Seneca epist 25. efficere mortem sibi familiarem to make death his companion and as his wife that should euer lye in his bosome that by the continuall sight of death he might be euer kept to abstaine from sinne for the couetous man might be the easier drawne to contemne the trash and trumperies of this vaine and transitorie world if hee did beleeue that hee should presently dye for so prophane Esau sayth Loe I die Facile contem nit omnia qui credit se cito moritâ—rum Hieron in ep ad Paulin Eccles 10. Incert autâ—r and what good will my Birth-right doe vnto me So the proud man would let fall his Peacocks feathers if he could thinke that hee is but dust and ashes and that when he dieth hee shall inherite wormes as the wise man sayth Omnia Caesar habet sed gloria Caesaris esse desinit tumulus vix erit octo pedum And that if he triumphed in his life like Caesar to bee the sole Monarch of the world yet would his glory soone fayle when death should locke him vp in his coffin and so of all other sinnes the frequent meditation of death is the onely preseruatiue against them For as one truely sayth of himselfe Quum recordor quod sum cinis Et quam citâ— venit finis Sine fine pertimesco Et vt cinis refrigesco When I thinke I am but dust And how soon to earth I must Bernard in carm Then incessantly I shake And as dust it doth me make So questionlesse if wee did continually thinke of death and fixe that fearefull day of Gods iust iudgement before our eyes it would bee a maruelous great meanes to deterre vs from all sinnes And as the meditation of death doth preuent sinne Bosq p. 12. de finibus honorum so it sweetneth death and makes it farre the lesse terrible vnto vs for if our eyes be dead and weaned from beholding vanities The frequent meditation of death is a great meanes to preserue vs from the feare of death our eares from hearing the Syrens songs of sinnefull pleasure and our hearts especially from the loue of vaine and worldly things then certainely they will not being thus mortified and accustomed with this death to sinne bee any whit afrayd of the death of the body which is the reward of sinne but as a horse that is to runne a race hauing often walked his way before is the more fearelesse to goe on when hee comes at the day of triall so the man that is acquainted with the wayes of death through the daily meditation of death is not afrayd to die when he seeth the day of his dissolution Palladius reports it that an Eremite being at the point to die his schollers and friends asked him if death did not seeme terrible vnto him hee smilingly answered that death was no stranger but a most familiar acquaintance to him it was his manuall and his vade mecum his table-booke which he alwayes carried about him and therefore dying he did but now repeate that his old lesson which hee had beene long in learning O that it were so with euery one of vs that throughout all our life wee would learne to die The application of Christs death is the onely cause that maketh vs happie after death Osee 13.14 that hauing made death present with vs before it comes it may neuer proue terrible vnto vs when it comes Of the third the Diuine veritie sayth that the chiefest cause the onely cause indeed of this different effect of death is the application of the death of Christ for it is he that saith O death I will be thy death O graue I will bee thy destruction and therefore as when Alexander ouerthrew the walles of Thebes Phryne a harlot promised to build them vp againe if shee might ingraue vpon them this inscription 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Alexander battered downe this Wall but Phryne built it vp againe so we may truely say that Eue threw downe these muddie walles of ours but Christ doth rayse them vp for though the wages of sinne are death Rom. 6.23 yet the grace of God brings eternall life through Iesus Christ our Lord. And the manner how he doth deliuer vs and metamorphose death to become life vnto vs he himselfe doth shew when hee sayth if I be lift vp I will draw vp all vnto my selfe i. e. if I die I will destroy the power of death for so the Apostle sayth That forasmuch as the children were partakers of flesh and blood John 8.28 and C. 12.32 Heb. 2.14 15. he himselfe likewise tooke part of the same that through death hee might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Deuill and deliuer them that through the feare of death were all their life time subiect vnto bondage 1 Machah 6.46 Iudges 16.30 and therefore as Eleazer by his owne death did put the great Elephat to death and Sampson by pulling downe the house vpon his owne head did put to death all the Philistines so Christ by his owne death did put the deuills Origen hom 8. in Iohan and all the powers of darkenesse vnto death and therefore Origen sayth that vpon the crosse of Christ two were crucified that is Christ and the deuill but after a diuers manner for Christ was crucified visibly and most willingly for hee layd downe his life himselfe but the deuill was crucified inuisibly and most vnwillingly Matth. 12.29 for this strong man armed was faine to bee bound before Christ could spoyle his house And the Lord speaking of his enemies and saying that hee would be vnto them as a Lion Ose 13.7 would obserue them as a Libbard in the way of Ashur doth foreshew vnto vs both the destruction and the manner of the destruction of these our spirituall enemies for in being like a Lion he sheweth their destruction and in being like a Libbard he sheweth the manner The manner how Christ by death ouercame death how hee would destroy them for it is obserued of the Libbard that he vseth this pollicie to kill those Apes that doe molest him first he lyeth downe as dead and suffereth the apes to mocke him and trample him and to insult ouer him as much as they will but when he perceiueth them to be wearied with leaping and skipping vpon him he reuines himselfe on a sudden and with his clawes and teeth he teareth them all to pieces euen so our Sauiour Christ suffered the deuill and death and all the wicked Iewes like apes to mocke him to tread him and trample him vnder feete to crucifie him to burie him to seale vp his graue and to haue armed Souldiers to watch him that hee should not rise any more and it may be to knocke him on the head againe if he sought to reuiue but when hee saw they had done their worst and that they could doe no more Psal 78.66.67 Hee waked as a giant out of
writings desired not onely pium Lectorem a courteous Reader of his labours but also liberum Correctorem a free reprouer of his faults but so that they doe it friendly to blame in their iudgement where it is equity but not to blaze my faults vnto the world which is a breach of charity and that they doe as well accept of what is good as except against what is ill herein for I know there be many Momus-like Qui vel non intelligendo reprehendunt Idem contra Faust l. 22. c. 34. vel reprehendendo non intelligunt that doe shew their folly in reprouing others when out of enuy or ignorance they blame that good of others which they haue not or know not themselues And for these there is none other helpe but to be carelesse of their censures and to pray against their wickednesse There be faults escaped in the Printing the most of them be literall as the mistaking of e for ae econtra and such like faults of no great moment especially to him that knowes how hard it is to make things perfect and therefore I hope they shall be either mended with thy pen or pardoned without thy censure for other things I onely desire thy prayers for mee and thou shalt euer finde his paines and prayers for thee which loueth thee and all men in Iesus Christ with all vnfainednesse GR. VVILLIAMS This Treatise cōtaineth 1. The worke done i. e. sin and that is either 1. Originall sinne where is considered 1. What euill it bringeth 2. How it is deriued 2. Actuall sin where is shewed 1. How it is defined 2. How it is increased 1. Inwardly 1. By the suggestion of Satan 2. By the delights of the flesh 3. By the consent of the spirit 2. Outwardly 1. Secretly committed 2 Publiquely aduentured 3. Vsually practised 4. Exceedingly enlarged 3. How it is cōmitted viz. of 1. Ignorance 2. Knowledge 3. Infirmity 4. Malice which is 1. Wilfull 2. Spitefull * And from hence is seene 1. The diuersity of sinners 2. The inequality of sins yet that 1. Euery sinne brings death 2. The sin of any one brings death 3. The least sin of any one brings death 2. The wages to be paid for sin i. e. death which signifieth the curse of God extending it selfe 1. Vpon all creatures 1. Heauenly 2. Earthly 2. Vpon euery man to whom it bringeth a treble death 1. Of the soule whereof it killeth 1. Will. 2. Vnderstanding 3. Memory 2. Of the body where is considered 1. What is meant by death i. e. all miseries 1. In all Ages 2. In all States 3. By all Creatures 2. How farre it extendeth ouer all men 3. How variably it worketh in respect of the 1. Manner 2. Time 3. Place 4. Effects †which are different the cause whereof is 1. The practise of a good life 2. The meditatiō of our death 3. The applic of Christs death 3. Of body and soule in Hell 3. The equity of this wages is seene if we consider 1. That it is iust to punish sinne 2. That God is the iustest Iudg that can bee found to punish sinne 1. Because he loueth righteousnesse 2. Because he iudgeth without respect of persons 3. Because he punisheth euery man according to his desart Where the inequality of Hell punishment is shewed 3. That all the punishment afore-said inflicted for sinne is most iust 1. Not in respect of a sinners will eternally to sinne if he did eternally liue but 2. In a iust proportion of the punishment to the haynousnesse of the sin committed which is seene in respect 1. Of the leuity and easinesse to doe what God commandeth 2. Of the transcendent deformity of sinne which is seene if we consider 1. The Nature of him that is offended 2. The quality of him that doth offend 3. The Nature of the sinne that is committed This Treatise sheweth 1. What God is and how God is knowne what he is two wayes 1. As he is in himselfe so none knoweth God but God himselfe 2. As he hath expressed himselfe to vs and so he may be known 1. By way of negation 2. By way of affirmation 3. By way of superexcellency and so hee is shewed to be 1. An eternall being in himselfe 2. A giuer of being 1. To all creatures 2. To all his promises which should teach vs to labour to be vnited to him to be thankefull and to beleeue all his promises 3. An absolute L. of all things which should teach vs to serue him for 3. especiall reasons 2. What maner of God he is where the nature of God is shewed by three speciall attributes viz. 1. By his Power touching which is handled 1. The number quality of the aduersaries of Gods power which are 1. The Infidels that will not beleeue in him 2. The desperate men that cannot hope in him 3. The vbiquitaries of Germany 4. The pontificialls of Rome 2. How the actiue power of God is to be considered in resp 1. Of his inward operations 2. Of his outward operatiōs and so it must be cōsidered 1. Relatiuely as it respecteth the will and decree of God 2. Absolutely so he can doe all things 1. Which are not contrary to Gods Nature 2. Which imply not contradiction 3. The proofe of Gods omnipotency which is shewed from 1. The Word of God 2. The workes of God 1. In the beginning of the world 2. Throughout the continuance 3. In the end of the world 3. The consent of all Diuines 4. The testimony of many Heathens 5. The confession of the very Diuels 4. The answering to the chiefest obiections 1. Of the Infidels 2. Of the desperate 3. Of the vbiquitaries 4. Of the pontificials 5. The vsefull appl of this do which serueth 1. To confute many heresies 2. To comfort all the Godly 3. To condemne all the wicked 2 By his goodnes and that seauen especial wayes viz. that he is 1. Mercifull which consisteth in 1. Giuing of graces 2. Forgiuing of sinnes 3. Qualifying of punishments 2. Gracious which signifieth 1. Amiable 2. Placable 3. Liberall 3. Slow to anger shewed 1. By Scriptures 2. By examples old and new 4. Abundant in goodnes 1. As he is in himselfe 2. As he is to others 1. Generally to all creatures by 1. Creating all things 1. simp g. 2. rela g. 2. pres thē frō euill 3. enric thē with g. 2. Specially to his elect 1. by dec their elec 2. by their effect cal 3. by the filling of thē with his graces 5. Abundant in truth 1. Essentially truth in himselfe 2. Causally the fountaine of al truth 1. Of things 2. Of the vnderstanding 3. Of expression which is 1. Primar in Scrip. 2 Secondarily from man to man 6. Reseruing mercy for thousands that is 1. Extensiuely 2. Successiuely 7. Forgiuing iniquitie and transgression and sin i. e. all kinds of sin 1. Originall corruption 2. Actuall commission 3. Greatest abhom if we repent * The vsefull applic of Gods
i. e. God for diuers speciall reasons as 1. Because hee onely is omnipresent 2. Because hee onely is omniscient 3. Because hee onely is omnipotent 3. The place whereto pray 1. Generally euerywhere 2. Specially the Church and that for fiue speciall reasons 4. The time when to pray 1. With our heart and affect alwaies 2. With our voyce at the appointed times 1. For our priuate prayers 2. For our publ prayers ‡ Where the neglectors of publique prayers are sharpely reprehended 5. The manner how to pray 1. In humility 2. In faith 3. In zeale 4. With constancy 5. In charity 6. In piety 6. The motiues to perswade vs to pray 1. In respect of God because prayer is an essentiall part of Gods seruice 2. In respect of our selues 1. To obtaine our request 1. Whatsoeuer we aske 2. More then we aske 3. Better then we aske 2. To preuent iudgements 3. To preserue al spiritual graces 4 To weaken finne 5. To sanctifie the creatures 6. To ouercome all creatures 7. To preuaile with God 1. When hee is pleased 2. When hee is angry Where is shewed that the gift to pray is the most excellentest grace that God bestoweth on man 2. The charity of the Apostle in shewing how we should pray one for another where is shewed that we must pray 1. Specially for our selues 2. Generally for al men for three speciall reasons and more particularly †; 1. For Kings and all Magistrates 2. For our ministers and that for three speciall reasons 1. Because we owe this dutie to pray for them 2 For our owne good 3. To helpe them ‖ to discharge that great charge which is laide vpon them where is shewed the dangerous estate of Ministers whatsoeuer they doe An Jntroduction to the whole BOOKE WHen Almighty God had decreed from all eternity to make certaine creatures partakers of his felicity he did in that very period of the decreed time by his eternall Councell create of nothing all the things that are subsistent and thereby he shewed himselfe to be as all Gentiles confest it optimus maximus the very best of all that is good and the very greatest of all that is great and as Pliny saith well especially hauing but the light of nature to enlighten him Plutarch in Panegyrico Traiâ—n dict he did herein shew himselfe to be prius optimus quam maximus because hee which was so eminently good that he could not be bettered did all this for them that were iust nothing but alas behold a relapsed creature from his most indulgent Creator and see how this goodnesse of God abused by the creature became through the iust iudgement of GOD an euitable cause of all miseries vpon all transgressors for wee not contented with that blessed state wherein wee were established did spurne against our God by a most ambitious vsurpation of his very Deity and so aspiring vnto a blessed life as we thought we brought vpon our selues a most accursed death as we all finde yet God still desiring to shew himselfe a God of mercy he promised to send a Sauiour to redeem vs Gal. 4.4 by taking our nature vpon him and suffering in our flesh whatsoeuer we deserued for our sinnes and to this end when the fulnesse of time came God sent his Sonne made of a woman made vnder the Law subiect to the curse of the Law which was death of body buriall in the graue and discention into hell that he might free vs from eternall death and then to rise againe the third day to ascend into heauen and to send his holy Spirit into our hearts to worke in vs faith to apply all this vnto our selues and all other graces whatsoeuer that might fit vs and bring vs vnto euerlasting life And this is the summe of all that is contained in this booke to know our selues to know God to know Iesus Christ borne dead raised ascended and now raigning in eternall glory to guide his Church and to confound his foes for euermore Perhaps this worke may seeme as the water boughs of a fruitlesse tree a superfluous branch vnto the Church of God I willingly submit it to the iudgement of Gods children they must all confesse it is the last houre of the worlds age wherein iniquity is increased impiety is enlarged and all charity is almost abandoned all things growing worse and worse by continuance Et satanas tanto feruentior ad sauitiam quanto se sentit viciniorem ad paenam and Satan hauing the greater rage to driue vs to transgression by how much the neerer he perceiues himselfe to destruction And therefore let men say what they will yet seeing we may truly demaund of them Quid audiam verba cum vidiam contraria facta What booteth all our knowledge seeing we doe nothing that we know nor know nothing indeed as we ought to know I say that it cannot be amisse to do what wee can to expresse those things that may best make for our happinesse and I know these points are necessary to be knowne Aetas parentum peior auis tulit nos nequiores mox daturos progienem visiorem Horat. car 3.6 Greg Moral l. 34. c. 1. and most profitable to be practised by all Christians Reade them then and I will pray to God that he will giue thee grace Faeliciter currere faelicius in Christi pietate cursam tuum consummare to vnderstand what thou readest to beleeue what thou vnderstandest and to practise what thou beleeuest that so thou mayest attaine vnto euerlasting life through Iesus Christ our Lord Amen Courteous Reader these errours and the like if you meet them I pray you correct them Pag. Lin. Errata Corrige 5 19 predicatum praedicatum 7 24 as some deleatur 15 21 infelicitas infaelicitas 18 13 predicatum praedicatum 22 30 nay no. 23 36 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 28 21 occulos oculos 29 20 Athenienes Athenienses 31 15 gnostrickes gnostickes  praemit premit 37 1 equalities equalitie 38 2 quaâ—a quantae  at as 44 9 seruat deleatur 45 10 meritrix meretrix 47 23 á as 71 8 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 71 6 presentes praesentes 77 12 laethi lethi 81 18 soules sculles 84 16 are is  27 elephat elephante 86 37 it in 93 4 dilicijs delicijs 102 18 diliciae deliciae 128 14 future tens for the present present tens for the future 263 7 conquari conqueri 326 25 impleueâ— impleuit 452 4 faerox ferox 463 1 progeniere progenuere 471 26 eterchangably interchangably 480 25 penae poenae 482 25 manibus maenibus 462 10 Querentis quaerentis 559 35 tum tam 571 12 fugentes fugientes 579 7 eo eos 669 31 honestatatis honestatis 676 34 lepido tepido 692 after effusion of v. their deerest bloud to defend that in the field which they with the diffusion of c. 707 1 propter praeter Marginall faults P. Err. Corrige
both Body and Soule not that the Soule begetteth a Soule That man and all other creatures receaued power to produce creatures like vnto themselues Totum generat totum hoc est corpus generat corpus mediante anima anima generat animam mediante corpore Psal 51.5 or the Body begetteth a spirit but that as all other creatures receiued power from God to produce creatures like vnto themselues as the seede of the vegetatiue to bring forth vegetatiue creatures and the sensible sensible creatures so man consisting both of Body and Soule should beget a creature like vnto himselfe consisting of the same parts for otherwise sinne must needes bee in the body before the Soule be infused for if the schoole of the naturalists be to be belieued the Soule is not infused into the Body vntill the thirtieth as some or fortieth day as some affirme and yet the Psalmist saith that he was conceiued in sinne therefore both Body and Soule were both conceiued at once or else corruption was in the Body before the infusion of the Soule and this liuing Soule by this dead flesh must needes be defiled which is most absurd for as Saint Augustine sayth of Adam It was not his corruptible flesh which made his Soule to become sinnefull but his sinnefull Soule made his flesh subiect to corruption so it must needes be in the sonnes of Adam Gene. 5.3 that not our flesh corrupts our Soules but both body and soule are conceiued in sinne both produced of sinfull seede and so sinne principally resides in the Soule and not in the Body because the Soule giues life and motion vnto the flesh hence it is that Adam hauing defiled both his Body and Soule is sayd to haue begot a childe in his owne image i. e. sinfull and polluted like himselfe both in regard of his body and Soule Bosquierus de finibus bonorum lib. 1. con 6. p. 27. Nam Adam vt persona publica sibi ac suis aut sapiebat aut delirabat for now Adam standing in paradise a publique person as I told you before was to make or to marre himselfe and all his posteritie and therefore if this roote had continued holy the branches had beene likewise holy but the tree prouing to be euill Rom. 11. the fruit could not possibly be good Math. 7.18 for a bad tree cannot bring forth good fruit sayth our Sauiour and therefore Adam sinning all his seede are become sinnefull all his ofspring tanquam serie continuata as in a continued line doe like corrupted branches of a rotten tree bring forth still corrupted fruits and so make all their generation so soone as they are begotten liable to the curse of God for that first transgression for the reward of sinne is death and the Prophet Dauid sayeth Psal 51.2 hee was shapen in wickednesse and conceaued in sinne Iohn 3.6 and our Sauiour sayth that which is borne of flesh is flesh i. e. he that is borne of a sinnefull man can be nothing else but a sinnefull man That Gods graces are not traduced from the best parents not that a godly man begets a godly man for the graces of Gods spirit are not begotten in our carnall generation but they are giuen from aboue in our spirituall regeneration and a man begets his childe not as he is spirituall but as hee is a creature consisting of body and soule and therefore whosoeuer is borne of flesh and blood must needes be tainted and corrupted with sinne and wickednesse for flesh heere is not taken pro natura carnis sed pro vitiosa qualitate totius hominis for the single nature of flesh but for the corrupted qualitie of the whole man as Saint Paul excellently sheweth when hee sayth in my flesh dwelleth no goodnesse Rom. 7.8 i. e. in the corrupted nature of a naturall man there is no grace there is no goodnesse And therefore hoc virus paternum this hereditarie poyson as Paulinus calleth it What we learne from this doctrine this our originall sinne that is inbred in euery man since the fall of the first man may sufficiently serue to teach vs. First to iustifie God First to iustifie God for inflicting death vpon euery man though man should doe nothing else to procure his death quia damnati antequam nati because euery one is guilty of this sinne and therefore of death before hee commeth to this present life for the reward of sinne is death and therefore the death of children and infants that haue done no actuall sinne doth proue them tainted with this sinne because death cannot be iustly inflicted vpon those that are no wayes infected with sinne for the reward of sinne is death but you see they are subiect vnto death and therefore you may know they are tainted with sinne Secondly Secondly to be humbled this may serue to teach all those that stand so much vpon the honour and dignity of their naturall birth to consider whâ—t they are and what they haue thereby a sinnefull corrupted and contagious being children of wrath subiects to death slaues of damnation be they Kings Princes Nobles what you will this is all they haue or can haue by their naturall birth Iohn 3.6 for whatsoeuer is borne of flesh is flesh i. e. all things that parents can conuaye vnto their children is but a corrupted natural being yea though the parties should be sanctified themselues and thereby procure their children to bee receiued and reputed members of the visible Church before men yet can they not infuse Grace Perkins in Jud. 1. nor produce sanctified children in the sight of God For though we reade of some that were sanctified in their Mothers wombe as Ieremie Iohn Baptist and the like Ier. 1.5 yet this sanctifying grace was infused by God and not traduced from their parents Luke 1.44 and therefore this should make all men to be of an humble spirit and to reioyce more in their second birth in the Baptisme that they haue receiued it may bee by the hands of some meane Minister and their begetting vnto the faith of Christ by the preaching of the word of God then in all that glory and excellencie that they haue gotten from their naturall parents for they did but make vs Men these must make vs Christian men And thus you see that by the guilt of Adams sinne euery childe of Adam deserues eternall death before he comes to this present life But because we would be sure enough of death wee will hasten it and draw it on as it were with cart-ropes throughout all our life and we will not haue it sayd Ezech. 18.2 our fathers haue eaten sower Grapes and the childrens teeth are set on edge or that Adam sinned we are punished nam errauimus cum patribus for we haue sinned wil sinne with our fathers more then our fathers we will drinke iniquity like water and adde vnto our originall corruption
therefore many groanes and sighes How hard it is to recouer a sinner accustomed to sinne many teares and prayers and loud cryes must be vsed before such a soule can be raised from her sinnes and because the accustomed sinners are bound with sinnes as with a chaine and haue their faces bound vp with shamelesse impudency and couered with the same as with the Napkin therefore the Ministers of the word their friends their neighâ—ours by reproofes by counsell and by all other meanes must doe their best to loose them and to let them goe that is to withdraw them from their euill wayes and to cause them to walke in the pathes of Righteousnesse Well then seeing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the life of sinne is the death of the soule yea seeing euery sinne slayeth the soule and that it is so hard a thing to reuiue the soule from accustomed sinnes Oh why should we accustome our selues to sinne for it is more dangerous to sleepe with one sinne then with an hundred Scorpions For they can but kill the body but sinne killeth both the body and soule Oderunt peccare boni virtutis amore That the loue of goodnesse should moue vs to hate sinne Siscirem deos ignosciturâ—s homines ignorâ—turos Tamen propter peccati turpitudinem peccare dedignarer Seneca We know that good men will not sinne for the very loue they beare to vertue and for the detestation they beare to vice for so we reade that Seneca though a Heathen hated sinne least it should defile his soule and Anselmus that good Christian saith that if hee should see all punishments without sinne on the one hand and finde sinne with all the pleasures of sinne on the other hand and were compelled to make choice of one of them as Origen was either to commit Sodomie with a Blackamoore or to cast Thuâ—ibilum his censer into the fire for to sacrifice vnto the Idols hee would surely imbrace the punishments and forsake the sinne because all the Saints of God doe euer esteeme it better to suffer affliction with the people of GOD Heb. 11.25 then to inioy the pleasures of sinne for a season But if we will not imitate these good men to forsake sinne for the filthinesse of sinne yet as many wicked men are saide to haue done it That wicked men should forsake sinne for feare of punishment so let vs doe it formi ine poenae for feare of the reward of sinne for the wages of sinne is death and that not onely of the soule in sinne but also of the body for sinne And so I come to the second kinde of death CHAP. IIII. How sinne slayeth the body by inflicting on it all the miseries of this life and of the large extent of death ouer all men SEcondly Touching the death of the Body that wee may the more fully take a view thereof and the more orderly proceed in this point I must desire you to consider these three things 1. How it is defined 2. How farre it extendeth Three things to bee considered concerning naturall death 3. How variably it worketh For the first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 death is said to bee the dissolution of the body and soule that is the separation of the one from the other and not the destruction of either And wee must note that whatsoeuer worketh or causeth the diuorse and dissolution of these two must needs be a branch of this tree and therefore by death is vnderstood By death is vnderstood all that is contained in the curse of God not onely the last finall stroke and fatall seperation of the body and soule but also all other fore-runners and fore-causers of this dissolution as sicknesse griefe sorrow and all the other miseries that doe happen throughout the whole course of mans life for as I told you before the death of man pronounced here and the curse of God denounced elsewhere are aequiualent the like reward of sinne and therefore whatsoeuer is the curse of God the same must needs be contained vnder the name of death but we know that all the miseries of man doe proceed from the curse of God for sinne and therefore all the miseries and troubles and sorrowes of this life must needs bee vnderstood vnder the name of death for as the last stroke of a tree is not the onely cause that doth throw downe the tree but that with all the rest are properly sayd to hâ—ue cut it downe so the last stroke of death cannot be sayd to be the sole killer of any man but that with all the rest of his precedent miseries So death daily strikes to beate vs downe and the more sorrowes are suffered or the more dayes are passed the more chippes are chopped off from this tree of life Now the whole life of man is nothing else but a mappe of miseries and my life would bee too short to relate it yet seeing all is the wages of sinne for man suffereth all that he suffereth for his sinnes as the Prophet sheweth my text calls mee to speake a little of all and the time bids me to speake but a little of the same and therefore I desire you to consider The manifold miseries of all ages 1. How all ages 2. How all estates 3. How all creatures Doe accumulate heape vpon man heapes of miseries For the first In our infancie wee come crawling into the world without any strength Ouid. Met. l. 15. Editus in lucem iacuit sine viribus infans and as Lucretius sayth Nudus humi iacet Lucret. l. 5. Iob. 1. We come naked out of our mothers wombes and haue not any the least couering to hide vs saue onely the blood of filthinesse and if we had vnderstanding to see it we might perceiue our mothers halfe-dead by giuing vs a little life and that if wee were not helped by others the houre of our birth would be the end of our life and therefore as the Poet saith Lucret Ibid. Vagituque locum lugubri complet vt aequum est Cui tantum in vita restet tranfire laborum The poore infant now begins with dolefull cries and teares within a while as his best orators to expresse his owne miseries Iustin hist l. 1. and you neuer saw neither haue we euer read of any one saue onely of Zoroastres king of the Bactrians that either laughed or smiled at his birth nor yet in forty dayes after sayth Arist except it be sometimes as they sleepe are at rest Arist histor animal l. 7. c. 10 After wee are thus cast into the world weake wailing and miserable Galenus de diffi medicis our whole life is deuided by Galenus into foure parts whereof he maketh the 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 iuuenum of children till 15. The age of man is diuided into 4. parts 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vigentium of youths till 30. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mediorum of men till 50.
