what this resurrection is the Apostle doth tel vs namely newnesse of life saying Rom. 6.4 We are buried then with Christ by baptisme into his death that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorie of the father so wee should walke in newnesse of life This is then the first resurrection namely newnes of life There must be life beloued as well in the spirite as in the bodie Manie men séeme to liue and to doe the works of life but not in the spirite but in the body to serue their turn to answere the law to obserue the time but all this while the spirite liueth not Many a papist to day will come to Church in bodie but he bringeth a deade soule with him for Christian Religion hath no roume in his heart But if thou wilt haue thy part Papist or Protestant in the first resurrection thou must beginne to liue in thy spirite that thy spirite may enforce thy bodie to loue liue and feare thy God According to this sentence of Paule Ephes 4.22 Cast off the olde man which is corrupt through the deceiueable lustes and bee yee renewed in the spirite of your minde and put on the newe man which after God is created in righteousnesse and true holynesse And at one worde to speake it herein consisteth the first resurrection To cast away the works of darkenesse and to put on Christ the armour of light But as no man raised from a filthy puddle will willingly beare with him the myerie spots of that dirtie soile but will rather cast away the defyled garments that he might appeare clensed Hos 3. Euen so beloued wee must not part stakes with God and sinne but we must say to sinne get thée hence by a spirituall hatred vnto her so increase in it that we must as the Apostle Iude saith euen hate the very garment that is polluted by the fleshe vers 23. So must we hauing receiued such grace liue in spirite and bodie as the sonnes of lighte translated from the power of death to the kingdome of Christ in all peace Colos 1.13 Godlynes Tit. 2.11 sobrietie and honestie Thus shal we liue raigne with Christ a thousand yeare viz. for euer Now call your spirites to your senses and sée howe yée sauour this trueth beloued in Christ Rowse vppe your drowsie heartes and with the perspicuitie of a good conscience sifte and search your selues euerie one howe you haue profited by this doctrine and whether you liue or die Be not deceiued God is not mocked whatsoeuer a man soweth that shall hée reape For if yée sowe still to the flesh your former corruptions you shal reape the seconde death But if nowe you can take hold of Christs doctrin by his spirit from his truth sowe to your spirits the séeds of the word of Faith of righteousnes of peace and godlynesse Gal. 6.7 you are partakers then of the first resurrection and shal reape hereof life euerlasting And in this examination two sorts of men are meruellously conuinced The first neither féeling death or life in god runneth headlong to his luste in infidelitie and gréedinesse to sinne as though that onely were his chiefe beatitude And these bée the Atheistes of our dayes whose consciences are seared vppe with an hotte yron so as no worde can pearce into their heartes or sappe of Gods spirite haue course in their members but are past all féeling euen at the point of damnation The seconde sort are of such as hauing some sparkes of a former fire and a little breathing force of an elder strength but nowe decaying doe yet séeme to liue when rather it may be feared that they are almost deade And these are notably shadowed vnto vs by the Church of Sardi in the Apocalips Apoca. 3.1 And writte vnto the Angel .i. the Minister of the Church which is at Sardi These things saith he that hath the seuen spirites of God in his hand and the 7. stars I knowe thy workes for thou hast a name that thou liuest but thou art deade Oh beloued marke well this Church of Sardi or Lidia She is not an idolatrous Church but professing God and godlinesse She hath the forme of Gods gouernement his worde his ministers is called his Church She séemeth for her outward shew to be most Christian and holy but in déede and troth shee is conuicted of death And that not because shée hath no part of godly life in her but because she hath fallen frō her first loue life and strength in him that holdeth the manifold graces called 7 spirits in his hande to dispose at his good pleasure the sufficient number of his preachers named starres to shine into the darkenesse of mans nature with the brightnesse of his word Finally Sardi is conuinced that she is imperfect in her workes before God that is she was but an hypocriticall Church rested in the externall ceremonies and rites but sought not the Lorde in trueth and sinceritie And héere note beloued that whatsoeuer Church or people which hath not in her soule the rooted faith of Christ graft by his spirite in that inner Man in strength wherof the force and power of Christs spirite floweth thence into an open practise of holinesse and godlinesse righteousnesse and honestie That same Church people or seuered person is as deade before the Lord. But yet in this Church of Lidia there were a fewe names as the Lord noteth in the 4. ver of the 3. chap. which had not defiled their garments that is had not stained the profession of Christ which Christ they by baptism had put on is the wedding garment adorning our beauty in him couereth our infirmities iniquities from the censure of gods iustice Very comfortable is this to the Godly but to