vpon the crosse and felt the whole burden of the wrath of God vpon him cryed My God my God why hast thou forsaken me And it appeareth in the Epistle to the Hebrewes that Christ was heard in that he feared whereby we are giuen to vnderstand that they shall neuer be vtterly forsaken that take God for their God And King Dauid hauing experience of this vseth most excellent speaches for this ende to shewe that the ground of his comfort was that God was his God And it is said that Daniel had no manner of hurte in the Lyons denne because hee trusted in the Lorde his God And contrariwise such as distrust God are subiect to all miseries and iudgements The Israelites in the wildernesse beleeved not God and trusted not in his helpe therefore God vvas angry and his fire vvas kindled in Iacob and vvrath came vpon Israel God the Father Almightie Some haue thought that these wordes are to be coupled with the former without distinction as if the title of God had bene proper to the first person the Father and not common to the rest and thus haue some heretikes thought But indeed there must a pause or distinction be made that the name or title of God may be set in the fore-front as common to all the three persons following For that is the very intent of the order of this Creed to teach vs to beleeue in one God who is distinct into three subsistances or persons called the Father the Sonne the Holy Ghost And here offers it selfe to be considered euen one of the greatest mysteries of our religion namely that God is the Father the Sonne and the Holy Ghost and againe that the Father the Sonne and the Holy Ghost are one and the same God Some at the first may possibly say that this cannot stande because it is against all reason that one should be three or three one The answere is that indeed if one and the same respect be kept it is not possible but in divers considerations and respectes it may And thus the Father the Sonne the Holy Ghost are three namely in person and againe they three are one not in person but in nature By nature is meant a thing subsisting by it selfe that is common to many as the substance of man consisting of body and soule common to all men which we call the humanity of a man is the nature of man By person is meant a thing or essence subsisting by it selfe not common to many but incommunicable as among men these particulars Peter Iohn Paul are called persons And so in the mysterie of the Trinity the diuine nature is the godhead it selfe simply and absolutely considered and a person is that which subsisteth in this godhead as the Father the Sonne the Holy Ghost Or againe a person is one and the same godhead not absolutely considered but in relation and as it were restrained by personall or caracteristicall proprieties as the Godhead or God begetting is the father God againe considered not simply but so farre foorth as he is begotten is the Sonne and God proceeding of the Father and the Sonne the Holy ghost And if any man would conceiue in mind rightly the divine nature he must conceiue God or the Godhead absolutely if any of the persons then he must conceiue the same godhead relatiuely with personal proprieties Thus the godhead considered with the propriety of fatherhood or begetting is the father cōceiuing the same godhead with the proprietie of generation we conceiue the sonne the godhead with the proprietie of proceeding we conceiue the Holy Ghost Neither must it seeme strange to any that we use the names of nature and person to set forth this misterie by for they haue bene taken up by common consent in the primitive Church that upon weighty consideration to manifest the truth to stop the mouthes of heretikes they are not used against the proper sense of the scriptures nay they are therein contained Thus wee see how it comes to passe that the three things signified by these names Father Sōne holy Ghost are ech of them one the same God And this mistery may well be conceived by a cōparison borowed frō light The light of the sunne the light of the moone the light of the aire for nature and substance are one the same light yet they are 3. distinct lights The light of the sunne being of it selfe from none the light of the moone from the sunne the light of the aire frō them both So the divine nature is one and the persons are three subsisting after a divers maner in one and the same nature And for the further clearing of the point we must yet further marke remember two things namely the vnion the distinction of the persons The vnion is whereby three persons are one not simply but one in nature that is coessentiall or consubstantiall having all one godhead For the father is God the sonne is God the holy ghost is God now there are not 3. distinct Gods but one God because there is one God no more in nature considering that the thing which is infinite is but one is not subiect to multiplicatiō the Father is this one God as also the Sonne and the holy ghost And as these three persons are one in nature so whatsoeuer agrees to God simply considered agrees to them all three They are all coequall and coeternall all most wise iust mercifull omnipotent by one the same wisdome iustice mercie power And because they haue all one godhead therfore they are not only one with another but also ech in other the father in the sonne and the sonne in the father and the holy ghost in them both And we must not imagine that these three are one god as though the father had one part of the godhead the sonne an other part the holy ghost a third For that is most false because the infinite and the most simple godhead is not subiect to composition or division but euery person is whole god subsisting not in a part but in the whole godhead the whole entire godhead is communicated from the father to the sonne from both father sonne to the holy ghost But some may yet say that this doctrine seemes to be impossible because three creatures as for example Peter Paul Timothy being three persons so remaining cannot haue one and the same nature that is the same body the same soule Ans. Three or moe mē may haue the same nature in kind but the truth is they cannot possibly haue a nature which shalbe one the same in number in them all three For a man is a substance created finite the bodies of men are quantities therfore divisible separable one from another Hereupon it comes that the persons of men are not only distinguished by proprieties but also divided
sundred one from another And though Peter Paul Timothy haue all one common universall forme yet they three are not one man but 3. men Now it is otherwise with the divine nature or godhead which is uncreated and infinite and therefore admittes neither composition nor division but a distinction without any separation so as the three persons subsisting in it shall not be three gods but one and the same god Yet further some will obiect that it is truly said of the father that hee is god but the same godhead is not in the sonne nor in the holy ghost for the sonne and the holy ghost haue their beginning from the father Ansvver The sonne and the holy ghost haue not a beginning of their nature or of their godhead from the Father but of their person only the person of the Sonne is from the Father and the person of the Holy ghost is both from the Father and from the Sonne but the Godhead of all three persons is vncreate and vnbegotten and proceeding from none Yet some may say both the Sonne and the Holy Ghost haue receiued from the Father all their attributes as wisedome knowledge power c. Now he that receiueth any thing from another is in that respect inferiour to him that giueth it and therefore the sonne and the Holy ghost are not God as he is Ans. We must know that which the Sōne receiueth of the Father he receiueth it by nature and not by grace he receiueth not a part but all that the Father hath saving the personall proprietie And the Holy Ghost receiueth from the Father and the Sonne by nature and not by grace and therefore though both the Sonne and the Holy Ghost receiue from the Father yet they are not inferiour to him but equall with him And thus much is necessarie to be learned of the vnion betweene the three persons in Trinitie whereby they being three haue all one and the same godheade The second point to be considered is that though these three haue but one godhead and all make but one God yet they are distinguished one from another for the Father is the Father and not the Sonne nor the Holy Ghost the Sonne is the Sonne and not the Father nor the Holy ghost and the Holy Ghost is the Holy ghost not the Father nor the Sonne This distinction of the persons is notably set forth vnto vs in the baptism of our Saviour Christ where it is said that vvhen Iesus was baptized hee came out of the vvater there is the second person and the Holy ghost descended upon him in the forme of a dove there is the thirde person and the Father the first person pronounced from heauen that hee was his beloved Sonne in whome hee was well pleased And we must not conceiue this distinction in such manner as though these three Father Sonne and Holy Ghost were three names of one God For the three persons doe not in name or word but really in truth distinctly subsist in the same divine nature Neither must we imagine that the three persons are three formes or differences of one god as some heretikes haue dreamed who taught that the father alone is God and that he is called a Father in one respect the Sonne in another and the Holy ghost in a thirde For this were nothing else but to make the personall proprieties to be nothing but imaginarie accidents which indeede or at the least in mans conceit might come and goe and be either in the persons or foorth of them For the personall relations though in minde they may be distinguished from the divine essence yet indeede they are one with it But some will say if they make this distinction there is rather a quaternitie then a trinitie for the godhead is one the father an other the sonne a third and the holy ghost a fourth Thus some heretikes haue obiected against the distinction of the trinitie but it is untrue which they say for the godhead must not be severed from the father nor frō the sonne nor frō the holy Ghost for the father is God or the whole godhead so also is the sonne and the holy ghost and the godhead likewise is in euery one of these three persons and euery one of them subsisting in the godhead and the godhead must be conceived to be in them all and not as a fourth thing out of them And therefore we must still maintaine that these 3. persons are distinguished and not deuided as three men are deuided in being and substance for this division can not be in them because all three haue one divine nature and one godhead This is the misterie of all misteries to be receiued of us all namely the trinitie of the persons in the vnitie of the godhead This doctrine must be reteined and holden for these causes I. because by it we are able to distinguish this true God from all false Gods and Idols II. Because among all other pointes of religion this is one of the chiefest being the verie foundation thereof For it is not sufficient for us to know God as we can conceiue of him in our owne imagination but we must know him as he hath revealed him selfe in his worde And it is not sufficient to saluation to beleeue in God confusedly but we must beleeue in one god distinct into three persons the Father the Sonne the holy Ghost yea more then this we must hold beleeue that God the father is our father the sonne our redeemer the holy ghost our sanctifier comforter Well then if we must in this maner beleeue in god then we must also know him for vve can haue no faith in the thing which is utterly unknown wherfore if we would beleeue in the father son or holy ghost we must know them in part Ioh. 17. This is life eternall to know thee the only God and whome thou hast sent Iesus Christ. Ioh. 14.17 The world can not receiue the spirite of truth because it hath neither seene him nor knowen him 1. Ioh. 2.23 Whosoever denieth the sonne hath not the father Thirdly this doctrine directs us in worshipping God aright for vnitie in trinitie trinitie in vnitie is to be worshipped one God must be worshipped in the father in the sonne and in the holy ghost if we worship God the father without the sonne the holy ghost or if we worshippe the sonne without the father and the holy ghost and the holy ghost without the father the sonne we worship nothing but an Idol Againe if we worship the 3. persons not as one God but as three gods then likewise we make three Idols Note further that of all the three persons the first person the father is set in the first place and is described to us by three things I. by his title that he is a father II. by his attribute that hee is Almightie III. by his effect that hee is maker of heaven and earth
