assayling and our owne willingnesse in obeying we may both renounce the Diuell and forsake our selues cleaue onely in this extremitie to the Lord. Out of this original of Death we may fetche the definition wherein let vs consider what it is in nature of it selfe without Christ what sting it hath and of what power and strength it consisteth Death in it selfe is not onely a killing of the body but also a sleying of the soule not onely a separation of soule from body but a diuision and cutting off both of soule body from God Death therefore is two folde to wit corporall and spirituall yet both of them the stipends and rewards of sinne and both of them due to all without exception For all sinned and are destitute of the grace of God This corporall death as I said is a seperation of the soule from the body and is called the first death Spirituall death is a cutting off of the soule from God and excluding and shutting out of the same from the blessed and sweete countenance of God which is life it selfe and this is called the second death common I say to all by reason of sinne yet not preuayling ouer Gods children for whose sinnes Christ hath satisfied Death therefore at a worde is nothing else but a departing from life and the life of the body is the soule therefore the seperation of the soule from the body is death And as the soule is life to the body so the life of the soule is God therfore the going or departing of the soule from God to cleaue to sinne is the death also of the soule Without God there is no lyse therefore Adam and Euah departing from God departed from life and although their soules were not presently seperated from their bodyes yet being gone from God their life they lay as it were buried in their bodies as also their bodies themselues euery moment subiect to corruption So soone as man by sinne turned himselfe from God euen so soone was he destitute of his grace and fauour that he could not so much as once aspire to felicitie so thaâ— presently the souldiers of death besieged his body to wit hunger thirste sicknesse sorrow and all kinde of calamities So soone as euer they had sinned saith Chrysostome euen so soone did the Lorde pronounce sentence oâ— death against them And euen as those that are condempned of the Iudge although for a while perhaps they may be reserued aliue in prison and be repriued yet in effect they are accompted but for dead men Euen so our firsâ— parents though through the exceeding great mercy of God after sentence pronounced they did long enioy their liues yet foorthwith in effect they were as good as dead for no day or houre or moment did after wards ensue that they had assurance of their life Whereby we haue to learne that the life of sinners is no life indeed but a death being estranged from â—he life of God all remaine as dead which lack beliefe in Christ for onely Christ who is eternall life through â—aith dooth quicken his children so â—hat truly to acknowledge Christ and â—hrough faith to possesse him is indeed â—o be freed from Death and to haue â—ternall life Onely in name to professe â—im is the part of dead men for whosoeuer beleeueth not remaineth in â—eath because the wrath of God tariâ—th vpon him He which hath not the â—onne of God hath not life hereof â—aith Iohn to the Angell of the church â—f Sardis Thou hast a name that thou liâ—est but thou art dead Hereof Christ calleth the Pharisees painted sepulchres whose soules were dead in their bodies for want of faith hereof he said to the young man Let the dead burie the dead And Paule to the wanton widowe that being aliue she was but dead Awake thou that sleepest and stand vp from the dead and Christ shall giue thee light you hath he quickened which were dead in your trespasses and sinnes By this that hath bin spoken we may see not one but all are subiect to the spirituall death being full of sinne and disobedience and so remaine those onely excepted which are quickened by Christ and are buryed by Baptisme into his death to die to sinne and liue to righteousnesse to the glory of him that dooth quicken them And as faith in Christ is the lyfe of the soule being dead through sinne so no faith can quicken vs which is not liuely in it selfe namely which apprehendeth not Christ which worketh not by loue which flourisheth not with fruites for faith without good fruits is dead And therfore to the end we may be reuiued being buried in our sinnes we must first beleeue in Christ which is our lyfe If our beliefe be liuely we must shew it forth by our fruits otherwise we may haue a name to liue and yet be dead Nowe to vnderstand this pointe the better learne what it is to be dead in sinne They are sayd to be dead in their sinnes whom Death still holdeth in the fetters and cordes of their sinne who cannot so much as mooue themselues to any goodnesse who haue no sence or feeling either of Gods mercie or their owne miseries Those to whom all goodnesse is vnsauerie whose bodies and soules are holden captiues