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
not vnsitly distinguish the Remedie as we did the Disease the broken bones were vnderstood Properly and Figuratiuely Properly for the languishing of the body Figuratiuely for the languishing of the soule this being the cause whereof that is the Effect or that being as it were the redundancy of this Seeing then the Medicine must be of the same extent with the disease we must finde in it a Comfort for the Soule and a Comfort for the Body the Comfort of the soule noted by Ioy and the Comfort of the body noted by Gladnesse so that the whole Comfort must make vp Iubilum which as Gregorie the great noteth in his Moralls is such a chearefulnesse as taking roote in the soule doth manifest it selfe in the body and the light of the Countenance doth argue the peace that is in the Conscience But Saint Austin vpon the Gospell of Saint Iohn hath taught vs to distinguish of Ioy there is Gandium veritatis and vanitatis a true and a false ioy Ioy of it selfe is nothing else but the Content that euery part of our body and power of our soule taketh in the obiect that was made for to please it as the Eye hath ioy in colours the Eare in sounds the Palate in meates c. if these bee proportioned to the temper of the sense so fareth it with the powers of our soule but sinne hath distempered vs within and without and we can rellish no better then we can discerne wee doe as ill rellish true Ioy and Sorrow as wee doe distinguish Good and Euill therefore that we mistake not our Cure we must take heed that we doe not mistake Ioy and Gladnesse Gaudium vanitatis for Gaudium veritatis false for true Ioy that you may distinguish the one from the other I will shew you three markes wherby they may be discerned true ioy is first purum it is affected with nothing but that which is good that which is euil should properly be the obiect of sorow therfore all that delight in drunkennesse adultery blasphemie or any other sinne though they seeme to haue Ioy yet indeed it is no true Ioy for it is 〈◊〉 7.6 Chap. 20.12 13 14. â—â—ke 6.25 but as the Crackling of thornes as Salomon speaketh or as Iob like poyson sweete in the mouth that killeth so soone as euer it commeth into the maw of such Christ saith in the Gospell Woe be to you that reioyce for you shall weepe The second marke of true Ioy is that it is Solidum it spendeth not it selfe vpon toyes but vpon that which is of worth Wee obserue it as a difference betweene children and those that are of riper eares that children value things as they affect those that are of riper discretion value them as they are a child will preferre an apple before a iewell and we sinile at it but how many of vs doe more glory in fantasticall fashions then we doe in the greatest vertues but we shall bee driuen in the end to write vpon them Vanity of vanity all is but vanity yea those toyes will helpe to breake our bones for they will proue vexation of spirit and why they want the second property of Ioy there is no solidnesse in them The third property of true Ioy is that it is perpetuum it resteth not vpon that which is transitory which may be taken from vs or we from it that is a deceitfull Ioy the rich man was told so Luk. 12.19 who said vnto his soule Soule be merry eate and drinke thou hast goods for many yeeres but hee heard Thou foole this night shall they take thy soule from thee and then whose shall these things be Luke 12.33 wherefore wee must prouide our selues bagges which waxe not old a treasure in Heauen that fadeth not where no thiefe approacheth neither moth corrupteth where such treasures are there let our hearts bee also But all this while I haue but distinguished true Ioy from false I haue not shewed you what this medicinall Ioy is Lib. 1. Cons Est gaudium saith Saint Austin quod non datur impijs sed ijs qui te gratis colunt there is a Ioy whereof the wicked neuer partake it belongeth only to them that are thy faithfull seruants and what is that horum gaudium tu ipse es they haue no Ioy but thee and they thinke their liues most blessed when they ioy in thee and for thee But how can a man that is a sinfull man come to haue God for his Ioy surely in Christ and by Christ so saith the Angel to the Shepheards Luke 2.10 11. Behold I bring you tidings of great Ioy which shall be vnto all people for vnto you is borne a Sauiour which is the Lord Christ. In the Prophet Esay Cap. 61.1 2 3. Christ speaketh thus The Spirit of the Lord is vpon me because hee hath anointed me to preach good tidings vnto the meeke hee hath sent mee to bind vp the broken hearted to proclaime liberty to the captiues to giue vnto them that mourne in Sion beauty for ashes the oyle of ioy for mourning c. Cap. 9.3 And elsewhere speaking of Christs birth They shall ioy before thee according to the ioy in haruest and as men reioyce when they diuide the spoile And indeed hee that knoweth the case of one hunger-starued and bound in fetters like a slaue cannot deny but the newes of liberty the newes of plenty must needs bee good newes ioyfull newes vnto him and such is the newes of Saluation by Christ when we heare Son be of good cheere Mat. 9.2 thy sins are forgiuen thee when Christs spirit beareth witnesse to our spirit that we are the children of God wee must needs embrace these blessings with exceeding Ioy as in Samaria there was great Ioy so will there be in any City where this Saluation commeth to sinfull men You haue heard what is the Disease and what is the Cure you must heare whence it commeth not from Earth but from Heauen It is vsuall with too many when the worme of Conscience biteth them and they smart from that inuisible sting to sort themselues with iouiall company by them to driue away melancholly and to charme this Serpent with variety of sensuall delights but little doe they thinke that these are Medici nihili Chap. 13.4 Physitians of no worth as Iob speaketh and that when they returne to themselues againe and looke againe into themselues they shall find that the worme hath crept in farther and biteth more smartly the sting gets faster hold and paineth more grieuously and no maruell for may a man expect to be cured by that which caused his disease or shall he not rather be the worse the more he applieth that Physicke Esay 45.7 Deut. 32.39 there is none but God that can create Light and darknesse Good and Euill that can wound and heale kill and make aliue againe therefore if in so desperate a case we desire to haue recouerie wee must
