horrible torment of Stripes Thornes Wounds Sinewes and ioynts our Sauiour hoong on the crosse aboue thrée houres in most perfect sense with most extream paine till the verie instant that hee breathed out his soule A violenter death by fyre or otherwise our Sauiour might happilie haue suffered but a more painfull with perfection of patience neuer martyr much lesse malefactor did or could endure The torments of others when they are violent do either hasten death or ouerwhelme the sense and so the paine when it is most grieuous is least perceiued In Christ there was no such thing He died not by degrées as we do his senses did not decay no pangs of death tooke hold of him but in perfect sense and perfect patience both of bodie and soule he did voluntarily and miraculously resigne his spirit as hee was praying into his fathers handes Longer tortures others haue endured but neuer greater for the time nor with like patience For in all men Christ excepted though the spirit be neuer so willing the measure of faith neuer so strong yet vnles it please God to shorten or lighten the rage of their paine the flesh repineth at the present anguish howsoeuer grace support the soule that it sink not vnder the burthen But He which shortneth and lightneth the force of torments in his saints when they be grieuous in his owne would doe neither He spared not himselfe that knoweth how to spare his but suffered and indured all to the vttermost with so exact obedience and patience that he did not shrinke at the paine nor striue with death but yâ—elded so voluntarie a sacrifice to god that in the sharpest torments he made no shew of sense nor suffered his flesh so much as to tremble or struggle with paine or death The manner of rendring vp his soule the Scriptures and Fathers do carefullie obserue Saint Iohn thus describeth it When Iesus had tasted of the vinegar hee said all is finished bowed his head and gaue vp the Ghost Whereupon Bernard saith It is a great infirmity to die but so to die doth plainlie proue an infinite power S. Luke reporteth that Iesus cried with a loud voice to shew himselfe to be frée from any touch of death and saide Father into thy handes I commend my spirit Whereupon Hierom obserueth that the Centurion hearing his prayer and seeing him Statim spiritum sponte dimisisse presently of his owne accord to sende forth his spirite Commotus signi magnitudine mooued with the greatnesse of the wonder saide Truly this man was the sonne of God Augustine largely handling the maner of his death saith Who can so sleepe when he wil as Christ died when he would Who can so laie aside his garment at his pleasure as Christ laid aside his flesh Who can so leaue his place as Christ left his life with how great power shall he come to iudge that shewed so great power when he died Christ himselfe ralifteth these obseruations with his owne mouth in the Gospell of saint Iohn None taketh my soule from mee but I laie it downe of my selfe By this we may perceiue the coniunction of the Humane nature with the Diuine in the person of Christ was so fast and sure that neither sinne death nor hell assaulting our Sauiour could make anie separation no not of his bodie but he himselfe of his owne accord must put off his earthlie tabernacle that dying for a season he might conquer death for euer and so the laying downe of his life was no imposed punishment nor forceable inuasion of death vpon him but a voluntary sacrifice for sinne rendred vnto God for our sakes to appease the wrath and satisfie the curse which our manifold wickednes had most iustlie deserued Thus farre without feare we maie fréelie extend the crosse of Christ by the warrant of the holie scriptures Some men in our daies stretch it a great deale farther to the death both of bodie and soule and to the WHOLE PAINES OF THE DAMNED IN HELL but vpon how iust grounds when you heare you may iudge as you sâ—e cause This opinion hath growen by degrees and euerie daie taketh newe encrease At the first men contented themselues to thinke Christ suffered the paines of hel that is great and intolerable paines which metaphoricall kind of speach the Scriptures will beare if we conclude no worse meaning withâ—â— those words Out of the bellie of HEL saith Ionas I cried and thou heardest my voice The sorrowes of HEL compassed me about saith Dauid and the griefes of HEL tooke hold of me Some others affirme that Christ in sustaining the wrath of God due to vs wrastled with the verie powers of hell that sought to fasten on him and howsoeuer beholding the terror of Gods vengeance prouoked by our sinnes he did somtimes tremble yet by firme faith alwaies fixed on God he repelled and repressed those assaults of Satan and so saued not himselfe onely but vs also This might be indured if men could stay here it were to be wished that in matters of so great weight and danger we would rather try where we are then hasten to go onward But as water breaking her bankes still runneth and neuer stayeth so some lighting on other mens inuentions neuer leaue adding till they marre all In the case which we haue in hand the name of Hell paines being once admitted into the worke of our redemption some in our daies will no nay but that Christ on the crosse suffered the selfe same paines in soule which the damned do in hell and endured euen the death of the soule yea others auoucâ— that hee sustained farre greater torments then anie are in hell to wit as much paine in 15. houres as all the faithfull should haue suffered euerlastinglie and that as well in body as in soule To these dangerous deuises are some men slipt in our time And because I knowe not when or where they will make an ende I thinke it néedfull for discharge of my dutie and direction of your faith as well to set downe certaine limits beyond which you may not go as also to reiect such extremities as by no meanes may be closed in the crosse of Christ without apparant impietie The paines of hell if I be not deceiued make a fourefold impression in the soules of men a carefull feare which declineth them a doubtfull feare which conflicteth with them a desperate feare which sinketh vnder them and a damned feare which suffereth them The first is and must be in all the godlie and chieflie in Christ himselfe For the more we loue God the more wee detest and shunne all separation from God Hell therefore which is an vtter exclusion from the kingdome of God is most iustlie abhorred of all his saints and speciallie of his owne Son who not onelie by will but by nature is one with his Father A conflict with Hell if it come not from the inward
nos dicere existimo I think we speake not without reasoÌ„ If respect of his persecutors could thus agonize him what could the regard of his own followers doe how did the weaknesse of his owne disciples afflict him when the wilfulnesse of his enemies did so preuaile with him Hee warned his disciples of the danger and they vaunted of their strength he willed them to praie and they slept and when he was apprehended they did euerie one forsake him yea the stoutest of them did plainelie forsweare him Hee might therefore iustlie be grieued with their infirmitie and earnestlie praie for their securitie His tender care of them and earnest praier for them appeareth in the 17. of Iohn euen as hee entered into the garden hee called vpon them to watch and praie that they entred not into temptation Dormiunt saith Ambrose nesciunt dolere pro quibus Christus dolebat the Disciples slept and caÌ„nottel how to sorrow for whom Christ sorrowed Tristis erat non pro suapassione sed pro nostra dispersione Tristis erat quia nosparnulos relinguebat Hee was sorrowfull not for his owne suffering but for our dispersing He was gréeued because hee left vs yong and weake Hilarie in his tenth booke de Trinitate largely pursueth this occasion of Christo agonie concludeth Non ergo sibi tristis erat neque sibi orat sed illis quos monet orare peruigiles Christ is not sorrowfull for himself nor praieth for himself but for those whoÌ„ he warneth to watch and pray And for their sakes he â—aith the Angell was sent to comfort Christ that hee should take no longer griefe and feare for his Disciples The Angell being sent to protect the Apostles and the Lord receiuing comfort thereby Ne pro his tristis esset iam sine tristitâ—ae mâ—tu ait dormite requiessite That he should no longer grieue for them beginneth nowe to be without griefe and feare and saith to them sleepe now and take your rest Nam quinobis tristis est eâ— est propter nos tristis est necesse est vt proptennos sit comfortatus nobis for he that was sorrowfull for our sakes and in our behalfe must of force be comforted for vs and to our vse The desire and care Christ had to sée his kept safe from the rage of Satan leadeth me to the fourth cause of Christs agonie For if Christ were so sad for our infirmitie how sorrowfull then was he for our iniquitie whereby we â—dde not one lie 〈◊〉 our selues open to danger but euen wound our selues to death and deseruetion Well saith Ambrose of this matter Mihicompatitur mihi trist is est nahi doleâ— Eâ—go pro mo in me doluit qui pro senâ—d habuir quod doleret Dâ—lesâ— igitur domine Iesu non tuâ— sed mea vulnera non tuam mortem sed nostâ—am infirmitaetem Christ is affected for mee sadde for mee and greened for mâ—e Hee sorroweth for mee and in mee who had nothing in himselfe to bee sorowed for Thou grieuest Lord Iesu not at thine owne wounds but at mine not for thy death but for my weakenesse Inward sorrow for sin is preciselie requisite in all remission of sinnes To sinne and not to be sorie for if is first to displease and then to despise God Wherefore it is not possible to appease Gods wrath once prouoked but with earnest and heartie sorrowe that euer we offended Then as corruption is the mother and pleasure is the life of sinne so the inward affliction and contrition of the soule in all the godlie is the death of sinne And since we are neither willing nor able to sorrow sufficientlie for our sinnes why might not the son of God when her tooke vpon him the purgation of our 〈◊〉 in his own person take likewise vnto him that inward earnest sorow for our sins which neuer creature before him or besides him did or could expresse Godly sorrow causeth uâ— vs repentance vnto saluation and a troubled spirit is a sacrifice vnto God Of this kind of sorrow to supplie the weaknes and want of true repentance in vs all and to teach vs heartilie to lament our sins the more wee attribute vnto the soule of our Sauiour the more sufficient euerie way we make his satisfaction for sin that did not onelie render recompenâ—e by his life and suffer vengeance by his death for our sins but for déepelie sorrowed for them that in his agonie aboue nature he sweate bloud after a strange and maruellous maner The fift cause of Christs agonie might be the cup of gods wrath tempered and made readie for the sinnes of men In the hand of the Lorde is a cuppe saith Dauid it is mixed full the wine thereof is redde all the wicked of the earth shall wring and drinke the dregges thereof In this cuppe are all manner of plagues and punishmentes for sinne as well spirituall as corporall eternall as tâ—mporall The mixture of which â—â—ppe Christ perfectlie knowing and carefullie shunning the dregges thereof earnestlie prayed this cuppe might passe from him I knowe diuers men haue diuerâ—â—iâ— expounded these wordes of Christ some thereby collecting two willes shewed in Christ a diuine and humane the one submitting it selfe to the other some noting a difference betwixt the vnwillingnesse of our flesh and readinesse of the spirite euen in the manhoode of Christ some also thinking that Christ corrected and reuoked his petition suddenly â—lipt from him by the vehemencie of griefe which tooke from him the present remembrance of gods heauenly decree In this varietie of iudgements to refuse none that agréeth any way with the rules of truth Christ might behold three things in the cuppe of Gods wrath and by his praier accordinglie decline them to wit eternal malediction corporall castigation aboue his strength and the separation of his bodie by death from the fruition of God What was due to our sinnes Christ could not be ignorant and as he became man to quicken our souls that were dead not to kill his owne and to bring vs to God not to seuer himselfe from God so knowing what our sinnes deserued he might intentiuelie pray to haue That cup passe from him which was prepared for vs was heard in that he declined or feared Christ saith Paule in the dayes of his flesh did offer vp praiers and supplications to him that was able to saue him from death and was heard 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the reuerence had of him for so Chrysostome Theodorete Oecumenius and others not vnlearned as I thinke in the Gréeke tongue doe interprete the worde or as others delight rather to say He was heard in that he feared 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying feare and care as wel as reuerence Paule meaneth that praier saieth Theodorete which CHRIST made before his passion when he said Father if it be possible let this cup passe from me And indéed
him alone in the power of his pursuers vntill he died Vt homo loquitur meos circumferens metus quod in periculis positi a domino deseri nos putamus Christ speaketh as a man saith Ambrose bearing about him my feares for y t we when we are in danger think our selues forsaken of God Ne mireris querimonias derelicti cum scandalum crucis videas Maruaile not at Christes complaint that he was forsaken when as thou seest how he was vsed on the crosse Derelictus est Christus pro parte carnis Christ was forsaken in his passion as touching his flesh A third is that Christs godhead together with his humane soule were then departing from his bodie and leauing it vnto death Tertullian Deus Filium dereliquit cum hominem eius tradidit in mortē Ita relinqui a patre fuit mori filio God forsooke his sonne in that he deliuered his humanity vnto death So for the sonne to die was to be forsaken of his father Hilarie Habes conquerentem se esse relictum ad mortem quia homo est vt intelligentia nostra sit homo mortuus deus regnans Thou heardest Christ complaine that hee was left vnto death that we should conceiue he died as a man he raigned as a God And againe Clamor ad deum corporis vox est recedentis a se verbi dei contestata dissidium relinquitur quia erat homo etiam morte peragendus Christes complaint vnto God that hee was forsaken is the voice of his body testifying the separation of the diuine nature from it for a time He is forsaken because he was a man to be consummated by his death Epiphanius saith hee spake these words When he saw his deitie with his soule readie to depart from the person of his humanity to forsake his body A fourth is that where God for sin had refused and forsaken man euen from the fall of Adam Christ nowe exalted on the tree reconciled mankind vnto God and slue hatred making peace by his prayer betwixt God man Cyril whē Adam transgressed the diuine commaundement mans nature was after a sort forsaken of God and therby subiected to a curse and death These words of Christ therfore Erant soluentis manifesté derelictionem quae nobis acciderat quasi placantis in hoc patrē c. Were the manifest remouing of that derelictiō which fel on vs and as it were an appeasing his father and procuring his fauor towards vs as towards himself Basil Dicit haec dominus primitiae humanae naturae pro vniuersa The lord speaketh these words for all mankind as being the first fruits of mās nature Otherwise of his own person it is true that Athanasius saith Neque enim à patre derelinqui potuit quia semper est in patre antequam hanc vocem ederet post quam edidisset Ecce enim dicente cur me dereliquisti ostendit pater sevt semper antea ita tum quoque in filio fuisse He could not be forsaken of his father who was alwaies in his father both before and after he spake these words Behold as hee vttered these words why hast thou forsaken me the father shewed himselfe to be euen then in his sonne as he was at all times before For the earth feeling the weight of her Lord straight wayes trembled the vaile rent the Sunne darkened the stones claue the dead rose The fift that Christ putteth vs in mind by these wordes to acknowledge the cause why God doth often not heare our prayers but in refusing our desires prouideth better for vs then if we had our wils Vox ista quare me dereliquisti doctrina est nō querela Nam cum in Christo dei hominis vna sit persona nec ab eopotuerit relinqui à quo non poterat separari pro nabis trepidis infirmis interrogat curcaro pati metuens exaudita non fuerit This speach saith Leo My God my God why hast thou forsaken me is an instruction and no complaint For where in Christ there is but one person of God and man and he could not be forsaken of God from whom he could not bee separated he asketh the question for vs that are fearefull weak why flesh fearing to suffer is not heard Vnde ipsa vox non exanditi magni est expositio sacramenti quod nihil humano generi conferret redemptoris potostas si quod petebat nostra obtineret infirmitas The verie wordes of him that was not heard open to vs a great mysterie to witte that the power of the redeemer coulde doe mankinde no good if our infirmitie might obtaine what it woulde aske Origen sayth In respect of that in which consisted the inuisible forme of God Christ was forsaken of his father where hee tooke the shape of a seruant and came to the death of the Crosse which amongst men was most shamefull So that for Christ to become man and to suffer on the Crosse was to bee forsaken of God in comparison of that glorie which hée had with his Father before all worldes The last exposition is that when the Iewes reproched Christ on the Crosse as reiected of God he with a loud voice that all might hear sang or cited the beginning of the 21. Psalme wherein it was by the Prophet Dauid foreshewed that the true Messias and sauiour of the worlde should suffer all those wronges and shames which they had heaped on him and thereby taught them that they had gathered themselues togither to do whatsoeuer the hand and counsaile of God had determined before to be done The Lord saith Ierom hanging on the Crosse vseth this verse My God my God why hast thou forsaken me by which wee perceiue that in the Crosse he sang the whole Psalme as directly pertaining to his passiō Christ spake these words saith Chrysostom that the Iewes might know hee honoured his father to the last breath and that God was not his enemie as they obiected for which cause he vsed the Prophet Dauids words to verifie or fulfill the scripture of the old testament All these interpretations are sound and stand well with the rules of christian pietie without dishonouring the person or disturbing the faith of Christ therfore I cannot but maruel what reason our late writers had to refuse them all and deuise another exposition of their owne which imploieth not onlie desperation in Christs soule if wee presse the wordes and the dissolution of Christes person but an euident contradiction to all that Christ did or saide on the crosse or in iudgement after the Iewes had once laide handes on him For if these words be referred to the soule of Christ and unport a generall and true dereliction which must be supposed before the paines of hell can thence be concluded Christ féeling and confessing himselfe to bee forsaken of God coulde haue neither faith nor
inter redimenteÌ„ redemptum dispensatio non compensatio fuit Let vs vndoubtedly beleeue that hee redeemed the whole worlde which gaue more then the whole world was worth Betweene the redeemer and the redeemed there was a dispensation of humilitie no compensation of equality And to shewe the truth of his spéech he addeth Innocency was arraigned for the guiltie mercie was buffeted for the cruell piety was whipped for the vngodlie wisdom was mocked for the foolish righteousnes was condeÌ„ned for the vnrighteous truth was slaine for the liar life died for him that was dead And doe wee yet remembring who he was and what we were stagger to confesse with these Christian and Catholike Fathers that his bloud was a most sufficient price for all the world or woonder we to see death ouerthrowne by his death who was the fountaine of life and could no more bee swallowed vp of death then God himselfe could be conquered by the power of darkenesse The mightier Christs person the more able he was some will say to suffer death hell he would be partaker of our mortall infirmitie that by suffering death for the time hee might conquer the force thereof for euer but the gates of hel could not preuaile against him because the Prince of this world had nothing in him The inward man may be strongest when the outward man is weakest and when the flesh is nearest vnto death the spirit may cleane fastest vnto God Christ therefore in dying for our sakes shewed a most euident and eminent example of his obedience loue and patience but in suffering hel there is no signe of grace nor shew of vertue Uoluntarilie to forsake God or willinglie to be forsaken of God is the greatest impietie that can bee committed And against his will Christ neuer did nor might suffer anie thing for that had beene violence not obedience vengeance not patience force not loue But all constraint was farre from Christ that his sufferings might be a voluntary sacrifice to witnesse his loue and declare his merits which in compulsion could be none Since then the sonne of God neither willinglie would nor forciblie could be forsaken of his Father it is a dangerous deuise to subiect his soule to hell which is the totall and finall separation of the wicked from God and his kingdome And that wee may a little the better be thinke our selues before we growe too resolute in this assertion that Christes soule suffered the verie paines of hell I will obserue some things which the scriptures affirme of hell may not be applied to Christ without apparaÌ„t iniurie First hel is outward and inward darkenesse nowe Christ was light and in him was no darknesse of the soule As long as I am in the worlde I am sayth hée the light of the worlde Then as the light hath no fellowshippe with darkenesse no more had Christ with hell which is the power of darkenesse from whence hee hath deliuered vs. Secondlie hell is destruction both of bodie and soule Feare not them saith Christ which kill the bodie but cannot kill the soule feare him rather which is able to destroie both soule and bodie in hell In the Sauiour of both wee maie not admitte the destruction of both howe shall he saue vs that could hardlie and as some write MAXIMA CVM DIFFICVLTATEâ—punc with much a do saue himselfe But God sent his sonne to bee the Sauiour of the worlde We must not therefore wrappe him within the destruction of bodie and soule no not for an hower or an instant Thirdlie hell is the second death The first is of the bodie for a time the second is of the soule for euer The lake burning with fire and brimstone this is the second death saith Saint Iohn Of this death Austen saith De prima corporis morte dicipotest quòd bonis bona sit malis mala secunda vero sine dubio sicut nullorum est bonorum ita nulli bona Ideo vero secunda quia post illam primamest The first death of the bodie is good to the good and euill to the euill but the seconde death without doubt as no good man suffereth it so is it good to none and therefore it is called the seconde death because it followeth after the first Before the first death no man suffereth hell which is the seconde death and before wee maie auouch it of Christ wee must take all goodnesse from him for doubtlesse sayeth Austen no good man dooth suffer it And indéede howe pernicious it is to make the soule of Christ lyable to the death of the soule I shall afterwarde haue occasion to speake In the meane time S. Iohn affirmeth that hell goeth not before death but followeth after death I looked saith he and beheld a pale horse and his name that sate on him was death and HEL FOLLOVVED AFTER HIM and therefore it cannot stand with truth to subiect the soule of Christ yet liuing on earth to the very paines of the damned Fourthly their WORME in hell neuer dieth for so much as the remembrance of their sinnes committed against God euerlasting lie biteth and afflicteth the conscience Now in Christ as there was no taint of sinne so could there bee no touch of conscience accusing nor remorse of any transgression agaynst God With compassion of our sinnes he might be moued and troubled but worme of conscience hee could haue none who was priuie to his owne heart that he was holie harmlesse vndefiled and separated from sinners and therefore needed no sacrifice for his owne sinnes but as a faythfull and mercifull high Priest by the offering of him selfe once made an attonement for the sinnes of the people But what the paines of the damned are the sentence of the Iudge will best declare Discedite à me maledicti in ignem aeternum Depart from mee ye cursed into euerlasting fire prepared for the diuell and his Angels In which wordes there are foure things which by no meanes can agrée vnto Christ REIECTION MALEDICTION VENGEANCE OF FIRE CONTINVANCE THERIN FOR EVER As sin is a voluntary separation of man from god so hell is a totall and finall exclusion of the sinfull froÌ„ enioying the presence or patience of God anie longer The time of this life is the respite of Gods patience towards all the wicked with the ende thereof beginneth his eternall vengeaunce which wholie and for euer debarreth the workers of wickednesse from the kingdome of God This reiection the soule of Christ could not suffer beeing inseparablie ioyned to the Godhead of Christ. We must not in stead of a naturall and mutuall coniunction beléeue or teach a reall effectuall separation betwixt God and man in the person of Christ no not a perswasion thereof in the soule of our Sauiour which is all one with Desperation and sheweth the condition rather of the Reprobate then of the children of God much lesse of him that
VNA SVA CORPORALI ac voluntaria benigne potenter occurrit ILLAQVE SVA VNA NOSTRAM VTRAMQVE DAMNAVIT Where man was condemned vnto a double death to witte in either part of his nature the one death spirituall and voluntarie the other corporall and necessarie God beeing made man did mightilie and mercifullie release both our Deathes with his ONE CORPORALL and voluntarie Death and with THAT ONE DEATH OF HIS DESTROYED BOTH OVRS And so concludeth Dum sponte tantum in corpore moritur vitam nobis iustitiam promeretur VVhiles Christ dyed willinglie and ONELY in his BODY he merited for vs both righteousnesse and life I hope to all men learned or well aduised it will séeme no Iesuiticall phrensie but rather christian catholike doctrine that the son of God dying for our sinnes suffered NOT THE DEATH OF THE SOVLE but ONLIE OF THE BODIE by the hands of the Iewes and by the bodily bloudie sacrifice of himself did not only redeeme clense both our souls bodies but destroied sin death purging our transgressions by the merit of his obedience swalowing vp death by power y t of his life And howsoeuer the scriptures sometimes affirme that hee gaue himselfe a ransome for all men and the Fathers likewise teach that hee gaue his flesh for our flesh and his soule for our soules yet neither Scriptures nor Fathers haue anie meaning either to subiect Christ to the death of the soule which assertion they abhorre as wicked or to diminish the force or fruit of his bodily death which they extoll as most sufficient but to expresse that in the death of his flesh on the crosse his soule did suffer the sense of paine and smart of death which parted the bodie and soule in sunder and so ioyntlie with the bodie and seuerallie by it selfe the soule of Christ had not onely temptations afflictions and passions but euen endured the naturall sting and sharpenesse of death to which he submitted his soule that he might haue the feeling of our infirmities and in all things bee tempted as wee are but still without sinne How Christ gaue himselfe wholy for vs we maie learne out of Bernard Sicut TOTVM HOMINEM saluâ—m fecit sic DE TOTO SE HOSTIAM fecit salutarem corpus exponens tantis supplicijs iniurijs animam vero geminae cuiusdam humanissimae compassionis affectui inde super moerore inconsolabili sanctarum foeminarum inde super desperatione dispersione discipulorum In his quatuor crux domiâ— mea fuit As Christ saued the VVHOLE MAN so of HIMSELFE WHOLIE hee made a wholesome sacrifice yeelding his bodie to so great torments and wrongs and his soule to the feeling of a double most tender compassion on the one side for the vncomfortable greefe of the holie women on the other side for the desperation and dispersion of his disciples In these foure consisted the crosse of Christ. Since then the death of Christ did both affect and afflict his soule and his bodie iustlie might Irenaeus say The Lord bought vs with his owne bloud and gaue his soule for our soules and his flesh for our flesh For in dying hee layde downe his soule not onelie to sorrowe gréefe and paine but euen to the bitter diuorce of death that brake the communion of bodie and soule Sicut TOTVS SEMETIPSVM tradidit TOTVS HOMO SEMETIPSVM OBTVLIT ita totus homo ANIMAM SVAM POSVIT cuÌ„ anima in cruce moriente carne discessit As WHOLE Christ gaue HIM SELFE saith Fulgentius and the WHOLE MAN OFFERED HIMSELFE so the whole man LAYD DOWNE HIS SOVLE wheÌ„ the flesh dying on the crosse the soule departed So that Christ yéelded his soule for our soules to the susception of sorrow prepossion of paine and dissolution of nature but vnto the death of the soule he did neither offer nor yéelde himselfe since that is a separation from God and exclusion from grace from which it was vtterlie impossible the soule of Christ could either willingly or forceablie for an houre be remoued yea where you find the suffering of his soule witnessed there shall you see the DEATH OF HIS FLESH ONELIE to be auouched Quia TOTVM HOMINEM deus ille suscepit ideo TOTIVS HOMINIS in se passiones in veritate monstrauit ammam quidem rationalem habens quicquid fuit infirmitatis animae sine peccato suscepit pertulit vt dum humanae animae passiones in anima quam accepit vinceret nostras quoque animas ab infirmitatibus liberaret Carnem quoque humanam accipiens in eiusdem veritate carnis veritatem voluntariae habuit passionis vt IN CARNE MORTVVS TOTAM in se HOMINIS OCCIDERET MORTEM Because the sonne of God tooke vnto him the WHOLE NATVRE of man therefore he shewed in himselfe the sufferings OF THE VVHOLE MAN and hauing a reasonable soule he tooke vpon him and endured all the infirmities of the soule but without sinne that whiles in the soule which he tooke hee conquered the passions of mans soule he might free our soules also from infirmities Taking likewise mans flesh in the truth of the same flesh he suffered a true and voluntarie passion that DYING IN THE FLESH hee might kill in his person the WHOLE DEATH dew to man Christ endured the passions of the whole man hauing neither bodie nor soule frée from suffering but yet he died ONLY in the FLESH and thereby he killed the WHOLE DEATH inflicted on the body and soule of man Quis ignorat Christum IN SOLO CORPORE MORTVVM sepultuÌ„ Who is ignoraÌ„t that Christ in BODY ONLY DIED and was buried And againe Sicut in MORTE SOLIVS CARNIS immortalis fuit sic in passionibus totius hominis impassibilis omnino permansit The godheade of Christ was immortall when ONELY HIS BODY DIED and impassible when the whole man suffered Moriente carne non solum deitas sed NEC ANIMA CHRISTI POTEST OSTENDI COMMORTVA When Christs bodie died not onelie his deitie but his SOVLE CANNOT BE SHEWED TO HAVE BEEN PARTAKER OF DEATH Wherefore I easilie admitte the wordes of Nazianzene to be true that euerie part in man is sanctified by the like in Christ our condemned flesh by his flesh our soule by his soule our vnderstanding by his vnderstanding yea I dislike not the wordes of Cyrill Carnem suam in redemptionis pretium pro omnium carne dependit animam suam similiter pro omnium anima redemptionis pretium constituit quamuis iterum reuixerit vita secundum naturam existens Christ yeelded his flesh as a ransome for the flesh of all men and made his soule likewise a price to redeeme the soules of all though he were restored againe to life as beeing life by nature so long as we abuse not his wordes to maintaine our fansies impugning his generall and setled doctrine that sufficient for the redeÌ„ption of the
voluntarily committed by him Christ then beeing frée from all sinne might not suffer the inwarde or euerlasting death of the soule but corporall and temporall reproch and paine which God might and did recompence with eternall ioye and glorie Thirdlie that soule which sinneth that soule shall die This is the setled rule of Gods iustice and therefore Christs soule which sinned not could by no iustice die the death of the soule To laie down his life for vs was loue and thankes with God but willinglie to separate himselfe from God for vs was no waie to reconcile God to vs or to bring vs to God He must therefore cleaue fast to God in soule whose death shall bee pretious in Gods sight as was Christs If the soule bee seuered from God the death of the bodie is detestable in his eies as beeing the wages of sinne and therefore no more acceptable to GOD then sinne it selfe but where the soule hating the infection of sinne and loathing the infirmitie of the flesh resigneth it vnto death for Gods glorie and the good of others And in this respect the death of the bodie maie bee a sacrifice vnto God but not except the soule doe liue and cleaue to God without separation Then hatefull to GOD was the death of Christ if his soule were first hated or accursed if that were beloued and blessed of God it coulde not choose but liue for God is not the God of the deade but of the liuing So that the death of Christes bodie on the Crosse was by no iustice an acceptable sacrifice vnto God if his soule were first deade But his death was so precious in Gods sight that in the bodie of his flesh through death he reconciled vs vnto God his soule was therefore aliue and in fauour with God yea so abundantly blessed and highly accepted for the holines humilitie and obedience thereof that God was pacified and pleased and we all sanctified with THE OBLATION OF THE BODY of Iesus on the altar of the crosse Lastlie the flesh of Christ by Gods iustice must bee as able to purge vs from sinne as Adams was to poyson vs with sinne But the flesh of Adam infected all his posteritie with sinne and death ergo the flesh of Christ must haue as much force to clense and quicken the faithfull both in this life and the next Of this iustice Paul speaketh when he saith since by man came death by man must come the resurrection of the dead For as in Adam all die euen so in Christ shal al be made aliue The first Adam WAS THE FIGVRE of the second Adam that where sinne abounded there grace might abound much more As then by one mans disobedience manie were made sinners so by the obedience of one shall many bee made righteous The obedience of Christ which here Paule mentioneth is his obedience vnto death euen to the death of the crosse and the righteousnesse of the faithfull is the forgiuenes of their sinnes through the redemption that is in Christ Iesus I wil not here dispute whether the soule be created and infunded or else traduâ—ed from Adam as well as the flesh I meane not with curious or superfluous questions to busie mens heades that which the scriptures deliuer touching the deriuation of sinne and death from our first parents I may safelie teach and you must necessarily beléeue That we were fashioned in iniquitie and conceaued in sinne the words of Dauid doe exactlie witnesse and no maruaile For who can make that to bee cleane which commeth from the vncleane yea sinne cleaueth so fast vnto our flesh that when the eies of our heart are lightened and the spirit of our minde is renued so that the inwarde man delighteth in the law of God EVEN THEN haue we an other law in our members rebelling against the lawe of our minde and leading vs captiue vnto the lawe of sinne the one so contrarie to the other that we cannot doe the things which we would by reason the affection or liking of the flesh cannot be subiect to the lawe of God This fight betwixt the flesh and the spirit is so durable that it cannot bee dissolued but onelie by death Though Christ bee in vs and the spirit liue for righteousnesse sake yet sinne so dwelleth in vs that is in our â— mortall bodies that whiles we liue in minde we serue the law of God but in our flesh the lawe of sinne From Adams flesh wee deriue this infection of sinne that sticketh so fast vnto vs after we are regenerate and new borne againe of water and the holie ghost and this is the roote and nurse of all sinne and the cause of death to al men If Christ be in you the bodie is dead because of sinne From Christes flesh then we must receiue the purgation of sinne both inherent in vs and committed by vs or else Adams flesh is stronger to wound vs then Christs is to heale vs which is repugnant to the iustice of God by which the grace of God must bee farre mightier vnto saluation in the bodie of Christ then the force of sinne was vnto condemnation in the bodie of Adam vnlesse wee make sinne of more power to kill then God is to quicken which is to exalt the diuell aboue God and his sonne For God was in Christ reconciling the worlde to himselfe by whose bloud the partition wal is broken down and hatred abrogated through his flesh that wee might bee reconciled vnto God in one bodie by his crosse But the death of the bodie they will saie hath no proportion to the death of the soule and therefore the one cannot in iustice excuse the other There is farre greater distance betwixt the sonne of God and the sonnes of men then betwixt the bodies and soules of men These differ as creatures and both inferiour vnto the angels but there is the excellencie of the Creator aboue the creature which is simplie infinite Whatsoeuer therefore it pleased the sonne of God to suffer for our sakes it was most sufficient for our redemption howbeit to demonstrate his loue hee would be partaker of our infirmitie and mortality least we should loath our condition or grudge at the chastisement of our sinnes but if we set a side the dignitie and vnitie of his person then is no waie the death of the soule or the paines of hell which they imagine Christ suffered proportionable in exact iustice to the true wages of our sinne For what equiualence hath one soule with all the soules of the Saints or one daies anguish which Christ felt in soule as they suppose with that euerlasting fire which wee shoulde haue suffered in bodie and soule for euer set aside I saie the respect of the person which suffered for vs and in the rest they shall neuer bee able to prooue anie proportion of iustice diuine or humane But as
I haue fullie shewed before the worthinesse of the person is the surest ground of our saluation and chiefest weight of our redemption and therefore his death is of infinite force and his bloude of infinite price euen as his person is For since all mens actions are and ought to bee esteemed according to the giftes which they haue and place which they holde from GOD whie shoulde not the death and bloud of Christ bee valued in Gods iustice according to the height and worth of his person and if in all thinges wee receaue honour not due to our fleshe wherein wee partake with Beastes but fitte for the soule wherein wee communicate with Angels howe seemeth it strange in our eyes that the dooinges and sufferinges of Christ Iesus which hath the natures of God and man in a surer and nearer coniunction then wee haue our soules and bodies shoulde not bee reckned and accepted in GODS iustice as the ACTIONS and PASSIONS of HIS OVVNE SONNE and haue their value from the diuiner and worthier parte of Christ As the death of Christes flesh ONELIE doth more expresse the TRVETH POVVER AND IVSTICE of God then if the death of the soule had beene ioyned with it so the same setteth forth Christes merites namelie his OBEDIENCE PATIENCE and LOVE in farre better sorte then if wee adde vnto it the death of the spirite which is the rewarde of all the reprobate and damned For what a man vnwillinglie suffereth that sheweth neyther obedience nor patience Obedience hath readinesse and patience if it bee perfect hath gladnesse both haus willingnesse If then wee bee forced against our willes to endure that which wee woulde gladlie auoide it is violence it is neither obedience nor patience and consequentlie it hath neither merits nor thankes with GOD. The death then of the soule which is a separation from the fauour and grace of God did Christ suffer it willinglie or vnwillinglie if willinglie there coulde bee no greater neglect of GOD then to bee willing to bee separated from God It were disobedience and insolence in the highest degree to be glad and forwarde to forsake God or to bee forsaken of him Christ therefore must not bee willing to suffer the death of the soule least wee wrap him within the compasse of contemning and reiecting the grace and fauour of GOD which are sinnefull enormities Was hee vnwilling to suffer it then coulde hee bee neither obedient nor patient in suffering it All vertue is voluntarie compulsion hath no merite God loueth a cheerefull giuer and sufferer Hee that murmureth in heart rebelleth though hee holde still his tongue So likewise I must aske if Christ suffered the death of the soule did hee suffer it iustlie or vniustlie if vniustlie God could not be the sole and immediate agent in imposing it and besides God no creature canne bereaue the soule of life Did hee suffer it iustlie then must hee be voide of all vertue for nothing but sinne deserueth the death of the soule Obedience and patience merite thankes with God and cannot wante the blessing of God where the death of the soule is the greatest curse that God inflicteth heere on earth And where they thinke it woulde greatelie increase the loue of Christ towardes vs if hee vouchsafed to taste the death of the soule for our sakes I replie that supposition woulde make Christ a sinner if not a lyar which God forbid shoulde once enter our thoughtes For â—irst Christ saieth Greater loue then this hath no man that one should laie downe his life for his friendes But God commendeth his loue towards vs that whiles we were yet sinners Christ died for vs. If it be loue for a man to loose his soule for his friend then is there found a greater loue then Christ euer knew for he saith there is no greater loue theÌ„ for a maÌ„ to laie downe his life And the Apostle applying it to Christ saith The height of Gods loue was this that Christ died for sinners that is for his enemies not for his friendes sinne beeing enmitie to God and sinners enemies to the holinesse of his will and glory of his kingdome This loue of Christ by which he died for vs we reiect as little worth vnlesse hee endured the losse of Gods fauour for vs which I take to bee sinne and not loue For loue is due first and aboue all to God then to men this order of loue if we breake it is no charitie it is iniquitie What doe all wicked ones but preferre the loue of themselues or of others before the loue of God to loue men so well that wee waxe willing to forsake the fauour and fellowship of God is transgression against God and not compassion towards men and therefore wee maie not bring the sonne of God within the listes of this loue no not for an houre by reason the loue of God afore all others may not faile in the hart of Christ not for a moment bee it neuer so short For our loue then he tooke flesh when he was God which was infinite humilitie and gaue his life for his enemies which was exceeding charitie and in the course thereof referred himself wholie to the wil and pleasure of God which was exact obedience willinglie but wrongfullie suffering whatsoeuer the malice of Satan and rage of the wicked contriued against him the wise and gracious counsell of God so turning the mischiefe of the diuell and his members to the generall good of mankind that Christes innocent and righteous bloud being furiously and vniustly shed by the hands of his enemies became the true sacrifice for sinne and the full price of mans redemption Farther then this if we will force the sonne of God with our fancies as namelie to the death or curse of the soule wee doe not onelie diminish the strength of his loue towardes God but we debase the price of his bloud and make it rather detestable then acceptable in Gods sight For nothing can please God but that which is RIGHTEOVS INNOCENT HOLIE VNDEPILED And in a dead or cursed soule what place leaue we for these giftes and graces of the holie Ghost Since then our high Priest must be holie harmelesse vndefiled and separate from sinners before his sacrifice coulde bee accepted the soule of Christ must necessarilie bee replenished with all goodnesse and embraced with all fauour before the death of his bodie could be an offering of a sweete sauour vnto God and so the power of Christes death is no whitte encreased but altogither weakened if wee conioyne it with the death of the soule The death of the soule then doth not encrease the obedience patience and loue of Christ towardes vs but doth rather decrease and endanger all the vertues of our Sauiour For if Christ suffered the death of the soule which is Gods immediate action since God will offer his owne sonne neither violence nor wrong wee must confesse that Christ deserued the death
of the soule and admitted it as due vnto him to which absurdities if wee come wee leaue nothing sound in our saluation Caâ—â— we him iust that deserueth or holie that desireth to be forsaken of God I thinke not Then all Christs sufferings must be INIVRIOVS before hee can be IVST and VOLVNTARIE before they can be a SACRIFICE vnto God Both which are witnessed by the worde of God as likewise by the ancient fathers THIS IS THANK-VVORTHIE saith Peter if a man for conscience towards God endure grief SVFFERING VVRONGFVLLY For what praise is it if when ye be BVFFETED for your FAVLTS ye take it PATIENTLIE But if when ye doe well ye suffer patientlie this is acceptable vnto God For hereunto are ye called for so CHRIST SVFFERED FOR VS leauing vs an example that we should follow his steppes Christ therfore suffered as well VVRONGFVLLY as PATIENTLY Malefactors may be patient but that is no merit with God He must be both innocent and patient that will haue thanks from God So was Christ He did no sin and so was innocent when he was reuiled he reuiled not againe when he suffered he threatned not which proueth his patience This verie testimonie the theefe on the crosse giueth him We receiue punishment worthie of that we haue done but this maÌ„ hath done nothing amisse Quod iuste debebat Adam Christus iniusté mortem suscipiendo persoluit What Adam iustly owed saith Austen that Christ vniustlie paied by suffering death Pergit ad passionem vt pro debitoribus nobis quod ipse noÌ„ debebat exsolueret Christ goeth to his passion to pay that for vs debtors which hee did not owe. De humanitate suscepta tantum beneficij collatum est hominibus vt à dei sempiterno filio eodemque hominis filio mors temporalis indebita redderetur qua eos a sempiternâ morte debità liberaret Peccata nostra Diabolus tenebat per illanos merito figebat in morte Demisit ea ille qui sua non habebat ab illo immeritó est perductus ad mortem Tantum valuit sanguis ille vt neminem Christo indutum in aeterna morte debita detinere debuerit qui Christum morte indebita vel ad tempus occidit By Christ taking mans nature this benefite men get that the eternall Sonne of God and the same also the sonne of man suffered a temporall death not due to deliuer them from an euerlasting death due The Diuell laide sure holde on our sinnes and by them helde vs deseruedlie in death Those hee remitted that had no sinnes of his owne and was without anie desert brought by the Diuell vnto death But such was the force of Christes bloud that the Diuell had no right to detaine anie man that put on Christ in eternall death due for so much as hee slue Christ with death for the time which was no way due Mediator noster punirâ— pro se ipso non debuit quia nullum culpae contagium perpetrauit Sed si ipse indebitam mortem non susciperet nunquam nos à debita morte liberaret Our Mediatour for himselfe ought not to bee punished because hee neuer sinned But if hee had not suffered a death not due hee coulde neuer haue freed vs from the death that was due If the temporall death of the bodie were not due to our Sauiour much lesse was the death of the soule due vnto him And if no death were due that which hee suffered was wrongfull Then might God bee the permitter directer orderer and accepter of Christes death on the Crosse but hee coulde not bee the immediate inflicter of it because it was wrongfull and vndeserued much lesse might GOD in iustice forsake his soule that with so great obedience patience and innocencie humbled himselfe to the will of his heauenlie father That likewise hee suffered nothing agaynst his owne liking his owne mouth testified when he said Nemo tollit animam meam à me sed pono eam à meipso No man taketh my life from mee but I lay it downe of my selfe And else where The sonne of God loued mee and gaue himselfe for mee Loue your wiues as Christ loued the Church and gaue himselfe for it If it were loue then was it no constraint nor violence that forced him thereto If hee gaue himselfe for vs it must needes bee voluntarie whatsoeuer hee suffered Demonstrauit spiritus mediatoris quà m nulla poena peccati vsque ad mortem carnis accessorit quia non eam deseruit inuitus sed QVIA VOLVIT QVANDO VOLVIT QVOMODO VOLVIT The spirite of the Mediator shewed that without anie punishment of sinne it came euen to the death of the flesh which hee did not leaue agaynst his will but BECAVSE HE VVOVLDE VVHEN HE VVOVLDE AND HOVVE HE VVOVLDE Et natus passus mortuus est nulla sua necessitate sed voluntate potestate Christ was borne and suffered and died not for anie necessitie that vrged him but of his owne will and hauing it in his owne power If Christ might suffer nothing but what hee woulde and as hee would the death of the soule hee did neuer suffer for thereto hee coulde not be willing without sinne by reason it is a separation from God and a losse both of his heauenlie fauour and holie spirite from which Christ willinglie would neuer be excluded The summe is since the TRVTH and IVSTICE of God might not release the sin of man without fulfilling the sentence of the Iudge THOV SHALT DIE THE DEATH and that by man for so much as man was the trespasser God so loued the world when none of the sonnes of Adam was able to restore his owne soule much lesse to ransome others that hee sent his owne sonne to become man and as by the dignitie and puritie of his person to counteruaile and ouerweigh the soules of all men so by his paines and death on the Crosse to verifie and satisfie the iudgement of God pronounced against man and to quit him from all danger following death And to trie the obedience shew the patience and augment the merits of the Redeemer the wisedome of God decreed that his sonne in our substance should violentlie and wrongfullie bee put to death euen by their handes for whose sakes he laid downe his life that his loue might so much the more excéede in praying for his persecutours and dying for his tormentors The shame and sharpenesse of the crosse so iniuriouslie imposed on the holinesse and worthinesse of Christes person and yet so obedientlie and patientlie endured by him God so highlie esteemed and recompenced that hee made his death the ransome of all mankinde and his bloud to bee the purgation and propitiation of our sinnes his obedience wyping awaie our disobedience his fauour quenching the displeasure his blessednesse alâ—ering the curse his death finishing the vengeance that was due to our iniquities This is the
to his suffering them for the time he might breake them and dissolue them for euer Naturall infirmities which are outragious in vs by reason of our corruption Christ might suffer to arise within him and there temper them as Cyrill other ancient fathers do teach but sinfull extremities as desperation confusion reiection damnation Christ must conquere by repelling not by suffering least the fellowship of our sinnes be more hainous in him then in vs. For as his faith hope and loue must by manie degrées exceed ours in perfection so the quenching or slaking of these graces in him is greater sinne then in vs. Doubt and distrust is farre more impious in Angels by reason of their excellent knowledge and strength then in men and most impious in the soule of Christ who by his personall vnion with God deriued clearer intelligence in knowing Gods will and greater assurance to persist therein then either man or Angell For the verie Angels haue but the condition of their creation from which some fell and confirmation of grace in which the rest stand but no creature euer had so fast coniunction and full communion with the godhead as the soule of Christ. And therefore DVBITATION DESPERATION TREPIDATION in his soule are more hainous sinnes then in any other creature for somuch as they beleeue not y e truth trust not the promise rest not secured in the VOICE and OATH of God which all are immutable and impossible to bee false and feare least Gods goodnesse and loue will faile and in fine doe depriue him of his diuine nature since without veritie bonitie and constancie there can be no God It then Christs soule could not be infected with sinne nor haue anie societie with euill no not for an instant these doubts and feares of Gods fauour and his saluation must be farre from him and in the full perswasion and steadfast expectation of eternall ioy and blisse howe desperation should lodge I yet vnderstand not God might reueale and the soule of Christ in this life beholde as all ours shall when we appeare before the face of God after this life what cup was prepared for the wicked to drinke and the sight thereof as it is most fearefull so might it make him tremble though he were neuer so frée from it but more then the VISION of Gods wrath and COMMISERATION of mans danger if wee attribute to the soule of Christ we must either grant he was tempted as well with our iniquities through lacke of grace as with our infirmities through want of strength or else cast him into a traunce at the time of his passion as some doe to excuse him from sinne For that in the fulnesse of Gods fauour grace and spirite the soule of Christ shoulde feele the flames of hell fire can neither bee prooued nor defended by the worde of God The proofe I leaue to them that like the position which if anie man affirme he were best bee sure of his footing It is no small arrogancie and blasphemie to sit Iudge in Gods place and to condemne Christs soule to hell fire without a sounde and cleare commission to warrant that assertion Besides hell fire in the Scriptures being ETERNALL by what authoritie will they quench it at their pleasure and make it temporarie And if Christes soule beeing personallie ioyned to the Deitie notwithstanding might feele the furie of hell fire when shall the Saints of God that can neuer bee so vnited vnto his glorie nor assured of his societie nor so endued with his sanctitie bee free from the flames of hell If that vnion and communion which Christ had with God coulde not exclude hell fire what shall hinder but that the Angels in heauen maie for the time likewise feele the flames thereof Can they haue faster coherence or fuller presence of God then hee which was ioyned with God in vnitie of person They come not neere the fauour and grace knowledge and truth power stedfastnes of the manhoode of Christ which here on earth they did serue and adore But none of these things can be intended in the Creede for there the articles are placed in ORDER and TIME as they were performed And therfore when Christ was DEAD AND BVRIED he then DESCENDED INTO HELL The second opinion is that Christs descent to hell is all one with his buriall for that SHEOL in the olde testament doth most commonlie if not continuallie signifie the graue But this is nothing to the Creede whose authoritie and antiquitie if wee reuerence it is soone concluded that hell there doth not signifie the graue For first it is absurde that in a short rehearsall of the faith made for the simplest to conceiue one article shoulde bee twice repeated and after a plaine and knowne worde hee was buried which no man could doubt of a darke and enigmaticall phrase of spéech HE DESCENDED INTO HELL which fewe men did vnderstande should bee added rather to obscure then to expound the former Againe HE DESCENDED signifieth a voluntarie motion where as the bodie dead hath neither VVILL nor MOTION Thirdlie HELL in the new testament is so vnusuall for the graue that I thinke no example can be shewed thereof Though therefore this exposition cannot be charged with falsitie for Christ was trulie buried yet may it not bee endured by reason of the idle repetition and strange circumloquution which troubleth and confoundeth the hearer besides the improprietie and incoherence of the worde that a deade corps should descend and speciallie vnto hell The third opinion doth neither mistake the TIME nor the PART which descended for they referre the words of the Creede to Christes SOVLE after DEATH but they change the name of hell into the state of the deade and so conâ—esse that Christes soule after separation from the bodie endured THE STATE OF THE DEAD To this a number of learned men incline because they would auoyde Limbus patrum disliking by all meanes that the soules of the righteous and faithfull before Christes suffering shoulde be kept in a region or part of hell and thence deliuered by his descent I see well enough what they woulde faine decline but what if by their farre fet exposition they fall into that errour which they seeke to flie Doe they not fairelie profer and quite besides the marke Let vs looke a little into their conceite Christ descended into hell that is saie they his soule after death conuersed among the soules of the iust that were dead before him But where were the soules of the iust In a place or no Without a place can nothing be but onelie God All creatures be they soules or angels are desined with place though they doe not replenish their places as bodies do yea what soeuer is not circumscribed within a place is infinite which no creature can bee The soules then of the righteous must of necesstie bee in a place And what call you that place by your opinion Forsooth euen HELL For Christs
proper sense of the diuine oracles as their pleasures This rule therefore must be helde throughout the scriptures y t in mysteries of religion we diuert not from the natiue proper significations of the wordes but when the letter impugneth the grounds of christian faith charity Otherwise we shal leaue nothing sound sure in the word of God if we may auoid al things by figures that please not our humors To this lesson saith Austen whereby wee take heede not to interpret a figuratiue speach as if it were proper we must adde an other that wee take not a proper speach as if it were figuratiue First then we must shewe the meane how to finde out whether the speach bee figuratiue or proper And this is the way to discerne them vt quicquid in sermone diuino neque ad morum honestatem neque ad fidei veritatem proprie referri potest figuratum esse cognoseas that whatsoeuer in the diuine scripture CANNOT PROPERLY be referred to the honestie of maners or to the verity of faith thou maist be sure it is FIGVRATIVE So long then as the proper sense of the scriptures may stand with the Analogy of faith and direction of charity we offer violence to the word of God if wee wrest it to a figuratiue vnderstanding From this rule which must be obserued throughout the body of the scripture if we do not rashly slide it is no harde matter to shew where Christes descent to hell is expreslie recorded in the scriptures The words are well known often alleaged if men were not disposed to peruert or elude them with their enigmaticall allegoricall constructions Thou VVILT NOT FORSAKE MY SOVLE IN HELL nor suffer thine holy one to see corruptioÌ„ If Christs soule in hel were assisted with the glorious power and presence of God ergo Christes soule VVAS in hel And THERE it could not be without DESCENDING THITHER The descent then of Christes soule into hell when it was seuered from the bodie is apparantly witnessed in the scriptures howsoeuer the diuers conceits of men doe diuersly expound it To take the SOVLE for the CARCAS HEL for the GRAVE as some do if it be not a wrested exposition I am sure it is not the proper interpretation of the words and therefore in mysteries of faith by no meanes to be admitted To let the soule retaine her true signification and by hell to meane paradise where others defend the soule of Christ was al the time that his bodie lay in the graue if it be not a misconstruction it is no literall exposition of the place and in my iudgement a verie strange kind of figure it is to expresse Christs ascent into Paradise by his descent into hell so to expound the words of the Créed that we draw them to a cleane contrary sense If therefore we leane sorcing wresting the words of the holy ghost let their proper true signification stand as wel y e words as the circumstances wil exactly proue that y e soule of Christ after death DESCENDED INTO HEL That this was performed after Christ was dead and consequently when his soule was seuered from his bodie there can bee no question as I haue shewed before for that Christ saieth his flesh SHAL LIE DOVVN or take rest in the tabernacle of his graue IN HOPE that God VVIL NOT FORSAKE HIS SOVLE IN HEL and in this hope Christ died this assistance was therfore giâ—en him after death That his soule must be taken properlie for that part which after death sawe the power and presence of God not forsaking him as well the separation of the bodie as fruition of Gods assistance do plainelie proue Whiles we liue the bodie or soule may rightlie import the whole man but after death it is more then absurd to take the soule for the bodie or the bodie for the soule yea in men here liuing wee must take héede that in matters of doctrine we mistake not the one for the other In matters of fact to note the person by either part can be no danger but in their attributes and properties to confounde them is to leaue nothing certaine in christian religion Tertullian saith truly Certe peruersissimuÌ„ vt carnem nominantes animaÌ„ intelligamus animam significantes carneÌ„ interpretemur Omnia periclitabuntur aliter accipi quam sunt amittere quod sunt dum aliter accipiuntur si aliter quam sunt cognominantur Fides nominum salus est proprietatum It is most peruerse that the flesh being named wee should vnderstande the soule or the soule being signified wee should interpret it for the flesh All thinges shall be in danger to bee otherwise taken then they are and to loose that they are whiles they are mistaken if wee call them by other names then their owne The distinction of their names is the preseruation of their properties And yet in these words the case is cleèrer For heere are both partes expressed and distinguished as well by their NATVRES and PLACES as by their NAMES Christs soule was not forsaken in hell but enioyed the glorious assistance of God euen there where God forsaketh all others Christes flesh lying dead without sense in the graue was there preserued from all corruption For Dauid saith Peter spake of Christs resurrection that his SOVLE was not forsaken or left in hel nor his FLESH saw corruption Quum diuidit species carnem animam duo oftendit saith Tertullian When the scripture deuideth the kindes as the soule and the flesh it noteth two distinct things Since then Peter doth not onlie so reporte but so interpret Dauids wordes that hee spake of Christs soule and Christs flesh it is euident they must be two distinct and different thinges both in Dauids prediction and in Peters application Againe in these words is not comprised the generall state of the dead common to Christ with all other but a speciall prerogatiue verified in none but in the true Messias and Sauiour of the worlde For neither of these was euer accomplished in anie but in Christ. Then as no flesh in the sepulchre was euer free from corruption but onlie Christs so no soule in hell was euer supported and assisted by God and not forsaken but onely Christes If by hell wee vnderstand Paradise it was no priuiledge to be there not forsaken but rather a childish absurditie to thinke that any soule might there be forsaken and so no cause for Christ so strongly to hope and so greatly to reioice that HIS SOVLE should not bee forsaken where it was impossible that anie soule should be forsaken but this is rather a iust grounde of exceeding ioie if where all soules were forsaken of God as in hell they are there Christes soule should not be forsaken but assisted with the might and maiestie of God to breake the force and tread the power of hell vnder his féet And this prooueth Christes resurrection more
But you did well to prophesie of this conceite of yours that it woulde seeme harsh and altogether vnreasonable in the eares of some to◠saie the least of it In the eares of all that bee wise and learned it will sound worse for it is a flat repugnancie not only to all the Fathere but euen to the christian faith that Christ died as well in soule as in bodie and as meane a man as I am I thinke I shall bee able to make that good which I saie For if the soule of Christ were alwaies perfectlie vnited vnto life fullie possessed of life and aboundantly able to giue life tell me I praie you howe it maie stande with the trueth of the scriptures that the same soule was for anie time deade you may euen as well defende that Christ sinned as that his soule died for the death of the soule is sinne in this life and damnation in the next Certe anima Christi nulla mortificata peccato vel damnatione punita est quibus duabus causis mors animae intelligi potest Surelie the soule of Christ was deade with no sinne nor punished with any damnation which are the two waies that the death of the soule may bee possibly conceaued The death of the soule say you may be vnderstood that most fitly for the paines and sufferings of Gods wrath which alwaies as company them that are separated from the grace and loue of God This death of the soule yee affirme Christ suffered yet hee himselfe neuer separated but most intirely beloued yea most holie most innocent and most blessed You contradict Sir Refuter not onlie the scriptures and fathers but euen your selfe in one and the same sentence and reele like a man whose braines are not steadie Secundum scripturas triplicem esse mortem accepimus Vna est cum morimur peccato deo viuimus Beata mors quae a mortali nos separat immortali conseruat Alia mors est vitae excessus cum anima nexu corporis liberatur Tertia mors est de qua dictum est anima quae peccauerit ipsa morietur Ea morte non solum caro sed etiam anima moritur haec mors non est perfunctio huius vitae sed lapsus erroris By the scriptures saith Ambrose we learne there is a triple death One when we die to sinne and liue to God This is a blessed death which seuereth vs from that which is mortall and ioineth vs to that which is immortall The second is the departure out of this life when the soule is deliuered from the bandes of her bodie The thirde death is that of which it is written the soule that sinneth shall die this death dieth not onelie the flesh but the soule also for it is not the ending of this life but the running into errour The first is the life of the soule and the death of sinne which is SPIRITVALL The second is the ceasing of this life which is NATVRALL the thirde is not onelie sinne but destruction which is PENALL Which of these agreeth to Christ Ambrose himselfe will tell you Quid est Christus nisi mors corporis spiritus vitae What is Christ but the death of the bodie and the Spirit of life Then Christ died not the death of the soule for the spirit of life cannot die vnlesse you will make life it selfe to bee death Yea they which in this worlde die the death of the soule are separated from Christ for did they abide in him they shoulde abide in life he is the waie the truth and not onelie liuing but life it selfe This testimonie our Sauiour giueth of himselfe Verilie verilie I saie vnto you hee that beleeueth in mee hath eternall life If they cannot die the death of the soule which beleeue in Christ howe mush lesse can Christ himselfe die that death And heere Sir Refuter you broch so grosse and palpable an errour that women and children will deride you For if the tormentes of hell and paines of the damned do alwayes accompany them that are separated from the grace and loue of God howe manie hundred thousand thousandes of all sortes sexes and ages in all kingdomes and countries shoulde bee disturbed distracted and confounded in all the powers of their soules and senses of their bodie where are the riches of Gods bounteousnesse patience and long suffering which the Apostle so highlie commendeth as leading vnto repentance How could Abraham with anie truth saie to the rich man in hell Sonne remember thou in thy life time receauedst thy good thinges and Lazarus paines where if your position be true the paines of Lazarus coulde not bee comparable to the tormentes and paines that ALVVAIES ACCOMPANIE the wicked I assure thee christian Reader a man could not with fewer and foolisher wordes then these more crosse the whole tenor of the scriptures For the wicked here in this life abound with all wealth ease and prosperitie insomuch that manie of the godlie haue beene and still are offended with it Reade the 72. Psalme and see whether these intolerable and horrible feares sorrowes paines and tormentes of hell and the damned do alwaies accompanie them heere in this life My feete were almost gone saith Dauid when I sawe the peace of the wicked There are no bands in their death they are Iustie and strong they are not in trouble nor plagued with other men their eies stand out for fastnesse they haue more then their heart can wish Lo these are the wicked yet PROSPER THEY ALVVAIE and increase in riches This was too hard for me till I went into the sanctuarie of God then I vnderstood their ende So that God with much patience suffereth the vessels of wrath prepared vnto destruction who according to their harde and impenitent hearts heape vp wrath vpon themselues against the daie of the declaration of the iust iudgement of God whose suddaine destruction is then nearest when they shal say peace and safety And what maruell you crosse the scriptures in confounding the wrath of God to come with the wrath of God present in this life when you doe not see your owne wordes to be contrarie one to the other For if Christ died the death of the soule which is an alienation from the life of God howe was he neuer separated but alwaies intirely beloued and most blessed If hee were neuer separated from the life of God howe came he to die the death of the soule which must néeds be a separatiō for the time from God vnlesse you can match light and darkenesse death and life together and make the one to be the other and both to cleaue to God himselfe But what cannot you do that can make the paines of the damned and torments of hell the onlie true and perfectlie accepted sacrifice to God These are your words Such a sorrow indeed of a broken and contrite heart is the only true and perfectly accepted
Colos. 1. k Mat. 10. l 1 Iohn â—â— m Apoc. 20. n An 〈◊〉 ciuiâ— deâ— lib 13 cap. â— o Apoc. 6. p Maâ—k 9. q Hebr. 7. Hebr. 2. Mat. 25. t Gen. 22. u Acts 3â— x Luke 16. y Reuel 21. z Dan. 7. Heb. 10. Deut. 32. Reuel 1â— d 2. Thes. 1. e 2. Peter 2. f Iud. epist. g Mark 9. h Acts. 2. i Ephes 5. k Matth 12. l Luke 11 The paines of hel are eternal m Matth. 25. n Iames. 1. o Heb. 6. p Mark 9. q 1. Corinth 15 q Ibidem q Ibidem r Esay 25. s Ose. 13. The sacrifice for sinne must be bloudy before it could be propitiatorie The true sacrifice for sinne was shadowed in the figures and sacrifices of the former testament t Genes 32 u Hebre 9 x Rom. 8 The Patriarks and prophets did not mistake the true sacrifice for sinne y Reuel 13 Three properties of the true sacrifice for sinne vrged by the Apostle z Hebre. 9 a Hebre. 10. b Hebre. 9 c Hebre. 9 d Ibidem e Hebre. 13 f Matth. 26 The sacrifice for sinne was bodily bloudy and deadly g Luke 22 h 1. Corinth 11 i Mark 14 The force of Christs bloud expressed in the scriptures k 1 Pet. 1. l Hebr. 9. m 1 Iohn 1. n Reuel x o Rom. 5. p Heb. 13. q Ephes. 1. r Ephes. 2. s Colos. 1. t Rom. 3. u Mat. 26. x Heb. 12. y Heb. 13. z Heb. 8. z Heb. 8. a Heb. 10. Whether the paines of hell be comprised in the bloud of Christ. b Rom. â— c 1. Cor. 11. d 1. Cor. 10. e Ephes 5. Christs bloud the verie price of our redemption h 1. Pet. 1. i Reuel 5. How the price of our redemption was paid k Nezianzen â—ras 42. in Pasâ—haâ—â— 2. l Gene. 2. m Mark 14. n Basilâ— oratioâ— in sine epistâ— larum o Symbolum Ruffini tomo Hicronymi 4. p Gregor Moralium lib. 3. ca. 11 q Ibidem r August de trinitate li. 13 cap. 13. s Ibidem t Ibidem cap. â—â— u Ibidem cap. 15 o Ambros lib. 9 Epist. 77. x Acts. 20. y Colos. 1. z Osee. 13. a Luke 1. b 1. Corinth 6. c Rom 7. d Rom 6 e Reuelat. 5. e Reuelat. 5. f August in Psal. 95. g Chrysost. ad popul Antioch homil 61. h Cyril dialog de trinitat lib. 4. i Cyril tom 2 epistola 1. k Matth. 20. l Esay 53. Howe Christ gaue his soule a ransome for many m Matth. 20. n Iohn 10 n Iohn 10 n Iohn 10 o Iohn 13. p 1. Iohn 3. The power of Christs death q Galat. 2 r Hebre. 1 s Hebre. 9 By Christes death the scriptures meane the death of his body t 1. Peter 2. x Colos. 1 y Hebre. 2 z Rom. 6 Christ could not die the death of the soule a Psal. 36. b Psal 30. Iohn 6 c â— Corinth 3. d Rom. â— e Rom. 8. f Iohn 14 g Iohn 6. h Iohn 11 i Colos. 3. k Iohn 1â— l 1. Corinth 15 m Iohn â— n Iohn 6 n Iohn 6 The death of the soule is either sinne oâ— damnation o Ezech. 1â—â— p Matth. â— q 1. Timoth. â— r Ephes. 2 s Coloss. 2 t 1. Pet. 1. u 1. Peter 2. x Philip. â— y Psal. 1â— z August epi. 66. The death of the soule is a separation froÌ„ God a Rom. 7. b Iohn 8. c Mat. 25. d 2. Thes. 1. e Reuel 14. f Reuel 20. g August in Psal. 70. h Câ—â—il homil 〈…〉 i Ambros. de hoâ—o mortis ca 9 k Gregor in Ezech. homil 17. l Idem moraâ—â— lib. 9. Cap. 38. m Bernard serm paru 3. aliis ser. paru num 7 Luc. 18. The fathers mainely teach that christ died the death of y e flesh ONELY o 1 Pet. â— p Colos. 1. q August epist. 99. r Idem de trinitate lib. 4 ca. 1â— s Ibidem t Ibidem cap. 13 n Augustâ— de Trinitate lib. 1â— cap. 15. x Idem de tempore Serm. 16. y Cyrilâ— de rectâ— fide ad reginaâ— lib. 2. z Greg. moraâ— lib. 9. cap. 15. a Idem moralium lib. 4. cap. 17. Bernard ad mili◠〈◊〉 cap. 1â— How Christ gaue himselfe wholy for vs. b 1. Tim 2 c Heb. 4. d Bernard in ramis palmarum Serm. 3. e Irenaeus lib. 5. â—ap â— f Fulgentius ad Trasimundum lib. 3. g Fulgentius ad Trasimundum lib. 3. h Ibidem i Ibidem k Ibidem l Nazianzen in tract 49. ad Cledonium m Cyril de recta fide ad Theodosium n Cyril de recta fide ad reginas lib. 2. o Idem de recta fide ad reginas lib. 1 p Ibidem q Ibidem The death of Christs flesh redeemeth as well soule as bodie r 1. Iohn 1 s Hebre. 9 t Reuelat. 5. u August epist. 120. The bodilie death of christ ouerthrew all the enemies of our saluation x Rom. 7. y Ephes 2. z 2. Timoth 3 a Colos. â— b Ibidem c Rom. 6. d Galat. 5 e Rom. 6. f Ephes. 1. Colos. 1. g Rom. 3. h 1. Iohn 1 i Hebre. 9 The death of Christ on the crosse quencheth y e curse of the law k Galat 3. l Ephes. 1 m Galat. 3 n Genes 22 How Christ was made a curse for vs. o Deuter. 21 p Matth 27 Marke 15 Luke 23. q Deutero â—â— r Galat. 3. Christ was not accursed in soule s August contra â—austum Manâ—â—hâ—uÌ„ lib. 14. ca 4 Christ was in that part accursed in which he died t Ibid in cap 6 u Ibid. cap. 1â— x Chrysost. in cap. 3 epit ad Galatoâ— The kinde of Christs death was accâ—â—sed so the force of the lawe dissolued y Ibidem x Theodoret. in cap. 3. epist. ad Galat. a Cyril de recâ—â—â— fide ad reginaâ— lib. 1. b Ambros. epist. lib. 5. oration in Auxentium de 〈…〉 c Hierom. la. cap. 3. epist. ad Gala. d Oeâ—umeniâ—â—â— in cap. 3. â—pistâ— ad â—alâ—â— e Cyril desens in Anathematismâ—â—â—â—imum f Epiphanius contra Maâ—ciâ—â—â—itas heres 42. These three wayes Christ is said to be accursed for vs. g Galat. 3. g Deut. 21. h 1. Peter 2. i August in exposition epist. ad Galat. k Ibidem l Rom. 7. We are dead to the law in the bodie of Christ. m Rom. 6. n Rom. 8. o Hebr. â— p Rom. 8. q Galat. 2. r Rom. 16. s 1. Cor. 15. t Reuel 12. The bodilie death of christ doth more expresse Gods mercies and Christs mâ—â—its then if the paines of hell were ioyned with it u Gen. 2. As namely the truth of God The power God To auert Gods wrath from vs the dignity of Christs person was necâ—ssary The iustice of God x 1. Pet. 3 y Matth. 27 z Actes 3. The death of Christs soule could neither proceed from God nor be acceptable vnto God a Ezechiel 18 b Matth. 22. c Colos. â— Christes flesh must be as able to quicken vs as Adams flesh was to kill vs. c 1.