of the diuell whom they serue as slaues which are like the deafe Adder that stoppeth her eares and will not heare the voyce of the charmer charme he neuer so wisely such as are wedded to their owne wicked willes whom the God of this worlde hath so blinded that they can neither heare nor beleeue the truth whose conuersion is as hard as to raise vp sonnes of stones vnto Abraham Here we ought to learne to lothe sinne which brings vs in such thraldome to Death and diuell which cuts vs off from God shuts vs out of heauen robs vs of saluation brings the wrath of God vpon vs which is vnmeasurable and infinite and neuer able to be fully satisfied but by only Christ who is infinite and of like maiesty with God his father Nowe to the end that the goodnesse of Christ and his grace which hereafter I minde to speake of may more appeare in so miraculouslie deliuering vs from the power of death and the deuils tyrranie it will not be amisse to set out the force strength sting thereof that the power of Christ in vanquishing the same may more be magnified The originall you haue heard already as also the discription who be subiect to it and their state in this their thraldome Now therefore marke that as the diuell and man together brought in death by sinning so it now being entred is become the very kingdome of Satan wherin he exerciseth his tyrranny By this death he sheweth his triumphing ouer man whome he so seduced in holding him so fast fettered in the linkes of his owne sinnes and so hath him as his slaue is counted as his Prince and ruleth ouer him as a head God did renounce vs although
he created vs and cast vs of whom he had made euen to the forme of his Image And as through sinne he gaue vs ouer to the deuill so he iustly appointed the meanes to hamper vs neither was this his doing contrarie to his iustice nay rather if he had not so done he should haue seemed to deny himselfe and to be repugnant to his worde pronounced In the beginning he created man in righteousnesse and holinesse according to his owne shape and likenesse So long as he kept this forme he enioyed his blessed presence his protection and prouidence ruled ouer him He wanted nothing that was necessary for him all creatures were his seruants they came at his call bowed at his beck euen the beasts of the fielde the fowles of the ayre and the fishes of the sea he put all things in subiection vnder his feete so that it forceth the Prophet to cry out and with a lowde voyce to exclaime O Lord how excellent is thy name in all the worlde what is man that thou art so mindefull of him or the sonne of man that thou so regardest him thou madest him lower then the Angels to crowne him with glorie and great worship he wanted nothing that harte could wishe he was placed in Paradise amongst all passing pleasures The ground of it selfe yeelded foorth her increase without toyle or trauell He was made Subiect to no creature but was Lord of all him onely excepted who had so preferred him This God and this Lorde for all these his graces and blessings vnspeakable required no great homage or seruice at his hand he exacted no high rente he did not ouer charge him But only this to shewe his soueraigne authoritie ouer him he gaue him a commaundement no weightie thing to be obserued but a matter easily to be performed to wit that he hauing aboundance of al things beside he should absteyne for his pleasure from tasting of the tree of good and euill and all this he did to trye his obedience Marke now on the other side this vnkinde creature this vngratefull wretch and wicked man forgetting God and what he had done for him casting all aside behinde his backe most traiterouslye villanously and most lyke a monster rebels against his Lord contemneth his Creator and sets his God at naught so listens to the deuill beleeue his lyes following lyke a beast his sensuall appetite and euen in that one thing forbidden spighteth his God regardeth not his worde feareth not Death that was threatned but eateth of the forbidden tree maugre the beard of God and his iudgements See therefore the greatnesse of his sinne and the due deserts of this euerlasting death which I spake of could any punishment bee great enough or any bitter plague bad enough for such a haynous fact that whereas God had giuen him such libertie and freedome of all things he would not so much as obey him in one Againe God did not onely binde him to obey him but threatned his disobedience If thou eate thereof thou shalt dye the death Notwithstanding both Gods commaunding and his threatning he is most carelesse and swiftly runnes headlong to sinne and wickednesse and so entred into such a masse of miseries whence neither he himselfe or his posteritie could euer vnwinde themselues For so abusing his owne freewill he lost it and was made a slaue vnto himselfe defacing Gods image he became like vnto the diuell and contemning life he found out death euen death erernall This was the wages of his sinne this was the hyer of