praedestinatum ordinem seculorum vel sinendo vel donando distribuit Aug. de consensu Evangel l. 1. cap. 11. He is God over all all are in his hands as clay is in the hand of the Potter He only did give the Creatures their being he only can give them a Rule and appoint them to an end therefore let God alone with the Government of the world He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords He builds and destroys he plants and plucks up at his pleasure and gives no account of any of his matters He deposeth Kings and disposeth Kingdoms and this God will have men acknowledge as the great honour that is due to him that the most high Rules in the Kingdoms of mortal men Dan. 4.17 Therefore doth the Lord great things and works great changes in the world that men may acknowledge his Soveraignty In this did the holiness of Ely appear 1 Sam. 3.18 He is * Hoc nomine Dei 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. creaturarum à Deo dependentiam 3. Dei aeternitatem 4. immutabilitatem 5. omnipetentiam 6. veritatem significat Flac. Illyric clavis script part 2. p. 612. Domus magna qualis Deo est hic mundus Grot. Caeterum non convenit inter Interpretes an domus magna Eeclesiam solam an totum mundum significet contextus huc potius ducit ut de Ecclesia intelligamus Cavl Iehovah one that hath an absolute soveraignty over all the Creatures and unto his authority I submit let him do what seems him good The world is but the Lords house 2 Tim. 2.20 As in a great house there be some vessels to honour and some to dishonour so it is in the world let God alone with the Government of his own Family Secondly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mirificatus est arduus excellens ultra captum nostrum sc ardua sunt consilia quae homines nequaquam assequi potuissent juxta consilia ardua magna opera Forer Hereby we subscribe to his wisdom that he only is able to govern the world For he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working Isai 28.29 Though we cannot see the reason of his actions yet the soul can say he only is wise and there is no searching of his understanding And when the Lord shall have perfected his work and this rude draught of things shall be finished there will then appear a glorious harmony in those things that for the present seem to be nothing else but as the Earth was at its first creation without form and voyd But as the Lord then drew out each creature in its order and degree untill he brought forth this glorious Fabrick that men and Angels admire So he will do in the works of his Providence also For there is as great wisdom of God seen in works of Providence as in the work of Creation Sometimes his ways are in the Sea and his pathes in the great waters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrys 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Oecum Vide quantus honos hominum quod haec arcana consilia per ipsos Deus innotescere Angelis voluit Multa magna mandata suerant Angelis data sednullum huic par Grot. His wayes are mysterious and he makes it his glory to out-wit the Creatures as he did go beyond the wisdom of the Angels in the work of Redemption and so if I may so speak he set them to School again Vnto them is made known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God Ephes 3.10 So he deals with his Saints in the ways of providence also Therefore as the Angels do so likewise do the Saints admire his wisdom in the work even when the reason of it they cannot comprehend And they do not think it strange that God in his ways should go beyond their apprehensions As in the answer of their prayers he is able to do above whatsoever we are able to ask or think Ephes 3.20 so likewise in the Government of the world and in the ordering of all things here below there is a wo pronounced against him that strives with his maker Isai 45. v. 9. 10. There are two things the Lord cannot take well from the Potsheards of the Earth That they should say * Si ad disceptationem veniendum sit tam firmas ac solidas habebit rationes ut convictos obmutescere cogat neque verò compescit hominum proterviam quod ratione destituatur sed hanc sibi potestatem vendicat ne ab hominum figmentis vocetur ad rationem reddendam Cal. What makest thou what begettest thou Or what hast thou brought forth That is the Lord will not be called to an account by the Creature but men are to acknowledge his wisdom and to stoop to his will even when the reason of it is hid from them And therein properly is grace seen As it is reported of one †Cassianus l. 4 c. 24. Vbi monet Monachos ut praeter Abbatis mandatum nulla penitus voluntas vivat in eis c. Obedientia manca est quae subjicit superiori voluntatem non intellectum manum non animum A lap in Mal. 1.8 Johannes Abbas that he was commanded by his Confessor to go some miles every day to water a dry stick Obedientia est perfecta abnegatio propriae animae corporis mors voluntaria vita sine sollicitudine navigatio sinè damne sepultura voluntatis est iter facere dormiendo onere suo aliis impositio Climachus grad 4. which he did out of respect purely to the command and he disputes not the reason of it Should not we much more acknowledge the wisdom of God though we are not able to comprehend the grounds of it Secondly that the thing formed should say to him that formed it he had no hands Extremam apponere manum Calv. is to finish a work And to say he had no hands is to object that he left his work unfinished Opus tuum impolitum est informe acsi pedibus non manibus esset elaboratum