and an affirmative Precept which betwixt them do comprize the obligation of the whole Law There 's a negative Precept 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in that he saith You may not do your own pleasure nor speak your own words And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an affirmative Precept in that he saith you must call the Sabbath a delight the holy of the Lord honourable and must accordingly honour him therein Nor can we reasonably think our selves unconcerned in this Precept unless we will think or make our selves unconcerned in the promise that is annexed to it of delighting our selves in the Lord and being fed with he heritage of Jacob v. 14. so that this text was without doubt written also for our instruction though not as Iews yet as Christians And therefore as the Apostle hath said We have an Altar whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle Heb. 13. 10. So may we say we have a Sabbath whereof they have no right to be observers who serve the Tabernacle And this text of the Prophet will as much concern our Sabbaths as it did theirs For we must turn away our feet that is our affections from these Sabbaths not seeking on them any rest or delight in our selves but only in our God Thus did the primitive Christians keep their feasts as is affirmed by Nazianzene orat 44. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We also keep holy day but as it seemeth good to the Holy Ghost either saying or doing something of our duty So that our keeping of a Feast is nothing else but laying up treasure for our souls or laying in provision upon which we may live in another world Wherefore it shall be my labour and my prayer so to keep all the Feasts which are kept truly in honour of my Saviour That I may at last be a guest at his own wedding Feast and be numbred among those of whom it is written Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage Supper of the Lamb Rev. 19. 9. And though I cannot deserve it by my service yet I will hope by being his constant and faithful servant That he who maketh the marriage Supper will bestow on me the wedding garment and clothe me with his own righteousness that I may be a guest prepared to come to and set at his heavenly table to keep one everlasting Feast with him and his world without end Amen CAP. II. That God is to be adored only in Christ SECT I. That no man whiles he is in the state of sin cares to come near God and that Adam after his sin could not have adored God rightly if Christ had not been revealed to him as the propitiation for his sins IT is the property of a sinner to run from God and therefore no man that is a sinner and looketh upon God as angry for his sins can truly worship him For he that will worship God must come unto him but he that looks upon God as angry will be sure to flie from him And it is much to be observed that after Saul knew God had rejected him for his disobedience he desired to worship him only in shew not in reality 1 Sam. 15. 30. Then he said I have sinned yet honour me now I pray thee before the Elders of my people and before Israel and turn again with me that I may worship the Lord thy God Here was a worshipper but such an one as worshipped more to honour himself then to honour his Maker Honour me now I pray thee before my people not a word of honouring God by his worship which is still the practise of such wicked miscreants and will be to the worlds end to make a shew of Religion not for Gods sake but for their own not to serve him but to serve themselves For where is much of sin there must be little of Religion little in truth though perhaps not in shew it being the property of sin to drive us from God but of Religion to draw us to him And accordingly Saul being in the state of sin professeth in effect that he was desirous to keep at a distance from God saying unto Samuel Turn again with me that I may worship the Lord thy God He durst not say the Lord my God for he had too much provoked him by his sin and too little sought to be reconciled to him by repentance to claim any interest in his mercy Sin wilfully committed drives a man from God sin carelesly unrepented keeps a man from him so that whiles the man is in sin whether it be willfully or carelesly he cannot come near God but is either driven or at least kept from him yea let him come never so near to God yet by his sin he is sure to be kept far from him for he so draweth near him with his lips as to be far from him with his heart It is not to be doubted but David made many a fair shew of worshipping God during that year that he continued in the guiltiness of his murder and of his adultery And yet it is not to be thought much less believed that during that guiltiness he was a true worshipper for it is plain from his own mouth that sin had shut up his lips because he prayed God to open them and as plain that sin shutteth not up the lips but where it hath first shut up the heart since the heart is the first mover in the order of Religion and consequently the first stander-still in the neglect of that order No wonder then if the Text saith God heareth not sinners John 9. 31. for how can he hear those that do not speak or if they do speak yet they do not pray because they have only Verbum oris non verbum mentis because they speak only with their lips not with their hearts God is not as man to be approached unto by outward addresses and applications if the tongue move without the heart the man sits still and doth not at all draw near in Gods account whatever he may do in his own Therefore the Apostle ascribeth it to one and the same faith that we please God and that we come unto him Heb. 11. 6. Without faith it is impossible to please God for he that cometh to God must believe The words will afford this Syllogism He that doth come to God doth alone please God he that hath not faith doth not come unto God Therefore he that hath not faith doth not or cannot please God And this Syllogism will afford us this Doctrine That we must come to God if we will please him and must have faith if he will come unto him For he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him That he is God the fountain of all goodness and that they who thirst after shall drink deep of this fountain Nay yet more as the words are alledged to prove Enoch had faith they must have this
sin shall not have dominion over you were not the reason of that a much greater comfort for ye are not under the Law but under Grace For they that groan under the oppression of Tyrants must needs be most glad to be delivered from their unjust and unmerciful dominion and here is that deliverance for sin which is a greater tyrant over the soul then any monster of men can be over the body shall not have dominion over you but they that have once been under the dominion of tyrants cannot be sure they are delivered out of their hands till they see themselves actually under the righteous and merciful dominion of their own rightful Governours And we may accordingly see that such is our deliverance from the dominion of sin in that it is said in the next words for ye are not under the law but under Grace the spirit of Grace now reigns in you and therefore will not let sin raign any longer in you nor the Law reign any longer over you as it is the strength of sin to provoke it or the judge of sinners to condemn and to torment them For if we lay not some such restriction upon the Apostles words we shall never be able to prove it is a mercy not to be under the Law which is gloriously magnified by the Spirit of God as that which giveth both holiness and wisdom Psal 19. 17. The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul there is the holiness The testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple there is the wisdom we must therefore say that the Law had a threefold use to restrain to condemn and to instruct to restrain sin to condemn the sinner and to instruct in righteousness The power the Law had to condemn sinners and to wrack our consciences before Gods judgement-seat is taken away by Christ so that they who truly lay hold on the Merit of Christ are not thus under the Law as condemning them And thus not to be under the Law is an invaluable mercy because the Law worketh wrath Rom. 4. 15. in shewing Gods wrath against sinners and us as sinners subject to that wrath But the power the Law had of restraining from sin and of instructing in righteousness still remains uncontroled of God and should be undoubted and undisputed of men for he that gave to the Jew an inheritance on earth to have his Law kept as t is said Psal 105. 43 44. And gave them the Lands of the heathen and they took the labours of the people in possession that they might keep his statutes and observe his Laws hath not promised to the Christian an inheritance in heaven to have his Law broken Therefore the Law must still restrain us from sin and direct us in righteousness only with this difference The power it hath of restraining us from sin grows less and less every day in the regenerate and can remain no longer then this life because sin it self in them shall remain no longer But the power the Law hath to instruct and direct in righteousness grows dayly more and more and is as immortal as righteousness it self and can never be abolished neither in this life nor in the life everlasting for it is easier for heaven and earth to pass then one tittle of the Law to fail Luke 16. 17. Nay the Heavens shall pass away with a great noise 2 Pet. 3. 10. But this power of the Law shall not pass away for it follows ver 13. that in the new heavens dwelleth righteousness And if righteousness dwell there then also the Law which is the rule thereof for it is not possible that any creature should have its own will but only the will of God for the rule of righteousness on which will it must as necessarily depend for its doing as for its being since nothing can be independent in its working which is not independent in its being and he only is independent in his being who is wholly in and of and for himself that is God blessed for ever who is the efficient and final cause of all things the efficient cause by whom the final cause for whom they are and were created In a word the regulating power of the Law cannot be abolished for that shall still remain in heaven the restraining power of the Law is not abolished but only changed in that true faith makes us more obedient for love then the Law for fear and the condemning power of the Law shall never be abolished for it shall still reign over the damned souls in hell and breed the worm of conscience that dyeth not And yet t is this condemning power of the Law that we are chiefly redeemed from not that the power of condemning is taken from the Law but that we are taken from its condemnation so saith the Apostle Rom. 8. 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus He saith not There is no condemnation from the Law but he said there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ because they that are in Christ do in him fulfil the Law and so cannot be under the condemnation of it For though they perform not that legal obedience which is able to satisfie Gods Justice yet they perform that Evangelical obedience which is undoubtedly acceptable to his mercy Their obedience though not worth acceptance in it self yet is very well accepted in Christ and that makes them that are in Christ so exceedingly strive to shew themselves dutiful and obedient because no other are made the Sons of God in Christ but only those who are made obedient to him by his Spirit And they truly are under grace because they truly are under Christ the fountain of grace for grace and truth came by Jesus Christ John 1. 17. Gratia dupliciter dicitur uno modo ipsa voluntas Dei gratis aliquid dantis alio modo ipsum gratuitum donum Dei saith Aquinas 3a 2. 10. cap. Grace hath two significations First it is taken for the love of God Secondly it is taken for the gift of that love and accordingly he that is under Grace is partaker of both these both of Gods love and of Gods free gift proceeding from that love And the latter is the infallible demonstration of the former the gift is the demonstration of the love For grace as it is the love of God is the cause of no Religious operations in the soul but as it is the gift of Gods love and therefore this phrase ye are under grace doth not bid us look up to Gods decree but look down upon our own souls to see if we can find there such Religious habits as may cause those Religious operations which are the undoubted evidences and effects of the gift of grace and therefore the undoubted evidences because the undoubted effect of it For grace as it is the gift of God in the soul works not immediately by it self or by its own essence but by virtuous
Holy Word that she should first faithfully keep it and after that faithfully interpret it wherefore to say the Church hath falsified her trust in keeping Gods Word is in effect to say she is not trust-worthy to interpret it which is bring all Religion to doubts and uncertainties in the knowledge to schisms and divisions in the practice thereof For surely if the Lords own most holy prayer hath been so ill kept by the Church which in all ages hath been looked upon as the sum of the Gospel and as the plat-form or rather the ground-work of all true Religion then we must needs have but very little or no assurance concerning the rest of the Scriptures wherefore it concerns all Christian Divines in the first place to vindicate the Church of Christ concerning her faithful keeping of this Prayer which would have been altogether needless had not some Criticks of later years obtruded their own observations for various Lections and by that means not cleared the Text but puzzled it But let us ask them Are the unknown manuscrips or the known and received Copies of the Church to be taken for the Text If the former we trust private men and private spirits which God never entrusted with his word If the latter we have as unquestionable a Lords Prayer as if we had heard it immediately from his own mouth For we have it thus exactly delivered us by the Greek and the Latine Church in the undoubted Originals of Saint Matthews Gospel For the Greek Church let Saint Chrysost speak who hath so elegantly and so exactly expounded at this Doxology in his nineteenth Homily upon Saint Matthew plainly shewing the necessary connexion thereof to the last Petition of the Lords Prayer that it is evident he accounted it as a part of the Prayer though as no part of the Petitions for saith he Our Saviour having told us of that evil one which we were to fight against for so he expounds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 deliver us from that evil one that is the devil thought fit to encourage us to the fight by telling us also of the King that would lead us to the battel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and therefore he saith For thine is the Kingdom c. shewing that if the Kingdom be his we ought to fear no other but him for that the power is his to defend us and the glory is also his to reward us Thus in effect Saint Chrysoft upon the place so that t is a wonder to see Beza hath reckoned him among those Fathers who expounded the Lords Prayer of purpose and yet omitted these words in their Expositions for sure he omitted them not who expounded the Original Greek though Saint Cyprian and Saint Augustine and Saint Ambrose omitted them happily because they looked no further then the Latine translation which adds Amen at the end of libera nos a malo and takes no notice at all of the Doxology And yet Saint Ambrose lib. 6. de Sacram. cap. 5. asserting that our Prayers ought to begin and end with the praise of God after the example of the Lords own Prayer habes hoc in oratione Dominica c. doth in effect allow the Doxology to be the end of that Prayer since it is evident that Deliver us from evil is no matter of praise nay indeed he doth rather alledge it in sense though not in words in saying that the priest concludes with such a form of praise as is in truth no other then an exposition of this Doxology only applied to all three Persons of the blessed Trinity Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum in quo tibi est cum quo tibi est honor laus gloria magnificentia potestas cum Spiritu Sancto à seculis nunc semper in omnia secula seculorum But however if that be a good Argument why we should leave the Doxology or the conclusion out of the Lords Prayer in Saint Matth. because it is not in the Vulgar Latine it must be as good an argument why we should leave the introduction and the last petition out of the same Prayer in Saint Luke for there in the Latine translation is no mention of noster qui es in coelis nor of libera nos à malo whereas the Greek Text gives us that Prayer with its conclusion in Saint Matthew and the same Prayer not mangled but whole and entire though without its conclusion in Saint Luke and there is no greater reason but only some mens bold conjectures to say that the conclusion of that Prayer was added to the Greek Text in Saint Matthew then to say that the introduction and last Petition of it was added to the Greek Text in Saint Luke for both alike are left out of the Latine translation But though they have been both left out of the Bibles by the Latine translation yet we cannot say that either hath been left out of the Bibles by the Latine Church For the Greek copies of Saint Matthews Gospel this day agnized by the Latine Church are ready to depose the contrary all of them having the Doxology annexed to the Petitions as the conclusion to its premisses without any the least interruption and then at last adding ' A 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at the end of the whole which is an invincible argument that the Latine Church received those words of the Doxology as an undoubted part of the Greek Text and therefore durst not leave them out of their Bibles though they found no footsteps at all of them in their own Latine translation Wherefore it is evident that this Prayer both in its Petitions and in its conclusion hath alwaies been received as an unquestionable part of Saint Matthews Gospel both by the Greek and the Latine Churches and consequently those men have disparaged the Church of Christ and disadvantaged the Christian Religion who have either commenced or continued either begun or maintained any quarrels against this most holy Prayer either in it self or in its use Nay in truth such men have disparaged and disadvantaged themselves for cavilling with that Prayer which so plainly teacheth them to say Our Father must needs be accounted an ill sign that they have received and a worse means that they may retain the adoption of Sons Surely Saint Cyprian who whipped those Sectaries with scourges that refused to communicate with Christs Church as not caring by their obedience to say Our mother would further have whipped them with scorpions had they refused to communicate with Christ himself as abhorring in their Prayers to say Our Father And doubless it may reasonably be demanded of us with what certainty of faith or satisfaction of conscience we do communicate with them in their Prayers who will not communicate with Christ in his Prayer And how we shall answer it to our Saviour when he shall come to be our Judge that we have indeed renounced his Prayer and have given occasion to sober men to fear that we have also
it and our greatest contentedness when we have gained it because this knowledge doth most procure our salvation most enflame our affections most conduce to our edification Therefore Saint Paul said to the Corinthians that he determined not to know any thing among them save Jesus Christ and him crucified 1 Cor. 2. 2. That is to say 1. Not to know any thing before Christ crucified for he would have that knowledge first in order which was most necessary to their salvation that is the knowledge of God not in himself but in his Son not as our maker but as our redeemer 2. Not to know any thing with the same activity and fervency of spirit as Christ crucified for he would have that knowledge most predominant in their hearts which most inflamed their affections and that was the knowledge of Christ upon the Cross overcoming the power of hell and opening the gates of heaven which cannot but beget an immortal love of Christ in all those souls which truly consider what it was to be under the fear of death what it is to have an assured hope of everlasting life 3. And lastly not to know any thing but with relation and subordination to Christ crucified for he would have that knowledge chiefest in their aims and intentions which alone could make all other knowledge tend to theit edification And such was the knowledge of Christ crucified for if Christs Cross pass not through the whole Alphabet of our Divinity all the words we can use will signifie nothing to a sin-sick soul which must first be healed and what balm can heal a wounded Spirit but only the blood of Christ before it can be saved yea though we speak with the tongues of men and Angels and shew not this charity this love of our Saviour to our perishing souls we shall become but as sounding brass or as tinkling Cymbals make a great noise to very little or small purpose Therefore doth an excellent late Divine Zanchys by name advise all men when they go to read the Scriptures to have Christ in their thoughts if they desire to profit by their reading for so they will be sure to find nothing in the Text to make them either Hereticks or Schismaticks but very much to make them good Christians and zealous in the love and practise of good Christianity Aedificat ad gehennam was an improper speech of the Canonist yet we find it in Gratian in his decree for to edifie to damnation is to build downwards that is indeed to destroy and raze all building but aedificat ad salutem is properly spoken to edifie to salvation for that building still rises upwards till it come to the heavenly Jerusalem And the reading of the Scriptures with Christ crucified before our eyes will thus edifie us SECT II. Christ set down in the Scripture as our Propitiation under the Title of our Passeover And what that signifies to our souls SAint Paul calleth Christ our Passeover 1 Cor. 5. 7. Pascha nostrum the word in the Hebrew from whence this Pascha is derived is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Transitus and Christ is called Pascha i. e. Transitus Quia per eum transimus ab hostè ad partrem à Tenebris ad lucem à reatu ad gratiam à Poenâ ad gloriam à pugnà ad victoriam saith Durand Christ is called our Pass or Passover in five respects because by him we have passed from our Enemy to our Father from darkness to light from sin to righteousness from misery to glory from a combate to victory The enemy was implacable the darkness was uncomfortable the sin was full of deformity the misery was full of vengeance the combat was full of danger wherefore it was surely a most blessed Passage whereby we passed from this enemy to our Father to be reconciled and beloved from this darkness to light to be rejoyced and comforted from this deformity and vengeance and danger to a state of glory of peace and of security And hence the Latine Church hath turned these words of Saint Paul forecited into an Hymn and appointed that Hymn to be sung for the first Hallelujah on every Lords day from the Resurrection to the Ascention of our blessed Saviour who was this our Passeover saying Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus Alleluja it aque epulemur in Azymis sinceritatis veritatis alleluja alleluja alleluja Christ our Passeover is sacrificed for us allelujah therefore let us keep the feast with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth alleluja alleluja alleluja There is certainly no superstition but there is a very great obligation for all Christians to sing such an Alleluja as this for which we have so excellent a precedent Rev. 19. 1. I heard a great voice of much people in heaven saying Allelujah salvation and glory and honour and power unto the Lord our God so say we that the Church Militant may joyn with the Church Triumphant in one and the same Communion of praise and thanksgiving to our Almighty and most Merciful Father not only for that true and righteous are his judgements but also and much rather for that great and many are his mercies his inestimable and undeserved mercies in providing for us such a Passeover whereby we might pass from sin and misery to righteousness and bliss and eternal glory and for causing us to pass to himself through his only begotten Son for as much as there was no other way for men to come to God but through that man who came from God SECT III. Christ set down in the Scripture as our Propitiation under the title of the Paschal Lamb and how many excellent Doctrines and Comforts of Christianity are to be learned from that title MEN and Angels might stand amazed to see so much mercy where they had seen so little innocency were it not that they could not but see so much merit where they had seen so much mercy No wonder then if this mercy was contrary to our doings when the merit was according to his doings and sufferings who died for our sins and rose again to make us righteous He is brought as a Lamb to the slaughter said the Prophet Isaiah some hundred of years before he was actually slain Isa 53. 7. But he comes nearer the fountain-head of this mercy who telleth us of the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world 1 Pet. 1. 20. Wherefore we must needs confess that the Church of Christ well knew the powerful invocation and desired we should find the comfortable perswasion of this mercy thus purchased for us when it thus taught us to pray for it O Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world have mercy upon us For the Son of God was called the Lamb of God for no other reason but because he was slain as a sacrifice to take away the sins of men And if we shall compare the Paschal Lamb and our Saviour Christ both together in the most
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pascha 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 herba amara 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Azymus Their Annuntiation belonging to the Passeover was how God passed their Fathers over that night wherein he destroyed the first born of the Egyptians Their annuntiation belonging to the bitter herbs was of their Fathers grievous servitude and bondage in Egypt which made even their lives bitter unto them And their annuntiation belonging to the unleavened bread was their happy and sudden deliverance from that bondage for the Egyptians were so urgent upon the people that they took their dough before it was leavened their kneading troughs being bound up in their cloathes upon their shoulders Exod. 12. 24. We had at the same time a much greater deliverance and why should we have a less Annuntiation For where the mercy it self is much greater why should the memorial thereof be so much less God gives a signal intimation to the Jew Exod. 12. 42. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Haec ista non illa This is that very night as if there were not demonstrative pronouns enough to shew that this mercy was to be as particular in their thankful commemoration as it had been in Almighty Gods free donation And Saint Paul seems to speak as signally to the Christian when he saith The same night that he was betrayed 1 Cor. 11. 23. as if he would not have us forget the particular time when he cometh so near the very words of Moses This is that very night to be observed to the Lord And indeed why should not we keep a Christian Passeover as well as a Christian Sabbath were they not both alike feasts of the Jews and as so are they not both alike abolished by the Apostle Gal. 4. 10. saying ye observe daies and moneths and times and years I am afraid of you least I have bestowed upon you labour in vain A Jewish observation of daies which observes daies for themselves is without doubt destructive of Christianity for it places Religion in things meerly ceremonial Not so a Christian observation of daies for duties for that places Religion only in morals Again why hath not the Christian Church as good Authority if not as justifiable warrant to observe an Anniversary as it hath to observe a Weekly festival as well the feast of the Christian Passeover once a year as the feast of the Christian Sabbath once a week for both are alike recommended in the Law and neither is directly commanded in the Gospel and we may not add to Gods commands no more then we may take from them nor may we think the New Testament defective in any necessary command or doctrine unless we will advance Judaism above Christianity Therefore since it will pose the best Divine in Christendom to shew that Text in the New Testament which commandeth the observation of a Sabbath and we cannot run to the letter of the fourth Commandment to keep the first day in stead of the seventh we must be contented in this case with the general equity of the Law and that gives the Church power to consecrate Annual as well as Weekly Festivals to the honour of God and condemneth our profaness in neglecting our perversness in despising the one as well as the other Besides it is evident we cannot or if we can sure the Apostles could not keep a Lords day all the year but as a repetition of Easter-day which was the first Lords day even the very day of his resurrection wherefore we must either say it is a Jewish not a Christian Sabbath or say it is a Lords day from the great Lords day the day of our Lords resurrection For though Saint John telling us He was in the Spirit on the Lords day pointeth clearly at our Sunday the weekly remembrance of Christs resurrection and not at Easter-day the annual remembrance of it because in those Churches of Asia to which he writ Easter-day was not yet confined to the first but might be kept on any other day of the week yet without doubt he called it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Lords day for that it was a weekly repetition of that very day which our Lord had consecrated to himself by rising from the dead called for that reason 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the great Lords day by the primitive Christians And shal we then not think it worth our notice that our blessed Saviour himself chose such a time for his Passion and Resurrection as by the unerring Characters of heaven might be exactly observed all the world over to the worlds end were it so that our Civil year were made agreeable with the Tropical or that the Catholick Church of Christ in its first and purest age would have been so careful to find out and so zealous to settle the time of this Festival if the Fathers of these blessed ages which were less quarrelsom but more pious then any have been since had not thought it highly concerned the honour of Christ and the propagation and justification of the Christian Religion Surely we cannot easily more gratifie the Jews then by putting down the memory of that time wherein they crucified Jesus Christ our Lord which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh nor can we more easily scandalize good Christians then by putting down the memorial of that time wherein he was declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead Rom. 1. 3 4. And God deliver his Church from such practises as are fit to gratifie Jews but to scandalize good Christians SECT IV. Of the antient contention about the observation of Easter That the Apostles zeal more about Duties then about Daies doth not overthrow the observing of particular daies in the service of God And that those daies ought to be observed by Preaching Praying Administring of the Sacrament and also by Almes-deeds So that false administration sc of the Holy Eucharist in one kind and false Devotions and false Doctrine and sordid illiberality in not relieving the poor are allâ— alike Profanations of a Festival FAmous was the controversie betwixt Policrates and Victor the one Bishop of Ephesus the other Bishop of Rome concerning the celebrating of Easter-day For the Churches of Asia would needs keep the very day of the first full moon in Spring conceiving the Apostles condescention to the Iew to have been a dogmatical sanction to the Christian but the Western Churches who had no conversation with the Iews and therefore were not moved through compliance with them at first to forsake their Christian liberty and at last the Christian truth for the Quartadeciâ—… were in proâ—ess of time declared Hereticks would not keep the very day of that full Moon but the Sunday after it for their Easter-day the learned Scaliger gives this reason for their difference The Jewish Converts following their old custom kept still 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Passeover in remembrance of Christs Passion
enim est Constantini M. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 non solum hebdomadem post Pascha sed antecedentem excipit ab opere faciendo sed de posteriore hebdomade usus tantum obtinuit The sum of all is this Because Easter weeke was the first weeke in the year and the dayes of that week were all accounted and kept holy and accordingly were thus computed the first second third fourths fifth holy day Hence it is that the same computation still hold of the days in the other weeks throughout the whole year that instead of the first second third fourth and fifth day it is said the first second third fourth and fifth holy-day For the Emperour Constantine the great made a Law that all Easter week and the week before it should be kept as one Holy-day And though in our age this Law holds only of Easter week yet we have some footsteps of that observation still in the week before it for our Church appoints Epistles and Gospels for every day of the week before Easter and most Churches beyond the seas still call it the holy week and some make it so For which Religious practice it is not to be doubted but the Church of Christ hath warrant enough from that Text Mark 14. 8. She hath done what she could she is come aforehand to anoint my body for the burying or rather to anoint her self for my body to prepare her self for to receive the Holy Eucharist and to celebrate the Resurrection Wherefore it is evident that in the judgement of the first and best Christians Easter day was a greater Sunday then any other all the year after it even as the Sabboth of the Passover was in the Jews account a greater Sabboth then any other of all the year nor was this judgement any way superstitious but truely Religious since we find it authorized by the Text saying for that Sabboth day was an high day John 19. 32. as if he had said that Sabboth day was higher then any other Sabbath because the Passover was joyned with it I will not then quarrel with the Church for preferring one Sunday before another since she observeth them all as holy to the same Lord there was the Holy of Holyes in the Sanctuary without any disparagement to the rest of the Temple The Paschal Sabbath was a high day and yet the other Sabbaths not put down the lower By taking off the opinion of holiness I see much profaness and irreligion in all respects which makes me conclude that though the Church should proclaim Holy Holy Holy never so much before the place and time of Gods worship yet all would be little enough to beget the love and practice of holiness in the worshippers SECT VI. That the Lords day which is observed weekly is to be observed in memory of our Saviours Resurrection and hath a double sanctification one by relation to its duâ—y which is publickly to serve God and to give him thanks for our Redemption by Christ and is the principal The other by institution as consecrated to this duty and is the less principal That the Antisabbatarian Doctrine which advanceth duties above days is not only of Christs but also of Moses his own teaching and makes most for the true observation of the Sabbath which yet is more properly called the Lords Day then the Sabbath WE may not pass by that memorable Canon in the Council of Trullo cap. 66. which hath these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 From the Holy Festival of the Resurrection of Christ our God untill the New Lords Day all true believers ought to go to Church and there uncessantly praise God in Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual songs T is worth our notice that the Fathers of that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 holden in the Emperours Pallace called Easter day it self 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Resurrection day but the Sunday after it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The New Lords day not simply the Lords Day of its self or by its own virtue but as it was a repetition or renovation of the former 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the day of our Lords Resurrection For to say it was called the New Lords Day because of the renewing by Baptism which antiently was administred at that time is not satisfactory for besides that other Sundays must have been called New as well as that upon the same account to wit those of Easter and Pentecost it is manifest that Baptism cannot justly cause any Sunday to be called the Lords day and therefore surely not the New Lords day Whence it follows that if this Sunday was called the New Lords Day as renewing the day of our Lords Resurrection this and all other Sundayes do belong unto the Lord chiefly upon this account that they are memorials of his Resurrection So that though the Law of the Sabbath as well as of other things came by Moses yet the grace and truth of it came by Jesus Christ John 1. 17. And for this reason was the Sabbath translated from its own day to our Lords Day that the Law of Moses might give place to the grace and truth of Jesus Christ and happily for that cause amongst others hath the Church appointed some annual memorials of the grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ to be solemnized as so many Sabbaths least we should think that in this weekly memorial she did rather follow the Law given by Moses then the grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ And doubtless when we have said all that we can there can be no entire keeping of a Sabbath from Moses but only from Christ because in him alone the soul may seek for rest and in him alone is sure to find it For as the souls trouble is from sin so her rest is from the expiation and forgiveness of sins Therefore as her trouble is from her self so her rest is from her Saviour Saint Paul hath taught us both together in his Sermon and our own Church in her Anthymn of the Resurrection For seeing that by man came death by man also commeth the Resurrection of the dead for as by Adam all men do dye so by Christ all men shall be restored to life By man came death by Adam all men do die There 's the souls trouble from her sin for the wages of sin is death By man commeth the Resurrection of the dead by Christ all men shall be restored to life there 's the souls rest or Sabbath from her Saviour for the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. If we will needs gainsay the Judgement of our own Church to set up the Sabbath instead of the Lords day yet we may not gainsay the Doctrine of Saint Paul which requires us to set up the Lords day instead of the Sabbath so that if we will needs borrow the name from Moses yet we can have the thing it self only from Christ for it is not Moses but Christ which can give the
