the Iewes for a long time as wee see and casting them off from being his people as they were in former times the Gentiles of whom wee are according to the promise succeeded them Rom. 11.17 and were planted in in their roome And yet how small is the number euen of them that are called in comparison of those that remaine vncalled to this present day This will be easily perceiued if it bee dulie considered how many thousands yea thousand thousands of Infidels Pagans barbarous Turkes and mis-beleeuing Iewes there be which sit in darkenesse and in the valley of death without God vvithout Christ so without the meanes of Saluation not hauing so much as the knowledge and outward profession of true Christianitie and godlinesse For one Christian euen in outward profession there are many who eyther neuer heard of the name of a Christian or else hate it and are profest enemies vnto it Turcisme Iudaisme Paganisme hauing ouerspread most nations like a winter floud these things then being rightly obserued wee see clearly that the greatest part of the world in times past hath beene and yet now is vncalled and therefore out of the way of saluation To passeouer therefore those numberlâ—sse multitudes of such as neuer had any calling and to leaue them to tâ—e s cret counsell of the Lord for as farre aâ— God hath made knowne vnto vs in his reuealed VVill there is no meanes of saluation for them or any of them continuing in that estate Let vs come vnto that other sort those I meane that are outwardly called by the preaching of the Word which soundeth amongst them and make an outward profession of Christ and his Gospell within how narrow a roome are they confined vvithin the borders of Europe the skirts of Asia vnder Turkish bondage and tyranny and that remote and almost vnknowne part of Africa vnder that Aethiopian gouernour Prester-Iohn and not else-where except it bee a sprinkling here there of some fewe that are scattered in the Indies or in some other Countries They are euen shut vp as it were in this Angle and corner of the world as is apparent to those that are of knowledge and cast their eie vpon this larger frame And yet how few euen of them that haue receiued this outward calling are and shall bee saued Let that saying of our Sauiour himselfe testifie Mat. 20.16 Many are called by an outward calling and externall profession but few euen of those that are so called are chosen to vvhich also that holy Apostle of his Rom. 9.27 out of the kingly Prophet doth well accord Isa 10.22 Though the number of the children of Israel were as the sand of the Sea yet shall but a remnant be saued All are not Israel which are of Israel neither shall all that are of the Church militant be of the Church triumphant Euen of those that are called the fewest are saued And this will be better conceiued of vs if wee consider what a multitude there are First * Bellarm. pref in lib. de Pont. Nisi per Petrum non peruenitur ad Christum among the Papists that Antichristian Synagogue who make indeed a profession of Christ and Christian religion haue glorious shewes to the eyes of the world faire titles without truth boasting strangely that they and none but they are of the true Catholike Apostolike Church * Bellar. lib. 4. de Not. Eccl. cap. 4. Constat nostram solam esse veram EcclesiaÌ„ vid. cap. 5.6 that they haue the keyes of Heauen in their keeping onely and shall haue Heauen-gates hereafter set open vnto them all other being excluded and shut * Coster Enchir. Conclusio Absque dubio in aeternum peribunt Gal. 5.4 Iohn 16 2. Gal. 4.29 2 The. 2.11 out and yet indeed are cleane out of the way of saluation yea persecute them that walke in it thinking that therein they doe God good seruice and walke blinde-folded in those crooked pathes of their owne inuentions and idolatrous worship and superstitious obseruances which tend vnto euerlasting perdition and condemnation Reuel 14.9.10.11 18.4 2 Thes 2.12 Yea euen amongst vs where the name of Christ is truely called vpon For thousands there bee in the bosome of this our Church vvho are called indeed Christians being baptized into the name of Christ and wearing the outward badge and cognisance of a Christian vvho notwithstanding are as farre from saluation as hell is from heauen as their vvicked courses and vaine conuersations doe euidently vvitnesse to their faces Isa 3.9 and euen proclaime with loud voice to the vvhole world For some although they haue the name of Christians are in truth no better then plaine Atheists vvanting euen the outward profession of that vvhich they beare the name of making their pleasures their profits their honours and preferments yea their bellies their Gods Phil. 3.19 altogether deuoting themselues to their seruice neuer thinking of God nor regarding to walke