hoped for all are not so prouident as to let their Conscience preuent sinne Well howsoeuer wee neglect the first worke of Conscience wee cannot auoid the second if wee will not take notice of it it will take notice of Vs it taketh notice of all our doings whether they be good or bad proueth a comfortable or vncomfortable Iury vnto vs. Neither is this all Our selues are trusted not onely to giue in the verdict but also to take it whether it bee against vs or for vs. And as our Conscience will not spare to doome vs according to the Law if wee bee guiltie our selues shall pronounce what our sinnes deserue So will it not faile to assure vs of all the Blessings of the Gospel if it finde vs innocent and we shall rest assured of the trueth of our owne Iudgement And why GOD will second our Heart his worke will keepe correspondencie with ours whether it condemne or absolue Onely for the greater terrour of the wicked and comfort of the godly let vs not forget the inequalitie if wee sincke vnder our owne Iudgement we shall sincke more vnder GODS and if our owne doe yeeld boldnesse GODS will yeeld much more Wherefore redde te tibi forget not the preuenting worke of thy Conscience to bee ruled by it Bernard Meditat. neglect not the enquiring worke of thy Conscience to prognosticate of thy future state according to it Let euery one of vs endeauour with St. Paul to haue an vnoffensiue Conscience toward God and men that he may solace himselfe in that true peace thereof in this world and haue the consummation thereof with Aeternall Blisse in the world to come Amen Πάντοτε δόξα Θηῶ. FINIS A Meditation vpon Psalme 19. VERSE 14. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart bee acceptable in thy sight O Lord my strength and my Redeemer FAst and Pray Lord I doe fast and I would pray for to what end doe I with-hold sustenance from my body if it be not the more to cheere vp my Soule my hungrie my thirstie Soule But the Bread the Water of life both which I find no where but in thy word I partake not but by exercising my selfe therein This I begin to doe and faine would I doe it well but in vaine shall I attempt except thou doe blesse blesse me then O Lord blesse either part of me both are thine and I would withhold neither part from thee Not my body I would set my tongue on worke to speake of thee not my Soule I would exercise my heart in thinking on thee I would ioyne them in Deuotion whom thou hast ioyned in Creation Yea Lord as they haue conspired to sinne against thee so doe they now consort to doe their duetie to thee my tongue is ready my heart is ready I would thinke I would speake thinke vpon thee speake to thee But Lord what are my words What are my thoughts Thou knowest the thoughts of men that they are altogether vanitie and our words are but the blast of such thoughts both are vile It were well it were no worse both are wicked my heart a corrupt fountaine and my tongue an vncleane streame and shall I bring such a sacrifice to God The halt the lame the blind the sicke though otherwise the beasts be cleane yet are they sacrifices abominable to God how much more if we offer those beasts which are vncleane And yet Lord my sacrifice is no better faultring words wandring thoughts are neither of them presentable to thee how much lesse euill thoughts and idle words Yet such are mine the best of mine they are such I cannot denie it but grieue at it I should I doe that hauing nothing else to offer God hauing nothing that is required of him this that I haue should be such as he cannot like What remedie None for me if any it is in thee O Lord that I must find it and for it now doe I seeke vnto thee Thou onely O Lord canst hallow my tongue and hallow my heart that my tongue may speake and my heart thinke that which may be acceptable vnto thee yea that which may bee thy delight Doe not I lauish Were it not enough that God should beare with that hee should not punish the defects of my words of my thoughts May I presume that God shall accept of me Nay delight in me Forget I who the Lord is Of what Maiestie Of what felicitie Can it stand with his Maiestie to vouchsafe acceptance VVith his felicitie to take content in the words of a worme in the thoughts of a wretch And Lord I am too proud that vilifie my selfe so little and magnifie thee no more But see whether the desire of thy seruant doth carrie him how wishing to please I consider not how hard it is for dust and ashes to please God to doe that wherein God should take content But Lord here is my comfort that I may set God to giue content vnto God God is mine and I cannot want accesse vnto God if God may approach himselfe Let me be weake yet God is strong O Lord thou art my strength Let me bee a slaue to sinne God is a Sauâ—our O Lord thou art my Sauiour thou hast redeemed me from all that wofull state whereunto Adam cast me yea thou hast built me vpon a Rocke strong and sure that the gates of Hell might neuer preuaile against me These two things hast thou done for me O Lord and what may not hee presume of for whom thou hast done these things I feare not to come before thee I presume my Deuotion shall content thee bee thy eyes neuer such all-seeing eyes I will bee bold to present my inward my outward man before thee be thy eyes neuer so holy eyes I will not flie with Adam to hide my nakednesse from thee for I am able to keepe my ground seeing I am supported by my Lord I doubt not but to prooue a true Israelite and to preuaile with God For all my Woe for all my sinne I will not shrinke nay I will approach approach to thee for thou art my Redeemer The neerer I come to thee the freer shall I bee both from sinne and woe O blessed state of man who is so weake so strong so wretched and so happie weake in himselfe strong in God most happie in God though in himselfe a sinfull wretch And now my Soule thou wouldest be deuout thou mayst be what thou wouldest sacrifice to God thy words sacrifice to God thy thoughts make thy selfe an Holocaust doubt not but thou shalt be accepted thou shalt content euen the most glorious the most holy eyes of God Onely presume not of thy selfe presume on him build thy words build thy thoughts vpon thy Rocke they shall not be shaken free thy words free thy thoughts thoughts and words enthrauled to sinne by thy Sauiour and thy sacrifice shall be accepted So let me build on thee so let me be enlarged by thee in soule in
King Dauid spake no more in his owne person then may beseeme the person of euery man especially if he be a Christian And therefore his practise should be a patterne vnto euery one of vs we are as hee was Si Dauid talis Rex talibus parentibus in peccato natus quanto magis Nos The fountaine of Corruption runnes as high now as euer it did well may wee deeme our selues worse better without intolerable arrogancy wee cannot deeme our selues therefore his Ecce Behold will well beseeme vs and we may well fall as low as he in the Confession of our sinnes I presse this the rather because this is a secret which Philosophers could not Hereticks would not know and so indulgent are we to our selues that we are too willing to be ignorant of at least to forget that which our proud nature doth not easily brooke The lesse the Old man doth like it the more should the New man studie it And that we studie it not in vaine let vs all pray God that wee may haue Grace to exemplifie so good a Sampler that we may so deepely launce our Spirituall woundes as that they may be the better cured by our Heauenly Physitian and the more seuere we are against our selues we may finde our Sauiour more mercifull vnto vs. Amen PSAL. 51. VERS 6. Behold thou desirest truth in the inward parts and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisedome Kâ—ng Dauid in that Vow which in this Psalme hee maketh for himselfe prayeth that he may bee restored vnto and preserued in the state of Grace To this end hee layeth open his own wickednes and layeth hold vpon Gods goodnesse how he layeth open his own wickednesse you haue heard at seuerall times as I vnfolded the verses that goe before and you shall God willing heare particularly how he layeth hold vpon the goodnesse of God as I shall haue opportunitie to expound vnto you the following verses But my Text commeth in betweene these two maine poynts so that it is hard to say to whether of them it referreth most for surely it may fairely be referred to either of them it may bee referred either to King Dauids vnfained repentance for his sinne or steadfast considence in the mercy of God therefore it is diuersly expounded by others and it will not bee amisse if I shew you how the words looke backward and forward respect King Dauids either godly sorrow or hope of Grace To come to the Text The argument of it is remarkeable Sinceritie Sincerity is fitly described in these words truth in the inward parts without truth there can be no Sinceritie but the truth that maketh perfect Sincerity must be in the inward parts Touching this Sincerity wee are moreouer taught first of what regard it is secondly how we may attayne it It is of principall regard because entertayned with the best affection that is Delight and this affection is in the greatest person it is in God God desireth this truth in the inwards parts But how may it be had surely not without diuine instruction of our inward man The inward man is noted by the secres part that must be furnished with good grounds which here are meant by Wisdome and this wisedome must come from Heauen God must make vs know it These particulars wherein Sincerity is set forth in this Text are remarkeable particulars so wee are taught by the first word behold Behold they are euident they may not be denied Behold they are vsefull euery one must make his profit of them And so haue I set before you the contents of this Scripture which I shal now farther enlarge as the time shall permit and we may best be edified But before I doe enter vpon the distinct poynts I must acquaint you with the Language of the holy Ghost which vseth often times to mention parts of our bodies when it meaneth the powers of our soules the reason whereof is in vulgar experience because so long as the soule dwelleth in the body the powers therof in their working make some sensible impression vpon the parts of our body those parts which euen for this cause haue by the wisest Philosophers and most iudicious Physicians been reputed the proper seats if not of the whole soule yet of the seuerall faculties therof My Text doth occasion me to instance in two parts the Kidneys and the Heart which are here to bee vnderstood though in the translation they are not exprest in the Originall the Kidneys are plainely mentioned which because they are two therefore they are translated parts and those inward or hidden parts because in the body the Kidneys are vsually couered with fat The Heart is a single entrall and therefore called by the name of a part also a hidden part because of the couerings wherein it pleased God that naturally the heart should be inwrapt vpon these two parts seuerall powers of our soule doe worke at least when they worke or are wrought there will be some sence thereof in these parts in the Kidneys of Affections as of Resolutions in the Heart this euery man that obserues himselfe may easily assure himselfe to be true Hauing thus opened vnto you the reason why the Holy Ghost thus speaketh let vs now come and looke a little farther into the things By the inward parts then are meant the Kidneys and by the Kidneys the Affections that discouer themselues therein now our Affections haue long since by those that haue been curious obseruers of them been reduced vnto foure Heads wherof two are exercised with Euill and two with Good Euill if it be absent wee feare and if it be present we Grieue as for Good that which we haue not we Desire and we ioy in that we haue To apply this to my Text I told you that it looketh backward and forward to Dauids Repentance and to his Confidence If to Repentance then to Euill malum culpae the Euill of sinne for which hee Grieued and malum poenae the wages of Sinne which he iustly Feared If to Confidence then to Good to Mercy which so farre as he had receiued hee ioyed in and desired so much as he had not yet receiued These are those inward parts the affections of King Dauids soule that are to bee vnderstood in this place in these it is that Sincerity must appeare so much is intimated by the word Truth But what is Truth surely nothing else but a conformitie of one thing to another whereof the one is the Sampler and the other is the exemplification All that is in mans nature receiued its being from God and was formed according to the patterne of Gods eternall decree which hee exprest in the Creation and which hee often toucheth at in the reproofes which taxe the obliquities of our nature we should bee in our Affections as God first made vs and that is the first Truth required in them a Truth that is opposed vnto vanity that vanity which doth dimimish the wel-being of
that which I rather obserue is These two Disciples aboue the rest had a strong conceite of Christs earthly Kingdome which made them carnally both ambitious and zealous Of their ambition wee read elsewhere where One of them desired to sit on Christs right hand and the other on his left here they shew themselues zealous But their indignation is carnall and so is the weapon where with they doe expresse it My Obseruation is One grosse conceite breedes another It did so in them It doth so in the Church of Rome who dreaming of a temporall power which Christ hath giuen vnto his Church is forward to execute temporall paines vpon whomsoeuer is not conformable vnto her will But I leaue the Persons and come to their Passion Wherein notwithstanding marke that though they are bold to propose yet to resolue they are not bold They are bold to propose their Desire their Reason Their desire is Fire a sharpe weapon especially seeing Saint Paul for dissention in Religion prescribeth other which they would not haue to spare they would haue it Consume their Enemies Rom 16. Fire is their Weapon Quid mirum filios tonitrus fulgurare sayth Saint Ambrose It may be the very place put them in minde of the Element because it was in the Region of Samaria that God executed a fearefull vengeance by Fire 2. Kings 1. Or haply because this Element is in the Scripture made the ordinary attendment vpon Gods Iudgement therefore they especially affect that weapon Iohannes Magnus reporteth that Carolus an ancient King of the Gothes amongst his great Lawes ordained this for one That if any man were thrice conuicted to haue denied entertainement to strangers his house should be set on fire Vi aedibus proprijs iuste priuaretur qui earum vsum inhumaniter negavisset Surely whereas there are foure Elements the Earth the Water the Ayre the Fire euery one of the three first are hospitall the Earth entertaines beasts and men the Water fishes the Ayre birds only the Fire is inhospitall and therefore though they might haue wished for an earth-quake to founder the Village or a floud to drowne it or a venemous Ayre to poyson the Inhabitants of it as that King thought so did these Apostles think that the other 3 Elements were too compassionate and only this vnmerciful Element â—iâ— to take vengeance on these merciles men Sure they would haue no mercy shewed them for they would not only haue fire out Consuming fire Li 2 〈◊〉 Seneca obserues well Non vt in beneficijs bonestum est meritameritis compeâ—sare ita in iniurijs illic vinci turpe hic vincere inhumanum and the rule of the Law is Fauores ampliandt restringendaodia and God is the Patterne hereof whose mercy doth indeede permit him to doe vs good Vltra condignum but his Iustice neuer strikes vs but Citra condignum 〈…〉 81. 〈…〉 40. 〈◊〉 131. God is more admirable in sparing then punishing because Cedit iure suo in the one Exigit in the other read Hosea 1.6 Wisd 12. It is our riches to exact our debts but Gods to forgiue his What bowels then had these Apostles that would so repay wrong with reuenge a Iesse wrong with so sharpe a reuenge for it was but a common discourtesie which for many yeares the Samaritans bad vsed towards all the Iewes and that out of no other malice then such as proceeded from a rooted ignorance they were then rather to be pâ—tied for their ignorance then thus to be hated for their malice But I see now the truth of King Dauids answere to the Prophet Gad when he was offered his choice of three plagues Famine 〈…〉 Pessilence or the Sword I am in a wonderfull straight Let vs fall now into the hand of the Lord for his mercies are great and let not mee fall into the hands of men for men are bowelles euen Iames and Iohn which asking fire shew themselues to be worse then fire for as Chrysostome obserueth Fire can stay it selfe if God commaund though it be the nature of fire to burne as appeareth in the case of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego but men though it be contrary to their nature as appeares in that it is painefull to be furious and rage cannot hold though God lay his commandement vpon them The voluntary Agent whose property it should be Statuere actiont suae modum becomes a naturall Et agit ad extremum potentiae suae Vnto whom I say no more but this Wouldest thou O man that God should so deale with thee and send fire such a fire so soone as thou deniest entertainment vnto him Thou wouldest not see then how euery man desireth mercy for himselfe the tenderest mercy but for his enemy Iustice the extreamest Iustice and because it is so Seneca's rule is good Irascenti tibi nihil volo licere quia dum irasceris omnia putas licere In a word the Apostles offend twice first in that being Pastors they desire a corporall reuenge Secondly in that being Christians they desire so sharpe a reuenge Nazianzene thinks they wished for the fire of Sodome Sharpe it is but it is not singular though they haue no Rule yet they haue an Example for it Elias did so In this Chapter is report made of the Transsiguration of Christ wherein appeared Moses and Elias â— Moses the meekest of men Elias a seuere man they saw them both but see whom they remember they might haue remembred Moses and so haue intreated Christ not to take iust displeasure at so bad vsage if he had beene feeling of his owne wrongs but while he is calme they storme and they colour their passion by Elias his example So prone is our nature to imitation and in imitation to pitch vpon the worst The knowledge of Rules is too painefull few will study them and know good and euill by them men take a shorter course and thinke that well done wherein they are like vnto others So liueth the most part of the world and careth not much for any farther enquiry into their actions But when they fall vpon examples according to which they square themselues their liues commonly are exemplifications of the worst It is the obseruation of a very leud Writer but heerein hee hath deliuered a remarkable truth When men read the liues of good men they read them with content and cannot without detestation read the liues of those that are bad yet when they are but to expresse whom they wil be like they forget their owne vpright iudgment and yeeld themselues to their inordinate Passions Certainely these Apostles not so much out of iudgement as out of rage chose rather to bee liâ—e Elias then Moses and wherein are they better then the Samaritans For the Samaritans ranne vpon the same ground that they did they called for fire because Elias did and the Samaritans had the same argument They would not receiue Christ because their Fathers had not vsed to to do it Certainely in the
inward man and frame that and worke it vnto sinne by questioning the truth wherein it is setled Eccles 7.20 God saith the Preacher made man right that is set him in the right way and set him vpright in his way But man sought out many inuentions what those inuentions were Salomon in that Booke expresseth in his owne person where he sheweth that he was Ambulans in Consilio he tooke a taste of all courses but could rest vpon none of them Cap. 5◠vers 20. the Prophet Esay compares wicked men to the restlesse seas Cap. 1◠c. 8. Saint Iames saith that they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 men that can no where take sure footing And how should they that haue left a rocke to walke vpon the sands Vers 13. Saint Iude calleth them wandring starres and indeed nothing can better resemble them then a Planet who is sometime in coniunction with one star and somtime with another and varieth according to his coniunction and the world is at this day ful of these walkers in Counsell 2. Tim. 4.3 2. Tim. 3.7 persons hauing itching eares who are euer learning and neuer come to the knowledge of the truth And this breeds so many Sects in the world wherewith our Church as others hath beene and is not a little disquieted And yet mistake not I fauour not the blinde obedience or implicite faith where vnto the Church of Rome enthrals the consciences of her followers and makes them seale their Vow of obstinacie with the most sacred obligations of Oathes and Sacraments whereupon our Recusants are become like deafe Adders Psal 58.4 5. that stop their eares and wil not heare the Charmer charme hee neuer so wisely did wee teach any other doctrine then that which God first deliuered in Paradise and hath since vnfolded by his Prophets and Apostles from whence the world degenerated and whereunto we recall it they did well to stop their eares as our people shall doe well to stop their eares against them because they draw not vnto God but from him but it is one thing to forbid irresolutenesse when a man is assured of Gods will warranted by his Word such as was in Eue Gen. 3. Gen. 6. when she conferred with the Serpent and the Sonnes of God when they would needs be acquainted with the daughters of men and in the Israelites when they would learne the manners of other nations another thing to forbid that irresolutenesse which was in Nicodemus Nathaniel in Gamaliel when they began to stagger and could not presently resolue whither that they were with others to oppose Christ or else leaue their former course and become the Disciples of Christ neither of those courses being at the first assured to their consciences The Papists forbid this latter irresolutenesse when neither way is knowne to be right which irresolutenesse causeth a man to enquire and finde out that which is right we forbid the former irresolutenesse where one way is knowne to be right the other to be wrong which will bring a man from a sound resolution to an irresolution Certainely if we doe so walke in Counsell we haue receiued the seed of sinne Our lesson then must be this When God hath set vs in a right way neuer to aduise whether it bee good to take another way if wee doe then this ill seed of bad counsell sowen in the inward man will fructifie and shoot forth in the outward man Corrumpunt bonos more 's colloquia praua Ill counsell will corrupt good manners He that takes this kinde of counsell when he comes to resolue resolues commonly vpon the worse he will not stand in the right way though hee will stand in a way so it befell Rehoboam he heard the Ancients and hee heard the Youths 1. Kings 12 hee that had so little wit as to heare both had so bad a will as to follow the worse the like befell Ahab 1. Kings 2◠who was contented to heare as well the true Prophet as the false concerning his iourney to Ramoth Gilead but when he came to resolue he gaue more credit to the false than to the true the verie same befell the Iewes deliberating what way to take Ierem. 42. whether to goe into Aegypt or abide in Iudea they asked Ieremie hee aduised them to abide in Iudea and that it was Gods will they should doe so they aske others they aduise them to goe into Aegypt Ierem. 43. and with contempt of Gods pleasure they obstinately did so But why doe I seeke for proofe to these stories Looke to the first deliberation that is of record that of Eue with the Serpent and iudge therby how dangerous it is at all to deliberate in such a case that first deliberation hath giuen vs a wofull proofe that he that doth Ambulare in Consilio improborum will stare in viâ peccatorum Saint Paul hath a rule Rom. 1.21 Rom. 1. that it is too naturall for men to bee vaine in these Dialogismes our foolish heart will be darkned and when we striue to be most wise we shall prooue most sottish well may we stand in a Way to make some triall of the Counsell that is giuen vs but it is more then likely that our Way will be the way of sinners And it were well if we bore only this fruit there is yet a much worse which is the Sitting downe in the seate of the scorners When the heart becommeth so corrupt that it depraueth the principles of Conscience and our iudgement is so peruerted that we speake good of euill and euill of good call darknesse light and light darknesse then wee are come so farre as to beare this second ill fruit But the phrase imports two things By Sitting in the Chaire it is meant that men proceede so sarre in Sinne that they become Doctors of it and the Chaire of scorners shewes that they scoffe all that are opposite to it Touching the first we must note that a sinner desireth not to bee single but as good things haue semen in speciem suam a seede for the multiplication of their kind so haue euill also The Serpent drew into his companie Eue Eue Adam the daughters of men corrupted the sonnes of God yea whatsoeuer sinne a man is giuen vnto hee desireth companie A Theise Prou. 1. an Adultresse Prou. 7. Idolaters Num. 25. The same may be obserued in others Sinners are ambitious to be teachers of their Sinne neither onely teachers of sinne but also mockers of godlinesse so Ismael dealt with Isaac the Israelites with the Prophets Gen. 21. 2. Chron. 36 the Scribes and Pharisees with Christ Saint Iude by a generall name calleth wicked men Mockers and hardly will he forbeare to scoffe at godlinesse Vers 18. that vndertakes to be an Aduocate of Sinne for whereas they are not able to resist the strength of the apparent grounds of pietie and truth they find that the best way to entertaine the fauourable
