So Christ doth regenerate and sanctifie us by the vertue of his Spirit quo homo Deus est as he is man and God not as he is man alone or as he is God alone and yet he doth not transferre his essence into us and therefore Osiander is much deceived The place of Paul quoted by him helpeth him nothing for we are the righteousnesse 2 Cor. 5. 21. of Christ ut ille fuit peccatum pro nobis as he was sinne for us but sinne was not really in Christ no more is Christs righteousnesse really in us but onely imputatively faith as the hand applyeth it unto us and flyeth into heaven and there maketh us partakers of his Sanctity Our faith wrastleth with God in heaven our charity wrastleth with men here below on earth both of them are exercised neither idle nor unfruitfull and therefore the Apostle joyneth Faith in Christ and love toward Col. 1. 4. all Saints together O Brethren how many bee there that can tell a smooth tale of Christ and yet cannot speak one wise word of Iustification and Sanctification and yet Peter requireth it of all Hence am I to derive an exhortation to all men to holinesse and sanctification seeing that Rahabs house was knowne by a Ios ◠Iudg. 11. Mat. 26. 2 Reg. 9. red thread and the Ephramites by lisping and Peter by speaking and Iehu by driving his Chariot So Christians are knowne by sanctification Every child of God is sanctified Secundum plus aut minus either more or lesse But first let me speake of the diverse acceptions of the word ne inpingamus ubi non est lapis lest we stumble where there is no stone 1. It is taken for that which is pure and perfect and cleane Levit. 19. 2. So God alone is said to be holy 2. It is taken for that which is lawfull as 1 Cor. 7. 14. The unbeleeving husband is sanctified by the wife and the unbeleeving wife is sanctified by the Husband else were your children uncleane but now they are holy 3. For that which is separated and set apart from common uses and reserved to sacred and holy uses Thus in the Law those things were called holy and sanctified which were taken from the common use of the people and set apart for the use and service of God as the Oyle Shew bread first fruits vessels of the Tabernacle In this sense the Priests were called holy because they were separate from the common life of men to serve in the Tabernacle Thus the people of Israel separated from the rest of the Nations were called by Moses a sanctified people to the Lord and by Ieremy a thing hallowed to the Lord. 4. For that which is consecrated to a godly and holy use Wee must bee holy because God is holy In which respect it is opposite to prophanenesse So the Temple was holy Ieremy was sanctified that is consecrated to be a Prophet So Christ sanctified himselfe that is dedicated himselfe to be a sacrifice for the sinnes of the world 5. It is taken for purity of body and minde as 2 Cor. 7. 5. So it is taken here And that wee should bee holy that is pure both in body and in minde it is the will and commandement of God Would you know his will and doe it that thou maist enter into heaven For not every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into heaven but hee that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven then be holy For Mat. 7. 21. this is the will of God even your holinesse 1 Thes 4. 3. There be many reasons to move us to Sanctification to Holinesse whereof one is often used drawne from the person of God our Father that children must resemble their Father else are they Bastards rather than sonnes So reasoneth God Ye shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy repeated by Peter As hee Levit. 19. 2. which hath called you is holy so be ye holy in all manner of conversation because it is written Be ye holy for I am holy All that is in God our Father is holy all that pertaineth to Gods name is holy Holy is his name His person is holy Hereupon the Seraphins cryed Luke 1. 49. one unto another and said Holy holy holy is the Lord of Hosts the whole world is full of his glory his workes are holy So saith David Esay 6. 3. The Lord is righteous in all his wayes and holy in all his Workes His Iudgements are holy O my God saith the Prophet in his distresse Psal 45. 17. I cryed by day but thou hearest not and by night but have no audience but thou art holy c. His Temple or House is holy so Psal 22. 1 2. saith Paul The Temple of God is holy which ye are His Mountaine is holy and therfore called A holy Mountaine His Kingdome is 1 Cor. 3. 17. holy for no uncleane thing shall enter his Kingdome neither whatsoever Psal 15. worketh abomination or lyes Therefore we must be holy if wee Apoc. 21. 27. looke to live with God Extra sunt Canes without bee dogges prophane and polluted persons Apoc. 22. 15. The same reason holdeth for holinesse that doth for mercy clemency love meeknesse and all other attributes of the Lord. Let mee reason as the Scripture reasoneth God is mercifull therefore wee must bee mercifull God forgiveth his enemies therefore we must forgive So reasoneth Christ himselfe Love your enemies blesse them that curse you doe good to them that hate you and pray for them that hurt you and persecute you that you may bee the Children of your Father which is in Heaven God is love therefore we must love So reasoneth Saint Iohn Beloved let us love one another 1 Iohn 4. 7 8. for love commeth of God and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God he that loveth not knoweth not God for God is love God is meek therfore we must be meek Learn of me saith Christ for I am meek c. So God is holy therefore we must be holy Mat. 11. 29. Another reason is taken from the end of our Redemption urged Holinesse the end of our Redemption without it wee shall not see God by the Apostle saying The grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men hath appeared and teacheth us that we should deny ungodlinesse and worldly lusts and that wee should live soberly righteously and holily in this present world Hath Christ sweat water and blood hath his heart beene molten like waxe his strength dryed up Tit. 2. 11 12. Psal 22. 14 15. like a potsheard hath his tongue cloven to his iawes and brought to the dust of the earth that wee should be wantons O caecas hominum mentes O pectora caeca nati sumus è silice nutriti lacte ferino O blinde mindes of men O blind hearts wee are borne of a flint-stone and nourished
For not everie one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdome of Heaven but he that doth the will of the Father which is in Heaven 4 The fourth signe is a strife against sin For as the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit so doth the Spirit against the Flesh And they that are Christs Have crucified the Flesh with the affections and lusts Gal. 5. 17. 24. And hee that is elected will cry out with the Apostle O wretched man that I am who shall deliver mee from the body of this death Rom. 7. 24. Meaning the corruption which yet remained The Law in our members which rebelleth they will tame and give no way to the motions of the flesh 5 The fifth and last signe is the reformation of our whole life a generall walking in the paths of righteousnesse holinesse as our election is knowne unto God from all eternity For the foundation of God remaineth sure and hath his seale The Lord knoweth 2 Tim. 2. 19. who are his so is it knowne to us by our workes and therfore wee are willed To give all diligence to make our election and calling sure by good workes if wee can so live that at the last when we 2 Pet. 1. 10. shall leave this World wee can say with Simeon Lord now lettest Luke 2. thou thy servant depart in peace It is an undoubted signe of our election Our election is perfected by many degrees Paul nameth three degrees of it Vocation Iustification and Glorification for so runne his words Those whom hee knew before hee predestinate and whom hee predestinate them also hee called and whom Rom. 8. 29 30. hee called them also hee Iustified and whom hee Iustified them also hee Glorified But others make other degrees The first to be Christs with his gifts 1 Cor. 3. Rom. 8. 2 Tim. 1. 9. Rom. 4. 25. Ephes 2. 10. 2 Tim. 4. 8. The second degree is our Adoption The third is our Vocation by the Gospell The fourth is Iustification The fifth is our Sanctification The sixth is our Glorification These are the signes of our election and this election is every God reprobateth in Iustice as well as elocteth in Mercy way free Never man layd hand on this worke never man brought stone to this building but all is from God and his Mercy Let us therefore throw downe our crownes with the Elders and let us say with David Not unto us Lord not unto us but unto thy name give the praise And if our reason cannot comprehend this our election Psal 115. 1. let our Faith comprehend it Vbi ratio definit sides incipit where Ambr. reason faileth faith beginneth Let our reason bee as Hagar our faith as Sara if reason will presume let Sara let faith take her downe a pegge The other part of Gods decree is Reprobation here named of Iude Of old ordained to condemnation Now whereas many grant election but not Reprobation Reprobation is proved by many places of Scripture Christ saith Every plant which my Heavenly Mat. 15. 13. Father hath not planted shall bee rooted up And Paul speaketh of Vessels of wrath ordained to destruction And Esay telleth us that Rom. 9. 22. Tophet is prepared of old it is prepared even for the King hee hath made Esa 30. 33. it deepe and large c. yet many are squeamish of Reprobation utterly denying it And Ierome was once of the minde hee said that God elected some but reprobated none Now if he deny all reprobation this must bee wrapped up amongst the rest of his errors Haec patrum pudenda tegi patior I love to hide these imperfections 1 Cor. 3. of the Fathers for they did not ever build gold upon the foundation but sometime hay and stubble c. Indeed God reprobates none but for sinne but for sinne he reprobates And thus God is righteous and his judgements just thus Christ divideth the whole world into two parts Corne and Tares Goats and Sheepe the Tares shall bee bound up in bundels and cast into the fire the Goats Mat. 13. 25. shall stand at Christs left hand and shall heare Goe yee cursed into everlasting Hell fire prepared for the Divell and his angels and marke that he saith prepared for the Divell and his angels If of five senses we want foure we cannot deny this Reprobation But what should I light a candle at noone-day or powre water into the Sea or bring the breath of a man to helpe the blast or gale of wind Magna est veritas praevalet great is truth and prevaileth for wee cannot doe any thing against the truth but for the truth 2 Cor. 13. 8. Reprobation standeth with the glory of God for as his Mercy appeareth in Election so his Iustice in Reprobation and his Iustice in punishing sinne is as lawfull as holy as glorious as his Mercy in Christ Iesus For in God they are equall and not qualities but of the essence of God For hee is Iustice and Mercy it selfe God is not made of mercy only as a loafe is of Corne or wood of Trees but of Iustice also And Gods glory shineth as much in his Iustice as in his Mercy God hath made all things for his glory and the wicked for the day of vengeance Shall wee then reason against God and say Why doth he thus Absit God forbid Againe all the works of God have their contraries wherein God not the author of evil but the disposer the infinite Wisedome of God appeareth In Physicke one thing bindeth and another looseth one thing comforteth nature and another thing destroyeth it In the state of the World there is light and darkenesse hony and gall sweet and sowre prickes and roses faire and foule hearbes and weeds In the creation of the creatures every thing hath his contrary the Woolfe to the Sheepe the Weesell to the Cony the Mouse to the Elephant the Dragon to the Vnicorne the Spider to the Flie the Lion to the Beasts the Eagle to the Birds Againe in the Church there are contraries the Elect to the Reject Cain against Abel Ismael against Isaac Hagar against Sara Esau against Iacob Pharaoh against Moses Saul against David the Pharises against Christ the false god against the true God Againe all vertues have their contrary vices Falshood against Truth Hatred against Love Faith against Infidelity Temperancie against Riot Prudence against Folly Liberality against Covetousnesse Chastity against Incontinency Fortitude against Pusillanimity So God hath them that are elected to life and fore-written to judgement for in the whole state of the world God hath shewed himselfe the Authour of Iustice and Mercy If there were no Darkenesse wee should not know the benefit of Light If no sicknesse wee should not know the benefit of health If no death wee should not know the goodnesse of life So Hell makes the blisse of Heaven seeme the greater and this destruction of the wicked the
AN EXPLANATION OF THE GENERALL Epistle of Saint Iude. Delivered in one and forty SERMONS by that Learned Reverend and faithfull Servant of Christ Master SAMVEL OTES Parson of Sowthreps in Norfolke Preached in the Parish Church of Northwalsham in the same County in a publike Lecture And now published for the benefit of Gods Church by SAMVEL OTES his sonne Minister of the Word of God at MARSHAM 2 PET. 1. 15. I will endevour alwayes that ye also may be able to have remembrance of these things after my departing PROV 13. 9. The light of righteousnesse shineth more and more but the candle of the wicked shall bee put out PROV 13. 13. He that despiseth the Word shall be destroyed but hee that feareth the commandement shall be rewarded LONDON Printed by Elizabeth Purslow for Nicholas Bourne and are to be sold at his Shop at the South Entrance of the ROYALL EXCHANGE 1633. TO THE RELIGIOVS AND RIGHT WORSHIPFVLL Knight and Baronet Sir IOHN HOBERT of Blickling Deputy Lieutenant and High Sheriffe of the Country of Norfolke SAMVEL OTES wisheth all felicity here and eternall salvation hereafter Right VVorshipfull THese Sermons of my Fathers upon Saint Iude Right worshipfull Sir after that once I was perswaded for Sions sake to have them printed I thought good to dedicate them to your worthy selfe as Saint Luke dedicated his Gospell to Theophilus so I to you another Theophilus a true lover of God and of his Word so right honestly affected to Doctrine and Religion that your Comportment in Gods Church and in all your courses and in all good causes perswades the Countrey your Pietie and Devotion to bee unfained The causes why I present them unto you are these First the true respect you merit from all them who professe Learning Secondly the many excellent gifts worthy of much commendations in your selfe Thirdly that my Father whom God hath taken to his Mercy was sometime Chaplaine to my late Honourable good Lord your Father who now resteth with God his body being layd up in peace and his memory with good men precious and one of the first Chaplaines that ever he entertained Lastly to testifie my owne engagement you being my worthy Patron humbly desiring that as you succeeded your Honourable Father in his Vertues so I may succeed my Father in your favours Touching these Sermons upon Iude the naturall sense thereof is so clearely opened and the Doctrines arising so powerfully applied and enforced and all manner of sinne so reproved that I doubt not but Gods Church and People shall hence reape much benefit which was the Authors onely intent in the exercise of his Ministery But it becommeth not mee to say much they are exposed to publique viewe and as mens eyes shall bee upon them so my prayer to God shall bee that their hearts may be informed and reformed by them For my part I intend especially though I bee of all men most unworthy to bee an instrument herein to further Christs Kingdom which if it may I have my desire howsoever I shall leave it to the blessing of God and your worthy Patronage Now the God of all consolation according to the riches of his Mercy blesse you with the Honorable good Lady your Wife your hopefull Children and whole Familie with all externall internall and eternall blessings of his Spirit that all your actions may bee prosperous your troubles few your comforts many your life long your death blessed your election sure and your salvation certaine Amen Your Worships in all Christian offices to command Samuel Otes Minister of the Word of God at Marsham in Norfolke TO THE GODLY AND Well-affected Reader whosoever COurteous Reader I am bold at the length to present to thy view these Sermons of my Fathers upon the Epistle of Saint Iude which though in this Learned age among so many excellent and accurate Sermons and Treatises it may seeme presumption to publish yet in this sinfull age I thought they might proove most usefull for the beating downe of sinne and convincing the consciences and converting the soules of sinners there being not many of this kinde for though knowledge abound and learning florish and most desire to have their understanding informed and affections pleased yet true godlines and righteousnes is dayly decaying and few desire to have their lives reformed though they have the forme of godlines yet they have denied the power thereof and though they professe they know God yet in their works they deny him Which this man of God considering did bend all his labour and learning to the beating downe of sinne and building up in vertue and saving knowledge wherein how powerfull and prevalent hee was thou mayst ghesse by these Sermons tanquam ex ungue leonem Concerning himselfe his learning life c. It is not meete I should say much seeing I may seeme to speake partially out of affection yet I hope I may without blame give testimony to that truth which all that knew him will acknowledge namely that hee was a faithfull labourer in the worke of the Lord a workeman that needed not to bee ashamed a burning and a shining light burning with zeale shining both by divine Doctrine and godly conversation Burning so as he consumed himselfe to give light to others and shining not onely before his Parochiall charge where hee lived and exercised his Ministery being as an Augustine Sowthreps in Norfolke to that Hyppo a Polycarpe to that Smyrna but the whole Country so as they all knew him a faithfull Samuel a learned laborious and godly Preacher who did empty himselfe to fill others and did waste and consume his strength to instruct the flocke committed to his charge Neither was the lustre of his light confined in that Parish or Country wherein hee lived but shined further into other parts of this Kingdome so as three very Godly and Eminent Persons in this State worthy instruments of Gods glory florishing in their time with many excellent graces and vertues on earth and now all shining glorious Saints in Heaven did take notice of him and did successively entertaine him Chaplaine namely Sir Francis Walshingham Secretary to the State Sir Iohn Popham Lord-Chiefe-Iustice of England and Sir Henry Hobart Knight and Baronet Lord Chiefe-Iustice of the Common Pleas all which notwithstanding hee continued so lowly in his owne eyes and so zealous in his Function as hee neither carelesly nor ambitiously left his Cure to seeke other preferment But having at any time performed his due observance to those Honorable Persons according as hee was engaged hee presently returned to his accustomed weekely and almost daily taske of preaching for his heart was so inflamed with the zeale of Gods glory and yet so ballanced with the feare of God and true humility that neither the learning nor graces that were in his owne heart nor the lustre and grace he had with other did puffe him up with price and this humility and lowlines in his owne eyes Magna
this Apostle Nay better for Iudas Iscariot was Christs steward his pursebearer disburser of all things for Christ and his company and yet a theefe a traytor a devill Non omnes filii Sanctorum qui loca sancta tenent They are not all the sonnes of Saints nor Saints themselves which hold the places of Saints God oftentimes bestoweth upon wicked men lofty titles and high places partly to their greater condemnation the mighty shall be mightily tormented and partly for the punishment of ungratefull people as Saul over the Israelites Againe in that Iude was not ashamed of his name but in the very first inscription of this Epistle setteth downe his name wee which are the Ministers of God are taught not to be ashamed of our calling though scornefully by scorners of Religion wee are termed Priests The Iewes though they mocked Christ when bowing their knees they cryed Haile King of the Iewes against their wils they honoured him for indeed he was King of the Iewes and of the Gentiles So these gracelesse contemners of our glorious calling when they thinke to vilifie us by calling us Priests against their wils they magnifie us their reproachfull scoffes should not daunt us nor discourage us in our calling for he that hath called us and sent us will bee with us as hee was with Moses and as he was with Ieremie Be not affraid Exod. 3. 12. Ier. 1. 8. of their faces I will be with thee Secondly the person writing is described by his calling for he calleth himselfe Servum Dei The servant of God Of servants there bee three sorts Some are servants by slavish and voluntary subjection these the Apostle calls The servants of sinne Qui facit peccatum servus est peccati He which Iohn 8. 34. Rom. 6. 16. committeth sinne is the servant of sinne and they which serve sinne Duram serviunt servitutem serve an hard service for the wages of sinne is Death Secondly There be servants by condition which are either born such by nature or taken captives in Warre or bought with money To these servants Saint Paul speaketh thus Servants obey those which are your Masters according to the flesh with feare and Ephes 6. 5 6. August de Civu Dei lib. 19. Cap. 15. trembling and with simplicitie of heart not with eye-service as men-pleasers but as the servants of Christ Nomen istud culpâ mervit non natura This name of servant not nature but sinne deserved For the name of servant was never heard of till Noah cursed Canaan the sonne of Cham Who discovered his fathers nakednesse Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he bee Gen. 9. 25. Thirdly Servants by Office Calling and Profession and these are of two sorts for men are either the servants of God generally or particularly Generally they are Gods servants which acknowledge Servants of God divors kinds of them To be Gods servant the greatest honour him for their Lord and doe that service which is due to him Hi veri servi Dei These are the true servants of the true God and such servants must wee bee if wee will be saved Particularly they are the servants of God who in some severall calling doe service to God as Magistrates and Ministers these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in a speciall service be the servants of God Now Iude professeth himselfe a servant of Iesus Christ First by condition because by Christ hee was redeemed and delivered from the slavery of Sinne and tyranny of Satan Secondly by Office and calling also hee was the servant of Iesus Christ not onely in his generall calling as hee was a Christian but also in his particular as he was an Apostle And note that Saint Iude doth not call himselfe a governor a or teacher or an Apostle but the servant of Iesus Christ as Paul doth and as Iames and Peter did For this is the best title above the title of Lords Dukes Phil. 1. 1. Iam. 1. 1. 1 Pet. 1. 2. Esa 40. 23. Kings Emperours who perish For God bringeth the Princes to nothing and maketh the Iudges of the Earth as Vanitie It is more to bee the servant of Iesus Christ than to be the greatest Prince Potentate or Personage in the World for if the servants of Iesus Christ though never so poore base and beggerly yet happy and blessed if not the servants of Iesus Christ though never so rich noble and great yet miserable and wretched This knew Paul and therefore trode all his titles under his feet as Phil. 3. 5 6. dung so that he might know Christ and serve him This service lasteth for ever as a colour set on with oyle And the Lord Iesus as Man is called a servant as God he was Lord of men and Angels for he was the man Iesus and the Lord Iesus Gods service is perfect 1 Cor. 8. freedome Gods servants on Earth are freemen in Heaven Citizen with the Saints Free Denizens of the celestiall Ierusalem their Ephes 2. 19. Rom. 6. 22. fruit is in holinesse and their end everlasting life What honour should wee desire but this to bee the servants of God Godlinesse 1 Tim. 1 6. is great gaine and to serve God hath promise both of this life and the life to come If the service of Salomon was so good a service That they were counted happy that stood before him 1. Chro. 12. What is the service of God and how happy are his servants Many thinke themselves much graced and honoured if they can get into some Noblemans service and weare his Livery as did Doeg and the servants of Saul how much more honour is it to 1 Sam. 22. bee Gods servant Who will make us of servants Sonnes heires Ephes 5 6. and coheires with Christ The Israelites found Gods service to be the best service 2 Chron. 12. 8. Cyrus at the conquest of Babylon offered largely to them that would serve him but God offereth more largely Theodosius held it more noble to be membrum Ecclesiae quam caput imperii a member of the Church than the head of the Empire So we may resolve that it is better to be a servant of God than Lord of all the World For while wee serve him all other creatures in earth and in heaven serve God needs not our service wee need his Lordship us But if we will be Gods servants we must addict our selves wholy to his service and to serve God in earth as the Angels doe in heaven for so wee pray Thy Will be done in earth as it is in heaven And for this end were wee created therefore saith the Mat. 6. 10. Apostle Wee are the workemanship of God created in Christ Iesus unto good workes And what better worke than to serve the Lord Iesus Nay the service of God is the end of our Redemption For he Luke 1. 74. hath delivered us from the hands of our enemies that wee should serve him without feare in holinesse