A lap in loc or that he was not able to bring it to pass And it is all one as to object ignorance and impotence unto God Thirdly Hereby we manifest that we delight to see God work his own glory out of all the cross actions of the Creatures There is but one thing that the Saints take care of which is the great end of all their desires the scope of all their endeavours which they would secure more then their lives and that is Gods glory for which they account not their lives dear This glory of God is twofold Gloriam Dei praedicat Scriptura 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 essentiam denotat proprietates essentiales 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 gloria Dei in operibus ejus gloriosis elucens sic terra gloria Dei plena est 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 celebrationem agnitionem illius Majestatus Gerh. loc com 2.
modo Bestiae devincitur In dextra Vt pro virili pro Bestia propugnent in fronte ut omnibus palam sit cui deberetur obsequium Bright Allusum est ad morem veterem quo servi Dominorum in fronte milites Imperatoris sut nominibus in dextra inscribi solebant of the Beast in their right hand and do in a high degree maintain Popish Principles and Interests and yet never wear the mark in their foreheads All these things I look upon being done as good as things which God doth approve but if the persons do them not in obedience unto God but upon corrupt Principles and unto corrupt ends or if they degenerate into the same evils and build that which they before pretended to destroy God will have a time to call them unto an Accompt and reckon with them afterward Neither doth it follow that Jehu did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord against the House of Ahab because he doing it with an evill intention and barely for Politick Ends God did afterwards visit the blood of Jezerel upon the House of Jehu I am herein to look if the thing be good in it self and to the intention of my own spirit in doing it and I need not question but I shall be accepted and rewarded for doing that in obedience to God and in sincerity of heart for which another man who did it upon corrupt Principles and unto corrupt Ends shall be sure to be punished 3. When the Ends of God are carryed on and that not coeco impetu but professedly as the intention of the Actors It is true all ungodly men do accomplish * Finis operis operantis Isai 10.7 Si pro arbitrio suo scrvi dominis obtemperant nè in iis quidem in quibus obtemperaverint obsequuntur Quando enim servus ex domini jussis câ facit tantummodo quae vult facere jam non dominicam voluntatem implet sed suam Salv. de guber Dei l. 3. p. 79. Gods Ends even when they miss their own but they do not intend the End which they effect But when men profess they aim at Gods Ends and I have ground to hope that many of them do it in truth though corrupt Ends will creep into the hearts of the best men much more into Bodies and mixt multitudes of men yet it is my duty rather to wish well unto these and to joyn with them then with any other that act quite contrary to Gods Ends and the Designs which his Word tels us that he hath upon the World The Lords ends at this time are mainâ—y these two We may speak it for he haâ—h not seft us without a word â—s 〈…〉 of it 〈…〉 wil◠〈◊〉 Heaver and Earth 〈…〉 may 〈…〉 that are 〈…〉 〈…〉 abun 〈…〉 of the 〈…〉 of men 〈…〉 of States 〈…〉 only 〈◊〉 read of tw◠〈…〉 13. the Lord thereby 〈…〉 Aâ—â—â—christ according unto 〈…〉 Câ—aim that he makes 1. He 〈◊〉 a Temporal power and headship over Kings and Kingdoms And the Western Empire being by the Gothes 〈◊〉 broken the ten Kings receiving thâ—â— their power as Kings did with one â—onsent put themselves and their Kingdoms under the power of the Pope and so together with the ten Kings he makes up the first Beast there spoken of which is but the Image of the former Empire of Rome in the West set up by the Pope sc Imperium Romanum per Pontificem crectum stabâ—litum And that the German Empire was set up by him Bellarmin himself takes a great deal of pains to prove in three Books written of purpose de translatione Imperii Romani wherein he undertakes though with great favour to his own Party to manifest 1. Leonem Tertium solum aut praecipuum ac primarium authorem translationis Imperii fuisse eique Germanicam nationem Imperium acceptum referre debere that Leo the Third translated the Empire by his authority alone unto Carolus Magnus 2. That afterward Otho de Gente Saxonum was raised to the Empire by Pope John the Twelfth 3. That the seven Princes Electors of Germany were constituted by Pope Gregory the Fifth If Antichrist did take to himself such a power as to translate and conferr Kingdoms at his will it cannot seem strange that they should give their Kingdoms to the Beast who did receive them from him and that under a pretence of his being an Officer appointed by Christ unto that very End They gave to him therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rev. 17.13 their power of Arms and of Laws that in all the ten Kingdoms he enacted what Laws he would for the support of his own Authority so that Glossa de regulis juris hath this Rule Quando de eadem re contrariae inveniuntur leges Imperatoriae Pontificiae abrogatur lex Imperatoria per Pontificiam quia non poterat servari sine mortali peccato which the Emperors did being for the Popes greater security bound to him by an Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity as to their soveraign Lord. And I doubt not but its very easie