The effect of certaine Sermons TOVCHING THE FVLL REDEMPTION of mankind by the death and bloud of CHRIST IESVS WHEREIN Besides the merite of Christs suffering the manner of his offering the power of his death the comfort of his Crosse the glorie of his resurrection Are handled What paines Christ suffered in his soule on the Crosse Together With the place and purpose of his descent to hel after death Preached at Paules Crosse and else where in London by the right Reuerend Father Thomas Bilson Bishop of Winchester With a conclusion to the Reader for the cleering of certaine obiections made against the said doctrine 1. Corinth 3. I esteeme not to knowe any thing saue Christ Iesus and him crucified Athanasius de Incarnatione verbi dei Therefore the sonne of God tooke to him a bodie that might die that enduing it with a reasonable soule it might suffice for a full satisfaction to Death for all Imprinted at London by Peter Short for Walter Burre and are to be sold in Paules Churchyard at the signe of the Flower deluce 1599. To the Christian Reader IT is some time since good Christian Reader that lying in London and preaching at Paules Crosse as the feast of Easter drawing neer did admonish mee I made choice to speake of the redemption of mankinde by the death and bloud of Christ Iesus And because that Citie then had and yet hath as manie learned and religious preachers so some conceited and too much addicted to nouelties who spared not in their Catechisings and readings to vrge the suffering of the verie paines of hell in the soul of Christ on the crosse as the chiefest part and maine ground of our Redemption by Christ I finding how fast that opinion had increased since it was first deuised and doubting where it would end thought it my dutie publikelie to warne them that were forward in defending this fansie to take heed how farre they waded in that late sprong speculation For as these words of Dauid The sorrowes of hell besieged me and these of Ionas Out of the belly of hel I cried thou heardest my voice may be tolerablie applied to Christ if they be metaphorically interpreted of Christ as the scriptures meane them in Dauid and Ionas so if wee grow from the figuratiue vse of the worde HELL to the proper signification thereof and rise from the degrees of sorrowes and feares which pursue the Saints in this life to the highest sense and suffering of ALL and THE VERIE SAME paines and punishments which the damned do and shall endure for euer freeing Christ from nothing but from the place and continuance of hell vve make not a curious and superfluous but an erroneous and daungerous addition to the mysterie of our Saluation The better to slacke their inconsiderate heate I laboured to prooue these foure pointes vnto them First that it was no where recorded in the holie Scriptures nor iustlie to bee concluded by the Scriptures that Christ suffered the true paines of hell and so the Consciences of the faythfull coulde not iustlie bee forced to the necessarie beleeuing of anie such strange assertion Secondlie that as the Scriptures describe to vs the paines of the damned and of hell there are manie terrors and torments which without euident impietie cannot be ascribed to the Sonne of God as namely extreame Darkenesse Desperation Confusion vtter separation reiection and exclusion from the grace fauour and kingdome of God remembrance of sinne gnawing the conscience horrour of Diuels tormented and tormenting and flame of fire intolerablie burning both bodie and soule Thirdlie that the death and bloud of Christ Iesus were euidentlie frequentlie constantlie set downe in the writinges of the Apostles as the sufficient price of our Redemption and true meane of our reconciliation to God and the verie same proposed in the figures resembled in the sacrifices of the Lawe and sealed with the Sacraments of the new Testament as the verie grounde worke of our saluation by Christ and so haue beene receaued and beleeued in the Church of God fourteene hundred yeares before anie man euer made mention of hell paines to bee suffered in the soule of Christ. Lastlie where the Scriptures are plaine and pregnant that Christ DIED for our sinnes and by his DEATH destroied him that had power of death euen the Diuell and reconciled vs when we were strangers and enemies IN THE BODIE OF HIS FLESH THROVGH DEATH for wee are reconciled to God by the DEATH of his sonne and sanctified by THE OFFERING OF THE BODIE of Iesus Christ once who himselfe bare our sinnes in his BODIE on the Tree where hee was put to death concerning the FLESH Besides that the holie Ghost in these places by expresse wordes nameth the bodilie death of Christ as the meane of our redemption and reconciliation to God no considerate diuine might affirme or imagine Christ suffered the Death of the soule for so much as the Death of the soule must exclude Christ from the grace spirit and life of God and leaue in him neither faith hope nor loue sanctitie nor innocencie which God forbid anie Christian man shoulde so much as dreame Wee shoulde therefore do well to reuerence the manifest wordes of Gods Spirit in so high a pointe of Religion and suffer our selues as schollers to bee taught by the leader into all trueth what to beleeue and confesse in the mystery of our redemption and not to controle or correct the doctrine so cleerelie deliuered in the Scriptures so consonantlie retained of all learned and vnlearned in the Church of Christ for so many hundred yeares And if anie man to maintaine his deuise woulde inuent a newe hell and another death of the soule then either scriptures or fathers euer heard or spake of they shoulde keepe their inuentions to themselues it sufficed me to beleeue what I read and consequently not to beleeue what I did not read in the word of God which is and ought to be the foundation of our faith Thus farre I purposed when I first entered by Gods grace to proceede in this cause according to y e simple vnderstanding wherwith god hath endued me for the good of his Church The article of the Creed Christ DESCENDED INTO HELL I meant not to meddle with choosing rather to leaue y t vntouched then to presse any sense as a point of faith for vvhich I had not so full and faire warrant as for the redemption of man by the death and blood of Christ Iesus but the vehemencie of some contradicting that I taught and the importunitie of others requesting to knowe what they might safelie beleeue of that article made mee to alter my minde For whē some vrged others doubted that if Christ did not suffer the paines of hell whiles he hung on the Crosse that part of the Creed was added in vaine and the wordes of Dauid Thou wilt not leaue my soule in hell applied by Peter vnto Christ in
hell nor suffer thine holie one to see corruption Both these being iointlie spoken of Christ must both bee iointlie verified in Christ wherefore Christes soule must then not bee left in hell when his flesh lying in the earth sawe no corruption They may not bee seuered in performance which the holie ghost knitteth together in coherence Lastlie Peter in plaine words saâ—eth Dauid spake this of Christs resurrection If this concerned his resurrection then not his passion on the crosse but after death and before he rose as his flesh saw no corruption So his soule was not left in hell Yea God raised him vp as Peter saith breaking the sorrowes of death or hell before him of which it was impossible he should be held not that hee was euer in them and so loosed them as a man doth chaines where with hee was once bound but as the snares of hunters saith Austen are broken Ne teneant non quia tenuerunt before they take hold not after they haue taken holde For Christ was to rise againe not as others before him were restored to this present life but as the full and first conquerour of death and hell hee was to rise both in bodie and soule to eternall celestial glory and therfore he brake when he rose the paines and powers of death and hell that they should not preuaile for euer against him or his The other places of the Psalmes haue as manie aunsweres as they haue wordes for euerie word is an answere First Dauid speaketh of himselfe not of Christ and Dauids words to Christs person we may not refer at our pleasures without farther and better warrant Againe Dauid doth not saie the TORMENTS but the SNARES or STREIGHTS of DEATH as well as of HELL for the worde Sheol indifferentlie signifieth both if there bee none other circumstance to limite it to either and Dauid by the rules of diuinitie was neuer here on earth in the true paines of the damned haue FOVND me out or BESET and besieged mee but not oppressed nor ouerwhelmed me And if we take the name of HELL neuer so properlie it is no inconuenience that the gates of hell I meane the craft and power of Satan should hunt after the godlie heere on earth and seéke to entrap euen Christ himselfe but the true paines of hell the wicked and desperate do not suffer in this life much lesse the elect least of all Christ. It is a iudgement following death and maie no more be defended to bee here on earth then the ioies of heauen may be possessed in this life In the causes why Christ should suffer the paines of hell we may do well not to be too forwarde with the rules of reason as well for that there is no proportion betwixt the person of Christ and vs as also for that wee may not sit iudges with God and prescribe when or howe his iustice should bee satisfied It is requisite in our selues to confesse that as both parts of man sinned in Adam so the wages of sinne which is euerlasting death is due to both and as the soule shoulde haue principallie enioied God which is her life if shee had persisted in obedience so in falling from God her losse and smart must of the twaine bee farre the greater though the bodie shall not wante both grieuaunce and vengeance intolerable but if wee stretch these rules to Christ and subiect his person as our suretie to the verie SAME WAGES of sinne which we should haue suffered I knowe not howe in fewer wordes a man maie couch more grosse and open impiety For we should haue béene WHOLY SEVERED IVSTLY HATED and VTTERLY REIECTED from God yea ETERNALLY CONDEMNED BODIE AND SOVLE to hell fire May anie of these thinges be affirmed or imagined of Christ without hainous and horrible blasphemie This was the wages of our sinne must he endure THE SAME before wee can bee redéemed or Gods iustice be satisfied I hope no sound diuine will so conclude They will release eternall death to the dignitie of Christs person but he was as they saie for the time to taste the verie same death both in soule and bodie which wee should haue done and which in vs should haue béene euerlasting First by their leaues hell in the scriptures is an euerlasting torment and therefore if the excellencie of Christes person exempt him from euerlasting miserie that cléerelie quiteth him in bodie and soule from suffering hell Againe as sinne is the voluntarie defection of the soule from God so hell is the TOTAL if not FINAL EXCLVSION of the soule from all fellowship with God lesse thâ—n the death of soule it cannot be It is the wages of sinne and therefore it must bee the death as well of the soule as of the bodie and chiefelie of the soule because the soule of man is the principall agent in sinne S. Iohn calleth hell the second death If then the soule of Christ suffered either hell or the wages of our sinne of necessitie for the time it must be dead The wages of sinne is death If for the time Christes soule were dead it had no communion with God nor God with it no more then death hath with life or darkenes with light It lost for that time all faith and loue of God For by faith the iust doe liue and he that abideth in loue abideth in God And since God is the life of the soule Christ could not suffer the death of the soule which is the wages of our sinne no not for a day or an houre but he must be seuered from God forsaken of God Mors animae fit cum eam deserit deus the death of the soule is when God forsaketh it Mors est spiritus a deo deseri it is the death of the spirit to bee forsaken of God Mors animae deus amissus the losse of God is the death of the soule To lose God or to be forsaken of God is to haue no coniunction nor fellowship with God the soule then that is dead is excluded from the fauour and grace truth and spirit of God and if anie bee so irreligious or impious as once to affirme these thinges of Christ he may auouch that Christs soule suffered the true wages of our sin but if we abhorre these things as sacrilegious and monstrous absurdities as I doubt not but we do then certainelie the soule of Christ could not bee dead no not for an instant and consequentlie the true wages of our sinne the soule of Christ could not receaue nor suffer on the crosse or in the garden but wee must rather giue eare to Peter which saith Christ bare our sinnes in his bodie on the tree where he was quickened in spirite though mortified in flesh and strengthened in the inward man by the ioy proposed for which hee sustained the crosse and despised the shame thereof Christ then tooke the burden of our sinnes from vs and laied it
like manner shalt thou finde all the passions of our flesh to haue beene stirred in Christ but without sinne that beeing stirred they might be repressed by the power of the godheade dwelling in him and our nature by that meanes reduced to a better temper Ambrose in other wordes saieth as much Sequestrata deloctatione diuinitatis aeternae taedio meae infirmitatis afficitur Suscepit enim tristitiam meam vt mihi suam laetitiam largiretur vestigijs nostris descendit vsque admortis aerumnam vt nos suis vestigijs reuocaret advitam Debuit ergo dolorem suscipere vt vinceret tristitiam non excluderet nos disceremus in Christo quemadmodum futurae mortis maestitiam vinceremus And so he concludeth Hic alto operatur effectu vt quia in carne sua peccata nostra perimebat maerorem quoque animae nostrae suae animae maerore aboleret Laying aside the delight of his aeternall deitie Christ is affected with the tediousnesse of my infirmity and deiected himselfe to feele the griefe of death as we doe that by following his steps he might reduce vs to life hee was therefore to admit sorrowe that he might conquer sorrowe and not keepe it off and wee to learne in Christ howe we should ouercome the feare of death approching In his agonie hee wrought with a deepe effect that because in his flesh hee killed our sinnes he might also with the sorrow of his soule extinguish the sorrowe of our soules So the sorrowe and feare of death which it pleased our sauiour to féele in our nature came not for want of strength but of purpose to quench and abolish those affections and passions in vs that the faithfull for euer might bee fréed from them through his grace working in their hearts And therefore we haue no cause to excuse much lesse to reproch Christes weakenesse but rather to admire his power and praise his mercie that woulde submit himselfe to these infirmities of our nature thereby to cure them in vs and to strengthen vs against them and to make vs partakers of his wonderfull courage and patience the steps wherof we may dailie find not in martyrs onelie but in all his members when they are tried with anie kinde of outwarde or inward affliction Howbeit I may not omit how great an ouersight it is to conclude that Christ if he feared death in his agony was far fâ—ebler then martyrs which ioifullie die yea then malefactors which oftentimes go to their death verie resolutely The desratenesse of the wicked which haue neither feare nor care of God till they féele the force of his wrath in hell fire is no fit comparison for the sonne of God no more then the sinke of sinne is to swéeten the fountaine of grace I will therefore skippe that ouer with silence But if death bee not fearefull to the seruants of Christ as indéede it is not they are the more bound to their Lord and master who in his owne person to make the waie easie for them with the losse of his life disarmed death for euer and brake the chaines in sunder wherewith death and hell were coupled together For Christ was the first that by seuering death from the terror and power of hell made the stroke of death contemptible to all the godlie which otherwise was and would haue béene the harbinger of hell So that when death presented it selfe to the sight of our sauiour purposing to redeeme the world it came so fast clasped with hell that none but the sonne of God could dissolue the band wherewith they were linked And therfore Christ had far greater cause then anie of his members to feare and with earnest praier to decline the â—aile of death which did wound both bodie and soule with euerlasting destruction if he did not take awaie the sting thereof and by his sundring the one from the other which was the hope of all his saints before he died and faith of al the godlie since death was and is to all beléeuers no cause of feare but rest from their labors and passage to a better life The feare then which Christ had and shewed of death was either the curing of our infirmities in his flesh or the breaking the knot betwixt death and hell which none but he was able to doe or the mitigating of Gods anger which might be executed on his bodie or lastlie the desire hee had to continue the féeling and enioying of Gods presence and coherence with bodie and soule in the vnitie of his person and if in anie of these wee charge Christ with nicenesse wee knowe not what we saie except we will bee guiltie in a worse issue which I perswade my selfe was no part of their meaning that first broched this matter The last cause of Christs agony might be the sanctifying of himselfe to praie for trangressors and the voluntarie dedicating of his bloud to bee shed for the redemption of mankind for where some coniecture Christ did sweate bloud for feare Hilarie plainâ—lie denieth it and saieth Sudoremnemo audebit infirmitati deputare quia contra naturam est sudare sanguinem nec infirmitas est quod pot estas non secundum naturae consuetudinem gessit No man shoulde dare attribute Christs bloudy sweate to infirmitie because it is against nature to sweat bloud and can bee no weakenes which power did aboue the course of nature Austen maketh it a signification of the martyrs bloud that should willinglie bee shedde throughout the church for the testimonie of the trueth Ideo toto corpore sanguineÌ„ sudaâ—it quia in corpore suo id est Ecclesia Martyrum sanguinem ostendit Christ sweat bloud along all his bodie to this ende that he might shew the bloud of martyrs in his bodie which is the church Prosper agréeth with S. Augustine in iudgement and saith Oranscum sudore sanguineo dominus Iesus significabat de toto corpore quod est Ecclesia emanaturas martyrum passiones The Lorde Iesus praying with a bloudy sweat signified the sufferings of the martyrs that should be in his whole body which is the church Bede thereby noteth that Christes praier made for his Apostles was hearde and that by his bloud he should not onelie redresse the frailtie of his disciples but quicken the whole earth being dead in their sinnes Nemo sudorem hunc infirmitati deputet sed intelligat per irrigatam sacratamque eius sanguine terram non sibi qui nouerat sed nobis apertè declaratum quod effectum suae precis iam obtineret vt fidem discipulorum quam terrena adhuc fragilitas arguebat suo sanguine purgaret quicquidilla scandali de eius morte pertulisset hoc toruÌ„ ipse moriendo deleret immo vniuer sum latè terrarum orbem pâ—ccatis mortuum sua innoxia morte caelestem resuscitaret ad vitam Let no man attribute Christs bloudie sweat to infirmitie but rather learne that by sprinkling and hallowing the
hope For he that beléeueth and hopeth in God cannot trulie saie that God hath forsaken his soule he may complaine that God doth not deliuer him from dangers and troubles assaulting him which the weakenesse of man thinketh a kinde of forsaking Mine enemies saith Dauid take counsell saying God hath forsaken him pursue him there is none to deliuer him But this is no forsaking of the soule so long as that part of man trusteth in God which is created chiefelie to enioie God Nowe by faith hope and loue the soule of man enioieth God in this life and hee that enioieth God is not forsaken of God Yea whosoeuer hopeth in him neither is nor euer shall be forsaken For hope doth not confound was there euer any confounded that put his trust in the Lorde or who hath continued in his feare and hath beene forsaken or whome did he euer despise that called vpon him Then if out of these wordes we will infer that Christes soule was truelie forsaken of God it cannot bee auoided but this inwarde perswasion in Christ that his soule was forsaken during from the time of his agonie in the garden till his complaint on the crosse which was aboue 18. houres was manifest desperation vnlesse wee saie Christ was deceiued in so thinking which is as great an errour on the other side For if his faith hope and loue were still fixed on God and no waie decaied he could with no truth saie that his soule was vtterlie forsaken Againe the soule that is forsaken of God must néedes be separated from God For he that cleaueth vnto the Lorde is one spirit with him so not forsaken of him Yf then Christs soule were seuered from God it could haue no mutuall congruence much lesse naturall coherence with God There must bee a spirituall communion in grace or else there can be no personall vnion in nature As the soule doth communicate her effects to the bodie with which shee is coupled so must the deitie make the humane nature of Christ partaker of those graces and giftes which maie come from the godhead before we can trulie saie that the one is personallie ioyned with the other The participation and fruition of God is not in words or thoughtes but in déedes and effects In whom then the spirit of God dwelleth not with his force and fruites let him neuer deceiue his hart that he hath any fellowship with God Nowe in Christ was the fulnesse of Gods spirit and grace God measured not his spirit to him but of his fulnesse we all haue receaued So that if the fulnesse of grace failed in the soule of Christ the vnitie of his person was vtterly dissolued For without a communion there can be no coniunctioÌ„ of two natures in Christ. If there were an effectuall and full communion there could be no reall nor generall dereliction Insomuch that the verie flesh of Christ though it were left vnto death yet was it not vtterlie forsaken of the deitie but preserued euen in the graue from corruption and raised againe with greater perfection then before besides the wonderfull conquest it had ouer death Which plainelie proue the Godheade was neuer separated from the bodie of Christ though the soule for a time departed that death and hell might bee destroied If the deitie did neuer forsake the bodie no not in death much lesse did it euer forsake the soule which alwaies had an vnseparable coniunction and vnceaseable communion with the godhead of Christ. Lastlie no sence could bee deuised more repugnant and opposite to all that Christ saide or did after his agonie then this last found exposition or rather deprauation of his words To the high priest asking him whether he were Christ the son of y e blessed God he answered I am and ye shall see the son of man sit at the right hande of the power of God and come in the cloudes of heauen Christ was and must be farre from distrusting or doubting that which he resolutelie affirmeth shal come to passe euen in the eies of his enemies When they fastened him to the crosse hee said Father forgiue them they know not what they do Could he intreate and obtaine pardon for others that found himselfe to be forsaken of God To the thiefe that hung by him and desired to be remembred when he came to his kingdome he answered Verilie I saie to thee thou shalt this day bee with me in paradise Could hee giue paradise to others with so great confidence that coulde not then assure himselfe of Gods fauour yea as these men will haue it that was abandoned and forsaken of God The Centurion that had the charge to see him put to death and heard him speake these words neuer conceiued that he was reiected or estranged from God but contrariwise confessed Truelie this man was the sonne of God Christ himselfe Knowing all thinges that should come vnto him saide to his disciples Behold the houre is come that ye shall be scattered and leaue me alone but I am not alone for the father is with me Now if God were with him when his disciples left him as he himselfe witnesseth howe could his soule be forsaken of God of Christ crucified Dauid saith as Peter expoundeth his wordes I alwaies beheld the Lord before me euen at my right hand that I should not bee shaken If Christ had all the time of his passion the fauour of God so constant and the power of God so present that hee coulde not be so much as mooued or swaied to and fro for so the wordes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doe signifie that I should not waue vp and downe but stâ—nd fired and assured how could that parte of Christ which enioied so manifestlie the sight of Gods countenance and strength of Gods assistance be forsaken or refused of God And out of this complaint that he was forsaken if we inferre the paines of hell wee conclude directlie against Christes wordes in the 16. psalme Non derelinques animam meam in inferno Thou wilt not forsake my soule in hell Christs soule was not forsaken in hell if then it were forsaken on the crosse it is euident that there it suffered not hell for in hell it was neuer forsaken And therefore turne and winde the wordes of Christ which way they will or can this expositionâ—punc which they fasten vnto them is a manifest contradiction to all that Christ did or saide on the crosse and namelie to that assertion of Dauid in the person of Christ Thou wilt not forsake my soule in hell Then are there in the sacred scriptures neither anie predictions that Christ shoulde suffer the paines of hell in his soule here on earth nor causes why he must suffer them nor Signes that he did suffer them and consequentlie whatsoeuer is pretended no proofe that these sufferings must be added to the crosse of Christ before the worke of our saluation can be perfect And for my
part which moderation I wish in you all What I reade in the word of God that I beleeue what I do not reade that I doe not beleeue In Gods causes wee maie not easily leaue Gods words and with a new kind of speach make way for a new kinde of faith We must learne from God what to beléeue and not by correcting or inuerting his words teach him how to speake Since therefore redemption and remission of sinnes are euerie where in the scriptures referred to the death and bloud of Christ I dare not so much as thinke the words of the holie ghost in one of the greatest mysteries of our christian faith to be improper or imperfect And that you may the better perceaue how plainelie and fullie this doctrine is deliuered in the propheticall apostolical scriptures I thinke it good to go forwardes with the effects of Christes crosse by which it shall appeare howe sufficient the price of our redemption is in the bloud of Christ without anie supplie of hell paines to be suffered in y e soule of Christ. The effectes of Christs crosse though I might recken manie yet to keep my selfe within some compasse I restraine to fiue chiefe branches the MERITE of his suffering which was INFINITE the MANER of his offering which was BLOVDY The POVVER of his DEATH which was mighty the COMFORT of his CROSSE which was NECESSARIE the GLORY of his RESVRRECTION which was heauenly These fiue will direct vs not onely what to beléeue but what to refuse in the person and passion of our Sauiour I will therefore take them as they lie in order The merite of Christs suffering must be simply infinite that it may worke two things for vs to wit redeeme vs from Sathan and reconcile vs vnto God cleere vs from hell and bring vs to heauen in either respect it must be infinite The wages of sinne is death both of bodie and soule héere and for euer With the Iudge of the world is no vnrighteousnesse He therefore punisheth no man without cause or aboue desert Since the reuenge of each mans sinne is eternall y t is infinite in time the waight of each mans sinne must needs be infinite as being rewarded with euerlasting death It may séeme much to carnal men that God should requite sin with euer during reuenge but if we seriouslie bethinke our selues what it is for earth and ashes to waxe proud against God after so manifold abundant blessings to cast off his yoake readily yea gréedily to prefer euerie vanitie and fansie before his heauenlie truth glory we shall presently perceiue how iust cause God hath infinitely to hate our vncleannes eternally to pursue the pride contempt rebellion of wicked and wilfull men against his diuine maiestie howsoeuer we digest it it is a thing determined with God and no doubt balāced in his vpright and sincere iudgment The soule that sinneth that soule shal die Death life are both eternall y t is infinite in length though not in weight in durance though not in degree and sence of ioy or paine Then in either respect to counteruaile our deliuerance from hell our inheritance in heauen she merit of Christs suffering must be infinite An infinite purchase cannot be made but with an infinite price For this infinite price whither shall we seeke to the paines of hell or to the powers of heauen◠y e paines of hel are neither meritorious nor infinite What thanks with God to be separated from God and the soule being alienated from God what other part of man can merite his fauor If any man fal away my soule shall haue no pleasure in him Hel paines therefore are accursed not accepted of God and hee that suffereth them is hated and no way beloued Depart from me ye cursed into euerlasting fire As they are not meritorious no more are they infinite I meane in waight but they must euerlastingly be suffered before they can be infinite For not only diuels but men of all sorts shal suffer them who cannot endure any infinite sence of paine All creatures are finite both in force to do strength to suffer Infinit is as much as God himself hath therefore God alone is infinite So that neither hel fire is of infinite force to punish nor men nor angels of infinite strength to suffer but the vengeance of sinne continueth for euer by reason no creature is able to beare an infinite waight of punishment Since then the paines of hel haue neither worth nor waight sufficient in themselues to satisfie the anger procure the fauor of God we must séeke to heauen euen to God himselfe for the true ransome for our sinnes and redemption of our soules which we no where find but in the person of Christ Iesus who being true God tooke our nature vnto him and by the infinite price of his bloud bought vs from y e power of hel brought vs vnto God For neither y e vertues of Christs humane soule though they were many nor the sufferings of his flesh though they were painful are simply infinite til we looke to his person then shall we find that God vouchsafed with his own bloud to purchase his Church that we were reconciled to God by the death of his sonne when we were his enemies Bernarde expressing the infinite merite of Christes death and passion saith Incomprehensibilis deus voluit comprehendi summus humiliari potentissimus despici pulcherrimus deformari sapientissimus vt iumentū fieri immortalis mori vt compendio absoluam deus fieri voluit vermiculus quid excelsius deo quid inferius vermiculo The incomprehensible God woulde be comprehended the highest humbled the most mighty despised the most beautifull deformed the most wise bee like a beast the immortall would suffer death to speake all in fewe wordes God would become a Worme what is higher then God what is baser then a Worme If betwéene the Creator and the best of his creatures there be an infinite distance what thinke yee then was there betwixt the throne of God in heauen and the crosse of Christ on earth not an infinite distance and so infinite that neither men nor Angels can comprehend it The ground of our saluation then is the obedience humility and charitie of the sonne of God yeelding himselfe not onelie to serue in our stéed but to die for our sinnes For when he was equall with God in nature power and glory hee refused not to take the shape of a seruant vpon him and to humble himselfe to the death of the crosse not onelie obeying his fathers will which we had despised but abiding his hand for the chastisement of our peace The Apostle noteth these thrée vertues in the person of Christ Let the SAME AFFECTION of loue bee in you which was in Christ Iesus vvho being in the forme of God emptied and humbled himselfe and became
Patriarkes perished in their sinnes by mistaking the true price of their redemption For that they knewe anie thing of Christs suffering Hell paynes I thinke will hardlie bee prooued But out of question their faith was right which was settled on the bloud of Christ to bee shedde for the redéeming of their sinnes and themselues are Saintes in Gods kingdome Wee must therefore take heede that wee doe not rashlie varie from the foundation of their faith and hope which must likewise be ours with this onelie difference that they beléeued in him which should take away the sins of the worlde by his death and crosse and we in him that hath taken them away The time doth differ but the meanes are still the same The lamb was slaine from the beginning of the world not actually but in the counsaile of God which did purpose it and in the truth of God which did promise it as likewise in the faith of al his saints which did rest reioice in it frō whose steps if we swarue we may not looke to be Abrahās children y t refuse Abrahās faith as erroneous chalēge our father for misbeliefe If the offerings and faith of the Patriarks were not pregnant enough to lead vs to the true sacrifice for sinne the Apostle to the Hebrewes doth so purposelie and positiuely handle it that I much muse how any man of iudgement or learning can mistake it For if we marke but thrée conclusions which the Apostle maketh we cannot erre from the truth in this behalfe The true sacrifice for sinne must be but ONE and ONCE OFFERED not often nor iterated by reason it is perfect and able to clense vs from all sinne It must bee BLOVDY for so were all the offeringes of the lawe and without shedding of bloud is no remission It must bee CONFIRMED BY DEATH that redemption purchased might neuer bee reuoked nor altered These thrée positions are mainelie and mightilie vrged by the holie ghost the 9. and 10. to the Hebrues and for this faith are all the fathers of the old Testament from Abel to Samuel praised in the 11. chapter of that Epistle This man saith Paul meaning Christ after he had offered ONE SACRIFICE FOR SINNE sitteth for euer at the right hand of God For with ONE OFFERING had he made perfit for euer those which are sanctified Now where remission of sinne is there is no more offering for sinne Christ then making but one offering for sinne we must not make two but rather learne what that one was which we may do without any difficultie since the Apostle so plainlie teacheth vs that we are sanctified by THE OFFERING OF THE BODY OF IESVS ONCE that BY HIS OWNE BLOVD CHRIST ENTERED in Once into the holy place and FOVND ETERNALL REDEMPTION Almost all things are by the law purged with bloud and without shedding of bloud is no remission It was then necessary that the similitudes of heauenlie thinges in the law should be purified with such thinges as the bloud of bulles and goates but heauenly things themselues with better sacrifices then these euen with the bloud of Christ. For if the bloud of bulles and goates sanctifieth as touching the purifying of the flesh howe much more shall THE BLOVD OF CHRIST who through the eternall spirit offered himselfe without spot to God PVRGE YOVR CONSCIENCES FROM DEAD WORKS to serue the liuing God And for this cause is he the Mediator of the newe Testament that THROVGH DEATH which was for THE REDEMPTION OF THE TRANSGRESSIONS IN THE FORMER TESTAMENT they which were called might receiue the promise of eternal inheritance For where a testament is there must be THE DEATH OF HIM THAT MADE THE TESTAMENT For it is of no force so long as he that made it is aliue wherefore neither was the first testament ordained without bloud Iesus then suffered without the gate that hee might SANCTIFIE the people WITH HIS OWNE BLOVD and this is the bloud of the euerlasting Testament through which God brought againe from the dead our Lorde Iesus Christ confirmeth the same when hee saith This is MY BLOVD of the new testament WHICH IS SHED for many for THE REMISSION OF SINNES The words be plainer then that they néede anie commentarie There was but ONE sacrifice that coulde abolish sinne euen THE OBLATION OF THE BODIE OF IESVS ONCE whose BLOVD purged our consciences from deade works and purchased eternal inheritance by the TESTATORS DEATH FOR THE REDEMPTION of those sinnes which we committed against the former Testament What shift haue we to shun the force of these wordes or to bring in the paines of hell in Christes soule as a part of the propitiatory sacrifice for sinne Christ made but one oblation of himselfe for sinne and that was the suffering of death in his body for the redemption of our transgressions and shedding of his bloud for the remission of our sinnes More then one hee néeded not make for that one obtained eternall redemption and other then this he did not make for his offering was both BODILY and BLOVDIE This is my body which is giuen and broken for you this is my bloud which is shed for manie THE OBLATION OF THE BODY of Iesus once THE SHEDDING OF HIS BLOVD are of strength force enough to clense vs from our sins to procure vs the promise of euerlasting inheritance which beeing confirmed by the death of the testator standeth irreuocable How canne wee then bring in another sacrifice of Christes soule suffering the paines of hell which could be neither bodily nor bloudy but wee must increase the number and confounde the differences of Christs offerings and weaken the force of his externall corporal sacrifice which was the truth that answered accomplished al the signes of the law For the inuisible paines of hel are no where prefigured in the sacrifices of the law that I find nor so much as once mentioned in the Apostles discourse of Christs sacrifice for sinne that I reade therfore if we adde them as a necessary part of our redemption we derogate from the bloud of Christ as insufficient without those torments to clense vs from our sins pacifie the wrath of God that was kindled against vs. What danger it is to depart from y e manifest words of the holy ghost in so high a point of faith by things vnwritten to discredit things written I néede not admonish such as be learned let the simple take héed that they suffer not reason to ouerrule religion obscure and doubtful places in the scriptures to wrest from them the perspicuous and perpetuall doctrine of the holy ghost Howe ful and perfect the redemption is which wee haue by the bloud of Christ if you search the Scriptures you shall easilie see if you doe but hearken you shall presentlie learne The bloud of Christ doth REDEEME CLENSE VVASH IVSTIFIE SANCTIFY the elect It doth PACIFIE and
our sinnes that whom the Diuell iustlie held as guiltie of sinne and obnoxious to death those hee might woorthilie loose through him whome hee wrongfullie slue beeing guiltie of no sinne with this iustice the Diuell was conquered and with this band was hee bound that his goods might bee spoyled And so Saint Austen concludeth in expresse wordes that THE BLOVD OF CHRIST which the Diuell was permitted to shedde by the handes of the wicked VVAS GIVEN AS A PRICE IN OVR REDEMPTION Which when the Diuell had spilt it was reckoned to him as a ransom for vs since Christ owed none for himself so were we dismissed out of his power In hac redeÌ„ptione tanquaÌ„ pretiuÌ„ pro nobis datus est Christi sanguis quo accepto diabolus non ditatus sed ligatus est vt nos ab eius nexibus solueremur In this redemption the bloud of Christ was giuen as a ransome for vs which being receiued the diuell was not inriched but concluded that wee might bee loosed from his snares S. Ambrose affirmeth as much Si redempti sumus non corruptibilibus argento auro sed precioso sanguine domini nostri Iesu Christi quo vtique vendente NISI EO qui nostruÌ„ iam peccatricis successionis are quaesitum seruitium possidedat Sine dubio IPSE flagitabat pretium vt seruitio exueret quos tenebat obstrictos PretiuÌ„ autem nostrae liberationis erat sanguis domini Iesu quod necessario soluendum erat EI CVI peccatis nostris venditi eramus If we bee redeemed not with corruptible things as siluer and golde but with the precious bloud of our Lorde Iesus Christ who selling vs BVT HE that possessed vs as his seruants by reason of our sinfull succession doubtlesse euen HE required a ransome to dismisse vs from the seruitude which he had ouer vs. Now the price of our deliuerance was the bloud of the Lord Iesus which price was necessarilie to bee payde to HIM TO WHOM we were sold through our sinnes They which traduce this doctrine as inclining to Manicheisme had more neede of Elleborus to furge their braines then of authorities to perswade their hearts For since Christ paid no ransome for himselâ—e but for vs and his innocent bloud could not be shed but by the hands of the wicked what touch of vntruth can it haue that God accounted the bloud of Christ to bee of more value then all the sonnes of men and consequentlie that which the diuell eagerlie thirsted and wrongfullie shed to be reputed as mans ransome and a price most sufficient for all the world Yea the scripture which is the word of truth doth not onely teach vs who redeemed vs and with what price as God bought his Church with his owne bloud but in manifest words from whom we were redéemed euen from the power of DARKNES DEATH and HEL that being deliuered out of the hands of our enemies wee should serue God without feare in holines and righteousnes all the daies of our life Whether therefore wee resemble the bodie and bloud of Christ to a PRAY that brake the téeth of the deuourer to a BAITE that held fast the swallower to a PRICE that concluded the challenger to a RANSOME that fréed the prisoner or to a CONQVEST that ouerthrew the infulter in effect it is all one Satan by killing him that was the authour of life lost both him and all his members the Lorde rising againe by his owne power and raising them all that could not bee seuered from him by the might and merite of his death and suffering And so the godlie which now liue on the earth are not their OVVNE but his that bought them with a price being before solde vnder sinne whose seruants they were till Christ with his bloud redeemed them vnto GOD and made them kinges and priestes to God his father Venit redemptor dedit pretium fudit sanguinem suum emit orbem terrarum Videte quid dederit inuenite quid emerit Sanguis Christi pretium est tanti quid valet quid nisi totus orbis quid nisi omnes gentes The redeemer came saith Austen and paied the price hee shed his bloud and purchased the worlde Consider what he gaue and marke what he bought The bloud of Christ was y e price what was valued at so great a price What but the whole world what but al the nations of the earth Hic sanguis effusus omnem terrarum orbenâ— abluit hic sanguis antea semper praesignabatur in sacrificijs in iustorum caedibus Hic orbis terrarum est pretiuÌ„ Hoc Christus emit ecclesiam Hoc eam omâ—em adornauit This bloud saith Chrysostom being shed washed the whole world This bloud was euer before figured in the sacrifices and martyrdomes of the righteous This bloud is the price of the world with this Christ bought his Church with this he wholy adorned it Christus non esset condignum pretiuÌ„ totius creaturae redimendae neque sufficeret ad bene redimendam mundi vitam etiamsi suam deponeret animam vt pretium pro nobis ac etiam pretiosum sanguinem nisi vere esset filius tanquam ex deo deus Christ had not beene a iust price saith Cyril to redeeme all creatures nor sufficient to purchase the life of the world though he would haue laid down his life and his precious bloud as a ransome for vs if he had not beene the true sonne of God as it were God of God Where as now Vnus dignitate vniuersos superans pro omnibus mortuus est quaecunque sub coâ—lo sunt sanguine suo redemit deoque patrivniuersae terrae habitatores acquisiuit He alone exceeding al other in worth valew died for al by his bloud redeemed all things vnder heauen purchased to God his father the inhabitants of the whole earth But our sauior saith the son of man came dare animaÌ„ suaÌ„ redemptionem pro multis to giue his soule a ransome for many And Esay foretold as much that he should make his soule an offering for sin It is no great masterie to cite places of scripture in shew repugnant one to the other howbeit in trueth these are not contrarieties but coÌ„sequents to the former authorities For where the soule of man is the life of his bodie Christ could not die for our sinnes but he must laie down his soule to death that it might be separated from his bodie so giue HIS SOVLE that is his LIFE a ransome for many an offering for sin And so she very traÌ„slators y t otherwise fauor this opinion of hel paines do interprete those words The son of man came not to be serued but to serue to giue HIS LIFE a ransome for many And the like elsewhere Bonus pastor dat animaÌ„ pro ouibus The good shepheard giueth HIS LIFE for his sheep AnimaÌ„ meaÌ„
pono pro ouibus meis I lay down my LIFE for my sheep Diligit me pater quia pono animaÌ„ meaÌ„ vt iteruÌ„ sumaÌ„ eam My father loueth me because I lay downe my life to take it againe And indéed that phrase PONTRE ANIMAM in the Scriptures doth alwaies note a voluntary yeelding of the life which is A LAYING ASIDE OF THE SOVLE for y e loue of others as where Peter saith Ponam animam meaÌ„ pro te he did not meane he would go to hel for his master there was no cause nor néede thereof but I wil lay down MY LIFE for thee And when S. Iohn telleth vs Quoniam ille animaÌ„ suaÌ„ posuit pro nobis nos debemus animas ponere pro fratribus hee doth not charge vs to hazard our soules by sin or hel for others but insomuch as Christ gaue HIS LIFE for vs wee ought to GIVE OVR LIVES for our brethren So that for Christ to LAY ASIDE HIS SOVLE or to POVRE IT OVT VNTO DEATH was not to suffer hell paines for our sakes but to die for our sins al those places are rather coherent theÌ„ dissident to the rest of y e scriptures which I alleaged And yet because the ancient fathers some times saie that Christ gaue his soule for our soules as hee did his flesh for our flesh the scriptures often affirme hee gaue himselfe I will come to the third effect of Christs crosse which is the MIGHTY POVVER OF HIS DEATH and there examine what part of Christ died for our sinnes and howe by his death the guilt of sinne the curse of the lawe the sting of death and the strength of Satan are not onelie weakened and wasted but extinguished and abolished that they shal neuer preuaile against him or his elect That the Sonne of God loued vs gaue himselfe for vs making the purgatioÌ„ of our sinnes in his own person by the sacrifice of himself to put away sinne is a case so cléere that it néed not to be prooued much lesse may be doubted without apparant subuersion of the christian faith but whether Christ suffered the death of the whole man his soule tasting for the time an inwarde and spirituall death in satisfaction of our sinnes as his flesh did an externall corporall dissolution of nature this by some men is questioned in our daies That for our sakes he humbled himself was obedient vnto death euen the death of y e crosse is out of al doubt the Euangelists describe the maner of his death the apostles the cause to wit the REDEMPTION of our sins the CONFIRMATION of the new testament the RECONCILIATION of man to God the DESTRVCTION of him that was ruler of death the IMITATION of his obedience who suffered for vs leauing an exaÌ„ple y t we should follow his steps Al this he performed with y e death of his flesh the Scriptures no where mentioning anie other kinde of death that I can read Where a testament is there must be the death of him that made the testament r For the testameÌ„t is confirmed when men are dead Christ is the mediator of the new Testament that through death which was for the redemption of the trespasses in the former Testament they which are called might receiue the promise of eternall inheritance This plainelie expresseth the death of the bodie For God forbid mens Testaments should be frustrate till their soules haue tasted the second death but from the death of the bodie all testaments take their force Wherefore the new testament is confirmed by the bodilie death of Christ and there neede no paines of hell before it can be good You y â— in times past were strangers and enemies in mind by euill works hath he nowe reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to make you holie vndefiled and faultlesse before him Paul thought it not enough to saie Wee were reconciled vnto God by the death of his sonne but that death he addeth was IN THE BODY OF HIS FLESH to exclude all supposals of the death of the soule since THE BLOVD OF CHRISTS CROSSE did PACIFY thinges in earth and in heauen For so much as the children were partakers of flesh and bloud hee also did therein partake with them that through death hee might destroy him that had power of death euen the deuill The death of the spirit maie bee without fâ—esh and bloud as we see in the Deuils who are dead in spirite But Christ tooke flesh and bloud that by the death of his flesh hee might destroie the deuill that insulted and raigned ouer the weakenesse of mans flesh Wee are buried with Christ by baptisme into his death and if we bee grafted with him into the similitude of his death we shalbe likewise into his resurrection knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sinne might bee destroied that henceforth wee shoulde not serue sinne for hee that is dead is freed from sinne So manie wordes so manie reasons to prooue that Christ died not for vs the death of the soule but onelie of the bodie Wee are buried with him by Baptisme his bodie not his soule was buried Wee are grafted into the similitude of his death not the soule but sinne dieth in vs when we are grafted into Christ for hee quickeneth our spirits Our olde man was crucified with him his soule was not crucified but his flesh that the body of sinne might be destroied by the death of the soule the body of sinne is strengthned and encreased That henceforth we should not serue sinne they must needes serue sinne whose soules are deade with sinne He that is dead is freed from sinne but he that is deade in spirit is subiected to the force furie of sinne The death of Christ then is mentioned no where in the Scriptures but the verie words or circumstances doe cléerely confirme that they speake of the death which he suffered for vs on the crosse IN THE BODY OF HIS FLESH That Christ did or could suffer the death of the soule is a position far from the words but farther from the groundes of the sacred scriptures For in God there is no death and without God there is no life of the soule So that it is neither possible for the soule ioyned with God to die nor for the soule separated from God to liue Then if Christs soule were at anie time deade it lost all coniunction and communion with God and consequentlie the personall vnion of God and man in Christ was for that time dissolued and the grace and presence of Gods spirit were vtterlie taken from him and so during that space there coulde bee in Christ neither obedience humility patieÌ„ce holines nor loue which are the fruits of Gods spirit yea the soule of Christ if it were but for an houre depriued of Gods grace and spirit must néedes for that time be subiected to all
sinne and wickednesse which the diuel himselfe dare not auouch of the soule of Christ. Men maie doe well therefore to beware how they venture vnaduisedlie to saie that Christ suffered the death of the soule for howsoeuer they may frame vnto themselues a new kind of death in the soule of Christ as they thinke far from these absurdities and blasphemies yet both scriptures fathers mightilie contradict that loose if not lewde assertion With thee is the fountaine of life saith Dauid to God Then if the soule of Christ were alwaies ioined with God or so much as in Gods fauor it must needs haue life for in Gods fauour there is life Yea the presence of Gods spirit giueth life Spiritus est qui viuiâ—icat it is the spirit y t quickneth saith our Sauiour and Paul citeth the same words Where then THE SPIRIT OF GOD is there is LIFE and consequently the soule y t is dead is depriued of Gods spirit Now from whom the spirit of God is departed in him must néeds want al the fruits of Gods spirit and so the soule that is dead is excluded from all godlinesse and vertue For these are not onelie signes but effectes of Gods spirit working in the soule of man And since between righteousnes and vnrighteousnes there is no middle the soule of man wanting light truth and sanctitie of force must be filled with darkenes error iniquity which to surmise in the soule of Christ is the hight of all impietie As manie as are led by the spirit of God they are the sonnes of God If Christes soule wanted at anie time the spirit of God he was not the sonne of God If he euer and alwaies had the spirit of life dwelling in him his soule coulde at no time be dead For the spirite is life through righteousnesse But whie seeke we proofes that Christes soule could not die since he himselfe is the AVTHOR and GIVER OF LIFE I am the waie the truth and THE LIFE saith our Sauiour He that beleeueth in me hath euerlasting life I am the resurrection and the life hee that beleeueth in mee though hee were dead he shall liue And hee that liueth and beleeueth in me shal neuer die If the soule of him that beleeueth in Christ shal neuer die how could Christ himself at anie time die in soule Christ is our life howe then shall we be sure neuer to die if the fountaine of our life in Christes person might for the time bee dried vp with death shall we haue fuller or perfiter fruition of life then Christ Iesus our heade who giueth life to all his sheepe but he had so plentifull perpetuall and personall possession of life not onelie for himselfe but for vs all that the Apostle saith the first Adam was made a liuing soule the last Adam was made a quickening spirit that is not only to haue life in himself but to giue life to others Could hee then at anie time be a deade soule whome the holy ghost affirmeth to be made a QVICKENING SPIRIT could he giue that to others which himselfe did lacke or loose that which he once had I know to giue life is proper to God and for that cause the soule of Christ could not haue that power by creation but by coniunction with his godhead and in that respect was the receptacle whereby the life and grace of his diuine nature was deriued into his humane with such abundance and assurance that of his fulnes we al haue receaued insomuch that the words which he spake were spirit and life and the flesh which he tooke was the bread of life yea the body of Christ dying did not only resist and represse the force of death but rising againe destroied death restored life to the world If the temple of his bodie were stronger then death what was the sanctuarie of his soule I wish therfore all men that professe themselues christiaÌ„s to be soberlie minded and with the learned and auncient fathers to acknowledge that there is not mentioned in the scriptures anie death of the soule besides SINNE eternall DAMNATION neither of the which with anie moderation or mitigation can be attributed to Christ without shamefull blasphemie Anima peccans ipsa morietur The soule that sinneth that soule shall die In these wordes are both deaths of the soule expressed the first voluntarie when for the delights of sinne wee refuse the preceptes of God the other necessarie when God by his iustice withdraweth his presence from vs and executeth his VENGEANCE on vs that neuer shall haue end That sinne is a death of the soule cannot be denied Let the dead bury their dead saith Christ to one of his disciples follow thou me Which must néedes be meant of such as are liuing in body dead in soule as Paule speaketh of wanton widowes she which liueth in pleasure is dead whiles shee liueth These the scripture calleth DEAD IN SINNE When we were dead by sinnes God quickened vs together with Christ. And again You which were dead in sinnes hath he quickened together with Christ forgiuing you all your trespasses From this death I make no doubt but all christian men with heart and voice will cléerelie discharge the VNSPOTTED and VNDEFILED Lambe of God who did no sinne neither was there any guile found in his mouth The other kinde of the death of the soule which is damnation must be farther from Christ then euer was sinne For not onelie Christes innocency should bee vniustlie condemned which were altogether repugnant to Gods righteousnesse but the sonne of God wronged and mans saluation wholy subuerted Nothing might befall the humane nature of Christ which was vnfitting for his diuine both being ioined in one person And if our Sauiour were condemned to hell which way shall we thinke to scape the iust and fearefull iudgement of God for our manifold and grieuous sinnes he was indéed condemned by man that gaue wrongfull sentence of death against him but hee was acquited of God And because hee humbled himselfe to the death of the crosse God highly exalted him and gaue him a name aboue all names as well in witnesse of his innocencie as in reward of his humility Yea the holie ghost which euidently recordeth Christes assurance confidence and reioicing in God as hee hung on the crosse cleane excludeth all suspicion that he suffered the death of the soule For the soule in this life can haue no fuller nor faster coherence with God then Christ had And since God is the true life of the soule the inseparable coÌ„iunction of Christes soule with God proueth a continuall perswasion and fruition of eternal life which by no meanes admitteth anie danger or doubt much lesse anie sence or sufferance of the second death being the iust wages of sinne whereby the wicked are euerlastinglie punished Certe aâ—ima Christi non solum immortalis
secundum caeteraruÌ„ naturam sed etiam nullo mortificata peccato vel damnatione punita est quibus duabus causis mors animae intelligi potest Surely the soule of Christ saith Austen was not only immortall in nature as the rest but was NEITHER DEAD WITH ANY SIN nor PVNISHED WITH DAMNATION which two wayes the death of the soule may be vnderstood If then neither transgression nor damnation may be ascribed to the soul of Christ it is euident he suffered not the death of the soule yea to subiect the soule of Christ to either of these two deaths which onelie are the deaths of the soule were more horrible blasphemie then I hope anie Christian man meaneth to incurre But I mistake the death of the soule I must confesse I therein followe the sacred Scriptures and ancient fathers other kinde of death of the soule I know none because I reade none iustlie prooued These two are manifest in the scriptures That sinne killeth the soule besides manie other places before cited Saint Paule shortly sheweth in these words SIN REVIVED BVT I DIED for sinne deceiued me and slue me And likewise our sauiour except you beleeue you shall die in your sinnes That euerlasting death is the wages of sinne I take it to be as cleare a case as the former These shal go into euerlasting punishmeÌ„t saith Christ to the wicked They shall be punished with euerlasting perdition saith Paule of the ignorant and disobedient The smoke of their torments shal ascend euermore saith Iohn in his Reuelation The lake burning with fire and brimstone this is the second death Howe the ancient fathers define the death of the soule is soone séene by their writings Dicam audacter fratres sed tamem verum Duae vitae sunt vna corporis altera animae sicut vita corporis anima sic vita animae deus Quomodo si anima deserat moritur corpus sic moritur anima si deserat Deus I wil speake boldlie saith Austen but trulie There are two sortes of life one of the bodie another of the soule As the soule is the life of the body so God is the life of the soule as if the soule depart the body dieth so dieth the soule if God forsake it Mors proprie non est â—a quae animam à corpore sed quae animam à Deo separat â— Deus vita est quia Deo separatur mortuus est That is not properly death saieth Cyrill which seuereth the soule from the bodie but that which seuereth the soule from God God is life and therefore hee that is separated from God is dead Anima quae peccat moritur non vtique aliqua sui dissolutione sed merito moritur Deo quia viuit peccato Ergo quae non peccat non moritur The soule which sinneth dieth sayeth Ambrose not by anie dissolution of her substaunce but worthilie dieth shee vnto God because shee liueth vnto sinne The soule then which sinneth not dieth not Anima in corpore vita est carnis Deus vero qui viuificat omnia vita est animarum Sicut mors exterior ab anima diuidit carnem ita mors interior à Deo separat animam The soule in the bodie saith Gregorie is the life of the flesh but God that quickeneth all things is the life of the soule as the outwarde death diuideth the bodye from the soule so the inward death diuideth the soule from God Sicut anima vita est corporis ita Deus vita est animae Mors animae separatio à Deo mors corporis separatio animae à corpore As the soule is the life of the bodie so God is the life of the soule saith Bernard The death of the soule is to be separated from God the death of the bodie is the departure of the soule from the bodie Neither doe I sée howe this definition of the death of the soule can be auoyded or amended For can there be life from any other but onelie from God If it bee good it must come from the fountaine of all goodnesse andâ— none is good but onelie God Then the soule which is partaker of God is partaker of life and to be seuered from God is to be seuered from life which is the true description of death Rightly therefore do the auncient Fathers teach that Christ dying for our sinnes suffered ONLY THE DEATH OF THE BODIE but not of the soule and the scriptures wheresoeuer they mention the death of Christ must haue the like construction For the soule of Christ could not die so long as it had the presence and assistance of Gods spirit yea we leaue him neither faith nor hope loue nor ioy obedience nor patience nor any other merites or vertues if wee subiect him to the death of the soule for these are the buds and fruits of life From which if we cannot exclude the soule of Christ no not for a moment without sacrilegious impietie it remaineth that Christ neither suffered nor tasted the death of the soule but onelie the death of the bodie In his bodie he bare our sinnes on the tree and reconciled vs vnto God in the BODY OF HIS FLESH THROVGH DEATH when we were straungers and enemyes in heart by reason of our euill workes Quid est enim quod viniâ—icatus est spiritu nisi quod eudem caro QVA SOLA FVERAT MORTIFICATVS viuificante spiritu resurrexit Nam QVOD ANIMA FVERAT MORTIFICATVS IESVS hoc est eo spiritu qui hominis est QVIS AVDEAT DICERE cum mors animae non sit nisi peccatum à quo ille omnino immunis fuit Mortificatus ergo carne dictus est quia secundum SOLAM CARNEM mortuus est What is meant by this that Christ was quickened in spirite but that the same flesh IN WHICH ONELIE HE DIED rose againe quickened by the spirite For that Iesus was DEAD IN SPIRIT WHO DARE AVOVCH I meane in his humane spirite since as the death of the soule is nothing but sinne from which hee was altogither free And least wee shoulde thinke this slipte his penne elsewhere hee largelie and learnedlie handleth the same matter Diabolus per impietatem MORTVVS EST IN SPIRITV carne vtique mortuus non est nobis autem impietatem persuasit per hanc vt in mortem carnis venire mereremur effecit Quô ergo nos Mediator mortis transmisit ipse NON VENIT hoc est ad MORTEM CARNIS ibi nobis Dominus Deus noster medicinam emendationis inseruit quam ille non meruit By sinne the Diuell DIED IN SPIRIT in flesh he died not but to vs hee perswaded sinne and thereby brought vs to deserue the death of the flesh Whither then the mediator of death cast vs and came not himselfe that is to the death of the bodie euen there the Lord our God appointed a medicine to cure vs which the Diuell neuer
obtained And noting the remedie prouided for vs in the bodilie death of Christ he saith Vitae mediator ostendens quam non sit mors timenda quae per humanam conditionem iam euadi non potest sed potius impietas quae per fidem cauerâ— potest occurrit nobis AD FINEM QVO venimus sed NON QVA VENIMVS Nos enim ad mortem per peccatum venimus ille per iustitiam ideo cum sit mors nostra poena peccati mors illius facta est hostia pro peccato The Mediatour of life Christ Iesus to shewe vs that death is not to bee feared which by humane condition can nowe not bee escaped but rather impietie which by fayth may be auoyded mette vs in the ende whither wee were come but not in the way by which we came For we came by sinne to death but hee by righteousnesse and so where our death is the punishment of sinne his death is the sacrifice for sinne And therefore the death which Christ suffered in his bodie on the Crosse did purge abolish and extinguish all our sinnes whereby the power of satan iustly detained vs to abide the punishment of our transgressions Quia viuum spiritu mortuus spiritu non inuasit quoquo modo auidus mortis humanae conuertit se ad faciendam mortem quaÌ„ potuit PERMISSVS EST IN ILLVD QVOD EX NOBIS MORTALE vinus mediator acceperat Et vbi potuit aliquid facere ibi omni ex parte deuictus est vnde accepit exterius potestatem dominicae carnis occidendâ—e inde interior eius potestas quâ nos tenebat occisa est Factum est enim vt vincula peccatorum multorum IN MVLTIS MORTIBVS PER VNIVS VNAM MORTEM quam peccatum nullum praecesserat soluerentur Ita Diabolus hominem in ipsa morte CARNIS amisit Because the Diuell deade in spirite coulde not inuade Christ liuing in spirite as most desirous to kill man hee fastened on that death which hee coulde compasse and was suffered to kill that mortall bodie which the liuing Mediatour tooke from mankinde and where he could doe anie thing euen there was hee euerie waie conquered and whence hee receyued outwardlie power to kill the Lords bodie thence was his inwarde power whereby hee helde vs ouerthrowne By which it came to passe that the chaines of manie sinnes deseruing manie deathes were loosed by the one death of one in whome was no sinne So the Diuell lost man BY THE VERIE DEATH OF Christs FLESH Yea the death of Christ should leade vs patientlie to suffer the same death for him which hee suffered for vs. Hactenus morerentur ad Christi gratiam pertinentes quatenus pro illis ipse mortuus est Christus CARNIS TANTVM MORTE NON SPIRITVS So farre shoulde they which belong to the grace of Christ die as Christ died for them that is the DEATH OF THE BODIE ONELIE AND NOT OF THE SPIRIT And by that death of his bodie he fréed vs from both SOLIVS CORPORIS MORTEM Dei silius pro nobis accepit per quam à nobis dominationem peccati poenam aeternae punitionis exclusit The death OF THE BODIE ONLIE THE SONNE OF GOD SVFFERED FOR VS by which he deliuered vs both from the dominion of sin and from eternall damnation Cyrillus teacheth the same doctrine Si intelligatur Deus incarnatus propria carne passus parua est erga ipsum omnis creatura sufficit ad redemptionem mundâ— VNIVS CARNIS MORS If wee vnderstand Christ to bee God incarnate and to haue suffered in his owne flesh of small value in respect of him are all creatures and sufficient to redeeme the worlde is the DEATH OF HIS ONELY FLESH And likewise Gregorie Nos quia mente a Deo recessimus carne ad puluerem redimus poena duplae mortis astringimur Sed venit ad nos qui SOLA CARNE PRO NOBIS MORERETVR ET SIMPLAM SVAM DVPLAE NOSTRAE iungeret nos AB VTRAQVE MORTE liberaret Because in heart wee were departed from God and in flesh returning to dust wee are tied to the punishment OF A DOVBLE DEATH But Christ came vnto vs which DIED IN THE FLESH ONLY FOR VS and ioyning HIS ONE KINDE OF DEATH TO BOTH OVRS DELIVERED VS FROM BOTH And more at large the same father debating the same matter Vmbra mortis mors carnis accipitur quia sicut vera mors est qua anima separatur á Deo ita vmbra mortis est qua caro separatur ab anima Quos enim constat NON SPIRITV SED SOLA CARNE MORI nequaquam se vera morte sed vmbra mortis dicunt operiri Quid est ergo quod beatus Iob postulat vmbram mortis nisi quod ad delenda peccata ante Dei oculos Dei hominum Mediatorem requirit qui SOLAM PRO NOBIS MORTEM CARNIS susciperet veram mortem delinquentium per vmbram suae mortis deleret Ad nos quippe venit qui IN MORTE SPIRITVS CARNISQVE TENEBAMVR VNAM ad nos suaÌ„ morteÌ„ detulit DVAS NOSTRAS quas reperit solâ—it SI ENIM IPSE VTRAMQVE SVSCIPERET NOS A NVLLA LIBERARET sed VNAM misericorditer accepit IVSTE VTRAM QVE damnauit SIMPLAM SVAM DVPLAE NOSTRAE coÌ„tulit DVPLAM NOSTRAM MORIENS SVBEGIT Qui ergo SOLAM PRO NOBIS MORTEM CARNIS SVSCEPIT vmbraÌ„ mortis pertulit a dei oculis culpam quam fecimus abscondit The shadow of death is takeÌ„ for the death of the bodie for that as it is the true death whereby the soule is separated from God so it is but the shadow of death whereby the bodie is separated from the soule For they which assuredly die NOT THE DEATH OF THE SPIRIT BVT ONLY OF THE FLESH they doe not say they are couered with the true death but with the shadow of death To what end then doth blessed Iob aske for the shadow of death but that to wipe away sinne out of Gods sight hee seeketh for the Mediator of God man who should vndertake FOR VS THE DEATH OF THE BODIE ONLY and by the shadow of his death might extinguish the true death of sinners Hee came to v that WERE SVBIECT BOTH TO THE DEATH OF THE SPIRIT AND OF THE FLESH and by HIS SINGLE DEATH HE LOOSED BOTH OVR DEATHS If he should haue SVFFERED BOTH HE COVLD HAVE DELIVERED VS FROM NEITHER But he mercifully VNDERTOOKE ONE OF THEM and iustlie CONDEMNED BOTH He ioyned HIS SINGLE DEATH TO OVR DOVBLE DEATH and dying CONQVERED BOTH OVR DEATHS He then which for vs TOOKE VPON HIM ONLY THE DEATH OF THE BODY suffered the shadow of death and hid from Gods eies the sinne which we had committed Bernard likwise Cum gemina morte secundum vtramque naturam homo damnatus fuisset altera quidem spiritali voluntaria altera corporali necessaria vtrique deus homo
world is the DEATH OF HIS FLESH ONLY nor thereby take occasion to defend that his bloud is not able to iustifie or sanctifie the beléeuers Sanguine suo hoc est SVAE CARNIS SANGVINE iustificat omnes in se credentes With his bloud that is with THE BLOVD OF HIS FLESH he iustifieth all that beleeue in him SI NON ALIO MODO SALVANDVS ERAT mundus nisi in SANGVINE ET CORPORE morti VTILITER derelicto quo pacto non necessarius verbo incarnationis modus vt iustificet in saÌ„guine suo credeÌ„tes in se conciliet patri per morteÌ„ sui corporis If the world MIGHT NONE OTHER VVAY BE SAVED but by Christes leauing his BODIE AND BLOVD VNTO DEATH for our good howe was not the taking of flesh necessarie for the sonne of God that by his bloud hee might iustifie such as beleeued in him and BY THE DEATH OF HIS BODIE reconcile them to God his father Quomodo sanguis communis hominis nos sanctos efficeret sed sanctificauit sanguis Christi Deus igitur non simpliciter homo deus enim erat in carne SVO SANGVINE nos purificans How could the bloud of a common man make vs holie BVT THE BLOVD OF CHRIST DID SANCTIFIE VS He was therefore God and not simplie a man For he was God in FLESH THAT CLENSED VS VVITH HIS BLOVD When the ancient fathers affirme that Christ died for vs THE DEATH OF THE BODY ONLY and that the BLOVD OF HIS FLESH doth saue and sanctifie the beleeuers we must not like children imagine they speake of insensible flesh or that in those wordes they exclude the vnion operation or passion of the soule whiles Christes bodie suffered and died that were to make Christ a stocke not a man and to giue him carrion and not humane flesh quickened and coupled with life and soule but in the death of his bodie shedding of his bloud they include all those afflictions and passions of the soule which naturally necessarily follow paine accompany death For these sufferings of Christs soule confirme his obedience witnes his patience only their intent is by all meanes to frée Christ from THE DEATH OF THE SOVLE and then to propose the death which hee suffered in the bodie of his flesh on the crosse with all painefull but no sinneful câ—â—comitants and consequents as the propitiation for our sinnes redemption of our soules and reconciliation vnto God by which al y e aduersaries of our saluation the law sinne death and Satan are vtterlie conquered and abolished And thus farre forth they haue the scriptures expresselie concurring with them The bloud of Iesus Christ his sonne clenseth vs from all sinne It must clense then our soules as wel as our bodies for they are the chiefe agents in sin Much more shall the bloud of Christ purge your consciences from dead works Conscience is a part of the soule not of the bodie Thou hast redeemed vs to God by thy bloud saie the saintes in heauen whose bodies lie in the dust of the earth Redemption remission of sinnes iustification sanctification and such like effectes of the bloud of Christ are PRINCIPALLY and PRIMARILY in the soule and by consequent in the bodie And therefore there can be no question but the bodilie death of Christ is the redemption of our soules as well as of our bodies in as much as the whole maÌ„ in Christ died the death of the crosse to redéeme the whole man in vs both partes in him ioyntlie féeling but with admirable patience enduring the bitter and sharpe paines antecedent and annexed to the death of his bodie Cum caro in doloribus est in poenis profecto anima tunc habet maximum agonem patientiae When the flesh is in anguish and paine saith Austen then the soule certainly hath the greatest triall of patience For the soule is so created and ordained that shee feeleth the pleasure and paine of her bodie and howsoeuer the flesh bee subiected to violence the sence and grieuance thereof is in the soule both in this life and in the next As the bodilie death of Christ paieth the price of our redemption so it remoueth all the impediments of our saluation which are manie and mightilie linked together For by the CORRVPTION of nature descending from our parents and dwelling within vs wee are solde vnder sinne fulfilling the will of the flesh and louing pleasures more then God whereby we neglect and breake the LAVV of God and so incurre the CVRSE pronounced against the transgressours of the law and by that obligation are liable to ETERNAL DEATH This is the chaine of originall infection actuall transgression legall malediction and eternal damnation which draweth vs from God and bindeth vs as prisoners and captiues to death and hell If then the DEATH of Christ suffered IN THE BODY OF HIS FLESH loosed euery linke of this chaine and not onelie cleered vs from all these enemies and exactors but reconciled vs to God and made peace for vs by the bloud of his crosse it is a wrong to the death bloud of Christ either to disable theÌ„ as not sufficient to redéem vs or to supplie them with anie better or other addition which the holie ghost doth not mention Examine these particularlie and see whether the power of Christes death doe not perfectlie dissolue them all Our olde man is crucified with him that the bodie of sinne might bee destroied that henceforth we should not serue sinne Let not sinne raigne therefore in your mortall bodie saieth the Apostle that you should obey it in the lustes thereof The force and strength of originall sinne and corruption in all the faithfull is crucified and dead with Christ except they reuiue it by voluntarie obeying the lustes thereof For they which are Christes haue crucified the flesh with the affections and lustes by reason not onelie the guilt but also the life and power of sinne died in Christes flesh when it was crucified So that sinne nowe hath no dominion ouer them because they are not vnder the lawe but vnder grace And likewise for actuall sinne by Christ we haue redemption through his bloud that is the forgiuenes of sinnes For God hath proposed him to be a reconciliation through faith in his bloud by the forgiuenesse of the sinnes that are passed through the patience of God The bloud therefore of Christ Iesus his sonne clenseth vs from all sinne since he is the mediator of the new Testament whose death was for the redemption of the transgressions that were in the former testament If the death of Christ on the crosse and the shedding of his bloud were the iust and full redemption of all our sinnes then apparentlie it eased and ended the curse which the lawe inflictedâ— for sinne For where he is accursed that continueth not in al things written in the book OF