the Lord blessed the seventh day and hallowed it The Sabbath in respect of its duty is without doubt of Divine right in respect of its day may without derogation to the fourth commandment in the Judgement of many good Divines be said to be of Ecclesiastical right For the duty is matter of Religion which God hath reserved wholly to himself the day is matter of order which God hath in part left unto his Church even in this very case for though he hath determined a set day for his publike worship yet he hath not confined his Church to that day as he hath to the worship it self by his determination Therefore we may not deny Gods Church that liberty which he hath given her though we are willing to say he hath given it with this limitation or restriction that where the Apostolical Church hath positively determined any thing in the practice of Religion as in the weekly festival for the honour of Christ 〈…〉 Church after it may not lawfully alter the determination And where the Catholick Church hath determined to the same purpose as in the yearly Festivals for the honour of Christ particular national Churches may not with sobriety or with safety determine against it For though neither of these in it self is against the substance of Religion yet both are against the order and exercise of it and therefore against God who is the God of order and hath commanded the exercise of Religion We conclude then that though the Sabbath in special is abolished that is to say that determinate set day no less then that Temple and that Priesthood yet not others instead of them which having been since determinately pointed out and appointed by the authority of Christ and his Apostles have as much real holiness in them as the other ever had and that by virtue of the same Commandment which requires as a holy a publike worship now as it did then since the same God who said to the Jews in the old hath said to the Christian in the new Testament be ye holy for I am holy 1 Pet. 1. 16. Wherefore the name Sabbath cannot add to the Religion of the worship but it may add to the superstition of the worshippers And t is safest for us now to look upon it as a name of the old use though it signifie a thing of the new use wherein it is not amiss to take notice of Eustathius his Criticism upon the third of the Iliads concerning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 words that are still of the old usage as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 still signifies a head-peice though now it be not made of a sea doggs skin for which cause it was first called so And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth Arms though now they are not made of brass but of yron So 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is still used for to write though now our writing be not by ingraving or making any hollow impressions many other of the like kind may be observed both in the Greek and Latine tongue wherein the same word is still retained though the thing be quite out of use And by this rule we may still retain the words Priest Altar Temple Sacrifice as well as sabbath viz. all of them by way of custom but none of them all by way of contestation And God himself calling the day of Attonement a sabbath Lev. 16. 31. though it came but once a year hath licenced us to give the name Sabbath as well to our Aniversary as to our weekly Festivals But indeed the question is not about Sunday a Sabbath as if Caesar-like it would admit of no Superiour but of Sunday the Sabbath which Pompey-like will admit of no Equal and I answer That to call Sunday the Sabbath by way of eminency though it were lawful yet it is not laudable and is therefore better omitted then practised for besides that every language in the Christian world takes the Sabbath day for Saturday save only our late new English and God himself hath taken the seventh day and the Sabbath for terms convertible and all the wit of man cannot take the first day for the seventh day it is neither safe for us nor for our festival to seek to derive its holiness from the Jewish Sabbath not safe for us because it will make us Judaize at least in other mens judgements if not in our own which is a thing that Saint Paul if he were amongst us would be much afraid of for our sakes Gal. 4. 10 11. and therefore much more should we be afraid of it for our own sakes Not safe for our festival which by that means will be made rely upon a broken reed for the broken reeds are more now in Judaea then in Egypt and so be subject to a downfall For the Sabbath is as alterable to the Christian as to the Jew but the Lords day is eternal And if we have such a Sabbath as is subject to alteration we must have such a Sabbath as is subject to annihilation for the one is naturally not only a fore-runner of but also a preparation to the other Wherefore let my soul look after such a Sabbath as may lead me not to an outward and temporal but to an inward and eternal rest of which the Apostle speaketh Heb. 4. 9. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the keeping of a Sabbath but it is such a Sabbath as hypocrites cannot keep nor Atheists hinder good men from keeping whereas this outward Sabbath may be most observed by hypocrites and altogether opposed by Atheists But this is such a Sabbath as Hypocrites cannot keep for it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 only for the people of God And such as Atheists cannot hinder good men from keeping for the text saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 relinquitur They that can take away all other things cannot take away this Sabbath from us they must still leave that behind them though they have plaied at sweep-stakes with all the rest This is a Relique that I must highly prize because they cannot plunder according to that admirable gloss of Epiphanius adver Her Manich. upon these very words of Saint Paul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Lord Iesus Christ himself is our Sabbath and our rest and in this sense we had need both labour and pray that we may be Sabbatarians SECT VII That Sunday hath a better title to holiness and unchangeableness as the Lords day then as the Sabbath And that the Lords day and the Lords Labourers or Ministers are both to continue to the worlds end by vertue of Gods command in general and of Christs determination and institution in particular WILL you plead for a Sabbath in Paradise from Gen. 2. 2 you will not from thence be able to advantage our weekly Festival For besides that the Fathers are of another mind particularly Justine Martyr in his Dialogue with Trypho who quarrels not with him about that Tenent though being a
a true and lively faith it will make the man revive and stand again upon his feet And those men who are so ready to depart from our Jerusalem for every petty dislike of the high Priests and Elders in it though the dislikes be rather phansied then found do shew that they are not so well instructed in the faith as to know the promise of the Father or not so well grounded in hope and rooted in charity as to wait for that promise according to the appointment of the Son He bids all tarry in Jerusalem that look after his promises and therefore doth not allow any to call Jerusalem Babel much less to make it so that either themselves or others may have a pretence to go out of it But what was this particular promise of the Father to the Apostles it was the promise of sending the Holy-Ghost to enable them to be his wtnesses unto the uttermost parts of the Earth A promise which much concerns carnal men to look after that they may have the spirit of God A promise which much concerns spiritual men that they may have him more Both must tarry in Jerusalem in the unity of the Church for the mercy is not without the promise and the promise is not without Jerusalem Depart not from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the father till therefore the carnal man shall need no spirit who hath none at all and till the spiritual man shall need no more spirit who cannot have too much both must pray for the peace of Jerusalem labour for the peace of the Church in their prayers and in their practises neither may recede from the Apostles nor from their Successors to whom was made the promise of the Holy-Ghost And it is worth our notice that though the Apostles had fourty dayes conversation with Christ and were fully instructed in the knowledge of Christianity yet they did not presently go and preach the Gospel Nay Christ himself bad them not go till they had received Commission from the Holy Ghost So that there are two things required to constitute a true Preacher of the Gospel Ability and Authority or Mission and Commission He must first be enabled to preach by conversing with Christ in his holy Word Then besides his Ability he must also have Authority or Commission from the Holy Ghost though not immediately by an extraordinary yet mediately by an ordinary calling or he hath not leave from Christ to preach the Gospel For so it is said Acts 1. 8. But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me Without this coming of the Holy Ghost men may be witnesses to themselves but they cannot be witnesses unto Christ because he hath not enabled or not authorized them For which cause it is that in the Ordination of a Minister the Bishop pronounceth those words of our Saviour the first Bishop that ever pronounced them Receive ye the Holy Ghost thereby giving him a Commission to be one of Christs witnesses unto the people For this promise of being baptized with the holy Ghost to be Christs witnesses did certainly belong to the Apostles not as members but only as ministers of Christs Church those words he spake to them only as his Ministers though other words he spake to them as his Members Receive ye the Holy Ghost are words both of consecration and of benediction words of consecration as they set a man apart for Gods service words of benediction as they enable and authorize a man to serve him if not as a member yet doubtless as a minister if not by Gratia gratum faciens yet by Gratia gratis data as the School distinguisheth if not by gifts and graces that tend to his own regeneration yet surely by gifts and graces that tend to others edification And as it is said The Lord blessed the seventh day and hallowed it so we may say The Lord blessed his Apostles and hallowed them for his hallowing was and is a blessing And as our Saviour Christ is said to have blessed the bread and the wine when he consecrated them to be his own body and blood So he also blessed the Apostles when he consecrated them to be his own peculiar servants thereby shewing That there cannot be a greater blessing then to serve him And accordingly we must look on those words whereby he consecrated his Apostles as words of his Episcopal benediction no less then of his Episcopal consecration Wherefore the Ministers of the Gospel rightly ordained are no less blessed then they are hallowed in their callings whatever they may be or may be thought in their persons and may comfortably make this answer to their Revilers and Persecutors Though they curse yet bless thou and let thy servants rejoyce Psal 109. 27. or rather Thou hast blessed and therefore we must and will rejoice though they curse us For he that loved the wages of unrighâ—â—ousness could not with-hold from the world this word of truth and righteousness He hath blessed and I cannot reverse it Numb 23. 20. so that unconscionable men by reviling their Ministers whom God hath blessed do in effect revile though they cannot reverse Gods undoubted blessing and though by so doing they may hinder themselves yet surely they cannot hinder their Ministers from being the blessed of the Lord For Saul in the midst of his Apostacie and falling from God when he was even now ready to butcher Abimelech and all the Priests yet gave his Testimony to this Truth saying unto Samuel Blessed art thou of the Lord for so it is in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Benedictus 〈…〉 Domino Blsseed art thou of or to the Lord or as Targumâ—enders â—enders it Blessed art thou before the Lord Though they be as a cursed thing in the eyes of men yet they are Blessed before the Lord Let the world vilifie them as it pleaseth yet doubtless God hath magnified them in that he hath blessed them and commanded them to bless in his name And bless they must though they be more and more cursed of those whom they bless for being Gods Ministers they must speak no other but Gods word and his words are the words of blessing The words of God in themselves are the words of Majesty and Verity calling for our fear and reverence because words of Majesty for our attention and diligence because words of Verity and consequently calling for some of our reverence and attention to those who are entrusted with them and licensed to say Harken to the word of God The Prophet Isaiah said Hear O Heavens and give ear O earth for the Lord hath spoken Isa 1. 2. Where we find an undenyable connexion in the position Gods speaking and our hearing but a more undenyable confutation in the supposition if he should speak and we not hear For his words are words of Majesty able to bow down the highest heavens and words of Verity able to quicken the dullest
to have a share in the blessing And therefore Aben Ezra's gloss is not to be rejected who observes the same word used in the reward and in the work 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He shall receive the blessing because he did not lift up his soul to receive the vanity The Lord shall lift him up by true sanctification because he did not lift up himself by pride and presumption For no man more truly lifts up his soul to vanity nor more truly labours in vain then he that thinks to go to heaven only by the strength of his own perswasion since it is not possible for him to receive the blessing who cares not to receive the righteousness For these two are joyned together he shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation not the blessing of salvation without the righteousness thereof For it must be a real not an imaginary ascension whereby we get up to heaven the soul that will be there must be lifted up by devotion not by opinion For the Righteousness of salvation is not opinionative but affective and active not in conceit but in practice Take heed of a mock-Ascension into heaven which will make that be truly spoken of thee which those mistaken novices did falsly put upon Eliah Lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley 2 King 2. 16. It was their fond fear concerning Eliah it ought to be the just fear concerning thy self For if thou lay hold of the Spirit of adoption only to cry Abba Father but not to become a dutiful Son or to confine thy dutifulness to observe only those of thy Fathers commands that suit with thine own humour and advantage which is the lame and limping godliness of this hypocritical age wherein men cry up their duty towards God meerly to beat down their duty towards their neighbour If thou thus lay hold of the spirit of adoption others may justly fear concerning thee and thou oughtest to fear concerning thy self Lest peradventure the spirit of the Lord for so thou thinkest it take thee up and cast thee down again upon some mountain or into some valley For indeed the Spirit of the Lord being thus mistaken or thus misapplied doth so take men up as to cast them down again first upon the mountain of presumption then into the valley of despair Secondly our Saviour claimed heaven by the right of his desert even as his just recompence and reward And that claim or title of his is intimated in the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he was carried or received up into heaven as having before merited to be carried or received up thither so saith Saint Paul he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the Cross Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him Phil. 2. 8 9. Our blessed Saviour was obedient in doing before he was obedient in suffering He first had a most perfect active and then a most perfect passive obedience He was first obedient He was first obedient unto the life and after that obedient unto the death He was zealous in doing the work of God and that made him patient in suffering the will of God yet here is no mention made of his active but only of his passive obedience and no mention made of his obedience without respect to his humility How then shall any Christian forego his humility to stand upon the merit of his obedience when our Saviour Christ himself whose obedience alone is or can be meritorious with God was exalted no less from being humble then for being obedient Surely to teach us how we may soonest have comfort from this his title to heaven nay after some sort be sharers in it claiming heaven as a reward but of our Saviours not of our own righteousness or rather as a reward of his righteousness but made ours So Saint Bernard most Divinely comforted himself against all the accusations of Satan at Gods Judgement seat Fateor non sum dignus ego nec propriis possum meritis regnum obtinere coelorum Caeterùm duplici jure illud obtinens Dominus meus haeredita te Sc. Patris merito passionis altero ipse contentus alterum mihi donat ex cujus dono jure illud mihi vendicans non confundor I confess that 〈…〉 â—t worthy nor can I hope to obtain heaven by mine own merits But my Lord having obtained the same by a double right the one by the inheritance ef his Father the other by the merit of his passion being himself contented only with one of them hath given the other unto me by whose gift I do now claim it as my right and am not to be confounded in my claim Which we might very well take for a great miracle wrought upon us men by our Saviours ascending in our flesh and so entitling that flesh to heaven were it not for those other miracles which neerly concern our Saviour Christ in his own person For we have a twofold miracle intimated in these same words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he went up though in his body of flesh there 's one miracle his conquest over earth in his humane body For earth was now taught to ascend upwards contrary to its own nature which of it self so descends downwards as to press to the Center nay actually to possess it Earth in it self moves furthest from heaven but in the body of Christ earth moved towards heaven nay earth went up into heaven And the reason is given by Saint Paul Phil. 3. 21. Who shall change our vile body that it may be like his glorious body The body of Christ after his resurrection was more peculiarly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a glorious body Saint Paul gives us this distinction of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A vile body and a glorious body Our body is a vile body dejected and debased by the sinfulness the grossness the weakness the sluggishness of the flesh our Saviours body was never thus a vile body in the state of his humiliation because he knew no sin yet was it subject to all infirmities or he could not have dyed for sinners And therefore we may truly say that his body in the state of his exaltation was made a glorious body and invested with four conditions or qualities quite contrary to these of our bodies called by the School impassibilitas claritas subtilitas agilitas and by Saint Paul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 15. 42 43. to whom we are primarily beholding for this part of School Divinity which unfoldeth the conditions of a glorified body And the same Apostle comforteth us that after the Resurrection our vile body shall be fashioned like unto his glorious body and consequently be made first impassible and incorrupt without sinfulness for where is no sin there is no corruption there can be no suffering Secondly Clear and transparent without grossness
in the name of the Lord Jesus shall we think that the Apostles did recede from that form of Baptism which had been given them by Christ himself Saint Ambrose lib. 2. de Sacram. c. 7. seems to affirm there is no need of that when he saith In uno nomine baptizari nos oportet hoc est in nomine Patris Filii Spiritus Sancti c. We must be baptized in one name that is In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost which is but one name because but one substance but one Divinity but one Majesty and saith moreover that name is the name whereby we must be saved which we are sure is the name of the Lord Jesus Acts 4. 12. So that if we admit of this Gloss Baptizing in the name of the Lord Jesus is all one with Baptizing in the name of the blessed Trinity which being undivided in nature cannot well be divided in name But Aquinas seems to be of another opinion 3a par qu. 66. art 6. ad 1. Dicendum quod ex speciali Christi revelatione Apostoli in primitiva Ecclesia in nomine Christi baptizabant ut nomen Christi quod erat odiosum Judaeis Gentilibus honorabile redderetur per hoc quod ad ejus invocationem Spiritus Sanctus dabatur in baptismo We must say that the Apostles by some special revelation did for a while at first baptize only in the name of Christ because the name of Christ was odious both to Jews and Gentiles and this was a way to make it honourable in the esteem of both when by the invocation of that name they saw the Holy Ghost given in Baptism But this opinion may the better be deserted 1. Because the words upon which it is grounded require it not 2. Because no such special revelation can be proved and it is not safe to allow of special hidden Revelations against the known general revelation of the Text. 3. Because the Apostles by baptizing in the name of Christ could glorifie him only amongst unbelievers whereas in so doing they might dishonour him amongst Believers by receding from his Institution 4. Because the Holy Ghost was not given in Baptism after so publick a manner as to be taken notice of by standers by 5. Because Aquinas himself is so positive for baptizing explicitly in the name of the Holy Trinity that he avoweth there can be no true Baptism without it For these and the like reasons it may happily not be amiss to give another Interpretation of those words then Aquinas hath given though not so exactly to the letter and to say They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus is all one in effect as if it had been said That they were baptized by his Authority and according to his institution or that they were baptized into his death and resurrection giving up themselves wholly to him or that they were baptized with a special invocation of his name not in the very act of baptizing for then was invocated the name of the Trinity but before and after it because in Baptism was made a special application of his merits unto them for the remission of sins This was the reason that the name of Christ was specially then invocated because the righeousness of Christ was then specially applyed as appears by that advice of Ananias to Saul Acts 22. 16. Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins calling on the name of the Lord that is on the name of the Lord Christ who instituted Baptism for the remission of sins and was to be called upon to bless his own institution So that to baptize in the name of the Lord Jesus may happily import no more then to baptize with a peculiar invocation of his name not altering the form but shewing the end of Baptism which was to ingraft the baptized into the mystical body of Christ However this phrase of being baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus doth clearly evince that Christ is peculiarly communicated in Baptism for to suppose the name without the thing is little less then to take the name in vain And this is ground enough why good Christians should desire to have their children baptized and too much why any should delay and which is far worse deny the baptism of infants for such men do what they can to hinder Christ from being communicated to those infants to whom they deny baptism wherefore as that promise which was made particularly to Joshua I will not leave thee nor forsake thee Jos 1. 5. is applyed generally by Saint Paul to all good Christians Heb. 13. 5. upon this ground that God is the same in all ages to all that alike fear and serve him So doth our Church after Saint Pauls example and in his faith rightly infer that the same good will which our blessed Saviour declared by embracing and blessing those little children which were brought to him Mar. 10. belongs alike to all children born within the Covenant of grace for God is alwaies mindful of his Covenant and promise that he made to a thousand generations even the Covenant that he made with Abraham Psal 105. 8 9. and that Covenant was in these words I will be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee Gen. 17. 7. so that it is a plain case the Church promiseth no more for God then God hath promised for himself who we are sure neither can nor will fail his promise And therefore since the Church can truly say in the assurance of faith That our heavenly Father alloweth this charitable work of ours in bringing children to his holy Baptism who can deny the truth of this saying but out of infidelity who can deny the doing of this charitable work but out of uncharitableness Such an infidelity and such an uncharitableness as to provoke the wrath and indignation of the eternal Son of God against his own soul for so saith the Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when Jesus saw it he was displeased even to wrath and indignation indignatus est saith Beza indignè tuit saith the Vulgar Doubtless he that for this indeliberate and inconsiderate uncharitableness shewed indignation against his Disciples will for a greater uncharitableness then this such as proceeds from deliberation and resolution pour out indignation upon his enemies SECT III. That Christ is more peculiarly communicated to some Christians by the Spirit of Adoption whereby they cry Abba Father calling upon God with greater earnestness confidence and comfort then did the Jews and yet they also had the Spirit of Adoption though not in the same degree as well as Christians IT is not to be doubted but that our Saviour Christ is generally communicated unto Christians in the Holy Eucharist as well as in Baptism and that he is also communicated in his word no less then in his Sacraments But because the men of this our age pretend wholly to be spiritual I will not to
to examine the other exigencies which this excellent Divine is put to that he may gratifie his Church by seeking to make good this Tenent but sure other Churches look upon it as an invasion of their Christian liberty and as a Doctrine which cannot pretend to Christian verity or antiquity though it may fondly pretend to some external unity T is certain the Greek Church took it for a Novelty and therefore would not admit this position as a dispensation from the Anathemas denounced by the two Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon against such as should presume to alter the former Creeds And yet in truth the alteration was more in word then in sense and the Greek Church had the procession of the Holy Ghost from the Son in their Faith though not in their Creed And this appears plainly by Simeon the Metaphrast who lived about the year eight hundred and fifty after Christ neer the same time with Walefridus Strabo yet useth these words in the Greek Menology on October 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 My Lord Christ is Ascended into heaven and returned to his Fathers throne and from thence hath sent down the Holy Spirit which proceedeth from himself upon his Disciples He saith in his Faith the Spirit proceeded from the Son though neither he nor any of his Church would change their Creed to say so And upon this ground the Western Churches may still retain the use of Athanasius his Creed in their Liturgies notwithstanding the addition of Filioque without cutting off the Greek Church from the hope of salvation though they allow not that addition because the procession of the Holy Ghost from the Son is also in their Faith according to the sense though not according to the words of the Article And to speak the plain truth in this controversie concerning the procession of the Holy Ghost from the Son as well as from the Father the animosity was greater betwixt the Greek and Latine Church then the disagreement the quarrel larger then the difference And thus much Scotus ingenuously confesseth in these words Sed forte si duo sapientes unus Graecus aâ—ter Latinus uterque verus amator veritatis non propriae dictionis de hac visa contrarietate disquirerent pateret utique tandem ipsam contrarietatem non esse veraciter realem sicut est vocalis Alioquin vel ipsi Graeci vel nos Latini sumus verè haeretici Sed quis audet Johannem Damascenum Basilium Gregorium Theologum Nazianzenum Cyrillum similes patres Graecos arguere haereseos Quis iterum argueret haereseos B. Hieronymum Augustinum Aâ—ibrosium Hilarium consimiles Latinos Verisimile igitur est quod non subest dictis verbis contrariis contrariorum Sanctorum sententia discors Scotus in 1. Sent. dist 11 qu. 1. But happily if two wise men the one of the Greek the other of the Latine Church did enquire concerning this seeming contrariety and both of them would prefer the truth above their own words or expressions they might in time find that this is but a verbal not a real controversie For if it be real either the Greeks or the Latines must needs be hereticks But who shall dare to accuse Damascene or Basil or Gregory the Divine or Gregory Nazianzene or Cyril and the rest of the Greek Fathers of heresie Again who dares take Saint Hierom Saint Augustine Saint Ambrose Saint Hilary and the rest of the Latine Fathers for hereticks It is therefore most probable that in these contrary expressions was no contrary sense but they both meant one and the same truth concerning the procession of the Holy Ghost Thus far Scotus and indeed no less appears in the Council of Florence where from the twentyeth Session to the twenty fifth exclusively is a long disputation betwixt Johannes Provincialis for the Latine Church and Marcus Ephesius for the Greek Church And the Ephesian professing that the Spirit did proceed from the Father by the Son the Provincial confesseth it was in effect the same as from the Son 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That by is here as much as from saith Johannes Concil Flor. Sessione 24. For the Father begetting and the Son begotten and the Holy Ghost proceeding being all confessedly coequal and coeternal whether it be said the Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son or from the Father by the Son the Doctrine of the blessed Trinity is uncorrupt and inviolable for the three distinct persons with their three distinct properties are believed in one God none afore or after none greater or lesser then other In personis proprietas in essentia unitas in Majestate aequalitas property in the persons unity in the essence equality in the Majesty of the Godhead being no less acknowledged and believed by the Greek then by the Latine Fathers which is the short confession of the Doctrine of the blessed Trinity For it is manifest that the Greeks who denyed not the Son to be consubstantial with the Father could not exclude him in the procession of the Holy Ghost Wherefore we must needs reject that harsh and heavy doom which Bellarmine hath left upon record against the Grecians Ac ut intelligant causam exitii sui esse pertinaciam in errore de processione Sp. S. in ipsis â—eriis Sp. S. capta fuit Constantinopolis à Turmay understand the cause of their destruction to be their pertinacy in their error concerning the procession of the Holy Ghost in the very Festival of the Holy Ghost that is at Whitsontide was Constantinople their cheif City taken by the Turks This he thinks he hath sufficiently proved but the learned Scaliger thinks no man can sufficiently prove and laments this Queen Regent of the East in these words ut cujus calamitas ignorari non potest dies calamitatis ignoretur And though he incline to their opinion who said that City was besieged the morrow after Easter and taken upon the day of Pentecost yet he concludes it dangerous to determine so much Sed periculosum est haec definire De anno quidem non dubito fuisse 1452. sed de mense delibero utrum sc mense Maii an mense Aprilis capta fuerit Scal. lib. 5. de emend temp He dares not define the month whether it were in April or in May and sure Whitsontide cannot fall in April much less the week or the day he sayes t is dangerous to assert it was taken in Whitsontide but sure it is dangerous to assert it with so much uncharitableness against a whole Church whose ruine should be thought on with pitty not with insolency However though the assertion it self be true yet the argument is fitter for a Souldier then for a Divine to appeal to the success of the sword for the justification of the cause and will much better advance Turcism which hath full six parts then Christianity which in all the several professions of it hath but five parts of thirty in the known habitable world
that the more it busieth the head the less it setleth and establisheth the heart wherefore if that benediction was Apostolical The Lord Jesus Christ himself stablish you in every good word 2 Thes 2. 17 Then this practice must be Apostatical which doth unstablish and unsettle the People in their Prayers the very best words Then was Egypt in a sad case when the locusts did eat up what the hail and thunder had left Exod. 10. And is it not so with Israel when locusts out of the bottomless pit devour that small pittance of Religion which the hail that is their own chill and frozen dispositions or the thunder and lightning that is the tempestuous terrours and troubles of war had left in the Peoples hearts When God suffers such devourers of piety and Religion to come into a land he either looks upon it as Egypt or t is to be feared he intends to make it so The death of the first born is then sure not far off and the drowning of all the rest is not like to belong after it For what can we expect but that the read sea even a sea of blood should cover us all when we persecute the Israel of God for desiring to serve him and say unto those who are zealous for such prayers as they know are either in Gods word or agreeable with it ye are idle ye are idle therefore ye say Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord Exod. 5. 17. as if Praying in known and approved forms were rather a pretence for idleness then a help to devotion This is not only to reproach the Church for teaching us to pray by her Liturgies but also to reproach God himself for teaching the Church to pray by his Scriptures and by this argument we may throw away not only the dictates of the Church but also the dictates of the Spirit of God Sure this is not the part of Christians by one and the same wicked practice to oppose both the authority and the doctrine of Christ the authority of Christ in his Church the doctrine of Christ in his word They pretend to have the spirit of God but yet contemn the word of God They will needs have the spirit of his Son in their hearts and yet care not to have the language of his Son in their mouths giving their Pater noster a quietus est a writ of ease as if the Holy spirit had supplied the servants above the son and taught us better prayers then it had taught our Saviour or as if it were not one and the same spirit that once directed him and still directeth us to call upon the Father Doubless such men cannot take it unkindly that we abstain from communicating with their prayers since they by rejecting the Lords own holy prayer do at the same time reject commnnion not only with all the servants but also with the Spirit and with the Son of God for the Servants of God alwayes used it the Spirit of God indited it the Son of God commanded it T is no wonder if such men be not only Sacrilegious but also perswade themselves there is no such sin as sacriledge and consequently that whatsoever hath been consecrated to Gods Holy name is still unholy and prophane though it hath been conscrated according to Gods own express command in the fourth commandment which is the commandment of consecrations and requires the sanctification of place and of persons and of our substance to Gods publike worship as well as of time Time cannot be sanctified or kept holy to Gods publick worship without these And besides we find these also expresly commanded in other parts of the Bible and since they are all commanded for one and the same end we must reduce the Texts concerning them to one and the same commandment for the ten commandments are Decem summa genera as it were ten predicaments or ten general heads to which is to be reduced whatsoever is commanded as a moral duty in the whole word of God wherefore since it is a moral duty that men should publikely and solemnly call upon the name of God and time alone without place and persons and the maintenance of these cannot serve for the discharge of that duty we must allow the rest of these outward requisites to be commanded in this of time And consequently what of all these alike was common and unholy before it was sanctified to Gods publike worship being once sanctified thereunto is made peculiar and proper to God and therefore to rob or pillage or take away any of these is sacrilegiously to invade Gods property which is a sin of so heavy a burden to press down the soul that the Apostle hath put it in the scale against Idolatry and seems to make this at least to balance if not to out-weigh the other Thou that abhorrest Idols dost thou commit Sacriledge Rom. 2. 22. The argument would be of little consequence if Sacriledge were not a sin at least equal to Idolatry And truly so it is whatever we please to think or to make of it For whereas there are two kinds of Idolatry the one to take an Idol for God the other to make God himself for an Idol the sacrilegious person is in effect guilty of them both For it is impossible that any man should rob God if he did not make money his God there 's taking the Idol for God or if he did not take God for one to be mocked rather then worshipped there 's taking God for an Idol And t is no wonder if they can do all this who can contemn the Lords most holy prayer for the three first petitions of that prayer contain all the Duty of the first table and the least part we can shew of dutifullness is to pray that we may be dutifull and consequently he that will not say Our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name cannot be troubled at that Sin of Sacriledge whose property it is to invade and profane all that is dedicated to the hallowing of the name of God For they that can swallow the Camel have little reason to strain at the gnat they that can be guilty of the greater cannot stick at the lesser Sacriledge they that can rob God of his publike worship cannot easily make any scruple of robbing his Church and to take away such publike prayers as do undoubtedly glorifie the name of God what is it else but to rob God of his worship or of the honour due unto his name For he that doth forbid us to take his name in vain doth withall command us to glorifie his name and consequently to make use of such forms of prayer and of praise as we are sure do most glorifie him These forms being accordingly made for the honour of God after the rule of the two first and in obedience to the third Commandment are set apart for this use in obedience to the fourth and to take away these forms is in effect to
