Custom of all Religions of all Nations of all Vassals the Lord Iehovah Creator of Heaven and Earth ordained to his people this Observation of the Sabbath-day for a Sign and Cognisance that he should be their God and no other It is for a sign saith he between me and you that I Iehovah am your God And besides in the place I quoted before the 31. of Exod. 16 17. are these words The children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations for a perpetual Covenant It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever for in six dayes the Lord made heaven and earth and on the seventh day he rested As if he had said It is a Sign that the Creator of heaven and earth is your God But for the more distinct understanding of this signification we must know that the Sabbath includes two respects of time First the quotum one day of seven or the Seventh day after six days labour Secondly the designation or pitching that Seventh upon the day we call Saturday In both the Sabbatical observation was a sign and profession that Iehovah and no other was the God of Israel the first according to his attribute of Creatour the second of Deliverer of Israel out of AEgypt For by sanctifying the Seventh day after they had laboured six they professed themselves vassals and worshippers of that only God who created the Heaven and the Earth and having spent six days in that great work rested the Seventh day and therefore commanded them to observe this sutable distribution of their time as a baâ—ge and livery that their Religious service was appropriate to him alone And this is that which the Fourth Commandment in the reason given from the Creation intendeth and no more but this But seeing they might profess this acknowledgment as well by any other six dayes working and a seventh's resting as by those they pitched upon there being still what six dayes soever they had laboured and what seventh soever they had rested the same conformity with their Creator let us see the reason why they pitched upon tâ—ose six dayes wherein they laboured for labouring dayes rather than any other and why they chose that Seventh day namely Saturday to hallow and rest in rather than any other And this was that they might profess themselves servants of Iehovah their God in a relation and respect peculiar and proper to themselves to wit that they were the servants of that God which redeemed Israel out of the Land of Egypt and out of the house of bondage and upon the morning-watch of that very day which they kept for their Sabbath he overwhelmed Pharaoh and all his Host in the Red Sea and saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians This I gather from the repetition of the Decalogue Deut. 5. where that reason from the world's Creation in the Decalogue given at Horeb being left out Moses inserts this other of the Redemption of Israel out of Egypt in stead thereof namely as the reason why those six dayes rather than any other six for work and that Seventh day rather than any other seventh for rest were pitched upon as Israel observed them Remember saith he V. 15. thou wert a servant in the land of Egypt and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and a stretched-out arm Therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath-day Namely not for the quotum of one day of seven â—or of that another reason was given the example of God in the Creation but for the designation of the day But whether this day were in order the seventh from the Creation or not the Scripture is silent for where it is called in the Commandment the seventh day that is in respect of the six dayes of labour and not otherwise and therefore whensoever it is so called those six dayes of labour are mentioned with it The seventh day therefore is the seventh after the six dayes of labour nor can any more be inferred from it the example of the Creation is brought for the quotum one day of seven as I have shewed and not for the designation of any certain day for that seventh Nevertheless it might fall out so by disposition of Divine Providence that the Iews designed Seventh day was both the seventh in order from the Creation and also the day of their deliverance out of Egypt But the Scripture no where tells us it was so howsoever most men take it for granted and therefore it may as well be not so Certain I am the Iews kept not that day for a Sabbath till the raining of Manna For that which should have been their Sabbath the week before had they then kept the day which afterward they kept was the fifteenth day of the second moneth and which day we read in the 16 of Exod. that they marched a wearisom march and came at night into the wilderness of Sin where they murmured for their poor entertainment and wished they had died in Egypt that night the Lord sent them Quailes the next morning it rained Manna which was the sixteenth day and so six dayes together the seventh which was the twenty second day it rained none and that day they were commanded to keep for their Sabbath Now if the twenty second day of the moneth were the Sabbath the fifteenth should have been if that day had been kept before but the Text tells us expresly they marcht that day and which is strange the day of the moneth is never named unless it be once for any station but this where the Sabbath was ordained otherwise it could not have been known that that day was ordained for a day of rest which before was none And why might not their day of holy rest be altered as well as the beginning of the year was for a memorial of their coming out of Egypt I can see no reason why it might nor not find any testimony to assure me it was not And thus much of the Iews Sabbath How and wherein it was a Sign whereby they professed themselves the servants of Iehovah and no other God Now I come to the Second thing I propounded to shew How far and in what manner the like observation binds us Christians I say therefore that the Christian as well as the Iew after six dayes spent in his own works is to sanctifie the seventh that he may profess himself thereby a servant of God the Creator of Heaven and Earth as well as the Iew. For the quotum therefore the Iew and Christian agree but in designation of the day they differ For the Christian chuseth for his Holy Day that which with the Iews was the First day of the week and calls it Dominicam the Lord 's Day that he might thereby profess himself a servant of that God who on the morning of that day vanquished Satan the Spiritual Pharaoh and
Psal. 37. 21. but the Righteous sheweth mercy and giveth and vers 25 Yet have I not seen the Righteous forsaken p. 80 Psal. 40. 6. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire mine ears hast thou bored c. p. 896 Psal. 44. 16. By reason of the Enemy and Avenger all this is come upon us p. 38 Psal. 50. 14 Offer unto God praise and pay thy Vows unto the most High p. 284 Vers. 16. Vnto the wicked God saith What hast thou to do to declare my Statutes and take my Covenant in thy mouth p. 371 Psal. 51. 16 17. Thou desirest not Sacrifice else would I give it thou delightest not in burnt-offering The Sacrifices of God are a broken Spirit c. p. 353 Psal. 68. 9 10. Thou O God didst send a plentiful rain whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance when it was weary 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Animalia tua dwelt therein p. 438 594 Psal. 74. 7 8. They have cast fire into thy Sanctuary They have burnt up 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the land p. 69 Psal. 89. 18. The Holy one of Israel is our King p. 8 Psal. 104. 4. He maketh his Angels Spirits his ministers a flaming fire p. 28 Vers. 19. He appointeth the Moon for seasons p. 492 Psal. 110. 3. Thy people in the day of thy power shall be a people of free presents p. 115 Psal. 112. 6 The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance p. 80 Psal. 116. 13. I will take the cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. p. 380 Psal. 132. 7. We will go into his Tabernacle we will worship towards his Footstool p. 393 Psal. 138. 1 â— Before the Gods will I sing praise unto thee I will worship towards thy holy Temple p. 394 PROVERBS Chap. 4. 23. Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life p. 199. Chap. 8. 10. Receive my instruction and not silver p. 352 Chap. 11. 4. Righteousness delivereth from death p. 81 Chap. 15. 11. Hell and destruction are before the Lord. p. 32 Chap. 21. 16. The man that wandreth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the Congregation of the dead p. 31 Chap. 30. 8 9. Give me neither Poverty nor Riches feed me with food convenient for me Lest I be full and deny thee and say Who is the Lord or lest I be poor and steal and take the name of my God in vain p. 124 ECCLESIASTES Chap. 5. 1. Look to thy foot when thou comest to the House of God and be more ready to obey than to offer the Sacrifice of fools p. 340 Vers 4. 5 6. When thou Vowest a Vow defer not to pay it c. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin neither say thou before the Angel It was an error p. 345 Vers. 14. he begâ—tâ—eth a Son and there is nothing in his hand pag. 119 CANTICLES Chap. 7. 10. I am my beloved's and his desire is towards me p. 668 ESAY Chap. 2. 2. And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the tâ—p of the mountains c. and all Nations shall flow unto it p. 135 Chap. 4. 1. Only let thy name be called upon us to take away our reproach p. 5 Chap. 6. 1. I saw the Lord sitting upon a Throne high and lifted up and his Train filled the Temple p. 344 Chap. 7. 14. and shall call his name Emmanuel p. 465 Chap. 8. 12 13. Fear ye not their Fear neither dread ye it Sanctifie the Lord of hosts himself and let him be your Fear and let him be your Dread p. 9 Chap. 9. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quoniam non est obscuratio ei qui angustiae est ipsi p. 457 Vers. 1 2 3. As the first time he made vile or debased the land of Zebulâ—n and the land of Naphtali so in the latter time he shall make it glorious The way of the Sea by Iordan Galilce of the Gentiles the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light c. Thou hast multiplied the Nation and encreased the joy thereof p. 101 457 Vers. 6. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counseller The mighty God c. p. 465 Chap. 11. 15. And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the AEgyptian Sea c. p. 529 Chap. 17. 7. to the Holy one of Israel p. 8 Chap. 19. 5. And the waters shall fail from the Sea p. 463 Chap. 24. 23. The Moon shall be confounded and the Sun ashamed when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Sion p. 448 Chap. 26. 19. Thy dead men shall live my dead bodies shall arise p. 578 Chap. 30. 31 33. Through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down For Tophet is ordained of old yea for the King it is prepared the pile thereof is fire and much wood the breath of the Lord like a stream of brimstanc doth kindle it p. 31 Chap. 40. 15. He taketh up the Isles as a very little thing p. 273 Chap. 42. 4. The Isles shall wait for this Law Ibid. Chap. 45. 14. The labour of Egypt and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans c. p. 578 Vers. 20. Assemble your selves and come draw near together ye that are escaped of the Nations p. 915 Chap. 51. 15 16. I am the Lord thy God that divided the Sea whose waves roared And I put my words in thy mouth and covered thee in the shadow of my hand that I might plant the Heavens and lay the Foundation of the Earth and say unto Sion Thou art my people p. 616 448 Chap. 53. 1 2. Who hath believed our report and to whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed For he shall grow as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground p. 38 Chap. 55. 7. Let the wicked for sake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him p. 206 Chap. 66. 19. I will send those that escape of them unto the Nations and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles p. 915 Vers. 23. From one New-Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another shall all flesh come to worship before me p. 841 IEREMY Chap. 2. 10. Poss over to the Isles of Chittim p. 273 Vers. 11. my people have changed their Glory p. 5 Chap. 8. 20. The harvest is past the summer is ended and we are not saved p. 520 Chap. 10. 11. Thus shall ye say unto them The Gods that made not the Heavens and the Earth even they shall perish from the Earth and from under these Heavens p. 187 Chap. 34. 18 19. And I will give the man which have not performed the words of the Covenant which they had made before me when they cut the â—alf in twain and passed between the parts thereof I will give them into the hand of
He that receiveth a Prophet in the name of a Prophet shall receive a Prophets reward DISC. XXIV pag. 89. S. Luke 2. 13 14. And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly Host praising God and saying Glory be to God on high or in the highest and on earth Peace Good-will towards men DISC. XXV pag. 97. S. Mark 1. 14. 15. Now after that Iohn was put in prison Iesus came into Galilee preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God And saying The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand Repent ye and Believe the Gospel DISC. XXVI pag. 106. S. Mark 1. 15. Repent ye and believe the Gospel DISC. XXVII pag. 115. Acts 5. 3 4 5. But Peter said Ananias why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the holy Ghost and to purloin of the price of the land Whiles it remained was it not thine own and after it was sold was it not in thy power why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart Thou hast not lied unto men but unto God And Ananias hearing these words fell down and gave up the ghost DISC. XXVIII pag. 124. Proverbs 30. 8 9. Give me neither Poverty nor Riches Feed me with Food convenient for me 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lest I be full and deny thee and say Who is the Lord or lest I be poor and steal and take the name of my God in vain 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 DISC. XXIX pag. 135. Isaiah 2. 2 3 4. And it shall come to pass in the last days that the Mountain of the Lords House shall be established or prepared in the top of the Mountains and exalted above the Hills and all Nations shall flow unto it c. DISC. XXX pag. 140. Iudges 1. 7. As I have done so God hath requited me DISC. XXXI pag. 150. S. Matthew 11. 28 29. Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls DISC. XXXII pag. 157. S. Matthew 11. 29. ... Learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls DISC. XXXIII pag. 164. Acts 10. 4. And he said unto him Thy Prayers and thine Alms are come up for a memorial before God or as it is verse 31. are had in remembrance c. DISC. XXXIV pag. 173. Nehemiah 13. 14. Remember me O my God concerning this and wipe not out my good deeds Hebr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that I have done for the House of my God and for the Offices thereof with Verse 22. Remember me O my God concerning this and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy DISC. XXXV pag. 177. Deuteronomy 33. 8. And of Levi he said Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy Holy One. DISC. XXXVI pag. 187. Ieremiah 10. 11. Thus shall ye say unto them The Gods that made not the Heavens and the Earth even they shall perish from the Earth and from under these Heavens DISC. XXXVII pag. 199. Proverbs 4. 23. Keep thy heart with all diligence Hebr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 above all keeping For out of it are the issues of life DISC. XXXVIII pag. 206. Isaiah 55. 7. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon DISC. XXXIX pag. 213. S. Matthew 7. 21. Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven DISC. XL. pag. 220. Genesis 3. 13. And the Lord God said unto the woman What is this that thou hast done And the woman said The Serpent beguiled me and I did eat DISC. XLI pag. 228. Genesis 3. 14. And the Lord God said unto the Serpent Because thou hast done this thou art cursed above all cattel and above every beast of the field upon thy belly shalt thou go and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life DISC. XLII pag. 234. Genesis 3. 15. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel DISC. XLIII Page 238 2 Peter 2. 1. But there were false Prophets also among the people even as there shall be false Teachers among you who privily shall bring in damnable Heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction DISC. XLIV pag. 245 1 Cor. 10. 3 4. And they did all eat the same Spiritual meat And did all drink the same Spiritual drink for they drank of that Spiritual Rock that followed them and that Rock was Christ. DISC. XLV pag. 251 1 Cor. 10. 3 4. ... And they did all eat the same spiritual meat And they did all drink the same Spiritual drink DISC. XLVI pag. 255 1 Cor. 10. 5. But with many of them God was not well pleased for they were overthrown in the Wilderness DISC. XLVII pag. 260 Deuteronomy 16. 16 17. Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall chuse in the Feast of Unleavened bread and in the Feast of Weeks and in the Feast of Tabernacles and they shall not appear before the Lord empty Every man shall give as he is able according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee DISC. XLVIII pag. 265 Deuteronomy 16. 16 17. ... In the Feast of Unleavened bread and in the Feast of Weeks and in the Feast of Tabernacles and they shall not appear before the Lord empty Every man shall give as he is able according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee DISC. XLIX pag. 271 Genesis 10. 5. By these the Isles of the Gentiles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were divided 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in their lands every one after his tongue after their families 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in their nations DISC. L. pag. 276 Genesis 10. 5. By these were the Isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands c. DISC. LI. p. 284 Psalm 50. 14. Offer unto God praise and pay thy Vows unto the most High DISC. LII p. 295 Revel 3. 19. As many as I love Irebuke and chaslen Be zealous therefore and repent DISC. LIII pag. 303 1 Ep. Iohn 2. 3. Hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his Commandments THE FIRST BOOK CONTAINING DISCOURSES ON DIVERS TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE DISCOURSE 1. S. MATTHEW 6. 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Thus therefore pray ye Our Father c. IT was well hoped after the question about the lawfulness and fitness of a set Form of Prayer had been so long debated in our Church that the Sect of those who opposed
the 105 and 96 Psalms which though they have no such Inscription in the Psalm-book yet we find 1 Chron. 16. 7. that they were delivered by David into the hands of Asaph and his Brethren for forms to thank the Lord. This a man would think were sufficient to take away all scruple in this point especially when we our selves and all the Reformed Churches use to sing the same Psalms not only as set Forms but set in Metre that is after a humane composure Are not the Psalms set Forms of Confession of Prayer and of Praising God And in case there had been no Prayers amongst them yet what reason could be given why it should not be as lawful to pray unto God in a set Form as to praise him in such a one What therefore do they say to this Why they tell us that the Psalms are not sung in the Church unto God but so rehearsed for instruction of the people only namely as the Chapters and Lessons are there read and no otherwise But if either we do ought or may sing the Psalms in the Church with the same end and purpose that the Church of the Old Testament did and it were absurd to say we might not this Exception will not subsist For what is more certain than that the Church of Israel used the Psalms for Forms of praising and invocating God What mean else those Forms Cantemus Domino Psallite Domino Let us sing unto the Lord and Sing ye unto the Lord and the like so frequent in them But there are more direct and express testimonies In 1 Chron. 25. 3. it is expresly said of Ieduthun and his sons that their office was to prophesie with a Harp to give thanks and to praise the Lord. In the second of Chron. 30. 21. we read that the Levites and the Priests praised the Lord day by day singing with loud Instruments unto the Lord. And as ye heard even now out of 1 Chron. 16. David at the time when he brought up the Ark unto Ierusalem then first delivered the 105 and 96 Psalms into the hands of Asaph and his sons to confess or give thanks unto the Lord. And lastly to leave no place for farther doubt we read Ezra 3. 10 11. that the Levites the sons of Asaph were set with Cymbals to praise the Lord after the ordinance of David King of Israel and that they sung together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord because he is good for his mercy endureth for ever For this reason the four and twenty Courses or Quires into which the Singers of the Temple were divided by King David to serve in their turns consisted each of them of twelve according to the number of the Tribes of Israel that so every Tribe might have a mouth and voice to praise and to give thanks unto God for him in the Temple Thus we have seen what warrant topray and call upon God in a set Form hath from the practice of the Church of God in the Old Testament And if Reason may have place in the publick service of God where one is the mouth of many there is none so proper and convenient For how can the Minister be said properly to be the mouth of the Congregation in prayer unto God when the Congregation is not first made acquainted and privy to what he is to tender unto God in their names Which in a voluntary and extemporary form of Prayer they are not nor well can be I am sure neither so properly nor conveniently as in a set Form which both they and the whole Church have agreed upon and offer unto God at the same time though in several places in the self-same form and words And this may be a second Reason I mean from Uniformity For how can the Church being a Mystical Body better testifie her unity before God than in her uniformity in calling upon him especially your Saviour telling us that if but two or three shall agree together on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask it shall be done unto them of his Father which is in heaven So prevailable with Almighty God is the power of Consent in Prayer LET us now in the last place see what Reasons they bring who contend altogether for voluntary Prayer and would have no set Forms used First they say It is the ordinance of God that the Church should be edified by the gifts of her Ministers as well in Praying as Preaching Ergo their Prayers should be extemporary or voluntary because in reading a set Form of Prayer this gift cannot be shewn To this I answer First That there is not in this point the same reason for Prayer and for Preaching for in Prayer I mean publick the Minister is the mouth of the Church unto God and therefore it were convenient they should know what he puts up to God in their names but in Preaching he is not so Secondly Why should not the Pastors and Ministers of the Church edifie the Church by their gift of Prayer as well in composing a set Form of Prayer for her use by general agreement as in uttering a voluntary or extemporary Prayer in a particular Congregation Thirdly Are not the members of the Church to be edified as well by the spirit of the Church as the Church or some part thereof by the spirit of a member But how can the Church edifie her members by her gift of Prayer otherwise than by a set Form agreed upon by her consent Fourthly Ostentation of gifts is one thing but Edification by them another Ostentation of the gift of Prayer is indeed best shewn in a voluntary or extemporary Prayer but the Church may be edified as well by a set Form Yea such a Form in the publick service of God is more edificative than a voluntary And that both because the Congregation is first made acquainted therewith and secondly because they are better secured from being ingaged in ought that might be unfit to speak unto God either for matter or manner or such as they would not have given their consent to if they had been aware of it For now that extraordinary assistance of the Holy Ghost which was in the Primitive and Apostolical times is long since ceased and all men to whom that office belongeth to speak to God for others are not at all times discreet and well advised when they speak to him at will and extempore but subject to miscarriage Lastly I answer That the Church is to be edified by the gift of her Ministers in voluntary Prayer loco tempore in fit place and upon fit occasions not in all places and upon all occasions And thus much to this Objection But they object secondly That the Spirit ought to be free and unlimited and that therefore a Book or set Form of Prayer which limits the Spirit in praying is not to be tolerated or used To this I answer It is false that the acting of the Spirit in
19. The Lord hath avouched thee to wit Israel this day to be his peculiar or appropriate people as he hath promised thee And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made in praise in name and in honour namely that thou may est be an Holy people unto the Lord thy God as he hath spoken Now what is this but Rabbi Kimâ—hi's definition almost verbatim that to be sacred or Holy is to be separated or set apart from other things by way of excellence or which is all one to be set in some state of singularity or appropriatedness whereby it is advanced above the common condition of things of the same order He that will may compare also two other passages Deut. 7. 6. 14. 2. parallel to those I have produced where to be an Holy and to be a Peculiar people are made one and the same or the one expounded by the other It may be yet further confirmed by comparing Deut. 19. 2 7. with Ioshuah 20. 7. For whereas in the former of these places it is said concerning the Cities of refuge Thou shalt separate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 three Cities for thee in the midst of thy land in Ioshuah where this commandment is put in execution we read in stead of separated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. they sanctified three Cities Kedesh Shechem and Hebron Where that the one is equivalent to the other the Seventy so well understood that even in this place of Ioshuah for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is Sanctificârunt they sanctified they rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 separârunt or discreverunt they separated or set apart The same notion of Holiness may be gathered from the Antithesis or opposite thereunto to wit Vnholy or Vnclean which the Scripture is wont to express by the name of Common So S. Peter in his Vision Acts 10. 14. Lord saith he I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For know that because that which is Holy ought to be kept pure and clean or rather because Cleanness imports a separation from filth as Holiness doth from common thence Clean and Holy and so also Vnholy and Vnclean are used the one for the other whence 1 Cor. 7. 14. Vnclean and Holy are opposed But to go on the voice from heaven answers S. Peter in the same language v. 15. What God hath cleansed that is sanctified 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 account not thou common So in 1 Mac. 1. 47. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are unclean beasts and v. 62. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to eat unclean things The like Antithesis of Holy and Common is to be found Heb. 10. 29. where the Apostle saith of a Believer or Christian that lives an ungodly and wicked life He hath troden under foot the Son of God and counted the bloud of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as a common thing that is he had profaned it Our translation rendreth it an unholy thing the opposition thereof to sanctified witnessing that to be the meaning Now then if to be Vnholy or Vnclean be to be Common surely it follows by the Law of opposition that to be Holy is to be separated from the common or to be singular and appropriate in some manner or other Lastly it is to be observed that whereas in the Law given Numbers 6. concerning the Vow of Nazarisme which word signifies separation of Nazar to separate the words to separate and separation come very often in the Text the vulgar Latin renders for them above ten times consecrare consecratio sanctificare and sanctificatio which shews that this notion namely that Holiness consists in a state of separation is no new conceit but such as Antiquity took notice of The nature of Holiness wherein it consisteth according to the idiome of Scripture being thus found out and cleared that which was aimed at in this inquisition to wit what the same meaneth by to sanctifie and to be sanctified will be no hard matter to resolve For Sanctity and to sanctifie being Conjugates or Denominatives as Logicians call them the one openeth the way to the knowledge of the other If therefore Sanctity or Holiness be a condition of discretion and distinction from other things as we have shewed it to be then to sanctifie must either be to put a thing into that state which we call to consecrate or if it be such already to use and do unto it as becomes the sanctity thereof that is haberè cum discriminâ— to put a difference between it and other things by way of excellency or in a dignîfying wise by appropriating and severing it in the use thereof from things of ordinary and common rank or which is all one to use it singularly appropriately and in a word uncommonly For not to use it so it being such were to abuse it which the Scripture cals to prophane to sanctifie and to prophane being opposites Whence Ezek. 22. 26. to prophane is expounded by not putting a difference The Priests saith the Lord have violated my Law and have prophaned my holy things they have put no difference between the holy and prophane This to be to sanctifie all the places almost which I have alledged out of the Law for the notion and nature of sanctity do apparently proclaim for the one is so nearly linked to the other that they could not well be separated Thus was Israel God's holy people to sanctifie themselves by a discriminative manner of living or usance because the Lord their God had discriminated or separated them from other people So Lev. 20. 24 25 26. I am the Lord your God which have separated you from other people Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean and between unclean fowles and clean And ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast or by fowl or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground which I have separated from you as unclean But ye shall be holy unto me for I the Lord am holy and have severed you from other people that ye should be mine After the same manner were the Holy Oyntment and the Holy Perfume or Incense to be sanctified by a discriminative singular appropriate usance of them and not to be used as other Oyntments and Perâ—umes to wit the one not to be poured upon mans flesh nor the other used for mans smelling unto yea none of the like composition to the one or the other to be made for any prophane or common use upon pain of his being cut off from his people who should dare to do it That is not the particular or Individuum only but even the whole kind of that composition was to be accounted sacred otherwise this caution needed not since for the Individual all sacred things ought to be appropriate and incommunicable in their use And to this notion it is not altogether improbable but the Apostle may allude 1 Cor.
11. 29. when he expresseth the prophanation of the Holy Supper in coming to it and using it as a common banquet by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not differencing the Lord's body that is not sanctifying it or using it as became so holy a thing HITHERTO I have considered the words of my Text apart but now let us put them again together and see How the Name of God ought to be Sanctified in the manner now specified both in it self and in the things which it is called upon as in the beginning I distinguished For the better understanding of which we are to take notice of a twofold Holiness one Original Absolute and Essential in God the other Derived or Relative in the things which are His properly according to the use of the Latin called Sacra Sacred things Both these have their several and distinct Sanctifications belonging unto them For whatsoever is Holy ought to be sanctified according to the condition and proportion of the Holiness it hath To speak of them distinctly The first Original or Absolute Holiness is nothing else but the incommunicable Eminency of the Divine Majesty exalted above all and divided from all other 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Eminencies whatsoever For that which a man takes to be and makes account of as his God whether it be such indeed or by him fancyed only he ascribes unto it â—in so doing a condition of Eminency above and distinct from all other Eminencies whatsoever that is of Holiness Hence it comes that we find the Lord the God of Israel and the only true God in Scripture so often styled Sanctus Israelis the Holy One of Israel that is Israel's most Eminent and Incommunicable One or which is all one His God as namely Psal. 89. 18. The Lord is our defence the HOLY ONE of Israel is our King Esay 17. 7. At that day shall a man look unto his Maker and his eyes shall have respect to the HOLY ONE of Israel Habak 1. 12. Art not thou from everlasting O Lord my God mine HOLY ONE Agreeably whereunto the Lord is said also now and then to swear by his HOLINESS that is by Himself as in the Psalm before alledged v. 35. Once have I sworn by my HOLINESS that I will not lie unto David c. Amos 4. 2. The Lord God hath sworn by his HOLINESS that lo the dayes shall come upon you that he will take you away with hooks c. According to this sense I suppose also that of Amos 8. 7. isâ— to be understood The Lord hath sworn by the Excellency of Iacob that is Iacob's most Eminent and Incommunicable One or by Iacob's HOLY ONE Surely I will never forget any of their works c. For indeed the Gods of the Nations were not properly and truly Holy because but partially and respectively only forasmuch as the Divine eminency which they were supposed to have was even in the opinion of those who worshipped them common to others with them and so not discriminated from nor exalted above all But the God of Israel was simply and absolutely such both in himself and to them-ward who worshipped him as who might acknowledge no other and therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and by way of distinction from all other Gods called Sanctus Israelis The Holy One of Israel that is that sole absolute and only incommunicable One or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Author of the Book of Wisdome calls him chap. 14. 21. That God exalted above all and divided from all without pareil there being no other such besides him There is none holy as the Lord saith Hannah for there is none besides thee Lxx. none Holy besides thee neither is there any Rock like our God Wherefore it is to be observed that although the Scripture every where vouchsafes the Gentiles Daemons the name of Gods yet it never I think calls them Holy Ones as indeed they were not Thus you see that as Holiness in general imports a state of eminency and separation so this of God as I have described it disagrees not from that general notion when I affirm it to consist in a state of peerless or incommunicable Majesty for that which is such includes both the one and the other But would you understand it yet better Apply it then to his Attributes whereby he is known unto us and know that The Lord is Holy is as much as to say He is a Majesty of peerless Power of peerless Wisdom of peerless Goodness and so of the rest Such a one is our God and such is his Holiness Now then to Sanctifie this peerless Name or Majesty of his must be by doing unto him according to that which his Holiness challengeth in respect of the double importance thereof namely to serve and glorifie him because of his Eminency and to do it with a singular separate and incommunicated worship because he is Holy Not to do the former is Irreligion and Atheism as not to acknowledg God to be the Chief and Soveraign Eminency not to observe the second is Idolatry For as the Lord our God is a singular and peerless Majesty distinguished from and exalted above all things and eminencies else whatsoever so must his Worship be singular incommunicable and proper to him alone Otherwise saith Ioshnah to the people Ye cannot serve the Lord. Why For saith he He is an Holy God He is a jealous God that can endure no corrival He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins Iâ— ye forsake the Lord and serve strange gods c. Whence in Scripture those who communicate the Worship given unto him with any besides him or together with him by way of Object that is whether immediately or but mediately are deemed to deny his incomparable Sanctity and therefore said to prophane his Holy Name See Ezek. 20. 39. and chap. 43. 7 8. Levit. 18. 21. In a word All that whole immediate Duty and Service which we ow unto God whether inward or outward contained under the name of Divine Worship when either we confess praise pray unto call upon or swear by his Name yea all the Worship both of men and Angels is nothing else but to acknowledg in thought word and work this peerless preeminence of his Power of his Wisdom of his Goodness and other Attributes that is His Holiness by ascribing and giving unto him that which we give and ascribe to none besides him that is to sanctifie his most Holy Name This is that the Holy Ghost would teach us when describing how the Seraphims worship and glorifie God Esay 6. 3. he brings them in crying one unto another Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God of hosts the whole earth is full of his glory that is Sanctifying him From whence is derived that which we repeat every day in the Hymne To thee all Angels cry aloud the heavens and all the powers therein To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry Holy Holy Holy Lord God
of Sabbaoth Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of thy Glory And because the pattern of God's holy worship is not to be taken from Earth but from Heaven the same Spirit therefore in the Apocalyps expresseth the Worship of God in the New Testament with the same form of hallowing or holying his Name which the heavenly Host useth For so the four Animalia representing the Catholick Church of Christ in the four quarters of the world are said when they give glory honour and thanks to him that sitteth upon the throne and liveth for ever and ever to do it by singing day and night this Trisagium Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come that is the sum of all that they did was but to agnize his Sanctity or Holiness or which is all one to Sanctifie his holy Name When therefore the same four Animalia are afterwards brought in chanting Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing and again Blessing and honour and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the Throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever all is to be understood as comprehended within this general Doxologie as being but an exemplification thereof and therefore the Elogies or blazons mentioned therein to be taken according to the style of Holiness in an exclusive sense of such prerogatives as are peculiar to God alone And according to this notion of sanctifying God's Name which I contend for would the Lord have his Name sanctified Esa. 8. 12 13. when he saith Fear ye not their Fear that is the Idolaters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Gods for so Fear here signifies to wit the thing feared neither dread ye it but sanctifie the Lord of Hosts himself and let him be your Fear and let him be your Dread that is your God Again chap. 29. 23. They shall sanctifie my Name saith he even sanctifie the Holy One of Iacob and shall fear the God of Israel The latter words shew the meaning of the former The like we have in the first Epistle of S. Peter chap. 3. vers 14 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. Gentilium 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Fear ye not their Fear nor be in dread thereof that is Fear not nor dread ye the Gods of the Gentiles which persecute you But sanctifie the Lord God in your hearts that is Fear and worship him with your whole hearts For that this passage howsoever we are wont to expound it ought to be construed in the same sense with that of Esay 8. before alledged and the words to be rendred sutably I take it to be apparent for this reason because they are verbatim taken from thence as he that shall compare the Greek words of S. Peter with the Lxx. in that place of Esay will be forced to confess Besides this evident and express use of the word Sanctifie in the notion of religious and holy worship and fear of the Divine Majesty there is yet another expression sometimes used in Holy Scripture which implieth the self-same thing that namely to worship God with that which we call holy and divine worship is all one with to agnize his holiness or to sanctifie his Name Those speeches I mean wherein we are exhorted to worship the Lord because he is Holy As Psal. 99. 5. Exalt ye the Lord our God and worship at his foot-stool for he is Holy Again in the end of the Psalm Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy hill for the Lord our God is Holy The same meaning is yet more emphatically expressed by those that sing the Song of victory over the Beast Apoc. 15. 3 4. Great say they and marvellous are thy works Lord God Almighty just and true are thy wayes thou King of Nations Who shall not fear thee O Lord and glorifie thy Name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for that I believe is the true reading not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thou only art Holy therefore all the Nations shall come and worship before thee that is they shall relinquish their Idols and plurality of Gods and worship thee as God only For this was the Doctrine both of Moses in the Old Testament and of Christ Iesus the Lamb of God in the New That one God only that made the heaven and the earth was to be acknowledged and worshipped and with an incommunicable worship In respect whereof as I take it these Victors are there said to sing the Song of Moses and the Lamb that is a gratulatory Song of the worship of one God after that his Ordinances were made manifest For otherwise the Ditty is borrowed from the 86. Psalm the 8 9 and 10. verses where we read Among the gods there is none like unto thee O Lord neither are there any works like unto thy works All Nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee O Lord and shall glorifie thy Name For thou art great and dost wondrous works Thou art God alone that is Thou only art Holy Compare Ier. 10. ver 6 7. I have one thing more to adde before I finish this part of my Discourse lest I might leave unsatisfied that which may perhaps seem to some to weaken this my explication of the sanctification of God's Name For the word to sanctifie or be sanctified is sometimes used of God in a more general sense than that I have hitherto specified namely as signifying any way to be glorified or to glorifie as when he saith He will be sanctified in the destruction of his enemies or in the deliverance of his people and that before the Heathen and the like that is he would purchase him glory or be glorified thereby I answer It is true that to be sanctified is in these passages to be glorified but yet alwayes to be glorified as God and not otherwise Namely when God by the works of his Power of his Mercy or Iustice extorts from men the confession of his great and holy Godhead he is then said to sanctifie or make himself to be sanctified amongst them that is to be glorified and honoured by their conviction and acknowledgment of his Power and Godhead For although men may be also said to glorifie or purchase honour unto themselves when by their noble acts they make their abilities and worth known unto the world yet for such respect to be said to be sanctified is peculiar unto him alone whose Glory is his Holiness that is unto God THUS we have learned How the Name or Majesty of God is to be sanctified personally or in it self which is the chiefest thing we pray for and ought so to be in our endeavour namely To worship and glorifie him incommunicably according to his most eminent and unparallel'd Holiness and so ô Lord Hallowed be thy Name But there is another Sanctification or
New the Christian Clergy or Clerus so called from the beginning of Christian Antiquity either because they are the Lord 's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Portion which the Church dedicateth unto him out of her self namely as the Levites were an offering of the Children of Israel which they offered unto him out of their Tribes or because their inheritance and livelihood is the Lord's portion I prefer the first yet either of both will give their Order the title of Holiness as doth also more especially their descent which they derive from the Apostles that is from those for whom their Lord and Master prayed unto his Father saying Father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sanctisie them unto or for thy Truth thy Word is Truth that is Separate them unto the Ministery of thy Truth the word of thy Gospel which is the truth and verification of the promises of God It follows As thou hast sent me into the world so have I also sent them into the world this is the key which unlocks the meaning of that before and after And for them I sanctifie my self that they might be sanctified for thy Truth that is And forasmuch as they cannot be consecrated to such an Office without some sacrifice to atone and purifie them therefore for their consecration to this holy function of ministration of the new Covenant I offer my self a Sacrifice unto thee for them in lieu of those legal and typical ones wherewith Aaron and his sons first and then the whole Tribe of Levi were consecrated unto thy service in the old An Ellipsis of the first Substantive in Scripture is frequent So here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 only is put for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Truth for the Ministery of Truth Now that the Christian Church for of the Iewish I shall need say nothing hath alwayes taken it for granted that those of her Clergy ought according to the separation and sanctity of their Order to be distinguished and differenced from other Christians both passively in their usance from others but especially actively by a restrained conversation and peculiarness in their manner of life is manifest by her ancient Canons and Discipline Yea so deeply hath it been rooted in the minds of men that the Order of Church-men binds them to some differing kind of conversation and form of life from the Laity that even those who are not willing to admit of the like discrimination due in other things have still in their opinions some relick thereof remaining in this though perhaps not altogether to be acquitted of that imputation which Tertullian charged upon some in his time to wit Quum excellimur inflamur adversùs Clerum tunc unum omnes sumus tunc omnes Sacerdotes quia Sacerdotes nos Deo Patri fecit Quum ad peraequationem Disciplinae Sacerdotalis provocamur deponimus insulas impares sumus When we vaunt and are puffed up against the Clergie then we are all one then we are all Priests for he made us Priests to God and his Father But when we are called upon to equal in our lives the example of Priestly Discipline then down go our Miâ—res and we are another sort of men Another sort of things Sacred which I named was Sacred Places to wit Churches and Oratories as the Christian name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 implieth them to be that is the Lord's A third Sacred Times that is dedicated and appointed for the solemn celebration of the worship of God and Divine duties such are with us for those of the Iews concern us not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 our Lord's dayes with other our Christian Festivals and Holy-dayes Of the manner of the discrimination from common or sanctifying both the one and the other by actions some commanded others interdicted to be done in them the Canons and Constitutions of our Church will both inform and direct us For holy Times and holy Places are Twins Time and Place being as I may so speak pair-circumstances of action and therefore Lev. 19. 30. and again 26. 2. they are joyned together tanquam ejusdem rationis Keep my Sabbaths and reverence my Sanctuary The fourth sort of Sacred things is of such as are neither Persons Times nor Places but Things in a special sense by way of distinction from them And this sort containeth under it many particulars which may be specified after this manner 1. Sacred Revenues of what kind soever which in regard of the dedication thereof as they must not be prophaned by sacrilegious alienation so ought they to be sanctified by a different use and imployment from other Goods namely such a one as becometh that which is the Lord's and not man's For that Primitive Christian Antiquity so esteemed them appears by their calling them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as they did their Place of Worship 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and their Holy day 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all of the Lord as it were Christening the old notion of Sacred by a new name So Can. Apostol XL. Manifestae sint Episcopi res propriae si quidem res habet proprias manifesta sint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. res Dominicae Let it be manifest what things are the Bishop's own if he have any things of his own and let it be manifest what things are the Lord 's Author constitut Apost Lib. 2. c. 28. al. 24. Episcopus ne utatur 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dominicis rebus tanquam alienis aut communibus sed moderatè Let not the Bishop use the things that are the Lord's as if they were another's or as if they were common but moderately and soberly See also Balsamon in Can. 15. Concilii Ancyrani and the Canon it self 2. Sacred Vtensils as the Lord's Table Vessels of ministration the Books of God or Holy Scripture and the like Which that the Church even in her better times respected with an holy and discriminative usance may be learned from the story of that calumnious crimination devised by the Arrian Faction against Athanasius as a charge of no small impiety namely that in his Visitation of the Tract of Marcotis Macarius one of his Presbyters by his command or instinct had entered into a Church of the Miletian Schismaticks and there broken the Chalice or Communion-Cup thrown down the Table and burnt some of the Holy Books All which argues that in the general opinion of Christians of that time such acts were esteemed prophane and impious otherwise they could never have hoped as they did to have blasâ—ed the reputation of the holy Bishop by such a slander Touching the Books of God or Holy Scripture which I referred to this Title especially those which are for the publick service of God in the Church I adde this further That under that name I would have comprehended the senses words and phrases appropriated to the expression of Divine and Sacred things which a Religious ear cannot endure to
at Thessalonica and proving out of the Scriptures that Messiah or Christ was to suffer and to rise again from the dead and that Iesus was that Christ it is said that some of them which heard believed and that there associated themselves to them a great multitude 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the worshipping Greeks Of these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there is elsewhere mention in the Acts of the Apostles more than once but what they were our Commentators do not so fully inform us nor can it be understood without some delibation of Iewish Antiquity The explication whereof will give some light not to this passage only but to the whole Story of the Primitive Conversion of the Gentiles to the Faith recorded in that Book We must know therefore that of those Gentiles which embraced the worship of the God of Israel commonly term'd Proselytes there were two sorts One of such as were circumcised and took upon them the observation of the whole Law of Moses These were accounted as Iews to wit facti non nati made not born so bound to the like observances with them conversed with as freely as if they had been so born neither might the one eat drink or keep company with a Gentile more than the other lest they became unclean They worshipped in the same Court of the Temple where the Israelites did whither others might not come They were partakers with them in all things both divine and humane In a word they differed nothing from Iews but only that they were of Gentile race This kind the Iewish Doctors call◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Proselytes of Righteousness or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Proselytes of the Covenant namely because they took upon them the sign thereof Circumcision In the New Testament they are called simply Proselytes without addition Of which Order was Vriah the Hittite Achior in the Book of Iudith Herod the Idumaean Onkelos the Chaldee Paraphrast and many others both before and in our Saviour's time But besides these there was a second kind of Gentiles admitted likewise to the worship of the true God the God of Israel and the hope of the life to come which were not circumcised nor conformed themselves to the Mosaical rites and ordinances but were only tied to the observation of those Precepts which the Hebrew Doctors call The Precepts of the sons of Noah namely such as all the sons of Noah were bound to observe These Precepts are in number Seven recorded in the Talmud Maimonides and others under these following titles First the precept of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to renounce Idols and all Idolatrous worship Secondly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to worship the true God the Creator of Heaven and Earth Thirdly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Blood-shed to wit to commit no Murther Fourthly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 detectio nuditatum not to be desiled with Fornication Incest or other unlawful conjunction Fifthly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rapine against Theft and robbery Sixthly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 concerning administration of Iustice The seventh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Membrum de vivo so they call the Precept of not eating the flesh with the bloud in it given to Noah when he came out of the Ark as Maimonides expresly expounds it and adds besides Whosoever shall take upon him the observation of the Seven precepts of the sons of Noah he is to be accounted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one of the pious men of the nations of the world and shall have a portion in the world to come Note that he saith one of the pious men of the nations of the world or of the pious Gentiles for this kind were still esteemed Gentiles and so called because of their uncircumcision in respect whereof though no Idolaters they were according to the Law unclean and such as no Iew might converse with wherefore they came not to worship into the Sacred Courts of the Temple whither the Iews and circumcised Proselytes came but only into the outmost Court called Atrium Gentium immundorum the Court of the Gentiles and of the unclean which in the second Temple surrounded the second or great Court whereinto the Israelites came being divided there-from by a low wall of stone made battlement-wise not above three Cubits high called saith Iosephus from whom I have it in the Hebrew Dialect 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Lorica close by which stood certain little pillars whereon was written in Greek and Latin letters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In atrium sanctum transâ—re alienigenam non debere That no alien or stranger might go into the inner or holy Court. And this I make no question is that which S. Paul Ephes. 2. 14. alludeth unto when he saith that Christ had broken down the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the partition-wall namely that Lorica which separated the Court of the Gentiles from that of the Circumcision and so laying both Courts into one hath made the Iews and Gentiles Intercommoners whereby those that were sometime far off were now made nigh and as near as the other unto the Throne of God But in Solomon's Temple this Court of the Gentiles seems not to have been but in the second Temple only the Gentiles formerly worshipping without at the door and not coming within the Septs of the Temple at all This second kind of Proselites the Talmudists call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Proselytes of the Gate or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Proselyte-inhabitants namely because they were under the same condition with those Gentile-strangers which lived as Inquilini in the Land of Israel For all Gentiles dwelling within the Gates of Israel whether they were as servants taken in war or otherwise were bound to renounce their false Gods and to worship the God of Israel but not to be circumcised unless they would nor farther bound to keep the Law of Moses than was contained in those Precepts of the sons of Noah These are those mentioned as often elsewhere in the Law so in the fourth Commandment by the name of the Stranger within thy gates whereby it might seem probable that the observation of the Sabbath-day so far as concerneth one day in seven was included in some one or other of those Precepts of the sons of Noah namely in that of worshipping for their God the Creator of Heaven and earth and no other whereof this consecration of a seventh day after six days labour was a badge or livery according to that The Sabbath is a sign between me and you that I Iehovah am your God because in six dayes the Lord made heaven and earth the sea and all that in them is and rested the seventh day See Exod. 31. 16 17. Ezek. 20. 20. But this obiter and by the way From the example of these Inquilini all other Gentiles wheresoever living admitted to the worship of the God of Israel upon the same termes were called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
Experience which shews us that the Evil spirits are not yet bound with eternal chains having so much liberty of gadding about supplies in the Text vinciendos as if there were an Ellipsis reading it thus Iudicio magni illius Diei vinculis aeternis vinciendos reservâsse He hath reserved them to be bound in eternal chains at the Iudgment of the great Day In that of S. Peter if I understand him he takes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not for Dativus instrumenti with chains of darkness but as Dativus acquisitionis for chains of darkness and construes it with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if it were He delivered them for chains of darkness namely supposing a trajection of the words But for my part I take both 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in S. Peter and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in S. Iude to be neither of them Dativus Instrumenti but both Acquisitionis or Finis and governed the one of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the other of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be put for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As in the Hebrew the preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 serves both for the preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and for the Dative Case whose propriety the style of the Greek Testament every where imitates and why not in this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 therefore and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for not with chains Nay among the Greek Grammarians we find observed that the Dative Case is sometimes put for the Accusative with the preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as in this example 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 much more in the sacred Greek which so frequently imitates the Hebrew Construction Next for the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in S. Peter it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but once used and so not bound by any use or example to the signification which we here give it to wit casting down to hell I would therefore render it ad poenas tartareas damnavit he hath adjudged them to hellish torments to wit thus Angelos qui peccaverunt cum ad tartari supplicium damnasset catenis caliginis servandos tradidit ad Diem Iudicii Having adjudged the Angels that sinned to hell-torments he delivered them to be kept or reserved in the Aiery region as in a prison for chains of darkness at the Day of Iudgment For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iudgment here is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Day of Iudgment as S. Iude hath it So also Matth. 12. 42. The Queen of the South shall rise in Iudgment with this Generation that is in or at the Day of Iudgment Or if I would render it not casting down to hell but casting down to hell-ward so the meaning in both places will be That the wicked Angels were cast down from Heaven to this lower Orb there to be reserved for chains of darkness at the Day of Iudgment Which sense the ninth verse of this Chapter of S. Peter plainly intimates by way of reddition Novit Dominus pios in tentatione cripere The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly in temptation as he did Noah and Lot Injustos verò in diem Iudicii cruciandos servare But to reserve the unjust unto the Day of Iudgment to be punished as he doth the wicked Angels Moreover verse 17. where the same hellish darkness is spoken of it is said to be reserved for the wicked 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to whom that hideous darkness is reserved for ever whence it is probable that S. Peter in the foregoing passage of Angels referred also those chains of darkness to reserving and not to delivering that is not that the evil Angels were now already delivered to chains of darkness but reserved for them at the Day of Iudgment AND thus much for clearing of the words of these two parallel Texts Now what hath been anciently the current opinion about this point And first for the Iews it is apparent to have been a Tradition of theirs That all the space between the Earth and the Firmament is full of Troops of Evil spirits and their Chieftains having their residence in the Air which I make no doubt but S. Paul had respect to when he calls Satan the Prince of the power of the Air. Drusius quotes two Authors one the Book called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 another one of the Commentators upon Pirke Aboth who speak in this manner Debet homo scire intelligere à terra usque ad firmamentum omnia plena esse turmis praefectis c. A man is to know and understand that all from Earth to the Firmament is full and no place is empty of Troops of Spirits together with their Chieftains and such as are Praepositi all which have their residence and fly up and down in the Air some of them incite to peace others to war some to goodness and life others to wickedness and death By Praepositi I suppose he means such among the Spirits as are set as Wardens over several charges for the managing of the affairs of mankind subject to their power This was the Opinion of the Iews which they seem to have learned by Tradition from their ancient Prophets for in the Old Testament we find no such thing written and yet we see S. Paul seems to approve it Now for the Doctors of the Christian Church S. Hierome upon the sixth of the Ephesians tells us that their Opinion was the same ' T is the opinion of all the Doctors â—aith he that the Devils have their Mansions and residence in the space between the heaven and the earth And that the Fathers of the first 300 or 400 years nor did nor could hold the evil Angels to have been cast into Hell upon their sin is evident by a singular Tenet of theirs For Iustin Martyr one of the most ancient hath this saying That Satan before the coming of Christ never durst blaspheme God and that saith he because till then he knew not he should be damned The same is approved by Irenaeus lib. 5. cap. 26. Praeclarè saith he dixit Iustinus quòd ante Domini adventum Satanas nunquam ausus est blasphemare Deum quippe nondum sciens suam damnationem Post adventum autem Domini ex sermonibus Christi Apostolorum ejus discens mâ—nifestè quoniam ignis aeternus ei praeparatus sit per hujusmodi homines blasphemat eum Deum qui judicium importat It was a worthy saying of Iustin That Satan before the coming of our Lord never durst blaspheme God as not till then knowing he should be damned But after the coming of our Lord he clearly understanding by the Discourses of Christ and his Apostles that everlasting fire was prepared for him by these men Irenaeus means those Hereticks who blasphemed the God of the Law
these words ' 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If any hath a Devil or is mad let him not be made a Clergy-man nor let him be admitted to pray with the faithful another of Timotheus sometime Patriarch of Alexandria speaking thus ' 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If any of the faithful be a Daemoniack he ought to partake of the holy Mysteries To reconcile these I say they affirm the former which admits them not to be meant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of him that is continually and always mad namely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. lest one so affected should either by some indecent actions and foul miscarriages of his own or by his daemoniacal clamours disturb the people of God and the Church-service but that of Timotheus that admits them to be understood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of him that is mad but by fits and hath his Lucida intervalla And thus I have acquainted you with what I have observed to confirm me in this opinion and make no doubt but there are more passages yet to be found this way than I have met with DISCOURSE VII PROVERBS 21. 16. The man that wandreth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the Congregation of the Dead 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in coetu Gigantum IT is a question sometimes moved amongst Divines and worth resolving How and by what name the Place and condition of the damned which in the Gospel is called Gehenna was termed or expressed in the Old Testament before the Captivity of Babylon and whilst the first Temple stood For presently after the Return the afore-mentioned name Gehenna began to be frequented as appears both by the second of Esdras the Chaldee Paraphrast and other Iewish writings where that name is often found as also by the Gospel where our Saviour useth it as then vulgarly known amongst the Iews But it is as certain that before the Captivity or second Temple for so the Iews call the time of their state after their return this name was not in use both because it is no where to be found in the Canonical Scriptures of the Old Testament which were all written within that time and especially because the ground and occasion thereof was not till about that time in being which was the pollution of the valley of the sons of Hinnom or Tophet by King Iosiah and the dreadful execution of divine vengeance in that Place Hence it became to posterity to be a Name of execration and applied to signifie the Place of eternal punishment For this valley of Hinnom Gehinnom or as afterward they pronounced it Gehenna was a valley near Ierusalem in a place whereof called Tophet the Children of Israel committed that abominable Idolatry in making their Children pass through the fire to Moloch that is burnt them to the Devil For an eternal detestation whereof King Iosiah polluted it and made it a place execrable ordaining it to be the place whither dead Carkasses Garbage and other unclean things should be cast out for consuming whereof to prevent annoiance a continual fire was there burning Yea not man only but the Lord himself as it were consecrated this place to be a place of execration by making it the field of his vengeance both before and after For first this was the place where the Angel of the Lord destroied the host of Sennacherib King of Assyria and where one hundred and eighty thousand of their Carkasses were burnt according to that Esay 30. 31. Through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down V. 33. For Tophet this was a place I told you in the valley of Hinnom is ordained of old yea for the King it is prepared he hath made it deep and large the pile thereof is fire and much wood the breath of the Lord like a stream of brimstone doth kindle it This was also the place where the Idolatrous Iews were slain and massacred by the Babylonian armies when their City was taken and their Carkasses left for want of room for burial for meat to the fowls of heaven and beasts of the field according to the word of the Lord by the Prophet Ieremy in his seventh and nineteenth Chapters The Children of Iudah have built the high places of Tophet which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire which I commanded them not neither came it into my heart Therefore behold the daies come saith the Lord that it shall be no more called Tophet nor the valley of the son of Hinnom but the valley of slaughter For they shall bury in Tophet till there be no place And the carkasses of this people shall be meat for the fowls of heaven and the beasts of the field and none shall fray them away Hence as I said this place being so many wayes execrable for what had been done therein especially having been as it were the gate to eternal destruction by so remarkable judgments and vengeance of God there executed for sin it came to be translated to signifie the Place of the damned as the most accursed execrable and abominable place of all places the invisible valley of Hinnom For such was the property of the Iewish Language to give denominations unto things unseen from such analogical and borrowed expressions of things visible By all which it is apparent that this notion of that name took its beginning after the Captivity and was not in use before Still therefore we are left to seek by what other name and under what other notion this place of the damned was expressed before the word Gehenna or Gehinnom came to be used I answer out of my Text it seems to have been called Domus or Coetus Gigantum Vir qui erraverit à via intelligentiae in Coetu Gigantum commorabitur The man that wandreth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the Giants in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Coetu Rephaim which word Rephaim properly signifies Giants and to that sense is alwayes rendred by the Seventy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 though we and the later Interpreters both in this and some other places take it for manes or mortui the Souls of the deceased but the ancient I think deserve the more credit especially it being confessed that the word elsewhere so signifies In Coetu Gigantum therefore that is of those Giants and Rebels against God of whom we read Gen. 6. those mighty men and men of renown of the old World whose wickedness was so great in the earth that it repented and grieved God he had made man and to take vengeance upon whom he brought the general Deluge upon the earth and destroyed both man and beast from the face thereof Vir qui erraverit à via doctrinae intelligentiae The man that wandreth out of the way of understanding shall go and keep them