the wicked most terrible The Lordes eyes beholde the hearts and actes of men and doth daily discerne the number of the Godly but kéepeth recordes of the wickeds practizes against the day of wrath O Englande Englande Oh thou Church of Sardi if thou be looked into with a spirituall eye thou shalt be founde néere vnto death onely a fewe names or persons are kept in thée for a reserued séed to the Lorde In outwarde shew what Church more holy Thy Princes are protestants Thy angelical starres thy bishops and preachers are learned teachers Thy gouernement is godly thy profession is holy But O Englande if thou be sounded to the heart thou shalt be founde I feare me verie sicke and néere vnto death Many maladies haue mette with thée no sickenesse but hath taken holde of thée and sore weakened thy strength But last of al hypocrisie securitie sléepe in thy bosome Thou stainest thy bright vesture of holy profession with the filthy spottes of carnall desires Thy religion is a cloake to all thy iniquities But as a spot is soone espied and séemeth most foule in a scarlet robe So the brighter thy profession is the sooner
liuing God with reuerent feare by his mercie and Christes merite to be raunsomed from the paines and power thereof Of whose power we thus say The second death which is hell hath a double power or prerogatiue The first is a prerogatiue to receiue such persons as of right doe belong vnto her The seconde is perpetually to kéepe their soules in that lake till the day of iudgement and can neither be coniured or commaunded to deliuer any one of them or can they come out of her by any authoritie or power of Pope or whole papasie but after that day shall possesse both the bodies souls of the malignant Church to her euerlasting tormentes Nowe what soules and persons doe belong to her our Apostle doth tel vs in the 21. of this book saying But the fearefull and vnbeleeuing and the abhominable Apoc. 21.8 murtherers whormongers idolaters sorcerers al liers shal haue their part in the lake which burneth with fire brimstō which is the second death Thrée sortes of persons Gods spirit doeth assure vs to be vnder the power of the second death That is the obstinate Infidell the fearefull Papiste and the abhominable couetous of the worlde as drunkards whoremongers murtherers couetous liars and such like Delicate be your delightes yee gallants of these dayes but wisely call them to account before the mourners followe the sinfull corps to the graue Eccle. 12.1 c. For if the Lord which is the searcher of the heart find your delights with death to end in infidelitie in fearefull poperie or in any these carnal abhominations thē deceiue not your selues for the prerogatiue of the second death may not be taken frō her God is a iust God Rom. 2.6 and in his iustice will iudge euery mā according to the verie nature of his worke Note here also that ciuill honestie without Christs diuinitie cannot kéepe the honest Infidel and vnbeléeuer from the second death For we possesse the heauens by inheritance onely and we are none otherwise made heires thē by this prerogatiue that we are made the sōns of God Io. 1. And wee are none otherwise made the sōnes of God but by our faith in Iesus Christ Nor can this faith bée else obtained but by the spirite of God Or doth this spirit otherwise ordinarily worke it in vs then by the preaching of the word of God But the infidell reiecteth the worde 1. Thes 4.5 and therefore Gods spirite likewise our Christ and in him our heauenly father and so finally this heauenly inheritance And as for our honest life and good workes they serue but so seale vp the heartes of the faithfull to thassuraunce of their election and to procure others to prayse the Lorde being benefited by them in vs. But the onely hand that apprehendeth our inheritance in Christ is our firme fixed faith in him beléeuing by his word and spirit in the full consent of our hartes that he is the same which the most mercifull father hath giuen him to be to vs That is our wisedome our iustification our holynesse our frée and most absolute redemption 1. Cor. 1.10 and so in the bottome of our heartes doe by faith embrace him 2 The second sort subiect vnto hel are the feareful papistes who shal neuer so dying escape the second death And if you will marke with me this Epitheton fearefull therewith measure in truth the popish profession you must of méere necessitie grant me that no papist dying in his popery can be else where placed but in the second death And to your better vnderstāding hereof you must distinguish betwixt feare feare for there is a feare cōmended cōmanded to vs in the holy scriptures Psa 111.10 as The feare of the Lord is the beginning of wisedom cōmanded Psa 2.10.11 Serue the Lorde in feare reioyce to him with trēbling Again Feare god honor the king 1. Pet. 2.17 loue brotherly fellowship But this is that feare which Gods spirite planteth in his children to serue him in his true worship is euer ioyned with assured knowledge affiance in God And in the knot of christiā mariage Psal 58.9 Psal 112. Psal 118. this sacred feare is rightly shadowed for the wife feareth to offend her husband but it is for reuerēce loue to him neuer wtout affiance of his fauor because she knoweth him to be her maried husband So likewise the godly child doth feare to displease his father not bicause he doubteth of his loue but for that he would not gréeue the spirit of his life whō he feleth most