not to bee that they are they are in a much worse state and therefore are set forth in a baser resemblance they are but like chaffe that is driuen by the wind Strange doctrine the whole Text is a verie Paradox A Paradox is a truth which crosseth the common opinion of the truth of this Saying there can be no question seeing it is Gods Word but sure I am that the state of the Vngodly is commonly taken to bee much better if any surely they in this life seeme to be that Blessed Tree I haue seene saith Dauid the vngodly in great prosperitie Psal 89. and flourishing like a greene Bay tree In the second of Esay they are compared to the Cedars of Lebanon and the Okes of Basan and what a goodly Tree was Nebuchadnezzar so he is compared Dan. 4. where wee read that his top reached vp to Heauen his Branches spread to the ends of the Earth he was full loaden with fruit and all the birds of the aire did harbour in his boughes and yet the Holy Ghost saith Non sic impij the Vngodly are no Trees no Blessed Trees How then shall we proue this truth We must helpe our selues out of another Psalme The sonnes of men of low degree are but vanitie Psal 62. and men of high degree are but a lye All is not gold that glisters neither may wee mistake a painted face for Natiue Beautie He that goeth to a Play shall see on the stage Kings and Queenes and other Personages of worth in outward shew whereas indeed the persons that acted them are base and mercenarie fellowes And this world is but a great stage and the wicked are but personated Actors or Players not one appeares as hee is Or to follow the Similie of Trees which God himselfe is pleased to vse Deut. 32. the wicked are compared vnto the Vines of Sodome and Gomorrah that beare grapes in shew but the iuyce of them is nothing but gall and bitternesse yea it is deadly poyson They that write the Historie of that Countrey obserue that the fruit thereof makes great shew but when men come neere it and touch it it resolues altogether into Cinders which hapily the Wise Man meaneth when he saith that there grow Plants bearing fruit which neuer come to ripenesse Wisd 10.7 Euen such is the prosperitie of the wicked faire in shew nothing in substance The reason is plaine For seeing God onely is good and nothing good farther then it partakes of him Vngodlinesse that separates from God must needs depriue of Good and he is but a verie wretch that hath whatsoeuer else is called good if he haue it without God yea he is more wretched by so hauing what he desires then by wanting it It is Saint Austins note and there is good reason for it euen that Aphorisme in Physicke Corpora corrupta quo magis nutris eo magis laedis Hee that giueth a sicke man whatsoeuer he cals for may hapily please his taste but hee will surely encrease his disease Honour pleasure wealth make vngodly men vnhappily happy so that if you looke vpon them with the eyes of faith and not with the eyes of flesh and bloud you will acknowledge this to bee true though strange The vngodly are not what they seeme to be they seeme to be happie but indeed they are vnhappie Two wayes vnhappie For first you must strip them of true Blisse Non sic they are not like the Blessed Tree then must you cloath them with their contempt they are like the chaffe I need but touch at the former You will easily conceiue that Branch of their Miserie by measuring the Priuation by the Habit and you must iudge of the want by the desireablenesse of that which they doe want 1. God takes care of the blessed Tree Of a Tree of the field a wild Tree he maketh it a Tree of the Orchard a planted Tree Non sic impij No such care taken for the vngodly they are as Out-lawes left to themselues to grow on in the corruption of their Natures 2. The blessed Tree is planted by the Riuers of Waters it is set where it cannot want Iohn 4. 2. Cor. 12.9 on euery side it is supplied with abundance of iuice If God as the Husbandman take care of any Christ will be vnto him a Fountaine of liuing Waters his Grace will bee sufficient for him Non sic impij they drinke little of Christs spirit as they are little husbanded by Gods care 3. The blessed Tree as it receiues Good so it yeelds good againe For first it proues well it yeelds kindly Fruit. Non sic impij their Fruit is not theirs but it is the fruit of him that sets them on worke that is of the Diuell For marke The naturall fruit that our Vnderstanding should beare is Truth and that our Will should beare is Good The very Philosophers haue taught vs that Truth is the naturall Obiect of the Vnderstanding and Good of the Will but our Vnderstanding bringeth forth Lyes to deceiue vs and our Will Sinnes to giue mortall wounds vnto vs Iohn 8.44 if we bee Vngodly And what are these but the fruites of the Diuell who is a Lyar and a Murderer from the beginning 4. The blessed Tree brings forth not only kindly but timely Fruit also His good deedes are as seasonable as they are Vertuous Non sic impij The Scripture especially the Prouerbs teacheth vs that the wicked are peruerse they are peruerse in that they doe not onely what they should not but also when they should not they will feast and be frolicke Esay 22. when they should humble themselues before God and when they should be ioyfull and cheerefully serue God then will they bee discontent and fall to their teares as the Iewes when after their returne from Babylon they laide the foundation of the Temple In the Booke of Numbers you shall find Ezra 3. that when God would haue had the Israelites enter into Canaan then they would backe againe into Aegypt and when God would not haue them goe then they would needs hasten into Canaan 5. The blessed Tree beares not onely Fruit but Leaues A good man cloatheth his good deeds with good Circumstances Non sic impij If happily an vngodly man vndertake a good matter he wil marre it in the manner of doing of it if he giue he will doe it churlishly if he reproue hee will doe it vncharitably if he Pray hee will doe it hypocritically finally whatsoeuer hee doth he will doe it vntowardly and so his Good doth no good and so proues no Good at all 6. Finally the blessed Tree is as well approued as it proues well When a good man doth good it pleaseth God and it profits men and they haue Comfort of it themselues Non sic impij God abhorreth them as being vnlike vnto him and to men they are as odious as they are mischieuous Finally they can take litle true content in themselues
iudge our selues wee should not be iudged of the Lord. Yet may we not corrupt this Doctrine as the Church of Rome doth by ouer-valewing mans Penetencie and esteeming it to bee Satisfactorie Satisfactorie I say Dignitatesuâ for any worth that is in it though it may goe for Satisfactorie Dignatione Diuinâ because God is pleased to rest contented with it Paululum supplicij satis est Patri to the Indulgence of a Father small sparkles of Grace make a good satisfaction for a great fault committed by a Child but he were a gracelesse Child that would so mis-conster his Fathers good nature as to deeme a few sorrowing teares a full ransome of his offence Our condition of being Gods children by faith in Christ and the affection of God respecting vs in Christ as his Children are the true ground why God requires no more of vs and he that instead of this Relation plods vpon a proportion betweene his Repentance and Gods vengeance doth not onely corrupt a comfortable Doctrine by his errour but for his pride deserueth to forfeit Gods gracious Pardon Let vs keepe the right path neither ouer-valewing Godly sorrow neither yet neglecting it seeing God hath vouchsafed it so comfortable an effect Let vs all especially you that are the Penitents be feeling of our Miserie that God may releeue vs with his Mercie And let this suffice concerning the Inference I come now to the Amplification to consider so much of it as is contained in this Verse here I told you King Dauid doth display the malignitie of his Sinne. Malignitie is a vexing Euill therefore in the Sin here specified we must obserue first the Euill and then the Vexation thereof and we find a double Euill noted by the two Names that are giuen to the Sinne I haue on former Verses spoken of these words but the present occasion hath made me looke farther into them and obserue moreouer that which is not vnworthy of our knowledge These words then will teach vs that Sinnes especially if they be enormous haue plaine Characters of the Diuell Hee is resembled to a Serpent and to a Lion in regard of the first Christ calleth him a Lier Iohn 8.44 in regard of the last a Murderer and where he instils Sinne hee leaueth the steps of either of these of his Lying in the errour of Mens Iudgements of his Murdering in the Rebelliousnesse of their Affections the second of these is noted by Peshang Lawlesnesse the first by Chata aberration from the scope where at we ayme he desireth not to haue men to halfes he endeauoureth to venome both the fountaines of the reasonable Soule and soldome shall you find a man misled in his Iudgement whose Affections are not violent See the truth of this first in Moralitie then in Diuinitie Let a man bee giuen to Drunkennesse if the Serpent haue taken him by the Head and made him conceiue that that beastly qualitie doth well beseeme a man the Lyon will take him by the Heart and hee will grow mad against those that will not bee as mad as himselfe the bloud that is shed in quarrels of this nature are too dayly proofes of this Truth For vnchastitie you neede no better euidence then the storie of the Sodomites 〈◊〉 1. it is no great matter to gather proofes touching other Morall defects but the occasion remembreth me especially to instance in matters of Diuinitie here you shall see if euer that the enemie of mankind hath left the markes of either of his Persons How the Serpent preuailed against the Pharisees hee knoweth not the Gospell that doth not know Christ doth therein discouer manifold errours of their Iudgement and that the Roaring Lyon had entred their Hearts is witnessed by their persecuting of Christ and his Apostles how fouly the Arians were deceiued concerning the Deitie of Christ we read in the storie of the first Nicene Councell and in the Ecclesiasticall storie we read how barbarous how bloudy they were as the Serpent had bit them so the Lyon raged in them come on to the Papists is not their erronious Iudgement accompanied with most furious Affections As they are not ashamed to put the Diuels properties into their Creede teaching an Art of periurious Lying and Meritorious Murdering so doe they act them both publishing Lyes by their tongues and pennes and practising Murders by their inchanted Assasinates the Gunpowder-treason is a Monument hereof to their eternall infamie The Anabaptists came fairely after them whose opinions were not more grosse then their dealing seditious not so few as a hundred thousand persons perished while with their Rebellious sword they laboured to make good the forgerie of their braine they made it plaine that as well the Lyon as the Serpent had taken possession of them This the Germaine stories relate at large And our owne stories will tell vs that wee haue not wanted some that haue beene kinne vnto them Hackets Coppingers and others that though they haue not gone so farre yet had gone farther then beseemes those whose profession is truth and practise should bee obedience they haue receiued nay they haue vented some thing of the Serpent and some thing of the Lyon I thinke you see by this time what I meane I meane to lance the sores of these Penitents to let it appeare that the Serpent hath got into their Head and the Lyon into their Hearts They haue had a false light that deluded their Iudgement and an vnkind heat that hath warmed their Affections they haue scanted Gods bountie in permitting vnto vs the vse of his creatures and entertained a Iewish conceit of the vnlawfulnesse of eating bloud And as their opinions haue beene erroneous in regard of Christian libertie so haue they beene also concerning Ecclesiasticall societie thinking they may seperate themselues from the Church if those whom they esteeme irreligious liuers be not excommunicated by Ecclesiasticall censures yea so farre hath the Serpent preuailed as to make them if not denie at least to doubt of the Lawfulnesse of the Leiturgie the Ministrie yea to question the very Root of all the Ecclesiasticall Authoritie both of Prince and Pastors So farre hath the Serpent beene with them And if He get in before the Lyon will follow after and indeede he hath followed in them for what Auctoritie haue they not set at naught Ecclesiasticall Ciuill either of them more then once and trod vpon them more waies then one and how Lyon-like they would haue beene if they had had power answerable to their will God knoweth the proofe wee haue had of others may make vs iustly suspect the worst This onely I wish them to take to themselues that in their Sinne there was this double Euill and if they do not therein discerne this dou ble Euill they doe not as they ought looke into their Sinne which not withstanding they should doe because so to doe is the first step of Repentance The second step doth consider the vexation that doth accompanie this Euill
our nature and so farre as it doth diminish it of something maketh it nothing for nothing can truly be sayd to be farther then it is partaker of God of the being which he giueth vnto it who only can say I am that I am Besides the Truth that is opposed to Vanity there is another which is opposed to Hypocrisie and that is the correspondency of our outward actions to our inward affections for as our outward affections must haue their stamp from God so must they endeauour to print their true stampe vpon our Actions for as the seede that is sowne in the ground beareth the like seede aboue ground and the fruit is not vnlike the Tree no more should it be in our moralities wee should not sustayne one person in our bosome and another in our countenance bee painted sepulchers full of dead mens bones we should be Iacobs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 plaine men Nathaniels without all guile Mat. 23.17 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Basil 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Chrysostome the character of an honest man is to be single minded Gen. 25.27 single tongued he that hath a heart and a heart a tongue and a tongue hath not truth in his inward parts This being the nature of Sincerity if wee will try the world by it I thinke we may iustly breake out in to King Dauids complaint in another Psalme Helpe Lord there is not a godly man left Veraces defecêrunt a filijs hominum truth is perished from among the sons of men the periuries which are frequent at Assizes and Sessions Psal 12.1 the deceit of Citizens which haue denominated deceit it selfe for from them is astutia deriued quia nihil lucrantur nisi admodùm mentiuntur whose thrift is fitly called craft because did they not circumueÌ„r they would come short of much of their wealth As for Statesmen all Chronicles do witnesse that they vse the Foxes case more frequently then the Lions skin and Policie is one of the words that is degenerated from a laudable to an infamous signification and is become a Synonymon for Machiauelisme This is the cause that Leagues and Contracts though confirmed with neuer so religious bonds are rather snares whereby one State seeketh to intrap another then pledges of their mutuall security But the quintessence of all falshood is the Popish Aequiuocation and Mentall Reseruation then which the Diuell neuer hatched a more pestilent fraud to bane Societies and desame Christian Religion The reason of all these obliquities and aberrations from Truth is for that euery man squareth vnto himselfe a measure of his owne but that measure of Sincerity which here God hath squared out is euery where neglected The Papist hee maketh the Catholique cause his measure the Politician his Greatnesse the Citizen his wealth the Iurour the preseruing of his Customes or pleasuring his friends these and some such like to these cautions and conditions doth the world patch vnto Truth without which they will not entertayne it The way to reforme all is to trie our Sincerity by the rule here set down by truth in the inward parts first that Truth that is opposed vnto Vanitie for hereby must wee correct our inward affections reduce them to the temper which God first gaue them and keepe them within the bounds which Gods Law doth set vnto them and when we haue done this then must we come on to the Truth that is opposed to Hypocrisâ—y let our conuersation be the looking glasse of our affections and let not any thing appeare in the Outward man that is not in the inward so shall wee be sincere wee shall haue truth in our inward parts And let this suffice for the nature of Sincerity Such Sincerity is of great regard that appeareth first in the Affection wherewith it is entertained The Affection is Desire and Desire is a compound affection of Louing and wishing for wee cannot desire that which we doe not loue and what wee loue if wee want it for that wee wish so that Sincerity is a louely thing And indeed how can it choose but be louelie that holdeth together all Societies Domesticall Politicke Ecclesiasticall without which iealousies must needs arise and so destruction follow euery man commits himselfe securely to him in whom he suspecteth no guile as where he doth suspect it hee thinketh himselfe safest when he hath least to doe Secondly as it is louely where it is so where it is not there it is longed for for man being by nature sociable cannot but wish for that qualitie in euery man without which there can be no society therefore those whom otherwise wee hate because wee cannot but haue to doe with them wee wish them all this Vertue Truth in the inward parts which should make all sorts of persons carefull to nurture those that are committed to their charge Parents their Children Masters their Seruants Pastors their People Magistrates their Subiects in this Vertue and sharpely to correct their pronenesse to the contrary the World groaneth vnder the mischiefes of falshood yet as if it yeelded no mischiefe euery where may you find a Schoole thereof 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 euery such master breedeth such a scholar as maketh him a proofe that he hath profited in his Art But the Affection only doth not shew the regard it is improued much by the Person in whom this Affection is found I shewed you that Sincerity is louely and longed for but it skilleth much who the Person is that loueth it and longeth for it for our nature is corrupt and with our nature our affections wee mistake euill for good and we misplace our affections often vpon euill rather then good It is not so with God as hee is so he affecteth he is most Holy and such are his Desires also what he loueth is louely indeed because he cannot loue amisse and what he longeth for that we want because if we did not want it he could not long for it And indeed he must needs loue Sincerity because it is the Image of himselfe for he is Truth and there is nothing counterfeit either in him or from him yea his Truth is the ground of all our Faith our Hope our Charity were it not for that these could haue no ground Faith could haue no ground without his Truth in promising Hope could haue no ground without his Truth in performing Charity could haue no ground without his Truth in louing Therefore there is Truth in him and who what is in Him he loueth in others for euery thing delights in his like when God had made all things and beheld that they were good he presently kept a Sabaoth which importeth nothing else but the sweet content that he tooke in the worke of his owne hands If in all things specially in those that did best resemble him and he is resembled in nothing more then in diuine vertue so that Sincerity must needs bee exceeding louely in his Holy Eyes As it is louely so it
calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is that which executeth what the commanding part resolueth The word in the Originall signifieth either Directum or Erectum that which keepeth right forward or standeth vpright The actiue power of our soule is subiect to two defects it may straggle out of the way through rashnes or stagger in the way through faintnes while we are in the way allurements of diuers kinds draw vs into by-pathes we are set vpon by the crafty serpent and if that succeed not then with terrors wee are startled and made either to come to a stand or else to march cowardly The cure of all this is a right Spirit when God is pleased by grace to set strait steps vnto our feete and strengthen our feeble knees so that wee step not aside out of the way nor halt in the way our Spirit is directus it keepes good correspondency with our iudgement and executeth no more then it hath in charge and it is also erectus it bends no more then our affections doeâ— whether it pursue or encounter any thing resolued vpon by the soueraigne part it sheweth continually a religious stayednesse Finally whereas grace maketh a double cure one on our Heart and another on our Spirit and the regeneration of our Spirit is but an attendant vpon the regeneration of our Heart wee may not diminish the number of the parts nor inuert the order but when wee will trie our selues whether and how farre wee are regenerated wee must looke into our inwards see how we finde our selues there but specially to these fountaines of life the Heart and the Spirit see whether grace command in the Heart before the Heart command and that it may season our workes well whether it selfe bee seasoned first with grace and hauing taken this suruey of the Heart wee must come on to the Spirit and see whether our execution be as holy as our resolution if grace preserue vs from mis-guiding allurements and support vs against disheartning affrightments then is our Spirit as right as our Heart is cleane both are regenerated by the Spirit of grace The Fathers vnderstand here a double grace not onely the grace of Regeneration whereof you haue heard but the grace of Prophesie also wherewith King Dauid was endued as appeare in his Psalmes wherein are many excellent Prophesies It was no small griefe vnto him to haue that diuine influence suspended and to haue withdrawne from him those heauenly Reuelations therfore they conceiue the words thus Dauid desired a cleane Heart that so hee might haue a right Spirit for Blessed are the pure in heart they shall see God saith Christ Mat. 5.8 Wis 1.1.5 and the holy spirit of discipline will not abide in a soule when vnrighteousnesse commeth in The holy spirit of Prophesie is long since ceased and wee cannot be depriued of that which we neuer had but of this we may be sure that sin in our heart doth not a little bleare our eyes when we come to consider of Gods truth in his word and endeauour though not our selues to be yet to vnderstand those that were vndoubted Prophets But enough of Regeneration so farre as this Text doth teach vs what it is I come on to shew you briefly the last point of the Text which is Whence it proceeds It proceeds from God of him King Dauid beggeth it Create in me a cleane heart O God and well may he aske it of him for God doth promise the gift of this grace A new heart will I giue you and a new spirit will I put into you saith God Eze. cap. 36. and S. Paul in his Epistles doth often direct his prayers for these vnto God â—t how then doth Eze. c. 18. bid vs make vnto our selues new hearts and new spirits and Moses in the Law Deut. 10. bids vs circumcise the fore-skin of our hearts Surely not to note our power but our want that out of the conscience thereof we should seeke vnto the father of Lights from whom commeth euery good and perfect gift Iam. 1.17 Or if it be to note any power of ours it is but power to vse the outward meanes but the effect wished hath a higher cause which is the Spirit of God And indeed the true cause why the Holy Ghost speaketh so differenly sometimes calling vpon vs and sometimes willing vs to call vpon God is because Gods inward worke is seldome without our outward though the honour which God doth to the vse of the meanes must not derogate ought from Gods totall producing of the effects The more to be blamed is the Church of Rome who by aduancing the meanes impaire that honour which is due vnto God Let it stand then for a grounded Truth that Regeneration is the gift of God As it is Gods gift so it is no ordinary gift of his it is a worke of his great might and of his great mercy of his great might for it is a Creation Creation is either to make something of nothing or at least if that whereof it is made be something yet that thing hath no disposition to become that which it is made if you looke to the gift that is giuen by Regeneration surely that is made simply of nothing it is an effect that proceeds immediately from the Spirit who hath nothing out of which to worke that effect but his owne almighty power for non educiturè potentia naturae nature sendeth forth no such fruit If you looke vpon the Person that receiueth the grace then also Regeneration will proue to be a Creation for so farre is he from being disposed fitly to receiue grace Rom 8.7 Is 11.6 that hee is naturally opposite vnto it the wisedome of the flesh is enmity against God so saith the Apostle and the Prophet will tell vs that regenerating is like the changing of the nature of Tygers Lyons and Wolues c. a hard worke Saint Austin goeth so farre that hee thinketh it a harder matter to bring a sinner accustomed to an euill course into a right way then to create a world especially to bring him to entertaine the Christian faith which is foolishnes to the Gentile and a stumbling blocke to the Iew. The more absurd is the patronage of free will in the case of new birth the very word Creation doth refute it 1. Cor. 1.23 2. Cor. 5. Eph. 4. which Saint Paul vseth more then once and thereby both Testaments put vs in mind that wee can doe as little towards our spirituall creation as we could towards our naturall in regard of both we may vse that of the Psalm It is God that hath made vs and not we our selues both waies made vs by the power of a God Neither is it onely a worke of great power but of great mercy also that is intimated by the word Renew pulchre dixit innoua saith S. Chrysostome it is well said renew the house was built before which sinne ruined and grace doth re-edifie and indeed that this