must bee unto us dearer than thousands of silver and gold more precious than the gold of Ophir sweeter than the Honey or the Hony-combe For albeit God can onely by the inward motion of his blessed Spirit worke out make-sure and perfect our salvation yet it pleaseth him in his eternall wisedome to use the word as an ordinary meanes of our vocation and salvation As then God giveth learning by study wisedome by experience riches by travell and like things by like meanes so he maketh perfect the calling of his Saints by the preaching of the Word which Rom. 1. 16. is the power of God to salvation to every man that beleeveth The second title of honour given here to the Saints is Sanctification he calleth them sanctified of God the Father this is the next grace wherewith he adorneth them For God continueth his graces as Iacob continued his wrastling as Peter continued his knocking till they let him in and God will not leave calling and working till hee hath sanctified and perfected his graces like the Sunne that never leaveth shining but commeth Psal 19. Exod. 17. forth as a Bridegroome out of his Chamber and rejoyceth as a Giant to runne his course Like the Fountaine of Elim and waters of Shilo that never leave running The calling of God is without repentance Rom. 11. 29. For God is not a man that hee should lye neither as the Sonne of man Numb 23. 19. that he should repent as Balaam though a false Prophet said most truely Whom God calleth them he justifieth whom hee justifieth he sanctifieth and whom he sanctifieth he glorifieth The learned call this Text in Rom. 8. Auream catenam a golden Rom. 8. 29 30. Chaine hee that draweth one linke draweth all the Chaine For as hee that hath one damnable sinne hath all sinne and is guilty of all so hee that hath one grace effectually hath all God perfects his Workes God is not like a stepmother that putteth out her child to nurse he is not as the Partridge or Bird that forsaketh her nests nor Ier. 1. 17. Iob 29. 1 Reg. 3. like the Ostrich that leaveth her egs in the dust like Salomons Harlot that exposed her child to the sword But he is as the Eagle that carrieth her yong in her wings till they can flie as the Pelicane that feedeth her yong ones with her heart-bloud till they can feed themselves He blesseth us untill he hath brought us into his Kingdome of blisse where wee shall never hunger nor thirst any more For Hee will destroy Death for ever and the Lord God will wipe away teares from all faces and the rebuke of his Esa 25. 8 9. people will hee take away out of all the Earth for the Lord hath spoken it and in that day men shal say Loe this is our God We have waited for him and hee will save us this is the Lord wee have waited for him we will rejoyce and bee joyfull in his Salvation So the Lord Iesus hath perfected the worke of our Redemption hee was borne for us he lived hee died he rose againe he ascended hee maketh intercession for us and hee will glorifie us so saith our Saviour Father I will that they which thou hast given me bee with mee even where I am that they may behold my glory that is that they may enjoy the Iohn 17. 24. eternall glory with mee This is a Doctrine of singular comfort like the wine and oyle that revived the wounded man like the news of Iosephs honour Luke 10. Gen. 45. 28. Luke 2. that comforted old Iacob like the song of the heavenly souldiers that rejoyced the Sheepheards like Davids Harpe to drive away Sauls melancholy Hath God begun with thee hath he called thee hast thou felt the motions of his Spirit in thy heart Noli timere bee not afraid hee will end with thee and accomplish all his graces in thee I meane not in perfection Nam sanctitas tribus gradibus perficitur Holinesse consisteth in three degrees In this life while we are regenerate by water and the holy Spirit after this life while the Soule enjoyeth the presence of God after the day of Iudgement when in Soule and body wee shall bee united to our head Christ Iesus In this life there is a threefold Sanctification 1 Imputed unto us 2 Wrought in us 3 Wrought by us Imputed Sanctification is when God imputeth unto us the sanctification of Christ Who is made to us Wisedome Righteousnes 1 Cor. 1. 30. Sanctification and Redemption By this wee are said to bee sanctified when the vertue of Christs Passion the fruit of his Death the power of his Resurrection is applied unto us and Christs Sanctification made ours by imputation Therefore the Apostle saith That Iesus Christ to the end that hee may sanctifie his people with his owne bloud suffered without the gate Heb. 13. 12. Sanctification wrought within us is the inward change of a man iustified whereby the image of God is restored in him a Protestants Religion teach Sanctity change not a non esse ad esse from a not being to a being for the faculties of the soule were before not ab esse ad non esse from a being to a not being for the faculties of the soule remaine still but ab esse ad esse from an ill being to a good being not abolishing the will minde and affections but rectifying and renuing them a change of a man iustified for we are iustified before we are sanctified Iustification is actus individuus Sanctification is actus dividuus we are iustified at once we are sanctified by degrees wee are iustified when our sinnes are not imputed unto us we are sanctified when a cleane heart is created and a right spirit renued in us Sanctification wrought by us is that whereby wee sanctifie and make holy the outward works and actions of our life This the Lord requireth Be ye holy for I am holy To this Saint Paul Levit. 11. 44. exhorteth let us cleanse our selves from all silthinesse of the flesh and 2 Cor. 7. 1. of the spirit and grow up to full holinesse in the feare of God The righteousnesse of Justification is by faith without works the righousnesse of Sanctification is by workes and by faith justifying righteousnesse is perfect but not inherent sanctifying righteousnesse is imperfect but inherent glorifying righteousnesse is perfect and inherent neverthelesse we must confesse that all our sanctification is from God Here the slander of the Papists is answered for Justification for whom God calleth he justifieth and whom hee iustifieth he sanctifieth We preach not an idle faith as they say opening windowes and doores to all wickednesse by a Solifidian error and an imputative Iustice A late Papist in his Treatise of the Eucharist saith We preach liberty we hinder good workes we teach a naked faith No no wee teach sanctity holinesse more than they who with Alexander the third
No peace to the wicked in which we fall from the Lord of life One day in thy Courts saith David is better than a thousand other where I had rather be a doore keeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tabernacles of wickednesse Sed impiis non est pax there is no peace unto the wicked their hearts never rest they are never quiet their sinne lyeth at the doores Esa 57. 20. Gen. 4. 7. alwayes dogging them and ever ready to pull out the very throat of their soules As good men have the first fruits of the Spirit and certaine tastes of heavenly joyes in this life So on the contrarie the wicked have certaine flashings of hell-flames on earth and are as the sea which alwayes rageth and never resteth And as the good man when he dyeth bequeatheth his body which is earthly to the earth and sinnes which are divellish unto the Divell and his goods that are worldly to the world and his soule that is heavenly to heaven So the wicked when he dyeth bequeatheth his goods to the world his body to the earth his soule to the Divell But some will say The wicked are merry and quiet none so merrry as they they sing like birds in May like Nightingales in a cleare night I must distinguish and say that some wicked are blockish and senselesse like swine their consciences are seared like dead flesh Mat. 7. 6. 1 Tim. 4. 2. others are desperate having an hell in their conscience trembling like Agag but yet both states damnable For is the fish that skippeth in the net or the bird that singeth in the snare or the prisoner that is merry in the iayle in any good case No 1 Sam. 13. 1 Thes 5. 3. Esa 9. 6. Ephes 2. 17. no Even so is it with the wicked when They crie peace peace sudden destruction shall come upon them as upon a Woman in travell But there is peace to the godly Peace shall come they shall rest in their beds c. Christ is their peace Pacem Evangelizavit iis qui prope iis qui procul he preached peace unto them that are neare and unto them that are afarre off To this end he died rose againe ascended into heaven the first was the lowest step of his humiliation in earth the second the highest steppe of his exaltation in earth the third the highest steppe of his glorification in heaven In the first he suffered in the second he conquered in the third he triumphed the first tooke away sinne and destroyed death and him that had the Lordship of Death The second brought Righteousnesse for he rose againe for our justification The third Heb. 2. 14. Rom. 4. 25. bringeth glory and all to this end to make peace between God and man Thirdly peace is taken for prosperitie and happy successe of all things as in the Psalme O pray for the peace of Ierusalem they shall Psal 122. 6. prosper that love thee peace be within thy walls and plenteousnesse be within thy palaces Peace and plentie are here Synonymies the one openeth the other he prayeth for plentifull peace or peaceable plentie God hath promised his Church this peace saying The Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods in the fruit of thy body in the Prosperitie is termed peace fruit of thy cattell in the fruite of thy ground the Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure even the Heaven to give raine unto thy land in due season and to blesse all the workes of thy hands thou shalt lend to many Deuter. 28. 11 12 13. nations and not borrow thy selfe The Lord shall make thee the head and not the taile thou shalt be above only not beneath c. Iacob blessing Iudas saith That he shall bind his Asse fole to the Vine his Asses colt to the best Vine he shall wash his garments in wine his Cloake with the Gen. 49. 11 12. blood of the grape that is he shall have all prosperitie and this prosperitie Iude wisheth unto them saying peace be multiplied upon you Esay prophecied of the wealth and abundance of the Church saying Thou shalt sucke the milke of the Gentiles and shalt Esa 60. 16 17. sucke the brests of Kings and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy redeemer the mightie one of Iacob For brasse I will bring gold and for Iron I will bring thee silver and for stones Iron I will also make thy government peace and thine exactors righteousnesse violence shall no more be heard in thee neither desolation nor destruction c. And God wisheth that his Church had hearkened to his commandements Then had thy prosperitie beene as the Flood and thy righteousnesse as the Waves of the Sea In six evils God would have delivered Esa 48. 18. Iob. 5. Psal 65. 11. Mal. 3. Iob. 1. Gen. 26. 1 Reg. 10. 27. it the clouds shall droppe fatnesse upon it God would open the windowes of heauen and powre downe a blessing with plenteousnesse God hath inriched the members of his Church in all ages as Iob in Huz Isaac in Gerar Salomon in Israel who had silver as stones Yea this peace and plentie is proper and peculiar to the Church onely to the godly the wicked have no right nor interest in the blessings of the earth For the elects sake God made Gen. 1. 1 Tim. 4. 8. Iohn 3. Mar. 13. Apo. 6. Rom. 8. the world For them he enriched it for them he redeemed it for their sakes he preserveth it for their sakes hee deferreth his comming to judge this world That the wicked enjoy ayre fire water let them thanke the godly who are coheires with Christ in all things the wicked are usurpers intruders into all Gods blessings they have no right to any furrow or foot of land The faithfull only are coheires with Christ in whose right they are invested into all the benefits of this life Thou art no more a servant but a Sonne saith Paul now if thou be a Sonne those art also the heyre of Gal. 4. 7. God through Christ As a bastard hath no inheritance among the legitimate Children So the wicked as bastards have no inheritance among the faithfull They may say of God and heaven as the tenne Tribes said of David and his Kingdome What portion have we in David we have no inheritance in the Sonne of Ishai So they have no portion in heaven no inheritance in the Sonne of God Christ Iesus they are Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel strangers from the Covenant and promise But the godly have right and interest in earth and heaven also In their elder brother Christ Iesus heaven is theirs heaven and earth is theirs land and sea are theirs yea all theirs men and Angels are subject unto them Prosperitie oft hurt to the Church All things are ours saith the Apostle whether it be Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the World
Soule wee shall be glorified and when as wee shall sing the songs of triumph such as none can understand save the hundred and forty foure thousand which are Apoc. 14. 3. brought from the Earth Let us therefore pray for grace to increase in us and say with Augustine Si quando steti per Dominum steti si quando cecidi per me cecidi c. If at any time I stood I stood by the Lord if at any time I fell I fell of my selfe his Grace did prevent me saving me from evils past preserving me from evils present and defending me from evils to come But I will follow this point no further but as Iude prayed that Mercy Grace and Love might be multiplied So shall I pray Mercy Peace and Love bee unto you Mercie from God the Father the Father of Mercies Peace from God the Sonne the Prince of Peace Love from God the holy Ghost the Love of the Father and the Sonne Mercy unto you releasing your sinnes Peace unto you quieting your consciences Love unto you joyning you to God and one unto another Now the very God of Mercy Peace and Love give you Mercy Peace and Love Amen THE SIXTH SERMON VERS III. Beloved when I gave c. Faith and Gods worship must be maintained HAving spoken of the Title or Inscription of this Epistle I am now come unto the second part thereof namely the Proposition which is a stirring of them up to maintaine the Faith worship and religion of God which was now at an ebbe like the Sea and eclipsed like the Sunne with false Apostles had shaken her leaves like a tree in winter Where note two things 1 That they must labour for Faith 2 The reasons why they must so labour The Reasons be three The first taken from the person of the Apostle The second from the person of God The third from the person of the Adversaries From the person of the Apostle three wayes From 1 His love 2 His paines 3 His mildnesse The second reason is taken from the person of God in that he gave this Faith where note three things The necessitie and excellencie of Faith That it is 1 His gift 2 Once given 3 Given to the Saints The last reason is taken from the Adversarie where note two things 1 The qualities 2 The end of the Adversarie But first for Faith all men must labour for it that they may say on their death-beds with Paul I have fought a good fight I 2 Tim. 7 8. have finished my course I have kept the faith from hence-forth there is laid up for me a Crowne of righteousnesse which the Lord the righteous Iudge will give me at that day and not to me onely but unto them also that love his appearing None can speake of a Crowne of glorie but he that can say that he hath kept the Faith For without Faith it is impossible to please God Wilt thou please God as Enoch did and Hebr. 11. 6. not grieve God like Israel then get faith Quod enim non est a fide peccatum est whatsoever is not of faith is sinne Paul describing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christiani the armour of a Christian compareth faith unto a shield all armour is necessarie but specially a shield Therefore saith the Apostle Above all things take the shield of faith Ephes 6. 17. wherewith we shall bee able to 〈◊〉 all â—he 〈…〉 of the wicked Where note that the Apostle contenteth not himselfe with a bare exhortation to stirre us up to labour for faith but with weighty reasons presseth his exhortation before and behind before comparatively preferring it before all other graces Above all behind simply declaring the vertue and efficacie of it Wherby yee shall bee able to quench c. By the first hee maketh way to his exhortation by the last he knocketh it downe fast even to the head as wee use for to say And the Apostle writing to Timothie willeth him to get faith 1 Tim. 1. 19. and a good conscience naming two fearefull examples One of Hymenaeus another of Alexander who had made shipwracke of faith and a good conscience And therefore Paul delivereth them up to Satan That they might learne not to blaspheme that is he did excommunicate them Faith is the vertue of all vertues As all rivers runne into the Sea so all vertues come of faith It giveth light to all vertues as the Sunne doth to all planets therefore the Apostle is so prolix in it Faith maketh us the sonnes of God else are we bastards illegitimate So many as received him to them gave he power to be the Hebr. 11. 4 5. Iohn 1. 12. Epist ad Adimanth Gen. 26. 2 Tim. 1 Cor. 4. 15. Gal. 4. Sonnes of God even to them that beleeve in his name Augustine distinguisheth of Sonnes that they are threefold sonnes by Nature so Esau was the sonne of Isaak sonnes by doctrine or imitation so Timothie was Pauls sonne so he begat the Corinths so hee travelled of Galatia Lastly sonnes by inspiration or faith so are we the sonnes of God Christ is the naturall wee the adopted sonnes of the Almightie The third is best for well is hee that hath God to his Father for the Sonne abideth in the house for Faith must be striven and laboured for ever Faith is the life of the soule as the soule is the life of the body Quod carni esca hoc animae fides what food is to the flesh the same is Faith to the soule quod cibus corpori hoc verbum spiritui what meat is to the body the same is the word to the Spirit Iohn 8. 35. To stirre us up to strive for this Faith the Holy Ghost adorneth it with many Epithetes he calleth it Rich faith 1 Pet. 1. Holy faith Iude vers 20. strong faith 1 pet 5. 8. a saving faith Ephes 2. 8. a pure faith Act. 15. 9. a precious faith 1 Pet. 1. 7. If their we regard riches strength holinesse salvation puritie let us maintaine Faith which hath all graces in it as Paradise had all fruites in it as Lapis Indicus hath all cures in it And note that they must contend strive for faith for all they are accursed that doe the worke of the Lord negligently and all Ier. 48. they shall be spued out of Gods mouth who are key-cold luke-warme and not fervent in the faith Most men therefore shall Apoc. 3. 15. goe unto the Divell and be vomited out of Gods mouth for they are Tepidi in Fide they care not what become of faith and religion so they may prosper in the world they say unto God Ioh 21. 14 15. Depart from us for we desire not the knowledge of thy wayes Who is the Almightie that we should serve him and what profit shall we have if we should pray unto him they say with Alexander Borgia Da mihi divitias caetera tolle tibi fidem spem charitatem
