the 18. 19. and 20. verses saith It is better if the will of God be so that ye suffer for well dooing then for ill dooing for as much as Christ hath once suffered for sinnes the iust for the vniust to bring vs to God and was killed as pertaining to the flesh but was quickened in the spirite in which spirit he also went and preached to the spirites that were in prison which sometime had been disobedient when the long suffering of God was once looked for in the dayes of Noah while the arke was a preparing wherein a few that is to say 8. soules were saued by the water For the better vnderstanding of this place because the woord spirite is diuerslye taken in the woord of God I will first set downe the diuerse acceptation of the woorde spirite and afterward by many vncontrollable reasons out of the text I will by Gods assistance confirme my assertion that Christ in soule descended into hell They that know not the signification of the woord spirite are often deceiued for somtimes it signifieth the wil and authority of a man as in the 1. Cor. 5 ver 3. I truly as absent in body but present in spirit c. Sometimes it is taken for doctors Prophets 1. Ioh. 4. 5. Proue the spirits whether they are of God or no Sometimes for a Ghoast Luke 24. 37. And they supposed that they had seene a Spirite Sometime for winde or breath as Ioh. 3. 8. the winde bloweth where it will Sometime for a voice or woord 1. Cor. 84. 15. I wil pray with the spirit I will pray with the vnderstanding Sometime for the life of the Lawe 2. Cor. 3. 17. Now the Lord is the life Sometimes it is taken for a kinde of deceipte whereby any pretendeth to haue a spirite of reuelation 2. Thes. 2. 2. Be ye not troubled neither by spirite neither by word nor by letter So is it taken in Micheas 2. 11. Sometimes it is taken for the animal life Psalm 104. 29. If thou take away their spirite they dye Sometime for wrath Pro. 25. and last verse A man that refraineth not his anger is like a Cittie which is broken down and without wals Somtimes for the gifts of the spirit first for ioy in the holy ghost Ephe. 5. 18. But be ye filled with the spirite Secondly for spirituall vnderstanding 1. Thes. 5. 23. I pray God that your whole spirite soule and body may be kept blameles vnto the comming of our Lord Iesus Christ. So it is vsed Ephe. 2. 22. Thirdly it is vsed for seruencye of zeale sedulity and constancy 1. Timo. 4. 12. But be thou an ensample in word in cōuersation in loue in spirit Fourthly it is taken for the true doctrine of the Gospell which worketh effectually in our harts by the spirit 2. Cor. 3. 6. which hath made vs fit Ministers of the new testament not of the letter but of the spirit Where the letter signifieth the vtter preaching which toucheth not the hart Fiftly for a spirituall life Gal. 6. 8. He that soweth in the spirit shall in the spirit reap eternall life Sixtly it is taken for prophecy 1. Thes. 5. 19. quench not the spirit Which he interpreteth in the verse following despise not prophecying It signifieth sometime a thing of nothing Esa. 26. 18. We haue conceiued we haue borne in paine as though we should haue brought forth winde Sometime for euery creature that hath breath Psal. 150. and last verse Let euery thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Sometime it signifieth the diuine or immortal essence of y e soule Eph. 4. 4. There is one spirite Acts 7. ver 59. Stephen saith Lord Iesus receiue my soul. Somtime it signifieth God Ioh. 4. 24. God is a spirit And so the woord spirit is common to the whole 3. persons Sometimè it signifieth the holy Ghoste the 3. person in Trinity wherunto is alwaies put the Gréeke article Mat. 4. 5. Mar. 1. 12. Luc. 4. 1. 1. Tim. 4. 1. Act. 8. 29. Because then the word hath so many significations we must proue by the circumstances of y e text what is héer his proper meaning They that say that by this place is meant Christs preaching in the spirit in y e time of Noah are many waies cléerely confuted First because that mortificatus and viuificatus two contrary particles of one tense are attributed to Christ so that Christ being dead was aliue and that at one time and in respect of his humanity Secondlye he sheweth how he was dead and how he was aliue by putting to mortificatus carne he was killed in the flesh and viuificatus spiritu he was quickned in the spirit or in the soule for to say the Godhead was quickned is a grosse error For as Augustine saith in his 99. Epistle it is very euident that the Lord killed as concerning the flesh went into hell Thirdly in his soule while he was yet dead in the bodye hée went downe into hell the Gréek woord is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which woord must néeds be vnderstood of the soule of Christ because it is a motion from vs to another place and not of the Godhead and therfore is vsed again in y e 22. verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he went into heauen and thus proueth he the death of Christ in the 18. verse the descending of Christ into hell in the 19. verse his resurrection in the 21. verse and his ascending into heauen in the last verse Fourthly the Scripture doth straightlye ioyne together the passion of Christ with this perfection and preaching so that Christ went immediatly after his passion to preach to the spirits Neither dooth he deuide them as though now he did suffer preach long before for the resurrection and ascension héer spoken of succéeded this passion so did this iourney and going into Hell Fiftly the Scripture doth plainely attribute the preaching of Noah properly to the holy Ghoste not to y e second person as it appeareth Gen. 6. 