proceede at large to open the substance of the couenant we are in the next place to come to that part of the Creed which cōcerns the second person in trinitie set down in these words And in Iesus Christ his onely Sonne c. from which words to the very end of the Creede such points onely are laid down as doe notably vnfold the benefits the matter of the couenant Now the second person is described to vs by three things 1. his titles 2. his incarnatiō 3. his twofold estate his titles are in nūber foure I. Iesus II. Christ. III. his only sonne IV. our Lord. His incarnatiō his twofold estate are set down afterward To come to his titles the first is Jesus to which if we adde the clause I beleeue on this maner I beleeue in Iesus c. the article which we now haue in hand will appeare to be most excellent because it hath most notable promises annexed to it VVhen Peter cōfessed Christ to be the sonne of the liuing God he answered vpon this rocke will I build my Church and the gates of hell shall not preuaile against it And again He that confesseth that Christ is the sonne of God God dwelleth in him he in God And again To him giue all the Prophets witnes that through his name all that beleeue in him shall receiue remission of sinnes Paul saith Beleeue in the Lord Iesus and thou shalt be saued and all thy houshold Thus then the confession in which we acknowledge that we beleeue in Iesus Christ hath a promise of fellowship with God of life euerlasting But it may be obiected that euery spirit as S. Iohn saith which confesseth that Iesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God Now the deuil al his angels vnbeleeuers do thus much therfore why may not they also haue the benefit of this cōfessiō Ans. By spirit in that place is neither mēt angels nor mē nor any creature but the doctrine which teacheth that Iesus Christ is come in the flesh it is of God because it is holy diuine hath God to be the autor of it As for the deuil his angels they can indeed confesse that Christ the sonne of God was made man and a wicked man may teach the same but vnto the confession whereunto is annexed a promise of eternall life is required true faith whereby we doe not onely know and acknowledge this or that to be true in Christ but also rest vpon him which neither Satan nor wicked men can doe And therefore by this confession the Church of God is distinguished from all other companies of men in the worlde which beleeue not as Panyms heretikes Atheists Turkes Iewes and all other infidells This name Iesus was giuen to the sonne of God by the Father and brought from heauen by an angell vnto Ioseph and Marie and on the day when he was to be circumcised as the manner was this name was giuen vnto him by his parents as they were commanded from the Lord by the angell Gabriel And therefore the name was not giuen by chance or by the alone will of the parents but by the most wise appointment of God himselfe The name in Hebrue is Iehoschua and it is changed by the Grecians into Iesus which signifieth a Sauiour And it may be called the proper name of Christ signifying his office and both his natures because he is both a perfect and absolute Sauiour as also the alone Sauiour of man because the worke of saluation is wholly and onely wrought by him and no part thereof is reserued to any creature in heauen or in earth As Peter saith For among men there is no other name giuen vnder heauen whereby we may be saued but by the name of Iesus And the author to the Hebrues saith That he is able perfectly to saue them that come vnto God by him seeing he euer liueth to make intercession for them If any shall obiect that the promises of saluation are made to them which keepe the commaundements the answere is that the law of God doth exact most absolute and perfect obedience which can be found in no man but in Christ who neuer sinned and therefore it is not giuen vnto vs nowe that we might by our selues fulfill it and worke out our own saluation but that beeing condemned by it we might wholly depend on Christ for eternall life If any further alledge that such as walke according to the commandemēts of God though their obedience be imperfect yet they haue the promises of this life and of the life to come The answer is that they haue so indeed yet not for their works but according to their workes which are the fruits of their faith whereby they are ioyned to Christ for whose merites onely they stand righteous and are acceptable before god And vvhereas it is saide by Peter that baptisme saveth vs. his meaning is not to signifie that there is any vertue in the water to wash away our sinnes and to sanctifie us but that it serues visibly to represent and confirme unto us the inward washing of our soules by the blood of Christ. It may further be said that others haue bene Sauiours beside Christ as Iosuah the sonne of Nun who for that cause is called by the same name with Christ. Answ. Iosua after the death of Moses was appointed by God to be a guide to the children of Israel which might defend them from their enemies and bring them to the land of Canaan but this deliverance was onely temporall and that onely of one people Now the sonne of God is called Iesus not because he deliuereth the people of the Iewes onely or because he saueth the bodies of men only but because he saueth both body and soule not onely of the Iewes but also of the gentiles from hell death and damnation And whereas Prophets and ministers of the worde are called Saviours it is because they are the instruments of God to publish the doctrine of saluation which is powerfull in mens hearts not by any vertue of theirs but onely by the operation of the spirit of Christ. Lastly it may be obiected that the father and the holy ghost are Sauiours and therefore not onely the Sonne Ansvver True it is that in the worke of saluation all the three persons must be ioyned together in no wise severed the Father saveth the Sonne saueth the holy ghost saueth yet must we distinguish them in the maner of sauing the Father saveth by the Sonne the Sonne saueth by paying the ransome and price of our saluation the holy ghost saueth by a particular applying of the ransome unto men Nowe therefore whereas the sonne paies the price of our redemption and not the father or the holy ghost therefore in this speciall respect he is called in Scriptures and intituled by the name of Iesus and none but he By this vvhich hath beene said
of Christ vpon the crosse was about the space of sixe houres For the death of the crosse was no suddaine but a lingring death And in this space of time there fell out five notable euents The first that the souldiers hauing stripped Christ of his garments deuided them into foure parts and cast lotts for his coat because it was woven without seame And by this appeares the great loue of Christ to man who was not onely content to suffer but also to loose all that euer he had euen to the garments on his backe to redeeme vs teaching vs answeerably that if it please God to call vs to any triall hereafter we must be content to part with all for his sake that we may winne him Againe in these souldiers we may behold a picture of this world when they had nayled Christ to the crosse they will not loose so much as his garments but they come and deuide them and cast lotts for them as for Christ himselfe the Sauiour and redeemer of mankinde they regard him not And thus fareth the world it is a hard thing to finde a man to accept of Christ because he is Christ his redeemer but when gaines comes by Christ then he is welcome Esau that esteemed nothing of his fathers blessing made great account of his brothers pottage The Gaderenes made more account of their swine then of Christ for when they heard that they were drowned they beseech him to depart out of their coasts Nay so bad is this age that such as will be taken to be the speciall members of Christ doe not onely with the souldiers strippe Christ of his garments but more then this they bereaue him of his natures and offices The Church of Rome by their transsubstantiation strippe him of his manhoode and by making other priests after the same order with him which doe properly forgiue sinnes strippe him of his priesthoode and of his kingly office by ioyning with him a Vicar on earth and head of the Catholicke Church and that in his presence whereas all debitishippes and commissions cease in the presence of the principall And when they haue done all this then they further loade him with a nomber of a beggarly ceremonies and so doe nothing else but make a feighned Christ in steade of the true and alone Messias The second euent was that Christ was mocked of all sorts of men First they set vp the cause written why he was crucified namely This is the King of the Ievves then the people that passed by reuiled him wagging their heads at him and said Thou that destroiest the temple and buildest it in three daies saue thy selfe c. Likewise the high priests mocking him with the Scribes and Pharisies and the Elders said He saued others let him safe himselfe The same also did one of the theeues that was crucified with him cast in his teeth Behold here the wonderfull strange dealing of the Iewes they see an innocent man thus pitifully and grieuously racked and nayled on the crosse and his bloode distilling downe from handes and feete and yet are they without all pitie and compassion and doe make but a mocke and a skoffe at him And in this we may plainly see howe daungerous and fearefull their case is who are wholly giuen vp to the hardnes of their owne hearts and we are further admonished to take heede how we giue our selues to iesting or mocking of others And if any thinke it to be a light sinne let them consider what befell the Iewes for mocking Christ. The hand of God was vpon them within a while after and so remaineth to this day Little children wickedly brought vp when they sawe Elisha the man of God comming they mocked him and said Come vp thou bald pate come vp thou bald pate but Elisha looked backe on them and cursed them in the name of the Lord and two wilde beares came out of the forrest and tare in pieces two and fourtie of theÌ„ Iulian once a Christian Emperour but after an Apostata did nothing els but mocke Christ and his Gospell made iests of sundrie places of Scripture but beeing in fight against the Persians was wouÌ„ded with a dart no man knows how and died scoffing and blaspheming And such like are the iudgements of God which befall mockers and skorners Let vs therefore in the feare of God learne to eschew and auoide this sinne Furthermore if we shall indifferently consider all the mockes and skornings of the Iewes we shal finde that they cannot truly conuince him of the least sinne which serueth to cleare Christ and to prooue that he was a most innocent man in whose waies was no wickednes and in whose mouth was found no guile and therefore he was most fitte to stand in our roome and suffer for vs which were most vile and sinnefull And here by the way a question offereth it selfe to be skanned Saint Matthew saith The theeues which were crucified with him cast the same in his teeth which the Scribes and Pharisies did Saint Luke saith that one of the theeues mocked him Nowe it may be demaunded how both these can be true Answer Some reconcile the places thus that the Scripture speaking generally of any thing by a figure doth attribute that to the whole which is proper to some part onely and so here doth ascribe that to both the theeues which agreeth but to one Others answer it thus that at the first both of the euill doers did mocke Christ and of that time speaketh Matthew but afterward one of them was miraculously conuerted then the other alone mocked him of that time spake S. Luke And this I rather take to be the truth But what was the behauiour of Christ when he is thus laden with reproch In wonderfull patience he replies not but puts vp all in silence Where we may note that when a man shall â—aile on vs wrongfully we must not returne rebuke for rebuke nor taunt for taunt but we must either be silent or else speake no more then shall serue for our iust defence This was the practise of the Israelites by the appointment of Hezekias when Rabâ—â—akah reuiled the Iewes and blasphemed the name of God the people held their peace and answered him not a word for the kings commandement was answer him not So Hannah beeing troulbed in minde praied vnto the Lord and Hely marked her mouth for shee spake in her heart and her lippes did mooue onely but her voice was not heard therefore Hely thought shee had beene drunken and saide How long wilt thou be drunken put away thy druÌ„kennesse from thee Such a speach would haue mooued many one to very hard words but she said Nay my lord but I am a woman troubled in spirit I haue drunke neither wine nor strong drinke but haue powred out my soule before the Lord. This is a hard lesson for men to learne but we must endeauour our selues to practise
to keepe the sabbath so strictly as the Iewes were yet vvhen we haue any busines or worke to be done of our ordinarie calling vve must not take a part of the Lordes sabbath day to do it in but preuent the time doe it either before as Ioseph did or after the sabbath This is litle practised in the world Mē think if they go to church before after noone to heare Gods worde then all the day after they may doe what they list and spend the rest of the time at their owne pleasure but the vvhole day is the Lordes therefore must be spent wholly in his seruice both by publicke hearing of the word and also by priuate reading and meditation on the same To conclude the doctrine of Christes buriall Here it may be demanded how he was alwaies after his incarnation both god and man considering he was dead buried and therefore bodie and soule were sundred a dead mā seemes to be no man Ansvv. A dead man in his kinde is as true a man as a living man for though bodie and soule be not united by the bond of life yet are they united by a relation which the one hath to the other in the counsell and good pleasure of God and that as truly as man and vvoman remaine coupled into one flesh by a couenant of mariage though afterwarde they be distant a thousand miles asunder and by vertue of this relation euery soule in the day of iudgement shall be reunited to his owne bodie euery bodie to his own soule But there is yet a more straighter bond betweene the body soule of Christ in his death burial For as when he was liuing his soule was a meane or bond to unite his godhead his bodie togither so whē hee was deade his verie godhead was a meane or middle bond to unite the bodie and soule and to say otherwise is to dissolue the hypostaticall union by vertue wherof Christes body and soule though seuered ech frō other yet both were still ioyned to the godhead of the sonne The use and profite which may be made of Christes buriall is two-folde I. It serueth to worke in us the buriall of all our sinnes Knovve yee not saieth Paul that all who haue beene baptised into Christ have beene baptised into his death and are buried vvith him by baptisme into his death If any shall demaund how any man is buried into the death of Christ the answere is this Euery Christian man and woman are by faith mystically united unto Christ and made all members of one body whereof Christ is the head Now therefore as Christ by the power of his godhead when he was dead and buried did ouercome the graue the power of death in his own person So by the very same power by means of this spirituall coniunctiō doth he worke in all his members a spirituall death buriall of sinne and naturall corruption When the Israelites were burying of a mā for feare of the soldiers of the Moabites they cast him for hast into the sepulcher of Elisha Now the dead man so soone as he was down had touched the body of Elisha he revived stood upon his feet So let a man that is dead in sin be cast into the graue of Christ that is let him by faith but touch Christ dead buried it will come to passe by the vertue of Christs death buriall that he shalbe raised frō the death bōdage of sin to become a new mā Secōdly the buriall of Christ serues to be a sweet perfume of all our graues and burials for the graue in it selfe is the house of perditiō but Christ by his burial hath as it were cōsecrated and perfumed all our graues in stead of houses of perdition hath made them chambers of rest sleepe yea beds of downe therfore howsoeuer to the eye of mā the beholding of a funerall is terrible yet if we could then remember the buriall of Christ consider how he thereby hath changed the nature of the graue euen then it woulde make us to reioice Lastly we must imitate Christs buriall in being cōtinually occupied in the spiritual burial of our sins Thus much of the buriall Now followeth the third and last degree of Christes humiliation He descended into hell It seemes very likely that these wordes were not placed in the creed at the first or as some thinke that they crept in by negligence because aboue threescore creeds of the most ancient councels fathers want this clause among the rest the Nicene Creed But if the ancient learned fathers assembled in that councel had bin perswaded or at the least had imagined that these words had bin set down at the first by the Apostles no doubt they would not in any wise haue left them out And an anciēt writer saith directly that these words he descended into hell are not found in the Creede of the Romane Church nor used in the Churches of the East if they be that then they signifie the burial of Christ. And it must not seeme strange to any that a worde or twaine in processe of time should creepe into the Creede considering that the originall copies of the bookes of the old and new Testament haue in them sundry varieties of readings and words otherwhiles which from the margine haue crept into the text Neuerthelesse considering that this clause hath long continued in the creed and that by common consent of the Catholicke Church of God it may carry a fit sense expositiō it is not as some would haue it to be put forth Therfore that we may come to speak of the meaning of it we must know that it hath 4. usual expositiōs which we wil rehearse in order then make choise of that which shal be thought to be the fittest The first is that Christs soule after his passion vpon the crosse did really locally descend into the place of the damned But this seems not to be true The reasons are these I. All the Evangelists and among the rest S. Luke intending to make an exact narration of the life and death of Christ haue set downe at large his passion death buriall resurrection ascension and withall they make rehearsall of small circumstances therefore no doubt they woulde not haue omitted Christes locall descent into the place of the damned if there had bene any such thing And the end why they penned this historie was that we might beleeue that Iesus is Christ the sonne of God beleeuing we might haue life euerlasting Now there could not haue bene a greater matter for the confirmation of our faith thē this that Iesus the sonne of Mary who went downe to the place of the damned returned thence to liue in happinesse for euer II. If Christ did go into the place of the damned then either in soule or in body or in
is true in euerie member of the Church is also true in the whole but euery member of the militant Church is subiect to errour both in doctrine and manners because men in this life are but in parte enlightened and sanctified and therefore still remaine subiect to blindnesse of mind and ignorance and to the rebellion of their willes and affections whereby it comes to passe that they may easily faile either in iudgement or in practise Againe that which may befall one or two particular Churches may likewise befall all the particular Churches vpon earth all beeing in one and the same condition but this may befall one or two particular Churches to faile either in doctrine or manners The Church of Ephesus failed in leauing her first loue whereupon Christ threatneth to remooue from her the candlesticke And the Church of Galatia was remooued to an other Gospell from him that had called them in the grace of Christ now why may not the same things befall twentie yea an hundred Churches which befell these twaine Lastly experience sheweth this to be true in that generall councels haue erred The counceâ—l of Nicene beeing to reforme sundrie behauiours among the Bishops Eldeâ—s would with common coÌ„sent haue forbidden mariage unto them thinking it profitable to be so unlesse Paphnutius had better informed them out of the scriptures In the third councell at Carthage certaine bookes Apocrypha as the booke of Syrach Toby and the Macchabees are numbred in the Canon and yet were excluded by the councell of Laodicea And the saying of a divine is receiued that former councells are to be reformed and amended by the latter But Papistes maintaining that the Church can not erre alleadge the promise of Christ How be it when he is come which is the spirite of trueth hee vvill leade you into all truth Ansvver The promise is directed to the Apostles who with their Apostolicall authoririe had this priuiledge graunted them that in the teaching and penning of the Gospell they could not erre and therefore in the councell at Ierusalem they conclude thus It seemes good vnto vs and to the holy Ghost And if the promise be further extended to all the Church it must be understoode with a limitation that God will giue his spirit unto the members thereof to lead them into all truth so farre forth as shall be needfull for their saluation The second question is wherein standes the dignitie excellencie of the Church Ansvvere It standes in subiection and obedience vnto the will word of his spouse and heade Christ Iesus And hence it followeth that the Church is not to chalenge unto her selfe authority ouer the scriptures but onely a ministerie or ministeriall service whereby shee is appointed of God to preserue and keepe to publish preach them and to giue testimony of them And for this cause it is called the pillar and ground of trueth The Church of Rome not content with this saieth further that the authoritie of the Church in respect of us is aboue the authoritie of the scripture because say they we can not know scripture to be scripture but by the testimonie of the Church But indeed they speake an untruth For the testimony of men that are subiect to errour can not be greater and of more force with us then the testimonie of God who cannot erre Againe the Church hath her beginning from the worde for there can not be a Church without faith and there is no faith without the word and there is no word out of the Scriptures and therefore the Church in respect of vs depends on the Scripture and not the Scripture on the Church And as the lawier which hath no further power but to expound the law is vnder the law so the Church which hath authoritie onely to publish and expound the Scriptures can not authorize them vnto vs but must submit her selfe vnto them And whereas it is alleadged that faith comes by hearing and this hearing is in respect of the voice of the Church and that therefore faith comes by the voice of the Church the answeare is that the place must be vnderstood not of that generall faith whereby we are resolued that Scripture is Scripture but of iustifying faith whereby we attaine vnto saluation And faith comes by hearing the voice of the Church not as it is the churches voice but as it is a ministery or means to publish the word of God which is both the cause obiect of our beleeuing Now on the contrarie we must hold that as the carpenter knowes his rule to be straight not by any other rule applied vnto it but by it selfe for casting his eye vpon it he presently discernes whether it be straight or no so we know and are resolued that Scripture is Scripture euen by the Scripture it selfe though the Church say nothing so be it we haue the spirit of discerning when we read heare and consider of the Scripture And yet the testimonie of the Church is not to be despised for though it breed not a perswasion in vs of the certentie of the Scripture yet is it a very good inducement thereto The militant Church hath many parts For as the Ocean sea which is but one is deuided into parts according to the regions and countries against which it lieth as into the English Spanish Italian sea c. so the Church dispersed ouer the face of the whole earth is deuided into other particular Churches according as the countries are seuerall in which it is seated as into the Church of England and Ireland the Church of Fraunce the Church of Germanie c. Againe particular Churches are in a twofold estate sometime they lie hid in persecution wanting the publicke preaching of the word and the administration of the sacraments sometimes again they are visible carrying before the eyes of the world an open profession of the name of Christ as the moone is sometime eclipsed sometime shineth in the full In the first estate was the Church of Israel in the daies of Eliah when he wished to die because the people had forsaken the couenant of the Lord brokeÌ„ down his altars slaine his Prophets with the sword and he was left alone and they sought to take away his life also Behold a lamentable estate when so worthie a Prophet could not finde an other beside himselfe that feared God yet marke what the Lord saith vnto him I haue left seuen thousand in Israel euen all the knees that haue not bowed vnto Baal and euery mouth that hath not kissed him Againe it is said that Israel had bin a long season without the true God without priest to teach and without the lawe Neither must this trouble any that God should so farre forth forsake his Church for when ordinarie meanes of saluation faile he then gathereth his Elect by extraordinarie meanes as when the children of Israel wandered in the wildernesse wanting both circumcision and
then by them that haue knowledge and oftentimes it is tossed in the mouthes of them that haue little religion in their hearts and therefore I answeare first men should rather haue care to seeke howe they may come to heauen then to dispute what they shall doe when they are there the common prouerb is true it is not good counting of chickins before they be hatched Secondly I say that men in heauen shall know each other yea they shall know them which were neuer knowne or seene of them before in this life which may be gathered by proportion out of Gods word Adam in his innocencie knew Eue whome he had neuer seene before and gaue her a fit name so soone as shee was created And when our Sauiour Christ was transfigured in the mount Peter knew Moses and Elias whome before he had neuer seene and therefore it is like that the Elect shall know each other in heauen where their knowledge their whol estate shalbe fully perfited But whither they shall know one an other after an earthly manner as to say this man was my father this was mine vncle this my teacher c. the worde of God saith nothing and therefore I will be silent and must be content a while to be ignorant in this point The third prerogatiue of euerlasting blessednes is that the Elect shall loue God with as perfect loue as a creature possiblie can The manner of louing God is to loue him for himselfe and the measure is to loue him without measure and both shall be found in heauen for the Saints of God shall haue an actuall fruition of God himselfe and be as it were swallowed vp with a sea of his loue and wholly rauished therewith for which cause as farre as creatures can they shall loue him againe Againe the loue of a thing is according to the knowledge thereof but in this life God â—s knowne of man onely in part and therefore is loued onely but in part but after this life wheÌ„ the Elect shal know God fully they shall loue him without measure and in this respect loue hath a prerogatiue aboue faith or hope howsoeuer in some respects againe they goe beyond loue The fourth prerogatiue is that the Saints of God keepe a perpetuall Sabbath in heauen In this life it is kept but euery seuenth day and when it is best of all sanctified it is done but in part but in heauen euery day is a Sabbath as the Lord saith by the Prophet Isai From moneth to moneth and from sabbath to sabbath all flesh shall come and worship before me and therefore the life to come shalbe spent in the perpetuall seruice of God Fifthly the bodies of all the Elect after this life in the kingdome of heauen shall be like the glorious bodie of Christ so Paul saith Christ Iesus our Lord shall chaÌ„ge our vile bodies that they may be like his glorious bodie Now the resemblance betweene Christs bodie and ours standeth in these things as Christs bodie is vncorruptible so shall our bodies be void of all corruption as Christs bodie is immortall so ours in the kingdome of heauen shall neuer die as Christs bodie is spirituall so shal ours be made spirituall as the Apostle saith It is sowen a naturall bodie it is raised a spirituall bodie not because the bodie shall be changed into a spirit for it shall remaine the same in substance and that for euer but because it shall be preserued by a spirituall and divine manner For in this life it is preserued by meat drinke cloathing sleepe physicke rest and diet but afterward without all these meanes the life of the bodie shalbe continued and bodie and soule keepe together by the immediate power of Gods spirit for euer and euer thus the bodie of Christ is now preserued in heauen and so shall the bodies of all the Elect be after the day of iudgement Furthermore as Christs bodie is now a shining bodie as doth appeare by his transfiguration in the mount so in all likelihood after the resurrection the bodies of the Elect shall be shining and bright alwaies remaining the same for substance Lastly as Christs bodie after it rose againe from the graue had this propertie of agilitie beside swiftnes to passe from the earth to the third heauen being in distance many thousand miles from vs and that without violence so shal the bodies of the saints For beeing glorified they shall be able as well to ascende vpwarde as to goe downewarde and to mooue without violence and that very swiftly The sixth and last prerogatiue is an vnspeakable and eternall ioy as Dauid saith In thy presence is fulnes of ioy at thy right haÌ„d there are pleasures for euermore It is said that when Salomon was crowned King the people reioyced exceedingly if there were such great ioy at his coronation which was but an earthly prince what ioy then shall there be when the Elect shall see the true Salomon crowned with glorie in the kingdome of heauen It is saide that the wise men which came from the East to worshippe Christ when they saw the starre standing ouer the place where the babe was were exceeding glad how much more shall the Elect reioyce when they shall see Christ not lying in a manger but crowned with immortall glorie in the kingdome of heauen Wherefore this ioy of the Elect after this life is most wonderfull and can not be vttered The propertie of life eternall is to be an inheritance which God bestoweth on them which are made his sonnes in Christ who is the onely begotten sonne of the father Hence it followes necessarily that in the Scriptures it is called a reward not because it is deserued by our workes as the Church of Rome erroniously teacheth but for 2. other causes First because life eternall is due to all that beleue by vertue of Christs merit For as his righteousnes is made ours by imputation so consequently the merit thereof is also ours and by it all personall merits in our selues vtterly excluded we deserue or merit eternall happines as a reward which neuerthelesse in respect of our selues is the free and meere gift of God The second is because there is a resemblance betweene eternall life and a reward For as a reward is giuen to a workman after his worke is done so euerlasting life is giuen vnto men after the trauailes and miseries of this life are ended The degrees of life are three The first is in this life when men beeing iustified and sanctified haue peace with God Many imagine that there is no eternal life till after death but they are deceiued for it begins in this world as our Sauiour Christ testifieth saying Verily verily I say vnto you he that heareth my wordes and beleeueth him that sent me hath euerlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but hath passed from death to life This beeing so we are hence to learne a good lesson
