can doubt but life was always in him who only liues of himself giues life both tēporal spiritual to al euē to euery one that hath it But because this maner of giuing life is an effect of Godhead so common to him with the Father and the holy Ghost and not a matter belonging properly to his person nor any worke of his mediatorship I will leaue it as not intended in this place and come to a second consideration of life being in him from all eternity as in the mediator betwixt God and man In what respect then may it be truly and fitly said that life was in him from all eternity In respect of the eternall decree of God whereby he determined to restore to life those whome hee chose therevnto by the mediation of his Sonne the word of whom we speake Of this f Rom. 8. 29. 30 the Apostle speaks Those whom he knewe before he did also predestinate to bee made like to the image of his Sonne that he might bee the first borne among many children Vpon this predestination as the Apostle adds followeth calling iustifying and at the last glorifying which is the highest degree of the life that is in Christ But in g Eph. 1. 3. 4. an other place hee speakes more plainely Blessed be God euen the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ which hath blessed vs with all spirituall blessings in heauenly things in Christ As he hath chosen vs in him be-before the foundation of the world Therefore doth the Apostle Peter ascribe the appointing of the meanes and the execution of it according to the appointment to the foreknowledge of God h Act. 2. 23. Him haue ye taken by the hands of the wicked being deliuered by the determinate counsaile and fore knowledge of God The same is acknowledged by the ioynt confession of the Apostles where they say that Herod Pontius Pilat the Gentiles and the people of Israell gathered them selues together against the holy Sonne of 4. 27. 28. God Iesus whom God had annointed to doe what soeuer the hande and counsaile of the Lorde had determined afore to bee donne VVorthily then doth Saint Iohn avouch that life was in him yea before any time was life was in him i Gal. 4. 4. VVhen the fulnesse of time was come God sent his Sonne Life did not then begin to be in him but to shew it selfe to be in him k Rom 3 25. God set him forth by his incarnation to be apropitiation Life was in him before in regard of Gods eternall counsaile but not discouered nor manifested to the world no nor those works of his which were to bring life performed Yet euen thē was life in him If it seeme to any man somewhat ouermuch to go so far for the Euangelists meaning let him shorten his iorney containe him selfe within the compasse of the world created Shal we not find sufficient reason of this speech In him was life though wee goe not out of the world yes out of doubt very sufficient For seeing many worthy Patriarchs and holy Prophets many true Israelits Sonns of Abraham by faith as well as by nature departed out of this worlde before our Sauiour came into it to performe the foreappointed worke of redemption either these must haue died without life so alwaies continue dead or there was life in him before he was incarnat l Luk. 10. 24. Many Prophets and Kings desired to see and heare him at the Apostles while hee liued heere saw and heard Surely then they were not ignorant of him and that life was in him But did they not see him By one iudge of the rest Your Father Abraham m Ioh. 8. 56. saith Christ reioyced to see my day and hee saw it and was glad And yet what name I one seeing wee haue a cloud of witnesses that compasseth vs round about n Heb. 11. 1. 2. 3. c. sounding out the same assurance of fayth that we now haue and looking for the same promises to bee fulfilled which wee beleeue and knowe to haue beene performed to the vttermost Was not our God o Mat 22. 32. the God of Abraham Isaac and Iacob Was not our Sauiour their Sauiour p Rom. 4. 11. Gal. 3. 16. Dooth not our interest wee haue in Christ depend vpon our being the children of Abraham q Heb. 13. 8. VVas not Iesus Christ yester-day is hee not to day shall hee not bee the same for euer Then may wee safely and truely conclude that there was life in him before he was in the nature of man But howsoeuer it be true certaine that life was in him both from all eternity in regard of the counsaile of God which is as ancient as himselfe in effect in respect of them that from time to time were partakers of it euen from Adam to Iohn Baptist yet it was then most properly in him when hauing taken our nature vpon him he ouercame death and him that had power ouer it the Deuill This was that which those Kings Prophets desired and longed to see This was that which good olde Simeon so reioyced at that he was ready to depart out of this life with full satisfaction and contentednesse when he had seene the promised Messiah in the nature of man Lord r Luk. 2. 29. 39 saith he now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace according to thy word For mine eies haue seen thy saluation The holy man had a long time beleeu'd by faith that saluation was to come and in hope with patience waited for the comming of it but he neuer saw it til that time Indeed how should he For it was neuer to be seene till then How could it be For it neuer was fully perfitly till then It was not enough for the Son of God that he had infinite power as God to giue life to whom he would to repair the ruins of his image in man by clensing him frō sin cloathing him with righteousnes by raising him frō death as he first breath ed the soule of life into him by vouchsafing him a place in heauen which was at his command that had made it Al this I say would not serue the turne that the Euangelist might say as he doth In him was life For the Lorde God Father Son Holy ghost had appointed another course of giuing life another meanes of saluatiō not to be perform'd by the Son of God sitting in heauē but to be wrought here vpō earth in the same nature that had sind was dead He that made mā holy righteous at his creatiō could by the same powr haue restord to him his original righteousnes in a momēt But it pleas'd him to doe it after an other maner wherof more hereafter in due place To say al at once seing by man cam death God would haue life to come by mā no otherwise Let it be graunted may some man say that
In this signification when the matter is of beleeuing God to iustification saluation sometimes the word is vsed by it selfe sometimes it hath an other word which we call a preposition ioined with it Of the former sort these may be examples Ioh. 5. 24. Hee that heareth my word and beleeueth him that sent me hath euerlasting life What is this beleeuing but that which we heard of euen now out of the Apostle Hee that beleeueth in him that iustifieth the wicked and that Rom. 45. which we are to heare of if it please God in the course of this Gospell yee beleeue in God The like is to bee said Ioh. 14. 1. of that in the Acts of the Iaylor He reioiced that he with all his housholde beleeued God Would you knowe what Act. 15. 34. beleefe this was We may learne that out of the Apostles former instruction and exhortation Beleeue in the Verse 31. Lord Iesus Christ There is yet a plainer testimony then this if any thing can be plainer in the same book where S. Luke writing the history of Crispus and his conuersion to the faith speaketh thus And Crispus the cheefe ruer Chap. 18. 8. of the Synagogue beleeued the Lord. The Lord that is our Sauiour Christ had not spoken to him but the Apostle Paul had taught him the doctrine of the Gospel that he was to beleeue in Iesus Christ for saluation To this he obayed and therefore is said to beleeue the Lord that is to beleeue in him When the prepositions are added the signification of the word is more fully exprest The most common and vsuall whereof wee haue very many examples in this Gospell is In. His Disciples beleeued in him Trusted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ioh. 2. 11. Chap. 3. 16. to him as to the Messiah That whosoeuer beleeues in him should not perish but haue life euerlasting VVhosoeuer resteth vpon him for saluation Almost euery Chapter affords vs the like examples so do the other bookes of the newe Testament especially the Epistle to the Romans that I may spare time and labour and hasten to the other preposition which though it bee vsed more seldome yet is most significant It is as much in english as vpon or on It was known throughout all Ioppa and many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 9. 42. beleeued vpon or on him That is many rested vpon him for Saluation VVhat must I doe to bee saued saith Chap. 16. 30. Verse 31. the Iaylour Paul and Silas answered him Beleeue on or vpon the Lord Iesus Christ and thou shalt bee saued But no one place doth so plainely and fully expresse the nature of this phrase as that to the Romans Behold Rom 9. 33. I lay in Syon a stumbling stone and a rock of offence and euery one that beleeueth on it shall not bee ashamed Heere our Sauiour is compared to a Rocke at which many doe stumble not acknowledging him to bee the Messiah but seeking other meanes to saue themselues by This Simeon foretold of our Sauiour that hee should be an occasion of falling to many in Israell But Luk. 2. 34. they that shall settle themselues vpon that rocke and renounce all other causes and meanes of attaining to euerlasting life shall neuer be asham'd of that their trust in him but shall come to the ende of their hope euen the eternall saluation of their soules by him So that if any man be desirous or willing to vnderstand what it is to beleeue in Christ this one place may giue him ful satisfaction out of which as it hath beene shewed hee may learne that it is nothing else but to cast himselfe vpon Christ to bee iustified and saued by him Thevse of the worde being as hath beene said so diuerse in what sense shall we take it in this text That we shall knowe by vnderstanding what it was that Iohn laboured to perswade men to by his preaching For wee haue learned that his witnesse beareing was Teaching and wee see heere that the ende of his teaching was Beleefe that all men might beleeue What was this beleeuing Onely an aslenting to the truth of that which they heard Iohn deliuer If that had beene all surely hee would neuer haue taken so much paines and spent so much time in exhorting all men to consider their owne estate and in convincing them of sinne that they might finde in what neede they stood of deliuerance by the Messiah But that I may make as short as I can wee may fetch the aunswere to this doubt from the Apostle Paul who thus describes the office and doctrine of Iohn the Baptist Iohn verely baptized Act. 19. 4. with the baptisme of repentance saith the Apostle saying vnto the people that they should beleeue in him which should come after him that is in Christ Iesus So then whereas our Euangelist tells vs that the ende of Iohns comming was that all men shoulde beleeue hee giues vs to vnderstand that hee taught men the mystery of redemption by Christ though not so distinctly as it was afterwarde deliuered with a purpose and desire that they shoulde take our Sauiour CHRIST for the Messiah and rest vpon him that their sinnes might bee taken away Beholde saith hee the lambe of God that taketh away the sin of the world It is true that beleeuing properly signifieth no more but giuing credit or assenting to the truth but seeing wee finde the ende of Iohns preaching to reach farder then so wee must needs hold that the other degrees of beleeuing are implied in this one and first step to faith by which we are iustified The like we are to conceiue of the word wheresoeuer in the new Testament wee finde that ascribed to beleeuing which cannot be attain'd to but by faith in Christ I wil indeavor to make this plaine by an example or two He Mark 16. 16. that beleeueth is baptized shall be saued What is meant here by beleeuing Nothing but assenting to that which the Apostles taught in regard of the truth thereof But that cannot bring saluation to any man which is not to be obtain'd without resting vpon Christ for iustification Therefore to beleeue in that text of Mark is as much as to beleeue in Christ or to rely vpō Christ for saluation Dost thou beleeue in the Sonne of God saith Ioh. 9. 35. our Sauiour to the man whome hee had before restored to his sight He answered and said Who is hee Lord that I may beleeue in him And Iesus said Both thou hast seene him he it is that talketh with thee Then he said Lord I beleeue What did he beleeue That Christ was the Son of God Was that all Our Sauiour asked him if hee did beleeue in the Sonne of God Had it beene sufficient for him to professe that he beleeued him to be the Sonne of God No sure But it behoued him for the answering of the question to affirme that he beleeued in him
faith we must remember that the act of faith not the gift or quality it selfe is signified Wee Iewes saith the Apostle who Gal. 2. 16. knowe that a man is iustified by the faith of Iesus Christ haue beleeued in Iesus Christ that wee might bee iustified by the faith of Christ It is certaine that Iustification is by saith the Apostle shewes vs how Namely by beleeuing in Christ So must wee vnderstand that which the same Apostle hath in an other place To him that worketh not but beleeueth in him that iustifieth the vngodly his faith is counted for righteousnesse Shall we say that the habit of faith was counted for righteousness S. Paul had opened his meaning touching that point a verse or 2 before Abraham Verse 3. beleeued God it was counted to him for righteousnes What was counted His beleeuing not his faith as it was a grace or vertue in his soule We may the rather be perswaded hereof if wee call to minde obserue both that our Euangelist Saint Iohn alwaies vrgeth beleeuing and not once mentions faith in so many places where this matter is spokē of euen diuers times in some one Chapter and also that our Lorde himselfe doth most commonly in all the other Evangelists follow the same course and wheresoeuer hee giues any commendation to faith it is manifest hee doth it in respect of the act thereof I haue not found saith hee of the Centurion Mat. 8. 10. so great faith in Israell How greate faith As to rest vpon the very worde of Christ for the curing of a sick man that was absent Speake the worde only saith the Captaine and my seruant shall bee healed It woulde bee Verse 8. too long to stand vpon particulars That one example may serue for all It may bee some man hearing that fayth and beleeuing breed such wonderfull effects will be desirous to knowe how this may bee What excelllency is there in faith more then in other Christian vertues Why should beleeuing in God bee preferred before louing of God First I must put you in minde that it is the act of faith as I haue often said by which these sauours are obtained and not the vertue it selfe And therefore our Papists who will haue their first iustification as they mince matters to consist of faith loue charity as they are vertues habits graces qualities beautifying and sanctifying the soule cannot reasonably imagin as they all commonly doe that the Apostle in the Epistle to the Romans entreates of their iustification because he so often requireth the very act of beleeuing which in that iustification of theirs hath no place This being markt and remembred I say that the act of fayth or beleeuing doth not bring iustification and adoption or either of them by any speciall excellency that it hath in it selfe but meerly only by the place office which the Lord of his own will mercy hath assign'd it to be the condition on our parts required for the atchieuing of these fauours and honours The couenant of the law stood in these tearmes Hee that doth these things shall liue thereby So that the Leuit. 18. 5. condition was righteousnesse according to the exact rule of the lawe By the Gospell the Lord enters into a new couenant with man the condition whereof Act. 16. 31. is Beleeue and thou shalt be saued This is that which the Apostle teacheth vs concerning the Lords accounting of faith for righteousnesse Wheras by the lawe righteousnesse was necessarily required that a man might haue an interest to heauen now by the Gospell faith is accepted insteed of righteousnes Do this saith the law Beleeue in Christ saith the Gospell So that when the question is of reconciliation and the parts thereof or either of them whether it be by faith or no the meaning is this whether beleeuing bee the condition which we are to performe that wee may bee reconcil'd to God or no. To this doubt the Apostle answereth that Abraham beleeued God it that is His beleeuing Rom. 4 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was counted to him for righteousnes Pardon me I pray you if I doe but touch these things or rather but point at them as I passe along At some other times if it please God now one then an other of them shall bee cleered and proued Yet for all my hast I may not forget to deliuer the ground of that which I haue said touching the Lords accounting of faith for righteousnes I shew that the Apostle is so to be expounded by 2 places of this same Epistle where the very same maner of speech is vsed If the vncircumcision saith Saint Paul keepe the ordinances of the law shall not his vncircumcision bee counted Rom. 2. 26. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for circumcision VVhat is this For circumcision Insteed of circumcision as if he were circumcised The other place affords vs the like wordes and meaning Rom. 9. 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The children of the promise are counted for the seed There is no other place in all the newe Testament out of which wee maye learne the sense of this phrase these two are plaine being alike in themselues and agreeing with the Apostles wordes and purpose in that other Text. What should hinder vs then from expounding the Apostle as we do Or rather with what reason can wee refuse such an interpretation as the Apostle himselfe points vs to The waightinesse of the matter hath carried mee farder then I meant to haue gone I will bee the shorter in that which remaines It is faith then or rather beleeuing which the Lorde requires of vs that we may become his children not as if there were any excellency in the thing or merit in the vse of our freewill for the worthinesse whereof such a fauour and honour should be vouchsaf't vs but onely and meerely because this is the course by which the glory riches of the mercy of God may bee declared Therefore the Apostle concludes touching iustification the former part of Reconciliation that it is by faith without the workes of the law because thereby all boasting is excluded Rom. 3. 27. 28 The Papists that make their first iustification to be inherent righteousnesse consisting of faith hope charity their second actuall obedience to God by the performance of the workes of the lawe draw away the glory and thanks from God to themselues For the former I haue shewed that they will haue the difference whereby it comes to passe that one man receiues iustifying grace and an other does not To proceed from euery mans freewill and not from any speciall grace of God inclining the soule to beleeue Neither rest they there but hauing thus begun to magnify themselues by the getting of this grace they go forward to rob God of his honour thanks for our saluation to that ende they set out the dignity of that righteousnesse whereof they make account they
to him of that honour but Hee sayeth our Euangelist confessed and denied not and sayde Ver. 21. plainely I am not the Christ And when they prest him farther as if they would haue perswaded him that hee did but denie it for modestie hee tolde them Ver. 23. Isay 40. 3. He was the voyce that Isay prophecied of crying in the wildernesse that the way of the Lord might be made straight And as for his baptisme which as the Pharises truely taught and vrged shewed him to bee some extraordinary man hee wild them to consider that hee baptized but with water whereas the Messiah should baptise them with the holy Ghost and with fire Yea so farre doth Luk. 3. 16. hee worthily and truely abase himselfe in comparison of Christ that he assures them he is not worthy to vnty his Ioh. 1. 27. Mat. 3. 11. shooelaetchet or to carrie his shooes after him And this hee spake not once onely but as oft as any iust occasion was offred appealing to his Disciples knowledge that they Ioh. 3. 28. could beare him witnes of his protestation against the Iewes offer to take him for Christ Therefore did he not Luk. 7 19. only patiently beare the departure of his followers to Mat. 11. 2. Christ but also exhorted them to goe and sent them to him Yet all this would not moue the Iewes O men of vncircumcised hearts and eares to acknowledge the Messiah though they thought so reuerently and highly of Iohn Therefore that I may come to the second point it was necessary for our Euangelist after the descriptioÌ„ of Iohn Baptist and his office to adde this prouiso that as great as he was yet no man should take him for the light The Iewes as we know were strongly coÌ„ceited of the matter that which the Euangelist saith here of Iohn may seeme to nourish and strengthen that conceit For it fals Chrysost in Ioa. hom 4. out often times that he whose witnes must procure credit to another man is greater theÌ„ the party that staÌ„ds in need of his testimony Therfore our Sauior tels the Iewes that he regarded not the deposition of Iohn nor of any Ioh. 5. 34. man as if it had beene needfull for him But because they had so high an opinion of Iohn therefore he was conteÌ„ted for their sakes to vse his testimony that they might beleeue Besides it serues to set out the worth and excellencie of our Sauiour to the Iewes that Iohn of whom they were so well perswaded for his greatness and holines was but darknes if he were seuered from Christ or compared with him He was not the light Yet let no man conceiue of Iohn but as of a worthy instrument to bring the Iewes to faith in Christ and as of a holy and admirable person whose whole cariage was such that hee might haue beene taken for the Messiah himselfe as no ordinarie man possibly could bee especially of the learned and wise among the Iewes The people waited sayeth Saint Luke and all men mused Luk. 3. 15. in their hearts of Iohn if hee were not the Christ Insomuch that Priests and Leuites were sent from the Rulers to Ioh. 1. 19. knowe if he were not so Our Euangelist therefore hauing as it was necessarie for him denied him to be the light repeats that which he had formerly deliuered touching his office which was to beare witnesse of the light An office of no mean dignity or vse to be imploied by God in shewing of the Messiah that al might beleeue We are euerie one of vs readie I doubt not to cry out with open mouth against the in fidelitie obstinacy of the Iewes who would not bee brought to faith by so excellent a ministery Let vs take heede that wee condemne not our selues in that for which wee reprooue them Iohn shewed them Christ but in his beginning onely before he had made any proof of his diuine power in teachin and working miracles We haue the knowledge of all those wonders and the distinct vnderstanding of the nature and course of his mediatorship Wee haue beene made acquainted with his sufferings for our sin his triumphant resurrection and glorious ascension And shal we neglect so many and so worthy points Nay rather let vs stirre vp our selues both to learne and beleeue that wee may attaine to the ende of our faith the saluation of our soules through our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ to whome with c. THE SEVENTH SERmon vpon the first Chapter of IOHN Verse 9 10. 11. That was the true light that enlightens euery man c. THe conception and birth of Iohn the Baptist were very extraordinarie and strange his father and mother being growne olde shee all her life time barren And least these circumstances should not worke with the people an Angell was sent from GOD to Zacharias to giue him knowledge of these things before hand Hee beleeues not and thereupon is striken dumbe till the time of circumcising the childe came when his speech is restored to him againe and he inspired by the holy Ghost prophecyeth both of his owne sonne and the Messiah But what stand I reciting all the particulars These matters together with the Conuersation Doctrine and Baptisme of Iohn draue the Iewes into an admiration of him and not into an admiration onely but into a strong conceite that hee should be the Christ the deliuerer for whom they lookt Neither were the common sort onely of this opinion but the Rulers themselues were drawne to the like perswasion insomuch â—hâ—â— they sent Priests and Leuites to inquire whether he were the Messiah or no. These things considered it was not without cause that our Euangelist directly affirmes He was not the light but had an vnder office To beare witnes of the light Who then was the light Euen he of whom hee spake so much before and to the description of whom by way of farder amplification he returnes saying That was the true light This amplificatioÌ„ is continued to the 14 ver and may thus reasonably be applied to the formerpoints deliuered coÌ„cerning the Word In the 5. ver the creation of al things by him was affirmed In the which it is said that Hee was in the world the world was made by him The fourth teacheth vs that he was the light of men To that the ninth answereth That was the true light which inlighteneth euerie man that commeth into the world And whereas the fist verse tells vs that the light shineth in darkness the tenth speaketh of his being in the world and the eleuenth of his comming to his owne The successe is alike in both places The darknesse comprehended it not verse 5. The world knew him not verse 10. His owne receiued him not verse 11. Thus hath our Euangelist laboured to set out to all men the bounty of the Lord in sending so glorious a light to shine in the middest of darknes and the vnkindnes and