3. My spirit shall not alway striue with man As all the scripture doth ascribe the doctrine and ministry of preaching to the 3. person and that the 3. person receiueth it of Christ doth speak by the mouth of holy Doctors inspireth the scripture and reproueth the world or comforteth Sixtly if the woord spirit must be vnderstoode of God héere of whom Christ is quickned as some would haue it it must néedes also be vnderstood of the first person that he preached in hell for the scripture attributeth the resurrection of Christ to the Father Last of all that we heap not to manye thinges in an euident matter the participle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which were disobedient doth fignifie and plainely shew this inobedience to be long before this preaching so also the woord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in times past and all the annotation of time following
shall effect that which many of your side haue attempted but neuer yet any could bring to passe It is written of Procustes that if any were too short for his bed he would stretch them out and make them fit for his lodging so you this place being too short to fit your waste will enlarge it with a word immediatly which is not in the place primitiue or deriuatiue expressely or by way of implication Moreouer where you say if I will aunswere this place I must proue that he that mindeth to goe to hell doth vse these words I wonder that you dare vse such blasphemous spéeches for hereby you insinuate that Christ was but a méere man and that other men haue a part in the worke of our redemption aswell as Christ. For as he is our only Sauiour so as Luther saith on Gen. 21. Chapter This was singular in Christ Thou shalt not leaue my soule in hell nor suffer thy holy one to sée corruption for his soule could not be deteined in hell nor his body in the graue For as this was singuler in Christ that he did giue vp his ghost so was it singular in him to go to hell and returne againe Ambrose saith Tradidit spiritum suum quia non inuitus amisit quod enim emittitur voluntarium est quod amittitur necessarium He gaue vp the ghost because he lost not his soule against his will for that which is emitted is voluntarie but that which is amitted is necessary Theophilact saith he cryed out with a loude voice gaue vp the ghost for he had power to lay down his life take it vp again Now whē you can proue that you or any of your side haue this power in you to dye when he will and liue againe when he will then will I prooue that he that speaketh these wordes Into thy hands I commende my spirit hath an intent to goe to Hell But as Christ his birth was a singular thing in him so was his death buriall descending into hell resurrection and ascention into heauen Eccle. 8. 8. Man is not Lord ouer the spirite to retaine the spirite Aud Iohn 10. 18. Christ saith No man taketh my life from me but I lay it downe of my selfe I haue power to lay it downe and power to take it vp againe By these two places it is euident that no man can lay down his owne spirite but the only Sonne of God had that prerogatiue and therefore as the laying downe of his spirite and the taking vp of his spirite againe was wonderfull so was the state of the soule and body during the time of the seperation of the partes of the humanity singular and wonderfull Humes Sectio 6 For the other place you bring a ready answere out of Augustine of that which is God but not of that which is man how ready soeuer this construction be I am well assured it can not stand with the woords of Christ. Luk. 23. 43. This day shalt thou be with me in Paradice For what I praye you could the Godhead of Christ goe to heauen in the future time which was stil in heauen from all eternity For this day shalt thou be with me in Paradice is al one as if he had said this day shal thou I be in Paradice which no man that hath one drop of braine in his head dare auouch of Christ who was neuer thence But here you tell me that the future verbe is attributed to the theefe onely and that which is giuen to Christ with me is limited with no bound of time I told you euen now that thou shalt be with me is all one with I and thou shall be together But to let this passe what say you to the theefe then that said Luk. 23. 42. Remember me Maister when thou commest into thy kingdome This theefe was not sure of your minde for he did suppose that Christ to whom he spake was not yet in his kingdome and I am sure that Christ was so good a Doctor that if the poore theefe had mist his footing he would haue set him vp againe Thus you see that these two places are to strong for your ordinance if you haue no better shot then this we will spread our banner with Magnaest inuicta veritas Hyll Héere you condemne S. Augustins answere Well because S. Augustine is dead and in your margine you say that it is M. Hills answere by Gods grace and his woord M. Hill will defend it First I note a falsification of the text by you alleadged for whereas it is in the text Luke 23. 