the 18. 19. and 20. verses saith It is better if the will of God be so that ye suffer for well dooing then for ill dooing for as much as Christ hath once suffered for sinnes the iust for the vniust to bring vs to God and was killed as pertaining to the flesh but was quickened in the spirite in which spirit he also went and preached to the spirites that were in prison which sometime had been disobedient when the long suffering of God was once looked for in the dayes of Noah while the arke was a preparing wherein a few that is to say 8. soules were saued by the water For the better vnderstanding of this place because the woord spirite is diuerslye taken in the woord of God I will first set downe the diuerse acceptation of the woorde spirite and afterward by many vncontrollable reasons out of the text I will by Gods assistance confirme my assertion that Christ in soule descended into hell They that know not the signification of the woord spirite are often deceiued for somtimes it signifieth the wil and authority of a man as in the 1. Cor. 5 ver 3. I truly as absent in body but present in spirit c. Sometimes it is taken for doctors Prophets 1. Ioh. 4. 5. Proue the spirits whether they are of God or no Sometimes for a Ghoast Luke 24. 37. And they supposed that they had seene a Spirite Sometime for winde or breath as Ioh. 3. 8. the winde bloweth where it will Sometime for a voice or woord 1. Cor. 84. 15. I wil pray with the spirit I will pray with the vnderstanding Sometime for the life of the Lawe 2. Cor. 3. 17. Now the Lord is the life Sometimes it is taken for a kinde of deceipte whereby any pretendeth to haue a spirite of reuelation 2. Thes. 2. 2. Be ye not troubled neither by spirite neither by word nor by letter So is it taken in Micheas 2. 11. Sometimes it is taken for the animal life Psalm 104. 29. If thou take away their spirite they dye Sometime for wrath Pro. 25. and last verse A man that refraineth not his anger is like a Cittie which is broken down and without wals Somtimes for the gifts of the spirit first for ioy in the holy ghost Ephe. 5. 18. But be ye filled with the spirite Secondly for spirituall vnderstanding 1. Thes. 5. 23. I pray God that your whole spirite soule and body may be kept blameles vnto the comming of our Lord Iesus Christ. So it is vsed Ephe. 2. 22. Thirdly it is vsed for seruencye of zeale sedulity and constancy 1. Timo. 4. 12. But be thou an ensample in word in cōuersation in loue in spirit Fourthly it is taken for the true doctrine of the Gospell which worketh effectually in our harts by the spirit 2. Cor. 3. 6. which hath made vs fit Ministers of the new testament not of the letter but of the spirit Where the letter signifieth the vtter preaching which toucheth not the hart Fiftly for a spirituall life Gal. 6. 8. He that soweth in the spirit shall in the spirit reap eternall life Sixtly it is taken for prophecy 1. Thes. 5. 19. quench not the spirit Which he interpreteth in the verse following despise not prophecying It signifieth sometime a thing of nothing Esa. 26. 18. We haue conceiued we haue borne in paine as though we should haue brought forth winde Sometime for euery creature that hath breath Psal. 150. and last verse Let euery thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Sometime it signifieth the diuine or immortal essence of y e soule Eph. 4. 4. There is one spirite Acts 7. ver 59. Stephen saith Lord Iesus receiue my soul. Somtime it signifieth God Ioh. 4. 24. God is a spirit And so the woord spirit is common to the whole 3. persons Sometimè it signifieth the holy Ghoste the 3. person in Trinity wherunto is alwaies put the Gréeke article Mat. 4. 5. Mar. 1. 12. Luc. 4. 1. 1. Tim. 4. 1. Act. 8. 29. Because then the word hath so many significations we must proue by the circumstances of y e text what is héer his proper meaning They that say that by this place is meant Christs preaching in the spirit in y e time of Noah are many waies cléerely confuted First because that mortificatus and viuificatus two contrary particles of one tense are attributed to Christ so that Christ being dead was aliue and that at one time and in respect of his humanity Secondlye he sheweth how he was dead and how he was aliue by putting to mortificatus carne he was killed in the flesh and viuificatus spiritu he was quickned in the spirit or in the soule for to say the Godhead was quickned is a grosse error For as Augustine saith in his 99. Epistle it is very euident that the Lord killed as concerning the flesh went into hell Thirdly in his soule while he was yet dead in the bodye hée went downe into hell the Gréek woord is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which woord must néeds be