wanted vessels to receiue it 2. King 4.6 so there is no end of Gods mercy toward vs till wee want faith to apprehend the same Secondly concerning the Loue of God what shall wee render vnto him for the same Loue for loue That is most fit since it is like for like But though it bee like yet it is lesse For as he goeth before vs in time hee loued vs first 1. Ioh. 4 19. so hee excelleth vs in degree He loueth vs more then wee doe or can loue him Hee loueth vs as a Father we loue him as Children Ours is an ascending his a descending loue But though we cannot loue him so much as we ought and as he loueth vs yet let vs loue him aboue all things Whom haue I in heauen but thee and in earth I haue desired none in comparison of thee Psal 73.25 Finally let vs loue nothing but for him Minùs te diligit ô Domine qui praeter te aliquid diligit quod propter te non diligit saith Augustine O Lord he loueth thee lesse then other things who loueth any thing besides thee which he loueth not for thy sake Thirdly concerning the Grace of God it taketh away all our reioycing but in him alone who voluntarily without our desire and freely without our desert and entirely without our cooperation hath saued vs by his grace euen by his louing fauour towards vs in Iesus Christ our Lord. Therefore as I will not nay I cannot attribute any thing vnto my selfe but weakenesse and sinne which truly and properly are my owne and if I must needs reioyce I will reioyce of mine infirmities 2. Cor. 11.30 so I will not put my confidence in man for none is so great or so good that I may rest securely vpon his grace But contrariwise let the foolish deride me the malitious depraue me the insolent contemne me the mighty oppresse me it is enough for me that I am in the grace and fauor of my Lord. Sufficit mihi gratia tua O Lord thy grace is sufficient for me I condlude therefore with S. Paul Reioyce in the Lord alway againe I say reioyce Phil. 4.4 Thus I haue discoursed briefly vpon three circumstances of my text The Author of our saluation GOD. The Motiues in him Mercy Loue and Grace The Persons vpon which he hath conferred his benefits and fauours Vs dead in sinne Of the Benefits NOw 〈◊〉 the fourth place ensue the Benefits themselues the first whereof is Viuification in the soule Hee hath quickened vs together in Christ Here is spirituall life opposed vnto spirituall death It is comfortable because Life but more because Spirituall for this doth eleuate vs aboue our mortall condition and is the pledge of our eternity in heauen This spirituall life we haue partly in Christ partly in our selues In Christ by iustification through his bloud In our selues by regeneration from the spirit First by Iustification through the bloud of Christ For he with all his merits is ours Thus I liue yet not I now but Christ liueth in me and in that I now liue I liue by faith in the Sonne of God Gal. 2.20 I am grafted into him and so I liue by the life of the roote His is the primitiue mine a deriuatiue life Secondly by regeneration from the Spirit who sanctifieth vs and reneweth vs by grace For as before wee had imputed righteousnesse in Christ so now wee haue inherent righteousnesse in our selues though we are not thereby iustified in the sight of God nor dare in any confidence thereof appeare securely in his presence Tutior mihi iustitia data quam innata saith Bernard the imputed righteousnesse of Christ is more safe for me then inherent righteousnesse from the spirit that which is on me then in me Iacob had not obtained the blessing but in the garments of Esau Gen. 27.23 which was a type and figure of our happinesse in the sole righteousnesse of Iesus Christ our Lord. Therefore S. Paul hauing esteemed all things as dung that he might win Christ addeth That I might be found in him not hauing my owne righteousnesse which is of the law but that which is through the faith of Christ Phil. 3.9 Here then is life to liue in him who is life it selfe I am the Way the Truth and the Life Iohn 14.6 I am the Way without which you wander I am the Truth without which you erre I am the Life without which you die Let vs not therefore by sinning any more kill the Lord of life within vs in whom and by whom we liue neither let vs greeue the Spirit by whom wee are sealed vp vnto the day of redemption Let vs not liue after the flesh and extinguish the spirit for the wisedome of the flesh is death but the wisedome of the spirit is life and peace Rom. 8.6 It followeth he hath quickned vs together in Christ Here is not onely life in vs but a community of life with others by a mysticall vnion in Christ and in our selues For there is a double communion The first of the members with Christ For as we haue a spirituall vnion iointly with all the persons He that cleaueth vnto God is one spirit saith S. Paul 1. Cor. 6.17 so we haue a mysticall vnion peculiarly with