opening their sins as it follows Wherefore rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the Faith ver 13. and without doubt whosoever cordially desires to be sound in the Faith either is not concerned in the rebuke or will not be displeased with it It is Alensis his observation that the Spirit of God makes no mention of the sin of Angels in the book of Genesis but sets forth at large the sin of man and he gives this reason for it Quia Angelicam vulnus Deus non praedestinavit curare sed hominis peccatum sanare voluit Par. 2. qu. 98. m. 8. Because God intended not to heal the wound or to repair the ruine of the Angels but he intended to heal the wound and repair the ruine of man so is it still where God will not heal the sinners he suffers their sin to be undiscovered and unreproved but if he be pleased to reprove them t is because he is willing to heal them And if the mouths of unruly vain talkers and deceivers must be stopped by the Ministers then surely their communion and their Doctrine both must be shunned and abandoned by the people who can have no pretence of excuse if they be misled by false Prophets since the Text bids them in this case appeal not to their judgements wherein they might possibly be misguided by misperswasions but to their senses wherein themselves are infallible Judges for saith our blessed Saviour ye shall know them by their fruits Mat. 7. 16. The most ignorant peasant that lives knows the distinction of fruits by his outward sense and goes not to gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles And our blessed Saviour bids him be guided also by his own sense in the choice of the tree from which he would gather spiritual fruit to nourish his soul to everlasting life He may not leave a good and go to a bad tree to gather good fruit The false Prophets will say Lo here is Christ as well as the true Prophets Mat. 24. 23. Yet our Saviour saith believe them not What shall the people do in such a case shall they not believe the Prophets No they must not believe the false Prophets But how shall they distinguish betwixt the true and the false Prophets to believe the one and to shun the other I answer they must look on that other Text which professedly bids them beware of false Prophets Mat. 7. 15. and there they shall find their note of distinction for he that bids them beware teaches them to distinguish and to discern a wolf though he be in sheeps cloathing and they must distinguish them meerly by their fruits whereof they themselves cannot be but sufficient Judges Wherefore let them examine the works of the Prophets and they will soon perceive which are the true and which are the false Whether the scoffing Ismael or the patient Isaac Whether the covetous Balaam who loveth the wages of unrighteousness or the obedient Elisha who slayeth his Oxen and burneth his Plow to shew that no worldly interest can keep him from his calling Whether a false and a fierce Zedekiah that is ready to Prophecy according to the mind of Ahab and to smite a true Prophet on the cheek or a true and a mild Micaiah who vows to speak only what the Lord shall say unto him though he be sent to the prison never so often and who forbears to give ill words when he is smitten Lastly whether a proud Diotrephes who loveth to have the preheminence and receiveth not the brethren but prateth against them with malicious words or a meek and modest Demetrius that hath a good report of all men and of the truth it self In a word whether he that serveth the times or he that serveth the Lord whether he that invadeth anothers right to forsake his Religion or he that forsaketh his own right to keep and practise his Religion Surely it can be no hard matter for the people to discern in such a case on which side Christ is and on which side he is not and if they will not discern we cannot say this people who knoweth not the Law are cursed but this people are cursed because they will not know the Law they will not know that Christ is to be found in the temple among the Doctors not among the mony-changers and out of the temple among just obedient patient men that are ready to suffer for righteousness sake not among unjust rebellious outragious men that are ready to devour those that are more righteous then themselves For Saint Paul speaking of the works of the flesh useth this introduction Now the works of the flesh are manifest therefore as easily to be discerned by the ignorant as by the learned by the people as by the Priests they are manifest for all men to see them and for such men as do them not to avoid and abandon those that do them and the same Saint Paul after he hath spoken of the works of the flesh with an c. saying and such like for fear we should think he had named them all in naming those few useth this conclusion of the which I tell you that they who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God doubtless with an intent to instruct the people as well as the Priest the unlearned as well as the learned that those who have not done such things should take heed of doing them and those who have done such things to procure some worldly advantages should take heed of doing them any more unless they will so look after the inheritance of this world as not to inherit the Kingdom of God All the works of the flesh which the Apostle there numbreth do directly proceed either from the sinfull distemper of the body as adultery fornication uncleanness lasciviousness drunkenness revellings or from the more sinful though less visible distemper of the soul as idolatry witchcraft hatred variance emulations wrath strife sedition heresies envyings murders The distemper of the body is the more opprobious the more scandalous the distemper of the soul is the more dangerous the more pernicious I find Noah repented of his drunkenness I find not that Cham repented who mocked at his fathers nakedness I find that David repented of his adultery and of his uncleanness I find not that Doeg repented of his cruelty and of his maliciousness I find Publicans repenting who thought themselves sinners I find no Pharisees repenting who thought themselves Saints I will pray as heartily as I can that God will keep me from the distempers of my body lest I should defile the members of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Ghost But above all will I pray that God will keep me from the distempers of my soul for they will downright expell Christ out of my heart and bid defiance to the Holy Ghost For the temper of Christ was the temper of charity and of humility and so also is the temper of the good Christian Come
it a most disconsolate and doleful prayer yet it begins with praise I will magnifie thee O Lord for thou hast set me up and it ends with praise O my God I will give thanks unto thee for ever And it is the peculiar observation concerning the 88. Psalm nullâ consolatione clauditur saith Musculus that it hath in it no clause of comfort and consolation and yet even this Psalm hath in it some shaddow or dark representation of Abba Father in that it is said O Lord God of my salvation and O let my prayer enter into thy presence even as our blessed Saviour when he thought himself most forsaken of God yet even then laid hold on him by a true and lively Faith saying My God my God why hast thou forsaken me This we are sure It is the same Spirit of adoption that inditeth the most uncomfortable prayer and the most comfortable praise Only the prayer proceedeth from the great apprehension and constant necessity of our own manifold wants and imperfections even in our best condition But the praise proceedeth from the comfortable enjoyment of Gods undeserved goodness in mercies received and more comfortable assurance of his everlasting mercies in blessings promised So that the uncomfortableness of the prayer is from the testimony of our own spirits concerning our miseries and sorrows in our selves but the comfortableness of the praise is from the testimony of Gods Holy Spirit concerning the blessings and joys treasured up for us in our Redeemer Accordingly there is no gift or comfort of the Spirit which we can now pray for in our distresses which was not prayed for by the Psalmist in his greatest distress Psal 51. Renew a right spirit within me take not thy holy spirit from me stablish me with thy free spirit He prayeth for a right spirit against the perversness for an holy spirit against the profaness and uncleanness for a free spirit against the dulness and deadness of his heart And what can we say more of that spirit which teacheth us to cry Abba Father but that it is a right spirit to rectifie us when we are out of order but that it is an holy spirit to sanctifie us that we may be kept in order and that it is a free spirit to testifie unto us that being rectified and sanctified we shall doubtless be accepted as beloved in the beloved Accordingly Saint Hierom thus translateth the words Et spiritu principali confirma me and confirm or stablish me with thy principal spirit which in Saint Pauls phrase is the spirit of thy Son or the spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father So that we find these Psalms of David as necessary and as useful devotions for us Christians as they were for the Jews for that one and the same spirit cryed Abba Father in them which cryeth Abba Father in us Wherefore he so prayeth as that he also praiseth and so praiseth as that he also prayeth He praiseth for the joy of his Saviour he prayeth for the joy of his salvation Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui restore unto me the joy of thy salvation So restore it when it is lost as also preserve and increase it when it is restored This is a joy which all the delights of this world cannot give and therefore sure all the sorrows of this world cannot take away Although the figg tree shall not blossom neither shall fruit be in the vines the labour of the Olive shall fail and the fields shall yield no meat the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation Hab. 3. 17 18. The Prophets festival doth not depend upon the joy and mirth of the times his good chear doth not hang upon the fig-tree nor upon the vine it ariseth not out of the fields nor out of the flocks God may sequester all these from man or man may sequester them all from Gods Prophet yet still he will keep his solemn feast he will rejoyce in the Lord he will joy in the God of his salvation and the reason is because God will not and man cannot sequester the true Prophet from his God Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword as it is written For thy sake we are killed all the day long we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter nay in all these things we are more then conquerors through him that loved us Rom. 8. 35. And as this joy of the good Christian is unsequestrable not to be taken from him so is it also unspeakable not to be expressed by him thus saith Saint Peter speaking of our blessed Saviour Whom having not seen ye love in whom though now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory 1 Pet. 1. 8. You that love him from your soul cannot but rejoyce in him from your soul If your love of him be with all your soul with all your might with all your strength your joy in him will be so too you love him with all your might because he is your Saviour you rejoyce in him with all your might because of his salvation Who can sufficiently admire the goodness of God in giving the gift of faith unto men thereby in some sort to antedate the beatifical vision and to let us into heaven whiles we live here on earth For the Apostle describes to us such a faith as is to be known not by its pretences but by its power and that power is threefold A power of believing in Christ yet believing A power of loving Christ whom having not seen ye love A power of rejoycing in Christ in whom ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable Whosoever hath not this threefold power of believing of loving and of rejoycing in Christ hath not true Faith in Christ but a phansie in stead of Faith So inseparable are these three Sisters the three Theological vertues Faith Hope and Charity that whosoever hath one hath All whosoever doth believe doth also love whosoever doth love doth also rejoyce rejoyce in hope of the glory of God Rom. 5. 2. A joy not to be expressed to others by our speaking but by our doing not by our words but by our works It is fit they should see us offer the sacrifice of righteousness and from thence know that we put our trust in the Lord Psalm 4. 4. For we Christians also have an Altar Heb. 13. 10. and we have a two fold sacrifice to offer upon that Altar 1. A Sacrifice of thanksgiving let us offer the Sacrifice of praise to God continually v. 15. 2. A Sacrifice of Almsgiving to do good and to communicate forget not for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased ver 16. These our sacrifices as they do express our joy in Christ so they should also answer it
cannot be too desirous to receive our Baptism in our Saviours communion for what is communicated from him is also sanctified by him So is it in our prayers we may very comfortably perswade our selves that Saint Mark used the same Abba Father for Christ which Saint Paul had used for us Christians least any man should think we Christians â—ad not the same right to pray or at least not the same spirit of prayer that was in Christ therefore to assure us that both do pray in the communion of the same Spirit both are set down praying in the communion of the same words But yet whether S. Mark borrowed this from S. Paul or not the doubt still remains why this Abba Father is in two several languages when as the reduplication might happily have been as emphatical in one tongue as in two I answer with Saint Augustine Abba propter illorum linguam pater propter nostram Aug. in Psal 78. To shew that Christ did no less belong to the Gentiles then he did to the Jews he useth a Greek word that signifies father for the Gentiles as well as a Syriack word that signifies father for the Jews for at that time the Jews themselves commonly spake Syriack having in the Babylonian captivity learned to mix Chaldee with Hebrew which mixture begat the Syriack The effect of Saint Augustines answer is this Syriack and Greek are both joined together to shew the communion of Jew and Gentile in Christ we may add and not only so but also to shew the cause of that communion even the communication of the same spirit to them both which when it descended visibly upon the Apostles endued them with the gift of tongues and the scripture still retaining the variety of languages in this Abba Father doth not only commemorate that miraculous discent of the Holy Ghost upon them but doth also confirm his continual descending upon us with as good success though not with as great a miracle For he teacheth us no less then he taught them to cry Abba Father which puts me upon a second question who it is that cries Abba Father is it his spirit or our own I answer t is his Spirit not our own t is indeed our voice but t is his breath for we cannot say Abba Father by the breath and power of our own but only by the breath and power of his Spirit and by that we can say it with an undaunted courage and do say it with an immortal comfort because with a hope full of immortality T is then his Spirit that crieth Abba Father though in our mouths And this crying Abba Father is more fully expressed Rom. 8. 26. The spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered whence it may be gathered that the gift of prayer is more in groans then in words more in groans which cannot then in words which can be uttered for Moses cried unto the Lord when he spake not one word And the Lord said unto Moses Wherefore criest thou unto me Exod. 14. 15. So that he prayed by the Spirit whiles his tongue stood still and consequently the gift or spirit of prayer here meant by crying Abba Father may not be placed in voluble effusions but in strong affections not so much in the tongue as in the heart for else many adopted Sons must be denied to have the Spirit of Christ who cannot pour out their conceptions in multiplicity of words And which is as bad many must be affirmed to have the Spirit of Christ who are enemies to the cross of Christ whose end is destruction whose God is their belly and whose glory is in their shame who mind earthly things for many of these men may and do attain to a great perfection in extemporary effusions we dare not then say that all those who take upon them to be eminent in the gift of prayer do truly cry Abba Father or do pray by the Spirit of Christ because we see that many of them by their works do oppose the name and blaspheme the truth of Christ and bring themselves under that terrible reproof and more terrible reproach They profess that they know God but in works they deny him being abominable and disobedient and unto every good work reprobate Tit. 1. 16. But there are doubtless many others more concerned in the gift though less in the pretence of the Spirit who make not so many words but yet make more prayers even whiles they make use of those prayers which their Church hath made for them for these bring their groans though not their words and those groans are the groans of the Spirit which without doubt may as well if not better accompany a prayer that we are sure is according to the mind of Christ as a prayer that we cannot tell whether it will be so or no However we cannot deny but every one who truly prayeth by the spirit of Christ may say what holy David hath put into his mouth and the Holy Spirit put into the mouth of David Oh come hither and hearken all ye that fear God and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul I called upon him with my mouth and gave him praises with my tongue If I incline unto wickedness with my heart the Lord will not hear me But God hath heard me and considered the voice of my prayer praised be God which hath not cast out my prayer nor turned his mercy from me Psal 66. v. 14 c. As if he had said This great miracle of mercy hath God done for my soul which I cannot but speak all you that fear him shall do well to hear he gave me his spirit to call upon him with my mouth to give him praises with my tongue and because praise is not commonly in the mouth of a sinner and cannot be acceptable from it he gave me his spirit also to sanctifie my heart that it should not incline to wickedness hence it is that I do heartily praise him for enabling me to pray because praying in the spirit of his Son I can pray in comfort that he will not cast away my prayer because he cannot cast away his only Son nor turn away his mercy from me because he cannot turn away froÌ„ his own Spirit which by his mercy is now becoÌ„e mine Thus it is said The spirit of the Lord cloatheth Amasai 1 Chro. 12. 18. t is in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the Septuagint translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Saint Hierom induit that is The spirit of the Lord cloathed Amasai not barely came upon him but also stuck close to him and covered him all over And indeed so doth the spirit come upon us to cloath our souls as our garments do our bodies that there be neither chilness nor nakedness neither want of zeal nor of holiness in our
Act of sin doth not prevail against the habit of righteousness and much less above it So that the habit of righteousness cannot be captivated under an everlasting lethargie that it should alwaies forget its own act The Spirit of Christ which at first infused the habit so working in all those who belong to him that either they still retain the act of righteousness by their innocency or in due time recover it by their repentance God of his infinite mercy give unto us all this Spirit and continue unto us his own gift that we being his adopted sons may so honour and obey him as our Father that we may have the comfortable assurance of our adoption in this life and the glorious fruition of our inheritance in the life to come The one by the Spirit the other by the merits of his only begotten Son Jesus Christ our Lord who liveth and reigneth with the Father in the unity of the same Spirit one God world without end Amen Christ received in the state of true Christianity CAP. I. Of the state of true Christianity SECT I. The happiness of Christians who have their conversation with Christ That lovers of themselves or of the world have not this happiness For though Christ speaks to all yet he answers only to good Christians that is to Sheep not to Wolves to Christians not to Heathens for such he accounteth all Persecutors teaching the one to their instruction and contentation the other only to their conviction and condemnation the reason why so many Christians come not to the state of true Christianity IT is the special priviledge of Christians not only to have their appellation or name from Christ the eternal Son of God but also to have their Religion from him and their conversation with him The Jews could begin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with God and the Heathen learned it from them But we Christians can begin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the salvation of God even with Jesus who had that name from salvation for he shall save his people from their sins Mat. 1. 21. Happy soul that is so well acquainted with the dialect of heaven as to understand the language of Jesus and so wholly taken up with that acquaintance as to maintain familiar colloquies with him to hear and to know and to love his voice For if the Psalmist could say with great admiration and greater comfort O how amiable are thy dwellings thou Lord of hosts Psal 84. 1. Then much more O how amiable art thou O Lord who makest thy dwellings so The hope of men and the joy of Angels the salvation of earth and the beauty of heaven No wonder if it follow in the next verse My soul hath a desire and a longing to enter into the Courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh rejoyce in the living God But where is the soul that enjoyeth this happiness for even one of his Apostles who daily seemed to converse with him enjoyed it not Saint John plainly excludes him in these words Judas saith unto him not Iscariot John 14. 22. As if the Spirit of God had been afraid least we should think that a Traytor could familiarly converse with Christ though he dipped with him in the same dish or have any comfort from that conversation Tremelius glosseth the word Iscariot two waies mercede inducitur ad defectionem ultro declinavit ad strangulationem Mat. 10. 4. The hopes of gain made him a Traitor the thought of his treason made him hang himself Such was this Iscariot A man whose heart was so settled and fixed on money as to sell his Saviour for the love of it Therefore he could not comfortably and much less familiarly converse with Christ by questions and answers For he durst not ask Christ a question to be informed of his Doctrine for fear the answer should have proved an Indictment to convine him of his treason whereof he knew himself already guilty in his heart which made him afraid least he should disclose the same who was the searcher of hearts Therefore he desired not to make any particular addresses to his Master when as the other Judas who had none of this Treachery or covetousness did as it were continually hang upon his lips and was wholly ravished with his Doctrine saying within himself How sweet are thy words unto my taste yea sweeter then honâ—y to my mouth Psal 119. v. 103. And accordingly our blessed Saviour answers the Jude but not the Iscariot answers the Confessor but not the Traytor For Jude was a name imposed from confession and praise Now will I praise the Lord therefore she called his name Judah Gen. 29. 35. that is praise or confession whence the Vulgar Latine doth often say Confitebor tibi Domine I will confess unto thee O Lord for I will praise thee O Lord because the same word in the Hebrew signifies both confession and praise Be it so then Christ will answer one that confesseth him but he will not answer one that betrayeth him This is the reason that though he speak so loud yet so few hear his voice That though his love be greatly extended yet it is but little diffused in our hearts For though he be most lovely in himself yet is he not so to them whose breast is filled with another love The Text tells us of a fourfold lover 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A lover of himself A lover of his pleasure A lover of his profit and A lover of his God The first lover will not hearken to Christs voice for self-love and Saviour-love cannot be together since self ends and Saviour-ends are so far asunder The second and third lovers though they may a little hearken to Christs voice yet they cannot much regard it for if any man love the world that is his pleasure or his profit the whole world consisting of nothing else the love of the Father is not in him 1 John 2. 15. It is only the last lover the lover of God who heareth Christs voice and rejoyceth to hear it for every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him 1 John 5. 1. To such lovers he will not only speak but he will also answer which shews a familiarity of speaking For though he speak to very many yet he answers to very few that is only to those who are willing to discourse and advise with him He speaks to all that are Christians by outward profession calling aloud to them now in his Word as once he did to the Jews in his person and saying Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand Mat. 4. 1. But he answers only to Christians by inward affection because indeed they only do hear his voice for why should he answer to those that will not give him the hearing Thus himself hath told us my sheep hear my voice John 10. 27. He must be a sheep that will hear the voice of Christ not a wolf one more ready
have applied unto Christ proving he was that Prophet to whom Moses had bid them hearken Act. 3. 22. Act. 7 37. so that the Jews themselves were no longer to hearken to Moses by Moses his own appointment then till the comming of Christ 2. That the Jews who would not believe Moses his writings concerning Christ were not like to believe any other Prophets words concerning him which is still a good proof that no man can possibly reject the authority of the Scripture and yet truly beleive in Christ from the authority of the Church for if the writings of Moses or of the Old Testament then much more the writings of the Apostles or of the New Testament must needs be above any other Prophets words since these writings as well as those are looked upon as the undoubted word of God And therefore if the Church hath not found Christ in the Scriptures how shall we hope to find Christ in the Church and by consequent if we will be good Christians we must above all things take heed of cavilling or rather blaspheming against the word of Christ for that is in effect to say that we will have a state of Christianity not of Gods but of our own making we question not but the Christian Religion as it hath an excellency above all other religions so it hath a certainty agreeable to its excellency And this Certainty is grounded meerly on the written word in the judgement of Saint Peter who tels us indeed that there came such a voice from the most excellent glory This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased and that he and some others heard this voice when they were with Christ in the holy mount but yet that the Scriptures were a more certain ground of the Christian Faith then was this Voice for so he saith after all We have also a more sure word of prophecy whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a lâ—ght that shineth in a dark place untill the day dawn and the day-star arise in your hearts 2 Pet. 1. 17 18 19. The voice from heaven was sure but yet the word of Prophecy was more sure for notwithstanding that voice did say Hear ye him Mat. 17. 5. yet they would have suspended their hearing but for the word of Prophecy which had said before Vnto him ye shall hearken Deut. 18. 15. So that the voice from heaven had in effect all its certainty from the word of Prophecy Therefore he said we have also a more sure word of Prophecy His full intent was to make us seek after Christ in the Old Testament much more in the New He saith we shall do well to take heed unto that much more unto this that will guide us unto Christ as a light that shineth in a dark place but this will guide us to him as a morning Star that ushereth in the day And this is no more then our Saviour himself had said before Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see For I tell you that many Prophets and Kings have desired to see those things which ye see and have not seen them and to hear those things which ye hear and have not heard them Luke 10. 23 24. The comparison is betwixt those under the Law and those under the Gospel and they under the Gospel are declared the more blessed For they under the Law had but a dim light which made them see Christ so imperfectly as if they had not seen him But we that are under the Gospel have a clear shining light clearly and perfectly to see our Saviour Christ and therefore are much more blessed then they if we can but see our own blessedness and will be heartily thankfull for it therefore saith Saint John The Law was given by Moses but Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ John 1. 17. whereby he excludes the Law both from Grace and Truth from Grace absolutely but from Truth only comparatively The Law did neither teach Grace nor give Grace it only gave a rule of righteousness but not grace to keep it and therefore only shewed our want of a Redeemer but shewed not the way of our redemption Thus the Law was opposed to grace absolutely and left that to come wholly and entirely by Christ and it was also opposed to Truth comparatively for many truths were but obscurely and figuratively propounded in the Law which are plainly and substantially revealed in the Gospel as the doctrine of the blessed Trinity of the incarnation passion resurrection and ascension of the Son of God and indeed all the other articles of our Christian faith So that Truth substantially or compleatly that is in its full revelation and accomplishment came only by Jesus Christ Wherefore if our Saviour Christ himself who without doubt best understood the state of true Christianity sent the Jews to the Law of Moses to be assured of the truth of the Christian Religion much more doth he send us Christians to his own holy Gospel to be assured of the same truth And as Moses his writings were then so the Apostles writings are now a greater ground of assurance to us then any Prophets words can be for as Moses wished That all the Lords People were Prophets so am I willing to believe that his Church is to be accounted as a Prophet so that it commonly fareth with Christians in their coming unto Christ as it did with the Samaritans John 4. who first believed on our blessed Saviour for the saying of the woman but afterwards believed because of his own word So do we generally first believe in Christ by the testimony of the Church which he hath in mercy appointed to lead us to his Word for else it were impossible we should ever come neer it But when once we come to see and understand his Word then we believe in Christ not for his Church but for himself and may justly say to the Church as the Samaritans said to the woman Now we believe not because of thy saying for we have heard him our selves and know that this is indeed the Christ the Saviour of the world John 4. 42. This may we justly say not to the undervaluing of the Church to which we are so much obliged for bringing us to the knowledge of the Word for had not she preserved and translated it we could never have known it but rather to the overvaluing of the word above the Church to shew we are infinitely more obliged to God for giving his word then we can be to his Church either for preserving or for expounding it Therefore we cannot but prefer the word above the Church and we know this may be done without either undutifulness or unthankfulness since God hath appointed that his Church should wholly rely upon his word and prove her self to be his Church from the Testimony of his Word as appears plainly in the case of the Bereans who are commended for searching the Scriptures and believing the Word
preached by Paul and Silas because they found it agreeable with the written Word These were more noble in that they searched the Scriptures whether those things were so therefore many of them believed Acts 17. 11 12. And sure we are to go in the same way they did go unless we can prove that either the Scripture is now less Dogmatical then it was in those days or the Church more Apostolical And there is great Reason for it as well as great Religion For we plainly see that the Church is much ordered according to the will of man but weare sure the word was wholy ordered according to the will of God For the Prophesie came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost 2 Pet. 1. 21. We must say the same of the New what he saith of the Old Testament for as came the Prophecy of old time so also came the Gospel in the latter times not by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost And from hence we must conclude the Authority of the Scripture to be the highest authority that can be in setling and establishing the Christian Religion For if the Prophets and Apostles did not only speak but also write as they were moved by the Holy Ghost it must needs follow that the doctrine of the Church must have its force and weight from their doctrine but their doctrine from it self as that which came directly and immediately from the Holy Ghost the infallible Spirit of God which best knew his mind as being his own Spirit and hath most truly derived his mind and meaning to us as being his infallible Spirit So it is evident The Scripture is no less to teach the Church then the Church is to teach the People according to that irrefragable determination of their irrefragable Doctor Si enim aliquis asserit aliquid quod non sit determinatum in sacra Scriptura vel quod non sequatur directe ex fide mortaliter peccat quia se constieuit supra Deum Judex enim est supra id de quo debet judicare Qui ergo suâ authoritate asserit aliquid de Deo ponit se supra Deum quia judicat de Deo Haec est superbia Intellectus quam prohibet Apostolus Rom. 12. Non plus sapere quà m oportet sapere sed sapere ad sobrietatem Alensis par 1. qu. 68. mem 1. ar 2. If any Doctor and consequently if any Church which is but a company of Doctors doth positively affirm any thing as matter of Faith or Religion which is is not directly determined in the holy Scriptures or doth not inevitably follow from the Faith therein revealed he sinneth mortally because he exalteth himself above God For the Judge is above that of which he is to judge Therefore he who without warrant from God positively asserteth any thing of God putteth himself above God in that he judgeth of God which is the Spiritual pride forbidden by the Apostle Rom. 12. 3. Be not wise above what is required but be wise to Sobriety Therefore surely the Church cannot teach that as a Doctrine of Christianity which she hath not learned of Christ and where hath she learned of Christ but in his Word SECT IV. That the state of true Christianity is to be learned only in the Church of Christ for there only doth Christ teach by his word which the Church is bound to translate that the People may understand it and by his spirit which teacheth both infallibly and irresistibly That the state of true Christianity is not confined to any one particular Church for that Christ teacheth more or less in all Christian Churches and yet this is no ground for Sectaries to run from the Church THE state of Christianity as it came by our Saviour Christ in being so also in knowing It hath its being from his merit its knowing from his word whence it follows by undeniable consequence that the state of true Christianity is to be learned only in the Church of Christ for there only is the word of Christ by which he teacheth to mens conviction there only is the Spirit of Christ by which he teacheth to mens Conversion For the voice must needs proceed from the body and the Church is his body Col. 1. 24. therefore it is to be feared that those who care not to be of the body either do not hear his voice or do not much profit by hearing it For it is not to be doubted but Christ hath intrusted his Church with his word as appears Rom 3. 2. Vnto them were commited the oracles of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they were intrusted with the oracles of God The Jewish Church with the Oracles of the Old Testament and the Christian Church with the oracles of the new And this precious Talent was intrusted with the Church not to be wrapped up in a Napkin but to be imployed to Gods glory the peoples good for so we find that the law and the Prophets were read in the Synagogues every Sabbath day Acts 13. 15. 27. And by the same reason the Christian Church is still bound to take care that the Gospel or New Testament be also read in our Churches which because it cannot in the original tongue wherein it was written to the Edification of the people the Church is bound to translate it into such languages as the people do understand that she may not be defective in her trust which is to use the word of God most for Gods glory and for his peoples good And that Church doth in this particular best discharge her trust which sets forth the word of God in the truest and fittest translation not rigidly according to the words in all places but yet exactly according to the sense for neither doth Christ himself nor his holy Apostles cite the Old Testament so much according to the words as according to the sense And if men had no other obligation to their Church but only this That they could not know what God had said in his holy word unless their Church had taught them yet this alone if rightly weighed would keep them both from Heresie and from Schism from Heresie in receding from that doctrine which came from God and from Schism in receding from that communion wherein they were first made partakers of that doctrine This is certain the Text saith plainly The Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved Acts 2. 47. which would never have been written if to depart from the doctrine or to be out of the communion of the Church were the ready way of Salvation Therefore as S. Peter once said to our blessed Saviour so ought all good Christians still to say unto his Church for rightly translating the word of Christ Lord to whom shall we go thou hast the words of eternal life John 6. 68. for without question God did