a creature and of so despicable a beginning to such a power as to grapple with the Enemy and overcome him But behold there is yet something more admirable namely that this should not be done by the strength of his Arm but by the breath and power of his Mouth Out of the mouth of Babes and Sucklings thou hast ordained strength because of thine Enemies c. What Enemies Thine saith the Psalmist and such too as are Vltores Avengers the Enemies of both God and Mankind And who are those but Satan and his Angels those Principalities and Powers of the Air those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Rulers of the Darkness of this world as S. Paul speaks For when Mankind is the one party what can the other be but some Power that is not of Mankind Besides who are the Enemies both of God and Mankind but these and of mankind especially I will put Enmity saith God to the Serpent between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed hence he is called Satan the Adversary or Fiend and the Enemy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Behold I give you power saith our Saviour to the seventy Disciples Luke 10. 19. to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the Enemy Your Adversary the Devil saith S. Peter And this is he as I conceive who is here called the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Enemy and the Avenger man's tormentor which words being found again in the 44. Psalm v. 16. may for ought I know by warrant of this place be taken for the same Enemy and the usual distinction altered and the place read thus By reason of the Enemy and the Avenger all this to wit the Calamity and confusion he spake of before is come upon us that is by the malice of Satan Now that such Enemies as these should be subducd by an Arm yea by a Mouth of flesh is a thing which might justly make the Prophet cry out Lord what is man c. Now that this which I have given is the true meaning of this place may be gathered from S. Paul's inculcating the word Enemy when 1 Cor. 15. 24. c. he demonstrates out of this Psalm that Christ before the end shall abolish 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all rule and all authority and power For he must reign saith he till he hath put all Enemies under his feet The last Enemy which shall be destroyed is Death and then he alledges for his proof that Corollary in this Psalm For he hath put all things under his feet But in all this Psalm there is no mention of Enemies or subduing them but only in the Verse I have in hand which unless it be thus expounded S. Paul's allegation from hence will be too narrow to prove what he intendeth HAVING thus cleared the words I chose for my Theme I shall not need spend much time to shew you how directly and literally the purport of them was fulfilled in our Blessed Saviour's Incarnation You have in part heard such Scriptures already as do evince it The sum is this The Devil by sin brought mankind under thraldom and became the Prince of this world himself with his Angels being worshipped and served every where as Gods and the service and honour due to the great God the Creator of heaven and earth cast off and abandoned and all this to receive at last for reward eternal woe and everlasting death To vanquish and exterminate this Enemy and redeem the world from this miserable thraldom the Son of God took upon him not the nature of Angels which might have been the Enemies matches but the nature of weak and despicable Man that grows from a babe and suckling Who saith Esay in that famous Prophecy of Messiah hath believed our report and to whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed namely that works such powerful things by weak means For he shall grow 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as a tender plant or sucker it is the very word here used in my Text for a sucking child and translated by the Seventy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and as a root out of a dry ground that is a small and little one This is that whereof S. Paul discourses so divinely in the Epistle to the Hebrews To which of the Angels said he at any time Sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool For unto the Angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak but unto him of whom it is said What is man that thou art mindâ—ul of him c Again We see Iesus who was made little lower than the Angels that is was made man that 's the meaning for the suffering of death crowned with Glory and Honour what can be so plain as this It is the Son of man by whom in part we are and more fully shall be delivered out of the hands of our enemies that we might serve the true God without fear as Zachary sayes in his Benedictus It is the Son of man that delivered us from the power of darkness Col. 1. 13. The Son of man that spoiled Principalities and Powers and made a shew of them openly Col. 2. 15. It was no Angel that did all this but the Son of man even as was prophesied from the beginning when the Devil first got his Dominion that the Seed of the Woman should break the Serpent's head Nor is this all For this Son of man enables also other Sons of men his Disciples and Ministers to do the like in his name The seventy Disciples in the Gospel returned with joy saying Lord even the Devils are subject to us through thy name Yea not these only but as many as fight under his Banner against these Enemies have promise they shall at length quell and utterly subdue them yea at that great Day shall sit with their Lord and Master to judge and condemn them Do ye not know saith S. Paul that the Saints shall judge the world know ye not that we shall judge Angels Lastly This victory as for the event so for the manner of atchieving it is agreeable to our Prophecy Forasmuch as Christ our General nor fights nor conquers by force of Arms but by the power of his Word and Spirit which is the power of his Mouth according to my Text Out of the mouth of Babes c. Hence in the Apocalyps Christ appears with a sword going out of his mouth In the 2 Thess. 2. 8. it is said He shall consume that wicked one that is Antichrist with the Spirit of his mouth Esay prophesies Chap. 11. 4. that the Branch of Iesse should smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips should slay the wicked that is he does all nutu verbo by his word and command as God made the world By the word of the Lord were the Heavens made and all the Hoast
openeth the womb shall be called Holy unto the Lord Ergo To be the Lord's and to be Holy are Synonyma's Though therefore the Gentiles Court had no sanctity of legal distinction yet had it the sanctity of peculiarity to God-ward and therefore not to be used as a common place The Illation proceeds by way of Conversion My House shall be called the House of Prayer to all Nations or People Ergo The House of Prayer for all Nations is my Father's House And the Emphasis lies in the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which our Translators were not so well advised of when following Beza too close they render the words thus My House shall be called of all Nations the House of Prayer as if the Dative Case here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were not Acquisitive but as it is sometimes with passive verbs in stead of the Ablative of the Agent for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which sense is clean from the scope and purpose of the place whence it is taken as he that compares them will easily see and I shall make fully to appear in the next part of my Discourse which I tendred by the name of an Observation To wit That this fact of our Saviour more particularly concerns us of the Gentiles than we take notice of Namely we are taught thereby what reverent esteem we ought to have of our Gentile Oratories and Churches howsoever not endued with such legal sanctity in every respect as was the Temple of the Iews yet Houses of Prayer as well as theirs This Observation will be made good by a threefold Consideration First of the Story as I have related it secondly from the Text here alledged for warrant thereof and thirdly from the circumstance of Time For the Story I have shewed it was acted in the Gentiles Court and not in that of the Iews because it is not credible that was thus prophaned It cannot therefore be alledged that this was a place of legal sanctity for according to legal sanctity it was held by the Iews as common only it was the place for the Gentiles to worship the God of Israel in and seems to have been proper to the second Temple the Gentiles in the first worshipping without at the Temple-door in the holy Mountain only Secondly The place alledged to avow the Fact speaks expresly of Gentile-worshippers not in the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 only but in the whole body of the context Hear the Prophet speak Esay chap. 56. ver 6 7. and then judge The sons of the stranger that joyn themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love the Name of the Lord to be his servants every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it and taketh hold of my Covenant namely that I alone shall be his God Even them will I bring to my holy Mountain and make them joyful in my House of Prayer their burnt-offerings and sacrifices accepted upon mine Altar Then follow the words of my Text For my House shall be called that is shall be it is an Hebraism a House of Prayer for all People What is this but a Description of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Gentile-worshippers And this place alone makes good all that I have said before viz. That this vindication was of the Gentiles Court Otherwise the allegation of this Scripture had been impertinent for the Gentiles of whom the Prophet speaks worshipped in no place but this Hence also appears to what purpose our Evangelist expressed the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 namely as that which shewed wherein the force of the accommodation to this occasion lay which the rest of the Evangelists omitted as referring to the place of the Prophet whence it was taken those who heard it being not ignorant of whom the Prophet spake Thirdly the circumstance of Time argues the same thing if we consider that this was done but a few days before our Saviour suffered to wit when he came to his last Passeover How unseasonable had it been to vindicate the violation of Legal and typical sanctity which within so few days after he was utterly to abolish by his Cross unless he had meant thereby to leave his Church a lasting lesson what reverence and respect he would have accounted due to such places as this was which he vindicated DISCOURSE XII S. IOHN 4. 23. But the hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and Truth For the Father seeketh such to worship him THEY are the words of our Blessed Saviour to the Woman of Samaria who perceiving him by his discourse to be a Prophet desired to be resolved by him of that great controverted point between the Iews and Samaritans Whether Mount Garizim by Sichem where the Samaritans sacrificed or Ierusalem were the true place of worship Our Saviour tells her that this Question was not now of much moment For that the hour or time was near at hand when they should neither worship the Father in Mount Garizim nor at Ierusalem But that there was a greater difference between the Iews and them than this of Place namely even about That which was worshipped For ye saith he worship that ye know not but we Iews worship that we know Then follow the words premised But the hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and Truth It is an abused Text being commonly alledged to prove that God now in the Gospel either requires not or regards not External worship but that of the Spirit only and this to be a characteristical difference between the worship of the Old Testament and the New If at any time we talk of external decency in rites and bodily expressions as sit to be used in the service of God this is the usual Buckler to repel whatsoever may be said in that kind It is true indeed that the worship of the Gospel is much more spiritual than that of the Law But that the worship of the Gospel should be only spiritual and no external worship required therein as the Text according to some meus sense and allegation thereof would imply is repugnant not only to the practice and experience of the Christian Religion in all Ages but also to the express Ordinances of the Gospel it self For what are the Sacraments of the New Testament are they not Rites wherein and wherewith God is served and worshipped The consideration of the holy Eucharist alone will consute this Gloss For is not the commemoration of the Sacrifice of Christ's death upon the Cross unto his Father in the Symbols of Bread and Wine an external worship And yet with this Rite hath the Church in all Ages used to make her solemn address of Prayer and Supplication unto the Divine Majesty as the Iews in the Old Testament did by Sacrifice When I say in all Ages I include also that of the Apostles For so much S. Luke testifieth of that first Christian society
the Sacrifice of Messiah which these Sacrifices represented was to be finished the third day by his rising from the dead ◠and therefore the Type thereof determined within that time beyond which time it was not accepted for atonement of sin because then it was no longer a Type of him Thus far the Law As for the Prophets I find no express Prediction in them for the time of Christ's rising For that of the case of the Prophet Ionah I take to be rather an Allusion than a Prophecy only in general That Christ should rise again is implied both in that famous Prophecy of Esay the 53. and that of Zachary 12. In the former forasmuch as it is said that after he had made his soul a sacrifice for sin he should see his seed and prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord should prosper in his hand And again that the Lord should divide him a portion with the great and that he should divide the spoil with the strong because he had poured out his soul unto death Which argues that he should not only live again but be victorious after he had died In that of Zachary it is said the Iews should look upon or see him whom they had formerly pierced and that in that day he would pour upon them the spirit of grace and supplication therefore he was to live again after they had pierced him I come to the Psalms where not only his Rising again is prophesied of but the Time thereof determined though at first sight it appears not so namely in that fore-alledged passage of the sixteenth Psalm Thou wilt not leave my soul in Hell nor suffer thine Holy One to see corruption All men shall rise again but their bodies must first return to dust and see corruption But Messiah was to rise again before he saw corruption If before then the third day at farthest for then the Body naturally begins to see corruption This may be gathered by the story of Lazarus in the Gospel where Iesus commanding the stone to be rolled from his Grave Martha his sister answered Lord by this time he stinketh for he hath been dead four days Also by that Rule given by the Masters of Physick That those who die of the Apoplexie suffocation of the Mother or like sudden deaths should not be buried till seventy two hours were past because within that time they might revive and Examples are given of those who have done so They give also a reason of it in nature Because say they in that time the Humors of the Body make their revolution the Phlegm in one day or twenty four hours the Choler in two days or forty eight hours the Melancholy in three days which is seventy two hours and this to be the reason why an Ague founded in an inflammation of Phlegm returns every day an Ague which comes from Choler every other day an Ague from Melancholy every third day Now if a Body may be kept so long unburied it is supposed it may continue so long uncorrupted namely where a corruption is not begun before death as in some diseases but longer it will not continue When therefore it is so often inculcated in the New Testament that our Saviour should rise again the third day the Holy Ghost in so speaking respects not so much the number of days as the fulfilling of Scripture That Messiah's body should not see corruption but should rise before the time wherein dead bodies begin to corrupt and indeed our Saviour rose again within forty hours after he gave up the Ghost and was not two full days in the grave Therefore if there be any other Scripture which implies Messiah should rise before his Body should see corruption that Scripture whatsoever it be shews he should rise again within three days DISCOURSE XIV EXODUS 4. 25. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the fore-skin of her Son and cast it at his feet and said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sponsus sanguinum tu mihi es THEN that is when she saw the Angel of the Lord ready to kill Moses her husband in the Inne because his son was not circumcised she took a sharp stone 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is she took a knife which according to the custom then was made of stone sharped This we may learn out of Ioshuah 5. 2. where the Lord says to Ioshuah Make thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sharp knives say we according to the Hebrew knives of stones and circumcise again the children of Israel The Chaldee Paraphrast hath Make thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sharp rasors the Septuagint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 stone-knives Thus far all is clear but for the rest we are to seek First on whom the fault lay and what was the reason of this omission of Circumcision then who and what is meant when it is said she cast or made the fore-skin to touch his feet and above all what is meant by Sponsus sanguinum Zipporah is commonly reputed to have been a perverse and froward woman and Moses the meekest man on earth to have had that mishap in his choice which many a good man hath The reason because she not only hindred her child from being circumcised out of some nicety and aversation thereof as a cruel Ceremony but also when she saw there was no remedy but she must do it to save her husband's life yet she did it with an upbraiding indignation telling him that he was a bloudy husband who must have such a thing done unto his poor child But I see no ground either for the one or the other For that the Circumcision of the child was not deferred out of any aversation of hers of that Ceremony may be gathered First because she was a Midianitesse and so a daughter of Abraham by Keturah and therefore well enough acquainted with and inured to that Rite which not only her Nation the Midianites but all the Nations descended of Abraham observed as may be seen in the Ismaelites or Saracens who learned not this Ceremony first from Mahomet but retained it as an ancient custom of their Nation Secondly She had suffered already her elder son Gershom to be circumcised wherefore then should we think she was a verse from the circumcision of this For that this child for whom Moses was now in danger was Eliezer his youngest son it cannot be denied forasmuch as it is evident that Moses at this time was the Father of two sons which by reason as may seem of this disturbance he sent back with his wife unto her Father Iethro as we may read in the 18. Chapter of this Book By which it may be gathered that the cause of this omission of Circumcision was not any averseness in Zipporah from that Rite but rather because they were in their journey when the child was born and so having no convenient time or place to rest in till the wound might be healed and thinking it
to Moses but as solennia verba in that Case to her Child whom she circumcised it remains I should now tell you how they are so construed I say therefore Tu mihi sponsus sanguinum in Zipporah's meaning is as much as Sis mihi initiatus circumcisione Be thou my Bloud-son or the like It is well known how Tropically those words of relation of kindred Father Mother Sister Son are used in the Hebrew Tongue and Son besides other notions to be often the circumlocution of our vox concreta as Filius percussionis the Son of striking is he that is stricken or worthy to be beaten Filius foederis the Son of the Covenant is he that is in Covenant or to whom the Covenant belongs Filius mortis the Son of death he that is condemned to die or worthy of death and the like And why may not then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gener sanguinum that is as the Holy Ghost expounds it circumcisionis be as much as circumcisus and Gener sanguinum tu mihi es for so I told you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies be as much as I pronounce thee circumcised As if the circumcised person by being married to Circumcision were made the Circumciser's Son-in-law and Circumcision's Bridegroom as Es or Sis mihi in generum desponsatus circumcisioni Now thou art or Be thou my Son-in-law being espoused to Circumcision Or if Bloud or Circumcision note the Instrument the Formula may be thus explicated That the person circumcised becomes God's Son-in-law as being wedded and joyned to his Church by the Bloud of Circumcision as with a Ring and then the pronoun 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mihi must not be taken relatively to Zipporah as before but efficienter only in this sense Per me factus es gener Deo per sanguinem circumcisionis By me thou art made God's Son-in-law by the bloud of Circumcision or Feci te generum Deo I have made thee God's Son-in-law or if you like better the notion of Sponsus I have espoused thee to the Church of God by this rite of Circumcision or Thou art or Be thou espoused to the Church of God c. Thus as you see may the Formula be either way explicated to one and the same sense But the first I like the best because of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mihi the relative to Zipporah Tu mihi in generum es desponsatus circumcisioni Now thou art my Son-in-law being espoused to Circumcision Now lastly to free my Interpretation from novelty the sense I have given of these words is that which both the Septuagint and the Chaldee Paraphrast directly aim at the Paraphrast expounding it thus In sanguine circumcisionis istius datus est sponsus or gener mihi the Septuagint as we now read thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Stetit sanguis circumcisionis filii mei where the Text is corrupted and I believe the Septuagint translated not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sit hic sanguis circumcisionis Filii mei a Periphrastical but evident sense with the change of one letter only From the sense of this place thus proved I will point at two Observations and so conclude The First is That it is lawful to use some fitting form of words in the exhibition of a Sacrament though not expresly ordained by God at the institution thereof as appears by this Form that Zipporah used no doubt ex more according to the custom then whatsoever the Form were after that time The Second is That the neglect of the Circumcision of a child then and so consequently of Baptizing it now makes not so much the Child as the Parents liable to the wrath of God As here the Angel sought not to kill the Child who was uncircumcised but Moses the Father who should have circumcised it Both which Observations I mean to amplifie no farther but leave them to your exacter meditations and so I conclude DISCOURSE XV. EZEKIEL 20. 20. Hallow my Sabbaths and they shall be a sign between me and you to acknowledge that I Iehovah am your God THIS Commandment with the End thereof the Lord bids Ezekiel tell the Elders of Israel that he gave it to their Fathers in the Wilderness And it is recorded in the Law so that I might have taken it thence But I rather chose to make these words in Ezekiel my Text as expressed more plainly and so a Comment to those in the Law The place there is Exod. 31. 13. where this which my Text containeth is expressed thus Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations to acknowledge that I Iehovah am your sanctifier that is your God as the expression in Ezekiel tells us For to be the Sanctifier of a People and to be their God is all one whence also the Lord is so often called in Scripture the Holy One of Israel that is their Sanctifier and their God That which I intend at this time to observe from these words is the End why God commanded this Observation of the Sabbath to the Israelites to wit That thereby as by a Symbolum or Sign they might testifie and profess what God they worshipped Secondly out of this ground to shew How far and in what manner the like Observation binds us Christians who are worshippers of the same God whom the Iews worshipped though not under the same relation altogether wherein they worshipped him All Nations had something in their Ceremonies whereby they signified the God they worshipped So in those of the Celestial Gods as they termed them and those which were Deified Souls of men were differing Rites whereby the one was known from the other Those Gods which were made of men having Funeral rites in their services as Cogniâ—ances that they were Souls deceased and each of them some imitation of some remarkable passage of the Legend of their lives either of some action done by them or some accident which befel them as in the ceremonies of Osyris and Bacchus is obvious to any that reads them And indeed it is a natural Decorum for servants and vassals by some mark or cognisance to testifie who is their Lord and Master In the Revelation the worshippers of the Beast receive his mark and the worshippers of the Lamb carry his mark and his Father 's in their Fore-heads Hence came the first use of the Cross in Baptism as the mark of Christ the Deity to whom we are initiated and the same afterwards used in all Benedictions Prayers and Thanksgivings in token they were done in the name and merits of Christ crucified So that in the Primitive Church this Rite was no more but that wherewith we conclude all our Prayers and Thanksgivings when we say Through Iesus Christ our Lord and Saviour though afterward it came to be abused as almost all other Rites of Christianity to abominable Superstition To return therefore unto my Text. Agreeably to this Principle and this
sute our Text better I think than any of the former to wit that Prophesying here should be taken for praising God in Hymns and Psalms For so it is fitly coupled with praying Praying and Praising being the parts of the Christian Liturgie Besides our Apostle also in the fourteenth Chapter of this Epistle joyns them both together I will pray saith he with the spirit and will pray with understanding also I will sing with the spirit and I will sing that is prophesie with understanding also For because Prophets of old did Three things first foretel things to come secondly notifie the will of God unto the People and thirdly utter themselves in Musical wise and as I may so speak in a Poetical strain and composure hence it comes to pass that to prophesie in Scripture signifies the doing of any of these Three things and amongst the rest to praise God in Verse or Musical composure This to be so as I say I shall prove unto you out of two places of Scripture and first out of the first of Chronicles Chap. 25. where the word Prophesie is three several times thus used I will alledge the words of the Text at large because I cannot well abbreviate them Thus therefore it speaks Vers. 1. Moreover David and the Captains of the Host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph and of Heman and of Ieduthun who should prophesie with Harps with Psalteries and with Cymbals and the number of the men of Office according to their service was 2. Of the sons of Asaph Zaccur and Ioseph and Nethaniah and Asarelah the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph which prophesied according the order of the King 3. Of Ieduthun the sons of Ieduthun Gedaliah and Zeri and Ieshaiah Hashabiah and Mattithiah and Schimei six under the hands of their father Ieduthun who prophesied with a Harp to give thanks and to praise the Lord. Lo here to prophesie and to give thanks or confess and to praise the Lord with spiritual songs made all one Nor needs such a Notion seem strange when as even among the Latins the word Vaâ—es signifieth both him that foretels things to come and a Poet for that the Gentiles Oracles were given likewise in Verse And S. Paul to Titus calls the Cretian Poet Epimenides a Prophet as one saith he of their own Prophets said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the Arabians whose language comes the nearest both in words and notions to the Hebrew call a chief Poet of theirs Princeps omnium Poetarum saith Erpenius quos unquam vidit mundus Muttenabbi that is Prophetizans or the Prophet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now then if Asaph Ieduthun and Heman prophesied when they praised God in such Psalms as are entituled unto their several Quires and as we find them in the Psalm-Book for know that all the Psalms entituled To the sons of Korah belonged to the Quire of Heman who descended from Korah why may not we when we sing the same Psalms be said to prophesie likewise namely As he that useth a prayer composed by another prayeth and that according to the spirit of him that composed it so he that praiseth God with these spiritual and prophetical composures may be said to prophesie according to that spirit which speaketh in them And that Almighty God is well pleased with such Service as this may appear by that one story of King Iehoshaphat in the second of Chronicles who when he marched forth against that great confederate Army of the children of Ammon Moab and mount Seir the Text tells us that having consulted with his people he appointed Singers unto the Lord that should praise the Beauty of holiness as they went out before the Army and to say Praise the Lord for his mercy endureth for ever that is they should sing the one hundred and sixth Psalm or one hundred and thirty sixth Psalm which begin in this manner and were both of them not unfit for such an occasion And when they began to sing and praise saith the Text the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon Moab and Mount Seir which were come against Iudah and they were smitten A second place where such kind of Prophets and Prophesying as we speak of are mentioned is that in the first of Samuel in the story of Saul's election where we read that when he came to a certain place called The Hill of God he met a company of Prophets coming down from the Highplace or Oratory there with a Psaltery and a Tabret and a Pipe and a Harp before them and they prophesied and he with them Their Instruments argue what kind of Prophecy this was namely Praising of God with spiritual songs and melody In what manner is not so easie to define or specifie but with an extemporary rapture I easily believe And if we may conjecture by other examples One of them should seem to have been the Praecentor and to utter the Verse or Ditty the rest to have answered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the extremes or last words of the Verse For after this manner we are told by Philo Iudaeus that the Esseni who were of the Iewish Nation were wont to sing their Hymns in their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or worshipping-places And after the self-same manner Eusebius tells us did the Primitive Christians having in all likelihood learnt it from the Iews whose manner it was The same is witnessed by the Author Constitutionum Aposiolicarum in his second Book and fifty seventh Chapter where describing the manner of the Christian Service after the reading of the Lessons of the Old Testament saith he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let another sing the Psalms of David and the people succinere or answer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the extremes of the verses Some footsteps of which Custom remain still with us though perhaps in somewhat a different way when in those short Versicles of Liturgie being Sentences taken out of the Psalms the Priest sayes or sings the first half and the People answer the latter quasi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As for example in that taken out of Psalm 51. 15. the Priest sayes O Lord open thou our lips the People or Chorus answers And our mouth shall shew forth thy praise But whatsoever the ancient manner of answering was thus much we are sure of That the Iews in their Divine Lauds were wont to praise God after this manner in Antiphons or Responsories as to let pass other Testimonies and the use of their Synagogues to this day derived from their Ancestors we may learn by two special Arguments One from the Seraphims singing Esay 6. 3. where it is said that the Seraphims cryed one unto another saying Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Hosts the whole Earth is full of his Glory Note They cried one unto another Secondly from the use of the Hebrew verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which in the proper and
and moreover that such a one was in his time remaining at Sichem the place my Text speaks of there erected by the Samaritans in that as in all things else imitators of the Iews What better Testimony could be desired These Proseucha's of the Iews both name and thing were not unknown to the Poet Iuvenal when describing in his third Satyre in what manner proud and insolent fellows in the City of Rome used in their drunken humours to abuse and quarrel with those they met in the streets in the night-time whom they took to be of mean condition he brings them in speaking thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ede ubi consistas in quâ te quaero Proseuchâ Where dwell you in what Proseucha should I seek or enquire for you intimating that he was some poor fellow either that dwelt in an house that could not keep out wind and weather but was like a Iew 's Proseucha all open above or he alludes to the banishment of the Iews out of Rome by Domitian in his own time and then fresh as who had no where else to bestow themselves but in their Proseucha's out of the City or who used to assemble in the Proseucha's According to some of these senses is Iuvenal to be understood For that the Iews had Proseucha's about the City of Rome appears by Philo Iudaeus in his Delegatione ad Caium where commending the â—lemency and moderation of Augustus Caesar he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That he knew the Iews of Rome had their Proseucha's and that they used to assemble in them especially on the Sabbath-days and yet never molested them as Caius did The same Philo mentioneth Proseucha's elsewhere though it be not to be dissembled that he seems to comprehend Synagogues also properly so called under that name as being better known to the Gentiles who called both by that name Iosephus in his Life tells us of a Proseucha at Tiberias in Galilee in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 On the next day which was the Sabbath-day the whole people were gathered together in the Proseucha which is saith he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a large edifice fit to receive a great multitude He afterward tells us of a publick fast and supplication appointed to be had the Monday following in the Proseucha whither himself and others assembled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. to perform their devotions In the New Testament the name of Synagogue is frequent but that of Proseucha seldom whence may be conjectured that both are comprehended under that name as in Philo both are termed Proseuchae Yet once or twice as learned Interpreters think we read of Proseucha's in the New Testament As namely Acts 16. 13. which Epiphanius even now alledged to that purpose where S. Luke tells us that S. Paul being come to Philippi in Macedonia on the Sabbath-day they went out of the City to a river side 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where there was taken to be a Proseucha or where was famed to be a Proseucha 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 will bear both The Syriack hath Quia ibi conspiciebatur Domus orationis the Arabick Locus oratiâ—nis For if 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were taken here for Prayer it self as if the sense were where Prayer was used to be made it should rather have been said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Yet if it were so taken it would still argue no less than that there was here an appointed place for Prayer and that out of the City which is all one as to say there was a Proseucha So I take 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the 16. verse of the same Chapter where it is said It came to pass 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as we went to the Proseucha especially since we read not in the Text that S. Paul went thither to pray but to preach where he deemed there was an assembly that day according to custom And we sat down saith S. Luke and spake unto the women which were come together there A second place where a Proseucha is mentioned in the New Testament may be that Luke 6. 12. where it is said that our Saviour went out into a Mountain to pray and continued all night 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Proseuchâ Dei in an Oratory or Prayer-house of God so Drusius thinks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is here to be taken for a place and the Article helps the sense Otherwise it seems an odd and unaccustomed expression for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to mean in Prayer made unto God And why should it not be as likely that our Saviour might sometimes pray in their Proseucha's as teach in their Synagogues Thus we have seen the Testimonies for Proseucha's their use and difference from Synagogues Now for Synagogues the common opinion is that they were not before the Captivity of Babylon and that Necessity first taught the Iews the use of them in that Captivity which afterward they brought with them at their return into their own Country The reason why men so think is I suppose the absolute silence of them in Scripture until the time of the second Temple But though the name were not it is possible the thing might be Howsoever because it is most received that they were not we will let it pass for current But as for Proseucha's such as we have described them none that I know have affirmed or determined ought of their antiquity it may be not taken it into consideration either because they had no occasion to think of any such matter or because they confounded them altogether with Synagogues The matter therefore being yet free and undecided I will make bold to affirm That if Synagogues were not yet Proseucha's that is open places for Prayer were a long time before the Captivity yea even from the days of Ioshua the son of Nun And though the Iews had or were to have but one Altar or place of Sacrifice that namely which the Lord should chuse to place the Ark of his Covenant there the Tabernacle or Temple yet had they other places for devotion and religious use And that this Sanctuary of God here mentioned in my Text at Sichem which was a Levitical City was such a one my reasons are these First Because it is incredible that the Israelites having but one Temple for the whole Nation whereat they were bound to appear and those the males only but thrice a year should have no other Places of Prayer nearer their dwellings whither they might resort on Sabbath-days the Temple or Tabernacle being from some of them above an hundred miles distant at the least Secondly Because as I have already shewed this Sanctuary at Sichem could not be the Tabernacle which was then at Shiloh not at Sichem and yet must have some stable and fixed place because the situation of the Oak is designed by it yea must have been still there when this story of Ioshua was written which
Iews were dispersed This is yet further confirmed by S. Peter's speech unto them as when having cited the words of the Prophet Ioel verse the 22. he saith unto them Ye men of Israel hear these words Iesus of Nazareth a man approved of God among you c. v. 23. Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and fore-knowledge of God ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain Men of Israel and such as had slain their Messias surely those were no Gentiles Likewise when at the hearing of this they were pricked in their hearts he saith unto them Repeut and be Baptized every one of you in the Name of Iesus Christ for the remission of sins For the Promise is made unto you and your Children and to all that are afar off even as many as the Lord shall call The Promise saith he is made unto you and your children were these then any others than Iews or Israelites of the seed of Abraham Lastly we find that of these Parthians Medes and Elamites and of the rest named with them there were added unto the Church by this Sermon of S. Peter three thousand souls But it is certain that Cornelius the Centurion was the first Gentile that was converted unto the Faith Therefore these first converts were no Gentiles Perhaps you will say They were Proselytes of these several Nations and therefore called Iews I say Not so neither because Proselytes are by name rehearsed among them when it is said of those Roman advenae verse the tenth that they were Iews and Proselytes Ergo the rest were Iews by race and not by Religion only But what need I to have heaped together all these proofs when my Text alone is sufficient to evince it I come now therefore to a more particular illustration thereof according to what I have thus in general premised And first for the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which I translate sojourning rather than dwelling for so I understand it that they were not proper dwellers but such as came to worship at Ierusalem from those far Countries at the Feasts of the Passeover and Pentecost and so had been continuing there some good time 'T is true that in the usual Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifie a durable mansion but with the Hellenists in whose Dialect the Scripture speaketh they are indifferently used for a stay of a shorter or a longer time that is for to sojourn as well as to dwell as these two examples out of the Septuagint will make manifest One in Genes 27. 44. where Rebecca says to her younger son Iacob Son arise and flee unto Laban my brother to Haran 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and tarry with him a few days until thy brother's fury turn away 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is here to tarry but a few days Another is in 1 Kings 17. 20. where Elijah cries unto the Lord saying O Lord my God hast thou also brought evil upon the widow 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with whom I sojourn by slaying her son here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to sojourn only In a word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 answer to the Hebrew verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies any stay or remaining in a place Next for the persons here specified Iews out of every Nation under Heaven for the right understanding thereof we are to know That before this last Dispersion of the Iews by the Romans after their Temple and City were destroyed by Titus which at the time of this story was not nor many years after it there had been already two Captivities and great Dispersions of that Nation besides some smaller scatterings The first was of the Ten Tribes by Salmanasser King of Assyria who is said to have planted them in Halah and Habor by the river of Gozan and in the Cities of the Medes and these never I mean any considerable part of them returned to dwell again in their own Country of these therefore at least chiefly we are to understand those to have been which the story here calls Parthians Medes and Elamites Elamites that is Persians of the Province Elymais For in those Countries which these names comprehend were the Ten Tribes placed by the Assyrian and there still dwelt and thereabouts in our Saviour and his Apostles time and long after S. Hierome upon those words Ioel 3. 6. The children of Iudah and the children of Ierusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians which he understands of the Captivity by Vespasian and Titus tells us thus much Filii saith he Iuda Ierusalem nequaquam Israel decem Tribuum quae usque hodie in Medorum urbibus montibus habitant The children of Iudah and Ierusalem not of Israel and the Ten Tribes which even to this day have their habitation in the Cities and Mountains of the Medes The second Captivity was by Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon of the Two Tribes Iudah and Benjamin more than a hundred years after that of the Ten. Now a good part of these at seventy years end returned again under Cyrus and his Successors to dwell again in their own Land re-edified the Temple and City of Ierusalem and re-erected their Common-wealth which continued till our Saviour's time and a little after Notwithstanding all those that were Captives in Babylon returned not no it may be not much more than the half of them certain it is that a great number of them stayed there still those especially which were rich and well accommodated having no mind to stir whence in our Saviour's and the Apostles times there were an innumerable company of them in those parts where they flourished with Academies and Schools and had Doctors not inferior to those of Ierusalem it self Yea from them proceeded the Chaldee Paraphrase and that great Doctor and Patriarch of Rabbies R. Hillel Of these therefore we have reason to think were those which are here enumerated by the name of Dwellers in Mesopotamia 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Where note by the way that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are comprehended in the number of those whom my Text saith were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which confirms my interpretation that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there signifies sojourning and not dwelling for that they could not be said to dwell in both places These two Dispersions beyond the River Euphrates how numerous they were in our Saviour's and the Apostles times we may gather from those words of King Agrippa in Iosephus in that Oration he made unto the Iews before that fatal siege disswading them from rebelling against the Romans their party being too much too weak to maintain themselves against that mighty Empire 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. What associates saith he will you have from some Country not inhabited to aid you against the Romans For all those that at this day dwell in any part of this world that is
These are the several Heads I shall speak of and first of the First the Subject The Righteous or the Bountiful man For Righteousness in a special sense in the Hebrew and the rest of the Oriental Tongues of kin to it signifies Beneficence or Bounty both the Vertue and the Work and therefore by the Hellenists or Septuagint is it translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word so frequent in the New Testament for that we call Alms. 'T is a known place Dan. 4. according both to the Septuagint and Vulgar Latin Peccata tua Eleemosynis redime iniquitates tuas misericordiis pauperum Where in the Original for Eleemosyna Alms is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Righteousness as we in our English render it Break off thy sins by Righteousness and thine iniquity by shewing mercy to the poor This notion of Righteousness is to be found thrice together in the 12. of Tobit Ver. 8. Prayer saith old Tobit there to his Son is goodwith Fasting and with Alms and Righteousness A little with Righteousness is better than much with unrighteousness It is better to give Alms than to lay up gold 9. For Alms doth deliver from death and shall purge away all sin Those that exercise Alms and Righteousness shall be filled with life Here in the Greek copy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Alms and Righteousness are exegetically put the one to expound the other but in the Hebrew there is but one word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for them both that being the word in that language for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hence in the Syriack Translation of the New Testament 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is rendred by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iustitia And so in the Arabick Hence Mat. 6. 1. for Take heed that you do not your alms before men as we read it the vulgar Latin and some Greek Copies have Attenditè ne justitiam vestram faciatis coram hominibus Take heed that you do not your righteousness before men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Namely as the word Charity with us though in the larger sense it signifies our whole duty both to God and man is restrained to signifie our Liberality to the poor so is the word Righteousness in the Oriental Languages If Righteousness therefore signifie Beneficence and Bounty then is the Righteous according to this notion the Bountiful man or as we speak the Charitable And that it is so taken in my Text both the general scope of the Psalm and the connexion with the words before and after is proof sufficient For before goes this A good man sheweth favour and lendeth he will guide his affairs with judgment Surely he shall not be moved for ever Then come the words of my Text The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance After it follows this He hath dispersed he hath given to the poor his righteousness remaineth for ever which S. Paul alledgeth 2 Cor. 9. 9. to promote their collection for the poor Saints at Ierusalem For illustration of this and our further information it will not be amiss I hope to commend to your observation some other places of Scripture where the word Righteous is thus taken as namely Psal. 37. 21. The wicked borroweth and payeth not again but the righteous sheweth mercy and giveth Again Vers. 25 26. I have been young and now am old yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging their bread He is ever merciful and lendeth and his seed is blessed Here the Righteous is the merciful and bountiful to whom namely this blessing That his seed shall not want is proper and peculiar The same use is Prov. 10. 2. Treasures of wickedness profit nothing but Righteousness delivereth from death The same is repeated again Chap. 11. 4. Riches profit not in the day of wrath but Righteousness delivereth from death Where Righteousness to be taken for Alms is apparent out of Tobit 12. 9. where it is so applied and rendred namely Alms doth deliver from death I could add also another place Prov. 21. 26. but these shall be sufficient Hence appears their errour who conceive of the nature of Alms as of an arbitrary thing which they may do if they will or not do without sin as that which carries no obligation with it but is left freely to every mans discretion And this makes some contend so much to have the Priest's maintenance granted to be Eleemosynary that so they might be at liberty to give something or nothing as they listed But if that were so yet if Alms be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Righteousness in the Hebrew tongue and the language which our Saviour spake if our Saviour call'd them Righteousness when he mentioned them who dare affirm then that Righteousness implies no obligation or that a man may leave it undone without sin THUS much of the Subject The Righteous Now I come to the Predicate shall be in everlasting remembrance In remembrance I said with God and men With God in the life to come and this life Let us see for the first The world to come It is certain that at the day of Iudgment we shall receive our doom according to our works of Charity and Mercy and that of all the works that a Christian man hath done these alone have that peculiar priviledge to be then brought in express remembrance before God Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the World For I was an hungred and ye gave me meat I was thirsty and ye gave me drink I was a stranger and ye took me in naked and ye clothed me I was sick and ye visited me I was in prison and ye came unto me c. Forasmuch as ye have done thus unto the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me Matt. 25. 34 c. What doth my Text say The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance God remembers our good deeds when he rewards them as he doth our prayers when he hears them If to remember then be to reward an everlasting reward is an everlasting remembrance 'T is remarkable that this priviledge which the works of Bounty and Mercy shall have at the day of Iudgment was not unknown to the Iews themselves for so we read in the Chaldee Paraphrast upon Ecclesiastes 9. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It shall come to pass at the day of Iudgment that the Lord of the world shall say thus openly to every righteous man then before him Go and eat with gladness thy bread which is laid up for thee as a reward for the bread which thou gavest to the poor and needy when they were an hungred and drink with gladness of heart the wine which is kept for thee in the garden of Eden or Paradise as a reward for the wine thou gavest the poor and needy when they were athirst for behold thy good works have found acceptance
before the Lord. The reason of this Prelation of the works of Mercy at that great day is because all we can expect at the hands of our Heavenly Father is merely of his Mercy and Bounty we can hope for nothing but mercy without mercy we are undone according to that of Nehemiah in his last Chap. Remember me O Lord concerning this and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy Now in those that are to be partakers of Mercy the Divine wisdom requires this congruity that they be such as have been ready to shew mercy unto others judging them altogether unworthy of mercy at his hands who have afforded no mercy to their brethren For so the Scripture tells us that they shall have judgment without mercy that have shewn no mercy The tenour of our Petition for forgiveness of sins in the Lord's Prayer runs with this condition As we forgive them that trespass against us And who can read without trembling the Parable of the unmerciful servant in the Gospel to whom his Lord revoked the Debt he meant to have forgiven him because he shewed no mercy to his fellow-servant who owed him a far lesser Debt Shouldst thou not saith he Vers. 23. have shewed compassion to thy fellow-servant as I shewed compassion unto thee This rule of congruity I say is the reason why at the day of our great account we shall be judged according to our works of mercy and bounty To do as we would be done to hath place not only between man and man but between God and men Nor is this I speak of manifest by the Form of our last Sentence only but by other Scriptures beside what else means that of our Saviour Luke 16. 9. Make unto your selves friends of the unrighteous Mammon that is of these slippery and deceitful riches for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Scripture's Dialect is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that when ye fail they may receive you into everlasting Tabernacles Or what means that of S. Paul 1 Tim. 6. 17 18. Charge them that be rich in this world that they trust not in uncertain riches but in the living God That they do good that they be rich in good works ready to distribute willing to communicate Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life Laying up a good foundation c. in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Here it is observable that works of Beneficence are said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the Foundation of the reward we shall receive in the life to come If any but S. Paul had said so we should have gone near to have excepted against it for an error Works the Foundation of eternal life No that shall not need but the Foundation of that blessed Sentence we shall receive at the last day for them and that is evident by the form thereof which we have alledged Whatsoever is meant a great priviledge sure is hereby implied that these works have above others Where give me leave to tell you what a late sacred Critick hath observed concerning the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in this place of Timothy namely That the signification thereof there is not Vulgar but Hellenistical agreeable to the use of the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereto it answers for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies as it doth Radix vel fundamentum the root or foundation But besides this in the Rabbinical Dialect it is used for Tabulae contractûs a Bill of contract a Bond or Obligation whereby such as lend are secured to receive their loan again That therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which answers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the first sense doth answer the same likewise in the second and accordingly the Apostle's meaning to be That those who exercise these works of Beneficence do provide themselves as it were of a Bill or Bond upon which they may at that day sue and plead for the award of eternal life Vi pacti but not Vi meriti In the same sense he takes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. Tim. 2. 19. The foundation of God standeth sure having this seal the Lord knoweth them that are his And Let every one that nameth or calleth upon the name of Christ depart from iniquity The mentioning of a Seal here implies a Bill of contract for Bills of contract had their Seals appendant to them each side whereof had his Motto the one suiting with the one party contrahent the other with the other That to this S. Paul alludes God 's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith he standeth sure that is God's Bill of contract or his Chirographum having a Seal according to the manner the one side whereof carrieth this Motto The Lord 〈◊〉 oweth them that are his the other this Let every one that calleth upon the name of Christ depart from iniquity YOU have heard how God remembreth the Righteous or Charitable man in the world to come He remembreth him also in this For that which the Apostle saith of Godliness that it hath the promise of this life as well as of that to come is most properly and â—eculiarly true of this Righteousness of Bounty and Mercy other Righteousâ—â—â—â—â— â—eed must not look for its reward till hereafter but this is wont to be rewaâ—â—◠〈◊〉 Spiritual blessings we have the example of Cornelius who for his Alms-deeds found 〈◊〉 our with God to have S. Peter sent unto him to instruct him in the saving knowleâ— of Câ—â—â—st Thy Prayers and thine Alms-deeds said the Angel are come up in rememâ—râ—nce before God Now therefore send to Ioppa and inquire for one Simon Peter c. For Temporal blessings hear what David sayes Psal. 37 25 26. quoted before I was young saith he and now am old yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging their bread He is ever merciful and lendeth therefore his seed is blessed This blessing is the merciful and charitable man's peculiar that his children shall not want who was liberal and open-handed to supply the want of others But think not that God remembers the charitable man with a Temporal blessing in his posterity only for he remembers him also in his own person Thus the same David Psal. 41. 1. Blessed is he that considereth the poor the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble 2. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive and he shall be blessed upon the earth and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies 3. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing c. And doth not his Son King Solomon say the same Prov. 19. 17. He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord and that which he hath given he will pay him again But this perhaps some will think may be applied to the reward in the life to come If it be it would much
our Works are the Subject of Reward and the same Merit of Christ makes differing works capable of a different Reward Their other Objection hath a little more likelihood and seems therefore somewhat more difficult to answer It is taken from the Parable Matt. 20. where the Kingdome of Heaven is compared to a Vineyard the Master whereof went out in the morning to hire labourers and agreed with them for a peny a day Three hours after or at the third hour he went out and hired more and so again at the sixth and ninth hours yea at the eleventh but an hour before Sun went down he did likewise And when they came all to receive their wages he gave the last hired as much as he had agreed for with the first to wit every one a peny neither more not less Whence it seems to follow that the reward to come signified by this peny shall not be proportioned according to the difference of works but be one and the same to all I answer First The Parable proves no more but this That the sooner or later coming of men into the Vineyard of the Church for all were not to be called at one time nor in one age shall not make their reward greater or lesser not that the reward shall not be different according to the diversity of our works Secondly I add That this Parable hath respect to the Churches of the Iews and Gentiles not called nor to be called at the same time For the Iews were hired into the Vineyard betimes in the morning the Gentiles not till the day was far spent yet shall they by the goodness of their heavenly Master receive the same reward of eternal life which was promised to the Iew with whom the Covenant was first made and who bare the heat of the day whilst the other stood idle Besides in the new Vineyard of the Gospel the turn is changed for into it because the Iews would not the Gentiles have first been hired though at several hours the Iew being not to come in until the eleventh hour yet when Christ comes to give us wages shall receive his peny that is eternal life as well as we This to be the genuine scope of the Parable may be gathered by that which is presently subjoyned by our Saviour as it were to be the Key thereof So the last saith he shall be first and the first last 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for many are called but few are chosen which I understand thus The last that is the Gentiles who came in last shall be the first partakers of Christ's Kingdom The Iews who were first in Covenant and had wrought so long before us in God's Vineyard shall be last in the Covenant of Christ and not converted till the fulness of the Gentiles be come in For though many of them were invited at the first coming of Christ yet few or none obeyed and to the Nation became not of his peculium but stands yet rejected 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To the like purpose is the same speech used by our Saviour Luk. 13. 29 30. They shall come saith he from the East and from the West and from the North and from the South and shall sit down in the Kingdom of God And behold there are last which shall be first and there are first which shall be last What means this Out of S. Matthew 8. 11 12. where the same passage is related we shall hear it expounded for there the words run thus Many shall come from the East and West and shall sit down with Abraham Isaac and Iacob in the Kingdom of heaven But the children of the Kingdom that is the whole generation of Israel who received not the Gospel at the Preaching of Christ and his Apostles and all the generations since who have continued in unbelief shall be cast out into outer darkness And here by the way because the Parable useth the notion of a Day to signifie a time of many Ages it will not be altogether unseasonable to note that the Metaphor may appear the easier how that the Scripture often elsewhere calls the whole time of man's pilgrimage in this world by the name of a Day As To day if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts And Heb. 3. 13. Exhort one another 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every day whilest it is called to Day Where we see Day to include every day And I believe we are thus to understand Day in the Lord's Prayer in that Petition Give us this day our daily Bread that is the whole time we live in this world For in stead of S. Matthew's This Day spoken after the Hebrew notion S. Luke hath in the same Petition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is every day Therefore S. Matthew's This day must comprehend S. Luke's Every day if the sense of the Petition in both of them be the same as I believe it is Nay more than this The world to come even Seculum aeternitatis or Eternity it self is likewise termed a Day by S. Peter 2 Ep. 3. 18. our Lord saith he and Saviour Iesus Christ to whom be glory both now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and to the Day of Eternity A long Day indeed But this obiter Thus having cleared my Proposition in thest or in general That there shall be differing degrees of glory in the Reward to come it remains that I make it good in the hypothesis concerning a Prophet namely That to them who instruct others in the ways and will of God which is the Office of a Prophet there belongs a preeminence of Reward above and besides that which is common to all Saints This preeminence of glory the School-men term Aurâ—ola that is an Additament of felicity to that essential glory in the Vision of God which they term Aurea This Aureola or Coronet to be added to the Crown of glory they ascribe to three sorts of persons to Virgins to Martyrs and to Doctors of Prophets The two first are out of my scope The third of Prophets let us see how it is proved out of Scripture First therefore it is apparent from my Text He that receiveth a Prophet in the name of a Prophet shall receive a Prophet's reward Ergo there is some special or peculiar Reward belonging to a Prophet and that to an eminent one otherwise our Saviour's speech will have no enforcement in it as he that considers thereof may easily see The second is Dan. 12. 3. where the Angel prophesying of the Resurrection to be at the end of Time and saying That many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt he addes And those that be wise that is have learned the true wisdom which consists in the fear of God shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament but those that turn many unto righteousness that is the Teachers and Instructers as the Stars for ever and ever
for at the hands of God without it An invincible argument whereof is That our Saviour himself in the Prayer he hath taught his Church hath put in a bar against asking it but upon this condition Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us If we ask not with this disposition there is no promise that any such prayer shall be heard nay our Saviour tells us in plain terms it shall not If saith he you forgive not men their trespasses no more will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses How then can any man whose heart is fraught with malice and meditates revenge against his brother hear this and not tremble Is it not a fearful thing for a man to carry in his own bosom not only an evidence that his sins are unpardoned but a bat too that he cannot ask the forgiveness of them Let no man deceive himself Though our consciences should bear us witness of many good works we have done reconciliatione tamen contemptâ nullum possumus promereri solatium yet if we neglect to be reconciled to our brethren we are not in a capacity to receive any comfort and mercy from God So Chrysost. As the fifth Commandment is called by the Apostle the first Commandment with promise so is this Petition for forgiveness of sins the only Petition with condition and such a condition too as our Saviour dwells upon and enforces when he had delivered this Form of Prayer to his Disciples For he passes by all the rest of the Petitions and singles out this alone to comment upon as that wherein the chiefest moment lay and without which all our prayer would be uneffectual and to no purpose A further confirmation of which we have in that parable of Servus nequam the wicked Servant Matth. 18. whom his Lord being moved with compassion when he besought him forgave a debt of ten thousand Talents But he finding one of his fellow-servants which ought him an hundred pence though he fell at his feet and besought him yet would not hear him but cast him into prison Then his Lord was wroth and said O thou wicked servant shouldst thou not have had compassion on thy fellow-servant even as I had pity upon thee And he delivered him unto the tormentors till he should pay all that was due to him The Application is terrible So likewise saith our Saviour shall my heavenly Father do unto you if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses We are this Servus nequam if when our heavenly Father forgives us thousands of Talents we stand with our brethren for an hundred pence For there is no proportion between the offences wherewith we offend God and the offences wherewith our brother offends us And therefore we have no excuse hath our brother wronged us never so often never so much never so hainously For whatsoever it be or how unworthy or undeserved soever our sin our ingratitude to Almighty God is and hath been infinitely greater even as ten thousand Talents to an hundred pence To these two Testimonies add a third and that also as the former out of our Blessed Saviour's own mouth Matth. 5. 23 24. If thou bring saith he thy Gift to the Altar and there remember that thy brother hath ought against thee Leave there thy gift before the Altar and go thy way first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word whereby the Septuagint constantly render that which the Law calls Corban and the Gospel concurs with them Mark 7. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now Corban in the Law is in special used for those Offerings which were made for atonement of Sin as the Burnt-offering Sin-offering Trespass-offering and Peace-offering call'd Offerings by Fire or Sacrifices So that this Precept of our Saviour's here is the same in effect with the former When thou comest to offer an offering unto God for an atonement of thy sin go thy way first and be reconciled unto thy brother for without this thy sin shall not be forgiven thee I shall not need tell you that now in the Gospel Christ is the Sacrifice is the Gift which a Christian by faith offers unto God for the propitiation of his sin and that this Sacrifice is commemorated sealed and communicated unto us in the blessed Sacrament of the Lord's Supper whereby it will easily appear how this Precept of our Saviour's uttered after the style of the Legal worship is appliable to the Evangelical Hence in the ancient Church when they assembled to celebrate this Sacrament the Deacon was wont to proclaim 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ne quis contra aliquem Let no man have ought against his brother And then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Salute one another with an holy kiss which accordingly they did first the Bishop and Clergy then the Laiety the men apart by themselves and the women by themselves and this was a profession of friendship and reconciliation and therefore called Osculum pacis the kiss of peace In after-times the Priest gave this Kiss of peace unto the Deacon and he to the chief of the Congregation and so it was given from one to another In stead of which at length was brought in that foolish ceremony still used among the Romanists for the Priest to send a little gilded or painted Table with a Crucifix or some Saint's picture thereon to be kissed of every one in the Church before they receive the Holy Bread which they call the kissing of the Pax. So oftentimes profitable and useful Ceremonies degenerate into toys and superstitions Our Church though she useth no ceremony retains the substance when the Priest in his Exhortation to the Communicants saith If any of you be in malice or envy or any other grievous crime bewail your sins and come not to this holy Table and by the Rubrick the Priest if he knows any such is to turn them back unless they will be reconciled Lastly The necessity of this duty is testified by that pious and generally-received Custom amongst Christians to exhort those that are dying to forgive all the world that so themselves may find mercy and forgiveness at the hands of God Is it needful at the hour of death and not as needful in the time of our health Is there no forgiveness to be expected at the hands of God without it when we are dying and is there while we are living No certainly All times are alike here and there is no time wherein God will forgive us unless we forgive our brother What then remains but that we do every day as we would do if we were to die the next It is a blessed disposition to have a becalmed heart to those who have wronged us and not to let the Sun go down upon our wrath to be able to come before God with confidence and say Lord forgive us our trespasses as we forgive