because I spake of it somewhat largely vpon the first occasion that offered it selfe in this Gospel at the seauenth verse That all men through him might beleeue The breefe oâ— Verse 7. that which then was deliuered touching this point is this that To beleeue is an action either of the vnderstanding or of the will The former that is Beleeuing as it hath place in the vnderstanding is either an holding of some point as a truth ingraffed in vs by nature as wee beleeue there is a God or an assenting to some thing reuealed vpon the credit of him that reueales it as wee acknowledge the Scripture to be the worde of God and euery thing in it to be sure and certaine according as wee are perswaded by the holy Ghost to whome wee giue absolute credit vpon his owne worde The other Beleeuing which is seated in the will and ariseth from the former in the vnderstanding is a resting vpon or trusting to some person or thing for some benefit to be obtained thereby So the Reubenites Gadites and the halfe Tribe of Manasseh when the Hagarenes made warre 1. Chr. 5. 18. 19 20. vpon them trusted to God for succour and were holpen against them with a glorious victory But the children of Israell would not trust to him or rely on him for food in the wildernesse Therefore fire was kindled in Iacob as it is in the Psalme and also wrath came vpon Psa 78 21 22 Israell Because they beleeued not in God and trusted not in his helpe Of this nature and meaning is the worde Beleeuing when it concernes iustification or saluation This may easily appeare by those kinde of phrases that the holy Ghost often vseth in this matter To beleeue in or vpon God and Christ Hee that beleeues Ioh. 6. 47. in mee saith our Sauiour Christ hath euerlasting life Beleeue on the Lorde Iesus Christ saye Act. 16. 31. Paul and Silas to the laylour and thou shalt bee saued And whereas sometimes in this very point of beleeuing to euerlasting life the worde is not so significant I shewed that the sense and purpose of the Spirite of God notwithstanding is all one It will not be amisse perhaps to make it plaine by an example or two First what is simply to beleeue in Ioh. 1. 7. this case Iohn was sent to beare witnesse that all through him might beleeue What beleefe was it that Iohn taught The Apostle Paul tells vs that they should beleeue in him Act. 19. 4. which should come after him that is in Iesus Christ Do you not see that vnder the bare word beleeuing faith in Christ is implyed Sometimes there is a little addition as Abraham is said not only to haue beleeued but to haue Rom. 4. 3. 4. beleeued God How doth the Apostle expound this beleefe By beleeuing on or vpon God What is that else but Verse 5. resting vpon God So the same Chapter teacheth vs to vnderstand that manner of speech which beleeue on him that raised vp Iesus our Lord from the dead Verse 18. that is trust to him to be iustified and acquited of their sinnes Adde herevnto if you please that of the Apostle Peter out of the Prophet Isai Behold I put in Sion a cheefe corner-stone elect and pretious hee that 1. Pet. 2. 6 beleeueth theron shall not be ashamed How is this stone to be beleeued on but by a mans setling and reposing himselfe there vpon Therefore the Hebrew in the Prophet Isai 28. 26. is shall not make haste as if he should haue said shall cast himselfe vpon God to be succoured by him and wait with patience for the performance of his gratious promise The greeke expresseth the euent that shall insue vpon this beleeuing by a denyall of the contrary set out to our view by a tropicall speech of being a shamed For he that lookes for succour and by fayling of it is ouerthrowne vsually is ashamed both of his trust of his foile So shall not he be saith the Lord that resteth vpon Iesus Christ as vpon the rock of saluation This also the Chalde paraphrase expresseth shall not be moued Paraph. Chald. ad Isai 28. 16. Mat. 7. 25. being built as our Sauiour saith in the Gospell vpon a Rock against which the windes waues beat in vain making a great noise but doing no hurt at all because the house is grounded vpon a Rock But you will say There are diuers places of Scripture where that faith by which wee are iustified anâ— saued is confined to the vnderstanding and signifie no more but an assent to the truth of that which is deliuered by God to be beleeued Such is that touching Abrahams faith which was imputed to him for righteousnes First he is said not to haue bin weake in faith not to haue considered the deadnesse of his owne or his wife Sarahs Rom. 4. 3. 23. body not to haue doubted of the promise of God through vnbeleefe c. Then this faith or beleeuing is exprest to haue beene a full assurance that he which had promised was Verse 21. also able to do it What is there in all this great commendation of Abrahams faith but only an amplification of his beleeuing God that he had promised him no more then he was well able to performe So in the Epistle to Heb. 11. 3. the Hebrewes wee are said by faith to vnderstand that the world was ordained by the word of God and yet all men graunt as also the former Chapter euidently sheweth Chap. 10. 38. 39 that the Apostle speakes of such a faith as the iust liue by It is not my purpose to enter into a full disputation or discourse of faith which I reserue for my exposition of the Epistle to the Romans yet I may not leaue these doubts vnsatisfied nor the nature of faith vnknowne Therefore to these and such like places of Scripture and obiections from them I answere first in generall that beleeuing as it belongs to the vnderstanding is sometimes mentioned alone because it is the roote and fountaine from which the other doth spring and flow For it is vnpossible that any man should rely vpon God for the performance of that which he doth not beleeue he hath promised or doubts whether he be able to doe or no. Yea I say farder that such a beleefe in the minde is signified in all such places as is alwaies necessarily accompanied with trusting to God for that which wee beleeue hee can bring to passe If you demaund farder why I should not content my selfe with the former faith only seeing it is diuers times set alone in the point of Iustification I answere that therefore I take the other also to bee implyed in it because I find it very often exprest in the Scripture and a new kind of speech as it were purposely deuised by the holy Ghost to make vs the more easily and fully vnderstand what faith hee meanes
sacrifice without which there is no forgiuenesse of sinnes to bee had Heb. 9 22. Phil. 2. 10. Neither is that honour Saint Paul speakes of to bee giuen to the name as if the sound of those letters so set together deserued any speciall reuerence or as if Iesus were of more excelleÌ„cy theÌ„ Christ For as I sayd once before then ought wee to esteeme the name of Iesus the sonne of Nun and of the other Iesus the sonne of Iosedeck more then of Christ the sonne of God Surely if any name require bowing of the knee it is that which God gaue himselfe euen Iehouah and the other of the same kind Eheieh Iah But the person is meant when the name is mentioned and the office of being a Sauiour is that to which all honour is due in heauen and in earth and vnder the earth by Angels and men not the Name of sauing which was common to our Lord with other men Why then doth the Euangelist vse this kinde of speech To beleeue in his name would hee thereby note our Lords power vpon which euery one that will bee saued must rest that hee may bee deliuered out of the handes of sinne and death This may seeme the likelier because that miracle of curing the cripple was wrought by the name of our Lord. In the name of Iesus Act. 3. 6. 16. Christ of Nazareth say Peter and Iohn rise vp and walke And where they giue account of their dooing His name hath made this man sound But I rather perswade my selfe that Saint Iohn followes the Hebrewe phrase by which ordinarily the name is vsed for the person Ahraham called on the name of the Gen. 13. 4. Lord. That is Abraham worshipt God and offered vp sacrifize vnto him for as yet that glorious name Iehouah was not knowne I hold it altogether needlesse to Exod. 3. 14. heape vp many examples in a matter out of question Nothing is more common then to haue the name of God taken for God himselfe Let him that hath no light Isay 50. 10. sayth the Prophet Isay trust in the name of the Lord and stay vpon his God The later expounds the former To trust in the name of God is nothing else but to stay or rest vpon God So that the name of God and God himselfe signifie both one thing His name also is often put for his worshippe as when the Priests are sayd to despise Mal. 1. 6. the name of the Lord the meaning is that they prophane his worship as a matter of no worth But this caÌ„not bee intended by the Euangelist For the better vnderstanding of whose meaning after the exposition of the words wee must consider how this verse dependes vpon the former which wee may thus reasonably conceiue The Euangelist in the next wordes before shewed the vnkindnesse and vnthankfulnesse of the Iewes in refusing him that made offer of himselfe vnto them His own receiued him not A strange vnkindnesse that a man so full of grace and power so holy in his life so gratious in his words so mighty in his deedes and that to the benefit of them among whome heeliued should notwithstanding all this bee so peremptorily reiected But was this all I grant it is not nothing to bee iustly condemned of such vnciuill and vnnaturall dealing But there is worse behind to shew the folly of these men in being occasion to themselues of so great a losse If an olde man of fayre lands and great wealth should seeke to bee intertained of his neer kinsmen or friends and not bee receiued would not all the world charge them with extraordinary vnkindnes and condemne them of singular folly for depriuing themselues of so goodly an inheritance and so great an estate as they weresure to haue enioyed by receiuing of him Such was the case in the Iewes refusall of our Sauiour As if Saint Iohn should haue sayd His owne to whome hee came receiued him not but if they had receiued him they had thereby beene made the sonnes of God For that prerogatiue hee gaue to as many as by faith entertained him So that our Euangelist in this one verse both implyes the vnrecouerable losse of the Iewes and all other that refuse him and expresseth the inualuable gaine of all that receiued him whether they were Iewes or Gentiles It seemes a small matter perhappes to many a man not to beleeue in Iesus Christ yea some men thinke it little better then simplicitie and basenesse to rest vpon him If these wretches knewe what is lost by refusing him what is gotten by receiuing him they would run after him with all the haste they can possibly make and imbrace him with both their armes But I will leaue these points to bee amplyfied anone when I haue handled the doctrine that our Euangelist teacheth vs in this place which is briefly this that whosoeuer beleeues in Iesus Christ hath by that beleeuing the honour to bee the sonne of God And because the matter is of so great importance containing the glorie of a true Christian and the meanes of attaining to it let vs I beseech you stirre vp our selues with all diligence to know and doe that which will certainely bring vs to the height of all true felicitie To which purpose I wil diuide my whole discourse into these two parts The prerogatiue to be the sonnes of God The meanes of obtaining it In the former I will first shewe what it is that is heere vouâ—chsaf't vs To he the sonnes of God Secondly that it is a prerogatiue which is amplyfied by the generality of it that it belonges to all that beleeue The later part offers two things to be considered touching the meanes That this prerogatiue is giuen that on our part beleeuing in Christ is required Many other points will fall in here and there but I content my selfe with propounding these that are most generall and easie to bee discerned in the Text. The first point concerning our being the sonnes of God requires that I should shewe some reason why the Euangelist makes choyse of this benefit aboue the rest that being declared I will come to the exposition of the point it selfe Many and excellent are the blessings which it hath pleased God of his infinite mercy to bestow vpon vs in his sonne Iesus Christ He saues vs from our sinnes He reconciles vs Mat. 1. 21. Rom. 5. 10 1. Cor. 1. 30. to God He is made vnto vs wisedome righteousnesse and redemption When should I make an ende if I should recite euerie particular The question is why Saint Iohn passing ouer all other benefittes receiued by him mentions this rather theÌ„ any other What if we say he made especial choise of this because it is the greatest Surely wee shall say no more then is true and not vn likely For how could the Iewes be more iustly coÌ„demned the hearts of all men more inflamed with the loue of faith or the kindnesse of our Lord more
amplyfied then by propounding the chiefest of all the blessinges whereof wee are made partakers by him And what one is comparable to this The sauing vs from our sinnes to speake properly rather frees vs from miserie then brings vs to happinesse Sanctification doth no more but refresh the image of God in vs which was decayed or restore it being lost which can make vs but good seruants at the best If any man thinke that to bee an heire is a degree aboue being a sonne he must vnderstand that this implyes that Christ makes none sonnes but hee makes them heyres too by the same Kom 8. 17. title And therefore questionlesse there is no blessing obtained by him that may stand in comparison with this To bee the sonnes of God I deny not then but that this might bee respected of our euangelist in his choise of this benefit but I thinke there were also other reasons of it Hee spake immedately before of the Iewes not receiuing of the Messiah Now the Iewes were the men that held themselues onely to be the sonnes of God by reason of Abraham from whom they were descended Therefore the Lord challengeth them by the Prophet Mal. 1. 6. that they did not honour him A sonne honoureth his father If I bee a father where is mine honour Contrarie to this conceite of theirs the holy Ghost giues them to vnderstand that the honour to bee the sonnes of God is not appropriated to the Iewish nation as they falsely imagined but is common to all the Gentiles that will beleeue As for them their refusall to beleeue in him made them wholly destitute of that prerogatiue What other blessing afforded vs by Christ would so fittely haue met with that proud conceite of the vnbeleeuing Iewes Forgiuenesse of sinnes they little or not at all regarded being puft vp with an ouer weening of their owne righteousnesse They lookt for rewarde not Cyril in Ioan lib. 1. cap. 13. for pardon Fitly therefore to abate this pride doth Saint Iohn put them in minde of other sonnes of God Ambros de fide lib. 4. cap. 4 August in tract in Ioa 2. Bed ad huÌ„c loc such as they knew themselues not to bee for all their bragging Another reason is added and may be admitted that this was therefore especially named because it is that which being proper to Christ hee and hee onely could giue that it may appeare hee hath wholly communicated himselfe vnto vs if hee haue imparted that which was so truely and neerely his owne Ought wee not then to bee so much the more carefull both to knowe and obtayne so incomparable a fauour Can we content ourselues to be ignoraÌ„t of it Can wee indure one hower to be without it Had we rather bee seruants then sonnes First let vs vnderstand what it is to bee a sonne of God A matter easily knowne will some man say For what is it else but to haue our beginning and as it were birth from GOD So is Adam sayde to bee the Luk. 2. 10. Mal. 2. 10. sonne of God So speaketh Malachy of the Iewes Haue wee not all one Father hath not one God made vs If this bee all To be a sonne is no more then to be a creature or at the most such a creature as is made after the image and likenesse of God But this wee haue by nature in our creation not by grace in regeneration This they haue that are borne after the ordinary course of men of bloud of the will of the flesh of the will of man So are not they borne of whome our Euangelist heere intreateth Not of bloud sayth hee but of God That manner of birth is common to all men in all times and places this is a priuiledge voutchsaft to some onely The former was already bestowed vpon the Iewes in that they were men The later was to be receiued by the gift of Christ by their becomming faithfull or beleeuing men To conclude if the holy Ghost had meant such kinde of sonnes he would neuer haue required faith in the name of Christ What is it then To be the sonne of God The Euangelist aunsweres in the next verse To bee borne of God And are they to whome our Lord giues this honour of being sonnes Borne of God It should seeme then they are the naturall sonnes of God For what is it to be the naturall sonne of any man but to bee borne of him but this is meerely impossible Because our Sauiour Christ is the onely begotten or borne sonne of GOD and is thereby equall to his father both in time and dignitie whereas these sonnes haue their beginning in time and are no way comparable to God in any degree Therefore wee may not at any hand when wee read or heare of this birth whereof more hereafter in the next verse and especially in the thirde Chapter once imagine that we are properly sayd to be borne of God but that the speech is tropical that is to say turned from the naturall signification and applyed to another by way of similitude or likenesse I wil Mâ—taphora speake no more of the point at this time then is needefull for our vnderstandinge of the matter For the helpe whereof let vs consider how God is our father and wee his sonnes in respect of our naturall being by creation Euery man knowes that he is not properly our father no nor was Adams For then must he needs haue beene God by nature and God hauing begotten him as his naturall sonne must of necessitie haue beene such as Adam was and we all now are How then is God Adams father I confesse he is so though I doe thinke that Saint Luke is not so to bee vnderstood in the place formerly Luk. 3. 38. alleaged where those words the sonne of God seem rather to belong to Iesus then to Adam Well yet is Adam the sonne of God and not the natural sonne What sonne then If I shall aunswere directly to the question I say hee is the Tropicall and in particular the Metaphoricall sonne of God To speake to the capacitie of the meanest and simplest who haue as much interest to this knowledge reuealed by God for our instruction as the noblest and wisest Adam is the sonne of God by a borrowed speech For as men are naturally the fathers of them who haue their being in particular from them so is Adam so are all men the sons of God because they haue their first originall from him Adam also may bee sayde somewhat more particularly to bee the sonne of God because hee was fashioned and formed by him of the dust of the ground without any other meanes then the will and word of God himself And in this respect may an Image cut cast or painted by any man â—e called the sonne of him that was the maker of it So may the bookes that men write be tearmed their children And as all men in this sense are the Sonnes of God touching
to doe that by which the fauour of GOD may bee procured But when wee haue once receiued from God abilitie to beleeue I speake still as the Papists doe against whom I reason then it lies in our owne power to be saued or to be damned There is no question of the later but the cause of damnation is alwaies in our selues and so in our selues that of our selues there is no possibilitie what grace soeuer wee haue receiued to escape it But the power to receiue Christ that wee may bee made partakers of that Inheritance of Sonnes is wholly frō God and not from our selues What said I The power It is not enough The will to vse that power It is not enough The will to vse that power is stirred vp put forward and inclined to it onely and altogether by God himselfe The act of the wil in resting vpon Christ is mine The inclining the will to doe this act is Gods and not mine I doe willingly and by mine owne choyse beleeue in CHRIST I am made willing marke what I say I am made willing not onely I am made able to will but directed and perswaded and brought to will yea inclined to this choise by the power of the spirit of God Doth any man doubt of this point Hee knowes not or considers not what it is to giue the glorie of his saluation to God Shall I so part stakes with God in this matter that I take the biggest for mine owne share I will barely propound the case let euerie Christian soule iudge vprightly betwixt God and himselfe That there is any possibilitie of saluation for man it is wholly and onely from God who without the counsell or perswasion of any creature appointed the meanes to saue vs by of his meere mercie and bounty That I among many other attaine to that grace by which I am inabled to beleeue and may if I will it is also from the same goodness and fauour of the Lord who doth not altogether leaue mee in this estate but moues and perswades mee by his spirit to vse the grace I haue receiued and to beleeue in Christ What woulde you haue more saith one Doe I not giue glory enough to God by acknowledging that possibilitie of faith both in generall and particular proceeds from his grace Looke not that I should answere thee I appeale to thine owne conscience to giue sentence of the matter Thou ascribest no more to God but that he hath giuen thee grace by which thou mayest beleeue if thou wilt Whence hast thou this inclination to will From Gods motion and perswasion Take heede what thou sayest How will this stand with that opinion of free will which makes the first difference betwixt thee other mē that beleeue not though they haue the like motions and perswasions from God It cannot be if thou wilt speak plaine but thou must professe that this willingness comes from thy selfe So then thus stands the case That we can beleeue if wee list it is of God that we list to beleeue it is of our selues For ought that God did for mee I might haue continued in vnbeliefe and bin damned that I might be saued I may thanke him that I am saued my selfe Is there any Christian heart that doth not rise against this Doctrine Can wee indure to thinke that wee are more beholden to our owne will for faith then to the grace of God Can wee be so vnthankfull so proud But I will stay my selfe least I seeme to bee perswaded that so grosse an error can finde place in a true Christian soule Nay saith one Rather it is a most grosse error to hold as you doe that a man is forced and drawne to beleeue by necessitie whether hee will or no. Out of question it is indeed a grosse error to haue any such conceite of a mans attaining to faith in Christ And yet giue me leaue to speake my minde plainely and freely I had rather be absurd in destroying the will of man then impious in ouerthrowing the glory of God But hee that rightly vnderstands what wee teach of mans beleeuing sees there is no cause to feare either the one or the other It is cleere certaine that the maine chance is safe the glorie of God being so carefully prouided for and maintained If wee erre our error is lesse dangerous For there is not so much danger in depriuing man of his free will as in robbing God of his glorie But wee doe man no wrong at all vnless it be a wrong to giue more to GOD then to man in the begetting of faith God perswades and inclines him to beleeue What forcing or drawing is this Yes say they For you teach that by this inclining of the heart GOD so workes vpon it that the partie cannot choose but beleeue Not choose For any force that is vsed against the nature of his will hee may choose In respect of euent hee can not I will speake plainer if I can God doth not force a man as the Oxe is drawne to the slaughter or a peece of Timber thrust forward by mayne strength but inclines the heart sweetely and gently according to the nature of it to him perfectly known yet so powerfully that it can not come to passe but the partie shall both will to beleeue and beleeue indeede Wee confesse there is a necessitie in regard of the euent that vpon this inclination faith shall certainly insue but wee denie all constraining or forcing by which the will shoulde lose his vertue or action No man beleeues but willingly No man is willing but hee that is inclined thereto by God No man is forced to willingness by any constraint I inquire not how the Lord inclines mee I beleeue that hee doth incline mee I finde I am of vnwilling made willing I see not any force vsed to make mee willing Other men refuse Christ willingly I receiue him willingly They are borne willingly to all that is euill I am made willing to whatsoeuer good I doe will It is not then power of free will but Prerogatiue of Honour that our Euangelist saith is giuen to them that beleeue in Christ Now for the farder amplifying of this mercie wee must consider the generalitie of the gift Which is such that it extends it selfe to all men whatsoeuer As many as receiued him to them hee gaue c. There is no distinction of Iewe or Gentile male or female rich or poore bond or free one or other but whosoeuer beleeues in Christ hath the Prerogatiue to bee the Sonne of God This in generall is that which the Apostle deliuers But for our better instruction it will not be amisse to handle the point somewhat more largely in these two parts First to set out the vouchsafing of this priuiledge to the Gentils as well as to the Iewes Secondly to apply it to the seueral estates conditions differences that are ordinarily found amongst men So shall the generalitie of the benefit appeare more
SERMONS VPON A PART OF THE FIRST CHAP. OF THE GOSPELL OF S. IOHN PREACHED BY ANTONY WOTTON in the Parish Church of Alhallowes Barking in London and now by him published 2. COR. 5. 20. Now then are wee Embassadours for Christ as though God did beseech you through vs we pray you in Christs stead that ye be reconciled to God AT LONDON Printed by H. L. for SAMVELL MACHAM and are to be sould at his shop in Pauls Church-yard at the signe of the Bull-head An. 1609. TO THE CHRISTIAN READER INCREASE OF KNOWLEDGE AND OBEDIENCE I Haue at the last yeelded to the request of some friends for the publishing of those Sermons which I preached some yeeres since Of what vse they will proue to the Church of God his blessing vpon the carefull reading thereof will in time discouer For my part I haue laboured by the penning and setting of them foorth to bring some helpe to the better vnderstanding of the Gospell to cleere such matters as offer themselues to be considered and to furder all men that will vouchsafe the reading of them in the knowledge of the mystery of our redemption and in the fruits of true sanctification If any man that heard them deliuered by worde of mouth finde some difference betwixt that which then I spake and this which now I write it may please him to vnderstand that I had but some very short notes of my former Sermons and happely my second thoughts haue afforded me by the blessing of God some better knowledge of the Euangelists purpose and meaning Their extraordinary length must bee imputed to the swiftnesse of my speech If I go forward in the expounding of this Gospell it is my purpose to doe it rather by way of Commentary for instruction then by discourse for exhortation vnlesse it doe appeare that this manner of writing which I haue now vsed bee of greater profite to the Church of God to the seruice wherof I haue vowed my poore labours The same God of his infinite mercy vouchsafe his gratious blessing vpon them to the glory of his owne name the furdering of the saluation of his children and the increase of my comfort in the faithfull discharge of that duty which I am desirous to performe to the vttermost of my small power Aprill 11. 1609. Thine assured in the Lord Iesus ANTONY WOTTON THE FIRST SERMON vpon the first Chapter of IOHN Iohn Chapter 1. Ver. 1. 2. 1. In the beginning was the VVord the Word was with God and the VVord was God 2. The same was in the beginning with God c. 3. 4. 5. THE whole Scripture conteined in the bookes of the Olde and Newe Testament a 2. Pet. 1. 21 beeing penned by holy men as they were mooued by the holy Ghost must needs be in euery part of like authority and certainty For what difference in these points can there be reasonably imagined where one and the same Authour God himselfe giueth immediately both warrant to write and direction in writing Adde herevnto that the maine matter of both and the chiefe end of the Lord in both is all one namely the knowledge of our Redemption by the sacrifice of the promised Messiah Iesus Christ Onely herein doth the later excell the former that it b 2. Pet. 1. 19 deliuereth this great mysterie of Reconciliation more particularly and more cleerely In this respect is c Mat. 11. 11 the office of Iohn Baptist preferd before the calling of all the Prophets that went before him yet made inferior to the ministery of the Gospel that was to follow him Iohn was more then a Prophet yet he that is least in the kingdom of Heauen is greater then he Then are we vtterly without excuse if the measure of our knowledge in the doctrine of our euerlasting saluation be not answerable in some proportion to the meanes thereof in this cleere light of teaching Let vs therefore I beseech you with reuerence and good conscience stirre vp both our soules and bodies to the learning of that which doth so neerely concerne vs and is so plainly plentifully manifested by our Sauiour his Apostles in these books of the new Testament Of which that I may in this entrance to my labor say somewhat of them all in generall some are historicall some doctrinall The historicall books declare matters of fact the sayings and doings of God angells and men Some of them report of things past which is the proper office of an history And of this kind are the fiue first books the fowre Gospels containing the discourse of our Sauiour Christs life death resurrection and ascension one booke of the Acts or doings of the Apostles the other historicall book is the Reuelation wherin by way of prophecie concerning things to come the estate of the Church of Christ till the ende of the world is most truely wonderfully described Those treatises of the new Testament which I call doctrinall are such as were written by the Apostles for the instruction of the Church of God commonly called Epistles because they were sent sent I say to them who had already receiued and professed the Gospell But of these I shal say more if it please God in my exposition of the Epistle to the Romans 1. Now as for those bookes which we call the Gospells we are to vnderstand that the generall matter of them all fowre is an history of those things that Iesus did and taught while hee continued here in the world as it is euident by d Act. 1. 1 S. Luke and this our e Ioh. 20. 30. 21. 25 Euangelist But whereas they name expresly no more but his sayings and doings we must knowe that his sufferings or the things that befell him in this life are also comprised in them according to the course of an historie What is more common in the books of kings then such speeches as these f 1. King 14. 19 Ieroboams acts g 29. Rehoboams acts h 15. 31 The residue of the acts of Nadab and all that he did are they not written in the bookes of the Chronicles of the kings of Israell Yet who is ignorant that these histories containe also besides their deedes a rehearsall as of other matters concerning them so namely of their death either naturall or violent 2 But let vs come neerer to this our Euangelist First to the title of the book then to the historie it self Touching the former although i Tertullian lib. 4 contra Marcian cap. 2 I doe not holde all the titles of the books of the new Testament to be as those of the Psalms are parts of the Canonical Scripture endited by the holy Ghost but only directions added by men to giue notice of the Authours and to shew in generall of what kinde they are yet surely they are for the most part taken out of the books themselues The writings of the Apostles haue warrant of that name Epistles not onely because
