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heaven_n	enter_v	righteousness_n	scribe_n	2,630	5	11.0710	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17384	A commentary: or, sermons vpon the second chapter of the first epistle of Saint Peter vvherein method, sense, doctrine, and vse, is, with great variety of matter, profitably handled; and sundry heads of diuinity largely discussed. By Nicholas Byfield, late preacher of God's Word at Isle-worth in Middlesex.	Byfield, Nicholas, 1579-1622.; Gouge, William, 1578-1653.	1623 (1623)	STC 4211; ESTC S107078	497,216	958

Prouer. 13.19 And whereas there is no peace to the wicked the righteous is at peace with God with Angels with the creatures and with all godly men Fourthly because it is the most durable life for the fear of the Lord prolongeth the daies but the yeers of the wicked shall be shortned Pro. 10.27 30. The way of righteousnes is life and in the path-way thereof is no death Prouerbs 12.28 As a whirl-winde so is the wicked seen no more but the righteous is an euerlasting foundation Prouer. 10.25 Fiftly because it is a life that ends the best of all mens liues for the wicked is driuen away in his wickednes but the righteous hath hope in his death and great hope too hauing the promises of a better life and so much glory as the eye of mortall man neuer saw nor ear of man heard nor came into the hart of a naturall man Pro. 14.32 1. Tim. 6. 1. Cor. 2.9 Sixtly because righteousnes is more proper to the soule What is riches or honour or any outward thing to the soule of a man or what shall it profit a man to prouide for the whole world to be his estate if hee prouide not grace for his soule Riches profit but the outward estates of a man whereas righteousnes profits the man himselfe And therefore Adam's losse was greater in losing his innocency than in losing of Paradise What can it profit a man to haue all other things good about him if he be not good himself Vse The vse should bee first for triall Men should throughly search themselues whether they be indeed righteous men and the more carefully should they search because the most righteous on earth haue their many ignorances and frailties There is no man but sinneth daily and in many things and besides a man may attaine to some kinde of righteousnes and yet not enter into the Kingdome of heauen as there is a generation that are pure in their owne eies and yet are not clensed from their sinnes And the Pharises had a righteousnes that had many praises they gaue alms and fasted and praied long praiers and did that which was warrantable in respect of the Law outwardly and yet if our righteousnes exceed not the righteousnes of the Scribes and Pharises we cannot enter into the Kingdome of heauen Quest. But how may a man knowe all his infirmities notwithstanding hee bee truely righteous and haue such a righteousnes as doth exceed the righteousnes of the Scribes and Pharises Ans. For answer heerunto I will cast the signes of a righteous man into two ranks First such as describe him in himself secondly such as describe him in the difference from Pharisaicall righteousnesse The signes that describe him in himself either appeare vpon him in his infancy or in his ripe age In the very infancy of the iust man euen when God first changeth his heart and clenseth him and raiseth him vp to liue righteously there bee diuers things by which hee may discern the truth of his sanctification as First by the dissoluing of the stoninesse of his heart When God comes effectually to clense a man hee takes away the stony heart out of the body and giues him a heart of flesh he may feele his heart melt within him especially when hee stands before the Lord when the Lord is fashioning of him for himself by his Ordinances Ezech. 36.25 26. Hee hath a new heart that hath not a stony heart Secondly by the rising of the day starre in his heart The Father of lights when he reneweth the heart of a man causeth a sudden heauenly light as it were a starre to shine in the vnderstanding by vertue of which men see more into the mysteries of Religion in that first moment than they did all the daies of their life before This is that new spirit the Prophet speaks of Hee that sate in darknes before now sees a great light he sees and wonders at diuine things in Religion whereas before hee was a sot and vnderstood nothing with any power or life and by the comforts of this light he can heare as the Learned vnderstands doctrine in a moment which before was altogether harsh and dark vnto him 2. Peter 1.19 Ezechiel 36.28 Psalm 119.130 Mathew 4.16 Esay 50.4 Thirdly by his vehement desire to righteousnes or after righteousnes Mathew 5.5 Which hee shewes many waies as by the loathing of himself for his want of righteousnes and for all his wayes that were not good Ezech. 