filio Dei hominis the same title belongeth vnto him euen as hee was incarnate whereof the ground is the personall vnion the man-hood being assumed into one person with the God-head In regard of the first consideration is hee called vnigenitus the onely begotten of his Father in regard of the second he is called Primogenitus the first borne of many Brethren both wayes is CHRIST neere vnto GOD but our comfort standeth in the latter that Emanuel God with vs or in our Nature is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Sonne of God for that is fons origo Adoptionis nostrae it is that which layeth the soundation of being the sonnes of GOD. As CHRIST was neere so was hee deere vnto GOD. And indeed the words that note the neerenesse containe the grounds of the deerenesâ—e also and they were vnigenitus the onely begotten and primogenitus the first borne vnigenitus ergo vnicè dilectus the onely begotten therefore onely beloued primegenitus ergo praecipuè dilectus the first begotten therefore the especially beloued of GOD for this is a principle Euery man loneth himselfe the more of himselfe hee findeth any where the more he affecteth if he bee not degenerate A father loueth his onely sonne intirely because he hath no more and his eldest chiefely because hee is Principium praecipuum roboris the first and chiefe of his strength But this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or naturall affection of men is but a sparkle and that much allaied of that which is in GOD originally and but deriuatiuely in vs. Therefore we may easily conceiue that CHRIST that is so neere in nature and grace must needes bee most deere vnto GOD that indeed he is Vir desidertorum a man after Gods owne Heart and the true Dauid that is beloued as the Prophets call him Adde hereunto that setled loue where it is iudicious is more feruent Now Christus is dilectus not recenti impulsu sed inolito probato it is as ancient as GOD euen coeternall that CHRIST is the Sonne of GOD onely it is in time delated to the man-hood but the length of it is Aeternitie See then how GOD expresseth his loue to vs when he so describeth the person that hee bestoweth vpon vs. And haue we then any thing which we should thinke too good to render vnto GOD Abraham will teach vs better who spared not Vnicum and dilectum silium his onely beloued Sonne when GOD called for him and we see how his thank fulnesse prospered Certainely we would prosper much better if in this kindnesse we would striue to bee answerable vnto GOD. I. pray GOD we may sure I am wee haue good cause if there were no other motiue then is contained in filius and Dilectus if we doe consider onely what the second Person in Trinity is to the first How much more if wee consider what hee doeth for vs In him is the Father well pleased Wee will resolue this Note into two first wee will see in whom and then how the FATHER is pleased Hee is pleased in his beloued Sonne This opens a Mystery Thou shalt make a plate of pure gold Exod. 28. said GOD to Moses and graue vpon it like the ingrauing of a signet Holinesse to the Lord and thou shalt put it vpon a blew lace that it may bee vpon the Miter vpon the forefront of the Miter it shall be and it shall bee vpon Aarons fâ—rehead that Aaron may beare the iniquitie of the holy things which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their hory guifts and it shall be alwayes vpon his forehead that they may bee accepted before the Lord Euen so CHRIST being to bee consecrated now High Priest hath the Holy Ghost descending vpon him that so the Church may bee made acceptable in GODS beloued SONNE Neither was hee the Trueth onely of the High Priest but of the Sacrifices also St. Paul Hebr. 10. applieth to this purpose that place in the Psalme Psal 40. Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not but a body hast then prepared me in burnt offerings and Sacrifices for sinne thou hast no pleasure then said I loe I come In the volume of thy Booke it is written of me to ave thy will O God In this sense doth the Law vse the word Ratza when it is applied to Sacrifices â—enit 1. and saith that they shall be accepted for the offerer and make an attonement for him Vntill CHRIST came there was no remedy against the curse of the Law but Typicall within the Church and without fruitlesse Colos 1. but CHRIST incarnate brought a soueraigne remedy Ephes 2. when hee became the true Propitiatory in him it pleased God that all fulnesse should dwell and by him to reconcile all things both in Heauen and earth De Censensu Ruangelact lib. 2. cap. 4. St. Austin speaketh briefely but fully In te complacui is as much as Per te constitui gerere quod mihi placuit In thee am I well pleased not onely taking delight in that which thou art but also by thee accomplishing all the good that I meane to the sonnes of men But what did CHRIST Surely he did propitiate GODS wrath and giue man grace in GODS eyes these two workes are contained in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they are the blessings that flow from GODS good will towards men Reconciliation is composed of both of GODS Indulgence and Beneficence Indulgence is not enough without Beneficence â— Sam. 14. Absalon shewed this to Ioab when hee was restored from his banishment but not admitted into the King his fathers presence A good patterne to bee imitated by men is GOD who dealeth so in his reconciliation with men whereas men vse some times to forgiue but seldome to forget also they thinke it too much to deserue well and enough that they doe not deserue ill I would it were no more But let vs touch at these points a sunder first at the propitiating of GODS wrath The latter Chronologers will haue this Sacring of IESVS to haue beene performed vpon the day of Expiation in September which if it bee true then the Holy Ghost doeth fairely insinuate that CHRIST came as the Lambe of God to take away the sinnes of the world How soeuer this is true that hee bare our sinnes in his body and by his stripes we are made whole that he cancelled our obligation and slew hatred when hee suffered â—pon the Crosse Neither did CHRIST onely propitiate GODS wrath but also gaue man grace in GODS eyes CHRIST teacheth it in three Parables of the lost Sheepe the lost Groat and the Prodigall Childe The Fathers obserue the Allegory that St. Peter maketh in comparing Noahs Arke vnto the Church and obserue moreouer that as the Doue brought the Oliue branch into the Arke in token that the deluge was ceased and the world was become habitable againe Euen so the Doue that lighted vpon CHRIST brought the glad tidings of the Gospel it
aduise you shall sind in Meses 〈◊〉 â—â— The secret things belong vnto the Lord God but those things which are reuealed belong vnto vs and to our children for euer that we may doe all the words of this Law I haue hitherto told you onely in generall whom this Prohibition doth concerne but in the 24. verse wee find a distribution of these persons there we sind that the Law is laid not onely vpon the People but vpon the Priest also No body will make a a question of the people what modestie beseemeth them yet there was a time when the question was made of them also 〈◊〉 16. â— 3 for Korah Dathan and Abiram came vpon Moses and Aaron thus You take too much vpon you all the congregation is Holy and the Lord is amongst them God is as neere to euery man as he is to you and euerie man may come as neere God as you doe See you how they plead for confusion and animate the People to be bold with God But they were taught better manners I but if the people be what is that to the Priest Yea the Priest also is to learne modestie Not only the minor Cleargie as the Rhemists mince it but the maior too they that are likely most to presume were to haue a speciall Item For the pride of our heart will carrievs aboue our selues when wee see that others are placed below therefore they that are aduanced in any degree need to bee remembred that they keepe their station This did God excellently expresse in the fabricke of the Tabernacle and of the Temple wherein there was First Atrium prophanum thither might Infidels and vncleane persons come but no farther within that was Atrium populi thither might the Lay both women and men come that were circumcised and not vncleane but farther they might not come except it were to offer their speciall Sacrifices within that was Atrium Sacerdotum thereinto might the Leuites come to doe their seruice to the Priest but no farther within that was Sanctum thereinto might the Priest goe to offer Incense but no farther within that was Sanctum Sanctorum whereunto the High Priest only had accesse and that but once a yeare in reuerence of Gods maiestie sitting in the Cloud there vpon the Mercie Seate betweene the Cherubins You see that the neerest places to Gods presence were of rarest accesse and that by fewest persons Looke what state God kept in the Tabernacle and Temple the same he kept at this Hill appointing vnto the Israelites seuerall stations the multitude both of Priests and people haue their station allotted in this text Some might come nearer as Aaron Nadab and Abihu and the seuentie Elders but they are willed to worship afarre off and Moses alone was to come neare the Lord but they are expressely willed not to come nigh Verse 2â— In this Chapter Moses and Aaron are called vp alone and are excepted out of the prohibition they may passe beyond others whom God calleth and they only God was pleased to doe them this honour And wee must repute it a great honour done vnto them that they might come so neare vnto God Our Sauiour Christ in the dayes of his humiliation kept the like state so farre as might stand with his forme of a seruant For he did not conueâ—se so familiarly with the multitude as with the seuentie Disciples nor with the seuentie as with the twelue Apostles nor with the twelue Apostles as with the pillars of them Peter Iames and Iohn who only were admitted to bee priuie to the highest glorie that hee manifested on earth which was his Transfiguration and the deepest Passion which hee endured on earth which was his agonie Yea euen of these three he chose out one as the principall fauourite Iohn whose stile is the beloued Disciple who at supper leaned on his bosome whom Saint Peter himselfe vsed vnto Christ when he would be resolued Who it was that should betray him Finally him he made the high soring and sharpe sighted Eagle the beholder and penner of that Reuelation which hath as many mysteries as words God then who is an absolute Monarch will bee a free disposer of his fauours and we must not presume of more then hee vouchsafeth the People may not the Priest may not both must take heed vnto themselues that they doe not presume Take heed vnto themselues Then themselues haue a pronenesse to curiositie Iaâ—â—eâ— 1 And indeed so it is for euery man is baited and so ledaside by his owne lusts and there is no lust so ancient in man as pride is Yea the first sinne of Angels was the stepping ouer their bounds and though pride be not homebred in man as it was in Angels yet experience proued in Adam and Eue that mans nature is a soile very apt to conceiue the seed of pride if it be sowne in it by the Deuill neither will any seed of iniquitie proue sooner or faster Considering then the aptnesse of our nature to receiue and forwardnesse to bring forth this euill fruit God doth not without cause by Moses bid the Israelites take heed vnto themselues Neither to themselues only but to their cattell also they must bee watcht that they breake not the bounds And indeed if our peccare be quasi pecuare if wee shew our selues beasts when wee doe straggle then it is the propertie of beasts to straggle and seeing it is their propertie they must be looked vnto But you will say that they are vnreasonable creatures and so able to doe morally neither well nor ill True but yet the place which we must not prophane our selues we must much lesse suffer our beasts for to prophane Yea obserue it well and you shall find that whether wee keepe fasting dayes or feasting dayes God will haue euen beasts to communicate in some sort in the Ceremoniall part of our pietie In the solemne repentance of Niniue not only the men but the beasts also are commanded by the King to bee kept from meate to bee clothed with sackcloth In the Law of the Sabbath when man resteth the beast must rest also thinke you only in a cruill sense There is more in it then so as hereafter I shall shew you God would haue them also to obserue his Feasts And here we see that what prohibition God layeth vpon men he layeth vpon beasts neither may prophane holy ground And may ours doe that which theirs might not doe May dogges tread in Gods Sanctuarie during the New Testament which vnder the old Testament were not suffered to be so very dogges that is impudent creatures It should seeme wee thinke they may else would wee not bring them hither and indure them here not only to disturbe Gods seruice but also to disgrace Gods House I shame to speake what we blush not to see the markes of their vncleanlinesse in the most sacred places of this Church and I thinke other Churches are not vsed much better Well I would wee were more
Esay Chap 3. Say vnto the righteous man it shall goe well with him so true is this that this word Ashre doth therefore signifie Happinesse because Happinesse is annext to Holinesse Moreouer wee must note that this word is plurall so is it euer read in the Originall the Holy Ghost intimating thereby that as a man is compounded of soule and bodie a bodie of many parts a soule of many faculties that which must make happie must containe a manifold Blessing which must giue content to euerie Part and Power and withall checking the vaine either definitions of Philosophers or elections of Men which haue recommended vnto vs or haue addicted themselues vnto a maimed Blessednesse But more of that anon when I shall open the nature of Blessednesse By the way I may not omit to obserue how in this Reward the Holy Ghost doth refute the vulgar opinion For vulgarly men are of their opinion 〈◊〉 3.14 whom Malachi speakes of who account it a vaine thing to serue God and say what profit is there in walking humbly before Him we account the proud blessed and they that set light by God are lifted vp and in the Booke of Wisdome the vngodly say Chap. 5 4. They accounted the righteous mans life madnesse and his end without honour the Apostle telleth vs that Christians seeme in this life 〈◊〉 15.15 to be of all men most miserable the vnthriftie seruant did not sticke to challenge his Lord to his face that hee was a hard man and gathered where hee hath not scattered reaped where hee had not sowen Matth. 25.24 So farre are worldly men from thinking that the Children of God are encouraged by any Reward to be constant in performing of their Vow that they hold them most miserable because they keepe the same Read Esay 53. vers 1 2. c. But in the afore-cited places you shall finde an Answer to their Exceptions and they are sufficiently answered where they are brought in so blaspheming But you will not wonder at their errour if I open vnto you the ground thereof Wee must obserue then that they frame vnto themselues false Notions of Blessednesse and according vnto them doe they iudge of euerie mans state For Example hee that placeth Happinesse in Riches what wonder if he hold all poore men to be wretches and if any make his Belly his God will hee not thinke basely of Daniel Dan. 1. and the three children that liue with water and pulse Marke the forecited places and you shall finde that euerie one of these made his owne choyce the measure of his Iudgement and contemned all others that were not like vnto himselfe Wherefore that we be not lead away with their errour and that wee may be as wee ought affected towards our Reward it is behoofefull that we better vnderstand the nature of Blessednesse All men naturally desire to bee blessed and hee were a monster and not a man that were contented to bee a wretch but that which in common wee all desire when we come to determine most doe mistake Not to tire you with the enumeration of mistakes in this kinde De Ciuit Dei lib. 19. c. 1 whereof Varro as Saint Austin reports made a long Catalogue In few words Blessednesse is the enioying of the Soueraigne Good What the Soueraigne Good is wee must iudge by these two Characters it must be Optimum and Maximum it must bee the best that can be and the most complete if it be not the best it will not sistere appetitum we shall not leaue shifting of it it will neuer giue vs content wee will euer be longing vntill wee light vpon that beyond which there is nothing that wee may long for And if it bee not Maximum the most complete it will not implere appetitum wee shall not be satisfied therewith we shall be hungring and thirsting still though we desire no other thing yet of that thing wherein wee take content wee shall still desire more and more vntill our vessell is filled vntill we haue as much as wee are capable of Now these two Characters of the Soueraigne Good belong onely vnto God He by the verie Heathen is stiled Optimus Maximus and the Scripture that tels vs There is none good but God only and that He only is Almightie doth confirme vnto him these attributes as also doth that title of his Shaddai All-sufficient and therefore as the Apostle speakes 2. Timoth. ◠15. only Blessed Whereupon wee may conclude that hee only is our Soueraigne Good for if by enioying of himselfe hee make himselfe blessed hee must needs bee the Fountaine of Blessednesse to all others And indeed Saint Austin expresseth this religiously vnto God Confess lib. 2.5.1 Fecistinos Domine ad te inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat inte Whom haue I in heauen O Lord but thee and there is nothing on Earth which I desire with thee my flesh and my heart faileth but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for euer Psal 73. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house they will be still praysing thee Psal 84. But God is Essentia simplex of an vncompounded nature the nature of man is many wayes compounded how then can this single nature satisfie our compound Especially seeing before you heard that it is a manifold good that must make a happie man We must helpe our selues with a Schoole distinction A good may be manifold either Formaliter or Eminenter in Kind or in Vertue As for Example there is a vegetable Soule in a Plant there is a sensitiue Soule in a Beast the Soule of Man hath not these in their kind yet hath hee them in Vertue for the reasonable Soule is endued with faculties which in his Body performe both vegetation and Sense a man hath an Eye and an Eare a Hand and a Foote to see to heare to worke to goe an Angell hath none of these Formaliter according to their kind yet hath he them all Eminenter his nature is such as hath the Vertue of seeing hearing mouing and doing and that in a more excellent sort then man is capable of Euen so the single nature of God may giue full content to the manifold capacities of man seeing no created good proceedes from God which is not eminently in him for there is no Effect that is not an Image of the Efficient though created Effects are Images of the vncreated Efficient no otherwise then if wee consider them defecated or purged from those imperfections whereunto the condition of a Creature a mortall Creature doth subiect them seuer them and then whatsoeuer good they haue is an Image of that which is in God Whereupon it followeth that if any sense of our Body or power of our Soule find any good in the creature it shall enioy the same though in a more eminent sort if it enioy the Creator Hauing found the Soueraigne Good It followes that we now see how
conuerted thereby and let vs each hasten other in our returne toward thee Let vs be carefull to saue not our selues onely but others also that each may bee the others ioy when we shall both be presented spotlesse and blamelesse at the appearing of Christ. PSAL. 51. VERSE 14. Deliuer me from bloud guiltinesse O God thou God of my saluation and my tongue shall sing aloude of thy righteousnesse THe religious seruice which King Dauid vowed is the Edifying of others and the gâ—â—rifying of God how he will edifie others you haue heard and are to heare how he will glosie God God may be glorified either in regard of the particular sauom hâ— sheweth vs or the generall worth that is in himselfe Dauid promiseth to glorifie God in both respects At this time my Text doth occasion me to speake of the former wherein I will obserue first a spirituall Pange haâ—ouer taketh his Deuotion and then the Deuotion it selfe In the Pange we shall see what he seeleth and to whom he slieth he feeleth a sting of Conscience a remorse of Bloud-guiltinesse and being pained herewith he seeketh for ease he crieth Deliuer But he seeketh discretly and ardently discretly for he seeketh to him that can Deliuer to the Lord who is interested in the consciences of his creatures and as he can so he will he is the God of his childrens saluation This is his discretion which he warmeth with Zeale hee is earnest in his petition which you may gather out of the doubling of the name of God Deus Deus salutis meae Hauing thus ouercome the spirituall Pange that interrupted him hee falleth to his Deuotion wherein you must marke first the argument that he insisteth vpon and that is God Righteousnesse Secondly the manner how he doth extoll it which is publike and cheerefull publike for hee will vtter it by his tongue cheerefull for his tongue shall sing aloude These bee the particulars which wee must now looke into farther and in their order And first of spirituall Pangs in generall King Dauid had a pardon of this sinne particularly besides a generall promise that God would neuer withdraw his grace from him and yet we find him here perplext and distrest in conscience Though I did on a former Verse touch at the reasons hereof yet will it not be amisse that I a little farther enlarge this point There can be no doubt but Gods truth is infallible he cannot denie himselfe hee will neuer recall his word but yet Quicquid recipitur recipitur ad modum recipientis the vertues wherewith we entertaine Gods promises are as wee are imperfect because we art partly flesh and partly spirit our faith is not without doubting if their be imperfection in our faith which is the foundation of our spirituall life our Hope will be answerable it will not be without distrusting neither will our Charitie be better we cannot so loue but we will feare And why Could we cast our eyes onely vpon God his goodnesse must needes appeare wonderfull and so leaue a kind of amazednesse in vs neither can we easily beleeue that he should vouchsafe such fauor vnto man but we more often cast our eyes vpon our selues vpon our wickednesse whereby we haue broken Gods lawes vpon our vnthankfulnesse which haue set light by Gods blessings and this is able to stagger our faith much more especially when the Serpent shall plie vs with the representation of Gods iustice thereby indeauouring to ouer-whelme our Meditations vpon his mercies and shall presse vnto our conscience the imperfection of our faith hope and charitie so farre as to perswade vs that they haue no truth at all Here-hence spring those spirituall pangs in so much that euen in those which by grace haue giuen sinne a deadly wound you shall perceiue many pangs as it were of spirituall death and as men that are recouered out of an Ague haue many troublesome grudgings thereof that disquiet them not a little euen so Penitents aster enormous sinnes must looke for many a smarting twitch of the worme of conscience But to leaue spirituall Pangs in generall and come to that which in particular is toucht here in my Text he feeles are morse of bloud-guilâ—inesse the euill he feeles is exprest by the name of blouds so the word is in the originall and is vsed to note either our originall corruption or actuall sinne King Dauid in the former part of this Psalme confesseth both that sinne that he inherited from his Parents and that which hee contracted himselfe therefore of the Interpreters some pitch vpon the former and some the later Saint Austin pitcheth vpon the originall sinne and supposeth that Dauid was moued with remorse of his corrupt nature which is the cause of all sinne and indeede they that are borne in Concupiscence are said to be borne of flesh and bloud 1. Cor. 15. and Saint Paul meaneth that wee must put off that before we can be fully blest when he saith that flesh and bloud cannot inherit the Kingdome of heauen Finally it is that where at God pointeth Ezek. 16. when he speaketh thus to the Church When I passed by thee and saw thee polluted in thine owne bloud I said vnto thee in thy bloud Liue. The reason of the phrase is because Vitaest in sanguine as the law speaketh the animall life subsisteth in the bloud and the abundance of bloud is the fuell of concupiscence whereupon some coniecture not improbably that to note this the legall expiation of sinne was made by the effusion of bloud Some goe not so farre as originall sinne but vnderstand the word of actuall which is the fruit of originall and because of actuall sins some are by Diuines called spirituall some carnall spirituall such as mooue from and are transacted principally by the reasonable faculties of the soule and haue but sequelam a concomitancie of animall carnall those that are suggested from and acted by the animall soule principally and haue but a concomitancie of the rationall by blouds they vnderstand that later kind of sinne And indeede such were the sinnes whereof King Dauid had now remorse his Adulterie his Murder both sprang from bloud adulterie from bloud luxuriant which made him transgresse in his concupiscible facultie murder from bloud ebullient which made him transgresse in his Irascible facultie The word Sanguines being plurall is by the Fathers obserued to note plentie and varietie of sinne some in one word parallell it with the first verse of this Psalme where Dauid mencioneth all his Iniquities and then there is a Synecdoche in the word species progenere the carnall sinnes put for all kind of sinnes which some resolue into sinnes past present and to come But it is best to keepe our selues vnto the Argument of that storie whereunto this Psalme alludes and then Varietie shall note Adulterie and Murder and Plentie shall consist in the many murders that followed the adultery Vriah was treacherously slaine and that he might be slaine treacherously many others