42. Remember me Lord when thou comst into thy kingdome You for Lord say Maister I tolde you in the beginning Eue did change the woords of the Scripture to her ouerthrow Therefore I pray you leaue it for otherwlse I must tell you of it if a boy in the Grammer schoole construe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Maister he is worthy to be beaten and if a schoolemaister teach so he is worthy to be controlled for this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 written by Stephanus with a capitall letter will cashire your banner of boasting and bring your glorye to shame I preached in my sermon at Chippenham that to day did signifie for euer and with me did signifie the Godhead I will not only affirme it but confirme it that to day doth signifie for euer in this place first I proue it by this philosophicall reason out of Aristotle which saith In aeternis non est tempus In eternall things there is no time For time is the measure of motion therfore if there be time then is there motion Now as in hell all men do suffer torments and in earth all labour so in Heauen all doo rest Apoc. 14. 13. Blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord so saith the spirite for they rest from their labours Therefore where there is no mutation frō day to night nor from summer to winter there is no day naturall or artificiall as you suppose And this is proued Apoc. 10. 6. And the Angell sware by him that liueth for euermore which created heauen and the things that are therein that time shalbe no more And this woord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to day is vsed for euer in many Scriptures Psal. 2. 7. Thou art my Sonne this day haue I begotten thee Act. 13. 33. And we declare vnto you touching the promises made vnto the Fathers God hath fulfilled it vnto you their Children in that he hath raised vp Iesus euen as it is written in the second Psalme Thou art my Sonne to day haue I begotten thee And in y e epistle to the Hebr. 1. 5. And to which of the Angels said he Thou art my Sonne to day haue I begotten thee And againe Hebr. 5. 6. He prouing Christ to be a préest for euer thus saith Christ took not to himselfe this honor to be made an high Preest but he that said to him Thou art my Sonne to
that pertained vnto God who was in stéed of the voice Moreouer in the holy places who might enter but one and that not euer but once a yéer Heb. 9. Who might carry the arke but the Leuytes 1. Leuit. 15. And they as they were appointed for some were of a high office some of a lower as euery one was worthye and because that ought to be kept it was appointed also who should kéepe it euerie way for some should kéep one side some an other side neither should any thing remaine indistincted or disordered in their smallest matters Marke good Reader what is y e conclusion of this swéet discourse for it toucheth most néerelye our disordered Martinists but we if we haue gotten a little glory and excellency of name and haue learned two or thrée woords of Scripture not often but by chaunce and these vnskilfully and ill couched together by and by we furiously rebell against Moses and followe the importune contumelye and impiety of Dathan and Abiram whose contumelye I becéech you let vs flée and let vs flée their madnes least we be ouerthrowne with the same punishments Nazianzene affirmeth that order is beautifull in naturall thinges in sensible and in reasonable but more beautifull in houses Citties and common weales but most beautifull in the house and Church of God For God is not the God of confusion but of order 1. Cor. 14. 33. And for this cause all thinges in the Church must be doone in order 1 Cor. 14. 40. Take away order from naturall things all thinges would come to annihilation take away order from men and we become brutish but take away order from Christian men and they become very diuels In these last and dangerous times like beastes voide of reason we despise gouerment and like diuels that haue come out of the horrible pit of shameles confusion we ouerthrowe all the orders which are established in the Church of England Obedience by the woord of God is a sacrifice but we holde it to be a superstitious yoke S. Paul sayeth we should obey not for feare of wrath but for conscience but now a daies they are accounted the holyest men which haue no conscience and doo stubbornlye resist all the orders of the Church and desperately continue in their confused disobedience euery man will be a head no man a foote euery man a tung no man a eare S. Iames saith we should be slow to speak and swift to heare but we haue peruerted his woords in our déeds and are slowe to heare and swifte to speake against Prince and Ministers And euen as the Donatists wrote against Augustine in his time and the Catharoi against Ciprian in his time aud as the Pharasies withstoode our Sauiour and his Apostles in their time so are the Martinistes now bent against the Church of God and Ministers in our time For as their hart is full of enuy so their tung is as kéene as a rasour as sharpe as