Christ as being made Man in nature a Redeemer in office and consequently our Head The second of the members amongst themselues For we being many are one body in Christ and euery one one anothers members Rom. 12.5 The members are not diuided in the body nor the body from the head The members are ioined with Christ by liuely faith in themselues by ardent loue So there is a common life in them all a mutuall sense and participation in all things The honour of Christ by any is our comfort his dishonour by any is our grief The good and prosperity of our brethren is ours their euill and calamity also is ours Who is weake saith S. Paul and I am not weake Who is offended and I burne not 2. Cor. 11.29 So much of the first benefite to wit viuification in the spirit The second is Resurrection of soule body He hath raised vs vp together There is the first the second resurrection The first in respect of the Subiect is of the soule the 2. of the body The first in respect of Quality is by grace the second to glory The first in respect of Time is in this life the 2. in the end of the world So that the first is a praecursor aforerūner vnto the second prepareth a way thereunto Finally as there is a death in sin a death for sin so there is a double resurrection the first à culpa from sin the second à poenae from the punishment which followeth thereupon Anima corrupta in culpā fecit quoque vt corpus corrumperetur in poenam saith S. Bernard The soule was corrupted by sinne the body by the punishment thereof So saith he mors mortem operata est
one death wrought or brought forth another Spiritualis corporalem culpabilis poenalem voluntaria necessariam c. The spirituall a corporall the culpable a penall the voluntary a necessary death But now wee are raised vp from the one and other FIRST we are raised vp from the death of the soule by the spirit of illumination and the spirit of sanctification two works but one and the same spirit enlightning the darkenesse of our vnderstanding and cleansing the corruption of our hearts This is the resurrection of which S. Iohn speaketh Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection for on such death hath no power Apocal. 20.6 For though death remaine in act yet it is destroied in effect Death died in Christ and by Christ O death where is thy sting O graue where is thy victory The sting of death is sinne and the strength of sinne is the law But thanks be vnto God who hath giuen vs the victory through Iesus Christ our Lord 1. Corinth 15.55.56.57 So that Non est malum in morte nisi malum post mortem There is no euill in the first death all the euill that is is in the second Blessed then indeed holy is he whose first life secureth him from the second death SECONDLY how are we raised from the death of the body who are not yet dead therein For the Apostle saith not God will raise vs vp but God hath raised vs vp as though it were not to come but past I answere first that our corporall resurrection is already past in the preuision of God to whom al things which are to come are actually present and in the purpose of God which changeth not I am the Lord and I change not Mal. 3.6 So the Prophets in the Law and the Apostles in the Gospel do speake of things which are yet to come as if they were already past Propter certitudinem euentus for the certainty of the euent Thus Esay the Euangelicall Prophet saith expressely of Christ He hath borne our infirmities He was wounded for our transgressions Hee was afflicted c. Esay 53. These sufferings of Christ were already past in the eternall destination of the Father but were yet to come in the actuall oblation of himselfe J answer secondly that wee are risen in Christ as in our Head betwixt whom and vs there is an indissoluble connexion and an inseparable bond For as there is a naturall vnion in Christ of his body and soule an hypostaticall vnion of the humane nature with his diuine person a sacramental vnion of the bread with his body so there is a mysticall vnion with vs he being the Head and we the members Therefore as in the ceremoniall Law the first fruits being blessed all the residue was blessed therein so Christ who was the first fruits of them that slept 1. Cor. 15.20 being raised from the dead we are also raised vp in him And this is a singular comfort against the feare of death though it bee the most terrible of all terrible things Why should we feare to die who are already raised frō the dead Our life is hid with God in Christ Col. 3.3 Will he not keepe it safely who bought it so dearely Therefore I will lay mee downe and sleepe in peace for thou Lord onely makest mee to dwell in safety Psal 4.8 With which comfortable sentence Gorgonia the blessed sister of Nazianzen commended her soule into the hands of her Redeemer Thus much of the second benefit to wit Resurrection of soule and body The third