God it is a phrase of Equipollencie Exod. 23. it is all one with God which is fairely insinuated vnto Moses wheÌ„ he desireth to see Gods face you shal find in the pursuit of that story that Gods glory Gods goodnes are aequipollent tearmes and it must be our endeauour as far as humaine frailtie will permit herein to resemble God to be nothing to doe nothing but that which may deserue praise And let this suffice concerning the first point the praise of God Let vs now see what King Dauid intends to doe about this praise his intent is to shew it forth I told you the word doth signifie Narrare and Enarrare to deliuer Gods praises by way of Historie and then vpon that he studieth to make a feeling Commentarie In King Dauids Psalmes you may find all kind of Histories you may well call them an abridgement of the Historicall Bookes yea and of the Propheticall too which are a kind of Historie there are few Narrations that tend to the praise of God whereat he hath not touched But his speciall commendations stands in the Enarration in the Commentarie that hee maketh vpon Diuine History he maketh vs see herein that which otherwise we would not heede he maketh vs sensible of that which otherwise wee would not regard Take a touch of it in some particulars Hee hath made many Psalmes of the Creation reade the 8. reade the 19. reade the 104. see how powerfully hee doth worke the obseruation thereof into the hearts of men in the 8. Psalme marke those words O Lord our Lord how excellent is thy name in all the Earth and againe What is man that thou art mindfull of him Or the sonne of man that thou visitest him And how powerfull are those words Psalme the 19. The heauens declare the glorie of God and the firmament sheweth his handie worke Day vnto day vttereth speech c. but beyond all goeth 104. Psalme Blesse the Lord O my soule O Lord my God thou art verie great thou art clothed with honour and maiestie c. the 107. Psalme is about Gods Prouidence but marke the Burden that is added to euerie branch Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodnesse and declare his wondrous workes that he doth for the children of men The same method doth he vse in opening the Redemption Psalme 103. the Law Psalme 19. and 119. the Deliuerance out of Aegypt in many Psalmes it were endlesse to goe ouer all particulars take it for a generall rule you shall find in him neuer a Historie whereupon he doth not make such a Commentarie wherein hee doth not point out some thing that is obseruable and endeauour to make vs sensible thereof and to entertaine it as matter of Gods Praise and this is that which he meaneth by shewing forth Wherby with all hee teacheth vs that the occurrents of Gods Prouidence which befall our persons fall out in our times or any way offer themselues vnto vs must be looked into with such a reflecting such an adoring eye that we must take notice of and giue honour vnto God for his power his wisedome his goodnesse his iustice his mercie that shineth herein and sheweth it selfe vnto the world Thus wee must learne to shew forth the praise of God Dauid addes moreouer wherwith he will shew it forth with his mouth with the Mouth that others might heare the Praises And indeede ore fit Confessio as fraudis so Laudis Luke 12.9 men therewith as they must confesse their sinnes so must they set forth Gods praises shew them forth vnto the world for he that will not confesse God before men God will not confesse him before his blessed Angels The Church is a Body and what befals any member may befall euerie one be it matter of hope or feare sorrow or ioy therefore ought euerie man to communicate to the other his case and his knowledge to worke in them by the same meanes the like affection which hee feeleth in himselfe yea though we doe not feele it yet should we haue a fellow-feeling each of the others affections wherof wee cannot ordinarily take notice except each be informed by the others Mouth The Mouth being the ordinarie meanes of communication the trumpe whereby wee doe mutually stirre vp our selues vnto the Prayses of God But when mention is made of the Mouth wee must not exclude the Heart for though the instrument be the Mouth yet the Musitian is the Heart he causeth the tune of the voice to sound and addeth the Dittie to the Tune and certainely the Musicke will neuer be wel-come to God should any part of man be wanting thereunto Psal 103. therefore Dauid thus cals vpon himselfe Blesse the Lord O my soule and all that is within me blesse his Holy name Gregorie the Great worketh this obseruation out of the word Meum my mouth there be many saith he that praise God but not with their owne mouth such as are the couetous the wantons c. They personate some other they seeme to take vnto themselues another mans tongue when they vtter that which they conceiue not in their own hearts But let such men know that their Praiers shall neuer haue accesse vnto Gods eares whose hearts are estrainged from Righteousnesse Wherefore let vs imitate Dauid in another place 〈…〉 who said that his Soule should be filled as it were with marrow and fatnesse when hee praiseth God with ioyfull Lippes Where withall we learne a good propertie of him that praiseth and that is hee performeth it with pleasure and indeede no man can sincerely praise 〈…〉 but he must delight in that which hee doth praise for praysing is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Nyssen speaketh a louing disposition And Saint Austin â—auâ—at Deum veraciter qui eum amat he praiseth God sincerely that loueth he loueth him vnfainedly and if our delight be not in him we must not thinke that we doe as we ought praise him In a word you heard before that Deus was totus Laudabilis wholy to be praised and we must be toti Laudantes haue no part of body or soule that must not be an instrument to sound forth Gods praise our whole life should be a Psalme thereof And let this suffice touching King Dauids Intent The Intent is good but men may intend more then they can doe good men haue beene ouer consident in their good meanings Saint Peter thought he would neuer forsake Christ and hee would die in his desence yet when he was put to it hee not onely cowardly shrunke from him but also fearefully denied him wherefore Dauid is well aduised hee presumeth not of his owne strength but hath recourse vnto Gods helpe O Lord open thou my lippes The Lippes are the doore of the mouth a doore that is shut vp therefore neede to be opened and it is worth the marking that the word which we translate open is not onely of the same originall with a doore in the Hebrew tongue
the Text wee sound another merit and that is meritum dignationis the interest therein vouchsafed vs. Were there none but meritum dignitatis there were ground enough of our loue but this meritum dignationis the interest that we haue doth quicken vs to take notice of the worth that is in the thing Euery man naturally loueth that which is his owne and if the thing bee good it doth him the more good to looke vpon it Let a man walke in a faire Meadow it pleaseth him but it will please him much more if it bee his owne his eye will be more curious in prying into euery part and euery thing will please him the better so it is in a Corne field in an Orchard in a House if they bee good the more they are ours the more contentedly doe they affect vs for this word meum is suauissima amor is illecebra it is as good as an amatorie potion Then marke put tuus to Dominus and if so bee the Lord be louely how much more louely should hee bee in our eyes if hee bee our Lord and doth appropriate that infinite good that hee hath vnto vs hee holdeth of none but of himselfe and who would not ioy to bee owner of that good which is independent Hee is whatsoeuer heart can desire and who can but reioyce in hauing him in hauing of whom wee can want nothing Put tuus to Deus and see how it doth improue the motiue of loue there also Had wee nothing to doe with so tender hearted a Father so sweet natured a Sonne so gracious a Comforter as is the holy Spirit we could not but loue them if we did know them But when wee doe heare that these bowels of the Father doe yearne vpon vs that wee are the Spouse whom the Sonne of God doth wooe and that the holy Ghost vouchsafeth to make his Temple of vs how can wee bee but loue-sicke how can our Hearts choose but melt and our Affections gaspe and bray like the Hart after those Persons which haue in them so strong so manifold persuasions to loue But alas wee that in regard of our carnall loue are easily transported by any seeming good are altogether senslesse when wee are sollicited by our spirituall good so senslesse that God is passionate in his Prophets when hee doth taxe our more then bruitishnesse herein Isay 1. Hearken O heauen heare O earth for the Lord hath spoken I haue nourished and brought vp children and they haue rebelled against mee the oxe knoweth his owner and the asse his masters crib but Israel doth not know my people doth not consider Ier. 3. Can a mayd forget her ornaments or a bride her attire yet hath my people forgotten me dayes without number Wee doe loue our corporall benefactors at least while they are doing vs good but our spirituall benefactor wee forget euen while hee is doing vs good for when is hee not doing it wee cannot looke vpon our soules our bodies our state but wee see the perpetuall influence of his goodnesse and yet Tuus worketh little here and though God vouchsafe vs a great interest yet are wee little moued therewith Wee can loue a man in whom there are so many defects to allay the regard of his goodnesse and from whom we may receiue as much wrong as fauour how much more should we loue God in whom there is no defect and from whom thou canst receiue nothing but good I haue shewed you the reason of loue which is included in the name it followeth that I now come on to the dutie that is required and that is Loue. Wherein we are first to obserue that God speaketh not vnto vs as vnto seruants but as vnto friends hee would not haue vs in his seruice expresse a spirit of seruitude in feare but of adoption in loue hee would not bee feared as a Lord but loued as a Father O derint dum metuant is a Tyrants voyce God will haue all his seruants ingenuous hee will haue our seruice as naturall as is our allegiance Wherein the King of Heauen giueth a good patterne to all Kings and Gouernours in earth Though God hath qualified vs many wayes to doe him seruice yet doth hee in this word diliges Loue shew what hee doth principally respect and his eyes are vpon nothing so much as our Loue not on our wit our wealth our honour c. yea all other things are valued according to our Loue and without Loue they are nothing worth And why Loue is that which setteth all a worke for he that loueth will keepe Gods commandements hee will doe no euill But wee may not forget that seeing this Loue hath for its obiect him that is so farre aboue vs wee must not seuer it from Reuerence which must qualisie the loue which we owe to our Superiors in expressing our affection wee must not forget our distance yea and our feare in regard of our flesh may bee seruile to awe it and keepe it downe though it must bee also filiall in regard of the spirit to keepe it in heart I should now if the time would giue leaue shew you how those things that are required in loue must be applyed vnto this obiect The first propertie of Loue is Vnion and we should endeauor to become one with the Lord to bee transformed into him and as neere as a Creature can partake of his Creator partake of the diuine nature Wee should desire Vnion also with God with God the Father by Adoption with God the Sonne by a spirituall Wedlocke with God the holy Ghost by entertaining him as his Temple wee should so grow one with all three persons From this Vnion our Loue should come on to a Communion Communion in that infinite good which you heard is in the Lord for though Vnion bee a great aduancement of our Nature yet doth our comfort stand in the Communion neither did God euer intend the Vnion but for the Communion As wee must haue Communion with the Lord so with God also as Children wee must communicate in the inheritance of our Father as a Spouse in the honour and state of a Bride-groome as the Temple in the ornaments and endowments thereof Yea in this Communion there must appeare Beneuolentia Benesicentia there must appeare an intercourse of good will and good deeds betweene the Lord God and vs otherwise wee doe not loue as wee should This is not all the seate of Loue must be exercised also the Heart for the loue of God must bee free God doth not respect forced Loue. The Minde God will bee knowne before hee is loued and hee will haue them that loue him to meditate vpon him hee will not regard an vndiscreete Loue. Thy Soule must bee exercised if thou dost not long after him earnestly and take sweet content in him thou dost not loue Finally thy Courage must bee employed thou must bee as resolute to compasse this spirituall Vnion and Communion as carnall wooers are
You begin the Lords Prayer with Our Father and so professe that euery member of the Church and you are Children of one heauenly Father wherein you acknowledge in euery member a ground of loue Throughout the second Table of the Commandements our neighbour is enioyned to loue vs which iniunction to performe hee hauing taken vpon him in his baptisme we cannot looke on him but wee see ground why wee should loue him for then wee looke on the man that hath vowed vnto God that hee will loue vs. And if wee looke on him as he partakes in the Sacrament of the Eucharist then wee see another ground why wee should loue him for then we behold him as professing that hee doth loue vs in testimony whereof the Saints were wont to begin this Sacrament with a mutuall holy kisse in lue whereof the supersticious kissing of the Pax succeeded in the Romish Church You see then that if so bee the sociablenesse which is naturall requireth loue that of grace requireth it much more What shall wee say to them that are without the Church that persecute the Church is there any ground of loue in them yea the wickednesse of man cannot euacuate the right of Nature much lesse of Grace they are our neighbours whether they will or no by Nature because they are men and so are they also by Grace because they may bee Christian men so that wee cannot say to them in neither respect what haue wee to doe with you Therefore in the same person wee must distinguish betweene his ill affection towards vs and his neighbour-hood which God vouchsafeth him and not let the malice of the one intercept the sight of the louelinesse that is in the other And if so bee wee may not forget that spirituall Louelines which is only in hope as it is in Infidels much lesse may we forget that Louelinesse which is indeed in those which are Christians these haue in them most vndoubted grounds of Loue. The next degree of Diuine neighbourhood is betweene vs and the Church Triumphant Angels and Saints wee cannot doubt of their Louelinesse if wee know wherein their neighbourhood consisteth I shewed it you before and further they really testifie their Loue toward vs the Saints in praying for the Church in generall the Angels in being ministring spirits for the good of the Church Heb. 1. But here wee must take heed that wee inlarge not this bounderie too farre for men that haue made little account of Saints on Earth haue made too much of them when they haue beene departed this life and to Angels they haue attributed more then euer God bestowed vpon them Wee for the auoyding of their errours must confine our thoughts within the iust bounds of their Louelinesse The third degree of neighbourhood is that which is betweene the Church and our Sauiour Christ and here wee find the fullest ground of Louelinessâ— that euer was or will be created the Church saith truly in the Canticles totus est desiderabilis view him from top to toe C. 5.16 you shall find nothing in him that doth not shew him to bee a most louely neighbour peruse all his fore specified references towards his Church there is not the least of them that doth not challenge the loue thereof And now that wee haue gone ouer all you see a good reason why the word that is vsed by Moses Reang signifieth not only a neighbour but also a friend for euery one that is a neighbour is by the vertue of his neighbourhood to be accounted as our friend Secondly that all persons must bee considered as they are in God and Christ and not as in themselues otherwise wee shall misdeeme them for any communion which a man hath with God and Christ cannot but seeme vnto vs an apparant right that he hath to be accounted our neighbour and our friend But he that appeareth vnto vs as deuoid of both these communions hee cannot seeme vnto vs to bee our neighbour and therefore not our friend A third thing that I noted in the person whom we must loue is euery mans interest in him for the Law speaking to euery man saith He is thy Neighbour therefore thou must not looke vpon him only with thy direct sight but with a reflected also Let vs runne ouer the degrees of Neighbourhood againe and see how euery of them doth concerne euery one of vs. The first degree of humane neighbourhood is neighbourhood in place that was instituted as I told you Propter auxilium solatium and God knoweth there is no man that doth not stand in need of both and it is not Gods will that any should bee excluded from either but euery man hath an interest of helpe and prosit from him that is his neighbour in place therefore we must euery man take care to yeild and expect to receiue whatsoeuer helpe or comfort he hath in himselfe or is in any other these gifts must bee mutuall they must bee interchangeable a neighbour must doe for thee as well as be a receiuer from thee therefore doth God call the neighbour thine The next degree of humane neighbourhood is that of bloud wherein men are brought neerer one vnto another then they can bee by any politique Lawes because of a neerer interest which doth combine them the interest of nature For euery man hath his nature and being in or from those of his bloud the father hath his being in his sonne the sonne hath his being from his father a brother hath his being in a brother an vncle in a nephew And so betweene all other degrees there is an interest of being which one hath in anoher more or lesse as the degrees are more or lesse remote Whence it is that politique neighbourhood respecteth no man but out of deliberate reason it is quickened by hope of receiuing like kindnesse when time shall serue but neighbours in bloud respect each other out of an inborne affection for it is naturall to euery man to affect himselfe and his owne being without any farther consideration and consequently he cannot but affect another in whom he beholds his being to be preserued as well as in himselfe or from whom he conceiues his being to haue proceeded Hence it is that Parents loue their children and children their Parents and a brother loues a brother and an vncle his nephew euen where they looke for no retribution Come wee on to the third degree of neighbourhood which superaddeth another ground of loue and by consequent increase of interest This third degree goeth beyond that of bloud as the Lawes of men doe limit Consanguinitie but yet in true iudgement Consanguinitie hath no stricter limits then the nature of man because all men are made of one blood and so in true iudgement euery man must thinke that hee hath in euery man an interest of his naturall being and vpon this ground a man in whom nature is not degenerate will loue another man and doe for him be he
before that Ascension an Ascension of our Conuersation before the ascension of our Person Colos 3. Phil. 3. We must seeke those things that are aboue where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God We must haue our conuersation in heauen Of this the Hill putteth vs in mind as we are excellently taught by the Psalmes proper for this day the 15. 24. and 68. read them at your leasure and remember to learne out of them that groueling thoughts beseeme not the children of God I come at length to the last point the Israelites encamped before this mountaine Numb 9. the cloud which was their guide rested on it and where that rested they were to encampe and not to moue except that moued before them This was their twelfth and their longest station the cloud moued not hence almost in the space of a yeere the Tabernacle was built here and so much of the Law as is recorded vntill the tenth of Numb was deliuered before they departed hence But that which I chiefely note is that the place where they encamped was not onely sacred as you haue heard but also fore-appointed of God For when God appeared to Moses in the bush Exod 3. he said vnto him This shall be a token that I haue sent thee when thou hast brought the people out of Egypt Li. 2. c. 12. you shall serue God vpon this Mount Which Flauius Iosephus expresseth verie well In hoc loco sacrificium gratiarum actionis ob felicem successum offeretis where I first acquainted thee with the glad tydings which thou shouldest carrie to my people there shalt thou and my people offer me the sacrifice of prayse and thanksgiuing when I haue made good my word We haue a laudable custome this weeke to perambulate our parishes and in the fields to sing certaine Psalmes or read certaine portions of Scripture this some dislike as superstitious it is because themselues are not so religious as they should be You see Gods precept and the practise thereof you haue in the twentie fourth Chapter you haue likewise Iacobs vow and his performance of that vow by Gods owne appointment Gene 28.35 Though we must serue God in the Church and at home that hindreth not but we must serue God also in any other place where he hath done vs good or doth as in our Cattle Corne or whatsoeuer else belongeth vnto vs. The Iewes haue a conceit and others out of them that the Israelites pitcht vpon the East-side of the Hill that they might worship towards the West But that agreeth not with the storie because they came out of the South and it hath a false ground that what was commanded them when they were within the Tabernacle and the Temple whereof neither was at this time built should bee obserued wheresoeuer they were which could not be obserued after they were built for they were euer to pray towards them and that could not alwayes be East But the truth is as it appeareth verse 9. they pitcht about the hill as they might best see the representation of him and he might best be heard of them that was their chiefe generall There is a mysterie in it worth the marking with which I will end It sheweth that the Church is alwayes in Gods eye and God must alwayes be in the Churches eye And this is on his part a most gracious on our part a most blessed aspect LEt vs beseech God that we may bee euer as the apple of his eye and he may euer be the delight of our eyes in his Church Militant that so he may lift vp the light of his countenance vpon vs and wee may behold him as he is and that for euer in the Church Triumphant AMEN The second Sermon EXODVS 19. VERS 3 4. And Moses went vp vnto God and the Lord called him out of the mountaine saying thus shalt thou say to the house of Iacob and tell the children of Israel Yee haue seene what I did to the Egyptians and how I bare you on Eagles wings and brought you to my selfe WHen I began to vnfold this Chapter vnto you I told you that the contents thereof were the Circumstances and the Solemnitie that did fore-runne the promulgation of the Law The Circumstances were two the Time the Place I haue spoken of both I now come on to the Solemnitie In opening whereof we shall see First that there is a common minister vsed therein Then that there are two principall branches thereof The Minister is Moses he was common to the parties that did conâ—ract The Parties were First The Lord God Secondly the house of Iacob and the children of Israel betweene these Moses went Hee went vp from the people vnto God and God returned him with a message to the people God called him out of the mountaine saying Thus shalt thou say to the house of Iacob The branches of the Solemnitie are two The first is a mutuall Stipulation which past before the parties met The other is a Preparation of the parties against their meeting answerable to either of their persons Though the stipulation were mutuall yet God beginneth and hee maketh the first motion then the Israelites answere and entertaine his offer In the motion which God maketh we must consider First whereof hee remembreth them Secondly vpon what termes hee will contract with them He remembreth them of two of his vndeniable workes One done for them The other done to them That which was done for them was a worke of Iustice it was Vindicta the reuenge of their wrong vpon that which he did to the Egyptians The worke which he did to them was a worke of mercie it was Vindicatio their deliuerance But touching this worke wee are taught more distinctly wherein it stood and whereat it aymeth or rather the Manner and the End of it the Manner God carried them on Eagles wings the End God brought them to himselfe These were the workes and they were vndeniable vos vidistis You saw those things with your eyes and you can desire no better proofe Only thus farre purpose I God willing to goe at this time and therefore I will not encumber your memories with breaking vp the Chapter at this time any farther That then we may orderly pursue our present purpose you may remember that the first particular I pointed out was the common minister And He was Moses a remarkable person Flauius Iosephus and Philo Iudaus amongst the Iewes Eusebius Caesariensis and Gregorie Nyssen amongst the Christians to omit others haue set out the life of this Worthy at large though some of them haue inserted Apocryphall relations Not to trouble you with whatsoeuer might be gathered out of them I will only out of the Scripture giue you some short notice of the man In Exodus the second he is set out as a spectacle of Gods extraordinarie prouidence by the barbarous Commandement of a cruell King he was exposed to the mercie of the riuer Nilus but he was
is the swiftnesse of the flight The Eagle flieth very high Prou. 23. Ier 49. whereupon many Prouerbs are grounded in Scripture And this high flight intimateth that the Israelites were carried aboue the reach of their enemies so that they could neither hinder nor hurt them Not that they were lifted vp in the aire but they were as safe as if they had beene because saith the Psalmist thou hast made the Lord the most high thy habitation Psal 91 â— there shall no euill befall thee Certainly the Cloud interposed betweene the Israelites and Egyptians would not suffer them to take any harme And indeed the children of God are very secure except it bee for their good their enemies shall neuer haue their will of them no more then the Egyptians had of the Israelites As the Eagle flieth high so doth hee flie swift also the Scripture groundeth many similies hereupon Iob 9.1 Sam. 1. and giueth vs to vnderstand that from the time that the Egyptians let the Israelites goe which was â—o soone as Moses had performed all the miracles intended of God for plaguing the Egyptians the Israelites had a very quicke passage And indeed it is a wonder that sixe hundred thousand men besides women and children and a rabble of strangers should in one night be readie and get out of their enemies land and that with all their impediments of stuffe and cattle and flockes Neither was it a lesse wonder that in one night they should all passe through the Red Sea and standing on the shoare the next morning see that all their enemies were destroyed Certainly they that made such speed were carried vpon Eagles wings it was a diuine power that conueyed them And how quickly doth God change the face of the world when he is pleased to worke a great deliuerance The Church of Christians is not herein inseriour to the Church of the Israelites For as the Israelites had a Dragon so Pharaoh is called Ezek. 29. from whom they fled euen so haue the Christians Reuel 12. And Eagles wings are there giuen to the woman the type of the Christian Church to slie into the wildernesse as the Israelites vpon Eagles wings were carried into their wildernesse So like is God alwayes to himselfe and the Church alwayes prouided for a like I may not forget the order of these words that worke which was first done is first commemorated and that which was last done is commemorated in the last place And why though God for sinne doth otherwise punish the wicked yet in this world he doth it commonly that hee may free his Church But I toucht at this before therefore I will passe it ouer and come to the end of both workes God brought them to himselfe And this is a greater blessing then that he carried them on Eagles wings that shewed a deliuerance from euill this a bestowing of good The Eagle doth sometimes carrie her young ones only from a dangerous vnto a safer nest sometimes shee rouseth them out of their sloth and directs them where they may find their prey Euen so dealeth God with his children hee freeth them from danger Luke 1. and bringeth them to comfort Hee bringeth them to himselfe to his seruice saith the one Chaldie Paraphrase to the doctrine of his Law saith another and indeed we are deliuered from our enemies that wee may serue God and liue according to his Lawes If there were no more in it it is a great comfort so to be imployed But there is more in it I told you that the end was a Couenant of wedlocke so that to my selfe is as much as to be appropriated vnto me and to be my Spouse to bee the Mother of my children and beare inheritors of the Kingdome of Heauen Any way to come neere God is a great honour but to come so neere and become so deare is more grace then mans heart can conceiue or his tongue vtter But the two next Sermons will bee spent for the most part in amplifying this therefore I will speake no more of it at this time You haue heard of both the workes One point remayneth which I will touch in a word Both these workes are vndeniable the proofe is Vos vidistis I appeale to your eyes whether I speake not a truth and your fresh experience doth iustifie my words Rationall proofes satisfie much but not so much as sensitiue therefore the intuitiue knowledge that Angels haue is farre more excellent then our discursiue and what is our hope but that our faith shall be turned into sight Neither doth sight worke so vpon our head only but vpon our heart also Segnius irritant animos dimissa per aures Quam quae sunt oculis commissa fidelibus had God done these things and they had only heard of them they would haue beene moued with them much lesse the more vndoubted their knowledge the more strong should their affections be Finally obserue that Vos vidistis you haue seene is referred not only to the worke of Mercie but also to that of Iustice wherein God doth condescend to an affection that is predominant in vs. It doth adde not a little to the content we take in our better estate if we see withall our enemies brought into our worser Psal 58. When the righteous seeth the vengeance he will reioyce and wash his feet in the bloud of the wicked Mal. 1. Your eyes saith God to the Iewes shall see the desolation of Edom and you shall say the Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel Luke 16. Lazarus in Abrahams bosome to his greater comfort seeth Diues burning in Hell Esay 66. And after the last judgement the Saints shall goe forth and see the carcasses of them that haue transgrest against God This doth not commend 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but allowes congratulating of Gods iudgements To conclude These two workes serue to worke two affections which sway much in the ordering of our life Feare and Loue. In the worke of Iustice you see that God is almightie there is no striuing with him hee that will not relent with repentance shall bee grinded with his vengeance In the worke of Mercie you see that God is bountifull Let vs not bee vnthankfull but let vs repay Loue with Loue. In a word seeing euery day God doth present such spectacles before our eyes God grant wee bee not like the Israelites of whom Moses complayneth that they were as if they had no eyes RAther he giue vs grace to make such vse of our eyes in beholding his workes that his Feare and his Loue may euer liue in our hearts So may hee euer manifest his Iustice for vs his Goodnesse to vs vntill hauing deliuered vs from all our enemies here on earth hee bring vs to himselfe to liue with him blessed for euer in Heauen AMEN The third Sermon EXODVS 19. VERS 5 6. Now therefore if yee will obey my voice indeed and keepe my Couenant then shall yee