Rom. 10. 12. as if it were as absurd to think God not rich unto all that call upon him as to think him not Lord over all wherefore as no Christian Church can doubt of his being Lord over them so neither of his being rich towards them unless we will say that Saint Paul did by this argument take away the difference betwixt the Jew and the Gentile that he might set it up betwixt Christians That he took it away betwixt men of two different Religions to set it up betwixt men of one and the same Religion whereas the contrary is evident from his doctrine for though he said explicitely yet he said not exclusively To all that be in Rome Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 1. 7. for he extended the same benediction to all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord 1 Cor. 1. 2. not thinking it so little as to be confined to one place Let us observe his words Vnto the Church of God which is at Corinth to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be Saints with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord both theirs and ours Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 1. 2 3. He tells us of a Church of God in Corinth as well as in Rome and in other places as well as in Corinth which are sanctified and called to be Saints the one as well as the other and he proves it because the Lord Jesus whose name they call on is both theirs and ours therefore have they Grace and peace from him as well as we And the like is Saint Peters doctrine when he saith Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons but in every Nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him Acts 10. 34 35. He saith of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons not that he had first perceived it for Moses had perceived the same before and had told the Jews so For the Lord your God is God of Gods which regardeth not persons Deut. 10. 17. But S. Peter perceived it better then Moses For Moses did only see that God would not overvalue the Jew because of his being circumcised in the flesh if in his heart he remained uncircumcised But Saint Peter did moreover see and t is a wonder his Successors will not see it after him That God would not undervalue the Gentiles confining them all to the dictates and documents of one particular Church But that in every nation they who would fear him and work righteousness should be accepted with him Nor is this indefinite manner of speech he that feareth him a warrant for every Schismatick and Sectary to set up a new Church of his own making for such men do neither truly fear God because not in his Authority nor work righteousness because not according to his commands For if they work for righteousness in the first Table by renouncing superstition they work against righteousness in the Second Table by setting up sedition And working against righteousness in the second Table they cannot either truly or rightly work for righteousness in the first Table So saith Saint James who soever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point he is guilty of all James 2. 10. The reason is because he that can despise the authority of the Law-giver by a voluntary breach or violation of any one of his commandments cannot observe the rest out of duty or obedience for the same Authority commanding all requires the same duty and obedience to all And therefore he that willfully rejects but one embraceth the rest more out of conveniency then out of conscience more for his own then for Gods sake more for his self-interest then or his Saviours glory SECT V. That the certainty in true Christianity or the state thereof is from the Word and Spirit of Christ The uncertainty from our selves and of doubtings in good Christians concerning their state that some are by way of admiration others by way of infirmity but none by way of infidelity THE certainty that is in true Christianity or the state thereof is wholly from the word and Spirit of Christ the uncertainty is wholly from our selves For what shall we be sure of if not of our Religion What certainty can we have but of truth What truth can we have so certain as the truth of Christian Religion grounded upon the word of truth and testified by the spirit of truth Therefore doubtless the state of true Christianity cannot be capable of any doubt in it self but only in regard of us that profess to be Christians For Saint Paul tells the Colossians of a full assurance of understanding in the knowledge of Christ Colossians 2. 2 And Christian faith is in its own nature more sure and certain then any humane science whatsoever though in us it often hath a less proportion of certainty For Faith in it self looks wholly on Gods infallibility though in us it partake of and sympathize with mans infirmity Therefore the doubt the uncertainty is not in the Religion but in the professor of it T is not in the thing but in the person as for example t is without all doubt that true Christianity is to love Christ the doubt is only whether we that are Christians do truly love him But is it lawful for us to make this doubt of our selves who by our inordinate self-love have caused all the world besides to make it of us Doth not the Apostle bid us receive him that is weak in the faith not to doubtful disputations Rom. 14. 1. And shall we think he would have us oppress a weak faith in our own selves by doubting I answer out of Bonaventures words in 3. sent dist 25. Quod triplex est modus duâ—itandi Est enim quaedam dubitatio proveniens ex infidelitate sicut dubitaverunt Iudaei est dubitatio proveniens ex tarditate sicut dubitaverunt Discipuli quibus dicitur Lucae ultimo O stulti tardi corde ad credendum est dubitatio proveniens ex pietate sicut quam aliquis ex magna admiratione ad modum dubitantes se habet There is a threefold manner of doubting one that proceedeth from infidelity so the Jews doubted of Christ and of his Doctrine Another that proceedeth from infirmity so the two Disciples that went to Emmaus doubted of Christs Resurrection to whom it was therefore said O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken Luke 24. 25. A third doubting there is that proceedeth from piety because of astonishment and admiration which makes a man to seem to doubt what he doth most stedfastly believe And such a doubting we read of in the blessed Virgin Then said Mary unto the Angel How shall this thing be seeing I
to be very well assured that he himself is in the way which leadeth unto that life and he can never be assured that he is in the way of righteousness but by the practice and the love of righteousness Therefore if it be demanded how any Christian may know that he is in the state of true Christianity I must answer meerly by loving and obeying his Saviour Christ For indeed so Christ himself hath answered If any man love me he will keep my words John 14. 23. All that are in the state of true Christianity do entirely love our Saviour Christ and all that love him do keep his words that is to say All his words for Christ leaves out none no more must we so saith the Holy Prophet For I have an eye unto all his Laws and will not cast out his commandments from me Psalm 18. 22. He had said in the verse before I have kept the wayes of the Lord and have not forsaken my God as the wicked doth and he gives this for the reason of that saying For I have an eye unto all his Laws T is this alone that keeps us from apostasie or forsaking God even the having an eye unto all his Laws For many that are very wicked have an eye to some of his Laws that they may the more securely act their wickedness against the rest Wherefore we must keep all his Laws or words not only in our memories to remember them but also in our hearts to embrace them and also in our works to do them so Moses requires us to keep the statutes and Judgements of God saying Keep therefore and do them Deut 4. 6. T is a question among School Divine An sit de ratione charitatis quod homo velit praeceptorum Dei regulam in omnibus sequi Whether it be of the essence of true charity that a man have a will to sollow the rule of Gods commandments in all things and Aquinas determines it in the Affirmative 22â— qu. 24. art 12. But it is moreover determined by one who we are sure was more then an Angelical Doctor even by our Saviour Christ saying Whosoever shall break one of these least Commandments and shall teach men so he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of heaven but whosoever shall do and teach them the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of heaven Mat. 5. 19. If any of Gods commandments might be discarded or laid aside then surely the least would claim the least observance but the contempt even of the very least of them will no less then cast us from heaven to hell in the day of Judgement For so Saint Chrysostome expounds our blessed Saviours words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when you hear the words He shall be least in the Kingdom of heaven do not surmise any thing less then that he shall be in hell and in everlasting torments For Christ here calleth the general resurrection and his own comming to Judgement the Kingdom of heaven because they will make way for the full power and glory of that Kingdom and tells us that such an offender as shall not only practically but also doctrinally offend against one of the least of his commandments not only doing wickedly himself but also teaching others so to do shall be called the least in the Kingdom of heaven that is shall be accounted as one rejected or a cast-away at his comming to Judgement for such a man never was truly in the love of God nor was the fear of God truely in hin For had his heart been seasoned with the fear of God he would have been afraid to have lifted up his hand against the least of Gods commandments by a wilful breach thereof much more to have lifted his heel against them all for whosoever offendeth in one point thereof is guilty of all Jam. 2 10. by denying them to have the force of his commandments as if Christ had come to abolish the Law when indeed he hath established it Rom. 3. 31. This is such a point of Divinity as is now most necessary for all can be offensive to none but only such men as may pretend Vertuosi but act Banditi as may pretend Saints but act the most desperate and wilful sinners resolving to maintain such opinions as are most agreeable with their practices because they resolve to maintain such practices as are like to be most agreeable with their interests I will only ask their consciences whether it can proceed from the love of God or rather from the love of Mammon that they are desirous to advance the wicked precedents of men against the most righteous precepts of Christ whereby they run headlong into such tenents as they may well be ashamed of in the worst times as they must be afraid of in better times as they will be both ashamed and afraid of when time shall be no more Excellently Saint Greg. in his Morals Sola est quae fidei meritum possidet obedientia sine qua quisque infidelis esse convincitur etiamsi fidelis esse videatur T is only obedience that maketh or sheweth faith to be a saving faith without which every man is but an infidel though he may pretend very much to be one of the faithful This is a new way of infidelity even in the midst of faith you need not turn Mahometan or Pagan to become an infidel it will suffice if you only turn Antinomian And this is too too palpable that since we have lost our obedience we have found none of the blessings promised to it Deut. 28. but have been a burden to our selves a reproach to our neighbours a seorn to our enemies a laughing stock to all a pitty to none SECT II. Three practical Principles necessary to be maintained by all those who desire to be good Christians and to know themselves to be in the state of true Christianity the first That Christ hath words to be kept as well as to be believed The second that true love of Christ will make us labour to keep his words The third That true faith in Christ was never yet without this love THere are three practical principles which all those must hold who will be good Christians and know themselves to be in the state of true Christianity The first principle is this That Christ hath words to be kept as well as to be believed precepts as well as promises and therefore â—o preach the Gospel of Christ is not only to preach faith in his promises but also to preach obedience to his precepts and they who leave out this latter part preach but a half Gospel which may shew the glad tidings ' but not effect the good work of our salvation For the precepts lead directly to the promises and the way to obtain that which God doth promise is to love that which he doth command Hence Saint James exhorts us to be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving our own souls Jam. 1. 22. This
of dignities ver 8. such a licentiousness as hates to be controuled and much more to be confined and therefore hates the dominion and dignities which God hath ordained to controul and to confine it Or we are lovers of our profits as in ver 11. They have gon in the way of Cain and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward and perished in the gain saying of Core where Balaam though put in the Second place yet is clearly the first mover in the way of unrighteousness for Cain and Core both do homage unto him For Cain is ready to kill and Core is ready to rebell if Balaam once run greedily after reward Such are we whiles we are manifested to our selves even lovers of our selves in our pleasures to all abominable licentiousness in our profits to all abominable out-rages and such are the cursed effects of our self-love even murders and seditions So that in truth we are self-haters whiles we are self-lovers for we have our woe denounced against us Woe unto them v. 11. Praedicit eorum exitium quoniam Cainum impudenti malitia Balaamum turpi avaritia Core dâ—nique factioso ambitioso ingenio referunt saith Beza in his short notes He foretelleth the destruction of such men because they follow Cain in his impudent malice Balaam in his filthy coveteousness and Core in his factious and ambitious unruliness But if Christ be manifested unto us our love is wholly of him and we will never think that we can sufficiently express that love We will labour to build up our selves in our most holy faith delighting in those things that are for Edification not for destruction and being afraid of that faith which is more for pulling down then for seeting up of holiness for we may not so build up our selves as to throw down others Praying in the holy Ghost that is praying in such a manner as that he may pray in us and in such a form as that he may pray with us not pinning those prayers upon the spirit of God which a sober man would be ashamed to speak and a conscientious man must be afraid to hear Keeping our selves in the love of God and loving whatsoever may be a means to keep us in his love as his word because it instructs us his authority because it restrains us his ordinances because they confirm and strengthen us having our eyes and our hearts alwayes lifted up to heaven looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life This is the only way to be assured that Christ is manifested unto our souls if indeed we thus entirely love him For our faith makes us accepted in Christ not so much from the strength of its perswasion as from the sincerity of its affection and is therefore called by Saint Paul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a faith which worketh by love Gal. 5. 16. There is no moral certainty to others of our being in Christ without this love In this the children of God are manifest and the children of the devill whosoever loveth not righteousness is not of God neither he that loveth not his brother 1 Iohn 3. 10. There can be no theological certainty to our selves of being in Christ without this same love as it follows v. 14. We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren He that loveth not his brother abideth in death And again cap. 4. v. 13. Hereby know we that we dwell in him and he in us because he hath given us of his spirit and sure we are that spirit is the Spirit of love Thus if we love we shall be assured of love and the more we find that we do love the more we shall find that we are beloved What have we then to do who profess our selves Christians but to walk in love as Christ also hath loved us Eph. 5. 2. and by this love to give our selves unto him who hath given himself for us So shall we also in him be made an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling Savour being made partakers of the greatest glory that is incident to the creature even to be an offering and a sacrifice to the Greator and of the greatest blessing that is incident to that glory even to be an offering and a sacrifice for a sweet smelling Savour unto him That he smelling the smell of the Goodly raiment which we have borrowed from our Elder brother may bless us and say See the smell of my Son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed Gen. 27. 27. God the Son hath blessed that soul to which he hath given this sweet smelling Savour and God the Father will bless it and God the Holy Ghost will continue the blessing for ever more Amen CAP. III. Of the Comforts that arise from the knowledge of our being in the state of true Christianity SECT I. The first comfort arising from the knowledge of our being in the state of true Christianity is That we are thereby assured of the love of God MANY are the comforts of those who know they are in the state of true Christianity but they are all reducible to these three Heads That they are assured of love from God of communion with God and the continuance of that communion Three such comforts the least whereof is able to outweigh all that can be put against it not only in the balance of the Sanctuary but also in the scales of right reason For man naturally doth love God above his life and doth desire communion where he loveth and doth exceedingly delight in the continuance of that communion So that the comfort which ariseth from the knowledge of our being in the state of true Christianity consists of these three degrees 1. That we are thereby assured of the love of God 2. That we are thereby assured of communion with God 3. That we are thereby on Gods part assured of the continuance of that communion which must needs bring heaven down to us if not carry us up to heaven The first degree of this comfort is that we are assured of the Love of God in whose presence is the fulness of joy and at whose right hand there is pleasure for evermore Psal 16. 12. For God is not as man that he should be changeable in his love but his love is like himself without beginning or ending He loves not more or less in process of time as men do and if he did we should have but small comfort of his love For love that is in time is but for a time not for all times it will be sure to choose the best time If Gods love were such woe would be to us upon whom are come the last and the worst times of this wicked world and therefore the last because the worst The worst as farthest from God and for that reason the last as neerest their own destruction Were Gods love to have a beginning in such times
words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 concord part agreement which are in effect so many pledges to us and testimonials to others of our internal communion with our blessed Saviour for that causeth us to have concord part and agreement with him Concord as being united with Christ in the same affections Part as being united with him in the same promises Agreement as being united with him in the same professions Wherefore this rule as it may increase our knowledge so it must increase our comfort as it may be for our instruction so it must be for our consolation that as far as we partake of Christ so far we communicate with him and as far as we communicate with Christ so far we partake of him If our participation of Christ be only external as is that of hypocrites who draw neer him with their lips but their heart is far from him who hear his Word and receive his Sacraments meerly for custom or for curiosity or for some other external consideration then is our communion with Christ only external and we only do help to make up that visible body whereof man is the Head But if our participation of Christ be internal as is that of good Christians who hear his Word and receive his Sacraments out of conscience that they may hear him speaking to them in his Word and find him nourishing them in his Sacraments then is our communion with Christ not only external but also and much rather internal and we do help make up that mystical body whereof Christ alone is the Head For t is our heart makes our Head as we are Christians if our heart be with man more then with God in our religion then man is our head in it but if our heart be with Christ more then with man in our religion then Christ is our Head in it And hence it comes to pass that some men are better Christians under a more corrupt then others are under a more incorrupt form of doctrine and discipline because it is not communion with the Church but with Christ in the Church that makes the good Christian He that looks more after Christ then after his Church in the profession of Christianity may haply be a good Christian in a bad Church for Christ is able to make him a good Christian without his Church nay indeed against it He that looks more after his Church then after Christ must needs be a bad Christian in a good Church for his Church cannot make him a good Christian without Christ Accordingly a man may be a better Christian in an unreformed Church if his religion be above his faction then in a reformed Church if his faction be above his religion and I had much rather have a Christian mind in an unchristian or antichristian Church then an unchristian mind in the purest Christian Church that is For though Christ be never so much in my Church yet that will do me no good unless he be also in my heart And if Christ be in my heart t is not my Churches being Antichristian or unchristian in some particulars which I do lament but cannot help that can drive him out of it or deprive me of the state and comfort of true Christianity T is sin if Christ be not in mine heart whiles I profess my self to be a Christian T is my misery if Christ be not in all the professions and practices of my Church by which I have been brought to Christianity Let me keep my self from being sinful by making sure of Christ in my heart and my God will keep me from being miserable because of some mistakes or defects of Christianity in my Church Saint Paul saith to the Corinthians but of him are ye in Christ Jesus notwithstanding at that time there was both heresie and schism in the Church of Corinth Heresie for some denied the resurrection 1 Cor. 15. 12. Schism for some said they were of Paul others of Apollos others of Cephas 1 Cor. 1. 12. Their communion with a bad Church when they could not help it did not hinder their communion with Christ and their communion with Christ did make them partakers of Christ for he was made unto them wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption 1 Cor. 1. 30. wisdom to direct them righteousness to acquit them sanctification to purge them and redemption to save them Thus was Christ made unto them either externally in his Word and Sacraments or internally in his Spirit and graces accordingly as they did communicate with him and participate of him If they brought only an outside to him they received only an outside from him such a wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption as did only shew them to be Christians not make them good Christians But if they brought their inner man to Christ he perfected their inner man by an internal communion with and participation of his wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption Wherefore if our communion with Christ or participation of Christ be only external and not also internal we ought to quarrel with our selves not with our Church and much less with our God for without doubt God is faithful who offers us Christ by his Church in his word and Sacraments For is the Spirit of the Lord straitned do not his words do good to him that walketh uprightly Mich. 2. 7. is a question as unanswerable now as it was then and it is meerly from our own unfaithfulness if we receive not Christ when he is offered or retein him not when he is received SECT III. That our internal communion with Christ is through his Spirit and our faith which may not be a phansie or fiction much less a faction but a faith knowing by evidence approving by adherence applying by affection and working by practice That such a faith will make our communion with Christ real and substantial in the thing it self though in the manner it be only spiritual and mystical THE union of two extreams is necessarily by some other third thing betwixt them both which brings the said extreams together and that in regard of Christ is his spirit which brings him down to us in regard of us is our faith which carries us up to Christ Both are alike required in our internal communion with Christ For though his Spirit be never so powerfully with his own ordinances that to resist the one is to resist the other as saith Saint Stephen ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears ye do alwayes resist the Holy Ghost Acts 7. 51. Yet if our faith be not with his Spirit we cannot have communion with him in his word For so is the same truth spoken by anothers mouth But the word preached did not profit them not being mixed with faith in them that heard it Heb. 4. 2. Their not being profited was not for want of Gods Spirit with his word but for want of their faith with Gods Spirit The spirit was not is not wanting to
the Jews in their own Moral Law whilst we establish not our own righteousness but submit our selves to the rightâ—â—usness of God acknowledging that Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to every one that believeth Rom. 10. 4. but by no means for unrighteousness that is for the acceptance of our obedience but not for the abolition of it Thus we Christians still keep communion with the Jews in all Moral duties and as for Ceremonials the Jews themselves cannot deny but they are bound to alter their own communion For the abolition of all ceremonial or typical worship was foretold to them even at the first institution of it by Moses himself saying And the Lord said I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren like unto thee and will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name I will require it of him Deut. 18. 18 19. And as this abolition of the Ceremonial worship was foretold to the Jews at the first institution so was it also believed by them at the first reception thereof For hence alone was it that they found no fault with their Prophets after Moses though they found them dispensing with the Law of Moses nay plainly acting against it in the exercise of their typical or ceremonial worship as for example neither they of Hierusalem nor of Samaria quarrelled with Eliah for gathering Israel together to offer sacrifice upon Mount Carmel 1 King 18. 19. Though Moses had flatly commanded That all should bring their offerings to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation Levit. 17. 2 3 4. Here it is plain the Ceremonial worship was changed without any quarrel at all in that backsliding and therefore quarrelsome and contentious age of the Church of the Jews which could scarce have been had they not received that same worship with some belief of its future change and had not their Prophets confirmed them in that belief foreshewing as it were by particular changes introduced by them the universal change that should one day be introduced by the Messiah their last and greatest Prophet And this general change wrought by our Saviour Christ is so proved to us Christians that we cannot so much as doubt it and much less deny it For those very words of Moses that foreshewed the change A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me him shall you hear in all things are quoted by Saint Peter as fulfilled in Christ Acts 3. 22. And again he saith v. 24. That all the Prophets from Samuel and those that follow after which words justifie the Jews division of the Prophets into the former and latter Prophets 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and put the latter Prophets in as good credit as the former against the Samaritanes and as many have spoken have likewise foretold of these dayes All the Prophets like so many lines from the circumference in the centre meet together in Christ so that the written word of God not only is the undoubted and therefore should be the undeniable ground of all Religion but also of the very Christian Religion nor may we endeavour to prove the establishment of the Christian Religion by unwritten Traditions no more then the Apostles did prove the change of the Jewish Religion by them They alledged the written word for the introduction we for the establishment of our Christian Religion The old Testament so exactly agreeing with the new and both old and new so exactly agreeing and corresponding in Christ that there can be no doubt left of the truth of Christianity Hence Saint Paul will have us make so sure of our Religion that though an Angel from heaven should preach another Gospel we should not be ready to believe but to accurse him Gal. 1 8. And Saint John saith the same in effect If there come any to you and bring not this doctrine sc that whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God receive him not into your house neither bid him God speed 2 John 9 10. Si quis venit ad vos If any come unto you t is all one whether the substantive be an Angel or a man for that divinity was not yet in fashion Si Papa erraret praecipiendo vitia vel prohibendo virtutes teneretur Ecclesia credere vitia esse bona virtutes malas nisi velit contra conscientiam peccare Bellar. lib. 4. de Pontif. cap. 5. That if the Pope should err by commanding sins and forbidding vertues The Church were bound to believe that sins were good and vertues were evil unless she would sin against her conscience Op. Ac ne forte contra conscientiam agat tenetur credere bonum esse quod ille praecipit malum quod ille prohibet And least the Church should do any thing against her conscience she is bound to believe that to be good which the Pope commandeth and that to be evil which he forbiddeth A strange assertion as if God had put all his Divine Truths whether speculative or practical for if the one the other also under the possibility of mans lawfull contradiction and all our consciences under the power of his controul nor is there any remedy for this mischeivous consequence by translating this pretended Infallibility from his person to his chair nor from his chair to his Church for we may justly suppose or rather must necessarily believe that Saint Johns words are as well to be understood and interpreted of a whole Church as of single man since there is the same reason of both for a Church is but a congregation of men and false doctrine hath no less of falsity though it hath less of excuse in a Church then in any particular man But we must more then believe this Truth if it be possible That the Gospel is to sway our faith above and against all authorities to the contrary whatsoever by the force of Saint Pauls reason For if not the authority of the Church triumphant then surely not of the Church militant may be allowed to weaken our faith in the doctrine or in the Gospel of Christ If not an Angel from heaven then sure not a man upon the earth And great pity it is but greater shame that the faction and humour of some men should endeavour to shake not only the dictates of nature in putting vertue and vice under mans determination but also the very foundation of supernatural Truth the written Word of God thereby thinking the more to establish the pillar of supernatural truth the Church of God whereas indeed they do the more shake that too For we are all most sure that the Scriptures came incorrupt from the mouth of God and therefore if there be now any corruptions in them they are of mans not of Gods creating And
in with dissemblers I have hated the congregation of evil doers and will not sit with the wicked and he thus makes good that saying For thy loving kindness is ever before mine eyes and I have walked in thy truth Psalm 26. His communion with God kept him from the corruptions of those unrighteous men he could not avoid and kept him in the communion of those righteous men he could not enjoy Though his conversation might be in Gath or Ascalon yet his communion was in Jerusalem when the Ark was there as it is said ver 8. Lord I have loved the habitation of thy house and the place where thine honour dwelleth Therefore make sure of thy communion with God by faith and repentance and holiness of life and doubt not of thy communion with his Catholick Church though thou live amongst Infidels or amongst such Christians as are fallen into Infidelity and so having denyed the faith are worse then those who never embraced it For no private man is entrusted with the external communion of his own Church nor shall he be called to an account for the sins of it if he partake not in those sins but he is intrusted with the internal communion of his own soul and for that he must look to give a strict account to the maker and lover and Judge of souls But this admonition which only concerns private men may not be extended to whole national Churches which have power given them of God to rectifie what is amiss among themselves either in Doctrine or worship or Sacraments and are accountable to God for not rectifying it so that if there be any notorious defect in either much more in all of these they that are not bound to obey other men have no pretence of excuse if they obey not God in ordering themselves exactly according to his known and undoubted word And this is evident by Saint Pauls Epistles to particular Churches and Saint Johns orders to the seven several Churches of Asia to all which were sent distinct instructions and reproofs which sheweth that every one of them was bound to follow those instructions they had received from God without expecting new orders from some general Superintendent over them all and was justly reproved for not following them And this is the Judgement of the Catholick Church in the first Council of Nice in the sixth Canon which will have the priviledges and dignities and authorities of all Churches inviolably preserved for so much is comprized in these few words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The same Judgemen is again repeated and reinforced in the first Council of Constantinople Can. 2. which forbids the confounding of Churches 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and leaves every several proviâ—ce by a Synod in it self to administer and order its own â—…s The same is again more fully repeated and reinforced in the first Council of Ephesus Can. 8. which will have particular Churches keep their own rights and priviledges lest they should unawares lose the liberty purchased for them by the blood of Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the Council of Chalcedon Can. 19 enjoyns provincial Synods twice a year to rectifie and dispose all emergencies whatsoever in the Church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So we find this is the judgement of the Catholick Church in the four first general Councils and therefore all the world is not able to prove this practice of our Church to be Anticatholick For I willingly pass by other Churches in the case with whom I am not bound to keep external communion and plead only for this Church where of God in mercy hath made me a happy member though an unworthy Minister For if Saint Paul would not judge those men that were without much less may any of us judge those Churches that are within And truly it is enough for our satisfaction and too much for our desert that though other Churches pretend more some to the purity others to the practice of Religion yet generally they have performed less Though some rigid Zelots press nothing so much as a circumcision of all rites and ceremonies other Pharisaical professors can boast of the yoke which they have put upon the neck of their Disciples which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear yet we cannot find any sufficient reason why we should not answer them both in Saint Peters words we believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved even as they Act. 15. 11. For we have this reason of our belief because the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is truly and clearly set forth in the Doctrine of this our Church t is our shame and sin not our Churches if it be not also in our practice and Saint Paul hath taught us that this is the doctrine which most constituteth and therefore most edifieth a Christian Church For thus much do those words import to the Colossians And you that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable aâ—d unreproveable in his sight if ye continue in the faith grounded and setled and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel which ye have heard Col. 1. 21 22 2â— T is the Churches part to preach unto us the hope of the Gospel or the Doctrine of our being reconciled to God in Christ where this Doctrine is rightly published accepted and maintained there is without doubt a true Christian Church there is communion with Christ and if he will present us holy unblameable unreproveable in his sight for continuing in this faith grounded and setled we can have little cause but no excuse for leaving that Church whereinis the profession of this faith for as every particular Christian Church may lawfully preserve its own liberty against the incroachment of other Chuuches so it must necessarily preserve its authority against the insolencies of its own people The case is notorious concerning Vzziah when he went into the Temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the Altar of incense that Azariah with the Priests withstood him saying it pertaineth not to thee Uzziah to burn incense unto the Lord but to the Priests the sons of Aaron that are consecrated to burn incense Go out of the sanctuary for thou hast trespassed neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God 2 Chron. 27. 17 18. And great is the approbation which the Spirit of God giveth to this Azariah for so doing saying He it is that hath executed the Priests office in the Temple 1 Chron. 6. 10. As if none had been high Priest but he who so couragiously maintained the authority of the Priest-hood and this is R. Davids gloss upon the words He was not the first Priest of Solomons Temple for that was Zadok nor was he the only high Priest for there were many others both before and after him but our Rabbies say because
