considering that euery bodie occupies a place and two bodies at the same instaÌ„t caÌ„not be in one proper place Furthermore it is said that when the angel sate on the stone his countenance was like lightening and his rayment as white as snow this serued to shew what was the glory of Christ himselfe For if the seruant and minister be so glorious then endlesse is the glorie of the lord and master himselfe Lastly it is said that for feare of the angel the watchmen were astonied and became as dead men which teacheth vs that what God would haue come to passe all the world can neuer hinder For though the Iewes had closed vp the graue with a stone and set a band of souldiours to watch least Christ should by any meanes be taken away yet all this auaileth nothing by an angel from heauen the seale is broken the stone is remooued and the watchmen at their wittes ends And this came to passe by the prouidence of God that after the watchmen had testified these things to the Iewes they might at length be conuicted that Christ whome they crucified was the Messias The fifth last point is that Christ rose not alone but accompanied with others as S. Matthew saith that the graues opened and many bodies of the Saints which slept arose and came out of the graues and went into the holy citie and appeared vnto many after Christs resurrection And this came to passe that the Church of God might know consider that there is a reuiuing and quickening vertue in the resurrection of Christ wherby he is able not only to raise our dead bodies vnto life but also when wee are deade in sinne to raise vs vp to newnes of life And in this very point stands a maine difference between the resurrection of Christ the resurrection of any other man For the resurrection of Peter nothing auailes to the raising of Dauid or Paul but Christs resurrection auailes for all that haue beleeued in him by the very same power whereby he raised himselfe he raiseth all his members therefore he is called a quickening spirit And let vs marke the order obserued in rising First Christ riseth then the saints after him And this came to passe to verifie the Scripture which saith that Christ is the first borne of the dead Now he is the first borne of the dead in that hee hath this dignitie priuiledge to rise to eternal life the first of all men It is true indeede that Lazarus sundrie others in time rose before Christ but yet they rose to liue a mortall life and to die againe Christ he is the first of all that rose to life euerlasting and to glorie neuer any rose before Christ in this maner And the persoÌ„s that rose before with Christ are to be noted they were the Saints of God not wicked men whereby we are put in minde that the elect children of God onely are partakers of Christs resurrection Indeede both good and bad rise againe but there is a great difference in their rising for the godly rise by the vertue of Christs resurrection and that to eternall glorie but the vngodly rise by the vertue of Christ not as he is a redeemer but as he is a terrible iudge and is to execute iustice on them And they rise againe for this ende that besides the first death of the bodie they might suffer the second death which is the powring forth of the wrath of God vpon bodie and soule eternally This difference is prooued vnto vs by that which Paul saith Christ is the first fruits of them that sleep Among the Iewes such as had corne fields gathered some little quantitie therof before they reaped the rest offred the same vnto God signifying therby that they acknowledged him to be the author and giuer of all increase this offering was also an assurance vnto the owner of the blessing of God vpoÌ„ the rest this being but one handful did saÌ„ctify the whol crop Now Christ to the dead is as the first fruits to the rest of the corne because his resurrection is a pledge an assurance of the resurrection of all the faithfulll When a man is cast into the sea and all his bodie is vnder the water there is nothing to be looked for but present death but if he carrie his heade aboue the water there is good hope of a recouery Christ himself is risen as a pledge that all the iust shall rise againe he is the heade vnto his Church therfore all his members must needes followe in there time It may be demaÌ„ded what became of the Saints that rose againe after Christs resurrection Ans. Some think they died againe but seeing they rose for this ende to manifest the quickning vertue of Christs resurrection it is as like that they were also glorified with Christ and ascended with him to heauen Thus much of the manner of Christs resurrection Now follows the time when he rose againe and that is specified in the Creede The third day he rose againe Thus saith our Sauiour Christ vnto the Pharisies As Ionas was three daies and three nights in the whales bellâ—e so shall the sonne of man be three daies and three nights in the heart of the earth And though Christ was but one day and two pieces of two daies in the graue for he was buried in the euening before the sabbath and rose in the morning the next day after the sabbath yet is this sufficient to verifie this saying of Christ. For if the analogie had stoode in three whole daies then Christ should haue risen the fourth day And it was the pleasure of God that he should lie thus long in the graue that it might be knowne that he was thoroughly dead and he continued no longer that he might not in his bodie see corruption Againe it is said Christ rose againe in the ende of the sabbath when the first day of the weeke beganne to dawne And this very time must be considered as the reall beginning of the new spirituall world in which we are made the sonnes of God And as in the first day of the first world light was commaunded to shinâ— out of darknes vpon the deepes so in the first day of this new world the sonne of righteousnes riseth and giues light to them that sit in darknes dispells the darknes that was vnder the old testameÌ„t And here let vs mark the reason why the sabbath day was changed For the first day of the weeke which was the day following the Iewes sabbath is our sabbath day which day we keepe holy in memorie of the glorious resurrection of Christ and therefore it is called the Lords day And it may not vnfitly be tearmed Sunday though the name came first from the heathen because on this day the blessed sonne of righteousnâ—s rose from death to life Let vs now in the next place proceede to
humiliatiō in our selves Fourthly God in framing his creatures in the beginning made them good yea very good Now the goodnesse of the creature is nothing else but the perfect estate of the creature whereby it was conformable to the will and minde of the Creator allowing and approouing of it when he had made it for a creature is not first good and then approoved of God but because it is approoved of God therefore it is good But wherein will some say standes this goodnesse of the creature I answer in three things I. in the comelinesse beautie and glorie of euery worke in his kinde both in forme and constitution of the matter II. in the excellencie of the vertue which God hath giuen to it for as he hath appointed euery creature for some especiall end so he hath fitted and furnished it with sufficient power and vertue for the accomplishing of the same end III. in the exceeding benefite and profitablenesse that came by them to man But since the fall of man this goodnesse of the creature is partly corrupted and partly diminished Therefore when wee see any want defect or deformitie in any of them we must haue recourse backe againe to the apostasie of our first parents and remember our fall in them and say with a sorowfull heart this comes to passe by reason of mans most wretched sinne which hath defiled heauen and earth and drawen a curse not onely upon himselfe but upon the rest of the creatures for his sake whereby their goodnesse is much defaced Fiftly the end of creation is the glory of God as Salomon saith God made all things for his owne sake yea even the wicked for the day of evill And God propounds this principall end to himselfe not as though he wanted glorie and would purchase it unto himselfe by the creation for hee is most glorious in himselfe and his honour and praise being infinite can neither be increased nor decreased but rather that he might communicate and make manifest his glorie to his creatures and giue them occasion to magnifie the same For the reasonable creatures of God beholding his glory in the creation are mooved to testifie and declare the same among men The sixt shall be touching the time of the beginning of the world which is betweene fiue thousand and sixe thousand yeres agoe For Moses set downe exactly the computation of time from the making of the worlde to his owne daies and the Prophets after him haue with like diligence set downe the continuance of the same to the verie birth of Christ. But for the exact account of yeeres Chronologers are not all of one minde Some say there be 3929. from the creation to Christes birth as Beroaldus some 3952. as Hierome and Bede some 3960. as Luther and Io. Lucidus some 3963. as Melancthon in his Chronicle Functius some 3970. as Bullinger and Tremellius some towards 4000. as Buntingus Now from the birth of Christ to this day are 1592. yeeres and adding these together the whole time amounteth And God would haue the verie time of the beginning of the world to be revealed 1. that it might be knowen to the Church when the couenant of grace was first giuen by God to man and when it was afterward renewed and how Christ came in the fulnesse of time Gal. 4. 2. that we might know that the world was not made for the eternall and euerliuing God but for man 3. that we might learne not to set our hearts on the world and on the things therein which haue beginning and end but seeke for things eternall in heauen And before the time which I haue named began there was nothing beside God the world it selfe and all things else were vncreated Some men use to obiect and say What did God doe all that while before the world was how did he imploy himselfe what was he idle Ansvver The Iewes to this bad question make as badde an answere For they say he was continually occupied in making many litle worlds which he continually destroyed as he made them because none pleased him till hee made this But we must rather say that some things are reuealed which God did then as that he decreed what should come to passe when the world was that thē the blessed persons in Trinitie did take eternall delight ech in other If any man will needs know more let him heare what Moses saith Secret things belong to the Lord our God but things revealed to vs and to our children for ever and let him marke what one eluding the question answered namely that God was making hell fire to burne all such curious persons as will needs know more of God then hee hath revealed to them for where God hath not a mouth to speake there we must not haue an eare to heare therefore wee must let such curious questions passe Seventhly some may aske in what space did God make the vvorld I ansvver God coulde haue made the world and all things in it in one moment but he began and finished the whole worke in sixe distinct daies In the first day he made the matter of all things and the light in the second the heauens in the third day he brought the sea into his compasse and made the drie land appeare and caused it to bring forth hearbs plants and trees in the fourth hee made the Sunne the Moone the Starres in the heauen in the fifth day hee made the fishes of the sea the foules of the heauen and euery creeping thing in the sixth day hee made the beastes of the field and all cattell and in the end of the sixt day he made man Thus in sixe distinct spaces of time the Lorde did make all things and that especially for three causes I. to teach men that they ought to haue a distinct and serious consideration of every creature for if God had made the world in a moment some might haue said this work is so mistical that no man can speak of it But for the preventing of this cavill it was his pleasure to make the world and all things therein in sixe dayes and the seventh day he commaunded it to be sanctified by men that they might distinctly and seriously meditate upon euerie worke of the creation II. God made the world and euery thing therein in sixe distinct daies to teach vs what wonderfull power and libertie he had ouer all his creatures for hee made the light when there was neither Sunne nor Moone nor starres to shevve that in giuing light to the world he is not bound to the Sunne to any creature or to any meanes for the light was made the first day but the Sonne the Moone and the Starres were not created before the fourth day Againe trees and plantes were created the third day but yet the Sunne Moone and the Starres and raine which nourish and make hearbs trees and plantes to growe were not created till after the third day vvhich shevves plainely
to keepe the sabbath so strictly as the Iewes were yet vvhen we haue any busines or worke to be done of our ordinarie calling vve must not take a part of the Lordes sabbath day to do it in but preuent the time doe it either before as Ioseph did or after the sabbath This is litle practised in the world Mē think if they go to church before after noone to heare Gods worde then all the day after they may doe what they list and spend the rest of the time at their owne pleasure but the vvhole day is the Lordes therefore must be spent wholly in his seruice both by publicke hearing of the word and also by priuate reading and meditation on the same To conclude the doctrine of Christes buriall Here it may be demanded how he was alwaies after his incarnation both god and man considering he was dead buried and therefore bodie and soule were sundred a dead mā seemes to be no man Ansvv. A dead man in his kinde is as true a man as a living man for though bodie and soule be not united by the bond of life yet are they united by a relation which the one hath to the other in the counsell and good pleasure of God and that as truly as man and vvoman remaine coupled into one flesh by a couenant of mariage though afterwarde they be distant a thousand miles asunder and by vertue of this relation euery soule in the day of iudgement shall be reunited to his owne bodie euery bodie to his own soule But there is yet a more straighter bond betweene the body soule of Christ in his death burial For as when he was liuing his soule was a meane or bond to unite his godhead his bodie togither so whē hee was deade his verie godhead was a meane or middle bond to unite the bodie and soule and to say otherwise is to dissolue the hypostaticall union by vertue wherof Christes body and soule though seuered ech frō other yet both were still ioyned to the godhead of the sonne The use and profite which may be made of Christes buriall is two-folde I. It serueth to worke in us the buriall of all our sinnes Knovve yee not saieth Paul that all who haue beene baptised into Christ have beene baptised into his death and are buried vvith him by baptisme into his death If any shall demaund how any man is buried into the death of Christ the answere is this Euery Christian man and woman are by faith mystically united unto Christ and made all members of one body whereof Christ is the head Now therefore as Christ by the power of his godhead when he was dead and buried did ouercome the graue the power of death in his own person So by the very same power by means of this spirituall coniunctiō doth he worke in all his members a spirituall death buriall of sinne and naturall corruption When the Israelites were burying of a mā for feare of the soldiers of the Moabites they cast him for hast into the sepulcher of Elisha Now the dead man so soone as he was down had touched the body of Elisha he revived stood upon his feet So let a man that is dead in sin be cast into the graue of Christ that is let him by faith but touch Christ dead buried it will come to passe by the vertue of Christs death buriall that he shalbe raised frō the death bōdage of sin to become a new mā Secōdly the buriall of Christ serues to be a sweet perfume of all our graues and burials for the graue in it selfe is the house of perditiō but Christ by his burial hath as it were cōsecrated and perfumed all our graues in stead of houses of perdition hath made them chambers of rest sleepe yea beds of downe therfore howsoeuer to the eye of mā the beholding of a funerall is terrible yet if we could then remember the buriall of Christ consider how he thereby hath changed the nature of the graue euen then it woulde make us to reioice Lastly we must imitate Christs buriall in being cōtinually occupied in the spiritual burial of our sins Thus much of the buriall Now followeth the third and last degree of Christes humiliation He descended into hell It seemes very likely that these wordes were not placed in the creed at the first or as some thinke that they crept in by negligence because aboue threescore creeds of the most ancient councels fathers want this clause among the rest the Nicene Creed But if the ancient learned fathers assembled in that councel had bin perswaded or at the least had imagined that these words had bin set down at the first by the Apostles no doubt they would not in any wise haue left them out And an anciēt writer saith directly that these words he descended into hell are not found in the Creede of the Romane Church nor used in the Churches of the East if they be that then they signifie the burial of Christ. And it must not seeme strange to any that a worde or twaine in processe of time should creepe into the Creede considering that the originall copies of the bookes of the old and new Testament haue in them sundry varieties of readings and words otherwhiles which from the margine haue crept into the text Neuerthelesse considering that this clause hath long continued in the creed and that by common consent of the Catholicke Church of God it may carry a fit sense expositiō it is not as some would haue it to be put forth Therfore that we may come to speak of the meaning of it we must know that it hath 4. usual expositiōs which we wil rehearse in order then make choise of that which shal be thought to be the fittest The first is that Christs soule after his passion vpon the crosse did really locally descend into the place of the damned But this seems not to be true The reasons are these I. All the Evangelists and among the rest S. Luke intending to make an exact narration of the life and death of Christ haue set downe at large his passion death buriall resurrection ascension and withall they make rehearsall of small circumstances therefore no doubt they woulde not haue omitted Christes locall descent into the place of the damned if there had bene any such thing And the end why they penned this historie was that we might beleeue that Iesus is Christ the sonne of God beleeuing we might haue life euerlasting Now there could not haue bene a greater matter for the confirmation of our faith thē this that Iesus the sonne of Mary who went downe to the place of the damned returned thence to liue in happinesse for euer II. If Christ did go into the place of the damned then either in soule or in body or in