bee cut off from beeing a member of IESVS CHRIST but shall haue his measure of Instruction Peace and Comfort according to the trialls that his heauenlie Father hath appointed to make of him The two last Sermons do especially concerne two of the Apostles but were written for our learning and consolation In g Ioh. 20. 26. 27. c. the former our Sauiour instructeth Thomas with a milde reproofe of his not beleeuing and a sensible demonstration of that he doubted of To which he addes to our vnspeakeable comfort that h Verse 29 all they which hauing not seene nor felt as THOMAS then did yet beleeue are trewlie blessed Neyther is i Ioh. 21. 15. 16 the later of the two so appropriated to Saint Peter but that it affordes vs also this excellent lesson that the strongest proofe of euery Ministers loue to his Lord and master Iesus Christ is the faithfull and carefull feeding and directing of the sheepe and lambes committed to his charge And these are the tenne Sermons which none of the Euangelists but Iohn only hath mentioned I deny not that the points of diuinity contained in them may bee gathered more or lesse out of the other three but neither are the Sermons recorded by them nor the matters therein deliuered so plainely and fully handled as in this Gospell Wherefore as if we come to a Faire to buy any commoditie which wee neede or desire wee content not our selues to staie in such a shop or booth as can shew vs only one peece and that made vp so close that wee can hardly looke into it but seeke thither vvhere wee may haue choise and see the wares opened to our full view So let vs make haste to this Gospell in which many and so goodly matters are vnfolded and eueâ—ory bolte and pleight layd open As for the miracles whereof I will say verie little they are such as are not once pointed at nor signified by anie other Euangelist Who besides k Ioh. 2. 3. 4. c. Saint IOHN giues vs anie the least inkling of water turned into wine at a marriage by our Sauiour CHRIST Had not l Ioh. 5. 5. 6. c. that famous miracle by which the man that had lyen bed-rid xxxviij yeares was cured so that he presently rose and carried awaie his bed been altogether vnknowen and vnheard of if our Euangelist had not committed it to writing None but he tells vs of m Ioh. 9. 1. 2. c. the man that beeing borne blinde and hauing continued so manie yeares had sight giuen him by such a meanes as in mans reason was fitter to haue put out his eyes if hee could haue seene But hee that made dust and spittle can by dust and spittle doe whatsoeuer pleaseth him The n Ioh. 11. 38. 35 c. last miracle is the raysing of LAZARVS from the dead not as o Marke 5. 42 IAIRVS daughter was restored to life lying in her bedde after the breath vvas departed from her nor as p Luke 7. 15 the VVidowes sonne had life put into him againe as hee vvas carrying to be buryed but euen then when he had continued till the fourth daie in the graue and in his most kind sisters iudgement could not chuse but stinke Admirable and glorious are these miracles and such as ought to assure vs of his diuine power who was able to do things so vnpossible to men and Angels But as q 1. Cor. 2. 2 the holy Apostle Paul preferred the knowledge of Christ crucified before all other glorious mysteries because therein properly stands the iustification of a sinner so haue we very good cause to valew r Ioh. 17. 1. 2 c. that louing and feruent prayer of our Sauiour aboue all his miracles whatsoeuer For if euer his loue and care of vs appeared in anie thing hee did or spake except his passion in that it shines and shews it selfe most cleerely s Verse 20 With what zeale doth hee commend euery one that at any time beleeues in him to God his Father t Ver 21. 22. 23 How doth he repeate and double his request to God that wee may be made one with God But I may not stand long vpon these points especially since they are to be expounded at large hereafter if it please God Now the summe of all is this that seeing it hath pleased the Lord so graciously and plentifully to vouchsafe vs the certaine knowledge of such excellent mysteries and that by one so highly in the fauour of our Sauiour Iesus Christ and so assuredly directed by the holy Ghost wee in like sort should bestowe all paines and diligence that this knowledge may bee rooted in our hearts and bring forth abundance of fruite in our whole conuersation to the glorie of his Name and our endlesse comfort in the same our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ Neither let it discourage or offend anie man that our Euangelist was no learned Diuine trayned vp in anie Vniuersitie nor fitted for such a peece of work by any extraordinary parts of nature or study Yea rather let it encourage and strengthen him in faith considering how vnpossible it is that a poore Fisherman should haue the head to conceiue and the heart to vtter such mysteries with confidence and assurance against the iudgement liking of almost all the learned and mighty of the world Could these admirable mysteries be of a Fishermans deuising What is there in Aristotle Plato Pythagoras or any of the great learned Philosophers so strange or profound as manie points that are common in this Gospell which of the heathen writers euer spake so boldly or with such authority as our Euangelist how doubtfully and vncertainly doth the u In Apolog. Socrat. Plato in Timaeo passim learnedst of them write when he coms to deliuer matters that concern God religion Surely he that wisely heedfully considers the discourses of the best Philosophers touching these points shal plainly discern that they labored to make other men belieue those things whereof they were not able to perswade themselues rather meant to assay whether they could drawe men to such opinions then to enioy the belief of them as a certaine truth But our Euangelist thunders out most admirable secrets that without all doubting in himself of the truth therof threatens assured damnation to all them who refuse to giue absolute credit to whatsoeuer he hath deliuered What remains then but that with all assurance and reuerence wee addresse our selues to the learning doing of those things which we find to be taught commanded in this Gospell In the expounding whereof that wee may proceede the more orderly wee must diuide the whole Gospell into certaine parts for the helpe both of vnderstanding and memory But may some man say Wil you not first deliuer the generall argument of the booke and purpose of the Writer If that which hitherto hath beene spoken touching these points
often as there is any mention of Gods speaking to man helping man or being conuersant with him but he neither brings example of it nor quotes any place onely hee boldly auoucheth that the learned shall finde it to be so euery where and the vnlearned must take it vpon his word and knowledge They that will may giue credit to his report but I am sure he that will compare the Originall Hebrew and the Chalde Paraphrase together shall not finde one place in 20. so translated if any at all be It is vsuall with the Paraphrast to put w for Iehouah not Memar I thought good to note this by the way that all men may know what credit such authors deserue vpon their word and yet he is otherwise one of the best interpreters that I haue read of the Papists But though the Chalde Paraphrast doe not alwayes nor perhaps often or euer so translate the word Iehouah yet he puts Memar sometime where God perchance the second person is signified x Gene. 22. 16 By my selfe haue I sworne saith God to Abraham The Hebrew is so and so the Apostle expoundeth it y Heb. 6. 13. when God made the promise to Abraham because he had no greater to sweareby hee swore by himselfe Here the Paraphrast hath Binenni by my word In an other place where the Lord assureth Iacob that * Gene. 28. 15 he will be with him and keepe him the Chalde hath My word shall be thy helpe A gaine when Laban pursued Iacob Moses tels vs that a Gene. 31. 24 God came to Laban the Aramite in a dreame by night said The Chalde saith Memar The or rather a word came from the face of God But none of these places vnles perhaps the 2. need to be or may be expounded of the 2. Person in the Trinity our Sauiour Iesus Christ There remaines the last not the most vnlikely reason why our Sauiour should be called the Word namely because he was so often spoken of promised by the Lord. Now a promise as in our ordinary speech so in the Scripture is cōmonly called a word the septuagint translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the name our Euangelist here vseth b Psal 105. 8. He hath remembred his couenant c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his word that he made to a thousand generations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And in d Psal 119. 25. 119. Psal often Quicken me according to thy word e Verse 49. Remember the promise or word made to thy seruant f Verse 65. Thou hast dealt gratiously with thy seruant according to thy word g Verse 74. I haue trusted in thy word h Verse 76. According to thy word to thy seruant Where the Chalde hath the very word i 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Memar So k psal 130. 5. Ps 130. I haue trusted in thy word The main promise thē being the Messiah that indeed wherupon al other that are truly blessings fauours depend it is no meruaile that the Iewes should speake ordinarily of our Sauiour as of him that was promised by the name word or that the holy Ghost should direct our Euangelist to make choice of that title for him by which the Iews that translated the old Testament out of Hebrew into Greeke so often expressed the promises of God Hereupon it followes that although diuers l Tertullian de Trinit saepe Cipria ad Quirin lib. 2. cap. 3. 6. Hilar. de Trinit lib. 2. Erasm Caloni Beza c. ancient later Diuines haue translated the Greek by the Latin Sermo speech yet it seemes better to cal it Verbū the word For a mans promise is not tearmed his speech but his word But this reasō of the name is excepted against by m Maldonatus ad hunc locum a learned Papist as well because of the authors therof who in his Pharisaicall censure are heriticks as also for that it hath in it no liklihood of truth if al that he speaks be oracles Let his slander go let vs heare his reason If the Son saith he be called the word because he was promised in the beginning he was not the word because he was not promised As if our Euangelist said He was the word in the beginning not rather The word was in the beginning that is as I will say anon whē I deliuer the sense of the Text He that was promised for the Messiah had already his being when all created things began first to be Therfore wee may boldly cōclude that this respect of the promise is either the true or at least a likely reason of the name whosoeuer mislike or cōdemn it If any mā be of opiniō that the Greek should rather be trāslated Wisdome or Reason thē word as indeed it signifieth the one as well as the other n Michael de Palatio in Ioan. cap. 1. enarrat 1. we may think that S. Iohn in this place alludes to that in the o Prou. 8. 22. Prouerbs where the Sonne of God is brought in vnder the name of wisdom speaking in this sort The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way before his works of old I was set vp from euerlasting from the beginning before the earth c. This may seeme the more likely because as here so there also after the description of the word wisdome followes a discourse of the creation Here it is said that p Ioh. 1. 3. all things were made by the word q prou 8. 27. There Wisdome affirmes that she was present whē God prepared the heauens set the compasse vpon the deepe Neither only was she with him but as r Verse 30. a nourisher she maintained preserued all things which effect of preseruing nourishing diuers interpreters thinke to be signified in this chap. by those words ſ Iohn 1. 4. In it was life All which notwithstanding I had rather follow the translatiō which is most generally receiued especially since it is grounded vpon such great likelihood of reason that the Son may wel be signified to be the wisdom of God because he is the word of God both conceiued in the Father as the word t Isai 9. 6. reuealing to vs the wisdome of the Father promised u 8. Cor. 1. 30. made to be wisedome to vs. Therefore then is the Messiah fitly called the Word because he is in God as our inward conceptiō in vs because he hath declared vnto vs the wil of his Father and whatsoeuer else it seemeth good to the Lord to acquaint vs withal as it is manifest in this Chapter x Iohn 1. 18. No man hath seene God at any time but the only begotten Son which is in the bosome of the Father he hath declared him And lastly because he is the promised seede of whom as it is also in y Iohn 1. 45 this Chapter Moses and the Prophets
which is then should not bee God If you say with Arius that hee was created you deny that the beginning of all creation is truely described by Moses when he saith g Gen. 1. 1. In the beginning God created heauen and earth For if that you say bee true the most excellent part of the creation was already past namely the making of him by whom all these things afterward were created Who taught this strange Diuinity Where is any such thing recorded in any part of Scripture Who is so shamelesse as to say he hath it by reuelation Who so senselesse as to beleeue him that will say so This is our wisedome to know what it hath pleased God to reueale to vs in the Scripture either expresly or by consequence and to accompt nothing else a matter necessary to bee beleeued So then when we read or heare that our Sauiour was with God wee learne thereby that hee is himselfe God For what can be bee but God that had his being before and without all creation The word perhaps troubles thee because he is said to haue beene with God and therefore as it may seeme not God but an other An other Thou saiest well h Tertullian contra PraxeaÌ„ cap. 8. For hee is indeede in person as I aunswered once before another But where thou saiest not God thou â—rt deceiued vnlesse by God thou vnderstand the person of the Father VVith God signifies distinction of person not diuersitie of Nature Therefore i some learned Diuines by with thinke the holy Ghost meant to note his coniunction with Hilar. de Triit lib. 2. God the Father whereby they are one in vnitie of the same Diuine substance To which also they apply that which followeth in this Chapter where k Iohn 1. 18. The onely begotten Sonne is said to bee in the bosome of the Father and that l Ioh. 14. 10. 11 Chapter 14. I am in the Father and the Father in me yea m Epiphan â—aeres 93. saith one He is so with God that hee is in the substance of God and his very nature Wherfore if at any time thou beest disquieted by the word with as if it â—mplied some difference betwixt God and the Word remember that God signifies the person of the Father â—rom whom the Sonne is truly and really distinguisht â—et not by the nature of his Godhead which is one in both but by the property of his being the Sonne in which the Father and hee are alwayes not one but two â—he one the Father the other the Sonne And this last point concerning our Sauiour Christs person n Tertullian contra PraxeaÌ„ cap. 12. is manifestly vndoubtedly prooued by this part of the verse For it cannot bee imagined that any thing beeing in all respects one and the same should bee saide to bee with it selfe or in it selfe The word was with God If there be no distinction betwixt the word God how can it be conceiued that the word was with God I shall neede to spend the lesse time and paines in this matter because none but o August de haer cap. 4. the Sabellians euer made question of it They deceiued themselues and other men with an vnlikely fancy against euidence of Scripture that God was but one person called in diuers respects sometimes the Father sometimes the Sonne sometimes the holy Ghost But what respect can make this speech reasonable if there be but one person in the Godhead Let vs consider the point a little better Dauid was in regard of his gouernment a king in respect of his sonne Salomon a father in relation to his wife Bersheba an husband for his generall nature a man May I say of him because of these diuers respects that the father of Saelomon was with Dauid or with the man meaning Dauid Would not a man laugh at the absurditie of such a speech It cannot be then but that hee which was with God was really distinct or was truely and indeed another from him with whom hee was No respect will free the speech from a iust imputation of absurditie if the partie spoken of bee one and the same as well for person as for nature I reserue the farder handling of this matter till I come to the end of the verse following where I purpose if it please God to deliuer the doctrine of the holy Trinitie It may also farder be gathered that the Euangelist in saying The word was with God would haue vs to vnderstand that he p Gal. 4. 4. which in the fulnesse of time appointed by God tooke flesh of the Virgin Mary was till that time with God though vnseene and vnknowen to the world not as if he were not there still for euen while he was here vpon the earth he was also at the same time continually in heauen q Ioh. 3. 13. 17. 23. The Sonne of man which is in heauen and I will that they be where I am but because he came into the world where before he had not beene in the nature of man Heereto belongeth that which is other-where written by the r 1. Iohn 1. 2. 3. same Saint Iohn VVee declare vnto you the eternall life which was with Father and was made manifest to vs. Hee was with the Father from euerlasting he appeared in the world at the appointed time So is he now againe with God because he is no longer visible on earth as sometimes he was We may also adde hereunto that Å¿ Ambros de incarna domini Greg. Nysten de fide ad Simplic Rupertus aâ— hunc locum Cyril Hieorosol Cateches 11. this being with the Father implies the glory he had and hath with him as if he should haue said The word which was in the beginning was at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father equall to the Father Why seeke you the Creator amongst the Creatures If you desire to know where the VVord was consider that he was at the right hand of God the Father partaker of that glory which the Lord neither will nor can giue to any which is not the same God with him But of this enough Let vs come to the last part of the verse And the VVord was God or as the Greeke words lie God was the VVord but our tongue will hardly beare that kind of speech vnlesse the sense be altred For if you say God was the VVord an English man will conceiue that you tell him what God was and not what the Word was The Greeke and Latine may well beare such placing of the words the English will not yet perhaps it had beene plainer euen in the Greeke to haue set the words in order as the sense of them was intended and to haue said The word was God But the Euangelist as I noted once before vpon occasion followed an elegancie of speech which had bin lost if he had kept the naturall order of the words In the beginning was the
of How often is our Sauiour called God Thomas acknowledgeth him to be so when he saith vnto him d Ioh. 20. 28. My Lord and my God allnding questionless to the ordinary title which is giuen to God in the old Testament The Lord thy God e Exod. 20. 2. I am the Lord thy God f Leuit. 19. 10. I am the Lord your God g Deut. 4. 2. The commandements of the Lord your God And in a word the same Chapter affords vs the like examples 15. or 16. times So doth h Act. 20. 28. the Apostle Paul call him Take heed to all the flocke whereof the holy Ghost hath made you ouerseers to feede the Church of God which he hath purchased with his owne blood Who purchased the Church with his blood but Iesus Christ Him therefore doth the Apostle call God And â—n another place he doubteth not bodly to affirme that Christ is God ouer all to be blessed for euer Of him it is that i Rom. 9. 5. Heb. 1. 8. the same Apostle saith Thy throne O God endureth for â—uer not only calling him God but professing him to â—e that God which in the beginning created heauen Verse 10 â—arth Thou Lord in the beginning laydst the foundation of of the earth I wil end with that in the l Reuel 4. 8. Reuelation The foure beasts ceased not day nor night sying Holy holy holy Lord God almighty But how should we be assured that by this Lord God Almightie Iesus Christ is signified That which followeth will put the matter out of doubt m Chap. 14. 8. which was and which is and which is to come For this â—â—â—he Title which is giuen to our Sauiour twice in the first Chapter of the same booke This also the 24. Elders presently after confirme when worshipping the same partie whom the foure beasts had honoured they speake thus Thou art worthy O Lord to receiue glory â—ap 4. 11. honour and power for thou hast created all things Aske the holy Apostle S. Paul who is the Creatour of all things Heâ—â— hath answered already that the Lord which laid the foundation of the earth is IESVS CHRIST the Sonne of God The same testimonie of him giueth our Euangelist in the next verse same one Heb. 1. 10. By him were all things made Iohn 1. 3. What should let then but we may conclude that Iesus beeing so often called God in Scripture is in deed very God The like I say of the title Lord by which the 70. translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that name Iehouah which is neuer attributed to any in the Scripture but onely to the true God neither indeede may it in any sort For it signifieth him This is spoken not the Greeke â—ut of the Hebrew word that hath his being of himselfe that giues to all things whatsoeuer being they haue yea it implieth such a being as is alwayes one the same euen eternall without beginning without ending without chaunge without successioÌ„ Now if this name be ascribed to our Sauior by holy Ghost how can it be doubted but that hee is very God And doth not o Iere. 33. 16 Ieremie ascribe it to him when he saith This is the name whereby they shall call him The Lord our righteousnesse or as it may better be read He that shall call her is the Lord our righteousnesse It is out of question that the Messiah is there spoken of whom the Prophet called Iehouah The Lord Or if any man will needes apply it to the Church he shall call her The Lord our righteousnesse which yet hath no warrant nor any great reason let him remember that the Church cannot haue this title but onely in respect of Christ her husband and head as she is also called Christ p 1. Cor. 12. 12. As the body is one and hath many members and all the members of the body which is one though they be many yet are but one body euen so is Christ that is the Church of Christ which being considered with her Head Christ is vouchsafed his name because she is his body Let vs come to the new Testament and leauing those places where the Disciples and such as intreate fauour for their curing of our Sauiour call him Lord because neither their word is any warrant for doctrine and it may be sayd they spake to him by that name as wee ordinarily doe when wee say Sir which indeede was common among the Grecians Let vs take such textes onely as can admit neither of these exceptions Of which kinde are the salutations vsed by the Apostles in the beginning of their Epistles q Rom. 1. 7. Grace be with you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Iesus Christ Where not onely our Sauiour is tearmed Lord but acknowledged to be the Author and giuer of Grace and peace with God his Father But it were a vaine thing to heape vp many testimonies to this purpose No man can look into the writings of the Apostles but he shall see them in euery page Being the Lord then he must needs be God What should I stand vpon euery particular at large Who is the God of glory but Iehouah the great God of heauen and earth For so is he called that appeared to Abraham r Gene. 12. 1. 2 in Genesis The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham s Act. 7. 2. saith the holy Martyr Saint Steuen Aske the enemies of Christ the Iewes and they will tell you with one voice that this was the great God of Israel And yet the Apostle Paul giues this title to our Sauiour Christ where he saith that if the princes of this world had knowen the wisedome of God in the mysterie of our redemption t 1. Cor. 2. 8. They would not haue crucifiâ—d the Lord of glory Hereto belongs that Title u 1. Tim. 6. 15 the King of kings and Lord of lords And whereas some vaine men gouernours of some small part of this little spot of earth doting vpon their owne imagined greatnesse haue either giuen themselues this vnlimited title or accepted it being giuen by the palpable flattery of their base vassals yet alwayes the wiser sort tooke iust occasion thereby rather to scorne their presumptuous folly then to bee drawen into any admiration of their glorious power But the Lord Iesus our blessed Sauiour hath this name by good right as hee of whom â—ll the Kings of the earth hold their Crownes and Prou. 8 15. 16 Scepters By mee x saith hee that is the wisedome oâ— God Kings reigne and Princes decree iustice By mee Princes rule and the Nobles and all the Iudges of the earth y Psal 2. 8. Verse 9. For to him hath God giuen the heathen for his inheritance and the vtmost parts of the earth for his possession He shall crush them with a Scepter of Iron and breake them in peeces like a potters
the true God is spoken of I will goe no furder to confute this error then this present Chap. Was it not the true God that sent Iohn Baptist before the Messiah Is not he called the Lord of hosts by q Maâ—ach 3. 1 the Prophet Malachy Behold I will send my messenger Who wil send In the latter end of the ver Behold he shall come sayth the Lord of hosts And yet of him r Ioh. 1. 6 saith our Euangelist There was a man sent s 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from God vvhere there is no article Shall we belieue the Prophet of the Lord or this false Prophet Arius The one saith the Lord of hosts sent Iohn the Bap. the other tels vs Hee that sent him was not the true God because the article is not set before God This one place were sufficient to confound that vaine and false exception especially beeing in the same Euangelist and within so few lines after the former But I will briefly note some other to make it more cleere if it may be It cannot bee doubted but that God whom no man hath seene at anie time is the true God t Exo. 34. 20. 23 Thou canst not see my face saith the true God to Moses thou shalt see my back parts but my face shall not be seene Doth not S. Iohn speake of the same true God when he sayth u Ioh. 1. 18 No man hath seen God at any time Is not x 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Word in this place also without an article So is it there To them he gaue prerogatiue to be the sons of y 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God The like examples are euery where to bee found in this and the other Euangelists in the writings of the Apostles And surely if the addition of the article be sufficient to proue that the true God is signified wheresoeuer that is set before the Arians are manifestly conuinced by that place of * Rom. 9. 5 Chrysost in Ioa. hom 3. Theophil aâ— hunc locum Saint Paul who is God aboue all which is spoken of our Sauiour Christ and yet hath the article though not immediately before it If you enquire more particularly why the article is put in before God in the former clause and left out in the later First I say the Euangelist might vse his liberty as all that write in Greeke doe to take it or leaue it at his good pleasure where the matter did not require the presence of it Secondly it was fit rather to put the word without it then with it because as I signified before God in the former place noteth the person of the Father who is the first of the three in order but in the later the nature of God which is common to all three persons If he should haue left it or vsed it in both the sense would haue bene more darke and the distinction of the persons not so easily obserued Thirdly it could not haue bene so plaine or certaine that the word was to be taken â—or the former part of the speech but it would haue beene much doubted whether the Euangelist meant to tell vs that God was the word as the words lie or that the word was God as some haue vnderstood him Therefore there is neuer a word nor letter in this first verse wherby our Christian faith touching our Sauiours God head can be weakned Nor any thing saith Arius whereby it may be strengthened No Doth not the holy Ghost auouch that â—e is eternall hauing his perfect being already when all things created began first to be Is it not affirmed that He was with God when nothing had any being but God your vaine and friuolous exceprions haue bin prooued void Let all this passe Can any thing be plainer then this direct affirmation that the word was God The word saith Arius was God but no otherwise then some men are called by that name The true God a Exod. 7. 1 sayd to Moâ—es I haue made thee a God to Pharaoh yea to all them to whom the word of God came he saith as much b Psal 82. 6. I haue said yee are Gods A poore shift The very sight of the place affords a sufficient answere c Hilar. de Trinit lib. 7. Moses is made Pharaohs God and those Rulers were said to be Gods Doth the holy Ghost say either of Moses or any other that they were God simplie as our Euangelist doth of the VVord If the VVord had bene made God or if the Lord had onely affirmed of him that he had called him God there might haue bene som occasion of doubting because there are some such like speeches of other men in the Scripture But what wilfull wrangling is it to call so plain a matter into question vpon so vnlike a maner of speech Moses was God to Pharaoh not simply God They were vouchsaf't the name of gods They were not simply gods There was no daunger in either of both those speeches Hee that reades I haue made thee God can readily conceiue that this made God is not the true God And as easie is it for any man to assure himselfe that those rulers are not God indeed aswel because they were many but God is one is also for that they are presently threatned d Psal 82 7 that they shall dye like men But simply to name him God whose eternity was before auouched whose preseÌ„ce with God before the world was affirm'd and to whom afterward the creation of all things is ascribed had been the realy waie to fill the hearts of men with idolary if Iesus had not been indeed very God by nature Therefore it is not possible to perswade any Christian man whose eyes are not blinded with the mist of preiudice and error that the holy Ghost would open such a gate to impiety calling him God without addition limitation or exposition who had affirmed asmuch of himselfe and of whome the whole Christian world was so perswaded when this Gospell was to be written Nay rather he would by all meanes haue refrayned to giue the â—east suspicion of such a conceit by which men might haue beene drawen into so horrible and dangerous an â—eresie But no truth of reason no authority of Scripture could reforme the error or stop the mouth of that wretched hereticke till the Lord Iesus himselfe our God vtterly destroyed him by a most fearefull iudgement For e Ruffin hist eccl lib. 1 cap. 3 at the verie time when hee was ready to goe to the Chruch to maintaine his blasphemous heresie being forced by necessity of nature to goe aside into a coÌ„mon place appointed for that purpose as it might be Queen hithe here in London he voyded with reuerence bee it spoken his very entrails and so ended at once both his life and his blasphemie Doe wee tremble at the horror of this iudgement Oh then let vs take heede my brethren how wee like of his doctrine