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That in all things he might be first or that in all things he might have the preheminence Col. 1. 18. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith his most faithful interpreter Saint Chrysostom The first in heaven as the beginning the first in earth as Head of the Church the first under the earth as the first born from the dead Thus hath God ordained that our Saviour Christ should have the preheminence in all things and in all places from whence we must conclude that the same is the duty and ought to be the work of all that profess godliness even to give all honour and glory to this Son of man whom the King of Kings is pleased to honour And in this respect those Christians like Mary have chosen the better part though the other like Martha trouble themselves and all the world besides about many unnecessary things who carefully observe all those anniversary Festivals which have been instituted entirely for the honour of Christ and consequently observe our weekly festival rather as a Lords day then as a Sabbath For these sit quietly and orderly at Jesus his feet hearing his Word and place him at their head promoting his honour according to the Apostles example and advice To God only wise be glory through Jesus Christ for ever Rom. 16. 27. They look upon this festival as instituted for Gods glory and think it neither safe nor fit for Christians to glorifie God through Moses but through Christ And therefore desire to honour him not by a Sabbath but by a Lords day for that the Sabbath was a type of Christs rest in the grave who rested there only that whole day as it were to bury it with himself but the Lords day is an undoubted memorial of his resurrection So that the one carries in its name if not in its nature a false protestation concerning the Christian faith and may possibly in time make us turn Jews The other carries in its name and nature a true profession of our faith and can only help to make and to keep us good Christians as immediately directing our thoughts and our thankfulness to our Saviour Christ which alone is the way to make us true Evangelical professors this being the summe of the whole Gospel That he was delivered for our offences and rose again for our Iustification Rom. 4 26. And it is plain that the whole Gospel doth so directly tend to the Article of Christs resurrection that Saint Paul saith expresly it can neither be rightly preached nor professed without it If Christ be not risen then is our preaching vain and your faith also is vain 1 Cor. 15. 14. It nearly concerns all Christian Ministers to abandon those tenents which may either directly or indirectly make vain their own preaching or the peoples faith And it is to be feared the Sabbatarian Doctrine may tend to this for it is to be avowed that the turning those solemn festivals out of the Church which peculiarly commemorate the Incarnation Nativity Resurrection and Ascension of Christ and teach us to bless God for the same that the Sabbath may be set up as Lady paramount and Queen Regent to controule and confine all our publick worship can in no case make for the honour of Christ and therefore not for the truth of Christianity For Saint Paul saith expresly that in all things he must have the preheminence and if in all things then surely both in duties and in daies and if in duties then much more in daies for if the worship be not acceptable to God but in him then sure the day cannot be acceptable but for him T is proper for the Jew to keep a Sabbath who thinks himself still bound to worship God through Moses but t is proper for the Christian to keep a Lords day who knows himself bound to worship and glorifie God only through Christ Jesus the Lord of glory And Saint Paul readeth this Lecture to the Jews themselves and much more to us Christians in those words to the Hebrews Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus that great Shepherd of the Sheep through the blood of the everlasting Covenant make you perfect in every good work to do his will working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory for ever and ever Amen Heb. 13. 20 21. Where he briefly declares the summe not only of that whole Epistle but also of the whole Christian Faith and that by way of benediction to shew we cannot have the blessing of Christians unless we have the faith of Christians And that faith teacheth us to believe and confess 1. That God is reconciled to us Now the God of peace 2. That our Saviour Christ alone hath wrought for us and offereth to us this reconciliation as our King our Lord Jesus as our Prophet the great Shepherd and as our Priest through the blood of the everlasting Covenant 3. That he hath given us sufficient proof of his great work that he is brought again from the dead 4. That he is ready to give us the superabundant fruits of all by making us perfect in every good work to do his will working in us that which is well-pleasing in his sight In all these inestimable and undeserved mercies it is Christ alone that is all in all wherefore it follows in the next words through Christ Jesus and consequently he in himself and the Father in him is to be glorified for all as it is said To whom be glory for ever and ever Amen God is the God of peace to us men in that he brought again from the dead the Lord Jesus so that we cannot rightly glorifie him for the reconciliation unless we glorifie him for the resurrection And for this cause happily it was that the Church did antiently interpose Halleluiah in the midst of those sentences of the Text which she chose for her publick service in celebrating the memory of Christs resurrection not to interrupt the words or sense of the Scriptures but rather to explain them teaching us that good Christians should not read or hear any part of the Text without thinking of Christ and that they should not think of Christ without praising God in him and for him and that praising God in and for their Saviour Christ they can never be zealous enough in their praises nor rejoyce too much in his salvation Therefore they intermingled Hallelujah not only in the Hymns of the Text where it might be thought a natural appendix but also in the Doctrines of it where at first sight it might seem altogether an unnecessary addition As for example thus they recite that Hymn of the Psalmist He brought forth his people with joy Halleluiah and his chosen with gladness Psalm 105. ver 42. And thus also that doctrine of Saint Peter As new born babes Halleluiah desire the sincere milk of the Word 1 Pet. 2. 2. Where
and the beauties and excellencies of the Christian Religion making them to proclaim to all the world these three things concerning that Religion which they taught after this new manner 1. That Christian Religion is not opus naturae proceeding from the principles of nature for then they would have used the Method of nature who first planted it but opus gratiae The work of Grace and therefore they used the Method of grace 2. That Christian Religion must not be made opus artis matter of mans invention or institution for if it would not borrow so much as outward form or Method from the art of man there being no science in the world taught by such a Method as Divinity is in the Scriptures much less any inward matter or substance from it 3. That Christian Religion must be taken in the whole in credendis agendis in belief and practice both together for therefore did the Apostles teach it by praying to shew that we must learn it by practicing prayer it self being the best practice of Christianity Thus it is necessary that Christ should be the Alpha and Omega the first and the last in all our thoughts words and works for this is the end of all the Scripture and they who undervalue the Scripture seem not to know this end or not to regard it as saith Saint John But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that believing ye might have life through his name John 20. 31. as if he had said God gave us the Scriptures especially the New Testament for this end that we might glorifie Christ as the eternal Son of God and only Saviour of the world and that by so doing we might through him come to inherit eternal glory SECT 11. The sincerity of Christian communion is the bullwark of its authority and first to be regarded by every Christian Church as being the glory of her prosperity and comfort of her adversity such a sincere communion never to be deserted when once happily attained NO particular Christian Church advanceth our communion with Christ as such but only as Christian and therefore no particular Church can justly require another Church to communicate with it any farther then as t is truly Christian or Catholick for no further doth she her self keep communion with Christ And consequently where any Christian Church leaves Christ there other Churches may and must leave Her that is leave Her as to the communion in Her sin whereby she leaves Christ but not in Her righteousness whereby she still reteineth him for that were little less then in her to leave the communion of Christ For this profession of Saint Paul We are not as many which corrupt the word of God but as of sincerity but as of God in the sight of God speak we in Christ 2 Cor. 2. 17. should be the profession of every Christian Church which desires to have other Churches joyn with her in her communion we do not corrupt the word of God and would not willingly pin corruptions upon it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 non sumus mangones aut caupones Theologiae we play not the prolers or hucksters with our Divinity or with Gods word putting new dresses or false colours upon the Text or truth to make our own erroneous Doctrines the more passable and the less discernable or rather we do not mingle Gods truth with our own errors as false drawers mingle their wines for so saith Hesychius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here translated which corrupt is a Metaphor taken from those Vintners who corrupt and mingle their wines before they sell them A word that speaks much in little and may serve instead of a whole Sermon to the Preachers themselves For if they preach phansie they mingle water with this wine if they preach faction they mingle blood with it Lord forgive us these horrid mixtures and renew again amongst us thy miracle wrought in Cana of Galilee and once more turn our water into wine and suffer not us any more to turn that wine into blood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Saint Chrysostome To corrupt wine is in effect to bastardize it which consideration should terrifie any Church that hath wittingly corrupted the word of truth seeing she hath thereby laboured as it were to bastardize the eternal Son of God Non cauponantur quia meram veritatem praedicant de Filio Dei nec ipsam quasi aqua falsitatis adulterant saith Saint Cyril of Alexandria Thes l. 12. cap. 3. They â—sc that are true and good Church-men do not corrupt the word because they speak nothing but the truth and do abhorr to adulterate Gods pure wine with their impure their puddle water No Church can be two careful about the sincerity of its Doctrine since the Apostle did not think he could be zealous enough about it And therefore he again immediately enforceth this same duty to the same effect though in other words seeing we have received this Ministry as we have received mercy we faint not but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty not walking in crastiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully but by manifestation of the truth commending our selves to every mans conscience in the sight of God 2 Cor. 4. 1 2. His whole intent and purpose is to make them see his sincerity in preaching the Gospel of Christ thereby obliging every Christian Church which is the grand Apostle of its own nation openly to profess and much more conscionably to discharge the same sincerity for which accordingly he alledgeth two reasons First the incomparable worth and value of the Doctrine and therefore he saith this Ministry by way of excellency for that the Gospel was as far above the Law and much more above all other things as liberty and salvation are above thraldom and condemnation Secondly the indispensible obligation of his trust which God had laied upon him and therefore he saith as we have received mercy he calls it a mercy not a trust the more to endeer it to his own soul and to ours yet in that he saith he had received it he acknowledgeth the trust himself as one accountable according to his receipts for as he had received it from God so he was bound to deliver it to them without either alteration or addition or diminution according to his own former profession I delivered unto you that which I also received 1 Cor. 15. 3. q. d. If I could not prove the receipt I could not justifie the delivery Having alledged these two reasons for his sincere preaching of the Gospel he afterwards shews what it was preserved him in this sincerity and that was his magnanimity his innocency and his integrity First the undaunted courage of his heart we faint not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 non deficimus we are not defective to our selves for want of perseverance nor to our duty for want of constancy For
Thus hath holy Zachary taught us to sing Blessed be the Lord God of Israel and hath given this reason of that song For he hath visited and redeemed his people Luke 1. 68. That we may assure our selves it is not superstition but good Religion agreeable with the end of the fourth Commandment which teacheth us to celebrate the memorials both of his Visitation that he came to visit us in great humility and of his redemption that he hath redeemed us in great mercy and will consummate that Redemption in greater glory nor may we think that the letter of this Commandment was to restrain the end of it or the Sabbath was to confine the publike worship of Christ no more then we may think that God gave the Law to restrain the Gospel or set up the practice of Judaism for a time to confine the practice of Christianity for ever we may not so put our necks under the yoke of Jewish bondage in the Circumstances and much less in the substance of our Religion The proportion of time allotted the Jew for his publike worship may admonish the Christian to give no less must not regulate him to give no more to God For Religion first brings men to God then binds them to God and that Religion which brings them neerest binds them fastest The Jews Religion brought and bound him to God as to the author of nature and called for much praise The Christians Religion brings and binds him to God as to the Author of Grace and calleth for more praise The Angels Religion brings and binds them to God as the author of glory and calleth for all Praises The Christians Religion though betwixt that of the Jews and that of the Angels yet comes neerer to that of the Angels and therefore may not look backwards to Nature but must look forwards to glory The Author of nature did bid the Jews first number dayes saying For in six dayes the Lord made heaven and earth and rested the seventh day wherefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and hallowed it There the day called for the duty But the Author of Grace hath bid the Christian first number Duties teaching him to say I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord Rom. 7. 25. Here the Duty calleth for the Day and bidding us think God will not let us be stiâ—ted to one day in seven for our thanksgivings For though nature be under the measure and government of Time yet Grace is only under the measure and government of Eternity Wherefore any day that tells me of the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God in him shall tell me also of the Communion of the Holy Ghost to give thanks to God the Son for his Grace and to God the Father for his love nor dare I so undervalue the duty of thankfullness which I owe to my blessed Saviour for my redemption from sin and death as to tarry till the next Sabbath before I say I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord And this I am sure though men may deny me thus to keep the Sabbath on earth yet God will not deny me thus to keep the Sabbath in Heaven and the more they may hinder me thus to keep it in earth the more should my soul be filled with desires and longings to keep it so in Heaven SECT IV. The sincerity of Christian communion may be broken either causally by a false Religion or formally by an unjust separation Both breaches are abominable The care which the Primitive Christians used to avoid both by cleaving to the ancient Creeds and the Gloria Patri and also by their communicatory letters The reason of that care was that both Priest and People laboured only to serve Christ not to serve themselves of him The Touchstone to try all Churches is from advancing the glory of Christ both in their Religion and in their communion AS the Communion of Saints is commanded in the fourth Commandment which requires all men to communicate in those doctrines of faith and duties of life which God hath called them to profess and practise in and by his Church So the Religion of Saints is commanded in the three first Commandments which do teach the Doctrines and Duties of that communion For as God hath not left his people to make their own communion so neither hath he left his Church to make her own Religion He first saith Let all things be done then let all things be done decently and in order 1 Cor. 14. 40. He first provides the doctrines then regulates the Prophets or the Preachers first takes care for the order of Religion then takes care for the order of Communion He first taught his Church how to invocate and implore his mercy how to reverence and adore his Majesty how to acknowledge his Authority and glorifie his holy name in worship in word in Sacraments and after that how to order assemblies and publick meetings for these Invocations for these adorations for these acknowledgements or glorifications And hence it is that Christian Religion bids all men first look after Gods authority in his word then after Gods authority in his Church So that no Church can be obliged by the obedience which she oweth to the Christian Faith to communicate with that Church which absolutely refuseth to have the doctrines and duties of its communion regulated and ordered by the known and undoubted written word of God because every man ought first to choose his Religion whereby to have communion with Christ then the Profession or exercise of it whereby to have communion with Christs Church And by consequent for any company of men to advance themselves against the word is to incurre Saint Pauls censure If any man teach otherwise and consent not to wholesome words even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the doctrine which is according to Godliness he is proud knowing nothing but dâ—ating about questions and strifes of words And those men which have incurred Saint Pauls censure cannot be acquitted from Saint Pauls sentence From such withdraw thy self 1 Tim. 6. 3 4 5. In such a case the breach of Christian communion is to be imputed to those who consent not to the words of Christ for if they break off from Christ it is no sin can be no shame in others to break off from them For the Apostle saith expresly from such withdraw thy self So that it is evident the breach of Christian Communion may be causal in a false Religion as well as formal in an unjust separation And all the world is not able to excuse the formal unless it be from the causal breach since no man can have a pretence to leave the Church unless it be to cleave to Christ to forsake the Christian communion unless it be to follow the Christian Religion Therefore where Religion is most sincerely kept there communion is most sinfully and most shamefully broken For if the Church hath indeed taught us the right Invocation
and Adoration of God and a right profession to glorifie his most holy name according to the three first Commandments How doth it not bind us to its communion in all these according to the fourth If we cannot deny the purity how dare we deny the publike exercise of our Religion For surely he that will one day say Depart from me ye cursed to those who have carelesly neglected their duty towards their neighbours will never say Come ye blessed to us if we wilfully neglect our duty towards our God but our peevishness now saying unto him in effect Depart from us Thou blessed will then most certainly be recompenced with his Justice saying unto us Depart from me ye cursed Our departure from him is now voluntary it will then be necessary it is now our sin it will then be our punishment For if we shall be condemned for our omissions towards our brethren much more shall we be condemned for our omissions or rather for our contempts towards our Saviour And those Jehu's which drive furiously not to throw down the worship of Baal but of the true everliving God shall without doubt answer at the last day not only for their furiousness as guilty of Schism but also for their contempt as guilty of profaness not only for their breaking the Christian communion but also for their opposing the Christian Religion they cannot set up the abomination of desolation in the Holy place and pull down holiness from thence but themselves will be in Gods account abominable and desolate So saith Junius in his Parallel upon Saint Mat. 24 15. Appellatur exercitus omnis infidelium ad subversionem desolationemque populi Dei comparatus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Abominatio desolationis Abominatio quidem propter naturam constitutionem ipsius quia totus ex hominibus abominandis infidelibus conflatus est Desolationis vero ab effectu quia horridam desolalationem fuerat importaturus loco in quem irruerit Christ calleth those Roman Armies which were to lay waste Jerusalem The Abomination of desolations Abomination from their persons because they were abominable men desolation from their work because they were to make Hierusalem waste and desolate If those men were the abomination of desolation who laid waste the City of God what are they who lay waste the worship of God Therefore saith the Spirit of God in Psalm 68. that such men are Gods enemies and must expect to be scattered and either speedily to vanish like smoak after they have a little troubled our eyes or at least to melt like wax that they may not stay so long as to harden our hearts For he is the God that maketh men to be of one mind in an house verse 6. and most loves they should be of one mind in his own House 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 say the 70. Inhabitare facit unius moris in domo He makes those of the same fashion to be of the same family He makes men to be of one disposition and of one conversation that they may be of one communion And he accounts them but runnagates that are not so But letteth the runnagates continue in scarceness Nay the Hebrew calls them Rebels 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but the rebellious The Greek translations do render this one word four several ways 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 say the 70. Qui exasperant they that are contentious ready to exasperate and to provoke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Symmachus Incruduli They that are incredulous and hard to believe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Aquila Abscedentes They that are exceptious or ready to depart from the known way 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Theodotius Declinantes They are erroneous and actually declining into false wayes for so is that word used Psalm 124. v. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Declinantes autem ad tortuosas vias such as turn aside unto their crooked ways All which sins are combined together in this one of wilful schism which makes men Runnagates for their inconstancy Rebels for their disobedience contentious for their bitterness incredulous for their blindness exceptious for their apostasie and erroneous for their pertinacy Such men are commonly Hot-headed and Hard-hearted in their sin and they are accordingly tormented with Heat and Hardness in their punishment 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 habitabunt aestus siccitatem saith Symmachus They shall dwell among burning drought that shews their punishment from heat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 habitaverent rupem saith Aquila they do dwel among rocks that shews their punishment from Hardness And what is the reason of all but because they are enemies to God in being enemies to the communion which he hath established for so it is said ver 26 Give thanks O Israel unto God the Lord in the congregations but they neither regard Israel nor the God of Israel nor the giving of thanks nor the congregations And therefore these words Rise up Lord and let thine enemies be scattered and let them that hate thee flee before thee which were used by Moses when the Ark set forward Num. 10. 35. are here by David formed into a perfect Psalm which was sung afterwards saith Musculus before that same Ark when David and all the house of Israel brought it up to Zion with shouting and with dancing and with the sound of the trumpet 2 Sam. 6. 15. The Ark was a Type of the Church and therefore this Psalm which once concerned the Ark and its enemies doth now concern the Church and her enemies and Saint Paul in effect assured us as much in that he hath applied the 18 verse of this Psalm to our Saviour Christs Ascension wherein he gave such gifts to men by which the Christian Church was first founded and doth still subsist So that it is evident that this Psalm is a prayer for defence and propagation of the Catholick Church and consequently these and the like expressions that are found in it are so many imprecations and curses from the Spirit of God against his Churches enemies The like is often to be observed in the whole book of Psalms which is very full of expostulations with and imprecations against the enemies of the Church and that being a book of devotions of Gods own making may neither be neglected by his servants nor yet securely used by his enemies for they will but curse themselves by using it and more mischief themselves by not using it A sad condition which the Churches enemies most unavoidably bring upon themselves either not to use those devotions which were of Gods own composing or to use them against their own prosperity in this world and salvation in the next I will make but one instance more and that shall be out of Psalm 129. one of the Psalms of degrees or Ascensions which were so called saith Kimchi from Rabbi Sudia because the Levites in singing those Psalms were bound to exalt their voices and as it were to ascend higher and higher in every Psalm so
that before they came to this Psalm their voices were at a very high pitch God not permitting them to dissemble their danger who would needs oppose his Church though by denouncing and divulging it they incurred their own They were therefore to sing those words in a high and loud tone The righteous Lord hath hewn the snares of the ungodly in pieces ver 4. or rather as it is in the orher translation hath cut asunder the cords of the wickd even those cords whereby they drew the Plow to make long furrows upon the Churches back saith Junius densos funes quibus aratrum trahebant in dorso Ecclesiae And he borrowed this gloss from Aben Ezra who thus expoundeth the place The Lord will cut asunder their cords that they shall not be able to plow upon my back and the meaning is that the Lord will take away their burdens sc who had led Israel captive from off the shoulders of Israel by destroying their Dominion Again ver 5. 6. Let them be confounded and turned backward as many as have evil will at Sion Let them be even as the grass growing upon the housetops which withereth before it be plucked up If they be not confounded and turned backward in this world they will in the next for this curse cannot fall to the ground and to be turned backward in the next world is nothing less then to be turned into Hell as the grass that is withered is good for nothing but to be thrown into the fire And this is the very doom that Saint Paul hath denounced against them Rom. 2. 8 9. But unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath Tribulation and anguish c. What is there more in Hell then indignation and wrath tormenting the soul then tribulation and anguish afflicting the body And this will be the punishment of those who are contentious and meerly out of contention at first do not obey the truth and at last do obey unrighteousness Therefore the Apostle useth an Emphatical expression to set forth their contentiousness saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lis autem qui sunt ex contentione as the Vulgar Latine hath rendred it But to them that are of contention that is so contentious as if they were born or made of contention this preposition Ex doth here note the material cause as if contention were the very matter of which such men were made Aquinas ingeniously maintains that Position Creare est aliquid ex nihilo facere To create is to make something out of nothing mainly by this distinction Quum Praepositio Ex due importet habitudinem causae materialis ordinem hic non designat causam materialem sed ordinem tantùm sicut quum dicitur Ex mane fit meridies id est post mane fit meridies Where the preposition Ex doth import two things either the material cause out of which the thing is made or the Order of its making here it doth not import the material cause but only the Order as when we say that the noon is made out of the morning we mean after the morning so when we say to create is to make something out of nothing we only mean it is to make that something which before was meerly nothing 1. Par. qu. 45. art 1. But we cannot fasten such an exposition upon these words of Saint Paul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iis autem qui sunt ex contentione But those that are of contention for this Of cannot import their beginning as if they had been such but now were not and therefore it must import their constitution that they are such and made of such principles that they are so of contention as of that which is the chief ingredient in their composition And according to this interpretation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They which are of contention will signifie those who make contention their study and delight as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gal. 3. 7 9. They whch are of Faith doth signifie those which wholly depend and relie upon faith in Christ contrary to whom are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 verse 10. As many as are of the works of the Law that is As many as place their hope and confidence in the works of the Law And again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They which were of the circumcision Gal. 2. 12. doth signifie those which did glory or boast of their circumcision and made it their business to be zealous for those kind of outward and carnal Ordinances And this is agreeable with Saint Hieroms criticism upon the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which he thus explaineth Est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quum qui semper ad contradâ—cendum paratus stomacho delectatur alieno muliebri jurgio contendit provocat contendentem alio nomine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hier. in 5. ad Galat. The spirit of contradiction and of contention both are according to this gloss in those men of whom Saint Paul saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But unto them that are contentious None can be a formal Separatist from the communion of his Church rightly established but he must have the Spirit of contention to make him a Schismatick and the Spirit of contradiction to make him labour to justifie or at least to continue and prolong his Schism So that indeed such a man hath indignation and wrath though unjustly in his sin and therefore may expect to have them both but very justly in his Punishment But unto them that are contentious indignation and wrath saith the Text They unjustly had indignation and wrath against their Church that they might be contentious And God will justly have indignation and wrath against them that they may be punished for their contention All which considered we have reason to believe that external Christian communion as far as it is truly Christian is to be carefully followed maintained and preserved in all Churches to be forsaken persecuted and destroyed in no Church For God hath not left it to the disposal of the Kings and Potentates of this world whether he shall be publickly served or not only hath given them a strict command to promote and advance his publick worship and service He gave not power to his Apostles for destruction but only for edisication and therefore that power that tends only to destruction cannot be of his giving What shall we say of those who commanded the Apostles not to speak at all in the name of Jesus Acts 4. 18. Shall we say they had power from God so to do God forbid for then the Christian Religion could not have been planted without Rebellion and so should not have been planted at all For the Text is plain which forbiddeth to do evil that good may come Gods power doth no thwart it self nor put men upon contradictions Therefore in that the Apostles were commanded to pray and preach in the name of Jesus the Rulers of the Jews were commanded not to