their consciences and they shall see that they must part from all the things that they haue gathered but that not one of those sinnes will part from them which they haue committed and least they should forget them Satan will now open his booke and set all their sinnes before their eyes and then he will bestirre himselfe because he knoweth his haruest is great and his time is but short and therefore he will tell them Matth. 19.17 that if they would haue entred into life they should haue kept the commandements as our Sauiour Christ himselfe doth testifie Rom. 2.13 he will alleage against them that not the hearers but the doers of the Law shall be iustified and he will inferre that if the iust shall scarce be saued it is intollerable for them being wicked men to appeare How Satan discourageth the wicked at their death and what the Preachers of God now cannot beat into the thoughts of these carelesse men this wicked damned spirit will then irremoueably settle in their deepest considerations 1 Cor. 6.9.10 viz. that neither adulterers nor fornicators nor drunkards nor swearers nor vsurers nor extortioners nor lyers nor enuious men nor haters of men nor any such like shall inherit the Kingdome of God and of Christ O then what agonies and perplexities will inuade and teare the wofull hearts of wicked men In that day saith the Lord I will cause the Sunne to goe downe at noone Amos 8.9.10 and I will darken the earth in the cleare day I will turne their feasts into mournings and their songs into lamentations that is they shall be sure then to haue the greatest griefe and vexation when they haue the greatest need of comfort and consolation for I will make all those things that were wont most sweetly to delight them now most of all to torment them the pleasure of sinne shall now turne to be as bitter as Gall and now they shall see that they must die and liue they can no longer and that Satan whom they would not forsake all their life-time will not forsake them now at their death-time but wil be still sounding in their eares Me you haue serued and from me you must expect your wages We read the Deuil assayled the best-Saints Saint Martin Saint Bernard Eusebius Ignatius and others Luke 23.31 and if these things be done in a greene tree what shall be done in a withered saith our Sauiour If he be so busie about the Saints Pet. 4.17 which haue the Angels of God round about them to preserue them Psal 91.11 What shall he doe to sinners who haue nothing but deuils round about them to confound them This is the state of wicked men at their dying day and therefore mors peccatorum pessima of all terrible things the death of sinnefull men is the most terrible Secondly After the seperation of the body and soule How death aequalizeth the bodies of all men then death indeede makes different effects for though it makes the bodies of all alike their dust is so mingled and their bones are so like one another that we know not Irus from Craesus as Diogenes being demaunded by Alexander what he sought for among the tombes sayd he sought for his father Phillips bones but among so many dead mens soules hee knew not which they were yet in respect of the soules How death sendeth the soules of the good to Heauen and of the wicked to hell it worketh very different consequents for it sends the good soules into Abrahams bosome and the wicked soules to hell to be tormented in fire for euermore Now that the efficiente cause of death which is sinne should be the same in all men and that the fruites and effects or subsequents of death should be so different in the godly from all other men we find a treble reason A three-fold reason of the subsequent different effects of death The 1. Is the practise of a godly life 2. Is the meditation of our owne death 3. Is the application of the death of Christ These things as Sampson sayd in his riddle out of the eater bring meate and out of the strong sucke sweetenesse these things doe translate the sting and curse of death into a sweete and a blessed life Of the first Saint Augustine sayth Mala mors putanda non est Aug. de ciuit dei l. 1. c. 21. That to liue well is a speciall meanes to make vs die well quam bona vita praecessit It is impossible that his death should be ill whose whole life hath beene alwayes good quia nunquam Deus deserit hominem quovsque homo deserat deum because God will neuer forsake that man at his death which hath truely serued God throughout all his life and therefore Seneca sayth Seneca in quad epist Ante senectutem curaui vt bene viuâ—rem vt in senectute bene morerer While I was young all my care was to liue well that when I were old I might die well and so let vs doe if wee would die well let vs liue well let vs learne artem viâ—endi the art to liue the life of the righteous and wee shall bee sure to die the death of the righteous for seeing the wages of sinne is death it must needs be that the lesser and the fewer our sinnes be the better our death will be But if we liue like Baalam which loued the gaine and wages of vnrighteousnesse it is vnpossible that we should die the death of Israel for God beheld there was no iniquitie in Iacob Numb 23 21. nor any peruersenesse in Israel and therefore the Lord his God was with him Godly sorrow for sinne and the meditation of our death is the death of sinne Of the second Bosquierus sayth that à culpa natae sunt duae filiae Tristitia Mors hae duae filiae hanc pessimani matrem destruunt Sinne brought forth two goodly damosells Sorrow and Death and these two daughters like the brood of vipers doe eate through the bowells and destroy that wicked mother For First Paenitudine commissa delentur by repentance wee wash away the sinnes that are past and therefore Iohn Baptist sayth O generation of Vipers if you would kill your cruell wicked mother Matth. 3.7 8. that is Sinne bring foorth fruits meete for repentance for that is the onely way for you to escape death and to flee from the wrath to come And Secondly Meditatione mortis futura cauentur by the frequent meditation of death we come more and more to detest and to beware of sinne Aug l. 1. contra Man for so Saint Augustine sayth that nihil sic reuocat hominem à peccato quam frequens meditatio mortis Nothing is so powerfull to make a man hate sinne as continually to consider of this bitter fruit and reward of sinne which is death and Seneca before him sayth the same thing and therefore he aduiseth euery man
sleepe and smote all his enemies vpon the cheeke bone and brought them vnto perpetuall shame and as the Apostle sayth Collos 2.15 hee spoyled principalities and powers and led away captiuitie captiue Ephes 4.8 and receiued gifts for men And therefore as many as lay hold vpon this death of Christ they need not feare their owne death for they may say with the Phenix Moritur me moriente senectus Sinne and misery dieth in vs but wee doe still liue with Christ And therefore Saint Cyprian sayth that Cyprian de mortalitate eius est timere mortem qui ad Christum nolit ire it is enough for them to feare death which will not beleeue in Christ his death John 11.26 for hee that beleeueth in him shall neuer die but they that will not beleeue in him may well feare and tremble at the remembrance of this death because after death comes iudgement and then shall they feele another death which is eternall death for the reward of sinne is death that is indeed eternall death in hell Marke 9.44 where their worme dieth not and their fire is not quenched CHAP. VI. How sinne brings eternall death both of Body and Soule THirdly Touching eternall death wee must vnderstand What eternall death is that this is a separation of man from God which is paena damni the losse of eternall happinesse a losse farre exceeding the losse of all the world and an allegation of a damned soule in a tormented body non viuendâ— sed dolendi causa not to giue any comfort of life or ioy but to giue the true sence and feeling of eternall death and sorrow which is paena sensus the payne of feeling and suffering the greatest paynes that can be conceiued for when the wicked are called by God to be adiudged for sinne they shall bee condemned by Christ Of the intollerable paynes of hell and then caried by the deuils into euerlasting torments into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone for euermore and there their musicke shall be horrors and howlings their meate shall be balls of fire and their drinke shall be fountaines of teares alwayes distilling downe from their eyes and yet neuer procuring them any ease there their torments shall be intollerable their times endlesse and their companions deuils for so Saint Augustine sayth August ser 55. de tempore that in inferno nec tortores deficiant nec miseri torti moriantur sed per milia milia annorum cruciandi nec tamen in secula liberandi in hell neither the cruell tormenters shall be wanting nor the miserably tormented shall bee eased but for thousand thousands of yeares bee plagued and neuer thence to bee deliuered Isidorus de summo bono and as Isidorus sayth Ibi erit semper velle quod nunquam erit semper nolle quod nunquam non erit there shall bee a will neuer satisfied and a nille neuer gratified neuer inioying the ease they would and euer suffering the paynes they would not And if we diue into the depth of that dolefull tragedie of miserable Diues wee shall see this trueth fully confirmed for as the Scripture sheweth that here iudgement shall be without mercy and that euery one shall receiue his punishment in waite and measure according to the measure of their sinnes so wee find it true it him who as hee denied the crumbes of bread to poore Lazarus so is he now denied the least drop of water to coole his burning tongue How the least comfort shall be denied vnto the damned and the least dramme of mercy to refresh his poore distressed soule quis talia fando sustinet a lachrymis Who can indure to dwell in deuouring flames and yet behold this is the reward of sinne for the wages of sinne is death Oh then A most earnest perswasion to forsake sinne beloued brethren seeing euery sinne slayeth the soule within the body corrupteth the body in the graue and eternally tormenteth both the body and soule in hell let vs hate and detest all sinnes for though wee reade of many tyrants Nero Phalaris Caligula Heliagabalus and such like that were carniuorants and blood-thirsty men sauage beasts in the shapes of men delighting themselues onely in blood cruelties yet we neuer reade of such a tyrant as Sinne for the blood of death would quench these mens rage but no payne no death but eternall death a death that neuer dieth and a paine that neuer endeth will satisfie this tyrant Sinne. This is the deceit of sinne as the Poet sayd of Venus Laeta venire Venus tristis abire solet To present pleasure or profit vnto our eyes but assoone as ouer the sinne is done to deale with vs 2 Sam. 13.18 as Ammon did by Thamar thrust her out and hate her wound our conscience and destroy our soules And therefore once againe I beseech you let vs forsake our sinnes let vs leaue our drinking our swaggering and our swearing and instead of by God by God and more fearefull oathes which I am afraid to name at euery word which is the most odious yet most carelesse custome both of Court and Countrey let vs say in truth in truth the words are as easie and they will bring more ease vnto our soules for swearing graceth not your speech but disgraceth you and dishonoureth God and therefore one day you must greatly repent you of it or you shall fearefully die for it and I beseech you pardon mee for speaking it for it is my dutie that I owe you and it would bee my destruction if I did conceale it from you Clemens l. 1. recog as S. Clemens sayth in the like case and I desire not so much with Aristotle my God of Heauen is my witnesse that I lie not to bee deemed a great Scholler as with Gregorie Nazianzen to bee indeed an honest man to liue as I teach and to discharge my duety in reprouing sinne rather then to shew my knowledge in any Science and therefore I humbly intreate you all to giue me leaue to beseech you to leaue your sinnes and because wee cannot quite forsake them to confesse them and to bee ashamed of them John 1.19 for if we confesse our sinnes God is mercifull and iust to forgiue vs all our sinnes and to cleanse vs from all vnrighteousnesse But the deuill cannot indure that we should confesse them least God should thereby forgiue them and therefore as he perswadeth vs euer to commit them so he perswadeth vs euer to conceale them and neuer to confesse them For I read that on a time a sinner being at confession That the deuill cannot indure wee should confesse our sinnes the deuill intruded himselfe and came to him and being demaunded by the Priest wherefore he came in he answered to make restitution and being asked what he would restore hee sayd shame for this sayth hee I haue stollen from this sinner to make him shamelesse in sinning and
now I come to restore it to make him ashamed to confesse his sinnes And surely thus hee deales with vs all hee makes vs shamelesse to commit all sinnes euen with Absolon in the sight of all Israel 2 Sam. 16.22 and in the sight of the Sunne but he makes vs ashamed to confesse any sinne But if wee feare this punishment of sinne all miseries in this life death shortning life and eternall torments after death and would bee deliuered from it then let vs not make the Ministers afrayde to reproue our sinnes nor be our selues ashamed to confesse our sinnes for as the first degree of righteousnesse is not to sinne so the second is to acknowledge and forsake our sinnes If we had not sinned we had not died and if we doe acknowledge and forsake them we shall receiue no dammage by death but if we continue in sinne we shall die and we shall iustly die for the reward of sinne is death And so I come to the third part which is the equitie of this reward because death is the wages of sinne PART III. The equity of this payment Death is the stipend of Sinne. Part. 3. CHAP. I. How iust a thing it is to punish Sinne. The reward of Sinne is Death YOu haue heard of a world of miseries that are inflicted on man for sinne here in this life you haue heard of eternall death and intollerable torments for euer and euer that shall be inflicted on sinfull soules in the future life and now it resteth that I should shew the equity of this punishment how iust it is with God to render all this on man for sinne and therefore that I may the more fully cleere this point Three points to be considered to shew the equity of the punishment of sinne I must desire you to consider these three especiall things 1. That it is iust to punish sinne 2. That God is the iustest Iudge that can be found to punish it 3. That this punishment which God imposeth and inflicteth for sinne is most right and iust First there is nothing in the world Cicero de nat deorum l. 1. saith Cicero more agreeable to reason then that true and honest labour should bee commended and rewarded and the vices of men should be seuerely punished according to their iust desert for it is vnpossible saith he that either house or Common-wealth should stand Si in ea nec rectè factis proemia extant vlla Idem l. 3 de nat deor nec supplicia peccatis if there be not in the same both rewards for good deeds and punishments for sinnes and therefore Solon being demanded what was most profitable for the well-fare of a Common-wealth said Si boni proemijs innitantur mali paenis coercentur Stobaeus ser 41. to defend and reward the good and to restraine and punish the bad and M. Cato saith that there is nothing more pernicious vnto any state Plutarch in Apoth Quam si improborum mores paena non coerceantur then to suffer wicked men to goe away vnpunished and therefore he would haue those Magistrates that did not punish the impieties of the wicked and dissolute fellowes Non tantum non ferendos The Law of Nature teacheth that sinne should be punished sed lapidihus obruendos not onely not to be suffered but to be stoned with stones to death and so the Lawes of all Nations doe prouide that good and vertuous deeds should be rewarded and euill deeds should be punished for wee finde it very true by experience that impunitas delicti inuitat homines ad malignandum To forbeare the punishment of sinne doth increase the number of sinners Prou. 17 15. because punishment is deferred the hearts of the children of men are euen set to doe euill and therefore God himselfe doth say that whosoeuer iustifieth the wicked is a like culpable before him as if he had condemned the innocent and Saint Ambrose tels vs plainely that it is sometimes miserecordia punire crudelitas parcere a pious work to punish and a cruelty for to spare for this doth not onely incourage sinners to goe on from one wickednesse to another but it is an ill patterne and a great prouokement to draw others to doe the like and therefore wee may well conclude this first point that it is a most iust thing to punish sinnes and offences CHAP. II. How God is the iustest Iudge to punish Sinne. SEcondly that God is the iustest Iudge that can be found to punish sin it appereth by these 3. reasons God loueth righteousnesse Psal 45.7.8 Heb. ◠9 First because he loueth righteousnesse For it is the propertie of a iust Iudge not onely to iudge righteously to iustifie the innocent and to punish the offenders but also to loue righteousnesse and to hate iniquitie but of God the Prophet saith Psal 5.5 Thy throne O God is for euer and euer thou hast loued righteousnesse and hated iniquitie wherfore God euen thy God hath annoynted thee with the oyle of gladnesse aboue thy fellowes And againe thou hatest all those that worke vanitie Secondly because he iudgeth without any respect of persons God is no respecter of persons for this is one of the chiefest properties of a righteous Iudge to iudge according to the equitie of the cause and according to the quality of the person and therefore Iethro Iehosophat Exod. 18.21 and others doe make this not respecting of persons 2 Chron 19 7. to be one of the essentiall properties of a righteous Iudge Prou 24.23 1 Sam. 6.7 Act. 10 33. Gal. 1.6 Psal 50.10 Psal 149 8. Deut. 26.7 but with God there is no respect of persons for he will not be corrupted with the reward of the rich for all the beasts of the Forrest are his and so are all the cattell vpon a thousand hills he will not be terrified for feare of the mighty for he will binde Kings in fetters and Nobles in linkes of iron neither is he angred or molested with the incessant complaynings of the poore but he will heare their cry Psal 145.19 and will helpe them Psal 145.19 Indeed with men it is a common practise With men we finde Iustice often peruerted to haue our lawes like a spiders webbe wherein the little flies are catcht and the great buzzing bumble bees doe easily passe through and therefore it is truely said of mans Law That Dat veniam coruis vexat censura columbas It spares the rich but spoiles the poore But Gods law is rete Vulcanium like Vulcans iron net That God is most iust which apprehends and condemnes all alike for if the greatest men hurt the poorest and those poore men cry vnto me saith the Lord I will heare them that is to helpe the oppressed and to punish the wrong doer and therefore Moses saith of him Deut. 10.17 that he is a great God mighty and terrible which accepteth no person nor taketh reward but
truth of God wee can in no wayes beleeue them not because we know no reason how they may be done for so we beleeue many things as all the mysteries of our Faith but because we haue many reasons euen out of the Word of God to assure vs that these things cannot be done And so much for the chiefest obiections that are vsually made against the truth of this Doctrine of Gods Power CHAP. IV. Of the vsefull application of this Doctrine of Gods Power YOu haue seene the truth of this Doctrine of the Power of God it may serue for many especiall ends As first for the confutation of a world of errors and the cutting downe of many infinite heresies especially those whereof I haue already spoken and therefore I neede not say any more of them in this place Secondly this Doctrine of Gods Power A great comfort to the godly that God is able to deliuer them Math. 10.16 Dan. 3.17 may serue for the consolation of the godly for they are inuironed with many enemies they are sent as Sheepe into the middest of Wolues and they are hated of all-men for Christ his sake but as the three Children said We know that God is able to deliuer vs from the burning fiery Furnace and from the hands of all that hate vs and to preserue vs blamelesse vntill the day of the comming of Christ And therefore though we be beset with enemies on euery side Bosquier de incruent victor Christi p. 567. especially the World Tanquam Syrena dulcis Like the alluring Mermaides The flesh Tanquam Dalila blandiens Like a false flattering Dalila and the Diuell Tanquam Leo rugiens Like a roaring Lyon that doe seeke by all meanes to destroy vs Presentemque viris intendunt omnia mortem Virgil. Aeneid l. 1. Reuel 2.10 Yet we neede not feare any of those things that we shall suffer Quia non plus valet ad deijciendum terrena paena quam ad erigendum diuina tutela Because all the power of darkenesse is not so able to suppresse vs as our gracious God is to support vs for otherwise Si Diabolus nocere posset quantum vellet aliquis iustorum non remaneret If either Satans malice or the hatred of wicked men or the furie of bloud-thirsty Tyrants might preuaile against the godly seruants of Christ so much as they would then not a righteous man could remaine vpon the face of the Earth but God can put a hooke in their nostrils and say vnto them as he sayes vnto the Seas Hitherto shalt thou goo and no further Rom. 8.31 And therefore If God be with vs we neede not feare who be against vs Quia maior est qui est in nobis quam qui est in mundo 1 Iohn 4.4 Because as Saint Iohn saith He is greater and stronger which is in vs then he that is in the W rld Euen so we haue the lusts of our owne flesh the messengers of Satan 1 Pet. 2.11 that doe buffet vs and fight against our soules and make vs many times when it compells vs to doe the euill that we would not doe â—nd to leaue vndone the good that we would doe to crie out with the Apostle Rom. 7.19 O wretched men that we are who shall deliuer vs from this body of death or who shall preserue vs vnto eternall life And to say with the Poet O terque quaterque beati queis ante ora patrum contigit oppetere O happy had wee beene had wee died before wee had sinned but if we cast our eyes to looke vpon Gods Power we may be presently comforted because the Saints of God though they be shaken and sifted and winnowed like wheate yet are they kept not by their owne strength for so they should soone faile 1 Pet. 1.5 but by the Power of God saith Saint Peter through faith vnto saluation And this indeed is the sole comfort of all Christians that we shall neuer perish Iohn 10.28.29 because our Father which gaue vs vnto Christ is greater then all and none is able to take vs out of his Fathers hands This is that Foundation which remaineth sure and therefore happy is that man which buildes vpon this Foundation Thirdly this Doctrine of Gods Power may serue for the reprehension of the wicked for he can destroy all the workers of iniquitie Math. 10.28 and cast both body and soule into Hell fire And therefore will ye not feare to offend so great a God Remember I beseech you what he hath done to the old World to Sodome That the wicked should feare to offend thiâ— powerfull God Deut 29.19 and Gomorrah to Cora Dathan and Abiram to Pharaoh Iudas and many more remember that he can doe whatsoeuer hee will doe and remember what he saith Hee will doe vnto them that heare the words of the curse of the Law and yet will blesse themselues in their hearts saying We shall haue peace And let these things moue you to be humbled before the mighty â—and of God and to cause you here to feare his power 1 Pet. 5.6 that hereaâ—ter you may not feele his anger For Heb. 10.31 it is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the liuing God and they that now goe on in sinne and make but a sport of iniquitie without either beleeuing his truth that he will punish sinne or fearing his power that he can punish them shall then finde and feele that it had beene better for them neuer to haue beene borne or to haue had a milstone hanged about their neckes and to haue beene cast into the middest of the Sea then to haue broken the least Commandement oâ— this powerfull and Almighty God And so much for the first attribute of God here expressed that is his Power and now followeth the second attribute which is Gods Goodnesse CHAP. V. Of the Mercy of GOD and wherein the same chiefly consisteth YOu haue heard of the Power of God 2. Attribute i. e Gods goodnesse we are now to see how God proclaimeth his Goodnesse according as he had promised before I will make all my goodnesse to passe before thy face Exod. 33.9 A Doctrine farre more comfortable then the former for not hee that can but he that will helpe vs is best vnto vs and hee that is willing to doe what he can though it be but little is farre more deere vnto vs then he that can do much but will do nothing but the power of God sheweth that he is able and this goodnesse of God proueth that he is willing to releeue vs and therefore the goodnesse of God is the anchor of our hope and the foundation of all our comfort and it is well coupled with the former attribute for in vaine were his willingnesse to helpe vs vnlesse he were able and in vaine were his ability to helpe vs vnlesse hee were willing the former being but a fruitlesse wish and the latter but a gracelesse
life Why Christ would not answere Pilate whence he was Or as others thinke he would not answere least by his eloquence he should haue escaped death insomuch that Pilate who vniustly condemned him iustly admired this that he which was wont to open his mouth in Parables and to teach others the way vnto eternall life would not at this time open his mouth to speake one word for himselfe to saue his life Secondly Pilate being much affraide to be thought an enemie vnto Caesar Marke 15.15 and being most willing to please the people as the Euangelist noteth he determined to deliuer him to be crucified And these were the motiues that caused Pilate to condemne our Sauiour Christ and these cause many a man to sinne when we feare man more then God What moued Pilate to deliuer Christ to be crucified and are desirous rather to please the people then to discharge our consciences from which two fearefull things good Lord deliuer euery faithfull soule Thirdly Because Pilate knew that for enuie the Iewes deliuered him to be crucified and his owne conscience by many arguments testified vnto him how vniustly hee condemned that iust man Math 27.24 The poor shift of Pilate to excuse himselfe therefore that it might happen vnto the Iewes according as they had concluded themselues His bloud be vpon vs and vpon our Children He taketh water and washeth his hands saying I am innocent from the bloud of this iust person See ye to it And then he gaue sentence that it should be as they required that IESVS CHRIST should be presently CRVCIFIED The sentence of Christs condemnation Ah sencelesse sinnefull man a man voide of wisedome to commit such an horrible sinne against thy God and to condemne life to death Alas what auaileth it thee to wash thy hands in water and to defile thy heart with bloud for how shalt thou answere this not onely to condemne an innocent Sed ijsdem labijs illum condemnare quibus pronuntiaueras innocentem But also with the same lippes to condemne him as guilty which euen now had pronounced him guiltlesse Surely God may say to thee as to all those Iudges that follow thy steppes to make a long speech to iustifie themselues Luke 19.22 and in few words to condemne the innocent Out of thine owne mouth will I condemne thee O thou euill seruant and I will iustly condemne thee to eternall death because thou hast vniustly condemned an innocent man to death O consider this ye that forget God and ye that be called Gods on Earth cleanse your hearts from all euill and let not your hands deale with wickednesse so shall you be innocent from the great offence And so you see what the Iudge of all the World suffered before these petty Iudges of this World CHAP. VI. What Christ suffered in Golgotha the place where he was crucified PIlate hauing passed sentence vpon Christ to be crucified the Souldiers take him and laying his Crosse a heauy Crosse vpon his shoulders as Isaac carried the wood wherewith himselfe should be sacrificed Gen. 22.6 2 Sam. 11.14 or as Vrias carried the Letters of his owne death they compelled him to carrie it so long as he was able to stand vnder it then meeting Simon of Cyrene comming from his perambulation in the fields they make him carrie that Crosse of Christ vnto the place of execution and placing the same in Golgotha which was the place where Adam was buried Ambros l. 5. Ep. 1â— as Saint Ambrose thinketh they nayled and fastened Christ vnto it vpon that very day of the weeke that Adam was created Two things considered vpon the Crosse and as is thought he was hanged vpon this Tree vpon the very same houre of the day as Adam did eate of the forbidden Tree And here wee must consider two especiall things 1. The grieuous things that he suffered Tantum distentus sum vt corpore nudo in modum tympanica pellis distento facile possint omnia ossa mea dinumerari Bern. de pass c. 7. 2. The gracious words that he vttered For the first they stretched his body as Saint Bernard saith and then they nayled him to the Crosse which was a grieuous torment vnto any but especially vnto him because his body of all other men was the most tender as being onely shaped of a Virgins substance without any commixture of the male nature and yet the most sensible parts of this tender body must be bored and mangled by his cruell enemies for his feete that afore were washed with Maries teares must now be teared with iron nayles and those blessed hands Bosquier de passione Domini p. 847. in fol. that had wrought so many wonderous workes must now be fastened Vnto this wooden Crosse and there he must hang vntill he die Horrendum dictu A most odious and a most grieuous death and that in foure respects First Because it was an accursed death so esteemed by man 1. An accursed death and so denounced by God himselfe where he saith Cursed is euery one that hangeth vpon a Tree Deut. 21. Gal. 3.13 Tripartit hist l. 1. c. 9. 2. A shamefull death And therefore Constantine the Great and good made a Law that no Christian should be crucified vpon a Crosse Secondly Because it was an ignominious and a shamefull death inflictâ—d chiefly vpon those slaues and seruants that either falsly accused or treacherously conspired their Masters death and it was neuer imposed vpon free men vnlesse it were for some haynous and notorious crimes as robberie murther sedition rebellion or such like 3. A painefull death Thirdly Because it was a most painefull death for that they were fastened to the Crosse not with any little nayles but with bigge purposely made nayles that might hold them sure and fast enough vnto the Crosse so bigge were the nayles that pierced Christ his hands and feete that being found they were found sufficient to make a bridle and a Helmet Socrates Hist l. 1. c. 17. as Socrates saith and then the whole waight of their bodies hanging by these parts made their paine intollerable and killed them at length without any deadly wound And therefore Cicero that most eloquent man which wanted no words to expresse any thing else when hee came to consider of this accursed death was brought to that passe Cicero Orat. 7. in ver to that non-plus as to say Quid dicam in crucem tollere What shall I say of that cruell and most painefull shamefull death of the Crosse 4. A slow and a lingring death Fourthly Because it was a slow and a lingering death for that as the Poet truly saith Morsque minus penae quam mora mortis habet To be long in paine is worse then death a soone dispatched riddance out of paine being a great fauour vnto a languishing life and although in other deaths they should be quickly dispatched and soone rid out of all their paine
Serpents head Gen. 3.15 Dan. 9.26 and that the Messias should suffer for our sinnes and be broken for our transgressions Esay 53.5 And the Father promised this for none other cause The loue of God to mankinde moued God to doe all this for vs. but this Because he loued vs For God seeing vs in such a miserable state as we had made our selues by sinne was moued with compassion ouer vs and was contented to giue his onely begotten Sonne to be crucified for vs rather then we should be eternally separated from him So our Sauiour saith God so loued the World i. e. So admirably so exceedingly and so incomprehensibly John 3.16 That he gaue his onely begotten Sonne that is to die for vs That whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue euerlasting life And so Saint Paul saith God setteth out his loue towards vs seeing that while we were yet sinners Christ died for vs. And surely it was a farre greater argument of his loue to giue his Sonne to die for vs then if hee had forgiuen our sinnes and acquitted vs without any satisfaction at all And therefore Saint Paul speaking of this loue of God calles it Too much loue as the vulgar Latine reades it Deus propter nimiam charitatem God through his great Ephes 2.4 or too much loue wherewith he loued vs hath quickened vs with Iesus Christ And this great loue of God will appeare the greater if wee consider that this Sonne of God which hee gaue to die for vs Omnis in Ascanio Charistat cura parentis was not onely his onely begotten Sonne which was very great that hauing but one onely Sonne he would giue that one to die for vs but was also such a Sonne in whom onely God was well pleased and with whom he was neuer offended as I shewed vnto you before And as the Father shewed Tantam charitatem so great loue in giuing his Sonne to die for vs so the Sonne shewed the like equall loue in being so willing as he was to suffer for vs for in the beginning or in the volume of the Booke it is written of me saith Christ that I should fulfill thy will O God Hebrewes 10.7 and I am content to doe it That is I am as willing and as ready to fulfill it as thou art to conceiue it yea I am grieued I am pained till I haue fulfilled it For it is meate and drinke to me saith Christ to doe my Fathers will And therefore once againe behold the great loue wherewith Christ hath loued vs Surely saith Saint Bernard Dilexisti me magis quam teipsum quia pro me mori voluisti Thou hast loued me more then thou didst thy selfe because thou gauest thy selfe to die for me For greater loue then this hath no man John 15.13 that a man should giue his life for his friends especially for his enemies Rom. 5.8 as he did for vs Cum inimici essemus While we were yet sinners â—nd regarded neither him nor our selues Bern. de Caena Domini Ser. 13. And therefore Saint Bernard doth most truly say that he did this Tanto dignantius quanto pro minus dignis So much the more wonderfully worthy of loue by how much the lesse worthy we were of his loue And in very deede there is no man breathing No Creature able to express the great loue of Christ to mankinde that is able to expresse how great was the loue of Christ towards mankinde But my conscience is my witnesse O my Sauiour what I haue done to thee and thy Crosse doth witnesse what thou hast done for me for thou wast God and I a man and yet thou a God wouldest be made man for me yea to become exiled poore and base for vs that were the vilest of all Creatures poore and base miserable sinners And not onely so but also to die a most cruell bitter and a shamefull death to deliuer vs from eternall death O what couldest thou haue done more for vs that thou hast not done The like example cannot be found in any History Rom. 5.7 for one will scarce die for a righteous man It may be they will ride and runne to saue a good mans life but to die for another we shall scarce finde any that will venter it Titus Liu. Decad 1. l. 2. Val. Max. l. 5. c. 6. It is true that the Curiatij and the Horatij are reported to haue aduentured their liues for the libertie of their Countrey And so Decius Curtius and Codrus did freely offer themselues to death for to preserue their peoples life but they did this either for ambition to be honoured for their facts and to be numbred among the Gods or else in desperation of their liues to be ridde out of their griefe when they saw none other helpe of their miseries but Christ when there was no necessity to compell him did all this and farre much more then I haue shewed for vs And that not onely Sine nostris meritis sed cum nostris demeritis When we deserued no good Bern. Ser. 15. in Cant. but especially when we were worthy of so much euill at his hands as was due to most deadly enemies as Saint Bernard saith CHAP. III. Of the finall causes why Christ suffered both in respect of Men and in respect of God himselfe AND so you haue seene the instrumentall causes of Christ his death and you heard the efficient cause why God punished Christ for vs and for our sinnes and why for vs because he loued vs with a great exceeding incomprehensible loue And how this should teach vs that as our hearts doe hate Iudas Pilate and all the rest of our Sauiours bloudie persecutors which were but the Instruments of his death so much more should we loath and detest our owne sinnes and wickednesse which were the maine principall cause that moued God thus seuerely to punish him And now it resteth The final cause of Christ his death that we consider the finall cause thereof and I finde that to be two-fold 1. In respect of Men. 2. In regard of God 1. In respect of Men. First In respect of Men I finde it likewise to be two-fold 1. The sauing of all the Elect. 2. To make the reprobate without excuse Math. 20.28 For the first Our Sauiour faith That he came to giue his life a ransome for many and to saue those that were lost And so Saint Paul saith Gal 4.4 That Christ was made vnder the Law to redeeme them that were vnder the Law and that Iesus Christ was sent into the World to saue sinners Now wee must know that as Bellarmine noteth there are diuers kindes of redemption as That there were diuers kindes of redemption First By Manumission as when the Lord did willingly of his owne accord let his slaues goe free Secondly By permutation as when one prisoner was exchanged for another Thirdly By