ex poena nostra Sic semper benediâ—tus in sua iustitia maledictus autem propter delicta nostra in morte suscepta ex poena nostra ac per hoc additum est OMNIS ne Christus ad veram mortem non pertinere diceretur si à malediâ—to quod morti coniunctum est insipienti honorisicentia separaretur Cursed is euerie one that hangeth on the woodâ— not this or that man but euery man without exception What the sonne of God himselfe yea in anie case You Manichees mislike Christ should be accursed for vs because you beleeue not hee died for vs. Then is Christ without the curse of Adam when he is without the death of Adam But for so much as from man and for man he did admit death euen from man and for man he vouchsafed to admit the curse which accoÌ„panieth death I meane euen that verie son of God alwayes liuing in his owne righteousnesse but dying for our sinnes in the flesh which he tooke from our punishment So alwayes blessed in his owne righteousnesse he was accursed for our sinnes in the death which hee suffered by reason of our punishment and therefore the Scripture sayth EVERIE ONE least Christ should be thought not truly to haue died if by an intent of foolish honour he should be excepted from the curse which is vnited vnto death And answering Faustus obiection if a king commaund anie Christian to worship the Sunne Moone or to be hanged on a trée hee must either way of necessitie be accursed Austen saieth Christianus videt vnum maledictum pertinere ad corpus mortale quod ligno suspenditur alterum ad ammum quo sol adoratur sicut mors est corporis in ligno pendere it a mors est animi solem adorare Eligendum est igâ—tur maledictum in corporis morte quo maledicto ipsum corpus in resurrectione liberabitur deuitandum autem maledictum in animi morte ne cum suo corpore in aeterno igne damnetur Nolite timere maledictum corporalis mortis quod temporaliter soluitur sed timete maledictum mortis spiritualis per quod anima in aeternum cum suo corpore cruciatur A Christian perceiueth the one curse to belong to the mortall bodie that hangeth on the woodde the other whereby the Sonne is worshipped to pertaine to the soule Hee must therefore choose the curse of the corporall death from which curse euen his verie bodie shall be deliuered in the resurrection and shunne the curse of the spirituall death least togither with the bodie the soule bee damned in euerlasting fire Feare not the curse of the corporall death which is dissolued with time but feare the curse of the spirituall death by which the soule is euerlastingly tormented with her bodie This doctrine is so sounde it cannot bee confuted and so cleare it neede not bee explained The temporall death of the bodie came first from sinne as a part of the curse and punishment of sinne and so to this daie doth it continue Christ therefore in that hee yeelded his bodie to die on the Crosse subiected himselfe to the curse of our sinne and by suffering a part of the curse abolished the whole but the curse of the soule which is the spirituall death Christ coulde not taste because that damneth bodie and soule for euer The rest of the ancient fathers tredd the same path The people saith Chrysostome were subiect to the curse which saith accursed is euery one y t abideth not in those things which are written in the booke of the law For none of them had continued therein neither had any man fulfilled the whole lawe but Christ exchanged the curse with another which saith accursed is euerie one that hangeth on the tree Where then he that hangeth on the tree is accursed and he that transgresseth the law is likewise accursed he that shall dissolue this curse must not bee subiect to the same but must admit an other in steede of that which Christ did and so by the one loosed the other The crosse therefore tooke away the curse Can we wish plainer words then that Christ by suffering the CVRSE OF SVSPENSION on the crosse tooke away THE CVRSE OF TRANSGRESSION to which the people were subiect Theodorete When all were subiect to the curse of the lawe Christ suffered that kinde of death which is accursed in the lawe that hee might deliuer all men from the curse Cyril Factus est pro nobis maledictum crucem ferens pendens in ligno ut soluat peccatum mundi Christ was made a curse for vs when hee endured the Crosse and hung on the tree that hee might release the sinne of the worlde Ambrose Quare maledictum dicatur Apostolus te docet dicens quia scriptum est malediclus omnis qui pendet in ligno Hoc est qui in carne sua nostram carnem in suo corpore nostras infirmitates nostra maledicta suscepit vt cruci sigeret Why Christ is called a curse the Apostle teacheth thee when hee sayth because it is written accursed is euerie one that hangeth on the tree that is which in his flesh bare our flesh AND IN HIS BODIE TOOKE OVR INFIRMITIES AND OVR CVRSES that he might fasten them to his Crosse. Hierom. It ought to trouble no man that Christ was made a curse for vs because God who is saide to make him a curse did also make him sinne for vs though he knew no sinne yea being life he died and being the wisedome of God he is called foolishnes but he died that we might liue he was made foolishnes that we should be made wisdome hee hung on the tree that being fastened to the tree hee might wipe out the sin which we had coÌ„mitted in y e tree of the knowledge of good and euil Oeâ—umenius We were vnder the curse because wee had not kept the lawe Christ was free from that because he had fulfilled the law and yet hee suffered a curse not due to him when he was hanged on the tree that he might dissolue the curse pronounced against vs. Other expositions if anie man séeke hee shall find euen in the learned and ancient writers Non maledictum vel peccatum factum est verbum sed cum iniquis reputatus est iustus existens vt aboleat peccatum appellatus est maledictus qui benedixit creaturam vt soluat nostrum maledictum liberet à poenà credentes in ipsum Igitur non est factus secundum veritatem maledictum peccatum appellatus autem illorum nominibus vt aboleat maledictum peccatum Christ was not made indeede a curse or sinne sayth Cyrill but hee was reputed amongst the wicked beeing iust that hee might put awaie sinne and he who did blesâ—e the creature was called a curse that he might dissolue our curse and free from vengeance such as beleeued in him Therefore he was not in truth made
a curse and sin but he was called by those names that he might abolish bâ—th the curse and sinne Christ was no more a curse then hee was sinne who indéede and with God was neither but with men he was reputed both wicked and accursed by reason God suffered him to endure that vilde and shamefull kinde of death which hee did to saue vs from the curse of sinne Epiphanius saith he was A CVRSE VNTO THE CVRSE that is a dissoluer and finisher of the curse Ignorat omnino miser ille quod neque Christus maledictio factus sit absit sed maledictionem quae propter peccat a nostra fuit abstulit seipsum cruci dedeâ—s factus est mors morti propter peccata nostra MALEDICTIO MALEDICTIONI Quapropter non est Christus maledictum sed maledicti solutio benedictio autem omnibus verè in ipsum credentibus That wretch Marcion is vtterly ignorant that Christ was not accursed God forbid but he tooke away the curse that lay on our sinnes in yeelding himselfe to the crosse and was made death vnto death for our sinnes and A CVRSE VNTO THE CVRSE Wherefore Christ WAS NOT A CVRSE but THE DISSOLVER OF THE CVRSE and A BLESSING to all that â—â—ulie beleeue in him These though they diuerslie applie the Apostles speach Factus pro nobis maledictum Christ was made a curse for vs some to the toleration of death some to the opinion of men and some to the depulsion of the curse from vs yet in this they all agrée that by giuing his bodie to die on the Crosse Christ receiued sustained and abolished the curse due to vs for transgressing the law of God And to iustifie their assertion they haue not onelie the plaine text of Paule and Moses Cursed is he that hangeth on the tree but the manifest wordes of Peter He bare our sinnes in his bodie on the tree To proue the death which Christ suffered to be a cursed kinde of death the place of Moses is verie pregnant to proue the person to bee accursed in soule it hath neither cause nor truth For innocents maie suffer that wrong to bee hanged on trées and shall they then be accursed in soule And be they malefactors they may repent as did the theefe on the crosse and shall they notwithstanding their repentance bee accursed Shall we close both penitent and innocent within the true curse of the soule rather then we will suffer Pauls words to be referred to the death of the bodie For he saith Cursed is EVERIE ONE that hangeth on the tree excusing none and if anie might bee excepted out of the generall rule Christ Iesus most of all But euerie one that hangeth on the tree hath a cursed kinde of death though a blessed soule Paule therefore expresselie teacheth that Christ subiected himselfe to a cursed kind of death and in so dying he deliuered vs from the curse of the Lawe Ex parte quippe mortali pependit in ligno mortalitas autem vnde sit notum est credentibus Ex poena quippe est maledictio peccati primi hominis quam Dominus suscepit peccata nostra pertulit in corpore suo super liguum That part sayth Austen which was mortall in Christ hung on the Crosse and whence mortalitie came the faythfull knowe It came from the punishment of sinne and is the malediction of the sinne of the first man which the Lorde tooke vnto him and bare our sinnes in his bodie on the tree Yea when Christ tooke the curse hee tooke the sinne of the olde man into his flesh and fastened it togither with his flesh vnto the Crosse. Quid pependit in ligno nisi peccatum veteris hominis quod Dominus pro nobis in ipsa carnis mortalitate suscepit Vnde nec erubuit nec tumuit Aposâ—olus dicere peccatum eum fecisse pro nobis addens vt de peccato condemnaret peccatum Non enim vetus homo noster simul crucifiâ— cretur sicut Apostolus alibi dicit nisi in illa morte Domini peccati nostri figura penderet What hung on the tree but the sinne of the olde man which sinne the Lorde tooke vpon him for vs in the verie mortalitie of his flesh Wherefore the Apostle was neither ashamed nor afraied to say that God made him sinne for vs that by sinne he might condemne sin For our olde man could not be crucified togither with Christ as the Apostle else where writeth except the figure of our sinne did hang on the Crosse in that death which the Lord died And if Peters words be true which can not be false Christ bare our sinnes that is the malediction and punishment of our sinnes in his body on the tree and thereby saued vs from the eternall malediction which is Go you cursed into euerlasting fire My resolution then is which I hope will bee receyued because it is the Apostles WE ARE DEAD TO THE LAVV BY THE BODIE OF CHRIST that we should be to another euen to him that is raised from the dead We are quit from the feare from the yoke from the curse from the vengeance of the law in one word WE ARE DEAD to the lawe which hath no more chalenge to vs nowe then a man hath to his wife that is long since dead And if you aske when and how we became dead to the lawe Saint Paul answereth BY THE BODIE OF CHRIST when hee suffered on the Crosse for our sinnes And as he that is dead is freed from sinne so we dying in and with the bodie of Christ are LOOSED FROM THE LAVVE OF SINNE AND DEATH Sinne beeing condemned and death conquered in the flesh of Christ VVHICH IS OVR FLESH not onelie because it was taken of vs but also for that it is vnited vnto vs as the heade to the members and communicateth with vs both in life and death as appeareth by that we died and rose againe in him and to this daie he suffereth in vs then which no coniunction can be surer or neerer Since then the corruption of our flesh the guilt of our sinne the curse of the lawe the sting of death were all closed and crucified in the bodie of Christ on the Crosse and his death hath discharged vs from their dominion iustlie doth the Apostle saie of Christ that hee did partake with flesh and bloud that through death hee might destroy him that had power of death euen the diuell For in that wee bee freed from the curse of the lawe which brought and bound sinners by death to hell the chaynes of darkenesse are broken and Satans force wholie frustrate and he himselfe nowe left to beholde the ruine of his kingdome to grieue at the spoyle of his goodes and to feare the vengeance prouided for him howsoeuer for a season hee bee suffered to pursue the members of Christ here on earth to his owne shame and their greater comfort in trying the mightie
power and steadfast fauour of God for their perpetuall defence and eternall recompence So that in all thinges wee are more then conquerours through him that loued vs and gaue himselfe for vs who will tread downe Satan vnder our feete that God may bee all in all Uerie mightie then is the power of Christes death by whose BLOVD the Saintes OVER COME the greate Dragon that olde Serpent called the Diuell and his ouerthrow prooueth all the enemies of mans saluation to bee vanquished and impediments remooued since he was the first perswader and procurer and is the Prince and ruler of them all We haue seene the power of Christs death in subduing sin and Satan as likewise in ending abolishing the curse of the lawe which obliged man for his vncleannesse and vnrighteousnesse to euerlasting condemnation and find that hee which bare our sinnes in his bodie on the tree did in that mortall part which hee tooke of vs crucifie as well the flesh and sinne of man as the curse and death that raigned ouer man and so much hee performed in the bodie of his flesh through death by which hee reconciled vs vnto God to make vs holie and blamelesse in his sight let vs nowe see whether the death of the spirite and the curse of the soule will anie thing helpe the woorke of our redemption or whether the death of Christes bodie doe not more fullie demonstrate the mercies of God and merits of Christ then if the paines of hell had beene ioyned with it And where some men thinke it woulde much commende the TRVTH POVVER and IVSTICE of God and more amplie declare the OBEDIENCE PATIENCE and LOVE of Christ if hee refused not the verie torments of hell for our sakes shunning no part of the burthen that pressed vs I must confesse I am rather of a contrarie minde that the bodilie death of Christ on the crosse doth more plainlie expresse the vertues of God and Christ his sonne then if the terror and horror of hell were therewith coupled And first for the TRVTH of god his threatning Adam in this wise Thou shalt die the death or thou shalt certainely die was truelie performed in the bodie of Christ in the soule of Christ it could not without sinne or damnation neither of which with anie truth can be ascribed vnto Christ. That the mouth of God lied or the soule of Christ died is a choâ—se so hard that I wish all men that haue anie care of Christian religion to refraine either Next touching the POVVER of God the weaker the instrument which God vseth to ouerthrowe his enemies the greater is both his glory and their shame Then for flesh which was the feeblest part of Christ after it was deade and voide of all hope in shew to rise againe into a blessed and heauenlie life and to foile both death and Satan by recouering it selfe into the full possession and all his members into the ioyfull expectation of euerlasting glorie was farre a mightier conquest then for his soule with much adoe at length to escape and resist the assaultes of hell From the depth of hell here on earth manie sinnefull soules haue by grace struggeled and cléered themselues from the graue neuer rose none into an immortall incorruptible life before the flesh of Christ. Déeper in desperation and al other temptations of hel haue others been that yet were saued then anie man dare affirme of Christ déeper in death without corruption then the bodie of Christ neuer was nor euer shall be anie of the sonnes of men It was therefore an harder thing for the bodie of Christ past all sense to rise from death to immortalitie then for his soule voide of sinne and full of grace to repell the force of Satan and yet to repell it sheweth greater power then to suffer it to conquere it sheweth greatest of all But to beare the burden of Gods wrath due to our sinnes and to frée vs from it néeded greater strength they will saie then Christes flesh could haue To support and auert Gods iust indignation from vs the humane bodie or soule of Christ of themselues were not able but the DIGNITIE and VNITIE of his person must be placed in the gap to quench the flame of Gods iust vengeaÌ„ce against our sinnes which was euerlasting destruction both of bodie and soule yet for so much as the sincerity and sanctitie of Christes soule personallie ioyned quickened and blessed with the perpetual vnion communion and fruition of his deitie could feele no want of grace no lacke of spirit no losse of fauour with God in which thinges consist the inwarde death and curse of the soule the wrath of God was executed on the flesh of his sonne which hee tooke of purpose from Adam that the rein he might beare the sinne and curse of Adam and so by his death might satisfie the sentence and pacifie the displeasure of God against our vnrighteousnesse And this is more agréeable to Gods iustice then if Christs soule had suffered the death and curse of the soule For to take life from the soule must be Gods proper and peculiar action No creature can giue the grace or spirit of God to the soule of man which is the life of the soule but onelie God Therefore no creature can take it from the soule but God alone that GIVETH it must TAKE IT AVVAY Since then Christ might suffer nothing iustlie but as the iust for the vniust that is willinglie but vniustlie his death must come by the handes of the wicked who might wrongfullie take his life from him but not touch his soule and not by the immediate hande of GOD who will doe no wrong and can kill the soule I haue sinned saith Iudas in betraying the INNOCENT bloud You denied the HOLIE AND IVST and killed the Lorde of life saith Peter to the Iewes warning them howe great a sinne they had committed in putting Christ to death If hee were an INNOCENT and deserued no punishment if hee were HOLIE and IVST and could not bee persecuted or put to death without haynous impietie and iniurie wee may doe well to remember that the death of his soule had beene a farre greater wrong then the death of his bodie was And therefore if the iustice of God would not farther interpose it selfe in killing his bodie then by deliuering him into the handes of the wicked permitting them to shed his blond which hee woulde accept for the sinnes of the worlde much lesse woulde God with his owne mouth accurse or with his owne hande slea the soule of his sonne whome hee sent to restore and quicken those that were accursed and dead in their sinnes Againe corporallie or temporallie God punisheth one for anothers fault bicause he can recompence them eternally that thereby repent and turne from their sinnes but eternally or spiritually he punisheth no man but for his owne vncleannes either naturally sticking in him or
manner and merit of Christs suffering death on the crosse to saue vs from the wrath of God that was kindled against our transgressions And since the scriptures mention none other meanes of our redemption but the DEATH and BLOVD of the SONNE of God I hold them wisest that leaue deuising any better or other help for our saluation then God himselfe hath reuealed And as for the death of the soule I take that to be the greatest hinderance that maybe to the worke of our redemption and to shake the verie foundation of our faith and hope in the crosse of Christ. Which least I should seeme to say no way to proue let vs view the COMFORT of Christes crosse and thereby see howe his soule was affected towardes God euen whiles his bodie suffered that grieuous and opprobrious death of the crosse I haue often mused what made men of great learning and iudgement otherwise to swarue so much from the plain tenor of the scriptures and to imagine in the soule of our sauiour such doubt and feare of Gods fauour such horâ—ors and torments of hell that they sticke not to match them with the paines of the damned considering there is no manifest ground nor euident proofe of so dangerous doctâ—ine in the word of God but contrariwise when the scriptures describe Christ on the crosse they propose his bodie martyred with al kinde of crueltie but his soule cleaning to God with all perfection of constancie Read the xvi and xxii Psalme who will which purposelie treate of Christes passion and tell mee whether there bee so much as a worde importing anie distrust of Gods fauour or anie suspicion of the paines of hell suffered in the soule of Christ The first entrance of the xxii Psalme you will say is My God my God whie hast thou forsaken me This is that Helen that hath bewitched the world I meane the misconstring of these words Of which though I haue spoken before as much as may content any man that is not fastned to his fancies more then to the truth yet let vs shortlie see whether the rest of the Psalme admit their new found exposition or no. It followeth in the same place Thou didst bring me out of my mothers wombe thou gauest mee confidence at my mothers breasts On thee was I cast from my birth THOV ART MY GOD FROM MY MOTHERS BELLIE Bee not farre from mee for trouble is neere and there is none to helpe Bee not farre O Lord my strength hasten to helpe me I will declare thy name vnto my brethren in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee for HE HATH NOT DESPISED nor abhorred the weakenesse or basenesse of the poore neither HATH HE HID HIS FACE FROM HIM but when he called vnto him HE HEARD HIM Is this the praier of a man whose soule is forsaken of God Did he doubt of Gods fauour that with such confidence pronounced Thou gauest me assurance at my mothers breasts thou art my God from my mothers belly Was he perswaded that god had refused and left him when as he saith God hath not DESPISED y e weaknes of the poore he hath not hid his face from him when he called God heard him If these be flat contradictions to their imaginations why wrest they the first verse to euert all the rest Christ therfore in the beginning of the Psalm might well complain that god had for the time of his passion withheld his PROTECTION or diminished his CONSOLATION but in no wise that God had decreased his loue or shut vp his fauor towards the humane soule of his sonne Yea the next words are an explication of the former Why hast thou forsaken me and art so farre from mine helpe Not to helpe in trouble is to forsake though God bee not angrie with the soules of such as suffer affliction The very words agrée to GO FARRE OFF froÌ„ a man is to FORSAKE HIM so he that desireth God not to be far off praieth not to be forsaken but rather to receiue helpe in time of néed Uerilie S. Ambroses iudgement and reason doth satisfie me whatsoeuer it doth others Ille nunquam derelictus est à patre cum quo pater semper erat Sed secundum corpus in quo traditus est passioni vox ista processit quoniam derelinqui nobis videmur quando sumus in periculis constituti Christ was neuer forsaken of his Father with whome the father alwayes was but this complaint came from his bodie which was left to suffer death for so much as wee thinke our selues forsaken when wee are oppressed with anie troubles If the xxii Psalme content vs not let vs examine the sixteenth and there marke what the holie Ghost doth attribute to the soule of Christ in the middes of his sufferings on the Crosse and then iudge which opinion draweth nearest to the truth of the sacred Scriptures I haue alwayes SET the Lord BEFORE ME for hee IS AT MY RIGHT HAND THAT I SHOVLD NOT BE SHAKEN therefore my heart is glad my tongue reioiceth my flesh also shall REST IN HOPE Because thou wilt not leaue my soule in hell nor suffer thine holie one to see corruptioÌ„ Thou wilt SHEVV ME THE VVAY OF LIFE THE FVLNES OF IOY IS IN THY PRESENCE and delectation at thy right hand for euer Thrée plentifull and wonderfull graces of the holie Ghost are here described in our Sauiour as he hung on the crosse in the middest of his miseries abundance of FAITH assurance of HOPE persistance in IOY The ground of our faith is the truth of Gods word sealed in our hearts by the working of his spirite The faith of Christ had a farre stronger foundation and clearer reuelation then ours can possible haue He was hoped for by the Patriarks searched after by the Prophets he was the end of all the lawe and truth of all the former testament He was serued by Angels acknowledged by starres seas windes beasts fishes and trees hee was obeyed by diseases death and diuels the holie Ghost visiblie descended on him when hee was baptised the father by thunder from heauen often proclaimed him to be his welbeloued sonne and commaunded all men to heare him he knewe the thoughts of mens hearts yea the secrets of heauen he was transfigured in the Mount and tasted of that heauenlie glorie prepared for him The confessing him to bee the sonne of God openeth heauen preuaileth agaynst hell supporteth his Church and obtaineth blessednes This he heard with his eares sawe with his eyes and wrought with his hands yea he spake with his mouth knew in his heart that God had sanctified him and sent him to saue the world I aske now a meane diuine was it possible that Christ Iesus after all this intelligence euidence and experience both of his owne person who he was and of his fathers loue and purpose how setled determined and euerlasting it was should feare or
it is temporall when it should iustlie be eternall and afflicteth the bodie where it might worthilie kill the soule it is rather the chastisement of a father then the rigour of a Iudge And yet the scriptures call it wrath because God neuer proceedeth to punish but when he is prouoked and despised in such sort that were it not for smart of correction wee would fall to the rage of open rebellion Wherefore the displeasure of God against our sinnes was verie great that pursued our suertie beeing innocent and obedient and euen his owne and only sonne with all maner of corporall and temporall scourges vnto death before it could bee pacified but that Gods fauour towards his sonne was altered or diminished or that Christ in feare and terror apprehended anie such change in his father or so much as doubted the constant and eternall counsell and decree of God to make him the Sauiour of the worlde and by the bloud of his crosse to make peace in heauen and earth these are so dangerous doctrines that I thinke no learned diuine will vndertake them Though he were the sonne yet learned he obedience by that which he suffered saith the Apostle Now obedience could not breed diffidence but confidence and was the vertue that so highlie pleased God in Christ that hee was made the authour of eternall saluation vnto all that OBEY HIM A double sense then of Gods wrath Christ Iesus had The first that pursued his bodie vnto death on the trée where hee bare our sinnes that is the chastisement of our peace the STRIPES of our iniquities and VVOVNDES of our transgressions The next was the serious contemplation of that eternall and intolerable vengeance which the iustice of God had in store for vs by reason of our manifold sinnes whose danger and destruction touched him as néere through the tendernesse of his loue and pietie as if it had beene imminent ouer his owne heade And therefore euen sicke with sorrowe for vs trembling at the terror of Gods wrath prepared to reueÌ„ge our vnrighteousnes he neuer left SVVEATING VVEEPING and CRYING to God for vs that his stripes might heale vs his anguish excuse vs his death quicken vs and his person sustaine and suffer for vs whatsoeuer the iustice of God would laie on him till he was heard and allowed of God to offer the sacrifice that should propitiate the sinnes of the worlde In these paines and feares whiles hee felt the arrowes of God sticking in his flesh and sawe the terror of eternall death readie to swallow vp all his members we maie grant that the CONSOLATION and IOIE which the humane soule of Christ before had of his Fathers continuall presence and assistance was for the time somewhat diminished his heart being oppressed with sorrow his bodie afflicted with sharpe and bitter paine his soule besieged with feare and care for vs that neither the dreadful wrath of God ouerwhelmed vs nor the deceitefull fraude of Satan vndermined vs but by no meanes we maie admit in Christ either feare or doubt of his owne saluation nor forgetfulnes of his person or function but the harder the work he vndertooke the stronger his faith that performed it the more terrible our danger the more stedfast his loue that shrunke not from vs in so great extremitie Might not yet the soule of Christ in this constant and full assurance of Gods loue towardes him and mercie towards vs feele the torments of hell for the time without anie distrusting or doubting of his saluation or our redemption The essentiall torments of hell are the absolute losse of Gods kingdome without recouerie and exquisite sense of hell fire euerlastinglie without release Neither of these without horrible blasphemie can be imagined in the soule of Christ the â—est that are consequents to these as desperation murmuration darkenesse horrour and such other impressions are like to these and coulde no more haue place in Christes person then the antecedentes might And since it is no where witnessed in the Scriptures nor anie waie prooued that Christ suffered the paines of hell whie striue we to establish a méere conceite of men neuer written or spoken of before our age beare wee so small regarde to the Church of Christ and to all the learned fathers and teachers in the same that for thirtéene hundred yéeres no man euer knew or heard the right waie and true meane of our redemption and reconciliation to God till the paines of hell were latelie deuised Abuses and errours did by little and little creepe into the church by the wilinesse of Satan and wilfulnesse of men but that the gates of hell shoulde so much preuaile against it as from the Apostles time to this present age no christian should euer trulie teach or rightlie beléeue how we are saued by the crosse of Christ is to me so strange that I wil be ten times aduised before I will once admit it Let vs giue thankes to God for dispelling the mist of darkenes and ignorance that ouerspred the world vnder Antichrist but let vs neuer glorie that we first inuented a newe faith neither testified in the scriptures nor mentioned in anie ancient writers nor euer heard of amongst christians before our time It is no corne but cockle that springeth so late in the Lordes field it is no saith but fansie that neuer before was in y â— foundation of Christs church The simplicitie therfore of the scriptures continually PRESSING the DEATH and BLOVD of Christ as the TRVE CAVSES of our saluation redemption and the consonancy of all antiquity according therewith do so chalenge my faith and establish my hart that I will see this new deuise of hel paines suffered in the soule of Christ better warranted before I wish it to be beléeued And as for the doctrine of the church of England which some men would faine infect with this late fansie giue mee leaue men and brethren to admonish you shortlie but trulie that who so will reade the sermon of the saluation of al mankinde in the first volume of Homilies and likewise the two Homilies concerning the death and passion of our Sauiour Iesus Christ contained in the second tome of Homilies shall finde that the doctrine which I haue deliuered you hath the publike approbation of Prince and Parliament the consent and agreement of all the Bishops and the subscription of all the clergie of this kingdome to bee taught as truth in all the churches of this realme and so hath had as well in the daies of king Edwarde the sixt as all the time of her maiesties most happie raigne whatsoeuer some forward nouices haue told you to the contrarie And thus much let me speake in the Honor of her maiestie and this realme I see no cause why the doctrine of the church of England so plainelie warranted by the Scriptures so fullie confessed by all the Fathers so long continued in Christs church without contradiction so
sufficiently authorized so generally acknowledged should bee controlled or corrected either by the dangerous deuises of some late writers or by the vnsetled humours of some late teachers Hold therefore in Gods name close to the rules of the holie ghost close to the words of the christian catholicke Fathers close to the lawes of this realme they all concur and conioine together howsoeuer some giddie spirits haue lately buzzed in your eares that I impugned the doctrine of the church of England I Haue deliuered you foure effectes of Christes crosse the merite of his suffering which was infinite the maner of his offering which was bloudie the power of his death which was mightie the comfort of his crosse which was and is necessary for vs all there remaineth the glorie of his resurrection which was heauenlie of which I did not purpose to speake when I first entred this matter but the ignorance of some imagining I denied the Article of the Créede HE DESCENDED INTO HELL for descent but on the crosse they admit none and the zeale of others importuning me to knowe what they might safelie beléeue touching that article hath made me to change my mind and in this last part to shewe that I neither frustrate the faith nor alter the Créede by anie thing that I affirme or refuse Where to let you see the multiplicitie of mens wits and conceites there are foure seuerall opinions that take holde euerie one of this Article of our Créede and chalenge the true meaning thereof as their peculiar and vndoubted right The FIRST applieth it to the soule of Christ suffering on the crosse the SECOND to the bodie of Christ buried the THIRD to the state of Christes soule seuered by death from the bodie the LAST to the conquest and triumph which the humane soule of Christ had ouer hell by the glorie of his resurrection as his bodie had ouer death Which of these hath the best right and fittest sense to be an article of our créede wil appeare by comparison in the end and vpshot of all in the meane while I will shortlie sift them that you maie sée the substance of them and so be able the better to iudge of them The first is the verie same which I haue alreadie handled and refused as not consonant to the christian faith but rather repugnant to the dignitie certainty sanctity of Christs person coniunction communion with God The scriptures auouch that Christs SOVLE was IN HELL but not whiles he liued here on earth it was a consequent to his death and no part of his suffering on the crosse as I shewed before And since the times do so much varie there can be no truth in taking the one for the other In this life God sometimes suffereth the sorowes and feares of hell to besiege his seruantes and bringeth them euen vnto hell but his saints descend not into hell feare may humble them that would otherwise presume of themselues or make triall howe fast they stande on that foundation against the which the gates of hell shall not preuaile but this conflict of conscience must resolue on the assurance of Gods fauour except they yéelde themselues vnto to despaire In Christ as there was no vse so was there no place for anie such temptation There was in him no danger of pride to exalt him and therefore no neede of feare to depresse him no slacknesse or coldnesse coulde take holde of him and so no terror requisite to awake him from sleepe or inflame his zeale generallie there was in him no corruption of nature no infection of sinne no wauering of faith no want of grace no doubt of Gods fauour and so those dreadfull thoughts and feares of hell which amaze other could not arise within his heart but all the paines and griefes which the sonne of God felt in his pretious bodie or righteous soule as they were VOLVNTARY for our example and SATISFATORIE for our sinne and not MEDICINABLE for anie infirmitie of his nor PROFITABLE to bring him to perfection of holinesse as they are in vs so were they proportioned to his person that was most assured of Gods euerlasting loue and to his gifts that could endure no inward decrease and therefore hee must in this point differ from all the saints of God that euer were or euer shall be on earth For they may be tossed with the waues of temptation rising from the remembrance of sinne remorse of conscience but our Sauiour as he was frée from all touch of sinne so was he from all feare of heart that hee should or might bee reiected from Gods fauour or adiudged to euerlasting death Smart paine and griefe of bodie or minde be it neuer so great will commende his obedience and patience but the SENSE of damnation or separation from God or the FEARE or DOVBT thereof in Christ as they quench faith and abolish grace so they dissolue the vnion and communion of both his natures or else bréede a false perswasion and sinnefull temptation in the soule of Christ. In vs that haue infinitelie prouoked the iustice of God it is the true beholding what wee haue deserâ—ed if God be not pleased for Christs sake to pardon and forgiue vs In Christ that was perfectlie righteous and personallie ioyned with God there coulde bee no apprehension of hell paines as due vnto him or determined for him without renouncing his innocencie and leauing the vnitie of his person and consequentlie hee must find or feare that God would be inconstant and vniust which are more then hainous impieties For Christ coulde not FEARE or DOVBT his owne saluation but he must feare or doubt that either his humane nature should bee separated from his diuine or his diuine together with his humane bee cast into hell fier from which the Lord blesse the tongues and thoughts of al christian men As for Christs not remeÌ„bring in a maze that he was the son of God sauiour of the world is a seely shift to shun these inconueniencies I had rather simply deny then any way beléeue this kind of descending into hel Do I charge then anie man with vpholding these impieties God forbid I sée by their own words they purpose and professe by al meanes to decline them no doubt detest them but I confesse my dulnes that sée not how to auoide the one if I auouch the other If we take hell paines METAPHORICALLY for great and intolerable paines in which sense the word maie bee vsed then it is no daunger to saie Christ suffered on the crosse the paines of hell because there canne bee no doubt but HIS PAYNES were exceeding GREATE and more SHARPE then wee canne conceiue or vtter But this is not the meaning of the Créede in that Article hee descended into Hell by reason there are wordes before inferring the paynes which hee SVFFERED when hee was CRVCIFIED If wee attribute the sense of Gods wrath and feeling of hell paynes vnto Christ
descending into hell as you expound it was his conuersing among the soules of the dead Those soules then were in a place and that place by your construction the Creed calleth Hell Their state you will say is called hell but not their place A wittie difference I assure you The place for soules after this life is answerable to their state If their state bee hell their place can neither bee Heauen nor Paradise As is their receptacle so is their rest the place doth bring either ioy or paine which is their state So that if Christ descending into hell conuersed with the soules of the righteous of force the soules of the righteous were in hell which is the selfe same errour that you woulde seeme by your newe founde interpretation to preuent But the state of the â—eade is in Hebrew noted by the worde Sheôl and thither Christ descended And the state or place whither Christ descended is in the Creede named hell and so Sheôl is that which the Creede calleth hell In deede some say that Sheôl doth neuer in the olde testament signifie the place of the damned but I must be borne with if I bee not of their minde Manie men saie that they neuer proue and some speake they know not what As both partes of man sinned in the first transgression so was there a pit of perdition prouided for either part the graue for the bodie which there should rot and hell for the soule which there should bee tormented with euerlasting fire Both these pits because they alwayes expect and exact as their due the bodies and soules of mortall and sinfull men and neuer are satisfied are contained in the word Sheôl and are not distinguished by the nature of the worde which is common to both but by the circumstances added which are proper to either For example when the word Sheôl is qualified with an OPPOSITION to heauen with a differeÌ„ce of SCITVATION as the LOVVER PIT with an ADDITION of the soule there suffering or of the pain there suffered all these are proofs that the word Sheôl which is otherwise indifferent must there be taken not for the buriall of the body nor for the change from this life but â—or the state of destruction and place of damnation Whither shall I go from thy spirit or whither shall I slie from thy presence If I ascend into heauen thou art there If I lodge BENEATH IN HEL thou art there Opposite to heauen is not the graue where the bodies of all gods saints do lie but hell as being the farthest from it and most repugnaÌ„t to it since from hel to heauen there is no passage for man but from the graue to heauen is the assured hope of all the faithfull This opposition our Sauiour expressing in the new testament saith And thou Capernaum which art exalted to heauen shalt bee thrust downe to hell Christ doth not threaten the contemners of his doctrine and myracles with the graue which is common to all the godlie but with perpetuall destruction and punishment proportionable to the height of their pride which must needes be hell And so much followeth in plaine wordes in the next verse I say to you it shall be easier for them of the land of Sodome in the day of iudgement then for thee In the daie of iudgement as death so the graue are at an ende for the bodies of the wicked shall then liue for euer and then shall Capernaum be cast downe to hell for the contempt of Christs preaching As hel is the farthest place from heauen that can be named so it is the lowest and therefore by the lower pit is ment not the graue but hell which in scituation is far lower then y e outside of the earth where men are buried Canst thou by searching find out God canst thou find out the perfection of the almightie to the height of heauen what canst thou do it is deeper then hell how canst thou know it Gods perfection is higher then the highest place which is heauen deeper then the deepest place which is hel To compare his power or iustice with the depth of the graue which is not foure yeards déepe at the most were a very slender comparison for the incomprehensible greatnes of god but since in height depth it excéedeth all things there can be no doubt but it is compared with the highest déepest places that are which are heauen and hel In like sort Thou hast deliuered my soule from the lowest pit can not be ment of the graue For mens souls are not inclosed in graues with their bodies but as the pit prouided for the body is the higher of the twaine and the pit prepared for the soule is the lower so the lowest pit out of question is hell where the soules of such as are reiected from God are detained against the day of vengeance And albeit some of these spéeches may perchance admit an allegoricall sense and so signifie the greatest and extreamest dangers that might be yet the ground of the allegorie dependeth on the nature of hell and not of the graue because of the two sortes of pittes hell is the lowest and made to receaue the soules of men which the graue doth not A fire saith God by Moses is kindled in my wrath and shall burne to the bottome of hell and set on fire the foundations of the mountaines Fire in the graue there is none in hell there is neither can the sepulcher where mens bodies lie buried be the bottome of hell For so shall we make the place of hell higher then the earth which the scripture euerie where crosseth when it calleth hell the deepe or lowest pit A fire then burning to the bottome of hell and inflaming the verie foundations of the hils can haue no resemblance to the graue nor performance in the graue but Sheol in that scripture as in manie others must signifie the verie place of the damned which we call hell The wordes then of the Créede hee descended into hell since the defenders of this thirde opinion doe not referre to the bodie of Christ buried but to the soule of Christ after death it is euident by their position that not onelie Christs soule after this life descended to hell but all the soules of the iust and righteous leauing this worlde before Christes comming descended likewise into hell And this euasion of theirs that Sheol in Hebrew signifieth the state of the deade after this life be it good or bad standeth them in little stéed For first they doe not auoid that obscure and idle repetition wherewith the second opinion was charged that after a plaine and easie article hee was deade the selfe same thing should bee iterated againe with a verie darke and doubtfull kind of hebraisme he descended into Sheôl By this former he was dead euerie man must néedes conceaue not onelie the separation of the soule from the bodie but also the subiection of either
part to the state of the deade What néeded then an vnknowne hebrew phrase hee descended into Sheôl to expresse the verie same point which before was fullie and fairelie deliuered Againe though Sheôl be common to the bodies of the faithfull and infidels yet may it bee verie well doubted whether the soules of the righteous departed this life be in Sheôl or no. And vnder correction I take it to bee more then the Scripture anie where doeth positiuelie affirme My reason is that Abrahams bosome is by our Sauiour placed ABOVE PARRE OFF from the place where the wicked after this life are tormented Now to Sheôl the Scripture maketh a DESCENT not an ascent as when Iacob saieth I VVILL GOE DOVVNE TO Sheôl vnto my sonne mourning And againe you will bring my gray hayres with sorrow DOVVNE TO SHEOL And least wee shoulde dreame of a metaphoricall kinde of descent in the rebellion of Corah Dathan and Abiram the scripture saieth THE GROVNDE claue asunder that was VNDER THEM and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them vp with their families So they and all that were with them DESCENDED aliue into Sheôl and the earth COVERED THEM To Sheôl then the scripture maketh a locall descent which is either of the bodie to the graue for so Iacobs words must be vnderstood when he saith I will descende to Sheôl vnto my sonne or of the soule after death to the place of torment which is the rewarde of all the wicked The wicked saith Dauid shall be turned into Sheôl and al nations that forget God Where he doth not meane they shall die aswel as the godly which is likewise the lot of all the iust righteous but they shall haue the due wages of sinne both body and soule descending to Sheôl that is the one to corruption in the earth the other to damnation in hell For Sheol containeth both and importeth both to the forgetters and despisers of God albeit it fasten no farther on the godly then to bring their bodies to the graue which is the gate of hel Ezechiah mentioning in his praiers how he was willed by the prophet to prepare himselfe to die thus expresseth it I said in the cutting off of my daies I shal goe to the gates of Sheol I am depriued of the residue of my yeeres but y e wicked go to THE DEPTH OF SHEOL which is the place of euerlasting punishment The way of life saith Salomon is ON HIGH to him that vnderstandeth to decline froÌ„ SHEOL BENEATH So that after this life the soules that liue are aboue for the way to life is on high the soules that die go to the depth of Sheol euen to the bottomles pit of perdition Of him that hanteth harlots Salomon saith He knoweth not y t her ghests are in the depth of Sheol that is so wrapped in their sinnes that they cannot preuent euerlasting damnation And againe Thou shalt smite the child with the rod and shalt deliuer his soule froÌ„ Sheol Correction will not saue a â—hilde that hee shall not see death but it will bow him to obedience and so saue his soule from destruction Yea how should Dauid so often confesse to God that his soule was freed from Sheol if by Sheol hee ment the state after death for thence it was impossible his soule shuld be deliuered What man liueth shal not see death so pretious is the redeÌ„ption of the soule froÌ„ death that it must cease for euer And yet comparing himself with the wicked his state with theirs he saith Like sheepe shall they lie in Sheol death shal deuoure theÌ„ and the righteous shall haue dominioÌ„ ouer theÌ„ in the day spring But God wil deliuer my soule from the power of Sheol for he will receiue me Doth Dauid meane he shal neuer die or that his soule shalbe deliuered from Sheol that is from the state of such as were departed this life y e imagination were both false absurd but he meaneth that death shal deuoure the wicked wholie as well soule as bodie whereas he did firmly beleeue y t God would deliuer his soule from the power of Sheol would receaue him after death though his body must of force by the condition of nature waxe olde as a garment and rot in the graue til the day of resurrection And if anie man thinke good in some such places as these are to interpret the SOVLE for LIFE because it is the spring and cause of life in the bodie and SHEOL for the GRAVE where life endeth I will not vtterlie condemne his exposition so long as he leaneth a different power of Sheol ouer y e iust vniust froÌ„ which Dauid saith God will deliuer his soule and do not make the soules of the righteous DESCEND TO SHEOL after death For that directlie impugneth the doctrine as well of the olde testament which saith the way of life is on high as of our Sauiour who placeth Abrahams bosome VPVVARD A FAR OFF from hell when he saith of the rich man that being in hell in torments hee LIFT VP his â—ies and saw Abraham A FAR OFF and Lazarus in his bosome Upon which place S. Augusten learnedlie and trulie inferreth Ne ipsos quidem INFEROS VSPIAM scripturarum locis IN BONO APPELLATOS potuireperire Quod si nusquam in diuinis authoritatibus legitur non vtique sinus ille Abrahae idest secretae cuiusdam quietis habitatio ALIQVA PARS INFERORVM esse credenda est quanquam in ijs ipsis tanti magistri verbis vbi ait dixisse Abraham Inter nos vos chaos magnum firmatum est SATIS VT OPINOR APPARET NON ESSE QVANDAM PARTEM ET QVASI MEMBRVM INFERORVM tantae illius felicitatis sinum Chaos enim magnum quid est nisi quidam hiatus multum ea separans inter quae non solum est verum etiam firmatus est The name of Inferi I could no where finde in anie place of scripture vsed IN ANY GOOD SENSE which if wee doe no where reade in the authorities of the scripture surelie Abrahams bosome which is an habitation of secret rest may not be thought to bee ANY PEECE OF THE LOVVER PARTS albeit in the words of so sufficient a maister as our Sauiour where he maketh Abraham say betwixt vs and you there is a GREATE GVLFE ESTABLISHED it is EVIDENT ENOVGH as I take it that the bosome of so great felicitie is NO PART NOR MEMBER of hell For what is a great gulfe but a great distance separating those places betweene which it lieth Inferi are the lower parts where the deade remaine which the Hebrew calleth Sheôl and touching Inferi which are the places or spirits beneath we maie with S. Austen conclude two thinges out of the manifest wordes of our Sauiour First that Abrahams bosome is VPVVARD towards heauen and therfore the soules of the righteous before the death of Christ ascended rather
then descended Next that neither paradise nor Abrahams bosome which was the receptacle for y e soules of all the sonnes of Abraham that held the faith and did the works of Abraham was anie part or member of hell So that CHRISTS DESCENDING INTO HELL cannot be expounded of his conuersing with the spirites of the iust and perfect men after his death nor of his enduring the state of the deade since the place where their soules doe rest after death is no where in the scriptures called HELL or SHEOL or as S. Austen speaketh INFERI And this I take to be so cleere that neither Iewish Rabbines with their grammaticall obseruations nor Gréeke poets with their fantasticall imaginations may be suffered to contradict it Howe easie it is to wrangle with the words NEPHESH SHEOL and HADES a meane scholar maie soon perceiue but I hold it no sound course to fetch the explication of the mysteries of christian religion either from such impudent impugners of it as were the Rabbines or from such ignorant deluders of it as were the prophane poets who talke euerie where of heauen and hell according to the false and lewde perswasion of their own hearts And therfore they may spare their paines that promise vs so manie thousand deponentes both Iewish and heathen that Sheol and Hades do not signifie hell It wil trouble them more then they thinke to bring vs but one good proofe out of the scripture that the soules of the righteous before Christs comming were in Sheol or Hades and till they doe I rest on Saint Austens collection out of the wordes of Christ that Abrahams bosome is no péece nor part of Hades or Inferi which the hebrew calleth Sheol as being deuided from it with a mightie distance and that the soules of the iust departing this life before Christs death were CARIED VP BY THE ANGELS INTO ABRAHAMS BOSOME So that as yet wee haue not the true meaning of these words of our creed he was CRVCIFIED DEAD BVRIED HE DESCENDED INTO HEL neither doeth anie of the precedent opinions come nére the plaine and true exposition thereof For in my iudgement they must haue a sense both DIFFERENT in matter and CONSEQVENT in order euen as they lie before we can rightlie vnderstand thē First he must be DEAD then BVRIED in body which was laid in y e earth lastlie the soule after it was seuered by death from the bodie DESCENDED INTO HEL this third point he descended into hell must neither be ALLEGORIZED which in matters of faith is verie dangerous so long as the proper sense containeth a truth nor CONFOVNDED VVITH THE FORMER for so the Créed shal not shortly touch mysteries of religion but darckly trouble vs with phrases of variation And therefore for my part I retaine in expounding this Article 3. things DISTINCTION of matter CONSEQVENCE of order PROPRIETY of words and those thrée considered the sense of the Article maie must be that Christ after his BODY was BVRIED in SOVLE DESCENDED VNTO that place which the scripture properly calleth HEL this sense I find to be so far from any falsity or absurdity that it is more honorable to Christ and more comfortable to christians then any of the rest that we haue yet examined Which that you may the better perceiue giue me leaue somewhat farther to repeat the fruit and force of his glorious resurrection Christ is called the first fruits of them that slept not that neuer none before Christ was restored from the deade to liue héere on earth but though many were so reuiued againe yet from the foundation of the worlde not one was euer raised vnto a blessed and immortall life before Christ. Elias raised the widow of Sareptas sonne Elizeus the Sunamites Christ himselfe restored to life the daughter of Iairus the widowes onlie sonne of Naim and Lazarus yet all these after their returne to life were still subiect to sinne and death as they were before but he whom the scripture nameth the first begotten of the dead was indéede the first that euer rose from the deade into an happy and heauenly life For where man here on earth is beset with thrée dangers with SINNE during life with DEATH shortning life with HEL tormenting after life the iust vengeance of sinne deliuering the body to death the soule to hel the resurrection of Christ being the ful conquest of all his our enemies that impugne either his glory or our safety must ouerthrowe sinne death hel not in his own person onlie to whom no such thing was due but in our stéed for our good y t we might bee likewise fréed from the power of those foes and as members be ioyned vnto our head wholy without any hinderance euerlastingly without anie disturbance and ioyfully without any gréeuance Wherfore Christ rising into a SPIRITVAL IMMORTAL CELESTIAL life fréed vs from the dominion of sinne feare of death and fury of Satan and by quickening vs raising vs vp and setting vs together with himselfe in heauenly places hath not only giuen vs the victorie against sinne and death but euen trodden down Satan vnder our féet Of Christs conquest against sinne death I shall not néed to say much things not impugned require lesse paines to be defended his conquest ouerhel as in himself it shewed most power purchased most honor so from vs it deserueth greatest thanks as bringing vs greatest comfort that though sinne remaine death preuaile against our bodies there is yet no cause to feare or doubt the fulnesse and surenesse of our redemption since the strength of hell is altogether conquered abolished from the faithfull which before was the very sting of sinne and death As therfore Christ was deliuered to death for our sinnes and is risen againe for our iustification so by MERCY REMITTING and GRACE REPRESSING he pareth the branches and drieth the roote of sinne till the bodie of sinne and death turning to dust withering in the graue be restored againe after Christs example to perpetuall celestial life and blisse Insomuch that by lamenting sinne past and resisting sinne to come sin daily dieth in vs and the inward man of the heart being lightened and renewed by grace doth daily more and more by desire and delight of heauenly thinges aspire to the imitation and participation of Christes resurrection The force of sinne then being quenched by Christes dying vnto sinne and his rising againe vnto righteousnesse the power of death is abolished by the pardoning and decreasing of our sinnes that being nowe the passage to glorie for all repenters which before was the gate to hell for all transgressors In his owne person Christ shewed his conquest ouer death not by kéeping his flesh from death which he could easilie haue done but by sauing it from rotting in the sepulchre and by raising it againe into an immortall and glorious state that death being swallowed vp
and place of his humiliation and when he rose againe all power in heauen and earth was giuen vnto him I was dead saith hee himselfe and behold I am aliue for euermore and I HAVE THE KEIES OF HELL AND OF DEATH that is all power ouer death and hell to shut and no man may open to open and no man may shut The Prophet Esay pointeth to the verie same CAVSE and TIME of Christes exaltation BECAVSE he hath powred out his soule vnto death THEREFORE will I giue him his portion with the great and hee shall diuide the spoiles with the mightie If FOR THAT CAVSE then AFTER THAT TIME Christ diuided the spoyles of the mightie or as the Apostle speaketh hee spoyled powers and principalities And noting exactlie the TIME of Christes triumph the Apostle saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ASCENDING ON HIGH HE LED CAPTIVITIE CAPTIVE This that hee ascended what meaneth it but that hee first descended into the lower partes of the earth Christ did not leade captiuitie captiue when hee descended into the lower partes of the earth but when hee ascended from thence The Diuels then which helde vs in captiuitie were themselues leade captiue when Christ ascended from the lower partes of the earth and then were powers and principalities SPOILED and openlie SHEVVED Christ TRIVMPHING OVER THEM not on the Crosse at the time of his passion but IN HIS OVVNE PERSON at the time of his resurrection and ascension An effect of this triumph is this that an Angell was sent in the Reuelation of Saint Iohn from heauen hauing the key of the bottomlesse pit and a great chaine in his hand And hee tooke the Dragon that olde Serpent which is the diuel Satan and bound him a thousand yeares And cast him into the bottomles pit and shut him vp and sealed vpō him that he should deceiue the people no more If a messenger from Christ had this power ouer Satan to binde him and shut him vp what commaund then had Christ himselfe ouer hell and Satan And how wholesome and gladsome a thing is it for vs to beléeue and confesse that Christ Iesus our Lord and sauiour hath Satan and all the pawers of hell chained at his will and by his conquest ouer them so ruleth and restraineth them that they can not stirre but by his leaue and appointment and thus shall he hold them captiue till hee deliuer the kingdome to God his father and throughly tread both death and Satan vnder our feete This doctrine I trust maintaineth no superstition but sound and true religion as well touching the partes as the time of Christs conquest and triumph ouer death and hell It resteth now to search what part of Christ had this triumph ouer hell for so much as Christ consisted of two natures diuine and humane his manhood by death was then diuided into two places the bodie being separate from the soule and lying in the dust of the earth but without corruption And first we must not referre this triumph to his diuine nature by reason it was no maisterie for god to conquer his vassall The seede of the woman must bruize the serpents heade and not the maker of heauen and earth with his almightie power maiestie Besides the godhead of Christ coulde neither truly DESCEND nor ASCEND as being euery where present nor be EXALTED as being equall with the highest nor RECEIVE GIFT as hauing all fulnes in it but that nature which led captiuity captiue did first DESCEND into y e lower parts of the earth after ASCENDED was EXALTED and RECEAVED this power and honour as a GIFT from God in respect of his obedience patience and humilitie The places are before alleaged there is no néede to repeat them It was then Christes humane nature which God so highlie EXALTED for his former obedience vnto death and to which all power was giuen in heauen and earth his diuine was euer in euen degree with his father full of maiestie power and glorie It is not to be neglected that Ireneus saith Si homo non vicisset inimicum hominis non iusté victus esset inimicus If a man had not ouercome the enemy of man the enemie had not lawfully beene ouercome Which proportion of iustice the Apostle vrgeth when he saith as by a man came death so by a man came the resurrection of the dead Since then the humane nature of Christ by condition might and by desert must bee exalted aboue all creatures and by the rule of iustice had the conquest of satan and his kingdome it is no harde matter to discerne which part of Christs manhood must ouerthrow death and which must triumph ouer hell The bodie of man whiles the first death lasteth is not due to hell it must lie dead and senselesse in the earth and so can neither liue nor feele the paines of hell Christes bodie then lying in the graue without SENSE MOTION OR LIFE could haue no conquest ouer hell ouer death it had being preserued in the graue without all corruption and raised from the deade to a blessed and immortall state without all imperfection Ouer hel it had none because that part of Christ which did conquere hel must haue as well MOTION TO DESCEND thither and POVVER TO REPRESSE there the rage of satā as also LIFE AND SENSE TO SPOILE powers and principalities and by leading them captiue to make an open shewe of them from al which the first death kept the bodie of Christ till the time that his soule ascending with triumph from hell tooke his body from death and so made a perfect conquest ouer hell and death not onlie for his owne person to whome all power was giuen in heauen and earth but for his members also for whose safety he tooke from Satan the keyes of hell and of death that he himselfe might be Lord of the dead the liuing So that now the power of hell is destroied and Satan restrained and the faithfull freed from all feare assured that the gates of hel shal not preuaile against them And this is that victorie which God threatened to death and hell by his prophet saying I will redeeme them from THE POVVER OF HEL I will deliuer them from death O death I will be thy death O HEL I VVIL BE THY DESTRVCTION repentance is hid from mine eyes So agréeable is this doctrine to the christian faith so comfortable to all the godly that few would refuse it except such as are waspishlie wedded to their owne fansies if it might appeare where this is written in the scriptures The which desire of religious mindes whiles I labor to satisfie I must forwarne them how easie it is for cōtentious spirits to frustrate the strength of all that God saith if they may be suffered with diuerse significations figuratiue interpretations to elude when they list the words of the holie ghost decline the literall
stronglie for which cause Dauid spake it then if wee applie the name of hell to the state of Paradise For if Christ did rise againe without corruption because his soule was not forsaken of God in Paradise then all the soules that rise not in like maner are forsaken of God though they still remaine in the rest and cōfort of Paradise which is a palpable falsity if not impietie But if neither the graue could corrupt his flesh nor hell detaine his soule what better assurance could be brought of his resurrection then that neither death could dissolue his bodie into dust nor hell preuaile against his soule And this I take to be S. Peters reason when hee saith to the Iewes Iesus of Nazareth haue ye taken by the handes of the wicked crucified and slaine whom God raised againe BREAKING THE SORROVVES OF DEATH in as much as it was IMPOSSIBLE he should BE HELD THER OF God made way for Christ to rise againe by BREAKING THE SORROVVES OF DEATH before him that they should not hinder him Christes bodie lying dead in the graue lacking sense could haue no sorrow In Paradise a place of rest ioie if his soule were there much lesse may we imagine any sorrow Since then the sepulchre hath no SENSE where Christs flesh lay Paradise hath NO SORROVV the SORROVVES OF DEATH must needes be referred to the paines of hel which were all loosed and dissolued before Christ because IT VVAS IMPOSSIBLE THEY SHOVLD TAKE HOLD OF HIM But Peter they will say nameth the SORROVVES OF DEATH and not of hell as if the name of death did not extende as well to the SECOND DEATH which is hell as to the first which is the dissolution of nature and THE SORROVVES OF THE FIRST DEATH Christ apparantly suffered as much as any man and they ended with death they dured not after death But in Peters words the sorrows of death were broken at Christs resurrection God raised him vp loosing the sorrowes or paines of death Wherefore the SORROVVES OF THE SECOND DEATH must necessarilie be vnderstoode those were all broken and dissolued before Christ by reason his soule was not forsakē in hell but vnited vnto God aided by the mighty hand of God to tread vpon al the power of y e aduersary in his own person to triumph ouer Satan and al the strength of the kingdom of darknes Lastly howsoeuer some presumers on their Hebrew may wrangle with the word Sheôl in Dauids speach thou wilt not forsake my soule in hel yet the worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by which S. Luke expresseth Dauids meaning doth properly import in the new testament the place of the damned I remit poets Pagans vsing that word after their prophane imagination to the alleagers in what sense the Euangelists and Apostles take it wil soone appeare by their writings Vpō this Rock saith Christ wil I build my church the gates 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of hel shal not preuaile against it The church doth not assure the godly that they shall not die but that the gates of the second death shal not hurt thē When the merciles rich man died was buried as wee read in the gospel of S. Luke y e scripture saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being in hel in TORMENTS he lift vp his eies and saw Abrahā a far off Lazarus in his bosome I hope the soule of this rich man was neither in the graue nor in paradise but plainelie IN HEL euen in the PLACE OF TORMENTS where no mercy can be shewed nor release hoped for and that place state of the damned S. Luke calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and our Sauior expressing it maketh the rich man most truly to saie I AM TORMENTED IN THIS FLAME S. Iohn in his Reuelation noting the coherence of death and hell in the destruction of the wicked saith Behold a pale horse and his name that sate thereon was death 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 HEL FOLLOVVED AFTER HIM and power was giuen THEM ouer the fourth part of y e earth After death followeth none other death but HEL which is the second death and y t as it commeth AFTER the death of the body so is it distinguished from the death of the bodie because it killeth the soule for euer and that S. Iohn calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He doth the like in the 20. chap. of the same booke The sea saith he gaue vp her dead which were in her death 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 HEL deliuered vp her dead that were in them and death 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 HEL were cast into y e lake of fire this is the second death When our sauiour then saith I haue y e keies of death 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of hel he doth not onlie mean the graues of dead bodies are subiected to his power but the place and paines of damned soules are likewise at his disposition And when Paule saith O death where is thy sting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ò hel where is thy victory he teacheth vs that God hath giuen vs the victory ouer DEATH AND HEL through our Lord Iesus Christ. That victorie Christ could not make vs partakers of except hee had first triumphed ouer them both in his owne person And that victorie Christ did foresee and foreshew when he said to God thou wilt not forsake my soule g d = fo in hell or leaue it to the power of hell but assist me there and bring me thence with safetie and victory If my collections were not allowed by the scriptures the generall faith and confession of all the fathers in all ages and countries since the first foundation of Christs church should moue men that are modest not hastelie to leape from the vniuersall consent of al places and persons grounding themselues on the manifest words of the sacred scriptures To quote them all were to increase another volume I will therefore content my selfe with shewing you how soone it began and howe long it continued in the church of Christ to be receaued and beléeued as a matter of faith Thaddaeus one of the 70. disciples mentioned in the tenth of Luke taught the citizens of Edessa within ten yeares after Christs death amongst other points of faith as Eusebius reporteth Quomodo Christus crucifixus fuerit ad inferos descenderit sepemque illam antea nunquam diruptam sciderit resurrexerit etiam ac mortuos qui à seculo dormierant vná excitauerit quomodo solus quidem descenderit multâ vero turbâ comitatus ad patrem ipsius ascenderit Howe Christ was crucified and descended into hell and ouerthrew the wall which was neuer before that time broken and rose againe and raised vp with him those y t had bin dead long before how he descēded alone but ascended vp to his father with a great multitude This report by
sepulchrum corrumpendam perduceret animam inferno torquendam protinus manciparet Vt autem peccator fuisset gratuito munere liberatus factum est vt mortens corporis quam à Deo iusto peccator homo pertulerat iusté Deifilius a peccatore pateretur iniuste ad sepulchrum perveniret caro iusti quousque fuerat caro deuoluta peccati vsque ad infernum descenderet anima saluatoris vbi peccatimerito torquebatur anima peccatoris Hoc autem ideo factum est vt per morientem temporaliter carnem iusti donaretur vita aeterna carni per descendentem ad infernum animam iusti dolores soluerentur inferni It remained for the full effecting of our redemption that man assumed of God without sinne shoulde thither descend whither man seuered from God fell by desert of sinne that is vnto hell where the soule of the sinner was woont to bee tormented and to the graue where the flesh of the sinner was woont to bee corrupted yet so that neither Christes flesh shoulde bee corrupted in the graue nor his soule bee tormented with the paines of hell because the soule free from sinne was not to be subiected to that punishment nor flesh cleane from the contagion of sinne shoulde suffer corruption In so much as man sinning deserued by punishment to bee seuered from himselfe who by his transgression woulde needes bee seuered from God therefore it was appointed that the death of the sinner should bring his sinfull flesh to the graue there to rotte and presentlie should send his soule to hell there to be tormented But when the sinner by the gift of Gods grace was to bee deliuered it was prouided that the sonne of God should vniustlie suffer at the hands of sinners the death of the bodie which sinfull man had iustlie beene wrapped in by the iustice of God and the flesh of the iust should come to the graue whither sinfull flesh was tumbled and that the SOVLE OF OVR SAVIOVR SHOVLD DESCEND TO HELL VVHERE THE SINFVLL SOVLâ— VVAS TORMENTED FOR THE REVVARD OF SINNE This was therefore done that by the flesh of the iust temporally dying eternall life might be giuen to our flesh and by the soule of the iust descending to hell the torments of hell might be abolished Out of Fulgentius I obserue two things which if it please men to marke they shall cleare themselues from all absurdities touching Christs descent to hell The first is THE PLACE VVHITHER he desended the next is THE CAVSE VVHY he descended The place whither hee descended was hell whither the soule of man sinning against God was adiudged for the wages of his transgâ—ession The cause of his descent was to free all the faithfull from the beginning of the world to the ende thereof from comming thither And in both these the Scriptures and fathers doe fullie concurre though some auncient writers doe swarue and striue about Christes deliuering some from hell that were there at the time of his descent as they suppose Which varietie and vncertaintie of opinions concerning the state of the deade before Christes comming hath verie much entangled this question and induced manie men of learning and iudgement otherwise to reiect Christs descent to hell as a fable or to wrest it to an other sense with newe founde expositions Howbeit I see no cause but the doctrine of the Scriptures confessed by all the fathers may stande verie cleare whatsoeuer we resolue of this other assertion touching the state of the righteous departed this life before Christs death I will therefore shortly discusse both the place and the cause and so draw to an end As for the place whither Christ descended the Church of Rome gréedily hunteth after it to heare of her Purgatorie hoping whence the soules of the righteous were by Christ deliuered there to make a stand for soules not perfectlie confessed and absolued in this life that she maie set to sale her praiers and pardons But if shee follow Christ descending her deuotion must reach to the place and paines of the damned for thither Christ descended And so by their leaues both Scriptures and fathers auouch First the wordes are plaine and must bee proper as well in the Canon as in the Créed Thou wilt not leaue my soule in hell and he descended into hell Againe the kingdom of Satan consisteth of these three SINNE DEATH and HELL SINNE RAIGNING whiles the bodie and soule are ioined togither DEATH SEVERING them both and TVRNING the bodie to earth HELL RECEIVING and TORMENTING the soule till the daie of iudgement when bodie and soule shall for euer bee cast into hell fire If these three bee not abolished by Christ Satans kingdome is not destroyed by Christ and speciallie if hell bee not vanquished no part of our saluation is performed The woorke of sinne is sweete if the wages were not sower which is hell fire To raise our bodies from death is no fauour if Hell bee not ouerthrowen it were more easie for them to lie in dust then to burne in hell Howe hath Christ restored vs to Heauen if hee haue not yet freed vs from Hell Or brought vs to God if he haue not yet taken vs from Satan Wherefore either Hell must bee destroyed or wee are no waie redeemed And in all these when I speake of Hell I speake of the place of the damned For if the feare of damnation continue what hope of saluation can wee conceiue But the Apostle saieth plainlie that Christ through death DESTROIED HIM that had power of death euen the DIVELL and DELIVERED ALL them which for feare of death were all their life time subiect to seruitude If the DIVELL bee DESTROIED then Hell is fullie conquered for whiles that retaineth force against the faithfull the Diuell is in the height of his kingdome Neither is death to bee feared at all but in respect of hell following after death If then all the Saintes heere on earth be DELIVERED FROM THE FEARE OF DEATH and from the handes of all that hate them to serue God without feare all the dayes of their life in holinesse and righteousnesse before him it is euident that hell is spoyled of all right and claime to the members of Christ by reason our heade beeing there in our names and for our sinnes brake the strength of hell abolished the power and loosed the sorrowes and paines thereof that they shoulde not take holde on him nor euer after on anie of his For as hee suffered and died not for his owne sake but for ours so hee descended and loosed the sorrowes of death and hell not as prouided for him but for vs. And since to our sinnes was due damnation and no lesser or easier punishment it was requisite that Christ shoulde thither descende and by dissoluing the wages of our sinne in his owne person thence deliuer vs though not there tormented yet thither adiudged and so release vs not as beeing there but from comming thither