time take place The first is that the second comming of Christ shall be about sixe thousand yeares from the beginning of the world that for the elects sake some of these daies must be shortned now since the beginning of the world are passed fiue thousand almost sixe huÌ„dred yeares so as there remaine but foure hundreds The grouÌ„ds of this opinion are these First the testimonie of Elias two thousand yeares before the law two thousand yeares vnder the law and two thousand yeres vnder Christ. And for the elects sake some of these yeares shalbe shortned Answ. This was not the senteÌ„ce of Elias the Thisbite but of another Elias which was a Iew no Prophet And wheras he saith two thousand yeares before the law two thousand yeres vnder the law he faileth From the giuing of the law to the comming of Christ was about one thousand fiue hundred yeares and from the law to the creation aboue two thousand Now if Elias can not set downe a iust number for the time past which a meane man may doe what shall we think that he can doe for the time to come And if he deceiue vs in that which is more easie to finde howe shall wee trust him in things that be harder The second reason is this howe long God was in creating the worlde so long he shall be in gouerning the same but he was sixe daies in creating the worlde and in the seuenth he rested and so proportionally he shall be sixe thousand yeares in gouerning the world euery day answearing to a thousand yeares as Peter saith A thousand yeares are but as one day with God and then shall the ende be Answer This reason likewise hath no ground in Gods word as for that place of Peter the meaning is that innumerable yeares are but as a short time with God and we may as well say two thousand or tenne thousand yeares are but as one day with God For Peter meant not to speake any thing distinctly of a thousand yeares but of a long time Thirdly it is alleadged that within sixe thousand yeares from the creation of the worlde shall appeare in the heauens straunge coniunctions and positions of the starres which signifie nothing else but the subversion of the state of the world nay some haue noted that the ende thereof should haue beene in the yeare of our Lord a thousand fiue hundred eightie eight their writings are manifest but we finde by experience that this opinion is false and friuolous and their groundes be as friuolous For no man can gather by the ordinarie course of the heauens the extraordinarie change of the whole world The second is that the end of the world shall be three yeares and an halfe after the reuealing of Antichrist And it is gathered out of places in Daniel and the Revelation abused Where a time and times and halfâ— a time signifie not three yeares and an halfe but a short time And therefore to take the words properly is farre from the meaning of the holy Ghost For marke if the end shall be three yeares an halfe after the reuealing of Antichrist then may any man knowe before hand the particular moneth wherein the ende of the world should be which is not possiblâ— Now the truth which is to be auouched against all is this that no man can know or set downe or coniecture the day the weeke the moneth the yeare or the age wherein the second comming of Christ and the last day of iudgement shall be For Christ himselfe saith of that day and houre knoweth no man no not the angels in heauen but God onely nay Christ himselfe as he is man knoweth it not And when the disciples asked Christ at his ascensioÌ„ whether he would restore the kingdoÌ„ vnto Israel he answered It is not for you to know the times and seasons which the father hath put in his owne power And Paul saith Of the times and seasons brethren you haue no neede that I write vnto you For you your selues knâ—w perfectly that the day of the Lord shall come euen as a thiefe in the night Now we know thaâ— a man that keepeth his house can not coniecture or imagine when a thiefe will come and therefore no man can set downe the particular time or age when Christ shal come to iudgement This must we hold steadfastly and if wee reade the contrarie in the writings of men we are not to beleeue their sayings but accouÌ„t of them as of the deuices of meÌ„ which haue no ground in Gods word To come to the third point namely the signes of the last iudgement they are of two sorts some goe before the comming of Christ and some are ioyned with it The signes that goe before are in number seuen recorded distinctly by the holy Ghost The first is the preaching of the Gospell through the whole worlde So our Sauiour Christ saith This Gospell of the kingdome must be preached through the whole world for a witnesse vnto all nations and then shall the ende come Which place must thus be vnderstoode not that the Gospell must be preached to the whole world at any one time for that as I take it was neuer yet seene neither shalbe but that it shall be published distinctly and successiuely at seuerall times and thus vnderstanding the words of Christ if we consider the time since the Apostles daies we shall finde this to be true that the Gospell hath bin preached to all the world and therefore this first signe of Christs comming is alreadie past and accomplished The second signe of his comming is the reuealing of Antichrist as Paul saith The day of Christ shall not come before there be a departure first and that man of sinne be disclosed euen the sonne of perdition which is Antichrist Concerning this signe in the yeare of our Lord 602. Gregorie the eight Pope of Rome auouched this solemnly as a manifest 〈◊〉 that whosoeuer did take to him selfe the name of Vniuersall Bishop the same was Antichrist Now fiue yeares after Boniface succeeding him was by Pâ—ocas the Emperour entituled Vniversall Bishop pastor of the Catholicke Church in the yeare of our Lord 607. of all Popes he was the first knowne Antichrist since him all his successours haue taken vnto them the same title of Vniuersall Catholick Bishop whereby it doth plainly appeare that at Rome hath bin and is the Antichrist And this signe is also past The third is a generall departing of most men from the faith For it is said in the place before named Let no man deceiue you for the day of Christ shall not come except there come a departing first Generall departure hath bin in former ages When Arius spied his heresie it tooke such place that the whole world became an Arian And during the space of 900 yeares from the time of Boniface the popish heresie spread it selfe ouer the whole earth and the faithful seruants of
ougly then any lazar man can be the contagioÌ„ thereof is so great noisome that the verie heauens which are many thousand miles distant from us are infected therwith Yet here we are to know that this fire shall not consume the substance of heauen and earth but onely change the qualitie and abolish the corruption which our sinnes haue brought upon them The fourth point to be considered is the manner of the last iudgement in which wee may obserue two things I. who shall be iudge II. the proceeding of this iudge The first is expressed in this article From thence hee shall come to iudge Hee that is Christ Iesus the second person in trinitie For the father hath committed all iudgement unto him It is indeede an action common to all the three persons in trinitie but yet the execution thereof appertaines unto the sonne The father indeed doth iudge the world but yet by the sonne But some may obiect that the Apostles shall sit on â—velve thrones and iudge the twelve tribes of Israel And S. Paul saith The saintes shall iudge the world How then is this true that Christ is the onely iudge of the world Answer The authoritie of iudgement and giuing sentence at the last day is proper to Christ alone and doth not belong either to the Apostles or to the saints and they shall iudge at the last day only as witnesses and apprpouers of Christs iudgement at the great day of assise beside the iudge the iustices on the bench are also in a maner iudges not that they giue sentence but because by their presence they approoue and witnesse the equitie of the sentence of the iudge so the definitive sentence doth belong to Christ and the Apostles and saintes doe nothing but approoue his righteous sentence The whole proceeding of the last iudgement may be reduced to seuen pointes or heades The first is the comming of the iudge in the cloudes Here at the first it may be demaunded why Christ holdes the last iudgement rather on earth then in heauen Ansvver He doth it for two causes One the creature to be iudged hath sinned here upon earth and he proceeds after the maner of earthly iudges who hold their sessions and assises there where trespasses are commonly committed The seconde because the deuill and his angels are to be iudged and it is a parte of their punishment to be cast out of heauen For no uncleane thing may come into this heauenly Ierusalem and therefore they now remaine in the lower parts of the world there must be iudged Furthermore the second comming of Christ is sudden as the comming of a thiefe in the night He will come when the worlde thinketh not of him as the snare doeth on the birde The consideration whereof must teach us the same duties which our Sauiour Christ taught the men of his time First hee teacheth them what they must not doe For hee knowing all things knewe also the disposition of mans heart and therefore saieth Take heede to your selves least at any time your hearts be oppressed vvith surfetting and drunkennesse and the cares of this life least that day come vpon you unavvares For these sinnes benumme the heart and steale away all grace This exhortation in these our daies is most needefull For mens heartes are like the smithes stiâ—hie the more they are beaten with the hammer of Gods worde the harder they are Secondly hee teacheth them what they must doe Watch therefore saieth hee and pray continually That yee may be counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to passe and that ye may stand before the sonne of man But you will say how may wee be founde worthy to stande before Christ at that day Answere Doe but this one thing for your liues past be humbled before God and come unto him by true hearty and unfained repentance be changed and become newe creatures pray unto him earnestly for the pardon of your sinnes in Christ and pray continually that God will turne your heartes from your olde sinnes euerie day more and more and then come the last iudgement when it will ye shall be founde worthy to stand before Christ at his comming The repentant sinner is hee that shall finde fauour in the sight of God at that day The consideration hereof may mooue us to change our liues Those which were neuer yet humbled for their sinnes let them now begin and those which haue alreadie begon let them goe forwarde and continue But the deuill will crie in the hearts of some men that this exhortation is as yet needelesse for the day of iudgement is not neare because all the signes thereof are not yet passed Answere Suppose the day of iudgement be farre off yet the day of thy death can not be so for the common saying is true to day a man to morrow none Now looke as death leaveth thee so shall the day of iudgement finde thee Impenitent Cain died long since and yet the day of iudgement when it commeth shall finde him impenitent still The same thing may be saide of Saul Achitophel and Iudas They died desperately and impenitent and the Lord shall finde them so at his comming So it will be with thee whatsoeuer thou art that repentest not Death may come upon thee the next day or the next houre therefore watch and pray Prepare thy selfe against the day of death that at the day of iudgement thou maiest be â—ounde worthy to obtaine fauour in the sight of the Lorde Securitie doeth ouerwhelme the vvorlde but let us for our parts learne to prepare our selues daily For if the day of death do leaue thee unworthy then the Lord Iesus at his comming shall find thee unworthy and the deuill shal stand before thee accuse thee thy conscience shall condemne thee hell shalbe ready to swallow thee up If this admonition take no place in thy heart then at the day of iudgement it shall stand against thee and be a bill of inditement to thy further condemnation The second point followeth that Christ after that hee is come in the cloudes shall sit in a throne of glorie as the soueraigne iudge of heauen and earth after the manner of earthly kings who when they will shew themselues unto their subiectes in maiestie power and glorie use to ascende into the thrones of their kingdomes and there to shewe themselues and appeare in state vnto all the people Now what this throne is and how Christ sittes in the same the scripture hath not revealed and therefore I will not stand to search Yet here must we further marke that this appearance of his in endlesse glory and maiestie shalbe most terrible and dreadfull to the ungodly and therefore in Daniel his throne is said to be like a flame of fire and at the verie sight hereof men shall desire the mountaines to fall upon them and the hilles to couer them The third point is the citing of all men and of
to obey the voice of Christ in the ministerie of the worde For if we rebell against his voice in this world vvhen in the day of iudgemeÌ„t sentence shal be pronounced against us we shall heare another voice at the giuing whereof vve must obey whether vve will or no and thereupon go to euerlasting paine whither vve vvould not Let us therfore in time denie our selues for our sinnes past and onely relie upon Christ Iesus for the free remission of them all and for the time to come leade a nevv reformed life Thus much of the order of Christ his proceeding at the day of iudgement Novv follovv the uses thereof vvhich are either comforts to gods church or duties for all meÌ„ The first comforte or benefite is this that the same person vvhich died for us upon the crosse to work ouâ— redemption must also be our â—udge And hence vve reape tvvo speciall comfortes I. The people of God shall hereby inioy full redemption from all miseries and calamities which they had in this life So Christ himselfe speaking of the signes of the end of the world saith to his disciples When you see thâ—se things lift vp your heads for your redemptioÌ„ draweth nere TheÌ„ he shall wipe all teares from their eies Secondly we shall hereby haue a finall deliuerance from all sinne Now what a ioyfull thing it is to be freed from sinne may plainely appeare by the cry of Saint Paul Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from this bodie of death And certen iâ— is that he which knowes what sinne is and seriously repents him of the same would wish with all his heart to be ouâ— of this world that he might leaue off to sinne and thereby to displease God The second comfort is this the godly in this worlde haue many enemies they are reuiled slaundred and oftentimes put to death well Christ Iesus at the day of iudgement will take euery mans case into his owne hand he will then heare the complaint of the godly howsoeuer in this world they found no remedie and then he will reuenge their blood that is shed vpon the earth according to their praier This comfort is to be considered especially of all those that are any way persecuted or molested by the wicked of this world Now follow the duties to be learned of euery one of vs and they are diuerse First the consideration of the last iudgement serueth to teach all ignorant persons and impenitent sinners repentance and humiliation for their sinnes and to mooue them with all speede to seeke vnto Christ for the pardon of the same When Paul preached to the Athenians he willed them to repent vpon this ground reason because the Lord hath appointed a day wherin he will iudge the world in righteousnes To speake plainly we can be content to heare the worde and to honour him with our lippes yet for the most part all is done but for fashions sake for still we liue in our old sinnes our hearts are not turned but in the feare of God let vs bethinke our selues of the time when we shall come before the iudge of heauen and earth and haue all our sinnes laide open and wee must answer for them all This is the point which the holy Ghost vseth as a reason to mooue men vnto repentance and assuredly if this will not mooue vs there is nothing in the world will Secondly to this purpose Paul saith If we would iudge our selues we should not be iudged Wouldest thou then