loue to thee is and shall be such and so much as I shall be possibly able to expresse Fourthly to make vs willing to suffer with Christ For the fourth Saint Bernard tells vs that in the Passion of Christ there are three things especially to be considered 1. The Worke. 2. The Manner 3. The Cause And he saith that Christ shewed first in the worke singular patience secondly in the manner admirable humility and thirdly in the cause inestimable charity and therefore if wee would truely honour God for the giuing of his Sonne wee must labour what we can to imitate Christ herein First In patience Quia crux non ad impotentiae documentum sed ad exemplum patientiae suscepta est Because as Saint Augustine saith the Crosse of Christ is as a Schoolemaster to teach patience vnto all Christians And so Saint Peter saith 1 Pet. 2.21 Christ suffered for vs leauing vs an example that we should follow his steps That the sufferings of Christ is an example to teach vs how to suffer 1 Mac. 6.34 In the first of the Machabees and the sixt It is said that Antiochus being to fight with Iudas Captaine of the hoste of the Iewes He shewed vnto his Elephants the bloud of Grapes and Mulberies to prouoke them the better vnto the fight and so the Holy Ghost hath set downe vnto vs what iniuries what contumelies what torments our Sauiour Christ did beare and how patiently he did beare them to incourage vs to indure whatsoeuer calamnities shall betide vs during this our pilgrimage here on earth for we see our Sauiour Christ Sine peccato venit tamen sine flagello non exijt Though we doe all know that he came into the world without sinne yet you doe see he went not out of the world without sorrow without suffering and therefore Chrys in 27. Matth. Quae nobis erit contumelia post quam haec Christus passus est What if wee suffer reproaches pouerty shame death what matter what shame is that to vs seeing Christ hath suffered all those things for vs nay what a shame is it vnto vs if we will not be ready to suffer any thing for his Names sake that hath suffered so much for our sinnes But we must note that our suffering with Christ We suffer with Christ two manner of wayes is two wayes to be considered First What we voluntarily assume to be made like vnto Christ Secondly What is malitiously imposed and we patiently suffer for the Name of Christ In the first sense Saint Gregory tels vs that duobus modis crux tollitur aut cum per abstinentiam affligitur corpus aut cum per compassionem animi affligitur animus Wee take vp our crosse two manner of wayes either when through abstinence fastings 1 Cor. 9.27 watchings praying we bring our bodies vnto subiection that they bring not our soules vnto destruction That as members of the same body we should willingly suffer when we see others suffer or else through a compassionate fellow-feeling of others miseries we make our selues copartners with them in all distresses and therefore we should euer crucifie and mortifie all the inordinate lusts of our flesh all our wanton and lasciuious cogitations and we should with all diligence fight against them as they doe fight against our soules and as members of the same body we should all suffer inward griefe when we see any man indure outward paine In the second sense we ought patiently to suffer whatsoeuer God in his wisedome or men in their malice shall lay vpon vs and that not onely because we cannot auoide them but because we are contented to vndergoe them for if the minde resisteth when the body suffereth we rebell in what we can and we doe onely suffer what we cannot helpe and God respecteth not so much the sufferings of the Martyres though their torments were almost intollerable as their meeke patience in suffering and therefore it is noted in our Sauiour Christ Esay 53 7. That God respecteth our patience in suffering more then our suffering that he was carried as a Sheepe to the slaughter and as a Lambe that was dumbe and opened not his mouth to teach vs as Saint Gregory saith that it is not the sword or the flame that makes a Martyr but the patient and willing minde of him that suffereth any thing for the name and truth of Christ Quia sine ferro flamma Martyres esse possumus sine patientia non possumus Because wee may be Martyres without the paine of sword or stake Cyprian de duplici Martyrio but wee cannot be Martyres without patience though wee should suffer by the sword or be burned at the stake as Saint Cyprian doth most excellently declare And therefore seeing Christ hath suffered for vs and hath suffered for our example to teach vs how we should suffer for his sake That we shold be most ready and willing to suffer any thing for the Name of Christ though the world should rage and swell and lay vpon vs all the waight of miseries that it could heape vpon vs pouerty reproaches banishment imprisonment death it selfe or any kinde of death fire sword or whatsoeuer yet let vs patiently suffer whatsoeuer shall be imposed vpon vs and let vs say with holy Iob Though the Lord should kill vs Iob 13.15 yet will we trust in him for seeing he suffered so much for vs to saue our soules from eternall death it were a shame if we should be vnwilling to suffer any thing for him and his truthes sake that it might be well with vs and our children for euer and that wee might haue for our selues eternall life Secondly Matth. 12.29 As we are to imitate Christ in patient suffering vnto death so we are to learne of him true humility to bee meeke and lowly in heart throughout all our life Thirdly We should imbrace that Queene of vertues Diuine charity that as Christ in loue That as Christ loued vs so we should loue him and loue one another for the loue of Christ and for the loue of man descended from Heauen and suffered all this for vs so we should for the loue of him suffer any thing rather then to swarue a nayles-bredth from him and doe what good wee can vnto all our neighbours for if we loue him we must needs loue one another And yet it is a lamentable thing to consider what strifes and contentions what hatred and heart-burning raigneth not onely betwixt the children of this world but also betwixt Christians in the Church of God I pray God we seeke not our owne rather the things that are Iesus Christs and make Religion to be a colour to make way for vs to execute our owne greedy mindes and desires to commit all wrong and oppression It was said of old when the Pope sent his Buls to fulfill his owne will that in nomine dei incipit omne malum
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and descended alone into Hell and brake downe that Rampier wall which had stood from the beginning of the world Athanasius in that Creede which wee doe professe saith that Christ suffered for our saluation descended into Hell and rose againe the third day from the dead this is the Catholicke faith which except a man beleeue faithfully he cannot be saued Saint Augustine saith Aug. ep 99. that Christ in soule was in Hell the Scripture doth sufficieÌ„tly declare so prophesied by the Prophet so vnderstood by the Apostle and so expounded vnto vs and therefore Quis nisi Infidelis nâ—gauerit fuisse apud infâ—ros Christum Who saith hee but an Infidell will deny Christ to haue beene in Hell Saint Hillary saith Hilarius de trinit l. 2 in Psal 138. that because the Law of humane necessity was such that when our bodies were buried our soules were to descend to Hell Ideo istam descentionem dominus ad consummationem veri hominis non recusauit Christ himselfe did not refuse to descend into the same place Pope Leo saith as much and Fulgentius is as plaine as any of them all Fulgent ad Tras l. 3 â—e resurrect dom I might reckon many more but my purpose is not to say what I could in this point onely I say that he descended into Hell not to suffer for that was finished on the Crosse but for the subiection of Satan and the deliuerance of men not of those that were in Hell but of vs that we should not goe to Hell for how can we be deliuered if Satan be not destroyed how is he destroyed if hell be not vanquished Zach. 9.11 for that is the Pallace of his pleasure and the horrour of our soules the pit wherein there is no water but for as much as this is the condemnation of man and the Law of humane necessity that the body should to the graue and the soule to hell for sinne it remained for the full effecting of our Redemption that Christ should thither descend whither man fell by desart of sinne that is into Hell where the soule of the sinner was wont to be tormented and to the graue where the flesh was wont to be corrupted that by the death of the iust temporally dying Fulgen. quo supra Athanas de incar hath the like saying eternall life might be giuen to our flesh and by the soule of the lust descending into Hell the torments of Hell might be abolished saith Fulgentius And so I beleeue this for mine exceeding comfort that now I need not feare any enemy because Christ suffered for my sins destroyed all mine enemies descended into Hell vanquished the Diuels and rose againe the third day to make an open shew of this his most victorious conquest and blessed bee his name for the same CHAP. IX Of the manner how Christ rose and of the particular application thereof vnto our selues SEcondly we are to consider the manner how our Sauiour rose and many other particulars concerning his resurrection but chiefly we should obserue that his resurrection was 1. in respect of the place from the dead 2. in respect of the time earely 3. in respect of his person it was 1. true 2. perfect 3. glorious I will not stand vpon these particulars The application of the resurrection vnto our selues Rom. 10.9 but to apply all vnto our selues that we may reape some fruit by all I must intreat you to remember what the Apostle saith If thou shalt confâ—sse with thy mouth the Lord Iesus and shalt beleeue in thine heart that God raised him from the dead thou shalt be saued for as I told you before that the resurrection of Christ is the only maine vnanswerable argument to proue Christ to be the true Messias and the Sauiour of the world so heere you see the Apostle putteth the true beliefe in our Sauiours resurrection as the onely chiefest point that is necessary and sufficient for our saluation and therefore it is not without cause that the doctrine of the resurrection should be insisted vpon to be preached and manifested by vs and to be learned and beleeued by you That it is not the Theoricke but the applicatiue knowledge of Christs resurrection that will helpe vs. But here wee must know that it is not the bare Theoricke and intellectuall knowledge that Christ is raised from the dead at that time from that place and in that manner as I haue shewed vnto you before is sufficient for our saluation for so the deuils know it and beleeue it too and yet they receiue no fruit nor benefit thereby but it is the practicke experimentall and applicatiue knowledge and beliefe in the resurrection of the sonne of God that is effectuall for the saluation of man Philip. 3.10 11 And therefore Saint Paul prayes that Hee may know Christ and finde in himselfe the vertue and power of the resurrection of Christ for as the rising of the head doth euer cause the rising of all the parts of the body which is vnited vnto the the head so the resurrection of Christ doth euer worke a resurrection of all the members of Christ for so the Apostle teacheth vs Rom. 8 11. If the spirit of him that raised vp Iesus dwell in you he that raised vp Christ from the dead shall also quicken and so raise vp your mortall bodies by that spirit which dwelleth in you That the resurrection of Christians is twofold And we finde this resurrection of vs that are his members to be two fold 1. from sinne and from all the vanities of this world 2. from death and from the corruption of the graue First if wee be the members of Christ then certainely wee are risen with Christ risen I say from the death of sinne vnto the life of righteousnesse and if wee bee risen with Christ then doth our hearts wish and desire those things that are aboue where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God Coloss 3. saith the Apostle and therefore whosoeuer walloweth in sinne and delighteth in the things of this world it is certaine that hee hath not as yet any part or portion in the resurrection of Iesus Christ for if wee bee the members of Christ wee must also rise with Christ and wee must rise as Christ hath risen for otherwise we would all rise That the resurrection of Christ is a patterne to teach vs how we should rise from sinne and from the company of sinners and many doe rise but not as Christ rose and therefore such risers tolluntur in altum vt lapsu grauiore ruant the higher they rise the greater is their fall But we must rise as Christ hath risen and that is as I told you before First in respect of the place from the dead First from the society of the wicked so must we rise from the dead workes of sinne and from all those that are dead in sinne Christ left the dead in their
comfort Bernard de passione domini c. 46. p. 1236. k. then hee did sorrow and griefe at his passion saith Saint Bernard and therefore we should all of vs plus gaudere propter resurrectionem gloriosam quam dolere propter passionem ignominiosam now say with the Psalmist sing we merily vnto the Lord our God that hath turned our sorrow into ioy that we might sing one of the songs of Sion and woe to that man that doth it not Gregor hom 21. in Euangel quia indignum valde est si in eo die laudes debitas tacuerit lingua carnis quo videlicet caro resurrexit autoris because it is a great indignitie that our tongues should bee silent from giuing praise to God on that day whereon our Sauiour rose from his death saith Saint Gregory And as we should reioyce at the consideration of the resurrection of Christ from the dead so we should likewise reioyce for the resurrection of our owne soules from sinne for as Tobias said what ioy can I haue so long as I sit here in darknesse so may wee say of euery sinner what comfort can he haue whiles he liues in sinne or what fruit can he haue of those things Rom. 6. whereof hee must bee ashamed as the Apostle saith And so much for our resurrection from sinne That the resurrection of Christ is an assurance of our resurrection to eternall life Secondly if wee bee the members of Christ wee shall assuredly rise from our graues and from death vnto the resurrection of euerlasting life quia vt Redemptor noster suscepit mortem ne mori timeremus ita ostendit resurrectionem vt nos resurgere posse confideremus for as our redeemer died that we might not bee affraid of death so he rose againe that we might bee sure of our resurrection vnto life for if the head bee risen then surely the members in their due time must rise and follow after but Christ our head is risen from the dead as I haue abundantly shewed vnto you before and therefore it must be that wee which are his members shall also rise and follow after And lest any man should say sperare de se non debet homo quod in carne sua exhibuit Deus homo that man should not hope for that to himselfe which that God and man performed in himselfe S. Gregory answereth that solus in illo tempore mortuus est tamen solus minime resurrexit although hee died and was laid in his graue all alone yet he did not rise againe alone but hee was accompanied with many others to shew vnto vs that as he died not for himselfe so he rose not for himself but for vs that are his members And therefore though heere we suffer all the miseries of this world though our bodies be but semen terrae esca vermium the dust of the earth and the foode of wormes and though these bodies of ours should be cast into the seas and bee eaten of fishes and those fishes should be caught and should be eaten of men and those men should be burnt to ashes and those ashes cast into the seas yet we mâ—y assure our selues to our continuall comfort and to our refreshment in all miseries that God will collect vs and raise vs vp at the last day and giue vnto euery soule his owne body and then make vs like vnto the glorious body of Iesus Christ And so much for the first lesson 1. Cor. 15. the lesson of Theorie which these women and so likewise all men and women must learne and know That Christ is risen from the dead and therefore that we should rise from sinne and shall rise from our graues to eternall life CHAP. X. What the women are commanded to doe and why and what speciall lessons we may learne for our instruction FOR the second i. e. the lesson of practise How the Angell teacheth the women what they should doe this Angell sheweth vnto these women what they should doe saying ite goe your wayes why stand you heere and goe quickly without delay for it is the Lords businesse Why the women were to tell the Disciples that Christ was risen and cursed be they that doe the worke of the Lord negligently dicite discipulis and tell his Disciples that Christ is risen from the dead Tell his Disciples first quia vos ad praedicandum inferior sexus ad exigendum infirmior because your sex is lesse able to preach Ambros in loc lesse constant to perseuere saith Saint Ambrose secondly because women must not teach for to teach is a note of superiority and women are bound to obey and to learne at home of their husbands and therfore I permit not a woman to teach saith the Apostle thirdly that as man did rashly beleeue the woman for his destruction so he might now happily beleeue these womeÌ„ for his saluation et ecce behold he goeth before you into Galilee Galilee of the Gentiles because now the partition wall that was betwixt the Iewes and the Gentiles is broken downe and the calling of the Gentiles approacheth neere quia transmigrauerat à morte ad vitam and because now hee had passed from death to life and was to passe from this vaine and momentary life vnto that ioyfull and eternall happinesse he saith behold he goeth before you into Galilee because Galilee signifieth transmigration What we shold learne from the Angells instruction to the women or a passage ouer from one place vnto another And so you see the summe of the Angels iniunction vnto the women what they must doe and from hence we may learne these speciall lessons for our instruction First to practise what we know First that we must ioyne practise vnto our profession if wee would be happie for these two must neuer be separated these things if you know blessed are you if you doe them saith our Sauiour And yet it hath beene euer the practise of Satan to seuer those whom God hath ioyned together and therefore in former times he put out the light of the Word preached that men might not know what to do now when he seeth he can hide the light no longer he giues you leaue to know as much as you will as much as Berengarius who is said to know as much as was know-able but he laboureth that you shall doe nothing at all but shew your selues iust like the Grecians Plutar. in Lacoon which knew what was honest but did it not or like the Scribes and Pharisees which said and did not saith our Sauiour But we should consider first that this is one of the chiefest ends why God gaue his Lawes and his Commandements vnto vs that we should doe them for had hee giuen them onely to bee preserued hee might haue lockt them vp in iron coffers God gaue his Lawes not to be talked of but to be kept or had he giuen them to be talked of he might
innocent man yet his hope will neuer leaue him but as the Poet saith Iam mala finissem Letho sed credula vitam Spes fouet melius cras fore semper ait Hope still doth promise better fortunes vnto him and therefore this is a most excellent vertue though like other humane vertues it is defectiue in many points as first in respect of the things that they hope for wealth honours and such like So Alexander hauing giuen away almost all that hee had in Greece and being demanded what hee left for himselfe said hope i. e. of more honours and kingdomes and secondly in respect of the cause from whence they doe expect these things from themselues or such like but not from God whereas indeed that man is accursed which putteth his hope in man quia de Creatore desperare est Ierem. 17.5 spem in creatura ponere because that to hope in man is to forsake our God But Secondly diuine Hope The second i. e. the diuine hope which is wrought in vs by the Spirit of God is infallible for whosoeuer hopeth in him shall neuer be confounded Psal 22.4 5 6. Prou. 14.32 The wicked saith Salomon shall be cast away for his malice but the righteous hath hope in his death and what can be more then this for many things doe discourage vs in death for the dying man seeth his body is weake his friends weeping his Phisicians despayring and his conscience shewing him the Catalogue of his sinnes O wretched man that he is who shall comfort him yet hee whose hope is in the Lord his God doth euen then see the heauens open and the Angels ready to receiue him and though he knoweth his body is to be laide in the graue yet doth his flesh rest in hope and therefore what can be sweeter then hope O dearely beloued remember what the Psalmist saith blessed is the man whose hope is in the Lord his God But here you must know that all kindes of hope in God Euery hope maketh not happy makes not all men happy for there is a bold and a presumptuous hope a hope of wicked hypocrites that liue in sinne and yet doe hope for heauen And therefore wee must distinguish that there is a two-fold hope in God 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an opinionatiue hope 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a true infallible hope The first is the hope of wicked men Iob 8. Prou. 10. Wisd 5. and this shall melt away like a winter snow for the hope of the wicked shall perish they may looke for much but they shall haue nothing The second is the hope of the righteous and this shall neuer perish because it is grounded vpon a good foundation True hope springeth from the true feare of God that is the promise of God to them that feare him for so the Psalmist saith qui timetis Dominum sperate in illum you that feare the Lord hope in him And therefore if you would be sure to haue the true hope in God then feare the Lord because the testimony of a good conscience must be the ground of hope for so Saint Paul sheweth euen by his owne example saying I haue fought a good fight and I haue kept the faith there is the ground and therefore is laid vp for me the crowne of righteousnesse and there is the Anchor of his hope cast vpon that sure foundation and hee that thus hopeth in God is truely happy Thirdly Charity is rectissima animi affectio Thirdly of Charity the rightest affection of the minde whereby wee loue God for his owne sake and our neighbours for Gods sake Aug. de doct Christ and as Saint Augustine doth obserue it is proper onely vnto the Saints of God because as Saint Chrysostome saith Chris hom de char charity is optimum amoris genus the best kinde of loue and therefore Saint Augustine saith that habere omnia sacramenta malus esse potest habere autem charitatem malus esse non potest a man may be partaker of all Sacraments and be wicked but to haue charity and to be wicked is vnpossible and Saint Paul saith enough in the praise of this most excellent grace to write Iliads after Homer were to commend it after him and therefore I le say no more but what Saint Augustine saith charitas est quae vincit omnia sine qua non valent omnia charity is that which ouercommeth all things and without which all things will auaile vs nothing because as the Christian Poet saith Christicolas veros exprimit vnus amor It is loue and charity alone that proues vs to bee true Christians Well then wouldest thou know thy state whether thou beest in the state of grace or not thou needest not to ascend to heauen and search into the secret councell of God to see whether thy name be written in the booke of life but descend into thine owne heart and see whether thou hast perfect charity both towards God and man for if thou louest God with all thy heart The surest signe that wee shall be saued and thy neighbour as thy selfe I dare assure thee that in all the booke of God I could neuer finde yet a surer note or a more infallible signe of our eternall saluation then the same For hereby we know saith the Apostle that we are passed from death to life because we loue the brethren and hereby shall all men know that you are my Disciples 1 Iohn 3. saith our Sauiour if you loue one another but if thou louest not God or if thou louest not all men say what thou wilt doe what you will lift vp thine eyes hold vp thy hands and pray in euery corner yet I know no signe thou hast of sauing grace But here you must obserue that all kinde of loue towards God and men will not serue our turne for there is a generall kinde of loue to God which all wicked men in respect of their being and that manifold good which they receiue from him doe beare towards God and there is a speciall loue to God in a most vehement and a most excellent manner and there is an inordinate loue of men either too much or too little or not after the right manner and there is a true discreet and a fruitfull loue to be shewed towards them and this is properly called charity and therefore if we would be sure of Gods fauour we must vse no mediocrity in louing God we must vse no measure Quia modus diligendi Deum est sine modo because hee is to bee loued beyond measure with all our hearts with all our soules and with all our strength so as if we were rauished with the loue of God euen as the Church saith in the Canticles Stay me with flagons Cantic 2.5 and comfort me with apples for I am sicke of loue And so much for these three diuine graces which Christ giueth vs to sanctifie our
but I will by Gods helpe be euer ready with all my heart to suffer any thing for the Name of Iesus Christ and for the least iot of his truth But I doe much reioyce in that assured confidence which I haue that your Lordship will herein as well as in all other points of true piety be an heauenly shining light and president vnto all other circumstant and succeeding Bishops and other Patrons whatsoeuer and to that end my prayers shall euer continue for your Lordship And for you my most worthy friend and neuer to be forgotten Benefactor Sir Iohn Wynne I must because I may truely say of you with the Poet Ego te intus in cute noui I am so intimately and inwardly acquainted with your very heart affections most earnestly pray to God for your long continuance amongst vs not onely because of your continuall loue and fauours vnto me and mine but especially to be as you haue beene hitherto the chiefest pillar of ciuill gouernment the best relieuer of our poore and needy and the most apparant patterne of all good workes of piety and charity in all these parts wherein you liue and you haue not lost your reward for God hath blessed you and your Lady with many blessed children all fearing God I said enough though I could truely say much more hereof such a comfort that not many men haue the like and God renueth your yeares as the Eagles and I hope yet will adde vnto your dayes as he did vnto the dayes of Ezechias and yet this is nothing Quia merces tua apud Deum in respect of that great reward which you shall haue of God because that by continuance in well doing you shall be sure to haue glory and honour and immortality and therefore most worthy Knight as I beare witnesse of this truth which I haue seene and know of your Religious heart fearing God full of good so I say vnto you as Christ saith vnto the Church of Smyrna Goe on in your course of godlinesse and be faithfull vnto the death and you shall haue the Crowne of life when the Lord shall say vnto you Euge serue bone Well done thou good and faithfull seruant enter thou into thy Masters ioy Amen Your Lordships and your Worships in all Christian seruice to be commanded GR. WILLIAMS To the Christian READER Deere and Christian Reader THe more grace any man receiueth from God the more thankefulnesse and seruice he oweth to God And I confesse God hath shewed me farre more then vsuall fauours which I assure my selfe he denyed to many farre more worthy of loue then I poore worme could any wayes thinke my selfe to be for he hath three times at least bestowed my life vpon me first in making me as he did all other men secondly in redeeming me as he doth all righteous men and thirdly in preseruing me from the hands of wicked men who though they gaue not any life vnto me yet induced by the malice of Hell and assisted by the subtilty of Satan did combine with a craftier cruelty then euer that I could finde the Arrian Bishops did against that innocent constant Athanasius to take away my feeble life for when the proud were risen vp against me Psal 86.14 and the congregation of naughty men had sought after my soule and compassed me on euery side Ecclus 51. so that there was no man to helpe me yet when I prayed vnto my God Vers 2. that he would not leaue me in the dayes of my trouble and in the time of the proud when I had none other help then did he awake as a Giant out of sleep and preserued my body from destruction Vers 3. he saued me from the mouth of the King of Lyons and according to the multitude of his mercies hee deliuered mee from the teeth of them that were ready to deuoure me and out of the hands of them that sought after my life Vers 7. yea he was so gracious vnto me that he left me not vntil mine eyes did see their desire vpon mine enemies not their destructiō which my soule desired they might neuer taste of and I pray God they desired the same themselues but their suppression so as they might neuer triumph in the miseries of Gods seruants nor trample the bloud of innocents vnder feet And therefore seeing God hath been so gracious vnto me I haue most constantly resolued by the assistance of his Spirit not onely to praise his Name for his goodnesse and to tell what he hath done for my soule but also to dedicate my whole life wholly to his seruice to despise the vanities of this life to abandon all the pleasures of this world to be carelesse of all earthly things * Quae possessa onerant amata inquinant amissa cruciant but what may make in ordine ad deum to helpe me the better to serue my God and with Iohn Baptist to consume my life in the preaching and penning of Gods Word and maugre all the malice of the proudest Prelates in the world to speake the truth as my conscience tels me though my wife and children should all begge and my body be burned for the same I will neuer count my life deare vnto me to spend it in his seruice that so often gaue it me And because I desired to doe that which I thought best for the edifying of Gods Church I haue applied my selfe to treate of these ensuing theames which doe containe the chiefest points and the most necessary grounds of all Christian Religion for besides my naturall inclination euer tending rather to pacification then contention I thinke we haue more neede of fundamentall instructions which are necessary for all men then of any controuersiall positions which may satisfie some men that perhaps desire rather to informe their iudgement then to reforme their manners And in the handling of them I haue intermingled the positiue declaration of the truth in a scholasticke forme with a forcible application of the same vnto our soules for the framing of our liues to make vse of what wee learne for I approue not so well the handling of Gods word with too slender inforcement of the same vnto our consciences as the schoolemen did their too much addicted followers vse to doe nor yet meerely to stand vpon exhortations with too slight expounding the most principle grounds of Religion which I feare to be the fault of too many amongst vs And therefore the one being but as a foundation without roofe and the other as a building on the sand or in the ayre vpon reeden pillars I haue euer adiudged it the best course to knit both together to make both a perfect buiding If I haue done well it is that which I desired but if I haue done slenderly it is that I could attaine vnto Aug. proaem l. 3. de Trinit And therefore I will be euer of that Fathers minde which in all his workes and
making but a mocke of God and of all godlinesse And therefore the Prophet sayth of such sinners that they haue made a couenant with death and an agreement with hell it selfe i. e. neuer to forsake that sinfull course of life till death doth send them quicke to Hell But I could wish that they would be herein false and as they haue broken the couenant of their God That wee should breake the couenant which we haue made with Hell if euer we would goe to Heauen which they haue made with him in Baptisme so they would break this agreement with Hell and cast off these cords from them for the reward of sinne is death and therefore much more of such fearefull sinnes as these bee And so you see the degrees by which sinne is increased CHAP. IV. Of the manner how euery Sinne is committed THirdly hauing seene how sinne is augmented The manner how euery sinne is committed is foure-fold and groweth more and more haynous by degrees like the Cockatrice egge that in a short time prooues to be a destroying fiery Serpent you must now vnderstand the manner how euery sin is committed and that we find to be 1. Of Ignorance 2. Of Knowledge 3. Of Infirmitie 4. Of Malice First The heathen man sayth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whosoeuer knoweth nothing sinneth nothing and Diuines say he that knoweth least sinneth least That ignorance is twofold But here you must vnderstand Ignorance to be twofold First Simple when a man therefore knowes not because he cannot learne Secondly Affected when a man therefore knowes not because he will not learne as those in Iob who said vnto God Discede à nobis quia scientiam viarum tuarū nolumus Job 21.14 Depart from vs for we will not haue knowledge of thy wayes and therefore the Prophet complaineth of such ignorant men quod noluerunt intelligere vt bene agerent that they refused to learne that they might doe well quod caeci licet ducem tamen non modo non quaerunt sed oblatum respuunt and that although they were starke blind and could see nothing Bern in ep ad magist Vincent yet not onely sought no guide but refused and contemned them that were offered as Saint Bernard speaketh The first may excuse vs à tanto licet non à toto That simple ignorance doth extenuate the sinne Acts 17.30 1. Tim. from the greater punishment though not from blame as Saint Paul sheweth of the Gentiles saying The times of this ignorance God regarded not and of himselfe That God had mercy vpon him because in persecuting the Church Hee did it ignorantly For this circumstance doth much extenuate a sinne when a man can pleade for himselfe with Abimelech Gen. 20.4 Lord wilt thou slay the righteous Nation As if he should haue sayd O Lord lay not this sinne to my charge for if I had knowne her to be his wife I would neuer haue intended to make her mine And therefore this moued our Sauiour at the time of his passion to say Father forgiue them Luke 23.43 for they know not what they doe Which is as if he should haue said if they knew that I were the Messias the sonne of God and the Sauiour of the world and would notwithstanding crucifie me Luke 24.43 then would I not desire thee to pardon them but now these things are concealed from them and therefore I desire thee that this sinne may not be imputed vnto them And so Saint Peter after he had declared their sinne how They had denied the Holy and Iust and had preferred before him a most vniust and wicked murtherer he deliuereth their comfort that if they would repent and beleeue in him they should obtaine remission and haue their sinnes done away at the time of refreshing Acts 3.17 Because they had done all this through ignorance And so the Lord himselfe sheweth this to be the reason why he spared Niniueh after the denouncement of her iudgement because There were sixescore thousand persons therein Ionas 4.11 which could not iudge betwixt good and bad which could not discerne betwixt their right hand and their left For a simple ignorance in a deuoted and well-meaning man such as Saint Augustine calls fidelis ignorantia a faithfull ignorance or the ignorance of a good faithfull man whose heart like Iehosophat 2 Chron. 20.32.33 is vpright towards God though he faile in many particular duties is either passed ouer in mercy as was the superstition of our forefathers Acts 10. or else is illuminated with knowledge in Gods appointed time Psal 50. vlt. as we reade of Cornelius and as the Apostle sheweth and the Psalmist promiseth To him that ordereth his conuersation right will I shew the Saluation of God Bosq de finibus bonarum l. 2. conc 12. p. 123. But the 2. that is affected ignorance Scaelus adcusat grauius non excusat augetque non minuit supplicium it doth inlarge the sin increase the punishment and it should treble the same sayth Bosquierus First For committing the sinne Secondly For neglecting to learne and Thirdly For affecting ignorance for when things are not knowne because men will not learne such ignorance is without excuse Quia aliud est nescire aliud est nolle scire Bernard in ep ad Valent Chrysost nescire ignorantia est scire noluisse superbia est Because this refusing to know is rather Arrogancie then Ignorancie as Saint Bernad sayth Gregor in Moral And therefore of such ignorant men quibus fuit inveniendi facultas si fuisset quaerendi voluntas Which had the meanes to know How dangerous a thing it is to be wilfully ignorant of the will of God if they had had the desire to learne the Apostle sayth si quis ignorat ignorabitur if any man know not God the same shall not be knowne of God for as the blinde and lame were not to enter into the Temple so the iudge biddeth vs educere foras populum caecum occulos habentes to bring forth and shut out of his kingdome those men which haue eyes and cannot see and which haue eares and doe not heare that is which are borne to know but will not learne and which are capable of discipline and yet will remaine vntaught Cokus de iure regis ecclesiastico And so in humane lawes we find the same truth Nam tantum abest vt ignorantia excuset c. For it is so far from reason that ignorance should any wayes excuse the fault of him which might know the truth that hee ought necessarily to haue knowne but through his negligence or wilfulnesse would not learne the same as that there is very great reason that he should be the more seuerely punished because that to be ignorant of those things which a man ought to know but will not learne non pro ignorantia sed pro contemptu haberi debet is rather to bee
iudged a contempt of knowledge then an ignorance of the trueth And therfore if for our sinnes we pleade ignorance when we might easily haue knowne the will of God if we had had any desire or diligence to search out the same we shall but deceaue our selues and be found guilty of greater condemnation Secondly For the sinnes of knowledge Iohn 9.39 What a fearefull thing it is to commit those sinnes which we know to be sinnes Our Sauiour sayth of the Pharisees that if they were blind they should haue no sinne but because they said they did see therefore their sinne remained For as Adams great perfection both in power and knowledge made his sinne so vnexcusable and the like transcendent excellency of Lucifer made his fall so vnrecouerable so the more noble the more powerfull or the more excellent in knowledge we be the more haynous and intollerable are our sinnes And therefore Saint Chrysostome saith Chrysost hom 5. in Rom. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hee that hath enioyed more instruction deserues to vndergoe the more punishment if he transgresse and our Sauiour saith Luk. 12.47 that the seruant which knoweth his Masters will and doth it not shall be beaten with many stripes For to him that knoweth to doe good James 4.17 and doth it not to him it is sinne i. e. Sinne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sinne in the highest degree saith the Apostle And yet as an old man said of the Athenians at the games of Olympus Plutarch in lacon Athenienes norunt quid sit honestum sed eo soli vtuntur Lacedaemonij They knew what was honest but they did it not they were excellent gnostrickes but bad practitioners like the Pharisees that sate in Moses Chaire and taught what was good but did none of those things themselues That we doe those sinnes which we know to be grieuous sinnes So might I say of many millions of men amongst vs they know that swearing and drunkenesse lewdnesse and prophannesse and such like horrible sins are most odious damnable in the sight of God They know the Sabbaoths should be sanctified our poore Brethren should be releeued Rom. 1. vlt. and our good God should be worshipped they know that they which commit such sinnes are worthy of death and that they which doe such workes of pietie shall be sure of life and yet you see how we doe continually commit the one and omit the other Alas beloued we cannot say with Saint Paul 1 Tim. 1.13 we doe it ignorantly We cannot say we know not these things to be sinnes for we know them we doe know them and yet we daily doe them And therefore art thou inexcusable O man Rom. 2.1 whosoeuer thou art that knowest these things Bern. in Cantic Ser. 36. or the like to be sinne and yet wilt fearelesly carelesly commit them then of all other men thou shalt finde thy selfe at last to be most wofull and lamentable for The excellency of our knowledge makes vs the more horrible sinners in the sight of God vt cibus sumptus non decoctus perniciofus est As meate receiued and not digested proues most dangerous or as physicke taken inwardly and not working outwardly proues poysonous so the knowledge of the truth which is the meate and physicke of our soules being receiued in our vnderstanding and not practised in our conuersation will proue to be a most dangerous deadly disease vnto euery Christian soule What the sins of infirmity are 3. We say those are the sinnes of infirmity when in our hearts wee haue an earnest desire to serue our God and to refraine from sinne but through the violence of Satans temptations and the vntamed lusts of our owne flesh which is euer prone to euill and vnapt to good wee either neglect that duty which wee heartily desire to doe or perpetrate those deedes which by no meanes wee would doe for so our Sauiour saith of his Disciples Math 26.41 that the spirit was willing but the flesh was weake So Saint Peter in heart was willing to die with his Master but for feare of death he was driuen to deny him and to sweare that he knew him not Cap 26.14 and so all other Saints of God doe finde that how desirous soeuer they be to doe their duties and to serue their God their flesh is often times weake and vnwilling to performe those good things and most violently strong to draw their vnwilling soules to sinne Aug. de eccles dogmat That no man is free from the sinnes of infirmity And therefore Saint Augustine saith that in respect of this infirmity of the flesh Nullus Sanctus iustus vacuus est peccato nec tamen definit esse iustus quia affectu semper tenet Sanctitatem There is not any Saint that is void of sinne neither yet may he be said for that to be no Saint because in heart and affection he alwayes desireth and to the vttermost of his ability followeth after Sanctity and so Saint Iohn sheweth quod non est homo qui non peccat Iames 3.2 That no man liueth but he sinneth for in some things we sin all i. e. through the infirmity of our flesh and yet he that is borne of God Iohn 3.9 sinneth not that is with his full consent but doth euen then sigh and grieue in spirit when his flesh drawes him on to sinne But that we may the better know those sinnes which though they be enormities in themselues yet may be truely sayd to bee infirmities in the Saints and may stand with grace Galat. 6.1 as they are committed by them it is obserued by Diuines that they are First Such sinnes as are committed of incogitancie Aug. de peccat merit remiss l 2. cap. 2. and besides the purpose generall or particular of the offender i. e. sinnes of precipitation and not of deliberation as Saint Gregorie tearmes them for so Saint Augustine speaking of these sinnes sayth Tentatio fallit praeoccupat nescientes How we may know sinnes of infirmity by foure speciall differences they doe suddenly assault vs and attache vs vnawares and we are as it were ouertaken with the sinne before we can see the sinne So the adultery of Dauid was not thought of before it was suggested and the deniall of Saint Peter was neuer purposed vntill it was acted Secondly Such sinnes as are euer resisted to the vttermost of our abilities before they be committed and yet at last are perpetrated quia tentatio praemit vrget infirmos Aug quo supra because the violence of the temptation subdueth the infirmitie of our flesh Thirdly Such sinnes as haue for their causes some preualent passions in nature as the feare of death in Saint Peter which is the most terrible of all euill sayth the Philosopher and the feare of shame in Dauid which many men doe more feare then death Fourthly Such sinnes as in the reluctation are