unto men skilfull in the Laws to set forth what an influence the Pope hath had from time to time upon the Politique constitution of this Nation in framing or limiting them as was most for his own advantage many of which Laws remain unrepealed unto this day This therefore is that Beast upon which the Whore is said to sit Rev. 17.3 7 8. which was and is not and yet is sc the Roman Empire set up by the Pope as the Head of the ten Kings united into one Body under him as a learned man of late hath well observed Meretrix seu Anti-Christus huic Bestiae dicitur insiaere licet enim rei fundamenta quaedam jacta fuerint veteri Imperio in ruinam paulatim inclinante tamen potissimum ibi completum est cum imago haec Imperii Romani in Germania fuit excitata tum vere coepit Anti-christus huic Bestiae insidere ejus potentià ad stabiliendam suam tyrannidem abuti decreta sua per omnes Imperii partes firmare Imperatorum consilia pro arbitrio suo atque ad suam utilitatem moderari c. Robert Jans Dissertatio de vision cap. 13. 17. Apocal. p. 29. c. And all Powers erected by him and all laws made in favor of him or by his Authority the Lord will surely shake the Nations till he hath removed All these God will certainly shake that he may remove There are also many Inventions of men brought into the Ordinances and Institutions of Christ There is a smoak in the Temple Rev. 15.8 by which Interpreters commonly understand three things First The glorious presence of God in his Church owning his People during the time of the pouring out of the Vials for they make it an Allusion to the manifestation of the presence of God at the Dedication of the Tabernacle and the Temple Exod. 40.34 1 King 8.10 2. Chron. 5.13 So Mede
by the permitting will of God that it should be so that the Saints should in a great measure lie under the power of this envious man first to entice them and afterwards to accuse them 3. He suffers the lusts of Godly men to arïse and they are many times led captive under the Law of sin yea even sometimes to gross and scandalous sins which do vastare conscientiam though they cannot excutere fidem As Sampson to a way of uncleanness David to Murther and that plotted Solomon to Idolatry and that continued Peter to the denial of his Master and that with the bitterest execrations cursing himself to Hell as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies if ever he knew the man yea and God doth leave them to harden their own hearts in a way of sinning and go on frowardly in it Isa 57.17 Why hast thou hardned our hearts from thy fear Isa 63.17 We hardened our hearts sinfully being by God left to our selves And God doth harden them judicially which is the greatest judgement that can befall a Saint in this life 4. God doth suffer wicked men to thrive and prosper in an evil way In ways of cruelty and oppression Nebuchadnezzar gathered the riches of the Nations like eggs that none did move the wing or peep He rules over the people of God with rigour shews them no mercy but upon the ancient he doth heavily lay the yoke The Ploughers plough upon their backs and make long furrows and wicked men oppress those that are more righteous then themselves And yet the Lord seems to stand by and look on and lets him thrive and prosper in it as if he had forsaken the earth So the ten Kings shall give their kingdoms to the Beast the power of laws and the power of arms and thereby set up Antichrist and he shall grow to that power That all kingdoms and nations and languages shall worship him and shall say Who is able io make war with the Beast And he shall make war with the faints and shall overcome them And this ordinarily the Lord doth that his people should come and cry to him to awaken him for he seems as a man asleep and as regarding nothing but leaving all in the enemies hand Awake Lord why sleepest thou Now all these belong unto the permitting will of God which is conversant only about the sins of the reasonable creature 2. There is very much of Godliness seen in a mans submission of his will unto this permitting will of God For the proof of it I shall give one Scripture for each of them First Submission unto the permitting will of God in regard of sin and the remainders thereof Though a godly man look upon it as his burthen as his misery esteems sinne worse then death worse then hell Yet seeing God will have it remain in him if he must still bear this weight draw this clog after him if he will still have them to wear their Grave-cloaths the Saints are content to wait for the resurrection of the just No man was more sensible of the remainders of sin then Paul as appears by his own expression of himself The greatest of sinners and the least of Saints therefore he cries out who shall deliver me Rom. 7.24 Yet he considers deliverance is begun I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord And therefore sin shall never prevail either to condemnation or dominion And with this deliverance the Apostle sits down and submits unto the will of God untill the day of his full redemption shall come though he knew that while he lived here while with the minde he did serve the Law of God yet he should with his flesh serve the Law of sin 2. For scandalous Falls though they be such as those that the people of God should fear and pray against as being such by which they cause the name of God to be blasphemed by which they become spotted of the world a blemish to their society and leave an ill name behinde them and they are set forth by God as examples for us to take warning by to take heed we fall not into the like yet when the Lord hath suffered us to fall into them we must not rise up and quarrel with him but we must say he is just and holy even in those things wherein we are wretched and sinfull Matth. 