some may say wherein standes our vnbeleefe Answer It standes in two thinges I. In distrusting the goodnesse of God that is in giuing to little or no affiance to him or in putting affiance in the creature For the first fewe men will abide to be told of there distrust in God but in deede it is a common and rife corruption and though they soothe themselues neuer so yet their vsuall dealings proclaime their vnbeleefe Goe thorough all places it shall be founde that scarce one of a thousand in his dealings makes conscience of a lie a great part of men gets their wealth by fraud and oppression and all kinde of vniust and vnmercifull dealing VVhat is the cause that they can doe so Alas alas if there be any faith it is pinned vp in some by-corner of the heart and vnbeleefe beares sway as the lorde of the house Againe if a man had as much wealth as the world comes to he could finde in his heart to wish for an other and if he had two worldes he would be casting for the thirde if it might be compassed the cause hereof is men haue not learned to make God their portion and to stay their affections on him which if they could doe a meane portion in temporall blessings would be enough Such men will not yeilde that they doe indeede distrust the Lord vnlesse at some time they be touched in conscience vvith a sense of their sinnes and be thoroughly humbled for the same but indeede distrust of Gods goodnesse is a generall and a mother sinne the ground of all other sinnes and the very first and principall sinne in Adams fall And for the second part of vnbeleefe which is an affiance in the creature reade the whole booke of God and we shall finde it a common sinne in all sorts of men some putting their trust in riches some in strength some in pleasures some placing their felicitie in one sinne some in an other VVhen King Asa was sicke he put his trust in the Phisitians and not in the Lorde And in our daies the common practise is when crosses and calamities fall then there is trotting out to that wise man to this cunning woman to this sorcerer to that wisard that is from God to the deuill and their counsell is receiued and practised without any bones making And this shewes the bitter roote of vnbeleefe and confidence in vaine creatures let men smoothe it ouer with goodly tearmes as long as they will In a worde there is no man in the worlde be hee called or not called if he looke narrowly vnto himselfe hee shall finde his heart almost filled with manifolde doubtings and distrustings whereby hee shall feele him selfe euen carried away from beleeuing in God Therefore the duetie of euery man is that vvill truely say that hee beleeues in God to labour to see his owne vnbeleefe and the fruits thereof in his life As for such as say they haue no vnbeleefe nor feele none more pitifull is their case For so much the greater is their vnbeleefe Secondly considering that wee professe our selues to beleeue in God wee must euery one of vs learne to knowe God As Paul saith Hovv can they beleeue in him of vvhome they have not heard and hovve can they heare vvithout a preacher therefore none can beleeue in God but hee must first of all heare and be taught by the ministerie of the word to know God aright Let this be remembred of young and olde It is not the pattering ouer of the beleefe for a prayer that will make a man a good beleeuer but God must be knowne of vs and acknowledged as hee hath reuealed him selfe partly in his worde and partly in his creatures Blinde ignorance and the right vse of the Apostles Creede will neuer stande together Therefore it stands men in hande to labour and takes paines to get knowledge in religion that knowing God aright they may come steadfastly to beleeue in him Thirdly because wee beleeue in God therefore another duetie is to denie our selues vtterly and to become nothing in our selues Our Sauiour Christ requires of vs to become as little children if wee would beleeue The begger dependes not on the releefe of others till he finde nothing at home and till our hearts be purged of selfe-loue and pride wee can not depende on the fauour and goodnes of God Therefore he that would trust in God must first of all be abased and confounded in him selfe and in regard of him selfe be out of all hope of attaining to the least sparke of the grace of God Fourthly in that we beleeue in God and therefore put our whole trust and assurance in him wee are taught that euery man must commit his bodie his soule goods life yea all that hee hath into the handes of God and to his custodie So Paul saith I am not ashamed of my sufferings for I knowe whome I haue beleeued and am perswaded that he is able to keepe that which I haue committed vnto him against that day A worthie saying for what is the thing which Paul committed vnto the Lorde surely his owne soule and the eternall saluation thereof But what mooues him to trust God surely his perswasion whereby hee knowes that God will keepe it And Peter saith Let them that suffer according to the vvill of God commit their soules to him in well doing as vnto a faithfull creatour Looke as one friende layeth dovvne a thing to be kept of another so must a man giue all that hee hath to the custodie of God Fevve or none can practise this and therefore vvhen any euill befalls them eyther in bodie or in goods or any other vvay then they shewe them selues rather beastes then men in impatience For in prosperitie they vvoulde not trust in God and therefore in aduersitie vvhen crosses come they are voyde of comfort But when a man hath grace to beleeue and trust in God then hee commits all into Gods handes and though all the worlde should perish yet hee would not be dismaide And vndoubtedly if a man will be thankefull for the preseruation of his goods or of his life hee must shewe the same by committing all he hath into Gods handes and suffer him selfe to be ruled by him Nowe followes the consolations and comforts which Gods Church and children reape hereby First he that beleeues in God and takes God for his God may assure him selfe of saluation and of a happie deliuerance in all daungers and necessities When God threatned a plague vpon Israel for their idolatrie good king Iosiah humbled him selfe before the Lorde and he was safe all his daies And so King Hezekiah when Senacherib the king of Ashur offered to inuade Iudah he trusted in the Lorde and praied vnto him and was deliuered VVhereby we see if a man trust in God he shall haue securitie and quietnesse as Iehosaphat saide to the men of Iudah And our Sauiour Christ when he was
God to serve In the sixe dayes of the weeke manie men vvalke verie painefully in their callings but when the Lordes day commeth then every man takes license to doe what hee will and because of the princes lawes men will come formally to the Church for fashions sake but in the meane time how many do nothing else but scorne mocke and deride and as much as in them lieth disgrace both the worde and the ministers thereof so that the cōmon saying is this oh he is a precise fellow he goes to heare Sermons he is too holy for our cōpanie But it stands men in hand to take out a better lesson which is if we will haue God to be our father wee must shewe our selues to be the children of God by repentance and newnesse of life he can not be but a gracelesse child that will lead a rebellious life flat against his fathers minde Let us then so behaue our selves that we may honour our father which is in heauen and not dishonour him in our liues and callings rather let us separate our selues from the filthinesse of the flesh loathing those things which our father lotheth and fleeing from those things which our father abhorreth And thus much for the duties Now follow the consolations which arise from this point But first we are to know that there are three sortes of men in the world The first are such as will neither heare nor obey the word of God The second sort are those which will heare the word preached vnto them but they will not obey both these sortes of men are not to looke for any comfort hence Now there is a third sort of men which as they heare Gods worde so they make conscience of obeying the same in their liues and callings and these are they to whome the consolations that arise out of this place doe rightly belong and must be applyed unto First therefore seeing God the father of Christ and in him the father of all that obey and doe his will is our father here note the dignitie and prerogative of all true beleeuers for they are sonnes and daughters of God as saith S. Iohn So many as received him to them he gaue a prerogatiue to be the sonnes of God even to them that beleeve in his name This priviledge will appeare the greater if we consider our first estate for as Abraham saith We are but dust and ashes and in regard of the deprauation of our natures we are the children of the deuill therefore of such rebels to be made the sonnes of God it is a wonderfull priviledge and prerogative no dignitie like unto it And to enlarge it further he that is the sonne of God is the brother of Christ fellow heire with him and so heire apparant to the kingdom of heauen and in this respect is not inferiour to the verie angels This must be laid vp carefully in the hearts of Gods people to confirme them in their conversation among the companie of vngodly men in this world Secondly if a man doe indeauour himselfe to walke according to Gods worde then the Lord of his mercie will beare with his wants for as a father spareth his owne son so will God spare them that feare him Now a father commaunds his child to write or to apply his booke though all things herein be not done according to his mind yet if he find a readinesse with a good indeavour he is content and falls to praise his childs writing or learning So God giueth his commandement and though his servants faile in obedience yet if the Lord see their heartie indeavour and their vnfeigned willingnesse to obey his will though with sundry wants hee hath made this promise and will performe it that as a father spareth his sonne so will he spare them If a child be sicke will the father cast him off nay if thorough the grievousnesse of his sicknesse he can not take the meat that is giuen him or if he take it for faintnesse pick it up againe will the father of the childe thrust him out of dores no but he will rather pitie him And so when a man doth indeauour himselfe through the whole course of his life to keepe Gods commandements God will not cast him away though through weakenesse he faile in sundry things and displease God This prerogatiue can none haue but he that is the child of God as for others when they sinne they doe nothing else but draw downe Gods iudgements upon them for their deeper condemnation Thirdly hence we learne that the childe of God can not wholly fall away from Gods fauour I doe not say that hee can not fall at all for he may fall away in part but hee can not wholly and so oft as he sinnes he depriues himselfe in part of Gods fauour David loued his sonne Absolon wonderfully but Absolon like a wicked sonne played a lewde pranck would haue thrust his father out of his kingdom And David although he was sore offended with Absolon shewed tokens of his wrath yet in heart he loued him and neuer purposed to cast him off Hereupon when he went against him he commanded the Captaines to intreat the yong man Absolon gently for his sake And when he was hanged by the haire of the head in pursuing his father then David wept and cried O my sonne Absolon my sonne Absolon would God I had dyed with thee Absolon my sonne And so it is with God our heauenly father when his children sinne against him and thereby loose his loue and fauour and fall from grace he forsakes them but how farre Surely he shewes signes of anger for their wickednesse yet indeed his loue remaines towards them still and this is a true conclusion the grace of god in the adoptiō of the elect is unchāgeable he that is the childe of God can neuer fall away wholly or finally On the contrary that is a bad and comfortlesse opinion of the Church of Rome which holdeth that a man may be iustified before God and yet afterward by a mortall sinne finally fall from grace and be condemned Fourthly the child of God that takes god the father for his father may freely come into the presence of god haue liberty to pray unto him We know it is a great priviledge to come into the chamber of presence before an earthly prince and fewe can alwaies haue this prerogatiue though they be great men yet the kings owne sonne may haue free entrance speake freely vnto the king himselfe because he is his sonne Now the children of God haue more prerogative then this for they may come into the chamber of presence not of an earthly king but of Almightie God the king of kings and as they are the sonnes of god in Christ so in him they may freely speake unto God their father by prayer And this ouerthrowes the doctrine of such as be of the Church of Rome which
humiliatiō in our selves Fourthly God in framing his creatures in the beginning made them good yea very good Now the goodnesse of the creature is nothing else but the perfect estate of the creature whereby it was conformable to the will and minde of the Creator allowing and approouing of it when he had made it for a creature is not first good and then approoved of God but because it is approoved of God therefore it is good But wherein will some say standes this goodnesse of the creature I answer in three things I. in the comelinesse beautie and glorie of euery worke in his kinde both in forme and constitution of the matter II. in the excellencie of the vertue which God hath giuen to it for as he hath appointed euery creature for some especiall end so he hath fitted and furnished it with sufficient power and vertue for the accomplishing of the same end III. in the exceeding benefite and profitablenesse that came by them to man But since the fall of man this goodnesse of the creature is partly corrupted and partly diminished Therefore when wee see any want defect or deformitie in any of them we must haue recourse backe againe to the apostasie of our first parents and remember our fall in them and say with a sorowfull heart this comes to passe by reason of mans most wretched sinne which hath defiled heauen and earth and drawen a curse not onely upon himselfe but upon the rest of the creatures for his sake whereby their goodnesse is much defaced Fiftly the end of creation is the glory of God as Salomon saith God made all things for his owne sake yea even the wicked for the day of evill And God propounds this principall end to himselfe not as though he wanted glorie and would purchase it unto himselfe by the creation for hee is most glorious in himselfe and his honour and praise being infinite can neither be increased nor decreased but rather that he might communicate and make manifest his glorie to his creatures and giue them occasion to magnifie the same For the reasonable creatures of God beholding his glory in the creation are mooved to testifie and declare the same among men The sixt shall be touching the time of the beginning of the world which is betweene fiue thousand and sixe thousand yeres agoe For Moses set downe exactly the computation of time from the making of the worlde to his owne daies and the Prophets after him haue with like diligence set downe the continuance of the same to the verie birth of Christ. But for the exact account of yeeres Chronologers are not all of one minde Some say there be 3929. from the creation to Christes birth as Beroaldus some 3952. as Hierome and Bede some 3960. as Luther and Io. Lucidus some 3963. as Melancthon in his Chronicle Functius some 3970. as Bullinger and Tremellius some towards 4000. as Buntingus Now from the birth of Christ to this day are 1592. yeeres and adding these together the whole time amounteth And God would haue the verie time of the beginning of the world to be revealed 1. that it might be knowen to the Church when the couenant of grace was first giuen by God to man and when it was afterward renewed and how Christ came in the fulnesse of time Gal. 4. 2. that we might know that the world was not made for the eternall and euerliuing God but for man 3. that we might learne not to set our hearts on the world and on the things therein which haue beginning and end but seeke for things eternall in heauen And before the time which I haue named began there was nothing beside God the world it selfe and all things else were vncreated Some men use to obiect and say What did God doe all that while before the world was how did he imploy himselfe what was he idle Ansvver The Iewes to this bad question make as badde an answere For they say he was continually occupied in making many litle worlds which he continually destroyed as he made them because none pleased him till hee made this But we must rather say that some things are reuealed which God did then as that he decreed what should come to passe when the world was that thē the blessed persons in Trinitie did take eternall delight ech in other If any man will needs know more let him heare what Moses saith Secret things belong to the Lord our God but things revealed to vs and to our children for ever and let him marke what one eluding the question answered namely that God was making hell fire to burne all such curious persons as will needs know more of God then hee hath revealed to them for where God hath not a mouth to speake there we must not haue an eare to heare therefore wee must let such curious questions passe Seventhly some may aske in what space did God make the vvorld I ansvver God coulde haue made the world and all things in it in one moment but he began and finished the whole worke in sixe distinct daies In the first day he made the matter of all things and the light in the second the heauens in the third day he brought the sea into his compasse and made the drie land appeare and caused it to bring forth hearbs plants and trees in the fourth hee made the Sunne the Moone the Starres in the heauen in the fifth day hee made the fishes of the sea the foules of the heauen and euery creeping thing in the sixth day hee made the beastes of the field and all cattell and in the end of the sixt day he made man Thus in sixe distinct spaces of time the Lorde did make all things and that especially for three causes I. to teach men that they ought to haue a distinct and serious consideration of every creature for if God had made the world in a moment some might haue said this work is so mistical that no man can speak of it But for the preventing of this cavill it was his pleasure to make the world and all things therein in sixe dayes and the seventh day he commaunded it to be sanctified by men that they might distinctly and seriously meditate upon euerie worke of the creation II. God made the world and euery thing therein in sixe distinct daies to teach vs what wonderfull power and libertie he had ouer all his creatures for hee made the light when there was neither Sunne nor Moone nor starres to shevve that in giuing light to the world he is not bound to the Sunne to any creature or to any meanes for the light was made the first day but the Sonne the Moone and the Starres were not created before the fourth day Againe trees and plantes were created the third day but yet the Sunne Moone and the Starres and raine which nourish and make hearbs trees and plantes to growe were not created till after the third day vvhich shevves plainely
Christ teacheth when he saith that the angels of little ones doe alreadie behold the face of the father in heauen And the wicked angels before their fall were placed in heauen for they were cast thence VI. That there be certaine distinctions and diuersities of angels it is very likely because they are called thrones and principalities and powers Cherubim and Seraphim But what be the distinct degrees and orders of angels and whether they are to be distinguished by their natures gifts or offices no man by Scripture can determine VII The ministerie of angels to which the Lord hath set them apart is three-fold and it respecteth either God himselfe or his Church or his enemies The ministery which they performe to God is first of all to adore praise and glorifie him continually Thus the Cherubims in Esaies vision cry one to another Holy holy holy is the Lord God of hosts the world is full of his glorie And when they were to publish the birth of the Messias they begin on this manner Glorie to God in the highest heauens peace on earth And Iohn in his vision heard the angels about the throne crying with a loud voyce Worthie is the Lambe c. to receiue power riches and strength wisedome and honour and glorie and praise And indeed the heighest ende of the ministerie of angels is the glorie of God The second is to stand in Gods presence euermore readie to do his commandements as Dauid saith Praise the Lord yee his Angels that excell in strength that doe his commandements in obeying the voice of his word And here is a good lesson for vs. VVe pray daily that we may doe the will of God as the Angels in heauen doe it let vs therefore be followers of the holy angels in praising God and in doing his commandements as they doe The ministerie of angels concerning the Church standes in this that they are ministring spirits for the good of them which shall be heyres of saluation The good is three-fold in this life in the ende of this life and in the last iudgement againe the good which they procure to the people of God in this life is either in respect of bodie or soule In respect of the bodie in that they doe most carefully performe all manner of duties which doe necessarily tend to preserue the temporall life of Gods children euen from the beginning of their daies to the ende Dauid saith that they pitch their tents about them that feare the Lord. When Agar was cast foorth of Abrahams familie and wandred in the wildernes an angell comes vnto hir and giues hir counsell to returne to hir mistres and humble hir selfe VVhen Elias fled from Iesabel he was both comforted directed and fedde by an angell And an angel bids the same Elias be of good courage and without feare to go to King Achazias reprooue him Angels bring Lot and his familie out of Sodom and Gomorrha before they burne the cities with fire brimstone VVhen Iacob feared his brother Esau he saw angels comming vnto him and he plainly acknowledgeth that they were sent to be his protectours and his guides in his iournie Abraham beeing perswaded of the assistance of Gods angels in all his waies said to his seruant The Lord God of heauen who tooke me from my fathers house c. will send his angell before thee The wise men that came to see Christ are admonished by Angels to returne another way Ioseph by the directiō of an angel fled into Egypt that he might preserue Christ frō the hāds of the cruel tyrāt the tēts of the Israelites was garded by angels The 3. children are deliuered frō the fierie furnace Daniel out of the lyōs den by angels Whē Christ was in heauines they ministred vnto him cōforted him they brought Peter out of prisō set him at liberty Againe the Angels procure good vnto the soules of the godly in that they are maintainers and furtherers of the true worship of God and of all good meanes whereby we attaine to saluation The law was deliuered in mount Sina by angels and a great part of the Reuelation of Iohn They expound to Daniel the 70. weekes They instruct the Apostles touching the returne of Christ to the last iudgement Angels forbid Iohn to worship them but to worship God the creatour of heauen and earth They set the Apostles out of prison and bid them teach in the temple An angel brings Philip to the Eunuch that he may expound the scriptures to him Lastly they reueale the mysteries and the will of God as to Abraham that he should not kil his sonne Isaac to Marie and Elizabeth the natiuitie of Iohn Baptist and of Christ our Sauiour al this they do according vnto the wil of God Gal. 1.8 Beside all this angels reioyce at the conuersion of sinners by the ministerie of the Gospell And for the Churches sake they protect not onely particular men but euen whole nations and kingdomes The ministerie of Angels in the ende of this life is to carie the soules of the godly into Abrahams bosome as they did the soule of Lazarus And in the day of iudgement to gather all the Elect that they may come before Christ and enter into eternall fruition of glorie both in bodie soule The third last part of the minsterie of angels concerns Gods enemies it is to execute iudgements on all wicked persons and impenitent sinners Thus all the first borne of Egypt are slain by an angel VVhen Iosua was about to sack Ierico an angel appeared vnto him as a captaine with a drawn sword to fight for Israel When the host of Senacherib came against Israel the angel of the Lord in one night slue an hundred eightie and fiue thousand Because Herod gaue not glorie vnto God the angel of the Lord smote him so as he was eaten vp of lice and died And thus we see what points we are to marke touching the good Angels Now followeth the vse which we are to make in regard of their creation First whereas they are Gods ministers to inflict punishments vpon the wicked here is a speciall point to be learned of vs that euery man in the feare of God take heede how he liueth and continueth in his sinnes for the case is dangerous considering that God hath armies of angels which stand readie euery where to execute Gods heauie iudgements vpon them that liue thus Whē the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord Moses saith they were naked that is open to all the iudgements of God euen destitute of the guard of his good Angels VVretched Balaam that wizard went to Balaac to curse the children of Israel and as he went it is said the angel of the Lord stood in his way with a drawne sword and if the asse had not beene wiser then his master the