36.35 and by his estimation of righteousnes aboue riches all worldly things Psalm 3.8 9. and by his affectionate enquiry after directions for righteousnes Men and brethren what shall we doo to be saued Acts 2.37 and by his longing after the Word of truth by which he may learn righteousnes Fourthly by his estimation of righteousnes in others he honours them that fear the Lord as the onely Noble Ones all his delight is in them and he loues them and longs after them for righteousnes sake Fiftly by the couenant he makes in his heart about righteousnes he not onely consents to obey Esay 1.19 but hires himself as a seruant to righteousnes resoluing to liue to righteousnes and spend not an houre in a day but a life in the seruice of righteousnes Rom. 6.13 18. And as the righteous man growes more strong and better acquainted with God and his Ordinances and the works of righteousnes other signes break-out vpon him which doo infallibly prooue the happinesse of his condition such as are First vexation in his soule at the wickednes and vnrighteousnes of others 2. Pet. 2.8 Secondly reioycing with ioy vnspeakable and glorious when he feels the comforts of GOD's presence and begins to see some euidence of Gods loue to him in Christ 1. Pet. 1.9 Thirdly the personall and passionate loue of the Lord Iesus Christ the Fountain of righteousnes though hee neuer saw him in the flesh esteeming him aboue all persons and things 1. Peter 1.9 Phil. 3.8 9. longing after his comming with great striuings of affections 2. Cor. 5. 2. Tim. 4.8 c. Fourthly flourishing like a Palm-tree when he is planted in the House of the Lord and enioyes powerfull means in the House of his God growing like the Willowes by the water-courses Psalm 92.12 13. and 1.3 Fiftly resolution to suffer any thing for righteousnes sake Mat. 5.12 so as hee will forsake father or mother house or lands yea life it self rather than forsake the truth and the good way of God Mat. 16.23 Mark 10.29 Sixtly he liues by faith The iust liues by faith In all estates of life he casteth his cares and himself vpon God trusting on the merits of Iesus Christ and is in nothing carefull but patiently waits vpon God Gal. 2.2 Heb. 10.38 Gal. 3.11 And thus he is described in himself Now his righteousnes is distinguished from the righteousnes of the Scribes and Pharises by diuers signes and marks as First in the ends of it

wear the badges of righteousnes The vncircumcised were accounted vnholy and the Iewes a holy nation because being circumcised they had the signe of righteousnes so are Christians holy by Baptism sacramentally Fiftly they are holy in regard of separation from the wicked and the World A thing was said to be holy in the Law which was separated from common vses to the vse of the Tabernacle so are the Godly holy because separated from the vnholy But chiefly the Godly excell for holinesse if we respect the holinesse First of justification they are holy by the imputation of the perfect holinesse of Christ and so are they as holy as euer was Adam in Paradise or the Angels in heauen Secondly of sanctification they haue holinesse in their natures and they practise holinesse too and thus they are holy in heart and by inchoation They haue grace in all parts though not in all degrees they are not destitute of any sauing or heauenly gift 1. Cor. 9.11 And this kind of holinesse must not bee slighted or meanly accounted of for first it is a holinesse wrought by the holy Ghost Secondly it is presented to God by the intercession of Christ whereby all imperfections are couered And thirdly it is acknowledged in the couenant of grace which admits of vprightnes and sincerity in stead of perfection which in the other couenants were required Thirdly they are holy in hope because they look for perfect holinesse in nature and action in another world There is a righteousnes which they wait for that exceeds all the righteousnes that euer was in any man in this world Christ Iesus excepted But I conceit it is the holinesse of sanctification which is heer meant Now this holiness consists either of mortification or viuification Mortification is imploied about the subduing of corruptions and viuification about qualifying the heart and life of the beleeuer with holinesse Viuification also is exercised either about new grace in the heart or new obedience in the conuersation I take it the later is heer meant and so the Apostle intends to say that no people are like the belieuing Christians for the holinesse of their conuersation Vses The vse of this point may bee first for great encouragement to the true Christian notwithstanding all his infirmities with which he is burdened and therefore hee should take heed that he be not wicked ouer-much Eccles. 7. that is hee should not think to vilely of himselfe For though hee be guilty of many sinnes yet hee is truely holy and that many waies as was shewed before God hath done great things for him that hath giuen him a holy head and a holy calling and especially that he hath already made him perfectly holy by Iustification and will make him perfectly holy in Sanctification in another world yea hee ought to take reason of comfort for his holines of Sanctification as for the reasons before so the verie holines of his conuersation is much more exact then is the conuersation of the wicked or then was his owne before his calling And withall this should much stirre vp godly men to the care of sound holines in their conuersation and the rather because first they were redeemed from a vain conuersation by the bloud of Christ 1. Pet. 1.18 Secondly they should much thereby aduance the profession of true Religion Phil. 1.27 Thirdly because a holy conuersation is a good conuersation God requires nothing of vs to doe but it is all faire work and good for vs whereas when wee haue done the Diuel the world and the flesh work that which was extremely ill for vs. Fourthly wee hold our profession before many witnesses many eies are vpon vs and the most men are crooked