answere to that message which is said to haue beene deliuered to the Elders will better bee declared by another simily taken from an Armie In the spirituall host of the Lord euery one taketh Sacramentum militare and solemnely professeth his consent to the Couenant In the Old Testament children of eight dayes old when they were circumcised and receiued the seale of God had their Sureties that vndertooke for them that they should stand to the Couenant So in the New Testament when children were baptized they anciently had as appeares by the ancient Lyturgie and so now they are required to haue Sureties that vow in their name Whereby it is cleare that the Church hath euer taught that the stipulation necessarie in the Couenant doth personally concerne the people and that they cannot vnburden themselues of it vpon their Elders and therefore of purpose the Holy Ghost nameth not the Elders but the people when it specifieth the Answerers Although we will not denie that of the stipulation made by the people the Elders which heard it made report vnto Moses Hauing found the Answerers we must obserue two commendable things in them whereof the first is Vnanimitie for they ioyned all in the answere The word all is taken sometimes Communitèr sometimes Vniuersalitèr that is sometimes for the greater part sometimes for euery particular person Againe whereas men are ranged into diuers Degrees some Nobles some Commons some Rulers some Subiects All doth sometimes note only genera singulorum all sorts of men sometime singula generum euery one of euery sort The Vnanimitie which is here meant is of the largest size and signifieth not only the greater part but euery one not only all sorts of men but euery one of euery sort And indeed if in the message you shall heare c. you shall be c. God doe meane euery one of euerie ranke then all in the answere must meane so for all that were spoken vnto answered God in his Couenant as the Ministers haue authoritie to promulge it comprehendeth all wee are to preach the Gospel to all and tender the Sacraments to all 〈◊〉 2. v 4. all must heare all must receiue God will haue all men saued and come to the knowledge of his truth If any be excluded hee excludeth himselfe Yet are there in the world of such wretched men many more then of those that doe consent for many more are Infidels then Christians And betweene those that consent there is not that vnanimitie as is to be wished some hold of Paul some of Apollo some of Cephas The East Church against the West and the West against the East and each part hath its Subdiuisions thus the seamelesse coate of Christ is rent into many pieces I would wee could all learne Vnanimitie of these Israelites and that with one heart and voice wee would make the same restipulation vnto God which here they did Besides their Vnanimitie there is in them a commendable Alacritie For they did not only answere all but they did answere all at once All the people answered together There are two wayes of collecting voices per scrutinium by priuate whispering in the eare or some other priuate course or viua voce by a free and open deliuerie of the mind The first was thought sit to auoid quarrels that were likely to arise if the voices were knowne who gaue them But when men vse not the benefit of that course but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with open face professe their consent it is a signe they are neither ashamed nor afraid of their doings which are the characters of a chearefull heart Whereas therefore they might priuately haue exprest their consents and they do it openly it is a plaine argument of their Alacritie But were not this yet their answering altogether putteth it out of question Saint Paul telleth vs that in a race all runne but one carrieth the prize and therefore he biddeth all so runne as that euery one may obtaine Now these so answered 1 Cor. 9.24 as that no precedencie of voice could be distinguished and while euery one did striue to speake first all their voices made vp but one first voice So willingly did they all consent that one was not suffered to bee more forward then another The like shall you find in Exod. 24. in Esdras and in the Booke of Chronicles when the people come to professe their readines to stand to Gods Couenant And God is pleased that there should be monuments extant of the forwardnesse of his people to receiue him as there are of his enemies to reiect him In the Parable of the Mariage feast the inuited guests 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without deliberation Luke 14. v. 18. and with too much readinesse refused to come And shall wee not be as forward that doe purpose to come God loueth a chearefull giuer as of his goods 2. Cor. 9 v. 7. so of himselfe And in this case the old Prouerbe is true Bis dat qui câ—tò dat I will interpret it by those words of Christ in the Gospel Matth. 11.12 the Kingdome of Heauen suffereth violence and the violent take it Enough of the Answerers let vs come now to the Answere The Answere doth containe their Acceptance they promise that they will stand to the Couenant which was represented to them by Moses Neither had they receiued the Law except they had first had a disposition to be commanded God will not couenant with the vnwilling his people must be as the Psalmist calleth them Populus spontanâ—us Psal 110. a willing people Especially those that are parties to the Couenant of Grace for that is a Coniugall Couenant and a Coniugall Couenant is knit by loue both parties consent with a readie minde God inquires after his former gifts in vs for our capacitie of more Therefore we may not looke that God will offer force to our will by grace hee tâ—keth away the seruilitie but the libertie of our will he neuer taketh away our choice is free such as beseemeth reasonable men Yea the nearer God draweth vs vnto him the more in our doing will he haue vs like vnto himselfe hee will haue vs not only to doe well but to doe it willingly Whereupon will follow two things the one is that we cannot murmurre against God for imposing the Law seeing he layeth no heauier burden vpon vs then we are willing to vndergoe The other that wee cannot excuse our inconstancie seeing what we did resolue on we resolued vpon it aduisedly we liked well of the conditions when we first entred into the Couenant And certainly as it doth adde much to Gods mercy that hee would take this louing course so it will adde much vnto our sinne if hauing vpon deliberation dutifully accepted what God doth offer we shall gracelesly breake with God But in this acceptance of the Israelites there is a remarkable mixture of contrarie qualities Modestie and Confidence for therein they doe not presume and yet
last agreeth better with the old Translations the Septuagint and Chaldie and the most iudicious Diuines pitch vpon it and wee will follow them Though I will not rashly define whether the symbolicall presence of God left the Hill before it rested vpon the Tabernacle which almost was a twelue moneth after But this I note That positiue Precepts are not perpetuall when their end ceaseth the Law is at an end Yea and the vigour of it sensibly decayeth when the people become vnsit to vse it so that God doth not tire out their care and feare of danger but setteth them free in due time whom for a time hee doth restraine After God was departed that Hill was no more a Sanctuarie well might the Israelites beare a ciuill respect vnto it a religious they might not without impietie Which I note the rather because of the common superstition especially of Papists who continue a religious opinion and respect vnto the places which Christ frequented in the dayes of his flesh and the Apostles after him Canaan for example which they tearme the holy Land Whereas God hath long since as hee long before threatned prophaned that place neither may we expect any heauenly vertue from it but out of grosse superstition Yet will we not denie vnto all those monuments a due respect so that it be no more then ciuill But to our purpose The ceremoniall prohibition is ceased but the morall contained vnder it must neuer cease we must neuer cease with reuerence to come to Gods house Psal 5.8 and not forget in his feare to worship towards his holy Temple Moses bad the Israelites Take heed to themselues he discharged his dutie in commanding this modestie and the Israelites obeyed they did not passe their bounds nor came before they were summoned Verse 17. and therefore scaped the punishment a blessed concurrence both of Pastor and people And what can I say but bid vs Take heed to our selues Let vs take heed of the sinne here forbidden Let vs take heed of the punishment here threatned Let vs bee as readie to obey that I admonish not in vaine and we shall neuer vndergoe the punishment if we auoid the sinne And a better way to auoid it I cannot commend vnto you then that which was practised by King Dauid you haue it in the Psalme Lord mine heart is not haughtie Psal 131. nor mine eyes loftie neither doe I exercise my selfe in great matters or in things too high for mee surely I haue behaued and guieted my selfe as a child that is weaned of his mother my soule is euen as a weaned child Here I should end but I may not forget to bid you ioyne this Sermon with the former That taught you Puritie this Modestie It is not enough for a man that com◠〈◊〉 vnto God to be pure he must bee modest also wee are apt to presume vpon our Holinesse but modestie will keepe vs humble Modestie will teach vs that bee we neuer so pure in our owne eyes 〈◊〉 15.15 we are not so in Gods The Heanens are not cleane in his sight and Hee layeth folly to the Angels How much more to men who dwell in houses of clay and who drinke iniquitie like water Wherefore Let vs neuer thinke our selues more worthy then God thinketh vs yea let vs acknowledge our selues vnworthy of the least grace that God doth doe vnto vs so may our humble holinesse make vs more capable of Gods goodnesse heere and blessednes hereafter To God the Father God the Sonne c. The tenth Sermon EXODVS 19. VERS 16. 16. And it came to passe on the third day in the morning that there were thunders and lightnings and a thicke cloud c. to the end of the twentieth verse WHen God and the Israelites were prepared in such manner as at seuerall times I haue shewed you God to deliuer the Israelites to receiue the Law then they met together This their meeting is the onely point in this Chapter that remaineth vnhandled my purpose is God willing to dispatch it at this time that so hereafter I may come on to the next Chapter which containeth the principall matter of my arrant We are then first in this meeting to consider when and What it was When it was vpon the third day and that in the morning To know what it was we must see Pirst In what manner Secondly by what Mediatour The manner hath two remarkable things the Signification which God gaue of his readinesse to come and the Impression which that made vpon the Israelites The signification was full of dreadfull state for the haâ—bingers came before to prouide Gods place Thunder lightning the cloud the trumpet c. And these harbingers were very dreadfull some to the eye the slashes of lightning that brake out of the cloud the duskie flame that ascended from the whole Hill on fire some to the eare the claps of thunder and the loud sound of the trumpet As the harbingers were dreadfull so they made an answerable Impression in the Israelites the Impression was hopefull feare Feare the Israelites quaked in their Tents yea and Moses himselfe quaked vpon the way Neither will you wonder that the reasonable Creatures did quake at such a presence when you read in my text that the mountaine the senslesse mountaine became as it were sensible at this foretast of Gods accesse vnto it it trembled exceedingly Such was the feare But this feare was not without Hope for notwithstanding it they set out from their Tents and came onto their standing to the foote of the Hill the place where they were to attend Gods comming downe vpon the Mountaine and this they could not doe without some hope But in this interuiew we must take notice of the decorum or decencie obserued by the Israelites and the gracious benignitie exprest by God The decorum or decencie was this the Israelites came first to their place before God came to his And you know it is good manners when vnequall persons meete that the inferiour should waite for the comming of his superiour The benignitie was this no sooner did man make towards God but God vouchsafeth to meete man halfe wayes Out of both these will arise another note That except man ascend aboue himselfe and God descend below himselfe there can be no meeting of God and man These things we shall consider in the manner But this manner sufficeth not vnto the meeting except there be moreouer a Mediatour for persons so farre distant in nature as God and man cannot come together except some body come betweene And here we find Moses acting that person hee puts heart into the quaking Israelites and led them out of their Tents to the place where they were to attend God and he kept them in heart standing betweene God and them while the Articles of the Couenant were proclaiming I haue pointed at the particulars which I purpose God willing to handle at this time briefly and in their order God
And wee must repute it a singular priuiledge of the children of God that they can subsist in such a place and such a presence The lesson wherewith I will conclude this point is that of the Apostle Philip. 2. â— 12. We must worke out our saluation in feare and trembling or if you will that of the Psalme Serue the Lord in feare Psal 2 ver 11. and reioyce before him with reuerence The Lord loueth in his children the mixture of feare and hope The argument of the I sraelites hope is that they set out from their Tents and came on to the place of their attendance and expecting of Gods descending on the Hill I will not here trouble you with the maner of their march After the Tabernacle was built God prescribed a manner what they did before the Iewes tell vs but in the silence of the holy Ghost we will not bee curious It is likely they came as Deut. 27. when the Couenant was as it were renewed In this mouing of God and Israel to the place of meeting I obserued the good manners of the Israelites and the benignitie of God First the good manners of the Israelites For if you marke the text they came first to their place before God came to his And it was fit it should be so for God being so much better then man it had beene insolent rudenesse for man not to waite for the comming of God I need not spend time to proue so common so knowne a moralitie at your ordinarie meetings if they be publike you practice the same I rather choose to note a mysterie enwrapt herein which is that although God preuenr vs in regard of our abilitie to come to him yet when wee are enabled he looketh that we should make vse of his grace and cooperate with him and not expect a second blessing before wee haue well husbanded the first and we should thinke it grace enough done vnto vs if hee then vouchsafe to answere our desires and crowne our endeauours I doe not here patronize Popish freewill for I speake not de libero but liberato arbitrio what our will can doe in entertaining the first grace is not the question but what it must doe after it hath receiued grace And therefore here also the Romanists come in vnseasonably with their obseruation The second thing that I obserued was Gods benignitie which appeareth in this that if man make towards him he will meete him halfe way God descended vpon the Hill after the children of Israel came out of their Tents towards the foote of the Hill Luke 15. Wee know the Parable of the prodigall childs father who descried his sonnes returning home a farre off and made haste to meete him It is a liuely picture of Gods benignitie and we cannot haue a better encouragement to seeke vnto him Put both these notes together and then obserue that if euer wee looke there should be any meeting betweene God and man man must rise aboue himselfe but God must fall below himselfe For we see here that the children of Israel came out of their Tents and moued towards the vpper ground giuing vs to vnderstand that Sursum corda Colos 3 we must set our affections on those things that are aboue Base thoughts and groueling that are sixed vpon things below and mind earthly things a naturall man that will continue himselfe and that cannot put himselfe off or soare aboue himselfe and haue his conuersation in heauen is not fit to giue meeting vnto God Againe if God should keepe at his owne pitch and fall not much below himselfe humble himselfe as the Psalme speaketh to regard those things that are below how should wee poore wretches be raysed out of the dust How should wee needie ones be lifted out of dung-hils How should we euer bee set with Princes and ranged with glorious Angels I come not home enough I told you before that this was Gods Parliamentarie meeting that it bare some image of his grand Assises It was more it was the great day of the espousals of Christ and his Church And did not the Kings sonne and heire the Sonne and heire of the King of heauen stoope very low when hee came to espouse himselfe vnto such base and sinfull persons Surely when we consider the exceeding hight of Gods estate and the lownesse of our owne of how little regard wee deserue to be and yet of how great regard we are wee haue good reason to thinke that Gods goodnesse maketh him as it were lay aside his maiestie and be vnlike himselfe that he may so farre like vs and linke vs so neere vnto him How then should we striue to ascend vnto him that doth thus vouchsafe to descend vnto vs You would think that by this time there is enough done to fit the meeting We haue purified the Israelites wee haue learned them modeâ—â—ie they haue beene humbled with feare and they haue gone out from themselues ascended aboue themselues and God hath fallen below himselfe there hath beene much done And yet there is one thing more to bee done there wanteth a Mediatour Galath 3.1.19 And so indeed the Apostle saith The Law was giuen by the hands of a Mediatour And we haue here a Typicall one and that is Moses these persons would neuer haue come together except hee had come betweene And we find here two Acts of his the first is that hee put them in heart when they quaked and led them the way towards the Mount neither would they euer haue aduentured had they wanted such a guide their feare would haue beene too strong for their hope Neither did Moses only put them in heart to goe on but also kept them in heart when they were come to their standing by his incouragement it was that they held out while the Articles of the Conenant were proclayming they had flowne off if he had not stood betweene God and them But this was but a typicall Mediatour the true is our Sauiour Christ it is by him Heb. 4. Rom. 5. Ioh 10. Ioh. 14. Reuel 3 7. Heb. 6. that with boldnesse we come to the Throne of Grace it is by him that we haue accesse vnto God Hee is the Doore the Way the Truth and the Life euen the true way vnto eternall life Hee hath the key openeth and no man shutteth shutteth and no man openeth neither doth any but he bring Children to God And whether he bringeth vs there hee keepeth vs wee are preserued in him and by him For as at first wee are accepted in Gods Beloued so by his perpetuall Propitiation and Intercession are wee continued in the loue of God hee standeth betweene God and vs couering our imperfections that they offend not God and tempering the dreadfulnesse of Gods maiestie with so much grace that the aspect thereof becommeth comfortable vnto vs. I will not fall into any long refutation of the Romish new coined Mediators they egregiously dishonour the Saints and Angels while
sound that way also But Etymologies doe not alwayes yeild good grounds of Diuinitie It is well if there bee a correspondencie an equalitie is more then may bee hoped for betweene Gods worke and ours Which I obserue the rather because the Rhemish note findeth Sacisfactorie workes in this word forgetting their owne Dininitie which maketh Satisfaction attend penance but not the Sacrament of Baptisme But to leaue them and deliuer the truth concerning Repentance We must obserue that in sin there are two things the Guilt and the Act of sin the Guilt infinite the Act finite Nothing can worthily satisfie for the Guilt but only the pretious death of Iesus Christ his Bloud only is the propitiation for our sins But the Act is finite wherwith we sin so is the Act wherwith we repent between these Acts we shuld endeuour to shew an emulation so that looke what pleasure we tooke in sinne against God so much sorow should we expresse when wee returne againe vnto God hee that sinneth a great sinne must not thinke it enough to sorrow as hee doth for a small one Peter wept but bee wept bitterly because he had sinned grieuously and King Dauid wore out his eyes and watered his Couch with his teares sorrowing for those sinnes wherewith he had prouoked God But let vs draw this through both parts of Repentance Mul ò firmior est Fides Charitas quam repoint I â—enitâ—ntia Lactantius Vitque Deo gratior amore ardens pest culpam vita quà m securitate torpens innocentia Gregorius and see how the degree must appeare in them In the first of solemne Repentance the rule is If a man slip in his faith or loue of God and recouer he will cleaue faster vnto God and loue him mere ardently and he pleaseth God the better when his loue after a recouerie groweth zelous then when in innocencie it groweth lukewarme As in the bodie of a man if an arme or legge bee broken and bee well set againe it groweth the stronger Take an example from Saint Paul who as he was a bloudie persecutor so did hee proue a most painfull Apostle and most patient Martyr Saint Austines Confessions shew how erroneous in iudgement how dissolute in life he had beene but since the Apostles dayes neuer had the Church a better Bishop then was Saint Austin But if we should looke for this degree in this age we might happily seeke long but scarce find any parallel not but that there are euery where those that exceed them in sinne but of those that imitate them in Repentance we find none no Adulterers that so change as to become markable spectacles of Continencie no Oppressors that turne Deacons and minister out of their goods to the necessitie of the poore no Drunkards that pinch their bodies with Fasting and Abstinence He that hath not commited vnlawfull things may be bold to vse the lawfull blessings of God and notwithstanding performe acceptable workes of Pietie but hee that hath beene a Fornicator an Adulterer c. must goe as farre in abstaining from the contentments of this life which are otherwise allowed him as hee hath exceeded in the vse of them 〈…〉 But this Rule is growne too much out of date and we thinke that so we repent it matters not in what degree we repent and so we make a reall Confession that howsoeuer we doe turne to God yet wee are afraid to bee too farre estranged from our sinne Wherein God doth not obtaine so much of man as the Deuill doth For when a good man degenerateth hee keepeth no meane but commonly striueth to be the worst plunging himselfe most deeply into sinne and persecuting goodnesse and good men most bitterly It were to be wisht that our zeale that turne vnto God were no worse in the loue of goodnesse and the hatred of sinne But it is rather to bee wisht then hoped for The Reason of it lieth in our neglect of that degree which should be in the second kind of Repentance for if we did affect that we would bee more apt vnto this The Degree of the second kind of Repentance is when a mans outward life striueth to bee answerable to his inward calling It is strange to see how in worldly state euerie man striueth to liue futably to his ranke and is accounted base if he doe not so if of a Yeoman hee become a Gentleman of a Gentleman a Knight as his person is improued so will he improue his port also yea the excesses of all sorts of men shew that herein euery man goeth beyond his ranke in his house in his fare in his clothes But in our spirituall state it is nothing so for our house we can be contented to dwell in seeled houses when the Arke of God is vnder Tents and who doth endeuour that himselfe may be a Temple fit for God As for our Clothes they should be royall our Garments should euer be white the wedding Garment should neuer be off but we are so farre from couering our nakednesse with conuenient robes that it appeares not in the eyes of God as that we take no care to hide our filthinesse from men Certainly we doe not endeuour to be clothed with the righteousnesse of Saints Finally for our diet we that are called to the Table of the Lord and should be sustained with Angels food content our selues with Swines meate for what else are filthy lusts Wherein wee are so much worse then the prodigall childe in that he did desire them and no man gaue them to him we haue our sils his was desired of necessitie but our food is voluntarie In a word we are called to be sonnes of God our eye is seldome vpon our Father to see what beseemeth his Sonnes wee are called to be members of Christ but little doe wee care what beseemeth that Mysticall Bodie wee rather are in name then in deed either Children of God or Members of Christ I conclude this point with Nazianzens Admonition we may not counterfeit our puritie but haue it remarkable and illustrious wee must haue our soules perfectly died with grace Let vs walke worthy of that vocation whereunto we are called This lesson belongeth to them that are of age betweene whom and infants there is this difference that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Repentance which is Gods worke is enough for Infants but bring forth fruit belongeth to them that are of riper age If time be granted vnto vs after our Conuersion it is granted to the end that by our good Conuersation wee may set forth the vertues of him that hath called vs into his maruailous light And we should thinke it enough if not too much that we haue spent the time past in those lusts that are vnbeseeming Christians but wee may vse that saying of the Apostle Rom. 2.5 Know you not that the patience and long-suffering of God draweth you to Repentance but you after your hearts that cannot repent treasure vnto your selues wrath against the day