escape the iudgement of Christ at the last day then in this life iudge thy selfe Now a man in iudging of himselfe must performe foure things I. he must examine himselfe of his owne sinnes II. he must confesse them before the Lord. III. he must condemne himselfe and as a iudge vpon the bench giue sentence against himselfe Lastly he must plead pardon and cry vnto God as for life and death for the remission of all his sinnes and he that doth this vnfainedly shall neuer be iudged of the Lord at the last day but if we slacke and neglect this dutie in this life then vndoubtedly there remaines nothing but eternall woe in the world to come Thirdly by this we may learne one not to iudge or condemne another as Paul saith Iudge nothing before the time vntill the Lord come who lighten things that are hidde in darknes and make the counsells of the hearts manifest And Christ saith Iudgement is mine and Iudge not and ye shall not be iudged And againe Paul saith to the Romanes Why doest thou iudge thy brother for we must all appeare before the iudgement seat of Christ but some will aske how doth one iudge another Answer Thus I. when a man doth well to say of him that he doth euill II. when a man doth euill then to make it worse III. when a thing is doubtfull to take it in the worst part And by any of these three waies we are not to iudge either of mens persons or of their actions Fourthly we must endeauour our selues to keepe a good conscience before God and before all men This is the practise of Saint Paul who in consideration and hope of a resurrection vnto iudgement as well of the iust as of the vniust endeauoured himselfe to haue alwaies a cleare conscience both towards God and towards men His example is worthie our marking and imitation for fewe there be that vpon this occasion make any conscience either of dutie to God or to their brethren Fifthly the last iudgement must stirre vs vp to a reuerend feare of God and cause vs to glorifie him as the angel saith in the Revelation Feare God and giue glorie to him for the houre of his iudgement is come And doubtles if any thing in the world will mooue a man to feare the Lord it is this to remember the fearefull and terrible day of iudgement Now hauing spoken hitherto of the first person the father and also of the sonne it followeth in the next place to speake of the third person in these words J beleeue in the holy Ghost In which we may consider two things the title of the person and the action of faith repeated from the beginning The title is holy Ghost or Spirit It may here be demaunded how this title can be fit to expresse the third person which seemes to be common to the rest for the father is holy and the sonne is holy againe the father is a spirit and the sonne is a spirite Answer Indeede the father and the Sonne are as well to be tearmed holy in respect of their natures as the third person for all three subsisting in one and the same Godhead are consequently holy by one and the same holines but the third person is called holy because beside the holines of natures his office is to sanctifie the Church of God Nowe if it be said that sanctification is a worke of the whole Trinitie the
essence of God vnlesse we will make euery mans soule to be God neither doth it spring of the soule of the parents for the soule can no more beget a soule then an angel can beget an angel And Adam is called a liuing soule and not a quickning soule And earthly fathers are called the fathers of our bodies and not of our soules It remaines therefore as beeing most agreeable to the Scriptures that the soules of men are then created by God of nothing when they are infused into the bodie And though the soules of men haue a beginning yet they haue no end but are eternal And when they are said to die it is not because they cease at any time to subsist or haue beeing in nature but because they cease to be righteous or to haue fellowship with God Whereas our bodies are Gods workemanship we must glorifie him in our bodies and all the actions of bodie and soule our eating and drinking our liuing and dying must be referred to his glorie yeâ— we must not hurt or abuse our bodies but present them as holy liuing sacrifices vnto God And whereas God made vs of the dust of the earth we are not to glorie and boast our selues but rather to take occasion to praise the great goodnes of God that hath vouchsafed to honour vs beeing but dust ashes And after that man is created what is his life alas it is nothing but a little breath stop his mouth and his nostrils and he is but a dead man By this we are put in minde to consider of our fraile and vncerten estate and to lay aside all confidence in our selues and for this cause the Prophet Esay teacheth vs to haue no confidence in man because his breath is in his nostrils Againe let vs marke the frame and shape of mans bodie Al other creatures go with their bodies eyes to the ground-ward but man was made to goe vpright whereas all other creatures haue but foure muscles to turne their eyes round about man hath a fifth to pul his eyes vp to heaven-warde Nowe what doth this teach vs surely that how so euer wee seeke for other thinges yet first of all and aboue all wee should seeke for the kingdome of heauen and the righteousnesse thereof and that our whole desire should be set to enioy the blessed estate of Gods children in heauen Secondly it teacheth vs in receiuing Gods creatures to returne thankfulnesse vnto God by lifting vp the heart to heauen for the same These are very needefull and profitable lessons in these daies for most men in deede goe vpright but looke into their liues and they might as vvell goe on all foure for in their conuersation they set their whole hearts vpon the earth as the beast doth and their eyes vpon the thinges of this worlde hereby they doe abase them selues and deface their bodies and beeing men make themselues as beasts we shall see great numbers of men that runne and ride from place to place to prouide for the bodie but to seeke the kingdome of heauen where their soules should dwell after this life in ioy for euer they will not stirre one foote Thirdly mans bodie by creation was made a temple framed by Gods own hands for himselfe to dwell in therefore our dutie is to keepe our bodies pure and cleane and not to suffer them to be instruments whereby to practise the sinne of the heart If a man had a faire house wherein he must entertaine a prince and should make hereof a swinestie or a stable would not all meÌ„ say that he did greatly abuse both the house and the prince euen so mans bodie beeing at the first made a pallace for the euerliuing God if a man shall abuse it by drunkennesse swearing lying fornication or any vncleannesse hee doth make it in stead of a temple for the holy Ghost to be a sâ—ie or stable for the deuill For the more filthie a mans bodie is the more fit it is to be a dwelling place for sinne and Sathan Fourthly man by creation was made a goodly creature in the blessed image of God but by Adams fall men lost the same and are nowe become the deformed children of wrath our dutie therefore is to labour to get againe our first image and endeauour our selues to become new creatures If a noble man should staine his blood by treason after his death the posteritie will neuer be at rest till they haue got away that spot Man by Adams fall is become a limme of the deuill a rebell and traytor against Gods maiestie and this is the state of euery one of vs by nature we are at enmitie with God therefore we ought to labour aboue all things in the world to be restored in Christ to our first estate and perfection that so we may become bone of his bone flesh of his flesh beeing iustified and sanctified by his obedience death and passion Fiftly man was created that there might be a way prepared whereby God might shew his grace and mercie in the saluation of some and his iustice in the deserued damnation of others for their sinnes and in the creation of man Gods eternall counsell begins to come into exequution Hereupon it stands vs in hand to make conscience of euery euill way beeing repentant for all our sinnes past and hauing a constant purpose neuer to sinne more as we haue done that by our good conuersation here in this life wee may haue assurance that we be eternally chosen to saluation by the Lord himselfe Lastly whereas wee haue learned that the soule of man is immortall wee are hereby taught to take more care for the soule then for the bodie For it can not be extinguished When it is condemned euen then it is alwaies in dying and can neuer die But alas in this point the case is â—lat contrarie in the worlde for men will labour all their life long to get for the bodie but for the soule they care little or nothing at all chuse it whether it sinke or swimme goe to heauen or to hell they looke not to it This doth appeare to be true by the practise and behauiour of men on the Lordes day for if the nomber of those which come to heare Gods worde were compared with those which runne about their worldly wealth and pleasure I feare me the better sort would be found to be but a little handfull to a huge heape or as a droppe to the Ocean sea in respect of the other But wilt thou goe an hundred myle for the encrease of thy wealth and delight of thy bodie then think it not much to go ten thousand miles if neede were to take any paines for the good of thy soule and to get foode for the same And thus much for the duties Nowe follow the consolations Although by reason of the fall of man wee can haue but little comfort nowe yet the creation doth conâ—â—rme the vnspeakeable prouidence of
thankfulnes but mens hearts are so frozen in the dregges of their sinnes that this dutie comes litle in practise now adaies Our Sauiour Christ clensed ten leapers but there was but one of theÌ„ that returned to giue him thanks this is as true in the leprosie of the soule for though saluation by Christ be offered vnto vs daily by Gods ministers yet not one of ten nay scarse one of a thousand giues praise and thanks to God for it because men take no delite in things which coÌ„cerne the kingdome of heauen they thinke not that they haue need of saluation neither doe they feele any want of a Sauiour But we for our parts must learne to say with David What shall I render vnto the Lord for all his benefits yea we are to practise that which Salomon saith My sonne giue me thy heart for we should giue vnto God both bodie soule in token of our thankfulnes for this wonderful blessing that he hath giueÌ„ his only son to be our sauiour let vs know this for truth that they which are not thaÌ„kfull for it let them say what they wil they haue no soundnes of grace at the heart And thus much of the third title The fourth last title is in these words our Lord. Christ Iesus the only sonne of God is our Lord three waies 1. by creation in that he made vs of nothing when we were not 2. he is our Lord in the â—ight of redemption In former times the custome hath bin that wheÌ„ one is taken prisoner in the fields he that paies his ransome shall become alwaies after his lord so Christ when we were bondslaues vnder hell death condemnation paid the raÌ„some of our redemption and freed vs from the bondage of sinne and satan and therefore in that respect he is our Lord. 3. He is the heade of the Church as the husbande is the wiues head to rule and gouerne the same by his word and spirit And therefore in that respect also Christ is our Lord. And thus much for the meaning Now follow the duties 1. If Christ be our soueraigne Lord we must performe absolute obedience vnto him that is whatsoeuer he commaunds vs that wee must doe And I say absolute obedience because Magistrats Masters Rulers and fathers may command and must be obeyed yet noâ— simply but so farfoorth as that which they command doth agree with the word and commaundement of God but Christs will and word is righteousnes it selfe and therefore the rule and direction of all our actions whatsoeuer and for this cause he must be absolutely obeyed Thus he requires the obedience of the morall law but why because he is the Lord our God And in Malach. he saith If I be your Lord where is my feare And againe we must resigne both bodie and soule heart minde will affections and the course of our whole liues to be ruled by the will of Christ. He is Lord not onely of the bodie but of the spirite and soule of man hee must therefore haue homage of both as we adore him by the knee of the bodie so must the thoughts and the affections of our hearts haue their knees also to worship him and to shew their subiection to his commandements As for such as doe hold him for their Lord in word but will not indeauour to shew their loyaltie in all manner of obedience they are indeede no better then starke rebels Secondly when by the hande of Christ strange iudgements shall come to passe as it is vsuall in all places continually we must stay our selues without murmuring or finding fault because he is an absolute Lord ouer all his creatures all things are in his hands and he may doe with his owne whatsoeuer he will and therefore wee must rather feare and tremble whensoeuer wee see or heare of them so David saith I was dumbe and opened not my mouth because thou didst it And againe My flesh trembleth for feare of thee and I am afraid of thy iudgements Thirdly before we vse any of Gods creatures or ordinances we must sanctifie them by the direction of his word and by praier the reason is this because he is Lord ouer all and therefore from his word we must fetch direction to teach vs whether we may vse them or not and when and how we must vse them and secondly wee must pray to him that he would giue vs libertie and grace to vse them aright in holy maner Also we are so to vse the creatures and ordinances of God as beeing alwaies readie to giue an account for them at the day of iudgement for wee vse that which is the Lords not our owne we are but stewards ouer them we must come to a reckoning for the stewardship Hast thou learning then imploy it to the glorie of God the good of the Church boast not of it as though it were thine owne Hast thou any other gift or blessing of God be it wisdome streÌ„gth riches honour fauour or whatsoeuer then looke thou vse it so as thou maist be alwaies readie to make a good account thereof vnto Christ. Lastly euery one must so lead his life in this world as that at the day of death he may surrender and giue vp his soule into the hands of his Lord and say with Steven Lord Iesus receiue my soule for thy soule is none of thine but his who hath bought it with a price therfore thou must so order and keepe it as that thou maist in good manner restore it into the hands of God at the end of thy life If a man should borrow a thing of his neighbour and vse it so as he doth quite spoile it he would be ashamed to bring it againe to the owner in that manner and if he doe the owner will not receiue it Vngodly men in this life doe so staine their soules with sin as that they can neuer be able to giue them vp into the hands of God at the day of death if they would yet God accepts them not but casts theÌ„ quite away We must therefore labour so to liue in the world that with a ioyfull heart at the day of death we may commend our soules into the handes of our Lord Christ Iesus who gaue them vnto vs. This is a hard thing to be done and he that will doe it truly must first be assured of the pardon of his owne sinnes which a man can neuer haue without true and vnfained faith and repentance wherfore while we haue time let vs purge and clense our soules bodies that they may come home againe to God in good plight And here all gouernours must be put in mind that they an higher Lord that they may not oppresse or deale hardly with their inferiours And this is Pauls reason ye masters saith he doe the same things vnto your seruants putting away threatning and knowe that euen your master is also in heauen neither is