the godhead that there is but one God Secondly of the Trinity of the persons Where the first poynt must be to proue that there are three persons the second to shew how they are distinguisht one from an other And because there is in our Church seruice a treatise to this purpose knowne in part to all that are present commonly called the Creed of Athanasius who like a valiant champion maintein'd the godhead of Christ against the Assaults of Arius I will referre you from point to point to that discourse That there is but one God the same one God witnesseth himselfe in scripture o Exod. 20. 2. 3. I am the Lord thy God thou shalt haue none other Gods but me Which is not ambitiously spoken as if some one God would haue the honor froÌ„ all the rest but enioyned with authority by him who onely had right to claime such preheminence Els neither had he done done iustly that gaue this charge and how should he be conceiu'd to be God that is knowne to be vniust and the Iewes to whom he gaue it should haue hurt themselues as much by displeasing all the other Gods whom they refused to acknowledge as help themselues by pleasing that one whome they did acknowledge Vnlesle perhaps wee may ridiculously think that for quietnes sake the other Gods were content to put vp this iniury or that they were all agreed to part stakes as the heathen absurdly feyne of their three Gods Whereof Iupiter the eldest took heauen for his share Neptune the second got the gouernment of the Sea and Pluto the yongest rather then he would sit out quite was content to play small game as we say and to take Hell for his part rather then nothing These are liker fancies of men in a dreame then discourses of learned writers And yet neither could these three brothers well agree at all times and to say the truth Iupiter whom the other two aknowledged for their Soueraign was the onely God in the Iudgement of the heathen But whatsoeuer they imagined wee are sure our God doth so speake of himselfe p Deut. 32. 39. Behold now for I am he and there is no Gods with me That appeares by the effects I kill saith he giue life I wound and I make whole Are not these the works of god In whose haÌ„ds are death life but in Gods But hath this God only that power Are there not other that haue it aswell as he No sure as himselfe addeth There is none that can deliuer out of my hands Thus he speaketh of himselfe thus the prophet Moses q Exod. 33. 11. that talked with him face to face speaketh of him Vnto thee it was shew'd r Deut. 435. saith Moses to I srael that thou mightst knowe that the Lord hee is God and that there is none other but hee alone And afterward Vnderstand v. 39. therfore this day and consider in thy heart that the Lord he is God in heauen aboue and vpon the earth beneath there is none other I might recken vp many like testimonies But whom will not these content if enough will content him Will any foolish blasphemer now except against these proofes as if they were to be vnderstood of the general nature of God not of any one who onely is God how fond and absurd must such an exception needs bee seeing all men know by reason that generalls haue not any reall being diuers from the specials or species nor can be said to perform any particular action For example to make the matter as plaine as I can Man as it signifieth that nature which is common or generall to euery seuerall man is not any thing subsisting by itselfe but hath it whole being in the particulars of that kind Therefore also it cannot be said that the generall nature of man doth reason or speake but that this or that man doth so But God saith I kill giue life neither can the general nature which is leudly absurdly conceiv'd say truely of itselfe Behold I am hee and there are no gods with me neither were such a speech to any purpose or of any vse as if it were to bee thought that any man could imagin that there are more then one general nature of any one kinde There is then but one God only For if there were more God could not say there are no more euen as Adam after Caine and Abel were borne could not affirme That he alone was man and that there was none beside him The same trueth is confirmed in the new Testament by the Å¿ 1. Cor. 8 4. Apostle Paule We know saith he that an Idol is nothing in the world and that there is none other God but one As if he should haue said Howsoeuer there are diuers idols of this and that shape men idols and women Idols yet we know there are no such diuine powers in the world as these according to the fancy of men represent yea we are are sure there is but one God The heathen indeed haue many whom they call God and Lord but to vs that vnderstand the truth there is but one Ver. 6. God So doth the Scripture euerie where speake of God as of one t Rom. 1. 21. 23. When they knew God they glorified him not as God The glorie of the incorruptible God What shal I need to heape vp many testimonies in a case that is not doubtfull All the wise and learned both Christians Iewes Heathen agree with one consent that there cannot be any more then one God All this notwithstanding wee finde that in the Scripâ—ure there are more then one that are sayde to bee God First there is one called the Father whom al men acknowledge to be God u Rom. 1. 7. Grace be with you and peace from God our Father x 1 Cor. 8. 6. To vs there is but one God which is the Father y Eph. 1. 3. Blessed bee God euen the Father of our Lord Iesu Christ Secondly as I shewed before Iesus Christ or the Word is also vouched to bee God In the former verse The word was God * Rom. 9. 5. Christ is God ouer all belssed for euer Thirdly it is manifest in the same Scripture that the holy Ghost in like sort is God For although there be noâ— one place wherein hee is so tearmed by name yet the comparing of one text with another puts the matter out of question The Lord saith to the people of Israell that if a Num. 12 6. there be a Prophet amongst them he the Lord wil appear to him in a vision he will talke with him in a dreame It was the Lord therefore that spake in and by the Prophets This Lord saith b 1. Pet. 1. 11. Saint Peter was the spirit The spirit testified before of Christ c 2. Pet. 1. 21. Prophecie came not in olde time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they
that there was a thing yea many hundred or thousand things that were not made by him Nothing was made without him That is say the Manichees hee was not the maker of Nothing but that was made without him Could a man deuise to speake more contrary to the holy Ghost if the would set himselfe to it neuer so earnestly But what is this nothing No lesse then the heaueÌ„ the earth the sea and whatsoeuer is contained in al these except spirits They might better call these All things then Nothing Sure it is a farre easier matter to perswade men to be Sadduces and thinke there are no spirits at al then to make them beleeue that all these bodily things are nothing They are nothing say they because they are naught and made by the deuill Away with these horrible blasphemies and absurdities Is the world euill by creation and not rather wholly by corruption Or is there any thing in the worlde so euill that it hath not some good profitable vse Is it possible any thing should haue a being but from Iehouah the author of all being But I knowe not how I am almost slipt into a refutation of that which deserues rather to be reiected with detestation then refuted by reason especially seeing the ground of this their building is so sleight and sandy What colour is there for this interpretation of theyrs If wee take the words in the plaine sense they afford vs they containe neither impietie nor absurdity What then Doth the circumstance of the place require anye such exposition Nay rather ot confutes it as I haue shewed Neither doe they brag of any speciall reuelation for the vnderstanding of it What should then be their reason for it Imagin what you will or can their conceit passeth all absurdity Forsooth the Euangelist hath set nothing in the last place after was made O incredible shall I say ignorance or wilfull blindnesse As if for the sense it were not all one to say without him was made nothing and without him nothing was made In English the later kind of speech is more agreeable to the nature of the toong in greeke it is not so but the sense euen in the English is all one though the words be not so well placed But let vs leaue these absurdities vpon which wee haue dwelt too long a great deale longer then I purposed and betake our selues to the matter Yet perhaps it will not be amisse to adde a worde or two first for the remouing of a doubt that may arise in some mans minde who cannot satisfy himselfe concerning it And surely I am the bolder to spende the more time and labour in expounding the text and making al things as plaine as I can because I knowe that one of Satans meanes to discredit the doctrine and make the exhortation out of any palce of Scripture lesse effectuall is to cast some doubtes into mens heartes about the true sense of the text expounded If hee can shew any likely hood of some other interpretation then was giuen he makes accompt he hath aduantage enough to perswade vs not to regard what was taught vs what we were exhorted to For if the foundation bee weake how should the building be but ruinous So likewise if he cannot reasonably obiect against the expounding of the place yet if hee can raise some doubts which were not satisfied he will imploy men therein and so drawe them away from the meditation and practise of that which was deliuered The doubt vpon this place is in the later part of this clause why the Euangelist should add these words without him was made was it not sufficient to haue said All things were made by him yes surely it was very sufficient both for the truth of the thing and also for the vnderstanding of it What vse is there then of this repetition It helpes the memory and as it were stirs vs vp to greater atttention But the true reason of it as I conceiue is that the Euangelist followeth the Hebrew phrase very commonly in which it is ordinary to double that by a negation or deniall of the contrary which before was affirmed So k I say 39. 4. 2. King 20. 15. speaketh Hezekiah to the Prophet I sai All that is in my house they haue seene there is nothing among my treasures that I haue not shewed them So l Ier. 42. 4. Ieremie to â—ohanan and the people What soeuer thing the Lorde shall aunswere you I will declare it to you I will keepe nothing backe from you Of this kinde there are many speeches of our Sauiour recorded in the Gospell that it may appeare it was ordinarie with him so to set out that hee spake by affirming or denying the contrary m Ioh. 8. 29. Hee that sent me is with me the Father hath not left me alone n Ioh. 3. 17. God sent not his Sonne into the world that he should condemne the world but that the world through him might be saued This later Clause indeede hath somewhat more in it then the former but it was implyed in it So in the verse going before ver 16. should not perish but haue euerlasting life o Ioh. 10. 18. Ver. 28. No man taketh it from me but I lay it downe of my selfe I giue them eternall life and they shall neuer perish This custome of speech vsed also by his Lord and Master did our Euangelist followe that wee might the rather beleeue and remember that he writ Thus by the examining of the words wee are come at the last to vnderstand the Euangelists meaning which is this that all things whatsoeuer which had any beginning of being as all things had except God onely had that beginning and being of theirs from the word or Sonne of God There is nothing so glorious in heauen aboue nothing so meane on earth belowe nothing so hidden vnknowne in the depth of the Sea but had his whole being from our Sauiour Christ From him they all receiv'd their substance and nature from him they had their qualities and properties by him all things liue that haue life by him all things moue that haue motion by him all things are that haue any being But let vs consider these matters more attentiuely First in generall then particularly And because I haue once or twice already made mention of a place in the Prouerbes where this Sonne of God is brought in by Salomon calling himselfe by the name of wisedome and shewing his admirable wisedom by the workes of the Creation I will begin with his owne report as it is there described VVhen hee that is God the Father prepared the heauens I was there p Pro. 8. 27. sayth this diuine wisedome when he set the compasse vpon the deepe when hee established the Cloudes aboue when he confirmed the Fountaines of the deep Ver 28. When he gaue his decree to the Sea that the waters should not Ver. 29. passe his
commandement when hee appointed the foundations of the earth Then was I with him a nourisher and I was Ver. 30. dayly his delight reioycing alway before him But least any man should be so obstinate that this testimonie cannot resolue and satisfie him I will adde hereunto the witnes of q Psal 102. 25. another Prophet who calling vpon the Sonne of God speaketh thus of him Thou hast afore time layd the foundation of the earth and the heauens are the worke of thy hands If you doubt whether this bee spoken of the Sonne or no the holy Ghost shall assure you that it is by the pen of Saint r Hâ—b 1. 10. Paul who alleageth this place and applyeth it to our Sauiour Christ Of whome also hee had affirm'd a little before that God made the world by him It may be some man would knowe the reason why our Euangelist being to describe our Sauiour as the Creator of the world doth not vse the same kinde of speech which Moses doth and which also is common in the Scripture to that purpose Why doth hee not more particularly recite the things that were created by him and set out his glory therein at large as Moses doth I will tell you in as few words as I can And first I say of both questions together that therefore Saint Iohn did not speake either so or so largely as Moses had done before because Moses had so done and his purpose was not the same that Moses had in his writing More particularly and more plainely I say farther of the former doubt first that it is true and manifest that whereas Å¿ Gen. 1. 1. Moses named expresly the heauen and the earth our Euangelist sayeth in generall All things It is also cleere and certaine that ordinarily in the Scripture where God is spoken of as a Creator there the same things are mentioned Wee heard erewhile seuerall places to that purpose you may finde more at your leasure Wee preach vnto you sayth t Act 14. 25. the Apostle Paul to the men of Listra That yee should turne from these vaine things to the liuing God which made heauen and earth So u Isay 37. 16. sayth Hezekiah Thou art God alone ouer all the kingdomes of the earth thou hast made the heauen and the earth So x Ier. 32. 17. Ieremiah Thou hast made the heauen and the earth by thy great power yet saith our Euangelist By him were all things made Why so As well because by these words all that Moses sayd might and would easily be conceiv'd as also for that he would haue euen those things to be vnderstood whereof Moses had made no expresse mention Therefore also doth y Col. 1. 16. the Apostle Paul speake otherwise of the creation then Moses where hee sayth of our Sauiour Christ By him were all things created which are in heauen and which are in earth things visible and inuisible whether they bee Thrones or Dominions or Principalities or Powers then follow the very wordes of our Euangelist All things were created by him Thus hath Saint Paul taught vs how to expound Saint Iohn All things visible and inuisible Of the later Moses sayth nothing expresly but rather by his particular description of the visible parts of the world seemes to tell vs that hee spake of them onely So might our Euangelist also haue been vnderstood if hee had so spoken whereas now wee are to expound him of both according as the Apostle directs vs. But why doth not Saint Iohn as the least follow Moses course and describe the particulars at large Because Moses was the first that euer writ that historie of creation and writ it of purpose to giue knowledge of it to all posteritie But our Euangelist neither needed doe that which which was perform'd so excellently so long before by another and intended not to set out the historie but rather to apply it to the present occasion Hee had also a more worthy matter to handle whereunto hee hasted the redemption of the children of God by the promised Messiah our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ Giue mee leaue I pray you a little to consider the glorie of our heauenly redeemer and to insult ouer all such miscreants Iewes and Turkes as despise his gratious offer of saluation and refuse him as not worth the trusting in Whom dost thou contemne whose helpe doest thou thinke scorne of Canst thou not beleeue in him when thou considerest him in the Virgins wombe yet beleeue in him when thou beholdest him in the bosome of God what could he be but mortall that was made of mortall flesh Nay rather what could hee bee but immortall that made both flesh and spirit Thou sayest Hee is accursed that maketh flesh his arme and can hee be blessed thinkest thou that refuseth to make God his strength Shall the clay say to the potter Thou art of no power Shall not so presumpâ—uous a Clod of bak't earth bee broken all to peeces and beaten to dust That thou liuest mov'st breath'st that thou art that thou canst bee thus vnthankefull it is his and only his goodnes What doost thou plotting and deuising to ouerthrow his religion Beholde hee will take a way thy breath from thee and then all thy thoughts shall perish Doest thou not quake and tremble at the fearefull sound of the thunder that hee made Doest thou not flee away hide thy face from the flashes of lighting that come from him * Osc 2. 8. Doost thou not knowe that it is hee that giues thee Corne and Wine and Oyle and multiplies thy siluer and thy golde which thou wastest in making warre against him How long wilt thou proceed to harden thy wicked heart to thine owne destruction The weakest and meanest of his creatures a Exod. 8. 19. 25. Flies and Lice are stronger then all thy bandes of Ianizaries If the meditation of our Sauiour Christs Almightie power in creating all things will preuayle nothing at all with them but to 〈◊〉 urage them the more let vs leaue them to his iust indignation and apply the knowledge of this doctrine to the encrease of our owne faith and comfort And first let vs hearten our selues against the reproches and scornes of the weake and ignorant world They beleeue not in Iesus Christ Noe maruaile For they see him not but in the wombe in the manger on the Crosse in the graue They see but a peece a it were or rather the bark only of the tree of life But we to whom the same Lord that created the eyes of our bodies the naturall light of our vnderstanding hath giuen also the supernaturall light of faith beholde him a farre off euen beyond the beginning of the world and looking through the rinde of his humane nature see the pith and substance of his euerlasting Godhead not what it is but that it is Why shuld it be thought strange for men to relie wholly vpon him that made them Let me
reason with you a little If a Clocke or Watch a curious peece of worke had vnderstanding to consider its owne nature and to knowe the workeman that forg'd and fram'd it to whose keeping thinke you would it committe it selfe rather then to his that knew â—est how to preserue it because hee deuis'd and made it Is not euery man desirous to haue that gardiner if it may be to looke to his herbs flowers knots arbors and his whole ground the excellencie of whose skill he sees continually before his eyes in the beautie and growth of the things hee hath fashioned and planted And shall not wee rest and relye vpon him that created vs If the skill and strength of some workeman bee inferior to oâ—her of the same trade yet his loue and affection to his owne worke the care of his reputation will make him â—ble aboue his power If that Clocke or Watch I spake of could finde it selfe decayed in any part the teeth of the wheeles or pinions to bee ouerworne the axel to bee growne too thin or any thing to be displaced would it not seeke and call for helpe of the maker I might say â—he like of the garden Who is fitter to amend whatsoeuer is out of order then bee that first set it in that order To whome then should wee seeke for ayde but to him that hauing created vs is therfore able and willing to restore vs to our former if it please him to a better estate Wee see how agreeable it is to reason that he which made man after his owne image and likenes should refresh it being decayed and restore it being lost Wee see also that the same reason teacheth vs that as many as desire to bee made partakers of that for which they were made must depend vpon him by whom they were made Therefore may wee truely say vnto the Lorde b Psal 72. 25. VVhom haue wee in heauen but thee wee haue desired none in the earth with thee But if the hope of so necessarie assured succour bee not sufficient to drawe vs to him that offers himselfe to repaire his owne workemanshippe yet let the consideration of our duetie waigh so much with vs as to make vs yeelde obedience to our Lord and Maker There is nothing more common in the Mouthes of men and children then that God made all other thinges for the seruice of man and man for his owne seruice Yea to whom doth it not seeme vnreasonable that the creature should denie obedience to the Creator Doo you not heare the Lord complayning of this by the c Isay 1. 2. 3. Prophet Isay as of a monstrous and vnnaturall impietie Heare O heauens and hearken O earth for the Lord hath sayde I haue nourished and brought vp Children but they haue rebelled against mee The Oxe knoweth his owner and the Asse his maisters Crib but Israell hath not knowne my people hath not vnderstood Are wee more brutish then the Oxe more dull then the Asse They relye on them by whome they haue their meate Do wee refuse to rest on him by whome wee haue our whole being If they should be giuen ouer by one maister they would soone bee found by another If the Lord our Creator leaue vs to our selues there is no second that can sustaine vs but wee shall immediately fall to nothing Bee not afrayde then least thou should'st bee sham'd when the foolish world shall condemne thee for beleeuing in Iesus Christ Aske them boldly if the creature may not or ought not to put his trust in the Creator Let them tell thee whether they doe not thinke it iust and reasonable for the workmaister to haue all command ouer the worke Thou find'st they selfe to bee wholly out of frame and order to whome should'st thou goe to bee amended but to him that form'd thee Thou art not able to attaine to the ende for which thou weâ—t created who can better or who will gladlier direct thee then hee that appointed that ende for thee Hee lookes thou shouldst seeke vnto him hee calls thee to come vnto him Hee commaundeâ— thee to trust vnto him As hee hath made thee a man on earth by creation so hee will make thee a Saint in heauen by regeneration What doost thou vexing and troubling thy selfe poore soule with the continuall sight of thy present deformitie I was indeed sayst thou beautifull and glorious but I am deformed and loathsome I had once the liuely image of him that created me true holinesse and righteousnesse but I haue now the ougly pourtrature of him that deceiued mee euen sinne and wickednesse If onely the colour were decayed it might happely be refresht But when the very form is perished there is nothing left to bee repayred O miserable and wretched that I am Not onely to ose that happinesse which can neuer bee recouered out also to fall into that miserie which can neuer be renedied Which way shall I turne my selfe or to whom hall I flee for succour It is high time to minister some comfort when the party is so well prepared to receiue it especially since it may so easily be had Doost thou aske â—o whom thou shalt flee for succour To whome else but to him that offers it As for the feare of I know not what impossibilitie to recouer so great a losse remember by whom all things were made and thou shalt see how much thou art deceiv'd Thou hast lost the perfit beautie thou hadst bestowed on thee in thy creation But hee that gaue it hath not lost his power to bestowe new on thee Is the colour faded Hee can lay on a fresher and set an amiable glosse thereon Iâ— the woole forme be perisht that there remaines no one liâ—e or place of a line to bee discerâ—ed yet hath not hee that created it forgotten what it was Is it harder for him to make thee righteous then it was to make thee Can not hee that created the soule it self enrich it with qualities beseeming such a substance Hee that made the light to shine out of darkenes can make the sowrest crabstocke beare most sweete fruite Hee that created thee when thou wert not can create true righteousnes in thee when thou art most vnholy But let vs consider this worke of the creation more particularly and first that our Sauiour Iesus Christ was the Creator of those inuisible Creatures which we call Angels Looke you for proofe of this point By him were all things made Or if that content you not reade that which followes And without him was nothing made that was made Then if the Angels were not made by him either they haue no being at all or at the least had no beginning of their being The last is vnpossible For they are seruants to the Lord who only is eternall and d Psal 103. 20. Doe his commaÌ„demeÌ„t in obeying the voice of his word And indeed thence haue they their name For what is an Angell but a messenger imployed in the