but vnto Abraham they are not to bee his children by Generation but by Regeneration Which the rather must be admitted because the Apostle telleth vs Rom. 9. Iohn 1. They that are children of Abraham are children of God and then Saint Iohn will tell vs that the children of God are not borne of flesh and bloud but of the will of God Adde hereunto that they are first members of Christ then Abrahams seed and Christ hath no Natiue but Adoptiue members Finally Gregorie Nyssen doth wittily meditare vpon those words of God to Abraham Looke to Heauen and behold the Starres so shall thy seed bee Orat. 1. de Paschate Haec sydera dico quae de spiritu nobis orta sunt Coelum Ecclesiam repâ—â—te fecêrum I meane those Starres which haue their originall from the holy Spirit and haue suddenly turned the Church into a Firmament The children here ment are not naturall but spirituall and this cognation excels the other as much as the soule excels the bodie Certainly Christ did so esteeme his kindred Et tanto maior Fidei Virtutu cognatio quanto anima praestantior corpore when hee moued that question Who is my Mother and who is my Brother And God meant no other when he promised King Dauid of his sonne I will be his father and he shall be my sonne he meaneth that God would take him for his sonne though he bee not so by nature But this leadeth vs vnto a second Proposition and Saint Ambrose doth preferre the meaning thereof before the former The former seemeth to say that God will worke a Miracle rather then Abraham should want children but the second Proposition importeth a Mysterie in the words the promise is mysticall that supplyeth children vnto Abraham Quia mihi plus pâ—odest mysteriâ—â— quam mâ—â—aculu in praenuntio Christinihil magu quà m aedificationem Ecclesiae debeâ— agnoscere quae non rupeis saxis sed conuersionibus nostrorum surrex tanimorum I am more benefited by the Mysterie then the Miracle therefore in the speech of Christs Harbenger I obserue specially the building vp of the Church which was not erected of stones materiall but of conuerted soules Wherefore the Fathers for the most part vnderstand the word stones figuratiuely for the Gentiles and obserue a resemblance betweene the Gentiles and stones a double resemblance the one in regard of senslesnesse another in regard of worthlesnesse The Senslesnesse is double Actiue and Passiue Actiue in that they worshipped stones and then you know what the Psalmist saith They that make them are like vnto them so are all they that put their trust in them Quiamâ—sso sensu rationâ—s lapâ—dâ—â—us putant incsse alicunis rationem dâ—uinitatis it si in naturd lapidum non vsu corporis sed mentis habitu vertuntur Reuel 3. Their passiue senslesnesse is that whereby they are incapable of the mysteries of Heauen hauing stonie hearts like vnto stonie ground whereon whatsoeuer seed is cast is cast away Besides their senslesnesse there is in them also a worthlesnesse wherein they resemble stones a double worthlesnesse a Passine for they are without ornament an Actiue for they are without fruit they are as the Church of Laodicea blind wretched naked miserable and what fruit should they beare that drinke not in the dew of Heauen You see good resemblance betweene stones and the Gentiles You must also note that the power here meant is not absolute but limited Though Gods Power bee equall to his Will yet is not his Will alwayes as large as his Power therefore are there many things which the Scripture saith God cannot doe meaning not absolutely but vpon supposition Marke 6. The Angell could doe nothing whiles Lot was in Sodome Ier. 44. Christ could worke no Miracles because of the Iewes vnbeliefe God himselfe could no longer forbeare the Iewes because of their wickednesse the meaning is that the contrarie was decreed and God would not alter his Decree Now vpon this distinction ariseth the question seeing the Gentiles may bee figured by stones whether here they be figured by them Why not There were before Iohn at this time Publicans and Souldiers which for the most part were Gentiles and why might not Saint Iohn point at them Sure I am that when Zacheus a Publican receiued Christ Luke 19. Christ himselfe doth witnes This also is a sonne of Abraham Matth 8. and when the Centurion exprest his humble faith in Christ Christ assigned him a place at Abrahams Table 1. Pet. 2.5 and it is worth the marking that Saint Peter calleth Conuerts to Christ liuing stones and what is that but a Periphrasis of a sonne of Abraham made of a stone There are two things in a stone Insensiblenesse and firmenesse that must be remoued this must continue that the parts of the building may be sutable Gentium natura habendo institutionem â—abere potest cessationem Tertâ—ll adâ—ersus Hermog liâ— de Amma cap 21. Cum vniuersorum Deiss vid. sset se vnum populumer Iudaeis Gentibus aggregaturum ys per fidem salutem praebiturum vtrumque in Patriarcha Abraham prius descripsit Theod. in Rom. 4. and we built vpon the Rocke Christ may grow vp into a holy Temple in the Lord. The Gentiles then may here be meant and there is no impediment in Gods Couenant but that they may become children of Abraham Yea it is so farre from being against Gods Couenant that it is contained in it Abrahams name is a Prophesie of the Gentiles Conuersion it is contained in the Promise that is made of Abrahams seed when the God of all flesh saw that he purposed to make our Church of Iewes and Gentiles and that he would saue them by Faith hee prefigured both in Abraham And the Apostles text is cleere for it The Fathers make Thamars children a type hereof wherein the Gentile seemeth to haue a prioritie and to bee in the Couenant before the Iewes for Abraham was a type of the Gentiles being iustified and receiuing the promises in vncircumcision before hee was a type of the Iewes and had the promises renewed after that he was circumcised But as of Thamars children that which first put out the hand was not first borne so fell it out betweene the Gentiles and the Iewes finally Galatinus proueth out of the Rabbins that the Gentiles aswell as the Iewes were to be saued by Christ To conclude the Apostles Rule must bee held Rom. 9.6 It cannot be that the Word of God should be of none effect But why doth the Baptist make mention of Gods Power only and only say that God can doe this Chrysostomes opinion is that hee would feare them only and not driue them to despaire others say that taking Gods will for a thing cleare hee did put them in minde that hee could performe his will when he would But the time is past wherefore I will now conclude Saint Cyril Saint Chrysostome both say
wrastled with the Angell and though the Angell desired yet hee would not let him goe till that the Angell gaue him a blessing and the blessing was this name Israel a monument of the efficacie of Prayer God in his iust indignation was readie to destroy all Israel Exod. 32. formaking and worshipping the golden Calfe Moses set vpon him with prayer God said to him Let me alone Moses would not God was saine to yeild and pardon his people Numb 14. Aaron made the like experiment wrath was gone out from God Aaron made haste with his Censor and stood betweene the liuing and the dead and presently Gods wrath was quenched 3. Sam 3â— And did not God command the punishing Angell to sheath his sword so soone as Dauid sacrificed in the threshing flowre of Areunah and for a perpetuall Monument of that preualent prayer consecrated that place for the Seat of his Temple which was to bee according to Gods promise made to Salomons Dedicatorie a house of preuaâ—ling prayer That wee haue not a second Floud to drowne this world that is as sinfull as the former that the seasons of the yeare haue continued so long â—en 3. Winter Summer Seed-rime Haruest wee owe it vnto the powerfulnesse of Prayer for Noah sacrificed vnto God and God promised it should bee so But beyond all goeth the efficacie of Christs Sacrifice vpon the Crosse Intercession at the right hand of God which wrought the redemption of man and doth continually preserue and propagate the Church if there were nothing else this sheweth abundantly how powerfull prayer is with God and the power which our prayers haue with him we are beholding for it vnto this they preuaile with God only through Iosus Christ our Lord But wee must not mistake this preualencie of our Prayer is not physicall but morall God is not forced by vs against his will but out of his good will he yeildeth vnto vs as parents vse to be ouercome by the petitions of their children â—euiâ— 1. Prâ—â— 15. Therefore is the Sacrifice of God in the Law said to be Ratzon a thing that pleaseth him well to be his delight a sauour of a sweet smell a sauour of rest it is grata violentia hee that ruleth all is well pleased to bee ouer-ruled by prayer Wherefore seeing we know what will preuaile most with him if we meane to speed of our desires let vs vse that most which wee are sure will please him best let vs not be lither therein but feruent in spirit Rom. 12 But whereto serueth this powerfulnesse of Prayer The Text saith ad vindicationem vindictam God vpon their prayer will auenge his Elect. And indeed in the Law God saith Vengeance is mine Deuâ— 22 Chap. 32. Psal 93. and I will repay the Apostle repeateth it to the Romanes the Psalmist saith asmuch O God to whom vengeance belongeth thou to whom vengeance belongeth shew thy selfe Chap. 1. Nahum doth amplifie this propertie of God very emphatically the Chapter is worth your reading The first thing I obserue here is That when in our distresses and while we are vnder crosses we seeke for succour vnto men we find that for the most part they haue blind eyes they will not see our case deafe eares they will not heare our groanes fast hands they cannot open them for vs and feeble knees that will not stirre towards vs finally they haue hard hearts they haue no fellow-feeling of our misery but here is our comfort there lyeth an Appeale from man to God and they shall preuaile with God which cannot preuaile with man he will not shut out our petitions though no bodie else careth for our soule Therefore we must in wel-doing commend our case to him that iudgeth righteously assured that as saluation belongeth vnto him so his blessing is vpon his people He is nigh to them that call vpon him to all that call vpon him faithfully The word in my Text doth signifie vindicationem and vindictam the deliuerance of the Church and the destruction of her enemies which commonly goe together as appeares in all the principall deliuerances recorded in the Scripture when Noah was saued the whole world was drowned Lot was deliuered when Sodome was burnt when God freed the Israelites the Egyptians perished so did the Babylonians when the Iewes were set free finally the iust shall goe to Heauen when the wicked goe to Hell The reason why these are coupled together is because the enemies of the Church are like sauage beasts which when they haue a prey in their power will not let it goe by faire meanes they must be forced to doe it which Dauid insinuateth in those words in the Psalme Thou hast smitten all mine enemies vpon the cheeke bone Psal 3. thou hast broken all the teeth of the vngodly or if you will the vngodly is made the ransome of the iust and commeth in his place when hee is deliuered as teacheth Salomon But yet this rule must we obserue for guiding of our Piety that although vindicatio vindicta our own deliuerance and the confusion of our foes vsually go together yet in our prayer we must desire vindicationeÌ„ propter se vindictam propter aliud our own deliuerance with a full and with a direct affection we may we must desire but we may not we must not desire the confusion of our foes otherwise then if it stand not with Gods pleasure to conuert them nor to make way to our deliuerance but by their destruction Yea and then too it standeth with the Charitie of the Gospel to be compassionate to them and to pray vnto God for them Finally obserue that whereas the wicked in sinning offend God and wrong vs God seemeth more sensible of our wrong then of his owne offence in that Christ saith He will auenge his Elect he seemeth to hold himselfe wronged in them Psal â—â—â— And indeed he that said Touch not mine Anointed said also Hee that toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eye he auengeth them as if he suffered in them God doth so but yet in auenging festinat lentè First lentè hee maketh no more haste then good speed for he forbeareth long You shall find in the Scripture a double 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or long-suffering of God one towards the Sinnes the other towards the Woe of his Elect and wee must be contented aswel with the one as the other we must be contented aswell to stay during Gods pleasure as hee stayeth our leisure vntill wee repent of our sinne he is vnworthy to haue the benefit of the latter that is discontented with the former The rather because it hath so manifold a vse and is so beneficiall both to our selues and others To our selues First ad probationem to make proofe that wee are that which we would seeme to be to be Gods owne Elect. The Arke saith Saint Austine was made of square timber which which way soeuer it turned stood firmely
commeth from Edom and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Thankesgiuing in the Reuelation But I draw to an end The conclusion of all my Text is this If at any time wee bee distressed and not relieued the fault is not in God it is in vs for our Deuotion is tired ouer-soone wee are all modicae fidei men of little faith and though the spirit be willing yet the flesh is weake and the weaknesse of the flesh preuaileth more then the willingnesse of the Spirit Wherefore we must all pray vnto God to giue vs the Spirit of Grace and Prayer ANd Lord we beseech thee helpe our vnbeliefe and increase our faith yea Lord pray thou that our faith faile not and the more thou doest exercise our patience the more earnest let vs be for thy deliuerance deliuerance from our corporall deliuerance from our spirituall foes that well ouercomming our Militancie here on earth we may bee Triumphant with the Saints in Heauen where wee shall turne our Prayers into Prayses and sing day and night honour prayse strength and power bee vnto him that sitteth vpon the Throne and to the Lambe for euermore AMEN SVNDRIE SERMONS DE TEMPORE PREACHED VPON SEVErall Occasions by the Right Reuerend Father in God ARTHVR LAKE D. of Diuinitie Lord Bishop of Bathe and Welles LONDON Printed by R. Young for N. BVTTER 1629. יהוה EIGHT SERMONS ON THE NINTH CHAPTER Of the Prophecie of ISAIAH ISAIAH 9. VERS 6 7. For vnto vs a Childe is borne vnto vs a Sonne is giuen and the gouernment shall be vpon his shoulders and his Name shall bee called The wonderfull Counsellour The mighty God The euerlasting Father The Prince of Peace Of the increase of his Gouernment and Peace there shall bee no end vpon the Throne of Dauid and vpon his Kingdome to order it and to establish it with Iudgement and Iustice from henceforth euen for euer The zeale of the Lord of Hosts shall performe this THis is the first Lesson appointed for this Morning Prayer and appointed fitly For the Argument well fits the Time We are now met to praise God for the Morning of the Church Zacharie Luke 1. doth so call the Birth of Christ saying The day spring that is the Morning from on high hath visited vs Yea Christ himselfe Reuel the last vers 16 doth call himselfe The bright Morning starre And verily his Birth was the most blessed Morning that euer the Church saw whether you respect the Night that went before or the Day that followed after it was the blessedest Morning that euer the Church saw The Night was long and darke a Night of want of warre so wee reade in the last of the former and the first verse of this chapter But the Day that followed was a cleare and lasting Day a Day of haruest a triumph Day so we are taught in the foure verses that goe immediately before my Text. A great alteration Who could worke it who could turne that night into this day what Sunne shone forth in so great strength In such a case man was like to moue such a doubt therefore the holy Ghost hath resolued it and his resolution of that doubt is my Text. Loe here is one that can vndertake that work who he is How excellent he is we are taught here and that in regard of his Person and of his State For of his Person here are the Natures wherein it subsisteth here is the People to whom it belongs It subsists in two Natures 1. The Nature of Man Hee is a Childe 2. The Nature of God Hee is the Sonne The Person subsisting in these two Natures belongeth vnto whom To Vs was hee borne he was giuen to Vs saith the Prophet Esay and Esay was a Iew. Christ then belongeth to the Iewes though the Iewes must not bee vnderstood according to the flesh but the spirit To these Iewes was he vouchsafed by taking and giuing Natus he tooke his nature from them and Datus what he tooke he with aduantage bestowed vpon them But of what degree was he amongst them here commeth in his State He was a King The Gouernment shall be vpon his shoulders The Gouernement that was Royall for verse 7. it is called The Throne The Kingdome of Dauid He shall sit vpon that and that is the Gouernment that shall bee layd vpon his shoulders And happy are the People that haue such a King You will confesse it if you consider his Excellencie The Excellencie both of his Person and of his State Of his Person that appeares in his endowments Of his State that appeares in his managing thereof The Endowments of his Person are Royall Reade his Titles He shall bee called and what he is called that he certainely is Hee shall be called by those names that expresse such vertues as most beseeme a King our King For a King ouer and aboue the Vertues which are common to him with his Subiects must haue more than ordinary Wisedome and Power And see this King is called for his Wisedome The wonderfull Counsellour for his Power The mighty God But mistake not his Kingdome it is not of this World He that is our King is The Father of Eternity that is Of the World to come And as his Kingdome is not of this World so is not the condition of his People worldly it is Peace and Peace is not the portion of this world but of that which is to come Our King is the Prince of this Peace You see how the Person is endowed and thereby how excellent the Person is There is an Excellencie in his State also it appeares in the Effect in the Cause The Effect for of this Kingdome there are no bounds and the felicitie of the Subiects is also boundlesse so saith the Text Of the increase of his Gouernment and Peace there shall be no end Such an Effect must haue an answerable Cause it hath Iustice and Iudgement are the Pollicie of this State with these as a wonderfull Counsellour he doth order as a mighty God he doth support his State And he doth it vncessantly From henceforth and for euer As the Effect so the Cause this is eternall therefore that These Truthes concerning Christs Person and State are not onely affirmed in the body of the Text but also assured in the close thereof Much you haue heard and yet no more than shall bee He that hath promised can doe it such is his Power Hee is the Lord of Hosts Nay hee cannot but doe it such is his Loue for his Loue is Zeale So concludes the Prophet The zeale of the Lord of Hosts shall performe this You haue heard the summe of this whole Text and therein see a most exquisite picture of our Sauiour Christ certainely it is the fullest the liueliest that euer the holy Ghost in so few words exprest in any part of the Old Testament For here Christ is not only drawne from top to toe but drawn also with those varieties that befell him from eternity to eternitie
Father The name of Child is sweet then sweet in regard of the nature of man and yet more sweet in respect of the first beginning as it were and infancie of mans nature The name of Sonne also hath in it a sweetnesse and why The Sonne is in nature nearest and dearest in affection to his Parents especially if he be vnigenitus then is he vnicè dilectus the only begotten is the only beloued This word then shewes that Christ can bring vs most neare and make vs most deare vnto God Most neare for the Sonne is of the same nature most deare for hee would bee one with vs that hee might make vs one with God This word then lookes most cheerfully vpon the case of Man Wee had been Sonnes but by reason of the fall we were not and bee againe that which once we were we could not but by the Sonne The Recouery then of our state our former state but in a more excellent manner is promised in this word The Sonne by nature comes to make vs Sons by adoption this title of the Person putteth vs in hope of that recouerie When we heare this can we but exclaime Lord what is man that thou art so mindefull of him and the Sonne of man that thou so regardest him we cannot we must not No we must roote our Faith in this substantiall Mediation as the Diuines call it and comfort our selues therewith if euer we meane to haue comfort of the actuall Mediation Therefore was the Sacrament prouided as a looking glasse wherein wee might see and partake that Spirituall Manna that Bread of God that came down from Heauen to giue life vnto the world Theodoret in one of his Dialogues hath an excellent parallel betweene the Incarnation of Christ and the Condition of the Sacrament which withall shewes how vnsound the Doctrine of the Church of Rome is concerning Transubstantiation Neither indeed can there be a more liuely representation of the one than by the other As in Christ there are two Natures of God and Man so in the Sacrament are there two Substances the Heauenly and the Earthly As in Christ these two Natures are truly and intirely so are those substances in the Sacrament As after the Vnion the two Natures make but one Person so after the Consecration the two Substances make but one Sacrament Finally as the two Natures are vnited without Confusion or Abolition of eyther in Christ so in the Sacrament are the Substances heauenly and earthly knit so that each continueth what it was and worketh answerably on vs. These things we should obserue when wee come to the Sacrament and so shall wee reape the greater benefit thereby the rather if wee not only behold the one mysterie in the other but possesse our selues also of the one by the other as indeed we ought For if we feed vpon the Sacrament aright wee become thereby what Christ is Bone of his bone and flesh of hu flesh yea wee are made partakers of the diuine nature as St. Peter speaketh And what more can be wished of a mortall man But I must conclude LOrd cherish in vs this Faith Lord let vs as wee ought acknowledge the Child acknowledge the Sonne our own Nature in thy Sonne and thy Sonne in our Nature Let vs neuer seuer that which thou hast conioâ—ned Let vs neuer confound that which thou hast distinguished Let vs beleeue without disputing So shall our Faith bee free from errour and our soules be full of comfort comfort in hearing of comfort in receiuing that Child that Sonne which hath so made vs Children that wee are the beloued Sonnes of God Amen THE SECOND SERMON For vnto vs a Child is borne vnto vs a Sonne is giuen c. IN handling the Substance of Christs person we were to consider the Natures wherein it subsists and the People to whom it belongs I beganne the vnfolding of the Natures and shewed you that they are two and that betweene these two there is some odds The two Natures are the Nature of Man and the Nature of God noted by the Childe and the Sonne Solemne necessary strange sweet words Solemne because receiued amongst the Iewes to signifie their Messias Necessary because they import the aptnesse and ability which is requisite in a Sauiour Strange if they be throughly considered the foure Mysteries obseruable in Christs Incarnation appeare in them 1. The truth of his Godhead 2. The fulnesse of his Manhood 3. The vnion of two Natures in one person 4. and yet the distinction of these Natures in the Person Sweet because they giue contentment vnto God and Man That these things are so it is plaine by the Text. How it is so Faith must not enquire it must onely entertaine the Vnion as a great honour done to the meannesse of Man which is assumed by the Maiestie of God for which we must giue glory vnto him Thus far I came and farther the time would not suffer me to goe Let vs now see the People to whom hee is vouchsafed Hee belongeth to Vs saith the Prophet But who are Wee whom meaneth the Prophet by Vs of what Nation of what condition were We By Nation Iewes for it is Esay that speaketh and Esay was a Iew. When hee saith He is borne to Vs he is giuen to Vs it is as if he should say He was borne to the Iewes giuen to the Iewes And indeed so it is God conditioned to be their God and that they should be his people he entred into a Couenant with them and placed the seales of his Couenant in them they had the Tabernacle and the visible presence of God with them all the types of Christ personall reall were amongst them yea from them was Christ to take his Nature St. Paul Rom. 2.9 sheweth what Prerogatiues God vouchsafed them yea and in the 14. Chapter goeth so far as to call Christ The Minister of Circumcision Christ himselfe in the Gospell seemeth to appropriate himselfe to the Iewes when he saith to the Woman of Canaan I was not seâ—t but to the lost sheepe of Israel But this notwithstanding the Prophesies must hold true whereof a briefe is deliuered by old Simeon Christ was to be the light of the Gentiles not only the glory of Israel Christ was borne and giuen not only to the Iew but also to the Gentile The 87. Psalme is excellent to this purpose shewing vs the Christ was borne not only amongst the Iewes but among the Gentiles also But we must marke that the Gentiles haue no other interest in Christ than if they become Iewes The Law is to goe out from Sion Esay 2. and so to come to them the forecited Psalme imports as much Esay sheweth Cap. 49. 60. 44. Rom. 11. that they must become Sonnes and Daughters of Ierusalem that they must submit themselues to her they must all speake the language of Canaan as it is Esay 19. But St. Paul is most plaine who to the Romanes sheweth that the