Touching the place Thaddaeus one of the seuentie taught as wee heard out of Eusebius that Christ descended into hell and brake the wall that was neuer before broken From the deade manie rose before Christes death and therefore the partition betwixt death and life was often broken by others before Christes resurrection but from hell neuer returned anie but onelye Christ by reason that wall was neuer broken but by the Sonne of GOD. Athanasius in like sorte In suae ad nostri similitudinem forma nostram inibi depingens mortem vt in ea resurrectionem pro nobis concinnaret ex sepulchro quidē corpus animam vero ex ORCO reducem faceret vt in morte mortem dissolueret per exhibitionem animae per sepulchrum corporis in sepulchro corruptionem aboleret ex orco verò sepulchro immortalitatem incorruptionem ostendit in forma nobis consimili viam nostram emensus nostramque detentionem relaxans hoc ipsum eximij miraculi fuit In his likenesse to our nature Christe accomplishing our death that in the same hee might perform his resurrection for vs ' brought his BODIE OVT OF THE GRAVE his SOVLE OVT OF HEL that in death he might dissolue death by presenting his soule there and by the buriall of his bodie he might abolish corruption in the graue So that euen from hell and from the graue hee shewed immortalitie of the soule and incorruption of the body treading the verie way that we should haue trod in the likenesse of our nature and releasing of our detention And this was a marueilous wonder When Athanasius saith that Christ in his humane nature trodde the verie same way of death that wee should haue done his bodie and soule going to those very places whither ours should haue gone he doth not mean the place of rest where y e soules of the righteous were before Christs comming but the place whither the souls of men were condemned for the sin of their first father which is not Paradise nor Abrahams bosome but the place of the damned where the true death of the soule and wages of sin are by Gods iustice inflicted Heare his owne words Vbi corruptum fuerat humanum corpus eó suum corpus protecit Iesus vbitenebatur anima humana in morte ibi exhibuit humanam suam animam vt ipse inuictus à morte tanquam hominem se praesentem ostenderet solueret catenas mortis vt Deus vt vbi seminata fuerat corruptio inde exoriretur incorruptibilitas VBI REGNAVERAT MORS IN FORMA HVMANAE ANIMAE ibi ipse ille mortalis praesens immortalitatem exhiberet atque ita NOS PARTICIPES redderet suae incorruptibilitatis immortalitatis per spem resurrectionis ex mortuis Where the bodie of man vsed to rot thither Iesus cast his body and VVHERE THE SOVLE OF MAN VVAS HELD IN DEATH there did he exhibite his humane soule that hee being in no wise to bee conquered by death might both shewe himselfe there present as man and yet break the chaines of death as God that where corruption was sowed thence incorruption might rise euen from the graue where death raigned ouer mens soules which must néedes be in hell there he being present as a mortall man might demonstrate his immortalitie and so make vs partakers of his incorruption in flesh and immortalitie in soule by the hope of resurrection from the dead And because Hilarius and Fulgentius doe so fullie concurre with Athanasius that if we trulie conceiue the one we shall easilie vnderstand the other you shall see the same doctrine which the other two follow more fullie deliuered by Athanasius Quide Adae inobedientia quaestionem habuit indicioque peracto duplicem paenam in sententia sua complexus erat dum rei terrestri italoquitur Terraes in terram reuerteris at que ita pro decreto domini corpus in terram abscedit animae dixit morte morieris atque hinc est quod homo in duas partes discerpitur et vt ad duo loca discedat condemnatur Ac proinde upos fuit illo ipso iudice qui hoc decretū tulerat vt ipse per se sententiā solueret sub specie condēnati incondēnatū se sincerūque a peccatis ostēdens vt hominem deo reconciliaret hominemque totum in libertatem vindicaret I am si mihi alium locum condemnationis praeter hos duos ostendere potestis merito hominem dixeritis tripliciter diuidi Quod si tertium aliquem locum ostender◠non potestis PRAETER SEPVLCHRVM ET INFERNVM ex quibus plané ereptus est homo Christo assertore per suam speciem cum nostri similitudine congruentem cur igitur dicitis deum nondum propitiatum esse Hee that examined Adams disobedience and in the ende of his iudgement comprised in his sentence against Adam a double punishment speaking thus to the terrestriall part of man earth thou art aad to earth shalt thou returne and according to this decree the Lords body was laid in earth euen he said to the soule thou shalt die the death and thereupon man dying is distracted in two partes and condemned to two places Insomuch that it was requisite the verie same iudge which pronounced this decree should by himselfe dissolue this sentence in the shew of a man condemned but yet prouing him selfe to be vncondemned and cleere from sinne that he might reconcile man to God and reduce the whole man to libertie Nowe if you can name me any other place whereto man was condemned besides these two rightly may you thinke man after death is to be deuided into three places but if you can shewe me no third place besides the graue for the bodie and hell for the soule from both which man is fullie freed Christ deliuering him with like parts of himselfe answerable to our nature how say you then that God is not yet satisfied The whole man in Adam was in such sort condemned for sinne that his bodie returned to corruption in the earth and his soule departed to tormentes in hell which is the death of the soule after this life To the verie same places whither man was condemned in the same partes of our nature the sonne of GOD vouchsafed to descende that by the lying of his bodie in the earth our bodies might at the last daie bee raised out of the earth and by the presence of his soule in hell on which the force of hell coulde not fasten our soules might for euer be deliuered from comming thither This condemnation of the bodie to the graue and of the soule to hell for sinne is that law of humane necessity which Hilary speaketh of wherto the Lord Iesus submitted himself not that his flesh should sée corruption or his soule tast of dānatiō but y t by the presence of his body in the graue of his soule in hell he might shew himselfe inuincible to both
and so deliuer vs from both The archangels powers and principalities in heauen doe with vnceasing and euerlasting voices glorifie the sonne of God saith Hilary quia homo natus sit mortem vicerit portas Inferni fregerit cohaeredē sibi plebē acquisiuerit carnem in aeternitatis gloriam ex corruptione transtulerit because he became man vanquished death brake the gates of hel purchased vnto himselfe a people to inherit with him and translated his flesh frō corruptiō to eternal glory These two places the graue hel wherto sinners were adiudged to haue their bodies in the one to be corrupted their soules in the other to be tormented Fulgentius doth expresly pursue as his wordes before do plainly testifie and resolutelie concludeth that Christs manhood for the ful effecting of our redemption must SO FAR DESCEND quousque homo separatus à deo peccati merito cecidisset HOVV FAR MAN SEVERED FROM GOD FEL BY THE DESERT OF SINNE THAT IS TO HELL VVHERE THE SOVLE OF THE SINNER VSED TO BE TORMENTED and to the graue where the FLESH OF THE SINNER vsed to putrifie Nowe if anie man thinke the soule of man seuered from God did not for the wages of sinne deserue the place and paines of the damned he had more néede bee catechised then confuted For since without repentance men perish in their sinnes and the soule that sinneth that soule shall die the death of the soule after this life is no where but in hell where bodie soule do perish euerlastinglie With these someth Saint Austen as touching the place Si in illum Abrabae sinum Christum mortuum venisse sancta scriptura dixisset non nominato inferno eiusque doloribus miror si quisquam ad inferos eum descendisse asserere auderet Sed quia euidentia testimonia infernum commemorant dolores nulla causa occurrit cur illô credatur venisse saluator nisi vt ab eius doloribus saluos faceret If the holie Scripture had saide that Christ after his death came to Abrahams bosome and not mentioned hell and the paynes thereof I maruaile if anie woulde haue beene so bolde as to haue auouched that Christ descended into hel But for that euident testimonies do name hel and the paines of hel I yet see no cause why our Sauiour should bee beleeued to haue come thither but to deliuer frō the paines thereof Wherefore when the scriptures teach vs y t Christs soule was in hell wee must not by hel mean Abrahams bosome or Paradise but y e very place of the damned where the soules of sinners are tormented For Christ to redeeme man that was condemned for sinne descended as lowe as man fell by the punishment of sinne in this life or the nexte and fet vs backe from the sentence of death pronounced against vs by presenting himselfe in our stéede to the verie places that were prepared to reuenge our transgressions his flesh resisting the power of the graue and his soule repressing and breaking the paines of hell that neither shoulde bee able to hinder the spéede of his resurrection or weaken the worke of our redemption As the place whither Christ descended is expresly named in the scriptures to be hell and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where the wicked are euerlastinglie tormented so the purpose of his descent is plainelie professed in the same to bee the spoiling of Satan and deliuering of man from the power of hell And these two are so linked together that the one is alwaies included in the other Christ entring Satans house to this ende that he might diuide the spoiles First then let vs see what the scriptures say of mans deliuerance from the hande of Satan and afterward heare what some of the ancient writers haue thereto added or therein doubted The promise made in the prophet Esay that God will destroie death for euer and likewise in the prophet Osee I will redeeme them from the power of hell I will deliuer them from death ô death I will be thy death ô hell I will bee thy destruction was not peculiar to this or that age nor proper to those that were alreadie dead or then borne when this was spoken but generall to all the faithfull from the beginning to the ende whereby God assureth them that hell shall bee destroied and Satan troden vnder feete and death swallowed vp in victorie Zachary Iohn Baptistes father is the best expositor of all these promises when he saith Blessed be the Lord God of Israel because he hath visited and redeemed his people And hath raised vp an horne of saluation for vs in the house of his seruant Dauid as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets which were from the beginning euen saluation from our enemies and from the hand of all that hate vs. Which was the othe that hee sware to our father Abraham that he would cause vs being deliuered out of the hande of our enemies to serue him without feare in holinesse and righteousnesse before him all the daies of our life The saluation which God hath wrought for vs in Christ doth not frée vs from afflictions and troubles since all that will liue godly in Christ Iesus shall suffer persecution but it bringeth vs DELIVERANCE FROM OVR ghostly ENEMIES saueth vs from the hand of al that hate our soules that being quieted from their power and feare we should serue God in holines all the time of our life And albeit in this life our eies are opened that we may turne from darkenesse to light and from the power of Satan to God and receaue forgiuenesse of sinnes and inheritance amongst them which are sanctified by faith in Christ◠yet the feare of death is not taken from vs till we be assured that hell is conquered and no cause lefte why we should tremble at death that now is an entrance to a better life DELIVERANCE then FROM THE HAND OF ALL that hate vs which Christ hath purchased for vs hath in it not onelie remission of sinnes and resurrection from death but also the destruction of Satan whereby God acquiteth vs from the power of darkenesse that is from the feare of hell in this life and from the danger thereof in the next and fully translateth vs into the kingdome of his deere sonne and this deliuerance belongeth to all the members of Christ without exception as well liuing as yet vnborne Christ saith the Apostle through death destroied him that had power of death euen the diuell and DELIVERED ALL THEM which for feare of death were al their life long subiect to bondage If ALL BE DELIVERED that were oppressed with the feare of death then surelie the liuing must néeds be discharged from the bondage of Satan and redemption from the power of hell which God promised vnto his seruantes was not proper to anie that were in hell at the time of Christes descent but it was and is extended to all the
and Patriarks were before Christs resurrection in hell or no but what soeuer we determine or imagine of this later question the other position standeth vncontrolled both by Scriptures and fathers yet for their sakes that happilie maie stumble at this blocke I will not refraine to speake what I thinke of this assertion so as I bee first allowed to say with saint Austen Quod dicimus fratres hoc si non vobis tanquam certus exposuero ne succenseatis Homo enim sum quantum conceditur de scripturis sanctis tantum audeo dicere nihil ex me Infernum nec ego expertus sum adhuc nec vos fortassis alia via erit non per infernum erit Incerta sunt enim haec That which in this question I say brethren if I can not auouch it as certaine you must not bee offended I am but a man and what I am assured by the Scriptures that I dare affirme and of my selfe nothing Hell neither I haue yet experience of neither you and perchance there shall bee another way and by hell it shall not bee For these thinges are altogither vncertaine The thinges after this life God will not haue particularlie knowne vnto vs whiles here wee liue and therefore to make sodaine resolutions of them can haue neither certaintie nor safetie yet so much as the scriptures reueale we must necessarilie beléeue and may boldlie professe without anie danger Touching the state of the dead in the olde Testament I see a number of auncient writers incline to this conclusion that the soules of the righteous before Christes death and descent were in hell but as the foundation of their opinion is verie weake so the consequents are plainlie contradicted both by Scriptures and fathers This assertion first grewe from the confession of the Patriarkes and Prophets that they must after this life DESCEND TO SHEOL which the Septuagint doe alwayes expresse by the worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Latine interpreter by Infernus wherevpon the fathers both Greeke and Latin supposed the saints in the old Testament departing hence DESCENDED TO HELL But the signification of the worde Sheôl is so manifestlie mistaken that it is nowe no great masterie to finde the foile When Iacob saith I will go downe TO SHEOL mourning to my sonne and againe You will bring my gray haires with sorrow vnto Sheôl and likewise Iob Sheôl is my house oh that thou wouldest hide me in Sheôl till thine anger were past as also Dauid what man liueth that shall deliuer his soule from the hand of Sheôl And lastly Ezechias I shal go to the gates of Sheôl If by Sheôl in these places wee vnderstand hell as some Greeke and Latine interpreters and writers haue done we must needes confesse the faithfull dying in the former Testament descended into hell but if wee take Sheôl for the graue where life endeth and the bodie lieth then make they no kind of proofe that the soules of the godly before Christs comming were in hel but only that their bodies were in the graue of which there was neuer any question amongst christians or pagans Nowe that Sheôl in the Scriptures noteth as well the graue where mens bodies putrifie as she place where the soules of the wicked are after this life detained and punished to him that considereth the circumstances of these and other such places will soone appeare The words of king Ezechiah at large are these I said in the cutting off of my daies I shall goe to the gates of Sheôl I am depriued of the residue of my yeares I saide I shall not see the Lord in the land of the liuing I shall see man no more amongst the inhabitants of the worlde I haue cutte my life in sunder like a weauer Here is a full description of death not of hell and least wee shoulde dreame that both are linked togither in the end hee saieth Sheôl can not confesse vnto thee neither can death praise thee nor they that descende into the pitte trust in thy trueth but the liuing the liuing hee shall confesse thee as I doe this day It is manifest impietie to saie that the soules of the Saints departed did neither CONFESSE NOR PRAISE GOD nor TRVST IN HIS TRVTH but in the graue where the bodie wanteth sense and life this is most true which Ezechias deliuereth and confirmed by the holie Ghost in diuerse places of the Scriptures In death there is no remembrance of thee saieth Dauid to God and in Sheôl who shall confesse or praise thee The soules of iust and perfect men did then most praise GOD when they were loosed from the warfare of this life therefore they were not in Sheôl for in Sheôl none shall confesse vnto God nor trust in his truth The deade praise not the Lord nor all that goe downe into silence DEATH SILENCE and SHEOL are taken for one and the same thing and in none of these is God praised or confessed And what can bee plainer then that Dauid saieth in the 141. Psalme Our bones lie scattered at the mouth of Sheôl as chippes â—ewed on the earth Their bones I trust lay not scattered at the mouth of hell but at the mouth of their graues where their bodies were buried Iob in like maner though I hope yet Sheôl must bee mine house I shall take vp my bedde in darkenesse I shall say to corruption thou art my father and to the worme thou art my mother and my sister Darkenesse corruption and the worme are the partes of Sheol aâ—d thâ—se consume the bodie they waste not the soule Salomon shall seale vp this inquisition where hee â—aieth All that thine hande is able to doe dispatch it in thy strength for there is neither VVORKE nor THOVGHT nor KNOVVLEDGE nor VVISEDOME in SHEOL whither thou goest If the soules of the righteous neither DOE nor THINKE nor KNOVVE anie thing they bee surelie a sleepe and neither in ioy nor paine but if this bee absurde and wicked to affirme either of hell heauen paradise or of Abrahams bosome then certainlie SHEOL where none of these things are is THE GRAVE and there it is eâ—ident all these thinges are wanting Since then without question Sheol signifieth as well the graue where the bodie lieth dead and rotten as the place where the soules of vniust and sinfull men are kept and tormented if in the wordes of the Patriarkes and Prophets confessing they must go to Sheôl we vnderstand the graue which indéede they ment there is no shew in the scriptures that the faithfull before Christes death went to hell as some fathers haue collected out of these and such like sayings of the godlie before Christes birth but rather the places that mention their state after death do euidently import the contrarie The booke of Wisedome though it be not Canonicall yet doth it shewe what opinion the Church of the Iewes had of the soules of the
If he were not drawne against his will hee consented to come both which are absurd to beleeue of so iust a person And this is the sleight of Satan that to deceiue the more hee maketh as if the iust were in his hands The storie doth describe the mind of Saul and the shew of Samuel expressing what was seene and said but pretermitting how true or false either was For what saith it Saul hearing in what habite the spirite was raised vnderstoode it to be Samuel It reporteth what Saul conceiued and because hee conceiued amisse hee adored another then God against the scripture and thinking it to bee Samuel worshipped the Diuell that Satan might reape the fruite of his fallacie For if Samuel had indeede appeared vnto him the iust person woulde neuer haue suffered himselfe to bee worshipped which preached God alone to be worshipped And how did the man of god that was with Abraham in rest say to that pestilent man worthie of hell fire to morrowe thou shalt bee with me By these two wayes Satan afore he was ware betraied his fraudulent subtiltie because he suffered himselfe to be worshipped vnder the habite and name of Samuel against Gods lawe and lied that Saul loden with sinne should after death be with righteous Samuel whereas there is a great distance betwixt the iust and vniust after this life and Saul went hence to him whom he worshipped If the fathers so much varie and dissent from themselues and from others whie do I presse their testimonie touching Christs descent to hell I presse them no further then they accord with the words of the scripture and with the grounds of faith wherein they all concurre with one consent When they swarue aside or part asunder I dissemble it not wishing the reader as not to regarde their priuate opinions without good proofe so not to reiect their general confession in matters of faith agreeing with the scriptures without better demonstration then I yet sée made for the contrarie That the diuell was destroied and man deliuered by Christes death from the feare of death is no supposall of mine or theirs but the manifest conclusion of the holy ghost That Christ in his owne person spoiled powers and principalities and openly triumphed ouer them that death and hell might bee swallowed vp in victorie is not mans imagination but the Apostles resolution That Christs soule was in hell and there not forsaken if Dauids prediction and Peters application were not plaine inough S. Lukes interpretation is so pregnant that without wrong to the word it can not bee pared Lay these togither and sée what they lacke of Christs soule descending into hell His being there must néeds inferre his descending thither And yet least some scrupulous person should stick at the phrase of Christs DESCENDING INTO HEL I think S. Paul hath words equiualent to them Ascending on high he led captiuitie captiue That he ascended what is it but that he FIRST DESCENDED into the lower partes of the earth He that descended is euen the same that ascended aboue al the heauens that he might fil al. If hell be any where there can be no doubt but it must be in the lower parts of the earth From the earth vpward is heauen where hell can not be Christ then DESCENDED into the lower partes of the earth and thence ledde captiuitie captiue that hee might fill all places with his presence Christs sepulchre was in the higher parts of the earth hewen out in a rock and thence he might lead the death of the bodie captiue but not the diuell that was ruler ouer death and had a chalenge to the soules of men that came not neare their graues Since then ascending from the lower parts of the earth he lead captiue all y e powers that held man in bondage and those chiefelie were the powers of hell which had interest into the soule of man by reason of sinne it must needes bee that Christ descended to those partes of the earth where mans captiuitie was strongest which is in hell and thence fréed him by his presence and led those captiues that ruled ouer him as conquerour of all the power of the deuill and darkenesse whose prisoner man was before hee was redeemed Againe hee first descended to the lowest and then ascended to the highest that he might fill all places with his presence If hee descended not to hell howe filled hee that place where hee neuer was except with the brightnesse of his diuine glorie which is euerie where present without descending or ascending But the Apostle saith he descended to the lowest and ascended to the highest that he might fill all places with the presence of his manhoode all knees in heauen earth and hell bowing vnto the exaltation of his humane nature And if the lower partes of the earth whither Christ descended to leade captiuitie captiue bee not lowe enough to shewe the scituation of hell Saint Paul hath plainer wordes of Christes descending as lowe as might bee when he writeth to the Romanes in this wise Say not in thine heart who shall ascende into heauen that is to bring Christ downe from aboue or who shal DESCEND INTO THE DEEPE that is to bring Christ backe from the deade Christ dying DESCENDED INTO THE DEEPE as rising from the deade hee ascended into heauen Nowe the deepe is so lowe that no place canne be lower yea hell it selfe and the prison of Diuels is knowne by that name in the newe Testament When the spirits that possessed the mad man amongst the Gadarens were to bee cast out by Christ they besought him that hee would not commaund them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to departe into the deepe In the Reuelation of Saint Iohn hell is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the pit of the deepe and the Diuell is there named the Angell 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the deepe yea the verie place where the Diuell is shut vp is expressed by that word I sawe an Angell saith Saint Iohn come downe from heauen hauing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the key of the deepe and a great chaine in his hand And he took the dragon that olde serpent which is called the diuell and bounde him and cast him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into the deep shut him vp If 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be a bottomles deep then which can nothing be déeper if in the scriptures it properly signifie the verie dungeon of hel where the diuels are kept the Apostle then auouching that Christ when hee died DESCENDED 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 INTO THE BOTTOMLES DEEP doth cléerely confirme that he descended into hell As therefore if we aske who can descend into the deep or ascend into heauen we reuerse Christs being among the dead and his sitting at the right hand of God in the heauens so if wee confesse thē both to be verified in Christ but in Christ they neuer were nor euer
shalbe verified of any man we must no more deny y t he descended into the bottomles pit which is hell then y t he ascended into y e heauens both are necessary partes of our redemption euident proofes of his mighty operatioÌ„ We must be fréed froÌ„ hel before we can be placed in heauen and if Christ haue omitted either he hath performed neither What maruaile then if the ancient fathers with one consent make Christs descent to hel a material point of our redemption and presse it as an appendix to faith since it hath so good ground and iust proofe in the scriptures howsoeuer they or we doubt where the soules of the righteous were before Christs suffering Crux mors inferi salus nostra est saith Hilary The crosse death and descent of Christ to hell are our saluation Diuinitas neque corpus in monumento neque animaÌ„ in inferno destituit hoc est enim quod dictuÌ„ est per prophetaÌ„ non relinques animaÌ„ meaÌ„ apud inferos neque dabis sanctuÌ„ tuuÌ„ videre corruptionem Quocâ—rcain ANIMA quideÌ„ CHRISTI MORS DEVICTA EST resurrectioque ab inferis deprompta spiritibus annunciata est in corpore vero dei corruptio abolita est et incorruptibilitas é sepulchro emicuit Christs deity neither forsooke his body in the sepulchre nor his soule in hel For y t is y e meaning of the Prophet wheÌ„ he saith Thou wilt not leaue my soule in hel nor suffer thine holy one to see corruptioÌ„ Wherfore in THE SOVLE OF CHRIST DEATH VVAS CONQVERED and the rerurrection from hell performed and signified to the spirits that rose with him In the body of him that was God corruption was abolished incorruption shined out of the graue Yea Austen himself putteth great difference betwixt the certainly of Christes descent to hell and the vncertainty of deliuering of some soules thence which he found there as he imagineth Teneamus firmissimé Quod fides habet fundatissimâ auctoritate firmata quia Christus mortuus est secundum scripturas et caetera quae de illo testante veritate conscripta sunt in quibus etiam hoc est quod apud Inferos fuit solutis eoruÌ„ doloribus quibus euÌ„ erat impossibile teneri Let vs hold most firmly y t which y e faith containeth confirmed with most assured authority that Christ died according to the scriptures the rest y t is written of him by the testimony of the truth amongst y e which this is also to be nuÌ„bred y t he was in hel dissoluing y e pains therof Of which it was impossible he shuld be held Thus far doth Austen vrge the very articles of our faith confirmed by the scriptures that maketh him infer who then but an infidel wil deny that Christ was in hell But when he commeth to the second point of deliuering some from hel that were in the paines thereof he tempereth his stile and saith à quibus recte intelligitur soluisse liberasse quos voluit from which paines Christ may well be conceaued to haue loosed and deliuered whom he would that which Peter saith loosing the sorrowes of hel accipi potest in quibusdaÌ„ may be vnderstood of some whom he thought worthy to be deliuered For which since there can bee no sure proofe brought out of the worde of trueth we shall doe best to giue eare to his owne aduise in the like case Ergo fratres siue illud siue istud sit hîc me scrutatorem verbi dei non temerarium affirmatorem teneatis Therefore brethren whether this or that bee it heere take me as a searcher of the word of God and not as a rash affirmer All the defence that may be made out of the Scriptures that Christ deliuered some of the saints out of the present possession and power of hell is that which is written in the gospell of Saint Matthew touching the bodies of the saintes rising from death When Iesus yéelded vp the ghost Behold the vaile of the temple rent in twaine and the earth did quake and the stones did cleaue and the graues did open themselues and many bodies of the Saints which slept arose and came out of the graues after his resurrection and went into the holy cittie and appeared to many The death of the bodie as it is parte of the wages of sinne so is it the gate of hell and the Diuell is saide in the scriptures to haue the power thereof So that howsoeuer the soules of the iust were in the handes of God and at rest in Abrahams bosom their bodies lying dead in the graue rotten with corruption were within Satans walke and when Christ raised them out of their sepulchers to an happie life he tooke them from the power of darknes and translated them into the kingdome of light Death is an enemie though the last that shall be destroied and death as well as hell shall be cast into the lake of fire and therefore Christ tooke the keyes both of death and of hell and by his rising from the dead insulted against both ô death where is thy sting ô hell where is thy victory It is the force of sinne that killeth the bodie and likewise the force of sinne that rotteth the bodie sinne being the strength of hell against bodie and soule As then our soules are freed from the power of hell when our sinnes are remitted so our bodies are deliuered from the handfast of hel when corruption the consequent of sinne is abolished In this sense it may bee saide that Christ deliuered some from the power of hell that is their bodies from the sepulchers where they laie turned into dust For by death and corruption the sinnefull flesh of man is till the resurrection subiected to the range of Satan hee beeing the Prince of the ayre and gouernour of darknesse and ruler of death Saint Austen doubteth whether those bodies of the saints were wholie freed from corruption or laie down againe in death after they had giuen witnesse to Christs resurrection Scio quibusdam videri morte domini Christi iam talem resurrectionem praestitaÌ„ iustis qualis nobis in fine promittitur Qui vtique si non iterum repositis corporibus dormierunt videndum est quemadmodum Christus intelligatur primogenitus a mortuis si eum in illa resurrectione tot praecesserunt I know saith Austen some thinke that at the death of the Lord Christ the same kind of resurrection was performed to the iust which is promised to vs in the ende of the worlde but if they slept not againe by laying downe their bodies we must looke howe Christ can be vnderstood to be the first borne of the dead if so many went before him in that resurrection But his reasons are of no such force as to perswade that the bodies of the saintes which rose with Christ slept
idem verus homo fieret morteÌ„ gustare non posset Et ideÌ„ homo qui mortem gustauit siverus deus vita aeterna non esset morteÌ„ vincere non valeret Excepto illo qui sic homo est vt idem sit deus quis est homo qui destruxerit mortem aut quis eruet animam suaÌ„ de manu inferi mors autem filij dei quam SOLA CARNE suscepit VTRAMQVE IN NOBIS MORTEM animae scilicet carnisque destruxit resurrectio carnis eius gratiam nobis spiritualis corporalis resurrectionis attribuit vt prius iustificati per fidem mortis resurrectionis filij dei resuscitemur ab infidelitatis morte post primam resurrectionem scilicet animarum quae nobis in fide collocata est etiam istacarne in qua nunc vistimus resurgamus nunquam denuo morituri The true and liuing God yea the God that is truth it self and life euerlasting if he were not also true man could not haue tasted death and that man which tasted death except he had beene likewise the true God and eternall life hee could not haue conquered death Sauing he that was both God and man what man could haue destroied death or deliuered his own soule from the power of hell But the death of the sonne of God VVHICH HE SVFFERED IN HIS FLESH ONELIE destroied both deaths in vs as well of soule as bodie and the resurrection of his flesh gaue vs the grace both of a spirituall and corporall resurrection that being first iustified by faith in the death and resurrection of the sonne of God we might bee raised from the death of infidelitie and after the first resurrection which is of the soule from sinne giuen vs by faith we may also rise in this flesh in which we now liue neuer to die anie more Cum SOLA MORERETVR ET RESVSCITARETVR IN CHRISTO propter vnitatem personae dei hominis filius dei dicitur mortuus Totum igitur HOMINEM cum suis infirmitatibus sine peccato dei filius accepit in tota traditus idem Christus SECVNDVM SOLAM CARNEM MORTVVS Totus Christus secundum solam animam ad infernum descendit Humanitas ergo vera filij dei nec tota fuit in sepulchro nec tota in inferno sed in sepulchro secundum carnem Christus mortuus iacuit secundum animam ad infernum Christus descendit Secundum diuinitatem vero suam quae nec loco tenetur nec fine concluditur totus fuit in sepulchro cum carne totus in inferno cum anima Aciper hoc plenus fuit vbique Christus quia non est deus ab humanitate quam susceperat separatus qui in anima fuit vt solutis infernidolosuus AB INFERNO VICTRIX REDIRET in carne suafuit vt celeri resurrectione corrumpi non posset Whereas ONELIE THE FLESH died and was raised againe in Christ yet for the vnitie of the person being God and man the sonne of God is said to haue died The whole nature of man then with our infirmities the sonne of God tooke vnto him for our sakes but without sinne in the whole nature the same Christ beeing deliuered DIED ACCORDING TO THE FLESH ONLY and whole Christ descended into hell according to the soule onlie So that the true manhood of the sonne of God was neither wholie in the sepulchre nor wholie in hell but in the sepulchre Christ lay dead in his true flesh and in his soule Christ descended into hell But as touching his diuinitie which is neither comprehended in place nor measured with end whole Christ was in the graue with his flesh and whole Christ in hell with his soule And thereby whole Christ was euery where because his Godhead was not seuered from his manhood but was with his soule that dissoluing the sorrowes of hell it might returne conquerour from hell and with his flesh that speedilie rising it might not see corruption The darke places of Peter that Christ by his spirit preached vnto the spirites that are now in prison which in the daies of Noe were disobedient whiles the Arke was preparing and likewise that the Gospell was preached vnto the dead I omit as nothing pertinent to Christs descent to hell the first being verified in the time and by the mouth of Noe and the second performed by the preaching of the Apostles as Saint Austen long since obserued who saith of the first Considera ne fortè totum illud quod de conclusis incarcere spiritibus qui in diebus Noe non crediderant Petrus Apostolus dicit omnino ad inferos non pertineat sed ad illa potius tempora quorum formam ad haec tempora transtulit Take heede least happily all that which Peter speaketh of spirits closed in prison which beleeued not in the daies of Noe doe not at all pertaine to hell but rather to those times which Peter compareth with our age and of the second Quod Petrus dicit propter hoc mortuis Euangelizatum est vt iudicentur secundum homines in carne vinant autem secundum deum spiritu non cogit apud inferos intelligi Propterea ènim in hac vita mortuis Euangelizatum est idest infidelibus iniquis vt cum crediderint iudicentur secundum homines in carne hoc est in diuersis tribulationibus in ipsa morte carnis That which Peter saieth to this purpose was the Gospel preached vnto the deade that they might bee iudged according to men in the flesh but liue according to God in the spirit hath no necessitie to be applied to hell For the Gospel is preached in this life to the dead that is to the infidels and sinners that when they beleeue they might be iudged in the flesh after the maner of men by diuerse troubles and euen by the death of the flesh This I repeate the rather because some late writers haue borrowed Saint Austens exposition and suppressed Saint Austens name as if they were the first that euer looked into the truth of these places Other reasons there are but they are not worth the ripping vp I will therfore trouble you no further To the father that spared not his owne sonne but gaue him for vs all to the sonne that laide downe his life for vs and redeemed vs with his precious bloud to the holie Ghost which sealeth the sufferings and comforts of Christ in our harts euen to the king euerlasting immortal inuisible and God onelie wise be honour and glorie for euer and euer Amen The Conclusion to the Reader for the cleering of certaine obiections made against the doctrine before handled I Promised thee Christian reader in y e preface of this booke to giue thée a taâ—â— in the conclusion how rashly weakly the doctrine which thou hast now read was confuted before it was printed by one that professeth He could not forbeare but imploy his talent to cleare the
together Góod Sir awake out of your sleepe and learne at least to vnderstand before you aunswere As this presumer euerie where with disdaine casteth away the iudgements of the fathers which I produce preferreth his owne peeuish conceite before them all so when he reporteth my reasons he either ignoraÌ„tlie mistaketh them or purposelie peruerteth them y â— they may the lesse encumber him In the effectes of Christes crosse I noted out of the Apostle to the Hebrues three properties of the true propitiatorie sacrifice which tooke awaie the sinne of the world It was a bodilie a bloudie and a deadlie sacrifice and amongst manie reasons to confirme the same I brought these two which the confâ—ter after his forgetfull maner roueth at The first in effect was this The true sacrifice for sinne which the Redeemer should offer was shadowed and foreshewed by the sacrifices which God commanded and accepted in the old testament but the sacrifices of the Patriarches and of the faithfull appointed by Moses foreshewed and figured a bodilie bloudie and deadlie sacrifice and no paines of hell therfore the true sacrifice for sinne was made by the bodie bloud and death of the Redéemer and not by the paines of hell suffered in his soule The second this As the sacrifices of the law prefigured what the Sauiour of the world should do for the abolishing of sinne so the sacraments of the newe testament confirme and scale that performed in the person of Christ Iesus which was the true propitiation for our sinnes and price of our redemption but the sacraments of the new testament and speciallie the Lordes supper declare and confirme vnto vs the bodie of Christ giuen for vs vnto death and his bloud shed for the remission of our sinnes therefore this was the true propitiation for our sinnes and price of our redemption and not the paines of hell suffered in the soule of Christ as some imagine To the first the Confuter answereth The proposition is false taking it generally The carnall sacrifices of the Iewes signified that which they were apt to signifie but not anie further The sacrifices of beastes coulde not prefigure the personall vnion of God and man nor the reasonable and immortall soule of Christ nor his resurrection all which were necessarie pointes in the meritorious sacrifice Secondlie he denieth the assumption For certaine of the Iewes sacrifices set foorth the sufferinges of the soule of Christ also As the scape Gote in the 16. of Leuiticus which was a sin offering though it were sent awaie free and vntouched To the reason drawne from the Sacraments hee saieth Wee are to answere as we did before These are bodilie and earthlie Elements and therefore fitte to set soorth bodilie and apparant effects in Christ they can not set out the spirituall and inuisible effects in him And yet the ceremonie of breaking the bread which is to shewe that Christes bodie was broken for vs can not belong properlie to the bodie but to the soule These I trust are your words now heare my replie I had no such proposition as you frame to your selfe that either the sacrifices of the lawe or Sacraments of the Gospel were figures of our whole and absolute redemption which is as you expound it of all the fruits and causes of our redemption This is your euasion not my proposition I tolde you that as God had promised so the faithfull beléeued that his owne sonne should be the Seede of the woman and by his death and bloud should purge their sinnes To continue this promise and confirme the faith of all before and vnder the lawe God appointed bloudie sacrifices as continuall remembrances and figures not of the person nor of the function of Christ but of the Sacrifice by which hee shoulde abolish sinne to wiâ—te by his bodie slaine and his bloud shedde which the carnall sacrifices were fittest to resemble since God would not haue the bloud of anie man but of his owne sonne shedde for remission of sinnes My proposition then speaketh of the true sacrifice for sinne and auoucheth that to bee the true sacrifice for sinne which was shadowed and figured by the death and bloud of those beasts that God commaâ—â—ded to bee offered vnto him This proposition you doe not denie for you graunt The Iewes sacrifices signified what they were apt to teach and signifie but they were apt and ordained of GOD to teach the Iewes that by the death and bloud of the Messias they shoulde bee redeemed and saued from their sinnes ergo they were apt and ordained of God to figure and shadowe the true propitiatorie sacrifice And so the patriarkes and Prophetes beléeued and expected whose faith and hope could neither be vaine nor frustrate since they were thereto directed by Gods owne appointment This proposition be you Christian or Iewe you may not denie and therefore you doe well to denie the assumption and to affirme that certaine sacrifices of the Iewes as namelie the scape Goate in the 16. of Leuiticus did signifie the immortall soule of Christ which was a sacrifice for sinne and did properlie beare our sinnes and suffer for our sinnes But Sir if a man aske you howe you proue that the scape Goate signified the soule of Christ what haue you to saie Because both Goates saie you are a sacrifice for sinne as the Text speaketh You abuse the Text and deceiue your selfe The wordes are Aaron shall take of the assemblie of the children of Israel two hee Goates fâ—r a sinne offering that is to make a sinne offering of one of them on which the Lordes lotte shall fall So followe the wordes in the 8. verse of that chapter Aaron shall cast lottes ouer the two hee Goates one lotte for the Lorde and another lotte for the scape Goate And Aaron shall offer the Goate on which the Lords lot shall fall and MAKE HIM A SINNE OFFERING The taking of the Goates from the people doth not make them sacrifices for sinne but the offering them vnto the Lord by the Priest so that though two were taken yet lots were cast which of them should hee the sinne offering and which of them the scape Goat which consequentlie was no sinne offering because that was made a sinne offering on which the Lords lot fell And so if the scape Goate did signifie the soule of Christ as you affirme more boldlie then wiselie then was not the soule of Christ a sinne offering neither did it suffer for sinne if your owne example maie bee trusted Howbeit what the scape Goate signified I am not so forwarde to pronounce as you bee though I haue better warrant so to doe then you haue For Cyrill or as some thinke Origen writing vpon that place of Leuiticus 〈◊〉 If all the people of God were holie there shoulde not bee two lottes cast vpon the Goates one to bee offered to the Lorde the other to bee sent to the desart but there should bee one lotte and one offering
to the Lord alone But nowe where in the number of them that come to the Lord some belong to the Lord some deserue to bee cast awaie and seuered from the Lordes offering therefore part of the sacrifice which the people bring to wit one of the Goates is offered to the Lorde the other is cast off and sent into the Desart Ambrose in the like sense As of two founde in the fielde one istaken the other forsaken so are there two Goates one fitte for sacrifice the other to bee sent awaie into the Desart Hee serued for no vse neither might hee bee eaten or tasted of by the children of the Priestes Beda ioyneth with them If all the people were holie there shoulde not bee two lottes vpon the Goates but one lotte and one offering nowe when manie are called and fewe chosen part of the peoples sacrifice is offered to the Lord the other parte is cast awaie Or else this maie bee vnderstoode of Iesus and Barrabas that one of them which was the Lordes lotte euen Iesus was slaine the other accursed caitife was sent into the Iewes Desart bearing the sinnes of the people that cried Crucifie him So that the scape Goate by the iudgement of these fathers signified the reprobate among the people and not the soule of Christ as you boldlie auouch But did it signifie the soule of Christ what gaine you by that The scape Goate was neither done to death nor made anie sinne offering as you falslie suppose but was separated from the Lords offering and let go free and vntouched Then by your owne similitude the soule of Christ neither died anie death as you after falselie and absurdlie conclude that the soule of Christ died and was crucified neither was it anie part of the offering for sinne to GOD which you so much endeuour to proue Such is your vnderstanding that by your owne examples you ouerthrow your owne positions whiles you labour to establish them with faint conceits of your owne deuising But in the burnt offering or holocaust prescribed Leui. 6 you find more helpe then in the scape Goate to proue that Christ soule suffered for our sins as wel as his body If you meane that Christs soule suffered the paines of hel I would faine sée how you proue that out of the holocaust or burnt offering If you thinke the name of fire doth somewhat relieue you remember Sir besides the sundrie references that fire hath in the scripture the holocaust was first slaine and after burnt and therefore vnlesse you will fasten the fire of afflictioÌ„ as you call it to Christs body or soule after his death the burning of the dead sacrifice by fire will little further your purpose Again in one and the same fire was the holocaust consumed If this therefore touch the death and passion of Christ his bodie and soule must iointly suffer one and the same kind of affliction which is the thing you so much impugne And since by your owne position the bodies of beasts could not prefigure the immortall and reasonable soule of Christ how commeth it now to passe that y e body of the holocaust after death shall signifie as well the soule as the bodie of Christ Can you thus plant and plucke vp with a touch It is no waie denied or doubted by mee that the soule of Christ was afflicted and tormented with sorrow and paine all the time of his passion which this Trister so much laboureth to proue and therefore if the holocaust did signifie the whole manhood of Christ suffering for our sinnes it could not preiudice anie thing that I did or doe teach as anon thou shalt gentle Reader more plainlie perceiue but yet whie the burning of the holocaust should signifie Christes affliction on the Crosse either in bodie or soule I see no proofe made by this Confuter â—nd why it should not resemble Christes afflictions before death these two reasons mooue me First it was burnt after it was dead next it was wholie consumed by fire neither of which can accord with Christes sufferings or the crosse but by the burning of that sacrifice I take rather the acceptation of Christs death or his incorruption after death to be signified For that part of each sacrifice which God reserued for himselfe and receiued to himselfe was alwayes burnt with fyre and the Hebrue word HOLAH which the Scripture vseth for the holocaust signifieth that which ascendeth vp to God by fire whence God is often saide in the scriptures when hee accepteth an holocaust to smel a swéete sauour Which words saint Paul applieth to the death of Christ in saying Christ gaue himselfe for vs to be a sacrifice vnto God of a sweet smelling sauour that is well pleasing and acceptable vnto God So likewise because the fire consumed in the holocaust all that was subiect to corruption the holocaust may signifie Christs incorruption after death This sense S. Austen approoueth when he saith Sic leuetur holocaustum vt absorbeatur mors in victoriam Let the holocaust so ascend that death bee swallowed vp in victorie And againe Quando totum consumitur igne diuino holocaustum dicitur Totum moùm consumat ignis tuus nihil inde remaneat mihi totum sit tibi Hoc erit in resurrectione mortuorum quando mortale hoc induerit immortalitem Cum absorbet ignis diuinus mortem nostram holocaustum est When the whole sacrifice is consumed with heauenlie sire it is called an holocaust Let thy fire ò Lord consume me wholie let nothing therof remaine mine let the whole be thine this shall bee in the resurrection of the dead when this mortalitie putteth on immortalitie When Gods fire consumeth our Death then is it an holocaust And other kinde of holocaust is mentioned by Saint Austen which I mislike not Holocaustum est totum igne consumptum Est quidam ignis flagrantissimae charitatis totus exardescat igne diuini amoris qui vult offerre Deo holocaustum An holocaust is when the whole is consumed with fire There is a fire of most feruent charitie hee must wholie burne with the fire of the loue of God which will offer to God an holocaust No man euer burned with this fire comparable to Christ Iesus whose loue towardes God and man flamed as vnto death so after death most feruentlie So that touching the holocaust the Confuter presumeth but proueth nothing and yet if his supposall were granted it weakeneth not the force of my reason since by the bodily and bloudie sacrifice shadowed in the law I do not exclude the torments on the crosse imparted to the soule or rather wholy discerned by the soule of Christ but onelie the paines of hell which were neuer figured by anie sacrifice nor scaled by anie Sacrament of the old or new testament though now they bee made the principall part of our redemption which indéede was purchased by the death and bloud of Christ Iesus In auoiding the reason which
I drewe from the Sacraments of the new testament and namelie from the Lordes Supper in the length of six lines Sir refuter you contradict the definition and institution of that Sacrament as also the plaine resolution of S. Paul and the principles of naturall reason The Sacraments you saie are earthlie elements they cannot set out spirituall and inuisible effects in Christ. I had thought Sacraments by their nature had beene visible signes of inuisible graces which definition is so common in the schooles that no smatterer in diuinitie besides you is ignorant of it Si tu incorporeus esses nudè dona ipsa incorporea tibi tradidisset quoniam vero corpori coniuncta est anima in sensibilibus intelligibilia tibi traduntur If thou hadst been without a bodie God would haue giuen thee his spirituall gifts vncouered but because thy soule is ioined with thy bodie in sensible thinges are deliuered thee spirituall or inuisible graces Where all the Sacraments were common saith Augustine Grace which is the vertue of the Sacraments was not common to all In the Lords Supper that there should be no horror of bloud yet the grace of Redemption might remaine for a resemblance thou receiuest the Sacrament but thou obtainest the grace vertue of Christs true nature So that if those earthly elements of water bread and wine did not set out and exhibite the spiritual and invisible effects in Christ they were no Sacraments But the Ceremonie of breaking bread say you cannot properly belong to the body but to the soule In the first institution of his Supper did not Christ breake the bread and deliuer it saying Take eate this is my bodie If breaking belong to the bread then breaking belongeth properlie to the body of Christ for the bread was ordained to shew forth the body of Christ that S. Paul noteth in expresse words The bread which we break is it not the Cōmunion of the body of Christ But Christs body you say was not properly broken because y e scripture saith not a bone of him shalbe broken A speculation fit for such a diuine as you are had Christs body nothing in it but bones Had he not as well flesh as bones A spirit saith our sauiour hath not flesh bones as you see me haue Then if Christs flesh were rent torne with whips with nailes with a speare as it certainly was though his bones were whole his body was properly truly broken For the cutting or tearing of the flesh is the breaking of the flesh and from a part the whole maie and doth properly take his denomination And therfore Paul spake truly and properlie when he thus expresseth the words of Christs institution This is my body which is brokē for you Neither doth he in that word varie from Christs institution but he rather teacheth vs that as the bread is broken and the wine powred out in the Lords supper so was the flesh of the Lords body giuen to be broken torne on the crosse for vs his bloud likewise shed for the remission of our sinnes The nailes spear you grant did pearce him but in no sort can that be called breaking or bruising in peeces as the worde in Esay doth plainlie signifie Wherefore the meaning is the torments of his soule did bruize and breake him in peeces Your Hebrue your Greeke your Philosophie came all out of one forge they are so like You can not finde that Christes flesh was broken and bruised on the Crosse by grieuous stripes and wounds but you haue spied that his soule was broken in peeces and that properlie If one of the Prentices before whome you were wont to talke should aske you into howe manie péeces it was broken your heade would ake to shape him a wise answere But the word DACHA which Esay vseth doth plainly you say signifie to breake in peeces Doth it alwaies and euer signifie properlie to breake into péeces How can it then be applied to the soule but improperlie and by a figuratiue kinde of speech A Moole hill with you is a Mountaine The worde doth signifie to treade vnder foote to bruise to oppresse to humble When Dauid saith the enemie hath cast my life downe to the ground Will you saie he hath broken my life in péeces When Iob saith How long will yee vexe my soule and afflict mee with your wordes will you adde and breake mee in peeces with your wordes When Ieremie saith of the men of Iudah They are not humbled vnto this day Will you phrase it and say They are not broken in peeces to this day In the power of Christs death to proue the bloud of our sauiour to be the true price of our redemption and that as wel of our soules as of our bodies I alledged the words of Peter You were redeemed with the precious bloud of Christ and of the souls in heauen saying vnto Christ Thou wast killed hast redeemed vs to God by thy bloud when their bodies were rotten in y e earth Hence I reasoned if our soules be not redeemed frō death by the blood of christ our bodies haue in this life no benefite of redemption I meane from death for wee die as doe infidels and our bodies rot in the graue as theirs doe till the daie of resurrection But S. Peter saieth wee are redeemed not we shall bee and the saints say to Christ when their bodies lie in the dust Thou hast redeemed vs by thy bloud ergo that redemption which we haue in this life must be referred to our soules and our bodies must expect the generall daie of redemption in the ende of the world To this our Confuter replieth What a paradox yea what impietie is this Haue our bodies no good at all by Christes death no more then the bodyes of infidels because wee die stil as wel as they Good Sir remember Redemption from death is the point which I vrged y t our bodies in this life haue not no more then the bodies of Infidels haue but must expect it And therefore if our Soules be not redeemed by the blood of Christ from Sinne death we haue presentlie no redemption by the bloud of Christ but must staie for the time of our resurrection before we shall haue it Which is contrarie to the words both of Peter and of the Soules in heauen that saie to Christ when their bodies bee rotten in earth Thou hast redeemed vs by thy blood Here y u tell vs of the iustification mortification and sanctification of our bodies as also of the expectation of glorie which our bodies shall haue and thinke to make a great conquest of the words NO GOOD AT ALL but pull in your hornes Besides that my meaning is verie plaine whatsoeuer the wordes were which I might vse which I do not acknowledge to be these that you bring but that our bodies haue no benefitte of Redemption from
death marke well the condition annexed to the proposition If our soules bee not redeemed by the death and bloud of Christ and then all these absurdities which you thought to fasten on mee â—all full on your owne head For if our soules be not redeemed by the bloud of Christ our bodies haue vtterlie no good euen no good at all by the death of Christ. They haue you saie Iustification mortification sanctifiâ—â—tion hope of resurrection besides the lawfull possession of earthly things Haue our bodies these things of themselues or from our soules first iustified mortified sanctified and assured of life I trust you dare not saie that our bodies haue anie of these but for and from the Soule Then if the soule be not redéemed by the death of Christ the bodie can haue none of these and consequentlie my words are sound and good yours if you stand to them against the condition annexed to mine are prophane and false But I alter my words you will saie to my best aduantage when I sée your obiections to preuent that danger It had bene fittest for you to haue staied the printing of mine owne wordes and then you might haue charged me with them and not bee repelled as a forgetteâ— or misconstruer of them or to haue gotten you a copie of that which I deliueerd out that verie summer to men of great honour and learning a yeere and more before I euer heard or thought of your pamphlet because I founde so manie humorous heades misconceaning and misreporting my wordes But your hastâ— was such you coulde not or your skill you woulde not staie the sight of mine owne wordes least they shoulde trouble you more then you were ware and therefore out of your owne ill conâ—eaued and worse digested Rapsodies you framâ— obiections as pleaseth your selfe which either were not mine or not so proposed by me And that maketh me pursue no more of your aunsweres by reason I spende more time in recalling you to the trueth of my wordes then in refelling your exceptions which haue neither waight nor witnesse more then the buzzing of your owne braine Let vs therefore view howe well you behaue your selfe in your owne proofes which you cannot forget or mistake In proposing the question and pursuing the proofes there is some hope christian Reader the holines of the confuters cause wil lead him to go plainly souÌ„dlie to work Thus therfore he beginneth The whole controuersy hath in it two points 1. That Christ suffered for vs the wrath of God 2. That after his death on the crosse he went not into hel in his soule Now then for the former thus we saie and constantly auow Christ Iesus did suffer in his whole manhoode for the redemption and satisfaction of our sinnes yea he suffered properly and immediatelie in his soule and not in his flesh only Therefore he suffered for vs the wrath of God This consequent is manifest and cannot be denied The antecedent or first part of the former generall reason is denied and confidentlie reiected yet how falselie by Gods helpe shal easily appeare Touching the first part of this controuersie were you awaked or a sléepe Sir refuter when I preached of these thinges that you so constantlie auowe this was the question whether Christ suffered for vs thâ— wrath of God or no if you were present and not a sleepe it is too much boldnes to outface the world in print that this was the position which I impugned There were too manie witnesses there for mee to denie or you to belie the question you knowe it well enough but you cannot tell how to proue that which I then reproued and therefore you shrink from that and dallie with generall and doubtfull termes which according as they are expounded may either make with you or against you The question proposed by me was whether it could be proued by the scriptures or by necessary consequent from them that Christ in his soule suffered the true paines of hell such as the damned doe suffer and wee shoulde haue suffered had we not beene redeemed by him I added if we tooke the paines of hell metaphoricallie for great and extreame sorrowes and paines as Dauid and Ionas did she speach might be tolerated but if wee tooke them properlie for the verie same which the damned doe and shall suffer in hell as there is no proofe for it so there is no truth in it To this you saie nothing and so to all wise men make a confession that you cannot iustifie that which I then disallowed Ye bee come since to tell vs that certainelie Christ suffered the wrath of God for vs which if it be granted you I doe not see what it canne helpe your cause or hurt mine For the wrath of God extendeth to all paines and punishmentes as well corporall as spirituall in this life and the next be they temporall or eternall So that no paine or punishment small or great coulde befall the bodie or soule of Christ but it must néedes procéed from the wrath of God Wherefore your idle discourse of 32. leaues in which you labor to proue that Christ suffered the wrath of God for sinne might wel haue bin spared Thrée lines directlie to the purpose had bin more worth then so many leaues thus wastfullie spent But in the ende you conclude like a Clark Christ suffered the wrath of God which we affirme is equall to hell it selfe and all the tormentes thereof What you affirme I little regarde what you can proue is that I intend And out of this proposition Christ suffered for vs the wrath of God for sinne you shall neuer conclude Ergo hee suffered the true paines of hel Were your proposition generall shal Christ suffered all the wrath of God for sinne that is the whole wrath of God and euery part thereof due to sinne you might well conclude Ergo he suffered the true paines of hell for hell indéede as it is the last so is it the greatest effect of Gods wrath against sin but from an indefinite proposition as yours is which maie signifie the VVHOLE or SOME PART of GODS VVRATH due to sinne you shall neuer inferre what part you list as here you doe Will you to make your consequent good amend your antecedent and make it generall that Christ suffered the whole wrath of God euery part thereof due to sinne Then heare good Sir mine answere That proposition besides that it no waie followeth vpon your first antecedeÌ„t Christ suffered properlie and immediatlie in his soule therefore he suffered the whole wrath of God and euery part thereof due to sinne besides I saie that there is no coherence no consequence betwixt these two propositions the later of them that Christ suffered the whole wrath of God due to sinne and euery part thereof is most impious and blasphemous For so neither vtter desperation nor finall reiection nor eternal damnation are excepted but Christ did and must suffer them all since they are
of the bodie cannot bee felte but by the soule And so againe Dolores qui dicuntur carnis animae sunt in carne ex carne dolor carnis tantummodo offensio est animae ex carne The paines which are called bodilie paines are the paines of the soule in the bodie and by the bodie For bodilie paine is nothing else but the griefe of the soule by the bodie Whereof Diuines maie not doubte since naturall reason and experience teacheth that as the soule seeth by the eies and heareth by the eares of the bodie so the soule feeleth paine and offence by euerie part of the bodie when it is wounded or wronged If this suffering of Christes soule by communion with his bodie did not properlie make to our Redemption which are your own words then neither the stripes woundes nor death of Christ did any way make to our redemption since of all these violences offered to Christes bodie the flesh it selfe had not the féeling but onlie the soule of Christ by communion with her bodie or as you terme it by Sympathie Yea farther by your owne rule the flesh of Christ was néedelesse in the worke of our Redemption for so much as his flesh could not properly and immediatlie féele any paine but of force must leaue the féeling of all that was suffered to the soule and so whiles you talke so much of the proper and immediate suffering of Christes soule you haue cleane excluded all the sufferings of Christ which the scripture expresseth as not making properlie to our redemption But insteede of a false argument of mine you will returne a reason better grounded and of certaine truth which is this Whereby Adam first and we euer since doe most properlie commit sinne by the same hath Christ our second Adam made satisfaction for our sinne But Adam first and we euer since most properlie commit sinne in our soules our bodies beeing but the instruments of our soules and following the soules direction and will Therefore Christ in his soule chieflie and most properly made satisfaction for vs. Thou shalt perceiue christian reader by the answere to this argument howe ill I spend the time in pursuing this Trifler which neither can tel what he would haue nor what he should proue nor whether his own reasōs make with him or against him I made no such argument as here he pretendeth the effect of my reason was this The flesh of Christ must be as able to redéeme vs as Adams was to condemne vs but we inherit pollution and condemnation from Adams flesh wherefore the flesh of Christ must both quicken and clense vs. The Maior is euident vnlesse we make the diuell more able to destroie vs by an other then God is able to saue vs by himselfe The Minor is cléere without intermedling with the question whence soules be deriued I vtterlie refused to ground anie reason vpon that difficultie I vsed Dauids words in sinne my mother conceiued me and as Ambrose saith prius incipit in homine macula quam vita pollution which is originall beginneth in man before hee hath life Now the soule is the life of the bodie Then if pollution cleaue to the flesh before life come and consequentlie before the soule come whence soeuer it commeth it is euident that Adams flesh defileth and so condemneth vs. As for my conclusion that Christes flesh must quicken and clense vs if the premisses would not support it which they fully doe the Scriptures will maintaine it He that eateth my flesh saith our Sauiour and drinketh my bloud hath eternall life and I will raise him vp at the last daie I am that bread of life If anie man eate of this bread he shall liue for euer and the bread that I will giue is my flesh which I will giue for the life of the world My reeason standing good Sir Refuter let vs looke a little to yours that you saie is so well grounded and of certaine truth How prooue you your first proposition In which part Adam did first Sinne by that part Christ must satisfy for sinne Satisfaction for Sinne the Scripture acknowledgeth none but by death because y ◠Iudge in prohibiting Adam to transgresse threatned death In the day that thou eatest therof thou shalt die the death and the Apostle saith plainlie Christ is the mediator of the new testament that THROVGH DEATH which was for the REDEMPTION of the transgressions in the former Testament they which were called might receiue the promise of eternall inheritance If nothing might satisfie for sinne but death then consequently the Soule of Christ which could not die could not paie the satisfaction for our Sinnes howsoeuer Adam did and we still doe sinne most properlie with our Soules This is but a straw in your waie for you stiflie but absurdly if not impiously defend that Christ died the death of the Soule yet because the Scriptures and Fathers with one consent auouch the contrarie yea S. Austen is so peremptorie therein that he asketh QVIS AVDEAT DICERE VVHO DARE AFFIRME IT you shall giue mee leaue to tell you that the Apostle denieth your Maior till you can make it good not by your own vnlearned frensie but by good testimonie of Scripture that Christ did die the death of the Soule Now by your assumption that Adam most properlie committed sinne in his soule If you mean that Adams soule was the agent his body the Instrument which the soule vsed as in all sins so in this that indéed is most true but directly repugnant to your conclusion Put that for your Minor that Adams soule transgressed the commaundement with hir bodie and by hir bodie the conclusion then followeth in spite of your hart ergo in satisfying for sinne the Soule of Christ must be punished with hir bodie by hir bodie which is the thing you labour to ouerthrowe with all the wits you haue Meane you otherwise that Adam brake the Commaundement of God not by his bodie properlie but by his soule Then is your assumption a manifest contradiction to the fact of Adam For with his eares he heard the perswasion of the woman with his eies he liked the forbidden fruit with his hand he tooke it with his mouth he did eat it which was the fact that God preciselie did prohibit God did not saie to Adam thou shalt not like it or desire it which the soule of Adam did but THOV SHALT NOT EATE THEREOF which could not bee performed but by the hand and mouth of Adam and therefore Adam transgressed the commandement not by his soule but by his bodie euen as in murder theft adulterie these facts men commit by their bodies and not by their soules But in that and all other sinnes brought to effect the soule you will saie is the principall agent the bodie is but the Instrument I grant it willinglie and thence I conclude ergo in the satisfaction for sinne the soule must be the principall patient
laid or executed on him that is hanged This most apparantly was a publike punishment executed by the magistrate vpon the body of the offender and because by his open and shamefull death which Moses rightlie calleth the curse of God hee had satisfied the sentence of the Iudiciall lawe God commandeth no farther reproch to be offered his bodie in suffering it to hang in all mens eies any longer but to bee buried the same daie For that by his death the curse of God ceased The difference betwéene these two curses is soone perceiued Euerie sinne receaued the first curse whereof Paul spake before fewe crimes receaued the iudgement of this seconde kinde of curse which was to bee hanged The first was inflicted by God himselfe the second was executed by the magistrate The first touched bodie and soule in this life and the next the second ended with the death of the bodie The first was committing of sinne the seconde was suffering for sinne And therefore Chrysostomes exposition is verie true when hee saieth The people were obnoxious to another curse which was this Cursed is euerie one that continueth not in that which is written in the booke of the lawe for there was not one of them that had fulfilled the whole Lawe but Christ insteede of that tooke vpon him another curse which said cursed is euery one that hangeth on the tree He that should take away the first curse must not bee subiect to the same but vndertake an other in place thereof and by that dissolue the first As if one being adiudged to die for some crime an other no way guilty of the same but willing to die for him should deliuer him from the punishment So did Christ not being subiect to the curse of trāsgression insteede thereof he tooke an other curse and dissolued the curse that laie on them Before a man can be accursed by his death hee must you saie be iustlie hanged for manie Innocents and martyrs are hanged who are most blessed Innocentes and martyrs bee their soules neuer so blessed maie beare in their bodies a shamefull death as Christ did in his and that is a kinde of corporall curse though by men vniustlie inflicted euen as death in the godlie is a remnant of Gods curse vpon sinne though their soules bee blessed before and after death Yea the worde KALAL whence the Hebrewes deriue that which with them signifieth a curse noteth also to make vilde and contemptible as if shame reproch and contempt were the greatest outwarde curse that coulde befall anie man in this life The cause why wee suffer it shall make it iust or vniust but wee must call thinges by those names which GOD first allotted them Nowe death shame wrong reproch and such like God ordayned at first to bee punishmentes of sinne and so partes of the curse due to sinne If wee suffer at mens handes for piety that which God appointed to be the wages of iniquity so wee bee patient and willing to abide the triall which is righteous with God though iniurious from men the name is not altered but the reward increased Yea God it is that causeth iudgement to beginne at his own house oftentimes by the handes of persecutors hee doth vs right when men doe vs wrong and dealeth not with vs according to our sinnes in the greatest wrongs that can be done vs. Therfore martyrs and innocents may do well to remember that God hath cause enough though man haue none and so submit themselues as worthie of worse from Gods handes But none of these thinges may be saide of our Sauiour who alone among all the children of men wanted sinne and suffered wrong and therefore his punishments with God were iust not by his deseruing but by his desiring to suffer for man How then commeth it to passe that martyrs which are sinners before God are vniustlie hanged because they deserue no such thing at mens handes and Christ who was most innocent before men and most righteous before God you wil needs haue to be iustly hanged The suerty you say by his suertiship is a debtor to the creditor and to the law and so Christ though most innocent in himself yet was hee iustlie hanged as our suretie by the iust sentence of the law You mistake Sir Confuter as well the sentence of the lawe as the suertiship of Christ. For though mans lawe permit which is the rule of charitie that men should beare each others burdens and vndertake one for an other in money matters and such like things which God leaueth in each mans will and power yet tell me I praie what lawe Gods or mans permitteth a murderer or like offender to be spared and an other that is willing to bee hanged in his steede I thinke mans law will allow you no such suertiship I am sure Gods lawe will not As I liue saith the Lord the soule that sinneth that soule shall die The wickednes of the wicked shall bee vpon himselfe Hee shall haue then no suerties to die for him much lesse shall his suertie be compelled to die by the sentence of the law Their monie men may giue awaie but their liues they may not till God call for them and if not their liues much lesse their soules by anie sentence of the law The sonne of God did not by LAVV but by LOVE interpose himselfe to beare our sinnes So God loued the worlde that hee gaue his onely begotten sonne that whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue euerlasting life Yea the sonne of God loued vs and gaue himselfe for vs not by anie obligation to the lawe for hee was aboue the lawe and could not be bound by the lawe and we were condemned by the sentence of the law and not put to finde suerties The eternall wisedome and counsell of God then out of his inestimable loue towardes vs without the lawe and before the law decréed as to create vs so to redéeme vs by Christ his sonne And the sonne not as debtour to anie nor for anie but of his good will and fauour toward vs offered himselfe to suffer for vs whatsoeuer the iustice of his father would impose Wherein he became not a Suertie bound to the law but a Mediatour to God and a Redeemer of man Suerties that stand bounde and must paie the debt may not looke to be Mediators and he that redeemeth a prisoner from the enemie is not bound but content so to doe And that the death of Christ should be paide as a debt to the lawe whereto Christ was bounde is to mee a strange position I tooke Christes sufferings all this while for a voluntarie oblation to God and not for a due obligation to the lawe and himselfe to be a mediatour not a debtour his death I reckned to bee a richer offer then man coulde owe and a greater price then the lawe could exact And therefore the newe testament of mercie grace and glorie was made by his bloud which are