thy sake CHAP. II. How euery sinne slayeth the soule AS sinne brings a curse vpon all creatures How sinne brought on man a treble death so it brings death vpon all men for the reward of sinne is death and we finde this death to bee three fold 1. A spirituall death of the Soule within the Body 2. A corporall death of the Body by continuall castigation of the same throughout all our life and a finall seperation from the soule at the end of our life 3. An eternall death both of Body and Soule in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone foreuermore The first is set downe in the 8. of Matth. 22. Chrysost hom 11. in c. 6. ad rom Where our Sauiour sayth Let the dead bury their dead i. e. Let those that are spiritually dead in trespasses sinnes as the Apostle sayth burie those that are naturally dead to shew that a sinners body is but the breathing Sepulchre of his sinnefull soule and therfore the Prophet Dauid sayth Psal 14.5 Rom. 3.13 that their throat is an open Sepulchre which yeelds a more loathsome sent vnto the nostrils of God from the corrupted putrified soule then any graue can yeeld vnto the nostrils of man from all its rotten carkases The second is set downe in the 11. of Iohn the 39. John 11.39 where Martha sayth her brother Lazarus was dead and stinked i. e. depriued of the fruition of the soule and therefore loathsome to bee seene and more loathsome to bee smell for experience sheweth vs that how sweete soeuer we be in our life and how soft and tender soeuer our flesh bee most amiably complexioned with that fresh and liuely blood which be deckes the same with the fairest colours and glides vp and downe in siluer veynes yet are the best of these sweetest Ladies but most loathsome stinking carrions within a short space after death all flesh being subiect to corruption Luke 16.24 The third is set downe in the 16. of Luke 24. where Diues being in torments prayeth vnto Abraham to shew that he had a soule and desireth a drop of water to coole his tongue to prooue that he had a body But to speake of these three more fully First Wee must vnderstand that the spirituall death of the soule is two-fold 1. Mori peccatis to die to sinne 2. Mori in Peccatis to die in sinne Macrob. c. 1. in som scip 13. For the first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the whole studie and life of the Philosopher was nothing else but a commentary Hieron ad Heliod ex Platone in Phaedone or preparation for death saith Macrobius Nam mori dicimur cum anima adhuc in corpore constituta corporeas illecebras contemnit for he may bee truely sayd to die whose soule still remayning within the body doth notwithstanding contemne and abstaine from all fleshly delights And this was aymed at by the Philosophers but it was onely attained vnto by the true Christians What it is to die to sinne for they that are Christs haue crucified the flesh and haue mortified the lusts of the same sayth the Apostle these haue eares and heare not the Sirenian notes of sinne nor the flattering suggestions of Satan they haue eyes and see not the alluring vanities of this world any wayes worthy to bee desired for I haue made a couenant with mine eyes Job 31. that they should not looke that is vnlawfully or with any lasciuious desire vpon a maide sayth holy Iob and I sayd I would take heed vnto my wayes sayth the Prophet Dauid that I offend not in my tongue Psal 39.1 and therefore as the Apostle sayth they vse the world as though they vsed it not To die to sinne is a punishment for sinne And although this death be good the onely way to bring vs vnto a better life for hee that will not die before he dieth shall neuer liue when hee dieth yet is this the reward of sinne for had it not beene for sinne we had not needed to take this care and payne Cyprian de duplici Martyrio to fight against our selues yea to Martyr and mortifie our own flesh by chastening our owne bodies to bring them to subiection least we should prooue to be cast-awayes as the Apostle speaketh and therefore the chastisements of the Saints are the punishments of their sinnes For the second to die in sinne What it is to die in sinne is when God forsaketh a sinnefull soule and suffereth the same to lye and die in her transgressions for as the soule is the life of the body so is God the life of the soule sayth Saint Augustine Aug. de ciuit dei l. 13. c. 21. Matth. 4.4 And therefore all those that liue by bread onely and not by euery word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God i. e. which liue the life of nature and not the life of grace they are like those wanton widdowes whereof the Apostle sayth 1 Tim. 5.6 that they are dead while they liue for though the soule be truely immortall yet it hath a kind of death sayth Saint Augustine and that is when God forsaketh the same for sinne and what a heauy case is this Plangis corpus quod deserit anima non plangis animam quam deserit Deus We bewaile the body when the soule is parted and shall wee not bewayle the soule which God hath forsaken sayth Saint Chrisostome Saint Augustine being as then a Manichee and reading the Hystorie of Aeneas and Queene Dido A most excellent consideration of Saint Augustine did weepe as himselfe confesseth when hee came to the death of Dido and therefore after that he was conuerted hee most diuinely sayth ô me miserum c. O wretched man that I was that would bewaile the death of Dido forsaken of Aeneas and did not bewaile the death of mine owne soule forsaken of God so we many times doe weepe for the death of our friends but doe neuer weepe for the death of our owne soules They may say vnto vs as Christ sayd to the daughters of Ierusalem weepe not for vs but weepe for your selues Luke 23.28 and for your owne soules that are dead in sinnes for euery one of vs may say with the poet Atque vtinam lugenda tibi non vita Repentance is the onely meanes to reuiue our dying soules sed esset mors mea Our life is a great deale more worthy to bee bewailed then our deâ—th in as much as the death of the soule is a great deale more lamentable then the death of the body But as wee haue no other remedie for the death of our friends but onely teares Est quadam flere voluptas Expletur lachrymis egeriturque dolor for this is a great ease vnto the afflicted heart and a kinde of comfort vnto the sorrowfull soule so we haue none other helpe for the death of our soules but onely teares Saepe per has
grosse ignorance and the memory with sottish forgetfulnesse so that now wee will indirectly wee iudge darkely and wee remember nothing that is heauenly Hence it comes to passe How our soules are fuller of diseases then our bodies that our bodies are not so subiect to diseases as our soules be to sinnes for pride is the soules tympany when it doth turgescerefastu waxe big and swell through the distaine of others enuie is the worme that gnaweth at the heart then which it is most certaine that Siculi non inuenere tyranui tormentum maius The Sicilian Tyrants did neuer feele a more fearefull torment and wrath is a plurisie that will not be appeased without blood for of the raging man it is most truely said Mad that his poyson cannot others kill He drinkes it off himselfe himselfe to spill And therefore of all the men in the world we are aduised to keepe no company with an angry furious man but as the Poet saith Dum furor in cursu currenti cede furori Ouidius lib. 1. de rem amor Difficiles aditus impetus omnis habet To turne aside from euery furious wight Cause fury will haue passage in despight And Lust is the soules feauer the flames thereof are the flames of fire and the waters thereof are aqua 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the waters of folly and madnesse And in this How the sickenesse of the soule is worse then the sickenesse of the body the sicknesse of the soule doth exceed all the sicknesse of the body for the body hath some respite from its sickenesse but the soule hath none from sinne and euery sicknesse of the body kils it not but euery sinne slayeth the soule for the reward of sinne that is of euery sinne is death saith the Apostle And hence likewise in my iudgement that branch of Pellagianisme taught also by Lactantius that the light of Nature if it were well vsed might make way for Diuine instruction may bee sufficiently confuted for though they teach that man by sinne hath not quite killed his soule but wounded the same like the man that fell among theeues and was left halfe aliue and therefore might Lactan diuin iustit c. 5. That Nature though neuer so well vsed cannot procure the gifts of grace Ephes 2.1.5 Coloss 2.13 saith Lactantius come to the same doctrine that we doe follow Si quae natura ducente sanserunt defendissent If they had constantly maintained those things which Nature taught them yet the Apostle saith here that sinne brings death vnto the Sinner and if death then sure there was no life i. e. no life of Grace in him And so in many other places the Apostle sheweth as much for he saith that we were dead in trespasses and sinnes and that God hath quickned vs by Iesus Christ And therefore it is apparently plaine that at the beginning of our conuersion we are altogether passiue and haue no power in the world to releeue our selues vntill grace hath quickened our soules Ob. But against this it may be obiected that the Apostle saith the Gentiles knew God Rom. 1.21 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so much as might be knowne concerning God that is his eternall power and God-head when they considered him in his workes and therefore the light of Nature was not quite extinguished in them Sol. That sinne extinguished all knowledge of God but what God reuealeth to man I answere that this knowledge of God was not from the light of Nature in them but it was reuealed by God vnto these naturall men to make them without excuse as Zanchius well obserueth for so the Apostle sheweth in the 19 verse of the same Chapter where he saith Deus enim illis manifestauit for God reuealed the same vnto them and therefore I say that the sinne of Adam did quite kill the soule of euery man for the reward of sinne is death and therefore we may all of vs cry out with the Apostle Rom. 7.24 O wretched men that we are who shall deliuer vs from this body of death And here-hence we may also see the iudgement of God threatned in Paradise Gen. 1.17 In what day thou eatest of the tree of Knowledge of good and euill thou shalt die the death to be truely and presently inflicted vpon Adam for though his body seemed to liue yet was his soule separated from God and therefore must needs be presently dead Aug. de ser dom in monte habetur de poenitent distinct 2. But as sinne is three manner of wayes committed as I shewed before so is the death of the soule three wayes inflicted and they are prefigured by those three sorts of dead men which our Sauiour raised in the Gospell as S. Augustine sheweth The first was Iayrus his daughter she was a Virgin â—nd was as yet within the doores and therefore our Sauiour went into the house and put out all the people and vouchsafed to take her by the hand and to say Talitha cumi Damosell Mar. 5.41 Of a three-fold death of the soule I say vnto thee arise This signifieth that soule which sinned onely by consent but hath not yet brought forth the sinne into fact and therefore God will be mercifull vnto such and will not require to shame them before the world but hee will goe in himselfe and accept of their inward repentance for such inward sinnes The second was the Widdowes sonne of Naime and hee was caried out to be buried and therefore our Sauiour in the presence of them all Did touch the Beere and said Luk 7.14 Yong man I say vnto thee arise and he sate vp and began to speake And this signifieth the soule that sinneth in fact and therefore as she publikely sinned so she must be publikely restored and as by her sinne she offended many so by her sitting vp They that publikely sinne must publikely testifie their repentance i. e. by her standing and constancy in grace and by her talking i. e. by her confession of her sinnes she must giue satisfaction vnto many Nam qui publice peccat publice corrigendus publice restaurandus est For he that publikely offendeth is publikely to be reprooued publikely to be restored saith the Law The third was Lazaus John 11. and hee was dead and laid in his graue and therefore Iesus was faine to goe a great iourney to raise him and when he came to him he groned in his spirit and was troubled he wept and he groaned againe Ver. 35. he lifted vp his eyes he prayed and he cryed with a loude voyce saying Ver. 43. Lazarus come forth and then he came forth but how bound hand and foot saith the Euangelist with graue clothes and his face bound with a Napkin so that his friends and standers by were faine to loose him and to let him goe Ver 44. And this signifieth the soule that is accustomed to sinne that is dead and buried in sin and
not one so bad as this for notwithstanding all this and that they see they cannot liue and Nature tels them they must needs die yea all these fore-runners of death Auri sacra fames amor sceleratus habendi assolet imprimis excruciare fenes doe daily tell them that they are euen drawing their last breath yet the neerer they be vnto their death the more couetous they are the more worldly minded the more desirous to liue and the more loath to leaue this wretched life Secondly as all the Ages of mans life The miseries of all estates so all the estates of life are full of the punishments of sinne For First if thou beest poore Nihil habet infaelix paupertas Thou shalt be sure of nothing but contempt which is pouerties necessary attendant for the poore man shall be despighted of his own brethren and it is strange to see what pains and drudgery those poore snakes as we call them doe take The miseries of the poore Gen. 3.19 and indure both at home and abroad to get a little maintenance in the sweat of their face it may be in the coldest Winter they doe eate their bread and perhaps scarce sufficient to satisfie meere necesity as if they onely were allotted to sustaine that heauy sentence that was first denounced against man for sinne and therefore Menander saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 No burthen is more burthensome then pouerty and Plautus saith Omnibus modis Plaut rud qui pauperes sunt misere viuunt The poore are miserable euery way and it was the common receaued opinion of the Gentiles miseros esse deis inuisos that they were hated of the gods which were thus plagued by the gods and the Iewes thought little lesse Deut. 28.22.23 because this is numbred among the curses of the Law and therefore Hecuba being brought to such extreame pouerty as that she had neither clothes to couer her nakednesse nor yet foode to satisfie nature cals her mis-fortunes and miseries 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Such as surpassed the sufferance of any creature and Plutarch reports that many men to auoid the same did preuent this misery of life by a sudden and vnnaturall death choosing to die rather then to liue in extreame pouerty and so with the vnpatient Fishes they did but leape out of the Frying-pan into the fire and run away from that misery which for a while they would not indure into that intollerable torments which now they must eternally suffer The misery of the rich Secondly If thou beest rich then art thou enuied of others and shalt be very like to be consened of thy goods for theeues will seeke to robbe thee thy friends to betray thee and thy neighbours to deceiue thee which makes the rich men to take more care to keepe their wealth then they tooke paines to get it and thereby they are vexed and crucified of themselues Inuenal Satyr 10. Nam plures nimia congesta pecunia cura strangulat For gold and siluer haue destroyed many a man saith the Sonne of Syrach Eccle. 8. for riches are like thornes saith our Sauiour Christ because they haue the same power to teare our hearts Mar. 4.18 as the others haue to rend our garments Neither is this all the euill that riches bring vnto vs but they puffe vs vp with pride they make vs to disdaine our Inferiors wrong our neighbours forget our God and to thinke our selues poore wormes to be no lesse then gods on earth and therefore the Lord saith that he is greatly angry against rich Nations Because Zephan 1. they that will be rich doe fall into temptation and a snare 1 Tim. 6.9 and into many foolish and hurtfull lusts which drowne men in perdition and destruction and our Sauiour saith Matth. 19.23 it is a very hard thing for a rich man to enter into the Kingdome of Heauen And therefore though pouerty be an extreame misery Whether to be poore or to be rich is the more miserable yet doe not I know well whether to be wealthy or to be in want is the worser for though to be poore is a miserable thing in this life yet to be rich is a great hinderance for vs to eternall life and therefore I finde that the sonne of Iakeh prayed to God that he would giue him neither pouerty nor riches Prou. 30.3 but feed him with foode conuenient Because the meane state is the best state And yet Thirdly If thou beest meane then art thou accounted base The miseries of the meane estate and deemed vnfit for the Society nay for the seruice of many men for now Gentlemen and not good men are the men that are most generally required for the seruice of great men Fourthly If thou beest Noble The miseries of Nobility then art thou euer in feare of disgrace and must perhaps in forraine warres with the imbruing of thy hands in others blood mainetaine the reputation of thine owne blood at home Fiftly If thou beest one of the vulgar people The miseries of the common people then art thou at others command and euer in feare of thy Iudges anger Sixtly If thou beest a Magistrate then must thou labour and toyle for the good of others and many times The miseries of Magistrates disturbe thine owne rest and peace yea disburse thine owne state and suffer many other hazards to vndergoe to procure rest and peace vnto thy neighbours and when in any difference betwixt men thou hast done thy best and dealt as iustly as Iustice it selfe could doe yet for his saying that is righted and perhaps but coldly too that thou hast done well thou art like to bee sure of him that would haue done the wrong to be more wronged thy selfe by his railing and proclayming thee to be a corrupt and vnrighteous Iudge The miseries of the Ministers Seauenthly If thou beest a Minister and a teacher of Gods people then shalt thou see that this highest calling in Gods Church is subiect to the greatest miseries in the world for they are sent as sheepe into the midst of Wolues Matth. 10.16 and they are incident to be punished by God many times for the sinnes of others when they make them their owne Ezek. 18. because they reprooue them not and to be scorned and contemned of men when they do their best and we see many of them euen of the best to be left vnregarded vnrewarded And what should I speake of more Fathers Children Husbands Wiues Masters Seruants and whatsoeuer else no estate is free from sinne how can they then be free from miseries How all creatures do heap vp miseries vpon man Thirdly we know that when God made man he made Lord of all his creatures the trembling trees bowing yeelded their fruites the siluer streames running offered their seruice the Lyons roaring after their prey and all other creatures standing in their order subiected themselues willingly vnto man
but hee not contented to be a man aboue these but desiring to be a god aboue all was made a worme and no man inferior vnto all and then all like Acteons dogges seeing vs metamorphosed from men to worse then beasts began to rebell against vs and most furiously to pursue vs Gen 19.24 the fire to consume vs as it did Sodome and Gomorrah 2 Sam. 24. the ayre to infect vs as it did the Israelites in the time of Dauid the water to drowne vs as it did the whole world in the dayes of Noah Gen. 7.23 the earth to swallow vs as it did Corah Num. 16.32 Dathan and Abiram and all other creatures to deuour vs as the beares did those children that mocked Elizeus the Starres in their order Judg. 5.20 did fight against Sisera and since we haue sinned and rebelled against the Lord there is no creature but hath cast away the created yoke of obedience and haue rebelled against vs so that now hic labor hoc opus est It is a taske too great for Hercules to bring them againe to the obedience of man And thus you see that from our first entrance into this wretched life sinne laboureth still to kill vs and doth at all times and by all meanes vexe vs grieue vs weaken vs by passions sorrowes sicknesses and such like and will neuer leaue vs vntill it layeth vs downe in the dust and therefore that all these are the prodromi the fore-runners and beginnings of death or rather like so many little deaths that doe bring vs vnto our last and fatall death For all these are the reward of sinne and therefore branches of this death And so you see what is meant by Death For the second point hauing seene what is meant by death Of the large extent of death that is all the miseries that doe consume and waste our liues we are now to consider how farre this death extendeth And this the Apostle sheweth briefly when he saith Statutum est omnibus semel mori It is appointed for all men once to die Heb. 9.27 and the very Heathens say as much Seneca Lex vniuersa iubet nasci mori It is an vniuersall Law and a debt that we owe and must pay to Nature that euery one which is borne to life should passe away by death Laertius lib. 2. c. 3. And therefore when it was told Anaxagoras that all his sonnes were dead he answered Sciebam me genuisse mortales I knew that I had begotten mortall creatures for as nullis amorest medicabilis herbis so nihil est moderabile morte There is nothing in the world that can moderate the rage or preserue vs from the fatall stroke of death Non Torquate genus Horatius lib. 4. non te facundia non te restituet pietas saith Horace vnto his friend Torquatus And we see the faith of Abraham the strength of Sampson the wisedome of Salomon the riches of Craesus and the Kingdomes of Alexander could not preserue them from Death Polydor Virgil writeth that King Canutus seeing the Sea beginning to flow said I command thee not to touch my feete but his command was bootlesse for he had scarce ended his Edict but the surging waue dashed at his teeth So we may out-braue death in words but we may be sure that as the Sea so Death How vnresistable is death antiquum obtinebit will keepe his old wont Yea though wee could hinder the course of the Sea for meanes haue been found to tame the fiercest beasts to breake the hardest marble to mollifie the impenetrable Adamant and to deale with the Seas as Xerxes did with the waters of Hellespont or Caesar with all the Riuers of Germany yet is there no meanes in the world to escape the hands of death and therefore Saint Augustine saith August Psal 121. Resistitur ignibus vndis ferro resistitur regibus imperijs venit vna mors quis ei resistit Fire Waters Swords Kings Kingdomes were resisted but who hath euer withstood the stroake of death Quia nec miseretur inopum nec reueretur diuites Because as Saint Bernard saith it neither pittieth the poore Ber. de conu cler nor regardeth the rich but Nereus the faire Thirsites the soule Craesus the rich Irus the poore Solym the cruell Solyman the magnificent Diomedes the Prince and Damaetas the Peasâ—nt must all fall downe at Deaths feet Because that no teares no prayers no threatnings no intreâ—tings will serue the turne to turne away the face of death So stiffe so deaffe so inexorable is death How the Egyptians expressed death to be the sole enemie of all men And therefore the Egyptians in their Hierogliphickes painted Death like a Goddesse holding a sickle in her hand with this inscription Nemini parco I spare no man And because they found her so hard-hearted so implacable and so inexorable that nothing could appease her wrath when she did meane to cut vs downe but that she tooke the Husband from the bosome of his louing wife and the Parents from the poore helpelesse Infants and so fulfilling her owne will and carefull for none else therefore they built her no temples they offered no sacrifice they celebrated no rites vnto her but seeing she vsed all alike Constantinus imperator famulus meus making no difference betwixt Agamemnon and Thirsites therefore all vsed her alike and stood all vpon their guards to defend themselues so well and so long as they might against all her darts though they knew that in the end she would ouercome them all because they had all sinned and the reward of sinne is death Psal 50.22 O consider this all ye that forget God all ye that neglect God all whosoeuer Kings Lords and great men old and yong rich and poore one with another for though you liue like gods and none dare say why doe you so yet you shall die like men and if you fearelesly commit the sinne I dare boldly say that you shal be sure Aequo pode pulsat pauperum tabernas regumque turres Horatius most fearefully to indure the punishments for as you see Death spareth none but cutteth downe as well the Cedars of Lebanon and the Oakes of Bashan as the Shrubs of Cades So much lesse will God spare any man that sinneth CHAP. V. How Death worketh variably in diuers respects and the diuers causes thereof FOr the third point we must consider that although Death passeth ouer all yet that it worketh not vpon all alike but worketh variably and that as we find it in foure speciall respects 1. Of the manner 2. Of the time 3. Of the place 4. Of the effects or consequents of Death For the first we finde that there be more wayes of death then there be meanes to preserue our life for as the Poet saith Mille modâ—s laethi miseros mors vna fatigat Though there is but one way for all men to come into
the world yet there is 1000. wayes How death hath diuers wayes to shorten life Prou 17.22 Act. 5.10 for euery man to goe out of the world And so we finde some haue perished with sudden death as Ananias and Saphira some with Gluttony as Domitius Afer others with drunkennesse as Attila King of Hunnes some by fire from Heauen as the Sodomites Gen. â—9 the two fifties that were sent to fetch Elias and Anastatius the Emperour an Eutychian Hereticke others by waters as Marcus Marcellus Exod. 24.28 King Pharaoh and all his hoast and all the old wicked world excepting those eight persons that were saued in Noahs Arke Gen. 7 21. 1 Pet 2.5 Numb 16.32 Some with hunger as Cleanthes others with thirst as Thales Milesius some were swallowed vp quicke to Hell as Corah Dathan and Abiram and others by earthquakes were stricken dead as Ephrasius Bishop of Antioch Some were stifled with smoake as Catulus others dyed with a fall as Nestorius some were taken in their lasciuious dalliances as Cornelius Gallus others with ouerwatchingâ— as M. Attillius some with poyson as Phocion others choked with flies as Pope Adrian some at the disburdening of Nature as that wicked Arrius others torne in pieces by wilde beasts as Heraclius Lucian 2 King 2 24. and Acteon by dogges Hypolitus by wilde Horses Licus the Emperour and the disobedient Prophet by Lions Ancaeus King of Samos by Bores and Hatto Bishop of Mentz by Rats and so some die with ioy as Chylo the Lacedemonian and Diagoras the Rhodian who seeing his three sonnes crowned Champions in one day he reioyced so much that he dyed for ioy in the very place More die with griefe Quia spirâ—tus tristis exiccat ossa Because a broken spirit dryeth the bones and a heauy heart doth hasten to death and therefore the Prophet Dauid when he found hâ—mselfe so melancholicke and discontented did rouze vp his heart and spirits saying Why art thou so heauy O my soule and why art thou so disquieted within me yet put thy trust in the Lord for he is thy helper and defender and so should wee doe Bosquier de finibus bonorum mal pag. 31. 32. when either cares or crosses doe dismay vs. But most men die with sicknesses and diseases Feauers Fluxes Gouts Plagues and 1000. more they being so many that neither Galenus nor Hypocrates nor all the best Physitians can number them saith Bosquierus the generations of men here on earth being as Homer saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tale quale est foliorum Like vnto the leaues of a tree whereof some doe perish and others spring in their places They spring they flourish they waxe old and soone wither away Et tum quoque cum crescimus Senecal 3. ep 24. vita decrescit and our life then decreaseth as our yeares increaseth Vt rosa mane viget sero mox vespere languet Sic modo qui fuimus cras leuis vmbra sumus We bring our yeares to an end as it were a tale that is told For the second that is the Time when death doth attach vs We see some are taken yong and some are left vntil they be very old Death taketh men of all ages some taste of death before they doe see the light when their mothers wombes are as the tombes for their buriall some die in their Cradles as the babes of Bethelem and some liue so long that they are weary of life And sometimes the good are soonest taken as Enoch sometimes the bad as Onan Et vocantur ante tempus boni Gen. 5.24 Gen. 33. ne diutius vexarentur à noxijs And the good are often taken away that they should be neither vexed nor corrupted by the wicked and the wicked are sometimes taken away that they should not persecute the godly any longer and that they might be an example of Gods vengeance vpon all such as feare not God And sometimes death fore-warneth vs as it did Ezechias by sending his messengers to bid vs to set our houses in order that we may be prepared for death as age sickenesses and such like and sometimes it preuenteth vs and takes vs afore we are aware of it as it did yong Onan and old Ely who were both suddenly met by death when death was looked for by neither of them For the third that is the Place where death will meete vs Death smiteth in euery place we know death is not very scrupulous be it faire or soule wide or narrrow priuate or publike in the field or in the Church or wheresoeuer where hee meetes vs there hee will arrest vs Poet Euâ—ulus and his wife both a bed Vrias in the field and Ioab at the hornes of the altar And all this taking of vs in any Manner at any Time That we shâ—ld be alwayes ready for death and in any Place is to teach vs to be alwayes ready and to looke for death at all times and in all places Omnem crede diem tibi diluxisse supremum For seeing thou knowest neither the time nor the place where death meanes to arrest thee it is thy chiefest wisedome to be ready for death at all times and to waite for the same in euery place For the fourth that is the effects of death we must note Death is a comfortable thing to the godly that they are very different both about the time of the dissolution and after the time of the separation of the body and soule for first at the time of their dissolution bona mors iusti right deare in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints And this is the thing they longed for to be losed from the bonds of sinne and to be with their Sauiour Christ in happinesse to be with him which was dead and is aliue and liueth for euermore Reuel 2.8 And therefore to these men Mors vltima poenae est Lucan l. 8. nec metuenda viris Death is the ending of their paine and the beginning of their pleasure nay more as Prudentius saith Tormenta carcer vngulae stridensque flammis lamina atque ipsa poenarum vltima mors Christianis ludus est All the bitternesse of the bitterest death Prudent in hymno de Vincent is ioy and sweetnesse vnto them for that in death they see their life they behold the Angels pitching their tents round about them and ready to receiue their soules to glory before their bodies can be laid in their graues and therefore well might Salomon say that the godly man hath hope in his death Prou. 14.32 for he knoweth not what to feare because he knoweth in whom he beleeued The death of the wicked is most terrible vnto them But mors peccatorum pessima the death of the wicked is most fearefull and therefore the very remembrance of it is most bitter vnto them for now before it shuts the eyes of their bodies it will open the eyes of
power Prou. 25.11 but both ioyned together it is like apples of gold in pictures of siluer And therefore as before he had shewed his power that hee was able to helpe vs so now hee sheweth his goodnesse that he is most willing to releeue vs And to shew how plenteous his goodnesse is he expresseth the same by seauen speciall and seuerall particles I will handle them by Gods helpe as they lye in order The first particle of Gods goodnesse here expressed is that hee is Mercifull Touching which we must vnderstand that Mercy in God is no passion nor any griefe of minde conceiued through the miserie of another Cicero in 4. Tusc Senec. de clem Aug de ciuit Dei l. 9. c. 5. Jer. 31.20 as mercy is commonly defined to be vnlesse you vnderstand it per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 improperly spoken onely for our better apprehension as when he saith My bowels are troubled for Ephraim Or as it is ascribed to the Sonne of God Christ Iesus who doth indeed condole our miseries and sympathize in our afflictions because he is man as we are and subiect to all like passions as we be sinne onely excepted Heb. 2.17 But mercy in God signifieth a propensitie and a readinesse of minde to helpe not onely the miserie but also the wants and all the defects of man Mouet enim pium iudicem fragilitas considerata peccantium Cassiod in Psal What mercy in God signifieth For he remembreth that we are but dust and therefore he pittieth our frailties and he helpeth our infirmities yea hee cryeth and calleth and seeketh after vs when wee by our sinnes doe runne away and flie apace from him For When Adam by the wisedome that he got by the Serpent had found him a way to runne away from God and so to fall into the depth of despaire and as a man without helpe without hope voide of grace and full of sinne to become free amongst the dead excluded from God and exiled from the Land of the liuing a slaue of Satan which makes me abhorre to thinke of it and a fire-brand of eternall destruction which makes me tremble for feare of it yet then behold the neuer-dying mercy of the God of all mercy did presently finde the meanes to bring him backe againe by repentance and to make him an example of his mercie to many babes that were as then vnborne for he thâ—t doth neither slumber nor sleepe would not suffer him to lye and sleepe in sinne but presently runnes after him that was running from him and cries Adam where art thou Gene. 3.9 and what is become of thee and he did this not because he knew not where Adam was which knoweth euery thing but because he would haue Adam to know where himselfe was in a state destitute of all grace and replenished with all miseries that so finding himselfe in the depth of such miseries hee might the more earnestly seeke vnto God for mercies So he did to Dauid Examples of Gods infinite mercies in the speedy seeking after his Saints when they hâ—d sinned against him 2 Sam. 24.10 Jonas 1.4 when Dauid had offended him in numbring Israel hee stirred vp his heart that it presently smote him that he might not be smitten of God so to Ionas when hee began his iourney to flie from God he sent the windes to flie after him and as a purseuant to arest him and to bring him backe againe to him who otherwise would haue posted to hell so to Peter when he denied his Master and swore that hee knew him not to whom a little before hee had sworne thâ—t hee would die with him he looked backe vpon him to bring him backe againe to repentance and hee caused the Cocke to crowe Matth. 26.74 the dumbe Beast to crie vnto him to send him out to crie vnto God for mercie and to weepe so bitterly for his sinnes vt lachrymae lauarent delictum that God seeing his sorrow and teares might bee inclined to heare his prayers and so he doth vnto vs all when we doe fall and sinne and sleepe and sinne he sends his Preachers still to call vs and his owne spirit into our hearts to moue vs to repentance not to bee repented of and to promise to shew compassion on vs and to receiue vs into his grace if wee would shew our contrition and promise to leaue and to forsake our sinnes O then that this mercifull seeking of vs That the goodnesse of God seeking after vs should moue vs to seeke vnto God would make vs to seeke vnto him while he may bee found and that this calling after vs to recall vs from our miseries would make vs call vnto him for mercie for if wee doe seeke and pray for Grace wee may assure our selues that our Saluation is neerer then wee thinke but if we still continue in sinne we may be sure our damnation is neerer then we feare for the day of grace passeth away and the night of death commeth when no man can worke and therefore while it is to day let vs heare his voyce John 9.4 so louingly calling vs so carefully seeking vs so mercifully offering to receiue vs to kisse vs with the kisses of his mouth to deliuer vs froÌ„ the shadow of death and to bring vs vnto the land of euerlasting life such is the neuer-dying streames of the mercie of God it is like a boundlesse Ocean there is no end of his goodnesse and therefore Saint Bernard in admiration thereof crieth out vnto God saying Quam diues es in misericordia magnificus in iustitia munificus in gratia Domine Deus noster O how rich art thou in Mercy how magnificent in Iustice and how bountifull in Grace O Lord our God Nam tu munerator copiosissimus remunerator aequissimus liberator pijssimus For thou art a most liberall bestower of Heauenly gifts thou art a most righteous rewarder of humane workes â—nd thou art a most gracious deliuerer of all that trust in thee Yea and besides all this Tu gratis respicis humiles tu iustè iudicas innocentes tu misericorditer saluas peccatores thou doest freely exalt the lowly thou doest iustly deliuer the innocent and thou doest most mercifully saue those sinners that doe put their trust in thy sufferings and therefore Quis similis tibi O Lord our God who is like vnto thee that when there was not a righteous man vpon the face of the earth August in p. 48 not one that did good no not one thou sentest one from Heauen that by him wee might bee all brought vnto Heauen So great is the Mercy of God towards vs poore wretched Men. And it is obserued by Diuines that the Mercy of God consisteth chiefely in these three things viz. In Wherein the mercie of God doth chiefely consist 1. Giuing of Graces 2. Forgiuing of sinnes 3. Qualifying punishments The first extendeth it selfe vnto all creatures the second
