Debt presently blots it out of his Book of Accounts as if he had received it Or from a Washer who rubbeth Spots out of Linnen Or from a Scribe who razeth out the Errors of his Pen and Menda's of his Writing with a Pen-knife To be really converted is to be graciously turned out of the way of Sin into the way of Grace out of the way of Darkness into the way of Light out of the way of Death into the way of Life out of the way of Hel into the way of Heaven is not this then one of the Depths of God CONVERION follows next as Depth of God That Malefactors may evade the Rod. Can Man create himself No Nor can He Convert himself As from the Pest-house flee ARMINIANISM which is a fatal Brink Not Orthodox but Heterodox I think 'T is not the Word that preached is by Man Nor Men who preach the Word that ever can Convert a Soul If CHRIST be passive then They stil must go for unconverted Men. What turned from the way of Sin to Grace That so the Soul might run another Race What turned from thy Darkness unto Light That it might not to Thee be ever NIGHT. What turned from a State of Death to Life That so there might no longer be a Strife What turned from the way of Hel to Heaven And so at last be purged of all Leaven If this be not the Depth of God then I Oh greatest God! must live in Misery ADOPTION Adoption that 's one of the Depths of God Christ was made the Son of Man that the Sons of Men might be made the Sons of God is not Adoption then one of the Depths of God As Christ was the Son of God by Nature so the Christian is the Son of God by Grace To have the Church for our Mother is much but to have God for our Father is much more If Adoption be a gracious Sentence of God whereby upon the account of Christ he receiveth those that believe unto the Dignity of Sons is it not then one of the Depths of God Thus Jo. 1.11 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He that is Christ came unto his own Into his own Land so Beza Of Israel so Piscator To his own People so Maldonat And his own His own by Creation by Accomodation by Preservation by Nation But what of his own His own received him not They did not make his Person the Object of their Faith nor his Precept the Rule for their Obedience They did not believe in him and obey him They did not acknowledg him to be their MESSIAS But as many as received him As many Whether Cedars or Shrubs whether Bond or Free whether Old or Young whether Men or Women whether Jews or Gentiles As received him As believed in him as believed in his name which is the sole name under heaven given amongst men whereby they can be saved Acts 4.12 To them gave he power Hence the Papists say Power is in Man Hoc Jus ut Filij Dei sint facti 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So the Rhemists would have it to be in the power of men if they would to be the Sons of God The vulgar Latine reads it thus To them gave he this right to be made the Sons of God The Greek word signifies Authority and Right Prerogative and Priviledge as wel as Power Now Christ giveth the Priviledg of Sons three ways By way of MERIT In the Passions of Christ there was not only a legal Debt but also more than a legal MERIT When the fulness of time was come Gal. 4.4 5. The fulness of grace the fulfilling of promises the fulfilling of the Law and Prophets God sent his Son His begotten Son his only begotten Son his only so begotten Son his Son by Nature Made of a Woman A Woman shal compass a Man He was not without a Woman as Adam was nor by Man and Woman as we are nor of a Man without a Woman as EVE was but of a Woman without a Man Made under the Law Not only under the Ceremonial Law as he was a JEW but also under the Moral Law as he was a MAN To redeem those that were under the Law that we might receive the Adoption of Sons The Greek word for Adoption indicates the Nature of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is to put one in the place of a Son that was not a Son comprehending all in one word Is not this then one of the Depths of God Here is Redemption in order to Adoption so that Adoption is by way of Merit Not from the Merit of Man For though evil Works in order to Justice do merit Damnation yet good Works do not merit Salvation The Argument is irrefragable because the good works of the Creature in order of Justice are due Debts to the Creator We cannot possibly merit by what we do Ex Opere operato because obliged unto it by Duty But to merit is a work not due making a Reward due from the work wrought which before was not due By Vertue of his SPIRIT Christ receives the Spirit sends it into the Hearts of his and so makes them the Sons of God Is not Adoption now one of the Depths of God Thus Gal. 4.6 And because ye are Sons This