ensueth namely the Session of both in heauen Before we were quickned then raised now seated in heauen hee hath made vs sit together in the heauenly places in Christ O happy life to be so quickned ô happy resurrection to be so raised ô happy session to bee so placed First hee hath made vs to sit This is a signe of our tranquillity and rest aboue after much trouble and motion heere both in body and soule We are Pilgrimes vpon this earth as all our fathers were We are in via in our way to mooue not in patria in our countrey to sit downe We may not stand still for that is reproued Quid statis hîc otiosi Why stand you here idle Mat. 20.6 We can not sit for that is reserued vnto an other and better life when many shall come from the East and West and shall sit downe with Abraham Isaac and Iacob in the kingdome of heauen Mat. 8.11 SECONDLY then he hath made vs sit together in heauenly places that is to say in the heauen of blessed Angels and Spirits to whom God reuealeth himselfe in the abundance of his glory For though God filleth the heauen and earth with his essence presence and power yet hee sheweth not the like effects thereof in euery place He is peculiarly in his elect by grace peculiarly in heauen by glory which is the Chamber of presence wherein we shall see him as he is and behold him face to face But what the qualities of these heauenly places are or what are the ioies therein as also how the degrees of ioy are vnequall since there are many mansions in heauen Joh. 14.2 and that may be here implied by the plurality places I neither can conceiue them as they are nor yet expresse what I conceiue thereof I will therefore conclude this point with that excellent speech of S. Augustine concerning the ioy of heauen Profectò in me totum non intrabit sed ego in illud totus intrabo truely it will not enter wholly into me by knowledge that I may apprehend it but I shall enter wholly into it by fruition that I may enioy it for euer and euer Now for the matter it selfe We sit in the heauenly places How Not by plenary possession but by the right of inheritance Not by personall fruition but by assurance of faith Finally not in our selues but in Christ our Head So saith my text he hath made vs sit together in the heauenly places in Christ For as Ioseph dreamed Genes 37.9 and it was a true dreame that the Sunne and the Moone to wit Iacob his father and Rachel his mother did reuerence vnto him which yet she neuer performed in her selfe for Rachel died before Genes 35.19 but in the person of Iacob her husband when he came downe into the land of Egypt so wee are already seated in the heauenly places not in our selues but in Christ our Head who as a Man tooke our nature from his mother and as a Redeemer vndertook our persons with his Father and so what he hath receiued for vs we enioy in him He being in heauen we are in heauen also he being ascended wee are ascended thither with him For though he descended alone yet he is ascended with vs. Therefore whereas our Sauiour saith No man ascendeth into heauen but he that descended from heauen the Sonne of man who is in heauen Joh. 3.13 S. Bernard meditateth vpon it in this
were not the seede of Abraham wee had not the seale of the couenant the promises appertained not vnto vs at least according to the letter All which things the Iewes might plead as peculiar vnto themselues alone Therefore S. Paul hauing demanded What is the preferment of the Iew and what is the profit of circumcision answereth Much euery manner of way and chiefly because vnto them were committed the oracles of God Rom. 3.1.2 But since wee Gentiles were not priuiledged by any of these graces but were strangers from the couenant and wholly inthralled into the captiuitie of sinne and Satan heerein the loue of God is more spectable and more commended in vs then in them because hee quickned Vs also when we were dead in sinne So that now we are succeeded into the state nay more into the very name of the Iewes themselues For hee is a Iew who is one within Rom. 2.28 And wee are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit Philip. 3.3 For it is true my brethren that God delighteth not in outward things without an inward affection not in Ceremonies not in Sacraments not in Sacrifice not in his owne People Nay more Christ acknowledgeth not the blessed Virgin to be his Mother if she heare not his word and keepe it Luke 8.21 Whereby he did not reproue her but instruct others in this behalfe It is not therefore succession from worthy persons it is not birth from religious fathers it is not the splendor and dignity of a particular place vpon which wee may securely rest yet these these are things and principall things too wherein the Church of Rome doth so confidently repose And as the literall Babylon Esay 47.8 so she the mysticall Babylon Apocal. 