natures themselues are Christ saieth of himselfe I have povver to lay downe my life and I haue power to take it up againe and hereby he shewes the distinction of operations in his two natures For to lay downe his life is an action of the manhoode because the godhead can not die and to take it up againe is the worke of the godhead alone which reunites the soule to the bodie after death The first and last point is what ariseth of this union Ans. By reason of this hypostaticall union though the godheade receiue nothing from the manhoode yet the manhoode it selfe which is assumed is thereby perfected and enriched with unspeakeable dignitie For first of all it is exalted aboue all creatures whatsoeuer euen angels themselues in that it hath subsistance in the second person in Trinitie Secondly togither with the godhead of the sonne it is adored and worshipped with diuine honour as in like case the honour done to the king himselfe redounds to the crowne on his head Thirdly by reason of this union the godheade of Christ works all things in the matter of our redemptiō in by the manhood And hereupon the flesh of Christ though it profit nothing of it selfe yet by the vertue which it receiueth from that person to which it is ioyned it is quickning flesh and the bread of life Againe from this union of two natures into one person ariseth a kind of speech or phrase peculiar to the scriptures called the communication of proprieties when the propertie of one nature is attributed to the whole person or to the other nature as when Paul saith that God shed his blood that the Lord of glorie was crucified And when Christ saith that he talking with Nichodemus was then in heauen The use of the personall union is threefold First it serues to shew the heinousnesse of our sinnes and the greatnesse of our miserie For it had not bene possible to make a satisfaction to Gods iustice in mans nature for the least offence vnlesse the same nature had first of all bene neerely ioyned to the godhead of the sonne that thereby it might be so far forth supported and sustained that it might ouercome the wrath of God Secondly it sets forth unto us the endles loue of God to man For whereas by reason of Adams fall wee are become the vilest of all creatures except the deuill and his angels yet by his mysticall coniunction our nature is is exalted to such an estate and condition as is farre aboue all creatures euen the angels themselues Thirdly it is as it were the keye of all our comfort for all sound comfort standes in happinesse all happinesse is in fellowship with God all fellowshippe with God is by Christ who for this cause beeing verie God became verie man that he might reconcile man to God and God to man Thus much of the conception of Christ now followes his birth whereby in the ordinarie time of trauell according to the course of nature hee was brought forth into the world by the virgin Mary And it was the will of God that Christ should not onely be conceiued but also borne and that after the maner of men that hee might be knowen to be verie man indeede In the birth we may consider foure things the time the place the manner the manifestation of it The time was in the last daies toward the end of the 70. weeks of Daniel which are to be accoūted from the end of the captivitie of Babylō make in all 490 yeres or more plainely 3900. yeeres and more from the beginning of the world and as Paul saith in the fulnesse of time And the Euangelists haue noted of purpose the time to haue bene when Augustus Caesar taxed the Iewes and all nations under his dominions to signifie that Christ was borne at the verie time foretold by Iacob when the crowne and scepter was taken from Iuda and withall to shevve that his kingdome was not of this world And it vvas the good pleasure of god that Christ should not be borne either later or sooner but so many ages from the beginning of the worlde And this consideration of the verie time it selfe serues greatly for the confirmation of our faith For thus may vve reason vvith our selues If God vvho in the beginning made a promise to our first parents concerning the seede of the woman deferred it almost 4000. yeres and yet at length accomplished the same to the verie full then no doubt God hauing promised the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting will in his good time bring them to passe though as yet wee see them not And thus by the accōplishment of al things past should we confirme our hope concerning things to come The place vvas not Hierusalem nor Nazareth nor any other citie but onely a village of Iuda called Bethleem that the prophesie of Micheas might be fulfilled Thou Bethleem Ephrata art little to be among the thousandes of Iuda yet out of thee shall he come forth vnto me that shall be the ruler in Israell And here vve may obserue a memorable example of Gods prouidence vvhich ouer-ruleth the procedings of cruell tirants to the accomplishing of his owne will they themselues for their parts intending nothing lesse Augustus not so much as dreaming of the birth of the Messias gaue commandement that euery man shoulde goe to his owne city to be taxed and hereupon Ioseph and Mary take their iourny from Nazareth to Bethleem which iourney God himselfe appointed and disposed to this end that the Messias might be borne in the place which he preordained and foretold by his prophet The manner of Christs birth was verie base and poore for the place where hee was borne was a stable and the cradle where he lay was a cratch And he willingly tooke upon him this povertie for sundry causes I. That the scripture might be fulfilled which saith that he should be the shame and contempt of the people and that ye shall grow vp as a roote out of a drie ground and have neither fourme nor beauty II. That hee might afterward from this base condition be exalted euen in his manhood to that rich and glorious estate in which he should manifest himselfe to be Lord of heauen and earth III. He was borne in exceeding pouertie that he might shame the wise men of this worlde who exceedingly esteeme of their riches power and glorie perswading themselues that without such meanes no good thing can be done And yet for all this they can not so much as reconcile one man to God by all their might and wealth whereas Christ himselfe hath done the same both in povertie and weakenesse and can enlarge and preserue his kingdome without earthly helpes When he hung upon the crosse the soldiers stript him of his garments and beeing naked he brought that to passe which all the monarches of the earth in all their roialties could neuer haue perfourmed And
Sacraments are no Sacraments I say this their practise is condemned by our Sauiour Christs conversing among the Iewes For if Christ should haue followed their opinion hee ought to haue fled from amongst the Iewes and not so much as once to haue come into the tēple or taught in their Synagogues but contrariwise he ioyned himselfe with them and therefore wee can not in good conscience disjoyne our selues from the Church of England The second thing to be obserued in Christs answeare is that he referres Caiphas to the iudgement of his hearers beeing resolued of the truth of his owne doctrine though sundrie of them were his vtter enemies Behold then a good example for all the ministers of Gods word to follow teaching them to deliuer Gods word so purely and syncerely that if they be called into question about the same they may be bolde to appeale to the consciences of their hearers although they be wicked men Now after this answer one of the seruants of Caiphas smites Christ with a rodde in whome the saying is verified Like master like seruant that is if the master be wicked seruants commonly will be wicked also if the master be an enemie to Christ his seruant will be Christs enemie also And this is the cause why there are so many lewd prentises and seruants because there are so many lewd masters Many masters complaine of seruants now adaies but there is more cause why they should complaine of themselues for vsually seruants will not become obedient to their masters till their masters first become obedient vnto Christ therefore let masters learne to obey God and then their seruants will obey them also Further Christ beeing smitten makes this answeare If I haue euill spoken beare witnesse of the euill but if I haue well spoken why smitest thou me making complaint of an iniurie done vnto him Now hereupon scoffing Iulian the apostata saith Christ keepes not his owne laws but goeth against his owne precept when as he saide If one strike thee on the one cheeke turn to him the other also But we must know that in these words Christs meaning is that a mā must rather suffer a double wrong then seeke a priuate reuenge And before Christ spake in his owne defence which a man may lawfully doe and not seeke any reuenge for it is one thing to defend his owne cause and an other to seeke reuenge Now follows the secōd point in their proceeding which is the producing of false witnesses against him as S. Matthew saith The whole Councell sought false witnesse against him and though many came yet found they none for they could not agree together because they alleadged false things against him which they could not prooue And thus the mēbers of Christ haue often such enemies as make no bones shamefully to auouch that against them which they cā not be able to iustifie The ten persecutions which were in the first 300. yeares after Christ arose oftentimes of shamelesse reports that men gaue out which said that Christians liued of mans flesh therfore slew their owne children 2. that they liued on rawe-flesh 3. that they committed incest one with another in their assemblies 4. that they worshipped the head of an asse 5. that they worshipped the sūne moone 6. that they were traytours sought to vndermine the Romane Empyre lastly wheresoeuer was thunder or earthquakes seditiōs or tumults or any disquietnes or trouble Christians were accused as the authors thereof Such enemies haue they had in all ages and in these our daies the same is practised will be to the worlds end Now when the first witnesses could not agree among themselues then two other false witnesses came forth which auouched that Christ said I will destroy this temple made with hands within three daies will build another made without hāds Indeed Christ said some such wordes for saith he Destroy this temple and within three daies I will build it vp againe But he spake this of the temple of his bodie whereas they maliciously did interpret him to haue spoken of the temple in Ierusalem And againe they chaunge the words for Christ said Destroy this temple c. but these witnesses say he said I will destroy this temple made with hands c. And thus they chaunge both words and meaning and therefore the holy Ghost calleth them false witnesses By this we must be aduertised to take heede how we report mens words for if we chaunge the meaning though in part we retaine the words we may soone become slaunderers and false witnesses and as this duetie must be performed towards all men so especially towards the ministers of the Gospell the neglect of this dutie procureth many slaunderers to thē in this our Church whereof indeed the reporters are the cause and not the ministers themselues Now at this false accusation Christ was silent so as Caiphas asked him why he answeared nothing Herein wee are to consider many things I. why Christ was silent The causes be two first he was to shew himselfe a patterne of true humilitie and patience therefore euen then would he be silent when he was most falsely accused of his aduersaries Secondly he is silent that standing before the iudge to be condemned the sentence might proceede against him and he might suffer the death appointed which was due vnto vs and so become our redeemer And in Christs example we must note that it is a speciall dutie to knowe when to speake and when to be silent The ordering of the tongue is a rare gift and few attaine vnto it Some will peradventure aske what rule we haue to direct vs herein Answer The generall rule for the ordering of the tongue is the law of God We are commaunded to seeke the glorie of God in the first table and in the second the good of our neighbour when thy speach therefore will serue either for Gods glorie or the good of thy neighbour then thou must speake if it serue for neither then be silent Againe if thy silence be either for Gods glorie or the good of thy neighbour then be silent if it will not then speake And because it is hard for a man to know when his speach or silence will serue for these two ends therefore we must pray vnto God that he would teach and direct vs herein as Dauid doth Set a watch saith he O Lord before my mouth and keepe the doore of my lippes and againe open thou my lippes O Lord and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise Thus much for the false witnesses produced Now followeth the third point which is the adjuring of Christ for Caiphas the high Priest charged him to tell him whether he were the Christ the Sonne of God or no. To adiure a man is to charge and commaund him in the name of God to declare a truth not onely because God is witnesse thereof but also because he is iudge to reuenge
must not looke to be taught by visions and dreames yet shall it not be amisse to obserue this caveat concerning dreames that by them we may gesse at the constitution of our bodies and often times at the sinnes whereunto we are inclined The last motiue which caused Pilate to absolue Christ was a speech of the Iewes for they said that Christ ought to die by their law because he saide he was the sonne of God And the text saith when Pilate hearde that hee was afraide Marke how a poore Painym that knew not Gods word at the hearing of the name of the sonne of God is striken with feare No doubt he shall rise in iudgement against many among us that without all feare rend the name of God in peeces by swearing blaspheming cursed speaking But let all those that feare the Lorde learne to tremble and be afraide at his blessed name Thus much for the causes that moued Pilate to absolue Christ as also for the second part of Christs arraignement namely his accusation Now followes the third part which is his condemnation and that is twofolde The first by the Ecclesiasticall assembly and councell of the Iewes at Ierusalem in the high priests hall before Caiphas The tenour of his condemnation was this He hath blasphemed vvhat have we any more neede of witnesses he is worthy to die The cause why they say not he shall die but he is worthy to die is this The Iewes had two iurisdictions the one Ecclesiasticall the other civill both prescribed and distinctly executed by the commaundement of God till the time of the Machabees in which both ioyntly togither came into the haÌ„ds of the priests but afterward about the daies of Herod the great the Romane Emperour tooke away both iurisdictions from the Iewes and made their kingdome a province so as they could doe no more but apprehend accuse and imprison as doth appeare by the example of Saul who gate letters from the high priest to Damascus that if hee found any either man or woman that beleeued in Christ hee might bring them bound to Ierusalem and imprison them but kill or condemne they could not By the fact of this counsell we learne sundry points first that generall counsels and the Pope himselfe sitting iudicially in his consistorie may erre If there were any visible Church of God at that day upon the face of the whol world it was no doubt the Church of the Iewes For Caiphas the high priest was a figure of Christ the Scribes and Pharises sate in Moses chaire and Ierusalem is called by Christ the holy citie Mat. 4.5 27.53 Yet for all this that which was foretold is now verified namely that the chiefe corner stone should be reiected of master builders For by the generall consent of the councell at Ierusalem Christ the head of the Catholike Church and the redeemer of mankind is accused of blasphemy and condemned as worthy of death Wherefore it is a meere dotage of mans braine to avouch that the Pope cannot possibly erre in giuing a definitive sentence in matters either of faith or manners Neither can the Church of Rome pleade priviledge for Ierusalem had as many prerogatiues as any people in the worlde coulde haue Againe by this wee see there is no reason why wee should ascribe to any man or to oecumenicall counsels themselves absolute and soveraigne power to determine giue iudgement in matters of religion considering they are in danger to be ouertaken with notable slippes and errours And therefore the soueraigntie of iudgement is peculiar to the sonne of God who is the only doctour and law-giuer of the Church and he puts the same in execution in and by the written word As for the speech of the Papistes calling the scriptures a dumb Iudge it is little to be regarded For they are as it were the letter of the living sent from heauen to his Church upon earth and therefore the scriptures speake as plainly and as sufficiently unto vs of all matters of faith as a man can speake unto his friend by letter so be it we haue the gift of discerning Yet doe weâ— not barre the Church of God from all iudgement For the ministeriall power of giuing iudgement both publiquely and priuately is graunted 〈◊〉 of God and that is to determine and giue sentence of matters in question according to the worde as the lawyer giues iudgement not according as he wil but according to the tenour of the law Thirdly we learne that personall succession is no unfallible marke of the true faith and of true pastours vnlesse withall be ioyned succession in the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles For Caiphas held his office by succession from Aaron and yet in publike assembly condemned the Messias spoken of by Moses and the Prophets Therefore the succession of the bishops of Rome from Peter is of no moment vnlesse they can prooue that their religion is the religion of Peter which they can neuer doe And thus much for Christs first condemnation The second was by Pontius Pilate who sate in an other court as a civill iudge and the tâ—noâ—â— of his sentence was that the Iewes should take him and crucifie him Here we must consider the reasons that mooved Pilate to determine thus the first was the impatience of the Iewes he for his parte was loth to defile his hands with innocent blood but the Iewes cryed his blood be upon us and on our children which according to their wish came upon them within fewe yeres after and so remaineth still unto this day By which we are taught to take heede of imprecations against our selues our children or seruants or any other creatures for God heareth mens prayers two waies either in his mercy or in his wrath and anger If thou curse thy selfe or any other except thou turne unto the Lorde by speedie repentance hee may heare thy prayer in his wrath and verifie thy curse upon thee to thy utter confusion The second reason that mooued Pilate to condemne Christ was because he feared men more then God for being deputie vnder Tyberius Caesar ouer the province of Iudea for feare of loosing his office and of displeasing the Iewes hee condemned Christ after he had absolued him whereby wee see that it is a grieuous sinne to feare dust and ashes more then the living God And therefore S. Iohn saith that the fearefull shall have their portion in the burning lake that is such as are more afraid of man then of God And this sinne in Pilate wanted not his iust towarde for not long after hee lost his deputy-ship and Cesars favour and fledde to Vienna where liuing in banishment hee killed himselfe And thus God meetes with them that feare the creature more then the Creatour That we may therefore avoid the heauie hand of God let us learne to feare God aboue all els we shall dishonour God and shame the religion which we professe The