but it is also a word which the Prophets doe vse in foretelling the miracles of Christ for he was amongst other things to open the mouthes of the Dumbe and in the Gospell working such a cure hee vseth the word Ephata 〈…〉 be thou opened loosing the tongue by the eare But we must vnderstand that in the corporall cure there was an intimation of the spirituall and indeede Christ had neuer come into the world to cure the corporall had it not beene thereby to bring vs to an higher conceite of him that he was the Physitian of our soules and came to enable them to speake the language of Canaan And this is the opening of the lippes which King Dauid here desires This is a great worke great in regard of the difficultie that is in the thing 〈◊〉 6 or the inabilitie that is in vs. There is a difficultie in the thing for we cannot praise God farther then we know him but how little a portion is heard of him 〈…〉 We may speake much saith the sonne of Syracke yet come short when we glorifie the Lord exalt him as much as wee can for euen yet will he sarre exceede and when you exalt him put forth all your strength and be not wearie for you can neuer goe farre enough There are yet hid greater things then these be Psal 14â— 13 for we haue seene but a few of his workes Dauid in few words tels vs that his praise is aboue Heauen and earth that is the conclusion which he sets downe after he had summoned all creatures to praise the Lord. Seeing God then is aboue all praise it is certaine that he cannot bee worthily praised of vs by reason of the difficultie of the worke But were there lesse difficultie in that yet is there great inabilitie in vs inabilitie from our Affections inabilitie from our Conscience From our Affections there are two preualent ones that hinder vs in this worke first Spes Lucri secondly Metus periculi the wages of iniquitie will hire a Balaam a Iudas ro curse Gods people the subiect of Gods praise and though he be the top of Gods praise to betray the Sauiour of the world how many in all Ages haue beene so farre bewitch with worldly honour and profit Haue fallen downe and worshipped the Idoll of mens fancies and blasphemed God and his truth The hopc of gaine is a great tongue tie The feare of danger is a greater the verie Apostles themselues fot a time felt the strength thereof and after their time it made many Renegadoes and Apostata's Iob 2.4 Skin for skinne and all that a man hath will he giue for his life he will redeeme that though it be with cursing of God himselfe the world hath had had too many spectacles of such feare of danger But if we can master both these vnruly Affections yet will the conscience of sinne be a bridle to our tongues it will make vs silent In Leuit. c 13. or put vs to silence Cyril of Alexandria moralizing those words of Moses that he that is a Leaper shall haue his mouth couered saith that he which is in the leaprosie of sinne hath lost all authoritie of speaking for how should he teach another that hath not taught himselfe Comment in Nazian Psal 137.3 And Nicètas to this purpose wittily allegorizeth those words of the Psalme How shall we sing the Lords song in a strange land A sinner is truely a stranger and hee that is in the state of sinne is farther from God then Babylon from Hierusalem therefore doth his conscience tell him that he is in no case to make melodie to the Lord. Certainely Chap. 6. Esay when in a vision he heard the Seraphins sing the Lords song Holy Holy Lord God of Hoasts heauen and earth are full of thy glorie was thereby put in mind of the fault of his owne lippes and the lippes of the Iewes which made him crie out Woe is me that am a man of polluted lippes and dwell in the middest of a people of polluted lippes neither was he quiet vntill a Seraphin touched his lippes with a coale from the Altar But put the case some man may be so foole-hardie that though he be a sinner yet will he not be silent he shall bee put to silence the vncleane spirit gaue glorie vnro Christ when he said I know thee who thou art the Holy one of God But Iesus rebuked him saying hold thy peace Marke 2. and Saint Paul refused the testimonie of a spirit of diuination Acts 16. though hee spake honourably of him and of his followers these men are the seruants of the most high God which shew vnto vs the way of saluation yet did hee command him out of the Damsell and suffered him to speake no more Neither is this checke giuen onely to wicked spirits but euen vnto euerie wicked man saith God What hast thou to doe to declare my statutes Psal 50. or that thou shouldest take my Couenant in thy mouth seeing thou hatest instruction Eccles 15.9 and hast cast my words behind thee Praise is not comely in the mouth of a sinner for he that is vnholy doth defile that which is holy Hagga 2.82 therefore no man may presume to touch sacred things with prophane hands nor with a prophane tongue to speake sacred words By this time you perceiue that the shewing forth of the praises of God is a great worke and whether wee looke vpon the difficultie that is in the thing or the inabilitie that is in man Dauid had reason to pray Aperilabia open my lippe But to whom doth he pray To the Lord Lord open thou my Lippes And he hath a good ground to pray so Proueth 16 1. Solomon teacheth that the preparation of the heart is from man but the answere of the tongue is from the Lord he is the key-keeper of our mouth if he shut no body can open and if he open no body can shut â—â—â—d 4. God tels Moses that this is his power Who maketh mans mouth or who maketh the dumbe haue not I the Lord And verily were it no more but our naturall speech that we desire wee must seeke it of him Acts 17 2â— in whom onely we liue moue and haue our being and who in the person of Zacharie sheweth Luke 1 that hee giueth and taketh away euen that speech at his pleasure How much more must we accompt him to be the fountaine of our supernaturall speech Certainely Christ giueth the glorie thereof vnto him 〈◊〉 50. Actâ— 2 the Lord saith he hath giuen me the tongue of the learned and it was from God that the fierie tongues descended vpon the Apostles Psal 8.2 and inabled them to speake it is God that out of the mouthes of babes and sucklings hath perfected praise Men may be otherwise satis loquaces of eloquent of free speech who when they come to the seruice of God seeme to be
loue of God The abundance of their ioy and their deepe pouertie abounded to the riches of their liberalitie for to their power I beare them record saith Saint Paul and beyond their power were they willing of themselues such must be our disposition The rather because all diuision of our abilities is a plaine abandoning of the loue of God for no man can serue two masters as Christ telleth vs if he loue the one he will hate the other two loues if one be good and the other bad 〈◊〉 Medâ—tat cap. 5. cannot stand together Take an example or two The sonnes of God that is those that did loue God fell in loue with the daughters of men what issue had they Giants 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as fought against God The Samaritans worshipped both the God of Israel and the Assyrians Idols and they were the most deadly enemies of Ierusalem Neuer haue you seene an hereticke that is a person that professeth partly the truth and partly errour but he turneth a bloudy persecutor of the Truth and he that loueth God and the World out of his loue to the World will doe the greatest dishonour hee can to God This is the reason why God will haue All or None Ananias and Saphira were stricken with suddaine death for with-holding a part of that whole substance which they freely vowed to God and which had it not beene for their vow they might haue disposed at their pleasure And if the embeseling of so small a matter due vpon no other ground then vpon a free Vow receiued so heauâ—e a doome of how much sorer punishment shal we be worthy if we with-hold our better things which vpon a more necessarie vow are due vnto God As for the Remisnesse that also is followed with a curse for cursed is he that doth the worke of the Lord negligently Iere. 4â— 10 Reuel 3.16 and Christ will spue out of his mouth all those that are but luke warme that are neither hot nor cold God loueth none but zealously cheerefull Louers and lesse then an entire dedication of all our faculties will not please him But mistake not all other things besides God are not excluded from our Loue if they were how should we loue our Neighbour whom notwithstanding in this Text wee are commanded to loue Wherefore for the farther vnderstanding of this Intirenesse of our loue of God wee must not take other things Oppositè but Compositè we must exclude nothing from our loue that doth not enter into competition with God and oppose it selfe against the loue of God Secondly if there bee any thing that may be beloued ioyntly with God it must not be taken as Coordinatum but Subordinatum it must not share equally with God but keepe its distance and receiue our loue by a reflexion from God Excellent is that which Saint Austine hath to this purpose Totum quicquid aliud diligendum venerit in mentem illuc rapiatur quo totius dilectionis impetus currit and Minus te amat Domine qui tecum aliquid amat quod propter te non amat Thirdly vpon this Inequalitie must our loue ground an vnequall estimate of things and we must loue God aboue all appretiatiuè we must account all in comparison of God to be but as dung to be verie losse Finally according to the estimate must the heat of our affection bee wee must loue God aboue all intensiuè also wee must loue other things as fit to be vsed not fit to be enioyed yea we must vse all the world as if we vsed it not but we must loue God as him whome wee would not onely vse but enioy also yea so enioy that we may bee able to say with King Dauid Psal 73. Whom haue I in heauen but thee and there is none on earth that I desire with thee My flesh and my heart faileth but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for euer when wee attaine hereunto though wee loue other things beside God yet wee loue God as wee ought for we will as Salomon biddeth vs thinke vpon him in all our wayes But I may not forget that though I seeme to haue said much of our loue of God yet there is a limitation exprest in the Text though All bee required yet no other All then that which can bee performed by man for it is all thy heart thy minde thy strength c. wee may not expect that wee should bee able to loue God according to his owne worth but wee must loue him to the vttermost of our power Onely God can loue God as hee is worthie so the Father loueth the Sonne the Sonne the Father and the holy Ghost both but a finite creature can haue but a finite vertue which can beare no proportion vnto God who is infinite as also is his goodnesse which is all one with himselfe This serueth to checke all pride which thinketh that by louing it can demerit God well may hee vouchsafe to accept our poore endeauors but the best come short of deseruing ought at Gods hands especially when the heart minde c. though they bee called ours yet are they nothing but his gifts as before you haue heard and so are all their endowments namely this of Loue. And if wee cannot merit by loue much lesse can wee supererogate in louing for who can giue God more then is due that learneth by this Text that All is due vnto God Praetererogate haply we may in some indifferent thing which God leaueth to our choyce although that choyce also must bee guided by the generall end whereat all our actions must ayme and the abilitie which wee haue receiued of God whereof if we imploy not the one to the other well may God bee indulgent to our weaknesse in choosing certainly it deserueth no commendation But as for the Act of louing so farre is it off that wee can supererogate any thing that wee cannot so much as praetererogate a iot therein I haue opened the Measure wherewith wee must loue the Lord our God the perfection the degree thereof but I doubt I haue not done it so popularly and plainly as that euery one doth conceiue mee and can try his owne loue by that which hee hath heard and discerne when it is come to this straine I will therefore propose from the mouth of our Sauiour Christ certaine plaine Rules which are for the capacitie of the meanest hearer which if he apply vnto himselfe he may thereby guesse at the pitch of his loue The first is He that loueth father mother wife children c. Mat. 10. Mat. 19 20. Luc. 14.26 more then me is not worthy of me The second Hee that forsaketh not father mother wife children c. The third Hee that hateth not father mother wife children c. hee cannot be my Disciple There bee many things and persons as you heard before which we are allowed to loue but we must loue them onely vntill they come
the onely reason why I must loue my selfe And this will lead vs to another note Christ saith that wee must loue our neighbour as our selfe but not for our selfe that were amor concupiscentiae but ours must bee amor amicitiae hee that loueth for himselfe ceaseth to loue 2. Cor. 12. if he cannot and when he doth not speed of his owne benefit but hee that can say with Saint Paul Quaero vos non vestra will say with him Idem I will loue you though the more I loue the lesse I am beloued Such loue is a stable loue like that of Booz towards Ruth whereof Naomi said the man will not be at rest vntill he hath finished the matter But yet obserue that though a man must loue his neighbour rather for his neighbours sake then for his owne that loueth him yet must hee not doe it so much for his neighbours sake as for Gods towards whom hee must bend all his neighbours loue as being the vpshot of humane felicitie This which I haue obserued in thesi or in generall concerning our neighbour must bee applyed in hypothesi and fitted to euery degree of neighbours Though they be knit together by naturall or ciuill obligations which yeeld reason of lower degrees of loue yet must not Christians rest there they must improue their loue vntil they haue brought it as high as this measure of grace Parents loue their children Gouernours those that are commited to their charge Citizens Friends loue each the other but whatsoeuer else causeth this loue wee loue them not as our selues except first hauing qualified our selues with the loue of God we qualifie them therewith also It is a question whether As bee a note of similitude or equality so that it is enough to loue our neighbour with such a loue as wee loue our selues though not with so great A needlesse question if Christs words bee vnderstood as I haue opened them If you take them in the first sense as the measure of our mutuall loue is dictated by the light of Nature there can be no doubt but the measure must be equall for how can I suppose my selfe in another mans state and him in mine and in reason deale any iot worse with him then I would haue him leale with me if the case were altered to scant the measure if it were but in the least graine is plaine philautie or corrupt loue of a mans selfe Take the measure in that sense which is dictated by Grace and that will admit no inequalitie of loue for should I loue the loue of God in any man lesse then I doe in my selfe that would sauour of enuy at the least if not implerie for I should haue an euill eye when God is good yea I should not as I ought take comfort in the highest aduancement of the honour of God The Scripture teacheth vs to doe farre otherwise A new Commandement giue I vnto you saith Christ that you loue one another as I haue loued you that you also loue one another Ioh 13. Now you know how Christ loued vs and gaue himselfe for vs forgetting as it were all the content that hee tooke in his owne Holines and Happines that he might promote ours Saint Iohn applies it to vs 1. Ioh. 3. Hereby perceiue we the loue of God because hee laid downe his life for vs and we ought to lay downe our liues for the Brethren Take an instance in Saint Paul Phil. 2. If I be offered vpon the sacrifice and seruice of your faith that is in working and increasing it I ioy and reioyce with you all for the same cause also doe you ioy and reioyce with mee Or if this instance doe not satisfie because that Saint Pauls death which hee wished was a martyrdome and though hee preferred the loue of the Brethren before his corporall life yet therein he manifested the greater loue to God for higher in his loue to God during this life a man cannot ascend then willingly to bee a Martyr to to seale Gods truth with his bloud and confirme the faith of the Church Rom 9. S. Paul hath another of a higher straine concerning the loue of our neighbour which be vtterth with a sad Preface testifying that hee is earnest and well aduised I say the truth in Christ I lie not my Conscience also bearing me witnesse in the Holy Ghost that I haue great heauines and continuall sorrow in my heart for I could wish that my selfe were accursed from Christ for my Brethren my Kinsmen according to the flesh Diuine brotherly Loue how dost thou transport the Apostle to whom Hell is not terrible nor the losse of Heauen grieuous so the Israelites might escape the one and obtaine the other And did hee not then loue them more then himselfe But might hee doe it and may wee imitate him herein Surely hee might without any offence to God testifie his wish because hee doth not contradict Gods decree which will not haue Holinesse vnhappie but supposing there were a posibility that a man hauing no sinne might bee subiected to those torments hee meanes that he could be contented to vndergoe euen the torments of Hell so the Israelites might haue the grace to belieue in Christ and to haue such a minde is no sinne but it bringeth Charitie to the highest pitch to which it can possibly be raised in a Creature Neither is there any reason why we may not imitate him herein seeing what was vertuous in him cannot be vicious in another man But indeed it is not to bee expected that our Charitie will euer fall into so heauenly an Ecstasis it is well if we come so farre as to loue our neighbour as our selfe although it is not improbably obserud by some vpon those passages which before I cited out of Saint Iohn that the Law which biddeth vs loue our Neighbour as our selfe could not teach perfect Charity because the Iewes being vnder age were not capable of so profound a doctrine and therefore Christ vnder the new Testament goeth farther with the Church being of ripe age and would haue Christians loue their neighbours more then themselves this is a new or Euangelicall Sicut Which being true Aquinas his conceipt followed by many Romanists must needs be false who teacheth that it is against nature moralitie and Charitie for a man to loue his neighbour more then himselfe except happily wee will distinguish betweene the inward affection and the outward action of Charitie the inward affection must be equall to all at least as great as to our selues but in outward action because it is impossible for vs to doe this good vnto all we must dispense it as farre as our abilitie will reach proportioning our indeauour according to the number and strictnesse of obligations whereby wee stand bound to persons for so is Pauls rule Galath 6. While we haue time let vs doe good to all men especially to those that are of the Houshold of faith and in
whose hands he knew he should haue no thankes for his labour So to confesse must needes be an ingenuous Confession And indeed such an ingenuous Confession doth well beseeme all in debates of Religion For it fals not out in them as it doth in the Games of Actiuitie wherein onely he that conquereth is crowned the conquered also shall haue his crowne in this case if being conuicted hee acknowledge and submit himselfe vnto the truth It were to bee wished that the World would imitate this Ingenuitie that God might forgiue vs our infirmities and giue vs grace to profit in the way of eternall life But the World is possest with a spirit of obstinacie so that men will not be perswaded though they bee perswaded nor conuicted when they are conuicted bee it in head or heart When wee deale with Papists or Anabaptists we haue too lamentable proofe hereof they carrie themselues like deafe Adders they stop their eares and will not heare the voyce of the Charmer charme he neuer so wisely But to leaue the absent and direct my speech to our selues that are present Are our Hearts better disposed then their Heads I would they were but experience teacheth that though our sinnes bee laid neuer so clearely before vs and Gods Law that condemnes them often applied close to our Conscience yet few there are that become sensible as Dauid was vpon Nathans reproofe or as the Niniuites were at the preaching of Ionas The want of this Ingenuitie is the cause why drunkards sweareas adulterers all wicked liuers notwithstanding all our instruction continue still like vnto themselues But let them take heed their obstinacie will one day cost them deare they will be put vnto a worse shame for perseuering in sinne Eccle 4 Aust Epist â—8 then euer their Repentance coulde bring vpon them You haue heard one branch of the Scribes Ingenuitie manifested in his acknowledgment of the truth when he heard it But hee doth not onely acknowledge but he doth iustifie it also hee sheweth that he is able soundly to confirme it And indeed this is compleate Ingenuitie when a man doth not onely yeeld when he hath nothing to say against the truth but also goeth farther and becomes an Aduocate thereof shewing the reason that moues him and may moue others to subscribe vnto it See how this Scribe doth it To loue God with all our heart saith he and our Neighbour as our selfe is better then all burnt offering and sacrifice Nothing could come in competition with Morall Law but the Ceremoniall giuing it then preeminence aboue the Ceremoniall he giues it absolute preeminence and so prooues Loue to be the great Commandement following herein the direction of God himselfe in Esay Osea Amos Cap. 1. Cap. 6. Cap. 5. Cap. 7. and Ieremie I haue handled this point vpon the fiftie one Psalme and therefore intend to passe by it at this time onely giuing you this rule whereby you may the better iudge of his proofe Charitie pleaseth God immediately of it selfe Sacrifices please not but in vertue of Charitie But marke how with this his Reason hee doth perstring his fellowes You know the Pharisees were for their Corban Irenie i. â— c. 323 and taught children to disobey and destitute their parents rather then not to performe their sacrifice which Doctrine of theirs this Scribe acknowledgeth to be most peruerse a fruit of couetousnesse Of whom we may learne this good lesson that we must not perfunctorily read the Scriptures but learne by them how to argue for them by knowing what is contained in them and weying what will follow vpon them Secondly marke that whereas this Questionist came as a Tempter he so profited by Christs answere that hee went away a commender of Christ which ingenuitie of his makes it probable that of himselfe hee was well disposed but carried away with ill companie of which sort no doubt but there are many in the Church of Rome many that rather follow the streame then their owne iudgement whose vnhappinesse it is to be so vnhappily yoked which must teach vs to take heed how we sort our selues with malicious aduersaries of the truth least wee become like vnto them at least be made instruments of theirs Finally obserue that Christ hath a greater conquest ouer the Pharisees then he had ouer either the Herodian or the Sadducee for he onely put them to silence so that it was left wholy to the Auditorie to iudge whether they were fully answered or no but the Scribe that thought to speed better is driuen to a harder straight hee is driuen to confesse and that before the people that Christ had answered the truth hee that thought to procure his disgrace is made the trumpet of his prayse and glorie so strangely doth God worke in the hearts and consciences of men according to that in the Psalme He receiued gifts for men euen for his enemies that the Lord God might dwell amongst them and to this purpose are his arrowes said to be verie sharpe and to pierce the hearts of the Kings enemies Psal 45. the preparation of the heart is of man but the answere of the tongue is of the Lord Baalam went to curse the Israelites God made him blesse them Saul went to take Dauid God made him prophesie of his succession the messengers went to take Christ but they returned with this commendations of him Neuer man spake as he speaketh Saul went to persecute the Christians of Damascus but on the way hee was so changed that when he came thither he preached the Gospell So doth the rage of man turne to Gods praise and the fiercenesse of their Spirits doth he refraine hee turneth Lyons into Lambes And thus much shall suffice to be spoken of the Scribes Ingenuitie I come now to Christs Clemencie the clemencie wherewith he entertained that Ingenuitie the Text saith first that he tooke notice of it he saw that he answered discreetly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word is significant as one hauing a reasonable soule The proper obiect of our vnderstanding is Truth it is naturally carried thereunto and so is the will to Good the the naturall obiect thereof But these reasonable abilities are diuerted and peruerted by our sense and sensuall appetite which beset vs and which we are desirous to please Whereupon it followes that though men be reasonable creatures yet are their resolutions for the most part carnall so that it is no small commendation for a man to bee able to sequester in his consultations the better part from the worse and notwithstanding the solicitations of the worse to follow the direction and inclination of the better as did this Scribe And what he did Christ saw his piercing eye discerned not onely the words which he spake but the fountaine also from whence they sprang otherwise he would not haue spared after his custome to haue told him plainely that hee was an hypocrite But Christ is so farre from blaming him that hee seemeth rather