but he which is very God IV. It was the pleasure of God to shewe his incomprehensible goodnes in this that his grace should not onely be equall to our sinne but also by many degrees goe beyond it And therefore the first Adam beeing but a meere man the second Adam must be both God man that as the second was more excellent then the first so our comfort might be greater in our redemption by the second then our miserie and discomfort was by the fall of the first Hitherto wee haue shewed howe Christ is the sonne of God Now let vs come to the second point namely that he is the onely sonne of God And he is so tearmed because he is the sonne of the father in that manner as nothing else can be but he Angels indeede are tearmed the sonnes of God but that is onely in respect of their creation and all that beleeue in Christ are the sonnes of God by adoption being receiued into the familie of God which is his Church by the merit of Christ whereas by nature they were the children of wrath Christ also as he is man I say not his manhood which is a nature and no person is the sonne of God by the grace of personall vnion and not by nature or by adoption Lastly Christ as he is the second person in trinitie the eternall worde of the father coeternall and consubstanciall with him is also the sonne of God But how neither by creation nor adoption nor by the vertue of personall vnion but by nature as he was begotten of the very substance of the father before all worlds and therefore he is called the proper and onely begotten sonne of God It may be obiected on this manner If the father beget the sonne he doth it either willingly or against his will if willingly then the sonne is begotten by the freewill of the father and no sonne by nature Answer The father did communicate to the sonne his whole Godhead willingly without constraint yet not by his will and therefore he is the sonne of the father by nature not by will It may be further said that if Christ be the sonne of God by nature as he is the essentiall word of the father by personall vnion as he is mā then is he not one but two sonnes Answ. As he is but one person so is he but one sonne yet not in one but in two respects two respects make not two things whereas one and the same thing and so remaining may admit sundrie respects Thus much of the meaning of the third title Now follow the comforts which may be gathered hence Whereas Christ Iesus is the sonne of God it serues as a meanes to make miserable and wretched sinners that are by nature the children of wrath and damnation to be the sonnes of God by adoption as Saint Iohn testifieth Now what a benefit is this to be the child of God no tongue can expresse Christ saith Blessed are the peacemakers but why are they blessed for saith he they shalbe called the sonnes of God Whereby he testifieth that the right of adoption is a most excellent priuiledge and not without cause For he which is the childe of God is spiritually allyed to Christ and to all the saints and seruants of God both in heauen and earth hauing him for his elder brother and all his members as his brethren and sisters yea if we be Gods adopted children we are also heires euen heires of God and heires annexed with Christ. Well how great soeuer this prerogatiue is yet few there be that rightly waigh it and consider of it Children of noble men and princes heires are had in account and reputation of all men they are the very speach and wonder of the world But it is a matter of no account to be the sonne of God and fellow-heire with Christ. The dearest seruants of God haue beene esteemed but as the offscouring of the world And no meruaile for they which are after the flesh sauour the things of the flesh Fewe men haue their vnderstandings inlightned to discerne of such spirituall things as these are and therefore are they little or nothing regarded A blinde man neuer seeing the sonne is not brought to wonder at it and earthly minded men neither seeing nor feeling what an excellent thing it is to be the child of God cannot be brought to seeke after it But let all such as feare God enter into a serious consideration of the vnspeakeable goodnes of God comforting thēselues in this that God the father hath vouchsafed by his own sōne to make thē of the vassals of Satā to be his own deere childrē Now follow the duties which are two First we beleeue that Iesus Christ who was to be the Sauiour of mākind must needs be God what is the reason hereof surely because no creature no not all creatures in heauen and earth were able to saue one man so vyle wretched and miserable is our estate by Adams fall And therefore the sonne of God himselfe pitied our estate and beeing king of heauen and earth was faine to come from heauen and lay downe his crowne and become a seruant and taking vpon him our nature was also faine to take vpon him our case and condition suffer death for our sinnes which otherwaies euery one of vs should haue suffered both in bodie and soule world without end To make this more plaine let vs suppose that some one hath cōmitted an offence against a prince now the trespasse is so grieuous that no man can appease the kings wrath saue onely the kings onely sonne and which is more the kings sonne cannot release him vnlesse he suffer the punishment for him in his owne person which is due vnto the malefactour Now what is to be thought of this mans estate surely all men will say that he is in a most miserable taking and that his trespasse is notorious and so it is with euery one of vs by nature whatsoeuer we are No man could saue our soules no not all the angels in heauen vnlesse the king of heauen earth the only sonne of God had come down from heauē suffered for vs bearing our punishment Now the cōsideratiō of this must humble vs and make vs to cast down our selues vnder the hād of God for our sinnes pray continually that the Lord would send some Moses or other which might smite the rocks of our hearts that some tears of sorow repentāce might gush out for our woful miserie Secondly whereas God the father of Christ gaue his only sonne to be our sauiour as we must be thankfull to God for all things so especially for this great vnspeakeable benefite Cōmon blessings of God as meat drink health wealth liberty must at all times mooue vs to be thankful but this that Christ Iesus the onely sonne of God redeemed vs beeing vtterly lost this I say must be the mayne point of al our
creation first received Gods image and after lost the same for himselfe his posteritie Now Christ to remooue the sinne of man is made the secoÌ„d Adam the roote and very head of all the elect His manhoode was filled with holinesse aboue measure that from thence as from a storehouse it might be deriued to all his members And therefore by his most holy conception our sinnefull birth and conception is sanctified and his holinesse serves as a cover to hide our manifold corruptions froÌ„ the eyes of God Yea it serues as a buckler to awarde the temptations of the deuill for when he shal say to our hearts on this maner no uncleane thing can enter into the kingdome of heauen but thou by reason of the remnants of originall sinne art uncleane therfore thou canst not enter into the kingdome of heauen we returne our answere saying that Christs righteousnesse is our righteousnesse seruing to make us stand without blame or spot before God And as Iacob put on Esaus garments that he might get his fathers blessingâ— so if by faith we doe put on the white garment of righteousnes of our elder brother Christ Iesus present our selues in it unto our heauenly father we shall obtaine his blessing which is eternall happinesse Now remaines the third and last part of the conception which is the unioÌ„ of the godhead the manhood concerning which many pointes are particularly to be handled The first is what kind of union this is Ans. In the Trinitie there be two sortes of unions vnion in nature and vnion in person Vnion in nature is when two or moe things are ioyned and united into one nature as the Father the Sonne the holy ghost being and remaining three distinct persons are one and the same in nature or godhead Vnion in person is when 2. things are in that maner vnited that they make but one person or subsistance As a body created by God a reasonable soule ioyned both togither make one particular man as Peter Paul Iohn c. And this second is the union whereof we intreat in this place by which the second person in Trinitie the sonne of God did vnite unto himselfe the humane nature that is the body and soule of man so as the godhead of the sonne and the manhoode concurring togither make but one person The second point is in what thing this union doth consist Ans. It consists in this that the second person the sonne of God doeth assume unto it a manhod in such order that it being void of all personall being in it selfe doth wholly and onely subsist in the same person As the plante called Miâ—tell having no roote of his owne both growes liues in the stock or body of the Oke or some other tree so the humane nature hauing no proper subsistance is as it were ingrafted into the person of the sonne and is wholly supported sustained by it so as it should not be at all if it were not sustained in that manner And for the better understanding of this point we must consider that there be foure degrees of the presence of God in his creatures The first is his generall presence and it may be called the presence of his providence whereby he preserueth the substances of all creatures and giueth unto them to liue moove and haue beeing and this extendeth it selfe to all creatures good and bad The second degree is the presence of grace whereby he doeth not onely preserue the substance of his creature but also giueth grace unto it and this agreeth to the Church and people of God upon earth The third degree is the presence of glorie peculiar to the saints and Angels in heauen and this standes in three things for God not onely preserues their substances and giues them plenty of his grace but also admittes them into his glorious presence so as they may behold his maiestie face to face The fourth and last is that whereby the godhead of the sonne is present and dwelles with in the manhood giuing unto it his owne subsistance Wherby it comes to passe that this manhood assumed is proper to the sonne and cannot be the manhoode of the father or of the Holy Ghost or of any creature whatsoeuer And this is a thing so admirable and so unspeakeable that among all the workes of God there can not be found another example hereof in all the world Hence it followeth necessarily that the manhoode of Christ consisting of bodie and reasonable soule is a nature onely and not a person because it doth not subsist alone as other men Peter Paul Iohn doe but wholly dependes on the person of the worde into the unitie whereof it is receiued The third point is in what order the divine and humane nature of Christ are vnited togither Answere The common consent of divines is that albeit all the partes of the manhoode and the godhead of Christ be united at one instant yet in respect of order hee unites unto himselfe first and immediatly the soule and by the soule the body For it seemes not to be meete that God being a most simple essence should immediatly be ioyned to a compound bodie and therefore he is united unto it by the more simple parte of man which is the soule Againe the manhood of Christ is first and immediatly ioyned to the person of the sonne himselfe and by the person to the godhead of the sonne The fourth point is whether there remaine any difference or diuersitie of the two natures after that the union is made Answer The two natures concurring make not the person of the sonne to be compounded properly but onely by analogie for as bodie and soule make one man so god and man make one Christ neither are they turned one into another the godhead into the manhood or the manhoode into the godhead as water was turned into wine at Cana in Galile nether are they confused and mingled togither as meates in the stomacke but they are and so remaine without composition conversion or confusion really distinct and that in three respectes First in regard of essence For the godhead of Christ is the godhead and can not be the manhood and againe the manhood of Christ is the manhood and not the godhead Secondly they are distinguished in proprieties the godhead is most wise iust mercifull omnipotent yea wisdome iustice mercie and power it selfe and so is not the manhood neither can it be Againe Christ as hee is God hath his will eternall and uncreated which is all one with the will of the father and the holy ghost And as hee is man he hath another will created in time and placed in his reasonable soule and this Christ signifieth when he saith Not my will but thy will be done Thirdly they are distinct in their actions or operations which though they go together inseparably in the worke of redemption yet they must in no wise be confounded but distinguished as the