I let them passe Thus much of the appearances of Christ after his resurrection the witnesses thereof are of three sortes I. angels II. women that came to the graue to embalme him III. Christs owne disciples who did publish and preach the same againe according as they had seene and heard of our Sauiour Christ and of these likewise I omit to speake because there is not any speciaâ—l thing mentioned of them by the Evangelistes Now follow the uses which are twofold some respect Christ and some respect ourselues Vses which concerne Christ are three I. whereas Christ Iesus being starke deade rose againe to life by his owne power it serueth to prooue unto us that he was the sonne of God Thus Paul speaking of Christ saieth that he was declared mightily to be the sonne of God touching the spirit of sanctification by the resurrection from the dead And by the mouth of Dauid God saide Thou art my sonne this day I have begot thee Which place must be understood not so much of the eternall generation of Christ before all worlds as of the manifestation therof in time after this maner This day that is at the time of thine incarnation but especially at the day of thy resurrection have I begotten thee that is I haue made manifest that thou art my sonne so is this place expouÌ„ded by S. Paul in the Acts. Secondly Christs resurrection by his own power prooues unto us euidently that he is Lord ouerall things that are this use S. Paul makes hereof for saith he Christ therefore died that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the quicke And indeed wheras he rose againe thus he did hereby shew himselfe most plainely to be a mightie prince ouer the graue ouer death hell condemnation in that he had power to ouercome them Thirdly it proues unto us that he was a perfit priest that his death and passion was a perfit satisfaction to the iustice of God for the sins of mankind For whereas Christ died he died for our sins now if he had not fully satisfied for them all though there had remained but one sin for which he had made no satisfaction he had not risen againe but death which came into the worlde by sinne and is strengthned by it woulde haue helde him in bondage and therefore whereas hee rose againe it is more then manifest that he hath made so full a satisfaction so as the merite thereof doth and shall countervaile the iustice of God for all our offences To this purpose Paul saith If Christ be not risen againe your faith is vaine and you are yet in your sins that is Christ had not satisfied for your sinnes or at least you could not possibly haue knowen that he had made satisfaction for any of them if he had not risen againe The uses which concerne our selues are of two sortes comforts to the children of God and duties that are to be learned and practised of us all The comforts are especially three First Christs resurrrection serueth for the iustification of all that beleeue in him euen before God the father as Paul saith Christ was given to death for our sinnes and is risen againe for our iustification which wordes haue this meaning when Christ died as we haue shewed before we must not consider him as a priuate man but as one that stood in the stead and roome of all the elect in his death he bare our sinnes and suffered all that we should haue suffered in our own persons for euer the guilt of our offences was laid upon him therfore Esai saith he was nuÌ„bred among the wicked Now in his rising againe he freed disburdened himselfe not from any sinnes of his own because he was without sin but from the guilt punishment of our sins imputed unto him And hence it comes to passe that all those which put their trust affiance in the merit of Christ at the very first instant of their beleeuing haue their owne sins not imputed unto them his righteousnes imputed Secondly the resurrection of Christ serueth as a notable meanes to worke inward sanctification as S. Peter saith We are regenerate to a lively hope by the resurrectioÌ„ of Iesus Christ from the dead And S. Paul Wee are then saith hee buried with him by baptisme into his death that like as Christ vvas raised vp from the dead by the glorie of his father so vvee also should walke in newnesse of life For if we be grafted vvith him to the similitude of his death wee shall be also to the similitude of his resurrection Which wordes import thus much that as Christ by the power of his owne godheade freed his manhood from death and from the guilt of our sinnes so doth he free those that are knit unto him by the bond of one spirite from the corruption of their natures in which they are dead that they may liue unto God In the naturall body the head is the fountaine of all the senses and of motion and therefore by sundry nerves dispersed through the body the power of moouing and of sense is deriued euen to the least partes so as the hands and the feete moue by meanes of that power which comes from the head and so it is in the spirituall body of Christ namely the Church he is the head the fountain of life therfore he coÌ„veieth spirituall life to euery one of his members and that very power of his godhead whereby he raised up himselfe when he was dead he conveieth from himselfe to his members thereby raiseth them up from the death of sinne to newnesse of life And looke as in a perfect body when the head hath sence and motion the hand that is of the same bodie hath also sense and motion conuenient for it So likewise Christ beeing the resurrection and the life as there is spirituall life in him so euery member of his shall feele in it selfe spirituall sence and motion whereby it is raised up froÌ„ sinne and liueth unto God For the better conceiuing of this we must consider two things the outward meanes of this spirituall life and the measure of it For the meanes if we will haue common water vve must goe to the well and if wee vvould haue vvater of life we must goe unto Christ who saith If any man thirst let him come unto me and drinke Now this vvell of the water of life is very deepe we haue nothing to draw with therefore we must haue our pipes conduits to convey the same unto us which are the word of God preached and the administration of the sacrameÌ„ts Christ saith The dead shall heare the voice of the sonne of God they that heare it shall live where by dead is meant not the dead in the graue but those that are dead in sinne And againe Christ saith the wordes which I speake are spirite and life because
obiected that Christ made a promise that hee would be with his Church to the ende of the worlde Answer That promise is to be vnderstoode of the presence of his spirite or Godheade not of the presence of his manhoode Againe it may further be alleadged that if the Godheade be on earth then must the manhoode be there also because they are both vnited together Answer It is not true that of two things conioyned where the one is there must the other be also For the sunne it selfe and the sunne-beames are both ioyned together yet they are not both in all places together For the bodie of the sunne is onely in the heauens but the sunne-beames are also vpon the earth The argument therefore followes not Christs manhoode subsibsts in that person which is euery where ergo his manhoode is euery where And the reason is because the Sonne of God subsists not onely in his diuine nature but also by it wheras he doth not subsist at al by the manhood but onely in it for he subsisted before all eternitie when the manhoode was not Nay rather because the manhoode doth subsist by the person of the Sonne therefore the person extendes it selfe further then the manhoode which is assumed and sustained by it and hath his existing thence For that very thing whereby any other thing either essentially or accidentally is extends it selfe further then the thing whereby it is As the humane nature whereby Peter is a man extendes it selfe further then to Peter namely to all other men and the whitenesse whereby the snow is white extendes it selfe further then to that snowe which a man holds in his hande The third point is that in the ascension a cloud tooke Christ from the sight of his Disciples And whereas hee caused a cloud to come betweene their sight and himselfe it signified vnto them that they must novve be contented with that which they had seene and not seeke to know further what became of him afterward and the same thing is taught vnto vs also we must content our selues with that which God hath reuealed in his word and seeke no further specially in things which concerne God For the like ende in the giuing of the law in Sinai God appeared in a cloud and when he did manifest his glorie in the temple which Salomon made a thicke cloud filled the same The fourth point to be considered is concerning the witnesses of his ascension which were his owne disciples in the mount of oliues at Bethanie and none but them Now it may be demaunded why he would not haue all the whole nation of the Iewes to see him ascend that so they might know that he was risen againe and beleeue in him Answ. The reason may be this â—t was his good pleasure that the points of faith and religion whereof this article is one should rather be learned by hearing then by seeing Indeed Christs owne disciples were taught the same by sight that they might the better teach others which should not see whereas nowe the ordinarie meanes to come by faith is hearing The vses to be made of Christs ascension are of two sorts some are comforts to Gods Church and people and some are duties The coÌ„forts are especially foure The first is this Christ Iesus did asceÌ„d vp into heaueÌ„ to lead captiuity captive a most worthy benefit By captiuitie is meant 1. sinne and satan which did and doe lead men captiue into perdition 2. death and the graue which held him captiue and in bondage for the space of three daies And he leads them all captiue two waies First in himselfe in that he began his triumph vpon the crosse as I haue shewed and continued the same till his very ascension secondly in all his members because by his mightie power being now ascended he doth subdue and weaken the power of sinne and satan which he manifesteth euery day by killing the corruption of their natures and the rebellion of their flesh But it may be demaunded how Christ doth lead his enemies captiue considering the deuill raignes euery where and the world and death and hell Answer Christs victorie ouer his and our enemies hath fiue degrees First it is ordained by God secondly it is foretold thirdly it is wrought fourthly it is applied lastly it is accomplished The ordaining of it was before all worlds the foretelling of it was in all the ages of the old testament the working of it was vpon the crosse and afterward the applying hath bin since the beginning of the worlde more or lesse and it is onely in part in this life that while Christ is in bruising of the heade of satan he againe may bruise his heele the accomplishment shall not be before the last iudgement From this great benefite bestowed on Gods Church there are many dueties to be learned First here is an instruction for all ignorant persons and impenitent sinners which abound among vs in euery place Whosoeuer they be that liue in the blindnes of their mindes and hardnes of their hearts they must knowe this that they are captiues and bondeslaues of sinne and Satan of hell death and condemnation and let no man flatter himselfe of what state or degree soeuer he be for it is Gods truth if he haue not repented of all his sinnes he as yet is no better then a captiue and vassall yea a very drudge of the deuill Nowe then what wilt thou doe in this case the best thing is to lay to thy heart this benefite of Christ. He is ascended vp to heauen to leade captiue and to vanquish the deuill and all his angels vnder whome thou liest bound and that not onely in himselfe but in his members Now then if thou wilt become a true member of Christ he will free thee from this bondage Therefore take heede how thou continuest longer in thy old sinnes and in thy grosse ignorance and seeing Christ hath made a way to libertie let vs come out of this spirituall bondage he is ascended for this ende and purpose to free vs from it therefore if we refuse this benefite our state will be the more damnable Any man that lies bound hand and foote in a darke dungeon and the keeper comes and sets open the prison dore and takes off his boults and biddes him come out if he refuse and say that he is well will not all men thinke that he is a madde man and will any be sorie for his case No surely Well this is the state of all impenitent sinners They lie fast fettered and bound vnder the power of sinne satan And Christ it is who is ascended into heauen to vnloose them of this bondage he hath set opeÌ„ the prison dore and hath vnlocked our fetters if we refuse to come out and lie still in our sinnes there remaineth nothing for vs but euerlasting thraldome Let vs therefore in the feare of God if wee haue a care of our owne soules receiue and
passe through And Esay saith that our sinnes are a wall betwixt God and vs that we cannot enter into heauen And Saint Iohn that no vncleane thing must enter into the heauenly Hierusalem Nowe seeing we haue shut our selues out of heauen by our sinnes it was requisite that Christ Iesus our Sauiour should goe before vs to prepare a place and to make readie a way for vs. For he is king ouerall he hath the keies of heauen he openeth and no man shutteth and therefore it is in his power to let vs in though we haue shut our selues out But some may say if this be the end of his ascension to prepare a place in heauen then belike such as died before the comming of Christ were not in heauen Answer As there are two degrees of glorie one incomplete and the other complete or perfect for the faithfull departed are in glorie but in part and there remaineth fulnes of glorie for them at the day of iudgement when soule and bodie shall be both glorified together so answearably there are two degrees of preparation of places in heauen The places of glorie were in part prepared for the faithful frō the beginning of the world but the full preparation is made by Christs ascension And of this last preparation is the place of Iohn to be vnderstood The vse of this doctrine is very profitable First it ouerthroweth the fond doctrine of the Church of Rome which teacheth that Christ by his death did merit our iustification and that we beeing once iustified doe further merit saluation and purchase for our selues a place in heauen But this is as it were to make a partition betweene Christ and vs in the worke of our redemption whereas in truth not onely the beginning and continuance of our saluation but also the accomplishment thereof in our vocation iustification sanctification glorification is wholly and onely to be ascribed to the meere merit of Christ and therefore hauing redeemed vs on earth he also ascends to prepare a place in heauen for vs. Secondly this serueth to condemne the fearefull lamentable and desperate securitie of these our daies Great is the loue of Christ in that he was content to suffer the pangs of hell to bring vs out of hell and withall to goe to heauen to prepare a place for vs there and yet who is it that careth for this place or maketh any account thereof who forsaketh this world and seekes vnto Christ for it Nowe least any man should say alas I knowe not the way therefore Christ before he ascended made a new and liuing way with his owne blood as the Apostle speaketh And to take away all excuses from men he hath set markes and bounds in this way and hath placed guides in it namely his ministers to shew all the passengers a straight readie course into the kingdom of heauen And though Christ haue done all this for vs yet the blindnes and securitie of men is such that none almost walketh in this way nor careth to come to this mansion place but in stead of this they walke in by-waies according to the lusts of their owne flesh When they are commaunded to goe eastward to Ierusalem they turne westward an other way when they are commanded to goe on forward to heauen they turne againe backward and goe straight to hell Men runne on all the daies of their liues in the broad way that leadeth to destruction and neuer so much as once make inquirie for a resting place in heauen but when the houre of death commeth then they call for the guide whereas all their liues before they haue run out of the way many thousand miles but then alas it is too late vnlesse it be the vnspeakeable mercie of God For they haue wandred so farre astray that in so short a space they cannot be able to come into the right way againe Yet generally this is the state of most among vs whose securitie is so much the more grieuous fearefull because Christ hath done al that heart can wish There is nothing else required but onely that by his grace we should walk in the way There was neuer any that knew the state of the people in these daies but he will say that this is most true which I say Besides as by this we are brought to a sight of the desperate securitie of this age so we may further learne our owne dueties Is Christ gone to heauen beforehand to prepare a place for thee thē practise that which Paul teacheth Haue thy conuersation in heauen The wordes which he vseth are very significant and the meaning of them is this Ye are free denizens of the citie of God and therefore as freemen in Gods house let all your cares and studies all your affaires and doings be in heauen In the world if a man make purchase of an house his heart is alwaies there there he pulls downe and builds againe there he makes him orchards and gardens there hee meanes to liue and die Christ Iesus hath bought the kingdome of heauen for vs the most blessed purchase that euer was hath paid the dearest price for it that euer was paid euen his owne pretious blood and in this citie he hath prepared for vs a dwelling place and made vs free denizens of it therefore all our ioy and all our affaires ought to be there But how shall a man vpon earth haue his conuersation in heauen Answ. We must converse in heauen not in bodie but in heart therfore though our bodies be on earth yet our hearts ioy and comfort and all our meditation must be in heauen Thus must we behaue our selues like good freemen in Gods house It must be farre from vs to haue our ioy and our hearts set on the things of this world Thirdly the consideration of this that Christ Iesus hath prepared a place for vs in heauen also hath trayned the way with his own blood must make euery one of vs to striue to enter in at the straight gate as our Sauiour Christ counselleth vs and that as wrastlers doe which striue for life and death Within this gate is a dwelling place of happines readie for vs. If a man were assured that there were made for him a great purchase in Spaine or Turkie so as if hee would but come thither he might inioy it would he not aduenture the daungers of the sea and of his enemies also if neede were that he might come to his owne Wel behold Christ Iesus hath made a purchase for vs in heauen there is nothing required of vs but that we will come and enioy it Why then should men refuse any paines or feare in the way nay we must striue to get in It may be we shalbe pinched in the entrance for the gate is both straight and low and we must be faine to leaue our wealth behinde vs the pleasures of this life and enter we must though we should be constrained