by this Text yeeldeth him this glory hee need not if hee will be vnprouided of the best gift that can be giuen that is himselfe poore selfe if he haue grace to be as poore in spirit as hee is in purse and lament the want of grace asmuch as he doth his want of wealth Finally This Text is one of the Prefaces to our dayly Liturgie I would we did as often practise it as we doe repeate it Certainly there is great cause we should whether we respect sinne or woe whereof there was neuer more or any that deserued more humiliation The times deserue that euery day should bee a day of humiliation and that euery man should affiâ—â—t his soule the more wee know God requireth this seruice and the better wee see that he accepteth it the more forward should we bee to performe it ANd I pray God wee may haue so heard this Text opened that our hearts and Spirits may relent with it so shall we not be iudged of the Lord if we will iudge our selues Nay sowing in teares we shall reape in ioy AMEN PSAL. 51. VERSE 18. Doe good in thy good pleasure vnto Sion build thou the Walles of Ierusalem WHen I brake vp this Psalme I shewed that it consisteth of two Vowes made by King Dauid one for himselfe another for his Kingdome I haue ended the first that Vowe which concerneth the King I am now come vnto the second the Vow which he maketh for his Kingdome This second Vow as the first will be resolued into a Desire and a Promise Of the Promise in the next Verse the Desire is contained in this In opening of this Desire I will obserue first for whom it is conceiued secondly what it doth containe Those for whom it is conceiued are noted in these words Sion Ierusalem which made vp the mother Citie of the Kingdome of Israel an excellent type of the Church for these King Dauid maketh a suite and the suite for them is in effect the same which he made for himselfe He sueth that they may be restored into the state of grace that is the meaning of these words Doe well vnto Sion Secondly that being restored they may be preserued therein which he beggeth in these words Build vp the Walles of â—erusalem These be the blessings for which he sueth and hee sueth for them in a sense sutable to the places his suite is Mysticall But to whom is the suite made And for whose sake doth hee hope to speede Surely he sueth onely to God to him it is that hee saith Doe good build thou the walles and hee hopeth to speed onely for Gods sake therefore doth he adde in thy good pleasure Doe good in thy good pleasure and in thy good pleasure build thou the Walles of Ierusalem Lay together the parts of the Text and then you will see in it two remarkable vertues confidence in God and compassion towards the Church Confidence for in the beginning of the Psalme Dauid seemeth so deiected that he hath enough to doe to pray for himselfe hee so describeth his estate as if hee were not worthy to doe so much but towards the end of the Psalme he sheweth himselfe another man hee taketh heart and becommeth a suiâ—our for all Israel yea hee presumeth to begge for it the greatest blessing of God But he doth it out of another vertue also which shineth here the vertue of Compassion he is not contented to fare well himselfe he desireth the wel-fare of his whole Kingdome as hee made it obnoxious to Gods wrath so he holds himselfe bound to bee a mediatour for Gods fauour Such charitie in praying deserueth to be exemplarie wherefore let vs listen diligently to the vnfolding thereof that wee may learne to exemplifie it in our prayers The first thing that we must enter vpon are those for whom King Dâ—uid conceiueth this desire they are Sion and Ierusalem which words in the Scripture are taken sometimes historically sometimes mystically that is either they nore places in the holy land or else by those places represent vnto vs the Church of God Because the mysticall sense cannot bee concerued but by the correspondencie which it hath vnto the historicall I must first open the historicall that so I may the better guide your apprehension in the mysticall Before I doe this I must let you know that Sion and Ierusalem were two distinct places yet it is vsuall in the Scripture in naming either to meane both In the second Psalme I haue set my King vpon my holy hill of Sion Sion there comprehendeth Ierusalem for Dauid who is meant in that Text was King of both In the beginning of Ecclesiastes Solomon is said to haue beene King in Ierusalem we may not exclude Sion for he was King in that also This being briefely obserued I come now to the â—â—storie of these words Where first you must obserue that either of these places were hills of Sion the common attribute doth witnesse it for it is called Mount Sion and of Ierusalem it is as true Iosephus reporteth that it was built vpon the hill Acra the Psalmist beareth witnesse hereunto saying Psal 87. He hath laide his foundations in the holy mountaines and the common phrase of ascending to Ierusalem Secondly the whole tract of those hils was called the land of Moriah which is by interpretation the place where God appeareth or is conspicuous there God appeared vnto Abraham when hee was ready to offer Isaac there did he appeare vnto Dauid when the punishing Angell vpon Dauids Prayer was commanded to sheath his sword Finally there appeared the Sonne of God in our flesh when he wrought the redemption of man Thirdly those places were two seuerall Cities whereof one was in the lot of Beniamin the other was in the lot of Iudah Ierusalem that was in the lot of Beniamin was conquered by Iosua but Sion that was in the lot of Iudah continued in the possession of the Iebusites vntill the dayes of King Dauid he subdued them though he did not wholly extinguish them as appeareth by the storie of Araunah the Iebusite Dauid hauing gotten the possession of Sion ioyned it with a Wall to Ierusalem and so of two made one Citie one Citie of those which before were two and that of two seuerall nations Iebufites and Israelites of this vnion we must vnderstand these words in the Psalme Psal â—â— Ierusalem is a Citie that is compacted together in it selfe Fourthly Dauid hauing thus vnited the Cities translated thither the Arke and God there designed a place where the Temple should be built euen vpon a piece of ground that lay indifferently betweene the Tribes of Indah and Beniam in and so it became the fixed place where God chose to put his name and where hee vouchsafed to reside betweene the Cherubins it was Gods sedes Religionis the ordinarie place of Diuine worship to this the afore-named Psalme beareth witnesse Thither the Tribes euen the Tribes of Israel goe vp according
midst not of the Holy land onely but also of the whole world a Citie saith our Sauiour Christ built vpon a Hill cannot be hid Math. 5 and againe Men doe not light a Candle to put it vnder a bushell God was neuer so farre estranged from Apostataes but he placed his Church so as that before Christs Incarnation the iourney was not hard for any to come at it and after Christs Incarnation when God was pleased to seeke to Men that in so many generations did not seeke to him and the Law was gone out of Sion 〈◊〉 1. and the word of the Lord from Ierusalem the passage was the more easie for all parts of the world so carefull hath God beene to take all excuse from the murmuring disposition of sinfull men The places yeeld these correspondencies which you haue heard there are besides these two other which spring from their proper names Sion signifieth a watch Tower Ierusalem the vision of Peace Applie this onely to the Church Militant and then this correspondencie ariseth The first representeth the nhture the second the fruit of Faith The nature of Faith is to stand as it were sentinell and discouer with one one eye Gods will and what we ought to doe with the other eye our spirituall foes and how they make towards vs. From such a Faith the fruit that we reape is peace for we shall haue peace with God if we take heede vnto his will and our foes will not much disquiet vs if they find vs standing vpon our guard If wee applie it not onely to the Militant but to the Triumphant Church also then Sion signifieth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 our waiting for the Adoption Rom. 8. to wit the Redemption of our bodies or that same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mentioned Heb. 11. the saluting a farre off of that which we hope one