Sacrifice comming from the Arke could neuer haue smelled sweete in the Lords nosethrils otherwise then he had that Fayth which respected Christ whom the Apostle stileth Osmen euodias the sweete oâ—â—ur Abraham Isaac Iaacoh had eye to no other meanes of saluation Israel before the Law some and some in Egipt came as Ezekiel 20. 5. c. to fashion themselues to the Idols there but Moses and Aaron were stirred vp to fetch them away to whom the Lord at Mount Horeb recommended the true forme of Sacrifice with rites peculiar to the land of Canaan And in Iudiâ— a part of Canaan they were continued till their deportation to Babel But then the outward Ceremonie ceasing for 70. yeares they notwithstanding looked to the promised Seed of the Prophets tearmed Messiah and Danâ—l in that place was foretold by the Angell of Messiahs comming to suffer for Sinne Seauentie-seauens of yeares before When he was come Iôhn Baptist poynted him out saying This is the Lambe that takes away the sinnes of the world for that it was Christ that was shadowed out vnder the Law by the Lambe offred morning and euening All which the Apostle teacheth the Hebrewes when he sayth that The Law was a shadow of good thinges signifying that these good thinges were in Christ. Yea to the Collossians he sayth that The body of such shadowes was Christ. I conclude then thus that that which is Essentiall or tendeth to the very Bâ—ing of A true Christian is not euery good thing but this one good thing Fayth in Christ Iesus for perfect Redemption Martha may combere her selfe about many things and in themselues otherwise prayse-worthy but this one thing is necessarie who with Mary hath choseÌ„ it hath elected the better part Iob in the land of Vz the Eunuch in Aethiopia Certaine in the Court of bloody Nero had their Iustification with God onely by this Fayth in Christ there being no other name vnder Heauen whereby as S. Peter teacheth man is to be saued As for Good-workes which necessarily doe follow true Fayth they belong not to the very-being of a true Christian seeing some one may be saued by the Fayth before he can come to do an externall good worke but such workes tend to the true Being of a Visible Christian. For as Fayth internall iustifies towardes God for Abraham beleeued and that was counted to him for Righteousnesse so Workes externall do iustiâ—ie towards man according to that of S. Iames Shew mee thy Fayth by thy Workes Sutable to which is that of Origen The Apostle sayth he saith that Iustification by Fayth ALONE is sufficient so that the belieuer whosoeuer he be is ONLY so iustisfied Whereto he addeth speaking of the Theefe on the Crosse The Lord requireth not of him what before he had wrought nor did expect what worke he should fulfill after he beleiued but being justified by soâ—e confession nameâ—y of Fayth he joyned him companion vnto him being ready to enter into Paradise Afterwardes againe Abraham might haue glory for his Workes with holy and just-men that saw them but this glory with God was Only by Fayth-secret And his Maister Clemens before him writ thus By Fayth alone the beleeuer is perfected For a Corollarie let Scholers take what followes Ignatius in Ep. ad Ephesios PrincipiuÌ„ vita Fides finis eiusdem Charitas Iustin. dial cum Tryph Purificamur fide Fides quae eÌ„ ad Deum iustificat hominem Clem. in Strom. 7. Per fidem efficitur Fidelis perfectus Aug. ad Bonifac. l. 3. c. 5. Nostra fides hoc est catholica fides iustos ab iniustis non operum sed ipsa fidei lege discernit quia Iustus ex fide viuit Then he numbers vp all kindes of workes but barres them out from iustification Chrys. in Gen hom 26. Causa bonorum omnium speaking of Noah fuit sua in Deum fides And the same Chrys. against the Iewes if that against the Iewes be his in orat 4. he hath this Christus non ex benefactis nec laborib nec pensatione sed ex sola gratia iustificauit genus nostruÌ„ Ambros. in Rom. 3. Iustificati sunt Gratis quia nihil operantes neque vicem reddentes Sola fide Iustificati sunt dono Dei Basil. mag de humilit Ea demum perâ—ecta Omnimoda gloriatio est in Deo quando neque propter suam ipsius quis iustitiam extollitur sed agnoscit se quidem vera destitui iustitia verum Sola in Christum fide iustificatum esse Et gloriatur in eo Paulus vt suam ipsius iustitiam contemnat Victor Antiochenus in Marc. 5. Haec disertè indicant vestimenta contacta eam non sanasse sed fidem Igitur neque locus neque verba neque aliud quippiam eiusmodi externum hominem saluat sed vnuÌ„quemque sua fides seruat Rabanus l. 7. in eccluÌ„m c. 2. Per solam Christigratiam ab omnis candalo liberantur Electi Remigius in Psa. 29. vita aeterna non est ex Merito quia cadere per nos potuimus sed per nos surgere non potuimus sed ex voluntate eius 1. sola misericordia Idiota cap. 6. de conflict carn animae Melius est iustificare