first arrowes of iudgement against the wicked these he fastneth so deeply in the soules of his enemies and bodies also that repine as they will they cannot shake off the sense of his wrath but are confounded therewith Such an arrow shot hee at Iudas he might not abide but desperately hanged himselfe which yet helped not to release him of his paine Such an arrow directed he in the battell against Iulian as forced that scornfull Apostate to confesse that hee fought against an inuincible Conquerour Vicisti tandem Galilaee Next hee hath arrowes of mercy which hee shootes at his owne and wherewith hee vvounds them that he may cure them and these are of two sorts the one worketh a sense of sinne with feare of wrath for so he works with his children to terrifie them with the sense of wrath that he may waken them to eschew the wrath to come Such arrowes shot he at Dauid Thine arrowes haue light vpon me and thy hand lyeth vpon me He expounds himselfe incontinent For mine iniquities are gone ouer my head and as a waighty burden they are too heauy for me Such arrowes also shot he at Iob. The arrowes of the Almighty are in me the venim whereof doth drinke vp my spirit and the terrors of GOD fight against me These are sharp and fearfull and heauy for the present but healthfull and profitable in the end I note it for this cause that the children of God should not suffer themselues to be ouercome with griefe when they are exercised with such terrors of mind The other sort of his arrowes worketh in his Saints a sense of mercy which ingendreth loue he fastneth their harts knits them to himselfe that they vvander no more from him Of these speaketh the Church Vulnerata sum amore I am wounded and sick vvith loue By these arrovves Amor excitatur interitus non cōparatur loue is vvakened destruction is not procured In a vvord these are the two operations of the Spirit vvhereby GOD vvorks the saluation of his children Ye haue not receiued the spirit of bondage to feare againe but ye haue receiued the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father He beginneth to feare terrifie vs these are his first arrowes but in the end hee comforts vs these are his second arrowes many of them may the Lord shoote at vs. The fist point touched here is his ornament A crowne was giuen vnto him Two sundry wayes find we Christ crowned They platted a Crown of thorns and put vpon his head Thornes are the fruite of our sinnes Cursed is the earth for thy sake thornes thistles shall it beare vnto thee These are the best flowers vvhich the earth could giue were it not that by Iesus the curse is remoued and of these cursed fruits of the earth our sinnes procured a garland to be set vpon the head of our Lord. Quale oro sertum pro vtroque sexu subiit ex spinis opinor tribulis in figuram delictorum nostrorū we should neuer thinke of that thornie and pricking crowne set vpon the head of the God of glory but our soules should be humbled and our hearts pricked vvith sorrow for our sinnes which procured it The other is a crowne of glory But now we see Iesus crowned with glory and honour Except wee be content to beare the first with him we shall not be partakers of the second No man is crowned except hee strine as he ought The last point is his errand Hee went foorth conquering that he might ouercome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Here are two wordes one in the present time the other in the future declaring that from the beginning he hath been victorious and so will be to the end and herein stands his victory to deliuer his Saints from the hand of their enemies till at length he make his enemies his footstoole This is his errand and hee shall continue riding and fighting vpon his white horse till he haue fully finished and done it They are therefore much mistaken as wee said before who bound the course of the white horse within certaine yeeres some to the destruction of Ierusalem and some to the dayes of Constantine They who so limit him spoyle the Church of great comfort but say they what they will we say with this Prophecie Our Conqueror is stil riding on his white horse and so shall continue vntill he ouercome And we haue yet here this further comfort that where other Warriers goe out to battell vvith a carnall considence which often faileth them as we may see in Senacherib Antiochus and many such our Captaine Conqueror comes out not to a doubtfull battell the euent whereof is vncertaine but as a crowned victorious King sure at the last to ouercome Many of his enemies hath he put downe by his hand already and couered their face with shame Where are now the first Persecuters no better successe shall the remanent haue The enmity was proclaimed in Paradise and therewith the euent foretold The seed of the Woman shall bruise the head of the Serpent Victorie is sure for we fight not as men vncertain but certain Great opposition in all ages hath bin made to this crowned King yea many times would it seem his white horse hath been slaine vnder him The Baptist beheaded Steuen stoned Peter executed Preachers martyred but he hath still others in readines Paul may be bound the Word of the Lord cannot be bound This King shall furnish horses armor all needfull for the battell till he obtaine the victory It should greatly animate vs to the battell that we are sure before-hand Iesus Christ in the ministery of his Word shall preuaile oppose who will VERSE 3. And when he had opened the second seale I heard the second liuing creature say Come and see AT the opening of the second seale the second Vision is exhibited to the Church warning them that the happy successe of the Gospel foretold in the first seale will not be without bloudie persecution for Sathan shall stirre vp the bloudy beasts on whom he rides to afflict such as carrie the Name and testimonie of Christ through the world but what they intend by way of persecution against the Church the Lord shall turne it into a plague by which they themselues shall be punished and therefore are the Saints forewarned of it that they may be prepared for patient suffering when the Persecution shall come In this verse the preparation goes before and in the next verse the Vision followes In the preparation Saint Iohn is warned by the second of the liuing creatures to attend the opening of the second seale They who expound the foure liuing creatures to be the Preachers of the Word as by the first they vnderstand Quadratus and Aristides Athenienses so by the second they vnderstand Iustinus Martyr and Melito Sardensis by the third