day comfortably to enioy And that which we shal enioy is noted by Ierusalem wherin we shall dwell as in a peaceable habitation Esay 32. in sure dwellings and in a quiet resting place you may read at large hereof Reuel 22. and conclude that quae nunc Sion est futuraest Ierusalem the Church which is Militant shall one day be Triumphant Out of all this which you haue heard you may gather how due the commendation is which is giuen to this place it is called the Citie of our God Psal 48. Fers 1.2 Chap. 2. Chap. 3. the mountaine of Gods Holinesse beautifull for situation the ioy of the whole earth Esay calleth it a Mountaine lifted vp aboue all mountaines Ieremie calleth it the Throne of the Lord others giue it other honourable titles the Psalmists concludes all in this short Verse Glorious things are spoken of thee O thou Citie of God I conclude this point As that you haue heard is Typus Ecclesiae so it is also Imago nostri as it doth represent the whole Church so ought euerie man herein to behold what manner of person himselfe ought to be In Homogeneous bodies such as the Church is what is commended to the whole must bee obserued by euerie part euerie part must bee though not in quantitie yet in qualitie the same with the whole as of a great wedge there is not a Mite which is not as true Gold as is the whole wedge Wherefore you must take all these correspondencies and applie them to your selues and trie your selues by them for certainely euerie man is a Citiz en either of Ierusalem or of Babylon and if you find not in your selues the Characters of a Citizen of Ierusalem you haue reason to feare that you are of a worse societie of the societie of Babylon and then reade in the Prophets read in the Reuelation of what a miserable Corporation you are I leane the examination and comparison of these things to euerie mans priuate Meditation and passe forward to my Text. Hauing found for whom King Dauid conceiueth his desire wee must now see what he would obtaine for them and we shall find that it is in effect the same which he begged for himselfe he deliuereth his minde in fewer words but hee altereth not his meaning as you will perceiue when I haue vnfolded the branches First then he desireth that Sion and Ierusalem may be restored into the the state of Grace so doe I vnderstand these words doe good That you may see I doe not mistake them obserue that there is something which these words suppose and something which they expresse They suppose that the contagion of King Dauids sinne did cleaue to his people And surely so it did such is the reference betweene a King and his people that the finne of the one doth affect the other 2. King 21. Manasses filled Ierusalem with bloud and God was not pacified Quicquid delirant Reges plectuntur Archiui Prou. 28.2 till for Manasses sinnes he gaue Ierusalem into the hands of the Caldeans you see there how the sinnes of the King doe affect the people And contrarily the sinnes of the people doeaffect the King Solomon speaketh it plainely for the sinnes of the people there are many Princes God taketh them away by vntimely death as he did Iosiah This being true must not be mistaken for though each of their sinnes doe affect the other as farre as to bring punishments vpon them yet doth it not follow they should alwayes infect one the other and so deserue the punishment Euerie man hath cause of punishment enough in himselfe by reason of his owne peculiar sinnes but the occasion of punishing them is often taken from another mans sinnes such an one as betweene whom and him there is neare reference Vpon this supposition doth King Dauid make this prayer doe good as if hee should say my sinnes doe deserue that thou shouldest frustrate my good purpose and thine owne gracious promise vnto Israel Dauid succeeding Saul found the Kingdome in a verie bad case you may read it in the beginning of the sixtie Psalme and Dauid set himselfe for to recouer it againe as appeareth Psal 75. yea and God himselfe did promise by Nathan that all should doe well But now he might well doubt that God would let loose the raines vnto his enemies againe and interrupt all the peace and prosperitie of his Kingdome and so he should haue no opportunitie to goe forward with this Reformation he might feare least God would retract those gracious words spoken of Sion This is my rest for euer here will I dwell I will aboundantly blesse her prouision Psal 138. I will satisfie her poore with bread and I will also cloth her Priests with saluation and her Saints shall shout out aloud for ioy Hauing this iust ground of feare hee maketh this prayer doe good And so the good which hee meaneth must be Bonum indulgentiae and Bonum beneficentiae hee prayeth God not to lay his sinne to his peoples charge nor for his sake to interrupt their prosperity but rather to grant that the sonnes
my mouth if I preferre not Ierusalem before my chiefest ioy GOd grant vs all such a disposition so will our dayly prayer bee vnto God Doe well O Lord vnto Sion build thou the wals of Ierusalem PSAL. 51. VERSE 19. Then shall they be pleased with the Sacrifices of Righteousnesse with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings then shall they offer bullockes vpon thine Altar THe later of King Dauids Vowes that which hee made for his Kingdome doth present vnto vs a Desire and a Promise I haue opened the Desire I am now to open the Promise vnto you In vnfolding whereof I shall God willing shew you First What it containeth Secondly When it taketh place It containeth a double vndertaking of King Dauid Hee vndertaketh first for God vnto the Kingdome in these words Thou shalt be pleased with the Sacrifices of righteousnesse with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings Secondly he vndertaketh for the Kingdome vnto God in the words that follow They shall offer bullockes vpon thine Altar But more distinctly In King Dauids vndertaking for God obserue a Deuotion and the Acceptance thereof the Deuotion is noted by the name of Sacrifice And touching this Deuotion we are moreouer taught that it is solid and full solid as appeares by the qualitie for it is a Sacrifice of Righteousuesse and righteousuesse maketh Deuotion to bee solid As it is solid so it is full I gather that from the varietie for it consisteth of burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings and these two as anon you shall heare will make vp a full Deuotion If the Denotion be so solid so full it will find Acceptance with God it will find acceptance for it will please and he that is pleased is no other then God to him Dauid saith Thou shalt be pleased with the Sacrifice of righteousnesse In the second vndertaking the Kingdome is noted by this word They for it repeateth Sion and Ierusalem which were mentioned before That which for them Dauid vndertaketh is that they shall be verie thankefull vnto God verie thankfull for they shall offer Bullockes and they shall not misplace their thankfulnesse because they shall offer vpon Gods Altar But when shall all this bee The Text doth tell vs in this word Then Then shalt thou be pleased Then shall they offer When God hath fulfilled the Desire whereof you heard in the former verse Then shall follow the accomplishment of the Promise whereof you shall heare on this Dauid vndersaketh this for if you marke hee speaketh without all peraduenture he affirmeth considently Thou shalt bee pleased They shall offer Finally lay