and peruerse 1. Tim. 6.12 Phil. 2.15 and the best way to silence foolish men is by vnrebukeablenes of conuersation 1. Pet. 2.15 Fiftly our heauenly Father is heereby glorified Math. 5. and 6. Sixtly it will bee a great comfort to vs in aduersity 2. Cor. 1.12 Lastly great is our reward in heauen For heereby will bee ministred aboundantly an entrance into the glorious Kingdome of Iesus Christ 2. Pet. 1.11 But then wee must looke to diuers rules about our conuersation that it may bee right for First it must be a good conuersation in Christ 1. Pet. 3.16 Secondly it must bee a conuersation discharged from those vsuall vices which are hatefull in such as professe the sincerity of the Gospell and yet common in the world such as are lying wrath bitternes rotten comunication or cursed speaking or the like Eph. 4.25 Col. 3.8 1. Pet. 1.14 Thirdly it must bee all manner of conuersation 1. Pet. 1.15 we must shew respect to all Gods commandements at home and abroad in religion mercy righteousnesse or honesty Fourthly wee must shew all meeknes of wisdome when wee heare outward praise or doe good or are to expresse our selues in discourse or otherwise Iam. 3.13 2. Cor. 1.12 And that wee may attaine to this holines of conuersation First wee must walk according to the rule of Gods Word and let that bee a light to our feet and a lanthorne vnto our pathes Gal. 6.16 Ioh. 3.21 Secondly wee must set before vs the pattern of such Christians as haue most excelled that way Phil. 3.17 and walke with the wife Thirdly especially as obedient children wee should learne of our heauenly Father to fashion our selues according to his nature and in all conuersation striue to be holy as hee is holy and as it followes in this verse wee should study and striue to shewe foorth the vertues that were eminent in Iesus Christ 1. Pet. 1.15 16. and 12.10 Thirdly in so much as holines is the prerogatiue of a Christian it should teach all sortes of men to try themselues whether they haue attained true holines or no so as they bee sure their holines exceed the holines of the Scribes and Pharises For else they cannot enter into the Kingdome of heauen For a Christian must haue that holines of conuersation which no wicked man can attaine vnto Now that this triall may bee done effectually I will shew wherein the holines of a true Christian exceedes the holines First of a meere ciuill honest man Secondly of the most glorious Hypocrite First for the meere ciuill honest man the true Christian exceedes his righteousnes both in the righteousnes of faith and in the internall holines of the heart and the power of holy affections but because it is holines of conuersation which is especially heere meant I will touch the differences in conuersation and so First they differ in one maine cause of orderly life For the holines of the godly Christian proceedes from a regenerate heart whereas the meere ciuil man is so naturally or onely by restraining grace Hee hath not beene in the furnace of mortification for sin Secondly the meere ciuil honest man glories in this that hee paies euery man his owne and is no adulterer or drunkard or the like notorious

to answer or obey reiect the counsell of God harden their hearts and are therefore extremely miserable for First they iudge themselues vnworthy of euerlasting life Acts 13.46 Secondly they are in danger to bee left and forsaken of God and haue the meanes taken from them Iohn 12.39 Thirdly God will prouoke them many times to ielousie by calling a people to himselfe whom they account foolish Rom. 10.19 especially when they haue rebelled against the means Ezech. 3.6 7. Fourthly God will laugh at the calamity of such men Prou. 1.26 Fiftly and they may bee taken away with sudden destruction Prou. 1.17 Sixtly if they call to God it may be hee will not answer heereafter Prou. 1.28 29 30. Seuenthly if they liue in prosperity that shall destroy them Prou. 1.31 Eightly the dust of the feet of Gods seruants shall witnesse against them in the day of Christ and then they shall bee fearefully punished Now there are another sort of wicked men that are called externally and in some respect internally too and yet are not right such as haue temporary grace doe obey their calling after a sort and for a time for they assent vnto a part of the Word of God which they receiue with ioy and this is called a taste of the good word of God they may also bee perswaded to leaue diuers sinnes as Herod was and may bee indued with diuers graces of the spirit which they had not before Heb. 6.4 5. Now this calling yet is not that effectuall inward calling which is in Gods Elect. For they receiue not the promise of grace in Christ to them in particular to rely vpon it nor are they perswaded to for sake all sinne nor haue they any one sauing grace which is in the godly Now these men are miserable because they are not truly called and the more first because they were neere the Kingdome of God and yet want it secondly because they will bee the hardlier drawne to see their miseries Harlots and Publicanes may enter into the Kingdome of heauen before them Hitherto of our calling and so of the positiue descriptiō of the happines of a Christian the cōparatiue followes in the last words of this verse the whole 10. v. where the Apostle intends to shew thē their happines now in Christ in cōparison of that miserable estate they liued in before so that hee compares the estate of a Christian in grace with the estate of a Christian in nature and this he doth first in metaphoricall termes in the end of this verse and then in plaine words verse 10. In this verse hee compares their misery to darknes and their happines to maruellous light Out of darknes From the generall consideration of all the words two things may bee obserued First that it is profitable euen for godly men to bee put in minde of the misery they were in by nature For the consideration heereof may 1. Keepe them humble to remember how vile they haue beene 2. Quicken them to the reformation of the sinne that yet hangs vpon them Col. 3.5 6 7 8. 