18.7 glorieth in this manner and saith I sit being Queene and am no widow and shall see no mourning Howbeit her destruction is ordained of old the sentence of condemnation is past the writ of execution is gone forth The Kings of the earth shall hate the whore the sometimes Mother Church now become a whore and make her desolate and naked and shall burne her with fire Apoc. 17.16 I come now from the Obiect vs vnto the quality thereof dead in sinnes There is a spirituall death of the soule a temporall of the body an eternall of both I speake not of the two latter they are deaths for sinne not in sinne of which alone my text doth here peculiarly intreat This spirituall death therefore of the soule in sinne is sometimes in Thought onely when we yeeld not consent thereunto For there is first suggestion either externally from Satan or internally from our concupiscence then delectation and finally consent which properly bringeth sin vnto her birth Otherwise S. Bernard asketh in the person of a regenerate man An forte iam non ago illa sed patior si vtique non consentio Mea dixerim peccata non quia facio sed quia sustineo I am rather a patient then an agent in my sinnes c. Sometimes this spirituall death is in Action to wit transient action for there was an immanent action before For a sinne may be actuall in the mind though not acted in the body Sometimes this spirituall sinne is in Habit and custome when sinne is not only inhabitant for so it is in all though not imputed vnto all it remaineth in act not in guilt but regnant in our soules Of which our Apostle speaketh in this maner Let not sinne raigne in your mortall body that you should obey it in the lusts thereof neither giue you your members as weapons of vnrighteousnesse vnto sinne Rom. 6.12 All these deaths of the soule are figured and represented in certaine persons whom our Sauiour raised vp from the death of the body The first in the Centurions daughter Mark 5.40 Her body lay yet in her fathers house and there she was raised vp vnto life The second in the widowes son Luke 7.12 His body was carried forth into the Citie and there he was raised vp vnto life The third in Marthaes brother Iohn 11.39 His body was laid in the graue and there he was raised vp vnto life Now our spirituall death was of the last and worst sort We were dead in the habit and custome of sinne dead in al our faculties and powers Dead in the Will which is the Queene-regent of the soule dead in the Vnderstanding which is her Counsellor dead in the Memory which is her Secretary dead in the Affections which are her messengers and seruants So dead in all that sinne raigned and grace was extinguished in our soules And yet ô Lord didst thou loue vs when wee were dead men Euen thou also who art the God not of the dead but of the liuing He did so Brethren our great sinnes could not euacuate his good purpose He loued vs in his election then by manifestation the first before all time the second in time And thus he was not changed by hauing loue now which he had not euer but we were changed by receiuing grace which we had not before Wherefore God loued vs when we were spiritually dead he loued vs I say in respect of his owne purpose not of our works And now as the Prophet Ieremy spake literally of his owne greefe but typically of Christs Was there euer Dolor sicut dolor meus griefe as my greefe Lam. 1.12 So I may truly say of Gods loue O Lord was there euer Amor sicut amor â—uus loue as thy loue No man hath greater loue then this that he lay downe his life for his friend Iohn 15.13 It is true no man hath greater but thou my Lord hadst greater for thou laidst down thy life for thine enemies Therefore saith S. Paul God setteth out his loue toward vs seeing that while we were yet sinners Christ died for vs. Rom. 5.8 While we were yet sinners dead in sinne and had no means to relieue our selues For if in our restitution vnto life we had preuented God in desire or cooperated with him in act his loue had not bin so set forth as now it is But the truth is we were passiue not actiue in this excellent work and so passiue that there was nothing in vs to concurre with God It was not a slumber and so we were awaked it was not a wound and so we were healed but it was death and so wee were raised vp againe not by any vertue within vs but by an externall power For what motion or actiuity is there in a dead body to raise vp it selfe None Therfore as in his creation A dam was made a liuing soule when God breathed the breath of life into him Gen. 2.7 so in his renouation for he was an old Adam as soone as hee was a new God inspired grace into him and Adam was quickned againe from the death of the soule Whereby as we learne how much we owe vnto God how little vnto our selues in this worke of our restitution vnto the life of grace so we