root nor branch c. he addeth Behold saith the Lord I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of that great and dreadful day of the Lord And he shall turn or restore the heart of the Fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their Fathers lest I come and smite the earth with a curse If we will not admit the Day here described to be the Day of Iudgment I know scarce any description of that Day in the Old Testament but we may elude For the phrase of turning or as I had rather translate it restoring as the LXX 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the heart of the Fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their Fathers the meaning is That this Elias should bring the refractory and unbelieving posterity of the Iewish nation to have the same heart and mind their holy Fathers and Progenitors had who feared God and believed his promises that so their Fathers might as it were rejoyce in them and own them for their children that is he should convert them to the faith of that Christ whom their Fathers hoped in and looked for lest continuing obstinate in their unbelief till the great day of Christ's Second coming they might perish among the rest of the enemies of his Kingdom Therefore the son of Syrach in his praise of Elias the Thisbite paraphraseth this place after this manner Who hast ordained saith he an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or type for so it may be turned for the times to come to pacifie the wrath of the Lord's judgment before it break forth into fury and to turn the heart of the Father unto the Son and to restore the tribes of Israel Ecclus. 48. 10. Which explication also the Angel warrenteth Luke 1. 17. in his message to Zachary concerning his son He shall go saith he before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elias to turn the hearts of the Fathers to the Children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just this is in stead of reducing the hearts of the children to their Fathers to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. For the better understanding of this first Reason we must know That the old Prophets for the most part spake of the coming of Christ indefinitely and in general without that distinction of First and Second coming which we have more clearly learned in the Gospel For this reason those Prophets except Daniel who distinguisheth those comings and the Gospel out of him speak of the things which should be at the coming of Christ indefinitely and all together which we who are now more fully informed by the revelation of his Gospel of this distinction of a Twofold coming must apply each of them to its proper time Those things which befit the state of his First coming unto it and such things as befit the state of his Second coming unto his Second and that which befits both alike as this of an Harbinger or Messenger may be applied to both My Second Reason for the proof hereof is from our Saviour's own words in the Gospel Matth. 17. 10 11. where his disciples immediately upon his Transfiguration asking him saying Why then say the Scribes that Elias must first come Our Saviour answers Elias truly shall first come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and shall restore all things These words our Saviour spake when Iohn Baptist was now beheaded and yet speaks as of a thing future 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Elias shall come and shall restore all things How can this be spoken of Iohn Baptist unless he be to come again Besides I cannot see how this Restoring of all things can be verified of the ministry of Iohn Baptist at the First coming of Christ which continued but a very short time and did no such thing as these words seem to imply for the Restoring of all things belongs not to the First but to the Second coming of Christ if we will believe S. Peter in his first Sermon in the Temple after Christ's ascension Acts 3. 19 c. where he thus speaks unto the Iews Repent saith he and be converted for the blotting out of your sins that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord And that be may send Iesus Christ which before was preached unto you Whom the heavens must receive until the times of the Restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy Prophets since the world began The word is the same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If the time or Restoring all things be not till the Second coming of Christ how could Iohn Baptist restore all things at his First If the Master come not to restore all things till then surely his Harbinger who is to prepare his way for restoring all things is not be lookt for till then These are the Reasons which have induced me to think that the opinion which the Church hath held as far as I know from her Infancy of an Elias which should be the Harbinger of Christ's Second coming hath some matter of truth in it But that this Elias should be Elias the Thisbite who was taken up into Heaven I confess I believe not no more than that he should be slain by Antichrist as some fable For that which the Prophet saith Behold I will send you Elijah the Prophet proves no more that it should be Elijah in person than that which is said of Messiah And David my servant shall rule over them proves Christ should be David in person It is much more like if it be one that comes again it should be Iohn Baptist himself who was the Harbinger of the First coming That as Christ himself the Master hath two comings so should his Harbinger have And as it shall be the same Christ which comes the second time that came the first so should his Harbinger be the same And to this both the words of the Angel to Zachary the father of the Baptist and the words of our Saviour in the place before quoted would not be unpliable The Second coming of Christ is the time of the Resurrection and in that respect it would not be unsuitable for the Harbinger thereof to be one risen from the dead But as for Elias the Thisbite's coming I find no ground at all but the contrary Howsoever though I compare probabilities I will not determine any thing lest some perhaps should say that while I reject old fables I coin new ones I rather conclude with that Iewish Proverb Cùm Elias venerit solvet nodos When that Elias comes he shall dislolve hard questions AND thus much of the circumstance of Time when our Saviour first began his solemn prophecy or preaching of the Gospel namely not till his Harbinger Iohn had done and finished his preparation Now I come to the Second circumstance namely of the Place which was Galilee Iesus came into Galilee c. A circumstance curiously noted
Good spell that is the good speak or say the good tidings the word of good news Under which name it was revealed by the Angel to the Shepherds who were watching their flock in the fields the night our Saviour was born Behold saith the Angel I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people For unto you is born this day a Saviour which is Christ the Lord Luk. 2. 10 11. I call it the glad tidings of Salvation to be attained by Christ for so much the name of Saviour implies And saith S. Paul 1 Tim. 1. 15. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation That Iesus Christ came into the world to save sinners Neither is there saith S. Peter Acts 4. 12. Salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved The next words I used shew the way and manner how and whereby Christ purchased this Salvation unto men and the means whereby it is attained through him namely by cancelling of sin by his alonement made he reconciles us to his Father that we through him might turn unto God and perform works of obedience acceptable unto eternal life All which was foretold by Daniel chap. 9. 24. where prophesying of the time of Messiah's coming he said Seventy weeks were determined upon the people and upon the holy city to finish transgression and to make an end of sin and to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness To prove in particular that Christ dyed for sin I shall not need No man that ever read the Gospel but knows it That by the atonement he made for sin by death he hath reconciled us to his Father is as evident by what S. Paul tells us 2 Cor. 5. 19. That God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespasses to them That the ministery of the Gospel is the Ministery of reconciliation v. 18. whose Ministers as Embassadors for Christ beseech men in Christ's stead to be reconciled unto God v. 20. For by reason of Sin all mankind is at enmity with God and liable to eternal wrath Christ by taking our sins upon him abolished this enmity and set us at peace with God his Father according to that the Quire of Angels sang at his blessed Birth Glory be to God on high and on earth Peace Good-will towards men that is Glory be ascribed to God forasmuch as Peace was come upon earth and Good-will towards men All this is plain But that which the greatest part of men as may be guessed by their practice seem to make question of is that last parcel of my Description That therefore Christ took away sin and reconciled us to his Father that we might through him whose righteousness is imputed to us perform works of piety and obedience which God should accept and crown with eternal life But that this is also a part of the Gospel as well as the former is plain and evident First by that of S. Peter 1 Ep. ch 2. ver 24. where he tells us That Christ his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree that we being dead to sin might live unto righteousness Secondly by that of the Apostle Paul to Titus ch 2. 11 c. The grace of God saith he that bringeth Salvation hath appeared unto all men Wherefore Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world Looking for that blessed hope the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Iesus Christ Who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works Is not this plain Thirdly by that of the same Apostle Eph. 2. 10. where the Apostle having told us v. 8 9. that we are saved by grace through faith and not of works that is not according to the Covenant of works wherein the exact performance was required lest any man should boast namely that he was not beholden to God for grace and favour in rewarding him he adds presently lest his meaning might be mistaken That we are God's workmanship created in Christ Iesus unto good works which God hath before ordained 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that we should walk in them As if he should say Though of our selves we are no ways able to perform those works of obedience ordained by God aforetime in his Law for us to walk in yet now God hath as it were new created us in Christ that we might perform them in him namely by way of acceptation though they come short of that exactness which the Law requireth And thus to be saved is to be saved by grace and favour and not by the merit of works because the foundation whereby our selves and services are approved in the eyes of God and have promise of reward is the mere favour of God in Iesus Christ and not any thing in us or them Agreeable to these Scriptures is that in the Revelation where glory is ascribed to Iesus Christ who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own bloud and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God his Father that is that he might make us kings and Priests unto God his Father For and is here to be taken 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for that Kings to subdue the world the flesh and the Devil Priests to offer Sacrifices of prayer thanksgiving works of mercy and other acceptable services to our heavenly Father Moreover and besides these express Scriptures this Truth may be yet further confirmed by Demonstration and Reason Repentance is a forsaking of sin to serve God in newness of life Now the Gospel includes Repentance as the subject wherein it worketh as the Body which it enliveneth as a Soul Or to use a similitude from weaving Repentance is the warp of the Gospel and the Gospel the woof of Repentance Repentance is as the warp which the Gospel by the shuttle of Faith runs through as the woof whence proceeds the web of Regeneration Therefore is Repentance everywhere joyned with the Gospel Both Iohn Baptist and our Saviour so published it Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand Repent and believe the Gospel Our Saviour in his last words or commission to his Disciples tells them Luk. 24. 47. that Repentance and Remission of sins which is the Gospel should be preached in his Name among all Nations beginning at Ierusalem All which is elsewhere comprised in the sole name of preaching the Gospel which argues that the Gospel of Christ and consequently our Faith in the same supposeth Repentance as the ground to do its work upon So S. Peter in his first Sermon Acts 2. 38. conjoyns them Repent saith he and be baptized in the name of Iesus Christ for the remission of sins as if he had said Repent and that thy Repentance may be available betake
might so that a valuable thing or better were given for them Such a Consecration I mean a Cherem or Consecration under pain of a curse in the very individual was that of the City Iericho as the First-fruits of the conquests of Canaan To these Arguments I will add two or three Examples to this of Ananias of the Punishment of this sin and so conclude To begin then with the beginning of all Was not the First sin of Mankind for which himself his posterity and the whole earth was accursed a great and capital sin But this if we look well into it was no other for the species and kind of the Fact than Sacriledge Such the ancient Iews conceived Adam's sin to have been namely a species of Theft as may be gathered out of the Book De morte Mosis where Moses is brought in deprecating death and answering God that his case was not such as Adam's for he transgressed by stealing and eating what God forbad him to meddle with and so was justly condemned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But who could Adam steal from save from God only And therefore I say the First sin of mankind for the Fact was the sin of Sacriledge For whereas among all the Trees of the Garden which God gave man freely to enjoy there was one Noli me tangere which he had reserved unto himself as holy in token he was Lord of the Garden Man by eating of this as common violated the sign of his Fealty unto the great Landlord of the whole Earth and committed Sacriledge for which he was cast out of Paradise and the whole earth accursed for his sake Might I not say that to this day many a son of Adam is cast out of his Paradise and the labours of his hands accursed for medling with this forbidden fruit But to go on Achan for nimming a wedge of gold and a Babylonish garment of the devoted thing of Iericho aforementioned brought a curse both upon himself and the whole Congregation of Israel For the Sacriledge of Eli's sons who not content with those offerings which God allowed them for their maintenance robbed him of his Sacrifices to furnish their own Tables God gave not only his people but even the Ark of his Covenant into the hands of the Philistins For the Sacriledge of the Seventh or Sabbatical year God caused his people to be carried captive and the land to lie waste seventy years By the Law of Moses every Seventh year the whole land was sacred unto the Lord so that no man that year might challenge any right of propriety either to sow his field or prune his vineyard or reap that which grew of it self or gather the fruits of his vineyard or undressed only he might eat thereof in the field as at other times any might of that which was none of his as he travelled by otherwise every man's field and vineyard was that year free as well to the Servant as the Master to the Stranger as the Owner to Beasts as well as to Men. The same year also were all Servants and all Debts sacred unto the Lord and so to be released whence that year was called The Lord's release See Exod. 21. Levit 25. Deut. 15. This consecration being as much as the forgoing of the seventh part of every man's profits the covetous Iews for many years neglected the observation thereof For which sin the Lord as himself professeth caused them to be carried captive and the land to lie waste seventy years without Inhabitant till it had fulfilled the years of Sabbath which they observed not For their Idolatry he gave them into the hands of the Gentiles their enemies for their Sabbatical Sacriledge he added this unto it that they should beside their bondage be carried captives into a strange Country and their Land lie desolate seventy years For the Sacrilegious profanation of Belshazzar in causing the Vaessels of God's House to be made his Quassing-bowls for himself and his Lords his Wives and his Concubines to carouse in was the hand-writing upon the wall sent which did so affright him that the Text says His countenance was changed and his thoughts troubled him so that the joynts of his loins were loosed and his knees smote one against another And the same night God's vengeance lighted upon him Lastly In the days of the Greek Kings God gave his own Temple and Worship to be profaned and his people to be troden under foot by Antiochus Epiphanes a Gentile King because they themselves had a little before profaned the same with Sacrilegious hands having betrayed the Treasures and Offerings of the same unto a Gentile's coffers and sold the Sacred Vessels to the Cities round about them 2 Maccab. 3 4. and 5. Chapters DISCOURSE XXVIII PROVERBS 30. 8 9. Give me neither Poverty nor Riches Feed me with Food convenient for me 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lest I be full and deny thee and say Who is the Lord or lest I be poor and steal and take the name of my God in vain 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 THESE words are a part of the Prayer of Agur a man for wisdom ranked with Solomon and one of the two things he desired of God not to deny him before he died The first was concerning his inward and spiritual estate Remove far from me vanity and lies that is all impiety and sinful hypocrisie for so David expressed them Psal. 4. 2. O ye sons of men how long will ye turn God's glory into shame how long will ye love vanity and seek after leasing The second is concerning his outward estate Give me neither Poverty nor Riches Feed me with Food convenient c. This second suit contains two parts 1. His Request 2. The Reason thereof His Request is doubly expressed first Negatively what he would not have then Affirmatively what he would have The Negative part in these words Give me neither Poverty nor Riches the Affirmative in these Feed me with Food convenient for me Then follows the Reason Lest I be full and deny thee c. Nevertheless this Request though two ways expressed is not to be conceived as two but one Request both ways tending to the same purpose For he that would be neither poor nor rich must needs be in the middle and he that hath neither too little nor too much must needs have a competency or food convenient for him Therefore Agur reckons of this but as one petition when he saith in the former verse Two things have Irequired of thee deny me not them before I die Else the things that he required would be three if this of my Text made two Again for the understanding of this compound suit we must not so conceive it as if he prayed absolutely against Riches or absolutely against Poverty for so the Prayer were unlawful Poverty and Riches being of themselves things indifferent and the blessing of God may go with both But it is a Prayer of choice or
against superstitious and affected Poverty nor shall I need stay longer upon this part of Agur's Prayer Give me not Poverty There are not many of us willingly guilty on this side I come therefore to the other side whence my second Observation shall be That we ought not to covet nor seek after Abundance and Excess in these outward things but to have our aims and desires stinted at such a Competency only as is convenient to maintain us in that condition and state wherein God hath placed us Whatsoever is more than this is Sin For what we have no pattern in the Word of God to pray for we have no warrant to covet or seek for In the Pattern for all our Prayers The Lord's Prayer our Saviour alloweth us to pray for no more but a competency Give us day by day our daily bread that is not a superfluous and superabounding bread but a sufficient bread we pray thee O Lord to give us this day and every day Agur in my Text Give me neither Poverty nor Riches feed me with food convenient for me Iacob in his vow Gen. 28. 20. If the Lord saith he will give me food to eat and raiment to put on The Lord shall be my God c. Food he desires but food to eat Clothing he desires but clothing to put on so much as was sufficient for him and his to eat so much as was sufficient for him and his to wear this Iacob desires but no more And under these two words Food and Raiment are comprehended all things needful for the maintenance of life as may appear by the following words v. 22. where Iacob promiseth that if God will grant him this his suit of all that he should give him he would pay the Tenth unto him But in the whole Book of God there is no Prayer to be found for Superfluity and Abundance I would not be mistaken I say not it is unlawful to have and enjoy Riches and Abundance if God give them but unlawful to covet and seek after them I know the things of themselves are indifferent and the good creatures of God made for the use of man if man abused them not yea plenty and abundance of them are called the gifts of God and which is more the blessings of God The blessing of God saith Solomon Prov. 10. 12. maketh rich and it is the usual phrase of Scripture to say of those that became rich that God blessed them And they are Blessings indeed when God offers them but no Blessings to such as covetously hunt and gape after them Abraham was rich Iacob was rich Solomon and David were rich I mean they had abundance wherewith God blessed them But which of all these or any oother holy man in God's Book do we find to have long'd for crav'd or labour'd after more than a portion convenient for them which of them made their desires carvers of such abundance No Desire of abundance and superfluity â—ures not with the heart of God's servants Iacob indeed became rich but desired as you heard but meat to eat and raiment to put on Solomon a King for whose estate the greatest measure of these things was most behoveful yet when God 1 Kings 3. 5 9. gave him his choice to ask what he would and he would give it him he asked neither riches nor honour but a wise and understanding heart wherewith God was so well pleased that he tells him Because he had not asked riches nor honour therefore he would give him both riches and honour in that abundance as no king on earth should be like him When Riches come thus they come then indeed as Blessings For God gives them as well-pleased and accordingly as he sees them good for those to whom he gives them and sends his Grace with them that those who have them may use them to his glory and their own good On the contrary To men whose hearts could never say If God will give me but sufficient and convenient for me I will lay me down and be at rest and crave no further to those whose hearts are restle's and mad after abundance and excess of wealth whose desires are without all bounds in seeking after Riches Experience may tell us that to such as these Riches seldom or never prove a Blessing when they get them but a Curse He that maketh hast to be rich saith Solomon Prov. 28. â—0 shall not be innocent They that will be rich saith S. Paul 1 Tim. 6. 9. speaking of such as could not rest with a Competency fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition We use to say that those who have great losses are undone but here he that getteth much is undone Wouldst thou then be happy and blessed in the enjoyment of these outward things then desire no more in thy heart than thou mayest lawfully ask of God in thy Prayer Follow the counsel of Solomon Prov. 23. 4. Labour not to be rich cease from thine own wisdom viz. to seek to be rich which is humane wisdom but indeed plain folly Let neither thy desires nor thy aims out-bound this of Agur's to have food convenient for thee If God sees it good for thee to have more he will give it thee and offer thee the means and opportunity thereof without thy seeking But if he sees it not good for thee why wouldst thou have it Thou hast enough already if thou hast convenient Howsoever God hates a large and restless desire Therefore be not covetous be not greedy of much lest if thou come by it God give it thee not in mercy but in wrath and displeasure My third Observation is That a Competency or the Middle estate between Want and Superfluity is in choice to be preferred as the best and happiest condition We see Agur preferreth it before the rest and that his choice was a Wise man's choice we cannot doubt when the Scripture records it as a piece of his Wisdom yea even the Wisemen of the Heathen were not ignorant thereof The reason is apparent because it is the most free from such dangers as both Extremes are subject unto which Agur mentioneth in the Reason of his petition to be perils of Irreligion towards God and Injustice towards man Great evils both of them endangering the state of the Soul But I must not speak of them particularly here they belong to the Second part of my Text and we shall not need look so far for not only in that but even in outward respects we shall find this middle estate to be the safest condition The low shrubs Beasts will brouze them and trample upon them the high Trees are most subject to the violence of Tempests when those of a middle size are free from both So a poor estate is subject to contempt and so to be wronged and injured of every one that will The rich and mighty are envied and
once brought to steal he should not stay there but be carried farther even to forswear and take God's Name in vain Lest I steal saith he and take the Name of my God in vain Peter first denied Christ but the Devil would not let him stay there but made him curse and forswear him David having once committed adultery with the wife of Vriah the Devil took the advantage to make him commit murther too Sin is like a Serpent if it can but once get in the head it will draw the whole train after While there is no rist in a block it is hard for the wedge or axe to enter but if a rift be once made it will enter all with a little driving So will sin The reason is Because he that commits a sin puts himself thereby more or less into the Devil's power who is not so negligent as to lose or not to ply his advantage The Devil is the Prince of death Heb. 2. 14. Now death comes by sin therefore sin gives the Devil a title and first brought and still bringeth man into the Devil's jurisdiction Hence those who are converted to God and acquitted of their sins are said To be delivered from the power of Satan unto God Acts 26. 18. But sin makes them again obnoxious to his power it reaches him a new hold of us which though perhaps it be not so much as he may quite pull us from God yet will it serve him to pull us into many a transgression and cost us much work and a great deal of sorrow before we get free again DISCOURSE XXIX ISAIAH 2. 2 3 4. And it shall come to pass in the last days that the Mountain of the Lord's House shall be established or prepared in the top of the Mountains and exalted above the Hills and all Nations shall flow unto it c. HILLS or Mountains are States Kingdoms or Societies of men which consisting of degrees rising unto a height one above another are compared unto Mountains raised above the ordinary Plain and Level of the Earth The mountain of the Lord's House is that State and Society of men which is called the Church and People of God Regnum Coelorum the Kingdom of Heaven that is a Kingdom whose both King and King's Throne have their residence and place in the Heavens These words therefore are a Prophesie or prophetical Promise of the glorious exaltation wonderful inlargement and unheard-of prosperity of this Society of men called the Church above all other States or Societies of men whatsoever The glory and exaltation is expressed in the words The Mountain of the Lord's House shall be one day exalted yea mounted not only above the lesser Hills but the highest Mountains though at this time it were depressed and trampled under foot by the proud enemies thereof The inlargement and ampleness thereof in the words All Nations shall flow unto it that is Though at the time of this Prophecy it were reduced to a small remnant yet the time was to come when it should not only consist of the one Nation of the Iews as then it did but of all Nations under the whole heaven The prosperity thereof begins to be described from these words in the 4 th verse They shall beat their swords into plow-shares and their spears into pruning-hooks c. that is Although the greatest part of Iacob were already captive and Iudah and Ierusalem in a continual fear and no less danger of the arms and invasion of the King of Babel yet the time should one day come that the People or Church of God should not only be the most exalted State upon the earth and the most ample and universal Dominion that ever was in the world but the most peaceable quiet and flourishing State that ever was since man was first created This is the Prophecy But now comes the Question Whether this as we have described it be and hath already been fulfilled or whether the time thereof be yet to come or if already any ways fulfilled whether it be not in part only performed and the full accomplishment reserved for the time to come Our Adversaries would fain find here the constant and perpetual Visibility of the Church And I must needs grant them that it is meant of a time when the Gentiles shall be called for the words of the Text viz. All Nations tell us so But without doubt he that will have this place for his purpose must shew us not only â—â—â—aked and single Visibility but more than that a glorious Visibility yea the most glorious among the sons of men For a Visibility is one thing and a glorious Visibility is another for many things are visible which are not glorious to look upon and oftentimes good and rich mettal may be within when the outside glisters not We must therefore when we talk of the Churche's Visibility distinguish between these two and not confound them The Church might be Visible though it were but a Hill much more if it be a Mountain but here it is to be established on the tops of Mountains and exalted above the Hills so that no other State shall overtop or overlook it much less trample it under feet Now whether there were ever yet such a time when this was compleatly fulfilled though all be granted our Adversaries they can ask yea and that the Romish Church be that Church here spoken of I leave it to any mans indifferent judgment who can compare the Description of the Prophet with the Stories of forepast and present Times But suppose it were to be fulfilled and fully accomplished in the times which have already been and I will not deny but in part it hath been so yet how doth it follow from this Prophesie that this glorious Visibility should be constant and continual and never interrupted or eclipsed Is not the Prophesie true and hath not God made his Promise good if he hath at any time performed the thing here spoken of though it neither were done all at once and though this exaltation and glory did not alway continue If one skilful in Divination or Astrology should meet with a private man for the present in great want distress contempt and misery and should tell him that it was his fortune to rise to the greatest honours and to become the greatest man that was in the Kingdom If this fell out so at any time of his life according as it was foretold him though perhaps it proved not long durable as such exaltations use not to be had he any reason to say that the Astrologer had lied unto him in that he had foretold him I think any man in reason will think him unjustly charged Why then may not the like be said and thought of the Chruch and as I may so speak with reverence of the prediction of the Churche's fortune But if the time of the full performance of this Prediction be yet to be expected as perhaps it is then it will serve our
kingdoms of the countries Vulg. Vt sciant distantiam servitutis meae servitutis regni Terrarum That they may know the difference between my service and the service of the kingdoms of the lands And certainly if we look into the condition of the Church since Christ's time we shall find the way of God's dealing in this case to have been the same The Saracens who spoiled and subdued so great a part of Christ's Church were never heard of till six hundred years after Christ even at the time when Christians began generally to fall to Idolatry and to worship Images Saints and Angels Then God first gave us over to serve other Nations when we began to serve other Gods besides the Lord our God The Turkish fury could never be stayed from casting more and more this yoke of bondage upon our necks until Iudah I mean the now Reformed Churches began to put away her Idols some one hundred years since From that time unto this that God which would have spared Sodom for ten righteous sakes hath spared the remnant of Christendom for their sakes who have turned again to the Lord their God to serve him as he would be worshipped But to go on Solomon when he divided that worship which was due unto the Lord alone between him and the Idols of Zidon Moab and Ammon the Lord to give him the same measure divided his kingdom and that allegeance which was only due to him and his posterity between himself and his servant Ieroboam Because he served God with an imperfect heart God left him an imperfect kingdom Because he bestowed divine honour upon the vassals of the Lord of heaven the Lord also bestowed his honour upon his vassal Ieroboam Nebuchadnezzar who had lived like a Beast in his Palace God made him to eat grass like an Oxe in the field till he knew the most High ruled in the kingdoms of men Dan. 4. 25 32 34. Otho Bishop of Mentz in a time of famine shut up a great number of poor people in a Barn promising to give them some relief But when he had them fast he set the Barn on fire and hearing then the most lamentable and piteous cries and shreekings of the poor in the midst of the flames he scoffingly said Hear ye how the mice cry in the Barn But the Lord the just revenger of cruelty sent a whole Army of Mice upon him which haunted him a great deal worse than the Frogs did King Pharaoh not only coming into his bed-chamber and upon his bed but following him into a Tower which he had built for his last refuge in the midst of the River Rhene never leaving him till they had quite devoured him Soâ—rates hath a memorable story of one Cyricius Bishop of Chalcedon who in a meeting of many Bishops inveighed very bitterly against good S. Chrysostom and amongst other spiteful language called him often 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a kneeless fellow because in a good cause he would never be gotten to bow and crouch to obtain the favour of men which Cyricius accounted a stubborn and obstinate disposition But when he had thus uttered his malice Marathas another Bishop by chance trod upon his toe which being at the first esteemed as it was indeed a very small hurt yet afterwards so ranckled that for the safety of the rest of the body his leg was fain to be cut off which done the other leg also was in like manner affected and that so that being otherwise incurable it was fain to feel the same remedy the other had done Thus he who called the holy man a kneeless fellow in one sense God made him a kneeless Bishop in another By which and the former Examples we see how God in punishing requites men with that which hath some resemblance with their Sin And so much for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I come now to the third kind which is Conformitas subjecti The Conformity of subject When though we suffer not the same nor perhaps like unto that we have done unto others yet are we punished in that subject wherein and whereabout we have sinned Thus Adam our first Parent sinned in eating the fruits of the earth and he and all his posterity are punished in the curse of the same in that now in sorrow we eat of them all the days of our life Touching God's dealing with Israel in this kind see Wisdom chap. 11. verse 7 13. Korah and his company sinned in offering strange fire unto the Lord and were punished by a strange destruction The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up quick and there came out a fire from the Lord and consumed the men that offered incense Numb 16. verse 32 and verse 35. The Levites wise in Iudges sinned in the Commission of Fornication and therefore died by the same being forced to death by the men of Gibeah Eli by too much indulgence towards his sons sinned against God and was punished in them being slain by the Philistines and the Ark of God taken which they had carried with them David gloried in the number of his people and was punished in the Consumption of seventy thousand of them by the pestilence 2 Sam. 24. 1 15. Hezekiah who sinned in shewing by way of ostentation his treasures and riches unto the Ambassadors of the King of Babylon had his punishment threatned by the same things that all he had thus gloriously shown should one day be carried unto Babylon 2 Kings 20. 13 17. Lastly The Iews who crucified our Saviour by the hands of the Romans had their City and Temple rased by the same hands Now I come unto the last kind of Conformity which I call Conformity of circumstance When the Time and Place of Punishment agrees with the Time and Place of the Sin Of the agreement of Place I find these Examples The first of Ahab and Iezebel in the place where the dogs licked the bloud of Naboth they licked the bloud of Ahab and Iezebel 1 Kings 21. 19. and 2 Kings 9. 36. In the place where Baal's Priests had committed Idolatry were their bones being dead and the bodies of those who were alive flain and burnt by Iosiah upon the Altar of Bethel 2 Kings 23. 16. Examples of concurrence of Time I find these At the same time of the year wherein the Iews crucified Christ hapned that fatal and final siege by the Romans when that heavy curse fell upon them His bloud be upon us and our children The Spies which brought an evil report upon the land had spent forty days in searching it and therefore God for this sin that Time might agree with Time made them wander up and down forty years in the wilderness They are the words of God himself According unto the number of days saith he in which ye searched the land even forty days each day for a year shall ye bear your iniquities Last of all because I will not be tedious
humblest nature and the humblest condition are the fittest for devotion For humble natures experience shews them the most religious whereas those which the world so much commendeth for high and brave spirits of all others do buckle the worst unto devotion God seeth not as man seeth It is not the tallest Eliab but the humblest David who is the man after God's own heart He that humbleth himself as a little child the same is the tallest and goodliest Soul in the kingdom of heaven The Stars in the firmament howsoever they here seem small to us yet are bigger than the Earth So he that is despicable and small here in the eyes of men is there a great one in the eyes of God As the humblest nature so the humblest estate and condition is best fitted for Religion as the poor rather than the rich Therefore Agur desired of God not to give him riches more than food convenient for him lest being full he should deny him and say Who is the Lord Such likewise is the state of adversity and affliction being a state of lowliness and an estate wherein our hearts are taken down and therefore more fit to bring us home to God than that of prosperity whence you know that David saies Psal. 94. 12. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest O Lord and Psal. 119. 67 71. Before I was afflicted I went astray But now I have kept thy word It is good for me that I have been afflicted For diseases say the Physicians must be cured by contraries It was Pride which caused the disloyalty and rebellion both of Men and Angels against their Creator whence is that of the Son of Sirach Ecclus. 10. 12. The beginning of Pride is when one departeth from God and his heart is turned away from his Maker ver 13. Pride is the beginning of sin and he that hath it shall pour out abomination If Pride then be the beginning of our rebellion against God then must Lowliness be the proper disposition of those who fear and worship him And Tanto quisque est vilior Deo quanto est pretiosior sibi The higher any one is in his own esteem the lower he is in God's Now from this near affinity and inseparable dependance between a Religious devotion and an Humble and Lowly mind it is that the Scripture useth them as equipollent terms Prov. 22. 4. By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches honour and life Prov. 3. 33. The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked but he blesseth the habitation of the Iust. Ver. 34. Surely he scorneth the scorners but he giveth grace or sheweth favour unto the lowly Where scorners and the wicked on the one part and the lowly and the just on the other are interchangeably used for one and the same In like manner speaks the son of Sirach Ecclus. 12. 4 5. Give to the godly man and help not a sinner Which in the next words he altereth thus Do well unto him that is lowly but give not to the ungodly In the same notion of Humility and Lowliness S. Paul tells the Ephesian Elders at Miletus that he had served the Lord with all humility of mind Acts 20. 19. I have dwelt the longer upon this point To shew that Lowliness of mind is the proper disposition for devotion and the mother of a religious fear because the present occasion if you examine it is nothing else but the exercise of what I speak of For the End of Fasting is to beget Lowliness and humbleness of mind that so we might be rightly disposed and affected to approach the Divine Majesty and tender our supplications unto him Especially at such times when his dreadful rod is shaken over us to bid us down and cry for mercy lest we perish Are they not some of the first words we uttered this day O come let us humble our selves and fall down before the Lord with reverence and fear Hence Fasting and Humbling a mans self go in Scripture for equipollent terms My clothing was sackeloth saith David Psal. 35. 13. I humbled my self with fasting So Ahab humbled himself and thereby deferred his judgment 1 King 21. 29. Hezekiah humbled himself both he and the inhabitants of Ierusalem 2 Chro. 32. 26. Manasseh likewise besought the Lord and humbled himself greatly before the God of his Father 2 Chron. 33. 12. If we take a view of the Ceremonies of this Discipline which the Ancients used and we in some part continue they imply nothing else but Lowliness either to express it if we be already so affected or to work and beget it in our hearts if as yet we have it not They are reducible to three heads 1. of Habit 2. of Gesture 3. of Diet. For Habit it was anciently Sackcloth and Ashes By the coursness of Sackcloth they ranked themselves as it were amongst the meanest and lowest condition of men By Ashes and sometimes Earth upon their heads they made themselves lower than the lowest of the creatures of God For the lowest of the Elements is the Earth than which we use to say a man cannot fall lower Qui jacet in terra non habet unde cadat For Gesture they sate or lay upon the ground which in the Primitive Church was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 humicubatio a natural ceremony both to express and ingenerate or increase this disposition of Lowliness and abjection of our selves and as frequently practised among the Christian Fathers as it is seldom or never used among us It were a thing most comely and undoubtedly most profitable if either these Ceremonies or some other answerable to them were reviv'd amongst us at such times as these If we were all of us this day attired if not in Sackcloth for perhaps it sutes not with the custom of our Nation yet in the dolefullest habit of mourners if we lay all groveling upon the ground would not such a ruful spectacle would not the very sight of such an uncouth Assembly much affect us The mournful hue of Funeral solemnities we know by experience will often make them to weep who otherwise had no particular cause of sorrow how much more when they have But the Principal ceremony and which we retain is Abstinence from meat and drink from which this whole exercise hath the name of Fasting the End thereof being to bring down our Bodies thereby the better to humble our Souls or to express so much I mean to express our sorrow and dejection if we be already so affected Mores animi sequuntur temperamentum corporis If the Body be full and lusty the Mind will be lofty and refractary and most unfit to approach the Divine Majesty with reverence and fear How uncomposed is that Heart to sue to God for mercy and aversion of his judgments which is fraught with rebellious unclean proud and lustful thoughts like so many dogs barking within it But these are all engendered and cherished by full feeding and
cannot be easily quelled unless they be starved When I fed Israel to the full saith the Lord Ier. 5. 7 8. then they committed adultery and assembled by troups in harlots houses c. Ieshurun saith Moses in his prophetical song Deut. 32. 15. waxed fat and kicked and forsook the Lord that made him and lightly esteemed of the rock of his salvation Wherefore S. Paul was fain to pinch his Body and bring it down with fasting I keep under my body saith he 1 Cor. 9. 27. and bring it into subjection lest that by any means when I have preached unto others I my self should be a cast-away Hilarion a religious young man when after much abstinence and course diet he felt his flesh still unruly and rebellious Ego inquit Aselle faciam ut non calcitres nec te hordeo alam sed paleis fame siti te conficiam thus threatning his Beast that is his Body that he would take an order with it that it should not kick and that he would no longer seed his Ass with corn but give it a little chasse or straw nay punish it with hunger and thirst Such is the danger of a pampered Body and such the necessity of keeping it under Thus you see what is the chief End we are to aim at in this our solemn abstinence namely to beget this lowliness in our hearts this humiliation in our souls to subdue the high-mounting flames of our unruly desires by withdrawing the fuel which breeds and nourishes them Which as it is at all times requisite in some measure whensoever we approach the Majesty of God for mercy and forgiveness so then especially and in a more than usual manner When God shakes the rod of his judgments over our heads and bids us down and prostrate both souls and bodies before him left his judgments break us in pieces if we bow not He that attaineth this hath fasted well he that hath not may thereby know he hath not done enough or not as he should do If the boiling of our lusts be cooled and calmed if the swelling conceits of worth in our selves be taken down with a true and feeling apprehension of our vileness and wretchedness by reason of sin which makes us the most unworthy creatures in the world if those ramping weeds of contempt and despising of others be cropped and withered and these I can tell you will quite spoil a garden where many good flowers grow if after this manner we be affected then are we humbled if not we are not yet sufficiently taken down all our service is hypocrisie nor will our devotion be accepted of that All-seeing Majesty who resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble THUS much of Lowliness the mother of the duties of the First Table Now I come to Meekness which implies our obedience to the Second What Meekness or Mansuetudo signifies in Ethicks every one knows that Vertue which tempereth anger or as I may so call it Vnangriness But sometimes whilest we take words in Scripture according to our own or the Philosophical notion we slip into a mistake as it falls out in this word Meekness whose notion in the Hebrew and Scripture use is as large well-nigh as of Vertue it self so far as it hath respect to the Second Table For it signifies as I may so speak yokeableness or a pliableness and tractableness to be ordered a certain tameness of disposition to obedience of laws for untamed cattel are not fit for yoke and may be expressed as I think by Ingenuity or Ingenuous goodness or as we speak Fair-conditioned by which we understand a general disposition to be well ordered in such actions as are exercised in the conversation of men Thus it is taken in that of our Saviour Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth Matt. 5. 5. Which appears out of Psal. 37. 10 11. whence it is taken where the meek and the wicked are opposed as terms of equal extent For yet a little while saith David and the wicked shall not be but the meek shall inherit the earth Who seeth not that by meek is here meant the opposite party to the wicked So I understand that Psal. 76. 9. God arose to judgment to save all the meek of the earth id est omnes probos terrae all the honest or vertuous of the earth And Psal. 149. 4. For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people he will beautifie the meek with salvation Zeph. 2. 3. Seek the Lord all ye meek of the earth which have wrought his judgment seek righteousness seek meekness It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger Amos 2. 6. For three transgressions and for four of Israel I will not turn away the punishment thereof because they sold the righteous for silver and the poor for a pair of shooes Vers. 7. That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor and turn aside the way of the meek Here that which in the first is expressed poor and righteous in the next is changed into poor and meek shewing meek and righteous to be equipollent terms So S. Iames 1. 21 22. as writing to Hebrews useth the Hebrew notion Wherefore saith he lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the ingraffed word which is able to save your souls But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only Again ch 3. 13. Who is a wise man and indued with knowledg amongst you let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom where it is evident that Meekness cannot be taken in that restrained sense of Philosophers for that would be non-sense Yet I deny not but Meekness in Scripture also is taken for a special Vertue and for the excellency of that Vertue amongst men were all the rest denominate thereof For it is an usual Trope of the Scripture to make that which is taken for the most eminent and notable in any kind to bear the name of the whole kind as the Foreman speaks for the whole Iury and Armies are comprised in the names of their Cheiftains In the Decalogue it is a regular Synecdoche Father and Mother for all sorts of Superiours Murther for whatsoever hurt to the body of our neighbour Adultery for all sins of intemperance Thest all injuries in our neighbour's goods The sanctifying of an holy day to comprehend the holy usage of all things sacred and consecrate to divine uses So Peace the chief of blessings stands in the Hebrew style for happiness that is all blessings whatsoever Whence is their salutation Peace be unto you So Meekness of near a-kin to Peace stands here for a general name to all probity or honesty as Lowliness did for Religious devotion For the yoke of devotion to God hath its peculiar to be taken on with stooping and humbleness the yoke of a well-ordered converse with men with this tameness or meekness For as
shewed himself according to his style A God gracious and merciful long-suffering and slow to anger But when these Iews notwithstanding this second tender not only continued in their former obstinacy refusing to accept him for their Redeemer but also misused and persecuted his Ambassadors sent unto them this their ingratitude was so hideous and hainous in the eyes of God that he could bear with them no longer but resolved thenceforth to cast them off and chuse himself a Church among the Gentiles To prepare a way whereunto he sent a Vision much about the same time both to Peter who was then by reason of the Iews persecution fled to Ioppa and to Cornelius a Gentile Captain of the Italian Band living at Caesarea upon that coast ordaining the one Peter to be the Messenger and Preacher and the other Cornelius to be the first Gentile which should be partaker of the Faith of Christ. Therefore accordingly Peter's Vision was to admonish him not to make scruple as all Iews did of conversing with a Gentile as unclean signified by a sheet let down from heaven wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth and wild beasts and creeping things and fowls of the aire that is of all both clean and unclean wherewith came also a Voice saying Rise Peter kill and eat Whereunto when Peter answered Not so Lord for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean the Voice replies What God hath cleansed that call not thou unclean Now as this Vision was to give Peter commission to go unto Cornelius so was Cornelius his Vision to command him to send for Peter For he saw in a Vision at the ninth hour of the day an Angel of the Lord coming unto him and saying Cornelius Whom when Cornelius beholding and being afraid said What is it Lord The Angel said unto him Thy Prayers and thine Alms are come up for a memorial or had in remembrance before God And now send men to Ioppa and call for one Simon whose surname is Peter and he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do And thus have I brought the Story as far as my Text which is as you see a part of this Message of the Angel to Cornelius namely his Report And he said unto him Thy Prayers and thine Alms c. Wherein I will consider two things First Who was the man and what was the condition of this person to whom the Angel spake namely Cornelius And the Angel said unto him Secondly What the Message or Report he brought importeth Thy Prayers and thine Alms-deeds are come in remembrance before God To begin with the First The man here spoken to as you may read in the beginning of the Chapter and as I have in some part already told you was Cornelius a Gentile Captain of the Italian Band at Caesarea and so no doubt himself of that Nation To understand which ye must know that at this time the Land of Iury like as most other Nations were was under the Roman Empire and ruled by a President of their appointing which President had his Court and Seat at Caesarea a great and magnificent City upon the Palestine coast some seventy miles from Ierusalem where was continually a guard of Souldiers both for the President 's safety and awing the subdued Iews and among these was our Cornelius a Commander being Captain of the Italian Band. But howsoever he were by race and breeding a Gentile yet for Religion he was no Idolater but a worshipper of the true God the God of Israel or God the Creator of heaven and earth For the Text tells us that he was a devout man and one that scared God with all his house who gave much alms to the people and prayed to God alway which is as much as to say he was a Proselyte for so were those converted Gentiles called who left their false Gods and worshipped the true Yet was he not circumcised nor had taken upon him the yoke of Moses Law and so was not accounted a member of the Church of Israel wherefore according to the Ordinances of the Law he was esteemed unclean and so not lawful for Peter or any other circumcised Iew to company with him had not God given Peter and Item that he should thenceforth call no man unclean forasmuch as that badge of separation was now dissolved For the better understanding of this we must know there were while the Legal worship stood two sorts of Proselytes or converted Gentiles One sort which were called Proselytes of the Covenant These were such as were circumcised and submitted themselves to the whole Mosaical Pedagogy These came into the Court of Israel to worship being accounted Iews and as freely conversed with as if they had been so born But there was a second sort of Proselytes inferior unto these whom they called Proselytes of the Gate These were not circumcised nor conformed themselves to the Mosaical Rites and Ordinances only they were tied to the obedience of those Commandments which the Hebrew Doctors call the Commandments of Noah that is such as all the sons of Noah were bound to observe Which were 1. To worship God the Creator 2. To disclaim the service of Idols 3. To abstain from Bloud namely both from the effusion of man's bloud and 4. from eating flesh with the bloud therein 5. To abstain from Fornication and all unlawful conjunction 6. To administer Iustice and 7. To abstain from Robbery and do as they would be done to And such Proselytes as these howsoever they were reputed Gentiles and such as with whom the Iews might not converse as being no free denizons of Israel yet did the Iewish Doctors yield them a part in the life to come Such a Proselyte was Naaman the Syrian and of such there were many in our Saviour's time and such an one was our Cornelius Hence it was that when afterward there arose a Controversie in the Church Whether or no the Gentiles which believed were to be circumcised and so bound to observe the Ordinances and Rites of Moses S. Peter in the Council of the Apostles at Ierusalem determined It was the will of God they should not and that upon this ground Because Cornelius the first believing Gentile was no circumcised Proselyte but a Proselyte of the Gate only and yet nevertheless when himself was sent as ye have heard to preach the Gospel of Christ to him and his house the Holy Ghost came down upon them as well as upon the Circumcision Whereby it was manifest that God would have the rest of the Gentiles which believed to have no more imposed upon them than Cornelius had and accordingly the Council concluded that no other burthen should be laid upon them but only those Precepts given to the sons of Noah To abstain from pollutions of Idols from bloud from things strangled and from fornication and the rest which they had received already
in becoming Christians and so needed not to be expresly mentioned For that enumeration in the Apostles Decree is to be understood with a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or an Et caetera a Scheme usual in the allegation not only of Texts of Scripture but of pastages commonly and vulgarly known We may find an Example of it Hebr. 12. 27. in the citation of that Text of Haggai Yet once more and I will shake not the earth only but the heavens which the Apostle there repeats with this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This Yet once more saith he signifies the removing of things that are shaken that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or as the Hebrews speak 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This Yet once more and the rest signifies so much for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Yet once more alone signifies it not but that whole Sentence Now that I may not have held your ears all this time with so long a story without some matter of Instruction let us obâ—erve by the example of this Cornelius How great a favour and blessing of God it is to live and dwell within the pale of his Church where opportunity and means of Salvation is to be had If Cornelius had still dwelt among his Countrymen the Italians where he was bred and born or in any other Province of that Empire he had in all likelihood never come to this saving and blesâ—ed knowledge of the true God but died a Pagan as he was born But by this occasion of living at Caesarea within the confines of the land of Israel where the Oracles and Worship of the most High God were daily resounded and professed he became such an one as ye have heard a blessed Convert unto the true God whom with all his house he served and worshipped with acceptation If this be so Then should we our selves learn to be more thankful to God than most of us use to be for that condition wherein by his Providence we are born For we might if it had pleased him have been born and had our dwelling among Pagans and Gentiles who had no knowledge of his Word or Promise and such our Nation once was But behold his goodness and mercy we are born of Christian Parents and dwell in a Christian Country and so made partakers of the name and livery of Christ as soon as we were born How great should our thankfulness be for his mercy Nay we might have been born and bred in a Christian Nation too and yet such an one where Idolatry false worship and Popery so reigned as there had been little hopes or means either to be saved But behold we are born bred and dwell in a Reformed Christian State where the Worship of God in Christ is truly taught and practâ—â—ed where no God is worshipped but the Father and in no other Mediator but his Son Iesus Christ. How should we then magnifie our good God for his so great and abundant mercy towards us Luther or some other tells a story of a poor German peasant who on a time beholding an ugly Toad fell into a most bitter lamentation and weeping that he had been so unthankful to Almighty God who had made him a Man and not such an ugly creature as that was O that we could in like manner bewail our Ingratitude towards him who hath made us to have our birth and habitation not among Pagans and barbarous Indians a people without God in the World but in a believing and Christian Nation where the true God is known and the means of Salvation is to be had Thankfulness for a less benefit is the way to obtain a greater To acknowledge and prize God's favour towards us in the means is the way to obtain his grace to use them to our eternal advantage Whereas our neglect of Thankfulness in the one may cause God in his just judgment to deprive us of his Blessing in the other Consider it AND thus much concerning the Person to whom the Angel spake Cornelius And he said unto him Now I come to the Message it self Thy Prayers and thine Alms are come up into remembrance before God Where before I make any further entrance there is an Objection requires to be answered namely How Cornelius his service could be accepted of God as here it is said to be whenas he had no knowledge of Christ without whom no man can please God I answer Cornelius pleased God through his Faith in the Promise of Christ to come as all just men under the Law did which Faith God did so long accept after Christ was come till his Coming and the mystery of Redemption wrought by him were fully and clearly made known and preached which had not been to Cornelius until this time For though he had heard of his preaching in Galilee and Iudaea and that he was crucified by the Iews yet hâ— had not heard of his Resurrection from the dead and Ascension into glory or was not assured of it till it was now confirm'd unto him by one sent from God himself And it is like that having heard somewhat of the Apostles preaching and of the Iews opposing their testimony and so knowing not what to believe he had earnestly besought God in his Devotions to lead him in the way of Truth and make known unto him what to do This being premised I return again unto the Angel's words wherein I will consider Three things 1. The conjunction or joyning of Almsdeeds with Prayer Thy Prayers and thine Alms. 2. The efficacy and power they have with God Thy Prayers and thine Alms are come up into remembrance before God 3. I will add the Reasons why God so much accepteth them which are also so many Motives why we should be careful and diligent to practise them For the first The joyning of Almsdeeds with Prayer Cornelius we see joyn'd them and he is therefore in the verses before-going commended for a devout man and one that feared God And by the Angel's report from God himself we hear how graciously he accepted them giving us to understand that a Devotion thus arm'd was of all others the most powerful to pierce into his dwelling-place and fetch a blessing from him Therefore our Saviour likewise Matth. 6. 1 5. joyns the Precepts of Alms and Prayer together teaching us how to give Alms and how to Pray in one Sermon as things that ought to go hand in hand and not to be separated asunder It was also the Ordinance of the Church in the Apostles times that the First day of the week which was the time of publick Prayer should be the time also of Alms. So saith S. Paul 1 Cor. 16. 1. Now concerning the collection for the Saints saith he as I have given order to the Churches of Galatia even so do ye 2. Vpon the first day of the week that is upon the Lord's day let every one of you lay by himself in store as God hath prospered him that there
be no gatherings when I come Which Institution seems to be derived from the Commandment of God in the Law twice repeated Let no man appear before the Lord empty For the words annexed to that Law Deut. 16. where it is applied to the three great Feasts when all Israel was to assemble to pray before the Lord in his Tabernacle the words I say there annexed sound altogether like unto these of S. Paul concerning the Lord's day Three times a year saith the Text there shall all the males appear before the Lord and they shall not appear before the Lord empty Every one shall give as he is able according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee Is not this the same in sense with S. Paul's Let every one lay by himself in store as God hath prospered him The Primitive Church after the Apostles followed the same precedent and our own Reformed Church hath ordained the same in her Service-book were it accordingly practised as was intended For after the Epistle and Gospel she appoints divers choice Sentences of Scripture to be read which exhort us to Alms and other Offerings to the honour of Almighty God and then as supposing it to be done in the Prayer for the whole estate of Christ's Church We humbly beseech him most mercifully to accept our Alms and receive our Prayers which we offer unto his Divine Majesty Shall I now need to exhort you Brethren thus to furnish and strengthen your Prayers which you daily offer unto God to couple them with Almsdeeds to come before God with a present and not empty-handed Whom neither God's Commandment the Practice of his Church the Example of his Saints nor the Acceptance of such Prayers as the hand which dealeth Alms lifteth up to him whom these will not move no words of mine will do it But some may say Would you have us always give Alms when we pray No I say not so but I would not have you appear before the Lord empty that is such as are not wont to give them nor mean to do For you may give them before or second your Prayers with them after you may have set and appointed times for the one as you have for the other Or when the Law of man injoyns you any thing in this kind do it heartily faithfully and with a willing mind without grudging that so God may accept it as a service done to him Or lastly Thou mayest do as the holy men in Scripture were wont vow and promise unto God if thy Prayer be heard to offer something unto him either for relief of the poor the Widow the Orphan aâ—d distressed one or the maintenance of his Service and Worship If God will be with me saith Iacob Gen. 28. 20 c. and keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on c. Then shall the Lord be my God and this stone which I have set for a pillar shall be God's house and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee See the use of vowing by such as came to pray in God's House Eccles. 5. 4. If thou comest before God in any of these ways thou shalt not come empty-handed But send not thy Prayer single and alone The Prayer with Alms is the Prayer God loveth Hear what himself saith Psal. 50. 14 15. Offer unto God thanksgiving Alms is an Offering of Thanksgiving and pay thy vows unto the most High So call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorifie me NOW I come to the second thing I propounded The power and efficacy which Prayer and Alms have with God Thy Prayers and thine Alms saith the Angel are come up for a memorial or are had in remembrance in the sight of God God is said to remember our Prayers when he grants them our Alms and good deeds when he rewards them or in a word when he answers either of them with a blessing as on the contrary he is said to remember iniquity when he sends some judgment for it So God is said to remember Hannah when he heard her prayer for a Son 1 Sam. 1. 19. and Nehemiah speaking of his deeds of mercy and bounty shewed unto his poor brethren returned from captivity says Think upon me or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Remember me O my God for good according to all that I have done for this people Thus were Cornelius his Prayers and Alms remembred Prayers therefore and Alms be they performed as they should be are powerful and approved means to obtain a blessing at the hands of God To speak first of Prayer What is it that Prayer hath not obtain'd It hath shut and opened Heaven see the story of Elijah It hath made the Sun and Moon to stand still read the Book of Ioshna It is the Key that openeth all God's Treasures of blessings both spiritual and corporal For spiritual blessings Cornelius we see obtained thereby Illumination and Instruction in God's saving Truth And S. Iames saith If any man lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally and it shall be given him Ephraim in Ieremy 31. 18. prays for converting grace Turn thou me O Lord and I shall be turned To whom God presently replies ver 20. Is Ephraim my dear Son is he a pleasant Child for since I spake against him I do earnestly remember him still Therefore my bowels are troubled for him I will surely have mercy on him saith the Lord. Prayer obtains remission of sins I said saith David Psal. 32. 5 6. I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found Prayer also obtaineth corporal blessings When Heaven was shut and it rained not Elijah prayed for rain and it rained Hannah prayed for a Son and she conceived If we be sick saith S. Iames chap. 5. 15. The prayer of faith shall heal the sick Nehemiah prayed that he might find favour in the sight of King Artaxerxes Chap. 1. 11. and found it Chap. 2. 4. But some man will say If Prayer have such power and efficacy how comes it to pass that many even godly men oft pray and yet speed not I answer There are divers causes thereof Either 1. we pray not as we ought or 2. we are not disposed as we ought to be when we pray 1. We pray not as we ought either 1. when we pray not heartily or not constantly For God regards not formal and superficial prayer but prayer that comes from the Heart and loves to be importuned before he grant as our Saviour tells us in the Parable of the woman and the unjust Iudge whom though at first he would not hear yet importunity made him do her justice Or 2.
