of Gods service and may not be neglected without scandal THE Apostle establishing our Christian liberty doth much more establish our Christian Piety Rom. 14. He establisheth our liberty ver 6. placing daies and meats in the same rank of indifferency neither of them in it self ought to be reputed a matter of Religion But withal he doth much more establish our Christian Piety ver 7. 8. That both daies and meats daies wherein and meats whereby we live are to be observed or not observed as shall most conduce to his Glory by whom we do and to whom we should all live He overthrows a legal or Iewish observation of daies for themselves because that was a typical worship But he establisheth an evangelical or Christian observation of daies for duties because that is a real and moral part of Gods service For he that so regardeth a day regardeth not it but the Lord And he that so regardeth it not being thereunto called by that authority which God hath set over him were best take heed lest it be thought that he regardeth not the Lord He was best take heed lest he give occasion of scandal or spiritual ruine to his brother whilst he gives him occasion to think that God is not worth the regarding or that those are given to superstition who do most zealously regard him For he that doth this may chance have the milstone in his heart to harden him but sure he must have the milstone about his neck to drown him SECT VIII To oppose the celebration of Christs Nativity is a scandal to Christians and a stumbling block to the Jews keeping them from Christianity PER scandalum laeditur proximus in mente ut per homicidium in corpore per furtum in possessione saith the School-man Alensis par 2. qu. ibi m. 1. Scandal wrongs my neighbour in his mind as murder wrongs him in his body and theft wrongs him in his possession and therefore I have great reason to take heed of being scandalous as to take heed of being a murderer or a thief And truly I cannot see but that our Saviours determination concerning scandal reacheth this very case Mat. 18. 6. Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me it were better a mill-stone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depth of the Sea For tell me do they not believe in Christ who set apart a time of purpose to make Profession of their Belief in him And if they do believe in him how will you answer your scandalizing and offending them whiles they are professing or rather indeed practising that their belief or your scandalizing others whiles you keep them from the same Christian Practice and Profession Wherefore it can hardly be denyed but this is really a scandal or an offence to Christians because it is a way to cause some of them to forget or to forsake our Saviour Christ But surely it is a down-right stumbling-block to the Jews to keep them from embracing the Christian Religion For the main thing needful to their conversion is to prove the Messiah is already come in the flesh which the Jews will take for granted is denyed if not disproved by them who will not allow themselves nor others to celebrate the memorial of his coming for the whole course of their Religion taught them to acknowledge the receipt of far lesser blessings with much more solemn memorials as the receipt of the Law with the celebration of Pentecost So that whatsoever may be urged for serving God in Spirit in Truth to make Christians become sincere worshippers yet we had need keep up an outward solemn service and worship of Christ to make Jews become Christians For it is not imaginable they should leave the outward decency and order that they are bound to use in their own Synagogues according to the whole purport of their own Law to come to the slovenliness and Indecency that may be found in some Christian Churches under the pretence of the purity of our Gospel SECT IX The Jews equally scandalized by Idolatry and by Profaness especially that Profaness or Irreligion which immediately dishonoureth our Saviour Christ IT is much to be lamented that Christians who are bound to do what is in them to convert the Jews should so far scandalize them either by Idolatry or by Profaness as to hinder their conversion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Jew in his Disputation with the Christian in the second Nicen Council in the sift Action I am scandalized at you O ye Christians that you worship Images And is it not as great a scandal if they shall be able to say I am scandalized at you O ye Christians that you do not worship God or at least do not worship him with fear and reverence as God Or That you refuse to worship Christ whom you would have me believe to be the Son of God For is it not an act of Religious worship in Moses his Law to dedicate daies to the worship of God If then we deny the Dedication of daies to the worship of Christ How shall we perswade the Jews that we do indeed worship him as our God It is to be feared if we shall do so they will rather think us turning Jews then that themselves will think of turning Christians SECT X. That those Christians who oppose Christmas-Day do give occasion to other Good Christians to suspect them as not well grounded in the Christian Religion SInce it is the ground of our Christian Religion That all Gods gifts and mercies to mankind do concenter together in Christ it is scarce possible those Christians should be thought truly religious who make it their work to oppose the publick worship of Christ on that very day wherein as Christ he was first capable of being publickly worshipped They that are Jews may think well of this for they denying him to be the Son of God will easily deny that he is to be worshipped But sure good Christians cannot think well of it who are taught to glorifie God in Christ and much more for Christ To glorifie God in Christ is our Religion To glorifie God for Christ is our salvation Religio est motus creaturae rationalis ad Deum ut ad primum principium ultimum finem Christus autem ut Homo est via per quam fit hic motus saith Aquinas 22â— qu. 81. Religion is a motion of the reasonable creature to God as to its first beginning and to its last end But Christ as man is the way wheâ—ein the reasonable creature thus moveth so that once forget Christ as man and you shall soon forget all religion Saint Bernard tells us of a threefold coming of Christ the first was in the infirmity of his flesh to redeem us the second in the power of his spirit to sanctifie us the third in the glory of his majesty to judge us I will thankfully receive him as my Redeemer that I may securely
use of Christ nay concerning adoption it selfe Saint Paul seems to speake as if it were in some kind a potential and not all together an actual blessing or mercy when he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ut adoptionem acciperemus that we might receive the adoption of Sons Gal. 4. 5. thereby intimating that many more might be adopted Sons then are were it not for their own default and those that are adopted might if they had made a timely and full use of Gods grace in their Redemption much sooner have received their Adoption Nay yet more if the Greek Orators Criticism be justifiable for Libanius is loth to ascribe the Oration 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to Demosthenes That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be to take or receive what we never had before but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is properly to receive that which we had lost then the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 used by the Apostle will tell us that the gift of Adoption was once ours before to wit by the innocency of our nature till we lost it and is ours so now by the Sanctification of our persons that if we should lose it in our selves we may again recover and receive it in our Saviour it was once ours by nature and so we lost it and do now receive it by grace the second time And we now so receive it by grace that if we should lose it we may yet hope to receive it again Which consideration ought to fill our souls not with carelesness but with comfort that as by our own weakness and unworthiness we daily fall and deserve to be put out of the number of Gods servants so by our blessed Saviours Merits and Mercies we daily rise again and are still accepted and continued as his sons SECT VIII Christs most holy prayer a very comfortable Testimony and Assurance of our Adoption in him How nearly it concerns us to say Our Father not our Brother which art in heaven The conclusion of the Lords Prayer answerable to this beginning and not to be questioned It is ill quarrelling with that prayer and much worse discountenancing and deserting it AS there is no greater comfort then the comfort of Adoption so there is not a more comfortable if there be a more evident testimony to assure us thereof then that most holy prayer which our blessed Saviour hath sanctified by his lips no less then he hath commanded and commended in his Word For this prayer teacheth us to say to God Our Father which cannot be true and right in the Invocation if it be not true and right in the Doctrine for if it be not an undoubted truth that God in Christ is Our Father then can we not truly in our worship call him so Wherefore since we are taught by Truth himself to call God Father in our worship we are sure it must be true in our Doctrine That God is our Father in Christ and consequently we his adopted Sons or we must assert the same Thing to be a Truth and not a Truth a Truth in our Prayer and not a Truth in our Belief and moreover say That we pray in Faith when we do not pray in Truth For if we pray not in faith we sin and we cannot pray in Faith if there be an untruth in our Prayers Wherefore this expression Our Father being recommended to us by our Saviours own mouth as it teacheth us to pray in his Communion in and through whom we are adopted so it affordeth us an undoubted testimony and proof of our Adoption for under what pretence can we say to God Our Father if we be not his sons and how are we his sons so as to expect any blessing from him but only by the grace of Adoption Accordingly as we cannot but say with Saint Augustine that all other prayers are reducible to the matter of this short prayer so we may likewise say with him for he alledgeth not one precedent or petition which is not immediatly directed unto God that all other prayers are reducible to this form of saying Our Father and by this rule those prayers which rather say Our Brother then Our Father which art in heaven cannot be said in Faith and do not proceed from the Spirit of Adoption and they that so pray do not communicate with Christ in their prayers who neither prayed himself nor taught us to pray to any but only to his Father And it is not sapient nor safe for us to pray out out of Christs communion since we are sure our prayers will not be heard but through his Intercession Yet in all probability that humour of praying to petty Deities if it did not at first help to thrust out the conclusion of this prayer yet it hath since helped to keep it out because we cannot with any colour of truth say to any but to God alone for thine is the Kingdom the power and the glory for ever and ever For this Doxologie is without doubt the conclusion of the Lords prayer in Saint Matthews Gospel as it hath been generally received both by the Greek and the Latine Church neither of which hath set down that prayer in Saint Matthews Gospel in Greek without the addition of these words at the end of it and for that allegation that it is not so in Saint Luke it is of no force since it is against that common maxime Argumentum ab authoritate non valet negativè An Argument from authority is worth nothing in the negative but only in the affirmative and we should lose very much of the Gospel if we should expunge and blot that out of one Evangelist which we cannot find in another Yet some Criticks have gone so far as to perswade the world That this heavenly conclusion did not at all belong to the Lords prayer but is both an unnecessary and an unwarrantable addition One is pleased to call it a foppery non veriti sunt tà m divinae precationi suas nugas assuere If this Doxologie be a foppery then what is true wisdom but if it be indeed true wisdom then what is this censure of it but plain blasphemy And is not that true wisdom which proceeded immediately from the mouth of the eternal wisdom Yet the learned Grotius complieth so far with those that have opposed this Doxologie as to perswade himself it came at first out of the Greek Liturgies into the Bible not considering that there cannot be allowed such chopping and changing of the Text but we must reproach the Catholick Church of Christ first as uncareful in suffering such changes then as unfaithful in obtruding them for Text First as uncareful in suffering men to make havock of Gods Word which was committed to her charge to keep then as unfaithful in obtruding the Word of man upon us instead of the Word of God and what authority or repute will be left to the Church if we suppose her to want both care and trust for God intrusted his Church with his
prayers for it was the curse of Judas Let his prayer be turned into sin and I dare not venter to bring that curse upon my self For I that now ask pardon for the sins of my prayers if I make my prayers more sinful then my infirmities do make them for me what shall I have left whereby to ask pardon for the sinfulness of my sins I will therefore ever give God humble and hearty thanks that he hath caused me to be educated in a Church which hath taught me to make my addresses to him only in and by his Son and I wil never cease so to make my addresses to him in behalf of that distressed and oppressed Church For he that hath given us the parable of the importunate widow to this end that we should alwaies pray and not faint will certainly hear our prayers and the prayers of his Church that is now a widow and therefore brought to the state of widow-hood and desolation because we her sons have hitherto been so slothful and sluggish in our prayers suffering them infinitely to out-strip us in the practise who came far short of us in the purity of Devotion and not shewing that zeal towards the eternal Son of God which others have shewed and do still shew towards their petty Deities This our abominable neglect or rather contempt of God hath made him jealous and his jealousie hath made him for a while cast us off but we hope he will not cast us off for ever even for his Truths sake for his mercies sake for his names sake yea though we have slighted his Truth abused his mercy and blasphemed his most Holy name by throwing away our Prayers with as much fury as if Truth had been a lye Invocation had Superstition and Piety had been Idolatry yet we will still hope that he will not cast us away for ever for his Sons sake because in him he is well pleased though with us he be most justly displeased For in him alone in his merits in his righteousness in his intercession have we called and do call for grace and mercy and therefore cannot doubt but in him and for his sake we shall be heard at last and relieved and shall see the salvation of our God For the unrighteous Judge himself could say Though I fear not God nor regard man yet because this widow troubleth me I will avenge her least by her continual coming she weary me Much more shall the righteous Judge say so Yea O Lord we know that thou fearest not thine enemies but yet regardest thy servants and therefore we thy most unworthy servants will never leave troubling thee with our continual addresses nor wearying thee with our daily prayers till thou arise and maintain thine own cause and either avenge our injuries or vindicate our innocency If our Church was once thy Spouse she is now thy widow O let not her nor us for her cry any longer in vain to thee But we beseech thee to avenge her of all her enemies not by confounding but by converting them For this will be a vengeance worthy of thy Justice and of thy Mercy both together when thou shalt indeed destroy the sin but yet save the sinners However we cannot but profess our selves so well assured of the truth of our Religion whiles we adore and worship thee only in thy beloved Son that though all the world discountenance yet we dare not discontinue much less forsake it And though for our many and grievous sins thou still suffer us to be eaten up like sheep and sellest thy people for nought and makest us to be rebuked of our neighbours and to be laughed to scorn and had in derision of them that are round about us yet we will not forget thee nor behave our selves frowardly much less falsly in thy Covenant nor suffer our hearts to be turned nor our steps to decline from thy way Yea though thou still more and more smite us into the place of Dragons creatures that are both mischievous and venemous and cover us not only with the shadow but even with the body of death yet we will ever resolve and we beseech thee to confirm and consummate our resolution not to forget the name of our God nor to stretch out or hold up our hands to any strang God For thou hast told us This is life eternal that we might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent John 17. 3. Lord we desire so to know thee as to love thee so to love thee as to worship thee so to worship thee as to glorifie thee so to glorifie thee in this world as to be glorified by thee in the world to come Thou hast commanded us to forsake all to follow thee Lord make us readily to obey this command that we may so follow thee as at last to come to thee to be with thee and to abide in thee for ever For those who saw thy Son but in tpyes and figures have taught us this lesson of sincerity and of constancy not to be careful to answer any of our adversaries in this matter but readily and chearfully to say Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us and he will in his good time deliver us But if not be it known unto all the world that we will not worship the images which our Fathers have set up nor the imaginations which our children are now setting up for our God is too spiritual to be worshipped with images and too substantial to be worshipped with imaginations He is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth Joh. 4. 24. His worship hath too much of Spirit to consist in images and too much of Truth to consist in imaginations Wherefore we knowing that our worship of God is both in Spirit and in Truth are sorry to see that any should oppose it for it is prodigious as well as odious for any Christian to oppose the glory of Christ but will not give them that occasion of joy to see that their opposition should make us forsake it For he that hath said Seek ye after God and your soul shall live Psal 69. 33. hath taught us to say in our Doctrine What shall we do with a Religion that seeks after any but God since our soul cannot live in any but in him and much more hath he taught us to say in our devotion Lord we make our prayer unto thee in an acceptable time Hear us O God in the multitude of thy mercies even in the truth of thy salvation Psalm 69. which is a prayer in times of persecution for the cause of Religion For as long as we make our prayers only to thee O Lord we are sure that we do pray in the truth of our Religion and therefore may not doubt but thou wilt at length hear our prayers in the truth of thy salvation and that for our blessed Saviours sake to whom with the Father and