natures themselues are Christ saieth of himselfe I have povver to lay downe my life and I haue power to take it up againe and hereby he shewes the distinction of operations in his two natures For to lay downe his life is an action of the manhoode because the godhead can not die and to take it up againe is the worke of the godhead alone which reunites the soule to the bodie after death The first and last point is what ariseth of this union Ans. By reason of this hypostaticall union though the godheade receiue nothing from the manhoode yet the manhoode it selfe which is assumed is thereby perfected and enriched with unspeakeable dignitie For first of all it is exalted aboue all creatures whatsoeuer euen angels themselues in that it hath subsistance in the second person in Trinitie Secondly togither with the godhead of the sonne it is adored and worshipped with diuine honour as in like case the honour done to the king himselfe redounds to the crowne on his head Thirdly by reason of this union the godheade of Christ works all things in the matter of our redemptiō in by the manhood And hereupon the flesh of Christ though it profit nothing of it selfe yet by the vertue which it receiueth from that person to which it is ioyned it is quickning flesh and the bread of life Againe from this union of two natures into one person ariseth a kind of speech or phrase peculiar to the scriptures called the communication of proprieties when the propertie of one nature is attributed to the whole person or to the other nature as when Paul saith that God shed his blood that the Lord of glorie was crucified And when Christ saith that he talking with Nichodemus was then in heauen The use of the personall union is threefold First it serues to shew the heinousnesse of our sinnes and the greatnesse of our miserie For it had not bene possible to make a satisfaction to Gods iustice in mans nature for the least offence vnlesse the same nature had first of all bene neerely ioyned to the godhead of the sonne that thereby it might be so far forth supported and sustained that it might ouercome the wrath of God Secondly it sets forth unto us the endles loue of God to man For whereas by reason of Adams fall wee are become the vilest of all creatures except the deuill and his angels yet by his mysticall coniunction our nature is is exalted to such an estate and condition as is farre aboue all creatures euen the angels themselues Thirdly it is as it were the keye of all our comfort for all sound comfort standes in happinesse all happinesse is in fellowship with God all fellowshippe with God is by Christ who for this cause beeing verie God became verie man that he might reconcile man to God and God to man Thus much of the conception of Christ now followes his birth whereby in the ordinarie time of trauell according to the course of nature hee was brought forth into the world by the virgin Mary And it was the will of God that Christ should not onely be conceiued but also borne and that after the maner of men that hee might be knowen to be verie man indeede In the birth we may consider foure things the time the place the manner the manifestation of it The time was in the last daies toward the end of the 70. weeks of Daniel which are to be accoūted from the end of the captivitie of Babylō make in all 490 yeres or more plainely 3900. yeeres and more from the beginning of the world and as Paul saith in the fulnesse of time And the Euangelists haue noted of purpose the time to haue bene when Augustus Caesar taxed the Iewes and all nations under his dominions to signifie that Christ was borne at the verie time foretold by Iacob when the crowne and scepter was taken from Iuda and withall to shevve that his kingdome was not of this world And it vvas the good pleasure of god that Christ should not be borne either later or sooner but so many ages from the beginning of the worlde And this consideration of the verie time it selfe serues greatly for the confirmation of our faith For thus may vve reason vvith our selues If God vvho in the beginning made a promise to our first parents concerning the seede of the woman deferred it almost 4000. yeres and yet at length accomplished the same to the verie full then no doubt God hauing promised the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting will in his good time bring them to passe though as yet wee see them not And thus by the accōplishment of al things past should we confirme our hope concerning things to come The place vvas not Hierusalem nor Nazareth nor any other citie but onely a village of Iuda called Bethleem that the prophesie of Micheas might be fulfilled Thou Bethleem Ephrata art little to be among the thousandes of Iuda yet out of thee shall he come forth vnto me that shall be the ruler in Israell And here vve may obserue a memorable example of Gods prouidence vvhich ouer-ruleth the procedings of cruell tirants to the accomplishing of his owne will they themselues for their parts intending nothing lesse Augustus not so much as dreaming of the birth of the Messias gaue commandement that euery man shoulde goe to his owne city to be taxed and hereupon Ioseph and Mary take their iourny from Nazareth to Bethleem which iourney God himselfe appointed and disposed to this end that the Messias might be borne in the place which he preordained and foretold by his prophet The manner of Christs birth was verie base and poore for the place where hee was borne was a stable and the cradle where he lay was a cratch And he willingly tooke upon him this povertie for sundry causes I. That the scripture might be fulfilled which saith that he should be the shame and contempt of the people and that ye shall grow vp as a roote out of a drie ground and have neither fourme nor beauty II. That hee might afterward from this base condition be exalted euen in his manhood to that rich and glorious estate in which he should manifest himselfe to be Lord of heauen and earth III. He was borne in exceeding pouertie that he might shame the wise men of this worlde who exceedingly esteeme of their riches power and glorie perswading themselues that without such meanes no good thing can be done And yet for all this they can not so much as reconcile one man to God by all their might and wealth whereas Christ himselfe hath done the same both in povertie and weakenesse and can enlarge and preserue his kingdome without earthly helpes When he hung upon the crosse the soldiers stript him of his garments and beeing naked he brought that to passe which all the monarches of the earth in all their roialties could neuer haue perfourmed And
beleeue that really and visibly he ascended into heauen and there abides till his seconde comming to the last iudgement who then hauing but common reason would imagine a communication of the bodie of Christ pent up in the element of bread and conveyed into our bodies by the mouth and stomacke The third point is whether we are not Lordes of Christ he being thus giuen unto us Ans. No for this donation is not single but mutuall As Christ is giuen to us so wee againe are giuen to Christ as he himselfe saith Those whome thou hast given me Father I have kept And wee are giuen unto him in that our bodies and soules are made his not onely as he is God but also as he is our redeemer and our sinnes with the guilt thereof are made his by imputation the punishment thereof is wholly laide upon him This is all the dowrie which the Church being the spouse of Christ hath brought unto him The fift point is how any man in particular may know that Christ is giuen unto him of the Father Ans. When God giues Christ to man he withall giues man grace and power to receiue Christ and to apprehend him with all his benefits and this we doe when wee utterly renounce our selues this world and all things therein bewaile our sinnes past resting on the death of Christ for the pardon of them all and as it were with both the armes of faith catching hold vpon him in all estaâ—es both in life and death When the heart of any man is truly disposed and inclined to doe these and the like things we may truly say that God hath giuen him grace to receiue Christ. The second thing required to make us one with Christ is the Mysticall vnion which is a Coniunction whereby Christ and his Church are actually coupled into one whol Mysticall bodie Now that we may the better conceiue the nature of it sundrie questions are to be mooued The first what kinde of Coniunction this is Ansvver In the scripture we meete with three kind of Coniunctions The first is coniunction in nature when sundry things are coupled all by one and the same nature As the Father the Sonne and the holy ghost being three distinct subsistances are all one and therefore ioyned in one godhead or diuine nature Now Christ and the beleeuer are not ioyned in nature for then they twaine should haue one body soule The second coniunction is in person when things in nature different so concurre togither that they make but one person as body and soule make one man and the godhead of the sonne with his manhood make but one Christ in whome there is an union of distinct natures with unitie of person Now Christ and a Christian are not ioyned in person for Christ is one person Peter a second and Paul a third distinct from them both and so many men as there be so many seuerall persons The third coniunction is in spirit and this is the coniunction meant in this place wherby Christ and his Church are ioyned togither for the very same spirit of God that dwelleth in the manhood of Christ and filleth it with all graces aboue measure is deriued thence and dwelleth in all the true members of the church and filleth them with the like graces in measure and therefore S. Iohn saith Hereby wee know that wee dwell in him and hee in us because he hath given vs of his spirit Hence it followes that the bond of this coniunction is one the same spirit descending from Christ the head to all his members creating also in them the instrument of faith whereby they apprehend Christ and make him their owne The second is what are the things united Ansvv. Not the bodie of the beleeuer to the body of Christ or the soule to his soule but the whole person of the man to the whole person of Christ yet in this order wee are first of all immediatly ioyned to the manhoode of Christ and by the manhood to the godhead The thirde question is what is the manner of this coniunction Answ. Wee must not thinke that Christ and his Church are ioyned by imagination as the mind of man and the thing whereof he thinkes or by consent of heart as one friend is ioyned with another and as the Iewes conuerted were all of one heart and soule or by any abode in one place or by touching as sea and land are both ioyned togither and make one globe or by any composition or commixtion of substances as when many ingredients are put togither to make one medecine But this coniunction is altogither spirituall as the former giuing was and incomprehensible to mans reason and therefore we must rather labour to feele it by experience in the heart then to conceiue it in the braine Yet neuerthelesse it shall not be amisse to consider a semblance of it in this comparison Suppose a man hauing the partes of his bodie disioyned farre asunder his head lying in Italy one arme in Germanie the other in Spaine and his legges with us in England suppose further all these partes or quarters haue all one soule extending it selfe unto them all and quickening ech of them seuerally as though they were nearely ioyned togither and though the partes be seuered many hundred miles asunder yet the distance of place doeth not hinder the coniunction considering one and the same soule doth inlarge it selfe and giue life vnto them all In the same maner the head of the Mysticall bodie Christ our Sauiour is now in heauen and some of his members in heauen with him and some in earth and of these some in England some in Germanie some in Italie some in Spaine distant many thousand miles asunder and the spirit of God is as it were the soule of this body which giueth spirituall life to all the members distance of place doth not hinder this coniunction because the Holy ghost which linketh all the partes togither is infinite The benefites which we receiue by this Mysticall union are manifold For it is the ground of the conveiance of all grace The first that by meanes hereof every Christian as he is a Christian or a man regenerate hath his beginning and being in Christ howsoeuer as he is a maÌ„ he hath his being subsisting in himselfe as Paul saith Ye are of God in Christ. And Wee are members of his body of his flesh and of his bones How will some say can this be After this maner The comparison is taken from our first parentes Eve was made of a rib taken out of Adams side he being cast into a slumber this being done Adam awaked said This now is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh Christ was nailed on the crosse and his most pretious blood was shedde and out of it arise and spring all true Christians that is out of the merite of Christes death and passion whereby they become newe creatures Secondly euerie one that
their respect of persons with him Inferiours againe must remember to submit themselues to the authoritie of their gouernours especially of magistrates For they are set ouer vs by our soueraigne Lord and king Christ Iesus as Paul saith Let euery soule be subiect to the higher powers For there is no power but of God and the powers that be ordained are of God And againe Seruants be obedient to your masters according to the flesh with feare and trembling in singlenes of your hearts as vnto Christ. The comfort which Gods Church may reap hence is very great for if Christ be the Lord of lords our Lord especially we neede not to feare what the deuill or wicked men can do vnto vs. If Christ be on our side who can be against vs we neede not feare them that can destroy the bodie and doe no more but we must cast our feare on him that is Lord of bodie and soule and can cast both to hell Thus much of the fourth title Now followes Christs incarnation in these words Conceiued by the holy Ghost borne of the Virgin Marie And they containe in them one of the most principall points of the doctrine of godlines as Paul saith without coÌ„trouersie great is the mysterie of godlines which is God is made manifest in the flesh iustified in the spirit c. And that we may proceede in order in handling them I will first speake of the incarnation generally and then after come to the parts therof In general we are to propound fiue questions the answearing whereof will be very needefull to the better vnderstanding of the doctrine following The first question is who was incarnate or made man Answer The second person in Trinitie the sonne of God alone and it is set downe in this article according to the Scriptures Saint Iohn saith The Word was made flesh and the angel saith The holy one which shall be borne of thee shalbe called the sonne of the most highest And Paul saith that Christ Iesus our Lord was made of the seede of Abraham according to the flesh And there be sundrie reasons why the second person should rather be incarnate then any other 1. By whome the father created all things and man especially by him man beeing fallen is to be redeemed and as I may say recreated now man was at the first created of the father by the sonne and therefore to be redeemed by him 2. It was most conuenient that he which is the essentiall image of the father should take mans nature that he might restore the image of God lost and