earnestly beleeue when you are baptiz'd Hee then regenerates when you pray together He is then in the mid'st when you receiue the Communion it is then his body and bloud when you heare the word He then speakes when you confesse your sinnes you then confesse to him when you are absolu'd by the Keyes Hee then absolues you when you releeue He then receiues when you forgiue your enemies Hee then forgiues when you entertaine defend or aduance the Prophets you then euen then entertaine defend and aduance euen Christ himselfe And this is some vertue more that our times are certaine and at his appointed times let the meanes be dead and all reason and probability buryed and seal'd vp from vs yet we are sure of Him Hee is there then and He keepes his time duely But yet this is not all He has done for our times we are not yet come to times full redemption To conclude all as I began and to keep time too Touch the Person of Christ Iesus we must with that Faith onely that beleeues only and adores the mystery of grace so are we iustified in Him made members of Him Touch the Garment of his works we must with that Faith only that does not only beleeue but works thorow and resembles his loue so are wee sanctified in him and couered with His righteousnes Touch the Hem of His garment the circumstances of His workes we must with that Faith only that does not onely beleeue and worke in grosse but is the measure and proportion fashioning our conuersation to His in heauen our time place meanes manners to His onely so are wee glorified in Him with the glorious liberty of the sonnes of God Now to shew in some sort this measure and proportion betwixt Christ vs S. Paul tels vs 1. Cor. 15.23 1. Cor. 15.23 There Ordo Resurgentium An Order of Risers erected by Christ himselfe and himselfe is the president of that order First Christ and then they that are Christs in order and this I dare say is Gratus sermo an acceptable saying For all men desire to be of this order It is neither scandall to greatones nor imputation to meaner in Kings Courts to say wee courteirs would all verygladly rise and bee install'd in this order of risers But if you would doe so you know there is a credit and a Creed to be remembred To get into this order you must follow your Prince president And to keepe order with him you must keepe his times duly his very dayes and those are but three dayes now no more for I haue yet another mystery to tell you Abbreuiatum faciet Deus opus super terram Thom. Presat in decal So the olde ones read that place of Esay cited by S. Paul Rom. 9.28 which wee read thus Ashort worke will the Lord make vpon earth and this short worke say they is the worke of our redemption from eternall euill Phil. 2.7 with restauration into eternall good Wherein as God the sonne our Lord abbreuiated the equality with God into the fashion of man and that man the meanest of men a poore Minister and seruant to redeeme the diuision between God and man and make the Highest God and the lowest man at one againe so the same Lord seruant has wrought out and perfected this redemption and vnion amongst men by abbreuiation onely and making short worke in all Generations persons place words time all the measures by which either the kind coÌ„dition content knowledge or the actions of men are differenc'd and diuided they are all now abbreuiated and made shorter we are redeem'd now from distinctions of kindred and all generations are abbreuiated into the Newbirth in the lauer of regeneration wherein wee are all now of one kind and blood we are redeemed now from distinction of condition for all persons are abbreuiated into the Person and body of Christ wherein wee are all members of one Person of one suffering and honour we are redeem'd now from all distinctions of contents for all places are abbreuiated into the Church and Communion of Saints wherein meum is tuum and tuum is meum Our desire the same because our possession and content is one and the same we are redeem'd now from distinction of knowledge diuision of vnderstanding for all wordes are abbreuiated into these three faith hope and charity These are all our study and the study of all alike for the measure of all knowledge Lastly we are redeem'd now from the distinction of indeuours and diuision of will and choice in doing for all time the measure of all actions is abbreuiated in these three daies of Christ the Preparation the Sabhath the Resurrection And as wee haue no kinred to deriue to but the Newbirth no condition of honour but in the Person of Christ no content in place but in the Communion of Saints no words to study but faith hope and charity So we haue no time to obserue for the measure of all our aâ—tions but only these three dayes and we haue no actions at all to will chuse or doe but what are measured and fitted to these three Dayes the Preparation the Sabbath the Resurrestion These are the measure samplar and patterne to our dayes or else of Christs order we cannot be The dayes of our life must be our day of Preparation our Good Friday as was Christs and as it was His and no otherwise In it wee must labour against sinne and Sathan as Christ did we must suffer from sin Sathan as Christ did we must die in conquest of sin Sathan as Christ did And now how like the order But be not dismaied for after this will succeed our Iewish and Typicall Sabbath the day of our rest in the graue as Christ did in the hands of Christ onely and not of deeath at all no more then he did And then will yet follow the spirituall and heauenly Sabbath the Lords day and the day of Lords the day of resurrection