love and then in the gift of Christ Gal. 2. 20. I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me First he gave me his love then he gave me himself for even himself had been no gift to me without his love 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Saint Chrysostom What dost thou say blessed Apostle did he love thee only did he give himself only for thee no he loved the whole nature of man all the world besides 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But I think my self as much bound to my Saviour as if he had only loved me and given himself only for me I think my self as much bound to live to him as if he had died only for me and to give my self as entirely to him as if he had given himself onely for me A large soul which can readily comprehend much more which doth willingly embrace and entertain the obligation of the whole world and yet there is no Christians soul but must be thus enlarged For Gods love in Christ though universal in the diffusion yet is it particular in the obligation obliging every particular man to love the Lamb of God as if he had been slain only for his sake as if in him alone he had taken away the sins of the world For indeed in him alone be he never so righteous hath he taken away both the sin of the world and a world of sin the sin of the world that is the original corruption contracted in his nature and a world of sin that is a numberless number of actual transgressions committed in his person SECT III. Gods love to man in Christ was the ground of his consultation with himself how to bring us to eternal life WE have seen Gods eternal love given us in Christ the main reason of our Christian joy and we must now endeavour to see the fruits and effects of that love that we may accordingly rejoyce in him even in our blessed Saviour And truly Saint Paul makes eternal life to spring from no other root but only from this root of Jesse when he saith in his Epistle to Titus cap. 1. v. 2. That God promised eternal life before the world began I ask to whom did he promise it Saint Hierom thinks to the Angels but they not having been before the world it was impossible a promise made before the world began should be made to them It is much safer to say That this promise of eternal life was made to our blessed Saviour in our stead and that God the Father promised to God the Son before the world began That as many as should live according to the Faith of Gods Elect and the acknowledgment of the Truth which is after Godliness should in him have eternal life For thus the same Saint Paul makes a dialogue betwixt God the Father and God the Son in the Love and Communion of God the Holy Ghost to which the Angels were not admitted Heb. 1. 13. To which of the Angels said he at any time Sit on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy foot-stool And the Psalmist tells us plainly the persons that were in this Dialogue saying The Lord said unto my Lord Sit thou on my right hand c. Psal 110. v. 1. whence we may safely conclude that there was a great consultation betwixt God the Father Son and Holy Ghost concerning the Redemption of mankind from the vassalage of sin and Satan and what can we think was the ground of this Consultation but only Gods everlasting love to us in our Redeemer SECT IV. Gods love to man in Christ was not in vain or without success though his Churches love to us in praying for us and teaching us to pray for our selves often proves unsuccessful And yet our best proof that God hath loved us in Christ is that we love him again both in his Authority and in his Ordinances and in his Members GOD will have love for love and never casts away his love in vain Man may love where he may be hated for his pains it fared so of old with the best of men the Church of God among the Iews whose sad complaint is registred Psal 109. 3. 4. for the love that I had unto them lo they take now my contrary part but I give my self unto prayer Thus have they rewarded me evil for good and hatred for my good will we may be sure this complaint was made by the Church for none else could say but I give my self unto Prayer or as it is in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but I am Prayer save onely the Church which being more peculiarly consecrated to the service of God knew Her self bound more then any other to Pray Continually Thus it is said of the singers chief of the Fathers of the Levites who remaining in the chambers were free for they were imployed in that work day and night 1 Chron. 9. 33. that is to say in the work of singing Gods praises according to that of the 134. Psalm ver 1. Behold now Praise the Lord all ye servants of the Lord ye which by night stand in the house of the Lord. But least we should think that these words they were imployed in that work day and night did only shew the continual obligation of the Levites duty not their continued actual discharge thereof we are told the particular times of the day and night wherein they did actually discharge the same 1 Chron. 23. 28 30. Their office was to wait for the service of the house of the Lord and to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord and likewise at even It was their office every morning and evening to sing Gods praises publickly in Gods house and not to content themselves only with and much less to confine themselves only to their Sabbath as if God by claiming or challenging that day had thereby denyed and rejected all the rest Had this practice of praising God daily in the Temple been superstition or will-worship in the Jewish Church we should have found it not commanded and commended but reproved and reformed by their Pious Kings and Prophets for their Kings did not reform without the advice of their Prophets but not finding this Practise Reproved or Reformed by them how comes it among some Christians to be accounted as a main Piece of their Reformation to shut up the doors of Gods house all the week daies and to open them only upon Sundaies and then in truth to open them for such a worship of God as is publick rather for its accidents then for its substance rather for its time and place then for its matter and form rather for its notice and for its noise then for its Communion For though a man may go to Church as a Judge wherein he chiefly serves himself and pleases his curiosity upon unknown and uncertain terms yet he can scarce go to Church as a Communicant wherein alone he serves his God and
ascended And to this purpose we may not unfitly reduce all the words which he spake from his Resurrection till his Ascension to these three heads verba instructionis verba consolationis verba benedictionis words of instruction words of consolation and words of benediction or words of grace mercy and peace For like as Saint Paul said to Saint Timothy whom he called his own son in the Faith Grace Mercy and Peace so did God from the beginning speak to his Apostles and so doth he still speak to all those whom he accepteth as his sons though unworthy to be his servants the words of grace by instruction the words of mercy by consolation and the words of peace by benediction Saint Luke saith our Saviour was full forty dayes with his Apostles after his Resurrection speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God Act. 1. 3. He had so fervent a desire of teaching them and in them us the right way of salvation that he differred to enter into his own glory which he had so dearly earned by his sufferings till he had fully instructed and confirmed them in that way He was willing to leave the impression of heaven in their hearts before he was willing to take possession of it in his own body Oh that we did imitate our Master in this his unspeakable charity for though it be above our expression yet may it in some sort come under our imitation by truly desiring and zealously promoting one anothers Salvation This would be indeed to shew not to speak our selves Christians This would be indeed not Verbally but Really to put on the Lord Jesus Christ He was unwilling to leave his Apostles before he had given them all manner of Instructions both how to teach and how to govern his Church the one that he might keep all after-ages from heresie the other that he might keep them from schism Oh that all Christians would accordingly consider what a grievous sin it is not to hearken to Christs own Teaching not to obey Christs own Government And what a Severe account he will call them to when he shall come again as Judge of quick and dead for being hereticks against his doctrine put afterwards in writing in his word or for being Schismaticks against his discipline put immediately in practice in his Church For if he kept himself forty dayes from heaven to settle his Church how shall any that is called a Christian think the best way thither is to unsettle it Our blessed Saviour gave instructions and not only so least we should think any thing of Religion to be arbitrary but he also gave commands That we should know and acknowledge all matters of Religion to be necessary 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 After he had given commandments unto the Apostles Acts 1. 2. But where are these commands Are they or any of them devolved down unto us only by unwritten Tradition we dare not say so for that were to make the holy Apostles so regardless of Christs instructions as to care to teach them only to those men who had the happiness to live in their dayes since verbal Tradition is as changable as the breath that derives it whereas what is spoken of Abel is much more to be verified of Saint Peter or Saint John God testifying of his gifts and by it that is by his faith he being dead yet speaketh Heb. 11. 4. Nay more yet Preacheth for the reading of the law of Moses is called Preaching Acts 15. 21. For Moses of old time hath in every City them that preach him being read in the Synagogues every Sabbath day and if reading in the Law of Moses was Preaching who dares deny it to be so in the Law of Christ Therefore the books of the New Testament do certainly contain the Instructions and commands which Christ gave to his Apostles by word of mouth during those forty dayes he abode with them And we need go no farther then the written word to know our Saviours mind for it is therein taught us either by Precept or by Promise or by Precedent And consequently what we find not there written for our instruction in one of these three wayes that we must not ascribe either to his dictating or to their Preaching unless we will impute gross forgetfullness to the Registers of Christ as not remembring all things necessary when as our Saviour himself promised them such a Comforter as should bring all things to their remembrance Joh. 14. 26. or supine negligence to the Pen-men of the Holy-Ghost as not writing what was necessary to be remembred For if the words which Job spake concerning Christ were to be engraven with an yron pen lead in a rock for ever Joh. 19. 24. then much more were those words to be so engraven which Christ himself spake to his Apostles words ingraven in a rock with an yron pen are lasting but they are not so legible unless they be also drawn over or coloured with lead to make them conspicuous So Salomon Iarchi glosseth this Text he would have the Characters of his Letters engraven with yron to make a deep impression but after that he would have those same Characters coloured or died with lead 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dare litteris aspectum nigrum ut cognoscantur That their black tincture might make them the more legible And without doubt our blessed Saviour took such a course that the main effect of his words should be so engraven as to be both lasting and legible to the worlds end when himself hath said that heaven and earth shall pass away but my words shall not pass away Mat. 24. 35. and amongst the rest sure not his last words Saint Luke records this for one of them that they should not depart from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the father Acts 1. 4. And this word doth our Saviour Christ still speak to every good Christian saying unto him depart not from Jerusalem though it were in truth what some have made it reputed by their false clamours prophane unclean impure Ierusalem For you may not hope to fare better then Christ and his Apostles whereever you stay and you are sure not to fare worse then they did though you stay in Jerusalem Jerusalem the City of God had been turned into Sodom a cage of unclean birds for its impurity into an Aceldama a field of blood for its cruelty yet here is such a promise annexed to it as makes Christs Disciples willing to bear with the impurities and to bear the cruelties For it is an Elisha promise which signifieth My God saveth And no wonder then if it hath the power of reviving the Soul as Elisha's bones did revive a dead body And when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood upon his feet 2 Kings 13. 21. So if the soul be let down never so low into the pit of destruction yet if it touch this Elisha this promise of My God saveth with
the diffusion of his glory he hath prepared a mansion for us with him by the diffusion of his grace he hath prepared a mansion in us for himself O the immortal comfort of a good Christian and the more immortal glory of the Christian Religion shew me a comfort like to the comfort of a good Christian who is already in his head ascended into heaven shew me a glory like to the glory of the Christian Religion which hath him alone for its author for its head who sitteth on the right hand of God Ask the Jew he will tell you he left his Prophet upon Mount Nebo Ask the Turk he will tell you his Pcophet was left at Meca Ask other Religions they will tell you they know not what is become of their Prophets It is only the Christian Religion that can say it had such a Prophet as now sitteth at the right hand of God A Prophet who taught not a religion without righteousness as is the Religion of Turks and Heathens nor a Religion with Righteousness but which could not make men righteous as was the Religion of the Jews But a Religion with Righteousness to shew it self righteous and a righteousness with Religion to make us so For the law which was the rule of righteousness came by Moses but grace which maketh righteous came only by Jesus Christ John 1. 17. By this He still dwelleth in us even now that he is farthest from us which is so invaluable a blessing that it cannot be valued till it be enjoyed and when it is enjoyed it is found invaluable For the soul of man cannot but have a wretched dwelling in the body and a more wretched dwelling out of it unless Christ have a dwelling in the soul It is the glory of men above Angels that Christ dweleth in their flesh It is the glory of good Christians above other men that Christ dwelleth in their spirits By his grace he dweleth with us and in us by our faith and love we dwell with him in him nor shall this dwelling ever be destroyed it shall only be enlarged when what is now of grace shall hereafter be of glory There is so inseparable an union betwixt Christ and the good Christian that as the Christian cannot be in the state of Grace without Christ so Christ not fully in the state of glory without him The head thinks himself not in honour whiles the members are in dishonour and therefore our head being ascended into heaven makes it his work to draw us the members of his mystical body thither after him For we are united unto Christ by a threefold cord that is not easily broken First by the tie of Election God having chosen us in him before the foundation of the world having predestinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will Eph. 1. 4 5. Secondly by the tie of incarnation wherein he took our flesh unto himself Thirdly by the tie of Inspiration wherein he hath given his Spirit unto us All which have begot so inseparable an union betwixt the Son of God and the sons of men by a golden chain reaching from heaven to earth that Saint Paul speaks of the good Christians as of those who are already in glory with Christ And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus Ephes 2. 