26.33 34. Peter had an admonition from Christ of a very dangerous fall that was near him and he answers Though all men forsake thee yet will not I Christ tells him that before the Cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice It was Peters duty not in a presumptuous manner to have told Christ in confidence of his own strength no you are mistaken in me if I die with thee I will not deny thee but to have said Lord if it be thy will I had rather die with thee if by thy grace thou wilt assist me I had rather undergo the greatest sufferings then commit such a sin this was Peters duty before hand And after the will of God was manifested to permit him to fall as he did he should have said Thou hast suffered me thus to fall it was my great sin thus to deny thee But since my proud and carnally confident spirit in thy wisdom must thus be brought down and my own weakness must be discovered for my further humiliation thou mightest deal with me as it seemed thee good I have no reason to quarrel with thee thou actest righteously even there where I have acted sinfully And as this was Peters duty so it is the duty of all the Saints whose actual Falls have manifested that it was the will of God to humble them by this means And indeed the Saints when they come to read over the story of their lives and shall see therein Omnes actiones ad se pertinentes circumstantias actionum as Suarez saith they shall see in heaven they will finde they had as much need of their sins as they had of their sufferings in this present life and all things shall work together for good Et si omnia quia ni peccata though I confess there be three ways which the Lord doth use to humble men by First by letting in his love into their souls the beauty of grace the excellency of holiness and then the soul looking down upon it self is as a man that hath looked upon the Sun he can see nothing So did the Lord humble Job by further discoveries of himself so he did humble Isaiah This is the highest and sweetest way of humbling who an I that the Lord should shew in me a pattern of mercy to me the greatest of all sinners is this grace given c. Secondly He doth humble men by sufferings by afflictions he doth keep man from his purpose and hides pride from his heart Thirdly But the worst way and the most uncomfortable way of humbling is by sin when the Lord is pleased to leave his people to great sins
the World For he works all things according to the counsel of his own will Ephes 1.11 This also is in a great measure revealed unto us in the Promises and Prophecies written in the Scriptures of Truth But especially since Christ took the sealed Book out of his Fathers hand Zanch de nat Deâ— l 3. c. 4 â—einolds in Hose 14. p. 75. and loosed the Seals and opened the Book Rev. 5. Thereby declaring unto his people the several designs that he hath upon the World and for his Church until the time of the end Thirdly There is his permitting will Voluntas permittens est qua Deus vult malum fieri voluntate transeunte in rem permissam cujus objectum peccatum est which concerns all the evill actions of the Creatures which though they effect yet God doth permit They that crucified Christ did act according to Gods determinate Councel that is what his will had before determined to permit them to do Acts 2.23 When the Devil did seduce Ahab in his false Prophets Deus neque vult mala ficri neque vult mala non fieeri sed vult permittere mala fieri Aquin. p 1. q. 19. a. 9. Quod Deus non impedit ideo evenit quia non impedit si cut nihil boni potest esse aut fieri nisi Deo faciente ita nil mali potest caveri nisi Deo impediente Perk. ab eo dicitur voluntas generalis Twisse vindic l. 2. p. 127. 140 c. Aug. de civit Dei l. 11. c. 17. de grat lib. arbitr c. 20.21 he did it by the permitting will of God who said thou shalt perswade him and prevail go forth and do so When the ten Kings who make up one body with the Beast in reference to his Civil power did give their Kingdoms to the Beast it was to fulfil Gods will Rev. 17.17 It was their sin and hath been the great cause of all the sufferings that have befallen the ten Kingdoms ever since and yet there was an act of Gods permitting will therein for the accomplishment of the great designs that he had upon the World Now the power of Grace lies in a submission of the will of the Creature to Gods will in all these 2. The will of man which is to be subjected to this will of God is twofold First 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There is voluntas peccati The will of the flesh and of the minde Eph. 2.3 which is nothing else but the will of the Devil in the man Joh. 1.13 Ex voluntate carnes est ex propriis viribus intellectus voluntatis quae non nisi caro est h.e. corrupta for his lusts sinners do Joh. 8.44 This will of man standing wholly in opposition to the will of God and being at emnity and irreconciliable thereunto is utterly to be rejected and absolutely to be denyed Secondly There is Voluntas naturae which was in Christ when he said Ex voluntate viri h.e. ex conatibus desideriis extra Christum etiam illorum qui pro viris in mundo sc sapientissimi sanctissimi habentur Glass exegesis Evangelic part 1. p. 593. not my will but thy will be done The will of Nature sought his preservation and that is lawful so it be subordinated unto the will of God which is to be unto the creature the highest Rule of goodness Gods will is not to be co-ordinate unto any Though it be good in it self it is not to be set up equal with Gods will The supremacy is to be placed there alone I now come to speak distinctly unto each of these particulars First The power of Grace is mainly seen in the subjection of mans will unto the commanding will of God And so Grace in the will subjects it unto the will of God in these four Acts thereof 1. Consensus the consent of the will Consentire est cum aliis sentire in alterius sententiam descendere hoc voluntatis proprium est importat non solum determinationempassivam sed activam Ante consensum praecedit consilium c. Capreol l. 1. Sent. dist 1. q. 2. conclus 5. Aquin. 