Is it not enough that wee are assured by the holy Ghost in the Scripture that the Lord hath giuen them charge ouer vs Many and many times are wee defended and guided by them though wee see them not As the Diuell laboureth all hee can to drawe or thrust vs into daunger So doe they striue against him to keepe vs from it or to pull vs vs out of it How many times haue wee beene stirred vp by them to the seruice of God and the workes of our calling How often haue they made vs remember and see that wee were entring into the way of destruction It is indeede the blessed spirit of the Almightie that inclines our hearts and affections to like of and yeelde to holy motions but the Angels are they that ordinarily make these motions Beleeue then in Iesus Christ and thou art presently furnisht of a most sufficient guard both for state and strength d Psal 34. 7. The Angel of the Lord pitcheth round about them that feare him and deliuereth them King Salomon in all his royaltie in the midst of them e 2. Chr. 9. 15. 16 that carried 200 targets and 300. shieldes of beaten golde was not so richly nor so safely guarded such honour such securitie doth beleefe in Christ procure all true Christians how meanely soeuer the worlde account of them It will here perhaps bee demanded by some whether those wicked spirits which we commonly call Diuells be of the number of those Angelles or within the compasse of those All things which the Euangelist sayth were made by Christ But the question is aunswered already because these spirits are not God and yet haue a true being it must needes bee that they tooke their beginning by Creation from him Without whome nothing was made that was made Besides it is not vnknowne I thinke to any man that these euill Angells are all one for the substance of their nature and being with those other holy and glorious spirits yea the Lord doth vse them oftentimes as executioners of his iust wrath vpon the wicked I will not stand to inquire whether euer hee doe imploy those his Angels of Light in any such kinde of seruice or no or whether this office bee put off to those euill spirites onely once it is a matter out of doubt that these later are sometimes so imployed f 1. Sam. 16. 14. The spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and an euill spirit sent from the Lord vexed him And of the Israelites it is sayd in g Psal 78. 49. the Psalme That the Lord cast vpon them the fiercenes of his anger indignation and wrath and vexation by the sending out of euil Angels Such was h 1. King 22. 21. that lying spirit which offered himselfe to deceiue Ahab by the mouth of his false Prophets As for that wickednesse of theirs which now by long custome is as it were turned into nature and hath taken so full possession of them that they are vtterly reprobat to all goodnesse it was not made with them but bred and brought in by them they receiued not that corruption with their nature but by their choise of euill corrupted their nature Their estate by creation was happie their nature holy i Iud. v. 6. But they kept not their first estate but left their owne habitation as Saint Iude tells vs and as k 2. Pet. 2. 4. the Apostle Peter plainly saith They sinned The Lord found no stedfastnesse in them as l Iob. 4. 18. Eliphas affirmeth in the booke of Iob They are now euill and nothing but euill but from the beginning they were not so Yes saith one euen from the beginning witnesse our Sauiour himselfe who doubteth not to affirme that The deuill hath beene a murderer from the beginning What From the beginning of his creation That were indeed to make God the author of sinne properly and immediately But how should the Diuell bee a murtherer when as yet there was none whom he could murther yea after that Adam was created which certainly was after the creation of Angells who were in all likelihood the beginning of Gods workmanship the Diuell was not yâ—â—â— murderer For Euah by whome he preuailed to the destruction of Adam and her selfe with their whole posterity was not yet framed But as soone as the Diuell had seene the man and the woman his malice against God his enuy at their present happinesse and future glory made him attempt that murder which he so soone committed So that from the beginning is nothing else but from the first time that hee had opportunitie to doe a murther I deny not that hee was ready enough before to haue done the like but our Sauiour speakes of that actuall mutther Neither yet doe I graunt that hee was naturally so inclyned by reason of any euill created in him But this I say that being holy by nature hee wilfully rebelled against God before the creation of Adam and by that rebellion of his defaced in himself the Image of God in which hee was created and was giuen vp by God to his owne wicked heart without hope or possibilitie of recouerie This in part our Sauiour himselfe in that place signifieth when hee addes immediatly vpon the former words that Hâ—e abode not in the truth For by this speech hee doth imply that hee was first in the truth Let vs not bee afray de then to confesse that the Sonne of God made the Diuell but let vs knowe and remember that hee made him not a diuell Hee is a Spirit by creation an euill spirit by declining from that puritie wherein hee was created His being is from the will of God his being euill from his owne will But that which concernes ve especially in this matter is this that how great soeuer his power seeme to bee in the world how extreame soener his malice bee against God how desirous soeuer he bee of our destruction yet hee in whom wee beleeue that did create him both hath him at coÌ„mand as a creature and would neuer haue created him if hee had not beene able to bring his owne purpose to passe for the saluation of those that trust in him in despight of Saâ—â—n and all his instruments Therefore take courage to thy selfe whosoeuer thou art that hast committed thy selfe to Iesus Christ to bee saued by him Dooth Satan rage against thee Dooth hee beleger thee on euerie side Dooth heee come with open mouth like a Lion to deuoure thee Hee that made him and thee knowes his strength and thy weakenesse Sooner shall hee burst himselfe with swelling enuie or fret himselfe away to nothing with bootelesse anger then separate thee from thy Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ Hee loue thee for the first creation a thowsand times more for the second generation Though thy first righteousnesse was lost by sinne thy second grace shall ouercome sinne But let vs proceede to the creation of visible things Whereof I shall neede to say
the lesse because they are generally so well knowne to all men and describ'd somewhat largely in the hystorie of the creation Yet thus much I may and must say that if wee did more aduisedly consider either the whole frame of the world how each part serueth and beautifieth other or the particular creatures euerie one by themselues wee should discerne the power and wisedome of the Creator in a farre more excellent sort then euer yet wee sawe it But I will not enter into so large a fielde least the varietie of most admirable workemanshippe make mee forget my selfe and stay mee too long in the course of my present iorney to the ende of this whole verse Onely I will commend to your priuate meditation for this purpose the later ende of the booke of Iob from the beginning of Chapter 38. to the ende of 41. Where the Lord himselfe from heauen thunders out a wonderfull description of his diuine power and wisedome in the varietie of his workes and the incredible strength of some speciall creatures to the vtter confusion of m August de â—aeros cap. 46. the wicked Maniches who blasphemously gaue the glorie of these wonders to an Idoll of their owne senselesse deuising and setting vp But they that haue either the light of true reason or the direction of the holy spirit cleerly see and willingly acknowledge that the least and meanest creature in the world could neuer haue beene but by the infinit power of God and being is a sufficient proofe of that power by which it is This I speake the rather because n Aâ—crroes aly some learned fooles being inforced by the light of nature to discern the Creator in the creatures and yet being not willing to assent to the truth of Religion in the Scripture haue presumed to denie both the creation and prouidence of God in the smaller and inferiour creatures and in ordinary matters of no great moment Why so Because forsooth they were too base for God to make or meddle with O the nicenesse of vaine men As if the Sun that shineth out of the heauens were defiled or abased by casting of his beames vpon any place though neuer so homely or vncleanely But of the prouidence of God vpon some fitter occasion hereafter For the creation of such small and meane creatures wee haue authoritie of Scripture to assure vs they are GODS workemanshippe and strength of reason to proue that they are worthie to bee acknowledged for his And for Scripture what better warrant can wee desire then the testimony of the holy Ghost by o Gen. 1. 20. Moses in the report he makes of the first creation God said Ver. 24. Lette the waters bring foorth in aboundance euery creeping thing that hath life And of the earth afterward God said Let the earth bring foorth the liuing thing according to his kind cattell and that which creepeth There is not any creature in the Sea or on the Land of lesse woorth then that which creepeth Is it not a part of the Serpents punishment to go on his belly p Gen. 3. 14. Because thou hast done this thou art accursed aboue all cattell and aboue euery beast of the field vpon thy belly shalt thou goe and dust shalt thou eate all the daies of thy life Is there any baserfood then the dust of the earth And yet that is the ordinary meate of such thinges as craul vppon the land As for those that creepe in the water mudde and slyme is their ordinary sustenance Yet are both the one and the other created by the Lorde Therefore also haue they their part in praising and magnifying their heauenly creator q Psal 148. 10. Beasts and all Cattell creeping things and feathered foules Yea they are not only the creatures of God but howsoeuer for a time they were ceremonially vncleane by nature cleane good So did the Lord himselfe teach and informe r Act. 10. 10. Peter by a voice from heauen The holy Apostle was hungry and while meate was dressing for him fell into a trance wherein he saw a vessell come downe from heanen in which were amongst verse 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. other creatures creeping things Then there came a voice to him willing him to kill and eate Is not this a sufficient proofe of their creation and cleanness They came now downe from heauen and Peter was will'd to eate of them But Peter remembring that they were forbidden to bee eaten as vncleane began to excuse himselfe The Lord to cut of all obiections answers him againe The thing that God hath purified pollute thou not This was so done thrice saith the Text. Why so often but that all doubt of their vncleannesse might be cleane taken away Well say you let them be cleane forvse especially in acase of necessity yet they are not worthy to be held for the creatures of God Not worthy and yet haue being mouing and life Any one of these were sufficient to make them shew some part of his greatnesse from whom they are Take the least of the 3. Is there not an infinit difference betwixt not being and being Or can any power lesse then infinit giue being where there is none Do not all things as it were speake sound out the excellency of being when they feare and striue against nothing more then least they should not bee What hath made some profane wretches that had no hope of life after their death in this world to wish that they might liue though it were but in the forme nature of Todes or Spiders It is an old and true obseruation euen of the heathen that euery thing is naturally desirous to continew its being by all meanes possible But these fond wise men shall be condemned by some like themselues Let vs heare Pharaohs in chaunters giue in their verdict When they all crauled with lice saw that God who had suffered the Diuel for a time to deceiue them with vaine shewes would no longer endure his and their damnable presumption they cried out to Pharaoh Å¿ 〈◊〉 3. 19. This is the singer of God Surely if making lice of dust be not dishonourable to God but the wretched sorcerers are inforced to acknowledge his power in them what madnes is it to deny him the creation of the smallest and meanest things Yet I would not be so vnderstood as if I thought that euery kinde of such creatures was made at the first creation within the compass of those six daies It is enough for vs to beleeue and acknowledge that all things had their being from God both for their nature and their properties and that no kind of creature hath bin is or shal be at any time bred but according to the appointment of the Lord and by the meanes which he from the beginning ordained fitted to that purpose Thence it is that diuerse liuing creatures are daily bred of dust mudd slyme and such like Not as if these
things fell out thus by chaunce or arose from the nature of these matters without the foresight foreappointment of God the creatour of them Nay rather therefore did he so temper and order these things because he had decreed to haue such creatures bred of them from time to time Let vs come yet neerer to these dainty ones and if it be possible giue them a full and perfect view of their error Me thinkes their dealing with God in this matter is much like to that of Ahaz in another case Whome when the Prophet willed to aske a signe for his assurrance from the Lord his tender heart would not bee so bold with God t Isay 7. 11. 12. I will not aske saith Ahaz neither will I tempt the Lord. He durst not forsooth aske the Lord but he durst refuse to obay the word of the Lord by the Prophet when he was commanded to aske a signe In like sort these men that are so iealous of Gods glory will not graunte that hee should bee the maker of such meane things But in the meane while they are not affraid either to deny him to be the fountaine of al being and so to make him no God or else to ascribe these creatures to some chaunce or necessity not before determined by him and so put him then as it were to his shiftes to make the best of that which he cannot otherwise helpe But if these curious men would imploy that time and study in searching the nature parts of these little despised creatures which they bestow in deuising idle and foolish arguments to bewray their bold ignorance they should find more cause to wonder at the wisedome of God in their smalnesse then to deny him to be the maker of them because of any imagined basenes Is there not beauty in a cleare diamond though it be but a sparke May there not bee singular workmanship shewed in the caruing of a ladle or potlid or some other thing of meaner seruice How much would bee giuen for Myrons Fly sitting on a Charriot couering it and the horses with her wings body But what are all these and as many such like deuises and pecces of workmanship as can be imagined if you compare them with these little creatures Didst thou neuer see a worme or fly so little that thou couldst hardly discerne it with thy neeye though thou lookedst earnestly vpon it which yet mou'd and crept turn'd and return'd this way and that way with no slowe pase If thou could'st possibly take a view of the parts of these creatures with what admiration of them wouldst thou be rauisht The Anatomy of such a worme would be no lesse wonderfull then the opening of a Whale or Elephant What should I speak of the Bee or Silkworme Where is the Architect or spinster to be found that caÌ„ match the curious frame of the one or the small and euen thrid of the other Butp whither doth the wondring at these creaturs drawe me The farder I goe in this course the more more way I see still before me and am neuer a whit the neerer my iournies end I will turne aside therefore into that path which leades vs to a place of strength comfort Hast thou aduisedly considred that Iesus Christ thy Sauiour is the mightie and wise creator of all things I cannot doubt then but thou manifestly discernest that thou art sufficiently prouided of all necessaries that belong to this preseÌ„t life They are his by creation whose thou art by regeneration The interest thou hast in him conueies vnto thee a just and strong title to all the comforts and pleasures of this life Hee himselfe hath no need of them for he is u Gen. 17. 1. God al-sufficient Els hee neither could or would haue indured to bee without the vse of them from all eternity till within these 5600. yeares What then Were they prouided for his enimies that his friends might want x Mat. 5. 45. He maketh his Sunne to arise on the euill indeed and sendeth his raigne on the vniust And not on the good and iust Hee prouideth for both but with a diuerse affection Is it not daily seene that Princes feed and cloath them if neede require that are coÌ„demned to death for their misdeedes Why so Because they meane to make their loue of Iustice knowne to al men and to powre on such malefactors the shame they haue deserued The Romane Generals had an especiall care in all their conquests to haue the principal of their enimies aliue that they might afterwards leade them in triumph to shew their glory So doth the Lorde deale with the great and mighty wicked ones of the world He feedes them with the best and daintiest meate hee cloaths them with the costliest and gayest apparell hee sets them out as it were to shewe that all men may take notice of them to the ende that at the last hee may triumph ouer them the more gloriously Thou that beleeuest in Iesus Christ perhaps farest hardly and art meanely attired Well rest vpon thy Sauiour that was the maker of all things Hee can make supply to thee of all things when hee will and hee will when hee fees it best for thee But it is his power of which we now speake The Deuill knew and confest that the Sonne of God was able to make bread of stones But the Son of God told him that y Mat. 4. 3. 4. Man liues not by bread only but by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God Lackest thou bread The Creator of all things can prouide it in a moment for thee or feed thee without it Who maintained life and strength in * Exâ—d 34. 28. Moses and a 1. King 19. 8. 17. 16. Elias when they continued without any manner of sustenance by by the space of 40. daies and 40. nights Who kept the oyle in the cruse and the meale in the barrel that they wasted not Did not this mighty Creator thy Sauiour Iesus Christ b Iob. 69. 1â— 11 feed and fill 5000. persons with 5. barley loues a. fishes yet leaue 12. baskets ful of broken meate remaining What shoulde I say more Hee that made all things can furnish thee with all things and so will doe if thou put all thy trust in him to saue thee There remaines yet one doubt which I reseru'd of purpose for this place though I had occasion to haue spoken of it before in the interpretation of the later part of the Text. Some by Nothing vnderstand Sinne as if the Euangelist had meant to signifie that Sinne was made without him that was the Creator of all things but how then could this speech be true If something were made without him how were all things made by him Surely if we take that diuisioÌ„ of the verses for good and that sense for true which they that by Nothing will haue Sinne to be meant approue and follow wee may well
diuine nature that created them or no. First the Euangelists authority is enough to put the matter out of question For hee that being directed by the spirit of God could not erre would neuer haue brought this for a proofe thereof if it coulde iustly be excepted against Yet because as I haue shewed there might bee other reasons of this speech and some doubt therefore whether it were the Euangelists purpose to proue that or no let vs take some other course for our full satisfaction To which end let vs alwaies remember that Moses x Gen. 1. 1. in the beginning of the Scripture laies this as a maine foundation of religion that God created heauen and earth Who can doubt then â—ut it is a sound reason to proue our Sauiour to be God that All things were made by him For if it be truâ— that God was the maker of all things whomsoeuer wee finde to haue made all things him we knowe thereby to be God Therefore the Apostle Paul preaching to the heathen and perswading them to forsake their Idolles and to turne to the liuing God shewes who he is by this effect of creation VVe preach vnto you saith the y Act. 14. 15. Apostle that vee should turne from these vaine Idols vnto the liuing God which made heauen and earth and the sea and all things that in them are Worship him * Reuel 14. 7. saith an Angel from heauen that made heauen and earth and the sea and the fountaines of waters By this doth a 1. Chro. 16. 26 Dauid distinguish the true God froÌ„ Idols All the Gods of the people are Idols but the Lord made the heauens Is not this the proofe of the power of God whereby he magnifieth himselfe and amazeth b Io. 38. 4. 5. c. Iob with the brightnesse of the glory thereof By this doth Ezechiah coÌ„clude that he is the true God Thou art very God alone ouer all the kingdomes of the earth thou hast made the heauens and the earth Will you heare the c Isay 3. 16. 48. 12. 13. Lord himselfe I am I am the first and I am the last Surely my hand hath laâ—d the foundation of the earth my right hand hath spanned the heauens when I call them they stand vp together Let d Heb. 1. 10. the Apostle Paul end this controuersy who to proue our Sauiours Godhead brings the place of the e Pâ—a 102. 25. Psalme Thou Lord in the beginning hast established the earth and the heauens are the workes of thy handes From hence then we may certainly and necessarily conclude that the Word the promised Messiah our Lord Sauiour Iesus Christ is true God For by him were all things made and nothing can be made but by God onely This f August in Ioâ— tract 1. the Arians denied because they sawe themselues driuen to confesse that all things were made by Christ whom they will not ackâ—owledge to bee God equall to the Father Therefore they deuis'd this shift that our Sauiour did indeed creat all things yet not as a principall worker but as an instrument And to this they say the Euangelist directed vs when hee sayd that All things were made g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by him For that by which a thing is done is an instrument in the doing of that thing and not the doer of it If these men had not blinded their owne eyes with a preiâ—dicat conceite against Godhead of our Sauiour they might easily haue seene the fondnesse and falsenesse of this blasphemous exception The folly of it I shew'd before when I made it manifest that it is all one to say All things were made by him and Hee made all things The falsenesse of it may appeare thus The scripture sayeth the same of God which is here affirm'd of Christ that this or that was by him and yet I hope they will not dare therefore to conclude that God in those matters was not a principall efficient cause but an instrumentall For example h Rom. 11. 36. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Apostle sayth That all things are by God What As an instrument who is then the principall essicient that imployes God as his instrument i 1. Cor. 1. 1. 2. Cor. 1. 1. Eph. 1. 1. Col. 1. 1. The same Apostle affirmeth of himselfe that hee was called to bee an Apostle of Iesus Christ by the will of God If the will of God bee but an instrument wee are content to require no more honour for our Sauiour so you allowe him to bee one with God in nature as the Will of God is which indeede is God himselfe What say you k Gal. 1. 1. to that place where the Apostle pleades for the authoritie of his Apostleshippe because it is by Iesus Christ and God the Father I doubt mee wee shall hardly finde any principall efficient at all where both the Father and the Sonne are instruments How absurdly then not onely impiously doe the Arians conclude from this word by that our Sauiour Christ is not God But you brethren haue beene better instructed then to giue eare to such blasphemies that I holde it altogether needlesse to bring any father proofe of the matter then I deliuered in my last exercise or to vse any word of exhortation to beleefe in him whom wee cleerly discerne to be God al-sufficient To whom with the Father and the holy Ghost the same God the most mightie and gracious Creator of all thinges let vs alwayes remember to ascribe all glorie power and dominion and to performe all obedience for euer Amen THE FOVRTH SERmon vpon the first Chapter of IOHN Verse 4. In him was life and that life was the light of men 5 And the light shineth in darkenesse and the darkenesse comprehended it not IT is a cleere truth in natural reason and a rul'd case in diuinitie that as all thinges proceede from God as the first cause of their being so they are all referr'd to God as the last ende why they are In him l Acts. 17. 28. sayeth the Apostle wee liue and moue and haue our being And to conuince the Heathen by the light of nature hee addes As also certaine of your owne Poets haue sayd m Aratus in Phaenomen For wee are all his generation To whom then doe wee owe our selues and whatsoeuer wee are or haue but to him onely Witnesse for nature the wisest of all the Philosophers the Stoikes for diuinitie he n 1 King 4. 29. â—0 that was wiser then the wisest of the Heathen o Pro. 1. 12 16. 4. Salomon the preacher King ouer Isreal in Ierusalem The Lord hath made all things for his owne sake yet so for his owne sake that p Psaâ— 8. 34. the Prophet is forced to cry out When I behold the heauens the workes of thy fingers the Moone and the Starres which thou hast crealed what is man say I that thou art mindefull of
him and the sonne of man that thou visitest him That his gratious reguard of man whom the Lord sets in the next place to himselfe may the better appeare as the first worke of Creation was for his seruice so the second of Regeneration was for his saluation This wee learne of our Euangelist q Ioh. 20. 31. who tels vs that the ende of writing the Gospell was That wee might beleeue that Iesus is the Christ the Sonne of God and that by beleeuing wee might haue life through his name See I pray you how Saint Iohn hath loyned these two endes together the former is the glorifying of Iesus Christ as the Sonne of God the later the procuring life to men by faith in him According to these two endes the Euangelist hath framed this beginning of his Gospell First r Ioh. 1. 1. 2. he describes Iesus Christ vnto vs as hee is in himselfe God euerlasting Then hee shewes what hee is to vs. A creator of vs when wee were nothing a Sauiour to vs when Ver. 3. wee were worse then nothing Of the former points we haue heard out of the three former verses now of the Ver 4. 5. later out of these two that follow Whereof wee may sitly make these two parts a description of the Messiah as the aâ—tor of Life in the fourth verse and the former part of the fift His intertainment by men in the later part of the same verse In the description oâ—r Euangelist declareth first what hee was in the nature of his mediation verse 4. then what in regard of the effect verse 5. Concerning the nature of that his office two points are to bee considered First that In him was life 2. that That life was the light of men The effect is that The light shineth in darkenesse But how was this light intertaind Or rather this light found no entertainement The darkenesse comprehended it not Now for the better vnderstanding of these points First according to my custome I wil examine the words then expound the meaning of the Text. For the wordes in the first clause for I will take euery one seuerally by it selfe we must consider both what life the Euangelist speaks of and why hee speakes in that manner saying In him was life Why hee sayth In him was life rather then He was life why was rather then Is seeing it is as true and plaine that Hee is life as that life was in him But what is this life hee speakes of Looke not that I should trouble you or my selfe with refuting or so much as reciting the diuers strange interpretatioÌ„s of Heretickes foolishly grounded vpon that manner of reading which couples the former part of this verse with the later ende of the third That which was made was life in him I shewed in my last exercise that if this had beene intended by the Euangelist hee would rather haue said All things that were made were life in him Surely the manifold and different expositions that so many heretickes haue made of these wordes so read and the absurd errors and blasphemies they haue gathered from them may well seeme a sufficient reason to discredite such a kinde of reading as hath no better warrant then the coniectures of men Howsoeuer the vulgar Latine retaine it with the mislike of many learned Papists Å¿ August in Ioa. tract 1. Ambrosde fide lib. 3. cap. 3. and in Psal 36. Theophyl ad Ioa. 1. The Manichees deuis'd two senerall and almost contrarie interpretations of them The Arians a third The Macedonians a fourth Heracleon a fist and euerie one of these an erroneous doctrine sutable to his exposition Yea t Origen lib. 3 in Ioan. the best sense that is giuen of the words so read is so curious and sub till that it rather shewes the witte and learning of the Interpreters then the meaning of the Writer And perhaps it were but lost labor for the greatest part of this auditorie to take paines and spend time in striuing to make them vnderstand it Wherefore leauing those nice points to another kinde of exercise and auditorie let vs take the wordes plainely and simply as they offer themselues to bee conceiv'd of all men Who if they haue any knowledge at all of the Scripture or of religion by reading or hearing by this word life vnderstand one of these two things Either the naturall life whereby all liuing creatures are sayd to liue or the spirituall life by which they that are regenerate by the spirite of God liue spiritually in this world by grace and in the world to come by glorie Let vs see some examples of the word in these senses out of the Scripture For the naturall life wee haue the very beginning of it in Moses u Gen. 1. 20. God saide Let the waters bring foorth in abundance euerie creeping thing that hath life And afterward Let the earth bring foorth euerie liuing thing according Ver. 24. to his kinde Of man it is particularly written that x Gen. 2. 7. The Lord God breathed in his face breath of life and the man was a liuing soule So sayth y 1. Cor. 15. 45. the Apostle alluding to that place The first man Adam was made a liuing soule This is that life which the Lord threatned hee would take away by the floud Behold * Gen. 6. 17. sayth hee I will bring a floud of waters vpon the earth to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life vnder the heauen In this sense the word is not so common in the newe Testament I thinke not once in this whole Gospell in other places some times a Luk. 8. 15. Though a man haue abundance his life standeth not in his riches b Act. 17. 25. God giueth to all life and breath in all things c 1. Cor. 15. 19. If in this life onely wee haue hope in Christ And as this signification of life is rare in the new Testament so is the other for spirituall life in the old yet now and then vnder the title of this present life the life to come is also implyed Behold d Deu. 30. 15. 19. 20. sayeth Moses I haue set before thee this day life and good death and euill Afterward life and death blessing and cursing And in the next verse The Lord thy God is thy life and the length of thy dayes In the Psalme oftner and playner e Psal 16. 11. Thou wilt shewe mee the path of life f Psal 36. 9. With thee is the well of life So in g Pro. 2. 19. the Prouerbes All they that goe vnto her returne not againe neither take they hold of the wayes of life h Pro. 6. 23. Corrections for instruction are the way of life That one booke affordes vs more examples of this kinde then all the olde Testament beside But the new is full of them euery where i Mat. 7. 14. 18. 8. The way is narrow