6. He looks on them not only as having jus ad rem but also as having jus in re not only as claiming but also as possessing their heavenly inheritance O that we would be so careful or could be so happy as not to abuse those mercies which we cannot deserve O that we would lift up our souls truly and entirely unto the Lord then would our hearts be where our treasure is at the right hand of God For we may not be in heaven by our perswasions whiles we are either in earth by our affections or in hell by our dispositions How can we see our Saviour at Gods right hand whiles Satan stands at ours making us to butcher his servants to deface his Sanctuary to discountenance his Religion to defile or despise his Ordinances to deceive his people to destroy his inheritance How can we believe him to be making intercession for us whiles we care not to make intercession for our selves or at least wise use such extravagant prayers wherein we cannot justly expect much less judiciously hope he should make intercession with us Be it the priviledge of faith to have an eye to be able to see Christ but of devotion to keep that eye alwaies open actually to behold and look upon him for which cause some have thought that prayer was the proper act of justifying faith men then most especially believing in Christ when they are praying to him So that to oppose or disturb the exercise of well-grounded and well-settled devotions under pretence of reforming them is to put out the eye of faith whiles we pretend to take off the film that it may see the clearer For the precious talent of faith must neither be wrapped up in a Napkin nor indiscreetly managed if we expect it should enrich our souls with heavenly and immortal comforts but must be diligently and discreetly imployed in judicious as well as in fervent pravers and praises to Almighty God that so we may fight the good fight of faith by defending and maintaining not only the truth of the Gospel but also our profession and practise of that truth Saint Paul requires both alike of his Scholar and in him of us 1. Tim. 6. 12. Fight the good fight of faith lay hold on eternal life whereunto thou art also called and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses Saint Timothy had not only embraced the Christian faith in general but had also in particular professed a good profession thereof before many witnesses and Saint Paul binds him as well as he had bound himself to make it good Else as many as had been witnesses of his profession must have been Judges and Condemners of his revolt And doubtless God having exalted our Saviour Christ at his own right hand in the heavenly places far above all principalitie and power and might and dominion Eph. 1. 20 21. hath sufficiently declared That we should so exalt and advance the Christian Religion whereby we seek to glorifie his Son in earth as the Father hath glorified him in heaven that neither principality nor power nor might nor dominion here on earth for those in heaven will not endeavour it should be able to remove us from the truth of Christ either in its belief or in its practise no more then they can remove Christ himself from sitting at the right hand of God And we most humbly beseech thee O blessed Saviour who hast conquered all things to conquer also our inconstancies that we may perfectly and without all doubt believe in thee and shew the sincerity of our faith by
in the name of the Lord Jesus shall we think that the Apostles did recede from that form of Baptism which had been given them by Christ himself Saint Ambrose lib. 2. de Sacram. c. 7. seems to affirm there is no need of that when he saith In uno nomine baptizari nos oportet hoc est in nomine Patris Filii Spiritus Sancti c. We must be baptized in one name that is In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost which is but one name because but one substance but one Divinity but one Majesty and saith moreover that name is the name whereby we must be saved which we are sure is the name of the Lord Jesus Acts 4. 12. So that if we admit of this Gloss Baptizing in the name of the Lord Jesus is all one with Baptizing in the name of the blessed Trinity which being undivided in nature cannot well be divided in name But Aquinas seems to be of another opinion 3a par qu. 66. art 6. ad 1. Dicendum quod ex speciali Christi revelatione Apostoli in primitiva Ecclesia in nomine Christi baptizabant ut nomen Christi quod erat odiosum Judaeis Gentilibus honorabile redderetur per hoc quod ad ejus invocationem Spiritus Sanctus dabatur in baptismo We must say that the Apostles by some special revelation did for a while at first baptize only in the name of Christ because the name of Christ was odious both to Jews and Gentiles and this was a way to make it honourable in the esteem of both when by the invocation of that name they saw the Holy Ghost given in Baptism But this opinion may the better be deserted 1. Because the words upon which it is grounded require it not 2. Because no such special revelation can be proved and it is not safe to allow of special hidden Revelations against the known general revelation of the Text. 3. Because the Apostles by baptizing in the name of Christ could glorifie him only amongst unbelievers whereas in so doing they might dishonour him amongst Believers by receding from his Institution 4. Because the Holy Ghost was not given in Baptism after so publick a manner as to be taken notice of by standers by 5. Because Aquinas himself is so positive for baptizing explicitly in the name of the Holy Trinity that he avoweth there can be no true Baptism without it For these and the like reasons it may happily not be amiss to give another Interpretation of those words then Aquinas hath given though not so exactly to the letter and to say They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus is all one in effect as if it had been said That they were baptized by his Authority and according to his institution or that they were baptized into his death and resurrection giving up themselves wholly to him or that they were baptized with a special invocation of his name not in the very act of baptizing for then was invocated the name of the Trinity but before and after it because in Baptism was made a special application of his merits unto them for the remission of sins This was the reason that the name of Christ was specially then invocated because the righeousness of Christ was then specially applyed as appears by that advice of Ananias to Saul Acts 22. 16. Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins calling on the name of the Lord that is on the name of the Lord Christ who instituted Baptism for the remission of sins and was to be called upon to bless his own institution So that to baptize in the name of the Lord Jesus may happily import no more then to baptize with a peculiar invocation of his name not altering the form but shewing the end of Baptism which was to ingraft the baptized into the mystical body of Christ However this phrase of being baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus doth clearly evince that Christ is peculiarly communicated in Baptism for to suppose the name without the thing is little less then to take the name in vain And this is ground enough why good Christians should desire to have their children baptized and too much why any should delay and which is far worse deny the baptism of infants for such men do what they can to hinder Christ from being communicated to those infants to whom they deny baptism wherefore as that promise which was made particularly to Joshua I will not leave thee nor forsake thee Jos 1. 5. is applyed generally by Saint Paul to all good Christians Heb. 13. 5. upon this ground that God is the same in all ages to all that alike fear and serve him So doth our Church after Saint Pauls example and in his faith rightly infer that the same good will which our blessed Saviour declared by embracing and blessing those little children which were brought to him Mar. 10. belongs alike to all children born within the Covenant of grace for God is alwaies mindful of his Covenant and promise that he made to a thousand generations even the Covenant that he made with Abraham Psal 105. 8 9. and that Covenant was in these words I will be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee Gen. 17. 7. so that it is a plain case the Church promiseth no more for God then God hath promised for himself who we are sure neither can nor will fail his promise And therefore since the Church can truly say in the assurance of faith That our heavenly Father alloweth this charitable work of ours in bringing children to his holy Baptism who can deny the truth of this saying but out of infidelity who can deny the doing of this charitable work but out of uncharitableness Such an infidelity and such an uncharitableness as to provoke the wrath and indignation of the eternal Son of God against his own soul for so saith the Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when Jesus saw it he was displeased even to wrath and indignation indignatus est saith Beza indignè tuit saith the Vulgar Doubtless he that for this indeliberate and inconsiderate uncharitableness shewed indignation against his Disciples will for a greater uncharitableness then this such as proceeds from deliberation and resolution pour out indignation upon his enemies SECT III. That Christ is more peculiarly communicated to some Christians by the Spirit of Adoption whereby they cry Abba Father calling upon God with greater earnestness confidence and comfort then did the Jews and yet they also had the Spirit of Adoption though not in the same degree as well as Christians IT is not to be doubted but that our Saviour Christ is generally communicated unto Christians in the Holy Eucharist as well as in Baptism and that he is also communicated in his word no less then in his Sacraments But because the men of this our age pretend wholly to be spiritual I will not to
be the Spirit of God dwell in you and if any man have not the Spirit of Christ Rom. 8. 9. The Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ are one and the same Spirit for Christ is God And it were also to deny the greatest and chiefest comfort of Christianity which is this That the Spirit of Christ dwelleth in us to revive our souls now from the death of sin to revive our bodies hereafter from the death of the grave the Apostle plainly attributeth thr Resurrection of the soul from sin and of the body from death only to the dwelling of Christs Spirit in us Rom. 8. 10. And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin but the spirit is life because of righeeousness there 's the resurrection of the soul from sin and again ver 11. If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you There 's the resurrection of the body from death And this is also from the Spirit that dwelleth in us as well as the other the Spirit of Christ raiseth the soul from sin the Spirit of Christ raiseth the body from death so that to deny the Holy Ghost to be the Spirit of Christ is to deny both our Regeneration and our Resurrection Wherefore this being of so dangerous a consequence The Master of the sentences would not impute this Tenent to the Greek Church as if they denyed the procession of the Holy Ghost from the Son though they would not say in their Creed I believe in the Holy Ghost the Lord and giver of life who proceedeth from the Father and the Son but only who proceedeth from the Father who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified But he saith plainly that the Greek Church did agree with the Latine Church concerning that Article of Faith in sense though not in words Sensu nobis conveniunt dum aiunt Spiritum Sanctum esse Patris Filii They agree with us in the sense whilst they say that the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of the Father and of the Son only we speak a little more plainly saying who proceedeth from the Father and the Son nor are we to be blamed saith he for adding to the Creed much less to be anathematized because our addition is not of a contrary assertion but of a necessary interpretation Nos enim non praedicamus contrarium sed addimus quod deerat ideoque non subjecti anathemati Lomb. 1. Sent. Dist 11. He is more careful to justifie his own Church for adding to the Creed then to condemn the Greek Church for not allowing that addition But his Scholars are not so moderate for Aquinas taxes Damascene of Nestorianism in the case and saith he was carried away with the Schism of the Greeks Damascenus sequitur errorem Nestorii Quod Sp. S. non procedit à Filio quia fuit tempore quo incepit illud Schisma Graecorum Aqu. 3. par qu. 36. art 2. ad 3. And Bonaventure is yet much mor fierce when he saith that the Greek Church denyed this article out of ignorance pride and perverseness Graecos negâsse hunc articulum ex ignorantiâ superbiâ pertinaciâ Bonav in lib. 1. sent dist 11. Three unmerciful words from a Church-mans mouth against a whole Church and surely altogether underserved For the Greek Church always acknowledged the Holy Ghost to be consubstantial with the Son as well as with the Father as appears by the Confession of Faith exhibited by Charisius in the Council of Ephesus in the sixth Action 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Spirit of truth the comforter being of the same essence or substance with the Father and the Son which plainly shews the Greek Church did not deny the article though they were loth to change their Creed wherein they found it was thus expressed Who proceedeth from the Father no mention at all made of the Son For this is their own profession in the Council of Florence in the 25. Session 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We have our Creed from seven general Councils and weneither add thereto nor take therefrom And t is evident that the Latine Church it self did a long time demurr about this addition of Filioque to the Greek Creeds Nay Leo the third did strongly oppose it and that not only Papally in his Chair but also Episcopally in his Chancel for he did absolutely refuse this addition when he was thereto intreated by Charles the great and did set up the Creed over the Altar at Rome without it nor did Filioque get into the Article till the time of Benedict the seventh saith Binius in Syn. Constant which was above nine hundred and fifty years after Christ and about six hundred years after the divulging of that Creed But without doubt the Addition it self is to be justified for it was not Additio corrumpentium Symbolum sed perficientium as saith Bonaventure not an addition to corrupt the Creed but to perfect it or rather an explication not an addition as Bellarmine seems to distinguish Explicatio Doctrine non additio contrarii but the manner of maintaining it seems altogether unjustifiable For those of the Latine Church shewed little temper and as little charity in rejecting the Greek Church for hereticks which was trampled on enough by Turks and needed not Christians to help tread it more under foot for not admitting the same addition meerly because they thought themselves under the curse which the Latines are willing to put off by a distinction if they should recede but one tittle or syllable from the language of their own Creeds But this it seems was the fault of the Greek Church which hath been ever since accounted damnable Schism in all other Churches they could not swallow much less digest that crude position Ad summum Pontificem pertinet fidei Symbolum ordinare It belongs to the Pope to order and dispose of the Creeds A position so unreasonable that Aquinas himself the greatest Master of reason among all the Schoolmen is fain to fly to Gratians decree to fetch a proof for it and that proof depends altogether upon the Authority of some few Popes who were very partial Judges in their own cause This is clear that the objection about Athanasius his Creed doth so puzzle him that he is fain in effect to say his Creed is no Creed because he cannot find the Popes hand was in the making of it Athanasius non composuit manifestationem fidei per modum Symboli sed per modum cuiusdam Doctrin◠Athanasius did not set out this manifestation of the faith as a Creed but as a Doctrinal institution notwithstanding the very title of it in Greek is the same which is prefixed to the Apostles Creed and the Latine Church calleth it Symbolum Athanasii unto this day It is not suitable with my purpose and much less with my desire