which I enioyed with thee before the foundations of the world were lay◠Himselfe then receiued nothing which hee had not for euer but in him wee receiue the honour to be loyned in one person with God Christus esse voluit quod homo est vt homo esse poss it quod est Christus Cypr. de vanit Idol in that person to conquer sinne death and hell after the conquest to receiue all power both in heauen and earth and possessed of this power to sit vpon the Throne of God It is not the Godhead but the Manhood in Christ and so it is Wee that haue receiued these Blessings So that we must begin the obseruation of Gods fauour vnto vs at that dignitie which our nature hath attained in Christ These different words Natus and Datus Borne and Giuen imply that they were not both of one time The Manhood beganne when Christ was incarnate but the Godhead was long before It was though it were not manifested vntill the time of his birth So that being and being manifest make the difference for that the Manhood receiued then his beeing but the Godhead only his beeing manifest And yet wee must not make such a difference without taking heed of Nestorius his errour For if the words be soundly vnderstood if they bee vnderstood of the Person not of the Natures we may apply Natus and Datus to eyther of them the Godhead may be said to be borne and the Manhood may bee said to bee giuen That the Godhead or rather God may be said to be borne it is cleare Luke 1. The holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Sonne of God And the Virgine Mary by the Fathers is as you heard called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 St. Bernards obseruation is true speaking to the Virgine Mary as it were in the person of the Angell Quod natum est ex ipso Deo erit tuus quod ex te nascetur erit eius vt tamen non sint duo Filij sed vnus licet aliud ex te aliud ex illo sit ita tamen non cuiusque suus sed vnus vtriusque Filius So that vnderstand it of the Person and Natus will agree with Filius vnderstand it also of the Person and Datus will agree with Puerulus for the Childe was giuen also and had a being before euen as ancient as the Sonne of God to whom he is inseparably vnited Whatsoeuer attribute of God may be verified of Man so long as we meane no more but the Person But if our meaning doe once point at the Natures then Natus is peculiar to the Childe which beganne in time and Datus to the Sonne which was before all time so the Diuines ancient and later doe vsually distinguish these words Thirdly note that Natus goeth before Datus Christ is before hee is bestowed And the Holy Ghost would haue vs to consider two distinct Acts of God 1. The Constitution of our Sauiours Person 2. And then the Donation thereof vnto Vs And it is requisite that our meditations confound not Gods Workes Wee must multiply our meditations as Gods works are multiplied The Constitution of the Person is as a means which God prouideth and prouideth for an end which was his Donation So that Christs Incarnation is not to be taken as a speculatiue but a practick thing God therein did not onely reueale his Wisedome and his Power which wee may speculate with our wits but thereby doth giue vs a taste of his Goodnesse also to affect our hearts So that wee may not separate Datus from Natus lest we proue ignorant how vsefull this Incarnation is and so depriue our selues of the comfort thereof Lastly if Datus be the end of Natus and he that is Borne is Giuen vnto Vs we must make St. Paules Conclusion God that spared not his onely Sonne but gaue him for vs what is there that he will not bestow vpon vs He hath nothing nearer and dearer he that is vouchsafed this may presume to speed of whatsoeuer else We cannot haue a better encouragement to pray nor anchor-hold of our prayer nay we cannot learne better how to demeane our selues towards God than by imitating Gods dealing herein with vs. Let Natus or rather Renatus goe before Datus in vs Let vs first bee new-borne before wee giue our selues to God Except we be prouided of this gift we are not fit to make a Present and if wee be prouided and vnfainedly make this Present vnto God what haue wee that shall not be deuoted vnto him our honour our wealth our friends Hee will neuer deny ought vnto God that first giueth himselfe to him And thus much for the odds betweene the two Natures implied in the words Borne and Giuen Moreouer we must obserue that the Childe borne and the Sonne giuen if they be separated from Vs they make an Article admirà ble but comfortable it is not except you adde vnto it Vs. When this Clause is put vnto that our Faith is Faith indeed and taketh place as well in our heart as in our head and we listen diligently vnto the Annunciation which the Angel made vnto the Shepheards Behold I bring you glad tidings of great ioy that shall be to all the People for vnto you is borne a Sauiour which is the Lord Christ In a word you haue the true Description of Immanuell God with vs which then proued true when this Childe was borne vnto Vs and to Vs this Sonne was giuen Finally marke the Tense of these words Natus Datus it is the Praeter-tense they speake of Christ as if hee were already borne Christ was not borne in sixe hundred yeares after The reason is the stile is Propheticall The Prophets speake of things to come as if they were present or past they speake of the Workes of God answerably to the Nature of God In the Nature of God there is no time because it is eternall When Moses asked after Gods name he receiued this answer I am that I am In the Reuelation that Name is resolued into all the parts of time 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and it imports that all parts of time are together in God they are all present in him As it is with his Nature so it is with his Workes Nothing falleth out in time that was not decreed before all time and whatsoeuer is in the decree is euer present to God And because present in the decree therefore as concluded God may speake of it as a thing past because the Conclusion is before his eyes he may speake of it as a thing present and as his hand shall produce it he may speake of it as a thing to come And the holy Ghost vseth libertie to speake of such things so diuersly But for their speaking of Christs birth as if it were passed when it was yet to come there are moreouer two speciall Reasons The one is for that the efficacie of his birth began immediately vpon the fall As in Paradise Adam
liue amongst Beasts and vpon his acknowledgement of the Lord of Heauen and Earth was restored againe maketh this cleare Canutus a King of this Land when flatterers magnified his power and did almost deifie him to confute them caused his chaire to bee set by the Sea shore at the time of the floud and sitting in his Maiestie commanded the waues that they should not approach his Throne but when the tyde kept his course and wet his garments Lo saith hee what a mighty King I am by Sea and Land whose command euery waue dareth resist Though then they are mighty yet there is much weakenesse ioyned with their might Not so Christ It appeares in the Epithite that is added vnto El which is Gibbor importing that he is a God of preuailing might In Daniel he is called El Elim The Mighty of mighties whereupon Moses magnifying his might saith Who is like vnto thee Exod. 15. O Lord amongst the gods Which words abbreuiated the Maccabees in their wars against their enemies did bear in their standard and therehence as the learned obserue did take their name of Maccabees Certainely this Epithite is a lust ground of that which King Dauid perswades Psalme 29. Ascribe vnto the Lord O yee mighty ascribe vnto the Lord glory and strength But there are two Eminences in Christs might by which hee is aduanced aboue all Creatures The first is that he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mighty of himselfe The second is that he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 almighty 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 other Creatures haue their power from him and therefore their power depends vpon him so that he can at his pleasure intend or remit theirs but his owne continueth euer the same Secondly they can doe but euery one so much as is permitted him and neuer was there any creature to whom God imparted all his power I speake not of the degree but the parts thereof some things he committeth to Angels which Men cannot doe and some things to Men which Angels cannot doe the earth hath not the power of the heauens nor the heauens of the earth but God is the fountaine of all power there is nothing done by any of these which without these he cannot doe Ier. 23. Nothing is hard vnto him and the Angel Luke 1. Nothing is impossible vnto God therefore hee hath wrought the same effects without these creatures What he doth by his Angels ordinarily he extraordinarily hath done by himselfe and what doth hee by Man which without Man hee hath not done And as for the Sunne and the Starres he hath illightned the ayre without them and without the earth hath he prouided both bread and flesh yea at his pleasure he hath stript all those of their power in an instant in a word He doth whatsoeuer he will both in heauen and earth he cannot will that which he cannot doe nothing resisteth his will but all things readily do serue him If this title be carried through the Gospell euery point of the Gospel will witnesse the truth thereof in Christ it will witnesse that hee hath a preuailing power and that he is therefore worthily called a mighty God When God promised him hee promised him in these words I haue layd helpe vpon one that is mighty Psalme 89. When God exhibits him Luke 1. Zacharie proclaimes him thus God hath raised vp a mighty saluation vnto vs in the house of his seruant Dauid Christ himselfe Mat. 28. All power is giuen to mee both in heauen earth to say nothing of like titles that are remembred in the Reuelation But I chuse rather to obserue vnto you out of both Christs Regall titles how well they fit vs what comfort they doe yeeld vnto vs. Our enemie the Diuell is compared to a Serpent to a roaring Lion hee is full of craft and of great strength and so are his instruments the wicked subtill and violent but wee are silly and we are feeble If we compare our selues to them how can we but feare to be deceiued to bee opprest See how God hath prouided for vs see how hee hath furnished Christ whom hee sendeth vnto vs Hee is a Counsellour and it was a Counsellour that wee needed that â—ight discouer vnto vs the Serpents policie in his end and Sophistrie in his meanes wherewith he setteth vpon vs He pretends that we shall be like vnto Gods when he meaneth to make vs Diuels and by setting an edge on our desire of the Tree of the knowledge of good and euill he would depriue vs of the Tree of life but Christ is at hand to discouer his purposes and to giue vs timely caueats that we bee not abused by them Secondly he still compasseth the world seeking Whom he may deuour and is mighty to destroy And certainely none should escape him were it not that we haue on our side a mighty God the seed of the Woman that shewed himselfe so much mightier than the seed of the Serpent by how much breaking of the head is more than bruising of the heele Wee haue a Dauid for that Goliah and a stronger man that hath entred that strong mans house bound him rifled him and diuided his spoyle So that if now it be doubtingly asked Shall the prey be taken from the mighty or the lawfull captiue bee deliuered we may answer with the Prophet Esay 49. Thus saith the Lord Euen the Captiues of the mighty shall be taken away and the prey of the terrible shall bee deliuered for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee and will faue thy children and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Sauiour and thy Redeemer the mighty One of Iacob Wherefore seeing Christ is become our Counsellour let vs not leane vnto our owne wisedome but be counselled by him It is the second degree of wisedome when wee cannot aduise our selues to bee aduised by others if we faile herein the Philosopher himselfe will censure vs for fooles And remember withall that of the Sonne of Syracke Bee in peace with many neuerthelesse haue but one Counsellour of a thousand cap. 6. hee giues the reason at large cap. 37. And well may we rely vpon the iudgement of this Counsellour who much better than Elizeus can detect vnto vs the plots of the King of Aram of all our Enemies that we may prouide against them yea he can take them all in their owne wilinesse and infatuate their Counsels as he did Achitophels Reade Esay 19. 8. So did Christ deale with the old Serpent and with the broode of the Serpent in all ages our age our country hath had proofe thereof As this must encourage vs to rely vpon his Counsell so must the other title encourage vs to rely vpon his power his preuailing power We walk in the middest of our enemies and they vse the vttermost of their strength to ruine vs yet though we are in the middest of the valley of the shadow of death let vs feare none euill
thereon It is not so in Gods workes Christ told St. Paul that his strength was made perfect in weakenesse 2 Cor. 12.9 St. Paul taught the Corinthians that the weakenesse of God is stronger than men For proofe hereof God in this Prophet referres himselfe vnto the Israelites deliuerance out of Egypt and willeth the Iewes by his proceeding in that worke to measure all his proiects The first encouragement then of the Iewes is a consideration that God is the Architect of their building and where he is the chiefe workemaster seeme the beginnings neuer so small the worke cannot faile to proue glorious This is the first Rule The second Rule is that they must not set the estimate of the glory according to the charge spent in the building but according to his worth that shall inhabit it for Non domus dominum sed dominus domum câ—hâ—nestat it is not the house that maketh the master but the master that maketh the house honourable Therefore the Iewes eyes were to be fixed rather vpon the grace which God would doe their Temple than on the expence which they were able to bestow in building thereof This is their second encouragement exprest in a second Rule and it is the argument of those words that now I haue read vnto you The summe is Christ will assuredly make a remarkeable a comfortable entrance into that Temple seeme it neuer so meane a Temple which was now a building by Zorobabel Iosua and the rest of the Iewes The chiefe points therein to be considered are two Christs presence in the Temple and the assurance thereof giuen to the Iewes The presence is Maiesticall whether you respect the preparation thereunto or the description thereof This time will not suffer me to passe beyond the preparation for this though the last Sunday of Aduent is but a preparation against Christmas day and therefore it may suffice if I prepare you for that Feast the rest of the matter shall be reserued for its due time In the preparation we will obserue the manner and the time The manner will shew vs what is prepared and how What both the worlds the great and the little The great is set downe in these words Heauen Earth and of Earth the Sea and the dry Land The little world is noted by all Nations all not onely contradistinct to the Iewes but including them also Both the Worlds shall be prepared But how They shall bee extraordinarily rowsed and as it were summoned to attend and intend the presence of Christ this is meant by the shaking of them Besides this manner there is a time here also set downe that doth belong vnto this shaking For hearing of so strange a thing a man may demand how often how soone shall this shaking bee If the demand be how often the holy Ghost answers Yet once once more and no more but once for those two notes are included in these two words Yet once If the demand bee how soone the holy Ghost answers very soone it is but a little while this shaking is very neare it is at hand You haue the particulars which God willing I meane to vnfold at this time I pray God I may so doe it that we all thereby may be prepared as wee ought to commemorate the Birth of Christ First then of the two worlds that shall bee prepared the greater offers it selfe vnto vs. It is here broken into its parts Heauen Earth c. Heauen is in the Scripture threefold first that which is called the Throne of God and is inhabited by the Angels and Saints which are departed The second is that which is called the Firmament wherein moue the Sunne the Moone the Stars they are the Host of that Heauen The third is the Aire wherein flye the Birds for they are called voluâ—res Coeli the Fowle of Heauen Heauen in my Text must not bee limited it extends to all three The second part of the world is called Earth that containes all the inferiour Globe and is here as elsewhere in Genesis resolued into its parts the Sea and the dry Land Also the word which wee translate dry Land noteth a desolate place and may bee rendred a Wildernesse and so therein and in the Sea may bee intimated an allusiue parallel to the passage of Israel from Egypt into Canaan The little world is here exprest by the name of all Nations To vnderstand the phrase we must obserue that after God had chosen a peculiar people the rest of people were called Gentiles that is Nations and so properly they signifie in the language of the Old Testament all people and kindreds that are without the Church But in this place it must haue a larger extent because Christ came to be knowne as well to the Gentile as to the Iew as in the next Sermon you shall heare more at large Therefore by these words wee must vnderstand simply all people as well those that were within as those that were without the Church Hauing thus shewed you what is to bee prepared I must now shew you how God will shake them that is rowse them extraordinarily Though all Creatures doe continually serue God yet while they keepe their ordinarie course they doe not so euidently serue him but that Atheists question his prouidence St. Peter shewes vs what is their ground All things continue alike from their beginning To refute them 2 Epist c. 3. God doth sometime as it were vnioynt the frame of Nature Exod. 8.19 and maketh the very Magicians to say Digitus Dei est hic this miracle must needs be wrought by the God of Nature Iosua 2.11 He maketh the Canaanites to confesse The Lord your God is the God of heauen aboue and of earth below as Rahab told the Spies Dan. 3. The proud King of Babylon when he saw that the Lions could not touch the body of Daniel nor the fire singe the three Children was faine to giue glory to the true and euerliuing God It is none of the worst arguments wherewith we may stoppe the mouthes of Atheists and make them acknowledge the Lord of Nature if wee presse them with those many stories found in vndoubted Records for which in nature there can be no reason yea there is euident reason for their contraries Such a kinde of change or dealing with the Creatures and putting them out of their vsuall course is here meant by shaking But let vs apply it to the two worlds and you will see it more euidently I beginne with the Heauen Mat. 3. 17. the vppermost Heauen that was apparently shaken at the first comming of Christ God the Father more than once vttered his voyce so audibly at the first comming of Christ that it was plainely heard by men on earth Mat. 3.16 Acts 2.3 God the holy Ghost hee came downe in the Doue came downe in fiery tongues he became as Tertullian speakes the Vicar of Christ vnto the Church Iohn 1. As for the Angels
Iewes were pricked at the heart when St. Peter preached vnto them Acts 2.37 and as perplexed in conscience cried out Men and Brethren what shall we doe before they receiued the comfort of the Gospell Saint Paul was stricken downe to the ground from Heauen before he was conuerted The Goaler came trembling to him and Silas Acts 16. Esay 67. before he was baptized It is a broken and contrite heart that must make vs capable of grace neyther will the filiall feare enter except way bee made by the seruile This may bee the reason why the holy Ghost by whose power the Apostles were to conuert the world Acts 2. Cap. 4. came vpon them at first in fire and with a mighty winde and a second time with an earth-quake which shaked all the house wherein they were It shewes how their Ministry should shake the hearts and consciences of the World for in omnes terras exiuit sonus eorum Besides this spirituall Luke 12. the Nations had a corporall shaking I came saith Christ to send a sword into the World No sooner had he begunne the Gospel but wee see how the Herodians the Sadducees the Pharisees bestirre themselues against him and against all the Apostles The Apostles intimate as much when in their prayer they repeat those words of the Psalme Psal 2. Acts 4.25 Why doe the Heathen so furiously rage together and the People imagine a vaine thing the Kings of the earth stand vp and the Rulers take counsell against the Lord and against his anointed And how furious was the Dragon against the Woman Reu. 12. because shee had borne a Man childe I will not trouble you to reckon vp the Heathenish or Hereticall Persecutions of the Primitiue Church Gen. 3. Ponam inimicitias I will put enmity betweene the Woman and the Serpent and betweene their seedes is the true ground of this shaking and it holdeth in all ages No sooner is the vanity of Oracles of Idols and of false worship discouered and deserted but the Diuell in reuenge of his quarrell will set Nation against Nation Family against Family Kindred against Kindred and a mans enemies shall be those of his owne houshold Wee haue wofull proofe of it in this age the bloody warres which haue beene and are in these westerne parts whence haue they sprung Gal. 3.1 but from Christs comming amongst vs in the truth of his Gospell which St. Paul to the the Galathians termeth a second forming of Christ in vs and as it were a crucifying of him before vs. But the enuious man that sowed tares cannot bee contented that hee should bee so ouer-topped with good eares of corne therefore there will follow a shaking I haue sufficiently shewed you that both Worlds were shaken but I may not forget a difference which is between their shaking though both are rowsed and giue their attendance at the first comming of Christ yet the great world doth it only effectu it serues to the honour thereof but not knowing what it doth But the little World attends also affectu it is sensible of that which it doth And indeed the shaking of the great World is only to worke a sensible shaking in the little World Which as it is wont to be wrought in other cases as when vpon the sight of Eclypses and blazing Starres men are affrighted and prognosticate vnto themselues Famines Pestilences Waâ—res Confusion of States which is likewise done by them vpon the sight of Earth-quakes So God would haue it also in this case he would that men should be obseruant and feeling of his extraordinary Workes wrought vpon the Heauens and the Earth in honour and testimony of his comming into the world who is the Sauiour of the world I haue done with the shaking I will onely giue you an obseruation or two vpon it and so passe on to the Time The first is St. Chrysostomes Hom. 14. in Mat. c. 14 Hom. 1. ad Rom. God when hee doth any great Worke in the world non solet subrepere stealeth not vpon the World but giueth signification before hand So did he before he brought on the Floud before hee deliuered his People out of Egypt before he gaue the Iewes ouer vnto the Babylonian captiuity We cannot reade those Stories but we must needes finde in them Gods palpable harbingers So that if men be surprised it is not because men are not forewarned but because they will take no warning The old World though the Arke was building before their face yet were they eating and drinking marrying and giuing in marriage till the floud came Though Moses told Pharaoh what euill God would bring vpon him yet did Pharaoh still harden his heart and the Iewes mocked the Prophets that early and late told them of their captiuity neyther would they beleeue it vntill they were past recouery 2 Cor. 4. 3. If our Gospell be hid saith St. Paul it is hid vnto those whose eyes the God of this world hath blinded that they should not beleeue Acts 26 2â— for as hee told Agrippa the things which they preached were not done in a corner As the corporall Sunne doth not rise without a dawning of the day so Christ came not into the world without some prognostication thereof Iewes and Gentiles that doe not beleeue are without all excuse because God hath so plainely shaken both the Worlds Neyther shall we haue ought to pleade for our selues if we neglect or forsake the Truth which God hath brought vnto vs because he hath accompanied it with so wonderfull deliuerances and comforts vs in honour of it with so many diuers blessings God hath vouchsafed many wayes to premonish vs let vs take heede that wee dis-regard him not The second Obseruation is this Mat. 5.18 No Creature can hinder the performance of Gods will Heauen and Earth shall passe rather than one iot of his word shall be vndone Wee neede not feare any opposition on the worlds part notwithstanding it is the common feare of worldly men because all the world is in Gods power hee can shake and shiuer it at his pleasure Of this God doth often put his People in minde by the Prophets and biddeth them bee bold thereupon And wee may say Si Deus nobiscum quis Rom. 8.31 yea and quid too contra nos Quid Is it the great World God can shake Heauen and Earth the Sea and the dry Land Quis Is it man God can shake him also hee can shake all Nations therefore we neede not feare what eyther World can doe vnto vs. And thus much of the manner of the Preparation I come now briefly to shew you the time thereof When a man heares of such great matters hee will be inquisitiue after this circumstance he will desire to know how often how soone And the holy Ghost doth here resolue both those questions How often Nazianz. orat 37. p. 607. â—rat 21. p. 388 if you aske he answers Yet
and in the eyes of God doth grace and commend vs as if it were ours But if you looke to sanctification that redounds from Christ vnto vs it maketh vs starres in the spirituall firmament though of vnequall magnitude and vnequall glory St. Paul is cleare for it 1 Cor. 3. Wee with open face behold the glorie of God and are transformed into the same image from glorie vnto glory euen by the powerfull spirit of Christ. When the Apostles did but see Christs transformation in the Mount though themselues were not transfigured yet they thought it so happy a sight that they cryed out Bonum est esse hìc Let vs pitch our Tabernacles here And what would they haue thought if themselues also might haue been partakers of the same glorie if themselues might haue appeared like vnto him if they might haue beene as he was yet such is our condition in Christ The last morall shall be that whereas other things that fill vs proportion themselues vnto and take vp whatsoeuer capacity they finde it is not so with Christ whatsoeuer he filleth that he enlargeth Aug. Confes and the more we haue of him the more capacity we haue the more capacity of glory for that is that wherewith he filleth all other things deale worse with vs they straighten our capacitie or fill vs with vanitie Wherefore were we as wise as we should be wee would suffer no bodie to take vp any roome in vs but only Christ wee would leaue no corner for the diuell or the world or our corrupt lusts And indeede who would with-hold any part from him to continue a straight a darke a filthy dungeon that by his presence may bee made a large a light a glorious habitation And yet so it is some of vs steale our heads from him and entertaine errour some steale their hearts from him and therein lodge sinnefull lusts there is no man that doth not with-hold some part and keep that part the worse for it But this should bee to euery one of vs his votiue prayer To thee O Christ I consecrate totum me and totum mei my whole selfe and all that is in me humbly desiring that nothing may inhabit me but thy selfe and that which commeth from thee This is that whereunto I aduise my selfe as I aduise you And that I aduise not in vaine let vs lay this text to the former there we heard of a desire here of a filling Salomon hath a good rule A desire accomplished delighteth the soule So that if we profited so much by the last sermon as to make Christ our desire we may be comforted by this which assures vs that our desire shall be filled Yea whereas desire is sinus cordis the bosome or lappe as it were of the heart if we doe enlarge it God will replenish it But let vs bee sure that this sermon doth little concerne vs if the former tooke no place in vs. Dauid no sooner heard that Obed Edoms house prospered by hauing the Arke but hee was stirred vp with a godly zeale to bring it vnto Sion to bring it to his owne Citie What shall I wish vnto you but that hauing heard the blessing that Christs presence brought to Zorobabels Temple euery one of you would striue to lodge him in your Temples the temples of your bodies the temples of your soules So may he fill these mysticall as he did that typicall Temple so fill them here with the glory of his grace that they may bee hereafter filled with the grace of his glorie Psal 24. Wherefore lift vp your heads O yee gates and bee yee lift vp yee euerlasting doores and the King of glorie shall come in 85. Saluation is near them that feare him that glory may dwell in their Land LEt thy worke O Lord be seene towards thy seruants and thy glorie vpon their children that in the sensible sweet comfort thereof wee may all now and euer sing Glory bee to thee O Lord most high Blessing honour glory and power bee vnto him that sitteth vpon the throne and vnto the Lambe for euer and euer Amen THE FOVRTH SERMON The siluer is mine and the gold is mine The glorie of this later house shall bee greater than the glory of the former THe bountie which Christ vouchsafed that Temple which was built by Zorobabel is by this our Porphet set forth absolutely and comparatiuely Of the absolute consideration thereof I spake last I will passe now on to the comparatiue exprest in those words which now I haue read vnto you Of this comparison we must obserue 1 the preface and 2 the contents The preface will teach vs what Christ can the contents what hee will doe Christ can in point of bountie doe as much as he will so much the words of the preface import The siluer is mine the gold is mine And he will doe more than the Iewes doe desire for they would haue beene contented if they might haue had a Temple but as goodly as that of Salomon Christ will doe more for them The glory of the later house shall be greater than the glorie of the former But more distinctly These points of Christs power and his will must be opened first seuerally then ioyntly If wee looke into them seuerally then wee shall finde that the preface which sets forth Christs power doth in the outside of the words entitle him to these earthly mettals gold and siluer but the inside will informe vs that he is owner of much more precious mettals of gold and siluer that are heauenly As for the contents the comparison therein presented vnto vs may be conceiued eyther of fabricke to fabricke or furniture to furniture I will touch at both that so you may the better see of whether and how far my text may be iustified Hauing thus opened the points seuerally I will ioyne them together and shew you that first Christs power is set downe before his will that the Iewes should not thinke he doth promise more than hee can performe secondly that his will beareth correspondencie to his power and he giueth gifts not sutable to the narrownesse of our desire but to the widenesse of his owne store Of these particulars I shall now God willing speake briefly and in their order God grant we may so listen to and profit by that which shall be said concerning Christs power and will that it may bee his gracious will alwaies to sustaine and blesse vs according to his all sufficient power Come we then to the preface and first to the outside of the words The siluer is mine the gold is mine If so we reade the preface it doth entitle Christ to these earthly mettals gold siluer and his title is iust and clear he that made all is owner of all now all things were made by Christ and without him nothing was made that was made Iohn 1. therefore wee may conclude with the Psalmist Psal 24. The earth is the Lords and the fulnesse thereof the