3. Work compassion in them towards others that lye yet in their sins and teach them to deale meekely with them Tit. 3.2 3. 4. Make them more watchfull to look on a nature which hath beene so vile 5. Quicken them to redeem the time they haue spent in the seruice of sinne 1. Pet. 4.3 6. It should set the greater price vpon our happines in Christ and so is the consideration vsed heere Secondly that a mind that is truly cured of sinne can easily beare the remembrance of it as it is past A man that hath beene wounded in his arme will endure you to gripe him when hee is well healed A signe he is not well healed when hee cannot bee touched so is it with sinners Thus in Generall The first thing then to be considered of is the misery of men by nature expressed in the word darknes Darknesse The darknes that is in the world is not all of a sort For there is first darknes vpon the earth which is nothing but the absence of the light of the Sunne Secondly there is darknes vpon the outward estates of men in the world and that is the darknes of affliction Now afflictions are called darknes in diuers respects As first in respect of the cause when they fall vpon men by the anger of God The want of the light of Gods countenance is miserable darknes the absence of the Sunne cannot make a worse darknes Secondly in respect of the effects because afflictions darken the outward glory of mans estate and withall breed sorrow and anguish and the clouds and storms of discomfort and grief and for the time depriue the heart of lightsomnesse and ioy Of both these respects may the words of the Prophet Esay be vnderstood Esay 5.30 and 8.22 And so God creates darknes as a punishment vpon all occasions for sinne Esay 45.7 Afflictions may bee compared to darknes in respect of another effect and that is the amazement bred in the heart by which the afflicted is vnable to see a way out of distresse and vnresolued either how to take it or what means to vse for deliuerance Thus it is a curse vpon wicked men that their waies are made dark Psal. 35.6 Thirdly afflictions are called darknes when they are secret and hidden and fal vpon men at vnawares when they are not dreamed of Iob 20.26 And thus of darknes vpon mens estates Thirdly there is a darknes falls vpon the bodies and so it is either blindnes wanting the light of the Sun or else it is death and the graue Death and the graue is called darknes Iob 17.13 and 10.21 22. Psal. 88.13 Fourthly there is a darknes vpon the soules of men and that is spirituall blindnes when the soule liues without the knowledge of God and Iesus Christ especially As it respecteth the will of God in generall it is the darknes of ignorance and errour and as it respecteth the promise of grace in Iesus Christ it is the darknes of vnbelief Eph. 4. Lastly there is a darknes shall light vpon both soules and bodies of wicked men in hell and that is called vtter darknes Mat. 8.12 and 22.15 So that darknes as it comprehends in it the misery of wicked men is either temporall darknes vpon the estates or bodies of men or spiritual darknes vpon the soules of men or else eternall darknes in hell This darknes also may be considered in the degrees of it For besides the ordinary darknesse there is first obscure darknes called also the power of darknes and such was the darknesse of Gentilisme and such is that darknes threatned to such as curse father and mother Pro. 21.20 so was the darknes Ier. 2.1 2. and that our Sauiour Christ speaketh of Luke 22.53 Such also was that night brought vpon the Diuiners Mic. 3.6 7. Secondly there is vtter darknes or eternall darknes in hell which is the highest

of this life should be brought from their blessednes into misery againe which in most absurd Thirdly Others haue imagined that the Angels should beget our soules as our parents beget our bodies But this is extremely absurd 1. Because then our soules should bee in the Image of Angels whereas they were made in the Image of God 2. Because this was an heresy long since condemned and with hatred cast out of the Church Fourthly many Diuines both of antient and modern Writers haue declared themselues to be of the minde that the soule comes from the parents by generation per traducem and that the parents doo beget the whole man which consists of soule as well as body Now though it bee true that this opinion hath had and still hath great patrones and that it may not be denied but that it is defended with maruellous great appearance of reason and truth yet it is reiected and hath been by the greater part of sound Diuines and by reasons vnanswerable for if the soule come from the parents then it must come either from the body of the parents or from their soules Now it is apparant it cannot come from their bodies 1. Because