his libertie out of the Loue hee bare to his Master and his Wife and Children Christ in his owne person maketh the allusion and we may accommodate it to our owne persons In a word a man doth heare Theologically when the Law which is perfect conuerteth his Soule the testimonie of the Lord that is sure Psal 19. maketh him wise of simple the statutes of the Lord that are right reioyce his heart and the commandement of the Lord that is pure doth illighten his eyes so that this hearing-eare is of God Deut 29. as also the Voice is and therefore Moses tels the Israelites that God hath not giuen them eares to heare and Christ in the Gospell saith qui habet aures ad audiendum audiat for vobis datum est it is not to euery body giuen to heare but of them to whom it is giuen Christ hath pronounced Blesse are the eares that heare that which you heare Hauing heard what the Voice is and what it is to Heare we must now ioyne them together and indeed speaking is for hearing in ciuill societie neither would God euer haue giuen men tongues if hee had not giuen them eares And if for this life hee so prouideth how much more doth he prouide so for the life to come Surely S. Paul saith that he receiued grace and apostleship 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom 1 5. 1. Thes 2 13. that men might heare him with faith and he calleth the word of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a word of hearing that is a word which must be heard Esay goeth a step farther and calleth the word of God Cap 53 1. Rom 10 16. Schemugnah Saint Paul rendreth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hearing who hath belieued our hearing So it is in the originall the meaning is who hath belieued the word that we Preach to the end that men might heare it The word of God is still to sound in mens eares and men are still to heare the sound thereof How iniurious then is the Romane discipline Luke 11. Matth. 23. which like the Iewish Lawyers takes away from people the Key of knowledge and shut vp the kingdome of heauen against men Which heretofore made it a mortall sinne to read Gods word And now clogs the libertie it grants with such cautions that very few especially of those that are with in the reach of the Inquisition dare bee acquainted with it yea and those clogs content not but now it is thought fitter vtterly to denie libertie As such teachers are iniurious so are there some schollars impious that may but will not heare whether out of contempt or neglect they are impious murtherers of their owne Soules for this Voice onely is the Voice of life and it quickneth by the eare although wee must not so limit the conueiance thereof by the corporall eare that wee exclude the eye for our eye also since Gods word is written by reading may conuey Gods Voice vnto the eare of our Soule and men by this second meanes are not a little edified in Gods truth the Fathers especially Chrysostome doth commend reading earnestly to the people yea the Law hath commanded it long since when it willed the Iewes to write the Law vpon their doore posts certainely the Iewes euen at this day inure their children to a daily reading of the Law so soone as they come to yeeres of discretion and it were to be wisht that Christians did imitate them therein But marke that as the Israelites must heare Gods Voice so they must heare it absolutely for God doth not yet acquaint them with the contents of his Voice he speaketh indifinitely hee requires obedience not to this or that Commandement not to this or that Article of faith but to whatsoeuer he shall purpose And well may God require such obedience for he is first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Truth of himselfe yea Truth it selfe so that a man need not feare that at any time or in any thing God can bee deceiued or will deceiue vs neither can agree with the Omniscience and Holinesse of his nature Secondly God is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Almightie and the soueraigne commander of man so that his word is not onely Truth but a Law where the word of this King goeth there goeth power it admitteth no disputing no resisting As he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Truth so we may safely captiuate our wits vnto his wisedome as he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so we must dutifully submit our wils vnto his commands vpon these two foundations are built our absolute obedience vnto Gods indefinite Voice The word my voice is a word of limitation Ioh. 10. Christs sheepe heare his voice the voice of a stranger they will not heare Gods voice must bee reputed obiectum adaequatum of his people hearing wee must neither stretch nor shrinke it neither adde thereto nor take there-from These two Attributes of Truth and Power are so proper vnto God that they are not communicable to any creature Omnis homo mendax Psal 116. euerie man may deceiue or be deceiued and Omne sub regno graniore regnum est the greatest Soueraignes vnto men are subiect vnto God therefore mens words must be tried before they must be belieued wee must not credit all their words and we must yeeld obedience vnto men no farther then may stand with our obedience to God This must be obserued because the glorie that is due onely to God is too often communicated to men so Disciples take their masters instructions as Diuine oracles and follow them in errour out of a preconceipt that they are not men likely to erre But Saint Pauls rule is Omnia probate 1. Thes 5 1. Iob. 4. quod bonum est tenete proue all things but hold that which is best and Saint Iohn trie the spirits whether they be of God or no for many false Prophets are gone out into the world Amicus Plato magis amica veritas we must neuer dote so vpon any man as to forget that he is a man that is a creature subiect vnto errour If this caution had beene obserued and the Disciples had in all ages examined their masters Doctrine by his word that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neither should the Church heretofore haue beene neither would it now be pestered with those many Sects that dictract the same As Disciples haue their caution so haue Subiects also they must dutifully obey their superiours but alwayes with a sauing sauing the Allegiance which they owe vnto the Superiour of Superiours that is vnto God so long as there is no contradiction betweene the commandements of God and superiour men subiects must obey though the obedience be vnsauorie and the command rigid but so soone as there appeares a contradiction endure they must patiently the Sanction of the Law but perform the Precept they must not Were this caution obserued by Subiects did they consider the subordination of all earthly Powers to the power of
was stung by the Serpent so in Paradise was hee cured by the seed of the Woman The Patriarchs in their order Heb. 11. not onely knew but felt the vertue of this Childe this Sonne St. Paul comprehends it in a short Rule Iesus Christ yesterday and to day and the same for euer Hee was a Lambe slaine not onely borne from the beginning of world Neither onely did the efficacie of his person worke but in a sort his presence also was vouchsafed vnto the world It is an ancient opinion of many of the Fathers and not a few of the worthiest late Diuines approue it that all apparitions of God in the Old Testament were of the second Person In the eighth of the Prouerbs himselfe saith that his delight was to be amongst the Sonnes of men Yea and to say nothing of other shapes how often did hee appeare in the shape of a man which apparition the Fathers call Praeludium incarnationis It was a faire intimation of that which in time hee should bee for euer after hee had once taken vpon him the nature of man which death it selfe should neuer seuer from him O Lord that wouldest not only become Man but also bee Gods gift to Man thou which wert before all time wouldest be bestowed in time bestowed vpon Iewes bestowed vpon Gentiles and make them both one Israel of God Notwithstanding there was nothing in them to demerit thee much in them to prouoke thee yet hast thou out of thine own goodnesse so tendered Man as to satisfie thy Iustice that it might bee no hinderance vnto thy Mercy but that thy Mercy might remedy both our Woe and Sinne We beseech thee that wee may all be new borne by vertue of thy Sonnes birth and giue our selues to Thee as he is giuen to Vs that so we may be in the number of those which with the Prophet may say Tovs a Childe is borne to vs a Sonne is giuen Which grace he vouchsafe vs that is giuen vnto vs To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be giuen all honour and glory now and for euer Amen THE THIRD SERMON The Gouernment shall be vpon his shoulders THe Doctrine of this Scripture containes the Truth and Excellencie of Christs Person and State Of the truth of Christs Person I haue already spoken and shewed you both the Natures wherein it subsisteth and the People to which it belongs The Natures wherein it subsists are two The Nature of God and of Man which haue a most streight vnion in one Person and yet without the least diminution of eyther nature This Person belongs vnto the Iewes not according to the flesh but according to the spirit euen to the whole Israel of God which consists of beleeuing naturall both Iewes and Gentiles To this People doth Christ belong But of what degree is hee amongst them For euery companie that consists of many persons if they bee incorporate hath men of sundry degrees by the Ordinance of God and the common rules of discretion there are superiours there are inferiours some which command some which are commanded Of which ranke is our Sauiour Christ Of the highest it appeares in his State The Gouernment shall be vpon his shoulders Although then the Scripture affirm that Christ appeared in the forme of a seruant and himself said That he came not to be ministred vnto but to minister et must we not mistake his Ministery was not of the foote but of the head it was not an obeying but a commanding Ministeric The Head ministers and so doth the Foote in our body naturall but they minister not both alike The head ministreth to the foote by way of commanding the foote ministreth to the head by way of obeying Christs Ministery was of the former not of the later kinde his Foes and his Friends in the Gospell both salute him by the name of Rabbi or Rabboni which is by interpretation Master And our Sauiour Christ telleth his Disciples in St. Iohn You call me Master and Lord and you say well for so I am And elsewhere he calleth himselfe The Heire of the Vineyard The Lord of the Sabaoth The Name of Christ or Messias is a most cleare proofe hereof for none were anointed but to be superiours and the Acts which Christ did exercise beare witnesse hereunto which were all of them eyther Propheticall when hee taught or Priestly when hee sacrificed or Kingly when hee wrought Miracles These bee the things which were done by him and the Gospell relates no other kinde of acts or at least none in comparison And all these are commanding acts they are acts of a Superiour exercised in the dayes of his flesh in the dayes of his greatest humiliation So that the forme of a Seruant and the ministring of Christ shew that he had not the attendance for worldly respect that was due to such a Superiour hee had not so much as a house to hide his head in much lesse had hee any Princely pompe But they deny him not to haue been a Superiour they deny him not that which was giuen him in my Text and my Text giueth him the State of a Superiour To come then vnto it There are two things to bee obserued in the words 1. Of what sort the Gouernment was 2. and Wherewith Christ did sustaine it The Gouernment was of the best sort it was Regall it appeares in the next Verse where Christ is said To sit vpon the Throne of Dauid And this Gouernment he sustaines by his owne carefull Power for it is layd vpon his shoulders These two Points we must at this time looke into briefly and in their order I beginne with the Gouernment If wee looke backe to the Story of Genesis we shall finde that when God promised Isaac which was a Type of Christ he changed both his Fathers and his Mothers name shee was called Sarai but God new named her Sarah which is a Princesse and Abram was new named Abraham a Father of many Nations And me thinks when I reade these words here in the Prophet and those that follow wherein Christ is described I see the application of those names to this Person I see the Principality I see the Posterity I see in Christ the truth of Sarah and of Abrahams name And surely the word which here signifieth Gouernment hath great affinity with the name of Sarah But of Gouernments some are subordinate some are absolute Some so command as the Centurion in the Gospell I am a man set vnder authority though I haue diuers vnder mee and I say to one come and hee commeth and to another go and he goeth But some so command as Salomon speaketh of a King against whom there is no rising vp whose Lawes must not bee disputed on earth and his Commandements bee obeyed by all that are his Subiects Christs Gouernment is not of the subordinate but the absolute sort it appeares by the Throne by the Kingdome vpon which he sitteth places of absolute power especially if
they be Natiue and not Electiue they must needs haue a most free absolute Power And such Christs is Natus Rex it is the expresse letter of my Text And the Wisemen that came to present him Matth. 2. asked for him that was borne King of the Iewes Nay Christ himselfe when Pilate asked him whether he were a King replyed for this cause was I borne And Pilate set vp this stile ouer his Crosse Iesus of Nazareth King of the Iewes which he would not alter though he were much importuned by the Scribes and Pharisees The places of the Prophets are very cleare Esay 32. Ier. 23. but specially Dan. 7. all of them beare witnesse to the Kingdome of Christ So that wee must acknowledge in Christ a Kingly power such a Power as none must dare to dispute the verity of his Word as curious and scoffing Atheists and Epicures doe or resist his Authority as proud Pharaohs and Senacheribs Christ can brooke neyther But as Christ is called a King so here is an addition vnto his Title his Throne and Kingdome are termed the Throne and Kingdome of Dauid And indeed Christs Pedegree is by St. Matthew and St. Luke fetched from King Dauid Himselfe calleth himselfe in the Reuelation The roote and generation of Dauid The Apostle telleth vs that be was of the seed of Dauid according to the flesh And how often in the Gospell is he called The Sonne of Dauid In the Prophets euen Dauid himselfe sometimes and sometimes The branch of Dauid Finally the Angell in the first of Luke telleth the Virgin Mary That Christ shall sit vpon the Throne of his Father Dauid But how can that bee seeing that which Dauid had Christ had not and what Dauid had not Christ had Christ had not the Temporall state of Dauid that was fallen into the hands of Herod the great and the Spirituall state of Christ Dauid had not His Kingdome was Temporall How then could Christ be said to sit vpon his Kingdome Although it were granted that by succession Christ was the right heire to the Crowne of Israel yet seeing the Scepter was departed and the Law-giuer gone the Tabernacle of Dauid was downe we cannot finde a Truth of these words we cannot if wee vnderstand them literally but if mystically wee may And St. Pauls rule is our guide All things yea and persons too if they were eminent came to the Israelites in Types 1 Cor. 10. they had shadowes of good things to come St. Bernards rule is true This Throne of Dauid which Christ sate on was not sedes Typica but Vera not Corporalis but Spiritualis not Temporalis but Aeterna yet so that Illa was huius Imago the Temporall of the Eternall the Corporall of the Spirituall the Typicall of the true Throne Dauids state of the state of the Church And indeed there is an excellent Analogie betweene the Person of Dauid and Christ as both were Kings Dauid was anointed to be a King long before hee was possessed of his Kingdome and so was our Sauiour Christ anointed with the holy Ghost long before he entred into his Glory For though he did many acts of a Gouernour Propheticall and Priestly yet few Regall acts before his Resurrection and those which hee did hee did them rather with the efficacie than in the Maiestie of a King for his outward Man represented nothing lesse But after his Resurrection and Ascension Efficacie and Maiestie conioyned and he sate him downe at the right hand of God and now doth he gouerne in the glory of his Father Secondly as there was a distance betweene Dauids Vnction too and Possession of the Crowne so was that a troublesome time few quiet dayes had he being persecuted both abroad and at home by Saul by his Seruants Euen so our Sauiour Christ entred not into his glory but by many afflictions all kinde of Enemies pursue him with all kinde of malice so that his life was a continuall Crosse And as Dauid so Christ the nearer he drew to his Crowne the sharper was his Crosse Thirdly as King Dauid first possessed only the Tribe of Iuda and after some yeares the ten Tribes euen so our Sauiour Christ at first possessed only the Iewes and after some time inlarged his Church vnto the Gentiles Fourthly Dauid being possessed of his Kingdome spent many years in repressing the Foes of his Kingdome Philistines Amonites Syrians c. and at length fate downe in peace and ruled with Iustice and Iudgement in much Prosperity euen so our Sauiour Christ though ascended into Heauen and reigning there yet shall he be vntill the generall Resurrection subduing his Enemies vnder his feete and freeing his Church from troubles and calamities when that is done then shall he rule and reigne with his Church in much peace and ioy These and such like Analogies are obseruable in comparing of Christ and Dauid which are the cause why the Kingdome of Christ is called The Kingdome of Dauid But yet in the letter of the storie which is the ground of this comparison you shall finde many Hyperboles reade the 89. Psalme the 72. Psalm the 132. to say nothing of diuers places of the Prophets which seeme to exceede the truth if they be applyed to King Dauid whereby the holy Ghost giueth vs to vnderstand that they must bee applyed to a greater than Dauid And indeed the phrases that are in these reall Allegories or Types must be vnderstood of the Corporall part but Quodammodo in a measure answerable vnto them the fulnesse of their truth appeares in the Spirituall And some Diuines obserue Ezâ—k 21.26 37 that The Throne of Dauid is not that which Dauid possessed but that which was promised to Dauid for his sonne And indeed in 2 Sam. 7. the Promise though it be made vnto Dauid yet is it made for his sonne his sonne is Christ It was not meant of his immediate Sonne otherwise than in a Type but it was meant of his Sonne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Messias or Sauiour of the world As also the Promise made to Abraham was made for his Sonne which in appearance seemed to be Isaac but St. Paul to the Galathians telleth vs that that seed is Christ Well then this Kingdome is the Church and therein Christ sitteth as in his Throne it is the Gouernment thereof that is committed vnto him And here wee may not dreame of a corporall Kingdome and turne the truth into a Type St. Paul hath told vs that The Kingdome of God is neyther meat nor drinke but righteousnesse and peace and ioy of the holy Ghost And Christ in the Gospell The Kingdome of God is within you The Parables of the Kingdome if you looke to their Morall imply as much all sound things and persons spirituall Grosse then is the vsurpation of the Bishop of Rome who in Christs name contrary to Christs rules combines both Swords the Spirituall and the Corporall And they that vnderstand The Kingdome of Christ carnally as if all
Temple then building by Zorobabel Some haue thought that the Temple which was standing when Christ was incarnate was not the Temple built by Zorobabel but another which Herod built But we must take heede of that opinion for it hath two euils in it 1. Flauius Iosephus it giueth the holy Ghost the lye in this place 2. and it cherisheth the Iewes vaine expâ—ctation of their Messias It is true that Herod enlarged that Temple and added many buildings to it but he did not demolish the old neither indeed could he and this prophecie continue true for God promised that Christ should come euen into this Temple that now was building And seeing that Temple with all the additions of Herod hath many hundied yeares since according to Christs prophecie beene so destroyed that there remaineth not one stone vpon another the Iewes doe more than vainely yet looke for a Messias especially seeing God hath manifested to the world that it was not only totally but sinally also destroyed The Iewes had good proofe hereof in the daies of Iulian the Apostata when Euseb hist l. 4. Chrys orat 2. in Iudaeos notwithstanding that wicked Emperour encouraged and furthered them to re-edifie it fearefull tempests from heauen destroyed in the night what they did in the day God then making good against Iacob what in Malachie hee spake against Esau Thus saith the Lord of hosts Mal. 1. they shall build but I will cast downe they shall call them the border of wickednesse the people against whom the Lord hath indignation for euer But I will leaue them to God whom God hath left to the world as a spectacle of stupiditie and a bridle to hold vs in from like contempt It is plaine the place here meant was Zorobabels Temple vpon that place was the glory conferred Malachie cap. 3. said it should bee so hee said that the Lord should come into his Temple and he should sit downe there and refine the sonnes of Leui and rectifie the diuine worship The Gospel teacheth vs that it was so for hee was not onely presented in that Temple when he was a babe and when hee was twelue yeares old a disputant there with the doctors but also when he was solemnely inaugurated he first purged the Temple of buyers and sellers then he reformed the doctrine and the discipline at seuerall times when he resorted thither at solemne feasts there he made his sermons and wrought his miracles so that he might truly say to the high Priests when he was arraigned before them I sate daily with you teaching in the Temple Mat. 26. I will adde one text more which may serue in stead of all when his parents that had lost 〈◊〉 found him in the Temple they expostulated with him in these words Sonne why hast thou serued vs thus Luke 2. thy father and I haue sought wee sorrowing Christ replyes vnto them Why sought yee me did you not know 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wee render it Wist yee not that I must goe about my fathers businesse but the words may well beare another sense also Wist yee not that it was sit for mee to bee in my fathers house for so he calleth the Temple elsewhere and so speaketh St. Paul Heb. 13. Iohn 2. Christ as a sonne was ouer his owne house Some referre hither that speech of Christ touching the paying of tribute Mat. 17.26 The sonnes are free because that money is thought to haue beene originally a taxation for the Temple and by the Romanes conuerted to other vses when they collected it But enough of the place only take this note out of the coniunction of the place and the gift That Christs comming to be the glorie of the Temple giueth vs to vnderstand that his Kingdome was not temporall but spirituall he came not to raise an earthly Monarchie but to gather a people vnto God The next point that I obserued is the amplification both of the place and the gift of the place in regard of the meannes which is noted in the word this house The Iewes had two Temples one built by Salomon a glorious one this built by Zorobabel a poore one The Iewes wept when they saw the foundations of it and God testifieth that it was as nothing in their eyes and this nothing as it were moued Herod to make those additions before specified that it might become like something Marke Christ came not vnto Salomons Temple but vnto Zorobabels so that the Temple which had most of earthly cost had nothing in it but the type of Christ and that Temple that had least of earthly glory had most of heauenly it had the truth Christ came thither in person God regardeth not outward pompe neyther doth he tye his presence thereunto as if he would not be where there is no worldly state nay commonly where there is least of the world Heb. 11. God is there most and they haue greatest familiarity with him who haue worst entertainement in the world Did not our Sauiour Christ giue vs an excellent representation hereof in his own person Col. 2.9 Phil. 2.7 2 Cor 4.7 the Godhead dwelt bodily in him but that body bare the shape of a seruant the Apostles carried about the world heauenly treasures but they carried them in earthen vessels An ancient Father obserues wittily that when the Church was so poore that it had but wooden chalices it had golden Priests wee may adde People too and when the ornaments of the Church became golden then the Priests and People became wooden Gods Word was heard more reuerently hee was serued more deuoutly when the Church met in caues in woods in deserts than euer he was in townes and cities and these most stately fabricks This must be obserued in the question of the visibility of the Church or rather conspicuity The Aduocates of Rome seeme to triumph much against the reformed Churches as if the obscurity wherein sometimes they lay hidden Cont. Auxent did preiudice the truth which they profest they forget St. Hilaries admonition Male nos cepit parietum amor c. We are ill aduised to measure faith by multitude of professors Epist 48. or by goodly temples where the profession is made St. Austine will tell vs Ecclesia aliquando obscuratur aliquando obnubilatur multitudine scandalorum The glory of the Church is subiect to Eclypses it was so in the Old Testament as appeares by Elia's complaint 1 Reg. 19. They haue slaine all thy Prophets and throwne downe thine altars Cont. Lucifer and I am left alone It hath beene no better vnder the New Testament witnesse St. Hierome Ingemuit totus mundus se Arianum factum miratus est Arianisme so got the vpper hand that the Orthodoxe faith scarce durst be known in the whole Catholick Church In the Old Testament God promised by Zephanie cap. 3. I will leaue in the middest of thee an humble and poore people and they shall trust in