vnto life and full enstallment in this order This the order Both habited armed and tim'd like your President you must be and then as in other orders it is a fellowship as well as an order August in 29 Psal Hoc sperate mea membra quod in capite praecessit sayes Saint Augustine and t' is the Word Motto of your order What the Head enioyes let the member expect what is gone before in the Head according to his vertue let the member expect in his measure and condition As let our first day bee troublesome as Christs was yet it shall be short and the shortest of the three as Christs was Let our second day of death be longer by many houres as Christs was yet it shall bee as long in rest as Christs was Let our third day bee long before it come yet it will come and come earely as Christs did and when it does come it shall neuer know euening as Christs did And that 's a
A SERMON PREACHED before his MAIESTIE at Oatelands on the 28. of Iuly 1622. By EDMVND MASON his Maiesties Chaplaine and Vicar of NEVVARKE in Nottinghamshire LONDON ¶ Printed by IOHN BILL M.DC.XXII MATTH 16.21 The last words of the verse are these The Third Day AS in the Garment of Christ The Nature of the Text. as well as his Body so in the Hemme of Christs Garment as well as the Garment the woman with the bloody issue Matth. 9.13 tells vs there is sauing vertue both benefit and comfort for sauing Faith to touch and take in the very Hemme His Body wherein He wrought and suffered for vs was that sacred Person of the Diuine and Humane nature together whereof wee are members and partakers by the Touch of that Faith 2. Cor. 10.5 that Saint Paul sayes Beleeues only and captiuates Reason in obedient adoration His Garments wherein Hee was seene and knowne of vs and for vs were the workes and sufferings of that most sacred Person His actiue and passiue obedience in our flesh to the whole Law wherewith our imperfect obedience is couered and accepted by the Touch of that fayth that S. Paul sayes does not beleeue only Gal. 5.6 but workes through loue Lastly the Hemme of these Garments wherwith the vnmeasurable obedience of this incomprehensible Person was cut out fashion'd and confin'd to vs and for vs This was the needfull Circumstances of Time Place Meanes Manner with other Virges and Borders of His workes and sufferings in all which as He showd He wrought as Man and for man and not as God onely so in and through them the Circumstances of our Actions their times place meanes manner gather Holinesse and acceptance by the Touch of that Faith which Saint Paul sayes Rom. 12.6 does not onely beleeue and worke but is the measure and proportion of our Actions to His. Rom. 12.6 The Garments of Christs workes must be hem'd in with Circumstances or else they cannot bee sutable to vs nor for vs. Ours they cannot be vnlesse they be of our Fashion No more then himselfe can bee Ours vnlesse He take our Forme And yet the fashion onely does not make them Ours we must touch a'm too take hold of a'm and put a'm on And that wee may do so the Summe of sauing Faith our Creed tels vs our Faith must touch gather vertue from the Hemme as well as the Garment the Circumstance as well as the substance the manner as well as the worke that Christ did for vs. It is not enough to beleeue He was borne in our flesh vnlesse we beleeue the meanes too of a Virgin and the Virgin Mary too No benefit nor comfort else It is not enough to beleeue He suffered for vs vnlesse both the manner Crucified the meanes Pontius Pilate the intent Dead the extent Buried vnlesse all these bee touched faith gathers no vertue It is not enough to beleeue He descended vnlesse our Faith reach to the very circumstance of place into Hell It is not enough to beleeue He Rose againe vnlesse our Faith touch and gather vertue from the very Hemme and circumstance of time The Third Day So we might go on The scope of it till He come againe to Iudgement at the last Day But heere the Third Day stayes vs. And this Hemme of time requires our Touch and consideration not of the worke of the day and the benefit of it for it is not Easter now but only of the day of the worke and the benefit of it the Third Day for it is the Lords Day And a Hemme it is and no better an historicall and drie circumstance of time onely But it is in our Creed and that touches vs neerely And in all our Creed it is the only circumstance of Time there mention'd Doubtlesse there is some Redemption in it With the woman with the bloody issue let vs but touch it a little there may chance come that vertue from it that may redimere tempus Eph. 5.16 as Saint Paul sayes at least show the Redemption of Time and turne the vanity and vexation of the Dayes of Earth into the certainty and Comfort of the Dayes of Heauen For that 's the purpose of the Text. And according to that purpose The Diuision Let vs diuide our discourse into a twofold touch and consideration One of Historicall faith the spirituall mans left hand touching the Hemme of Time only that Christ did rise vpon a Third Day Another of Iustifying and sauing faith the spirituall mans right hand Touching the vertue of this Hemme that For vs it was Necessary that Christ should rise vpon a Third Day and no other The Hemme I will touch in a word the Vertue by your patience I will handle but not in many words the Discourse The First Touch concerning the verity of the Third day and the Text shall be short alike And Touching the Hemme of time first It is touched a little too much Touched it is as God would not haue his Annoynted touched Angunt dum tangunt As the multitude touch'd Christ in Iayrus house