did with Ieremy Qui loquuti sunt ampullas Ier. 11. 21. sesquipedalia verba which spake proud haughty great and stout words Let us reprove in love not as Saul who breathed Act. 8. out threatenings and slaughter against the Congregation of Christ but Let all things be done in love For love is like honey 1 Cor. 16. 14. in bitter broth and sugar in sowre wine it is like the Sunne unto the world and a candle unto the house a light for our journey a line for our life and a rule for our reprehensions Si diligis fac Aug. in Epi. Iohn quicquid vis If thou beest in love doe what thou wilt speake or be silent exhort and rebuke call or cry so it bee in love all is well But wee are like the dogges of Coriben wee speake not but barke and bite one at another Such were the men that Paul Phil. 3. 2. gives us warning of saying Beware of dogges beware of evill workers beware of concision The mother of Nero shewed him her wombe to move him but he unnaturally ript it up but the mother of the seven children shewed them her brests in token 2 Mach. 7. of love and they would not eate Swines flesh to dye for it Sic Bern. ministri proferant ubera non verbera so let Ministers shew their breasts not their battes Docendo non jubendo movendo potius quà m minando procedant let them proceed and goe forward in teaching not in commanding in monishing not in menacing Nam Aug. plus penetrant mollia quam aspera verba milde and gentle speeches doe more penetrate and pierce than tart and bitter As for example the milde zeale of Paul preaching before Agrippa perswaded Chrysost him almost to become a Christian They that goe about In Gods matters we must be diligent and zealous to perswade with roughnesse Quos volunt meliores plerumque faciunt deteriores whom they would amend and make better many times they marre and make worse Ministers must be like unto Paul and handle their people as he did the Philippians kindly Act. 26. 28. Aug. Phil. 4. and lovingly My brethren beloved and longed for my ioy and my Crowne they must strengthen the weake heale the sicke binde up the broken bring againe that which is driven away they must seeke up the lost and not rule with crueltie and rigour they must bee as the Pelicane that feedeth her yong with her heart bloud like the Eagle that carrieth her yong on her wings so much for the first reason Another reason drawne from Iude's person is taken from his paines He gave all diligence to write of Faith In Gods matters wee must be diligent like the Dromedaries of Aegypt like the wilde Asse used to the Wildernesse that snuffeth up the winde Ier. 2. 24. at her pleasure c. wee must bee swift as Hazael or the wilde Roe in the cause of God not creepe nor goe nor run but flye Wee must march on in Religion like Iehu in his Chariot swiftly and couragiously wee must be like the ships of Merchants that bee good under faile Esay compareth the Church unto Esa 60. 8. Doves Who are these that flye like a Cloud and as Doves to their Windowes Doves they flye swiftly and they flye in companies so should we in matters of Religion Demosthenes was ashamed if hee heard the Smiths hammer goe before hee read his booke in the morning Plus olei quà m vini expendisse dicitur hee wrote more than hee dranke If this diligence was in him for humane learning what should be in us for divine Knowledge It is said of Alphonsus King of Naples that hee read the Bible over fortie times in his life such paines did he take for Salvation and so diligent was hee in the worke of the Lord and so must wee Many for the goods of the World Rise early goe to bedde late eate the bread of carefulnesse Psal 127. Looke upon the covetous man hee runnes through thicke and thinne for gold the voluptuous he refuseth no paines in pursuing his pleasures Now this care must bee in the Church for the Religion and the worship of God Let us learne husbandry for our Soules from the husbands of our bodies they are diligent to provide for the body let us be as provident for our Soules let us say with the faithfull Wee o Lord have waited for thee in the way of thy Iudgements the desire of our Soule is to thy Name and to the remembrance of thee with my Soule have I desired thee in the Esa 26. 8 9. night and with my Spirit within mee will I seeke thee in the morning Wee must take all paines to doe the Church good Iewell said oportet Episcopum mori concionantem a Bishop must dye preaching Paul for the space of three yeeres ceased not to warne every one Act. 20. 31. night and day hee was as diligent in teaching as Iude was in writing and as diligent must wee be in reading and hearing like Most men more diligent in earthly than heavenly things the men that followed Christ into the Wildernesse and abode with him three dayes hearing him and eating nothing The Artificers left their trades the Chapmen their shops the Merchants their exchange the Mariners their nets the husbandmen their fields and vineyards yea blind Bartimaeus left his cloke Iohn 6. 2. to follow Christ and to heare him Salomon would have men labour for Wisedome as they doe for Silver and then they should have it If it concerne our profit or our pleasure Lord what paines will wee take Impiger extremos currit mercator ad Indos the unwearied Merchant runnes to the furthest Indies Againe as touching pleasure pernoctant venatores in nive pugiles cestibus contusi non ingemiscunt the Huntsmen sleepe in the Snow watch Tulli. in Tuscuk upon turffes though bruised they are not moved Onely for Faith wee will take no paines though Christ cry unto us Ho every one that thirsteth come unto the Waters and yee that have no mony Esa 55. 1. come buy and eate come I say buy wine and milke without silver and without money yet wee come not But to proceede why was Iude so carefull and earnest that hee gave all diligence to write unto them It was because he wrote to them of Salvation 〈◊〉 was it that carryed him into this heate as the Apostle said They could not but speake the things which Act. 4. 20. they had heard and seene So Iude gave all dilgence to write of Salvation which hee had heard and seene If a man had as many hands and pennes as Argus had eyes all were too little to write of Salvation the worthinesse and rarenesse of the Argument is such What a care had Paul of his Salvation it carried him away in such sort that hee said Behold I goe bound unto Ierusalem and know not what things shall come
in dishes after the manner of an Alphabet like Bonosus who as one saith was borne not to live but to drinke like Tiberius Nero called Biberius Mero like Iezabel that painted her face wee powre out our selves in all excesse of riot and so turne all grace to wantonnesse But let us thinke it sufficient for us that we have spent the time past of this life after the lusts of the Gentiles walking in wantonnesse lusts drunkennesse in gluttonie 1 Pet. 4. 3. 4. drinkings and in abominable Idolatrie Wherein it seemeth to them strange that yee runne not with them unto the same excesse of riot c. They be vile creatures that are unkinde to their Sires as the Hippotamos of Nilus that eateth his damme as the Pelicane that sucketh the heart-blood of the old one as the wilde Asse that kicketh her damme as the Viper that eateth out the belly of the old one and such be we God may say of us as Ieremie of the Ier. 5. 7. Iewes I have fed them to the full yet they committed adulterie and assembled themselves by companies in harlots houses They rose up in the morning like fed horses every man neyed after his neighbours wife Here I have to deale with two sortes of men the first are they that refuse the grace gifts goodnes of the Lord in the land of the living Such were the Stoickes that would enjoy no more than they could carry with them they said with Bias Omnia mea mecum porto All that is mine I carry with me that with Crates hurled their silver into the Sea Such were the Essenes in Christs time that had a bed but a span-broad that strawed thornes under them lest they should sleep too long Such were the Hermites in the primitive Church as Antonie Macarius Paulus Thebaeus Hilarion Such were the Monks in Ieromes dayes of whom he maketh three kindes Anchorites Caenobites and the Enobites which fled all company Oppidum illis erat carcer the towne was their prison solitudo autem erat Paradisus the wildernesse was their paradise their bread was acornes their drinke water their meate rootes their bed cold ground Biberunt non è calice sed è concha they dranke not out of a cup but out of a shell Amicti erant non pannis sed pellibus they were clad not with cloth but with skinnes such were our Fryers that professed wilfull poverty such were women the Anchoresses that had no more ground than they scraped with their nayles but God hath given the earth and the fruits thereof to the Sonnes of men So saith the Psalmist The Heavens even the Heavens are the Lords but he hath given the earth to Psal 115. 16. the Sonnes of men It is as lawfull to enjoy the creatures of God as to live The wicked eate the bread of wickednesse and drinke the Pleasure oft ends with sudden destructiō drinke of violence which is unlawfull but to eate the bread of righteousnesse and to drinke the wine well got is lawfull Many are theeves both to their backs and bellies and unthankfull Prou. 4. 17. unto God but so must not wee Christ was present at the Iewes feasts he came Edens bibens eating and drinking therefore they said that he was Edax bibax 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if Luk. 7. 34. he had surfeited wee are the heires of heaven and coheires with Christ and have right in all the creatures of God all is ours heaven is ours heaven and earth is ours if thy garments be silke 1 Cor. 3. thou maiest put them on if thy table be furnished with meate thou maiest eate what thy stomacke craveth if thy Hounds will take the beasts of the land or thy Hawk the fowles of the aire thou maiest doe it I speake not to justifie the abuse of the world that have turned all into riot and usurped upon al the creatures of God with such men or monsters rather I meddle not but in the sinne wherein I found them in that I leave them I speake only of the recreation that God hath given unto his Saints in this wearie life From the heavens in the Sunne Moone and Starres from the ayre in fowles and birds some made for meate some for mirth from the earth in trees fruits and flowers and hearbs some made for necessitie some for pleasure as seeing and smelling from the Sea in variety of fishes Whereupon the Prophet exclaimeth saying O Lord how manifold are thy workes in wisdome hast thou made them all the earth is full of thy riches so is the great and Psal 104. 24. wide Sea also wherein are things creeping innumerable both small beasts and great If by faith thou art made a member of Christ his right is thine in all the creatures of the world and in his name and to his glory thou maiest use them But we are not troubled with Stoikes Essenes Hermites Monkes Fryers Anchoresses c. but with Epicures qui ducunt dies in bonis subitò descendunt ad infernum which a learned man englisheth thus They sleepe soundly and drinke profoundly and goe to the Divell roundly and that is no lye For they live waxe fat and grow in wealth their seede is established in their sight Iob 21. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13. with them and their generation before their eyes their houses are peaceable without feare and the rod of God is not upon them their bullcoke gendreth and faileth not their Cow calveth and casteth not her calfe They send forth their children like sheep and their sonnes dance they take the tabret and the harpe and rejoyce in the sound of the organes they spend their dayes in wealth and sodenly they goe downe to the grave Their throates are sepulchers their stomacks sponges their bellies graves their hands talons their fingers loadstones they eate with Ceres and drinke with Bacchus and sport with Venus Apollo must tickle their eares with the Lute the Muses must sound in that service the Graces must waite on their trencher Ganimede must fill them the cup they are sorry that their patrimonies are Voluptuous mens practises described no larger their bellies no wider their throats no deeper their lives no longer that they might live still in all pleasure So that the saying of S. Iames may be verified in them Yee have lived in Iam. 5. 5. pleasure on the earth and in wantonnesse yee have nourished your hearts as in the day of slaughter They wish with Philopenus a necke as long as a Cranes necke that they may feele the sweetnesse of their meate a long time in their companie is the tabret harpe lute and a paire of cards sooner than the New Testament and as the Prophet speaketh The harpe the viall the timbrell and pipe and wine Esa 5. 12. are in their feasts they regard not the workes of the Lord neither consider the worke of his hands God calleth them to prayer fasting mourning
three not by composition of parts but by coexistence of persons The Iewes also note in the verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bara the mysterie of the Trinity by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Beth the Sonne by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Resh Ruah the Spirit by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aleph Ab the Father Christ is many wayes divided But this holy mystery is more clearely taught by Moses Gen. 3. 22. Againe They deny Christ of which sort there bee many The Iewes deny that he is come the Pagans deny that ever he will come the Turkes confesse that hee is come but yet as a man not as a God inferiour to their Mahomet the Papists confesse in words that hee is come but in truth denying the person of Christ making his body every where that is no where yea many have denyed Christ and robbed the Creator to give to the Creature the Italians ascribe all to the Pope the Irish to Saint Patrick the Scots to Palladius the Russians to Saint Nicholas Munster in Cosmog and the Calicutes to the Divell But to speake orderly men deny Christ many wayes Some deny his Divinity as the Arrians some his Humanitie as the Vbiquetaries some his Natures by renting them a sunder as the Nestorians who make two Christs one the sonne of God another the sonne of Mary some deny them by confounding them as Eutiches Qui dixit humanitatem a divinitate absorptam esse which said that his Humanity was swallowed up of his Divinity some deny him by concealing him in time of persecution as the Nichodemites doe A Sect against which we are to lift up our voyces like Trumpets for He that denyeth Christ in Earth Mat. 10. 33. before men shall be denyed in Heaven before Angels For this cause they of Ephesus are said not to have denyed Christ but to have suffered for his sake and to have laboured without fainting And Apoc. 2. 3. they of Pergamos are said not to have denyed Christ For though their habitation was where Sathans throne is yet they professed his name and not denyed the faith Remember that the fearefull are placed with Vriah in the forefront in the vauntguard Apoc. 2. 13. of the damned so saith Saint Iohn The fearefull and unbeleeving and the abominable and murtherers and whoremongers and sorcerers and Idolaters and all lyars shall have their part Apoc. 21. 8. in the Lake that burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second Death On the contrary Righteous men are compared to Lions which feare no colours so saith Salomon The wicked flee when Prov. 28. 1. Luke 8. 1 Pet. 1. none pursueth him but the Righteous are as bold as a Lion on the other side its naughty ground that will be scorched with heat it is drosse not gold that will bee melted in the fire it is counterfeit not right Balme that will not abide the water it is a bastard Eagle that soareth not to the Sunne Hee is a Coward Exod. 19. not a Souldier that shrinketh in the battell Hee is an Infidell and not a Christian that denyeth Christ in persecution For one Faith is named one Profession Hold fast saith the Apostle the Profession of your hope without wavering And againe Heb. 10. 23. Heb. 3. 1. Consider the Apostle and high Priest of your Profession Christ Iesus Much Profession much Faith no profession no Faith Christ is denied when the efficacie of his death is denied But chiefely we deny the Lord Iesus two wayes First by denying the sufficiencie of his death as the Galathians did and as the Iews did and as our Papists now who will not let Christ be a Saviour alone but they joyne workes with him but all workes are accursed so saith the Apostle As many as are of the workes Gal. 2. Rom. 10. Gal. 3. 10. of the Law that is thinke to bee justified by them are under the Curse Secondly wee deny the Lord Iesus by denying the efficacie or vertue of his Death not dying unto sinne Therefore Awake thou that sleepest and stand up from Death that Christ may give thee Ephes 5. 14. Light For as the Sunne doth not warme all whom it lighteneth as the people under the North Pole who have the Sun sixe moneths together and yet freeze so the Spirit of God doth not cause all to feele the vertue of his Death whom hee illuminateth with the knowledge of his death Such are our Atheists the former are Papists the later are Atheists and both deny Christ The profession of Christ standeth not in words but in deeds not in tongue but in heart not in opinion but in life The Apostle nameth a true Knowledge for many know not God truely Saint Peter calleth it an Idle knowledge distinguishing of knowledge that it is Operans otiosa a working and an idle 2 Pet. 2. 8. knowledge for some carrie Christ in their mouth and braine as perfume in a Pomander without smell as a sword in a scabbard without cutting as fire in a flint without heat But this I will say to thee in the sight of God and his Angels that if thou doest not dye to sinne and rise againe by a new life if thou doest not kill sinne in thee as Murder Whoredome Malice covetousnesse Vsury Pride Drunkennesse c. thou doest neither beleeve the Death nor the Resurrection of Iesus Christ So saith Paul Know yee not that all wee which have beene baptized into Iesus Christ have beene baptized into his Death And againe If wee Rom. 6. 3 5 6. be grafted with him to the similitude of his Death even so shall wee be to the similitude of his Resurrection Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sinne might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sinne And Saint Iohn the disciple whom Iesus loved and which leaned on his breast at supper saith Hereby are wee sure that wee know him if wee keepe his Commandements hee that saith hee knoweth him and keepeth not his Commandements is a 1 Iohn 2. 4 5. Lyar and the Truth is not in him This Death unto sinne and Resurrection to newnesse of life Paul calleth it the vertue of his Death The vertue of his Resurrection The stone Dioscorides is nothing Phil. 3. 10. in the mouth of a dead man And all knowledge of Christ is nothing in a carnall man The death of Christ truely beleeved will cause thee to dye unto sinne and the Resurrection of Christ will cause the dead body to rise unto eternall life and the dead minde to an holy life So saith the Apostle If yee The Papists deny the offices of Christ by consequence bee risen with Christ seeke the things that are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God set your affections upon Heavenly things and not upon Earthly for yee are dead and your life is hid in God c. The Iewes know Christ but not truly
us unto an holy calling Not according to our workes but according to his owne purpose and grace which was given us through Christ Iesus before the World was It is true of all men that Christ said of his disciples non vos me elegistis yee have not chosen mee but I have chosen you yea God so preventeth us with his grace that hee findeth nothing past or to come whereby God chose us and bee reconciled unto us For who hath given unto him first that is provoked him by his good workes A lively example wee have in these two brethren Esau and Iacob both twinnes both inclosed in one wombe yet hee rejected the one and chose the other Non ex operibus not by workes but by him that calleth Deus coronat opera Rom. 9. 11. sua non merita nostra God crowneth his gifts not our merits Cui daret justus judex coronâ—â—â— nisi cui dedisset pater misericors indebitam gratiam To whom should the just Iudge give the crowne but unto whom the Father of Mercy giveth undeserved Grace And he addeth Ne dicas ideo electus sum quia credebam Aug. tract 86. in Iob. si enim credebas jam cum elegeras non ipse te sic judicium esset penos lutum non penes figulum Doe not say I am elected because I did beleeve for if thou diddest beleeve thou haddest now chosen him and not hee thee and so the Iudgement had beene in the power of the clay and not of the potter But heare what Christ saith Yee have not chosen mee but I have chosen you I say therefore with Saint Ambrose Iustitia nostra magis constat remissione peccatorum quam perfectione virtutum our righteousnesse consisteth more in the remission of our sinnes than in the perfection of our vertues Even as David declareth the blessednesse of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousnesse without workes saying Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose Psal 32. 1 2. sin is covered blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth no sinne One Father saith thus when wee were not God made us when wee were sinners hee Iustified us when we were in prison hee freed us when wee were mortall hee glorified us Another Rom. 5. 1. Luke 4. 18. Rom. 8. 30. Father saith God by his Wisedome hath foreknowne us by his Gospell hee calleth us by his Faith hee justifieth us by his Iustice hee damneth us by his Grace he saveth us So that all is of his meere goodnesse and no cause to expostulate with God His Iudgements are just but yet secret Secret things saith Deut. 29. 29. Moses belong to the Lord our God but the things revealed belong unto Five signes of Election two internall us But if the Heavens declare the glory of God let us speake to his glory Secreta Dei sunt adoranda non scrutanda Secret things are to bee adored not searched It is not good to eate too Prov. 25. 27. much Hony so to search their owne glory is not glory It is reported of Augustine that being about to write his bookes of the Trinity hee was taught by a childe who laded the Sea into a little spoone to whom Augustine said that hee laboured in vaine for his little spoone could not containe the Sea To whom the child replied that his little Wisedome his shallow braine could not containe the depth of the Trinity But you will say how shall wee know our election that wee may bee comforted against all the assaults of Satan that wee may say with the sweet singer of Israel Though I should walke through the valley of the shadow of death I will feare no evill for thou art Psal 23. with mee thy rod and thy staffe shall comfort mee And with Paul I 2 Tim. 4. 6 7. 8 have fought a good fight I have kept the Faith I have finished my course from hence forward there is laid up for mee a crowne of glory which the Lord will give mee at that day and not to mee onely but unto all them also that love his appearing I answere that no man can bee deceived in the state of his election but hee that deceiveth himselfe for wee may know whether wee stand in the state of Grace or no. Danaeus maketh Danaeus in Isagog five signes of election As the comming of the Swallow is a signe of the Spring as the putting forth of the figge-tree is a signe of Summer as the whitenesse of the region is a signe of Harvest So there bee many undoubted signes of our election 1 The first is the inward testimony of Gods Spirit the seale and earnest-penny of our Salvation For it is God that hath Sealed us and hath given us the Earnest of his Spirit in our 2 Cor. 1. 22. hearts The Apostle compareth the Word to a writing the Spirit to a seale that ratifieth all Clamat in nobis Abba the same Rom. 8. 16. Gal. 4. 6. Luke 11. 11. Spirit beareth witnesse to our Spirit that wee are the children of God And because wee are Sonnes God hath sent the Spirit of his Sonne into your hearts which cryeth Abba Father And if God be our Father how can wee doubt of our inheritance If wee aske Fish he will not give us a Serpent If Heaven he will not give us Hell 2 The second signe is our faith which is knowne by the effects as the Eagle by her feathers as the tree of Life by the fruits of it Thus Paul bade the Corinths try their faith Prove your selves whether yee are in the Faith examine your selves c. Qui 2 Cor. 13. 5. credit salvabitur he that beleeveth shall bee saved and this faith may be knowne to us if wee will search our selves Christ asked Mar. 16. 16. Iohn 8. the woman taken in Adultery where her accusers were So aske thy heart where thy sinnes are and if thou doest beleeve it will say with the woman that they are all gone Qui enim credit transit Three externall signes of Election a morte ad vitam Hee that beleeveth in him is passed from death to life for all that are borne of God overcommeth the World And this is the victory that overcommeth the World even our Faith Iohn 3. 1 Iohn 5. 4. Hereupon Paul triumpheth over Death Hell Hunger Cold Nakednesse Perill Sword and concludeth That neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Power nor Things present nor Things to come nor Height nor Depth nor any other Creature Rom. 8. 38 39. shall bee able to separate us from the Love of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord. 3 The third signe is the conformity of our will to Gods will to love that which God loveth and to hate that which God hateth therefore wee pray that Gods will may bee done on Earth as it is in Heaven He that doth the will of God shall abide Mat. 6. for ever