defaced in man but the second person is the essentiall image of the father and therefore he alone must take mans nature 3. It was requisite that that person which was by nature the sonne of God should be made the sonne of man that we which are the sonnes of men yea the sonnes of wrath should by grace be made the sonnes of God nowe the second person alone is the sonne of God by nature not the father nor the holy Ghost As for the father he could not be incarnate For to take flesh is to be sent of an other but the father cannot be sent of any person because hee is from none Againe if the father were incarnate hee should be father to him which is by nature God and the sonne of a creature namely the Virgin Marie which thinges can not well stand And the holy Ghost could not be incarnate for then there should be more sonnes then one in the Trinitie namely the second person the sonne of the father and the third person the holy Ghost the sonne of the Virgin Marie It may be obiected to the contrarie on this manner The whole diuine essence is incarnate euery person in Trinitie is the whole diuine essence therefore euery person is incarnate Answer The whole Godhead indeede is incarnate yet not as it is absolutely considered but so farfoorth as it is restrained and limited to the person of the sonne and to speake properly the Godheade it selfe is not incarnate but the very person of the sonne subsisting in the Godhead And though all the persons be one and the same essence yet doe they really differ each from other in regard of the peculiar manner of subsisting and therefore mans nature may be assumed of the second person and be not assumed either of the father or of the holy Ghost as in the like case the soule of man is wholly in the head and wholly in the feet yea wholly in euery part and yet the soule can not be said to vse reason in the feete or in any other part but onely in the head Againe it may be alledged that the incarnation beeing an outward action of God to the creature is not proper to the sonne For the rule is that all outward actions of God are common to al the persons in Trinitie equally Ans. The incarnation stands of two actions the first is the framing creating of that manhoode which was to be assumed by Christ this is coÌ„mon to all the three persons equally the second is the limiting or the receiuing of it into the vnitie of any person and in respect of this action the worke of incarnation is peculiar to the Sonne To this purpose Augustine speaketh that creature which the Virgin conceiued brâ—ught foorth though it appertaine to the person of the sonne alone yet was it made by the whole Trinitie as wheÌ„ three meÌ„ weaue one and the same garment and the second onely weares it The second question is what manner of man the sonne of God was made Ans. He was made a proper or particular man and a perfect or a very man I say that he was a particular man to shew that he tooke not vnto him the generall forme or idea of mans nature coÌ„ceiued onely in mind nor the coÌ„mon nature of man as it is existing in euery man but the whole nature of man that is both a bodie and a reasonable soule existing in one particular subiect I say further that he was and is a true and perfect man beeing in euery thing that concerns mans nature like to Adam Abraham Dauid and all other men sauing onely in sinne For first of all hee had the substance of a true bodie and of a reasonable soule secondly the properties of bodie soule in the body length breadth thicknes circumscription c. â—n the soule the faculties of vnderstanding both simply and compounde will affections as loue hatred desire ioy feare c. the powers also of hearing feeling seeing smelling tasting moouing growing eating digesting sleeping c. Thirdly he tooke vnto him the infirmities of mans nature which are certaine naturall defects or passions in bodie or minde as to be hungrie thirstie wearie sadde and sorowfull ignorant of some things angrie to increase in stature and wisdome and knowledge c. yet this which I say must be
to obey the voice of Christ in the ministerie of the worde For if we rebell against his voice in this world vvhen in the day of iudgemeÌ„t sentence shal be pronounced against us we shall heare another voice at the giuing whereof vve must obey whether vve will or no and thereupon go to euerlasting paine whither vve vvould not Let us therfore in time denie our selues for our sinnes past and onely relie upon Christ Iesus for the free remission of them all and for the time to come leade a nevv reformed life Thus much of the order of Christ his proceeding at the day of iudgement Novv follovv the uses thereof vvhich are either comforts to gods church or duties for all meÌ„ The first comforte or benefite is this that the same person vvhich died for us upon the crosse to work ouâ— redemption must also be our â—udge And hence vve reape tvvo speciall comfortes I. The people of God shall hereby inioy full redemption from all miseries and calamities which they had in this life So Christ himselfe speaking of the signes of the end of the world saith to his disciples When you see thâ—se things lift vp your heads for your redemptioÌ„ draweth nere TheÌ„ he shall wipe all teares from their eies Secondly we shall hereby haue a finall deliuerance from all sinne Now what a ioyfull thing it is to be freed from sinne may plainely appeare by the cry of Saint Paul Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from this bodie of death And certen iâ— is that he which knowes what sinne is and seriously repents him of the same would wish with all his heart to be ouâ— of this world that he might leaue off to sinne and thereby to displease God The second comfort is this the godly in this worlde haue many enemies they are reuiled slaundred and oftentimes put to death well Christ Iesus at the day of iudgement will take euery mans case into his owne hand he will then heare the complaint of the godly howsoeuer in this world they found no remedie and then he will reuenge their blood that is shed vpon the earth according to their praier This comfort is to be considered especially of all those that are any way persecuted or molested by the wicked of this world Now follow the duties to be learned of euery one of vs and they are diuerse First the consideration of the last iudgement serueth to teach all ignorant persons and impenitent sinners repentance and humiliation for their sinnes and to mooue them with all speede to seeke vnto Christ for the pardon of the same When Paul preached to the Athenians he willed them to repent vpon this ground reason because the Lord hath appointed a day wherin he will iudge the world in righteousnes To speake plainly we can be content to heare the worde and to honour him with our lippes yet for the most part all is done but for fashions sake for still we liue in our old sinnes our hearts are not turned but in the feare of God let vs bethinke our selues of the time when we shall come before the iudge of heauen and earth and haue all our sinnes laide open and wee must answer for them all This is the point which the holy Ghost vseth as a reason to mooue men vnto repentance and assuredly if this will not mooue vs there is nothing in the world will Secondly to this purpose Paul saith If we would iudge our selues we should not be iudged Wouldest thou then escape the iudgement of Christ at the last day then in this life iudge thy selfe Now a man in iudging of himselfe must performe foure things I. he must examine himselfe of his owne sinnes II. he must confesse them before the Lord. III. he must condemne himselfe and as a iudge vpon the bench giue sentence against himselfe Lastly he must plead pardon and cry vnto God as for life and death for the remission of all his sinnes and he that doth this vnfainedly shall neuer be iudged of the Lord at the last day but if we slacke and neglect this dutie in this life then vndoubtedly there remaines nothing but eternall woe in the world to come Thirdly by this we may learne one not to iudge or condemne another as Paul saith Iudge nothing before the time vntill the Lord come who lighten things that are hidde in darknes and make the counsells of the hearts manifest And Christ saith Iudgement is mine and Iudge not and ye shall not be iudged And againe Paul saith to the Romanes Why doest thou iudge thy brother for we must all appeare before the iudgement seat of Christ but some will aske how doth one iudge another Answer Thus I. when a man doth well to say of him that he doth euill II. when a man doth euill then to make it worse III. when a thing is doubtfull to take it in the worst part And by any of these three waies we are not to iudge either of mens persons or of their actions Fourthly we must endeauour our selues to keepe a good conscience before God and before all men This is the practise of Saint Paul who in consideration and hope of a resurrection vnto iudgement as well of the iust as of the vniust endeauoured himselfe to haue alwaies a cleare conscience both towards God and towards men His example is worthie our marking and imitation for fewe there be that vpon this occasion make any conscience either of dutie to God or to their brethren Fifthly the last iudgement must stirre vs vp to a reuerend feare of God and cause vs to glorifie him as the angel saith in the Revelation Feare God and giue glorie to him for the houre of his iudgement is come And doubtles if any thing in the world will mooue a man to feare the Lord it is this to remember the fearefull and terrible day of iudgement Now hauing spoken hitherto of the first person the father and also of the sonne it followeth in the next place to speake of the third person in these words J beleeue in the holy Ghost In which we may consider two things the title of the person and the action of faith repeated from the beginning The title is holy Ghost or Spirit It may here be demaunded how this title can be fit to expresse the third person which seemes to be common to the rest for the father is holy and the sonne is holy againe the father is a spirit and the sonne is a spirite Answer Indeede the father and the Sonne are as well to be tearmed holy in respect of their natures as the third person for all three subsisting in one and the same Godhead are consequently holy by one and the same holines but the third person is called holy because beside the holines of natures his office is to sanctifie the Church of God Nowe if it be said that sanctification is a worke of the whole Trinitie the
with a preposition that ruleth an accuseth or ablatiue case but with a datiue case on this manner Beleeve Moses David the Prophets and it doeth not import any affiance in the creature but onely a giuing of credence by one man to another Secondly they alleadge that ancient fathers reade the article on this manner I beleeve in the holy Catholike Church Ansvver Indeed some haue done so but by this kinde of speech they signified no more but thus much that they beleeued that there was a Catholike Church Thus hauing found what words are to be supplyed let us come to the meaning of the article And that wee may proceede in order let us first of all see vvhat the Church is The Church is a peculiar company of men predestinate to life everlasting and made one in Christ. First I say it is a peculiar company of men for Saint Peter saieth Yee are a chosen generation a royall priesthood an holy nation and a peculiar people He speakes indeede of the Church of God on earth but his saying may be also extended to the whole Church of God as well in heauen as in earth Now because there can be no companie vnlesse it haue a beginning a cause whereby it is gathered therefore I adde further in the definition predestinate to life everlasting Noting thereby the ground and cause of the Catholike Church namely Gods eâ—ernall predestination to life euerlasting and to this purpose our Sauiour Christ saieth Feare not little flocke for it is your fathers will to give you the kingdome signifying thereby that the first and principall cause of the Church is the good pleasure of God whereby hee hath before all workes purposed to aduance his elect to eternal saluatioÌ„ Therfore one saith well only the elect are the Church of God And further because no companie can continue and abide for euer vnlesse the members thereof be ioyned and coupled togither by some bonde therefore I adde in the last place made one vvith Christ. This union maketh the Church to be the Church and by it the members thereof whether they be in heauen or in earth are distinguished from all other companies whatsoeuer Now this coniunction betwene Christ and the Church is auouched by Saint Paul when hee saieth Christ is the heade to his bodie vvhich is his Church and vvhen he ascribes the name of Christ not onely to the person of the sonne but to the Church it selfe as in the Epistle to the Galatians To Abraham and his seede vvere the promises made hee saieth not and to his seedes as speaking of many but and vnto his seed as speaking of one vvhich is Christ that is not the redeemer alone but also the Church redeemed For Christ as hee is man is not the onely seede of Abraham And this definition of the Church is almost in so many words set downe in the Scriptures in that it is called the Family of God partly in heauen and partly in earth named of Christ and it is also called the heavenly Ierusalem the mother of vs all and the celestiall Ierusalem and the congregation of the first borne Nowe for the better understanding of the nature estate and partes of the Church two pointes among the rest must be considered the efficient cause thereof Gods predestination and the forme the mysticall Vnion In handling the doctrine of Predestination my meaning is onely to stande on such pointes as are reuealed in the worde and necessarie