vnto his Saints and the third both to Saints and sinners both to the best of Men and to the worst both of Men and Angels For the first the Prophet Dauid sayth the earth is full of his mercie quoniam bonus est vniuersis because all creatures taste of his goodnesse Psal 147.9 Hee openeth his hands and filleth all things liuing with plenteousnesse and he feedeth the young Rauens that call vpon him and therefore omnia in te sperant domine the eyes of all things doe looke on thee O Lord and thou giuest them their meate in due season For the second that is the forgiuing of sinnes Many particular points to be considered in the forgiuing of sinnes we shall the better vnderstand it if we doe though but briefely consider these few particulars as First Who forgiueth God omnipotent who hath no neede of sinners Et qui nec melior si laudaueris nec deterior si vituperaueris Aug. in Psal 1 Who forgiueth and which is so eminently good and so immutably blessed as thâ—t all which thou canst doe cannot better him Quia summe perfectissime bonus because he is so good that he cannot bee better nor any thing that thou canst say or doe can make him one iot the worse as Saint Augustine speaketh Secondly What hee doth forgiue crimen laesae maiestatis 2 What God forgiueth sinne horrible sinne and high treason against himselfe a thing so haynous that it would require a whole treatise to expresse it Thirdly To whom hee doth forgiue this 3 To whom he forgiueth to his owne creatures and seruants that doe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rebell and make warre like those slaues whereof Iustine speaketh that made warre against their Masters against him that made them Psal 69.9 that feeds them and that blesseth them euen then when they curse him Fourthly How he doth forgiue all this 4 How he forgiueth by laying all vpon his Sonne The rebukes of them that rebuked thee are fallen vpon mee sayth Christ yea by slaying his innocent Sonne to saue vs his wicked seruants for the Scripture sheweth that the Sonne of God was made the Sonne of Man that the sonnes of sinne might bee made the sonnes of God the Lord of glory was vilified that the sonnes of shame might be glorified and the Lord of life was deliuered vnto death that the sonnes of death might be restored to life and thus as the Christian Poet sayth Deus emit sanguine seruos Mercari exiguo nos piget aere Deum God shed his bloud to purchase those That for his loue giue not a rose So strange is mans vngratitude vnto this most mercifull God Fiftly How often he doth forgiue vs euery day 5 How often he forgiueth and that many a time God knoweth and none knoweth but God for who can tell how oft he offendeth septies in die cadit iustus Prou. 24.16 the iust man falleth seauen times a day sayth Salomon and if the iust man falleth seauen times then certainely the wicked falleth seauenty times seauen times by their leud thoughts wanton lookes idle words cursed oathes wicked lyes and sinnefull workes 6 After what manner he forgiueth Sixtly After what manner he forgiueth all this so aâ— that he forgiueth all neuer to recall them neuer to remember them for as the Distich sayth Larga dei bonitas veniam non dimidiabit Aut nihil aut totum te lachrymante dabit He forgiueth all or none at all Et semel remissa nunquam redeunt and sinnes once remitted are neuer after questioned for I the Lord change not Malac. 3.6 and my gifts are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without repentance and therefore sinnes once remitted are neuer after to be found Iere. 50.20 for the iniquities of Israel shall bee sought for and there shall be none and the sinnes of Iuda and they shall not bee found Esay 44.22 Ezâ—ch 18.21 but they shall euer bee forgotten for I will doâ— away thy transgressions as a cloude and thy sinnes as a myste and I will put away all thy wickednesse out of my remembrance sayth the Lord that is they shall bee cleane forgotten as a dead man out of minde or as the thing that had neuer beene Psal 77.10 And yet the Prophet Dauid sayth quod non obliuiscetur misereri Deus that God cannot forget to be mercifull for though the wrath of the Lord endureth but the twinckling of an eye Psal 136. yet as the same Prophet sayth and that seuen and twenty times in the same Psalme the mercie of God endureth for euer and so it is euerlasting and that as the Schooles obserue two manner of wayes The mercie of God is euerlasting two wayes Gab. Biel. in sent dist 1. q. 5. First Essentially for God is mercy quia in Deo nihil est quod non sit ipse Deus because the Diuine essence identificat sibi omnia quae sunt in diuinis doth identifie to it selfe all things that are in the Dietie and so God hath not things as qualities but is the things that are spoken of him as his essence and therefore mercy being of himselfe and euer himselfe it must needs be eternitie it selfe Aug. sup Gen l. 5. Secondly Relatiuely as it respects the creatures and makes impression on them Quia omnia priusquam fierent in notitia facientis erant because the creatures had their being in God according to his eternall purpose as the Apostle sayth from all eternitie Ephes 1.4.9 and 11. v. quia nihil noui accidit deo because no new thought can happen to the minde of God and so euer they needed mercie to continue and to accomplish that their intended being and therefore thus ex parte ante the mercy of God is euerlasting because it is from all eternitie now since they had their being and so long as they shall haue their existence in there naturall causes they doe and euer shall neede his mercy and therefore also thus ex parte post his mercy is euerlasting because endlesse And therefore Let the house of Aaron now confesse Psal 117.3 that his mercy endureth for euer and Let the house of Iuda now confâ—sse that his mercy endureth for euer and therefore also let vs all confesse that as the Prophet sayth he cannot forget to be mercifull O most excellent argument of exceeding comfort hee can forget our sinnes as I sheâ—ed you before but he cannot forget to be mercifull Can a Woman forget her owne childe Improbus ille puer crudelis tu quoque Mater Virgil in Egl. If she should that child were very vnhappy and that Mother full of crueltie yet because some Progne-like haue done it therefore Though a Woman should forget her owne child yet will not I forget you sayth the Lord. Well then here is a comfort vnto vs all That the chiefest and the surest comfort of euery man is ro relie vpon the mercie
vnto vs especially 1. His life is our chiefest direction 2. Himselfe is our onely consolation For Aug de vera religione First Tota vita Christi in terris per hominem quem gessit disciplina morum fuit The whole life of Christ which he spent here on earth was and is a patterne for all Christians saith Saint Augustine Christ despised all worldly vanities Nam omnia bona mundi contempsit For he dâ—spised all the pompe and vanitie of this world he was borne poore his Inne was a Stable his Cradle was a Manger and his couering were poore swadling clouts he liued poore for hee had not an house to put his head in and he dyed poore Saint Augustine when he dyed made no Will because he had no wealth but his bookes which he gaue to the common Library Posidon in vita August saith Possidonius but Christ was poorer for he had no goods but his garment this was all the Souldiers got by him to teach vs in his mundanis faelicitatem non reponere That we should not greedily seeke nor childishly place our delight in these vaine and worldly toyes but if riches increase not to set our hearts vpon them Et omnia mala sustinuit Christ suffered all miseries and he suffered all the sorrowes of this world hunger thirst cold and nakednesse lyings slanders spittings mockings whippings death it selfe to teach vs Vt nec in illis quaereretur faelicitas ita nec in istis infaelicitas timeretur That as wee should place no felicity in the vanities of this life so we should not feare all the miseries of this life Iudg 6.12.14 but to say with Debora March valiantly O my soule and with the Angel vnto Gideon Goe on thou mighty man of Warre and passe through all the ranks of miseries for Dabit Deus his quoque finem God will make an end of these things and will bring his people vnto rest which shall continue without ending and therefore Saint Bernard saith Incassum laborat in acquisitione virtutum qui eas alibi quam in Christo quaerit That there is no way in the world for vs to attaine vnto any goodnesse Christ the most perfect patterne of all vertue but onely through Christ nor to learne any true vertue but onely from the example of Christ For If thou wouldest learne humilitie Let the same minde be in thee which was in Christ Iesus Phil. 2.5.6.7 who being in the forme of God and thought it no robbery to be equall with God yet did he make himselfe of no reputation and tooke vpon him the forme of a seruant If thou wouldest learne truth and vprightnesse set the example of Christ before thy face for in him there was no sinne 1 Pet. 2.22 Bernard ser 2. super Cantic Prudentia vera in eius doctrina iustitia in eius misericordia temperantia in vita fortitudo in eiusdem pâ—ssione reperiuntur and in his mouth was found no guile and to be briefe if thou dost seriously looke thou shalt easily finde that as Saint Bernard saith True Wisedome is found in his Doctrine Righteousnesse in his Mercy Mercy in his Iustice Temperance in his Life Truth in his words Fortitude in his sufferings and all vertues in all his actions All the Aethicks of Aristotle all the morality of Seneca and all the wisedome of Greece can no wayes describe vertue neere so perfectly as wee see it expresly portrayed in the liuely example of our Sauiours life And as there is no way for vs to finde true vertue The knowledge of Christ the onely meanes to suppresse all vices but onely in him which is vertue it selfe so there is nothing in the world that is so auaileable to suppresse all vice as is the true knowledge of Iesus Christ Nam haec irae impetum cohibet superbiae tumorem sedat For this will refraine the violence of anger when they consider how he suffered all violence and villanies Esay 53.7 and yet as a Sheepe before his shearer was dumbe so opened hee not his mouth This will allay the swellings of Pride when they consider how he was the noblest of all creatures Psal 45.3 and the fayrest among the sonnes of men and yet was he meeke and lowly in heart Matth. 11.29 â—his will heale the wounds of enuy it will stoppe the streames of luxury it will quench the flames of lust it will temper the thirst of couetousnesse and it will keepe thee from the itching desire of all filthinesse when we consider how much hee loathed these how free he was from these and how earnestly hee disswaded vs from these and from all other vices whatsoeuer And therefore saith he Ne mundi gloria seu carnis voluptatibus abducaris dulcescat tibi pro his sapientia Christus Ne spiritu mendacij erroris seducaris lucescat tibi veritas Christus ne aduersitatibus fatigeris comfortet te virtus Dei Christus Lest thou shouldest be with-drawne from God through the pompous vanities of this world or the lustfull and delightfull pleasures of thine owne flesh let Christ the true wisedome of God waxe sweet vnto thee Lest thou shouldest be seduced by the spirit of lies and of errors let Christ the true light shine vnto thee and lest thou shouldest be wearied and waxe faint vnder the burthen of aduersities let Christ the power of God refresh thee Secondly As all Christs actions are our instructions so is Christ himselfe all our consolation Nam cum defecerit virtus mea non conturbor For if I see mine owne strength and goodnesse faile me yet I neede not be disturbed I neede not be deiected Quia quod ex me mihi deest vsurpo ex visceribus Domini Because whatsoeuer wanteth in my selfe Whatsoeuer we want Christ alone is all-sufficient to supply our neede to helpe my selfe I may freely and boldly assume it to supply my wants from my Lord and Master Iesus Christ for as that seruant neede not want that hath free leaue to vse his Masters full purse at his owne command so neede not they want any grace that haue the grace of Christ because as I told you before Omnia habemus in Christo Christus omnia in nobis We haue all things in Christ and Christ is all things vnto vs. If thou art sicke with sinne and thy soule wounded or poysoned vnto death and wouldest be healed Christ is thy best and alone Physician onely he and not one but he can cure thee If thy soule doth hunger and thirst after righteousnesse and wouldest be satisfied Joh. 6.35 he is the Bread of Life and the Fountaine of liuing waters Whosoeuer eateth him shall neuer hunger and whosoeuer drinketh of him C. 7.38 shall neuer thirst for out of his belly shall flow riuers of waters of life If thou art as naked of all goodnesse as thou wert of all clothing when thou camest out of thy Mothers wombe
aegroti quantum ad iustitiam Dei In regard of the state of the patient to free him from sinne and to satisfie the Iustice of God For it behoued the Mediator betweene God and man Ne in vtroque deo similis longe esset ab homine aut in vtroque homini similis longe esset à Deo to haue something like vnto GOD and to haue something like vnto man lest that in all things being like vnto man hee might be so too farre from God or being in all things like vnto God hee might be so too farre from man and therefore Christ betwixt sinfull mortall men and the iust immortall God did appeare a mortall man with men and a iust God with God 1 Tim 2.5 and so the Mediator betwixt God and men was God and man Christ Iesus and fitly too saith Saint Augustine Quia ille congruè satisfacit qui potest debet Because that is most agreeable to reason that he should make satisfaction Two speciall reasons why Christ was made man which ought and can satisfie but we know that none ought to doe it but man and none can doe it but God and therefore God was contented to be made man and that for these two especiall reasons First to shew the greatnesse of his Loue to man First to shew the greatnesse of his loue for hee had seemed to haue loued vs the lesse if he had done lesse for vs but now Quid tam pietate plenum quam filium Dei pro nobis factum esse faenum What can more commend the loue of God to man then to see the word God made flesh for man Iohn 3.16 and therefore the Euangelist to shew the greatnesse of Gods loue to mankinde saith God so loued the world that he gaue his onely begotten Sonne that is to bee incarnate to be made flesh and to suffer death that whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue euerlasting life Secondly to erect our hope that was already deiected Secondly to erect the hope and to strengthen the faith of man and to strengthen our faith which was alwayes wauering for wee saw two things that were to be done for man and yet could not be done by any man but such a one as should be God and Man The first was a remoueall of that great euill which suppressed vs. The second was a restoring of that great good that we were depriued of First Magnitude mali The euill that oppressed all men was foure-fold the greatnesse of that euill which suppressed euery man and could not be taken away by any man consisted in foure things 1. The waight of sinne 2. The height of Gods wrath 3. The power of death 4. The tyranny of the diuell And these could not be abolished by any creature but onely by him that created all creatures and can worke all things mightily according to the purpose of his owne will Secondly Magnitudo boni The good that man lost was two-fold the greatnesse of that good which was taken away from all men and could be restored by no man consisted in two things 1. The repairing of Gods image here in this life 2. The enioying of the blessed vision of God in the next life For none could restore the image of God to man but hee that was the liuing image of God Heb. 1.3 and the ingrauen forme of his person and the Kingdome of Heauen none could giue but God that giues it to all that loue him and therefore to take away the euill which we had deserued and to restore vnto vs that good whereof we were depriued God himselfe that made vs was contented to redeeme vs by taking our flesh vpon him Vt natura offendens satisfaceret That the nature offending might make satisfaction and because satisfaction could not be made without bloud for without bloud there is no remission Heb. 9.22 saith the Apostle he was made flesh that he might die and shed his bloud for vs Aug. serm 101. de tempore Vt iniusta mors iustam vinceret mortem liberaret nos iustè dum pro nobis occiditur iniustè That so his vniustly inflicted death might ouercome our iustly deserued death and might most rightly free and deliuer vs because he was most wrongfully slaine for vs as Saint Augustine speaketh Quest 2 Secondly It will be demaunded why the word that is the Sonne should be incarnate and made flesh rather then the Father or the Holy Ghost Resp Why the Son rather then the Father or the Holy Ghost was made man Saint Augustine thinketh that the cause pertained more specially vnto the Sonne then to the Father or to the Holy Ghost for that the Diuell attempted to vsurpe the dignitie and authority of the Sonne of God saying in his heart that he would be like vnto the most highest that is the image of the Father and sought to intrude himselfe into his glory to be the Prince of this world and the Head of euery creature which things were onely proper vnto the Sonne of God and therfore it behoued the Sonne to come into the world to ouercome the Diuell that would haue wronged him and all other men that were to be members of him But we finde many other reasons to shew why the Word was made flesh rather then the Father or the Holy Ghost As First because it is the office of the Word to declare the minde of God First because the Incarnation of God was made for the manifestation of God but we declare and manifest things by words and Christ is the word of the Father the wisedome the knowledge and the interpreter of his Fathers will euen as our word is the interpreter of our minde as Origen and Clemens Alexandrinus doe declare and therefore the word was rightly incarnate that God in him might be seene and heard and vnderstood of vs according to that saying of the Euangelist that which wee haue heard and seene 1 Iohn 1.1 and our hands haue handled of the word of life that declare we vnto you For as he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word in respect of his person which is a name of relation vnto the minde as Sonne is to the Father so is he the word in respect of his office i. e. of his office as he is the second person of the Trinitie for as it is the propertie and office of the eternall minde i. e. the Father to beget the word i. e. the Sonne so it is the propertie and the office of the Word to declare the Minde but because this spirituall inuisible and ineffable Word as he is God could neuer be seene nor heard nor vnderstood of vs therefore was he made flesh that he might be heard and seene And this the Apostle seemes to shew vnto vs when hee saith God heretofore at sundry times Heb. 1.1 and in diuers manners spake vnto the Fathers by the Prophets but in these last
things for vs. euen for euer For this Incarnâ—â—e Word this God and Man Christ Iesus hath performed all things that are necessary for our saluation he liued for vs he dyed for vs he rose againe for vs and he became the Phisitian and the medicine both of our originall and actuall sinnes For against the corruption and guilt of originall sinne the pure birth and vndefiled conception of Christ is a sufficient salue and against the guilt of actuall sinne the Sanctitie and innocent life of Christ tâ—at was without any spot of sinne is a sufficient remedy and against the punishment either of originall or of actuall sinnes tâ—e most pretious death of Christ is a sufficient satisfaction Quia iniusta mors iustam vicit mortem Aug. ser 101. de tempore liberauit nos iuste quia pro nobis occisus est iniustè Because his vniust death hath iustly ouercome our death and he hath most iustly deliuered vs because he was most vniustly slaine for vs. That good examples are meanes to further godlines Besides the Word being made flesh we haue his life as a most perfect patterne to frame our liues thereby for wee are all like Apes apt to imitate and we say the life of our Minister would more moue vs to godlinesse then his doctrine and no doubt but it would doe much to them that hate not their Minister because he will not be as deboyst as themselues for a good example to good men is as a light set vpon a Candlesticke that all they which come into the house Iohn 3.19 may see the light although to euill men Christ an infallible patterne for men to imitate it moues them to the more indignation and wrath because it makes their sinnes appeare the more exceedingly sinfull and will be a iust witnesse against them in the day of wrath for that seeing the light of a good life shining amongst them they hated the same because their deeds were euill And therefore if we would be led by examples and would not erre let vs lay the the example of Christ before our face for this is a true looking glasse that is euer laid open before euery man and will neuer deceiue nor flatter any man and it is not onely a patterne for our practice but the continuall inspection and looking into the same is also in some measure an efficient cause Cyrillus l. 4. c. 5. and impulsiue motiue to incite vs to the imitation thereof and to the performance of all godlinesse because Christ is the giuer of all such graces whereby men do liue a godly life as the Apostle sheweth 1 Cor. 4.7 That we may boldly come to God Moreouer Christ hauing vnited his Deitie with our humanitie and hauing so well tempered his Maiestie with humility we may the more confidently and boldly draw neere vnto the throne of grace for that as his Deity confoundeth so his humanitie comforteth our faint and feeble soules and as his Maiestie amazeth so his humility animateth vs to come vnto him and to seeke of him whatsoeuer is needfull for vs. And further this Word being made flesh Naturam humanam nobilitauit He hath so innobled our humane nature as Saint Augustine saith that we which were wormes and no men are now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pertakers of the Diuine nature and as it were Gods and no wormes so that now 2 Pet. 1.4 That we attaine to a farre better state in Christ then we lost in Adam Bernard ser 1. de Epiphan our nature being repayred it is exalted farre aboue the dignitie of its first originall and it hath obtained to a farre better state in Christ then it had and lost in Adam because Adam was but is the image of God but wee are ioyned and made one with God as Saint Bernard saith and therefore foelix culpa quae talem meruit redemptorem happy was that fault as it happened vnto vs which brought foorth such a Sauiour to be made partaker of our flesh that wee might be partakers of his Spirit as Saint Gregory speaketh Secondly more particularly That both our bodies and our soules shall be saued in that he was made a true and a perfect man consisting both of body and soule we may assure our selues of the saluation both of body and soule for as our sinnes deserued damnation vnto both so the assuming of both by this Word hath brought deliuerance vnto them both And in that he was made subiect vnto all our humane frailties passions and miseries being made in all things like â—nto vs sinne onely excepted Heb. 2.17 c. 4 15. we may as I haue already touched before conceiue thereby an exceeding comfort for as Queene Dido said vnto the distressed Troians Haud ignara mali miseris succurrere disco Experience of miseries hath taught mee to succour all those that are miserable euen so Christ hauing felt all infirmities We may be sure of comfort in distresse and suffered more miseries then any of vs can endure will be mercifull and compassionate towards vs when hee seeth vs in distresse for he became like vnto vs that he might be mercifull vnto vs and he was tempted and suffered that he might be able to helpe and succour them that are tempted Heb. 2.17 18. saith the Apostle And therefore seeing wee haue not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but is a pittifull and a compassionate Redeemer if we be inuolued in miseries and doe suffer all kindes of infirmities wants scornes sickenesse paines or whatsoeuer else let vs goe boldly vnto the Throne of Grace and beg confidently his mercy and grace Heb. 4.16 to helpe vs in the time of neede for as hee which in our Creation formed vs according to the Image of God was contented now by his incarnation to take vpon himselfe the Image of man So wee which by our transgressions made our selues like vnto the Diuell shall bee most happy and blessed if as Christ became like vnto vs in flesh so we doe endeuour to become like vnto him in the graces of his most blessed Spirit And so much for the second point that he was made Flesh BRANCH III. CHAP. I. Of the distinction of the two Natures of Christ how each of them remaineth entire inconfused and the obiections made against this truth sufficiently answered Branch 3. THirdly We are to consider how this Word was made and still is Flesh which manner may be collected out of this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He was made Flesh Touching which wee must well obserue these two speciall points Two things to be considered 1. The distinction 2. The vnion of the two natures the Word and the Flesh that is the Deity and the humanity of our Sauiour Christ First The distinction of these two Natures is most excellently shewed by Saint Paul where hee saith That in Christ there are two distinct natures Rom. 1.3.4
therefore hee must needes haue two natures in him according to one whereof he was before Abraham and according to the other he was after Abraham And further Vigilius l. 2. cont Eutych Philip. 2. we finde the same confirmed and confessed by all antiquity for Vigilius writing vpon those words of the Apostle who being in the forme of God tooke vpon him the forme of a seruant saith Mirum est c. It is a wonder to thinke why some are afraide to say that Christ had two natures when as the Apostle saith that he had two formes and the great oecumenicall Councell of Calcedon wherein were 630 Bishops Concil Calced Act. 5. in Symb. fidei left this confession vnto all posterity Confitemur in nouissimis diebus filium Dei vnigenitum in duabus naturis inconfuse immutabiliter indiuise inseparabiliter agnoscendum nunquam sublata differentia propter vnionem We confesse that the onely begotten Sonne of God which came in the last dayes to be incarnate is now to be acknowledged to be and to subsist of two natures i. e. Diuine and humane inconfused immutably inseperably and vndiuidedly vnited together and that the differences or distinction of these natures is neuer to be abolished and taken away by reason of the vnion of the same All the actions of Christ doe manifestly shew the two natures of Christ And so in very deed we finde all the actions of our Sauiour Christ while he liued here on earth to make inanswerable proofe of the same truth for as Saint Augustine saith Iacebat Christus quantum ad carnem mortuus in sepulchro mortuos suscitans in inferno vitam tribuens vniuersis in caelo Christ according to the flesh lay dead in his graue yet did he then in Hell i. e. in respect of his soule according to his Godhead raise the dead here on earth Aug. sup Mat. 5. contra Foelicem and giue life to all them that were in heauen Quia vt nec mundum dimittens ad coelum ascendit ita nec coelum deserens venit ad nos sed vno atque eodem tempore totum totus impleuit Because that as now he hath not left the world though he be ascended into Heauen so then he did not leaue the Heauens when hee came to be made flesh on earth but was wholly at one and the selfe-same time in all places replenishing and filling all things And Gregorie Nazianzen doth most excellently shew how the properties of both his natures concurred together and might be easily discerned in him from the very beginning of his dayes Luc. 2.7 to the last end of his being here on earth for he is borne of his mother and wrapped in swadling clouts as being a man but a starre doth manifest him Matth. 2.11 and the wise men adore him as being a God Matth. 3.16 he is baptized in Iordan as being a man but the Holy Ghost descends vpon him from Heauen as being a God he is tempted of the Deuill Mar. 1.12 as he is a man but he ouercomes and expels the Diuels Iohn 4.6 as he is a God he trauels and is thirstie he is hungry and is weary as he is a man but he refresheth the wearie hee feedeth the hungry Iohn 7. and he giueth drinke vnto the thirstie as hee is a God Matth. 24.26 he sleepes in the ship and his Disciples awake him as he is a man but he rebukes the windes and stilleth the rage of the Seas Matth. 8.20 as he is a God he is poore and needy and hath not an house to put his head in as he is a man but he is rich and mighty and cannot be contained in the heauens as he is a God he his sorrowfull and sad he weepes and he prayes as he is a man but he heareth our prayers and comforteth the sorrowfull Matth. 26. as hee is a God he is subiect to infirmities as he is a man Iohn 14. but he healeth all our infirmitie as he is a God he is whipped and crucified as hee is a man but he renteth the vaile of the Temple Esay 53. and causeth the Sunne to hide his face for shame to see him crucified as hee is a God he saith Eloi Eloi Lamasabachthani My God my God Matth. 27.46 why hast thou forsaken me as he is a man but hee saith vnto the theefe This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise as he is a God Luke 23.43 he dyeth and is buryed and lyeth in his graue as he is a man but he ouercommeth Death and destroyeth the Diuels Matt. 27.50.60 and raiseth himselfe vnto life againe as he is a God and being risen he appeares vnto his Disciples and eates and talkes with them Luke 24. v 15. 31. as he is a man but he vanisheth out of their sight and ascendeth vp vnto Heauen as he is a God and so now the Heauens doe containe him and he sitteth there on the right hand of God Psal 68.4 as he is a man but he sustaineth the Heauens and rideth vpon the same as vpon an horse as he is a God and so Fulgentius saith Fulgent ser de Epiphan Iste puer in praesepi quidem paruulus collocatur sed magnus in coelo mirabiliter operatur permittit se manibus in terra portari sed praecipit sibi coelestia famulari That little child is laid in a cratch i. e. as he is a man but he doth wonderfully worke in heauen i. e. as he is a God and he suffereth himselfe to be carryed in their armes as he is a man but he supporteth all things and commandeth all the hoast of Heauen to doe him seruice as he is a God And therefore it is most apparant that the person of Christ so subsisteth Vt cum in homine Christo videtur veritas hominis Idem de persona Christi l. 2. ad Tamrisi in eodem Deo Christo cognoscatur paternae veritas deitatis as when we see the veritie of the Manhood in the Man Christ Iesus we must know and acknowledge the eternall Deitie in the same God Christ Iesus because he is still a perfect God and a perfect man and of these two natures subsisting in one person inconfused But against this Eutyches and his followers What the Eutychian heretickes say against this truth haue and doe most impiously affirme that in Christ after his Incarnation there is but one onely nature made of the Word and of the flesh by the conuersion of the Deitie into the humanitie because the Euangelist saith that the Word was made flesh euen as when the Water was made Wine it was no more Water but was presently conuerted into Wine Nazian in Ep. ad Clidonium or else by the conuersion of the flesh into the Deitie because Gregory Nazianzen and Gregory Nyssen say that Caro Christi est deificata the flesh of Christ is now deified and to confirme
to be Malefactors so the consideration of Christs suffering being as the Doue as innocent as innocencie it selfe should moue in vs not onely a commisseration of the sufferer but also a detestation of the persecutors for who can heare or reade of the death of righteous Abel by that wicked Caine the burning of Laurentius by that Tyrant Decius the flaying of Saint Bartholmew by his bloudy enemies or the dragging of Hippolytus with wilde Horses and such like cruell and bloudy Tragedies without a detestation of such horribly wicked Actors And can we heare the sufferings of innocent guiltlesse Christ without a deadly detestation of those inhumane Butchers That Christ was a good man Acts 10.38 Thirdly He was not onely a iust man that did no hurt to any man but he was also a good man that did good to euery man for He went about saith the Apostle doing good and that both in words and workes for first He often taught them in the Temple in the Synagogue vpon the Mount in the High-wayes in Houses in all places his goodnesse would not suffer him to conceale any thing in silence that might be any wayes profitable vnto his hearers but to dispell with all diligence all mysts and cloudes of errors from the inward eyes of the people and to instruct them cleerely in all the heauenly mysteries of saluation Secondly He cured the bleeding wounds of afflicted consciences he reclaimed brought home many stragling sheepe and wandring sinners he gaue eyes vnto the blinde feete vnto the lame speech vnto the dumbe eares vnto the deafe bread vnto the hungry yea many times hee restored health vnto the diseased and sometimes the dead vnto their lamenting friends And as Saint Paul saith Who is weake and I am not weake 2 Cor. 11.23 who is offended and I burne not So might our Sauiour more truly say Who is burthened and I am not grieued at it for he commisserated the corporall and spirituall infirmities of all men yea he did not onely pitty them in vs but he put them all vpon himselfe Et tulit in se vt à nobis tolleret and tooke them all vpon himselfe that he might take them all from vs as Saint Chrysostome saith And therefore if the people did so much condole the naturall death of Dorcas Acts 9.39 because shee was so good a Creature as to bestow some few clothes vpon some few poore distressed people how much more ought wee to bewaile the shamefull and the dolefull death of Christ that did so much good and neuer any ill all the dayes of his life Fourthly He was not onely Iustus bonus A iust and a good man or an innocent man voide of sinne and a vertuous man full of grace but he was also more honourable and noble then all the sonnes of men for he was Christus That Christ is 1. A King 2. A Priest 3. A Prophet Math. 2.2 Annointed to be a King a Priest and a Prophet First King Simul natus simul Caesar He was a King by birth Where is he that is borne King of the Iewes He descended of the regall race Saint Mathew reckons foureteene Kings in his pedegree and hee was a King to his dying day Iesus of Nazareth John 19.22 King of the Iewes Pilate writes it and he will not alter it for God himselfe had spoken it Psal 2.6 I haue set my King vpon my holy hill of Sion Secondly Priest for The Lord sware it Psal 110.4 and he will not repent it that he is a Priest for euer after the order of Melchizedecke The noblest Order and the royallest Priesthood in the World for this holy Priest was also a noble King Esay 9.6 for hee was King of Shalem King of peace euen as Esayas calles him The Prince of peace Thirdly Prophet for Deut. 18.15 A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise vnto you And he shall be a Prophet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the highest degree euen the Prince of Prophets and so great a Prophet that Whosoeuer will not heare him he shall surely die Ier. 22.18 And therefore if Ieremie taketh vp that mournefull lamentation for the death of King Iosias and say Alas for that noble Prince ah my Lord or ah his glory and yet he came to an honourable death in the Field without any shame and but little paine then what shall wee say for the death of this King of Kings this Priest of the most High God and this great Prophet of the Lord that was annointed with the Oyle of gladnesse aboue his fellowes Psal 45.8 The Lord had said Touch not mine Annointed and doe my Prophets no harme Psal 105 15. yet we see Kings the Annointed of God are slaine and Ierusalem killed the Prophets and stoned those that are sent vnto them Luke 13.34 But behold a greater then all Kings is here Et quasi vnus è decem milibus And such a one as ten thousand Kings are not equal vnto him and yet he is not brought to an honorable death of a Priest at the Altar or of a King in the Field but to a most shamefull and reprochfull death the most accursed death of the Crosse among the wicked O then let vs consider if euer such a person came to such a death That Christ was a true and eternall God Math. 17.54 Fiftly He was not onely the highest among all the Sonnes of men but he was also the Sonne of the most High God Pilate heard it and feared the Centurion saw it and confest it Truly this was the Sonne of God And the very Diuels felt it and proclaimed it We know who thou art euen the holy one of God yea the trembling Earth quaking Luke 4.34 the flinty Rockâ—s cleauing asunder and the dolefull graues opening themselues did by a visible voyce confirme him to be a God And so that strange Eclipse that was seene at his death and that vnexpected darkenesse that vayled the face of the Sunne for three houres together because it was no defect of Nature the Moone being at the full and the day being at the middest and therefore could not be any vsuall Eclipse caused by the head or the tayle of the Dragon vnlesse you meane that olde Dragon the Diuell it made that great Phylosopher Dyonisius Dionys in Ep. then in Athens to say That now the World was at an end or the God of Nature suffered violence so strange were these accidents beyond the power of Nature The enemies of Christ ascribe that to him in mockerie which he was indeede Mat. 26.68 Nay the very enemies of Christ acknowledged him to be a Prophet a King a God for while the people play vpon him and contemne him yet notwithstanding they confesse him to be a Prophet saying Prophesie vnto vs thou Christ who is hee that smote thee And as Saint Ambrose saith Compungentes coronant illudentes adorant While the Souldiers denied him
of Christ differ from ours in three respects First In respect of the obiect for we many times feare where there is no feare and we doe loue the things which we should despise but he onely feared the things that are to be feared and loued the things that are to be loued indeed Secondly In respect of the manner for will wee will we these affections will inuade vs and when they haue once taken hold vpon vs we doe many times feare and loue and hate if not against reason yet surely beyond and beside all reason and so that as we cannot guide them so we cannot leaue them when we would but CHRIST is angry reioyceth feareth loueth when and where and so much as iust reason directeth him for these affections master vs but he mastereth them and therefore Saint Augustine saith that Aug. in Johan potestate non infirmitate turbauit seipsum These affections are rather signes of his omnipotency then arguments of his infirmitie because he mastereth their willingnesse to oppresse him when they cannot find any weakenesse in him to be oppressed Thirdly In respect of the effects for our passions and affections blinde vs so that we cannot see the light of truth in whom we loue we see no sinne our loue is blinde and in whom we hate we can see no goodnesse for malitia corum exaecauit eos the malice of the wicked blindeth them saith the wise man and as the Poet saith of wrath Impedit ira animum ne possit cernere verum That it blindeth our eyes and disturbeth our senses so as wee know not what is what So might I say of feare of loue and of euery other vehement passion Non modo memoriam excutit Plutarch in l. de Fortuna Alexand. sed quoduis constitutum quemuis conatum impedit It doth not onely disturbe our memories but it hindereth all our purposes and indeuours so that in respect of these we forget many times and are hindered oftentimes to doe those things which our selues most of all desire to effect Psal 55.5 and therefore the Psalmist according to the vulgar Latine saith Timor hebetudo mentis venerunt super me contexerunt me tenebrae Fearefulnesse and trembling came vpon me and then darkenesse hath inuironed me or an horrible dread hath ouer-whelmed me and the reason hereof is truely rendred by the Philosopher Auicen rer nat lib. 6. c 5. Quia potentiae naturales intensae mutuo se impediunt The naturall powers stretched to the highest straine doe mutually disturbe and hinder each other to discharge their right functions and therefore exceeding ioy swalloweth vp griefe and so of all the rest Arist aethic l. 7. c. 14. the more intentiue we are to see any thing the lesse able wee are to heare any other thing according to that vulgar saying Pluribus intentus minor est ad singula sensus The sense intent to many things To each one truth it neuer brings But in Christ they could neuer diuert him from his desire they could neuer darken his vnderstanding nor any wayes hinder the execution of his Office Neither concourse of many yea of most contrary passions and affections as loue and hatred ioy and griefe and such like any wayes mitigate or stupifie the sharpenesse or liuely-hood each of other but that euen now when he most feareth this deadly Cup he exceedingly reioyceth at the benefits that he seeth shall accrew thereby And therefore though I easily grant that nature it selfe abhorreth death the soule and body being euer loth to part and euery thing desirous of life yet that death should be thus feared thus prayed against thus melt our Sauiour Christ into such a bloudy sweat I cannot willingly yeeld For Iohn 8.20 First Desiderio desiderauit With a longing desire did hee wish this houre and he calleth it his houre as if in that houre he were to inioy his longing and he makes no more account of his death then of his dipping in the water Luke 12 5. for be calleth the same a Baptisme John 2.4 saying I must be baptized with a baptisme and how am I troubled till that be ended i. e. How am I payned and grieued Iohn 11. not because I must vndergoe it for that is my chiefest desire but because I must stay yet a while Mine houre being not yet come before I may doe it and therefore to this end Quasi ambiens mortem as one that would euer keepe himselfe in his enemies sight or as one desirous to be dissolued he goeth vp vnto Ierusalem he raiseth Lazarus from the dead that the wrath of the Iewes Iohn 13.27 being stirred vp by this present miracle he might be the sooner condemned vnto death he biddeth Iudas to doe quickely what he meant to doe not commanding the Act but as desiring the speedinesse of the Act as Caietan saith and knowing that his howre was at hand and his enemies neere hee saith vnto his Disciples Come let vs goe meet them because they were not so desirous to take him Matth. 26.46 as he was to be taken by them And therefore I cannot see how so much feare of death as to cause such an agony and such a greedy desire of death can stand together especially in such a person whose Passions cannot inuade him beyond the limits of his owne Commission but that we must ascribe farre greater matters to be the causes of this great and fearefull agony Seconly We see his Saints and seruants not onely willing to die but also running with Ignatius vnto the beasts and singing with the Salamander in the midst of the fire and therefore shall we thinke that this heauenly Physitian which healed others would not heale himselfe and which strengthened others to call and cry for death would thus vehemently pray and cry onely for feare of death But to this it is answered The Saints at their death were supported by God that the Saints were supported by the power of his grace and they were enabled by the helpe of his Spirit and therefore no wonder though they desired it but Christ though he was both God and Man yet was he now lest destitute of tâ—e helpe both of God and Man for all his friends forsak't him and the God-head himselfe which was himselfe did now sequester and withdraw all his helpe from this poore destitute and distressed man Iesus Christ and therefore no maruell that he being wholly left to himselfe nay not himselfe but the Humanitie it selfe should be thus moued and troubled at the sight of death I confesse that although Martyres non eripuit God did not deliuer his Martyres from death yet nunquam deseruit He did neuer forsake them at their death Whether Christ was wholly destitute of all assistance from the Godhead but distilled still into their hearts abundant comforts of his heauenly Spirit and it is most true that very much of the influence of Gods comfort and of the
