spirit is the first mover both in prayer and in praise and if we look upon all the Psalms of David we shall scarce find one of them which is not a most exact form of prayer and of praise both together and indeed these were the Songs of praise and thanksgiving which were meant by Nehemiah or rather Ezra for he made that book whence in ancient Canons it is usually reckoned under his name Even the songs recorded in the book of Psalms These Songs in some of their Titles shew the Singers for whom in others shew the use for which they were made by the Penmen of the Holy-Ghost the ninty second of them hath this Title A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath day and it was made by Moses say the Jewish Doctors to be said or sung on the Sabbath Targum goes farther and saith it was made by the first man that is by Adam for the Sabbath yet Docent Adamum Sabbatizasse needs not trouble us in this case for t is plain from the Hebrew inscription which is to be looked on as a part of the Text that the Holy-Ghost intended this Psalm as a set form of prayer and praise to be used on the Sabbath day to shew that enemies to set forms are enemies to the Sabbath The like may be said of the hundred and second Psalm which hath this Title A prayer for the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and poureth out his complaint before the Lord This Title in the Hebrew copies is accounted as the first verse of the Psalm and openly proclaimeth this Truth That the Holy Ghost not only commandeth the afflicted to pray but also prescribeth him this particular set form of prayer and though by commanding this he forbiddeth not others yet he plainly forbiddeth the contemptuous neglect and encourageth the Religious use of this he forbiddeth its contemptuous neglect for by his affirmative precept he bindeth at all times to an habitual though not to an actual obedience whereas a wilfull neglect much more a wilful contempt excludes the possibility of an habitual obedience And he also encourageth its religious use for as by his power he commandeth our obedience so also in his goodness he rewardeth it which was the ground of that excellent Proverb among the Jews 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Secar hamitsuah mitsuah Merces mandati est mandatum The reward of the commandment is the Commandment The reward of Piety is Piety with which agreeth that excellent gloss given by R. David Kimchi on the second verse of the first Psalm where he telleth us that God saith of the Law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is my Law till a man begins to read it with diligence and devotion but then he faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is his Law even his that so readeth it whereas Saint Paul hath said no more to make us in love with the Gospel it self but that it is able to transform us into the likeness of its own purity 2 Cor. 3. 18. But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the spirit of the Lord They who most look on the Lord in the looking-glass of his own word do most behold his glory And they who most behold his glory are most changed into his image from glory to glory even as by his Spirit because from his word for his Spirit is inseparably with his Word And therefore we may safely say that no man yet ever devoutly used any form of prayer or of praise which the Holy Ghost hath prescibed but by using it devoutly he both exercised and also increased his own devotion being the more inflamed with the love of making such spiritual addresses to his God and the more enabled to make them which is a truth dogmatically asserted by the very Jews and experimentally verified by many Christians who have then chiefly found the comforts of the Holy Ghost from their prayers when they have prayed in his own words the first proof whereof was in the Apostles themselves who after they had been threatned by the Rulers of the Jews made choice of the second Psalm for a great part of their prayer and the Text saith plainly that when they had prayed the place was shaken where they were assembled together and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost Act. 4. 31. This is the first proof we meet with among Christians of Gods publick accepting the words of the Holy Ghost in the mouths of men but there was one long before this among the Jews even in King Solomons time when upon the Priests singing the 136. Psalm God gave a visible sign of his acceptance For so it is said When they lift up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick and praised the Lord saying For he is good for his mercy endureth for ever which words are repeated in every verse of the 136. Psalm and accordingly shew it was that Psalm they sung that then the house was filled with a cloud even the house of the Lord so that the Priests could not stand to Minister by reason of the cloud for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God 2 Chron. 5. 13 14. What can be said more for the use of set forms of publick prayer but that God the Father Son and Holy Ghost hath made them hath appointed them hath approved them hath accepted them For in that he hath accepted these in the Text he hath assured us that he would reject none which should be made in imitation of these Let any man shew but half so much for extemporary and unpremeditated effusions and we shall be so far from denying him the use of his pretended liberty that we shall be glad to exempt him from the accusation of a pretence in his affected piety In the mean time as God himself did not think it sufficient to teach his Church to pray only by giving general rules but also by giving particular forms of Prayer so Gods Church could not think it sufficient to teach his people to pray without making for them such particular forms as should be sure to keep them to the general Rules because if she had not done so she had been guilty of a great omission for not following the example of Gods unerring perfection in teaching and of a great Commission for suffering the people committed to her charge to follow the misguidance of their own manifold and great imperfections for want of being taught Again Hezekiah the King and the Princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the Seer and they sang praises with gladness and they bowed their heads and worshipped 2 Chron. 29. 30. Had the King and the Princes forbad the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph under pretence that those set forms did make them lazy
yet can I not glorifie thy name as I ought nor remember thee as I would yea though with my soul I have desired thee in the night and with my spirit within me I seek thee early yet have I not so great desires in my soul as I have defects in my desires All the desire of my soul and of my spirit is too little for my God I have none to spare for any else and if I had yet might I not give it unless I had something greater then it to give unto my God This is the sin which is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iniquitas judicata vel judicantis digna quae à judicibus puniatur An iniquity to be punished by the Judge for a man to give that honour to the creature which is due only to the Creator for it is in effect to deny the God that is above For I should have denyed the God that is above Iob 31. 28. The earnest longings of my soul to converse with God in the actions of holy Religion are the best preparative for my soul to converse with him in the fruition of a blessed immortality my Religion must reach him or his blessedness will not reach me T is not conversing with Saints or Angels can give my soul a true gust of eternal blessedness and much less a happy enjoyment of it I should be loth to mispend my time upon so barren so unfruitful a Religion and much less to hazard my eternity upon it The Heathen Philosopher Hierocles could say It was the work of wisdom To make a God out of a man as far as was possible 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Christian Divine may not say less of Religion which is the only true wisdom T is its work to transform a man into God uniting the understanding to him by faith and contemplation uniting the will to him by charity and affection Thus saith the Apostle We all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord 2 Cor. 3. 18. In which words are briefly described both the work of Religion and the power of it The work of Religion is with open face to behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord for the soul cannot well fix its eye and much less its love upon any inferiour glory The Power of Religion is to change us into the same image of the Lord from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord for it is only the love and the spirit of the Lord which can change the soul from glory to glory the love of the Lord working that change formally the Spirit of the Lord working that change efficiently upon the soul from glory to glory that is from the glory of Religion to the glory of Fruition from the glory of Holiness to the glory of Happiness from the glory of knowing and loving God to the glory of possessing and enjoying him This being the work of Religion to behold the glory of the Lord I dare look on nothing as Religion which doth not that work This being the power of Religion to change the soul into that glory I dare not be of that Religion which hath not that power Let those that please behold the glory of the creature instead of the Creator they will not find it sufficient to content much less to change their souls I desire a Religion which may change me into the image of the Lord and sure I am that Religion must teach me to behold his face which will change me into his image for no other can have the assistance of his Spirit and therefore no other can have the power to work this change This is the great blessing I have received from God by this his now distressed Church That I have been called to the Verity of his Religion nor do I see how I can thankfully embrace and dutifully obey this Call but only by persisting in the Vnity of her Communion Such a Communion as joyns me with the Saints whether they be Angels or men in the manner of my worshipping not as joyns the Saints or Angels with God in the equality of worshp The Pater noster as it was used heretofore in the private devotions of English Papists allowed not this practice for therein this was the first Petition Hallowed be thy name among men on earth as it is among Angels in heaven The second this O Father let thy Kingdom come and reign among us men on earth as thou reignest among thy Angels in heaven The third this Make us to fulfill thy will here on earth as thy Angels do in heaven Now Prayer being the actual hallowing of Gods name the exercising of his Kingdom the fulfilling of his will must be directed only unto God unless we will plainly thwart these three Petitions and resolve to do these three Duties otherwise then the Angels do in heaven For without doubt they fix their contemplation only on God and place their Fruition only in him And so doth our Church in all her Prayers first teaching us to contemplate God as the first truth that we may pray with knowledge and understanding then to enjoy him as the chiefest good that we may pray with zeal and affection ex gr O God from whom all holy desires all good counsels and all just works do proceed there 's the contemplation of God to enlighten the understanding Give unto thy servants that Peace which this world cannot give that both our hearts may be set to obey thy Commandments and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness there 's the fruition of God to inflame the will and affections The soul cannot have this Fruition without having that contemplation and therefore they who teach and enjoyn Prayers to any but to God are in truth injurious to the very contentation and much more to the salvation of souls SECT IV. That the Communion of the Church of England obligeth those in conscience who are members of that Church to retain it and not to reject it much less to renounce it by no less then five Commandments of the Decalogue IT having been declared that the Communion of the Church of England is founded in the Truth of Religion It cannot be reasonably denyed but that even her enemies are bound to her internal and much more her sons are bound to her external Communion And that both are also bound in conscience because Religion will not be contented with a lesser obligation The Doctrine being from God which we profess and the Devotion being from God which we practise All Christians that live at never so great a distance from us are bound to believe our Doctrine and to love our Devotion and that 's enough to constitute an internal Communion But those Christians who live amongst us are also bound to profess our
he did rest He made the Sun Moon and Stars nor do I read there that he did rest But I read that when he had made man he did rest because â—e then had one to whom he could forgive sins God was not at rest till he had made man to whom he might forgive sins And after he had made him he was not at rest till he had forgiven him O my soul how canst thou be at rest till thou hast asked and obtained forgiveness God accounts the Perfection of Time not from his Power whereby he created the world but from his mercy whereby he redeemed it as if the creation of the whole world had been imperfect without man and the creation of man had been imperfect without his Redemption and all other Time not worth the notice save only that which Christ honoured with his coming for whose only sake Time it self deserved to be continued and not to be Untimed after men had corrupted it For as no satisfactory reason can be given why God destroyed not the whole people of the Jews in their so many Idolatries Rebellions and Apostasies but only that Christ was to come of their Nation So neither why Time it self should not have been destroyed long before Christs coming for the outragious sins and villanies which were acted by men but only that Christ was promised to come in it And so likewise for the same reason is Time still continued notwithstanding all the defections of wicked men from God and their defiances against God because Christ may not lose the end of his coming which was to save Repentant sinners so saith Saint Peter The Lord is not slack concerning his Promise but is long suffering to us-ward not willing That any should perish but that all should come to repentance 2 Pet. 3. 9. His will is That since his Son hath been pleased to take upon him the nature of man both sinful man should come to Repentance and Repentant sinners should come to salvation Thus in Gods account That is only the Perfection of Time wherein he gives Christ and why not also in ours that wherein we receive him For in truth all the Time of our life is but an imperfect Time till we have gained Christ There may be the Perfection of the natural man before but not of the spiritual man till he come to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ Eph. 4. 13. All the Time of our life though we live to Methuselah's Age is but imperfection of Time till with good old Simeon we come by the Spirit into the Temple and there see and embrace the Lord Christ Luke 2. 27 28. And then our life though never so short will immediately be so compleat and perfect that we may pray for a nunc dimittis and say Lord now at this very instant without any longer stay Lord new lettest thou thy servant depart in peace Saint Paul tells the Galathians plainly that though never so aged in themselves yet they were but meer children in his account till Christ was formed in them Gal. 4. 19. My little children of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you Did we truly believe this and seriously reflect upon our own belief we would look much less after the man and much more after the Christian Less after our selves more after our Saviour Less after our Interests more after our Devotions Since that only is to be accounted a perfect Time which Christ by his presence did once make so in the world and still is pleased to make so in our hearts Nor is it any disparagement to those heavenly Spheres by whose revolution Philosophy hath taught us to measure the duration of earthly things to say That though Time do borrow its continuance from heaven yet it borrows its Perfection only from the God of Heaven The continuance of Time leads to death but the perfection of Time leads to everlasting life This moment in it self is not a part of fleeting Time but in its good employment it is no less then a blessed eternity The motion of the first mover is exceeding glorious in the heavens but it is much more glorious in our hearts I will admire that motion because it produceth Time but I will rejoyce and acquiesce in this motion because it produceth eternity For this is the motion which alone affords rest unto my soul whiles I consider my blessed Saviour humbling himself but exalting and raising me O thou blessed moneth of December wherein the earth gives us nothing but heaven hath given us all things having given us him who is All in All CAP. II. Containing the Reasons of Christs welcome the infinite love of God the Father and of God the Son and Holy Ghost in our Redemption SECT I. Gods first gift to man was his Love in Christ His second gift was Christ in our nature No gift can prove a blessing unless God give it in love not Government not the Gospel though the one be the best Temporal the other the best Spiritual gift WE have passed through the Porch called Beautiful Acts 3. 2. wherein all mankind lame from their mothers womb had a long time laid expecting alms of the Son of God when he should please to enter into the Temple of his body Let us now go into the Sanctuary and there contemplate and consider the infinite Love of God which caused him to send his only Son for our Redemption and we shall never want Thankful hearts to bid him welcome nor Pious Hearts to make a right and conscionable use of his coming That as he came at first for our Redemption so he may come at last for our salvation And this Part of Christian Divinity hath been taught us by Christ himself not only by his Spirit as all the rest but also with his own mouth Saint John 3. 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Where it is evident That the cause why Christ was given to man was no other but only the love of God And consequently the grand Reason of our joyfully receiving this gift must be this That it proceeded from Gods infinite and undeserved love towards us For Gods first gift to man was his love in his Son His second gift was his Son in our nature So saith Saint Paul 2 Tim. 1. 9. According to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began Gods first gift was grace given us in Christ his second gift was Christ given us in our flesh And the Master of Scholastical subtilties makes this a rule of sound Reason as well as of sound Religion Inter omnia dona dantis primum donum quod dat quisquis dare potest est Amor ejus quem primo dat amato quia est ratio cujuscunque alterius doni nihil enim habet rationem doni nisi in quantum
sin shall not have dominion over you were not the reason of that a much greater comfort for ye are not under the Law but under Grace For they that groan under the oppression of Tyrants must needs be most glad to be delivered from their unjust and unmerciful dominion and here is that deliverance for sin which is a greater tyrant over the soul then any monster of men can be over the body shall not have dominion over you but they that have once been under the dominion of tyrants cannot be sure they are delivered out of their hands till they see themselves actually under the righteous and merciful dominion of their own rightful Governours And we may accordingly see that such is our deliverance from the dominion of sin in that it is said in the next words for ye are not under the law but under Grace the spirit of Grace now reigns in you and therefore will not let sin raign any longer in you nor the Law reign any longer over you as it is the strength of sin to provoke it or the judge of sinners to condemn and to torment them For if we lay not some such restriction upon the Apostles words we shall never be able to prove it is a mercy not to be under the Law which is gloriously magnified by the Spirit of God as that which giveth both holiness and wisdom Psal 19. 17. The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul there is the holiness The testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple there is the wisdom we must therefore say that the Law had a threefold use to restrain to condemn and to instruct to restrain sin to condemn the sinner and to instruct in righteousness The power the Law had to condemn sinners and to wrack our consciences before Gods judgement-seat is taken away by Christ so that they who truly lay hold on the Merit of Christ are not thus under the Law as condemning them And thus not to be under the Law is an invaluable mercy because the Law worketh wrath Rom. 4. 15. in shewing Gods wrath against sinners and us as sinners subject to that wrath But the power the Law had of restraining from sin and of instructing in righteousness still remains uncontroled of God and should be undoubted and undisputed of men for he that gave to the Jew an inheritance on earth to have his Law kept as t is said Psal 105. 43 44. And gave them the Lands of the heathen and they took the labours of the people in possession that they might keep his statutes and observe his Laws hath not promised to the Christian an inheritance in heaven to have his Law broken Therefore the Law must still restrain us from sin and direct us in righteousness only with this difference The power it hath of restraining us from sin grows less and less every day in the regenerate and can remain no longer then this life because sin it self in them shall remain no longer But the power the Law hath to instruct and direct in righteousness grows dayly more and more and is as immortal as righteousness it self and can never be abolished neither in this life nor in the life everlasting for it is easier for heaven and earth to pass then one tittle of the Law to fail Luke 16. 17. Nay the Heavens shall pass away with a great noise 2 Pet. 3. 10. But this power of the Law shall not pass away for it follows ver 13. that in the new heavens dwelleth righteousness And if righteousness dwell there then also the Law which is the rule thereof for it is not possible that any creature should have its own will but only the will of God for the rule of righteousness on which will it must as necessarily depend for its doing as for its being since nothing can be independent in its working which is not independent in its being and he only is independent in his being who is wholly in and of and for himself that is God blessed for ever who is the efficient and final cause of all things the efficient cause by whom the final cause for whom they are and were created In a word the regulating power of the Law cannot be abolished for that shall still remain in heaven the restraining power of the Law is not abolished but only changed in that true faith makes us more obedient for love then the Law for fear and the condemning power of the Law shall never be abolished for it shall still reign over the damned souls in hell and breed the worm of conscience that dyeth not And yet t is this condemning power of the Law that we are chiefly redeemed from not that the power of condemning is taken from the Law but that we are taken from its condemnation so saith the Apostle Rom. 8. 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus He saith not There is no condemnation from the Law but he said there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ because they that are in Christ do in him fulfil the Law and so cannot be under the condemnation of it For though they perform not that legal obedience which is able to satisfie Gods Justice yet they perform that Evangelical obedience which is undoubtedly acceptable to his mercy Their obedience though not worth acceptance in it self yet is very well accepted in Christ and that makes them that are in Christ so exceedingly strive to shew themselves dutiful and obedient because no other are made the Sons of God in Christ but only those who are made obedient to him by his Spirit And they truly are under grace because they truly are under Christ the fountain of grace for grace and truth came by Jesus Christ John 1. 17. Gratia dupliciter dicitur uno modo ipsa voluntas Dei gratis aliquid dantis alio modo ipsum gratuitum donum Dei saith Aquinas 3a 2. 10. cap. Grace hath two significations First it is taken for the love of God Secondly it is taken for the gift of that love and accordingly he that is under Grace is partaker of both these both of Gods love and of Gods free gift proceeding from that love And the latter is the infallible demonstration of the former the gift is the demonstration of the love For grace as it is the love of God is the cause of no Religious operations in the soul but as it is the gift of Gods love and therefore this phrase ye are under grace doth not bid us look up to Gods decree but look down upon our own souls to see if we can find there such Religious habits as may cause those Religious operations which are the undoubted evidences and effects of the gift of grace and therefore the undoubted evidences because the undoubted effect of it For grace as it is the gift of God in the soul works not immediately by it self or by its own essence but by virtuous