Iosephus reports The fourth and the last inequalitie stands in the materials vsed about the fabricke to say nothing of their qualities certainely those that were vsed about the first Temple did in quantity farre exceede those that were vsed about the second For what comparison could there be between the riches of poore captiue Iewes and of King Salomon that was the most glorious Monarch in the world 1 Chron. 22.14 2 Sam. 8. Adde hereunto the prouision that his father King Dauid made in his time a hundred thousand talents of gold and a thousand thousand talents of siluer and brasse and iron without weight besides what he gaue out of his owne peculium or priuate Treasurie for the former were dedicated out of the spoyles of kingdomes which he conquered three thousand talents of gold of the gold of Ophir and seuen thousand talents of refined siluer besides great abundance of all sorts of precious stones Whereunto adde the offering of the Fathers of Israel fiue thousand talents and ten thousand drammes of gold and of siluer ten thousand talents of brasse eight thousand talents and a hundred thousand talents of iron besides precious stones And put all this together and therewith increase Salomons wealth the totall will bee a summe of infinite value farre exceeding that wherewith Zorobabel was furnisht eyther by the Persian Kings or by his owne countrey-men yea although you adde what afterward was bestowed eyther by Alexander the great or his successours Kings of Syria and those of Egypt Neither will the additions of other benefactors no not that of Herod make vp the summe I dare say boldly that if all the Christian Kings of the West for so many yeares as the Temple was a building by Salomon should contribute their treasures they could not raise a summe answerable to that which was expended vpon the first Temple and reserue to themselues their Kingly ports as Dauid and Salomon did Neither neede wee out of the incredulitie of the summe as some learned doe question the signification of the word talent as if it signified a lesser summe than commonly it is taken for For to say nothing that it is the same Authour that wrote both the 22. and the 29. of the first of Chronicles and that it is not likely he would vary the sense keeping himselfe to the same word they doe not marke that Dauids offering was the spoyle of many Kingdomes that God promised that Salomon should bee the richest King in the world that the vessels of gold and siluer vsed in the Temple were many thousands as appeares by Iosephus and that there was great store of treasure layd vp there besides 2 Chro. 5. I neede say no more to proue that if we compare fabricke with fabricke we cannot finde therein the truth of these words of Haggai Let vs come then to the furniture that is eyther typicall or spirituall such parts of the furniture as were figures of diuine things and that by Gods owne ordinance were typicall Vpon Diana's Temple at Ephesus Apollo's at Delphi the Capitoline Temple at Rome and many other heathenish Temples there was much gold and siluer bestowed yea and precious stones also but they wanted a typicall relation and therein did the temples of the Iewes infinitely exceede them In these types if we compare Salomons temple with Zorobabels Galatinus Chrysost orat 3. aduersus Iudaos Zorobabels commeth farre short of Salomons The Iewes confesse that fiue eminent things were wanting in the later temple which were in the former 1. the Cloud wherein God resided betweene the Cherubims 2. the Arke with the contents therein whereon the Cloud rested 3. the fire kindled from heauen wherewith all their sacrifices were to be offered 4. the Vrim and Thummim on the breastplate of the high Priest by which hee was inabled to giue out diuine Oracles and ordinarily resolue the Iewes perplexing doubts in peace and warre the fifth was the spirit of prophecie wherewith God furnished diuers other persons whom he sent as messengers vnto the kings and people of Iuda and Israel Now these fiue were the chiefe of all the typicall furniture if Zorobabels temple came short in these fiue there can be no doubt but it was inferiour in types vnto that of Salomons temple What remaines then but that the greatnesse of the glorie here meant must consist in the spirituall and heauenly furniture of the later temple or else there was none at all And indeede it is that which wee finde there we finde Christ in person as in former sermons I haue shewed you and hee is the truth of all those types Of the Cloud for in him God dwelt visibly on earth Cyril l. 4. in Ioh. c. 2. 1 Pet. 2. Rom. 8. Ind. Of the Arke by him God shewed mercie vnto men Of the Fire for by his spirit all sacrifices must be offered that are acceptable vnto God Of the Vrim and Thummim for hee is the word the wisedome of God Finally of the spirit of prophecie for he is the Prophet that was to come into the world and the Reuelation of Iesus Christ is the spirit of prophecie Reuel 1. What shall I say of the table of shewbread Christ is the bread of life of the golden candlesticke Iohn 6. Iohn 1. Reu. 5.8 Christ is the light of the world of the altar of incense it is Christ that putteth sweet odours into the prayers of the Saints of the altar of burnt offerings Psalme 40. Heb. 10. Iohn 1.29 1 Iohn 1.7 sacrifice and offerings God did not desire but he opened Christ eare and gaue him a body hee was the Lambe of God that tooke away the sinnes of the world and his bloud cleanseth from all sinne And what comparison betweene this truth and those types certainely no more than betweene earth and heauen therefore when the truth appeared the type vanished Ier. 3.16.17 It must needs follow then that the glorie of the later temple must needs be greater than the glorie of the former Greater if we insist only vpon Christs apparition in the materiall temple of Zorobabel L. 3. Epist 11. De ciuit Dei l. 18. how much more if with the Fathers St. Ambrose and St. Austine wee enlarge it to the Christian Church in whom Christ abideth And indeed Zorobabels temple beeing voide of the types did represent the Christian Church as Salomons full of them did represent the Church of the Iewes and then marke what St. Paul saith if these two Churches be compared 2 Cor. 3. Euen that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect by reason of the glory that excelleth for if that which was done away was glorious much more that which remaineth is glorious that whole Chapter is a good commentarie vpon my text the Epistle to the Hebrewes is much fuller So then wee must reade and consider this text as directed vnto vs it concernes vs for wee are partakers of that glory And see how God dealeth both with
These foure speeches containe the whole doctrine of the Annuntiation of which I haud pitched onely vpon the first branch It is enough for this time enough if I onely vnfold the true meaning of the words but if I should moreouer encounter the false glosses made thereon then certainly you would say it were more than enough For there are no words in the Scripture so few in number I alwayes except the Sacramentall words Hoe est corpus meum whereupon idolatrous superstition hath so much fastened as it hath vpon these But the full ripping vp thereof is a worke for the Schooles here I had rather edifie with truth than refute falsehood wherefore well may I touch at the latter but I will principally bend my selfe vnto the former not doubting but a Dagon compounded of so many impieties will of it selfe fall downe and fall asunder at the presence of the Arke and they which shal be but reasonably informed of the truth will neuer be perplexed with the opposite grosse errours Let vs come then to the words They are gratulatory in them the Angell sheweth How and Why hee would haue the Virgin affected hee would haue her affected comfortably hee signifieth so much in his first word Haile or be of good cheare there is good cause why consider thy estate consider it in it selfe consider it in comparison both wayes considered it sheweth there is good cause why Thy state in it selfe is good first because thou standest in so good termes with God Highly fauoured secondly because thou hast so good a pledge of that fauour the Lord is with thee if thy state be such it is surely good good in it selfe But good things the more peculiar they are the more are they precious and thy state is a prerogatiue it is good also in comparison for Blessed art thou among women This is the summe of the Angels congratulation wherein you easily perceiue that I must speake of two principall points the Affection required in the Virgin and the Motiues working that Affection they are two the nature and the measure of her state That these Motiues may worke in vs no lesse than they did on her that blessed affection which I wish cōmon to vs God grant vs all her ears her heart in hearing though not the Angell Gabriel himselfe yet him whom God hath appointed to be vnto you as the Angell Gabriels voice As my Text then so doe I begin at Haile the Affection which is required to be in the Virgin Haile is a Saxon salutation it was wont to be more full as the Antiquaries obserue and to be pronounced Was-haile corruptly Wassaile a salutation answerable to the Greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the Latine Salue that is health be vnto you the Syriac Paraphrase translates Shelom Leki that is Peace be vnto you which was the Iewes common salutation both translations may stand with the Angels meaning because howsoeuer we varie phrases in saluting yet is our meaning still the same we wish all good to them whom we salute But yet neither of the Translations doth expresse the proper signification of the Euangelists word for his word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is be of good cheare the English Cheare is plainly the Greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wherefore we must note that of salutations some doe expresse the blessing that is conferred vpon vs and some the sense and feeling thereof that must be in vs he that saith Haile wisheth health or good estate of our persons he that saith Peace be vnto you wisheth a happy successe in all our affaires but he that saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be of good cheere doth wish vnto vs the comfort of them both of our persons and of our affaires This I note the rather because my Text doth plainly distinguish betweene the blessing bestowed on the Virgin and the feeling that she was to haue thereof and it is her feeling that he calleth for in this first word The feeling is Ioy an affection sutable to the blessing for the blessing is a Gospell so the Fathers obserue that what goeth before these words is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 begins here here begins the Gospell And where the Gospell beginneth there must ioy begin also wee learne it of St. Paul who relates it out of the Prophet Rom. 10. yea the word it selfe doth speake it the Greeke word doth the English word doth the old word Gospell which is nothing else but a Good spel darke English because old but we make it plaine by an equiualent phrase and significant to our purpose when we translate it Glad tidings Ioy then must attend the Gospell And if you reade the Prophets hardly shall you finde where they mention the one Psalme 96. and do not call vpon vs for the other Reioyce O heauens and be glad O earth Let the sea roare and all the trees of the field reioyce for he commeth for he commeth c. saith the Psalmist speaking of this first comming of Christ And Esay Cap. 9. Thou hast made them reioyce as in the day of haruest and as they that diuide the spoiles for vnto vs a childe is borne vnto vs a sonne is giuen c. But what need more places seeing our Sauiour Christ in the fourth of Luke giues a plaine intimation that his first comming was the true yeare of Iubile and that you know began with Iubilation This Iubilation or Ioy is common to all the Church so wee learne of the Angell speaking to the Shepheards Behold I bring you glad tidings of great ioy that shall bee to all the people for vnto you is borne a Sauiour c. If required in all then specially in the Virgin according to her interest in ought her ioy to be for this Gospell Her interest was the greatest as will appeare in her state therefore is this ioy so expresly commended vnto her There is another reason also why it is commended and that is that the truth may be answerable to the type Abraham saith Christ saw my day and reioyced Iohn 8. And when did Abraham see it and reioyce If we looke into Genesis we shall finde when euen then when hee receiued the promise that he should haue his sonne Isaac then he laughed as the Text obserues and for a memoriall that he did laugh God commanded him to giue vnto his sonne this name Isaac which signifieth laughter St. Paul Heb. 11. that pierced deeper into the secrets of the Scripture than euery reader is able to doe doth obserue that Abraham did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Verse 13. see this obiect a farre off and as being a farre off did with reuerent ioy giue entertainment thereunto he meaneth that he did not only apprehend Isaac the Patriarch who was to be born within some few moneths and so was at hand but our Sauiour Christ also figured by Isaac who was not to come but after many generations and so was a farre off
And if being a farre off his sight caused ioy being come so neare how much more ioy must the sight of him cause If the Type wrought so how must the Truth it selfe worke And if the Father of the Type were so affected ought not the Mother of the Truth to be affected much more Certainly she must needs haue Ioy. But what is Ioy Ioy is a pleasing euidence of the loue which we beare to any thing which we acknowledge to be good so that Ioy though it be but one thing yet it presupposeth two other things Knowledge and Loue as the rootes from whence it springs The first roote is Knowledge for where there is no Knowledge there can be no Ioy. Marke the great and the little world though each bee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a goodly frame inriched with many markable indowments yet is not the great world priuie to the indowments it hath no not the eye thereof I meane the summe of whom the Poet long since spake truely Per quem videt omnia mundus Et videt ipse nihil So that the passage in the 19. Psalme The heauens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handy worke c. is to bee vnderstood passiuely not actiuely or to speak it more plainly they do it as a Scripture but not as a Lecture they are a silent representation But the little world is not only passiue but actiue hee can contemplate whatsoeuer perfection is in himselfe or others it is the very nature of his vnderstanding to become all things and to beare about it selfe which it can studie at all times in it selfe a mappe of all the world Whether therefore we consider the great or the little world we may call each of them a booke but such a booke as to the reading whereof none is admitted vnder the degree of a man And herein consists the first excellency of the reasonable soule this is the first act wherein it ariseth higher than the vnreasonable man goeth beyond a beast in the knowledge of perfection and this knowledge is the first roote of Ioy. From hence springeth a second which is Loue. Knowledge is not vnfitly compared vnto a seale which is grauen not for it selfe but to set a print vpon the waxe and our heart is as waxe and easily receiues the impression of our knowledge Now the print which the knowledge of perfection leaueth in the heart is Loue according to the Greeke Prouerbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Amor transit in rem amatam knowne good cannot be long vnaffected because the heart is as transformable into all good as the vnderstanding into all truth the heart I say that hath his right temper and is capable of his proper obiect that obiect discerned must needs breed loue Loue which is Virtus vnieâ—s a Vertue which maketh a match betweene our soule and perfection for as Knowledge is the eye whereby the soule seeth it so is Loue the hand whereby it closeth with it Duaâ— ciuitates distingunt duo amores St. Austin So that Loue is the second act of the reasonable soule an act which distinguisheth betweene good and bad men and is the second roote of Ioy. When Knowledge and Loue haue done their part then commeth in the reasonable soules last worke and that is Ioy which is nothing else but the euidence of loue for where there is no loue there is no Ioy but we cannot but ioy in that which we loue for Ioy is the naturall fruit of loue and we cannot loue any thing but the heart will haue a pleasant feeling thereof This third act of the reasonable soule putteth a difference between happy and vnhappy men for Ioy is the vpshot of all our endeauours nothing can satisfie till wee come to it and he that hath it resteth therein We studie we loue both that we may Ioy but beyond ioy we cannot goe And this I thinke is the reason why 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was so vsually receiued for the common salutation But wee may not onely consider the Nature but the Power of Ioy also great power for it is in the pleasure of Ioy how much we shall be capable of whatsoeuer good wee either know or loue the enlarging of our heart more or lesse is the act of Ioy and as much as wee ioy so much is our heart inlarged Marke then as is our Knowledge so is our Loue for we can loue no more than we know and as is our Loue so is our Ioy for Ioy is an effect of Loue but as is our Ioy so is our portion of good wee can receiue no more than our vessell will containe and the measure thereof depends from Ioy. To come now vnto the Angels words he calleth vpon the Virgin for this Affection the affection of Ioy what meaneth hee thereby Out of that you haue heard you may gather this he would haue her most sensible most capable of that diuine obiect which in his following words he presents vnto her And what the Angell commended vnto the Virgin giue me leaue Fathers and Brethren to commend vnto you Ioy. When we receiue the message of grace certainly it is Gods pleasure that we should reioyce in his blessings Lord saith Dauid lift thou vp vpon vs the light of thy countenance Psalme 4. and what followeth That shall put more ioy into our hearts than they whose corne and wine is increased The want of this Ioy cost the Israelites deare Deut. 28. Because saith Moses thou seruest not the Lord thy God with ioyfulnesse and a chearfull heart for the abundance of all things therefore thou shalt serue thine enemies in hunger and thirst and nakednesse and the need of all things Wherefore at all times Let our garments be white and let not oyle be wanting to our beads Eccles 9.8 whensoeuer the Lord doth answer the desire of our hearts O then be â—oyfull in the Lord serue the Lord with gladnesse and come before his tresence with a song for we forfeit Gods fauour if it bee not vnto vs the very ioy of our heart And no maruell for to want this affection in the midst of Gods mercies what doth it argue but that either wee want the Vnderstanding of men and discerne not our blessing or else want that Loue that should be in good men wherewith to imbrace the same or at least wee make not so much vse of Gods mercy as thereby to become happy men for happy men we are not without Ioy that affection that is here commended by the Angell And thus much of the Affection As for that Iowly obeyzance wherewith the Romanists say the Angell spake the word I thinke the mention thereof more vnworthy your learned eares than their superstitious pens that haue so childishly obserued it vnto vs. And therefore I passe from the Affection to the Motiues that must worke the same In vaine should the Angell call for the Affection except he proposed the Motiues for our affections stirre not but as
may be reiterated though the other may not And so haue I laid before you as many particulars as I thinke obserueable in this Text which I will now vnfold briefly and in their order First then of the Author He is here called Iesus Saint Paul calleth him the Lord Iesus Though Sacraments be Ceremonies yet are they Ceremonies of efficacie Were they onely of significancie the Church might haue some power to ordaine them but being of efficacie their ordination belongeth onely to God because the efficacy floweth from his Spirit and of his Spirit none can dispose but himselfe As onely God is the Author of Sacraments so did hee institute them by the second Person by him that is the Sauiour of the world doth hee institute the Sacraments of sauing grace the Sacraments are his most liuely picture therefore he was fittest for to draw them He was fittest as Iesuâ— for to draw them and as the Lord to enioyne the obseruation of them therein especially stands his Kingdome in his Church to prescribe the meanes vnto eternall Life But how doth he do it you shall learne that in the Institution I therein obserued the time and the manner The time while they were eating saith St. Matthew after Supper saith St. Luke Saint Paul the same night that he was betrayed St. Paul and St. Luke are easily reconciled for the Passeouer was solemnized at the same time and St. Luke meaneth when they had done with that so far as concerned the Paschal Lamb but were not yet risen for that there was another Ceremony to be performed as the Iewish Ritualls obserue and that Ceremony was this The Master of the Family after the Passeouer was eaten distributed with solemne words concerning the deliuerance out of the Egyptian captiuity bread and wine before that was done Christ instituted the Sacrament and so it might be while they were eating though it were after Supper Where out of St. Pauls addition that it was the night wherein Christ was betrayed we may obserue that for the terrour of the Crosse which he fore-saw Christ did not omit to doe any thing which concerned his office and was to be for the comfort of his Church Secondly obserue that they were not at a prophane but a sacred Banquet which hindered not but they might be meete guests for Christs holy Supper while they receiued one Sacrament they were not vnfit for another And this teacheth vs the reason why though Christ gaue the Sacrament to the Apostles while they were feasting the Church commands vs to take it fasting For their feast was sacred the Church forbids that which is prophane so doth St. Paul 1. Cor. 11. yea the Iewes were to sanctifie themselues before the receiuing of the Passeouer How may we then come vnprepared to ours that the meate of our soules may the better be receiued we must not be prepossest with the food of our bodies Where by the way you may learne how to answer the cauill against our Liturgie which saith that the Diuell entered into Iudas after his vnworthy receiuing of the Sacrament For put the case he were not at the Eucharist which notwithstanding will not easily be proued because the best Harmonists are against the conceipt and so are the Fathers Greeke and Latine But put the case he were not there yet was he at the Passouer that is plaine in the Euangelists and the Passeouer was a Sacrament and so in effect the matter is all one Secondly obserue on these words While they were eating that before the Sacrament of the Old was abolished for it was not abolished but by the death of Christ Christ instituted the Sacrament of the New that because we haue alwayes so much need of grace wee might neuer be without the meanes thereof So did he substitute Baptisme to Circumcision the Ministry of the Gospell to the Priesthood of the Law the Lords Day to the Iewish Sabbath Seeing then Christ hath been so carefull of vs we must not be wanting to our selues if we want grace the blame must not be laide on him but on vs. Thirdly Christ abolished the Ceremoniall Law but not all Ceremonies We consist of a body and a soule and God doth conuey grace vnto the soule by the body which cannot be done without Ceremony But ours are fewer in number than were the Iewes Austin though they are not inferiour in power yea they are much more commodious though they be lesse burthenous Our charge being easier and our comfort greater our sinne is lesse excusable and our neglect more challengeable if we doe not practise such easie meanes to compasse so great a benefit Enough of the Time I come now to the Manner of the Institution where wee must first see what Elements were chosen and here we finde bread and wine Of this choice the reason is inquired Some thinke it occasionall because the Father of the Family did after the Passeouer distribute bread and wine Some thinke Christ tooke an occasion from that ceremony to institute this by this Truth to accomplish that Type Others thinke the reason to be Propheticall Cap. 1. Malachy foretold that from the rising of the Sun vnto the going downe of the same Gods Name should be great amongst the Gentiles and in euery place incense should be offered to his Name and a pure Offering the word is Mincah and so doth import an accessory to the ancient Sacrifice that was made commonly of fine flower and wine this accessory might in some cases be a principall as appeares in the Law Some rise higher vnto the dayes of Melchisedech and because hee offered bread and wine and Christ was a Priest after the order of Melchisedech therefore hee made vse of his Sacrifice and perpetuated it to this heauenly vse Now the bread and wine which Melchisedech brought out when hee met Abraham are by many of the Fathers thought to be a Sacrifice I might adde a fourth Originall that is Manna and the water out of the Rocke wherewith God sustained the Israelites in the wildernesse St. Paul calleth them spirituall meate and drinke 1. Cor. 10. But to leaue these points which are subiect to dispute I will come to that which is more cleare and that is Bread and Wine are the choisest of food bread strengtheneth mans heart and it is the sustenance of all other sustenances the Psalmist giueth Wheate as it were kidnies of fat not onely alluding to the forme of the graine but also to the effect thereof and God by the Prophet when he threatneth a famine expresseth it by breaking the staffe of bread as if without it all food were heartlesse As for wine the Psalme teacheth vs that it was made to cheare vp mans heart The Parable of the Trees telleth vs it cheareth both God and man Iudges 9. In the Probleme Esdras 3. What is strongest wine is brought in as one Ecclesiasticus hath made almost a whole Chapter of it and holdeth that there is no life without it be