the right way that he go not where-away he will himselfe but as the rider directs him So is it with Preachers we are many times inclined to faint and loyter in our calling to waken vs some Cananites must be stirred vp to bee pricks in our sides or else within vs God stirreth vp our owne Conscience to put vpon vs. And as to the other he bridles the mouthes of his seruants he opens them to speake how and when he pleases In that houre it shall be giuen you what ye shal say for it is not ye that speake but the Spirit of your Father that speakes in you Againe he closeth their mouth when he sees it expedient So said he to Ezekiel I shall cause thy tongue cleane to the roofe of thy mouth In a word as I said before that hee carries Preachers from place to place according to his pleasure so in preaching hee carries them from purpose to purpose hee puts in their heads that which they intended not to haue spoken hee makes them forget that which they thought sure to haue deliuered and so ouer-rules their memorie and bridles their mouth that still hee makes them his owne purpose Happy yea thrise happie are they who this way are ruled by the Lord. A notable example heereof wee haue in Augustine for Possidonius records of him that in a certaine Sermon his memory failed him and that beside his intention and purpose hee fell out into a discourse against the Manichaeans When he was come home hee demaunded of them who dined with him if they had marked it They said indeed they had to whom he answered Credo quod forte aliquem errantem in populo Dominus per nostram obliuionem et errorem doceri curari voluerit It may be as I thinke that by my obliuion and miscarrying from my purpose to speak against that heresie GOD will haue some among the people to be taught and cured of it Nam in eius manu sunt et nos et Sermones nostri for in his hand are both our selues and our speeches to frame them as he will And so indeed it was as the man of God tooke it for within two dayes Firmus a Manichaean came to him and shewed him how by the same Sermon he had been conuerted Vnde stupentes glorificauimus sanctum eius nomen qui cum voluerit et vnde voluerit et quomodo voluerit et per scientes et nescientes salutem Sanctorum operatur Whereupon they who were in Augustines company much astonished glorified the holy Name of God who when he will and as he will by witting vnwitting Preachers works the saluation of Saints Let this glory be reserued to the Lord he works saluation oftentimes by Preachers that Preachers know not of themselues The Preacher knowes not your troubles your tentations nor the estate of your soules yet euery Professor prepared reuerently to heare thinks that the Preacher speakes vnto him but this as I haue said is the finger of God who by the ministery of one speaketh and worketh in many as he will The third point is the colour of the horse he is said to be a white horse the white colour noteth two things first puritie and holines that should be in Preachers the Lord will not ride vpon vncleane beasts nor haue his Name carried through the world by profane men he will not he cannot worke with an vnsanctified Ministerie A fearfull example whereof we haue â—…in Ophni and Phinees two sonnes of Eli with the wickednesse of their liues they had made the people to abhorre the sacrifices of God yet thought they to couer the iniury vnder the garment of God and to saue themselues in battell against the Philistims by bearing the Arke of God on their shoulders yet was the Lord so displeased with them that hee chose rather to suffer his Arke to be captiued of vncircumcised Philistims then to maintaine it in the hands of so profane men as they were they suffered their iust deserued punishment but the Lord pleaded the cause of his owne glory and brought home the Arke againe Let them therefore be cleane who carry the vessels of the Lord let vs study to be holy the Lord will not ride but vpon white horses Vita munda ipsa est luce fulgentior a holy life is brighter then light it selfe Secondly the white colour signifies the ioyfulnesse of the message which they bring there is no black nor dolefull thing in it In holy Scripture when Angels appeared to bring good tydings we find them clothed in white and among men it hath been customably vsed for a signe of gladnesse The Emperours of Rome in their solemne triumphs had their Chariots drawne with white horses Pomponius writes of the horse which drew Dioclesian his Chariot Quòd candore cum niue certabant that in whitenes they contended vvith the snow So then by the white Horse the Gospell is declared to be a ioyfull message Reioyce O Sion for thy King commeth riding vnto thee and that vpon his white Horse in token of ioy to his owne and triumphant victory ouer his enemies Great ioy was in Ierusalem when Dauid brought the Arke into it Great ioy in Samaria when Philip preached the Gospel vnto them Beautifull are the feet of them who bring the glad tydings of peace But miserable are they who find neither peace nor ioy in the preaching of the Gospel these may be sure that dolefull tydings abide them The fourth point to be considered here is his Armour He had a bowe No mention is made here of arrowes but in the 45. Psalme arrowes are ascribed to him without mention of a bowe Thine arrowes are sharpe to pierce the heart of the Kings enemies Thus collation of Scripture is the best interpretation of Scripture In old time the chiefe weapons vsed in warre were bowes and slings the one we may see out of the Psalmist The children of Ephraim being armed and shooting with the bowe turned back in the day of battell the other out of the booke of Iudges The Beniamites had seuen hundred chosen men who could sling stones at an haire breadth and not faile Our Lord then is a man of warre an expert Archer he hitteth the mark whereat he shooteth and faileth not it is long ere hee bend his bowe and when he hath bended the longer he drawes the deeper he fastneth his arrow quò diutiùs expectat districtiùs iudicabit Let not wicked men please themselues in their sinnes because the Lord spares to shoote at them The Lord laughes the wicked to scorne because he sees his day comming Let the patience of God lead men to repentance for except they turne he hath bent his bowe and made it readie he hath prepared him deadly weapons will ordaine his arrowes for them that persecute his Saints Two sorts of arrowes shootes the Lord
signifies the Lord Iesus in whose happy fellowship and societie now they liue sub Altari id est in secretario laudis aeternae quod est sublime Altare triumphantis Ecclesiae vel sub Christi custodia et quiete This Altar is in heauen not in earth it is the high Altar of the Church triumphant their soules are in custody and quiet rest with Christ. Againe another of their owne so expounds it Sub Altari id est sub protectione et confortio Christi Vnder the Altar that is vnder the protection and fellowship of Christ. This Altar is otherwise called Paradise This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise and The bosome of Abraham and the hands of the Lord Into thine hands O Lord I commend my spirit It is also called A place before the Throne where the Lord and the Lambe and the seuenfold Spirit is Of it speakes our Sauiour Father I will that those whom thou hast giuen mee be where I am This is the place of glorified soules Neither doe those Diuines reason very diuinely who say Christ cannot be this Altar because he is the Sacrifice for he is both the Sacrifice the Sacrificer and the Altar For he offred himselfe by his eternall Spirit There it is plaine that hee is the Sacrifice or thing offred and the Sacrificer also The Altar in like manner hee must be for the Altar sanctifies the Sacrifice Now by none other was our Sauiour sanctified but by himselfe none other Altar could commend him or make him acceptable to his Father his Diuinitie sanctified his humanity and his humanity was offred by his Diuinitie and vpon it Therefore to say that another not himselfe can sacrifice him or