he addeth saith Paraeus lest he should seem to attribute Adoption only to the Jews God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts 'T is called the Spirit of the Son because it proceedeth from the Father and the Son so Estius and Tirinus 'T is called Rom. 8.15 The Spirit of Adoption But it may be called the Spirit of the Son because it sealeth up Adoption in Christ and arrives the Soul at an Assurance of it Crying Abba Father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Father so the Greek the last having its Article The first is Syriack the second is Greek Whereby may be signified the Vnion of the Hebrews and Grecians or Jews and Gentiles in one Church The gemination Father Father indicates and intimates a fiducial filial and vehement affection By Vertue of UNION Christ is the Son of God by vertue of the personal Vnion Thus Luke 1.35 And the Angel of the Lord said unto her But who was this This was Mary the Mother of Jesus A Virgin before she had Children but not after God may be praised for her who made her the Instrument of the coming of Christ into the World but the PAPISTS commit gross Idolatry in making her an Idol For they give her the Titles of Mediatrix Salvatrix She-Saviour Queen of Heaven Queen of Mercy the only Hope of the miserable They parallel Breasts and Wounds Vbera Vulnera making the MILK of Mary to be as precious as the BLOOD of Christ But what of this Mary The holy Spirit shal come upon thee The Spirit did as it were cast a Cloud over her which may
blood live When thou wast saith Caryl wrapped in and defiled with thine own blood Sin and Misery then I had pity on thee and spake Life to thee Every Soul tumbleth in Blood till sprinkled with Blood The Blood of Man is Filthiness the Blood of God-Man is Holiness GRACE comes not by Generation but Donation Did ever any finite Intellect perfectly travel the Heights and Depths the Lengths and Breadths of Free-Grace For Free-Grace to out-bid and out-vie not only the Deserts but also the Desires of Man is not this one of the Depths of God Thus Eph. 3.20 Now unto him that is able to do superabundantly so the Greek above what we are able to ask or think c. What Pensil can draw to the life the vanishing Features of a Soul beautified with GRACE The whole Fabrick of Salvation from the Cell in Nature to the Chair in Glory is founded in Free-Grace The whole Alphabet of Salvation from the Alpha to the Omega thereof is purely legible in Free-Grace Thus Eph. 2.5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 By grace ye are saved This is so blessed a Parenthesis that without this Parenthesis there had been no Blessedness This is a weighty and a worthy Text here is the Mercy that 's Salvation and here is the Medium that 's Grace by grace ye are saved This is a Text of worth and of weight here is the Motive that 's Grace and here is the Mercy that 's Salvation by grace ye are saved Salvation is a choice CHAIN but every Link of this Chain is made up of Free-Grace I may assert it with the greatest Confidence and with the greatest Innocence that Free-Grace is the Wheel Primum Mobile which sets all a going in Heaven and in the Heart For God to love before loved yea for God to love when and while hated is not this one of the Depths of God For the Mercy of God to be over all his Works yea and over all his Workers too is not this one of the Depths of God For that GOD who is incapable of Addition or to be greater incapable of Substraction or to be lesser to Write rather in Honey than in Gall and to draw lines of Love than of Wrath is not this one of the Depths of God For the Grace of God to be greater than the Sin of Man and for the Ephah of God to be fuller of Mercy than the Ephah of Man can be of Iniquity is not this one of the Depths of God Thus Rom. 5.20 But where Sin abounded Grace did much more abound FREE-GRACE doth lead the Van that 's freely-free No Native but a Donative to Thee This is the Wheel that set's a going all In Heaven in the Heart and fince the Fall Hath ever done So let it be for Ever Thus do I pray and would retract it Never By Grace ye saved are Now is not this To sordid Man a sweet PARENTHESIS Are Judgments Deep what are Gods Mercies then They well-come are unto the Sons of Men. Salvation's Sions Chain but every Link Of Free-Grace is made up I more then think The two POLES distant are yet these will meet When Free-Grace and Free-Will each other greet In saving Man a Captive to the Devil And freeing also from a double Evil. The PENSIL draws the Features of the Face Oh God of Gods my Glass doth run apace While therefore I am running of my Race Oh Deck this Soul of mine with saving Grace ELECTION Election that 's one of the Depths of God The Romanists