end a more perfect establishment of Christianity which before was not rightly practised This was truly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a time of rectification or direction for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is properly said of them who are directed immediately to their journeys end whereas before they were going the farthest way about and such indeed was the Jews way to heaven God leading them about through the wilderness into Canaan as well in the Mysterie as in the History as well in regard of the Coelestial as of the Terrestrial Hierusalem SECT VII A particular time appointed for rejoycing in Christ not by way of restriction but by way of Application The Christians Joy far above the Jews both for his Redemption and for his Adoption The priviledge of true Faith And how the Redemption by Christ is larger then the Adoption by him And the Adoption greater in his giving then in our receiving TO be glad in the Lord and to rejoyce in him makes Christmass last all the year yet is that no better reason why we should not keep Christmass-Day then our rest and contentation in God which we have or may have all the week is a reason why we should not keep the Sabbath or the Lords own day for it is very bad Logick and worse Divinity which argues from the position of the Duty to the eversion of the Day wherein we ought to exercise it for if the Duty must be exercised how can we reasonably deny the time of its exercise Yet do I not think that a particular time is to be allotted to rejoyce in Christ by way of restriction or limitation as if we should not rejoyce in him at other times for that is the malignant gloss which some of late have put upon the fourth Commandement confining Gods solemn publick worship only to the Sabbath not considering that the Jews had other grand festivals not prescribed in the Law and yet were more strictly bound to the letter of that Commandment then we Christians but I say that a particular Time ought to be allotted to rejoyce in Christ by way of application or of specification that we may more eminently and notoriously rejoyce in him at some time though our joy in him is to be confined to no time For the spiritual joy of the Jew was unconfined and much more the spiritual joy of the Christian who in a larger proportion hath received the Spirit of joy And therefore its observable that though in the Old Testament we are earnestly called upon to rejoyce in God yet are we not called upon for so much joy as in the New Testament let this one instance serve for all Be glad in the Lord and rejoyce ye righteous and shout for joy all ye that are upright in heart so the Prophet concludeth the 32. Psalm and in the same strain beginneth the 33. saying Rejoyce in the Lord O ye righteous for praise is comely for the upright calling for a very great proportion of Joy from the Jew but yet the Apostle in saying Rejoyce in the Lord alway again I say rejoyce Phil. 4. 4. hath called for a far greater proportion of joy from the Christian For here is not only the same joy that was before to wit joy in the Lord but here is the same joy in a greater degree of extension for he saith rejoyce in the Lord alway and in a greater degree of intension for he saith again I say rejoyce And if we further consider who are called the just and righteous and upon what terms they are called so we shall find also a greater degree of extension for that where is the greatest measure and diffusion of righteousness there must needs be the greatest measure and diffusion of joy And it is evident that they who trust in the Lord not in themselves are by the Psalmist called the just and the righteous or the upright For it is the priviledge of true faith not only to make us just but also to make us upright not only to justifie us but also to rectifie us it justifies us in that it absolves from sin it rectifies us in that it directs in righteousness and therefore the disobedient as well as the unbelieving heart the stubborn as well as the faithless generation is said not to trust in God Psal 78. 7 8 and the faithless generation is there known as well by this Character that set not their heart aright as by this whose spirit was not stedfast with God For true faith hath the priviledge first to set the heart to God then to settle it in God first to make the spirit right then to make it stedfast The heart is made right when it points directly towards God moving as a line from the circumference to the Center and the heart is thus made right or set towards God by the same faith that it is made stedfast or settled in God Wherefore since true faith at the same time both Rectifies and Justifies the soul of man it is no wonder if it cause its unspeakable as well as its unmoveable joy And where shall we look for this true faith if not in Christians for though the act of faith is as expresly set down in the Old Testament as in the New yet the object of faith is much more plainly declared in the New Testament So that Christians having a more perfect faith in Christ then had the Jews must needs have a greater joy in Christ then they could have And indeed what joy like the joy of the Redeemed by Christ or rather what joy like the joy of the adopted in Christ Since the joy of the Redemption is not to be had without the joy of the Adoption For many more have been Redeemed by Christ then do truly rejoyce in him because many more have been Redeemed then are adopted For the Redemption which man hath by Christ is of a greater latitude then is the Adoption because the Redemption concerns all mankind in general but the Adoption is restrained to some particular persons sc to those only within the Pale of the Church and that not only in their number and outward profession but also in their merit or inward affection as Aquinas hath laid the ground of that distinction 22◠qu. 1. art 9. ad tertium in these words Talis enim fides sc formata invenitur in omnibus illis qui sunt numero merito de Ecclesia A true and lively faith is found in all those who are meritoriously as well as numerically members of the Church And where the true faith is found there and there only is the true joy in Christ or the joy of adoption And these two may very well agree that the Redemption it selfe should be universal and concern the whole nature of man which Christ assumed and therefore redeemed but yet the benefit thereof in the adoption of sons should be onely particular that is concerne those alone to whom God doth give special grace to make a right
Holy Word that she should first faithfully keep it and after that faithfully interpret it wherefore to say the Church hath falsified her trust in keeping Gods Word is in effect to say she is not trust-worthy to interpret it which is bring all Religion to doubts and uncertainties in the knowledge to schisms and divisions in the practice thereof For surely if the Lords own most holy prayer hath been so ill kept by the Church which in all ages hath been looked upon as the sum of the Gospel and as the plat-form or rather the ground-work of all true Religion then we must needs have but very little or no assurance concerning the rest of the Scriptures wherefore it concerns all Christian Divines in the first place to vindicate the Church of Christ concerning her faithful keeping of this Prayer which would have been altogether needless had not some Criticks of later years obtruded their own observations for various Lections and by that means not cleared the Text but puzzled it But let us ask them Are the unknown manuscrips or the known and received Copies of the Church to be taken for the Text If the former we trust private men and private spirits which God never entrusted with his word If the latter we have as unquestionable a Lords Prayer as if we had heard it immediately from his own mouth For we have it thus exactly delivered us by the Greek and the Latine Church in the undoubted Originals of Saint Matthews Gospel For the Greek Church let Saint Chrysost speak who hath so elegantly and so exactly expounded at this Doxology in his nineteenth Homily upon Saint Matthew plainly shewing the necessary connexion thereof to the last Petition of the Lords Prayer that it is evident he accounted it as a part of the Prayer though as no part of the Petitions for saith he Our Saviour having told us of that evil one which we were to fight against for so he expounds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 deliver us from that evil one that is the devil thought fit to encourage us to the fight by telling us also of the King that would lead us to the battel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and therefore he saith For thine is the Kingdom c. shewing that if the Kingdom be his we ought to fear no other but him for that the power is his to defend us and the glory is also his to reward us Thus in effect Saint Chrysoft upon the place so that t is a wonder to see Beza hath reckoned him among those Fathers who expounded the Lords Prayer of purpose and yet omitted these words in their Expositions for sure he omitted them not who expounded the Original Greek though Saint Cyprian and Saint Augustine and Saint Ambrose omitted them happily because they looked no further then the Latine translation which adds Amen at the end of libera nos a malo and takes no notice at all of the Doxology And yet Saint Ambrose lib. 6. de Sacram. cap. 5. asserting that our Prayers ought to begin and end with the praise of God after the example of the Lords own Prayer habes hoc in oratione Dominica c. doth in effect allow the Doxology to be the end of that Prayer since it is evident that Deliver us from evil is no matter of praise nay indeed he doth rather alledge it in sense though not in words in saying that the priest concludes with such a form of praise as is in truth no other then an exposition of this Doxology only applied to all three Persons of the blessed Trinity Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum in quo tibi est cum quo tibi est honor laus gloria magnificentia potestas cum Spiritu Sancto à seculis nunc semper in omnia secula seculorum But however if that be a good Argument why we should leave the Doxology or the conclusion out of the Lords Prayer in Saint Matth. because it is not in the Vulgar Latine it must be as good an argument why we should leave the introduction and the last petition out of the same Prayer in Saint Luke for there in the Latine translation is no mention of noster qui es in coelis nor of libera nos à malo whereas the Greek Text gives us that Prayer with its conclusion in Saint Matthew and the same Prayer not mangled but whole and entire though without its conclusion in Saint Luke and there is no greater reason but only some mens bold conjectures to say that the conclusion of that Prayer was added to the Greek Text in Saint Matthew then to say that the introduction and last Petition of it was added to the Greek Text in Saint Luke for both alike are left out of the Latine translation But though they have been both left out of the Bibles by the Latine translation yet we cannot say that either hath been left out of the Bibles by the Latine Church For the Greek copies of Saint Matthews Gospel this day agnized by the Latine Church are ready to depose the contrary all of them having the Doxology annexed to the Petitions as the conclusion to its premisses without any the least interruption and then at last adding ' A 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at the end of the whole which is an invincible argument that the Latine Church received those words of the Doxology as an undoubted part of the Greek Text and therefore durst not leave them out of their Bibles though they found no footsteps at all of them in their own Latine translation Wherefore it is evident that this Prayer both in its Petitions and in its conclusion hath alwaies been received as an unquestionable part of Saint Matthews Gospel both by the Greek and the Latine Churches and consequently those men have disparaged the Church of Christ and disadvantaged the Christian Religion who have either commenced or continued either begun or maintained any quarrels against this most holy Prayer either in it self or in its use Nay in truth such men have disparaged and disadvantaged themselves for cavilling with that Prayer which so plainly teacheth them to say Our Father must needs be accounted an ill sign that they have received and a worse means that they may retain the adoption of Sons Surely Saint Cyprian who whipped those Sectaries with scourges that refused to communicate with Christs Church as not caring by their obedience to say Our mother would further have whipped them with scorpions had they refused to communicate with Christ himself as abhorring in their Prayers to say Our Father And doubless it may reasonably be demanded of us with what certainty of faith or satisfaction of conscience we do communicate with them in their Prayers who will not communicate with Christ in his Prayer And how we shall answer it to our Saviour when he shall come to be our Judge that we have indeed renounced his Prayer and have given occasion to sober men to fear that we have also
remarkable circumstances we shall then see how properly our blessed Saviour was called the Lamb of God First the Paschal Lamb was one of the flock Exod. 12. 5. So Christ was one of us and dwelt among us Saint John 1. 14. And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us This consideration That the word was made flesh as it may inflame our devotions because our Saviour is in our own flesh to pitty us and to relieve us so it must cool and allay our distempers That he is in that same flesh which we so easily suffer in our selves to be excessively passionate and either distracted by sinful factions or distempered by sinful affections So that now what sins I commit in the flesh I commit not only against that flesh which in my self goes creeping and growling on the earth but also against that flesh which in my Saviour is exalted into heaven and there sitteth at the right hand of God This is the Apostles most pathetical argument against all the sins of uncleanness and should be mine in the like case or temptation Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of an Harlot God forbid 1 Cor. 6. 15. as if he had said I must abandon abhor all uncleannesses of the flesh in that thereby I shall sin against mine own body How much more in that thereby I shall sin against my Saviours body Secondly the Paschal Lamb was without blemish so Christ was without sin the only spot and blemish of the soul In peccato sunt reatus macula saith the School All sin as it brings a guiltiness with it so it leaves a spot and blemish after it Our Saviour Christ was without this spot and we must labour to be without it likewise by being made conformable to him So should we rightly understand the hidden mysterie of predestination more by our practise then we can possibly by our speculations or disputes if every one of us would really endeavour to fulfill that part of it To be conformed to the image of his Son Rom. 8. 29. For whom he did fore-know he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son The great quarrel of Christendom at this day is about conformity that all Churches will not be conformed to one And yet even that conformity if it were brought to pass would not could not put an end to other differences But here is such a conformity that would soon end all quarrels whatsoever if men would make it their study and business to conform themselves to the image of the Son of God If men would seriously endeavour a conformity with Christ by holiness meekness patience obedience vertues so much out of our use that they are almost out of our knowledge but quite out of our remembrance they would never be Non-conformists in any lawful thing nor require conformity in any that is unlawful much less would they brand one another as reprobates but every one would strive to make his own Election sure Hope well of anothers so we should all forth with prove unerring students unblamable proficients in that grand controverted Doctrine of Predestination if we did but truly follow the meekness of this Lamb. Thirdly the Paschal Lamb was slain as a memorial of the Jews deliverance from the bondage of Egypt So was Christs death our deliverance from the bondage of sin and Satan Let me then stand fast in that spiritual liberty wherewith Christ hath made me free and be no less afraid of returning to my former sins then the Israelites were of returning to their former bondage alwaies remembring that dreadful sentence in the Apostle who in that he had fallen himself was the more careful to keep others from a relapse the latter end is worse with them then the beginning 2 Pet. 2. 20. Fourthly the blood of the Paschal Lamb sprinkled on the door posts made the destroying Angel pass over the Israelites when he smote the Egyptians So the blood of Christ sprinkled upon our souls preserveth us from the destroying Angel A mercy to be remembred with an everlasting thankfulness and to be commemorated with an everlasting thanksgiving for this is a part of the new song in heaven Rev. 5. 9. Thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God with thy blood What was the ground of their thanksgiving in heaven must be the ground of our supplication on earth that we lose not the benefit of this blood which is the price of our Redemption that neither through the infirmities of the flesh nor the anguishes of the Spirit nor the backslidings of the world nor the temptations of the Devil we be drawn or driven from faith in the blood of our dearest Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ And accordingly we must take care that we be not driven or drawn from the outward profession and exercise of this faith least we come by degrees to be driven or drawn from the inward settlement and assurance of it Fifthly the Paschal Lamb was to be eaten with bitter herbs and without leaven so Christ is to be received with repentance and without malice or hypocrisie which is the most common but the most unsavoury leaven of the soul for a small parcell of either of these will infect and corrupt all our best Religious performances even as a little leaven leaventh the whole lump Accordingly the Apostle is most industrious to chase this leaven out of our hearts when he biddeth us to keep the feast not with old leaeven that is the leaven of hypocrisie when we pretend to be new men but are not Nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth 1 Cor. 5. 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in azymis sinceritatis veritatis for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sincerity is a righteous judgement against the sophistications or delusions of malice and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Truth is a righteous practise for there is a moral as well as a Metaphysical truth against the prevarications of Hypocrisie They generally go both together hypocrisie in the tongue and malice in the heart fair pretences and foul intentions The hypocrite being most commonly malicious as having the Devil in his heart and the malicious needing the hypocrite to disguise his malice by seeming to be an Angel in his tongue But what ever the leaven be whether these or any other infectious sins our care must be first to find it and then to cleanse it wherein it will not be amiss if we follow the great scrupulosity of the Jews who to the intent that not so much as the suspition of leaven should be amongst them at their feast of the Passeover did first cleanse their ordinary vessels of it then searched every cranny or chink of their houses after it then burnt all they found then execrated or cursed all that might possibly be left behind which they could
Do not find any desert in man that entitled him to a property in the creature but sure none can be found to entitle him to have a property in the Creator Yet he that saith unto his Saviour as Saint Thomas did My God and my Lord seems to claim a property in him For how can a man assume or apply that unto himself in which he hath no property Wherefore it is necessary that we examine how Christ is made ours that so we may see the ground both of our property and of this application I say then that Christ is ours in a threefold respect because of a threefold conjunction of Christ with us in his nature in his person and in his office First Christ is ours in his nature by a real conjunction having taken our nature upon him and in that respect he is ours as we are men and he hath bestowed on all mankind a greater capacity of his Grace then otherwise they would have had by reason of their corrupt nature for which cause the Evangelical Promises which God maketh to man in Christ are universal as excluding none because Christ hath taken the nature of all but yet conditional as including only those who repent and believe the Gospel for no others make a right use or attain the end of Christs Merits and Mercies Secondly Christ is ours in his person by a voluntary conjunction having taken our sin upon him as our surety or pledge for he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows Isa 53. 4. And in that respect he is ours as we are Christians and hath bestowed on us the knowledge of his grace though very many of us by our own infidelity and impenitency make but a little and a bad use of that knowledge Thirdly Christ is ours in his office by a mystical conjunction such as is between a King and his Subjects both making but one mystical body and in that respect Christ is ours only as we are good Christians and hath bestowed on us the communion or rather the communication of his grace incorporating nay more inspiriting us as his members into himself And this is the happiest conjunction that we can have with Christ whiles we live here on earth To be one with him in the same mystical body or in the same actual communion not only external of his nature or of his person as many are that are little benefited thereby but also to be one with him in the same actual internal Communion of his grace to the inestimable benefit of our souls which are first sanctified and at last saved by this communicating with Christ For all the priviledges and blessings of his Regal of his Prophetical of his Sacerdotal function of his power as King of his instruction as Prophet of his sacrifice or intercession as Priest are made ours by this blessed conjunction according to that comfortable assertion of the Apostle 1 Cor. 3. 22 23. All are yours and ye are Christs for the words are not spoken consequutive sed causaliter not by way of consequence but by way of causality and accordingly import this sense All are therefore yours because ye are Christs Ye are Christs and Christ is yours and he being All in All in and through him All is yours but without him All is nothing and you are worse then nothing O then let me so rejoyce for his coming to me in the body as much more to desire and long for his coming to me in the soul That as the Lord of all is joyned with me in one flesh so I may be joyned with him in one Spirit that I may dwell in him and he may dwell in me for ever There is a mutual In-being betwixt Christ and every good Christian saith Saint Bernard even as betwixt Christ and God As the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father and therefore Father and Son make but one essentially So Christ is in the good Christian and the good Christian is in Christ and therefore Christ and the good Christian make but one mystically If either the Father were not in the Son or the Son were not in the Father they could not be perfectly one by essential Unity And if either Christ be not in the Christian or the Christian be not in Christ they cannot be one by mystical Unity Sic igitur Anima cui adherere Deo bonum est non ante se existimet ipsi perfecte unitam nisi quum illum in se se in illo manentem persenserit Bern. Serm. 71. super Cant. Therefore let not the soul which is happy only through her union with Christ think her self perfectly united unto him till she perceive that he so dwelleth and abideth in her as that she also dwelleth and abideth in him and desireth so to dwell and abide for ever O happy soul that is thus wedded to her Saviour by a spiritual marriage for man and wife are not more nearly and more indissolubly joyned together by being one flesh then Christ and the Christian soul by being one Spirit Vere Spiritualis sanctique connubii contractus est iste Parum dixi contractus complexus est Complexus plane ubi idem velle nolle idem unum facit spiritum â— duobus This is more then a spiritual contract it is a compleat marriage when the same will being in two persons shall make them both but one Spirit So the same Saint Bernard and so likewise saith Saint Paul He that is joyned unto the Lord is one spirit 1 Cor. 6 17. Then let me be joyned to him that I may be one spirit with him and that my spirit may be his rather then mine own For mine own spirit will be death to me because of sin but his spirit will be life to me because of righteousness Rom. 8. 10. In my self I can see nothing but sin and death In my Saviour I see both righteousness and life righteousness to deliver me from sin and life to deliver me from death Therefore I will greatly rejoyce in the Lord my soul shall be joyful in my God for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness Isa 61. 10. A fit Epithalamium to celebrate this spiritual marriage betwixt Christ and the good Christian wherein though the Angels be ready to make up the Chorus yet the devout soul her self alone sings the song There is joy in them but much more in us for this marriage because we have such a wedding garment bestowed on us as expells the fear both of a Divorce and of a Dissolution the first of which may be the second of which must be in all other marriages They may be under a divorce by sin they must be under a dissolution by death But the marriage betwixt Christ and the good Christian if it be once indeed truly consummated is under neither for the blessed Bridegroom of souls bestows both righteousness and salvation upon all those who
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pascha 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 herba amara 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Azymus Their Annuntiation belonging to the Passeover was how God passed their Fathers over that night wherein he destroyed the first born of the Egyptians Their annuntiation belonging to the bitter herbs was of their Fathers grievous servitude and bondage in Egypt which made even their lives bitter unto them And their annuntiation belonging to the unleavened bread was their happy and sudden deliverance from that bondage for the Egyptians were so urgent upon the people that they took their dough before it was leavened their kneading troughs being bound up in their cloathes upon their shoulders Exod. 12. 24. We had at the same time a much greater deliverance and why should we have a less Annuntiation For where the mercy it self is much greater why should the memorial thereof be so much less God gives a signal intimation to the Jew Exod. 12. 42. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Haec ista non illa This is that very night as if there were not demonstrative pronouns enough to shew that this mercy was to be as particular in their thankful commemoration as it had been in Almighty Gods free donation And Saint Paul seems to speak as signally to the Christian when he saith The same night that he was betrayed 1 Cor. 11. 23. as if he would not have us forget the particular time when he cometh so near the very words of Moses This is that very night to be observed to the Lord And indeed why should not we keep a Christian Passeover as well as a Christian Sabbath were they not both alike feasts of the Jews and as so are they not both alike abolished by the Apostle Gal. 4. 10. saying ye observe daies and moneths and times and years I am afraid of you least I have bestowed upon you labour in vain A Jewish observation of daies which observes daies for themselves is without doubt destructive of Christianity for it places Religion in things meerly ceremonial Not so a Christian observation of daies for duties for that places Religion only in morals Again why hath not the Christian Church as good Authority if not as justifiable warrant to observe an Anniversary as it hath to observe a Weekly festival as well the feast of the Christian Passeover once a year as the feast of the Christian Sabbath once a week for both are alike recommended in the Law and neither is directly commanded in the Gospel and we may not add to Gods commands no more then we may take from them nor may we think the New Testament defective in any necessary command or doctrine unless we will advance Judaism above Christianity Therefore since it will pose the best Divine in Christendom to shew that Text in the New Testament which commandeth the observation of a Sabbath and we cannot run to the letter of the fourth Commandment to keep the first day in stead of the seventh we must be contented in this case with the general equity of the Law and that gives the Church power to consecrate Annual as well as Weekly Festivals to the honour of God and condemneth our profaness in neglecting our perversness in despising the one as well as the other Besides it is evident we cannot or if we can sure the Apostles could not keep a Lords day all the year but as a repetition of Easter-day which was the first Lords day even the very day of his resurrection wherefore we must either say it is a Jewish not a Christian Sabbath or say it is a Lords day from the great Lords day the day of our Lords resurrection For though Saint John telling us He was in the Spirit on the Lords day pointeth clearly at our Sunday the weekly remembrance of Christs resurrection and not at Easter-day the annual remembrance of it because in those Churches of Asia to which he writ Easter-day was not yet confined to the first but might be kept on any other day of the week yet without doubt he called it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Lords day for that it was a weekly repetition of that very day which our Lord had consecrated to himself by rising from the dead called for that reason 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the great Lords day by the primitive Christians And shal we then not think it worth our notice that our blessed Saviour himself chose such a time for his Passion and Resurrection as by the unerring Characters of heaven might be exactly observed all the world over to the worlds end were it so that our Civil year were made agreeable with the Tropical or that the Catholick Church of Christ in its first and purest age would have been so careful to find out and so zealous to settle the time of this Festival if the Fathers of these blessed ages which were less quarrelsom but more pious then any have been since had not thought it highly concerned the honour of Christ and the propagation and justification of the Christian Religion Surely we cannot easily more gratifie the Jews then by putting down the memory of that time wherein they crucified Jesus Christ our Lord which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh nor can we more easily scandalize good Christians then by putting down the memorial of that time wherein he was declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead Rom. 1. 3 4. And God deliver his Church from such practises as are fit to gratifie Jews but to scandalize good Christians SECT IV. Of the antient contention about the observation of Easter That the Apostles zeal more about Duties then about Daies doth not overthrow the observing of particular daies in the service of God And that those daies ought to be observed by Preaching Praying Administring of the Sacrament and also by Almes-deeds So that false administration sc of the Holy Eucharist in one kind and false Devotions and false Doctrine and sordid illiberality in not relieving the poor are allâ— alike Profanations of a Festival FAmous was the controversie betwixt Policrates and Victor the one Bishop of Ephesus the other Bishop of Rome concerning the celebrating of Easter-day For the Churches of Asia would needs keep the very day of the first full moon in Spring conceiving the Apostles condescention to the Iew to have been a dogmatical sanction to the Christian but the Western Churches who had no conversation with the Iews and therefore were not moved through compliance with them at first to forsake their Christian liberty and at last the Christian truth for the Quartadeciâ—… were in proâ—ess of time declared Hereticks would not keep the very day of that full Moon but the Sunday after it for their Easter-day the learned Scaliger gives this reason for their difference The Jewish Converts following their old custom kept still 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Passeover in remembrance of Christs Passion