neither auailes But if that life be the light of men both the end and the way are ready for vs and open to vs. Refine thy thoughts to meditate on so high a fauour Inlarge thy heart to conceiue so great a kindness Was it not enough for IESVS CHRIST to bring life into the world but that hee must also light vs the way to finde it Had it not bin more then extraordinary loue to lay it before vs though hee had not as it were thrust and forced it vpon vs Must hee giue thee both meate to feede thee and stomack to eat it O incredible fauour O more then admirable kindness Hee offers thee life Thou neither regardest it nor seest it I would we did not turne away our faces from it He opens thine eyes and makes thee see it Wilt thou shut them againe and bee wilfully blind Sâ—y not in thy wretched vnthankfull heart Who will shew me the way to life Behold the autor of life spreads the beames of light round about thee The darknes is great and thick but the light doth pearce and scatter it There is nothing wanting but a willingnes to see What if it were farre off that it could hardly bee discerned Couldest thou reasonably excuse thy selfe by a feare of ouer-strayning thy sight It is life thou lookest at If thou shouldest breake thine eye-strings with thy earnestness in looking would any man say it was not worth the venturing It is better to goe blind into heauen then hauing full sight of both eyes to be cast into hell fire I was purposed to haue spent this exhortation in kindling or inflaming our affection if I could with the loue of him that hath so carefully gratiously and bountifully prouided for vs and must I bee faine to bestow my time and paines in perswading you to accept of so rare a courtesie But what say I curtesie Kindnes fauour loue the most affectionate and forcible words that can be deuised are too cold and weake to signifie I will not say to expresse such vnspeakable bounty But let vs make as light reckoning as possibly we can of being inlightened Let vs account it a small fauour to see that wee are guided in the way to happiness Let vs despise the pleasure we may take by knowing what wee haue escap't and what wee shall come too At the least though we care not to know our happiness ver let vs not bee so senseless as not to care whether we be hapâ—ie or no. The life which we can not choose but desire is not found but by the light which we looke not after He that walkes in the darke knowes not whither he Ioh. 12. 36. goes Yet perhaps he may light vpon the place hee seekes â—or O miserable hazard will any man so aduenture his eternall saluation How shall hee know it when hee comes to it Hee may ouer-shoote his Port. Hee may fall short of it Hee may bee caried captiue into samaria â— King 6. 13. 19. while hee puzzles in the darke to beleger Dothan Beside if hee were sure to arriue at the place hee goes for he may haue exceeding much foule wether that hee shall neuer know where is nor beleeue that which at his first putting to Sea hee seemed to bee assured of If a man walke in the night saith our Sauiour hee stumbleth Well let all this bee nothing though hee can be no wise man that will beare such an aduenture when he need not But let it as I said be nothing It is somthing to lose or misse of felicitie and life howsoeuer the danger of losing or missing it may be thought a matter of small importance So a man haue it at the last it skills not perhaps how hardly or slowly he come by it Be it so But what if it will not bee had at all without light While ye haue light beleeue in the light that ye may be Ioh. 12. 35. the children of the light Marke ye what he saies that hath life in him Ye must be children of the light by beleeuing in the light how shall that bee if yee despise the light Would you attaine to life Take the light with you that may shew you where it is The first step to life is turning from darknes to light The Lord sends the Apostle Paul to the GeÌ„â—ils that by his ministery they may be brought â—o life How is the course of this work described He must Act. 26. 18. open their eies that they may turne from darknes to light from the power of Satan to God While we are in darkness we are also in the power of Satan when we approche to God we come out of darknes After that followes forgiuenes of sinnes that is life in this world and in heritance among them which are sanctisied by faith in Christ that is glory in the world to come Knowledge enters vs into the way of life faith settles our steps in it that we neither turne aside out of it nor run backward whence we came He that neuer sets foote in the way can not goe forward in it He that knowes not what is to be beleeued can not beleeue Let a man runne neuer so hard if he be out of the race he shall neuer come to the gole Look vpon the Apostle Phil. 3. 5 6. Paul see what paines he takes how temperately he liues how religiously he worships how zealously he pursues Act. 26 9. 10. 11. persecutes theÌ„ whoÌ„ in his ignorance he took to be enemies to God At your leasure consider his behauiour as himselfe hath set it out What was he the neerer to true happiness for al this adoe He found at the last that his best righteousnes was no better theÌ„ dung al the reward his zelous persecuting could procure him was faine to be giueÌ„ ouer for the purchase of the pardon therof So little can it auaile a maÌ„ to make al the speed that may be wheÌ„ he is out of the way Therfore if any man be desirous to become partaker of the life which is in Christ he must of necessity be directed guided by the light that from him shines vnto vs. If thou wilt liue thou must be inlightned Will life think'st thou be found in darknes no more theÌ„ light is in death Is it not strange then yea admirable incredible that they which professe they seeke for life should wilfully coÌ„tinue in darknes And yet me thinks it is more strange if more may be that those meÌ„ should perswade theÌ„selues they are in possessioÌ„ of life who feel theÌ„ selues shut vp fast in darknes Who is ther in this coÌ„gregation I had almost said in this whole nation that doth not flatter his own hart with an opinioÌ„ of life by Christ That life is the light of men Giue me leaue now after loÌ„g time of error to aduise with thee of that which thou shouldest haue bin fully resolvd of a gret while since Thou saist the life
ignoraunce and insufficiency of all men to comprehend that secret mysterie First that wee may knowe what to looke for afterwarde the Prophets foretell vs how the matter would fall out Lord sayeth Isay who hath beleeued our report or to whome is the Arme of the Lorde reuealed Isay 53. 1. And in another place he brings in our Sauiour himselfe complaying of the ill successe of his ministery I haue laboured in vaine I haue spent my strength in vaine 494. and for nothing Yea the builders the great learned men among the Iewes refused the headstone of the corner saith Psal 118. 22. another Prophet As it was prohesied so it came to passe Let themselues giue euidence When the Messiah was come and had prooued his calling by many admirable and glorious miracles and had offred them saluation with all kindness and authoritie what insued Heare them speaking in a Councill Doth any of the Rulers or the Pharises beleeue in him Some of the Ioh. 7. 48. common sort flockt after him but the great men and Rabbins regarded him not or if any of them had any better conceite of him then the rest hee durst not be knowne of it but as it appeared by Nicodemus was 3. 1. 2. glad to steale into his company in the darke night Nay it was not enoughe for them to reiect him but they persecuted him and all that fauoured him accounting 7. 49. 9. 34. 12. 10. 11. 19. 12. of them as of men accrsed casting them out of their Synagogues seeking to make them away and accusing them as enemies to Caesar as they beganne to charge Pilat himselfe for speaking in his behalfe Neither stayed their malice here but proceeded without ende or rest till they had murdered the Lorde of life Aâ—â— 3 14. 15. with all the disgrace that possibly they could do him I doe now but point at these thinges which if it please God shall hereafter bee handled at large This may suffice especially the time being past and occasion of the like discourse offring it selfe often times in this Gospell to shewe with what obstinate blindnesse our Sauiour was withstood and reiected by the Iewes and to teach vs what intertainement wee are like to giue him if wee bee not other wise taught and inclined by his holy spirit To whome with the Father and the Sonne one God bee all glorie c THE SIXT SERmon vpon the first Chapter of IOHN Verse 6. 7. 8. There was a man sent from God whose name was Iohn c. IF there were as much vnderstanding and iudgement in men to conceiue and discerne matters of religion and saluation as euery one of vs would bee thought to haue it were inough for vs to haue the doctrine of euerlasting life by any meanes whatsoeuer propounded vnto vs. For no sooner should any point thereof bee deliuered but wee should be readie to acknowledge and embrace it But alas wee are wonderfully deceiued in this conceit of our naturall capacity Which is so slowe and dull in things of this nature that we can neither find them out of our selues by any discourse of reason nor giue aslent to the truth of them when they are reuealed and manifested by especiall order from God himselfe For proofe of that I say whither should I appeale rather then ro euery mans experience touching the former points both in himselfe and in the whole nation of the Iewes Which of vs would euer haue thought of any one of those mysteries if hee had not read or heard of them extraordinarily Now they are discouered vnto vs where is there any man to bee found that by any naturall skill or help of learning can discerne and yeeld to them as ture and certaine The reasons of this impossibilitie to beleeue shall be shewed if it please God hereafter for the present I doe but giue a touch that wee may all consider of it at better leasure The darknesse did not Ioh. 1. 5. comprehend the light when it shone most brightly Our Sauiour taught them with authoritie not like the Scribes Mat. 7. 29. Pharises Yet did they not regard his doctrine Hee wrought many admirable miracles among them Yet would they not acknowledge that hee came from God At the least they should haue respected the testimonie of Iohn a man of such account worth in their owne iudgement But all was one with them and nothing of force sufficient to bring them to an acknowledgement of the light What remedy then but to leaue them in their blindnes and in theirs to see our owne that we may be so much the more carefull to heed and learne what the Euangelist doth teach vs in this Gospell Where hauing in the fiue former verses described the Messiah of whom hee writes by his diuine nature and his office of mediation hee proceeds to second that hee hath deliuered with the testimonie of Iohn and there vpon takes occasion to inlarge some of the points that before hee had propounded and to amplifie the benifits wee receiue by our Sauiour more fully and plainely In the former part concerning the witnesse of Iohn first wee are to consider the partie as hee is described to vs in the three verses I read Secondly to waigh his testimony which is implyed rather then exprest in the two later Hee came to beare witnesse of the light The description is partly of his person verse 6 partly of his office ver 7. 8. To the knowledge of his person there belong these two thinges his nature and his name By nature hee was a man but yet not after the ordinarie course of mankinde but after an extraordinary sort by a special work of God who sent him as well in reguard of his person as of his office Which office of his is first plainely declared verse 7 then some what amplified verse 7. 8. The declaration is general He came for a witnesse Particular To beare witnesse of the light In the description of the person touching his nature I note two points that He was a man that He was sent from God In the former wee are to examine the wordes whether the former of the two was imply any especial matter or no why the Euangelist mentions that He was a man Then must wee say somewhat of the sense intended by Saint Iohn For the later point of his being sent we will in quire who sent him God the diuine nature or some one of the persons How he was sent by an extraordinarie conception by an especiall appointment either by some vision or by reuelation Touching his name wee are to learne what the signification of it is why the Euangelist doth mention it Other reasons whereby wee proue any matter in question haue their force and power to argue such as it is more or lesse from their owne nature onely a Testimonie fetcheth all the waight it hath from the credite or authoritie of him that giues it So that
they haue in the originall he shall not follow therin the direction and practise of the holy Ghost but his owne conceit and perswasion Doe I then say it is vnlawfull to note the sounds of such names that their interpretations may be knowne Nothing lesse But as the Iewes in the old Testament haue some thousands of 8000. words which they vse for expounding the other in the text whether by their own direction or by the direction of the spirit of God as some thinke I will not dispute which yet they place in the margin of their bookes So perhaps it were not vnfit to set these Hebrew and Greek names in the side following in the scripture it selfe the ordinarie course which the Lord vseth to frame the words according to the nature of the tongue in which he writes How far then ought we al to be from condemning one another either of ignorance or carelesness for not following the sounds of the originall languages But I will not presse this too much till I haue some farder occasion giuen me in the expounding of this Gospell Yet howsoeuer I see no necessitie nor conuenience for any such strictness in translating proper names I deny not that it is fit and needfull to vnderstand their significations especially in such of them as were purposely giuen by direction from God himselfe For they haue alwaies some instruction ioined with them concerning somwhat that is past as Isack of sarahâ— laughing Gen. 18. 12. 17. 19. or touching some action or office to bee performed or some fauour that hee particularly intends Of the later kinde is this name Iohn whereby the Lord would haue his people the Iewes to know and consider that hee would now visit and redeeme them as Zacharie prophecied at the circumcising of him The name signifieth as it were grace and fauour which God vouchsafed the people by sending first this second Eliah to prepare the way of the Lord and then the Messiah himfelfe to performe the worke of redemption This gracious mercy of God Iohn was appointed to preach and publish extraordinarily called as to that office so by that name the end that men might looke for some extraordinarie matter of fauour by his ministerie This vse both the Iewes then and wee now are to make of the name not as if it had bin appointed vpon any humour but as intending a help to that preparation which was to follow This was one reason why it seemed good to the holy Ghost that our Euangelist should set downe his name that with the report of his being sent from God the nature of his message might in a generall sort be conceiued Especially if we remember withall as we cannot almost chuse but doe that the name was enioined before his conception by order from God himselfe Doth the Euangelist tell me that his name was Iohn Surely though he writ not the historie at large yet he would haue mee consider that his name was of Gods appointing therefore of some extraodinarie signification vse that wee may enter into such a consideration of him as they did that dwelling neer to his father heard how matters had passed at his birth concerning this name They laid vp those things in their hearts saith Saint Luke saying what Luke 1. 66. manner of child shall this bee If the like should be done in this our time it would fill all mens mouthes and eares though they found it did little or nothing coÌ„cerne them And shall we passe ouer without due regard a thing that doth so much import vs Will neither the signification of the worde so sweet and comfortable delight vs nor the manner of imposing the name so extraordinarie and wonderfull stirre vs vp to consider it nor the autoritie of him that appointed it cause vs to aduise better of it Let vs take heed that this carelesnes be not a shreud signe that we little esteeme the grace it selfe which the name shadoweth out vnto vs. The last reason why the name is mentioned is the nature of the writing which beeing an Historie requireth that the names at the least of all principall men in it should bee recorded This course our Euangelist heere followes the rather that all men may certainly know whom hee meanes this description What remaines the words being expounded but to deliuer the meaning of the Euangelist which can not well be done till wee vnderstand what his purpose is in that hee sayth Now of that there are diuers opinions all reasonable and of some likelihood Wee may draw them to these heads the course of the historie and the amplifying of the matter that concernes our Sauiour Christ They that referre it to the course of the Historie say no more of it but that the Euangelist hauing spoken of our Sauiours diuine nature in the former Chrysost in Ioa. hom 4. August in Ioa. tract 2. Theophil in Ioa. verses and beeing to speake of his humane afterward interlaceth this discourse of Iohn who was appointed to bee as it were his vsher and did preach of him before the manifestation of him to the world But this seemes be som what too slight an occasion of this discourse especially seeing the Euangelist speakes so much of Iohn after the report of our Sauiours incarnation 〈◊〉 1. 15. 15. c. 3. 27. 28. c. both in this and the third Chapter and that the other three had deliuered those matters at large that concerne the birth and ministerie of Iohn Neither is that coniecture Masculas ad 〈◊〉 locum more likely which imagins that therefore mention is here made of Iohn because the Messiah began not to bee knowne till the time that Iohn baptized What worde hath the Euangelist of Iohns baptizing It is cleere that hee passed it ouer without any touch till hee came almost to the end of the third Ioh. 3. 23. Chapter Yet if he spake any thing in those verses of our Sauiours beeing famous there might bee some place perhaps for that couecture But since hee doth not I see no great likelihood to approue thereof cheefely when there are other opinions of more probabilitie The former whereof will haue this brought in as a Aegid Henniâ—â—â— bunc locum comparison of the lesse where by the excellencie of our Sauiours person is set out in that hee is preserred before Iohn Baptist For such and so great was the opinion which the Iewes had of Iohn that hee must needs be a man of extraordinarie worth to whom Iohn should Luke 1. 66. be thought inferior Wee heard erewhile that some great matters were lookt for of him when hee was newly borne What manner of child shall this bee When Mat. 3. 5. 6. hee began to exercise his ministerie There went out to him Ierusalem and all Indea and all the region round about Iordan Neither went they out onely but submitted themselues to bee taught and baptized by him Ver. 7. and that not
without consossing their sinnes What speak I of the common sort Many of their great Doctors Pharises Ioh. 1. 19. 20. and Sadduces were glad to receiue baptisme at his hands Yea the rules of the lewes sem an embassage to him of no meane men Priests and Leuites being Pharises as it were being ready and in a manner offring to acknowledge him for the Messiah Iudge then what reconing hee must bee of among the Iewes that was of greater dignitie and excellencie then a man of such estimation as Iohn the Baptist Surely I can not easily discerne what could be written more to the commendation and honor of CHRIST after the former points of his diuine nature and mediatorship then this comparison by which hee is magnified aboue Iohn And there fore wee may well allow this exposition a place amongst them that are best to bee liked Which Iam the willinger to doe because it agreeth also with an other that is of good likelihood I shewed euen Rollochus ad hunc locum now that the Iewes generally rulers and people had no small opinion of Iohn Baptist This perhaps might preiudice our Sauiour CHRIST as wee see it did with the disciples of Iohn who came to their maister and complained of CHRIST that he had tooke Ioh. 3. 26. vpon him to baptize and was followed by all men To take away this doubt it is thought by some that our Euangelist brings in this discourse wherein he makes Iohn inferior to Christ and as it may seeme not without neede because ordinarily he that comes to Chrysost in Ioan. hom 4. beare witnes of any mans credit or autority is of greater or as grear reputation as himselfe These might bee some reasons why our Euangelist makes mention of Iohn but me thinkes it may farder bee added that hee doth apply this testimonie to the confirmation of that he had formerly deliuered concerning our Sauiours being the light Therefore saith he in particular that Iohn came to beare witnes of the light not onely to testifie that our Sauiour was the Messaih Not withstanding I would not haue any man think it is my meaning to restraine the testimony of Iohn to this particular of the light where of hee makes no especiall mention by any record of this or the other Euangelists but this I say that therefore this witnes of Iohn is alledged because the Iewes hauing so high a conceit of Iohn could not reasonably choose but be extraordinarily well perswaded of him for his power to inlighten the world whom Iohn their famous Prophet preferred in all his Sermons so farre before himselfe Iohn was as the day sfarre whose appearance giues notice of the sunnes approach Hee is a light that brings the dawning of the day but hee is not that light which shines to the inlightning of the world as the sunne doth who is truly and properly called the light of the world I had rather therefore take this place as a testimonie of Christ by Iohn then as a comparison betwixt him and Iohn As if our Euangelist should haue said That which I haue auouched of him whome wee set before you to bee beleeued in as the Messiah is no more then was affirmed by no meane man Iohn the Baptist sent from God to beare witnesse of him that from him onely life and light was to bee receiued Hee came to beare witnesse of the light that all men through him might beleeue He was not the light but the forerunner of the light to shew the comming of it Thus then is the Euangelist to be vnderstood that in this verse and the two next he confirmes that which he from the beginning had affirmed that our Sauiour of whom hee writes this Gospell was the Messiah His autoritie was sufficient as being the worde of an Apostle but that all excuse might be taken away from peruerse vnbeleeuing mē he addes the testimonie of one whose memory when Iohn penned this history was fresh and famous yea of such account amongst al that knew him by their owne experience or report of others that hee must needes bee held to bee very vnciuill in the opinion of ordinarie men and impious in the iudgement of as many as were religious that would call the credit of his testimonie into question as if hee would haue spoken either rashly of that hee knew not or deceitfully against his knowledge Hee was sent from GOD. Can you suspect him of falshood whom God imploies in witnessing the truth Can you require more Autoritie in any man then to haue him sent from God With what other commission did euer any of the Prophets come If he send them we are bound to heare them If he giue them instructions they need no farder teaching How can this be saith one that his sending from God should autorize him to speake what he list and enjoyne vs to beleeue whatsoeuer he speakes Are not our ministers now adaies sent from God Are we tyed to like obedience what is this els but to make men Lords of our faith Why haue wee renounced Popery if wee haue changed not our estate but our maisters onely Were we not better to rest vpon the faith of the church in generall then to subiect our selues to euery particular mans autoritie by giuing credit to euery point hee deliuers This complaint will easily bee satisfied if wee rightly informe our selues concerning the difference of sending All true Ministers are sent by or from GOD but not all alike Some imediately without the ordinary ministerie of men MOSES and all the Prophets and Apostles Some by the iudgement and discretion of men according to warrant giuen by GOD in the Scriptures to that purpose The former haue as their calling so their direction from GOD that sends them in such sort that they cannot erre or stray from their commission The later as they get the knowledge of that they are to teach not by reuelation of God to them but by their prayer to God and study in the scriptures So they haue no further assurance of being preserued from errour then as they faithfully indeauour to perfect their knowledge by the same meanes whereby they attained to the beginnings thereof So it comes often to passe by our want of zeale and faith in prayer by our negligence in studie and by our naturall dulness to conceiue that wee mistake the matters whereof wee labour to informe our selues and other I say nothing of our corrupt affections by which wee are somtimes drawne away from seeing that wee see and driuen to speake that wee would haue true not that wee know to be true of which passions in regard of the euent men so especially guided by the spirit of God as the Prophets and Apostles were are wholly freed As for our witnes Iohn Baptist what could there bee extraordinarie in any mans sending that was wanting in his Doe not put me to repeat that I deliuered before of his birth bringing vp and calling Onely take