vnderstood of the soule of Christ because it is a motion from vs to another place and not of the Godhead and therfore is vsed again in y e 22. verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he went into heauen and thus proueth he the death of Christ in the 18. verse the descending of Christ into hell in the 19. verse his resurrection in the 21. verse and his ascending into heauen in the last verse Fourthly the Scripture doth straightlye ioyne together the passion of Christ with this perfection and preaching so that Christ went immediatly after his passion to preach to the spirits Neither dooth he deuide them as though now he did suffer preach long before for the resurrection and ascension héer spoken of succéeded this passion so did this iourney and going into Hell Fiftly the Scripture doth plainely attribute the preaching of Noah properly to the holy Ghoste not to y e second person as it appeareth Gen. 6. 3. My spirit shall not alway striue with man As all the scripture doth ascribe the doctrine and ministry of preaching to the 3. person and that the 3. person receiueth it of Christ doth speak by the mouth of holy Doctors inspireth the scripture and reproueth the world or comforteth Sixtly if the woord spirit must be vnderstoode of God héere of whom Christ is quickned as some would haue it it must néedes also be vnderstood of the first person that he preached in hell for the scripture attributeth the resurrection of Christ to the Father Last of all that we heap not to manye thinges in an euident matter the participle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which were disobedient doth fignifie and plainely shew this inobedience to be long before this preaching so also the woord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in times past and all the annotation of time following
soule did descend into hell And this consent in this point of doctrine to be in the olde and pure Church doth M. Caluin on the 16. Psalme himselfe confesse his woordes be these I confesse saith Caluin that the olde Interpreters both Gréek and Latin haue drawen those woordes to another meaning that the soule of Christ was brought from hell but it is better to tarry in the naturall simplicity of the wordes that we be not mocked of the Iewes For as much then as Caluin can not deny that all the olde Interpreters both Gréek and Latin haue consented in this pointe of doctrine I meruaile that M Caluin would draw it to a Iewish interpretation In the 10 of the Acts ver 43. Luke maketh this a strong argument to proue Christ to be the Sauiour of the world Because al the Prophets did witnes it in like manner because all the Prophets and Interpreters in the pure Church haue concluded this doctrine to be true I doubt not but this knot of vnity in verity was made by the God of peace and spirit of truth Farther as Sheol signifieth the soule and Sheol hell so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or sanctum signifieth the body as it may be proued out of the 1. of Luke ver 35. And that holy thing which shall be borne of thee shal be called the Sonne of God And thus doth S. Augustine on the 16. Psalme truelye vnderstand it his enterpretation is this neither shalt thou suffer my soule to be possessed in hell neither shalt thou suffer my holy hody whereby others are sanctified to sée corruption And the body of Christ is called holy for two causes the one because sinne was neuer committed in it the other because by it all others are sanctified And this is made plaine also by the woord corruption which can not haue relation but only to the body for as a learned man saith death is the seperation of the body from the soule but corruption is a resolution of the members other partes into the earth So Iob vseth this woord in his 17. Chapter ver 14. I haue saide vnto corruption thou art my Father Luther in the 2. Chapter of Genesis thus writeth For this is singuler in Christ thou shalt not leaue my soule in hell neither shalt thou suffer thy holy one to sée corruption for neither hell could holde his soule sleeping or resting neither the graue his bodye that it might corrupt as Martha said of Lazarus Lord he stincketh for he hath béen buried foure dayes The like hath S. Augustine in his 57. Epistle ad Dardanum that was spoken of his soule which came from hell so quickly this of his body which could not corrupt by reason of his spéedy resurrection Not vnlike hath Erasmus on the 2. of the Acts thus his body albeit it was laide in graue and was without life did not corrupt but God which can not lye brought his soule from hell and restored it to the body Wherfore thus I end with S. Augustine writing on the 85. Psalme wherefore this is his voice