comfortable beames of the God-head were now restrayned from the assistance of the Man-hood of Christ as hereafter I shall more fully shew vnto you yet I say that all the Diuine comforts were not detained from him for then the Humanity could not haue indured so great an agony had he not beene somewhat sustained by the Deity Nay be it so Winton in Pass Ser. sup Thren 1 p 3. as some would haue it that his soule was euen as scorched heath-ground without so much as any drop of dew of Diuine comfort yet I say he was not depriued of his reasonable soule he had all the powers and faculties of reason and vnderstanding in a farre more excellent measure then any other man whatsoeuer and these faculties were not disturbed nor any wayes darkened with the vehemencie of any Passions as I shewed vnto you before and therefore I cannot see how the feare of a naturâ—ll deâ—th onely could so exceedingly affright him as to make him so earnestly to pray against the same for we find that euen naturall men not knowing God and therefore not guided by the light of God doe and haue by the light of Humane reason made light account of death and yet you see Christ a man of perfect knowledge as man so much as man could haue is here grieuously troubled and vehemently affrighted at the consideration of that Cup which he was to drinke of and therefore that Cup did containe a great deale more then that little draught of naturall death And Heb. 5.7 That Christ was heard and therefore deliuered from what he feared Thirdly The Apostle vnto the Hebrewes saith That when Christ offered vp prayers and supplications with strong cryings and teares vnto him that was able to saue him from death he was heard in that which he feared or for his piety as the originall hath it Now this must be referred vnto his feruent prayer and those bloudy teares in the Garden for we doe not reade that in any place else he did offer the like prayers and teares vnto God and therefore seeing he was heard i. e. so heard that he obtained his request Prae reuerentia for his modestie or for the respect that God had vnto him and was deliuered from that which he feared it must needes be that it was not his owne naturall death that he so much feared and so earnestly prayed against it for from this he was not deliuered but he suffered dyed and was buried Psal 75.9 And therefore as the Prophet Dauid saith In the hand of the Lord there is a Cup the wine is red it is full mixt as for the dregs thereof That Christ was to vndergoe the punishment of all others all the vngodly of the earth shall drinke them and suck them out So I say of this Cup of Christ it is a Cup of many ingredients it is full red and it hath many dregs and although in this good seruant there was found no sinne yet seeing he was contented to vndergoe the punishments of all bad seruants and to suffer the iust desarts of all the vngodly therefore hee must drinke and sucke vp the very dregs of this Cup and yet if we duely obserue it we shall see that he was heard in that which hee feared for though he drinkes it vp sheere yet it shall cleerely passe from him and his prayer was no more for hee prayed not that he might not drinke of it but that it might passe from him euen as a man that drinketh a cup of poyson and yet thereby is not poysoned And so it did with Christ he dranke vp all and yet it did him no hurt at all for though it made him sweat the drops of bloud though it grieued him and pained him and made him cry out Matth. 27.46 My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee yea though it cast him into a sleepe and laid him dead in his graue and there sealed him for a time yet presently within the space of forty houres or thereabouts he reuiued and awaked as a Lion out of sleepe or as a Giant refreshed with wine and then he smote all his enemies vpon the cheâ—â—e-bone Psal 78.66.67 and put them to a perpetuall shame And through that short and momentary death of his he purchased vnto his Church euerlasting life And therefore seeing this Cup which Christ feared was not onely that little draught of naturall death that was but the least drop thereof but was a Cup of many ingredients Let vs so farre as we may gather it out of the word of God obserue and learne what those ingredients might be which were contained in that Cup that so we may the better know what he suffered and what he prayed against CHAP. III. Of diuers particular things that were in that Cup which our Sauiour dranke of ANd if we diligently search into the particulars we shall finde that therein might be The difference betwixt feare and sorrow or griefe First Something 's that he grieued at which troubled him And Secondly Something 's that he feared which he prayed against For there be great differences betwixt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 griefe and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 feare and betwixt the causes of sorrow and feare for the obiect of sorrow and griefe may be as well euill past as the paine present but the obiect of feare is onely euill to come or that which is present but as yet not wholly passed ouer feare alwayes going before the paine sorrow and griefe following after and yet I say that the same things now in Christ might and did worke both feare and griefe because he fore-saw those things that were to come as present or as already past and therefore he feared them as things to come and he grieued for them as if they had beene already past Of the first sort there were somethings 1. In respect of himselfe 2. In respect of others What Christ griâ—ued at 1. In respect of himselfe he fore-saw these two things 1. The greatnesse of his paine and shame 2. The deferring of his death and punishment 2. In respect of others he fore-saw likewise these 2. things 1. The small account that they would make of so great a worke 2. The greatnesse of that punishment which they must suffer for this smalenesse of their account And would not these things grieue a man What Christ feared Of the second sort there were especially three things 1. The waight of sinne 2. The malice of Satan 3. The wrath of God And would not these enemies so many in number so mighty in power and so terrible to behold make a man to feare to tremble and to sweat And yet from all these he was deliuered and so as the Apostle saith He was heard in that which he feared But to speake of these a little more particularly What Christ fore-saw in respect of himselfe First his punishment First He fore-saw that he should indure Supplicium quo nullum
had formerly shewed that he could not indure the Galileans How fully they seeke to incense Pilate against Christ not onely because they were vnder the iurisdiction of Herod which till that time was a profest enemy vnto Pilate but especially because they had so prouoked Pilate that he caused the bloud of many of them to be mingled with their sacrifices And so they ioyne subtilty and iniquity both together for a subtiller way they could not inuent and a greater iniquity they could not effect How false was their accusation of him for he truely explained Moses wherein their sophisticall Rabbies and Pharisaicall Doctors had most falsly corrupted him and he did not onely bid them giue vnto Caesar what belonged vnto Caesar but he paid tribute vnto Caesar both for himselfe and for his seruants and therefore as they had most maliciously accused him so herein they haue most falsely slandered him vnto Pilate But as the darnels may passe for wheate vntill they be fifted so falshoods may carry the colour of truth vntill they be discussed and therefore Pilate examineth the matter and in the carriage of this businesse he doth something well and in many things ill as I haue shewed at large in my treatise of the resolution of Pilate Resolution of Pilate pag. where I referre my Reader for his fuller satisfaction in this point Now Pilate hauing played his part What was done to Christ before Herod and vnderstanding as I shewed you before that he was of Galilee hee sends him vnto Herod and there the Euangelists say that Herod and his men of Warre set him at naught Vbi Iesus non respondebat ibi vt ouis silebat hoc est sicut agnus innocens non apperuit os suum vbi vero respondebat ibi sicut pastor docebat Aug. in Johan and mocked him and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe and Christ though they questioned with him in many things yet answered nothing and therefore they derided his silence and exposed him to the greater laughter and the Souldiers that had formerly imbrued their hands in the bloud of the innocents doe now most impiously batter and buffet the Sonne of God and they disgorge their filthiest foame vpon his most glorious face and to increase their owne sport and his griefe Induunt eum veste alba they arrayed him with a white glittering and a gorgeous raiment And so The mystery of clothing Christ in white expressed against their wils they doe herein after a mysticall manner sufficiently testâ—fie both the excellent dignity and the most innocent probitie of the man for as Cicero saith Color albus praecipue decorus deo est That the whitest colour is most agreeable to the highest God Cicero l. 2. de legibus hee appeared many times in white but neuer in any other colour and therefore not onely the Wise man saith Let thy garments be alwayes white but also the very Saints of Heauen are said to be clothed in long white robes Reuel 4. and Iuuenal saith Sufficiunt tunicae summis aedilibus alba that white robes are fittest for the greatest Peeres euen for Kings and Caesars saith Iansenius And the white colour is the chiefest note of ioy and innocency for the Poet wishing for ioy saith Sumatur fatis decolor alba meis Cicero pro milone meminit A literae salutaris C. autem tristis And as the ancients by letters did expresse ioy or griefe life or death as Î¥ to shew the patterne of our humane life the lower part signifying youth which is vncertaine which way it will goe and the vpper part on the right side the way of vertue and on the left side the way of vice and therefore Persius saith of this Letter Et tibi quae sameos deduxit litera ramos Surgentem dextro monstrauit limite callem Which one translateth thus The branches of the letter first in Samea found How the Ancients by letters and colours did vse to expresse diuers things Of mans life doth shew the high way and ground And Θ which hath a dart in the middle was the Character of death and therefore was wont to be set by the Iudges as a marke vpon the heads of those that were condemned to die whereupon the Poet saith O multum ante alias infaelix litera Theta And so Tau was the letter of life so intimated by Ezechiel and so expressed by the Gentiles and vsed as a marke on them that were to be preserued aliue euen so they did vse to expresse the same things by diuers colours as white to be the signe of innocency and absolution and blacke to be the token of guiltinesse and condemnation whereupon Ouid saith Ouid. Met. l. 15. Mos erat antiquis niueis atrisque lapillis His damnare reos illis absoluere culpa The fashion was in ancient times By blacke or white to expresse our crimes And therefore certainely these things that they should clothe him in white before they send him vnto Pilate backe againe Non sine numine diuum Eueniunt doe apparantly shew that they were directed herein by diuine prouidence and declared plainly against themselues that Christ should rather be absolued as an innocent then condemned for a malefactor Yet all this would not serue but as he was posted from Annas to Caiphas from Caiphas to Pilate from Pilate to Herod so now he must be returned to Pilate once againe And although the former Scenes were Tragical enough yet were they nothing to these that follow for now begins those dolefull Acts which proue that saying to be most false Nullum caruit exemplo nefas No villanous deed doth want the like How no age did euer paralell this villany done to Christ but presidents may bee found as bad as it for if you aske the dayes of old and search all the Stories of the whole world since the day that it was first created yet shall you neuer be able to shew me such indignities offered to any man as was here done vnto the Sonne of God for now Pilate by the approument of Herod and the message of his owne wife who as the Poet saith of Cassandra Tunc etiam fatis apperit Cassandra futuris Ora dei iussu nequicquam credita Teucris did now beginne to Prophesie nay How Pilats wife iustified Christ to testifie of the truth of Christ his innocency and therefore presently sent and earnestly aduised her husband to haue nothing to doe with that iust man yea and shewed a very good reason for it because shee had suffered many things that very day because of him I say Pilate hereby perceiuing his innocency and fearing his Deity and therefore seeking to loose him deuiceth a cruell way to satisfie the Iewes and to iustifie Christ and so to let him goe Bosq de pass dom pag. 8â—0 for stripping him of all his clothes he caused sixe hangmen sixe varlets saith Saint Hierome to scourge him and whip him while
otherwise durst not for feare to approach him and so Christ shewed his power in weakenesse for though it be a great infirmity to die yet so to die is an argument of infinite Maiestie Nazian Bern. Ser. 4. Hebdom paenosae and Saint Hierome doth well obserue that the Centurion hearing his prayer with a loud voice to shew that he was farre inough and free inough from the touch of death and seeing him Statim spiritum sponte demisisse tradidisse saith Saint Iohn emisisse saith Saint Matthew and presently to haue yeelded Et quod emittitur voluntarium est quod amittitur necessarium and most willingly to haue sent forth his Spirit out of his body as Noah sent his Doue out of the Arke Commotus signi magnitudine being troubled with the greatnesse of that wonder hee said forthwith truly this man was the Sonne of God So wonderfully strange was this his yeelding vnto death Hierom. q. 8. ad Hedib Aug tract 119. in Iohn and so Saint Augustine largely expresseth the same to shew vnto vs that the laying downe of his life was no imposed punishment against his will nor any forcible inuasion of death vpon him but a voluntary sacrifycing of himselfe for sinne and a tendering of his death to satisfie Gods wrath for our sake The third is not an absolute not a primatiue not an imposed necessity but a voluntarily assumed necessity of conueniency in respect of the end as armour and weapons are necessary for him that goeth forth to fight or a necessity by consequent presupposing the decree and ordinance of Almighty God and thus it was necessary that Christ should suffer because it was the best and most conuenient way that God in his wisedome saw fittest In what sense it was necessary for Christ to suffer Esay 53. to performe that great worke of mans saluation and because God had promised that the Messiah should suffer should be slain and therefore Christ saith vnto Peter that if he were rescued out of the hands of his enemies How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled which said that thus it must be for God had decreed Dan. 9.26 Matth. 26.54 Esay 53.14 ordained and reueiled in his Scriptures that Christ should die CHAP. II. The instrumentall and efficient causes of the sufferings of Christ BVt because the necessity of euery thing dependeth vpon the causes that doe necessitate the same as euery man must die Of the causes which did necessitate the sufferings of Christ because hee sinned against his God and euery compound body must be corrupted because they are all composed of elementarie substance and indued with repugnant qualities therefore we must vnderstand the causes which did necessitate Christ to suffer if we would truely know how and why it behoued Christ to suffer Now for the causes of Christ his suffering I finde them to bee manifold and especially 1. Instrumentall 2. Efficient 3. Finall First The Instrumentall causes of Christ death I find likewise to be foure-fold 1. The enuy of Satan 2. The malice of the Iewes 3. The couetousnesse of Iudas 4. The desire of the people First First the enuy of Satan Satan whom he had often vanquished and dispossessed of mens soules and bodies was most obstinate in malice against him and thinking now to haue fit opportunity hauing as it were leaue to doe what he would or could doe vnto him hee entreth into the heart of Iudas saith the Euangelist and so Iohn 13.27 no doubt he did into the hearts of many of the rest and together with them he complotted all this most exquisite torments of purpose to be reuenged on him Iob 1. and to see if by this meanes hee could bring him as hee saith of Iob to curse God and die that so hee might haue him as a prey which otherwise he feared would destroy him And this our Sauiour intimateth saying I was daily with you in the Temple Luke 22.53 and ye stretched forth no hands against mee but now this is your houre and the power of darknesse i. e. now is Satan let loose Foure speciall things inraged Satan against Christ now he hath leaue to rage and now I am set as a Butte for him to shoote all his shafts at mee And we find foure speciall reasons that might moue Satan the more infinitely to rage against him As First the goodnesse of the man First the goodnesse of the man for the better any man is the more cruelly is Satan euer bent against him The things that hee possesseth are in peace but the more godly we be the more wee shall be persecuted of him and therefore Christ being without sinne he would doe his best to heape vpon him all sorrowes Secondly the rebukes he had receiued from Christ Secondly The manifold checks and rebukes that he had formerly suffered at the hands of Christ for so the Euangelists tell vs that Christ had often rebuked the vncleane spirits and commanded them to hold their peace and therefore he enuyed him and hated him and would now be reuenged on him such is the nature of the wicked when they are reproued Thirdly the victories of Christ Thirdly The many victories that Christ had formerly ouer Satan as in the Wildernesse in a single combate and when hee dispossessed him out of those miserable creatures whom he tormented Fourthly the losse of his seruants Fourthly The losse of those his slaues which Christ had already freed from his subiection and of all those hee feared Christ would free if hee should not now subdue him Haec secum Nec dum causae irarum saeuique dolores exciderant animo And therefore considering all these things and knowing that sometimes Victis redit in praecordia virtus The conquered haue happened to become conquerors he resolueth with himselfe like a desperate man either to kill or to be killed and in that resolution Vna salus victis nullam sperare salutem hee commeth forth hauing great rage against our Sauiour Christ and therefore as the prouerbe is He must needs goe whom the Diuell driues So he must needs suffer which like Iob hath Sathan for his tormentor especially being as hee was so inraged against our Sauiour Christ and hauing now leaue to impose vpon him the most exquisite torments that he could deuise Secondly The Iewes did maligne him 2. The malice of the Iewes against Christ and euen hated him vnto the death And as the Psalmist saith Astiterunt reges terrae The Kings of the Earth stood vp and the Princes tooke counsell together against the Lord and against his Christ Psal 2. So we finde that the Scribes and Pharisees and the Herodians hunted after him as for a Partridge vpon the Mountaines they watched all his wayes and sought to intrap him in all his words and to take him that they might condemne him Thirdly Iudas for very griefe 3. The couetousnesse of Iudas Marke 14.5
miser homo non compatitur pro quo solo deus patitur Hiron in Mat. and therefore how can we behold his head resting vpon a pillow of thornes his hands pierced with iron nayles and his heart bleeding for our sinnes and not to bee moued to a godly sorrow for those our horrible sinnes that caused all his sorrowes It is reported in the Gospell that when our Sauiour suffered the Sun withdrew his light as being ashamed to see so wofull a spectacle the earth quaked and trembled as it were for feare to see her Creator put to death and the stones did cleaue in sunder yea wicked Iudas that betrayed and sold our Sauiour when he saw the indignities that were offered vnto him did repent and grieue that he had betrayed that innocent bloud and therefore what strange hearts haue wee worse then Iudas and harder then stones if we can behold the torments of his Passion and not be touched with compassion The naturalist telleth vs that the Adamant stone is of an impenetrable hardnesse Plinius l. 37. c. 4. and yet he saith that if it be steeped in the warme bloud of a Goate it will be mollified and therefore if the bloud of Christ which is farre more excellent then the bloud of Buls or of Goates cannot intenerate our hard hearts wee are worse then the Adamants and no better then the Diuels That Christ should bleed for vs and we not weepe for our owne sinnes Secondly To make vs thankefull For the second Our Sauiour hauing suffered all this for sin to saue sinfull men and to eternize mortall men He hath broken the head of the Serpent he hath wounded the great Leuiathan and by the merit of his Passion he hath subdued Hell conquered the graue rebated the sting of death taken away the force and guilt of sinne and remoued those Cherubims and that flaming sword which was placed to afright vs and to keepe the way of the tree of life Gen. 2.2 and he hath blotted out the hand-writing of ordinances that was against vs and laid open vnto vs the gates of eternall life and therefore now we should all say with the Psalmist What shall we render vnto the Lord for all his benefits that hee hath done vnto vs Psal 116 11. for we must not thinke it inough to weepe in commiseration of Christ his paine but we must be also thankefull for Christ his suffering The whole world knoweth what great loue hee hath shewed to vs and what bitter Passion he hath suffered for vs and therefore vae tacentibus de te domine Woe be vnto them whose ingratitude hath silenced them from praising thee Sed faelix lingua quae non nouit nisi de te Sermonem texere but most happy is that tongue which can praise thee O Lord though it should be able to speake of nothing else because not onely nothing can be carried better in our mindes nothing can be sweeter in our mouthes nothing more melodious to our eares as Saint Augustine saith then deo gratias to ascribe all praise and to render thankes vnto the Lord our God but especially because as Saint Bernard saith no sacrifice can be more acceptable vnto God for who so offereth me thankes and praise hee honoureth mee and nothing can be more offensiue vnto Satan then to praise the Lord for though thou watchest he careth not because himselfe neuer sleepeth though thou fastest hee regards it not because himselfe neuer eateth any thing but if thou beest thankefull vnto God for his great loue to thee then is Satan grieued because thou being a silly worme on earth dost performe that here in the vally of misery which he being a glorious Angell in Heauen could not performe in that seat of Maiestie and therefore as the Prophet Dauid saith Psal 107.15 that he would rise at midnight to praise the Lord for his righteous iudgements so with the Prophet Dauid I wish to God that men would praise the Lord for his goodnesse especially for this great goodnesse and declare the wonders that he hath done and especially this suffering this great suffering that he vnderwent for the children of men and that they would praise him from the ground of the heart And because virtus nisi cum re vilior alga That we should shew our thankfulnesse to Christ by our workes Luke 2. Matth. 2. thankefulnesse consisteth more in workes then in words therefore let vs not onely with the Angels sing Glory be to God on high but let vs with the wise men present our gifts vnto him gold to clothe the naked and to feede the hungry soule Frankinsence to maintaine the preaching of Gods Word and Myrrhe to be prepared for our death Macrob. Saturnal l. 2. c. 4. that we may liue for euer with him Macrobius tels vs that a certaine souldiour of Augustus Band that had often aduentured his life in Caesars cause being to appeare before those Iudges whom he feared he desired Augustus for to assist him and the Emperour presently wished him to choose whom he would and he would appoint him for his aduocate but the Souldier replyed O Caesar I appointed no Deputy when your life was in danger to be lost but I hazarded mine owne life and receiued all these scarres which he then shewed in his body to preserue you from all hurt and doe you now appoint another to pleade for me what haue I done so much for you and will you refuse to do so small a kindnes for me euen so beloued brethren Christ did not onely hazard his life but gaue himselfe to death and suffered scarres and wounds and the shedding of all his bloud of his dearest bloud for vs and shall wee doe nothing for him Matth. 25 40. O yes beloued let vs euer doe what lyeth in vs for the poore members of Iesus Christ for whatsoeuer you doe to any one of them you doe it vnto me saith our Sauiour Thirdly to teach vs how dearely and how truely we ought to loue our Sauiour Christ For the third as Christ hath so dearely loued vs as to suffer all these things for vs so we should truely loue Christ againe and we should the rather loue him not onely because hee hath done all these things for vs but also because he requireth nothing for all these things but loue he exacts no tribute hee requires no homage he expects no requitall but loue O then let vs not say with the vncleane spirits in the Gospell What haue wee to doe with thee Marke 1.24 O Iesus thou Sonne of God but let vs rather say with the Church Cantic 2.5 in the Canticles Stay me with flagons and comfort mee with apples Bern. in Ser. de pass dom for I am sicke of loue and as thy loue to me Erat talis tantus vt nesciret habere modum was such and so great that it could not containe it selfe within the compasse of any bounds so my
the Spirit had first taught him so when the Spirit said vnto Ezekiel Ezech. 2.1.2 Sonne of man stand vpon thy feet the Spirit himselfe did set him vpon his feete before he could stand and so the Prophet Ieremy saith Lam. 5.1 Turne vs O Lord and we shall be turned and so the Apostle after he had said Worke out your owne saluation with feare and trembling lest that any man should mistake him and thinke that he hath any manner of power of himselfe to doe the same hee sheweth immediately that all such power is from God Phil. 2.13 That we can doe no good but what God worketh in vs. because it is God that worketh in vs both 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to will and to effect and so Saint Augustine saith Da domine quod iubes iube quod vis Giue vs O Lord power to performe what thou commandest and then command what thou wilt and so I might heape a cloud of witnesses to proue that neither this woman could nor any other man can turne to God or performe the will of God vntill God himselfe doth enlighten them assist them inable them and draw them to doe it That God compelleth not his seruants to doe any good And yet we must not so vnderstand it as that he doth it violently by way of coaction but sweetly and gently by way of insinuation for he draweth vs Leui spiritu non dura manu by an inward sweet influence and not by any outward extreame violence for the will is no will if it be compelled and therefore as Satan cannot force vs to sinne but onely by way of suggestion so God will not compell vs to grace but onely by way of inclination and a sweet secret operation of his Spirit vpon our wils and affections How God worketh our willingnesse to doe good without which notwithstanding as I shewed you before wee shall neuer be able to seeke for Christ to come to God and therefore to expresse both the necessity of such helpe and the manner of Gods working it in vs our Church excellently saith Lord haue mercy vpon vs and incline our hearts not to compell them but incline them to keepe this Law Why the wicked seeke not God And therefore hence it is apparant that the reason why all men doe not seeke for Christ and serue their God is because God in Iustice leaues them and doth not thus incline their hearts to seeke for him for if he did it how could they withstand it Rom. 9.19 for who hath euer resisted his will If then you will say the fault is in God Ob. that all men doe not seeke for God because hee doth not moue and incline their hearts to seeke after him I answere that this is a false conclusion Sol. laide vpon no good foundation for in the actions of the wicked he doth not driue them to sinne nor hath the least finger in their iniquity but he onely leaueth them to their owne inuentions and so the Prophet saith Thy destruction is from thy selfe Hosea 13.9 and he is a debtor to no man that he should be bound to sustaine him and therefore if to the one he sheweth fauour and doth incline his heart to leaue his sinnes and to seeke for Christ Illi facit indebitam misericordiam He doth it freely out of his mercy if to the rest hee doth not this he cannot be reprooued of any fault Quia illis facit debitam iustitiam because he doth but iustly leaue them And therefore I cannot sufficiently wonder at those men eminent in place and excellent for words that lessening this helpe and fauour of God which is the α and ω the beginning continuing and finishing of all the good things that are in the Saints of God would I know not for what cause ascribe more power and ability vnto man then is in any of themselues And yet I may cease my wondring because as the Sodomites groped for the doores in the cleere day Gen. 19.12 and the Iewes notwithstanding all the inuincible and vnanswerable apparant arguments to proue the comming of the Messiah would neuer beleeue it to this very day So that subtile Serpent still striueth to darken our eyes many times that we cannot see the cleerest light And so you see the action of these women and how they came to be so full of zeale and deuotion Two speciall obseruations from the former doctrine Out of which we may obserue these two speciall points for our instruction That many Women haue beene found most zealous and religious in the seruice of God First that many women were made Instruments of great goodnesse for though Sathan hath much blemished the beauty of this Sexe by making them his often Instruments to worke mischiefe as Eua to seduce Adam Dalila to intrap Sampson Iezabel to infatuate Achab and many others to further many Heresies so hath God much honoured them in making them partakers of great mercies and often instruments of his glory as Mary to conceiue him Elizabeth to prophesie of him Hanna to reioyce to see him Mary Magdalen to annoint him Martha to entertaine him and these three gracious Women to be the first seekers and the first seers of him after death and the first witnesses of his Resurrection vnto life I might reckon many other women that trusted in God and were famous in their generations and as Lampes shining in the world whereof some were faithfull Martyrs of Iesus Christ some bountifull entertainers of the seruants of Christ some able to conuert their vnbeleeuing Husbands and some to instruct their Housholds in the feare of God as that elect Lady vnto whom Saint Iohn writeth And I might speake of Sara 2 Ep. Iohn v. 1. Rebecca Debora Iudith Abigaile Bathsheba Hester Dorcas Loyse Phaebe Claudia Maxima Monica Pulcheria Gorgonia Trasilla and many more But seeing when it was granted to no man to be the father God vouchsafed to accept a woman to be the mother of Christ this onely thing is sufficient to shew how abundantly he loued and how worthily hee deserueth the loue of women Wherefore elect and blessed Ladies deare and Christian women let vs blesse that God which hath so honoured and blessed you let vs remember that honour is deceitfull and beauty is vanity Prou. 31.30 but the woman that feareth the Lord shall be praised and therefore imitate not that gracelesse Iezabel that painted her face with diuers colours Esay 3. and defiled her minde with haynous sinnes nor those daughters of Ierusalem which the Prophet Esay describeth and who tooke such delight in their tinckling ornaments and trumperies of vanities and did loue to sit at ease in Sion but imitate that good daughter of Sion whose beauty and glory is within Psal 45.14 and those Elect Ladies and blessed women whose praise is in the Gospell And if at any time heretofore you haue followed Iezabell and those dainty Dames in
indeed and therefore vpon that day he did rise that his enemies might be conuicted by the testimony of their owne watchmen and bee brought therefore either to confesse their faults or to remaine without excuse if they knowing the truth would notwithstanding seeke as they did to conceale and suppresse the truth Secondly Secondly of his disciples His friends and disciples vpon the foresaid apprehensions did expect his resurrection vpon this third day for so the two disciples trauelling towards Emaus after they had said many things concerning him Chrysost hom 9. in Matth. and that they trusted it had beene hee which should haue redeemed Israel they adde this as a most speciall obseruation besides all the rest Luk. 24.21 that to day is the third day since these things were done and therefore to confirme their weake faith and to comfort their disconsolate soules hee did rise againe the third day Thirdly of all Christians Thirdly We were all to reape and to receiue the fruits and benefits of his resurrection and therefore chiefly as hee rose so hee rose the third day in respect of vs all i. e. to confirme our faith and that especially in these foure respects The Resurrection of Christ the third day confirmeth our faith in foure respects 1. Touching the quality of his person 2. Touching the certainty of his resurrection 3. Touching the manner of our restauration 4. Touching the manifestation of our state and condition First Our Sauiour Christ consisted both of a Diuine and a Humane nature Humane that he might die and Diuine that he might rise againe and to shew his death it was requisite that he should rise no sooner then the third day because in lesse time then that a man cannot well bee saide to bee dead but may bee suspected to be in a sound or in a fit of an apoplexie How the third day was the fittest time for Christ to rise in respect of the person of Christ or some other fained fit and in respect of the Diuine nature it was vnpossible that he should be held of death any longer then three dayes for it is the opinion of most grounded vpon experience that in all dead carkasses and a wounded body especially putrefaction and corruption beginneth the third day so Martha saith of Lazarus he hath beene dead foure dayes and he stinketh then no doubt but he began to stinke the third day but the humane nature of our Sauiour Christ in respect of its hypostaticall vnion with the Deity euen then when it lay in the graue could not see much lesse feele corruption Psal 16.11 Act. 2.24 as the Prophet Dauid sheweth therefore it was vnpossible saith Saint Peter that he should bee holden of the paines of death i. e. be stayed so long by death vntill putrefaction or other like penalties and consequences of death had seized vpon him and therefore as in respect of his humane nature it was not conuenient he should rise any sooner so in respect of his Diuine nature it was vnpossible hee should be stayd any longer Christ stayed while the third day to shew the verity of his deâ—th â—nd no longer to shew the certainty of his resurrection Secondly Our Sauiour was to shew both the verity of his death and the certainty of his resurrection but if hee had risen sooner then three dayes the verity of his death might be called into question and if he had promised after a long time to haue raised himselfe againe as Mahomet said that after 800. yeares he would reuiue and reuisite his Sarazens againe then might the falshood thereof lurke in the length of time and indeed if he had staid in his graue any whit longer then he did it might be easily obiected and with some probability by his aduersaries that there was no certainty of his resurrection whether it was he that was crucified had raised himselfe or some other that appeared in his name or whether he had raised the same body that was buried or had assumed some other body like vnto the same because the countenance of a dead body is soone changed and our memory and knowledge of such is soone stupified as we see these three dayes time made most of them that they knew him not prima facie vpon the first sight therefore Christ to shew the verity of his death stayed while the third day and he would stay no longer to shew the certaintie of his resurrection Thirdly Christ rose the third day might paralell our creation Christ in our redemption was to paralell our creation and in many things this second Adam was to resemble the first Adam for Saint Paul speaking of Gods oeconomie and dispensation of his grace vnto vs sheweth how Almighty God purposing to redeeme mankinde did so sweetly dispose of the manner of our redemption that as by man came death so by man came the resurrection from the dead and so a due proportion and resemblance should be in many things betwixt the first and second Adam But we finde that the first Adam was formed out of the earth as from a sole mother without any Father by the Word of God and was both created and fallen in the sixt day the day before the Sabbaoth therefore the word God Amb. l. 5 ep 19. in the sixt age of the world was made the second Adam of a sole mother without a father and in the sixt day of the weeke the same day wherein Adam was created and transgressed and about the same hower that the first Adam sinned by eating the fruit of the forbidden tree was this second Adam crucified vpon a tree and in the same place as some doe thinke wherein the first Adam was buried and as the Father after his creation rested vpon the Sabbaoth so Christ after our purchase and redemption rested in his graue all the Sabbaoth and then as his Father â—pon the first day of the weeke had begunne the world so Christ vpon the first day of the weeke did beginne to renue the world and caused as Lactantius saith Omnia cum domino dona redire suo All graces to bee renued all men that beleeued in him to be reuiued and now to beginne againe to liue a new life vnto God with him And this was prefigured in the Law where Moses sheweth that the sheafe of their first fruits was to be brought vnto the Priest Leuit. 23.11 and the Priest was to waue the same before the Lord on the morrow after the Sabbaoth which was the Sabbaoth of the Passeouer Vers 15. to note vnto vs that Christ which is the true first fruites that is offered vnto God for vs all was to be waued and raised vp the immediate morrow after the Passeouer that as Adam was created the last day and then dyed and so begat Ecclesiam morientium a Congregation of sinners all subiect vnto death so Christ the first day of the weeke was raised vp and liues for euer to