manner Quid ergo nos c. What then shall we doe shall we despaire No but we will hope so much the more and chiefely for this cause Why Licet enim SOLVS sed profectò TOTVS intrabit os non comminuetur ex eo for though hee alone shall enter into heauen yet hee shall enter whole and entire and a bone of him shall not be broken We are bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh He is the Head and wee the members the one is not found in the kingdome without the other And now my brethren what doe wee vpon this earth we who are already seated in heauen Why doe many men nay all men for all men seeke their owne and not that which is Iesus Christs Phil. 2.21 so earnestly seeke the first and so carelessely neglect the second The voluptuous man placeth his felicity in pleasures the ambitious man in honor the couetous man in riches Their end is damnation their God is their belly their glory is to their shame they mind earthly things saith S. Paul Philip. 3.19 He addeth But our conuersation is in heauen from whence also we looke for the Sauiour euen the Lord Iesus Christ Here then is a contemplation for euery soule My Lord is ascended into heauen shall I neglect so good a place as heauen and so blessed company as my IESVS O where can I bee ill with him or where can I be well without him As he hath prepared a kingdome for me so I will prepare my selfe for that kingdome where J may reioice with him for euer and no man shall take my ioy from me Thus beloued in Christ we must ascend first in affection as wee shall afterward in soule and finally in body that so we may liue in him by grace die in him with peace raigne with him in glorie for euer and euer Amen Of the Finall Cause of Gods benefits bestowed vpon vs. I Am now come vnto the FIFTH and last circumstance of my text to wit the finall cause or end of Gods benefits bestowed vpon vs That he might shew in the ages to come the exceeding riches of his grace through his kindnesse toward vs in Christ Iesus My method shall be this First I will make a briefe suruay of each particular in this verse Secondly J will reflect vpon the generall doctrine contained in the same The particulars may be reduced vnto foure The FIRST is the End itselfe that he might shew in the ages to come the exceeding riches of his grace The SECOND is the Tendernesse of Gods affection demonstrated in this end through his kindnesse The THIRD is the persons or obiect vnto which this kindnesse is extended vnto vs. The FOVRTH and last is the Meanes by which God doth extend the same in Christ Iesus In the FIRST which is the end it selfe you may obserue the Manner how it is expressed that hee might shew the Time when in the ages to come the Matter which is expressed the exceeding riches of his grace Briefely of each 1. The Manner That he might shew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the originall and it is of greater force then our translation doth retaine that he might shew it forth by demonstration and euidence that so the world might see admire and applaud the bounty of his grace Now there are two manner of waies by which God doth shew himselfe First by his Word which is full of maiestie and power I meane not verbum Dominus the Word which is God but verbum Domini the word of God And of this our Apostle saith The word of God is liuely and mighty in operation c. Hebru 4.12 Secondly by his Workes By the worke of Creation so the heauens declare the glory of God the firmament sheweth the worke of his hands Psal 19.1 By the worke of Conseruation in the singular administration of all his creatures and admirable prouision for the same But specially in the worke of Redemption in which God hath shewed his Iustice his Power and his Loue. His iustice in the punishment of sin his power in conquering the forces of Satan his loue in redeeming captiues 2 The time in the ages to come For hee hath made his wonderfull works to be had in remembrance Psal 111.4 Hee suffereth them not to be obscured in darknesse nor buried in obliuion Therfore he sheweth them in the ages to come not for a day nor a yeare but for eternity to be conueighed from one generation vnto another We will not hide them from our children but to the generation to come we will shew the praises of the Lord his power also and his wonderfull works that he hath done Psal 78.4 Our tongue must be the trumpet of his praise our heart the register of his works a faithfull register to preserue thē for euer Many men are moued at the benefits of God for a time their motion is quick in the beginning but slow in the end and yet it commeth soone to an end also So it was with the people of Israel They forgate his acts and his wonderfull works that he had shewed them Psal 78.11 3. The Matter it selfe the exceeding riches of his grace What this grace is J told you * Pag. 20. before to witte the free and voluntary fauour of God exhibited vnto vs in Iesus Christ his Sonne Here it is