quam creare cum creando detur Natura Iustificando vero et auferatur culpa conferatur Gratia Giselbert in Alterc c. 8. Iustitiam dei dico non qua deus iustus est sed qua induit hominem cum Gratis iustificat impium Theophilact in Rom. 10. Dei iustitia est quae ex Fide est Haec non indiget laboribus operibusue nostris verum tota ad gratiam dei pertinet Barnard ser. 3. de aduent domi Iustificabit nos Gratis vt Gratia commendetur And in Annunc Mar. ser. 1. Hoc est testimonium quod perhibet Sp. SS dicens Dimissa sunt tibi peccata tua Sic N. arbitratur Apostolus Gratis iustificari hominem per Fidem Rupertus in l. 7. in Iob. c. 7. In Iesu Christo nec circumcisio nec preputium nec Gentilis nec Iudaeus sed â—ola Fides requirituâ— Io. Bapt. Foleng in Psa. 2. Quae maioriam potesteeÌ„ cùm Iustitiae qua nos ex peccatorib iustos efficit non imputans peccata tum bonitatis demonstratio per quam aeternorum bonorum ad hereditatem Gratis inuitantur quodammodo vel inuiti trahimur And on Pl. 45. Video amarem namely of Christ video pacem video iustitiam qua ego Gratis iustificor per fidem Fulgent ad Monim l. 1. In sanctis igitur coronat deus iustitiam quam eis gratis ipse tribuit gratis seruabit gratisque perfecit Honorius in spec ecclus de nat doÌ„i Fides debet eeÌ„ fundamentum postquam â—am posueritis debetis ponere dilectionem dei proximi D. Io. Ferus in 1. part pass dom Fides facit discipulum Christi Charitas autem
Iehâ—uah Aeâ—â—â—im turned Lord-god because euery of them is Iehouah that is The Being of Beinges And as euery thing hath the being from him he is called of â—satah Euerlasting father And in respect of God-head and Man-hood vnited in one for effecting our Saluation he is of Isaiah called Gnim-man-ael that is With-vs-the strong-God or The mighty God in our Nature for that the God-head as the Apostle speaketh did dwell in him somaticôs bodily essentially Vnder Isaac the onely sonne of his Father that died not typed foorth the God-head and vnder the Ramme that died the humaine Nature that was to the Altar of the Crosse affixed And this the Author to the Hebrewes intimateth when hauing spoken of this Storie he sayth of his Father From which death he receiued him kaj en parabolé euen in a parable that is in such a sort as a parable intendeth These two Natures also were vnder the Law figured by the two Goates presented onely in the Sabbaticall moneth what time the Hy-priest might onely and alone enter into the Sanctum Sanctorum the Scape-goate poynting foorth his God-head impassible and the Lot-goat with Ionah the Humaine nature which was to die for Our sinnes Veé◠ló not for him selfe So he was the Messiah that is the Christ that is the Annoynted-one of God and Iesus the Sauiour being annoynted of the Father for our saluation Yet must be obserued that something may be sayd of the Godhead that otherwise is proper to the Manhood as that in Act. 20. Feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his owne blood not that God simply considered hath any blood or can suffer but that God the Sonne shedde blood in respect of the Manhood assumed and with the Godhead vnited And hereof it is that the Syriake in that place doth read The Church of Christ not of God So that may be spoken of the Manhood that is proper to the Godhead euen as sometimes we attribute that to our body which is proper to the soule e◠è contra which falleth out to be true in the Concreat that is the two Natures considered togeather to the constituting of one person which otherwise could not be true in the Abstract that is in the Nature abstracted from his fellow This is the Christ yesterday to day and the same for euer Of Whom Sybilla long before thus prophecied in her sixt age Tunc ad Mortales vemet mortalibus ipsis in terris similis Natus patris omniepotentis Corpore vestitus votales quatur autem fert non votalesque duas binum Geniorum The time of his comming she thus telles Sed postquam Roma Aegiptum reget imperioque frenabit tum vemet c. CHAP. xiiij Touching the Ghospel of Christ. THE word Ghospell the contract of Godspell is a Saxon word valuing in our language the same which the Greeke word Euangell doth namely Glad-tydinges In large sense wee call all the Doctrine contayned in the Booke of the New Testament by the name of Ghospell because the mayne and substaunce of that Booke is doctrine of Gladtidinges otherwise who is ignoraunt that the Law is mingled with the discourse of the Ghospell not for perfecting the Ghospell for it is not of that nature but for leading people to Christ as Moses led the people to Ioshua who onely could bring them to the Land of Rest a type of heauens Eternall rest Againe the Ghospell is sometimes taken for the Storie of Christ penned by S. Mathew S. Marke S. Luke S. Iohn whereupon they be called The foure Euangelistes as hauing in a speciall sort