to leaue our flesh behinde vs. For the purchase that is made is worth tenne thousand worlds And besides if we loose it by fainting in the way our purchase shalbe the blacknes of darknes for euer with the deuill and all his angels who therfore would not striue though he lost his life in the gate The vrging of this point is needefull in these daies There is striuing ynough for worldly preferment but a man almost may goe alone in the straight way that leadeth to heauen he shall haue none to beare him companie And where are they that striue to enter in where is the violence offered to the kingdome of heauen where be the violent which should take it to themselues as in the daies of Iohn Baptist. Fourthly if Christ haue prepared a place for vs in heauen then we are in this world as pilgrimes and straungers and therefore must learne the counsell of Saint Peter As straÌ„gers pilgrimes abstain froÌ„ fleshly lusts which fight against the soule He that doth esteem him self as a pilgrime is not to intangle himselfe with the affaires of this world nor put in practise the behauiour thereof but to behaue himselfe as a freeman of heauen as straungers vse to liue in forraine countries according to the fashion of their owne And therefore in thought word and deede in life conuersatioÌ„ he must so carrie himselfe as thereby he may appeare to all the world of what cuntry he is An ancient divine speaking of such as had curled and embrodered haire biddeth them consider whether they must goe to heauen with such haire or no and wheras they adorned themselues with winkles made of other womens haire he asks them whether it may not be the haire of a damned person or no. If it may be he further demaundeth how it may beseeme them to weare it which professe themselues to be the sonnes and daughters of God The like may be saide of all other sinnes they that be of gods house must behaue themselues as free men there And when god hath made us free it doth not beseeme us to make our selues bondmen of sin satan and of this world Fiftly seeing Christ went to heauen to prepare a place for all that beleeue in him here is a good duetie for parentes Many of them are verie carefull to preferre their children to great places and noble mens houses and they are not to be blamed therefore but if they would indeede be good parents to their children they should first endeauour them-selues to get roomes for them in heauen they that doe this are good parents indeede Some will say how shall wee get this preferrement for them Ansvver God hath two houses his Church and the kingdome of heauen The Church is his house of grace heauen is his house of glorie Now if thou wouldst haue thy child to haue a place in the house of glorie then thou art first of all to get him a place in the house of grace bringing him up so in the feare of God that both in life and conuersation he may shewe himselfe to be a member of the Church and then assure thy selfe that after this life he shall be remooued to the second house of God which is the house of glorie and there be free-man for euer in the kingdome of heauen Add if thou shalt thus prouide for thy childe thou shalt not leaue him as an orphan but he shall haue God for his father Christ for his brother and the holy ghost his comforter And therefore first of all and aboue all remember to make thy childe a member of Gods Church Let the example of Dauid excite all parents hereunto I had rather saieth hee be a dore keeper in the house of God then to dwell in the tabernacles of wickednesse For a day in thy courtes is better then a thousand else where Lastly hence we may finde remedie against the tediousnesse of sickenesse and the feare of death Thou which fearest death remember that Christ is gone to heauen to prepare a place for thy bodie where it must be glorified and liue for euer with the blessed trinitie and all the saintes and angels though for a while it lie dead and rotte in the graue Remember this also thou which continuest in any lingring sicknes Christ Iesus hath prepared a place for thee wherin thou shalt rest in ioy blisse without all paine or faintnes The fourth benefiâ—e is that Christ ascended vp to heaueÌ„ to send the comforter vnto his Church This was a speciall end of his ascension as appeares by Christs own words It is saith he expedient that I go away for if I goe not the comforter will not come but if I depart I will send him unto you And againe I will pray unto the father hee shall give you another comforter which shall abide with you for euer even the spirite of truth But some will say how can Christ send his spirit unto his Church for the person sending the person sent are unequall whereas all three persons in trinitie are equall none greater or lesser then another none inferiour or superiour to other Ans. It is true indeed but we must know that the action of sending in the trinitie makes not the persons unequall but only shewes distinction and order among equals The father sendes the sonne the father and the sonne both send the holy ghost yet the father is not aboue the sonne neither the father or the sonne aboue the holy ghost but all are equall in degree though in regarde of order one is before another and it standeth with reason For two men that are equall in degree may upon mutuall consent one send another But it may be further demanded how the holy ghost can be sent which is euery where Ans. The holy ghost indeed is euery where therfore he is sent not so much in regard of the presence of his essence or substance as of his operation whereby he renueth guideth the members of Christ. Now here first we haue occasion to consider the miserie of the world When a man is troubled in his minde as no ungodly man but sometime he feeleth the terrour of conscience for his sinnes then he labours to remoue it by mery company pleasant bookes whereas Christ at his ascension sent his holy spirite to be the comforter of his Church therefore when we are troubled in conscience for our sins we should not seek ease by such slender means but rather seeke for the helpe comfort of the holy ghost and labour to haue our sinnes washed away and our hartes purified and clensed by the blâ—od of Christ. As for wine and mirth such like meanes of comfort neither at the day of death nor at the day of iudgement shall they stande us in stead or be able to comfort us Again when crosses calamities fall the counsell of the minister is not sought for but the help of such as are called
God were but as an handfull of wheat in a mountaine of chaffe which can scarce be discerned This signe is in part alreadie past neuerthelesse it shall continue to the ende because men shall continually depart from the faith And the nearer the ende of the world is the more satan rageth and seekes to bring men into his kingdome Therefore it standeth vs in hand to labour for the knowledge of true religion and hauing learned it most heartily to loue the same The fourth signe is a generall corruption in maners This point the Apostle sets downe at large saying Toward the latter daies shall come perilous times wherein men shalbe louers of themselues couetous boasters proud cursed speakers disobedieÌ„t to parents vnthankefull vnholy and without naturall affection truce-breakers false accusers intemperate fierce despisers of them which are good traytours headie high minded louers of pleasures more then louers of God c. This generall corruption in the manners of men is noted by our Sauiour Christ when he saith When he commeth he shall scarce finde faith vpon the earth This signe hath bin in former ages and is no doubt at this day in the world For it is hard to finde a man that walketh iustly soberly and faithfully doing the duties of his calling to God and man The fifth signe of Christs comming stands in terrible grieuous calamities For Christs disciples asking him a signe of his coÌ„ming of the end of the world he saith There shal be warres rumours of warres nation shall rise against nation realme against realme and there shalbe pâ—stilence and famine earthquakes in diuers places meÌ„ shalbe at their wits ends These haue bin in former ages In the first 3. hundred yeres after Christ were ten most fearefull persecutions and since in Europe the Church of God hath bin woÌ„derfully persecuted by the Antichrist of Rome in the huÌ„dred yeres last past The sixth signe is an exceeding deadnes of heart so as neither iudgements from heauen nor the preaching of the word shall mooue the hearts of men So Christ saith It shal be in the coÌ„ming of the sonne of maÌ„ as it was in the daies of Noe in the daies of SodoÌ„ they knew nothing til the flood came fire froÌ„ heaueÌ„ destroied theÌ„ all This signe undoubtedly is manifest in these our daies howsoeuer it hath bin also in former times For where are any almost that are moued with Gods iudgements or touched at the preaching of the word nay rather men hardeÌ„ their hearts become secure and careles The small fruit that the word of God bringeth foorth in the liues of men shews this to be most true The seuenth last signe set down by the Apostle Paul is that there shall be a calling of the Iewes before the Lord come to iudgemeÌ„t but of the time wheÌ„ this calling shal be of the maner how or the number of them that shalbe called there is no mention made in the word of God Now it is likely that this signe is yet to come These are the signes that go before the coÌ„ming of Christ all which are almost past and therefore the end can not be farre off Now follows the signe that is ioyned with the coÌ„ming of Christ called the signe of the sonne of man What this signe is we find not in the Scriptures Some thinke it to be the signe of the crosse but that is friuolous some the glorie maiestie of Christ which shal be made manifest in his appearance which seemes to be otherwise by the very words of Christ. Then saith he shall appeare the signe of the sonne of man c. and then they shall see him come in the cloudes of heauen vvith povver and great glorie distinguishing the one from the other But I rather coniecture it to be the burning of heauen and earth with fire at the very instant of Christs comming mentioned by Peter VVe must not here dispute whence this fire shal come or how it shall be kindled for that the word of God hath concealed and where God hath not a mouth to speake there we must not haue an eare to heare The vses to be made hereof are these VVhen S. Peter had set downe the change that shall be at the comming of Christ and that heauen and earth must be purged with fire he makes this vse thereof Seeing all things must be dissolued what manner of men ought we to be in holy conuersation godlines and the reason is good For if heauen earth must be changed and purged at Christs comming then much more ought we to be changed to put off the old man of sinne to become new creatures created after the image of God in righteousnes and true holines If the bruit creatures must be renewed by fire then much more are we to labour that the fire of Gods spirite may burne vp sinne corruption in vs so change vs that we may be ready for him against his coÌ„ming els heaueÌ„ earth it selfe shal stand vp in iudgemeÌ„t against vs to our condemnation Secondly the consideration of this that the world shall be consumed with fire teacheth vs moderation and sobrietie in the vse of Gods creatures as in costly buildings gorgeous attire and such like VVhat madnes is this to bestow all that we haue on such things as at the day of iudgement shall be consumed with fire For looke whatsoeuer abuse shall come to Gods creatures by our follie the same shal then be abolished Thirdly we must consider that the cause why heauen earth must be consumed with fire is mans sinne by means wherof they are made subiect to vanitie corruption Here theÌ„ we haue iust occasion to acknowledge the greatnes wretchednes of our sinnes If any of vs had but seene the Iewes leprosie it would haue made vs to woÌ„der for the contagion thereof did infect not only the whole maÌ„ but his garmeÌ„ts also that were about him somtime the walls of his house but howsoeuer we caÌ„not now see that leprosie amoÌ„g vs yet we may see a worse For the leprosie of our sins doth not onely infect our garmeÌ„ts the things about us with our bodies but euen the high heaueÌ„s the earth are slained with the contagion thereof and are made subiect to vanitie and corruption yea by sinne in us the most glorious creatures in them as the Sunne Moone and Starres are become subiect to vanitie Oh then how wretched is the heart of man that makes no bones of sinne which is the most noisome thing in all the worlde the stinke whereof hath infected both heauen and earth If we could consider this we would not be so slacke in humbling our selues for the same as wee are Wee can not abide to looke on a poore lazar full of blanes and sores but if wee could see our sinnes in their right colours they would make us seem unto our selues ten thousaÌ„d times more
point should moue us all to repent us of our sins past to reforme our selues throughout to be plentifull in all good works And undoubtedly if wee seriously thinke upon it it will holde us more straitly to all good duties then if with the Papistes we held iustification by workes Furthermore in this triall tvvo things must be skanned I. how all mens workes shall be made manifest II. by what meanes they shall be examined Of the manifestation of euery mans vvork S. Iohn speaketh And I saw saith he the deade both great and small stande before God and the bookes were opened and another booke was opened which is the booke of life and the dead were iudged of these things which vvere written in the bookes according to their workes God is saide to haue books not properly but because al things are as certen and manifest to him as if he had his Registers in heauen to keepe rolles and recordes of them His bookes are three the book of Prouidence the book of Iudgement the book of Life The book of his providence is the knowledge of all particular things past present to come Of this the Psalmist speaketh Thine eyes did see me when I vvas vvithout forme for in thy booke vvere all things vvritten vvhich in continuance vvere fashioned vvhen there was none of them before The booke of iudgement is that whereby he giues iudgement and it is two-folde The first is Gods knowledge or prescience in which all the affaires of men their thoughts wordes and deedes are as certenly knowen and set downe as if they were put in bookes of record Wee may forget our sinnes but God keepes them in a register he knovves them euery one The seconde booke is euery mans particular conscience which also brings to remembrence and testifies what men haue done and what they haue not done The booke of life is nothing els but the decree of Gods election in which God hath set downe who be ordained to life eternall Now the opening of these bookes is a thing wherin the endlesse power of God shall most notably shewe it selfe For when we shall stand before the iudgement seate of Christ he then knowing all things in his eternall counsell shall reueale unto euery man his owne particular sinnes whether they were in thought worde or deede and then also by his mightie power hee shall so touch mens consciences that they shall a fresh remember what they haue done Now indeede the wicked mans conscience is shut up as a closed booke but then it shall be so touched and as it were opened that he shall plainly see and remember all the particular offences which at any time he hath committed his very coÌ„science shall be as good as a thousand witnesses whereupon hee shall accuse and utterly condemne himselfe The consideration of this ought to terrifie all those that liue in their sinnes For howsoeuer they may hide them from the worlde yet at the last day God will be sure to reveale them all Now after that mens workes are made manifest they must further be tried whether they be good or euill And that shall be done on this maner They that neuer heard of Christ must be tried by the law of nature which serues to make them inexcusable before God As for those that liue in the Church they shall be tried by the Law and the Gospell as Paul saith As many as have lived in the law shall be