accompanied with a paire of epithetes expressing the nature and quality therof It is rich yea exceeding rich A Sea of grace which neuer can be exhausted An abyssus a bottomlesse pit of grace which neuer can bee sounded Which as all men may admire for the greatnes therof so specially a penitent sinner may apply vnto himselfe for his own comfort How can I doubt of remission and forgiuenes of my sinnes from him who is so full of grace If you require examples for your better assurance they are not wanting in this behalfe I haue been an Idolater so was Manasses I haue been lewd of my body so was Dauid I haue been ouertaken with wine so was Noah I haue fled from God so did Ionah I haue denied my Lord so did Peter I haue persecuted him in his members so did Paul I haue despoiled men of their goods so did the penitent theefe who was conuerted vpon the crosse Finally I am full of iniquity so was Mary Magdalen peccatrix the sinful woman All these obtained pardon by the grace of God which they apprehēded by faith He wil not therfore reiect me that embraced them They could plead nothing but grace and this also I can plead as well as they Therefore faint not vnder temptation but take heede of the Diuels false glasse wherein he representeth thy sinnes otherwise then they are indeed For he hath two false glasses the first he bringeth when he tempteth vs to sinne the second when he tempteth vs to despaire First when he tempteth vs to sinne he bringeth his false glasse which maketh the sin and the punishment too appeare
the deliuerance of Israel I will sing vnto the Lord for he hath triumphed gloriously the horse and him that rode vpon him hath hee ouerthrowne in the sea There is the First Behold the Second It followeth The Lord is my strength and my praise and he is become my saluation He is my God and I will prepare him a Tabernacle he is my Fathers God and I will exalt him Exodus 15.1.2 This latter glorification is that which here appertaineth vnto vs. GOD hath shewed his glory not in iudgement but in mercy in loue and in grace which he hath plentifully extended towards vs giuing vs life when we were dead raising vs vp when we were fallen placing vs in heauen when we were at the gates of hell Now for as much as God doth so highly honour vs in this world and will honour vs more in the world to come what shall we do but honour him also in this world whom we shall likewise honour in the next The end of our Creation requireth it All things were made for the vse of man man for the seruice of God The end of our Preseruation requireth it We liue by the benefits of God we must liue also to his honour The end of our redemption requireth it For what prisoner will not exalt and magnifie a King that giueth him his naturall life when he was ciuilly dead and by his mercy freeth him from the sword of iustice But as our estate was more miserable then the condition of any prisoner so God hath dealt more roially with vs then that any mortall Prince is able to performe the like Hee hath freed vs from the infernall prison of hell from the terrible iawes of Satan he hath restored vs vnto the glorious libertie of the sons of God yea more then this he hath but one kingdome and but one Sonne yet behold he hath made vs co heires with him therein Rom. 8.17 What then could he doe for vs and he hath not done it And now finally lest we should pretend a difficultie in this seruice see the facility thereof God hath shewed his benefits let vs also shew them and this is the seruice which he requireth at our hands Howbeit there is a great disparity betwixt his and our shewing the same He sheweth his benefits by donation wee by declaration his is reall ours verball He sheweth his benefits and we haue an accession or increase of our happinesse thereby We shew them but the infinite sea of his happinesse which dependeth not vpon his creatures is not increased by the riuers of praises which are poured foorth of our lips In a word he sheweth and it is his voluntary liberalitie toward vs we shew and it is our necessary duty toward him An easie and a iust seruice Therefore saith the Angel vnto Tobit and his sonne Praise God and confesse him and giue him the glory and praise him for the things that he hath done vnto you before all them that liue It is good to praise God and to exalt his name and to shew forth his euident works with honor therefore be not weary to confesse him It is good to keep close the secrets of a KING but it is honourable to reueale the works of GOD Tobit 12.6.7 His benefits then that are priuate vnto our selues we must make publike vnto others He was an vnfaithful and an vnwise seruant also who receiuing a talent from his master hid it in the earth Mat. 25.25 and did not imploy it to his aduantage Likewise he is an vngrateful person who receiueth a blessing from God and concealeth it in his bosome