tending to edification And first I will shewe what is the trueth and secondly the contrarie falshood In the trueth I consider foure things I. what Predestination is II. what is the order of it III. what be the partes of it IIII. what is the use Predestination may thus be defined It is a parte of the counsell of God whereby hee hath before all times purposed in him selfe to shevve mercie on some men and to passe by others shevving his iustice on them for the manifestation of the glorie of his ovvne name First I say it is a parte of his counsell because the counsell or decree of God universally extends it selfe to all things that are and Predestination is Gods decree so farre foorth as it concernes the reasonable creatures especially man Now in euery purpose or decree of God three things must be considered the beginning the matter the ende The beginning is the will of God whereby he willeth and appointeth the estate of his creatures and it is the most absolute supreme and soueraigne cause of all things that are so farre foorth as they are having nothing either aboue it selfe or out of it selfe to be an impulsiue cause to mooue or incline it and to say otherwise is to make the will of God to be no will Indeede mens willes are mooued disposed by externall causes out of themselues borrowed from the things whereof deliberation is made because they are to be ruled by equitie and reason and a mans bare will without reason is nothing Now Gods will is not ruled by any other rule of reason or iustice but it selfe is an absolute rule both of iustice and reason A thing is not first of al reasonable iust theÌ„ afterward willed by god buâ— it is first of all willed by God thereupon it becomâ—s reasonable and iust The maner of his purpose is a decreed manifestation of two of the most principall attributes of the godhead mercy and iustice that with a limitation or restraint of mercy to some of the creatures iustice to some others because it was his good will and pleasure And wee are not to imagine that this is a point of crueltie in God for his verie essence or nature is not iustice alone or mercie alone but iustice and mercie both togither and therfore to purpose the declaratioÌ„ of them both upoÌ„ his creatures ouer whome he is a soueraigne Lorde that without other respects upon his very will pleasure is no point of iniustice The supreme end of the counsel of God is the manifestatioÌ„ of his own glory partly in his mercy partly in his iustice For in coÌ„mon equity the end which he propouÌ„ds unto him self of al his doings must be answerable to his nature which is maiesty glory as I haue said iustice mercy it self And because Pauls disputation in the 9. to the Romans giues light sufficient confirmation to this which I now teach I will stand a litle in opening resoluing of the same FroÌ„ the 1. verse to the 6. he sets downe his griefe conceiued for his brethren the Iewes therwithall that it might not be thought that he spake of malice he doth onely in close and obscure manner insinuate the Reiection of that nation This done in the 6. verse he answeres a secrete obiection which might be made on this manner If the Iewes be reiected then the worde of God is of none effect that is then the couenant made with
had they then any neede of faith in the same God as he is Messias but this faith is a new grace of God added to regeneration after the fal first required in the couenant of grace And by this faith differeth from the rest of the gifts of God as the feare of God the loue of God the loue of our brethren c. for these were in mans nature before the fall and after it they are but renewed but iustifying faith admits no renewing For the first in grafting of it into the heart is in the conuersion of a sinner after his fall The place and seat of faith as I thinke is the minde of man not the will for it stands in a kinde of particular knowledge or perswasion and there is no perswasion but in the minde Paul saith indeede that we beleeue with the heart Rom. 10. but by the heart he vnderstands the whole soule without any limitation Some doe place faith partly in the minde and partly in the will because it hath two parts knowledge and affiance but it doth not stand greatly with reason that one particular and single grace should be seated into diuerse parts of the soule The forme of faith is to apprehend the promises Gal. 3.14 that we might receiue the promise of the spirite through faith and Iohn 1.12 to receiue Christ and to beleeue are put one for another and to beleeue is to eate and drinke the bodie and bloud of Christ. To apprehend properly is an action of the hand which laies hold of a thing and puls it to it and by resemblance it agrees to faith which is the hand of the soule receiuing and applying the sauing promise This apprehension of faith is not performed by any affection of the will but by a sound and particular perswasion whereby a man is resolued that the promise of saluation belongs vnto him Which perswasion is wrought in the mind by the holy Ghost 1. Corint 2.12 And by this the promise which is generall is applied particularly to one subiect By this sauing faith differeth from all other kinds of faith From historicall for it wanteth all apprehension standeth onely in a generall assent From temporarie faith which though it make a man to professe the Gospel and to reioyce in it yet doth it not throughly applie Christ with his benefits For it neuer brings with it any thorough touch of conscience or liuely sense of Gods grace in the heart And the same may be said of the rest The principal and maine obiect of this faith is the sauing promise God so loued the world that he gaue his onely begotten sonne that whosoeuer beleeues in him shall not perish but haue euerlasting life But some will say Christ is commonly said to be the obiect of faith Answ. In effect it is all one to say the sauing promise and Christ promised who is the substance of the couenant Christ then as he is set forth vnto vs in the word and sacraments is the obiect of faith And here certaine questions offer themselues to be skanned The first What is that particular thing which faith apprehendeth Answ. Faith apprehendeth whole Christ God and man For his Godhead without his manhoode and his manhood without his Godhead doth not reconcile vs to God Yet this which I say must be conceiued with some distinction according to the difference of his two natures His Godhead is apprehended not in respect of his essence or nature but in respect of his efficacie manifested in the māhoode his manhood both in respect of the substance it selfe and also in respect of the efficacie and benefits thereof The second In what order faith apprehēds Christ Ans. First of all it apprehends the very body blood of Christ secondly the vertue benefits of his bodie and blood as a man that would feele in his bodie the vertue of meate and drinke must first of all receiue the substance thereof To go forward Besides the mayn promise which cōcernes righteousnes life in Christ there be other particular promises touching strēgth in temptatiōs cōfort in afflictiōs such like which depēd on the former they also are the obiect of iustifying faith with the very same faith we beleue thē wherwith we beleeue our saluatiō Thus Abrahā by the same faith wherwith he was iustified beleued that he shold haue a son in his old age Rō 4.19.22 And Noe by that faith wherby he was made heire of righteousnes beleeued that he his family should be preserued in the flood And hereupō it comes to passe that in our praiers besides the desire of things promised we must bring faith whereby we must be perswaded that God will graunt vs such things as he hath promised and this faith is not a new kinde or distinct faith from iustifying faith Thus we see what sauing faith is Whereas some are of opiniō that faith is an affiāce or cōfidence that seems to be otherwise for it is a fruit of faith indeede no man can put any confidence in God till he be first of all perswaded of Gods mercy in Christ towards him Some again are of mind that loue is the very nature and forme of faith but it is otherwise For as cōfidence in God so also loue is an effect which proceeds frō faith 1. Tim. 1.5 The end of the law is loue frō a pure heart and good conscience faith vnfained And in nature they differ greatly Christ is the fountain of the waters of life Faith in the heart is as the pipes ledds that receiue in hold the water loue in some part is as the cocke of the cōduit that lets out the water to euery cōmer The property of the hād is to hold of it self it cānot cut yet by a knife or other instrumēt put into the hād it cuts the hād of the soule is faith his property is to apprehend Christ with al his benefits by it self it cā do nothing els yet ioyn loue to it by loue it wilbe effectual in al good duties Now to proceed further first we are to cōsider how faith is wrought 2. what be the differēces of it For the first faith is wrought in by the outward ministery of the gospel accōpanied by the inward operatiō of the spirit that not suddēly but by certē steps degrees as nature frameth the body of the infant in the mothers wombe 1. by making the brain and heart 2. by making veines sinewes arteries bones 3. by adding flesh to them al. And the whole operation of the spirit stands in two principall actions First the enlightening of the minde the second the moouing of the will For the first the holy Ghost enlightens mens mindes with a further knowledge of the lawe then nature can afoard and thereby makes them to see the sinnes of their hearts and liues with the ouglines thereof and withall to tremble at the curse of the lawe Afterward
of these in order as they lye in the Creede And first of the title father It may seeme that he hath some prerogatiue over the sonne and the holy ghost because he is set before them but we must know he is set before them neither in regard of time nor of dignitie for therein all three are equall but in regarde of order onely The father is the first the sonne the second and the holy ghost the third as may appeare by this similitude If three Emperours equall in dignity should meete all in one place beeing equall also in power and maiestie if all three should sit dovvne though one be no better then an other yet one of them must needes sit downe the first and another in the seconde place and then the thirde but yet wee can not say that he which sate downe first is the chiefest And so it is in the Trinitie though none be greater or above another yet the Father is in the first place not because he is before the sonne or the holy ghost in dignitie or honour but because he is the fountaine of the deitie the sonne being from him and the holy ghost from them both Nowe let us come to the title of the first person The name Father in Scriptures is ascribed either to God taken indefinitely and so by consequente to all the three persons in Trinitie or particularly to the first person alone For the first God is a Father properly and principally according to the saying of Christ Call no man father vpon earth for there is but one your father vvhich is in heaven that is principally whereas earthly parentes whome wee are commaunded to worship and honour are but certaine images or resemblances of our heavenly father having this blessing that they are fathers from him And hereupon this title agrees in men not simply but so farre forth as God honoureth them with fatherhoode in calling them to be fathers whereas god himselfe receiues this honour from none God is tearmed a father in respect both of nature and grace Hee is a father in regard of nature because hee created and gouerneth all things In this regard hee is called the father of spirits and Adam is called the Sonne of God Hee is a father in respect of grace because wee are regenerate by him and accepted to be his sonnes by adoption thorough the merite of Christ. And in this respect the second person as well as the first is called a Father and saide to haue an offspring or seede and children But when the name of Father is giuen to the first person 〈◊〉 is done upon a speciall consideration because he is a father by nature to the seconde person begetting him of his owne substance before all worldes By this it appeares that out of the title of the first person wee may fetch a description thereof on this maner The Father is the first person in Trinitie begetting the sonne Nowe to beget is the personall proprietie whereby he is distinguished from the other two If it be said that the creatures doe beget that therefore to beget is not proper to the father the answere is that in this point there are many differences betweene God the father all creatures First the father begets the sonne before all eternitie and therefore God the Father begetting and the sonne begotten are equall in time whereas in earthly generation the father is before the sonne in time Secondly God the father begets his Sonne by communicating unto him his whole essence or godhead which can not be in earthly parents unlesse they should be abolished and come to nothing VVhereas neuerthelesse God the Father giuing his whole nature to his sonne retaines the same still because it is infinite Thirdly the father begetts the sonne in himselfe not forth of himselfe but in earthly generation the father begetting is forth of the child and the child forth of the father And that must not trouble vs which heretikes alledge against this doctrine namely that if the father who is of one nature with the sonne did beget the sonne then hee did beget himselfe for the godhead of the father doth not beget either the godhead or the person of the sonne but the person of the father begets the person of the sonne both which in one godhead are really distinct Thus we see what the father is Nowe to beleeue in the father