his labour this great profit reaped he for his paines Marke nowe the fruite of his disobedience God thrust him out of Paradise and being extruded kept him out by Cherubins so he sawe his owne shame and could not couer his wickednesse his Figge leaues would not serue his turne but God accursed him and his seede he plagued the earth with barrennesse made all creatures feele the smart of this fall and as he disobeyed God so caused he disobedience in the creatures towardes him Hereof comes thefearcenesse of Lions Beares Tygers Wolues and all wilde beasts hereof arised all rebellions and warre disorder scarcitie dearth hunger cold nakednesse plagues murther and all kinde of miseries that are in the world all which are fore-runners of this eternall death and ringleaders to damnation And to conuince vs of this our accursed state the better God renewed his law first written as I said in nature but blotted out by our fall euen in tables of stone to shew vs the hardnesse of our hearts that so as in a glasse we might see our owne condemnation For amidst the heapes of other sinne pride so possessed our hearts that although we were nothing but sinne yet we thought our selues cleane holy and righteous We were so blinded that we knew not sinne vntill the law layd it open shewed vs our nakednes Without the law saith Paul we had not knowen sinne I knew not saith he sinne but by the law for I had not knowen lust except the law had sayd Thou shalt not lust But sinne tooke an occasiō by the cōmandement wrought in me al maner of concupisence for without the law sin is dead Not as though there were no sinne in the world before the publishing of the law for euen the Gentiles them selues which had not the law written shewed the effect of the law in their harts their conscience also bearing witnesse and their thoughts accusing one another or excusing and therfore being conuinced of sin in their soules without the lawe written are a lawe vnto themselues and sinning without the lawe shall perish without the law written by the lawe of nature ingrafted in their hearts This is prooued by many morrall vertues that they naturally followed and by many vices which they naturally hated This knowledge of the lawe of nature though vnperfect yet sufficient to confound them Albeit sinne indeed was then hidden in respect and their best knowledge of the lawe so ouershadowed and well nigh blotted that sinne could not appeare in his nature But when the lawe was renued sinne that seemed to be dead reuiued and shewed it selfe all our spots did then appeare which before were darkened by ignorance of Gods lawe which we gained by our fall The lawe then conuinced vs of sinne reuealed our nakednesse which our Fig leaues had hidden it opened the inward man with all his concupiscence it shewed vs our shame and confusion our vgelsome shape most monstrous to behold how wee were transformed from the Image of God to the similitude of the diuell it put vs in remembrance of our deuine nature which wee had lost it shewed vs hell and the wrath of God Nothing but condemnation appeared by it it let vs vnderstand how farre we were falne from God how all things both within vs and without vs were corrupted it painted out God in his nature according to his most pure holinesse and iustice how he requireth all our heart all
vs to death the least of which assuredly will pearse vs thorow were it not that the strength of Iesus Christ rebounded them backe and bluntens them He is our sheilde our buckler our helmet of saluation our castle and house of defence he couereth vs with his winges and we are safe vnder his feathers his faithfulnesse and his trueth doth still preserue vs. For all these dangerous dartes and a thousande more are nothing to his power their force is lesse and their violence is weaker then straw or stubble to the furnace Now therefore marke now these darts are dasshed Gods iustice in deede was gon out it could not be reuoked Man must keepe his law or man must die an eternall death Hereupon it pleased Christ to become man for our sakes and so as man to satisfie the Law of God for our sinnes that Gods trueth might not be altered No Angell or Saint could be our sauiour in this case but man who had offended God Now man of him selfe being too weake to beare this heauie burthen Christ was God and man that so he might suffer as man and saue as God Our mediatour was God and man Man and God were foes and therefore being God and man he reconciled man to God And as the first Adam by transgressing brought death vpon all so the seconde Adam through obeying brought life to all beleeuers Gods purest iustice could not exact the thing which he fulfilled not it required the fulfilling of the Law This he accomplished being the ende of the Law and the Prophets He was the very substaunce of all the Ceremonies and the body of all their shadowes of the Law He was circumcised he payd tribute he was obedient in all thinges and was vnder the Law so that his comming was