speak of an universal Election but the very name of Election carries in it a Confutation For none can be said to be elected if all be elected he that electeth cannot be said to take all Neither can it be said that Election is nothing else but Dilection for Dilection was antecedaneous and praevious unto Election Election is an absolute Act of Grace and is it not then one of the Depths of God Thus Rom. 11.5 6. There is a remnant according to the election of grace A remnant comparatively is very little to the whole piece There are very few among very many that are elected and 't is the election of GRACE Election is made up of Grace made out of Grace It is such an Election as Grace makes an Election of Graces making And if by Grace then is it no more of Works otherwise grace is no more grace But if it be of Works then is it no more grace otherwise work is no more work The two sorts of righteousness by the Covenant of Works and by the Covenant of Grace are altogether incompatible Whatsoever is given for the MERIT of Works is not freely given and consequently is not Grace For as Aug. speaks elegantly against the Pelagians Grace Gratia non est Gratia ullo modo nisi sit gratuita omni modo is not said to be Grace in any sense or any way if it be not free every way It loseth the nature of a work if done to merit by for if elected partly for Works and partly by Grace then the merit of Works is no Merit For if Merit first enters it excludes Grace and if Grace first enters it excludes Merit Now if Election hath for its efficient cause the Purpose of God for its formal cause the Mercy of God for its material cause the Blood of Jesus for its final cause the Glory of God and the Salvation of Man is it not then one of the Depths of God The ARMINIANS say Non eligit dignum sed eligendo efficit dignâ—m that Election is posterior to Faith to Works to Perseverance but these are posterior unto Election God elects not the worthy but having elected them makes them worthy They also are under a notorious deception and prodigious Delusion who say Election is Christ the Seed not the Persons of Men and Women Christ is if I may so write Gods first Elect. Thus Isa 42.1 Behold my Servant whom I uphold mine elect in whom my soul delighteth Christ was chosen by God to be SAVIOUR Man was chosen in Christ to be saved There are those who are called the elect of God Thus Col. 3.12 Put on therefore as the elect of God Bowels of Mercies c. Now the elect of God are elected in Christ Thus Eph. 1.4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the World that we should be Holy and walk without blame before him in Love Here is the elector this is God He. As he hath chosen The elected Us. Here is the person in whom these are elected this is Christ In him And here is the end of this Election That they might be holy c. They were not elected because they were holy or because they would be holy PAUL Electum Vas. was an elect Vessel Now God elected Paul as Paul not as a Believer or a holy person Election is absolutely free there was no Praevision of any Qualification in Man as a Motive to God
into the Kingdom of the heavens 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So the Greek There must be Conversion If ye be not converted And there must be Submission and Humility And become as little children The Child of a Prince without aversation and dedignation wil associate himself with the Child of a Peasant Conversion is the proper work of Omnipotency by his Spirit in his Word is it not then one of the Depths of God The ARMINIAN saith put all the Operation of Grace that need to be put into one Ballance a man's Free-will ballanced against it wil weigh it down wil turn the Scales and determine the Case whether a man shall be converted or no shal accept of Grace or no. Now by this Heterodox Opinion it will follow that not God by his FREE-GRACE but Man by his FREE-WILL is the efficient cause of his Conversion 'T is true the Soul worketh in the very Moment of Conversion Thus Acts 9.6 Lord what wilt thou have me to do I thought I had done wel before and could have said unto any Opponent Quid mali feci What Evil have I done But I am of another Mould now and of another Mind now Lord what wilt thou have me to do Saul was now in FIERI in making and reflect the Beatings of his Pulse Lord what wilt thou have me to do I have been doing my own Wil but now I would do thy Wil. I have been doing the Wil of Satan but now I would do the Wil of God I have been doing without thee and against thee but now I would be doing from thee and for thee Lord what wilt thou have me to do So Lydia Acts 16.14 Whose heart the Lord opened There was Christ's work That she attended to the things which were spoken