the Church of GOD shall stand for euer And when all the glory of the world shall vanish quite away like a flash of fire and when all her desperate malicious and irreconciliable enemies shall vtterly be destroyed then shall she shine as the Sunne and obtaine her perfect glory and liue for euer with the Lord in all ease and happinesse free from all sinfull and earthly miseries whatsoeuer Fourthly wheras all other fields and houses are materiall outward and earthly this field and this house is mysticall celestiall and spirituall and may bee so called in all these regards ensuing First because the Spirit of God doth husband her and dwell in her Secondly because her whole frame is spirituall her chiefest ornameÌ„ts are inward and inuisible The kings daughter is all glorious within saith the Psalm Thirdly the meanes which God vseth for her building repairing trimming flourishing and câ—â—tinuing are not earthly but spirituall and of a nature far differing from worldly helps and humane inuentions Fourthly the seruice and worship which ought to be performed in her is spirituall And lastly all the good workes which she doth are spirituall All the good workes which we or any of her faithfull members do performe are meerely good so far forth as they do proceed from the Spirit of God who is goodnesse it selfe and the author of all our goodnesse And the euill which is in them commeth from our owne home-bred corruptition which is not in this life cleansed cleane away vnlesse it be because it is forgiuen vs and not imputed to vs. And to conclude the Church is said to be a field an house not fields and houses For the Church is but one body one perfect house and one entire and absolute field She hath but one Lord one Architect one Redeemer one absolute Husbandman and Inhabitant one common saluation one religion one Head one Husband one way to heauen according to that of S Paul There is one body one Spirit one faith one Lord one baptisme one God and father And this hath also been the doctrine of former ages Theodoretus saith quest 44. in Num. As the Vnicorne hath one horne so the people truly religious adoreth one onely God And for the vnity of her head Gregory saith that The whole holy vniuersal Church is on Body set vnder Christ Iesus as her Head For Christ with his whole Church both militant triumphant is one person Nazianzene saith There is one Christ one head of the Church Thirdly concerning the vnity of the Spirit Gregory saith that As there is one soule which doth quicken the diuerse members of the body so one Holy Spirit doth quicken and illustrate the whole Church Fourthly for the vnity of faith and outward confession Eucherius saith that As a bundle is bound with bands so all the company of the Saints are bound together with one and the same faith hope and charity compassed with one muniment of diuine protection And as Leo teacheth there is one orison and one confession of the whole Church Finally touching the vnity of Baptisme There is one faith saith Hierome one Baptisme And so withall for the vnitie of her God Iustinus saith There is one true God of all which is acknowledged in the Father Sonne and holy Spirit Our faith saith Cyril receiueth no number of Gods but there is one God the Father and to the same vnitie pertaineth the Sonne and the Holy Ghost Hauing now opened the words and giuen the sense let vs see what lessons we may learne out of them CHAP. 2. The Church of God is Gods house and husbandry Doct. 1 THESE wordes do naturally without wresting affoord vs two notable doctrins The former is that the true church of God which is the coÌ„pany of Beleeuers is Gods House and Husbandry This is plaine by the text as also by other like places of