a Swoord as hotte as coles asvenymous as vipers and as they are swift to speak without number waight or measure of their woords so are they slowe to heare for they will not heare the voice of the charmer charme he neuer of wiselye Of these men Gregory Nazianzene in the place before quoted saith very well it is a shame truelye when thou doost embrace not magnificence but basenes in thy apparrell and dyet and to pretend humilitye in the hardnes of thy knées in thy fastings and watchings and in the asperitye of thy bed being laide in the ground and in thy labours and in al manner of pyning and subduing thy body and to challenge to thy selfe a principalitye and tirannye in diuine disputations neither to yéeld to any man but to aduance your self aboue the Preachers of the Law where humility hath not only glory but also securitye What then will some of them which are of a hotte spirite obiect doost thou by this Oration forbid to talke of God what shall we talke off or how thinke you of this place his praise shall euer be in his mouth Psal. 33. I will blesse the Lord alwaies Psal. 29. My throate shal meditate on his truth and beholde I haue not forbid my lippes and so will bring many testimonies meditated and quoted to that purpose To whome I answere gentlye and without bitternes of minde that héereby we may teach also the moderation of the minde I doo not exhorte a wise man to silence but I studye to feare thée from stubborne contention neither doo I bid thée to suppresse or hide the truth but I forbid thée that thou teach not besides Lawe For I my selfe doo professe my selfe to be a chéefe man among them which praise wisedome and learning and either doo spend or desire to spend their times in holy Sermons and sacred studies and God graunt that I neuer be turned aways from this busines least of wisedome it selfe I be pronounced a wretch and an vnhappy man because I haue despised learning and wisedome In the mean season I auoide the excesse and doo bridle the vnsatiable desire of man and am so minded that if I could not auoide both faults and kéep a mediocrity I had leyffer be too slowe then a busie body or too fearful rather then too bolde or rash He addeth shortly after holde fast those woords in the which thou hast béene instructed in thy infancy commit the care of reasoning and disputation to the learned it is inough for thée to holde fast the foundation let a wise maister builder build vpon it it is sufficient for thée to strengthen thy hart with bread leaue dainty dishes to the rich and wealthye No sober or wise man will accuse thée if thou furnish not thy supper with liberall and bountiful fare But if thou wilt not set bread or giue a cup of water to the Disciple of Christ. Mat. 10. Or to any other when thou art able then art thon iustly and worthily condemned also Be not swift in thy woords saith the wise man Eccle. 5. And being poore compare not thy selfe with the rich affect not to be wiser thē the wise It is a poynt of wisedom to know thy self and not to be immoderately proud and so to be affected as the voices who whē they are strained too high by reson of the immoderatiō they do altogither faint Thus this auntiēt father perswaded the people of God to a moderation in his time that knowledge might not make them proud for pride is the cause of singularitye singularitye bréedeth schismes schismes disorder disorder confusion God saith in the 4. Ephe that he hath made vs Pastors and Doctors héereby it is manifest that we are not the ordering or appointment of man nor of angel but of God himself How dare euery man then being scarse skilfull in his owne mistery take vpon him our office being in dignety the highest in labours the painefullest in disposing the wisest and in abusing the most daungerous function of
was manifested in the flesh and also of Peter himselfe 1. Pet. 4. 1. Christ suffred for vs in the flesh Which antithesis of the deuine and humane nature Paule doth also expresse in the same tearmes speaking of Christ which was made of the seed of Dauid according to the flesh and declared mightely to be the Sonne of God according to the spirit Rom. 1. 3. 4. where you see he vseth the words no otherwise then he findeth them vsed in the scriptures Now that this can not be the sence of them you reason thus First you say that this participle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is going doth signifye motion from some place which can not stand with the deuine Essence which can not possibly leaue any place being at all times in all places To this I aunswere that it is spoken of the same spirit or deuine essence in Gen. 18. 21. I will go downe and see whether the Sodomites do altogether according to the cry that is come vnto me And in Exod. 3. 