their profit but t is by a false Arithmetick an Arithmetick that is only in their own fansie by which they cast up that which is not and so must needs be out in their account For they cast up for the time to come making that a part of their reckoning and by that their life longer in their fansie then t is truely in it self or in Gods appointment which is so unimaginable folly that it causeth the Son of God to thwart his own instructions and though he much dislike the language of thou fool Matth. 5. 22. Yet here he useth it saying verse 20. Thou fool this night thy soul shsll be required of thee Thus are our carnal joys great in their proportion not so in their foundation but contrarywise our spiritual joys are greater in their foundation then in their proportion which shews that even the best of us do so live in the flesh as to live too much after it contrary to that profession which should be ours as well as Saint Pauls for though we walk in the flesh we do not war after the flesh 2 Cor. 10. 3. Hence it is that the cause or foundation of our joy in Christ is infinitely greater then the measure and proportion of it But yet the man after Gods own heart the Prophet David sets it out to the full He was a man after our hearts in his carnal failings but a man after Gods heart in his unfeigned repentance which caused his spiritual rejoycings And his spiritual joy was so great that he cals for company to rejoyce wirh him saying Rejoyce in the Lord O ye righteous for it becommeth well the just to be thankful Psal 33. 1. As if he had said since ye are truly righteous and just being made righteous by his propitiation and just by his satisfaction it becommeth you well to rejoyce in him that you may be thankful for this transcendent salvation So let me be just so let me be joyful SECT XI A zealous observation of this Christian Festival proceedeth from the true love of our Redeemer and thankfulness for our Redemption A set form of Praise fittest to express that thankfulness IT were a fowl shame for Christians who are most obliged to serve God to be least devoted to his service and therefore we must beware of shewing less zeal in our moral then the Jews shewed in their ceremonial worship When they celebrated their Passeover they did sing some Psalms of Repentance as a lamentation for the sinner other Psalms of thanksgiving as a triumph and rejoycing for the righteous Canebant quaedam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quaedam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Scal. lib. 6. de emend temp They did sing some Psalms for propitiation some for thanksgiving And this was their hymn for thanksgiving Blessed art thou O Lord our God King of heaven and earth who hast sanctified us by thy Commandments and hast commanded us in this manner to bless and praise thee which hymn of theirs holy Zachary seems to have imitated but withal to have amplified in his Benedictus Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his people that we being delivered from the fear of our enemies might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness all the daies of our life A main ground of his blessing God is this That God hath enabled his people to bless and praise him Which invaluable mercy the Greek Church alwaies thought worthy of a particular thanksgiving saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we give unto thee humble and hearty thanks that thou hast given us this Liturgie this good form of serving thee That thou hast called us to this duty of publick thanksgiving That thou hast vouchsafed us this great honour who are dust and ashes and greater mercy who are sinful dust and ashes to bless and praise thee and to call upon thy holy name And they have this reward of their thankfulness that in the middst of the greatest and bitterest enemies of the Christian Religion they do still enjoy their Liturgy groaning indeed under the bondage and oppression of their bodies but infinitely rejoycing in the liberty of their souls the Turks themselves thinking it too inhumane a tyrannie to bring that people into bondage both of body and of soul And as for the Jews they would have laughed at any man that should have offered them whimsies instead of certainties and would sooner have let their bread be taken out of their mouthes then this their hymn of blessing and praising God So great so fervent so constant was their zeal for that which they knew to be true godliness This I say was the general thanksgiving of the Iews at all their great Feasts to the which they added those particular forms of thanksgiving that most properly concerned the occasion And this was their spiritual manner of feasting God himself suggesting no less in that he commanded them to take their Lamb the tenth day of the moneth which was not to be slain till the fourteenth for why was the Lamb to be taken so long before hand but only that their souls might feed on the goodness of God before their bodies feasted on the Lamb And the Jewish Authors tell us that during those four daies the Lamb was tyed to their bed-posts that not only eating and drinking as Saint Paul requires of us 1 Cor. 10 31. but also sleeping and waking they might glorifie their God And so will we too if we have the true love and zeal of godliness saying with those three holy men for the same cause that they did even our deliverance from the fiery furnace not of temporary but of everlasting burnings O ye servant of the Lord bless ye the Lord praise him and magnifie him for ever O ye spirits and souls of the righteous bless ye the Lord praise him and magnifie him for ever O ye holy and humble men of heart bless ye the Lord praise him and magnifie him for ever So that unless we will profess that we serve our selves not our God that we are men whose spirits and souls are unrighteous and that we are unholy and proud of heart we must bless the Lord praise him and magnifie him for ever This is the zeal we should bring with us to this and all other our Christian Festivals as the Prophet requireth saying If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath from doing thy pleasure on my holy day and call the Sabbath a delight the holy of the Lord honourable and shalt honour him not doing thine own waies nor finding thine own pleasure nor speaking thine own words Isa 58. 13. which text in Kimchies gloss is to be interpreted of the Sabbath in general for saith he the feast of expiation was strictly to be observed as a Sabbath though it was placed on the 10. day of September which might fall on any day of the week And he proveth a strict observation from the words themselves wherein are both a negative
to have a share in the blessing And therefore Aben Ezra's gloss is not to be rejected who observes the same word used in the reward and in the work 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He shall receive the blessing because he did not lift up his soul to receive the vanity The Lord shall lift him up by true sanctification because he did not lift up himself by pride and presumption For no man more truly lifts up his soul to vanity nor more truly labours in vain then he that thinks to go to heaven only by the strength of his own perswasion since it is not possible for him to receive the blessing who cares not to receive the righteousness For these two are joyned together he shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation not the blessing of salvation without the righteousness thereof For it must be a real not an imaginary ascension whereby we get up to heaven the soul that will be there must be lifted up by devotion not by opinion For the Righteousness of salvation is not opinionative but affective and active not in conceit but in practice Take heed of a mock-Ascension into heaven which will make that be truly spoken of thee which those mistaken novices did falsly put upon Eliah Lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley 2 King 2. 16. It was their fond fear concerning Eliah it ought to be the just fear concerning thy self For if thou lay hold of the Spirit of adoption only to cry Abba Father but not to become a dutiful Son or to confine thy dutifulness to observe only those of thy Fathers commands that suit with thine own humour and advantage which is the lame and limping godliness of this hypocritical age wherein men cry up their duty towards God meerly to beat down their duty towards their neighbour If thou thus lay hold of the spirit of adoption others may justly fear concerning thee and thou oughtest to fear concerning thy self Lest peradventure the spirit of the Lord for so thou thinkest it take thee up and cast thee down again upon some mountain or into some valley For indeed the Spirit of the Lord being thus mistaken or thus misapplied doth so take men up as to cast them down again first upon the mountain of presumption then into the valley of despair Secondly our Saviour claimed heaven by the right of his desert even as his just recompence and reward And that claim or title of his is intimated in the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he was carried or received up into heaven as having before merited to be carried or received up thither so saith Saint Paul he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the Cross Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him Phil. 2. 8 9. Our blessed Saviour was obedient in doing before he was obedient in suffering He first had a most perfect active and then a most perfect passive obedience He was first obedient He was first obedient unto the life and after that obedient unto the death He was zealous in doing the work of God and that made him patient in suffering the will of God yet here is no mention made of his active but only of his passive obedience and no mention made of his obedience without respect to his humility How then shall any Christian forego his humility to stand upon the merit of his obedience when our Saviour Christ himself whose obedience alone is or can be meritorious with God was exalted no less from being humble then for being obedient Surely to teach us how we may soonest have comfort from this his title to heaven nay after some sort be sharers in it claiming heaven as a reward but of our Saviours not of our own righteousness or rather as a reward of his righteousness but made ours So Saint Bernard most Divinely comforted himself against all the accusations of Satan at Gods Judgement seat Fateor non sum dignus ego nec propriis possum meritis regnum obtinere coelorum Caeterùm duplici jure illud obtinens Dominus meus haeredita te Sc. Patris merito passionis altero ipse contentus alterum mihi donat ex cujus dono jure illud mihi vendicans non confundor I confess that 〈…〉 â—t worthy nor can I hope to obtain heaven by mine own merits But my Lord having obtained the same by a double right the one by the inheritance ef his Father the other by the merit of his passion being himself contented only with one of them hath given the other unto me by whose gift I do now claim it as my right and am not to be confounded in my claim Which we might very well take for a great miracle wrought upon us men by our Saviours ascending in our flesh and so entitling that flesh to heaven were it not for those other miracles which neerly concern our Saviour Christ in his own person For we have a twofold miracle intimated in these same words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he went up though in his body of flesh there 's one miracle his conquest over earth in his humane body For earth was now taught to ascend upwards contrary to its own nature which of it self so descends downwards as to press to the Center nay actually to possess it Earth in it self moves furthest from heaven but in the body of Christ earth moved towards heaven nay earth went up into heaven And the reason is given by Saint Paul Phil. 3. 21. Who shall change our vile body that it may be like his glorious body The body of Christ after his resurrection was more peculiarly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a glorious body Saint Paul gives us this distinction of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A vile body and a glorious body Our body is a vile body dejected and debased by the sinfulness the grossness the weakness the sluggishness of the flesh our Saviours body was never thus a vile body in the state of his humiliation because he knew no sin yet was it subject to all infirmities or he could not have dyed for sinners And therefore we may truly say that his body in the state of his exaltation was made a glorious body and invested with four conditions or qualities quite contrary to these of our bodies called by the School impassibilitas claritas subtilitas agilitas and by Saint Paul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 15. 42 43. to whom we are primarily beholding for this part of School Divinity which unfoldeth the conditions of a glorified body And the same Apostle comforteth us that after the Resurrection our vile body shall be fashioned like unto his glorious body and consequently be made first impassible and incorrupt without sinfulness for where is no sin there is no corruption there can be no suffering Secondly Clear and transparent without grossness
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 loqui ad Cor which is the Hebrew phrase for speaking comfortably other comforts go no farther then the ear then the outward man that his stock is increased his request granted his cause advanced t is only this comfort that enters into the heart and revives the inner man That the time of his warfare banishment and captivity is at an end because his sin is pardoned For here are two distinct times to be observed A time not accepted that 's of warfare banishment and captivity And a time accepted that 's of peace or reconciliation of restitution of liberty For Epiphanius his argumentation is not to be denied 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the nature of relatives si fuit unus annus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ergo fuit alter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If Christ preached one year wherein he was accepted as Clemens Alexandrinus labours to prove out of Luke 4. 19. To preach the acceptable year of our Lord then it must needs be that he could not preach only but one year for there must also be another year wherein he was contradicted and no◠accepted His Logick is not to be questioned though his tenent be refused by the Learned Scaliger lib. 6. de emend temp who proves that Christ did preach upon the earth not only one year as Clemens nor two years as Epiphanius would have it but four full years So here the inference is unquestionable If there were a time of warfare of banishment of captivity before the pardon there must needs be a time of peace of restitution of liberty after it If that were a time of expulsion or rejection whiles we were enemies this is a time of acceptance or admission now we are Sons as saith Sant Paul behold now is the accepted time behold now is the day of Salvation 2 Cor. 6. 8. That was a day of damnation this is a day of salvation that a a time not accepted this a time accepted The time of the flesh and the time of the Spirit the time of sin and the time of Grace are two opposite times the time that sin reigns in us is a time of warfare banishment and captivity the time that the Spirit of Grace reigns in us is a time of restitution and of liberty First a time of peace and that a peace of heart John 14. 27. My peace I give unto you let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid The peace that Christ gives us is a peace of heart a Peace that puts away all trouble and all fear All trouble least it should disturb our peace outwardly and all fear least it should disturb our peace inwardly which is the invincible reason Saint Augustin alledgeth to prove that the holy Angels are assured of their state of bliss because otherwise their fear would disturb their peace and consequently interrupt their blessedness And Aquinas affirms the Saints in heaven to be no less sure of the continuance of their bliss then of the bliss it self and therefore to be in some sort partakers of the divine eternity to which all is actually present nothing to come or else they could not have the full quietation of their wills without which Blessedness it self could be no blessedness 22. q. 18. art 2 3. Secondly the time of Grace is a time of restitution and that to our true Country even to heaven The Philosopher could point thither with his finger but the Christian points thither with his heart For that being once touched with the spirit of God alwayes moves and beats towards heaven as a needle touched with a loadstone moves alwayes towards the Pole For true Christians are so full of hope and their hope is so full of immortality that they are very well contented to resign this mortal life when God shall require it as those who know themselves to be but strangers and so journers hereon earth and that their Country where they are to expect a lasting a sure dwelling is only in heaven as saith Saint Paul in their behalf For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God eternal in the heavens wherefore in this we groan carnestly desiring to be cloathed upon with our house which is from heaven 2 Cor. 5. 1 2. This house of earth is but our tabernacle that of heaven is our dwelling In this we groan in that we shall rejoice This is to be dissolved as built by man that 's a building of God and therefore not capable of dissolution Thirdly the time of Grace is a time of liberty for Grace is the well-spring and fountain of liberty as sin is of thraldom For as sin is an aversion from God to serve our selves which is the greatest servitude so Grace is a conversion to God to serve him whose service is perfect freedom so that no man is so truly a slave as he that serves himself and none so truly free as he that serves his God Nemo liber nisi sapiens None is a free man but he that is a wise man may not be taken for a Paradox if we be not mistaken in the wisdom but think and say with the spirit of God Behold the fear of the Lord that is wisdom and to depart from evil is understanding Job 28. 28. T is a heavenly contemplation of the Seraphical Doctors Tunc homo rectus est quum intellectus adaequatur summ◠veritati in cognoscendo voluntas confirmatur summa bonitati in diligendo virtus continuatur summae potestati in operando Et ex hoc homo non solùm rectus sed rector ipse Deo subditus ipsi alia Bonav Prol. in lib. 2. Sent. Man i◠then only well governed in himself and governour of all other things when he depends wholly upon God His dependance upon God in his understanding to know him the first truth In his will to desire him the chiefest good and in his power of action to follow and obey him the highest power makes him subject to God and all the world subject to him This is such a kind of liberty which the son of God only gives and the servants of God only enjoy See it in the Sons gift If the Son therefore shall make you free ye shall be free indeed John 8. 38. See it in the servants receipt And I will walk at liberty for I seek thy precepts Psal 119. 45. They who are Gods servants are the only free-men for they are so his servants as that also they are his Sons For as the Soveraignty of his dominion claims them for Servants so the transcendency of his goodness accepts them for Sons and therefore gives unto them both the Liberty and the Patrimony of children SECT II. That Christ is generally communicated to all Christians by Baptisme wherein the Holy Ghost is given to regenerate and sanctifie them by taking away the imputation or guilt of original sin and making them the members of Christ
How the Apostles Baptized in the name of Christ and their infidelity and uncharitableness who deny Baptism to Infants IF we look on men as men we must look on them as the Sons of wrath But if we look on men as Christians we must then look on them as the Sons of God members of Christ and inheritors of the kingdom of Heaven For they are Sons in his Son in whom they are made Christians because Christ is communicated to them in their baptism whereby they are not only distinguished from Turks and Infidels but also qualified and exalted above them for having been baptized into Christ they have put on Christ This is Saint Pauls own assertion in his own words For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ Gal. 3. 26 27. which two verses in Saint Chrysostoms Judgement do shew that Christians are the Sons of God and the means or manner how they are made his Sons The 26. verse shews their being made Sons 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the 27. verse shews the means and manner how they are made Sons 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as he calleth it For ye are all the children of God in Christ Jesus there 's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christians are made the Sons of God by faith in his Son by faith in Christ Jesus which makes Saint Chrysostome break forth in admiration 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Oh wonderfull how great is the power of faith for he shewed before that it makes us the Sons of Abraham ver 7. He sheweth now that it makes us the Sons of God Again verse 27. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ there 's the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the manner of our adoption how we are made the Sons of Gods even by being baptized into his son ye have put on Christ by being baptized into Christ or ye have been baptized into Christ therefore ye have put on Christ for this will be the Minor and the Conclusion to that Major and we may join all these together and make up this Syllogism As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ But you have been baptized into Christ Therefore you have put on Christ If you ask how the baptized into Christ put on Christ Saint Augustine will answer you with a distinction Vel Sacramenti perceptione vel rei induunt homines aliquando Christum usque ad Sacramenti perceptionem Aliquando autem ulterius usque ad vitae sanctificationem hoc accidit quum digne suscipiunt Men when they are baptized do put on Christ Sometimes outwardly in the visible sign of the Sacrament Sometimes inwardly in the spiritual Grace of the thing signified as when they worthily receive their Baptism And this answer is necessary because there are so many Hypocrites in the world who frustrate the Grace of God by their Hypocrisie But concerning those that are not Hypocrites when they come to be baptized as true believers or concerning those who cannot be Hypocrites as little children the Judgement of charity bids us say they have put on Christ both outwardly and inwardly because the Judgement of verity teacheth us to say that the outward visible sign is not without the inward spiritual grace on Gods part who offereth the Baptism and is not wanting to his own offers what ever it be on mans part who receiveth it for those words of the Gospel He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire Mat. 3. 11. will not allow us to separate the Holy-Ghost and the fire from the Baptism which hath been instituted by our Saviour Christ But Bonaventure lib. 4. Sent. disp 4. supplies us with another answer omnes Baptismum aequaliter recipiunt quantum ad characterem restitutionem innocentiae non quantum ad infusionem Grati◠As many as have been baptized into Christ have alike put on Christ so far as to be accounted innocent or freed from the guilt and imputation of original sin with which they came into the world though not so far as to be made righteous by the infusion of Grace or to be freed and delivered from the infection or the dominion of that Sin for grace hath a twofold act Delere culpam habilitare ad bonum saith the same Author to blot out sin and to dispose to righteousness Sure we are that Baptismal grace doth immediately avail to the blotting out of sin alike in all though we are not sure that it doth alike dispose all to righteousness though we hope well of that too So that in his sense All that have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ equally as to the restitution of innocency though not as to the infusion of grace They are all restored to the innocency that was lost in the first though not all enriched with the grace that is found and founded in the second Adam They have not the sin of their nature imputed though they have it still inherent They have it not imputed in that they are made the children of God They have it inherent in that they are still the sons of men Baptism is available unto all alike for Remission of sins though not for Regeneration from sin And yet sure it makes way for that too else Saint Peter would not have annexed the receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost to the remission of sins saying Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost Acts 2. 38. Baptism doth immediately conduce to the remission of sins be baptized every one of you for the remission of sins and mediately also to the receiving of the gift of the Holy Ghost in as much as it takes away that guilt of sin which keeps him from us and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost That is some more eminent gift of the Holy Ghost for your confirmation in righteousness after you have received him in Baptism for the remission of your sins For surely Baptism of it self without the Holy Ghost cannot avail to the remission of sins therefore this promise of receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost is to be expounded comparatively that is a greater gift of the Holy Ghost And this exposition is necessary from this very text because there is no remission of sin without grace and no grace without the Spirit of grace and may be proved to be convenient from that other Text which comes near to this of Acts 8. 15 16 17. where after the Samaritans had been Baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Saint Peter and Saint John layed their hands upon them and they received the Holy Ghost that is to say in a greater proportion for their confirmation then they had in Baptism for their conversion But why is it said They were baptized