assuredly in natural knot fast tyed to him And though his father lend him a frowning face he knows that those his lookes proceed of fatherly loue to his correctiō wherof persuaded so he feareth so he trusteth so he naturally loueth obeieth him And this knowledge loue driueth away filthy feare which gendreth painefulnes But the feare that Iohn speaketh of is flat contrarie to this It is begotten by distrust in god it is borne of ignorance it liueth to dispaire dieth in gret painfulnes what other is the whole profession of popery but méere timiditie They euer distrust god of his promise during their life therefore they die in feare of his fauor at the houre of death If he say That soule that sinneth shal die they beleue him not but walke frō sin to sin committing more trust to a Popes bul thē credit to the immortal word of god If the Lord say and sweare also Verely verely Io. 5.24 he that heareth my words beleueth in him that sent me hath euerlasting life shall not come into condēnatiō but hath passed frō death to life yet the papist is afraid to rest vpō this promise for he doth not absolutely beléeue it but is in feare notwtstanding that after death his soule shal go to condemnation if not to hell yet at the least to purgatory Though the spirit of God say There is no condēnation to thē that are graft in Christ Iesu whose life is not after the flesh but after the spirit yet the papist wil not beleeue that he ought to be assured of this Christian rocke to rest vpon but casteth himselfe into the raging sea of wauering distrust Which feareful persuasion hath béene the very building of al Abbies priories popish paultries from many yeres past vs and doth bréede great blasphemie to the glorie of God For first it taketh away the foundation of our faith in the merite of Christ which is the God almighty is become our father in him and that he is nowe well pleased with vs and as a father not onely doeth pardon our sins but so tenderly loueth vs that our necessities whatsoeuer he carefully helpeth It taketh away also this holy boldnes in loue which his spirit doeth assure vs of and Christ doeth teach vs to cry vnto him Math. 6. O thou that art our father
preached with the groūds of Religion in truth and taught other points of doctrine also sincerely soundly in puritie of trueth or more corruptly haue laide erronious opinions vpon the foundation of our faith This was the Apostles purpose so that if this fire shoulde be of purgatorie then no man but preachers protestantes and popish shoulde come thither Last of all their transgressions coulde neuer in this fire bée forgiuen but onely proued such as they were But if they could haue so good happe as there to bée purged yet is mercie so shutte out of that purgatorie that no prayer can obtaine remission of sinnes there or any redemption can bee had till sufficient paines be paide in that scarrefire and so by fire the soule must bee purged Some other places they bring out for their purgatorie As Macha 1◠that acte of Machabeus for the dead who sent his siluer to pray for them and is commended by the abridgement For answere heereto I say althoughe we shoulde graunt this Act consonant with the word which indéed is most flat against it yet that he in that corruption of the Churche prayed for the dead nothing shall it proue for your purgatorie no more then the praiers of some auncientes before vs for the dead did when as they dreamed not of purgatorie but thought onely of the resurrection vers 44. as Iudas doth in this place But I say to this place as some Lawyers vse to say Truth may not be trodden vnderfoote with a counterfaite showe Of the weakenes of this booke the Papistes themselues sufficiently knowe and he that is ignorant thereof let him read Kemnisius against the Tridentine councel in his Historia Purgatorii cap. 20. sess 8. I will no longer detaine you good people in these purgatorie matters onely I tell you such warrant hath all the rest of their profession for their imagined purgatory out of which they say mens soules shal once come but they know not when No no the seconde death is the onely receptacle of them that goe not to heauen where they shal be holden remedilesse vntill the last resurrection And this is the power of the second death Against this the papistes also say that after life there is forgiuenesse of sinnes to this mixed companye which is obtained by their friendes and merites of the Church for them But beloued this is their dreame against the trueth of the scripture and the iudgementes of their best doctours both which affirme plainely that after naturall death there is no remission of sinnes to the departed Wherfore Dauid in his life time prayeth Psal 39.13 O Lorde stay thine anger from mee that I may recouer my strength before I goe hence and be not The parable of the wise Matth. 