Scripture Know ye not saith Paul that ye are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you And speaking to Timothy he saith These things I write that thou maist know how to behaue thy sefe in Gods House which is the Church of the liuing God And plaine reason sheweth as much For it is not her owne she is not the Lady of her selfe Ye are not your owne saith Paul for ye are bought for a price Neither is the Church a tenement or possession belonging to any Angell or to any Man excepting onely the man Christ who is the Angell of the couenant and her only Lord Head She is not the field of the sluggard which Salomon speaks of She is not the house of wickednesse and sinne For Christ gaue himselfe for her that hee might make her holy and purge her from her sinnes with his bloud Therefore he saith vnto her Thou art all faire my loue and there is no spot in thee Neither is shee the house and field of the Diuell For Christ hath purchased her vnto himselfe Therefore she saith My welbeloued meaning Christ is mine and I am his I am my welbeloueds and his desire is towards me And Christ speaking vnto her cals her his loue his sister his spouse therefore surely the Liuell hath no interest in her and no title to her The conclusion then remaineth firme that as the Temple of Ierusalem was dedicated to be an house vnto the Lord alone euen so the Church is built and consecrated vnto him only that she may be his House to dwel in as a field to husband dispose of as he in his wisedome seeth most conuenient Thus much for the doctrine let vs now se how we may apply it for our benefite and edification CHAP. 3. Sundry vses are made of the consideration of these two titles together THe vses which we ought to make of the former doctrine are of two sorts Some arise from the consideration of these 2 titles giueÌ„ to the Church together some froÌ„ them being coÌ„sidered apart by themselues Of the former company are these that follow First we haue here one of the roialties and royall priuiledges of the faithfull For they and they onely to speake properly are Gods house husbandry For the Father hath elected them only the Son hath redeemed them onely the holy Ghost doth regenerate them onely God the Father Sonne and holy Ghost doth dwell in them onely in regard of the presence of his speciall grace and efficatious operation vnto eternall life For as concerning the Reprobates they are the very sinks of sin the dennes of the Diuell and the quagmyres of iniquity predestinated to eternall distruction Some of them I confesse may thinke themselues to be of Gods house and to belong vnto his field but their imagination is like the fond and false conceipt of some Melancholique persons that haue thought their bodies to haue beene made of glasse and that euery faire house was theirs which they passed
the Canopy of Gods grace in this life they may be clothed with the robes of his glory in the life to come Finally the Lord hath put his Booke into our handes Wee must vpon all iust occasions open and expound it We must constantly hold it vp and out vnto his People We must not lay it aside nor cast it into corners Our hands in holding it must neuer faint least the enemies of God and his Church should preuaile and conquer And so much for the properties of a good workeman CHAP. 13. Ministers ought to be peaceable and louing to each other but yet the refractarie must be bridled Doct. 6 LAbourers together Seeing that wee worke together with and for the Lord seeing all faithful Ministers are the Lords Labourers appointed by God to husband his field and to repaire and build vp his House we should all agree and loue one another entirely that our worke may go the faster forward and that so we