that the more it busieth the head the less it setleth and establisheth the heart wherefore if that benediction was Apostolical The Lord Jesus Christ himself stablish you in every good word 2 Thes 2. 17 Then this practice must be Apostatical which doth unstablish and unsettle the People in their Prayers the very best words Then was Egypt in a sad case when the locusts did eat up what the hail and thunder had left Exod. 10. And is it not so with Israel when locusts out of the bottomless pit devour that small pittance of Religion which the hail that is their own chill and frozen dispositions or the thunder and lightning that is the tempestuous terrours and troubles of war had left in the Peoples hearts When God suffers such devourers of piety and Religion to come into a land he either looks upon it as Egypt or t is to be feared he intends to make it so The death of the first born is then sure not far off and the drowning of all the rest is not like to belong after it For what can we expect but that the read sea even a sea of blood should cover us all when we persecute the Israel of God for desiring to serve him and say unto those who are zealous for such prayers as they know are either in Gods word or agreeable with it ye are idle ye are idle therefore ye say Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord Exod. 5. 17. as if Praying in known and approved forms were rather a pretence for idleness then a help to devotion This is not only to reproach the Church for teaching us to pray by her Liturgies but also to reproach God himself for teaching the Church to pray by his Scriptures and by this argument we may throw away not only the dictates of the Church but also the dictates of the Spirit of God Sure this is not the part of Christians by one and the same wicked practice to oppose both the authority and the doctrine of Christ the authority of Christ in his Church the doctrine of Christ in his word They pretend to have the spirit of God but yet contemn the word of God They will needs have the spirit of his Son in their hearts and yet care not to have the language of his Son in their mouths giving their Pater noster a quietus est a writ of ease as if the Holy spirit had supplied the servants above the son and taught us better prayers then it had taught our Saviour or as if it were not one and the same spirit that once directed him and still directeth us to call upon the Father Doubless such men cannot take it unkindly that we abstain from communicating with their prayers since they by rejecting the Lords own holy prayer do at the same time reject commnnion not only with all the servants but also with the Spirit and with the Son of God for the Servants of God alwayes used it the Spirit of God indited it the Son of God commanded it T is no wonder if such men be not only Sacrilegious but also perswade themselves there is no such sin as sacriledge and consequently that whatsoever hath been consecrated to Gods Holy name is still unholy and prophane though it hath been conscrated according to Gods own express command in the fourth commandment which is the commandment of consecrations and requires the sanctification of place and of persons and of our substance to Gods publike worship as well as of time Time cannot be sanctified or kept holy to Gods publick worship without these And besides we find these also expresly commanded in other parts of the Bible and since they are all commanded for one and the same end we must reduce the Texts concerning them to one and the same commandment for the ten commandments are Decem summa genera as it were ten predicaments or ten general heads to which is to be reduced whatsoever is commanded as a moral duty in the whole word of God wherefore since it is a moral duty that men should publikely and solemnly call upon the name of God and time alone without place and persons and the maintenance of these cannot serve for the discharge of that duty we must allow the rest of these outward requisites to be commanded in this of time And consequently what of all these alike was common and unholy before it was sanctified to Gods publike worship being once sanctified thereunto is made peculiar and proper to God and therefore to rob or pillage or take away any of these is sacrilegiously to invade Gods property which is a sin of so heavy a burden to press down the soul that the Apostle hath put it in the scale against Idolatry and seems to make this at least to balance if not to out-weigh the other Thou that abhorrest Idols dost thou commit Sacriledge Rom. 2. 22. The argument would be of little consequence if Sacriledge were not a sin at least equal to Idolatry And truly so it is whatever we please to think or to make of it For whereas there are two kinds of Idolatry the one to take an Idol for God the other to make God himself for an Idol the sacrilegious person is in effect guilty of them both For it is impossible that any man should rob God if he did not make money his God there 's taking the Idol for God or if he did not take God for one to be mocked rather then worshipped there 's taking God for an Idol And t is no wonder if they can do all this who can contemn the Lords most holy prayer for the three first petitions of that prayer contain all the Duty of the first table and the least part we can shew of dutifullness is to pray that we may be dutifull and consequently he that will not say Our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name cannot be troubled at that Sin of Sacriledge whose property it is to invade and profane all that is dedicated to the hallowing of the name of God For they that can swallow the Camel have little reason to strain at the gnat they that can be guilty of the greater cannot stick at the lesser Sacriledge they that can rob God of his publike worship cannot easily make any scruple of robbing his Church and to take away such publike prayers as do undoubtedly glorifie the name of God what is it else but to rob God of his worship or of the honour due unto his name For he that doth forbid us to take his name in vain doth withall command us to glorifie his name and consequently to make use of such forms of prayer and of praise as we are sure do most glorifie him These forms being accordingly made for the honour of God after the rule of the two first and in obedience to the third Commandment are set apart for this use in obedience to the fourth and to take away these forms is in effect to
unto me saith Christ not go from me there 's the temper of charity to invite and embrace not to repell and reject others for I am meek and lowly in heart there 's the temper of humility lowly in heart and cannot be of that pride as to forget my self meek in heart and cannot be of that presumption as to disdain and reproach my brother where you find not this temper there you may not seek for Christ where you do find the contrary distemper in the forenamed works of the flesh there you are sure not to find the Spirit of Christ and therefore must come with your libera nos Domine though you care not to have the Letanie and say Good Lord deliver me from such professors and from such a profession of the Christian Religion where I can neither find the temper nor the Spirit of Christ SECT IV. Vnsetledness in Religion shews we have not learned it from our heavenly Master or from Gods Exapostole The Holy Ghost being given us from the Father by the Son sheweth there is no salvation to them who believe not the Trinity The mixture of Praises with Prayers in the Psalms was the Abba Father of the Old Testament and proceeded from joy in the Holy Ghost which is a Joy both unsequestrable and unspeakable The Sacrifices and Hymns answerable to that joy IT is very easie for a man to depart and fall away from God but not so easie to return and to cleave unto him No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him saith our blessed Saviour John 6. 44. The Father draws us before we go unto his Son and he draws us with loving-kindness Jer. 31. 3. with bands of love Hos 11. 4. that is by the power of the Holy Ghost who is the Spirit of love The Father draws by his Spirit to his Son He that believes not the Trinity cannot hope to be thus drawn and he that is not thus drawn cannot hope to come unto God which is plainly shewed by the Apostle when he saith God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba Father Gal. 4. 6. The Greek word is very observable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for here 's another Exapostle even God the Holy Ghost as in the fourth verse we had before one Exapostle God the Son There it was God sent forth his Son here it is God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son that is He sent such a Messenger as was not only an Apostle one sent from God but also an Exapostle One sent out of God There was one Exapostle to plant the Christian Religion in the world God sent forth his Son and there is another Exapostle to plant it in our hearts God hath sent forth the Spirit of his son into your hearts the same word is used in both places 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God made use of Exapostles as well as of Apostles for the planting of the true Religion Messengers sent from God would not have served the turn to make men believe the truth much less to love and practise it unless there had been also Messengers sent out of God Therefore God sent forth his Son and the Spirit of his Son that he might settle and stablish our hearts in the Christian faith So that if we be unsettled in our Religion and carried away with every blast of vain Doctrine as being not firmly established in the truth of the holy Gospel it is a plain case we have not inclined our ears and much less our hearts to those two Messengers who came immediately out of God even his own Son and his own Spirit and therefore it is no wonder if we slightly esteem of all Gods other Messengers God the Father hath sent out God the Son And God the Father and Son hath sent out God the Holy Ghost The salvation of one is the work of three the salvation of one sinful soul is the work of all three persons of the blessed Trinity The Father sending the Son the Father and Son sending the Holy Ghost which of these three persons can we lose or let go and not withall lose or let go our own Salvation which of these three needs not work as God a work of All-mighty power of All seeing wisdom of All-sufficient and All-saving goodness to turn us from our evil waies that we may be sanctified and to keep us in the waies of righteousness that we may be saved God the Son sent out of the Father into your flesh and God the Holy Ghost sent out of the Father and the Son into your hearts His Son and your flesh his Spirit and your hearts both certainly most miraculous conjunctions the one the cause of the other For his Spirit and your hearts could never have met in man had not his Son your flesh met together in God And this produceth yet another miraculous conjunction a conjunction of Prayer and of praise both together in the same mouth and from the same heart and at the same time that a righteous man cannot be so over-burdened with sorrow in himself as not to be relieved and refreshed with joy in his Saviour Thus Hannah was was in bitterness of soul and prayed unto the Lord and wept sore but she found that joy and comfort in her prayer that the Text saith She went her way and did eat and her countenance was no more sad So that in effect she was so of a sorrowful Spirit as also of a joyful Spirit and as her sorrow afforded matter of Prayer so her joy afforded matter of Praise Her own spirit made her sorrowful but Gods Spirit made her joyful And this was indeed the Abba Father of those in the Old Testament who had but dark promises of a Saviour yet did with joy draw water out of the wells of salvation Isa 12. 3. who had scarce any knowledge or revelation of the person yet were very well acquainted with the joyes of the Holy Ghost Hence it is that most of the Psalms as they are exceeding devout prayers wherein Gods own Spirit teacheth us to pray and helpeth our infirmities in praying so they are also most thankful praises wherein the same spirit teacheth us to rejoyce in God for hearing our prayers They are not only prayers but they are also praises concerning the same deliverance whether it be corporal or spiritual whether it be from bodily or from Ghostly enemies as for example The 30. Psalm is a prayer to be delivered from sickness and death and damnation as that noble Champion of Christ both for his Church and for his Truth and for his Authority hath piously and judiciously stated it in his Book of Collects upon the Psalms which should never be out of the hands of good Christians till it be fully imprinted in their hearts I say the 30. Psalm is a Prayer to be delivered from sickness and death and damnation three such sad considerations as were enough to make
therefore this is not so truly a priviledge as t is a property for Gods Sons to be his heirs Accordingly all our care must be to keep our selves in the obedience that we may be in the acceptance of sons for then we shall have no cause to doubt of our inheritance And the best way to keep our selves in the obedience of Sons is to keep our selves in the communion of his Spirit for if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his Rom. 8. 9. And this is indeed another priviledge of the Saints that being made the Sons of God they have the Spirit of his Son And that Spirit is sent forth into their hearts to testifie unto them his fatherly care and kindness For the tongue could not truly say Abba Father if the heart did not truly believe it We must therefore observe the Apostles Doctrine concerning the Spirit of adoption that it so moveth in the tongue as much rather in the heart Ye have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father there 's Abba Father in the mouth and The spirit it self beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God there 's Abba Father in the heart Rom. 8. 15 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Saint Chrysostome When the spirit of God is our witness who can misdoubt the testimony All the fault in truth is that we do not so devote our selves to the love of God and the practice of piety and godliness as that the Spirit either will or can be our witness For we often gâ—eve the Holy Spirit of God by our multiplied transgressions and hence it is we do not see that he hath sealed us to the day of redemption Ephes 5. 30. His seal is alwayes sure and good though not alwayes clear and visible He doth still imprint it though we do not still perceive it the reason is because our sins do cast a mist before our eyes nay more a dismal darkness upon our hearts and this mist this darkness interposeth it self betwixt us and the everlasting light Therefore saith the Apostle And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure 1 John 3 3. Every man that hath this hope in him viz. truly and really not presumptuously and phantastically purifieth himself even as he is pure and t is no more then needs because he cannot have this hope in him unless he purifie himself For the same Holy Spirit that maketh the Son of God dwell in us by consolation doth also make us dwell in him by affection and no longer then we dwell in him can we be assured that he dwelleth in us hereby we know that we dwell in him and he in us they go both together because he hath given us of his spirit 1 John 4. 13. And that holy Spirit as it maketh him dwel in us by consolation so it maketh us dwell in him by affection God hath joyned these two together and we may not separate them even walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost Act. 9. 31. Thus doth our own Church teach us to pray That we may evermore dwell in him and he in us which when it shall be fully brought to pass we shall fully understand and more fully enjoy that benediction of the Psalmist Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and receivest unto thee he shall dwell in thy Courts and shall be satisfied with the pleasures of thy house even of thy holy Temple Psal 65. 4. Nay his dwelling shall be much bettered for he shall dwell not in thy Court but in thy self and be satisfied with the pleasures not of thy house but of thy Son nor of thy holy Temple but of thy holy Spirit Thus doth Hierusalem get up thither indeed whieher Babel got up only in design even to heaven Nay yet much higher Is there any thing higher then heaven Yes there is The God of heaven A true Citizen of Hierusalem never leaves ascending in heart and mind till he get up to God And this makes him so given to his deâ—otions that he cares to say nothing else but Abba Father which is yet another priviledge of the Saints of Gods not of their own making for they though called Saints here will be found sinners hereafter that having the Spirit of his Son they have also the language of his Son and cry Abba Father For the priviledge of Gods Sons who have the Spirit of his Son in their hearts is also to have the same Spirit in their mouths crying Abba Father as their heart is true to God by inward affection so their mouth is true unto their heart by outward profession and consequently that mans religion is not true which wants either part of this truth for if his heart be false to his God he is an hypocrite If his tongue be false to his heart he is little less then an Apostate So hath the irrefragable Doctor determined concerning one that lives among the Turks or Saracens who still retaineth the Faith in his heart but not the confession of it in his mouth Potest tamen dici Apostata communi nomine quia à confessione fidei retrocedit Alensis par 2. qu. 153. memb 2. He may in a general sense be called an Apostate because he is fallen away from the confession of his Faith So then a true believer hath not only his heart true to God by affection but also his tongue true to his heart by profession being bound to the one by the first to the other by the third Commandment of the decalogue If his heart be false to his God he will one day be ashamed of himself If his tongue be false to his heart his Saviour will one day be ashamed of him so himself hath told us Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy Angels Mar. 8 38. of him shall the Son of man be ashamed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He shall blush for the shame of him O our blessed Redeemer let us never put thee to the blush let us never force that precious blood into thy lovely face which thou camest to bestow upon our sinful souls But as with our hearts we beleive unto righteousness so with our mouths let us make confession to salvation This is Saint Pauls definition of a true Christian A man that with the heart believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confesseth to salvation Rom. 10. 10. The heart believing brings the righteousness the mouth confessing brings the salvation As t is vain to have a Faith without righteousness for that is the hypocrites faith so t is vain to have a righteousness without salvation for that may be an Apostates righteousness But the true and constant Christian hath both the heart to believe and the mouth
cannot be too desirous to receive our Baptism in our Saviours communion for what is communicated from him is also sanctified by him So is it in our prayers we may very comfortably perswade our selves that Saint Mark used the same Abba Father for Christ which Saint Paul had used for us Christians least any man should think we Christians â—ad not the same right to pray or at least not the same spirit of prayer that was in Christ therefore to assure us that both do pray in the communion of the same Spirit both are set down praying in the communion of the same words But yet whether S. Mark borrowed this from S. Paul or not the doubt still remains why this Abba Father is in two several languages when as the reduplication might happily have been as emphatical in one tongue as in two I answer with Saint Augustine Abba propter illorum linguam pater propter nostram Aug. in Psal 78. To shew that Christ did no less belong to the Gentiles then he did to the Jews he useth a Greek word that signifies father for the Gentiles as well as a Syriack word that signifies father for the Jews for at that time the Jews themselves commonly spake Syriack having in the Babylonian captivity learned to mix Chaldee with Hebrew which mixture begat the Syriack The effect of Saint Augustines answer is this Syriack and Greek are both joined together to shew the communion of Jew and Gentile in Christ we may add and not only so but also to shew the cause of that communion even the communication of the same spirit to them both which when it descended visibly upon the Apostles endued them with the gift of tongues and the scripture still retaining the variety of languages in this Abba Father doth not only commemorate that miraculous discent of the Holy Ghost upon them but doth also confirm his continual descending upon us with as good success though not with as great a miracle For he teacheth us no less then he taught them to cry Abba Father which puts me upon a second question who it is that cries Abba Father is it his spirit or our own I answer t is his Spirit not our own t is indeed our voice but t is his breath for we cannot say Abba Father by the breath and power of our own but only by the breath and power of his Spirit and by that we can say it with an undaunted courage and do say it with an immortal comfort because with a hope full of immortality T is then his Spirit that crieth Abba Father though in our mouths And this crying Abba Father is more fully expressed Rom. 8. 26. The spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered whence it may be gathered that the gift of prayer is more in groans then in words more in groans which cannot then in words which can be uttered for Moses cried unto the Lord when he spake not one word And the Lord said unto Moses Wherefore criest thou unto me Exod. 14. 15. So that he prayed by the Spirit whiles his tongue stood still and consequently the gift or spirit of prayer here meant by crying Abba Father may not be placed in voluble effusions but in strong affections not so much in the tongue as in the heart for else many adopted Sons must be denied to have the Spirit of Christ who cannot pour out their conceptions in multiplicity of words And which is as bad many must be affirmed to have the Spirit of Christ who are enemies to the cross of Christ whose end is destruction whose God is their belly and whose glory is in their shame who mind earthly things for many of these men may and do attain to a great perfection in extemporary effusions we dare not then say that all those who take upon them to be eminent in the gift of prayer do truly cry Abba Father or do pray by the Spirit of Christ because we see that many of them by their works do oppose the name and blaspheme the truth of Christ and bring themselves under that terrible reproof and more terrible reproach They profess that they know God but in works they deny him being abominable and disobedient and unto every good work reprobate Tit. 1. 16. But there are doubtless many others more concerned in the gift though less in the pretence of the Spirit who make not so many words but yet make more prayers even whiles they make use of those prayers which their Church hath made for them for these bring their groans though not their words and those groans are the groans of the Spirit which without doubt may as well if not better accompany a prayer that we are sure is according to the mind of Christ as a prayer that we cannot tell whether it will be so or no However we cannot deny but every one who truly prayeth by the spirit of Christ may say what holy David hath put into his mouth and the Holy Spirit put into the mouth of David Oh come hither and hearken all ye that fear God and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul I called upon him with my mouth and gave him praises with my tongue If I incline unto wickedness with my heart the Lord will not hear me But God hath heard me and considered the voice of my prayer praised be God which hath not cast out my prayer nor turned his mercy from me Psal 66. v. 14 c. As if he had said This great miracle of mercy hath God done for my soul which I cannot but speak all you that fear him shall do well to hear he gave me his spirit to call upon him with my mouth to give him praises with my tongue and because praise is not commonly in the mouth of a sinner and cannot be acceptable from it he gave me his spirit also to sanctifie my heart that it should not incline to wickedness hence it is that I do heartily praise him for enabling me to pray because praying in the spirit of his Son I can pray in comfort that he will not cast away my prayer because he cannot cast away his only Son nor turn away his mercy from me because he cannot turn away froÌ„ his own Spirit which by his mercy is now becoÌ„e mine Thus it is said The spirit of the Lord cloatheth Amasai 1 Chro. 12. 18. t is in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the Septuagint translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Saint Hierom induit that is The spirit of the Lord cloathed Amasai not barely came upon him but also stuck close to him and covered him all over And indeed so doth the spirit come upon us to cloath our souls as our garments do our bodies that there be neither chilness nor nakedness neither want of zeal nor of holiness in our
grievous temptation is not so easie to discover though that it hath its work is unreasonable to deny Therefore Saint Ambrose in his apologie for King David affords us a threefold excuse of his sin 1. Quia din noluit in peccato manere 2. Quia corde doluit 3. Quia potius fragilitate naturae quà m libidine peccandi Gratianus de Poenit. lib. 3. c. 25. 1. That he would not long continue in his sin I suppose he meaneth after he had been reproved for it for else he was too long in it at least a whole year 2. That he did repent of it with all his heart 3. That he had fallen into it rather out of weakness then of willfulness now if you will ask the reason of his resistance before his sin of his regret and reluctancie in it of his repentance after it you will answer your self it was from some good principle of the spirit within which made him war against the flesh even at that very instant when he was overcome by the strength of its temptation And accordingly he useth these words in his first penitential prayer Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy spirit from me The holy Spirit was certainly in him when he repented and therefore not taken away from him when he sinned And thus much Aquinas is willing to admit Quod Charitas ex parte Spiritus Sancti moventis animum ad diligendum Deum impeccabilitatem habet Vnde impossible est haec duo simul esse vera quod Spiritus Sanctus velit aliquem movere ad actum charitatis quod ipse charitatem amittat peccando 22◠q. 24. ar 10. Charity or Grace as it proceeds from the Holy Ghost moving the soul to love God is not to be lost by sin wherefore it is impossible that these two propositions should be both true That the Holy Ghost will move a man to love God and that he by his sin should lose that love We conclude then That they who have once received the Spirit of adoption do still retain him for Gods gifts are without repentance and therefore he giveth not his Holy Spirit the greatest of all his gifts that he may take him away again But this Spirit still abideth in the children of God and will not let them be wholly conquered much less captivated by the flesh but either holdeth them up that they may not fall or raiseth them up when they are down For the foundation of God standeth sure having this Seal The Lord knoweth them that are his And let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity 2 Tim. 2. 19. The first part of this seal cannot be so much as changed The Lord knoweth them that are his for as God himself is immutable so is his knowledge And the second part of this seal can never be totally defaced Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity for he that nameth the name of Christ so as to love what he nameth doth certainly either first or last depart from iniquity departing from it either by his righteousness or by his repentance For though man may be and often is wanting to God yet God is never wanting to himself Shall his Spirit begin a good work and not accomplish it Shall he lay the foundation and not finish the building We know what our Saviour hath said in this kind Which of you intending to build a Tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost whether he have sufficient to finish it least haply after he hath laid the foundation and is not able to finish it all that behold it begin to mock him saying This man began to build and was not able to finish Luke 14. 28 29 30. Be it so that we may pass this jeer and scoff upon man but let us not think it may be passed upon God For it were not only unrighteous but also unreasonable to ascribe less to the Spirit of Grace then Saint Paul ascribeth to the Word of Grace since the Word is made powerful by the Spirit which accompanieth it but Saint Paul ascribeth the power of salvation to the Word of Gods grace saying And now Brethren I commend you to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified Acts 20. 32. If the word of grace be able to build you up then sure the Spirit of grace much more which is not only able but also willing to build you up or else he would never have begun to lay the foundation and when power and will are both in the premises the work or effect must be in the conclusion So then though we be cast down yet since the Spirit of God is both able and willing to build us up we have a firm hope to be raised at last as high as heaven for though heaven be as far above our deserts as above our reach yet we cannot doubt but he that hath given us an inheritance among all them which are sanctified will also give us an inheritance among all them which are glorified And thus the same Aquinas rightly grounds our hope of salvation which we have in this life not upon mans righteousness which may fade and decay in a moment but upon Gods almighty power and all-saving mercy which can never decay Spes viatorum non innititur principaliter gratiae jam habitae sed divinae omnipotentiae misericordie per quam etiam qui gratiam non habet eam consequi potest Our hope of salvation doth not rely principally upon the grace which we have but upon Gods power and mercy whereby they may have grace who yet have it not and consequently we may come to have grace again if we should lose it Therefore though we should suppose without heresie that grace it self may fail yet we cannot suppose without infidelity that Gods power and mercy should ever fail and that can as easily restore grace as it did at first give it But Saint Gregory will not let us go so far in our supposition having thus dogmatically determined this controversie though some of his own Church will scarce now stand to it as to his decretory sentence or Papal determination Quod in illis donis sine quibus ad vitam pervenire non potest spiritus sanctus in electis omnibus semper manet sed in aliis non semper manet Greg. 2. Moral The Holy Ghost doth alwaies abide in Gods elect as to those gifts without which they cannot be saved though in regard of other gifts and graces he may be said sometimes to depart from them Wherefore we are sure the Spirit of his Son is alwaies in their hearts who are adopted to work in them an habitual perseverance in godliness for that is absolutely necessary to salvation though not alwaies to work in them an actual perseverance in godliness without which they may be saved For the