25. and foolishe virgin is set downe of Christ to proue this and howe fareth it with them The wiser sort take Oyle with them They loue and liue a Christian life while they haue time in this world and therefore their owne workes doe follow them and present themselues as a witnesse to the parties faith and are crowned with mercie Come yee blessed of my Father when I was an hungrie you fedde mee But the foolishe Virgins though of the same calling Virgins the same profession to beare the lampe Yet because they were carelesse of Gods holy spirite and thereby had no lightes before men of Godly labours in good woorkes the true triall of a liuelye faith but haue committed that vnto their friendes for them These I say wanting true obedience to GOD who hath saide Matt. 5.16 Let your light so shine beefore men that they seeing your good workes may glorie your Father which is in Heauen had a boundance of carnalitie with them 1. Tim. 5.24 These their euill workes as some went before and some followed them vnto Iudgmente so they after life coulde haue none other answere to their crie Matt. 25.13 Lorde open to vs but this departe ye cursed I know you not As many of you heere present therefore as longe after life séeke the Lord while he is to be founde before your naturall death While ye haue the light saith Christ our Lorde walke in the light For darknesse will come wherein no man can walke And his Apostle Paul saith Galat. 6.6 While wee haue time let vs doe good to all men but he saith while we haue time which time is that we possesse in this life and not others for vs after it To this doctrine the auncient writers subscribe their heartes and haue left their handes with vs yea euen such fathers as the papists approue for saincts their writings equall to the holy scriptures And first touching the sentence of Dauid before cited videlicet Lorde staye thine anger from mee c. Ambrose Ambrosius To. 1. li de B◠Mor. c. 2. pag. 243 saith Qui enim hic non accipit c. Truely he the receiueth not forgiuenes of his sinnes in this life shall not bée there He shal not be there Why for hee can not possibly come to eternall life because life eternall dependeth vpon the forgiuenes of sinnes And therfore Dauid prayed Forgiue me Lorde that I may bee comforted before I goe hence Thus farre Ambrose Hierome a priest of Rome and one of the foure Euangelistes of that Synagogue vpon the same text writing vpon Esay saith Hier. in Esa to 5. cap. 65 Pa. 244. b. He that whilest he heere liueth Dum in hoc corpore viuit hath not obteined forgiuenesse of his sinnes but hath without such remission departed this life hee perisheth to God and ceasseth to bee although he continue to himself in paine and tormentes And as touching the seconde scripture Dum tempus habemus Hierome saith of it This our present life is the seede time for vs to sowe whatsoeuer we wil saith Hierome but when this life is passed and gone from vs then is the time of good working taken away also Augustine saith hereof In futuro solism est remuneratio In the life to come there is onely recompence and condemnation but in this life our sinnes are either bounde vp or loosed And that learned Cyprian saith expresly When our departure shall be herehence there is lefte no place for repentance or power of any satisfaction No saith Augustine ad Hesichium Aug. ad Hefic To. 2. epi. 80. fol. 350. For in what state soeuer at the last day of mans life death shall sinde him in the same state and condition the last day of the worlde shall comprehende him Quoniam qualis in die isto quisque moritur talis in illo die iudicabitur For in what case soeuer a man at his last day shall die in the same case and state shall the Lord iudge him at the great day From all these places and witnesses then beloued yee sée that neither popish praier Romishe masses deadly diriges friuolous almes or paltrie pardons paines in purgatorie or popishe pardons can any whit
that dayly we so grieue him by our sinne This I take to be Pauls comfort to vs where he saith But God setteth out his loue towardes vs Rom. 5.8.9.10 seeing that while we were yet sinners Christe died for vs much more then being now iustified by his bloode wee shall be saued from wrath through him For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his sonne much more being reconciled wee shall be saued by his life 2 The seconde argument is of the absolute sacrifice of Christ Gods sōne for vs. we cannot fall from naturall death into popish purgatorie which are graft into his death for the same hath fully satisfied the iustice of God for vs pacified his anger and obteined vs eternall redemption 1. Pet. 3.18 For Christ also hath once suffered saith Peter the iust for the vniust that he might not sende vs to purgatorie but bring vs to God And this Christ in his owne bodie bare our sins on the trée 1. Pet. 2.24 that being deliuered from sinne then of good consequent from the rewarde of sinne which is death wee shoulde liue in righteousnesse by whose stripes and not by popishe purgatories purging we are soundly healed The fathers wrath in this sacrifice is fully pacified for he hath giuen vs twice warrant thereof by his owne voyce saing 1. Pet. 2.24 Mat. 3.17 17.5 1. Pet. 1.17 This is my beloued sonne in whom I am well pleased It resteth therefore according to our heauenly fathers commaundement that we onely heare and beléeue him No feare of death or iudgement to hell much lesse to purgatorie can come then to vs which liue in the first resurrection by newnes of life For the Lorde our redemer hath payed the full price of our ransome and is therefore our Lutron and Lutrosis so as the vttermost farthing is tendred to Gods iustice in his death for mans sinne not by petition of sparing or bearing for day of further payment Matt. 20. but by his blood he hath paide himselfe once for all a full and absolute price for our redemption to his father Col. 2.14.15 and hath therfore triumphed on the crosse against principalities and powers and hath taken vs in his victorie from the handes of captiuitie