of Paul There was her work Paul was a curious Pracher but he did not open her Heart To the Ears may a Paul preach but to the HEART must a CHRIST preach Whose heart the Lord opened The Metaphor is taken from opening a Door or Lock The Opener is he who hath the Key of David Rev. 3.7 opening and no man shutting shutting and no man opening The Babes of Grace act in the very Birth Yet know that in order of nature the work of God is before the work of the Soul and the work of the Soul dependeth upon the work of God The one as the Cause the other as the Caused the one as the Efficient the other as the Effect the one as the Spring the other as the Stream the one as the Root the other as the Fruit. No preparation is antecedaneous as to God For the preparations of the heart in man Pro. 16.1 and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. Believe it Conversion is without the Sphere of our Activity He that is a BARNABAS the Son of Conversion as the word signifieth is so by the God of Grace and by the Grace of God is not this then one of the Depths of God Nothing below Almightiness of Power can effect the Conversion of the Soul is not this then one of the Depths of God Should JEHOVAH say to all the Angels in Heaven there is such a Person in such a Country and in such a City who is a Gentile-Sinner This Enosh makes Wickedness not his Woe but his Work His Element is Sin and he is out of his Element when he is not sinning when he is not adding sin to sin The poor Man stands as it were upon the Confines of Eternity and as it were upon the Battlements of Hel There is but a Step as it were between Him and Damnation But such are the expatiated Bowels of Benignity in me that I had much rather he should be convinced than confounded that he should be converted than consumed that he should be saved than damned that he should go to Heaven than to Hel Go ye all therefore and lay Siege to his Soul improve your utmost to give him a seasonable and sutable CHECK give him a timely and a true Turn out of the way of Sin into the way of Grace that he may happily escape the wrath to come and not perish for an Eternity All these Angels more than probably upon the Command of this Being of Beings would go for ENS ENTIVM they are all ministring Spirits Heb. 1.14 sent forth to minister for them who shall be heyres of salvation and would improve their utmost Power and Prudence in order to the Conversion of this ISH But returning must give this Answer unto that GOD who hath Beams of Glory as wel as Bowels of Mercy and who is infinite in Power as wel as in Pity Greatest God we went to the Place and found the Person one Hyperbolically sinful sinful to a wonder sinful above all wonder We did set before him the way of Life and the way of Death the way of Deliverance and the way of Destruction We presented him with Precepts and Presidents with Punishments and Promises We did set before him Misery and Mercy the BLACK of Sin and the WHITE of Grace We discoursed of Sorrow and Solace of the Torments of Hel and of the Triumphs of Heaven But as we found him so we left him nothing that we said or did was influential upon him Father of Mercies we could not turn him from darkness to light Acts 26.18 and from the power of Satan unto God We did what we could but we could not take this CITTADEL and cause him to launch forth into this great Deep of CONVERSION which is one of the Depths of God Lord if thou layest not Seige to his Soul thy Self and consequentially make it a Captive to thy Free Grace the Man must dwel with devouring fire and with everlasting burnings notwithstanding all that we have said or done It is not the Word which Man speaketh nor Man which speaketh the Word Libertatem Arbitrii but GOD by his Spirit who converteth the Soul Hath Man before Conversion a Liberty of Wil unto that which is spiritually good Is not Man before Conversion purely passive Yea and after Conversion are not the Cedars in Lebanon Ex puris Naturalibus as wel as the Shrubs in the Valley like a Coach-Wheel that runs not unless it be drawn Can MAN from Himself any more prepare himself for his own converting than a Stone can prepare it self to its own softning Is not Conversion then one of the Depths of God Though the ways of God in Conversion be various his Spirit working when where and how it pleaseth And though the VARIETY of his ways in this noble work doth transcend the Apprehensions of Men if not of Angels Yet there is an undeniable Necessity of it and is it not then one of the Depths of God Thus Acts 3.19 Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out c. Here is Remission but it follows Conversion Is it not a Metaphor taken from a munificent CREDITOR who remitting a