Act of sin doth not prevail against the habit of righteousness and much less above it So that the habit of righteousness cannot be captivated under an everlasting lethargie that it should alwaies forget its own act The Spirit of Christ which at first infused the habit so working in all those who belong to him that either they still retain the act of righteousness by their innocency or in due time recover it by their repentance God of his infinite mercy give unto us all this Spirit and continue unto us his own gift that we being his adopted sons may so honour and obey him as our Father that we may have the comfortable assurance of our adoption in this life and the glorious fruition of our inheritance in the life to come The one by the Spirit the other by the merits of his only begotten Son Jesus Christ our Lord who liveth and reigneth with the Father in the unity of the same Spirit one God world without end Amen Christ received in the state of true Christianity CAP. I. Of the state of true Christianity SECT I. The happiness of Christians who have their conversation with Christ That lovers of themselves or of the world have not this happiness For though Christ speaks to all yet he answers only to good Christians that is to Sheep not to Wolves to Christians not to Heathens for such he accounteth all Persecutors teaching the one to their instruction and contentation the other only to their conviction and condemnation the reason why so many Christians come not to the state of true Christianity IT is the special priviledge of Christians not only to have their appellation or name from Christ the eternal Son of God but also to have their Religion from him and their conversation with him The Jews could begin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with God and the Heathen learned it from them But we Christians can begin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the salvation of God even with Jesus who had that name from salvation for he shall save his people from their sins Mat. 1. 21. Happy soul that is so well acquainted with the dialect of heaven as to understand the language of Jesus and so wholly taken up with that acquaintance as to maintain familiar colloquies with him to hear and to know and to love his voice For if the Psalmist could say with great admiration and greater comfort O how amiable are thy dwellings thou Lord of hosts Psal 84. 1. Then much more O how amiable art thou O Lord who makest thy dwellings so The hope of men and the joy of Angels the salvation of earth and the beauty of heaven No wonder if it follow in the next verse My soul hath a desire and a longing to enter into the Courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh rejoyce in the living God But where is the soul that enjoyeth this happiness for even one of his Apostles who daily seemed to converse with him enjoyed it not Saint John plainly excludes him in these words Judas saith unto him not Iscariot John 14. 22. As if the Spirit of God had been afraid least we should think that a Traytor could familiarly converse with Christ though he dipped with him in the same dish or have any comfort from that conversation Tremelius glosseth the word Iscariot two waies mercede inducitur ad defectionem ultro declinavit ad strangulationem Mat. 10. 4. The hopes of gain made him a Traitor the thought of his treason made him hang himself Such was this Iscariot A man whose heart was so settled and fixed on money as to sell his Saviour for the love of it Therefore he could not comfortably and much less familiarly converse with Christ by questions and answers For he durst not ask Christ a question to be informed of his Doctrine for fear the answer should have proved an Indictment to convine him of his treason whereof he knew himself already guilty in his heart which made him afraid least he should disclose the same who was the searcher of hearts Therefore he desired not to make any particular addresses to his Master when as the other Judas who had none of this Treachery or covetousness did as it were continually hang upon his lips and was wholly ravished with his Doctrine saying within himself How sweet are thy words unto my taste yea sweeter then honâ—y to my mouth Psal 119. v. 103. And accordingly our blessed Saviour answers the Jude but not the Iscariot answers the Confessor but not the Traytor For Jude was a name imposed from confession and praise Now will I praise the Lord therefore she called his name Judah Gen. 29. 35. that is praise or confession whence the Vulgar Latine doth often say Confitebor tibi Domine I will confess unto thee O Lord for I will praise thee O Lord because the same word in the Hebrew signifies both confession and praise Be it so then Christ will answer one that confesseth him but he will not answer one that betrayeth him This is the reason that though he speak so loud yet so few hear his voice That though his love be greatly extended yet it is but little diffused in our hearts For though he be most lovely in himself yet is he not so to them whose breast is filled with another love The Text tells us of a fourfold lover 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A lover of himself A lover of his pleasure A lover of his profit and A lover of his God The first lover will not hearken to Christs voice for self-love and Saviour-love cannot be together since self ends and Saviour-ends are so far asunder The second and third lovers though they may a little hearken to Christs voice yet they cannot much regard it for if any man love the world that is his pleasure or his profit the whole world consisting of nothing else the love of the Father is not in him 1 John 2. 15. It is only the last lover the lover of God who heareth Christs voice and rejoyceth to hear it for every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him 1 John 5. 1. To such lovers he will not only speak but he will also answer which shews a familiarity of speaking For though he speak to very many yet he answers to very few that is only to those who are willing to discourse and advise with him He speaks to all that are Christians by outward profession calling aloud to them now in his Word as once he did to the Jews in his person and saying Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand Mat. 4. 1. But he answers only to Christians by inward affection because indeed they only do hear his voice for why should he answer to those that will not give him the hearing Thus himself hath told us my sheep hear my voice John 10. 27. He must be a sheep that will hear the voice of Christ not a wolf one more ready
to devour his Pastor then to follow him one more ready to scatter and tear the flock then to associate and joyn with them I must take heed of being a Wolf towards my Brother If I desire to be a Sheep towards my Saviour Homo homini lupus Christo agâ—â—â— were a strange proverb and more strange Divinitâ— That he who is a Wolf to man should be a Lamb to Christ It was an evil Spirit that made Saul a Wolf to David 1 Sam. 19. 9. And the same evil spirit shewed him to be none of Gods sheep He watches to catch David but to lose himself and whiles he seeks to destroy Gods servant he doth indeed destroy his own soul This makes the spirit of God look upon him as a heathen not as an Israelite as appears from Psal 59. 5. Thou therefore O Lord God of hosts the God of Israel awake to visit all the heathen This Psalm was made upon that occasion that Saul had sent and watched Davids house to kill him and we must expound these words according to that occasion So Tremelius Ad visitandum omnes gentes ist as i. e. Copias Saulis quae eodem animo Davidem persequebantur quo gentes aliene à populo Dei facturae fuissent Awake to visit the heathen that is the Armies of Saul which did persecute David with as malicious a Spirit as the very heatheÌ„ who knew not God would have persecuted him Thou which laughest the heathen to scorn saith Isacides wilt also laugh those men to scorn And Ezra shews how he is able to do it saying that he is the Lord of hosts of the Armies of Angels that are above in heaven 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no less then of the armies of Israel that are below on the earth God is not said to laugh any to scorn but only heathen as in this Psal ver 8. And in the second Psalm v. 4 or such as make themselves like heathen by raging as furiously as they against the Church of Christ and the ministers of his Gospel as appears Acts 4. where the Apostles being persecuted for preaching Christ make use of this very Psalm in their prayer Why did the heathen rage and the people imagine vain things For such men whether they be Jews or Christians are no better then heathen in Gods account and accordingly he that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn the Lord shall have them in derision He laughs them to scorn because of their vain imaginations of opposition against Christ and much more because of their vain endeavours in opposing him and his laughing ends in their weeping and their weeping ends as their cruelty began in gnashing of teeth They gnashed on him with their teeth Acts 5. 54. there 's their sin which shewed them be men little better then Wolves and again there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth Mat. 8. 12. there 's their punishment which will shew them to be men worse then nothing The first gnashing of teeth was from the fierceness the last shall be from the anguish of their hearts And the spirit of God seemeth to pray that it may be so saying and be not mercifull unto them that offend of malicious wickedness Psal 59. v. 5. So that we need not wonder why so many Christians now a dayes come not to the state of true Christianity which alone puts them in a capacity of mercy for the reason is plain t is because they sin out of malicious wickedness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Be not mercifull to any wicked prevaricator Selah Tremelius renders the words thus Ne gratiam facias ullis perfidè agentibus iniquitatem summe He finds a new signification for Selah to shew he had found a new Selah for their sin that is a new hight or exaltation in the sin of those men who are praevaricatores iniquitatis who do not only continue but also prevaricate in their iniquity Qui Deum cultu honore Davidem prosequi simulantes perfidè ea perpetrabant quae sequuntur saith he who pretending to fear God and to honour David did perfidiously act all that follows in the Psalm against them both How are such men like to come to Salvation when the Son of God will not preach for it and the Spirit of God doth pray against it Be not mercifull unto them that offend of malicious wickedness Surely OLord mercy is thy delight no less then it is our desire It is above all thy works and shall it not much more be above all ours shall there be any sin which is properly our work of so vast an extent as to reach beyond thy mercy or of so loud a cry as to make thee stop thine ears against the prayer of a distressed sinner Oh no t is not iniquity but prevaricating in iniquity that makes man not care to pray T is not sin but impenitency in sin that makes God not hear his prayers Your iniquit es have separated betwixt you and your God Isa 59. 2. that is your multiplied your malicious sins committed wth a shameless face with a stiff neck with a high hand and with a hard heart which first fill your Souls with iniquity and then with impeniteney such iniquities as these whiles unrepented and t is like they will be unrepented whiles they would be unreproved do separate betwixt you and your God For froward thoughts separate from God there 's the separation of a perverse sinner from God the Father who is God of himself and again into a malicious soul wisdom will not enter there 's his Separation from God the Son who is the wisdom of the Father And lastly wisdom is a loving spirit there 's his separation from God the Holy Ghost who is the Spirit of the Father and of the Son the spirit of love Wisdom 1. 3 4 6. This is the reason why not Iscariot is annexed to that Judas who spake to our blessed Saviour and whom our Saviour Christ was pleased to answer God the Son did not answer such an Apostate such a Traitor as Iscariot was and God the Holy Ghost would not have us think that he did answer him he that once thought it better to be a Traitor then to be a Disciple doth now think it better not to be then to have been a traytor He that once was willing from an Apostle to become a Divel is now much more willing from a Divel to become nothing He then would not hear the voice of Christ and now he cannot hear it unless it be that voice which hath already filled his heart with the horror though it shall not till the last day fill his ears with the noise of it Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire Mat 25. 41. A voice that Christ hath reserved as a Judge for those who would not hear him as a Saviour A voice which he will utter to the goates on his left hand not to the sheep on his right hand Lord make me consider in
words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 concord part agreement which are in effect so many pledges to us and testimonials to others of our internal communion with our blessed Saviour for that causeth us to have concord part and agreement with him Concord as being united with Christ in the same affections Part as being united with him in the same promises Agreement as being united with him in the same professions Wherefore this rule as it may increase our knowledge so it must increase our comfort as it may be for our instruction so it must be for our consolation that as far as we partake of Christ so far we communicate with him and as far as we communicate with Christ so far we partake of him If our participation of Christ be only external as is that of hypocrites who draw neer him with their lips but their heart is far from him who hear his Word and receive his Sacraments meerly for custom or for curiosity or for some other external consideration then is our communion with Christ only external and we only do help to make up that visible body whereof man is the Head But if our participation of Christ be internal as is that of good Christians who hear his Word and receive his Sacraments out of conscience that they may hear him speaking to them in his Word and find him nourishing them in his Sacraments then is our communion with Christ not only external but also and much rather internal and we do help make up that mystical body whereof Christ alone is the Head For t is our heart makes our Head as we are Christians if our heart be with man more then with God in our religion then man is our head in it but if our heart be with Christ more then with man in our religion then Christ is our Head in it And hence it comes to pass that some men are better Christians under a more corrupt then others are under a more incorrupt form of doctrine and discipline because it is not communion with the Church but with Christ in the Church that makes the good Christian He that looks more after Christ then after his Church in the profession of Christianity may haply be a good Christian in a bad Church for Christ is able to make him a good Christian without his Church nay indeed against it He that looks more after his Church then after Christ must needs be a bad Christian in a good Church for his Church cannot make him a good Christian without Christ Accordingly a man may be a better Christian in an unreformed Church if his religion be above his faction then in a reformed Church if his faction be above his religion and I had much rather have a Christian mind in an unchristian or antichristian Church then an unchristian mind in the purest Christian Church that is For though Christ be never so much in my Church yet that will do me no good unless he be also in my heart And if Christ be in my heart t is not my Churches being Antichristian or unchristian in some particulars which I do lament but cannot help that can drive him out of it or deprive me of the state and comfort of true Christianity T is sin if Christ be not in mine heart whiles I profess my self to be a Christian T is my misery if Christ be not in all the professions and practices of my Church by which I have been brought to Christianity Let me keep my self from being sinful by making sure of Christ in my heart and my God will keep me from being miserable because of some mistakes or defects of Christianity in my Church Saint Paul saith to the Corinthians but of him are ye in Christ Jesus notwithstanding at that time there was both heresie and schism in the Church of Corinth Heresie for some denied the resurrection 1 Cor. 15. 12. Schism for some said they were of Paul others of Apollos others of Cephas 1 Cor. 1. 12. Their communion with a bad Church when they could not help it did not hinder their communion with Christ and their communion with Christ did make them partakers of Christ for he was made unto them wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption 1 Cor. 1. 30. wisdom to direct them righteousness to acquit them sanctification to purge them and redemption to save them Thus was Christ made unto them either externally in his Word and Sacraments or internally in his Spirit and graces accordingly as they did communicate with him and participate of him If they brought only an outside to him they received only an outside from him such a wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption as did only shew them to be Christians not make them good Christians But if they brought their inner man to Christ he perfected their inner man by an internal communion with and participation of his wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption Wherefore if our communion with Christ or participation of Christ be only external and not also internal we ought to quarrel with our selves not with our Church and much less with our God for without doubt God is faithful who offers us Christ by his Church in his word and Sacraments For is the Spirit of the Lord straitned do not his words do good to him that walketh uprightly Mich. 2. 7. is a question as unanswerable now as it was then and it is meerly from our own unfaithfulness if we receive not Christ when he is offered or retein him not when he is received SECT III. That our internal communion with Christ is through his Spirit and our faith which may not be a phansie or fiction much less a faction but a faith knowing by evidence approving by adherence applying by affection and working by practice That such a faith will make our communion with Christ real and substantial in the thing it self though in the manner it be only spiritual and mystical THE union of two extreams is necessarily by some other third thing betwixt them both which brings the said extreams together and that in regard of Christ is his spirit which brings him down to us in regard of us is our faith which carries us up to Christ Both are alike required in our internal communion with Christ For though his Spirit be never so powerfully with his own ordinances that to resist the one is to resist the other as saith Saint Stephen ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears ye do alwayes resist the Holy Ghost Acts 7. 51. Yet if our faith be not with his Spirit we cannot have communion with him in his word For so is the same truth spoken by anothers mouth But the word preached did not profit them not being mixed with faith in them that heard it Heb. 4. 2. Their not being profited was not for want of Gods Spirit with his word but for want of their faith with Gods Spirit The spirit was not is not wanting to
the word for the word of God is quick and powerful sharper then any two edgedsword peircing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joynts and marrow and is a discoverer of the thoughts and intents of the heart ver 12. All which force and activity cannot be from the dead letter which constitutes the word but from the quick spirit which accompanies and enlivens it But their faith was and our faith is wanting to the Spirit of God which brings us all under that sharp reproof of our blessed Saviour O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken Luke 24. 25. For if we be not slow to believe yet generally we believe by an historical faith proceeding from the conviction of the understanding meerly through the evidence of truth as the Devils believe and tremble not by a justifying faith proceeding from the conversion of the will through the love of truth And hence it is that though the cheif corner stone be rightly laid in all Christian Churches all alike confessing Christ to be the eternal Son of God and the Mediator betwixt God and man for if any deny this they are neither to be thought nor to be called Christians yet the building is not rightly raised in many Churches the reason is because there be many mockers in these last times who walk after their own ungodly lusts separating themselves sensual not having the Spirit as Saint Jude admonisheth But in no wise building up themselves in their most holy faith or praying in the Holy Ghost or keeping themselves in the love of God as Saint Jude adviseth No wonder if such a faith as this came far short of its proper object Christ with all the blessings and mercies of God since indeed it comes far short of it self For a faith that maketh men not build up but pull down the practice of religion and pray not in Gods Holy Spirit but in their own perverse spirits and keep themselves not in the love of God and consequently of his Church but in the love of their own self-interests and advantages such a faith or rather such a phansie or fiction and faction as this is and must be called comes far short of faith and therefore cannot but come far short of Christ the proper object of faith Saint Paul tells us of another kind of faith which to them under the Law was the evidence of things not seen and must be so to us under the Gospel saying these all died in faith not having received the promises but having seen them afar off and were perswaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth Heb. 11. 13. They died in that faith in the which we ought to live and dye though the object of it be more clearly revealed to us then it was to them a faith which is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen A faith knowing by evidence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they did see the promises a faith approving by adherence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they were perswaded of them A faith applying by affection 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they embraced them and lastly a faith working and persevering by profession practice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they confessed the same promises not only in their words but also in their deeds in their life and conversation accounting themselves strangers and Pilgrims on earth when they considered those heavenly promises And that made them like Pilgrims earnestly to long after their own country and not do or desire any thing for love of earth which might hinder or delay their passage to heaven So that a faith thus seeing thus applying thus approving thus confessing the promises of salvation by Christ is the faith which our Apostle defineth to be the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen that is to say a faith that now maketh Christ present with the soul by the communion of his grace and will hereafter make the soul present with Christ in the communion of his glory Oh for such a faith to bring my Saviour into my soul and to keep him there till faith it self be no longer faith but be turned into vision A faith that engageth the whole man in all his powers and faculties both of soul and body For only such a faith as taketh up the whole man in his understanding will affections actions can take a right and lay a fast hold on Christ such a faith though it cannot miraculously now open the heavens as it did once to Saint Stephen yet it can and will pierce the heavens and there see the son of man standing on the right hand of God ready to defend us on earth and as ready to receive us into heaven Whence we may very well conclude that this communion of good Christians with Christ or of the body with the head though at so great a distance is in the thing it self most real and substantial though in the manner it be only spiritual and mystical Christ and his Church nay every true member of his Church are as substantially united together as man and wife Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church Ephes 5. 25. that is to say his wife And therefore as no distance can keep the man and his wife from being one flesh so neither Christ and his Church from being one spirit He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit 1 Cor. 6. 17. And to put us out of doubt that we whilst we live here on earth if we live unto him are thus joyned unto him Saint John saith plainly Hereby we know that he abideth in us by the spirit which he hath given us 1 John 3. 24. There cannot be a more substantial union then is of the soul with the body because the soul abideth in the body and the same union is of Christ with the soul because he abideth in the soul and as we know the soul abideth in the body by the spirit or breath which it giveth to the body so we know that Christ abideth in the soul by the spirit which he giveth to the soul Yet is this union of Christ with his body not carnal but spiritual not to be discerned by the strength of the outer but of the inner man such an union as Saint Paul describeth to all but wisheth only to good Christians for though he might wish the Son of righteousness to shine upon a dunghill yet he might not wish him to be joyned to it that God would grant you to be strengthned with might by his spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your heart by faith Ephes 3. 16 17 Here is a most real and substantial union and communion betwixt Christ and good Christians for the spirit strengtheneth them and Christ dwelleth in them but t is only spiritual for the spirit strengtheneth their inner man and mystical for Christ dwelleth