harts of men when y e diuel preuaileth with temptation there he worketh leading such as consent and yéeld vnto him into all wickednesse euen with greedinesse So he worketh in the children of disobedience as the Apostle testifieth This can haue no place in Christâ— because he did no sinne neither was there anie guile found in his mouth He that committeth sinne saith saint Iohn is of the diuel and for this purpose appeared the sonne of God that hee might dissolue the workes of the diuell Then since inward temptation by the hart Christ could haue none and outward temptation by the mouthes hands of the wicked is no effect of Gods wrath but rather a triall of Gods gifts and graces bestowed on vs It remaineth that if Christ felt the diuels as the very instruments that wrong he the verie effects of Gods wrath vpon him that is vpon his soule for that part of Christ you say must properly and immediateliâ— feele the wrath of God it resteth I saie by your owne wordes y e Christ FELT the DIVELS TORMENTING HIS SOVLE And indeede for so much as in executing the true paines of hell and of the damned God hath none other instruments but diuels you cannot defend that Christ suffered the paines of hell but you must graunt that Christ felt the diuels as instruments executing those paines on his soule Nowe the bodie of man they may torment with touching as they did Iobs the soule they can not but by possessing it For they can not woorke but where they are and therefore they must possesse the soule which they torment Is not here Christian Reader an wholesome clearke and an holie cause that concludeâ— Christes soule was possessed and tormented of diuels on the Crosse And the proofe is as ridiculous as the position is impious Christ spoiled principalities and powers and openlie triumphed ouer them ergo say you hee felt them the instruments of Gods wrath by tormenting his soule If your learning and Logicke serue you so well you may procéede Doctor in doâ—age when you will For my part christian Reader I will giue none other answere to these lewd and wicked absurdities but that which Iacob said to Simeon and Leâ—i Into their secret my soule shall not come To strengthen thee thou maiest remember what Peter saide of Christ. God anointed Iesus of Nazareth with the holy ghost with power to heale all that were oppressed of the diuell for God was with him or else what Christ said of himselfe The prince of this world commeth and hath naught in me or at least what the diuels themselues said to Christ Iesus the sonne of God VVHAT HAVE VVE TO DO VVITH THEE Art thou come to torment vs before the time And so in the Gospell of saint Luke the soule spirit when he saw Iesus cried out what haue I to doe with thee Iesus the sonne of God most high I beseech thee torment me not But perchance I mistake him would God there were so much grace in him as to reuoke it or refuse it I woulde gladlie confesse mine errour in mistaking his wordes but what if he go on from bad to worse What if he heapeth vp reasons as he thinketh but indeede trifles void of sense and reason to confirme the same This reason will proue the same saith hee taken from the lesse to the more Thus do the members of Christ suffer Therefore of necessitie Christ our head suffered the like Yea to the Hebrues hee sheweth a reason which can neuer be refuted by the witte of man Christ succoured vs not but wherein hee had experience of our temptations and infirimities but he succoureth vs euen in these our temptations of feeling the terrours of God and the sorrowes of hell Therefore hee himselfe had experience of the same Adde hereunto that of all absurdities this is the greatest that meere men should suffer more deepely and bitterly then Christ did You haue more words then witte Sir Confuter that propose these childish arguments for inuincible reasons Your selfe shall sée the weakenes of them What soeuer the members of Christ say you did or shall suffer of necessitie Christ our head suffered the like Meane you in bodie or in soule or in both If in bodie thâ—n Christ had his eies put out for so had Sampson he was swalowed vp by a whale for so was Ionas hee was cast into a burning furnace for so were Sidrac Mishac and Abednego he was stoned to death for so were Naboth Steuen and others You meane not in bodie meane you then in soule Inwarde assaults of error lust and sinne Christ neuer had He was â—ree from all conflicts of heart that rise in vs from the roote or remorse of sinne that increase with weakenesse of faith want of grace and quenching of Gods spirite The terrors of minde which wee feele through conscience of our vnworthinesse ignorance of Gods counsell and distrust of Gods fauour hee neuer felt his faith admitted no doubting his loue excluded all fearing his hope reiected all despairing So that howe you shoulde make a falser proposition and more repugnant to the Apostles wordes which you alledge then this which you haue made I by no meanes can conceiue Hee was tempted in all thinges a like except sinne Then neither the rootes partes nor fruites of sinne must bee in him But the Apostle that excepteth sinne excepteth all sinnefull adherentes The punishment of sinne which proceedeth from the iustice of GOD and is no sinne that Christ might and did beare but in no wise those terrours and feares of conscience which proceede from sinne and augment sinne as doubting distrusting despairing in which GOD reuengeth sinne with sinne these muste bee farre from Christ vnlesse wee will wrappe him within the snares of our sinnes The feare of Gods Maiestie armed with mightie power to reuenge sinne is profitable to keepe vs from sinne therein Christ may communicate with vs though not to that ende â—or he could not sinne but fearing doubting or distrusting that God wil for our manifold sinnes cast vs from his presence and condemne vs to hell commeth in vs from the guiltinesse of conscience and weakenesse of faith and hope which in Christ neither had nor coulde haue anie place But the Apostle you saie sheweth a reason which can neuer bee refuted by the witte of man Christ succoured vs not but wherein he had experience of our temptations Are those wordes in the Apostle No you will saie but collected from the Apostles wordes where hee saith In that Christ suffered being tempted he can helpe those that are tempted Hence you conclude vpon your owne warrant that Christ can succour vs in no temptation but whereof himselfe had first experience and this you proclaime to be irrefutable Such lips such lettice such doctors such diuinitie Your collection Sir Refuter is not onelie farre different from the Apostles wordes but euidentlie repugnant to the christian
shoulde bee as Paule professeth of himselfe when hee saieth I was among you with much trembling and feare Should therefore Christians bee alwayes besides themselues Christ often praied vnto his Father you saie and then presented himselfe before the Maiestie of God and yet wee do not reade that euer hee was vexed terrified and amazed in so doing Sir Refuter if your vnderstanding and memorie be not lost I tolde you that the humane nature of Christ presented it selfe before the maiestie of God in iudgement there to suffer man euerlastinglie to perish whome hee deerelie loued or to vndertake in his owne person that burthen which the iustice of God displeased with our sinnes should laie vpon him And if you doe not thinke this a cause sufficient for the manhoode of Christ to feare and tremble yea for the time to bee astonished at the number of our sinnes and terrour of Gods vengeance prouided for our eternall destruction both of bodie and soule you bee so déepe in your hellish paines that your wits and senses are confounded Absurdities and contrarieties are so rife with you that you thinke other men can hardlie auoide them but first vnderstand your owne and then you shall the better charge others After you haue spent the whole strength of your small eloquence and lesse intelligence to infer and amplifie the most wonderfull and piteous agonies feares sorrowes miseries outcries teares astonishment forgetfulnesse and confusion of the powers of nature with which the sense of Gods wrath afflicted distracted amazed ouerwhelmed and all confounded our Sauiour in his whole humanity You suddainlie euen in the twinkling of an eie free him from all and set him cleare as if all this had béene but a dreame For vppon Christes speaking of these wordes Father if it bee possible let this cuppe passe from mee you inferre if Christ had thus praied aduisedly and with good memorie against the knowne will of God hee had sinned And in the words presentlie following without staie or pause betweene yet not my will but thine bee doone you imagine that Christ as it were comming suddainly to himselfe quickly controled his former words And thus when it pleaseth you you put the sonne of God into a wonderfull and piteous confusion and forgetfulnesse of all the powers and partes of his bodie and soule and least you shoulde be conuinced of a manifest and irreligious vntrueth in the verie nicke of the nexte worde which Christ spake with the same breath you restore him to his perfect senses and discharge him from your hellish confusion and paynes But good Sir if it were so vnsupportable and intolerable a burden and confusion as you dreame of howe came our Sauiour to bee so lightlie and quicklie ridde of it as if there had béene no such thing was that heauie and fierie wrath of GOD against our sinnes equall to hell so soone quenched or was the sonne of God no longer able to endure it Of all absurdities your selfe beeing iudge for it is your position this is the greatest that meere men should suffer more deepelie then Christ. Then if Cain endured this all his life long if Saul and Iudas had no intermission of their payne if the damned in hell from whome you fetch your patterne doe euerlastinglie suffer it howe commeth it to passe that after you haue so hotlie stirred for it you are so soone wearie of it will you make vs beleeue that Christes obedience and patience was tried with a touch of this hellish paine and so an ende or will you returne it as often as please you and if this cuppe did so quicklie passe from our Sauiour howe did hee then praie against the knowne will of God which is an other of your foundations when as in the vttering of these words the cup did passe from him by your owne confession In like sorte to excuse Christ from sinne in praying against the will of his Father you cast him into a wonderfull confusion and forgetfulnesse of all the powers of his soule and senses of his body and in the same page for an other aduantage you auouch that in that praier Christ PERFECTLIE KNEVV the dominion of death shoulde not holde him Were all the powers of his soule ouerwhelmed and all confounded and yet did he euen in that whole confusion of sense memorie and vnderstanding PERFECTLY KNOVV the dominion of death should not holde him can a man haue his knowledge and memorie all confounded and ouerwhelmed and yet retaine PERFECT KNOVVLEDGE coulde Christ forget his fathers will in that praier through astonishment and in the speaking of the words remember he praied amisse and in the nexte worde quicklie correct himselfe Surelie these be conceites answerable to your cause and deuices fit for your diuinitie But Sir Refuter let passe your dreames and shewe vs your proofes that Christ praied against the knowne will of his father which you make the groundwork of this confusion and when you haue so done then prooue that your hellish paine was the cause of this astonishment Manie thinges might astonish our Sauiour for the time besides the paines of hell and in that astonishment if Christ had spokeÌ„ he knew not what which I beléeue not as Peter did when he sawe his glorie in the mountaine it had béene a defect in nature and no contempt of Gods counsell much lesse such an infernall confusion as you describe It is manifest you saie that Christ in plaine words praied contrarie to Gods known will It is more manifest that you knowe not what you saie How coulde he praie against his Fathers will that praied eâ—preslie with this condition ô Father IF THOV VVILT take awaie this cup from me That is a correction after the praier you will saie and no condition in the praier Are you so captious against Christ that you will not supplie one Euangelist with an other Luke and Matthew put a plaine condition vnto the praier of Christ the one saying father if thou wilt the other father if it be possible that is to stand with thy will and mans saluaâ—ion And though Marke omit the condition in the tenor of the praier yet doth he fuâ—â—ie expresse his meaning to bee al one with the rest For tâ—us he saieth of our Sauiour hee fell downe on the grounde and praied that IF IT VVERE POSSIBLE that houre might passe from him So that all thrée Euangelistes concurre that Christ praied not onelie with a reseruation of his fathers will but annexed that condition vnto his praier and therefore in all mens eies saue yours hee praied not in plaine wordes contrarie to Gods knowne will And this erroneous and contumelious position you set downe to the worlde as the chiefest fortresse of your hellish paines wherein you plainly wrest the scriptures from their expresse words But S. Iohn you will saie reporteth Christes 〈◊〉 to bee simplie made Father saue mee from this houre Saint Iohn speaketh of
came to suffer that from which hee was deliuered This Confuter replieth as hee thinketh verie soundlie and verie sufficientlie Thou shalt heare the whole My reason hee maketh to bee this That wherein Christ was hearde and deliuered from by praier he feared but felt not But Christ was heard and deliuered by prayer from the wrath which he feared therefore he felt it not His answere is Nay euen therefore he felt it Wee deny therefore the first proposition For hee was in some sense of it when hee praied against it and was heard He had then some foretast but the extremity came after which hee before feared And finallie hee being in all this was heard as the verie word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seemeth to import and delyuered from it that is at least not before hee had felt it Againe very the fearing of Gods wrath is a true feeling I saie not a ful feeling but a true feeling but it is granted that now in this Agonie hee feared the wrath of God Therefore hee truelie felt it Therefore the Question is granted You wrote this in the morning Sir Refuter when you were fresh and fasting it is so short and sharpe but be like it was darke or your eies were dull you could not sée neither what I said nor what your selfe saie The force of my reason consisted in this that where feare goeth before suffering and is no longer called feare when suffering commeth if Christ at the time of his praiers in the garden were deliuered from his feare much more from anie suffering of that hee feared And since by your owne positions you affirme hee feared in his agonie the paines of hell I concluded hee suffered them not Let vs now sée howe you impugne this reason You first change suffering into séeling and because the soule in all hir affections hath a kind of feeling you inferre naie therefore Christ felt it Your manner is too shrowde your selfe with generall and ambiguous words that maie signifie anie thing and then you shew your learning in speaking you knowe not what But vse the word suffering which I did or take feeling for suffering in which sence it maie stand and then sée how absurdlie and falslie you take my reason at this rebound For then you must saie Fearing is a kind of feeling Christ feared the paines of hell ergo Christ suffered them and so by your logicke whosoeuer feareth captiuitie or death is a captiue and dead and hee that feareth to loose his purse hath lost it yea hee that feareth to offend God doth offend him and hee that feareth to bee an hereticke is an hereticke I thought though your diuinitie had not yet your Philosophie coulde haue serued you to vnderstand that metus est mali impendentis aegritudo praesentis feare is of an euill approching griefe or paine of an euill present If you scorne philosophers whom for the proprietie of words you preferre before all the diuines in the world as anon shall appear◠Lactantius telleth you that of Desire ioy feare and sorrow the two first desire and ioy are for good things approching or present the two last feare and sorrow for euill likewise approching or present S. Ambrose will teach you that ante dolorem est timor post dolorem tristitia feare is before griefe or paine after paine followeth heauines And likewise Gregorie In his vitae tormentis timor dolorem habet dolor timorem non habet quia nequa quam mentem metus cruciat cum pati iam caeperit quod metuebat In the torments in this life feare hath some griefe but griefe hath no feare because feare doth not afflict the mind when a man once suffereth that which he feared This were enough to make my argument good but it hath yet more strengh from the Apostles words Christ praying in the garden was heard from his feare that is was deliuered from his feare Now is a man deliuered from his feare by suffering that he feared So wee iest with men when we will giue them their deserts and let them stand no longer in suspence but God so iested not with his sonne as to rid him from his feare by present punishment God therefore heard Christs prayer and deliuered him from his feare when as yet he did not suffer it and being deliuered from it in the garden how came he to suffer it more extremely on the Crosse For you saie Christ was in some sense of it when hee praied against it he had then some fortaste of it but the extremitie came after which he before feared Syr confuter if you can iest gybe thus with the Apostles words I must leaue you as lacking both conscience commō sense so will all y t be godly Christ praying in the garden was deliuered from his feare saith Paul that is say you after he had suffered on the Crosse the extremitie of that which he before feared So thē for Christ to be deliuered from that he feared was by your construction to suffer the extremitie of that he feared Will you that God send you such deliuerance in the time of néed that so prophanely play with the deliuerance of his sonne Hée was deliuered you will say from the continuance of it No good Syr Christ neuer feared the paines of hell should continue on him after death it is horrible blasphemy so to think vnto death you say they continued How was he then deliuered from his feare or haue you so soone forgotten your owne words if you regard not myne It is absurd to saie he praied in feare against that which he perfectly knew should neuer come vnto him namely that the Dominion of Death should hold him If the dominion of death should not hold his bodie much lesse should hell hold his soule But the Greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 you saie séemeth to import a deliuerance after Christ was in that he feared 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hee was heard being in it As is your diuinitie Syr confuter so is your Greeke For if Christ were heard then God did heare him so if 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ioyned to the passiue of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifie that Christ was heard being in the paines of hell then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ioyned to the Actiue and referred to God must likewise import that God being in y e same paines did heare him Haue you not brought vs a learned obseruation out of your Greeke store that God which heard and Christ that was heard were both in the paines of hell But indéed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to hearken vnto as wee do when we bend our eare to anothers spéech and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is harkned vnto or heard The word is fiue times vsed in the new testament but in the Septuagint nothing more frequent to signifie that we harken to Gods voice when we obey him and God harkneth to our voice when hee graunteth our praiers
from the life of God of which death the Diuell is sayde to haue the power and execution Therefore in the former place death signifieth so to euen the death of the soule that is the torments and sorrowes due to the damned and consequently Christ suffered the death of the soule And because this reason will seeme altogether vnreasonable and harsh in the eares of some to saie the least of it let them soberlie consider it and it is most true and euident Or if this will not perswade men to beleeue that Christ died the death of the soule men liuing being surprised with grieuous sorrowes and paines will saie as Terence witnesseth occidi perij interij they die they perish So likewise the death of the soule sometimes maie bee vnderstoode and that most sitlie for the paines and sufferinges of Gods wrath which alwayes accompanie them that are separated from the grace and loue of God And if Terence bee not authoritie sufficient Saint Peter against whome lieth no exception saith that Christ in his suffering for vs was done to death in the flesh but made aliue by the spirite And in the Scripture whensoeuer the fleshe and the spirite are opposed togither the flesh is alwayes Christes whole humanitie I saie not his bodie onelie but his soule also From hence nowe it followeth that Christes soule also died and was crucified according to the death and crucifying which soules are subiect vnto and capable of I haue Christian Reader neither peruerted the reasons nor pared the authorities on which this Confuter groundeth his conclusion that Christ died the death of the soule and that Christs soule was also crucified as well as his bodie I haue onelie sette them togither that thou maiest with one view behold both the deepnes and soundnesse of this vpstart writer and in thy secrete and vpright iudgement is it not patience enough to heare and endure a two legged creature to talke in this sort without all learning religion or discretion controlling all the fathers as fooles for thinking otherwise then hee doth commaunding the Scriptures pretor-like to serue his ignorant and lewd assertions and estéeming none to be sober or considerate except they confesse his shamefull absurdities to bee most true and euident But I haue not learned nor vsed to giue reuiling spéeches the Lorde reprooue his follie Though it bee not worth the answering yet for their sakes that bee simple I will not refuse to speake to it and to let them see what difference there is betwixt truth and errour Your maine reason Sir Refuter is this in these wordes of the Apostle Christ through death abolished the diuell that had power of death This worde DEATH say you hath the same meaning in both places the proofe you make for it is this verie fond it were to take it here otherwise Your assumption is but death in the latter place questionlesse signifieth the death of the soule Therefore Christ died the death of the soule It were as easie for mee to saie it is not so as for you to saie it is so but that course which you holde is but prating of euerie thing it is no proouing of anie thing Howe manie kinds of death there are wee shall better learne by the graue father Saint Austen then by the young louers in Terence Dicitur mors prima dicitur secunda Primae mortis duae sunt partes vna qua peccatrix anima per culpam discessit a creatore suo altera qua indicante Deo exclusa est per poenam à corpore suo Mors autem secunda ipsa est corporis animae punitio sempiterna There is a first death and a second Death Of the first death there be two parts one when the sinfull soule by offending departed from her Creator the other whereby the soule for her punishment was excluded from her bodie by Gods iustice The second death is the euerlasting torment of bodie and soule The same partes and kindes of death are often repeated by him in his 13. booke de ciuitate Dei as namelie Mors animae fit cum eam deserit Deus sicut corporis cum id deserit anima Ergo vtriusque rei id est totius hominis mors est cum anima à Deo deserta deserit corpus Ita enim nec ipsa vixit ex deo nec corpus ex ipsa Huiusmodi autem totius hominis mortem illa sequitur quam secundam mortem diuinorum eloquiorum appellat authoritas Nam illa poena vltima sempiterna recte mors animae dicitur The death of the soule is when God forsaketh her as the death of the bodie is when the soule forsaketh the bodie So y e death of both that is of the whole man is when the soule forsaken of God forsaketh her bodie For so neither she liueth by God nor the bodie by her This death of the whole man that other death followeth which the diuine scriptures call the second death for that last and euerlasting punishment is rightlie called the death of the soule Here are thrée kinds of death sinne which separateth vs from God bodilie death which separateth the soule from the body and eternall damnation which tormenteth body and soule for euer In the Apostles words to the Hebrues that Christ through death abolished y e diuell that had power of death you wil by no meanes haue the death of the bodie intended that is a benefite and gaine to the godlie Then of sinne and eternall damnation the diuell must be said to haue power and indeede so he hath For hee is the perswader and leader to sinne and the executioner and tormentor in damnation And so by your diuinitie Christ must sinne and be euerlastinglie condemned to hell fire before he can abolish the Diuell that hath power of both these For he must abolish him by the same kind of death whereof hee hath power Looke Sir Refuter what an wholsome exposition of the Apostles words you haue made vs which the diuell himselfe durst not aduenture it is so blasphemous God forbid you will say this should be anie part of your meaning But if such bee your ignorant rashnesse that you will so expound scriptures as these consequents shall necessarie followe you must leaue writing and fall to learning an other while till you be able to foresée what may iustly be inferred vpon your positions Deaths of the soule there are none mentioned in anie Scripture or father but sinne and eternall damnation Leaue the patheticall hyperbolicall metaphoricall phrases of Terence to boies in the Grammer schoole speake at least like a diuine though you bee none If your cause bee so holie a truth as you talke of it hath both foundation and approbation in the Scriptures You shall not neede to runne to heathen Poets to prooue that the Sauiour of the worlde died the death of the soule What the death of the soule is what consequentes it hath and what maine
and moste sufficient reasons there are why Christ neither did nor might die the death of the soule thou hast good Reader before in the Treatise it selfe if this fumbler either will skippe them or can not answere them I must not repeate them as often as hee will neglect them Yet to ease thee of going backe I will here giue thee the effect thereof The life and death of the soule is in manie hundred places learnedlie and trulie vouched and prooued by Saint Austen Mori carni tuae est amittere vitam suam mori animae tuae est amittere vitam suam Vita carnis tuae anima tua vitae animae tuae Deus tuus Quomodo moritur caro amissa anima quae vita eius est sic moritur anima amisso Deo qui vita est eius For thy bodie to die is to loose his life and for thy soule to die is to loose her life The life of thy bodie is thy soule The life of thy soule is thy God As the bodie dieth when the soule is departed which is his life so the soule dieth when God is departed which is her life And againe Quomodo ergo mortua est anima de qua viuit corpus Audi ergo disce corpus hominis creatura Dei est anima hominis creatura dei est De anima deus viuificat carnem ipsam autem animam viuificat de seipso non de seipsa Vita ergo corporis anima est vita animae Deus est moritur corpus cum recedit anima moritur ergo anima si recedit Deus Carnem iacentem sine anima vides animam miseram sine Deo videre non potes Crede ergo adhibe oculos fidei How dieth the soule then by which the bodie liueth Hearken and learne The bodie of man is the creature of God so is the soule By the soule God giueth life to the flesh but the soule her selfe God quickeneth by himselfe and not by herselfe The life of the bodie then is the soule the life of the soule is God The bodie dieth when the soule departeth ergo the soule dieth if God depart from her Thou seest the flesh lying dead without a soule and canst thou not see the soule wretched without God Beleeue then and open the eies of faith And speaking of the particular consequents to the life and death of the soule the same father saith Quomodo cum anima est in corpore praestat illi vigorem decorem mobilitatem Sic cum vita eius Deus est in ipsa praestat illi sapientiam pietatem iustitiam charitatem veniente itaque verbo audientibus infuso resurgit anima à morte sua ad vitam suam hoc est ab iniquitate ab insipientia ab impietate ad Deum suum qui est illi sapientia iustitia charitas As when the soule is in the bodie shee giueth vigour comelinesse and motion to the bodie so when God her life is in the soule he giueth her wisedome pietie righteousnesse and charitie The worde of God then sounding and infused to the hearers the soule riseth from her death to her life that is from iniquitie follie and impietie to her God who is to her wisedome righteousnesse and charitie If this were not plaine inough the Scriptures themselues are so euident that no man can mistake the life of the soule except hee will purposelie blinde himselfe least hee shoulde come to the knowledge of the truth For the sonne of God is life and comming down from heauen gaue life to the world quickning whom hee would with the waters of life that is by the spirite of life yea whosoeuer beleeueth and abideth in him hath life and beareth fruite in him For the iust shall liue by faith and he that dwelleth in loue dwelleth in God and God in him for God is loue So that not onely Christ is our life and he that hath the sonne hath life but with him and in him alwaies was and alwaies will bee the fountaine of life which neuer did nor can drie vp how then could Christ die the death of the soule whose soule was personallie vnited vnto the worde that was life in it selfe And if the grace and spirite of God in vs make vs liue by God and in God if faith and loue knitte men to the life of God howe coulde the soule of Christ alwaies full of grace and truth alwaies full of faith and loue and of the holie Ghost bee deade But this Refuter meaneth another death of the soule What his meaning is is not materiall but whether hee meane truth or no. If he wil frame vs a monster in christian religion what haue I to do with that but to detest it There is another death after this life mentioned both in scriptures and fathers which is the second death But I hope this Confuter will eate and sléepe vpon the cause before hee wrappe our Sauiour within euerlasting damnation That is a death in déed from which God blesse and saue vs all They must néedes bee good Christians that labour to bring Christes soule within the compasse of the second death Haec mortalitas est vmbra mortis vera mors est damnatio cum Diabolo Our death is here but a shadow of death the true death indeede is damnation with the diuell saith Austen And againe Quid est istamors Est relictio corporis depositio sarcinae grauis mors secunda mors aeterna mors gehennarum mors damnationis cum Diabolo ipsa est vera mors What is this death It is the leauing of the bodie and the laying downe of an heauier burthen for the second death the death that is eternall the death of hell the death of condemnation with the Diuell that is the true death Which of these two deathes of the soules you will haue the soule of Christ subiected vnto you must tell vs Sir Refuter if you will néedes haue him die the death of the soule and the choise is so good that take which you will you inâ—ur hainous and horrible blasphemie I wish you to bee better aduised then to procéede to the defence of so wilfull a frensie As for new deaths of the soule you haue no commission to inuent anie shewe what scripture or Father spake it before you or you must giue the godlie leaue to thinke you no fit founder of a newe faith S. Austen was of opinion that no Christian durst auouch that Christ died the death of the soule Nam quod Iesus anima mortificatus fuerat quis audcat dicere cum mors animae non sit nisi peccatum a quo ille omnino immunis fuit That Christ was dead in soule VVHO DARES AFFIRME IT whereas the death of the soule in this life is nothing but sinne from which hee was altogether free you not onelie auouch it but you thinke no man sober that will not consent to it
sacrifice to God and is in effect nothing but what we affirme You affirme that Christ died the death of the soule which you interpret to bee such paines and sufferings of Gods wrath as alwaies accompany them that are separated from the grace and loue of God You affirme that Christ suffered wonderfull and piteous astonishment forgetfulnesse and confusion of the powers of nature euen of all the powers of his soule and senses of his bodie yea he felt the verie diuels as the instruments that wrought the verie effectes of Gods wrath vppon him and though the wicked oftentimes find farre more intolerable horror of their sinnes then any other yet you doubt not but Christ as touching the vehemencie of paine was as sharply touched euen as the Reprobate themselues yea if it may be more extraordinarily All this you affirme and by your owne words all this is the ONLY TRVE and perfectly accepted sacrifice to God So then whosoeuer feeleth not all this hath no broken nor contrite heart nor anie longer then hee feeleth these hellish torments in his soule And if this be the ONLY TRVE sacrifice to God I will not aske what shall become of the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiuing but howe vnhappie are the godlie that at anie time are free from the paines of the damned and from the tormentes of hell since the suffering thereof is the ONLY TRVE and perfectlie accepted sacrifice to God Godly sorrow saieth the Apostle causeth repentance vnto saluation those wordes please you not such hellish sorrowes and intolerable horrors as the Reprobate themselues feele yea as the damned doe suffer this saie you is the ONIY TRVE and accepted sacrifice to God You must haue other sacrifices and those accepted before you come to heauen or else the Reprobate and damned will bee there as soone as you God send you his grace and grant your wits and senses bee not distempered and distracted you talke so much of hellish paines and torments executed by diuels as the only true sacrifice of a broken and contrite hart The Apostles wordes whereon you first grounded this odious assertion haue no such intention as you imagine By death Christ conquered him that had power of death that is the Diuel Aske the simplest childe y t is catechised in your charge if you haue anie what death Christ died for vs and hee will answere you out of his Créede Christ was crucified deade and buried and that is the death which the Scriptures describe and deliuer I deliuered vnto you saieth Paul that which I receiued how that Christ died for our sinnes according to the scriptutes what death if wee aske the Apostle he will answere the death of the Crosse. For we preach saieth he Christ crucified and I esteemed not to know any thing among you but Christ Iesus and him crucified Christ crucified then that is by his death on the crosse destroied him that had power of death Of what death you aske hath the diuell power as well of the second death which Christ coulde not suffer as of the first which hee did suffer Christ you will saie coulde deliuer vs from no death but from the verie same which he suffered himselfe If so you saie or so would saie it is no lesse then heresie or blasphemie Hee deliuered vs from euerlasting death which hee neither did nor coulde suffer If you saie hee deliuered vs not from euerlasting death it is open heresie if you saie Christ suffered euerlasting death it is blasphemie Yet hath the diuell power of both deaths as well temporal as eternall What power you aske hath the diuel of this death which our bodies die God made not that death but by the enuy of the Diuell it came into the world He was the first procurer of it by perswading sinne and still reioiceth in it as the verie gate to hel I shal goe said Ezechiah to the gate of hell which was the death of his bodie that waie the wicked passe to hell Yea the Apostle calleth the corruption of our bodies the sting of sinne wherewith the diuell pearced vs when this corruption hath put on incorruption ô death where is thy sting For the exposition of the Apostles words I may either say with S Austen Ipse Dominus mori voluit vt quemadmoduÌ„ de illo scriptum est per mortem euacuaret eum qui ptoestateÌ„ habebat mortis id est Diabolum liberaret eos qui timore mortis per tâ—tam vitam rei erant seruitutis Hoc Testimonio satis illud monstratur mortem istam corporis principe atque authore Diabolo hoc est ex peccato accidisse quod ille persuasit Neque enim ob aliud potestatem habere mortis verissime diceretur The Lord himselfe would die that as it is written of him by death he might destroie him that had power of death euen the diuell and deliuer them which for feare of death were all their life long subiect to seruitude By this testimonie it is sufficientlie prooued that this verie death of our bodies came from the Diuell as the Authour and chiefe dooer thereof that is from the sinne which hee perswaded He cannot for any other cause be said to haue power of death which here is most truly spoken Ambrose Chrysostom and Cyril referre death throughout that sentence to the death of the bodie In these wordes saie they the Apostle noteth an admirable thing that whereby the diuel had power thereby was he ouerthrown The weapons which were his strength against the world that is death by y t Christ strooke him Why treÌ„ble ye why feare ye death now death is not terrible but acceptable as the end of labor and the beginning of rest Chrysostom hath almost the same wordes Cyrill verie often expoundeth death in that place for the death of Christs bodie The sonne of God was partaker of flesh and bloud that yeelding his BODY to death he by nature as God being life it selfe might quicken it againe otherwise how had hee abolished the imperie of death vnlesse he had raised againe his dead BODY And againe Because it was aboue mans nature to abolish death yea rather it was subdued of death the son of God that is life took vnto him mans nature subiect to death y t death as a cruell beast inuading his flesh should cease froÌ„ his tyranny ouer vs that should thereby be abolished If by death in the second place we vnderstand the death of body and soule with Fulgentius I am not against it this being alwaies remembred that Christ died no death but the death of the bodie Mors filij Dei quam SOLA CARNE suscepit vtramque in nobis morteÌ„ animae scilicet carnisque destruxit The death which the sonne of God suffered ONLY in his flesh destroied BOTH DEATHS in vs as well that of the soule as that of the body The Confuâ—er hauing
be stirred himselfe in his special and choise arguments as thou hast heard christiaÌ„ reader now drawing to an ende purposeth like a politicke captaine so to entrench himself that no force shal fetch him out of his hold And because wordes are the weapons that can endanger him he taketh the readie waie with them to turne wind them at his wil and so maketh anie thing to be euerie thing that nothing should hurt him The scriptures affirmeâ— that Christ crucified is the wisedome and power of God to all that be called and that we are reconciled to God by the death of his sonne and our sinnes redeemed and the diuel destroied by the death of Christ Iesus as also that hee suffered for vs in the flesh yea he suffered for our sinnes being put to death in the flesh And least it should hence bee collected that Christ died not y e death of the soule but rather the death of his bodie was a sufficient price for the life of the worlde the Refuter vndertaketh this place of Saint Peter that Christ was done to death in the flesh and thence will proue that the flesh comprehendeth bodie and soule and that the soule of Christ DIED and was crucified as well as the bodie Reason or authoritie besides his owne he bringeth none but out of the hinder part of his head he giueth an obseruation which if he saie the worde must needes prooue sounde and good and this it is Whensoeuer in scripture the flesh and the spirit are opposed together the flesh is alwaies Christes whole humanitie as well his soule as his bodie From whence it followeth that Christs soule also died and was crucified How proue you this note Sir Refuter had you saide that wheresoeuer the flesh of Christ liuing is spoken of there the flesh of a man endued with a humane soule is intended you had saide well for Christ was perfect man and perfect God in one and the same person but when you will stretch all the attributes of the bodie and make them common to the soule because Christ had a soule as well as a bodie it is no true obseruation deriued from the scripture but a partiall supposition intended to further your hellish sorrowes In the 26. of Matthew when Christ telleth his disciples that the spirit is readie but the flesh weake doth hee take spirit there for the godheade as if that were readie to suffer anie thing or for the soule which was willing but that the flesh was weake In the 24. of Luke when Christ saieth a spirit hath not flesh and bones as you see me haue had his soule flesh and bones and those to be seene as his bodie had To the Romanes when Paul saith Christ our Lord was made o the seede of Dauid according to the flesh and declared to be the sonne of God touching the spirit of sanctification by the resurrection from the deade will you conclude that Christes soule was made of the seede of Dauid and came from Dauids loines as Christes flesh did The like he repeateth in the same Epistle of the Israelites came Christ according to the flesh which is God ouer all to be blessed for euer whereâ—f your obseruation faile not Christes soule must be kinne to the Iewes as well as his flesh Whie thenâ— when Peter saith Christ was put to death according to the flesh but quickned by the spirit doe you make it so cleere a case that the worde flesh there compriseth both bodie and soule and therefore by Peters confession Christ died in soule as well as in bodie so when Paul saith Christ was crucified through infirmitie yet liueth through the power of God what leadeth you to imagine that his soule was crucified as well as his bodie who did crucifie him I praie you God or the Iewes Peter saieth to the Iewes Iesus of Nazareth a man approoued of God after you had taken with wicked hands you haue CRVCIFIED and slaine So againe the holy and iust one ye denied and killed the Lord of life And likewise By the name of Iesus whom ye haue crucified whom God raised againe from the deade doth this man heere stande whole who before was a creeple If the Iewes then crucified and killed the Lorde Iesus coulde they crucifie and kill his soule Are you so simple that you remember not the wordes of our Sauiour Feare not them which kill the bodie but are not able to kill the soule And you make it not an ouersight but a positiue point of your holie truth as you call it that Christes soule was crucified and died and consequentlie that the Iewes directlie against the wordes of Christ were able to kill and crucifie the soule of Christ. Will you saie that God crucified the soule of Christ for what will you not saie that say Christs soule was crucified died in what scripture shall wee reade that God crucified the soule as the Iewes did the bodie of Christ you woulde seeme to conclude it out of the scriptures which whensoeuer they speake of Christ crucified they note the shamefull and cruel death which the Iewes executed on him not anie thing that God did vnto him And out of that word euerie where in the scriptures referred to the Iewes to inferre that God also crucified his soule is as much madnesse as the former If you feare not the paines of hell because you are so well acquainted with them feare at least the shame of the worlde least they deride you to skorne as lacking that common vnderstanding which boies in the streetes and prentices in the shoppes haue But what if your selfe being be like amazed and as you saie of Christ all confounded in all the powers of your soule and senses of your bodie when you wrate in defence of your holie cause do contradict your selfe and call your owne assertion ABSVRD and MOST FALSE and that not ten or twelue leaues off but in the verie same place where you labour to iustifie this position and prouing and pronouncing it to be absurd and most false you presently conclude it as a principle of your newe faith well if it bee not so then I must confesse I was a sléepe when I thought you did so But if it fall out to be true which I saie I hope christian Reader thou wilt thinke my time anie waie better imploied then longer to reason with such a brainsicke babler The words of Peter are Christ hath once suffered for sinnes the iust for the vniust and was put to death in the flesh but quickned by the spirit Saint Austen writing vpon this place obserueth this for a sure rule to expounde the whole In eare quippe viuificatus est in qua fuerat mortificatus Christ was quickned in that verie part wherein hee suffered death or was put to death This rule hath in it a mightie truth that maie not be resisted For if any part of
Christ died which was not againe quickned but still left dead then that parte suffered perpetuall death which is not onelie plainelie false but openlie blasphemous Then must this stande for an vndoubted grounde that whatsoeuer part of Christ was dead the same must be quickned againe to auoid the eternall death of anie part And if anie part of Christ néeded not quickning or restoring to life it neuer died for quickning is heere the restoring of life to that which was dead and not the giuing of life to that which had none before Then if Christs soule died of force it must either be quickned againe or kept vnder eternal death but to saie that Christs soule was quickned or made aliue IS ABSVRD AND MOST FALSE Ergo to saie that Christes soule died IS ABSVRD AND MOST FALSE You will aske me howe I proue the Minor or second parte of this Argument if Saint Austen did not helpe me to proue it the Confuter will Loe Sir Refuter your own words in the very same place take care I praie you that I misrepeat them not for if I hit theÌ„ right you wil proue your selfe as verie a baby as euer suckt a bottle BOTH THESE saie you ARE ABSVRD AND MOST FALSE that Christ was made alïue either in his HVMANE SOVLE OR BY THE SAME Sée and shame if there be anie grace or sense in you that going about purposelie to prooue that Christs soule died and was crucified you set this for a preface vnto it it is ABSVRD and most FALSE that Christ was made aliue in his humane soule which without any shift or colour you do saie must saie before your conclusion can be true except you wil flie to this that Christes soule died in deede but was neuer restored to life or made aliue againe which if wee come to I must proclaime you no longer foolish but blasphemous Howbeit I hope you will rather see your follie then fall to this frensie for my part I wish you better counsell and more reading and although you tell me of errors corrupt fansies and vayne imaginations shameful questioÌ„s toyish fables fond absurd without sense or reason when I doe but repeat the iudgementes of the ancient and learned Fathers yet I will beare them at your hand and from my heart doe pittie your ignorance for I hope it bee but ignorance howsoeuer you take vpon you to controle all as fond and absurde that yeelde not to your humour For the cleering of this place of Peter wherein the Confuter hath so much ouerseene himselfe I stand not vpon the aduantage of his wordes but vpon the sounde and learned exposition of Saint Austen whose antiquitie and authoritie concurring with the truth of the scriptures doth please me I trust christian reader wil content thee Christus spiritu viuificatus est cuÌ„ in passione esset câ—rne mortificatus Quid est enim quod viuificatus est spâ—ritu nisi quod eadem Caro qua sola fuerat mortificatus viuificante spiritu resurrexit Nam quod anima fuerat mortificatus Iesus hoc est eo spiritu qui hominis est quis audeat dicere cum mors animae non sit nisi peccatum a quo ille omnino immunis fuit Certe anima Christi non solum immortalis secundum naturam caeterarum sed etiam nullo mortificata peccato vel damnatione punita est quibus duabus causis mors animae intelligi pâ—test ideo non secundum ipsam dici potuit Christus viuificatus spiritu In ea re quippe viuificatus est in qua fuerat mortificatus ergo de carne dictum est Ipsa euim reuixit anima redeunte quia ipsa erat mortua anima recedente Mâ—rtificatus ergo carne dictus est quia secunduÌ„ solam carneÌ„ mortuus est viuificatus autem spiritu quia spiritu operante etiaÌ„ ipsa caro viuificata surrexit Christ was quickned by the spirit when in his Passion he was put to death in his flesh What meaneth it that he was quickned by the spirit but that the same flesh in VVHICH ONLY HE DIED rose againe by the quickning of the spirit For that Iesus DIED IN SOVLE I meane in his humane spirit VVHO DARE AFFIRME IT where as the death of the soule is nothing in this life but sinne from which he was wholie free Surelie the soule of Christ was not onlie immortal by nature as others are but neither died by sinne nor was punished by any damnation which are the two waies how the soule maie possiblie die And therefore Christ could not bee said to bee quickned in soule by the spirite for in that part was hee quickned in which hee died Therefore it was spoken by Peter of Christs flesh That reuiued when the soule returned because that died when the soule departed Christ then is sayd to bee done to death in his flesh for that hee died ONLY IN HIS FLESH and to be quickned by the spirite because that verie flesh rose againe being quickned by the working of the spirite These learned and sound conclusions of S. Austen are derectlie repugnant to your weake and false obseruations Syr Refuter Christ died in the flesh saith Peter that is saith Austen in THE FLESH ONLY for the soule of Christ died not since the death of the soule is either sinne in this life or damnation in the next both which were farre from Christ. You tell vs that Christs soule not onlie died but was also crucified and all the proofe you bring for it besides Terence is that Peter saith Christ died in the flesh Now the flesh saie you signifieth as well the soule as the bodie and so Christ died in both but such proofes if you vse them often will prooue you to haue a great deale lesse religion and learning then you would seeme to haue What death the Scriptures affirme Christ died for vs if you bee now to séeke at these yeares it is pittie your shoulders haue beene so long troubled with your head Can there bee fuller or plainer words then those which the foure Euangelists vse in describing the death buriall and resurrection of the bodie of our Sauiour Shew but one such word in Scripture or father that Christs soule died at the time of his Passion and take the cause He layd downe his soule vnto death you will saie You should haue done well in your pamphlette at least to haue laid that downe for a shewe and not vpon your single word to haue vouched so weightie a matter as the death of Christs soule is but you must be borne with your wits are often not at home What is ment by this that Christ laid downe or yéelded his Soule vnto death S. Austen largelie disputeth in his 47 treatise vppon S. Iohns Gospell The effect is when Christ laid downe his soule vnto death his bodie died and not his soule Quid fecit Passio quid fecit mors nisi corpus ab anima separauit
Sâ— enim mortuus est dominus immo quia mortuus est Dominus mortuus est enim pro nobis in cruce sine dubio caro ipsius expirauit animam Hoc est ergo ponere animam quod est mori Cum ergo exit anima a carne et remanet caro sine anima tunc homo ponerâ— animam dicitur Carni hoc tribue caro ponit animam suam caro iterum sumit eam Caro ponit animam suam expirando Ipse Dominus Christus dictus est sola caro Audeo dicere et sola caro Christi dictus est Christus Confiteris illud quod habet fides in eum Christum te credere qui crucifixus est sepulâ—ns Ergo sepultum Christum esse non negas tamen sola caro sepulta est Ergo Christus erat etiam caro sine anima quia non est sepulta nisi caro Disce hoc etiam in Apostolicis verbis Humiliauit scmetipsum factus obediens vsque ad mortem Iam in morte SOLA CARO a Iudaeis est occisa tamen carne occisa Christus occisus est Ita cum caro animam posuit Christus animam posuit cum caro vt resurgeret animam sumpsit Christus animam sumpsit What did the Passion what did the death of Christ but separate his bodie from his soule If the Lord died for vs yea rather because indeede the Lord did die for vs for hee died for vs on the crosse doubtlesse his flesh did breath out his soule Soe that to laie downe his soule and to die is all one When the soule departeth from the flesh the flesh remaineth any soule then a man is said to lay downe his soule VnderstaÌ„d this of the flesh for the flesh laieth down her soule taketh it againeâ— the flesh laieth down her soule by breathing it forth The Lord Iesus is called his flesh alone I dare be bold to auouch it THE ONLY FLESH of Christ is called Christ. Thou confessest as it is in thy Creede that thou beleeuest in that Christ which was crucified buried Then thou acknowledgest Christ to be buried yet only his flesh was buried Therefore flesh without a soule was Christ because nothing of him but his flesh was buried Learne the selfe same in the Apostles words Christ humbled himselfe was obedient vnto Death Now in his death ONLY HIS flesh was killed of the Iewes and yet the flesh being slaine Christ was slaine So when the flesh laid downe her soule Christ laid downe his soule and when the flesh tooke her soule againe to rise Christ tooke his soule againe To men that do not wilfullie blind themselues these words are cleare enough and they haue for their warrant the full consent of Scriptures Councels Fathers for 1400 yeares without dissenting from it Christ suffered for you saith Peter leauing you an ensample that you should follow his steppes who himselfe bare our sinnes in his bodie on the Tree that we being dead to sinne should liue in righteousnes Then when Christ died to sin his body died on the tree his soul liued in righteousnes So must we do for so did he when he left vs an example how to follow his steppes Our soules must not die before we can resemble his death they must liue in righteousnes as he did Euery where saith Paul we beare about in our bodie the dying of the Lord Iesus that the life of Iesus might also be made manifest in our bodies which he thus expoundeth afterward Therefore we faint not but though our outward man perish yet the inward man is daily renewed Then in our bodies we carrie about the death of Christ who for our example died in his bodie vnto sinne that we should follow his steppes And why doubt we hereof since the same apostle doth in as plain expresse words as might be spoken testifie that Christ when we were enimies reconciled VS IN THE BODY OF HIS FLESH THROVGH DEATH to make vs holy and without fault in his sight grounded and stablished in faith and not mooued awaie from the hope of the Gospell What could the hart of Paul inuent or his toong vtter more effectuall then this that Christ THROVGH DEATH IN THE BODIE OF HIS FLESH reconcileth vs to God and maketh vs holie and without fault in his sight If you can quarrell with these words Sir Refuter you maie do what you will with the Scriptures No words will bind you that take bodie for soule life for death faith for amazed feare hope for intolerable horror descending for ascending and hell for heauen What is this els but to make a confusion of all Religion and giue open defiance to the trueth by taking one contrarie for the other You do not so you will saie Leaue so doing and these Questions will soone be determined I prooue there was alwaies in Christ euidence of faith assurance of hope Ioy of loue euen in the midst of his paines on the crosse and you graunt there was not anie the least diminution in Christ of his faith patience or obedience to God neither was Christ so much as touched with anie wauering much lesse fearing in his trust and confidence of Gods loue and protection towards him How then can the horrour of Gods seuere iustice and wrath like them that indeed be separated from the grace and loue of God bee in Christ Or how can the sorrowes of the damned which are separated from the life of God bee found in Christ how could Christ suffer the same terrours of Gods wrath and assaults of the Deuill yea far greater then the godlie féele in their consciences for want of faith and feare of Gods displeasure What are these but plaine contrarieties Againe in Christ you saie was no defect of grace how then could the soule of Christ replenished with the spirite of life and liuing in all fulnes of grace and trueth bee dead can you make one and the same part of Christ both aliue and dead Soe likewise if Christ had but feared to bee vtterly forsaken with the hatred of his Father that indéed you saie were desperation which God forbid And yet you doe not doubt but Christ was as deepelie touched with the vnspeakeable horror of Gods seuere wrath due to sinne as the Reprobates themselues A number of these hogepots you haue made vs speaking of things which your selfe cannot or dare not expresse Sometimes you would faine affirme it in generall words and when you come to particulars you renounce it againe In the verie case that gaue vs occasion of this rehearsall when the Apostle saith we are reconciled to God by the death of his sonne and explaining himselfe saith the death that reconciled vs to God was the death which Christ suffered in the bodie of his flesh Is it not as cleare as daie light that the bodilie death of Christ which he suffered on the crosse is by
the scriptures resolued to bee the sufficient price of our redemption and meane of our reconciliation to God except you take the bodie of Christ for the soule of Christ and the stripes and woundes of his â—lesh for the paines of hell Yee were redeemed with the precious bloud of Christ saieth Peter Can there bee plainer wordes that Christes bloud shedde for the remission of our sinnes is the perfect price of our redemption without the deaâ—h of the soule or paines of hell which you interpose So likewise when Peter saieth Christ bare our sinnes in his bodie on the Tree in that hee suffered once â—or sinners when hee was put to death in his flesh are you not forced to peruerâ— these woordes for defence of your fancie and to take the flesh for bodie and soule that you maie make the death of Christe to bee common to both It is one thing you will saie to take the fleshe for the whole man and another to take the bodie for the soule I knowe it right well but the one will not serue your turne without the other By a part to name or note the whole man is no newes in the Scriptures but to ascribe the attributes of one part to the other because the name of either part is sometimes taken for the whole that is a generall subuerting of all the trueth of the Scriptures Saint Austen tolde you euen nowe that Christes dead flesh is called Christ will you therefore referre the properties of Christes dead flesh vnto his soule and not thinke you take the waie to dissolue as well the vnion as communion of two natures in Christ and of the distinction of two parts in his manhood The body indeede is more distinguished from the soule then the name of flesh is because the vnregenerate part of the soule is in the Scriptures euerie where called flesh but this hath no place in Christ by reason no corruption of sinne cleaned vnto his soule and therefore the name of fleshe doeth no where signifie the soule in Christ as it doeth often in vs onelie by naming flesh in Christ the scripture sometimes intendeth that he disdained not the weakest and basest part of our nature when he came to redéeme vs. And so Saint Iohn saith The worde was made flesh meaning the true and eternall sonne of God vouchsafed to take not onelie our reasonable and humane soule vnto him but euen our vilde and mortall flesh into the vnitie of his person and so became man that hee might restore man nowe fallen from God and perished in his sinnes to the fauour and life of God againe But when the Scriptures saie that Christ died for our sinnes the auncient fathers and Councels with one consent applie that to the death of Christes bodie on the Crosse and not to the death of the soule or to anie paines of hell And though in the Treatise before I haue cited such as sufficientlie witnesse that doctrine to be sounde and Catholike yet will I not bee greeued to let thee see Christian Reader that there was nothing more commonlie nor constantlie professed in the Primitiue Church then the doctrine which I am now forced to defende against the rage and reproch of this slaunderous impugner Post edita per facta diuinitatis suae monumenta reliquum iam erat vt pro omnibus sacrificium offerret pro omnibus templum suum morti tradens quo omnes innoxios liberos à veteri praeuaricatione efficeret seque declararet mortis victorem Corpus igitur quod communem cum omnibus habebat naturam corpus enim humanum mortale erat ad similitudiâ—em sui generis mortem excepit verbum enim quoniam mori non potuit vtpote immortale corpus sibi sumpsit quod mori poterat illudque vt suuÌ„ pro omnibus obtulit vt ita pro omnibus omnibus ipse corpore coniunctusâ— mortem patiens compesceret eum qui mortis habebat imperium hoc est Diabolum liberaret eos quotquot formidine mortis per omnem vitam obnoxiy erant seruituti After Christ by his deedes had declared his diuinitie it remained that hee shoulde OFFER A SACRIFICE FOR ALL yeelding vnto death the temple of his bodie for all thereby to deliuer and discharge all from the olde transgression and to declare himselfe the conquerour of death His bodie therefore which in nature was like all ours for it was an humane and mortall bodie died in like maner as bodies doe For the sonne of God because he could not die being immortall tooke a bodie vnto him that might die and offered that as his owne for all men that so being ioined in bodie to all and suffering death for all he might represse him that had power of death euen the Diuell and free those that for feare of death were all their life long subiected to seruitude Epiphanius treadeth in the same steppes When the sonne of God saith he would suffer of his owne good will for mankinde because his diuinitie coulde not suffer beeing of it selfe impassible hee tooke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 OVR BODIE THAT MIGHT SVFFER that therein hee might yeelde to suffer and admitted our sufferings his Godhead being present in his flesh the godhead suffreth not For he that saith I am life how can he die But God remaining impassible 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sufferâ—th by his flesh that his passion may be accounted to his deitie though it suffered not to the ende our saluation shoulde bee from God In his flesh was the suffering least wee should haue a passible God Which indeede is impassible imputing that suffering vnto himselfe according to his free choise and not of anie necessitie Ambrose in like sort Laqueus contritus est nos liberati sumus Non potuit melius conteri laqueus nisi praedam aliquam diabolo demoÌ„strasset vt dum ille festinaret ad praedam suis laqueis ligaretur Quae potuit esse praeda nisi corpus Oportuit igitur hoc fraudem Diabolo fieri vt sâ—sciperet corpus dominus Iesus corpus hoc corruptibile corpus infirmum vt crufigeretur ex infirmitate Sienâ—m fuisset corpus spirituale non dixisset spiritus promptus est caro autem infirma The snare is broken and we are deliuered The snare could not bee better broken then by shewing the diuel some pray that whiles he hastned to the pray he might be wrapped in his owne snares What pray could there be beside the bodie of man It was therefore requisite the diuell should bee thus deceiued that the Lord Iesus should take a body vnto him euen this corruptible weake body of ours that he might be crucified through infirmitie Had it beene a spiritual bodie that he tooke he would neuer haue said the spirite is readie but the flesh is weake The same Christ suffered and suffered not died and died not rose againe and did not rise because hee raised vp his owne bodie
For that which fell that rose againe that which fell not needed not rise Hee rose then according to the flesh which being dead did rise againe Ergo also he died in our nature which he tooke vnto him and suffered in the body which he tooke that we might beleeue he tooke a true bodie To the vnbeleeuer asking Shall I beleeue God in flesh God borne of a woman God crucified whipped dead wounded buried Austen answereth thy God remaineth vnchangeable feare not he perisheth not Christ was borne of a woman but in his flâ—sh Hee was an infant but in his flesh Hee sucked increased was nourished and grewe in age but in his flesh Wearied he slept but in his flesh Hee hungred and thirsted but in his flesh He was taken bound whipped mocked yea he was CRVCIFIED AND KILLED BVT IN HIS FLESH Why art thou afraid The word which was God remaineth for euer He that despiseth this humblenes of God wil neuer be cured from the deadly swelling of pride The Lord Iesus therefore by his flesh gaue hope to our flesh To be borne and to die were here on earth common to liue for euer was not here Christ found here our earthlie wares which were vilde and brought with him his heauenlie which were strange If thou feare his death loue his resurrection He came to the place of our pilgrimage to take that which aboundeth here eueÌ„ mocks whippes blowes spittings in his face reproches hanging the crosse and death These things abound in our region to this entertainment hee came What hath he giuen thee here Instruction exhortation and remission of sinnes What hath he promised thee O mortall man that thou shalt liue for euer Doest thou not beleeue it Beleeue it I say beleeue it It is more that he hath alreadie done then that hee hath promised It is more incredible that the eternall died then that the mortall shall liue for euer If God died for man shall not man liue with God But can God die Hee tooke from thee wherein to die for thee THERE COVLD NOT DIE BVT FLESH THERE COVLD NOT DIE BVT A MORTALL BODIE Hee clothed himselfe with that wherein hee might die for thee hee will clothe thee wherin thou shalt liue with him In that part Christ died in which thou shalt die in that part Christ rose in which thou shalt rise Thou wilt pardon mee Christian Reader if among so much lothsome stuffe of reprobate horrors damned paines and hellish torments as this Confuter hath heaped together I solace my selfe sometimes with the longer comfort of sounde and sweete doctrine so sincerelie and sensiblie deliuered by the learned and auncient Fathers I will alledge one place more wherein thou shalt see the full consent of prouinciall and generall Councels not to bee gainesaide by anie man that will beare the name of a Christian and so shutte vp this point Cyrill writing to Nestorius to stay and suppresse that false doctrine which hee beganne then to spreade teacheth vs verie plainelie howe the sonne of God is saide in the Scriptures to SVFFER DIE AND RISE AGAINE for vs and our saluation So wee saie the sonne of God suffered and rose againe not that the sonne of GOD suffered in his owne nature either the stripes or the boaring of the nailes or the rest of the woundes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Deitie coulde not suffer by reason it is no bodilie substance but because THAT BODIE which hee made his owne suffered these things himselfe is saide to suffer these things for vs. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He that coulde not suffer was then in his bodie which suffered After the same manner wee thinke of his dying The sonne of God is by nature immortall incorruptible life and the giuer of life but because the bodie which was his owne tasted death for all by the fauour of God as Paule speaketh hee himselfe is saide to haue suffered death for vs not that hee had experience of death as touching his owne nature it were a madnesse so to thinke or say but for that as I saide euen nowe his flesh tasted death So his flesh rising againe it is called his Resurrection not that hee fell to corruption God forbidde but that his bodie rose againe When this stayed not the frenzie of Nestorius the heretike but that hee replied in swelling woordes Cyrill called a Councell at Alexandria and there with one consent they approoued the trueth and sent it vnto Nestorius to bee confessed in these woordes amongst others If anie man doe not confesse that the Sonne of GOD suffered in his fleshe was crucified in his flesh and tasted death in his flesh let him bee accursed Dilating this and the rest of their Articles in their Synodall Epistle sent to Nestorius they saie Wee confesse that the onelie begotten God euen the sonne borne of God his father though hee were impassible in his owne nature yet suffered hee in his flesh for vs according to the Scriptures 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and was in his bodie that was crucified accounting the sufferings of his owne flesh as proper vnto him though he were without suffering and by the grace of God tasted death for all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when he gaue his owne bodie vnto death This doctrine came to bee scanned in the third generall Councell helde at Ephesus and being there deliberatelie read was woâ—de for worde allowed of the whole Councell as agréeable to the Scriptures and the Nicene fathers The like approbation it had not onelie in the Councell of Constantinople vnder Fluuianus but in the great councell of Chalcedon where the proceedings of both these Councels were a fresh examined and the former woordes of Cyrill repeaâ—ed and confirmed with the ful consent of that general Councel as most â—ound and catholike So that he shall ill deserue the name of a christian that after so manie fathers and Councels both Prouinciall and Generall will begin to teach vs a new faith and tell vs that the Scriptures meane Christ was crucified and died as wel in his soule as in his bodie since the whole Church with one assent hath euer so conceiued and expounded the Scriptures that Christes crucifying and dying must bee referred to his bodie and consequentlie that the ioynt sufferings of Christ the soule feeling what the bodie suffered were most auailable for our redemption For when they ascribe the crucifying and death of Christ to his bodie they doe not exclude the soule from the sense and feeling of the paine which is a naturall consequent to the coniunction with her bodie but they shew what part of Christs manhoode suffered the crosse and death that the Scriptures so much speake of and whereby wee are redeemed and reconciled vnto GOD. One place repeated in the Councell of Ephesus maie serue in steede of manie to declare their meaning Howe can the Creator of all thnges who is neither visible palpable nor mutable sustaine the Crosse
and death Wee saie the sonne of God sustained the Crosse and death in his owne flesh that hee might deliuer vs from death and corruption Hee laide downe his soule for vs not as an alien and straunger to the sonne of God but vnspeakeablie vnited vnto him as himselfe saith I haue power to lay downe my soule and I haue power to take it againe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is proper to the soule to bee pensiue to feele paine and griefe to depart from the bodie as it is proper to the flesh to be wearied to be crucified to be raised againe So the violence was offered to the bodie the sense whereof reached vnto the soule and these are the sufferings of the crosse and of death which the Scriptures attribute to the sonne of God for our saluation Insomuch that your long discourse of the proper and immediate suffering of Christes soule for sinne without and besides the bodie maie be hanged on the hedge as discording both from the scriptures and all the Catholike fathers that either haue priuatelie testified the truth by their writings or publiklie confirmed it by their assemblies And as for your hellish paines when your selfe can tell what they are and make some better proofe then yet you haue done that they were or might be in the soule of Christ you shal receiue further answere These are the Refuters exquisite arguments which he calleth his speciall reasons being indeede rather so manie monsters in Christian Religion then matters to perswade anie man were he neuer so simple and but that a straunge faith muste needes haue such straunge groundes as these bee I shoulde thinke hee did rather expose this conceyte of Hell paines to bee derided of the worlde then to bee beleeued hee euerie where so secondeth his badde cause with woorse proofes but where better foode wanteth Akornes are good meate and blacke Moores maie bee beautifull when others bee awaie I woulde heere make an ende of his first parte but that as his manner is when hee hath stumbled absurdlie a long while at hell hee steppeth on the suddaine as vnhandsomelie to heauen Knowe therefore saieth hee hell as we take it is euen in this life founde sometime as heauen is likewise for as touching materiall fire in hell what a toyish fable is that else I praie you how may the soules of the damned suffer by materiall fier seeing they are spirits and therefore with them and fier materiall there can be no communiâ—n But let it bee as it may be the locall hell of the damned we speake not of You slacke your hell paines Sir Resuter towardes the ende as if all this while you had beene too hot in them and heere you giue thrée qualifications to them or rather contradictions to your former spéeches Hell as you take it is SOMETIMES found in this life But two leaues before you tolde vs the paines and sufferings of Gods wrath which are the hell that you saie Christ suffered ALVVAIES accompanie them that are separated from the grace loue of God how commeth ALVVAIES to bee so quicklie changed into SOMTIMES were there fewer wicked when you spake the last wordes then when you spake the first or are you better aduised remembring what a grosse absurditie it woulde bee to cast all infidels and hypocrits wicked and disobedient persons into hel torments all the time of this life before the iudgment of God taketh hold of them Secondlie as there is heauen euen in this life in some measure euen so saie you there may be hell You doe not meane that here on earth are the verie same ioies and blisse that are in heauen nor anie way equall to them if you did it were a lewder absurditie then the former For here we reioice that our names are written in heauen as the Apostle teacheth vs to doe wee reioice vnder the hope of the glorie of God Now hope that is seene is not hope For howe can a man hope for that which hee seeth or possesseth but when we hope for that we see not we doe with patience abide for it In this life wee walke by faith not by sight and whiles we dwell in the bodie we are absent from the Lord. For though we be now the sonnes of God it appeareth not as yet what we shal be our life is hid with Christ in God when Christ who is our life shall appeare then shall wee also appeare with him in glorie If you therefore affirme of heauen as you do of hell that the VERIE SAME ioies which are in heauen or EQVALL with them are here sometime found on earth it is a wicked errour flatlie repugning to the trueth of Gods promises and to the verie nature of our Christian faith and hope For faith is the grounde of thinges hoped for and the euidence of thinges not yet appearing but if you meane that as wee conceaue HOPE of heauenlie blisse so wee must néedes REIOYCE in it this position is verie true but plainelie opposite to your imagination of hell paines For then must there in this life bee no more felte of hell but the FEARE thereof and the griefe arising from that feare euen as the HOPE of heauen maintaineth our ioye Nowe in Christ coulde neither the feare of hell possiblie bee founde nor anie griefe or sorrowe arising from anie such feare since there was in his soule no wante of faith nor hope no not anie the least diminution of either as your selfe confesse but as the Apostle saieth FOR THE IOY THAT VVAS SET BEFORE HIM he endured the paine of the crosse and despised the shame And here you may see by your owne comparison the follie of your owne assertion For if your hellish sorrow be the only true and perfectly accepted sacrifice to God as you saie and without faith it is impossible to please God which alwaies hath hope and consequentlie the ioie of saluation annexed vnto it which you call heauen then can no man please God or offer anie sacrifice to God till hee bee both in hell and heauen at one and the same time and the ioyes of heauen are so coupled with the paines of hell that none of the faithfull can be in the one without the other but in both togither And thus haue you brought heauen and hell not onelie to bee euerie where but by your corrupt conceites to bee alwaies linked together Lastlie â—he fire of hell doeth somewhat trouble you and therefore you labour vtterly to quench it and aske what a toyish fable is that but good Sir if you would bring no more fables then I doe you might haue spared not euerie leafe but euerie line in this your vnaduised pamphlet I spake not in my sermon one word either of materiall or corporall fire in hell but I vrged the fire of hel to be a true created fire and not any metaphoricall flame as you here dreame from which since the bodie