give Check to Mortals when they make too curious an Acquisition into the Mystery of the Incarnation And the power of the highest shal overshadow thee A Metaphor taken from Birds cherishing their young ones Therefore also that holy thing Christ who was sinless Which shal be born of thee shal be called the Son of God Christ as GOD was the eternal Son of the Father Christ as MAN was conceived of a sanctified Mass or Substance without all Sin Now as Christ was the Son of God by Vertue of the personal Vnion so the Christian is the Son of God by Vertue of the mystical Vnion Is not Adoption then one of the Depths of God Is it so honourable to be the Son or Daughter of a mortal MAN how ineffably honourable then is it to be the Son or Daughter of an immortal GOD Is not Adoption now one of the Depths of God If Adoption be the Translation of a Person from the Family of the World and Satan into the Family of God with his Investiture in all the Emoluments and Immunities of that Family is not this then one of the Depths of God ADOPTION enters now and on the Stage Charms unto Joy the Converts of the Age. Christ only is the Son of God by Nature By Grace a Son each Christ'an in his Stature CHRIST maker is of Sons by way of Merit By Vnion and also by his Spirit 'T is something to be Sons of mortal MEN If Men of Birth and Bulk What is it then To be the Sons of an immortal GOD And be exempted from an Iron-Rod This is the Wonder since the World began The Son of God is made the Son of Man That Sons of Men might Sons of God be made And thorough GRACE in muddy Waters wade Sons are invested in Immunity And may in Egypt Abba Father cry Oh blessed JAH by Thee the Day is won I was a Slave but now I am a Son Oh let me live that I may also die A Servant and a Son in Familie VOCATION Vocation that 's one of the Depths of God Vocation is a Comment upon Election is not this then one of the Depths of God If Vocation be the effectual Voice of God to the Soul by his Spirit in his Word in order to a Revelation of Christ is not this then one of the Depths of God They are holy ones that shall be happy ones and pure ones that shall be perfect ones They are gracious ones Suavis Motus in Verbo fortis Tractus in Deo that shall be glorious ones and called ones that shall be crowned ones Is not Vocation now one of the Depths of God Those all those and only those shall be everlastingly crowned who are effectually called is not Vocation then one of the Depths of God As Elijah and Elisha walked together till the fiery Charet parted them So until effectual Vocaion there is no difference between Persons they all run to the same Excess of Riot Is not this then one of the Depths of God If we inspect the Idea or Index of the Volumes of ETERNITY we shall find calling as well as crowning and gracious Manners as well as glorious Mansions Is not Vocation then one of the Depths of God Thus Rom. 1.6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ If God gives effectual Vocation at this Distance with all the Appendexes Cum omnibus pertinentibus and Appurtenances thereof what will he give unto this Person when he comes into his immediate Presence The Symmetry indeed is not to be made between here and there now and then If so much in a Cottage of Clay what then in a Pallace of Glory If the first Fruits be an handful headful heartful what will the Crop and the Harvest then be If the EARNEST amounts to so much what is the total SUMM then like to be But why do such a Pigmy as I attempt to give an Inventory of the Benefits of Vocation when Eternity shall be little enough for their Contemplation The Potentates and Princes of the Earth think they move in a lofty Sphere but the effectually called are in the highest Orb is not Vocation then one of the DEPTHS of GOD Vocation is an absolute Act of Grace and is it not then one of the Depths of God Thus Gal. 1.15 But when it pleased God who seperated me from my Mothers Womb From that very time wherein I was in the Womb so Piscator From the very beginning of my Nativity so Menochius Before I was born saith Tirinus or deserved any thing And called me by his grace Here is Vocation and that by Grace is not Vocation then one of the Depths of God And called me efficatiously in the time of my Conversion so Estius If God efficatiously calleth a Sinner when there is nothing in him but Sin what can be a MOTIVE with God but his Free-Grace Is not Vocation now one of the Depths of God Art thou called a Saint Either be not so much as called so or be more than so called otherwise thy external Priviledge will be but an eternal Punishment For a Person to be running with a full CAREER Hel-ward and Death-ward and Damnation-ward and then to be effectually called is not this one of the