1. 2ae q. 15. a. 2.3 That is when the will of God is manifested as the Rule of Duty the will doth not stand up in a way of emnity and opposition against it but approves it as good and the Rule of goodness Thus it was in Christ Psal 40.8 I come to do thy will thy Law is in the midst of my bowels It was indeed a difficult service for he came to be a sacrifice and yet his will consented unto the will of God therein I lay down my life This commandment I have received from my Father Joh. 10.18 This submission also was in Paul I consent to the Law that it is good Rom. 7.12 Every unregenerate man when he doth the will of God Lex quamvis bona auget prohibendo desiderium malum per hoc fit non absolutionis adjutorium sed vinculum criminis Aug. de spirit lit cap. 4. Jam. 2.8 consents not to his will he wishes there was no such Law looks upon the ways of God as unequall his Commandments grievous This is a hard saying who can bear it The consent of their will fals not level with the Law as the Rule of Duty But when a mans will consents to the Law not only for the soeveraignty of it as it is a Royal Law but for the goodness of it I consent to the Law that it is good then is the will of man subjected unto the commanding will of God 2. Electio est finis mediorum 〈◊〉 finis poâ—a ur pro finc ultâ—â—o in communi de co non est dâ—liberatio ergo nec electio at si de fine ultimo in particulari ut Deus 〈◊〉 vâ—sin Dei de hoc datur deliberatio deinde electio Medina in 1. 2ae q 13. a. 3. Electio the choyce of the will having once consented unto the goodness of the Law the will doth chuse it as that which is best and best for him as the only way to happiness and the only Rule of life This act of submission Davids will puts forth Psal 119.30.173 I have chosen thy precepts The word in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth signifie both examinavit elegit to try and examine and upon tryal to chuse Every man doth chuse what God he will serve and by what Rule he will walk The Lord will not force himself upon any man he doth deal with a reasonable creature in a Covenant way Deut. 26 17. Electio sequitur judicium quo aliquid reputatur meâ—â—us in ordine ad finem Aquin. 1. 2ae q. 13. a. 3. unto which the Election and the Consent of the Creature is essentially required The Lord doth not only give them a Law for that is an act of Soveraignty and binds whether the Creature consent or no but in
all the creatures in Heaven and Earth is in the hand of the Son Ezek. 1. We have set forth the order and subordination of causes in the Government of all things The Wheels note the changes and turnings of all things below but these are governed by the the living creatures the Lord making use of the Ministry of the Angels in the ordering of all things for the spirit of the living creatures is in the Wheels But ver See the Exposition of Mr. w. Greenhil of this Vision 25.26 is a Throne above that of the Angels Over the heads of the living creatures a Firmament upon the Firmament the likeness of a Throne and upon the Throne the likeness as the appearance of a man That this is to be understood of Christ is granted generally by Interpreters and that the Throne notes a Kingly power and that the voyce from the Firmament unto the living creatures was to order and command them in their Administrations And the same is set forth plainly Joh. 5.22 The Father judgeth no man Judicium pro Imperio potestate accipit secundum phrasia linguae Hebraicae A Patre Christo tradituÌ„ estregnuÌ„ ut arbitrio suo CaeluÌ„ ac TerraÌ„ moderetur Nec sensus est quasi Pater prorsus se abdicarit à judican li potestate authoritate sed quia judicat cum Filio in Filio per Filium Calv. Kemnit Pater in sua propria persona neminem regit sed per Filium Ita tamen ut Christus est vicarius Patris ab co dependet ci in regiminis administratione subordinatus est Calo. 2. câ—it sac c. 5. §. 283. but he hath committed all judgement to the Son Judgement is after the manner of the Hebrews put for the Government and Administration of all things as is it used Jer. 23.5 33.15 and the same is intended which the Apostle speaks of 1 Cor. 15.26 27. He hath put all things under his feet and in that he saith all things its manifest that nothing is excepted but he that did put all things under him Not as if the Father had put himself out of Authority but two things are here plainly set down as Paraeus hath well observed 1. That all things in Heaven and Earth are by the Father subjected unto Christ as the Ruler of them all 2. That they are so by the Father given into the hands of the Son as that the Father still retains the Government in himself Christ being in the Kingdom but the Fathers servant The same is plainly asserted Mat. 28.18 Joh. 17.2 2. This