25. In the glory of his Father with all his holy Angels Thirdly great in respect of the prisoners that shall be arraigned For when he shall come in the clouds of heaven every eye shall see him even those that peirced him and all the kindreds of the earth shall wayle Apoc. 1. 7. before him Nay then The Kings of the earth and great men and rich Apoc. 6. 15. men and the chiefe Captaines and the mighty men and every bond man and every free man shall be arraigned And therefore it may well be called a great day for if the particular day of the destruction of Ierusalem was so grievous that the Prophet cryed out The great Zeph. 1. 14 15 16 day of the Lord is neer it is neer hasteth greatly even the voice of the day of the Lord the strong man shall cry there bitterly That day is a day of wrath a day of trouble and heavinesse a day of destruction and desolation a day of obscurity and darkenesse a day of clouds and blacknesse a day of Iâ—â—l 2. 10. 11. the trumpet and alarum against the strong Cities c. And againe the earth shall tremble before him the heavens shall shake the Sunne and Moone shall be darke and the starres shall withdraw their shining and the Lord shall utter his voyce before his host for his host is very great For he is strong that doth his work For the day of the Lord is great very terrible and who can abide it What shall be the generall day of the destruction of the whole world when the Elements shall melt with 2 Pet. 3. heat the heavens shall passe away with a noyse the earth shall reele and stagger like a drunken man and the world shall burne Good Lord what a great day will this be when all the Saints out of heaven all the damned out of hell all the dead bodies out of the earth must appeare Not an Angell spared not a divell respited not a Saint or sinner rescued but all must be summoned to give their attendance and to make their appearances Once the world was destroyed with water but now it shal be consumed with fire For the Lord Iesus shall shew himselfe from heaven with his mighty Angels 1 Thes 1. 7 8. in flaming fire rendring vengeance unto them which know not God and which obey not the Gospell of our Lord Iesus Christ Let thy heart dwell seriously in this meditation but a little imagine that thou sawest the world on fire the Iudge sitting the dead standing before him the sinnes of all men revealed the divels accusing Eccles 7 38. them it would beat downe many sinnes in thee Remember the end and thou shalt never doe amisse Christ speaking of that day saith That there shall be signs in the Sun and in the Moon and in the Stars and Luke 21. 25 26 upon the earth trouble among Nations with perplexity the Sea and the waters shall rore and mens hearts shall faile them for feare and for looking after those things that shall come on the world for the powers of heaven Iudgement terrible to all but especially to the wicked shall be shaken Others Sessions and assizes be fearefull to malefactors what shall Gods assizes bee when the Ancient of dayes shall sit whose garments are white as snow and the haire of his head is like pure wooll and his throne like a firy flame Then Dan. 7. 9. fulminabit dominus e Caelo the Lord shall thunder from heaven and the highest will give his voyce And if the thunder and ratling of a cloud be so terrible what terrour shall there bee when he shall thunder that sits above the clouds For then Terra tremet Mare mugiet the earth shall quake the Sea rore the ayre ring the World burne and if Tota terra the whole pillars of the earth must move how should this move man who is but a cold of earth If virtutes Coeli the powers of heaven must tremble what will befall those mindes of mudde and earth that have never a thought of heaven If the Angels of God shall stand then at a gaze how agast will the wicked be whose portion is with the Divell and his Angels If the Heavens must cleave and the Elements bee rent asunder how will earthly hearts faile and breake If the righteous shall scarce be saved Vbi impius Where shall the wicked and the sinner appeare If S. Ciprian is said so Ciprian much to feare diem Iudicii the day of Iudgement that he cleane forgot diem martyrii the day of Martyrdome and earthly torment and no marvell Nam timor mortis nihil ad timorem Iudicis the feare of temporall death is nothing to the feare of him that hath power of eternall life and death And if they be in such amaze Ad quos judex For whose glorie and good the Iudge shall come how shall they stand amazed Contra quos Index against Apoc. 20. whom and for whose eternall shame and paine the Iudge shall 1 Coâ— 1. 25. come If Heaven and earth shall flie before him Quomodo stabimus ante potentissimum quem nemo potest vincere how shall we be 1 Tim 1. 17. able to stand before the most mightie whom none can vanquish For the weakenes of God is stronger than men Ante prudentissimum quem nemo potest fallere before the most wise whom no man can deceive For he is God only Wise and in him are hid all the treasures of wisdome knowledge and understanding Ante piissimum quem nemo potest corrumpere before the most just whom no man can corrupt His judgement will be Rectum judicium a right and a true judgement he cannot faile either Ignorantia legis as not knowing the Law For he gave the Law and he will judge according to the Law nor yet ignorantia facti As not seeing the fact For his eyes goe thorow the World Ye may interprete them if ye will 7. thousand thousand eyes For he is Totus oculus All eye Aug. The consideration of this should stirre us up to be carefull and circumspect in all our wayes that we never treade our shooe awry nor offend this Iudge in any thing that at this great day we may find him a gentle and a loving Lambe and not a Lion of Iuda For as to the wicked the Iudge is terrible so to the godly friendly and as to the wicked this great day is a day How can the wicked stand before the uncorrupt Iudge of redemption But to proceed a little further this day is called a day 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by an excellencie For never day was like unto it In the day of Israel when he went out of Aegypt The Sea fledde Iordan was driven backe the mountaines skipped like Rammes and the little hills like yong Sheepe In the day of Iosua the Sunne stood still in Psal 114. Heaven from morning to noone
4. second was Gabriel named also by the Phrophet Daniel and by the Evangelist S. Luke as it appeareth in his Gospel the third is Raphael of whom ye may read in the history of Tobias the fourth was Vriel mentioned in Esdras 4. the fifth was Ieremiel recorded in the 4. of Esdras 5. yet there bee infinite good Angels For Thousand thousands minister unto him and tenne hundred thousand stand Divers Angels named their office and order before him These Angels pitch their tents round about us they keepe in our wayes they rejoyce at the conversion of sinners they behold the face of our heavenly father they carry our soules into Abrahams bosome they be ministring spirits sent forth for their Dan. 7. 10. Psal 34. Psal 91. Luke 15. Mat. 16. 22. Hebr. 1. 14. sakes that bee heires of salvation though wee see not these Angels for they be spirituall and intellectuall substances yet they attend upon us they ride and journey with us As there be Angels so there be Archangels as Michaell here is called an Archangell How hee came to be an Archangell there bee differences in opinion but I will passe that over with silence Some learned men thinke that by the Archangell is meant Christ and that there is no other Archangell but hee but others thinke that one and the same spirit may have both the name of an Angell and an Archangell by reason of a greater or lesser worke of God committed to him of God so saith Basill a celestiall spirit is called Basil lib. 3. adversus Eunomium an Archangell when being accompanied with other Angels in the worke of the Lord hee is a guide and Leader to them Nam inter Angelos est ordo there is an order among Angels So wee read Esa 6. Pro. 25. 27. of Cherubins and Seraphins But I will not be curious where God hath kept secret Hony is good but too much hony is not good Praestat dubitare de occultis quà m litigare de incertis It is better to doubt of secret things than braugle about incertaine As for this disputation betwixt Michael and Satan it was not feigned but true and reall not corporall but spirituall they have not Vocem articulatam an articulate voyce they bee spirits and Gen. 18. have neither flesh nor bones as wee have and so consequently neither tongue nor mouth to speake or dispute with yet God giveth them speech and so they spake to Abraham As men fight with swords speares and staves so the spirits good and bad contend with spirituall weapons as with will understanding and memory Wee read of foure notable contentions betweene the good and bad Angels the first in Heaven for saith Saint Iohn I saw a great battell in Heaven Michaell and his Angels fought against the dragon and the dragon and his Angels fought Apoc. 12. 7. and prevailed not The second in the Kingdome of the Persians when as the Angell of the Persians resisted Gabriel one and Dan. 10. 13. twenty dayes The third in the house of Raguel where Asmodaeus Tob. 6. was vanquished by Raphael The fourth and last in mount Nebo upon the top of Pisgah and of this battel speaketh Iude in this present Deut. 34. 1. place The matter of this strife was that the Divell tooke upon him to reveale the Sepulchre of Moses whom God buried secretly lest the Israelites should commit idolatrie with it as they did with the Numb 21 brasen Serpent which cured the stings of the fierie Serpents So Ierome speaketh of the grave of Hilarion how sixteene blind men received Ier sight there Eusebius of Spiridions daughter how shee rose from Euseb the dead to tell of things lost So Ambrose speaketh of the tombe Satan desire to deceive with false apparicions of Saint Agnes and of Gervasius and Prothisius how that their bodies were full of bloud and their bones full of marrow a hundred yeares after their buriall And there is no end of this madnesse Ambr. God seeing this hid Moses body lest the people should worship it Satan laboured to reveale it that thereby he might bring the people to idolatry For Satan will move every stone to set up idolatry yea even Moses body But concerning Moses body we learne first that it is said That Deut. 34 6. the Lord buried him and therefore to bury the dead is no contemptible worke it is a worke fit for Gods Minister Againe it should seeme that no man knew the grave of Moses yet the Divell knew where it was and therefore because Moses was one whom the Iewes being alive did greatly reverence For he was a Preacher Mighty in word and in deed the Divell would have made an Idoll of his bodie and have the people worship it being dead So then wee may learne that if God would not have Moses body worshipped much lesse the image of Moses or any Saint Againe if the Divell would have had Moses body to beguile the people the which he could not have then no doubt that which hee can have hee will not omit that is to take upon him Moses shape or the shape of a Saint or an Angell to beguile us withall Therefore let every good man say with Paul Wee are not ignorant of Satans wiles wee know his fetches his devices he tooke upon him 2 Cor. 2. 11. the shape of Samuel the shape of an Angel therefore I will beleeve 1 Sam. â—8 14 no apparisions no revelations I will onely rest upon the Word wherein is contained all things nessarie to salvation But in that Satan durst contend with Michael an Archangell see his boldnesse and cruelty hee laboureth to seduce men and Angels For Hee was a murtherer from the beginning so that he is like Iohn 8. 44. an old hangman flesht in bloud and cruelty Christ calleth him the Envious man and Saint Peter calleth him a roaring Lion hee roareth in Court in Countrey in Cities in Cloysters in Shops Mat. â—3 1 Pet. 5. 8. and Ware-houses in Schooles and Vniversities Vbique praedam quaerit every where hee seeketh for his prey Iohn calleth him the red Dragon which had seven heads and tenne hornes and he nameth him Appollyon and Abaddon So it is said that the beast spake by the Apoc. 12. Apoc. 9. Apoc. 13. Iob 1. mouth of a greater beast meaning the Divell Thus we read that hee did set upon Iob onely for that hee feared God after the returne from Babylon presently hee set upon Iehosua but the Lord reproved him even the Lord that hath chosen Ierusalem But this is most strange that he durst encounter with Christ Hee came unto him and said If thou be the Sonne of God command these stones be made zach 3. 1 2. Mat. 4 3. Ephes 6. 12. bread c. Paul saith that wee Wrastle not with flesh and bloud but against principalities and powers against worldly governors against the governors of the darkenesse of
Privativa privative There is an ignorance not sinnefull as in Adam not to know his nakednesse nor the serpents subtilty in the Angels and Christ Gen. 3. as man not to know the latter day Quia proprium est humanae naturae Mar. 13. 32. futura ignorare because it is the property of Humanity to be ignorant of future things and this is Ignorantia justa lawfull ignorance but there is an ignorance utterly unlawfull for it is sinne and the cause of sinne and companion of the same The Iewes crucified Christ thorow ignorance For if they had knowne Acts 3. 17. they would never have crucified the Lord of glory Why did the Samaritans so rayle on the Iewes Alas they knew nothing why Iohn 4. 22. 1 Cor. 2. 7. rayled the Princes on Christ they knew him not why did the Galathians revile the Christians in the point of Law for that they knew it not why doe the Brownists and Papists rayle on us Nesciunt Scripturas they know not the Scriptures I say to them as Paul to the Galathians Tell me ye that be under the Law Gal. 4. 21. doe ye not heare of the Law c. So tell me ye that will under Antichrist doe ye not know Popery yee doe not why doe the earth-wormes rayle on us in fayres markets tavernes Nil sciunt they know nothing They may say with Socrates Hoc scio quod nihil scio this one thing I know that I know nothing Hence came Anabaptisme from Rotman Quintinus Pocquinus Persevallus being Ostlers Chamberlaines Tapsters Coblers c. Lucinus wished that his writings might not be read either of men too Meanes to come to true knowledge learned or utterly unlearned Quod alteri nihil intelligunt alteri plus fortasse quà m ipse de se because the one sort understood nothing the other understood perhaps more than hee understood of himselfe So we would preach to neither Sed si optio daretur If I might have my wish wee had rather preach to the learned than to the ignorant for we had rather be reprehended than not to be understood Well is he that preacheth to an eare of understanding and not as Actaeon did to his dogges Rebuke not a scorner lest he hate thee but rebuke a wise man and he will love thee give Prov. 9. 8 9. admonition to the wise and hee will be the wiser teach a righteous man and he will increase in learning And indeed how should wee have knowledge we read nothing wee search not the Scriptures we attend not to reading to exhortation and doctrine All our Iohn 5. 29. knowledge must come from hearing which being so our knowledge can bee but small for wee heare not a Sermon from one moneth to another nor handle a Booke from one Sunday to another and then our knowledge must needs be small for our eares are like a reedle or sieve that can hold no water or an Vnthrifts purse that can hold no money Saint Augustine commendeth unto us foure things to bring us unto knowledge 1. Reading 2. Meditating 3. Praying 4. Contemplating Reading is an assiduous perusing of the holy Scriptures joyned with the attentive hearing of the Word preached The Eunuch was a diligent reader of the Prophet Esay The Disciples Acts 8. 27. of Troas heard Paul preach untill midnight The Nobles of Berea received the Word with readinesse But these men heare little Act. 17. 11. read lesse Meditating is an earnest imployment of the minde a thing straightly commanded and commended Let not the Booke of the Law depart out of thy mouth but meditate therein day and night For Ios 1. 8. blessed is the man that doth delight in the Law of the Lord and in that Psal 1. Law doth meditate day and night But our meditations are not setled upon the Law and Ordinances of the Almighty Prayer is a lifting up of the minde to God craving his blessings and praising him for his mercies reading enquireth meditation findeth prayer requesteth but contemplation tasteth how sweet and gracious the Lord is Yee know that it is the Commandement of the Lord Seeke and yee shall finde knock Mat. 7. and it shall bee opened unto you If wee seeke by reading wee shall finde by meditating if wee knocke by praying it shall be opened unto us by contemplating but these neither seeke by reading nor find by meditating nor knocke by praying they are as horse and mule in whom there is no understanding For they Motives to stirre up to use the means to get knowledge Speake evill of things they know not Luther said if there bee a Paradise in this earth it is in Churches of preaching or schooles of learning so that wee have grace to learne in them They were wont to say give a man learning and turne him loose but that Proverbe was bred in another age when learning was more esteemed Quando erat rarior carior when it was more rare and deare but this is a time of ignorance whetein men raile on all the workes of God for want of knowledge but this is a desperate disease and for mee let it grow till it be rottennesse in their bones I speake not in hope of amendment but to beare witnesse of their sinne against the day of the Lord. Is there no Balme in Gilead Is there no Knowledge in England A man without Knowledge is as a workeman without his hands as a Ier. 8. 22. Painter without his eyes as a Traveller without his legges Imago mortis vivi hominis sepultura The image of death Lazarus sepulcher no true man Nemo potest jure dici homo nisi qui sapiens est Seneca only the wise man is a right man and the man of understanding is onely wise The Heathens tooke paines for naturall knowledge and built Libraries by their Temples and the Romans by their Capitoll In Athens were Vniversities and the Students called Philosophers In Persia Magi. In India Gymnosophistes and in England Druides Ierusalem had more than foure hundred schooles Samuel taught at Rama Elizeus at Ierico Iohn at Ephesus Marke at Alexandria and Paul at Rome Charles erected universities at Paris Tolouse Papia Padua and Prague Pithagoras travelled many Countries for knowledge Apollonius compassed ninty Regions and Plato was sold in his travailes Simonides studied seventy yeares Anaxagoras seventy two Thales seventy eight Socrates eighty foure Milesius ninty seven Livie wrote an hundred and forty bookes and Pliny threescore and fifteene All men desire knowledge and the reason is Cupiditas discendi optima ratio vivendi desire of learning is the best way of living Philip rejoyced that Alexander was borne in the daies of Aristotle and blesse thou God that thou livest in these daies of knowledge Blessed are the eyes which see that ye see For I tell you that many Prophets and Kings have desired to see those things that yee see and have not seene them and to heare those
sanctity and holinesse then hypocrites as drie clouds make shewes of raine corrupt trees a shew of fruite wandring starres of light so they of religion They have a shew of holinesse saith the Apostle but inwardly they denie the power of it outwardly 2 Tim. 3. 5. they professe to know God but inwardly in their workes they doe deny him being abominable disobedient and unto every good Tit. 1. 16. Mat. 7. 21. worke reprobate They cry Lord Lord but they doe not the will of the Lord they say The Lord liveth yet they sweare to deceive Herod will make a great bragge of loving and worshipping of Christ Goe your wayes and search diligently for the Child and when yee Mat. 2. have found him bring me word that I may come and worship him Iezabel will proclaime a solemne feast the Herodians will speake 1 Reg. 21. 9. Christ faire Good master thou art true and teachest the way of God truly The adversaries of Iudah and Benjamin will pretend to worship God wee will build with you wee will sacrifice with you Simon Mat. 22. Magus will offer money to the Apostles that on whomsoever he God will reward the hypocrite as hee is not as hee sheweth lay his hands hee may receive the Holy Ghost and Saul will say that he hath done all that God commandeth and Iudas will come to Christ with a kisse and say Haile Master But Herods purpose was to kill Christ Iezabels to get away Naboths Act. 8. 1 Sam. 13. Mat. 26. vineyard the Herodians drift was to tempt and intrappe Christ the adversaries of Iuda Benjamin to hinder the worke of God to spie out their libertie Simon Magus to make gaine of the Holy Ghost Iudas to betray Christ for none will weep faster then the Crocodile and as did Ismael none will give a fairer Ier. 41. 6. 2. Cor. 11. kisse then a Iudas and no Divell is so dangerous as the white Divell as hee that changeth himselfe into an Angell of light but such trees without fruit such welles without water such clouds without raine such lampes without oyle such starres without light such eares without corne such lampes without oyle as they live not the life of the righteous so shall they not dye the death of the righteous Therefore brethren let us not bee like silver white in shew and yet makes blacke strikes and lines nor like the Vintner that delivers good wine to his guests and drinkes the lees himselfe For though wee can talke holily and speake religiously yet Not Mat. 7. 21. every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdome of Heaven but he that doth the will of God which is in Heaven It was wittily observed of one that God in forming man first frames the heart but the Painter in portraying a man first deciphers the face so the hypocrite he is all in shew nothing in heart his heart is with Venus or Bacchus or Mammon his face his countenance only with God It is written of the foxe that hee faines himselfe dead when hee comes among birds or poultery but when hee sees them come neere unto him hee suddenly preyes on them So the hypocrite as one dead unto the world and a man mortified converseth amongst the harmelesse untill he getteth some occasion of calumniating biting and devouring this is Iohn Baptists generation of Vipers that inwardly nourish poison Mat. 3. 7. but outwardly hisse forth a kind of zeale Salomon speaketh of a generation that is pure in their owne eyes and yet are not washed Pro. 30. 12. from their filthines these are the generation of hypocrites they professe well and make a shew of religion but expresse it not like the figge-tree that bare leaves but no fruite The profession Mar. 11. of many is as the travell of the mountaines we have two faces with Ianus one to looke forward another to looke backward we have two hands with Ioab one to embrace withall another 2 Sam. 3. to stabbe withall we have two tongues with Iudas one to salute Christ another to betray Christ we have two hearts with Israel Mat. 25. Psal 78. one for God another for the world The frogge Borax hath two livers one for meate another for poison The Arrians had two faiths one for the truth and Nicene Councell another for the Many Christians in shew few in deed truth time they had fidem annuam ac fidem menstruam a yeerely faith a monethly faith The Israelites cried Haile King Salomō haile King Adonia Apuleius Parret said Ave Auguste Imperator Ave Antoni haile Augustus the Emperor haile Anthony And many hypocrites 1 Reg. 1. have said Haile Mary Haile Elizabeth and to gaine the world we would say Ave Papa Haile Pope Ave Turca Haile Turke haile Divell We make profession of any religion under heaven In Aegypt all the dust was turned into lice all the waters into blood and in England not all but most religion is turned into Exod. 7. hypocrisy Wee can say The Lord liveth yet we sweare to deceive Coelum aedificamus voce vita autem Infernum We build heaven with our voice but hell with our life wee are Angels in words but Divels in deeds like the Peacocke we are Angels for our feathers Divels for our feet and Hell for our voice Augustine would not have the Churches of Africa excommunicated for drunkenesse for then no professor had beene left in Africa and if all hypocrites temporizers and formalists in England were excommunicated few or no Professors would be left in England The good man the sincere professor should then have iust cause to cry out with the Prophet Woe is mee for I am as the summer gathering and as the grapes of the vintage there is no cluster to eate Mich. 7. 1. my soule desired the first ripe fruits There bee many starres in heaven but few give light as the Sunne and Moone doe many many birds in the ayre but few Phoenix's as in Arabia many stones in the earth but few precious stones as the Diamond many trees in a forrest yet few Cedars as in Libanus many Israelites but few true Israelites like Nathaniel who had no guile Rara avis in terris nigró que simillima Cygno A rare bird and comparable to a blacke Iohn 1. 47. Swan Hypocrisy in a Christian is as rottennesse in an apple For as rottennesse beginnes at the heart of the apple so doth hypocrisie beginne at the heart of a Christian and as rottennesse corrupteth the favour the odour the colour the vigour of the whole apple so doth hypocrisie the soule of a man it taketh from it the dignity of grace the odour of a good name and all goodnesse whatsoever For as rottennesse marres the apple so doth hypocrisie the Christian Foris Cato intus Nero a Cato without and a Nero within is monstrous One saith Canis mortuus minùs faetet in naribus hominum