dilated vpon Christ the subiect of the Glad-tydinges But in this dispute I take it in that strict essentiall sense that S. Paul doth when he sayth to the Galatians The Scripture foreseeing that God would iustifie the Gentiles through Fayth preached before the Ghospell vnto Abraham saying In thee shall all the Gentiles be blessed afterwardes declaring by what meanes namely by a Seede not seeds which is Christ. This Ghospell is the same to Adam before and to vs after neither is there any other name then the name Iesus by which we are to be saued nor any other meanes whereby to be vnited with Iesus then by Fayth For as S. Peter could say touching the Cripple healed at the gate of the Temple that Iesus whom ye haue crucified His name hath made this man sound euen so I may as truly say that by Fayth onely in Christ we are to be saued Externall discipline may alter with time and place as all externall workes may but the Euangell Ghospell Gladtydings is still one the same that is Beleeue and liue whereas the Law sayth Doe and liue And in not doing all the things of the Law a soule becomes subiect to all the Curses in the Law By Doing then no flesh can be iustified but by Beleefe in Christ Iesus any soule may be iustified The Law therfore but sendes to Christ and Christ castes none away that comes so vnto him The Law indeed was written in Adams heart teaching him to Doe and liue and he might haue done his workes and liued but conspiring with the Diuell against the holy rule of the Law the Law is so against Man execrating and cursing him whereby man is enforced to fly from himselfe to another and that is to Christ who with his armes readie to imbrace vs cryeth out Come vnto mee all you that be weary and laden and I will ease you Nor doth our wilfull Banckrupt estate lessen the debt owing to God for though we be vnable to satisfie the Law it is iust with him to call for satisfying the Law and to clap vs vp in Hell for Non-satisfaction Able we were set out of his handes the fault therefore in our selues and therewith let euery mouth be stopped But ô the free-mercie of God! that when we are become wilfully banckrupt he should prouide a meanes first for satisfying our debt secondly for raising vs vp to greater Glory The Satisfaction is the Death of Christ and our Exaltation is his Humiliation for hee became poore to make many rich Thus not our worke but his worke not our satisfaction but his satisfaction not our merit but his merit is cause and sole cause of our true happinesse Which is cause not onely that Augustine speaking of Grace as opposite to morall workes doth say Grace is no Grace except it be gratis which speach excludeth all merit of our part be our workes otherwise neuer so glorious but also enforceth Bellarmine after all his windinges and turninges to conclude the case of Iustification thus Notwithstanding namely all he had opposed before by reason of the vncertainty of our owne Righteousnesse and the danger of vaine glory meaning in a mans owne workes the safest of all is to repose our whole trust not in our owne workes but in the onely mercy and goodnesse of God So great is this trueth
13. 〈◊〉 for that the First Beast there compacted of Daniels Lyon Beare Leopard is the Body of the Romaine Empire the last Monarchie of the foure it is graunted of al sides Now heare the Abbot Barnard how he writ about 500. yeares since of both the Beastes That Beast in the Apocal. to whoÌ„ a mouth is giuen speaking blasphemies and warring with the Saints Petri cathedrâ—m occupat taâ—que Leo paratus ad praedam doth occupy Peters Chaire as a Lyon prepared to his prey The other Beast also subsibilat whishâ—ly hisseth towards you as whelpe lurking in the secret places Th' other Beast is more cruell and this more subtile But in one they agree against the Lord against his Christ Let Barnard apply his speach to what persons he shall sure such be the Beastes and such their conditions and so farre he helps vs on in our way As the Fathers vnderstand Antichrist largely so they likewise speake of one Speciall one who comming at last should be the Head vnto all that went before euen as Iesus Christ was the Head of all such Christed or Annoynted-ones as Typically went before him were they Kinges Priestes or Prophets And this as Zanchius somewhat graunteth may be but Euidence I see none as yet Then againe some of them thought that he should come of the Tribe of Dan but the Reasons for that were farre fetched Againe that he should rise in the Romaine Empire So Tertullian Iam enim Arcanum Iniquitatis agitatur tantum qui nunc tenet teneat donec de medio fiat Quis nisi Romanus status cujus abscessio in decam Reges dispersa Antichristum superinducet tunc reuelabitur Iniqâ—us Ireneus before him and a Greeke speakes thus The Nowne Lateinos hath the number 666. they be Latines that