that he can be sacrificed vpon any other Altar but vpon himselfe is as great blasphemy as to bring in another sacrifice whereby the iustice of God may be satisfied Let presumptuous blinded Masse Priests consider this That were killed that is he sawe the soules of those bodies that were killed for the Word of God Death then wee see strikes but the body Feare not them who kill the body and can do no more It is like to Nebuchadnezzar his fire which burnt the cords wherewith the three children were bound but burnt not their bodies so death can do no more but loose our bands and set our soules at liberty What shall separate vs from the loue of Christ shall tribulation or anguish or persecution or perill or sword No in all these things wee are more then Conquerors through him that loued vs. For I am perswaded neither death nor life can separate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ. Let it come and disioyne the soule from the body that it may conioyne vs with Christ. For the Word of God There is no Religion so false but it hath its own Patrones who will defend it yea and dare die for it Satan as he hath his owne Apostles so hath he also his owne Martyrs Martyres Satanicae virtutis wee must alway take heed to the cause of suffering Non poena sed causa facit Martyrem therefore he ioynes these two For the Word and testimonie which they maintained It is nothing to stand to a testimonie nay though thou shouldst die for it vnlesse thou iustifie by the Word that thy testimony is true VERSE 10. And they cryed with a lowd voice saying How long Lord Holy and True Dost thou not iudge and auenge our bloud on them that dwell on the earth NOW followes in this Verse the supplication which these soules of Martyrs send vp to God in the next verse the answer which is giuen thē The voice by which they send vp their supplication is called a crying not vocall but spirituall noting the feruencie of their desires for the words of soules whereby they speake vnto God are their feruent desires Magnus eorum clamor magnum est desiderium tum Resurrectionis tum Iudicii Their great cry is their great desire both of the Resurrection and of the Iudgement to come A small desire makes but a small voice in the Lords eares but a seruent desire causes a lowd voice Animarum igitur verba ipsa sunt desideria si desiderium sermo non esset non diceret Propheta Desiderium cordis eorum andiuit auris tua that is If the desire of the soule were not a speech vnto God the Prophet would not haue said Thou hast heard the desire of their heart How long Lord It is here demanded How is this that Saints cry for vengeance Are we not commanded to loue our enemies and to pray for them To this some Diuines answer that it is not they but the sinnes of the wicked done to them that cryes for a vengeance And they obserue that there are foure crying sinnes first the filthy sin of Sodome Because the cry of Sodome and Gomorah is great I will go downe now and see whether if or not they haue done altogether according to the cry which is come vnto me Next the oppression of the widdow and fatherlesse Thou shalt not trouble any widdow nor fatherlesse childe if thou trouble such and he cry vnto me I will heare his cry Thirdly the detaining fraudulently of the wages of worke-men is also a crying sinne Thou shalt giue an hired seruant his hire for his day for hee is poore and therewith sustaineth his life lest he cry against thee vnto the Lord and it be sinne vnto thee And againe The hire of the labourers holden back by fraud cryes and enters into the eares of the Lord of Hosts Fourthly innocent bloud cryes to the Lord for vengeance against them that shed it The voice of thy brothers bloud cryes to me from the ground And so here the bloud of Martyrs cryes But there is here further to be added that this cry of theirs is their own and proceeds not of any passion or desire of their priuate reuenge but onely of a zeale to the glory of God whose holinesse and truth they desire to be manifested as may be perceiued by the titles they giue the Lord in their prayer Non carnali sensu credendum est eos animositate vltionis accendi sed manifestum est contra potestatem regnum peccati or asse Adueniat regnum tuum Wee are not with carnall sense to beleeue that they were kindled with any heat of reuenge it is manifest they pray against the kingdome of sinne And in effect the summe of their prayer is Lord let thy Kingdome come Quid est animas vindictae petitionem dicere nisi diem extremum Iudicii resurrectionem corporum desiderare What else is it that Saints are said to cry for to be auenged but that they earnestly desire the day of Iudgement and Resurrection of their bodies Hoc dicunt non poenam malis optando sed voluntati Dei
the earth But in so doing they are like Samson who pulled downe the house of Dagon vpon himselfe to his destruction by taking away the pillars that vpheld it For as Sodome was spared no longer but till Lot was out of it so if the Lots or Elect ones of the Lord were once fulfilled and gathered out of the world certainely it should continue and endure no longer Two stiles are giuen by this heauenly Oracle to Saints Militant here on earth both very comfortable We are called Brethren and fellow-seruants with them who are in heauen There is one Father of whom is named the whole Family both in heauen and earth All the seruants of that Family are the sonnes of God and all brethren among themselues and their Brother-hood is most excellent for first they are all quickened by one Spirit which cannot be said of any other brethren Among naturall brethren euery one hath his owne spirit but for Spirituall or Christian Brethren they are all quickned with one Spirit Secondly all Christians haue one Father and one Mother Ierusalem which is aboue And thirdly they haue all one inheritance naturall brethren cannot all be the heires of their father but Christians as they are all the sonnes of God so are they all the heires of God neither is the inheritance diminished by communication thereof vnto so many The other is that we are called their fellow-seruants so also doe they acknowledge themselues to be our fellow-seruants Conseruus tuus sum I am thy fellow seruant said the Angel to Saint Iohn Angels then and Saints glorified are not our Patroni sed Conserui they are not our Patrons that by our prayers to them wee should seek protection from them but they are our fellow-seruants and this should stirre vs vp in all carefulnesse to be answerable to our name that wee may serue and praise the Lord our God and euery way doe his holy will in earth as it is done by them in Heauen Againe it is here euident that the number of Saints elected and to be glorified is known vnto God as will appeare more plainely in the subsequent Chapter he hath them all in a roll and it is true of them all which our Sauiour said of his elect Disciples I haue lost none of those whō thou hast giuen me They are not known vnto vs onely the Lord knoweth who are his yet is euery particular Christian bound to make sure to himselfe that he is of that number Proue your selues whether ye are in the faith know yee not your owne selues how that Iesus Christ is in you except yee be reprobates The foundation and ground of our saluation is in God his vnchangeable loue and that