may receiue greater comfort and ioy The Psalmist describing the wicked saith that they smite downe Gods people and trouble his heritage Their throat saith Dauid is an open sepulchre and their mouth is full of cursing Destruction saith Esay is in their pathes and they know not the way of peace But these things do nothing beseeme the Ministers of God who are or ought to be Praecones pietatis the preachers of peace and piety and not fighters and strikers but meeke gentle and studious of concord and amity The Word and not the sword is committed by the Lord vnto them the word of grace the word of reconcilement the sword of the Spirit and not the sword of Reuenge If his workmen fall to wrangling how shal his worke go forward God hath hired vs to worke and not to wrangle praedicare non praeliari If any man lust to be contentious we haue no such custome saith Paul neither the Churches of God It is mery with wolues and foxes when the shepheards are together by the eates one with another Lamentable are those flockes miserable are those sheepe We should rather bend then band and bowe rather then breake Ferentes non ferientes bearing one with another and not biting or beating one another lest we be deuoured one of another If the builders and plowmen quarrell one with another their worke must needs be hindred If a kingdome saith Christ be deuided against it selfe that kingdome cannot stand or if an house be deuided against it selfe that house cannot continue Euen so Gods kingdome vpon earth cannot but be much weakened and the rearing of his house much hindred if Ministers which either are or ought to be his chiefest instruments to build his house and to propagate and vphold his kingdome be deuided one against another in factions and hostile manner Diuide et regna Deuide and reigne is no rule for vs to practise amongst our selues It was not the true but the counterfeit mother of the child that said Let it be neither thine nor mine but diuide it If the builders of old Ierusalem in the daies of Nehemiah had contended one against another it had bene easiy for their enimies to haue destroyed both them and their building So if the Builders of new Ierusalem of spirituall and mysticall Ierulem do fight and biker one with another they do without doubt expose themselues and their building to the danger of the enimie that taketh all oportunity to worke a mischiefe Diuide a ship and how shall it saile Diuide the Church and how shall she hold out vpon the waters and not be drowned There is little got but much lost by contention Nimium altercando veritas amittitur Ouer-hot contention loseth the truth and ouer-great dissention amongst the sheepheards scattereth and disquieteth the sheepe The dissention of the captaines was the destruction of Ierusalem But pace florent omnia true peace like Aprill shewers makes all thinges flourish Vires vnitae sunt fortiores A three-fold cord is hardly crackt asunder A sheafe of arrowes is hardly broken Thorefore as Labourers of one Lord as Builders of one House as plowers of one fielde as shepheards of one fold as keepers of one garden as dressers of one vineyard as workemen in one haruest as watchmen of one city as souldiers of one captaine as seruants of one maister and as sonnes of one father let vs all agree one with another being coupled fast together by one spirit like linkes of one chaine and as if there were but one temperature of all our bodies and but one soule within them all And accordingly let vs vnitis viribus ac toto conatu ioyntly labour with might maine that Gods worke may goe forward that the powers of darknesse may be shaken that the gates of Hell may be flung from their hinges and that sin and sathan beeing dismounted