which is given for the relief of the poor the Orphan and the Widow which is called Alms. For not only our Tithes but our Alms are an Offering unto Almighty God So Prov. 15. 17. He that hath pity on the poor lendeth to the Lord and Chap. 14. 31. He that hath mercy on the poor honoureth his Maker And our Saviour will tell us at the day of Iudgment that what was done unto them was done unto him This then is the Reason why we must give Alms because they are the Tribute of our Thanksgiving whereby we acknowledge we are God's Tenants and hold all we have of him that is of the Mannor of Heaven without which duty and service we have not the lawful use of what we possess Whence our Saviour tells the Pharisees who stood so much upon the washing of the Cup and Platter left their meat and drink should be unclean Give alms saith he of such things as you have and behold all things are clean unto you Luke 11. 41. Now that this Acknowledgment of God's Dominion was the End of the Offerings of the Law both those wherewith the Priests and Levites were maintained and those wherewith the poor the Orphan and the Widow were relieved appears by the solemn profession those who pay'd them were to make Deut. 26. where he that brought a basket of first-fruits to the house of God was to say I profess this day unto the Lord that I am come unto the Country which the Lord sware unto our Fathers for to give us And when the Priest had taken the basket he was to say thus verse 5 c. A Syrian ready to perish was my Father and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there with a few and became there a Nation great mighty and populous And the Egyptians evil intreated us c. And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand and out-stretched arm c. And brought us into this place and hath given us this land even a land that floweth with milk and honey And now behold I have brought the first-fruits of the land which thou O Lord hast given me And thou shalt set it saith the Text before the Lord thy God and worship before the Lord thy God This was to be done every year But for Tithes the profession was made every third year because then the course of all manner of Tithing came about For two years they pay'd the Levite's Tithe and the Festival Tithe the third year they pay'd the Levite's Tithe and the poor man's Tithe So that year the course of Tithing being finished the party was to make a solemn profession When thou hast made an end saith the Lord of Tithing all the Tithes of thine increase the third year which is the year of Tithing that is when the Tithing course finisheth and hast given it to the Levite the Stranger the Fatherless and the Widow that they may eat within thy Gates and be filled Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God I have brought away the hallowed thing out of mine house and also have given it to the Levite and to the Stranger to the Fatherless and to the Widow according to all the Commandments which thou hast commanded me Look down from thy holy habitation from heaven and bless thy people Israel and the land which thou hast given us as thou swarest to our Fathers a land that floweth with milk and honey What we have seen in these two sorts is to be supposed to be the End of all other Offerings for pious uses which were not Sacrifices namely To acknowledge God to be the Lord and Giver of all As we see in that royal Offering which David with the Princes and Chieâ—tains of Israel made for the building of the Temple 1 Chron. 29. 11 c. where David acknowledgeth thus Thine O Lord is the Kingdom and thou art exalted as Head over all Both riches and honour come of thee and thou reignest over all and in thine hand is power and might and in thine hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all Now therefore our God we thank thee and praise thy glorious Name For all things come of thee and of thine own have we given thee For this Reason there was never time since God first gave the Earth to the sons of men wherein this Acknowledgment was not made by setting apart something of that he had given them to that purpose In the state of Paradise among all the Trees in the garden which God gave man freely to enjoy one Tree was Noli me tangere and reserved to God as holy in token that he was Lord of the garden So that the First sin of Mankind for the species of the fact was Sacriledge in prosaning that which was holy For which he was cast out of Paradise and the Earth cursed for his sake â—ecause he had violated the sign of his Fealty unto the great Landlord of the whole Earth Might I not say that many a man unto this day is cast out of his Paradise and the labours of his hands cursed for the same sin But to go on After man's ejection out of Paradise the first service that ever we read was erformed unto God was of this kind Abel bringing the best of his flock and Cain of the fruit of his ground for an Offering or Present unto the Lord. The first spoils that ever we read gotten from an Enemy in war paid Tithes to Melchisedâ—k the Priest of the most High God as an Acknowledgment that he had given Abraham the Victory Melâ—hisedck blessing God in his name to be the possessor of heaven and earth and to have delivered his enemies into his hand To which Abraham said Amen by paying him Tithes of all Iacob promiseth God that if he would give him any thing for at that time he had nothing he would give him the Tenth of what he should give him which is as much to say as he would acknowledge and profess him to be the Giver after the accustomed manner For the Time of the Law I may skip over that it is well enough known no man will deny it But let us come to the Time of the Gospel which though it hath freed us from the bondage of Typical Elements yet hath it not freed us from the profession of our Pealty unto God as Lord of the whole Earth 'T were strange methinks to affirm it I am sure the ancient Church next the Apostles thought otherwise I will quote for a witness Irenaeus who tells us that our Saviour when he took part of the Viands of his last Supper and giving thanks with them consecrated them into a Sacrament of his body and bloud set his Church an example of dedicating part of the creature in Dominicos usus Dominus saith he dans discipulis suis consilium Primitias Deo offerre ex suis creaturis non quasi indigenti
they are imperfect and whatsoever they were we owed them to him in whom we live and have our Being whether there were any Reward or not promised for them Neither do we hereby any whit detract from the truth of that Axiome That God rewardeth every man according to his work For still the Question remaineth the very same Whether there may not be as well merces gratiae as merces justitiae that is Whether God may not judge a man according to his works when he sits upon the Throne of Grace as well as when he sits upon his Throne of Iustice. And we think here that the Prophet David hath fully cleared the case in that one sentence Psal. 62. 12. With thee O Lord is Mercy for thou rewardest every one according to his work Nay more than this We deny not but in some sense this Reward may be said to proceed of Iustice. For howsoever originally and in it self we hold it cometh from God's free Bounty and Mercy who might have required the Work of us without all promise of Reward For as I said we are his Creatures and owe our Being unto him yet in regard he hath covenanted with us and tied himself by his Word and Promâ—â—e to confer such a Reward the Reward now in a sort proveth to be an Act of Iustice namely of Iustiâ—ia promissi on God's part not of Merit on ours even as in forgiving our sins which in it self all men know to be an Act of Mercy he is said to be Faithful and Iust 1 Iohn 1. 9. namely in the faithful performance of his Promise For Promise we know once made amongst honest men is accounted a due debt But this argues no more any worthiness of equality in the Work towards the obtaining of the Reward than if a Promise of a Kingdom were made to one if he should take up a straw it would follow thence that the lifting up of a straw were a labour or a work worth a Kingdom howsoever he that should so promise were bound to give it Thus was Moses careful to put the children of Israel in mind touching the Land of Canaan which was a Type of our Eternal habitation in Heaven that it was a Land of promise and not of merit which God gave them to possess not for their righteousness or for their upright heart but that he might perform the word which he sware unto their Fathers Abraham Isaac and Iacob Whereupon the Levites in this Book of Nehemiah say in their Prayer to God Thou madest a Covenant with Abraham to give to his seed the Land of the Canaanites and hast performed thy words because thou art just that is true and faithful in keeping thy promise Now because the Lord hath made a like promise of the Crown of life to them that love him S. Paul sticks not in like manner to attribute this also to God's Iustice Henceforth saith he 2 Tim. 4. 8. is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous Iudge shall give me at that day and not to me only but to all them that love his appearing Upon which S. Bernard most sweetly as he is wont Est ergo quam Paulus expect at corona Iustitiae sed justitiae Dei non suae Iustum quippe est ut reddat quod debet debet autem quod pollicitus est There is therefore a crown of righteousness which Paul looks for but it is of God's righteousness not his own it being a righteous thing with God to give what he owes now he owes what he hath engaged himself to by promise Lastly for the word Merit â—t is not the name we so much scruple at as the thing wont now-a-daies to be understood thereby otherwise we confess the name might be admitted if taken in the large and more general seâ—se for Any work having relation to a reward to follow it or whereby a reward is quocunque modo obtained in a word as the Correlate indifferent either to merces gratiae or justitiae the reward of Grace or of Iustice. For thus the Fathers used it and so might we have done still if some of us had not grown too proud and mistook it Since we think it better and safer to diâ—use it even as Physicians are wont to prescribe their Patients recovered of some desperate disease not to use any more that meat or diet which they find to have caused it And here give me leave to acquaint you with an Observation of a like alteration of speech and I suppose for the self-same cause happening under the Old Testament namely of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 changed into 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Righteousness into That which findeth mercy For the Septuagint and the New Testament with them render the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Righteousness not only when it is taken for Beneficence or Alms as in that Tongue it is the ordinary word in which use we are wont to expound it Works of mercy but where there is no relation to Alms or Beneficence at all Whence I gather that by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Septuagint meant not as we commonly take it Works of mercy but rather Works whereby we find mercy at the hands of God I will give you a place which methinks is very pregnant Deut. 6. 24 25. where we read thus And the Lord commanded us to do all these Statutes you may see there what they are to fear the Lord our God for our good alwayes that he might preserve us alive as at this day And it shall be our Righteousness if we observe to do all these Commandments before the Lord as he hath commanded us Here the Septuagint for And it shall be our Righteousness have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And it shall be our 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that whereby we shall find mercy at the hands of God if we observe to do all these Commandments c. This place will admit no evasion for there is no reference to Alms here And indeed all our Righteousness is nothing else but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that whereby we find mercy at the hands of God and no marvail if Works of mercy as to relieve the poor and needy be especially so called for they above all other are the works whereby we shall find mercy and receive the reward of Bliss at the last day And thus much of my second Observation I come now to my third That it is lawful to do good works Intuitu mercedis with an eye or respect to the recompence of Reward It is plain that Nehemiah here did so Remember me O my God concerning this c. So did Moses of whom it is said Heb. 11. 25 26. that he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt for saith the Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 aspiciebat vel intuebatur 〈◊〉
brother that there may be given you a blessing this day This Blessing here spoken of is our Vrim and Thummim the blessing of Sacred Order So bountifully did God reward them who were so forward to be on his side when Moses called them that himself vouchsafed to call them unto his side for ever Whence first we may learn whom we are chiefly to prefer unto this holy Function namely Those who are zealous for the Lord of Hosts who prefer the glory of God above all worldly respects whatsoever This got Phinehas the son of Eleazar the High-Priesthood this got all the sons of Levi the guerdon of Vrim and Thummim the blessing of Holy Orders Secondly We may see by the advancement of this Tribe how merciful our God is We know that Levi's fury did once as much offend him as his sons zeal now pleased him and yet for this one action he forgot the sin of their Father in the bloudy slaughter of the Sichemites He remembred not the curse of Iacob Into their secret let not my soul come My glory be not thou joyned with their assembly Cursed be their wrath for it was fierce and their rage for it was cruel Gen. 49. 6 7. Nay he turned the very curse of Iacob into a blessing by dividing them in Iacob and scattering them in Israel Here Mercy and Truth met both together and Iustice and Peace kissed each other Lastly Here God verified his own description of himself That though he be a jealous God and visits the sins of the Father upon the children unto the third and fourth generation yet he is also a merciful God and shews mercy even unto the thousandth generation of them that love him and keep his Commandments AND thus have you seen why of Levi Moses said this Blessing And of Levi he said Now I come to The description of this blessed Tribe in these words God's Holy one Let thy Vrim and thy Thummim be with thy Holy one How is Levi here called Holy how is this Title given to him above the rest of his Brethren Are not all the Lord's people holy Certainly whatsoever is meant hereby it is something more specially belonging to Levi than to any other Tribe Which that we may the better find we must take notice of a Threefold Holiness Essential Habitual Relative Essential Holiness is the Holiness of God all one with God himself and this is a glorious Holiness Who saith Moses is like unto thee O Lord among the Gods who is like unto thee glorious in holiness Exod. 15. 11. Habitual I call an Inherent Holiness such as is the holiness of righteous men integrity of life or righteous holiness whereof Abraham Iob David and all the Patriarchs are called Saints and Holy men This is that which the Greeks call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Latines Sanctimonia Relative Holiness I define a special relation or relation of peculiarity which a thing hath unto God either in regard of propriety of possession or speciality of presence That which is holy after this manner the Greeks call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Latines Sacrum The first of these three is proper to God alone for he only is essentially holy The second is proper to reasonable creatures for they are only habitually holy or endued with holy qualities But the last is common to all manner of things For all things animate or inanimate are capable of relative holiness or peculiarity towards God Persons Things Times Places Persons So the Nazarites of the Law are called holy thus was Sampson thus was Samuel holy from their Mother's womb Things So the Offerings of the Law yea and of the Gospel too are holy things The Censers of Korah and his company were holy because saith the Text they offered them before the Lord. Times So the sabbath-Sabbath-day and other Festival days are holy days Places So the Temple of the Lord is an holy Place Mount Sion an holy Mount yea the ground about the Bush where God appeared to Moses is called Holy ground And of these four Persons Things and Times are holy because of God's peculiar propriety in them in that they are his Persons his Things and his Times But Places are holy in another regard because of God's special manner of Presence in them Now let us see in which of all these three ways Levi may be said to be holy Essentially holy he cannot be for he was not God but the holy one of God Habitually holy the event shews he was not more than the rest though he should have been The Tribe of Levi was always Tribus sacra holy unto the Lord but was not always righteous before the Lord. It was not always true of Levi that he walked before God in peace and equity and turned many from iniquity but often yea too often they were gone out of the way and caused many to stumble at or in the Law Phinehas the son of Eli was not like Phinehas the son of Aaron Annas and Caiaphas high Priests as holy as any for their order as unholy as any in life and conversation It should therefore seem that Levi should be only called Holy by a Relative holiness namely because he was God's peculiar one because his offered one because his peculiar of peculiars that is his peculiar Tribe of his peculiar people for in this Levi had a priviledg above the rest in the other none And this Ezra gives unto him chap. 8. 28. when he delivered unto the Levites the holy vessels Ye are holy saith he unto the Lord and these Vessels are holy also that is Ye are holy as the Vessels are for he saith not they were holy before the Lord for so he had meant holy in life but holy unto the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which always implies a Relative Holiness But though this be true that Levi was Holy after this manner yet the word which in my Text is turned Holy seems scarce to admit of this construction for the word here used is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies favourable and gracious and in Religion charitable and godly All which leans to an Habitual not to a Relative holiness But because Levi was not in this sort holy above other as I said before it may seem therefore it should be thus construed that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is taken Actively or Passively Actively it signifies favourable benigne and gracious Passively he that is favoured or graced And thus Iunius expounds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in this place virum tuum quem beneficio prosequeris Let thy Thummim and thy Vrim be with thy favoured one not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Septuagint but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which word and sense the Angel useth in his salutation to the blessed Virgin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hail thou highly-favoured one Hail thou whom God hath especially graced to be the Mother of his only Son So Levi is
Ashteroth the Gods of the Sidonians Rimmon the God of the Aramites Where is now Dagon of the Philistines Milcom of the Ammonites Chemosh of Moab and Tammuz of the Egyptians Even these also whose names we hear so frequent in Scripture are perished with their very names from this earth and from under these heavens And the Nations which once worshipped them worship now the great God Creator of heaven and earth once all of them and yet the most of them truly and savingly in Christ Iesus the Saviour and Redeemer of the world The beginning of this strange and wonderful Change was about the Birth and Incarnation of Christ our Saviour at which time the Gods of the Gentiles grew speechless in their Oracles or if at any time they answered it was to testifie the nearness of that time wherein they were to be cast out and the presence of him who should do the same As it is reported of Augustus who consulting the Oracle of Apollo who should reign after him received this answer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The meaning whereof is this The Hebrew child which rules the blessed Gods bids me leave this house and presently pack to hell From henceforth depart thou with silence from our Altars Whereupon it is said that Augustus reared an Altar in the Capitol with this Inscription ARA PRIMOGENITI DEI The Altar of the First-begotten of God Porphyrie though an enemy of Christians reports three farewel Oracles of Apollo The first whereof is this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In English thus O wo is me lament ye Tripods for Apollo is gone he is gone he is gone For the burning light of heaven that Iupiter which was is and shall be O mighty Iupiter he compels me Ah wo is me the bright glory of my Oracles is gone from me And to the Priest which last consulted him his demand being Which was the true Religion he answered in this manner 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In English thus Thou unhappiest of the Priests oh that thou wouldst not have asked me being now at my last of the Divine Father and of the dear begotten of that famous King nor of the Spirit which comprehendeth and surroundeth all things For wo is me He it is that will I nill I will expel me from these Temples and full soon shall this dividing seat become a place of desolation And if at any time he were extremely urged by inchantments and exorcisms to break off this uncouth silence he answered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Apollo's voice is not to be recovered it is decayed through length of time and locked up with the keys of never-divining silence but do you as ye were wont such sacrifices as it beseemeth Phoebus to have The ceasing of Oracles in ancient times so frequent made the Heathen wonder what the cause should be for being grown very rare as the coming of Christ drew near and at the time of his being upon the earth the chiefest of all the Oracle of Delphos grown speechless as Strabo living at that time witnesseth before the end of that Age all the Oracles of the world in a manner held their peace Plutarch as ye all know at that time writ a Tract of the decay of Oracles wherein he labours to find the cause of their ceasing and after much search and many disputes he concludes the Reason partly to be from the absence of his Demoniacal spirits who by his Philosophy might either die through length of years or flit from place to place either exiled by others more strong or upon some other dislike and partly from the alteration of the soil where Oracles were seated which might not yield such Exhalations as in former times they had done This is the Summe of the Reasons in that Discourse But as we embrace this Testimony of Plutarch for the use and decay of Oracles so we are better enabled to give a true reason thereof than he was or could be namely As Meteors and smaller lights vanish and appear not when the Sun begins to rise So did these false lights of the Heathen vanish when the Sun of righteousness Christ Iesus arose unto the world As Dagon fell down when the Ark of God was brought into his Temple so when the true Ark of God Christ Iesus came into the world all the Dagons of the Nations fell down The time was come when as our Saviour saith Iohn 12. 31. the Prince of this world was to be cast out The night was past and the day was come and therefore such Bats and Birds of darkness as these were not any longer to play such reaks as in times past they had done Now began that War in heaven between Michael and the red Dragon whereof we read in the Revelation Michael and his Angels fought against the Dragon and his Angels that is Christ our Lord and his undaunted souldiers fought with the Devil and all his Ethnick forces led by the Roman Emperors Which War though it lasted long and cost the bloud and lives of many a thousand valiant Martyrs yet in the days of Constantine the Dragon received so great an overthrow that he never could recover it and though in the days of Iulian he made head again and kept the field a while yet was he soon fain to quit it and leave the victory unto Michael's army Which defeature of his was accompanied with an ominous sign of his utter overthrow his Throne or Temple at Delphos with earthquakes thunder and lightening being utterly ruined For as by the rending of the veil of the Temple was signified the abolishment of Legal worship so by the prodigious destruction of the chiefest Temple the Devil had in all the world was as it were sealed the irrecoverable overthrow of Ethnicisme which in the Event immediately following proved true For though he retained some strength under Valens in the East by still enjoying his wonted sacrifices yet in the days of Theodosius he was utterly and finally vanquished when his last champion Eugenius who threatned to be another Iulian and to restore Ethnicisme again with his whole Army was discomfited by the prayer and prowess of Theodosius about the year of our Lord three hundred and ninety For after this time Ethnicisme was never publickly maintained in the Roman Empire nor any open attempt made for restoring it again whereby it seems the red Dragon was cast down to the earth and that now was perfected the Triumph of Michael's victory when the Gods that made not the heaven and the earth were fully perished as concerning their Empire from the earth and from under
these heavens As the War was long so the Victory was not gotten all at once but by certain degrees as it were beginning with Constantine Anno 300. and ending in Theodosius about as I said the year 390. And though it be hard to pitch the time of this Trophee exactly yet I doubt not but it falleth in some part of the time included in the foresaid limits Thus then have we seen the Truth and Power of God in fulfilling of this Prophecy for so much as is already past and may say with David Psal. 48. 8. As we have heard so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts in the city of our God God will establish it for ever But who would have believed this at the time when the words were spoken when the worshippers of the most high God were at so low an ebbe Hence therefore must we learn to believe the Promises of God be they never so unlikely to humane Reason For he it is that says Esay 46. 11. I have spoken and I will bring it to pass It is he that says Ier. 32. 27. I am the God of all flesh and there is nothing too hard for me Though Abraham be never so old and Sarah's womb be dead yet if the Lord says it he shall be Father of many Though Nations Gideon be the least of the house of Manasses yet if the Lord says it by him shall Israel be delivered from the Midianites Though David follow the sheep yet if God promise he shall be King of Israel Be the famine in Samaria never so extreme that women eat their own children yet if God say it within twenty four hours shall corn be so cheap that a measure of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel and two measures of barley for a shekel in the gates of Samaria Let us take heed therefore we say not with him on whose hand the King leaned If God would make windows in heaven it could not be nor with the Israelites when the spies brought them news of the strength of the Inhabitants of Canaan of chariots of iron and the giant-like sons of Anak let us not say with them we shall not enter For that Lord who set humane reason against the Word and Promise of God never eat of the abundance of Samaria and the Iews which distrusted God never entred the land of Canaan But let us know for a conclusion that God is faithful and true and his Promises yea and amen HITHER TO we have spoken of the accomplishment of this Prophecy for so much as is already past now let us see What that is which we expect as yet to come For though in regard of former times when Ethnicisme was so large and the worshippers of the living God so small a scantling the Extent of the Church be now at this day a goodly and large portion of the world yet if we consider the numbers of nations yet Pagans or not Christians it will seem to scant as yet to be the accomplishment of this and other Prophecies concerning the Largeness of Christ's Kingdom before the end of the world For one hath well observed That Christianity at this day is not above the sixth part of the known world whereas the Mahumetans have a fifth and all the rest are Ethnicks and Pagans So that if we divide the World into thirty parts Christianity is but as five in thirty Mahumetanism as six and Ethnicism as nineteen and so is Christianity the least part of all and plain Heathenism hath far above the one half of the known world and the better part of the other is also Mahumetans And though Christianity hath been embraced in former times where now it is not yet it is now spred in those places where in those times it was not And therefore all laid together we may account Christianity at this day as large I think as ever it was since the Apostles time But that this is not that Vniversal Kingdom of Christ that flourishing and glorious estate of the Church which yet we expect and hope for my Reasons are these First Those frequent places of Scripture which intimate that the Lord should subdue all people all kingdoms all nations and all the ends of the earth unto himself and that all these should one day worship and acknowledge him Psal. 22. 27. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him for the Kingdom is the Lord's and he is governour among the nations And Psal. 47. 1. 2 3. Clap your hands all ye people for the Lord is a great King over all the earth He shall subdue the people under us and the nations under our feet And again v. 7 8. God is King of all the earth and reigneth over the Heathen Psal. â—6 1 c. Make a joyful noise unto God all ye lands Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee All the earth shall worship thee and sing of thee they shall sing unto thy Name The whole 67. Psalm which we read every day is as it were a Prophecy and Prayer for this great Kingdom That the may of God may be known upon earth and his saving health among all nations Let the people praise thee O God let all the people praise thee Then shall the earth yield her increase c. God shall bless us and all the ends of the earth shall fear him And Psal. 86. 9 10. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee O Lord and shall glorifie thy Name For thou art great and dost wondrous things Thou art God alone And Esay 2. 18. which is a Prophecy of Christ's kingdom it is said that the Idols the Lord shall utterly abolish or as some read the Idols shall utterly pass away So Esay 54. 5. speaking of the Amplitude of the Church of the Gentiles Thy Redeemer saith the Prophet the holy One of Israel the God of the whole earth shall he be called Certainly this constant style of Vniversality implies more than this scantling which yet is it being but one of the least parts of the whole earth Secondly The same conclusion may be gathered from 1 Cor. 15. 25 26. compared with Heb. 2. 8. Christ must reign saith S. Paul in the first place quoted till he hath put all his enemies under his feet The last enemy which shall be destroyed is death Hence it follows that Christ shall subdue all his enemies whereof the Prince of this world is the chief before the last rising of the dead For the subduing of death that is the rising of the dead shall not be afore the rest shall be done the vanquishing of death being the last act of Christ's reigning which done he shall yield up the Kingdom unto his Father In the other place Heb. 2. 8. the Apostle speaking of the same thing alledgeth that
of Psal. 8. 6. Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet and then adds For in that he put all in subjection under him he left nothing that is not put under him But now mark it we see not yet all things put under him If any say that the Apostle speaks here of the Kingdom of Glory in heaven and not of the Kingdom of Grace on earth I reply 1. out of the former place That he speaks of such a subjection whereof the rising of the dead shall be the last act of all and which shall be before he yields up the Kingdom to his Father But neither of these can be affirmed of the Kingdom of Glory but the contrary viz. The rising of the dead is at the beginning and not at the end of the Kingdom of Glory and so is also the yielding up of his kingdom unto his Father 2. I reply out of this place That the Apostle speaks of that Kingdom and subjection of the Earth or state of the Earth which was to come For so he speaks ver 5. Vnto the Angels he hath not put in subjection 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Earth or state of the Earth which shall be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of which we speak Here he affirms that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is that of whose subjection he meaneth If then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifie only the Earth and the Earth's inhabitants and is no where in the whole Scripture otherwise used I cannot see how this place can well bear any other exposition First then to confirm this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the same which the Hebrews call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for so the Septuagint render it whose use of speaking I doubt not but the Apostle follows But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 most constantly signifies the habitable earth or the earth with the things that live and dwell thereon whence the Septuagint though they commonly render it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet sometimes they render it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The earth sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That which is under heaven Therefore with the Septuagint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The earth and That which is under the heavens If this suffice not we may yet consider That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a Participle of the feminine gender and therefore understands 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the earth which is inhabited Lastly Wheresoever elsewhere this word is found in the New Testament it is most expresly used of the earth and inhabitants thereof In the beginning of this Epistle we read Thou Lord in the beginning hast laid the foundations of the earth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the heavens are the works of thine hands Matth. 24. 14. This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 over all the earth and then shall the end come Luke 2. 1. Then went a decree from Augustus that all the world should be taxed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The rest behind are far more express but I leave them to your own leisure and will only add this one thing That our English rendring in this place of the Hebrews 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The world to come makes it not only ambiguous but seeming to mean The Kingdom of Glory But we shall find that The world in that sense is always 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but no where in all the Bible 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And so I leave this with submission to the judgement of others My next Reason shall be from that we read in the Revelation where the Church by the conquest of Michael set free from the Dragon's fury is said to escape into the wilderness that is into a state though of safety peace and security yet of hardship misery and scarcity For it seems to be an allusion to the Israelites escaping the tyranny of Pharaoh by going into the wilderness In this wilderness or place of hardship scarcity misery and much affliction the Church must remain saith S. Iohn a time times and half a time or as he elsewhere speaketh a thousand two hundred and threescore days that is a year years and half a year and when this time shall be expired that is as learned Divines think when so many years shall be ended as those days are taking the beginning of our reckoning from Michael's Trophee then saith our Apostle shall the kingdoms of the world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever Rev. 11. 15. Whereby it should seem that the Church is yet in the Wilderness and that the promised happiness of the ample and flourishing glory thereof before the end of the world is yet to come My last Reason shall be from Rom. 11. where S. Paul speaking of the future restoring and calling of the Iews saith it shall be when the fulness of the Gentiles is come in I would not saith he that ye should be ignorant of this mystery c. v. 25. Now because the Iews are not yet called it followeth that the fulness of the Gentiles is yet to come and what should then this Fulness be but the Fulness of the Gospel's extent over all the nations of the world which our Apostle ver 15. of the same chapter calls life from the dead For if the casting away of the Iews be the reconciling of the world what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead As if the Church of the Gentiles were as yet half dead if it be compared with that glorious vigour and accession which shall come unto it when the Iews shall be again received into favour In brief The Fulness here spoken of is either a Fulness of grace a Fulness of extent or a Fulness of time A Fulness of time only it cannot be because our Apostle saith this Fulness shall enter in namely shall enter into the Church of Christ but this I see not how it can be spoken of a period of time As for a Fulness of grace and spiritual gifts that was greater when S. Paul spake than ever it was since and therefore if it be meant it must be yet to come And for the Fulness of extent it was as large for the number of Nations in the Apostles times as it is now in ours For as for the American Christians they are only so in name being forced only to seem so by the Spaniards Whatsoever Fulness then the Apostle here meaneth is yet to come I will add only one thing more and so end this point Some think that S. Paul in this place hath reference unto that speech of Christ Luke 21. 24. where he foretells That the Iews should fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all nations and Ierusalem should be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles should be
unruly and obvious to be surprised for such things we are wont to keep and so much therefore is implied in that they are to be kept else they needed no keeping This is therefore the condition of our Hearts 1. They are untrusty The heart is deceitful above all things Ier. 17. 9. Therefore it stands in hand to watch it to suspect it and deal with it as we would with a notable Iugler or with an untrusty and pilfering servant to have a jealous and a watchful eye over it For if our eye be never so little off it will presently break out into some unlawful liberty or other 2. It is an unruly thing if it be once lost a man cannot recover it again without much time and labour For it is like unto a wild horse if the bridle be once let go he will be gone and not gotten again in haste yea it may be we shall be forced to spend as much time in recovering him as would have served to have dispatched our whole journey So if the bridle of watchfulness be once let go and our Hearts get loose they will not easily be regained it will ask us no small time to temper and tune them again for the service of God Lastly our hearts are continually liable to surprise we walk in the midst of snares encompassed with dangers on every side What is that almost which will not entice and allure so fickle a thing as the Heart from God We can be secure of it at no time neither sleeping nor waking in no place neither house not street neither bed nor board not in our Closet no not in the Church and Pulpit THUS much shall suffice to have been briefly observed by way of implication from the Act Keep Now I come to the Object it self The Heart Keep thy Heart By Heart we must understand the inward thoughts motions and afâ—ections of the Soul and Spirit whereof the Heart is the Chamber But not a natural man's Heart for that is not worth a keeping but such a Heart as lives to God-ward a good and gracious heart which consists in two properties in Purity and Loyâ—lty This is the state and temper we must keep our Hearts in I will speak of them in order And first of Purity and Cleanness We must keep our Hearts in Purity and Cleanness For Blessed are the pure in Heart for they shall see God and none but such shall ever see him It behoves us therefore to know what this Cleanness is the having or not having whereof concerns us so nearly Know then A clean or pure Heart is that which loaths sin and loves righteousness For the better understanding whereof we must further know That an absolute cleanness and pureness of the heart and soul from sin is not attainable in this life Prov. 20. 9. Who can say I have made my heart clean I am pure from my sin Yet is there a cleanness of heart which must be had and without which we shall never see God as you heard before Such was that which David prays for Psal. 51. 10. Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me And 2 Tim. 2. 22. true Christians are described to be such as call upon the Lord out of a pure heart 1 Tim. 1. 5. The end of the Commandment saith the Apostle is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith unfeigned And himself 2 Tim. 1. 3. thanks God whom he served from his forefathers with a pure conscience But if this Purity of the heart were no other than a total freedom thereof from all unclean thoughts and sinful motions and desires in such sort as a man should never be troubled and defiled with them alas who then should see God who should be saved That Claenness therefore that measure of Purity which God requires to be in the heart of every one who shall see him and with whom he will vouchsafe to dwell is as I told you the loathing of sin and the love of righteousness that is an accepted Cleanness through Faith when the hate of impurity and love of cleanness in the heart is accepted with God for cleanness and pureness it self Though not a cleanness of all our affections yet at least and what can God require less an affection to all cleanness For God accepts the will for the deed If we love if we desire if we delight heartily in that which is clean and pure in the eyes of God if we hate and abhor if we loath in our selves all sinful impurities and pollutions both of flesh and spirit howsoever we find in our selves a great want of the one and our hearts much and often vexed and troubled with the other yet is this affection of our hearts accepted with God for a pure and cleansed heart indeed And where this disposition is the heart cannot chuse but grow cleaner and cleaner even with real and formal cleanness For a man cannot but cherish that which he loveth and rid himself as much as may be of what he loatheth So he that loveth and affecteth cleanness of heart will cherish and make much of every good motion which the Spirit of God shall put into it and if he indeed loath and abhor unclean and sinful thoughts will do his best to stifle them and remove them far from him This Cleanness and Purity of Heart is that which the Scripture slyleth Holiness even that Holiness without which S. Paul tells us Heb. 12. 14. no man shall see the Lord. For in the Law the legal cleansing washing and purging of that which any way belonged to God or was prepared for his presence and service is called sanctifying or hallowing Exod. 19. 10. When the Lord was to come down upon Mount Sinai Go unto the People saith he to Moses and sanctifie them to day and to morrow and let them wash their clothes 2 Chron. 29. 5. Hezekiah saith to the Levites Sanctifie now your selves and sanctifie the house of the Lord God of your fathers and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place And accordingly in the 16. ver the Priests go in to cleanse it which cleansing in the next verse is called their sanctifying it In Deut. 23. 14. where a law is given for cleanness and neatness in the Camp the reason is rendred in these words For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of the Camp to deliver thee and to give up thine enemies before thee therefore shall thy Camp be holy that he see no unclean thing in thee and turn away from thee The same expression S. Paul applies to spiritual cleansing 2 Cor. 7. 1. Let us saith he cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God Here with S. Paul also Holiness is Cleansing and Cleansing is Holiness So Eph. 5. 26. That he might sanctifie and cleanse it c. As therefore under the Law that
Angel's message from heaven to devout Cornelius was Thy prayers and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God whereupon S. Peter inferred That in every Nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted with him Acts 10. 4 35. In 1 Tim. 6. 17 18 19. saith S. Paul Charge them that are rich in this world That they do good that they be rich in good works ready to distribute willing to communicate Laying in store a good foundation against the time to come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ut accipiant nanciscantur that they may receive or obtain eternal life Hence it is that we shall be judged and receive sentence at the last day according to our works Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world For I was hungry and ye gave me meat I was thirsty and ye gave me drink I was a stranger and ye took me in naked and ye clothed me I was sick and ye visited me I was in prison and ye came unto me For inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of my brethren ye have done it unto me Lord how do those look to be saved at that day who think good works not required to Salvation and accordingly do them not Can our Saviour pass this blessed Sentence on them think they he can If he should they might truly say indeed Lord we have done no such matter nor did we think our selves bound unto it we relied wholly upon our Faith in thy merits and thought we had been freed from such services What do they think Christ will change the form of his Sentence at that great day No certainly If the Sentence for Bliss will not fit them and be truly said of them the other will and must for there is no more Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels For when I was hungry ye gave me no meat c. This must be their doom unless they suppose the righteous Iudge will lie for them And it is here further to be observed That the Works named in this sentence of Iudgment are works of the second Table and Works of Mercy and Charity feeding the hungry clothing the naked visiting the sick all Almsdeeds which men are now-a-days so much afraid of as if they looked toward Popery and had a tang of meriting for now-a-days these costly works of all others are most suspicious But will it be so at the day of Iudgment True it is they merit not the Reward which shall be given them but what then are we so proud we will do no works unless we may merit Is it not sufficient that God will reward them for Christ's sake though they have no worth in themselves And thus much of the second Motive why we should do good works Because howsoever they merit nothing yet are they the means and way ordained by God to attain the Reward of eternal life The third and last Motive to works of righteousness is Because they are the only Sign and Note whereby we know our Faith is true and saving and not counterfeit For 1 Iohn 1. 6. If we say we have fellowship with Christ and walk in darkness we lie and do not the truth Chap. 2. ver 3. Hereby we know that we know him viz. to be our Advocate with his Father and the Propitiation for our sins if we keep his Commandments And Chap. 3. 7. Little children let no man deceive you He that doth righteousness is righteous even as Christ is righteous The same almost you may find again Chap. 2. 29. For if every one that believeth in Christ truly and savingly believes that Salvation is to be attained by obedience to God in him and not otherwise and therefore embraceth and layeth hold upon him for that end how can such an ones Faith be fruitless How can he be without works who therefore lays hold on Christ that his works and obedience may be accepted as righteous before God for his sake and so be rewardable It is as possible for the Sun to be without his light or the Fire to want heat as such a Faith to be without works Our Saviour therefore himself makes this a most sure and never-failing Note to build our assurance of Salvation upon Luke 6. 46. where the mention of the words of my Text gives the occasion Why call ye me Lord Lord saith he and do not the things which I say 47. Whosoever cometh to me and heareth my sayings and doth them I will shew you to whom he is like 48. He is like a man which built an house and digged deep and laid the foundation on a rock And when the floud arose the stream beat vehemently upon that house and could not shake it for it was founded upon a rock 49. But he that heareth and doth not is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth against which the stream did beat vehemently and immediately it fell and the ruine of that house was great Whom these three Motives or Reasons will not perswade to good works let not my Soul O Lord be joyned with theirs nor my doom be as theirs must be A SECOND Observation out of these words and near a-kin to the former is That it is not enough for a Christian to live harmlesly and abstain from ill but he must do that which is good For our Saviour excludes not here those only who do against the will of his Father but those who do not his Father's will It is doing good which he requireth and not the not doing evil only This is an error which taketh hold of a great part of men even of those who would seem to be religious He is a reformed man and acquits himself well who abstains from fornication adultery who is no thief no couzener or defrauder of other men who will not lie or swear or such like But as for doing any works of Piety or Charity they think they are not required of them But they are much deceived For God requires some duties at our hands which he may reward not out of any merit but out of his merciful promise in Christ. But not doing ill is no service rewardable A servant who expects wages must not only do his Master no harm but some work that is good and profitable otherwise the best Christian would be he that should live altogether idlely for none doth less harm than he that doth nothing at all But Matth. 25. 30. He that encreased not his Master's Talent though he had not mis-spent it is adjudged an unprofitable servant and cast into outer darkness where is weeping and gnashing of teeth So also Matth. 3. 10. The tree that beareth no good fruit is hewn down though it bore none that was evil The axe is laid to the root of the tree Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down
purpose are your sacrifices and burnt-offerings saith the Lord your oblations and incense are abomination Your New Moons Sabbaths calling of Assemblies even the solemn meeting I cannot away with it is iniquity Would you know what was the matter see the words following Learn to do well seek judgment relieve the oppressed judge the fatherless plead for the widow Lo here a want of the duties of the second Table Such is that also of Hosea 6. 6. I desired mercy and not sacrifice which is twice alledged by our Saviour in the Gospel against the Pharisee's hypocritical scrupulosity in the same duties of the first Table with a neglect of the second But here perhaps some may find a scruple because that if Sacrifice in this or the like places be opposed to the duties of obedience required in the second Table it should hereby seem that the duties of the second Table which concern our neighbour should be preferred before the duties of the first which concern the Lord himself forasmuch as it is said I desired mercy and not sacrifice that is rather Mercy which is a duty of the second Table than Sacrifice which is of the first I answer The holy Ghost's meaning is not to prefer the second Table before the first taking them singly but to prefer the duties of both together before the service of the first alone Be more ready to joyn mercy or works of mercy with your sacrificing than to offer sacrifice alone To go on The duties of the first Table are by a special name called duties of Religion those of the second Table come under the name of Honesty and Probity Now as a man can never be truly Honest unless he be Religious So cannot that man what shew soever he makes be truly religious in God's esteem who is not honest in his conversation towards his neighbour Religion and Honesty must be married together or else neither of them will be in truth what it seems to be We know that all our duty both to God and our neighbour is comprehended under the name of Love as in that Summe of the Law Love God above all things and thy neighbour as thy self This is the Summe of the whole Law contained in both Tables But S. Iohn tells us 1 Ep. 4. 20. If a man say I love God and hateth his brother he is a liar which is as much as if he should say He that seems religious towards God and is without honesty towards his neighbour he is a liar there is no true religion in him If you would then know whether a man professing Religion by diligent frequenting Gods service and exercises of devotion keeping sacred times and hearing Sermons be a sound Christian or not or a seeming one only this is a sure and infallible note to discover him and for him to discover himself by For if notwithstanding his care of the duties of the first Table he makes no conscience to walk honestly towards his neighbour if he be disobedient to Parents and lawful Authority if he be cruel and uncharitable if he be unjust in his dealings fraudulent an oppressor a falsifier of Covenants and Promises a backâ—â—ster a slanderer or the like his Religion is no better than an Hypocrite's For such was the Religion of many of the Pharisees whom therefore our Saviour termeth Hypocrites Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites They were scrupulous in the duties of the first Table they paid tithe even of mint and anise they fasted twice a-week they were exact observers of the Sabbath and other ceremonies of Religion but judgment mercy and saith in their conversation towards men our Saviour tells them they regarded not Besides our Saviour's woe denounced against such there are Two dangerous Effects which accompany this evil disease which should make us beware thereof 1. Those who are addicted to Religion without any conscience of Honesty are easily drawn by the Devil to many intolerable acts under colour and in behalf thereof as they imagine We see it in the Papists and Iesuits whose preposterous zeal to their Religion makes them think Treasons Murthers Rebellions or any other such wicked acts are lawful and excusable so they be done for the good of the Catholick cause as they call it And if we search narrowly amongst our selves we shall light upon some examples of indirect and unlawful courses undertaken otherwhile on the behalf of Religion and all through want of this conscionable care of maintaining Honesty towards our neighbour together with our zeal for Religion towards God Even as we see an Horse in some narrow and dangerous passage whilest he is wholly taken up with some bugbear on the one side of the way which he would eschew and in the mean time mindeth not the other side where there is the like danger he suddenly slips into a pit or ditch with no small danger to himself and rider So is it here with such as look only to the first Table and mind not the second whilest they go about as they think to advance the duties of the one they fall most foully in the other 2. The second evil is a most dangerous Scandal which follows profession of Religion without honest conversation towards men It is a grievous stumbling-block and stone of offence making men out of love with Religion when they see such evil Effects from it and those who seem to profess it Those who are not yet come on are scared from coming resolving they will never be of their Religion which they see no better fruits of Those who are entred are ashamed and discouraged forsaking the duties of Religion that they might shun the suspicion of hypocrisie and dishonesty But woe be unto them by whom scandal cometh Let us all therefore take heed to adorn and approve our profession by bringing forth fruits not only of Piety and Devotion towards God but of works of Righteousness and Charity to our neighbour DISCOURSE XL. GENESIS 3. 13. And the Lord God said unto the woman What is this that thou hast done And the woman said The Serpent beguiled me and I did eat THE Story whereof the words I have read are part is so well known to all that it would be needless to spend time in any long Preface thereof Who knows not the Story of Adam's Fall who hath not heard of the Sin of Eve our Mother If there were no Scripture yet the unsampled irregularity of our whole nature which all the time of our life runs counter to all order and right reason the woâ—ul misery of our condition being a Scene of sorrow without any rest or contentment this might breed some general suspicion that ab initio non suit ita from the beginning it was not so but that he who made us Lords of his creatures made us not so worthless and vile as now we are but that some common Father to us all had drunken some strange and devilish poison wherewith the whole race
prevail with him than his subtile motives were to overcome him and indeed the Event prov'd he was not much deceiv'd Hence we are to observe That the Devil taketh advantage of the vehemency of our Passions to work our overthrow if he once find these to fasten his hold by he then thinks he may lead us whither he lift To have gained our affections is as it were to have gotten a party within which is a dangerous advantage to further the invasion of an enemy especially when most of our Passions are our Favorites which we can deny nothing they ask and if they be once bribed will work us wholly to the dispose of our Arch-enemy That we may not therefore afford the Devil this advantage and as it were reach him a rope to hang us withal it behoves us so to govern and temper our Passions and Affections that they transport us not into the Devil's jurisdiction which that we may the better do it will not be unfit to set down some Rules for performance thereof First therefore It is best to resist our Passions at the beginning and to use the same policy which Pharaoh did with the Israelites that they might not over-run his Country in killing all their Infants as soon as they were born While the sore is green Chirurgeons seldom despair but festered once they hardly cure it So it is with the Passions of our Mind when they are first growing they are soon curbed but being a little entertained they will hardly be subdued The second means is To inure our selves to cross our Passions when there is no danger and to bridle our selves sometimes from ordinary and lawful desires that we may do it with more ease when we are in danger For how can he hope to be able to master his Passions when dangerous temptations assault him who never used them to it in the time of his security We know that men who would fit themselves for the Wars will practice in the time of Peace when there is no enemy near and will toil and labour when they might be at rest will lie hard when they may command a soft bed will watch when they might sleep and all to make them able to endure the like when they shall have need The like must we do that we may get an habit to cross and subdue our Passions when we shall have need The third means is To fly occasions which may incense the Passions whereunto we are inclined Occasiones faciunt latrones saith the Proverb Occasion makes him a thief which else might have been an honest man Wherefore he that commits himself to Sea in a boisterous tempest is worthy to suffer Shipwrack and he that willingly puts himself in the company of infected persons may blame himself if he fall into their diseases Lastly but chiefly When thy Passions are most vehement then seek for succour from Heaven Fly under the wings of Christ as the Chickens under the Hen when the Kite seeks to devour them Beat at the gates of mercy and crave grace to overcome thy misery He is thy Father and will not give thee a Serpent if thou ask him Fish Humble thy self before him open thy sores and wounds unto him and the good Samaritan will pour in both wine and oyl and thy Passions shall melt and fall away as clouds are dispelled and consumed by the Sun DISCOURSE XLI GENESIS 3. 14. And the Lord God said unto the Serpent Because thou hast done this thou art cursed above all cattel and above every beast of the field upon thy belly shalt thou go and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life THESE words contain in them the Serpent's Doom and Destiny pronounced upon him by the great Lord of Heaven and Earth They contain in them two parts First The Reason of this Sentence in the words Because thou hast done this Secondly The Sentence it self in the words following Thou art cursed above all cattel c. The Reason of this Heavy doom is Because thou hast done this What This namely Because he had beguiled the Man and Woman which God had made and caused them to transgress his great Commandment He therefore that is the cause and occasion of anothers sin is as hateful to God as the doer and is liable to as great or rather a greater punishment than he For the Serpent here for causing hath this doom as well as the Man and Woman for doing Nay which is to be observed his doom is the first read unto him as if he were the Arch-offender and not to the Man or Woman till he was done with What should this mean but that his fault being the mover was more grievous in the eyes of God than theirs which is the reason also why the Woman comes in the next place to have her Sentence because she had been a sin-maker and was guilty not only of her own personal sin but of her husband 's also whence the Man who had sinn'd only himself and not caused others to sin had his judgment last of all I might also confirm the same from the quality of their several judgments in that the Serpent alone is doom'd to be accursed and no such word spoken either of the Man or the Woman But I shall not need to tarry here to prove How horrible and fearful a thing it is to be the Author of another's sin We know they are the words of our Saviour Matt. 18. 6 7. Wo unto the world because of scandals and wo unto the man by whom a scandal cometh it were better for him that a milstone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depth of the Sea And S. Paul 1 Cor. 8. 13. would eat no meat as long as the world lasteth rather than make his brother to offend Would they would consider this who are not content alone to sin themselves but play the Devil in corrupting others It seems they long to be double damn'd I would also they would think of this who make no conscience at all by extremities and vexations and other grievances to drive a man to Perjury and other grievous sins and yet think themselves free when they should know that he that is the Author of another's sin makes another's guilt his own and shall share in the punishment every whit as deep as he But this shall suffice to have observed in the first part The Reason of the Serpent's doom Now I come to the second The doom it self wherein the words as you see have all relation to the Serpent For the Lord said unto the Serpent Thou art cursed c. Thou shalt go upon thy breast c. But because this Serpent was more than a brute Serpent the Devil himself being the chief Agent in this his Instrument it is a thing much controverted Vpon which of these this curse is here pronounced 1. Some would have it spoken only of the brute Serpent because here is a comparison made
the Serpent and what the Heel of the Woman's seed Those who understand The seed of the woman singularly of the person of Christ only make his Head to be the Godhead against which the Serpent could prevail nothing but his heel to be the Manhood which the Serpent so bruised at his Passion that the grave became his bed for three days together This indeed is true and no marvel for the Head is as it were the whole Bodie 's Epitome But we who have expounded The seed of the woman collectively of Christ and his Members must also in this mystical Body find a mystical Head and a mystical Heel and so in like manner for the Serpent and his seed The Head therefore or if you had rather Headship is nothing else but Soveraignty The Serpent's head is the Devil's Soveraignty which is called Principatus mortis the Soveraignty of death namely both objectivè and effectivè that is such a Soveraignty as under which are only such as are liable to Death both temporal and eternal and such a Soveraignty whose power consists not in saving and giving of life but in destroying and bringing unto Death both of body and soul. Under the name also of Death understand as the Scripture doth all other miseries of mankind which are the companions of this double Death I speak of This is that damnable Head of the Serpent the Devillish Soveraignty of Satan Now the Sword whereby this Soveraignty was obtained the Sceptre whereby it is maintained or as S. Paul speaks the Sting of this Serpent's head is Sin This is that which got him this Kingdom at the first and this is still the right whereby he holds the greatest part thereof Imperium iisdem artibus conservaâ—ur quibus acquiritur By the same arts and methods is an Empire conserved by the which it was at first obtained This Soveraignty of the Devil which once overwhelmed â—igh all the world the Woman's seed should break in pieces and destroy which according to this Prophecy we see already performed in a great measure and the grounds laid long ago for the destruction of all that remaineth As saith S. Iohn Ep. 1. c. 3. v. 8. The Son of God was manifested for this purpose that he might destroy the works of the Devil And Christ himself said that the time was come that the Prince of this world should be cast out and bade his Disciples be of good chear for he had overcome the world If you would see what a wonderful victory he hath long ago gotten of the Serpent when after a terrible battel he overcame and destroyed the Soveraignty of the Serpent in the Roman Empire see it described in the 12. of the Revelation v. 7 8. where Michael that is Christ and his Angels fought against the great Dragon and his Angels till the Dragon with all his Army was discomfited and their place found no more in heaven that is he utterly lost his Soveraignty in that state whence there was a voice in heaven v. 10. Now is come salvation strength and the Kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ. And what he will at the length do with the remainder yet of the Devil's Soveraignty you may find in the 19. and 20. chapters of the Revelation For he must reign as S. Paul saith until he hath put all his enemies under his feet until he hath destroyed all power rule and authority adverse unto him And then last of all destroying Death by giving immortality to our raised bodies shall surrender up his Kingdom unto his Father as it is 1 Cor. 15. 25 c. But Satan saith my Text shall prevail something against him for the Serpent shall bruise his heel What is this Heel Those who understood the seed of the woman singularly as I told you made it Christ's Manhood But now we expound the seed Christ's Mystical Body what shall we make the Heel thereof I could say that by it were only meant a light wound or the Devil 's assaulting the Body of Christ ex insidiis at unawares for that is his fashion since the great overthrow which our Michael gave him to work his feats underhand and to undermine our Lord in his members But this though true is not full enough It may seem therefore the fittest to make hypocritical Christians who profess Christ outwardly but inwardly are not his to make these the heel of his Mystical Body for against such the Devil we know prevaileth somewhat and by them annoyeth the rest of the Body with his venome though he be far enough yet from impeaching our Lord's Headship and Soveraignty But will you give me leave to utter another conceit If the Blessed souls in heaven be the upper part of Christ's mystical Body the Saints on earth the lower part of the same may not the Bodies of the Saints deceased which lye in the earth be accounted for the heel For I cannot believe but they have relation to this mystical Body though their Souls be severed from them and yet must that relation be as of the lowest and most postick members of all If you will admit this then it will appear presently what was this hurt upon the heel when Christ had once mauled the Devil's head for the Text seems to intimate that the Devil should give this wound after his head was broken I will hold you in suspence no longer Read the 13. of the Revelation and see what follows upon Michael's Victory over the Dragon what the Devil did when he was down He forms a new Instrument of the wounded Roman Empire by whose means under a pretence of the Honour given to the precious Reliques of the Saints and Martyrs he conveyed the poyson of Saint-worship and Saint-invocation into the Kingdom of Christ with which wound of the heel the Devil coming on the blind side the true Church had been long annoyed and limpeth still DISCOURSE XLIII 2 PETER 2. 1. But there were false Prophets also among the people even as there shall be false Teachers among you who privily shall bring in damnable Heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction MANY are the Prophesies in Scripture wherein the Holy Ghost forewarns us of a great and solemn Defection and Corruption of Faith which should one day overspread the visible Face of the Catholick Church of Christ and eclipse the light of Christian Verity and Belief S. Paul 2 Thes. 2. 3. foretels us that there should be an Apostasie or Falling away of Christians and the Man of sin be revealed before the coming of the day of the Lord. The same Apostle 1 Tim. 4. 1. tells us that though the great Mystery of Godliness spoken of chap. 3. 16. were then preached among the Gentiles and believed on in the world yet the Spirit spake expresly that in the latter times some should depart from the Faith giving heed to seducing Spirits and doctrines of Devils or Daemons S. Iohn tells
us Rev. 17. 5. that the Christian Rome of the Spouse of Christ should become a Babylonish strumpet and the Mother of the fornications and abominations of the Earth At the same mark aimeth this Prophecy of my Text though perhaps less taken notice of than the rest The evidence whereof I hope you will confess with me when I have unfolded the same Understand therefore that the Words I have read are A prediction of a Corruption of Faith which should one day surprise and overcloud the visible Church or that company of men upon whom the name of Christ was called and who outwardly professed him to be their Lord and Redeemer This Corruption is here set First generally both for the matter and the manner For the matter There shall be false Teachers among you who shall bring in damnable Heresies For the manner it should be done privily Who privily shall bring in damnable Heresies Secondly The Apostle also specially informs us of what kind and sort these damnable Heresies should be that so we might not only know that Heresies should be but be forewarned also what they should be and that by a double mark and description For first They should be like unto those which we read have befallen the people and Church of Israel There were false Prophets also among the people i.e. the Iews even as there shall be false Teachers among you The second mark is That these Heresies should be of such a kind as men who openly professed themselves Christians and servants of Christ should yet deny Christ to be their Lord and Master for saith our Apostle They shall deny the Lord that bought them that is professing themselves to be of that number of men whom Christ had purchased with his bloud or the bought servants of Christ they should nevertheless deny their Lord who bought them The last thing he tells us is the Doom which should befall such as had interest in these Heresies They should bring upon themselves swift destruction To begin with the general description of the matter There shall be false Teachers among you which shall bring in damnable Heresies The time should be when the Doctors of the Church should teach falsly and the people with them believe damnably For we must understand that these false Teachers should not be a few only here and there one nor these Heresies scattered only in some few places but that this Corruption was to be such a one as should cover and overwhelm the face of the visible Church For the Great Defection was to be a general and solemn one such a one as should stain the whole body with the soul name of Whore of Babylon Rev. 17. 5. Such a one as whereby the Court of the Temple of God should not only be prophaned but even troden down by Gentilism Rev. 11. 2. Such a one as the World is said to wonder after the Beast and worship him Rev. 13. 3 4. Such a one as should not only make War with the true Saints but overcome them Rev. 13. 7. Otherwise if S. Iohn and S. Paul should mean no more but the errors of particular men and their trouble from the Church they should make no Prophecy at all or a needless one For who knows not that in S. Paul's S. Iohn's and the Apostles own times were divers Heresies and Hereticks here and there dispersed and grown up as Weeds in the wheat-field of Christ but the wheat yet overtopped them and the known body of the visible Church disclaimed them Of such as these therefore they could not mean when they foretell of a corruption to come in after-times or as Paul speaks 1 Tim. 4. 1. in the latter times for no man uses to foretell of things which are already as if they were to come Nor would the Apostles foretell of Heresies as it were special to the after and latter times if they were but such and in such manner as was but usual and no novelty in their own time The corruption and desection therefore so much prophesied of was another manner of one such a kind of one as before neither had been in the Church nor was to be namely such a one as should not be disclaimed by the body of the Church but should surprise eclipse and overwhelm and as it were overcloud the visible Church it self which should be as when the Heavens are overcast so as the bright Firmament with the stars and lights therein can no more be seen If this be so then may we hence observe how vain and idle that challenge of our Adversaries is when they bid us shew our Church to have been always visiâ—â—e and to give them the names of those who have been of our Belief in all Ages since Christ and his Apostles times What may they not have been although we cannot name them This is as unreasonable a demand as to require a man to shew him and point him where the Sun is when the whole face of Heaven is overcast with Clouds would you not believe the Sun were in the Firmament and risen in a cloudy day though no man could point and shew you with his finger where she is yes I am sure you would and say too that there may be other signs thereof though a man cannot see her as namely Day-light which never is without the Sun yea and now and then we may have a glimpse of her through a thinner cloud which assures us thereof Even so when the great Defection as a Cloud overspread the face of the Christian Firmament the visible Church of Christ for divers Ages together though the Cloud be for a great part so thick as it will not suffer us to discern the company of those who still kept intire the true and unstained Faith of the Gospel yet we rest assured that it was under the Cloud because some Day-light of Christianity still appeared which argued the Sun was in the Firmament though the great Cloud overshadowed her yea and now and then we can shew and spy some glimpse of her as often as any breach happened in the Cloud which overcast her I might also make use of that Parable of our Saviour where the Church or Kingdom of God for both is one is compared to a Field where the Master sowed good seed but while men slept the Enemy that wicked one came and sowed tares among the Wheat If the tares once grow so many and so high that they quite overshadow the wheat whereof there is but little left can a man who stands a good way off shew the wheat from the tares with his finger I think not though if the wheat overmasters the tares he easily might This is the very case of the true Church so long as the Apostasie prevailed And we who live now are something far off if we had been nearer as those were who lived then we might have discerned the wheat a great deal better But if you would yet be more fully informed how
