alter the state condition of the persons once dead but such workes as they themselues caried with them such shall they rise withall vnto their iudgement whether lampes of louing faith to the praise of God or cressettes of corruption to their owne condemnation And thus I will conclude with the spirite of Gods sentence our best moderator and so passe to the last braunch Io. 5.28 Maruell not at this sayth Christe for the houre shall come in the which all that are in the graues shall heare his voice And they shall come forth that haue done good vnto the resurrectiō of life But they that haue done euill vnto the resurrection of condemnation The same assurance of doctrine Gods spirite by Paul doeth deliuer vs saying 2. Cor. 5.10 We must all appeare before the iudgement seate of Christe that euery man may receiue the thinges which are done in his bodye according to that hee hath done whether it bee good or euill Note well this doctrine and amend your liues rest not vppon the doubtfull doctrine of poperie O dearely bought children of GOD but fixe your faith in this absolute doctrine of sound warrant which is yea and amen Then here you may perceiue that after death there is no temporarie prison as Popish purgatorie but a perpetuall lake of fire which is the second death And also that after this life there is no remissiō of sins to any that hath not obteined that grace during this time of repentance But euen in what state the soule departeth from the bodie at the comming of death euen vnchanged hee retyreth to the same bodie at the last for the déeds done by himselfe and not for the workes of any other done after him And to receiue his iudgement whether through faith in her fruites vnto life in Christ or because of sinne and Sathan to eternall death This is the sound and sure doctrine of our good God But as for the gainefull and paineful preaching of poperie and her purgatorie as a most venemous Serpente flée from it that you may escape the seconde death and be partakers of the felicitie of the iust which our text saith is this For they shall bee the priestes of God and Christ and shall raigne with him a thousande yeares Cicero hath saide that true beatitude or blessednesse consisteth of two partes Namely to be frée from al kinde of want and miserie and so to abound in all goodnesse that on no parte he néedeth to aske further Surely this very happinesse shall come to all those which be partakers of the first resurrection First they shall be frée from all woe and miserie in the ende of their course for the seconde death shall haue no power of them And they shall abounde in all felicitie for they are blessed holy and shall therefore raigne with Christ for euer more And here againe beloued note with me what it is to be blessed and holy Namely to haue forgiuenes of our sinnes in Christes death Heb. 9. and by the same to be purged and segregated from dead workes to serue the liuing God Psal 32.1.2 Rom. 4.7.8 Blessed are they saith Dauid whose iniquities are forgiuen whose sinnes are couered blessed is the man to whome the Lorde doeth not impute sinne And then againe note who they be that are so blessed by Gods censure here marke it wel and thou shalt sée it Not they that liue so vprightly that God hath not any thing to lay to their charges for none such can be founde amongest the sonnes of men For what is he that liueth and sinneth not yea more then seauen times a day Psal 14.1 53.4 No flesh is righteous in Gods sight for all haue sinned Rom. 3.23 all haue gone out of the way euery man his seuered course this after this sinne another after that and all are therefore depriued of the glory of God Dan. 9.5 All are taught to cry We our fathers haue sinned wee haue done vniustly but deale not with vs O Lord in thine anger for then wee perishe but in the multitude of thy mercies haue thou mercie vpon vs and forgiue vs our trespasses And heerein consisteth the felicitie of the iust that they haue féeling heartes of sinne and penitent spirites for their transgressions humbled soules void of hypocrisie before the Almightie God confessing with teares in great remorse agonies their heaps of corruptions before him Euen Marie Christes mother the Apostles and all the foure electe of God Then are these mixed persons whome the Papistes make the thirde sorte to goe to purgatorie onely they which are blessed and are the whole number of the electe All which as they confesse them selues worthie the seconde death because of Sinne and no wayes can merite eternall life because their beste workes are full of corruption So they mightily triumphe ouer sinne Esa 30.22 death and hell because they are purged in the bloode of the lambe Reuel 7.14 and haue their garmentes made white are pardoned of their former sinnes by faith in hys bloode are sanctified vnto godlinesse Yea so long as they liue they confesse because they féele the burthen