the trees and fruits thereof This shewes vnto vs a good lesson that euery man must haue a particular calling wherein he ought to walke and therefore such as spend their time idlely in gaming and vain delights haue much to answer to God at the day of iudgement This will not excuse a man to say then that he had land and liuing to maintaine himselfe and therefore was to liue as he list for euen Adam in his innocencie had al things at his will and wanted nothing yet euen then God imployed him in a calling therefore high and low none must be exempted euery man must walke in his proper calling Adams generall calling was to worship his Creator to which he was bound by the right of creation considering the morall law was written in his heart by nature VVhich is signified in the decalogue where the Lord requires worship and obedience of his people because he is Iehovah that is one which hath beeing in himselfe and giues beeing to all men by creation For the better vnderstanding of this point we are to consider three things I. The place where Adam did worship II. The time III. The sacraments For the first God euer since the beginning had a place where he would be worshipped and it is called Gods house which then was the garden of Eden For it was vnto Adam a place appointed by God for his worship as Church-assemblies are vnto vs where also the Lord at time did in a speciall manner shew himselfe vnto his creature Touching the time of Gods worship it was the seauenth day from the beginning of the creation the Sabboth day And here we must note that the keeping of the Sabboth is morall Some indeede doe plead that it is but a ceremonie yet falsly for it was ordained before the fall of man at which time Ceremonies signifying sanctification had no place Nay marke further Adam in his innocencie was not clogged with sinne as we are and yet then he must haue a set Sabboth to worship God his creator and therefore much more neede hath euery one of vs of a sabboth day wherein we may seuer our selues from the workes of our callings and the workes of sinne to the worship of God in the exercise of religion and godly meditation of our creation This point must be learned of vs for when no occasion is offered of busines then men will formally seeme to keepe the sabboth but if their come occasion of breaking the sabboth as traffique gaming and vaine shewes then sabboth farewell men will haue their pleasures let them worship God that will But let vs remember in the feare of God that who so euer continueth in the breach of this lawe beeing morall God will no lesse poure forth his punishments vpon them then for the breach of any other commandement the consideration whereof must mooue euery man to a reuerent sanctifying of the Lords day Now for Adams sacraments they were two the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and euill these did serue to exercise Adam in obedience vnto God The tree of life was to signifie assurance of life for euer if he did keepe Gods commandements the tree of knowledge of good and euill was a sacrament to shew vnto him that if he did transgresse Gods commandements he should die and it was so called because it did signifie that if he trāsgresse this law he should haue experience both of good and euill in himselfe Now in the fourth place followeth the ende of the creation of man which is two-fold First that there might be a creature to whome God might make manifest him selfe who in a speciall manner should set forth and acknowledge his wisdome goodnes mercie in the creation of heauen and earth and of things that are in them as also his prouidence in gouerning the same Secondly God hauing decreed to glorifie his name in shewing his mercie and iustice vpon his creature hereupon in time createth men to shew his mercie in the saluation of some and to shew his iustice in the iust and deserued damnation of other some And therefore he hath appointed the creation specially of man to be a means of manifestation and beginning of the execution of his eternall counsell Thus much concerning mans creation in generall The speciall parts of man are two bodie and soule And the reason why the Lord would haue him stand on these two parts is this Some creatures made before him were onely bodily as beasts fishes foules some spirituall as Angels now man is both spirituall in regard of his soule corporall and sensible in regard of his bodie that nothing might be wanting to the perfection of nature If it be alleadged that man consistes of three parts bodie soule and spirit because Paul praies that the Thessalonians may be sanctified in bodie soule and spirit the answer is that the spirite signifies the minde whereby men conceiue and vnderstand such things as may be vnderstoode and the soule is there taken for the will and affections and therfore these twaine are not two parts but onely two distinct faculties of one and the same man The bodie of man at the first was formed by God of clay or of the dust of the earth not to be the graue of the bodie as Plato said but to be an excellent and most fit instrument to put in exequution the powers and faculties of the soule And howsoeuer in it selfe considered it is mortal because it is compounded of contrarie natures called Elements yet by the appointment of God in the creation it became immortall till the fall of man As for the soule it is no accidentarie qualitie but a spirituall and inuisible essence or nature subsisting by it selfe Which plainely appeares in that the soules of men haue beeing and continuance as well forth of the bodie as in the same and are as well subiect to torments as the bodie is And whereas we can and doe put in practise sundrie actions of life sense motion vnderstanding we doe it onely by the power and vertue of the soule Hence ariseth the difference between the soules of men and beasts The soules of men are substances but the soules of other creatures seeme not to be substances because they haue no being out of the bodies in which they are but rather they are certain peculiar qualities arising of the matter of the bodie and vanishing with it And it may be for this cause that the soule of the beast is said to be in the bloode whereas the like is not said of the soule of man And though mens soules be spirits as angels are yet a difference must be made For angels can not be vnited with bodies so as both shall make one whole and intire person whereas mens soules may yea the soule coupled with the bodie is not onely the moouer of the bodie but the principall cause that makes man to be a man The beginning of the soule is not of the
the Papistes are faultie tvvo vvayes First that they giue too much to the verie name of Iesus for they write in plaine tearmes that the bare name it self being used hath great power doth driue away deuils though the parties that use it be void of good affection whereas indeede it hath no more vertue then other titles of God or Christ. Secondly they are faultie that they giue too little to the thing signified For Christ must either be our alone and whole Sauiour or no Saviour Now they make him but halfe a Sauiour they ioyne others with him as partners in the work of saluatiō whē they teach that with Christs merits must be ioyned our works of grace in the matter of iustification and with Christes satisfaction for the wrath of God our satisfaction for the temporall punishment and when they adde to Christes intercession the intercession and patronage of saints especially of the virgin Mary whome they call the queene of heauen the mother of mercie vvithall requesting her that by the authoritie of a mother shee would commaund her sonne If this doctrine of theirs may stand Christ can not be the onely Sauiour of mankinde but euerie man in parte shalbe Iesus to himselfe But let us goe on yet further to search the speciall reason of the name which is notably set downe by the Angell Thou shalt saith hee call his name Iesus for he shall save his people from their sinnes In which words vve may consider 3. pointes I. Whome the sonne of God shall saue II. By what III. From what For the first he shall saue his people that is the elect of Iewes Gentiles and therefore he is called the Saviour of his bodie VVe must not here imagine that Christ is a Sauiour of all and euerie man For if that were true then Christ shoulde make satisfaction to Gods iustice for all and every mans sinnes and gods iustice being fully satisfied he could not in iustice condemne any man nay all men should be blessed because satisfactiō for sin the pardon of sin depend one upō another inseparably Againe if Christ be an effectuall Sauiour of all and euerie particular man why is any man condemned It will be said because they will not beleeue belike then mans will must over rule Gods will whereas the common rule of divines is that the first cause ordereth the second The meanes of saluation by Christ are two his merite and his efficacie His merit in that by his obedience to the law and by his passion he made a satisfaction for our sinnes freed us from death and reconciled us unto God Some may obiect that the obedience and the passion of Christ being long agoe ended can not be able to saue us now because that which he did 1500. yeres agoe may seeme to be vanished and come to nothing at this day Answere If Christs obedience be considered as an action his passion as a bare suffering they are both ended long agoe yet the value and price of them before God is euerlasting as in Adams fall the action of eating the forbidden fruit is ended but the guilt of his transgression goes ouerall mankind and continues still euen to this houre and shall doe to the ende of the world in those which shall be borne hereafter The efficacie of Christ is in that hee giues his spirite to mortifie the corruption of our natures that we may die unto sinne and liue to righteousnesse and haue true comfort in terrors of conscience and in the pangs of death The euils from which we are saued are our owne sinnes in that Christ freeth us from the guilt and the punishment and fault of them all when we beleeue Thus much for the meaning of this title Iesus Now followe the uses which arise of it First of all whereas wee are taught to make confession that the sonne of God is Iesus that is a Sauiour hence it must needs follow that wee are all lost in our selues And indeede before we can truly acknowledge that Christ is our Sauiour this confession must needes goe before that we are in truth therewithal do feel our selues to be miserable sinners under the wrath of God utterly lost in regarde of our selues for Christ came to save that which vvas lost And vvhen he talked with the woman of Canaan he checked her said he was not sent but to the lost sheepe of the house of Israel Christ Iesus came to poure oyle into our woundes Christ came to set them at libertie which are in prison and to place them in freedome that are in bondage Now a man cannot poure oyle into a wound before there be a wounde or before it be opened and wee feele the smart of it And how can we be set at libertie by Christ except we feele us in our selues to be in bondage under Hell death and damnation VVhen the disciples of Christ were vpon the sea in a great tempest they cried Master saue vs we perish So no man can heartily say I beleeue Iesus Christ to be my Sauiour before hee feele that in himselfe he is utterly lost and cast away without his helpe But after that wee perceiue our selues to be in danger to be ouerwhelmed in the Sea of the wrath of God then we crie out with the disciples Lorde Iesus saue vs wee perish Many protestants in these daies hold Christ to be their Sauiour but it is onely formably from the teeth outward and no further for they were neuer touched with the sense of their spirituall miserie that they might say with Daniel Shame and confusion belongeth unto us and with the Publican I am a sinner Lorde be mercifull to me And therefore the conclusion is this that if we will haue Christ to be our Saviour we must first beleeue that in our selues we are utterly lost and so must that place be understood where Christ saith he is not sent but to the lost sheepe of the house of Israel that is to those which in their owne sense and feeling are lost in themselues Secondly if Christ be a Sauiour then we must acknowledge him to be so But how shall wee doe this I ansvver Thus A man is taken to be a skillfull Phisition by this that many patients come unto him and seeke for helpe at his hands And so should it be with Christ. But alas the case is otherwise Every man can talke of Christ but few acknowledge him to be a Sauiour by seeking to him for their saluation because they iudge themselues righteous and feele not themselues to stand in need of the helpe of Christ. Nay which is more if a man be knowne that can cure straunge diseases men will seeke to him by sea and lande and sell both goods and landes to get helpe at his handes Euen so if men were perswaded that Christ were a perfect Sauiour and that they were sicke and utterly unable to be saued without him they
thankfulnes but mens hearts are so frozen in the dregges of their sinnes that this dutie comes litle in practise now adaies Our Sauiour Christ clensed ten leapers but there was but one of theÌ„ that returned to giue him thanks this is as true in the leprosie of the soule for though saluation by Christ be offered vnto vs daily by Gods ministers yet not one of ten nay scarse one of a thousand giues praise and thanks to God for it because men take no delite in things which coÌ„cerne the kingdome of heauen they thinke not that they haue need of saluation neither doe they feele any want of a Sauiour But we for our parts must learne to say with David What shall I render vnto the Lord for all his benefits yea we are to practise that which Salomon saith My sonne giue me thy heart for we should giue vnto God both bodie soule in token of our thankfulnes for this wonderful blessing that he hath giueÌ„ his only son to be our sauiour let vs know this for truth that they which are not thaÌ„kfull for it let them say what they wil they haue no soundnes of grace at the heart And thus much of the third title The fourth last title is in these words our Lord. Christ Iesus the only sonne of God is our Lord three waies 1. by creation in that he made vs of nothing when we were not 2. he is our Lord in the â—ight of redemption In former times the custome hath bin that wheÌ„ one is taken prisoner in the fields he that paies his ransome shall become alwaies after his lord so Christ when we were bondslaues vnder hell death condemnation paid the raÌ„some of our redemption and freed vs from the bondage of sinne and satan and therefore in that respect he is our Lord. 3. He is the heade of the Church as the husbande is the wiues head to rule and gouerne the same by his word and spirit And therefore in that respect also Christ is our Lord. And thus much for the meaning Now follow the duties 1. If Christ be our soueraigne Lord we must performe absolute obedience vnto him that is whatsoeuer he commaunds vs that wee must doe And I say absolute obedience because Magistrats Masters Rulers and fathers may command and must be obeyed yet noâ— simply but so farfoorth as that which they command doth agree with the word and commaundement of God but Christs will and word is righteousnes it selfe and therefore the rule and direction of all our actions whatsoeuer and for this cause he must be absolutely obeyed Thus he requires the obedience of the morall law but why because he is the Lord our God And in Malach. he saith If I be your Lord where is my feare And againe we must resigne both bodie and soule heart minde will affections and the course of our whole liues to be ruled by the will of Christ. He is Lord not onely of the bodie but of the spirite and soule of man hee must therefore haue homage of both as we adore him by the knee of the bodie so must the thoughts and the affections of our hearts haue their knees also to worship him and to shew their subiection to his commandements As for such as doe hold him for their Lord in word but will not indeauour to shew their loyaltie in all manner of obedience they are indeede no better then starke rebels Secondly when by the hande of Christ strange iudgements shall come to passe as it is vsuall in all places continually we must stay our selues without murmuring or finding fault because he is an absolute Lord ouer all his creatures all things are in his hands and he may doe with his owne whatsoeuer he will and therefore wee must rather feare and tremble whensoeuer wee see or heare of them so David saith I was dumbe and opened not my mouth because thou didst it And againe My flesh trembleth for feare of thee and I am afraid of thy iudgements Thirdly before we vse any of Gods creatures or ordinances we must sanctifie them by the direction of his word and by praier the reason is this because he is Lord ouer all and therefore from his word we must fetch direction to teach vs whether we may vse them or not and when and how we must vse them and secondly wee must pray to him that he would giue vs libertie and grace to vse them aright in holy maner Also we are so to vse the creatures and ordinances of God as beeing alwaies readie to giue an account for them at the day of iudgement for wee vse that which is the Lords not our owne we are but stewards ouer them we must come to a reckoning for the stewardship Hast thou learning then imploy it to the glorie of God the good of the Church boast not of it as though it were thine owne Hast thou any other gift or blessing of God be it wisdome streÌ„gth riches honour fauour or whatsoeuer then looke thou vse it so as thou maist be alwaies readie to make a good account thereof vnto Christ. Lastly euery one must so lead his life in this world as that at the day of death he may surrender and giue vp his soule into the hands of his Lord and say with Steven Lord Iesus receiue my soule for thy soule is none of thine but his who hath bought it with a price therfore thou must so order and keepe it as that thou maist in good manner restore it into the hands of God at the end of thy life If a man should borrow a thing of his neighbour and vse it so as he doth quite spoile it he would be ashamed to bring it againe to the owner in that manner and if he doe the owner will not receiue it Vngodly men in this life doe so staine their soules with sin as that they can neuer be able to giue them vp into the hands of God at the day of death if they would yet God accepts them not but casts theÌ„ quite away We must therefore labour so to liue in the world that with a ioyfull heart at the day of death we may commend our soules into the handes of our Lord Christ Iesus who gaue them vnto vs. This is a hard thing to be done and he that will doe it truly must first be assured of the pardon of his owne sinnes which a man can neuer haue without true and vnfained faith and repentance wherfore while we haue time let vs purge and clense our soules bodies that they may come home againe to God in good plight And here all gouernours must be put in mind that they an higher Lord that they may not oppresse or deale hardly with their inferiours And this is Pauls reason ye masters saith he doe the same things vnto your seruants putting away threatning and knowe that euen your master is also in heauen neither is
that euer was Behold say the angel to the shepheards we bring tidirgs of great ioy that shalbe to all people but wherein stands the ioy they adde further vnto you this day is borne in the citie of Dauid a Sauiour which is Christ the Lord. And no maruaile for in that birth is manifested the good will of God to man and by it wee haue peace first with God secondly with our selues in cōscience thirdly with the good angels of God fourthly with our enemies lastly with all the creatures For this cause the angels sang Peace on earth good will towards men In the last place the Creede notes unto us the parent or mother of Christ the virgine Mary And here at the verie first it may be demanded how he could haue either father or mother because he was figured by Melchisedech who had neither father nor mother Ans. Melchisedech is said to be without father mother not because he had none at all For according to the ancient and receiued opinion it is verie likely that he was Sem the son of Noe but because where he is mencioned under this name of Melchisedech in the 14. chapter of Genes there is no mention made either of father or mother and so Christ in some sort is without father or mother as he is man he hath no father as he is God he hath no mother And whereas Christ is called the son of Ioseph it was not because he was begottē of him but because Ioseph was his reputed father or which is more because hee was a legall father namely according to the Iewes laws in that as sundry divines think he was the next of his kin and therfore to succeed him as his lawfull heire Mary became the mother of Christ by a kind of calling thereto which was by an extraordinarie message of an angell concerning the conception and birth of Christ in and by her to which calling and message shee condiscended saying Behold the handmaid of the Lord be it unto me according to thy word And hereupon shee conceiued by the Holy Ghost This being so it is more then sensles folly to turne the salutatiō of the angel Haile freely beloved c. into a praier And she must be held to be the mother of whole Christ God and man and therefore the ancient Church hath called the mother of God yet not the mother of the godhead Furthermore the mother of Christ is described by her qualitie a virgine and by her name Mary Shee was a virgine first that Christ might bee conceiued without sinne and be a perfect Sauiour secondly that the saying of the prophet Esai might be fulfilled Behold a virgin shal cōceiue beare a sonne according as it was foretold by god in the first giuing of the promise the seed of the woman not the seed of the man shall bruise the serpents head Now the Iewes to elude the most pregnant testimonie of the Prophet say that Alma signifieth not a virgin but a young womā which hath knowne a man But this is indeede a forgerie For Esay there speakes of an extraordinarie worke of God aboue nature whereas for a woman hauing knowne man to conceiue is no wonder And the worde Alma through the whole bible is taken for a virgin as by a particular search will appeare As Marie conceiued a virgin so it may be well thought that shee continued a virgin to the end though we make it no article of our faith When Christ was vpon the crosse he commended his mother to the custodie of Iohn which probablie argueth that shee had no child to whose care and keeping shee might be commended And though Christ be called hi◠first borne yet doth it not follow that shee had any child after him for as that is called last after which there is none so that is called the first before which there was none And as for Ioseph when he was espoused to Marie he was a man of eightie yeares old And here we haue occasion to praise the wisdome of God in the forming of man The first man Adam was borne of no man but immediatly created of God the second that is Eue is formed not of a woman but of a man alone the third and all after begotten both of woman and man the fourth that is Christ God and man not of no man as Adam not of no woman as Eue not of man and woman as we but after a new manner of a woman without a man he is conceiued and borne And hereupon our dutie is not to despise but highly to reuerence the virgin Marie as beeing the mother of the sonne of God a prophetisse vpon earth a Saint in heauen And we doe willingly condiscend to giue hir honour three waies 1. by thanksgiuing to God for hir 2. by a reuerent estimation of her 3. by imitation of hir excellent vertues yet farre be it frō vs to adore hir with diuine honour by praier to call vpon hir as though she knew our hearts and heard our requests and to place hir in heauen as a queene aboue the sonne of God The name of the mother of Christ is added to shew that he came of the linage of Dauid and that therefore he was the true Messias before spoken of It may be obiected that both Matthew and Luke set downe the genealogie of Ioseph of whome Christ was not Answer Matthew sets down indeed in Christs genealogie the naturall descent of Ioseph the husband of Marie hauing Iacob for his naturall father but Luke taking an other course propounds the naturall descent of Marie the mother of Christ and when he saith that Ioseph was the sonne of Eli he meanes of a Legall sonne For sonnes and daughters in lawe are called sonnes and daughters to their fathers and mothers in law Marie her selfe and not Ioseph beeing the naturall daughter of Eli. And whereas Luke doth not plainely say that Marie was the daughter of Eli but puts Ioseph the sonne in law in hir roome the reason hereof may be because it was the manner of the Iewes to account and continue their genealogies in the male and not in the female sexe the man beeing the head of the familie and not the woman And though Ruth and Rahab and other women be mentioned by Matthew yet that is onely by the way for they make no degrees herein Againe it may further be demaunded how Christ could comes of Dauid by Salomon as Mathew saith and by Nathan as Luks saith they twaine being two distinct sonnes of Dauid Answer By vertue of the law whereby the brother was bound to raise vp seede to his brother there was a double discent in vse among the Iewes the one was naturall the other legall Natural when one man discended of an other by generation as the child from the naturall father Legall when a man not begotten of an other yet did succeede him in his inheritance thus Salathiel
For thus much the words in meaning import that Pontius Pilate sate as iudge on Christ to examine him to arraigne him and giue sentence against him Wherefore before we come to speake of the degrees of the passion of Christ we must needes intreat of his arraignement vpon earth In handling whereof wee must generally consider these points First that when hee was arraigned before Pilate he was not as a priuate man but as a pledge and suretie that stood in the place and steade of vs miserable sinners as the Prophet Jsaiah saith He bare our infirmities and carried our sorrowes and withall in him was mankinde arraigned before God Secondly this arraignment was made not priuately in a corner but openly in the publique court and that in a great feast of the Iewes as it were in the hearing of the whole worlde Thirdly though Pilate in citing examinig and condemning Christ intended not to worke any part of mans redemption yet was this wholly set downe in the counsell good pleasure of God in whose roome Pilate sate and whose iudgement he exercised The generall vse of Christs arraignement is two-fold First it is a terrour to all impenitent sinners for there is no freedome or protection from the iudgement of God but by the arraignment of Christ and therefore such as in this life receiue him not by faith must at the ende of this worlde be brought out to the most terrible barre of â—he last iudgement there to be arraigned before the King of heauen and earth And marke the equitie hereof Christ himselfe could not haue beene our Sauiour and redeemer vnlesse he had beene brought out to the barre of an earthly iudge and arraigned as a guiltie malefactour and therefore there is no man vpon earth that liues and dies out of Christ but hee must whether hee will or no holde vp his hande at the barre of the great iudge of all mankinde where he shall see hell vnderneath him burning red hotte and opening it selfe wide to swallow him vp and on the right hand of God standing all the Prophets Apostles and Saints of God giuing iudgement against him on the left hand the deuill and all his angels accusing him and within him a guiltie conscience condemning him And thus shall be one day the arraignment of all those persons that with full purpose of heart cleaue not to Christ and yet alas huge and infinite is the number of those which make more account of transitorie and earthly matters euen of their pigges with the Gaderens then of him and his benefits but such should rather be pitied then despised of vs considering their estate is such that euery day they are going as traytours pinnioned to their owne iudgement that they may goe thence to eternall exequution Secondly Christs arraignment is a comfort to the godly For he was arraigned before Pilate that all such as truly beleeue in him might not be arraigned before God at the day of the last iudgement he was accused before an earthly iudge that they might be cleared and excused before the heauenly iudge lastly he was here condemned on earth that we might receiue the sentence of absolution and be eternally saued in heauen The arraignment of Christ hath three parts his apprehension his accusation his condemnation In the apprehension wee must consider two things the dealing of Christ and the dealing of Iudas and the Iewes The dealing and proceeding of Christ was this when he saw that the time of his apprehension and death was neere he solemnly prepared himselfe thereto And his example must teach euery one of vs who knowe not the shortnes of our daies euery houre to prepare our selues against the day of death that theÌ„ we may be found readie of the Lord. What shall the Sonne of God himselfe make preparation to his owne death and shall not we most miserable sinners doe the same who stande in neede of a thousand preparations more then he wherefore let vs continually thinke with our selues that euery present day is the last day of our life that so we may addresse our selues to death againe the next day The first thing which Christ doth in this preparation is to make choice of the place in which he was to be apprehended as will appeare by conferring the Evangelists together S. Matthew saith he went to the place called Gethsemane S. Luke saith he went to the mount of Oliues as he was accustomed And that wee might not imagine that Christ did this that he might escape and hide himselfe from the Iewes S. Iohn saith that Iudas which betraied him knewe the place because oftentimes he resorted thither with his disciples whereas if he had feared apprehension he would haue rather gone aside to some other secret and vnwonted place This theÌ„ is the first point to be coÌ„sidered that Christ knowing the time of his owne death to be at hand doth willingly of his owne accord resort to such a place in which his enemies in all likelihood might easily finde him and haue fit opportunitie to attach him For if he should haue still remained in Ierusalem the Scribes Pharisies durst not haue enterprized his apprehension because of the people whome they feared but out of the citie in the garden all occasion of feare is cut off By this it is manifest that Christ yeilded himselfe to death willingly and not of constraint and vnlesse his sufferings had bin voluntarie on his part they could neuer haue bin a satisfaction to Gods iustice for our sinnes Here a question offereth it selfe to be considered whether a man may lawfully flie in daunger and persequution seeing Christ him selfe doth not Answ. When good means of flying and iust occasion is offered it is lawfull to flie When the Iewes sought to kill Paul at Damascus the disciples tooke him by night and put him through the wall and let him downe in a basket to escape their handes When Moses was called by God to deliuer the Israelites after he had slaine the Egyptian and the fact was knowne and Pharao sought to kill him for it he fled to the land of Madian And our Sauiour Christ sundrie times when he was to be stoned and otherwaies hurt by the Iewes withdrewe himselfe from among them It is lawfull then to flie in persequution these caueats obserued First if a man finde not himselfe sufficiently strengthened to beare the crosse Secondly his departure must be agreeable to the generall calling of a Christian seruing to the glorie of God and the good of his brethren and the hurt of none Thirdly there must be freedome at the least for a time from the bond of a mans particular calling If he be a magistrate he must be freed from ruling if a minister from preaching and teaching otherwaies he may not flie And in this respect Christ who did withdraw himselfe at other times would not flie at this time because the houre of his suffering was come wherein hee intended most