Depths of God For a Person to be called out of a State of Darkness into a State of Light out of a State of Death into a State of Life out of a State of Sin into a State of Grace is not this one of the Depths of God For a Person to take more pains to go to Hel than many do to go to Heaven and for this Person then to hear a voice behind it Isa 30.21 saying This is the way c. Soul that 's not the way this is the way That 's the way to Death this is the way to Life that 's the way to Hel this is the way to Heaven is not this one of the Depths of God VOCATION is the Depth of God above For 't is indeed a signal Act of Love From Darkness unto Light men called are That They may in the choicest Mercies share From endless Death unto an endless Life Men called are to Period the Strife Though this hath been obnox'us to Rejection VOCATION is a COMMENT on ELECTION Which meriteth a critical Inspection And also calleth for a due Reflection As to Existence choosing taketh place But calling as to Evidence embrace Though all the Chosen may not called be Yet all the Called chosen are I see Gods grac'ous Call and glor'ous Crown also Like Isa'c's Twins I see together go Oh LAMB of GOD I have a blessed Call Let not my Carr'age be a bitter Thrall Oh Lamb of God! between the Lip and Life No clashing suffer to foment a Strife RESURRECTIOM The Resurrection of the Body that 's one of the Depths of God The Confidence of Christians Fiducia Christianorum Resurrectio Mortuorum is the Resurrection of the Dead Is not this then one of the Depths
Sin Satan and War have all one Name and EVIL be the best of Them if the best of Sin be Deformity the best of Satan be Enmity and the best of War be Misery certainly then a State of Glory which is a warless State is one of the Depths of God It was prophesied long since by the Prophet of Prophets and is now fulfilled in our eares Ye shal hear of wars and rumours of wars c. Mat. 24.6 What Paradise is there under Heaven that a lasting WAR wil not turn into a Wilderness Is not every Siege the Funeral of a City every pitched Battle a Massacre every Army an armed Fury Certainly thena state of Glory which is a warless State is one of the Depths of God If the bare Names of a Political Peace and War carry to every mans Vnderstanding not defective in his Prudentials a Summary or Collection of all temporal Mercies or Mischeifs certainly then a state of Glory which is a warless STATE is one of the Depths of God Rara Fides Pietasque Viris qui CASTRA sequuntur If War be that miserable Desolation which finds before it a Land like Eden and leaves it behind it like Sodom and Gomorra a desolate and forsaken Wilderness certainly then a state of Glory which is a warless State is one of the Depths of God WANTLESS A State of Glory is a wantless state is it not then one of the Depths of God If it be a Curse to be poor in the possession of Riches Eccl. 5.10 and an Affliction to be poor for want of Riches John 12.8 Certainly then a state of GLORY which is a wantless State is one of the Depths of God He that hath fewer Eyes according to the Mythology of the Poets than Argus had may now see Poverty coming in like a prodigious Torrent as if it would bear down and break down all before it Is not then a state of GLORY which is a wantless State one of the Depths of God There are Wants upon Earth but not in Heaven The Disciples were poor very poor Though they had great Treasure in their Hearts they had litle in their Houses Thus 1 Cor. 4.11 Even unto this present time we both hunger and thirst Here is a Recital of the principal Discommodities of Life from whence the rest of that kind are intelligible And are naked While others are in their Robes they are in their Rags And are buffeted Though they wanted meat drink and cloathes yet they had blows and stripes And have no certain dwelling place Here is Hunger and Thirst here is Nakedness and Buffeting But is here all No ther 's another Dish of bitter Herbs yet behind After all this they have not a certain place wherein to hide their Heads But now a state of Glory is a wantless STATE and one of the Depths of God Yea as it was with the Disciple so it was with the MASTER Thus Mat. 8.20 The Foxes have holes He doth not say Kings have Palaces but I have none but the Foxes have holes And the Birds of the Air have nests Places of abode shelter in trees or other convenient receptacles But the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head Whether CHRIST the Creator of all things lived in a hired house or lodged with his Disciples I determine not Here is the terrene State of the Servant and of the Master Is not then a state of Glory which is a wantless State one of the Depths of God There may be Wants to many