8. I am come downe to deliuer them that is the Israelites out of the hand of the Aegiptians You can not be ignorant M. Hill that the holie ghost speaketh oftentimes of the deuine Essence by a figure called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whē God declareth his presence in one place more then in another by some notable effect which in this place was most necessary to expresse the continuall presence of Christ in his Church in those dayes of Noah and so in all ages either past or to come departing as it were from all other places which indeed he can not and sitting as it were a perpetuall moderator and ruler thereof Next you alleage the other participle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is quickned that because it is passiue it can not stand with the deuine essence which can not suffer This we deny not for we attribute not this participle to the deuine essence but to the whole Christ God man for we say not Christ the spirit was quickned but Christ was quickned in spirit Thirdly you tell vs that mortified and quickned were both participles and both attributed to Christ at one time We confesse they were attributed to one Christ but we see no matter to leade vs to refer them both to one time But by the contrary me thinks that the order of the wordes haue sufficient matter in them to proue that he was first mortified and then quickned As for the distinction of time the distance was not to great as to require it To this you adde how he was dead and how he was aliue by putting to killed flesh and to quickned spirit The very text as I take it will deny you this for it saith not that the flesh was killed and the spirit quickned but that Christ was killed in the flesh and quickned in the spirit which is all one as if he had said that Christ dyed as he was man and ouercame death as he was God Which thing also Paule doth expresse in other words 2. Cor. 13 4. He was crucified concerning his infirmitie yet liueth he through the power of God Fourthly you say that the scriptures do ioyn together this going preaching close to his passion as if he had said assone as he had suffered he went preached This as if concludeth no necessary matter We expect demonstrations cannot be caried with as and if Fiftly you adde out of Gen. 6. that the preching of Noah is attributed to the 3. person and not to the second which putting on mans flesh redeemed vs. We confesse that ability to preach was giuen Noah by the holy ghoste but he was stirred vp and sent by the whole Trinity The actions whereof seeing they are common to all three he erreth not that attributeth them to any of the three Where you saye that Christ was raised from the dead by the first person and not by the second I see not how that can stand with the truth of the Scriptures which telleth me that the second person did put on man and did neuer forsake him in all his distresses Afterwards you tel me that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is disobedient and sometime doo seperate the time of their disobedience and Christs going to thē But I can not take it at your woord for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not as you seeme to take it a Verbe but a Participle greeing with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is spirits in the verse before and the Aduerb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes belongeth to the principall Verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is preached so that the sence must needs be he preached sometimes to the spirites that are in prison and were disobedient in the dayes of Noah Whereas you argue this can not be spoken of the preaching of Noah because he preached to men and to spirites it is strange to me how he can preach to men and not to spirits seeing that whosoeuer doth instruct men dooth also instruct their soules Lastlye you charge this construction to doo violence to the text taking the woord spirite for the diuinity in one place and for the power thereof in another where you doo vs great wrong for Beza himselfe refuseth it and proueth it is not taken for the power of the deitye in this place at all Hitherto haue I answered all that you can saye against vs now will I proue that your sence which you make of this place can not stand with the truth of the text You take this woord flesh only for the bodye of Christ which dyed and was buried and the woord spirite for his soule which you beare vs in hand descended into hell preached to the soules which had beene rebellious in the dayes of Noah if this your construction shall goe for currant then the apostle speaketh nothing heere of Christ which may not be verified of any man For though our bodyes dye yet our soules liue aswell as his The spirite here as it appeereth by the text doth signifie that which gaue life to that which was dead that I trust was not his soule but his deity thirdly this participle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 killed doth signifie not onelye the death of the bodye but also whatsoeuer Christ did suffer either in body or soule for the redemption of our bodies and soules and doth comprise his whole passion which the Spriptures doth many times terme death which if it be so as it is so indeed then the woord flesh noteth vnto vs the whole subiect of his passion that is the whole man Christ for it was expedient that he did aswell suffer in soule for our soules as in body for our bodies or else he had been but halfe a redemer Fourthly seeing his body was quickned that is restored from the graue aswell as his soule from the sorrowes of hell if you take spirite there for the humane soule then you confound those thinges which the Apostle doth distinguish attributing that to