when the woman with the bloody issue touch'd him too But in their touching Confligunt afflictant sayes Saint Peter In stead of gathering vertue from him they throng and presse him molest and afflict him with their Touching And so the old aduersary of Faith the Deuill he has taught many to touch this circumstance Where hee cannot hinder the Touch of Knowledge yet to corrupt or hinder the Touch of Faith he has taught a'm to presse it with doubts afflict it with questions Disputare malle quam viuere To dispute with it to doe any thing to it rather then beleeue and be whole Some dispute the Integrity of three dayes Others call the Houres to account and in their Auditt finde not aboue forty And yet let either of these bee touch'd with a Tertian Ague they will confidently say their fit return'd the third day when it is not yet aboue forty houres since the fit departed A Feuer it is and an euill spirit that vexes these disputers For the story in the Gospel is cleere enough in short Take we the Iewes reckoning of time according to Gods measure of a Day in the beginning Gen. 1. Gen. 1.5 from the beginning of the euening till the euening return'd againe and then it is plaine enough that vpon the day of the Iewes Preparation whereon Christ suffred Hee was both dead according to the Scriptures Math. 27.46 Mar. 15.42 Luc. 23.54 and as some gather buryed by Ioseph and Nicodemus three houres before Sun-set and that is one day For I preach to day though I preach not all the day Then all the euening and morning the whole day of the Iewes Sabbath He lay in his graue and that 's another day Then all the euening quite through vntill the morning of the first Day of the weeke Math. 27.66 He was sealed in His Sepulchre And that 's the
further comfort yet in this third Day The time of the member of Christ is redeemed and is abbreuiated into three Dayes onely and but two of those Dayes haue nights belonging to a'm The third Day has no night but is euer day as Christs was In these three Dayes His state and condition is by succession first trouble with the Crosse then rest in death then happinesse in Heauen First trouble with the Crosse for which hee has the Grace of Faith both begun and perfited heere to lead and defend him all his first day But faith has a night and dies with him and his Crosse Then comes his rest for which hee has the grace of hope begunne heere to assist faith but perfited in death to establish him in comfort all his second day But hope has a night too and leaues him when hee leaues to rest in death Then comes his happinesse for which he has the grace of loue begunne heere to make faith and hope actiue continued in death to sweeten hopes rest but perfited in eternall life with God that is loue in esse with whom there is no night but alwayes day without either end or change And then time is redeem'd into eternity And now you most Honourable and blessed order of Risers may it please you value your order with the honour and rule of it as you are regenerated in Christ members of his body Saints by Communion students of faith hope and charity and of the order of the Resurrection to life The bloud that runnes in your veins is Sanguis Dei the bloud of God And then S. Peters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is your Charter of Priuiledge against all power of death You die not when you die but onely to end your troubles and shew you are of a mortall nature you shall rest in peace as Christ did Impossible it is but the bloud of God should rise But ah the misery The seruant is not aboue his Lord the Disciple is not aboue his Master the member is not aboue the Head And rise we cannot possibly but as our Head did vpon a third Day And to rise vpon a third Day it is impossible vnlesse two dayes goe before it Nay nor rest can we possibly vpon a second day vnlesse the first day goe before it So it is ordered now and there is no breaking of it No skipping to the Resurrection day without both the Sabbath and preparation No nor any getting to the Sabbath without wee take our rise at the preparation The rise both to rest and rising is heere onely Is there no rise heere at combat with the crosse Why then no rest in death and then no happinesse in the resurrection Is there no fighting faith with base and dishonourable temptations why then no resting hope and then no rising loue Had not Christ resisted vnto death Hee had not died in conquest and had He not died so Hee had not risen in triumph and glory But all this our Prince and President must doe and did for vs and all this wee must doe for him And if all this wee doe and in this order If faith feele a good Friday and haue so fought with the Crosse as at the houre of death though faith die yet hope and loue stand conquerours aboue all temptations Then as sure as Christ our head conquer'd vpon the preparation rested vpon the Sabbath and rose againe vpon the third day so sure shall our hope rest secure and sweetly in death our second day and after death our loue shall rise in triumph vpon the third Day to enioy that happinesse that faith fought for heere hope rested in in death and loue onely enioyes without night or faile To which happinesse He bring vs that to purchase it as deerely as gloriously for vs was crucified dead buried and rose againe the third Day Iesus Christ the righteous To whom with God the Father and God the Holy Ghost one true eternall euer-liuing onely wise God be ascribed as is most due all honour prayse power glory dominion and thankesgiuing the first second and third Day and for euer FINIS LONDON ¶ Printed by IOHN BILL M.DC.XXII