together the many parts of the Text and behold a blessed Accord betweene God and his Church God graceth the seruice of his Church and the Church acknowledgeth the bountie of her God a better accord we cannot wish And we may haue our part therein if we listen to that which shall be said as attentiuely as affectionately as I hope we will I am sure we ought Before we fall vpon the particulars we must take by the way this rule The Promise must be vnderstood sutably to the Desire that had a double sense a litterall and a spirituall and so must this haue also This rule must be carried through the particulars of my Text Whereof the first is Sacrifice A Ceremoniall word and importeth a Legall seruice whereof the most part was performed at the Altar either the brasen or the golden Altar But God was pleased to shadow a Morall in that Ceremoniall seruice as you may gather out of Ezekiels last Vision which is a Prophesie of the New Testament Saint Peter speaketh it plainely when he telleth vs that we must offer spirituall Sacrifice through Christ to God 1 Pec. â— 5 And indeed what is a Sacrifice but a visible prayer Neither is prayer ought else but an audible sacrifice Yea looke how many kinds of prayers there are so many kinds of Sacrifices was God pleased there should be Saint Paul reckoneth vp foure kinds of Prayers whereof the first 1 Tim. 2.1 is f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Deprecation when the conscience of sinne maketh vs endeauour to pacifie Gods displeasure vnto this answered the Propitiatorie sacrifice The second kind of Prayer was z 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Petition wherein man seeketh to God for supplie of his want vnto this answered the Votiue sacrifice Either of these Deprecation and Petition may be made for others as well as for our selues whereupon Prayer receiueth a third fashion and name which is called a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Intercession whereunto there was an answerable Sacrifice as you may reade in the first and last of Iob where hee Sacrificeth for his Children and for his friends Finally when wee haue receiued that which we seeke at the hands of God by any of the three former kinds of Prayer then come we to him with a fourth and that is a c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thanksgiuing wherevnto did answere the Eucharisticall sacrifice Seeing then there is such a correspondencie betweene Morall deuotion and Legall sacrifices the one may very well note the other and I did not without cause tell you that Deuotion was meant by the name of sacrifice But touching this Deuotion we are moreouer taught first that it must be solid for it must be a sacrifice of righteousnesse And indeede it is righteousnesse that maketh our Deuotion solid But there is a double righteousnesse a righteousnesse of the Offerer and a righteousnesse of the Offering I will shew you both first in the Ceremoniall then in the Morall seruice First for the Offerer There was about Salomons Temple a Court which was called Prophane beyond which no vncircumcised or vncleane person might come neither of them were deemed worthie to come into the Court of Israel or offer at Gods Altar except he were first circumcised if a Gentile and if an Israelite defiled except he were first Ceremonially purified Whereby the Holy Ghost did giue vs to vnderstand Morally that neither Insidels nor vnrepentant Christians are fit to serue God their sacrifice wanteth that righteousnesse that must bee in the Offerer which is Faith and Repentance without which no man is worthie to come into his presence There is a second righteousnesse and that is of the offering In the Law God commanded that no vncleane beast should bee sacrificed vnto him Nuâ—â— 18 15. and in those that were allowed for sacrifice he endured no blemish either inherent or adherent 〈◊〉 3 6. they must not bee blind lame or diseased these were inherent blemishes neither must they bee ill gotten for God would not receiue the hire of an harlot Applie this Morally And then yee must obserue that all impure thoughts and lusts must be excluded from our Deuotion they are more abhominable then vncleane beasts a man may not begge of God that hee may speede in his adulterous his murderous his treacherous designes wee may begge nothing of God but that which
not ouerflow But this spirituall fountaine haue it neuer so little of the water of life euen of that little some will runne ouer and the deriuatiue seates of Charitie will keepe some proportion to the Primatiue You see there is an order in these seates of Charitie ad intra as Charitie spreadeth it selfe within the Soule Looke vpon the words againe and you shall see that there is also ordo ad extra a good prouision made in these seates for the exercise of this vertue when it must bee employed without vs. For though it bee properly the Will that must loue yet must it loue discreetly and effectually And see here is not onely the electiue power seasoned with Charitie which is the Heart but the directiue also which is the Minde and the executiue which is the Soule and strength So that God giueth vs thereby to vnderstand that we must not onely loue but loue as wee ought hee will not haue our loue to bee either vndiscrete or idle Ignorance is no good mother of Loue of Lust it may bee and therfore the Poets faine Cupid blinde but God will haue vs know what wee loue And though men doe not alwayes loue so much as they know yet certainly he that knoweth little cannot loue much not loue as beseemeth Charitie which I told you is a reasonable Loue. As Loue must not bee ignorant no more must it bee idle God will haue the executiue faculties imployed the soule and the strength must attend the discretion of the mind and choyce of the will and endeauor to obtaine what the one doth direct vnto and the other choose If this bee done then is our Charity as ordinate in the exercise as it is in the spreading Besides the Doctrine of the Ordinatenesse of Charitie in regard of the seate thereof we must looke into the Subordinatenesse for of the seates one is Imperatiue and Definitiue the rest are Imperatae Definitae Charity is an elicite action of that power which is the natiue seate therof the Will it springeth properly from thence But it is an action of the other powers as they are commanded by the Will the Will layeth a commande vpon them all and that commande is Loue. The vnderstanding must Loue the Soule must Loue the Strength must Loue all of them by the commandement of a louing Will. The Will prepossest her sclfe with Loue doth not onely deriue her qualitie into them but command them also to employ the same And here must I lead you to obserue another point of the powers of our Mind Soule and Strength Their actions are indefinite our vnderstanding may muse vpon what it will and to what end it will if it be left vnto it selfe and if the Soule be left vnto it selfe it may long after and delight in what it will and so may our Strength pursue or repell But God is not pleased that they should bee left vnto themselues that they should worke at randome they are all subiected to the power of the Will The Will commandeth the Mind whereon to think what to studie to employ its discourse vpon that which her selfe doth Loue Lord saith Dauid what Loue haue I to thy Law All the day long is my studie in it And as for the Soule marke how that followeth the Will I haue loued saith