World for sinne The drowning of the old World the burning of Sodom the destruction of Ierusalem were assured tokens that the Lord would not put up the infinite iniquities of the World but will judge it and punishit the pleading of the Conscience foretelleth a judgement to come the sentence of of death pronounced in Paradise and renewed with such terrour on mount The Lord Iesus Christ shall iudge Sinai did evidently assure us that God meant to call men to judgement the lesser judgements in this life are fore-runners to this great and last judgement the dragging of men out of the World by death is nothing else but an Alarum to judgement God hath promised that there shall be a judgement I will contend with thee in iudgement saith God The nations shall see my iudgements saith God I will sit and iudge the people saith God Now all the promises of God are Yea and Amen so firmely ratified that Heaven and Earth shall passe away but his Word and promise shall not passe The day and the night may faile in their courses the Sunne and Moone may faile in their motions the Earth may faile and totter upon her props the Sea and Rivers may faile and bee emptied of their waters but the promises of God shall not faile God promised a floud and it came Et qui verus erat in diluvio cur non in iudicio He that performed it in the one why should he not performe it in the other The Iustice of God requireth that there shall be a judgement Hîc optimi pessimè agunt Here the best men are the worst used and most wronged Here Iezabel sits braving in a window whilest Ieremy lies sticking in the mud Here Dives sits in his palace cloathed richly faring daintily while Lazarus lies at his gates naked and hungry Here Herod will please Herodias though it be with the head of Iohn the Baptist Nonne visitabit haec shall not God visit come to iudgement for these things Certainly iudgement will come and then downe go the wicked and up the godly horrour hell and death shall be the doome of the wicked heaven ioy and life shall be the lot of the righteous Thus yee see there shall be a Iudgement I will passe on to the next Who shall be the Iudge in this Iudgement The Lord The Lord saith Enoch commeth with thousands of his Saints to give iudgement c. And in that the Lord shall be our Iudge there will be first rectum iudicium a right and true iudgement for the Lord is true and cannot faile either Ignorantia legis as not knowing the Law For he gave the Law and will iudge according to the Law nor yet Ignorantia facti as not seeing the fact for his seven eyes goe thorow the World Yee may interpret them if yee will seven thousand thousand eyes Zach. 4. Againe if the Lord bee the Iudge there will bee aequum iudicium his Iudgement will be righteous and good for Necerrat ipse nec sustinet errantem He can neither sinne himselfe nor yet indure a wilfull sinner wee cannot corrupt him he hath no need of our goods But when he saith The Lord shall be the Iudge and come to iudgement yee shall understand that this word Lord is taken sometime essentially and then it signifieth all the three persons in the Trinity and so it is taken in the Psalme The Lord even the most mighty hath spoken and called the round World c. And indeed in Christ shall iudge in his humanity respect of authority the whole Trinity shall be the Iudge but sometime this word Lord is taken personally and then it signifieth the second person in the Trinity as here in this my Text The Lord shall come to Iudgement For in respect of the execution of this iudgement Christ alone shall iudge And why Christ And not the Father and the Holy Ghost First because Saint Iohn tells us The Father hath given all iudgement to the Sonne Iohn 5. And as Saint Bernard expounds the words non ut Filius suus sed ut Filius Hominis not as hee is the Sonne of God but as hee is the Sonne of the blessed Virgin borne in the world 2. The Sonne iudgeth and not the Father because it best befitteth a King to iudge his owne subiects and we are now the immediate subiects of the Sonne Indeed in our creation wee were absolutely the subjects of God but by rebelling against God we became the slaves and vassals of the Divell and not the subjects of God yet now being redeemed from death and from him that hath the power of death the Divell by the precious bloud of the Sonne of God we are become the subjects of the Sonne not that this is to be understood Exclusive as excluding from the worke of our redemption the Father and the Holy Ghost sed AppretiativeÌ„ as the Schoolemen speake but because the price of our redemption was paid by the Sonne and not by the person of the Father or Holy Ghost and in that the Sonne did sustinere poenas undergoe our punishment et procurare praemia purchase our reward hee must dispensare praemia poenas both dispose of our punishment and reward But forasmuch as there be two natures in Christ the Divine and humane it may be questioned in what forme or Nature hee shall iudge Saint Augustine answereth Eadem forma iudicabit te qua sub Iudice sâ—etit pro te In the same nature he shall iudge thee wherein he stood before the Iudge for thee he shall iudge us not as God but as man according to that in the Gospell Yee shall see the Sonne of Man not of God but of Man comming in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory Veniet qui Deus non qua Deus he that shall iudge us is God but he shall not iudge us as he is God Vrsinus in his Catechisme pag. 451. giveth three reasons of this Quia per eum Mediatorem glorificanda est Ecclesia per quem iustificata est because the Church is to bee glorified by that Mediator by which she was iustified SecundoÌ„ ob consolationem nostram dum scimus illum fore Iudicem qui redimit nos est enim frater noster caro nostra Secondly for our comfort to give us to understand that he shall bee our Iudge which redeemed vs and is our brother and our flesh Tertio propter iustitiam Dei quia filium hominis contumelia affecerunt Thirdly for the Iustice of God because the Sonne of Man hath beene much reproched with many contumelies and slanders If any man will object that Christ saith That Though Christ shall come in humanity yet with power and great glory he came not to iudge the World but to save the World I answere that these words are not to be understood of his second but of his first comming into the World then indeed he came to save the World but now to iudge the
the Bible forty times thou not twice not once yet boastest that thou art a Christian Doest thou glory in thy workes O foole es seruus invtilis thou art an unprofitable servant And what deserveth hee but stripes and blowes And yet obiter by the way to them that insult Luk. 17. over us as if we were Metropolitan or Captaine sinners we say as Paul said As touching me I passe very little to be judged of you or of mans judgement no I iudge not mine owne selfe And againe We give 1 Cor. 4. 3. 2 Cor. 6. 3 4. none occasion of offence in any thing that our ministery should not bee reprehended but in all things we approue our selves as the Ministers of God So said Ambrose Non it a vixi ut me vixissepudeat nec mori timeo quia bonum habemus Dominum I have not so lived as that I am a shamed to live neither am I afraid to dye because we have a good Lord. If we have to doe with God we say O Lord righteousnesse belongeth unto thee and unto us open shame O Lord to us appertaineth open shame Dan. 9. 7 8. to our Kings to our Princes and to our Fathers because wee have sinned against thee But if with men that slander us we say with Ieremy Ier. 15. 10 15. woe is me my mother that thou hast borne me a contentious man and a man that striveth with the whole earth I have neither lent on usury nor men have lent to me on usury yet every one doth curse me O Lord thou knowest remember me and visit me and revenge me of my persecutors take me not away in the continuance of thy anger know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke Iudges may say with Samuel Whose oxe have I taken Or whom have I done wrong to Or whom have I hurt Or of 1 Sam. 12. 3. whose hands have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith and I will restore it you Ministers must say We have cast from us the clokes of shame and walke not in craftinesse neither handle we the Word of God 2 Cor. 4. 2. deceitfully but in declaration of the truth we approove our selves to every mans conscience in the sight of God And every Christian must say with Iob My witnesse is in Heaven and my record is on high And againe he must say with Paul Our rejoycing is this the testimony of Iob 16. 19. 2 Cor. 1. 12. our conscience that in simplicity and godly purenesse and not in fleshly Wisdome but by the grace of God wee have had our conuersation in the world c. They speake proud things To speake things hath beene a frequent sinne from the beginning of the primitive Church to this day like Noahs deluge it hath overflowed and like another Alexander conquered it was in the Gnosticks the roote of their heresy For Simon Magus their Prince as saith Irenaeus called himselfe the Sonne of God the power of God and under Claudius the Emperour his Image was set up and worshipped as God after him came Menander and spake proud things affirming that he was sent a Saviour from invisible things for the salvation of the world After him Apelles Montanus Manes which affirmed that they were sent by the Holy Ghost such in our time were Act. 8. the Quintinists and Libertines in Germany which call themselves meere spirituall such are the Henry Nicolaitans who say that they It is ordinary to them that are vile to speake ill are codeified with God and God cohominified with them such was the traitour Hacket Anno. 1591. who blasphemed God and called for fire to consume the world that beleeved not in him Thus men now swell in pride in opinion in words in deeds in all things Hagar waxeth proud against her dame Sara Aesops crow jetteth in the plumes and feathers of other birds and the Cumane Asse walketh up and downe with his long eares in a Lions skinne For commonly none are prouder then the unworthiest As the Holy Ghost noteth of the bramble who would be King over the trees when as the figge-tree the olive-tree and the vine-tree refused it For the figge-tree would not leave his sweetnesse nor the olive-tree her fatnesse nor the vine her wine wherewith shee did cheare the heart both of God and man to rule over the trees only the scratching bramble he was so proud that he would Pan will compare with Apollo Arachne with Minerva Silenus with Mercury Phaëton will manage his fathers teame Icarus will mount up with his wings of waxe the Fly Farsalla will sport with the candle the Pharise will say there is no sinner like the Publican The Laodicians will boast of their wealth knowledge and all graces The yong man will say that he hath kept all the precepts of God Naminania dolia acutissimè resonant the emptiest tubbes make the greatest sound The Apothecaries boxes which have nothing in them are best painted but the bramble was burned Phaëton spoiled the frame of the world Icarus wings melted the Fly is burnt in the flame the Pharise went home unjustified the Laodicians were throwne downe to hell the yong man went away sorrowfull God will humble the proud Let every man therefore thinke better of another then of himselfe But we forget that sequitur superbos ultor è tergo Deus that God followeth the proud man at the heeles to plague him and punish him nay wee forget that we are men and weake men and so our pride groweth to be infinite Iulius the second would make no water but in silver basons Heliogabalus would avoid no excrements but in vessels of gold Sardanapalus would eate no meate but Nightingales tongues Sapor the King of Persia would use no footstoole but the necke of the Emperour Valerian in Arabia foelix the Nobles would kindle no fire but of Cinamon the grand Cham of Tartaria will not be drawne of horses but of Elephants our pride is infinit our words our deeds our thoughts Majesticall Sed quid superbis terra cinis Why art thou proud dust and ashes And yet this proud man catcheth nothing but smoke and gaineth nothing but smoke We marvell at the Emperour who passed all his festivall daies in killing of flies but how much more may we marvell at him who passeth all his dayes in catching of smoke and the blast of mens mouthes A certaine King therefore appointed this punishment Flatterers applaud others to enrich thēselves for proud men that they should bee suffocated and choaked with smoke saying that it was right and meet that they should perish in smoke which have spent their whole life in catching the smoke of vanity and vaine-glory The end of all this clawing is gaine men speake for advantage they have sugred tongues oyled mouthes dulced words but suspect them for they speake for gaine like Aesops-Foxe that telleth the Crow that she was the fairest bird in the heavens if she could sing and therewithall she
will be tristitia pudor confusion and punishment but the other thinkes of nothing but his present joy merriment Let others therefore live as they list we must edifie our selves and build up our selves in our most holy Faith let other serve Mammon or Bacchus or Venus wee must serve none of them but the Lord Iesus But of this I have spoken before in the seventeenth Verse But yee beloved edifie your selves This word edifie signifieth to build the metaphor is taken from Carpenters from builders who by little little reare up their worke until it come to a certain height and perfection this metaphor is not improperly applied to the Saints for building edification is proper to houses Now the Church and Saints of God are as houses therfore may be said to bee builded and edified Saint Peter calleth the Saints an house saying The time is come that iudgement must beginne at the house of God And againe And yee as lively stones are 1 Pet. 4. 17. 1 Pet. 2. 5. made a spirituall house So spake Paul Now therefore yee are no more strangers and forreners but Citizens with the Saints and of the houshold Ephes 2. 19 20. of God and are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Iesus Christ himselfe being the chiefe corner stone And againe writing to the Hebrewes he saith Christ is as the Sonne over his own Hebr. 3. 6 house whose house wee are For in obeying the Sonne wee are made the house of God But most plainely in his Epistle unto the the Saints at Corinth Yee are Gods husbandry and Gods building 1 Cor. 3. 9. This teacheth us two things first that all Christians should bee edifiers builders that is should make themselves a seemely house for God to dwell in Wee read what care David had to build a Temple but God would not suffer him but now every man must build a Temple for God even his own soule We read The Word of God must be the square wherewith we must build what cost Salomon bestowed upon the Temple but now God careth not for such Temples made of stone he will have a Temple made of lively stones For howsoever Heaven is his seate and the Earth his foot-stole yet his most principall princely palace of 1 Chro. 17. 1 4. 1 Pet. 2. 5. pleasure is mans heart hereupon saith a father Quà m excelsus es Domine humiles corde sunt domus tuae O how high how Soveraigne art thou O Lord yet the humble-hearted are the houses wherein thou dwellest For as the Lord loved the gates of Sion more than all the dwellings of Iacob so hee loveth a faithfull heart a devout soule more than all the pavillions of Princes All true Christians must bee builders therefore saith Paul Let all bee to edification 1. Cor. 14. 27. but before they build they 1 Cor. 14 27. must know how to build and the way to come to this knowledge is the Scripture No Carpenter will build an house without rule and square and the rule and square of Christian building is the Word of God by it our hearts and soules are squared and made fit for Gods house and therefore Saint Paul taking his leave of the Church of Ephesus commendeth them to God and to the Act. 20. 32. Word of his grace which is able to build further and to give them an inheritance with all them that are sanctified Where withall saith David Psal 1 19. shall a young man cleanse his way Even by ruling himselfe after thy Word Timothy knew the Scriptures from a child his grandmother 2 Tim. 3. 15. Lois and his mother Eunica taught him them Without the knowledge of the Scripture wee can no more edifie and build than a Carpenter can build without tooles or a Mariner saile without his compasse or a bird flye without his feathers it is the Word of God that is able to make the man of God perfect it is that that will make him become a fit house and Temple for the Lord Of this building Saint Peter speaketh thus Yee are come to the Lord Iesus as a living stone reiected of men but precious and chosen of God wherefore you your selves bee built as lively 1 Pet. 2. 4. stones a spirituall house And Saint Paul Let all things be done to edification 1 Cor. 14. 27. that is Let this be the end of all thy workes the building of Gods spirituall Temple bee more carefull to build it than Salomon was for his Temple If Salomons workemen were one moneth in Libanus about the worke of the Temple and 1 Reg. 5. 14. two moneths at home about their owne businesse Let us exceed them let us imploy two moneths about the Lords building and but one about our owne businesse Let us first seeke the Kingdome of God for as Elias said unto the widow of Sarepta Bake me a cake Mat. 6. 33. 1 Reg. 17. 13. first and after provide for thee and thine so saith Almighty God to us Build me an house first and after for thee and thine And as wee must edifie and build houses for ourselves so for our brethren also so saith the Apostle Exhort one another and edifie one another but especially wee must edifie our children a 1 Thess 5. 11. sonne in Hebrew is called Ben that is a building because the father should especially build his sonne in Religion and Vertue Parents must edifâ—e their children by godly instâ—uction Nature teacheth all men this the Savage Beare fashioneth her whelpes being deformed with her tongue so should all Christians with gentle admonitions frame the deformed manners of their children That commandement which injoyneth fathers to teach their children what the Passe-over meant teacheth them Deut. 6. 10. this building and all Parents if they will have their Children lead a pure life if they will have them strong in the Lord and through the power of his might if they will have them to overcome the Divell if they will have them true Saints Sonnes of Abraham they must edifie them with instruction and see that the Word of God dwell plentifully in them in all Wisedome Papists were great builders they built Churches Religious houses as Col. 3. 16. Abbeyes Nunneries c. but they left the principall worke undone they did not build themselves by the Word of God in their most holy faith neither would they suffer others to build but their guides and leaders tooke away from the people the levell and square of the Word without which men cannot build but God bee blessed the Word is restored wee have the levell to build by let us not bee idle but build up an holy house for God that hee may dwell with us and that wee may dwell with him hereafter for ever Secondly this teacheth us that it is not ynough to begin to build in faith and good workes but wee must goe on goe forward
have done vertuously but thou Pro. 31. 29. surmountest them all As Christ commended Iohn Baptist above all Nazarites saying There is no greater Prophet than Iohn among them Luk. 7. 28. that are begotten of women And the Lord Moses above all Prophets So Iude commendeth Faith above al vertues All precious stones Deut. 34. are good yet none like the Topaze all flowres are faire yet none Iob 28. like the Lily most trees bring fruit but none like the Apple-tree Faith purifies our hearts and makes our actions and persons holy of Persia or the Tree of life which bare twelve manner of fruits and gave fruit every moneth Many vertues are excellent and further our salvation yet none like faith Iustice giveth every man his owne temperancy restraineth lusts fortitude beareth Apoc. 22. 2. 1 Iohn 5. 4. all labour and toile prudence guideth our actions but faith overcommeth the world so doe not other vertues faith is like the three 2 Sam. 23. worthies of David who brake thorow the whole host and drew water of the Well of Bethlem Ionathan and his armour-bearer 1 Sam. 19. slew twenty men Shamgar with an Oxe goade slew six hundred Iudg. 3. 31. Iudg. 15. Philistines Samson with the jaw-bone of an Asse slew a thousand men thus these men brake thorow an whole host and faith overcommeth the whole world In this faith Paul insulted over heaven and earth men and Angels I am perswaded saith Paul that neither life nor death nor Angels nor principalities nor powers nor Rom. 8. 38. things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall bee able to separate me from the Love of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord. And againe he saith I know whom I have beleeved and I am perswaded that hee is able to keep that which I have committed unto him meaning himselfe against that day It is called Holy yea most Holy for all our works are polluted and receive their holinesse from faith and faith from Christ who is the object of it As the Sunne giveth light to all Planets as salt seasoneth all meates so Faith seasoneth all works for in themselves they are polluted For who can say I have made my heart cleane I am cleane from sinne For as the holy man of god saith Hee found no stedfastnesse Pro. 20. 9. Iob 4. 18 19. in his servants and laid folly upon his Angels how much more in them that dwell in houses of Clay whose foundation is the dust which shall bee destroyed before the moth And againe he maketh this demand and saith What is man that he should be cleane And hee that is borne of a Woman that hee should be just Wee are all as a menstruous cloth Cap. 15. 14. as an uncleane thing we all doe fade like a leafe and our iniquities like the wind haue taken us away only Faith purifieth our hearts To come neerer fidem sanctissimam vocat ratione objecti hee Act. 15. 9. calleth it most holy Faith by reason of the object Deum enim trinum unum respicit it respecteth three and one three in Persons one in Essence Morall vertues they are occupied about humane objects and things created as liberality about giving of good things temperance about meate drinke fleshly lusts leachery c. Fortitude in suffring adversity therefore they cannot be called most holy vertues Againe it is called most holy Faith in respect of the efficient cause thereof that is to say the Holy Ghost For the Holy Ghost bestoweth upon us all good things love joy peace long 1 Cor. 12 Gal. 5. 22. suffering gentlenesse goodnesse Faith meeknesse temperance all these and all the rest are the gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost Now because the Authour is holy his Works his gifts and graces bee holy Nil nisi sanctum à sancto spiritu prodire potest If no holines no Faith Nothing can come from the holy Spirit but that which is holy Aug. Learne here to judge of the works of the elder World their almes their prayer their love what love could there be without faith and what faith could there bee among them without the doctrine of God Faith commeth by hearing and hearing by the Word of God But did they fast often Wee seldome or never Did they Rom. 10. 14. give almes and doe we live unto our selves are our right hands dryed up with Ieroboams Did they pray in the night wee scarce in the day Did they love one another agree together and doe wee sue and sting one another like the Serpents of Sinai O brethren they shall rise in judgement against us as Christ said of the Ninivites Except our righteousnesse our prayers our love exceed theirs wee shall not enter into Heaven our faith is Mat. 11. not most holy no nor holy nay no faith at all And by the way note that hee calleth faith holy not unholy unjust unchaste drunken faith such as the world braggeth of in these dayes the dead faith that Saint Iames inveigheth against so earnestly All lewd men boast of faith but I will say to them as Iames said O stende mihi fidem per opera Shew me thy faith by thy workes shew mee it by thy zeale thy piety thy truth thy chastity thy mercy with our faith let us joyne vertue The Israelites cryed Templum Domini templum Domini the Temple of 2 Pet. 1. 5. the Lord the Temple of the Lord the Pharisees cryed The Baptisme of Iohn the Baptisme of Iohn the Iewes cried We have Abraham to our Father the Scribes cried We have Moses to our Doctor the Ephesians cryed Great is Diana of the Ephesians but Ieremy bade the Israelites amend their wayes and their works Ier. 7. 4. Iohn bade the Pharisees bring forth fruits of Repentance Christ bade the Iewes doe the Workes of Abraham He told the Scribes Luk. 3. 8. Iohn 8. Iohn 5. Ephes 4. 20. that Moses would condemne them and Paul told the Ephesians that they had not so learned Christ and so say we to these men that boast of faith I will reason with them as Ieremy did with the people Will yee steale murder and commit adultery and sweare falsly Ier. 7. 9 10. and burne incense unto Baal and walke after other gods whom yee know not and come and stand before mee in this house whereupon my Name is called even so will we sweare lye raile slander and say that we beleeve Was Gods house a denne for theeves is faith become a cloake for theeves whoremongers lyers swearers usurers Idolaters blasphemers drunkards pot-companions c I say of this faith as Saint Iames said of Wisedome This wisedome descendeth not from above but is earthly sensuall and divelish so Iam. 3. 5. this faith is not from above but is earthly sensuall and divelish For faith sheweth it selfe in good workes and can no more be separated from it