to examine the other exigencies which this excellent Divine is put to that he may gratifie his Church by seeking to make good this Tenent but sure other Churches look upon it as an invasion of their Christian liberty and as a Doctrine which cannot pretend to Christian verity or antiquity though it may fondly pretend to some external unity T is certain the Greek Church took it for a Novelty and therefore would not admit this position as a dispensation from the Anathemas denounced by the two Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon against such as should presume to alter the former Creeds And yet in truth the alteration was more in word then in sense and the Greek Church had the procession of the Holy Ghost from the Son in their Faith though not in their Creed And this appears plainly by Simeon the Metaphrast who lived about the year eight hundred and fifty after Christ neer the same time with Walefridus Strabo yet useth these words in the Greek Menology on October 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 My Lord Christ is Ascended into heaven and returned to his Fathers throne and from thence hath sent down the Holy Spirit which proceedeth from himself upon his Disciples He saith in his Faith the Spirit proceeded from the Son though neither he nor any of his Church would change their Creed to say so And upon this ground the Western Churches may still retain the use of Athanasius his Creed in their Liturgies notwithstanding the addition of Filioque without cutting off the Greek Church from the hope of salvation though they allow not that addition because the procession of the Holy Ghost from the Son is also in their Faith according to the sense though not according to the words of the Article And to speak the plain truth in this controversie concerning the procession of the Holy Ghost from the Son as well as from the Father the animosity was greater betwixt the Greek and Latine Church then the disagreement the quarrel larger then the difference And thus much Scotus ingenuously confesseth in these words Sed forte si duo sapientes unus Graecus aâ—ter Latinus uterque verus amator veritatis non propriae dictionis de hac visa contrarietate disquirerent pateret utique tandem ipsam contrarietatem non esse veraciter realem sicut est vocalis Alioquin vel ipsi Graeci vel nos Latini sumus verè haeretici Sed quis audet Johannem Damascenum Basilium Gregorium Theologum Nazianzenum Cyrillum similes patres Graecos arguere haereseos Quis iterum argueret haereseos B. Hieronymum Augustinum Aâ—ibrosium Hilarium consimiles Latinos Verisimile igitur est quod non subest dictis verbis contrariis contrariorum Sanctorum sententia discors Scotus in 1. Sent. dist 11 qu. 1. But happily if two wise men the one of the Greek the other of the Latine Church did enquire concerning this seeming contrariety and both of them would prefer the truth above their own words or expressions they might in time find that this is but a verbal not a real controversie For if it be real either the Greeks or the Latines must needs be hereticks But who shall dare to accuse Damascene or Basil or Gregory the Divine or Gregory Nazianzene or Cyril and the rest of the Greek Fathers of heresie Again who dares take Saint Hierom Saint Augustine Saint Ambrose Saint Hilary and the rest of the Latine Fathers for hereticks It is therefore most probable that in these contrary expressions was no contrary sense but they both meant one and the same truth concerning the procession of the Holy Ghost Thus far Scotus and indeed no less appears in the Council of Florence where from the twentyeth Session to the twenty fifth exclusively is a long disputation betwixt Johannes Provincialis for the Latine Church and Marcus Ephesius for the Greek Church And the Ephesian professing that the Spirit did proceed from the Father by the Son the Provincial confesseth it was in effect the same as from the Son 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That by is here as much as from saith Johannes Concil Flor. Sessione 24. For the Father begetting and the Son begotten and the Holy Ghost proceeding being all confessedly coequal and coeternal whether it be said the Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son or from the Father by the Son the Doctrine of the blessed Trinity is uncorrupt and inviolable for the three distinct persons with their three distinct properties are believed in one God none afore or after none greater or lesser then other In personis proprietas in essentia unitas in Majestate aequalitas property in the persons unity in the essence equality in the Majesty of the Godhead being no less acknowledged and believed by the Greek then by the Latine Fathers which is the short confession of the Doctrine of the blessed Trinity For it is manifest that the Greeks who denyed not the Son to be consubstantial with the Father could not exclude him in the procession of the Holy Ghost Wherefore we must needs reject that harsh and heavy doom which Bellarmine hath left upon record against the Grecians Ac ut intelligant causam exitii sui esse pertinaciam in errore de processione Sp. S. in ipsis â—eriis Sp. S. capta fuit Constantinopolis à Turmay understand the cause of their destruction to be their pertinacy in their error concerning the procession of the Holy Ghost in the very Festival of the Holy Ghost that is at Whitsontide was Constantinople their cheif City taken by the Turks This he thinks he hath sufficiently proved but the learned Scaliger thinks no man can sufficiently prove and laments this Queen Regent of the East in these words ut cujus calamitas ignorari non potest dies calamitatis ignoretur And though he incline to their opinion who said that City was besieged the morrow after Easter and taken upon the day of Pentecost yet he concludes it dangerous to determine so much Sed periculosum est haec definire De anno quidem non dubito fuisse 1452. sed de mense delibero utrum sc mense Maii an mense Aprilis capta fuerit Scal. lib. 5. de emend temp He dares not define the month whether it were in April or in May and sure Whitsontide cannot fall in April much less the week or the day he sayes t is dangerous to assert it was taken in Whitsontide but sure it is dangerous to assert it with so much uncharitableness against a whole Church whose ruine should be thought on with pitty not with insolency However though the assertion it self be true yet the argument is fitter for a Souldier then for a Divine to appeal to the success of the sword for the justification of the cause and will much better advance Turcism which hath full six parts then Christianity which in all the several professions of it hath but five parts of thirty in the known habitable world
Surely such men cannot truly say and yet they say it most of all men that they have the Spirit of God who are so far from the works of the Spirit And they are very far from the works of the Spirit unless hatred variance emulations wrath strife seditions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dividing and standing in parties heresies envyings murders and such like which the Apostle calleth works of the flesh Gal. 5. 19. may be discerned by some of the new lights to be the works of the Spirit It were a foul shame for any Minister of Christ to immix such a reproof as this in his Doctrine if it were not a fowler shame that some Christians have immixed such sins as these in their practise But those that have Saint John Baptists trust to prepare the way of the Lord by preaching of pennance must follow his example constantly speak the truth boldly rebuke vice and patiently suffer for the Truths sake Thus did Saint Paul rebuke the Galatians when they were in the like distemper saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 O Amentes O ye mad men that are out of your wits or O Insentati O ye sottish and stupid men that are out of your senses who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the truth They would needs pretend to be reformers of the Gospel when indeed they were disturbers and destroyers of it for this reason the Apostle reproves them sharply as Apostates saying Who hath bewitched you and again Ye are fallen from grace And he also reproves them fitly as hypocrites calling them fools whilst they pretended to be wiser then all other Christian Churches because indeed they were too wise in their own fond conceits ever to attain unto true wisdom Excellently Saint Chrysostome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To preach mild Doctrines to those that more need reproofs is rather to act the part of a jugler then of a Divine to be an enemy rather then to be a friend Our chief Master did not do so to his Disciples 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but sometimes blesseth and sometimes reproveth them and he instanteth in Saint Peter to whom Christ upon the confession of his faith said Blessed art thou Simon Barjona but upon his carnal advice he said Get thee behind me Satan thou art an offence unto me Greek a scandal unto me for thou savourest not the things that be of God but those that be of men Mat. 16. 17. 23. O blessed Saviour still say to this kind of Satan that loves to get in among the Disciples Get thee behind me take away such scandalous Ministers out of thy Church who savour only the things of men whilst they pretend the things of God for such will often offend but never confess thee or if they do confess thee it is only that they may the more covertly and the more securely offend thee Real scandals they are not only to thy Ministry but also to thy self not only to thy Church but also to thy religion Thou hast shewed thy hatred of their sin in that thou hast so sharply rebuked it O now shew the love of their Function in not suffering that foul sin any longer to possess thy Ministers or to deceive thy people It is a question very well propounded by Alensis but better answered by him when he saith Vnde tam detestetur Dominus in Evangelio peccatum Hypocrisis Resp 1. ut notetur quanta debet esse detestatio Antichristi qui maxime per Hypocrisin decipiet 2. Quia hypocrita est contrarius operi Divino Dominus enim ordinat malum in bonum ille bonum convertit in malum 3. Quia contrarius est toti Trinitati c. His question is this Whence is it that our Lord doth in his Gospel shew so great a detestation of the sin of hypocrisie His answer is this 1. To shew men how they ought to detest Antichrist who will deceive them chiefly by hypocrisie 2. Because the hypocrite is directly opposite to God in working For God useth to turn evil into good but the hypocrite useth to turn good into evil 3. Because the hypocrite opposeth the whole Trinity The Father in seeking after his glory for the hypocrites aim is to glorifie himself The Son in not seeking after his truth for his whole life is a lie The Holy Ghost in not regarding his goodness for the hypocrite comes only to appear good but not to be so For this cause our Saviour intermingled sharp reproofs with his Doctrine when he had to do with hypocrites and so did his Apostle after him saying O ye foolish or mad or senseless Galatians who hath bewitched you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He varied the manner of his teaching according to the necessity of his Scholars sometimes burning and cutting where was a gangrene other times applying lenitives where was a green wound 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. So great a paroxysm shewed a very great distemper For as to be pettish for a trifle argues a poor degenerous spirit so not to be moved to anger and indignation when there is just occasion is the argument of a sleepy and sluggish if not of a sottish man And behold saith Saint Chrysostom Here was a sin greater then the rebuke could be a sin vast and mountanous 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as not only separated but also estranged them from Christ A dangerous relapse or recidivation First because after a full knowledge of Christ a mercy denyed to others when bestowed on them For Saint Paul that went through the region of Galatia was forbidden to preach in Asia Act. 16. 6. Secondly because after a full confirmation in that knowledge for the same Saint Paul who had instructed them did also by way of an Episcopal visitation see how they followed his instructions He went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order strengthning all the Disciples Act. 18. 23. In such a case as this the Apostle of Christ could not the Ministers of Christ cannot be too zealous to shew men their apostacy from the Christian Religion and to vindicate the honour of Christ and of Christianity alwayes remembring that distinction of Alensis qui irascitur per vitium irascitur personae qui autem per zelum irascitur peccato Alensis par 2. qu. 139. m. 11. He that bids us be angry and sin not would have us angry only with sin And the rather because for so doing the Ministers have not only the practice of the Apostles as a president to justifie them but also the Doctrine of the Apostles as a precept to command them For this is the express command of the Text There are very unruly vain-talkers and deceivers whose mouths must be stopped Tit. 1. 10 11. Must their mouths be stopped then surely such as Titus Bishops and Ministers must stop them for we cannot expect that God should again send his Angel and shut the Lions mouths as he did to Daniel And the way of stopping their mouths is by
therefore this is not so truly a priviledge as t is a property for Gods Sons to be his heirs Accordingly all our care must be to keep our selves in the obedience that we may be in the acceptance of sons for then we shall have no cause to doubt of our inheritance And the best way to keep our selves in the obedience of Sons is to keep our selves in the communion of his Spirit for if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his Rom. 8. 9. And this is indeed another priviledge of the Saints that being made the Sons of God they have the Spirit of his Son And that Spirit is sent forth into their hearts to testifie unto them his fatherly care and kindness For the tongue could not truly say Abba Father if the heart did not truly believe it We must therefore observe the Apostles Doctrine concerning the Spirit of adoption that it so moveth in the tongue as much rather in the heart Ye have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father there 's Abba Father in the mouth and The spirit it self beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God there 's Abba Father in the heart Rom. 8. 15 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Saint Chrysostome When the spirit of God is our witness who can misdoubt the testimony All the fault in truth is that we do not so devote our selves to the love of God and the practice of piety and godliness as that the Spirit either will or can be our witness For we often gâ—eve the Holy Spirit of God by our multiplied transgressions and hence it is we do not see that he hath sealed us to the day of redemption Ephes 5. 30. His seal is alwayes sure and good though not alwayes clear and visible He doth still imprint it though we do not still perceive it the reason is because our sins do cast a mist before our eyes nay more a dismal darkness upon our hearts and this mist this darkness interposeth it self betwixt us and the everlasting light Therefore saith the Apostle And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure 1 John 3 3. Every man that hath this hope in him viz. truly and really not presumptuously and phantastically purifieth himself even as he is pure and t is no more then needs because he cannot have this hope in him unless he purifie himself For the same Holy Spirit that maketh the Son of God dwell in us by consolation doth also make us dwell in him by affection and no longer then we dwell in him can we be assured that he dwelleth in us hereby we know that we dwell in him and he in us they go both together because he hath given us of his spirit 1 John 4. 13. And that holy Spirit as it maketh him dwel in us by consolation so it maketh us dwell in him by affection God hath joyned these two together and we may not separate them even walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost Act. 9. 31. Thus doth our own Church teach us to pray That we may evermore dwell in him and he in us which when it shall be fully brought to pass we shall fully understand and more fully enjoy that benediction of the Psalmist Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and receivest unto thee he shall dwell in thy Courts and shall be satisfied with the pleasures of thy house even of thy holy Temple Psal 65. 4. Nay his dwelling shall be much bettered for he shall dwell not in thy Court but in thy self and be satisfied with the pleasures not of thy house but of thy Son nor of thy holy Temple but of thy holy Spirit Thus doth Hierusalem get up thither indeed whieher Babel got up only in design even to heaven Nay yet much higher Is there any thing higher then heaven Yes there is The God of heaven A true Citizen of Hierusalem never leaves ascending in heart and mind till he get up to God And this makes him so given to his deâ—otions that he cares to say nothing else but Abba Father which is yet another priviledge of the Saints of Gods not of their own making for they though called Saints here will be found sinners hereafter that having the Spirit of his Son they have also the language of his Son and cry Abba Father For the priviledge of Gods Sons who have the Spirit of his Son in their hearts is also to have the same Spirit in their mouths crying Abba Father as their heart is true to God by inward affection so their mouth is true unto their heart by outward profession and consequently that mans religion is not true which wants either part of this truth for if his heart be false to his God he is an hypocrite If his tongue be false to his heart he is little less then an Apostate So hath the irrefragable Doctor determined concerning one that lives among the Turks or Saracens who still retaineth the Faith in his heart but not the confession of it in his mouth Potest tamen dici Apostata communi nomine quia à confessione fidei retrocedit Alensis par 2. qu. 153. memb 2. He may in a general sense be called an Apostate because he is fallen away from the confession of his Faith So then a true believer hath not only his heart true to God by affection but also his tongue true to his heart by profession being bound to the one by the first to the other by the third Commandment of the decalogue If his heart be false to his God he will one day be ashamed of himself If his tongue be false to his heart his Saviour will one day be ashamed of him so himself hath told us Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy Angels Mar. 8 38. of him shall the Son of man be ashamed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He shall blush for the shame of him O our blessed Redeemer let us never put thee to the blush let us never force that precious blood into thy lovely face which thou camest to bestow upon our sinful souls But as with our hearts we beleive unto righteousness so with our mouths let us make confession to salvation This is Saint Pauls definition of a true Christian A man that with the heart believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confesseth to salvation Rom. 10. 10. The heart believing brings the righteousness the mouth confessing brings the salvation As t is vain to have a Faith without righteousness for that is the hypocrites faith so t is vain to have a righteousness without salvation for that may be an Apostates righteousness But the true and constant Christian hath both the heart to believe and the mouth