see in their Sacrifices some whereof as the Eucharistical were justly answerable to our Eucharist as I shall have occasion to shew hereafter In the mean time I speak generally of them and say They carried a badge in them that Christ was not yet come and offered for sin A ground whereof I have from the story of Abraham going about to sacrifice his son For there Abraham being ready at God's Commandment to sacrifice the promised son his dear and only son Isaac the Angel of God stayed his hand and shewed him a Ram in a bush to sacrifice in stead of his son thereby implying That while God deferred the offering of that Blessed one which should be a Son of Abraham be would accept as instead thereof the offerings of Bulls and Rams for the expiation of sin and therefore he that offered this offering in stead did therein acknowledge that the offering of the Blessed seed of Abraham was yet deferred A second mark of this may be also in the slaying of the Sacrifice offered For in that they were as often as they offered to slay their Sacrifice it appeared that the Son of Abraham was not yet slain for sin And thus have we seen how Christ the ground of all Spiritual blessings was otherwise signified under the Sacraments of the Law than now in those of the Gospel Now we must also shew a differing manner and fashion in the Spiritual Promises themselvs which were given through him For these were not open as now they are but involved and wrapped up in Temporal benefits For all the Promises under the Law in a manner were for the outside Temporal their Redemption was their deliverance from the Egyptian thraldom their forgiveness and remission was the escaping of Temporal plagues and bodily death their favour with God was worldly Prosperity their place of blessed rest was the earthly Canaan and immortality long life and fulness of days in the land which the Lord had given them This is so apparent that there was a Sect amongst them about Christ's time which maintained there were no other Promises to be looked for and some Christians even of note have almost affirmed that the Iews had no Spiritual Promises but only Temporal But we must know that under these Outward things were veiled the Spiritual and Eternal Promises Not that these Temporal were only Shadows of the Eternal and were not literally to be understood but that the enjoying of these outward things unto the Iew was a pledge of the Spiritual as it were inwrapped in them For it pleased God occording to the â—economy of that time to convey his Spiritual benefits under and with the Temporal as he also ordained the loss of the one to be as an evident mark of losing the other unless God were extraordinarily merciful unto them The knowledge of this made the Iew so highly to esteem of worldly prosperities and of those who enjoyed them as of God's special Favourites and on the contrary to be so cast down with earthly adversities as if those who fell into them were quite deprived of the favour of God This made them so loth to forgoe the Earthly Canaan as though with it also they had forgone all interest in the Heavenly And was it not strange that the Roman Empire which carried no other Nation captive yet should cast the Iew out of his own country unless God according to his wonted rule with this people would have it a woful evidence that he had quite cast them off from having any longer right or claim unto the Kingdom of Heaven But since Christ was revealed these Spiritual and Eternal Promises are no longer veiled and covered in this sort but are laid out to open view and they are no longer so link'd with Temporal but severed one from the other For the veil upon Moses face is done array and we all with an open face behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord 2 Cor. 3. 14 18. Thus you see how the Sacraments of the Law howsoever they sealed the same Promises with ours yet not so immediately as ours do but in the covers of outward blessings Now I will answer some Objections concerning this discourse And first Some will say that this is unlikely in that the Iews seemed to apprehend no such thing as we speak of specially in these extraordinary Sacraments which our Apostle treats of I answer That without doubt the Patriarchs and Prophets had a more clear sight of these things as for the rest they were in general taught this Principle That in such things God did convey some unseen blessings unto them especially if they were so extraordinary as this of Manna and the Rock and howsoever they knew not expresly what these secret things should be yet they believed they were far more glorious than what they saw Those who require more than this forget how Moses was veiled and that the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God were exceedingly obscure in the times of the Law And that the Iew could not but conceive more in them than the outside it appears in that they had a great expectation of the Messiah at whom all these aimed as we know the speech of Nathanael We have found the Messias of whom Moses and the Prophets wrote Besides the Prophets often reprehension of those who thought God was pleased with the outward offering of Bulls and Rams must needs make them apprehend there was a faith of some unseen thing required But S. Paul will some say calls them Gal. 4. 9. weak and beggarly Elements whereby it should seem they were empty of all Spiritual meaning I answer such they were become indeed when Christ was once come of which time S. Paul speaketh when the grace signified in them was brought out in the light when the inwrapped Promises were unfolded and revealed they were then as empty shells whose kernels were taken out and like carkasses whose Soul is gone So long as a shell contains a kernel unseen so long it is full when the kernel comes forth to outward view then the shell is empty even so is it with the Elements of the Law Again as long as the Soul is buried in the Body and covered with flesh the Body lives but when the Soul separates from flesh and subsists by it self then the Body proves a stinking carkass So is it with the Elements of the Law whose Soul was these Spiritual things now severed from such fleshly Elements and offered unto us without such covers as heretofore they were DISCOURSE XLV 1 COR. 10. 3 4. And they did all eat the same Spiritual meat And they did all drink the same Spiritual drink HAVING spoken at large of the Three things which I enquired of for Explication of these words viz. 1. Of what Meat and of what Drink the Apostle speaketh namely of the food of Manna and the water of the Rock wherewith God sustained the Israelites in the Wilderness 2. Wherein both the
cause they were whensoever that happy time of the year should come to rejoyce before the Lord their God and to hallow it after the manner aforementioned And thus you have the first End The memorial and remembrance of benefits past The second End was for a Type and Figure of things to come namely of our deliverance from the bondage of Sin and Satan by that immaculate Lamb Christ Iesus who in the same month and day was foreordained of God to be slain upon the Cross for the sins of the whole world whose Bloud upon whatsoever Soul God shall espy applied by a lively Faith he would spare and not destroy it Thus much of the first Feast The second The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost was for a Remembrance of the Law at that time given upon Mount Sinai with thundring and lightning and the sound of a Trumpet from Heaven And secondly for a Type of the Doctrine of the Gospel which was published at the self-same time when with a sound from Heaven cloven tongues of fire fell upon the Apostles and they all were filled with the Holy Ghost as we read Acts 2. 2 3 4. Now for The Feast of Tabernacles the first End is plain that it was a memorial namely of their long dwelling in Tabernacles in the Wilderness Lev. 23. 42 43. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days saith the Lord all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths when I brought them out of the Land of Egypt But of what thing concerning Christ to come it was a Type it is not so express as in the former But by that which S. Iohn saith Chap. 1. 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Word was made flesh and Tabernacled in us for so signifies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by this I say S. Iohn should seem to intimate That as the Passeover was a Type of his Passion Pentecost a Figure of the sending the Holy Ghost so should the Feast of Tabernacles be for a Type of his Incarnation when the Divine Nature tabernacled in our flesh and the Word of God became Emmanuel God with us For it is incredible that this principal Feast should not be for a Type of some principal thing concerning Christ as well as the rest it being as solemn as any of the former two nay rather the chiefest of the three as having a more extraordinary course of Sacrifices than either of the other yea of one day's more continuance this having eight festival days the other two but seven And there is nothing but his Incarnation and Nativity which can be applied thereunto and it may be therefore was the eighth day added thereunto as figuring the time of his Circumcision Another custom used at this Feast may confirm this For while they gathered and carried the Boughs whereof they made their Tabernacles there used a kind of Litany to be sung in which the people continually cried Hosanna Hosanna that is save now which was so usual that in time the Feast and Boughs and all came to be called Hosanna's Whence came the cry of the people in the Gospel when they cut down boughs to honour our Saviour's riding upon an Asse Hosanna to the Son of David Hosanna in the Highest For though it were at another time of year than the Feast of Tabernacles yet the carrying of Boughs put them in mind of the accustomed acclamation at that Feast All which seems of purpose so to be ordered by the providence of the Almighty to shew First what this ceremony of Tabernacles aimed at namely the mystery of our Redemption by God in the Tabernacle of our flesh or the Incarnation of Christ which is that which made him Iesus a Saviour and us to cry unto him by Faith Hosanna Save now And Secondly that it might be known who this Tabernacle was the people by a secret providence cried unto our Saviour even at another time Hosanna to the Son of David ascribing in their so speaking the whole ceremony of Boughs and Tabernacles unto him But it will be objected That the Birth of Christ was in December but the Feast of Tabernacles was kept the fifteenth day of the seventh month which answered in a manner to our September and therefore had the Feast of Tabernacles been a sign of his Incarnation the time should as well have agreed here as it did in the Passeover and his Passion the giving of the Law and the sending of the Holy Ghost But between the Feast of Tabernacles and the Birth of our Saviour is three months difference For this Objection give me leave to relate not mine own nor as my own but the opinion of the most learned Chronologers the summe and conclusion whereof is That the Birth of our Saviour was in September at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles and not in December as the memory thereof is now celebrated For first it is apparent that in the primitive Church there was neither certainty nor agreement about the time of the Nativity as Clemens Alexandrinus witnesseth and himself saith That those who enquire more exactly of the time do assign the five and twentieth of the month Pachon which is our twentieth of May. Others assigned other and divers times as Epiphanius witnesseth four hundred years almost after Christ so long therefore there was no certainty agreed upon And it was after the time of Constantine that the day we now observe was chosen and first in the Latine Church but not in the Greek till the days of Chrysostome who made an Oration yet extant upon the first observing of this day which he says they now received from the Roman Church If any would know how after so much uncertainty of opinions they came at last to resolve upon this day they will tell you that it was upon a false supposal and a mistaken ground For finding in the Law that the High Priest was once every year to enter the most Holy place and there to offer incense at the Feast of Expiation and reading in S. Luke's Gospel that the Angel Gabriel appeared to Zachary as he went to offer incense in the Temple they supposed that he was the High Priest and reasoned thus The time of the High Priest's offering incense in the most Holy was about the middle of September namely the tenth day of the seventh month Now as soon as Zachary had fulfilled the Week of his Ministration Iohn Baptist was conceived which must therefore be about the end of September Now when the Angel saluted Mary he told her That her Cousin Elizabeth had been with Child six months If Iohn Baptist then were conceived about the end of September our Saviour must be conceived six months after which falls about the end of March which if true his Birth will fall at the end of December nine months after his conception This was the ground whereupon the Feast of
in the days of Nehemiah which was the space of a thousand years at the least and the most flourishing time of their Church and Commonwealth Who would have thought but some David Solomon Hezekiah Iosiah or good Iehoiada would in so long a time as a thousand years have reformed so great a neglect of God's commandment But hear what the holy Ghost says Nehem. 8. 17. Since the days of Ieshua the Son of Nun unto that day had not the Children of Israel done so A horrible thing to hear but whatsoever was written in former time is written for our learning And who knows whether there be not in this sinful omission of this Feast alone above the rest some special Mystery namely that the Iew should not acknowledge Christ whom this signified to be Emmanuel For that Iesus of Nazareth suffered upon the Cross they acknowledge whereof the Passover was a sign and therefore they blasphemously call him Talui the hanged God They will not deny also that this doctrine was published at the Feast of Pentecost though they believe not the Mystery and fruit of either the one or the other But That he is God in our flesh they could never endure to hear we know this was the cause why their Synod condemned him because he said He was the Son of God Above a thousand years they omitted the observation of the Feast of Tabernacles and now it is sixteen hundred wherein they have not believed that the Divine nature tabernacled in our flesh When they returned from Captivity they began to observe this so-long-neglected Ceremony and when they shall return again from their now-long and woful Captivity we hope they will then with us acknowledge this great Mystery HAVING hitherto spoken of the observation of these Feasts now I am according to my first Division to come unto a second part of my Text wherein is contained a special duty required of all when they came to worship God at these Feasts namely to bring a present with them not a Sacrifice of fire for these were of another nature and for another end but a Heave-offering which kind was a Tribute of Thankfulness unto God and withal of acknowledgment of his Supreme Lordship and Dominion over all For without a Sacrifice or a fiery-offering the Feast could not at all have been kept but without a Heave-offering or religious present it might though nothing dutifully and therefore is this specially added That no man should appear before the Lord empty for the Lord our God is a soveraign King and will be acknowledged so of all who come before him He is not Lord over our Persons only and therefore requires the service both of our Souls and Bodies but he is Lord of our Goods too and so is to have a Tribute of them offer'd unto him in token thereof But for the better handling of this point without confusion we will consider first What was the Iewish practice in this duty secondly What ought to be our imitation For the former The Iewish practice was as far as I can gather besides some special presents at Easter and Pentecost to perform all their Heave-offerings First-fruits Firstlings of Cattel Tithes of all things and their Free-will-offerings at some one of these three Feasts according as the season of the year served for the things they were to offer For the better understanding of which we must promise something of the manner of the Husbandry of Palaestine Egypt and those neighbour Southern Countries because it was much different from ours Pliny affirms that in Egypt and therefore in Palaestine Barley was ripe in the sixth month after it was sown and Wheat in the seventh The same Author affirms that their seed-time for both began in the month of November whence it follows that Barley was ripe almost a month before the Wheat the seed-time being the same and the Wheat not ripening a month so soon as Barley Barley then ripening in the sixth month the Harvest thereof fell about the beginning of April Wheat-harvest nigh a month after their whole Harvest by this means beginning at Easter and ending at Whitsuntide Which is the reason why Pentecost Exod. 23. 16. is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Harvest-Feast or The Feast upon the end of Harvest This shews a reason also why upon the Plague of Hail we read Exod. 9. 31 32. that the Flax and Barley was smitten because the Barley was eared and the Flax bolled But the Wheat and Rye were not smitten for they were not grown up The ear yet appeared not for this was about the beginning of the month of March as we may suppose a fortnight or three weeks before their coming out of Egypt which was the fourteenth day of the first month This was a reason also why we read 2 Sam. 21. 9. that seven of Saul's Sons were hanged for the Gibeonites in the first days of Harvest in the beginning of Barley-Harvest All which suppose Barley to begin and Wheat to end their Harvest Which with us is contrary because Barley is sown so long after Wheat viz. when Winter is past because it is a tender grain and will not endure the sharp and piercing cold of these Northern climates As for their Vintage or Harvest of Oyle and Wine it was in the seventh month or beginning of Autumn as in other Countries For their Cattel they had two breeding times the beginning of the Spring and the beginning of September but the Spring-breed was the strongest and are called Becorim that is not the first opening the womb only as most take it but the firstlings of the year for the latter breed was much the worse and weaker Which Iacob knew Gen. 30. 41 42. when he laid his Rods before the Cattel when they were strong in the Spring-time but he put them not in when they were feeble in the Autumn So saith the Text the feeble were Laban's and the stronger were Iacob's This thus explained let us now see what the Practice of the Iews was at these solemn times that they might not appear in the Lord's presence empty handed At the Feast of unleavened bread or Easter upon the second day thereof being the beginning of Harvest they were to bring a Sheaf of the first-fruits of their Harvest unto the Priest and he was to wave it before the Lord and until this were done they might eat no Corn whether parched or otherwise in the green ear as appeareth Levit. 23. 10. 14. And hence this second day of the Feast was called This was that day whereon Luke 6. 1. Christ's Disciples plucked ears of Corn and ate them for S. Luke says it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the second day of the first Sabbath or the day after the first Sabbath for I told you that the first and last days of this Feast were days of holy Assemblies wherein no servile work might be done and are therefore in Leviticus called Sabbaths the day
them to give the Heave-offering or portions of the Levites it was as it were an Offering of his own and therefore he applieth it Euctically saying Remember me O my God concerning this and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for the offices thereof AND now I come unto the third thing I propounded That this kind of Offering or Terumah the essence and formalis ratio whereof consisted in Prayer and Thanksgiving was still required at the hands of Christians and then afterward shall speak of the Practice of the ancient Church That these Offerings as I may so speak of visible Prayer and Thanksgiving are required at the hands of Christians I prove 1. Because the inward worship of the Heart is still due and therefore also the outward so far as it was to be a Sign thereof For what reason can be given why we should be still bound to honour God with the Praise and Prayer of our Hearts yea and Mouth too and should not be bound to do the same also by our Works and Deeds Without doubt he that commands us to honour him with our whole Heart with all our Mind with all our Soul and with all our Strength would have us honour him in all the degrees of honour with the honour of the Heart of the Mouth and of the Hand and howsoever the first of these be required simply yet the other two are at least conveniently 2. We know it is the Law of God That no man should appear before him empty And this is so natural that we never almost come before a man if we have a suit or would shew our selves thankful but we think fit to honour him with a present that we might find him the more favourable Why should not God much more expect some fruits of our Obedience when we come into his presence seeing he gives all things as Lord of all not as a Steward to another yea and of his free goodness not as bound to give us any thing more than seems fit to his good will and pleasure And that this Law was to have place in the Gospel as well as in the Law it appears by S. Paul's decree concerning the Lord's day which being the day wherein every Soul was publickly to present himself before the Lord to make his prayers and to give thanks unto his name that this might not be done with empty hands S. Paul gives order to all the Churches of Galatia and Corinth That upon the first day of the week every one should lay by him in store as God had prospered him that is he should give for pious uses according to his ability Thrice in the year saith the Law Deut. 16. 16. shall every male appear before the Lord and no man shall appear empty Once in a week saith the New Testament shall every Soul appear before the Lord and no man shall appear empty Deus non indiget eorum quae à nobis sunt sed nos indigemus offerre aliquid Deo à nobis propter nos fieri vult nè simus infructuosi God stands not in need of any thing that is ours but it is needful for us to present God with some Oblation of our own And it is not for any advantage to himself that God would have this to be done by us but for our own good and behoof that we may not be in the number of unprofitable servants saith Irenaeus one of the most ancient Fathers whose argument this is which I have brought urged also by M. Bucer in his censure of our Liturgy 3. My third Argument is something like unto the former God is a King and therefore to be honoured like a King The proper honour of a King as a King is Tribute whereby his Subjects acknowledge his Supremacy and Dominion God is a King a King of Kings as well now in the Gospel as ever in the Law and therefore now as well as then to be honoured with a Tributary Offering This reasoning is good seeing God himself so reasoneth with his people If I am a Father saith he where is mine honour if I am a Lord where is my fear Why may we not add in the same force of reason If God be a King where is his Tribute the proper honour of a King yea so proper to a King that they are terms convertible in the Scripture To be a King and To receive Tribute or Presents of his Subjects To acknowledge to be a King and To bring Presents For those sons of Belial 1 Sam. 10. 27. which did not acknowledge Saul to be their King are said to have brought him no Presents And 2 Chron. 17. 5. the Holy Ghost useth no other words to signifie that Iehoshaphat was acknowledged and confirmed King of Iudah but these That all Iudah brought him Presents We know the discipline of the Persians was That none might come before their King without a Gift were it never so small and therefore the Peasant Sinaetas offered Artaxerxes an handful of water having nothing else to give him And this the Magi who came from the East to worship Christ knew well enough and therefore they offered him Presents of Gold Frankincense and Myrrh for they came to worship a King and worshipped him like a King Where is he say they that is born King of the Iews for we have seen his Star in the East and are come to worship him Nay the very reason why we give Tribute unto Kings is because they are God's Ministers So saith S. Paul Rom. 13. 6. For this cause pay you Tribute for they are God's Ministers Propter quod unumquodque est tale illud magis est tale If this be due unto the Vicegerent what is due unto the Lord himself I conclude therefore in the words of Irenaeus Offerre igitur Deo oportet primitias ejus creature We ought therefore to offer unto God an Heave-offering of his creatures for so the Lxx and from them all ancient Writers use 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the Latines turn Primitiae not meaning that which in Hebrew is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but every Terumah or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Irenaens a little before hath this Per munas enim erga Regem hono◠affectio ostenditur For the Present shews what affection and esteem the giver hath for the King he honoureth therewith and afterwards Sicut Moses ait Non apparebis vacuus ante conspectum Domini Dei tui Even as Moses saith Thou shalt not appear before the Lord thy God empty But before I go from hence it shall not be amiss to distinguish the use of this word Offering taken materially for our writers in the point of Christian Oblations speak somewhat confusedly thereof An Offering therefore is taken properly or analogically An Offering properly taken is a work of the First Table an Offering analogically taken is a work of the Second Table otherwise called
evermore But now lest that which hath been spoken concerning Assurance of Salvation might disquiet the weak conscience of some who cannot feel this Assurance in themselves let them know That this Assurance doth not always continue in like measure but is often shaken with the assaults of mis-belief and overcast with clouds of distrust We know that though the Sun be risen upon the earth she doth not always shew her self in full brightness but sometimes is overcast with clouds and shadowed from our sight and yet she always giveth so much light as thereby we may discern the day from the night Even so although the Sun of comfortable Assurance be risen in our hearts yet it doth not always shine forth with brightness or shew it self in full strength and vigour but is sometime overcast with fear and distrust and yet when there is least there is so much light that a man may discern day from night and know the children of God from the sons of Darkness Despair not therefore though fear sometimes disquiets thee Distrust not the Lord thy God though he seems sometimes to hide his Countenance from thee but when thou feelest a combate in thy soul pray then and say with the Father of that child in the Gospel Lord I believe help thou my unbelief AND thus I come unto the second part of my Text which contains the Means whereby we come to this Certainty of knowing Christ and this Assurance of Salvation and that is By keeping God's Commandments for saith my Text Hereby we know that we do know him if we keep his Commandments To know Christ I told you is to believe in him to be assured we know him is to be assured our Faith is a right and a true Faith which Faith whosoever knoweth he hath cannot chuse but know certainly he shall be saved But hereby saith my Text may we know that we know Christ aright and believe in him truly and savingly if that we keep his Commandments From whence I observe First That though it be true That whatsoever good thing we have cometh from God and that it is his Holy Spirit that worketh all heavenly graces in our hearts yet he doth it not immediately without means but by blessing those helps and motives to us which he hath ordained for us to attain such graces and such favours by For it is true That Assurance of Salvation is the work of God's Spirit and yet S. Iohn saith here That it is the keeping of God's Commandments whereby we are assured we know Christ to be our Redeemer that is The Spirit of God by this keeping of the Commandments and by obedience to the will of God doth assure us as by an argument or evidence that our Faith is a true Faith a living Faith and that therefore we may assure our selves that the Spirit of God dwelleth in us and that we shall enjoy a Crown with Saints and Angels in the life to come So likewise Faith is the work of the Spirit of God and yet S. Paul saith that Faith cometh by hearing and how should men believe unless they hear the Word preached It is God that saveth us and Christ who purchased eternal life for us and yet the use of the Sacraments must be as means to bring us to this happiness So saith Christ Every one that believeth and is baptized shall be saved and S. Peter 1 Ep. 3. 21. calleth Baptism the figure whereby we are saved And throughout the Scripture we shall find that God bestows his blessings and favours by the use of means and to those who use the means which he hath appointed If Abimelech will have God to heal him and to forgive his sin he must have Abraham to pray unto God for him so saith the Text Gen. 20. 7. Restore the man his wife for he is a Prophet and he shall pray for thee and thou shalt live So if Iob's friends will have God to forgive their sin in censuring Iob so uncharitably they must use the means which God commanded them Iob 42. 8. Take unto you saith God seven bullocks and seven rams and go to my servant Iob and offer for your selves a burnt-offering and my servant Iob shall pray for you and I will accept him If Cornelius will have the will of God revealed to him he must send to Ioppa for Peter to preach unto him Acts 10. 5. If Naaman the Syrian will have the God of Israel to heal him of his Leprosie he must use the means commanded to wash himself seven times in the River Iordan 2 Kings 5. 10 14. Again Though God had promised Iacob that he would be with him that he would do him good when he was to return unto the land of Canaan and though Iacob depended only upon God to deliver him from the fury of his brother Esau yet he knew that God would require of him the using of the means and therefore he sent a Present to his brother and when he came unto him he used all humble and submiss behaviour toward him Lastly Though Hezekiah in his sickness had received a Sign and a Promise from God that he should recover I have heard thy prayer saith the Lord 2 Kings 20. 5. I have seen thy tears behold I will heal thee on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord yet for all this he did not neglect the means for according to the counsel of the Prophet Esay he took a lump of figs saith the Text ver 7. and laid it upon the boil and he recovered Thus then you see the manner how God bestows his graces and favours upon the sons of men He is the chief and principal worker in all things which are done and yet he worketh not without the means for so he should always do Miracles for Miracles are nothing else but the works of God without and against the ordinary means but he worketh by blessing of the means to those who have and use them Here is therefore a Lesson worthy to be learned of those who when you tell them of the perverseness and corruption of their hearts and exhort them to seek to be at peace with God to amend their lives to eschew evil and do the works of righteousness answer presently That all the thoughts of man's heart are by nature evil and that of our selves we are not able so much as to think one good thought much less to do any good deed we have no free will in these things but are dead in sin we cannot turn to God unless he turns us first unto him we cannot mend unless God first amend us we cannot believe unless he give us Faith we cannot of our selves do any good untill it pleaseth God to enable us And after this manner as S. Peter saith those who are unskilful and unstable wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction But do you not know also that it is God that giveth us our daily
condemned at the last day not for reaving the meat from the hungry but for not seeding their poor brethren not for stripping the naked out of his cloaths but for not cloathing him It will not be enough for thee that thou bringest forth no bad fruit but thou must bring forth good fruit Every Tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewen down and cast into the fire What if thou steal not from thy brother yet if thou open not thy hand to help and succour him thou art a Robber What if thou dost neither lie nor swear yet if thou makest not thy mouth a glorious organ and thy tongue a trumpet to sound forth and proclaim the love and mercy of God thou art a deep and a round offender What if no man can condemn thee for any evil yet unless God and thine own conscience shall commend thee for some good thou hast done thou art far from any Assurance of Faith or Knowing thou knowest Christ to be thy Redeemer The End of the First Book THE SECOND BOOK OF THE WORKS OF The Pious and Profoundly-Learned Ioseph Mede B. D. SOMETIME Fellow of CHRIST'S Colledge in CAMBRIDGE CONTAINING SEVERAL DISCOURSES AND TREATISES OF CHURCHES AND The Worship of God therein Horat. de Arte Poet. Fuit haec Sapientia quondam Publica privatis secernere sacra profanis Corrected and Enlarged according to the Author 's own Manuscripts THE CONTENTS OF THE SECOND BOOK Of Churches 1 COR. 11. 22. Have ye not Houses to eat and drink in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or despise ye the Church of God pag. 319 The Reverence of God's House ECCLES 5. 1. Look to thy foot or feet when thou comest to the House of God and be more ready to obey than to offer the Sacrifice of fools pag. 340 The Christian Sacrifice MALACHI 1. 11. From the rising of the Sun even unto the going down of the same my Name shall be great among the Gentiles and in every place Incense shall be offered unto my Name and a pure Offering for my Name shall be great among the Heathen saith the Lord of Hosts CHAP. I. The Text a Prophecy of the Christian Sacrifice according to the judgment of the ancient Fathers in the Second Third and Fourth Centuries The difficulty of explaining the Christian Sacrifice The Reasons of this difficulty The Method and Order propounded for this Discourse pag. 355 CHAP. II. The Christian Sacrifice defined and briefly explained The two parts or double Object of this Sacrifice What meant by Sacrificium Quod what by Sacrificium Quo. pag. 356 CHAP. III. The words of the Text explained and applied to the foregoing Definition of the Christian Sacrifice Incense denotes the rational part of this Sacrifice Mincha the material part thereof What meant by Mincha purum Two Interpretations of the Purity of the Christian Mincha given by the Fathers a third propounded by the Author pag. 357 CHAP. IV. Six Particulars contained in the Definition of the Christian Sacrifice The First viz. That this Christian Service is an Oblation proved out of Antiquity How long the Apostles Age lasted or when it ended Proofs out of the Epistles of Clemens and Ignatius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 how distinguished in Ignatius The Christian Service is properly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but improperly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the strict and prime sense of the word pag. 360 CHAP. V. The Second Particular That the Christian Sacrifice is an Oblation of Thanksgiving and Prayer proved from Iustin Martyr Tertullian Clemens Alexandr c. The Altar or Holy Table anciently the place of the publick Prayers of the Church Prayer Oblation and Sacrifice promiscuously used by the Fathers when they speak of the Christian Sacrifice The Conjunction of Prayer and the Eucharist argued from Acts 2. 42. and from Ignatius ad Ephes. The three parts of which the Christian Synaxis consisted pag. 362 CHAP. VI. The Third Particular That the Christian Sacrifice is an Oblation of Thanksgiving and Prayer through Iesus Christ Commemorated in the Creatures of Bread and Wine Sacrifices under the Law were Rites to invocate God by That the Eucharist is a Rite to give thanks and invocate God by proved from several Testimonies of the Fathers and the Greek Liturgies A passage out of Mr. Perkins agreeable to this notion What meant by that usual expression of the Ancients speaking of the Eucharist Through Iesus Christ the great High Priest By Nomen Dei in Mal. 1. Iustin M. and Irenaeus understood Christ. Why in the Eucharist Prayers were to be directed to God the Father pag. 365. CHAP. VII The Fourth particular That the Commemoration of Christ in the Creatures of Bread and Wine in the Eucharist is a Sacrifice according to the style of the ancient Church How Sacrifices are distinguished from all other Offerings A Sacrifice defined The Universal Custom of mankind to contract or confirm Covenants and Friendship by eating and drinking together This illustrated from Testimonies of Scripture and humane Authors Sacrifices were Federal Feasts wherein God and men did feast together in token of amity and friendship What was God's Mess or portion in the Sacrifices The different Laws of Burnt-offerings Sin-and-Trespass-offerings and the Peace-offerings Burnt-offerings had Meat and Drink-offerings annexed to them and were regularly accompanied with Peace-offerings That Sacrifices were Feasts of amity between God and men proved by four Arguments The reason of these phrases Secare foedus and Icere foedus That in those Sacrificial Feasts and also in the Eucharist God is to be considered as the Convivator and Man as the Conviva This cleared by several passages in this as also in the following Chapter pag. 369. CHAP. VIII The Fifth Particular That the Body and Bloud of Christ in the Eucharist was made of Bread and Wine which had first been offered to God to agnize him the Lord of the Creature This proved from the Testimonies of Antiquity next to the Apostles times and from ancient Liturgies as also from the Fathers arguing from this Oblation of the Creature in the Eucharist to God that the Father of Christ was the Creator of the world in confutation of some Hereticks in their days and lastly from S. Paul's parallel of the Lord's Supper and the Sacrifices of the Gentiles Two Questions answered 1. Whence may it appear that our Saviour at the Institution of the Eucharist did first offer the Bread and Wine to God to agnize him the Lord of the Creature 2. Is not the celebration of the Eucharist in the Western Churches whether the Reformed or the Roman therefore defective because no such Oblation is there in use pag. 372. CHAP. IX The Sixth Particular That Christ is offered in the Eucharist Commemoratively only and not otherwise This Commemorative Sacrifice or the Commemoration in the Eucharist explained That Christ is offered by way of Commemoration only was the sense of the ancient Church This proved from ancient
the Fathers be true then were there Places called Ecclesiae or Churches and consequently Places appointed and set apart for Christian assemblies to perform their solemn Service to God in even in the Apostles times Or suppose they be not true or but doubtful and not necessary yet thus much will follow howsoever That these Fathers who were nearer to those Primitive times by above one thousand one hundred years than we are and so had better means to know what they had or had not than we supposed there were such Places even in the Apostles times If in the Apostles times then no doubt in the Ages next after them And thus we shall gain something by this Text whether we accept this notion of the word Ecclesia or not HAVING therefore gotten so good an entrance we will now further enquire What manner of places they were or may be supposed to have been which were appropriated to such use and that done proceed to shew by such Testimonies or footsteps of Antiquity as Time hath left unto us That there were such Places through every Age respectively from the days of the Apostles unto the reign of Constantine that is in every of the first three hundred years For the first It is not to be imagined they were such goodly and stately Structures as the Church had after the Empire became Christian and we now by God's blessing enjoy but such as the state and condition of the times would permit at the first some capable and convenient Room within the walls or dwelling of some pious disciple dedicated by the religious bounty of the owner to the use of the Church and that usually an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an upper room such as the Latines call Coenaculum being according to their manner of building as the most large and capacious of any other so likewise the most retired and freest from disturbance and next to Heaven as having no other room above it For such uppermost places we find they were wont then to make choice of even for private devotions as may be gathered from what we read of S. Peter Acts 10. 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that he went up to the house-top to pray for so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies ex usu Hellenistarum and is accordingly here rendred by the vulgar Latine in superiora Such an Hyperôon as we speak of was that remembred by the name of Coenaculum Sion where after our Saviour was descended the Apostles and Disciples as we read in Acts 10. 13 c. assembled together daily for prayer and supplication and where being thus assembled the Holy Ghost came down upon them in Cloven tongues of fire at the Feast of Pentecost Concerning which there hath been a Tradition in the Church That this was the same room wherein our Blessed Saviour the night before his Passion celebrated the Pasâ—eover with his Disciples and instituted the Mystical Supper of his Body and Bloud for the Sacred Rite of the Gospel The same place where on the day of his Resurrection he came and stood in the midst of his Disciples the doors being shut and having shewed them his hands and his feet said Peace be unto you As my Father hath sent me so I send you c. Iohn 20. 21. The place where eight days or the Sunday after he appeared in the same manner again unto them being together to satisfie the incredulity of Thomas who the first time was not with the rest The place where Iames the Brother of our Lord was created by the Apostles Bishop of Ierusalem The place where the seven Deacons whereof S. Stephen was one were elected and ordained The place where the Apostles and Elders of the Church at Ierusalem held that Council and pattern of all Councils for decision of that Question Whether the Gentiles which believed were to be circumcised or not And for certain the place of this Coenaculum was afterwards enclosed with a goodly Church known by the name of the Church of Sion upon the top whereof it stood Insomuch that S. Hierome in his Epitaphio Paulae made bold to apply that of the Psalm unto it Fundamenta ejus in montibus sanctis diligit Dominus porâ—as Sion super omnia tabernacula Iacob How soon this Erection was made I know not but I believe it was much more ancient than those other Churches erected in other places of that City by Constantine and his Mother because neither Eusebius Socrates Theodoret nor Sozomen make any mention of the foundation thereof as they do of the rest It is called by S. Cyril who was Bishop of the place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the upper Church of the Apostles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles in the likeness of fiery tongues here in Ierusalem in the VPPER CHVRCH OF THE APOSTLES Cyril Hierosol Cat. 16. If this Tradition be true it should seem by it that this Coenaculum from the time our Blessed Saviour first hallowed it by the institution and celebration of his Mystical Supper was thenceforth devoted to be a Place of prayer and holy assemblies And surely no Ceremonies of dedication no not of Solomon's Temple it self are comparable to those sacred guests whereby this place was sanctified This is the more easie to be believed if the House were the possession of some Disciple at least if not of kindred also to our Saviour according to the flesh which both Reason perswades and Tradition likewise confirmeth it to have been And when we read of those first Believers that such as had houses and lands sold them and brought the prices and laid them down at the Apostles feet it is nothing unlikely but some likewise might give their house unto the Apostles for the use of the Church to perform Sacred duties in And thus perhaps should that Tradition whereof Venerable Bede tells us be understood viz. That this Church of Sion was founded by the Apostles Not that they erected that Structure but that the Place from the time it was a Coenaculum was by them dedicated to be an House of Prayer His words are these De locis sanctis cap. 3. in Tom. 3. In superiori Monâ—is Sion planitie monachorum cellulae Ecclesiam magnam circundant illic ut perhibent ab Apostolis fundatam eò quòd ibi Spiritum Sanctum acceperint In quaetiam Locus Coenae Domini venerabilis ostenditur And if this were so why may not I think that this Coenaculum Sion or upper room of Sion was that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereof we read concerning the first Christian society at Ierusalem Acts 2. 46. That they continued daily in the Temple and breaking bread 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the House ate their meat with gladness and singleness of heart the meaning being That when they had performed their devotions daily in the Temple at the
his bloud that is our Propitiatory or Mercy-seat for so it is called in the Greek both of the Old and New Testament nor is the word I think ever used but in that sense unless in Ezekiel 43. for the Settle of the Altar But you will say This Christian Memorial is not always actually present in our Churches as some one or other at least of those in the Law were in the Temple I answer It is enough it is wont to be as the Chair of State loses not its relation and due respect though the King be not always there And remember that the Ark of the Covenant was not in Ierusalem when Daniel opened his windows and prayed thitherward yea that it was wanting in the Holy Place I mean that sacred Cabinet made by Moses all the time of the second or Zorobabel's Temple and yet the place esteemed notwithstanding as if it had been there You will yet except and say That in the Old Testament those things were appointed by divine Law and Commandment but in the New we find no such thing I answer In things for which we find no new Rule given in the New Testament there we are referred and left to the Analogy of the Old This the Apostle's proof taken from thence for the maintenance of the Ministers of the Gospel 1 Cor. 9. 13 14. viz. Thus were they Ergo So God hath ordained that we will give us to understand likewise the practice of the Church in baptizing Infants derived surely from the Analogie of Circumcision the hallowing of every first day of the week as one in every seven from the Analogie of the Iewish Sabbath and other the like S. Hierome witnesseth the same in that saying of his Vt sciamus traditiones Apostolicas sumptas ex Veteri Testamento quod Aaron filii ejus atque Levitae in Templo fuerunt hoc sibi Episcopi Presbyteri atque Diaconi vendicant in Ecclesia That we may know saith he that the Apostolick traditions were derived from the Old Testament that which Aaron his Sons and the Levites were in the Temple the same do Bishops Priests and Deacons claim in the Church For we are to consider That the end of Christ's coming into the world was not properly to give new Laws unto menâ— but to accomplish the Law already given and to publish the Gospel of Reconciliation through his Name to those who had transgressed it Whence it is that we find not the style of the New Testament to carry a form of enacting Laws almost any where but those which are there mentioned to be brought in occasionally only by way of proof of interpretation exhortation application or the like and not as by way of constitution or re-enacting Meanwhile lest I should be mistaken mark well that I said not the Old Testament was to be our Rule simply in the case mentioned but the Analogie thereof only that is this regulation is to be made according to that proportion which the difference of the two Covenants and the things in them admits and no further the more particular application and limitation of which Analogie is to be referred to the judgment and prudence of the Church There comes here very fitly into my mind a passage of Clemens a man of the Apostolick age he whose name S. Paul saith was written in the Book of life in his genuine Epistle Ad Corinthios lately set forth pag. 52. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is All those duties which the Lord hath commandedus to do we ought to do them regularly and orderly our Oblations and divine Services to celebrate them on set and appointed times For so he hath ordained not that we should do them at hap-hazard and without order but at certain determined days and times WHERE also and BY WHOM he will have them executed himself hath defined according to his supreme will But where hath the Lord defined these things unless he hath left us to the Analogy of the Old Testament It follows in the Text alledged There I will come unto thee and bless thee In the Place where the Lord 's Memorial is where his Colours as I may so speak are displayed and set up there in a special manner he vouchsafes his presence with the sons of men to bless them or to speak rotundè where his Memorial is there His 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 SHECINAH or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is as the Hebrew Masters term it that is His GLORY The Gentiles ascribed the presence of their Gods to the places where Images and Statues were erected and consecrated for them But such personal similitudes the God of Israel abhors and forbids to be made unto Him yet promiseth his presence in every place where the Memorial or Record of his Name shall be but of his own appointment not of man's devising For thus I suppose is the Text there to be understood and to be construed by way of Antithesis or opposition You shall not make with me gods of silver nor gods of gold An Altar only of earth or of stone shalt thou make unto me to offer thy Sacrifices upon For in every place where I shall record my Name I will come unto thee and bless thee And here take notice that for this reason the Tabernacle of the Lord was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Tabernacle of meeting not of mens meeting together as is commonly supposed when we translate it Tabernacle of the Congregation but of God's meeting there with men I have a good author for it for so the Lord himself gives the reason of the name in three several places of the Law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Tabernacle of meeting â—here I will meet with you See Exod. 29. 42. 30. 36. Num. 17. 4. and Masius in Ios. c. 18. SECTION II. THUS we have seen What is the condition and property of that Place which in my Text is called God's House But before I proceed to speak of the Duty of those who come thither which was the second thing I propounded there is one thing yet to be cleared concerning that which I last mentioned namely How God is said to come unto or to be present with men in one place more than another seeing his Presence fills every place Heaven being his throne and the whole Earth his footstool For although we read often in Holy Scripture of such a SHECINAH or Speciality of the Divine presence and have it often in our mouths yet what it is and wherein the Ratio thereof consisteth is seldom if at all enquired into When we speak of Churches we content our selves to say That God's special presence there is in his Word and Sacraments But though it be true that the Divine Majesty is there specially present where his Word and Sacraments are yet seems not this Speciality of presence to be the same with his Word and Sacraments but a diverse relation from them This
what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God Nay Ier. 7. 21 22 23. he seems to say expresly that he never commanded them Put saith he your burnt-offerings unto your sacrifices and eat flesh For I spake not unto your Fathers nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the Land of Egypt concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices But this thing commanded I them saying Obey my voice and I will be your God and ye shall be my people and walk ye in the wayes that I have commanded you that it may be well with you Yet nothing is more plain than that God ordained Sacrifices at Mount Sinai How then shall this difficulty be resolved Some and those of the Ancients too have affirmed that these Ordinances of Sacrifice were not given to Israel at first nor prima intentione Dei but were as they call them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 superinducta afterwards imposed upon them when they had committed Idolatry in making and worshipping the golden Calf But the contrary to this is also apparent For to pass by Cain and Abel's sacrifices and the sacrifices of Noah and Abraham when the Lord pronounced the Decalogue from Mount Sinai he added this as it were an Appendix thereto Ye shall not make with me gods of silver neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold Only an Altar thou shalt make unto me and shalt Sacrifice thereon thy burnt-offerings and thy peace-offerings thy sheep and thine Oxen c. and this before Moses came down from the Mount or the Calf was yet made Nay more than all this when Moses and Aaron were sent unto Pharaeoh the effect of their Embassy was The God of the Hebrews saith Let my people go that they may sacrifice unto me three dayes journey in the wilderness And when Pharaoh would have given them leave to have sacrificed to their God in the Land No saith Moses we will go three days journey into the wilderness and there Sacrifice to the Lord our God as he hath commanded us What shall we answer then to those passages of Scripture where God disclaimeth Sacrifice saying he required no such Service at his peoples hands yea that he commanded them no such thing when he brought them out of the Land of Egypt For the assoiling this difficulty according to the differing quality of the passages which are or may be produced to this purpose I lay down these three Propositions 1. That according to the propriety and genius of the Hebrew tongue a Comparative sense is often expressed after the form of an Antithesis As in that of Ioel Rent your hearts and not your garments that is more or rather than your garments Prov. 8. 10. Receive my instruction and not silver that is rather than silver as the words following teach us to construe it and knowledge rather than choice gold Likewise in the New Testament Lay not up treasures for your selves on earth but lay up for your selves treasures in heaven that is Treasures in Heaven rather than treasures on earth have more â—are to lay up the one than the other According to this construction only without more ado some of the aforesaid passages will be discharged of their difficulty as namely that of Hosea I desired mercy and not sacrifice that is more or rather than sacrifice as the following words give us to understand which are and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings and according as the same sense is elsewhere expressed as Prov. 21. 3. To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than Sacrifice But all will not be thus salved 2. Wherefore I lay down this second Proposition That antecedenter antecedently it is true that God commanded not Sacrifice should be offered unto him neither when the Law was given nor before but consequenter consequently only For the understanding whereof we must know That Sacrifice was a Rite whereby men renewed a Covenant with God by making aâ—onement for their sin therefore it presupposed a breach and transgression of the Law But the will of God was not that men should transgress his Law and violate the Covenant he had made with them but that they should observe and keep it which if they did Sacrifice would have no place This is that I mean when I say that God required not nor commanded Sacrifice antecedently but that men should keep his Commandments But in case sin were committed and the articles of his Covenant violated then and in such a state God ordained and admitted of Sacrifice for a Rite of atonement and redintegration of his Covenant with men that is he commanded Sacrifice only consequenter consequently as a remedy if sin were committed And if those Ancients could be thus understood who say that Sacrifice was not ordained when the Law was first given but after it was transgressed namely if their meaning were only that the ordinance of Sacrifice presupposed a transgression of the Law then their Assertion were true but otherwise historically taken it cannot be defended Now according to this proposition is of that of Ieremy 7. 22 23. to be understood or if there be any other like it I spake not unto your Fathers nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the Land of Egypt concerning burnt-offerings and Sacrifices But this thing commanded I them Obey my voice and I will be your God and ye shall be my people and walk ye in all the wayes that I have commanded you that it may be well with you 3. My third Proposition is this That when Sacrifice was to be offered in case of sin yet even then God accepted not thereof primariò primarily and for it self as though any refreshment or emolument accrued to him thereby as the Gentiles fondly supposed of their gods but secondarily only as a testimony of the conscience of the offerer desiring with humble repentance to glorifie him with a Present and by that Rite to renew a covenant with him For Sacrifice as I have said was oblatio foedâ—ralis a federal oblation Now Almighty God renews a Covenant with or receiveth again into his favour none but the repentant sinner and therefore accepts of Sacrifice in no other regard but as a token and effect of this Otherwise it is an abomination unto him as whereby men professed a desire of being reconciled unto God when they had offended him and yet had no such meaning Hence God rejects all Sacrifices wherein there is no Contrition nor Purpose to forsake sin and keep his commandments which are the parts of Repentance So is to be taken that in the first of Esay To what purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices Bring no more vain oblations incense is an abomination unto me Wash ye make you clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil then if you offer sacrifice unto me
Christ but the whole Sacred Action or Solemn Service of the Church assembled whereof this Sacred Mysterie was then a prime and principal part and as it were the Pearl or Iewel of that Ring no publick Service of the Church being without it This observed and remembred I define the Christian Sacrifice ex mente antiquae Ecclesiae according to the meaning of the ancient Church in this manner An Oblation of Thanksgiving and Prayer to God the Father through Iesus Christ and his Sacrifice commemorated in the Creatures of Bread and Wine wherewith God had first been agniz'd So that this Sacrifice as you see hath a double object or matter first Praise and Prayer which you may call Sacrificium Quod secondly The commemoration of Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross which is Sacrificium Quo the Sacrifice whereby the other is accepted For all the Prayers Thanksgivings and Devotions of a Christian are tendred up unto God in the name of Iesus Christ crucified According whereunto we are wont to conclude our Prayers with Through Iesus Christ our Lord. And this is the specification whereby the Worship of a Christian is distinguisht from that of the Iew. Now that which we in all our Prayers and Thanksgivings do vocally when we say Through Iesus Christ our Lord the ancient Church in her publick and solemn Service did visibly by representing him according as he commanded in the Symbols of his Body and Bloud For there he is commemorated and received by us for the same end for which he was given and suffered for us that through him we receiving forgiveness of our sins God our Father might accept our service and hear our prayers we make unto him What time then so sit and seasonable to commend our devotions unto God as when the Lamb of God lies slain upon the holy Table and we receive visibly though mystically those gracious Pledges of his blessed Body and Bloud This was that Sacrifice of the ancient Church the Fathers so much ring in our ears The Sacrifice of Praise and Prayer through Iesus Christ mystically represented in the Creatures of Bread and Wine But yet we have not all there is one thing more my Definition intimates when I say Through the Sacrifice of Iesus Christ commemorated in the Creatures of Bread and Wine wherewith God had first been agnized The Body and Bloud of Christ were not made of common Bread and common Wine but of Bread and Wine first sanctified by being offered and set before God as a Present to agnize him the Lord and Giver of all according to that The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof and Let no man appear before the Lord emptie Therefore as this Sacrifice consisted of two parts as I told you of Praise and Prayer which in respect of the other I call Sacrificium Quod and of the Commemoration of Christ Crucified which I call Sacrificium Quo so the Symbols of Bread and Wine traversed both being first presented as Symbols of Praise and Thanksgiving to agnize God the Lord of the Creature in the Sacrificium Quod then by invocation of the Holy Ghost made the Symbols of the Body and Bloud of Christ in the Sacrificium Quo. So that the whole Service throughout consisted of a reasonable part and of a material part as of a Soul and a Body of which I shall speak more fully hereafter when I come to prove this I have said by the Testimonies of the Ancients CHAP. III. The words of the Text explained and applied to the foregoing Definition of the Christian Sacrifice Incense denotes the rational part of this Sacrifice Mincha the material part thereof What meant by Mincha purum Two Interpretations of the Purity of the Christian Mincha given by the Fathers a third propounded by the Author AND this is that Sacrifice which Malachi foretold the Gentiles should one day offer unto God In every place Incense shall be offered unto my Name and a pure Mincha for my Name shall be great among the Heathen saith the Lord of hosts Which Words I am now according to the order I propounded to explicate and apply to my Definition Know therefore that the Prophet in the foregoing words upbraids the Iews with despising and disesteeming their God forasmuch as they offered unto him for sacrifice not of the best but the lame the torn and the sick as though he had not been the great King Creator and Lord of the whole World but some petty God and of an inferiour rank for whom any thing were good enough Vers. 6 7. If I be a Father where is mine honour If I be Dominus where is my fear saith the Lord of Hosts unto you O Priests that despise my name and ye say Wherein have we despised it Ye offer polluted bread upon mine Altar and ye say Wherein have we polluted thee I 'le tell you In that ye say The Table of the Lord is contemptible or not so much to be regarded that is you think so as appears by the baseness of your Offering for the Present shews what esteem the giver hath of him he honoureth therewith But you offer that to me which ye would not think fit to offer to your Prorex or Governour under the King of Persia which shews you have but a mean esteem of me in your hearts and that you believe not I am He that I am It may be because you see me acknowledged of no other Nation but yours and that ye have been subdued by the Gentiles and brought into this miserable and despicable condition wherein you now are you imagine me to be some Topical God and as of small jurisdiction so of little power But know that howsoever I now seem to be but the Lord of a poor Nation yet the days are coming when from the rising of the Sun to the going down of the same my Name shall be great among the Gentiles and in every place Incense shall be offered to my Name and a pure Offering for my Name shall be great among the Heathen saith the Lord of Hosts it follows though you have prophaned it in that ye say The Table of the Lord is contemptible whereas I am a great King and my Name shall be dreadful among the Heathen This is the coherence and dependence of the Words Now to apply them Incense as the Scripture it self tells notes the Prayers of the Saints It was also that wherewith the remembrance was made in the Sacrifices or God put in mind Mincha which we turn Munus a Gift or Offering is Oblatio farrea an Offering made of meal or flower baked or fried or dried or parched corn We in our English when we make distinction call it a Meat-offering but might call it a Bread-offering of which the Libamen or the Drink-offering being an indivisible concomitant both are implied under the name Mincha where it alone is named The Application then is easy Incense here notes the
door and knock If any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in unto him and will sup with him and he with me But these passages you will say shew rather how fitly Sacrifices might be Feasts of amity between God and men than prove they were so indeed Hear therefore such proofs as I think come home to the point First Every sacrifice saith our Saviour Mark 9. 49. is salted with salt This Salt is called Levit. 2. 13. The salt of the Covenant of God that is a Symbol of the perpetuity thereof Now if the Salt which seasoned the Sacrifice were Salfoederis Dei the Salt of the Covenant of God what was the Sacrifice it self but Epulum foederis the Feast of the Covenant Secondly Moses calls the Bloud of the Burnt-offerings and Peace-offerings wherewith he sprinkled the children of Israel when they received the Law The Bloud of the Covenant which the Lord had made with them This is saith he the Bloud of the Covevenant which the Lord hath made with you Exod. 24. 8. Thirdly But above all this may most evidently be evinced out of the 50. Psalm the whole Argument whereof is concerning Sacrifices There God saith vers 5. Gather my Saints together unto me which make covenant with me by sacrifice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And vers 16. of the Sacrifices of the wicked and such as amend not their lives Vnto the wicked God saith What hast thou to do to declare my Statutes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and take my Covenant in thy mouth seeing thou hatest instruction c. Statutes here are Rites and Ordinances and particularly those of Sacrifice which whoso bringeth unto God and thereby supplicates and calls upon his Name is said to take the Covenant of God in his mouth forasmuch as to invocate God with this Rite was to do it by way of commemoration of his Covenant and to say Remember Lord thy covenant and For thy covenant's sake Lord hear my prayer and supplication For what hath man to do with God to beg any favour at his hands unless he be in covenant with him Whereby appears the reason why mankind from the beginning of the world used to approach their God by this Rite of sacrificing that is ritu foederali by a foederal Rite Fourthly I add in this last place for a further confirmation yet That when God was to make a Covenant with Abram Gen. 15. he commanded him to offer him a Sacrifice vers 9. Offer unto me saith he so it should be turned a heifer a she-goat and a ram each of three years old a turtle dove and a young pigeon All which he offered accordingly and divided them in the midst laying each piece or moiety one against the other and when the Sun went down God in the likeness of a smoaking furnace and burning lamp past between the pieces and so as the Text says made a covenant with Abram saying unto thy seed will I give this land c. By which Rite of passing between the parts God condescended to the manner of men And note here that the Gentiles and Iews likewise in their more solemn Covenants between men and men which were made under pain of curse or execration used this Rite of Sacrifice whereby men covenanted with their God as it were to make their God both a witness and party with them And here the Iews cut the Sacrifice in sunder and past between the parts thereof as God did here with Abram which was as much as if they had said Thus let me be divided and cut in pieces if I violate the oath I have now made in the presence of my God The Gentiles besides other ceremonies used not to eat at all of these Sacrifices but to fling them into the Sea or bury them in the Earth as if they had said If I break a Covenant thus let me be excluded from all amity and favour with my God as I am now from eating of his Sacrifice Hence came those phrases of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Hebrew of ferire percutere icere foedus in Latin of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Homer To cut or to strike a Covenant à ferendis percutiendis secandis sacrificiis in foederibus sanciendis from the custome of striking and cutting the Sacrifices asunder at the making of Covenants between man and man Though this manner of speech may be also derived from their ordinary Epulae foederales wherein they killed Beasts which the ancients in their ordinary diet did not Having thus seen what is the nature of a Sacrifice and wherein the ratio or essential Form thereof consisteth it will not be hard to judge whether the ancient Christians did rightly in giving the Eucharist that name or not For that the Lord's Supper is Epulum foederale a Foederal Feast we all grant and our Saviour expresly affirms it of the Cup in the institution 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This Cup is the Rite of the new Covenant in my Bloud which is poured out for many for the remission of sins evidently implying That the bloudy Sacrifices of the Law with their Meat and Drink-offerings were Rites of an old Covenant and that this succeeded them as the Rite of the New That that was contracted with the bloud of beeves sheep and goats but this founded in the bloud of Christ. This parallel is so plain as I think none will deny it There is nothing then remains to make this sacred Epulum a full Sacrifice but that the Viands thereof should be first offered unto God that he may be the Convivator we the Convivae or the Guests CHAP. VIII The Fifth Particular That the Body and Bloud of Christ in the Eucharist was made of Bread and Wine which had first been offered to God to agnize him the Lord of the Creature This proved from the Testimonies of Antiquity next to the Apostles times and from ancient Liturgies as also from the Fathers arguing from this oblation of the Creature in the Eucharist to God that the Father of Christ was the Creator of the world in confutation of some Hereticks in their days and lastly from S. Paul's parallel of the Lord's Supper and the Sacrifices of the Gentiles Two Questions answered 1. Whence may it appear that our Saviour at the Institution of the Eucharist did first offer the Bread and Wine to God to agnize him the Lord of the Creature 2. Is not the celebration of the Eucharist in the Western Churches whether the Reformed or the Roman therefore defective because no such Oblation is there in use MY last task was to prove That not only the whole Action of the celebration of the Eucharist according to the Definition I gave thereof but even the Rite of the Lord's Supper is indeed a Sacrifice not in a Metaphorical but a proper sense and this if the nature of Sacrifice be truly defined no whit repugnant to the Principles of the Reformed Religion To evidence which I
there placed by the name of ALTARE and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet these Authors afore-named when the Gentiles object Atheism to the Christians as who had no Templa no Arae no Simulacra are wont in their Apologies to answer by way of Concession not only that they had none but more that they ought not to have What should this mean why this They answer the Gentiles according to the notion wherein they objected this unto them to wit that they had no 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no Idol-stools or Simulacrorum scabella not that they had no 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Therefore the word which Origen there useth is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And in all those passages you shall ever find Arae Simulacra to go together Origen O 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Celsus ait nos Ararum Statuarum Templorúmque fundationes fugere Minutius Felix Cur nullas Aras habent Templa nulla nulla nota Simulacra Arnobius In hac consuéstis parte crimen nobis maximum impietatis affigere Quòd non Deorum alicujus simulacrum constituamus aut formam non Altaria fabricemus NON ARAS Lactantius Quid sibi Templa quid Arae volunt quid denique ipsa Simulacra c And as for Temples their meaning was they had no such claustra Numinum as the Gentiles supposed Temples to be and to which they appropriated that name viz. Places whereunto the Gods by the power of spels and magical consecrations were confined and limited and for the presencing of whom a Statue was necessary places wherein they dwelt shut up as Birds in a cage or as the Devil confined within a circle that so they might be ready at hand when men had occasion to seek unto them That Christians indeed had no such dwellings for their God as these for that their God dwelt not in Temples made with hands But not that they had not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For such the stories and monuments of those times expresly inform us they had and the Gentiles themselves that objected this defect knew it too well as may appear by their Emperors Rescripts for demolishing them and sometimes for restoring them when the Persecution ceased All which he that will may find in Eusebius his Ecclesiastical History before either Arnobius or Lactantius wrote Whither I refer them that would be more fully satisfied yea to Arnobius himself in the end of his 4. Book adversùs Gentes where he speaks of the burning of the Christians sacred Books and demolition of their Places of assembly And thus I conclude my Discourse PSALM CXXXII VII We will go into his Tabernacle we will worship towards his Footstool SO the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is rightly rendred and those who say Before his Footstool imply the same if it be rightly construed The LXX hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Toward the Place where his feet stand which is a Periphrasis of a Footstool THE LORD'S FOOTSTOOL here mentioned was either the Ark of the Testimony it self or the place at least where it stood called DEBIR or the Holy of Holies towards which the Iews in their Temple used to worship The very next words following my Text argue so much Arise O Lord into thy rest thou and the Ark of thy strength And it is plain out of 1 Chron. 28. 2. where David saith concerning his purpose to have built God an House I had in mine heart to build an House of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and for the FOOTSTOOL of our God Where the Conjunction and is Exegetical and the same with that is According to this expression the Prophet Ieremy also in the beginning of the second of his Lamentations bewaileth that The Lord had cast down the beauty of Israel that is his glorious Temple and remembred not his FOOTSTOOL that is the Ark of his Covenant in the day of his wrath This to be the true and genuine meaning of this phrase of worshipping the Lord towards his Footstool besides the confessed Custom of the time is evidently confirmed by a parallel expression of this worshipping posture Psalm 28. 2. Hear the voice of my supplication when I cry unto thee when I lift up mine hands 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 towards thine HOLY ORACLE that is toward the most Holy place where the Ark stood and from whence God gave his answers For that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 DEBIR which is here translated ORACLE was the Sanctum Sanctorum or Most holy place is clear out of the 6. and 8. Chapters of the first Book of Kings where in the former we read that Solomon prepared the ORACLE or DEBIR to set the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord there in the latter that the Priests brought in the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord unto his place into the Oracle of the House to the most holy place even under the wings of the Cherubims Wherefore the Authors of the Translation used in our Liturgy rendred this passage of the Psalm When I hold up my hands toward the Mercy-seat of thy holy Temple namely having respect to the meaning thereof Thus you see that one of the two must needs be this Scabellum pedum or FOOTSTOOL of God either the Ark or Mercy-seat it self or the Adytum Templi the Most holy place where it stood For that it is not the whole Temple at large though that might be so called but some thing or part to those that are within it the first word◠of my Text We will go into his Tabernacles do argue If then it be the Ark whose Cover was that we call the Mercy-seat it seems to have been so called in respect of God's sitting upon the Cherubims under which the Ark lay as it were his Footstool whence sometimes it is described The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Hosts which sitteth upon the Cherubims If the Ark with the Cover thereof the Mercy-seat be it self considered as God's Throne then the place thereof the DEBIR may not unfitly be termed his Footstool Or lastly if we consider Heaven to be the Throne of God as indeed it is then whatsoever place or monument of Presence he hath here on Earth is in true esteem no more but his Footstool Thus the meaning of the Text is plain which I thought good to make choice of for the Argument of my Discourse at this time for our better information concerning the lawfulness of that practice of worshipping God towards the holy Table or Altar For it becomes not us who live in such places as these where Knowledge is taught and should be derived to other parts of the Church to be ignorant of the reason and quality of any thing especially concerning the Worship of God which either we do our selves or see others do lest in