upon Earth but there are no Wants to any in Heaven There may be Wants to many in the Kingdom of the Son but there shal be no Wants to any in the Kingdom of the Father There may be Wants to many in a State of GRACE but there shal be no Wants to any in a State of GLORY Is not this now one of the Depths of God PERSECUTIONLESS A State of Glory is a persecutionless state is it not then one of the Depths of God Is Persecution a Novelty No the first Man that ever died died a MARTYR Is not now a state of Glory which is a persecutionless State one of the Depths of God Utere Jure tuo Caesar Sectamque LUTHERI Ense Rotâ Ponto Funibus Igne NECA Great Caesar thou dost now the Scepter sway Act like a Cain the Sect of Luther slay Let That be Object of thy Royal Ire By stabbing wheeling drowning roping Fire This was the Diabolical DIALECT then and should it be so now the World is grown so gray I should joyn Issue with Luther who saith that CAIN wil be killing his Brother ABEL to the end of the World but He is most bloody in his old dayes May not this be the Motto of the Palm-tree The more Weight Depressa resurgo the more Height Like the Children of Israel the more they were afflicted the more they multiplied But now a state of GLORY is a persecutionless State and is it no◠then one of the Depths of God We may read if we can read of a great persecution Acts 8.1 against the Church which was at Jerusalem That this Persecution Ch. 11.19 arose about Stephen Is not now a state of GLORY which is a persecutionless State one of the Depths of God It was Cardinal Farnesius who desired to wade in the Blood of the Lutherans up to his horses Bridle This also was the Cry concerning Jerome let him be burned let him be burned But ther 's no Persecution in a state of Glory and is it not then one of the Depths of God There hath been very great Persecutions on Earth but there is not the least Persecution in HEAVEN He who was a Persecuter Acts 9.5 was also persecuted Gal. 5.11 A state of Glory is the Presence of all Good and the Absence of all Evil is it not then one of the Depths of God There is not a Persecutor in Heaven All Persecutors are on Earth or in Hel so living and dying Ther 's not a Cain nor a Caligula in Heaven not an Ishmael nor a Julian in Heaven not a Pharoah nor a Pilate in Heaven Is not then a state of GLORY which is a persecutionless State one of the Depths of God 'T is written of Fulgentius that in the midst of his Sufferings he used to say Plura pro Christo toleranda We must suffer more than this for Christ The Will of God must be suffered as wel as done There must be Passion as wel as Action and as there must be doing so there may be dying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus 2 Tim. 3.12 All that wil live godly in Christ Jesus shal suffer persecution Or according to the Greek shal be persecuted But ther 's no Persecution in a state of GLORY and is not this then one of the Depths of God It is said of the Christians al litle before the Neronian-Persecution that they laughed at their Torments that they courted the Flames and that they went out to
meet DEATH in its blackest Dress The Duke de Alva boasted that in the space of six years he had executed Eighteen Thousand Men. Bloody Bonner was often heard to say that he would burn a Thousand Hereticks and so might wel be termed the Harbinger of Death But a state of GLORY is a persecutionless State and is it not then one of the Depths of God Now as Persecutors have been great and Persecutions have been great so the Judgments of GOD upon Persecutors for their Persecutions that they might read their Sin in their Punishment have been also very great For instance Did not Antiochus fall from his Judicial Seat suddenly crying out that all his inward Bowels burned and so died Did not Gardiner die despairingly saying I have denied with PETER but I have not repented with PETER Did not Severus poyson himself at York to period the Dolour of his Gout Was not Valens who consulted with the Devil about his Successor pursued to a Cottage and burned alive in it to leave his Name a Curse to all Ages Did not NERO that Monster of Mankind drink a Glass of Poyson then falling upon bis own Sword died miserably as he had lived wickedly Did not John de Roma who cryed out Oh this is for my Cruelty to Christians die accursed Was not BONNER buried among Theeves and Murderers as hated of God and Man Was not Judas the betrayer of an innocent Jesus his own Executioner Was not Julian slain ignota Manu by an unknown Hand when he cryed out Vicisti Galileae Vicisti Oh Galilean thou hast overcome Did not Pilate who would not hearken to the Advise of his Wife when she said have nothing to do with that just one lay violent hands