cannot be too desirous to receive our Baptism in our Saviours communion for what is communicated from him is also sanctified by him So is it in our prayers we may very comfortably perswade our selves that Saint Mark used the same Abba Father for Christ which Saint Paul had used for us Christians least any man should think we Christians â—ad not the same right to pray or at least not the same spirit of prayer that was in Christ therefore to assure us that both do pray in the communion of the same Spirit both are set down praying in the communion of the same words But yet whether S. Mark borrowed this from S. Paul or not the doubt still remains why this Abba Father is in two several languages when as the reduplication might happily have been as emphatical in one tongue as in two I answer with Saint Augustine Abba propter illorum linguam pater propter nostram Aug. in Psal 78. To shew that Christ did no less belong to the Gentiles then he did to the Jews he useth a Greek word that signifies father for the Gentiles as well as a Syriack word that signifies father for the Jews for at that time the Jews themselves commonly spake Syriack having in the Babylonian captivity learned to mix Chaldee with Hebrew which mixture begat the Syriack The effect of Saint Augustines answer is this Syriack and Greek are both joined together to shew the communion of Jew and Gentile in Christ we may add and not only so but also to shew the cause of that communion even the communication of the same spirit to them both which when it descended visibly upon the Apostles endued them with the gift of tongues and the scripture still retaining the variety of languages in this Abba Father doth not only commemorate that miraculous discent of the Holy Ghost upon them but doth also confirm his continual descending upon us with as good success though not with as great a miracle For he teacheth us no less then he taught them to cry Abba Father which puts me upon a second question who it is that cries Abba Father is it his spirit or our own I answer t is his Spirit not our own t is indeed our voice but t is his breath for we cannot say Abba Father by the breath and power of our own but only by the breath and power of his Spirit and by that we can say it with an undaunted courage and do say it with an immortal comfort because with a hope full of immortality T is then his Spirit that crieth Abba Father though in our mouths And this crying Abba Father is more fully expressed Rom. 8. 26. The spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered whence it may be gathered that the gift of prayer is more in groans then in words more in groans which cannot then in words which can be uttered for Moses cried unto the Lord when he spake not one word And the Lord said unto Moses Wherefore criest thou unto me Exod. 14. 15. So that he prayed by the Spirit whiles his tongue stood still and consequently the gift or spirit of prayer here meant by crying Abba Father may not be placed in voluble effusions but in strong affections not so much in the tongue as in the heart for else many adopted Sons must be denied to have the Spirit of Christ who cannot pour out their conceptions in multiplicity of words And which is as bad many must be affirmed to have the Spirit of Christ who are enemies to the cross of Christ whose end is destruction whose God is their belly and whose glory is in their shame who mind earthly things for many of these men may and do attain to a great perfection in extemporary effusions we dare not then say that all those who take upon them to be eminent in the gift of prayer do truly cry Abba Father or do pray by the Spirit of Christ because we see that many of them by their works do oppose the name and blaspheme the truth of Christ and bring themselves under that terrible reproof and more terrible reproach They profess that they know God but in works they deny him being abominable and disobedient and unto every good work reprobate Tit. 1. 16. But there are doubtless many others more concerned in the gift though less in the pretence of the Spirit who make not so many words but yet make more prayers even whiles they make use of those prayers which their Church hath made for them for these bring their groans though not their words and those groans are the groans of the Spirit which without doubt may as well if not better accompany a prayer that we are sure is according to the mind of Christ as a prayer that we cannot tell whether it will be so or no However we cannot deny but every one who truly prayeth by the spirit of Christ may say what holy David hath put into his mouth and the Holy Spirit put into the mouth of David Oh come hither and hearken all ye that fear God and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul I called upon him with my mouth and gave him praises with my tongue If I incline unto wickedness with my heart the Lord will not hear me But God hath heard me and considered the voice of my prayer praised be God which hath not cast out my prayer nor turned his mercy from me Psal 66. v. 14 c. As if he had said This great miracle of mercy hath God done for my soul which I cannot but speak all you that fear him shall do well to hear he gave me his spirit to call upon him with my mouth to give him praises with my tongue and because praise is not commonly in the mouth of a sinner and cannot be acceptable from it he gave me his spirit also to sanctifie my heart that it should not incline to wickedness hence it is that I do heartily praise him for enabling me to pray because praying in the spirit of his Son I can pray in comfort that he will not cast away my prayer because he cannot cast away his only Son nor turn away his mercy from me because he cannot turn away froÌ„ his own Spirit which by his mercy is now becoÌ„e mine Thus it is said The spirit of the Lord cloatheth Amasai 1 Chro. 12. 18. t is in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the Septuagint translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Saint Hierom induit that is The spirit of the Lord cloathed Amasai not barely came upon him but also stuck close to him and covered him all over And indeed so doth the spirit come upon us to cloath our souls as our garments do our bodies that there be neither chilness nor nakedness neither want of zeal nor of holiness in our
grounded upon the infallibility of the thing or of the prayer for that faith cannot rest but upon infallibility and the people as well as the Priest ought to pray in Faith wherefore this assurance is not only very just and reasonable but also very necessary and religious since we all know we must pray in the merit of Christs intercession if we hope our prayers should find admittance to God and acceptance with him and we are sure he will not intercede with us in such prayers as we have not learned from him For which cause the Church also teacheth us to conclude all our prayers after this manner Per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum through Jesus Christ our Lord as if we were bound to believe that Christ then prayeth for us when we are praying for our selves according to the rules of his word and that we have hopes to be heard not by virtue of our own but of his intercession And t is observable that Saint Paul saith of those who worshipped Angels that they held not the head Col. 2. 19. because in such worship Christ who is the head could not joyn with them nor they with him accorcordingly Saint Chrysostome thus expostulates with such a worshipper 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Why do you let go the head to lay hold on the members whilst you think to come to God by the Angels he might have put in Saints too by the same reason if that worship had been then in fashion and not immediately by Christ For if you fall from him you are certainly lost and the way to fall from him is not to lay immediate hold on him for he that layes not immediate hold of him cannot lay fast hold of him T is holding of the head not of the body that gives the nourishment whereby we encrease with the encrease of God and Angels are of the body no less then men Accordingly the Fathers of the Council of Laodicea give this reason why they accurse them who called upon Angels in their worship 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Can. 35. because such men have forsaken the Lord Jesus and are guilty of idolatry And it is a pitiful evasion of Baronius to say that the Council spake of false Angels which the Heathen called Genii for besides that no Christians ever worshipped them and the Canon only concerns Christians t is too great an absurdity to be pinned upon a Council to say they spake of Angels when they meant Divels For our parts we must conclude that praying to Saints and Angels is a very unwarrantable a very unsafe a very uncomfortable way of praying because we are sure we cannot have communion with Christ in such prayers For though he can doth and will join with us in saying Our Father yet he cannot will not saying Our Brother Though he doth join with us in our intercessions to the Creator God blessed for ever yet he doth not cannot joyn with us in our intercessions to any creature And therefore since the Church requires our communion only by authority from Christ it is evident that no Church can justly require our communion in this or any other practice wherein it self doth not communicate with Christ For in such prayers as these we can only hold of the body or rather some corrupted member of the body but we cannot hold of the head and consequently in such prayers as these there can be no true Christian communion for that so beginneth with the Church as that it endeth with Christ so beginneth in earth as that it endeth in heaven Saint Johns determination may best decide this controversie for some mens perversness hath made it so who in very few words thus sets forth to us our Christian communion That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ 1 John 1. 3. Where we may see that God imparted not the knowledge of Christian truths to his Church that she might reserve them to her self but that she might publish and declare them to his people That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you God hath declared them to us that we should declare them to you And the reason why the Church is bound to declare these Christian truths to the people is to establish them in the true Christian communion that ye also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ where we plainly see that Christian communion begins with the Church and ends with Christ nor would the Apostle seek to draw them to have fellowship with him but that with him they might also have fellowship with Christ he desires not to magnifie this communion from himself but from his Saviour He therefore exhorts them to have communion with the Church that they might have communion with Christ For indeed there are at least two degrees if not parts of our Christian communion the first is our communion with Christs Church as with the body that ye also may have fellowship with us The second is our communion with Christ himself as with the head and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ and this communion is or ought to be the end of all preaching that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship c. This is or should be the intent of all preaching even the communion of the people with the Priests and the communion both of Priests and people with Christ so likewise saith Saint Peter speaking of our blessed Saviour His Divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue whereby are given to us exceeding great and precious promises that by these you might be partakers of the Divine nature 2 Pet 1. 3 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not only partakers of but also communicants in or with the Divine nature as if he had said the end of your communion with us is that you may thereby have communion with God His Divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of himself And we are desirous to impart to you this knowledge that you may have part in the same life and godliness He hath given to us exceeding great and gracious promises and we desire to publish them ro you that by these you also with us might be partakers of the Divine nature But because this communion is or should be the only task of our whole life and is the only comfort of our death I will yet alledge one more testimony for it and that shall be his who was wrapt up into the third heavens that he might the better shew us the right and the straight way thither and he bids us Follow peace with
consequently if the Scriptures have in any wise lost their authority they have lost it by the Church and it were a wonder if the Church should cause the Scriptures to lose their authority and yet keep her own We will then take it for granted that the Catholick Church cannot be fully and infallibly proved to be Christian but only by the Holy Scriptures and that she her self seeks for no other and cannot find a better proof And from hence it must neede follow that every particular Church as far as it is truly Christian is willing to submit it self to be tryed by the written Word of God and that if nothing but true Cbristianity had gotten into the Church men would never have withdrawn their necks and much less their hearts from that known and certain tryal for that all the world is not able to prove any thing that is unwritten whether it be Tradition or Revelation to be the undoubted Word of God but only as far as it is agreeable with what is written according to that admirable Rule delivered by Saint Athanasius who having been vexed by the Arrian hereticks above forty years together hath taught us how best to confute that and all other heresie saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Athanasius in Epist de decretis Nic. Synodi ad finem There are much more exact and perfect proofs of the divine truth to be taken from the Scripture alone then all the whole world beside is able to afford us wherefore it must needs follow again that the best way for a particular Church to keep communion with the Catholick Church is to keep close to the Scriptures wherein alone are revealed those Truths the bare profession whereof makes a Church and the entire profession whereof makes it truly Catholick That Curch which hath the written Word of God for the foundation of her faith and practice is sure to have communion with all good Christians in what she truly believeth and practiseth according to that word And in case she deviate through humane error or infirmity in some particular deductions yet that deviation or mistake shall not overthrow her faith because it is sure and certain in the foundation and consequently shall not break off her communion with Christ the head nor with the Catholick Church his body because that same holy Spirit on whose dictates she relies is the sole author and maintainer of that communion whereas if a Church should believe all the Articles of the Christian faith upon any other ground then that of Divine revelation which we cannot now be assured of but only from the written Word of God as she could not have a true Divine saith not being grounded upon a Divine foundation so she could not in that faith have communion with those Christian Churches who allowed no other ground of their belief And such were all the Christian Churches of the Primitive times for though Saint Athanasius in the place fore-alledged doth on the Arrians behalf bring in an objection against the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as not being used in the Text and therefore not to be used concerning Christ for that we may not speak otherwise of him then he in his word hath spoken of himself yet he alloweth this very objection to be according to his own heart and sure he was a very good Chatholike and enforceth it with the reason afore cited That the most exact proofs of Divine truths were to be taken from the Scriptures and withal avoweth that those about Eusebius who was a chief upholder of the Arrians were such egregious turn-cotes and cavillers that the Bishops assembled in the Council of Nice were in a manner compelled more clearly to expound those words of the text which did immediately strike at the root of their heresie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whereby it appears that the Nicene Fathers did assume to themselves only the power of Exposition in matters of faith not of Addition or of Invention They did expound that more clearly which they found in the Scriptures and in the Apostles Creed they did not ad or invent that which they found not As they were expounders they might and did hold communion with the Catholike Church whereof they were then the Representative which did wholly rely up-the word of God for all the Doctrines of faith whereas if they had taken upon them to be Inventers they must have forsaken the main ground of Christian communion the undoubted word of Christ and have been the authors of a faction and of a division And for this cause we see that in that famous Council of Chalcedon wherein were assembled six hundred Christian Bishops The Holy Gospel was placed in the midst of them as that on which they relyed and to which they appealed in all their determinations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are the words found in the first action of that Council The most holy and most pure Gospel being set before them And Baronius tells us that the same had been done before in the Council of Nice and gives the reason why it was done out of Saint Cyril who saith thus concerning the Council of Ephesus Christum assessorem capitis loco adjunxit venerandum enim Evangelium in throno collocavit tantum non in aures sacerdotum clamans Justum judicium judicate Liber igitur ille in sede regia collocatus divinam prae se ferebat personam secundum illud Psalmi Deus stetit in synagoga Deorum in medio autem Deos dijudicat They looked upon Christ as head or president of their assembly for they placed his holy Gospel on a throne amongst them that it might represent the person of God the Judge of all men and they placed it in the midst that all might cast their eyes upon it and be afraid in the presence of their Judge to pass an unrighteous judgement Thus saith the Psalmist God stood in the midst of the congregation of Gods and he that was in the midst judged the other Gods Baron An. 325. num 66. And the same saith Binius in his notes upon the Council of Ephesus In medio Patrum consessu sedem enm Evangelio collocarunt cujus intuitu omnes admonerentur Christum omnium inspectorem ac judicem adesse Synodique praesidem agere In the midst of the fathers of the Ephesine Council was the Holy Gospel placed on a throne that all the Fathers seeing it might be admonished of Christs own presence to overlook them as their Judge and to overawe them as president of their Council and he saith no more then is truth for that form of adjuration mentioned by Fidus the Bishop of Joppe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whom we beseech and adjure by the Holy Gospel here set before us Council Eph. par 2. act 1. doth plainly witness as much although at the first session of the Bishops there is no mention of the Holy Gospels being placed among them as was afterwards at the first session of the Council of Chalcedon But