non eodem Anathemate inclusisse Arianos Quartodecimanos That the Nicene fathers did not include the Quartodecimans under the same Anathema with the Arrians And we may gather the reason of this from the Synodical Epistle of the Council of Sardice wherein it is accouted all one to be Anathema and to be separated from the Catholick Church or not to be reckoned among Christians For so those Fathers declare their sentence against the Arrian Bishops 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We have judged them not only to be unworthy of their Bishopricks but also of the communion of the faithful For they which do separate the son from the father are to be separated from the Catholick Church as unworthy of the name of Christians Therefore let them be to you as Anathema 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But why are they to be Anathema Because they have corrupted the word of truth say the same Fathers This being the Apostles command If any man preach any other Gospel unto you then that ye have received let him be Anathema or accursed Gal. 1. 9. Therefore be sure not to communicate with any of them for there is no communion of light with darkness but put them all far from you for there is no concord of Christ with Belial Thus far in effect those holy Fathers accursing only those whom God himself had accursed So doth the Council of Ephesus Anathematize Nestorius in this form 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Concil Eph. par 2. Act. 1. The true Orthodox Faith doth accurse this man the holy Synod doth accurse him shewing plainly that if the true Faith had not excommunicated him they would not easily have denyed him their communion I will pass by the Acclamations of the Bishops in the Council of Chalcedon in the first action saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christ himself hath deposed Dioscorus this is a just sentence this is a righteous Synod and their great exultations in the Nicene and Constantinopolitane Faith after the recital of those two Creeds in the second action of the same Council and I will hasten to some instances of after-ages to shew how tender the Primitive Christians were in rejecting others from their communion the first shall be of the fifth general Council which was not till the year of Christ five hundred and fifty And that Council at the end of its fourth collation hath these words Sancta Synodus dixit multitudo blasphemiarum quas contra magnum Deum Salvatorem nostrum Jesum Christum imo magis contra suam animam Theodorus Mopsuestenus evomuit justam ejus facit condemnationem The holy Synod avowed that the multitude of the blasphemies which Theodorus of Mopsuestia had belched or vomited out against the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ or rather against his own soul had made his condemnation just or necessary as if they had professed they did not come by their own authority to make him a Heretick but by the authority of Christ to declare him so My second instance shall be out of the sixth general Council which was against the Monothelites For there the Fathers at the end of the fifteenth action pronounce their sentence of excommunication against Polychronius the Monothelite in these words For as much as Polychronius the Monk hath persisted in his erroneous and wicked opinion even to his old age we have therefore put his soul under the curse denounced by Saint Paul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Praedicto à Sancto Apostolo Paulo Anathemati jam hunc secundum animam subjecimus what curse that was the Council nameth not but we may suppose they meant that denounced in 2 Cor. 16. 22. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha They looked upon this man as one that loved not the Lord Jesus Christ for in that he was a Monothelite and said there was but one will in Christ he did in effect deny his humane nature whilst he denyed his humane will as themselves profess in their seventeenth action That the Monothelites Tenent did by a new subdolous invention 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 labour to overthrow the perfection of Christs humanity I say they looked upon this man as one that loved not the Lord Jesus Christ in that he opposed the perfection of his humane nature and consequently as one that had involved himself in that Anathema denounced by Saint Paul If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha This is the Anathema that truly strikes the soul which the Spirit of God denounceth against our Spirits for not cleaving stedfastly to the Son of God or for not loving our Lord Jesus Christ he that is thus bound in heaven can never think himself a freeman though he be not bound in earth He that is thus excommunicated by the sentence of the Law cannot but think himself in a very ill condition though happily he may be absolved by the sentence of his Judge So saith Saint Chrysostom upon the place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 By this one word hath the Apostle frighted all the impenitent sinners of Corinth whether guilty of fornication or of scandal or of faction or of infidelity for some of them also denyed the resurrection he first shews them the greatness of their sin that they loved not the Lord Jesus Christ then the greatness of their punishment that they were Anathema Maranatha could not but tremble at the coming of that Lord whom they did not love Such men as are in truth excommunicated by God himself are most justly excommunicated by his Church and t is apparent that this Council looked upon the Monothelites as such for it follows afterwards at the end of the Sentence Anathema to Macarius Stephanus and Polychronius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The holy Trinity hath deposed these three miscreants I need not look after any more Instances since this Council was held full six hundred and eighty years after Christ This is enough to shew the Moderation of the Primitive Christians that they did not care to break communion with them in the Christian Faith who had not broken Communion with Christ and they did not think those had broken communion with Christ who professed the Christian Faith as it had been delivered in the Creeds of the four first general Councils indeed they thought the Constantinopolitans Creed alone a full and sufficient explication of the Christian faith so say the Fathers of this Council Action 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sufficiebat quidem ad perfectam Orthodoxae Fidei cognitionem atque confirmationem pium atque orthodoxum hoc divinae Gratiae Symbolum This pious and orthodox Creed of the Divine Grace was sufficient for the perfect knowledge and confirmation of the orthodox faith The Council of Chalcedon had given the same Judgement before concerning that Creed but in different words Action 5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sufficiebat quidem ad plenam cognitionem confirmationem pietatis hoc sapiens salutare
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lib. 4. de orth fide cap. 18. They are holy and religious books but yet are not reckoned among the Canonical Scriptures because they were not deposited in the Ark So the Books of the New Testament were known to come from God in that they were deposited in the Ark that is to say in his Church And hence it was that the Epistle of Saint James and some others though they were not at first generally received in all Churches yet were they no longer questioned after once it was made appear by the Testimony of those Churches where the Authentick Copies of them had been deposited that they had been indicted by some Apostle or approved by some Apostolical man till then they were questioned in regard of their Authors if not in regard of their Authority but after that they were questioned in regard of neither so great a confidence did God repose in particular Churches that it is evident he entrusted them with his own Word to keep it to witness it and to explain it as the Church of the Jews with the Old Testament which Church though it were Catholick or universal in its Doctrine yet was it meerly particular or national in its extent for he shewed his word to Jacob his statutes and ordinances unto Israel he had not dealt so with any Nation neither had the Heathen knowledge of his Laws Psalm 147. ver 19 20. And several Churches of the Christians with several parts of the New Testament as the Church of Rome with that Epistle sent to the Romans and the Church of Corinth with those two Epistles sent to the Corinthians and so of the rest And as for the seven Catholick or general Epistles commonly so called they had the title of Catholick or general Epistles not because they were sent to no particular Churches but because they were sent to many as Saint Peters to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus Galatia Cappodocia Asia and Bythinia which being not directed particularly to one of these was therefore called a general Epistle as belonging to them all not because it was sent at large to all of them for so perchance it might have been received by none but because it was to be communicated to all unless that we had rather say that these Epistles were called Catholick 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because they were sent of purpose to confute some new risen Hereticks or Schismaticks particularly the Solifidean Heresie and the itch of separation either from ambition or covetousness or perversness as may appear by the arguments of the said Epistles however those also were at first deposited with some particular Churches and hence it was that some of them were sooner generally received then others even those which had been at first deposited with the more eminent Churches Thus we see the trust of particular Churches and in them the trust of the Catholick Church concerning the Scriptures 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eis credita sunt eloquia Dei They were entrusted with the Oracles of God Rom. 3. 2. that is they were entrusted to keep them and to witness them but Saint Pauls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I am entrusted with a dispensation sc of the same Oracles speaks more that they were also entrusted to explain them and we cannot deny the continuance of this trust unto the Worlds end unless we will affirm that God hath laid aside the care both of us and of his Church neither regarding the salvation of our souls nor the authority and continuance of his own Church and so by consequent exterminate out of our Creed as well as out of the world the Catholick Church and the communion of Saints and by consequent deprive our selves of the forgiveness of sins the Resurrection of the Body and the life everlasting SECT III. The second part of the Trust of Particular Churches is concerning the people of God What that Trust is and how it comes to be derived to them is shewed from Saint Pauls speech Acts 20. to the particular Church of Ephesus and from Saint Pauls Epistles to Timothy and Titus and from other several Epistles of his to particular Churches GOD is very angry with a man when he Trusts his soul in his own hands for then he leaves him exposed to the Temptations of his own concupiscence to the errours of his own ignorance to the slips and stumblings of his own infirmity to the precipices and downfalls of his own presumption and to the bondage and thraldom of his own corruption Therefore we justly extoll the power and goodness of God in our preservation no less then in our Creation and himself thinks it no less honourable to keep a soul then to make it and therefore Saint Paul calleth him God our Saviour thrice in one Epistle By the Commandment of God our Saviour 1 Tim. 1. 1. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour 1 Tim. 2. 3. We trust in the living God who is the Saviour of all men specially of those that believe 1 Tim. 4. 10. Which if it had been observed by the transcribers of some private Manuscripts one would not have read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God the Father and our Saviour Jesus Christ Another would not have read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of God our Father and Jesus Christ for this variety of reading proceeded questionless from that opinion which some held That the name of Saviour belonged only to the person of Christ because it is palpable that in the Authentick Copy of the Greek Church as it is in Saint Chrysostome and of the Latine Church as it is in the Edition of Sixtus Quintus the words are read as Beza records them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God our Saviour and the Lord Jesus Christ where God the Father is plainly called our Saviour because he is the chief and principal cause of our salvation For it is the Fathers mercy that saveth us though the Sons merit and we could not have received should not have embraced the merit of the Son had it not been for the mercy of the Father Therefore the same Apostle as delighted with this expression saith again according to the commandmnnt of God our Saviour Tit. 1. 3. being willing to ascribe to the Father no less then to the Son the Honour and glory of our salvation Behold all souls are mine saith God himself Ezek. 18. 4. and Rabbi David gives us this gloss upon the words All souls belong to me and I have given them bodies of flesh to guide and lead after me and I do delight in their life not in their death for they are mine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 umiccebodi nigzaru and they were taken from mine own Glory q. d. They are mine and I care not to lose them They were parts of mine own glory and I am willing to glorifie them they were at first springs and branches of mine own Tree even the Tree of life and I am desirous to engraft them in that Tree
particular charge that so the burden might be the less but the care might be the greater the Ministers might have the lesser trouble but the people might have the greater benefit from whence it may be collected that the Bishops were Gods principal Trustees and that the inferior Ministers were only taken into part of their Trust And this is suitable with that saying of Theodorete recited by Oecumenius in the argument of the Epistle to Timothy That though Saint Paul had other Scholars or Disciples as Silas and Luke yet he writ Epistles only to Timothy and Titus because he had then entrusted them two with several Churches 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But the others he yet detained with himself And it is Conradus Vorstius his observation that Saint Paul makes it his business in his Epistles to Timothy and Titus to draw the exact picture of a true Christian Bishop and that he useth singular skill and industry in elaborating that draught Et sane in his Epistolis ac nominatim in illa priore ad Timotheum singularis quaedam Apostoli industria solicitudo elucet quippe collegam ac filium suum subinde studiose obsecrantis imo obtestantis per omnia sacra adiurantis nunc blandis promissionibus allicientis nunc minaciter territantis nunc suo nunc Christi exemplo provocantis ut modis omnibus tostatum faciat quà m sit ardua res inculpatum agere Episcopum quantaque pernicies humanae vitae sit parum sincerus Dominici gregis Custos Vorst Arg. Ep. ad Tim. Sometimes he earnestly entreateth Timothy for his own sake sometimes he humbly beseecheth him for Gods sake sometimes he adjureth sometimes he promiseth sometimes he threatneth sometimes he perswadeth and even provoketh him by his own and by Christs example that so he might testifie to all the world how great was the charge which a Bishop had from God to be faithfull in his vocation and that if he proved unfaithfull how great was the mischief he might do unto Gods Church And Oecumenius gathereth as much meerly from those three words used by Saint Paul in his benediction to Titus Grace Mercy and Peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus-Christ our Saviour Tit. 1. 3. for saith he Saint Paul very fitly wisheth Grace Mercy and Peace to Titus being the Teacher and Governour of that Church for unless he was resolved to steer by these he was sure to endanger the sinking of the ship 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God have mercy upon those covetous ambitious and contentious Ministers whose covetousness ambition and contentiousness hath made them expell Grace Mercy and Peace that they might pull down Gods and set up their own Government How can it be hoped that such men should approve themselves Gratious Mercifull or peaceable Governours For how can covetousness consist with Grace Ambition with Mercy Contention with Peace and how miserable are those people like to be who are like to be governed without Grace Mercy and Peace Thus I have shewed the Trust of the two particular Churches of Ephesus and of Crete whose first governours immediately after the Apostles are nominated licensed and instructed by the Text and these two are precedents sufficient for all particular Churches to the worlds end happily more sufficient precedents then are left in all the new Testament concerning any other external adjunct of Religion For if all Scripture be profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness That the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished to all good Works 2 Tim. 3. 16 17. then surely much more that the Church of God may be perfect For if Saint Pauls proof be undeniable that because God took care of an Oxe he much more took care of a Minister 1 Cor. 9. 10. then can we not deny but the proof is as undeniable that because he took care of one particular minister he much more took care of all Ministers if he were so carefull to instruct one man of God as Timothy or Titus then much more was he carefull to instruct all the men of God that is to say his whole Church which is doubtless accordingly to be guided by these Instructions unless we can prove that since that time she hath received any other or that God hath repented of these and is willing to let his word as we are to let our Oaths grow out of date And indeed what can we desire to know concerning Gods Trustees in behalf of our souls which we may not easily know from either of these two Epistles For we know that God the Father hath said All souls are mine Ezek. 18. 4. and therefore we are sure that none can claim and consequently none should take the care of any soul but by commission from him This commission he immediately gave to his only Son with a promise that it should conduce to the Salvation of those souls which should hear his voice I am the good shephard my sheep hear my voice and I give unto them eternal life saith Christ John 10. 14 27 29. but this was by power given him from his Father as t is said All power is given unto me Mat. 28. and therefore when he was not yet pleased to own or at least not to exercise this power he said to the mother of Zebedees children It is not mine to give Mat. 20. 23. But however the promise concerning this power is no where so clearly signified as in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus so we find 2 Tim. 1. 1. Paul an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus He derives his own commission for taking the care of souls from Christ Christs commission from God Paul an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God And he shews the end of that commission was the salvation of those souls According to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus Again Tit. 1. 1 2. Paul a Servant of God and an Apostle of Jesus Christ there 's the proof of his commission in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began there ' s the end of his commission God promised eternal life before the world began to whom could he promise it but to his Son coaeternal with himself and for whom did he promise it but for those who should be his hearkening to him believing in him relying on him and supported by him This was the comfortable end of Saint Pauls commission and therefore we have great reason to look after the sure proof of it And that we find particularly in these Epistles First as it was given from Christ to him and Secondly as it was to be derived from him to others even to the worlds end For although there is great Truth in that rule Delegatus non potest Delegare He that hath a Trust or power himself only by Delegation cannot orderly delegate the same to another and greater
it or potentially in our spiritual vote and desire though we live never so far from them And it is to be noted in Gods Method that he first makes provision for the Truth of his worship in the three first then afterwards for the publike exercise of it in the fourth Commandment he first takes care that we be not faulty in the object of our worship saying Thou shalt have no other Gods but me then not in the outward manner of it either in deed or in word not in deed saying Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven image thou shalt not how down to them nor worship them not in word saying Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain After this order taken for the truth of his worship both in the object and in the manner then he proceeds to command the publick exercise thereof saying Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day Certainly this Method was not in vain but to shew that as the Truth was to go before the exercise so the exercise was to follow the Truths of Religion And therefore wheresoever the Church did worship God according to the dictates of the three first commandments there every man was bound to be a communicant with the Church by vertue of the fourth and not only by vertue of the fifth Commandment For Christian communion as an act of Religion belongs to the first though as an act of obedience it belong to the second Table Therefore if another man saith Our Father which art in heaven how shall I not say with him Hallowed be thy name Doth it beseem me to be angry with the Lords most holy prayer for his sake that saith it as if what Christs lips had sanctified his lips could prophane for my devotion Or can I be angry with any of Christs words wheresoever I find them and not be guilty of anger against Christ and against Christianity Is the love of my God to be over-ruled by the hatred of my neighbour or may I indeed hate my God for my neighbours sake who am bound to love mine enemy for Gods sake The argument then will proceed à minori ad majus that if I may not in a true worship deny my communion to a stranger much less to a brother if not to a brother then much less to a mother If not to one single Minister much less to a whole Church which God hath entrusted with his own worship and with my soul For if I must look on that particular Minister whom God hath set over me as one that directeth me in his worship by his authority then much more must I so look upon my Church which God first set over that Minister before he set that Minister over me And if every particular Minister amongst us would as conscionably acknowledge and as couragiously vindicate his Churches Trust as he confidently assumes and diligently performs his own we should soon have much less faction in the Church and much more Religion in the people SECT V. The Prince as the supream governour of the particular Church in his own Dominions is Gods Trustee concerning the outward exercise of Religion not to manage or perform but to propagate and to protect it The antient Divines acknowledged this Trust and the antient Princes discharged it and Princes were bound so to do because it is their right by the Law of nature and because without the discharge of this Trust there can neither be the face nor the order of Religion among any People IT was the singular providence of God to commit the care and trust of man in matters of Religion only to men for since the devil can transform himself into an Angel of light if in this case we had been entrusted with the Angels we might have been deluded by the Devils But now having a more sure word of prophesie then can be any voice from heaven whosoever be the speaker or the messenger 2 Pet. 1. 19. there is no true Christian Church but may with confidence and must with courage say unto the people committed to her Trust as Saint Paul said to the Galatians Though we or an Angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you then that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed Gal. 1. 8. God hath not trusted Angels but men with preaching his Gospel nor hath he trusted men to preach a new Gospel but that only which the Apostles at first preached and what he hath given some men spiritual power to preach that he hath given other men temporal power to maintain The Priest is to preach it the Prince is to maintain it and the same God who in the affairs of the body hath given his Angels charge over men hath in the affairs of the soul given men charge over Angels for though an Angel from heaven should preach any other Gospel yet neither might the Priest publish it nor the Prince protect it It being a priviledge of men above Angels since the eternal truth took on him not the nature of Angels but the seed of Abraham that as Angels are the guardians of men so men should be the guardians of Gods truth And happily in this regard we find two sorts of men especially in the holy Scriptures called Angels to wit Kings and Priests because God hath most especially trusted them with his truth T is sure this reason is given why the King is so called 2 Sam. 14. 17. For as an Angel of God so is my Lord the King to discern good and bad And t is very probable the same reason is meant though it be not given why the Priests are so called Revel 2. For we find the Angels of those several Churches strictly examined if not severely blamed for the neglect of this Trust God hath made Kings and Priests guardians of his truth as he hath made the Angels guardians of our persons that we should admire his infinite power whereby he is able and adore his infinite goodness whereby he is willing not only to send down from heaven his Ministring Spirits but also to raise up from earth his Ministring flesh to be our guardian Angels Nor can we now without unthankfulness to God injury to the Truth and injustice if not uncharitableness to our selves deny either King or Priest his part in this guardianship And God he knows we have great need of both It hath been the Devils cheifest policy to sow seeds of jealousie and dissension between these two Trustees that so he might make himself the greater harvest either by depraving the purity or by disturbing the peace of Religion In some Churches the Priest hath almost expelled the King in other Churches the King hath almost expelled the Priest The one extending his spirituals even to temporals the other extending his temporals even to spirituals neither but cometh short of his duty whiles both go beyond their Trust God make both truly to see the danger and the burden of their own
Trust and neither will care to invade what belongs to the other but both will soon see so much belonging to himself as to desire no more But in matters of Religion the Princes Trust hath of late been most disputed though the Priests Trust hath been least obeyed For indeed the Priests rising against the Prince hath taught the People to rise against the Priest Prince Priest and People have all in a manner risen against God Hence it is we find so many broken lineaments in the face of Religion so great ruptutes in the body of it all rebellion in States all Schism in Churches proceeding from this mischeivous resolution that inferiours to compass their own ends do make it no shame and would fain make it no sin either impudently to oppose or if that will not serve the turn Impiously to usurp their Superiours Trust The first great breach was the Priest would have no King the Second great breach is The People will have no Priest God keep us from the third that King and Priest and People will have no God But I am now to Vindicate the Trust of Kings if indeed that would admit of so mean a Vindication Yea rather let Saint Peter vindicate their Trust seeing his successors have most opposed it His words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Subjecti estote propter Dominum Regi quasi praecellenti 1. Pet. 2. 13. Submit your selves for the Lords sake to the King as supream thereby shewing that those who deny the supremacy deny the submission and those who deny the submission deny the Lord nor is it safe to limit the supremacy where it is not as safe to deny it since a Limitation is little other then a partial Negation for he that limits an affirmative to some particulars denies it in the rest Now this is Gods Affirmative The King is supream Do you limit this to Civil causes and you must deny it in Ecclesiastical so Gods Affirmative shall be made your Negative therefore t is your safest way to say he is supream in all causes as well Ecclesiastical as Civil So shall you speak with God and to submit your self to him as thus supream so shall you act with God Nor is this any new Divinity but the same which was as first taught by Moses the first Professor or Teacher of Divinity For in the fourth commandment which concerns the exercise of Religion or the publike worship of God a cause without doubt truly Ecclesiastical we find these words Thou and thy Son and thy daughter thy man-servant thy maid-servant thy cattle and the stranger that is within thy gates which plainly infer that the Trust of Gods publike worship is in some respect deposited with those who have temporal or civil authority to see it executed having power to command not only their own domesticks or natives to frequent publick assemblies but also strangers and foreiners at least not to vilifie or disturb them So that the supream Magistrate of each particular Church is Gods Trustee concerning the outward exercise of Religion to actuate and to protect though not to act and to perform the same For they have the power of governing the Priests though they may not take the office nor exercise the function of the Priesthood And therefore it was no less shamefully then scornfully said of Bellarmine no less falsly then spitefully jam re ipsa Calvinistis in Anglia mulier quaedam est summus Pontifex Tom. 2. controv general pri quae est de Eccles milit lib. 4. cap. 9. And now the Calvinists of England have a woman for their High Priest meaning the Queen Elizabeth of famous memory The scoffing Ismael might have the confidence to reproach his brethren as being a Jesuite but he should have been ashamed to reproach the providence of God as being a Christian when he set the crown upon the head of a woman she had that right which belonged to the crown not to have the power of the Keyes as my Lady Abbesse forsooth may have by the leave of his Canonists but yet to have the power of the Church For it is concerning the Church the Prophet hath said Kings shall be thy nursing Fathers and their Queens thy nursing Mothers Isa 49. 23. So that either let Church men not be of the Church or let them bless God who gives them Kings for Fathers when he might have given them as he did their betters Tyrants for Butchers And to whom was it that Hezekiah King of Judah did say My Sons be not now negligent for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him to serve him and that you should minister unto him and burn incense 2 Chron. 29. 11. Was it not to Priests Did he call them Sons and was he not their Father or was he indeed their Father and did they not owe him obedience Nay rather did they not actually and readily obey him and that as Priests too executing his commands even in matters of their own function concerning the Temple as it is said v. 15. They gathered their brethren and sanctified themselves and came according to the commandment of the King by the words of the Lord to cleanse the house of the Lord or According to the command of the King in the Business of the Lord So the Hebrew words will bear it and then the case is plain the Kings command is to be obeyed even in the Lords business But if we take 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 only for verbum not for res yet so the Text will not only approve but also require the Priests obedience to the Kings orders in matters of Religion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 juxta praeceptum Regis in verbis Domini so the Hebrew according to the Kings command in the words of the Lord He hath warrant from God The Septuagint goes further 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Juxta mandatum Regis per praeceptum Domini According to the Kings injunction by the commandment of the Lord He hath a command from God Saint Hierom goes yet further Juxta mandatum Regis Imperium Domini According to the Kings injunction and the Dominion of the Lord He hath Dominion from God The Syriack and the Arabick Translations are here both defective so that we cannot see the opinion of those Churches concerning this Text But we have seen enough already for the King hath a warrant nay a command nay yet more he hath Dominion from God to cause the Priest to do his duty though he hath neither warrant nor command nor permission much less dominion or power to do it himself For it is one thing to do the office of a Priest another thing to regulate or defend the order of the Priesthood Many Pious Kings of Judah did the latter but none of them all did the former save only Vzziah and he was a Leper to the day of his death for doing it 2 Chron. 26. so that the antient and common Axiome of the Civil Law Custos est
should not dishonour Gods Name when they met to honour it For that were doubly to take his Name in vain not only as men but also as Christians not only as sinners but also as Saints Not only as offenders but also as worshippers Therefore the Church thought her self bound in duty and conscience to provide such a form of prayer as she was sure had no blemish in it but had holy expressions exactly agreeable with holy affections and holy apprehensions that Gods holy name might be certainly glorified and her own Trust carefully discharged For it neerly concerned the Church to take great care there should be no blaspheming instead of publick praying when she was like to answer for all those blasphemies which through her default should be vented in publick prayers SECT V. The Church hath God the Sons precedent and precept for making set forms of prayer and is accordingly obliged both to make and to use them IT was an unsufferable malice in the Jews to cry out upon the Christians as Hereticks when they proved their Religion by the holy Scriptures But it was an unpardonable madness in them to cry out upon the Christians as Atheists when they practised their Religion by continual and incessant prayer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Heresie of the Christians was a calumny but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Heresie of the Atheistical Christians was a meer Phrensie for there could be no greater confutation of Atheism then that which was constantly used by the Christians even daily and lowly addresses to God by prayer and supplication And it were to be wished that we who can easily clear our selves from Heresie by proving our Religion did as zealously seek to clear our selves from Atheism by practising it For without doubt it well becometh Christians to follow the example of Christ and if we will so do we must above all things seek to follow his example in praying Justine Martyr in Quest Resp ad Orthodoxos qu. 105. hath this excellent contemplation Since prayer is a necessary help or remedy against the infirmities of our humane nature and our blessed Saviour as Lord of all had from himself power against those infirmities what is the reason that he is recorded to have been so often at his prayers even oftner then any of his Apostles Surely for this reason saith he because in after-ages some would doubt of the truth of his being a Man whereas none would make that doubt about his Apostles therefore is he so often described at his prayers to remove or answer all doubts concerning the truth of his humane nature For if some Hereticks have questioned the truth of Christs being made man notwithstanding he took upon him all our infirmities how would they not have thought they might have turned that question into a demonstration if they had never read of his making prayers to God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 often praying was an irrefragable proof that Christ was the Son of Man often praying is an irrefragable proof that Christians are the Sons of God This was the reason the Apostles were so desirous to imitate him in his praying and desired him to teach them how to pray that they might not be mistaken in their imitation Luke 11. 1. And it came to pass that as he was praying in a certain place when he ceased one of his Disciples said unto him Lord teach us to pray as John also taught his Disciples And he said unto them when ye pray say Our Father c. Where we have both the precedent and the precept of God the Son for making set forms of Prayer His precedent in that he made this form Our Father which art in Heaven His precept in that he commanded his Disciples to use it When ye pray say Our Father from whence naturally flow these three dogmatical conclusions 1. That the people are bound to desire the Church to teach them to pray unless they will profess themselves not Disciples but Masters so far ought they to be from scoffing or rejecting thier Churches prayers 2. That the Church is bound to teach the people to pray after a set form for so our Saviour Christ taught his Disciples 3. That the Church is bound to command the people to use that set form for so our Saviour Christ commanded his Disciples to use his Prayer When ye pray say Our Father c. If any man shall make light of these deductions concerning praying in a set form he may with as great a pretence of reason but must with as great a scorn of piety make light of praying on a set day and so by consequence either undervalue or overthrow the whole publick exercise of Religion For from this place alone may as much be pleaded for the Duty of publick worship as from all other places of the New Testament for the day of it Ex. gr Vpon the first day of the week when the Disciples came together to break bread Acts 20. 7. is alledged as a pregnant place for our solemn meetings on the Lords day and the like to this is that of 1 Cor. 16. 2. yet that proof concerning the day is not so full and clear as this concerning the duty for that may seem to be short in the precedent because there is mention made in the second of the Acts of meetingâ—…y â—…y and breaking bread from house to house Act. 2. 40. Whereby it is evident that if breaking bread were confined to the holy Eucharist yet the holy Eucharist was not confined to a set day But sure it is short in the Precept for it hath no command annexed which bids us assemble more on the first day of the week then another But this proof concerning the duty is not short in the precedent for the Disciples desired to be taught to pray as Johns were that is by a set form and Christ accordingly so teacheth them Nor is it short in the precept for our blessed Saviour commands them to use the set form which he had taught them If you will further alledge that other Text I was in the spirit on the Lords day Rev. 1. 10. you will thence righly plead for the day of publick worship because those words plainly infer that particular day to have been consecrated to the Lord since no better reason can be given why it should be called the Lords Day But yet still this our Text of Saint Luke will be a stronger proof for the duty of publick worship All to use a set form of Prayer then that Text of Saint John for the day of it all to meet on a set day because this hath precedent as well as that and moreover hath precept which that hath not And it is not to be imagined that any can easily come to that depth of sottishness or height of impudence and impiety as to say the Lords day is a means to put him in the Spirit but the Lords prayer is a means to put him out of it Or that a