Zorobabels Temple But that place must be considered not in its meanenesse as it was built by the Iewes but as it was furnished with that glorie whereof heretofore you haue heard that house so adorned was to bee the place of peace Salomons Temple was a place of peace but his peace was but a type it was a worldly peace Zorobabels Temple is also a place of peace but his peace is the truth that answered the former type the peace thereof is heauenly that Temple which had but the type of the glorie had no more but the type of the peace and the truth of the peace rested there where the truth of the glorie was So that there is an emphasis in the words this place the holy Ghost giueth thereby the Iewes to vnderstand that it was not the former but the later Temple whereunto God intended the peace which he promised to Dauid 2 Sam. 7. 2 Chro. 22. Isay 25. 26. and all the promises of peace in the Prophets were to be referred thither this Ierusalem was to answer vnto her name and to be indeed the vision of peace But I told you heretofore that Zorobabels Temple was to be vnderstood not only literally but mystically and so it signifieth not onely that materiall house but also the Christian Church peace is annext vnto this peace Extra Ecclesiam non est salus No saluation without the Church and therefore no peace he shall neuer haue God for his Father that hath not the Church for his Mother In our Creed wee place the holy Catholicke Church and Communion of Saints before the remission of sinnes and life euerlasting As the soule doth not quicken other parts than those that are vnited to the body no more doth the spirit of God giue his blessing of peace to any that are distracted from the body of the Church This must be obserued against all Schismaticks that doe excommunicate them selues and disorderly persons that are iustly excommunicated by the censure of the Church all these while they continue in that state though they doe not lose ius ad pacem yet they doe lose ius in pace though they doe not lose their interest in yet they suspend the benefit of that peace and their state is vncomfortable though it be not irrecouerable And they which follow negligently the assemblies of the Church doe not a little defraud themselues of this peace for they must seeke it chiefly by prayer in Gods house and there doth God dispence it by the mouth of his Ministers I will giue you only two proofes the one our of the Old Testament when the sacrifices were ended which were typicall prayers Num 6.25 Aaron is willed to dismisse the people with these words The Lord blesse thee and keepe thee the Lord make his face shine vpon thee and be gracious vnto thee the Lord lift vp the light of his countenance vpon thee and giue thee peace A second proofe wee haue in the New Testament where the Church doth solemnely vse those words of the Apostle when after the Liturgie it dismisseth the people The peace of God which passeth all vnder standing keep your hearts and mindes c. And what better inuitation can wee haue to repaire often to the Church than this blessing of peaceâ— foure-fold peace which is there daily offered vnto vs and may bee receiued if we come and come prepared for it I say prepared Before you heard that the peace commeth to the house but as it is furnished with the glorie where there is none of the glorie there can be none of the peace therefore wee must prepare these Temples of our bodies and soules by entertainement of the glory that they may be made capable of the peace The Apostle speaketh plainely Rom. 5. Wee must bee iustified by faith before we can haue peace with God Esay 32. If iudgement dwell in the wildernesse and righteousnesse remaine in the fruitfull fielde the worke of righteousnesse shall bee peace 1 Cor. 2. and the effect of righteousnesse quietnesse and assurance for euer God doth annoint vs before he doth establish vs. St. Austin hath a witty conceit vpon the words of the 85. Psalme Righteousnesse and Peace haue kissed each other Duae sunt amicae Iustitia Pax c. Righteousnesse and Peace are two fast friends happely thou wouldest gladly enioy the one but thou wilt not bee perswaded to performe the other for there is no man that would not willingly haue peace but all are not willing to worke righteteousnesse yet be thou assured that if thou dost not loue peace's friend which is righteousnesse peace will neuer loue thee for righteousnesse and peace doe kisse each the other 2 King 9. You know what Iehu answered the King of Israel when he asked him Is it peace Iehu what peace can there bee so long as the whoredomes and witchcrafts of thy mother are so many So may we reply to euery soule vnquiet soule that enquireth after peace Looke for none where there is sinne Well may there bee the enemie assaulting and daily sounding alarums but this securing peace which is Gods garrison cannot bee there So long as the Iewes serued God their enemies could not inuade their borders Exod 34. but then the Temple was exposed to the enemie when the Prophets could not reclaime them from sin It is a good conscience that is a continuall feast You haue heard seuerally of the Peace and the Place you must now heare ioyntly of their knitting together who knits them and How He that knitteth them is God in Christ God is the God of peace so the Apostle calleth him Phil. 4.19 and the Prophet tels vs that he creates light as well as darkenesse and Elihu is so bold as to say Iob 34. that if God giue peace none can hinder it But as God giueth it so hee giueth it in Christ for it is his worke to make peace the Prophet Esay cap. 9. vers 6. calleth him the Prince of peace his true members are Sonnes of peace his Apostles Messengers of peace and his doctrine is the Gospell of peace all the foure specified degrees of peace were wrought by him First he tooke away the guilt of our sinne Esay 53. The chastisement of our peace was layd vpon him For he that knew no sinne was made sinne for vs that wee might be made the righteousnesse of God in him 2 Cor. 5. Secondly hee hath kild the worme for being iustified by faith in him our heart condemnes vs not and we haue confidence towards God so that we can come with boldnesse vnto the throne of grace Thirdly the Law of the spirit of life that is in Iesus Christ doth free vs from the Law of sinne and death Rom. 8. It mortifieth it subdueth the old man and maketh vs walke not according to the flesh but according to the spirit Finally he putteth an end to that discord that is betweene man and man The Prophets foretold that when hee
before God wee thinke wee should haue lesse sense of our sinne because we haue in worldly things outstript our neighbours And yet if you obserue you shall finde that none are more ambitious after caps and knees and more moody if they bee disregarded than they that regard God least and are least respectiue of his Maiestie What shall I say then to you imitemur Ducem nostrum let vs thinke Christs practice worth the imitation let not seruants sticke at that which is done by the Sonne let vs not bee ashamed to doe for our selues that which Christ hath done not onely before vs but for vs also when we pray let vs pray most humbly The second part of Reuerence is Loue and that appeareth in the compellation My Father Abba Father But I told you that we were therin distinctly to obserue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in my Father so St. Matthew deliuereth Christs words and they are a sweete insinuation they serue stealingly to melt the affection of a Father As a Father pitieth his childe saith the Psalmist Psal 103. seuen so doth the Lord pity them that feare him Esay goeth farther cap. 59. Can a woman forget her sucking childe that shee should not haue compassion on the sonne of her wombe yea she may forget yet will not I forget thee Our Sauiour Christ enlargeth this comparison If you being euill know how to giue good gifts vnto your children how much more shall your heauenly Father giue good gifts to them that aske him Mat. 7. So then where there is a Father there are bowels on earth commonly in heauen vndoubtedly Lib. 1. de Abraham◠cap. 8. What then St. Ambrose spake of the like words vttered by Isaac to his father Abraham when Abraham went about to sacrifice Isaac a liuely type of this entercourse betweene God and Christ in the matter of the Crosse may I well apply to this compellation of God Pulsatur pietatis vocabulis these bee words that will try his bowels whether they be tender or no he giueth a good reason Nomina vita solent operari gratiam non ministerium necis what stronger motiue to obtaine grace than for a childe by mentioning the word Father to put him in minde that he was the author of his life for can he be so hard hearted as to further the abolishing thereof by death St. Chrysostome weighing the very same words as they were vttered by Isaac pronounceth of them Sufficiebat hoc verbum ad lancinanda iusti viscera Abraham could not digest the words but hee must offer violence vnto his owne bowels How powerfull then must Christs words be with God if nature required that Abraham should be so moued with them when they were spoken by Isaac Certainly if My Father preuaile not I know not what compellation will worke in the bowels of God And yet here you must obserue that as Isaacs My Father remoued not Abraham from his faithfull obedience no more did Christs My Father alter Gods determinate course for the redemption of man his Loue vnto vs made him seem to be bowellesse towards his owne Sonne at so much the higher rate therefore are wee to value our Redemption As there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the compellation so there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 also besides the sweete insinuation Christ expresseth a feruent importunity Abba Pater as the Greeke as the Syriac Father Father The Greeke expresseth the language of the Iew and the language of the Gentile to signifie that God by Christs Crosse was to become the Father as well of the Gentile as of the Iew. But the Syriac doubleth the same word while Christ was in his Agonie saith St. Luke he prayed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 more earnestly Cap. 22. St. Paul Hebr. 5. tels vs that Christ offered vp prayers and supplications with strong crying and teares vnto him that was able to saue him from death And the passion Psalmes how full of this zeale are they Psal 22. 69. c. and how do they as it were force a way by Gods eares vnto his heart Certainly God doth not loue cold prayers that biddeth vs aske seeke knocke in the Parable of the vniust Iudge Christ teacheth vs this duty and the Canaanitish woman is a good example of such acceptable importunity but beyond all this practice of our Sauiour Christ for what can bee added vnto his compellation surely nothing and yet it is little that so much religious Rhetoricke doth worke And what doe wee learne herehence euen this that though in praying we doe our best yet we must not looke to speede alwayes neither must it grieue vs seeing Christ was contented to take a repulse God will haue vs entreate him with the best of our deuotion but the successe thereof he will haue vs leaue to his disposition wherein I commend no more vnto you than I find done by Christ as now you are to heare in the following part of my Text. Hauing shewed you sufficiently to whom Christ directeth his prayer I will now shew vnto you what he expresseth therein hee expresseth the wish of Nature and the will of Grace The wish of Nature is against the Crosse the Crosse is exprest by two words haec Hora and hic Calix this Houre this Cup the Houre noteth the time prefixed for Christs suffering as that which Christ was to suffer is vnderstood by the Cup yet so that the Cup includeth the Houre and the Houre the Cup. But to handle them distinctly Haec hora is an Ellipticall phrase you may supply it out of the third of the Reuelation where it is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Houre of temptation And indeede the Crosse put Christ to it it tryed him to the vttermost therefore well may it bee called Haec hora more than an ordinary houre for it was a most wofull time But this word hath two additions elsewhere for sometimes wee reade Hora mea my Houre Luke 22.53 sometimes Hora vestra your Houre Iohn 12.27 It was a time wherein Christ was to be a patient in that respect doth he call it His houre and the wicked were to be agents in that respect hee calleth it their houre each of them were to act their parts and for that they had this time assigned them But we must ascend aboue them both euen vnto God who as he is Gouernour of the world keepeth times and seasons in his owne power so that nothing is either suffered or done but in the time which he hath prefixed And if it be true of all times then specially of most remarkable times such as was the time of Christs Passion which being fixed neither himselfe did preuent neither could it be preuented by others Christ doth more than once alledge for a reason why the malice and craft of his enemies tooke not place but that maugre all their endeauours he went on in his Ministry Hora mea nondum venit
as from the Sunne euery man receiues a beame of the same kinde though not the same beame or from a Tree euery man gathereth an apple though not the same apple or out of a Riuer euery man drinketh a draught of the same water but not the same draught of water euen so all doe partake of the same Christ but not in the same measure and no man whole Christ Whole I meane totum Christi though euery man doth receiue him whole that is totum Christum euery man hath Christ alike intensiuè though extensiuè wee haue him not all alike And yet extensiuè euery man hath his full measure As it was in Manna Hee that gathered more had not too much and he that gathered lesse had enough The breaking then of the bread doth not onely represent Christs passion but also his proportioning of himselfe fit for our participation For so it followeth breaking was for giuing It is a question Whether Christ himselfe did communicate in the Eucharist it may well be presumed that he did It is euident that he did in his owne person sanctifie and honour both Sacraments of the Old Testament Circumcision and the Passeouer And touching Baptisme the first Sacrament of the New Testament there can be no question why should there then bee any question of this If any obiect the silence of the Holy Ghost in the words of Institution that may receiue an answer that it was not necessarily to be exprest because it might well bee supplyed out of the correspondency of this Sacrament to that of the Passeouer But the next words to my Text seeme to mee to put it out of all doubt I will not henceforth drink any more of this fruit of the Vine vntill that day when I drink it new with you in my Fathers Kingdome Although St. Luke seem to place those words betweene the Passeouer and the Eucharist which St. Matthew and St. Marke place after the words of the Institution But to let that point passe Though Christ did partake yet it was not for any need that he had of it but for that by his owne participation hee would giue vertue vnto this as he hath done to other Sacraments Hee needed not to dye for himselfe he dyed for vs therefore as he gaue himselfe for vs so did he giue himselfe to vs for vs on the Crosse to vs in the Sacrament Here appeareth the truth of the Apostles saying He that was rich became poore that wee by his pouerty might be made rich 2. Cor. 8.9 He that knew no sinne was made sinne for vs that wee might be made the righteousnesse of God in him And let this suffice for Christs worke Let vs come now to the Disciples worke And here first we must obserue that they that must meddle with these elements must be Disciples that is profest Christians For as none might eate of the Paschall Lambe but they that were circumcised no more might any receiue the Eucharist that was not baptized The reason is plaine No man can be nourished except he liue and liue to God no man can but he that is incorporated into Christ and incorporated he is by Baptisme But euery one that is baptized is not fit to receiue the Eucharist hee must be of age to examine himselfe as St. Paul aduiseth and to discerne the Lords body It is true that about St. Austins time they did put the Eucharist into childrens mouthes before they could vnderstand what it meant And this was done vpon the mistake of those words of St. Iohn Except you eate the flesh of the Sonne of man Cap. 6. and dâ—inke his bloud you haue no life in you But that errour was long since deprehended and the custome discontinued and none receiue but those which are come to years of discretion and moreouer are able to giue an accompt of their faith Yea by the laudable orders of our Church none should receiue vntill they are confirmed and great pity it is that so laudable a custome is not obserued Were it many aged ones would not liue yea and dye too so ignorant of that which they receiue as now they doe to the dishonour of our Church and discomfort of their soules Pastors Parents Masters Churchwardens yea and Godfathers and Godmothers also should make more conscience of their dueties their oathes their vowes wherein they stand bound to God his Church and their Charge and take more care to remedy this than for ought I see they doe It is a question Whether vnder the name of Disciples more are vnderstood than the twelue Apostles Some thinke yea but not one of the Euangelists doth fauour their conceit It should seeme by them that onely the twelue Apostles did now represent the whole Church And happely they onely were present because Christ was pleased to teach them the forme and giue them the charge of administring the Sacrament Surely that is more likely although if wee doe conceit that other were present there is no Heresie in it But I leaue the persons and come to their worke Their worke is double as was the worke of Iesus The first is they must take Take what Christ gaue for he therefore gaue it that they should take it And indeed it were a great contempt to bee present and not to take part Certainly the Primitiue Church thought so whose Councels require scuere censures to be inflicted vpon idle gazers on And there is great reason for it for they abase themselues and excommunicate themselues at least range themselues in the order of Penitents or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who were not thought meete or worthy for their simplenesse or their wickednesse to be guests at the Lords Table Yea and what a wretchednesse is it for them that know what neede they haue of the New Couenant to be carelesse of confirming their assurance thereof and for them that are loaden with sinnes and iniquities not to vnburthen their consciences of the guilt and purge them from the corruption by taking the pledge of remission of sins and meanes which should further the amendment of their liues He deserues to perish for want of grace that hath it offered and doth refuse it Besides this worke of taking the Disciples had another work and that is eating and drinking what they take that they must eate and drinke also These are corporall acts but they must be vnderstood according to the food And seeing the food consisteth of an earthly and a heauenly part we must eate and drinke both And God hath prouided vs wherewith we may doe it for wee our selues consist of an earthly and an heauenly part We must bring both parts vnto this feast and there vse them both our bodies must take eate and drinke the elements our soules must take eate and drinke the body and bloud of Christ Yea our bodies must in these acts onely attend our soules for the Feast is not Ventris but Mentis neither is our corporall feeding vsed otherwise than to helpe
a commendable highth than by profitably reading of those places You shall learne thus much also that factus Christianus is much more pious than is natus he that out of a forlorne state is by the mercie of God brought to the state of grace when he is come to the yeares of discretion doth abound much more in the fruits of righteousnesse than he that is borne in the state of grace and so will euerie true conuerted sinner abound more than he that neuer tooke a grieuous fall But I must hasten to the preheminencie of Grace a preheminencie beyond St. Pauls preheminency euen by the testimonie of St. Paul himselfe Not I but the grace of God that is with me he correcteth himselfe as if he had presumed too farre Where marke that though a man worke with grace not only per effectum but also per consensum not only to the producing of the effect but also vnderstanding and willing it for hee is instrumentum rationale and God doth not deale with men as with blockes and bruit beasts yet is a man but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Instrument the principall Agent is the grace of God And although there be two workers yet must they not be reputed coordinate but subordinate neither doth man worke otherwise than as hee is moued by grace and the children of God are led by his spirit Whereby you may gather how wicked a doubt that is which now doth perplexe the Church Whether forsooth our will determines Gods grace or Gods grace determines our will in the point of iustification Certainly St. Paul thought the point out of question when he vsed this correctiue Not I but the grace of God that is with me mecum or quae in me The grace of God doth not cooperate with our free will except it bee first regenerated by grace Therefore the defence of free will is idly gathered hence seeing Papists meane it in actu primo and St. Paul speakes here de actusecundo He is most vnthankefull then and so vnworthy of grace that doth not giue the preheminence to the grace of Adoption cooperant in all his workes of pietie And so to the cooperant grace of Edification must we giue the glorie of all the workes of our Ministrie Paul planteth and Apollo watereth it is God that giueth the increase wee haue heauenly treasures but we conuey them in earthen vessels the foolishnesse of preaching is ours the demonstration of the Spirit is from Heauen Non vos estis qu◠loquimini sed Spiritus Patris Matth. 10. wee speake the words God openeth the heart wee wash with water Christ with the Holy Ghost we giue the bread and wine Christ his body and blood Ros coelestis sacit messem terrestrem wee may not thinke better of our selues than of Ministers the power of whose worke dependeth on the Spirit of our Master wee are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but Christi a second grace is the cause why our first is not frustrate so was it before the fall much more is it so now I haue done with the particulars of my text two things I gathered out or the whole bodie of it which I will note in a word The first is St. Pauls sinceritie who giueth the glorie vnto God of the originall of the gifts and of the vse of the gifts wherewith he was endowed condemning all sacriledge of this kinde What God told Zorobabel re-edifying the Temple of the earthly Hierusalem the same is fulfilled in the restauration of our heauenly neyther by armie nor strength but by my Spirit saith the Lord of Hosts men shall bring forth all the stones thereof with shouting crying grace grace Zach. 4. Therefore let vs say Not vnto vs O Lord not vnto vs but vnto thy name giue the praise for of thee and through thee and for thee are all things all things that belong to the being of thy Church the being both of Pastor and People Let him that glories glorie in the Lord. As St. Paul dealeth sincerely in regard of Gods glorie so doth he also modestly in regard of himselfe as he extolleth God so doth he abase himselfe witnesse the extenuation of his endowment of his employment and the correction of that speech wherein hee might seeme to value himselfe at too high a rate I cannot stand to amplifie this vertue of his though the pride of our nature deserues to haue it amplified that it may be admonished thereby I will onely commend vnto your meditation King Dauids Psalme Lord I am not high minded I haue no proud looks c. and Christs exhortation to vs to become as little children hee that exalteth himselfe shall bee humbled and that humbleth himselfe shall bee exalted Let vs not therefore bee ashamed to cast downe our selues that the Lord may lift vs vp and seeing our helpe standeth in the Name of the Lord and without Christ we can doe nothing for quis te discreuit and what hast thou that thou hast not receiued because it is hee that worketh in vs both to will and to doe let vs continually pray Lord make speed to saue vs Lord make haste to helpe vs saue and helpe both Pastor and People that both may truly say with St. Paul By the grace of God I am that I am and euery one may haue this sweet repose of conscience Gods grace was not bestowed on me in vaine Finally the Apostle ascribing before his sinnes to himselfe and his vertue to God doth teach that we are sufficient to our owne ruine not so to our rising according to that of Hosea Destructio tua ex te c. Therefore the Minister must with meeknesse teach the contrary minded 2 Timothie 2. I haue set before you an exact patterne of a good Pastor and Christian wee should all endeauour to conforme thereto but this is rather to bee wished than hoped because of the frailtie of our nature Wherefore a timely suruey of the Church is requisite to make such a suruey is the reason of this meeting The world hath many Saules blasphemers oppressors wicked liuers but you vse to present All as Pauls you say All is well when euery man may see that much is amisse Remember that this is Iudicium ante iudicium a medicinall Iudgement before a mortall the iudgement of man to preuent the iudgement of God Doe not by cruell indulgence exempt any from the iust censure of the Church to expose your selues and them to the intolerable vengeance of God Rather let vs all ioyne of Saules to make Paules that so wee may repaire the decayes of the Church and heare a comfortable doome when we all come before the Tribunall seat of Christ THe Lord giue vs all this effectuall grace the vndoubted pledge of eternall glorie Hee that hath begunne in you a good worke perfect it till the day of the Lord. Amen IHS A SERMON PREACHED IN TRINITY CHVRCH IN WINCHESTER AT An ASSIZES 1610. EZRA 7. vers 26. And whosoeuer will not doe