Kingdom and Rule over all the works of God doth belong unto Christ not only as he is the second Person and so equal with the Father but being God Man Pedibus subjicere est in potestatem tradere pedious conculcare est hostibus insultare Glass Rhet. sacr p. 349. Super Angelos constitutum accipimus unigenitum Fâ—â—ium nulla creatura subjecta non erit cui primates spiritus subjâ—ciciuntur Aug. in Psal 8. having undertaken the Office of Mediator so was the Government put into his hands immediately which is evident 1 From the manner of the derivation of this Kingdom it comes unto Christ by donation and therefore must come under an Act of Will which as he was God he could not do Joh. 5.22 It is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he hath given all Judgement to him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 1.2 Whom he hath appointed or put heir of all things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 2.7 which signifies to set a man in an office to constitute a man to an employment Act. 6.3 Tit. 1.5 Math. 24.47 And so much is plainly expressed Joh. 5.27 He hath given him authority to execute Judgement because he is the Son of man 2. From the time of its resignation for the Kingdom is but Oeconomical committed to Christ by way of Office and for a time and then he is to deliver it into the hand of the Father that God may be all in all 1 Cor. 15.24 28. * Potestates legitimas à Deoque ordinatas comprehendo sicut finem accipiet mundus ita Politia Mâ—gistratus tum in Coelo principatus Angeizci tum in Ecclesia cessabunt Mâ—nistrâ—â—â— praefecturaâ— c. Cal. in loc But first he must put down all Rule and Authority and Power which hath been substituted by him either Ecclesiastial Officers in the Church or Civil in the State yea I conceive it to be extended even to the Principality of the Angels also which as it began under the Mediatory Kingdom so it shal end with it 3. The Lords intent in setting Christ over the Kingdom of Providence was that he might Rule and over rule all things for the good of his Church for whose sake he undertook it for whose good he administers it and when their number is fulfilled he will deliver it up as having finished the work that was given him to do and therein accomplished all his Fathers ends Joh. 17.2 Thou hast given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him And Eph. 1.22 He * Magna consolatio quod tantum Imperium habet is qui id exercet Ecclesiae bono sicut caput consulit corpori Grot. God of his grace hath not only given us a head but such a head to whom all things are subject Baines in Eph. 1. hath put all things under his feet and given him to be Head over all things to the Church which is his Body c. And there is required of us a subjection unto Christ as King in both these Kingdoms committed unto him by the Father and to submit unto him in the one and not in the other is to deny Christ that honor which God the Father hath invested him with Now Christ is God the Fathers servant in the Government Esay 42.1 As he is called Gods King Ps 2.6 He rules from him he rules for him And as Christ is his Fathers servant so should we be the servants of Christ Christ serves all the plots of his Father all * Joh. 5.19 20 Pater niml facit nisi per Falium Filius nihil facit nisi quod Pater per ipsum operatur Ostendit Patrem esse authorem eorum quae Filius facit simul Filium esse agens intelligens qui videt cognoscit quae Pater cum ipso per ipsum operatur Nec dicit alium nâ—vâ—â— mun lum sed quod videt Patrem in pâ—â—fenti facienteâ— hoc Filius unà cum Patre facit Kemnit his eternal Counsels are made known unto him he does only accomplish what God the Father hath decreed So should we also be the servants of Christ to serve all his ends and designs as Christ doth his Fathers Now there is a double engagement lies upon Christ in reference to this Kingdom of Providence First Ratione Officii as there is a trust
Captivity it is no more termed a Kingdom but the Common-wealth of Israel Ephes 2.12 and yet while they are governed by their own Laws and their own Officers though their Monarchy was changed into an Aristocracy the Government still remains for substance the same under a different Form and when they have no King yet the Scepter remains with them still Secondly The Lord hath established two ‖ Dr. Vshers Speech in the Castle Chamber concerning the Oath of Supremacy p. 3. distinct powers upon Earth and will preserve them distinct unto the end of the World the power of the Sword and the power of the Keyes and he hath appointed two distinct Officers for the management of both these the Magistrates and the Ministers The Institutions of Christ his Word Seals and Censures these properly belong unto the Ministers and when they meddle out of these they may fear to hear that question of Christ who made thee a Ruler or a Judge and if Jesus Christ being a Minister of the Circumcision would not take it upon him though as Mediator the Government of the world did belong to him how much less should any Officer under him take upon him to decide controversies and determine Titles in matters Civil which I dare not arrogate so much to my self as to understand much less to contradict Authority and to engage the people therein The power of the sword belongs to the Magistrate And if the Magistrate will with Vzziah undertake the Institutions of Christ he must be content to hear it appertains not to thee to burn Incense but to the sons of Aaron that are consecrated thereunto 2 Chron. 