as the Courts but covered is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hence you never read that Christ or his Disciples came into or taught in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 namely in the Outer Court where the multitude assembled to pray This Outer Court was a most stately Building with Columns and Cloisters round about and also within divided as it were into Partitions with stately Rows of Pillars S. Iohn seems by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to mean the whole Sacrificing-place and not only the Altar specially so called viz. whereon the Sacrifice was laid as may appear by the words which follow And those that worship therein The Outer Court he calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Court without the Temple because the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Temple stood not in this but in the other Court which was also the Place or Court of Sacrifice I. M. CHAP. IV. Mr. Mede's further clearing and vindication of some passages in the foregoing Paper with some Observations concerning the 7. Thunders contemporary with the 7. Trumpet as also concerning that in Dan. 12. 7 11 12. and that in Apocal. 11. 19. chap. 15. 5 8. Retegat Deus oculos utriusque nostrûm ut intue amur mirabilia ejus Mr. Wood I Received your last doubt not but with like acceptance I did the former which I not only keep but use to read over 5 or 6 times at the least and though I always assent not yet I am always better'd by them either to strengthen what I found weaker than I took it to be or to learn to express my self with more caution and perspicuity than as I perceived by their Objections I had done or oftentimes they minister the occasion of some new Notion which before I thought not on But for answer to your last I know not well how to deal for that unless I misconceive you all is grounded upon a mistake almost total of my meaning It may be I have committed some fault in my expression and I must therefore desire you to amend my defect therein with a second reading of that Letter if it be worthy for you to take so much pains In the mean time I suppose you mistake me in these particulars following 1. First You suppose that I oppose the Temple 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the Courts whereas I oppose the Courts one to the other viz. the Inner Court wherein the Temple and the Altar stood and where the Priests and Levites only worshipped to the Outer Court whither every body came 2. You suppose that in my Interpretation I oppose the Invisible or latent Church to the Visible and apparent whereas I oppose the Primitive Visible Church which was pure to the After-Visible Church which was corrupt For both the Courts both Inner and Outer were sub dio open and uncovered and therefore both signifie A Patent and Open Church that is a Visible one 3. You suppose if I understand you that when I say Measured Church I mean Actively as though the Angel continually were measuring the Church during the Six Seals whereas I mean Passively that the Church during that time was measured that is pure conformable and keeping measure even in the Outward Visible Form which afterward it did not 4. You suppose I make the Temple with its Courts a Type of the whole body of the Church partly Visible partly Invisible at the same time whereas I mean of the Visible Church only and that considered as Successive according to the diverse times thereof Concerning the rest of your Letter I have no time to answer as I would only in brief I say thus much 1. That concerning the Thunders of the seventh Seal seventh Trumpet and seventh Vial I cannot yet conceive your meaning For I acknowledge no other Seventh Seal but the Seven Trumpets and cannot understand how any thing of the Seventh Vial should concern the present times since you make all the Vials yet to come nor how any thing of the opening of the Seventh Seal should concern the times which are now seeing the greater part of the Seventh Seal viz. six Trumpets thereof is already past Indeed the seven Thunders after the sixth Trumpet may be if not present yet very near if we could understand them 2. Concerning the Time Times and half a Time and the 1290 and 1335 days in the twelfth of Daniel I labour not to reconcile them because I suppose they are diverse Times and of diverse Subjects and of a diverse beginning and ending Namely the Time Times and half a Time are of the Tyranny of the little Horn with eyes and a mouth speaking great things c. Dan. 7. 20 25. at the expiring of whose blasphemous Tyranny the scattering of the Holy people and the great Mystery shall be finished Dan. 12. 17. But the 1290 and 1335 days are the times of sealing and closing up of the knowledge of these Wonders to be at length disclosed and revealed at the expiration of these times 3. I cannot yet conceive how the Opening of the Temple in the Seventh Trumpet Apocal. 11. 19. makes any thing for proof of the Contemporation of the Two Courts or for the understanding what is meant by measuring or unmeasuring them For our Question N. B. is about Courts and not the Temple howsoever the Angel describes the Inner Court by the Temple Altar and Priests-worshippers therein which are the Contents thereof But this Opening of the Temple at the Seventh Trumpet that the Ark of the Testimony might be seen should I think rather be compared as a Synchronistical Character with the 5. verse of the 15. Chap. where in the end of the General description of the Vials as a consequent of their pouring out it is said that the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony was opened And verse 8. in the entrance of the Particular description of the Vials N. B. begun in the former verse it is answerably said that the Temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power and no man was able to enter into the Temple till the seven Plagues of the seven Angels were fulfilled as if then this smoke or cloud should be removed and the Temple thereby become open to be seen and entred into Which should come to pass at the blast of the Seventh Trumpet In all which there seems to be an Allusion to Solomon's feast of Seven days dedication of the Temple 2 Chron. 7. 8. during which the Cloud of the glory of the Lord filled the Temple not the Courts so that the Priests could not stand to minister by reason of the Cloud 2 Chron. 5. 13. nor enter thereinto chap. 7. 1 2. So that the pouring out of the seven Vials may seem as it were a Dedication of the Church of Christ after it had been so long prophaned by Antichrist till the finishing of which Dedication the Nation of Priests or Priestly nation of Israel cannot
the God of Abraham Isaac and Iacob was not the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ. This was the reason why Irenaeus maintained it in his book Contra omnes Haereses and Tertullian against the Marcionites Eusebius who found out one Gaius to father it upon Cerinthus deserves no credit he was a party and one of those which did his best to undermine the authority of the Apocalypse Nor did any know of any such Gaius but from his relation And if there were any such he should seem to be one of the Hereticks called Alogi who denied both S. Iohn's Gospel and Apocalypse as is testified in Epiphanius and their time jumps with the Age which Eusebius assigns to Gaius Yet I deny not but some might maintain very carnal and intolerable conceits about this Regnum of a thousand years as the Mahumetans do about their Paradise But these are not to be imputed unto those Primitive Fathers and Orthodox Christians S. Hierom was a chief Champion to cry down this Opinion and according to his wont a most unequal relator of the Opinion of his Adversaries What credit he deserves in this may appear by some Fragments of those Authors still remaining whom he charged with an Opinion directly contrary to that which they expresly affirmed And yet when he had stated it so as it must needs be Heresie and Blasphemy whosoever should hold it he is found to say he durst not damn it because multi virorum Ecclesiasticorum Martyrum ista dixerunt Comment in Ierem. 19. 10. many Eccleâ—astical persons and Martyrs affirm'd the same In a word I cannot chuse but agree so far with them That these 1000 years are yet to come This I hold with Alstedius But what shall be the modus and condition of that Kingdom that is what it means it may be I have some singular conceit differing from them both I am sure from Alstedius Piscator and others of that opinion But I were better speak nothing thereof than too little and to speak fully would require in a manner the Interpretation of the whole Apocalypse In a word I will reveal thus much viz. That the Seventh Trumpet and the Thousand years contained therein is that Magnus dies Domini and Magnus dies Iudicii or Dies magni Iudicii The Great Day of the Lord The Great Day of Iudgment The Day of the Great Iudgment so much celebrated amongst the Iews in all their Writings and from them taken up by our Saviour and his Apostles Not a Day of a few hours as we commonly suppose but continuatum multorum annorum intervallum a continued space of many Years wherein Christ shall destroy all his Enemies and at length Death it self beginning with Antichrist by his revelation from heaven in flaming fire and ending with the Vniversal Resurrection during which space of time shall be the Kingdom of the Saints in the New Ierusalem This I can affirm with the most That Antichrist shall not be finally destroyed till the Day of Christ's appearing unto Iudgment and yet not fall into that which some charge the Chiliasts with That this Reign should be after the Day of Iudgment For I give a third time in or durante magno Die Iudicii in or during the Great Day of Iudgment I. M. CHAP. XII A Censure by way of Correction returned to a Friend concerning an Exposition of his of the 20. Chapter of the Apocalypse somewhat exorbitant 1. THat the Reign of Christ here described is after the Times of Antichrist if either the Beast or the False-prophet be he is apparent without interpretation both because all those Times the old Dragon Satan was not tied up but at liberty to seduce the Nations and because verse 4. one sort of those who should reign with Christ a thousand years are said to be such as had not worshipped the Beast neither his Image nor had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands which necessarily presupposeth The Beast His Image and Marking to have already been 2. What the Quality of this Reign should be which is so singularly differenced from the Reign of Christ hitherto is neither easie nor safe to determine farther then That it should be the Reign of our Saviour's Victory over his Enemies wherein Satan being bound up from deceiving the Nations any more till the time of his Reign be fulfilled the Church should consequently enjoy a most blissful peace and happy security from the heretical Apostasies and calamitous sufferings of former times But here if any where the known shipwrecks of those who have been too venturous should make us most wary and careful that we admit nothing into our imaginations which may cross or impeach any Catholick Tenet of the Christian Faith as also to beware of gross and carnal conceits of an Epicurean happiness misbeseeming the Spiritual purity of Saints If we conceit any Deliciae let them be Spirituales which S. Austine confesseth to be Opinio tolerabilis se hoc opinatum fuisse aliquando Lib. 20. De Civit. Dei cap. 7. a tolerable Opinion and that he also was sometime of the same judgment 3. The Presence of Christ in this Kingdom shall no doubt be glorious and evident yet I dare not so much as imagine which some Ancients seem to have thought that it should be a Visible Converse upon earth For the Kingdom of Christ ever hath been and shall be Regnum Coelorum A Kingdom whose Throne and Kingly Residence is in Heaven There he was installed when he sate down on the right hand of the Majesty on high Heb. 1. and there as in his proper Temple is continually to appear in the presence of his Father to make intercession for us Rom. 8. 34. with Heb. 9. 24. Yet may we grant he shall appear and be visibly revealed from Heaven especially for the Calling and gathering of his ancient People for whom in the days of old he did so many wonders This S. Iohn in this Book as our Saviour in the Gospel â— seems to intimate by joyning those two Prophetical passages of Daniel and Zachary in one expression Behold he cometh in the clouds and every eye shall see him and they also which pierced him The first part which our Saviour expresses more fully by the Sign of the Son of Man coming in the clouds of Heaven c. is Daniel's in a Vision of this Kingdom we speak of Behold saith he one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of Heaven And there was given him Dominion and Glory and a Kingdom that all People Nations and Languages should serve him The other part is out of Zachary prophesying of the Re-calling of the Iews And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Ierusalem the spirit of grace and supplication and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced Though these words of Zachary are not in our Saviour's expression but in stead thereof that which immediately
the Devil is loose but for a little season I. M. A PARAPHRASE AND EXPOSITION Of the PROPHECIE OF S t. PETER CONCERNING The Day of Christ's Second Coming DESCRIBED In the Third CHAPTER of his Second EPISTLE AS ALSO How the CONFLAGRATION or Destruction of the WORLD by FIRE whereof S. Peter speaks and especially of the Heavens is to be understood BY IOSEPH MEDE B. D. The Fifth Edition corrected in sundry places and enlarged with some Additional Observations out of the Author 's own Manuscripts A PARAPHRASE and EXPOSITION OF THE PROPHECIE of S. PETER CONCERNING The Day of Christ's Second Coming DESCRIBED In the Third CHAPTER of the Second EPISTLE Verses 1 2. SAint Peter exhorts the believing Iews unto whom he writes to be mindful of the words of the holy Prophets Esay Daniel and Malachi concerning the coming of Christ to Iudgment and the Restauration then promised it being also confirmed by the Apostles of our Lord and Saviour Verses 3 4. For howsoever it were then believed both by Iews and Christianed Gentiles yet in the last days should come those who walking after their own desires or humors should deny and deride the expectation of any such promise of the Day of Christ saying Where is the promise of his coming Where is the New heaven and New earth you talk of Verse 4. pars altera The reason of this their unbelief being because they imagine there hath never yet since the creation of the World been any example of such a destruction and change ensuing it as this at the coming of Christ should be For since the Fathers fell asleep say they even since Adam died all things have continued as they were from the beginning of the creation Therefore the expectation of any such change of the World and the state of things therein as is supposed is vain and frivolous and never to be fulfilled Verses 5 6. But those who suppose this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that there hath never yet any such destruction and change befallen the Creation and thence conclude there is no such nor shall ever be they weigh and consider not the universal Deluge in the time of Noah when the curse laid upon the creature for man's sin first solemnly took place brought as a like destruction so a like change upon the world for the degeneration of the creature as this at the second coming of Christ shall be for the restauration and renovation of the same in the day of the glorious liberty of the children of God For the Heavens were of old and the globe of the Earth consisting partly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of water viz. that of the Great deep and partly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 amongst water to wit the clouds and floud-gates of heaven hanging about it all framed by the word of God By which waters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the world which then was being overwhelmed with water perished as it is written Gen. 7. 11 c. In the 600. year of Noah's life in the second month the 17. day of the month were all the Fountains of the Great deep broken up and the Floud-gates or Cataracts of heaven were opened and verse 18. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth And all flesh died that moved upon the earth both of fowl and of cattel and of beast and of every creeping thing and every man verse 21. Verse 7. But the Heavens and the Earth that is the World which is now by the same word are kept in store reserved unto a From this proportion which the Iudgment to come by Fire hath unto that which was by Water in the Deluge Irenaeus calls it Diluvium ignis Lib. 5. cap. 29. juxta Edit Fevardentii fire at the Day of Iudgment and perdition of ungodly men according to the prophecy of Daniel c. 7. v. 10 11. who saw a fiery stream issuing and coming forth before the Iudge of the world and the body of the fourth Beast burned therewith And of Esay chap. 66. 15 16. who saith of that day That the Lord shall come with fire and with his chariots like a whirlwind to render his anger with fury and his rebukes with flames of fire And that by fire and by his sword i. e. by his sword of fire 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Lord would plead with all flesh and the slain of the Lord shall be many b It may be it is of this day the same Prophet Esay also speaks chap. 9. 5. where he saith The battel of the Messiah should not be as the battel of the warriour with confused noise and garments rolled in bloud but with burning and fuel of fire For the old Prophets for the most part speak of the coming of Christ indefinitely and in general without that distinction of First and Second coming which the Gospel out of Daniel hath more clearly taught us And so consequently they spake of the things to be at Christ's coming indefinitely and altogether which we who are now more fully informed by the revelation of the Gospel of a two-fold coming must apply each of them to its proper time those things which befit the state of his First coming unto it and such things as befit the state of his Second coming unto his Second and what befits Both alike may be applied unto Both. So also Mal. 4. 1. That the great and terrible day shall burn as an oven and all the proud and all that do wickedly shall be stubble which at the coming of that day shall be burnt up Verse 8. But whereas I mentioned saith S. Peter the Day of Iudgment lest ye might mistake it for a short day or a day of a few hours I would not beloved have you ignorant that One day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day a Thus I expound these words by way of a preoccupation or premunition because they are the formal words of the Iewish Doctors when they speak of the Day of Iudgment or Day of Christ as S. Peter here doth viz. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 una dies Dei Sancti Benedicti sunt mille anni And though they use to quote that of the ninetieth Psalm Mille anni in oculis tuis sicut dies hesternus for confirmation thereof yet are not those words formally in the Psalm So that S. Peter in this passage seems rather to have had respect to that common saying of the Iews in this argument than to the words of the Psalm where the words One day with the Lord is as a thousand years are not though the latter part of the sentence A thousand years as one day may allude thither as the * Trad. R. Ketinae in Gemara Sanâ—edrin Midrasch iâ—hillim super Ps. 90. Iews also were wont to bring it for a confirmation of the former 2. These words are commonly taken as an argument why God should not be thought slack in his promise which follows in
the next verse But the first Fathers took it otherwise and besides it proves it not For the question is not whether the time be long or short in respect of God but whether it be long or short in respect of us otherwise not only a thousand but an 100 thousand years are in the eyes of God no more than one day is to us and so it would not seem long to God if the Day of Iudgment should be deferred till then 3. Let the judicious consider it whether this passage so prone to be taken in the exposition I have given yea and alledged to that purpose were not some part of a motive to the zelotical Anti-chiliasts whereof Eusebius whom we trust was none of the least to be so willing and ready to question the authority of this Epistle as they did also at the same time of the Apocalypse The pretence against this Epistle was because it wanted the testimony of allegation by the first Fathers But Dies Domini sicut mille anni quoted both by Iustin Martyr and Irenaeus is not out of the ninetieth Psalm as they took for granted for there are no such words but out of this Epistle of Peter who applies it to the Day of Iudgment which he calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Day of the Lord. Consider it Verse 9. And though this Day be long deferred yet is not the Lord slack concerning his promise as some men account slackness as if he had alter'd his purpose or meant never to perform it but the cause of this delay is his long-suffering towards us a S. Peter speaks and writes in this Epistle to his brethren the Iews as appears by the first verse of this chapter of the seed of Israel not willing that any should perish at that day but that our whole Nation should come unto repentance b Therefore the same S. Peter in his first publick Sermon to his Nation in the Temple after the sending of the Holy Ghost Acts 3. 19 c. exhorts them to repent and be converted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the washing away of their sins That so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 those times of refreshing and restitution of all things which God had spoken by the mouth of all his holy Prophets might come which till then were to be suspended Object But God could have hastened the Iews conversion if it had pleased him Resp. But it stood not with the oeconomy of his Iustice when the Iews had rejected Christ their expiation to grant them this grace until they should have fulfilled a time of penance for all the sins of their Nation even from the first time they were a people until the last destruction of Ierusalem For since they would none of their pardon and attonement by Christ with respect unto whose coming God had so long spared them for all their expiation by Sacrifice looked unto him God would not bate them an ace of the judgment they had merited but would visit all the former sins of their Nation upon them from the golden Calf until their crucifying and final rejecting of their Messiah which if that Day should surprise them in their unbelief must inevitably perish with the rest of the enemies of Christ. Verse 10. But as for the manner of the coming of this great Day of the Lord it shall be suddenly and unawares as a thief in the night in which the a What these Heavens are and why I render 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the host of them and how this Conflagration is to be understood I will shew when I have done my Paraphrase Heavens with a crackling noise of fire shall pass away and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a What these Heavens are and why I render 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the host of them and how this Conflagration is to be understood I will shew when I have done my Paraphrase or host of them shall melt with fervent heat the Earth also and the works therein shall be burned Verse 11 12. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness to make our selves fire-proof and such as may abide the day of refining As namely becometh those who by faith look for and hasten the coming of the Day of the Lord wherein the Heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the host of them melt with fervent heat For our life and conversation ought to be sutable to our faith and we are so to walk as if that were always present which by faith we look for Verse 13. But this Conflagration ended whatsoever those Scoffers say who question the promise of Christ's second coming we look according to his promise Isa. 65. 17 66. 22 for a New heaven and a New earth that is a new and refined state of the World wherein righteousness shall dwell according as the same Prophet saith chap. 60. 20 21. The Lord shall be thine everlasting light and the days of thy mourning shall be ended Thy people also shall be all righteous they shall inherit the land or earth for ever Verse 14 15 16. Wherefore beloved seeing that ye look for such things at his coming be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless and account the long-suffering of God in the delay thereof to be for salvation Even as our beloved Paul also one of the Apostles of our Lord who confirmeth these words of the holy Prophets according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you enforcing the like exhortation unto holiness of life from this our faith and expectation of the Lord Iesus his appearing to judgment which we now make unto you namely Heb. 12. 14 28 29. As also in all his Epistles speaking in them of these things viz. Rom. 2. 4 5 6 7. ‑ 1 Cor. 1. 7 8. 3. 13. ‑ 2 Cor. 5. 9 10 11. initio 7. 1. ‑ Phil. 1. 10. 2. 15 16. also 3. 20 c. ‑ Coloss. 3. 4 5. ‑ 1 Thess. 2. 12. 3. 13. denique 5. 23. ‑ 2 Thess. 1. 8 c. 1 Tim. 6. 14 15. ‑ Tit. 2. 12 13. Verse 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Amongst which things concerning the Second coming of Christ are somethings hard to be conceived which those which are unlearned and not well setled in the Faith like unto these Scoffers stumble at as they do at other Scriptures taking occasion thereby to stagger and doubt of the truth of God so perverting the Scriptures from their right end by making them the means of their own destruction which were given by God as a means whereby they might believe and be saved How this Conflagration of the World whereof S. PETER speaks and especially of the Heavens is to be understood FOR resolution of this Question I must premise some things to make the way thereto the more easie 1. That in the old Hebrew language wherein the
as big or many times bigger than the globe of the earth where shall there be room for them If such a Scheme then be supposed in S. Peter's description the explication may be after this manner Mundus or the World to omit other particular acceptions is according to the Scripture's use either Mundus continens or Mundus contentus give me leave to use these terms for distinction sake By Mundus continens I mean the Compages and frame of the Physical heaven and earth wherein the rest of the creatures are contained by Mundus contentus the state or body of the inhabitants and Kingdoms of the earth Now to whatsoever the notion of Mundus is appliable there is also supposed to be an Heaven and Earth as being the names and parts whereby the Scriptures express the World The Heaven then of this Political world is the Sovereignty or Sovereign part thereof whose Host and Stars are the powers ruling that world In the highest place Gods and Idols next Kings Princes Peers Counsellours Magistrates and other such Lights shining in that Firmament And at such a meaning and no other it being an Oriental notion may aim for ought I can see that supposed fastuous style of Sapores King of Persia to Constantius the Emperour Rex Regum Sapores frater Solis Lunae partiçeps i.e. socius Siderum Constantio fratri salutem But to go on The Earth is the Peasantry or vulgus hominum together with the terrestrial creatures serving the use of man Of such a Heaven and Earth as this is the Lord speaks in the Prophecie of Haggai Ch. 2. v. 6 7. Yet once it is a little while and I will shake the heavens and the earth both the sea and the dry land And I will shake all Nations and the desire of all Nations shall come And again v. 21 22. I will shake the heavens and the earth And I will overthrow the Throne of Kingdoms and I will destroy the strength of the Kingdoms of the Heathen c. Of such a Heaven and Earth speaks Ieremy Chap. 4. 23. I beheld the earth and it was without form and void 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the heavens and they had no light viz. as if the World were turn'd into the old Chaos again Gen. I. See the rest which follows Of such Heavens and an Earth speaks the Lord in Isaiah ch 51. 15 16. namely of the Heavens and Earth of the World or State of Israel I am saith he the Lord thy God who divided the sea to wit the Red sea when the waters thereof roared the Lord of Hosts is his name And put my Words i.e. my Law in thy mouth and covered thee in the shadow of my hand i.e. protected thee in thy march to Canaan c. that I might plant the Heavens and lay the foundations of the Earth i.e. make thee a State and build thee into a Political World and say unto Sion Thou art my people Of such a kind of Heaven speaks the same Prophet ch 34. 2 4 5. The indignation of the Lord is upon all Nations and his fury upon all their Armies c. And all the host of Heaven shall be dissolved and the Heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll and all their host shall fall down as the leaf falleth off from the Vine and as a falling fig from 〈◊〉 sig-tree For my sword shall be bathed in Heaven behold it shall come down upon â—â—maea c. See the rest and know that this destruction of Edom is prophesied of in no less Hyperbolical a strain by Obadiah and Ieremy c. 49. from v. 7 to 22. Ezek. 35. tot 25. 12. which I note lest any man wondring at the Hyperbole of this of Esay should think it appliable only to the Day of Iudgment And that such Schemes as these were usual to the Nations of the Orient may appear not only by the Chymical Philosophy derived thence which makes Heaven and Earth and Stars in every thing but from the testimony of Moses Maimonides who More Nebechim par 2. c. 29. affirms that the Arabians in his time in their vulgar speech when they would express that a man was fallen into some great calamity or adversity used to say Coelum ejus super terram ejus cecidit No question these Schemes were as familiar to them as our Poets strains and expressions are to us though of another genius ours are borrowed from fables stories persons places theirs were from the frame of the World the Sun Moon Stars and Elements c. If such a notion of Coelum and Terra may have place in this place of Peter and why may he not uttering a Prophecy borrow a Prophetical strain it may easily appear what Heaven and Earth the Fire at Christ's second coming shall burn up and consume viz. the Heaven and Earth of the contained world such as those which the former judgment by water overwhelmed and destroyed the world of wicked States and men high ones and low ones Princes and Peasants man and beast according to that twice-repeated passage Isa. 2. 11 17. which the ancient Iews interpreted of the Day of Iudgment The loftiness of man shall be bowed down and the haughtiness of men shall be made low and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day And the Idols these are part of the host of the Heaven we speak of he shall utterly abolish And of such Heavens and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as these it mattereth not though we understand an absolute destruction namely of so much as shall be burned as was in the Deluge of Noah and so likewise of the Earth and works thereof But whereas by the universal Deluge though only the Mundus contentus perished yet nevertheless the Mundus continens was therewith corrupted and depraved in the destruction by Fire it shall be otherwise for the world of wicked ones being destroyed the Heaven and Earth w ch contained them shall be purged and refined for the righteous todwell therein This Exposition I put but in the second place because where the proper sense of the letter may be kept I prefer it before any other To conclude If any there yet be whom neither of the former Expositions can satisfie but will needs have the fire and burning here spoken of to be that whereby the World is to be utterly annihilated I could answer That the Day of Iudgment is a thousand years and this Fire though it be to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in that day yet shall it not be in the beginning but end thereof The beginning being but a destruction of the enemies of Christ and the Kingdom of Satan and then a restauration the end a destruction of the whole creature it self by utter annihilation and then S. Peter's words ver 13. to be construed after this manner That howsoever the Heavens and the Earth shall at length be dissolved by fire nevertheless before that shall be we look for a New heaven and a
discontented soon after he had destroyed the kingdom of the Goths 10 Greeks In the residue of the Empire Marcianus Ancient Rome's Empire finished that of the Greeks is but one of the Kingdoms whereinto it was divided Thus was the Empire divided and shared Anno 456. the year after Rome was sacked by Gensericus and the off-spring of these Nations through many alterations partly by the inconstancy of humane things unions and disunions partly by the further enlargement of the Christian Faith are the body of most of the Kingdoms and States of Christendom at this day Three of these Kings saith Daniel should the Antichristian Horn depress and displant to advance himself which Three are those whose Dominions extended into Italy and so stood in his light 1. That of the Greeks whose Emperor Leo Isaurus for the quarrel of Images he excommunicated and revolted his subjects of Italy from their allegiance 2. That of the Longobards successors of the Ostrogoths whose Kingdom he caused by the aid of the Franks to be wholly ruined thereby to get the Exarchate of Ravenna which since their revolt from the Greeks they were seized on for a Patrimony to S. Peter 3. The last was the Kingdom of the Franks it self continued in the Empire of Germany whose Emperors from the day of Henry the Fourth he excommunicated deposed and trampled under his feet and never suffered them to live in rest till he made them not only quit their interest in Election of Popes and Investitures of Bishops but that remainder of Iurisdiction in Italy wherewith together with the dignity of the Roman name he had once inseoffed their Predecessors These are the Kings by displanting or as the Vulgar hath by humbling of whom the Pope got elbow-room by degrees and advanced himself to the height of Temporal Majesty and absolute Greatness which made him so terrible in the world This Third blow therefore I suppose is to be counted the Last of the Ruine of the Empire the Imperial power of the ancient Rome until the Pope some 345 years after revived the name henceforth ceasing For as for those who yet some twenty years after our date scuffled for that Name one of them deposing another they were indeed but shadows of Caesars and as it were struglings with the pangs of death until with Augustulus it gave up the ghost Yea it is to be observed that two of them Avitus the very next and Glycerius being deposed from the Empire were made Bishops the one of Placentia or Piacenza the other of Portus as a sign perhaps that the Emperor of Rome henceforth should be a Bishop and a Bishop the Emperor To conclude therefore with the application of our Apostle's Prediction Whether the Christian Apostasie in worshipping new Daemon-Gods began not with the First of these degrees notably increased with the Second and was established by the Last I leave you to judge when you shall have surveyed the Monuments and Records of those times It is commonly and truly affirmed by our Ecclesiastical Antiquaries That before the year 360 there is no word to be found of the Invocation of Saints glorified or Worshipping their Reliques to which I add no not of any Miracles done by them But presently after that year when our first date of the Empire 's ruine began search and you shall find I spare to name the Authors not willing to discover the nakedness of the Fathers But whoso reads them will admire to see so truly verified what the Spirit foretold should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the latter times And to make an end If any shall think this Speculation of Times to be a needless curiosity I desire him to remember how our Saviour reproved the Iews for neglect hereof Matth. 16. 3. O ye Hypocrites ye can discern the face of the skie but can ye not discern the signs of the times or as S. Luke 12. 56. How is it that ye do not discern this Time They through neglecting the Signs of the Times when Christ came received him not How many through ignorance of these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Latter Times when the Apostasie hath appeared eschewed it not From which of these Three Beginnings of the Apostatical Times or whether from some other moment within or between them the Almighty will reckon that his Computation of these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which ended shall finish the days of the Man of sin I curiously enquire not but leave unto him who is Lord of times and seasons Nor do I think that the Iews themselves could certainly tell from which of their Three Captivities to begin that reckoning of LXX years whose end should bring their return from Babylon until the Event assured them thereof AN APPENDIX CHAP. XV. That Daniel's 70 Weeks are a lesser Kalendar of Times That in reference to these Weeks must those Phrases in the Epistles to the converted Iews viz. The Last Hour or Time The End of all things The Day approaching c. be expounded of the End of the Iewish State and Service at the expiring of the 70 Weeks That the Apostles were not so mistaken as to believe the End of the World should be in their dayer proved against Baronius and other Romanists I SHOULD now presently come to speak of the Fourth particular which I observed in this Verse But because in this Discourse of Times besides the Great Kalendar of Times I so much spake of there was some mention of a Lesser Kalendar viz. of Daniel's 70 weeks give me leave to 〈◊〉 some places of Scripture which I suppose to have reference thereto for the better clearing not only of our former Discourse but of some scruples that might trouble our minds when mention is made of an End then supposed near though the World hath so many hundred years since continued and no end thereof is yet come Know therefore that these 70 weeks of Daniel are a Little Provincial Kalendar containing the time that the Legal worship and Iewish state was to continue from the re-building of the Sanctuary under Darius Nothus until the final destruction thereof when the Kalendar should expire Within the space whereof their Commonwealth and City should be restored and 62 weeks after that the Messias be slain for sin and at the end of the whole 70 their City and Temple again destroyed and their Commonwealth utterly dissolved To these Weeks therefore whose computation so especially concerns the Iews is reference made in those Epistles which are written to the Christian Churches of that Nation whether living in Iewry or abroad dispersed Such is S. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews both S. Peter's to those of the Dispersion in Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and Bythinia the Epistle of S. Iames to the twelve Tribes and likewise the first Epistle of S. Iohn which though the Salutation expresseth not as in the former yet may appear both because Peter Iames and Iohn were all three Apostles of the Circumcision and from that
be the more happy in that day of vengeance and wrath upon our Nation Neither need we wonder that this Desolation should be called the End for our Saviour himself taught them so to speak in his Prophecy concerning it as may appear if we consider that Antithesis in S. Luke chap. 21. 9. Ye shall hear of wars and commotions but the End is not by and by Ver. 20. But when ye shall see Ierusalem encompassed with armies then know that the Desolation thereof is nigh AND thus much I thought to add to my former discourse of Latter Times lest through ignorance thereof we might incline to that little better than blasphemous conceit which Baronius by name and some other of Rome's followers have taken up viz. That the Apostles in such like passages as we have noted were mistaken as believing the End of the World should have been in their own time God of purpose so ordering it to cause in them a greater measure of zeal and contempt of worldly things An opinion I think not well beseeming a Christian. 1. For first whatsoever we imagine the Apostles might here conceive in their private opinions as men yet we must know that the Holy Ghost by whose instinct they wrote the Scriptures is the Spirit of truth and therefore what is there affirmed must be true yea though the Pen-man himself understood it not 2. It was not possible the Apostles should expect the End of the World to be in their own time when they knew so many things were to come to pass before it as could not be fulfilled in a short time As 1. The desolation of Ierusalem and that not till the seventy weeks were expired 2. The Iews to be carried captives over all Nations and Ierusalem to be troden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles should be fulfilled 3. That in the mean time the Roman Empire must be ruined and that which hindered taken out of the way 4. That after that was done the Man of sin should be revealed and domineer his time in the Temple and Church of God 5. After all this viz. when the fulness of the Gentiles should come in that Israel should be received again to mercy 6. That Christ should reign in his Church on earth so long till he had put down all rule all authority and power and subjected all his enemies under his feet before he should subdue the last enemy which is death and surrender his kingdom into the hands of his Father 7. That the time should be so long that in the last days should come Scoffers saying Where is the promise of his coming How is it possible they should imagine the Day of Doom to be so near when all these things must first come to pass and not one of them was yet fulfilled And how could the expectation of this Day be made a ground of exhortation and a motive to watchfulness and prayer as though it could suddenly and unawares surprize them which had so many wonderful alterations to forego it and none of them yet come to pass I have spoken hitherto of what was revealed to all the Apostles in general But if we take S. Iohn apart from the rest and consider what was afterward revealed to him in Patmos we shall find in his Apocalyptical Visions besides other times more obscurely intimated an express prophecy of no less than a thousand years which whatever it mean cannot be a small time and must be fulfilled in this world and not in the world to come Notwithstanding all this I make no question but even in the Apostles times many of the believing Gentiles mistaking the Apostles admonitions to the Iews of the End of their State approaching thought the End of whole world and the Day of the Lord had been also near whom therefore S. Paul 2 Thess. 2. beseeches to be better informed because that Day should not come until the Apostasie came first and the Man of sin were revealed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Expresly or In express words CHAP. XVI The Fourth Particular viz. The Warrant or Proof of this Prophecy When the Spirit speaks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and when 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That the Spirit foretold the Great Apostasy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 expresly in Dan 11. vers 36 37 38 39. A View of these Verses in the Hebraw Text with an exact Translation of them both in Latin and English The chief Difficulties in these Verses explained and incidentally other places of Scripture The different opinions of Iunius and Graserus about Vers. 38. The Author's Translation free from the inconveniences of both A particular Explication of Mahoz and Mahuzim That hereby are meant Fortresses Bulwarks as also Protectors Guardians Defenders c. How fitly this Title is appliable to Angels and Saints accounted to be such by those that worshipt them NOW I come to the Fourth particular of this Prophecy The Warrant or Proof thereof The Spirit hath foretold it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or in express words in some place or other of Divine Writ The Spirit told Peter Acts 10. 19. Behold three men seek thee The Spirit said Separate Barnabas and Saul Acts 13. 2. The Spirit forbade S. Paul to preach in Asia The Spirit said that the Iews should bind S. Paul at Ierusalem Acts 21. 11. But in all these the Spirit spake not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for these things were nowhere written and therefore what it spake it spake 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 only by secret Instinct or Inspiration But that which the Spirit speaks in the Written word that it speaks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 verbatim expresly If therefore concerning this Apostasie of Christian believers to be in the Latter times the Spirit speaketh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then is it to be found somewhere in the Old Testament for there alone the Spirit could be said to speak 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or verbatim in the Apostles time Having therefore so good a hint given us let us see if we can find where the Spirit speaketh of this matter so expresly There are three main things in this our Apostle's Prediction whereof I find the Spirit to have spoken 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or in express words and that in the Prophecy of Daniel 1. Of these Last or Letter times 2. Of the new worship of Daemons in them 3. Of a Prohibition of marriage to accompany them As for the first of these the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Latter times Daniel as you have heard before expresly names them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A time times and half a time being those Last times of the Last Kingdom wherein the Hornish Tyrant should make war with the Saints and prevail against them For the second A worship of new-Daemons or Demi-gods with the profession of the name of Christ you will perhaps think it strange if I should shew it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But if I do it was
the Appendix of hindering or debarring marriage mentioned in the next verses which as a thred led me the way to the end of the eleventh chapter of Daniel where I found it and in a place too very suspicious being taken I think by almost all the Ancients for a Prophecy of Antichrist yea and so expounded by the greatest part of our own though with much variety of reading and application But hear the words themselves in the 36 37 38 39. verses of that eleventh chapter of Daniel translated as I think 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 verbatim without any wresting or straining the Hebrew text They are a Description of the Last or Roman Kingdom and the several states thereof Conquering Nations Persecuting Christians Falseworshipping Christ. The words are these Daniel Chap. 11. Vers. 36 37 38 39. 36. Then a King shall do according to his will and shall exalt and magnifie himself above every God 36. Tunc faciet pro libitu suo Rex extollet ac magnificabit seipsum supra omnem Deum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Yea against the God of God shall he speak marvellous things and shall prosper until the Indignation be accomplished for the determined time shall be fulfilled Etiam contra Deum Deorum loquetur stupenda proficiétque donec consummata fuerit Indignatio nam statutum perficietur 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 37. Then he shall not regard the Gods of his Ancestors nor shall he regard the Desire of women no nor any God but he shall magnifie himself above all 37. Tunc ad Deos Majorum suorum attendet nec ad Desiderium mulierum nec ad ullum Numen attendet sed supra omne se magnificabit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 38. For to or together with God in his seat he shall honour Mahuzzims even together with that God whom his Ancestours knew not shall he honour them with gold and with silver and with precious stones and with pleasant things 38. Nam ad vel juxta Deum Mahuzzimos in sede ejus honorabit scilicet ad Deum quem non agnoverunt Majores ejus honorabit eos auro argento lapidibuspretiosis rebus desideratissimis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 39. And he shall make the Holds of the Mahuzzims withall or joyntly to the Forein God whom acknowledging he shall encrease with honour and shall cause them to rule over many and shall distribute the earth for a reward 39. Et faciet munimenta Mahuzzimorum unà Deoperegrino seu exotico quem agnoscendo multiplicabit honore dominari facieâ— eos in multos terrâ—mque partietur in mercedem 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. Now for the understanding of this Prophecy we must take notice that the Prophet Daniel at the beginning of these verses leaves off the Greek Kingdom with Antiochus of whom he was speaking before and falls about the Roman the reason being because after Antiochus in whose time Macedonia whence that Kingdom sprung with all the rest of Greece came under the Roman obedience the Third Kingdom comes no more in the holy reckoning Daniel himself calling the time of Antiochus his reign the latter end of the Greek kingdom ch 8. 23. and as I take it he intimates the same in this chapter in the verse immediately fore-going these we have now to deal withal From thence forward therefore the Roman succeeds in the account of the Great Kalendar of Times 2. Under the name King we must understand the whole Roman State under what kind of Government soever For the Hebrews use King for Kingdom and Kingdom for any Government State or Polity in the world For the Devil in the Gospel is said to have shewn Christ all the Kingdoms of the world Monarchies Aristocracies Democracies or what other kind soever 3. Where it is said that this King should exalt himself above every God nothing is thereby meant but the greatness and generality of his conquests and prevailings And the reason of that phrase or manner of speech should seem to be Because in the times of Paganism every City and Country was supposed to have their proper and peculiar Gods which were deemed as their Guardians and Protectors Whence in the Scripture according to the language of that time we may observe a threefold use of speech First the Nations themselves are expressed and implied under the names of their Gods The Israelites were called The people of Iehovah So are the Moabites the people of Chemosh Numb 21. 29. The Lord threatned Deut. 4. 28. 28. 36 64. Ier. 16. 13. to scatter Israel among the nations from one end of the earth even to another and that there they should serve other Gods day and night Gods the work of mens hands wood and stone which neither they nor their Fathers had known that is they should serve them not Religiously but Politically inasmuch as they were to become Slaves and Vassals to Idolatrous Nations even such Idolaters as neither they nor their Fathers had ever heard of For as for a Religious service of Idols the Iews were never so free as in their captivity as we see by experience at this day but with the service of bondage they may be said Politically to have been the Vassals of Idols as being in bondage to the servants of other Gods As a Christian taken by the Turk may in the like sense be said to come in bondage and be a slave to Mahomet For a Slave to the Servants is in a sense Servant to their Master Let it also be considered whether that of David 1 Sam. 26. 19. be not to be expounded according to this notion They have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord saying Go serve other Gods that is banished me into a Nation of another Religion Secondly The exploits of the Nations are said to be done by their Gods even as we by like privilege of speech ascribe unto our Kings what is done by the People under them Thus 2 Chron. 28. 23. the Gods of Damascus are said to have smote Ahaz He sacrificed to the Gods of Damascus that smote him and he said Because the Gods of Syria help them therefore will I sacrifice to them that they may help me Ier. 51. 44. it is said of the Dominion of Babylon That the Nations flowed together unto Bel and that he had swallowed up their wealth which the Lord threatned there to bring forth again out of his mouth Thirdly and that most frequently of all others What is attempted against the Nations is said to be attempted against their Gods Even as Generals bear the name not only of the exploits but also of the disadvantages of the Armies led by them So her the Gods are said to receive the affronts defeatures and discomfitures given to the People under their patronage Rabshakeh vounts in his Master's name 2 Kings 18. 33. Hath any of Gods of the Nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of Assyria where are the Gods of
time of 49 years I would rather chuse to count the LXII Weeks from the same Epocha with them under Artaxerxes Mnemon than from the end of them and yet leave as probable a conjecture to be made of what was done in them as those who follow Funccius from the other Artaxerxes do use to give I have sometimes considered whether if it be translated Seven Weeks those Seven Weeks might not be applied as rotundus numerus to those Fifty and two days Nehem. 6. 15. where it is said So the Wall was finished in the 25 th day of the Month Elul in fifty two days somewhat more indeed than Seven Weeks yet short of Seven and an half and so not regarded in accompt by Weeks If this could be then the reason of the Angel's division of weeks into 7 and 62 would be because of diverse kinds of Weeks understood the first of days wherein the Wall of Ierusalem should be finished the second of years from thence unto the Messiah If it seem impossible or unlikely that the Wall of the City should be repaired in so short a time and therefore those words according to Iunius to be meant of setting up the doors and bars only I could say first that the Wall was not new builded from the foundations but repaired upon the old ruines Secondly the speedy dispatch thereof was taken for a wonder even by the Iews Enemies who thereupon saith the Text perceived that this work was wrought of our God So that were there no worse scruple than this it were easily answered nor would examples be wanting to parallel with it such as might make it seem at least possible As that strange and speedy building of the Walls of Athens by Themistocles after that Xerxes had demolished them reported by Diodor. Sic. lib. 11. Yea to come more near to the thing in question Iosephus l. 6. c. 13. De Bell. Iud. tells us That Titus dividing the work amongst his Army begirt Ierusalem in three days space with a Wall of thirty nine Furlongs and thirteen Bulwarks to hinder the Iews excursions from within and all relief from without What the materials were I know not but he says it was a thing beyond all belief and might have seemed to be a work of some Months But leaving this digression let us see the Computation and Impletion of our LXII Weeks The Computation and Impletion of the LXII Weeks FROM the seventh year of Artaxerxes Mnemon when Ezra had Commission to cause to Return and carry with him as many of the Iews as would to Ierusalem Ezra c. 7. ver 7 13 And from the twentieth year of the same Artaxerxes when Nehemiah obtained leave to build Ierusalem the City of his Fathers Sepulchres Nehem. 2 From both these Commissions though thirteen years distant the one from the other are by divine disposition unto MESSIAH the PRINCE threescore and two Weeks from the first of Solar from the latter of Lunar years For LXII weeks or 434 Lunar years are less than so many Solar as much as is between the seventh and twentieth of Artaxerxes Which admirable concordance I cannot impute to chance but ascribe to Divine providence so ordering it of purpose that these two Epocha's and Commissions To cause to Return and To build Ierusalem might be as one and the same And as the Lunar year is contained within the Solar and by it ordered and directed so is the Period here from Nehemiah's Commission to Build the City contained and reduced to that from Ezra's Commission to cause the people to return In the last of these Weeks according to prediction was Christ our Lord anointed In the beginning whereof exactly between the first and second Passeover after his Baptism when his Harbinger Iohn had now finished his Message and was cast in Prison a time precisely and purposely noted in the Evangelical Story he first began to preach in Galilee the Gospel of the Kingdom ordained his Apostles and proclaimed himself to be the MESSIAH After Iohn was put in Prison saith Mark 1. 14 15. Iesus came into Galilee preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God And saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The time is fulfilled i. the last week of the sixty two weeks is come and the Kingdom of God is at hand From that time saith Matthew c. 4. 17. Iesus began to preach and to say Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand This was that day whereof Christ himself said at Nazareth that that Scripture was fulfilled The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor c. and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord Luke 4. 18 19. This the time and place whence S. Peter reckoned the beginning of Christ's Prophecy in his Sermon to Cornelius That word saith he which was published throughout all Iudaea and began from Galilee after the Baptism which Iohn preached c. Acts 10. 37. In the third year of this Week two years and an half after he began his Prophecy and three years and an half after his Baptism being made our Priest he offered himself upon the Cross a Sacrifice for sin was dead buried and rose again then ascended up into heaven to be installed and to sit at the right hand of God from thenceforth to reign until he hath put all his Enemies under his feet But you will say This was all performed four years before the 434 years which is sixty two Weeks of years were expired I answer as before The Angel reckons not by single years but by Weeks the last whereof should be Messiah's Week as we have shewed it to have been If the Angel had said There shall be 434 years unto MESSIAH then to make good the prediction MESSIAH must have been anointed the last year But when he says There shall be Sixty two Weeks unto MESSIAH it is sufficient he was anointed the last Week But how this Week will at length be compleat we shall see in the next verse But first let us demonstrate our Computation Ezra's Commission Darius Nothus died saith Diodor lib. 13. in the same year but a little while after the Composition of the Peloponnesian war which was in May Olymp. 93. 4. that is An. Olymp. 372. finiente Ergo  The first of Artaxerxes begins about August and concurs with An. Olymp. 373. The seventh of Artaxerxes with An. Olymp. 379. N. B. If Artaxerxes had began before August the number or date of his reign must have altered either in or between the first and fifth Month but they are both of one year Ezra 7. as also the first and the ninth Nehem. c. 1. c. 2. Christ's Prophecy Christ our Lord was Baptized Anno Olympiadico 805 ineunte about the Feast of Expiation in the seventh Month Tisri six Months after Iohn began to baptize and in that year natural and political which began in the 15 of Tiberius towards ending but was the 16 when he
the words precisely kept and therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. Desolator to keep his station here as in the Hebrew he may render the words thus He shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And commanding over a Wing of Abominations be a Desolator or make Desolation The sense is yet the same Or thus And over a Wing of Abominations shall he be who makes Desolation All of them requiring nothing else but that so common Ellipsis of the Verb Substantive which in some expressions of this language is perpetual Now for the construing and expounding this and the rest which remains of this verse I have always in mine eye that part of the Prophecy of our Saviour in the Gospel Matth. 24. 15. Mark 13. 14. where he so expresly refers to this of Daniel with an unwonted caveat not to pass it over slightly Let him saith he that readeth understand which admonition as it implies the special need we have of our Saviour's Key to unlock it so it may seem to intimate that neither the Septuagint before nor the ordinary construction of their Rabbies then had hit the meaning of this Scripture Wherefore S. Luke relates not here as Matthew and Mark do our Saviour's words verbatim but exegetically of set purpose so I am perswaded expounding this place of Daniel as will appear by that which follows Over a Wing of Abominations That is An Army of Idolatrous Gentiles Even the self-same which S. Luke saith Chap. 21. 24. Ierusalem shall be troden down of the Gentiles who also expoundeth Wing by Armies putting in stead of those words of our Saviour When ye shall see the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet stand in the holy place these When ye shall see Ierusalem compassed with Armies and in both it follows Then let them which be in Iudaea flee into the mountains The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wing is of the Verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but once found in the Hebrew Scripture which signifies according to the Chaldee and Arabick To gather together besides in the Arabick circundare to environ or compass about Both significations sute well to an Army and the latter that which beleguers and begirds a City or Fort besieged Had S. Luke any reference to this when he speaks of Ierusalem compassed with an Army The Metaphor also of a Wing leans most this way whether we consider their figure and motion being stretched out or their posture when Birds of rapine sit couring over their prey I will not say the Roman Eagle was here aimed at though 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used not only for Ala a Wing but for Alatum Volatile a Fowl or Winged Creature It is sufficient that neither the nature nor name of a Wing is strange or unaccustomed to an Army But how will you say will an Army of Abominations be made an Army of Gentiles I answer The Scripture in many places calleth Idols by the name of Abominations that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So the Egyptian Idols Exod. 8. ver 26 c. are called the Abomination of the Egyptians Ezek. 7. 20. the Iews are said to have made the Images of their Abominations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ier. 7. 30. to have set up 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is their Idols in the House of the Lord. So 2 Kings 23. 13. Ashtoreth is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Abomination of the Sidonians Chemosh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Abomination of the Moabites but Milchom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Abomination of the Children of Ammon Wherefore 1 Kings 11. 5 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is by the Seventy thrice translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Idol This being a thing manifest we are to observe further That the Scripture useth also to express and imply under the names of the Gods the Nations themselves which worshipped them The Lord threatned to scatter Israel among the Nations and that there they should serve other Gods day and night Gods the works of mens hands wood and stone which neither they nor their Fathers had known that is they should serve them not religiously but politically inasmuch as they were to become Slaves and Vassals to Idolatrous Nations even such Idolaters as neither they nor their Fathers had ever heard of Let it also be considered whether that of David 1 Sam. 26. 19. be not to be expounded after the same Trope They have saith he driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord saying Go serve other Gods that is They have driven me to serve a Nation of another Religion Yea Ezra 9. 14. fitly to our purpose the Strangers with whom the people of Israel had contracted affinity are called expresly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the people of Abominations which the Seventy render 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the people of the Lands that is Gentiles And where we read in the first verse The people of Israel c. have not separated themselves from the people of the Lands according to their Abominations c. it is the same phrase with that of Moses Cattel after their kind creeping things after their kind that is the several kinds of cattel and of creeping things so the people of the Lands according to their Abominations is the several kinds of Idolaters of the Lands about them And thus we have shewed that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Wing of Abominations is as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Army of people of Abominations that is of Gentiles and Worshippers of Idols But who is this Desolater or Maker of Desolations who should command over this Wing of Abominations and bring these Gentiles against the Holy City I answer The words in the Original stand indifferent to be applied either to the Roman General or Messiah but I could not render them so indifferently For if I render them And in half a Week a Desolater shall cause the sacrifice and offering to cease and that being over a Wing of Abominations or Over a Wing of Abominations shall he be who makes desolation this Desolater would then seem to be some other than Messiah that is the Roman General But render them as I do And making desolation or being a Desolater he shall cause the sacrifice and offering to cease and that c. or He He shall cause the sacrifice and offering to cease and commanding over a Wing of Abominations be a Desolater either way of these they will have reference to MESSIAH the Prince who is the Person meant in the words immediately before He shall confirm a Covenant with many one Week And this I most incline to that so the Person spoken of may be the same throughout and a reason also appears of that additament That this Desolater should be over an Army of Abominations For if a Forein General were only meant what needed this Addition what other Army
could such a one lead but Gentiles But that Messiah himself should command over an Army of Idolaters this needed a special intimation And surely the Roman Army though an Army of Abominations was in this service the Army of Messiah So the Parable aiming at this Prophecy tells us Matth. 22. 7. When the King heard how spitefully they entreated his Messengers who came to tell them the Wedding whereunto they had been bidden was ready He was wroth saith the Text and sent forth HIS Armies and destroyed those Murtherers and burnt up their City Whence it is that the coming of this desolating Army of the Romans is called the coming of Christ Iames 5. Weep and houl ye rich men he writeth to Iews for the miseries that shall come upon you for you have heaped up goods for the Last days that is according to Oecumenius when the End of your State is a coming and the Romans spoil you of all which is expressed in the seventh verse by Christ's coming Be ye patient saith he until the coming of the Lord he speaks to the believing Iews whom the rest persecuted and in the next Stablish your hearts for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh He meaneth saith Oecumenius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the expedition of the Romans and their carrying away the Iews captives into all Nations So he takes that of Iohn chap. 21. 22. If I will that he stay till I come that is saith he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 till the Destruction of Ierusalem and proves that this Coming of Christ is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the destruction of Ierusalem by that of Malachi Chap. 3. 1 2. Behold the Lord shall come and who shall abide the day of his coming And thus would I understand that Heb. 10. 37. For yet a little while and He that shall come will come and will not tarry Messiah therefore himself seems to be that Desolater here meant who should command over an Army of Abominations when he came to destroy the City and the Sanctuary Thus it appears our Saviour's citation in the Gospel is not of the very words of Daniel in this passage but of the sense only summarily expressed and that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to be expounded 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Abomination or Abominable Army over which he should be who should make desolation As for the Seventy or whosoever else for S. Hierome doubts translated this Book if their Translation here were originally as we now have it and not translated thither out of our Saviour's words in the Gospel they seem to have accommodated the place though of unlike construction and circumstance of sense unto two other places Chap. 11. 31. Chap. 12. 11. where some such kind of Abomination is mentioned and likewise the participles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But in all three of them not well understanding what subject these Participles included they contented themselves only to express by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a general relation of desolation in the abstract which might be diversly interpretable otherwise it is not possible by any alteration of the points to express their Translation verbatim out of this place unless 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were in statu constructo as it is not And until the final time even that which is determined it shall continue upon the desolate Here I have chosen to translate the verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 continue as the Targum renders it Ier. c. 7. 20. c. 42. 18. and the Vulgar here perseverabit as a Metaphorical signification taken from a continued pouring of water It is the Feminine Gender and therefore to be referred to a Feminine supposâ—um which I take to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ala. This wing of Abominations that is metonymicè the Desolation wrought by it or forein possession brought in by it should continue upon the Desolate until the final time which was determined should be accomplished Or those Gentile people of the Roman Empire by whom Ierusalem was destroyed should continue their dominion and possession either of the place or desolate inhabitants once thereof until that final time be accomplished Whether this or that sutes best the meaning in S. Luke's language is thus expressed The Iews shall be carried captive over all Nations and Ierusalem troden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled that is as was said before until the Monarchies of the Gentiles should be finished For these times of the Gentiles are that last period of the Fourth Kingdom prophesied of a Time Times and half a Time at the end whereof the Angel swears unto Daniel chap. 12. 7. That God should accomplish to scatter the power of the Holy people This is that Fulness of the Gentiles which being come S. Paul tells us The Deliverer shall come out of Sion and all Israel shall be saved And the Angel in Apoc. 10. 6. renews the same oath to S. Iohn which he sware before to Daniel That when these Times N. B. should end and be no longer the mystery of God should be finished as he had declared to his servants the Prophets Amen APPENDIX ALthough I think that preciseness of days is not to be much stood upon when the Events and their Times do in the whole answer to Prediction yet have I been so curious as to enquire whether the Desolation of the City and Sanctuary to be in the middle of the Seventieth Week were fulfilled to a very day or not And as I think I have so found it very near if not altogether For Anno Iudaico 3344. AErae mundi Scaligerianae 3533. the year the Temple was finished Neomenia Tisri according to the Iews Calendar fell upon the 9 of September Calendarii Iuliani Feriâ 1. Cyclo Solis 12. Literâ Dominic G. Ergò Neomenia Adar was Feb. 4. Fer. 2. Cyclo Solis 13. Literâ Dominicali F. So the 3 of Adar the day whereon the Temple was finished Ezra 6. 15. will be the 6 of February From whence to the 8 of August whereon the Temple was fired and two days after consumed are exclusive 182 days that is half a year adunguem But this year according to the Iudaical Calendar was Annus Embolimaeus and so had two Adars which of them the Scripture meaneth is doubtful But the Neomenia of the second Adar was March 5. Feria 4. So the 3 day of this Adar was the 7. of March From whence to the 8. of September the day whereon the City was fired are exclusive 184 days which is a day or two too much But it is more than probable that the Iewish Calendar was not in Darius his time so exact nor the Moon 's motion so well known but the New Moon might sometimes anticipate the beginning of their Months a day or two Howsoever those who begin their reckoning from the 2 d year of Darius as Scaliger doth cannot from the 24 th day of the 6 th
Haud temerè suspicatus sum de argumento nam eandem planè tuetur de Die suo Novissimo sententiam quam ego de Die Iudicii conceperam Ut Libro prelecto non mediocriter in sententia mea confirmatus sim tum propter hoc ipsum tum quòd multa Scripturae loca in eo reperi adeò ad meam mentem interpretata ut consensionem in talibus à communi sententia abeuntibus oppidò mirarer Vides Reverende Praesul quò me rapit Contemplatiunculae meae nimium fortaâ—se studium ut etiam tibi hisce narrandis importunus sim. Sed ultrà Paternitatem tuam à gravioribus tuis meditationibus non distinebo Deus te Reverendissime ac Illustrissime Domine quà m diutissimè incolumem superstitem velit Ecclesiae Patriae tuae bono E. Collegio Christi 24 Aprilis An. 1628. Reverendissimae Paternitatis tuae studiosissimus Iosephus Medus EPISTLE IV. Mr. Mede's Second Letter to Archbishop Usher touching the Millennium and the Chronology of the Samaritan Pentateuch c. My Reverend Lord HAving understood by Mr. Lowe's Letter to Mr. Chappel that my Books were lost between Dublin and Droghedah as they were coming to your Lordship I presumed a second time to obtrude upon your Grace three or four more of them howsoever the worth were not such that the first loss was much material I sent with them a Letter and a Speculation or two with it which yet through some defect in sending I fear will come after them I beseech your Lordship pardon me if I have offended as I am afraid I have either against discrâ—tion or good manners For I confess I have been since somewhat jealous that the Books I first sent were not so lost but that they were found again which if they were how can I but blush to think that I have with such either shew of self-love or unmannerly importunity again troubled your Lordship with them who should noâ— have presumed at the first to have offered any more than one But my confidence is in your Grace's experienced humanity to accept any thing in good part from a Scholar's hand though perhaps accompanied with some melancholick vanity My Lord I sent in the Letter I mention the last Paragraph or piece of some Specimina Interpretationum Apocalypticarum namely that which concerned the Millennium Whereto I added for further probability of my Conceit somewhat more out of my Adversaria and in special that one of Carpentarius's Com. in Alcinoum Platonis p. 322. Septimum Millenarium ab universa Cabbalistarum Schola vocari MAGNVM DIEM IVDICII Wherein I had no intent or thought not yet have to avow that old conceit of the Chiliasts That the World should as it were labour 6000 years and in the Seventh thousand should be that glorious Sabbath of the Reign of Christ I inclined to think it much nearer But only to shew how fitly in the Hebrew notion not only a long time of some Years and Ages but even this very time of a Thousand years might be styled a Day Howbeit I desire your Lordship to give me leave if but for your recreation to relate the event of a piece of my Curiosity since that time the rather because the means thereof is beholding to your Grace I chanced to light upon Mr. Selden's Marmora Arundelliana and found therein together with an honorable and deserved mention of your Grace's name the Chronology of your Samaritan Pentateuch published to the view of the whole world I had thereby opportunity to take more curious notice thereof than I had done when your Lordship was in England and observed that it much more exceeded the Iewish in the Genealogy of the Patriarchs after the floud then it came short in those before it It came therefore into my mind to try how near the 6000 years of the world would be by that computation I found it would be Anno AErae Christianae 1736 which is just the very year when the 1260 years of the Beast's reign will expire if it be reckoned from the Deposition of Augustulus the last Roman Emperor Depositio Angustuli Anno AErae Christ. 476 Anni Regni Bestiae 1260 Sum. 1736 A Condito Mundo ad AEram Christ. juxta Scaligerum 3949 Adde quadriennium quo idem anticipat initium Nebuchadnezzaris nam in caeteris nihil muto 4 Excessus Chronologiae Samaritanae supra Iudaicam 311 Ità à condito Mundo ad AEram Christ. erunt Ann. 4264 Adde annos AErae Christ. quando exibunt Tempora Bestiae seu 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 si ducantur à depositione Angustuli 1736 Sum. 6000 I began here to consider whether this difference of the Account of the years of the world were not ordered by a special disposition of Providence to frustrate our Curiosity in searching the time of the Day of Iudgment My Lord I would trouble your Lordship with a Conceit or two more if I had time As that I conceive Nebuchadnezzar's dream Dan 2. to have been some years before he sought for the interpretation which was the reason he had forgotten it the words in ver 29. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be taken for the dream and may be well so construed viz. That his dream came upon him or came into his mind Also that the 40 years Ezek. 4. 6. should be the time of Manasses Idolatry for which God threatens so often that he would destroy that Kingdom But Mr. Provost will not stay for me I beseech the Almighty long to bless your Grace and grant you life and thus I end with my humble Service and am Christ's Coll. 22 May 1628. Your Lordship 's most ready to be commanded Ioseph Mede EPISTLE V. Mr. Hayn his First Letter to Mr. Mede about several passages in Daniel and the Revelation SALUTEM in CHRISTO Worthy and Learned Sir SOme kind friend have lately imparted to me your Synchronisms of the Apocalyps printed and some other written passages on Daniel's times and other parts of Scripture The world must needs give good entertainment to your painful and learned labours who have undertaken paths troden by few with much care of sure footing especially in your Synchronisms Yet see how it falls out as in this kind it cannot be avoided in all things you shall not find assent For my part I know well quà m sit mihi curta supellex yet partly that I may be better instructed my self partly to give you occasion of further clearing the Truth I have sent here included some Positions with Arguments confirming them contrary to some of your Tenets desiring your favourable interpretation of my meaning and your Answer at your best leisure and assuring you that I do this not contradicendi studio sed amore veritatis indagandae and minding if you encourage me thereto to shew hereafter my Reasons of some dissent in other matters I commend you and your studies to God's blessing and rest From Christs-parish in London Iune 5. 1629.