good vse of your indulgence as to be ashamed and reclaimed Wherefore as St. Iude obserues you must saue some with feare and plucke them out of the fire wherein they would burne themselues you must compell them to learn and obey the law of the God of Ezra the true God whereupon followeth also the next point which is they will the more easily be brought to doe the Kings law Of obseruing lawes in generall I need say no more than I haue but the iniquity of the times wills mee to remember you that lawes must bee obeyed though they be the lawes of the King of Persia this is the second caution The Proctors of Rome though they dare not flatly deny it yet so sophystically handle it that what with subiecting the scepter of Kings to the command of Popes and exempting of such persons and cases as seeme good vnto him they vndermine what they would seeme to yeeld and the most they grant is no more nor no longer than their Holy Father doth that 's too much or hereafter will allow them If hee will abrogate all they must acknowledge none no lawes of a King of Persia a King that is not of their religion Others haue learnedly and sufficiently shaken their grounds and my Text is an argument of no small force to resolue the consciences of such as doubt whether a different religion doth euacuate the power of a lawfull Soueraigne It doth not though it be a false religion how much more when it is the true and the King our King commands onely for the God of Ezra the true God and enioynes no other worship of him than according to his owne lawes the vndoubted register whereof is the sacred Word of God Wherefore you must bee as the earth mentioned in the Reuelation cap. 12. and swallow all those waters that the dragon casts forth to drowne the woman you must crush these seedes of rebellion which ayme at nothing but the ouerthrow of true Religion And how must you crush it euen by punishment And so I come to the second worke of iudgement from the precept to the sanction which containes the second limitation of the power Wherein I obserue first how farre the Magistrate may draw his sword Looke how farre his prouidence doth reach so farre may his vengeance reach also The reward of sinne is death eternall death to violate Gods Lawes or the Kings is no lesse than sinne it should therefore be reuenged with eternall death But behold here vnspeakeable mercie God would haue vs iudged here by men that we be not condemned hereafter by him This is the proper end of the keyes and the sword of the power that is in the Prince and the Pastor The occasion draweth mee to speake of the Sword yet let me giue you this Item touching the Keyes that malefactors must remember that for euerie of their offences challengable by the Law of man they owe a repentance vnto God and the greater their offence the deeper should be their repentance Which I the rather note because there are too many of them that scarce giue glorie vnto God when they suffer by the Law and if they escape make no conscience at all of their sin as if how soeuer they speed at the iudgement seat of men they were not to take heed that they be not cast at the barre of God which the first Councell of Nice well corrected when imitating Gods law without preiudice to the ciuill sword it appointed sundrie yeares penance according to the grieuousnesse of sinne Sed pristino rigori non sumus pares the Liturgie of our Church saith that it were to bee wished but the iniquitie of the times that it is not to be hoped Secondly seeing your power should touch men with a losse temporall to keepe them from a losse eternall you see what wrong you doe them when you suffer them to spend their dayes in loosenesse and in a moment as Iob speaketh though from their beds they goe quicke down into hell how much better were it for them if with one hand or one eye they might goe into heauen than hauing both to bee cast into hell O then let the righteous rebuke them yea smite them rather than that your precious balmes should breake their heads yea slay their soules spare nothing that is temporall so you may preserue them from the paine which is eternall You see how farre you may draw the sword But when you strike your strokes must bee proportionable to their sinnes but the proportion must not be Arithmeticall but Geometricall they must be secundum merita but not aequalia meritis you may punish intra but not vltra medum so doth God who notwithstanding doth punish in number weight and measure Semper aliquid detrahit de poenae atrocitate as Nazianzene speaketh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he doth temper mercie with iudgement In the hand of the Lord there is a cup the wine thereof is red and it is full mixt whereof though his children offending drinke yet only the incorrigible wicked drinke the dregs thereof And the same Father writing to the Emperours Deputie reckoning vp his vertues demands this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what shall I say of your clemencie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here you decline something but he addes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I cannot much blame you you haue God for your patterne who in Hosea speakes thus of himselfe How shall I giue thee vp O Ephraim how shall I deliuer thee O Israel how shall I make thee as Admah how shall I set thee as Seboim my heart is turned within mee my repentings are rouled together I will not execute the fiercenesse of my wrath c. You must wisely then temper iudgement and mercie but so that mercie doe not hinder iudgement and yet that of the two mercie reioyce against iudgement And thus haue you heard what a Iudge may and must doe he may take the sword and must vse it against malefactors but with the conditions of the vse and limitations of the power specified in my text The conditions are two he must vse it timely and indifferently the limitations also two he must extend it to all transgressions of both Tables and intend it according to their transgressions And the end of all must bee by a temporall punishment to saue the wicked from eternall paine or if that will not bee that the blood of all cursing Shimei's and factious Ioabs and irreligious Abiathars also may bee vpon their head and the head of their seed but vpon Dauid our Dauid vpon his house and vpon his throne vpon this whole Church and Common weale may bee peace for euer from the Lord. MOst mighty most mercifull Lord who to preserue sincere pietie and secure peace in the Church and Common weale hast put the sword into the hands of mortall men and for the vse thereof hast aduanced them aboue their Brethren we humbly beseech thee so to sanctifie them with thy grace whom
First Gods Worke Deus fecit God made the time a Day Secondly Mans Acknowledgement Haec est dies the Church doth Kalender it for a high day As we must learne thus discreetly to distinguish times so we must also learne to solemnize them Religiously In performance whereof the text will teach vs What we must doe and How That which wee must doe is reduced to two Heads wee must take full comfort in such a Day we must reioyce and be glad in it Reioyce with our bodies Bee glad in our soules both bodie and soule must expresse a comfortable sense Neither must wee only take comfort in it but pray also for the happie continuance of it for the continuance Saue Lord we may be depriued of it for the happie continuance of it Prosper Lord it may be in vaine bestowed on vs. These be the things that must bee done But How that is When and by whom When Now at the verie same time that Wee haue ioyed in the Day must Wee also bee praying for the continuance thereof And whom doth the Psalmist meane by We Looke vnto the beginning of the Psalme and you shall find the parties thus specified Israel the House of Aaron all that feare the Lord the Common-weale the Church the Cleargie the Laitie all whom the Day concernes must take notice thereof and expresse this dutie thereon You see the summe of this Scripture which I will now God willing enlarge farther and apply vnto our present occasion But before I enter vpon the particulars I may not forget to let you vnderstand that this Psalme hath a double sense an Historicall and a Mysticall the Historicall concernes King Dauid and the Kingdome of Israel the Mysticall toucheth Christ and his Church The Mysticall hath warrant from the Gospell wherein Christ doth apply some branches of this Psalme vnto himselfe the the Historicall is cleare in the Bookes of Samuel which intreat of the aduancement of King Dauid If we follow the Mysticall then the Day here remembred is Easter day or the Day of Christs Resurrection and that was a Day indeed the Sunne of Righteousnesse then shone forth in great strength and brought life and immortalitie to life But if we follow the Historicall sense then was the Day here remembred the Day of K. Dauids succession vnto Saul a verie Festiuall Day to Israel though not so high a Feast as is our Easter day The Fathers Commentaries runne most vpon the first sense our occasion is better fitted with the latter wherefore without preiudice to the former we will insist thereon leauing the Mysticall we will insist only vpon the Historicall sense of these words The first point therein is the discreet distinguishing of Times All times are not alike there are nights and there are dayes the time here specified is a Day Saint Basils Rule must guide vs in vnderstanding this word he tels vs that when the Holy Ghost speaketh of a Day in this and many other places wee must not plod vpon the course of the Sunne but looke vnto the occurrents of the time the occurents are of two sorts prosperous or aduerse the former is vsually called Day and the later Night We haue not then to doe with a Naturall but a Metaphoricall Day But Metaphors haue their reasonable grounds and because they are Implicitae Similitudines close couched resemblances we must vnwrap them that wee may see the resonablenesse that is in the vse of them If we doe this in our present Metaphor the reason will be apparent why a prosperous state is tearmed a Day For a Day is caused by the Sunne rising who by his beames sendeth to the earth Light and Heate Light by which all things are discerned and may bee distinguished and Heate by which they are quickened and cherished Euen so in a prosperous State there is something that answereth to the Sunne and that is a good King and well may the King bee tearmed a Sunne in the Common-Weâ—le as the Sunne is tearmed a King in the midst of the Planets A good King then like the Sunne ouer-spreads the Common-Weale with Light and Heate Light all things doe appeare in their right hue flatterâ—e or tyrannie doth not blanch or beare out falshood as truth and good as euill euery one beareth his proper name and is reputed no better then he is which is no small Blessing of a State if we take notice of that which is occurrent in euerie Historie That the best men haue beene branded as the vilest and the vilest haue beene commended for Worthies so farre hath darknesse ouercast the iudgement of the World seeke no farther then the storie of Christ and his Apostles the Scribes and the Pharisees As a good King doth remedie this perueâ—snesse of iudgement by a truer light so doth hee by a vegetable heate put heart into those that deserue well and further their well fare it is no small blessing you may gather it out of the 72. Psalme where the cheareful face as it were of the State doth speake the comfortable influence of a good King you may amplifie this point by that difference which in the 104. Psalme you finde betweene a day and a night The night is a time wherein the sauage beasts doe range abroad men retire and appeare not but in the day men goe freely abroad to their labour and the sauage beasts retire euen so in the time of an ill gouerned Common-Weale all sorts of beastly men as filthy as Swine as greedie as Wolues as cruell as Tigres as deceitfull as the Crocodile these and such like riot and controule and without shame satisfie their lust and then it is dangerous to be iust to be mercifull But the countenance of a good King chaseth such vermine away and none vnlike vnto him find Grace with him or appeare before him the 101. Psalme hath no other argument but this very point and Solomon hath exprest it in seuerall Prouerbs This blessing of Light and Heat of distinguishing and cherishing the good from and aboue the bad springs from a good King if hee bee only a Head of the Common-Weale many Heathen Kingdomes enioyed such Dayes vnder their Augustus Traians Adrians and the like But if the King be also a member of the Church a King of Israel as King Dauid was then doth he yeild vnto his State another Day vnto the Ciuill hee addes a Spirituall Day for as Constantine said well A good King is Episcopus ad extra Ecclesiam as the Pastors are ad intra though he may not administer sacred things yet must hee command them to be administred to bee administred sincerely that no Errours or Heresies dimme the heauenly Light and to be entertained reuerently that the people may feele the sweet inflaence of Grace Epistola ad Bonifacium hee maketh Lawes for the promulgation of the sauing truth of God as Saint Austine teacheth and by wholsome Discipline brings the people to be aswell religious as loyall no lesse dutifull children of God
aduersitie therefore as wee must praise God for the one so must wee pray against the other at the same time wee must doe both But who are they that must doe it the text hath no more but Wee but if you looke vnto the beginning of the Psalme you shall find a Commentarie vpon that word you shall find that this must be done vniuersally Israel must doe it The House of Aaron must doe it all must doe it that feare the Lord if all be the better for the Day the dutie of solemnizing the Day belongeth vnto all to the Ecclesiasticall to the Ciuill State both must acknowledge what they receiue both must acknowledge the Day whereon they did receiue it The Day wherein the blessed Sunne did arise vnto vs all the fruits of whose Raigne are this great calme from stormes of warre and plentifull publication of Gods sauing truth wee must all acknowledge both these blessings As we must all acknowledge them so must we all take full comfort in them we must not defraud the Day of our ioy seeing the day brings comfort vnto vs it brings comfort to our bodie and comfort to our soules therefore our bodies and soules must reioyce in it In it but not forgetting him that made it that is God As for the Day wee are most beholding to him so in him must we ioy most But our comfort must not make vs forget our danger danger from without danger from within danger from our owne vntowardlinesse danger from the maliciousnesse of our enemies this double danger must make vs seeke to him that made our Day that he would make it a perpetuall Day that hee would hinder whatsoeuer impediment we may iustly feare from our enemies and not suffer vs to be an impediment of our owne blisse I shut vp all with the very words of my text Our times are such as that we haue good cause to vse the first words This is the Day which the Lord hath made and if we must say this this must draw from vs that which followeth the religious solemnizing of the day we must exhort each the other and be perswaded by our mutuall exhortation to vow the expressing of our comfort Wee will reioyce and bee glad in it and deprecate whatsoeuer imminent danger with Saue Now wee beseech thee O Lord O Lord we beseech thee send vs now Prosperitie AMEN A SERMON PREACHED AT SAINT MARIES IN OXFORD ON THE fift of Nouember 1614. LVKE 9. VERS 53 54 55 56. 53. But they would not receiue him because his face was as though he would goe to Ierusalem 54. And when his Disciples Iames and Iohn saw it they said Lord wilt thou that wee command that fire come downe from Heauen and consume them euen as Elias did 55. But Iesus turned about and rebuked them and said yee know not of what spirit you are 56. For the Sonne of man is not come to destroy mens liues but to saue them Then they went to another Towne FAthers and Brethren Reuerend and Beloued in the Lord We solemnize this Day in a religious acknowledgement of the King and his Kingdomes our Church and Common-weales vnspeakable deliuerance from an vnmatchable Treason In furtherance of this common Pietie to refresh our memorie and quicken our deuotion I haue chosen this storie which containes an vnpartiall censure of an inordinate Zeale inordinate Zeale in two Apostles who are therefore vnpartially censured by our Sauiour Christ And this storie haue I the rather chosen at this time to speake of in this place because here is the hope of Church and Common Weale the Seed aswell of the Gentrie as of the Clergie And it is for such that the Factors of Rome doe trade to make Aduocates of the one and of the other Actours of their holy Fathers most barbarous Designes Wherefore it is very behoofull that they aboue others bee not only inured to detest but informed also vpon what ground they should detest such sauage such hellish counsels and attempts Now better informed they cannot bee then if they be furnished with sound rules of a good conscience which they may oppose to all deceitfull Romish ones wherewith the vnlearned are insnared and they peruerted that are vnstable The Romanists boast of their manifold studies of Diuinitie and indeed they haue manifold I would they were as good as they are many But their Cases of Conscience are that vpon which they principally relie and wherewith their Kingdome is most supported And no maruell for they are euen for the Lay-mans studie and their Power of the Keyes is chiefly managed by these Cases It is most true that all parts of their Diuinitie are full fraught with sophistrie but when we come to this part ouer and aboue what impietie what iniquitie what impuritie doe we find Others occasionally may vnder take other points I wish they would prouided alwayes that they doe it soundly discreetly considering what a precious what a tender thing a good Conscience is It is not euery mans skill aright to handle it But I haue now to doe with a point of Iniquitie with an vnlawfull reuenge of persons afflicted for Religion We haue here a Reuenge proposed by such afflicted persons and we haue Christs doome passed therevpon that such reuenge is vnlawfull See it in the Text. First the Affliction The Samaritans would not receiue Christ And this Affliction was for Religion Christ was not receiued because his face was as if he would goe to Ierusalem It was great inhumanitie not to entertaine a stranger but the reason improues it as high as Impietie if we therefore fare the worse at the hands of men because wee are well disposed to serue God Being so farre vrged Zeale cannot hold surely Iames and Iohn could not as was their name so were they Sonnes of Thunder were they called and the Exhalations they breath are very hot And yet marke though they are bold to propose yet are they not so bold as to resolue They propose their Desire their Reason Their desire is Fire a cruell weapon and they would not haue it spare a iot it must consume their enemies make a finall and a fearefull spectacle of these vngodly Samaritans A sharpe desire And yet they sticke not at it and why it is not singular they haue though not a Rule yet an Example for it Elias did so that is the reason He dealt so with the old Samaritans when they wronged him and shall these new Samaritans escape better that thus wrong Christ This they propose But they doe not resolue as if they were conscious to themselues that they may erre they submit their desire to God and to Christ They desire Fire consuming Fire but it is from Heauen they would haue no other then God would send Nay they would not haue that except Christ be pleased Master wilt thou if thou say Nay we haue done Behold Nature and Grace and how Grace doth stop the furie of Nature Grace doth somewhat but the Fountaine
such women is verie vnnaturall it is no lesse then Incest Incest in the highest degree Such is the fact And verily such a fact is most haynous it is wickednesse Wickednesse is a common name to all sinne but it must here be vnderstood in a speciall sense for abominable for intollerable wickednesse Now such as the sinne is such is the doome the sinne is haynous and the doome is grieuous But in the doome take notice of two things First it is impartially seuere impartially doth GOD deale he spareth neither man nor woman neither him nor them And he dealeth seuerely with them both they shall burne him and them with fire and you know fire is a painfull tormenter and an vtter destroyer of that which it tormenteth Great seueritie and yet no greater then was necessarie to keepe the State from being guiltie that there be no wickednesse amongst you No wickednesse not absolutely none that is impossible in this world but no tantum nefas as the Vulgar expresseth the sense well no heynous wickednesse must be amongst you amongst you that is suffered by you which will make the State guiltie and prouoke GODS wrath against it You haue the briefe of my Text which I purpose GOD willing to enlarge GOD grant that what I shall say thereon may make these Penitents truly sorrowfull for their fault and vs that behold them carefull not to be ouertaken with the like fall Come we then to the particulars But before I distinctly vnfold them I must in few words cleare the phrases wherein the fact is exprest Obserue then first that to take a woman in this Law is to vncouer her nakednesse as MOSES expresseth himselfe vers 17. Cap. 18 or as we commonly speake to haue carnall knowledge of her Secondly Isha in the Hebrew tongue signifieth as well a woman as a wife and therefore some translate it if a man take a woman some if a man take a wise It is not materiall which way you render it because it is an vndoubted truth that whom a man may not marrie with he may not know carnally out of mariage if he doe it is incest no lesse Incest if he make her his strumpet then if he tooke her to be his wife Thirdly It is all one for the daughter to be the wife and the mother the strumpet or for the mother to be the wife and the daughter the strumpet the Incest will euer be of the same degree because the persons are both wayes of the same neernesse I note these two last points the rather because these Penitents may happily thinke they are not within the compasse of my Text whereas if it be vnderstood as the truth is and I haue shewed you my Text speaketh directly of them and the fact here mentioned is their fact The fact is but one but there are two sinnes in it whereof the first is Adultery it is adultery for one man to take more women then one As GOD made but one EVE of one ADAM so in mariage he coupled but one EVE to ADAM and he coupled them so neere that they two should be one flesh that is that the man should not haue power ouer his body but the woman nor the woman should haue power ouer her body but the man and the obseruance of this is the keeping of Pactum Iehouae the Couenant of the Lord which had accompanying it magnum benesicium and magnum mysterium a great blessing for their seed was semen sanctum a holy seed and GOD promised to be the GOD of those children which were borne of such parents The great mysterie was that liuing in such wedlocke they were a perpetuall monument vnto themselues of the heauenly mariage of CHRIST and his CHVRCH Marke now especially you that are Penitents what the sinne of Adulterie is First It maketh them two againe whom GOD made but one for a man cannot be one with two women because whose he is he must be hers entirely and he cannot be entirely more then one womans so that his first sinne is that he diuideth that which is indiuisible I meane coniugall affection Secondly He bestoweth that which is none of his owne for his body in this respect is his wiues she onely hath right vnto it and to this vse of it Thirdly In breaking GODS Couenant of wedlocke he defraudeth his children of the couenant of grace For obserue it in the storie of ABRAHAM he had children by two wiues SARA his first and his lawfull wife AGAR his second and vnlawfull wife but what saith the Scripture Cast out the bond-woman and her child Gala◠4.30 for the child of the bond-woman shall not be heire with the child of the free woman Besides the great mysterie you may there-hence gather this morall that although GOD may out of his mercie receiue that child whom the parents as much as lyeth in them cast away yet GODS couenant is made with the parent for no children but those that are begotten in lawfull wedlocke Finally Adulterers defraud themselues of that blessed memoriall of CHRIST's eternall coniunction with his CHVRCH the contemplation whereof should be our greatest solace seeing we haue a blessed interest therein There were euill enough in the fact if it were onely Adulterie seeing Adulterie hath so manifold euill in it but there is a greater sinne which is Incest for the women are of verie neere reference the one is a mother the other is her daughter neerer kin they cannot be and being so neere it is vnnaturall that they should be knowne of the same man he that knoweth them both committeth Incest in the highest degree But I will some-what more open vnto you the nature of Incest Know then that GOD purposed by wedlocke not onely to multiply mankind but also to preserue charitie Naturall charitie is founded in Consanguinitie but consanguinitie the farther it spreadeth the more doth charitie grow cold To repaire and as it were quicken it GOD instituted Affinitie which doth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 make domesticks of strangers and naturalizing those that are forreiners to our stocke And indeed it is much like graffing for as in that art the Sien is taken from a sweet Cherie or Apple tree and entred into another growne wild for example a Crab-tree or wild Cherie-tree and art doth worke as nature in making them one so is it in Affinitie it maketh persons as neere as nature it selfe doth and charitie out of this re-vnion should grow as strong as if the persons were of one blood euen as beames of the Sunne which growing weaker the farther they goe by reflection into themselues recouer their former strength so doth the charity of consanguinitie when it is waning waxe againe by the helpe of Affinitie Where by the way note That whereas we call persons fathers-in-Law mothers-in-Law and so brothers and sisters we must not vnderstand it of meere positiue Law but it is a secundarie Law of nature vnalterable sauing onely by GOD and this Law of
pleasure his owne guifts but they may not be drawne into example by vs to the preiudice of a well setled Ecclesiasticall policie the generall ordinance must hold except women that breake it can shew a dispensation Ordinarie Women-Prophets and Priests sprang vp amongst the Heathen with the corruption of Religion who as they had female Gods so had those Gods for their attendants suitable persons of their owne Sexe yea sometimes their He-Gods had She-Priests in the Poets tales you shall find enough of such trash The Heretickes receiued it from the Infidels corrupting holy orders as they did GODS sacred Truth and had their Prophetesses accompanying them yea the Petuzians ordained Episcopas and Presbiter as feminine both Bishops and Priests Licinius as Eusebius reports by a tyrannous Law forbad women to assemble in the CHVRCH with men and commanded them to haue their seuerall Congregations to make themselues Teachers of their owne Sexe but his Edict is censured for ridiculous and whether within the CHVRCH or without the CHVRCH the calling of women to this sacred function hath beene deemed a prophanation of holy orders The Councell of Carthage hath a short but a full Canon to this purpose Caum 98. Quamuis docta quamuis sancta admit a woman be neuer so learned neuer so holy yet non presumat she may not presume to meddle with a sacred function It is not to be hoped that any woman will euer be of so vnspotted a life as was the Virgine Marie nor so well acquainted with the mysteries of the Kingdome of Heauen yet shall you not find in all the life of CHRIST or after his death during the time which she liued with the Apostles that she intermedled with any part of pastorall function Whereupon St Bernard was bold to put off an imposture of a Priest that made the Virgines Image to speake vnto him when he entred into a CHVRCH to performe his deuotion with this wittie answer Your Ladiship hath forgotten that St PAVL forbids women to speake in the Church But if women be allowed to be onely Hearers in the seruice of Religion it may be thought they haue little to doe whereas indeed it is farre otherwise for not onely St PAVL in this Epistle sets them out other worke but Solomon also Prou. 21. hath read an exemplarie Lecture of good houswiferie vnto them in which chapter also they may find some libertie that they haue to teach for there Bathshâ—ba is brought in teaching and instructing her sonne Solomon and it may be gathered out of the second Epistle to Timothie that Timothy was bred vp in Religion by his mother Eunice and grand-mother Lois it being out of all question that women are so farre allowed to teach as to instruct them which vnder their husbands are committed to their charge But the Apostles interdict forbids them within doores in the presence of their husbands and likewise abroad in the companie of others especially if they be men to attempt any such thing If they doe it abroad they vsurpe vpon the Pastors function as within doores vpon their husbands for though the place where they meet be not properly a CHVRCH yet by reason of the vse whereunto they put it their meeting becomes a Conuenticle and such acts of a woman are in the eye of the Law derogatorie to the authoritie of the Pastors as in the eye of Reason to the authoritie of man vpon whom it is not lawfull for a woman to vsurpe as followeth in my Text. And indeed the generall Inhibition that forbids a woman to vsurpe authoritie ouer a man is the ground of this particular they must not be teachers but hearers for teaching carrieth with it a kind of authoritie But more distinctly to rip vp this generall rule which forbids women to vsurpe authoritie vpon men the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 imports two things authoritie and exemplaritie words that are authenticall are words of command and such as inferiors must exemplifie and the priuiledge of speaking such words belongs vnto man For whereas all authoritie is included in three heads Rex Propheta Sacerdos all three are setled in man man hath a kingly power in his House to giue order vnto all businesses which concerne the same and he is appointed a Prophet to his Family to informe them of the knowledge of GOD I know him saith GOD of ABRAHAM Gen. 18. that he will command his children and his houshold after him and they shall keepe the way of the Lord c. In the Law parents are commanded euerie one to teach his children and St PAVL 1 Cor. 14. requires women if they will learne any thing to aske their husbands at home which as it taxeth the ignorance of such men as are not able to teach so that they may be able it whets their industry to be more carefull to learne Finally a man is Sacerdos the sacrifice of prayer and thankes-giuing must be offered by him for his whole Family Iob 1. this did Iob practice day by day he sent for and fanctified his children and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all This which is true in a priuate Family is much more true in a Common-weale which is but a multitude of Families and the authoritie in publike must be in persons of that sexe to which it belongeth in priuate If women intermeddle they doe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vsurpe vpon the authoritie that is proper to man and then what followes The Philosopher will tell you that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the rule of women is the baine of a Family no lesse then tyranny is the baine of a Common wealth the reason is plaine they haue more of the heart then the head and their affections out-step their discretion yea whereas in the head there is wit and wisedome women are commonly more wittie then wise for wisedome requires the pondering of circumstances but the forwardnesse of their affections will not suffer women to pause so long whereupon it followes that their resolutions are rash and wilfull which cannot prognosticate any good euents Cornelius Agrippa hath tried the best of his wits to aduance them in abilities aboue men but he doth so collude in handling the Argument that women may well feare a iudgement will be giuen against them if they come to the Barre furnished with no better euidence Happily some woman may be as wise as Abigail and some men as silly as Natal yet then neither doth man lose his prerogatiue nor woman acquire a title aboue him she may deale with him per viam consilij but not imperij counsell she may command him she may not In a word women are not to giue directions to men nor men to take their patternes from them the contrarie rather must preuaile both in priuate and publike especially in ecclesiasticall functions men are to giue women their directions and women are to take their patternes from men for so much the distinction that sorts them into