affirmeth and that the wicked shall euerlastinglie burne therein all the Fathers with one consent acknowledge Ignorance saith Austen of such as are not willfully but simplie ignorant shall excuse no man from burning in euerlasting fire For it is not saide without cause Christ shall come in flaming fire to render vengeance to those y t know not God Inflaming fire rendering vengeance this saieth Ierome Paul speaketh against them because they dreampt of the paine of conscience and thought this impossible If the flame by Gods commandement did not so much as touch the three men that were cast into it why by the same power shoulde not fire be beleeued to bee sharper to some and easier to others Christ shal come saith Ambrose with his heauenlie armie and with fire as his minister to giue vengeance on the Pagans which knewe not God and the Iewes which beleeued not the gospell of Christ all which the fire shall burne that they may bee punished with euerlasting destruction alwaies feeling it and neuer failing in it that the verie paine which confumeth them may euer renewe them And so Chrysostome Thinke on this fire and thou wilt count the pleasure of sinne to bee no pleasure If the onely sight of a deade man so quaile our hearts howe much more hell and the fire which cannot be quenched because the very remembrance of it is able to drawe vs to do well therefore God hath appointed the very threatning of it as an wholesome medicine for our soules Your sléeuelesse obiections against these and the like places that if there be true fire in hell why not a true worme as well and much wood And if this fire were prepared for Diuels that are spirits what communion hath fire with spirits these trifles of yours I saie S. Austen hath long since fullie considered and learnedlie refuted and plainlie resolued that all these toyes notwithstanding the fire of hell is not onelie a TRVE fire which were my words but a CORPORAL fire that shall punish both men and diuels at which you so much wonder Mitti in gehennam ignis vbi vermis eorum non moritur ignis non extinguitur non piguit vno loco eadem verbater dicere Quem non terreat ista repetitio illius paenae comminatio tam vehemens ore diuino To be cast into hell fire where their worme dieth not and the fire quencheth not Christ did not loath in one place to repeate the same wordes thrice Whome woulde not this repetition terrifie and the threatning of that paine so earnest by Christes owne mouth Both these the fire and the worme such as woulde haue them to belong to the paines of the soule and not of the body saie that fire may be here fitlie taken for burning griefe as the Apostle speaketh who is offended and I burne not the same kinde of griefe they thinke may be vnderstood by the worme for so it is written As the worme wasteth woode so doeth griefe the heart of man On the other side those that doubt not but in hell the bodie and soule shall be both punished they affirme the body shall bee afflicted with fire the soule with a kinde of sorrowe as it were with a worme The which though it bee MORE LIKELIE because it IS ABSVRD that in hel should want either paine of bodie or of soule I rather beleeue that both PERTAINE TO THE BODY then that neither and that the scripture in these wordes suppresseth the griefe of the soule because it followeth as a consequent though it be not expressed that the bodie beeing so tormented the soule must likewise bee afflicted with an vnfruitfull repentance For it is written in the bookes of the olde Testament the vengeance on the flesh of the wicked is fire and worme Let euerie man choose what best pleaseth him to attribute fire to the bodie the worme to the soule the one properly the other figuratiuely or both to the bodie properly For I haue afore sufficientlie shewed that certaine creatures liue euen in the fire in burning without consuming in payne without death by the marueilous power of the Almightie Creator which to be possible whosoeuer denieth knoweth not by whome all wonders are wrought Let therefore euerie man choose of the twaine which he liketh best whether he will referre the worme properlie to the bodie or to the soule by a kinde of translation of thinges corporall to spirituall so that BY NO MEANES HEE THINKE the bodies in hell shall bee such that they shall not be touched with the paine of fire Heere riseth another question if the fire that shall afflict in hell bee not incorporall as the griefe of the soule is but CORPORALL AND HVRTING VVHERE IT TOVCHETH that bodies may therein bee tormented howe the wicked spirits shall bee punished by the same For the same fire is prouided to punish both men and Diuels as Christ saieth Depart from me yee cursed into euerlasting fire prepared for the Diuel and his Angels Why should we not say that incorporall spirits may be afflicted by the paine of corporall fire after a true but a maruailous manner when as the spirits of men beeing also incorporall may nowe bee inclosed in the members of their bodies and shall then bee tied to the bandes of thâ—ir bodies without dissolution therefore the spirits of Diuels or rather the spirits that are Diuels though they bee incorporall shall be FASTENED TO CORPORALL FIRE thereby to be tormented after a strange and vnspeakeable maner Fastened I saie to receiue torment from the fire not to giue life to the fier And hell it selfe which is called the lake burning with fire and brimstone SHALL BE A CORPORAL FIER and shall torment the bodies of men with their soules and the diuels that are spirits without bodies feeling paine but not giuing life to those CORPORALL FIERS The steps of Austen doth Gregorie followe Corporall fier to continue needeth corporal nourishment but contrariwise the fier of hell which is incorporal and SHAL CORPORALLY BVRNE the wicked cast into it is neither kindled with mans industrie nor fed with wood but once created remaineth vnquenchable and needeth no kindling and wanteth no burning Therefore the Scriptures to shew that the reprobate burne within without say they are deuoured with fier and made as an ouen that by fier they may bee tormented in their bodies and by griefe burne in their mindes And though the word incorporeus bée crept here into Gregories text in stead of Corporeus as appeareth by the comparison and words adioyning for it were no straunge thing that a metaphoricall fier should neede no kindling of man nor nourishing of wood how can an incorporall fier CORPORALLY burne the reprobate which are the words presently following yet to put that out of doubt his opinion is cléere to the contrarie in his Dialogues where hee saith That the FIER OF HELL IS CORPORALL I haue no doubt in which it
and get you some other profession So then the paines which the damned feele besides the griefe of heauen lost is FLAMING FIER intolerably formenting both bodie and soule and as Cyprian obserueth Omni tormento atrocius desperatio condemnatos affliget Desperation which shall afflict the condemned worse then al their torments To these if you subiect the Sonne of God you know what will follow from these if you frée him as you needes must then is the Question at an end for in euery mans sight Christ did not suffer the paines of hell nor the torments of the damned which the scripture maketh to be these not those which you can neither expresse nor proue FroÌ„ slender reasons you come Sir Refuter to slenderer authorities and though you quote but few and not one of them speaking one word to your purpose yet before you produce them you chalenge them as vnsufficient to testifie in this or any cause against your liking For where they may not be iudges nor with you so much as witnesses of the Scriptures sense you so reieâ—t their expositions euerie where with pride disdaine yet you in your wisedome take vpon you to build vpon the words of the holy Ghost what absurdities and follies you list and your best reason is it were fond to thinke otherwise but be more sober if you will be ruled by me it is the way to hazard your own wits not their credits to entertaine theÌ„ in this maner They speake not plainly nor fully you say because it was neuer in question in their time Touching the redemption of man by the death blood of Christ Iesus they speake as plainly and fully as it is possible for men to speake and kéepe exactly the forme of wholesome doctrine deliuered in the Scriptures touching your hell paines they say nothing in déed because it was neuer heard of in y e Church of Christ in their times but that Christ died NOT THE DEATH OF THE SOVLE and by the ONLY DEATH OF HIS BODY and shedding of his blood sufficiently ransomed redéemed vs this cannot be spoken in plainer and exacter terms then they haue proposed it and proued it And therfore you and others shal doe well not to make al the ancient learned lights of Christs Church so ignorant in their Créed Catechisme as not to know how they were saued by y e Crosse death of Christ before your hellish paines of the damned were of late deuised Your better sifting of this matter is the open wresting and forcing of the scriptures against their true proper and perpetual sense to serue your strange conceits And as you do with the scriptures you must be suffered to do with the Fathers which you produce that is to put theÌ„ quite from their own meaning frame their words to your fancies before any man can tell to what end you cite them The first word you quote out of Ierom you falsifie by putting maledictum to it where Ierom doth not so but simply saith VVHAT VVE should haue suffered for our sinnes that he suffered for vs. The very next words that are his owne for he interposeth a place of Scripture that in his fâ—esh Christ dissolued our enmitie with God and healed vs with his stripes are these Ex quo perspicuum est sicut corpus flagellatum laceratum ita animam verè doluisse pro nobis Whereby it is euident that as his bodie was whipped and torne so his soule truely sorrowed for vs. Here you must be permitted to adde of your owne besides Ieroms meaning that this sorrow was your hellish sorrow or else I cannot sée why you cited Ierom except it were to falsifie him But how and why Christ sorrowed for vs when Ieroms own words were alleaged by me your answer was this is more fond and absurd than the other Cyprians words you neither vnderstand nor like he saith that Christ taking our person and cause vpon him sayd in our names that he was forsaken Quod pro eis voluisti intelligi qui deseri à Deo propter peccata meruerant quorum reconciliationis causam agebas which he would haue to be vnderstoode of vs or for vs who deserued by our sinnes to be forsaken of God whose reconciliation he then vndertooke So S. Austen expounded those words of Christ My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Illa vox membrorum ipsius vox erat non capitis that voyce was the voice of his members and not of the head but you could not endure either Austen or my other father so to say without controlement But Cyprian saith Christ endured like punishment to those that be sinners accursed In part not in all otherwise he must haue suffered eternall death of bodie and soule and therefore expounding himselfe in the next sentence he saith In tantum infirmis compateris vt nec crucifigi nec mori dum illi viuant non pereant nec erubescas nec formides So far didst thou suffer with the weake that thou didst neither shame to be crucified nor feare to dye so they might liue and not perish Ambrose saith With the sorrow of his soule Christ abolished the sorrow of our soules Here you must haue leaue to bring in your hellish sorrowes against Ambroses minde or else this is but lost labour the causes of Christs heauines and sorrow when I repeated out of this very place of Ambrose you reiected them as fond and false and now with the bare name of sorrow you think Ambrose dreamt of your hell paines For shame reade out the chapter and leaue these mistakings But Ambrose saith the man in Christ now readie to die by the separation of the Diuinite cried my God my God why hast thou forsaken me A man dieth when his soule leaueth his body Christ therefore ready to die the death of the body which was left of y e deitie vnto death by withdrawing it selfe for a time vttered these words Death of the soule or dereliction vnto hell paines there are none to be found in Ambrose nor any words sounding that way vnlesse you peruert them at your pleasure The words next going before are these Gloriosa Dei professio vsque ad mortem se pro nostris descendisse peccatis vel euidens manifestatio contestantis Dei secessionem Diuinitatis CORPORIS It was a glorious profession of God that he descended euen vnto death for our sins or an euident manifestation of God witnessing the departure of his Diuinitie from HIS BODIE when it dyed The next words of Ambrose why you alleage I doe not sée but to make vp the number which is very smale and lesse forcible Who doubteth but Christ offered that which he put on He put on his body his body he offered S. Paul will tell what Christ offered We are sanctified by the offering of the bodie of Iesus Christ once made Your own author Saint
Ambrose writing vpon these words alleaged by Paul thou hast fitted me a bodie saith Hoc ex persona dicitur eius qui CORPVS SVSCEPIT nostrae mortalitatis vt pro nobis haberet quod offerret This is spoken in his person who put on our MORTALL BODIE that he might haue what to offer for vs. Vna quippe oblatio corporis Christi perfectos facit sanctificatos quae remissionem integram facit peccatorum The one OBLATION OF THE BODIE OF CHRIST maketh perfect such as be sanctified and giueth full remission of sinnes If you thinke Ambrose mistooke the matter heare Athanasius A nobis simili corpore mutuato eo quod omnes mortis corruptioni obnoxij essemus pro omnibus IDIPSVM in mortem deditum patri suo SACRIFICAVIT vt homines à morte ad vitam CORPORE suo quod proprium sibi fecit reuocaret IMMOLATIONE enim SVI CORPORIS legi nobis in festa sinem posuit primordium vitae noâ—is renouauit spe resurrectionis nobis data The son of God BORROVVING FROM VS a â—ODIE LIKE OVRS because we all were subiect to the corruption of Death did SACRIFICE THE SAME to his father by yeelding it vp vnto Death that BY THE BODY which he made his own he might recall men from Death to life For by the OFFERING OF HIS BODIE he ended the lawe that oppressed vs and renewed the beginning of life vnto vs giuing vs hope of Resurrection Cyrill with the whole Synode of Alexandria which I mentioned before wrote thus to Nestorius Christ is made the mediator of God and man and a reconciler of peace offering himselfe to God to his father as a sweet smelling sacrifice for he OFFERED HIS OVVN BODIE FOR VS to bee a sweete sauour But of the true sacrifice for sinne which Christ offered I haue spoken enough before as well in this conclusion as in the Treatise It must haue the BODIE the BLOOD and the DEATH of the offerer none of which agrée to the soule of Christ though the bodie without a soule could be no reasonable sacrifice therefore I exclude not the soule whose obedience innocence patience concurred to sanctifie this sacrifice but I note the parts of the sacrifice for sin by the Apostles doctrine were those which I named the blood and death of the Sacrificer both which must néeds be found in his body and not in his soule From Ambrose you roue to TertulliaÌ„ there you find that which I neuer doubted of The Son suffered forsakeÌ„ of his father Haec vox est animae corporis id est hominis This was the voice of soule bodie that is of man Did you think the body could speak without the soule before you read in Tertullian that this was the voice of both If you did you were deeply learned if you did not why doe you bring it as a matter worth the hearing that bodie and soule ioyned in speaking But you help it ouer y â— stile with a false translatioÌ„ where Tertullian saith this was the voice of soule flesh you english it o this is meant of the flesh and of the soule to wit as you expounde it that both soule and bodie died forsaken of God Take back Sir Refuter your false and vnsauerie glozes that corrupt the text Tertullian neuer heard nor thought of the death of Christs soule nor of anie such forsaking as you imagine hee expoundeth himselfe without your additions in the verie same place plaine enough Denique posuit spiritum statim obijt Spiritu enim manente in carne caro omnino mori non potest Ita relinqui a patre fuit mori filio silius igitur moritur resuscitatur Dicendo denique Christus mortuus est id quod vnctum est mortuum ostendit id est carnem Christ laid aside his spirit and PRESENTLY DIED For his spirit remaining in his flesh the FLESH by no meanes coulde DIE. So to be forsaken of the father was for the sonne TO DIE. The sonne therefore died and was raised againe Then in saying Christ died Paul shewed that died which was annointed euen the flesh of Christ. Of the death of Christes flesh Tertullian speaketh which hee saith could not possiblie bee so long as Christes soule remained in his bodie Christ then died no death of the soule whiles he liued and breathed on the crosse but the death which hee died was the laying aside of his soule and leauing his bodie vnto death You ende with Cyril that Christ made his flâ—sh a Redemption for our flesh and his soule a Redemption for our soules Cyril meaneth nothing lesse then that which you would implie that wiâ—h the death of either part in himselfe Christ redeemed â—ach part in vs But Cyril knowing that Christ in his sufferings on the crosse ioyned both partes together the one to receaue the violence and rage of the wicked which was his bodie other to féele endure the smart thereof with all obedience patieÌ„ce which was his soule saith truly that Christ ioyning both soule and bodie in suffering for vs redéemed both soule and bodie in sauing vs which wee acknowledge to bee true without exception For had not the soule of Christ béene partner yea chiefe patient in those bodilie sufferinges of Christ they could not haue profited vs neither doe we at anie time otherwise speake or thinke of Christs sufferings but that the bodie was the instrument whereby the soule of Christ did admit and feele all those paines wrongs shames wounds and whatsoeuer he endured on the crosse or before at their hands which put him to death But these paines and sorrowes of Christs soule you saie MAKE NOT TO OVR REDEMPTION and vnlesse the soule properlie and immediatlie not from or by her bodie féele hellish paines and sorrowes such as the damned doe you make no reckning of all that Christ otherwise suffered And this is your error which you shrowde vnder the name of a most holie trueth where indéede if it be vrged followed as you beginne it will fall out to be a most hainous contemning of all that Christ suffered for vs and a dangerous substituting of other deuises which Christ neither did nor could suffer as you propose them You end Sir Refuter as you beganne with egregious lyes that not the most or the best BVT ALL AND EVERY ONE both churches and writers in the world that are protestants teach as you doe and that your doctrine is publiklie authorized by the lawes of this Realme as appeareth by the booke of Homilies where it is said that Christ put himselfe betweene Gods deserued wrath and our sinne But Syr confuter if you haue this propertie of Mydas y t you can turne all Fathers Churches writers and lawes with touching them to be of your opinion you must haue Mydas eares too vnlesse you looke better about you Such an insoleÌ„t and impudent speach would well
light and daâ—kenes truth falshood wil any wise man entertaine your poetical furies The Gentiles you will sate tooke HADES for the worlds of the deade the worlde of soules departed generallie and indefinitelie were they in hell or in heauen and this is no error you think against the faith But this is an open falshood coÌ„mitted against your owne classicall writers and if your cunning in the greeke Poets bee no profounder the boies in Grammer schooles will deride it I praie you sir by your Greeke Poets Homer Hesiode and others what is HADES originallie the name of a person or of a place I aske you none other question but that which euerie childe acquainted with your Poets canne readilie tell which your maisters of the Gréeke tongue Plutarch and Plato confesse which euerie speech that you or your Instructor bringeth out of his Poets doth confirme And here christian Reader I must praie thy patience and pardon if I turne from the scriptures and fathers to the Poets and their fables I haue no desire to it nor delight in it but such is the insolence of these men grounded vpon ignoraÌ„ce that it may not bee endured and without some entering into these matters it will not bee displaied I will saie no more then I must néedes and omit what is not materiall Homer the first and eldest of your classicall writers imagineth that the thrée sonnes of Saturnus whom hee supposeth to bee Gods deuided the gouernement of the whole worlde betwéene them Iupiter taking the skie and the aire Neptune the water with her déepes and riuers and Pluto the heart of the earth with all the dead of what sort soeuer This thirde sonne of Saturne and owner of the deade is hee that Homer and all the Poets call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 HADES his name being diuerslie declined and inflected to serue their verse but still the same person Homer in the 15. of his Iliades maketh Neptune thus to speake We are three brethren the sonnes of Saturne by Rhea Iupiter and I 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the third is HADES the ruler of those y t lie dead in the earth The whole was deuided into three parts my lot was to dwell alwaies in the sea 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and HADES lot was to haue the darke mist and to Iupiter fell by lot the large heauen with the skie and clowdes This HADES or God of the deade Homer calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the god vnder the earth and giueth him in the same booke these properties 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 HADES implacable fierce for that cause of all y e gods the most odious to men Hesiode agréeth with Homer that Rhea companying with Saturne brought him notable children 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 euen mightie HADES that dwelleth in housen vnder the earth and hath a cruell and mercilesse heart The same Hades he maketh the gouernour of the deade as Homer doth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 HADES was afraid that is ruler of the deade vnder the earth This is that hades which you so much talke of to whose house your Poets make all the dead iust vniust good and bad to come and therefore the most of your authorities out of the Greeke Poets and others haue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vnderstanding 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to shewe that the deade go or come to HADES HOVSE or dwelling The rest of your classicall writers and masters of the Gréeke tongue both Plato and Plutarch alleadge and approue this fable of Homer Plato in his dialogue of rhetorick called Gorgias maketh Socrates thus to saie Heare then a very excellent tale which you will thinke a fable but I a good lesson That which I will saie I will speake to you for a trueth As Homer reporteth Iupiter Neptune and Pluto deuided the gouernement after they receaued it of their father There was a lawe touching men vnder Saturnus and euer was and still is with the gods that such men as led a iust and holie life when they departed hence shoulde goe to the Iles of the blessed and there liue in all happinesse without any euill and they that had beene wicked and vngodlie should goe to the prison of punishment and vengeance which is called Tartarus The iudges of these matters in Saturnes time and in the beginning of Iupiters raigne were the liuing of such as yet liued and gaue iudgement the same daie that each man should die wherefore their iudgement was corrupt PLVTO theÌ„ and the Gardians of the blessed Ilands going to Iupiter tolde him that there came vnto them men to either place vnmeete for that condition To whome Iupiter aunswered I will see it redressed The iudgementes are therefore now amisse because they that are iudged are couered round for they are iudged aliue and so many that haue wicked soules are compassed with beauty nobility riches and manie come to the place of iudgement depose they liued honestlie and so the iudges are astonished as also the iudges theÌ„selues are clogged hauing their soules wrapped with their eies and eares and the rest of their bodie First therfore men must be kept from foreseeing the time of their death TheÌ„ they must be iudged wheÌ„ they are naked from all these thinges that is after death and the Iudge likewise must be deade also that he may be free froÌ„ these lets and wiâ—h his soule he must view the soule of euery man newly dead forsaken of all his kind stripped of al worldly pompe that the iudgement may be sincere And I foreseeing this before you haue appointed Iudges two of my sons Minos Rhadamanthus out of Asia and a third which is Aeacus out of Europe These when they are dead shall iudge in an open meade in the meeting of three waies whereof two shall leade one to the Iles of the blessed another to Tartarus The soules of Asia shall be iudged by RhadamaÌ„thus those of Europe by Aeacus to Minos will I giue the prerogatiue to decide y e doubts that shall arise in either place y t the iudgmeÌ„t may be very eueÌ„ which shal send soules to their places This is that wich I haue heard beleeue to be true by their speeches am perswaded there is some such thing Thus far Plutarch citeth out of Plato y e iudges places for the dead al this within Plutoes kingdom vnder y e earth which they call HADES where as well the places pleasures for the good as the prisons punishmentes for the bad are in their conceit prepared sètled And this if you doubt read either Vlisses descent to HADES described by Homer in the 11. book of his Odisseas or Aeneas iourney to hel set forth by Virgil in the sixt booke of his Aeneidos or Dyonisius voiage to see Euripides expressed by Aristophanes as also the like aduentures of Hercules
writer But keepe this lesson till you get none but Atheists and Infidels to bee your hearers they will thanke you for it Christian cares doe abhorre it and will detest your prophanes as much as they doe Ciceroes For if there bee no punishment in hell fure there is no hell and he that decreaseth the terror decreaseth the truth of it therefore the olde Latines did not erre But your New Orator thinketh hee may buyld and ouerturne hell and heauen at his pleasure As he dealeth with hell so doth he with heauen somtymes he will haue one and somtimes he cannot tell whether there bee any such habitation for soules or no. And the heauen which he would haue is a Mansion of his owne making Such authors you bring vs to expound the Creede and to outface all the Fathers that they themselues cannot tell what they say Where he purposely disputeth of the seate and sanctuarie for the soule after death he concludeth the whole discourâ—e as doubtfully as he beganne Si supremus ille dies non extinctionem sed commutationem affert loci quid optabilius sin autem perimit ac delet omninò quid melius quà m in medijs vitae laboribus obdormiscere et ita conniucâ—teÌ„ somno sepeliri sempiterno If the daie of our death bring not a perishing but changing of places what can be more to be wished for But if it vtterly quench and extinguish bodie and soule what can be more acceptable amidst the troubles of this life then as it were wincking to slumber and shutting our eies to fall into an euerlasting sleepe Habes somnum imaginem mortis eamque quotidie induis dubitas quin sensus in morte nullus sit quum in eius simulachro videas esse nullum sensum Thou hast sleepe which thou daylie triest for an image of death and doubtest thou but there is no sense in death when thou findest no sense in sleepe which is the patterne of death Now on the other side for Ciceroes heauen which you will needs bring into the Creede vnder the name of Inferi hee maketh it no reward of vertue nor gift of grace to be bestowed where it pleaseth God but he affirmeth there is a fierie aire aboue of which soules are made and therefore as soone as the soule is loosed from the bodie it flieth vpward as fier doth by a naturall motion vnto the place which is like to it selfe and there stayeth and is nourished with the selfe same things with which the starres are nourished Quae quum consteÌ„t perspicuum debet esse animos quum é corpore excesserint siue illi sint spirabiles siue igneâ— sublime ferri accedit vt eo facilius animus euadat ex hoc aere quem saepe iam crassum appello eumque perrumpat quod nihil est animo velocius Qui si permanet incorruptus suique similis necesse est ita feratur vt penetret diuidat omne coelum hoc in quo nubes imbres ventique coguntur Quam regionem quum superauâ—t animus naturamque sui similem contigit agnouit vinctus ex anima tenui ex ardore solis temperato ignibus insistit et finem altius se efferendi facit Quum enim sui similem leuitatem calorem adeptus est tanquam paribus examinatis ponderibus nullaÌ„ in partem mouetur Eáque ei demum naturalis est sedes quum ad sui similem penetrauit in quo nulla re egens alitur sustentatur ijsdem rebus quibus astra sustentantur aluntur It is long and tedious good reader to be troubled with these prophane follies but because the confuter laboureth so much to haue Ciceroes world of soules and his heauen into the Creede and in respect of him disgraceth all other writers as ignorant of the latine tongue these words will playnly shew thée what an audacious irreligious and heathenish attempt that is and how absurdly and lewdly he saith Cicero had learned to thinke wiselyer then they that said hell was below in the earth For they deliuered a trueth and this of Ciceroes is a false foolish and wicked fansie The English of his words is in effect this These things being certain it ought to be a cleare case that our soules when they leaue the bodie whether they be of an aerie or fierie nature do mooue vpward A good helpe for the soule with more ease to passe and breake through this grosse ayre heere below is this y t nothing is swifter than the soule Which remayning vncorrupt and alwaies like it selfe OF NECESSITIE MVST ASCEND and pearce and deuide all THIS HEAVEN or ayre in which the cloudes windes and rayne engender Which region when the soule hath once passed and touched and perceiued a nature like to it selfe mixed of a subtile ayre and the temperate heate of the sunne in that fierie region IT STAYETH and maketh an ende OF ASCENDING ANY HIGHER For when it hath gotten like both heate and purenes of the ayre balanced as it were with equall waights it moueth no way AND THIS IS THE NATVRAL SEATE OF THE SOVLE when it commeth to a like ayre to it selfe in which needing nothing IT IS NOVRISHED and fed with THE SELFESAME THINGS VVITH VVHICH THE STARRES ARE NOVRISHED and sustayned Ciceroes heaueÌ„ is nothing but an heap of heathenish impieties The first that the substance of the soule consisteth of fier or ayre the second that of necessitie it ascendeth vpward as fier doth The third that when it commeth to a pure ayre and temperate heate of the sunne it stayeth there and ascendeth no higher The fourth that this is the naturall seat for the soule and thence it moueth no way The fift that it is there nourished and sustayned with the selfe same things with which the starres are The consequents to this heauen are most horrible First that all soules by necessitie of their nature being in this place there are consequently none in HELL nor none in heauen and so both those places are vtterly emptied by your eloquent Master Next that when the starres skies shall be melted and dissolued with fier then must the soules of all men be likewise dissolued consisting of the same matter which they doe and so vtterly extinguish Lastly Gods promises and threats are all frustrate if he can doe his enemies no more hurt nor his seruants more good then this heauen affoordeth And therfore if you bring the world of soules or this heauen into the Créede I must refuse the Article for open and euident points of Infidelitie which I suppose the Apostles nor Apostolicke men neuer meant when they made the Créede Yet this place such as it is Cicero you say called it Inferi Syr if you leaue lying you must leaue writing For you can skant write a true word Cicero doth no where call this place Inferi but howsoeuer he had his priuate conceits as a Philosopher yet when he spake before the senate or the people
the Créede which the church of Christ proposed to euerie childe to learne and to euerie catechist to knowe But nowe wee are returned to the scriptures againe for Fathers they leaue as corrupters of the olde both faith and phrase wee shall goe through with more ease and ende with more speede That Sheol or Hades doe signifie heauen either in the Scriptures of the olde or newe Testament or with the Septuagint which are the translators of the Hebrue into Gréek I vtterlie denie and no man liuing shall euer bee able to make anie proofe thereof on which issue I am content to ioyne with any man that is learned and sober for the hazard of either of our credits If Sheol and Hades in the scriptures neuer signifie heauen then can they not signifie THE VVORLD OF SOVLES for so much as there is no one place common to all soules departed this life but some are in hell and some in heauen and for one word to signifie both hell and heauen so farre distant one from the other and so much repugnant one to the other is somwhat strange except it could be strongly proued Chaos did import the whole masse of heauen and earth before they were distinguished but since they were seuered and setled by the wonderful wisedome and mighty power of God so far apart one from the other and so much vnlike one to the other there are wordes in the scripture which note all that God made but none that comprise heauen and hell excluding the rest S. Paul vseth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the creature and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the making of the world and our sauiour vseth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for this world and the next where nothing is excepted but that heauen and hel should come to be included in one word the rest excluded I see neither whie nor howe it should be For where wordes are common some thinges must also be common as néedefull to bee expressed by those wordes but to soules in heauen and hell no positiue thing is common all things are rather contrarie Their bodies they want in both places because they are soules otherwise their states be as repugnant in all points as light and darknesse Christ and Belial yea as heauen and hell in which they are therefore as light and darknes faith and infidelitie truth and errour haue no common worde to compâ—ise them being contraries each to other no more haue heauen and hell as they are she rewardes of the iust and vniust for so much as all things in either are directlie repugnant each to other Again that SHEOL or HADES may possiblie signifie heauen I vtterly deny because in heauen besides the soules of men there are the elect angels of God to whom if anie man dare applie SHEOL or HADES he must giue me leaue to thinke his iudgement to be weake and his faith vnsound Sheol and Hades you will saie signifie all that are deade in either place But you must remember that both these wordes in the Scriptures doe properlie signifie places and not peâ—sons For though the ancient Gréekes vsed the word HADES first for a person and then for the place which that person gouerned yet the holie ghost knowing that the person which the Pagans meant was in déede the Diuell vseth the worde for the place and not for the person except the texte bee figuratiue In Sheol it was neuer doubted but that it alwaies signified a place and neuer anie person Nowe if neither Sheol nor Hades canne signifie both places I meane heauen and hell then canne they not signifie the worlde of soules for they bee dispersed in both those places It cannot be denied you wil saie but the olde testament referreth Sheôl as the Septuagint doe Hades both to the godlie and to the wicked after death It is most true that Sheôl in Hebrew and Hades in Greeke are applied in the olde Testament both to the good and bad The Question is not to what men but to which parts of men good or bad Sheol and Hades are referred To the bodies of men good and bad lying deade in the graue they are sometimes applied to the soules of the godlie as detained in either they are neuer applied Sheol and consequentlie HADES with the Septuagint importeth the whole death that is due to sinne and euerie part thereof but by no meanes heauen where the soules of the saintes are nor anie part of that blisse which they possesse Since then as well the death of the bodie in this worlde as the death of the soule in the next worlde were the wages of sinne Sheol and Hades doe sometimes signifie the generall state of deade bodies as when the Scripture describeth rottennesse silence forgetfulnesse senselessenesse contempt dishonour and such like to bee in Sheol And the same worde when it is referred to the soules of the wicked as there detained or of the godlie as thence deliuered for so much as the soule cannot be inclosed in the graue of necessitie the pit prepared for the soules of sinners must bee by all such textes of Scriptures intended But that Sheol or Hades shoulde signifie the worlde of Soules as well in heauen as in Hell neither hath this Refuter brought anie Texte or reason for it neither will hee euer bee able to prooue it And howsoeuer one of late hath taken vppon him to talke of those thinges like one of the Titanes with bigge and bombasted tearmes I seeing nothing in that fardell of his but Riddles and raylinges meane not to alter my course Then touching the sense of Sheol in the olde Testament I take it to bee cleare that it sometimes signifieth the graue or the state of deade bodies but neuer the world of soules which phrase the Refuter hath caught by the ende hoping at length to conueie it into the Creede But hee must first shewe vs where hee findeth anie such thing in the Scriptures before wee maie suffer him to make it an Article of our faith Against it euerie place is a proofe but for it none that I reade or they haue yet alleaged They shifte handes and in steede of the worlde of soules they bring in the graue or the state of deade bodies which is but a vaine flourish to propose one thing and to prooue an other And though you Sir Refuter goe to varying of phrases which I thinke is your best skill as The state of the deade the worlde of the deade the worlde of soules departed yet I must let you vnderstande there is great difference betwixt these speeches Sheol may extend to their bodies whose soules doe liue in heauen to their soules it cannot and therefore you must not chop in the one for the other as your instructor doth who when he would proue the world of soules falleth vp aboue head and eares into the graue The one you shall euerie where light on of the other there is no mention As when Iacob said to
and thou shalt see both the textes and the proofes whie the place of the damned must often bee vnderstoode by Sheôl in the bookes of the law and the prophets I hope thou wilt thinke it supersfluous for mee to defende it or enlarge it before anie man doe particularlie impugne it So that whatsoeuer you prate Sir Refuter without waight or warrant touching Sheol I count it lip labor when you or your helpers bring anie thing worth the regarding you shal find me readie to receaue it or refute it as the matter deserueth Sheol then in the olde Testament and Hades in the Septuagint signifiyng somtimes the state of deade bodies which is the graue sometimes the place of deade soules which is hell but neuer the world of soules whereof some are in heauen let vs see what force HADES hath in the new testament or whether it can thence be proued that HADES importeth the world of soules As y e mysteries of God were more fully declared by the gospel then by the law so the kingdom of heauen was more preciselie seuered from the kingdome of Satan by Christ then by Moses What Moses darkelie shadowed vnder figures that Christ reuealed in plaine wordes and therefore hell fire which is obscurelie mentioned in the law and prophets is often and openlie named by the mouth of our Sauiour and HADES which before extended to good and bad is nowe by the writers of the newe testament restrained to the place of the damned So that Hades with thē signifieth hell and the powers thereof and not the death of the bodie much lesse the world of soules Examples hereof I haue giuen thée gentle Reader in the Treatise before saue that I then reasoned the death of the bodie was not signified by HADES which now those deuisers haue changed into the VVORLD OF SOVLES I must therefore nowe ouerrun all those places againe and shewe that the VVORLD OF SOVLES cannot bee expressed by anie of those places Which I will with as much brenitie as I canne considering the wise Reader will soone bee able to discerne this newe Camisadoe latelie offered with the VVORLD OF SOVLES The first place is Woe to thee Chorazin and woe to thee Bethsaida saith our Sauiour And thou Capernaum exalted to heauen shalt bee brought downe euen to hell it shall bee easier for Sodome in the day of iudgement then for thee What is Gods curse and threates to impenitent sinners HELL or the VVORLD OF SOVLES and in the daie of iudgement when their punishment shall bee greater then the Sodomites shall they go to hell fire or to the VVORLD OF SOVLES I praie you Sir Refuter were are the Sodomites at this houre in hell or in your VVORLD OF SOVLES In hell I thinke Saint Iude saith They do sustaine the punishments of euerlasting fire Is that your VVORLDE OF SOVLES if it be not they shal certainlie be where the Sodomites are yea in worse case shall they bee and that I suppose must bee in hell and not in heauen The second place is in the wordes of Christ to Peter Vpon this rocke will I builde my church and the gates of hell shall not preuaile against it and I wil giue thee the keyes of the kingdom of heauen The VVORLD OF SOVLES doth not impugne y e church therfore it is no signe of Gods fauour for that not to preuaile against the church Againe whatsoeuer preuaile not yet if hell preuaile what safetie hath the church Heresie and iniquitie are the gates of hell fighting against the church as well as crueltie Ego portas Inferni reor vitta atque peccata vel certé haereticorū doctrinas per quas illecti homines ducuntur ad Tartarum Nemo itaque putet de morte dici quòd apostoliconditioni mortis subiecti non fuerint quorum martyria vides coruscare I thinke saith Ierom the gates of hell to be vices and sinnes or else heresies by which men being enticed are led to hell Let no man therefore imagine it is spoken of death as if the Apostles were not subiect thereto whose martyrdoms thou findest so famous Digna aedificatione illius Petra quae infernas leges Tartari portas omnia mortis claustra dissolueret It was a Rocke saith Hilarie worthy of Christs building which should dissolue the lawes of hell the gates of Tartare and all the Cloisters of death So Origen Portae inferorum dicentur etiam principatus ac potestates aduersus quas nobis est colluctatio The gates of hell may the powers and principalities bee called against the which we haue to striue Portas inferni haereticam prauitatem nominat siue vitia peccata vnde mors ad animam venit The gates of hel Christ calleth Haeresies saith Bede or else vices and sinnes by which the soule dieth So Ambrose Quae autē sunt portae Inferni nisi singula quaeque peccata What are the gates of hell but all kind of sinnes And Gregorie Portae Inferni haereses sunt quae quasi inferorum aditum pandunt The gates of hell are heresies which open as it were the passage to hell The fifte generall councell of Constantinople with one full consent alloweth the same Portae inferni non praeualebunt aduersus eam id est haereticorum linguae mortiferae The gates of hell that is the deadlie tongues of heretickes shal not preuaile against the church You might haue more but these are enough Here Sir Refuter you tell a long and a foolish tale of death out of your owne heade as if Christ did promise his Apostles protection against the violence of Tyrants but not against the rage of Satan To vnderstande sinnes and errours as some of the ancient writers doe the circumstances of the texte you saie doe seeme not to beare it Your ignorant humour is loth to haue it so otherwise the wordes of Christ respect the trueth of Peters confession that himselfe was Christ the sonne of the liuing God against the which faith no policie nor tyrannie of Satan shoulde preuaile and so by your leaue the Fathers goe directlie to the meaning of the texte and you woulde wrest it to your priuate fansie least HADES shoulde signifie HELL and yet at length vpon aduisement you confesse it may bee heere the GATES OF HELL and that HADES is thus vsed sometimes and namelie in the last example out of the 16. of Luke It is well then that in the 16. of Luke you yeelde HADES doeth signifie HELL where the wicked are tormented and did you denie it the Scripture auoucheth it the wordes are plaine I am tormented in this flame againe least they come into this place of torment Then HADES without anie other addition noteth HELL and when Christ saith the rich man IN HADES LIFT vp his eyes he addeth this as a necessarie consequent being in tormēts to shew that HADES is the place of torment and not the VVORLD OF
SOVLES From thence you leape to the Reuelation and there when Saint Iohn sawe one sitting on a pale horse whose name was death and HADES followed after him that is saie you the world of the dead It cannot be hell certainely because hel slaieth none in that sort Againe to saie preciselie that the fourth part of the world should go to hell I take it to bee a strange phrase in scripture Here first is a plaine proofe that death and HADES are two seuerall things the one following after the other For nothing doth follow it selfe The doubt is now what HADES importeth The world of the dead saie you The worlde of the dead if thereby you mean dead bodies is al one with death if you vnderstand the world of soules that hath two partes heauen and hell which of these two did follow after death to destroy the fourth part of the earth the kingdome of heauen is neuer proposed in the scriptures as a destroyer but the diuell hath his proper name in this booke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the destroyer Againe this vision S. Iohn saw at the opening of the fourth Seale but the world of soules in heauen was shewed him in the opening of the fift Seale which presentlie followeth in the next verse in these words And when the lambe had opened the fift Seale I saw saith Iohn vnder the altar the soules of men slayne for the word of God and for the testimonie of the Lambe The world of soules in heauen was séene in the opening of the fift seale therefore that world of soules was not séene in the opening of the fourth Seale but of force if by HADES you will vnderstand anie world of soules it must be of those that were in HELL Howbeit because hee did accompanie death that was sent to destroy I take it rather to bee the power of the deuill that is there described then anie world of soules as you dreame And that the diuell destroyeth as well the bodie as the soule if it be strange to you you are a greater stranger in the Scriptures then you would seeme to bee Who threw the house vpon the heads of Iobs Children can you tell or who smote Iob himselfe with that loathsome disease But the fourth part of the earth you saie could not go to hell God graunt no more then the fourth part go thither Neuer reade you many called and few chosen and though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the Sea yet but a remnant shall be saued And why might not the dragon as well deuoure the fourth part of y e earth as draw downe from heauē with his tayle the third part of the starres Or if there you take a certayne number for an vncertain which is S. Iohns manner of writing in this booke why not as well here as else where these therefore are a couple of idle quarrels if these be your best you are more willing then able to do harme But by y e same words in the same booke we shall better vnderstand what is ment by HADES then by your wandring and weake gloze Death and HADES saith S. Iohn were cast into the lake of fier It were absurd you adde to saie death and hell were cast into hell True but more absurd and more blasphemous to saie that death and the world of soules shall bee cast into the lake of fier For then not onlie the Saints of God but heauen it selfe should bee cast into hell fier Yet if we take the containing for the contained which is the most vsuall phrase of the Scripture as wo be to thee Chorazin wo to thee Bethsaida thou Capernaum as likewise Ierusalem Ierusalem which killest the prophets it shal be easier for Tyrus Sydon with a thousand such euery wher occurrent then is it an easie true speach that hel to witte the powers of hell euen the diuels themselues shall be cast into the lake of fier And so doth Andreas Bishop of Cesaria expound it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the wicked spirits the possessours of HADES shall be cast into hel fier And so Bede Mors Infernus missi sunt in stagnum ignis Diabolum dicit et suos quem supra in equo pallido sedentem Infernus sequebatur Death hel shall be cast into the lake of fier He meaneth the diuel his whō before sitting on a pale horse hell followed As yet then HADES in the new Testament is not onlie a thing different from death but euen hell it selfe and your world of soules in none of these texts can find any hold or help Let vs sée the rest That Christ triumphed ouer hell and Satan not ouer death onely the Apostle fully affirmeth when he saith Christ spoyled principalities powers made an open shew of them and triumphed ouer them in his owne person that likewise hee hath the keyes of hell and not of death onlie S. Iohn plainlie sheweth when he saw an angell come down from heauen hauing the key of the bottomeles pit and there binding shutting vp the diuell The same key of the bottomeles pit was in the 9 Chapter of the Reuelation giuen to the Star that slidde from heauen This keye must Christ haue for hee saith of himselfe that he hath the key of Dauid which openeth and no man shutteth which shutteth and no man openeth Since then there are keyes not of heauen onlie which Christ committed to Peter and his fellow labourers but of the bottomles pitte where Satan lyeth bound which of force must bee HELL when Christ professeth in the first of the Reuelation that he hath the keyes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of death and of HADES who séeth not that HADES there must signifie hell it selfe the key whereof is so expreslie mentioned in that booke And so when the Apostle maketh two parts of Christs conquest against death and hell ô death where is thy sting ô HADES where is thy victorie what reason is there to exclude out of these words Christs victorie ouer HELL since the same Apostle witnesseth that Christ had a glorious triumph against hell and the word HADES in all the places of the new Testament which we haue yet viewed inferreth hell The Apostle you saie speaketh not of the Damnation of the wicked but of the resurrectiō of the dead And so do I and therefore inferre that when the bodies of the saints shall be raised from death whose soules be already saued from hell then shall these words be openlie verified ô death where is thy sting ô hell where is thy victorie For since by sinne hell gate possession of both parts of man as well of his bodie as of his soule the full deliuerance of man must free both parts and the full conquest ouer hell is the losse of both parts which in the resurrection of the dead shall be performed and
Corinth 15 e Rom. 5. f Philip. 2. Rom. 3. verse g 25. h 24. i Psal. 51. k Iob. 14. l Ephes. 1. m Ephes 4 n Rom 7. o Rom. 7 p Galat. 5 q Rom. 8 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 r Rom. 1 s Rom. 7 t Rom. u Rom. 7 x Rom. 8. y 2. Corinth â— z Ephes. 2 z Ephes. 2 why the death of Christs body doth counteruaile all the bodies souleâ— of men The bodilie death of christ doth more coÌ„mend the merits of Christ then if y e paines of hell were ioyned with it In the death of the soule there could neither be obedience nor patience a 2. Corinth 9. It is no loue to renounces God for mans sakeâ— b Iohn 15 c Rom. 5 Christs loue towards vs in dying for vs. d Heb. 7. e Ephes. â— All Christs sufferings were INIVRIOVS in respect of the doers and VOLVNTARIE in respect of him selfe f 1. Peter 2. g 1. Pet. â— g 1. Pet. â— h Luke 23. i Augusti de tempore serm 101. k Idem de trinitate li. 13. ca. 14 l Ibid. cap. 1â— m Greg. 〈◊〉 3. ca. 11. n Iohn 10. o Galat. 2 p Ephes. 5. q August de trinitat li. 4. ca. 13 r August de 〈◊〉 contra Manichaeos cap. 26. The recapitulation of y e maner and merit of Christs death s Gen. 2. t Iohn 3. The coÌ„fort of Christs crosse taken out of the 22. Psalme u Psalm 2â— x Vers. 9. y 10 z 11 a 19 b 12 c â—4 d Vers. 1. e Ambros. in Psal. 118. ser. 1. The same oâ—â— of the 16. Psalme f Psal. 16. The ground of Christs faith g Act. 1. h Bernard de verbâ—â— I saiae serm 5. Rom. 14 Doubting of Gods fauour is sinne in Christ k Matth. 14. l Rom. 4. m Iacob 1. Feare is more intolerable in Christ then doubting n Actes 2. o Iohn 1. p Ephes. 4 q Iohn 3. Christ was not amazed on the Crosse. r Mark 14. s Iohn 18 t Iohn 19 u Luke 23 x Luke 23. y Iohn 19 z Luke 23 a Matth. 2â— b Marke 14 b Marke 14 c Luke 23. d Iohn 19 d Iohn 19 e Matth. 1â— f 1. Peter 2 Christ wauered not in his praiers in y e garden g 1 Galat. 5 h 1. Corinth 7 i Matth. 26. verse 44. k Esay 53â— Christ praied often and earnestly but with full assurance to be heard l Hebre 5. m Mark 14. verse 33. Christ might at the first be abashed with Gods maiesty or mans misery but he recouered himselfe before he entered into his praiers How and why Christ might be rauished n Mat. 20. Christs praier could not be reiected o Heb. 5. p Iohn 11. q Iohn 8. The cup did passe from Christ in that sense in which he prayed it might r Esay 5â— s Hebr. 5. s Hebr. 5. Christ on the crosse must be assured his sacrifice should be accepted t Matt. 1. u Phil. 2. x Colos. 1. y Colos. 1. vers 19. 20 z Phil. 2. ver 8. a Ephe. 5. b Heb. 12. c Acts. 2. Psal. 16. We must suffer as Christ did which I hope is not the paines of hell d 1. Pet. 2. e Rom. 8. f Phil. 3. g 1 Peter 4 h 2. Cor. 1. Christs affliction on y e crossâ— was full of consolation i 2. Cor. 4. k Ibidem l 2. Cor. 12. m Ibidem m Ibidem Heb. 12. o Luke 4. p Heb. 2. q 2. Cor. 12. r 1. Pet. 4. All miseries are the effectâ— of gods wrath s Num. 16. t 2. Chro. 13 u Esay 51 x Mich. 7. y Esay 47. z Lament 5. a 2. Tim. 2. b Rom. 11. c Iohn 13. d â— Peter 4. e 1. Cor. 11. f Heb. 8. g Heb. 12. h Heb. 12. Heb. 13. k Rom. 2. l Ephe 4. Gods wrath towards his â— mixed with mercy and iustice The wrath of God against our sinnes was very great in the crosse of Christ. m Hebre. 5 n Ibidem o 1. Peter 2. p Esay 53. It should somwhat moue vs y t hell paines were neuer added to Christs crosse for 1300 yeeres since the Apostles time The doctrine here deliuered is authorised by the lawes of this realme q Num 3. r Num 13. The fiâ—t effect of Christes crosse which is the glory of his resurrectioÌ„ Foure opinioÌ„ touching the article of the Creede he descended into hell s 1. Samuel 2 The â—eare of hell may fall on vs but not on Christ. How Christ in some sense may be said to haue suffered the paines of hel on y e crosâ—e Papists were the first brochers of this opinion that Christ suffered hell paines on the crosse t Nicholaus de Cusa Excitationum lib 10. ex sermone qui per spiritum sanctum semetipsuÌ„ obtulâ—s u Ibidem x August Iustinianus in scholiis Octapliâ— Psal. 30. y Ferus lib. 4. in Mat. cap. 27. in illa verbaâ— Deus meus deuenitus z Ibidem Charitie supposeth the best Sinful infirmities are more hainous in Christ then in vs. Christs soule â—reer from hel then either saints or angels This opinion is not false but impertinent and idle The third opinion can hardly auoid 〈…〉 Sheol as well hell as the graue a Psal. â— b 〈…〉 c Ibid. ver 24. d Iob. 11 The lowest place and farthest from heauen is hell e Psal. 85. f Deut. 32 The scripture maketh a descent to Sheol g Luke 16 h Genes 37 i Genesâ— 42. k Numb 16 l Psal. 9. The soules of y e wicked were in Sheol before Christs comming but not of the godly â—say 38 n Prouerb 15 o Prouerb 9 p Prouerb 23 q Psal. 89. r Psal. 49 s Psal. 49. Abraham bosome is no part of Sheol or hel t Prouerb 13 u Luke 16. x August epist. 99. y Luke 16. How y e words of the Creed are best expounded z 1. Corinth 15 1. Regum 17. b 2. Regum 4 Marei 5. d Luke 7 Iohn 11 Reuelat. 2. Christ the first that euer rose conqueror of sinne death and hell g Ephes. â—â— The conquest of Christ ouer sinne death h Rom. 4. i Reuel 14 In vaine is all that christ did for vs if hel be noâ— coÌ„quered The methode of handling Christs descent Christs conquest ouer Satan had these three effects The proofe of these three by the scriptures k Mat. 12. Mark 3. l Phil. 2. m Colos. 2. n 1. Cor. 15. o 1. Peter 3. On the crosse Christ obtained his triumph but he executed it at his resurrectioÌ„ p Mat. 28. q Philip. 2 r Reuel 1. s Psal 2. t Heq. 2. n Colos. 2. The fathers read in sâ—metipso in his own person and those y t reade 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 applie it to Christ not to the crosse saue onelie Occumenius Oâ—cumeniusâ—â— 2. cap. ad 〈◊〉 Christs resurrectioÌ„ was a famore glorious triumph ouer Satan then his passion was x 2. Corâ— y Româ— z 1. Cor. 15. 〈◊〉 â— Heb. 13. â— Heb. 12. Luke 24. Phil. â— The cause
motion of the mind is but a temptation to trie the heart or shew the strength of the godlie So was Adam tempted in Paradise by Eue and Eue by the Serpent to prooue howe mindfull they were and thankfull they would be for the blessings of God bestowed vpon them So was Christ tempted in the wildernesse by Satan and all his life long by the wicked which were to him but occasions to declare the innocencie and integritie of his humane nature But the inwarde temptation of the heart and conscience though it bee in all the children of Adam the elect themselues not excepted by reason of their flesh lusting agaynst the spirite their conscience accusing them for sinne and their fayth sometimes fainting yet in Christ wee must graunt no such thing because in him there was neither corruption of flesh nor remorse of sinne nor weakenesse of faith that shoulde anie kinde of waie bréede or yeelde to the worme that gnaweth at our consciences A desperate feare is when the wrath of God awaketh the wicked to knowe and acknowledge what vengeance is prepared for them in the life to come and so hauing lost both fayth and hope they fall to an horrible expectation of iudgement and flaming fyre which shall deuoure the aduersarie But yet euen these men whose case is most despaired are not while they liue heere on earth in the true paines of Hell but are as farre from that as expecting is from suffering The last I knowe not howe to call but by the name of a damned rather paine then feare which the wicked departed this life doe presentlie feele For paine that is present inflicteth rather torment then feare since feare is properlie the trembling at euill before it come and not the grieuing at it when it is come Of these foure impressions yee see which I attribute vnto Christ and which not Despairing or so much as doubting of his saluation we cannot ascribe to him without euident impietie And as for Christes suffering the same paines which the damned soules in Hell doe to my simple vnderstanding it is rather a dreame then a doctrine to bee taught in the Church of Christ. Did they defende as great sense and anguish of paine to haue beene in Christes bodie or soule as hell fire doth inflict to the damned though that were a verie presumptuous and audacious position yet is it not so impious as when they affirme he sufred the self same which the damned do For the damned haue many sorts of paines in hel which by no means could fasten on Christs person and since there be degrées of paine in hell euen for the damned these curious teachers must shewe vs which of these degrees Christ suffered by what warrant of gods word they aâ—iunge the very paines of hell to the crosse of Christ. To perswade them to hold fast the forme of wholsom words which the holy ghost obserueth throughout the scriptures I feare is but lost labor hauing lighted on a strange doctrine they are forced to vse strange spéeches such as no where are found in the word of truth expressing mans redemption by the death and bloud of Christ yet somwhat to rebate the heat of such as despise all other sufferings of Christ in respect of their hell-paines I think it not amisse to examine the weight of those allegations and reasons that are brought to support their assertion The proofs that are pretended for this opinion may be recalled to thrée principal heds which are these PREDICTIONS that Christ should suffer the paines of hell in soul CAVSES why he must suffer them SIGNES that he did suffer them Predictions that Christ should suffer the paines of hel are cited the se Thou wilt not leaue my soule in hell and againe The sorowes or streights of hell haue found me out beset me round The causes why he must suffer them are enlarged by some into many branches but may bee contracted into these two THE PART that chiefly sinned in man the VVAGES due to man for sin The WORKE of sin appeared first most in the soul of Adam therfore in y e satisfaction for sin the soul of Christ as they say must properly principally suffer The VVAGES of sin is expressely death both of soule and bodie and therfore Christ as our suretie and for our sinnes must taste of both as they affirm before he can discharge vs from both Signes that he did suffer were his AGONIE in the garden when he sweat blood which for a corporall death he would neuer haue don his COMPLAINT on the crosse that he was forsaken of God which as they thinke proouesh he felt in soule a most fearefull iudgement of God pronounced against our sinnes To euerie of these I will speake in order that finding the weaknesse of their foundation we maie the sooner see the lamenesse of their conclusion To the first I might answere with Saint Austen these words of Dauid specifie not anie suffering of hell paines on the crosse but rather a descent to the place of hell That the Lord after his bodie was dead came to hell is certaine enough for neither can the prophecie be contradicted which said Thou wilt not leaue my soule in hell which least anie man shoulde dare otherwise to interpret Peter in the Acts of the Apostles so expoundeth nor the wordes of Peter bee auoided where hee saith that Christ brake the sorrowes of hell the which could not possiblie take hold on him who then but an infidell will denie that Christ was in hell But with antiquitte I will not vrge them if the text doe not refuse their exposition I will release them this authoritie That this saying of Dauid doth not import anie paines suffered while Christ liued but some honour done to his soule after his death maie thrée waies be prooued by the wordes next praecedent by the words next adioyned and by the application which Peter maketh when he citeth this place The wordes next before which are these My flesh shall rest in hope note Christs buriall and this is brought as a reason why Christes bodie should rest in hope not on the crosse where it had no rest but in the graue after he was dead because thou wilt not leaue my soule in hell If this respected any thing endured on the crosse the holy ghost must haue saide in the person of Christ because THOV HAST NOT LEFT MY SOVLE IN HEL the paines and time were both past but he speaketh in the future tence of future things Thou wilt not leaue my soule in hell And this was the hope in which Christ died Now hope neuer tendeth to things past and known but to that which is to come This therefore toucheth somthing consequent after Christs death which he hoped for when he died and not anie paines suffered on the crosse or in the garden whiles he liued The words annexed infer the same Thou wilt not leaue my soule in
on his owne shoulders yea the Lorde Laid vpon him the iniquity of vs all but when it came to light vpon him the verie iustice of God found great difference betwixt his person and ours and so great that what should haue condemned vs bodie and soule for euer that could take no hold on him but so far forth as he did voluntarilie yeeld himselfe to bee obedient vnto the death of the crosse and in our flesh to quench the curse of the lawe pronounced againsâ— our sinnes insomuch that neither sinne nor death were able to sease on his bodie till he did of his owne accord resigne it into their handes If we thinke it strange to sée so much difference betwixt him and vs we must remember wee were sinnefull he was innocent we were defiled hee was holie we were hatefull he was beloued we were the seruants of sinne and enemies vnto God he was the Lord of life and of glorie we were seuered and estranged from God both in bodie and soule his verie flesh was personallie vnited and inseparablie ioined vnto God besides that himselfe was the true and euerliuing sonne of God What maruell then if sinne which should haue wrought in vs an eternall destruction both of body and soule could not farther preuaile in him but to the wounding of his flesh and shedding of his bloud for the iust and full satisfaction of all our sinnes euen in the righteous and sincere iudgement of God Though therefore THE SAME PART might and did suffer in Christ which sinned in man I meane the soule yet by no meanes could it receaue THE SAME WAGES which we should haue receiued And since hell is the greatest vengeance that God inflicteth for sinne if Christes soule were frée from anie it must néedes be cléered and acquited from that which is greatest and most repugnant to the fulnesse of grace truth and spirit that dwell in the humane soule of Christ but hereof I shall haue occasion to speake afterward againe The signes that Christ suffered the paines of hell are left and those are his agonie in the garden and his complaint on the crosse that he was forsaken Of Christs agonie since the scriptures haue nor reuealed the right cause it is cut losâ—tie to examen presumption to determine impossibilitie to conclude certainelie what was the true cause thereof Howbeit if we will néedes coniecture at causes wee must take héede that with our obscure and priuate guesses we do not contradict such plaine and euident places as testifie the perfection and coniunction of Christs humane nature with this diuine and so wrong the person of our Sauiour This rule remembred though I bee most willing to refraine the searching of that which is concealed from vs yet since they make this the most aduantage of their cause that there caÌ„not be anie other reason assigned of Christes sorrow besides his suffering the paines of hell I will let you vnderstand how manie there might be besides that which they bringâ— and that theirs of all others is least probable if not altogether intolerable I will offer you sixe causes that might be of Christs agonie euerie one of them more likelie and more godlie then this deuise of hell paines others at their leasures maie thinke on moe which I shall be content to heare Those sixe are these Christs SVBMISSION to the maiestie of God sitting in iudgement The REIECTION of the Iewes The DISPERSION of his Church The LAMENTATION of mans sinne The DEPRECATION of Gods wrath The VOLVNTARY DEDICATION of his bloud to be shed for the sinnes of the world and sanctificatioÌ„ of his person to offer his true eternal sacrifice So great is the MAIESTY OF GOD euerie where and at all times but speciallie sitting in iudgment and so farre excelling the capacitie of all his creatures that no flesh lining is able to appeare before him without feare and trembling The day of the Lord whensoeuer hee riseth to iudge is great and fearefull and who shall indure it When God gaue his lawe which was but the rule of his iudgement so terrible was the sight that Moses said I feare and tremble My flesh saith Dauid to God trembleth for feare of thee and I am afraide of thy iudgements Since then it is a point not onelie confessed but vrged by the defenders of this new deuise that Christ appeared here before the tribunall of God to submit himselfe to his fathers pleasure and the wordes of Christ in that twelfth of Iohn tend to that effect where he saith Nowe euen at hand is the iudgement of the world Now euen shortlie shall the prince of this world be cast out and if I were lift vp from the earth I will draw all vnto me whie might not the humane nature of Christ tremble before the maiestie of that iudge whose glorie the Seraphins in heauen doe not behold without yealing their faces whereby Christ teacheth vs not to presse into Gods presence whiles wee are loden with sin but in much feare and trembling since he would not appeare before God to take our sinnes on him but in this agonie The REIECTION OF THE IEWES might be another cause of his agonie He wept ouer their cittie when he beheld it and remembred the subuersion of it how woulde he then be grieued when he foresawe the finall reiection of y e whole nation and his bloud to be laid on them and their children for euer for their sakes Moses desired To bee wiped out of Gods booke and Paule could haue wished himselfe to be separated from Christ for his brethren the Israelites If the seruants of Christ had so great heauinesse and sorrow in their hearts for their kinsmen according to the flesh what agonie must it néedes bréede in their king and Messias in whome were the bowels of mercie and pittie to sée the wicked rage of the people kindling Gods fearefull vengeance against themselues and their ofspring by putting him to a most cruell and shamefull death that came to redéeme them from sin and death This cause is obserued by Ambrose Hierom Augustine and Bede Nec illud distat à vero si tristis erat pro persecutoribus neither is that dissonant from truth saith Ambrose if he were heauy in soule for his persecutors whom hee knewe should dearelie pay for their sacrilegious putting him to death Hee was not then afraide to die but hee was loath to haue them though they were euill to perish least his passion should bee their destruction which hee meant for the saluation of all Christs soule was not heauie saith Ierom and Bede for any feare of his passioÌ„ but for that most vnhappy Iudas for the scandall of all his Apostles for the reiection of the Iewes and subuersion of wretched Ierusalem And Austen If wee saie the Lorde was sorrowfull for the Iewes when his passion drewe neere where they would commit so haynous a sinne non incongruè
obedient to the death euen to the death of the crosse By his humilitie obedience and charity hee purged the pride rebellion and selfe-loue which our first father shewed when he fell and we all expresse in our sinnes and therefore as wee all died in Adams transgression so we are all iustified that is absolued from our sinnes and receaued into fauour by the obedience of Christ. Yea the obedience of Christ did in farre higher degrée please God the Father then the rebellion of Adam did displease him For there the vassall rebelled here the equall obeied there earth presumed to be like vnto God here God vouchsafed to bee the lowest amongst men there the creature neglected his maker here the creator so loued his enemies euen his persecutors that hee tooke the burthen from their shoulders and laid it on his owne contentedly giuing his life for them who cruellie tooke his life from him to conclude those were the sinnes of men these are the vertues of God which doe infinitelie counteruaile the other and for that cause the iustice of God is farre better satisfied with the obedience of Christ then with the vengeance it might iustlie haue executed on the sinnes of men For God hath no pleasure in the death of the wicked neither doth hee delight in mans destruction but with the obedience of his sonne he is well pleased and therein euen his soule delighteth This is my beloued sonne in whom I am well pleased Loe my chosen my soule taketh pleasure in him In which words God doth not onlie note the naturall loue betwixt his sonne and himselfe but he giueth full approbation of his obedience as being thereby throughlie satisfied for the sinne of man By Christs obedience I doe not meane the holinesse of his life or performance of the lawe but the obedience of the person vnto death euen the death of the Crosse which was voluntarilie offered by him not necessarily imposed on him aboue and besides the lawe and no way required in the lawe For it could be no dutie to God or man but onelie mercie and pitie towardes vs that caused the sonne of God to take our mortall and weake flesh vnto him and therein and therby to pay the ransome of our sinnes and to purchase eternall life for vs. He must be a Sauiour no debter a redéemer no prisoner Lord of all euen when hee humbled himselfe to be the seruant of all his diuine glorie power and maiestie make his sufferings to be of infinite force and value And from this dignitie and vnitie of his person which is the maine pillar of our redemption if we cast our eies on any other cause or deuise any new help to strengthen the merits of Christ wee dishonour and disable his diuinitie as if the sonne of God were not a full and sufficient price to ransome the bodies and soules of all mankind On this foundation doe the scriptures build the whole frame of mans redemption GOD purchased his church saith Paule WITH HIS OVVNE BLOVD GOD noting the dignitie HIS OVVNE the vnitie of his person and both importing a price far worthier then the thing purchased God spared not his owne sonne but gaue him for vs all In that he was the sonne of God al nations are counted vnto him or in ballance with him lesse thē nothing and vanitie in that he was giuen for vs the ransome excelleth the prisoner as much as God doth man We are reconciled to God by the death of his sonne Maruell we to sée Christs death of that power price with God that it appeased his wrath when he was angrie with vs as with his enemies when as his owne son being equall with him in the forme of God humbled himselfe to the death of the crosse for our sakes Fairer or fuller causes of our redemption we neede not aske the holie Ghost doth not expresse God cannot haue If the son of God be not able with his bloud to redeeme vs wee must giue ouer all hope and despaire For heauen cannot yéeld vs a greater value and the earth hath none like Wherfore if any man be disposed to seale his own condemnation with his own heart let him distrust the merits of Christs death but all that will be saued must acknowledge the infinite price of his death and bloud aboue our worth and we must learne being sinfull and wretched creatures not to amend the wordes of God in the mysterie of our redemption but suffer him that is trueth to be the guider of our faith and not by figures to frustrate all that is written in the word of God touching our saluation purchased by the death and bloud of Christ Iesus I am not the first that obserued or vrged this doctrine it is auncient and Catholike Cum super omnes esset Dei verbum merito suum ipsius templum corporale instrumentum pro omniū ammis pretium offerens id quod morti debebatur persoluit Where as the word or sonne of God saith Athanasius was aboue al worthily then by offering his owne temple bodily instrument as a price for the soules of all men did he pay that was due vnto death Cyril Si non esset deus quomodo ipse solus sufficeret ad hoc vt sit pretiū Sed sufficit solus pro omnibus mortuus quia super omnes est deus igitur est morte suae carnis à mundo mortē depellens If Christ were not God how could he alone suffice to be the ransome for al but he alone dead sufficeth for all because he is aboue all he is therefore God by the death of his flesh driuing away death from the worlde And againe Redempti sumus Christo proprium corpus dante pro nobis Sed si vt communis homo intelligeretur Christus quomodo corpus eius ad rependendum omnium vitam sufficeret At si deus fuit in carne qui dignissimus sufficiens ad redemptionem totius mundi per suum sanguinē merito fuit We are redeemed Christ giuing his own body for vs. But if Christ be taken to be no more then a man how should his body be sufficient to restore life to al men but if he were God in our flesh worthily thē did he suffice to redeem the whole world with his bloud Austen Si propter hominē mortuus est deus nō est victurus homo cum deo quomodo mortuus est deus accepit ex te vnde moreretur pro te nōposset mori nisi caro nōposset mori nisi mortale corpus If god died for mā shall not mā liue with god but how died god he took of thine wherin to die for thee There could nothing die but flesh there could die nothing but a mortal body And elsewhere an anciēt writer vnder his name if not himselfe Indubitanter credamus quod totum mundum redemit qui plus dedit quā totus mundus valeret