Daniel's Vision of Four Beasts omits the first which was to be while the Fourth Beast yet lived and designs the last only when that ruffling Horn's time being finished and the Beast destroyed The Ancient of daies gives the Son of man a Kingdom wherein all nations tongues and people should serve and obey him Dan. 7. 13. The Reason Nebuchadnezzar a Gentile was a Type of the Gentiles who were to have their part in both estates of Christ's Kingdom wherefore both are shewn him Daniel a Iew was a Type of the Iews whoâ—e nation should have no share in the first but only in the last and therefore the last is only shewn him This Vniversal Kingdom of the Son of man revealed in the clouds of heaven which Daniel here saw and which the Angel expounds to be the Kingdom of the Saints of the most High is the same with that voiced in the Apocalyps upon the sound of the seventh Trumpet All the Kingdoms of the World are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. Compare them Whence it will follow That those finishing times of the Fourth Beast called A Time Times and half a Time during which that wicked Horn should domineer and ruffle it among his ten Kings are the self-same Time which the Angel in S. Iohn forewarn thâ— should be no longer as soon as the seventh Angel began to sound Chap. 10. 6. The self-same Times whose finishing the same Angel swears unto Daniel in the same form and gesture he doth to S. Iohn should be the period of those wondrous afflictions of the Church and of the scattering of the power of the holy people Dan. 12. 7. And consequently those very Times of the Gentiles whereof our Saviour speaks Luke 21. 24. that the treading down of Ierusalem and dispersion of the Iews should last until the Times of the Gentiles were finished even the same Times whereof Tobit harped Chap. ult That notwithstanding Iudah should again after a while return and build a second Temple yet should not the Vniversal restitution be nor Israel return from all places of their Captivity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lastly the same Times with S. Iohn's Apocalyptical Times of the renewed Beast's blasphemous reign and profanation of the Temple and City of God forty two months or 1260 days Forasmuch as the same Kingdom of our Lord Christ is the immediate and common consequent to them all Compare them When Daniel's times are done the Son of man comes in the clouds of heaven to receive the Empire of all the Kingdoms of the world Dan. 7. 14. When S. Lukes times of the Gentiles are finished then shall be Signs in the Sun and Moon the Son of man comes also in the clouds of heaven ver 27. the redemption of Israel ver 28. and the Kingdom of God is at hand ver 31. When S. Iohn's Apocalyptical Beasts forty two months reign with the Witnesses 1260 days mourning determine the Ark of the Covenant is seen in heaven and all the Kingdoms of the world become the Kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ Apocal. 11. 15. ad finem An APPENDIX The First coming of Christ was to be while the Fourth Kingdom was yet in being his Second when it should end The hewing of the Stone out of the mountain which is the rearing of the Kingdom of Christ was before it smote the Image upon the feet and upon the destruction thereof became so great a Mountain as filled the whole earth Therefore the hewing out of this Stone was while this Image was yet in being Daniel himself interprets the Stone to be the Kingdom of Christ not Christ himself and saies that the God of heaven should set it up in the days of those Kings or Kingdoms that is adhuc currente horum Regum periodo vel diebus Tetrarchiae hujus nondum expletis whilest the daies of those Kingdoms of the Gentiles yet lasted or before they expired namely whilst the last of those Kingdoms was still current and in being He that shall here expound in the daies to mean after the days shall give me leave not to believe him unless also he can perswade me that the Stone which smote the Image was hewed out of the mountain after the Image was dashed in pieces and vanished The Iews in our Saviour's time expected the Messiah's coming before the times of the Fourth Kingdom expired For they looked it should be destroyed by him after he was come and then the Kingdom restored to Israel According to that of Dan. 7. when the Beast should be slain and his body destroyed the Kingdom should be given to the people of the Saints of the most High Only they thought not the distance between the first coming of Christ and his destruction of the Fourth Beast to be so long Whence was that question of the Apostles to our Saviour at his Ascension Wilt thou now restore the Kingdom to Israel But I am gone much further than ever I intended and therefore will here make an end I make question whether you can read my scribling If you can I hope you will excuse my hast And so I commend you to the divine protection and am Your loving Friend Ioseph Mede Christ's Colledge Iuly 22. EPISTLE IX Mr. Hayn's Third Letter to Mr. Mede about several passages in Daniel and the Revelation SIR I Confess that conference by writing multiplies words by giving more scope to deliberation and may justly make you backward to Collations in this kind But the disquisition and finding of truth countervails all than which I seek nothing more by this my pains To that part of your answer received Iuly 22. I have inclosed a Reply and expect the rest of your Answer formerly intended when you should return to Cambridge And now to this present Reply as your occasions will permit Such Writings as I have seen of yours testifie to me both your plentiful reading and diligent observation of matters most remarkable therein as also I am perswaded in this Argument Yet cannot all that yet you have said drive me from my hold I reverence the Learned on both sides and will ever give them all duerespect and will not be found to stand single in any opinion But the persons of men shall not sway me against the native light of the Sacred Text which I know makes for me If Alsted and some others have lest their Masters in some of these points I think we shall find others as Glassius of equal judgment to Alsted to run this way But 't is to be considered herein not so much Qui dicunt pro auâ— contra as Quid dicunt And therefore I will not put into the scales mens Authority but their Reasons And hope that after your perusal of this present Reply you will be more inclinable to a different judgment from some of your former Tenets And thus leaving you to the protection and direction of the God of Truth I rest Your very loving Friend Tho. Hayne
Meditations I will add this more than I meant to have done the rather because I discovered by your last somewhat more of your Opinion in one principal particular than I knew before and also because I find you presume of another piece as solid and well-grounded because in my last I made no Answer to it though I intimated I had sufficient if need were to say against it My end is that you might see I maintain not an Opinion out of mere pertinacy but that I have Reasons sufficient to perswade my self though you never met with a man whatsoever you supposed of me of less confidence to perswade others than when you met with me I have a conceit that some opinions be in a sort Fatal to some men and therefore I can with much patience endure a man to be contrary-minded and have little or no edge to contend with one I think perswaded unless it were in something that merely concerned him in state of salvation But I come to the matter 1. You seem to grant me That the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven c. mentioned in Daniel and that coming of his in the Clouds of heaven in the Gospel Matth. 24. 30. ch 26. 64. Mark 13. 26. ch 14. 62. Luke 21. 27. and in the Apocalyps chap. 1. 7. are one and the same But you apply them all to Christ's coming to the destruction of Ierusalem because our Saviour saith in that Prophecy of his That that generation should not pass till all things then prophesied should be fulfilled I answer first While you endeavour in this manner to establish a ground for the First coming of Christ you bereave the Church of those principal passages of Scripture whereon she hath always grounded her faith of the Second coming Secondly You ground all this upon the ambiguity of the word Generation whereas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies not only aetas but gens natio progenies and so ought to be here taken viz. Gens Iudaeorum non inâ—eribit usque dum omnia haec implentur The nation of the Iews should not perish till all these things were fulfilled For so signifies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Hebrew notion as you may see even in the verse following 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 By virtue of which Amen verse 34. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Verily I say unto you the Iewish Nation even to the wonder and astonishment of all who consider it remains a distinct people in so long and tedious a Captivity and after so many wonderful changes as have befallen the Nations where they live According to that of Ieremy Chap. 31. 35 36. whither this passage seems to have reference Thus saith the Lord which giveth the Sun for a light by day and the ordinances of the Moon and of the Stars for a light by night which divideth the Sea when the waves thereof roar If those ordinances depart from before me saith the Lord then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever S. Chrysostome among the ancients and Flacius Illyricus a man well skill'd in the style of Scripture among the moderns and those who follow them might have admonished others to take the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in this acception rather than by turning it aetas or seculum to put this Prophecy in little ease and the whole harmony of Scripture out of frame by I know not what confused interpretation S. Chrysostome applies it to Gens Christiana or fidelium which he calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Generatio quaerentium Dominum Others have other accommodations but still under this notion I speak of I prefer as I said Gens Iudaeorum for what Reasons nihil nunc attinet dicere No man can deny but this is one of the native notions of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yea and so taken in the Gospels as in the foregoing Chapter Matth. 23. 36. Verily I say unto you all these things shall come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon this nation So Beza renders it twice in the parallel place Luke 11. 50 51. and seven times in this Gospel Again Luke 17. 25. The Son of man must be first rejected 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Beza à gente ista The LXX renders by this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 populus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 familia 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 progenies patria See Gen. 25. 13. ch 43. 7. Num. 10. 30 c. I suppose here is enough â—or the signification of a word So then your Argument thence is nothing 3. Besides to interpret this coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven and his kingdom then of his coming to the destruction of Ierusalem is contrary to the context of our Saviour's Prophecy For the coming of Christ to destroy Ierusalem was the beginning and cause of that great and long Tribulation of that people but the coming and appearing of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven is expresly said should be after it Immediately after the days of that Tribulation c. Matth. 24. 29. Mark 13. 24. For this great Tribulation such as never Nation suffered is not to be confined to their calamity at the destruction of Ierusalem but extends to the whole time of their captivity and dispersion from that time unto this present not yet ended wherefore S. Luke who is wont to be an Expositor of our Saviour's words puts in stead of those words of great tribulation these of parallel sense to them There shall be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people Luke 21. 23. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations and Ierusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled v. 24. And as the other Evangelists say After that tribulation ended so he After or when these times of the Gentiles are fulfilled then shall be signs in the Sun and Moon and then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud c. For the Copulative 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 verse 25. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. is to be taken after the Hebrew manner ordinativè for tum deinde which you know is frequent in Scripture Then shall be signs And I make no question but these Times of the Gentiles with which the Iews Tribulation shall end are either the Times of the Four Monarchies in general that is the Times of that prophesied Dominion of the Gentiles or which is all one in event those last Times of the Fourth Kingdom of A Time Times and half a Time at the fulfilling whereof Daniel prophesies of the same appearing and coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven which S. Luke doth here For if the immediate consequent be the same how can the Times which immediately precede but be the same Times also This is my opinion which I intimated once before but you
and their Lord should reign for ever See the place and consider it This opinion is here and there also dispersed in the Chaldee Paraphrase and in the Talmud as of ancient Tradition and is the opinion of the Iews at this day who as they look not for the Kingdom of their Messiah until Dies Iudicii magni so they expect that their forefathers at least such as were just and holy should rise at the beginning of the same and reign in the land of Israel with their off-spring under Messiah I can hardly believe that all this smoke of Tradition could arise but from some fire of Truth anciently made known unto them Besides why should the holy Ghost in this point speak so like them unless he would induce us mutatis mutandis to mean with them In fine the Second and Universal Resurrection with the State of the Saints after it now so clearly revealed in Christianity seems to have been less known to the ancient Church of the Iews than the First and the State to accompany it Lastly This was the Opinion of the whole Orthodox Christian Church in the Age immediately following the death of S. Iohn when yet Polycarp and many of the Apostles Disciples were living as Iustin Martyr expresly affirmeth whose passage to that purpose when I return again to Cambridge I will send you illustrated with some Notes and the reading in one place restored from a corruption crept thereinto by fraud or otherwise A testimony absolute without all comparison to perswade such as rely upon Authority and Antiquity It is to be admired that an Opinion once so generally received in the Church should ever have been cried down and buried But those Times which extinguished this brought other Alterations into the Church besides this Et quidem sic fieri oportuit I will say something more observed perhaps by few of those which have knowledge enough of the rest namely That this Opinion of the First Resurrection was the true ground and mother of prayers for the dead so anciently received in the Church which were then conceived after this manner Vt partem haberent in Resurrectione prima See Tertullian who first mentions them The reason was because this having part in Resurrectione prima was not to be common to all but to be a priviledge of some namely of Martyrs and Confessors equipollent to them if God so would accept them Moreover the belief of this Prerogative of Martyrs in Resurrectione prima was that which made the Christians of those times so joyously desirous of Martyrdom These things will perhaps seem strange but they will be found true if duly examined Thus I have discovered my opinion of the thing which I suppose the Scripture hath revealed shall be But de modo how it shall be I would willingly abstain from determining We must be content to be ignorant of the manner of things which for the matter we are bound to believe Too much adventuring here without a sure guide may be dangerous and breed intolerable fancies as it did among some in those ancient times which occasioned as may seem the death and burial of the main Opinion it self so generally at first believed Yet thus much I conceive the Text seems to imply That these Saints of the First Resurrection should reign here on earth in the New Ierusalem in a state of beatitude and glory partaking of Divine presence and Vision of Christ their King as it were in an Heaven upon earth or new Paradise immutable unchangeable c. Secondly That for the better understanding of this Mysterie we must distinguish between the State of the New Ierusalem and State of the Nations which shall walk in the light thereof they shall not be both one but much differing Therefore what is spoken particularly of the New Ierusalem must not be applied to the whole Church which then shall be New Ierusalem is not the whole Church but the Metropolis thereof and of the New world The State of the Nations which shall walk in her light though happy and glorious yet shall be changeable as appears by the commotio◠of the Nations seduced at the end of the Thousand years But the State of those wh◠dwell in the New Ierusalem shall be extra omnem mutationis aleam Blessed are thos◠who have part in the First Resurrection for on them the Second Death hath no power I differ therefore from Piscator and agree with Alstedius That the Saints of th◠First Resurrection should reign on Earth during the Millennium and not in Heaven I differ from both in that I make this State of the Church to belong to Secundus Adventus Christi or Dies Iudicii Magni when Christ shall appear in the clouds of Heaven to destroy all the professed enemies of his Church and Kingdom and deliver the creature from that bondage of corruption brought upon it for the sin of man Whereas they make it to precede the Day of Iudgment and Second coming Though this Notion may seem to make but little alteration of the thing believed yet it is of no small moment to facilitate the understanding of Scripture and puts upon the thing it self another nature than is conceived by those who apprehend it otherwise In a word Ours conceive this State to be ante Diem Iudicii Others though wrongfully suppose the ancient Chiliasts to have held it to be post Diem Iudicii But the truth is it is neither before nor after but ipsa Dies Iudicii ipsum tempus Secundae apparitionis Christi And it is to be remembred here that the Iews who gave this time the name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Day of Iudgment and from whom our Saviour and his Apostles took it never understood thereby but a Time of many years continuance yea some mirabile dictu of a thousand years and the name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Day of Iudgment is more frequent in their Writings than in the New Testament it self It is mentioned I know not how many times in the Chaldee Paraphrase of that little Book of Ecclesiastes The word Day is in the Hebrew notion used ordinarily for tempus yea longissimum as in the Prophets for the seventy years Captivity for the time of their great and long Captivity for the time of their pilgrimage in the wilderness Psal. 95. according to the LXX and S. Pauls translation Hebr. 3. The day of temptation in the wilderness when your Fathers tempted me and proved me and saw my works forty years See the thirteenth verse of that chapter where a Day includes every Day So should Day be taken in the Lord's Prayer for the time of this our life Compare it with S. Luke whose words are Give us every day our daily bread See the longest day of all days in the last words of S. Peter's last Epistle in the Greek and Latin for our English obscures it with a general expression It is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dies
be to be absent from the Lord and to dwell in the body will be to be present with the Lord. Ans. 1. Though death will not then be comfortable in this respect yet it may in other respects as it brings freedom from seducing which afterwards shall be incident to Gog and Magog Ans. 2. As Methuselah lived above 900 years a little before the Floud so in the Restauration of the world why may not men live a 1000 years I speak not of the Saints raised but of those that shall walk in the light of new Ierusalem Quaere 4. Christ's Kingdom shall have no end Luk. 1. 33. Dan. 7. 14. But this Kingdom of Christ shall last but a 1000 years and then Gog and Magog shall prevail so far as not only to invade all the Nations that walk in the light of new Ierusalem but even to besiege the beloved City that is new Ierusalem it self Rev. 20. Ans. 1. But not prevail over new Ierusalem but be forthwith consumed with fire and then Christ's Kingdom continuing still shall be translated from earth to Heaven Ans. 2. Christ's Kingdom shall succeed other kingdoms but no kingdom shall succeed this and in that respect it is said to be everlasting But Christ must resign his Kingdom to his Father that God may be all in all 1. Cor. 15. Quaere 5. Christ's coming is not till the restoring of all things Acts 3. 21. But the restoring of all things followeth after the consumption of Gog and Magog Rev. 20. 11. and Rev. 21. 1. Ergò Christ's coming shall not be till after Gog and Magog's ruine Ergò not a 1000 years before Ans. It is said that before his face that sate upon the throne heaven and earth fled away c. But it is not said that then it began to fly away to wit after the destruction of Gog and Magog Quaere 6. 'T is very strange that Gog and Magog should adventure to besiege new Ierusalem the Devil and his Angels might as well adventure to besiege Heaven Answ. True if Gog and Magog knew the condition of new Ierusalem so well as the Devil and his Angels know the condition of Heaven Quaere 7. Shall all that oppose Christ's truth be consumed with fire at that day Consider Paul opposed the Gospel for a while yet was a chosen vessel of God and many that do not oppose may yet be reprobates Ans. 1. Yet at that day all such to whom the Lord coming in a flaming fire shall render vengeance for not obeying the Gospel of Christ Iesus 2 Thess. 1. 8. shall be none of God's Elect. Ans. 2. But some of God's Elect perhaps may be converted that very day Quaere 8. What shall become of Infants found alive at that day not only of God's children but of others also Ans. 1. If consumed in the same fire with their ungodly parents this will be no more strange than that which fell out in the conflagration of Sodom and Gomorrah Ans. 2. Yet they may be of the number of those that escape if so it please God and hereunto to wit that it should so please God I should rather incline Quaere 9. From heaven we look for a Saviour that shall transform our vile bodies and make them like unto his glorius body Phil. 3. ult Ergò at Christ's coming all the Saints that remain alive shall be so transformed Ans. So they shall before that Day of Iudgment ends for it continueth a 1000 years Quaere 10. They that then are found alive shall be caught up in the air and ever be with the Lord I mean the godly But if there shall be a 1000 years reign on earth what need they be caught up in the air and how ever be with the Lord from thenceforth if they and their posterity after them continue for the space of a 1000 years subject to mortality These were his Ten Quaere's and Answers unto Nine of them with which Contemplations he wrote his heart serv'd him not to acquaint you or to intreat your judgment in the way of correction or confirmation and addition but left it unto me The Father of lights illuminate our hearts with all saving light to his Glory the good of his people and our own comforts in Christ Iesus So I rest 6. Ian. 1629. Yours ever Sam. Meddus EPISTLE XXII Mr. Mede's Answer to the Tenth Quaere about the 1000 years Regnum Sanctorum SIR BY reason of this late indisposition I was not fit for any matter of study till yesterday howsoever I considered than Dr. T. his Answers to the Objections and applaud them finding through them all a right and dexterous apprehension of the thing questioned which many are very uncapable to conceive But because he leaves the last unanswered I suppose it was tacitely reserved to me for Tithe himself having answered Nine I will therefore as well as I can propound what I had before conceived might be answered to such an Objection wherein you shall also perceive in part wherein I differ from the Lutheran 1. Therefore It is not needful that the Resurrection of those which slept in Christ and the Rapture of those which shall be left alive together with them into the Aire should be at one and the same time For the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 first and then or afterwards may admit a great distance of time as 1 Cor. 15. 23. Every one or all mankind shall rise in their order Christ the first-fruits that is first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 afterwards they that are Christ's at his coming Here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 afterwards notes a distance of time of above a thousand and a half of years as we find by experience Suppose therefore this Rapture of the Saints into the Aire be to translate them to Heaven yet it might be construed thus The dead in Christ that is for Christ namely the Martyrs shall rise first afterwards 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 viz. a thousand years after we which are alive and remain shall together with them be caught up in the clouds and meet the Lord in the Aire and so from thenceforth we shall ever be with the Lord. Thus Tertullian seems to understand it who interprets 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or as it is in ver 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Martyrs namely such as die propter Christum for Christ by means of Christ through Christ for Christ's sake taking 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as noting the cause or means of their death So Piscator expounds the like speech Apoc. 14. 13. Blessed are the dead which die 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 id est propter Dominum for the Lord Beza qui Domini causâ moriuntur which die for the Lord's sake 2. If thus to restrain 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seem not so fully to answer the Apostle's scope and intention which seems to be a general consolation to all that die in the faith a fruition
rest of the Beasts together with the fourth Beast and so not to admit of such a distance Let others judge Thirdly But I will not conceal that I have suspected there might possibly be a third Interpretation farâ—d â—â—ering from them both and which would make the Vision fully to agree with the Angel's interpretation But the words then must be construed much otherwise than they use to be viz. Daniel in the former verse mentioning precisely the Body of the Beast to be given to the flames it should follow thus And as the Body was burned and destroyed so the rest of the Beast viz. the tâ—n Horns and ruffling Horn had their dominion at the same time the Body was burned taken away and prolongation of life was given them for a season and time viz. until I saw one like to the Son of man coming in the clouds c. that is they reigned till the Son of man came in the clouds c. The reason why I thought of this Interpretation is because the word which we traâ—slate here plurally is as it is pointed in the Original of the singular number namely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereas if it were the plural it should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for that say the Chaldee Grammarians is the difference between the singular and the plural Emphatick that the one hath Scheva â— in the penultima the other hath Camets â— And so we render 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with Scheva in this Chapter singularly Beast twice in the following verses of this Chapter viz. verse 19 23. The reason which moved the Interpreters to translate it here plurally was because the Affixes following are all plural their dominion their lives But this may be because that remainder of the Beast under the Horns consisted of many Kingdoms and in that respect the dominion and duration thereof is expressed with plural Affixes as of many March 31. Yours Ioseph Mede Post-script My paper streightens me and my time and I have been a 3. or 4. times troubled while I was writing this last way of Interpretation which made me so blurr and blot and scarce know what I did I should else have expressed my self more plainly and fully EPISTLE XXV A more distinct and perspicuous expression of the last of those three ways to interpret that twelfth verse of Dan. 7. I Confess my skill in the Chaldee is no more but Grammatical yet thus much a little smattering in Grammar could teach me and so made me seek in what sense it might be translated singularly notwithstanding the plural Affixes following it and what this rest or remainder of the Beast if it be so turned might be First I observed that in the destruction of the Fourth Beast immediately before mentioned the Body of the Beast was precisely and particularly named whereby I began to conceive the Remainder here spoken of might be the Beast's Horns that is the eyed and mouthed Horn with that Decarchy of Horns subject to him which the Holy Ghost would tell us was destroyed at the same time and together with the Body of the Beast And so the Text to be construed thus The Body of the Beast was destroyed and given to the burning flame And the rest of the Beast also viz. the Horns had their dominion taken away after that a continuance of life had been given them for a season and a time Thus interpreted it would answer to that part of the Angel's interpretation verse 25. which saith that the State of the Beast under the wicked Horn's dominion should last a time and times and half a time whereunto otherwise there will be nothing answering in the Vision Secondly The Kingdom of the Son of man immediately following the expiration of this season and time in the Vision would answer to that in the Interpretation verse 22. The Horn prevailed against the Saints until the Ancient of days came and the Saints possessed the Kingdom Thirdly It is certain that the Session of Iudgment described in the Vision sate to destroy the wicked Horn for so saith the Angel verse 26. But the Iudgment shall sit and they shall take away his dominion And Daniel himself in the Vision exspected to see that in special for as soon as the Bench was set and the Books were opened verse 10. I beheld then saith he verse 11. because of the voice of the great words which the Horn spake viz. he looked what would become of the Horn. Something then should seem to follow in special concerning it else Daniel was frustrate of his looking But what follows I beheld until the Beast was slain This is something but general only And his Body destroyed This indeed is special but not that which Daniel looked after For how would these hang together I looked to see what would become of the Beast's horn and I saw his Body destroyed should it not seem rather to follow to answer Daniel's looking And the rest of the Beast also that is not the Body only or people of the Beast's dominion were destroyed but the Horns also with their Captain-horn who spake the big words that is the State then domineering had their dominion taken away after they had enjoyed it a season and a time Lastly Those words of the Angel's interpretation verse 26. The Iudgment shall sit and take away his dominion that is the Horn's dominion seem to have reference to that passage in the Vision which saith in the same words that the rest of the Beast had their dominion taken away The reason of the plural Affixe's answering to a singular Antecedent being because this rest of the Beast had in it a plurality of Kingdoms according to the rule of the Grammarians That a singular Antecedent to be taken collectively or distributively may have a plural number answer to it This was my adventure I. M. EPISTLE XXVI Mr. Burnet's Letter to Mr. Mede touching the Provostship of Trinity Colledge near Dublin SIR I Am bold to write unto you though a stranger to certifie you that I hear Dr. Bedle Provost of Trinity Colledge in Ireland is chosen Bishop of Kilmore in Ireland which is valued worth 600 l. per annum appointed thereto by the King howbeit some time will be ere he leave the Colledge in the mean space I am bold to intreat your Answer to know if you will accept the place of Provost if you be chosen thereto as you were wrote to by my Lord. Primate formerly before Mr. Bedle went I am now writing to my Lord Primate an Answer of Letters this day I received from him and do certifie him of this accident for it was but this week that the King granted it and no Letter is yet gone over I sent the Book you sent me long since to my Lord Primate I dwell at the sign of the Golden fleece in Lombard-street and shall expect your Answer next return and so I commend you to God Almighty resting London April 12. Your loving Friend Francis Burnet
also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be whether the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be paragogical or an ancient slip of the Scribe For the Syriack translates it dedi and in the Hebrew it answer to to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All this to be so the words following evince viz. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 How will it cohere else They gave c. as the Lord commanded me Must it not needs be I gave c. Thirdly the Evangelist for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 would as should seem have us read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is adverbum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or as S. Matthew more freely translates 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 See 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Esther chap. 1. v. 8 15 c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 often in that Book If it be considered how aukwardly those words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 stand in that sentence and how disturb'd they make the Syntax it will breed suspicio mendi And if one of the Apostles of our Lord play here the Critick it is no sin to follow him say the Masorites what they will 2. Reg. 20. 12 c. Esay chap. 39. tot are but two Copies of the same history yet are there two or three differences questionless from the hand of the Scribe as  2 Reg. 20. Esay 39  Ver 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ver. 1. 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. If it be apparent one letter is changed for another here why may it not be in other places I durst shew no such conceits as these but to so great an Antiquary as your Lordship to whom the possibility of corruption by writing is so well known or rather the impossibility of the contrary Who knows what time will discover cum Elias venerit EPISTLE XXXII Mr. Mede's Answer to Mr. Osbourn's Quaere's touching some passages in Daniel and the Revelation Qu. 1. WHether Daniel and the Revelation are Prophecies transfused into one another or that Daniel reaches no farther than the destruction of Ierusalem Answ. I conceive Daniel to be Apocalypsis contracta and the Apocalyps Daniel explicate in that where both treat about the same subject namely what was revealed to Daniel concerning the Fourth Kingdom but summatim and in gross was shewed to S. Iohn particulatim with the distinction and order of the several Fates and Circumstances which were to betide and accompany the same And that therefore Daniel's Prophecie is not terminated with the First but reacheth to the Second coming of Christ as appears by the description of that glorious coming and the great Iudgment Dan. 7. and his prophecie of the Resurrection Chap. 12. This hath been the constant Tradition of the Church from the Apostles days to this last Seculum and was of the Church of the Iews before and at our Saviour's time And if the Apostles had ever taught the Church otherwise it could never so timely so wholly so generally have been forgotten Quest. 2. How was the Book of Apocalyptical predictions sealed until the Lamb opened it Apoc. 5. if Daniel and the other Prophets wrote any thing of them Answ. Whatsoever the meaning be of that sealing and unsealing the Apocalyptical Book it cannot be so far urged as to infer the Contents thereof were in no wise â—evealed until that unsealing that is until S. Iohn saw his Revelation For the contrary is apparent First of the Day of Iudgment and Resurrection at Christ's glorious coming in the clouds which is the main But and scope of the Apocalyps and yet was foretold by Daniel or some other of the Prophets or else upon what Scripture did the Church of the Iews found their faith concerning both Secondly The Reign of Antichristâ— which should precede that glorious coming is no small part of the argument of the Apocalyps yet was that revealed before S. Iohn saw his Visions if you will not grant to and by Daniel yet you must by S. Paul 2 Thess. 2. which was at least 40 years before the Apocalyps was given But he that considers S. Paul well will find that he borrowed that piece and the ground of his Demonstration from Daniel of which more by and by In a word The Fourth Kingdom and that tyrannical Dominion which should foregoe the Son of mans coming in the clouds of heaven was revealed summatim in genere before S. Iohn's Visions but the series rerum gerendarum therein from the First to that Second and glorious appearing of Christ particulatim in specie was never revealed or unsealed till then Quest. 3. All things go round That which is is that which was and that which shall be What therefore though the expressions in S. Iohn be the same with those in Daniel yet may the times and things prophesied of not be the same Answ. 'T is true all things go round and the course of Divine government runs in a circle or repetition of the lame things So that the Fates and Sequels of things foretold in the Prophets may be again and again repeated and the Prophecies of them as it were often fulfilled namely by way of Analogy but not of Propriety But whither tends this I suppose to make the ruffling Horn in Daniel and S. Iohn's blaspheming Beast to be diverse though the expression and description be the same If this be it I meet with it thus The Vision of the Son of mans coming in the clouds of heaven Dan. 7. is in propriety the Second and Glorious coming of Christ as appears by that coming so often described from thence in the New Testament and our Saviour's using of the title of the Son of man with reference thereto as who though now he appeared in humility yet was the same which one day as Daniel prophesied should appear so gloriously Vid. Matth. 26. 64. Mark 14. 62 c. Adhibe Iohn 12. 34 c. But if this be so then that Dominion which Daniel saw immediately to precede this coming must be in propriety that Tyranny of the wicked one which should precede that Second and Glorious coming of Christ. Ergo not the Tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes but of Antichrist And upon this ground did S. Paul build that Demonstration of his 2 Thess. 2. That the Day of the Lord could not be at hand to wit because the Kingdom of that wicked one which Daniel had foretold he should abolish at the appearance of his coming was not yet in the world Quest. 4. Whether Nebuchadnezzar's Image contained more Kingdoms than were then in the world or whereof himself was Master Answ. More Kingdoms than were then in the world I see no reason why it might not nay why it should not For it was a Vision of Kingdoms that were to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 afterward verse 29 45. and the Kingdom of Christ one amongst them Yet was Rome a
some brand or stamp upon them which points at the Sin for which they are inflicted you may call it a Sin-mark If the passages and ground of the continuance of this German War be well considered would not a man think they spake that of the Apostle Thou that hatest Idols dost thou commit Sacriledge But I dare go no further it may be I have said too much already For I well know the way that I go pleaseth neither party the one loves not the Pope should be Antichrist nor the other to hear that these things should not be Popery Thus you see I have at length brought both ends together and end where I began Pardon me this one Letter and I will trouble you no more with this Theme your Reply to my short Answer to your Quere occasioned it I forget not my best respect unto your self nor my prayers to the Almighty for blessing to you and yours Thus I rest Christ's Coll. Iuly 15. 1635. Your assured Friend Ioseph Mede I sent by Mr. B. 4. or 5. Exercises upon passages of Scripture such as I had in separate papers and fit to be communicated For those that were in Books joyned with other things I could not and some that were apart for some Reasons I would not expose to danger of censure I hope those which I sent are safely arrived with you EPISTLE LIX Dr. Twisse's Ninth Letter to Mr. Mede thanking him for his pains in the foregoing Letter and desiring his resolution of a Doubt concerning the 7 Lamps signifying the 7 Angels in Zach. 4. Right dear and Right worthy Sir I AM somewhat of a more chearful spirit than when I wrote my last I have gotten more liberty of spirit to consider your large Discourse savouring of great Learning no less Iudgment and a distinctive Apprehension of things of good importance and that not in my judgment only but in the judgment of others though all require serious and further consideration And for mine own particular I cannot but reflect upon my self how deeply I am beholden unto you for intrusting me in so liberal a manner with these your Speculations We can never offend in putting difference between the Holy and Prophane neither can we offend in presenting our selves too reverently at the Lord's Table Never was the Mercy-seat so well known in the days of the Old Testament as in these days of the New We now behold the glory of the Lord with open face and accordingly our Saviour tells us the Lord requires the true worshippers should worship him in spirit and in truth in distinction from worshipping him either at Ierusalem or in the Mount the woman spake of And in this kind of worship we cannot exceed But as for outward Gestures I doubt I shall prove but a Novice as long as I breath and we affect not to make ostentation of our Devotion in the face of the world the rather because thereby we draw upon our selves the censure of Hypocrisie and sometimes if a man lifts up his Eyes he is censured for a P. and I confess there is no outward Gesture of Devotion which may not be as handsomly performed by as carnal an heart as breaths I am confident you are far from studia partium so should we be all and be ambitious of nothing but of the love and favour of God and of our conformity unto him in truth and holiness I heartily thank you for all and particularly for these Pieces which now I return I hope they will arrive safely in your hands What I wrote the last time I have almost utterly forgotten saving the clearing of one Objection concerning the Seven Angels standing before the Throne represented by the Seven Lamps which I much desired it arising from the Text it self the Lamps being maintained by the Oile which drops from the Two Olive-trees which are interpreted to be Zorobabel and Ieshua But I have troubled you so much that I fear the aspersion of immodesty in troubling you any further I cannot sufficiently express my thankfulness for that I have already received I desire ever to be found Newbury Iuly 27. 1635. Yours in the best respect Will. Twisse EPISTLE LX. Dr. Twisse's Tenth Letter to Mr. Mede desiring him to reveal unto him those Pluscula in Zach. chapters 9 10 11. which fit not so well Zachary's time as Ieremy's as also to resolve a Doubt about the 7. Lamps in Zach. 4. with some reflexions upon Mr. Mede's large Letter about Temples and Altars and the Christian Sacrifice Worthy Sir DO you not miss your Letter ad Ludovicum de Dieu And do you not find it strange it is not returned with the rest I assure you I took no notice of it till Wednesday last two days after the last week's Letter I wrote unto you In every particular it was welcome unto me as all yours always are But your Variae lectiones concerning the Old Testament and the pregnant evidences thereof which you alledge do astonish me and above all your adventure to vindicate unto Ieremy his own Prophecy which so long hath gone under the name of Zachary I never was acquainted with any better way of reconciliation than that which Beza mentions of the likeness of abbreviations of each name which might cause a mistake by the Transcribers O that you would reveal unto me those Pluscula which in those three Chapters of Zachary 9 10 11. do more agree as you observe to the time of Ieremy than to the time of Zachary Why may you not have a peculiar way also to reconcile the Genealogie in the LXX with that in the Hebrew where Kainan is found in the one which is not in the other Thus I make bold to put you to new trouble but I presume it is no more trouble to you than the writing like as that other whereabout I moved you How the Seven Lamps are maintained by the oyl derived from the two Olive-Trees if by the Seven Lamps are meant the Seven Angels that stand before the Throne of God Yet have I not done with your large Letter concerning Temples and Altars Since the writing of my last while I was reading that large Letter of yours to some Divines who were much taken with admiration at the Learning contained therein in an Argument wherein we had been so little versed I say in the reading of it I observed one thing which in all my former readings I took no notice of and that is in these words This is a point of great moment and consequent worthy to be looked into by all the Learned of the Reformed Religion lest while we have deservedly abolished the prodigious and blasphemous Sacrifice of the Papists wherein Christ is again hypostatically offered to his Father we have not but very implicitely and obscurely reduced that ancient Commemorative Sacrifice of Christians wherein that one Sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross was continually by that sacred Rite represented and inculcated to his Father his Father
rise from the dead Resurrectione primâ ii praeerunt viventibus tanquam Iudices You see he puts a difference between those who shall be then living and those who shall rise from the dead The last shall live vitam coelestem Angelicam even on earth without marrying or giving in marriage but not the first He saies indeed the one shall generare but of the other only that praeerunt viventibus tanquam Iudices and presently in the words following describes that Regnum to be the Mille anni coelestis Imperii in quo Iustitia in orbe regnabit But of gormundizing ingluvies gula I find no word unless you think it must needs follow upon the taking away the curse of the creature and the restitution thereof to the perfection it lost through mans sin For Lactantius means no more but that such as then lived should live the life that Adam should have done in Paradise had he not sinned but those that should then rise from the dead should live in a far more Heavenly and Angelical condition even the life of the Blessed Spirits in Heaven But S. Ierom is wont to relate the opinion as if those who rose again should generare and give themselves to feasting and gormundising Besides you say S. Austin intimates that some held some such carnal Beatitude I answer So he intimates that some did not and that himself was once of that opinion and that to hold so was tolerable Quae opinio esset utcunque tolerabilis si aliquae deliciae spiritales in illo Sabbato affuturae Sanctis per Domini i. Christi praesentiam crederentur Nam nos etiam hoc opinati fuimus aliquando De Civit. Dei Lib. 20. c. 7. But where can I shew Cyprian to be a Chiliast You see it is tedious to answer a Question in writing which may be asked in a few words Yet I will say something I say therefore he shews himself plainly a Chiliast to such as know the mystery of that Opinion Lib. de Exhortatione Martyrii In the Preface whereof he speaks thus Desiderâsti Fortunate charissime ut quoniam persecutionum pressurarum pondus incumbit in fine atque consummatione mundi Antichristi tempus infestum appropinquare nunc coepit ad praeparandas coroborandas Fratrum mentes de divinis Scripturis hortamenta componerem quibus milites Christi ad coeleste spiritale certamen animarem paulò pòst Sex millia annorum jam penè complentur Si imperatum invenerit Diabolus militem Christi c. But he that as you see expected the coming of Antichrist should be at the end of the sixth thousand year which he supposed then near at hand yet thought the world should last 7000. viz. a thousand years after the destruction of Antichrist ut patet ex iis quae disserit cap. 11. in these words Quid verò in Maccabaeis septem fratres natalium pariter virtutum sorte consimiles Septenarium numerum perfectae consummationis implentes Sic Septem fratres in Martyrio cohaerentes ut primi in dispositione divina Septem dies annorum Septem millia continentes ut consummatio legitima compleatur c. This to him that knows Chiliasm is plain Chiliasm Look and compare your Austin cap. 7. lib. 20. de Civit. Dei from those words Qui propter haec hujus Libri verba primam Resurrectionem c. Compare also what Câ—prian hath in the end of that Book out of the Gospel Mark 10. 29 30. and Apocalyps 20. and you will acknowledge him to be as he was wont to profess himself Tertulliani Discipulum But I must not follow you too far in this kind of answering 't is tedious I send you some more Papers and so with my love I rest Christ's College Novemb. 16. Yours Ios. Mede EPISTLE LXV Dr. Twisse's Twelfth Letter to Mr. Mede containing Seven Quaere's relating partly to Iewish and Christian Antiquities and partly to some difficult places of Scripture Worthy Sir I Have been a stranger from you too long I come now to renew my acquaintance I presume you are acquainted with Dr. Heylin's Book of the History of the Sabbath Do you know the Author whom he opposeth about the Precepts of Noah for making the Commandment of the Sabbath one of them though he name him not Yet the question is not whether it be one of them but whether not comprehended under one of them But he allegeth Rambam to the contrary out of Ainsworth I have read enough in Cocceius to discredit Rambam and I pray let me know whether Aben Ezra upon Exod. 20. on those words the stranger within thy gates doth not maintain that it was one of them coupling it with that of Nakedness and Shedding of Bloud And though you doubted whether Solomon Iarchi on Gen. 26. 5. did deliver that which he doth of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 two of them as out of his own opinion yet Dr. Heylin confesseth that Abulensis and Mercerus testifie that the Rabbins upon that place are opinion that Abram kept the Sabbath I pray what think you both of his and Dr. White 's opinion concerning Synagogues that the Iews had none before the Captivity and their Inference thereupon That the Sabbath was nowhere observed save in the Temple by any publick congregation but only in private Dr. Andrews was of another opinion as hath been shewed me in some Notes of his and his ground in my judgment is fair Levit. 23. 3. The Seventh day is a Sabbath of rest an holy Convocation it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings The holy Convocation here mentioned seems to be in reference to all their dwellings whereas the other Feasts and holy Convocations belonging thereto were to be celebrated at Ierusalem But I have not yet consulted any Rabbines about this Then I pray What think you of Dr. Heylin saying That Evening-prayer on the Lord's-day is but a late invention Yet I find it in the Iewish Synagogue and Nocturnae after Vespertinae like as I find the like in one of Austin's Epistles de Tempore and in Cassian it appears that the Sabbath-Solemnity was not ended until the time of their Evening-repast corporal Doth your plough stand still in the Revelation and such like passages of a mysterious nature I hope it doth not Is not that Matth. 25. spoken of the last period of the Day of Iudgment It seems it is for the Resurrection is general both of Sheep and Goats yet to the Sheep it is said Receive the Kingdom Shall they receive a Kingdom when Christ resigns his unto his Father and in Heaven it seems there are none for them to reign over Or is it a Figure of speech representing the glory of that State when God becomes all in all by the greatest glory that we are acquainted with which is the glory of a Kingdom I pray what think you of that in Esa. 66. 23. From Sabbath to Sabbath shall all flesh come to worship
then to pronounce the Sentence of Condemnation upon such as are to be condemned Now I suppose the Sentence of Absolution shall continue all the time of the First Resurrection that is all the Thousand years long that that once ended and finished and not before he shall then proceed to pronounce the Sentence of Condemnation upon such as are to be condemned For so the Text saith that he shall in the first place pronounce the Sentence of bliss and Absolution upon those who are to be absolved and that done then come to the Sentence of Condemnation upon those who shall be in statu ordine damnandorum that is successively and not at one and the same time though the Scripture here mentions not the Intervallum which shall be between the beginning of the one and the other Thus you see although my plough stand still unless sometimes it joggs me yet then I am not unwilling to listen unto it 7. To that in the end of Esay 66. of Festivities in the Kingdom of Christ I answer I see no reason why the lord's-Lord's-day should not be a celebrious Day when the Lord reigneth Yet I think the expression there is accommodated to the condition and Diurnial of the Church under the Old Testament ad capium Auditorum and no more thereby to be understood but that in that New world not the Iews alone as then did but all the Nations should come before the Lord to worship him in the frequent Festivities then to be whatsoever they should be Thus I have as well as I could answered your Sabbatical number of Quaeres if not so largely and fully as you desired it is because there were too many of them for the narrowness of my mind to intend at one time Thus therefore with my Prayers to the Almighty for the continuance of his blessing and favour to you and yours I rest Christ's College April 18. 1636. Your respectful and true Friend Ios. Mede EPISTLE LXVII Mr. Mede's Second Letter to Mr. Estwick touching the Gothick Liturgy and the time when the Goths became Christians SIR THE Cothick Missal is that which the Goths in Spain used till they received the Roman which though as all other Liturgies it be to be supposed to have received many alterations and additions in time yet no doubt may retain some ancient passages whereof these Prayers pro defunctis may be some either received from the Spanish or African Christians or from the beginning of their Christianity which was before Chiliasm was condemned by Damasus or they plundered the Roman Empire For Theophilus Gothorum Episcopus was at the Council of Nice Anno 360. Vlphilus their Bishop at a Council at Constantinople assented to the Formula Ariminensis from whence the Goths became first infected with Arrianism S. Augustine de Civitate Dei useth this argument of the Goths Christianity against the Gentiles calumny That the Ruine of the Empire was for their rejecting their ancient Gods and receiving the Christian Religion For they were Christians that took and sacked Rome saith he and not Gentiles Vide Thus with my wonted affection and prayers I rest Christ's Coll. Nov. 9. 1636. Your assured Friend Ioseph Mede EPISTLE LXVIII Mr. Mede's Third Letter to Mr. Estwick more fully treating of the Gothick Liturgy and a Clause therein of Praying for the Dead to have part in the First Resurrection with a Passage in Methodius touching the Millennium Mr. Estwick THE body of the Gothish Nation or of one part thereof had received the Christian Faith before they plundered the Roman Empire as appeared by Alaricus himself who with his Army solemnly observed the Christian Rites Yet seems this to have been between the days of Constantine and Iulian and not elder Howsoever there is no question but there were many Churches among them before as was in other Nations long before the Faith was publickly received by them If so then without doubt when the Nation publickly received the Faith they received likewise that Form of Liturgy which had formerly been used in their Countrey by those of the Christian Rite amongst them And thence might remain those passages of Praying for the Dead to have part in Resurrectione Prima Irenaeus Lib. 1. cap. 3. edit Fevardent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Tertullian Lib. adv Iudaeos where he tells us that Brittannorum inaccessa Romanis loca were Christo subdita says moreover that In Sarmatarum Dacorum Germanorum Scytharum abditarum multarum Gentium Insularum nobis ignotraum locis Christi Nomen qui jam venit regnat c. Why may not the Goths be comprehended under some of these As for the Vandals and the rest of those Northern Nations I find not that they brought any Signs of Christianity with them when they first invaded and seated in the Empire but were altogether Pagans As for that Form of Prayer for the Dead Vt partem haberent in Resurrectione Prima I believe it was usual in those Formulae for the Dead till Chiliasm was cried down and then expunged namely that it followed those words which appear yet in most of those Forms Vt collocet eâ—orum animas Deus in sinu â—brahae unde abest doler suspirium as it does in this Gothish Missal Whence it is that now in those Forms there appears no Prayer at all for their Resurrection or Consummation then notwithstanding that in the Protasis they compellate God with Qui hominem mundi civem mortalem in constitutione sua fecisti promisisti ei Resurrectionem Who can believe that in such Prayers they should not at all pray for the Resurrection But that passage being it seems anciently specificated to Resurrectio Prima they thought it sufficient in after-times to omit it without substitution of any other for it And hence comes that silence of the Resurrection But that you may yet see my thoughts still now and then reflect upon that Speculation which you thought I had forgotten I will give you a passage of Methodius Olympi Lyciae deinde Tyri Episcopus and a Martyr sub Decio alii sub Valeriano which passage with a good part of his Dialogue de Resurrectione contra Originem is preserved by Epiphanius Haeres 74. There Proclus cui tribuit lonquendi partes speaks in this manner Et verò conturbatam iri Creaturam velut in conflagratione ista morituram ut restauretur non tamen extinctum iri exspectandum Vt in instaurato Mundo ipsimet instaurati ac doloris expertes habitemus juxta illud Psal. 103. Emittes spiritum tuum creabuntur renovabis faciem terrae Quòd nimirum ambientem Aerem temperatissimum deinceps facturus sit Deus Cum enim 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Terra adhuc perseveratura sit habitatores in ea futuros omnino necesse est qui nec morituri sunt ampliùs neque copulandi nuptiis aut procreandae soboli operam deturi sed Angelorum more 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in immortalitatis
Times But whether your meaning were not That for God to be robbed of such a Sacrifice was a great Sacrilege I know not And by Mr. B. I heard as from your self the practice of Bishop Andrew's Chappel was that which first cast you upon such a way so as from thence to observe the course and practice of Antiquity But in my poor judgment it is very strange that a matter of such importance as you seem to make it should have so little evidence in God's Word and Antiquity and depend merely upon certain Conjectures That which you style your Conjectura de Gogo Magogo in my poor judgment is more rational by far and yet the matter thereof you know to be very strange but it prevails very much with me That Declaration of the Palsgrave's Churches since I came home I have seen I remembered your Censure of it as a laxe thing Others passe other judgments upon it on my knowledge and those Divines were accounted in those days as grave and learned Divines as most in Christendom Indeed the matter of Bowing at hearing the name of Iesus is nothing pleasing to some in these times But how doth B. A s. reading in Antiquity serve his turn for that Cornelius à Lapide is a Papist and a Iesuit he saith ad nomem Iesu in S. Paul is no more than ad Iesum I know it is the Father's pleasure that as we honour the Father so we should honour the Son and all the world shall never bring me to shew more reverence at the hearing of the name of Iesus then at the hearing of the name Iehovah and when we are as we should be intent upon our religious comportment before God according to the inward adoration in spirit that we should watch when a word comes to perform outward obaisance in my judgment is very strange And I remember how faintly Mr. H. carries himself in this and others in pleading for it most of all urge this that no body is troubled about it but now more than enough must yield or suffer I never had experience of the practice till now and that makes me the bolder to write as I do Yet whatsoever we shall be put unto I am glad that I have such liberty to confer with you thereabouts I am lately grown acquainted with my Lord of Armagh being encouraged to write unto his Grace about the matter of the Sabbath which I willingly apprehended and acquainted him with all my Grounds whereupon I proceeded and he justifies them all I intreated also help in Antiquity about the Notion of a Sabbath given to the Lord's-Day and he profest unto me that he never inclined his mind to observe that in all his reading and added this reason For he never thought to see such times as these to call into question Whether the Moral Law contains Ten or but Nine Commandments And Dr. Reynolds being ask'd what he thought of Beza's judgment concerning the Sabbath made no other answer but this You know the Commandment Thus have I made bold to write freely as to my dear friend I doubt not but whensoever I am put unto it I shall find you the readier to afford me your best satisfaction for certainly I will neglect no means to keep me out of the paw of the Lion as well as I can I commend you to the grace of God and with many thanks for your love and free communication of precious things I take my leave ever resting Newbury March 20. 1636. Yours to love and honour you Will. Twisse EPISTLE LXXI Mr. Mede's Answer to Dr. Twisse's several Expostulations together with his judgment of Mr. Potter's Discourse touching the Number of the Beast 666. Worthy Sir I Have received yours and heartily thank you for the Book you sent me which I find to be no laxe but a nervous close and well-composed Discourse as written by an abler hand than Voetius or any Dutch-man of them all yea I believe the ablest in that argument now living Concerning Mr. Potter's Discourse before I tell you my opinion I find I have some things else to answer and such as press me so hard as I cannot deny them the first place especially one of them which complains much of being mistaken As that I bad you hearing Prayers in our Master's Closet to stand up at Gloria Patri I 'le assure you you were mistaken My words were We stand up or They stand up I know not certainly which intending only to have you take notice of our manners and fashions as I did also the night before when they bowed at the name Iesus in the Creed I confess indeed when I saw you so suddenly to alter your posture I had some suspicion lest you misunderstood me and repented me I had spoken and thought of it sometimes afterward Yet mine was but doubting I would yours had been so too For why would you suppose me to be so uncivil as to speak unto a stranger and my better in degree in such a rude manner or note as you call it Surely in this you were to blame Nay I do not remember that ever I bad any one little or great either to stand up at Gloria Patri or how at the name Iesus or to conform to other the like posture all days of my life however my opinion hath been concerning them The plain truth is I had a desire to have talked with you about these things and to have acquainted you with something I had that way which now I find your mind so averse I shall never do For this end it was that I ever anone put you in mind to observe our postures and now and then at other times in our discourse touch'd upon something of that kind to have given occasion of conference about those matters And the rather I desired it because I had declared my self so far in my Letters unto you formerly as I thought might require more to be added to prevent such scruples as might arise from thence You may remember what hint I gave you in our Gate-house the first night concerning that place in Daniel And he shall think to change Times and Laws and they shall be given into his hand for a time times and half a time I would fain have entred with you upon that Scripture and told you I had some Notion thereabout which some friends of mine had termed Dog and Cummin-seed c. As for my Sermon at S. Marie's if I could have enjoyed you privately sine arbitris which I much but in vain desired in all probability you had been together with some other things better acquainted with some of the Contents thereof And as for preaching for Bowing to Altars if my memory fail me not the word Altar unless in citing a place of Scripture was never mentioned in my whole Discourse Sure I am there was no Bowing spoken of either with respect to it or to the Communion-Table but only of Bowing in general without any
reason against it I find my self naturally pliable that way which you take even to superstition as now I find calling my self to examination And to your interpretation of that in Paul 1. Cor. 11. 22. I have been very prone insomuch that the way others take to the contrary seemed to me at first sight wondrous strange that I understood not so much as their meaning at the first nor did I come to understand what they would without some plodding and when I did understand it it seemed harsh unto me untill I came to examine what it is to despise or dishonour a Place and compared it with Dishonouring of Days And surely neither Days nor Places are to be honoured by us but God in them Yet I find a vast difference between Time and Place though you sometimes said there was the same reason of both But I find not the same reason in the more general notions of them much less in the special It is true natural actions require Time and Place for the performance of them the unity whereof together with the unity of the Subject necessarily concur to the individuation of them if I remember aright my old Philosophy And the meeting of many about the same action requires set Times and Places But by Places you mean Churches which are not Places natural the like cannot be said of Times Then as for the special consideration of them It is apparent that proportion of Time is very momentous for the advancing of Morality and Piety as by setting apart one day in a week for God's publick and solemn service a greater advancing of Piety is made by far than by the sequestring of one day only in a month or in a year for this and we find nothing answerable hereunto in Place at all least of all as commanded either by God or man Lastly as touching the particularity of Time and Place compared together will you say there is as little evidence for the particular Day to be kept holy to the Lord as for the particular Place Sure I am S. Gregorie's is going down if not altogether down to be built elsewhere as they think good we never yet heard the like of the lord's-Lord's-Day Yet I would you could prevail but so far with your great Lord to draw him to be Assertor eximius sublati discriminis inter sacrum profanum as well in Time as in Place though I despair of ever being brought to acknowledge there is no difference between these least of all to believe that Holiness of Place is more religiously to be observed than Holiness of Time But notwithstanding the difference between us herein you shall always be as dear to me as you have been and that not as a civil Friend only but as my Christian Brother too were our differences in opinion greater than these For I manifestly perceive how easie a thing it is for good men to take your way about the Holiness of Place and hereunto my self have been exceeding prone But do you think indeed that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was the word of Ignatius or can you give any instance of the like either in his time or in an 100 years after him I wish you all happiness as to my self and rest Iuly 2. 1638. Yours ever in the Lord much obliged and most assured Will. Twisse An Extract of the above-mentioned Letter of Mr. Potter to Dr. Twisse necessary for the fuller understanding of some passages in Mr. Mede's Letters c. SIR I Should be very glad to hear that my Treatise were translated into Latine either by your self or by any other if there be any such that would do it so perspicuously as I believe you would and I should be glad if your self or Mr. Mede would add his opinion which he mentions in his Letter why the Number 666 was taken rather than another whose Root might also have been said to be 25. That the Number 25 is so conspicuous and remarkable in the Roman Calendar is also a thing remarkable and apposite and a thing which I did 〈◊〉 in a great Roman Calendar in the Library at Oxford but did not then under 〈…〉 of it nor had time at that instant to search the reason why that Number 〈…〉 great red Capital figures I know there are many other things which it hath 〈…〉 which wise and learned men and such as are 〈◊〉 wi◠〈…〉 may and will observe to the same purpose 〈…〉 I kindly thank you for the sight of Mr. Mede's 〈…〉 he came to know that I had his judgment of my Book sent unto me I know 〈…〉 hope it shall be no hurt either to him or me but an help and furtherance of the Truâ—â— My Letter to Dr. T. was written to a proâ—â—â—â—◠〈…〉 hematician and â—â—â—tude of matter forced me to write briefly and therefore 〈…〉 and therefore it iâ—â—o marvel if my unskilful and confused expressions have caused 〈◊〉 things to be mistâ—ken at the first reading If the Fractions of the Root of 666 being 41 51 be appliable not only to the number of Degrees but also to the number of Minutes of the Latitude of Rome 't is more than I observed and more than I intended I thought it a sufficient exactness that 41 is the greatest number of Degrees of Latitude of that place being there is no City near it that can stand in competition with Rome to be the Seat of Antichrist And if that Parallel which is 41 Degrees of Latitude and that Meridian which is 41 Degrees of Longitude do cross and cut each other in any part of S. Peter's Patrimony or of those Dominions of Italy which are immediately subjected to the Pope and City of Rome this seemeth to me to be in this respect a sufficient manifestation of that individual Kingdom and City in which Antichrist was chiefly to reign and reside And those places and Provinces which were not immediately but mediately ruled by him were at the time of the Council of Trent chiefly confined within that Parallel which is 51 Degrees of Latitude and that Meridian which is 51 Degrees of Longitude For these two Numbers 41 and 51 or rather 41 51 being considered the one as Numerator the other as Denominator of the same Fraction must not be understood the one of Degrees and the other of Minutes but both must be applied to divisions of the same denomination and one be considered as part of the other and the Numerator as the most principal part which is chiefly intended In the second place Because this Fraction 41 51 supposeth one Integrumto be divided into 51 parts or thereabouts I therefore observed that one Degree of Longitude in that Circle or Parallel under which Rome lieth did contain in Longitude about 51 Italian or Roman miles and this supposes one Degree in maximo circulo to be about 68 Italian miles and somewhat more which agrees very well and strangely with that experimental definition of Snellius lib. 2. Eratosthen Bat. cap. 12. where he hath
us was none of the Sublata though somewhere it be as well as the rest And the field of my defence is so much the larger if it be considered that one of the three Res sacrae is capable of Subdivision But enough of this it being no well-becoming Theme to dispute upon I said there was eadem ratio Loci temporis not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but eadem ratio Loci Temporis sacri to wit for the Sanctification i. e. holy and discriminative usance due unto them both and the formal reason in respect whereof it is due For the reason why a thing is to be Sanctified or Sanctè habendum is because it is Sanctum or Sacrum Now whatsoever is appropriate unto God and his Service is such whether the determination thereof be by God's own immediate Ordination or mans Devotion it is all one in this respect so the Appropriation or Dedication thereof be supposed lawful and agreeable to the Divine will For this Sanctification we speak of depends not either upon the difference of the cause or manner whereby the thing is consecrated nor upon the diversity of Natural and Artificial being but upon the Formalis ratio of the Object because it is Holy or Sacred therefore to be sanctified with holy usance For to Sanctifie in Scripture is not only to make holy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but to do unto a thing as becometh its holiness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Moreover I believe the Sanctification of Place to be intended in the Fourth Commandment as well as that of Time and that not only from the Rule observed in the interpretation of the rest of the Commandments by one of the kind named to understand all the rest ejusdem generis but especially the Lord himself hath conjoyned them as pairs Levit. 19. 30. Keep my Sabbaths and reverence my Sanctuary And why not when they are so near a-kin being both Circumstances of Action why may I not then say Quae Deus conjunxit nemo separet And it may be if it be well looked into the Sanctification of the Lord's-day might be urged with far more advantage upon the ground I intimate than upon that other which is so much controverted But it is partialitie that undoes all It seems by this Objection I have now answered you supposed the Argument of my Book to be The Reverence of holy Places which is only The Antiquity of them You ask me if I believe indeed that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was Ignatius his word I say I do till I hear some sufficient reason why I should not For that of my not being able to give an instance of the like either in his time or within 100 years after seems to me to have no force of concluding at all When I affirmed in my Altare That the name of Table could not be shewed given to that whereon the Eucharist was celebrated in any Ecclesiastical Writer confessed to be genuine before 200 years after Christ I inferred not therefrom that therefore the name Table was never used all that time nor if I had would you have believed me And yet to tell you the truth when I wrote that I had some persuasion or suspicion that that Name could not be shewed in any Writer for 3 hundred years after Christ but durst not affirm so much as I thought because I was not sure of Origen But when a Friend of mine soon after wondred how I durst avouch in publick a thing so incredible as this to him seemed to be I discovered that I had affirmed somewhat less than I believed and desired him to make trial whether he could find it in 300 years or not wherein when he had spent some time he could not He alledged indeed Cyprian de Coena Domini but I told him that was confessed of all sides to be none of his c. And now see the luck of it The week before I received yours a Friend shewed me the New Articles of the New Bishop of Norwich his Diocesan wherein besides some other unwonted things which some body will startle at the Bishop avouches upon the credit of his reading That the name Table in that sense is never to be found in any Ecclesiastical Writer of the first 300 years save only once in an occasional passage of Dionysius Areop agita Now Sir what think you of this Yet you see I can shew the name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 oftner than once in those first 300 years Yea if you would grant me that the Author of that Hierarchical Treatise whosoever he were lived but within the compass of 200 years after Christ I could give you an instance both of the name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 within the time by you limited For this Dionysius in his Mysterium Synaxeos describes the Deacons standing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and in his Theory of the same mentions the sending of the Euergumeni at the time of the Eucharist 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 However it be it follows not that because I can shew it but once within that 200 years therefore I should believe it was used never Besides methinks I observe some unreasonableness used in this kind viz. Notwithstanding such paucitie of Monuments remaining unto us of those first Ages upon every unconcluding suspicion to discredit those we have and then when we have done to require proof that such things were in those times which we without proof deny when those who alone could give testimony are disenabled and sometimes for no other reason but because they give such testimony Is this dealing reasonable As for the taking down of S. Gregorie's Church I answer In the Law some things Sacred were unalienable even quoad Individuum as for example such as were consecrated by way of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 See Levit. 27. 28 29. Others were unalienable as touching the kind only and therefore if need were the Individuum might be changed so it were for the better and with the Lord's advantage which the Law provides should be by adding a fifth part thereunto See the rest of the Chapter quoted But what is this to the deciding of the lawfulness or truth of what is in question to alledge that which men do Is not all the world full of Contradictions I verily believe that even those who are zealous for the Sanctification of the Lord's-day do in their practice if not in their Theory too overthrow the Principles whereupon it stands I think I have no more to make answer to and I confess I have done this not without some tediousness For you must pardon me if judging as a Stander-by I am not persuaded you are by nature so prone and pliable as you think to the way which you say I take Yes I now find one thing more S. Gregorie's Church you say is going down at least is to be built elsewhere but we never yet heard the like of the Lord's-day◠No but I have namely that
him Ans. I suppose in the last year of his reign and life and that his ill usage at that time was the occasion of his so miserable death before he was yet gone from Ierusalem And yet perhaps those who came to fetch him went not home empty but carried those 3023 mentioned Ier. 52. 28. though I had rather refer them to Iehoiachin's going which was immediately Object The first deportation of the Iews was in the 7. of Nebuchadnezzar Ier. 52. 28. Therefore not the 4 but the 11. of Iehoiakim's reign Ans. Ieremy intended not a rehearsal of all the Captivities nor of the full number of captives as appears by the smalness of the number It may be those numbâ—rs contain men of particular quality and such as were disposed of in one and the same place But here I am resolved I. M. CHAP. II. The Mystery of S. Paul's Conversion or The Type of the Calling of the Iews 1. 1. PAVL among the sons of men the greatest Zelot of the Law and Persecutor of the way of Christ. THE Iews among the Nations most obstinate Zelots of Moses and the most bitter Enemies of the Followers of Christ. 2. 2. Paul in the height of this his zeal and heat of his persecuting fury found mercy and was converted The Iews though persisting unto the last in their extremity of bitterness and mortal hate to Christians yet will God have mercy on them and receive them again to be his People and be their God 3. 3. Paul converted by means extraordinary and for manner strange not as were the rest of the Apostles by the Ministerie of any Teacher upon earth but by visible Revelation of Christ Iesus in his glory from Heaven the light whereof suddenly surprising him he heard the voice of the Lord himself from Heaven saying Saul Saul why persecutest thou me The Iews not to be converted unto Christ by such means as were the rest of the Nations by the Ministerie of Preachers sent unto them but by the Revelation of Christ Iesus in his glory from Heaven when they shall say not as when they saw him in his humiliation Crucifie him but Blessed is he that comes in the Name of the Lord. Whose coming then shall be as a lightning out of the East shining into the West and the sign of the Son of Man shall appear in the clouds of Heaven and every eye shall see him even of those which pierced him and shall lament with the Spirit of grace and supplication for their so long and so shameful unbelief of their so merciful Redeemer 4. 4. Those who accompanied Paul at the time of this Apparition saw the light only and were amazed but Paul alone saw the Lord and heard the voice which he spake unto him This Revelation of Christ from Heaven like to be most apparent to the Iews in all places where they are dispersed but not so perhaps to the Gentiles with whom they live The light of his glorious presence shall be such as the whole world shall take notice of but those only to see him and hear his voice who pierced him 5. 5. Paul no sooner converted but was immediately inspired with the knowledge of the Mysteries of Christ without the instruction of any Apostle or Disciple for he received not the Gospel which he preached of Man neither was he taught it but by the Revelation of Iesus Christ. He consulteth not with the rest of the Apostles but after 14 years preaching communicated to them the Gospel which he preached among the Gentiles who added nothing unto him but gave him the right hand of fellowship The Iews together with their miraculous Calling shall be illuminated also with the knowledge of the Mysteries of the Christian Faith even as it is taught in the Reformed Churches without any Instructers from them or Conference with them and yet when they shall communicate their Faith each to other shall find themselves to be of one communion of true belief and give each other the right hand of fellowship 6. 6. Paul the last called of the Apostles The Iews to be called after all the Nations in orbe Romano or in the circuit of the Apostle's preaching 7. 7. Paul once converted the most zealous and fervent of the Apostles The Iews once converted the most zealous and fervent of the Nations 8. 8. Till Paul was converted the Gospel had small progress amongst the Gentiles but when he became their Apostle it went forward wonderfully Till the Calling of the Iews the general Conversion of the Gentiles not to be expected but the receiving of Israel shall be the riches of the world in that by their restitution the whole world shall come unto Christ. 9. 9. The miracle of S. Paul's Conversion the person so uncapable till then a Persecutor and most bitter Enemy of Christians the manner so wonderful as by an Apparition and Voice from Heaven was a most powerful motive to make all those who heard and believed it Christians and therefore so often by S. Paul himself repeated The miracle of the Iews Conversion so much the more powerful to convert the Nations of the world not yet Christians by how much their opposite disposition is more universally known to the world than was S. Paul's and by how much the testimony of a whole Nation living in so distant parts of the world of so divine a miracle as a Vision and Voice from Heaven exceeds that of s. Paul being but one Man 10. 10. Paul reproveth Peter one of the chief Apostles for symbolizing with Iudaism May not the Iews likewise reprove if not more the Church of Rome the chief of Christian Churches for symbolizing with Gentilism S. Paul to Tim. 1 Ep. c. 1. v. 16. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy that in me first Iesus Christ might shew forth ill long-suffering for a Pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to everlasting life CHAP. III. Answer concerning a Discourse inferring from the Septenary Types of the Old Testament and other Arguments That the World should last 7000 years and the Seventh Thousand be that happy and blessed Chiliad I. THE Millennium of the Reign of Christ is that which the Scriptures call The Day of Iudgment the ancient Iews and S. Iude 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Magnus Dies Iudicii or Dies Iudicii magni Septimus Millenarius ab universa Cabbalistarum Schola saith Carpentarius vocatur Magnus Dies Iudicii Comment in Alcinoum Platonis pag. 322. A Day not as our languages commonly import of a few hours but according to the Hebrew notion from whence the name is derived of many years For with them Day is Time and not a short only but a long Time A Day whereof S. Peter speaking 2 Epist. chap. 3. tells the believing Iews his brethren as soon as he had named it vers 8. That he would not have them ignorant that one Day with the Lord was as a Thousand years and a Thousand years
as one Day This is the Day of the great Assises beginning with the Seventh Trumpet Apocal. 11. 15. wherein Christ shall give reward unto his Servants the Prophets and to the Saints and them that fear his Name and shall destroy them that destroy the earth vers 18. The Process of this wonderful Day S. Iohn describes by a twofold Iudgment and a twofold Resurrection and the glorious Reign of the Saints between them The morning Iudgment shall be of Antichrist and all his partakers whom Christ shall destroy at the appearing of his coming 2 Thess. 2. 8. and then shall be the first and particular Resurrection The evening Iudgment shall be upon the remainder of the living enemies of Christ Gog and Magog and conclude with the last and universal Resurrection of the dead and so the last enemy Death being now wholly vanquished he shall surrender his Kingdom into the hands of his Father that God may be all in all 1 Cor. 15. 24 c. Nor ought it to seem strange that the name Day should signifie so long a time as a Thousand years The Iews who first imposed it understood it so And in the end of S. Peter we shall find yet a longer Day even 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dies AEternitatis a Day of Eternity 2 Pet. 3. 18. The Prophets have many such long Days when they say In Die illo Vide. The whole time of Christ's first coming is called a Day Ioh. 16. 26. 2 Cor. 6. 2. The whole time of the Iews fourty years abode in the wilderness is called a Day Heb. 3. 8 9. Their first Captivity of seventy years a Day Vide Prophetas Their last and long Captivity a Day as Deut. 32. 35. alibi apud Prophetas And what if in our daily prayer Give us this day our daily bread Day be to be taken for the whole time of our life For in stead of S. Matthew's This day speaking after the Hebrew notion S. Luke hath in the same Petition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is every day So S. Paul Heb. 3. 13. Exhort one another 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every day whilest it is called To Day Doth not Day here include many days Now if the Thousand years of the Reign of Christ be the Day of Iudgment then it will follow that though we may know by the fulfilling of things to be fulfilled whether it be nearer or farther off yet the precise time of the coming thereof cannot be known because it is to come upon the world unawares as a Thief in the night II. Nevertheless it is true that the Primitive Fathers especially those who believed the Chiliad conceived the World should last and the Church therein labour 6000 years and that the Seventh thousand should be the Day of Iudgment and Sabbath in which the Saints should reign with Christ their Lord. So Irenaeus Lib. 5. c. 28. Quotquot diebus hic factus est mundus tot Millenis consummatur Si enim Dies Domini quasi Mille anni in Sex autem diebus consummata sunt quae facta sunt manifestum est quoniam consummatio ipsorum Sextus millesimus annus est Idem eodem Libro cap. 30. Cùm vastaverit Antichristus hic omnia in mundo regnans annis tribus mensibus sex tunc veniet Dominus de coelis in nubibus in gloriae Patris illum quidem obedientes ei in stagnum ignis mittens adducens autenâ— justis Regni tempora hoc est requietionem i. Sabbatum septimam diem sanctificatam restituens Abrahae promissionem haereditatis c. Iustinus Martyr Dialogo cum Tryphone Iudaeo loquens de Mellennio Regni Christi Novimus inquit dictum illud quòd Dies Domini sit sicut mille anni huc pertinere Cyprianus Lib. de Exhortatione Martyrii Primi in dispositione Divina Septem dies annorum Septem millia continent ut consummatio legitima impleatur Lactantius de Divino praemio Lib. 7. c. 14. Quoniam Sex diebus cuncta Dei opera perfecta sunt per secula Sex id est annorum Sex millia manere in hoc statu mundum necesse est Dies enim magnus Dei Mille annorum circulo terminatur Et ut Deus Sex illos dies in tantis rebus fabricandis laboravit ità religio ejus veritas in his Sex millibus annorum laborare necesse est malitiâ praevalente dominaute Et rurius Quoniam perfectis operibus requievit die Septimo eúmque benedixit necesse est ut in fine Sexti millesimi anni malitia omnis aboleatur è terra regnet annos Mille Iustitia sitque tranquillitas requies à laboribus quos mundus jamdiu perpessus est III. The ancient Iews also had a Tradition to the same purpose as appears by these testimonies recorded in the Gemara or Glosse of their Talmud Cod. Sanhedrim cap. Kol Iisrael For there concerning that of Esay chap. 2. Exaltabitur Dominus solus die illo thus speaks the Talmudical Gloss. Dixit Rabbi Ketâ—â—a Sex annorum millibus stat Mundus uno Millenario vastabitur de quo dicitur AT QUE EXALTAEITUR DOMINUS SOLUS DIE ILLO Note By Vastabitur they mean the Vastation of the world by Fire in the Day of Iudgment whereby it shall become New or a New Heaven and New Earth Sequitur Traditio adstipulatur R. Ketinae nempe ista Sicut ex septenis annis Septimus quisque Annus Remissionis est ità septem millibus annorum mundi Septimus Millenarius Millenarius Remissionis erit ut Dominus solus exaltetur in die illo Dicitur enim Psal. 92. Psalmus Canticum de Die Sabbati id est de eo Die qui totus Quies est Note they understand this Psalm of the Great day of Iudgment and the Sabbath mentioned in the Title of the great Sabbath of a Thousand years Dicitur item Psal. 90 Nam mille anni in oculis tuis velut dies hesternus Sequitur Traditio Domûs Eliae Sex mille annos durat mundus Bis mille annis Inanitas bis mille annis Lex denique bis mille annis Dies Christi At verò propter peccata nostra plurima enormia abierunt ex his qui abierunt These last words Petrus Galatinus proves to be added to this Tradition by the later Iews And surely this Elias lived under the second Temple and before the birth of Christ. And though there be no mention here of the Seventh thousand years yet that this R. Elias acknowledged it as well as the rest appears by a former place of the same Gemara Talmudica which is this Traditio Domûs Eliae Iusti quos resuscitabit Deus c. IV. The concinnity of this conceit hath made me I confess sometimes inquisitive whether it could be brought to accord with the received computation of the Age of the World and with our experience of the beginning and continuance of the times of Antichrist now revealed But the
City taken by Totilas and a third part thereof demolished and the rest left for a while memorandum Fortunae ludibrium without an inhabitant and lastly the Ostrogothish Kingdom which a while as a blaze continued the light of the dying Caesars in Italy by Narses utterly extinguished WOE WOE WOE The Fifth Trumpet is the First Woe and brings the Saracen Locusts upon the world proceeding out of the smoaky and darkning Seduction of Mahomâ—t conjured up by the Angel of the bottomless pit who though a warlike people and well armed yet had not power to destroy either the State of Caesars in New Rome or the Papal Principality sprung out of the Empire 's ruine in the Old but only Scorpion-like to torment and vex them as their Tail or hindermost Troups out of Africk did Italy and Western Rome 150 years The Sixth Trumpet is the Second Woe and brings upon the Roman Provinces the barbarous and dreadful â—nâ—ndation of the Turks loosing them from the great River Euphrates where they had been long before prepared and now let go as a plague for the Idolatry of Christians 〈◊〉 only as the Saracen Locusts to plague and torment the Roman State buâ— in part tâ— utterly slay and destroy it as they have done in the Empire of Greece which the Saracens had no power to do The Seventh and Last Trumpet is yet to come the entrance whereof is the Last Woe wherein all the Reliques of the Roman Beast with the last Principality of the City of Rome yet surviving shall together with the rest of the enemies of Christ be utterly abolished in the Great Day of Armagedden that all the Kingdoms of the world may become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. Ch. 11. 15. Note that when the Angel comes at the Seventh Trumpet because the Event thereof is the common issue to both Prophecies he therefore suspends it a while till he hath fetch'd up Chap. 11. a transcurrent and through-running Vision of the Second Prophecy unto it and then joyns them together in one and the same close The Kingdoms of the world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. The Second Prophecy The Opened Book containing Fata Ecclesiae I. By the Inmost and Measured Court of the Temple I understand the Church in her Primitive Purity whenas yet the Christian Worship was unprophaned and answerable to the Divine Rule revealed from above By the War between Michael and the Dragon about the Woman 's manly Off-spring contemporary with the Measured Court I understand that long and bloudy Combate which Christ our Lord animating with his Spirit his undaunted Souldiers fought with the Devil possessing and reigning in the Ethnick Roman State that is the Times of the Primitive Persecution by the Heathen Emperors a War lasting long and costing the lives of many a valiant Martyr yet at 300 years end when a Christian was installed in the Imperial Throne the old Dragon was dismounted and overthrown and the Souldiers of Christ our Lord prevailed For they overcame him by the bloud of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony and loved not their lives unto the death Note that the Description of this Vision is double in the Text 1. more General The Dragon's endeavour to destroy the Woman's Off-spring from ver 1. to the 7. verse 2. more Particular of his Battel with Michael the Woman's Champion For that these two Descriptions are of the same thing and same time is manifest in that one and the same Event The Woman's escape into the Wilderness is the Consequent to them both II. 1. By the Second or Outward Court trampled by the Gentiles and not to be measured I understand the Apostasie under the Man of Sin when the Visible Church being possessed by Idolaters and Idolatry like that of the Gentiles became so inconformable and unapt for Divine measure that it was to be cast out and accounted as prophane and polluted For the Apostasie of the Church is Ethnicismus Christianus 2. By the Witnesses in sack-cloth I understand the mournful Prophecy of God's true Ministers during all that time who when toward the end of their days of mourning they should be about to put off their sack-cloth and leave their lamentation seeing the Truth they witnessed beginning to take place by publick Reformation the Beast which ascends out of the Abyss shall slay them and rejoyce over them as dead three days and an half that is so many years 3. By the Woman in the Wilderness Ch. 12. I understand the condition of the true Church in respect of her Latency and Invisibility to the eyes of man As the Israelites when they had escaped the rage and gotten out of the reach of the Egyptian Pharaoh yet lived a long time after but in a Wilderness an infrequent and barren place where they could not have lived without being extraordinarily fed with Manna from Heaven Such was the condition of the Apostolical Woman and Church of Christ when she had escaped the rage and fury of the Dragon persecuting in the Seven-headed Empire 4. By the Virgin-Company of the 144000 Sealed ones I understand the opposite State of the unstained Church unto the Kingdom of Apostasie in their sincerity of Service and faithful adherence to their Lord and Master whilst the rest worshipped the Beast and his Image These are those who when the Trumpets were to sound were secured by the Mark of Divine protection lest their Society should have been extinguished in those Calamities which then fell upon the Empire How could this Holy Company else but have perished in such Confusions In that place they were represented by the Tribes of Israel for the present Church of the Gentiles is but Israel surrogatus and so by God accounted until the Fulness of the Gentiles come in 5. By the Seven-headed Ten-horned Beast the Two horned False-Prophet and Babylon the Mother of Harlots I understand the State and Kingdom of Apostasie according to three subordinate parts thereof 1. The Body 2. the Head 3. the Seat For Kingdoms especially of the ancient form consisted of three parts Regnum Rex Metropolis Regni So in the Kingdom of Apostasie for such it was to be are Regnum Apostaticum Rex Apostaticus Metropolis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Kingdom of Apostasie was to be the Roman Empire upon a deadly wound of the Caesarean Sovereignty shivered into a Plurality of Kingdoms yet all joyntly as one Body anew acknowledging the Motherdom of the Roman City This is that Seven-headed Beast with Ten crowned Horns upon the Seventh Head whereof S. Iohn speaks Chap. 13. whose description there I understand as if he had said I saw a Beast with Seven Heads and Ten Horns with Diadems which upon the recovery of a deadly wound in one of his Heads arose out of the Sea and succeeded in the Throne Power and
shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel p. 234 Verse 16. I will multiply thy sorrow and thy conception p. 150 Chap. 10. 5. By these were the Isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands every one after his tongue after their families in their nations p. 271 276 Chap. 27. 36. Well may he be called Iacob for he hath supplanted or beguiled me these two times p. 226 Chap. 28. 16 17. Surely the Lord is in this place and I knew it not How dreadfull is this place it is no other but the House of God even the gate of Heaven p. 343 Chap. 29. 27. Fulfil her week p. 599 Chap. 46. 26. All the souls that came with Iacob into Egypt which came out of his loins p. 35 Chap. 48. 16. The Angel which redeemed me from all evil bless the lads and let my name be named on them p. 5 Chap. 49. 10. The Scepter shall not depart from Iudah nor a Law-giver from between his feet until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be p. 34 EXODUS Chap. 1. 5. And all the souls that came out of the loyns of Iacob p. 35 Chap. 3. 5. Put off thy shoes from off thy feet for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground p. 348 Chap. 4. 25. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her Son and cast it at his feet and said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sponfus sanguinum tu mihi es p. 52 Chap. 13. 2. Sanctifie unto me all the first-born p. 402 Chap. 19. 5. Then ye shall be unto me 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a peculiar treasure Lxx. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a peculiar people above all people p. 125 Chap. 20. 24. In all places where I record my Name I will come unto thee and bless thee p. 341 Chap. 29. 42. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Tabernacle of meeting p. 343 Chap. 30. 36. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Tabernacle of meeting p. 343 Chap. 30. 31 32. This shall be an holy anointing Oyl unto me It is holy therefore it shall be holy unto you p. 6 LEVITICUS Chap. 2. 13. the Salt of the Covenant of thy God p. 371 Chap. 19. 30. Ye shall reverence my Sanctuary p. 398 Chap. 25. 3. The land shall not be sold for ever for the land is mine for ye are strangers and sojourners with me p. 121 Chap. 27. 26. Only the first-born of the beasts which should be the Lord's no man shall sanctifie it it is the Lord's p. 402 NUMBERS Chap. 2. 2. Every one of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own Standard with the Ensign of their fathers house about the Tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch p. 594 Chap. 14. 22. Those men which have seen my glory and my miracles which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness and have tempted me now these ten times p. 118 Chap. 17. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Tabernacle of meeting p. 343 DEUTERONOMY Chap. 4. 28. And there ye shall serve Gods the work of mens hands p. 707 Chap. 16. 16. Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall chuse in the Feast of Vnleavened bread◠and in the Feast of Weeks and in the Feast of Tabernacles And they shall not appear before the Lord empty p. 260 269 Verse 17. Every man shall give as he is able according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee p. 265 Chap. 28. 64. And there thou shalt serve other Gods which neither thou nor thy fathers have known p. 667 Chap. 33. 2. The Lord came from Sinai unto them he came with his holy Myriads from his right hand went a fiery Law p. 344 Verse 8. And of Levi he said Let thy Thummim and thy Vrim be with thy holy one p. 177 IOSHUA Chap. 5. 15. See Exod. 3. 5. Chap. 7. 1. Achan took of the accursed thing p. 117 Chap. 24. 26. And Ioshua took a great Stone and set it up there under the Oak which was by the Sanctuary of the Lord. p. 65 IUDGES Chap. 1. 7. As I have done so hath God requited me p. 140 I SAMUEL Chap. 26. 19. They have drives me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord saying Go serve other Gods p. 668 II. SAMUEL Chap. 9. 10. Thou and thy sons and thy servants shall till the land for him and thou shalt bring in the fruits that that he may have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 food to eat pag. 689 I. KINGS Chap. 8. 64. The same day did the King hallow the middle of the Court that was before the House of the Lord for there he offered burnt-offerings and meat-offerings p. 402 Chap. 11. 4. And his heart was not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 perfect with the Lord his God p. 202 Chap. 15. 34. And he walked in the way of Ieroboam and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin p. 242 243 II. KINGS Chap. 25. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 808 I CHRONICLES Chap. 16. 42. Musical instruments of God p. 11 II CHRONICLES Chap. 16. 9. The eyes of the Lord run to and fro through the whole Earth to shew themselves strong in the behalf of them whose hearts are perfect towards him p. 43 Chap. 20. 21. He appointed Singers unto the Lord that should praise the Beauty of holiness and to say Praise the Lord for his mercy endureth for ever p. 59 Chap. 29. 3. He walked also in the ways of the house of Ahab p. 243 EZRA Chap. 1. 10. Thirty basons of gold and other vessels 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thousands p. 700 Chap. 2. 63. Till there rose up a Priest with Vrim and Thummim p. 183 Chap. 6. 10. That they may offer Sacrifices of sweet savour unto the God of heaven and pray for the life of the King and of his Sons p. 379 Chap. 9. 1. The people of Israel◠have not separated themselves from the people of the lands according to their Abominations p. 708 NEHEMIAH Chap. 13. 14. Remember me O my God concerning this and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the House of my God and for the offices thereof p. 173 Verse 22. Remember me O my God concerning this and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy p. 173 ESTHER Chap. 7. 5. Where is he whose heart hath filled him to do so p. 116 IOB Chap. 26. 5 6. Gigantes gemunt sub aquis qui habitant cum eis Nudus est Infernus coram illo nullum est operimentum perditioni p. 32 PSAI. MS. Psal. 1. 1. that hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly p. 206 Psal. 8. 2. Out of the mouths of Babes and Sucklings thou hast ordained strength because of thine Enemies that thou mightest still the Enemy and Avenger p. 36 Psal. 28. 2. when I lift up my hands toward thy Holy Oracle p. 394
their enemies p. 372 Chap. 35. 6 7. The Rechabites said We will drink no wine for Ionadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us saying Ye shall drink no wine nor shall ye build an house but dwell in teats c. p. 127 LAMENTATIONS Chap. 2. 1. The Lord hath cast down the beauty of Israel and remembred not his footstool in the day of his anger p. 393 EZEKIEL Chap. 4. 6. Lie again on thy right side and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Iudah forty dayes p. 784 Chap. 20. 20. Hasâ—ow my Sabbaths and they shall be a Sign between me and you that ye may know that I am the Lord your God p. 55 Chap. 27. 3. Tyrus a Merchant of people for many Islands p. 273 Chap. 38. 17. Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the Prophets of Israel c. p. 796 Chap. 43. 7. my holy Name shall the house of Israel 〈◊〉 more desile by the Carkâ—ses of their Kings p. 14 DANIEL Chap. 2. from vers 32. to vers 44. p. 104 Vers. 44 45. In the dayes of these Kings shall the God of heaven set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed nor left to another people but it shall break in pieces and consume at these Kingdoms and it self shall stand for ever Forasmuch as thou sawest that a Stone was cut out of a mountain without hands and that it brake in pieces the iron the brass c. p. 744 754 755 Chap 4. 26. after that thou shalt have known that the heavens bear rule p. 102 Chap. 7. 3. And four Beasts came up from the Sea p. 454 Vers. 9. I behold till the Thrones were pitched down p. 762 Verse 10. the Iudgment was set p. 532. 762 Verse 11. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the Horn spake I beheld till the Beast was slain and his body destroy'd and given to the burning flame Ibid. Verse 12. As concerning the rest of the Beasts they had their dominion taken away yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time p. 780. 781 Verse 22. and judgment was given to the Saints of the most High p. 532 Vers. 24. And the ten Horns are ten Kings and another shall rise behind them and he shall be diverse from the first and shall depress three Kings p. 778 779 Vers. 25. And he shall think to change Times and Laws p. 737 Ch. 5. 4. behold an He-goat came from the West p. 473 c. Verse 23. And in the latter end of the Kingdom of Graecia a King of a fierce countenance shall stand up p. 654 Chap. 9. 24. Seventy weeks are allotted for thy people and for thy holy City to finish transgression and make an end of sins c. p. 697 Verse 25. Also know and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to cause to return and to build Ierusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be Sevens of weeks c. p. 699 Verse 26. And after 62 weeks shall Messiah be cut off and they none of his c. p. 704 Verse 27. Nevertheless he shall confirm a covenant with many one week c. p. 706 Chap. 10 2. I Daniel was mourning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 599 Verse 13. Michael one of the chief Princes came to help me p. 42 Chap. 11. V. 36 37 38 39. p. 667 670 671 Verse 41 42 43. p. 674 Verse 44 45. p. 816 Chap. 12. 11 12. And from the time that the daily Sacrifice shall be taken away shall be 1290 days Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the 1335 days p. 717 IOEL Verse 30. Pillars of smoke p. 28 AMOS Chap. 4. 2. The Lord hath sworn by his Holiness p. 8 Chap. 8. 7. The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Iacob ibid. MICAH Chap. 5. 5. And he shall be the peace when the Assyrian shall come into our land c. p. 796 ZACHARY Chap. 3. 9. For behold the stone that I have laid before Ioshua p. 833 marg Chap. 4. 2 3. I looked and behold a Candlestick with seven Lamps and two Olive-trees by it p. 833 Verse 6. Not by might nor by force but by my Spirit p. 41 833 Verse 10. These Seven are the Eyes of the ' Lord which run to and fro through the whole Earth p. 40 Verse 14. These are the two anointed ones that stand before the Lord of the whole Earth p. 41 Chap. 8. 19. The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the tenth p. 890 MALACHI Chap. 1. 6 7. Ye say Wherein have we polluted thy Name In that ye say The Table of the Lord is contemptible And if ye offer the blind for Sacrifice is it not evil Offer it now unto thy Governour will he be pleased with thee p. 357 Verse 11. In every place Incense shall be offered unto my Name and a pure Offering p. 355 TOBIT Chap. 14. Verse 3. to Verse 8. p. 〈…〉 I MACCABEES Chap. 14. 5. An entrance to the Isles of the Sea p. 273 II MACCABEES Chap. 4. 38. he took away Andronicus his purple p. 911 S. MATTHEW Chap. 5. 17. Think not that I am come to dissolve the Law and the Prophets I am not come to dissolve but to fulfil p. 12 Verse 19. Whosoever therefore shall break one of the least of these Commandments and shall teach men so to do he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of heaven ibid. Chap. 6. 1. Take heed that ye do not your Alms before men p. 80 Verse 9. Thus therefore pray ye p. 1 Hallowed be thy Name p. 4 Verse 11. Give us this day our daily bread p. 125 Verse 19. Lay not up for your selves treasures upon earth p. 352 Chap. 7. 21. Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven c. p. 213 Chap. 8. 12. But the children of the Kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness p. 86 Verse 29. Art thou come hither to torment us before the time p. 25 Chap. 10. 41. He that receiveth a Prophet in the name of a Prophet shall receive a Prophets reward p. 84 Chap. 11. 28 29. Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls p. 150 Chap. 12. 42. The Queen of the South shall rise up 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with this generation p. 24 Chap. 17. 11. Elias truly shall first come and restore all things p. 98 Chap. 19. 21. If thou wilt be perfect go sell that thou hast and give it to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven p. 126 Verse 28. in the regeneration p. 85 Chap. 20. 16. So the last shall be first and the first last for many be called but few chosen p. 86 Chap.