staves end of God for wages it is Death not Life Hell not Heaven Paines not joyes For the wages of sinne is death that Rom. 6. 23. which God doth for us is a gift not a stipend It is hee that must give us an inheritance among them that are sanctified So Christ said Act. 20. 32. It is your Fathers pleasure to give you a Kingdome Gift is free gift and Luk. 12. 32. desert they are as opposite as the Tropickes and cannot stand together wee have not chosen Christ but he hath chosen us hee Iohn 15. 18. gave the occasion not we it is mercy not merit grace not nature favour not debt that wee must challenge For by grace are wee saved through faith and that not of our selves it is the gift of Ephes 2. 8 9. God not of Works lest any man should boast himselfe so said Marie His mercy is on them that feare him yet our feare is defective wee can Luk 1. 50. claime nothing but mercy the Canaanite craved but mercy O Lord thou sonne of David have mercy on me Cui daret justus Iudex coronam Mat. 15. 22. Aug. nisi cui dedisset Pater misericors gratiam To whom should the just Iudge give the Crowne but unto whom the mercifull Father hath given grace Gratia non invenit sed fecit nos eligendos Grace hath not found us but hath made us to be chosen Cum Deus coronat merita tua nihil aliud coronat nisi munera sua When God crowneth our merits he crowneth nothing else but his owne gifts Blasphemous therefore is the saying of Dorbel Quòd Deus Coelum carè vendit Three sorts of merits Congrui Digni Condigni amicis quod ipsi carè emunt That God selleth heaven deare to his friends and they buy it deare some travell thither by the foote-path of righteousnesse as the Prophets some by the foote-path of cleannesse as virgins some by the foote-path of repentance as the Confessors some by the foote-path of affliction as the Martyrs some by the foote-path of poverty as the Apostles some by the foote-path of hospitality as the Patriarches But God selleth not heaven he giveth it freely We are Rom. 3. 24. justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Iesus Lex data est ut gratia quaereretur the Law was given that grace should bee sought gratia data est ut lex impleretur and grace is given that the Law might be fulfilled for All is of grace Abraham in his faith David in his godlinesse Iob in his patience Rom. 11. Salomon in his wisdome Elias in his zeale cannot stand before God If thou ô Lord markest iniquity O Lord who shall stand Where Psal 130. 3. the Prophet sheweth that we cannot be just before God by merit but by mercy in the forgivenes of our sinnes therfore saith S. Iude Looke for the mercies of our Lord Iesus Christ unto eternall life But to face out this mercy of God the Papists have found out three sorts of merits Meritum congrui digni condigni Merit of congruity they call those preparations that are before grace and to this end they alledge Cornelius who was a devout man and Act. 10. 2. one that feared God with all his houshold and gave much almes to the people and prayed God continually And yet his prayer and almes did proceed from that sparke of faith that hee had in Christ not from any worke of nature Meritū digni as when a just man prayeth for an unjust as Iob Daniel for the Iewes of whose prayer God saith thus When the land sinneth against me by cōmitting a trespasse then will I stretch out my hand Ezech. 14. 13 14. upon it and will breake the staffe of the bread thereof I will send famine upon it c. And though these three men Noah Daniel Iob were among them they shoul deliver but their owne soules by their righteousnesse saith the Lord God Whereas it is spoken but by way of supposition Meritum condigni be works of supererogation Loud words of Lewd blasphemy too proud words for either men or Angels For no worke of it selfe is pure and can stand before God Quis dabit mundum de immundo Who can bring a cleane thing out of Iob 14. 4. filthinesse The Heavens are not cleane in his sight much lesse men He found folly in his Angels how much more in us that dwell in Iob 15. Iob 4. 18 19. houses of clay This Moses often inculcated to Israel lest they should presume of their righteousnes and thinke themselves exalted by it Speake not thou in thy heart saith Moses For my righteousnesse the Lord hath brought me in to possesse the land for thou entrest not Deut. 9. 4 5. to inherit their land for thy righteousnes or for thy upright heart but for the wickednesse of those nations c. The Lord giueth not thee this good land to possesse for thy righteousnesse for thou art a stiffenecked people And hee maketh a Catalogue of their vices how in the wildernesse in Horeb and in many other places they provoked the No merit of condignity but in Christ Lord to anger you were never good neither egge nor bird quoth Moses Merit of condignity is an action belonging to such a nature as is both God and man not to a bare creature for the Angels themselves cannot merit any thing at Gods hand for they are said to be elected now election is by grace otherwise salvation 1 Tim. 6. Rom. 11. 5. is in the power of the clay not of the potter Yea Adam also if he had stood could have merited nothing of God seeing it is the bounden duty of every creature to obey the Creatour For wee are his workemanship created unto Christ Iesus unto good workes Ephes 2. 10. which God hath ordeyned that wee should walke in them If we do good works yet doe wee but our duety the merit therefore of condignity doth onely agree to Christ God and man whom each nature doth to the effecting of this merit that which belongeth unto it for the humanity doth minister matter to the merit by suffering and performing obedience the Deity of Christ unto which the humanity is hypostatically united doth conferre full and sufficient worthinesse to the worke Hereupon came the voice This is my beloved Sonne in whom I am well pleased For God was never pleased in any but in Christ For wee are all by nature the Mat. 3. 17. Ephes 2. 3 4 5. children of wrath but God which is rich in mercy through the great love wherewith hee loved us even when wee were dead by sinnes hath quickned us together in Christ by whose grace yee are saved Againe that a worke may bee meritorious there must bee a proportion betwixt that and eternall life but eternall life is infinite our merits are finite Now a finite worke
Is this to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord Iesus Erubescat Sol confundatur Luna Let the Sunne blush and let the Moone bee ashamed Did the Heavenly souldiers thus did the shepheards thus did Mary thus We make melodie Luk. 2. Ephes 5. 19. but not to the Lord our rejoycing is not good God will turne our feasts into mournings 1 Cor. 5. 6. Amos. 8. To this riotous time God fitted this earth-quake a rare worke of God the earth being seventeen hundred miles thick odde it being 800. miles and odde to the Center as saith Munster what a work of God is it to shake the whole Globe the whole wombe of the earth being so mighty A great earth-quake there was in the raigne of King Henry the sixth thorow the world in the even of S. Michael which continued two houres with thunder and lightning so that the beasts rored and the fowles of the ayre cryed out but in this Queenes time there have beene two earth-quakes a thing not observed in the raigne of one Prince of this Land this five hundred yeeres A new starre appeared in Heaven in this Queenes raigne Anno. 15. that was never seene before 26. acres of ground removed in Hartfordshire and three acres at another time in Devonshire strange monsters have appeared strange Comets have beene seene Hate your sinnes the Iudge is at the doore THE EIGHT AND THIRTIETH SERMON VERS XXIIII Now unto him that is able to keepe you that yee fall not c. We can neither stand nor rise being fallen without Christ THis is the Epilogue the conclusion the last part of this Epistle and it containeth two things First A commending them to God and his Grace And secondly A celebration of the name and praises of God The first is double for hee commendeth them two wayes to God for this life and the life to come Againe for this life two wayes first that they fall not but persist and stand in the grace begun Secondly that they may bee pure perfect absolute untill the day of Christ Lastly for the other life that they may bee glorious lambs and not goats sonnes and not bastards citizens and not strangers built on the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles Iesus Christ Ephes 2. 20. himselfe being the chiefe corner stone that they may follow the Lambe on mount Sion and there sing the songs of their joy Apoc. 14. 3. which none can understand save the hundred forty and foure thousand which were bought from the earth Now in the first part of this prayer Saint Iude noteth two things First the weaknesse of man ready to fall All our sufficiencie is of God Secondly the power of God able to keepe us Touching our weakenesse we neither rise when wee are fallen nor stand when wee are risen of our selves all is of God for we are not sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves but our sufficiency 2 Cor. 3. 5. is of God Cum Christo nil nobis deficit With Christ nothing is wanting unto us for as Paul saith I am able to do al things through the Phil. 4. 13. helpe of Christ which strengtheneth me Sine Christo nil nobis sufficit and without Christ nothing is sufficient for us For as the branch cannot Iohn 15. 4 5. beare fruit of it selfe except it abide in the vine no more can yee except yee abide in mee I am the vine yee are the branches hee that abideth in mee and I in him the same bringeth foorth much fruit In eo omnia possumus absque eo nil possumus in him we can doe all things without him we can doe nothing And therefore Paul willeth us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might for all our sufficiencie Ephes 6. 10. Iohn 15. 5. Psal 18. 1 2. is of God Hence is it that David saith unto God I love thee dearely oh Lord my Strength the Lord is my Rocke and my Fortresse c. Wee can neither beginne nor continue nor make an end of our selves but by God therefore Paul commendeth the Churches to God ever as hee onely that keepeth them that the whole worke of our salvation may bee ascribed unto him Initium incrementum finis the beginning the increase and the end Wee are of him in Christ Iesus who of God is made unto us Wisedome 1 Cor. 1. 30 31. and Righteousnesse and Sanctification and Redemption that according as it is written He that rejoyceth let him rejoyce in the Lord. Wherein hee noteth three things What wee are of our selves what in God and the end of all that God may have the glory Thus Paul commendeth the Church of Thessalonica to God saying Now the very God of Peace sanctifie you throughout and I 1 Thess 5. 23. pray God that your whole spirit and soule and body may bee kept blamelesse unto the comming of our Lord Iesus Christ and thus he commended the Church of Ephesus at Miletum to God saying Now brethren I commend you to God and the Word of his Grace which is Act. 20. 32. able to build further and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified And thus hee commended the Church of Rome to God To him now that is of power to stablish you according to Rom. 16. 25. my Gospell and preaching of Iesus Christ by the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world beganne c. And thus did the Apostle commend the Church of the Iewes to God whether it was Paul or Luke or Barnabas it skilleth not The God of peace saith hee which brought againe from the dead our Lord Iesus the great Heb. 13. 20 21. Shepheard of the sheepe through the bloud of the everlasting Covenant make you perfect in all good workes to doe his Will working in you that which is pleasant in his sight through Iesus Christ Here by the way let mee answere one cavill in Popery they urge that wee are bidden to stand fast to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Iesus to goe forward to Wee cannot but fall except we bee preserved continue I answere that all those places are meant conditionally if God doth assist us with his Spirit Sit unus contextus instar mille Let one context bee in stead of a thousand as namely that of Pauls to the Thessalonians where hee telleth them that it is God which worketh in us both the will and the deed even of his good pleasure 2 Thes 1. Psal 4. 1. He biddeth them worke yet he explaneth it by and by that it is God that worketh Agimus passivè quatenus è coelis suggeritur facultas Calvin agis ageris tunc bene agis cum à bono ageris Spiritu Wee worke passively because wee are holpen from Heaven power is ministred unto thee thou workest and art wrought and then thou workest well when thou
art wrought of the good Spirit so Paul ascribed the rising and the standing of the Philippians to God I am perswaded saith Paul that he that hath begunne this good Phil. 1. 6. worke in you will performe it untill the day of Christ Iesus And writing to the Corinthians hee saith That God shall confirme them to the end that they may be blamelesse in the day of our Lord Iesus Christ 1 Cor. 1. 8. To that end Christ prayed for the Apostles saying Holy Father Iohn 17. 11 12 15. keepe them in thy name even them whome thou hast given mee that they may bee one as wee are while I was with them in the world I kept them in thy name those that thou gavest me have I kept I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world but that thou keepe them from evill If then the Papists should use these words tenne thousand times Stand fast againe Continue tenne thousand times would I retort upon them that wee cannot stand fast wee cannot continue but by God We flye not with our owne wings we swimme not in our owne barke not nature but grace not man but God doth all in the worke of salvation Wee stand not of our selves in our owne strength but in God Leviores sumus vanitate Wee Psal 62. are lighter then vanity it selfe If God kept us not wee should fall every day every houre every moment so great are our temptations Quomodo stabit debilis inter tot fortes homines How can a weake man stand betweene so many strong men homuncio inter tot fortes Gigantes a litle dwarfe between so many strong Giants â—ndus inter tot armatos a naked man betweene so many armed men Caecus inter tot laqueos a blind man between so many snares Viator inter tot fures a traveller betweene so many theeves Mortalis inter tot immortales immundos spiritus a mortall man betweene so many immortall and uncleane spirits For wee wrastle Ephes 6. 12. not against flesh and blood that is principally and chiefely for our most mortall enemies are more than flesh and blood more in number greater in power craftier in their wiles or longer continuance more envious malicious cruell as namely against principalities against powers and against the worldly governours the Princes of the darkenesse of this world against spirituall wickednesses which are in the high places Hee cals them Principalities because they have great rule and dominion not so much over other Our enemies many and powerfull Divels as over wicked men and calls them Powers to shew that their principality is not a meere titular matter but is armed with power so as they are able to doe great matters He cals them worldly governours to shew over whom the Divell hath government not over the elect but over the world the reprobates of the world He cals them spirituall wickednesse to declare their nature that they are spirits and that they bee evill and malicious the words in the originall signify spirituals of wickednesse or spirits of wickednesse that is most monstrous wicked spirits these are they against whom wee warre and fight how can wee stand against them of our selves Nam illi sunt astuti nos fatui they are crafty wee are foolish illi fortes nos debiles they strong wee weake illi experti nos inexperti they expert wee unexpert illi vigilantes nos somnolenti they watching wee sleepy illi spiritus nos caro they Ephes 6. 14. 1 Pet. 5. 8. Apoc. 12. cap. 10. Luk. 11. Iohn 12. 1 Cor. 4. spirit we flesh the armour therefore is called the Armour of God not our armour but his The Divell is ever described mighty and wee weake to this end hee is called Leo rugiens a roaring Lion Draco volans a flying Dragon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that old serpent homo fortis a strong man princeps mundi the prince of the world Deus mundi the God of the world it is therefore the miraculous grace of God that hee killeth not our soules every houre for God would have us to live both lives the naturall and supernaturall As concerning the naturall life from the soule the naturall powers of understanding will and perceiving flow as touching the supernaturall from grace prayer thankesgiving zeale love repentance mortification doe proceed and this is called The life of God if God withdraw his grace wee fall presently even the best men Peter a notable Apostle yet fell Ephes 4. 18. Mat. 26. Ier. 2. 14. for all his brags at the voice of a girle Ieremy a worthy Prophet yet grew desperate hee that foyled our first parents standing Gen. 3. upon legges of brasse would soone foyle us standing upon legges of clay it is as great a matter to resist temptations being moved unto it as for dry wood and flaxe to resist fire being put to it it is supernaturall in the one so is it in the other for us to resist sinne therefore pray as Christ said Watch and pray Mat. 26. 41. that yee enter not into temptation The fish is not more taken in the nette nor the bird in the snare than wee of the Divell soone hee Iohn 13. 2. entred into the heart of Iudas soone he filled Ananias his heart quickly he tempted David to number the people and quickly Act. 5. will hee overthrow us unlesse God keepe vs that wee fall not But to make further use of this doctrine S. Iude here intimateth unto us that of our selves wee are ready to fall our building by nature is upon the sand not upon the rocke our shields and swords are of blotting paper not of steele our wings like Icarus are of waxe All which I speake to humble the pride of None can presume of his owne strength but must fly to Prayer flesh and blood that no flesh rejoyce in Gods presence To which end Paul applieth his speech Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed that hee fall not Adam fell in Paradise Iudas in the schoole of our Saviour the Angels from heaven and doe wee thinke to stand of our selves No no. Doest thou trust in 1 Cor. 10. 12. Gen. 3. Mat. 27. 2 Pet. 2. 4. 1 Reg. 11. Iudg. 15. thy wisdome None was ever wiser than Salomon yet was he deceived Doest thou trust in thy strength None was ever stronger than Samson yet was hee vanquished doest thou trust in thy stablenesse and constancy None more stable more constant than Peter yet hee fell For hee that said unto Christ I will dye with Mat. 26. thee before I deny thee denied him thrice and every time more fearefully than other Doest thou trust in thy riches None richer than the Epulo and yet hee is in hell in torments God saith unto Luk. 16. all Let not the rich man glory in his riches nor the wiseman in his wisdome nor the strong man in his strength O pray to God for