iudged by the law And againe At the day of iudgement God shall iudge the secrets of our hearts according to his gospell And By faith Noah builded an arke whereby he condemned the olde world If this be true then we must in the feare of God heare his word preached taught with all reuerence make coÌ„science to profit by it For otherwise in the day of iudgement when all our workes shalbe tried by it the same word of God shall be a bill of indiâ—ement and the fearefull sentence of condemnation against us Therefore let us be humbled by the doctrine of the lawe and willingly embrace the sweete promises of the gospell considering it is the onely touchstone whereby all our wordes thoughts workes must be examined The sixt pointe in the proceeding of the last iudgement is the giuing of sentence which is twofolde the sentence of absolution and the sentence of condemnation both which are to be obserued diligently that we may receiue profit therby And first of al Christ shal begin his iudgemeÌ„t with the seÌ„teÌ„ce of absolutioÌ„ which shews that he is ready to shew mercy slow to wrath In this sentence wee are to consider foure pointes I. a calling of the elect to the kingdome of heauen II. the reason thereof III. a reply of the elect IV. the answere of Christ to them againe The calling of the elect is set downe in these wordes Come yee blessed of my father inherit the kingdome prepared for you from the beginning of the world And the wordes are to be obserued one by one Come ye blessed Though Christ now sit in glorie and maiestie in iudgement yet hee ceaseth not to shew his tender affection of loue unto his chosen And this ouerthroweth the opinion of the Church of Rome which would haue us rather to come vnto Christ by the intercession of saints then by our selues immediatly because he is now exalted in glorie and maiestie But mark when he was heare on earth hee saide Come vnto me all yee that are heavy laden and I vvill ease you And when hee shall be most glorious in maiestie and power at the day of iudgement hee will then also say Come ye blessed of my father and therfore we may resolue our selues that it is his will now that we should come unto him without any intercessioÌ„ of saints Yee blessed of my father The elect are here called the blessed of God because their righteousnes saluation and all that they haue springs of the meere blessing of God Nothing therefore must be ascribed to the workes of man Inherit that is receiue as your inheritance therefore the kingdome of heauen is Gods meere gifte A father giueth no inheritance unto his sonne of merite but of his free gifte whereupon it followes that no man can merit the kingdome of heauen by his workes The kingdome that is the eternall estate of glorie and happinesse in heauen therfore in this life we must so use this worlde as though we used it not all that we haue here is but vaine and transitorie and all our studie and endeauour must be to come to the kingdome of heauen Prepared Here note the unspeakeable care of God for the faithfull Had he such care to prouide a kingdome for his children before they were then wee may assure our selues he will haue greater care ouer them now when they haue a being For you that is for the elect and faithfull Hence it appeares that there is no uniuersall election whereby God decrees
shall heare the sentence pronounced Away fâ—om me ye cursed shall be seuered as farre from Christ as hell from heauen Therefore let us not content our selues with formall profession but open the dores of our heartes that the king of glory may come in Yee cursed They are cursed who are borne in sinne and liue in their sinnes and all the daies of their liues so perseuere to the last gaspe without seeking recouerie Whosoeuer he be that is in this estate the curse of God hangeth ouer his head and will so do till hee get reconciliation with God in Christ. This being so aboue all things in this world we must labor to be at peace with God and neuer cease nor be quiet with our selues till we haue the same wrought and sealed in our hearts For before such time as we be in Gods fauour his fearfull curse hangs ouer our heads if we so perseuere without repentance the day will come when we shall heare this fearefull sentence pronounced against us Away from me ye cursed into hell fire What hell fire is we must not curiously search but rather giue our whole endeauour to learne how we may auoid it as when a mans house is on fire his care must be not to search how it came but rather how to quench it yet we are to know thus much that by hell fire is not meant any bodily flame but it signifies the seazing of the fearful terrible wrath of God both on body and soule for euer For howsoeuer the body be subiect to burning with fire yet the soule being spiritual can not burn therfore hell fire is not a materiall fire but a grieuous tormeÌ„t fit resembled therby Prepared for the divell and his angels There is in euery maÌ„s heart by nature this corruption whereby when he sinneth he thinkes that there is no daunger but all is well having as Esai saieth made a covenat with hell But here consider that although the deuill was once an angell of light yet when he had sinned he could not escape hell it was prepared euen for him Now then shall ungodly men which are not halfe so wily thinke to escape Nowe followeth the reason of their reiection in these wordes For I was an hungred and ye gave me no meate c. Hence we learne these two points I. that all mans religioÌ„ seruing of God is in vaine if so be we shew no coÌ„passion towarde the poore members of Christ in feeding clothing lodging visiting of them For we must thinke that many of those against whom this reason shalbe brought did know religioÌ„ professe the same yea they prophesied in the name of Christ called on him saying Lord Lord yet the sentence of condemnation goeth against them because they shewed no coÌ„passion toward the meÌ„bers of Christ therfore it is a principall vertue a speciall note of a christian to shew the bowels of coÌ„passion towardes his needy breethren Here againe we note that it is not sufficient for us to abstaine froÌ„ euil but we must also do good For it is not said I was an hungred and ye tooke meate from me but When I was huÌ„gry ye gave me no meat They are not charged with doing euill but for not doing good S. Iohn saith The axe is laid to the root of the tree the reason followes not because the tree bare euil fruite but because it bare not good fruit therfore it must be cast into the fire This condemnes a bad opinion of all worldly men who thinke that all is well that God will be mercifull unto them because they do no man harme Thus we see how the deuill blindes the eyes of men for it will not stand for paiment at the day of iudgement to say I haue hurt no man unlesse we further doe all the good we can The third point is the defence which impenitent sinners make for themselues in these wordes Lorde when saw we thee an hungred or thirstie or naked or in prison or sicke and did not minister unto thee Thus in their owne defence that which Christ saith they gainsay iustifie themselues Here mark the nature of all impenitent sinners which is to sooth flatter theÌ„selues in sinne to maintaine their own righteousnes like to the proude Pharisie in his praier who bragged of his goodnes said Lord I thanke thee that I am not as other men are extortioners c. and in the very same manner ignorant persons of all sortes among us iustifie themselues in their strong faith and bragge of their zeale of gods glory and of their loue to their brethren and yet indeede shew no signes thereof And truly wee are not to maruell when we se such persons to iustifie themselues before men whereas they shall not be ashamed to doe it at the day of iudgement before the Lord Iesus himselfe The last point is Christes answere to them againe in these wordes Verily I say vnto you in as much as yee did it not to one of the least of these yee did it not to me This sentence beeing repeated againe doeth teach us the lesson which wee learned before that when wee are to shewe compassion to any man especially if hee be a member of Gods Church we must not coÌ„sider his outward estate or his basenesse in that he vvantes foode or raiment but beholde Christ in him not respecting him as a man but as a member of Christ. This it is that must mooue us to compassion and cause us to make a supply of his wants more theÌ„ any respect in the worlde besides And surely when Christ in his members comes to our doâ—es and complaines that he is hungry and sicke and naked if our bowels came not towardes him there is not so much as a dramine of the loue of God in vs. The seventh point in the proceeding of the last iudgement is the retribution or reward in these words and they shall goe into everlasting paine and the righteous into life eternall How doe the wicked enter into hell and the godly into heaven Answ. By the powerfull commaunding voice of Christ which is of that force that neither the greatest rebell that euer was among men nor all the diuels in hell shal be able to withstand it And seeing that after the day of iudgement we must remaine for euer either in heauen or in hell we are to looke about us and to take heede unto our hearts Indeed if the time vvere but a thousand or two thousand yeres then with more reason men might take libertie to themselues but seeing it is without end we must be most carefull through the whole course of our lives so to liue behaue our selues that when the day of iudgement shall come we may auoid that fearful senteÌ„ce of euerlasting woe condeÌ„nation which shalbe pronounced against the wicked And wheras all wicked men shall go to hell at Christs commandement it teacheth us willingly
long suffering as God is with us The second propertie of long suffering is to keepe the affection of anger in moderation and compasse It is not alwaies a sinne to be angry and therefore it is said of Christ in whome was no blemish of sinne that he was angry yet wee must looke that our anger be moderate and not over-long as Paul saith Let not the sonne goe dovvne vpon your wrath The fift fruite of the spirite is gentlenesse whereby a man behaueth and sheweth himselfe friendly and courteous to euerie man as Paul saith to Titus Put them in remembraÌ„ce that they speake evill of no man that they be no fighters but soft shevving all meekenesse unto all men vvhether they be good or badde This gentlenesse standeth in these pointes First to speake to euerie man friendly and louingly II. to salute friendly and courteously III. to be readie upon euery occasion to giue reuerence and honour to euery man in his place It is made a question of some whether a man is to salute speak unto them that are knowen to be lewd wicked men but here we see what our dutie is in that we are taught to be curteous to all men both good and badde yet so as wee approoue not of their sinnes as for that which S. Iohn saith of false Prophets Receive them not neither bid them God speed it is to be understood of giuing an outward approbation to false teachers The sixt fruit is goodnesse which is when a man is ready to doe good and become seruiceable in his calling to all men at all times upon all occasions This was to be seene in that holy man Iob he saith that hee was eyes to the blind and feete to the lame a father unto the poore and when he knâ—w not the cause he sought it out And S. Paul shewed this fruite most notably after his conuersion for he saith that hee vvas made all things to all men that he might save some Hee was content to undergoe any thing for the good of any man And as we haue heard the godly are trees of righteousnes bearing fruit not for themselues but for others and therfore Paul in the Epistle to the Galatians giueth this rule Do service one to another in love In these daies it is harde to finde these duties perfourmed in any place For both practise and proverbe is commonly this Every man for himselfe and God for us all but it is a gracelesse saying and the contrary must be practised of all that desire to be guided by the spirit The seuenth fruite is faith Faith or fidelitie standeth in these two duties One to make conscience of a lie and to speake everie thing whereof we speake as we thinke it is and not to speake one thing and thinke another A rare thing it is to find this vertue in the world now a daies who is he that maketh conscience of a lie and is not truth banished out of our coastes considering that for gaines and outward commodities men make no bones of glosing and dissembling but alas the practise is damnable the contrarie is the fruite of the Holy Ghost namely to speake the truth from the heart and he that can doe this by the â—estimonie of God himselfe shall rest in the mountaine of his holinesse euen in the kingdome of heauen The second point wherin fidelitie consisteth is when a man hath made a promise that is lawfull and good to keepe and performe the same Some thinke it is a small matter to breake promise but indeed it is a fruite of the flesh and contraâ—â—wise a fruite of the spirite to perfourme a lawfull promise and a mans word should be as sure as an obligation and in conscience a man is bounde to keepe promise so farre foorth as hee vvill to whom the promise is made Indeed if a man be released of his promise he is then free othervvise if wee promise and doe not perfourme we doe not onely cracke our credit before men but also sinne before God The eighth fruite of the spirit is meekenesse which is a notable grace of God when a man prouoked by iniuries doth neither intend nor enterprise the requitall of the same And it standes in three duties The first is to interprete the sayings and doings of other men in better part as much as possibly may be The second when men mistake and misconstrue our sayings and doings if the matter be of smaller moment to be silent and patient as Christ was when hee was accused before the high priestes and Pharisies this being withall remembred that if the matter be of weight and moment vve may defend our selues by soft and milde answeres The thirde is not to contend in word or deede vvith any man but vvhen vvee are to deale vvith others to speake our mind and so an end The last fruite of the spirit is temperance whereby a man bridleth his appetite or lust in meate drinke and apparell In bridling the lust these rules must be observed I. Eating and drinking must be ioyned vvith continuall fasting after this manner Wee must not glutt our selues but rather abstaine from that vvhich nature desireth and as some use to speake leaue our stomackes craving II. A man must so eate and drinke as aftervvarde he may the better be inabled for Gods worship Creatures are abused vvhen they make us unfitte to serue God The commoÌ„ fault is on the sabbath day men so pamper themselues as that they are made unfitte both to heare and learne Gods vvorde and fitte for nothing but to slumber and sleepe but following this rule of temperance these faultes shall be amended III. This must be a caueat in our apparell that we be attired according to our callings in holy comelinesse The Lorde hath threatned to visite all those that are cloathed in straunge apparell And holy comelinesse is this when the apparell is both for fashion and matter so made and worne that it may expresse and shew forth the graces of God in the heart as sobrietie temperaunce grauitie c. and the beholder may take occasion by the apparell to acknowledge and commend these vertues But lamentable is the time looke on men and women in these daies and you may see and reade their sinnes written in great letters on their apparell as intemperance pride and wantonnesse Euerie day new fashions please the world but indeede that holy comelinesse which the Holy Ghost doeth commend to us is the right fashion when all is done And these are the nine fruites of the spirit which wee must put in practise in our liues and conuersations Fourthly if we beleeue in the holy ghost and thereupon doe persuade our selues that hee will dwell in us wee must daily labour as wee are commaunded to keepe our vessâ—ls in holinesse and honour unto the Lorde and the reason is good If a man be to entertaine but an earthly prince or some man of state he would be