and again Rejoyce not against me O mine enemy when I fall I shal arise when I set in darkness the Lord shall be a light unto me There 's her triumph Micah 7. 8. Neither could her tribulation deprive her of comfort for that was no more then she had deserved therefore she saith I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him untill he plead my cause and execute Judgement for me Nor could her captivity diminish her triumph for that was no less then he had promised therefore she saith He will bring me forth to light and I shall behold his righteousness Then she that is mine enemy shall see it and shame shall cover her which said unto me Where is the Lord thy God T is evident the Prophet here complaineth in the person of his Church as saith Theophylact 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He takes upon him the person of Sion And he speaks to sin as his enemy saith Kimchi to Babel saith Jarchi to Idumea saith Theophylact Sin Babel Edom are all three the enemies of Sion Sin throws her down Babel and Edom keep her under But God will raise her again in despite of them all He will first subdue her iniquities v. 19. and then he will subdue her enemies Divinely the same Theophylact 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have indeed fallen down by reason of my sins my impieties but by returning unto Christ who is the Resurrection I shall be raised again And if he will raise his Israel t is neither Babel nor Edom neither a stranger nor a brother neither a forein nor a domestick enemy shall be able to keep him down And he will not only raise him but also plead his cause and execute judgement for him against those that do depress him as saith the same Father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for although I have offended against my God yet I have many iust complaints of their offences against me So is it still with the Church of God though she be most sincere in the profession of his truth yet she may easily incurre the just indigâ—… of the Lord because either her profession cometh short of Gods truth or sure her practice cometh short of her profession so that the purest Church upon earth may deservedly come under persecution and being persecuted must contentedly say with the Prophet I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him But yet she must not be dismaied at the indignation of men for God will certainly plead her cause when he hath purged her corruptions proved her patience and procured her repentance He will bring her forth to the light whiles her enemies shall sit in darkness and she shall behold his righteousness though she be punished a while for her own unrighteousness Nor is it a wonder to see that time come now which Saint Peter said was come one thousand six hundred years ago That Judgement must begin at the house of God 1 Pet. 4. 17. It is Gods pleasure thus to train up his children under the rod and t is my shame if the severity of his discipline make me repent that I am one of his family though there is sorrow from the judgement yet there is joy from the house of God and I had rather be one of his domesticks though full of sores and empty of food then be a stranger from his house and be clothed with purple and fine linnen and fare sumptuously every day For I cannot but admire that holy protestation One day in thy courts is better then a thousand Psal 84. 10. It is better to live one day in thy courts and die to morrow saith Jarchi then to live a thousand years in another place Let this Jew teach me both to be a good Christian and to be a good Protestant that I may learn to prize Gods Courts above mens Palaces and to prefer his service above mine own patrimony for it is in truth better then my life and disdains to be brought in competition with my livelyhood And a more hhly resolution followeth this holy Protestation when he saith I had rather be a dore-keeper in the house of my God then to dwell in the tents of wickedness excellently the same Jarchi thus glosseth those words I had rather be at Gods threshold 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be kept watching and waking then dwell at my ease in the tents of Esau 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to cleave to or have communion with them And indeed the Hebrew words intimate as much 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I had rather sit at at the threshold a great descent for a king to come from his throne to sit on a threshold and yet that 's not all for the Septuagint from the unquiet estate of those that sit on thresholds because of their often being displaced by the goers out and commers in have thus interpred the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I had rather be tumbled and tossed up and down Let us joyn both together and this will be the full meaning of his resolution I had rather dishonourably sit at the threshold or unquietly be tumbled and tossed up and down from this to that place in the house of God then to dwell at my ease to have a quiet and peaceable and if it were possible an honourable habitation in the tents of ungodliness Therefore though many Disciples go back and walk no more with Christ when they meet with thorns and briers in the way yet all good Christians will be sure to say with Saint Peter Lord to whom shall we go thou hast the words of eternal life John 6. 68. Others may teach us words more conducing to this life but thou hast the words of eternal life We came to thee not to learn how to live in this world but how to live in the world to come and therefore all the terrors and mischiefs of this world shall not drive us from thee We have found thy words in thy house wherein we have lived and dare not leave thy house though at this time the rain descend and the floods come and the winds blow and beat upon it for fear least we should also leave thy words If it be not in the wit of man to prove that our Church hath forsaken Christs words it should not be in the power of man to make us forsake our Church For if there be no just exception against the premisses t is impossible justly to except against the conclusion And if there be no lawful objection against the object and act of worship there can be no lawful objection against the exercise of it Wherefore it would be happy for Christendome if all Churches would stand more upon their sincerity then upon the authority of their communion For authority without sincerity is but like will without understanding power without judgement to engage men to sin but sincerity without authority is not to be imagined for whatsoever appears to me in matters
enjoyning duties shewing us that we cannot take any of either but we must take all And this is most evident in the present case for the fourth Commandment plâ—inly presupposeth all that is enjoyned in the three former commandments concerning holy duties or the whole substance of Religion both internal and external and then also farther addeth an obligation of consecrating time and other adjuncts for the publick exercise thereof that God may be the more solemnly glorified and men the more truely edified whilst the duties of Religion are all practised together in a full communion of Saints the Church Militant being obliged in this to imitate the Church Triumphant that it invite men on earth to glorifie God with one accord as the Angels do glorifie him in heaven And in this respect we may easily believe and readily confess the first Sabbath to have been both instituted and kept in Paradise for the Church was there founded and the Communion of Saints there first established That is the communion of holy men with the holy Angels and with themselves joyning together to sing Halleluiahs to God their blessed Creator which was indeed the principal end of their creation And accordingly men were at first enabled to the discharge of this great duty as well as the Angels having the right and acceptable forms of praising God imprinted in their hearts and when through transgression they had disabled themselves it pleased God of his infinite goodness to grant them as it were a new impression and to give them a second edition of those praises in his holy Scriptures which before had been written in their own hearts but were now very much slurred and defaced if not quite obliterated and blotted out This great and undeserved mercy of God those men either shamefully forget or ineffectually remember who cry up the Sabbath day but beat down the Sabbath Duty making little or no use of the written Word of God in their publick worship and making little or no account of those forms of praâ—er and praise which are either contained therein or agreeable thereto but setting up their own private gifts against that publick communion which should be in Gods house and service by virtue of this fourth Commandment discountenancing the exercise of Religion in known forms of heavenly prayers able to establish the heart and encouraging new-fangled devices which are only fit to busie and tickle the phansie By which ungodly practice for so it must be called though it pretend to the greatest measure of godliness they in effect throw the fourth Commandment out of the Church whilst they pretend to set it up over the Altar since not sitting still or keeping an outward rest but comming together that we may all labour inwardly in Hallowing the name of our Father which is in heaven is the cheif moral duty of the Sabbath For as in the promise of the fifth so in the precept of the fourth Commandment the Lawgivers expression containeth the least part of his intention and we may no more confine this precept in the duty then we may that promise in the reward Therefore as we would be loth to look no farther then the Land of Canaan for our inheritance so we should be wary how we assert that God looks no farther then the Sabbath day for our obedience Truth is it pleased God to train up the Jews in his fear by types and figures and as it were to wrap up heaven in earth spirituals in temporals morals in ceremonials substances in circumstances to them as well in his precepts as in his promises particularly in that precept which concerned his publick worship because that amongst the Jews was for the most part Ceremonial and figurative Wherefore if we desire rightly and fully to understand the fourth Commandment we must conceive it in so great a latitude as to comprize all those Commissions injunctions invitations and exhortations which we find in the Old and New Testament given either to Kings or Ministers or People concerning the ordering establishing reforming practicing professing or promoting the solemn publick worship of Almighty God which is in truth the principal end thereof unless we will say that all those moral duties are reducible to none of the ten commandments in the decalogue and consequently that all they were will-will-worshippers who either professed or promoted or practised them For as such duties of Religion are to be done publickly and solemnly by many together in one communion they are not reducible to any of the three first commandments which speak to single persons but only to the fourth which alone speaketh to whole families or to many persons joyned together in one community And therefore it is not amiss to say that Hallowed be thy name is that Petition which most directly prayes for Grace to perform the duty of the fourth Commandment since all other things are hallowed for his names sake God sanctifying times places persons and forms of prayers and praise unto us that he may sanctifie us unto himself nor is it amiss to say that the holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints is that Article of faith which most directly professeth to believe the truth of the fourth Commandment for it is only the Catholick Church the Communion of Saints which doth rightly hallow and praise Gods holy name The Hallowing of Gods most holy name belonging equally to the decalogue and to the Creed and to the Lords most holy prayer belonging to the decalogue as it is a duty to be performed belonging to the Creed as it is a truth to be believed and belonging to the Lords Prayer as it is a good to be desired as we are all bound to pray that we may perform this duty and believe this truth For Faith Hope and Charity are not to be separated from one another but do alike belong to supernatural Truths and to religious or moral duties because both truths and duties do equally call for our faith to know and believe them and for our hope to crave and desire them and for our Charity to love and embrace them But if we take the outward sanctification of a day for the principal morality of the Sabbath we shall scarce find a Petition in the Lords most holy and most perfect prayer relating to such a Duty nor an Article in the Apostles Creed relating to such a Truth and so we shall phansie to our selves such a morality as is without a good to be desired and without a truth to be believed for without doubt The Lords Prayer briefly containeth all the good we are bound to desire and the Apostles Creed briefly containeth all the Truths we are bound to believe as well as the Decalogue briefly containeth all the Duties we are bound to practise and perform Whereas on the other side if we look upon hallowing the name of God in our publick worship as upon the principal moral duty that is enjoyned in the fourth Commandment we shall find the Decalogue and the Creed and
non eodem Anathemate inclusisse Arianos Quartodecimanos That the Nicene fathers did not include the Quartodecimans under the same Anathema with the Arrians And we may gather the reason of this from the Synodical Epistle of the Council of Sardice wherein it is accouted all one to be Anathema and to be separated from the Catholick Church or not to be reckoned among Christians For so those Fathers declare their sentence against the Arrian Bishops 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We have judged them not only to be unworthy of their Bishopricks but also of the communion of the faithful For they which do separate the son from the father are to be separated from the Catholick Church as unworthy of the name of Christians Therefore let them be to you as Anathema 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But why are they to be Anathema Because they have corrupted the word of truth say the same Fathers This being the Apostles command If any man preach any other Gospel unto you then that ye have received let him be Anathema or accursed Gal. 1. 9. Therefore be sure not to communicate with any of them for there is no communion of light with darkness but put them all far from you for there is no concord of Christ with Belial Thus far in effect those holy Fathers accursing only those whom God himself had accursed So doth the Council of Ephesus Anathematize Nestorius in this form 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Concil Eph. par 2. Act. 1. The true Orthodox Faith doth accurse this man the holy Synod doth accurse him shewing plainly that if the true Faith had not excommunicated him they would not easily have denyed him their communion I will pass by the Acclamations of the Bishops in the Council of Chalcedon in the first action saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christ himself hath deposed Dioscorus this is a just sentence this is a righteous Synod and their great exultations in the Nicene and Constantinopolitane Faith after the recital of those two Creeds in the second action of the same Council and I will hasten to some instances of after-ages to shew how tender the Primitive Christians were in rejecting others from their communion the first shall be of the fifth general Council which was not till the year of Christ five hundred and fifty And that Council at the end of its fourth collation hath these words Sancta Synodus dixit multitudo blasphemiarum quas contra magnum Deum Salvatorem nostrum Jesum Christum imo magis contra suam animam Theodorus Mopsuestenus evomuit justam ejus facit condemnationem The holy Synod avowed that the multitude of the blasphemies which Theodorus of Mopsuestia had belched or vomited out against the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ or rather against his own soul had made his condemnation just or necessary as if they had professed they did not come by their own authority to make him a Heretick but by the authority of Christ to declare him so My second instance shall be out of the sixth general Council which was against the Monothelites For there the Fathers at the end of the fifteenth action pronounce their sentence of excommunication against Polychronius the Monothelite in these words For as much as Polychronius the Monk hath persisted in his erroneous and wicked opinion even to his old age we have therefore put his soul under the curse denounced by Saint Paul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Praedicto à Sancto Apostolo Paulo Anathemati jam hunc secundum animam subjecimus what curse that was the Council nameth not but we may suppose they meant that denounced in 2 Cor. 16. 22. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha They looked upon this man as one that loved not the Lord Jesus Christ for in that he was a Monothelite and said there was but one will in Christ he did in effect deny his humane nature whilst he denyed his humane will as themselves profess in their seventeenth action That the Monothelites Tenent did by a new subdolous invention 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 labour to overthrow the perfection of Christs humanity I say they looked upon this man as one that loved not the Lord Jesus Christ in that he opposed the perfection of his humane nature and consequently as one that had involved himself in that Anathema denounced by Saint Paul If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha This is the Anathema that truly strikes the soul which the Spirit of God denounceth against our Spirits for not cleaving stedfastly to the Son of God or for not loving our Lord Jesus Christ he that is thus bound in heaven can never think himself a freeman though he be not bound in earth He that is thus excommunicated by the sentence of the Law cannot but think himself in a very ill condition though happily he may be absolved by the sentence of his Judge So saith Saint Chrysostom upon the place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 By this one word hath the Apostle frighted all the impenitent sinners of Corinth whether guilty of fornication or of scandal or of faction or of infidelity for some of them also denyed the resurrection he first shews them the greatness of their sin that they loved not the Lord Jesus Christ then the greatness of their punishment that they were Anathema Maranatha could not but tremble at the coming of that Lord whom they did not love Such men as are in truth excommunicated by God himself are most justly excommunicated by his Church and t is apparent that this Council looked upon the Monothelites as such for it follows afterwards at the end of the Sentence Anathema to Macarius Stephanus and Polychronius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The holy Trinity hath deposed these three miscreants I need not look after any more Instances since this Council was held full six hundred and eighty years after Christ This is enough to shew the Moderation of the Primitive Christians that they did not care to break communion with them in the Christian Faith who had not broken Communion with Christ and they did not think those had broken communion with Christ who professed the Christian Faith as it had been delivered in the Creeds of the four first general Councils indeed they thought the Constantinopolitans Creed alone a full and sufficient explication of the Christian faith so say the Fathers of this Council Action 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sufficiebat quidem ad perfectam Orthodoxae Fidei cognitionem atque confirmationem pium atque orthodoxum hoc divinae Gratiae Symbolum This pious and orthodox Creed of the Divine Grace was sufficient for the perfect knowledge and confirmation of the orthodox faith The Council of Chalcedon had given the same Judgement before concerning that Creed but in different words Action 5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sufficiebat quidem ad plenam cognitionem confirmationem pietatis hoc sapiens salutare
the Ministery which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testifie the Gospel of the Grace of God v. 24. as if he had said I did not at first either invade or falsifie this Trust that I should now betray it or forsake it for I received it of the Lord Jesus he put me in this course I must follow his Directions He made me his Minister I must obey his commands It is my course I must run it on directly not turning aside either to the right hand or to the left that I may consult with flesh and blood but looking only to my journies end It is my Ministry I must perform it as I am enjoined not seeking to please my self and much less any other but only my Master Nor need we ask the Eunuchs question I pray thee of whom speaketh the Prophet this of himself or of some other man Acts 8. 34. For Saint Paul in the same place gives the answer to this question in that he alledgeth his own example not as Personal but as Doctrinal making this inference upon it Take heed therefore unto your selves and to all the flock over the which the Holy-Ghost hath made you oversers to feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood v. 28. He gives them 4. reasons why they should be as carefull in their Trust as he had been in his 1. That they had the charge of the flock and were to answer for those that should go astray Take heed therefore unto your selves and to all the Flock 2. That they have this charge imposed on them by the Spirit of God Over which the Holy-Ghost hath made you Overseers 3. That this charge neerly concerned the Church of God which he owned for his own peculiar To feed the Church of God 4. That this charge neerly concerned the Son of God and might not be neglected without the inexpiable guilt of profaning and contemning his blood which was the only price of our souls and the only expiation of our sins which he hath purchased with his own blood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith S. Chrysost see how many necessities are here joyned together you have your Ordination or Commission from the spirit of God there 's one necessity you are entrusted with the Church of God there 's another necessity you are entrusted with the blood of God there 's a third necessity This is the necessity that St. Paul thought was laid upon him of preaching the Gospel when he said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Necessitas enim mihi incumbit for necessity is laid upon me 1 Cor. 9. 16. and the same necessity hath he laid upon all his Successors in the Ministry to the worlds end as plainly appears in his charge to Timothy his chiefest Successor in this Trust at Ephesus to whom he saith I give thee charge in the sight of God who quickneth all things and before Christ Jesus who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession that thou keep this Commandment without spot unrebukable untill the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ which charge it was impossible for Timothy to perform by himself because he was to die long before the coming of Christ it must therefore be performed by his successors who are to continue till Christs coming that they may perform it as Saint Ambrose glosseth upon the place non solicitus à cura Timothei tam circumspectus est sed propter successores eius This charge was given thus circumspectly in this strict manner to Timothy not that S. Paul doubted of him but that all the world might see it was not given to him alone but also to all his successors And so much concerning the Trust that was given by God to the particular Church of Ephesus whereof Timothy was the Bishop or the chiefest Trustee whence Oecumenius tells us upon those words of S. Paul to him I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus 1 Tim. 1. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here he made him Bishop of the Church of Ephesus He that is Saint Paul but as the instrument of the Holy Ghost for so Saint Paul himself had told us before That the Holy Ghost had made him Bishop of that Church and all his fellow Presbyters in some sort Bishops with him Over which the holy-Ghost hath made you overseers some were overseers of the flock but he also of the shepherds themselves and the commission is accordingly Take heed therefore unto your selves and to all the Flock every Presbyter was a Bishop or an overseer in regard of the flock but he was also Bishop or Overseer in regard of the Presbyters in the regard of the Ministery and not only of the People this is Oecumenius his gloss upon the fourth of the Ephesians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Those who were entrusted with whole Churches he peculiarly calleth Bishops such as was Timothy and Titus And doubtless such Trustees as these were more especially interested in that admonition concerning the Wolves or the false Pastors v. 30. 31. for therefore said he they shall arise that those to whom he said it should suppress them when they did arise But however they were all in common Gods Trustees for that place and people though not all equally entrusted God the Father entrusted them with his flock God the Son entrusted them with his blood God the Holy-Ghost entrusted them with his Truth Go now you that despise the Ministers whom God hath set over you but take this advice along with you Take heed you despise not at once God the Father Son and Holy-Ghost Goe now you that invade the office of the Ministers whom God hath not made overseers of his flock nor entrusted with his word or with his people yet you will needs be feeding his Church but take this advice before you go take heed he say not to you at the last day Who hath required this at your hands Isai 1. 12. for sure he will charge you with a profanation because he hath not charged you with a Trust look not upon that office as profitable and glorious which God will have looked upon as terrible and dangerous no less dangerous if undertaken without his commission then if forsaken against it The like is to be averred concerning the Trust of the particular Church of Creet The people of which Island Saint Paul plainly commended to Titus and his fellow Presbyters as himself hath professed For this cause left I thee in Creet that thou shouldst set in order the things that are wanting and ordain Elders in every City Tit. 1. 5. Why was he to ordain more Bishops but because the Trust was too great for one Bishop So saith Oecumenius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For he would not that such a great Island should be committed one Bishop but that every City should have her own Pastor or Bishop For by Elders or Presbyters he meaneth Bishops 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Saint Chrysostome He would that every particular Bishop should have his
Paul saith expresly God hath given us authority for Edification not for destruction 2 Cor. 10. 8. If he hath not given the Prince authority to destroy his Church much less hath he given the Priest authority to destroy his Religion That authority which is destrvctive either of Church or of Religion is not of Gods giving and should not be of mans taking excellently Aquinas Quum potestas Praelati spiritualis qui non est Dominus sed Dispensator in Edificationâ—m sit data non in destructionem ut patet 2 Cor. 10. Sicut Praelatus non potest imperare ea quae secundum se Deo displicent sc peccata ita non potest prohibere ea quae secundum se Deo placent sc Virtutis opera 22ae qu. 88. art 12. ad 2. um When as the power of a spiritual Praelate who is not a Lord but a Steward is given for Edification not for Destruction as it appears 2 Cor. 10. it follows that as a Prelate cannot command those things which in themselves are displeasing unto God such as are all sins So he cannot forbid those things which in themselves are pleasing unto God such as are all the works of Virtue Which is a Truth as clear as if it had been written by a Sun-beam and should be as durable as if it were written in our Hearts Nay indeed it is written there So that we should as soon lose our own hearts as lose this perswasion That our Gonernours both Temporal and Spiritual have no Authority to command against God but only for him and therefore if they lay upon us any commands that are evidently against the Law of God their own spiritual Governours have taught us what to answer them Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more then unto God judge ye Acts 4. 19. Nor doth this doctrine loosen the joints or dissolve the ligaments of Government It takes not away the rights of Kingdoms or Churches by giving to God his Right Let humane Laws bind in the court of conscience but either let them not be laws if they be palpably against the Law of God or let humane laws so bind the conscience as that the divine law may bind it much more We confess it is neither safe nor sound Divinity to extenuate the obligation of humane laws but we also profess that the extenuation of the power of Divine laws must needs have less both of safety and of soundness And it is to be feared that this hath been the greatest cause of the other and that God hath suffered the People to make so light of the authority of the Church because a great faction in the Church hath of late made so light of Gods own Authority For what else have they done who have not only magisterially transgressed but also maliciously calumniated the Holy Scriptures that by discountenancing nay indeed by disauthenticating the known Text they might countenance and authorize their own inventions which is in effect no other but to turn out God and to put in man in the Legislative authority concerning Religion T is very good to be zealous for this doctrine that the disobedient are reckoned up by Saint Paul among those who are worthy of death 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Parentibus non obedientes Rom. 1. 30. They who are not obedient to their parents whether Natural or Civil or Ecclesiastical are worthy of death for not only the position of disobedience but also the mere negation of obedience makes them liable to damnation But withal we must be more zealous for God himself then for any of his Substitutes For if not obeying our fathers on earth makes us worthy of eternal death then much more not obeying our Father in heaven if the contempt of mans law can wound the conscience then much more of Gods law by which alone mans law can either reach the conscience by its command or wound the conscience for its contempt So that to speak the plain truth no men have so much opposed that Tenent of humane laws binding the conscience as those who have made the slightest account of the divine law as if that could not or at least had not bound their consciences For it is without dispute therefore should be without denyal that Gods law hath a far greater power and dominion over the conscience of the greatest governour then mans law can have or challenge over the conscience of the meanest subject Therefore the readiest way for the Church to obtain a conscionable obedience from the people is to observe a conscionable obedience towards God and not by raising objections or rather cavils against the law of God to teach the people to object against and cavil with her laws when they should obey them Wherein some late Church-men have been very much too blame who have endeavoured to cast that aspersion of obscurity and uncertainty upon Gods hand-writing which they would take very disdainfully should be cast upon their own writings thereby in effect giving Gods law a quietus est as to the binding of the conscience without which yet their own laws cannot bind it since it is impossible that the conscience should be bound either by obscurities or by uncertainties For if the law be obscure who can act with the knowledge of his understanding If it be uncertain who can act with the consent of his will And if conscience be the Practical judgement how can it act without either of these for how can it be a Judgement without the knowledge of the understanding how can it a practical obedience without the consent of the will Or to inforce this argument of natural reason with a medium of Religion since whatsoever is not of faith is sin and whatsoever is not of the evidence or of the assurance of faith is not of faith and what is obscure cannot beget the evidence what is uncertain cannot beget the assurance of faith who can think that obscure and uncertain laws can bind the conscience and not think that the conscience may be bound to sin So little is the Church of Christ beholding to those Divines who yet would be thought most of all to magnifie and to extoll her For whiles they lesson the authority of Gods law in binding the conscience they cannot but lesson the authority of the Churches law which can have no such authority but from the law of God Even as he that should cast any scornful reproach upon the light of the Sun would in vain make a Panegyrick in praise of the lustre of the Moon since she hath all her light and lustre from the Sun Therefore let them no longer tell us that Gods Law is obscure till they have explained it unless they would have us not think it a Law till they have made it so for if it be obscure it cannot have the virtue nor challenge the obligation of a law For if this great trumpet which summons us all to the Church militant that