remaines sure but the tokens of saluation are in vs this is the seale of his foundation Let euery one that calleth on the Name of the Lord depart from iniquitie And by these tokens are wee to examine our selues whether we be of that number or no According to that of Saint Peter Make sure your calling and election by wel-dooing VERSE 12. And I beheld when he had opened the sixt Seale and loc there was a great Earth-quake and the Sun was as blacke as sack-cloth and the Moone like bloud IN the first foure seales wee haue the generall course of things as they are to continue to the end foreshewed vnto vs. In the last two the generall end of all mankind and that two-fold according to their two ranks and estates the happy end of the godly discouered in the fist seale and at greater length explained in the seuenth Chapter the tragicall and dolefull end of the vvicked foreshewed in this sixt seale And this followes the former very properly In the fist seale the soules of Saints cry to God that he would auenge their bloud there the Lord promised to do it and now the number of Saints being fulfilled and sealed the Lord comes forth in terrible manner to performe it by executing his last full and finall wrath vpon the wicked which iudiciously hath beene obserued by his Maiestie The sixt seale is an accomplishment of that dissolution craued and promised in the fist seale The order lets vs see how the Lord is much mooued vvith the cry of his Saints If that vnrighteous Iudge who neither feared God nor man answered the widow because shee cryed instantly vpon him how much more will the Iudge of all the world who cannot doe vnrighteously heare his Saints who cry vnto him night and day Certainly he will be auenged of their enemies Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints This Vision by some Interpreters is expounded allegorically as if it foreshewed defections Apostasies darkning of the light of the Gospel and obscuring of the face of the Church visible this I confesse is analogall to faith but not to this Prophecie for two causes first because the darkning of the Gospel figured by the darkning of the Sun and the Apostasies of Preachers and Professors figured by the falling of starres is particularly foreshewed in the vision of the trūpets which contain the second Prophecie The other reason is more pungent for it is said here plainly that at the darkning of the Sunne and Moone at the departure of heauen falling of starres Kings Great men and Captaines were terribly afraid and therefore cannot it be vnderstood of Apostasie and defection whereof they themselues were both authors and actors Was it the obscuring of the light of the Gospel that made them to cry out Rocks and Mountaines fall vpon vs and couer vs It can stand with no sense for so farre were they from all feare for that matter that by the contrary they reioyced in it and did what they could to extinguish the Gospel and erect heresies to force Preachers and Professors vnto defection and in so doing they thought they did good seruice vnto God Others againe take it for a denuntiation of some externall and temporall iudgement such as vvas executed on Persecutors and specially vpon Dioclesian It is true that in the holy Scripture many of the phrases vsed here are vsed also to expresse fearefull temporall iudgements threatned against particular states and persons of wicked men Looke the denuntiation of iudgement against Babel and Egypt to expresse the horror of their plagues mention is made of the darkning of the Sunne and Moone c. And in the Prophecie of the destruction of Samaria idolatrous Apostates are brought in crying Hills and Mountains fall vpon vs and couer vs. The same phrases are also vsed to expresse the terror of the destruction of Ierusalem but these make nothing against our exposition for temporall iudgements beeing types and figures of the great and generall Iudgement properly doth the Spirit of GOD borrow the phrases of holy Scripture vsed in denuntiation of
fore-heads and for confirmation thereof they cite Augustine What vse the signe of the Crosse had among the Ancients wee are not now to dispute but to say that the signe of the Crosse is this Seale of the liuing God is a childish and ridiculous folly for the Seale of God here spoken of is proper to Gods Elect and so cannot be the signe of the Crosse wherewith many Reprobates may be marked Qui malè operatur si se emendare noluerit quando se signat peccatum illius non minuitur sed augetur He who liueth euill and amendeth not when he signeth himselfe his sinne is not diminished but augmented And againe Nesciunt miseri quod dum se signant de malo opere se non reuocant includunt in se daemones magis quà m excludunt Those miserable men who will not recall themselues from doing of euill and yet will signe themselues with the signe of the Crosse they know not that by so doing they rather include Deuils within them then exclude them So that the signe of the Crosse cannot bee this Seale of God wherewith none but the seruants of GOD are marked Now that we may know what it is let vs consider that a Seale is a note of appropriation whereby a man marketh that which is his own with his owne marke that it may bee discerned from that which is not his Thus Marchants put their marke on their owne Wares in a Ship and Sheepe-heards likewise put their marke on their owne sheepe to distinguish them from others of the Flock which are not theirs It imports also a conforming of the thing sealed vnto the scale wherewith it is sealed as we shall heare Hitherto tends that of Saint Augustine Signare quid est nisi proprium aliquid ponere Ideo rei ponis signum ne res cum aliis confusa à te non possit agnosci What is it to seale a thing but to put something or some note of thine owne vpon it whereby it may be discerned from others The Father is said to haue sealed the Sonne the Sonne againe is said to seale his Saints and Seruants by the holy Spirit The first is cleere for him hath the Father sealed that is Proprium quiddam dedit ne caeteris comparetur hominibus Hee gaue him something of his owne to distinguish him from other men It is true the Lord Iesus is a Man indeed yet such as hath an incomparable note of super-excellence aboue other men For this Seale of the liuing God Christ hath it first Essentially then Ministerially Essentially hee hath it for hee is the Image of the inuisible God and ingrauen character of his Person Hee hath life in himselfe as the Father hath life in himselfe Hee hath it also as Mediator ministerially to communicate it vnto others not in that degree whereby hee possesseth it himselfe that is impossible but in a certaine similitude for hee giueth life to whom hee will as the Father quickneth whom hee will And thus hee sealeth his owne by imprinting in them his owne similitude and image by the holy Spirit What then is the Seale of the liuing God but the Image of the liuing God which the Lord Iesus by his holy Spirit stampes and engraues in the soules of his Saints This the Apostle tels vs plainely It is God who stablisheth vs with you in Christ and hath anointed vs and hath sealed vs and hath giuen the earnest of his Spirit in our hearts And againe After that yee beleeued ye were sealed with the holy spirit of promise And yet againe