26.18 If Peter also 〈…〉 bold to draw the sword he 〈…〉 to hear Put up thy sword 〈…〉 place He is commanded to 〈…〉 as a weapon that he hath no 〈…〉 to use And truly it hath be 〈…〉 just with God that the 〈…〉 Office hath been so much 〈◊〉 by others because they have 〈◊〉 so much beyond their own pale in the execution thereof And to me the Institutions of Christ which are the proper subject of our commission are of that vastness and extent that we stand in need of no such * 2 Tim. 2.4 No man that warreth intangleth himself with the affairs of this life Milites instituti obsequiis non deputabantur nec privata usdem negotia â—â—andabantur siquidem incongruum videbatur unperatoris militem qui 〈◊〉 annonâ publicâ pâ—scebatur utilitatibus vacare privatis Vegetius cere milit l. 2. Graviter commoti summus ego collegae mei qui praesentes aderant cum cognovissemus quod Geminius victor de saeculo excedens Gemintum Fausinum Presbyterum tutorem Testamento suo nominaverat quando singult divino Sacerdotio honorati in Clerico ministerio conflituti non nisi altari sacrificits deservire precibus atque orationibus vacâ—ne debeant Nemo militans Deo obligat se molestiis saecularibus quod â—â—m de omnibus dictum sit quanto magis molestiâ—s laqueis saecularibus oâ—â—gart non debent qui divinis rebus spiritalibus occupati ab Ecclesia recedere ad terrenos saeculares actus vacare non possunt ut qui operationibus divinis insistebant in nulla re avocarentur nec cogitare nec agere sacularta cogerentur Cyprian 1 p 66. Dominum Jesum in cujus nomine securus haec dico testem invoco super animam meam multo mallem per singules dies certis horis aliquid manibus operari caeteras horas habere ad legendum orandum aut aliquid in divinis literis agendum liberas quam tumult â—sissimas perplexitates causarum alienarum ae negotiis saecularibus pati c. Augustin de opere Monarch cap. 39 excursions To come now to the Answer it self There are several considerations according to the Rules of the word to be offered to you 1. In closing with or joyning our selves to any party we must not make this our Rule the ends and intentions of the party with whom we joyn so as to say I will joyn with such because I am perswaded their ends are good And I will not joyn with such because I fear their ends are nought This Rule I have from the instance of Jehu 2 Kings 9.6 7 8. He was appointed by God to be King over Israel on purpose that he might destroy the house of Ahab and avenge the blood of the Servants of the Lord. In executing this commandment of the Lord he meets with * Is viso Rege benedixit ei hoc est salutaâ— vit hona fausta precatus est gratulatus et de â—ebus praeclarè gestis adversus sceleratos Idololatras Pet. Martyr in 2 Râ—g 10. Benedixit ei sc benedictione laudis prâ— vindicta adversus domum Achab tam profanam c. Cajetan Jonadab the Son of Rhecab a holy man and he gives him the right hand of fellowship in the work rides with him in the same Chariot without ever questioning what ends Jehu had â—n it It s true he had an intention to establish the Kingdom upon himself and his Posterity and therefore so much as would conduce unto that end he would do and no more He was Ahabs Executioner for his Idolatry and yet he was Ahabs Successor therein His person therefore was not accepted in the service neither was the act approved by God as from him and yet it was not only lawful â—ut a duty for all the faithful in the Land as well as the Army * Deus tantam illi conciliavit auâ— thoritatem ut illicò sit pro rege habitus confirmatus In â—entem quippe veniebant familiae Achabi scelera Helianum oraculum vaticinium postremi Prophetae quae omnia Deus in animis illorum efficacia mirum in modum reddebat P. Martyr Principes milites divinitus excitati regnum ei detulerunt A lap to joyn with him therein because the work was Gods what ever his end was who was Gods instrument in the execution thereof For first Ends are secret things and none can judge of them but he that knows the heart For the intents of the heart lie deepest and it is a hard matter to know them in our selves much more in others Secondly because I am sure Gods ends are right what ever mens are God did it in justice though Jehu did it in policy and a gratious heart may do the same action to a holy end and his person service be accepted which an ungodly man doth to a corrupt end And the action though good in it self proves a sin to the man and is so accounted by God For any therefore to say men do what they do not for a publike good but they aim barely at setting up themselves in the Government to destroy one way of Tyranny that they may establish a greater that they may add to the peoples yoak and make their little fingers heavier then the loyns of the