of sinne in them but they reioyce in this felicitie that his spirite worketh in them an ardent zeale and burninge desire to liue in godlinesse and honestie according to such portion as the Lord doeth giue them in their parte of the first resurrection And hee that seeth not this nor hath the practise of the premisses is blinde and hath forgotten the purgation of sinnes Last of all forget not this our Apostle doth not say Blessed is he 2. Pet. 1.9 which hath perfection in the firste resurrection but blessed is hee that hath hys part in the first resurrection So as though there bee in vs yet the remnauntes of sinne and we can not quite shake off that which cleaueth so faste on Heb. 12.1 or fully créepe from that burthen that presseth so harde vpon vs therefore alwayes of this sort that are before called mixt yet that Mediocritie or mixture can not sende vs to the second death if we haue our part in the firste resurrection But I would not leaue thy conscience to bare affirmations There be verie sounde reasons to drawe thy confidence to this comforte 1. Reason The firste is the great mercie and rich clemencie of God the father whose mercie hath béene such towardes vs that when wée were his enemies through sinne hee hath euen then reconciled vs to himselfe by his grace howe much more therefore nowe shall he estéeme vs for his and embrace vs with his armes of mercie séeing we being so reconciled séeke for his spirite to dwell in his loue If hee from his wrath deliuered vs whē we had no care of him shal he not much more nowe deliuer vs shew a parte thereof which they say is purgatorie nowe that our chiefe desire is to séeke after him and doe lament at the verie heart
liuing God with reuerent feare by his mercie and Christes merite to be raunsomed from the paines and power thereof Of whose power we thus say The second death which is hell hath a double power or prerogatiue The first is a prerogatiue to receiue such persons as of right doe belong vnto her The seconde is perpetually to kéepe their soules in that lake till the day of iudgement and can neither be coniured or commaunded to deliuer any one of them or can they come out of her by any authoritie or power of Pope or whole papasie but after that day shall possesse both the bodies souls of the malignant Church to her euerlasting tormentes Nowe what soules and persons doe belong to her our Apostle doth tel vs in the 21. of this book saying But the fearefull and vnbeleeuing and the abhominable Apoc. 21.8 murtherers whormongers idolaters sorcerers al liers shal haue their part in the lake which burneth with fire brimstō which is the second death Thrée sortes of persons Gods spirit doeth assure vs to be vnder the power of the second death That is the obstinate Infidell the fearefull Papiste and the abhominable couetous of the worlde as drunkards whoremongers murtherers couetous liars and such like Delicate be your delightes yee gallants of these dayes but wisely call them to account before the mourners followe the sinfull corps to the graue Eccle. 12.1 c. For if the Lord which is the searcher of the heart find your delights with death to end in infidelitie in fearefull poperie or in any these carnal abhominations thē deceiue not your selues for the prerogatiue of the second death may not be taken frō her God is a iust God Rom. 2.6 and in his iustice will iudge euery mā according to the verie nature of his worke Note here also that ciuill honestie without Christs diuinitie cannot kéepe the honest Infidel and vnbeléeuer from the second death For we possesse the heauens by inheritance onely and we are none otherwise made heires thē by this prerogatiue that we are made the sōns of God Io. 1. And wee are none otherwise made the sōnes of God but by our faith in Iesus Christ Nor can this faith bée else obtained but by the spirite of God Or doth this spirit otherwise ordinarily worke it in vs then by the preaching of the word of God But the infidell reiecteth the worde 1. Thes 4.5 and therefore Gods spirite likewise our Christ and in him our heauenly father and so finally this heauenly inheritance And as for our honest life and good workes they serue but so seale vp the heartes of the faithfull to thassuraunce of their election and to procure others to prayse the Lorde being benefited by them in vs. But the onely hand that apprehendeth our inheritance in Christ is our firme fixed faith in him beléeuing by his word and spirit in the full consent of our hartes that he is the same which the most mercifull father hath giuen him to be to vs That is our wisedome our iustification our holynesse our frée and most absolute redemption 1. Cor. 1.10 and so in the bottome of our heartes doe by faith embrace him 2 The second sort subiect vnto hel are the feareful papistes who shal neuer so dying escape the second death And if you will marke with me this Epitheton fearefull