now raigne but we will not glory in that The word Lateinos being in Greeke the same as is Latinus in Latine it is to be cyphered as the Greekes doe whose Alpha-bet letters serue to them for Figures And thus L 30 A 1. T 300. E standeth for 5. I 10. N 50. O 70. S 200 Take the same number also in Ecclesia Italica thus E 5. C 20. C 20. L 30. E being the Greeke Eta not Epsilon is 8. S 200. I 10. A 1. Take the same number also in the Hebrew word Romijth of Rome thus R 200. O 6. M 40. I 10. I 10. TH 400. The same number as if Mahomet were one of this Beastes hornes obserue in the Greeke Maometis thus M 40. A 1. O 70. M 40. E 5. T 300. I 10. S 200. And if the yeares be cast we shall find that about An. Dâ—â— 666. The Pope for vniuersall Supreame in the West and Maomet for Chiefe Prophet was stablished in the East ouer which East and West the Romaine Emperour had before gouerned But passing by these more curious Diuinations as whom time yet hath not sufficiently matured it is graunted of all that He which vnder the name of Christ shall oppose to Christ is for that an Antichrist And because his opposition must be against Christ rather then against God though Christ be also God he is called Anti-christos not Anti-theos If he should be Anti-pater then we should consider some speciall thing in God the Father if Anti-pneuma then some speciall thing in the Holy Ghost but by the word Antichrist we must consider something in the Sonne to whom this Sonne of perditioÌ„ is secretly to oppose And that resteth in his suborning a False Ghospell for the true In which respect he beares in his Armes a Lambe but as S. Iohn paintes him a Lamberising from the Earth not from Heauen in appearance a Lambe but in working a Wolfe And because he was to be opposite to the very foundation of the Ghospell and what that is was in the former Chapter considered S. Paul doth stile him Antikesmenos the layer of an opposite foundation And when he is to speake of such as would shut the Dore against that Grace offered in the Ghospell he calles them Antikeimenoi polloj Many Antikeimenists as S. Iohn calles them Antichristoi polloj Many Antichristes Antichrists be so Antikeimenists and Antikeimenists be such as lay an opposite foundation to Fayth and that is in stead of iustification by Fayth in Christ to stablish a Iustification by humaine workes and ordinaunces but yet not apertly nor plainely but by faire painted iuglinges able to beguile as our Sauiour sayth the very chosen if it were possible And what I pray you can seeme sounder then this to say Christ Iesus hath made Fayth in him alone sufficient for Saluation insomuch as he that dieth vpon that Apprehensió at first is vndoubtedly saued But marke this But such a soule liuing longer he hath in him from Christ such a power to worke well as by his workes he is to be saued And these workes must not be called workes of the Law but workes of Fayth although but such workes as man deuiseth Yea the Romanist goeth further and sayth that a man may doe more good workes then he is necessarily tyed vnto and so by them doth supererogate and may giue of these his workes to his Brother that needeth for helping out his saluation Not to graunt this say they is to make Christ idle in vs. To such effect speake many and flesh and blood holds it very reasonable Mahomet speaketh excellently of Christ not onely as being a great Prophet but also a Sauiour of his people But when all that is done Mahomet comes to inioyne Externall workes of his owne collection by the which a soule must be saued And both he and the Apostaticall Popes haue agreed further in this to hold the Bibles scripture vnsufficient to saluation whereupon they haue deuised either side of them such Canons and Rules of obedience as the doing of them haue more attributed vnto them then the obedience of Fayth When as in very deed all such their inuentions may be sayd as in Reuel 9. but to come out of a bottomlesse Pit hauing a reasonable face as from man but in the tayle and conclusion they sting like a Scorpion for neuer can soule finde true rest in flying any part from Christ vnto their owne worke The sense whereof vpon the death-bed hath forced many a Romanist then to fly altogeather from his owne Workes to Christs Merit-worke only dying so no true Papist howsoeuer in other thinges popish And here let me repeat a pretty Story acted in the Clink-prison in Southwarke at London before the stayall of the last great Plague A certaine Romish-priest being there to Prison newly committed and not accustomed to bonds became exceeding pensiue he was aduised to take a pipe of Tobacco and to let the world slide a. He doth so but whether for that the Tobaccoes smoake encreased Melancholy or guilt of conscience in respect of some treason or whatsoeuer the cause might be downe he falles and the Keeper