the Lord and wee must with him answer for our selues I will take the cup of saluation and praise the name of the Lord vnto this end is this Sacrament called the Eucharist Thus Christ conscerateth the Elements But why what good came to the elements by consecration surely much good for they are made the body and the bloud of Christ so saith Iesus This is my body this is my blood The interpretation of these words is much controuerted and it is much disputed What change of the Elements the wordes of Christ did make for that Christ changed the bread when he consecrated it wee make no doubt Whereas then there are three things in bread and wine 1. the name 2. the vse and 3. the substance wee confesse a change in the two first but deny it in the third First wee confesse a change in the name directed by St. Austines rule Ad Bonisaâ— ep 23. Because of a similitude Sacraments commonly beare the names of the things themselues the Sacrament of Christs body is after a sort the body of Christ and the Sacrament of Christ blood is after a sort the blood of Christ Of St. Aducrsus Iudaeos Austins opinion in our case was Tertullian Christ saith hee calleth bread his body And Cyprian the signifying elements and the thing signified De â—nctione Chrismatis are caded by the same name Our Sauiour saith Theodoret changed the names and called the signe by the name of his body Ambrose Chrysostome Ambros de Sacraments l. 5. c. 4. Chrysost ad 〈◊〉 sarios â—â—â—nachos and others might bee alledged to this purpose Secondly wee acknowledge a change in the vse of the Elements for there must be some ground for which the signes may beare the names of the things themselues and that is The vertue the power the operation of the flesh and bloud of Christ beeing mystically vnited to the signes doe in a wonderfull sort manifest these things by the signes through the operation of the Holy Ghost This we learne of St. Cyprian De â—nctione Chrismatis to the Element once sanctified not now their own nature giueth the effect but the diuine vertue worketh in them more mightily the truth is present with the signe and the spirit with the Sacrament De Sacramentis l. 4. c. 4. so that the worthinesse of the grace appeareth by the efficiency of the thing Ambrose also If there be so great strength in the word of the Lord Iesus that all things beganne to be when they were not how much more shall it bee of force that the mysticall Elements should bee the same they were before and yet be changed into another thing Theodoret. The signes which are seene Christ hath honoured with the names of his body and blood not changing the nature but adding grace vnto nature Thus farre wee goe in acknowledging a change of the Elements by consecration farther we goe not wee acknowledge no change in the substance of the nature of the Elements De Sacramentis l. 4. c. 3. and herein we are guided by the Fathers also Ambrose Thou camst to the Altar and sawest the Sacraments thereon and wondredst at the very ereature De Coena Domini and yet it is a solemne and a knowne creature Cyprian After consecration the Element is deliuered from the name of bread and reputed worthy to bee called the body of the Lord notwithstanding the nature of the bread still remaines Ad Coesarios Monacbos Chrysostome The substantiall bread and cup sanctified with a solemne blessing is profitable for the life and safegard of the whole man To proue this the Fathers vse to parallel the Sacrament and the Person of Christ De ieiunio 7. mensis in their disputes against Eutyches Gelasius As the bread and wine after consecration are changed and altered into the body and blood of Christ Dialogo secundo so is the humane nature of Christ changed into his diuine Theodoret hath the same parallel and so hath St. Austine as hee is cited de Consecratione distinctione secunda Hoc est quod dico Now a generall Councell not onely particular Fathers haue resolued that both natures continue in Christs person vnaltered so doe their properties so doe their actions only this honour the diuine doth to the humane nature that as it hath associated it into one person so doth it manifest her properties by it and performe her actions Euen so is it in the Sacrament the heauenly the earthly thing are both vnited to make one Sacrament but each keepeth vnaltered its owne nature properties and actions onely the heauenly doth worke by the earthly and doth not ordinarily without it manifest its operation If in the person of Christ there was no alteration of the diuine nature though the Scripture say the word was made flesh much lesse may we dreame of any alteration in the earthly part of the Sacrament though it be said the bread is the body and the wine is the blood of Christ Out of this distinction of changing of the Elements you may perceiue that Christs consecration was effectuall though not effectuall to Transubstantiation For in a sacramentall argument both substances must remaine and by reason of the mysticall vnion Disparats may be affirmed the one of the other without absurditie Whether the sacramentall vnion doe require moreouer a Consubstantiation may also here be disputed for some vrge it out of these words But their answer is briefly this The earthly and the heauenly thing may bee conioyned really though not locally And as they may be conioyned so they may bee receiued seeing the proper Exhibiter of the heauenly is the Holy Spirit and the Receiuer is our faith Our faith may ascend to Christ in heauen and the Spirit beeing infinite may vnite vs vnto Christ though we be as low as the earth Whereas then the words may haue their truth without any recourse to a miracle or contradicting any other Article of faith or forcing strange senses vpon other passages of Scripture we content our selues with this mysticall relatiue vnion and forbeare all other vnnecessary speculations Although we must needs confesse that the words make more for Consubstantiation than they make for Transubstantiation We confesse then that in the Sacrament there is the body and blood of Christ and that three manner of waies though we admit neyther of the two false waies Transubstantiation and Consubstantiation First in regard of the signe for it was not chosen for it selfe but with reference to Christ Secondly in regard of the resemblance it doth most fitly set forth the efficacy that is in Christ the strengthning the cheering efficacie you heard before out of the 104th Psalme that those properties are in bread and wine Strength is eyther increased or recouered and cheerefulnesse followeth eyther vpon the recouered or increased strength wee are Babes and must grow in Christ we are Souldiers and lose blood in his quarrell we must finde that which
conquest did attend his Chariot and were disposed at his pleasure Lo here our Sauiour Christ his person is lifted vp on high and it doth not ascend single but leades captiuitie captiue and diuideth the spoyle He gaue gifts to men such an Ascension was a Triumph indeed And as it was a Triumph so was it a deserued one for Christ descended before he ascended yea he ascended not so high but he descended as low for he that ascended aboue all heauens descended before to the lower parts of the earth the same person did both and so became the Ascension the reward of his descension And so haue you the Contents of the first branch of my Text whereof I shall now God willing vnfold so many as the time will permit I beginne at the Gift And the gift is called grace and grace is a free gift it is such a gift as can neyther bee deserued before hand nor bee required after it is receiued Between men there passe three sorts of gifts The first is Salarium when a man giueth that which another hath earned of which the rule is The labourer is worthy of his hyre such a gift grace is not for though God impose workes vpon vs yet are they not as they ought done by any of vs Adam failed much more doe we we can claime no salarie The second kinde of gift is Honorarium it is such a gift as testifieth the inferiours reuerent regard of his superiours eminencie such a gift grace is not for if the Angels light be darkenesse in comparison of God and their perfection is imperfection as Iob teacheth how vile and base is man who is but dust and wormes meat there is nothing which God should honour in him The third gift is called Eleemosynarium the almes which the rich giues to the poore this comes nearest to the nature of grace and yet it comes farre short of it For the rich are bound to relieue the poore partly by Gods Law and partly out of a consideration reflecting vpon themselues that be they neuer so rich they may become poore and stand in neede of the same reliefe which they afford to others But God is bound to none neyther can he possibly neede the helpe of any therefore his gift and only his is properly grace and comes within St. Austines definition that tels vs that Non est gratia vllo modo si non sit omni modogratuita no gift deserues the name of grace except it be absolutely free and such are Gods gifts The more are we indebted if we receiue them and the lesse proud should wee bee for whereof should he be proud whose tenure is altogether pura perpetua Eleemosyna meere Almes and the most free Charity of God Nay the very word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 put for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Loue of God for the Gift proceeding from loue doth put vs in mind that our eyes should not be fixt so much on that which we haue as on him that gaue it and we must not take so much content in our owne state as in his fauour But it is moreouer to be noted that grace in the Scripture is contradistinct to nature and the workes thereof are different from those of the creation and preseruation of the world It is true that all the workes of God wherein hee doth communicate of his goodnesse vnto the world spring freely from his fauour for hee might haue chosen whether hee would at all haue made the world or bestowed such excellent endowments vpon any man but yet the Holy Ghost is pleased to vnderstand this word of those blessings which belong to the second Couenant the Couenant of the Gospel it is an Euangelicall word and signifieth only those gifts wherein the Euangelicall Couenant doth consist and whereby it is furthered They are of two sorts in the Schooles the one is called gratia gratum faciens the other gratia gratis data not but that both are gratis datae freely giuen for in that respect the members of the Distinction are coincident but because they are not reciprocall all grace that is freely giuen is not that grace which doth recommend vs vnto God This is the peculiar of the grace of adoption the grace of aedification reacheth not so farre But that which we must principally note is the heeding of the Pelagians Heresie who confounded nature with grace and grace with nature who as they did too shallowly thinke of the Fall so they did derogate much from the fauour which God vouchsafed in restoring of man But we must learne as to neglect no gift of God so to set a right estimate vpon the gifts of the Gospel these gifts are by an excellencie called Grace And thus much of the nature of Grace wee come now to the property thereof which is to fill Some refer this word vnto the person of Christ as if that did fill all places and indeed it liued on earth descended into hell and so did enter into heauen it was successiuely in euery of these places Others straine it too farre that would haue the Manhood to communicate with the Deity in vbiquitie and to be at the same time in euery place But as we grant Attributa 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that supernaturall endowments in the highest degree were conferred vpon the Manhood of Christ so may we not admit any Attributa 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 therein we may acknowledge no Attributes that destroy the nature of his Manhood the truth of his Manhoode is the greatest comfort of a Christian whether wee respect what he hath done for vs or the blessed conformitie that we shall haue to him It is true that these words of filling doe concerne Christs Manhoode or rather his person as hee was no lesse man than God for it speaketh of some thing that Christ did after his Resurrection there is no doubt but he filled all things with his Godhead before which is euer infinite but the Manhood making one person hath diuers prerogatiues by vertue of the Hypostaticall vnion First it is euery where present though not with yet to his Godhead and Christus is totus vbique though totum Christi is not vbique the whole person fils heauen and earth though the manhoode be finite Secondly both the natures are associat in their Actions the Manhood is priuie vnto and consents with the Godhead in all the works of Christ yea and the merit of Christ whereunto the Manhood concurred doth moderate all the Actions of the Mediatour Thus farre wee may safely speake of an Vbiquity of Christ but the proper sense of this place is not of the person but the worke it is true that he that fils is Christ but that wherewith he fils is his grace And grace is the only thing that fils And it fils two manner of waies first sistendo appetitum for whereas all other things which wee desire grow quickly loathsome and tedious vnto vs and wee are faine to shift because wee
into the lowest part of the earth not onely to the earth the lowest part of the world but euen to the lowest part of the earth for wee say in our Creed He descended into Hell he tooke his rising from the lowest place to ascend into the highest And herein doth Christ reade a good Lecture to vs hee teacheth vs that Humility is the way to glory and the more we are humbled the more wee shall be exalted Adam and Angels were both ambitious both did desire to climbe but they mistooke their rising and so in climbing tooke grieuous falls If wee would climbe without a fall wee must learne to climbe of Christ so shall wee bee sure to tread the steppes of Iacobs Ladder which from earth will reach as high as heauen I may not omit to obserue that the Apostle speakes significantly when hee saith that He that ascended is the same also that descended Non ascendit alius licet aliter Nestorius was condemned for an Hereticke who distracted Christs two natures and made of them two persons but as it is Gods truth so it is our great comfort that the person is but one and these are the workes of one and the selfe same person they both concerne the same person in the nature which hee tooke from vs Hee that was humbled is the same person that was exalted And so will God deale with vs crowne no other person than him that doth conflict and in the depth of our Humiliation euery one of vs may say with Iob Chapt. 19. Though after my skinne wormes destroy this body yet in my flesh I shall see God Non alius Sed aliter though the same person of Christ ascended which descended yet hee ascended otherwise than hee descended for hee descended Metaphysically ascended Physically hee descended not by changing of place but of state the Godhead that is infinite could change no place but it could exinnanite it selfe and become of a worse condition than it was But in the Ascension the person changed place the manhood remoued from earth to heauen hee that in his Incarnation being onely God became man in his Ascension went into heauen God and man hee that to make way to his passion suspended the influence of his Godhead into his Manhood did in his Ascension permit the one to indowe the other so far as a Creature was capable of the influence of his Creatour And wee shall ascend though not other men yet otherwise than wee descend wee descended morally but wee shall ascend physically in our descending wee put on other affections than before wee had wee exchange our naturall pride for Christian humility but in our Ascension wee shall change our place remoue out of this wildernesse into Canaan from earth to Heauen and the same God that is pleased here for a time to make vs sowe in teares will then yeeld vs a plentifull haruest which wee shall reape in ioy wee shall then see the fulnesse of his loue towards vs which too vsually wee misdeeme by reason of the Crosse which hardly can wee conceiue that it can stand with his good will towards vs Castigo te non quod odio habeam sed quod amem is a proposition more true than euident the combination is so strange that it is no wonder if we be hard of beleefe but God will then cleare it and we shall confesse we had no reason to discredit it One Note more and so an end Before you heard of Grace now you see that grace is a spoile a spoile taken from that enemy that tyrannized ouer vs and this is no small improuement of grace Before you heard that grace did fill vs but now you see that wee were captiues and the condition of captiues is to endure hunger nakednesse all kinde of miserie and how welcome is that grace that fils such empty persons Before you heard that this grace was a gift but here you finde that Christ payed dearely for it the more it cost him the more precious should it bee in our eyes What shall I say then to you but wish you to couple this third Sermon with the first that you may bee more feeling of the loue of God in Christ O Lord that wouldest descend before thou diddest ascend grant that wee may make our way through Humility to Glory giue vs grace to consummate thy Triumph by manfully resisting and conquering of Sathan Let vs not feare to tread on him whom thou hast disarmed yea enrich vs wee beseech thee with the spoyles which thou hast taken from him and make vs euer willing and deuout captiues of thine Let it neuer grieue vs to serue thee who hast so mercifully saued vs Let vs now ascend in heart whither we hope to ascend in place and so prepare vs on earth by a holy conuersation that wee may partake with Christ of a happy condition in the kingdome of Heauen Amen IHS A SERMON PREACHED IN WESTMINSTER BEfore his Matie the Lords and others of the vpper House of Parliament at the opening of the Fast Iulie 2. 1625. 1 KINGS cap. 8. vers 37 38 39 40. If there bee in the Land famine if there bee pestilence blasting mildew locust if there bee Caterpillers if the enemie besiege them in the Lund of their Cities Whatsoeuer plague whatsoeuer sickenesse there be What prayer and supplication soeuer bee made by any man or by all thy people Israel which shall know euery man the plague of his own heart and spread forth his hands towards this House Then heare thou in Heauen thy dwelling place and forgiue and doe and giue to euery man according to his wayes whose heart thou knowest For thou euen thou onely knowest the hearts of all the children of men That they may feare thee all the daies that they liue in the Land which thou gauest to our Fathers THese words are a Clause of that Prayer wherewith King Salomon did dedicate the Temple and expresse that vse thereof which commeth very neare our present case Our case is twofold we suffer from Gods wrath wee are suppliants to Gods mercy And lo two like cases are presented in these words the case of Sufferers verse 37. and in the three next verses the case of Suppliants But more distinctly to rip vp the Text We will consider therein first the manner of the deliuerie and secondly the matter that is deliuered The Manner it is a Prayer the words are conceiued in that forme In the Matter we shall see 1. Whom these words concerne and 2. Wherein they doe concerne them Those whom they concerne are the inhabitants of Canaan the children of Israel the People of God this you may gather out of the 37. and 38. Verses And they concerne them in two maine Points for they shew first that they may vnderlye the heauie hand of God secondly that they must then haue recourse vnto the Throne of Grace The heauie hand of God is here set downe first definitely it may afflict Israel eyther only in
their persons by famine and pestilence or onely in their possessions by blasting and mildew distempers of the Aire whose corruption breedeth also vermine to worke the same mischiefe Locusts and Caterpillers or ioyntly in their persons and possessions by the sword when the Enemie doth besiege them in the Land of their Cities Definitely thus is the heauy hand of God exprest It is exprest also indefinitely lest Israel should thinke that these bee all the instruments of Gods wrath Salomon addeth a more liberall phrase Whatsoeuer plague whatsoeuer sicknesse there may bee it may bee in the Land God hath many more waies to afflict Israel than are exprest This is Israels first case a bad one It hath another and a better When Israel doth vnderlye the heauy hand of God then must Israel haue recourse vnto the Throne of grace And here we will obserue first that God which sendeth calamities prouideth his Church of a remedie Secondly though the calamities bee many yet the remedie is but one the onely remedy of all calamities is penitent deuotion my text calleth it Prayer and Supplication Touching this deuotion we shall learne here the Performance and the Acceptance of it Vnto the Performance two Acts concurre one inward Penitents must know euery one the plague of his owne heart the other outward the Penitents deuotion must be attended with conuenient Ceremonies here are two specified the one of the hands they must bee strecht out the other of the eye that must looke towards the Temple of Salomon Thus must the deuotion be performed And it must be performed by euery Israelite in particular any man that will bee penitent must performe it so and all Israel must performe it so if they will be penitent the text is plaine for both The penitent Deuotion that is thus performed God will accept and touching his acceptance wee are here taught Wherein it consisteth and whereat it aymeth It consisteth in two things God will giue Accesse to penitent Prayers Then heare thou in Heauen the place of thy dwelling Secondly hee will giue redresse vnto the sufferings of the Penitent a redresse to the cause of them that is he will forgiue sinne a redresse to the effect of sinne that is Woe He will doe what they desire and giue ease to their paine But marke God dispenseth his double grace discreetly He will giue to men but according to their waies those waies not outward but inward He will giue according to their wayes whose heart he knoweth and this heart though vnknowne to all others cannot be hid from him He he only knoweth the hearts of all the children of men As God dispenseth discreetly so vniuersally He dispenseth vnicuique to euery man of eyther sort according to his wayes Well God doth accept penitent denotion But Whereat doth he ayme in this Acceptance Surely at the Amendment of Israel He doth it that Israel may feare him and be constant in this Amendment feare all the dayes that they liue And the place where they liue putteth a double Obligation vpon them first it is Ha Aretz Ha Adama a very eminent Land secondly their Tenure is francke Almoine Hee whom they must feare gaue it to their Fathers You see beloued that the particulars which I haue pointed out are many and they are pertinent yet feare not that I will be ouer long I remember the mortalitie of your hearing my speaking it shall therfore suffice that I moderately touch at them only God vouchsafe by them to touch vs all to the quicke Let vs then beginne with the Manner of the deliuerie My text is conceiued in the forme of a Prayer but in the next Chapter this Prayer is made a Promise So that I shall not mistake if I turne the words into seuerall Assertions and you shall lose nothing for in the Close I wil returne them into a Petition againe This is all I will say of the Manner of deliuerie In the Matter deliuered wee must first see Whom these words concerne and the Text telleth vs that they are the inhabitants of Canaan the children of Israel the people of God if I say no more this were enough to notifie them but it is expedient for my purpose that I moreouer dignifie them they were the peculiar of God Exod. 19. his Iewell of Men a royall Priesthood an holy Nation Rom. cap. 2. cap 9. trusted with Gods Oracles Depositaries of his Couenant they possessed the Arke and Christ according to the flesh was the off-spring of that Nation Ier. cap. 3. cap. 12. Ephes 2. you may finde more of their Honours in the New Testament and in the Old but these may suffice to shew how neare they came and how deare they were to God And yet may this people vnderlye the heauie hand of God Israel may be made as Egypt a Theater of Plagues the Paradise of God may become like Sodome and Gomorrah a monument of vengeance the Holy Ghost foretold it and the euent hath iustified it The Church hath no priueledge from Gods iudgements God spareth sinne in none Hee will visit it with scourges wheresoeuer hee findeth it Yea so farre is the Church from being priuiledged that it is though a strange one yet a prerogatiue of the Church to drinke first of the cup of Gods wrath Iudgement saith St. Peter cap. 4. v. 17. must beginne at Gods house God in the stripes of his children letteth the world see what it must expect And indeed the perswasion would not be forcible if the argument ranne thus God striketh his enemies therefore he will strike his friends who would be moued with it But if it runne thus He striketh his friends therefore he will not spare his enemies the Conclusion is vnauoydable What then is our Lesson Bee not high minded but feare Rom. 11. and Let him that standeth take heed lest he fad 1 Cor. 10. For he that falleth into sinne will fall vnder wrath the Israelites are to vs Types of morall correspondencies what befell them may befall vs. And it is happy that it may for nulla poena maxim a poena a man is neuer in worse case than when hee is most at ease such ease temporall is the harbinger of eternall paine neither doe men much intend their saluation who are not quickned thereunto by some temporall affliction A stray sheepe will neuer returne into the way except it bee forced by the shepheards staffe and God neglecteth them as bastards Heb. 12.8 who neuer feele that rod wherewith hee vseth to correct his children You see then that the Prerogatiue of the Church which I fore-specified is not onely an vndoubted Truth but whatsoeuer flesh and bloud may thinke to the contrary it is a great blessing it is a blessing that the Church may vnderlye the heauie hand of God it was Israels blessing and it is ours that wee may vnderlye Gods heauie hand May nay doe It cannot be doubted that wee may seeing it is euident that we