Dauid the habitation of thy House Psal 26. and the place where thine Honour dwelleth Hereupon sprung that passion My Soule longeth euen fainteth for the Courts of the Lord. Psal 84. Neither is it lesse true of the Strength as it appeareth in the same Psalme they goe from strength to strength vntill euerie one of them appeareth before God in Sion Yea Charitie putteth sinne wes into them that Loue which make them as strong as Death which cannot bee conquered Can. 8. and like a flame of fire which cannot be quenched So that though the seate of Charitie be manifold yet is one of them a limiting power the other are limited the Will receiueth Charitte and maketh all the rest of the powers to frame themselues for the aduancement thereof it restraineth their rouing disposition and maketh them bend all their seruice thereunto Certainely in sensuall Loue it is too plaine carnall men draw their thoughts their desires their endeauours to that which they loue carnally It should be so with spirituall men also and no doubt hath beene in many seruants of God that haue liued in the world as if they were not of it their Will hath shewed a great power in commanding the powers of their Soule though they haue found some reluctancie Out of all gather this that Charitie is virtus Catholica a vertue that ouerspreadeth the whole man And no maruel for it is the Image of God and Gods Image was not limited to apart no lesse then the whole man was made after his Image Seeing then God is Charitie man must represent in euerie power a Charitie answerable vnto God In the Canticles wherein this vertue is liuely set forth Christ and his Church are not onely said to be each the Beloued of the other but each is called by the name of Loue Christ in the second the Church in the seuenth Chapter As if the Holy Ghost did meane wee should neuer leaue extending this vertue vntill we were as it were wholly transformed into it or vntill it did as vniuersally quallifie our Soule as our Soule doth quicken our body Of good qualities which are commended vnto vs there is a double perfection partium and graduum of the parts wherein they must subsist and of the degree whereunto they must arise Of the degree of Charitie I shall speake hereafter when I come to the measure the perfection here required is of the parts the Holy Ghost calleth here for euery part of man and will haue no part of him voide of Charitie This is agreed vpon by all and therefore I told you that it may well be called a Catholike vertue Much a doe there is in the Christian world whether are the truer Catholikes Wee or the Romanists and each side striueth to make good his claime euen vnto bloud Might this Catholike vertue which is out of controuersie preuaile in our liues the quarrell would be sooner determined and we should be better prouided against the common enemie But the more is the pitie malice maketh a way vnto malice the mutual malice that distracteth Christians vnto the deadly malice of the Turk that would destroy all Rom. 3. The description that Saint Paul maketh of an vnregenerate man doth fit too well many of those that goe for Regenerate Charitie that should of right haue all hath at all no part in them the poyson of Aspes is vnder their tongues their throte is an open sepulchre their feete are swift to shed bloud c. And their Inwards are worse then their Outwards whether you looke into the Head or into the Heart mischiefe and hatred possesse both Charitie can find place in neither
can that haue then to entertaine God Iohn 14. If any Man loue me saith Christ my Father will loue him and we will come vnto him and make our abode with him and where Gods and Christs abode is there is the Kingdome of Heauen euen righteousnesse peace and ioy of the Holy Ghost The third is the Soule and whether doth the desire thereof runne but vnto God Psal 84. and where will it rest but only in him My soule longeth euen fainteth for the Courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh crieth out for the liuing God Blessed are they that dwell in thy house The sensitiue Soule that is on attendant vpon the Will what greater happinesse can it haue then to feed vpon the crummes that fall from that Table where God suppeth in the reasonable soule of man whereat nothing is serued but the bread the water the fruit the foode of life The last abilitie is our Strength Psal 84. and Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee O Lord they goe from strength to strength but whither Ibid. That euery one may appeare before God in Sion Dauid therefore had rather be a doore keeper in Gods House then to dwell in the tents of vngodlinesse and he giueth the reason for God giueth good wages to his seruants Ibid. The Lord is a Sunne and a shield hee will giue grace and glorie and no good thing will he withhold from them that walke vprightly Yea whereas in the seruice of others we cannot vse our strength but we weare it out It is not so in the seruice of God hee satisfieth thy mouth with good things Psal 103. so that thy youth is renewed like the Eagles Euen the youthes shall faint and be wearie and the young men shall vtterly fall But they that wait vpon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount vp their wings as Eagles they shall runne and not be wearie and they shall walke and not faint Isay 40. The longer a man serueth God the more able he will be to serue him So then that a man may loue himselfe he must loue God and hee that doth not loue God cannot Loue himselfe because by Loue he hath communion with God wherein standeth his happinesse and of this happinesse he doth defraud himselfe so farre as he commeth short in his Loue of God And indeed this is no small difference betweene God and the diuell The diuell in shew biddeth vs Loue our selues doe all for our selues and wee are so simple as to beleeue him and thinke that we doe so whereas the euent proues we doe all for him and to our owne ruine for he is the plaine Image of Vsurers who liue by the sweate of other mens browes and cunningly grow rich by vndoing others with a seeming reliefe But as for God his precepts bid vs renounce our selues giue our selues wholly vnto him but in the conclusion hee hath nothing we haue all According to the answere which the Father of the prodigall made to his murmuring eldest sonne who expostulated thus with him Loc these many yeeres doe I serue thee neither transgressed I at any time thy Commandements and yet thou neuer gauest me a Kid that I might make merrie with my friends Sonne said the Father thou art euer with me and all that I haue is thine Much more is this true of our heauenly Father who doth not desire to keepe vs busily and well employed for his owne thrift but for ours it is for our comfort and not for his owne Be not sad therefore O Christian Soule if he that made thee wholy will so wholy be beloued of thee as if he had left thee nothing wherewith to sollace by selfe for thou dost neuer loue thy selfe better neither euer shalt thou take greater content in thy selfe then when thou louest God with all thy heart with all thy soule with all thy mind and with all thy strength Thus at length we haue found out the second measure the measure of that Loue of our neighbour which is prescribed by Grace a man is here bid by louing God to loue himselfe that so louing himselfe he may know how to Loue his neighbour Because he that doth not Loue God cannot loue himselfe and so by consequent cannot