translated vs into his grace putting out the whole hand writing that was against vs. Totum Chyrographum he hath taken away the whole obligation not parte of it in discharge of our debts that be graft in him And therfore there can not remayne a remnaunt of redemption for our selues in a popishe purgatorie For to suppose this were the greatest iniurie that coulde be to the blood of our full ransome Iesus Christ Last of all the promise of Gods mouth which can not lie whose wordes are alwayes yea and shall be alwayes true though heauen and earth runne together to perfourme them is a further assurance to the conscience of the godly man that hee shall passe from death presently vnto life For their purgatorie is say they but to punish those sinnes which at a mans death remaine vnpardoned and not purged before But to the penitent God saith thus At what time so euer a sinner doeth repent him of his sinne Ezech. 18. from the bottome of his heart at that time will I saith the Lord I shall the Pope then punish put all and not part of his wickednesse out of my remembraunce And our sauiour Christ Io. 6. hath promised vs which is the author of trueth He that beleeueth in me yea though he were deade yet shal he liue And he that beleueth in me hath euerlasting life Againe that which aboue all other is most plaine Hee that beleueth in mee Io. 5.24 shall not come into cōdemnation but hath passed from death to life Héere is plaine pardon and free immunitie from iudge and gaoler or corpus capias to bring to the barre for them that die in the true faith of the Lord for they are blessed and holy shal not sée death but shal be presently taken vp to life to be the priestes of God and Christ to raign with him for euermore But now to ende this my tedious labor O my deare brethrē both tyring you and much toyling my self gods spirite doth heere tell vs howe the faithful whose sinnes Psa 32.1.2 though they haue many are not laid to their charge are so farre from being plunged in a popishe purgatorie that farre contrary they are exalted into the height of heauen and called to the companie of those sanctified soules which daily follow the lambe and offer vp to God the holy sacrifice of praise and thankesgiuing for their redemption in the bloude of the Lambe saying Apoc. 7.12 Amen Praise and glorie and wisdome and thankes and honour and power and might be vnto God for euer more Amen These are they which came out of great tribulations saith the elder vnto Iohn and haue washed their robes white in the bloud of the Lambe Therfore are they in the presence of the throne of God and serue him day and night in his temple and hee that sitteth on the Throne will dwel among them This is not a paineful purgatorie for it followeth They shall hunger no more neither thirst any more neither shall the sunne light on them neither any heate therefore no hott purgatory fire for the Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall gouerne them and shall lead them vnto the liuely fountaines of waters and God shal wipe al teares away from their eyes Behold héere a most blessed felicitie god grant vs al that be héere to day if it be his blessed will to be partakers hereof And now somthing to say of this reuerend person whose christian corps doth lye yet before vs according to the truth of his demerit with man for whose sake we are héere assembled Somewhat I knew the man my selfe But I am further assured of him by such as doe not fawne but truly feare the Lord That he was according to gods prouidence born vnto Christ he hath béene trained vp in Christianity mercifully called from the pestilent sinke of popery and from his first féeling of Christ hath euer cōstantly in heart embraced true religion and very comfortably made confession therof in the whole course of his life so as his handworking hath borne good testimonie of his beléeuing heart and hath so vprightly receiued these great blessings cast vnto him of God that this offer is made by such as it doth most concerne If any man bee able iustly to charge him to haue at any time willingly done wrōg to him or by brybery in his office to haue enriched himselfe vppon due proofe hereof Zacheus tribute shall bée paide vnto him that is he shal be restored foure fold And though this man had his imperfectiōs with the sons of god yet he comfortably felt his beatitude in his sauiour Christ euen the forgiuenes of his sins in the mercy of God through him therefore as he liued a partaker of the first resurrection so hee ended this life without feare of the seconde death And as he saw with holy Symeon the Lord Christ to be onely his saluation So we may pronounce of him with good confidence that his soule doth rest in peace And no doubt it is taken vp of Angels vnto the mount Syon the citie of the liuing God the celestiall Ierusalem Heb. 12.22 and to the companie of innumerable Angels and to the congregation of the first born which are written in heauen and to god the iudge of all and to Iesus the mediator of the newe Testament and to the bloude of sprinkling that speaketh better things then that of Habell For it asketh vengeance more forcibly to the wicked and promiseth life and pardon most assuredly to the sonnes of GOD. Wherefore to thée our deare father our sauiour Christ and the holy ghost thrée persons distinct but one immortall god be all glorie wisedome thankes honor power and might for euer more Amen Laudes Deo per Christum seruatorem nostrum