is to be perswaded that the first person in Trinity is the father of Christ and in him my father particularly and that for this cause I entend desire for euer to put my trust in him The duties which wee may learne hence are manifolde And here we haue occasion offered first of all to consider who is our father by nature I shall say to corruption saieth Iob thou art my father and to the worme thou art my mother seeing god vouchsafeth this great prerogatiue to them that loue him that he vvill be their father therefore Iob in consideration hereof would haue euery man to haue recourse to his owne naturall condition to see who is his father by nature Iob saith corruption is his father but if we mark the condition of our nature we shall further see euery man is by nature the child of wrath and that Sathan is his father for so long as a man walkes in his sinnes which euery man doth by nature so long doth he shew himselfe to be the liuely child of the deuill And thus Christ reasoneth against the Scribes and Pharises Yee are of your father the deuill and the lustes of your father ye will doe And true it is that no childe is so like his father that begat him as euerie man by nature is like the deuill and the whole tenour and course of his naturall life without grace is a liuely resemblance of the disposition of Satan Secondly euery one that beleeves God to be a Father and in Christ his father must as a good child be obedient to his fathers will So Salomon saith A vvise sonne maketh a glad father How by doing his will and therefore when one tolde our Sauiour Christ that his mother and breethren stoode vvithout desiring to speake with him he saide VVhosoever shall doe my fathers vvill vvhich is in heaven the same is my father my sister and mother where vvee may note that hee that will haue God the Father to be his Father and Christ Iesus his brother must doe the will of God the father And hence God saith If I be a master vvhere is my feare If I be a father vvhere is my honour VVhere is plainely taught this seconde duety that if God be our father then as good children vvee must shevve obedience unto him but if vvee be disobedient vnto him then vve must knowe that that former saying of Christ will be verefied vpon vs that because men doe the lustes of the devill therefore they are the children
of mediation as he is mediator or as he is mā yet as he is God he doth designe and set himselfe apart to the same worke For to designe the mediatour is a common action of the 3. persons the father the sonne and the holy ghost and yet cōsidering the father is first in order and therfore hath the beginning of the action for this cause he is saide especially to designe as when S. Iohn saith Him hath God the father sealed The second part of Christes annointing is the pouring out of the fulnesse of the spirit or grace into the manhood of Christ and it was particularly figured by the holy oile For first that oile had no man but God alone to be the authour of it so the most excellent and unspeakeable graces of the manhood of Christ haue their beginning from the godhead of Christ. Againe though the same oyle was most pretious yet was it compounded of myrrhe calamus and Casia and such like earthie matters to signifie that the spirituall oile of grace whereof the manhood of Christ was as it were a vessell or storehouse did not consist of the essentiall properties of the godhead as Eutiches and his followers in these daies imagine but in certaine created gifts and qualities placed in his humane nature otherwise we should not haue any participation of them Thirdly the sweete sauour of the holy oyle figured that the riches of all grace with the effect thereof in the obedience of Christ doeth take away the noisome sent of our loathsome sinnes from the nosthrilles of God and withall doth make our persons and all our actions acceptable unto him as a svveete perfume as Paul saith VVe are unto God the sweete savour of Christ c. And Christes death is for this cause tearmed a sacrifice of sweete smelling sauour And wee must further understand that these giftes of Christes manhood are not conferred in a small scantling or measure for Iohn saith God giveth him the spirite not by measure because the graces which are in Christ are farre more both in number and degree then all men or angels haue or shall haue though the good angels and the saints of God in heauen are verie excellent creatures stored with graces and giftes of God For this cause Christ is called the head of man because he is euerie way the most principall and glorious man that ever was Yet for all this are not the gifts of Christs manhood infinite any way because it is finite being a creature and therfore not capable of that which is infinite By Christes annointing the people of God reape great benefite and comfort because they are partakers thereof For this cause the oile where with he was annointed is called the oyle of gladnesse because the sweet sauour of it gladdeth the heartes of all his members and brings the peace of God which passeth all understanding The holy oyle powred vpon Aarons head came downe to his beard and to the verie skirtes of his garments and it signified that the spirituall oile of grace was first of all powred upon our head Christ Iesus and from thence consequently derived to all his members that by that meanes hee might be not onely annointed himselfe but also our annointer Now the benefites which we receiue by his annointing are two The first is that all the elect when they are called to the profession of the gospell of Christ are in and by him set apart and made spirituall kings priests and prophets as S. Iohn saith He hath made vs kings and priests vnto God his Father And S. Peter out of Ioel I will powre saith the Lord my spirit vpon all flesh and your sonnes and daughters shall prophesie The second benefite is that all the faithfull receiue the same oile that is the same spirite of God in some measure which he receiued aboue measure as S. Iohn saieth The annointing which ye have received of him dvvelleth in you and teacheth you all things where by anointing is ment the holy Ghost And hence it is that men are called Christians of the name of Christ that is annointed with the same oile wherwith Christ was annointed And the holy oile might not be giuen to a stranger to signifie that to haue the spirite of Christ and to be guided by it is peculiar to them that are Christes Now then let vs all lay these things to our hearts and extoll the unspeakeable goodnesse of God that hath advaunced vs to the dignitie of kings priests prophets before him and hath giuen his spirit unto vs to inable us to be so indeed Nowe follow the duties which are to be learned hence And first whereas all Christians receive annointing from the holy one Christ Iesus to become prophets in a sort wee must doe our endeavours that the word of God may dwell plentifully in vs and for that cause we must search the scriptures euen as hunters seeke for the game and as men seeke for golde euen in the mines of the earth There is nothing that is more unbeseeming a man then grosse ignorance a Christian. Therfore the authour of the epistle to the Hebrues reprooues them that whereas for the time they ought to haue beene teachers they had need againe to be taught the first principles of the word of God Againe that portion of knowledge which we haue received of God is further to be applied to the benefit good of others this is that most precious baulme that on our partes should neuer be wanting to the heads of men And here euery man that is set ouer others must remember within the compasse of his calling and charge to instruct those that be under him so farre forth as possibly he can Gouernours of families must teach their children and servants and their whole housholde the doctrine of the true religion that they may know the true God and walke in all his waies in doing righteousnesse iudgement If housholders woulde make conscience of this their dutie and in some sorte and measure prepare their families against they come to the publike congregation the ministers of the Gospell vvith greater comfort and farre more ease should performe their dutie and see farre more fruit of their ministerie then now they doe But whereas they neglect their dutie falsely perswading themselues that it doeth not belong to them at all to instruct others it is the cause of ignorance both in townes and families in masters themselues in seruants and children and all Lastly by this we are admonished to take all occasions that possibly can be offered mutually to edifie each other in knowledge saying among our selues as it was foretold of these times Come let vs goe up to the mountaine of the Lord to the house of the God of Iacob and he vvill teach vs his waies and we will walke in his pathes and withall we shoulde confirme each others as Christ saith to Peter
vnderstood with two caveats The first is that infirmities be either certaine vnblameable passions or else such defects as are sinnes in themselues nowe Christ takes the first onely and not the second Secondly infirmities be either generall or personall generall which appertaine to the whole nature of man and are to be found in euery man that comes of Adam as to be borne vnlearned and subiect to naturall affections as sorrowe anger c. Personall are such as appertaine to some particular men and not to all and arise of some priuate causes and particular iudgements of God as to be borne a foole to be sicke of an ague consumption dropsie pleuresie and such like diseases Now the first sort be in Christ and not the second for as he tooke not the person of any man but onely mans nature so was it sufficient for him to take vnto him the infirmities of mans nature though hee tooke not the priuate infirmities of any mans person And the reason why Christ would put on not onely the substance and faculties of a true man but also his infirmities was that hee might shewe him selfe to be very man indeed also that he might suffer for vs both in bodie and soule and that he might giue vs an example of patience in bearing all manner of euill for Gods glorie and the good of our neighbour Now the things which may be alleadged to the contrarie for the infringing of the truth of Christs manhood are of no moment As first because Christ appeared in the forme of a man in the old testament beeing no man therefore he did so at his comming in the newe testament but the reason is not like For Christ in the old testament as the angell of his father in some speciall affaires tooke vnto him the bodie of a man for some space of time but he did not receiue it into the vnitie of his person but laid it downe when the busines which he enterprised with men was ended Now in the fulnes of time he came from heauen as the angell of the covenant and for that cause he was to vnite into his owne person the nature of man And when as Paul saith that Christ came in the similitude of sinnefull flesh his meaning is not to signifie that he was a man onely in resemblance and shewe but to testifie that beeing a true man indeede void of sinne was content to abase himselfe to that condition in which he became like to a miserable sinner in bearing the punishment for our sinne For Paul doth not say that he tooke vpon him the similitude of flesh simply as it is flesh but of the flesh of sinne or sinnefull flesh The third question is why the sonne of God must become man Answer There be sundrie reasons of this point and the most principall are these First of all it is a thing that greatly standes with the iustice of God that in that nature in which God was offended in the same should be a made satisfaction to God for sinne nowe sinne was committed in mans nature Adam sinned first and in him all his posteritie therefore it is very necessarie that in mans nature there should be a satisfaction made to Gods iustice and therefore the sonne of God must needes abase himselfe and become man for our sakes Secondly by the right of creation euery man is bounde in conscience to fulfull euen the very rigour and extremitie of the morall lawe But considering man is nowe fallen from his first estate and condition therefore it was requisite that the sonne of God should become man that in mans nature hee might fulfill all righteousnes which the law doth exact at our handes Thirdly hee that is our redeemer must die for our sinnes for their is no remission of sinnes without shedding of bloode but Christ as he is God can not die For no passion can befall the Godhead Therefore it was needefull that hee should become man that in mans nature hee might die and fully satisfie Gods iustice for mans offence Lastly hee that must make reconciliation betweene God and man must be such an one as may make request or speake both to God and man For a Mediatour is as it were a middle person making intercession betweene two other persons the one offended the other offending Therefore it is necessarie that Christ should not onely be God to speake vnto the father for vs and to present our praiers vnto him but also man that God might speake to vs and we to God by Christ. For howsoeuer before the fal man could speake to God euen face to face yet since the fall such feare possesseth mans corrupt nature that he cannot abide the presence of God but flieth from it Nowe whereas I say that it was necessarie that the sonne of God for the causes before alleadged must become man the necessitie must be vnderstood in respect of Gods will and not in respect of his power For if it had so pleased God hee was able to haue laide downe an other kinde of way of mans redemption then by the incarnation of the sonne of God and he appointed no other way because he would not Thus much of the Incarnation in generall Now followe the duties vvhich arise of it And first vvee are taught hereby to come to Christ by faith and vvith all our heartes to cleaue unto him Great is the deadnesse and sluggishnesse of mans nature for scarse one of a thousande cares for him or seekes unto him for righteousnesse and life euerlasting But wee shoulde excite our selues euerie vvay to dravve neare to him as much as possibly vvee may for when hee was incarnate hee came neare unto us by taking our nature upon him that wee againe whatsoeuer wee are might come neare unto him by taking unto us his divine nature Againe when Christ was incarnate he was made bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh therfore proportionally we must labour to become bone of his bone flesh of his flesh which we shall be when we are mistically united unto him by faith born anew by his spirit Moreouer Christ by his incarnation came down frō heauen to vs that we being partakers of his grace might ascend vp to heauen by him And thus we see how the meditation of Christs incarnation should be a spurre to pricke vs forwarde still more and more to come to Christ. Secondly Christs incarnation must be a patterne vnto vs of a most wonderfull and straunge humilitie For as Paul saith Beeing in the forme of God and thinking it no robberie to be equall with God made himselfe of no reputation and tooke on him the forme of a seruant and humbled himselfe and became obedient to death euen to the death of the crosse Yea so farrefoorth abased hee himselfe that as David saith he was a worme and no man And this teacheth vs to lay aside all selfe-loue and pride of heart and to practise the dueties of