Loue his neighbour Loue being so sanctified it is true which the Schooles haue Regula est prius regulato se prius quis diligere debet quam proximum Seeing then such is the Measure wherewith wee must Loue our selues we must keepe the Loue of our neighbour within the bounds of the Loue of God We must loue in him the loue of God if he haue it Psal 16. Mine eyes saith Dauid are vpon such as are faithfull in the land my delight is in thy Saints and such as excell in vertue and else-where describing a man that shall dwell in Gods Tabernacle and ascend into his holy Hill he saith Psal 15. that it is he in whose eyes a vile person is contemned but hee honoureth them that feare the Lord. When one told Christ that his mother and brethren stood without desiring to speake with him he answered and said to him that told it who is my mother And who are my brethren And stretch out his hand towards his Disciples saying Behold my mother and my brethren for whosoeuer shall doe the will of my father which is in Heauen he is my brother my sister and my mother If wee cannot loue our neighbour for that he is not yet seasoned with the Loue of God wee must loue him that hee may be so seasoned for so did Christ loue man not for that hee was but for that hee might bee the son of God Acts 28. and heyre of Heauen as himselfe was And Saint Paul when vpon a Sermon Agrippa told him thou hast almost perswaded me to bee a Christian I would saith hee that not onely thou but also all that heare me this day 1. Epistle 1. were both almost and altogether such as I am excepting these bonds And Saint Iohn That which wee haue seene and heard declare wee vnto you that ye also may haue fellowship with vs and our fellowship may be with the father and with his sonne Iesus Christ For this cause would not Saint Paul haue the beleiuing wife forsake the belieuing husband 1. Cor. 7. and Christ so loues his Spouse because all faire c. in the Canticles You see then that if we loue our neighbour wee must loue him propter Deum in regard of the loue of God And why because you must not loue your selues otherwise De Doct Christ lib. 1. cap. 22. Whereupon Saint Austin giueth this good note Siteipsum non propter teipsum diligere debes sed propter Deum non succenseat homo sieum diligas propter Deum If I make the loue of God the onely reason why I loue my neighbour my neighbour hath no cause to bee offended with me because I must make it
for they that trust in the Lord are like vnto mount Sion which shall neuer be remoued LOrd guide vs by thy Counsell support vs by thy Power that wee be neyther circumuented nor quelled but by thy direction and protection we may escape both the craft and the force of all our Enemies So shall we euer glorifie thee as our admirable Counsellour and our most mighty God THE FIFTH SERMON The euerlasting Father the Prince of Peace THe Excellencie of Christs Person consists in the indowments thereof which are Regall but Spirituall That they are Regall appeares in his two first titles whereof I haue already spoken and that they are Spirituall it will appeare by the other two whereof I am now to speake Whereof the first sheweth that Christs Kingdome is not of this world He is the Father of eternity the second sheweth that the condition of his people is not worldly Christ is Prince of Peace To begin with the first In the Originall the first of these two titles is so exprest as I haue read it The Father of eternity And the words beare a double sense for either Aeternity is made the Attribute of the Father and so by an Hebraisme The Father of eternity is no more than the eternall or euerlasting Father so some Translations reade it or Aeternity may note that which is subiect to the Father and so the title imports that he is a Father of eternall things and so some Translations reade The Father of the world to come We need not to bee troubled with this variety for the words will beare eyther Translation and both these things concurre in the same person He that is the euerlasting Father is a Father of euerlasting things We will therefore handle both and first shew you that Christ is an euerlasting Father The phrase doth distinguish betweene our Father and our Father the Father of our flesh and the Father of our spirits of whom St. Paul speaketh Heb. 12. Of these two the first is Temporall the other is Aeternall that the first is but temporall wee may gather out of the fift of Genesis where are reckoned vp the longest liued Fathers that euer were in the world but of them all it is said that they begat children and then they dyed they left their children to the world And as they so their posterity come within the compasse of that of Iob Man that is borne of a Woman is but of a short time or as Dauid speakes His dayes are but a spanne long When he hath serued his course he goeth the way of all flesh and sleepes in his graue Neyther is he temporall only in regard that he must dye but also in regard that his affection is mutable Some parents destitute their children inforced by death but not a few put off the affection of Fathers euen in their life and they in that respect also may be termed but temporall Fathers Our Sauiour Christ speaking of the later times telleth vs that the Father shall rise against the Sonne as the Sonne against the Father Saint Paul speaking of former times Rom. 1. amongst other wicked ones reckoneth vp persons that were without naturall affection and it were an easie matter out of Histories to report that many haue dis-inherited many haue murdered many haue deuoured their own children so farre vnnaturall haue they beene In opposition vnto these two cases which apparantly conclude that the Parents of our flesh are temporall temporall in regard that they are mortall in their nature and temporall in that they are mutable in their affections our Sauiour Christ is termed an euerlasting Father death cannot take him from vs for euen in his death wherein notwithstanding his abode was so little that hee saw no corruption the hypostaticall Vnion which made him a father did not cease And as for his affection it is immutable Whom he loueth hee loueth vnto the end of the perpetuitie of his being excellent is that place Esay 63. Doubtlesse thou art our Father though Abraham be ignorant of vs and Israel acknowledge vs not Thou O Lord art our Father and our Redeemer thy name is from euerlasting And touching the perpetuity of his louing the Church there speaketh also Looke downe from heauen and behold from the habitation of thy holinesse and of thy glory where is thy zeale and thy strength the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercy towards me 〈◊〉 9. â—â—al 27. are they restrained No they cannot bee restrained For as God in this Prophet speaketh elsewhere Can a Mother forget her child If she can yet will not I forget thee saith the Lord And King Dauid When my father and my mother forsooke me the Lord tooke me vp This is the reason why our Sauiour Christ in the Gospell biddeth vs Call none father vpon earth for that we haue but one father which is in heauen hee liueth when the other dye and when the other hateth he continueth his loue and therefore is deseruedly called the euerlasting Father Two good Lessons are implyed herein the one teaching Piety the other Charity We are taught Piety when we are taught that he whom we obey is our Father for if I be a Father saith the Lord where is mine honour Mal. 1. and Moses to Israel