Grieue not the holy Spirit of God by whom yee are sealed vnto the day of Redemption Of all these it is cleere that as I haue said The Seale of God is the Image of God stamped in the soules of his children by the holy Spirit This was our first glorie that we were created to the Image of our God Satan and our selues did miserably deface it but now by the grace of Iesus in our Redemption it is againe graciously restored They who want this Seale the Lord will not acknowledge them to be his Away from mee yee workers of iniquitie I know you not And if wee our selues would know whether this Seale hath stamped vs or not let vs looke to our owne disposition for euery seale leaues such an imprinted forme in that which it sealeth as it hath in itselfe The Lord is holy hee is light hee is iust mercifull meeke long-suffering if hee hath communicated his Image to vs then will hee make vs some way to resemble our Father we shall become holy light in the Lord righteous toward all men mercifull meeke long-suffering and readie to forgiue for what else is Christianisinus but imitatio diuinae naturae Christianity but an imitation of the Diuine Nature In a word looke the fruits of the Spirit and of the flesh as they are reckoned out and opposed to other by the Apostle If the Lord haue sealed vs with his Seale then shall the fruits of the Spirit be manifest in vs if otherwise the fruits of the flesh be predominant sure it is thou are not sealed by the holy Spirit for such as are sealed by him hee maketh them like vnto himselfe Now this Seale they are said to haue it in their fore-heads because it emboldeneth them to stand to the publike confession of Christ First as I haue shewed hee sealeth them in their hearts and next in their fore-heads No terrour no intreatment can moue them to deny the Lord Iesus Hee that denyes me before men I shall deny him before my Father in heauen I am not ashamed of the Gospell of Iesus said S. Paul Innumerable proofes hereof we haue in Confessors and Martyrs of all times There is a notable example giuen hereof by Sanctus the Martyr in the persecution vnder Commodus when it was demanded of him what his name was Hee answered Christianus sum and to all questions demanded of him of his Countrey and Parents he gaue onely this answer Christianus sum Let vs try our selues whether we haue this seale or not where wee find a beginning thereof let vs carefully conserue it that the lineaments of that image be not defaced by the deepnesse of Satan and deceit of our owne sinfull corruption for the want of this seale will make the Lord deny his owne creature in that Day Depart from me ye workers of iniquity I know you not The siluer which is not strucken with the Kings stampe is counted adulterous and not receiued in his treasure Sic anima que imaginem Christi non habet in coelestes thesauros non ingredietur so the soule which hath not the image of Christ shall not be layd vp in the heauenly treasures And he cryed By his crying with a loud voice nothing else is noted
fifteene hundred thousand and moe of men able to draw sword And here of all ages onely a hundred and forty foure thousand are sealed to eternall life to teach vs they are few in comparison of the rest So Augustine vnderstands that place of Ieremy I shall take you one of a Citie and two of a Tribe and shall bring you to Sion There is a narrow shifting few are taken in respect of them who are left Though the number of Israel were as the sand of the Sea yet shall but a remnant be saued This is more plainely for all spoken by our Sauiour It is the wide gate and broad way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which goe in there at but the gate is strait and the way is narrow that leadeth vnto life and few there be that finde it This should waken vs to take heed to our selues the fewer they be who are to be saued the more carefull should we be to make sure our calling and election by well dooing As to the order obserued in the reckoning out of these Tribes wee are to knowe that sometime they are reckoned according to that order which Iacob their Father kept in blessing them Sometime againe they are reckoned according to their excellencie as heere Iuda had the prerogatiue of dignitie for it is certaine The Lord sprang out of Iuda Sometime the order of their natiuity is obserued and so Aaron had them grauen in twelue precious stones vpon his brest to present them vnto the Lord Figuring by a sweer relation the Lord Iesus presenting his Saints to the Father in more effectuall and comfortable a manner and then Ruben is first Simeon second Leui third Iuda fourth but here they are not so numbred for in the kingdome of Heauen prerogatiues of birth or bloud will not be respected It is good reason that in this life such dignities should make a distinction among men and cause one to be preferred before another but it will not bee so there There is neither Iew nor Grecian there is neither bond nor free there is neither male nor female for ye are all one in Christ Iesus VERSE 5. Of the Tribe of Iuda were sealed twelue thousand Of the Tribe of Ruben vvere sealed twelue thousand Of the Tribe of Gad were sealed twelue thousand VERSE 6. Of the Tribe of Aser were sealed twelue thousand Of the Tribe of Nephtali were sealed twelue thousand Of the Tribe of Manasse were sealed twelue thousand VERSE 7. Of the Tribe of Simeon were sealed twelue thousand Of the Tribe of Leui were sealed twelue thousand Of the Tribe of Issachar were sealed twelue thousand Of the Tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelue thousand VERSE 8. Of the Tribe of Ioseph were sealed twelue thousand Of the Tribe of Beniamin vvere sealed twelue thousand COncerning these Tribes it is needlesse for vs to speake particularly of that which may be found written of them in the holy storie Primasius and others runne out here vpon Allegories not very pertinent to this purpose we wil onely speake a little of the nomination of Leui and the omission of Dan. Leui had no inheritance in earthly Canaan they were dispersed in Iuda and scattered in Israel that they might teach Iacob the iudgements and Israel the Law of the Lord yet now haue they their portion in heauenly Canaan with the rest Let this serue for a comfort to the Lords seruants vvho are set ouer others to teach them the way of saluation and to minister spirituall things vnto them who will not so much as requite them with corporall entertainment of their worldly things what thou wantest at the hands of men the Lord shall recompence it Laban defrauded Iacob of his vvages notwithstanding that he serued him faithfully but the Lord payed him and recompenced all his losses Again albeit the Tribe of Leui as we haue said had the charge to teach all the rest of the Tribes yet are no moe sealed then of other Tribes all were Teachers but all are not sealed Heereof ariseth a caution for Preachers and a comfort for Professors They are not all saued who are of the holy calling not all Priests not all Prophets not all Apostles not all Preachers à profane man may be in the holy calling but will it profit him No more then the Arke did Ophni and Phinees Yet Preachers if they be faithfull shall not vvant their great reward For they vvho turne many to righteousnesse shall shine as the Starres for