GODS not onely all-seeing Psal 13â— but also fore-seeing Eye GOD himselfe answereth the question in Ieremie concerning mans Heart Who can search that intricate and wicked labyrinth I the Lord. The LORD onely is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the searcher of the Heart and we are much better knowne to him then we are to our selues This Inequalitie being obserued marke now the Apostles Inference Is our Heart condemne vs God is greater then our Heart and knoweth all things If we regard the Iudge in our bosome how much more must wee regard the Iudge of Heauen and earth if we stand in awe of the knowledge which wee haue of our selues how much more must wee reuerence the piercing eye of GOD Nay if Cain and Iudas and such other wretches were so distressed and perplexed when they were but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 onely condemned by themselues and it is so fearefull a thing for wickednesse to bee condemned by its owne Testimonie Wisd â—â— How will they bee at their wits end when they shall bee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 arraigned before CHRIST comming in the glory of his FATHER and all his holy Angels with him when the Bookes shall be opened and the lury giue euidence vnto the Iudge according to those things that are written in those Bookes The miserie must needes be answerable and it is fit that our feare bee answerable to the miserie Certainely it is the drift of the Apostle to worke an Affection in vs sutable to the obiect that he setteth before vs. And we shall doe well to make that vse of it vse of the Inference which he maketh arguing from a condemning Conscience vnto a Condemning God whom no Iudge can equall in Omnipotencie no Iury in Omnisciencie My Text intreateth not onely of a Condemning but also of an Absoluing Conscience and it maketh a comfortable Inference thereupon And here we are first to obserue the absolute comfort of a good Conscience that from thence we may ascend vnto the Comparatiue The absolute is Boldnesse boldnesse in Iudgement for so you must vnderstand it sutably to the Argument The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 freedome of speech A guiltie man is tongue tied as you may perceiue in the Parable of the Marriage Feast the man that wanted a wedding garment was no sooner asked Friend how camest thou in hither but he was euen speechlesse The eloquentest man will become mute out of the guilt of his Conscience It is no small comfort that a seruant can vtter his owne defence in the presence of his Lord. The Syriacke Paraphrase rendreth the word by Reuelationem faciei a guiltie man hangeth downe his head hee hideth his face so the Scripture describeth Cain And indeed confusion is inseparable from guilt The Philosopher can tell vs that Blushing in children is nothing but the vaile of Consciousnesse and men that doe not easily blush supply that defect by hiding their face But Innocencie needeth no such couert it shameth not to bee seene the cheerefulnesse of the countenance doeth speake vnto the world the guiltlesnesse of the Conscience St. â— Corinth 1. Paul calleth this boldnesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Gloriation because it is the onely thing wherein a man may glory yea and ioy too for A good Conscience is a continuall feast Preâ— 25. Whatsoeuer mans state is in this world he can neuer be defrauded of this glorious ioy Hee that hath a good Conscience hath more comfort vnder the Crosse then hee that hath an ill Conscience can finde in the middest of all his pleasures for Conscientiam malam non sanat preconium laudantis nec bonam vulnerat conuitiantis opprobrium This is the generall comfort and therefore it is found aswell in the Iudgement of the Heart as of God But from the absolute consideration hereof let vs come to the Comparatiue If we feele this boldnesse in the inward Iudgement we shall feele it much more in the outward if the imperfect verdict of our owne Heart so cheere vs what cheere shall wee conceiue out of the perfect verdict of GOD But the boldnesse that we haue to God-ward doeth appeare specially in three things First in Prayer in that a good Heart bringeth vs to GOD Hebr. 10. in full assurance of Faith and the answere of a good Conscience maketh intercession for vs to God 1 Pet. 3. Secondly at the day of Iudgement when a man of good Conscience will not feare the wicked nor bee troubled hee standeth confident like a Lyon while the other flie A good Conscience is that same Oyle which the wise Virgines had to trimme their Lampes when they met the Bridegroome which made them stand with boldnesse before the Sonne of man Thirdly in Heauen when they shall appeare before the Throne of GOD there to attend with Angels and Saints Blessed are the pure in heart saith CHRIST for they shall see God Argue then thus If it bee comfort to behold GOD by Faith what comfort will it be to behold him by sight If it bee comfort to finde a Quietus est when we call our selues to an account what comfort will it bee to receiue our discharge from GOD if it be comfort to mee to talke familiarly with my owne Soule what comfort will it be for me to talke familiarly with GOD We must argue from the one to the other as from a finite vnto an infinite thing and so conclude the greatnesse of the one from the little taste that we haue of the other To draw towards an end The scope of this Scripture is to teach vs what vse we must make of our Conscience We should consult it before we set our selues about any morall worke and assure our selues that it is a more faithfull Counseller then are our lusts they draw vs whither themselues incline and what themselues abhorre from that they withdraw vs but the Conscience will deale most faithfully with vs it will diswade vs from nothing but that which is euill and perswade vs to nothing but that which is good And happy were wee if we would make it our guide Naturall men were lesse vnhappy if they did so for they would lesse offend GOD and should bee lesse punished Christian men were much more happy for their guide would teach them more to please GOD that they might bee more blest But if this doe not mooue vs let vs feare the aggrauating of sinne the more meanes the more guilt the more guilt the more stripes And what vse will a man make of other meanes that neglecteth this domesticke that sitteth so close to him as his owne Heart And yet see I report mee to euery mans owne Conscience whether he bee ruled lesse by aime then hee is by his owne Heart Our Conscience is furnished both with the Law and with the Gospel and how could we so enormously violate either if we would hearken vnto her if we would suffer her to direct our actions But this is rather to bee wished then
Lord that art pleased I should liue I blesse thee for that my time hath not beene night but day euen Summers daies long and warme cheerefull and fruitfull But the day of my Soule hath beene much better then the day of my bodie seeing the Sunne of righteousnesse hath also risen vnto me who hath so illighned me that hee hath discouered thy saluation to me That saluation which freeth me from all I feare and supplieth vnto me all that I want my eyes are vpon both yea my selfe is possest of both And what couldest thou haue done for me Lord which thou hast not done that hast blest me so corporally that hast blest me so spiritually I haue no more to expect in this life and therefore I willingly surrender it to thee this long-liued bodie this spirituall-liued soule Hoping that both shall turne their length into eternitie and their daies shall bee yet much more cleare and much more warme where God is the Sun and both light and heat are such as proceed from that Sunne A Meditation vpon Psalme 39. VERSES 12 13. 12. Heare my prayer O Lord and giue eare vnto my erie hold not thy peace at my teares for I am a stranger with thee and a soiourner as all my fathers were 13. O spare me that I may recouer my strength before J goâ— hence and be no more seene O Lord I am mortall I see it I feele it but it is thou that hast cleared mine eyes and quickned my sense which otherwise are to dimme and dull to read or acknowledge what notwithstanding I beare engrauen in capitall letters and the condition of my nature maketh palpable Yea so are my senses taken vp with other obiects and so little am I willing to know that whereof if I be not willingly blind I cannot be ignorant that except thou hadst rowsed me and thy afflicting hand stung me I should certainely haue beene both deafe and dumbe I should not haue heard thee neither shouldest thou haue heard from me But Lord the bitter Potion that I haue taken from thy hand hath wrought thus farre as to make mee confesse that it is too hard to be digested by me if thou doe not delay it I must needs perish by it Yet Lord I know that it is not the end whereat thou aymest thou meanest not to take me out but weane me from the world This vse if I make of thy rod thou wilt quickly giue ouer to lay on stripes I haue made this vse I now doe better know my selfe I liued before as if I were not onely in but also of the world I vsed not the things of this world but enioyed them rather Now I find that I haue here no abiding place I am but a soiourner a Tenement I haue here but no free-hold the goods that I haue I account them not mine otherwise then by loane and therefore am as readie to leaue them as I haue an vncertaine title to them And if I am but a soiourner in this place I must needs be a stranger to the personnes little commerce with them little affection towards them haue I. And why should I haue more seeing they will haue little with me and beare little towards mee I am crucified to the world and the world is crucified to me Weedes grow neere the corne and corne neere the weeds but yet the neerenesse is not without a strangnesse for neither doe their rootes sucke the same iuice in the ground neither aboue ground doe their stalkes beare the same fruit euen so thy children O Lord that cohabit with the children of this world neither inwardly nor outwardly liue by nor walke with the same spirit which the worldlings haue My roote is in heauen and my fruit heauenly I am transplanted from the wild Oliue into the true and grow no more in the fields but in the Paradise of God Neither is this my single condition I haue it common with my Fathers I am their heire and their inheritance is descended vnto me what they were not I desire not to be neither would I be more inward with the world then they desired to be Happily flesh and bloud may suppose that it hath a greater interest in things of this life and neerer cognation with the men of this world but it is a supposall of flesh and bloud I make it not the Iudge of my state neither according to it do I esteeme my selfe I haue better Parentage and better can I proue my Pedigree I acknowledge none for my fathers that had their portion in this life from them I descended that vsed the world as if they vsed it not and walked with thee with those Pilgrims I professe my selfe a Pilgrim and my life but the life of a way-faring man that is on his way to the Holy land Therefore as they so I desire not to bee surcharged with earthly things neither to surfeit on the vanities of this life I desire to liue but it is that I may keepe on my way to haue the things of this life but no farther then they are necessarie for my iournie I haue enough if I haue enough to doe this Measure vnto me so much and so temper my crosse that I may not come short of this I desire not to be immortall in a state of mortalitie farre be that from the heart of thy seruant onely let me not bee dis-inabled to my iournie so long as I am fit to walke therein and to walke towards thee Forbeare to sowre my life and make bitter my daies I would serue thee cheerefully I would serue thee couragiously deiect me not enfeeble me not let not thy heauie hand ouerwhelme me with heauinesse of heart neither let thy punishing hand enfeeble my fainting spirits It is not long I desire to liue neither is it continuall ease that I affect I know that the later is not safe too much ease is the bane of pietie and more haue gone to heauen from the Racke then from their Downe-bed And as for the former it is against the Decree thou hast made our daies but a span long and the time of our pilgrimage is but a moment scarce worthie the name of time What then is my desire That of this little thou shouldest affoord me a little a little breathing before I breath out my last Let me be a while what before long I must cease to bee a vigorous Pilgrim let me walke strongly that before long shall not be able to walke at all let me foretaste heauen on earth and trie me with the vse of earth how much I preferre heauen before it If thou continually affright my conscience with the horror of sinne if thou daily for sinne afflict my bodie if thou put no end to the malice of men and if thou cloud the state of thy seruant with incessant disgrace how shall I so forlorne a wretch so distressed a caitife not be ouer-whelmed with dispaire and proue restiue in my way How shall I inwardly or outwardly
sinne hath abridged what had no bounds it hath brought our life within a short compasse it is measured by dayes and dayes are aâ— the first so the least part of Time which thou hast made And these dayes are not infinite in vaine should a man desire to number that which cannot bee numbred Iacob said his dayes were few Dauid that his were but a span long Saint Iames that no mans life is more lasting then a bubble a man would thinke a litle Arithmeticke would cast vp so small an account a man seemes to need no better a master then a man for what man is he that is ignorant of this principle That man is mortall and that it cannot be long before he returne to dust And yet Moses that was learned in all the sciences of the Aegyptians amongst which Arithmeticke was one desireth to learn this point of Arithmetick onely of thee O Lord why Is it because as Iob speaketh thou hast determined the nuÌ„ber of his dayes Would Moses haue thee reueale to euerie man the moment of his end Such speculations may wel beseeme an Aegyptian an Israelite they doe not beseeme Thy children O Lord know that it is not for them so to know times and seasons which thou keepest in thine owne power and are a secret sealed vp with thee we should not prie into that counting house nor curiously inquire into that summe It is not then a Mathematicall numbring of daies that Moses would be schooled in but a morall he would haue God not simply to teach him to number but to number so and so points out a speciall manner a manner that may bee vsefull for the children of God And indeed our petitions must beare this mark of profitable desires and we should not aske ought of thee but that by which if we speed wee may become the better he that so studieth his mortalitie learnes it as he should and it is onely thou O Lord that takest him out such a lesson But what is the vse O Moses that thou wouldest haue man make of such a knowledge Euen to applie his heart vnto wisedome O happie knowledge by which a man becomes wise for wisedome is the beautie of a reasonable soule God conereated him therewith But sinne hath diuorced the soule and wisedome so that a sinfull man is indeed no better then a foole so the Scripture calleth him and well may it call him so seeing all his carriage is vaine and the vpshot of his endeauours but vexation of spirit But though sinne haue diuorced wisedome and the Soule yet are they not so seuered but they may be reunited and nothing is more powerfull in furthering this vnion then this feeling meditation that wee are mortall For who would not shake hands with the world that knows we must shortly appeare before God Yea who would not prouide for that life which hath no end that seeth that this hastneth so fast vnto an end Finally who would suffer the arrowes of Gods wrath that summon vs vnto Iudgement to passe vnregarded seeing the due regard thereof is able to turne a Tribunall into a Throne of grace Surely affliction if we discerne the hand that infflicts it is the best schoole of wisedome yea of the best sort of wisedome the wisedome of the heart it turneth knowledge into practise and maketh vs more tender hearted then we are quicke sighted it doth not onely discerne that God is a consuming fire but melts at the very sight of him it doth not onely know that Gods word is a hammer but feeleth the force thereof in a broken and contrite spirit it conceiue feares so soone as it heareth threats and is no sooner touched but it is reclaimed And this is Wisedome the true wisedome of a mortall man whose best helpe against mortalitie stands in the awful regard of Gods offended fauour Seeing then O Lord this is the fruit of that desired knowledge and hee is best seene in the length of his dayes that is most humbled with the sense of thy wrath and he needs least to feare death that doth as hee ought most feare thee vouchsafe to bee his master that desireth to bee thy scholler and let grace teach what nature doth not discerne that I moulder into dust because I corrupt my selfe with sinne so shall I bee wearie of my naturall folly that negotiates for death and affect true wisdome that is the Tree of life with this I shall endeauour to furnish not onely my head but my heart also and that which now is the seate of deaâ—h shall then become the receptacle of life that life which beginnes in thy feare which is the onely in-let of euerlasting ioy A Meditation vpon Lament 5. VERSE 21. Turne thou vs vnto thee O Lord and we shall bee turned renew our dayes as of old WEe are mutable and what wonder Seeing we are creatures we cannot know that we were made of nothing but wee must acknowledge that to nothing we may returne againe and indeed thither we hasten if we bee left vnto our selues For marre our selues we can but we cannot mend our selues wee can dedestroy what God hath built but we cannot repaire what we doe destroy Wretched power that is onely able to disinable vs and hath no strength but to enfeeble him whose strength it is I read of Adam the first monument of this vnhappie strength but I may read it in my selfe I as all his sonnes inherit as his nature so this selfe ruining power But when experience hath made me see how valiant I haue been against my selfe inflicting deadly wounds precipitating my person and misguiding my steps I become disconsolate and helplesse in my selfe what then shall I doe To whom then shall I seeke To the fiends of hell that sollicited me to sinne To the worldly vanities by which my lusts were baited Well may they adde to my fall raise mee againe they cannot they will not such euill trees beare no such good fruit and if they did they would rather haue me a companion in their sinne and in their woe then seeke to free mee from or ease me in either of them But happily the good Angels as they are more able so they are more willing to pittie to relieue mee but they behold thy face O Lord and stirre not but when thou sendest them and they only to whom thou sendest can be the better for them these heauenly spirits that attend thy Throne moue not but at thy becke and doe no more then thou commaundest I see then that if I stray it is thou that must fetch me home it is thou Lord that must lift me vp when I am slipt downe to the gates of death and my wounds will be incurable if thou bee not pleased to heale me Thou Lord hast made me know in what case I am and onely canst redresse my wofull case I seeke to thee and to thee onely To thy wisedome I commend my head illighten it shew me thy way thou that of nothing
madest me something vouchsafe to make me somthing that haue brought my selfe to nothing Yea worse then nothing for sinne is so it doth not onely abolish that good which thou hast giuen me but it filleth me with euill that is opposite to good yea to God And how much better is it at all not to be then to be a sinner To bee nothing then to be a feind of hell Neuer to haue seene the Sunne then to bee at enmitie with God This is the state where into I haue cast my selfe and thus farre haue I estranged my selfe from thee And how restlesse am I vntill I returne to thee O Lord Sinne forfeits many things besides God but let a man recouer all all besides will yeeld no content except a man recouer God And why Lord Thou art the soueraigne good and without thee nothing is good If I doe not partake the creature in reference to my Creator well may I haue it I shall haue no true comfort in it Take then all from me and leaue me God though I haue nothing yet shall I enioy all things for God is all in all Wherefore though I am sicke I doe not desire health I desire God and it is God that I desire when I am poore I doe not desire wealth I am senslesse of all other wants I hunger and thirst onely after God Seeing then thou Lord onely canst quiet canst satisfie my Soule if thou vouchsafe to turne me turne me vnto thee let me not make a stand before I come so far neither let me thinke my selfe recouered vntill I haue recouered thee Let others rest contented with the drosse of the earth or with the pompe of this world my originall is from heauen and I can find no rest vntill my affections rest there Therefore returne me vnto him from whom sinne hath estranged mee euen to thy selfe O God I beg this of thee because I can expect it from none but thee and from thee I am sure I shal not expect it in vaine For be I neuer so farre gone I cannot goe out of thy reach I can bee no more out of the reach of thy Grace then of thy Power as thou canst smite me so canst thou heale me and thou canst bring mee home as well as thou canst cast me out Lord I make no doubt of the successe if thou vouchsafe thy will for Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me whole onely thy power is equall to thy will and thou canst doe whatsoeuer pleaseth thee Be pleased then good Lord to put to thy helping hand that thy prodigall Child that by the first step of thy grace is come home to himselfe by a second step may come home to thee I desire no new blessing no such blessing as thou hast not vouchsafed to the sonnes of Adam yea to mee Thou madest Adam after thine owne Image and me in him holy and happie diddest thou make vs such sun-shine dayes were our former dayes cleare and warme without corruption without mortalitie though now we are both sinfull and wofull all our dayes are such euill dayes But thou O Lord that commandest at first light to shine out of darkenesse and dost continually exchange the night for day shine vpon mee let the Sunne of righteousnesse arise vnto me become my father make mee thy child giue me grace to serue thee and vouchsafe thou to blesse me create a new heauen and a new earth in this little world of mine wherein let righteousnesse dwell Yea and happinesse also let them rest on my bodie let them rest on my soule let them rest on both all the daies of this life vntill thou bee pleased to remoue both hence and consummate this thy fauour in the life to come Wherein my daies shall be though like yet much better then my dayes of old by so much better as glorification shall exceed the creation Thou seest O Lord the vpshot of my desire Now let my desire be a comfortable Prophesie of thy fauour disappoint me not of that for which thou hast made mee long so change me by grace here on earth that I may be what I hope to be by glorie in heauen where all things are made so new that they neuer can waxe oâ—d AMEN Meditation vpon Ecclesiast 41. VERSE 1. O death how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liueth at rest in his possessions vnto the man that hath nothing to vexe him and that hath prosperitie in all things and is yet able to receiue meate WEe haue no abiding place on earth none haue but of those that would haue there are many Many there are O Lord that though they must die cannot indure to mind death nothing more vnsauorie to some then that their memorie should be exercised with the memorie thereof And who are they Surely they whom the earth most fauoreth are they that are best affected thereto where their goods are there they thinke it is good being And how should any bee willing to part from that wherein he findeth content and whereupon hee hath set his rest He it is that is not onely in but of the world not onely vseth but enioyeth the same and from that which is our ioy if we be seuered we cannot be seuered without paine Heauen is a blessed place and blessed is the state which all are promised that shall come thither But this truth we belieue we doe not see it surely the worldly happie man doth hardly credit it because he hath no sense thereof Sense that hath immediately to doe with the world as it is pleasured so doth it iudge thereof it iudgeth it the onely place of happinesse If it may be so happie as to be fed to the full with that which it desires if we haue goods and haue the vse of them what saith flesh and bloud should I wish for more And indeed what fuller definition can an earthly mind make of a blessed life then secure store and a comfortable vse of such goods which are the goods of this naturall life Although in themselues they are fleeting vanities yet sensuall reason honoureth them with the glorious title of substance it thinketh they are and are what they seeme because it iudgeth according as it wisheth and what it would haue them to be it holds them to be such And if man bee so vnhappily happie as to hold them without the opposition of enuie or malice and their wings are clipt from flying away the more proprietie we thinke we haue in them the more are we confirmed in our erroneous iudgement of them Nothing doth more roote a mans heart in the world then an ouer great calme wherin he sayles and rides at Anchor in the world worldly peace doth much helpe forward a worldly mind Especially if we bee lulled a sleepe by both charmes of this peace Securitie and Plentie if no bodie disturbe vs no bodie impaire what we haue gathered no casualtie no calamitie cloud the Sun shine of our day or sowre the