Deut. 32. Doest thou so reward the Lord O thou foolish people and vnwise is not he thy Father that made thee c. And as the very name of Father teacheth Piety so doth the name of Euerlasting teach it much more St. Paul argueth so Heb. 12. If so bee wee honoured the fathers of our flesh which are mortall as is our flesh how much more should we honour the father of our spirits which is immortall as is our spirits Great reason haue we to reuerence this Father that neuer ceaseth to be our Father that hath prouided that euen when we lose our fathers we should yet stil haue our Father haue him for our Father which is the Father of Orphanes It is no small comfort nor weake pillar of our faith that we neuer want a Father yea our double birth readeth vs this Lecture For as we come out of our mothers wombe by the help of our mortall Parents so to signifie that we haue immortall parents we are then borne againe in the Churches wombe Neither doth this title teach vs only Piety but Charity also charity one towards another For whereas our mortall parents extend their consanguinity and affinity but to a few this euerlasing father extends his vnto all Malachy worketh vpon this Haue we not all one Father Cap. 2. wherefore then do you iniury one to another The blood should neuer be cold seeing wee are all kinne in the first degree all brethren sonnes of one father euen of him that is here called the euerlasting father But how commeth Christ to be called father who otherwise is called our brother he being the sonne of God and God being his father as hee is ours If you respect the Communion of
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
the shadow of death yet will I feare no euill if thou O Lord art with me thy rod and thy staffe shall comfort me c. In all assaults of our peace wee shall at last bee conquerors And this is enough ad pacem viatoris to the peace of the Church militant that wee shall neuer so be deiected but we shall haue strength enough to rouse our selues with King Dauid and say as Psalme 42. Why art thou cast downe O my soule and why art thou disquieted within mee hope in God for I shall yet prayse him who is the health of my countenance and my God and be as resolute as St. Paul Rom. 8. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect it is God that iustifieth c. who shall condemne it is Christ that is dead c. with the temptation God will make a way for vs to escape that wee may be able to beare it 1 Cor. 5. Wee may expect no more than this in the Church militant because as Christ came to preach peace so hee came also to send a sword and if the worke of the house prosper in the hand of Zorobabel and Iosua Tobia and Sanballet will impugne it no sooner doth Christ rest gloriously in his Church but there wil be many that will professe enmity against it But the time commeth when all enmitie shall cease all enemies shall be put downe wee shall be fitted for and admitted vnto the sight of God when our glorie shall be consummated and withall our peace bee made perfect so perfect as that it shall be euerlasting What shall we say then to these things Liuie When the Romanes by conquest might haue giuen law to the Grecians at Corinth in the solemne time of the Istmian games their Generall by an Herauld vnexpectedly proclaimed freedome to all the Cities of Greece the proclamation did at first so amaze the Grecians that they did not beleeue it to bee true but when it was proclaimed the second time they gaue such a shout that the very Birds flying in the ayre were astonished therewith and fell dead to the ground Ps 126. Or if you will haue a better storie take that of the Iewes who when at first they heard of Cyrus proclamation and that the Lord thereby had turned the captiuitie of Sion they confesse that at first hearing they were like men that dreamt but afterward their mouth was filled with laughter and their tongue with singing Now the peace that the Grecians and the Iewes had was but a temporall a corporall peace how much more reason is there that our affections should bee strained to the highest pitch of ioy and thankes when wee heare the proclamation of our peace which is so true so perfect peace the peace not of our bodies but of our soules a peace not of our earthly but of our heauenly state a peace that shall so be begun here that it shall endure for euer Wherefore let vs acquaint our selues with God Iob 22. that he may giue vs peace Christs peace Iob 5. which maketh God at peace with vs reconciles vs to our selues and maketh vs at concord with all the world So may we lay our selues downe in peace and take our rest and God which onely can will make vs dwell in safety Psalme 4. NOw the Lord of peace himselfe giue you peace alwaies 2 Thes 3.16 by all meanes Amen THE SIXT SERMON Thus saith the Lord of Hostes. THese words thus saith or saith the Lord of Hosts haue often come in my way since I first beganne the vnfolding of this Text and I still past by them you may thinke I did forget or neglect them but it is not so they are of greater moment than that I should doe the one or the other I reserued them to the last because then I thought I might handle them best For they are the warrant of Gods vndoubted truth and a warrant is then seasonably opened when that whereunto it is annext hath beene fully declared You haue heard of the blessed presence of Christ in Zorobabels Temple of the preparation thereunto of the description thereof the description of the person that should come of the good that he should doe his bountie in giuing set forth first absolutely then comparatiuely the security of his gift consisting in a foure-fold peace These be many they be great blessings lest we should feare that they are too good to bee true our eye must bee vpon the warrant that will ascertaine vs that nothing is promised which shall not be performed In opening of this warrant I shall informe you of two things What it is and Why it is reiterated so often It is the signature of a most powerfull Person There is a double power Internall Externall this Person is mighty in regard of both in regard of the Internall for he is the Lord in regard of the Externall for he is the Lord of Hostes. As for his signature it is such as beseemes so great a Person plaine and peremptorie thus he saith And these words taken ioyntly are the full warrant of the preachers message and the peoples faith He saith enough to assure and command if he say only Thus saith the Lord of Hosts and they must neither dis-beleeue nor disobey if hee say no more The reason why the words are reiterated so often is the weightinesse of the matter expressed in the reiteration The holy Ghost hereby would worke in vs a regard answerable to the matter which hee hath declared to vs and cause vs to ponder it as it deserues Let vs then in the feare of God listen to the vnfolding of those particulars which I haue pointed at whereof the first is the power of the person The first branch of his power is his internall power it is noted by the name Lord. In the originall it is Iehouah and Iehouah is that name which signifieth the first moment of Gods nature for it noteth his being and being goeth before liuing as likewise doe the attributes of being goe before the attributes of liuing the later doe necessarily suppose the former Mistake mee not I meane not that Gods nature is compounded but wee cannot conceiue the onenesse of all his perfections therefore wee helpe our selues in our contemplations by distinguishing them as they are in the creatures which are a shadow of the Creator a shadow like a body which receiues distinct beames from the Sunne all which in the Sunne are but one for so those perfections are but one in God which grow manifold as they come from him to vs. But to our purpose When Moses was desirous to know Gods name the first that he exprest vnto him was this I am or I am that I am the meaning is all one with the title of Iehouah which is here rendred Lord and giueth vs to vnderstand that all other things in comparison vnto God indeed are not though they seeme to be for they haue not the two characters