God imputeth righteousnesse but yet in the righteousnesse of Christ not in an inherent righteousnesse of our owne as hee is said to have paid the money to his creditour who paid it by another though himselfe was not able And unto this end the Apostle saith that wee are justified freely by his grace through the redemption Rom. 4 5 6 7 8. that is in Christ Iesus To the place in the Romanes where Paul saith But to him that worketh not but beleeveth in him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousnesse even as David declared the blessednesse of that man unto whom God imputeth righteousnesse without works saying Blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sinnes are covered blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not the sin Bellarmine answereth that Paul setteth not downe a full definition of justification For sinne is not remitted saith he except righteousnesse bee infused but yet inchoated onely not perfected and yet the comparison holdeth not betwixt the infusion of light into the ayre and the infusion of righteousnesse into a man similia illustrant non probant similies doe illustrate a thing but prove not Bellarmine argueth from the comparison betwixt Adam and Christ Per Adae peccatum inhaerens peccatores sumus By Rom. 5. the inhaerent sinne of Adam we are sinners therefore per infusionem inhaerentis justitiae justi sumus by infusion of inhaerent righteousnesse wee are righteous I answere that the argument followeth not the comparison holdeth not in the inherence of sinne or righteousnesse but in the adoption or getting From Adam wee have gotten sinne naturally but from Christ supernaturally by faith by which the righteousnesse of Christ is imputed unto us Bellarmine reckoneth up many things which be necessary to salvation out of the second Epistle of S. Peter the first Chapter as how we must joyne Vertue 2 Pet. 1. 5 6 7. with Faith and with vertue knowledge and with knowledge temperance and with temperance patience and with patience godlinesse and with godlinesse brotherly kindnesse and with brotherly kindnesse Good works the way not the cause of the Kingdome of Heaven love But hee doth detorquere writhe and bow the question another way and to another end For wee doe not exclude good works simply from the obtaining of salvation sunt enim via regni non causa regnandi they are the way to Gods Kingdome not the cause of our ruling and reigning in Gods Bern. Kingdome but from the obtaining of righteousnes For it is onely Christs righteousnesse that maketh us righteous before God for hee is our wisdome and righteousnesse and holinesse and redemption wisdome to instruct us righteousnes to justify us holines to sanctify us and redemption to free us Hee reasoneth thus Faith without Love doth not justify Therefore faith alone doth not justify for faith worketh by love Gal. 5. I deny the Confequence For though faith bee not alone without other vertues yet it justifieth alone as the hand of the writer is not alone but hath other members adjoyned unto it yet it writeth alone as the eye is not alone and yet it seeth alone and the eare is not alone and yet it heareth alone and yet to speake properly faith doth not justify it is a Metonymicall speech for to speake properly the righteousnes of Christ apprehended by faith justifieth us faith as the principall cause doth not justify us sed ut causa instrumentalis but as the instrumentall cause non per modum dispositionis sed per modum apprehensionis not by the manner of disposition but by the manner of apprehension For although it doth dispose unto good workes yet it doth not justify in respect of that but in respect of the object which is Christ For the blood of Iesus 1 Iohn 1. 7. Christ Gods Sonne clenseth us from all sinne But Iustification saith hee is motus à peccato ad justitiam a moving from sinne to righteousnesse as illumination is a moving from darkenes to light I grant sed non adjustitiam inhaerentem not unto inherent or infused righteousnesse but imputative Hee argueth that things are denominated from the internall not the externall forme as we call an Aethiopian blacke though he have a white garment on him quia nigredo est illi insita because blacknes is naturally graffed in him Ergo nos justos dici à justitia intra nos non extra nos Therefore wee are said to bee righteous of the righteousnesse that is within us not without us I answere This is true in Philosophy but false in Divinity Here we may say with Paul Beware lest there bee any man that spoile you through Col. 2. ◠philosophy Philosophy may bee used so as shee be content to be a servant not a mistris but when men measure all doctrine by humane reason and philosophicall positions as Bellarmine here doth then Philosophy is to be taken heed of Howlet in the fifth part of his resolution confesseth that works are not the causes of salvation but the path that leadeth Papists at death fly to Gods mercy in Christ and not to merit to salvation the fruits and effects of faith as Christ saith Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good workes and glorify your Father which is in Heaven That Paul speaking of the cause of Iustification saying wee conclude that Mat. 5. 16. Rom. 3. 18. a man is justified by faith without the workes of the Law is not contrary to Iames speaking of the notes and signes of Iustification saying Yee see then how that of workes a man is justified and not of faith onely This truth God extorted from him as also Iam. 2. 24. from Stephen Gardiner who confessed this at his death but would not have it preached to the people Open that doore quoth hee and then farewell all Hee would bee wiser than God Mounser also granted it and cried Solus Christus solus Christus Christ alone Christ alone And so Sherwin a seminary Priest executed for treason with Campian and others at Tiborne when hee was in the cart ready to dye though he held himselfe a martyr for the Catholike faith acknowledged nowithstanding ingenuously the miseries imperfections and corruptions of his owne vile nature relying wholly upon Christ cried out at his death O Iesus Iesus Iesus bee to mee a Iesus And Bellarmine cites often in his workes out of Augustine Domus Dei credendo fundatur sperando exigitur diligendo perficitur the foundation of Gods house in our soules is faith the walles hope the roofe charity If faith bee the foundation of all other vertues as himselfe affirmes and if it bee our safest Lib. 1. de Rom. Pont. cap. 10. De Iustificatione lib. 5. Cap. 7. course to repose our whole trust in the onely mercy of God Propter incertitudinem propriae justitiae periculum inanis gloriae tutissimū est fiduciam totam in
sola Dei misericordia benignitate reponere For the uncertainty of our owne righteousnes and danger of vaine glory it is the safest way to repose all our confidence in Gods only mercy and bounty Then is it not as hee disputes Lib. 1. de justificatione cap. 4. wrought by charity but contrariwise charity doth arise from faith I will conclude with Bernard Omnia merita Dei dona sunt ita homo magis propter ipsa Deo debitor est quà m Deus homini all our merits are the gifts of God so man is rather a debtour to God for them then God to man So much as touching this life Touching the other life hee commends them to God that they may behold the presence of his glory with joy for in the life to come wee shall have plenitudinem gaudy fulnes of joy Here all Psal 16. joy is at an ebbe it is mixed with some sorrow light with darkenesse heate with cold health with sicknes life with death glory with ignominy but there is joy and nothing but ioy no change no alteration day without night light without darkenesse summer without winter youth without age life without death there we shall have all teares wiped away from our eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow neither crying neither shall Apoc. 21. 4. there bee any more paine but they shall have perpetuall ioy death The ioyes of Heaven fill all powers of soule body and Hell shall bee cast into the lake of fire and shall bee destroyed for ever The second death shall have no power upon them that be in heaven but they shall bee the Priests of God and of Christ and shall raigne with him a thousand yeeres That is for ever We looke too much to Apoc. 20. 6 5 14. Hebr. 6. the pleasures of this world which maketh us care lesse for Heaven but looke into the powers of the world to come vide intùs extra supra infra circumcirca ubique erit gaudium Looke within and without above and beneath and round about and yee shall find ioy every where within shall be ioy for the glorification of the body and soule for our Saviour even The Lord Iesus shall change our vile body and make it like his glorious body according Phil. 3. 21. to the working whereby he is able to sub due all things unto himselfe It is much to have our bodies changed more to have our vile bodies changed but to have our vile bodies so changed that they shall be facioned like the glorious body of the Lord Iesus is most of all and must needs fill us with ioy Wee shall have ioy without by reason of the company of the blessed Angels for wee shall inioy not onely the celestiall Ierusalem but also the company of innumerable Angels which shall glad us and reioice us exceedingly Wee shall have ioy above in the sight of God for wee shall bee like God and see him as hee is Wee shall have ioy beneath of the beauty of Heaven and of the world for 1 Iohn 3. 2. Wee looke for new Heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousnesse 2 Pet. 3. 13. Wee shall have ioy round about of the delight of all our senses when God shall bee the obiect of them all for he shall be a glasse unto our eyes musicke unto our eare hony to our taste a flowre to our hands and sweet Balsamum to our smell there shall be the fairenes of the Summer the sweetnes of the Spring the plenty of the Autumne the rest of the Winter yea God shall 1 Cor. 13. bee all in all unto us This life is as a seed-time in teares as the travell of a woman as a weary prentice-hood as a tedious iourney but the harvest is in the life to come there shall we reape joy there Psal 126. 5. are wee delivered of our child birth and forget our sorrow for ioy that salvation is come our sorrow shall be turned into ioy A Iohn 16. 21 22. woman when shee travaileth hath sorrow because her houre is come but as soone as shee is delivered of her Child she remembreth no more the anguish for joy that a man is borne into the world In this world wee have sorrow but in Heaven joy there wee shall rejoice and our joy shall no man take from us Looke to Iesus the Author and finisher of our faith and let the same animate us that did him hee for the joy that was set before Hebr. 12. 2. him endured the Crosse and despised the shame and is set at the right hand of the Throne of God Let us so doe and wee shall follow the Lambe and be partakers of the price of our high calling which is in Christ Iesus tantum gaudebunt quantum amabunt tantum amabunt quantum cognoscunt Deum sic cognoscunt ut cogniti Rom. 8. sunt so much shall they reioice by how much they love and so The land of the living cōpared with the land of the dead much shall they love by how much they know God and they so know as they are knowne The situation and height of Heaven may teach us the quantity and quality of the glory of heaven Coelum Empyraeum is 1 Cor. 13. higher greater and more excellent than all Heavens the Scripture calleth it The land of the living as if the earth which we inhabit were the land of dead men and indeed Wee are dead and Psal 116. 9. our life is hidde with Christ in God and when Christ which is our life Col. 3. 3. shall appeare then shall wee also appeare in glory Now if in this land of dead men the creatures bee so precious what shall they bee hereafter in the land of the living In this dead land see the greatnesse of the heavens the brightnesse of the Sunne and Moone and starres the beauty of the earth how pleasant is it to see the height of the mountaines the plaines of the fields the greenenesse of the vallies the fountains of waters the current of the streames and rivers which like veines runne thorow the earth the mines of gold and silver pearle the mines of metals If all these bee in the land of the dead what is in the land of the living There shall bee a new Heaven and a new earth and new creatures 2 Pet. 3. 15. Againe there be three places in this life The first is in the wombe from our corruption The second is in the world from our birth The third is in Heaven after death Betwixt these three there is a proportion looke how much the world is bigger and pleasanter than the wombe so much is Heaven bigger and fairer than the world as well in length of time as in beauty Touching durance the first life in the 2 Mathab 7. wombe is not above nine moneths the second life is foure score yeeres at the most the third is infinite and
ever Amen So concluded the other Apostles The God of peace that brought againe from the dead the Lord Iesus the great Shepheard of the sheepe through the Heb. 13. 20 21. bloud of his everlasting covenant make you perfect in all good workes to doe his will working in you that which is pleasing in his sight through Iesus Christ to whom bee praise for ever and ever Amen And thus concluded Saint Peter Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ to him be glory both now and evermore 2 Pet. 3. 18. Amen Augustine said Tu Domine sic excitas ut laudare te delectet fecisti nos pro te inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te thou August lib. 1. confess cap. 1. Lord doest so excite mee that to praise thee it delighteth mee thou hast made us for thee and our heart cannot be quiet till it rest in thee Vae tacentibus de te taceat laâ—des tuas qui miserationes tuas non novit Woe bee to them which speake not of thee hee setteth not foorth thy praise who is ignorant of thy mercies Again saith the father Si omnia membra nostra verteventur in linguas si tot haberemus quot Argus oculos nequaquam sufficerent If all our August lib. Meditationum members were converted into tongues if wee had as many tongues as Argus had eyes they were not sufficient to set foorth thy praises thou art a Lord exceeding great and infinite without measure and end and oughtest to be praised and beloved of all Paul could not name Christ but abruptly but breaketh out into thankesgiving having often other matters inhand yet cannot he stay but soundeth out his gratitude as with a trumpet as writing to Timothy handling other matters on a sudden he leaveth the thing in hand and crieth out Now unto the King everlasting immortall invisible unto God onely wise be honour and glory for 1 Tim. 16. 17. ever and ever Amen So writing to the Romans and handling the priviledges of the Iewes on a sudden he leaveth off and breaketh out into thankesgiving saying Of whom concerning the flesh Christ came who is God over all blessed for ever Amen So writing Rom. 9. 5. to the Corinthians and handling the resurrection from the dead on a sudden hee breaketh out to gratitude saying Thankes bee to God which hath given us victorie through Iesus Christ 1 Cor. 15. 57. our Lord. Iude here useth a figure called Pleâ—nasmus to expresse his zeale hee doubleth and redoubleth tripleth and multiplieth his words till they be many in number hee is full as the Moone he Iob 32. floweth as the Sea hee is as the new vessels which have no vent for if the fountaine be full the channels cannot bee empty if The Saints plentifull in thanksgiving there bee moysture in the roote the branches cannot wither if there bee heate in the chimney the house cannot bee cold if the heart abound the mouth will bee full of Gods praises Ex abundantia cordis os loquitur out of the abundance of the heart Luke 6. the mouth speaketh Note this in all the Saints of God how plentifully doth David describe his thankefulnesse My soule praise thou the Lord and forget not all his benefits And againe Praise the Lord ô my Psal 103. 1 2. Psal 146. 1. soule I will praise the Lord during my life as long as I have any being I will sing unto my God With how many words commendeth hee the Law What variety hee useth What cornucopia hee hath Marke his words The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soule the testimony of the Lord is sure and giveth wisedome Psal 19. 7 8 9. unto the simple The Statutes of the Lord are right and rejoce the heart the Commandement of the Lord is pure and giveth light unto the eyes The feare of the Lord is cleane and indureth for ever the judgements of the Lord are truth and righteous altogether Marke I pray you how hee calleth it the Law the Testimonies the Statutes the Commandements the Feare the Iudgements of the Lord then what Epithites hee giveth it the Law Perfect the Testimonies sure the Statutes Right the feare Cleane the iudgements Truth then what fruits he ascribeth to it that it converteth the soule giveth wisedome rejoyceth the heart endureth for ever Thus let us learne to measure our selves and to know the goodnesse of our hearts by the mouth if wee can speake scantly of God and good things plentifully of the world and the vanities of it our heart is naught it is withered like grasse all the dewes of Gods grace are dryed up in it but wee must rowze up both our hearts and tongues and say with David My heart is prepared O my Psal 57. 7 8 9. God my heart is prepared I will sing and give praise Awake my tongue awake viole and harpe I will awake right early I will praise thee O Lord among the people and I will sing unto thee among the nations But to come to a more particular description of Gods attributes and the attributes wherewith hee is described are Wisedome Salvation Glory Majestie Dominion and Power And yet this description is but in part not a full description for who can describe him perfectly hee is shadowed out unto us by the holy Ghost after this manner The Lord the Lord strong Exod. 34. 6 7. mercifull and gracious slow to anger and abundant in goodnesse and truth reserving mercie for thousands forgiving iniquity and transgression and sinne not making the wicked innocent visiting the iniquity of the Fathers upon their Children unto the third and fourth generation And againe Salomon King Salomon wise King Salomon shadoweth him out after this manner Who hath ascended up to Heaven and Prov. 30. 4. descended Who hath gathered the Winde in his fist Who hath bound All men ignorant till inlightened the Waters in a garment Who hath established all the ends of the World What is his name or what is his Sonnes name if thou canst tell Oh who can tell his name or his Sonnes name Est bonus sine qualitate magnus sine quantitate praesens sine situ sempiternus sine tempore sine initio sine fine Hee is good without quality great without quantitie present without situation everlasting without time without beginning and without end Seditut aequitas dominatur ut majestas novit ut veritas amat ut charitas hee sitteth as equity ruleth as majesty knoweth as verity and loveth as charitie For these be not qualities but of the essence of God Of Rom. 11. him and for him and through him are all things Hee calleth him onely wise wherein hee bestrippeth all men and bereaveth them of wisedome as the Cumane Asse of the Lions skinne as Aesops Crow of her feathers except they have it of God Hereupon saith the Apostle If any man want
Wisedome let him aske of God Iam. 1. 5. who giveth to all men liberally and reprocheth no man and it shall be given him Ieremie speaketh generally Every man is a beast in his owne Ier. 10. 14. knowledge not some but all not a few men but every man So saith David The Lord looked downe from Heaven upon the children of Psal 14. 2. men to see if there were any that would understand and seeke after God but all are gone out of the way all are corrupt c. Paul calleth the Ephesians darkenesse not darke but darkenesse night it selfe Yee Ephes 5. 8. were sometime darkenesse quoth hee and hee prayeth God to lighten them The God of our Lord Iesus Christ and Father of Glory give unto yo◠the Spirit of Wisedome and Revelation through the knowledge Ephes 1. 17. of him And let this be our prayer that the God of our Lord Iesus Christ and Father of Glory would give us the Spirit of Wisedome and he give us all the Spirit of Wisedome that wee may bee wise unto Salvation for that which Christ said of Laodicea is true of all Thou saiest thou art rich and increased in Apoc. 13. 17 18. goodnesse and hast neede of nothing and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poore and blinde and naked I counsell thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be made rich and white raiment that thou maiest bee cloathed and that thy filthy nakednesse doe not appeare and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve that thou maiest see that is suffer the eyes of thy understanding to be opened We are blind not as whelpes that see after nine dayes not as the man in the Gospell who saw men walke like trees but wee be as blind as beetles as blind as the men of Sodom who groped for Lots doore for what see wee that the Gentiles saw not And Gen. 19. yet saw they nothing for the Apostle affirmeth that they walked Ephes 4. 17 18. in the vanity of their minde having their cogitation darkened and being strangers from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardnesse of their hearts God by the Gospel openeth our eyes that wee may turne from darkenesse to light and from Act. 26. 18. Col. 2. 3. the power of Satan unto God All the treasures of Wisedome and Knowledge are in Christ Wisedome and Knowledge are in Angels and in No true wisedome in man till God infuse it men as well as in Christ how can then all Wisedome and Knowledge bee hid in him Yes they have it from Christ for Wisedome and Knowledge is in Angels by Vision in Men by Revelation Col. 2. 3. 1 Cor. 1. 22. Prov. 9. 1. but in Christ by union for hee is the Power and Wisedome of his Father he is Wisedome and the Church and House Wisedome wherein all must learne Wisedome wee know not all things that appertaine to God nor are we ignorant of all things which are proper to beasts but we know some things and are ignorant of others which are peculiar to men and so far we see as God hath illuminated us and no further for as all fountaines come from the Sea and all lights from the Sun so all Wisedome from God there may bee Science in the wicked but not Sapience Scientia est rerum humanarum Sapientia rerum divinarum Aug Science is of humane and earthly things Sapience of divine and heavenly things there is in the wicked Wit but not Wisedome or if there bee any Wisedome it is the wisedome of the world and of the flesh but the Wisedome of the Spirit they have it not They that are of the flesh saith the Apostle savour Rom. 8. 5 6 7. the things of the flesh but they that are of the Spirit savour the things of the Spirit for the Wisedome of the flesh is Death but the Wisedome of the Spirit is Life and Peace because the Wisedome of the flesh is enmitie to God Achitophel was wise but not in God nor for God the Grecians were wise but not spiritually the Philosophers 2 Sam. 17. 1 Cor. 1. 22. 1 Cor. 2. 14. were wise but yet in part and in the least part for from whence commeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from whence came this division of the gods into majores minores into greater and lesser gods from whence came the furies of Epicures with their Attomies which cannot bee divided from whence the fate of Stoickes bending fast and tying straight Iehova himselfe from the doting of Aristotle dreaming of the Worlds eternity which of these knew the World to be made of nothing the Word to bee made flesh Christ to be borne of a virgin the righteousnesse of one man to be conferred to another to make him righteous in three substāces or parts to be but one God For all Wisedome Religion flow from one fountaine that is God Quem qui nescit licèt videat caecus Lactantius est licet audiat surdus est licet loquitur mutus est licet vivat mortuus est Whom whoso knoweth not though he seeth yet is he blind though he heareth yet hee is deafe though he speaketh yet is he dumbe though he liveth yet is he dead for this is life nay life eternal To know God to be the only very God Iesus Christ whom he hath Iohn 17. 3 25. sent The World knowes not God saith our Saviour But I have knowne you and these have known me Seneca the Philosophers said Fortunam à Deo petendum sapientia à nobis Fortune is to be begged and craved of God Wisedome of our selves Nemo inquit Deo ob sapientiam gratias egit No man hath thanked God for Wisedome But there was no grace in these lips they spake proudly The Philosophers affirme reason to be seated in the head as in a Tower and from thence as a lampe to shine unto our counsels God saves by Christ and as a Queene to moderate the will Well it is God that is onely Wise and his Wisedome appeareth in the creation in disposing so orderly and placing so seemely all things in their place and degree as is most wonderfull to behold with such beautie and proportion in every creature that unlesse wee bee too too blockish wee may cry out with David O Lord how wonderfull are thy workes in Wisedome hast Psal 8. thou made them all And again Great is our Lord and great is his power yea his Wisedome is infinite To see the goodly order of Heaven it will make a man to be astonished at the Wisedome of God more than the Queen of Saba was at the wisedom of Salomon to see how God preserveth his Church by his power and knowes wayes and meanes by his Wisedome to deliver it might ravish us with the consideration of his wisedome to cry out with Paul O the depth Rom. 11.