congregation to be elect in holy maner seeketh and willeth the saluation of euerie one which neuerthelesse the Lorde in his eternall counsell willeth not Nowe betweene both these willes there may be and is a difference without contrarietie For one good thing as it is good may differ from another but it can not be contrarie to it It may further be alleadged that in this prayer there seemes to be a combat and fight in the minde will and affections of Christ and therefore sinne Ansvvere There are three kinde of combates the one betweene reason and appetite and this fight is alwaies sinnefull and was not in Christ the second is betweene the flesh and the spirite and this may be in Gods childe who is but in part regenerate but it did not befall Christ who was perfectly holy The third is a combate of divers desires vpon sundrie respectes drawing a man too and fro This may be in mans nature without fault and was in Christ in whome the desire of doing his Fathers will striving and struggling with another desire whereby nature seekes to preserue it selfe caused him to pray in this manner The sixt point is in what maner Christ prayed Ansvver Hee prayed to his Father partly kneeling partly lying on his face and that with strong cries and teares sweating vvater and blood and all this hee did for our sinnes Here then behold the agonie of Christ as a cleare crystall in which we may fully see the exceeding greatnesse of our sinnes as also the hardnesse of our hearts We goe vaunting with our heads to heauen as though it were nothing to sinne against God whereas the horrour of the wrath of God for our rebellions brought downe euen the sonne of God himselfe and laid him groueling vpon the earth And wee can not so much almost as shed one teare for our iniquities whereas hee sweates bloode for vs. Oh let vs therefore learne to abase our selves and to carrie about us contrite and bleeding hearts and be confounded in our selues for our sinnes past The last point is the euent of the prayer in that it vvas heard as the authour of the Hebrewes saith Christ Iesus in the dayes of his flesh did offer vp vnto his father prayers and supplications with strong cries and teares vnto him that was able to saue him and vvas also hearde in that thing vvhich he feared But some will say how vvas Christ heard seeing he suffered death and bare the pangs of hell and the full vvrath of God if hee had beene hearde he shoulde haue beene delivered from all this Ans. VVe must knowe that God heares our prayers two vvaies I. when hee directly graunts our request II. vvhen knovving vvhat is good for vs he giues not vs our requests directly but a thing ansvverable therunto And thus vvas Christ heard for he was not deliuered from suffering but yet he had strength and povver giuen him vvhereby his manhood vvas made able to beare the brunt of Gods wrath And in the same manner God heareth the prayers of his seruants upon earth Paul prayed to be deliuered from the Angell Satan that buffeâ—ed him but the Lord answered that it must not so be because his grace vvherby he vvas inabled to resist his teÌ„ptaâ—ion vvas sufficient Paul finding the fruit of his praiers on this maner protestes hereupoÌ„ that he vvill reioyce in his infirmities Others pray for teÌ„porall blessings as health life libertie c. which notwithstanding God holds back and gives in stead thereof spirituall graces patience faith contentation of minde Augustine saith God heares not our prayers alwaies according to our willes and desires but according as the things asked shall be for our salvation He is like the Phisition who goes on to launch the wound and heares not the patient though he crie never so till the cure be ended Novve followeth the second thing to be considered in Christs apprehension namely the dealing of the Iewes wherein we must consider foure things I. how they consult togither concerning Christes apprehension II. howe they came to the place and mette him III. how they laid hands on him IIII. how they bound him and tooke him away For the first before they enterprised this matter they did wisely and warily lay their heads togither to consult of the time and place and also of the manner of apprehending him So S. Matthevv saith There assembled togither the chiefe priests and the scribes and the elders of the people into the hall of the chiefe priest called Caiphas and consulted how they might take Iesus by subtiltie Whence wee learne two good instructions First the Iewes hauing a quarrell against Christ could never be at rest till they had his blood and therefore they consult hovv they might take him but God did so order the matter and dispose of their purposes and consultations that hereby he did both confound them and their nation For by reason of this heynous sinne against Christ came the iust vvrath of God upon them and so remaineth unto this day VVhereby vvee see that those vvhich vvill be vvise vvithout the direction of Gods vvord and against Christ the Lord vvill ouerthrowe them in their ovvne vvisdome And thus it vvas vvith Achitophel vvho for vvisedome vvas as the oracle of God yet because he rebelled against the Lords anointed God confounded him in his ovvne vvisdome For vvhen his counseil vvhich he gaue against Dauid vvas not folovved he thought himselfe dispised as the text saith and sadled his Asse and arose and vvent home into his citie and put his houshold in order and hanged himselfe wherein he shewed himselfe more senselesse then a bruite beast And in our daies the Leagers that haue bound themselues by othe to roote out the Church of God by his most wonderfull providence turne their swords against themselues and destroy ech other Therefore if wee will be wise we must learne to be wise in Christ for els our counsell will be our owne confusion Secondly hence wee learne that if men will liue in their stubbernnesse and rebellion against Christ the Lord will so carrie and order those men or that people that they shalbe the causes of their owne perdition This wee may plainely see in the example of these Iewes for they evermore envied Christ and now they goe on to take counsell against him but God so disposed of it that thereby they brought destruction vpon themselues theit cuntry This must teach thee to take heed how thou livest in thy sinnes for if thou doe so the Lord hath many waies to worke thy confusion as thy conscience to condemne thee thy friends to forsake thee the divell his angels to torment molest thee his creatures to annoy thee Yea the Lord can leaue all these and make thine owne selfe to be the direct meanes of working thine owne confusion both in body and soule eternally and that euen then when thou art most wary and wise in thine owne behalfe
if he speake not the truth Thus Paul adiured the Thessalonians charging them in the Lord that his epistle should be read vnto all the brethren the Saints And the like doth Caiphas to Christ. And here is a thing to be wondered at Caiphas the high Priest adjureth him in the name of God who is very God euen the Sonne of God which shewes what a small account he makes of the name of God for he did it onely to get aduantage on Christs words and so doe many nowe adaies who for a little profit or gaine make a matter of nothing to abuse the name of God a thousand waies Now Christ beeing thus adjured though silent before yet now in reuerence to Gods maiestie answeared said first Thou hast said it and in Saint Marke I am he In this answeare appeares the wonderfull prouidence of God For though Caiphas take hence the occasion of condemning Christ yet hath he withall drawne from him a most excellent confession that he is the Sonne of God and our alone Sauiour And by this meanes he proceeds to shut heauen against himselfe and to open the same for vs. Thus we haue ended the first inditement of Christ before Caiphas Nowe followeth the second which was before Pontius Pilate in the common hall at Ierusalem The historie of it is set downe at large in all the Evangelists In this second inditement of Christ that we may referre euery matter to his place we are to obserue foure things I. the accusation of Christ before Pilate II. his examination III. Pilats pollicie to saue Christ. IV. Pilats absolving of him and then the condemnation of Christ in both courts Ecclesiasticall and civill of these in order In Christs accusation wee must consider many points The first is who were his accusers namely the high Priest the Scribes and Pharisies and Elders of the people and the common people all these conspired together to accuse him The cause that mooued the Pharisies and Elders of the people hereunto is noted by Saint Matthew who saith of envy they deliuered him Envie is nothing but a sadnes in a mans heart at the prosperitie of his better And it raigned in the Scribes and Pharisies and the occasion was this Christ had taught most heauenly doctrine and confirmed the same by most wonderfull miracles and did greatly exceede them all and was in more account among the people and for this cause the Scribes and Pharisies and high Priests repined grudged at him Nowe their example serues to admonish vs to take heed of this sinne as beeing the mother of many mischiefes And we must rather follow the example of Moses who when Iosua desired him to forbid Eldad and Medad to prophecie answeared Enviest thou for my sake yea I would to God that all the Lords people were prophets And we must be of the same minde with Iohn Baptist who hearing by his disciples that the people left him and followed Christ said his ioy was fulfilled for Christ must increase and he must decrease And so we must be glad and content when we see the prosperitie of our neighbours any way Nowe the cause why the common people ioyne with them was because the chiefe priests and the Scribes elders had perswaded them to a bad conceit of Christ. Hence it appeares that it is most requisite for any people be they neuer so good to haue good magistrates godly rulers to gouerne them by wise and godly counsell The necessitie hereof was well knowne to Iethro Moses father in lawe though hee were a heathen man for he biddeth Moses to prouide among all the people men of courage fearing God men dealing truly hating couetousnes and appoint them to be rulers ouer the people Teaching vs that if couetous malitious and vngodly men not fearing God goe before the people they shall in all likelihood be caried into the like sinnes by their example The next point concernes the place where they accuse him which was at the doore of the common hall for hauing brought him before the councell at Ierusalem and there condemned him of blasphemie afterward they bring him vnto the common hall where Pilate sate iudge Yet did they not enter in but staied without at the doore least they should be defiled and be made vnfitte to eate the passeover In which practise of theirs we are to marke an exāple of most notable both superstition most grosse hypocrisie For they make no bones to accuse arraigne a mā most iust innocent and yet are very strickt and curious in an outward ceremonie And in like manner they made no conscience to giue thirtie pieces of siluer to betray Christ but to cast the same into the treasurie they make it a great and hainous offence And for this cause Christ pronounceth a woe vnto the Scribes and Pharisies calling them hypocrites for saith he you tithe mynt anyse and commin and leaue the weightie matters of the lawe as iudgement and mercie And the very same thing wee see practised of the Church of Rome at this day and of sundrie Papists that liue amongst vs they will not eate flesh in Lent or vpon any of the Popes fasting daies for any thing and yet the same men make no conscience of seeking the bloud of the Lords annointed and their dread soueraigne And in this wee see the most palpable and most grosse hypocrisie of those that be of that Church But shall we thinke that our own Church is free from such men no assuredly for take a viewe of the profession that is vsed among the people of England and it will appeare that they place their whole religion for the most part in the obseruation of certain ceremonies The manner of most men is to come to the place of assemblies where God is worshipped and there mumble vp the Lords prayer the commaundements and the beliefe in stead of prayers which beeing done God is well serued thinke they whereas in the meane season they neglect to learne and practise such things as are taught them for their saluation by the ministers of Gods word At the feast of Easter euery man will be full of deuotion and charitie and come to receiue the Sacraments as though hee were the holiest man in the world but when the time is past all generally turne to their old biace againe and all the yeare after liue as they list making no conscience of lying slaundering fraude and deceit in their affaires among men But we must knowe that there is no soundnes of religion but grosse hypocrisie in all such men they worshippe God with their lippes but there is no power of godlines in their hearts The 3. point is cōcerning the partie to whom they make this accusation against him namely not to a Iew but to a Gentile for hauing condemned him in their Ecclesiasticall court before Caiphas the high Priest they bring him to Pontius Pilate the deputie of Tiberius
must not looke to be taught by visions and dreames yet shall it not be amisse to obserue this caveat concerning dreames that by them we may gesse at the constitution of our bodies and often times at the sinnes whereunto we are inclined The last motiue which caused Pilate to absolue Christ was a speech of the Iewes for they said that Christ ought to die by their law because he saide he was the sonne of God And the text saith when Pilate hearde that hee was afraide Marke how a poore Painym that knew not Gods word at the hearing of the name of the sonne of God is striken with feare No doubt he shall rise in iudgement against many among us that without all feare rend the name of God in peeces by swearing blaspheming cursed speaking But let all those that feare the Lorde learne to tremble and be afraide at his blessed name Thus much for the causes that moued Pilate to absolue Christ as also for the second part of Christs arraignement namely his accusation Now followes the third part which is his condemnation and that is twofolde The first by the Ecclesiasticall assembly and councell of the Iewes at Ierusalem in the high priests hall before Caiphas The tenour of his condemnation was this He hath blasphemed vvhat have we any more neede of witnesses he is worthy to die The cause why they say not he shall die but he is worthy to die is this The Iewes had two iurisdictions the one Ecclesiasticall the other civill both prescribed and distinctly executed by the commaundement of God till the time of the Machabees in which both ioyntly togither came into the haÌ„ds of the priests but afterward about the daies of Herod the great the Romane Emperour tooke away both iurisdictions from the Iewes and made their kingdome a province so as they could doe no more but apprehend accuse and imprison as doth appeare by the example of Saul who gate letters from the high priest to Damascus that if hee found any either man or woman that beleeued in Christ hee might bring them bound to Ierusalem and imprison them but kill or condemne they could not By the fact of this counsell we learne sundry points first that generall counsels and the Pope himselfe sitting iudicially in his consistorie may erre If there were any visible Church of God at that day upon the face of the whol world it was no doubt the Church of the Iewes For Caiphas the high priest was a figure of Christ the Scribes and Pharises sate in Moses chaire and Ierusalem is called by Christ the holy citie Mat. 4.5 27.53 Yet for all this that which was foretold is now verified namely that the chiefe corner stone should be reiected of master builders For by the generall consent of the councell at Ierusalem Christ the head of the Catholike Church and the redeemer of mankind is accused of blasphemy and condemned as worthy of death Wherefore it is a meere dotage of mans braine to avouch that the Pope cannot possibly erre in giuing a definitive sentence in matters either of faith or manners Neither can the Church of Rome pleade priviledge for Ierusalem had as many prerogatiues as any people in the worlde coulde haue Againe by this wee see there is no reason why wee should ascribe to any man or to oecumenicall counsels themselves absolute and soveraigne power to determine giue iudgement in matters of religion considering they are in danger to be ouertaken with notable slippes and errours And therefore the soueraigntie of iudgement is peculiar to the sonne of God who is the only doctour and law-giuer of the Church and he puts the same in execution in and by the written word As for the speech of the Papistes calling the scriptures a dumb Iudge it is little to be regarded For they are as it were the letter of the living sent from heauen to his Church upon earth and therefore the scriptures speake as plainly and as sufficiently unto vs of all matters of faith as a man can speake unto his friend by letter so be it we haue the gift of discerning Yet doe weâ— not barre the Church of God from all iudgement For the ministeriall power of giuing iudgement both publiquely and priuately is graunted 〈◊〉 of God and that is to determine and giue sentence of matters in question according to the worde as the lawyer giues iudgement not according as he wil but according to the tenour of the law Thirdly we learne that personall succession is no unfallible marke of the true faith and of true pastours vnlesse withall be ioyned succession in the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles For Caiphas held his office by succession from Aaron and yet in publike assembly condemned the Messias spoken of by Moses and the Prophets Therefore the succession of the bishops of Rome from Peter is of no moment vnlesse they can prooue that their religion is the religion of Peter which they can neuer doe And thus much for Christs first condemnation The second was by Pontius Pilate who sate in an other court as a civill iudge and the tâ—noâ—â— of his sentence was that the Iewes should take him and crucifie him Here we must consider the reasons that mooved Pilate to determine thus the first was the impatience of the Iewes he for his parte was loth to defile his hands with innocent blood but the Iewes cryed his blood be upon us and on our children which according to their wish came upon them within fewe yeres after and so remaineth still unto this day By which we are taught to take heede of imprecations against our selues our children or seruants or any other creatures for God heareth mens prayers two waies either in his mercy or in his wrath and anger If thou curse thy selfe or any other except thou turne unto the Lorde by speedie repentance hee may heare thy prayer in his wrath and verifie thy curse upon thee to thy utter confusion The second reason that mooued Pilate to condemne Christ was because he feared men more then God for being deputie vnder Tyberius Caesar ouer the province of Iudea for feare of loosing his office and of displeasing the Iewes hee condemned Christ after he had absolued him whereby wee see that it is a grieuous sinne to feare dust and ashes more then the living God And therefore S. Iohn saith that the fearefull shall have their portion in the burning lake that is such as are more afraid of man then of God And this sinne in Pilate wanted not his iust towarde for not long after hee lost his deputy-ship and Cesars favour and fledde to Vienna where liuing in banishment hee killed himselfe And thus God meetes with them that feare the creature more then the Creatour That we may therefore avoid the heauie hand of God let us learne to feare God aboue all els we shall dishonour God and shame the religion which we professe The
it if we will be followers of Christ and ouercome euill with good The third thing that fell out in the time of Christs crucifying was the pitifull complaint in which he cried with a loud voice Eli Eli lamasabact hani that is My God my God why hast thou forsaken me In the opening of this complaint many points must be skanned The first is what was the cause that mooued Christ to complaine Answer It was not any impatience or discontentation of minde or any dispaire or any dissembling as some would haue it but it was an apprehension and a feeling of the whole wrath of God which seazed vpon him both in bodie and soule The second what was the thing wherof he doth complain Answer That he is forsaken of God the father And from this point ariseth an other question Howe Christ beeing God can be forsaken of God for the father the Sonne and the holy Ghost are all three but one and the same God Answer By God we must vnderstand God the Father the first person According to the common rule when God is compared with the Sonne or holy Ghost then the father is ment by the this title God as in this place not that the father is more God then the Sonne for in dignitie all the three persoÌ„s are equal but they are distinguished in order only the father is first And againe whereas Christ complaineth that he was forsaken it must be vnderstood in regard of his humane nature not of his Godhead And Christs manhoode was forsaken not that his Godhead and manhoode were seuered for they were euer ioyned togither froÌ„ the first moment of the incarnation but the Godhead of Christ and so the Godhead of the father did not shew forth his power in the manhoode but did as it were lie asleepe for a time that the manhood might suffer when a man sleepeth the soule is not seuered from the bodie but lieth as it were dead and exerciseth not it selfe euen so the Godhead lay still and did not manifest his power in the manhoode and thus the manhood seemed to be forsaken The third point is the manner of this complaint My God my God saith he these words are words of faith I say not of iustifying faith wherof Christ stood not in need but he had such a faith or hope wherby he did put his coÌ„fideÌ„ce in God The last words why hast thou forsakeÌ„ me seem at the first to be words of distrust How then will some say can these words stand with the former for faith distrust are flat contraries Answ. Christ did not vtter any speach of distrust but only make his mone coÌ„plaint by reason of the greatnes of his punishment yet still relied himselfe on the assistance of his father Hence we learne first that religion doth not stand in feeling but in faith which faith we must haue in Christ though we haue no feeling at all for God oftentimes doth withdraw his grace fauour froÌ„ his children that he may teach theÌ„ to beleeue in his mercie in Christ then when they feele nothing lesse then his mercie And faith feeling can not alwaies stand togither because faith is a subsisting of things which are not seene and the ground of things hoped for and we must liue by faith and not by feeling Though feeling of Gods mercie be a good thing yet God doth not alwaies vouchsafe to giue it vnto his children and therefore in the extremitie of afflictions and temptations we must alwaies trust and relie on God by faith in Christ as Christ himselfe doth when he is as it were plunged into the sea of the wrath of God Secondly here we may see howe God dealeth with his children for Christ in the sense and feeling of his humane nature was forsaken yet had he sure trust and confidence in God that caused him to say My God my God God will oftentimes cast his deare children into huge gulfs of woe and miserie where they shall see neither banke nor bottome nor any way to get out yet men in this case must not despaire but remember still that that which befell Christ the head doth also befall his members Christ himselfe at his death did beare the wrath of God in such measure as that in the sense and feeling of his humane nature he was forsaken yet in all this he was the Sonne of God and had the spirit of his father crying My God my God And therefore though we be wonderfully afflicted either in bodie or in mind so as we haue no sense or feeling of Gods mercie at all yet we must not despaire and thinke that we are cast-awaies but still labour to trust and relie on God in Christ build vpon this that we are his children though we feele nothing but his wrath vpon vs against mercie cleauing to his mercie This was Dauids practise In the day of trouble saith he I sought the Lord my sore ranne and ceased not in the night my soule refused comfort I did thinke vpon God and was troubled my soule was full of anguish and so continueth saying Will the Lord absent himselfe for euer and will he shew no more fauour hath God forgotten to be mercifull but in the ende he recouereth himselfe out of this gulfe of temptation saying Yet I remember the yeares of the right hand of the most high I remember the works of the Lord certenly I remember the wonders of old Wherefore this practise of Christ in his passion must then be remembred of vs all when God shall humble vs either in bodie or soule or both The fourth thing which fell out when Christ was on the crosse was this after Christ knew that all things were performed that the Scriptures were fulfilled he said I thirst and then there standing a vessell full of vineger one ranne and filled a sponge therewith and put it about an hyssope stalke and put it to his mouth which when he had receiued he said It is finished The points here to be considered are foure The first that Christ thirsteth And we must know that this thirst was a part of his passion and indeede it was no small paine as we may see by this when Sisera was ouercome by Israel and had fled from his enemies to Iaels tent he called for a little water to drinke being more troubled with thirst then with the feare of death at the hand of his enemies And indeede thirst was as grieuous to men in the East countrey as any torment else And hereupon Sampson was more grieued with thirst then with feare of many thousand Philistims Againe whereas Christ complaines that he thirsteth it was not for his owne sake but for our ofâ—ences and therefore answearably we must thirst after Christ and his benefits as the dry and thirstie land where no water is doth after raine and as the hart brayeth after the riuers of water so must we say with Dauid My soule