euer Professors againe let them not be discouraged though they be not called to be Preachers they are not of Leui his Tribe yet is it sufficient for their saluation if they be of Iuda his Tribe and called to be Saints Neither shall they be depriued of this dignitie to be Fellovv-helpers of Preachers if they loue them pray for them helpe them counsell them comfort them that they may doe the worke of God vvith ioy and not with griefe So Saint Paul giueth this commendation to Aquila and Priscilla that they were â—…his fellow-helpers in Christ they could not preach the Gospell yet receiue they this praise that they were Saint Paul his fellow-helpers in preaching Now as concerning the omission of Dan the reason of this giuen by Iesuites is because as they alledge Antichrist was to come of Dan. But with as good a warrant might they say that Antichrist shall come of Ephraim for he is omitted also Antichrist say they shall come three yeeres and an halfe before the second comming of Christ and no sooner At this time the Tribe of Dan had not brought out the Antichrist and will Iesuites haue the Lord here to depriue them of their dignity for sinnes to be done it being a common equitie which the Lord keepes in all his waies the sinne is first coÌ„mitted by the wicked before that iudgement by the Lord be executed vpon them Hee hath spared wicked men as he did the Amalekites many yeeres after they had sinned they sinned in the dayes of Moses they are punished in the dayes of Samuel foure hundred yeeres after but that the Lord hath punished a people sixteen hundred yeeres and more before they committed the sinne as this doting diuinitie of Iesuites would make vs to belieue it hath not been heard and is without all example But when the Iewes shall get another Christ for whom they looke to come out of the Tribe of Iuda then shall the Iesuites get another Antichrist for whom they looke out of the Tribe of Dan and that shall neuer be They cite Ambrose for confirmation of their opinion he saith it indeed but shewes no warrant for it we willingly embrace the Fathers gold but will not gather their drosse according to that ancient rule of Vincentius Lirinensis Doctors should be receiued with the Faith of the Church but we must not with the Doctors
Song they are euerie one of them as I said by themselues beautifull and glorious but so much the more beautifull as they are many and diuers agreeing all in one vnitie As in a Musicall Instrument the sound is sweeter if the strings be many yet concordant Nam sâ—…nus sâ—…auissimus â—…it ex diuersis non aduersis sonis ita sancti habebunt tune differentias suas consonantes non dissonantes So is it with Saints howsoeuer different in regard of many sorts of people whereof they consist yet agree they all in one sweete consonance and harmonie among themselues Saluation In this one word of saluation they comprise the whole benefits of our Redemption the greatnesse of this saluation will best be knowne by looking to that three-fold condemnation from which God hath deliuered vs and whereof wee haue spoken Rom. 8. ver 1. All the glory of our saluation they ascribe to the Lord and to none other they look neither to Angell nor man but giue the glorie of saluation to the mercies of God and merites of the Lamb. The discordance of Popish Hymnes from this Song of Saints shewes them to be Antichristian for in all their songs prayers there soundeth an vncouth voice of the merits of men yea in their Masse-booke they are not ashamed to pray that they may come to heauen by another bloud then the bloud of the Lambe Their distinction of principally and secondarily will not free them of blasphemy Our saluation say they principally is from God and the Lambe but secondarily it must be helped by our owne merites and the merites of others No such word haue we in this heauenly Song If they would sing this Song with vs and say Amen to it as Angels do in the next verse Controuersies betweene Christian Catholiques and them that will be called Catholiques Romane were the more easily ended But heresies must be that such as are approued may be tryed VERSE 11. And all the Angels stood round about the Throne and about the Elders and the foure liuing creatures and they fell before the Throne on their faces and worshipped God THE former thankes-giuing of Saints is here seconded by Angels not onely saying Amen and so approuing that which redeemed Saints haue said before but also v. 12. subioyne to this same purpose a new Thankes-giuing of their own where first we haue to obserue the order of the heauenly Court first we haue the Throne vpon which sitteth the blessed Trinitie the Father the Sonne and the seuen-fold Spirit proceeding from both O what a coÌ„fort is it in the sight of Angels and Saints redeemed the Man Iesus Redeemer of Saints sitteth on the Throne with the Father next to the Throne are the soure liuing creatures representing the chiefe and principall order of Angels as we haue shewed chap. 4. Then about them stand the foure and twenty Elders representing the whole Church of Saints redeemed and then in a circle about them stands the whole companie of other Angels What great comfort wee haue of this hath beene declared in the 4. chapter Stood round about the Throne In the ninth verse it hath beene said that redeemed Saints stood before the Throne now Angels are also said to stand about the Throne They stand neuer fell grace preserued them wee fell and were in the transgression but grace raised vs vp againe and makes vs now to stand before the Throne O what a mercy hath the Lord shewed vpon vs If wee would know it let vs looke to the Reprobate Angels Of them so saith S. Iude The Angels who kept not their first estate but left their owne habitation hee hath reserued in euerlasting chaines vnder darkenesse vnto the iudgement of the great Day To this same purpose also saith Saint Peter God spared not the Angels that had sinned but cast them downe into hell and deliuered them into chaines of darkenesse to be keps vnto damnation yet man that sinned the Lord hath spared hee fell from his first estate as the Angels did yet did not the Lord cast him downe to hell nor deliuer him to Chaines of darkenesse as hee did them but mercifully hath raised him vp againe and made him to sit in the heauenly places in Christ Iesus And now hee stands before the Throne in the company of these blessed and elect Angels that stand and neuerfell Let vs meditate vpon this mercy which our narrow hearts can neuer sufficiently vnderstand Oh that we were as we should thankefull for it And they fell on their faces Before the Angels were said to couer their faces with wings now againe they fall on their faces noting no other thing then their humble reuerence in praysing God and recommending the reuerence of bodily humiliation to vs in the worshipping of God It is written of S. Iames the Apostle that his knees with frequent kneeling and his fore-head with often bowing it to the ground in the time of prayer obduruisse callo were become so hard vt nihil ferè à Cameli pedibus si duritiem spectes discreparent that they differed not in hardnesse from the knees or feete of a Camel But now men are become so delicate that they thinke it reuerence enough to discouer the head to fall on their face they will