The question is betwixt vs and the Iewes whether Iesus the Sonne of Mary whom they crucified and buried and whom we preach and beleeue in be the true Messias or not and whether he raysed himselfe from his graue yea or no. To both these the Iewes answere no Not the Messias not raysed from the dead First Not the Messias because hee came not downe from the Crosse when he was fast nayled vnto the same for If he be the King of Israel said the chiefe of them their high Priests and Elders of the people Let him now come downe frrom the Crosse Math. 27.42 and we will beleeue in him Ah foolish Nation a Nation voide of vnderstanding and Children of your Father the Diuell Namque haud tibi vultus humanus nec vox hominum sonat For here you sing the same song Math. 4.6 and you harpe vpon the same string as he did If thou beest the Sonne of God cast thy selfe downeward saith the Diuell and if he be the King of Israel let him come downe from the Crosse say these Children of the Diuell Chrysost hom de cruce So you see the one would haue him to descend from the Temple the other from the Crosse the one from seruing God the other from suffering for man and both to descend whereas God made man to ascend Os homini sublime dedit caelumque tueri inssit And of all his Creatures he made him onely straight God made man to ascend to looke vp towards Heauen and bids men alwayes to haue Sursum corda Their hearts like their heads lifted vp their thoughts in Heauen and their conuersations in Heauen Phil. 3.20 And therefore whensoeuer we are inticed to descend from the height of Gods seruice or suffering vpon our Crosse and to settle our affections here vpon the base things of this World let vs know it is the voyce of Satan not of God Math. 27.42 I but let him come downe and we will beleeue in him saith this people and let vs enioy the pleasures and the vanities of the Earth and we will serue him saith the generation of this World Luke 16.31 But as our Sauiour saith vnto them in another case If you will not beleeue Moses and the Prophets neither will you beleeue though one should arise from the dead So Saint Bernard saith in this case If now you will not beleeue in him that raysed himselfe from the graue you would neuer haue beleeued in him if he had then descended from the Crosse Greg. Hom. 21. in Euang. Quia plus erat de sepulchro surgere quam de cruce descendere plus mortem resurgendo destruere That it was a greater matter to rise from the dead then to come downe from the Crosse quam vitam descendendo seruare Because it was a greater matter to raise himselfe from the graue then to descend from the Crosse and a farre more excellent argument of inuincible omnipotency being dead to destroy death by rising againe from the dead then being aliue to saue his life by descending from the Crosse And so I say to the base descending worldlings if they will not stay vpon the Crosse to suffer with Christ here they are not worthy to be exalted to raigne with Christ hereafter and if they will not beleeue in him and serue him for the hope of the ioyes of Heauen they are not worthy to be receiued into the number of his seruants because such men loue the World more then God and will not loue God but for the Worlds sake August de ver Dom. Serm. Like vnto the Woman Quae non maritum amat sed aurum mariti Which loues her Husbands wealth more then her Husband or not her Husband but for his wealths sake Secondly They say he raysed not himselfe from the graue but his Disciples came by night and stole him away and if this be true he could not be the true Messias Whether the Disciples stole away Christ from his graue or not But what his Disciples that forsooke him and forsware him while he was yet aliue and could if he had would haue rescued himselfe out of the hands of all his enemies Alas poore men durst they now silly Fishermen thrust themselues among the pikes of armed Souldiers to steale away a dead carkasse that could neither helpe himselfe nor them No no they were readier to hide themselues in graues then to aduenture to take him out of the graue And therefore Mary Magdalen that knew his Disciples did not nor durst not take him away thought rather when shee found him not in his Tombe that they which left him no rest in his life did also take him and tosse him now out of his graue Sic multum terris iactatus alto And so left him not neither in life nor death Dementia insanabilis So implacable was their rage against him But though shee was in the right that his Disciples did not meddle with him yet herein shee was deceiued Ambros in hunc locum lucae Putando Christum sublatum esse de monumento When shee thought that the Souldiers had remoued him saith Saint Ambrose because this victorious Lyon did Sampson-like carrie away the gates of Gaza Iudg. 16.3 and burst open the doores of his Sepulcher that his glorious Body might come forth yet the Womans weakenesse may be excused Quia cum pietate societus est Because her error proceeded of ignorance and was accompanied with an vpright conscience but who can extenuate or who will not aggrauate that extreame folly and horrible impiety of this wretched and malicious people How the High Priests did what possibly they could to hinder the Resurrection of Christ For they not onely refused to receiue him for their Sauiour and said Nolumus hunc regnare super nos Wee will haue none of this man we will haue none other man but Caesar to be our King But they did also persecute him as a seducer and crucified him as a false vsurper and then buried him without honor There were no Widowes to make lamentation nor any of his friends that durst shew it and being buried they locked fast his Sepulcher Molemque montes insuper altos imposuere They prest him downe with a mighty stone and they hired a band of armed Souldiers to watch him that he should neither rise himselfe nor his Disciples come and take him away And therefore his Disciples that were so lately amazed at his passion were now so stupified at this obsignation this sealing and watching and warding of him that they durst not once passe out of doores to looke after his Resurrection vntill these three Women which esteemed themselues more free from violence and thereupon presumed first to see the Sepulcher had informed them that this one had chaste a thousand and had put all that band of men to flight Or if their hearts had serued them to aduenture so great a danger and
that they had recollected more courage now after his death then euer Peter the boldest of them had during his life which all men will say is most vnprobable because a liuing Dogge is better then a dead Lyon Eccles. 9.4 and therefore Christ being aliue might animate the vilest coward-like Thirsites to be more valiant and aduenturous for his defence then now being dead he could doe to the most heroicke Achilles yet is it any wayes likely or could it possibly be that his Disciples should come thither breake vp the Monument tumble away that great stone take vp his body bestrip him of his winding sheete lay all his linnen cloathes wherewith he was wrapped so orderly by themselues a signe they had leisure enough and were in no danger at all or else they were very fooles that they did not suddenly snatch him away and take some other time and place to bestrip him and then carrie him away neuer after to be seene or found without the espyall of some one or other among so many that attended there Ideo mentita est iniquitas sibi But the Iewes answere that as the foolish Virgins whereof our Sauiour speaketh so these foolish and sottish Souldiers they all slumbered and slept and then while their Argos eyes were sleeping his Disciples came those poore fresh-water Souldiers and their committed charge was stollen away The absurdities following the High Priests saying But then I replie first with Rhemigius out of Saint Augustine If they all slept Quomodo furtum viderunt How can they tell his Disciples and not others tooke him away Might not God take him as he did Enoch or the Angels burie him and hide him as they did the bodie of Moses or how can they tell who tooke him away for they slept and therefore surely no credit to be giuen vnto them If they had said We slept and therâ—fore we cannot tell what became of him this might haue some likelihood of truth but to say We slept and his Disciples stole him away this must needes be apparantly false Secondly If they slept why did the High Priests giue them money large money saith the Text for their negligence and not rather punish them for their slothfulnesse must men be so largely rewarded for euill doing especially in so weighty a cause as not the losse of a Citie or a Kingdome but the losse of saluation to the whole race of mankinde all depended vpon this one point for if he rose againe he was the Sauiour of the World if not he was but an impostor Why then would they not watch or if not why not seuerely punished and no punishment too great for so great a negligence Thirdly If they were awake why did they hire them to say they were asleepe This may be answered They knew money deliuered him into their hands and therefore they thought that money would conceale the truth from the people for as the Poet saith Quid non mortalia pectora cogit auri sacra fames What wickednesse is not done for money How the loue of money maketh many men to doe any thing These Souldiers had beene Preachers to publish this truth vnto the World had not their mouthes beene stopt with siluer for as this opens the mouthes of many to bruite forth and to testifie many lies so it shuts the mouthes of as many to conceale and keepe secret many truthes and therefore the high Priests did giue large money to these Souldiers to conceale this truth and to belie themselues to say that they were asleepe Well then if they were asleepe how can they tell what became of him and why did the chiefe Priests giue them such large summes of monies for their negligence or if they were awake why did they hire them so dearely to say they were asleepe To all this they must answere now to vs as they did heretofore in another case to Christ Wee cannot tell Math. 21.27 But then O foolish Iewes if you cannot tell why will you not beleeue that your Messias is alreadie come and that God hath raysed him from the dead Saint Paul tels vs why Rom. 11.25 Because partly obstinacy is come vpon them vntill the fulnesse of the Gentiles be come in O Lord if it be thy will doe thou open their eyes that they may see the truth CHAP. VI. Of the testimony of the Angell and the manifold apparitions of Christ after his Resurrection to proue the truth and certainety of his Resurrection YOV see then how the Iewes are blinded to destroy themselues but on the other side we doe know and beleeue and teach this Iesus the Sonne of Mary whom the Iewes haue crucified to be the true Messias and the Sauiour of the World not onely because hee liued without sinne and died without cause on his owne behalfe but especially because that he being dead and laide in his graue did declare himselfe mightily to be the Sonne of God Rom. 1.4 by his Resurrection from the dead And this Resurrection of him we doe most faithfully beleeue and as constantly teach for these three especiall reasons and respects and a three-fold cord is not easily broken That we beleeue the Resurrection of Christ fâ—r three speciall respects 1. In respect of this Angelicall assertion 2. In respect of his personall apparitions 3. In respect of many other circumstantiall demonstrations First the Angell said vnto the women why seeke yee the liuing among the dead he is not here but he is risen Et si non credideritis oraculo credite oculo and if you will not beleeue vs beleeue your owne eyes Math. 28.1 Luke 24.4 for you may see the place where hee lay And this was spoken vnto two women as Saint Matthew sheweth and by two Angels as Saint Luke saith and therefore if Diues thought that the words of one man comming from the dead would bee sufficient to make all his brethren to beleeue the torments of hell First The Angels testifie the Resurrection of Christ why should not the words of these heauenly Angels bee alonely sufficient to make vs to beleeue this diuine truth of the resurrection of the Sonne of God for the Angels though they be mutabiles natura mutable in respect of their nature yet are they now confirmati per gratiam ne à veritate voluntatem auerterent so confirmed by grace that they shall neuer euert themselues from the truth Isidorus de summo bono saith Isidorus Secondly as the Angels had testified that he was not there in the graue among the dead but was risen and aliue among the liuing so truth it selfe confirmes this truth vnto vs by those manifold apparitions that he made after his resurrection That Christ appeared twelue seuerall times after his resurrection during the space of forty dayes that before he ascended into heauen he walked here on earth And these if I be not far deceiued in my reckoning were at least twelue times according to the
number of his twelue Apostles First he appeared vnto Mary Magdalen apart Marke 16.9 First to Mary Magdalen and why where wee must obserue that he appeared first vnto a woman that no woman should thenceforth be any wayes reproached by any man for their first transgression and seduction of man quia vt culpam vire transfudit transfudit etiam gratiam Ambros l. 10. in Luc. 24. Beda in cap. vlt. Luc veterisque lapsus aerumnam resurrectionis indicio compensauit because that as a woman was the first instrument of death so she was the first messenger of life and brought the first tidings of the resurrection of Christ which is the surest argument of the saluation of man And hee appeared to this woman first August meditat cap. 35. quia Dominum prae caeteris dilexit ideo prae caeteris videre meruit because she loued him aboue all therefore she obtained to see him before all She loued much saith our Sauiour and she saw him first saith the Euangelist and therefore no doubt but he shewed himselfe to her first because shee loued him most whereby wee see that with God there is no respect of persons no difference of sects but whosoeuer loueth him man or woman young or old that person shall be respected of him for I will loue them that loue me saith the Lord and therefore whosoeuer feareth God and worketh righteousnesse whosoeuer loues him most and seekes him first he may be sure he shall be first found of him And secondly he appeared to this woman first because this woman was most memorious and mindfull of him and of all those mercies and benefits wherewith Christ had inriched her soule Hieron ep de quest hedibiae and therefore he was most mindfull of her But who this Mary Magdalen was it is easier questioned then answered for Theophylact Stapulensis and others Ambros l. 10. in Luc. 24. Albertus in Luc. 7. doe auouch that there were three Mary Magdalens Saint Ambrose saith there were two Albertus Aquinas in Iohn 12. and Roffensis de tribus Magdalenis Whether there were more Mary Magdalens then one do constantly affirme there was but one and shee they say was a Noble woman one of the bloud-royall of the Tribe of Iuda the daughter of one Syrus and Eucharia a sister vnto Lazarus and Martha which diuided the inheritance of their father betwixt them three Lazarus had all the possessions that were in Ierusalem Martha had Bethany and Mary had Magdalum Castrum the Castle of Magdala from whence she was called Mary Magdalen For my part I confesse curiositie is to be auoided yet the truth is to be imbraced and Maries face is not like Moses face so vailed with mysteries but that wee may without danger inquire who she is and therefore to say what I thinke I am of St. Ambrose minde that at least there were two if there were no more Mary Magdalens for Saint Iohn saith that Mary Magdalen stood at the Sepulcher weeping Ioh. 20.1.11.18 and that Iesus appeared vnto her and said touch mee not here is a Mary Magdalen all alone and Saint Matthew saith that Mary Magdalen and the other Mary came vnto the Sepulcher and were instructed by the Angels that Christ was risen and therefore they departed and went away with ioy Matth. 28.1.9 and it is not said that Mary Magdalen staied behinde but that both went for he names but two and as they went to tell his Disciples Iesus met them and they came and held him by the feete and worshipped him and therefore no doubt but there must be two distinct Mary Magdalens for shee whereof Saint Iohn speaketh was alone and staide by the Sepulcher weeping and was denied to touch Christ because as Saint Ambrose saith she doubted Why Mary Magdalen was not suffered to touch Christ and did not as yet fully beleeue the truth of his resurrection but shee whereof Saint Matthew speaketh was accompanied with the other Mary and returned with the other Mary and met him in the way and held him by the feet and worshipped him Christ suffering her to doe this because she beleeued him to be risen from the dead Now which of these Mary Magdalens was the woman to whom Christ first appeared Marke 16.9 Saint Marke plainly sheweth that it was she out of whom he had cast seuen deuils a great sinner and a great louer of our Sauiour Christ the chiefest sinner of all these women and the first seeker of our blessed Sauiour for she came alone while it was yet darke before the day light Iohn 20.1 by the light of grace but the other Mary Magdalen came with Mary the mother of Iames and Salome at the rising of the Sun Marke 16.2 long after her A great comfort and a raâ—e patterne for all sinners her sinnes repented of and relinquished were no hinderance of her to see our Sauiour first but because her sinnes were great we see her repentance was very great The great care and diligence of this Mary Magdalen her care was great her loue was great for shee wept and washed our Sauiours feet with her teares and wiped them with the haires of her head a true token of inward sorrow she powred a boxe-full of precious ointment vpon his head as hee sat at meate an apparant argument of her outward works shee rose earely shee sought him carefully and she wept bitterly not with those vndiscreet women for Thammyse which was a brazen image with leaden eies that being molten with heate did seeme to weepe Ezech. 8.14 and so caused the women to sympathize in teares and to weepe as is thought for Adonis but shee weepes for Adonai for her Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ a rare example of great pietie and therefore though shee had offended much yet because shee sorrowed much she loued much she had much forgiuen her and much loue shewed vnto her for he which is first and last did shew himselfe first vnto her O that they which walke in her sinnes would tread in the same steps of her repentance Secondly he appeared to all the women together Secondly to the three women returning homeward as they returned homewards from the Sepulcher to teach vs that neuer any truly sought for Christ but with these women they should be sure to find him Thirdly he appeared to Simon Peter alone Thirdly to Simon Peter alone Chrysost 1 Cor. 15.5 the first among the men saith Chrysostome for when the women told the Disciples that Iesus was risen Peter and Iohn ranne both vnto the Sepulcher and though Iohn came there first yet Peter entred first to note vnto vs not onely that mysticall truth which diuers of the Fathers haue obserued viz. that the Synagogue of the Iewes like Iohn that came first to the monument but would not enter had the first meanes to come to Christ and yet refused to come vnto him for it commanded the precepts of the Law
beleeue the testimonies of the Apostles to moue and perswade men to giue credit vnto their testimony yet me thinkes the plainenesse of their declaration and the smalnesse of their expectation of any manner of profit or reward in the World for the testifying of these things should be sufficient to make all men beleeue them For First All the World may see First Their plainenesse they sought not with any tricks of wit to set a faire die vpon a bad cloth nor with any glozing speeches fine sentences subtile arguments or any such like sophisticall wayes to procure credit vnto themselues and to draw men to beleeue fabulous inuentions but their proceeding is plaine carrying nothing with it but a declaration of simple truth nakedly reported without any manner of humane subtilty to confirme it And Secondly All the World may see Secondly their desire what they aimed at by their testimony they looked for no gaine in the World but the gaine of Soules no credit by their writing no profit by their preaching but onely that men would beleeue the truth to saue their owne soules If the man whom they had affirmed to be dead and to haue risen againe to life had still continued with them and had beene in expectation to be some great Monarch of the world it might be said they auouched his rising from the dead in hope to be raised by him to some eminent place in the world but you see they looke for no such thing neither by their testimony to raise him to any humane honour nor by him to be raised or to be any wayes rewarded in this life themselues vnlesse it be to be afflicted and persecuted vnto death for this testimony of Iesus Christ This was the best that they could expect and therefore the testimony of these men must needs be faithfull and true to proue more then abundantly sufficient that Iesus is the true Messias and that being dead he raised himselfe to life againe the third day And yet CHAP. VII Of many other circumstances that doe infallibly prooue the Resurrection of Christ and so consequently this Iesus Christ to be the true Messias and Sauiour of the world The circumstantiall proofes of the Resurrection of Christ THirdly Besides all this there be many other circumstantiall proofes and declarations of this same truth God not desirous to make men beleeue so great a matter as is the eternall saluation of all the world without more then abundantly sufficient witnesse And therefore First the great earth-quake First At the very instance of his Resurrection and descending of the Angels as Caietan saith there was a very great earth-quake Caietan in Math. 28. the earth either dancing for ioy that Christ was risen or trembling for feare that men would not beleeue this Resurrection of Christ Secondly the sudden courage of the Apostles Secondly The Apostles and Disciples hearts were presently changed for whereas a little before they durst not peepe out of doores because they did but waueringly thinke that this was hee which should haue redeemed Israel they doe now couragiously compasse the whole world and confidently teach and auouch there is no other name giuen vnder heauen whereby men may be saued but the name of Iesus Thirdly Many that were dead rose from their graues Thirdly the apparitions of the raised bodies and appeared vnto many of their acquantance in Ierusalem to testifie vnto them and to assure them of the Resurrection of Christ Diues thought if one was sent from the dead his brethren would beleeue him and behold here are many sent and yet the Iewes the brethren of Christ will not beleeue them Fourthly Pilate himselfe that condemned him to death Fourthly the testimony of Pilate did testifie of his Resurrection vnto life in a letter that he wrote vnto Tiberius Caesar and therefore Tiberius desired the Senate to admit Christ into the number of their gods for it was their custome saith Tertullian Vt nisi homini deus placeret Tertull. l. cont gentes c. 5. deus non esset That God should be no God vnlesse he were approued of men and because they refused to receiue him God not suffering the Arke and Dagon to stand together vpon the same Altar nor Christ and Beliall to be worshipped together in the same Temple Tiberius was incensed against the Romans God working all things together for the best for them that loue him that he gaue free leaue and liberty vnto all Christians to beleeue and professe the Name of Iesus Christ Fiftly Iosephus the most learned among the latter Iewes saith Fiftly the testimony of Iosephus Iosephus antiq l. 8 c. 9. Sixtly the sufferings of the Martyres that cum Pilatus eum in crucem agendum decreuisset c. After Pilate had crucified him he appeared vnto his followers the third day according as the Prophets had fore-shewed Sixtly All Martyres haue most boldly confessed this truth and haue most constantly suffered in defence of this truth Tertullian doth most excellently shew the difference betwixt the Martyres and Malefactors saying Mali apparere deuitant deprehensi trepidant accusati negant condemnati maerent Euill doers are loth to be seene being taken they tremble being accused they deny it being condemned they deplore themselues but with the Martyres there is no such matter for they are neither ashamed of their profession neither doe they grieue at their apprehension but if they be noted for Christians they reioyce at it if they be accused they confesse it if adiudged to die they deeme it better then life and therefore saith he Quid hoc mali est cuius reus gaudet cuius accusatio votum est cuius paena felicitas What euill is this when the guiltie of the fact reioyceth in his accusation and is made happy in his condemnation Zephan 2.11 Seauenthly the confession of Christ his enemies Seauenthly The very enemies of Christ yea and his greatest aduersaries did confesse and iustifie this truth of Christ for as the Prophet said that the Messias should famish all the gods of the earth so Christ did spoyle them all and stopped the mouthes of all infernall spirits that by their lying oracles they could speake no more but against their wils to confesse that hee was the Holy One of God and that this Galilean had ouercome them all as Iulian that great Apostata to his great cost at last confessed saith Nicephorus Eightly the heauy punishments of Christs persecutors Eightly The great plagues and punishments that were presently inflicted and haue still to this very day continued vpon all the persecuters and denyers of Christ doe sufficiently proue the Resurrection of Christ and that Christ to be the true Messias for Pilate being accused by the Iewes was inforced to appeale from Vitellius the chiefe Gouernour of Syria Ioseph antiq l. 18. c. 11. and to goe to Rome to defend himselfe before Caesar who before Pilate came there was dead and
possibly suffer As First An outward and inward darkenesse for Christ was Light and in him was no darkenesse at all saith the Euangelist Secondly Destruction of body and soule Thirdly The Lake burning with fire and brimstone Matth. 10. Apoc. 20. Aug de ciuit l. 13. c. 2. which is the second death Et qua sicut nullorum est bonorum ita nulli bona est And which as it is the place of none that is good so it is good to none and therefore either Christ was not good or hee tasted not of this second death or if he did then not vpon the Crosse because the first death must precede the second Fourthly The Worme of conscience continually afflicting them for their sinnes but in Christ there was no sinne and therefore in him there could not be any touch of conscience accusing him for sinne Fiftly Reiection from the presence of God Sixtly Malediction Seauenthly Vengeance of fire Eightly Continuance for euer All set downe in this one sentence Depart from me yee cursed into euerlasting fire Matth. 25. And neither of these can be laid vpon Christ without great blasphemie and therefore he cannot be said to suffer the paines of Hell vpon the Crosse without great Heresie That Hell in this article signifieth not the graue The second exposition is that he descended into Hell signifies Christ his buriall because Sheol commonly signifieth the graue but this cannot stand first because it were an absurd thing in a briefe rehersall of the summe of faith to haue one Article twice repeated and to haue the plainest one hee was buried expounded by a darke and enigmaticall exposition he descended into Hell secondly because it is not said that hee was laid in Sheol but he descended into Hell which signifieth a voluntary motion and therefore cannot signifie his buriall That this article signifieth not the state of the dead The third exposition is that it signifieth the state of the dead but this likewise cannot stand first because this exposition cannot auoide Lymbus Patrum for if Hell signifie the state of the dead the place of the dead can neither be Heauen nor Paradise Iob 11. secondly because wheresoeuer Hell is named as an opposition to Heauen Psal 139. 8.9 it signifieth the place of the damned euen in the Old Testament and in the New Testament but descending is a plaine opposition to ascending Matth. 11.23 as it is said that Lazarus was caried vp to Abrahams bosome and therefore if Sheol should signifie the state of the dead it should haue beene said that hee ascended vp into Sheol which is most ridiculous That the soule of Christ after the seperation from the body descended into the place of the damned The fourth exposition is that hee descended into the place of the damned for the words of the Creede He descended into hell must neither be allegorized nor confounded with the former words but they must be vnderstood as they are spoken Hee descended into hell And that for three speciall reasons 1. Necessity requireth it 2. The Scripture prooueth it 3. All antiquity confirmeth it First Necessity required that he should descend into Hell for man being inuironed with three dreadfull enemies viz. Three dreadfull enemies of man 1. Sinne during life 2. Death shortning life 3. Hell tormenting after death And the Resurrection of Christ being the full conquest of all our enemies he must ouerthrow Sinne Death and Hell or else we doe but vainely boast of releasing vs from sinne or despising death if the right and power of Hell doe still remaine ouer vs and therefore Christ must ouercome Satan and destroy his Pallace before we can be freed from his prison And this Christ hath done three wayes 1. By subduing Satan Christ destroyed Hell three wayes Matth. 12. 2. By tying Satan 3. By spoyling Satan For our Sauiour testifieth saying When a strong man armed keepeth his pallace the things that he possesseth are in peace Luc. â—2 29 but when a stronger then he commeth he taketh his armour from him he bindeth him and then he spoyleth his house And therefore Christ entred into Hâ—ll the pallace of Satan as a conqueror he tyed him as the stronger The conquest of Christ was not only by suffering but also by trampling Satan vnder feet and he spoyled him as the right owner of that which hee vniustly detained from him and this is shewed by the Apostle where he saith that Christ spoyled powers and principallities and made a shew of them openly triumphing ouer them in his owne person for this triumphing cannot be vpon the Crosse though there it was obtained because the conquest ouer Satan was not to bee by resisting much lesse by suffering the paines of Hell but by treading his aduersaries vnder his feete that so he might be truely called a conqueror And therefore we must not thinke that all his conquest was at length to repell them and with mighty feare and strong cries to escape them when the Apostle saith He spoyled them and made an open shew of them but it was a binding of them and a trampling of them vnder feet and the same was manifested to be thus fully accomplished at his Resurrection And this necessity not onely of suffering vpon the Crosse Irenaeus l 3. c. 20 but also of conquering Satan in his owne house Irenaeus sheweth saying Si homo non vicisset inimicum hominis non iuste victus esset inimicus If man had not ouercome the enemy of man That the Scripture proueth the soule of Christ to haue descended into the place of the damned the enemy of man had not beene iustly conquered Secondly The Scripture proueth the same thing for the Prophet Dauid speaking in the person of Christ saith My flesh shall rest in hope because thou wilt not forsake my soule in Hell nor suffer thine holy one to see corruption but here to take the soule for the body or hell for the graue as some doe I see no reason Quia cum Scriptura diuidit species Tertul. de carne Christi c. 13. carnem animam duo ostendit For when the Scripture speaketh of soule and body it must needs signifie both saith Tertullian and therefore Dauid in his prediction and S in t Peter in his exposition speaking both of the soule and body two names and two natures and naming a distinct place for either of them they must needes signifie two distinct and diuers things and most cleerely shew vnto vs that when his body was laid in his graue his soule descended into Hell That all antiquity teacheth the same truth Luc. 10. Euseb l. 1. c. 23. Ignatius ad Trall Thirdly The whole classie of antiquitie confirmes the same for Thaddaeus one of the seauenty Disciples taught the Citizens of Edessa how Christ was crucified and descended downe into Hell and broke downe that wall that was neuer battered down before Ignatius confessed how he suffered 〈◊〉
haue giuen them vnto Iayes and Parrats Secondly we should know that the practise of Christianity is the onely argument to prooue vs true Christians by this Christ proued himselfe to be the Messias Practise onely proueth vs Christians for it is most true which Iouinian said of the Arrians and Orthodoxall Bishops I cannot iudge of your knowledge disputations but I can easily discerne your lines and conuersations Thirdly wee should remember that our actions are the best arguments Sozom. l. 7. A good life conuerteth others Basil l. de 40. Mart. and the most vnanswerable Syllogismes to conuert infidels Sozomenus tells vs that the godly life of a poore captiue woman moued a King and many others to become Christians and Iulian writing to Arsatius saith that Christiana religio propter Christianorum erga omnes cuiusuis religionis beneficentiam propagata est the piety and the charity of Christians did wonderfully cause the Christan Religion to increase Euseb l. 9. c. ◠and Maximinus said hee could not choose but wonder to see how sedulous the Christians were in doing good The bitter fruites of a bad life Whereas on the other side the lewd life of those that professe Christ doth bring forth many sower and bitter fruits First It dishonoureth God more then any other thing First it dishonoureth God his name is blasphemed through them among the Gentiles which beleeue not God and therefore God saith why takest thou my Lawes in thy mouth whereas thou hatest to be reformed Secondly It proueth them to be no Christians Secondly it proueth such liuers no christians because the profession of Christianity is a profession of works not of words Thirdly It hindereth the vnsetled mindes to imbrace Christianity for when they see men like Tusser that wrote well of husbandrie but was himselfe the worst husband that liued Thirdly It hindereth others to become Christians or like Erasmus Ruffian that carried by the one side a good bottle of sack and by the other side a faire guilded Testament such as will heare much and talke more of Religion and doe none of the works of God how shall not this diswade the vnstable hearts from euer imbracing of Christianitie It is reported that Lynacrus reading the Sermon of Christ in the Mount and considering the conuersation of men in the world said either this is not Gods Gospell or wee are not Gods people and I pray God that the faire-seeming-shewes of hypocritical professors and their most vile and abhominable actions bee not the cause to kindle Gods fearefull indignation against vs all And therefore beloued brethren let vs consider the Author of our profession Iesus Christ who went about doing goood let vs consider his holy Apostles Act. 10.38 and all our blessed Ancestors how sedulous they were in the practise of Religion wherby they haue gained a good report became glorious in the sight of God and men and let vs imitate them herein to doe good as they haue done and in all things to ioyne practise vnto our knowledge All men not sit for all purposes Secondly We may obserue from hence that as these women were fit messengers to tell the Disciples that Christ was risen but not to preach the same vnto the world so many men are sufficient for inferiour places and to preach the shallower points of Diuinity points of morality and popular exhortations but are not fit Ducere in altum to lanch foorth into the deepe and to treat of the higher mysticall points of Diuinity for as it is said of Dauids Worthies 2 Sam. 23.19 that they reached not vnto the first three so it may be said of vs all that many men may receiue a measure of Gods graces and yet not attaine vnto the measure of many others God giueth not the like measure of graces vnto all men because God doth not giue the same measure of graces vnto all but as in humane gifts wee finde that some had their memory so good that to their last times they could repeat whole orations some that in their yonger yeares had their iudgement so profound that they could determine the hardest questions Matth. 25.15 so in the deliuery of the Diuine talents whereby Theophilact vnderstandeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 spirituall graces some haue fiue 2. King 2.9 some haue two some but one to note vnto vs that God granteth not only a superiority vnto some aboue their brethren in an higher kinde of a different grace but also in a greater measure of the same grace as the Spirit was doubled on Elisha if not in respect of his Master Eliah as some think not yet surely in respect of the other succeeding Prophets Dan. 1.20 in the Schoole of Nebuchadnezzars in chanters though they were all no doubt exceeding great Clerkes 1 Cor. 14.18 yet Daniel Shadrach Meshach and Abednego were found to be ten times better then the rest and among these Daniel sleeping was found wiser then his fellowes waking so in the New Testament Iohn Baptist was a Prophet and more then a Prophet and Saint Paul spake languages more then all the rest of the Apostles God expecteth not the like fruits from all men and therefore God doth not require all his seruants nay he will not haue them all to aduenture or seeke to bring forth the like measure of fruit for hee was not angry with the slothfull seruant because that one talent had not gained ten talents but because he hid his masters money and had gained nothing at all Thirdly We may obserue from hence That we ought to follow Christ and not to goe before him that as Christ went before these Women and his Disciples into Galilee and they all followed after him So we should suffer Christ to goe before vs in all our wayes and not to runne our selues before him where perhaps he neuer went nor will goe for it is the property of a Disciple to follow after and not precede or goe before his master and therefore we must not goe into those places where Christ went not nor dispute of those points which Christ taught not for this is to goe before him and not to follow him Fourthly We may obserue from hence That we must passe from all worldly vanities before we can inioy spirituall blessings that as Christ passed from death to life and from this world into Heauen so must we before we come to Christ passe from our deadnesse in sin vnto the life of grace and from the vanities of this worldly life vnto a spirituall and a heauenly conuersation for as there was no possession of the Land of Canaan vntill there was a transmigration of the red Sea out of the land of Egypt so we can haue no fruition of Gods presence vntill we haue relinquished and passed ouer all the Egyptian vanities of this life in our desires and affections at the least And thus you haue heard the
office of this Angell here expressed to serue Christ to affright the souldiers and to delight these women to teach them to direct them Reuel 4.8 and to preserue them in all their wayes for as they neuer cease to serue the Lord so they neuer cease to preserue the Saints vntill they cease to serue their God and therefore to vse Saints Bernards exhortation Quantum debet hoc verbum inferre reuerentiam afferre deuotionem conferre fiduciam How ought this doctrine to moue vs and worke in vs reuerence for their presence confidence for their custody and obedience vnto God for so great an argument of his beneuolence vnto man as to giue his Angels charge ouer vs Et quam cauté ambulandum and how warily ought we to walke seeing the Angels of God are euer present with vs when all the men of the world are absent from vs It is reported of a godly Virgin that being often sollicited by a gallant vnto vnlawfull lust at last she yeelded that if hee met her at such a place he should haue leaue to worke his pleasure with her both came to the place appointed and the place was full of people then the mayden told him that now if he pleased he might vse her as he would he answered that now for shame he durst not doe it in the sight of so many men and women then she replyed and thinkest thou that I dare doe that in the presence of God and his holy Angels which thou darest not doe in the sight of mortall men and I wish euery one of vs did so that is to be ashamed to doe those things in the sight of God and his holy Angels Psal 139.2 Velleius paterculus which we are afraid to doe in the presence of men for they alwayes see vs though wee see not them they are about our beds and about our pathes and spie out all our wayes and therefore as Marcus Drusus when one told him he could build him an house of such a forme as that no man might see what he did therein answered that hee liked better of such an Architector as could build his house so as that euery one passing by might plainely see what was done therein so I wish to God that euery one of vs would striue and labour so to liue as it becommeth vs to doe in the sight of God and of his blessed Angels And so we see the Resurrection of Christ fully and plainely shewed vs to the eternall praise and glory of God and to the endlesse ioy and happinesse of all Christians through the said Iesus Christ To whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be ascribed all power and dominion both now and for euer Amen A Prayer O Blessed God which gauest thine onely Sonne Iesus Christ to suffer death for our sinnes to descend into Hell to destroy our enemies and to rise againe for our iustification and so to declare himselfe mightily to be the Sonne of God and the true Sauiour of all men We most humbly beseech thee to raise vs from the death of sinne from all our sinnes and to giue vs grace to beleeue in thee to be thankfull vnto thee and to serue thee in holinesse and righteousnesse all the dayes of our life that when we shall be laid to rest in our graues we may rest in assured hope to be raised vp by Christ to liue with him for euermore through the same Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen IEHOVAE LIBERATORI FINIS The Sixt Golden Candlesticke HOLDING The Sixt greatest Light of Christian RELIGION Of the Ascention of our SAVIOVR and of the Donation of the HOLY GHOST EPHES. 4.8 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wherefore he saith when hee ascended vp on high heeled captiuity captiue and gaue gifts vnto men AFter that the blessed Apostle Saint Paul had by many arguments proued vnto the Ephesians that they should earnestly studie The coherence of this verse with what goeth before and most carefully labour to preserue the vnity of the Church of Christ he seemeth in the seuenth verse to answer a certaine obiection that might bee made viz. seeing the graces the gifts and the offices which God hath bestowed vpon his Church are so many and so manifold so diuers and so vnequall some hauing many graces some but few some one gift and some another how can it be that this vnity can be so faithfully preserued therefore the Apostle sheweth that the diuersity and inequality of gifts is not onely no hinderance but is indeed a great furtherance to cherish and preserue the same First Because all these gifts do flow from the same fountaine Iesus Christ Secondly Because they are all giuen and imparted for the same end and purpose that is to gather together the Church of Christ into the vnity of faith The first reason he proueth out of this Prophesie of Dauid who speaking of the Messias triumphing ouer his enemies saith Thou art gone vp on high thou hast led captiuity captiue and receiued gifts for men And The second reason he confirmeth at large in the verses following where he sheweth that Christ gaue some Apostles and some Prophets and some Euangelists and some Pastors and Teachers and all to this end that is for the perfecting of the Saints for the worke of the Ministery for the edifying of the boâ—y of Christ till wee all come into the vnity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Sonne of God Two things contained in this verse And therefore we finde contained in this verse two speciall points First A confirmation of the Apostles alledged reason that all graces doe flow from Christ in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wherefore he saith Secondly A Propheticall prediction of the Messias in these words When he ascended vp on high he led captiuitie captiue and gaue gifts vnto men That the Scripture is the best warrant for all Preachers For the first I meane not to stand long vpon it I will onely note this one thing that all we the Teachers of Gods people according to the example of this Apostle nay of Christ himselfe and of all Christs true Schollers should not teach any positiue point of doctrine vnlesse we can either directly or by necessary consequence proue and confirme the same out of the Sacred Scriptures for whatsoeuer hath not authority from the word of God Eadem facilitate refellitur qua probatur may as well be reiected as receiued Hieron in Matth. c. 23. saith Saint Hierom and whatsoeuer is therein contained it requires absolute faith without doubting because as Hugo Cardinalis saith Quicquid in sacris literis docetur veritas est sine fallacia quicquid praecipitur bonitas est sine malicia quicquid promittitur faelicitas est sine miseria Whatsoeuer is caught in the Scripture it is truth it selfe without fallacy whatsoeuer is commanded it is purely good without the commixtion of any euill and whatsoeuer is promised it is perfect felicitie without the least