not to breake but to fulfill the Law It required perfect holinesse in man he therefore was a man without sinne conceaued by the holy ghost And therefore he is not afrayde to say to the faces of his foes Which of you can rebuke mee of sinne Yea the Iudge him selfe that condemned him washed his handes as a witnesse of his cleannesse I finde no fault in this iust man True therefore is the saying of the Apostle That he was made sinne for vs that knew not sinne that we should be made the righteousnesse of God through him He is truely called the Pascall Lambe most pure and vnspotted that taketh away the sinnes of the worlde To him al the Prophetes beare witnesse that iustly through his name is preached the remission of sinnes and that there is no other name vnder heauen by which we can be saued Thus he fulfilled the law for man being man him selfe his obedience was most perfect he left nothing â—nfulfilled And as he kept the Law which man had broken so likewise he â—id pay the penaltie for his trasgression The breach of the Law was the cursse of God and eternall death He thereâ—ore became accursed and susteyned â—eath euen the death of the Crosse acâ—ursed of God And so by death ouerâ—ame death by this cursing brought he blessing of God vpon vs. He canâ—elled the handwriting and obligation â—hat the Deuill and Law had layde against vs he nayled them to his Crosse â—nd made it voyde So that now the â—aythful may triumph through Christ Death being swallowed vp in victorie â—hey may boldly excleayme and say O Death where is thy sting O Graue where â—s thy victorie For the sting of death beâ—ng sinne and the strength of sinne beâ—ng the Law and both sinne and lawe being taken away through Christ there â—s no condemnation that now remayneth And therefore thankes be vnto God who hath giuen vs the victorie through Iesus Christ our Lord. Foâ— he hath taken our sinnes vppon his backe he hath satisfied the Lawe oâ— God not for him selfe but for vs Hee dyed that wee might liue hee was accursed that wee myght be blessed hee was buried that wee myght rise from our graues hee descended into hell that wee myght ascende into heauen his righteousnes is our righteousnes and our sinnes are his This exchange dyd he make for our sakes And therefore through him by fayth being dead in our sinnes we are reuiued quickened and strengthened All his merites are reputed vnto vs as though they were our owne and our sinnes are truely his for which he suffered and satisfied to the vttermost Christe is our onely Sacrifice the fountayne of grace and vertue the portion of our inheritance our righteousnesse wysedome â—atisfaction and redemption our â—oore to heauen the way the trueth â—nd the lyght our attonement vnto God our Sheppard Maister Lord and King To be short he is all in all to vs that â—re nothyng This our Christ hath brogated the Lawe and hath redeeâ—ed those that were vnder the Lawe nd he him selfe is the ende of the Lawe and that which the Law could â—ot doe he hath accomplyshed And therefore O Deuill let Gods â—eople goe for the Lawe cannot holde â—hem And therefore O Death yeelde â—p thy power thy sting and strength â—s nothyng the Lawe being fulfilled â—nd sinne remoued The seede of the woman hath bruâ—ed the Serpentes head Christ hath â—edde Captiuitie captiue and giuen gyftes to men He hath reconcyled and made as one all thynges both in heauen and earth he hath plucked downe the partition wal in abrogating through his flesh the hatred that remayned There is neither Iew nor Gentile bound nor free Scithian nor Barbarian for all are one in Christ He hath made the Wolfe to dwell with the Lambe and the Leopard to lie with the Kid he hath made the Calfe the fat Beastes the Lions so tame that a litle chylde may leade them the Cow the Beare with their young ones not onely feede buâ— lie togeather the sucking Chylde doth play vpon the hole of the Aspe yea euen the weaned child most safely puts his hand into the caue of the Cockatrice Christ hath now dissolued the workes of the Deuill and broken his snares a sunder that all beleeuing sinners should be made righteous by him wayting for eternall lyfe He hath opened the eyes of the blinde and broughâ— the prisoners from their dungion and them that sate in darknes hath he placed in light To conclude By his death and passion he destroyed sinne and so was death in the same victory maymed For sinne is the sting of death And when death had lost his sting was conquered in Christs resurrection from death Satan also lost his strength and power which rested onely on them which through sinne were in danger of death For the wages of sinne is death Finally because hell only deuoureth them that through sinne and death are slaues to Satan It foloweth that the other three were by him so mightely vanquished that hell also with all the danger thereof was subdued and we deliuered from al their tirrany according to the saying of Zacharie He hath performed the oth which he sware to deliuer vs from