belonging to the holy Communion be carefully maintained cap. 12. art 12. and upon this ground doth our Church think it fit to maintain kneeling rather then standing at the holy Communion the better to maintain and to improve that due reverence In a word we make that profession concerning this blessed Sacrament which the Primitive Christians made as it is recorded by Iustine Martyr towards the end of his second Apologie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. For we receive not these elements as common bread or as common wine But as by the Word of God Iesus Christ our Saviour being incarnate had both flesh and blood for our salvation So that food over which the Word that came from God hath prayed and given thanks whence our flesh and blood are nourished after it is changed we are taught in the flesh and blood of that Incarnate Iesus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Incarnati illius Iesu carnem sanguinem esse edocti sumus These words have been much urged both for Transubstantiation and for Consubstantiation but since they have been urged to prove both we may safely conclude they can prove neither Two proofs are taken from them The first is That he saith we receive it not as common bread but that proves it is bread though not common bread The second that he saith The bread is the flesh of the incarnate Jesus that is such flesh as Christ took in his incarnation But that proves it is not flesh under the appearance of bread or in conjunction with bread besides he saith Our flesh and blood are nourished by it but sure our flesh is nourished by bread not by the body of Christ that is only the nourishment of our souls And yet still though we embrace neither of these opinions we do most willingly profess with that holy Martyr That we receive these elements not as common bread nor as common wine but as the very flesh and blood of our incarnate Iesus And therefore we desire to use such reverence in receiving this holy Eucharist as may be suitable with this profession For what Saint Paul said would come to pass among the Corinthians upon a right use of Preaching will we hope much more come to pass amongst us upon a right use of Administring If there comes in one that believeth not or one unlearned he is convinced of all he is judged of all And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest and so falling down on his face he will worship God and report That God is in you of a Truth 1 Cor. 14. 24 25. He is not like to fall on his face whiles he seeth us either sit or stand Our outward reverence if used may convince and condemn him if not used will convince and condemn our selves For if he seeth us not true worshippers he will not think us true Believers We will therefore kneel that we may worship and we will therefore worship that we may make an Alient a true Believer and much more shew our selves to be true Believers CAP. III. That the Communion of the Church of England is conscionably embraced and retained by All the people of this Nation and not rejected much less renounced by any of them but against the Rules of Conscience SECT I. Every particular man ought to labour to be of such a Communion as he is sure is truly Christian both in Doctrine and in Devotion The Rule whereby to choose such a Christian Communion the Proofs whereby to maintain it THAT man cannot be truly said to believe the Communion of Saints who doth not labour to make himself one of that Communion This he cannot attempt without joyning himself to those who profess to know and to worship God in Christ and this he cannot attain without joyning himself to those who do truly so know and rightly so worship God So that although the Communion of Saints may be sought among all sorts of Christians yet is it not to be found but only among good Christians such as are publickly known to be true believers and right worshippers For Christian Communion is founded both in Doctrine and in Devotion In Doctrine to make men of one mind in Devotion to make men of one mouth And since Doctrine and Devotion are the two integral Parts of Religion the one â—anctifying the understanding the other sanctifying the will that so Religion may fully do its work in knitting or binding the whole soul unto God it is manifest that Christian Communion is founded in Christian Religion and the truest Christian Communion in the truest Christian Religion Accordingly every particular man is bound to joyn himself to that Church which doth profess the truest Christian Religion both in Doctrine and in Devotion that so he may embrace the truest Christian Communion And because all Churches do alike magnifie themselves and vilifie others it is necessary that in the choice of our Christian Communion we observe the Apostles general Axiom Not he that commendeth himself is approved but whom the Lord commendeth 2 Cor. 10. 18. In the business of Religion and of eternal Salvation we may not rely upon our own judgements or the judgements of any other men but only upon the judgement and approbation of God who is the Author of Religion and the Giver of Salvation Therefore it is not for any man to be of this or that Church because it commendeth it self but because God commendeth it And where should we seek where can we find Gods commendation but in his word So it is plain I must choose my Church from Gods word or I can never be sure that God doth commend my choice and this consideration alone must needs make a conscientious man afraid of choosing that Church for the guide of his Communion which refuseth to take Gods word for the guide of her Religion For the Churches power concerning Religion in the Apostles times was but ministerial and how should it come in our times to be magisterial For so it is said Who is Paul and who is Apollo but Ministers by whom ye believed even as the Lord gave to every man 1 Cor. 3. 5. They are Ministers of your faith not Lords and Masters of it Nay in that they are Ministers it is evident they cannot be Masters of your Faith for there is a direct opposition between a Minister and a Master you are bound to have a special regard to their Ministry that you may believe but not to depend or rely upon their authority in your belief For thus hath Christ our Lord appointed That your Faith should come by the Churches Ministry but from his own Authority 〈…〉 And therefore you must go to his Church for your Communion that you may go to himself for your Religion Christs Church hath not a co-ordinate authority that she may command with Christ in matters of Religion for so she might also command against him but only a subordinace Authority to command in and for him in his name and for his
God calls his sons how shall we not call our brethren unless we will deny him to be our Father Whence it must follow that Christian communion is of as great a latitude or extent as is the Christian Church according to that of Saint Paul ye are all one in Christ Jesus Gal. 3. 28. Having said before ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Iesus to shew they were of the same Christian Church he now saith ye are all one in Christ Jesus to shew they were also of the same Christian communion And this principle we may not gain-say if we will acknowledge the excellency of true Christian communion for it cannot be so excellent if it depend on man as if it depend on God if it depend on Christs Vicar as if it depend on Christ himself if it be confined to one party of Christians as if it be extended to all for undenyable is that rule in reason Bonum quo communius eo melius Every good the more common it is the better it is and much more undenyable is it in charity when it is applyed to our Christian Communion For it is against the nature of God to be under a restraint or a Monoply God the fountain of goodness is an universal good He is good unto all and every other good the more it partakes of his goodness the more it partakes of his universality and is the more diffusive of it self being good only to it self whiles it is not diffused and therefore diffusing it self that it may also be good to others Much more is this to be seen and confessed in the good of Christian Communion which is therefore good because it is a common good and may not be abridged of its Community without being also abridged of its goodness Saint Paul will have us if it be possible to live peaceably with all men Rom. 12. 18. therefore much more with the best of men with Christians who have the name the word the image the Spirit of Christ with all men we must keep an external and civil but with Christians we must moreover maintain an internal and spiritual peace Our hand is bound to the good behaviour in regard of Christs enemies but our heart is so bound in regard of his servants We may not break the outward peace with those that persecute him much less may we break the inward peace with those that love him There is a great difference betwixt our Civil and our Christian conversation or communion The Civil depends upon the body and is accordingly confined to time and place but the Christian depends chiefly upon the soul and therefore may be extended as far as the souls apprehension and affection to know and to love the Truth Whence Saint John saith to that elect Lady Whom I love in the truth and not I only but also all they that have known the truth though they had not known her for the truths sake which dwelleth in us and shall be with us for ever 2 John 1. 2. As far as truth and love do extend so far extends our Christian Communion the foundation whereof is truth the building whereof is love Communio spiritualis est in consensu vero vel interpretativo Spiritual communion consists either in an explicit or an implicit consent with other Christians Alensis par 2. qu. 161. m. 10. which as I may not afford to any Christians as they abide in errour so I may not deny to any Christians as they embrace the Truth For wherever the Truth is it calls for my interpretative or virtual consent not to deny or gain-say it and where I know it to be there it calls for my actual and explicit consent to love and follow it I may not turn Donatist to confine the spirit of truth nor may I turn Familist to confine the spirit of love For as it cannot be denyed but that the spirit breatheth where it listeth so it may not be disputed but I must love wheresoever the spirit is pleased to breath Either I must deny the spirit of Truth to breath upon all those Christians that are not of my profession or the spirit of love to breath upon me if I will not allow them to be of my Christian Communion So that I must first limit and confine the Catholick Church before I can limit and confine the Communion of Saints for as is the Church so is the communion if the one be Catholick the other is so too If I will make a particular Christian communion I must make a particular Christian Church and consequently make that two Articles of my Faith which Christ and his Apostles have made but one even The holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints Saint John the beloved Disciple loved for the Truths sake and so must I where God hath not denyed his truth there may not I deny my love If there be such a Christian Church in the world which I cannot well love for its own sake yet even that Church must I love for the truth sake as far as it hath my Saviours Truth so far it must have my souls love And though that Church may most justly claim my love which hath most entirely Christs truth yet no Christian Church but may in some sort claim it since no Christian Church but hath Christs Truth by which it is made Christian Some have this truth mingled with many and gross errours but God forbid that the tares which the enemy hath sowed should make me out of love with that good seed which I know came from Christ himself For why should I be alwaies looking on the mote in my brothers eye and not rather see the beam in mine own To his own master he standeth or falleth and God is willing to make him stand why should I be willing to make him fall or to keep him down If I would look on the Christian not on the man I should account him a brother whom now I think an enemy for what he is in Christ is most amiable though not what is he in himself God looks on me in Christ to love me and why should not I so look on my Brother to love him Gods love in Christ towards me covers a multitude of my sins and why should not my love in the same Christ towards my Brother cover a few of his mistakes Sure I am my Saviour hath made Charity a necessary condition to the forgiveness of my sins and therefore I must willingly cover my brothers faults or I cannot hope that God will cover mine If I will needs lay open his miscarriages to my sight I shall but lay open mine own miscarriages to the sight of God for he that cursed Cham meerly for not covering will certainly never bless me only for discovering either my fathers or my brothers nakedness I cannot judge him but I shall bring my self into Judgement and therefore I must pass by his faults as I would have God to pass by mine This is
such a truth as no Christian can deny and therefore none should contemn yet is this truth most of all contemned by Christians whiles each particular Church more stomachs at a man for not being one of her members then she rejoyces for his being a member of Christ Hence those outragious invectives and impious calumnies of one Christian Church against another whiles they all had rather contribute to their own unnecessary differences as men then to their necessary concord and agreement as Christians Each particular Church so labouring to advance and enlarge her own Communion as in effect neglecting and confining the communion of Christs Catholick Church Whereas it is most evident by Saint Paul that there is neither Greek nor Jew circumcision nor uncircumcision Barbarian Scythian bond nor free but Christ is all and all Col. 3. 11. That is All true Believers promiscuously without any distinction or exception of place or person do belong to the communion of Christs Catholick Church And accordingly the same Apostle sets all Christians a rule how infallibly to compass and inviolably to hold this communion saying Put on therefore as the elect of God holy and beloved bowels of mercies kindness humbleness of mind meekness long-suffering forbearing one another and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrel against any even as Christ forgave you so also do ye ver 12 13. How many vertues are here joyned together the least whereof if put on in bowels that is sincerely and without hypocrisie will not let us break communion with any Christian For here is mercy to pitty him kindness to recall him humbleness to yeild to him meekness not to provoke him long suffering to forbear and to forgive him when we have a just quarrel and therefore much more not to make a quarrel against him when we have none And all this is enjoined as we would be the Elect and beloved of God or thought zealous to follow the example of Christ who hath forborn and forgiven us much more then we can for his sake forbear or forgive our brethren These virtues will make us zealous in compassing our Christian communion and one more follows these which will make us as zealous in keeping it And that is charity of which it is said And above all these things put on charity which is the bond of perfectness ver 14. Charity is the bond of perfection in regard of our souls in regard of our operations and in regard of our communion making our souls perfect by uniting and binding them together in Christ that every one may enjoy the perfections of all making our operations perfect by uniting binding them together for Christ that all may tend to his glory as if they were but one and making our communion perfect by uniting and binding both our operations and our souls together with Christ for our communion in neither is perfect till both be joyned with him who is the author of all perfection For as in the natural body of man the perfection thereof consisteth very much in the communion which the several members have with themselves but much more in the communion which they all have with the soul so in the mystical body of Christ the perfection thereof consisteth very much in the communion which good Christians have with one another but much more in the communion which they all have with Christ It is their great glory and bliss that they all have in effect one common soul but their far greater glory and bliss that they all have in truth one common Saviour And indeed they first meet in him before they meet in one another Quae in aliquo tertio conveniunt ea inter se conveniunt is not only consequently but also causally true not only if two or more agree in a third they agree in themselves but also because they agree in a third therefore they agree in themselves Thus the two extreams in a syllogism are joyned both together in the conclusion because they were both joyned before with the same middle term in the premises so is it with men of different and disagreeing perswasions because they rightly agree in medio termino in one and the same Mediator they cannot but agree among themselves And as it is a rule in Logick or in reason Si medium in premissis rite collocatur duo alii termini non possunt aliter quà m recte disponi If the medium be rightly placed the two extreams cannot be placed amiss so is it in religion if our Mediator may but have his due place and order amongst us there will be no fear of our own being out of order amongst our selves Hence that Eulogie of the first Christians And all that believed were together and had all things common Act. 2. 44. They were not so together in their persons as to be asunder in their affections and therefore we must interpret this verse from the first and say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They were all with one accord in one place or with one mind and soul They were unanimously met together as well as personally they were in one mind as well as in one place And so will all true believers to the worlds end Nay they will meet in one mind when they cannot meet in one place for they are all joyned together as it were in one common soul though not as men according to Averrois his phansie who said there was but one numerical intelligent soul which assisted all mankind Yet as Christians according to Saint Pauls Divinity with one mind and one mouth glorifie God Rom. 15 6. or perfectly joyned together in the same mind and the same judgement 1 Cor. 1. 10. or being of one accord of one mind Phil. 2. 2. And in this respect they have also all things common for though we may not allow an external community of goods and bodies to the confusion of humane property and society yet we must allow an internal community of affections and souls to the exercise of Christian love and charity For if that rule be true of the outward or carnal man Homo sum humani à me nihil alienum puto I am a man and think nothing belongs to a man but belongs to me then much more is it true of the inward and spiritual man I am a Christian and think no prosperity or adversity can happen to any Christian but the same happens to my self For this is according to the example of Christ who said unto Saul I am Jesus whom thou persecutest Act. 9. 5. Thinking the injuries done unto his members as done unto himself Nay it is according to the precept of Christ commanding us to think so to wherefore he saith Rejoyce with them that do rejoyce and weep with them that weep Be of the same mind one towards another Rom. 12. 15 16. Bidding us be of the same mind that we might be of the same affections and have the same joyes and the same sorrows This contemplation should