THE LAVV to do theÌ„ the remitting of sinne is the releasing of the curse that is consequent to sinne The curse importeth vengeance due to sinne Then where sinne is pardoned the curse is determined But wee haue redemption euen remission of sinnes through his bloud Ergo the bloud of Christ doth quench the curse of the law The maner how the curse of the law lighted seased on the person of Christ is thus expressed by S. Paule Christ redeemed vs from the curse of the lawe being made a curse for vs. For it is written accursed is euery one that hangeth on the tree As by his stripes we are healed so by his curse we are blessed In as much as he submitted himselfe to the curse of the law for our sinnes not only our transgressions are pardoned for which Christ suffered but the law stinging him to death lost his force for euer For the vengeance of the law once executed on our suertie can no more in Gods iustice be exacted of vs. But Christ receiued the sentence of the lawe in himselfe when he bare our sinnes in his bodie on the tree wee therefore are quited for euer from the power of the lawe Since then by his receiuing and suffering the curse of the lawe in his owne person wee are fréed and blessed it remaineth wee search howe farre the curse preuailed against him Wherein we must take héede that wee slep not an hayres breadth from the Apostles words For if we stretch the curse farther on Christ then in truth it did or coulde take place wee arrogantlie and impiouslie pronounce that cursed which indeede was blessed and falsifie the promise of God made to Abraham that in his seede which was Christ All the nations of the earth should be blessed For howe could the blessing of Abraham be deriued from Christ to vs if euerie part of his humane nature were accursed Wherefore Christ must receiue the curse of the lawe in one part of himselfe which was his flesh and in the other which was his soule retaine the blessing of God as well for his flesh to bee raised againe as for his members to bee vnited vnto him If this bee not the doctrine of the holie Ghost I vrge no man to beléeue it if it bee let such as will wante GODS curse beware howe they refuse it It is no small aduenture to extende the curse of God vpon the soule of Christ Iesus without cléere sound and sure testimonie of the holie scriptures To shew that Christ sustained the curse of the lawe and by his enduring it acquited vs Saint Paul in effect vseth this reason CVRSED saieth Moses is euerie one that is hanged on the tree But Christ was content for our sinnes to be hanged on the tree of the crosse He therfore submitted himselfe to the curse of the law to redeeme vs from it That this is Saint Paules argument the thirde to the Galathians to proue Christ vnder the curse of the lawe I hope the simplest amongst you will soone perceiue the learnedest dare not denie By which it is euident that part of Christ which hung on the crosse was subiected to the curse but the soule of Christ was not crucified Ergo the soule of Christ was not made a curse but onelie his bodie And by suffering this curse that is by hanging on the tree hee redéemed vs from the curse of the lawe which wee had deserued both in bodie and soule Which of these thinges canne we contradict Shall wee saie the Apostle mist his marke in that hee cleareth vs from the spirituall and perpetuall curse of the lawe by Christes suffering a corporall and temporall parte thereof or shall wee chalenge him to be so simple that he knew not the difference betwixt the one the other I am far from any such thought I loue to follow and not to leade the holie ghost In matters of so great depth I dare not wade without or before my guide That Christ died hanging on a tree the Euangelistes are plaine That hanging on a tree is a cursed kinde of death in the lawe of Moses is as manifest That by hanging on the tree hee wâ—s made a curse for vs and thereby redeemed vs from the curse of the lawe the Apostle is resolute If anie man will offer farther I must leaue him To fasten the internall or eternall curse of the lawe on the soule of Christ is to my vnderstanding verie desperate diuinitie For men might naile his bodie to the trâ—e as did the Iewes but none coulde inflict the curse on his soule but onelie God Since then the innocencie obedience patience humilitie and sanctitie of his soule were so perfect euen in the sight of God that it could not â—ustlie be but blessed howe shoulde the righteousnesse of God immediatelie and vniustlie laie the curse which bringeth inwarde and euerlasting death on the soule of Christ Againe God spirituallie curseth none but whome hee first deseruedlie hateth as all vncleane and wicked persons If then the soule of Christ could not worthilie be hated of God it coulde not truelie bee cursed of God for the hatred and curse of God cannot bee seuered This doctrine is ancient and catholicke Saint Austen ripping this matter to the quicke saieth Securus Apostolus ait de Christo factus est pro nobis maledictum sicut non timuit dicâ—re pro omnibus mortuus est hoc est enim mortuus quod maledictus quoniam mors ipsa ex maledicto est maledictum est omne peccatum siue ipsum quod fit vt sequatur supplicium siue ipsum supplicium quod alio modo vocatur peccatum quia fit exâ— peccato Suscepit autemâ— Christus sine reatu supplicium nostrum vt inde solueret reatum nostrum finiret etiam supplicium nostrum Securely the Apostle saieth of Christ that he was made a curse for vs euen as he feared not to say Christ DIED FOR ALL. For HEE DIED IS ALL ONE VVITH HE VVAS ACCVRSED BECAVSE DEATH CAME FROM THE CVRSE and all sinne is accursed as well that which is committed and deserueth punishment as THE PVNISHMENT IT SELFE which in a sort is called sinne because it is consequent to sinne Nowe Christ bare our punishment without any desert that thereby hee might acquite our guiltinesse and ende our punishment And againe Maledictus omnis qui pendet in ligno non hic aut ille sed omnis omnino Etiamne filius dei etiam prorsus DISPLICET VOBIS MALEDICTVS PRO NOBIS QVIA DISPLICET MORTVVS PRO NOBIS Tune extra maledictum illius Adam si extra illius mortem Cum vero ex homine pro homine mortem suscepit ex illo pro illo etiam maledictum quod mortem comitatur suscipere non dedignatus est etiam ille prorsus etiam ille filius Dei semper viâ—â—s in sua iustitia mortuus autem propter delicta nostra in carne suscepta
hee of my selfe but as my father hath taught mee so speake I these thinges For hee that sent mee is with mee the Father hath not left mee alone because I DOE ALVVAYES the thinges THAT PLEASE HIM Though I beare recorde of my selfe my recorde is true FOR I KNOVVE VVHENCE I CAME AND VVHITHER I GOE As hee coulde not bee ignorant so coulde hee not bee forgetfull of his Fathers counsell and decree The glorie of God might appall him at the entrance into his prayers but his constant continuing one and the same request to his Father three seuerall turnes with intermission of time and admonition to his Disciples to watch and praie prooueth hee had not forgotten himselfe that still persisted in his purpose nor yet striued agaynst his Fathers will in that his prayer was accepted and assured from heauen Did then the cup passe from him which was the summe of his prayer No doubt it did in that sense which he desired The cup mingled by Gods iust iudgment for the sin of man did passe both from him and vs by force of his prayer not that hee did not taste of it but in that yeelding himselfe to the temporall and corporall chasticement thereof hee quenched the spirituall and eternall vengeance that was consequent after death the abolishing whereof was a worke worthie of the sonne of God and a memorable effect of that earnest and instant prayer which our Sauiour made in the Garden thereby shutting vp hell and opening heauen to all his members And for that cause the Prophet Esay ioyneth his patient suffering and vehement praying as needfull groundes of our redemption hee bare the sinne of manie and PRAYED for the TRESPASSERS and the Apostle reckoneth Christs PRAIERS OFFERED VVITH TEARES and his paines suffered through obedience as principall parts of his Priesthood and effectuall sacrifices for the sinnes of the people As praying in the garden Christ must be frée from forgetting either his fathers will or loue so suffering on the crosse he must haue not onely patience and obedience but intelligence assurance that the bloudy sacrifice which he offered should be accepted as the propitiation for our sinnes and himselfe exalted from the shame and paine of the crosse to euerlasting honour ioy and glorie He did not offer himselfe on the altar of the crosse supposing or presuming it might please God thereby to be fauourable vnto man but as hee came into the world annointed and sent of purpose to saue his people from their sinnes so did hee humble himselfe to the death of the Crosse beeing thereto appoynted by his heauenlie father and therefore most assured that God was immutablie determined to accept his sacrifice for the sin of the world and by the bloud of his crosse to set at peace thinges both in heauen and in earth and to reconcile vs that were straungers and enemies in euill woorkes through death in the bodie of his flesh to make vs holie and without fault in the sight of God This Saint Paule saith was Gods GOOD PLEASVRE to which Christ was OBEDIENT therefore neither ignorant of it nor doubtfull in it but assuredlie resolued with fulnesse of faith and hope that he which had decreed it could not be changed and that God which had sent him would not deceiue him And for that cause the Apostle maketh the death of Christ to be a SACRIFICE OF A SVVEET SMELLING SAVOVR VNTO GOD and saith that Iesus the authour finisher of our faith FOR THE IOY VVHICH VVAS SET BEFORE HIM endured the crosse and despised the shame thereof and is placed on the right hand of the throne of God So that howsoeuer late writers haue found out the terror of Gods wrath and horror of eternall death in the soule of Christ suffering the Apostle teacheth vs that Christ hanging in the shame and paine of the crosse had not onelie peace and fauour with god as offering a sweet smelling sacrifice but also ioy before his eies of euerlasting glory at the right hand of y e throne of God And with him agrée both Peter Dauid when they bare witnes of Christ that his HEART VVAS GLAD his TONGVE IOIFVL and that euen HIS FLESH should REST IN HOPE notwithstanding the anguish of death force of the graue and fury of hell For God would neither forsake his soule in hell nor suffer his flesh to sée corruption Dare anie man doubt of this doctrine which is so clearelie and fullie deliuered vs in the Scriptures Or make wee a pastime of it in fauour of our fansies to ouerturne the verie principles of truth Christ suffered for vs leauing vs an example that wee shoulde followe his steppes For if wee suffer with him wee shall bee glorified with him Must we suffer the paines of the damned afore we may hope to be partakers of his glorie The gaine which we haue in Christ when wee haue refused all thinges as vile for his sake is to knowe the fellowshippe of his afflictions and to bee conformed vnto his death if by anie meanes wee may attaine to the resurrection of the deade Shall the communion of Christes sufferings bring vs to the true torments of hell and must we perswade our selues that wee are forsaken of God afore wee can bee conformed to his death Reioyce sayth Peter when yee doe communicate with Christes sufferings Must we then REIOICE in the horror of hell and bee glad of Gods displeasure towards vs I thinke not Howe farre fuller of comfort is the Apostles doctrine where he saith As the sufferinges of Christ abound in vs so our consolation aboundeth through Christ. And our hope is stedfast concerning you that as you are partakers of the sufferinges so shall you bee of the comforts What comfort these men can finde in the paines of the damned I knowe not they else where seeme to say that all feares and griefes all terrors and tormâ—nts are trifles vnto the sense and feeling of Gods displeasure and iust indignation but the holie Ghost I am sure proposeth to vs the Crosse of Christ as the waie to perfection that neuer wanteth consolation For therein though our outwarde man perish yet the inwarde man is daylie renued and when our bodies die to sinne as did Christes our soules liue to God as did his Excellentlie doth the Apostle describe the comfort of Christes Crosse in all the faythfull when hee sayeth Wee are afflicted on euerie side but not ouerpressed wanting but not vtterlie destitute persecuted but not forsaken falling but not perishing alwayes bearing about in our bodie the dying of the Lorde Iesu that the life of Iesu might bee manifest in our bodyes For wee whiles wee liue are still deliuered vnto death for Iesus sake that the life of Iesu might bee manifest in our mortall flesh Christ then in the mortification of his bodie on the Crosse was neither OVERâ—RESSED FORSAKEN nor PERISHING
by the power of his life heé might take from vs the feare of death whiles here wee liue and change the curse of death making it nowe a rest from all labours which before was an entrance into perpetuall paine This enemie because he doth least harme shall bée last destroied euen at the daie of the generall resurrection and not before and serueth now rather to represse sinne then to reuenge sinne the godlie being by death deliuered from the committing louing or fearing sinne and the wisedome of God prouiding that as sinne brought death into the world so death should abolish sinne out of the worlde This is brieflie the victorie that Christ obtained against sinne and death by his dying and rising from the dead His conquest ouer hell as it is more questioned and more expected so will I not refuse to shew you what I thinke maie be safelie beleeued and must not rashlie be reiected of any christian The conquest of Christ ouer hell and Satan may bee no way doubted by any diuine that rightly handleth the mysterie of our saluation In vaine do we speake of releasing sinne or despising death if the right of hell to vs and power of hell ouer vs doe still remaine And therefore the verie ground of Christs conquering sinne and death is his subduing of hell and Satan that they should lay no chalenge to nor haue no force against the faithful It is then on all sides accorded that hell and Satan must be fullie conquered by Christ before the worke of our redemption can be perfectlie setled or assured but as well the time when as the maner how are somewhat questioned and that maketh the whole matter the more néedfull to he discussed To refute euerie mans fansie that speaketh hereof were an infinite labour to search out a truth in this case that maie safelie be receiued and comfortablie embraced if not necessarilie vrged is the summe of mine intention and should bee the ende of your expectation with this prouiso that no man carpe before hee righlie conceiue nor pronounce before hee well examine that which shall be spoken least hee checke the Scriptures before he beware and condemne the whole Church of God without anie cause In expressing Christes conquest ouer hell and Satan I thinke best to obserue these thrée things VVHAT hee did vnto Satan and his kingdome VVHEN and with VVHICH PART OF HIMSELFE hee did execute this triumph VVHAT HE DID vnto Satan wee shall learne by seeing what he suffered at Satans hands Proportionable to Christs humiliation was his exaltation and for the violence which he endured he receiued full satisfaction As then on the crosse Christ suffered at Satans hands and by Satans meanes REPROCHE RAGE VVRONG so in his resurrection he reaped a triple recompence from Satan SVBMISSION whereby his pride was subiected vnder Christ CAPTIVATION whereby his rage was restrained and himselfe chained by Christ RESTITVTION whereby his spoiles were diuided and deliuered vnto Christ. When I say that Satan was SVBDVED TIED and SPOILED by Christ rising from the dead let no vnsetled braine imagine this is superstitious and popish as I mean them and as the scriptures deliuer them they are propheticall and Apostolicall And least you should thinke I delude you with wordes I will shewe you whence I take them first iointlie all in one sentence then seuerallie from sundrie places of the holie scriptures Our Sauiour in the Gospell doth purposelie make this comparison or vtter this parable concerning himself and the kingdom of Satan How can a man ENTER into a strong mans house and spoile his goods except he first BIND the strong man and then SPOILE his house Christ then ENTERED vpon Satans house as a CONQVERER TIED him as the STRONGER SPOILED him as the right OVVNER of that which Satan vniustlie detained from him And albeit it maie not bee denied but Christ whiles hee liued on earth made some proofe of his right and power to dissolue the workes and displace the force of Satan from the bodies and soules of men yet it is euident that the full demonstration of his victorie and perfection of his glorie were reserued to the time of his resurrection when he brake the 〈◊〉 and sorrowes of death and hell and ascended to his father not onelie clothed with honour and immortalitie but armed with power and principalitie all knees bowing vnto him in heauen earth and hell and all tongues confessing that Iesus was the Lord to the glorie of God These verie parts of Christs conquest ouer Satan the Apostle doth comprise in one sentence to the Colossians saying Christ SPOILED powers and principalities and made A SHEVV of them openlie TRIVMPHING ouer them in his owne person That powers and principalities in this place doe signifie wicked and sinfull spirites there can bee no question those names in the scriptures are proper to Angels bee they good or badde as Roman 8 vers 38. Ephes. 3. vers 10. 6. vers 12. Colos. 1. vers 16 1. Peter 3. vers 22. And heere must needes import euill Angels because Christ had no cause to conquere or spoile the elect Angels which serued him and ministred vnto him but the badde that impugned his trueth and enuied his glorie Ouer those then Christ TRIVMPHED as a conquerer those hee OPENLIE SHEVVED as captiues bounde with chains those he STRIPT OR SPOILED of the goodes which they had vnlawfullie gotten And this the Apostle saith he did execute in his owne person as a triumph fit for the sonne of God all things being subiected vnder his feete yea Angels powers and mights subdued vnto him when he ascended into heauen And though some late translators to decline the descent of Christ to hell after death doe imagine that the wicked Angels were CONQVERED SHEVVED and SPOILED by Christ in his suffering the paines of hell on the crosse and to that ende doe alter the ancient and constant reading of the text putting in steade of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in his owne person 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the same crosse yet since both scriptures and fathers with one consent doe contradict that daungerous speculation I maie not admitte it as consonant either to the faith or truth of the Scriptures For the conquest which Christ had ouer Satan and his Kingdome was not by RESISTING much lesse by SVFFERING the assaults of hell He is no conquerer that with much adoe saueth himselfe and his from the furie of his enemies but hee that subdueth and treadeth his aduersaries vnder his féete and so maistreth them that hee may dispose of them at his will he is truly called a conquerer And since the Apostle saith Christ SPOILED the powers of darknes and made AN OPEN SHEVV of them and TRIVMPHED ouer them it is an euident wrong to Christ to thinke that all the conquest hee had ouer them was at length to REPELL them with mightie feares and cries TO SCAPE their force Yea
some men is counted fabulous for y t the letters sent to Christ and receaued from him by the ruler of that city are no where remembred in the Euangelists but by their leaues that reason is rather friuolous for so much as S. Iohn saith There are also many other thinges which Iesus did the which if they should be writteÌ„ euery one I suppose the world could not containe the bookes that should be written Since then this is no sure ground to reiect a storie for that it is not contained in the scriptures I sée no cause either to preiudice the publike and ancient records of the citie of Edessa remaining at that verie time when this report was made or to mistrust the credite of Eusebius as if he had impudentlie forged the olde monuments of that citie where he might so easilie bee reprooued His words are Habes harum rerum testimonium scriptis comprehensum ex Grammatophylacio vrbis Edessae tunc regiae de sumptum Nam in ipsis publicis chartis quae res prisâ—as continent ista ad hunâ— vsque diem ex eo tempore seruata reperiuntur Nihil autem impedit quo minus literas ipsas quae nobis ex Archiuis desumptae e Syrorum lingua his verbis translatae sunt audiamus Thou hast the testimonie of these thinges comprised in writing and taken out of the chamber of Edessa that then was a princely Citie For in the publike recordes of things aunciently past thus much is there extant TO THIS VERIE DAY preserued from the time wherein these things were done And I thinke it best to set downe the letters which I my selfe COPIED out of the Authentick records and TRANSLATED from the Syrian tongue in these wordes How the report of a writer y t is not canonical should haue more credite then this hath I know not The records were auncient and publique and then extant to be viewed by euerie man when Eusebius did exemplifie them If wee discredite all antiquitie and testimonie which wee sée not with our owne eies wee must looke to receiue the like rewarde from our posteritie Ignatius that liued with and after the Apostles in his Epistle to the Church of Trallis consesseth the same Article almost in the same words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christ descended into Hell alone and returned or rose againe with a greate number and brake downe the rampiere that had stoode from the beginning and ouerthrewe the mid-wall thereof Athanasius present at the great councell of Nice as a Cleargie man though not then a Bishop in his short recapitulation of the Catholike faith addeth this Article as necessarie to be beléeued of all Christians Passus est pro salute nostra descendit ad inferos tertia die resurrexit a mortuis haec est fides Catholica quam nisi quis firmiter fideliterque crediderit saluus esse non poterit Christ suffered for our saluation descended into hell rose againe the third day from the dead This is the Catholike faith which except a man doe firmelie and fastlie beleeue he cannot bee saued Saint Austen doth so presse it that hee pronounceth it infidelitie to denie it Secundum animam Christum apud inferos fuisse aperté scriptura declarat per Prophetam praemissa per Apostolicum intellectum satis exposita qua dictum est non derelinques animam meam in inferno That Christ according to his soule was in hell the Scripture plainelie declareth forespoken by the Prophet Dauid and sufficientlie expounded by the Apostles application where it was saide Thou wilt not leaue my soule in hell Quis ergo nisi infidelis negauerit fuisse apud inferos Christum Who then but an infidell will denie that Christ was in Hell Hilarius maketh it a necessarie cause of our redemption Crux mors inferi salus nostra est Christes Crosse death and beeing in Hell are the meanes of our saluation For as hee died that wee might liue so hee went to hell by Hilaries assertion that wee might goe to heauen Christus Dei filius moritur sed omnis caro viuificatur in Christo. Dei filius in inferis est sed homo refertur ad coelum Christ the sonne of God dieth but all flesh is quickened in Christ. The sonne of God is in Hell but man is restored to Heauen And least wee shoulde thinke that Hilarie dreamed of Christes suffering hell paines on the Crosse as some haue alledged him his wordes are plaine else where that Christs soule after death descended into hell Humanae istae lex necessitatis est vt sepultis corporibus ad inferos animae descendant Quam descensionem Dominus ad consummationem veri hominis non recusauit This is the lawe of mans miserie that their bodies goe to the graue their soules to hell WHICH DESCENT the Lorde did not refuse to prooue himselfe in euerie point to bee a true man This necessitie was the wages of mans sinne the strength whereof coulde none abolish but onelie Christ. Hic vnus est â—duersantes nobis iniâ—â—â—icasque virtutes ligno passionis affigens mortem in inferno perimens spei nostrae fidem resurrectione confirmans corruptionem humanae carnis gloria corporis sui perimens Christ alone was hee that fastened to the wood of his passion the powers which were aduersaries and enemies to vs that vanquished death euen in hell that confirmed the stedfastnesâ—e of our hope with his resurrection and abolished the corruption of mans flesh with the glorie of his bodie Leo likewise Resurrectio saluatoris nec animam in inferno nec carnem diu morata est in sepulchro quoniam deitas quae ab vtraque suscepti hominis substantia non recessit quod potestate diuisit potestate coniunxit The resurrection of our Sauiour neither stayed his soule long in hell nor his flesh in the graue because his Godhead which did not depart from either part of his manhoode mightilie conioyned what it mightilie seuered But no man hath more pishilie or more soundlie deliuered the full course and cause of Christes descent to Hell then Fulgentius which I muste repeate at large because euerie woorde is woorth the marking Restabat ad plenum nostrae redemptionis effectum vt illuc vsque homo sine peccato à Deo susceptus descenderet quousque homo separatus à Deo peccati merito cecidisset id est ad inferâ—um vbi solebat peccatoris anima torqueri ad sepulchrum vbi consueuerat peccatoris caro corrumpi sic tamen vt nec Christi caro in sepulchro corrumperetur nec inferni doloribus anima torqueretur Quoniam anima immunis à peccato non erat subdenda supplicio carnem sine peccato non debuit vitiare corruptio Nam quia peceans homo meâ—uit in seipso per supplicium diuidi quia maluit à Deo praeuaricationis reatu disiungi propterea factum est vt peccatoris mors â—arnem peccati ad
righteous departed this life before Christes death to omit the place of the booke of Wisedome alreadie recited which expresselie gaine saieth this supposall of the fathers that the soules of the iust were both in hell and in torments there is nothing exactlie reuealed vnto vs in the scriptures that are canonicall till we come to the xvi of S. Lukes gospell where our Sauiour by the parabolicall historie of the wicked rich man and the godlie Lazarus teacheth vs what became of them both after their deathes and consequentlie what was the state of all the deade before his time to wit that they were either CARIED BY ANGELS TO ABRAHAMS BOSOME or PVNISHED IN THE FLAMES OF HELL These two places as they bee farre distant the one from the other both in SCITVATION and CONDITION the one beeing full of comfort the other of torment so in this they agrée that there coulde bee no ALTERATION in either The rich man in hell coulde neither obtaine anie meanes to bee refreshed no not a drop of water to coole his heate nor expect anie time to bee released Our Sauiour maketh Abraham to say to the rich man which must néedes be true between you and vs there is settled a great gulfe or mightie distance so that they which would go from hence to you cannot NEITHER CAN THEY COME FROM THENCE TO VS After this life there was no changing of places and namelie from hell there was no release This our Sauiour taught for a resolute trueth in his life time howe then coulde the soules of the iust bee released and reduced from hell by his descent If Abraham and Lazarus were not in hell but in a place of rest and comforte farre distant from hell howe then were all the righteous before Christes time not onlie in hell but in the sorrowes and paines of hell yea the son of God with his owne mouth so often in the new testament expressing the fire of hel to be vnquenchable and the worme there neuer to die how dare we without any warrant of the word of God first to bring al y e soules of the righteous before Christ from Abrahams bosome to hell and then to deliuer them thence without anie witnesse of the holie scriptures With one breath our Sauiour doth thrice pronounce in the gospell of Marke that in hell neither the fire quencheth not the worme dieth and presume wee to quench the one and kill the other without any scruple But the scripture saith the soules of the Patriarkes and Prophets were in hell and there to leaue them after Christs descent were euerlastinglie to condemne them The translators mistooke the word Sheôl calling that hel which indéed was the graue where the bodies of all the iust both before and after Christ were laid but the teacher of all truth whose doctrine wee by no meanes may distrust placeth Abraham in rest and maketh his bosome a receptacle for the soules of the righteous and therefore we may striue about words if we list but we must leaue the spirits of iust and perfit men before Christes comming that place which Christ teaching here on earth assured vs was assigned them of God And since by the doctrine of our sauiour they were not in hell it is more then manifest he did not fetch them thence by his descending thither As for the supposall of the fathers that Abraham Iacob Samuel and Dauid with the rest of the Patriarks and prophets were in hell it were easie to shew their varieties contrarieties if I tooke pleasure to discouer their weakenesse S. Austen in his 99. Epistle to Euodius and his 12. booke de genesi ad literam cap. 33. exactlie contradicteth the opinion of Tertullian Basil Hierom Ambrose that Abraham the rest of the Patriarks and Prophets were in hell prooueth that Abrahams bosome must not be thought to be any part or member of hell In his 57. Epistle to Dardanus hee saith non faciledixerim I cannot readily pronounce In his 20. booke de ciuitate dei cap. 15. he saith non absurde credividetur antiquos etiam sanctos apud inferos fuisse it seemeth no absurdity to beleeue that the Saints of the olde testament were in hell vntill the bloud of Christ and his descent to those places did deliuer them And thus he either some times spared the credites of those that were before him or else by writing hee so profited that where at first he doubted or yéelded to others at last he resolued the contrarie vpon the dewe examining the wordes of our Sauiour Tertullian likewise in his booke de anima saith Habes de paradiso à nobis libellum quo constituimus omnem anâ—mam apud inferos sequestrari in diem iudicij We haue written a booke touching paradice where wee defende that all soules are kept in hell vntill the day of iudgement And speaking namelie of Abrahams bosome Omnes ergo animae penes inferos inquis velis ac nolis supplicia iam illic refrigeria habes pauperem diuivem Cur enim non putes animam puniri foueri in inferis Are al soules then in hell you wil aske will you nill you you shall finde there punishmentes and refreshments as in Lazarus and the rich man And why shoulde you not thinke that the soule may bee both tormented and comforted in hell and yet in his fourth booke against Marcion hee contradicteth that false position and commeth soundlie to the truth Aliud inferi vt puto aliud quoque sinus Abrahae Nam magnum ait intercedere regiones istas profundum transitum vtrinque prohibere Sed nec alleuasset diues oculos quidem de longinquo nisi in superiora de altitudinis longinquo per immensam illam distantiaÌ„ sublimitatis profunditatis Eam itaque regioneÌ„ sâ—â—m dico Abrahae etsi non coelestem sublimiorem tamen Inferis Hel is one thing as I thinke and Abrahams bosome is another For Abraham sayeth a great depth is betweene these two regions and suffereth none to passe to and fro Neither coulde the rich man haue lift vp his eies but vnto places aboue him and far aboue him by reason of the infinite distance betwixt that heigth and that depth That region then I call Abrahams bosome which though it bee not heauen yet is it higher then hell Ambrose after the same maner sometimes saith that Abraham was apud Inferos in hell sometimes againe that Lazarus in Abrahae sinu recumbens vitam carpebat aeternam Lazarus lying in Abrahams bosome enioied euerlasting life and hard it is that eternall life should be in hell In the one and the same chapter he alloweth the perswasion of the heathen quod animae liberatae de corporibus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 peterent id est locum qui non videtur queÌ„ locum Latinè Infernum dicimus that soules departed from their bodies did go to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
that is to an inuisible place which in latine is called hell and also the assertion of true religion y t the graue was the receptacle of the body only animaruÌ„ auteÌ„ superiora esse habitaculâ— scripturae testimonijs valde probatur But y e mansions of the soules are aboue as may easily be proued by y e testimonies of scripture These are the habitatioÌ„s of which Christ said there are many mansions with his father But I take no delight in rehersing their ouersights it will suffice that with one consent they make Abrahams bosome a receptacle for all the iust and the place of tormente where the rich man was a prison for the wicked calling the one hell and confessing the other to be the fruition of rest and happinesse after this life They that depart this world by death are according to their deeds deserts bestowed saith Origen alij in locuÌ„ qui dicitur Infernus alij in sinuÌ„ Abrahae some to y e place which is called hel others to AbrahaÌ„s bosom Omnes quipatrem habent AbrahaÌ„ virtutuÌ„ eius similes esse meruerunt requiescunt in sinu eius Al that haue AbrahaÌ„ for their father and obtained to be like him in virtues rest in his bosome saith Ierom Iusti in Abrahae sinurequiescere leguntur quod in eius gratia in eius requie in eius placiditate requiescunt qui conformeÌ„ ei fideÌ„ induerunt et â—andem in bonis operibus fecerunt voluntatem The iust saith Ambrose are said to rest in Abrahams bosome because they rest in like fauor in like ease in like contentation which put on like faith to AbrahaÌ„ and followed his exaÌ„ple in wel doing And therfore he speaketh else where to AbrahaÌ„ Expande sinus tuos vt plures suscipias quia plurimiin deuÌ„ crediderunt Open wide thy bosom to receaue mo because many haue beleeued in God Extendit Dauid spes suas ad infinitam perennitatis aetateÌ„ nec concluditur mortis occasu quuÌ„ sciat sibâ— in Abrahae sinibus exemplopauperis Lazariesse viuenduÌ„ Dauid stretcheth out his hope to infinite eternity endeth it not with y e fal of death knowing y t he should liue in AbrahaÌ„s bosome as did that poore Lazarus saith Hilary Neither Dauid onely but all the faithfull were and still are kept in Abrahams bosome as Hilarie thinketh vntill the day of iudgement Exeuntes de corpore ad introitum illuÌ„ regni caelestis per custodiaÌ„ domini fideles omnes reseruabuntur in sinu scilicet interim Abrahae collocati quô adire impios interiectum chaos inhibet quousque introeundi rursum in regnum caelorum tempus adueniat All the faithfull departing this life shall bee reserued in the Lords keeping for that entrance into the kingdom of heauen placed the meane while in Abrahams bosome whither the gulfe betweene will not suffer the wicked to come till the time approch that the godly shal enter into the kingdom of heauen This time of entring into the kingdom of heauen he maketh to be the day of iudgement Excipit impios statim vltor infernus decedentes de corpore si ita vixerunt confestim de via iusta peribunt Testes nobis sunt Euangelij diues et pauper quorum vnum angeli IN SEDIBVS BEATORVM in Abrahae sinu locauerunt alium statim regio paenae suscepit Nihil illic dilationis aut morae est Iudicij enim dies vel beatitudinis retributio est aeternae vel paenae Tempus vero mortis habet interim vnuÌ„quemque suis legibus duÌ„ ad iudiciuÌ„ vnuÌ„quemque aut Abraham reseruat aut paena Hel as a reuenger presently taketh the wicked and thâ—y leauing this body according to their liues do forthwith perish froÌ„ the right way The rich and poore man in the gospel do serue vs for witnesses wherof the one was caried by the Angels INTO THE SEATES OF THE BLESSED placed in Abrahams bosome the other the region of punishment did straightway sease on No delaie or stay may there be looked for The day of iudgment bringeth with it the reward of eternal blisse or paine but the verie time of death in the mean season subiecteth all men to these lawes that either Abraham or hell paines detaineth euerie soule vnto iudgement These Fathers confesse that all the iust as well before Christes resurrection as after were and are still in Abrahams bosom and there shall continue till the daie of iudgement Howe then could either Abrahams bosome be in hell or the Saintes of the olde testament be thence deliuered by Christes descent since they remaine still in Abrahams bosome as these fathers write and so shall do to the end of the world If Abrahams bosome were in hell beeing deliuered from hell they must needes bee deliuered likewise from Abrahams bosome If they be still in Abrahams bosome then were they neuer deliuered thence and that being in hell as some fathers would haue it the iust of both testamentes are still in hell and so none were deliuered thence by Christes descending thither But the calling vp of Samuel by the Witch at Endor prooueth y t Samuel so the rest of the prophets were in hell For she saw him ascending vp out of the earth he saide to Saul To morrow shalt thou and thy sonnes be with me Now that Saul being a reprobate and killing himselfe should bee in Abrahams bosome it was not possible Since then Samuel and Saul after death were both in one place and that place was beneath in the earth it is likelier that Samuel was in hell with Saul till he were deliuered thence then that Saul was in Abrahams bosome with Samuel The raising vp of Samuel after his death by the Witch hath mooued much question in the church of God whether it were Samuel in déede that rose and spâ—ke or whether it were the diuell transforming himselfe in to the likenesse of Samuel to driue Saul into dispaire And albeit the matter may be largelie disputed on either side yet neither opinion will infer that Samuels soule was in hell which is the point we haue in hand That it was not Samuel himselfe which appeared but the Witches familiar spirit in his likenesse these reasons preuaile with mee First neither by Witches nor Diuels coulde the soules of the saints bee commanded or disquieted from their places where they are in rest and peace Secondlie we are assured by the doctrine of our Sauiour that God will sende none from the dead to instruct the liuing yea all such conference is prohibited pronounced abominable by the law of God not that the dead can arise or aduise the liuing but because the diuell vnder that colour should not delude and abuse the people of God Thirdlie that which appeared receiued adoration at Saules hands which the Angel refused at S. Iohns and the soule of Samuel neither might nor would haue accepted Fourthlie Saul
witch could not raise the soule of Samuel is sound and true diuinitie the second that God made a shape of Samuel and thereby answered Saul is not prooued by any scripture though it be so supposed by Theodoret. S. Austen disputing the matter on both sides though he no way yéeld that the witch was able to raise vp soules yet hee saith Non est absurdum credere ex aliqua dispensatione diuinae voluntatis permissum fuisse vt noÌ„ inuitus nec dominante aut subiugante magica potentia sed volens obteÌ„perans occultae dispensationi dei quae pythonissam illam Saulem latebat coÌ„sentiret spiritus Prophetae sancti se ostendi aspectibus regis diuina cum sententia percussurus It is no absurditie to thinke that by some dispensation of the diuine pleasure it was permitted that the soule of the holie Prophet not against his will nor ouerruled or forced by anie magicall power but willing and obeying the secrete will of God which was hidde both from the witch and from Saul should shewe it selfe to the kings sight to the end it might the more astonish him with the iudgement of God And albeit he make this possible yet he inclineth rather to this opinion as the easier and likelier that the whole was but the deceite and woorke of Satan Quanquam in hoc facto potest esse alius FACILIOR intellectus EXPEDITIOR exitus vt non vere spiritum Samuelis excipatum à sua requie credamus sed aliquod phantasma et imaginarâ—am illusionem diaboli machinationibus factam quam propterea scriptura nomine Samuelis appellat quia solent imagines rerum earum nominibus appellari quarum imagines sunt Although in this fact there may bee another more easier vnderstanding and freer from all difficulties if wee beleeue that the soule of Samuel indeede was not raised from his rest but that it was a phantasme and illusion wrought by the craft of Satan which the scripture therefore calleth by the name of Samuel because resemblances are woont to bee called by the names of those things which they resemble The selfe same word for word hee repeateth in his answere to the questions which Dulcitius proposed vnto him and albeit in these places he sway indifferently betwixt both or incline faintly to the one yet in his bookes De doctrina Christiana he calleth it a Sacrilegious representation of Samuels image Non enim quia imago Samuelis mortui Sauliregi vera praenunciarit propterea talia sacrilegia quibus imago illa praesentata est minus execranda sunt Neither because the image of dead Samuel foretold truth to king Saul are such SACRILEGIES BY VVHICH THAT IMAGE VVAS SHEVVED the lesse to be DETESTED But if it were the soule of Samuel that appeared and no illusion of the diuell presenting himself in the habit of Samuel the storie no way conuinceth that Samuel was in hell The witch said I saw gods ascending out of the earth but her sight is no good proofe where the soules of the iust are or whence they come the diuell might easily delude her and make her beléeue hee came out of the earth that came from another place Againe if the bodie of Samuel were taken vp for his soule to appeare in that was raised out of the earth though the soule of Samuel came from Abrahams bosome so hee necessarily must rise out of the earth if his bodie rose withall as we all shall at the generall resurrection And where the image of Samuel saide to Saul To morrow thou and thy sonnes shall be with vs he did not meane their soules shoulde be in the same receptacles after death but as Austen saieth Mortuus mortem viuo praenunciabat He that was dead foreshewed the death of him that liued vt non ad aequalitatem felicitatis sed ad parem conditionem mortis referatur That it should be referred to the like condition of death not to the fruition of the same felicitie For if we so take the words Thou shalt be to morrow with mee veique falsum est it is certainly false saith Austen f Magno quippe interuallo post mortem separari bonos a malis in Euangelio legimus cum dominus inter superbum illum diuitem cum iam apud inferos tormenta pateretur illum qui ad eius ianuam vlcero sus iacebat iam in requie constitutum magnum chaos interiâ—ctum testetur That the good are after death separated froÌ„ the bad by a mightie distance we read in the Gospel where the Lord witnesseth that there is a great gulfe interiected betweene the proude rich man when hee was tormented in hell and the poore Lazare now in rest which lay full of sores at the rich mans gate And so whether we take it to be the soule of Samuel that spake to Saul or a Magicall illusion of Satan transforming himselfe into the shape of Samuel neither way proueth that Samuel was in hell howbeit I rather imbrace the reasons that are extant in the questions of the olde testament vnder the name of S. Austen cited in the Canon law which though they be not Austens are verie ancient Indignum facinus aestimo si secundum verba historiae commodetur assensus Quomodo enim fieri poterat vt arte magica attraheretur vir natiuitate sanctus vitae operibus iustus Aut si non attractus est consensit quod vtrumque de viro iusto credeâ—e absurâ—um est Porro hoc est praestigium Satanae quo vt plurimos fallat etiambonos in potestate se habere consingit Historicus mentem Saul habitum Samuelis descripsit ea quae dicta visa sunt exponens praetermittens si vera an falsa sint Quid enim ait Audiens in quo habâ—tu esset excitatus intellexit hunc esse Samuelem Quid intellexerit retulit quia non bene intellexit contra scripturaÌ„ alium adorauit quam deum putans Samuelem adorauit diabolum vt fructum fallaciae suae haberet Satanas Si enim vere Samuel illi appâ—ruisset non vtique vir iustus permisisset se adorari qui praedicauerat deuÌ„ solum adoranduÌ„ Et quomodo homo dei qui cuÌ„ Abraham in refrigerio erat dicebat ad virum pestilentiae dignum ardore gehennae eras mecum eris His duobus titulis subtilitatem fallaciae suae prodidit improuidus Satan quia adorari se permisit sub habitu nomine Samuelis contra legem virum peccatis pressum cum magna distantia peccatorum iustorum sit cum Samuele iustissimo futurum mentitus est Ad eum enim transmigrauit Saul quem adorauit I take it to be a wicked act if we acknowledge the storie according to the words For how could it be that a man holie in birth and iust in life should bee drawne from the place of his rest by the power of a witch
holy cause as he calleth it from all the corrupt fansies and vaine imaginations of men which God willing I meane now to performe Thou must not looke that I will wast time and paper to settle a giddie head or stoppe a running rounge but when by some particulars I haue made it appeare how vnfit he is to bée refuted or so much as regarded by mée I will leaue him to the depth of his follies For though he point plainlie to my sermons in directing his treatise contrary to certaine errors publikly preached in London and sticketh not to name me yet because he flyeth from the state of the chiefe Question which I impugned and taketh the paines to ouer skip all my authorities with silence if not with contempt and in reporting my reasons forgetteth and dissembleth what pleaseth himselfe as also in the defence of his holie cause he roueth as he listeth neither kéeping himself to any order nor bringing any matter of moment but confusedlie powring out the hastie resolutions of his owne braines spiced euerie where with ignorant absurd positions neither my leasure nor my liking suffer me to seeke him out that hath so farre lost himselfe nor to vouchsafe him an answere that so proudlie despiseth all authoritie and antiquitie which sorteth not with his fansie I will therefore shew thée good Reader some examples of his insolent reiecting the Fathers of his forgetfull or wilfull altering my reasons of his impertinent proouing that which is not questioned and skipping that which should bée prooued of his erroneous and dangerous assertions of his intolerable ignorance in the tongue whereof he so much vaunteth and then leaue thée to God if thou loath not the reading as I did the writing before thou come to the end Where I tooke for my text these words of S. Paule God forbid that I should reioice but in the crosse of our Lord Iesus Christ whereby the world is crucified to me and I to the world This coÌ„futer would beare men in hand that I mistooke my text forced a false conclusion from it This saith hée is not onely an obiection but euen a foundation and principall ground of this errour but so mistaken and forced as nothing may be more My reasoÌ„ hée maketh to be this Christs soule was not crucified but only his bodie therefore Christs bodie onlie suffered and not his soule By this gentle reader it may plainlie be perceiued how well this gainsaier obserued my proofs I drewe no reason from these words but proposing them for my theme tooke occasion from them to laie downe first the contents of Christs crosse how far it extended and then the effects of Christs crosse how much it performed which is the generall methode of the whole treatise In the contents of Christs crosse my words are these Rightly then maie the Crosse note all manner of miseries forsomuch as our Sauiour going from the garden to the graue suffered all sorts of afflictions which I before specifying amongst others named these shame reproch and all sorts of deadlie paines besides heauines of hart and agonie of mind which oppressed him in the garden and this I made no different signification but rather a participation of the crosse of Christ. When I came to Christs sufferings on the Tree as Peter speaketh I vsed these plaine words the rest of his torments which went before not being excluded as superfluous but continued and increased by that â—harp extreme martirdome which he suffered on the Crosse. Did I then make any such conclusion out of these words of Paul as you imagine Sir confuter or did rather your wit memorie so slenderlie serue you that you could not conceiue or carry away the maine methode of my sermons distinctly laid downe at my first entrance into this matter But as you begin with my Theme so you continue with the whole discourse mistaking forgetting peruerting and maiming all that I alledged or concluded Neuerthelesse you take it to bee cleare that this text was mistaken by me for the Apostle here speaketh not of the personall sufferings of Christ but of the godlie which they suffer for Christs truth sake To dimme ties twy light is clearer then Sunne shine and to a man of your vnderstanding falsehood may bee clearer then truth but knowe you Sir H. I. that I mistooke not my text For albeit the CROSSE bee some times taken for the afflictions of the godlie yet THE CROSSE OF CHRIST is no where in the scriptures so taken Again though we be permitted and commanded to reioice in our afflictions yet to make it a thing detestable to reioice in anie thing else as the Apostle here doth by saying God forbid that I should reioice but in the Crosse of Christ hath no ground in diuinitie Himselfe saieth else where Of such a man as was taken vp into Paradise will I reioice of my selfe I will not reioyce except it bee of mine infirmities Our Sauiour saieth to his Disciples Reioice rather because your names are written in heauen But of Christ crucified it is pietie and dutie to saie God forbid that wee should reioice but in the Crosse of Christ. For as to the Corinths the Apostle refuseth all knowledge saue of Christ and him crucified so here hee renounceth all reioycing saue in the Crosse of Christ that is in Christ crucified This to bee the full and plaine meaning of the Apostle in this place is to me as cleare as daie light and I hope will so seeme to thee Christian Reader if thou marke the words of Saint Paul in the 12. verse of this verie Chapter where hee chargeth the false Apostles with vrging Circumcision because they would auoid persecution for the crosse of Christ They constraine you saith hee to be circumcised onely because they would not suffer persecution for the Crosse of Christ protesting the contrarie for himselfe in these wordes but God forbid that I should reioice but in the Crosse of Christ VVHER BY THE VVORLD IS CRVCIFIED TO ME AND â—â— TO THE VVORLD Meaning he doth not onely refuse the fauours but despise the terrors of the worlde for the crosse of Christ. In the first part of this comparison betwixt himselfe and those that flattered the Iewes with teaching circumcision for feare of affliction put your interpretation to y t words of the Apostle and sée how absurdly it matcheth with them They constraine you to bee circumcised onely because they would not suffer persecution for the crosse of Christ that is as you expound it because they would not suffer persecution for the afflictions of the godlie Hath this exposition either sense or reason in it Or else is it euident that the Apostle here meaneth by the crosse of Christ the slander shame of Christs suffering on the Crosse which the Iewes so abhorred that they pursued all that preached or beléeued it Then consequentlie Paules reioycing in nothing but in the crosse of Christ
partes yea the chiefest partes and effectes of Gods wrath against sinne This is far from your meaning as you often protest Trulie I beléeue it charitie leades me to thinke though you be somewhat foolish in this cause that yet you are not so diuelish as to fasten these things on the sonne of God But you must also be so wise as to sée that if your antecedent be general these wil follow whether you mean them or no if your antecedent be not general but indefinite as Christ suffered the wrath of God due to sinne that is some partes and effectes of Gods wrath due to sinne you shall neuer make choise in your conclusion which parts he suffered as namelie the true paines of hel of the damned Now choose which you will either the inualiditie of your argument or the impietie of your antecedent the one will proue you to lack learning that you sée not the difference the other that you want christianity if you should not with mouth disclaim and with hart detest that horrible blasphemie You wil pretend I know your conclusion is not general no more indeed is it your words are therfore Christ suffered for vs the wrath of God but this conclusion beeing indefinite and verie doubtfull will do you no good in the fortifieng of your cause For Christ may suffer the wrath of God in his bodie yea in his soule hee maie suffer it and yet not the paines of the damned or of hell but because you make this the maine foundation of your whole matter let vs looke somewhat better into it You labour to proue by a long processe that Christ suffered the wrath of God for sinne First then what meane you by the wrath of God I hope you doe not meane anie inwarde affection or perturbation in God but as you expoâ—nde your selfe the verie effectes of his iust wrath you shoulde saie of his iustice and power punishing sinne And this warning gentle Reader if thou bee simple I must giue thee for the learned knowe it of themselues that when thou readest in the scriptures or hearest me reason of the wrath of God thou doe not imagine that God is mooued with anie inwarde mutation but the punishment ordained for sinne by the iustice of God or inflicted on vs when we haue sinned by the hand of God whatsoeuer mean it please him to vse is called the wrath God Ambrose saieth well Ira est non ei qui iudicat sed illi qui iudicatur It is no wrath to God that iudgeth but to him that is is iudged Quia culpas percutit irasci dicitur saieth Gregorie God is saide to be angrie because he punisheth our sinnes And so Austen Ira deâ—non perturbatio animi eius est sed iudicium quo irrogatur pana peccato The wrath of God is no affection of mind in him but his iudgment whereby punishment is inflicted for sinne The conclusion is nomine irae intelligitur vindicta iniquitatis by the name of Gods wrath is vnderstoode the punishment of iniquitie It is then euident that by the name of Gods wrath throughout the scriptures is vnderstoode the vengeance or punishment prepared or inflicted for the sinnes of men Nowe what particular punishmentes God hath prouided for sinne as well in this life as the next to chastise and reuenge both the bodies and soules of sinners woulde aske long time to rehearse The greatest and foarest are these iudgementes which are executed on the wicked in the worlde to come to witte reiection from the kingdome of God and condemnation to hell fire where not onelie darkenesse amazeth the eies and remembrance of sinne committed afflicteth the conscience but an intolerable flame of fire tormenteth both soule and bodie for euer These terrible iudgementes of GOD against sinne the Scriptures publish and denounce to men in this life that if the loue of heauen doe not winne them to obedience the feare of hell shoulde hold them from resisting and contemning God The greatest torment that in this life canne befall a sinner is desperation when the soule of man conuinced in her selfe by the number of her hainous ofsences loseth all hope of life to come and casteth her eies wholie on the fearefull tormentes of hell prepared for her the continuall thought and fright whereof doe so amaze and afflict the comfortlesse soule that shee sinking vnder the burden feeleth in her selfe the horrour of hell before shee come to it So that the losse of heauen and feare of hell maie torment wicked and desperate persons in this life but the execution thereof after this life shall breede an other manner of astonishment and torment then they canne yet conceaue If the thought of these iudgementes and punishmentes ordayned by Gods power and iustice for sinners so afflict men what shall the sight doe If the feare of hell bee so intolerable what shall the flame bee when therefore you saie Sir Refuter Christ suffered for vs the wrath of God wee must not content our selues with that generall worde you must tell vs in particular what partes and effectes of GODS wrath Christ endured before you canne auouch that which hee suffered to bee equall to hell and all the tormentes thereof Did hee suffer hell fire either in soule or in bodie the damned shall suffer it in both Did hee finde or feare himselfe to be excluded from the kingdome of God the damned doe see themselues shut out for euer If hee neither felt nor feared the MYST the VVORME the FIRE of hell nor so much as DOVBTED the LOSSE of Gods kingdome what tormentes equall to hell canne you name vs The wrath of God you will saie is equall to hell and all the torments thereof The wrath of God is hell and so are all the tormentes of hell yea they are the sharpest effectes of Gods wrath against sinne And therefore neuer plaie with generalities and ambiguities but expresse plainly what other effectes of Gods wrath you meane For since the losse of heauen the darkenesse worme and fire of hell and the feare of both bee the greatest and sorest iudgementes of God against sinne that are decreed by his iustice reuealed by his word and executed by his power in this life or the nexte wee plainelie and truelie saie you can name vs none other effectes of Gods wrath equall to these If then it be haynous impietie to saie Christ suffered these and none other are equall to these take backe your lauishing vntruth that Christ suffered the effects of Gods wrath equal to hel and all the tormentes thereof for my part I see neither sense nor reason in it But it shalbe soundlie and euidently prooued Will you prooue you know not what Tell first what effects of gods wrath you meane and then on with your proofes Your meaning may be such as you shall neuer prooue It may be such as we wil easely graunt For touching your words which you take for the castel of your cause Christ
suffered for vs the wrath of God know you good Syr Christ suffered nothing at his Passion either in bodie or soule were it little or great but it was an effect of Gods wrath punishing Sinne or as you delighte to speake it was the wrath of God Well if you bée so loath to expresse your mind for feare you bewraâ—e your cause let vs heare your proofes Thus wee saie and constantlie auow Christ Iesus did suffer in his whole manhood for the Redemption and satisfaction of our Sinnes yea he suffered properlie and immediatlie in his soule and not in his flesh onlie As you haue begonne so you will goe on talking is your profession you did your selfe wrong when you came to writing This Antecedent as you vtter it your meaning is secret to your selfe doth neither good nor hurt to the Question That christ suffered in his whole manhood for the Redemption of our Sinnes is a thing by mee neuer doubted nor denied the doubt is what he suffered in his whole manhood and what in ech part of his manhood for that he suffered all that he suffered in his whole manhood your selfe doe disclaime in the next page when you saie This greeuous Passion was in his soule properlie and immediatlie seeing then his bodie was not touched with anie smart And when I gaue sixe causes that might bee of Christs agonie in y e garden did I so much as pretend that anie of them then touched his bodie when he was affected with this passion of mind And except this be your meaning that Christ suffered some things for our Redemption in his whole manhood and some things properlie and immediatlie in his Soule your Antecedent hath a flatte contradiction in it selfe For if he suffered all that he suffered in his whole manhood how could hée suffer anie thing properlie and immediatelie in his soule which is the second part of your owne Antecedent And if that bee the drift of your generall reason about which you spende 32. leaues you maie sit downe and begin againe a newe pamphlet that shall haue some more certaintie then this hath For heere you roue neither expressing nor indéede knowing what you woulde haue onlie you hide your selfe in this generall phrase that Christ suffered the wrath of God for sinne but vnlesse you specifie what he suffered I do not meane to brabble with you or with anie other about generall and vncertaine speaches What hee suffered more then the scriptures expresse for I faithfullie beléeue all that is there written I doe not easilie admit you or anie other such presumer to deliuer vpon your credits when you declare what you meane and prooue that you saie you shall soone haue an answere Christ you saie assumed not our nature nor any part of it but ONLY to suffer in it properly and immediately euen for the very purchasing of our redemption thereby Otherwise he had no neede to assume both but either the one part or the other See what it is good Reader for a man to loose himselfe in the wildernesse of his owne wit To proue that Christ suffered both in bodie and soule which is a thing by no man denied for the question is what he suffered and not whether soule and bodie were ioined in Christes sufferings this Refuter leapeth ouer head and eares into absurdities not onely against diuinitie but euen against nature and the verie law of our first creation That the sonne of God had no END nor PVRPOSE in taking our nature vnto his in the vnitie of person but ONLY to suffer for our sinnes is a bolde and lewd ouersight his ende and purpose in taking our nature was not onlie to suffer for vs but to doe all that for vs which in his life time and after his death by his resurrection ascension and mediation he did doth and will do for vs. By his owne mouth he reuealed to vs his fathers will from heauen by his example of life he taught vs all perfection of holinesse by his rising he swallowed vp our death by his intercession wee receaue all the giftes and graces of God which wee haue or shall haue by his sitting in heauen with our flesh he giueth vs assurance that our mortall bodies shall bee changed like to his glorious bodie yea the verie vnion of our nature to his is an effectuall meane to make vs one with him as he is one with God Had Christ not béene man we could haue had no interest in the fulnes of his obedience in the riches of his graces in the Communion of his spirit in the fellowship of his glorie which are the helpes supportes and meanes of our saluation as well as his suffering for vs and man hee coulde not bee without a soule and a bodie neither part ioyned with his diuine nature was sufficient to make him a man By the lawe of our first creation we are men consisting of bodies and soules and therefore Christ as our heade must haue both NOT ONELIE TO SVFFER FOR SINNE but also to quicken sanctifie and glorifie both our soules and bodyes that hee may perfite our saluation and bring vs to GOD without reiecting or excluding either parte of our nature Yea so aduised you are Sir Refuter in your reasons that by your owne assertion you conclude Christes flesh to bee needelesse for our Redemption for thus you saie This suffering of the soule by her bodie which is naturall and by sympathie onelie PROPERLIE DID NOT MAKE TO OVR REDEMPTION What is suffering good Sir in your learning The receauing of the blowes or the feeling of the paine If you beate or cut a deade carkas that hath neither life nor sense will you saie it suffereth I thinke not There must then bee life and sense in the bodie before it canne suffer or feele anie paine Nowe life and sense pertaine they to the bodie or else to the soule If you knewe not before as by the vnlearned discourse it seemeth you did not Saint Austen shall teach you except you will skorne him in this point as you do in others Si diligentius consideremus dolor qui dicitur corporis magis ad animaÌ„ pertinet Animae enim est dolère non corporis etiam quando ei dolendi causa existit a corpore cum in eo loco dolet vbi laeditur corpus Sicut ergo dicimus corpora sentientia corpora viuentia cum ab anima fit corporis sensus vita itâ— et corpora dicimus dolentia cum dolor corporis nisi ab anima esse non possit If wee well consider the paine which is called bodilie paine belongeth rather to the soule The soule feeleth the paine not the bodie euen when the cause of paine commeth from the bodie and the soule greeueth in the place where the bodie is hurte As then wee saie bodies are liuing and feeling when the life and sense of the bodie is by the soule so saie wee bodies full of paine when the paine
and dolent and the bodie by Gods iustice must be the instrument of her paine And here marke I praie thée Christian Reader whether this one argument doe not vtterlie ouerthrow all that this idle discourser hath doone and would doe in this whole pamphlet For nothing is more proportionable to Gods iustice then to ioine them in paine that were ioyned in sinne and to retaine the same order in punishing which they kept in offending But all prouocations and pleasures of sinnes the soule â—aketh from her bodie all acts of sinne she committeth by her bodâ—e therefore the iustice of God both temporallie and eternallie punisheth the soule by the bodie that as it hath beene the Instrument of her pleasure so it shall bee of her paine And if GOD obserue this course as well in his temporall as eternall vengeance on the sinnes of men whie then shoulde not the sufferinges of Christes soule by his bodie bee truelie and properlie a satisfaction for sinne which this great Doctor a little before said made not properlie to our Redemption For thy better instruction gentle Reader and my discharge that the soule taketh her occasions to sinne vseth her delightes in sinne and perfourmeth her attemptes of sinne with and by the bodie giue mee leaue in this point to bee somewhat the longer Caro est officina spiritus qui in ea et per eam quaecunque affectauerit peragit consummat The flesh saith Cyprian is the forge of the soule which in that and by that acteth and performeth whatsoeuer it affecteth Per quinque sensus quasi per quasdam fenestras vitiorum ad animam est introitus By the fiue senses of the bodie saieth Ierome as it were by certaine windowes vices or sinnes haue their entrance into the soule Nusquam animasine carne est quamdiuest in carne NIHIL NON CVM ILLA AGIT sine qua non est siquidem in carne cum carne per carnem agitur ab anima quod agitur in corde The soule saieth Tertullian is no where without the flesh as long as it is in the flesh SHEE DOTH NOTHING VVITHOVT THAT without which shee is not Euen that which is done in the heart the soule doth in her flesh with her flesh and by her flesh Yea hee presseth it farther and saieth A deó non sola anima transigit vitam vt nec cogitatus licet solos licet non ad effectum per carnem deductos auferamus a collegio carnis Et sine opere et sine effectu cogitatus carnis est actus Negent factorum societatem cui negare non possunt cogitatorum Et si anima est quae agit impellit in omnia carnis obsequium est So farre it is that the soule alone doth perfourme this life that the VERIE THOVGHTS IN THEM SELVES neuer brought to effect we take not froÌ„ the fellowship of the flesh Yea the very thought VVITHOVT ACT VVITHOVT EFFECT IS A DEEDE of the flesh Let them now denie that to be the soules companion in works which they cannot denie to bee her companion in thoughts For though it be the soule that mooueth and leadeth to all things yet the flesh addeth her seruice And least it should seeme strange that he affirmeth he pointeth to the words of our Sauiour out of the hart come euill thoughts How trew this is that Tertullian here voucheth thou shalt soone perceiue gentle Reader if thou behould men in SLEEPE in FRENSIES in LETHARGIES in APOPLEXIES where the substance of the soule is no waie touched or decaied but onelie the Instruments of her bodie which she vseth in perceiuing remembring vnderstanding anie thing are distempered or obstructed The experience hereof is so easie and euident euen to the simplest among men that I shall néede to spend no more words to the learned Tertullians conclusion is this deum non licet aut iniustum iudiceÌ„ credi aut inertem iniustuÌ„ si sociam bonorum operum a praemiis arceat inertem si sociaÌ„ maloruÌ„ a suppliciis secernat Non sit particeps in sententia caro si non fuerit in causa Non possunt ergo separari in mercede quas opera coniung it We maie not thinke God to bee an iniurious or a negligent Iudge iniurious if he exclude the soules companion in good works from the soules reward negligent if he excuse the soules partner in euill from the soules punishments Let the flesh haue no part in the sentence if it had no part in the cause They cannot be seuered in wages that were ioyned in worke If Tertullians assumption be true that in this life the soule can neither work speake perceiue desire nor think good or euill without the Instruments of her bodie excepting alwaies Gods power to inspire what pleaseth him for hee that framed the soule can alter and chaunge it at his liking by the immediate working of his spirit if Tertullians conclusion be true that God the righteous iudge of the world in his euerlasting reward of obedience likewise in his eternall vengeance for sinne will ioine and couple both bodie and soule togither then apparentlie NO SVFFERINGS ARE SO FIT in THE PERSON OF THE REDEEMER FOR THE SATISFACTION of sinne as those VVHICH ARE COMMON TO DOTH PARTS OF MAN namely which the soule suffereth from her bodie by her bodie which ouerthroweth all the Confuters vnsalted and vnsettled discourse of the soules proper and immediate suffering in the person of Christ Iesus Doe I then denie that the soule hath anie sufferings in this life and the next which come not by the bodie By no meanes For though those conioined sufferings be most answerable to sinnes committed yet the soule hath some proper punishments in this life as sorrow and feare when the bodie hath no hurt from which Christ was not frée as appeereth by his Agonie and so in the next the soules of the wicked haue griefe and remorse besides the paine of fier The remembrance of sinne shall not a little torment the wicked but perpetuallie afflict and gnaw their consciences as a worme that neuer dieth The losse of Gods fauour and kingdome shall not a little greeue them when they sée others receiued into that eternall ioye and blisse and themselues excluded Gehenna grauius est a dei beneuolentia excidere to fall from Gods fauour saith Chrysostome is more grieuous then hell it selfe and againe Ego illius gloriae amissionem multo amarius quam ipsius gehennae supplicium esse dico Intoler abilis quidem res est gehenna quis nesciat supplicium illud horribile tamen si mille quis ponat gehennas nihil tale dicturus est quale est a beatae illius gloriae honore repelli The losse of that euerlasting glorie I saie is farre bitterer then the torments of hell it selfe Hell is an intolerable thing and an horrible punishment who knoweth it not Yet if a man would put a thousand hels
suffered it was ours not his owne that is for our sakes and for our Sinnes This the Prophet in the words following confirmeth He was wounded for our transgressions He was bruized for our iniquities The next is he sustained our sorrowes that is such weaknes faintnes wearines as are incident to our nature and that the Prophet confesseth in the words before He is a man full of sorrowes and hath experience of infirmities euen of such as naturallie offend afflict vs. But when the scripture faileth you you flie to similitudes of your owne making and where Paule saith Christ gaue himselfe a ransome for all you saie the Scripture speaking heere after the common vse and custome of redeeming captiues taken in warre doth meane that Christ paid for vs THE SAME PRICE which else wee should haue paid First whoe told you that the Scripture speaketh here after the common vse of Enimies since in our Saluation the sonne of God interposed himselfe as a mediator with his father to answere what the iustice of God would require at the hands of his sonne for the pardoning of a seruant that had offended You and your friends cannot abide to heare that the enimie who had vs in captiuitie should haue any price for our deliuerance you condemne that as a Manicheisme and doe you nowe for an aduantage vrge that the enemie must haue a price for his captiue Secondlie the price that wee shoulde haue paide was eternall condemnation of bodie and soule into hell fire If Christ paide the same looke wel least with séeking helpe from an enemie you light not on open blasphemie Lastlie to ioyne with you in your owne similitude is it not the common vse in warres to redeeme captiuitie with monie The Captiue himselfe is tyed to perpetuall imprisonment or seruitude hee that will ransome a prisoner is not bounde to bee a Prisoner himselfe but to yéelde such recompence in money or otherwise as the conquerour shall demaunde So that euen by your owne comparison it is euident the sonne of GOD in redeeming vs was not tied to our captiuitie but might yeelde his Father a greater recompence for our absolution then our condemnation woulde haue amounted vnto Your seconde speciall follie Sir Confuter is grounded vpon the wordes of Saint Paule Christ redeemed vs from the curse of the Lawe beeing made a curse for vs. Whence you reason It is vaine and senselesse to thinke that the Apostle speaketh here of two seueral kindes of curses And if Christ sustained anie curse for vs what curse could it be not the curse of the lawe or what was it not the curse of God If you aske to learne you may bee soone taught If you aske to brag you maie be soone cooled The curse of God vpon the sinne of man proceedeth from the wrath of God against the sinne of man howbeit God curseth not onelie sinners but other his creatures with whom he is not angrie but only because they shoulde not serue the pride and lustes of the wicked When Adam transgressed God cursed the earth for his sinne in saying Cursed is the earth for thy sake thornes and thistles shall it bring thee For not onelie the soules and bodies of the wicked are cursed and consumed with plagues resting in them and on them but all that they take in hand and all that belongth to them is accursed like wise If thou wilt not saieth Moses obey the voice of the Lorde thy God to doe all his commaundementes then all these curses shall come vpon thee and ouertake thee Cursed shall thy basket bee and thy store Cursed shall bee the fruite of thy bodie and the fruite of thy lande the increase of thy kine and the flockes of thy sheepe The Lorde will sende vpon thee cursing in all that which thou settest thine hande to doe vntill thou bee destroyed and perish because of the wickednesse of thy workes The rest of GODS curses there numbred vnto the ende of that Chapter and laide vpon bodie and soule wife and children goods and landes life and death of such as transgresse peruse gentle Reader at thy leâ—â—ure and thou shalt easilie see how farre the curse of GOD in this life pursueth sinners besides the horrible tormentes of the nexte life kept in store for them So that as I did in the wrath of God I must in the curse of God aske you Sir Confuter whether you meane that Christ suffered for vs the whole curse of the lawe or parte thereof if you aunswere the whole looke in that place which I now cited how manie kinds of curses there be reckned which neuer touched our Sauiour besides the graunde curse which closeth vp all and continueth for euer Depart from me ye CVRSED into euerlasting fire If you saie a parte then proue you nothing with your hot and sharpe spurres as you thinke when you saie what curse could it be not the curse of the law or what else not the curse of God Christ suffered a parte of that curse which God by his owne mouth laid on Adam and all his posteritie for sinne By one man sinne entred into the worlde saieth Paul and by sinne death hee also suffered other partes of the curse which GOD by his lawe threatned vnto sinners to wit shame and TROVBLE VVRONG and VIOLENCE CAPTIVITY and MISERY THIRST and NAKEDNES GRIEFE and PAYNE of bodie and minde Besides the verie kinde of death to which he submitted himselfe was accursed by speciall words in the law accursed is euery one that hangeth on the Tree Now to verifie the words of S. Paul that Christ redeemed vs from the curse of the law due to our sinnes being made a curse for vs it sufficeth that the sonne of God being equall with his Father in glorie and maiestie vouchsafed to vndergoe not all the partes of our curse but some partes thereof Gods euerlasting curse which is most due to sinne I hope you will free him from Gods spirituall curse by which he depriueth the wicked of his trueth of his grace and other giftes of his spirite you must likewise cleare the sonne of GOD from Hee cannot be subiected to that parte of Gods curse without apparant impietie Take from him trueth you make him a lyar take from him grace you charge him with a reprobate minde take from him the Spirit of GOD you giue place to Satan to worke in him as in the children of vnbeliefe I trust Sir Refuter you bee neither so wicked as to thinke neither so desperate as to defend that the sonne of God might suffer any of these curses Then haue you boldelie but falsely and lewdly concluded out of S. Paul that he putteth a part of the iust curse of the lawe thereby meaning the whole Are you so well acquainted with Saint Paules minde that of your owne heade to vphold your humorous fansie you will vrge his meaning without his wordes to support a manifest falsitie