iustification sanctification and redemption then we must labour to be partakers of it to haue our bodies and soules purified and clensed by his blood and sanctified throughout by the holy Ghost that thereby we may be made fit to doe sacrifice acceptable to God in Christ. This is the vse which the Apostle maketh of the doctrine of Christs priesthood in that place which also euery man should applie vnto himselfe for why should we liue in our sinnes and wicked waies euery houre incurring the daunger of Gods iudgements seeing Christ hath offered such a sacrifice whereby we may be purged and clensed and at length freed from all woe and miserie Thus much of Christs sacrifice now follows his triumph vpon the crosse That Christ did triumph when he was vpon the crosse it is plainly set downe by the Apostle Paul where he saith that putting out the hand writing of ordinances that was against vs which was contrarie to vs he euen tooke it out of the way and fastened it vpon the crosse and hath spoiled the principalities and powers and hath made shew of them openly and hath triumphed ouer them in the same crosse This triumph is set forth by signes testimonies of two sorts I. By signes of his glorie and maiestie II. by signes of his victorie on the crosse The signes of his glorie and maiestie are principally seauen The first is the title set ouer his head vpon the crosse Iesus of Nazareth King of the Iewes The ende why titles were set ouer the heads of malefactours was that the beholders might know the cause of the punishment and be admonished to take heede of like offences and be stirred vp to a dislike of the parties executed for their offences And therefore no doubt Pilate wrote the title of Christ for the aggrauating of his cause and that with his owne hand Yet marke the strange euent that followed for when Pilate was about to write the superscription God did so gouerne and ouerrule both his heart and hand that instead of noting some crime he sets downe a most glorious and worthie title calling him Iesus of Nazareth king of the Iewes which words containe the very summe and pith of the whole Gospell of Christ deliuered by the Patriarkes and Prophets from age to age We must not thinke that Pilate did this of any good minde or vpon any loue or fauour that he bare to Christ but onely as he was guided and ouerruled by the power of God for the aduancement of the honour and glorie of Christ. The like did Caiphas who though a sworne enemie to Christ yet he vttered a prophecie of him saying that it was necessarie that one should die for the people nor that he had any intent to prophecie but because the Lord vsed him as an instrument to publish his truth And when Baalam for the wages of vnrighteousnes would haue cursed the Lordes people for his life hee could not nay all his cursings were turned into blessings By this then it appeares that it is not possible for any man doe what he can to stoppe the course of the Gospell of Christ nay as we see God can raise vp the wicked sometime to spread abroad and to publish the truth though they themselues intend the contrarie Furthermore let vs marke that when the Iewes did most of all intend to bring disgrace and ignominie vpon our Sauiour Christ then did they most of all extoll and magnifie his name they could not for their liues haue giuen him a more renowmed title then this that he was king of the Iewes And the same is the case of all the members of Christ for let a man walke in good conscience before God and man he shall finde this to be true that when he is most disgraced in the world then commonly he is most honoured with God and men Further Pilate wrote this superscription in three languages Hebrew Greeke and Latine And no doubt the ende thereof in the prouidence of God was that the passion of Christ as also the publishing of his kingdome and Gospell might be spread ouer the whole world This shewes the malice of the Church of Rome which will not suffer the word of God to be published but in the latine tongue least the people should be intangled in errours Againe when Pilate had thus written the superscription the high priests and Pharisies offended thereat came to Pilate willing him to chaunge the title saying Write not the king of the Iewes but that he said I am the king of the Iewes but Pilat answeared them againe That which J haue written I haue written Though Pilate had bin ouerruled before to condemne Christ to death against his owne conscience yet will he not in any-wise condescend to change the superscription How comes this to passe Surely as he was ruled by the hand of God in penning it so by the same hand of God was he confirmed in not changing it Hence we learne sundrie instructions First that no man in the world let him endeauour himselfe to the vttermost of his power is able to stoppe the course of the kingdom of God it stands firme and sure and all the world is not able to preuaile against it Secondly whereas Pilate being but an heathen man was thus constant that he will not haue his writing chaunged we may note how permanent vnchāgeable the writings of the holy word of God are They are not the wordes of heathen men but were spoken by the mouth of the Prophets and Apostles as God gaue them vtterance The booke of Scripture therefore is much more immutable so as no creature shall be able to chaunge the least part of it till it be fulfilled Thirdly by Pilates constancie we learne to be constant in the practise and profession of the religion of Christ this is a necessarie lesson for these daies wherein mens professions doe fleete like water and goe and come with the tyde Many zealous professours to day but to morow as cold as water And the complaint of the Lord touching times past agrees to our daies O Ephraim what shall I say to thee thy righteousnes is like the morning dewe The second is the conuersion of the thiefe a most worthie argument of the Godhead of Christ. For by it when he was vpon the crosse and in the very middest of his passion he giues vnto all the world a liuely and notable experience of the vertue and power of his death so as his very enemies might not onely behold the passion it selfe but also at the same time acknowledge the admirable efficacie thereof And therefore with the passion of Christ we must ioyne the conuersion of the thiefe which is as it were a crystall glasse wherein we may sensibly behold the endles merit and vertue of the obedience of Christ to his father euen to the death of the crosse And therefore I will briefly touch the speciall instructions which are to be learned by it First let vs
themselues and you shall finde that they haue many excuses and defences as plaisterworke to cast ouer their foule and filthie sinnes and if they be vrged to speake against themselues the worst will be thus God helpe vs we are all sinners euen the best of vs. But certen it is that he which is thoroughly touched in conscience for his sinnes both can and will speake more against himselfe for his manifold offences then all the worlde besides Thus Paul when he was conuerted calls himselfe the chiefe of all sinners And the prodigall childe confesseth that he had sinned against heauen and against his father and was not worthie to be called his childe The third fruit of his conuersion is that he excuseth our Sauiour Christ and giueth testimonie of his innocencie saying But this man hath done nothing amisse Marke here Pilate condemned Christ Herod mocked him all the learned Scribes and Pharisies condemned him and the people cry away with him let him be crucified and among his owne disciples Peter denied him and the rest ranne away there remains onely this poore sillie wretch vpon the crosse to giue testimonie of Christs innocencie whereby we learne that God chuseth the simple ones of this world to ouerthrow the wisdome of the wise and therefore we must take heed that we be not offended at the gospel of Christ by reason that for the most part simple mean men in the world imbrace it Nay marke further this one thiefe being conuerted had a better iudgement in matters concerning Gods kingdome then the whole bodie of the Iewes And by this all students may learne that if they desire to haue in themselues vpright iudgement in matters of religion first of all they must become repentant sinners and though a man haue neuer so much learning yet if he be carried away with his owne blinde affections lusts they will corrupt darken his iudgement Men which worke in mynes and coale-pits vnder the earth are troubled with nothing so much as with dampes which make their candle burne darke sometimes put it quite out Now euery mans sinnes are the damps of his heart which when they take place do dimme the light of his iudgement and cast a mist ouer the mind darken the vnderstanding reason and therefore a needefull thing it is that men in the first place should prouide for their owne conuersion The fourth fruite of his repentance is that he praieth for mercie at Christs hands Lord saith he remember me when thou commest into thy kingdome in which praier we may see what is the propertie of faith This thiefe at this instāt heard nothing of Christ but the skornings and mockings of the people and he saw nothing but a base estate full of ignominie and shame and the cursed death of the crosse yet neuerthelesse he now beleeues in Christ and therfore intreats for saluation at his hande Hence we learne that it is one thing to beleeue in Christ and an other to haue feeling and experience and that euen then when we haue no sense or experience we must beleeue for faith is the subsisting of things which are not seene and Abraham aboue hope did beleeue vnder hope and Iob saith though thou kill me yet will I beleeue in thee In Philosophie a man begins by experience after which commes knowledge and beliefe as whē a man hath put his hand to the fire and feeles it to be hoat he comes to know thereby that fire burnes but in Divinitie we must beleeue though we haue no feeling first comes faith and after comes sense and feeling And seeing the ground of our religion stands in this to beleeue thinges neither seene nor felt to hope aboue all hope and without hope in extremitie of affliction to beleeue that God loueth vs when he seemeth to be our enemie and to perseuere in the same to the ende The answer which Christ made to his praier was This night shalt thou be vvith in Paradise Whereby he testifies in the middest of his sufferings the power which he had ouer the soules of men and verifies that gratious promise Aske and ye shall receiue seeke and ye shall finde knocke and it shall be opened to you and withall confutes the popish purgatorie For if any man should haue gone to that forged place of torment then the thiefe vpon the crosse who repenting at the last gaspe wanted time to make satisfaction for the temporall punishment of his sinnes And by this conuersion of the thiefe we may learne that if any of vs would turne to God and repent we must haue three thinges I. The knowledge of our owne sinnes II. From the bottome of our heartes wee must confesse and condemne our selues for them and speake the worst that can be of our selues in regard of our sinnes III. We must earnestly craue pardon for them and call for mercie at Gods handes in Christ withall reforming our liues for the time to come if we doe we giue tokens of repentance if not we may thinke what we will but we deceiue our selues and are not truly conuerted And here wee must be warned to take heede least we abuse as many doe the example of the thiefe to conclude thereby that wee may repent when we will because the thiefe on the crosse was conuerted at the last gaspe For there is not a second example like to this in all the whole Bible it was also extraordinarie In deede sundrie men are called at the eleuenth houre but it is a most rare thing to finde the conuersion of a sinner after the second houre and at the point of the twelfth This mercie God vouchsafed this one thiefe that he might be a glasse in which we might behold the efficacie of the death of Christ but the like is not done to many mē no not to one of a thousand Let vs rather cōsider the estate of the other thiefe who neither by the dealing of his fellow nor by any speach of Christ could be brought to repentance Let vs not therefore deferre our repentance to the houre of death for then we shall haue sore enemies against vs the world the flesh the deuill and a guiltie conscience and the best way is beforehand to preuent them And experience shews that if a man deferre repentance to the last gaspe often when he would repent he cannot Let vs take Salomons counsell Remember thy creator in the daies of thy youth before the euill daies come If we will not heare the Lord when he calleth vs he will not heare vs when we call on him The third signe was the ecclipsing or darkning of the sunne from the sixt houre to the ninth And this ecclipse was miraculous For by the course of nature the sunne is neuer ecclipsed but in the new moone whereas contrariwise this ecclipse was about the time of the Passeouer which was alwaies kept at the full moone Question is made touching the largenes of it some mooued by
our hearts will not rend when as hard rocks cleaue asunder Thirdly the mooving of the earth the rending of the rocks asunder may be a signe vnto vs of the vertue of the doctrine of the Gospell of Christ which is nothing els but the publishing of the passion of his death which being preached shal shake heauen and earth sea and land It shall moue the earthen hard and rockie hearts of men and raise vp of meere stones and rocks children vnto Abraham But the maine vse and end of this point is to prooue that he that was crucified was the true Messias the sonne of God and therefore had the power of heauen and earth and could mooue all things at his pleasure The sixt signe of the power of Christ is that graves did open and many bodies of the saintes which slept arose and came out of their graues after his resurrection and went into the holy citie and appeared unto many The use of this signe is this it signifies unto us that Christ by his death upon the crosse did vanquish death in the graue and opened it and thereby testified that he was the resurrection and the life so that it shall not haue euerlasting dominion ouer us but that he vvill raise us up from death to life and to euerlasting glorie The seuenth signe is the testimonie of the Centurion with his souldiours which stood by to see Christ executed S. Marke saith when he saw that Christ thus crying gaue up the ghost he said truly this was the sonne of God Thus we see it is an easie matter for Christ to defend his own cause let Iudas betray him Peter denie him and all the rest forsake him yet he can if it so please him make the Centurion that standeth by to see him executed to testifie of his innocencie But what vvas the occasion that mooued him to giue so worthy a testimonie S. Matthew saith it was feare and that feare was caused by hearing the loud crie of Christ by seeing the earthquake and thinges which vvere done And this must put us in minde not to passe by Gods iudgements which daily fall out in the worlde but take knowledge of them and as it were to fix both our eyes on them For they are notable meanes to strike and astonish the rebellious heart of man and to bring it in awe and subiectiō to God After that the two first captaines with their fifties commanding the prophet Elias to come downe to king Achaziah were consumed with fire from heauen the king sent his third captaine ouer fiftie with his fiftie to fetch him downe but what doth he it is said he fell on his knee before Eliah and besought him saying O man of God I pray thee let my life and the lives of these fiftie servants be pretious in thine eyes But what was the cause why he prayed thus Surely he obserued what iudgements of God fell upon his two former fellowe captaines Beholde saith hee there came downe fire from heauen and devoured the two former captaines with their fifties therefore let my life be pretious now in thy sight Thus laying to his owne heart and making use of Gods iudgements hee humbled himselfe and was spared with his fiftie And Habbaccuk saith When I hearde the voice namely of Gods iudgements rottennesse entred into my bones and I trembled in my selfe that I might be safe in the day of the Lorde Nowe what this feare of the Centurion was there is a further question and it is verie like that it was but a sudden motion or a certaine preparatiue to better things For he was but an heathen man and had as yet no knowledge of Christ and whether hee repented or not it is uncerten and wee must not maruell at this for there are many sudden motions in shewe verie good that upon like occasions rise in the heartes of naturall men When God plagued the land of Egypt then Pharaoh sent for Moses and confessed that the Lorde was righteous but he and his people were wicked and desired Moses to pray to God to take away the plague who did so but so soone as the hand of God was stayed he returned to his olde rebellion againe And as a dogge that commeth out of the water shaketh his eares and yet returneth into it againe so is the maner of the world when crosses and calamities befall men as sicknesse losse of friends or goods then with Ahab they outwardly humble them-selues and goe softly they use to frequent the place where the word is preached and Gods name called upon but alas common experience shewes that these things are but fittes arising of uncerten and flittering motions in the heart For so soone as the crosse is remooued they returne to their old byas againe become as bad as backwarde as euer they vvere being like to the tree that lies in the water which for a while is greene but afterward withereth And therefore wee for our partes when wee haue any good motions come into our hearts as the beginnings of further grace wee must not quench them but cherish and preserue them remembring that the kingdome of heauen is like a graine of mustard seed which vvhen it is sowne is the least of all seedes but afterward it groweth up into a tree that the foules of the heauen may build their neasts in it like to this are the first motions of Gods spirite and therefore they must be cherished and maintained And thus much for the 7. signes of the power of Christs godhead Now follovves the second part of the triumph of Christ which containeth signes of his victorie upon the crosse notably expressed by Paul when he saith And putting out the handwriting of ordinances which was against us which was contrary to us he euen tooke it out of the way fastened it upon the crosse hath spoiled the principalities powers and hath made a shew of them openly hath triumphed over them in the same In vvhich wordes hee alludeth to the manner of heathen triumphs for it was the custome of heathen princes when they had gotten the victorie over their enimies first to cause a pillar of stone or some great oke to be cut down and set up in the place of victorie vpon which either the names of the chiefe enemies vvere set or their heads vvere hanged or vvords vvere written in the pillar to testifie the victorie This being done there follovved an open shewe in vvhich first the conquerour prepares for himselfe a chariot of victory wherin he vvas himselfe to ride and then the chiefe of his enemies bound pinioned vvere led openly after him Novve on the same maner upon the crosse there was a pitcht field the Emperour on the one side was Christ his enemies on the other side were the vvorld the flesh hell death damnation the deuill and all his angels all vvhich banding themselues against him vvere all subdued by him
finite for his humane nature beeing but a creature and therefore finite could not receiue infinite graces and gifts of glorie And hence it is more then manifest that the opinion of those men is false which hold that Christs bodie glorified is omnipotent and infinite euery way able to doe whatsoeuer he will for this is to make a creature to be the creator Thus much of Christs exaltation in generall Now let vs come to the degrees thereof as they are noted in the Creede which are in number three I. He rose againe the third day II. He ascended vnto heauen III. He sitteth at the right hand of God the father almightie In the handling of Christs resurrection we must consider these points I. why Christ ought to rise againe II. the manner of his rising III. the time when he rose IV. the place where V. the vses thereof For the first it was necessarie that Christ should rise againe and that for three especiall causes First that hereby he might shew to all the people of God that he had fully ouercome death For els if Christ had not risen how should we haue bin perswaded in our coÌ„sciences that he had made a full perfect satisfactioÌ„ for vs nay rather we should haue reasoned thus Christ is not risen therefore he hath not ouercome death but death hath ouercome him Secondly Christ Iesus which died was the sonne of God therefore the author of life it selfe and for this cause it was neither meet nor possible for him to be holdeÌ„ of death but he must needes rise from death to life Thirdly Christs priesthood hath 2. parts one to make satisfaction for sinne by his one onely sacrifice vpon the crosse the other to apply the vertue of this sacrifice vnto euery beleeuer Now he offred the sacrifice for sinne vpon the crosse before his death and therefore beeing deade must needes rise againe to performe the second part of his priesthood namely to applie the vertue thereof vnto all that shall beleeue in him and to make intercession in heauen vnto his father for vs here on earth And thus much of the first point Nowe to come to the manner of Christs resurrection fiue things are to be considered in it The first that Christ rose againe not as euery priuate man doth but as a publike person representing all men that are to come to life eternall For as in his passion so also in his resurrection he stood in our roome and place and therefore when he rose from death we all yea the whole Church rose in him and together with him And this point not considered we doe not conceiue aright of Christs resurrection neither can we reap sound comfort by it The second is that Christ himselfe and no other for him did by his owne power raise himselfe to life This was the thing which he meant when he said Destroy this temple in three daies I will build it vp againe more plainly I haue saith he power to lay down my life and I haue power to take it again FroÌ„ wheÌ„ce we learn diuers instructions First wheras Christ raiseth himselfe from death to life it serueth to proue that he was not only maÌ„ but also true god For the body being dead could not bring again the soule ioyn it self vnto the same make it selfe aliue againe neither yet the soule that is departed from the bodie can returne againe quicken the bodie and therefore there was some other nature in Christ namely his Godhead which did revnite soule and bodie together and thereby quickned the manhoode Secondly if Christ giue life to himselfe being dead in the graue then much more now being aliue and in heauen glorified is he able to raise vp his members from death to life We are all by nature starke dead in sinne as the dead bodie rotten in the graue and therfore our dutie is to come to Christ our Lord by praier intreating him that he would raise vs vp euery day more and more from the graue of our sinnes to newnes of life He can of men dead in their sinnes make vs aliue vnto himselfe to liue in righteousnes and true holines all the daies of our life The third thing is that Christ rose againe with an earthquake And this serueth to prooue that he lost nothing of his power by death but still remained the absolute Lord of heauen and earth to whome therefore the earth vnder his feete trembling doth him homage This also prooueth vnto vs that Christ which lay dead in the graue did raise himselfe againe by his owne almightie power Lastly it serueth to conuince the keepers of the graue the women which came to embaulme him and the disciples which came to the sepulchre would not yet beleue that he was risen againe But how came this earthquake Answer Saint Matthew saith there was a great earthquake For the angell of the Lord descended from heauen c. This shewes that the power of angels is great in that they can mooue and stirre the earth Three angels destroied Sodom Gomorha An angel destroied the first borne of Egypt in one â—ight In the host of Senacherib one angel slue in one night 14500 meÌ„ Of like power is the deuil himself to shake the earth and to destroy vs all but that God of his goodnes limits restrains him of his libertie Well if one angel be able to shake the earth what then wil Christ himselfe do when he shal come to iudgemeÌ„t the secoÌ„d time with many thousand thousaÌ„ds of angels oh how terrible will his comming be Not without cause saith the holy Ghost that the wicked at that day shall cry out wishing the hills to fall vpon them and the mountains to couer them for feare of that great and terrible day of the Lord The 4. thing is that an angel ministred to Christ being to rise again in that he came to the graue rolled away the stone sate vpoÌ„ it Where obserue first how the angels of God minister vnto Christ though dead buried whereby they acknowledge that his power maiestie authoritie is not included within the bondes of the earth but extends it selfe euen to the heauens themselues and the hosts thereof and that according to his humanitie Wicked men for their parts laboured to close him vp in the earth as the basesâ— of all creatures but the angels of heauen most readily accept him as their soueraigne Lord and king as in like manner they did in his temptation in the wildernes and in his agonie in the garden Secondly that the opinion of the papists and others which think that the bodie of Christ went through the graue-stone when he rose againe is without warrant For the ende no doubt why the angel rolled away the stone was that Christ might come foorth And indeede it is against the order of nature that one bodie should passe through another without corruption or alteration of either
considering that euery bodie occupies a place and two bodies at the same instaÌ„t caÌ„not be in one proper place Furthermore it is said that when the angel sate on the stone his countenance was like lightening and his rayment as white as snow this serued to shew what was the glory of Christ himselfe For if the seruant and minister be so glorious then endlesse is the glorie of the lord and master himselfe Lastly it is said that for feare of the angel the watchmen were astonied and became as dead men which teacheth vs that what God would haue come to passe all the world can neuer hinder For though the Iewes had closed vp the graue with a stone and set a band of souldiours to watch least Christ should by any meanes be taken away yet all this auaileth nothing by an angel from heauen the seale is broken the stone is remooued and the watchmen at their wittes ends And this came to passe by the prouidence of God that after the watchmen had testified these things to the Iewes they might at length be conuicted that Christ whome they crucified was the Messias The fifth last point is that Christ rose not alone but accompanied with others as S. Matthew saith that the graues opened and many bodies of the Saints which slept arose and came out of the graues and went into the holy citie and appeared vnto many after Christs resurrection And this came to passe that the Church of God might know consider that there is a reuiuing and quickening vertue in the resurrection of Christ wherby he is able not only to raise our dead bodies vnto life but also when wee are deade in sinne to raise vs vp to newnes of life And in this very point stands a maine difference between the resurrection of Christ the resurrection of any other man For the resurrection of Peter nothing auailes to the raising of Dauid or Paul but Christs resurrection auailes for all that haue beleeued in him by the very same power whereby he raised himselfe he raiseth all his members therefore he is called a quickening spirit And let vs marke the order obserued in rising First Christ riseth then the saints after him And this came to passe to verifie the Scripture which saith that Christ is the first borne of the dead Now he is the first borne of the dead in that hee hath this dignitie priuiledge to rise to eternal life the first of all men It is true indeede that Lazarus sundrie others in time rose before Christ but yet they rose to liue a mortall life and to die againe Christ he is the first of all that rose to life euerlasting and to glorie neuer any rose before Christ in this maner And the persoÌ„s that rose before with Christ are to be noted they were the Saints of God not wicked men whereby we are put in minde that the elect children of God onely are partakers of Christs resurrection Indeede both good and bad rise againe but there is a great difference in their rising for the godly rise by the vertue of Christs resurrection and that to eternall glorie but the vngodly rise by the vertue of Christ not as he is a redeemer but as he is a terrible iudge and is to execute iustice on them And they rise againe for this ende that besides the first death of the bodie they might suffer the second death which is the powring forth of the wrath of God vpon bodie and soule eternally This difference is prooued vnto vs by that which Paul saith Christ is the first fruits of them that sleep Among the Iewes such as had corne fields gathered some little quantitie therof before they reaped the rest offred the same vnto God signifying therby that they acknowledged him to be the author and giuer of all increase this offering was also an assurance vnto the owner of the blessing of God vpoÌ„ the rest this being but one handful did saÌ„ctify the whol crop Now Christ to the dead is as the first fruits to the rest of the corne because his resurrection is a pledge an assurance of the resurrection of all the faithfulll When a man is cast into the sea and all his bodie is vnder the water there is nothing to be looked for but present death but if he carrie his heade aboue the water there is good hope of a recouery Christ himself is risen as a pledge that all the iust shall rise againe he is the heade vnto his Church therfore all his members must needes followe in there time It may be demaÌ„ded what became of the Saints that rose againe after Christs resurrection Ans. Some think they died againe but seeing they rose for this ende to manifest the quickning vertue of Christs resurrection it is as like that they were also glorified with Christ and ascended with him to heauen Thus much of the manner of Christs resurrection Now follows the time when he rose againe and that is specified in the Creede The third day he rose againe Thus saith our Sauiour Christ vnto the Pharisies As Ionas was three daies and three nights in the whales bellâ—e so shall the sonne of man be three daies and three nights in the heart of the earth And though Christ was but one day and two pieces of two daies in the graue for he was buried in the euening before the sabbath and rose in the morning the next day after the sabbath yet is this sufficient to verifie this saying of Christ. For if the analogie had stoode in three whole daies then Christ should haue risen the fourth day And it was the pleasure of God that he should lie thus long in the graue that it might be knowne that he was thoroughly dead and he continued no longer that he might not in his bodie see corruption Againe it is said Christ rose againe in the ende of the sabbath when the first day of the weeke beganne to dawne And this very time must be considered as the reall beginning of the new spirituall world in which we are made the sonnes of God And as in the first day of the first world light was commaunded to shinâ— out of darknes vpon the deepes so in the first day of this new world the sonne of righteousnes riseth and giues light to them that sit in darknes dispells the darknes that was vnder the old testameÌ„t And here let vs mark the reason why the sabbath day was changed For the first day of the weeke which was the day following the Iewes sabbath is our sabbath day which day we keepe holy in memorie of the glorious resurrection of Christ and therefore it is called the Lords day And it may not vnfitly be tearmed Sunday though the name came first from the heathen because on this day the blessed sonne of righteousnâ—s rose from death to life Let vs now in the next place proceede to