not yea scarse bow the knee to the ground to honour the Lord. Now when they fall on their face it is said They worshipped God In all this Court of heauen there is no worshipping of Angels Patriarches or Apostles all the sound of their voices is for to giue the Lord the glory of saluation and all the gesture they vse is to giue worship to the Lord onely and none other VERSE 12. Saying Amen Praise and glorie and wisedome and thankes and honour and power and might be to our God for euermore Amen THE former Song of Saints is now approued by Angels and they say Amen vnto it they will giue no part of the glorie of saluation to any man they will take none of it to themselues The consent of the Catholike Church consisting of Men and Angels we haue in the preceding confession Papists glory in their multitude and call this confession Hereticall which reserues the glory of saluation to God onely but there are more with vs then with them all the Angels of heauen say Amen vnto it Let vs keep the tenor of the heauenly Song choosing rather to be falsly named Heretiques with Saints and Angels then falsly named Catholiques with Papists who can neuer praise the Lord freely and fully but reserue a part of his glory to the creature Concerning the vse of the particle Amen we haue spoken before Praise and glory It contents them not by saying Amen to approue the Song of Saints but they will also praise God by theÌ„selues A warning to many of our cold Professors who will sit in the Church to heare God praised but not
vertue may be learned froÌ„ the Paschal Lambe which was a type of Christ Iesus When God slew all the first-borne in euery house of Egypt by his destroying Angell such houses as had the posts of their doores sprinkled with bloud were spared The Lord Iesus shal be a couering to his Saints to saue them from that wrath wherein the wicked shall perish His pacifying vertue is touched by the Apostle Being iustified by faith wee haue peace with God And againe The bloud of Christ cryeth for better things then the bloud of Abel But let vs take heed vnto our selues vnlesse we feele his purging vertue who naturally are vnclean the comfort of his protecting and pacifying vertue cannot be ours VERSE 15. Therfore are they in the presence of the Throne of God and serue him day and night in his Temple and he that sits on the Throne will dwell among them THe Sâ—…ignior hauing declared to Saint Iohn what these were whom he saw clothed in white garments with palmes in their hands to wit redeemed Saints not militant but hauing ended their warrefare and gotten the victory not vnder tribulation but come out of tribulation Hee now proceedeth and shortly describes their felicitic and happy estate wherein now they are and that in two points First in the affluence aboundance which they haue of al good next in their freedom and exemption from all euill In this verse three things are set downe concerning them First where are they In the presence of the Throne of God Next what doe they there they serue him day and night Thirdly what get they for that He that sitteth on the Throne will dwell among them By this phrase the vnspeakeable ioy communicated to them by the Lord is figured This can not be vnderstood of any estate of the Church militant here on earth neither of Iewes conuerted nor other Christians deliuered from the tyrannic of Antichrist as some Interpreters will haue it These words are not competent to Saints militant they hunger no more they thirst no more God shall wipe away allteares from their eyes In this valley of teares when shall we when shuld we be without teares Blessed are they who hunger thirst now for righteousnesse they shall be satisfied Now we hunger are blessed there they hunger no more but are fully satisfied The Millenaries of old had an opinion somewhat like this that Saints after Christ his comming for a thousand yeeres should possesse the earth by themselues without all tribulation but neither before his comming nor after is any such quiet estate of the Church here vpon earth warranted by the holy Scripture Therefore This is relatiue to the words immediatly preceding They haue made their robes white in the bloud of the Lambe therefore are they in the presence of God There is no fellowship vvith God but by the Lord Iesus Euery man in this presumptuous age saith that he hath Iesus but Iesus is a Physician of great value If thou haue him he will cleanse thee from the filthy leprosie of thy sinnes Art thou not cleansed then hast thou not Iesus and without him thou canst not be admitted into the comfortable presence of God The last Chapter was concluded with the tragicall and fearfull end of the wicked The day of the Lords wrath is come who can stand said they The wicked shall not stand in iudgement but shall bee banished from the presence of his glory But here wee see how the godlystand before the Throne are in the presence of God As their courses in their life are coÌ„trary to other so shal their ends be God giue vs grace to make choice of the best For we see before vs the way wherein they walked and the order which they obserued who now are in the kingdome of heauen first they are washed in the blood of Christ and then they are in the presence of God if we would come where they are let vs keepe the course wherein they walked Before Ioseph was presented vnto Pharao his head was shauen his nailes were pared his garments changed and must not wee cut away from vs our superfluities before wee be admitted into the presence of God Esther was six moneths purified with oile of myrrhe and other six moneths with sweet odors before she was married with Ahasuerus And shall wee thinke to be where the Lord is without a similitude with him Or what similitude can wee haue with that holy One except that first we be washed and cleansed from our naturall vncleanenes In the presence of God There is a threefold presence of God First a presence of his goodnesse next a presence of his grace and thirdly a presence of his glory whereof here is spoken The presence of his goodnesse he grants vnto all men in the vtter Court of his Palace for he maketh the Sunne to shine and the raine to fall vpon the iust and the vniust Who may not see the goodnesse of the Lord in the manifold good creatures which hee hath created The earth is full of his goodnesse yea the inuisible things of God that is his eternall power and godhead are seene in the creation of the world The light of this presence hath learned natural men many things concerning God by it the Platonies saw Deum omnia ista fecisse à nullâ—… fieri potuisse that God had made all these things and could not be made of any other himselfe yea they ascended farre higher to vnderstand much more coÌ„cerning the nature of God as more at large is set down in that same place by Saint Augustine And yet all this knowledge gotten in the court or schoole of the creature did but make them to be without excuse because that when they knew God they glorified him not as God The presence of his grace hee giueth to his Saints specially in their holy assemblies there by the preaching of his Word and operation of his holy Spirit hee sheweth himselfe a gracious mercifull and reconciled God to them in Christ they seeke him and worship him in Spirit and truth and he speakes peace vnto them and secretly by his holy Spirit witnesses vnto their hearts that hee is their Father that is his little Sanctuarie I meane his Church narrower by much then the vtter great court as I haue called it in that wherein all men see his goodnesse in this hee is familiar with his Saints and they onely see and feele his grace Of this presence speaketh Dauid for in his banishment hee longed for it My soule thirsteth for GOD euen for the liuing God when shall I come and appeare before the presence of God and what presence he meanes of he expounds himselfe That he might goe with the multitude and lead them into the house of God with the voyce of singing and praise for God in a speciall manner appeares in