therewith measure in truth the popish profession you must of méere necessitie grant me that no papist dying in his popery can be else where placed but in the second death And to your better vnderstāding hereof you must distinguish betwixt feare feare for there is a feare cōmended cōmanded to vs in the holy scriptures Psa 111.10 as The feare of the Lord is the beginning of wisedom cōmanded Psa 2.10.11 Serue the Lorde in feare reioyce to him with trēbling Again Feare god honor the king 1. Pet. 2.17 loue brotherly fellowship But this is that feare which Gods spirite planteth in his children to serue him in his true worship is euer ioyned with assured knowledge affiance in God And in the knot of christiā mariage Psal 58.9 Psal 112. Psal 118. this sacred feare is rightly shadowed for the wife feareth to offend her husband but it is for reuerēce loue to him neuer wtout affiance of his fauor because she knoweth him to be her maried husband So likewise the godly child doth feare to displease his father not bicause he doubteth of his loue but for that he would not gréeue the spirit of his life whō he feleth most assuredly in natural knot fast tyed to him And though his father lend him a frowning face he knows that those his lookes proceed of fatherly loue to his correctiō wherof persuaded so he feareth so he trusteth so he naturally loueth obeieth him And this knowledge loue driueth away filthy feare which gendreth painefulnes But the feare that Iohn speaketh of is flat contrarie to this It is begotten by distrust in god it is borne of ignorance it liueth to dispaire dieth in gret painfulnes what other is the whole profession of popery but méere timiditie They euer distrust god of his promise during their life therefore they die in feare of his fauor at the houre of death If he say That soule that sinneth shal die they beleue him not but walke frō sin to sin committing more trust to a Popes bul thē credit to the immortal word of god If the Lord say and sweare also Verely verely Io. 5.24 he that heareth my words beleueth in him that sent me hath euerlasting life shall not come into condēnatiō but hath passed frō death to life yet the papist is afraid to rest vpō this promise for he doth not absolutely beléeue it but is in feare notwtstanding that after death his soule shal go to condemnation if not to hell yet at the least to purgatory Though the spirit of God say There is no condēnation to thē that are graft in Christ Iesu whose life is not after the flesh but after the spirit yet the papist wil not beleeue that he ought to be assured of this Christian rocke to rest vpon but casteth himselfe into the raging sea of wauering distrust Which feareful persuasion hath béene the very building of al Abbies priories popish paultries from many yeres past vs and doth bréede great blasphemie to the glorie of God For first it taketh away the foundation of our faith in the merite of Christ which is the God almighty is become our father in him and that he is nowe well pleased with vs and as a father not onely doeth pardon our sins but so tenderly loueth vs that our necessities whatsoeuer he carefully helpeth It taketh away also this holy boldnes in loue which his spirit doeth assure vs of and Christ doeth teach vs to cry vnto him Math. 6. O thou that art our father
Secondly the popish doubtfulnes taketh away the benefite of Christ his sonne For we are taught to beleue the Christ is dead for vs that he is the lambe of God which taketh away our sinnes that nothing can condēne vs because our Christ hath iustified vs and is deade risen againe and set at the right hand of God for vs so that in him we that truely beléeue are more then conquerours so as neither hell or heauen man or Angel prince or diuell things present or to come can separate vs from our benefite and loue of Christ This certaintie the booke of God doth teach vs but from this anchorholde the diuell and poperie laboureth to drawe vs. Thirdly it taketh all godly consolation from vs in the day of tentation layeth vs open to Sathans iawes For who can lift vp his heart in tentation that fighting with his enimy much stronger thē he hath no hope of his captaine Christ the strongest of all or in the mercie of God to defende him It also taketh away ardent earnest prayer to God for who can with comfort crie in triall that standeth in feare he shall not be hearde but in the ende he falleth into dispaire hate of God to all loosenesse of life and ruffianlike boldnes taking lust to liue in sinne not expecting other then hell at the ende Laste of all the popish doctrine of doubtfulnesse fighteth flat against the nature of our Christian faith which is not a light opinion of our God and Christ his loue to vs and our saluation in him but a most firme stable and sure foundation setled in our soules so as neither fire in earth nor powers in hell can burne or raze it out of our