no blemish and needes not to eate but is supported by God without meate if this be true in our bodies when they shal be glorified then much more was it true in Christ. Ans. True it is a glorified bodie hath no blemishes but our Sauiour Christ had not yet entred into the fulnesse of gis glory If he had bene fully glorified he could not so sensibly and plainly haue made manifest the trueth of his resurrection vnto his disciples and therefore for their sakes and ours hee is content after his entrance into glorie still to retaine in his bodie some remnantes of the ignominies and blemishes which if it had pleased him hee might haue laide aside he is also content to eate not for neede but to prooue that his body was not a bodie in shew but a true bodie This teacheth us two lessons I. If Christ for our good and comfort be content to retaine these ignominious blemishes then answerably euery one of us must as good followers of Christ referre the workes of our callings to the good of others as Paul saith He was free from all men yet he was content to become all things vnto all men that by all meanes he might winne the moe Secondly wee learne that for the good of our neighbour and for the maintaining of loue and charitie we must be content to yeelde from our owne right as in this place our Sauiour Christ yeeldes of his owne glorie for the good of his Church The third point is that hee then gaue the disciples their Apostolicall commissions saying Goe and teach all nations of which three pointes are to be considered the first to whome it is giuen Answ. To them all as well to one as to another and not to Peter onely And this ouerthrowes the fond and forged opinion of the Papists concerning Peters supremacie If his calling had bene aboue the rest then hee should haue had a speciall commission aboue the rest but one and the same commission is giuen alike to all The second that with the commission he giues his spirit for whom hee appointeth to publish his will and worde them he furnisheth with sufficient giftes of his holy spirit to discharge that great function and therefore it is a defect that any are set a parte to be ministers of the gospell of Christ which haue not receiued the spirit of knowledge the spirit of wisdome and the spirite of prophesie in some measure The third point is that in conferring of his spirit he useth an outwarde signe for the text saith He breathed on them said receive the holy ghost The reasons hereof may be these First when God created Adam and put into him a liuing soule it is said he breathed in his face And so our Sauiour Christ in giuing unto his disciples the holy ghost doeth the same to shewe unto them that the same person that giueth life giueth grace and also to signifie unto them that beeing to sende them ouer all the worlde to preach his gospell he was as it were to make a second creation of man by renuing the image of God in him which he had lost by the fall of Adam Againe hee breathed on them in giuing his spirite to put them in mind that their preaching of the gospell could not be effectuall in the hearts of their hearers before the Lord doth breath into them his spirit therby draw them to beleeue therfore the spouse of Christ desireth the Lord to send forth his north and south wind to blovve on her garden that the spices thereof may flow out This garden is the Church of God which desireth Christ to comfort her to poure out the graces of his spirite on her that the people of God which are the hearbs and trees of righteousnes may bring forth sweet spices whose fruite may be for meate and their leaues for medicines Thus much for the fiue appearances of Christ the same day he rose againe Now follow the rest of his appearances which were in the 40 daies following which are in nūber sixe The first is mentioned by S. Iohn in these words Eight daies after when the disciples were within Thomas with thē came Iesus when the dores were shut stood in the midst of thē said Peace be unto you In it we must consider two things I. the occasion thereof II. the dealing of Christ. The occasion was this after Christ had appeared vnto the other disciples in Thomas his absence they tolde him that they had seene the Lorde but he made answere Except I see in his body the print of his nailes put mine hand into his side I will not beleeve Now eight dayes after our Sauiour Christ appeared againe unto all the disciples especially for the curing of Thomas his unbeliefe which was no small sinne considering it containes in it three great sinnes The first is blindnes of mind for he had beene a hearer of our Sauiour Christ a long time and had bene instructed touching resurrection diuers times he was also with Christ and saw him when he raised Lazarus and had seene or at least wise had heard the miracles which he did and also he had heard all the disciples say that they had seene the Lord and yet will it not sinke into his head The second is deadnesse of heart When our Sauiour Christ went to raise Lazarus that vvas deade Thomas spake verie confidently to him and saide Let vs go that we may die with him yet when Christ was crucified he fledde away and is the longest from Christ after his resurrection and when he is certenly told thereof hee will not acknowledge it or yeeld unto it The third is willfulnesse for when the disciples told him that they had seen the Lord he said flatly that unlesse he saw in his hands the print of the nailes he would not beleeue and that which is worse then all this he continueth eight daies in this wilfull minde Now in this exceeding measure of unbeleefe in Thomas any man euen hee that hath the most grace may see what a masse of unbeliefe is in himselfe and what willfulnesse and untowardnesse to any good thing in so much that we may truly say with Dauid Lorde what is man that thou so regardest him And if such measure of unbeliefe was in such men as the disciples were then we may assure our selues that it doth much more exceed in the common professours of religion in these daies let them protest to the contrarie what they will Now the cause of his unbeliefe was this he makes a law to himselfe that he will see and feele or else he will not beleeue but this is flat against the nature of faith which consisteth neither in seeing nor feeling Indeed in things natural a man must first haue experience in seeing and feeling and then beleeue but it is contrarie in diuinitie a man must first haue faith and beleeue and then comes experience afterward But Thomas hauing
I let them passe Thus much of the appearances of Christ after his resurrection the witnesses thereof are of three sortes I. angels II. women that came to the graue to embalme him III. Christs owne disciples who did publish and preach the same againe according as they had seene and heard of our Sauiour Christ and of these likewise I omit to speake because there is not any speciaâ—l thing mentioned of them by the Evangelistes Now follow the uses which are twofold some respect Christ and some respect ourselues Vses which concerne Christ are three I. whereas Christ Iesus being starke deade rose againe to life by his owne power it serueth to prooue unto us that he was the sonne of God Thus Paul speaking of Christ saieth that he was declared mightily to be the sonne of God touching the spirit of sanctification by the resurrection from the dead And by the mouth of Dauid God saide Thou art my sonne this day I have begot thee Which place must be understood not so much of the eternall generation of Christ before all worlds as of the manifestation therof in time after this maner This day that is at the time of thine incarnation but especially at the day of thy resurrection have I begotten thee that is I haue made manifest that thou art my sonne so is this place expouÌ„ded by S. Paul in the Acts. Secondly Christs resurrection by his own power prooues unto us euidently that he is Lord ouerall things that are this use S. Paul makes hereof for saith he Christ therefore died that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the quicke And indeed wheras he rose againe thus he did hereby shew himselfe most plainely to be a mightie prince ouer the graue ouer death hell condemnation in that he had power to ouercome them Thirdly it proues unto us that he was a perfit priest that his death and passion was a perfit satisfaction to the iustice of God for the sins of mankind For whereas Christ died he died for our sins now if he had not fully satisfied for them all though there had remained but one sin for which he had made no satisfaction he had not risen againe but death which came into the worlde by sinne and is strengthned by it woulde haue helde him in bondage and therefore whereas hee rose againe it is more then manifest that he hath made so full a satisfaction so as the merite thereof doth and shall countervaile the iustice of God for all our offences To this purpose Paul saith If Christ be not risen againe your faith is vaine and you are yet in your sins that is Christ had not satisfied for your sinnes or at least you could not possibly haue knowen that he had made satisfaction for any of them if he had not risen againe The uses which concerne our selues are of two sortes comforts to the children of God and duties that are to be learned and practised of us all The comforts are especially three First Christs resurrrection serueth for the iustification of all that beleeue in him euen before God the father as Paul saith Christ was given to death for our sinnes and is risen againe for our iustification which wordes haue this meaning when Christ died as we haue shewed before we must not consider him as a priuate man but as one that stood in the stead and roome of all the elect in his death he bare our sinnes and suffered all that we should haue suffered in our own persons for euer the guilt of our offences was laid upon him therfore Esai saith he was nuÌ„bred among the wicked Now in his rising againe he freed disburdened himselfe not from any sinnes of his own because he was without sin but from the guilt punishment of our sins imputed unto him And hence it comes to passe that all those which put their trust affiance in the merit of Christ at the very first instant of their beleeuing haue their owne sins not imputed unto them his righteousnes imputed Secondly the resurrection of Christ serueth as a notable meanes to worke inward sanctification as S. Peter saith We are regenerate to a lively hope by the resurrectioÌ„ of Iesus Christ from the dead And S. Paul Wee are then saith hee buried with him by baptisme into his death that like as Christ vvas raised vp from the dead by the glorie of his father so vvee also should walke in newnesse of life For if we be grafted vvith him to the similitude of his death wee shall be also to the similitude of his resurrection Which wordes import thus much that as Christ by the power of his owne godheade freed his manhood from death and from the guilt of our sinnes so doth he free those that are knit unto him by the bond of one spirite from the corruption of their natures in which they are dead that they may liue unto God In the naturall body the head is the fountaine of all the senses and of motion and therefore by sundry nerves dispersed through the body the power of moouing and of sense is deriued euen to the least partes so as the hands and the feete moue by meanes of that power which comes from the head and so it is in the spirituall body of Christ namely the Church he is the head the fountain of life therfore he coÌ„veieth spirituall life to euery one of his members and that very power of his godhead whereby he raised up himselfe when he was dead he conveieth from himselfe to his members thereby raiseth them up from the death of sinne to newnesse of life And looke as in a perfect body when the head hath sence and motion the hand that is of the same bodie hath also sense and motion conuenient for it So likewise Christ beeing the resurrection and the life as there is spirituall life in him so euery member of his shall feele in it selfe spirituall sence and motion whereby it is raised up froÌ„ sinne and liueth unto God For the better conceiuing of this we must consider two things the outward meanes of this spirituall life and the measure of it For the meanes if we will haue common water vve must goe to the well and if wee vvould haue vvater of life we must goe unto Christ who saith If any man thirst let him come unto me and drinke Now this vvell of the water of life is very deepe we haue nothing to draw with therefore we must haue our pipes conduits to convey the same unto us which are the word of God preached and the administration of the sacrameÌ„ts Christ saith The dead shall heare the voice of the sonne of God they that heare it shall live where by dead is meant not the dead in the graue but those that are dead in sinne And againe Christ saith the wordes which I speake are spirite and life because
turne betime from our sinnes and become the friends of Christ that so we may escape these fearefull iudgements And whereas Christ in this manner gouernes all things in heauen and earth we are bound to performe vnto him three duties reuerence obedience thankfulnes For the first Paul saith God hath exalted him and giuen him a name aboue all names that at the name of Iesus which name is his exaltation in heauen in full power and glorie should euery knee bowe We dare not so much as speake of an earthly king vnreuerently what reuerence then doe we owe vnto Christ the king of heauen and earth Dauids heart was touched in that he had cut off but the lappe of Sauls garment when he might haue slaine him because he was the Lords annointed Oh then howe much more ought our hearts to be touched if we shall in the least measure dishonour Christ Iesus our Lord and king Secondly we are here taught to performe obedience to him and to do him all the homage we can The master of the familie in all his lawfull commaundements must be obeied now the Church of Christ is a familie therfore we must yeild obedience to him in al things for al his coÌ„mandemeÌ„ts are iust WheÌ„ Saul was chosen king ouer Israel certain men which feared God whose hearts God had touched followed him to Gibea brought him presents but the wicked despised him the same is much more to be verified in vs towarde Christ our Lord. We must haue our hearts touched with desire to performe obedience vnto him if not we are men of Belial that despise him and refuse to bring our presents vnto him If this obedience were put in practise the Gospell would haue better successe in the hearts of the people and the Lords sabbath would be better kept and men would beare greater loue both to God and to their neighbours then now they doe The third dutie which we owe vnto him is thankfulnes for the endlesse care which he sheweth in the gouerning and preseruing of vs. VVhen Dauid waxed old and had made Salomon his sonne king in his stead all the people shouted and cried God saue king Salomon God saue king Salomon so as the earth rang againe Shall the people of Israel thus reioyce at the crowning of Salomon shal not we much more reioyce when as Christ Iesus is placed in heauen at the right hand of his father and hath the euerlasting scepter of his kingdome put into his hand And we are to shew this thankfulnes vnto him by doing any thing in this world that may tend to his honour and glorie though it be with the aduenture of our liues VVhen Dauid desired to drinke of the water of the well of Bethlem three of his mightie men went and brake into the host of the Philistims and brought him water Thus they ventured their liues for Dauids sake and shall not we much more willingly venture our liues to doe Christ seruice in token of thankfulnes for his continuall preseruing of vs Thus much of the highest degree of Christs exaltation in his kingdome now followeth the last point to be beleeued concerning Christ in these words From thenâ—e he shall come to iudge the quicke and the deade And they containe a proofe or a particular declaration of the former article For as on earth those that are set at the right hand of kings doe execute iustice in courts or assises for the maintenance of the state and peace of the kingdome so Christ Iesus sitting at the right hande of his father that is being made soueraigne Lord of all things both in heauen earth is to hold a court or assise in which he shall come to iudge both the quicke and the dead Now in handling the last iudgement we are to consider these points I. whether there shall be a iudgement or not II. the time of it III. the signes therof IV. the manner of it V. the vse which is to be made thereof Of these in order For the first point whether there shall be a iudgement or not the question is needefull for as Saint Peter saith There shall come in the last daies mockers which shall walke after their lusts and say Where is the promise of his comming which daies are now The answeare is set downe in this article in which we professe that the coÌ„ming of Christ to the last iudgement is a point of religion specially to be held and auouched The reasons to prooue it are principally two first the testimonie of God himselfe in the books of the old and new testament which affoard vnto vs plentifull testimonies touching the last iudgement so as he which will but lightly reade the same shall not neede to doubt thereof The second reason is taken from the iustice and goodnes of God the propertie wherof is to punish wicked and vngodly men and to honour and reward the godly but in this world the godly maÌ„ is most of al in misery for iudgement beginneth at Gods house and the vngodly haue their hearts ease Wicked Diues hath the world at will but pore Lazarus is hunger bitten full of soares miserable euery way This being so it remaineth that after this life there must needes be a iudgement and a second comming of Christ when the godly must receiue fulnes of ioy glorie and the vngodly fulnes of woe and miserie This second reason may stoppe the mouthes of all gainesayers in the worlde whatsoeuer But it may be obiected that the whole world stands either of beleeuers or vnbeleeuers and that there is no last iudgement for either of these for the beleeuer as Christ saith hath euerlasting life shal not come into iudgement and the vnbeleeuer is condemned alreadie and therefore needeth no further iudgement Answ. Where it is said he that beleeueth shall not come into iudgement it must be vnderstood of the iudgement of condemnation not the iudgement of absolution he that beleeueth not is condemned alreadie in effect substance three waies I. in the counsel of God who did foresee appoint his condemnation as it is a punishment of sinne and an execution of his iustice II. in the word of God where he hath his condemnation set down III. he is condemned in his own conscience for euery vngodly mans conscience is a iudge vnto himselfe which doth euery houre condemne him and it is a forerunner of the last iudgement And notwithstaÌ„ding all this there may remain a second iudgement which is a manifestatioÌ„ finishing of that which was beguÌ„ in this world therefore the meaning of that place is this he that beleeueth not is alreadie iudged in part but so as the full manifestation thereof shall be at the second comming of Christ. The second circumstance is the time of his iudgement in handling whereof I. we will see what is the iudgement of men II. what is the truth For the first two opinions touching this
time take place The first is that the second comming of Christ shall be about sixe thousand yeares from the beginning of the world that for the elects sake some of these daies must be shortned now since the beginning of the world are passed fiue thousand almost sixe huÌ„dred yeares so as there remaine but foure hundreds The grouÌ„ds of this opinion are these First the testimonie of Elias two thousand yeares before the law two thousand yeares vnder the law and two thousand yeres vnder Christ. And for the elects sake some of these yeares shalbe shortned Answ. This was not the senteÌ„ce of Elias the Thisbite but of another Elias which was a Iew no Prophet And wheras he saith two thousand yeares before the law two thousand yeres vnder the law he faileth From the giuing of the law to the comming of Christ was about one thousand fiue hundred yeares and from the law to the creation aboue two thousand Now if Elias can not set downe a iust number for the time past which a meane man may doe what shall we think that he can doe for the time to come And if he deceiue vs in that which is more easie to finde howe shall wee trust him in things that be harder The second reason is this howe long God was in creating the worlde so long he shall be in gouerning the same but he was sixe daies in creating the worlde and in the seuenth he rested and so proportionally he shall be sixe thousand yeares in gouerning the world euery day answearing to a thousand yeares as Peter saith A thousand yeares are but as one day with God and then shall the ende be Answer This reason likewise hath no ground in Gods word as for that place of Peter the meaning is that innumerable yeares are but as a short time with God and we may as well say two thousand or tenne thousand yeares are but as one day with God For Peter meant not to speake any thing distinctly of a thousand yeares but of a long time Thirdly it is alleadged that within sixe thousand yeares from the creation of the worlde shall appeare in the heauens straunge coniunctions and positions of the starres which signifie nothing else but the subversion of the state of the world nay some haue noted that the ende thereof should haue beene in the yeare of our Lord a thousand fiue hundred eightie eight their writings are manifest but we finde by experience that this opinion is false and friuolous and their groundes be as friuolous For no man can gather by the ordinarie course of the heauens the extraordinarie change of the whole world The second is that the end of the world shall be three yeares and an halfe after the reuealing of Antichrist And it is gathered out of places in Daniel and the Revelation abused Where a time and times and halfâ— a time signifie not three yeares and an halfe but a short time And therefore to take the words properly is farre from the meaning of the holy Ghost For marke if the end shall be three yeares an halfe after the reuealing of Antichrist then may any man knowe before hand the particular moneth wherein the ende of the world should be which is not possiblâ— Now the truth which is to be auouched against all is this that no man can know or set downe or coniecture the day the weeke the moneth the yeare or the age wherein the second comming of Christ and the last day of iudgement shall be For Christ himselfe saith of that day and houre knoweth no man no not the angels in heauen but God onely nay Christ himselfe as he is man knoweth it not And when the disciples asked Christ at his ascensioÌ„ whether he would restore the kingdoÌ„ vnto Israel he answered It is not for you to know the times and seasons which the father hath put in his owne power And Paul saith Of the times and seasons brethren you haue no neede that I write vnto you For you your selues knâ—w perfectly that the day of the Lord shall come euen as a thiefe in the night Now we know thaâ— a man that keepeth his house can not coniecture or imagine when a thiefe will come and therefore no man can set downe the particular time or age when Christ shal come to iudgement This must we hold steadfastly and if wee reade the contrarie in the writings of men we are not to beleeue their sayings but accouÌ„t of them as of the deuices of meÌ„ which haue no ground in Gods word To come to the third point namely the signes of the last iudgement they are of two sorts some goe before the comming of Christ and some are ioyned with it The signes that goe before are in number seuen recorded distinctly by the holy Ghost The first is the preaching of the Gospell through the whole worlde So our Sauiour Christ saith This Gospell of the kingdome must be preached through the whole world for a witnesse vnto all nations and then shall the ende come Which place must thus be vnderstoode not that the Gospell must be preached to the whole world at any one time for that as I take it was neuer yet seene neither shalbe but that it shall be published distinctly and successiuely at seuerall times and thus vnderstanding the words of Christ if we consider the time since the Apostles daies we shall finde this to be true that the Gospell hath bin preached to all the world and therefore this first signe of Christs comming is alreadie past and accomplished The second signe of his comming is the reuealing of Antichrist as Paul saith The day of Christ shall not come before there be a departure first and that man of sinne be disclosed euen the sonne of perdition which is Antichrist Concerning this signe in the yeare of our Lord 602. Gregorie the eight Pope of Rome auouched this solemnly as a manifest 〈◊〉 that whosoeuer did take to him selfe the name of Vniuersall Bishop the same was Antichrist Now fiue yeares after Boniface succeeding him was by Pâ—ocas the Emperour entituled Vniversall Bishop pastor of the Catholicke Church in the yeare of our Lord 607. of all Popes he was the first knowne Antichrist since him all his successours haue taken vnto them the same title of Vniuersall Catholick Bishop whereby it doth plainly appeare that at Rome hath bin and is the Antichrist And this signe is also past The third is a generall departing of most men from the faith For it is said in the place before named Let no man deceiue you for the day of Christ shall not come except there come a departing first Generall departure hath bin in former ages When Arius spied his heresie it tooke such place that the whole world became an Arian And during the space of 900 yeares from the time of Boniface the popish heresie spread it selfe ouer the whole earth and the faithful seruants of
ougly then any lazar man can be the contagioÌ„ thereof is so great noisome that the verie heauens which are many thousand miles distant from us are infected therwith Yet here we are to know that this fire shall not consume the substance of heauen and earth but onely change the qualitie and abolish the corruption which our sinnes haue brought upon them The fourth point to be considered is the manner of the last iudgement in which wee may obserue two things I. who shall be iudge II. the proceeding of this iudge The first is expressed in this article From thence hee shall come to iudge Hee that is Christ Iesus the second person in trinitie For the father hath committed all iudgement unto him It is indeede an action common to all the three persons in trinitie but yet the execution thereof appertaines unto the sonne The father indeed doth iudge the world but yet by the sonne But some may obiect that the Apostles shall sit on â—velve thrones and iudge the twelve tribes of Israel And S. Paul saith The saintes shall iudge the world How then is this true that Christ is the onely iudge of the world Answer The authoritie of iudgement and giuing sentence at the last day is proper to Christ alone and doth not belong either to the Apostles or to the saints and they shall iudge at the last day only as witnesses and apprpouers of Christs iudgement at the great day of assise beside the iudge the iustices on the bench are also in a maner iudges not that they giue sentence but because by their presence they approoue and witnesse the equitie of the sentence of the iudge so the definitive sentence doth belong to Christ and the Apostles and saintes doe nothing but approoue his righteous sentence The whole proceeding of the last iudgement may be reduced to seuen pointes or heades The first is the comming of the iudge in the cloudes Here at the first it may be demaunded why Christ holdes the last iudgement rather on earth then in heauen Ansvver He doth it for two causes One the creature to be iudged hath sinned here upon earth and he proceeds after the maner of earthly iudges who hold their sessions and assises there where trespasses are commonly committed The seconde because the deuill and his angels are to be iudged and it is a parte of their punishment to be cast out of heauen For no uncleane thing may come into this heauenly Ierusalem and therefore they now remaine in the lower parts of the world there must be iudged Furthermore the second comming of Christ is sudden as the comming of a thiefe in the night He will come when the worlde thinketh not of him as the snare doeth on the birde The consideration whereof must teach us the same duties which our Sauiour Christ taught the men of his time First hee teacheth them what they must not doe For hee knowing all things knewe also the disposition of mans heart and therefore saieth Take heede to your selves least at any time your hearts be oppressed vvith surfetting and drunkennesse and the cares of this life least that day come vpon you unavvares For these sinnes benumme the heart and steale away all grace This exhortation in these our daies is most needefull For mens heartes are like the smithes stiâ—hie the more they are beaten with the hammer of Gods worde the harder they are Secondly hee teacheth them what they must doe Watch therefore saieth hee and pray continually That yee may be counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to passe and that ye may stand before the sonne of man But you will say how may wee be founde worthy to stande before Christ at that day Answere Doe but this one thing for your liues past be humbled before God and come unto him by true hearty and unfained repentance be changed and become newe creatures pray unto him earnestly for the pardon of your sinnes in Christ and pray continually that God will turne your heartes from your olde sinnes euerie day more and more and then come the last iudgement when it will ye shall be founde worthy to stand before Christ at his comming The repentant sinner is hee that shall finde fauour in the sight of God at that day The consideration hereof may mooue us to change our liues Those which were neuer yet humbled for their sinnes let them now begin and those which haue alreadie begon let them goe forwarde and continue But the deuill will crie in the hearts of some men that this exhortation is as yet needelesse for the day of iudgement is not neare because all the signes thereof are not yet passed Answere Suppose the day of iudgement be farre off yet the day of thy death can not be so for the common saying is true to day a man to morrow none Now looke as death leaveth thee so shall the day of iudgement finde thee Impenitent Cain died long since and yet the day of iudgement when it commeth shall finde him impenitent still The same thing may be saide of Saul Achitophel and Iudas They died desperately and impenitent and the Lord shall finde them so at his comming So it will be with thee whatsoeuer thou art that repentest not Death may come upon thee the next day or the next houre therefore watch and pray Prepare thy selfe against the day of death that at the day of iudgement thou maiest be â—ounde worthy to obtaine fauour in the sight of the Lorde Securitie doeth ouerwhelme the vvorlde but let us for our parts learne to prepare our selues daily For if the day of death do leaue thee unworthy then the Lord Iesus at his comming shall find thee unworthy and the deuill shal stand before thee accuse thee thy conscience shall condemne thee hell shalbe ready to swallow thee up If this admonition take no place in thy heart then at the day of iudgement it shall stand against thee and be a bill of inditement to thy further condemnation The second point followeth that Christ after that hee is come in the cloudes shall sit in a throne of glorie as the soueraigne iudge of heauen and earth after the manner of earthly kings who when they will shew themselues unto their subiectes in maiestie power and glorie use to ascende into the thrones of their kingdomes and there to shewe themselues and appeare in state vnto all the people Now what this throne is and how Christ sittes in the same the scripture hath not revealed and therefore I will not stand to search Yet here must we further marke that this appearance of his in endlesse glory and maiestie shalbe most terrible and dreadfull to the ungodly and therefore in Daniel his throne is said to be like a flame of fire and at the verie sight hereof men shall desire the mountaines to fall upon them and the hilles to couer them The third point is the citing of all men and of