the Angell of God came to destroy the first borne both of man and beast and saw the blood upon their houses might passe ouer them that the plague should not be upon them to destruction So likewise if thou doest feede on the lambe of God and by a liuely faith sprinkle the dore of thine heart with his blood the iudgements of god in this life and the terrible curse of death vvith the fearefull sentence of condemnation at the day of iudgement all punishments due unto thy sinnes shall passe ouer thee and not so much as touch thee And whereas the legges of our Sauiour Christ were not broken by the souldiers who sought by all meanes possible to worke against him all the mischiefe they could wee may note that the enemies of Christ and his Church let them intende to shewe neuer so much malice against him they can not goe beyonde that libertie which God giueth them then Gods will is they can doe no more for their liues The Medes and Persians are called the Lords sanctified ones Cyrus is called the man of Gods counsell because whatsoeuer they intended against the people of God yet in all their proceedings they did nothing but that which God had determined before to be done And whē Senacherib came against the Iewes as a wild beast out of his denne the Lord telleth Hezekiah cōcerning Ashur that he will put his hooke in his nostrills his bridle in his lippes and bring him back againe the same way he came that is he will so rule him that he shall not do the lest hurt unto the Iewes more thē god will This is a matter of great cōfort to Gods Church oppressed with manifold enimies Papists Iewes Turkes all infidels maliciously bent against it for Christs sake Now they may intend practise mischiefe but more then Gods will and counsell is they cā not doe for he hath his ring in their nostrills and his bridle in their lips to rule them as he listeth The second thing which fell out immediatly upon the death of Christ is that the soldiers pearced his side with a speare thence issued water blood The use which ariseth of this point is twofolde First it serves to prooue that Christ died truly not in shew or a fained death for there is about the heart a filme or skin like unto a purse wherein is contained cleare water to coole the heate of the heart and therefore when water blood issued out after the pearcing of the side it is very likely that that very skin was pearced for els in reason we can not coniecture whence this water should come S. Iohn an eye-witnesse of this thing being about to proue that Iesus the sonne of Mary was the true Messias bringeth in sixe witnesses three in heauē the Father the Worde and the Holy Ghost and three in earth the Water the Spirite and the bloode where no doubt hee alludeth to the water and blood that issued out of the side of Christ by spirit wee may vnderstand the efficacie and operation of Gods spirite making men to bring foorth the fruits of the same as loue peace ioy c. And the second witnes namely water hath relation to the water that came forth of Christs side which signifieth the inward washing away of sinne the purging of the heart by Christs blood which also is and was signified by the outwarde washing of the bodie with water in baptisme The thirde witnesse hee calles blood alluding to the blood that issued out of Christs side vvhereby is signified the expiation or satisfaction made to Gods iustice for mans sinne The same use had the ceremoniall sprinkling with blood in the old testament typically signifying the sprinkling of Christs blood Now these three witnesses are not to be sought for in heauen but euerie Christian man must search for them in his owne heart and conscience there shall hee finde them in some measure And this water and blood flowing out of the side of Christ being now deade signifieth that he is our iustification and sanctification euen after his death that out of his death springs our life and therefore as Eve was made of a ribbe taken out of the side of the first Adam so springs the Church of the blood that flowes out of the side of the second Adam Hauing thus intreated of Christs execution let us nowe come to the last point namely the excellencie of Christes passion consisting in these two points I. a sacrifice II. a triumph For the first whē Christ died he offered a propitiatorie reall sacrifice to his father herein his death passiō differeth frō the sufferings deaths of all men whatsoeuer In this sacrifice we must consider 4. things I. who was the priest II. what was the sacrifice III. what vvas the altar IV. the time wherein this sacrifice was offered The priest was Christ himselfe as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrues prooues at large from the third chap. to the 9. and of him we are to consider these 4. points The first what is the office of Christs priesthood Ansvver The office of Christs priesthood stands in 3. things I. to teach doctrine therefore he is called the high priest of our profession that is of the Gospell which we professe because he is the authour and doctour of the same II. to offer up himselfe unto his father in the behalfe of man for the appeasing of his wrath for sinne III. to make request or intercession to God the father that he would accept the sacrifice which hee offered on the crosse for us The secōd is according to which nature he was a priest whether in his manhood or in his godhead or both togither Ans. The office of his priesthood is performed by him according to both his natures therfore he is a priest not as the papists would haue him according to his manhood only but as he is both God man for as he is a mediatour so is he a priest but Christ is a mediatour according to both natures ech nature doing that which is peculiar to it conferring somthing to the worke of redemptiō therfore he is a priest as he is both God mā The third point after what order is he a priest Ans. The scripture mētioneth 2. orders of priests the order of Levi the order of Melchisedeck Christ was not a priest after the order of Aarō yet notwithstāding in that priesthood were many notable rites wherby the priesthood of our Sauiour Christ was resembled we may note 5. especially First in the anointing of the high priests as of Aaron his sonnes after him oile was powred on his head it ran down to the verie edge of his garments wherby was signified that Christ the true high priest was annointed with the oile of gladnesse above his fellowes that his manhood was filled with the giftes and graces of
of a whale that so he might chastice him and thus doth he deale with his owne seruants to make them conformable to Christ. And further when it pleaseth God to lay his hand vpon our soules and make vs haue a troubled and distressed conscience so as we doe as it were struggle with Gods wrath as for life and death and can finde nothing but his indignation seazing vpon our soules which is the most grieuous and perplexed estate that any man can be in in this case howsoeuer we cannot discerne or see any hope or comfort in our selues yet we must not thinke it strange nor quite despaire of his mercie For the sonne of God himselfe descended into hell and death carried him captiue and triumphed ouer him in the graue and therefore though God seeme to be our vtter enemie yet we must not despaire of his helpe In diuers Psalmes we reade howe Dauid was not onely persecuted outwardly of his enemies but euen his souâ—e and conscience were perplexed for his sinnes so as his bones were consumed within him and his moysture was turned into the drought in sommer This caused Iob to cry out that the arrowes of God were within him and the venyme thereof did drinke vp his spirit the terrours of God did fight against him and the griefe of his soule was as waightie as the sand of the sea by reason whereof he saith that the Lord did make him a marke and a butte to shoote at and therefore when God shall thus afflict vs either in bodie or in soule or in both we must not alwaies thinke that it is the wrathfull hand of the Lord that begins to bring vs to vtter condemnation for our sinnes but rather his fatherly worke to kill sinne in vs and to make vs grow in humilitie that so we may become like vnto Christ Iesus Secondly whereas Christ for our sakes was thus abased euen vnto the lowest degree of humiliation that can be it is an example for vs to imitate as Christ himselfe prescribeth Learne of me that I am meeke and lowly And that we may the better doe this we must learne to become nothing in our selues that we may be all in all forth of our selues in Christ we must loath and thinke as basely of our selues as may be in regard of our sinnes Christ Iesus vpon the crosse was content for our sakes to become a worme and no man as Dauid saith which did chiefely appeare in this lowest degree of his humiliation when as death did as it were tread on him in his denne and the same minde must likewise be in vs which was in him The liking that we haue of our selues must be meere nothing but all our loue and liking must be forth of our selues in the death and bloode of Christ. And thus much of this clause as also of the state of Christs humiliation Nowe followeth his second estate which is his exaltation into glorie set down in these words The third day he rose againe from the deade c. And of it we are first to speake in generall then in particular according to the seuerall degrees thereof In generall the exaltation of Christ is that glorious or happie estate into which Christ entred after he had wrought the worke of our redemption vpon the crosse And he was exalted according to both natures in regard of his Godhead and also of his manhood The exaltation of the Godhead of Christ was the manifestation of the glorie of his Godhead in the manhoode Some will peraduenture demaunde how Christs Godhead can be exalted seeing it admits no alteration at all Answer In it selfe it cannot be exalted yet beeing considered as it is ioyned with the manhood into one person in this respect it may be said to be exalted and therefore I say the exaltation of Christs Godhead is the manifestation of the glorie thereof in the manhood For though Christ from his incarnation was both God and man and his Godhead dwelt in his manhood yet from his birth vnto his death the same Godhead did little shew it selfe and in the time of his suffering did as it were lie hid vnder the vaile of his flesh as the soule doth in the bodie when a man is sleeping that thereby in his humane nature he might suffer the curse of the law and accomplish the worke of redemption for vs in the low and base estate of a seruant But after this worke was finished he began by degrees to make manifest the power of his Godhead in his manhood And in this respect his Godhead may be saide to be exalted The exaltation of Christs humanitie stoode in two things The first that he laide downe all the infirmities of mans nature which he carried about him so long as he was in the state of a seruant in that he ceased to be wearie hungrie thirstie c. Here it may be demaÌ„ded whether the skarres wouÌ„ds remain in the bodie of Christ now after it is glorified Ans. Some think that they doe remain as testimonies of that victorie which Christ obtained of his our enemies that they are no deformitie to the glorious bodie of our Lord but are themselues also in him in some vnspeakable manner glorified But indeede it rather seemes to be a truth to say that they are quite abolished because they were a part of that ignominious and base estate in which our Sauiour was vpon the crosse which after his entrance into glorie he laid aside And if it may be thought that the woundes in the hands and feete of Christ remaine to be seene euen to the last iudgement why may we not in the same manner thinke that the vaines of his bodie remaine emptied of their blood because it was shed vpon the crosse The second thing required in the exaltation of Christs manhood is that both his bodie and soule were beautified and adorned with all qualities of glorie His minde was inriched with as much knowledge and vnderstanding as can possibly befall any creature and more in measure then all men and angels haue and the same is to be said of the graces of the spirit in his wil and affections his bodie also was incorruptible and it was made a shining bodie a resemblance whereof some of his disciples sawe in the mount and it was indued with agilitie to mooue as well vpward as downeward as may appeare by the ascension of his bodie into heauen which was not caused by constraint or by any violent motion but by a propertie agreeing to all bodies glorified Yet in the exaltation of Christs manhood we must remember two caveats first that he did neuer lay aside the essentiall properties of a true bodie as length breadth thicknes visibilitie locallitie which is to be in one place at once and no more but keepeth all these still because they serue for the beeing of his bodie Secondly wee must remember that the gifts of glorie in Christs bodie are not infinite but