22. 32. I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Iacob God is not the God of the dead but of the living p. 801 Chap. 23. 19 the Altar that sanctifies the Gift p. 376 Verse 39. Ye shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. p. 519 Chap. 24. 14. And the Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world p. 705 and then shall the End come p. 36 Verse 20. Pray that your flight be not in the winter nor on the Sabbath-day p. 841 Verse 29. Immediately after the tribulation of these days shall the Sun be darkned and the Moon shall not give her light and the Stars shall fall from heaven p. 615 753 Verse 34. This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled p. 752 Chap. 25. 33 34. And he shall set the Sheep on his right hand but the Goats on the left Then shall the King say to them on his right hand Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom c. p. 841 Chap. 27. 34. They gave him vineger to drink mingled with gall p. 518 S. MARK Chap. 1. 14. Now after that Iohn was put in prison Iesus came into Galilee preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God pag. 97 Verse 15. And saying The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand Repent ye and believe the Gospel p. 106 Chap. 11. 17. Is it not written My house shall be called a House of Prayer to all the Nations p. 44 Chap. 15. 23. And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrhe p. 518 S. LUKE Chap. 1. 28. Hail thou highly-favoured one p. 181 Verse 72. To shew mercy or kindness to our Fathers p. 801 Chap. 2. 1. that all the World should be taxed p. 705 13 14. And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly Host praising God and saying Glory be to God in the highest c. p. 89 Chap. 6. 12. he continued all night 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 67 Chap. 7. 47. Her sins which are many are forgiven therefore she loved much p. 766 Chap. 16. 9. Make to your selves friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness c. p. 170 Chap. 18. 28. Lo we have left all and followed thee p. 120 Chap. 21. 24. Vntil the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled p. 709 753 Verse 25. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Then shall be Signs c. p. 744 753 Chap. 22. 20. This Cup is the New Covenant in my bloud p. 372 Chap. 24. 45 46. Then opened be their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures And said unto them Thus it is written and thus it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day p. 49 S. IOHN Chap. 1. 14. And the Wâ—rd was made flesh and tabernacled in us p. 266 Chap. 4. 20. Our Fathers worshipped in this Mountain p. 263 Verse 22. Ye worship what ye know not we worship what we know p. 49 Verse 23. But the hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and Truth p. 46. Chap. 7. 37. As the Scripture saith out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water p. 62 Chap. 10. 20. He hath a Devil and is mad p. 28 Chap. 12. 28. Then came there a voice from heaven The people therefore that stood by and heard it said that it thundred p. 459 Chap. 17. 17. Sanctifie them unto or fâ—r thy Truth thy Word is Truth p. 14 Verse 19. And for them I sanctifie my self that they might be sanctified for thy Truth ibid. Chap. 18. 36. My kingdom is not of this world if my kingdom were of this world then would my servants fight p. 103 Chap. 21. 22. If I will that he stay till I come p. 708 ACTS Chap. 2. 5. And there were sojourning at Ierusalem Iows devout men out of every Nation under heaven p. 74 Verse 42. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 364 Verse 45. See Chap. 4. 34 Verse 46. And they continuing daily with one accord in the Temple and breaking bread 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the House ate their meat with gladness and singleness of heart p. 322 Chap. 3. 19. Repent and be converted c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that so the times of refreshing may come p. 612 Chap. 4. 34 35. As many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them and brought the prices of the things that were sold and laid them down at the Apostles feet p. 127 Chap. 5. 3 4. And Peter said Ananias why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the holy Ghost and to purloin of the price of the land c. p. 115 Chap. 10. 1 2. There was a certain man in Caefarea called Cornelius a Centurion of the Italian band a devout man and one that feared God c. p. 165 Verse 4. Thy Prayers and thine Alms are come up for a memorial before God p. 164 Chap. 13. 48. And there believed as many as were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to eternal life p. 21 Chap. 14. 15. Who in times past suffered all Nations to walk in their own ways p. 515 Chap. 15. 16 17. After this I will return and will build again the Tabernacle of David which is fallen c. That the residuc of men might seek after the Lord and all the Gentiles upon whom my Name is called p. 455 Chap. 16. 13. And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river-side where there was taken or where was famed to be a Proseucha and Verse 16. It came to pass as we went to the Proseucha p. 67 Chap. 17. 4 There associated themselves to Paul and Silas of the worshipping Greeks a great multitude p. 19 Verse 18. He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange Gods because he preached unto them Iesus and the Resurrection p. 635 Chap. 18. 22. And he sailed from Ephesus and when he had landed at Caesarea having gone up and saluted the Church he went down to Antioch p. 323 Chap. 24. 16. ' 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For this cause do I exercise my self to have always a conscience void of offence toward God and men p. 871 ROMANS Chap. 1. 23. They changed the Glory of the incorruptible God into an Image c. p. 5 Verse 25. Who changed the truth of God into a lie and served the creature 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 49 Chap. 8. 20. For the creature was made subject to vanity Because the creature it self also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God p. 230 812 Chap. 9. 1. my Conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost p. 118 Chap. 11. 11 15. Through their fall Salvation is come unto the Gentiles for to provoke them to jealousie For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world p. 455
Verse 25. Vntil the fulness of the Gentiles be come in p. 197 Chap. 16. 5. Salute the Church at their house p. 324 I CORINTHIANS Chap. 4. 1. Let a man so account of us as of the Ministers of Christ p. 25 Chap. 8. 5 6. Though there be that are called Gods whether in heaven or in earth as there be Gods many and Lords many Yet to us there is but one God the Father of whom are all things and we to him and but one Lord Iesus Christ by whom are all things and we by him p. 628 Chap. 9. 14. Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel p. 77 Verse 23. This I do for the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that I might be partaker thereof with you p. 79 Chap. 10. 3 4. And they did all â—at the same spiritual meâ—t and did all drink the same spiritual drink For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them and that Rock was Christ. p. 245 Vers. 5. But with many of them God was not well pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness p. 255 Vers. 20. The things which the Gentiles Sacrifice they sacrifice to Daemons and not to God Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the Cup of Daemons p. 636 Vers. 21. Ye cannot be partakers of the Table of the Lord and the Table of Devils p. 375 Vers. 31. whether therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do do all to the glory of God p. 171 Chap. 11. 5. Every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head p. 58 Vers. 10. For this cause ought the woman to have a covering on her head because of the Angels p. 345 346 Vers. 16. But if any man seem to be contentious we have no such custome nor the Churches of God p. 61 Vers. 22. Have ye not houses to eat and drink in or despise ye the Church of God p. 319 Vers. 29. not differencing the Lord's body p. 8 Chap. 13. 5. Charity seekâ—th not her own p. 177 Chap. 15. 23. But every man in his own order Christ the first-fruits afterward they that are Christ's at his coming p. 775 802 Chap. 16. 19. See Romans 16. 5 EPHESIANS Chap. â— 2. the Prince of the power of the Aire p. 23 24 Vers. 8 9 10. By grace ye are saved through faith not of works lest any man should boast For we are his workmanship created in Christ Iesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them p. 112 215 Vers. 14. and hath broken down the partition wall between us p. 20 COLOSSIANS Chap. 2. 8 9. Beware lest any man spoil you through Philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godbeaa bodily and ye are complete in him p. 628 Chap. 4. 15. See Romans 16. 5. I THESSALONIANS Chap. 4. 16. The dead in Christ shall rise first p. 519 Vers. 17 18. Afterwards we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the Air and so we shall ever be with the Lord. p. 775 776 II THESSALONIANS Chap. 2. 3. Vnless that Apostasie come first p. 625 Vers. 7. Only he who now letteth will lett until he be taken out of the way p. 656 Vers. 8. that wicked one whom the Lord shall destroy at the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of his coming p. 763 I TIMOTHY Chap. 4. 1. Howbeit the Spirit speaketh expresly That in the latter times some shall revolt from the Faith attending to erroneous Spirits and Doctrines of Daemons p. 623 Vers. 2. Through the hypocrisie or feigning of Liers having their conscience seared p. 675 Vers. 3. Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats p. 688 Chap. 5. 17. Let the Elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour especially they that labour in the word and doctrine p. 70 Vers. 21. elect Angels p. 42 Chap. 6. 19. Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation p. 82 II TIMOTHY Chap. 2. 19. The foundation of God standeth sure having this Seal The Lord knoweth them that are his And Let every one that nameth the Name of Christ depart from iniquity p. 82 TITUS Chap. 3. 5. By the washing of Regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost p. 62 PHILEMON Vers. 1 2. To Philemon odr dearly-beloved and fellow-labourer And to Apphia our beloved and Archippus our fellow-souldier and to the Church at thy house p. 324 HEBREWS Chap. 1. 6. And when he bringeth again the first-begotten into the world p. 577 Chap. 2. 5. For unto the Angels hath he not put in subjection the World to come whereof we speak p. 577 Chap. 9. 5. the Cherubims of glory p. 345 Vers. 29. in the end of ages p. 655 Chap. 10. 5. a Body hast thou prepared me p. 897 Vers. 25. as ye see the Day approching p. 664 Vers. 29. and hath counted the bloud of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified a common thing p. 7 Vers. 37. For yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry p. 664 Chap. 11. 16. But now they desire a better countrey that is an heavenly p. 801 Chap. 12. 27. This Yet once more signifies the removing of things that are shaken p. 166 IAMES Chap. 5. 3. Ye have heaped up goods for the last daies p. 664 Vers. 7 8. the coming of the Lord. p. 708 I PETER Chap. 3. 14 15. Fear ye not their Fear nor be in dread thereof But sanctifie the Lord God in your heart p. 9 Chap. 4. 7. The end of all approcheth Be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer p. 664 Chap. 5. 13. The Church that is at Babylon saluteth you p. 76 II PETER Chap. 2. 1. But there were false Prophets among the People even aâ— there shall be false Teachers among you who privily shall bring in damnable Heresies even denying the Lord that bought them p. 238 Vers. 4. For if God spared not the Angels which sinned but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto Iudgment p. 23 Vers. 6. making them an Ensample unto those that after should live ungodly p. 33 Chap. 3. from vers 3. to Vers. 16. p. 609 c. I IOHN Chap. 1. 9. he is faithful and just to forgive p. 175 Chap. 2. 3. Hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his Commandments p. 303 Vers. 18. Antichrist many Antichrists Chap. 4. 3. 2 Ep. Vers. 7 p. 663 900 IUDE Vers. 6. See 2 Peter 2. 4. Vers. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 914 Vers. 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 344 APOCALYPS Besides several whole Chapters and parts of Chapters of the Apocalyps explained from pag. 419. to p. 605. and from pag. 905 to the end there are several passages explained
the Ancients 383. the same with Holy Table 389. the Altar of the true God called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of an Idol or false God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 391. anciently but one Altar in a Church and in one Diocess 326. whether it may be called Sulium Christi 824. anciently it was the place where the Prayers of the Church were offered to God 844 363 819 America The first Gentile inhabitants and the late Christian plantations there 800 Ananias his Sin was Sacriledge 116. how this Sacriledge is described 117. the aggravations of it 118 119 Angels The conceit of Dionys. Areopag of 9 orders groundless 40. Angels present in the Iewish Temple and our Churches 344 c. their presence an argument for a reverent behaviour there 346. where they keep their station there is Gods Shechinah or special Presence 343 c. Angels are in Scripture put for those over whom they preside 459 471 495 514 527. Good Angels not envious at the advancement of mans nature by Christ 90. nor grieve at the good of others 91 See more in Archangels Antiochus Epiphanes not meant by the Little Horn in Daniel 733 753. the Calamity under him for 2300 evenings and mornings Dan. 8. 14. whence it is to be reckoned 659 Antichrist meant by the Little Horn in Dan. 8. 10. 714. how he is a Counter-Christ and his Coming a counter-resemblance of Christs Coming 647. The Saracen and Turk not the Great Anâ—ichrist 644 c. who primarily meant by the Antichrist and the many Antichrists in S. Iohn's Epist. 664 900 Apocalyps is Daniel explicate as Daniel is Apocalypsis Contracta 787. the subject matter of it 756. it contains the Fares of the Church till Christs second Coming 440 917 918. it is properly the Prophecy of the Church of the Gentiles 575 880. a particular argument for the Divinity of the Apocalyps 853. the authority of it doubted of by whom 602. the admirablâ—â— prophecy in Scripture 582 Apostasie implies a Revolt from God and Christ by Idolatry 625. where it was expresly foretold in the Old Testament 666. it was to be a general one 648. but not such an absolute one as wholly to renounce Christ 645 c. 651. the two man Apostasies of Israel in Ieroboam's and Ahab's days describâ— d 242 The Apostles age when â—ended 360 To appear before the Lord what 260. all the Males of the Iews to appear bâ—fore the Lord thrice a year but the Women were exempted and why 261 Ara and Altare how they differ 392 Archangels their number Seven proved from Scripture and Tradition 40 c. 908. represented by the seven Lamps in the Temple 833 c. their Office twofold 43 Assurance not a Cause or Instrument but a Consequent of Iustification 309 310. Obedience is the way to Assurance 310 Astrology the Authors judgment of it 601 B BAalim what and whence so called 630 Babel's Tower the confusion and number of the Languages there 275 c. Babylon in the Apocalyps is Rome Pseudo-Christian 523 c. not New Rome or Constantinople 922. why called the Great City 484 912. and the Great Whore 523 643. what 's meant by her Golden Cup and the Name in her forehead 525. the twofold ruine of Babylon 489 Baptism called by the Ancients Signaculum Gods Seal or Mark 511. from what Analogy Water was used in Baptism to be a sign of Regeneration or the New birth 63. that by Water in Baptism is figured the H. Spirit not the Bloud of Christ. 62. 63 Bâ—ptisteries were anciently without the Church 330 Bath Kol Gods Oracle and Answer from Heaven accompanied with Thunder 458 c. Beasts in the Prophetick style signifie States and Kingdoms 780. the seven Heads of the Beast have a double signification 524 922. the Beast with Ten Horns what 498 499. the Beast with Two Horns what 505 Blasphemy is put for Idolatry 502 503 To Bless hath a threefold notion in Scripture 83 Blessing sometimes in Scripture signifieth a Gift or Present ibid. Body when a dead Body begins to corrupt 52 Bread signifies sometimes in Scripture all necessaries of life 689 Breaking of Bread put for the Communion of the Eucharist 322 Breast-place of judgment why so called 184 The Bride 's making her self ready for the marriage of the Lamb. 912 Burnt-offering what and why offered daily 287. it had annexed to it a Meat-offering and Drink-offering and was accompanied with Peace-offerings 371 C TO be Called is To be 445 465 Calling of the Gentiles See Gentiles Canaan or Palestine divided into three Provinces 100. its Husbandry and Harvests 297. its Breed of Cattel in the Spring and at Autumn ibid. this Land was promised to be given for an inheritance to Abraham Isaac and Iacob and not to their Seed only 801 c. a figure of Heaven 249 c. the Iews cast out of their own Land by the Romans who yet used not to carry other Nations captive what implied thereby 250 Captivity The three chief Captivities or Dispersions of the Iews 75 76. Three steps or degrees of the Babylonish Captivity 659 Catholick Epistles See General Ep. Cerriâ—i why mad-men were so called 29 30 Changing of Times and Laws what it implies in SS 737 Cherub and Cherubim whence so called 567. their form 917. why the Curtains of the Tabernacle and Walls of the Temple were filled with pictures of Cherubims 345 Chiliasme See Millennium Christ his solemn Preaching began not till Iohn Baptist had done his and why 97. his Death and Resurrection foretold in the Law Prophets and Psalms 50. 51. his Vniversal Kingdom and the Glorious state of his Church is yet to come 196 c. He is to be received whole not only as Priest but as King 308. He is given to us for an Example of life 157. How he is to be imitated 158 The Christian Sacrifice See Sacrifice The true Church of Christ never wholly extinguished 649. in what sense it was either Visible or Invisible under Antichrist 136 137 649 c. Churches or Places for worship in the first Century 323. in the second Century 326 in the third 329. Reasons to prove this 333. Objections answered from p. 334 to 339. at first the sacred meetings were in some Vpper-rooms set apart for Religious uses 321 322. Salute the Church at his House how to be understood 324. That Christians had such Places for Sacred worship was known to the Gentiles 332. To erect and set apart Places for Divine worship is from the instinct of Nature 340 c. A Land without such Places for Religion was counted Vnclean 341. Churches are to be magnificent and decently adorned 406 407 408 Circumcision the Verba solennia used therein 53 54 Clean Heart See Heart Clergy Clerus why so called 15 182. Their obligation to a special demeanour and differing kind of conversation from the Laâ—ety 15 181 182 Clouds Christ's Coming in the Clouds whence the phrase is borrowâ—d 754 764 788 Coenaculum Sion or Church of Sion
bloud smoke of Incense according to the manner of the Gentiles This to be the meaning of purâ prece the words immediately following will tell us Non enim eget Deus c. Thus the Author in another paper where this passage of Tertullian was set down Chap. 4. 11. Matt. 5. 23. 24. Verse 14. * In Eâ—chirid ad Lauren. cop 109. Confess l. 9. c. 12. * Phil. 4. 3. * The ancient Latine Translation renders 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Agapâ—n facere to celebrate the Feast of Charity which at first did accompany the Eucharist * Heb. 5. 7. Chap. 13. 15. 1 Pet. 2. 5. * Lib. 4. c. 34. * See Chap. 3. of this Treatise pag. 358. where these two passages are translated * Vide infra Eregistis etiam Calices Dominici Sanguinis portatores * See thâ— morefully proved in the following Discourse * See 1 Sam. 7. 9. Ezra 6. 10. Psal. 116. 13. Prâ—â— 15. 8. Baruch 1. 10 11. 1 Mat. 12. 11. 2 Chron. 7. 12. * Ab. â—zra upon this place observes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that these religious women dâ—spising the vain delights of this world gave as a Free-will-offering for the making of the Lavit their Looking-glasses by which they were wont to dress and adorn themselves not caring to use them any longer for such purposes * Gen. 12. 7. 13. 4. 26. 25. 33. 20. * In Lit. Chrysost 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thou O Christ art both the Offerer and the Offering it self * In Missa seu Liturg. Ambrosiana post Confraâ—â—orium Sacerdos sic orat Ipsius praeceptum est Domine quod agimus in cujus nunc praesentiâ postulamus Da Sacrificio Authorem suum ut impleatur fides rei in sublimitate mysterii ut sicuti veritatem coelestis sacrificii exequimur sic veritatem Dominici corporis sanguinis hauriamus * So the Vulg. â— at Hebr. 5. 7. renders 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which according to Gâ—otius and others should be rendred Exauditus i. liberatus à meâ—u The like phrase in Psal. 22. 22. * 1 Mac. 12. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Super iis quae offerimus Sacrificiiâ— * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dionys. â—reop Ep. ad Demoph Therapeutam * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euseb. de Vita Constant. lib. â— c. 45. Quemadmodum siquis Rex ipse filii sui pingat imaginem justè suam illam dicit imaginem secundùm utrumque quoniam filii ejus est quoniam ipse fecit eam Sic Iesu Christi nomen quod per universam mundum glorificatur in Ecclesia suum esse confitetur Pater quoniam Filii ejus est quoniam ipse scribens id ad salutem dedit hominum Iren. ibid. 1 Cor. 8. 6. * Vide etiam Ios. 9. 14. 15. Psal. 41. 10. Vir pacis mea in quo fidebam qui comedebat panem meum * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 à 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eligere quia Foedus pangitur conditionibus certis qua duae partes â—ligunt * Vide Turcicum ritum apud Busbequium Epist. 1. 11. Levit. 3. 11 16. Numb 28. 2 24. * Levit. 23. 13. 18. Num. 8. 8. 15. 4 5. 28. 28 28 31. 29. â— 11. 19. Vide Nehem. 10. 33. * Lev. 7. 9. with Lev. 2. 2. 3 9 10. * And so the Chaldâ—e Par. forthe Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Offer before me See Ierem. ch 34. vers 18. 19. * Eusebius Demonst. Evang lib. 9. nâ—um nâ—â—stcum sacrosaâ—cta Eucharistiae voca◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Casaubaxerâ— ad Ann. 32. N. 26. * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * So the evil Angels are called Coloss. 2. 1â— Eph. 6. 12. * Acts 2. 23. c. 4. 28. * Thank offerings or Grateful acknowledgments Vide etiam Can. Apostol II. al. III. Can. XL. Synod Cartâ—â—â— Can. VII Edicti Yoâ—ophili Alexandrini apud Balsamon a Const. Clem. l. 8. c. 12. b Const. Clem. l 8. c. 13. Non potest hoc accipi de Symbolis corporis Christi verùm de Symbolis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quomodo enim Christus ipse offerretur Deo per intercessionem Christi * In Ordinâ— Romauo dimissiâ— Catechumâ—nis Rubrica habet Postea incipiunt cantores cantare offertorium populus dat oblationes suas id est Panem Vinum offerunt cum Fanonibus id est velis candidis primò Masculi deiude Foeminae novissime Sacerdotes Diaconi sed solum panem hoc ante Altare Tunc accipiens Archidiaconus à Subdiaconis oblatas ponit tantas super Altare quantae possunt populo sufficere ad communionem Videatur Theodoret. in hâ—st dâ— Theodosio offerente 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. l. 5. c. 17. Consule Cyprian de Op. Eleemos Quae in Deminicum sine sacrificio venis quae partem de Sacrificio quod pauper obtulit sumis August de Temp. Serm. CCXV Oblationes quae in Altari consecrantur offerte Erubescere debet homo idoneus fi de aliena Oblatione communicaverit * So Iusâ—â— Martyr in Apol 2. caâ—â— it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Maâ— 4. 28. 1 Cor. 10. 21. Conâ—â—n Clem. l. 8. c. 12. * Câ—â— Clem. l. 8. c. 12. * Al. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * So the Syr. Paraph. in 1 Cor. 11. 26 rendeâ—s 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ye sh 〈…〉 th by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ye commemorate * Iuxta formulam Liturgiarum omnium 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * See this largely proved in the foregoing Treatise chap. 7. Psal. 50. 16 17. Unde Philo de Sacrif 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nabet Ezra 6. 10. Vers. 10. 11. * Antiq. Iud. l. 1. c. 4. * Adde hereunto that of Cyprian in his De Orat Dom. Et quando in unum cum fratribus conâ—enimus SACRIFICIA Diâ—ina cum Dei Sacerdote celebramus verecundiae disciplinae memores essi debemus non passiâ— ventilare PRECES nostras inconditis vocibuâ— c. * This to be his meaning appears from the words immediately following Non eget Deus odâ—râ—s sanguinis alicujus c. See Chap. 3. of the foregoing Discourse pag. 358. * See the passage quoted in the foregoing Discourse Chap. 5. pag. 363. * An. 1635. Matt. 5. 23 24. Tertullian An. 200. See also c. 10. a And so for the Station or fast-Fast-days there are many so scrupulous as to think they may not be present at the prayers of the Christian Sacrifices because their Fast would be dissolved as they suppose upon their receiving the Lord's Body But what Does the Eucharist then dissolve that their Service devoted to God Does it not rather the more strictly engage them to God and his Service Nay will not thy Station or Fast be the more solemn if thou shalt also stand at God's ALTAR where thou mayest receive the Lord's Body and reserve it to
be eaten at home when thy Fast is ended And thus both shall be salved thou mayest partake of the Sacrifice and withal go on in the performance of thy Devotions * If a Soul be conscious of its guilt and thereupon Conscience be ashamed how shall it dare to pray at the ALTAR Cyprian An. 250. Sect. I. a Being mindful of our common honour and dignity and regardful of the Sacerdotal gravity and holiness we have utterly rejected all that was raked up against you in a Writing that was sent us full of a deal of provoking and reproachful stuff seriously considering and weighing with our selves that in so full and religious an assembly of the Brethren God's Priests being set and the ALTAR placed it was no way fit such libellous criminations should be either read or heard b What then remains but that the Church should yield to the Capitol and that the Priests withdrawing themselves and taking away the Lord's ALTAR Images and Idol-Gods together with their Altars should succeed and take possession of the place proper to the sacred and venerable Bench of our Clergy * Consessus here notes the place as in Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c Whenas he ought to make due satisfaction and with earnest supplications prayers and tears both day and night intreat God's mercy does he as yet dare to claim the Sacerdotal dignity which he had betrayed as if it were a fit thing for one to come immediately from the Devil's Altars to the Altar of God d We ought to use our utmost care and industry that such lapsâ—d and apostatiz'd persons do not return again to their charge to the defiling of the ALTAR and the infecting of the Brethren e And moreover we are to consider that as the Eucharist so the Oile also wherewith the baptized ones are anointed is consecrated on the ALTAR But how can any such consecrate the Creature of Oile as have neither ALTAR nor Church And therefore there can be no spiritual unction amongst the Hereticks since it is evident that neither can the Oile be consecrated nor the Eucharist celebrated by such as are Hereticks f But withall the Holy Ghost by Solomon doth foreshew the Type of the Lord's Sacrifice the Oblation there offered and the Bread and Wine as also makes mention of the ALTAR and the Apostles saying Wisdom hath built her self an house and hath set it upon seven pillars She hath killed her Sacrifices she hath mingled her Wine in her Cup she hath also prepared her table and sent forth her servants calling with a loud voice and inviting all unto her Cup saying c. Prov. 9. â— c. * LXX 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * â—XX 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a That Christ is the Wisdom of God as also concerning the mystery of his Incarnation and of his Passion and Cup and the ALTAR and the Apostles who being sent preached the Gospel there is a plain Testimony in Solomon's Proverbs viz. Wisdom hath built her self an house and set it upon seven pillars She hath killed her Sacrifices she hath mingled her wine in her cup and prepared her table c. * As Athanasius likewise doth Disp. cont Arâ—um in Con. Nic p. 90. To. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—quit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Zeno Veronensis An. 260. b Happily nourished and brought up not in ill-sented cradles but within the pleasant Septs of the holy ALTAR Euseb. histor Eccles. l. 10. c. 4. c And placing the most holy ALTAR in the middle that the multitude might be hindred from pressing too near it he compassed it about with a wooden rail of net-work of so curious an artifice as was admirable to behold d Who else besides our Blessed Saviour did ever teach and appoint his Friends and followers to offer Unbloudy and Reasonable Sacrifices such as were to be performed by prayer and the mystical service of blessing and praising God And hence it was that ALTARS were erected and Churches also consecrated throughout all the world as also Intellectual and Reasonable Sacrifices were by all Nations offered up to God the King of the whole world But as for the bloudy and smoaky Sacrifices they are by a secret and invisible power quite extinguished and are no more in use * Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eusebius means the praising of God appears by other passages in this Book and elsewhere where he saith That the Invisible Powers or Angels 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. Deo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ‖ Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In Demon. adv Iudaeos Gent. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Edit Saâ— Tom. 6. p. 635. * Psal. 78. 19. Can God furnish a TABLE in the wilderness See the verse after where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Flâ—sh or Food is rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mensa a TABLE by the LXX and Vulgar So is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bread or Food rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a TABLE by the LXX twice in 1 Sam. 20. 23 26. al. 24 27. And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Meat is rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 four times in Dan. 1. Sect. 2. * Canones Apost a If any Bishop or Presbyter shall bring to the ALTAR any thing besides what is appointed by our Lord concerning the Christian Sacrifice that is to say besides Bread and Wine be it Honey or Milk or in stead of Wine strong Drink prepared with all possible cost and art or Fowls or any other Creatures besides what is appointed by our Lord let him be deposed Nor let it be lawful to offer any thing at the ALTAR in the time of the holy Oblation or Eucharist besides new corn parched or baked and grapes in their season except it be Oile for the Candlestick and Incense * Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tritici grana fricta aut â—osta Laâ—inâ— Graneas dixere De significatione 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vid. LXX Lev. 2. 14 16. ca. 23. 14. Casaub in Athenaeum lib. 14. 16. Malè hîc Balsamon alii Legumina Couser Can. Syn. Carthag quaehabet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 b Whether Oile for the Candlestick or Incense a That it is not lawful to offer any thing but Bread and Wine mingled with water at the time of celebrating the holy Mysteries Let nothing else besides the Lord's Body and Bloud be offered as our Lord himself hath ordained that is to say Bread and Wine mingled with water But as for the First-fruits whether of Honey or Milk let them be offered as the manner is upon one solemn and accustomed day at the Baptism of Infants And though these viz. Honey and Milk more especially offered at the ALTAR yet they are to have their proper and peculiar benediction different and apart from the blessing of the Bread and Wine or the consecration of the Lord's Body and Bloud Nor let there be any thing presented as a
blessed the Congregation which stood in the outward Court 2 Chron. c. 6. v. 12 3. and they sacrificed that day and all the time of the Feast viz. in the Courts though the Priests could not enter the Covered Temple for the glory of the Lord which filled it * Viz. the Trumpets * Chap. 8. 10. See before in Chap. 2. Sect. 6 * See before in Chap. 3. Sect. 1. * Chap. 7. * Chap. 14. 1. * Chap. 13. 11. * Chap. 14. 4. * Vers. 15. * Vers. 18. * Vers. 20. * Decemb. 27. * Num. 2. 2. a Ch. 3. 4. ch 6. 11. ch 7. 13. b Ch. 2. 11. ch 20. 6. 14. ch 21. 8. * The Lxx. have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * Israil is often in the Psal. and elsewhere in Scripture called God's inheritance * Vers. 4. * Vers. 4. * 〈…〉 Vide Commâ—ns Apocal ad cap. 8. vers 8. * The Caesars were Pontifices maximi as well as Augusti and received the Pontifical Stole at their inauguration yea Constantine and his sons received the Stole and bore the Title though they executed not the Office Gratian was the first that refused both * The Demi-Caesars kept their Court at Ravenna never at Rome The Numbers of Times in Dan. 12. have also been taken definitely by those who yet differ about their Epocha * This is more fully demonstrated in the next Chapter * Roma meretrix rides the Beast under his last Head * Chap. 9. v. 5. * Vers. 15. * Chap. 16. 12 c. Dan. 10. 2â— * Targum Hierosolym Targum Ionâ—thanis * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * This is the Author 's own Argument to what follows See the meaning of those days in the Author 's learned Discourse De Nuâ—heris Danielis c. which is the last Discourse in this Third Book * Compare Dan. 11. 31. Chap. 12. 11. See page 531. * See pag. 534. * See in Book V. the words of Gaius out of Eusebius with the Author's Animadversions Thâ—s was wroté before his Comment on the Apocal. and so were the other Tracts in these Râ—mains except that in Chap. 9. be of a later date Dan. 7. 13. Zach. 12. 10. See in Book V. the Author 's short Tract styled The Mystery of S. Pauls Conversion or The Type of the Calling of the Iews Revel 20. 4. Chap. 20. 6. * See in Book IV. the Authors 2d Letter to D. Meddus where this is largely treated of See also above in this Book in the Appendix to the Apocal. his Epist. ad Amicum De Resurrectionâ— Prima c. ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * Vid. Act. Concil Niceni apud Gelas. Cyzicen l. 1. c. 23. â—l 24. ‖ In Catech. 14. * Hades is properly the place of Separate Souls whether good or bad after death * Ezek. 38. 15. chap. 39. 2. a If that which S. Peter here describeth were foretold by the old Prophets then must S. Peter be so expounded as it may be shewn in them and agree with them a This 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or last days should seem to be the time of the Churche's Apostasie under Antichrist according to that of S. Paul 1 Tim. 4. 1. In the latter times some shall depart from the Faith giving heed to spirits of error and doctrines of Daemons For as the times of the fourth and last of Daniel's Kingdoms were the last times in general during which Christ was to come and found his Church and Kingdom so the latter times of the Fourth Kingdom being that period of a Time times and half a time wherein the wicked Horn should domineer are the latmost times of the last times or last times in special b I take Promise here for Res promissa the thing promised the Antithesis implying that to be the meaning viz. The scoffers say Where is the Promise of his coming Nevertheless we look for a New heaven and New earth according to his Promise But here is somewhat Reader in the application wherein thou mayest erre but be not thou uncharitable in thy censure nor think I am For although the crying down and condemning of the opinion of the Chiliasts will be found to be near upon the beginning of the times of the Antichristian Apostasie which I suppose to be called the last times and that the utter burying of that Opinion falls within these times yet thou must know 1. That there is not the like reason of the first Authors of crying down a Truth and of those who led by their authority take it afterward without further examination for an Error 2. To scoff is one thing and barely not to believe is another 3. 'T is one thing to deny a promise simply and another to deny or question the manner thereof as also to reject a Truth sincerely propounded and when it is intangled with errors as that of the later Chiliasts may seem to have been c I take Promise here for Res promissa the thing promised the Antithesis implying that to be the meaning viz. The scoffers say Where is the Promise of his coming Nevertheless we look for a New heaven and New earth according to his Promise But here is somewhat Reader in the application wherein thou mayest erre but be not thou uncharitable in thy censure nor think I am For although the crying down and condemning of the opinion of the Chiliasts will be found to be near upon the beginning of the times of the Antichristian Apostasie which I suppose to be called the last times and that the utter burying of that Opinion falls within these times yet thou must know 1. That there is not the like reason of the first Authors of crying down a Truth and of those who led by their authority take it afterward without further examination for an Error 2. To scoff is one thing and barely not to believe is another 3. 'T is one thing to deny a promise simply and another to deny or question the manner thereof as also to reject a Truth sincerely propounded and when it is intangled with errors as that of the later Chiliasts may seem to have been As touching the Iews and the impeachment of this Opinion amongst them in the latter times I find amongst the Doctors of the Gemara or Gloss of their Talmud which was finished about 500 years after Christ a Tenet of one R. Samuels often mentioned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That there was to be no difference between the present state of the world and the days of Messiah but in respect of the bondage under the Kingdoms of the Gentiles only thereby opposing the more ancient opinion and tradition of the Renovation of the World After this time there appears to have been amongst the Iews a Sect of the followers of the opinion of this R. Samuel which at length was greatly advanced by the authority of that learned Maimonides who having drunk too deep of the Philosophy of Aristotle wherein he was admirably skilful became a
redeemed us from our Spiritual thraldom by raising Iesus Christ our Lord from the dead begetting us in stead of an earthly Canaan to an inheritance incorruptible in the Heavens In a word the Christian by the day he hallows professes himself a Christian that is as S. Paul speaks To believe on him that raised up Iesus from the dead So that the Iew and Christian both though they fall not upon the same day yet make their designation of their day upon the like ground the Iews the memorial-day of their deliverance from the temporal Egypt and temporal Pharaoh the Christians the memorial-day of their deliverance from the spiritual Egypt and spiritual Pharaoh But might not will you say the Christian as well have observed the Iewish for his seventh day as the day he doth I answer No he might not For in so doing he should seem not to acknowledge his Redemption to be already performed but still expected For the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt by the Ministery of Moses was intended for a Type and pledge of the Spiritual deliverance which was to come by Christ their Canaan also to which they marched being a Type of that Heavenly inheritance which the redeemed by Christ do look for Since therefore the Shadow is now made void by the coming of the Substance the Relation is changed and God is no longer to be worshipped and believed in as a God fore-shewing and assuring by Types but as a God who hath performed the Substance of what he promised And this is that which S. Paul means Colossians 2. 16 17. when he saith Let no man judge you henceforth in respect of a Feast-day New-moon or Sabbath-dayes Which were a shadow of things to come but the body is of Christ. DISCOURSE XVI 1 COR. 11. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head I HAVE chosen this of the woman rather than that of the man going before it for the Theme of my Discourse First Because I conceive the Fault at the reformation whereof the Apostle here aimeth in the Church of Corinth was the womens only not the mens That which the Apostle speaks of a man praying or prophesying being by way of supposition and for illustration of the unseemliness of that guise which the women used Secondly Because the condition of the Sex in the words read makes something for the better understanding of that which is spoken of both as we shall see presently The Discourse I intend to make upon the Text shall consist of these two parts First of an Enquiry What is here meant by Prophesying a thing attributed to women and therefore undoubtedly some such thing as they were capable of Secondly What was this Fault for matter and manner of the women of the Church of Corinth which the Apostle here reproveth To begin with the First and which I am like to dwell longest upon Some take Prophesying here in the stricter sense to be foretelling of things to come as that which in those Primitive times both men and women did by the pouring out of the Holy Ghost upon them according to that of the Prophet Ioel applied by S. Peter to the sending of the Holy Ghost at the first promulgation of the Gospel I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh and your sons and daughters shall prophesie and your young men shall see visions And that such Prophetesses as these were those four Daughters of Philip the Evangelist whereof we read Acts 21. 9. Others take Prophesying here in a more large notion namely for the gift of interpreting and opening Divine mysteries contained in Holy Scripture for the instruction and edification of the Hearers especially as it was then inspired and suggested in extraordinary manner by the Holy Spirit as Prophecy was given of old according to that of S. Peter Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost So because many in the beginning of the Gospel were guided by a like instinct in the interpretation and application of Scripture they were said to Prophesie Thus the Apostle useth it in the fourteenth Chapter of this Epistle where he discourses of spiritual Gifts and before all prefers that of Prophecy because he that Prophesieth saith he speaketh unto men to edification and exhortation and comfort But neither of these kinds of Prophecy sutes with the person in my Text which is a woman For it is certain the Apostle speaks here of Prophesying in the Church or Congregation but in the Church a woman might not speak no not so much as ask a question for her better instruction much less teach and instruct others and those men This the Apostle teacheth us in this very Epistle Chapter the fourteenth even there where he discourseth so largely of those kinds of Prophecy Let your women saith he keep silence in the Churches For it is not permitted unto them to speak 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but to be subject And if they will learn let them ask their husbands at home Again in 1 Tim. 2. 11 12. Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection But I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man but to be in silence Note here that to speak in a Church-Assembly by way of teaching or instructing others is an act of superiority which therefore a woman might not do because her sex was to be in subjection and so to appear before God in garb and posture which consisted therewith that is she might not speak to instruct men in the Church but to God she might To avoid this difficulty some would have the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in my Text to be taken passively namely for to hear or be present at Prophecy which is an acception without example either in Scripture or any where else It is true the Congregation is said to pray when the Priest only speaks but that they should be said to preach who are present only at the hearing of a Sermon is a Trope without example For the reason is not alike In prayer the Priest is the mouth of the Congregation and does what he does in their names and they assent to it by saying Amen But he that preaches or prophesies is not the mouth of the Church to speak ought in their names that so they might be said to speak too but he is the mouth of God speaking to them It is not likely therefore that those who only hear another speaking or prophesying to them should be said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to prophesy no more as I said than that all they should be said to preach who were at the hearing of a Sermon What shall we do then Is there any other acception of the word Prophesying left us which may sit our turn Yes there is a Fourth acception which if it can be made good will
them that trespass against us DISCOURSE XXV S. MARK 1. 14 15. Now after that Iohn was put in prison Iesus came into Galilee preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God And saying The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand Repent ye and Believe the Gospel THESE words are a Narration of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ his first beginning to preach the Gospel which they describe 1. By the Time when 2. By the Place where 3. By the Summe of what he preached 1. The Time when After that Iohn was put in prison 2. The Place where Galilee Iesus came into Galilee preaching c. 3. Lastly The Summe of what he preached The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand Repent ye and believe the Gospel In which Sermon there are also some parts to be considered which we shall more conveniently distinguish when we come to handle it Mean while let us begin with the Three parts or circumstances already named in order And first with the First The Time when After that Iohn was put in prison Our Saviour began not his solemn preaching till his Messenger Iohn the Baptist who was sent to prepare his way was cast into prison This circumstance is elsewhere precisely noted in the Scripture so that we cannot doubt but there is some matter of moment therein For S. Matthew tells us as S. Mark doth Now when Iesus had heard saith he that Iohn was cast into prison he departed into Galilee and then it follows From that time Iesus began to preach and to say Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand So S. Peter Acts 10. when he came to preach the Gospel of Christ to Cornelius was careful to mention this circumstance of Time as well as the other of Place The word saith he V. 36 37. which God sent unto the children of Israel preaching peace by Iesus Christ he is Lord of all That word I say you know which was published throughout all Iudaea and began from Galilee after the Baptism which Iohn preached Loe here the Place Galilee and the Time After that Iohn Baptist had done as in my Text. All which argues this circumstance of Time to be one of the marks of the true Messiah as namely That this Iesus was that Lord whom they looked for who was to send a messenger before him the voice of a cryer in the wilderness to usher his preaching and prepare the way of his Gospel as was prophesied by Esay and Malachi and the Iews at that time expected Which was the reason of that scruple of the Disciples in the Gospel when they saw our Saviour and Elias whom they supposed should be his Forerunner appear in glory both together at his Transfiguration Why then say they do the Scribes say that Elias must come first Our Saviour tells them that Iohn Baptist was that Elias the Forerunner of Messiah according to those words of his Father Zachary And thou child shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways namely as the Angel told him in the power and spirit of Elias For this reason as our Saviour was not conceived nor born till six months after Iohn so he began not his prophecy till Iohn had done that so the Scripture might be fulfilled and Iohn be his forerunner and messenger both in the one and the other And lastly to conclude the illustration of this circumstance Iohn was not only a Forerunner of our Saviour in his Nativity and Prophecy but also in his Passion and Suffering For so our Saviour himself expresly saith Matth. 17. 12. Elias is come and they knew him not but have done unto him whatsoever they listed even so also shall the Son of man suffer of them Now for the Observation or if you will the Consideration I will make upon this circumstance it shall be this If that Messiah according to Prophecy were to have an Harbinger to prepare the way for his coming and the Holy Ghost in the New Testament thought this circumstance so needful to prove the verity thereof as so curiously to note it in the history of his Nativity Preaching and Suffering It would be considered seeing the coming of Christ is twofold First and Second whether the same Prophecy imply not that there should be an Harbinger as well of his Second coming as of his First as well an Elias to prepare the way for his coming in glory to judge the world as there was at his First coming in humility to preach the Gospel and suffer for the world An Elias I mean to be the Harbinger of Christ to the nation of the Iews before his Second coming as Iohn Baptist was at his First For to the Iews alone is this Elias promised and not to the Gentiles and Iohn Baptist we know the Elias of his First coming preacht to them alone It is well known that all the Fathers unless S. Hierom somewhat staggered were of this opinion and why we should so wholly reject it as we are wont to do I can see no sufficient reason For if the Fathers erred concerning the person and other circumstances of this Elias yet it follows not but the substance of their opinion might be true As we know also they erred concerning the person quality and reign of Antichrist and yet for the substance the thing was true Our Saviour rejected not the Tradition of the Scribes concerning the coming of Elias when the Apostles objected it though it were mingled with some falshood but corrected it only for they looked for Elias the Thisbite but our Saviour admits it only of Elias in Spirit not of Elias in Person so yielding it true for the substance though erring in circumstance So should we do in the like case For he that throws away what he finds because it is foul and dirty may perchance sometimes cast away a Iewel or a piece of gold or silver So he that wholly rejects an ancient Tenet because it hath some Error annexed to it may unawares cast away a Truth as this seems to be of an Elias to be the Harbinger of Christ's Second coming and that for these Reasons First Though the Prophecy of Esaias The voice of one crying in the wilderness Prepare ye the way of the Lord make his paths straight alledged by all the four Evangelists and by Iohn himself seems appliable only to the First coming of Christ yet the other out of Malachi expresly quoted by S. Mark and by our Saviour Matth. 11. 14. though elsewhere alluded unto seems by Malachi himself to be applied not only to the First coming of Christ but also to his Second coming to Iudgment For in his last chapter speaking of the coming of that day which shall burn like an oven wherein all the proud yea and all that do wickedly shall be as stubble and it shall burn them up leaving neither