the Truth into their minds as they are able to receive it 2. In the object of it every man excluding none from the benefit of their Ministry who desire to be taught or to be warned though more particularly including those of their own Pastoral charge in which respect Clemens Alexandrinus his gloss may be admitted who saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 warning and teaching the whole man that he may be purified both in his body and in his soul 3. In the manner of it with all assiduity and industry for so the Participles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 do set forth not only continued but also multiplyed acts 4. And lastly in the end of scope of it which is to bring men to the communion of Christ that so they may be presented to God as perfect having that perfection in their Saviour which they have not in themselves Wherefore we cannot deny but as we still need the warning so we still need the watchmen and we must confess that watchmen of Gods own setting up may not be disturbed or displaced till himself be pleased to put them away or to pull them down and sure we are that will not be till we shall no longer need them And if the watchmen are bound to give the warning then questionless the people are bound to take it when it is given For it is plain the Text said Obey them that watch for your souls Heb. 13. 17. before the civil Magistrate was yet Christian to force men to that obedience Nay indeed while he was yet Heathen to deterre them from it and to persecute them for it So that the fifth Commandment obligeth me to obey those whom God hath set over me in spirituals no less then those whom he hath set over me in temporals And I may no more forsake the Church to set up a new Religion then I may forsake the State to set up a new Government For my obedience is due to both as a moral debt by the necessity of Justice since I am as much obliged to my spiritual Father for the care of my soul as I am to my civil Father for the care of my body and therefore I can no more withdraw my duty from the Church then I can from the Common-wealth Nor may I go out of my Nation to look for a Head of the Church any more then to look for a Head of the State since the fifth Commandment obligeth me equally to the Church and to the State And I ought to be as much afraid of Schism which is a sedition against the Church as of Sedition which is a schism against the State Sure I am if I will be a true Gospeller I must see that my conversation be such as becometh the Gospel of Christ and that 's a conversation which requires Unity no less then Verity Unity of Spirit no less then Verity of Faith So the Apostle advising the Philippians that their conversation should be as becometh the Gospel of Christ sheweth them in the next words wherein consisteth that conversation saying That ye stand fast in one Spirit with one mind there 's the Vnity striving together for the faith of the Gospel there 's the Verity Phil. 1. 27. He permitteth not the pretence of Verity to break the bonds of Unity for he saith striving together not striving one with or against another for the faith of the Gospel Their concord and communion was to be the credit of their Religion not the pretence of Religion to be the bane of their communion He accounts it as necessary to their salvation that they should stand fast in the same Unity as that they should strive for the same Verity that they should stand fast in one spirit with one mind as that they should strive for the faith of the Gospel This is the true way to set up Christs Discipline for himself hath said By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if ye have love one to another John 13. 35. As we are made Christs Disciples by the Verity of our Faith so we are known to be his Disciples by the Unity of our Love and if we desire to set up his Discipline we must take a course that men may know we are his Disciples which they cannot do unless we have love one to another and surely factions divisions strifes contentions are very ill arguments and worse evidences of love So that I cannot be a Schismatick in with-drawing my love from Christs Church but I must be a piece of an Atheist in withdrawing my love from Christ himself as refusing to be accounted his Disciple This makes Saint Paul come like clypei Dominus septemplicis Ajax holding out a Buckler with no less then seven folds in it to keep off all the assaults of schism saying 1. There is one Body that is one Catholick Church of Christ whereof we are all members that profess our selves to be Christians 2. One Spirit to quicken and enliven that body 3. One hope of immortality to comfort and confirm it 4. One Lord to wit our Saviour Christ that hath purchased and doth claim it 5. One faith to feed and nourish it 6. One Baptism to wash and cleanse it 7. One God and Father of all to rule and govern it Eph. 4. 4 5 6. So that I dare no more be a Schismatick then I dare think to divide this one body to multiply this one Spirit to falsifie this one hope to renounce this one Lord to forsake this one faith to despise this one Baptism to deny this one God for I must be zealous to maintain this Christian Communion in its authority that I may be so happy as to enjoy it in its excellency CAP. II. Christian Communion in its excellency SECT I. The excellency of Christian Communion because of its large extent as reaching to all Christians though of different perswasions and professions THE Christian Church is truly Catholick in that it comprizeth all true Believers of what nation sex age or condition soever for God acknowledgeth them all for his children by faith in Christ Jesus So saith Saint Paul Gal. 3. 26 27. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ So that whosoever believeth in Christ and is baptized in his name must be acknowledged a member of the Christian Church whether he be Jew or Greek bond or free which was not so before Christs coming in the flesh for then it was said only of the Jews ye shall be my people and I will be your God Jer. 30. 22. But since our blessed Saviour hath broken down the partition wall God hath called to himself a people not of the Jews only but also of the Gentiles and it hath come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them ye are not my people there they are now called the children of the living God Rom. 9. 24 26. Those whom
Halleluiah doth not close a part of a Hymn but breaks off a doctrinal exhortation surely not to distract our attentions but to enflame our affections and to possess our souls wholly with the joy and love of Christ without which neither our praying nor our preaching is acceptable unto God or available unto us And the Church seemeth to have borrowed this practice from the Apostles for it is much to be observed that Saint Paul delivers not any one Doctrine of the Christian verity without his Halleluiah that is without a peculiar doxology to God in Christ So in his Epistle to the Romans 1. 8. First I thank my God through Jesus Christ So to the Corinthians 1. 1. 4. I thank my God alwayes on your behalf So to the Galatians 1. 5. To God and our Father be glory for ever and ever Amen So to the Ephesians 1. 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ And so in the rest of his Epistles Nay he doth not only prefix his Halleluiah and lay it as the foundation and bottom of his work but he doth also familiarly interweave it whilst he is working as it were some choice and eminent thred to checquer and adorn the whole piece Thus in the Doctrine of Christian regeneration Rom. 7. 25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord speaks little or nothing to the argument but more to the soul of him that earnestly desires truly to understand it then the tongue of men and Angels is able to express Thus also in the Doctrine of the resurrection 1 Cor. 15. 57. Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ are such words as do more then perswade the belief they do also enforce the love of that Christian truth which of it self is able to make not only one Foelix but also all mankinde to quake and tremble For Christ raising us from the death by vertue of his resurrection will also uphold us in the judgement by vertue of his satisfaction Lastly thus also in the Doctrine of Christian patience and preseverance concerning our being strengthned with might by the Spirit of God in the inward man and Christs dwelling in our hearts by faith and our own being rooted and grounded in love Ephes 3. He begins with prayer to God before it ver 14. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and he ends with praises after it ver 21. Vnto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end Which manner of teaching by prayer and praise must needs make a deeper impression upon the soul then all the arguments of Logick or perswasions of Rhetorick that have been or can be invented by the art of man And indeed the same is also the Method of Saint Peter and of the rest of the Apostles to intermingle prayers and praises to God in all their writings and may not unfitly be called the Method of grace And Alensis gives this reason for it Alius est modus scientiae ad informationem affectus secundum pietatem Alius ad informationem intellectus secundum veritatem Alex. Ale qu. 1. mem 4. There is one method of teaching the will how to embrace piety another method of teaching the understanding how to embrace truth For the understanding is best informed by the evidence of demonstration but the will is best enflamed by the power of devotion And again sunt principia veritatis ut veritatis sunt principia veritatis ut bonitatis There are principles of truth which are to be learned as they are true and there are principles of truth which are to be learned as they are good other sciences proceed from principles of truth which are to be learned as they are true because their truth is most notoriously evident But Divinity proceeds from principles of truth which are to be learned as they are good because their goodness is more notoriously evident then their truth Vnde hec scientia magis est virtutis quam Artis sapientia magis quam scientia magis enim consistit virtute efficacia quam in contemplatione notitia Alen. ibid. in respon 2. Therefore is Divinity rather a science of power then of Art and consequently rather a Sapience then a Science for both in its being and in its knowing it consists more of virtue and power then of contemplation or knowledge Accordingly the Apostle himself saith Alensis professeth that his preaching was not with enticing words of mans wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power 1 Cor. 2. 4. which is such a demonstration as is more fitted to the will then to the understanding because it hath more of piety then of evidence mans wisdom teaching the understanding but Gods wisdom rather teaching the will and affections The one working more upon the head but the other working more upon the heart And therefore the Method which Gods wisdom useth in teaching man is not unfitly called the Method of grace For it is a Method that neither nature nor Art can teach us but only the Spirit of Grace and is accordingly used in no other science but only in Divinity In teaching other sciences he that should break out into a prayer or ejulation would either forget his principle or mistake his conclusion But in teaching Divinity this is the only way to strengthen both our memories against forgetfulness and our judgements against mistakes Here it is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod demonstrandum erat nor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod faciendum erat but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod orandum erat Not what we can shew nor what we can do but what we can pray makes us the best proficients in the School of Christ For doubtless we may best learn soul-saving Divinity in the way the Apostles taught it that is by intermingling prayers and praises with our endeavours since this is the only way to learn Christ for Christ cannot be learned till he be received and cannot be received in a soul not prepared by piety and devotion to entertain him This occasioned that expression of Saint Paul As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk ye in him Col. 2. 6. In other sciences we need learn but the Doctrine that is taught no matter for the author that teacheth it But in Christian Divinity we must learn and receive Christ the author or we cannot rightly learn and receive the Doctrine Haec cloquentia quaedam est Doctrinae salutaris movendo affectus discentium accommodata saith Saint Augustine Epist 119. ad Januarium Whence we may gather the true definition of Christian eloquence It is that which most moveth our affections and raiseth them up to Christ this is the reason why the Apostles used this new kind of method in their writings not for the want of knowledge but for the abundance of love and charity which was wholly enamored on Christ
Genesis as if it had been given immediately after the Creation but are sure it was written with the finger of God among the rest of the Moral Law which is a strong proof that the substance of it was written in mans heart before it was writ in Moses his Tables And what can be the substance of it but this that God ought to be publickly worshipped in the congregations and therefore all those things are made and are to be reputed holy which necessarily belong to his publick worship For sure that was no will-worship in the Jews which we find recorded for our example Nehem. 8. And all the people gathered themselves together as one man I ask by what Commandment if not by the fourth so it is apparent that communion in Gods worship is a duty of the fourth Commandment And Saint Peter will have this communion extend it self to the whole body of Christians wheresoever dispersed for he writes to the strangers scattered abroad in several Countries when he saith But ye are a chosen generation a royal Priesthood an holy Nation a peculiar people that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light 1 Pet. 2. 9. Be good Christians never so far asunder in time and place yet they are all joyned together in one chosen generation in one royal Priest-hood in one holy Nation in one peculiar people and the reason why they are so joyned together is to shew forth the praises of him who hath called them out of darkness into his marvelous light And this as far as may be they must all do together as one man no less then did the Jews according to that of Saint Paul Now I beseech you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ as you desire to be thought and called Christians that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no schisms or divisions among you but that ye be perfectly joyned together in the same mind and in the same judgement 1 Cor. 1 10. as if he had said I beseech you altogether to make but one man amongst you all in the business of Religion but one outward man whilst you all speak the same thing and there be no schisms or divisions among you which is best done by having a set and known form of prayer and but one inward man whilst you are perfectly joyned together in the same mind and in the same judgement heâ—e is not only a most powerful exhortation but also as it were a most powerful exorcism By the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to cast out from us all the evil spirit of schism Now I beseech you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ nor can the Church of Christ now use a more powerful exorcism against Schismaticks then that which was once used by the vagabond Jews such as Schismaticks now strive to make their Ministers and the more to make them vagabonds because they cannot make them Jews saying We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth Acts 19. 13. For there cannot be a stronger adjuration to unity and concord then the name of Jesus who joyned God and man together and therefore will not suffer man and man to be asunder nor can we more powerfully adjure by that Jesus then as Paul preached him or in the words of Saint Paul that they would all speak the same thing all have one confession of faith all have one form of prayer and praise who are of one and the same communion and not be like that confused assembly of the Ephesians wherein some cryed one thing and some another and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together Acts 19. 32. That 's for their external union and communion And again that they would all be perfectly joyned together in the same mind and in the same judgement In the same mind by unity of love in the same judgement by unity of faith in the same mind in regard of their affections in the same judgement in regard of their opinions that 's for their internal union and communion To speak the same thing is the ready way to be of the same mind and the same judgement and consequently to break off external communion in worship is to break off internal communion in faith and charity for worship is the profession of faith and the exercise of charity Here Saint Paul preacheth communion in Christ so as to have it begin in the mouth and to end in the mind they should first speak the same thing and after that be of the same mind and of the same judgement But in his Epistle to the Romans he will have this communion in Christ begin in the mind and end in the mouth Rom. 15. 5 6. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one towards another according to Christ Jesus That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorifie God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ He first prays that they may have one mind in Doctrine and then that they may have one mouth in prayer They both so much conduce to each other that t is indifferent to him which he names first whether the mind or the mouth for Hierusalem is a City that is at unity in it self as well in Mouth as in mind and if Babel if Confusion once get into the Tongue it will from thence easily get into the Heart And now tell me ye that are possessed with the evil spirit of Schism is not this word of adjuration being by the holy Apostle made the word of God quick and powerfull and sharper then any two-edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit in you whiles you procèed to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit in Christs Church we adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth thus plainly thus powerfully that you will endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace not violating that internal Communion which ought to be among Christians in the unity of the Spirit nor that external communion which ought to be among them in the bond of peace Nay more we adjure by Jesus by whom Paul adjureth you when he saith I beseech you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Oecùmenius I commanding or exhorting in mine own name perchance am not sufficent to perswade you therefore I command and exhort you in the name of Christ that is to say Christ himself who is injured by you doth by me command and exhort you to unity and concord in his worship The words in themselves are no more then a pathetical exhortation but in regard of the evil spirits of some men they may be taken for an Adjuration Saint Paul as it were leaving the Apostle and taking the Exorcist to allay the furious outrages and distempers of those who make it their work not only to rend Christs coat which yet the
non eodem Anathemate inclusisse Arianos Quartodecimanos That the Nicene fathers did not include the Quartodecimans under the same Anathema with the Arrians And we may gather the reason of this from the Synodical Epistle of the Council of Sardice wherein it is accouted all one to be Anathema and to be separated from the Catholick Church or not to be reckoned among Christians For so those Fathers declare their sentence against the Arrian Bishops 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We have judged them not only to be unworthy of their Bishopricks but also of the communion of the faithful For they which do separate the son from the father are to be separated from the Catholick Church as unworthy of the name of Christians Therefore let them be to you as Anathema 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But why are they to be Anathema Because they have corrupted the word of truth say the same Fathers This being the Apostles command If any man preach any other Gospel unto you then that ye have received let him be Anathema or accursed Gal. 1. 9. Therefore be sure not to communicate with any of them for there is no communion of light with darkness but put them all far from you for there is no concord of Christ with Belial Thus far in effect those holy Fathers accursing only those whom God himself had accursed So doth the Council of Ephesus Anathematize Nestorius in this form 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Concil Eph. par 2. Act. 1. The true Orthodox Faith doth accurse this man the holy Synod doth accurse him shewing plainly that if the true Faith had not excommunicated him they would not easily have denyed him their communion I will pass by the Acclamations of the Bishops in the Council of Chalcedon in the first action saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christ himself hath deposed Dioscorus this is a just sentence this is a righteous Synod and their great exultations in the Nicene and Constantinopolitane Faith after the recital of those two Creeds in the second action of the same Council and I will hasten to some instances of after-ages to shew how tender the Primitive Christians were in rejecting others from their communion the first shall be of the fifth general Council which was not till the year of Christ five hundred and fifty And that Council at the end of its fourth collation hath these words Sancta Synodus dixit multitudo blasphemiarum quas contra magnum Deum Salvatorem nostrum Jesum Christum imo magis contra suam animam Theodorus Mopsuestenus evomuit justam ejus facit condemnationem The holy Synod avowed that the multitude of the blasphemies which Theodorus of Mopsuestia had belched or vomited out against the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ or rather against his own soul had made his condemnation just or necessary as if they had professed they did not come by their own authority to make him a Heretick but by the authority of Christ to declare him so My second instance shall be out of the sixth general Council which was against the Monothelites For there the Fathers at the end of the fifteenth action pronounce their sentence of excommunication against Polychronius the Monothelite in these words For as much as Polychronius the Monk hath persisted in his erroneous and wicked opinion even to his old age we have therefore put his soul under the curse denounced by Saint Paul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Praedicto à Sancto Apostolo Paulo Anathemati jam hunc secundum animam subjecimus what curse that was the Council nameth not but we may suppose they meant that denounced in 2 Cor. 16. 22. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha They looked upon this man as one that loved not the Lord Jesus Christ for in that he was a Monothelite and said there was but one will in Christ he did in effect deny his humane nature whilst he denyed his humane will as themselves profess in their seventeenth action That the Monothelites Tenent did by a new subdolous invention 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 labour to overthrow the perfection of Christs humanity I say they looked upon this man as one that loved not the Lord Jesus Christ in that he opposed the perfection of his humane nature and consequently as one that had involved himself in that Anathema denounced by Saint Paul If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha This is the Anathema that truly strikes the soul which the Spirit of God denounceth against our Spirits for not cleaving stedfastly to the Son of God or for not loving our Lord Jesus Christ he that is thus bound in heaven can never think himself a freeman though he be not bound in earth He that is thus excommunicated by the sentence of the Law cannot but think himself in a very ill condition though happily he may be absolved by the sentence of his Judge So saith Saint Chrysostom upon the place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 By this one word hath the Apostle frighted all the impenitent sinners of Corinth whether guilty of fornication or of scandal or of faction or of infidelity for some of them also denyed the resurrection he first shews them the greatness of their sin that they loved not the Lord Jesus Christ then the greatness of their punishment that they were Anathema Maranatha could not but tremble at the coming of that Lord whom they did not love Such men as are in truth excommunicated by God himself are most justly excommunicated by his Church and t is apparent that this Council looked upon the Monothelites as such for it follows afterwards at the end of the Sentence Anathema to Macarius Stephanus and Polychronius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The holy Trinity hath deposed these three miscreants I need not look after any more Instances since this Council was held full six hundred and eighty years after Christ This is enough to shew the Moderation of the Primitive Christians that they did not care to break communion with them in the Christian Faith who had not broken Communion with Christ and they did not think those had broken communion with Christ who professed the Christian Faith as it had been delivered in the Creeds of the four first general Councils indeed they thought the Constantinopolitans Creed alone a full and sufficient explication of the Christian faith so say the Fathers of this Council Action 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sufficiebat quidem ad perfectam Orthodoxae Fidei cognitionem atque confirmationem pium atque orthodoxum hoc divinae Gratiae Symbolum This pious and orthodox Creed of the Divine Grace was sufficient for the perfect knowledge and confirmation of the orthodox faith The Council of Chalcedon had given the same Judgement before concerning that Creed but in different words Action 5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sufficiebat quidem ad plenam cognitionem confirmationem pietatis hoc sapiens salutare