Saint Austens assertion which I cited before standeth good that because the death of the bodie was a part of the curse inflicted vpon Adams sinne Christ vndertaking that part of the curse for vs that is dying in his bodie loosed vs from the whole curse of the lawe Against Chrysostomes iudgement that not onelie death but the very kind of death which Christ died was accursed by the very words of the lawe saying accursed is hee that hangeth on a tree you replie Not euery one that is hanged is cursed for manie innocents and martyrs are hanged who are most blessed but euerie one that is iustlie hanged is accursed and so was Christ here condenmed by the iust sentence of the lawe to paie his debts for whome hee had willinglie and aduisedlie vndertaken And so indeede he bare the true curse of the lawe Chrysostoms iudgement is as I reported it Crux signum erat mortis maledictae mortis omnium diffamatissimae Hoc enim soluÌ„ mortis genus maledictioni erat obnoxium The crosse was a signe of a cursed death of a death most infamous This onelie kinde of death was subiected to the curse And againe Non quaeuis mors isti similis est ista namque omnium videbatur esse probrosissima ista plena dedecore ista maledicta Propterea Iudaei satagebant eum ista morte interimere vt sinemo abstineret ab eo quod esset occisus abstineret tamen vel ideo quod hoc pacto esset occisus Not euerie death was like to this This seemed most reprochfull most shamefull and accursed Therefore the Iewes laboured to put him to this kind of death that if no man would refuse him because he was killed at least yet they should forsake him for that he died this vild kinde of death The kinde of death which christ submitted himself vnto was a shameful a cursed kind of death as for the cause of christs death Chrysostom was far from thinking Christ was iustlie hanged he saith Christ thus honoured his father Non coactus nec inuitus sed hoc ex suae ipsius virtute not coÌ„strained nor vnwilling but of his own virtue or humilitie And the Apostle warranteth Chrysostoms speech for he saith Christ humbled himselfe and was obedient to the death euen to the death of the crosse But what warranteth your spéech that Christ was hanged on the tree by the iust sentence of the lawe I had thought he had suffered the iust for the vniust and hauing no sinne had beene willinglie and by no sentence of the law hanged on a tree Is it wrong you aske for the law to lay the penaltie on the suretie when the debtor cannot discharge it But if it be meere and true iustice and no wrong then was Christ by the iust sentence of the lawe hanged on the tree and so he bare indeed the true curse of the law For though God alwayes loued and imbraced Christ in regard of his owne innocent person yet in another regard of our person which he sustained we may say God HATED him God CVRSED him Yea he tooke our person on him and so became by our sins SINFVLL DEFILED HATEFVL ACCVRSED Is this the holines of your cause you haue in hand Sir refuter with a simple similitude against the scriptures against the faith against the fathers against the consciences of gods people openly to pronounce the eternall and euerlasting sonne of God SINFVL DEFILED HATEFVL accursed of his father for that he took vpon him the punishment of our sinnes Your similitude had néed be sound that shall beare the waight of these wordes if you faile can you tell howe déeply you come within the iust sentence of gods law for opening your irreligious mouth against God and his sonne but thereof anon In the meane while because with scorning Chrysostom you make way to your vnholy coÌ„ceit that Christ being truly accursed in soule for the guilt of mans sinne was iustlie hanged by the sentence of the lawe and say it is VAINE and SENCELESSE to thinke the Apostle speaketh there of two kinds of curses as Chrysostom affirmeth but rather that hanging on a tree is set downe as a part for the whole execution of Gods iust curse and argueth the whole to be on Christ let vs see whether you or Chrysostom hee deceiued As many as are of the workes of Gods lawe are vnder the curse saith Paul for it is written Cursed is euery man that continueth not in all things which are written in the booke of the lawe to do them We shall agree I hope that this is Gods curse both temporall and eternall laid on the bodies and soules of sinners for transgressing anie part of Gods commandementes proposed in his lawe and to this all that haue sinned are subiected because it is the GENERALL curse EXECVTED by God himself vpon ALL sinne committed either in deede word or thought From this curse saith Paul Christ hath redeemed vs beeing made a curse for vs as it is written Cursed is euerie one that hangeth on a tree If this be all one with the other then euerie man that transgressed Gods law in thought word or deede was by the sentence of the lawe to bee hanged on a fâ—ée Shewe that sentence in the lawe and Chrysostom shall yeelde vnto you if you caÌ„not then haÌ„ging on a trée is no necessarie part of the generall curse of God vpon all sinners and consequentlie being no part of it it is not all one with it neither can it argue the whole to haue béen in Christ. How standeth the Apostles reason then that Christ was made a curse where in sinne there are two thinges the committing of it and the reuenging of it by God or man in this life or the next and magistrates had vnder Moses as they haue vnder Christ power giuen them from aboue as Gods ministers to take vengeance in this life on him that doth euill the Apostle knowing that Christ though he committed no sinne was yet content to beare the punishment due to sinne in his bodie on the trée and by his smart to abolish our fault citeth a place out of Moses where the Iudiciall and corporall punishment of a man by death is not onelie called a curse but counted a satisfaction for sinne which being suffered the law had ended his forme vpon the sufferer And so concludeth that Christ receauing a Iudiciall and corporall punishment of death for our sinne not onlie therein suffered the curse but satisfied the force of the law by that curse of his suffering redéemed vs from the curse of our transgressing The place cited out of Moses is this if a man haue committed an offence worthy of death and is by the lawe to die and thou hang him on a tree his body shall not remaine all night on the tree but thou shalt bury him the same day for the curse of God is alreadie
quia sacrificium pro peccato The sacrifice for sinne is in the law called sinne The lawe still so vseth the word not once nor twice but verie often Such a sinne was Christ he had no sinne and yet he was sinne He was sinne because he was the sacrifice for sinne So Ambrose Because Christ was offered for sinne worthilie is he said to be made sinne because in the lawe the sacrifice that is offered for sinne is called sinne This waie if you conster S. Paules words they conclude directlie against your irreligious supposition For if Christ when hee tooke vs into his bodie did clense our sinnes by the offering of himselfe hee became not defiled by our sinnes Hee did not clense vs that was defiled by vs. Howsoeuer you take those wordes Such an high priest it became vs to haue saieth the Apostle as was holy harmlesse VNDEFILED SEPARATE from sinners If the Priest were defiled the sacrifice could not be accepted If Christ were separate from sinners then was hee not polluted by sinners He tooke our sinnes vnto him not to drawe anie pollution from them but to make y e purgation of them He that coulde clense vs from our sinnes howe much more coulde hee kéepe himselfe from beeing defiled with our sinnes If we follow the other sense of S. Pauls wordes that Christ was made sinne for vs that is the punishment of our sinne wee must take héede that wee bring him not within the guiltinesse of our sinnes as we doe within the punishment of our sinnes Suscepit Christus sine reaâ—u supplicium nostrum vt inde solueret reatum nostrum siuiret etiam supplicium nostrum Christ vndertooke saith Austen our punishment without our guilt that so hee might remit our guilt and ende our paine Christ saieth Cyprian endured by Moses and his owne Apostle to bee called a curse and sinne pro similitudine poenae non culpae for the likenesse of the paine not of the fault Dilexit nos Christus dulciter sapienter fortiter Dulce nempe dixerim quod carnem induit cautum quod culpam cauit forte quod mortem sustinuit Christ saith Bernard loued vs sweetelie wiselie stronglie Sweetelie in that he tooke our flesh wiselie in that hee shunned our guiltinesse strongâ—ie in that he suffered death for vs. If Christ tooke the paine but not the guilt of our sinnes howe came hee to bee defiled by our sinnes It must needes be either in ioining and vniting himselfe vnto vs or in answering and suffering for vs. Our vnion with Christ doth sanctifie vs it defileth not him We are as neere ioyned to Christ nowe raigning in heauen as wee were to Christ suffering on the Crosse. As wee died with him then in the bodie of his flesh so wee sitte togither with him in heauenlie thinges But our vnion and communion nowe though wee bee sinfull and mortall doth no waie defile him no more did it then when hee suffered for vs. If you saie our sinnes were imputed vnto him when he was crucified for them that increaseth the perfection of his loue it argueth not anie pollution of his soule To die for wicked men did not touche him with anie taint of our sinnes but GOD saieth the Apostle setteth out his loue towardes vs in this that whiles wee were yet sinners Christ died for vs. The iust therefore did die for the vniust and was no partner of our iniustice hee that saued vs from our sinnes did not defile himselfe with them And where all this is grounded vppon a simple similitude that a suertie by vndertaking for a debtour maketh the debt his owne though hee neuer borrowed the money it is easilie and trulie aunswered that Christ did not vndertake wee shoulde not sinne nor that wee should paie the debt which wee did owe but when wee had sinned and were able no waie to aunswere the iustice of GOD but by our euerlasting destruction of bodie and soule it pleased the sonne of God to interpose himselfe and no waie bound to vs or for vs to intreate his father f that in his owne person hee might make recompence for our sinnes and so as a Mediatour allowed of God hee tooke our nature and freelie not indebted willinglie not constrained Hee gaue himselfe for vs a sacrifice of a sweete sauour vnto God As if the whole people of anie lande rebelling against their King and beeing subdued and readie to be destroied the Kinges sonne loath to see his fathers kingdome dispeopled and so manie wretched men women and children put to fire and sworde shoulde importune his father at his request to bee gratious vnto them and to laie on him though hee bee his onelie sonne what chasticement the father in his wisedome and iustice shall thinke fitte for the repressing of the like outrage hereafter maie anie of those subiectes without extreame ingratitude and intolerable contumelie reproch the Kings sonne when hee suffereth for their sakes that hee is guiltie of their treason and both DEFILED with it and HATEFVLL for it I will not applie because it will presse you too farre but as mine owne perswasion is that no such sinfull and hatefull wordes haue or should be vsed in the Church of God to the dishonour of his sonne so my counsell to the sober and wise reader is to stop his eares and shut his eies against such defiled and accursed speeches You proceede to another proofe and where the Apostle saith Christ spoiled Principalities powers and made a shew of them openlie triumphing ouer them vpon these words you inferre These principalities are the diuels therefore it is certaine Christ FELT THEM to bee the verie instruments that VVROVGHT THE VERIE EFFECTS of Gods wrath VPON HIM This is the first place where you specifie anie effect of Gods wrath against Christs soule for you will haue the soule of Christ properlie and immediatelie to suffer the effectes of Gods wrath and that you prooue learnedlie and wiselie like your selfe The diuels haue nothing to do with the soules of men but either to tempt them to worke in them or to torment them To tempt is to trie how fast y e saints stand in the feare and loue of God And for that cause the wisdome of god hath from the beginning suffered all his saints his owne sonne not excepted to be tempted of satan For Christ coulde not be tempted by the corruption of his heart as we are but by Satans voice or by Satans members Of vs Iames saith Euerie man is tempted when he is entised and drawne away by his owne concupiscence Concupiscence there was none in Christ. He had no law in his flesh rebelling against the lawe of his minde as wee haue It is in vs the rage of originall sinne from which he was frée and therefore he coulde not bee tempted but by the eare as he was in y e desart by satan himself by Satans members al the time of his abode on earth In the
of Gods fiery wrath equall to hell And where Cain saide The horror of my sinne is heauier then I can beare you doubt not but Christ as touching the vehemencie of the paine was as sharpelie touched euen as the Reprobates themselues yea if it may be more extraordinarilie You that are so well acquainted with the horrors of the Reprobate for their sinnes that you dare attribute them to Christ can you tell what they are is it speculation that you speake of or experience that you dare thus subiect the sonne of God to the same terrors and horrors of conscience which namelie Cain as you saie and other reprobates haue felt I praie you Sir in so waightie matters as maie amounte to heresie and open blasphemy plaie not with generall termes so as neither you vnderstande your selfe nor anie man else can conceiue your meaning The terrors of â—he wicked in this life wee can coniecture you canne perhaps liuelie describe them but for ought that wee learne by the scriptures they are such as without horrible impietie you cannot ascribe vnto the Sauiour of the worlde Remorse of sinne committed vexing and gnawing the conscience is the first of their paines which suffereth them night nor daie to take anie test Secondlie the feare that God whome they haue despised hath likewise reiected them and is become their enemie and therefore from him they looke for nothing but the iust vengeance of their sinnes both in this life and the nexte so pursueth them that they tremble and slie when no man followeth them Thirdlie the griefe to forsee themselues excluded from the fellowship of that ioie and blisse which is prouided for the saintes of GOD which Chrysostom saieth is far more bitter then the paine of hel doth make them sinke for sorrowe Lastlie the continuall terrour of that dreadfull iudgement which shall be pronounced of that horrible confusion which then shall ouerwhelme them and of those eternall and intollerable flames of fire in which they shall burne the verie terrour I saie and horrour thereof doeth so afflict and torment them as if they presentlie felt it More wordes may bee vsed and perhaps more vehement to amplifie their paine but these are the partes and causes of that feare and horrour which pursueth the wicked for their haynous offences Can anie of these Sir Refuter bee applied to Christ Dare you but offer so much as the mention of the least of them to bee founde in the sonne of GOD I thinke you bare not I hope you will not What meaneth then this matching of Christ with Cain yea this touching of Christ deeper then anie of the Reprobate In horrour and paine you saie Christ was like them who be separated in deede from the grace and loue of God yet himselfe neuer separated but alwaies most intirely beloued The horrour and paine which the Reprobate heere feele riseth from the remorse of their owne conscience and from the distrust and feare of their owne hearts which pursueth them euen in this life before iudgement The execution of his terrible vengeance indéede God hath reserued to the next life The greatest terror that the Apostle noteth in the wicked here in this world is a feareful expectation of iudgment and of burning fire which shall deuour tâ—e aduersaries What horror then like the reprobate coulde the conscience of Christ féele that had no remorse distrust or feare of anie such thing as they haue but was assured and secured of Gods euerlasting fauour and loue in the highest degree was there paine without horrour and feare in the soule of Christ if you meane the paine that is consequent to our naturall affections as to sorrowe and feare you saie nothing to the purpose Saint Iohn saith timor habet poenam Feare hath in it paine and so hath sorrowe euen as hope hath ioye Reioice in hope but this is not the paine which the Reprobate feele much lesse which the damned suffer I trust their paine is more then a naturall oppressing and afflicting of the heart with humane feare and sorrowe And therefore if I conceaue anie thing you misse the truth verie much Sir Confuter when you saie that Christ was touched in horrour and paine as déepelie as the Reprobates are and yet your conceite reacheth farther For you defende that he suffered as much as the damned in hell which is more then the reprobates doe in earth howsoeuer to shewe your learning you make hell and heauen heere on earth For my selfe Christian Reader whence I thinke the astonishment of Christ in the garden might rise thou hast it in the treatise before I shall not néed to repeat it againe In like maner you extend Christes agonie too farre for where it was an agonie of minde which did not bereaue him neither of sense memorie nor vnderstanding you haue brought vs a fardell of phrases to expresse that all the senses of his bodie and al the powers of his soule were amazed astonished distempered disturbed distracted forgetfull ouerwhelmed and all confounded and you thinke you neuer haue words enough to expresse your follie in dreaming of the greatest astonishment that maie be because the scripture saieth he began to beastonished But Sir how proue you this you saie as in feares and sorrowes there bee diâ—ers degrées so are there likewise in astonishmeÌ„ts To be astonished is to ioine feare with admiration which draweth the minde so wholie to think on some speciall thing aboue our reach that during the time we turne not our selues to anie other cogitation Euen as the eie if it be bent intentiuelie to behold anie thing for that present it discerneth nothing else So fareth it with y e soule if she wholie addict her selfe to thinke on anie matter she is amused if it bee more then she conceaueth or more fearefull then she well indureth she is amazed or astonished but not of necessitie so that she looseth either sense or memorie onelie for that time she conuerteth neither to anie other obiect The present beholding of the diuine maiestie sitting in iudgement and of his iustice armed with infinite power to reuenge the sinnes of men might iustlie astonish the humane soule of Christ seeing the rewithal how mightilie God was prouoked by the manifold and wilfull transgressions of men but this religious astonishment though it might for a season suspend all other thoughtes in our Sauiour yet is there no neede it shoulde depriue him of vnderstanding sense or memorie When Paul saieth worke your saluation with feare and trembling doth hee meane they should want memorie or vnderstanding When Moses receaued the law from God so terrible was the sight that hee saide I tremble and quake Was Moses 〈◊〉 voide of sense or reason at that present An horrible terror saith Dauid hath taken mee for the vngodlie that forsake thy lawe Was Dauid for their sakes besides himselfe and all confounded in bodie and soule as you speake here of Christ Our whole conuersation
an other time and place and his wordes import a deliberation of two partes proposed by our Sauiour with his resolution in the ende what shall I saie Father deliuer me from this hower that is shall I saie deliuer me from this hower but therefore came I into this hower Father glorifie thy name Chrysostom thus expoundeth Christes wordes NON DICO libera me ex hac hora sed pater glorifica nomen tuum I SAIE NOT deliuer me from this hower but father glorifie thy name And so doth Epiphanius Quid dicam pater serua me ex hac hora hoc inquit dicam at propterea veni in hanc horam What shall I saie Father saue mee from this hower shall I saie so but therefore came I into this hower But what better expositor canne wee haue then Saint Paul who plainely saith that Christ in making this praier was heard deliuered from that he feared Hee praied not against the knowne will of God whose praiers God heard and performed And where you flie to this hellish confusion to saue Christ from sinne by pretending to cléere him from sinne you charge him rather with sinne For the praier which is not made in faith is sinne Nowe can the heart be assured it shall receaue that it asketh at Gods hands if it bee neither directed to aske according to the will of God nor prepared to aske with that deuotion which is fit for God So that when you make Christ to triple his praiers with vehement teares and cries still repugnant to the will of God you chalenge the sonne of God with open sinne from which you would seeme to excuse him And as for your double relapse into the same astonishment still when Christ was twice cléere from it it is a foolish deuice of your idle braines as if the Lorde no sooner returned to his praiers but your hellish confusion did waite at his heeles to interrupt and ouerwhelm him and within sixe wordes againe to leaue him If your cause be holie iest not thus prophanelie with the sonne of God nor bereaue him of his wits when you thinke good If it were a necessarie effect of Gods wrath then after it lighted on our Sauiour in the garden it must continue till man was redéemed and Gods wrath appeased which was not done but by the death of Christ. And therefore make your choise either let the wrath of God cease in the garden when Christ ended his praiers or if that still continued to â—he death let also this astonishment still continue or at least bee no necessarie effect of Gods wrath One of these you must take take which you wil the rest will serue to subuert your tower of Babell I doe you wrong you will saie to call your opinion the tower of Confusion you do your selfe wrong Sir Refuter in the chiefest point of Christian religion to leaue the faith confessed by the whole Church of Christ for these 1500. yeares and to walke in such ambiguities and absurdities as your selfe doe not vnderstande For I praie you Sir this wonderfull confusion and astonishment in all powers of the soule and senses of the bodie is it a necessarie consequent to the wrath of GOD or no If it bee for you saie Christ coulde not but sinke and bee confounded vnder that burden howe commeth it to passe that the reprobate and desperate feeling the sense of GODS wrath vpon them doe not loose their wits and senses as Christ by your assertion did will you affirme they are astonished and all confounded as Christ was then if you excuse Christ from sinne in disâ—iking and declining his Fathers knowne will because hee was astonished you must likewise excuse all the wicked and Reprobate from their sinnes after they once feele the sense of Gods wrath because they cannot but bee astonished and confounded vnder that burden Againe coulde Christ not sinne whiles hee felte the wrath of God vppon him because he was astonished Ergo neither coulde hee merite all that while and so neither his obedience patience humilitie nor charitie coulde haue anie place or vse so long as the sense of GODS wrath dured Haue you not deuised vs a goodlie sense of Gods wrath that shall exclude Christ Iesus from the exercise of all his graces vertues and merites This palpable absurditie you thinke to skippe Sir Refuter but your wit is too weake or your cause not good it will not bee If a man in distresse fall a sleepe saie you or be astonished with some violent blowe on the heade in such an one there is no decaie of faith nor of obedience nor of patience nor of loue euen so in Christ there was no defect of grace but an infirmitie of nature Was Christ a sléepe or in a swoune astonished you thinke he was Was hee so astonished that his senses were taken from him did hee not walke did he not speake did hee not pray whie then compare you this to a sléep or a swoune wheras in Christ was neither and though you plainelie faile in your comparison yet were it so as you would haue it for your life you cannot auoide my conclusion For a man in a sleepe or a swoune though he loose not the habite of faith and patience obedience and loue yet hath hee no vse of them for that time much lesse doth hee serue God with them But Christ Iesus by all his sufferinges must merite which a man a sleepe or amazed cannot doe And therefore remember Sir Refuter this reason amongst the rest is yet vnanswerd and I thinke wil somwhat trouble your braines before it bee answered All that Christ suffered for our Redemption was and must bee meritorious with God But the suffering of hell paynes which astonish and confounde all the powers of the soule and senses of the bodie neither was nor coulde bee meritorious with God Christ therefore did not suffer such hellish paynes as did confounde and astonish all the powers of his soule and senses of his bodie And thus by your amazed position you haue wholie confounded your owne opinion Thou hast heard good Reader a number of the Refuters speciall follies I haue some fewe more to trouble thee with and so I will leaue him to his holie cause and thee to the mercies of God To shewe himselfe learned as well in the Gréeke tongue as in philosophie hee vndertaketh an other reason that I made and sporteth himselfe somewhat handsomlie with it Out of the fift to the Hebrewes where the Apostle saieth Christ in the daies of his flesh did offer vp prayers and supplications with strong cryes and teares vnto him that was able to saue him from death and was heard in that he feared or deliuered from his feare I collected two things First that Christ in his praiers made in y e garden for to those the Apostle pointeth did but feare and not as then suffer that he feared The nexte he was deliuered from his feare and consequentlie neuer
and soule of Christ were both free he did not suffer the true paines of hell nor the same torments which the damned do in hell and which wee should haue suffered had wee not béene redéemed This you saie is great iniquity yea plaine sophistry to amplifie against you and to make your most holie truth odious with the people onely by the ambiguitie of the worde hell Begin you nowe to finde the sensible absurditie of your mishapen fancie if you woulde haue taken the name of hell metaphoricallie for great and excéeding paines this question had béene sooner calmed and our Creede freed from your newe found exposition But to father your opinion vpon the créed with more likelihood where the word hell is properlie taken though you now hatch vs a new signification of hell out of Socrates you then vrged as your selfe in this present confutation do still vrge that Christ must haue the FVL VVAIGHT AND BVRDEN of our sinnes laid vpon him and suffer those sorrowes and paines for sinne VVHICH ELSE VVE SHOVLDE that his price VVAS THE SAME which else wee shoulde haue payde that seeing it was possible for him to feele THE FVLL SMART of our sinnes yea ALL OVR SMART and Gods strict iustice so required IT VVAS SO AND MVST BE SO as also that it is not proportionable with iustice that an easier punishment should satisfie for a greater sinne and of al absurdities the greatest that meere men shoulde suffer more deepelie then Christ did and therefore Christ sustained euen the sense of Gods wrath DVE to our sinnes and had the VVHOLE CVRSE of God for sinne executed on him that is the DEATH OF THE SOVLE and the TORMENTES and sorrowes DVE TO THE DAMNED Without anie Sophistrie Sir what is the FVLL BVRDEN of our sinnes and THE SAME PRICE which we should haue paide what is OVR FVLL SMART yea ALL OVR SMART and the VVHOLE CVRSE OF GOD what is the DEATH of the soule and the TORMENTS DVE TO THE DAMNED but those verie things which I by the warrant of Gods word told the people were prepared and threatned to the wicked and shall bee executed on them in hell as they shoulde haue bin on vs if we had not bin redéemed by the bloud of Christ you must recall all your reasons and vnsaie all these positions before you can auoid that which I obiect If Christ did and must by Gods iustice suffer the VVHOLE the SAME and ALL that was due to vs for our sinnes shewe me good Sir I praie you for I confesse it passeth my reach how you can free him from the darknes destruction reprobation malediction worme or fire of hel yea those words if you looke not well to them and rebate them in time with some fresh write they wil carrie with them both the PLACE and PERPETVITY of hell for both these were DVE to our sinnes and are parts of Gods CVRSE and should haue béene executed on vs as they shall bee on the damned and out of ALL the VVHOLE and the SAME how can you except anie but by an open Vray dire of dotage The local hel of the damned you speake not of Speake of what you will so long as your assertions in full and plaine termes inferre and conclude so much well your words may runne without your wits but I tell you trulie what is the consequent of them and leaue those wordes and then your most holie trueth is left naked without shew or shadow of proofe For these generals the VVHOLE the SAME and ALL giue life such as it is to your childish reasons Without them you cannot open your mouthe to make one conclusion But because hell fire so much crosseth your cause that you would faine be rid of it and burneth your fingers so fast Sir Refuter that you striue to cast water on it giue mee leaue a little to let you vnderstand it flameth more fiercelie then that you can quench it with the licour of your mouth And the rather for that in the eares of all men it is a most sensible reproofe of your vnsauorie position For if Christ suffered not the fire of hell in bodie nor soule then most apparantlie he suffered not the FVLL burden of our sinnes nor paid the SAME price which wee should haue paide nor endured ALL our smart nor felt the VVHOLE curse of God nor sustained the tormentes DVE to the DAMNED and therefore the true kindeling of this fire is the vtter quenching of your new deuised hell paines Knowe you therefore Sir Refuter that your metaphoricall fire in hell is a phantasticall errour of yours and you shall doe well to tremble at the terrible iudgement of God threatned in his worde with more religion then to cast off that fire as a toyish fable I shall not néede to rehearse how often it is denounced in the Scriptures and in what vehement and constant manner let vs learne rather carefullie to shunne the place then cunninglie to shift the word which they shall finde to bee no figure that feele it A fire saith God himselfe is kindled in my wrath and shall burne to the bottome of hell it shall eate through the earth and the depth thereof and shal inflame the foundations of the hils Behold saith Esay the Lord wil come with fire that he may recompence his anger with wrath and his indignation with the flame of fire for the Lorde shall iudge with fire The slaine of the Lorde shall bee manie their Worme shall not die neither shal their fire be quenched Which wordes our Sauiour directlie reffereth to hell It is better to enter into life haulting then hauing two legs to bee cast into hell into the fire that neuer shall bee quenched where their Worme dieth not and the fire neuer goeth out If wee sinne willinglie saieth the Apostle to the Hebrues there remaineth no more sacrifice for sinnes but a fearefull expectation of iudgement and raging fire which shal deuoure the aduersaries As Sodome and Gomorra and the cities about them are set forth for an ensample and suffer the vengeance of eternall fire The fearefull and vnbeleeuing the abhominable and murtherers and whoremongers and sorcerers and Idolaters and all lyars shal haue their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death To whome the Iudge shall saie when they shall see the truth thereof before their eies Depart from mee ye cursed into euerlasting fire prepared for the Diuell and his angels For the Lord Iesus shall shewe himselfe from heauen with the Angels of his power in flaming fire rendering vengeāce to them which know not God and obey not the Gospell That the fire with which Christ shall appeare to iudge shall bee corporall and visible to all mens sights can bee no question it shall dissolue the heauens melt the elements and burne vp the earth with the workes that are therein as Peter
is certain bodies shall be tormented And if the diuell and his angels being incorporall shal be tormented with CORPORALL FIER what maruell if the soules before they receiue their bodies feele corporall torments Neither were they the first that made this resolutioÌ„ that an actuall and sensible fier shal torment the bodies soules of the damned the Church of Christ from the beginning beléeued y e same The prophane Philosophers saith Tertullian know the difference of this common and that hid fier so far distant is this which serueth mans vse froÌ„ y t which in Gods iudgement appeareth whether it flash with thunder from heauen or break through the earth by the tops of hils For that consumeth not what it burneth but rather repayreth what it eateth as the mountaines euer burning doe still continue and he that is blasted from heauen liueth and turneth not to ashes This is a testimonie of that eternall fier this is an example of that perpetuall iudgement which maintaineth punishmeÌ„t The hils burne and dure how then shall the wicked and the enemies of God Lactantius in like sort The holy Scriptures teach vs how the wicked shall be punished Because they sinned in their bodies they shall take their flesh again that they may be punished in their bodies yet that flesh which God will clothe man with shall not bee like this earthly â—lesh but indissoluble and remaining for euer that it may suffice for torment and for euerlasting fier The nature of which fier is diuerse from this which wee vse about the necessaries of this life For that fier alwaies liueth and burneth of it selfe without any nourishment The same diuine fier therefore with one and the same strength and power shall burne and continue the wicked and shall yeeld it selfe euerlasting maintenance so as it shall only burne and torment without any decay to the bodie Cyprian is often and earnest in this cause Cremabit addictos ardens semper gehenna viuacibus flammis vorax poena nec erit vnde habere torment a vel requiem possint aliquando vel finem Hell alwaies burning shall broyle them that are adiudged to it and paine shall deuoure them with continuall flames neither shall their torments haue ease or end And againe Saeuiens locus cui gehenna nomen est eructantibus flammis per horrendam spissae caliginis noctem saeua semper incendia camini fumantis expirat globus ignium atratus obstruitur in varios poenae exitus relaxatur The cruell place which is called hell casteth vp fearfull fiers like a burning chimney the flames breaking through the horrible darknes of y â— thick mist a whole globe of blackish fier standing and resoluing into diuers sorts of torments Stridorem illum DentiuÌ„ flammae inextinguibiles agitabunt immortales miseri viueÌ„t inter incendia inconsumptibiles flammae nuduÌ„ corpus allambent Vnquenchable flames shall force that gnashing of teeth immortall wretches shall liue in the midst of fier and flames neuer consuming shall wrap their naked bodies Hell as Chrysostome writeth hath fier and darknes but far worse then these which we are acquainted with For if there be fier saith he how is there darknesse thou seest that fier is more grieuous then this our fier for it hath no light if it bee fier how doth it burne for euer thou seest it is worse then ours for that is not to be quenched and therfore is called vnquenchable Let vs then thinke with our selues how great a miserie it is to burne for euer to be in darknes to make continuall lamentation and to gnash the teeth and not to be regarded if darknes alone doe so terrifie and trouble our hearts what shall it do when such griefes flames of fier come with it Minutius Felix in his dialogue betwixt an Ethnicke and a Christian cited by Lactantius in his first booke De falsa religione cap. 11. saith As the lightnings touch mens bodies but consume them not and the flames of the hils Aetna Vesuuius and of other parts of the earth do burne not waste so that punishing fier in hell feedeth not vpon the decayes of their bodies that burne but continueth without eating or wasting their bodies The same comparison doth Pacianus y t died vnder Theodosius make in his exhortation vnto repentance against the Nouatians Post animarum teÌ„pestiua supplicia rediuiuis quoque perpetua corporibus poena seruatur After the due punishment of the soules of the wicked a perpetuall torment is prepared for their bodies that shall be restored to life The force whereof you may coniecture by the things which are in this world AEtna Lisaniculus and Vesuuius in Campania doe cast out vnceasing flames of fier and to manifest to vs the perpetuitie of that terrible iudgement they still breake waste and yet neuer end Sibylla whom Lactantius Eusebius and Austen alledge and allow as inspired by God describeth the last iudgemeÌ„t with these words The earth cleauing shall lay open the dungeon of hell all kings shall come before the Tribunall of God and a flood of fire and brimstone shall fall from heauen vpon the wicked Christus in suo tunc terrore videbitur eÃque ignis iudicij in reproborum vindicta famulabitur quia videlicet Ignis ille Iudicij qui coelum aerem terram concremat peccatores inuoluit quos proculdubio in poena suae damnationis confringit Christ then shall be seene in his terror and the fier of iudgement shall serue him to reuenge the Reprobate by reason the very fier of iudgement which melteth the heauens the ayre and the earth wrappeth in sinners whom doubtlesse it crusheth in the torment of their damnation Yea the flame of hell shineth not to the Reprobate for their comfort and yet giueth light for their punishment that to the eyes of the damned though the fier of their torment shine with no brightnes yet it sheweth for their further griefe in what sort they are punished How thinke you Sir Refuter is it a TOYISH FABLE worthy of such contempt as you make it or a point of Christian doctrine deliuered by the Prophets and Apostles and receiued by the Fathers in all ages in Christs Church that the FIRE of hell shalbe VISIBLE and SENSIBLE to the bodies of the wicked and shall ETERNALLY and CORPORALLY punish the damned according to their deserts without quenching it selfe or consuming theÌ„ And your foolish Philosophie that things corporall cannot worke vpon things spiritual must giue place to the power and will of the Almightie by whose appointment wee see in this life nothing more common theÌ„ that the soule which is spirituall suffereth from her bodie all kindes of paines and therefore it is as easie for God to make the soule feele fier in the next life without the bodie as with the bodie whose power if it please you to impugne you must leaue the name of a Christian
become an ale-house where no maÌ„ should heare you but in the face of the world to bray after this sort is tolerable in no man but in you that neither know what you say nor see what you should prooue nor vnderstaÌ„d what maketh with you or against you You no sooner reade in any maÌ„ new or olde mention of Gods wrath or of death but you straight fansy that he meaneth your hel paines the death of the soule and so you play with the homilies allowed by the lawes of this Realme Where because you find that Christ interposed himselfe betweene the wrath of God vs to auert it from vs you forthwith resolue the Homilies teach your doctrine But awake Sir Refuter and you shall sée great difference betwixt the doctrine taught in the booke of Homilies and publikely approoued by the lawes of this Realme your frenzies that Christ DIED the DEATH of the SOVLE that the VVHOLE CVRSE of God was executed on Christ that he was by our sins defiled sinful hateful accursed that al the powers of his soule senses of his body were ouerwhelmed distracted and all confounded that he felt the verie Diuels to be instruments executing the wrath of God vpon him that the sufferings of Christs soule by Sympathie as you call it that is from and by the body make not to our redemption that Christs soule died and was crucified where it is absurd and most false to say Christ was made aliue ether in his humane soule or by the same these and an hundred such absurdities and impieties haue no allowance in the bookes of Homilies nor any thing sounding towards your hellish paines of the damned The doctrine there taught is sound true and plaine that we are redeemed by the death and bloud of Christ Iesus that such was the iust displeasure of God against our sinnes that though he were his owne son that vndertooke the cause for vs the iustice of God pursued him with most painfull smart and anguish euen vnto death and forced the weaknesse of his humane flesh to crie my God my God why hast thou forsaken mee But you content not your selfe with this you must haue him suffer the verie paines of the damned in Hell or nothing His bodilie death were it neuer soe paynefull and sharpe you make light account of the theeues crucified with Christ suffered you say as great bodily violence as he did yea wicked vngodly men indure with boldnes great ioy far more exquisite barbarous tormeÌ„ts sharper tortures as touching the body then Christ could endure and therefore in plaine words you saie such follie in the sonne of God bee it farre from yâ—u once to imagine as that he should stagger shrink or faile for any corporal tormentes whatsoeuer forgetting what Ambrose writeth Neque enim habent fortitu linis laudem qui stuporem magis vulnerum tulerunt quaÌ„ dolorem it can haue no praise of fortitude to be desperately confirmed rather then patientlie subiected vnto paine of torments And what AusteÌ„ confesseth Nihil erat tunc IN CARNE INTOLERABILIVS there was nothing more intolerable in the flâ—sh then the crosse of Christ as likewise what Bernarde resolueth Nec aliquo modo dubitandum quin infirmitatem exterminationem corporis incomparabilem sustinuerit it must not be doubted but Christ suffered incomparable weakenes and torment of body For this if you did striue it were to be tolerated for that which no father euer testified nor scripture euer affirmed when you shew your selfe so eager you bewray your humor you benefit not your cause Thou hast heard christian Reader what things I haue misliked in the first part of this opponents pamphlet but nothing more then this that he wasteth so manie wordes and neither expresseth what hee meaneth nor proueth what hee pretendeth All that he hath saide is this in effect Christ suffered in soule the wrath and curse of God foâ— our sinne or due to sinne but these are so generall termes that in parte they bee true in parte they bee false and therefore hee that walketh in these cloudes and descendeth not to particulars meaneth to hide his heade vnder the Couert of these generalities when neede is and out of these to fashion to himselfe such assertions as please best his humour The waâ—e to come by a trueth is to specifie the partes of Gods wrath and curse which they suppose Christ suffered and then shall wee in fewe wordes trie whether those sufferings accord with the rules and groundes of the scriptures or no. And this I foretell because if hee or anie other for him bee disposed to reuiue his cause hee must not bring a sacke full of words for so waightie matters but plainlie and particularlie declaring what he holdeth and proouing what he affirmeth go directly to the point and then by Gods grace we shall soone trie where trueth standeth But if anie man will draw the grounde of our redemption to generall and ambiguous termes which shall still increase contention to noe purpose I meane not to repell words with words till they answere these proofes I will not trouble my selfe with their emptie phrases In the second Question of Christs descent to hell I shall not hold thee long gentle reader because this babler forgetting what I sayd concerning the proofe and purpose of Christs descent to hell runneth a new course to Pagans and Poets for help to expound that article of our Creede and there presumeth himselfe to be so strong that of the rest he doth prate without reason or remembrance The end of Christs descent to hell I noted out of Athanasius Fulgentius and others and prooued their speach conformable to the Scriptures the places thou hast in the latter part of the treatise I meane not to increase this close with néedlesse repetitions The CoÌ„futer belike distracted and distempered with the cogitation and confusion of his hell paines vtterly mistaketh or forgetteth the whole He supposeth Christs descent to hell had none other purpose but to triumph and insult vpon the thrice miserable and wofull wretches in their present vnspeakeable damnation infinitely confounded alreadie inferreth Sure a verie sorie triumph this were for the sonne of God which euen among men were nothing but dishonorable but if his braines be so briâ—kle that he can neither conceaue nor carrie awaie what I sayd I must not beate it into his head that I then preached is here now printed let him refell it if hee can Soe when I made the subduing of hell and treading on Satan with all the power of darknesse a chiefe part of the glorie of Chrits resurrection this scorner in his foolish conceite mocketh at it and saith a worthie priuiledge surelie and verie honorable All men would thinke it a greater honour neuer to haue come in hell at all For his actuall triumphing in hell all the world knoweth is the most inglorious and vilest debasing In sadnes Syr refuter if
aire that is not seene nor hath any colour And in his discourse whether a secrete and silent life be best or no Plutarch proposeth this etymologie as truer elder theÌ„ Soâ—rates fancie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Men ACCORDING TO THE AVNCIENT TRADITIONS OF THEIR FATHERS thinking the sunne to be Apollo named him Delius and Pythius And the RVLER of the contrarie destinie to life and light whether he bee a God or a DIVEL they termed HADES being the MASTER of dark night and dead sleepe for that when wee depart hence wee go into an vnknowne and vnseene place So that Socrates deriuation of Hades was both false and newe euen as his opinion of HADES to be an eloquent and bountifull God and his reason is woorst of all that because men returne not backe againe after death therefore HADES doeth detaine them with eloquent perswasions and great rewards which maketh him to be called Pluto For the scripture assureth vs that men dead can not returne againe though they were neuer so willing and though God of his goodnes bestoweth euerlasting blisse on his Saints yet the rest would faine bee rid of their eternall miserie and can not neither are they held in their state with faire promises or large benefites but by the vnalterable rigor of Gods iustice Eustathius vpon Homers wordes that Achilles sent many a worthie soule to HADES saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a darke place vnder the earth not to be seene appointed for soules and is deriued from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the priuatiue and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to see and is called also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and by contraction HADES So when Homer bringeth in Hectors wife complaining of her miserie and saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thou husband art gone to HADES house vnder the dennes of the earth Eustathius addeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This is a place vnder the earth and so hidde from vs. Therefore it is called Hades that is an inuisible aire which wee can not see And howsoeuer Socrates pleased himselfe in framing this heauen as you call it for himselfe and a fewe others for hee admitteth none but Philosophers into it Lucian in his Dialogues of the dead bitterlie mocketh him as being in Hell with all the rest howsoeuer he dreamed of an heauen for himselfe after his departure hence How Paganish and not onelie ridiculous but blasphemous Platoes heauen is appeareth by this that Socrates maketh SVVANNES his fellow seruants to Phoebus imagineth they sing that day they die 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 FORESEEING THE GOOD THINGS THEY SHALL HAVE IN HADES And further saith that wheÌ„ they perceiue they must die then chiefly and most of al they sing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reioycing that they SHALL GO TO GOD whose seruants they are And those wordes which Socrates spake of Swannes foreséeing THE GOOD THINGS IN HADES you Sir Confuter in the abundance of your wit note to proue HADES to be heauen And to this heauen though Socrates admitte Swannes yet he accepteth no men but such as haue béene Philosophers those of the purest sort As for such as vse popular and ciuil vertues as iustice and temperance gotten by care and continuance without Philosophie his words are expressely these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is fit that such soules should returne againe into some such politicall and tame kinde either of BEES VVASPES or EMMETS after that into men again But into the kinred of the Gods it is not lawful for anie to come that hath not beene a Philosopher and verie pure at his departing hence Others that were slouthfull and filled their bellies hee saith must be turned into Asses and such other beasts and oppressours and wrong doers into Wolues Kites and Hawkes Of these his plaine resolution is that such soules wander vntill by the earnest loue of their bodilie nature which followeth them they PVT ON BODIES againe And such bodies of birds and beasts they put on as resemble the manners of their former life Here is a goodly world of soules to be brought out of Plato into the Créede and Socrates heauen why you should fansie I cannot gesse except it be that none but very pure and precise persons shall come thither to whom you would faine be the ringleader But this is not all In making HADES AND PLVTO by which the Poets meane the diuell to bée a wise and bountifull God hath not your wise Master fitted his new heauen with an excellent head Plutarch moueth the doubt whether HADES be a God or a DIVELL that hath power ouer darknes and death Homer Hesiode affirme he dwelleth vnder the earth and is implacable cruell and hated of men Porphyrie no meane follower of Plato concludeth PLVTO which is all one with HADES as Plato confesseth to be the chiefe of all wicked spirits Porphyries words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We doe not without cause coniecture that all wicked spirites are vnder Serapis being led so to thinke not onely by his ceremonies but because offerings to pacifie and sacrifices auerting rage are done to PLVTO as we haue shewed in our first booke Now Serapis is all one god with Pluto and therefore he is the greatest prince of Diuels and one that giueth charmes to driue away spirits Loe here is Socrates wise and bountifull god HADES AND PLVTO concluded by a great Platonicke to be the chiefe diuell whose iudgement Eusebius followeth And in déede considering his place where he dwelleth his rage that he vseth against men for which hee is so feared and hated of them and his sacrifices in which hee delighteth as also his power ouer death and darkenesse it is a cléere case that Platoes HADES OR PLVTO is the great diuell in hell whose craftes and sleighâ—s because hée knew not as a Pagan he hath promoted him to bee a wise and liberall god and you haue learnedly cited this wise deuise to make him ruler of your heauen whither you send Christ and his Saints to liue there for euer Now were it graunted vnto you that Pluto and HADES which by the description of all your classicall Poets is in déede the diuell were one of Platoes gods are you so little acquainted either with Plato or with Paganisme that you presently conclude hee is the true God of Heauen Or that this inuisible place must néedes bee the kingdome of God Looke but in the latter end of this booke which you alleage for this very purpose and there you shall sée what pretie fansies Socrates hath of another inuisible earth farre aboue this and waters likewise and trees and flowers and fruites and beastes and men that liue longer than we doe here below and without sicknes where also there are temples woods in which the gods dwell familiarly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That to see that earth is the sight of the blessed But what
be these wicked fancies either to the Créede or to Christian Religion Séeing therefore your Gréeke Poets with one consent make HADES to be a god below vnder the earth and put vnder his power as well the Elisian fields and seates for the iust soules as the prisons and dungeons for the vniust and this fantasticall conceite of Socrates touching a speciall place for himselfe and such Philosophers as hee was together with Swannes beasts trees flowers fruites as it was singular and secret to himselfe so it was most absurd and wicked you may by no meanes bring your Classicall writers that were Pagans to expounde the Créede much lesse must you binde the holy Ghost in the new Testament to vse the word HADES as the infidels did since the holy Ghost onely knoweth and speaketh trueth and their imaginations of the dead or as you speake of the world of soules was not onely false and foolish but impious and blasphemous And yet if you doe admit them to bée interpreters of the Créede which I vtterlie refuse for the causes I haue tolde you they make directly against you For HADES with them was the Ruler or place of soules that were beneath vnder the earth were they in rest or in paine and that Christian Religion will assure you must néedes be hell howsoeuer to beare out your broken matter you beginne halfe to doubt where hell is The authenticke authors of the Greeke tongue vsed hades for the place of the blessed soules you say and not properlie for hell So Leonidas cheered vp his men not to feare such a blessed death to suppe in hell had beene a colde comfort vnto them You reade nothing your selfe belike that you hit nothing right In Plutarch whome you alleage this is no comfort giuen by Leonidas but hée séeing the Persians now in sight as his men were dining and in number so infinite aboue his who were but an handfull willeth them to make short and saith So dine as men that must suppe in HADES that is care not for meate since death is so neere but prepare to fight for your Countrey It sheweth a resolution to dye but no consolation after death more than they knew before which was that in HADES were places as well for the good to rest as for the bad to bée punished but both were below vnder earth and in Plutoes kingdome as the Gentiles supposed Neither did Homer meane to make a new heauen for such as Achilles slue but to send them to the place where hée thought all soules did abide and therefore hée put Achilles soule in Plutoes region vnder the earth as well as the rest of the Grecians and Troians that died in that Battaile And because your Proctor will néedes haue the words that Achilles spirite spake to Vlisses at his descent to hell to bee a dictionarie for hades what place it is against which if the Creede had gone it had been a skoffe to all Hellas and had hindered all the proceeding of the Gospell Let vs sée whether his owne dictionarie will not returne all his allegations vppon his owne head If HADES in the Créede must bee the same place where Achilles spirite was whither Vlisses descended and where he saw and spake with so many Ghostes then apparantly HADES must bée the Poets HELL At Vlisses entrance Homer telling how the soules came about him saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The soules flocked together out of Erebus now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the very place where the Poets place Cerberus and whence the same Poet saith Hercules 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Was sent to fetch from Erebus the dogge of HATEFVLL HADES Againe Vlisses mother asking him how hee came to that place saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 My sonne how camest thou vnder this darke mist Of Aiax Ghost who would not for anger speake to Vlisses Homer saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hee went away to other soules in Erebus There Vlisses saith hée saw Sisyphus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Suffering grieuous torments as also Titius and Tantalus to endure the like There he saw 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hercules strength a Ghost for hee himselfe was in ioye with the immortall Gods There Achilles spirite tooke so small comfort that when Vlisses said There is none happier then thou Achilles before whiles thou liuedst wee honoured thee as a God and now art thou a great commaunder among the Dead bee not therefore so fadde hée replied Praise not death to mee Vlisses I had rather serue any poore man on earth as his drudge though hee were scant able to liue then to raigne here ouer all the dead If the place bee darke and déepe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If Cerberus bée there which the Poets make the very kéeper of hell if there bée grieuous and cruell punishmentes for such as deserue them if the best haue there so little ioye of the place as Homer maketh Achilles ghost here to confesse what place can this bée but that hell which all the Poets acknowledge though in some part thereof there hée worse punishmentes then in other This is not that Tartarus you will saye which the Poets make the â—ayle and Prison for the wicked What is that to the purpose if some punishmentes in hell bée worse than other Looke to those whome the Poets place without the dungeon and sée whether they bée in heauen or no And because you and your friends talke so much of the worlde of Soules and of heauen to bée found in HADES and INFERI and your selfe bring Virgill as one of your Classicall authors to proue this matter Who though hee were a Poet and fayned many things yet hee spake you say familiarlie and after the vulgar vse and for the substance of the matter vttered touching heauen and hell the opinion of the worlde then I must pray the Readers leaue and patience whiles I follow you in your owne fantasticall deuise though against mine owne liking to let the simple sée what your world of soules and your heauen is euen in those very writers which you produce for this purpose and whether they bée fitte things to bée Presidents for the Créede or no. In Plutoes kingdome vnder earth whether Aeneas went to sée his Father Anchises Virgil your authenticke author maketh besides Tartarus and your goodly Elisian fields the eternall habitation as you call it of the blessed many lodgings As first for sicknes care weeping pouertie labour warres discord dreames and death besides for Centaures Briareus Hidra Chimera Gorgon Harpies and Gerion and sundrie other monsters There wander the Ghosts whose bodies are not buried a hundred yeare before they can get ouer the foule and silthie riuer of Styx The other side of Styx is kept by Cerberus the Dogge with thrée heads where first are placed the soules of infants weeping and crying then such as were vniustly condemned to death
next such as being wearie of their liues killed themselues now willing to suffer pouertie or any paine on earth so they might returne to life againe In the fourth place are Lugentes Campi the wofull fields of such as died for loue in the fift Warriers and such as pursued each other with the sword where Aeneas saw all the Grecians and Troians that dyed at the siege of Troy Of all these places where yet are no punishments the Poet maketh Deiphobus to say to Aeneas what cause driueth thée Vt tristes sine fole domos loca turbida adires To come to the wofull housen without sunne and lothsome placesâ— Then leadeth the left hand to Tartarus which these men so much harpe at compassed with fierie Phlegeton and there are the punishments of the wicked then Plutoes palace and on the right hand Amaena vireta fortunatorum nemorum sedésque beatae The sweete springs of the fortunate woods and the blessed seats Here is the heauen which this confuter alleageth out of Virgil and here Aeneas found his father Anchises in a greene vale viewing the soules that dranke of the water of obliuion and were tâ— take new bodies on earth againe His words are Animae quibus altera fato Corpora debentur Lethei ad â—luminis vndam Securos latices long a obliuia potant The soules who by destinie are to take bodies the second time doe here at the Riuer of Lethe drinke the waters of vtter forgetfulnes no way remembring whatsoeuer they saw or knew either whiles they first liued or during the time of their abode vnder earth And because it séemed strange to Aeneas that soules should come to take other bodies though this be right Platoes fansie in his Phaedone Anchises telleth his sonne the secrets of Platoes Purgatorie heauen and resurrection as Virgil conceiued them who was a great Platonist When men die saith he all the infections of their bodies cannot presently be taken from their soules Ergo exercentur poenis veterúmque maloruÌ„ supplicia expendunt Therefore the soules of such as are curable for the desperate and insanable are cast into Tartarus and neuer come thence by Platoes owne words are purged with paines and abide the punishment of their former infection some are hanged vp to the winde some are plunged vnder water some are clensed by fier Quisque suos patimur manes exinde per amplum Mittimur Elysium pauci laeta aruatenemus Donec longa dies perfecto temporis orbe Concretam exemit labem purúmque reliquit Aethereum sensum atque auraï simplicis ignem Has omnes vbi mille rotam voluêre per annos Letheum ad fluuium Deus euocat agmine longo Scilicet immemores supera vt conuexa reuisant Rursus incipiant in corpora velle reuerti Wee euery one of vs suffer our clensing and after that wee are sent out into the large Elysian fieldes where but a fewe of vs inhabite these pleasant places vntill long time hath taken awaye the bodilie infection and leaueth the aethereall sense pure and the vigour of the fierie and simple ayre Then after a thousand yeares God calleth all these soules thus purged and placed in the fortunate seates to the flood of Lethe that they may goe to the earth againe with vtter forgetfulnesse of all things and beginne to desire to returne to new bodies To these Elysian fields when Aeneas should come the Poet maketh Sybilla say Ad genitorem imas Erebi descendit ad vmbras Aeneas descendeth to his father euen to the soules below in Erebus And that Erebus is one of the infernall Gods as the Poets call them can bee no question For when Dido minding to kill her selfe prepared Sacra Ioui stygio Sacrifices to the infernall Iupiter the Poet maketh her Priest to inuocate Tercentum tonat ore deos Erebúmque Chaósque Three hundred gods and Erebus and Chaos This is the worlde of Soules that Virgil deliuered in his time which hée collected out of Plato this is the heauen that is contayned in HADES and INFERI Iudge thou Christian Reader whether this be not the high way to Paganisme to tell vs that this is the heauen where the Saints of God are in rest and whether Christ ascended For my part but that I thinke this confuter talketh of that hée knoweth not I must haue proclaymed him for a Pagan and therefore after hée séeth it if hée persist to say that heauen is either Homers HADES or Virgils INFERI I may not spare to discharge the dutie of a Christian man to let the whole realme vnderstand that this is open infidelitie cloaked vnder the name of Puritie Platoes world of Soules where it altereth from this is rather worse than better For hée saith the soules of euill men are clogged with their bodilie vncleanenes and wander 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 about tombes and graues as it is said and then put on the bodies of beastes birds or wormes And yâ—u Sir Confuter lighting on the first part of those wordes openly falsifie them and lewdly misapply them For in stéede of as it is said you translate as it is commonly said and by that worde COMMONLY of your owne adding and referred to the former words where there is a manifest distinction or pause betwixt them you bid the reader note that HADES is commonly called heauen For thus you write Againe Plato saith of heauen that it is an vnseene estate euen HADES as it is commonly called which you will by the side to be noted where Plato in that place speaketh not one word of heauen But such is the miserie of your cause you must belie your authors or else you will lacke proofes for your humours And touching the soules of all men that are borne Plato holdeth their soules had bodies before and staye in HADES vntill the time come that they must haue bodies againe and therefore all our knowledge heere is but the remembring of that wée knew before when our soules were in other bodies which is the opinion that Tertullian chargeth him with His owne wordes are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There is an auncient assertion which wee remember that soules departing hence are there and come hither againe and are new borne from the dead And least you should thinke hée did not consent to it hée saith somewhat after 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wee are not deceiued confessing all this but there is in very trueth a returning of soules to liue againe on earth and of the dead spring the liuing Consult you and your Instructor whether you will bring this HADES or world of soules into the Créede or whether the thiefe from the Crosse ascended to this heauen together with the soule of our Sauiour But if these bee intolerable and abominable heresies to haue soules passe from bodie to bodie and Platoes HADES be nothing else but a continuall chopping and changing of soules from life to death and from death to life againe hale
his sonnes you will make my hoare haires descend to Sheol with sorrow and likewise when Dauid said to Salomon thou shalt make Shemeis hoare haires descende to Sheol with bloud are there white haires or bloud in the worlde of soules as there are in the graue this is the state of deade bodies but not of soules departed In the destruction of Core Dathan and Abiran the Scripture saieth the earth opened her mouth swallowed them vp and their howsen and they descended and all that were with them aliue to Sheol Aliue is both bodie and soule in euerie mans eie For had those two beene seuered they had béene dead Doe the bodies of men descende to your world of soules or is it plaine that in this place must be meant by Sheol either hell which receiued both their bodies and soules that were in that rebellion against God or at least the heart of the earth which receaued them liuing whereas other men die before they are committed to the earth like sheepe saieth Dauid shall they bee laide in Sheol Are there shéepe or anie resemblance of sheepe in your worlde of soules or doth Dauid rather meane that as shéepe are bounde and then slaine and cast on heapes so shall the wicked bee handled nowe as manie places in the scriptures as note Sheol to be below caÌ„not be referred to your worlde of soules for they are as well on high in heauen as below in hell And therefore of force Sheol must in all those places either importe hell which is belowe or the graue which is lower then the earth whereon men doe liue Thou hast deliuered my soule saith Dauid from the lower Sheol And Esaie of the King of Babell Sheol belowe was afraide at thy comming and raised vp her mightie men to meete thee and to saie vnto thee art thou also weakened as well as wee is thy pride depressed to Sheol This cannot bee meant of the generall and indefinite state of the deade nor of the worlde of soules for manie of them were on high in strength and ioie not in feare and weakenesse as here they are described in Sheol And therefore rufâ—â—le you and your abettour as long as you list with tauntes and tearmes fell crakes fray not such as bee priuie to your lame legs Again heauen is namelie expressed and opposed to Sheol how can heauen be included in Sheol To the high heauens what wilt thou do it is lower then Sheol how wilt thou know it Will your learning serue you to make the high heauens a part of the lowe Sheol If I ascend to heauen thou art there saieth Dauid to God if I lie downe in Sheol there art thou also So God himselfe by Amos If they dig to Sheol there shall my hande fetch them if they ascend to heauen thence will I bring them downe And to the king of Babilon Thou saiedst in thine heart I will ascende to heauen and climbe aboue the highth of the cloudes but thou shalt be pluckt down to Sheol euen to the sides of the pit To men of anie meane capacitie I thinke it be manifest that ascending here cannot be descending consequentlie that heauen is no part of Sheol but a place rather opposed against it albeit your impudencie be such y t in the Creed you expound he descended into hell by the cleane contrarie that is he ascended into heauen But what will not men of your face and fansie doe I hope all good men will beware of such expositians We deride the Glosse of the Canon lawâ— for saying Statuimus id est abrogamus wee establish that is we abrogate How ridiculous and audacious then is this presumption to saie Christ descended into hel that is he ascended vp to heauen but hereof in the close when we haue first cleared your fonde conceites of SHEOL AND HADES The dead praise thee not saith Dauid to God nor all that descende into silence If the scriptures affirme as much of Sheol how can Sheol be the world of soules yea how can Sheol bee heauen where the soules night and daie that is euerlastinglie do nothing but praise God and confesse vnto him the honor of his name Sheol saieth Esay cannot confesse vnto thee neither can such as descende vnto the pit trust in thy truth Yea saieth Salomon There is no worke thought knowledge nor wisedome in Sheol whither thou goest If Sheol bee the world of soules they be all a sleepe that neither doe speake nor thinke anie thing Small are their ioyes and lesse are their paines which they neuer so much as thinke of So that neither hell nor heauen nor any part of your world of soules can bee heere vnderstoode by Sheol in Salomons wordes but of meere force it must be the Graue where the bodie lyeth voide of sense speach action or cogitation The rest of the places of the olde Testament where Sheol is named concurre with these and import either the graue which is common to the godlie with the wicked or else that pit which is prepared for the soules of the wicked which can bee none other place but preciselie and properlie HELL What textes they are of the lawe and the prophets where Sheol is named that cannot bee reffered to the graue I haue in the treatise before specified and handled such of them as I thought sufficient especiallie receauing no answere to my reasons but the Sphingicall perplexities of an high minded Maister whose wordes with mee though they bee of the largest size are but winde And therefore I rest vpon the same groundes and proofes which I make before and stande to iustifie that in no place of the olde or newe testament where SHEOL or HADES are named their world of soules is or canne bee vnderstoode let them name mee the places I will presentlie send them by Gods grace an answere As for HADES good Reader by which worde the Septuagint expresse the Hebrue SHEOL in all these textes where thou seest the worde SHEOL thou maiest assure thy selfe the Septuagint vse HADES in stéede thereof and the verie same reasons that serue for Sheol serue for HADES in euerie point without exception And that maketh me wholie to skippe the handling of HADES in the Septuagint and to referre the discussing thereof till I come to the places of the newe Testament Now the consequent of that I haue alleaged either heere or before is this that by SHEOL and HADES in the olde Testament must néedes be meante either HELL the GRAVE or their VVORLDE OF SOVLES which they so much talke of if no place in the olde Testament doe necessarilie enforce their worlde of soules to bee vnderstoode by either of these wordes then it remaineth that in what textes the graue maie not bee endured to bee the meaning of either of these wordes there wee conceaue the place of the damned must bee intended in either of them Peruse both the obseruations and allegations before
not afore and therefore then is the time for all the faithfull to thanke God for their full victorie ouer DEATH AND HELL and to saie with the Apostle ô death where is thy sting ô HELL where is thy victorie But what hath your world of soules to do with these words or with anie other where HADES is named in the new testament All these places serue fitlie for hell and the most of them necessarilie since either is expressed as a diuerse thing from HADES or not to bee comprised in the name of HADES But your world of soules is most absurd and false in euery one of these and can not stand with the circumstance of the text the first of the Reuelation onelie excepted where though there be no wordes to impugne it yet are there none to approue it For is it anie curse for Capernaum to bee brought to the worlde of soules except you meane hell Doth your world of soules impugne the Church of Christ or destroy the fourth part of the earth or shall it be cast into the lake of fire And what victorie shal the iust haue against the world of soules in the last day since their owne soules reioice to receiue their bodies and against the soules of the wicked they neither may nor will insult It therefore remaineth that though HADES with the Septuagint signifie either BODILIE DEATH or HELL yet in the new Testament where HADES is described as a different thing from DEATH and following AFTER DEATH HADES of necessitie being NOT DEATH must needes import HELL Of the place in question Thou wilt not leaue my soule in HADES I will yet saie nothing but will come to the words of the Creede Christ descended to HADES and search what must be the meaning of HADES in that article What I take to be the meaning of Hades in the Creede where it is said Christ descended to HADES as also what reasons lead me thereunto thou hast Christan Reader in the former treatise thou shalt with more ease finde it there then I repeat it here howe much this Confuter confesseth or resisteth that must I now examine When I obiect that in a short sum of the Christian faith made for the simple and common people to repeate one thing twice were néedlesse and against the nature of the Creede and to vse a darke and hard phrase after a plaine and easie is vnreasonable and absurde he answereth It is true I hold it vnreasonable altogither in the short and vulgar Creed appointed euen for the common Christians to vse words darke and difficult And when the same thing is by diuers words expressed the later ought to be the lighter and cleerer Therefore I fullie grant in the Creede speciallie the phrase must be familiar triuiall easie and plaine I vrged thrée things to be obserued in the expounding the Creede the words to be proper and euident without figuratiue obscuritie the things to be different without idle repetition and the order to be consequent without anie confusion The Confuter agreeth with me in all these and he doubteth not but his exposition is such Since then there be three expositions of that article Christ descended to HADES that is either to the GRAVE or to HELL or to the VVORLDE OF SOVLES which in Christes case you saie was HEAVEN which of these thrée Sir Refuter commeth neerest to the nature of a short easie and orderlie summe of a Creede The first you like not because it expresseth that in darke and hard circumloquution which was familiarly and plainely said before he was dead and buried The question then resteth betweene the two last which of the twaine best expresseth the proper sense and vulgar vse of the worde HADES For the Apostles and Apostolike men you confesse did so write and speake as the people then might best vnderstand If it bee so then your exposition Sir Refuter is cleane thrust out of doores For neither with the auncient Maisters of the Gréeke tongue which were the Poets nor with the Septuagint nor with the writers of the newe Testament nor with the people of that time in their vnderstanding did HADES euer signifie the worlde of soules without anie limitation of state or place Againe that generall and indefinite worlde of soules without respect of hell or heauen is no point nor part of the Christian faith For faith touching Christ must not be generall or ambiguous but particular and certaine It is no faith much lesse an article of the faith to saie Christes soule after death went some whither the Creede muste specifie the place whither it went before it can bee a matter of faith that must bee beleeued And therefore HADES doeth point out the particular place as hell or heauen whither Christes soule went after death before any man may chalenge it to be the true meaning of that article If anie doe aske particularlie whither is this You aunswer namely into heauen for whither should the Saints go else This in déede is a familiar triuiall easie and plaine exposition Christs soule DESCENDED DOVVNE TO HADES that is it ASCENDED VP TO HEAVEN And so by taking heauen for hell and ascending vppe for descending downe you haue quickelie made an ende of this matter Whie then goe on with your wise Maister and make HADES which is the chiefe Diuell to bee God and you haue made a perfect exposition of the Creede fitte for such as attribute to Diuels what they shoulde attribute vnto GOD. Was this the plainest and easiest waie for the Apostolike men 〈◊〉 teach the people Christes soule ascended vppe to heauen by saying hee DESCENDED TO HADES And did the people so best vnderstande them You that expounde this by the cleane contrarie and saie they be best so vnderstoode no maruaile if you arrogate so much vnto your selfe in framing the Scriptures to your fansies you maie with little studie prooue a speedie expositour of the Scriptures But Sir wise men that regarde their faith more then your follyes will aske where you finde descending for ascending and Hades for heauen If you pretende Plato they will tell you that to embrace a priuate conceite of Socrates against all the former Greekes against the Septuagint against the Euangelists and Apostles and euidentlie against all the fathers is not to expounde an Article of the faith but the next waie to bring Paganisme into the Creede and that by so licentious and lewde a trade of open peruerting the wordes of the Creede and taking sowre for sweete colde for heate euill for good that nothing shall stande sounde if this bee admitted a It is you saie an Hebrewe phrase So Iacob spake I will goe downe mourning to my Sonne vnto Sheol yet Iacob thought not to goe to hell to his sonne but among the soules of the godlie deade that is to saie into heauen It hath beene meetelie well tolde you that Sheol neuer signifyeth Heauen in all the Scriptures but that Iacob meant hee would goe mourning