destruction Reuel 13. 8. The Prophecy of the Pope his destruction is two-sold 1 It is set down in speeches Typicall Where first there preceeds preparation then there followes execution in the 15. and 16. chapters 2 It is set down in speeches simple The presumption of blinded Papists scorneth at the ruine of Rome Reu. 18. 7. Reuel 18. 21. But the destruction ther of is concluded by the Lord. Reuel 16. 1 1. Sam. 5. 3. Iesuits do wel in time to enquire for a new Seat for their Pope Zach. 5. 11. A warning to Papists Amos 6. 3. Reuel 18. 8. The fourth fifth chapter haue no Visions of prediction but onely of Preparation Reu. 1. 12 13 14. The first Prophecie of things which are had before it a Preparatory Vision Reuel 1. 14. So the second Prophecie of things to come hath before it a conueniâ—…t Preparatory Vision and that twofold 1 A Vision of God the Creator ruling all chap. 4. Verse 11. 2 A Vision of God the Redeemer reuealing all to his Church ch 5. Reu. 5. 9. How both these Preparatory Visions are properly conuenient to the Vision of Prediction subsequent Iohn 16. 1. The time wherein Saint Iohn saw this Vision Reuel 1. Carthus A three-fold â—…ight 1 Naturall common to the creature Rom. 1. 10. 2 Supernaturall or Propheticall this is made by reuelation representation or both Numb 24. Gen. 41. Dan. 2. Carthus How the sight which S Iohâ—… saw was Internall Imaginary Intellectuall 3 Spirituall proper to Saints chosen and called 2. Cor. 3. 18. 2. Cor. 5. 7. 1. Pet. 1. 1. Iohn 3. 2. 1. Pet. 1. 8. The naturall sight can bee no comfort without the spirituall Numb 24. Two things increase grace in a Preacher 1 Conscientious vsing of that which he hath Ber. in Psal. qui habitat 2 Carefull crauing of that which he hath not No entrance can wee haue to things heauenly except God open the doore Acts 14. 27. 2. Cor. 6. 9. 2. Cor. 2. 12. Heauen in this place cannot signifie the Militant Church Heauen three waies taken in holy Scripture 1 For the Church Triumphant Reu. 11. 2 For the Church Militant 3 For the Church representatiue S. Iohn learned not these mysteries in the Church militant nor from it but for it 2. Cor. 12. 2 4. The Lord who taught him to know them must also teach vs or else wee cannot learne them 2. Cor. 3. Of the voice which S. Iohn heard How this voice was vttered we need not enquire Sufficient is it for vs that S. Iohn vnderstood it and makes vs also to vnderstand it If we wait on God hee shall reueale himselfe vnto vs. How this voice is compared to the sound of a Trumpet Manuscript The voice of God is loud liuely Rom. 1. Heb. 4. 12. Ioh. 5. 25. Miserable are they that cannot heare it nor yet bee wakened by it A sweet voice by which God speakes to his owne Hee must go out of himselfe that would go vp vnto God Psal. 45. 10. Exod. 20. A warning to Preachers The voice of God calleth men to come vp Iude 6. 2. Pet. 2. Satans voice calleth them downe-ward Math. 8. 22. Iob 1. God his voice to apostate man is Come to mee Math. 11. 28. Psal. 65. 4. This voice neuer sounded to apostate Angels God his predictions are arguments of his Prouidence Esay 41. 23. Satan his predictioÌ„s wherefrom come they 2. Chro. 18. 19. * Or Sargeant Miserable are they who consult with Satan about things to come 1. Sam. 28. 19. Magdeburg câ—… Rom. 11. Psal. 40. 7. Things foretold in this Prophecie must be done An answer to prophane mockers who thinke they shall not bee done Zach. 6. 1. This Prophecie is not to be vnderstood of things past vnder the old Testament Manuscript God worketh in his children that which he craues How is it to be vnderstood that S. Iohn was in the Spirit Carthus Haymâ—… Not that hee wanted a body but it was left senselesse for a time the soule being intended to heauenly things The body as it is now is a great impediment to the soules familiar fellowship with God This is illustrate by a similitude And proued to the godly by their experience specially in prayer ☞ Wee must first heare the Lord before wee can see him Ber. in Cant. ser. 41. Psal. 48. 8. How a Throne is ascribed to God Why this Throne is said to be in heaueÌ„ Iob 34. 11 12. Gen. 18. 25. The seeling of the Throne The Court that compasseth this Throne 1. King 10. A glassie Sea before the Throne How this preparatorie Vision is proper for the subsequent predictions The sight of God sitting on his Throne disâ—…ipates all doubtings and feares arising froÌ„ the greatnesse of men Psalm 2. A strong bulwarke against the feare of flesh Psalm 76. 12. Psalm 46. 1. Psal. 2. Gene. 11. Man hath proud Propositions weake assumption of these come fectlesse conclusions Esay 31. 3. 〈◊〉 How this Vision is expounded by some Interpreters The right accommodation of these types No man can sufficiently declare that which the Lord iâ—… And therefore is hee shadowed in such maner as it pleased himselfe to appeare Bern. Diuerse opinions concerning the Iasper Sardine Victorinus Primasius in Apocal. Berengandus Haymo Carthusiâ—…s Epiphâ—… lib. de 〈◊〉 lapidibus The three persons of the blessed Trinitie represented here Brightman The eternity of God figured by the Iasper Iam. 1. 17. Psalm 102. 16. Psalm 92. 13. The iustice of God figured by the Sardine Hebr. 12. 29. Plin. lib. 37. ca. 7. Iames 2. 13. The mercy of God keeping couenant shadowed by the rainebowe He keepes the temporall and common couenant much more the eternall Gene. 9. 14. Iere. 31. 35 36. A comfortable meditation concerning the Rainbow Peter Martyr in Genes The creatures declare that God is but defined not what he is Bern. in Cant. Serm. 31. Earthly Kings borrow glory from the creature not so the Lord. Psal. 39. 5. Adam by the knowledge he had of the Creator knew perfectly the creature Now man learnes by the creature to know the Creator Yet is he not able to conceiue that which the creature can teach him Three sorts of creatures in the heauenly Court Chap. 15. 2. These foure twenty Elders are not foure twenty Bookes Hieron Prolog Galeato But they represent the whole company of redeemed Saints So the Spirit of God himselfe doth expound them Chap. 5. ver 9. Primasius Bullingerus Chytroeus Collado Aretius Iunius Forbesius The drosse of the Fathers is not to be receiued for good gold Primas in Apoc. Primasius his iudgement concerning the foure and twenty Elders The Church is a circle in the midst whereof is the Lord. Math. 18. 20. Psal. 76. 11. Num. 2. Some are neerer the Throne then others but all enioy his sight Ioh. 14. 2. How Seates Crownes are ascribed to the Church Militant 1. Cor. 4. 13. The Church properly compared to the Moone Why thev who sit on the Seat