strange in it and which but by reuelation from God could not possibly bee knowne or thought on Behold sayth hee a Virgin shal Isay 7. 14. beare a Sonne Neither doth hee onely prophecie of his miraculous conception but also hee signifies the great mystery of his person consisting of two natures diuine and humane She shall call his name Emanuell Which is Mat 1. 23. by interpretation sayeth Saint Mathewe God with vs. His life and death is shortly but verie liuely described by the same Prophet Hee shall growe up before him as Iâ—ay 53. 2. a braunch and as a roote out of a dry ground c. Hee was cut out of the Land of the liuing Yea hee addes Ver. 8. to this the maine point of Redemption forgiuenesse of sinnes by his sufferings and death Hee was wounded for our transgressions he was broken for our iniquities the chastâ—sement of our peace was vpon him and with his stripes wee are healed Daniell describes the verie time Dan. 9. 25. and settes downe an exact computation by the direction of the Angell Gabriell till the death of the Messiah and withall preacheth forgiuenesse of sinnes by him Were not these witnesses were they not sent from GOD to beare witnesse of the Messiah What though they were also imployed in other matters of renroofe and instruction So was Iohn too as it is manifest by all the other 3. Euangelists Mat. 14 3. 4. Mat. 6. 17. 18. Luk. 3. 19. who shew that the occasion of his death was the rebuking of Heroa for taking his brother Philips wife But the Prophets only spake of such an one that was to come they did not witnesse that hee was come they did not shew which was he they did nor say Beholde the lamb of God This is hee as Iohn did Therefore is his ministery in this respect preferr'd far before theirs by our Sauiour Christs owne iudgement Iohn was more then a Mat. 11. 9. 11. Prophet Among them that are begotten of women arose there not a greater then Iohn Baptist Well let him haue the name of a witnesse aboue all the Prophets that went before him yet the Apostles haue that title giuen them by Christ himselfe aswell as hee yee shall be witnesses to me saith our Sauiour in Ierusalem Act. 1. 8. and in all Iudea and in Samaria and wherein their commission went beyond Iohns vnto the vttermost part of the earth And Iohn himselfe though he were magnified aboue the former Prophets in regard of his ministery Yet is he euen therin made inferior to the Apostles Mat. 11. 11. He that is least in the kingdome of heauen is greater then he It is not to be denied but that the Apostles were witnesses in a very extraordinary sort being chosen before to giue notice of such things as should befall our Sauiour to all the world Therefore to them did hee appeare after his resurrection Him saith Peter God caused to bee Act. 10. 40. 41. showne openly Not to all the people but to witnesses chosen before of God to vs which did eate and drinke with him after he was risen from the dead Notwithstanding the witnesse of Iohn was of an other kinde then either the Prophets or Apostles For the one foretold that hee should come into the world the other affirmed that he had bin in the world Only Iohn was hee that shew'd him while hee was in the world who was long before prophecied of for an immediate forerunner of him at his comming Luk. 1. 17. and to make ready a people for him We see of what kinde his testimony was Iohn came and preached in the Wildernesse of Iudaea let vs now inquire what it was that hee witnessed Whereof I shall neede to say verie little because I spake of it in handling the former point In one worde the summe of his testimonie was this first that the kingdome of Mat. 3. 2 heauen was at hand that is as Saint Luke expresseth the matter He preachedthe baptisme of repentance for the remission Luk. 3. 3 of sinnes Hee testified to all the Iewes and to al that heard him that there was no means nor hope of saluation but by repentance of their sinnes and resting vpon the Messiah who was now amongst them though they knewe him not for pardon therof by his death and sacrifice The second and most proper part of his testimony was the pointing out and shewing of him that was the Messiah that all men might knowe and embrace him Behold the Lambe of God that taketh away the sinne of the world This was the testimony of Iohn But that which principally concerneth the reason why our Euangelist mentions his bearing witnesse is to bee fetcht out of the third Chapter of this Gospell where a Sermon of his is recorded in which he commends our Sauiour to all meÌ„ as him who being sent froÌ„ God to be the Messiah speaketh Ioh. 3. 34. the words of God so that by him all other are inlightned who are of the earth and speake of the earth wheâ—eas Ver. 31. 32. he testifieth nothing but that which hee had seene and heard Truely therfore he is called the light who being in the bosome of his father reueales to men the secrets of his rather touching their redemption which no man euer knew or can knowe but from and by him What vse then was there of any witnesse If neither Iohn had any knowledge but from him and hee onely was able to inlighten whom hee would why did God end the Baptiâ— to beare witnesse of the light Needes â—â—e Sunne the day starre to shewe him to the world This was a meanes likelier to make Iohn bee for Ioh. 1. 19. 20. the Messiah then to credite the Messiah by his reportâ— as wee see also it came to passe whereof hereafter But that no man may either conceiue amisse or bee euer-much troubled with this doubt let vs take a shorte viewe of the purpose of GOD herein The ende of all teaching and preaching concerning Christ is to bring men to beleefe in him This was first to bee done amongst the Iewes For the better performing whereof it pleased God to deale gratiously and bountifully with them in affording many and diuers meanes by which they might bee moued and perswaded to beleeue Among the rest this was one whereof the Lord thought good to make choyse euen to send them a man after so extraordinary a manner who being in especiall credite and fauour with them by his authoritie and gratiousnesse might draw them to beleefe Coulde there anye more likely meanes bee deuised to perswade them He was lookâ— after as one that would prooue some rare man from his very Cradle His course of lise was such as might yet procure more admiration When hee came to the execution of his ministerie how powerfully did hee worke vpon the hearts of them that heard him what a fame went there of him farre and neere what
heapes of all sorts of people slocked to him The couetous Luk. 3. 12. 14. Publicans were content to heare him reprooue their greedinesse and extor ion The desperate souldiers trayned vp in violence and insolencie submitted themselues to his instruction and baptisme What should I speake of the proud Pharises who had bewitcht all Mat. 3 7. men with an opinion of their purity and holinesse and none more then themselues yet were they glad to come to Iohn to be washed and purified by his Baptisme The Sadduces were little better theÌ„ professed Atheists Act. 23. 8. saving There is no resurrection neither Angell nor spirit What neede these men care for sinne or damnation And yet the ministerie life doctrine of Iohn the Baptist was such that euen these Miscreants were drawne to seeke to him I say nothing of Herod because I signified before that hee reuerenced Iohn and heard him gladly and followed his doctrine in many things Tell mee Mark 6. 20. now what you could desire more I had almost sayd what you canne imagine more in any man to make him of credite and authoritie that hee may bee beleeued in that hee constantly affirmes If the Lord should haue made a man in Heauen as hee did Adam heere on earth and haue sent him into the world in the sight of all men hee could not haue beene of more estimation then Iohn Baptist was And was not this a meruailous likely meanes to begette faith in the Iewes that such a man so extraordinarily sent so admirable in his bringing vppe so vnblameable in his life so sound in his doctrine and which is all in all to this purpose of such reputation for his sinceritie and precisenesse so plainely and constantly protested that Iesus was the Sauiour of the worlde and himselfe no better then his vnworthie seruant â—oh 1. 27. I am not worthy sayde Iohn to vnloose his shooe latchet Let vs therefore acknowledge the goodnesse of God who voutchsafed to vse such meanes for the teaching and perswading of so vnkinde and vnthankfull a people But the necessitie of sending Iohn and the kindnesse of the LORD in sending him will the more appeare if wee aduisedly consider both the ignoraunce of the Iewes and the meanenesse of our Sauiours estate while hee was in the Worlde It is true that the LORD had from time to time giuen notice and made many promises of the comminge of the Messiah It is as true that the sette time of his comminge was foretoulde and cast vp by Daniell insomuch that olde Symeon and Luk. 2 25. 26. in all likelihood some others vnderstood that the time of his appearance was come and with the good Widowe Anna looked for it euery moment But alasse Ver. 36. 37 how few of these were to bee found The people generally as it is now amongst vs had little knowledge of the Scriptures They heard them read and many times expounded in their Synagogues as wee â—ow doe in our Churehes but they were as farre from the true vnderstanding of them as wee commonly now â—â—e Daniels weekes were as great mysteries to them â—â— the Reuelation of Saint Iohn is to vs so that they â—ereâ—n table to compare his prophecie with the Eâ—ents that had fallen out and to subduct the time â—hat was past that they might see what the rest was And this I speake of the better sort of the common people The worst and greatest part had seldome aâ—y thought of these matters no more then wee now ordinarily haue of the last day of Iudgement Beâ—ides the most part of them that desired his comming â—ookt for another manner of deliuerance by him then our Sauiours estate in the World was likely to afford And this conceite had taken such roote in their hearts that our Sauiour Christs owne Disciples held it fast in them euen till the very time of his Ascension Act. 1. 6. Lord say they wilt thou at this time restore the kingdome to Israell It was an outward freedome and glorious estate in this life which the Iewes promised theÌ„selues by the comming of the Messiah What was there in our Sauiours parentage bringing vp or course of life that could feed this hope His supposed Father Mat. 13. 55. a poore Carpenter vnder whome hee was imployed â—â—mselfe in the same trade and therefore is called a Carpenter Is not this the Carpenter Maries sonne And Mat. 6. 3. what was his life hee wandred from place to place noâ—ieâ— â—ng armâ—es not mustring souldiers not perswading any man to take vppe armes but disclaiming all worldly autority Who made me a Iudge or a diuider ouer you inioyning obedieÌ„ce to Princes rulers Giue vnto Luke 12. 14. Maâ— 22. 21. 20. 28. Caesar the things that are Caesars Yea professing that hee came to serue and not to be serued This being at the time of our Sauiours comming the estate of the lewes they either carelesse of â—is assistance or ignorant of the nature thereof his owne condition also being so meane and contemptible was it not gratiously done of God and in respect of the people necessarily to send one of such credit and autority to assure them that Christ was the Messiah in whom they ought to trust and to teach them what deliuerance they were to looke for by him Christ needed no testimony of any man But the Iewes stood in great need of Iohn to informe them concerning him It were not lost labour to bestow some time in the consideration of the goodnesse of God in yeelding so much to the Iewes weaknesse or râ—ther in striuing with such patience and bounty against their obstinat wilfulnesse I might also take occasion to stirre vp our selues to trust in God of whose kindnesse wee haue so plaine and so great experience But I am willing to forbeare both these points till I come to some other place where they are more directly intended by the purpose of the Euangelist In the meane while let vs go forward with the expounding of this Scripture wherein as we haue heard the office of Iohn is amplified in this verse by the ende of it That all men through or by him might beleeue Whereof that I may speake the more plainely and certainely I will first examin what this ende is To beleeue by him Secondly I will consider the quality of it or who they were that should beleeue The former hath these two doubts what is here meant by belieuing to whom this Him must be reffer'd whether to Iohn the witnesse or to the light of which he bears witnes might beleeue through him Now because Beleeuing is a word of so common great vse in the Scriptures and that this is the first place where it is mentioned in this Gospell I hold it not only requisit but necessary for me to speake of it somwhat more at large To beleeue in matter of religion is commonly taken to signifie 3 things The acknowledging of Gods being Credere Deum
the worde in common speech where the patterne or a thing it selfe that is inutated or counterfetted is called the Truth The truth Vritas vincit iantationem excelleth the imitation So the Lord is named the true God This is euerlasting life to know thee the onely true God Ioh 17. 3. Some thinke that by this truth or trueness the light is signified to bee such by nature and of it selfe not by Ciril in Ioa. lib. 1. cap. 9. grace or participation And so may the Lord bee called the true beeing because he is so naturally and imparts to all things such being as they haue But of this signification I thinke there is no example to bee found in Scripâ—ure The two former agree very well to our Sauiour who is indeede the true light without any darkness of error or falshood in him Hee whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God for God giueth him not the spirit by measure Ioh. 3. 34. And of him were all the ceremonies of the lawe shadowes and figures as the Apostle hath shewed at large in the Epistle to the Hebrewes especially in the ninth and tenth Chapters But the best way to vnderstand the true sense of the worde is to compare it with other of the same kinde in the Scripture For which purpose what shall wee neede to goe any farder then this Gospell Wherein wee haue two like speeches vttered by our Sauiour of himselfe My father saith hee giueth you the true Ioh. 6. 32. bread from Heauen What true bread was this It is euident that hee speaketh it of himselfe whom a little before hee had called the meate that indureth to euerlasting Verse 27. life Heere he compares himselfe with that Manna whereof the Iewes boasted and wherewith they say Moses fed them euen with bread from Heauen To this our Sauiour answereth that Moses gaue them not bread from heauen but my father giueth you saith he the true bread from Heauen They had bread from heauen by the ministerie of Moses as they proued by the place Psal 78. 24. of the Psalme He gaue them bread from heauen How then saith our Sauiour that Moses gaue them not bread from heauen and that his father giues them the true bread Surely that bread which they had by the meanes of Moses was true bread and did truely the office of bread to feed their bodies What then Doth he meane that it was but a figure of the heauenly bread which God was to giue and now in and by him did giue them This was true indeede but not so much to purpose as our Sauiours speech was beeing rightly vnderstood Hee Ver. 27. had perswaded them before to labour for the meat that endureth to euerlasting life They would needes haue Ver. 30. Ver. 31. him shew them some signe that is worke some miracle whereby they might be occasioned to beleeue him that there was better bread then such as their fathers had eaten in the Wildernes To this our Lord answeres that Moses gaue them not bread from heauen namely no such Ver. 32. bread as could endure to life eternall That bread that could so feede them was the true bread and was giuen by his father in comparison whereof the other was not worthy the name of bread The vse of the bread is to nourisn and continue life and that bread which can not worke such an effect in him that eates it is not true bread Your fathers saith he afterward dideate Manna in the Wildernes and are dead How Ver. 49. Ver. 50. then was that true bread This is the bread that came downe from heauen that hee which eateth of it should not die Loe heere we haue the true bread which performes that in truth to the soule that the other doth but as it were offer to the body Therefore also he tells them a little after that his flesh is truely meate and his bloud truly Ver 55. drink A like place we haue in the same Gospell where he tearmes himselfe the true Vine I am the true Vine Why is Ioh. 15. 1. he the true Vine Because hee doth indeede truely and effectually nourish comfort susteine those that cleaue to him by faith whereas the best Vine in the world hath somtimes dead branches and at the last dieth it selfe Now then if any man demaund in what sense Christ is the true light in the very same say I in which hee doth affirme that he is the true bread and the true Vine The Sonne which is the fountaine of this visible light doth not so truely shine and giue light to the eyes of the body as Iesus Christ doth inlighten the vnderstanding which is the eye of the Soule Iesus Christ may Ambros de fide contra Arian cap. 3. some man say Why not rather God the Father or at least the whole Trinitie whose ioint action it is to inlighten and not the Sonnes alone These obiections are easily answered For it is more then plame that our Euangelist speakes only of the Sonne in this whole description What reason is there then to vnderstand this one verse of any other but of him alone How should this point applied either to the Father or to the Trinitie haue any due place in this discourse Is it not also apparent that the light here spoken of is the same whereof Iohn bare witness and which is said in the verses following to haue come vnto his owne and to haue giuen the priuiledge to men of becomming the sonnes of God Consider yet farder how vnfit it had bin for Saint Iohn hauing called the Worde by the name of the light in the former verses here vpon a sodaine to giue the same title to any other of the persons or the Godhead Will any man take the worde in such diuers sort if hee bee not constrained to doe so by cleere euidence of the Text But so to vnderstand it were to couer the place with darknesse not to make the sense of it cleere and euident But the action of inlightening is common to all three Persons So are all actions of any person of the three which concerne any other beside the Persons themselues To choose to iustifie to sanctifie to redeeme to instruct to inspire to comfort c. are all common workes of the Diuine nature Yet are they appropriated in the Scripture seuerally to the seuerall persons as all men know and as I must shew particularly when I come to the 33. verse In the meane while let vs goe forward with the exposition of this verse wherein we are next to consider what the doubling of the article may teach vs. The light the true light was it not enough to haue said The light For surely that implies an especiall excellencie of the light wee meane There bee perhaps many candles torches starres and moones but the sunne onely is the light They are lights but not the light If that would not serue the turne
that should be written VVhat worlde may bee said to containe or not to containe but the space of heauen and earth Sometimes it is taken more particularly for the earth where men liue and this Mat. 4. 8. is very common The Deuill shewed our Sauiour all the kingdomes of the world As long as I am in the worlde saith our Sauiour I am the light of the worlde Ioh. 9. 5. In what worlde was our Lorde when hee said so Heere on earth amonge men whose light hee vvas Into this worlde hee sent his disciples Goe into all Mat. 28. 15. the worlde that is into all partes and coastes of the earth To this signification of the worde belonges that in the verse next before and such other places Euery man that commeth into the world that is Verse 9. Ioh. 16. 21. borne In an other text it is more plaine A woman when shee is deliuered of child remembreth her anguish no more for ioy that a man is borne into the world These significations are common and well knowne as comming neere to the ordinary and first vse of the worde Besides these it is very often taken more especially or Men who are the principall parts of the world and for whome the whole was made VVhen the worlde 1. Cor. 1 21. in the wisedome of God knewe not God by wisedome Knowledge is proper to men and belongeth not to any other of these visible creatures God was in Christ 2. Cor. 5. 19. reconciling the world to himselfe not imputing their sinnes To whome are sinnes forgiuen but to men Who are reconciled vnto God by Christ but men IIee tooke Heb. 2. 16. not the Angells who shall euer remaine vnreconciled But hee tooke the seede of Abraham Thus the world signifieth in generall all kinde of men whatsoeuer But because that naturally men are naught and wickked the worde is sometimes put in particular for the wicked and almost for wickednesse You are of the world saith our Sauiour to the Iewes that woulde Ioh 8. 23. 77. not beleeue I am not of this worlde The worlde cannot hate you saith hee in an other place but mee it hateth They are of the worlde saith Saint Iohn of tâ—e false teachers that denyed Iesus to bee come 1. Ioh. 4. 5 in the flesh Therefore speake they of the vvorlde and the world heareth them In this respect is the Deuill called the Prince of the worlde Yea the world is as it Ioh 12. 31. 1. Ioh. 2. 16. were the fountaine of naughtinesse All that is in the worlde saith Iohn as the lust of the flesh the lust of the eies and the pride of life is not of the Father but of the worlde I may adde in the last place that the riches honours pleasures and such like that the worlde affordes are tearmed sometimes by the name of the worlde though they bee not so much partes as appurtenances thereof VVhat should it profit a man though he should winne the whole worlde if hee lose his owne Mar. 8. 36. soule VVhat is this whole worlde but the honours pleasures and riches of the world But I haue stood too long vpon this matter Let vs now apply it to our present purpose for the vnderstanding of the holy Ghosts meaning But we cannot certainely determine in what sense the world is here spoken of till we knowe of what being in the world the Euangelist is to be vnderstood Now our Lord may be said to haue beene in the worlde in two respects either as he was God or as he was the Messiah In the former sense he was alwaies and is still and euer shall bee after the same sort in the world In the later he was not in the world till he tooke flesh of the Virgin his mother nor since his ascension into heauen As God by his prouidence power and wisdome he maintaines and gouernes al things As the Messiah he taught and informed the world of his Fathers will touching the saluation of mankind His being in the world as God was and is for the preseruation of naturall life His presence as Messiah was to bring supernaturall life by the light of grace Whether of the two is it moâ—e likely the holy Ghost meaneth in this place If we vnderstand it of the former seeing hee speakes not of the nature of the Godhead which is the same in all three persons but of the person of the Sonne how can the world be iustly condemned for not knowing him wheÌ„ he was present For it is a rul'd case in diuinity that the mystery of the Trinity cannot bee discerned by the light of nature or gathered from any contemplation of the creatures It is true indeed that since it pleased God to reueale this incomprehensible secret many men haue labored to set forth the point by similitudes and to apply somethings in the creatures to the manifesting of the trinity in vnity But all the light they bringe to this point is such as rather shewes that themselues were perswaded of that truth then is of force to conuince their Iudgement that will not beleeue In one worde they giue vs to vnderstand that such a thing in likelyhood maye bee they doe not demonstrate that of necessity it must bee As for those shadowes of this mystery which seeme toly hid heere and there in the writinges of some Philosophers neither are they sufficient to argue that the penners of those books acquainted with the doctrine of the Trinitie and they are so sparingly and fearfully deliuered that a man may easily see they were altogether vncertaine of the truth and almost of the meaning of that they writ And in what authors doe wee meete with any shewe of these matters but onely in theÌ„ who profess they receiued their instruction from the Egyptians and Chaldeans who learned those points by Tradition from Noah and so from Adam to whom God reuealed the knowledge thereof or else are knowne to haue beene the Schollers of the Hebrewes from time to time Neither doth it suite well with the course of our Euangelists writing to expound this being in the world of such naturall maintaining thereof For the whole discourse from the beginning of the fourth verse as I haue shewed is a description of the Messiah Such was the life that wee haue in him such the light wee receiue from him wholly supernaturall Of that Iohn beares witnesse not of his creating or preseruing all thinges That was it which he laboured to haue all men beleeue That is the thing which our Euangelist denies of the Baptist Hee was not the light In regard of that is our Sauiour called the true light Who shall perswade mee then to apply this verse to his diuine power of preseruation and not to the gratious worke of his medâ—ation especially considering the next verse is generally for the most part so interpreted and as it is apparant by the verse following ought to be Wherfore I willingly subscribe
shame they dare not Were they not priuie to â—hem They were done in their open Synagogues oftentimes But I knowe not how I am slipt ere I was aware into that which particularly concernes the Iewes with whom I must deale in the next verse to which I now come Hee came to his owne and his owne receiued him not Kindnesse offered requited with vnkindnesse Both so great that the holy Ghost hauing spoken of them in generall in the very last verse repeates them heere in particular and that with speciall amplification Hee had sayde before Hee was in the world Therefore hee might haue beene knowne of men He addes now Hee came to his owne Therefore hee should haue beene intertained But the world knewe him not He was a straunger to them who lookt not for any such guest His owne could not plead such ignorance They had heard of him they longed for him For all this They receiued him not Is it credible Is it possible It is too true Hee had very meane or rather very bad intertainement at their hands Wee may not passe ouer the matter so sleightly Let vs see the particulars First his comming to his owne then his reiecting by his owne For the cleerer interpretation of the text wee must examine what is meant by His owne because the vnderstanding of that concernes both partes of the verse That being knowne in the former parte wee must consider his comming in the later his reiecting Hee came to his owne Our Rhemists who account 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their differing from vs a high poynt of their popish obedience would not translate as wee doe To his owne but must needes haue a farther tricke Into his owne By which translation first they must of necessitie vnderstand the place to which he came or else they speake but ill fauoured English For no man that knowes what belonges to our Language will say Into if hee spake of persons but to them vnlesse hee meane to signifie such a comming as is spirituall into the hearts of men or into the midst of a multitude neither of which in this place canne bee intended by the Euangelist Secondly though the place bee signified yet may our translation very well bee allowed I appeale in this case as to all men that canne speake English so to these Rhemists who translate so in other places From that hower say they the Disciple tooke her to his owne Ioh. 19. 27. Heere is the same word for into and more reason because the speech is of Saint Iohns receiuing the Virgin Marie into his house yet they translate as we do here to his owne The like example wee haue else where They returned vnto their owne The Disciples at Tyre hauing 〈◊〉 â—1 6. brought Paul and his company to the Sea side and seene them shipt returned to their owne houses To or vnto which are all one but not into Therefore there was in their iudgement no necessitie of reiecting our Translation in this text and forging a new But let the Translation passe the sense of the wordes is more worth our labour The Originall Greeke and the vulgar Latine make difference betwixt the wordes His owne in the former and the same in the later part of the verse The Greeke keepes the same word in both but alters the gender The 〈◊〉 Latine chaungeth the word too aswell as the gender Both the one and the other direct vs to expound the first of the place and the last of the persons Neither our translation nor the Rhemists expresse this difference If they had added to their into his owne Countrey or place or some such worde to make the Euangelists meaning more plaine I would haue thought they had rather indeauoured to bee vnderstood then striuen to dissent Well let vs then by his owne in the former clause conceiue that Saint Iohn notes the place whither our Sauiour came Thus remaines a great doubt whether this place bee the worlde in generall or the Land of Iudea in particular Not to trouble you with any long discourse of this point it seemes most likely to mee with reuerence of other mens iudgement that the holy Ghost in this verse speakes particularly of the Iewes Of the worlds ignorance and carelesnesse in not taking knowledge of so rare and extraordinarie a personage hee had spoken in the former verse and amplyfied their sin by nothing that he whom they did not know was their Creator as the miracles he wrought in their sight manifestly testified If this were a fault in the world as it was a most greeuous fault what was it for the Iewes to refuse him Should that bee obserued by our Euangelist and this past ouer without nothing especially since his whole story shewes that our Lordes Chryso hom 7. in loa Cyprâ—n ad Quâ—rin lib. 1. cap. Cyril in loa â—b 1. ca. 11. life and miracles were as it were shutte vp within the Land of Iurie Besides the worde in this later verse leades vs to the Iewes Hee came to his owne Comming to them argues more then Being in the worlde Ignorance was iustly imputed to the world Not receiuing is a sinne more fittely to bee charged vpon the Iewes If wee consider the wordes vsed by our Euangelist I thinke wee shall finde small reason to call the worlde Christs owne For although it bee true that the earth is 〈◊〉 24 1. the Lords c. and that our Sauiour was the maker of it and the whole worlde yet who euer obserued that the world was so appropriated to GOD or to the second person in Trinitie The possession that God promised to giue him is not in regard of Creation but 〈◊〉 â— 8. 〈◊〉 â—unc locum of Mediation whereas they that expound this place of all the world make Christs right thereunto consist in the title hee hath to it as the authour of it Now that is ordinarily sayde to bee a mans owne which is proper to him after some speciall manner otherwise then other thinges are But what canne wee imagine to which our Sauiour hath not as good clayme by his interest of Creation as to the worlde How then should this bee tearmed His owne and as some sren lib. cap. 11 auncient writers haue exprest the word His owne proper But if wee apply it to the Iewes euery man knowes that whereas all the worlde was GODS August in Ioa. tract 2. Iuâ—sua propra hee tooke the Land of Iewry into his especial protection And howsoeuer all nations were his by creation yet hee chose the Children of Israell to bee his peculiar people so that they and their Country were his owne not by nature but by grace indeede yet in such sort that hee made his aboade visibly amongst them aâ— hee did not in any part of the world beside The examples I alledged before wherein these wordes were vsed by the holy Ghost shew plainely that by His owne his particular place of habitation and his