a bodily substance cannot beget a spirituall substance because it cannot deriue from it self that which it hath not 2. Because the soule must consist of the foure elements of which the body is compounded but it is apparant there are no bodily humours in the soule for it is not hot nor cold nor moist nor dry 3. Because nothing that is mortall can beget a thing that is immortall such as the soule hath been proued to be Nor can the soule come from the soule of the parents First because if it did either the whole soule was deriued of the parents or but a part of it If the whole soule was deriued then the parents should die nor can a part of the soule bee deriueed because the soule is indiuisible there can be no partition in an essence which is simple and vncompounded Secondly wee knowe that the Angels produce not Angels nor can the soules of men produce soules because they are spirits as the Angels are Nor can the soule come from the whole man First because it is euident by experience that after the parents haue done the work of generation the first matter lies diuers daies in the womb in which the parts of the body are secretly formed before it haue life or a liuing and quickning soule which is an euident demonstration that from the parents comes nothing but the bodily substance which is fashioned by degrees to be a meet Tabernacle for the soule afterwards to bee infused into Secondly because if the parents did propagate the soule they must propagate such a soule as at that time they had which cannot bee for then godly parents should deriue a soule to their children which at the least in part was regenerate But this is euidently against all Scripture all confessing that the childe is born infected with originall sin Thirdly because it is contrary to the Scriptures which acknowledge that the soule was formed by God himself which was true both of our first parent Adam Gen. 2.7 and of the soules of all his posterity which are expresly said to bee made by GOD Esay 57. verse 16. Lastly it remains then that the soules come from God Now if the soules come from God then it must needs bee as GOD is the materiall cause or as he is the efficient cause It is true that some haue imagined that the soule of man was made of the substance of God because it is said GOD breathed into man the breath of life Gen. 2.7 as if hee infused into him somewhat from himself as a part of his diuine substance And the Apostle Paul saith Acts 17.18 We are the Progeny of God and Saint Peter saith We partake of the diuine Nature 2. Pet. 1.4 Now this opinion cannot bee true and was worthily condemned by the Fathers as hereticall for Then man should bee God For whatsoeuer God begets from himself is God and therefore we say Christ is God Then some part of God's nature should bee infected with sinne and ignorance and be damned in hell too which is wonderfull blasphemous to beleeue Now for the places alleaged That in Genes 2. must be vnderstood figuratiuely for God hath not properly breath but he meaneth that God after a wonderfull manner did infuse the soule into the body And for the place in the Acts we are said to be the progeny of God not in regard of substance but in respect of resemblance in gifts with which man's nature is adorned And for the place in Peter we are said to partake of the diuine nature in the same sense namely as we are qualified with gifts as wisdome goodnes holinesse in some kinde of likenes of God It remains then that we are of God effectually because God hath created our soules and formed them in vs. This then is the truth that God doth create the particular soule of euery man and inhere it to the body when it is formed and distinguished in the parts thereof This may bee proued diuersly First it is cleer it was so done with the soule of Adam for his body was already framed and then his soule breathed into him Now if the soule of Eue and of all others had another manner of beginning than the creation of GOD it would haue been mentioned in the Scriptures but that is no where mentioned Secondly Moses cals God the God of the spirits of all flesh Numb 16.22 and 27.16 Thirdly Dauid saith The Lord fashioneth the hearts of all men alike Psalm 33.15 It is GOD's work then to create the heart Fourthly Salomon saith Eccles. 12.7 The body returns to the dust and the soule to GOD that gaue it in the dissolution of all things they return to the first causes and matter As the body may be proued originally to bee of the earth because it returns to dust so must the soule bee of God because it returns to God which is said to haue giuen it Fiftly the Prophet Esay vseth this phrase concerning God and in his name The soules which I haue made Esay 57.16 Doo you ask how the soule comes into the body The Lord answers I made it Sixtly the Prophet Ezechiel shewing how man becoms a liuing creature speaks thus Thus saith the Lord to these bones I will cause a spirit to enter into them and they shall liue Ezech. 37.5 Seuenthly the words of the Prophet Zacharie are yet more cleer Thus saith the Lord The Lord which spreads out the heauens and foundeth the earth and formed the spirit of man in him Out of these words it may be proued that God created the soule of euery man and that it is his onely work For first he saith expresly God formed the spirit in man Secondly this work of God is compared to two other works viz. the spreading out of the heauens and