Let euery man therefore recount with himselfe the benefits which God hath bestowed vpon him Be they inward or outward spirituall or temporall concerning this life or the life to come shew them declare them first in word then in worke that men may glorifie your Father which is in heauen ANd that I may induce you vnto this acceptable seruice not onely by my speech but by my example also Fathers and Brethren Right Honourable right Worshipful and dearely beloued in Iesus Christ our Lord I present my selfe here this day as a 1. Cor. 4.9 aspectacle vnto the world and to Angels and to men though with some regret and reluctation of the flesh yet with great comfort and exultation of the spirit b Mark 14.38 The spirit indeed is ready but the flesh is weake Come therefore and hearken all ye that feare the Lord and I will tell you what he hath done to my soule So doth c Psal 66.16 Dauid inuite his auditors and so doe I inuite mine Come Who All ye that feare the Lord. For they that feare him not are as vnfit to heare this seruice performed by an other as they are vnable to performe it themselues But your religious concourse vnto this place your diligent attention of my speech your reuerent estimation of Gods word your zealous profession of his truth all these assure me that you are such indeed as the Prophet Dauid speaketh of in this place you feare the Lord. Therefore come and hearken al you and I will tell you what he hath done to my soule But yet before I tel you what God hath done vnto me I must tell you what I haue done vnto him for this is the truest methode to illustrate his gratious fauours Vide quid tibi debeatur saith S. Augustine quid tibi dederit qui gratis dedit see first what is due vnto thee secondly what God hath done for thee then how freely hee hath done the same First therefore because we giue glory vnto God by the humble confession of our sins so said Iosuah vnto Achan d Ios 7.19 My sonne I beseech thee giue glory vnto the Lord God of Israel and make confession vnto him and shew mee now what thou hast done I confesse vnto almighty GOD in the face of his CHVRCH that in part I haue denied my Lord with Peter betrayed him with Iudas and crucified him with the Iewes A grieuous sinne and a great punishment too malum culpae turned into malum poenae when one sinne is made the punishment of another the iustice of God shining in the iniustice of man Thus my vngratitude for his benefits my negligence in his seruice my affectation of vaine glory my impatience at calamities and my other sinnes were punished with the sinne of Apostasie and defection from the truth euen from the sincerity of the Gospel of Iesus Christ So that I proceeded from one fal vnto an other first in my Will then in my vnderstanding first à bono and then à verò first in manners and then in faith Here now peraduenture some will say vnto me as Michal vnto Dauid when she despised him in her heart e 2. Sam. 6.20.21.22 Thou hast vncouered thy selfe as a foole this day But vnto them I answere as Dauid vnto Michal It was before the Lord and I will yet be more vile then
confesse that in all probability I framed no such proiect in my thoughts but that I was a real substantial Papist howsoeuer some men led with an honest errour haue seemed to conceiue otherwise of my case If the testimonies of eminent persons may be required or admitted in this kind I would make choice of one singularly aboue the rest to acknowledge whose kindnes towards me it is the least recompence that I owe him yet the greatest that I can make him for the same He then doth know that vpon my return I did expresse a great auersion from this Church pardon me it was more euen a detestation thereof And when hee would seeme to nourish some hope aboue hope of my reduction thereunto I did beseech and request him most affectionately not to sow his fauours vpon the conceit of such an haruest For I was throughly acquainted with the nature and quality of mine owne soile too barren for such fruit Here also I may not forget nor conceale his answere vnto me for it was full of comfort and conscience to wit that I should not be allured nor pressed by his maiesties royal fauour and grace of which he conceiued good hope otherwise then I had the secret testimony and certain perswasion of mine owne heart Wherefore out of his noble and religious disposition he persisted still in his pious and charitable worke J say pious and charitable For what other aduantage did hee seeke or could he find then that which S. Augustine did long since in a like case Quid quaero Quo fructu quaero saith b Coâ—… de â—…gest 〈◊〉 Eâ—…ito hee of a Donatist in his time What is it which I seeke Or with what profit doe I seeke it He answereth Vt aliquando dâ—…tur mihi Frater tuus mortuus erat reuixit perierat inuentus est that once it may be said vnto mee c Luc. 15.31 Thy Brother was dead