his power and skill to mine own helpe It is all one as if I had a boxe of most precious oyntment in my hand which I knew to bee very soueraigne but vnderstood not how it is to be applyed To shut out this excuse remember what Iohn Baptists office was He was sent to beare witnes of the light that all men through him might beleeue Cal to minde how faithfully Ioh. 1. 7. Act. 19. 4. he demean'd himselfe in it Iohn verily baptized with the baptisme of repentance saying vnto the people that they should beleeue in him which should come after him that is in Iesus Christ This being the estate of matters among the Iewes while our Lorde was here vpon the earth were they not iustly to be blam'd for not beleeuing Or could they plead ignoraÌ„ce for excuse It is true indeed that they knewe him not to bee the Lorde of life But this ignorance proceeded of wilfulnesse and preiudice What can they say for themselues Did they not knowe such an one was to come They had it continually in their mouths it was the hope of their life the ioy of their heart the glory of their nation whereof they were not a little proude But they knewe not that this was hee But they might haue done nay they could not haue chosen but haue knowne if they had not wilfully shutte their eies against the light of his miracles and stopt their eares against Iohns testimony of him Therefore doth our Euangelist worthily charge them with not beleeuing in his name whom Iohn testified and his owne works declared to be the Sauiour that was promised to Israell This then is the point that the Euangelist offers to our consideration in these wordes that the Iewes beeing the peculiar people of GOD to whome the Redemption that was to bee wrought by the Messiah first and principally appertained refused to accept him for their Sauiour It were infinite almost I will not say to set out but to set downe the seuerall iniuries they did him the indignities they offered him through the whole course of his life and ministerie amongst them His daily working of miracles was imputed to vaine glorie as if hee sought by them to make himselfe famous in the eies of the world This vile conceite his owne kinsmen had of him Depart hence say they and goe into Iudea Ioh. 7. 3. 4. that thy Disciples may see the workes that thou doest For there is no man that doth any thing secretly and he himselfe seeketh to bee famous If thou doe these things shew thy selfe to the world Yea that diuine power by which hee cast out Diuels was maliciously absurdly and impiously Mat. 12. 24. ascribed to Beelzebub the Prince of the Diuels His familiaritie and kindnes in conuersing with them and applying himselfe to their humours as farre as lawfully hee might was laden with the reproach of gluttony and drunkenness Behold a man which is a Luke 7. 34. glutton and a drinker of Wine a friend of Publicans and sinners What should I speake of the monstrous blasphemies they often vttered against him That Hee was a Samaritan that hee had a Diuell Yea they Ioh. 8. 48. were not ashmed nor affraide O the admirable patitience of God waiting for their repentance to iustifie themselues to his face in such horrible profaneness Say wee not well I quake to repeat it that thou art a Samaritan ver 52. and hast a Diuell And least any thing should bee wanting to the height of all impretie they adde by and by after Now know we that thou hast a Diuell The Diuell himselfe his profest enemie that coÌ„fest he knew him to be the Son of God His owne people for whose sake he came into the world knew that hee had a Diuell What should I say or imagine Whence should so deâ—estable damnable a speech proceed Are men Are the Iewes Are Christs owne people worse then the Diuell But I will not presse these things too farre because they are a degree beyond the not receiuing of him whereof the Text speakes If they had behaued themselues toward him in generall as kindely and dutifully as some in particular did now and then vpon occasion all had bin nothing as long as they receiued him not by beleeuing in his name Saul woulde haue offered sacrifice to God I take it at the best of the fattest and fairest of the Amalakites cattell But obedience is better then sacrifice He should haue hearkened 1. Sam. 15. 22. to the voice of the Lord by Samuel and haue slaine them all What shall wee giue the Lord say the people Thousands of Rammes ten thousand riuers of Oyle The first borne the first fruit of our bodies Doe iustly saith the Mic. 6. 7. 8. Prophet Loue mercie So much doth it concerne a man to humble himselfe to the will of God But this beleeuing was a matter of very great importance because vpon it depended all hope of deliuerance by the Messiah All disobedience and sinne is liable to damnation but yet there is possibilitie of forgiueness though the transgression bee exceeding great Onely this one sinne of not beleeuing makes a man vtterly vncapable of any Ioh. 3. 29. fauour as long as hee continues in it In the maladies of the bodie though the meanes of Physick be not vsed yet oftentimes the strength of nature ouercomes the malice of the humour and recouereth the Patient It is not so in the diseases of the soule where the corruption euery day increaseth the fault once coÌ„mitted as it were the hurt receiued admits no cure but by pardon An easie cure I confesse a ready So much the greater was their obstinacie and folly that I may speake of them as fauourably as may be that would not imbrace so certaine and so present a remedy But this will the better appeare when wee vnderstand more fully what it is to beleeue in Christ In the meane while I will onely put you in minde to consider a little with your selues of this matter I am out of doubt euery one of vs condemnes the Iewes and not withouâ— cause Let vs take heede that we giue not an heauy sentence against our owne selues thereby We haue offer of saluation by the same meanes wee doe or may know more then they could of the particulars thereto belonging and namely of that which is required on our part to beleeue in his name It is not our assenting to the truth of the doctrine in generall our particular knowledge oâ— the course of mans redemption our magnifying the ministers of the Gospell as the Iewes did Iohn Baptist our mislike detestation of Popery that can be sufficient to the sauing of our soules I grát we go beyond the Iews in acknowledging thus much in approuing of it But there is more required to the pardon of our sins obtaining a right to heaueÌ„ We must beleeue in the name of Chr if we do not it shall profit
in the matter of our iustification I deny not that the Hebrew addeth the preposition ◠often times which the 70 sometimes expresse sometimes ouerpasse but this I say that the phrase which the holy Ghost most commonly vseth in the new Testament to expresse Beleeuing in Christ is neither in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 greeke translation of the old nor for ought I could euer yet find in any greeke Author whatsoeuer except those that writ since and tooke it from the Scripture To beleeue in God or in Christ for the substance and sense is no more but to trust to God or Christ and this kinde of speech is vsuall in the greeke tongue and writers To helpe vs in the vnderstanding of this the 70. in their greek afford an other phrase maruelous significant To 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 beleeue vpon or on God This the holy Ghost might haue contented himselfe withall vsing it often as hee doth and by this the Hebrew Preposition is now and Act. 16. 13. Rom. 4. 5. 18. then exprest in the Greek But as if hee would haue vs out of al doubt touching a matter of so great importāce he becomes autor of a new phrase himselfe To beleeue in Christ Shall any man perswade me that hee meanes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no more by it but a bare assenting to the truth What needed this straunge manner of speech which doth rather darken then inlighten the vnderstanding for the right conceiuing of the holy Ghosts true meaning Abraham beleeued God Euery man knows what this means especially if it signifie no more hut giuing credit to the truth of that which is spoken But the Apostle expoūds it by Beleeuing in or on God Is not this to make the matter doubtfull by an exposition whereas of it selfe it was plaine and certaine enough It cannot bee therefore but that the holy Ghost by this new kind of speech notes somewhat more then simply to assent to the truth of God vpon the autority of the speaker In particular I say farder touching that of Abraham Rom. 4. 5. first that his beleeuing as we haue often heard is a beleeuing in God or resting vpon God 2 that beleeuing could not haue profited Abrahā if he had only acknowledgd the truth of that which God promised and not trusted to him for the performance thereof What can it auaile any man to Iustificatiō that he holds IESVS CHRIST to be the only Sauiour and faith in himt he only means of saluation if he doe not withall rely vpon him to bee saued by his mediation Thirdly it must bee considered that the Apostle applying that particular of Abraham to all beleeuers expoundeth that beleeuing by relying vpon God Which beleeue on him that raised vp Iesus our Lorde from the dead What is it think you to beleeue on Verse 24. him that raised Iesus To assent to the truth of Scripture that tells vs he was raised Then should the Apostle rather haue spokē thus which beleeue God who saith he hath raised him But it is required that wee beleeue on him and there is no speech nor thought of any thing affirmed by God which wee should beleeue Let vs vnderstand it thus which beleeue that God raised Iesus Certainely if this had beene the Apostles meaning hee would neuer haue spokē so doubtfully of so weighty a matter where he had a plaine and easy speech to expresse that which he intended to the vnderstanding of euery man whereas no man woulde euer conceiue what he meant by these wordes if they signified no more but giuing credit to the truth of our Sauiors resurrection As for the other place out of the Epistle to the Hebrewes what can possibly bee concluded out of it against Heb. 11. 7. that I haue deliuered touching the nature of that faith by which we are iustified What if by it we vnderstand that the world was ordained of GOD Is this all that is required to the iustifying of a man in respect of faith There is no such thing either exprest or implyed in the words Nay rather all the examples that follow are so many proofes that the faith whereof the holy Ghost there speakes can not bee seuered from be leeuing in God I will not stand vpon the particulars at this time the later part of the next Chapter before vpon occasion whereof the Apostle falles into this discourse of faith giues sentence for me The iust shall liue Chap. 10. 38. 37. by faith By what faith by that which only giues credit to the truth of God No but by such a faith as makes vs rest vpon God for the performance of his promise which presupposeth the truth thereof How chance thē that the Apostle in setting forth the nature of faith asscribes such effects therevnto as may bee without any resting vpon God Shall wee say that this faith spreds it selfe ouer the whole soule and is seated aswell in the vnderstanding as in the affection I see not how it can stand with reason to place any habit or quality in two diuers partes or faculties of the soule VVhat then Is not beleeuing of the truth required to iustification Yes surely There is no possibility of saluation without it For how shall any man trust in Christ to be iustified by him it hee doe not beleeue that hee is appointed by God to be a Sauiour of all them that trust vnto him But the question is first whether Beleefe bee nothing else but an assenting to the truth Secondly whether the true nature of that faith which is availeable to our iustification consist in resting vpon Christ to be iustified by him or no Assent is required as the roote and foundation but the very forme of iustifying faith is beleeuing in Christ as it shall appeare I hope when I haue iust occasion to define it and handle it at large In the meane while that no man may bee troubled about that place to the Hebrewes let vs remember that the Apostle being to sette forth iustifying faith and to perswade continuance in obedience therevnto enters into a commendation of fayth in generall for the amply fying of that particular But for the settling of our minds in the true knowledge of that beleefe which is required to our iustification nothing I take it can be of greater force then the consideration of the worde as it is vsed ordinarily in the olde Testament VVhen any blessing is to bee receined from God what beleefe is it that the Lorde expecteth of his people to the ende they may haue his protection and assistance A fewe examples will shew the nature of it Because thou hast rested on the king of Aram and hast not rested vpon the Lorde thy God therefore is the hoast of the king of Aram escaped out of thy 1. Chro. 5. 18. 19. 20. hands Thus did Hanani the Seer reprooue Asa king of Iuda shewing him that the reason why hee preuailed not against the Aramites
was his not trusting in God The same point hee amplifyed in the verse following The Aethiopians saith he and the Lybians were Ver. 8. they not a great hoast with Charrets hors-men exceeding many Yet because thou didst rest on the Lorde he deliuered them into thy hand Therefore doth Iehosaphat exhort his people to the like trust in God and assureth them of deliuerance from their enimies therevpon Put your trust on the Lord your God saith he and yee shall be assured Chap 20. 20. We heard of the Reubenites before that the Hagarins were deliuered into their hands because they trusted in God 1 Chro. 5. 20. That the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the Israelits Because they beleeued not in God trusted not in his helpe Psal 78. 22. To this trust is blessednesse ascrib'd Blessed are all that Psa 2. 12. trust in him Yea with such a blessednesse as shal neuer fayle them They that trust in the Lord shall bee as mount Psal 125. 1. Syon which cannot be remoued but standeth fast for euer Tast and see saith the Psalme how gracious the Lord is Psal 34. 8. blessed is the man that trusteth in him Such a man will not be afrayd of euill tidings his heart is fixed and beleeueth in the Lord. This is to beleeue to saluation euen to haue his heart settled and to repose himself wholly and only Ps 112 7. Act. 16. 31. vpon Iesus Christ As for that perswasion which euery man must haue and wherein some woulde haue faith consist it followes him that is iustified and goes not before any mans iustification as faith must needes doe for the condition to be performed on our part to iustification is to Beleeue So then to beleeue in Christ is to rest vpon Christ but what is it To beleeue in his name Must his name bee rested vpon as if there were some especiall vertue in it In which of his names In IESVS or in CHRIST For of Imanuell it is needlesse to say any thing because hee is not once so called in all this Gospell and if the Euangelist speake of a name doubtlesse hee speakes of such a name as was knowne and ordinary neither woulde hee haue omitted it in the history if it had beene of such importance and vse It may seeme perhaps that Iesus is the name in which all men that will be saued must beleeue For that is it by which Saint Iohn commonly calls our Lord in his gospell and by which he was well knowne amongst men as hauing beene giuen him at the time of his circumcision Luk. 2. 21. and continued according to the custome of the Iewes We haue found him saith Philip to Nathaneel of Ioh. 1. 45. whome Moses did write in the law and of whome the Prophets writ Iesus the Sonne of Ioseph And of this name Iesus many excellent things are spoken in the Scripture That is said to haue cured the man that had beene a cripple Act. 3. 16. 6. from his mothers wombe At that name euen at the name of Iesus must euery knee bow By that name wonders haue beene Phil. 2. 10. wrought according as the Apostles prayed to God that healing and signes and wonders might be done by the name of his Act. 4. 30. holy Sonne Iesus Neither is this name effectuall for bodily cures only but as the Apostle Saint Peter profeseth Ver. 12. There is giuen no other name vnder heauen by which we must be saued But is there indeed such power in the name What then needed our Lord to haue come himself in the flesh seeing there were more then one of that name many yeeres before he was conceiued in the wombe of the blessed virgin in his mother Iesus the Sonne of Iosedec is Hag. 1. 12. famous in Hagge being high Priest after the peoples return out of the Captiuity But much more famous was osua 1. 1. 2. 3. the other Iesus who brought the people of Israell into the Land of Canaan and diuided to euery Tribe his proper in heritance That the names are all one though some would make a curious and an idle distinction betwixt them both the nature of the wordes shewe and the holy Gost in the new testament hath made it manifest by calling Iosua Iesus without any kind of difference in the name If Iesus had giuen them rest Afterwarde Heb. 4. 8. the Apostle in the same Chapter hauing occasion to name Iesus our Sauiour that hee might bee vnderstood to speake of him and not of Iosua addes his title Iesus the sonne of God What should that haue needed Ver. 14. if the name it selfe had afforded sufficient note of difference betwixt them But it is plaine in the originall Greeke and in the Syriake and Latine translations as also in our English that there is none The 70. Iewes that turned the olde Testament out of Hebrew into Greeke so exprest the names both of that Leader and of the high Priest Iosua 1. 1. Nowe after the death of Moses the seruant of the Lord the Lord spake vnto Ioshua Iesus sayeth the Greeke and so through out that whole booke So of Iehoshua the highe Priest Zach the third and the first And hee shewed mee Iehoshua or Iesus the high Priest so in the 3 6 and 8 verses of the same Chap. If the name giuen to our Sauiour Christ by Gods owne appointment had been diuers from the other surely the holy Ghost would not haue confounded them But now of purpose the same is retained that all men might vnderstand the reason of it as it is partly signified in that place to the Hebrewes concerning another Rest into which Iesus Christ hath brought the people of Israell the true children of God Hebrewes 4 8. For if Iesus had giuen them rest who was this Iesus but Ioshua then woulde hee not after this daye haue spoken of another What should I trouble you with many wordes of this matter By the name the partie whose name it is is signifyed Let the Apostle Peter expound himselfe His name hath made this man sound through faith in his Act. 3. 16. name Is it the name or faith in the name Iesus and not rather Iesus himselfe and faith in him And the faith which is by him sayeth the Apostle hath giuen him his perfect health The like wee haue touchinge the same matter in the next Chapter By the name of Iesus Christ of Nazareth by him doth this man stand heer Chap. 4. 10. before you whole This sheweth that the Miracles which were wrought proceeded from the power of Christ not from any vertue in his name How then should saluation come from or by it Hearken what the Angell sayth when hee giues the name Thou shalt Mat. 1. 21. call his name Iesus for he shall saue his people from their sinnes Not his name but Hee For the name had neither bloud nor life to giue in
cleerely So shall euery particular mans comfort be the greater There was a time as it is not vnknowne I hope to any man in this Auditorie when the Iewes onely were the people of GOD To whome as the Apostle saith the Adoption and the Glorie and the Couenants Rom 9. 4. and the giuing of the Lawe and the seruice of GOD and the promises appertained They onely were the Children all other Nations whatsoeuer but dogges Math. 15. 26. The bread belonged to them the most that other people could haue was but the crums falling from then Table What should I proceede in amplifying of this point I spake of it at large in a former exercise Serm. 7. vpon the eleuenth verse when I shewed that the Iewes were Christs owne though they receiued him not As for vs the Gentils what were we The Apostle Ephe. 2. 12. tells vs that we were Alians from the common-wealth of Israell strangers from the Couenants of promise hauing no hope beeing without GOD in the world It is worthily thought a singular fauour of God that Iacob was preserred before Esau the yonger brother Gen. 25. 23. before the elder yet were both sonnes What a kindness grace bounty no wordes are able to expresse the worth of the thing is it to make seruants Sonnes to adopt them for children that of themselues were no better then dogges The Iewes thought it a strange matter and a great wrong to their Nation that the Gentils should bee taught the worde of God Will hee goe to them that are dispearsed among the Grecians Ioh. 7. 36. say they of our Sauiour and teach the Grecians And when the Apostle Paul tolde them that hee was appointed to preach the GOSPELL to the Gentils they were not able to indure it but sared like madde men crying out casting off their clothes and Act. 22. 23. throwing dust into the ayre What speake I of the Iewes that might easily bee blinded with enuy and pride We heard euē now what account was to be made of the Gentils by the testimonie of the truth it selfe Therefore our Sauiour directly affirmeth that He was not sent bat to the lost sheepe of the house of Israell And accordingly Mat. 15. 26. when hee sends forth his Disciples to preach hee forbids them to goe into the way of the Gentils or Mat. 10 5. to enter into the Citties of the Samaritans This opinion was so deepely settled in the hearts of the Apostles Act. 10. 28. that Peter thought it vnlawfull for him to impart the Gospell to the Gentils Yea so generall was this conceite that after Saint Peter had by the commandement of God preached to Cornelius hee was accused for Chap. 11. 23. it as guiltie of some hainous crime Such was the estate of vs that were Gentils by nature wee were so farre from beeing Sonnes that we were not admitted to haue the lowest office or place in the house of God Now by the comming of Iesus Christ this honour is vouchsaf't vs that euery one of vs that beleeues in him doth thereby become the childe of God They that before might not bee admitted to wash dishes in the kitchin may now seede on the Lords owne dish at his table There is now no difference betwixt Iewe and Grecian but all are one in Gal. 3. 28. Iesus Christ It is one God who shall iustifie circumcision of faith and circumcision through faith But some man Rom. 3. 30. perhaps will say that this Prerogatiue was alwaies afforded the Gentils for whom it was lawfull to ioyne themselues to the Iewes and to be made one with the people of God It is true indeede that the Gentils were neuer so excluded but that if they offered themselues to bee circumcised they might be receiued and numbred amongst the Iewes What new fauour then is vouchsaf't them by the comming of Christ A full right and interest to all the promises of euerlasting life which before generally did not concerne them Now the Gospell offers our Sauiour Christ no lesse to the Gentils If not more then to the Iewes Hee came to his owne for to them he was Act. 13. 46. first and principally sent his owne receiued him not the Multitude Rulers and People refused to take him for their Messiah and Sauiour What then Shall his comming be to no purpose The Iewes indeede had a conceite that none but they or at the most such as adioyned themselues to them could bee the Sonnes of God But they were much deceiued For as many a◠will now beleeue in Christ though they bee no Iewe◠by nature or profession are made the Sonnes of God What remaines then but to put you in minde of that exhortation of the Prophet Esay Reioyce O barren that Isai 54. 1. diddest not beare break forth into ioy and reioyce thou that diddest not trauell with childe for the desolate hath more Children then the married wife saith the Lord Let me adde to this the caueat of the Apostle and I will conclude this point Beholde the bountifulness and Rom. 11. 22. seueritie of God toward them which haue fallen that is which receiued him not seueritie but towards thee bountifullness if thou continue in his bountifulnes or els shalt thou also be cut off Wee haue that honour happy men if wee can keepe it and if wee will wee may It were in vaine to speake generally of the Gentils in this place The exhortation belongs to this Kingdome this Citie this Auditorie Wee are all Gentils hauing no interest in those ancient priuiledges of the Iewes yet are wee vouchsafed by fauour to bee the Sonnes of GOD if by faith we trust in IESVS CHRIST Can wee despise or neglect so rare a kindness so great an honour Doe wee preferre the profits the pleasures the aduancements of this World before the Inheritance of the Kingdome of Heauen Let vs remember what wee were men without God without hope See what wee are people to whome Iesus Christ hath a long time offered and doth euery day euen now at this hower in this place offer himselfe Consider what wee shall bee if wee will be the Sonnes of God Heyres of Heauen Will none of these things moue vs Oh the senseless desperateness of men O the wilfulness of them that will not learne None receiue Christ but they that beleeue in him It is not enough to giue him the hearing or to bee perswaded that hee is the sauiour of the world they only are sonnes that truely rest vpon him without hope or desire of any other helpe All such whether they bee Iewes or Gentils haue the Prerogatiue to bee the Sonnes of GOD. What All Yea all without exception of any man woman or childe whatsoeuer Wee heard as much erewhile out of the Apostle There is neither Iewe nor Gal. 3. 28. Grecian there is neither bond nor free there is neither male nor female for yee are all one in CHRIST IESVS Doe