in the Psalme not by any mans coniecture but by the exposition of the Apostle thou shalt not leaue my soule in hel neither shalt thou suffer thy holy one to sée corruption In this discourse by the woord of God and the auntient Fathers I haue proued Nephesh to signifie y e soule seperate from the body Sheol to signifie hell 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or sanctum to signifie the bodye and why it is so vsed Therefore they y t deny this place to proue the discending of Christ into hell must néedes fall into these absurdeties First that life or person must be in a graue or else a dead mans carkas must be accounted life or a person both which are absurd in diuinity and philosophie Secondly that the soule of man is in a graue and so buried which proueth the Soule to be mortall Thirdly that the Gréek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is translated a graue which properly signifieth hell and so occasion is giuen to the Atheists to think there is no hell For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is compounded of the particle α 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because nothing in hell can be séene and for this cause in the Euangelists Christ calieth hell vtter darknes Fourthly we strengthen the error of the Iewes by following their interpretation which was deuised to take away the comfort of this article Fiftly it maketh voide all the arguments of the Fathers against Arrius Appollinaris and all other Heretiques which denied Christ to haue a true soule Lastlye it is an introduction to the error of the Saduces which denye that there is any Angell spirite or any soule For if there be any then as Ciril noteth it was necessarye that as he was in body and soule with them that then were liuing so was it as necessary that his soule should be present among y e soules to shew that he was a true man The falsehoode of the argument of the aduersaries of this doctrine is called fallatia compositionis that is when those thinges are ioyned together which ought to be sundered For they that deny this place of the 16. Psalme to proue the descending of Christ into hell doo affirme animam sanctum soule and holy one hell and corruption to be one wheras they are diuers as in parte I haue proued already and shal by Gods grace proue more plainely out of the 2. chapter of the Acts where Peter interpreteth this place in such wise that credit must néeds be giuen vnto it of all Gods children Peters Sermon is thus Acts. 2. 29. 30. 31. Men and Brethren I may boldlye speake vnto you of the Patriarch Dauid that he is both dead and buried and his sepulcher remaineth till this day Therefore seeing he was a Prophet and knew that God had sworne by an oathe that of the fruite of his loynes he would raise vp Christ concerning the flesh set him vpon his throne hee knowing of this before spake of the resurrection of Christ that his soule was not left in hel neither his flesh should see corruption which words S. Augustine in his 57. epistle ad Dardanum thus expoundeth of the flesh of Christ that it was put into the Sepulchre the Gospell is manifest but that his soule went down into hell the doctrine of the Apostle proueth it For blessed Peter doth proue this out of the Psalme where he sheweth it was foretolde of him for why thou shalt not leaue my Soule in Hell neither shalt thou suffer thy holye one to sée corruption And in his 99. Epistle ad Enodium he hath these woords quae ne quisquam aliter sapere auderet in actibus Apostolorum Petrus exponit Of which woords that any man should not be so bolde to thinke otherwise Peter himself expoundeth them that is Nephesh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. soule and Sheol 〈◊〉
Christ descended into the pit of the damned it hath no other warrant out of the woord but such as is builded vpon a woord of a double signification which standeth at the curtesie of the reader to take it as to him shall seeme probable Hill Héere you confesse that Augustine doubteth and yet you say that in the matter in controuersie betwéene you and me he doubteth not but proueth it by the Apostolicall and propheticall testimonies for he willeth vs to hold it firmissima fide with a most firme faith and saith that none but an Infidell will dony it He doubteth whether the Fathers were in hell or whether they were conuerted in hell by Christs preaching as some did affirme vntruly and many such like thinges little or nothing appertaining to the question we haue in hand But ad Dardanū he doubteth not Fo. 3. col 272. Fo. 10. col 1410. Fo. 3. col 213. 702. Fo. 6. 788. Fo. 10. 899. 