from their thrones the scepter of Christ Iesus may be set vp in the hearts of his people If we must loue all men and if we must be gentle towards all men is it seemely for vs to hate one another Shall we be spitefull and crabbed one vnto another God is loue and the well-spring of true peace and the Diuell is the father of hatred and enmity therefore it behoueth all the Ministers of God to be peaceable and louing that so they may be like the Lord vnlike the Diuell If we should labor to haue peace with all men how earnestly should we striue to haue it amongst our selues Nec minor est virtus quam quaerere parta tueri Are all men bound to be of the like affection one towards another and is it fit for vs that are or ought to be lights and guides vnto others to be of a contrary affection one to another Ought not the strong to beare the infirmities of the weake and not to please themselues Wisedome and lenitie will say so And ought not the weake labour to see their infirmity and to waxe weary of their weaknesse that so there may be a simpathy and no antipathy peace and not passions concord and not hostility It is one thing to be weake and another thing to affect weaknesse It is one thing to shew weaknesse and another thing to shroud and shield it It is good to confesse it but bad to professe it There is a strong weakenesse and there is a weaknesse that is weake indeed All weaknesse is vncommeâ—dable but affected and sturdy weaknesse is vntollerable This is the peace-breaker and he must be bridled Easie salues are for easie soares bâ—t gangrenes must be pared off and fisiulaes must be bitten The Leper musâ— keepe his house And he that hath the plague about him must not come abroad Melius est vt pereat vnus quam vnitas It is better to want one then lose all It is better to cut off a finger then to lose the hand And an honorable warre is better then a seruile peace We
with all thy graces Open our eyes that we may see thy will and incline our hearts to follow it Direct vs in thy waies and keepe vs from declining from thee Teach vs so to frame our liues before thee in this word that we may liue for euer with thee in the world to come Be merciful O Lord we beseech thee to thy Church and to all her faithfull members comfort them with thy comforts and inrich them with thy graces Blesse this kingdome wherein we liue pardon the sins of all estates amongst vs and continue thy Gospell to vs and to our posterity to the end of the world Looke vpon thine annointed Iames our souereigne Lord king adorne his heart with all regall and Christian vertues vphold his scepter prolong his reigne laugh his foes to skorne Blesse our gracious queene Anne Prince Henry and the rest of their princely progeny Be mercifull to all other orders amongst vs aswell Ecclesiasticall as Ciuill and as thou aboundest in thy mercies towards vs so grant that we may striue to abound in all thankfulnesse towards thee Finally O Lord for our selues we beseech thee to take vs to thy fatherly protection pardon the weakenesse of our praiers watch thou ouer vs to our good giue vs such rest sleep that we may be the fitter enabled to serue thee the next day in our general and speciall callings Heare holy Father from the heauens and grant vs all these our requests for Iesus Christ his sake thine onely Sonne and our onely Sauiour to whom with thee and thine holy Spirit one most wise glorious and eternall God be rendred all power praise glory this night for euer Amen Trin-vni Deo gloria FINIS Deut. 32.11 Deut. 32.13 Deut. 32.5 15.21 Ex. 8 3.14 Nouem 5. An. 1605. 