finite for his humane nature beeing but a creature and therefore finite could not receiue infinite graces and gifts of glorie And hence it is more then manifest that the opinion of those men is false which hold that Christs bodie glorified is omnipotent and infinite euery way able to doe whatsoeuer he will for this is to make a creature to be the creator Thus much of Christs exaltation in generall Now let vs come to the degrees thereof as they are noted in the Creede which are in number three I. He rose againe the third day II. He ascended vnto heauen III. He sitteth at the right hand of God the father almightie In the handling of Christs resurrection we must consider these points I. why Christ ought to rise againe II. the manner of his rising III. the time when he rose IV. the place where V. the vses thereof For the first it was necessarie that Christ should rise againe and that for three especiall causes First that hereby he might shew to all the people of God that he had fully ouercome death For els if Christ had not risen how should we haue bin perswaded in our coÌ„sciences that he had made a full perfect satisfactioÌ„ for vs nay rather we should haue reasoned thus Christ is not risen therefore he hath not ouercome death but death hath ouercome him Secondly Christ Iesus which died was the sonne of God therefore the author of life it selfe and for this cause it was neither meet nor possible for him to be holdeÌ„ of death but he must needes rise from death to life Thirdly Christs priesthood hath 2. parts one to make satisfaction for sinne by his one onely sacrifice vpon the crosse the other to apply the vertue of this sacrifice vnto euery beleeuer Now he offred the sacrifice for sinne vpon the crosse before his death and therefore beeing deade must needes rise againe to performe the second part of his priesthood namely to applie the vertue thereof vnto all that shall beleeue in him and to make intercession in heauen vnto his father for vs here on earth And thus much of the first point Nowe to come to the manner of Christs resurrection fiue things are to be considered in it The first that Christ rose againe not as euery priuate man doth but as a publike person representing all men that are to come to life eternall For as in his passion so also in his resurrection he stood in our roome and place and therefore when he rose from death we all yea the whole Church rose in him and together with him And this point not considered we doe not conceiue aright of Christs resurrection neither can we reap sound comfort by it The second is that Christ himselfe and no other for him did by his owne power raise himselfe to life This was the thing which he meant when he said Destroy this temple in three daies I will build it vp againe more plainly I haue saith he power to lay down my life and I haue power to take it again FroÌ„ wheÌ„ce we learn diuers instructions First wheras Christ raiseth himselfe from death to life it serueth to proue that he was not only maÌ„ but also true god For the body being dead could not bring again the soule ioyn it self vnto the same make it selfe aliue againe neither yet the soule that is departed from the bodie can returne againe quicken the bodie and therefore there was some other nature in Christ namely his Godhead which did revnite soule and bodie together and thereby quickned the manhoode Secondly if Christ giue life to himselfe being dead in the graue then much more now being aliue and in heauen glorified is he able to raise vp his members from death to life We are all by nature starke dead in sinne as the dead bodie rotten in the graue and therfore our dutie is to come to Christ our Lord by praier intreating him that he would raise vs vp euery day more and more from the graue of our sinnes to newnes of life He can of men dead in their sinnes make vs aliue vnto himselfe to liue in righteousnes and true holines all the daies of our life The third thing is that Christ rose againe with an earthquake And this serueth to prooue that he lost nothing of his power by death but still remained the absolute Lord of heauen and earth to whome therefore the earth vnder his feete trembling doth him homage This also prooueth vnto vs that Christ which lay dead in the graue did raise himselfe againe by his owne almightie power Lastly it serueth to conuince the keepers of the graue the women which came to embaulme him and the disciples which came to the sepulchre would not yet beleue that he was risen againe But how came this earthquake Answer Saint Matthew saith there was a great earthquake For the angell of the Lord descended from heauen c. This shewes that the power of angels is great in that they can mooue and stirre the earth Three angels destroied Sodom Gomorha An angel destroied the first borne of Egypt in one â—ight In the host of Senacherib one angel slue in one night 14500 meÌ„ Of like power is the deuil himself to shake the earth and to destroy vs all but that God of his goodnes limits restrains him of his libertie Well if one angel be able to shake the earth what then wil Christ himselfe do when he shal come to iudgemeÌ„t the secoÌ„d time with many thousand thousaÌ„ds of angels oh how terrible will his comming be Not without cause saith the holy Ghost that the wicked at that day shall cry out wishing the hills to fall vpon them and the mountains to couer them for feare of that great and terrible day of the Lord The 4. thing is that an angel ministred to Christ being to rise again in that he came to the graue rolled away the stone sate vpoÌ„ it Where obserue first how the angels of God minister vnto Christ though dead buried whereby they acknowledge that his power maiestie authoritie is not included within the bondes of the earth but extends it selfe euen to the heauens themselues and the hosts thereof and that according to his humanitie Wicked men for their parts laboured to close him vp in the earth as the basesâ— of all creatures but the angels of heauen most readily accept him as their soueraigne Lord and king as in like manner they did in his temptation in the wildernes and in his agonie in the garden Secondly that the opinion of the papists and others which think that the bodie of Christ went through the graue-stone when he rose againe is without warrant For the ende no doubt why the angel rolled away the stone was that Christ might come foorth And indeede it is against the order of nature that one bodie should passe through another without corruption or alteration of either
shine unto them and to say that faith is partly by nature partly by grace is the condemned heresie of the semi-Pelagian for wee can not so much as thinke a good thought of our selues The last defect in the platforme is that they ascribe unto God a wrong end of his counsels namely the communication of mercie or goodnesse in eternall happines For the absolute soueraigne ende of all gods doings must be answerable to his nature which is not mercy and loue alone but also iustice it selfe and that is the manifestation of his glorie both in iustice and mercy by the expresse testimonie of scripture Againe if this were so all men without exception should be saued because God can not be frustrated of his end purpose if but one man be damned he is daÌ„ned either because God wil not saue him or because he cannot If they say he will not then he is changeable if he can not then he is not omnipotent considering his purpose was to convey happines to all creatures Thus much of the efficient cause of the Church namely Gods predestination which doctrine could not here be omitted coÌ„sidering no man can beleeue himselfe to be a meÌ„ber of the Church unlesse withall he beleeue that he is predestinate to life euerlasting Now we come to the second point namely the Mysticall vnion which is the very forme of the Church whereby all rhat beleeue are made one with Christ. To the causing of this union 2. things are required a Donation or giuing of Christ unto that man which is to be made one with him a Coniunction betwene them both Of the first the Prophet Esai saith Vnto us a child is borne unto us a sonne is given Paul who spared not his own sonne but gave him for us all how shall he not with him give vs all things also And touching it sundry points must be considered The first is what is meant by this Giuing Ansvvere It is an action or worke of God the Father by the holy ghost whereby Christ as redeemer in the appointed time is really communicated to all ordained to saluation in such manner that they may truly say that Christ himselfe with all his benefites is theirs both in respect of right thereto and in respect of all fruite redounding thence and that as truly as any man may say that house and lande giuen him of his ancetours is his owne both to possesse and to use The second point is what is the verie thing giuen Answer Whole Christ God and man is giuen because his humanitie without his godhead or the godhead without the humanitie doth not reconcile us to God Yet in this giuing there must be a diuers consideration had of the two natures of Christ for the communication of the godhead is meerely energeticall that is onely in respect of operation in that it doeth make the manhood personally vnited vnto it to be propitiatorie for our sinnes and meritorious of life eternall And to auouch any communication of the godhead in respect of essence were to bring in the heresie of the Maniches and to maintaine a composition a commixtion of our natures with the nature of God Againe in the manhood of Christ we must distinguish betweene the subiect it selfe the substance of bodie and soule and the blessings in the subiect which tend to our saluation And the communication of the aforesaide manhoode is in respect of both without separation for no man can receiue sauing vertue from Christ vnlesse first of all he receiue Christ himselfe as no man can haue the treasure hid in the field unlesse first of all he haue the field and no man can be nourished by meate and drink unlesse first of all he receiue the substance of both And this is the cause why not only in the preaching of the word but also in the institution of the Lordes supper expresse mention is made not only of Christs merite but also of his verie body and bloode whereby the whole humanitie is signified as appeares by that place where it is said that the Word was made flesh And though the flesh of it selfe profite nothing as S. Iohn saith yet as it is ioyned to the godhead of the sonne and doth subsist in his person it receiueth thence quickening vertue to reuiue and renewe all those to whome it shall be giuen Lastly among the blessings that are stored up in the manhood of Christ for our saluation some are giuen unto vs by imputation as when we are iustified by the righteousnesse indeed inherent in his manhood but imputed vnto us some by infusion as when holinesse is wrought in our hearts by the spirit as a fruite of that holinesse which is in the manhood of Christ deriued from it as the light of one candle from another The thirde point is in what maner Christ is giuen unto us Ansvv. God the father giueth Christ unto his Church not in any earthly or bodily manner as when a King bestoweth a gift with his owne hand and puttes it into the hande of his subiect but the manner is altogither celestiall and spirituall partly because it is brought to passe by the meere diuine operation of the Holy Ghost and partly because in respect of vs this gift is receiued by an instrument which is supernaturall namely faith whereby we lay hold of apply unto our selues the Euangelicall promises And this maner of giuing may be conceiued thus A maÌ„ that neuer stirred foote out of England holdes and enioyes lande in Turkie but how comes it to be his Thus the Emperour was willing and content to bestow it and the man for his part as willing to accept and receiue it and by this meanes that which at the first was the Emperours by mutuall consent becomes the mans In the same manner God the Father hath made an Evangelicall couenant with his Church in which of his mercy hee haâ—h made a graunt of his owne sonne vnto us with righteousnesse and life euerlasting in him and we againe by his grace accept of this graunt and receiue the same by faith and thus by mutuall consent according to the tenour of the couenant any repentant sinner may truly say though I now haue mine abode upon earth Christ in respect of his manhood be locally in heaueÌ„ yet is he truly mine to haue to enioy his body is mine his blood is mine As for the giuing receiving of the body blood of Christ in bodily maner which the Papists maintaine in auouching the reall transubstaÌ„tiatioÌ„ of bread and wine in the sacraments into the body blood of Christ and the Lutheranes also in teaching that his body and bloode is substantially either in or with or under the bread and wine is an erronious conceit flat opposite to sundrie points of the Christian faith For Christ to this verie houre retaineth still the essence and essentiall properties of a true bodie and wee