set day may not as much hinder and obstruct his gift of prayer in respect of time as a set form can hinder and obstruct his gift of prayer in respect of words For it is as strict and as strong a confinement both to the spirit and gift of prayer to say Pray on this day as to say Pray in these words and we may as justly blame the Church for prescribing a set day as for prescribing a set form of prayer in both which notwithstanding she hath exactly followed our blessed Saviours own example and in prescribing the set form hath moreover followed his command SECT VI. The Church hath God the Holy-Ghosts Precedent and Preâ—ept for making and using set forms of Prayer IT is a heavenly prayer and much befitting a Christian Divine which is hinted by Saint Dionysius in the beginning of his sublime book concerning mystical Theologie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. O thou holy and blessed Trinity super abundant in essence in deity and in Goodness the Overseer of our Christian Divinity which is a wisdom of from and for God be pleased to direct us in the search of those more then hidden mysteries which we can neither find without thy guidance nor see without thy light nor utter without thy power He beginneth his book as many antient Divines began their Sermons In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost And though we of late have used longer prayers before our Sermons I will not say out of pretence but I must say Not out of Obedience for our Church did not command it and t is probable did scarce approve it yet we have not filled the world with much better Piety and sure we have filled it with much worse divinity For we have given occasion to many ignorant people to deny that Trinity which we our selves do disown in that we neither will begin in his name nor will end with his glory Tell me if there be any Jew in the world that will not pray to the great and dreadfull God or in the acknowledgement of his incomprehensible Majesty as well as we If therefore we our selves would not be thought nor have others to be made Jews or which is as bad Anti-trinitarians let us not think we pray as Christians unless in our prayers we do indeed glorifie God the Father Son and Holy Ghost For we are alike indebted to all three Persons of the blessed Trinity in regard of our prayers The Father accepteth the Son recommendeth the Holy Ghost suggesteth them nay indeed if they be truly acceptable they are suggested to us from the Father for the Son and by the Holy-Ghost And this was the grand reason that the primitive Christians did gather out of the holy Scriptures the greatest part of their publlike if not of their private devotions because they were sure that all such prayers as they found in the holy Bible came to them from the Holy Ghost and they could not desire better expressions then his in their mouths as not better motions then his in their hearts not doubting but God would readily hear the words as he would readily own the motions of his own spirit For this is the confidence that we all have in the Son of God that if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us 1 Joh. 5. 14. and we cannot but think that one ready way to ask any thing according to his will is to ask it according to his words And his are all the words that are written either by the Prophers or by the Apostles for our instruction for they all came from they all lead to the eternal word So that in truth all those heavenly forms of prayer and praise which we meet with in the Old and New Testament are no other then so many set forms of infallible and impeccable Liturgy given to the Church from God the Father through God the Son and by God the Holy Ghost and the Church would shew but little dutifulness and less thankfulness if she did not accordingly make a frequent and a good use of them in her own Liturgies or if she did not make Liturgies of her own both in imitation of those and in obedience to those Liturgies which she hath received from God And as for the using set forms it is no less recommended to the Church by the Spirit of God then is the making them Thus in the ninth of Nehemiah we find eight several Levites Praying and Preaching at one time each in his several congregation for the multitude was so great that it was divided into eight congregations saith Tremelius But t is evident there was but one Form of prayer and praise for them all whether at one time in several congregations or at several times in one congregation for one of these must be granted to avoid confusion still they all had but one form for the text saith expresly then the Levites Jeshua and Kadmiel c. said Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever and blessed be thy glorious name which is exalted above all blessing and praise v. 5. Thou even thou art Lord alone c. v. 6. and so along to the end of the chapter where all the eight Levites named together in the fift verse do make a most religious confession of Gods goodness a confession of Praise and of their Fathers and their own wickedness a confession of sin and all of them make but one and the same confession using exactly the same words For when the Text saith expresly Then the Levites naming all eight of them said Stand up and bless the Lord c. t is not for us to imagine that one of all the eight did not say these or did say other then these very words Again it is said Neh. 12. 46. For in the dayes of David and Asaph of old there were chief of the Singers and Songs of praise and thanksgivings unto God No man can doubt who reads the inscriptions of the Psalms and obâ—â—râ—eâ— what he reads but that the Songs were as publikely known and as particularly appointed as the singers And â—aâ—â— David tells us plainly in his comment upon the third Psalm that the Psalms were not called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Songs at the time they were made but at the time they were sung and that they were accordingly in process of time sung in the Temple some before some after the Captivity However it is undeniable that the Psalms were the greatest part of the Jews Liturgie or publike worship and the matter is not great whether we look on them as Songs or as Supplications For if there were particular forms of praise without stinting of the Spirit as without doubt the spirit which appointed and commanded the use of these forms stinted not himself I say if there were particular forms of praise without stinting of the spirit why not also forms of Prayer Since it is evident the same
spirit is the first mover both in prayer and in praise and if we look upon all the Psalms of David we shall scarce find one of them which is not a most exact form of prayer and of praise both together and indeed these were the Songs of praise and thanksgiving which were meant by Nehemiah or rather Ezra for he made that book whence in ancient Canons it is usually reckoned under his name Even the songs recorded in the book of Psalms These Songs in some of their Titles shew the Singers for whom in others shew the use for which they were made by the Penmen of the Holy-Ghost the ninty second of them hath this Title A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath day and it was made by Moses say the Jewish Doctors to be said or sung on the Sabbath Targum goes farther and saith it was made by the first man that is by Adam for the Sabbath yet Docent Adamum Sabbatizasse needs not trouble us in this case for t is plain from the Hebrew inscription which is to be looked on as a part of the Text that the Holy-Ghost intended this Psalm as a set form of prayer and praise to be used on the Sabbath day to shew that enemies to set forms are enemies to the Sabbath The like may be said of the hundred and second Psalm which hath this Title A prayer for the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and poureth out his complaint before the Lord This Title in the Hebrew copies is accounted as the first verse of the Psalm and openly proclaimeth this Truth That the Holy Ghost not only commandeth the afflicted to pray but also prescribeth him this particular set form of prayer and though by commanding this he forbiddeth not others yet he plainly forbiddeth the contemptuous neglect and encourageth the Religious use of this he forbiddeth its contemptuous neglect for by his affirmative precept he bindeth at all times to an habitual though not to an actual obedience whereas a wilfull neglect much more a wilful contempt excludes the possibility of an habitual obedience And he also encourageth its religious use for as by his power he commandeth our obedience so also in his goodness he rewardeth it which was the ground of that excellent Proverb among the Jews 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Secar hamitsuah mitsuah Merces mandati est mandatum The reward of the commandment is the Commandment The reward of Piety is Piety with which agreeth that excellent gloss given by R. David Kimchi on the second verse of the first Psalm where he telleth us that God saith of the Law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is my Law till a man begins to read it with diligence and devotion but then he faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is his Law even his that so readeth it whereas Saint Paul hath said no more to make us in love with the Gospel it self but that it is able to transform us into the likeness of its own purity 2 Cor. 3. 18. But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the spirit of the Lord They who most look on the Lord in the looking-glass of his own word do most behold his glory And they who most behold his glory are most changed into his image from glory to glory even as by his Spirit because from his word for his Spirit is inseparably with his Word And therefore we may safely say that no man yet ever devoutly used any form of prayer or of praise which the Holy Ghost hath prescibed but by using it devoutly he both exercised and also increased his own devotion being the more inflamed with the love of making such spiritual addresses to his God and the more enabled to make them which is a truth dogmatically asserted by the very Jews and experimentally verified by many Christians who have then chiefly found the comforts of the Holy Ghost from their prayers when they have prayed in his own words the first proof whereof was in the Apostles themselves who after they had been threatned by the Rulers of the Jews made choice of the second Psalm for a great part of their prayer and the Text saith plainly that when they had prayed the place was shaken where they were assembled together and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost Act. 4. 31. This is the first proof we meet with among Christians of Gods publick accepting the words of the Holy Ghost in the mouths of men but there was one long before this among the Jews even in King Solomons time when upon the Priests singing the 136. Psalm God gave a visible sign of his acceptance For so it is said When they lift up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick and praised the Lord saying For he is good for his mercy endureth for ever which words are repeated in every verse of the 136. Psalm and accordingly shew it was that Psalm they sung that then the house was filled with a cloud even the house of the Lord so that the Priests could not stand to Minister by reason of the cloud for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God 2 Chron. 5. 13 14. What can be said more for the use of set forms of publick prayer but that God the Father Son and Holy Ghost hath made them hath appointed them hath approved them hath accepted them For in that he hath accepted these in the Text he hath assured us that he would reject none which should be made in imitation of these Let any man shew but half so much for extemporary and unpremeditated effusions and we shall be so far from denying him the use of his pretended liberty that we shall be glad to exempt him from the accusation of a pretence in his affected piety In the mean time as God himself did not think it sufficient to teach his Church to pray only by giving general rules but also by giving particular forms of Prayer so Gods Church could not think it sufficient to teach his people to pray without making for them such particular forms as should be sure to keep them to the general Rules because if she had not done so she had been guilty of a great omission for not following the example of Gods unerring perfection in teaching and of a great Commission for suffering the people committed to her charge to follow the misguidance of their own manifold and great imperfections for want of being taught Again Hezekiah the King and the Princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the Seer and they sang praises with gladness and they bowed their heads and worshipped 2 Chron. 29. 30. Had the King and the Princes forbad the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph under pretence that those set forms did make them lazy
and idle and did not suffer them to exercise their gifts do we think the Levites would have so readily and so gladly obeyed them or that they would have forsaken the words of David and of Asaph the Seer to cleave to their own words or that God would have been well pleased with the Kingand Princes for giving such questions grounded upon a Text of holy Scripture as may well stumble if not frighten our consciences therefore Tutior pars must be our solution t is best chosing the safer part that which puts no questions admits no scruples that which we are sure pleaseth God and therefore cannot disturb much less distress our consciences Solomon Jarchi upon this place tells us the very Psalm which the Levites were commanded to sing which he quoteth by the first words of it as the Jews do all parts of the Hebrew Text and they are these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hodu leadonai kirau bishemo Confitemini Domino invocate in nomen ejus O give thanks unto the Lord and call upon his name and he alledgeth for his assertion that he finds it so written 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sicut scriptum est supra which is the best allegation that Divines can bring and t is a shame that herein the Jewish have out-gone the Christian Divines citing that place of 1 Chron. 16. 7. Then on that day David delivered first this Psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren And that Psalm is nothing else but a great part of the 105. Psalm the whole 96. Psalm the first verse of the 107. and the two last verses of the 106. Psalm which is a very good precedent for the making of Liturgies out of several parts of the Text but must be a precept to make no other Liturgies save such as may be justified by the Text and indeed such Liturgies need no other justification which can alledge for themselves the precedent and the precept of God the Holy Ghost SECT VII The Church hath Gods promise for his blessing upon set forms of prayer T IS not to be imagined that God who hath exalted his written word above the Revelations of Angels Gal. 1. 8. will endure it to be brought under the imaginations of men If not their Revelations then surely not our imaginations can be a sufficient ground of Christian certainty in any point of Doctrine and much less in any practice of Devotion All must be reduced to the written word or all will be reduced to uncertainties Therefore when I go to Church I must be so sure of my going on Gods Errand that not a Prophets saying An Angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord saying bring him back with thee into thine house that he may eat bread and drink water 1 King 13. 18. ought to divert me out of my way unless I will venture to be slain by that roaring lion which goeth up and down seeking whom he may devour Sure I am that a form of prayer prescribed by Gods Church exactly according to Gods word is from God and as sure that whilst I am using that I am going on Gods Errand therefore I may not hearken to any Prophet that will offer to bring me into his own house that I may eat of his bread which may fill my mouth with gravel or drink of his water which is but in some broken cistern I may not depart from Gods house to go into his house nor leave that bread which I am sure is substantial wholesome food to eat of his dow-baked unleavened cake nor leave the waters of life to drink of his puddle water And though I will hope better things yet I may not leave a certainty for an uncertainty and not fear lest a promise being left of entring into his rest I should seem to come short of it for want of faith in my journey or for want of truth at my Journies end which doubtless is the case of all those who go upon uncertainties in matters of Religion who rather think they do God good service then are sure of it and gad about to change their way because they do not know assuredly they are in the right way For my part I must desire to be sure of the practical as well as of the speculative part of my Religion of what I do as well as of what I believe of my Churches devotions as well as of my Churches doctrine For if I lose my certainty I cannot keep my faith and if I do not keep my faith I cannot well lay hold of Gods promises and much less shall I attain them For his promises are made only to believers and believers are only such as go upon certainties Some uncertainty may be in opinion but none in Faith and may I not be ashamed to say I serve God in opinion and how can I serve him in Faith when I go to joyn in such a prayer as I cannot be sure will be directed to God and much less will be accepted of him But what do I speak of my shame in going without Faith to Gods publick worship is it not rather my Churches shame to which God hath committed the charge of his worship and the care of my faith Is not this promise made to the Church Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them Mat. 18. 20. And doth not this promise directly concern common or publick prayer Surely Saint Chrysostome so understood it in that excellent prayer of his which our Church hath borrowed from him as indeed it hath borrowed the true devotions both of Greek and Latine Church but the superstitions of neither Almighty God which hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee and dost promise that when two or three be gathered together in thy name thou wilt grant their requests c. It is of thy grace that we meet together with one accord to make our common supplications or prayers but it is upon thy promise that we pray for the comfort of our meeting that thou wilt grant us our requests for thou dost promise that when two or three be gathered together in thy name thou wilt grant their requests We must be sure that we have obeyed thy precept in being gathered together in thy name or we cannot be sure we shall obtain thy promise that thou wilt be in the midst of us and grant us our requests Upon the certainty of the precept depends the certainty of the promise upon our being met in thy name depends thy being present at our meeting So we must be sure of thy Name or we cannot be sure of thy presence and we cannot well be sure of thy name unless we be first sure of our prayers and consequently it is necessary for us to make sure of our prayers if we desire to make sure of Gods Promises according to that heavenly prayer of our own Church
10. Sund. after Trin. Let thy merciful ears O Lord be open to the prayers of thy humble servants and that they may obtain their petitions make them to ask such things as shall please thee No Congregation of Christians can pray in faith of obtaining their petitions unless they pray in faith of asking such things as please God and they cannot well do this unless they know before-hand what they shall ask of him in their prayers and in what words they shall ask it because else for ought they know they shall ask such things as may not please him or ask in such a sort as may displease him SECT VIII The Church is obliged to make set forms of prayer according to the pattern of the Lords most holy prayer that there be no peccancy neither concerning the object nor the matter nor the manner of publick prayer that our Church hath exactly followed that pattern in Hers and that other Churches ought to follow the same in their Liturgies A short historical narration concerning our Common prayer Book and the Anti-prayer Book set up against it REligion is the motion of the reasonable soul to God as to its first beginning and to its last end but Christ alone is the way by and in which the soul doth make this motion so that to have a Religion without Christ is to have a Religion without God that is to have no Religion For the soul of man being finite cannot be joyned to God who is infinite but by the help of a Mediator nor can any be a Mediator betwixt finite and infinite but he that partakes of both which is only our Saviour Christ who partaketh of finite as man of infinite as God He alone is able to joyn finite and infinite in one Communion who hath joyned them in one person and therefore to him alone we must repair as often as we desire to be joyned with God Our Religion without him were nothing for it could not bring us unto God and since our prayers are the chiefest part of our Religion they also would be nothing without him Therefore it neerly concerns the Church to make sure of such prayers wherein Christ may joyn with her for else she will pray in vain because without his intercession nay indeed she will pray in sin because against his command Accordingly hath Christs own most holy Prayer been looked upon in all Ages of the Church as the ground and platform of Liturgy to make other set forms of prayer from it as a warrant by it as a pattern This was the judgement of the Church in Saint Augustines time delivered by himself in his Epistle to Proba Si recte congruenter oramus nihil aliud dicere possuneus quam quod in ista oratione Dominica positum est If we pray rightly and fitly rightly in the object fitly in the matter and manner of our prayers We can say nothing else but what is already briefly said in the Lords Prayer And this was likewise the judgement of the Church in Aquinas his time as it is also delivered by himself In oratione Dominica non solum petuntur omnia quae recte desiderare possumus sed etiam eo ordine quo desideranda sunt ut sic haec oratio non solum instruat postulare sed etiam sit informativa totius nostri affectus 22ae qu. 83. art 9. c. In the Lords most holy prayer are not only desired all things which are truly desirable but also in that Method and order in which we must desire them So that this prayer doth not only regulate our expression teaching us of whom and what to ask but also our affection teaching in what Method to ask it For this prayer teacheth us to pray unto God only Our Father which art in heaven and in our prayers first to desire God for himself and after that all other things for God God for himself as he is in himself Hallowed be thy name God for himself as he may be enjoyed by us Thy Kingdom come God for himself as he ought to rule and reign over us Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven And it teacheth us to desire all other things for God whether they concern our present subsistence Give us this day our daily bread or our present deliverance from the guilt of sin and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us or our future deliverance from the guilt of sin and lead us not into temptation or our present and future deliverance from the punishment of sin But deliver us from evil Even all these deliverances are prayed for in relation to God for as much as the guilt of sin doth immediately separate from his holiness the punishment of sin doth immediately separate from his blesedness much more is our present subsistence prayed for in relation to him that we may not subsist in and for our selves who are worse then nothing but in and for our God who is all in all And all these things are prayed for in a right order first God for himself as he is in himself Then God for himself as he is in his Church Triumphant by his Glory after that as he is in his Church Militant by his Grace Then we pray for all other things in relation to God and amongst them first we desire desire him to give those things which may be as instruments to bring us to him as our corporal and much more our spiritual food after that we desire him to remove those things which are as impediments to keep us from him our sins our temptations our punishments We cannot answer it to God or men if we refuse to pray with those who thus pray with Christ for such men cannot be peccant either in the object or in the matter or in the manner of their prayers wherein the Liturgy of the Church of England hath a singular pre-eminence which maketh her prayers only to God and such prayers as are only for God Prayers exciting holy affections agreeable with a holy God Prayers affording holy expressions agreeable with holy affections Prayers least defective either in religious affections or in religious expressions and therefore prayers most befitting the publick exercise of Religion which will not endure either of these defects Prayers which no man doth say cordially but he is assured of his hearts being with his God Prayers which every man should say cordially because when he is assured of his hearts being with his God he may be ashamed of his tongues not being with his heart As for that objection which some make against our Liturgy that it cometh too neer the Popish Mass book t is in truth its vertue 1. Because thereby our Reformers intended the promotion of true Christian Communion by not making a needless much less a scandalous separation from other Christians in those devotions wherein they had not separated from Christ 2. Because they intended to promote true Christian
in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils and in thy name have done many wonderful works And then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity Mat. 7. See here how Gifted men may be Hypocrites not only gifted for Praying Many will say unto me Lord Lord which repetition shews a familiarity they thought they had contracted with him by their frequent addresses in Prayer but also gifted for Preaching Have we not prophesied in thy name Nay gifted for casting out Devils out of others though not out of themselves And in thy name have cast out Devils And yet to these gifted men will our blessed Saviour return this answer I never knew you whence we may justly infer they never truly knew him Depart from me ye that work iniquity whence we may as justly infer that they did never really come near him by piety but only seemingly by hypocrisie God forbid but we should firmly believe and willingly confess that the Spirit and the Gift of Prayer though separated in Hypocrites are often joyned together in good Christians for in truth the gift of Prayer is not perfect and compleat so as to be worth the looking after without the Spirit of it For then only is the gift of Prayer compleat when not only natural abilities are improved by study or industry and personal abilities are acquired by art or exercise which two alone do properly constitute the very essence of the Gift of Prayer But also the heart is sanctified by Grace which properly belongs only to the Spirit of Prayer so that in truth the Gift of prayer which makes all the noise is perfected only by the Spirit of Prayer which saith nothing or speaketh so softly that none can hear its voice but he that searcheth the hearts and knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit Rom. 8. 27. The word of the mind Verbum mentis may be without the word of the mouth Verbum oris So Hannah continued praying before the Lord and yet she spake in her heart only her lips moved but her voice was not heard 1 Sam. 1. 13 14. So Moses cryed unto the Lord when yet he did not speak nor so much as move his lips Exod. 14. 15 Again the word of the mouth may be without the word of the mind for they must needs make many words who make many prayers and yet they could not be said to utter one prayer from their hearts to whom God did say When ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you yea when ye make many prayers I will not hear your hands are full of blood Isa 1. 15. For when the Text hath set this down as a proper compellation of God O thou that hearest prayer Psal 65. 2. it is most evident that from his saying he would not hear we may safely conclude they did not Pray though they did make never so many prayers But we will suppose such a gifted man as hath the compleat gift of prayer that is the Spirit and the Gift of Prayer both together yet even such a man is not thereby qualified to be the mouth of others in publick Assemblies because publick prayer is to have a publick Person to perform it And none can be a publick Person in Gods service but whom God himself hath made so by some notorious and undoubted Commission such as others are bound to acknowledge and therefore bound not to usurp For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain but they most take his name in vain who speak in his name without his allowance They are most properly said to take his name because he hath not given it and to take it in vain because they take it rather to serve themselves then to serve him 'T is all one for strange Persons to offer themselves before the Lord instead of the sons of Aaron and for the sons of Aaron to offer strange fire before the Lord instead of that from his own Altar for of both alike it may be said which he commanded them not Numb 10. 1. and for both alike it hath been said And they dyed before the Lord Ver. 2. and again This is it that the Lord spake saying I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me and before all the people I will be glorified Ver. 3. If he be not sanctified in them that come nigh him he is not like to be glorified before all the people If the Priests be unsanctified the Lord will be unglorified for his Majesty will be contemned as if it were lawful for any that are not sanctified to come nigh him Therefore his Priests were first sanctified to the Priesthood then sanctified by it They were first sanctified by being called then sanctified by their calling And so ought their successors to be till the worlds end for it is an universal negative which denies as well for all times as for all persons No man taketh this honour unto himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron Heb. 5. 4. Now Aaron was called not only internally to satisfie himself but also externally to satisfie all the Congregation that he was called of God For God is the God of order not of confusion and consequently forbids those men to officiate as his Ministers though of never so great abilities whom he hath not outwardly called to the Ministry For he will have order not confusion in his Church whereas if any one might officiate in the Ministry upon any pretence whatsoever without Gods outward call others might as well as he and so we must needs have an irremediable confusion both in the Ministers and in their ministrations Dares any man to be a Princes Ambassador though most able to do him service without his appointment But the Ministers are Gods Ambassadors 2 Cor. 5. 20. There needs no variety of arguments in this case for till earthly Potentates shall declare it to be no rebellion against themselves for men to turn uncommissioned souldiers under pretence of fighting their battles they must acknowledge it to be grand rebellion against the King of heaven for men to turn uncommissioned Ministers under pretence of doing him service For Saint Paul having said The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds 2 Cor. 10. 4. hath in effect told us that the Minister is Gods souldier and therefore is sure of his Commission But let us further examine this gift of Prayer in relation to the publick worship of God and as we find no just reason to admit them to the work of the Ministry who are not Ministers because they have that gift so we shall find no just reason to reject those that are true Ministers as insufficient or unfit for the work of the Ministry because they have it not nor to allow such Ministers who have it to reject the set forms established and approved by the Church
particular supplication that they may be remedied and yet none are more averse from particular Confession then those that are most angry with the Church for the want of such particular Petitions But to say the truth The Church hath sufficiently provided for such particulars in that she hath taken the Psalms of David into her publick Devotions which Book is a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or to use Epiphanius his word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arcula medica a Box of Medicines for all diseases Here he that hath a dead heart shall find affections to enliven it he that hath a slow tongue expressions to quicken it Nor is it possible for that man to want either faith or repentance or thankfulness or any other true spiritual good to comfort and strengthen him either against the evil of sin or the evil of punishment who can truly apply the prayers of the Psalmist to his own heart and truly apply his heart to God and no Prayer whatsoever can either comfort or strengthen him without this twofold application viz. of the Prayer to his own heart and of his heart to God And as for variety of words let him not trouble himself for he were better cordially say with David Have mercy upon me O God after thy great goodness or In thee O Lord have I put my trust let me never be put to confusion then verbally expatiate in greater discourses but lesser desires of this Mercy or of this Trust He will find more true contentment to his soul from the use of one short ejaculation of Gods then in the use of many enlargements of his own making And he were better in brief say with the Publican God be merciful to me a sinner which equally concerns any other true Penitent then make a long prayer with the Pharisee which may only concern himself For it is more like Heathen then like Christians for men to think they shall be heard for their much speaking Mat. 6. 7. and yet if they will needs speak much it is more probable God will hear them speaking in his words then in their own So that if God hath sufficiently provided for our occasional necessities in the holy Scriptures our Church hath likewise sufficiently provided for the same in translating those holy Scriptures and making them a great part of her publick service that we may know how to use them upon and how to apply them to our several occasions For as that general promise whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed Rom. 10. 11. doth warrant every good Christian to make particular application of Gods promises to his own soul by special faith so that other general promise whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved Rom. 10. 13. doth warrant every good Christian to make particular application of his own soul to God by special Prayer And as the holy Scriptures are most abundantly sufficient in the rules and examples of special faith so also in the rules and examples of special prayers And as we justly say That the holy Scriptures do shew their original to have been from God because they speak so much in so little containing so many Truths in so few words for only he that understood all things at once was able to intend and comprize so many things together so we as justly say The Church hath taken the best course she could to improve our understandings in those divine Truths in that she hath made it easie for us to understand the holy Scriptures And consequently though she had devised millions of particular prayers for no other purpose but to instruct us to pray upon particular occasions yet she could not have instructed us half so well as now she hath meerly by imparting to us Gods own Instructions And till the Church of Rome shall do the same it will be vain for her Champions to object that she hath out-gone the Protestant Churches in the care of the peoples souls but this by the way to shew the grounds we go upon in our Religion are equally good against the Papists and against the Enthusiasts But neither is this all that we can say for our Church in this behalf for in truth she hath provided such admirable prayers as are not only according to the Rule of Gods holy Word but also very much according to the Genius of it comprizing much in little having more of Faith Hope and Charity in one of her little collects then is to be found in many of their long prayers who either revile her Devotions or renounce her Communion So that if we will not be as wasps good for nothing but to buz and sting but rather as Bees ready to gather honey even from weeds and much more from the roses of Sharon we shall easily find to the joy of our own hearts and the stopping of others mouths That our Church in her Common-Prayers hath taught us such Generals as may sufficiently supply for all particulars And hath taught us such eternals as ought to be in our account as they are in themselves infinitely beyond all Occasionals our blessed Saviour himself hath taught us this lesson concerning the manner of our prayers Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him Mat. 6. 8. as if he had said you need not ask your heavenly Father as you need your earthly parents in many words but only with true and upright hearts this made our Church delight in short prayers because she rather desired to shew a relenting heart then an over-flowing tongue as praying to him that weigheth only hearts not words in the ballance of his Sanctuary A short prayer best suits with an hearty desire which is too earnest to be long in uttering and also with the desires of our hearts in regard of heavenly things which most commonly are too weak to be long in desiring The Church in her short prayers hath taken a great care for our earnestness and withal provided a certain cure for our weakness and if any man think that Through Jesus Christ our Lord comes in too soon because the Prayers are short or too often because they are many let him know That this one single observation in these five words speaks more to God for us then we by thousands of continued Periods in our longest prayers are able to speak for our own selves and if there were no other reason but this yet for this reason alone were many short prayers to be preferred before one long prayer both in our private and in our publick Devotions Again our blessed Saviour hath also taught us this lesson concerning the matter of our Prayers Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you Mat. 6. 33. as if he had said Regard chiefly your Continual not your Occasional your Spiritual not your Temporal necessities in your Prayers be earnest with God to give you Faith Hope Charity Religion Repentance Obedience