989. In all these places and in many other he telleth without doubting that he descended into hell and the end why To strike a terror into the diuels and to triumph ouer them It pleaseth you to make your selfe merry with S. Augustines infirmity I pray God you will with Saint Augustine acknowledge your owne which by and by shal be laide before you You wonder at S. Augustine but we wonder at your teachers and you for you confesse S. Augustine to builde vpon Dauid and Peter and yet you labour to ouerthrow this building how deceitfullye it shall now appeare You say that hell signifieth the sorrowes of hell sometime I graunt it dooth Héereupon you make this argument sometime it signifieth the sorrowes of hell therfore it dooth so in the 16. Psalme I deny your argumēt and that you haue spoken an vntruth the holy Ghoste by Peters mouth shalbe a witnes against you For you say it is spoken of the sorrowes which Christ suffered vpon the crosse Peter saith it is spoken of the resurrection and in the resurrection I am sure Christ suffred no tormentes or sorrowes Peters interpretation is thus Act. 2. 32. He knowing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ that his soule should not be left in hell neither his flesh to see corruption Now then héere is an answere to your demaund these woords are spoken of the resurrection a matter of ioy and not of torments for Dauid saith in the person of Christ Therefore did my hart reioyce and my tung was glad And moreouer also my flesh shal rest in hope If Christ at this time did reioyce how was he sorrowfull if he were glad how was he tormented if he did rest in hope how was it true also that he was afflicted with torments And héere you vtter another vntruth that Christ did svffer his whole torments on the crosse which is most vntrue for he suffered some in the Garden when he said Math. 26. 38. My soule is heauye vnto death And some in Caiphas house aud some vnder Pilat but all his torments and sorrowes were ended on the crosse which I think you would haue said Last of all the woords of the text that commeth after aswell as the woords going before do proue that it cannot be spoken of Christs sorrowes for they are these Thou shalt shew me the path of life in thy presence is the fulnes of ioy and at thy right hand are pleasures for euermore Sith then Dauid both before and after maketh mention of ioy and pleasures for euermore and as Peter saith these woordes proue the resurrection of Christ I maruaile how you dare to contradict the meaning of the holy Ghoste You speake not now contrary to Augustine or Ambrose or Hill but contrary to Dauid and Peter themselues you boast your selues to be the best Christians but I shal hardly beléeue you are better Christians then Dauid and Peter In the conclusion you vtter blasphemy for Sheol being taken sometime for the sorrowes of hell and sometime for the place of hell you say it standeth at the curtesie of the reader to take it as to him shall séeme probable Are Gods woords to be interpreted after our pleasure Hillary was of a better minde he saide as God was the author of the Scriptures so God must be the Interpreter he opened the wittes of the Desciples going to Emaus so let vs pray that he may open our wittes that we may perfectlye vnderstand the Scriptures Humes Sectio 5. That he neuer was there what better proofe would a man aske then Christs own woords Luc. 23. 46. Father into thy hands I commend my spirite And in another place Luk. 23. 43. This day shalt thou be with me in Paradice Where it is a world to see how men of your side do trouble themselues to put out this candle First you say that the place Into thy hands I commend my spirite was borrowed of Dauid and must be spoken of Christ in that sence as Dauid did vse it before him This we confesse and gather hereupon that Christs soule did no more descend into hel then Dauids did but say you his soule did not straite way ascend into heauen for he liued many yeeres after That maketh not to the question when his soule went to heauen but whether his soule which was still in the hands of God euer went to hell proue this and we will giue you the goale As for Dauid he hauing deuoured heauen in hope did not doubt to speake that in the present time which he was sure would come to passe shortly Furthermore seeing Dauid was a figure of Christ and spake many thinges of himselfe in Christs person which were more agreeable with the thing figured then with the figure you must think that these wordes were spoken of Christ who was straite way to cōmend his soule with these words vnto his Father Wherfore if you will answere this place you must bring proof out of the Scriptures that he which meanes to go to hell doth vse to commend his soule into the handes of God or els you shal neuer be able to darken the light