upon himself But now there is no Persecuter therefore no Persecution in a state of Glory and is it not then one of the Depths of God PRISONLESS A State of Glory is a prisonless state is it not then one of the Depths of God There are Prisons upon Earth but there are none in Heaven Joseph was imprisoned here but He is not imprisoned there No sooner was JOSEPH in a Prison but JEHOVAH was with him Thus Gen. 39.20 21. His Master took him and put him into the prison c. But Jehovah was with Joseph and shewed him mercy c. Extended kindness unto him so the Margent Now Jehovah can make a Prison a Pallace Yea a Prison a Paradise by his special Presence A Prison with a Christ is better then a Palace without a Christ John the Baptist was imprisoned bound in prison and beheaded in the prison Mark 6.17.27 Peter was in prison kept in prison chained in prison Acts 12.4 5 6. Paul also writes himself a prisoner of Jesus Christ Eph. 3.1 For this cause I Paul the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles Not that he was imprisoned by Christ Christi Causa but for Christ For the sake of Christ so Drusius For asserting the Doctrine and Glory of Christ so Zanchy In particular a Prisoner for the GENTILES because he was their cheif Apostle and the ground of his Passion at this time was the Hatred of his Country-men the JEWS So 2 Cor. 11.23 In prisons more frequent Thus he met with a Prison on Earth but he meets with no Prison in Heaven With a Prison have many met in a state of Grace but with a Prison shal not any meet in a state of Glory is not such a state then one of the Depths of God a state of Glory is so far from being a Prison that 't is called a PARADISE Thus Luke 23.43 To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise This to day is emphatical The Master promised more than the Malefactor asked So Rev. 2.7 To him that overcometh wil I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God A state of Glory also and HEAVEN look like Synonoma's and seem to differ more in Sound than in Sense The Sacred Scripture mentions a three fold Heaven Aireal In this the Fowls flie and are called Job 35.11 the Fowls of Heaven Siderial In this the Lights are and are called Gen. 15.5 the Stars of Heaven Empyreal In this the Angels have their Residence and are called Mat. 24.36 the Angels of Heaven Is not this that which the Apostle calls 2 Cor. 12.2 the third heaven The Heaven of Heavens the cheifest Heaven so Grotius The Empyreal Heaven so Estius The Seat of CHRIST so Piscator And of blessed Spirits so Drusius If this be so certainly then a state of Glory which is a prisonless State is one of the Depths of God CURSLESS A State of Glory is a cursless state is it not then one of the Depths of God Are not cursing men cursed men yet this Age aboundeth with such Men but a state of Glory is a Curserless and Cursless state is it not then one of the Depths of God There are Cursers and Curses while Persons are in a State of GRACE but there are no Curses for there are no Cursers when Persons are in a State of GLORY is not this State then which is a curless state one of the Depths of God The righteous have the Curses of the wicked but the God of Grace can convert the Cursings of the graceless into Blessings to the gracious Thus Deu. 23.5 The Lord hath turned the curse into a blessing to thee because the Lord thy God loveth thee David though a Man after Gods own heart had a SHIMEI upon Earth 2 Sam. 16.5 14. who came forth and cursed stil as he came but he hath no Shimei in Heaven Is not a state of Glory then which is a cursless state one of the Depths of God The Prophet was the Object of the Curse of the People Thus Jer. 15.10 I have neither lent to Vsury nor men have lent to me on Vsury yet every one of them doth curse me The Italian-Antichrist who looks like the Reuben of Satan sends forth his Excommunications and Execrations he curseth the People whom God hath blessed with Bel Book and Candle But a state of Glory which He is never like to see much less to enjoy is a cursless state is it not then one of the Depths of God Did not the Jews also Acts 23.12 band together and bind themselves under a Curse or with an Oath of Execration that they would neither eat nor drink til they had killed Paul But now a state of GLORY wil be a blessed State Yea a State of Blessedness when the Soul shal not be severed one Moment from the Embracements of CHRIST to Eternity Is not this then one of the Depths of God If a state of Glory be a State as to Vision and Possession of perfect Felicity and that to Eternity without Amission or Intermission is it not one of the Depths of God Did the Emperor say I had been happy if I had not been an Emperor Faelix si non imperassem May not I