reason for it in humane affairs because the power of Delegation in Delegates must fill the world with irremediable uncertainties may fill it with intolerable abuses and miscarriages yet in Gods affairs there is no truth in that Rule for his Delegates may and must appoint other Delegates till the end of the world and there 's is reason for it because himself still acteth by these latter Delegates as well by the former limiting their Trust that they may not abuse it as well as declaring their Trust that we may not deny it First we are taught particularly in these Epistles how Saint Pauls commission was given from Christ to him for so he saith The glorious Gospel committed to my Trust 1 Tim. 1. 11. Again I thank the Lord Jesus Christ who hath enabled me for that he counted me faithfull putting me into the Ministery 1 Tim. 1. 12. We doubt not but he speaketh this in the behalf of the other Apostles as well as of himself and by the same reason cannot see why the words spoken in other places to and of S. Peter alone should not belong to S. Paul and to the other Apostles as well as to him Secondly we are taught peculiarly in the same Epistles how Saint Pauls commission was to be derived from him to others after him till the worlds end For so it is said This charge I commit unto thee Son Timothy 1 Tim. 1. 18. And lest we should think the Trust was to end there he saith farther And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses whether concerning the Doctrine or Discipline of the Church the same commit thou to faithfull men who shall be able to teach others also 2 Tim. 2. 2. So there is to be no end of Teachers till there shall be an end of Learners But it is more then time I should now pass to the Trust which God hath given to other particular Churches besides those even to as many as his Apostles sent their several Epistles Thus we may see the seven Churches of Asia had been entrusted by him because he so sharply reproves them for not discharging their Trust and if we may believe some late interpreters the reproof of those Churches still concern our present Churches but we are sure that if our present Churches be concerned in their reproof then also in their Trust and how then can we now oppose those Angels whom we see God himself then entrusted in those Churches But to proceed let us look upon S. Pauls Epistles to several Churches The power of excommunication is given particularly to the Church of Corinth with it doubtless all other spiritual power whether of Order or of Jurisdiction 1 Cor. 5. and the reasons for it are such as evince it to be still given to all other particular Churches 1. That God and his Church should not be exposed to reproach v. 1. It is reported commonly c. 2. That Gods people should not be exposed to infection v. 6. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump 3. That the sinner should be brought to repentance v. 5. That the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus So again to the Churth of the Thessalonians is the same power given and for the same reasons though only one of them be named 2 Thes 3. 14. If any man obey not our word by this Epistle note that man and have no company with him that he may be ashamed I will give but one more instance and that concerns the Christian Church of the converted Jews wherein the Ministers are made governours the People commanded to be subject to their government by the Apostles own express Order Heb. 13. 17. Obey them that have the rule over you ond submit your selves for they watch for your souls as they that must give account that they may do it with joy and not with grief for that is unprofitable for you where we have not only the necessity of this obedience to our Ministers they are appointed to rule us therefore we must submit to them but also the reason of it and that is twofold 1. They watch for our souls 2. They must give account for our souls Let our eyes be opened never so much yet we cannot sufficiently watch for our selves therefore God hath in mercy appointed others to watch for us And in that God hath appointed them to be over us it is evident he hath appointed us to be under them and consequently as evident that they will not be able to give a good account for our souls till we our selves shall be able to give a good account of our obedience SECT IV. The third part of the Trust of particular Churches is concerning the worship of God the written word of God is the Rule whereby they are to manage that trust the readiest way to beget a Christian communion among all Churches and a Christian peace in each particular Church T IS a sad consideration that the publick worship of God Wherein Christians are most of all required and concerned to be of one communion should be so ill managed by some Churches so ill received by some people as to be the chiefest cause of our greatest and our most outragious divisions but the reason is palpable t is either because the Churches go beyond their trust in setting up a false Religion or because the people come short of their obedience in setting up a false communion For without all dispute where the Church hath followed God in his Religion there the People are bound to follow the Church in her communion And as it is not lawful for the Church to set up a Religion against the Authority of God so it is not lawful for the people to set up a communion against the Authority of the Church as the Church may not ordain a Religion contrary to the Word of God so the people may not ordain a communion contrary to the ordinance of the Church For as God hath given his word to guide his Church so he hath given his Church to guide his People in the outward exercise of Religion For it is evident that the outward exercise of Religion is entrusted with some body unless we will say it is not worth a trust and therefore as evident that it is entrusted with Gods Church because we cannot find out any other Trustee And it is also evident that in this case every particular Church hath her particular Trust For so saith Saint Paul to the Church of the Corinthians and by consequent to all other Churches Be ye followers of me even as I also am of Christ 1 Cor. 11. 1. which words are the more carefully to be observed and the more conscionably to be obeyed because they are as it were the general Proeem to the Apostles ensuing discourse concerning the right disposition and order of publick assemblies In which discourse he gives the Rule both for persons and for things and for actions for as
communion Thus doth Saint Paul briefly but pithily define a Christian Church 1 Thes 1. 1. To the Church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ We cannot imagine the Thessalonians were in God before they were with God so that the one presupposeth the other and we may hence collect this definition of a true Christian Church that it is a company of men Ministers and People though here Saint Paul chiefly write to the Ministers calling them the Church as appears in that he chargeth them to read this Epistle to all the Holy brethren cap. 5. v. 27. which sheweth that he sent it only to the Ministers I say that a true Christian Church is a company of Men Ministers and People who are with the God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ by their Religion nay more who are in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ by their communion And all the men in the world who are thus with and in God the Father and God the Son by the power of God the Holy Ghost do make up the whole present Christian or Catholick Church They may be several Churches in their Denominations and Jurisdictions They are but one Church in their Religion and in their spiritual communion Thus faith the same Saint Paul Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular 1 Cor. 12. 27. that is ye Christians of all Nations are the mystical body of Christ aud ye Christians of Corinth of this or that Nation are members in particular of that body and members in particular one of another as all together make up that body or as all particular Churches make up the Catholick Church SECT IX What Trust is given to other particular Churches in the Holy Scriptures is also given to our particular Church of England from God the Father Son and Holy-Ghost That our Church is accordingly bound to magnifie her Trust and therefore we bound not to vilifie it And that it is both Rational and Religious to maintain the Trust and Authority of our own particular Church IF he be justly reproached for dishonesty who doth not carefully discharge his Trust which he hath received from man how much more they who do not carefully discharge their Trust which they have received from God And this is the case of Ministers above all other men who have received such a Trust from God as all the power of the world could not give them and all the malice of the world cannot deny them Indeed it is the case of every particular Minister much more of the whole Ministry or of a whole Church which is more eminently Gods Trustee and hath a much greater Trust then either the arrogancy of any one can challenge or the ability of any one can discharge And therefore if the spirit of God give that charge to one particular Archippus Take heed to the Ministery which thou hast received in the Lord that thou fulfill it Col. 4. 17. much more doth it give the same charge to the whole Church of Colosse which had in a more ample manner and for a more general end received the same Ministery And though the Church of Colosse it self was soon after swallowed up with an Earth-quake in the dayes of Nero as saith Orosius yet not so the Instructions nor the authority given to it they must remain till the worlds end Take heed to the Ministery which thou hast received in the Lord is not to be swallowed up by the cleaving and dividing of the earth no more then it is to be revoked or recalled by any voice from heaven And so was it also with the Church of Ephesus as appears from Saint Pauls charge to the first Bishop of that Church I give thee charge in the sight of God and before Christ Jesus that thou keep this commandment without spot unrebukeable untill the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Tim. 6 13 14. In that he chargeth him to keep the commandments he had received concerning Religion without spot unrebukeable he sheweth the Churches trust in that he addeth to his charge untill the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ he sheweth that Trust is to continue till the worlds end For in this case we must alwayes remember those words of our Saviour Mar. 13. 37. And what I say unto you I say unto all Watch For what Saint Paul said to the first Bishop of Ephesus he said to all Bishops that ever should be after him as well as to all that were then with him For the Apostolical Epistles though in their inscriptions or Title they concerned some special Churches yet in their Instructions and use they concerned all Churches as plainly appears from Saint Pauls own words Col. 4. 16. And when this Epistle is read amongst you cause that it be read also in the Church of the Laodiceans and that yee likewise read the Epistle from Laodicea So that what Instruction or Authority or charge was given to one Church was given to all Churches in that one And consequently we may thus argue by way of Induction The Trust of Religion was given by God to the Church of Rome and of Corinth and of Galatia and of Ephesus and of Philippi and of Colosse and of Thessalonica therefore the same trust is given by God to our own Church of England and indeed to all the several particular Churches in the Christian world For if each particular Bishop and Presbyter have his Trust originally from the Holy-Ghost though derived by the hands of men Then much more have all the Bishops and Presbyters their Trust from the Holy Ghost Hence that expression in the first Council of Bishops Act. 15. 28. It seemeth good to the Holy Ghost and to us Which hath in some sort been followed by other Councils since Particularly the sixth which confirming the five oecumenical before doth it in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This our holy and Oecumenical Synod hath by inspiration from God confirmed those former Councils Which is in effect as much as if they had said It seemeth good to the Holy Ghost and us to confirm them Concil Constant 3. Act. 17. Graece sed 18. Latine A sufficient proof that the Apostles spake not those words for themselves alone but also for the Church after them which was thereby authorized as to act by the power so to act in the name of the Holy-Ghost And if any shall be so refractory as to say otherwise he may look upon another place not only as a confirmation of this truth but also as a confutation of his own refractoriness Acts 7. 51. Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears ye do always resist the Holy Ghost For whosoever is stiff-necked and will not hear nor obey the word of truth though in the mouth of a weak and sinful man sent from God to speak it doth make himself guilty of this detestable and damnable resistance even of resisting the Holy Ghost For
should not dishonour Gods Name when they met to honour it For that were doubly to take his Name in vain not only as men but also as Christians not only as sinners but also as Saints Not only as offenders but also as worshippers Therefore the Church thought her self bound in duty and conscience to provide such a form of prayer as she was sure had no blemish in it but had holy expressions exactly agreeable with holy affections and holy apprehensions that Gods holy name might be certainly glorified and her own Trust carefully discharged For it neerly concerned the Church to take great care there should be no blaspheming instead of publick praying when she was like to answer for all those blasphemies which through her default should be vented in publick prayers SECT V. The Church hath God the Sons precedent and precept for making set forms of prayer and is accordingly obliged both to make and to use them IT was an unsufferable malice in the Jews to cry out upon the Christians as Hereticks when they proved their Religion by the holy Scriptures But it was an unpardonable madness in them to cry out upon the Christians as Atheists when they practised their Religion by continual and incessant prayer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Heresie of the Christians was a calumny but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Heresie of the Atheistical Christians was a meer Phrensie for there could be no greater confutation of Atheism then that which was constantly used by the Christians even daily and lowly addresses to God by prayer and supplication And it were to be wished that we who can easily clear our selves from Heresie by proving our Religion did as zealously seek to clear our selves from Atheism by practising it For without doubt it well becometh Christians to follow the example of Christ and if we will so do we must above all things seek to follow his example in praying Justine Martyr in Quest Resp ad Orthodoxos qu. 105. hath this excellent contemplation Since prayer is a necessary help or remedy against the infirmities of our humane nature and our blessed Saviour as Lord of all had from himself power against those infirmities what is the reason that he is recorded to have been so often at his prayers even oftner then any of his Apostles Surely for this reason saith he because in after-ages some would doubt of the truth of his being a Man whereas none would make that doubt about his Apostles therefore is he so often described at his prayers to remove or answer all doubts concerning the truth of his humane nature For if some Hereticks have questioned the truth of Christs being made man notwithstanding he took upon him all our infirmities how would they not have thought they might have turned that question into a demonstration if they had never read of his making prayers to God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 often praying was an irrefragable proof that Christ was the Son of Man often praying is an irrefragable proof that Christians are the Sons of God This was the reason the Apostles were so desirous to imitate him in his praying and desired him to teach them how to pray that they might not be mistaken in their imitation Luke 11. 1. And it came to pass that as he was praying in a certain place when he ceased one of his Disciples said unto him Lord teach us to pray as John also taught his Disciples And he said unto them when ye pray say Our Father c. Where we have both the precedent and the precept of God the Son for making set forms of Prayer His precedent in that he made this form Our Father which art in Heaven His precept in that he commanded his Disciples to use it When ye pray say Our Father from whence naturally flow these three dogmatical conclusions 1. That the people are bound to desire the Church to teach them to pray unless they will profess themselves not Disciples but Masters so far ought they to be from scoffing or rejecting thier Churches prayers 2. That the Church is bound to teach the people to pray after a set form for so our Saviour Christ taught his Disciples 3. That the Church is bound to command the people to use that set form for so our Saviour Christ commanded his Disciples to use his Prayer When ye pray say Our Father c. If any man shall make light of these deductions concerning praying in a set form he may with as great a pretence of reason but must with as great a scorn of piety make light of praying on a set day and so by consequence either undervalue or overthrow the whole publick exercise of Religion For from this place alone may as much be pleaded for the Duty of publick worship as from all other places of the New Testament for the day of it Ex. gr Vpon the first day of the week when the Disciples came together to break bread Acts 20. 7. is alledged as a pregnant place for our solemn meetings on the Lords day and the like to this is that of 1 Cor. 16. 2. yet that proof concerning the day is not so full and clear as this concerning the duty for that may seem to be short in the precedent because there is mention made in the second of the Acts of meetingâ—…y â—…y and breaking bread from house to house Act. 2. 40. Whereby it is evident that if breaking bread were confined to the holy Eucharist yet the holy Eucharist was not confined to a set day But sure it is short in the Precept for it hath no command annexed which bids us assemble more on the first day of the week then another But this proof concerning the duty is not short in the precedent for the Disciples desired to be taught to pray as Johns were that is by a set form and Christ accordingly so teacheth them Nor is it short in the precept for our blessed Saviour commands them to use the set form which he had taught them If you will further alledge that other Text I was in the spirit on the Lords day Rev. 1. 10. you will thence righly plead for the day of publick worship because those words plainly infer that particular day to have been consecrated to the Lord since no better reason can be given why it should be called the Lords Day But yet still this our Text of Saint Luke will be a stronger proof for the duty of publick worship All to use a set form of Prayer then that Text of Saint John for the day of it all to meet on a set day because this hath precedent as well as that and moreover hath precept which that hath not And it is not to be imagined that any can easily come to that depth of sottishness or height of impudence and impiety as to say the Lords day is a means to put him in the Spirit but the Lords prayer is a means to put him out of it Or that a
it ought to be so ordered that Minister and People may as one man with one voice and with one heart Pray together not only in one company but also in one Communion And consequently the Gift of Prayer which is to be exercised in publick is that which God hath given to his Church in general and not that which he hath given to any of his Ministers in particularâ—…â—â—use the people cannot communicate in faith unless they 〈…〉 before-hand the terms of their communion For faith is grounded upon infallibility which now cannot be in the Persons and therefore must be in the Prayers and hence ariseth the necessity of a set form of publick Prayer that the People as well as the Priests may pray in faith in the same Congregation and not only one but also many several Congregations may constitute no more then one and the same Christian Communion For that Precept Let all things be done decently and in order was given to the whole Church of Corinth and with it a power of making publick Prayer as a Duty over-rule publick Prayer as a Gift For by the same reason that the Church hath power to regulate the gift of tongues it hath also power to regulate the gift of Prayer which is chiefly seated in the tongue and since unknown matter and form in Prayers is no less against the edification of the People as to praying in faith then an unknown dialect the Church may as justly prohibit the one as the other and the pretence of a Gift may in neither enervate the Churches prohibition Again The Church is bound to use her Gift of Tongues for the peoples good and why not also her Gift of Prayer and how can she use that Gift without making of a set form The same Church is entrusted with the ordering of Religion and how shall any Minister either presumptuously invade her Trust or contumaciously opppse her order Nay on the contrary every Minister is bound to submit his gifts to the order of the Church for so is Saint Pauls absolute determination The Spirits of the Prophets are subject to the Prophets 1 Cor. 14. 32. that is The Spirits of the Prophets ought not to be refractory insolent and imperious but modest obedient and submiss not given to contention but compliance not to contradiction but condescention not despising others but submitting themselves For he that placed a Prophet above a private man hath placed that Prophet under the other Prophets Saint Chrysostom here observes the Apostle hath used four arguments together whereby to perswade Ministers to a Christian modesty and moderation in the publick use of their spiritual gifts 1. That the work of the Ministry will be as fully but more orderly discharged For ye may all prophesie one by one Vers 31. 2. That the Spirit will not be discontented or disparaged For the Spirits of the Prophets are subject to the Prophets Vers 32. 3. That this is exactly according to the will of God For God is not the author of confusion but of peace Vers 33. 4. That this is exactly according to the general practise of the Church of God As in all Churches of the Saints Vers 33. He that will not be induced by these arguments to submit his gift to the Churches gift in the publick exercise of Devotion plainly sheweth that though he may have the Gift yet he hath not the Grace of the Spirit And indeed it is no wonder that these two should be divided for common gifts of the Spirit such as tend only to the edification of others and not to a mans own sanctification are often given without saving grace And such a gift we must acknowledge the Gift of Prayer considered precisely in it self because we doubt not but Judas had it as well as the rest of the Apostles and yet we dare not say that he had sanctifying Grace We must therefore distinguish between the Spirit and the Gift of Prayer The Spirit of prayer consisteth in an holy and firm attention in sanctified and enlarged affections and proceedeth wholly from the infusion of Grace But the gift of Prayer as this age is pleased to call it though without Gods warrant in the Text consisteth in the readiness of apprehension and the fitness of expression and proceedeth partly from the endowments of nature partly from the confidence of custom and partly from the acquisitions of industry For these three Nature Custom and Industry are all necessarily required to the attaining of that faculty whereby a man is enabled upon all occasional emergencies or necessities fittingly to express the desires of his heart and by fitting expressions to enflame and to enlarge those desires as well in himself as in those that hear him which I think will afford us the full definition of the Gift of prayer considered precisely in it self without the Spirit of prayer not only essentially but also causally For so the efficient cause thereof is nature custom and industry though nature and custom more then industry in so much that men of natural endowments and of personal confidences do often in this gift out-strip those of most industrious improvements whereby nature and custom are frequently animated to laugh and scorn at learning and industry The material cause thereof is occasional emergencies or necessities The formal cause thereof is readiness of apprehension and fitness of expression The final cause thereof is to enflame and enlarge the desires of the heart Tell me what can any true Israelite see in this Dagon of the Philistians that the Ark of God should fall down before it and not rather it should fall down before the Ark For all this while if the desires be truly good such as indeed ought to be enflamed or enlarged that is not to be ascribed to the Gift but only to the Spirit of Prayer So that in truth the Spirit of Prayer is as much above the Gift of Prayer as an holy affection is above a quick imagination or a voluble expression and a sanctified heart is above a ready wit or an elaborated tongue For these two I mean the Spirit and the Gift of Prayer must necessarily be separated because they are very dangerously confounded the common sort of people admiring these men as almost Angels who have the Gift without the Spirit and contemning those Ministers as scarce men who have the Spirit without the Gift For many good Christians have the Spirit of Prayer who have not the Gift of Prayer so saith Saint Paul The Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings there 's the Spirit of Prayer but with groanings which cannot be uttered there is not the Gift of Prayer Rom. 8. 26. And on the other side many pernicious hypocrites may have the Gift of Prayer who have not the Spirit of Prayer so saith our blessed Saviour Woe unto you hypocrites who for a pretence make long Prayers Mat. 23. 14. And again Many will say unto me in that day Lord Lord have we not prophesied
in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils and in thy name have done many wonderful works And then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity Mat. 7. See here how Gifted men may be Hypocrites not only gifted for Praying Many will say unto me Lord Lord which repetition shews a familiarity they thought they had contracted with him by their frequent addresses in Prayer but also gifted for Preaching Have we not prophesied in thy name Nay gifted for casting out Devils out of others though not out of themselves And in thy name have cast out Devils And yet to these gifted men will our blessed Saviour return this answer I never knew you whence we may justly infer they never truly knew him Depart from me ye that work iniquity whence we may as justly infer that they did never really come near him by piety but only seemingly by hypocrisie God forbid but we should firmly believe and willingly confess that the Spirit and the Gift of Prayer though separated in Hypocrites are often joyned together in good Christians for in truth the gift of Prayer is not perfect and compleat so as to be worth the looking after without the Spirit of it For then only is the gift of Prayer compleat when not only natural abilities are improved by study or industry and personal abilities are acquired by art or exercise which two alone do properly constitute the very essence of the Gift of Prayer But also the heart is sanctified by Grace which properly belongs only to the Spirit of Prayer so that in truth the Gift of prayer which makes all the noise is perfected only by the Spirit of Prayer which saith nothing or speaketh so softly that none can hear its voice but he that searcheth the hearts and knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit Rom. 8. 27. The word of the mind Verbum mentis may be without the word of the mouth Verbum oris So Hannah continued praying before the Lord and yet she spake in her heart only her lips moved but her voice was not heard 1 Sam. 1. 13 14. So Moses cryed unto the Lord when yet he did not speak nor so much as move his lips Exod. 14. 15 Again the word of the mouth may be without the word of the mind for they must needs make many words who make many prayers and yet they could not be said to utter one prayer from their hearts to whom God did say When ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you yea when ye make many prayers I will not hear your hands are full of blood Isa 1. 15. For when the Text hath set this down as a proper compellation of God O thou that hearest prayer Psal 65. 2. it is most evident that from his saying he would not hear we may safely conclude they did not Pray though they did make never so many prayers But we will suppose such a gifted man as hath the compleat gift of prayer that is the Spirit and the Gift of Prayer both together yet even such a man is not thereby qualified to be the mouth of others in publick Assemblies because publick prayer is to have a publick Person to perform it And none can be a publick Person in Gods service but whom God himself hath made so by some notorious and undoubted Commission such as others are bound to acknowledge and therefore bound not to usurp For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain but they most take his name in vain who speak in his name without his allowance They are most properly said to take his name because he hath not given it and to take it in vain because they take it rather to serve themselves then to serve him 'T is all one for strange Persons to offer themselves before the Lord instead of the sons of Aaron and for the sons of Aaron to offer strange fire before the Lord instead of that from his own Altar for of both alike it may be said which he commanded them not Numb 10. 1. and for both alike it hath been said And they dyed before the Lord Ver. 2. and again This is it that the Lord spake saying I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me and before all the people I will be glorified Ver. 3. If he be not sanctified in them that come nigh him he is not like to be glorified before all the people If the Priests be unsanctified the Lord will be unglorified for his Majesty will be contemned as if it were lawful for any that are not sanctified to come nigh him Therefore his Priests were first sanctified to the Priesthood then sanctified by it They were first sanctified by being called then sanctified by their calling And so ought their successors to be till the worlds end for it is an universal negative which denies as well for all times as for all persons No man taketh this honour unto himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron Heb. 5. 4. Now Aaron was called not only internally to satisfie himself but also externally to satisfie all the Congregation that he was called of God For God is the God of order not of confusion and consequently forbids those men to officiate as his Ministers though of never so great abilities whom he hath not outwardly called to the Ministry For he will have order not confusion in his Church whereas if any one might officiate in the Ministry upon any pretence whatsoever without Gods outward call others might as well as he and so we must needs have an irremediable confusion both in the Ministers and in their ministrations Dares any man to be a Princes Ambassador though most able to do him service without his appointment But the Ministers are Gods Ambassadors 2 Cor. 5. 20. There needs no variety of arguments in this case for till earthly Potentates shall declare it to be no rebellion against themselves for men to turn uncommissioned souldiers under pretence of fighting their battles they must acknowledge it to be grand rebellion against the King of heaven for men to turn uncommissioned Ministers under pretence of doing him service For Saint Paul having said The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds 2 Cor. 10. 4. hath in effect told us that the Minister is Gods souldier and therefore is sure of his Commission But let us further examine this gift of Prayer in relation to the publick worship of God and as we find no just reason to admit them to the work of the Ministry who are not Ministers because they have that gift so we shall find no just reason to reject those that are true Ministers as insufficient or unfit for the work of the Ministry because they have it not nor to allow such Ministers who have it to reject the set forms established and approved by the Church