heartes that wee are sealed by his spirite in the faith of his Christ Rom. 8. to be his children and fellowe heires with our eldest brother Christ our Lorde in his great loue wherw t he hath loued vs yea euen when we were his enimies Wherefore we are taught that bee faithfull Rom. 5. to holde this for most certaine that though wee be wicked of our selues yet are wee iustified by his grace in our faith and haue peace with God and frée accesse in one spirite to God our father nowe and shal be receiued to him of Angels when we departe this life as this our text doth also tell vs. Hell shall not touch vs but we shall raigne with God his priestes and holy ones for euer Cast off popish fearefulnesse therfore acquaint your selues with the hearing of the word of God so shal yée learne to be firme in faith sure to liue Here be touched also all those which feare men rather then God and in time of persecution runne from religion or in the presēce of popish princes iudges tormentours or before a balde Masse-priest dare not confesse the Lorde but to saue his momentary life doth cast away the eternall Hee that will saue his life shall lose it Matt. 10.38 Mark 8.35 Luk. 9.23 Io. 12 2◠he that shal lose his life for my sake and the gospels shall saue it saith our sauiour Christ Pray pray pray the Lorde to pull you out of poperie beloued and in speede come out of Babilon Apoc. 18. which is appointed to be cast into the fierie lake least being partakers of her sinnes yée also féede of her plagues The thirde sort which shall to hell are the abhominable murtherers harlots and such like These abhominable are to be vnderstoode of such persons as hauing once professed the trueth of God are now not onely become to hate it but most filthily they blaspheme it persecute and torment those that professe it to whom is reserued fire brimstone Heb. 6. Heb. 10. The rest are so manifest as néede no commentarie onely let vs knowe that murtherers be they which kill wound or hurt themselues or their neighbours either with the sworde of an hateful heart 1. Io. 3.15 as Iohn saith or with the sharpned tongue as Dauid saith or with the hande as Caine did his brother Habell Psa 120.3.4 And forget not that the seconde death is the receptacle for all such as die impenitent hereof The seconde parte of deathes power in hell is fast to retaine her captiues from the houre of their death with Diues vntil the day of the last resurrectiō which thing is most plainely proued by the storie of Diues and Lazarus Luk. 16. Nowe beloued the papists graunt with vs that in the hel 's there is no redemption but they say that in the earth there are distinct thrée sorts of mē One sort most holy another sort most wicked and the thirde sort of a certain mixture neither so holy as straight vpon death they demerite to goe to heauen or yet so wicked as at all they can be sent to hell but are for a time committed after death vnto the paines of Purgatorie and must thence bée delyuered not by mercie but by merite of Masses dirtie diriges popes paltries called pardons and such like And here is your foundation and your cause of prayer for the deade In aunswere wherof we graunt some persons are so sanctified in earth that straight from hence they goe to heauen but not for any their merite For they are taught to holde that hauing done all they can Luke 17.10 yet they are none other but wasting and vnprofitable seruauntes And that some are so wicked that straight they goe to hell as all obstinate rebellyous and trayterous papistes feareful wretches and abhominable persons we firmely beléeue But that there are any so imperfect that for their imperfection they are stayed from heauen and for their remnant of holynesse cannot come to hell and therefore of necessitie must tumble into a popish purgatorie this we flatly affirme to be a foolish opinion without warrant from God And touching these mixed persons surely the Church neither hath had or shall haue any other Of women was not that most holy maide Marie the blessed mother of Christ one most sacred Io. 2.3.4 But both the holy scriptures and her owne confession conuinceth her of sinne but she is saued by her Christ Luk. 2. saying My spirit doth reioyce in God my sauiour And for her daily sinnes she as al other is taught to pray forgiue vs our sinnes So also in her blessed bodie was sure faith great loue a pure heart and much godlynesse wherefore beholde a certaine mixture Also of men the Apostles were the most pure and yet not without the bodies of sinne What else moueth Paul to crie to the Romans Rom. 7.24 O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from the body of this death And this our most holie Iohn in his first Epistle doth accuse himselfe 1. Io. 1.8 all other Apostles of sin saying If we say that we haue no sinne we deceiue our selues c. Thus they liued thus they dyed with this battel against sinne but had