1. Cor. 3.16 1 Thes 5.23 a 2. Cor. 11.2 b Chedia 1â— c 2. â—â—g 18. d 2. Paulus e Iesse 1. Salamo a Acts. 8.3 b 1. Tim. 1.12 c Gal. 1.13 d Gal. 1.15.16 e Zach. 2.8 f 1. Tim. 1.13 g Ps 19.13 i 1. Tim. 13 Acts. 9.1 k Rom. 11.33.34 l Is 50 2. a Gal. 1.1 b 1. Cor. 4.7 c Psa 75.6 d 1. Chron 29.12 Iob. 32.8 Iam 1.5 e Prou. 29.23 Mat. 23.12 Iames. 4.6 f Iosh 10.13 g Isay 38.8 h Mat. 7.2 i 1. Cor. 3.7 k 1. Pet. 5.5 l Matth. 2. m 1. Câ—r 16.10.11 n Mat. 25. o Gal. 5.13.26 a 1. Cor. 4.13 b Exod. 20.18.19 c Gen. 22.1 d Gen. 22.12 e Act. 16.14 f Luk. 8.15 g 2. Cor. 4.7 h Rom. 1.16 i 1. Cor. 1.21 k Gal. 1.8 l 1. Cor. 1.21 m Ps 68.70 n Amos. 7.15 o Mat 4 19. p 1. Cor. 4.9.13 q 2. Cor. 5 20. r 2. Cor. 5.18 a 2. Tim. 4.10 a 1. Tim. 3.1 b Eph. 6.17 c 1. Chron. 15.2 d Ezeck 3.20 a Mat. 20. c Heb. 5.4 d Luk. 10.2 e Rom. 10.15 f Ier. 23.21 g Num. 4.19 Ministers must 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a 2. Tim. 2.15 b 2. Cor. 4.2 c 2. Cor. 1.12 d 2. Cor. 2.17 e 2. Cor. 6.3 f 2. Tim. 1.13 g 2. Tim. 2.22 h 1. Tim. 3.2.3 In Mat. 25. i Exod. 28.30.36 k Gen. 6.14 l Exod. 35.38 m Mat. 7.5 n Ps 50.16.17 o Mal. 2.9 p Reu. 3.1 q Exod. 27.20 r Ps 93.5 Isay 52.11 Å¿ Ps 25.14 u Mar. 10. â— Leuit. 6.13 x Mat. 5.16 y Mat. 5.13.14 z Eccl. 5â— 6.7.10 a Mar. 6.20 b 1. Tim. 4 1â— c Act. 20 28. d 1. Cor. 9 27. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 e Rom. 2 2â— f Lu. 12.47 g Iam. 4.17 h Ier. 23.15 i Ier. 23 28. a Heb. 4 1â— b 1. Tim 3.2 2. Tim. 2.24 c 2. Tim. 2 d Math. 6.22 Mat. 5.14 e Iam. 1.1 f Isay 50.4 g Mal. 2.7 h Lam 4.4 Lam. 2.11 12.19 i Pro. 29 1â— k Mal. 2.7 l Mat. 15.14 a 1. Cor. 4.2 b 2. Tim. 4.2 c Ier. 48.10 d Pro. 27.23 e Iob. 1.7 f 1. Pâ—t 5.8 g Mat. 23.15 h Pro. 27.18 i 2. Thes 3.10 k Act. 20.20.27.31 l Act. 20.28 m Ephes 4 12. 1. Pet. 5.2 n Gen. 31.40 o Ezek. 16.49 p Pastoris est pascere nâ—n deglubere q 2. Cor. 12 14. r 1 Cor. 9.17 Å¿ 2. Cor. 11.23 t Iude. 3. u Reu. 2.2 u Pro. 11. â—6 x Pro. 27.18 y Exod. 8.24 z Act. 20.30 a Isa 65.5 b Iudg. 15 4. Note c 2. Cor. 8.12 d Gal. 6.7 e Ier. 17.10 f Heb. 4.13 g Iob 42.2 h Heb. 10.31 a 2. Cor. 9.7 b 1 Chron. 29.6.9 c 1 Cor. 9.17 d Iob. 20.12 Prou. 4.16 f 1. Pet. 5 2 g Act. 2â— 24 a Neh. 4.17 b Eph. 6.12 c Ier. 1.17 d Ez. 3.9 e Ier. â— 8 f Tit. 2.15 g Isai 58.1 h Mich. 3 8. i Kin. 18.18 k 2. Sam. 2.9 l Isay 50.7 m Isay 50.6 n For sheep maâ— be driuen to the â—acks but Lions must be fed at the staues end lest â—hey feed on them that would â—â—ed them o Isa 58.1 p Gal. 6.1 2 Tim. 2.25 a Gen. 15.11 b 2. Cor 4 1. c Psa 119.105 d 1. Pet. 2.5 e Ouid. f 2. Pet. 1.13 g 1. Tim 4 13.15.16 h Mat. 20.8 i Eccl. 11.6 k Gal. 6.9 l Nehe. 9 12. m Exâ— 27.20 n Psal 15. o Ex. 29.38 p Isa 62.6 7. q Luk. 9 62. a Psal 94.4.5 b Psal 5.9 Psal 10.7 c Is 59.8 d 1. Tim. 3.2 Tit. 1.7 e 1. Cor. 11.16 f Mar. 3. 24 25 g 1. king 3.26 h Nehe. 4. i Iosephus k 2. Tim. 3.24 l 1. Ioh. 4.8 â— Thes 5.22 m Rom. 12 18. n Ouid. o Rom. 12.16 p Rom. 15.1 q 1 kings 21.3 r Mat. 10.16 Tit. 1.8 Å¿ Rom. 15 5. t Eph. 5.23 u Eph. 4.3 Gal. 5 26. Eph 5.27 w Luk. 23.12 Act. 4.27 x Rom. 15.6 y Morbida sâ—la â—ecus totum â—orrumpit ouiâ—e z Mark 9.10 a Psa 133.1 b Ioh. 13.35 c Virg. a Iohn 15.1 b Heb. 3.4 c 1 Cor. 3.6 d Psal 127. â—1 e 1 Cor. 15.10 f 1 Pet. 5.10 g 2 Cor. 5.19 h 2 Cor. 2 15.16 a Isa 55.11 b 2. Cor. 2.15.16 c Isa 50.7 d Ier. 1.8.18.19 e Eze. 2.3 â— Acts 18 9.10 f Iosh 1.5 Heb 13 7. h Heb. 1.12 i â—am 1.17 Isa 46.10.11 k Psa 84.12 a 1. Cor. 3 8 b Dan. 12.3 c 2. Tim. 4.7.8 h Pet. 5.4 e Mat. 10 â—1 f Mat. 20.8 a 2 Cor. 3 9. b 2 Cor. 5.2 18. Act. 20.28 1 Cor. 12.28 c Iob 25.6 d Isa 57.15 e Iob 33.23 f Psal 116.12.17 g Psa 145.2 h Psâ— 4.3.8 i 1. Sam. 2.30 k Leuit. 10.3 a Eph 5.1 b Tit. 2.7 8. a 1 Thes 2.2.3.4 b 2 Tim. 24 c Eph. 6.2 2.2 d 2 Cor. 10 4. e Act. 6.2 f Aug. Note g 1. Tim. 5.8 h Ioh. 21.3 i Mark 6.3 k 2. Tim 4.13 l Act. 20.34 m 1. Tim. 3.4.5 a Conâ—er the 1. Cor 3.6