the angels before his maiestie in that daie there to answer for themselues This citing shall be done by the voice of Christ as he himselfe saith In that day all that are in the graues shall heare his voice and they shall come forth And here we are to consider two things I. the power of this voice II. the ministerie whereby it shall be uttered For the first No doubt the power of this voice shall be unspeakable and therefore it is compared to a trumpet the loudest and shrillest of all musicall instrumentes and to the crie of the mariners whose manner hath bene in the doing of any businesse with all their strength at one instant to make a common shout And sensible experience shall manifest the force thereof For it shall cause all the deade euen from the beginning of the worlde to rise againe though they haue lien rotten in the earth many thousande yeres and all uncleane spirites shall be forced and compelled will they nill they to come before Christ who shalbe unto them a most fearefull and terrible iudge neither man nor angell shal be able to absent or hide himselfe all without exception must appeare as well high as low rich as poore none shalbe able to withdraw themselues no not the mightie Monarches of the earth Furthermore this voice shall be uttered by angels As in the Church Christ useth men as his ministers by whome he speakes unto his people so at the last day he shall use the ministerie of angels whome hee shall sende forth into the foure windes to gather his elect togither and therefore it is likely that this voice shalbe uttered by them And by this which hath bene saide we must be mooued to make conscience of all sinne For there is no avoiding of this iudgement we can not absent our selues no excuse will serue the turne euen the most rebellious of all creatures whether mā or angell shall be forced to appeare and therefore it stands us in hand while wee haue time in this life to looke unto our estates and to practise the duties of Christianitie that when we shall be cited before his glorious maiestie at the last day we may be cleared and absolued The fourth point is the separation of the sheepe from the goates the good from the bad for when all the kinreds of the earth all uncleane spirits shall stand before Christ sitting in the throne of his glorie then as a good shepheard hee shall separate them one from another the righteous from the wicked the elect from the reprobate He which knoweth the heartes of all men knoweth also how to doe this and he will doe it This full and finall separation is reserued to Christ and shall not be accomplished till the last day For so it is in the parable that the tares must grow with the wheate till haruest and then the reapers must separate them and gather the wheate into the barne but the tares must be burned with unquenchable fire By the consideration of this one point wee learne diuers things I. that in the Church of God in this world good and badde are mingled togither elect and reprobate and we are not to imagine any perfection of the Church of God upon earth as many haue dreamed which when they could not find they haue therefore forsaken all assemblies I confesse indeede that the preaching of the word is the Lords fanne whereby he clenseth his Church in part but yet the finishing of this worke shall not be before the last iudgement For when the ministers of God haue done all that they can yet shall the wicked be mingled with the godly Therefore the Church is compared to a barne store where is both wheate and chaffe a corne field where there is both tares and good corne and a draw net wherein is both good fish and bad Secondly whereas this separation must not be before the end of the world hence we learne the state of Gods church in this life It is like a flock of sheep mingled with goates therefore the condition of Gods people in this worlde is to be troubled many waies by those with whome they liue For goates use to strike the sheepe to annoy their pasture to make their water muddie that they can not drinke of it therefore wee must prepare our selues to beare all annoiances crosses and calamities that shall befall us in this world by the wicked ones among whome we liue Thirdly we are taught that howsoeuer the goates and the sheepe be very like feed in one pasture lie in one fold all their life time yet Christ can will seuer them asunder at the last day Therefore considering as wee are borne of Adam wee haue the nature of the goate yea of the wild beast not of the sheep it stands us in hand to lay aside our goatish conditions and to take unto us the properties of the sheepe of Christ which hee expresseth in these wordes My sheepe saith he heare my voice I know them they follow me And the properties are three to know him to be known of him and to follow him namely in obedience and he that finds them all in himselfe weareth the brand and marke of the true sheepe of Christ but contrariwise they that make profession of Christ yet therewithall ioyne not obedience howsoeuer the worlde may account of them they are but goates no sheep Let us therefore with the knowledge of Christ ioyne obedience to his word that when the day shall come that the goats must be separated from the sheep we may be found to be in the nūber of the true sheep of Christ. Wee may deceiue men both in life death beare them in hand that we are sheepe but when the iudgement shall come we can not deceiue Christ he it is that formed us he knowes our harts therfore cā easily discern what we are The fift thing is the triall of euery mans particular cause a point especially to be considered For as at the barre of an earthly iudge the malefactour is brought out of prison and set before the iudge and there examined euen so in that great day shall euery man without exception be brought before the Lord to be tried But how shal this trial be made Ans. By workes as the Apostle saith Wee must all appeare before the iudgement seate of Christ that every man may receiue the thinges vvhich are done in his body according to that hee hath done whether it be good or evil And the reason is because workes are the outward signes of inward grace and godlinesse And though we be iustified by faith alone without workes yet may we be iudged both by faith and workes For the last iudgement doeth not serue to make men iust that are not but onely to manifest them to be iust indeed which were iust before and in this life truely iustified The consideration of this very
shall heare the sentence pronounced Away fâ—om me ye cursed shall be seuered as farre from Christ as hell from heauen Therefore let us not content our selues with formall profession but open the dores of our heartes that the king of glory may come in Yee cursed They are cursed who are borne in sinne and liue in their sinnes and all the daies of their liues so perseuere to the last gaspe without seeking recouerie Whosoeuer he be that is in this estate the curse of God hangeth ouer his head and will so do till hee get reconciliation with God in Christ. This being so aboue all things in this world we must labor to be at peace with God and neuer cease nor be quiet with our selues till we haue the same wrought and sealed in our hearts For before such time as we be in Gods fauour his fearfull curse hangs ouer our heads if we so perseuere without repentance the day will come when we shall heare this fearefull sentence pronounced against us Away from me ye cursed into hell fire What hell fire is we must not curiously search but rather giue our whole endeauour to learne how we may auoid it as when a mans house is on fire his care must be not to search how it came but rather how to quench it yet we are to know thus much that by hell fire is not meant any bodily flame but it signifies the seazing of the fearful terrible wrath of God both on body and soule for euer For howsoeuer the body be subiect to burning with fire yet the soule being spiritual can not burn therfore hell fire is not a materiall fire but a grieuous tormeÌ„t fit resembled therby Prepared for the divell and his angels There is in euery maÌ„s heart by nature this corruption whereby when he sinneth he thinkes that there is no daunger but all is well having as Esai saieth made a covenat with hell But here consider that although the deuill was once an angell of light yet when he had sinned he could not escape hell it was prepared euen for him Now then shall ungodly men which are not halfe so wily thinke to escape Nowe followeth the reason of their reiection in these wordes For I was an hungred and ye gave me no meate c. Hence we learne these two points I. that all mans religioÌ„ seruing of God is in vaine if so be we shew no coÌ„passion towarde the poore members of Christ in feeding clothing lodging visiting of them For we must thinke that many of those against whom this reason shalbe brought did know religioÌ„ professe the same yea they prophesied in the name of Christ called on him saying Lord Lord yet the sentence of condemnation goeth against them because they shewed no coÌ„passion toward the meÌ„bers of Christ therfore it is a principall vertue a speciall note of a christian to shew the bowels of coÌ„passion towardes his needy breethren Here againe we note that it is not sufficient for us to abstaine froÌ„ euil but we must also do good For it is not said I was an hungred and ye tooke meate from me but When I was huÌ„gry ye gave me no meat They are not charged with doing euill but for not doing good S. Iohn saith The axe is laid to the root of the tree the reason followes not because the tree bare euil fruite but because it bare not good fruit therfore it must be cast into the fire This condemnes a bad opinion of all worldly men who thinke that all is well that God will be mercifull unto them because they do no man harme Thus we see how the deuill blindes the eyes of men for it will not stand for paiment at the day of iudgement to say I haue hurt no man unlesse we further doe all the good we can The third point is the defence which impenitent sinners make for themselues in these wordes Lorde when saw we thee an hungred or thirstie or naked or in prison or sicke and did not minister unto thee Thus in their owne defence that which Christ saith they gainsay iustifie themselues Here mark the nature of all impenitent sinners which is to sooth flatter theÌ„selues in sinne to maintaine their own righteousnes like to the proude Pharisie in his praier who bragged of his goodnes said Lord I thanke thee that I am not as other men are extortioners c. and in the very same manner ignorant persons of all sortes among us iustifie themselues in their strong faith and bragge of their zeale of gods glory and of their loue to their brethren and yet indeede shew no signes thereof And truly wee are not to maruell when we se such persons to iustifie themselues before men whereas they shall not be ashamed to doe it at the day of iudgement before the Lord Iesus himselfe The last point is Christes answere to them againe in these wordes Verily I say vnto you in as much as yee did it not to one of the least of these yee did it not to me This sentence beeing repeated againe doeth teach us the lesson which wee learned before that when wee are to shewe compassion to any man especially if hee be a member of Gods Church we must not coÌ„sider his outward estate or his basenesse in that he vvantes foode or raiment but beholde Christ in him not respecting him as a man but as a member of Christ. This it is that must mooue us to compassion and cause us to make a supply of his wants more theÌ„ any respect in the worlde besides And surely when Christ in his members comes to our doâ—es and complaines that he is hungry and sicke and naked if our bowels came not towardes him there is not so much as a dramine of the loue of God in vs. The seventh point in the proceeding of the last iudgement is the retribution or reward in these words and they shall goe into everlasting paine and the righteous into life eternall How doe the wicked enter into hell and the godly into heaven Answ. By the powerfull commaunding voice of Christ which is of that force that neither the greatest rebell that euer was among men nor all the diuels in hell shal be able to withstand it And seeing that after the day of iudgement we must remaine for euer either in heauen or in hell we are to looke about us and to take heede unto our hearts Indeed if the time vvere but a thousand or two thousand yeres then with more reason men might take libertie to themselues but seeing it is without end we must be most carefull through the whole course of our lives so to liue behaue our selues that when the day of iudgement shall come we may auoid that fearful senteÌ„ce of euerlasting woe condeÌ„nation which shalbe pronounced against the wicked And wheras all wicked men shall go to hell at Christs commandement it teacheth us willingly
to obey the voice of Christ in the ministerie of the worde For if we rebell against his voice in this world vvhen in the day of iudgemeÌ„t sentence shal be pronounced against us we shall heare another voice at the giuing whereof vve must obey whether vve will or no and thereupon go to euerlasting paine whither vve vvould not Let us therfore in time denie our selues for our sinnes past and onely relie upon Christ Iesus for the free remission of them all and for the time to come leade a nevv reformed life Thus much of the order of Christ his proceeding at the day of iudgement Novv follovv the uses thereof vvhich are either comforts to gods church or duties for all meÌ„ The first comforte or benefite is this that the same person vvhich died for us upon the crosse to work ouâ— redemption must also be our â—udge And hence vve reape tvvo speciall comfortes I. The people of God shall hereby inioy full redemption from all miseries and calamities which they had in this life So Christ himselfe speaking of the signes of the end of the world saith to his disciples When you see thâ—se things lift vp your heads for your redemptioÌ„ draweth nere TheÌ„ he shall wipe all teares from their eies Secondly we shall hereby haue a finall deliuerance from all sinne Now what a ioyfull thing it is to be freed from sinne may plainely appeare by the cry of Saint Paul Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from this bodie of death And certen iâ— is that he which knowes what sinne is and seriously repents him of the same would wish with all his heart to be ouâ— of this world that he might leaue off to sinne and thereby to displease God The second comfort is this the godly in this worlde haue many enemies they are reuiled slaundred and oftentimes put to death well Christ Iesus at the day of iudgement will take euery mans case into his owne hand he will then heare the complaint of the godly howsoeuer in this world they found no remedie and then he will reuenge their blood that is shed vpon the earth according to their praier This comfort is to be considered especially of all those that are any way persecuted or molested by the wicked of this world Now follow the duties to be learned of euery one of vs and they are diuerse First the consideration of the last iudgement serueth to teach all ignorant persons and impenitent sinners repentance and humiliation for their sinnes and to mooue them with all speede to seeke vnto Christ for the pardon of the same When Paul preached to the Athenians he willed them to repent vpon this ground reason because the Lord hath appointed a day wherin he will iudge the world in righteousnes To speake plainly we can be content to heare the worde and to honour him with our lippes yet for the most part all is done but for fashions sake for still we liue in our old sinnes our hearts are not turned but in the feare of God let vs bethinke our selues of the time when we shall come before the iudge of heauen and earth and haue all our sinnes laide open and wee must answer for them all This is the point which the holy Ghost vseth as a reason to mooue men vnto repentance and assuredly if this will not mooue vs there is nothing in the world will Secondly to this purpose Paul saith If we would iudge our selues we should not be iudged Wouldest thou then escape the iudgement of Christ at the last day then in this life iudge thy selfe Now a man in iudging of himselfe must performe foure things I. he must examine himselfe of his owne sinnes II. he must confesse them before the Lord. III. he must condemne himselfe and as a iudge vpon the bench giue sentence against himselfe Lastly he must plead pardon and cry vnto God as for life and death for the remission of all his sinnes and he that doth this vnfainedly shall neuer be iudged of the Lord at the last day but if we slacke and neglect this dutie in this life then vndoubtedly there remaines nothing but eternall woe in the world to come Thirdly by this we may learne one not to iudge or condemne another as Paul saith Iudge nothing before the time vntill the Lord come who lighten things that are hidde in darknes and make the counsells of the hearts manifest And Christ saith Iudgement is mine and Iudge not and ye shall not be iudged And againe Paul saith to the Romanes Why doest thou iudge thy brother for we must all appeare before the iudgement seat of Christ but some will aske how doth one iudge another Answer Thus I. when a man doth well to say of him that he doth euill II. when a man doth euill then to make it worse III. when a thing is doubtfull to take it in the worst part And by any of these three waies we are not to iudge either of mens persons or of their actions Fourthly we must endeauour our selues to keepe a good conscience before God and before all men This is the practise of Saint Paul who in consideration and hope of a resurrection vnto iudgement as well of the iust as of the vniust endeauoured himselfe to haue alwaies a cleare conscience both towards God and towards men His example is worthie our marking and imitation for fewe there be that vpon this occasion make any conscience either of dutie to God or to their brethren Fifthly the last iudgement must stirre vs vp to a reuerend feare of God and cause vs to glorifie him as the angel saith in the Revelation Feare God and giue glorie to him for the houre of his iudgement is come And doubtles if any thing in the world will mooue a man to feare the Lord it is this to remember the fearefull and terrible day of iudgement Now hauing spoken hitherto of the first person the father and also of the sonne it followeth in the next place to speake of the third person in these words J beleeue in the holy Ghost In which we may consider two things the title of the person and the action of faith repeated from the beginning The title is holy Ghost or Spirit It may here be demaunded how this title can be fit to expresse the third person which seemes to be common to the rest for the father is holy and the sonne is holy againe the father is a spirit and the sonne is a spirite Answer Indeede the father and the Sonne are as well to be tearmed holy in respect of their natures as the third person for all three subsisting in one and the same Godhead are consequently holy by one and the same holines but the third person is called holy because beside the holines of natures his office is to sanctifie the Church of God Nowe if it be said that sanctification is a worke of the whole Trinitie the
to be damned therefore I will liue as I list for it is not possible for me to alter Gods decree Blasphemous mouthes of men make nothing of this and like speeches and yet they speake flatt contraries For whom God hath purposed in his eternall counsell to refuse them also he hath purposed for their sinnes to leaue to the blindnesse of their mindes and hardnesse of their heartes so as they neither will nor can liue a godly life Secondly this rule doeth as it were leade us by the hande to the consideration of the fearefull estate of many people among us Wee haue had for the space of thirtie yeeres and more the preaching of the Gospell of Christ and the more plentifully by reason of the schooles of learning But what hath beene the issue of it I doubt not but in many it hath beene the meanes of their conversion and saluation but to speake generally of the greater parte there is little or no fruite to be seene The most after this long preaching remaine as blinde as impenitent as harde hearted and as unreformed in their liues as euer they vvere though they haue hearde the Lorde calling them to repentance from day to day and from yeere to yeere Well if this rule be the trueth of God as no doubt it is then I say plainely that there is a most fearefull iudgement of God amongst vs. My meaning is not to determine or giue sentence of any mans person of any towne or people neuerthelesse this may be auouched that it is a terrible and daungerous signe of the wrath of God that after this long and daily preaching there is still remaining a generall hardenesse of heart impenitencie and want of reformation in the liues of men The smithes stithie the more it is beaten the harder it is made and commonly the heartes of men the more they are beaten with the hammer of Gods worde the more dull secure and senslesse they are This beeing so it standes euery man in hande to looke to his owne estate Wee are carefull to flie the infection of the bodily plague oh then how carefull shoulde wee bee to flie the common blindenesse of minde and hardnesse of heart which is the verie plague of all plauges a thousande folde worse then all the plagues of Egypt And it is so much the more fearefull because the more it takes place the lesse it is perceiued When a malefactour on the day of assise is brought foorth of the iayle with great boltes and fetters to come before the iudge as hee is going all men pitie him and speake comfortably unto him But why so because hee is now to be arraigned at the barre of an earthly Iudge Nowe the case of all impenitent sinners is farre more miserable then the case of this man for they lie fettred in bondage vnder sin satan and this short life is the way in which they are going euerie houre to the barre of Gods iustice who is the King of kings and Lord of lords there to be arraigned to haue sentence of condemnation giuen against them Now canst thou pitie a man that is before an earthly iudge and wilt thou not be touched with the miserie of thine owne estate who goest euery day forward to the barre of Gods iustice whether thou be sleeping or waking sitting or standing as a man on the sea in a ship goes continually toward the hauen though he himselfe stirre not his foote Begin now at length to lay this point to your hearts that so long as ye run on in your blind wayes without repentance as much as yee can yee make poste hast to hell-warde and so long as you continue in this miserable condition as Peter saieth Your iudgement is not farre off and your damnation sleepeth not Thirdly seeing those whome God hath purposed to refuse shall be left unto themselues and neuer come to repentance we are to loue and embrace the word of God preached taught unto us by the ministers of the gospell withall submitting our selues unto it and suffering the Lord to humble us thereby that we may come at length out of the broad way of blindnesse of minde and hardnesse of heart leading to destruction into the straight way of true repentance and reformation of life which leadeth to saluation For so long as a man lives in this world after the lusts of his own heart he goes on walking in the very same broad way to hell in which all that are ordained to condemnation walke and what a fearefull thing is it but for a litle while to be a companion in the way of destruction with them that perish and therefore I say once againe let us all in the feare of God lay his word unto our heartes and heare it with such reuerence as that it may be in us the sworde of the spirite to cut downe the sinnes and corruptions of our natures and worke in us a reformation of life and true repentance The third point concerning the decree of Reprobation is the Iudgement to be giuen of it This iudgement belongeth to God principally and properly because hee knoweth best what he hath determined cōcerning the estate of euery man none but he knowes who they be which are ordained to due deserued dānation And againe he only knoweth the hearts and willes of men and what grace he hath giuen them what they are and what all their sinnes be and so doth no angell nor creature in the world beside As for men it belongs not to them to giue iudgement of reprobation in themselues or in others unlesse God reveale his will unto them and giue them a gift of discerning This gift was bestowed on sundry of the Prophets in the old Testament and in the new Testament on the Apostles Dauid in many Psalmes makes request for the confusion of his enemies not praying only against their sinnes which we may do but euen against their persons which we may not do No doubt he was guided by gods spirit receiued thence an extraordinarie gift to iudge of the obstinate malice of his aduersaries And Paul praies against the persō of Demetrius saying The Lord reward him according to his doings And such kinde of praiers were lawfull in them because they were caried with pure upright zeale had no doubt a speciall gift whereby they were able to discerne of the finall estate of their enemies Againe God sometimes giues this gift of discerning of some mens finall impenitencie to the Church upon earth I say not to this or that priuate person but to the bodie of the Church or greater part thereof S. Iohn writing unto the Churches saith There is a sinne unto death that is against the H. ghost I say not that thou shouldest pray for it in which words he takes it for granted that the sinne might be discerned by the Church in those daies And Paul saieth If any man beleeue not the Lord Iesus let him be had in