Apostles rule Hold fast that which is good is not to be observed in all good but only in the very best The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words and that which was written was upright even words of Truth Eccles 12. â—10 If he that preacheth ought to seek for acceptable words that is words sutable both to the matters he speaks of and the persons he speaks to then much more he that prayeth since praying ought to be more carefully provided and more conscionably performed then preaching For in preaching a man speaks to men but in praying a man speaks to God And for this cause the Church thinks it her duty to provide for us acceptable words in praying whilst she leaves us to provide our own acceptable words in preaching The Prophet Hosea exhorteth the Israelites to take with them words and turn to the Lord Hos 14. 2. He asks not Gold nor Silver not burnt offerings saith Rabbi David but good words from you that with them you will confess your sins and return unto the Lord with all your heart and not only with your lips Here t is plain by his Gloss that the Prophet enjoyns a form of confession and bids them take good words that they may have good hearts nay t is plain by the Text it self for those good words or that form of confession is particularly expressed as well as enjoyned in the next words Say unto him Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously But it were in vain to pray unto God to receive us graciously if we did pray ungraciously therefore taking with us words according to Gods command in Hosea must needs well agree with the Spirit of grace and of supplications according to his promise in Zechariah Zech. 12. 10. And as the Papists do vainly arrogate and more vainly appropriated the Title of Religion to their monastical vows so the Enthusiasts do as vainly arrogate and more vainly appropriate the Title of the Spirit to their phantastical prayers and good Protestants have no more reason to think they want these prayers to make them spiritual then that they want those vows to make them Religious I do not discourage or discountenance any particular mans gifts for I do heartily wish as Moses did I would to God all the Lords people were Prophets but I must needs profess that he which ascended on high led captivity captive to give gifts unto men hath given the greatest gifts where he hath given the greatest promises and he hath given greater promises to his Church then to any member or Minster of the same If I follow the Church making use of the gift of prayer which God hath given her I do that which God hath required of me For the Church hath commission from God to teach me to pray or that of Luk. 11. 1. was not written for our instruction But if I follow any other mans gifts who hath not that commission I may justly fear that God who will one day say to him Who hath required this at your hands for making such prayers will not say much less to me for hearing them As for that slight objection of deadness formality men are subject to more from set forms then from conceived prayers t is in its consequence a blasphemy against the holy Scriptures for it reacheth the prayers penned there by the Holy Ghost as well as penned here by the Church so that I hope none will blame me for calling the objection slight now I have proved it wicked For how is it possible for any man to say that prayer by book is flat and dead without undervaluing all the prayers in the holy Bible and contemning the very Book of books Let him next say Evangelium Atramentarium away with this Inkie-Gospel but withal let him know that he cannot thus turn Enthusiast unless he will first turn Papist So he shall turn to the worse for his person and he cannot depend upon suggestions instead of books but he must turn prayer from being an act of Reason nay from being an act of Faith to be an act of phansie if not of faction And so he shall turn to the worse also for his prayers yet all this while we cannot but take notice that our adversaries are very hard put to it for an accusation when they are fain to fetch it from our hearts which they cannot know should not judge dealing with us as some of the Rabbies dealt with Job for when the Text had said of him In all this Job sinned not with his lips as we doubt not but it doth also in effect say of our Church concerning her Common Prayers two of them sc Ralbag and Jarchi are pleased to add this gloss 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Abal belibbo Chata But yet sure he sinned in his heart To conclude a set form of Doctrine we must have or be Heretical A set form of Discipline we must have or be irregular and why not also have a set form of devotion or be irreligious for we cannot well be unanimously Religious without a set form of publick prayer and the want of unanimity will soon beget the want of Religion for God is love and therefore we cannot be without love but we must be without God and consequently men cannot be long without true charity but they will also be without true piety And as for making the Common Prayer Book an Idol if it be not an objection of great impiety by calling true Religion Idolatry yet it is an argument of great absurdity because it may cast the Bible must cast the Sabbath out of the Church For men may Idolize one good Book as well as another so the Bible may go ere long but some have already Idolized the Sabbath so that must stay no longer I do the rather instance upon this latter for that it comes neerest our present case 1. Because publick prayer is the duty of the Sabbath and that ought to be publick in its substance that is in its matter and form as well as in its Accidents that is time place and persons 2. Because the same Method is to be observed in words as in time Gods consecration is to be the rule of ours in them both he hath consecrated we may what he hath consecrated we must he hath said make holy we may he hath said make holy the Sabbath day we must he hath said when ye pray say thus we must he hath said after this manner therefore pray we may Had he not given us that latitude we might not have taken it but must have only used such prayers in his publick worship as his holy Spirit had left us in the holy Scriptures Now he hath given this latitude we must make the best use of it by making and using such prayers as we know are after this manner though not in these Words we have as great need of set forms of prayers to find our tongues as of set forms of Laws to bind our heads to
him what is undoubtedly his due So uncharitably as to deny him what is immortally his comfort even the conveyance and assurance of blessed Communion in his soul with the eternal Son of God so that if a good conscience move me not for Gods sake yet a good consideration will move me for mine own sake to bless God for placing me in such a Church as gives me a whole a full communion because I can assure my self that receiving a whole communions as my Saviour hath appointed nothing but mine own want of Faith and Repentance can keep me from receiving my Saviour and with him all the blessings and comforts of his Salvation whereas a man that receives but one Part of this blessed Sacrament cannot be assured that he shall receive his Saviour with it for though Christ hath graciously promised that he will be with his own institutions yet he hath absolutely disclaimed that he will be with ours concerning these he hath plainly said In vain do they worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men Mat. 15. 8. and much more will it follow from hence In vain do they worship me doing for duties their own commandments instead of mine Bellarmine tells us that Johannes Ragusaeus was eight daies in the Council of Basil making an Oration against the Hussites concerning the Communion under both kinds If he had been eight years it had been to as little purpose for t is not any mans declamation can justifie a willful neglect of Christs institution If Christ hath commanded this thing let his command be shewed if not let not the thing be attempted much less allowed since he only hath the authority of ordering and instituting the signs of Grace who hath the right of promising grace and the power of giving it when these signs be used according to his order and he having instituted two signs of grace in this blessed Sacrament if I receive but one by what Faith can I hope for his grace unless I will hope for it without his Promise without his Power So that upon these grounds a half Sacrament is no Sacrament for Christ having annexed his Promise to his command If I do not what he hath commanded How can I expect what he hath promised Therefore since my Faith depends wholly upon my Saviours promise not at all upon his Churches power I can have no Faith in because he hath made no promise to a half Sacrament and yet withall I cannot see but the Church may as well Baptize without naming the first and third persons of the Trinity from those Texts which speak of Baptizing in the name of the Lord Jesus as administer the holy Communion without the cup from those Texts which speak of breaking bread For sure the Churches power is as great in the one Sacrament as it is in the other and so in a short time we may by the Churches power come to have no Sacrament And it is worth our enquiry whether or no he be not a Sacramentarian who believes the Sacrament to be without the signs as well as he who believes the signs to be without the Grace or the thing signified The last thing I am to consider about the Sacraments as they are in our Church is the manner of Administring And I am not afraid to averr That as she hath outgone the Papâ—sts in the administration it self so she hath outgone other Protestants in the manner of Administring And this is so evident in Baptism that I need not insist upon its proof because our Church therein still retaineth many antient solemnities which have been discountenanced if not disallowed by the Reformed Church in other Countries not to recede from her Sister the Reformed Church but to continue with her Mother The Church Catholick For she looks upon those solemnities she retains as upon so many rites of the Catholick Church and hath sufficiently proved them so to be and therefore cannot look upon the rejection of those rites as a part of her reformation because she desires and professes so to be Reformed as also to be Catholick And it is no less evident in the holy Communion wherein the manner of administring in our Church is much more full of Reverence then in other Protestant Churches For some of them receive the Body and Blood of Christ sitting as if they were Copes-mates with their Saviour so the Dutch Others standing as if they were in haste to be gone from him so the French But only our Church requireth kneeling which as it is the most proper gesture of Piety so is it moreover a gesture of Humility As for sitting it was never accounted a Gesture belonging to Prayer and therefore whereas it is said Then went King David in and sate before the Lord 2 Sam. 7. 18. that is before the Ark 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 liphnei haaron as both Kimchi and Jarchi interpret it Junius thus renders the words Restitit coram Iehova He remained before the Lord and saith concerning the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iesheb consedit He sate it was à Catachresis an abuse of its signification And indeed Rabbi David Kimchi upon the place sheweth he was not willing to believe that sitting was Davids posture when he prayed before the Ark And therefore he slightly passeth by the gloss of those Rabbies who inferred from hence That the Kings of the house of David might set as they prayed in the Sanctuary for saith he it is written of the Seraphims and all the host of heaven 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shehem gnomedim That they were standing before the Lord And he rather adhereth to those who reading the word with a tsâ—re 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vajeshib consedit And he sate before the Lord thus expounded it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 samach gnatsmo He confirmed his strength in praying or who reading the word with a Camets 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vaiashab reversus fuit And he returned before the Lord thus expounded it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 iashab gnetsmo bithepillah He converted his strength to Prayer but he cares not to say That he sate when he Prayed for that was a gesture not becoming a Supplicant As for standing though it be a gesture belonging to Prayer as well as Kneeling yet is it not a gesture of so much piety and surely it is of far less humility whereas what hath a worthy Receiver else to do but wholly to contemplate his Saviours Goodness and his own unworthiness The first contemplation will make him labour what he can to shew his Piety The second will make him as zealous to shew his Humility We cannot deny but the Christian is best disposed to receive Christ when he is praying and for that reason our Church would have us be Praying when we come to receive him and it is certainly more fitting we should kneel then stand when we are praying It is an express Article of the Protestants Discipline in France That the due reverence
belonging to the holy Communion be carefully maintained cap. 12. art 12. and upon this ground doth our Church think it fit to maintain kneeling rather then standing at the holy Communion the better to maintain and to improve that due reverence In a word we make that profession concerning this blessed Sacrament which the Primitive Christians made as it is recorded by Iustine Martyr towards the end of his second Apologie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. For we receive not these elements as common bread or as common wine But as by the Word of God Iesus Christ our Saviour being incarnate had both flesh and blood for our salvation So that food over which the Word that came from God hath prayed and given thanks whence our flesh and blood are nourished after it is changed we are taught in the flesh and blood of that Incarnate Iesus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Incarnati illius Iesu carnem sanguinem esse edocti sumus These words have been much urged both for Transubstantiation and for Consubstantiation but since they have been urged to prove both we may safely conclude they can prove neither Two proofs are taken from them The first is That he saith we receive it not as common bread but that proves it is bread though not common bread The second that he saith The bread is the flesh of the incarnate Jesus that is such flesh as Christ took in his incarnation But that proves it is not flesh under the appearance of bread or in conjunction with bread besides he saith Our flesh and blood are nourished by it but sure our flesh is nourished by bread not by the body of Christ that is only the nourishment of our souls And yet still though we embrace neither of these opinions we do most willingly profess with that holy Martyr That we receive these elements not as common bread nor as common wine but as the very flesh and blood of our incarnate Iesus And therefore we desire to use such reverence in receiving this holy Eucharist as may be suitable with this profession For what Saint Paul said would come to pass among the Corinthians upon a right use of Preaching will we hope much more come to pass amongst us upon a right use of Administring If there comes in one that believeth not or one unlearned he is convinced of all he is judged of all And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest and so falling down on his face he will worship God and report That God is in you of a Truth 1 Cor. 14. 24 25. He is not like to fall on his face whiles he seeth us either sit or stand Our outward reverence if used may convince and condemn him if not used will convince and condemn our selves For if he seeth us not true worshippers he will not think us true Believers We will therefore kneel that we may worship and we will therefore worship that we may make an Alient a true Believer and much more shew our selves to be true Believers CAP. III. That the Communion of the Church of England is conscionably embraced and retained by All the people of this Nation and not rejected much less renounced by any of them but against the Rules of Conscience SECT I. Every particular man ought to labour to be of such a Communion as he is sure is truly Christian both in Doctrine and in Devotion The Rule whereby to choose such a Christian Communion the Proofs whereby to maintain it THAT man cannot be truly said to believe the Communion of Saints who doth not labour to make himself one of that Communion This he cannot attempt without joyning himself to those who profess to know and to worship God in Christ and this he cannot attain without joyning himself to those who do truly so know and rightly so worship God So that although the Communion of Saints may be sought among all sorts of Christians yet is it not to be found but only among good Christians such as are publickly known to be true believers and right worshippers For Christian Communion is founded both in Doctrine and in Devotion In Doctrine to make men of one mind in Devotion to make men of one mouth And since Doctrine and Devotion are the two integral Parts of Religion the one â—anctifying the understanding the other sanctifying the will that so Religion may fully do its work in knitting or binding the whole soul unto God it is manifest that Christian Communion is founded in Christian Religion and the truest Christian Communion in the truest Christian Religion Accordingly every particular man is bound to joyn himself to that Church which doth profess the truest Christian Religion both in Doctrine and in Devotion that so he may embrace the truest Christian Communion And because all Churches do alike magnifie themselves and vilifie others it is necessary that in the choice of our Christian Communion we observe the Apostles general Axiom Not he that commendeth himself is approved but whom the Lord commendeth 2 Cor. 10. 18. In the business of Religion and of eternal Salvation we may not rely upon our own judgements or the judgements of any other men but only upon the judgement and approbation of God who is the Author of Religion and the Giver of Salvation Therefore it is not for any man to be of this or that Church because it commendeth it self but because God commendeth it And where should we seek where can we find Gods commendation but in his word So it is plain I must choose my Church from Gods word or I can never be sure that God doth commend my choice and this consideration alone must needs make a conscientious man afraid of choosing that Church for the guide of his Communion which refuseth to take Gods word for the guide of her Religion For the Churches power concerning Religion in the Apostles times was but ministerial and how should it come in our times to be magisterial For so it is said Who is Paul and who is Apollo but Ministers by whom ye believed even as the Lord gave to every man 1 Cor. 3. 5. They are Ministers of your faith not Lords and Masters of it Nay in that they are Ministers it is evident they cannot be Masters of your Faith for there is a direct opposition between a Minister and a Master you are bound to have a special regard to their Ministry that you may believe but not to depend or rely upon their authority in your belief For thus hath Christ our Lord appointed That your Faith should come by the Churches Ministry but from his own Authority 〈…〉 And therefore you must go to his Church for your Communion that you may go to himself for your Religion Christs Church hath not a co-ordinate authority that she may command with Christ in matters of Religion for so she might also command against him but only a subordinace Authority to command in and for him in his name and for his
mente super Altare offero quam in primo publico consistorio solenniter repetam Concil Basil sess 40. I made this digression only to shew That unless the Holy Scriptures be taken for the foundation of our faith we are like to have none For a general Council is not this foundation saith Bellarmine The Pope is not say these two Councils and the Pope himself swears on their side So Bellarmine defines against the Councils the Councils define against the Pope and the Pope not only defines but also swears against himself And we conceive that Saint Paul defined against them all when he said He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord 1 Cor. 1. 31. and again That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God 1 Cor. 2. 5. T is only Gods truth which can be the foundation of our faith whether propounded by the Scriptures or by the Church as saith Aquinas Formale objectum Fidei est veritas prima secundum quod manifestatur in Scripturis sacris Doctrina Ecclesiae quae procedit ex veritate prima The formal object of faith is the first truth according as it is manifested in the holy Scriptures and in the doctrine of the Church which proceedeth from the first truth He is willing to take in the Church but he is not willing to leave out the Scriptures nay indeed he preferreth the Scriptures above the Church in the manifestation of Gods truth when he saith Doctrina Ecclesiae quae procedit ex veritate prima in Scripturis sacris manifestata 22ae qu. 5. art 3. c. The Doctrine of the Church which proceedeth from the first truth manifested in the holy Scriptures So that according to Aquinas Gods truth first cometh to the Scriptures from them to the Church That truth the Scriptures propound to the Church by way of definition That same truth the Church propoundeth to us by way of declaration Shall we think the declaration may overthrow the definition of truth or the Church may overthrow the Scripture This were in effect to allow that we as Christians do glory in men more then in God and that our faith in Christ doth more stand in the wisdom of man then in the power of God Such a foundation of faith as this which relyes upon man is laid upon the sand or upon grass For all flesh is grass But the foundation of faith which relyes upon the Scriptures is laid upon a Rock The word of the Lord endureth for ever and this is the word which by the Gospel is preached unto you 1 Pet. 1. 24 25. This foundation which is laid upon Gods word is as firm and as infallible as God himself for all Scripture is given by inspiration of God 2. Tim. 3. 16. And this is the foundation of our faith not as Protestants but as Christians we vindicate it as Protestants but we hold it as Christians For no Christian Church or Council did lay any other foundation of faith before that unhappy Council of Trent which began not till the year of our Lord 1545. and ended not till the year 1563. All the cavils that have been raised against the holy Scriptures have been raised since that time to the great dishonour of Christ the great disturbance of Christendom the great discontent of good Christians the great disadvantage of the Christian Faith For the foundation cannot possibly give that firmness to the building which is not in it self therefore there cannot be a greater disadvantage to the Christian Faith then to ground it upon an infirm and an unsure foundation And such a foundation is the word of man instead of the word of God For he that believeth the most Divine truths only upon humane authority can have but an humane an infirm an uncertain Faith Therefore Divine truths must be believed upon Divine authority that we may have a Divine faith concerning them For t is absurd in Reason impious in Religion to have but a humane faith of Divine Truths because the habit and act are infinitely unproportionable to the Object For there may be a twofold errour in our faith the one materially when we believe what God hath not revealed And so they only are erroneous in the faith who believe falsities or uncertainties The other formally when we believe what God hath revealed but not upon the authority of his revelation and so they also may be erroneous in the faith who believe the most sure and certain Truths The ready way to avoid both these errors is to take the written word of God for the foundation of our faith wherein we are sure to meet with Gods truth or verity for the matter of our belief and with Gods Authority or Testimony for the cause of our believing And since our Church teacheth this and no other faith no man can say she is guilty of Heresie that will not make himself guilty of Blasphemy For the Communion of our Church is free from Heresie not only Materially in that she believes no untruths or uncertainties but also Formally in that she believeth Gods truths upon Gods own authority So that to call such a faith Heresie which is wholly of God and through God must needs be blasphemy For my part I confess that I do not see how I can be sufficiently thankful to God for making me a member of such a Communion and therefore am sure I cannot be too zealous for it nor too constant in it A Communion which neither hath Heresie in the Doctrine of faith nor the cause of Heresie in the foundation of faith And truly to be rid of Heresie in its self and in its cause are both very great blessing but yet the latter is the greater of the two For a true reason of believing which rids us from Heresie in its cause may partly excuse even a falsity in the belief when a man believes what is not true because he thinks God hath revealed it But a false reason of believing can scarce justifie a truth in the belief when a man believes what is true but not upon the authority of Gods revelation The one desires to be a true believer in a false article the other resolves to be a false believer in a true article of faith The one in the cause of his faith believes the truth whilst in the doctrine of it he believes an errour the other in the cause of his faith believes an errour for every man is a lyar and may suggest a lye whilst in the Doctrine of it he believes a truth the one in the uprightness of his heart cleaves to God when in his mouth he departs from him the other in the perversness of his heart departs from God when in his lips he draws neer unto him The uprightness of heart makes the one a true man in his errour as S. Cyprian in his false Tenent of rebaptiz ation the perversness of heart makes the other a false man in his truth as
they believe in his Almighty power and in his all-saving mercy therefore it is that they make their prayers unto him And since they cannot believe in the Saints as such Almighty and All-saving Lords they may not call upon them or pray unto them suo modo credere will not serve the turn it must be omni modo For why not as well say I may have a Saint or Angel after some sort for my God though God himself hath said Thou shalt have no other Gods but me as say I may after some sort believe in a Saint or Angel since the Text saith plainly have faith in God Mar. 11. 22. and again Abraham believed God it was counted to him for righteousness Rom. 4. 3. and again To him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness Rom. 4. 5. Can any Saint or Angel justifie a sinner and why should I have faith in him if I cannot have Justistcation from him and again Abraham was strong in faith giving glory to God Rom. 4. 20. Ought any Saint or Angel to have that glory which is proper only to God And what glory is proper only to God but for a man to believe in him as the first Truth and to put his whole trust in him as the chiefest good We must degrade faith and suffer it no longer to be a Theological Vertue if it may have any other but only God for its object And the like also may be said of Prayer We must deny that to be an elicite act of the understanding apprehending Gods infinity and make it only a little lip-labour before we can bring it down so low as to befit a Saint or Angel For mental prayer which is only in the heart without which the Verbal is no more then an empty sound is in vain offered up to any but only to him that is the searcher of Hearts And he that saith Give me thy Heart hath not said Give another thy Tongue when it expresseth the elevation or lifting up of thy heart Sancte Petre miserere mei salva me aperi mihi aditum coeli and that Prayer to the blessed Virgin Tu nos ab hoste protege hora mortis suscipe and the like if spoken only in the heart are spoken surely in vain for they know not our hearts and are moreover spoken in sin because they know them not So the very sense of the prayer is wicked because it supposeth a man a God And how then can any Divine excuse the words from wickedness whereby alone we are able to judge of the sense Yet Bellarmine hath found out an excuse for them saying Non agitur de verbis sed de sensu verborum nam quantum ad verba licet dicere Sancte Petre miserere mei salva me Item Da mihi sanitatem corporis da patientiam c. Dummodo intelligamus Salva me miserere mei orando pro me Da mihi hoc illud tuis precibus meritis lib. 1. de beatitudine sanctorum cap. 17. 'T is no matter for the words of the Prayers so as the sense be right For in words we may say O Saint Peter have mercy upon me and save me as long as our meaning is save me and have mercy upon me by praying for me or O Saint Peter give me health or patience c. as long as our meaning is give it me by thy prayers and merits If this Interpretation may be allowed to add new words that we may make a new sense farewell to Aristotles Book De Interpretatione for only he that is the prolocutor can be the Interpreter we must overthrow the ground of all reason to make good sense out of bad words Conceptus sunt signa verum verba conceptuum is the first ground in Logick Conceits or apprehensions are the expresses of things as words are of conceits or apprehensions Take away this ground and take away the use of all Logick and consequently the exercise of Reason for if a mans speech be other then his meaning how shall another understand him If his meaning be other then the thing how shall he understand himself Nay we must overthrow the ground of all Religion as far as 't is expressed in words to make hese and the like good Prayers For Religion as far as 't is expressed in words is regulated by the third Commandment that bids us not take the name of the Lord our God in vain in the manner of our speaking meddles not with our thinking or with our meaning so that if the manner of our speaking be faulty when we pray we do take the name of God in vain or there is no obligation there can be no violation of the third Commandment Who can meet with such elusions as these in matters of Religion and not be moved out of the zeal of godliness to exclaim with the Prophet Hear ye now O House not of David but of Goliah Is it a small thing for you to weary men but will you weary my God also Isa 7. 13. Is it not enough and too much that ye teach us to equivocate with men but will ye also teach us to equivocate with our God Will ye at the same time maintain a Liturgie and set up a Directory a Liturgie in words but a Directory in sense Your Liturgie is O Saint Mary O Saint Peter give me health and salvation But your Directory is O Lord help me O Lord save me or is this Catholick in you to have your Directory better then your Liturgie your meaning better then your words your intention better then your expression or is it fitting if it were possible for men to say in words and unsay in sense the same things especially in their prayers and not palpably collude with God and men And what have we done else but reformed that in words which you your selves do reform in sense and why then do you so uncessantly revile so unconscionably oppose our Reformation Is it not affected Atheism not to reform what is really superstitious as it is abominable blasphemie to call that superstition which is indeed true Religion May any Christian abjure and renounce such Prayers as the Spirit of God hath taught and the Son of God doth assist without abjuring and renouncing God himself Is not this indeed the most dreadful and most formidable kind of abjuration that ever was to abjure the intercession of God the Son and the Communion of God the Holy Ghost or is it lawful to deal with a true Christian form of Prayer as the Jews did with Christ who when Pilate said Why what evil hath he done cryed out so much the more exceedingly Crucifie him Mar. 15. 14. We dare not think of wishing an Interdict upon Religion for that is to crucifie Christ but we are bound to wish an Interdict upon Idolatry and Blasphemy for that is to crucifie the two thieves which rob God of his honour and Gods
yet can I not glorifie thy name as I ought nor remember thee as I would yea though with my soul I have desired thee in the night and with my spirit within me I seek thee early yet have I not so great desires in my soul as I have defects in my desires All the desire of my soul and of my spirit is too little for my God I have none to spare for any else and if I had yet might I not give it unless I had something greater then it to give unto my God This is the sin which is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iniquitas judicata vel judicantis digna quae à judicibus puniatur An iniquity to be punished by the Judge for a man to give that honour to the creature which is due only to the Creator for it is in effect to deny the God that is above For I should have denyed the God that is above Iob 31. 28. The earnest longings of my soul to converse with God in the actions of holy Religion are the best preparative for my soul to converse with him in the fruition of a blessed immortality my Religion must reach him or his blessedness will not reach me T is not conversing with Saints or Angels can give my soul a true gust of eternal blessedness and much less a happy enjoyment of it I should be loth to mispend my time upon so barren so unfruitful a Religion and much less to hazard my eternity upon it The Heathen Philosopher Hierocles could say It was the work of wisdom To make a God out of a man as far as was possible 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Christian Divine may not say less of Religion which is the only true wisdom T is its work to transform a man into God uniting the understanding to him by faith and contemplation uniting the will to him by charity and affection Thus saith the Apostle We all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord 2 Cor. 3. 18. In which words are briefly described both the work of Religion and the power of it The work of Religion is with open face to behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord for the soul cannot well fix its eye and much less its love upon any inferiour glory The Power of Religion is to change us into the same image of the Lord from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord for it is only the love and the spirit of the Lord which can change the soul from glory to glory the love of the Lord working that change formally the Spirit of the Lord working that change efficiently upon the soul from glory to glory that is from the glory of Religion to the glory of Fruition from the glory of Holiness to the glory of Happiness from the glory of knowing and loving God to the glory of possessing and enjoying him This being the work of Religion to behold the glory of the Lord I dare look on nothing as Religion which doth not that work This being the power of Religion to change the soul into that glory I dare not be of that Religion which hath not that power Let those that please behold the glory of the creature instead of the Creator they will not find it sufficient to content much less to change their souls I desire a Religion which may change me into the image of the Lord and sure I am that Religion must teach me to behold his face which will change me into his image for no other can have the assistance of his Spirit and therefore no other can have the power to work this change This is the great blessing I have received from God by this his now distressed Church That I have been called to the Verity of his Religion nor do I see how I can thankfully embrace and dutifully obey this Call but only by persisting in the Vnity of her Communion Such a Communion as joyns me with the Saints whether they be Angels or men in the manner of my worshipping not as joyns the Saints or Angels with God in the equality of worshp The Pater noster as it was used heretofore in the private devotions of English Papists allowed not this practice for therein this was the first Petition Hallowed be thy name among men on earth as it is among Angels in heaven The second this O Father let thy Kingdom come and reign among us men on earth as thou reignest among thy Angels in heaven The third this Make us to fulfill thy will here on earth as thy Angels do in heaven Now Prayer being the actual hallowing of Gods name the exercising of his Kingdom the fulfilling of his will must be directed only unto God unless we will plainly thwart these three Petitions and resolve to do these three Duties otherwise then the Angels do in heaven For without doubt they fix their contemplation only on God and place their Fruition only in him And so doth our Church in all her Prayers first teaching us to contemplate God as the first truth that we may pray with knowledge and understanding then to enjoy him as the chiefest good that we may pray with zeal and affection ex gr O God from whom all holy desires all good counsels and all just works do proceed there 's the contemplation of God to enlighten the understanding Give unto thy servants that Peace which this world cannot give that both our hearts may be set to obey thy Commandments and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness there 's the fruition of God to inflame the will and affections The soul cannot have this Fruition without having that contemplation and therefore they who teach and enjoyn Prayers to any but to God are in truth injurious to the very contentation and much more to the salvation of souls SECT IV. That the Communion of the Church of England obligeth those in conscience who are members of that Church to retain it and not to reject it much less to renounce it by no less then five Commandments of the Decalogue IT having been declared that the Communion of the Church of England is founded in the Truth of Religion It cannot be reasonably denyed but that even her enemies are bound to her internal and much more her sons are bound to her external Communion And that both are also bound in conscience because Religion will not be contented with a lesser obligation The Doctrine being from God which we profess and the Devotion being from God which we practise All Christians that live at never so great a distance from us are bound to believe our Doctrine and to love our Devotion and that 's enough to constitute an internal Communion But those Christians who live amongst us are also bound to profess our