give an ear to the holy Prophets Exhortation O Praise the Lord with me and let us magnifie his name together Psal 34. 3. For where God is praised and magnified in the Religion I am very strictly bound to joyn my self in the Communion Nay more Let me alwaies give my heart to the holy Prophets resolution I was glad when they said unto me We will go into the house of the Lord Psal 122. 1. where God calleth to the practice of godliness t is not for another to say to me You shall not go nor for me to say to my self I will not For I must be glad of the Call and much more of the Practice Now Christ the eternal Son of God calleth us to the practice of the true Christian Religion three several waies By his Word by his Example and by his Communion By his Word for he commandeth us to perform all the duties of Religion By his Example for himself whiles he was upon earth did perform them And by his Communion for now he is in heaven he recommendeth to his Father all our Religious performances so making intercession to God for us as also with us How shall I answer him at the last day if I neglect his Word if I reject his Example if I renounce his Communion His Word pierceth mine Ear his Example pierceth mine Eye but his Communion pierceth my Heart His Word and his Example pierce my sense but his Communion pierceth my soul For if it were said of Sauls Messengers nay of Saul himself when they saw the company of the Prophets prophecying and Samuel standing as appointed over them that the Spirit of God was upon them and they also prophesied 1 Sam. 19. 20. Then surely when I see a company of Christians praying and Christ himself standing as appointed over them for so himself hath avowed where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them Mat. 18. 20. if the Spirit of God be in me I will also pray with them and it must be some evil Spirit in me that makes me either reject or renounce their prayers For if there be indeed The Communion of Saints saying unto me We will go into the house of the Lord I am bound to have the affection which is due to that Communion and say I was glad when they said unto me we will go for this indefinite Particle When not defining one set time will suffer me to exclude no time T is like a general Commission which not prescribing what day to do the business leaves it to be done any day and to neglect no opportunity of doing it Indefinitum in materià necessarià aequipollet universali when the duty it self is absolutely necessary though it be set down as indifinite yet we must look upon it as universal for though the Casuists do tell us concerning affirmative precepts Ligant semper sed non ad semper That they bind us at all times but not to all times yet we must understand their meaning only of our actual exercise and performance of those duties not of our habitual disposition and desire to perform them For there is not one minute of our life wherein we are not bound to be in a disposition and desire of serving God And thus doth Solomon Jarchi expound the Prophets 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Shamacti Laetatus sum I was glad I did hear saith he the sons of men saying When will this David die that his son Solomon may succeed and build the Temple that so we may go to the house of the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vaani Shomeach And I was very glad to hear them say so Thus saith he David preferred Gods service before his life And so will every man who knoweth he hath such a Religion as if he rightly follow it will bring him to salvation Aben Ezra goes further in his gloss and saith That All the people of Israel was of Davids mind and that every one of them did say as well as he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I was glad when they said unto me we will go into the house of the Lord Why should we Christians have a worse Zeal upon better Hopes For he that will not be glad when others say unto him We will go into the house of the Lord may live to be sorry That there is not a house of God for him to go to But O Thou who camest to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death Remove not the Candlestick away from us because we have neglected and abused the light of Grace But let the Priests of the Lord still serve the Lord between the Porch and the Altar weeping and saying Be favourable O Lord be favourable unto thy People Let not thine heritage be brought to such confusion lest the Heathen be Lords thereof Wherefore should they say among the Heathen where is now their God And let us thy undutiful unthankful unworthy people still enjoy the inestimable freedom of thy Gospel Publick Communions in thy Church and Publick Prayers and Praises in thy Name Heal our back-slidings and repair those great and wide breaches which we have lately made in our Piety in our Fidelity and in our Charity And amidst the many inconstancies and many more impieties of this wicked world make thine own sheep still hear thy voice and thine own people still secure and glad in thee That notwithstanding all obstacles and oppositions they shall yet more and more worthily praise and adore thy most holy and Reverend name among the faithful in this life and in the great Congregation of Saints and Angels in the life to come being all of us joyned now in affection hereafter in possession with that heavenly consort and holy Communion which is alwaies saying Hallelujah Salvation and glory and honour and power unto the Lord our God Father Son and Holy Ghost world without end Amen Una est in trepida mihi re medicina Jehovae Cor patrium Os verax omnipotensque manus FINIS Deo Trinuni Gloria in aeternum
as Master Brerewood hath demonstrated in his enquiries cap. 14. SECT II. That the coming of the Holy Ghost for the communicating of Christ after an extraordinary manner is not now to be expected That preaching and praying with the Spirit come not by infusiâ—ns Enthusiasts are the worst separatists and the greatest blasphemers guilty of the worst kind of sacriledge and Idolatry in robbing God of his publike worship after such a manner as he hath commanded and idolizing their own pretended gifts SInce it is an undoubted truth that the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Christ we may not doubt but his coming unto men alwayes was and still is of purpose to communicate Christ unto them either after an extraordinary manner by immediate infusions and revelations as to the Prophets and Apostles or after an ordinary manner by habitual improvements and assistances as at this day For the extraordinary manner of his coming and the extraordinary manner of his communicating Christ to men by immediate infusions or revelations did both cease together And we may truly say concerning those miraculous and extraordinary dispensations of the spirit what Saint Paul hath said concerning tongues one of the principal effects thereof They were for a sign not to them that believe but to them that believe not 1 Cor. 14. 22. and therefore were to continue and remain no longer then signes and wonders that is till the preaching or publishing of the Gospel or till the planting and setling the Christian Religion For Saint Peter plainly sheweth in the second of the Acts That this Prophecy of Joel In the last dayes saith God I will your out of my spirit upon all flesh was fulfilled in the miraculous descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles that these were the last dayes meant by that Prophet and therefore after those dayes men were not to expect any more such extraordinary dispensations Wherefore those that will now preach or pray by the Spirit may not rely upon infusions for which they have no warrant but must betake themselves diligently to read and consider the word of God that so they may have the assistance of the Spirit of God For they that go about to separate the Spirit from the Word are the most abominable Separists that ever were or can be in the world because they endeavour to separate God from himself for Gods word is Gods truth and Gods truth is himself Be it then taken for granted which may not be doubted it cannot be denyed that they are very wicked Separatists who separate man from man for they fill the world with sedition and privy conspiracy They yet worse Separatists who separate man from God for they fill the world with false doctrine and heresie But yet still they are the worst Separatists of all who separate God from God that is Gods Spirit from Gods Word for they fill the world with hardness of heart contempt of Gods Word and Commandment which is the ready way to make men first impenitent and then unpardonable and what more can be said of the sin against the Holy Ghost Yet these three separations do so naturally and necessarily spring from one another that they may be accounted themselves inseparable For the sedition begets the heresie and the heresie begets the hardness of heart separating man from man by sedition will separate man from God by heresie and that will also in a short time endeavour to separate God from himself by contempt of his Word and Commandments What an unhappy age do we live in wherein men think they do God good service to run away from his Word by pretending to his Spirit But this is the wit of wickedness the order of disorder the method of atheism that the persons of the holy and undivided Trinity should be sinned against by succession and blasphemed in the same order that they are to be confessed first the Father secondly the Son and thirdly the Holy Ghost For under the Law men were generally given to Idolatry took an Idol for God and so more immediately sinned against God the Father he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God of himself Under the first times of the Gospel men were generally addicted to Arrianism denying the Divinity of Christ and so more immediately sinned against God the Son for he is God of God But in these latter times of the Gospel for so it is to be feared our sins have made them men are generally addicted to cry up their own phansies for the dictates of the Spirit and so more immediately sin against God the Holy Ghost not considering how unconscionable a thing it is to grieve the Holy Spirit of God whereby they are sealed to the day of redemption and how impossible a thing it is for those not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God who constantly blaspheme him and what an unsufferable blasphemy it is to entitle those rude and crude impertinencies to the Holy Spirit which few sober men can hear with patience and no zealous man can hear with profit and no conscientious man can hear with piety Well may such a worship profit some men by exercising their patience but yet it scarce deserves the name of worship because it doth not rather exercise their piety so that we must confess that such pretenders to the Spirit are the greatest enemies of the Spirit and whilst they would be thought the best reformers are in truth the worst blasphemers for as much as they impute those imprudencies and indescretions or rather impieties and irreligions for imprudencies in the service of God are impieties and indiscretions are irreligions to Gods Holy Spirit which are meerly their own vaiâ— imaginations and carnal inventions and in the mean time reject and disesteem those prayers and praises which are the undoubted dâ—ctates of that same Holy Spirit as if they rather hindred then helped us to cry Abba Father what is this but in effect to blaspheme God instead of blessing him for giving us so many admirable forms of prayer and praise in the holy Scriptures and for giving us a Church to teach us to pray exactly according to that pattern in the Mount according to those patterns of prayers and praises whâ—ch came immediately either from God the Son or from God the Holy Ghost What is this but in effect to distract and to hinder men instead of setling and helping them in their Religion whilst they are made beleive that nothing is truly from the spirit of prayer but what is new and unknown to them whereby they are taught first to contemn the known prayers of the Church and then the known prayers of the Scriptures for that the spirit is as much confined by the one as by the other and to hunt after novelty instead of certainty which is a way to exercise the phansie before the conscience because the conscience first tries the spirits then follows them 1 John 4. 1. but the phansie first follows the spirits and never at all tries them A way
true Christian communion that man may be edified and brought to the knowledge and enjoyment of his Redeemer And all those Texts in the Old and New Testament which concern the publick worship of God are so many interpretations of the twofold end of this commandment as for example in the Old Testament Psalm 95 which was made to be used in publick assemblies according to Aben Ezra's gloss commandeth singing to the Lord and worshipping of him there 's the exercise of Religion q. d. Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day and commandeth us to sing and worship there 's the establishment of communion q. d. Thou and thy son and thy daughter c. and gives this reason of those commands The Lord our maker q. d. For in six dayes the Lord made heaven and earth So again Psalm 100. O be joyful in the Lord serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song there 's the Religion All ye lands or as it is in the Hebrew all the earth there 's the communion It is he that hath made us and not we our selves there 's the reason of both from our Creation For the Lord is gracious his mercy is everlasting c. there 's that reason further enlarged to us Christians from our redemption who are taught that God by his son both made the worlds and also purged our sins Heb. 1. 2 3. So again in the New Testament Mat. 18. 20. Where two or three are gathered together there 's the communion In my name there 's the Religion I am in the midst of them there 's the reason of both so Heb. 10. 22 23. Let us draw neer with a true heart let us hold fast the profession of our faith there 's the exercise of Religion for he is faithful that promised there 's the reason of that exercise And ver 24 25. Let us consider one another not forsaking the assembling of our selves together there 's the establishment of communion To provoke unto love and to good works there 's the reason of that establishment If we be sure of Christs name we cannot be too zealous of our gathering together if we be sure of the Religion we cannot be too zealous of the Communion but if we be not sure of the name which cannot well be without a set and known Liturgie every good Christian must be contented to say with Joshua I and my house will serve the Lord and mouâ—n that he cannot say with David I was glad when they said unto me we will go into the house of the Lord for it is more agreeable with the end of the fourth Commandment that men have the right Religion in their own houses without a publick visible communion then that they have a publick visible communion in Gods house without the right Religion They must first say Let us hold fast the profession of our faith and after that Let us consider one another not forsaking the assembling of our selves together For if the Assemblies have forsaken the faith it can be no sin to forsake the Assemblies since the end of the Commandment is without doubt above the letter of it the substance of worship above the adjunct of it or to speak in one word since Christian Religion doth challenge precedency before and preeminency above Christian communion So then without question the end of the Commandment is the first thing to be considered for if the end be rightly understood the letter will not easily be mistaken for the letter of the Law is subservient to the end of it and therefore may not have so scanty an interpretation as will not reach the end And such is that interpretation of the fourth Commandment which would have the letter mean no more then it mentions that is the bare circumstance of time and leaves men at liberty to do what they please with the other adjuncts of publick worship to wit the persons by whom and the places in which it is to be performed and regards not the end or reason of the command at all This was the fault which our blessed Saviour did find with the Scribes and Pharisees interpretations of the Law that they interpreted it not in its full extent or latitude and this made him so often in one Chapter use these words Ye have heard it hath been said of old But I say unto you c. not opposing his authority against the authority of God who gave the Law but against the authority of the Scribes and Pharisees who misinterpreted it As for example God had said thou shalt not kill they intepreted this Law only of the act of murder our Saviour interprets it also of the intent or occasion of it of hatred in the heart and of calumny in the tongue Again God had said thou shalt not commit adultery this the Scribes and Pharisees restrained to the act of fornication or adultery but our Saviour tells us plainly that God meant otherwise and forbad not only the act but also the inclination thereto lusting nay the occasion thereof looking on a woman to lust after her Mat. 5. 28. The like interpretation have some of late given of the fourth Commandment as if the day were all that God required whereas questionless he requireth also the other adjuncts of publick worship as much as the day and he requireth the worship it self much more For publick worship must first be publick in its substance then in its adjuncts first in its substance by having such prayers as are of publick concernment to all good Christians according to the pattern given us in the Mount that is to say in Gods most holy word wherein we find the Spirit of God himself the first author of Liturgie or of common prayer having taught us such prayers whose matter and form is common alike to all good men and taught them not only for our direction but also for our use as plainly appears by the Hebrew inscription on the ninty second Psalm A Psalm for the Sabbath because saith Jarchi and Ezra both they were to say that Psalm on the Sabbath And Musculus saith the same after them concinendus in Ecclesia die Sabbathi this Psalm was to be sung in the assemblies on the Sabbath Nay the Psalmist saith as much being nothing else but an invitation to praise the name of God for all his works most especially for the wonderful dispensations of his power in pulling down his enemies and of his mercy in relieving and upholding his servants So again Psalm 102. hath this inscription A prayer for the afflicted when he is over-whelmed and poureth out his complaint before the Lord which plainly sheweth that the Psalms were made to be used not only as publick but also as private devotions and consequently that set forms do not confine the Spirit of prayer because the Holy Ghost commandeth the use of this Psalm to the afflicted not for the hinderance but for the furtherance of his devotion not only as a prayer
but also as a prayer fit to pour out his complaint before the Lord And t is clear our blessed Saviour hath said concerning his own most holy prayer not only after this manner therefore pray Mat. 6. 9. commending it for our direction but also when ye pray say Our Father Luke 11. 2. commanding it for our use not only giving this prayer to his Church as a pattern for Liturgie or publick worship but also as a part of it which is also true of the whole Book of God since those words being a part of the Scripture cannot be of any private interpretation 2 Pet. 1. 20. So that God hath provided for himself a Lamb for a burnt offering in giving his Scriptures to his Church for in them are not only rules of worshipping but also forms of worship such rules as equally oblige all such forms as equally concern all the Christians in the world Secondly publick worship must also be publick in its adjuncts not only in one adjunct of Time though that happily be more particularly named because it is the most universal or common adjunct wherein all the habitable world can at once communicate together but also in the other adjuncts of place and person God will have his publick places to be worshipped in his publick persons to be worshipded by as well as his publick day and all those Texts in the Old and New Testament which speak of places or persons deputed to Gods publick worship do belong to the letter of this fourth Commandment as well as those which speak of the day Thus hath God himself said Ye shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary I am the Lord Lev. 19. 30. Here is the same reason given for reverencing the Sanctuary as for keeping the Sabbath and not to do the one as well as the other is a contempt of God And lest we should think this injunction did only concern the Tabernacle or the Temple of the Jews the reverence is evidently communicated to more then one Sanctuary Lev. 21. 23. That he prophane not my Sanctuaries for I the Lord do sanctifie them God owns the sanctification of Place as well as of time for his worship and forbids us to prophane the one as well as the other Thus as we find many complaints in the Prophets against those that prophaned the Day so we find many in the Psalms against those that prophaned the place of Gods publick worship as Psalm 74. 8. They have set fire upon thy holy places and have defiled the dwelling place of thy name and ver 9. They have burnt up all the houses of God in the land and they that did this are called Gods enemies foolish people and blasphemers verse 19. Remember this O Lord how the enemy hath rebuked and how the foolish people have blasphemed thy name God owneth to have houses as well as days and if our Saviours example may prevail with us we shall be as zealous for his Houses as for his Days He would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the Temple Mark 11. 16. and yet he here excused his Disciples for plucking the ears of corn on the Sabbath day Mark 2. and he gives a reason for it that concerns Christians who are of all Nations and not only Jews who were but of one Nation for he saith Is it not written my house shall be called of all Nations the house of prayer Which words plainly shew that all Nations are to set apart Houses of prayer and that God hath an interest or propriety in those Houses so set apart they are his houses which caused Saint Paul to say to the Corinthians What have ye not houses to eat and to drink or despise ye the Church of God 1 Cor. 11. 22. Where is a plain contradistinction betwixt mens houses and Gods House they may not do the same offices in both Their corporal food they must take in their own houses their spiritual food only in Gods house and they who do otherwise are said to despise the Church of God which is here put as a term convertible with the House of God or is imporperly opposed to their own houses And indeed the context requires this exposition when ye come together in the Church ver 18. Is thus afterwards explained when ye come together in one place ver 20. For it is evident that if the place of their meeting had not been first determined and known they could never have met together and what is the determining of a place to holy meetings but the exempting or separating it from prophane or common uses Therefore the Canon Law saith expresly that all men know there was a consecration of places from the beginning who know the precepts of the Old and New Testament de consecr dist 1. cap. 1. and accordingly proves it was so among the Jews and ought to be so among the Christians Iudaei ergo loca in quibus sacrificabant Domino Divinis habebant supplicationibus consecrata nec in aliis quam Deo dicatis locis munera Domino offerebant si enim Iudaei qui nmbrae legis deserviebant haec faciebant multo magis nos c. The Jews did consecrate those places by prayers and supplications in which they offered their sacrifices And if they who had only the shadow of the Law were so zealous and carefull about the places of their worship how much more ought we so to be who enjoy the substance of the Gospel and the very Sun-shine of Grace For sure our worship being more holy then theirs cannot have less claim to the beauty of holiness And the same was also the Judgement of the Greek Church in the purest ages of it as appears by Athanasius his Apology to the Emperour Constantius making many excuses for himself that he had held a religious Assembly in the great Church newly builded by him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 before it had been consecrated And the Council of Gangre saith expresly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we honour and highly esteem the Houses of God not speaking of his spiritual but of his material Temples which this prophane age blasphemously nick-nameth steeple-houses for so it follows 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Can. 21. Honouring every place that is built to the name or for the worship of God But why should we insist upon the practice of the servants when the master himself did no less who honoured the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple with his own presence John 10. 22. Thereby shewing it was not superstition but true Religion which first taught men to perform holy duties not only on Holy-days but also in holy Places And yet we have not quite explained the letter of this Commandment for it also requires holy persons as well as times and places for a holy worship Nay we find Gods publick worship performed in a common or unholy place Nehem. 8. 1. In the street before the water-gate but not by a common or unholy person for it