onely knowledge but acknowledgement Knowledge without acknowledgement is of little regard with God auailes vs but little he knoweth his wounds as a penitent that by searching sindeth what cuill he hath done and though to his owne confusion yet layeth it open before the tender eyes of God and so qui addit scientiae addit dolori Eccles 1. the penitents knowledge is the fountaine of his forrow Saint Austin wittily wresteth those words of the Preacher to this purpose Marke moreouer the word his owne for men are most willing to know and make knowne other mens wounds but vt nemo in sese tentat descendere nemo Men loue not to bee knowne to themselues yet many a man hath inward plagues which none knowes but God and himselfe But it is an absurd thing to passe ouer our owne wounds and inquire into other mens It is much to be wisht therefore that we would translate this scrutinie and spend it vpon our selues take pity vpon our owne selues Nazianz Orat. 26. and let the sense of our owne ill deseruings open a passage to the relieuing bowels of our most mercifull Father who relieueth none but those which know the euill which they haue done and suffer Esay 26. When wee come according to the Ordinance of the Church to make confession either at the entrance to common Prayer or the Eucharist euery man should haue premeditated his owne sinnes and acknowledge them vnto God in the secret of his heart and craue pardon for them But though a man must haue this passion in regard of his owne case yet must he not be without compassion toward the ill case of others If it be but a priuate mans case we must be compassionate towards him because he is a member of the same body We know the Parable of the man that went from Ierusalem to Ierico and fell amongst Theeues who stript him and wounded him the Priest and the Leuite are taxed for want of compassion towards him as the Samaritane is commended for hauing it And if we must shew compassion towards priuate mens cases how much more towards the publicke It is a grieuous complaint that God maketh against the great men of Israel Amos 6. who stretch themselues vpon Iuorie beds eate the Lambes of the flocke c. but were not grieued for the affliction of Ioseph if the whole feele the distresses of euery part of our body should any part be so senslesse as not to suffer for the whole especially seeing if the whole perish euery part perisheth whereas the whole may subsist though this or that part doe perish and fall away The miserable estate of Christendome especially the Orthodoxe Church and our own generall calamities importune mee to recommend this compassion vnto you and beseech you to include it in this dayes Humiliation and to let the one be as long liued as the other to let neither of them decay much lesse dye till God returne to his Church and this State in his wonted mercy and with his wonted blessing You haue heard the first inward act of a Penitent There is another act here specified which is outward Penitent Deuotion must be accompanied with conuenient ceremonies here are two mentioned one of the hands they must be stretcht out this is a naturall ceremony for marke a childe when he hath offended his parents as hee falleth vpon his knees so he lifteth vp his hands so doth a seruant to his master a subiect to his Soueraigne and the conquered to the Conquerour and it importeth as much as Do victas in tua vincla manus Sir I am at your mercy The word Supplicium hath its name hence because it humbleth the weaker vnder the hand of the stronger the inferiour to the superiour and maketh him supplicare submit vnto him From hence it is translated vnto Praier and made a ceremony thereof both in the Old Testament let the lifting vp of my hands bee as an euening Sacrifice Psal 141. and in the New Testament I will that men pray in all places lifting vp pure hands 1. Tim. 2. This is the first meaning of this ceremony when it is applyed to penitency As God stretcheth out his hand to strike so the Penitent stretcheth out his hand for mercy Though I am not ignorant that it may also signifie the correspondency of the inward to the outward man that as the heart lifteth it selfe vp to God so must the body also by the hands This is excellently set forth in the Psalme I stretch forth my hands to thee my heart thirsteth for thee as a thirsty Land Psal 143. and in this sense Moses in the warre against Amalecke Salomon in this Dedicatory and others may bee thought in their prayers to haue stretcht forth their hands vnto God The former sense doth not exclude this The second ceremony is of the Eye that is mysticall the Eye must look towards the Temple of Salomon that is the place where God put his Name and where the cloud representing God resided betweene the Cherubins vpon the Mercy seate This brings it home to that which before I told you was to be done by the Suppliant who hath recourse to the Throne of Grace and as Tephillah the prayer made vnto the Iudge did require a ceremony of submissiue stretching out of the hand so Techinnah the prayer of Mercy requires a cast of our eye vpon the Mercy seate the ceremonies fit well the Deuotion The riches of Gods nature are infinite but wee vse to single out such of Gods Attributes as are most fit for our Deuotion to behold not excluding the rest but desiring that the rest may not hinder but further rather that Attribute vpon which wee lay hold Salomons Temple is long since ruined there is now no typicall Mercy seate whereunto wee should looke according to the example of Daniel and others But the truth abideth for euer God that was in Christ reconciling the world doth accept our prayers if wee offer them though Iesus Christ where Christ then is thither must we bend our eyes euen to the right hand of God whereat he sitteth to make intercession for vs. Out of both ceremonies ioyntly gather that the place whither we direct our Deuotion sheweth from whom the plagues come and that is from God and he sendeth them for sinne the confession thereof is plain in the acts of the Deuotion the plagues come not by chance neither are they sent without a cause The Heathen did acknowledge the Author and therefore pacified God with their solemne Supplications Christians knew him and propitiated him much better as appeares by the ancient Letanies To say nothing of the Law and the Prophets which are plentifull in teaching that all plagues come from God As God sendeth them so he sendeth plagues for sinnes being offended with our crying sinnes he poureth vpon the world grieuous plagues Maledicta terra propter te the first Curse was for mans sinne The Law runnes in the same tenour
haue not been carefull to bring them that sit in darknesse and in the shadow of death to the knowledge of Christ and participation of the Gospel Much trauelling to the Indies East and West but wherefore some go to possesse themselues of the Lands of the Infidels but most by commerce if by commerce to grow richer by their goods But where is the Prince or State that pitieth their soules and without any worldly respect endeauours the gaining of them vnto God some shew we make but it is but a poore one for it is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an accessorie to our worldly desire 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is not it is not our primarie intention wheras Christs method is Mat. 6.33 first seeke ye the kingdome of God and then all other things shall be added vnto you you shall fare the better for it in your worldly estate If the Apostles and Apostolicke men had affected our saluation no more we might haue continued till this day such as somtimes we were barbarous subiects of the Prince of darknesse Those of the Church of Rome boast of their better zeale for the Kingdome of Christ but their owne Histories shew that Ambition and Couetousnesse haue beene the most predominant Affections that haue swayed their endeauours and they haue with detestable cruelty made their way to those worldly ends in stead of sauing soules haue destroyed millions of persons We should take another course for their conuersion yea the same that was taken for ours and if wee doe it is to be hoped God will continue vs his people and adde daily to his Church such as shal be saued For Popish Recusants let me speake a word their case is mixt consisting partly in ignorance of the truth and partly in the seed of disloyaltie Wee haue made many good Lawes if not to roote out at least to keepe downe so much of their corruption as is dangerous to the State it were to bee wisht that greater care were taken for informing their consciences and indeed there should our Lawes beginne with them vnder a reasonable paine to vrge them to conference for why should we doubt but that God would blesse the honest endeauours of the Ministers of the truth who permits the Seducers to steale away so many hearts from God and the King Of this we may be sure that eyther God will worke that which we wish the recouery of those which are seduced or at least their obstinacie will bee without all excuse and the punishment thereof by sharpe Lawes will be no more than is iust in the sight both of God and man The neglect of this care of infidels and recusants is no small cause of that great distresse which at this day is fallen vpon the reformed Churches and God thereby calleth vpon vs to amend these defects Let vs vse our punishment well and let Gods chastisement prouoke vs to a better life though it seeme grieuous to vnderlie Gods heauy hand yet it is much more grieuous to be neuer a whit the better for the plagues for it is a second refusing of grace the same God that doth at first recommend vnto vs pietie by sweetning it with temporall blessings when that course speedeth not tryeth whether wee will bethinke our selues if we smart for our vntowardlinesse and certainly his case is desperate who is the worse for his stripes as you may reade in Gods complaint passionately exprest by Esay Cap. 1. Cap. 5. Cap. 4. by Amos and Ieremie hath illustrated it by an excellent simile of reprobate siluer which is molten in vaine because the drosse cannot bee separated from it Amend then wee must That is not enough we must be constant in our amendment we must feare God all the dayes of our life that is true Repentance when a man so turneth to God that he doth not returne againe like a dogge to his vomit or a sow to wallow in the myre Relapses are dangerous as Saint Peter teacheth 2 Pet. 2.21 and our Sauiour Christ tels the recouered lame man in the Gospel Iohn 5. Behold thou art made whole goe thy way sinne no more lest a worse thing happen vnto thee I will hearken saith the Psalmist Psal 85. what the Lord will say vnto me for he will speake peace vnto his people and to his Saints that they returne not again vnto their folly We should all remember Lots wife who for looking backe was turned into a pillar of salt Animae in vitia relabentis accusatricem a visible inditement of relapsing soules Most men are to God-ward like Planets sometimes in coniunction with him sometimes in a more or lesse aspect too often in plaine opposition but let vs take heed we be not in the number of those wandring stars of whom St. Iude speaketh to whom is reserued the blacknesse of darknesse for euer To begin well and not to go on is as if a man should put a soueraigne plaister to a dangerous wound and after a while teare it off againe thinke you that man would bee the better for his salue or the worse rather you heard before our sinnes are wounds and although repentance be a soueraigne salue yet proueth it not such vnto vs except it be lasting There is a good reason giuen by St. Bernard Cecidimus in lutum lapides our sias are like vnto fals into the myre wherein there are stones the mud doth soile vs and the stones bruise vs we may soone wash away the myre but we cannot so soone recouer our bruise euen so the guilt of our sin is sooner remitted than the corruption can be purged Therefore Repentance taketh time to restore our spirituall health and doth not compasse it but with much fasting watching praying almesdeeds c. and is watchfull ouer vs that second wounds make not the first more dangerous in a word being deliuered from our enemies and the hands of all that hate vs we endeauour to serue God in holinesse and righteousnesse all the dayes of our life Here are added two motiues vnto this constant amendment taken from the place wherein they liue It is true that wheresoeuer they liued they were to feare God all the dayes of their life because God is euery where a knower of the the heart a rewarder of men according to their workes But the place of their aboad put no small obligation vpon them first because it was an eminent place eminent corporally a good Land a Land flowing with milke and honey eminent mystically for it was the seate of the Church and a type of heauen and who should bee fruitfull in good workes rather than they that dwell in a fruitfull Land and holinesse beseemeth Gods house for euer But to sin in the Land of Immanuel in the Land of vprightnesse is no small improuement of sin and hee that is barren of good works in a fruitfull Land shall haue the earth that brings forth her increase rise vp in iudgement against him Our Countrey hath both
spirituall which a Pastor hath from Christ with the temporall which he deriueth from Princes the confusion hath shed much Christian blood and we must take notice of this that we neuer be engaged in the like vniust quarrell But enough of the Historie There is a mysticall meaning which the holy Ghost aymeth at in mentioning the Staffe and that is the Analogie betweene the care that is taken for irrationall sheepe and that which must bee taken for the rationall God that trusteth Princes and Pastors with the gouernment of his people will haue them to set before their eyes a Iacob feeding Labans sheepe or a faithfull Shepheards care and thereof doth he put them in minde in this phrase But I forget my principall Note I told you that the Staffe is the Hieroglyphick of power and indeed power is here meant Virga potentiae as it is called in the tenth Psalme it is a Rod of power the titles that are giuen vnto Pastors they all sound superioritie Episcopus Oeconomus Bishop Steward Leader Architect Ghostly father This cannot bee denied vnto the Pastor of whom this Text speaketh who as you haue heard is not Seruus but Dominus is Lord of the house and therefore rules 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with soueraigntie and with power Touching the Seruants there may bee some question because to them is committed onely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they are onely Ministers But their Ministrie must not be mistaken for it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they doe administer indeede but it is the power of Christ that they administer so saith Christ himselfe As my father sent me so send I you A Steward is a seruant in a house but such a seruant as vnder the master commands the whole familie wee are Stewards the Keyes are committed vnto vs we are to rule not to be ruled by the people But this Power brancheth it selfe into two parts for there is baculus directionis and baculus correctionis the Pastors power is first to teach the people their dutie they must receiue his words as the words of God and Gods words are commanding words and they are binding Lawes it is not left vnto the peoples choyce whether they will or will not obey them they proceede from the staffe of direction that directs in foro Poli not Soli the consciences of Christian people As the Power is of direction so is it of correction also not ciuill T is true that the Bishop of Rome hath patcht such a power to his pastorall Staffe but we can claime none such from Christ our Censuâ—es are spirituall we binde or loose mens soules we remit or retaine their sinâ—es open or shut the Kingdome of Heauen vnto them But though the weapons of our warfare are not carnall but spirituall yet are they mighty through God to the pulling downe of strong holds 2 Cor. 10. and to reuenge all disobedience Iustly therefore is this branch of Power to be awed that is contained in the Staffe the staffe that is the embleme of the power of Correction I will obserue no more vpon the first part of the furniture the Pastors Authoritie that is noted by the Staues I come on to his Abilities which are gathered out of the properties of the same Staues whereof one is the Staffe of Beautie the other of Bands I might tyre out both my selfe and you if I would scan the seuerall coniectures of the learned commenting on these words some by them distinguishing the Sheepe eyther into the Families of Noah and Abraham or into the Nations of Iewes and Gentiles some distinguishing the Shepheards into good and bad some the furniture of the good Shepheards which they will haue some to bee the Law of Nature and the written Law some restraine it onely to the written word and finde in these words the sweetnesse of the Gospel and the seuerity of the Law The grounds and mistakes of these seuerall opinions I list not to discusse the truest Commentarie is that which wee finde in this Chapter At the tenth verse then we reade that when the Shepheard brake his staffe of beauty he disanuld with that fact his Couenant that he had made with all people And what was that but the Couenant of Grace At the fourteenth verse where he breaketh the staffe of bands he addes that by that fact hee did dissolue the brotherhood between Israel and Iuda And what is that but the band of Charitie Whereupon it fairely followes that these words doe note the properties of the Shepheard the properties of the Euangelicall Shepheard who must be well seene in the Gospell and keep Christians at one Veritie and Charitie are meant the one by the beauty the other by the bands of the Staues And indeede these are the two grounds of a blessed Church Veritate nihil pulchrius nihil fortius Vnitate there is nothing that allures more than the Gospel or that holds faster than Charitie the losse of eyther of these will much distresse a Church For it will thereupon be either deformed or distracted deformed with heresie if it want the truth and distracted with Schisme if it want charitie it will become Tohu 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bohu without shape and voyde returne to its former Chaos Christ the great Shepheard was Melchisedech King of Righteousnesse and King of Salem also that is King of Peace hee not onely beautified his Church with Righteousnesse but fortified it with Charitie also And whatsoeuer Pastor vnder him doth not herein resemble him he is too like the Idoll shepheard mentioned at the end of this Chapter and hath eyther his arme dryed vp or his right eye darkened he wants a staffe of beauty or of bands and so will be the cause through defect of his Abilities that the Church be eyther despised by Schisme or with Heresie disfigured But let vsâ—ake these Abilities asunder and looke into them seuerally First into the staffe of beauty The word in the Originall signifieth Pulchritudinem Suauitatem Fairenesse and Sweetnesse whereof the later is a consequent vpon the former for the fairest persons if they degenerate not are most commonly the sweetest natures Certainely it was so in our Sauiour Christ who was the fairest of the Sonnes of men and grace was poured in his lips and so the Gospell that commeth from him beareth both the characters of his nature fairenesse and sweetnesse Touching fairenesse Cyrillus Alexandrinus on this text giueth this Note 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the doctrine of the Gospell is eminently beautifull but hee addes well 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wee must not mistake it is no corporall but a spirituall beauty for the Kings Daughter is all glorious within But the corporall may teach vs what to obserue in the spirituall Corporall beautie consists of figura and forma proportion and complexion euery member of a body must haue his iust lineaments and his proper die and then the body is beautifull Something answerable hereunto there is in spirituall beautie in the beautie
ioyneth them together looke vpon the storie in Genesis there you shall find that ADAM non arripuit Euam sed expectauit Deum adducentem he did not carue for himselfe Math. 19. but stayed for GODS consent and therefore our Sauiour CHRIST saith Prou. 2.17 that GOD conioyned in marriage and SOLOMON saith that it is pactum Dei the couenant of God so that the lawfull coniunction of man and wife is not onely Gods ordinance but Gods act also he doth it by himselfe or his Minister the verie Heathen thought so that had a seuerall God president not onely of the substantiall parts but also of euerie circumstance of their marriage I will not trouble you with enumeration of them Obserue then the interueniencie of God in wedlocke which doth improue it though not to the state of a Romish Sacrament yet to the condition of a sacred thing and so we should esteeme it And the act of God in ioyning ADAM and EVE must be accounted a reall Law the sampler whereunto all other wedlockes were to conforme themselues as exemplysications our Sauiour CHRIST teacheth vs so to vnderstand it Math. 1â— and our Prophet doth here worke vpon it as being such But why doe I call to witnesse these sacred Authors The light of Reason taught it the Philosopher Aristotle giueth it for a Law in his Politicks and in his Oeconomicks the Romane Emperour a Deijs qui infamiae notantur Legâ— in his Digests b De intest nuptiâ—s ad Legem Iust de Adulterijs in the Code thought it reasonable to put it into their Lawes c Gratiam causa 24. quest 3. de diuortijs the Canonists make it their ground against marriage after diuorce and our Law hath prouided for it Seeing so many Lawes attend Gods legall fact it cannot be denyed but that Polygamie is a sinne against this Worke-master it cannot be denyed but that Polygamie is a sinne against the Law-giuer as well as against his Law Whence you the Penitent may make a farther discouerie of your sinne you haue offended against the onenesse in marriage not onely that which God hath commanded but also that onenesse which God himselfe by his owne act hath made And if this Anabaptisticall libertie of hauing many wiues so offend for Anabaptists in this dotage of the world and their abettors haue beene the Authours and practisers of these masterlesse lusts how odious is the communitie of wiues and the Familists worke of darkenesse Surely 1 Cor. 6. though he that is ioyned to a Harlot as the Apostle speaketh be one flesh yet that onenesse is not of Gods making for he maketh none one but according to the Law before specified And let this suffice for the matter of the Text I come now to the manner The manner is powerfull for MALACHI deliuereth it in forme of a question which layeth the matter close to the conscience Did he not make one is as much as can you deny it Doth not the Law expresly say it This is an vndeniable truth so that he worketh vpon a known principle and giueth vs to vnderstand that principles of faith and good manners should be familiarly knowne the Catechisticall points should be euerie bodyes study and they should be ready with vs vpon all occasions to resolue our Consciences they are the best guid of our Iudgements when we come to try the conclusions that learned men deduce from them yea if we hold them we need not be perplexed in conscience if we haue not skill enough to iudge of the controuersies that doe arise concerning those conclusions It is true that CHRIST biddeth vs search the Scripture Iohn 5. Col. 8. Hebr. 5. and St PAVL willeth vs to let the Word of God dwell richly in vs and those that are of full age should by reason of vse haue their senses exercised to discerne good and euill But if our breeding haue not beene so good nor our capacitie so great we must be sure to hold the foundation the Principles of Religion must not be strange vnto vs if we take not so much paines as to be well skild in them our state to God-ward is but comfortlesse This I would haue them take notice of who neither themselues know their Catechisme nor take care that their children and seruants according to the Law be bred vp therein the Prophets Sermon could little haue profited these Iewes had they not been acquainted with his sext and because the common people know not much of their Catechisme they profit little by our Sermons for the truth hereof I report me to your owne consciences as the Prophet here doth for the vndoubtednesse of his Text. I haue done with the Text of the Law I come now to the Sermon of the Prophet I told you it is short but full for it hath the two parts of a Sermon whereof the first is doctrine and here is a indicious one To make it plaine you must conceiue that the Prophet argues vpon his Text thus God made but one was it because he could make no more or because he would not It was not because he could not for he had aboundance of spirit or as some read Excellencie ioyne them together and the sense will be full anoundance of excellent Spirit The words may point out either Gods power or his store and signifie that neither his power was enfeebled by the creation of one nor his store exhausted And indeed touching his power how should that be enfeebled which is infinite Sine numero sine mensura as St BERNARD speaketh it is not restrayned with any bounds it is true that his Will doth not alwayes extend as farre as his power but his power neuer commeth short of his Will Ps 135.6 Luke 1.37 for he doth whatsoeuer he will both in Heauen and in earth neither is any thing impossible vnto him Neither is the abundance of his excellent store any whit lesse consider but the infinite number of Angels which he made before he made man DANIEL saith that thousand thousands ministred vnto him Dan. 7. Ps 68. and ten thousand times ten thousands stood before him Or looke to that which was done after he made that one looke how many millions of men there haue beene since he created that one Hebr. 12. so many Spirits hath he created for he is the Father of our Spirits Eccl. 12. and when we dye the Preacher saith they returne to God that gaue them vs. Obserue that whereas man consisteth of a body and a soule there could be no question but God had stuffe enough to make more bodyes all the doubt was of the soule therefore the Prophet toucheth at that and not at the other and giues vs to vnderstand that it was as easie to Gods power to breathe more Spirits of life as of the dust of the earth or ribbe of man to make more bodyes Obserue secondly that the addition of Excellencie is ioyned with Spirit to