a gift that we haue receiued from God All that wee haue is from God because as Saint Iames saith Euery good thing and euery perfect gift is from aboue and commeth downe from the Father of lights Secondly the Spirituall gifts of God are of two sorts 1. To edifie the Church 2. To sanctifie our soules First Those gifts which he gaue to edifie the Church Ephes 4.11 the Apostle setteth downe in the eleuenth verse saying Hee gaue some Apostles and some Prophets and some Euangelists The gifts that Christ bestoweth to edifie his Church and some Pastors and Teachers for the perfecting of the same for the worke of the Ministery for the edifying of the body of Christ wherein we see that by the gifts whereof the Apostle speaketh in these words are vnderstood either 1. The Ministers of the Church or 2. The gifts wherewith the Ministers are indued or rather as I take it 3. Ministers indued and qualified with such gifts as are necessary for the gathering together of his Church which are specially The gifts 1. Of Tongues Gifts requisite for Preachers 2. Of Knowledge 3. Of Charitie 4. Of Constancy and Perseuerance 5. Of Contempt of all worldly vanities 6. Of perfect power First The gift of tongues First languages and readinesse of speech i. e. that as by the confusion of tongues the world was diuided at the building of Babell so by the helpe of the Preachers tongues the world might bee revnited and made one sheepe-fold in the building of Gods Church Secondly that these men might not offend in their tongues Thirdly that they might be the better able to teach profound and heauenly doctrine which they that want the tongues or languages cannot so easily attaine vnto And fourthly that none might bee able to resist the words of their mouthes Luke 12.11 as our Sauiour saith I will giue vnto you a mouth or tongue which your aduersaries shall not be able to withstand Secondly Knowledge Iohn 16.13 Perfecta virtus non est sine cognitione veritatis Bernard Secondly the gift of Knowledge whereby they might know all truth not of politicke and state matters but of all truth necessary for this office to edifie the Church which is the chiefest knowledge that wee should aime at or else all truth euery way because they should know him which is all truth i. e. Iesus Christ and I desire to know nothing else I will bee contented to be accounted a foole in all things else so he will giue me this gift only to know him alone Thirdly Charity 1 Cor. 8.1 Hugo de S. Vict. misc l. 1. tit 73. Thirdly the gift of Charity Quia quaerentes verum non bonum non inuenient summum bonum because knowledge without charity puffeth vp and the seeking to know the truth and not labouring to be good will neuer bring vs to the chiefest good and because of all men wee are most hated and standered and haue all occasions offered vs to make vs hate all wicked men therefore God diffuseth this gift of loue and charity into our hearts that notwithstanding all our indignity we doe still loue them better then they doe loue themselues and doe spend our whole time to doe them good and are ready to lay downe our liues for the brethren Fourthly Constancy Fourthly the gift of constancy and perseuerance because as knowledge and euery other gift without charity is nothing worth so charity and all other workes without perseuerance will auaile vs nothing Reuel 2.10 because wee must bee faithfull vnto death if wee would haue the crowne of life and therefore God doth giue vs this gift of Constancy to continue so in our vocation that neither want Rom. 8.39 nor contempt nor life nor death nor any other thing shall separate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus Fiftly contempt of vanities Fiftly the gift of contemning worldly vanities for seeing it is the property of the world to esteeme of vs no better then of the scumme and off-scouring of the world euery one of vs except hee be great in wealth and honours is contemned of his owne kinred of his owne people in his owne house where hee dwelleth and of those very men whom he teacheth and for whom as a burning light he consumeth himselfe that they should not bee consumed with sinne therefore the Lord giueth vs this gift and spirit contemnere contemni to despise all contempts and to regard none of the vaine and variable things of this wicked world Sixtly the gift of perfect power Sixtly Perfect power that to the penitent and deiected to the humble and contrite hearts they might open the gates of heauen and let them in in despight of all the deuils of hell and that against the obstinate and rebellious sinners Matth. 16.19 they might close and shut the same that notwithstanding all their wealth and wit their strength and power they may be excluded out of the ioyes of heauen And so these are the gifts Ministers indued with these gifts which God giueth vnto his Church for the gathering together of his Saints And indeed What a great gift it is to bestow able ministers vpon this Church howsoeuer the world vilipendeth them and as the Prophet saith doth make but a iesting song of them yet if we truly obserue it wee shall easily finde it that among all the gifts of God which he now giueth vnto men from heauen the sending of faithfull and able Ministers indued with these gifts to discharge their duties is the chiefest gift and doth obtaine the chiefest place for alas without them what were we vnbaptized still wallowing in our sins and filthinesse vntaught still inuolued in ignorance vnvnited to Christ still chained in the hands of Satan without profession without religion without God And therefore it was not without cause Matth. 9.38 that our Sauiour exhorteth vs to pray vnto God that he would send forth labourers into his vineyard for otherwise hee knew that in a very short time it would grow wilde and in stead of grapes to bring forth wilde grapes in stead of mercy and iudgement to bring forth cruelty and oppession and in stead of piety and religion to bring forth nothing else but idolatry and superstition It is reported of Phillip King of Macedon that he sent vnto the Athenians to send him all their Orators of Athens and he would euer liue in league and peace with them and the wise Senators being ready to deliuer those learned men into the hands of their mortall enemy Demosthenes said vnto them that on a time the Wolues said vnto the Sheepe that they conceiued no ill thought against them but only for retaining those dogs which were their deadly enemies and oftentimes barked against themselues which were their feeders and therefore if they would deliuer vp their dogs into their hands they should free themselues from their barking and they would
reproue great men 233 Who most subiect to dangers 433 Daughters of sinne are two 82 In the day of Christs natiuitie three things obseruable 435 DE. Death the fruit of sinne 2 Seauen deadly sinnes 40 By death is contained all that is vnder the curse of God 47 67 Death three-fold 49 Death of the soule three-fold 53 Death what it is 67 How largely it extendeth it selfe 75 How vnresistable it is ibid. How expressed by the Egyptians 76 How it shortens life diuers wayes 77 How it taketh men of all ages 78 How it smiteth in euery place 79 How comfortable it is to the godly 79 How terrible to the wicked 80 How it equalizeth the bodies of all men 81 Death of Christ the sole cause that maketh our death happy vnto vs. 84 Death eternall what it is 86 Death of Christ a sufficient satisfaction for the greatest sinnes 164 Death how little Christ respected it 446 Saints at their death supported by God 447 Death of the crosse grieuous in foure respects 479 480 Death of Christ maketh the wicked without excuse 504 Certainty of Christs death shewed in that her rose not til the third day 556 Deceit of sinne how great 44 Deceits no deceits vnlesse cunningly carried 461 Deformitie of sinne greater then we can comprehend 107 Deferring of Christs suffering grieued Christ 451 Wicked men how they deceiue themselues 517 God a debter to no man 531 To defend the truth with the hazard of all that we haue 217 Why God deferreth to giue vs what we desire 723 Delight in sinne maketh vs exceeding sinfull 15 Our deliuerances from punishments to be ascribed to Gods goodnesse 203 God deliuereth not alwaies his deerest Saints from afflictions 206 Christ deliuered from what he feared 448 To derogate from Gods power how great a sinne 161 God denieth his grace vnto the children for their Fathers sinnes 251. Why. 252 Why God denieth what we aske 725 To descend from the crosse easier then to rise from the graue 562 Descention of Christ into hell handled 580. 581 c. proued by Scripture and by the stimonie of antiquitie 484. 618 That Christ descended before hee could ascend 609 Why Christ descended not from the crosse 481 We ought to despaire of no mans conuersion 533 Descending of Christ signifieth the assuming of our flesh 301 Description of God by way of negation affirmation and super eminencie 121 Desire to sinne is an act done 96 Desperate men thinke God cannot forgiue them 139 We ought neuer to despaire of mercie 226 To despaire what a haynous sinne 228 Saints desired nothihg but Christ 264 Demosthenes his Parable vnto the Athenians of the wolues request vnto the sheepe 644 Of the young man that hired an Asse to Megara 678 DI. Christ whether hee died for all men and how 505 To die to sinne what it is 50 a punishment for sinne ibid. To die in sinne what it is 51 Difference betwixt spirituall and eternall punishment 250 How the word God differeth from our Word 309 A great difference betwixt appearing in the forme of man and to be made man 329 Difference betwixt assuming flesh and to bee made flesh 345 Difference betwixt the two-fold generations of Christ and of the Saints 364 Difference betwixt Law and Gospell 3â—4 Difference betwixt the sinnes of the godly and the wicked three-folde 35 Difference betwixt feare and sorrow 449 Philosophers most diligent to attaine to all kinde of knowledge 315 How diligent we ought to be to know Christ 393 Dirt nothing so foule as sinne 52 Diseases of the soule what they be 63 Discontent with God what a heauie sinne 239 Disobedience to God what a haynous sinne 293 Disobedience to parents what a fearefull sinne 240 To distinguish of Gods power reconcileth diuers Authors 150 Dispertion of the Apostles grieued Christ 453 In distresse how wee ought to seeke vnto God 488 Disciples whether they stole Christ from the graue or not 562 Discretion how needfull for Preachers 696 Diuels know God and Christ and the mysterie of the Trinitie 314 Confest Gods power 162 DO Doctrine touching the person of Christ how alwaies opposed by Satan 304 Doctrine of diuinitie how deepe and difficult 392 Whatsoeuer God doth is no sinne 166 Doores being shut how Christ came in 387 Doubting of Gods goodnesse what a fearefull sinne 239 That we should neuer doubt of Gods promises 130 DR To draw neere to vs how God is said 165 M. Drusus desired all men might see what he did 604 EA EArth accursed for the sinne of man 48 EF. The effects that Christs sufferings should worke in vs. 505 EG Egyptians how they expressed death 76 EL. Electionis of some men not of all 203 The elect onely are effectually called 203 Elizabeth the wife of Zacharias of what Tribe she was 397 EN Enemies that besot the godly 177 Enuie of Satan against Christ 493 and why he enuied him 434 Enemies of Christ ascribe to him in mockery what he was in deed 432 433 Enemies of Christ what they testified of him 578 Enemies of man especially three 582 EP. Epicurus confest the world had beginning and shall haue ending 137 EQ Equalitie of sinnes confuted 37 Equitie of eternall punishment for a temporarie sinne shewed in two respects 97 Christ equall with the Father 299 ER. Error of the Philosophers touching the etertie of the world 136 Error of the Vbiquitaries touching the power of God 141 Error of the Iesuites about the power of God 141 Error of Pellagius about the abilitie of mans nature 63 64 Error of Nouatus about sins after Baptisme 112 Errors of the vulgar about the absolute power of God 151 Errors expelled by truth 215 Errors boulstered with lies 175 Error of Saint Gregorie and Saint Bernard confuted 94. 95 Error of Lactantius and Pellagius confuted 63 Error of the Philosophers Stoicks Arist Seleucus Hermias Hermog confuted 136 137 c. Error of the Vbiquitaries shewed 141 Confuted 155. Their Obiect anws 165 Error of Bellarmine and the Iesuites shewed 141. Their Obiections answered 172 c. Error of Saint Hierom. 330 ES. Essence of God in heauen cannot bee seene but in the face of Iesus Christ 118 Essence of God not safe to search too farre into it 124 Essence of God distinguished into three persons 272 The word essence deriued our of Scripture and vsed in Scripture 294 Christ of the same essence with his Father 292. Vnpossible to escape out of the hands of the Angels 337 ET Eternity of Christ proued and the obiections against the same answered 278 279 280 c. Eternall punishment how inflicted for a temporary sinne 94 EV. Eua beleeueth the Deuill 3 The euill that oppresseth euery sinner two-fold 321 Euangelist why hee saith the Word was made flesh rather then man 349 Eutichian heresie what it was 367 c. EX Excuses of sinners to iustifie themselues 24 Excuses of sinners to lessen sinne 110 Examples of wilfull and spitefull sinners 33 Excellency of God cannot be conceiued
many times subdued and after they be committed they bee not often itterated I speake not of the ineuitable lustings of the flesh against the spirit which no strength of grace in the best men was euer able in this life to suppresse but I speake of outward enormities that are sometimes committed through the infirmities of the Saints for so Saint Augustine speaking of Noas sinne sayth Aliquando fuit ebrius sed non ebrosius Idem de peccat merit remiss l. 2. c 10. that he was once drunke indeed but he was no drunkard quia vt actus virtutis because as one act of vertue makes not a vertuous man so one act of sinne in a Saint makes him not wholly vicious sayth the Philosopher But those that plot for iniquitie and imagine mischiefe vpon their beds those that neuer seeke to resist but euer to kindle the sinders of sinne that follow after drunkennesse and hunt for opportunities and like Salomons strumpet will come foorth to meete sinne and reioyce when they find it and commit it with greedinesse I dare not not say they sinne of infirmity but I rather feare that they are in the gall of bitternesse and in the bond of iniquitie Acts 8.23 Esay 5 â—2 And therefore though they that are mighty to drinke Wine the common swearers and blasphemers of Gods sacred name the lasciuious talkers and all leaude liuers doe pretend infirmities to excuse their sinnes yet may they truely feare that these spirits of infirmities are no humane but hellish spirits wherewith they are like the woman in the Gospell Luke 13.11 most lamentably possessed Malicious sinnes haue two violent properties Fourthly For sinnes committed of malice it is obserued that they haue two violent and bitter properties 1. Wilfull 2. Spitefull First They be wilfull sinners and they doe commit their sinnes with resolute wilfulnesse i. e. with an absolute will and with a full consent for otherwise euery sinne is voluntarie or else it cannot be iniquitie Zanch. de peccat actuali li. 1. Thes 1. pag. 101. Acts meerely violent are no sinnes for those actions quae mouentur a principio extrinseco which are outwardly compelled by violence and are meerely violent without any consent of the will as if a man were dragged by force into the idols temple or a woman forced to adultery and she no wayes yeelding consent of will either before the deed or in the doing thereof wee say these things cannot bee sinnes because they are outwardly compelled by force and not inwardly moued by the will voluntati vis inferri non potest and no outward force can worke vpon the inward will Jdem ibid. but all those actions quae mouentur a principio intrinseco which proceed from within and are done with any maner of consent of will must needs bee sinnes if they be such acts as are contrarie to Gods will because they are voluntary though not wholly yet in part in respect of the flesh though not in respect of the spirit But this sinne that I am to speake of which is done of malice is not onely voluntarie In some respect but wholly in all respects with all greedinesse committed and without any maner of vnwillingnesse effected so as Satan doth no sooner tempt them to sinne but they doe as readily attempt to commit the sinne for as the godly are desirous to serue God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not by constraint but willingly Examples of most wilfull sinners so doe malicious sinners perpetrate their sinnes not through any great constraint but with all willingnesse And we haue almost infinite examples of this kind the Sodomites would not be diswaded by any meanes Gen. 19.8.9 from seeking to offer violence vnto the Angels of God but still obstinately and maliciously persisted vntill they were wearied and the Prophet Dauid reporteth of the courtiers of Saul that they said our tongues are our owne and we will speake who is Lord ouer vs Psal 12.4 So the Israelites in the dayes of Ieremie being most earnestly intreated by Gods seruants to walke in the good way which is the commandements of God did most wilfully answere Ieremie 6.16 Wee will not walke therein and so are all those amongst vs that notwithstanding all the earnest admonitions of the preachers and the sweet motions of Gods Spirit that doth often times knocke and call at the doore of their hearts for amendment the infallible testimony of their owne soules and consciences that doe assure them they should not doe as they doe yet will they commit all vncleannesse all prophanes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 euen with all greedinesse But they may assure themselues How fearefull is the state of wilfull sinners Deut. 29.19 that their state is very dangerous for hee that heareth the curse of the Law and yet blesseth himselfe in his sinnes and will still confidently and wilfully goe one in his wickednesse the Lord will not be mercifull vnto that man sayth Moses neither shall the iniquitie Esay 22. of such a sinner be pardoned sayth Esayas quia in his nulla est excusatio infirmitatis sed culpa voluntatis because such sinners can pleade no excuse either of ignorance or impotencie sayth Anselmus Anselmus in heb c. 6. and therefore the Lord is mightily prouoked and most highly offended with all such wilfull resolute sinners Secondly The malicious sinners are likewise spightfull sinners Heb. 6. Examples of spitefull sinners 2. Chron. vlt. 16. i. e. such as doe despight the spirit of Grace and doe make but a mocke of Christ and of all Christian Religion Such sinners were those Iewes that mocked the messengers of God and despised his words and misused his Prophets vntill the wrath of the Lord arose against his people so as there was no remedie such sinners were those stiffe-necked Iewes who though they were not able to resist the spirit to speake in Saint Stephen yet with their stones they stopped his mouth and as he sayth did alwayes resist that spirit Acts 8. to worke in themselues 2. Tim. 4.15 Such a sinner was Alexander the Copper-smith who did not onely distaste but also withstand yea vehemently withstand the Preaching of the word of God Such were Iulian the Apostata Libanius the Sophister Pope Iulius the third and the like who scorned Christ and scoffed at all Christians and such are those in our dayes whosoeuer they be and wheresoeuer they are which not onely wilfully sinne but also most lewdly and prophanely make a mocke of Religion and with Serapion scoffe at all Preachers and either wickedly hinder the free passage of the Gospell or else secretly trample it vnder their feete And therefore being thus growne to the height of sinne to sit in the seat of the scornefull Psal 1.1 The fearefull state of spightfull sinners 1. John 5 16. and with Achab to set and to sell themselues to commit wickednesse presumptuously
they could whereof two whipped him with rods of thornes and when they had wearied themselues another two whipped him with ropes Costerus med 24. or whip-cords tyed and knotted like a Carters whip and when they were tyred the other twaine scourged off his very skinne with wyres How grieuously Christ was scourged or little chaines of iron and the number of his stripes as some report it amount to 5400. or as others say to 5370. or at the least according to the number of the Band of Souldiers to 660. a scourging able to kill any man and would haue killed him How he was Crowned with thornes but that he was preserued by the Godhead to indure and to suffer a more shamefull death and when hee was thus scourged the Souldiers platted a Crowne of thornes and put it vpon his head a goodly Crowne for the King of Kings for I read of many sorts of Crownes as of the Triumphall Laurall Nauall Murall and such like but neuer till this did I reade of a Crowne of thornes for this shamefull and this dolefull Diademe was made like a Crowne to delude him Osorius de Passione domini and it was made of thornes to torment him for it bored his head with two and seauenty wounds as Osorius saith and then they put vpon him a purple robe and scoffingly sâ—iâ— Haile King of the Iewes Squallentem barbam concretos anguine crines vulnâ—raque illa gerens quae circum plurima muros accepit patrios Virgil. l. 2. Aeneid and spitefully smote him with their hands And after they had thus lashed him almost vnto death and most cruelly diuided those Azure channels of his guiltlesse bloud they bring him out it may be by the haire of the head expose him to the publike view of the scornefull company and Pilate saith vnto them Ecce homo Behold the man Behold I say not your King to prouoke you the more against him nor yet the Sonne of God which you say hee maketh himselfe to be for if he were so he might haue easily rescued himselfe out of his enemies hands But behold a poore silly miserable distressed man and see how hee lieth disfigured with wounds weltring and panting in a crimson Riuer of his owne bloud and let this sufficient yea more then sufficient punishment suffice to satisfie your rage against him Quia homo qui in homine calamitoso est misericors meminit sui Because a man pittying an afflicted distressed man doth thereby shew hee is mindfull of himselfe who may fall into the same case that another man is fallen into That we should euer contemplate how Christ stood before the people in his Robes and Crowne of thornes And therefore let vs behold in contemplation the countenance of this man Behold the fairest among men being both white and ruddie the chiefest among tenne thousand his head being as the most fine gold his eyes as the eyes of Doues by the Riuers of waters his cheekes as a bedde of spices and his lippes like Lillies dropping sweete smelling Myrhe And see how lauish and prodigall are these prophane and sacrilegious Cannibals of his most diuine and sacred bloud and how hee stands here before these wicked Iudges to be iudged for vs wicked men his strength fainting his heart panting and his hands bound that he could by no meanes wipe off those flouds of teares and bloud that trickled downe his cheekes and flowed from all the pores and passages of his precious Body And let this consideration moue vs to compassionate him to condemne them that did it and especially to detest that that is our sinne which was the onely cause of all this his dolefull sorrowes Parcere prostratis scit nobilis ira leonis at lupus turpes instant morientibus vrsi quaecunque minor nobilitate fera est Ouid. They vrge a three-fold argument to moue Pilate to crucifie Christ 1. Their Law Leuit. 24. But to returne vnto the Iewes that most enuious and malicious people the more Pilate did to appease them the more they were inraged against him for seeing how Pilate sought to loose him they had taught that vnstable multitude of vngratefull people for all the good workes that hee did vnto them healing their sicke restoring their dead and feeding their soules with the foode of life to cry out with one consent Away with him away with him crucifie him crucifie him And the chiefest of them doe with a three-fold argument vrge Pilate to condemne our Sauiour Christ First That they had a Law and by their Law hee must die because he maketh himselfe the Sonne of God so the ignorant and the arrogant Pharises and the Doctors of their Law doe accuse the Author and the Publisher of the Law not knowing that ancient rule Eius est absoluere cuius est condere legem He may lawfully abolish which hath the power to establish any Law Secondly They threaten him that if he let him loose 2. The friendship of Caesar he is no friend to Caesar a most forcible though not infallible reason for who would not then as the case stood haue almost condemned any man rather then to be accused by so many audacious impudent men of high Treason against Caesar Thirdly They doe engage themselues for him saying 3. Their ingaging for him Let his bloud be vpon vs and vpon our Children Doe thou the deede let him be condemned and if thou fearest any thing we are willing to vndergoe the danger let the vengeance of his bloud light on vs and on our Children for euer Then Pilate hauing attentiuely heard did most diligently consider all these things And First Musing whether he was the Sonne of God or not He beganne to feare both for what he had already done in scourging and deluding him and what hee was presently to doe Discite iustitiam moniti non temnere diuos To passe sentence vpon the Sonne of God for he assured himselfe the Gods would reuenge all wrongs especially done against themselues Mezentius felt it for a lesser fault then this Flectere si nequeo superos Acharonta mouebo for he was thrust to Hell for saying The damned spirits should helpe him if that the Gods would not assist him And therefore he desires Christ to tell him Quo sanguine cretus From whence he was But to this our Sauiour giues him none answere for to what end should he answere because hee had already made knowne vnto them that he was the Sonne of God and that his Father and he were all one And this was the chiefest motiue that moued them to conuent him and perswaded them so earnestly to seeke for to condemne him Neither would he answere saith Athanasius Athanas de passione cruce Ne si respondisset timiditate formidine mortis id fecisse videretur Least if hee had done so hee might be thought to haue done it for feare of death and to preserue his
a man of sorrowes and Ieremy may well demaund si fuerit dolor if euer there was or if euer we heard of any sorrow like vnto the sorrow of Christ and yet for all these paines and sorrowes these incredible sufferings both of body and soule he bore them patiently hee indured them quietly and as a Father saith Perdidit vitam ne perderet obedientiam hee would rather leese his life then faile in his obedience but as the sheepe before his shearer was dumbe so opened he not his mouth not for all the paines that hee endured not for all the sorrowes that hee sustained so great was his Humility according to the greatnesse of his Maiesty But CHAP. VII Of the gracious words that Christ vttered vpon the Crosse Of the seauen gracious words that Christ vttered vpon the Crosse FOr the second that is the gracious words that he vttered while he stood crucified vpon his Crosse as all the Annals and Records of time can neuer shew his paralell in his sufferings neuer man suffered as he suffered so in all the bookes and writings of men in all the words that were euer vttered by voyce we shall finde not one saying equalizing any one of the sayings of Christ Neuer man spake as hee spake Iohn 7.45 his owne enemies confesse it and as his words were euer gracious so neuer more gracious then now vpon the Crosse For First In the mids of all his sufferings the first words that hee spake were not against any man but an earnest suite for his greatest persecuters Pater ignosce illis i. e. illis qui dixerunt crucifige Father forgiue them for they know not what they doe The first words Christ spake vpon the Crosse A lesson neuer to be forgotten to teach vs all to be euer ready not onely to forgiue but also to pray for our enemies for here we see Christ prayes for them which mocke and persecute him and therefore we must doe likewise if we will be Christians And this may serue also for our exceeding comfort Bernard Heb. poenos How effectuall was the prayer of Christ for if hee thus prayed for them that not onely crucified him but also cursed themselues saying His bloud be vpon vs and vpon our children Yea if his prayer was so effectuall for his persecuters that it brought 3000. soules of them vnto his Father at the hearing of one Sermon of Saint Peter Act. 9.1 and made Saul that most violently breathed out slaughters against his Church to serue him most faithfully while he breathed vpon the earth and caused that very Souldier as some doe thinke which pierced his heart to be connerted by his Spirit and to become a Christian Chrysost in Matth. hom 88. Matth. 27.44 a Professor a faithfull Bishop and a constant Martyr of Christ then what may we thinke that he will doe or how powerfull will be his prayers for them that serue him for them that loue him Secondly The second saying of Christ vpon the Crosse After that the theeues had most contemptuously mocked and flouted him as Saint Matthew testifieth one of them seeing and considering not onely how vndeseruedly hee was condemned but also how patiently he endured all his paines and how piously he prayed for his greatest enemies Luke 22.42 hee began to relent and to repent him of his former reuiling of him and to conceiue some hope of some fauour from him and said Lord remember me when thou commest into thy Kingdome our Sauiour presently answered This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise a most sweet and comfortable answere Verse 43. vnto a most comfortlesse malefactor No sooner had he requested but he obtained pardon and was acquitted from the death of his soule though he suffered the death of his body yea and when he desired but to be remembred he was granted presently to be admitted vnto euerlasting happinesse for This day saith Christ shalt thou be with me in Paradise and from a malefactor on the Crosse thou shalt be translated to be a Martyr in Heauen To teach vs To giue to them that aske and from them that seeke neuer to turne away our face and to assure vs that if we pray to God we shall be heard we shall be helped The third saying of Christ vpon the Crosse Iohn 19.26 27. Thirdly After he had thus kindly dealt with his foes hee turnes himselfe vnto his friends and saith vnto his Mother Woman behold thy Sonne and to his beloued Apostle Saint Iohn hee saith Behold thy Mother to shew that as neuer man so pittyed his foes so neuer man so loued his friends as he did and to teach vs by his example neither in prosperity nor in aduersity to forget that dutie which we doe owe vnto our Parents The fourth saying of Christ vpon the Crosse John 4 34. Fourthly When he had gone ouer those in particular hee said I thirst not so much for any drinke as for the health and saluation of vs all for this was meate and drinke vnto him to doe his Fathers will to pacifie his Wrath and to satisfie his Iustice and so to bring many sonnes vnto glory to teach vs that if Christ in the mids of his sorrowes did so much thirst for our health how much more should we hunger and thirst after righteousnesse and after the saluation of our owne soules and not as we doe thirst and wither away for thirst after the pride and pompe of these worldly vanities The fift saying of Christ vpon the Crosse Fiftly Hauing shewed his loue to his foes to his friends to all mankinde he returned vnto himselfe for as yet he seemes to haue forgotten himselfe and his owne paine through the vehemency of his loue which he bare vnto others and not onely perfectly seeing but also sensibly feeling the incomprehensible paine and sorrow that through the fiercenesse of Gods wrath was throughly inflicted vpon him and which he had already so long sustained for our sinnes he lifts vp his eyes and sends forth those words with a dolefull voyce Matth. 27.46 My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Not that he was or could be forsaken of the Godhead so hypostatically vnited vnto it but to shew vnto vs what infinite sorrowes he then suffered aboue all that we can conceiue or thinke and to teach vs in all distresse to haue our chiefe recourse to God in all humility to expostulate with his Maiestie why he should create vs to forsake vs for so with Christ we may be sure to be heard and releeued in what we feare and in good time to be deliuered out of our distresse The sixt saying of Christ vpon the Crosse Sixtly When Christ saw that the Scripture in euery particular thing that was written of him vntill his death was fulfilled he said Consummatum est All is finished Iohn 19.30 not onely to declare vnto vs that by his death the royall Law was fulfilled
and the redemption of all mankinde was now fully effected but also to teach all Christians to finish the course of their life according to the will of God Seauenthly The seauenth and last saying of Christ vpon the Crosse Luke 23.46 When he considered and vnderstood all things that were to be done of him to be fully ended he saith Father into thy hands I commend my spirit to teach euery man especially in affliction to cast himselfe in sinum diuinitatis euen into the armes of Gods protection and so to relie wholly vpon God as vpon a sure foundation and as at all times else so chiefly when we see death approaching neere to vs to commend our soules into the hands of God euen as our Sauiour did Many worthy obseruations to be considered in the manner of Christ his crucifying Iohn 19 23. Thus Christ suffered thus he preached and thus he prayed vpon the Crosse and in this time of his suffering it is obserued First That as he bowed the Heauens and came downe to be incarnate and made flesh so here he boweth his head to imbrace vs and to kisse vs with the kisses of his lips Secondly That his armes were extended and stretched out Psal 22.16 to receiue all men throughout the compasse of the whole world into his grace and fauour againe Thirdly That the nayles were fixed through his hands and feete not onely to shew that hereby thy hands are inlarged to doe good workes and thy feet are set at liberty John 20.25 that thou maist runne the way of Gods commandement but also to teach vs how the remembrance of his Passion should be so fixed in our hearts as that nothing in the world should be able to roote it thence Fourthly That he was vnstripped of his garments and his body extended naked vpon the tree Iohn 19.23 to shew that hee forsooke all to redeeme vs that all things are patent and open in the eies of God and that we poore sinnefull men are miserable and naked of all goodnesse vntill we be clothed with the righteousnesse of Iesus Christ Fiftly That his side was opened with a speare to make way for the effusion of his bloud to satisfie for our sinnes Iohn 20.34 and to make roome for vs to come neerer to his heart and to hide our selues with Moses Exod. 33.32 in foramine Petrae in this sluce of his side in this hole of the Rocke vntill the anger of God be ouer-past And Many other points of great moment I might here shew vnto you as the darkning of the Sunne for shame and sorrow to see the Sonne of God put to such a shamefull death the quassation and trembling of the Earth and cleauing of the Stones for horour to beare her Maker dying and to condemne the most cruell hardnesse of a sinners heart that seeing the Stones renting will not relent from his sinnes and the cleauing of the Temple from the top to the bottome to shew that the Leuiticall Law should be no longer a partition wall betwixt the Iewes and the Gentiles and that the way to Heauen is now made open to all beleeuers but that to speake all I might of this point would inlarge a Treatise into a Volume That it is vnpossible for anâ— one man to expâ—esse all the paâ—ticulaâ—s of Christ his Passion and that indeed the Witte and Learning of any one man is no more able to expresse all the mysteries and most excellent points that wee might collect and learne from the Passion of Christ then one poore Fisherman is able to catch all the Fishes in the Ocean Sea And therefore commending all vnto your meditation to muse vpon the particulars of this great worke that was once done that it might neuer be forgotten I will end this point of his Passion and proceede vnto the third part of my Text which is the necessitie of his suffering For thus it behooued Christ to suffer PART III. Part. 3 CHAP. I. Of the necessity of Christ his suffering THirdly Hauing heard the chiefest particulars of the sufferings of Christ wee are now to consider the necessitie of his suffering expressed here by Christ himselfe in these words That there is a threefold necessity Thus it behoued Christ to suffer Touching which we must consider that there are three kinds of necessities The first is an obsolute necessitie as when a thing in regard of the nature of it cannot be otherwise so the Sunne mooueth and the fire burneth as wee see necessarily because it is the propertie of their nature so to doe as it is for euery light thing to ascend and for euery heauy thing to descend downewards towards the center The second is a necessity of constraint That Christ suffered because he willinâ—ly gaue himselfe to suffer as when a malefactor is constrained and must necessarily suffer whether hee will or not because the sentence of the Law hath passed ouer him and his strength is not sufficient to saue himselfe And in these two sences our Sauiour Christ was not of necessitie for to suffer because God might if he had would haue vsed a 1000. other wayes to haue saued man without the death of his onely Sonne and there was neither Law to inioyne him nor any force that could compell him for to suffer for he saith Abba Father all things are possible vnto thee and Marke 14.36 he could pray to his Father and haue more then twelue legions of Angels to haue assisted him And therefore no absolute necessity that he should suffer Sed oblatus est quia voluit But he was offered vp for vs because he would he gaue his soule an offering for sin Esay 53.10 he yeelded vp himselfe into the hands of his enemies he could but he would not be rescued and he gaue Pilate power against himselfe for vnlesse he would hee needed not to haue suffered Iustice could not seize vpon him because he was a Lambe without spot and constraint could not compell him because all things were possible vnto him and he had all the Angels at his command and therfore as the Prophet Esay saith that he did beare the burthen imposed by his Father Esay 63.6 so he did assume the same himselfe S. Paul saith Rom. 8.32 that as God gaue Christ for vs Rom. 8.32 So Christ gaue himselfe for vs and our Sauiour saith No man taketh my life from me Gal. 2.20 but I haue power to lay downe my life and I haue power to take it vp againe and so it was that he himselfe layd downe his life Iohn 10. as a man layeth downe his garment for it is obserued by the Euangelists Crucem sustinuit voluntate non necessitate S. Hieron in Esayam c. 53. Iohn 19.30 that when he would die he seeing that impotent man could not take away his soule he bowed downe his head and gaue vp the Ghost as calling and yeelding vnto the stroke of death which