nothing in the worlde so much as for pardon of our sinnes and that day by day without ceasing till the Lorde giue this blessed answere to our consciences that all our sinnes are put out of his remembrance We must not thinke that God putteth grace into mens heartes when they lie snurting upon their elbowes and either not use or despise the meanes but wee must first use the meanes partly by making confession of our sinnes to God and partly by crying to heauen for pardon and then when by his grace wee begin to desire grace hee giues further grace Lastly if we beleeue the pardon of our sinnes then wee must chaunge the tenour and course of our liues and take heede of breaking Gods commaundementes by doing any of those things whereof our consciences doe accuse us and tell us that by them we haue displeased God heretofore A man that for some misdemeanour hath bene cast into prison and lyen there many yeeres winter and sommer in cold irons when he obtaines libertie hee will often bethinke himselfe of his old miserie and take heede for eueâ— least hee fall into the same offence againe and hee which hath seene his owne sinnes and felt the smart of them and withall by Gods goodnes obtained assurance touching the pardon of them will neuer wittingly and willingly commit the like sinnes any more but in all things chaunge the course of his life As for such as say that they haue the pardon of their sinnes and yet liue in them still they deceiue themselues and haue no faith at all Thus much for the second benefite which God bestoweth on his Church namely remission of sinnes now followeth the third in these wordes The resurrection of the body In the handling wherof sundry points must be considered The first whether there be a resurrection or no This question must needs be handled because Epicures and Atheists in all ages and at this day some doe call this article in question Now that there is a resurrection of the body after death it may be prooued by many arguments whereof I will onely touch the principall The first is taken from the worke of redemption Saint Iohn writeth that Christ came to dissolue the workes of the devill which are sinne and by sinne death and hence I reason thus If sinne and death are to be dissolued utterly then the bodies of the faithfull which are dead in the graue must needes be made aliue otherwise death is not abolished but sinne and death must be utterly abolished therefore there shall be a resurrection Secondly God had made a couenaÌ„t with his church the tenor wherof is this I will be thy God thou shalt be my people This couenaÌ„t is not for a day or an age or for a thousande yeeres or ages but it is euerlasting without end so as Gods people may say of God for euer God is our God likewise God will say of his Church for euermore this people is my people Now if Gods couenant be euerlasting then all the faithfull departed from the beginning of the world must be raised again to life And if god should leaue his people in the graue under death for euer how could they be called the people of God for he is a God of mercy and of life it selfe therefore though they abide long in the earth yet they must at length be reuiued againe This argument Christ useth against the Sadduces which denied the resurrection God is not the god of the dead but of the living but god is the god of AbrahaÌ„ Isaac Iacob which are dead and therfore they must rise againe The third argument may be taken from the tenour and order of Gods iustice It is an especiall part of Gods glory to shewe forth his mercie on the godly and his iustice upon the wicked in rewarding them according to their workes as the Apostle saith God will reward every man according to his workes to them that by continuance in vvell doing seeke glorie and honour and immortalitie life eternall but vnto them that disobey the trueth that be contentious and obey vnrighteousnesse shall be indignation and wrath But in this life God rewardeth not men according to their doings and therefore Salomon speaking of the estate of all men in this world saith All things come alike to all and the same condition is to the iust and vniust to the good and bad to the pure and polluted to him that offereth sâ—crifice and to him that offreth none Nay which is more here the wicked flourish and the godly are afflicted The ungodly haue hearts ease and all things at will whereas the godly are oppressed and ouerwhelmed with all kinde of miseries and are as sheepe appointed for the slaughter It remaines therefore that there must needes be a generall resurrection of all men after this life that the righteous may obtaine a reward of Gods free mercie and the wicked utter shame and confusion But some will say It is sufficient that God doe this to the soule of euery man the body needeth not to rise againe I answer that the ungodly man doeth not worke wickednes only in his soule but his body also is an instrument thereof and the godly doe not onely practise righteousnes in their soules but in their bodies also The bodies of the wicked are the instrumentes of sinne and the bodies of the righteous are the weapons of righteousnesse and therefore their bodies must rise againe that both in bodie and soule they may receiue a rewarde according to that which they haue wrought in them The fourth argument which is also used by Paul is this Christ himselfe is risen and therefore all the faithfull shall rise againe for he rose not for himselfe as a priuat man but in our roome and steade and for us If the head be risen then the meÌ„bers also shal rise againe for by the same power whereby Christ raised himselfe he both can will raise all those that be of his mysticall bodie he beeing the first fruits of them that sleepe The fifth argument is taken from expresse testimonie of Scripture Iob hath an excellent place for this purpose I am sure saith he that my Redeemer liueth and he shall stande the last on the earth and though after my skinne wormes destroy this bodie yet J shall see God in my flesh whom I my selfe shall see and mine eies shall behold and none other for me And Saint Paul to the Corinthians auoucheth and prooueth this point at large by sundrie arguments which I will not stand to repeat this one remembered If saith he the dead rise not againe then your faith is vaine our preaching is in vaine and the godly departed are perished The sixth argument may be taken from the order of nature which ministreth certain resemblances of the resurrection which though they be no sufficient proofes yet may they be inducements to the truth Both Philosophers and also Divines haue
for me with these same eies Neuerthelesse the bodies of the Elect shalbe altered in qualitie being made incorruptible and filled with glorie The last point to be considered is the ende why these bodies shall rise againe The principall ende which God intendeth is his owne glorie in the manifestation of his iustice and mercie Now at the last day when all men shall be raised to iudgement by the voice of Christ the godly to life and the wicked to condemnation there shall be a full manifestation both of his mercie and iustice and therefore by consequent a full manifestation of his glorie Thus much for the doctrines touching the Resurrection now followe the vses First it serueth wonderfully for the comfort of all Christian hearts Dauid speaking not onely of Christ but also of himselfe saith most notably Mine heart is glad my tongue reioyceth and my flesh also doth rest in hope Why so For saith he thou shalt not leaue my soule in graue neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption Though the daies of this life be daies of woe and miserie yet the day of the resurrection shall be vnto all the children of God a time of reioycing and felicitie and as Peter saith it is the time of refreshing Whosoeuer is now an hungred shall then eate and be filled with the fruit of the tree of life and whosoeuer is now naked shalbe then cloathed with the white garments dipped in the bloode of the lambe and whosoeuer is now lame shal haue all his meÌ„bers restored perfectly And as this day is ioyfull to the godly so on the contrarie it is a day of woe and miserie to the vngodly as Saint Iohn saith they that haue done euill shall come forth to the resurrection of condemnation If they might cease to liue after this life and die as the beast doth O then it would be well with them for then they might haue an ende of their miserie but the wicked must after this life rise againe to condemnation which is the accomplishment of their eternall woe and wretchednes a rufull and dolefull case to consider and yet is it the state of all vnbeleeuing and vnrepentant sinners If a man were bidden to goe to bedde that after he had slept and was risen againe he might goe to execution it would make his heart to ake within him yet this yea a thousand fold worse is the state of all impenitent sinners they must sleepe in the graue for a while and then rise againe that a second death may be inflicted vpon them in bodie and soule which is the suffering of the full wrath of God both in bodie and soule eternally This beeing so let vs imbrace the good counsell of Saint Peter who saith Amende your liues and turne that your sinnes may be done away when the time of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. If a man die repentant for his sinnes it is a day of refreshing but if he die in his sinnes impenitent and hard hearted it is a day of eternall horrour desperation and confusion Againe if wee beleeue that our bodies shall rise againe after this life and stand before God at the last day of iudgement wee must daily enter into a serious consideration of this time and haue in minde that one day we must meete the Lord face to face A trauailer comes into an Inne hauing but a pennie in his purse he sits downe and call for all store of prouision and dainties now what is to be thought of him surely in the iudgemeÌ„t of all men his behauiour bekens follie or rather madnes But why because he spends freely and hath not regard to the reckoning which must follow how foolish then and madde is the practise of euery man that liueth in his sinnes bathing himselfe in his pleasures in this worlde neuer bethinking how he shall meete God at the last day of iudgement there make reckoning for all his doings An ancient Divine writes of himself that this saying ranne in his minde and sounded alwaies in his eares Arise ye dead and come vnto iudgement And this ought alwaies to be souÌ„ding in our eares that while we haue time we should prepare our selues to meete God at the last day Thirdly if we beleeue the resurrection of the bodie we are not to weepe and mourne immoderately for our friends deceased Our Sauiour Christ did weepe for Lazarus and when Stephen was stoned to death certaine men that feared God buried him and made great lamentation for him and therefore mourning is not condemned we must not be as stocks that are bereft of all compassion yet remember we must what Saint Paul saith to the Thessalonians I would not brethren haue you ignorant concerning those which are asleepe that ye sorrow not as others which haue no hope For the godly man properly dieth not but laies himselfe down to take a sleepe after his manifold labours in this life which beeing ended he must rise againe to ioyes euerlasting and therefore we must moderate and mingle our mourning for the deceased with this and such like comforts Fourthly we are taught hence to labour and striue against the naturall feare of death for if there be a resurrection of our bodies after this life then death is but a passage or middle way from this life to eternall life If a begger should be commanded to put off his old ragges that he might be cloâ—hed with rich and costly garments would he be sorie because he should stand naked a while till he were wholly bestripped of his ragges No surely well thus doth God when he calls a man to death he bids him put off his old ragges of sinne corruption be clothed with the glorious robe of Christs righteousnes our abode in the graue is but for a space while corruption be put off This is Pauls argument saying We know that when our earthly house of this tabernacle shalbe dissolued we haue a building giuen of God which is an house not made with hands but eternall in the heauens Fifthly whereas the godly are subiect to manifold afflictions miseries both in bodie and minde in this life here they shal find a sufficient stay to quiet calme their minds if they consider that after this short life is ended there will insue a ioyfull resurrection Iob in the extremitie of all his temptations made this the comfort to his soule that one day he should rise again in which he should enioy the glorious presence of his Creator And the H. Ghost saith that the seruants of God in the daies of Antiochus were racked and tormented and would not be deliuered why so because they looked for a better resurrection Lastly the consideration of this point serueth to be a bridle to restrain a man from sinne a spurre to make him go forward in all godlines of life and conuersation S. Paul had hope toward God that
the resurrection of the dead should be both of the iust vniust Now what did this mooue him vnto Marke herein saith he that is in this respect I endeauour my self to haue alwaies a cleare coÌ„science towards God and towards man And let vs for our parts likewise remember the last iudgement that it may be a meanes to mooue vs so to behaue our selues in all our actions that we may keep a good conscience before God and before men and let it also be a bridle vnto vs to keepe vs backe from all manner of sinne For what is the cause why men daily defile their bodies soules with so many damnable practises without any remorse of conscience Surely they neuer seriously remember the day of the resurrection after this life wherin they must stand before Christ to giue an account of that which they haue done in this life whether it be good or badde Thus much of the duties now marke it is further said The resurrection of the bodie If the bodie rise it must first fal Here then this point is wrapped vp as a confessed truth that all men must die the first death And yet considering that the members of the Church haue the pardon of their sinnes which are the cause of death it may be demaunded why they must die Ansvveâ—re VVee are to know that when they die death doth not seaze vpon theÌ„ as it is in his own nature a curse for in that respect it was borne of Christ vpon the crosse and that for vs but for two other causes which wee must thinke vpon as beeing speciall meanes to make a man willing to die I. They must die that originall corruption may be vtterly abolished for no man liuing on earth is perfectly sanctified and originall sinne is remaining for speciall causes to the last moment of this life then it is abolished and not before II. The godly die that by death as by a straight gate they may passe from this vale of miserie to eternall life And thus Christ by his death makes death to be no death and turnes a curse into a blessing And to proceede It is not here said the resurrection of the soule but of the bodie onely what then will some say becommeth of the soule Diuers haue thought that the soules then though they doe not die yet are still kept within the bodie beeing as it were a sleepe till the last day But Gods word saith to the contrarie For in the Revelation it is said The soules of the godly lie vnder the altar and cry How long Lord Iesus And in the Gospel of Luke Dives in soule did suffer woe and torments in hell and Lazarus had ioy in AbrahaÌ„s bosom Againe some others think that mens soules after this life doe passe from one mans bodie to another and Herod may seeme to haue beene of this opinion for when newes was brought him of Christ he said that Iohn Baptist beeing beheaded was risen againe thinking that the soule of Iohn Baptist was put into the bodie of some other man And for proofe herof some alledge the example of Nebuchadnezzar who forsaking the societie of man liued as a beast and did eate grasse like a beast and they imagine that his owne soule went out of him and that the soule of a beast entred in the roome thereof But this indeede is a fonde conceit for euen then he had the soule of a man when he liued as a beast being only strickeÌ„ by the hand of God with an exceeding madnes whereby he was bereft of common reason as doth appeare by that clause in the text where it is saide that his vnderstanding or knowledge returned to him againe Againe some other thinke that the soule neither dieth nor sleepeth nor passeth out of one bodie into an other but wandereth here on earth amoÌ„g men ofteÌ„times appeareth to this or that maÌ„ this is the opinion of some hereticks of the common people which thinke that dead men walke and for proofe hereof some alleadge the practise of the witch of Endor who is said to make Samuel to appeare before Saul but the truth is it was not Samuel in deede but onely a counterfait of him For not all the witches in the world nor all the deuils in hell are able to disquiet the soules of the faithfull departed which are in the keeping of the Lord without wandring from place to place For when men die in the faith their soules are immediatly translated into heauen there abide till the last iudgement and contrariwise if men die in their sinnes their soules goe straight to the place of eternall condemnation and there abide as in a prison as Peter saith In a word when the breath goeth out of the bodie the soule of euery man goeth straight either to heaueÌ„ or hel and there is no third place of aboad meÌ„tioned in scripture To conclude the resurrection of the bodie is expressely mentioned in the Creede to shew that there is no resurrection of the soule which neither dieth nor sleepeth but is a spirituall and inuisible substance liuing and abiding for euer as well forth of the bodie as in the same Thus much of the third prerogatiue or benefit now followeth the fourth last in these words And life euerlasting To handle this point to the full and to open the nature of it as it deserueth is not in the power of man For both the Prophet Esai and Saint Paul say that the eye hath not seene and the eare hath not heard neither came it into mans heart to thinke of those things which God hath prepared for those that loue him Again Paul when he was wrapt into the third heauen saith that he saw things not to be vttered Neuerthelesse we may in some part describe the same so farre forth as God in this case hath reuealed his wil vnto vs. Wherefore in this last prerogatiue I consider two things the first is life it selfe the second is the continuance of life noted in the word euerlasting Life it selfe is that whereby any thing acteth liueth moueth it selfe it is twofold vncreated or created Vncreated life is the very godhead it selfe wherby God liueth absolutely in himselfe from himselfe by himselfe giuing life and being to all things that liue and haue beeing this life is not meant here because it is not communicable to any creature Created life is a qualitie in the creature and its againe twofold natural spiritual Natural life is that wherby men in this world liue by meat drinke al such means as are ministred by Gods prouidence Spirituall life is that most blessed and happie estate in which all the Elect shall raigne with Christ their head in the heauens after this life after the day of iudgemeÌ„t for euer and euer And this alone is the life which in the Creed we confesse and beleeue it consisteth in an immediate coniunctioÌ„ and communion
of the deuill But least this fearefull sentence be verefied of vs it is the duety of euerie man that maketh this confession that hee beleeues God to be his father first to labour to knovve Gods will and secondly to perfourme continuall obedience unto the same Like unto a good childe that would faine please his father and therefore is alwaies ready to do the best he can And without doubt that man which unfainedly takes God for his father is then most grieued when as by any sinne he displeaseth him no other crosse or calamity is so grieuous unto him The greatest grief that the prodigall sonne had was that he had offēded his father by sinning against heauē against him the same also must be our griefe and all our care set on this how we may be obedient children to this our louing father Thirdly that mā that beleeues God to be his father must imitate and follow him for it is the will of God that his children should be like vnto himselfe Now we follow God especially in 2. things I. In doing good to them that persecute vs so saith our Sauiour Christ Pray for them that hurt you that you may be the children of your father which is in heaven for hee maketh the sunne to rise on the evill and on the good and sendeth raine on the iust and uniust II. Our heavenly father is mercifull for he is a father of the fatherlesse and therefore he that will be a sonne of this father must be mercifull to his poore breethren as Iob saith of himselfe I vvas the eyes to the blind I vvas the feete unto the lame I vvas a father unto the poore Fourthly seeing wee beleeue God to be our father we are hereby taught onely to vse moderate care for the things of this life for if a man know himselfe to be the child of God then he also knowes that God will provide for him as wee know in a family the father provideth for all Now God is a father and his Church is his family therefore if thou wilt be a mēber of Gods Church a child of God thou must cast thy care on god follow the counsell of Christ Be not to carefull for your life what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink And mark his reason drawen from the point which we haue in hand The fowles of the heauen saith he they neither sow nor reape nor carrie into barnes and yet your heavenly father feedeth them are not ye much better then they But alas the practise of the worlde is contrarie for men haue no care for the knowledge of Gods worde nor the meanes of their salvation all their mindes are set on the things of this life when as Christ saith First seeke the kingdome of heaven and the righteousnesse thereof and all these things shall be ministred vnto you If you shoulde see a young man provide for himselfe and no man else for him wee woulde say surely his father is deade euen so when a mans care is set wholly both day and night for the things of this life it argues that God hath either cast him off or else that he takes him for no father of his Fiftly if God he our father then wee must learne to beare any crosse patiently that he shall lay upon us either in bodie or in minde and alwaies looke for deliverance from him for whome the Lorde loueth them hee chastiseth and if yee endure chastising saith the Apostle God offereth himselfe unto you as vnto children which may appeare more plainly by this comparison If two children shoulde fight and a man comming by shoulde parte them and after beate the one and let the other goe free euerie man that seeth this will say that that childe which hee beates is his owne sonne Euen so when God chastiseth vs he shevveth himselfe unto us as a father if we submit our selues Nowe if our earthly fathers corrected us and we gaue them reverence taking it patiently should vve not much rather be in subiection to the father of spirits that wee may liue Therefore the conclusion is this if we displease God be ye sure he will correct us when his hand is upon us we must not murmure against him but beare it with a milde spirite and furthermore when vvee are under the crosse we must alwaies looke for deliverance from this our father onely If a sonne vvhen hee is beaten should flee to his fathers enemies for helpe and counsell it woulde argue that hee were but a gracelesse childe Sundry and divers calamities and crosses befall men in this life which they can not brooke and therefore it is a common practise of many among us in these dayes vvhen Gods hande is upon them to goe for helpe to the deuill they seeke for counsell at witches and vvise men as I haue said but let them looke unto it for that is the right vvay to double their miserie and to shewe themselues levvde children Lastly if wee confesse and beleeue god to be the father of Christ and in him our father also then in regarde of our conuersation wee must not frame our selves like unto the world but the course of our liues must be in righteousnesse and true holinesse Paul exhorteth the Corinthians to separate themselues from Idolaters alledging the place out of the olde Testament where the Lorde biddeth the Israelites to come out from Idolaters and to touch no vncleane thing and the reason followeth out of Ieremie that if they doe so then God vvill be their father and they shall be his children even his sonnes and daughters which reason Paul vrgeth in the next chapter to this effect considering wee haue these promises that therefore wee shoulde cleanse our selues from all filthinesse of the flesh and spirite and growe up unto holines in the feare of the Lorde where if wee marke the place diligently wee shall finde this lesson that euerie man who takes God for his father must not onely in this sinne of Idolatrie but in all other sinnes separate himselfe that men by his godly life may knowe whose childe he is But some will say this exhortation is needlesse amongst vs for wee haue no cause to separate our selues from others because all amongst vs are Christians all beleeve in God and are baptised and hope to be saved by Christ. Ansvver In outvvard profession I confesse wee carrie the shewe of Christians but in deede and trueth by our lives and conversations very many among vs denie Christ for in euerie place the common practise is to spende the time in drunkennesse and surfetting in chambering and wantonnesse yea great is the companie of those that make a trade of it take this conversation from many men and take away their liues And on the Lordes day it may bee seene both publiquely and priuately in houses and in the open streetes there is such reuell as though there were no
thy transgressions like a cloud and thy sinnes as a myst Now wee know that cloudes and mystes which appeare for a time are afterwarde by the sunne utterly dispersed And king Hezekias when he would shewe that the Lord had forgiuen him his sinnes saith God hath cast them behind his backe alluding to the maner of men who when they will not remember or regard a thing doe turne their backes upon it And Micheas saieth that God doth cast all the sinnes of his people into the bottome of the sea alluding to Pharao whom the Lord drowned in the bottome of the redde sea And Christ hath taught us to pray thus Forgive vs our debtes as wee forgive our debters in which wordes is an allusion to creditours who then forgiue debts when they account that which is debt as no debt and crosse the booke Hence it appeares that damnable vile is the opinioÌ„ of the Church of Rome which holdeth that there is a remission of the fault without a remission of the punishment withall the doctrines of humane satisfactions indulgencies and purgatorie praier for the dead built upon this foundatioÌ„ are of the same kind Moreouer wee must remember to adde too this clause I beleeve and then the meaning is this I do not only beleeue that god doth giue pardon of sinne to his church people for that the verie deuils beleeue but withall I beleeue the forgiuenes of mine owne particular sins Hence it appeares that it was the iudgement of the Primitiue Church that men should beleeue the forgiuenesse of their owne sinnes By this prerogative we reape endlesse comfort for the pardon of sinne is a most wonderfull blessing and without it euery man is more miserable and wretched then the most vile creature that euer was We loathe the serpent or the toade but if a man haue not the pardon of his sinnes procured by the death and passion of Christ hee is a thousand folde worse then they For when they die there is the end of their woe and miserie but when man dieth without this benefite there is the beginning of his For first in soule till the day of iudgement and then both in body and soule for euermore he shall enter into the endlesse paines and tormentes of hell in which if one shoulde continue so many thousand yeres as there are drops in the Ocean sea and then be deliuered it were some â—ase but hauing continued so long which is an unspeakeable length of time he must remaine there as long againe and after that for euer and euer without release and therefore among all the benefits that euer were or can be thought of this is the greatest most pretious Among all the burdens that can befall a man what is the greatest Some wil say sickenesse some ignominie some pouertie some contempt but indeed among all the heauiest and the greatest is the burden of a mans owne sinnes lying upon the conscience and pressing it downe without any assurance of pardon Dauid being a King had no doubt all that heart could wish and yet hee laying aside all the roialties and pleasures of his kingdome saith this one thing aboue all that he is a blessed maÌ„ that is eased of the burdeÌ„ of his sinnes A lazar man full of sores is vgly to the sight and we can not abide to looke upon him but no lazar is so lothsome to us as all sinners are in the sight of God therfore Dauid counted him blessed whose sinnes were câ—vered It may be some will say there is no cause why a man should thus magnifie the pardon of sinne considering it is but a common benefite Thus indeede men may imagine which neuer knewe vvhat sinne meant but let a man onely as it vvere but vvith the tippe of his finger haue a little feeling of the smarte of his sinnes hee shall finde his estate so fearefull that if the vvhole vvorlde were set before him on the one side and the pardon of sins on the other hee would choose the pardon of his sinne before ten thousand worldes Though many drowsie protestants esteeme nothing of it yet to the touched conscience it is a treasure which when a man findes he hides it and goes home and selles all that hee hath and buyes it Therefore this benefit is most excellent and for it the members of Gods Church haue great cause to giue God thankes without ceasing The duties to be learned hence are these And first of all here comes a common fault of men to be rebuked Every one will say that he beleeueth the remission of sins yet no man almost laboureth for a true certen persvvasion hereof in his owne conscience for proofe hereof propound this question to the common Christian Doest thou persvvade thy selfe that God giues remission of sinnes unto his Church The answer will be I know and beleeue it But aske him further Doest thou beleeue the pardon of thine owne sinnes and then comes in a blinde answer I haue a good hope to God ward but I can not tell I thinke no man can say so much for God saieth to no man thy sinnes are pardoned But this is to speake flat contraries to say they beleeue and they can not tell and it bewraies exceeding negligence in matters of saluation But let them that feare God or loue their owne soules health giue all diligence to make sure the remission of their owne sinnes withall avoiding hardnesse of heart and drowsinesse of spirit the most fearefull iudgements of God which euery where take place The foolish virgines went forth to meete the bridegroome with lampes in their handes as well as the wise but they neuer so much as dreamed of the horne of oile till the comming of the bridegrome So many men live in the Church of God as members thereof holding up the lampe of glorious profession but in the meane season they seeke onely for the thinges of this life neuer casting how they may assure them selues in conscience touching their reconciliation with God till the day of death come Secondly if we be here bound to beleeue the pardon of all our sinnes then wee must euerie day humble our selues before God and seeke pardon for our daily offences for he giues grace to the humble or contrite he fâ—â—les the hungrie with good things when the rich are sent empty away When Benhadad the king of Syria was discomfited and ouercome by the king of Israel by the counsell of his seruants who tolde him that the kings of Israel were mercifull men hee sent them cloathed in sackcloath with ropes about their neckes to intreate for peace and fauour Now when the king saw their submission he made couenant of peace with him We by our sinnes must iustly deserue hell death and condemnation euerie day and therefore it standeth us in hand to come into the presence of God and to humble our selues before him in sackcloath and ashes craving and intreating for