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
Angels and Adam who fell They were contented to reioyce in their Day but not in him that made it and so when pride made them vnthankfull Iustice bereft them of that wherein they ioyed And wee may forfeit our Day if wee make them patternes of our ioy King Dauid is a better example who in all his Psalmes of thankesgiuing doth more remember by whom then how happie he was The last thing which I obserue on this point is that ioy must gee with the day The Philosopher can tell vs that pleasure is an adiunct of felicitie vpon this principle is Saint Iames his rule built If any man be merrie let him sing the neglect of this taking comfort hath a heanie doome in Moses Deut. 28. Because thou diddest not serue the Lord thy God with ioyfulnesse and a good heart for the abundance of all things therefore thou shalt serue thine enemies in hunger thirst and nakednesse c. It was not then without cause that Nehemias did reproue the Iewes for weeping when the time remembred them of feasting and indeed what a senslesse thing is it when God taketh pleasure in the prosperitie of his seruants when Angels doe congratulate our happinesse and the rest of the world doth either admire or enuie it for vs to be senslesse and giue no token of our thankfull remembrance of it And if such neglect deserue blame what blame deserueth the murmuring libelling slandering malecontent that maketh a Night of our Day and confoundeth the bright Sunshine with an ominous Ecclipse Such spirits as they are vnworthy of the Day so it were good they were made more sensible of it by experience of the opposite Night Out of all this that you haue heard touching our comfort we may learne that Saint Chrysostomes rule is true Non est parua Virtus gaudere de bonis there is more required vnto full comfort then euery one either heeds or performeth if we will take comfort as we ought wee must not omit any one of those branches which I haue exprest But enough of the comfort I come now to the Prayer As wee must take full comfort in the Day so must wee pray for the happie continuance thereof first of the continuance Saue Lord. The words are Hoshingnana which in the Gospel is rendred Hosanna solemne words vsed by the Iewes at the Feast of Tabernacles When they were in their passage to Canaan they had no other Houses but Boothes or Tabernacles God was pleased to figure the Church Militant in the forme of a Campe when they came into the Holy Land and possessed Cities God would not haue them thinke they cease to be Militant and therefore commanded them once a yeare to dwell in Tents and thereby remember that they must bee alwayes readie to betake themselues againe to such moueable Houses and that they wanted not enemies that would put them to it But marke in what place the Tabernacles were to be pitched euen at Hierusalem which signifieth The Vision of peace there were they to haue a spectacle of warre Neither were the Tents only pitcht at Hierusalem but also round about the Temple to let them vnderstand what that was which was maligned not only their Ciuill but also their spirituall Day for both they were to pray Hoshignana Saue Lord let not their wicked imaginations prosper that haue euill will either at Hierusalem or at Sion The point implied herein is that both our Dayes are changable the Ciuill Day though it be as glorious as the Day of Salomons raigne yet may it haue a rent as great as Salomons Kingdome had when he lost ten Tribes of twelue yea when all twelue were carried away in captiuitie Neither may the Ciuill Day only be changed but the spirituall also the Temple may be burnt aswell as the Citie the Priest destroyed aswell as the Citie the Priest destroyed aswell as the Prince the mists of Idolatrie yea and Infidelitie may ouercast the Church It is plaine in the storie of the Iewes who at first were Idolaters and now are become plaine Infidels Neither hath the New Testament any exemption from this change the Easterne and Westerne Churches shew that all are subiect to the same condition Therefore whilst we stand we must take heed of a fall and the best heed is to pray Saue Lord. As we must pray for the continuance so must we pray that that continuance may be happie We see that though the Sunne bee aboue the Horizon and so apt to make a Day yet many so gges and mists rising from the earth ouercast the Skie and intercept the comfortable influence of the light euen so though God vouchsafe neuer so good a Prince a Prince vnder whom we enioy abundance of peace and the free passage of the Gospel such may be our gracelesnesse that wee shall be the better for neither of them not for the peace that will not make our times a Day if we abuse it in riot and luxurie extortion and imurie diseases that the malignitie of our nature hath made almost inseparable companions of ciuill peace and prosperitie As our vntowardlinesse may hinder the Ciuill Day so may it the Spirituall also if wee loath the heauenly food as many prophane persons doe or as many ouer-curious take an occasion from it to rent the seamelesse Coate of Christ and fall to Sects and Schismes and how many Churches that might haue beene happie haue beene by these meanes most vnhappie Wee haue not wanted Gaules of this kinde which haue fretted our Spirituall Day as our Ciuill is much dimmed by the voluptuousnesse of our times You see then there is good reason of the second branch of the Prayer Prosper Lord let not thy blessings O Lord be receiued in vaine let either sort his blessed effect Religion in the Church and peace in the Common-Weale I haue shewed what you must doe in solemnizing of a Festiuall there remaine two things which I will touch in a word the first is When this must bee done then by whom both these containe the manner How we must doe this dutie these things must bee done ioyntly and they must be done vniuersally Iointly that is noted in the word Now Saue Now send Now Prosperitie we must fall to our prayers euen when we are singing prayses Chap. 11. It is very true which the sonne of Syracke obserueth In the day of prosperitie there is a forgetfulnesse of affliction and in the day of affliction there is no remembrance of prosperitte this is the vsuall course of men Psal 118. but he giueth a good admonition when thou hast enough remember the time of hunger and when thou art rich thinke vpon pouerne and need let vs not forget our prayers when wee are at our prayses When the Church is Triumphant there shall bee then only Ioy and prayse shall be our only worke but while the Church is Militant Dolor Voluptas inuicem cedunt there is a vicissitude of faire and foule weather prosperitie and
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
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