of this Sonne without any cloud of Sophistry Hill Indéede if these woords were spoken in the present time some shew of truth were in your woords but in the Gréeke they are in y e future tence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Father into thy hands I wil cōmit my spirite Now your argument is thus Christ commended his soule vnto his Father ergo immediatlye he went not downe to hell Héere is more in your conclusion then is in your premises You may conclude his soule went to heauen But not immedlatly for it went to hell as I haue proued before for hell in the 16. Psalme doth not signifie the sorrowes of hel but the place as I haue confirmed already Therefore it is better to translate I will commend then I doo commend as Stepanus on this place noteth Paule sayth Eph. 4. and 10. verse Now in that he ascended what is it but that he
was manifested in the flesh and also of Peter himselfe 1. Pet. 4. 1. Christ suffred for vs in the flesh Which antithesis of the deuine and humane nature Paule doth also expresse in the same tearmes speaking of Christ which was made of the seed of Dauid according to the flesh and declared mightely to be the Sonne of God according to the spirit Rom. 1. 3. 4. where you see he vseth the words no otherwise then he findeth them vsed in the scriptures Now that this can not be the sence of them you reason thus First you say that this participle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is going doth signifye motion from some place which can not stand with the deuine Essence which can not possibly leaue any place being at all times in all places To this I aunswere that it is spoken of the same spirit or deuine essence in Gen. 18. 21. I will go downe and see whether the Sodomites do altogether according to the cry that is come vnto me And in Exod. 3. 8. I am come downe to deliuer them that is the Israelites out of the hand of the Aegiptians You can not be ignorant M. Hill that the holie ghost speaketh oftentimes of the deuine Essence by a figure called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whē God declareth his presence in one place more then in another by some notable effect which in this place was most necessary to expresse the continuall presence of Christ in his Church in those dayes of Noah and so in all ages either past or to come departing as it were from all other places which indeed he can not and sitting as it were a perpetuall moderator and ruler thereof Next you alleage the other participle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is quickned that because it is passiue it can not stand with the deuine essence which can not suffer This we deny not for we attribute not this participle to the deuine essence but to the whole Christ God man for we say not Christ the spirit was quickned but Christ was quickned in spirit Thirdly you tell vs that mortified and quickned were both participles and both attributed to Christ at one time We confesse they were attributed to one Christ but we see no matter to leade vs to refer them both to one time But by the contrary me thinks that the order of the wordes haue sufficient matter in them to proue that he was first mortified and then quickned As for the distinction of time the distance was not to great as to require it To this you adde how he was dead and how he was aliue by putting to killed flesh and to quickned spirit The very text as I take it will deny you this for it saith not that the flesh was killed and the spirit quickned but that Christ was killed in the flesh and quickned in the spirit which is all one as if he had said that Christ dyed as he was man and ouercame death as he was God Which thing also Paule doth expresse in other words 2. Cor. 13 4. He was crucified concerning his infirmitie yet liueth he through the power of God Fourthly you say that the scriptures do ioyn together this going preaching close to his passion as if he had said assone as he had suffered he went preached This as if concludeth no necessary matter We expect demonstrations cannot be caried with as and if Fiftly you adde out of Gen. 6. that the preching of Noah is attributed to the 3. person and not to the second which putting on mans flesh redeemed vs. We confesse that ability to preach was giuen Noah by the holy ghoste but he was stirred vp and sent by the whole Trinity The actions whereof seeing they are common to all three he erreth not that attributeth them to any of the three Where you saye that Christ was raised from the dead by the first person and not by the second I see not how that can stand with the truth of the Scriptures which telleth me that the second person did put on man and did neuer forsake him in all his