deposed so far God is exalted when self shall be perfectly deposed then shall God be exalted alone but in this life so far as there are remainders of self in the man there will be opposition maintained against God And this opposition must needs be the greater the greater the thing is that is contended for If two Kings contend for a Crown it will cause a great deal of disturbance in the Kingdom And this is the ground of the fight between the flesh and the spirit in the soul of the Saint flesh contends for the Godhead of Self and Grace for the Godhead of God each of them strive for a Godhead therefore their contention must needs be exceeding great 2. Sin is nothing else but the opposition of mans will to Gods will and this is properly a seat of sin Rom. 8.7 The carnal mind is enmity to God it is not subject to the Law of God neither can be For as Corruption doth deifie reason in a way of wisdom so it doth deifie the will in a way of liberty and loves not to have any power over it that may controll correct or restrain it Therefore men look upon the Law of God as cords and bands which they cannot bear Psal 2.3 But they kick at them with the feet of pride and contempt And upon this ground it is that every unregerate man is called a turbulent unquiet spirited man never at peace and rest within himself because of the opposition of his will to the will of God Though therefore there may be some velity wrought upon the will of unregenerate men an imperfect and incompleat will that they may hear gladly and do many things yet there is some point of strictness in every unregenerate mans case which being set home upon him he stumbles at it and saith Durus est hic sermo his will stands out and the treaty betwixt him and God thereupon breaks off Therefore there is many a man that goes far parts with much comes to an almost I am perswaded to be a Christian but yet in the very ultimate act of Regeneration he plaies the part of an unwise son and stayes in the place of the breaking forth of Children Hos 13.13 and so is never new born to God Thus all the unquietness of the spirit and the offence that a man takes at the Commands wayes of God proceeds from nothing else but the non-subjection of his will to the will of God were that brought about that a man had respect unto all the Commandments the work were done and all this unquietness of the soul taken away 3. The will of God is the Center of all the wills of the Creature unto which they are all created and ordained to act and move There is a double motion or tendency of the creature towards the will of God One is natural so the Creatures without reason move toward it for they are all his servants Psal 119.91 But as for reasonable creatures God doth act them according to their nature in a voluntary way and so the will of God is the center of their will The Angels are therefore said to do his pleasure and to harken to the voice of his word Psalm 103.20 So the Saints David my servant hath fulfilled all my wills Acts 13.22 Now if any thing be taken from its Center it is unquiet moves disorderly and with a disturbed motion Let the needle that is touched with the Loadstone be shaken from its place it is alwayes trembling and unquiet till it return to the place of its former rest Let any earthly matter be by the heat of the sun exhaled and we see how it is tost to and fro in the air till the earthly matter with violence return again unto its center Nothing is at quiet out of its proper place The waters are made naturally to cover the earth but God hath by a decree laid them up in heaps he hath laid up the deep as in a treasure-house hence comes all the unquietness and turbulency that is in the vast body of the sea So it is with the soul of a man in a voluntary way as it is with the creatures in a natural way God is the center to which it was created and it is alway unquiet till it rest there Inquietum est cor meum donec requiescat in te Aust 4. The will of man in a state of sin is not only in an opposition to the will of God but to it self also The wills of the flesh and of the mind Ephes 2.3 There are divers lusts and pleasures Titus 3.3 and they do very often fall cross and contrary one to another and no man can serve two Masters that give cross and contrary commands without a great deal of trouble and disturbance That which will gratifie a mans pride will not serve his profit and that which will fit his sensual ty will not suit with his Hypocrisie Scelera dissident the Heathen man observes As all truths agree among themselves so do all duties but Error multiplex Corrupt doctrines may and do cross one with another and so do also corrupt wayes Now when the soul of man is desirous to please and content them all he would serve them all it is no wonder if the man be in a continual unquietness in his own spirit If the water did alway run one way it would run smoothly but when the tide comes in and the waters in their streams cross one another then the waves are lifted up each one tending to their own motion This said to be a mans wife or we are said to be married to sin Rom. 7.5 now if a man had many wives and he uxorious and desiring to please them all and they have contrary desires and opposite wills the man should never be quiet either in his house or heart And such an uxorious husband every sinner is that though every man hath some darling some Dalilah that he would chiefly please there yet is an unquietness in him all the while because he doth displease the rest of his Paramours 5. The Spirit of God hath undertaken the guidance of the Saints and therefore they are said to be led by the Spirit Christ gives us a manuduction into the presence of the Father by way of mediation By him we have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an access to the Father Ephes 3.12 But the Spirit gives us a manuduction in point of direction in our whole course Now the Spirit works in the soul in a sweet and effectual way When a man receives the Spirit he is annoynted with the oyl of gladness Psalm 45.7 it makes him go readily and chearfully on Non tardat uncta rota Draw us and we will run after thee Cant. 1.4 The Spirit is said to draw because its motion is powerful and yet we are said to run because our motion is voluntary Trahitur animus amore There are no cords that draw so effectually as the cords of Love Now the guidance of