heart is as the kitchin wherein things are prepared for God the vessell is at tilt when dregs and lees wanton and filthy speeches bee drawne from the heart the quiver is empty when never an arrow can bee drawne out never a word that savoureth of goodnes but all our speeches are for our profit or our pleasure wee are men of polluted lippes CHRIST is the fountaine of the water of life and Esa 6. Esa 35. faith in the heart is as the leads or pipes that receive it and hold the water and confession is as the cocke of the conduite Rom. 10. the spowte that lets out the water to all commers Earthly men seldome talke of CHRIST but wee have not so unfruitfully learned CHRIST nor so unhappily given witnesse of his trueth but better things belong to us in better wayes wee will runne our course in a better hope lay downe our bodies Let them talke of the world that make it their portion wee looke for a City whose builder and maker is God Let the Aegyptians talke of their walled The godly talke of God and praise him Cities Nabuchaduezzar of his buildings the foole of his barnes the voluptuous of his hawks and hounds wee will speake of God and our care shall bee to glorify him hee is a God of glory and his is glory to him will wee give glory and honour and thanks for evermore THE ONE AND FORTIETH SERMON VERS XXV To God onely Wise and our Saviour bee Glory Majesty Power and Dominion How Majesty is ascribed to God THere bee six Attributes here in this verse of God Wisedome Salvation Glory Majestie Dominion and Power Wee have handled and heard of three of them that is of his Wisedome Salvation and Glory and I am to speake of the other three Majesty Dominion and Power Majestie is his incomprehensible greatnesse which worketh wonders and bringeth forth most excellent and rare workes to ascribe therefore unto God a power and an incomprehensible might whereby hee doth the workes of wonder is to render majestie to God Hereupon said David Blessed bee the Lord God even the Psal 72. 18 19. God of Israel which onely doth wondrous things and blessed bee his glorious name for ever and let all the earth be filled with his glory so bee it Therefore is David so earnest with the tyrants and great men of the world to give this Majesty to God and addeth often Vno oris halitu that the voyce of the Lord doth all Give unto the Lord O yee mighty give unto the Lord glory and strength give unto Psal 29. 1 2 3 4 10. the Lord glorie due unto his name worship the Lord in his glorious Sanctuary Miracles admired for the the rarenesse The voice of the Lord is upon the Waters The God of glory maketh it to thunder the Lord is upon the great Waters the voice of the Lord is mighty the voice of the Lord is glorious c. The Lord sitteth upon the floud and the Lord doth remaine King for ever Hee repeateth one thing often over for wee passe over all the workes of God without consideration like horse and mule that have no understanding and they are buried in the grave of oblivion Wee Psal 22. will not confesse before the Lord his loving kindnesse and his wonderfull workes before the sonnes of men They that dwell in darknesse and in the shadow of death being bound in miserie Psal 107. 8 10 14 15. and yron hee brought out of darkenesse and shadow of death and brake their bands asunder Let them therefore confesse before the Lord his loving kindnesse and his wonderfull workes before the sonnes of men The like hee saith of the sicke whose soule abhorreth all manner of meate and they are hard at deaths doore and of the mariners which goe downe to the Sea in ships and fee the wonderous workes of God and to all these one and the same conclusion is repeated Let them confesse before the Lord his loving kindnesse and his wonderfull workes before the sonnes of men Wee see many wonders but wee give not God praise in them a wonder lasteth but nine dayes Vilescunt omnia Dei miracuâ—â— all Gods miracles are vile and are not regarded Augustine said God doth not now miracles ob duas causas for two causes First Ne vilescant miracula as I said before Secondly Ne terrena semper Aug. lib. 9. de civitate Dei quaeramus that wee should not alwayes seeke after earthly things it is as great a miracle to governe the World as to feed Iohn 6. five thousand men with five loaves and two Fishes Et tamen illud ownes mirantur hoc nemo yet all men wonder at that none at this Non quia majus sed quia rarum not because it is the greater but because it is rare it is as great a miracle to raise a barley kernel as to raise a dead body out of the grave Vilescit tamen 1 Cor. 15. ob assiduitateÌ„ yet this is not respected because of assiduity whereas the other is thought impossible The Israelites saw the light of Aegypt turned into darkenesse the waters into bloud the dust into lyce the bitter waters of March into sweete the Psal 105. Heaven open to give them Manna the rocke open to give them drinke the flint stone turned into a well yet doubted of Gods Psal 78. Majestie in giving them bread The Pharisees saw and perceived the blind to see the deafe to heare the dumbe to speake the lame to walke the dead to live yet blasphemed God The Luke 7. Iewes saw the fiery and cloven tongues yet railed on the Apostles as men not full of the Spirit but full of new wine Wee Act. 2. in England have seene wonders in Heaven as strange starres never seene before blazing Comets at other times and wonders in Anno 16. Eliz. the Sea as fishes at the I le of Tennet two and twenty yards long and wonders in the Earth as trees to remove in Dorset-shire and Hereford-shire yet have wee ascribed to God no Majestie Nay God reveales himselfe six wayes greater wonders than these have we seene for God did restore to us the light of the Gospell in the greatest darkenes of the world hee did unhorse the Pope in the time of King Henry the eighth and increased the light of it as the noone-day in the dayes of Edward the sixth and after it was eclipsed hee restored the light of it in the daies of Queene Elizabeth he hath put down the Northerne tumults hath drowned the Spanish Navy Oh that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodnesse and declare the wonders that hee doth for the sonnes of men But alas we have eyes but wee see not eares and heare not wee have hearts like mules and understand not wee see no more than beasts wee are as stockes and blockes what folly hath Ier. 5. 21 23. wrapped up all our
understanding What blindnesse hath possessed our braine And how hath a covering of brawne covered our hearts that wee give no Majestie to God That which Paul said of the Gospel If our Gospell bee hid it is hid to them that 2 Cor. 4. 3 4. are lost in whom the God of this World hath blinded their mindes So say I of Gods wonders This sinne of England is written with an Iron penne and with a point of a Diamond God revealeth himselfe Ier. 17. 1. to the World six wayes 1 By his Word 2 By Visions Act. 26. 18. Esa 1. 1. 3 By Dreames 4 By Wonders or Miracles Numb 12. Iohn 5. Mat. 28. 19. 5 By Sacraments 6 By Types and figures By foure or five of these meanes God hath made himselfe knowne to us especially by wonders yet wee know him not wee are greater fooles than Nabal and verier beasts than ever was Nabuchadnezzar 1 Sam. 25. Dan. 4. Ier. 8. 5 6 7. God must end us before hee mend us wee are turned backe to a perpetuall rebellion Wee give our selves to deceit and will not returne no man repents him of his wickednesse saying What have I done Every one turneth to his race as the horse to the battell Even the Storke in the ayre saith God knoweth her appointed times and the Turtle and the Crane and the Swallow observe the time of their comming but my people knoweth not the judgement of the Lord. This is a nation that heareth not the voice of the Lord nor receiveth Discipline shall not these two great earth-quakes this yeere the one in the day the other in the night worke in us a feare of Gods majestie It is a token Amâ—â— 1602. that God is angry and so applied by the Prophet The earth trembled and shoke the very foundations of the Earth were seene at thy chyding at the blasting of the breath of thy displeasure Psal 18. When God would take revenge of the people in the dayes of Tiberius hee overthrew with an earth-quake twelve Cities of Asia and in Constantines dayes ten or eleuen townes in Campania Lipisius when the Iewes under Iulian had tooles of silver to reedify Gods dominion is in all creatures especially in man Ierusalem the earthquake in the night destroyed their worke in the day fire from heaven burnt up their tooles The righteous will see this and rejoyce and all iniquity shall stop her mouth and who is wise that hee may observe these things that God is a God of Majesty and magnificence for it is he alone that doth wondrous things The fifth thing here attributed to God is Dominion which is the authority of commanding and making Lawes unto all men in the world by which meanes God ruleth and hath a dominion or Kingdome in every one of us whereof the Lord Iesus speaketh in the knitting up of his prayer to God For thine is the Kingdome c. Of this David speaketh The Lord hath prepared his Mat 6. 13. Psal â—03 19 22. Throne in Heaven and his Kingdome ruleth over all And againe Praise the Lord all works of his in all places of his dominion And againe Thy Kingdome is an everlasting Kingdome and thy dominion endureth Psal 145. 13. throughout all ages And here learne a profitable lesson that when wee obey the Word of the Lord and suffer it to rule and overrule our passions then hath God a Kingdome and wee ascribe Dominion to him hereof the Lord Iesus spake For when Luk. 17. 20 21. hee was demanded of the Pharises when the Kingdome of God should come He answered them and said The Kingdome of God commeth not with observation neither shall men say Loe here or loe there for behold the Kingdome of Heaven is within you he meant not the Kingdome of glory but of grace For this dominion or Kingdome is threefold of Power Grace Glory The Kingdome of Power is whereby God subdueth his enemies and Tyrants of his Church and crusheth them in pieces like a potters vessell and of this Kingdome the Prophet thus Psal 2. 9. Psal 93. 1. Psal 97. 1 2. speaketh The Lord reigneth and is cloathed with Majesty the Lord is clothed and girded with power c. And againe the Lord reigneth let the people tremble hee sitteth betweene the Cherubins let the earth bee moved the Lord is great in Zion and high above all people His Kingdom of Grace is that wherby God ruleth in his elect through his Spirit inwardly as his Word outwardly whereof the Prophet speaketh thus With righteousnes shall he judge the poore Esa 11. 4 5 6. and with equity shall hee reprove c. Iustice shall bee the girdle of his loynes and faithfulnesse the girdle of his reines the Wolfe shall dwell with the Lambe and the Leopard shall lye with the kidde and the calfe and the Lion and the fatte beast together and a little Child shall lead them When the corruption of our nature beginneth to bee like the house of Saul weaker and weaker and faith repentance zeale knowledge and other graces of the Spirit stronger and stronger in us and wee now beginne to love feare trust and serve and obey God then is the Kingdome of grace in us The Kingdome of Glory is that wherein the Angels and Saints We count our selves subjects of Christs Kingdome of grace but are rebellious departed now are and wee shall bee hereafter when mortality shall be swallowed up of life when wee shall sing the songs of our triumph O death where is thy sting O Hell where is thy victory The songs of our joy such as none can understand save the hundred forty and foure thousand which are received up from 1 Cor. 15. the earth But here hee meaneth chiefely the Kingdome of grace for God is a King everlasting immortall invisible and onely wise Wee 1 Tim. 1. 17. are then his subjects The Lawes are the Word Psal 2. 8. Psal 119. 105. Ephes 6. 12. The enemies of this Kingdome are Satan sinne death Hell domination the flesh and the wicked The time of it is to the worlds end Mat. 28. 20. The place is this world and the world to come Apot. 5. 10. But ô foolish men how doe wee pray for this dominion and Kingdome of the Lord when in our works wee destroy it When wee rebell against the Word like a rebellious nation Ezech. 2. 3 4. and like impudent children and stiffe-hearted As the horse rusheth into the battell so we rush into our sinnes we sinne Ier. 8. 6. Ephes 4. 19. with greedines wee draw it with cordes of vanity wee love the wicked we loath the godly we freeze in love we boile in malice Esa 5. we sell vertue we buy vice we refuse Christ we chuse Barrabas wee lay away life and embrace death wee overthwart the will of God in all things wee follow our owne wills and desires wee are traytors to God in
which is written in Ieremie I will put my Lawes in their minds and in their hearts will I write them And they alledge the saying of Ier. 51. Paul Yee are our Epistle written not with inke but with the Spirit of the living God Nay they say further that the Apostles went beyond 2 Cor. 3. yond their Commission when they did write the Scriptures for they were commanded to preach not to write But the Apostle Mat. 28. 19. to the Hebrewes while he doth write the doctrine of the new Covenant alledgeth the forenamed sentence of Ieremy and Paul had already written two Epistles to the Thessalonians and the former Epistle also to the Corinthians when as hee said Tee are our Epistle witten not with inke c. But as Carpocrates Cerdo Manes rejected the bookes of the Law and Cerinthus all the Gospell except Mathew and Severianus and Paulinus the Epistles and Actes of the Apostles so Papists doe accuse the whole Scripture of imperfection and ambiguity Paul being ready to finish his course and to bid a farewell to the world as appeareth in his second Epistle to Timothie when as already the bookes of the New Testament were written saith thus unto Timothie The whole Scripture is given by inspiration and is 2 Tim. 3. 16. profitable to teach to improve to correct and instruct in righteousnesse All things necessary to salvation contained in Scripture where hee bringeth the whole Scripture unto foure heads doctrine redargution correction instruction doctrine is occupied about the chiefe points of faith and religion Redargution confuteth errours in faith and religion instruction comprehendeth information of manners correction is occupied in reproving and punishing delinquents If the Word of God be a two-edged sword to wound the Divell If it bee the hatchet to cut off the head of all hereticks If the Word be mighty in operation entreth thorow even to the dividing asunder of the soule and of the spirit of the ioints and of the marrow If it bee a lanterne unto our feeâ— and a light unto our paths If Christ used no other weapon to repell the Divell but the Word saying It is written If Apollo confuted the Iewes openly proving by the Scriptures Iesus to be Christ If Christs proofes were Scriptum est and his demands Quomodo legis How read you and his Apologies Scrutamini Scripturas search the Scriptures certainly in the Scriptures is contained alone all things necessary to salvation I will therefore conclude this point with the saying of Augustine Neither will I alledge the Councell of Nice neither shalt thou August lib. 3. cap. 14. aduers Maxim alledge the Councell of Arimine against me by the authority of the Scriptures Let us weigh matter with matter cause with cause reason with reason There is no cause therfore why Papists should take the wings of the morning and fly from the written Word unto unwritten verities that the fathers of Colen should call the Scriptures A nose of waxe that Pighius should tearme it The Leaden rule of the Lesbian building that other Papists should tearme it A shipmans-hoase A black Gospell Inken divinity If any will adde or Apoc. 22. detract from it let the curse be pronounced upon him and let all the people say Amen It is false that we have the Baptisme of infants the celebration of the Sunday the distinction of the persons in the Trinity the number of the bookes of the Scripture by tradition not by the written Word God hath kept his law in the Arke and all Popish Philistines could not keep the Arke 1 Sam. 5. Iohn 20. from us These things are written that yee may beleeve Traditions are gathered of an evill egge digge the Papists never so deep they shall not find the myne nor spring of them in the Primitive Church they labour to put life into a dead carcasse of them but it will not be Avant therefore yee Anabaptists with your revelations Avant yee Montanists with your new comforter Avant yee Iewes with your Cabal and Talmud Avant Trent Councell and Papists with your Traditions our salvation is Christ for There is no other name given unto men whereby they shall be saved save only by the name of Iesus The way to salvation is faith the guide Act. 4. 12. to this way is the Scripture Hereupon saith Paul Yee are no longer forenners and strangers but Citizens with the Saints and of the houshold of God and are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and There is a foure-fold iudgement Prophets Iesus Christ himselfe being the chiefe corner stone So much for the Author cited Enoch the seventh from Adam Now to the thing prophesied which is judgement and therein Ephes 2. 19 20. first we have to observe that there shall be a iudgement There is a fourefold judgement The first judgement was that that was accomplished of man and Angels at their first fall The Angels that fell were judged and throwne out of Heaven Adam that fell was judged and throwne out of Paradise Gen. 3. Secondly There is a middle judgement and so God judgeth the wicked and the godly every day Visiting â—â—eir sinnes with Psal the rod and their offences with the scourge There is a third a particular judgement in the day of every mans death of Lazarus and good men to Heaven of Dives and bad men to Hell and of this particular judgement the Author Luk. 16. of the Epistle to the Hebrewes speaketh thus It is appoynted for all men once to dye and then commeth the Iudgement Hebr. 9. 27. Fourthly there is generall judgement of quicke and of dead whereof Enoch prophesied here saying The Lord will come with thousands of his Saints to give iudgement c. But some will say Why should God judge man after death since hee hath his judgement at his death I answere that in death wee have a particular judgement but God will also have his generall Aug. judgement Secondly In death we have the judgement of the soule But God will judge both body and soule Thirdly In death wee have a secret Doome But God will have an open Assise a publike Sessions and a manifest Iudgement Concerning which generall Iudgement I could produce a cloud of Scriptures to avouch it both out of the old and new Testament Ezechiel saith An end is come an end is come it is looked for Behold it is come Moses also prophesied of this Iudgement Deut. 32. and David Psal 50. and Salomon Eccles 11. 9. and Daniel Cap. 7. 13. and Ioel Cap. 3. and Malachy Cap. 4. So did Christ himselfe Mat. 24. and Paul the Apostle of us Gentiles 2. Thes 5. and Peter 2. Pet. 3. and Iohn 9. Apoc. 20. Neither is this assurance of the judgement to come warranted by the words of Gods servants onely but the Lord hath left many workes of his own to teach us that hee will once at length for all judge the whole
increase in it Hereupon the Apostles prayed unto the Lord Increase our faith habent enim omnes virtutes suas conceptiones nativitates incunabula aetatis incrementa all vertues have Luke 17. 5. their conceptions births infancies increasings Hereupon Paul exhorteth the Iewes of Thessalonica To increase more and more Our progresse in Religion is compared to building in this Verse 1 Thess 4. 1. 1 Cor. 9. 24. and to a race 2 Pet. 3. 18. Ephes 4. 14. Pro. 4. 18. Cant. 6. 9. To the growth of trees To the ages of men To the morning light To the Moone which waxeth All which note a progresse in Christianity houses are edified from the foundation to the wals from the wals to the roofe in a race men runne on to the goale trees grow bigger and bigger men waxe taller and higher the morning light is brighter and brighter untill the noone day the Moone waxeth so must Christians we must neither stand still in Religion nor goe backward wee must not stand still in Religion like the Sunne in Gibeon nor goe backe like Ahaz his Diall but wee must goe forward it is not enough to keepe one talent but we must gaine by Mat. 25. 28. it like good land that giveth not his owne seed but much more as well was he punished that hid his talent as hee that spent his Luke 16. masters goods riotously to stand still in Religion is all one as Good men grow better dayly to goe backward Non progredi est regredi not to goe forward is to goe backward but truly the man who hid his talent is better than wee For wee cannot shew that love and that zeale that knowledge that hath beene in us in times past The Church of Ephesus lost her first love but I would that our Churches were like it they hated the evill wee hate the good they examined the Apoc. 2. 4. Luk 12. 45. false apostles wee examine none they suffered persecution we persecute others we smite our fellow servants Iulian the Christian is become Iulian the Apostata Simon Peter is become Simon Magus Ioseph is become Pharao Lambes are turned into dogges doves into serpents Wee have bene idle in the Lords vineyard Mat. 20. not one houre but eleven houres as the Master and Owner of the vineyard said unto the men whom hee found standing doing nothing in the market stead Why stand yee here idle So may God say to us Quare statis otiosi in Ecclesia Why stand yee here idle in the Church Wee have stood still with the figge-tree not three yeeres but threescore yeeres I feare me God will say to us as of the figge-tree Never fruit grow on thee hereafter so to Mat. 11. 14. us Never Faith never love never knowledge bee in thee hereafter It is a principle in Divinity a Maxime in that art that good men goe forward waxe better For such as bee planted in the house of Psal 92 13 14. the Lord shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God they shall bring forth more fruit in their age they shall bee fatte and well liking They are like the Cypres-tree that bringeth most fruit when it is an hundred yeere old like the Eagle that reneweth her age like the Hart that reneweth his strength by snuffing up a snake into his nosthrils Every branche saith our Saviour that beareth Iohn 13. 2. not fruit in me hee taketh away and every one that beareth fruit hee purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit Wee must bee as the Sunne when hee riseth in his might wee must increase and grow in goodnesse and so daily more and more in Gods favour we must Iudg. 5. 31. Cant. 6. 9. looke forth as the morning we must be faire as the Moone pure as the Sunne terrible as an army with banners For though our gifts and graces be small at the first yet we must grow up and increase more and more our ditch must become a flood and our flood a sea For as Salomon saith A wise-man will heare and increase Ecclesiast 24. 35. in learning and a man of understanding will attaine to wise counsels yea and further hee affirmeth Give admonition to the Wise and he will be the wiser teach a righteous man he will increase in learning Examples Pro. 1. 5. we have in the Church of Thiatyra of whom Christ speaketh Pro. 9. 9. thus I know thy works thy love and thy service and thy faith and thy patience and thy workes and that they are more at the last then at the Apoc. 21. 19. first Another principle is that the evill decease they are ever learning and never come unto the knowledge of the truth like the Almond-tree 2 Tim. 3. 7. that is soonest blossomed and soonest blasted they We are most of us non-proficients in plenty of meanes goe backward Yea and they proceed from evill to worse Wee grow in yeeres but doe we grow in grace and knowledge as S. Peter exhorteth saying Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ We draw neere unto our graves but doe wee Esa 1. 4. Ier. 9. 3. 2 Pet. 3. 18. draw neerer God and heaven Alas there bee more dunses and non-proficients and bankerupts in religion then in all trades and artes of the world besides wee creepe like snailes wee glide like wormes wee goe like the messenger of ill newes slowly Wee learne little wee know little wee doe little if in forty yeeres to come we learne no more then in forty yeeres past our graves will meete with us in the way and it will bee too late to learne when wee are come into the land of darkenesse and place where all things are forgotten Will God shew a miracle to the dead or shall the Psal 88. 10 11. 12. deadrise and praise God Shall his loving kindnesse bee declared in the grave or his faithfulnesse in destruction Shall his wonderous works bee knowne in the darke and his righteousnesse in the land of oblivion We may say with the Apostle that whereas concerning the time wee Hebr. 12. 5. ought to bee teachers wee our selves had need to be taught the first principles of the Word of God for we are such as have need of milke not of strong meate Alas wee are still children still at our milke still in our A. B. C. still in the Crosse-row of Divinity for what know wee now that wee knew not tenne twentie thirty forty yeeres agoe We are like the women that Paul speaketh of Alwayes learning and never comming to the knowledge 2 Tim. 3. 7. of the truth like Tantalus that perished for thirst in the middest of the waters and wee in the middest of doctrine as yet we are in the doctrine of beginnings of Christ nay wee have not begun yet for of Faith Repentance Baptisme Imposition of Hebr. 6. hands and of the Resurrection of