and is aliue againe he was lost but he is found To this end and purpose J was recommended by his speciall care but against my will for I loued my owne euill and feared the remedy thereof vnto the Reuerend Deane of Pauls a man so rarely qualified with Morall and Intellectual vertues that his worth doth no lesse verifie his name then his name doth signifie his worth And this I esteeme one of the greatest if not the greatest blessings of God vnto me that when I was as blinde in the eies of my minde as d Act. 9. S. Paul was in the eies of his body yea of minde also I should be sent or rather brought vnto this worthy Ananiah nubes Domini the cloud of the Lord so it is by interpretation for the restitution of my sight and bee mollified againe by the sweet showres of his learned and iudicious discourse Thus after a long vnhappy flight I returned with Noahs e Gen. 8.9 Doue into the Arke which J once forsooke and fluttered vpon the swelling waters of Babylon which can giue no true rest but a Lethargie vnto the soule Finally after a long and tedious motion I found rest and repose vnto my soule in the same center wherein I was seated from my tender and more happie yeeres This was the Lords doing and it is maruellous in mine eies What ensued Mutantur suscipiuntur saith f Vbi supâ—…à S. Augustine of the Donatists They relinquish their opinion the Church receiueth them into her vnion againe So it was with mee such was the gratious fauour of God such the great indulgencie of his Church You will peraduenture demand now Vpon what intellectuall motiues I did returne since I had some in my wrong apprehension to depart I will speake the truth in Christ I will not lie my conscience bearing me witnesse in the holy Ghost The only thing wherein J did intend to conforme my selfe vnto the desire of my friends and will of my superiours was to take the oath of Allegiance as it is truly and iustly styled For what else doth it containe in the substance thereof but a ciuill obedience and faith due from subiects vnto their Soueraigne Lord by lawes diuine and humane yea founded in the very principles of Nature and Reason Wherein I did obserue FIRST how carefully the matter of State is heere distinguished from controuersie of Religion In which regard it was the determinate pleasure of his sacred g See his Maiesties Premonition to all Christian Monarkes c. pag. 9. Maiestie to ease the burden of the Papists not requiring them to sweare that the Pope hath no authoritie to excommunicate his Highnesse and to subiect him vnto a spirituall censure but that the power of such excommunication cannot by any meanes extend it selfe vnto the preiudice of his royall Life or Crowne SECONDLY then I obserued thereupon that though there are some circumstantiall points in this oath vpon which some Papists doe principally insist for their refusall thereof yet that they did heerein but gloze with his Maiestie and vse a specious pretense to reiect the substance of the Oath which being abstracted from all circumstances and accessaries therein hath this principall issue to wit that the Pope hath no power directly nor indirectly to depose his Maiestie from the right of his Crowne nor to expose his person vnto the perill of his life So that the refusall of this Oath thus sensed and this is the true sense thereof by any popish subiect in this land doth demonstrate euidently and expresly that he wanteth meanes and not a mind to dethrone our most gratious Soueraigne Lord the KING whom God preserue to his honour and our comfort yea which I tremble to speake but he would not feare to doe to take away his pretious life with sacrilegious hands specially if such be the resolution of h See this particular handled by D. Morton in his encounter against Parsons lib 2. cap. 2. §. 6. our Lord God the POPE To shew therefore my zealous and hearty detestation of such impious and execrable doctrine sent continually from Rome sowen plentifully in the hearts of English subiects and this seed will grow into an haruest of lamentable combustion if our iust lawes be not enliuened by a seuere execution in this behalfe I tooke this Oath vpon such mature deliberation and aduice that I dare confidently pronounce Whatsoeuer subiect in this Land doth pertinaciously refuse to sweare allegiance vnto the King according to the sense and substance of this oath he is a TRAITOR in his heart against the life and soueraigntie of his Prince But now as by this act I gaue testification of my loialty vnto the State so withall I incurred the suspition of heresie and apostasie with others Why what was my offence Oh a great yea a double offeÌ„ce against his Holinesse which euery one that taketh this oath must necessarily commit FIRST he denieth the infallibility of the Popes iudgement yea hee admitteth farther that the Pope erreth not onely materially but formally not in