distresses Afterwards you tel me that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is disobedient and sometime doo seperate the time of their disobedience and Christs going to thē But I can not take it at your woord for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not as you seeme to take it a Verbe but a Participle greeing with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is spirits in the verse before and the Aduerb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes belongeth to the principall Verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is preached so that the sence must needs be he preached sometimes to the spirites that are in prison and were disobedient in the dayes of Noah Whereas you argue this can not be spoken of the preaching of Noah because he preached to men and to spirites it is strange to me how he can preach to men and not to spirits seeing that whosoeuer doth instruct men dooth also instruct their soules Lastlye you charge this construction to doo violence to the text taking the woord spirite for the diuinity in one place and for the power thereof in another where you doo vs great wrong for Beza himselfe refuseth it and proueth it is not taken for the power of the deitye in this place at all Hitherto haue I answered all that you can saye against vs now will I proue that your sence which you make of this place can not stand with the truth of the text You take this woord flesh only for the bodye of Christ which dyed and was buried and the woord spirite for his soule which you beare vs in hand descended into hell preached to the soules which had beene rebellious in the dayes of Noah if this your construction shall goe for currant then the apostle speaketh nothing heere of Christ which may not be verified of any man For though our bodyes dye yet our soules liue aswell as his The spirite here as it appeereth by the text doth signifie that which gaue life to that which was dead that I trust was not his soule but his deity thirdly this participle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 killed doth signifie not onelye the death of the bodye but also whatsoeuer Christ did suffer either in body or soule for the redemption of our bodies and soules and doth comprise his whole passion which the Spriptures doth many times terme death which if it be so as it is so indeed then the woord flesh noteth vnto vs the whole subiect of his passion that is the whole man Christ for it was expedient that he did aswell suffer in soule for our soules as in body for our bodies or else he had been but halfe a redemer Fourthly seeing his body was quickned that is restored from the graue aswell as his soule from the sorrowes of hell if you take spirite there for the humane soule then you confound those thinges which the Apostle doth distinguish attributing that to
downe to suffer which thing I neuer mentioned but that he went downe to manifest his death to triumph in his owne person ouer the Diuell and personally to redéeme vs from hell Then you call them dunces whence I had that distinction I had it from Musculus and Musculus from the word of God and therefore you must embrace these distinctions or else you will speake erroneously Omnia probate quod bonum est tenete Try all things hold that which is best This word is worthy my wit or any other Interpreters Neither wil I leaue the ware that is in my poore pack for all the treasures of Egypt Humes Sectio 16. In the end of your Sermon you bring vs two inconueniences if this article be not beleeued First that men would doubt whether there were an hell Secondly whether Christ had redeemed vs thence In deede you take the way to make men doubt thereof to see learned men to striue about that which all the world doth knowe to be true If you be remembred you tolde the people in the beginning of your Sermon that neyther M. Wisdome nor M. Chalfort did doubt of this article and why are you now contrary to your self Why would you haue it seene that these inconueniences would follow If you should not be beleeued beare the world in hand that we take away both hell and the benefit of Christes death This is good Rhetorique but it is ill Diuinitie It was your part to haue delt plainely and to haue told the people If you would needes speake thereof that neither you nor we did doe either of these points and that thereof they had no matter to doubt but to walke as the children of God if they would eyther auoide the one or possesse the other Hyll I brought two inconueniences if this article were denyed to moue the people not to leaue out any It is not vnknowne to you that Seruetus and Carliell deny it and diuers others now liuing among vs by reason of the negatiue