rule we shall see what it is and who prescribes it The rule is a precept which first doth range and then doth qualifie women answerable to their ranke In the Schoole of CHRIST there are Masters and Schollers women are placed amongst Schollers they must learne yea so are they placed amongst Schollers that they may neuer hope to be Masters for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they can haue no licence to teach The ground whereof is a generall maxime they may not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vsurpe vpon men if absolutely women may not be superior to men then may they not be in Ecclesiasticall things for teaching imports a superioritie Women being thus ranged must be qualified answerable to their ranke being Schollers they must haue the qualities of Schollers those are two filence and obedience silence they must vse their eares and not their tongues about sacred things they must be more forward to heare then to speake they must learne with silence And vnto their silence they must adde obedience they must not giue but take instructions and put in practise what they are taught they must learne with all subiection This is the Rule But who prescribes it So harsh a rule had need of a verie good Author women will otherwise be hard of beliefe And surely this hath a good one it is St PAVL his stile in the Preface of this Epistle shews his warrant he is an Apostle of IESVS CHRIST he deliuers it not in his owne name but in his Masters as his Steward so much is intimated in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whence comes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth a Steward so that we cannot dis-belieue him but we question CHRISTS truth The authoritie of this Rule then descends from Heauen and if it doe the bare promulgating of it requires that we credit it But as God doth all things not onely according to his Will but the Counsell of his Will euen so his words are Decrees not onely of his Will but also of his Counsell they haue a reason and for strengthening of our Faith the Holy Ghost though he be not bound yet is he often pleased to expresse the same He doth it in this place And the reason of this rule is taken first from the Creation then from the Fall From the Creation thus doth the Apostle argue woman must be subiect vnto man for Adam was first framed and then Eue the precedencie in being giues a prerogatiue of commanding But this was a reall ordinance and woman it should seeme tooke no notice of it for EVE began quickly to be a teacher of ADAM She did so but with verie ill successe for she was seduced she discouered the weaknesse of her iudgement and that not in a matter of speculation but of practise for she was in the transgression she brake GODS bonds and cast his cords from her by her and not by ADAM or rather by her taking vpon her to teach ADAM came sinne into the world Hereupon the Apostle concludes that because woman hath giuen so wofull a proofe of her vntowardlynesse in teaching of man she must forbeare for euer to meddle with that function and man must maintaine that authoritie which GOD hath giuen him ouer a woman These are the contents of this second Canon whereof suitable vnto this occasion I will now speake briefly and in their order I begin with the Rule I told you it is a Precept wherein we must see first how women are ranged The name of man and woman which in the Originall are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 haue a double signification they are vnderstood ratione either Sexus or Coniugij they note in generall male and female or in speciall such of either sexe as are ioyned in wedlocke The Apostle in this place makes vse of the generall signification but so that his doctrine may be applyed also to the speciall for if in generall women be so subiected vnto men wedlocke makes no alteration in this case but doth much more subiect a wife vnto her husband and in their measure must all the particulars of this text hold in the Oeconomicks though here they be handled as they are to be vnderstood in the Ecclesiasticks To come then nearer my Text. The CHVRCH is a societie and therefore consists of different parts there must be in it superiours and inferiours This is taught vs by the resemblance that is made between it and a Kingdome wherein there is a Soueraigne and Subiects betweene it and a Citie wherein there are Magistrates and Commons betweene it and an Army with Banners wherein there are Captaines and Souldiers betweene it and an House wherein there is a Master and his Family finally betweene it and our naturall Body wherein there are directing and obeying parts St PAVL handling this last resemblance 1 Cor. 12. shewes the ground of this subordination of persons as in all societies so in the CHVRCH to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the comlinesse and commoditie of the Societie This being a generall course which GOD hath set down in Societies it must be enquired first what be the different parts of a CHVRCH and then who are assigned to either part The parts are exprest in my Text and so also are the parties that are assigned to beare those parts The parts are Teachers and Learners all members of the CHVRCH come vnder this diuision for they are either Pastors or people ghostly Fathers or ghostly Children Stewards or the Houshold of GOD such as guid or are guided vnto Heauen This being plaine that there are but these two parts The second enquirie is What parties are assigned to beare them And here we find that GOD imposeth the person of a Learner vpon the woman and of a Teacher vpon the man Though the knowledge and the feare of GOD are common to men and women for women also are in the Couenant and must not be ignorant of the Articles thereof especially seeing GOD hath vouchsafed them to be spirituall both Kings and Priests yet the administration of sacred things is the peculiar of men In the beginning of the world GOD layed this Function vpon the first borne that was male after the deliuerance out of the Aegyptian captiuitie GOD in steed of the first-borne chose the Tribe of Leuie vnto this seruice to be performed onely by the males thereof after CHRIST was inaugurated to the Office of a Mediator he chose twelue men to be his Apostles and to them gaue order for the continuance of the Ministerie in that Sexe It is true that GOD extraordinarily in both Testaments raysed vp Prophetesses according to that of Ioel cap. 2. and while the Foundation of the CHVRCH was laying by women he enformed men of his Truth yea by a silly woman gaue entrance vnto Christianitie in a whole Kingdome but the instances are rare and they are workes wherein GOD shewed himselfe to haue power to dispense with his owne Ordinance and dispose at his
others Lib. 5. cap. 1â— saying Who can forgiue linnes but God onely St Irenie giues the reason Quomodo rectè remissa peccata nisi ille ipse in quem peccauimus donet remissionem He is the only I egislator as St Iames speaks and concludes that he onely hath power to condemne and absolue Therefore doth GOD Esay 43 and 44 claime this as his peculiar it is the peculiar of his Word to acertaine our Faith and of his Spirit to vnburden our Soules and insteed of the heauinesse that did oppresse to cheare vs vp with spirituall ioy Hitherto you haue seene a good correspondencie betweene the Co fession and the Remission but now you must heare of a great difference for Dauid was come no farther then Dixi he had a good purpose to confesse but of GOD which is the searcher of the heart he witnesseth that he was come to Remisisti granted the parden before it was asked so doth St Austin paraphrase these words Vox mea in ore nondum erat sed auris Dei iam in corde erat And what is this but a proofe of that gratious promise which GOD himselfe hath made in the Prophet Esay 〈◊〉 6 5. Oâ—at â— Orat. 15. before they call I will answer and while they speake I will heare 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cryed out Nazianzene when he conâ—dered this But else-where he giues the reason of this celeritie â—ra est opus alienum when GOD is angry he goes against his owne natuâ—e but eius proprium est misereri it is as it were naturall to him to do good vnto men You need no better proofe then the parable of the proâ—igall child man cannot be so forward to receiue good but GOD is much more forward to bestow it and what greater incouragement to confesse most humbly then to obserue that GOD deales with a confessing sinner most gratiously And indeed we ought to obserue it for which was the last point to be handled on the Text the successe is remarkable It is signed with Selah Not to trouble you with the vse of this word in Musicke The learned make hereof a double morall vse for it is either a note of so â—e great thing and then they render it by the superlatiue degree or of some constant thing and so the Caldee rendreth it in aeternum Both these morall vses sit our purpose for the two maine branches of my Text are great and constant truthes What is there in the Confession that is not great Is it not a great thing to see a man so to put off selfe-loue and pride the properties of his corrupt nature and not onely acknowledge himselfe to be but also to humble himselfe as being a sinfull wretch To vse that rhetoricke wherewith he was wont to shift off his blame in amplyfying of his owne sinne In being so charitable as to eâ—cuse all the more to accuse himselfe and the more to set forth GODS glorie not to sticke euen in the hearing of men to be the publisher of his owne miserie This is great but due But how much more great is it to see GOD the Iudge of man so little to be moued with the heynousnesse of sinne as to send a Prophet to comfort an humble sinner yea to send his Spirit to ease the broken heart to take off the load from his Rebels and lay it vpon his deare Sonne And herein to preuent him who might well thinke himselfe happy if he spead after long attendance Certainly these things are great the more great because not due But as they are great so they are constant also for what king Dauid did must be done by all and all in so doing may looke for the same successâ— Salomon hath a generall rule Proâ— 28. He that hides his sinne shall not prosper but he that confesseth them and forsaheth them shall find mercie The Apostles confirme it If we confesse our sinnes God is faithfull to forgiue saith St Iohn and St Paul If we would iudge our selues we should not be iudged of the Lord. But the more is the pittie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there are many as Tertullian speakes which either deferre Nazianz. or abhorre this worke of Confession vt publicationem sui as if they should be too well knowne thereby either to GOD or men praesumo pudoris magis memores quam salutis more respectiue of a little false credit then of eternall life whereby you may perceiue the truth of St Chrysostomes note Inuertunt homines Dei ordinem Diaboli instinctu Deus enim pudorem dedit peccato confessioni siduciam but Diabolus peccato sidâ—â—iam confessioni pudorem the world hath too many spectacles of this peruerse dealing to whom we may vse the words of Tertullian Ne tu verecunde bonus qui ad delinquendum exporrigis frontem ad confitendum contrahis Is it not forsâ—oth a goodly modestie to be impudent in sinne and shamefast in the censure thereof But to what end doth man auoid this shame Surely to fall into a worse for he that will not be ashamed voluntarily shall against his will be put to shame Certainly the shall at the last day when GOD shall reueale all secrets in the sight of Angels and men Yea haply GOD will bring it to light in this world for some men haue their maske taken off here and their nakednesse discouered before they dye so that it is ill prouidence è malis maximum when we must chooâ—e one of two euils to reserue our selues vnto the worst And whereas he which accuseth himselfe need feare no accuser to spare himselfe that he may haue many and those that are much worse to accuse him But if a man be senslesse that he will not prouide what is best for himselfe yet let him not be so gracelesse as to doe wrong vnto GOD Peccator cum sis Nazianz. accede vt glorifices Deum occasionem praebeas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â— Si dubitas accedere inhibuisti bonitatem and we shall find that GOD can worse brooke the contempt of the Gospel then the breach of the Law Wherefore let vs listen to the Sonne of Syrach Cap. 4 and not be ashamed to confesse our sinne let vs sowe in teares that we may reape in ioy for blessed are they which now mourne for they shall be comforted Let euerie one of vs haue that good testimonie of our conscience which Iob had I haue not hid my sinne Cap. 31 as Adam conceiuing iniquitie in my bosome and we shall be able with King Dauid to pray and pray with hope Lord haue mercie vpon me heale my soule for I haue sinned against thee If we follow Dauids practise and say as he did we will confesse our sinnes against our selues vnto the Lord we shall be able vpon our owne experience euerie man to boast of King Dauids successe and to say Lord thou hast forgiuen the iniquitie of my sinnes A SERMON PREACHED AT WHITE-HALL
Quo modo how this Sacring was performed it was performed Signo visibili verbo audibili with a visible signe and an audible word The Signe commeth first in the Text we are told what it was and what it ment It was the shape of a Doue and by it was ment the Spirit of God But touching this Signe wee learne here moreouer Vnde and Quo Whence it came where it pitcht whence the Heauens were opened vnto him and the Spirit of God descended where it pitcht the Spirit that descended lighted on Iesus You see what was the Visible signe A visible signe of it selfe is but a dumbe shew it may amaze it cannot instruct therefore it must bee illustrated and it is here illustrated by an audible word the word is called Vox de Caelo a voyce from Heauen and it was fit it should be so for from whence came the vision from thence was the Reuelation for to come the vision was from Heauen therefore the Reuelation thereof also But this is not all that we learne here concerning the word goe on and you shall finde Cuius and de quo who it is that vttereth it and of whom He that vttereth it is not exprest but fairely implied in Filius meus my Sonne Iesus could not be the Sonne but of GOD the Father therefore is it GOD the FATHER that speaketh the word And the word that he speaketh concerneth Iesus it teacheth vs first What he is to God the Father and secondly What he doth for vs. He is neere because the Sonne and deare because his beloued Sonne adde to both the Article 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Sonne that beloued Sonne and then he will prooue neere and deare indeed From him that is so great with God we may not exspect small matters that which hee doth is answerable to that which hee is he doth that which neuer any other person could doe he propitiateth GODS wrath and by him we finde grace in the eyes of GOD These blessings of IESVS are contained in the last words In whom I am well pleased There is one Point more All this commendations that is giuen vnto IESVS referreth to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This this person that is in the middest of you that maketh so little shew and is so little regarded is hee whom I so esteeme and vpon whom depends your soueraigne good I will not you may not for his Humilitie defraud him of his Glory You haue seene a glimpse of the Sacring of Christ though I should not yet the Text would require you to entertaine it with your best regard for the visible signe the audible word both are prefaced with a particle of attention Loe loe the Heauens were opened Loe a voyce from Heauen the word doth summon your eyes your eares to behold to attend these holy Mysteries And I pray GOD so to sanctifie your eyes and your eares that while I take a sunder this Text and shew it you more fully in the parts the blessed Trinitie may vouchsafe by them to instill into you some fructifying drops of our blessed Sauiours heauenly Vnction Amongst the particulars where-into I resolued the Text the first was the circumstance of Time when CHRIST was baptized CHRIST was baptized before he was Sacred hee was receiued into the new Couenant by Baptisme before hee became a dispenser thereof And the Church neuer thought it fit to swarue from so good a Patterne and conferre Holy Orders vpon any that was not first incorporated into the Church Yea it hath alwayes gon for a grounded truth that it is Baptisme that maketh a man capable of other Holy rites and that being vnbaptized he is vncapable of them Secondly the circumstance of Time doth notifie the kinde of grace that was figured in the descension of the Doue he descended not in but after the Act of Baptisme Had hee descended in the Act it might haue beene thought that onely Gratia gratum faciens the grace of regeneration or sanctification had beene represented by the Doue but descending after some farther kind of grace is more ouer intimated What that grace was let vs breifely inquire Some fetch hence the Originall of Confirmation and suppose that Christ the Head confirmed himselfe here vnto his Body the Church So that as in the Church Baptizati recipiunt spiritum sanctum they that are first baptized are after confirmed so CHRIST would be confirmed after hee was baptized There is no doubt but the Right of confirmation is Apostolicall notwithstanding the friuolous exceptions that by some are taken to it and it may passe inter pie credibilia that CHRIST did vouchsafe in his owne person to sanctifie that as hee did many other sacred rites of the Church But yet it may not be denied that ouer and aboue here is ment another kind of grace a grace that is not common to euery member of the Church as the grace of confirmation is but peculiar vnto a publique Person such as CHRIST was now called to be And therefore I call it Sacring grace such a kind of grace seemeth to be intimated by the circumstance of Time The second circumstance is that of Place the Place was where CHRIST stood after he came out of the water that was the banke of Iordan which St. Iohn calleth Bethabara the very name doth containe a Monument of the children of Israels first passage there into the land of Canaan and then the Place is not without a Mysterie the choice thereof giueth vs to vnderstand that the Historie of Iosua was performed in Iesus that the waters of Baptisme were become a passage from earth to Heauen from the condition of Nature to the condition of Grace and that euen while wee liue in this vaile of miserie we are thereby enrolled among the Saints Adde hereunto that Bethabara was now a place of great concourse Hierusalem Iudaea all the Regions about Iordan and all sorts of men resorted thither to be baptized of Iohn and it was meete that so great a worke as CHRISTS Sacring should be performed in a great assembly Yea all the remarkeable manifestations of our Sauiour his Miracles his Sermons his Death c. are noted to haue beene publike they were not as St. Paul obserues to King Agrippa done in a corner the vnbeleeuing Iew or other that doubts or disputes of their truth is by the circumstance of Place conuicted to doe it out of affected ignorance And let this suffice for the circumstance I come to the substance of the Sacring where first wee must see who it is that was sacred Wee finde that it was the same Person that was baptized the Sonne of God clothed with the nature of man Where note that Iesus had two Abilities an Actiue a Passiue one to giue another to receiue the Spirit hee that was able for to giue was contented 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the diuine dispensation and humble condition whereunto for our sakes hee submitted himselfe to receiue the Spirit And indeed
so it behoued him to fulfill all righteousnesse whereof this was a Branch to shew that he was the Truth of former Types Cap. 8. We read in Leuiticus how solemnely Aaron was consecrated and seeing CHRIST came to bee what Aaron onely did signifie the high Priest of God it behoued that he also should haue an Inauguration but so much more excellent by how much the Truth exceedes the Type Luke 3. and the Lora the Seruant This correspondency is made the more probable because St. Luke tels vs that when this was done CHRIST was about thirtie yeeres old and of that age was the Priest to be when he entred vpon his charge the Holy Ghost by that Law Numb 4.8 and by this example of CHRIST giuing vs to vnderstand That maturitie of age is a necessary requisite in all that will vndertake a sacred function Marke withall the regular humilitie of our Sauiour though he were the Lord of Glory Hâ—b â— No man saith St Paul taketh the honour of Priesthoed vpon him but he that is called of God as was Aaron therefore Iesus glorified not himselfe but was glorified by him that said vnto him Thou art a Priest for euer after the order of Melchisedeck hee tooke not vpon him the office of a Mediatour vntill he was thereto ordained checking the sacrilegious pride of those which presume of their abilitie and intrude themselues without Imposition of hands into sacred Functions they cannot be so able they should not be lesse humble then was our Sauiour CHRIST St. Luke addeth that CHRIST was praying when the Holy Ghost descended As GOD doth promise so we must desire his guifts the greatest guifts with the most earnest desire CHRIST would herein bee exemplary vnto vs to testifie the humilitie that beseemes our nature and goe before vs in that which he commandeth he prayeth for that which he looked for from GOD. After this holy patterne haue all Christian Inaugurations and Ordinations beene accompanied with publicke and deuout Prayers And if CHRIST did not receiue the Holy Ghost from his Father but by praying how can they but blush at their vnmannerlinesse that refuse vpon their knees to receiue the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of CHRIST Finally we learne of CHRIST praying that after Baptisme we must not be secure for though all sinnes be forgiuen vs yet is not concupiscence wholy extinguisht neither haue we our full measure of grace we ought therefore to fall to our prayers and so prepare our selues to receiue the Holy Ghost which is our needfull guide and strength in our spirituall warfare But because I shall resume this second Person againe in the end of the Text we will passe on and see in the next place how he was consecrated He was consecrated first in signo visibili with a visible signe which was the likenesse of a Doue De Agone Christiano The word likenesse is not vsed saith St. Augustine ad excludenaam veritatem Columbae to denie that that which appeared was a true Doue but ad Ostendendum quod spiritus nâ—n apparuit in specie substantiae to shew that the Essence of the Spirit is a sarre different thing from that wherein he did vouchsafe to manifest himselfe It was then a true Doue and the end for which it was vsed sheweth there is reason we should thinke it to be so It was to be signum analegicum an apt signe to represent what was signified and the shape without the substance of a Doue could not so well signifie the properties of the Holy Ghost their correspondency is to the qualities that are obserued in a liuing Doue I am not ignorant that many thinke otherwise and that the shape onely was sufficient Some aduocates of Rome make vse of this shape without substance to confirme their Transubstantiation and the subsistence of accidents without the subiect Bread and Wine But I leaue them to feed vpon their fancies and will not contend about that which is no Article of Faith onely this I would haue obserued Iohn 1. that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Text doth not alwayes note a resemblance but some times a truth and seeing the phrase will beare both opinions as well that which holds that it was onely the shape of a Doue as that which defineth it was a true Doue I chuse rather the latter as most agreeable to the intent of the Holy Ghost and the difference that I put betweene the workes of GOD and the workes of the Diuell As GOD is an Omnipotent Creatour so those things which he exhibits are reall but the Diuell affecting to be thought what he is not maketh shew of that which he doth not his workes are spectra meere illusions Though this were a true Doue yet was it not assumed into one Person with the Holy Ghost as the nature of man was at the Incarnation of CHRIST St. Austin giueth the reason Non venit spiritus sanctus liberare Columbas he came not to redeeme Doues Ergo non est natus dé Columba therefore was not incarnate by a Doue but he came to signifie the properties of CHRIST therefore it was sufficient that by his Almighty power hee created a Doue of nothing and thereby gaue notice of his presence and residence in our Sauiour CHRIST which Doue as it was made of nothing so after the seruice was done was dissolued into nothing againe Wherein amongst other things appeares a difference betweene this Doue and the imposture of Mahomet and superstition of Rome both practised by a Doue whereof the later in a Romane Councill proou'd but an Owle S. Chrysostome giueth another note vpon this Doue In principijs spiritualium rerum c. when GOD first foundeth Religion he vseth sensible visions in commiseration of them which are not capable of incorporall natures but his purpose is that when once such things haue made faith vnto his truth we should continue our faith in his truth though he doe not dayly confirme it vnto vs by such things Which the Romanists should obserue who after so many hundred yeeres plantation of the Christian saith will still haue Miracles a marke of the true Church Finally we must obserue that signes come not Propter se but Propter aliud there is some other thing intended besides that which is presented so was it here the Doue appeared but the Spirit of God was meant thereby the Spirit was the Sacred Oyle wherewith our Sauiour was annointed The holy Spirit though in Person but one yet is hee infinite in the varietie of operations and so may haue answerable vaâ—ietie of resemblances out of which the Scripture maketh choice vpon seuerall occasions of such as come neerest vnto the Argument in hand And to this purpose must we referre signes they serue not onely for illustration but for limitation also they confine our thoughts which otherwise would bee confused and fixe them vpon that which is presently intended The grace then of the Holy Ghost here meant