doctrine which is preached of your side will not repeate this branch of the Créede he descended into hell And some haue sayd to my face that Thomas Aquinas did insert it into the Créede Of these men I knowe too many against whome I did direct my speach for feare least some might be in that populous assembly Bad doo they that deny the personall descending but worse do they which denye both personall and potentiall Therefore I was not contrary to my selfe but contrary to those which haue giuen occasion that so comfortable an article of our Christian faith should be put out of the Créede You say it was my parte to deale plainely I hope I did deale plainely for I preached the truth Obsequium amicos veritas odium parit Flatterye getteth sréends truth getteth hatred I knowe the eares of that Auditory did itche for other matter but I am Gods Minister and I haue preached Gods truth which I will by the heâ—he of my God defend against all gainsayers whatsoeuer Humes Sectio 17. We heare that you haue preached since at Leecock condemned al your aduersaries in this matter of ignorance fury and madnes as denying so commodious and comfortable so wholesome and needefull a doctrine as you think yours to be Heere I appeale to your conscience shew vs what coÌ„modity or comfort what wholesome or necessary matter we deny that you do teach If all your comfort and commodite consisteth in our redemption from hell and death to heauen and health there to behold the glorious face of our immortall God and to sing amongst the Angels Osanna in the highest do not we teach this as diligent as you what comfort or coÌ„moditie can it bring vs to send Christ the Sonne of the euerliuing God who hath borne all the torments of hell on his tender bodye for our sakes and paide a full raunsome of our redemption downe to the pit of hell without warrant of his word neither to redeeme vs thence nor them that were there I referre to the godly considerations of all good Christians As for you M. Hill the world is sory to see a man so learned and so eloquent to bestowe his wit and eloquence in so weake a cause As for Chalfout the worlde doth condemne him as a man without iudgement or discretion that so impudently and vnaduisedly as some suppose I praye God they be deceiued enuiouslie did set his face against the truth and did so irreuerently vse the diligent and meek labourer in the Lords haruest M. Wisedome I speake not this for any fauour of him in respect of his owne person more then M. Chalfouts for I haue some great causes to esteeme of the other but truth is truth I will not be caryed for any priuate considerations against it you promised if any man could answere your reasons to recant them in the same place I pray God you meant as you said God open our eyes and giue vs vnderstanding harts and willes obedient to his knowen truth Hill Truth it is I did preach at Leicocke and because I heard that M. Wisdome had set that opinion of yours abroche againe at Cosham I did here also confirme mine Not because I am desirous to be contentious but because I would haue no Christian man to doubt of the articles of his Faith you aske me what comfortable or necessarye matter you déeme that we doo preach I answere and I pray you consider of it we are borne in sinne how are we deliuered from sinne but by Christ which was conceiued by the holy Ghoste we haue the magnitude of sinnes with Peter the multitude of sinnes with Mary Magdalen the turpitude of sinnes with the woman taken in adultery the infamy of sinnes with the Publican the diuturnity of sinnes with the théefe on the gallowes the cruelty of sinnes with Paule and the recidiuation into sinnes with diuers of the Sainies yet if we repent we are pardoned for Christs sake who purely perfectly and perpetually obeyed the law of God By reason of our sinnes we are subiect to all punishments both corporall and spirituall and to the wrath of God All these punishments due to vs did Christ suffer vpon y e crosse both in body and soule and therefore it is called his Passion He suffered in the Garden in Annas and Caiphas house in Pilats hall but vpon the crosse as you say truely he suffered the agonies of death and torments of hell Further by reason of sinne this was laide vpon our first Parentes Thou shalt dye the death so by reason of this sentence not onelye the body was condemned to death but the soule to damnation To deliuer vs from these two punishments the soule of Christ went to hell and returned and the body of Christ that lay dead in the graue rose againe mightily naturallye spéedily and happely Besides Christ arose in déede he gaue himselfe to be felte and handled hereupon we are assured that he conquered death and hell He ascended