but if God leaue vs to our selues we shal not onely betray him but by our sinnes euen crucifie him a thousand waies Furthermore let vs bethinke our selues of this whether there be not alreadie condemned in hel who in their liues were not more grieuous offendours then we Esay calleth the people of his time a people of Sodom Gomorrha giuing the Iewes then liuing to vnderstād that they were as bad as the Sodomites as the people of Gomorrha on whome the Lord had shewed his iudgements long before If this be true then let vs with feare and trembling be thākful to his maiestie that he hath preserued vs hitherto frō deserued dānation The vses which respects our liues and conuersations are manifold First seeing God hath elected some to saluation and hath also laid downe the meanes in his holy worde whereby we may come to the knowledge of our particular election we must therefore as Saint Paul counselleth vs giue all diligence to make our election sure In the world men are carefull and painefull ynough to make assurance of lands and goods to themselues and their posteritie what a shame is it then for vs that we should be slacke in making sure to our selues the election of God which is more worth then all the world beside and if we shall continue to be slacke herein the leases of our lands and houses and all other temporall assurances shall be billes of accusation against vs at the day of iudgement to condemne vs. Secondly by this doctrine we are taught to liue godly and righteously in this present world because all those whome God hath chosen to saluation he hath also appointed to liue in newnes of life as Saint Paul saith God hath chosen vs in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him And againe We are created in Christ Iesus vnto good workes which God hath ordained that we should walke in them And God hath chosen you to saluation through sanctification of the spirite and faith of the truth The Elect are vessells of honour and therefore all those that will be of the number of the Elect must carrie themselues as vessells of honour For so long as they lie in their sinnes they be like vessells of dishonour imploying themselues to the most base seruice that can be euen to the seruice of the deuill The sunne was ordained to shine in the day and the moone in the night and that order they keepe yea euery creature in his kind obserueth the course appointed vnto it by creation as the grasse to grow and trees to bring forth fruit now the elect were ordained to this ende to lead a godly life and therefore if we would either perswade our selues or the world that we are indeede chosen to saluation we must be plentifull in all good works make conscience of euery euill way and to doe otherwise is as much as to chaunge the order of nature and as if the sunne should cease to shine by day and the moone by night Thirdly when God shall send vpon any of vs in this world crosses and afflictions either in bodie or in minde or any way else as this life is the vaile of miserie and teares and iudgement must begin at Gods house we must learne to beare them with all submission and contentation of mind For whome God knew before them he hath predestinate to be made like vnto his sonne But wherein is this likenes Paul saith in the fellowship of his afflictions and in a conformitie to his death And the consideration of this that afflictions were ordained for vs in the eternal predestination of God must comfort our hearts and restraine our impatience so oft as we shall goe vnder the burden of them Hence againe we learne that they which perswade themselues that they are in the fauour of God because they liue at ease in wealth and prosperitie are farre deceiued For Saint Paul saith God suffereth with long patience the vessells of wrath prepared to destruction to make knowne his power and to shew forth his wrath on them Which beeing so then no man by outward blessings ought to plead that he hath the loue of God Sheepe that goe in fat pastures come sooner to the slaughterhouse then those which are kept vpon the bare 〈◊〉 and they which are pampered with the wealth of this worlde sooner forsake God and therefore are sooner forsaken of God then others Salomon saith No man knoweth loue or hatred that is by outward things for all things come alike to all the same condition is to the iust and to the vniust to the wicked and good to the pure and polluted Lastly it may be an offence vnto vs when we consider that the doctrine of the Gospel is either not knowne or else despised and persecuted of the whole world but we must stay our selues with this consideration that nothing comes to passe by chance that God knowes who are his and that there must be some in the world on whome God hath in his eternall counsell purposed to manifest his power and iustice Againe Ministers of the Gospell may be discouraged when after long preaching they see little or no fruit of their labours the people whome they teach remaining as blinde impenitent and vnreformed as euer they were But they must also consider that it is the purpose of God to chose some to saluation and to refuse others and that of the first some are called sooner some later and that the second being left to themselues neuer come to repentance To this Paul had regard when he saide If our Gospell be hid it is hid to them that perish And againe We are vnto God the sweete sauour of Christ in them that are saued and in them that perish Hitherto I haue deliuered the truth of this weightie point of religion which also is the doctrine of the Church of England now it followeth that wee should consider the falshoode Sundrie Divines haue deuised and in their writings published a new frame or platforme of the doctrine of Predestination the effect and substance whereof is this The nature of God say they is infinite loue goodnes and mercie it selfe and therefore he propoundes vnto himselfe an ende answearable thereunto and that is the communication of his loue and goodnes vnto all his creatures Now for the accomplishing of this supreame absolute ende he did foure things First he decreed to create man righteous in his own image secondly he foresaw the fall of man after his creatiō yet so as he neither willed nor decreed it thirdly he decreed the vniuersall Redemption of all euery man effectually by Christ so be it they wil beleeue in him fourthly he decreed to call all euery man effectually so as if they will they may be saued This being done he in his eternall counsell foreseeing who would beleeue in Christ did thereupon Elect them
6.51 I will giue my flesh for the life of the world Answer By world we must no◠vnderstand euery particular man in the world but the Elect both among the Iewes and Gentiles for in both these places Christ doth ouerthwart the cōceit of the Iewes which thought that they alone were loued of God and not the Gentiles And how this word is to be vnderstoode in the newe Testament Paul doth fully declare Rom. 11. vers 12. If saith he the fall of them that is the Iewes be the riches of the world and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles c. and vers 15. If the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world what shall the receiuing be but life from the dead Where by the world he vnderstāds the bodie of the Gentiles in the last age of the world And thus he fully declares his owne meaning when he saith to the Corinthians God was in Christ reconciling the world vnto himselfe V. Rom. 14. vers 15. Destroy not him with thy meate for whome Christ died 2. Pet. 2.1 Denying the Lord that bought them and bring vpon themselues swift damnation Therefore Christ died for them also which are condemned Answ. The reason is not good For in these and such like places the Scripture speakes of men not as they are indeede before God but as they are in appearance and profession and as they are in the acceptance of men For so long as a man holds and imbraces the Christian faith so long in the iudgement of charitie we must esteeme him to be one that is redeemed by Christ though in deede he be not And this is the meaning of Peter when he saith that false prophets denie the Lord that bought them VI. In the preaching of the Gospell grace is freely offered not onely to the Elect but to all men indifferently and God in offering grace deludes no man and therefore Christs death appertaines and belongs to all men indifferently Answer The preaching of the Gospell is an ordinance of God appointed for the gathering togither and the accomplishment of the number of the elect and therefore in the ministerie of the worde grace and saluation is offered principally and directly to the elect and onely by consequent to them which are ordained to iust damnation because they are mingled with the elect in the same societies because the ministers of God not knowing his secret counsell in charitie thinke all to be elect And though God in offering grace doe not conferre it to all yet is there no delusion For the offering of grace doth not only serue for the conuersion of a sinner but also to be an occasion by mens fault of blinding the minde and hardening the hearte and of taking away excuse in the day of iudgement To conclude this pointe Vniuersall redemption of all men we graunt the Scripture saith so and there is an universalitie among the elect and beleeuers but uniuersall Redemption of all and euerie man as well the damned as the elect and that effectually we renounce as hauing neither footing in the scripture nor in the writings of any ancient and orthodoxe diuine for many hundred yeeres after Christ his words not depraued and mistaken As for universall vocation it is of the same kind with the former because it is flat against the word of God in which is fully set downe a distinction of the whole world from the creation to the daies of Christ into two partes one the people of God being receiued into the couenant the other being the greatest part of the world No-people and forth of the couenant From the beginning of the worlde to the giuing of the lawe the Church was shut up in the families of the Patriarches and the couenant in the verie family of Abraham was restrained to Isaak and the members of these families for this cause were called the sonnes of God the rest of the world beside being tearmed as they were indeede the sonnes of men From the giuing of the lawe till Christ the nation of the Iewes was the Church of God and the rest of the world beside no people of God And therefore Esai calles them prisoners and them that are in darkenesse and Ose Such as are without mercie and no people and Zacharie Such as are not ioyned to the Lord and Paul Such as are set to walke in their owne waies beeing without God and without Christ in the world And this distinction betweene Iewe and Gentile stoode till the verie ascension of Christ. And hereupon when he was to send his disciples to preach hee charged them not to goe into the way of the Gentiles not to enter into the cities of the Samaritanes but rather to goe to the lost sheepe of the house of Israel when the woman of Canaan made request for her daughter he gives a deniall at the first vpon this distinction saying It is not meete to take the childrens bread and giue it unto dogges and againe I am not sent but unto the lost sheepe of the house of Israel It will be said that this distinction arose of this that the Gentiles at the first fell away from the couenant and contemned the Messias It is true indeede of the first heads of the Gentiles the sonnes of Noe but of their posterity it is false which in times folowing did not so much as heare of the couenant and the Messias The Prophet Esai saith of Christ A nation that knew not thee shall runne unto thee And Paul speaking to the Athenians saieth that the times of this their ignorance God regarded not but now admonisheth all men euery where to repent to the Romans he saith that the mysterie touching Christ and his benefits was kept secret since the world began now opened published among all natiōs And if the Gentiles had but knowē of the Messias why did not their Poets and Philosophers who in their writings notoriously abuse the Iewes with sundry nicknames at the least signifie the contempt of the Redeemer Wherefore to hold and much more to auouch by writing that all and euery one of the heathen were called it is most absurd and if it were so the Canibals and the sauadge nations of America should haue knowen Christ without preaching which by the histories of the discouerie of those cuntries is knowen to be false Againe if the Vocation of euery man be effectuall then faith must be common to all men either by nature or by grace or both now to say the first namely that the power of beleeuing is common to all by nature is the heresie of the Pelagians to say it is common to all by grace is false All men have not faith saith Paul nay many to whom the gospell is preached doe not so much as understand it and giue assent unto it Satan blinding their minds that the light of the glorious gospell of Christ should not
the Passeouer he made a supplie by Manna and by the pillar of a cloude Hence we haue direction to answeare the Papists who demaunde of vs where our Church was threescore yeares agoe before the daies of Luther we say that then for the space of many hundred yeares an vniuersall Apostasie ouerspread the face of the whole earth and that our Church then was not visible to the worlde but lay hidde vnder the chaffe of Poperie And the truth of this the Records of all ages manifest The second estate of the Church is when it flourisheth and is visible nor that the faith and secret Election of men can be seene for no man can discerne these thinges but by outward signes but because it is apparant in respect of the outwarde assemblies gathered to the preaching of the worde and the administration of the Sacraments for the praise and glorie of God and their mutuall edification And the visible Church may be thus described It is a mixt companie of men professing the faith assembled together by the preaching of the word First of all I call it a mixt companie because in it there be true beleeuers and hypocrites Elect and Reprobate good and badde The Church is the Lords field in which the enemie soweth his tares it is the corne flore in which lieth wheat and chaffe it is a bād of men in which beside those that be of valour courage there be white liuered souldiours And it is called a Church of the better part namely the Elect whereof it consisteth though they be in number fewe As for the vngodly though they be in the Church yet they are no more parts of it indeed thē the superfluous humours in the vains are parts of the body But to proceed how are the members of the visible Church qualified and discerned the answear followeth in the definition professing the faith whereby I meane the profession of that religion which hath beene taught from the beginning and is now recorded in the writings of the Prophets and Apostles And this profession is a signe and marke whereby a man is declared and made manifest to be a member of the Church Againe because the profession of the faith is otherwhiles true and syncere and otherwhiles onely in shew therefore there be also two sorts of members of the visible Church members before God and members before men A member of the Church before God is he that beside the outward profession of the faith hath inwardly a pure heart good conscience and faith vnfained whereby he is indeede a true member of the Church Members before men whome we may call reputed members are such as haue nothing els but the outward profession wanting the good conscience and the faith vnfained The reason why they are to be esteemed members of vs is because we are bound by the rule of charitie to thinke of men as they appeare vnto vs leauing secret iudgements vnto God I added in the last place that the Church is gathered by the word preached to shew that the cause whereby it is begunne and continued is the word which for that cause is called the immortall seede whereby we are borne anew and milke whereby we are fedde and cherished to life euerlasting And hence it followeth necessarily that the preaching of the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles ioyned with any measure of faith and obedience is an vnfallible marke of a true Church Indeede it is true there be three things required to the good estate of a Church the preaching of the Gospell the administration of the Sacraments and due exequution of Discipline according to the word yet if the two latter be wanting if there be preaching of the worde with obedience in the people there is for substance a true Church of God For it is the banner of Christ displaied vnder which all that warre against the flesh the deuill the worlde must range themselues As the Lord saith by the Prophet Isai I will lift vp my hand to the Gentiles and set vp my standard vnto the people and they shall bring their sonnes in their armes and their daughters shall be carried vpon their shoulders Hence it followeth that men which want the preaching of the Gospell must either procure the same vnto themselues or if that cannot be because they liue in the middest of idolatrous nations as in Spaine and Italie it is requisite that they should ioyne themselues to those places where with libertie of conscience they may inioy this happie blessing Men are not to haue their hearts glued to the honours and riches of this worlde but they should be of Dauids minde and rather desire to be dorekeepers in the house of God then to dwell in the tents of vngodlinesse In the Canticles the spouse of Christ saith Shew mercie O thou whome my soule loueth where thou feedest where thou liest at noone for why should I be as shee that turneth aside to the flockes of thy companions To whome he answeareth thus If thou knowe not O thou the fairest among women get thee forth by the steppes of the flocke and feede thy kiddes by the tents of the shepheards that is in those places where the doctrine of righteousnes and life euerlasting by the Messias is published When the Shunamites child was dead shee told her husband that she would goe to the man of God to whom he answeared thus Why wilt thou goe to him to day it is neither nevve moone nor sabbath day whereby is signified that when teaching was skarse in Israel the people did resort to the Prophets for instruction and consolation And Dauid saith that the people wheresoeuer their aboad was went from strength to strength till they appeared before God in Sion And oftentimes they beeing Proselytes there aboad must needs be out of the precincts of Iewrie Thus we see what the visible Church is nowe further concerning it three questions are to be skāned The first is how we may discerne whether particular men and particular Churches holding errours be sound members of the Catholicke Church or no. For the answearing of this wee must make a double distinction one of errours the other of persons that erre Of errours some are destroyers of the faith some only weakners of it A destroier is that which ouerturneth any fundamentall point of religion which is of that nature that if it be denied religion it selfe is ouerturned as the deniall of the death of Christ the immortalitie of the soule and such like and the summe of these fundamentall points is comprised in the Creede of the Apostles and the Decalogue A weakning errour is that the holding whereof doth not ouerturne any point in the foundation of saluation as the errour of free will and sundrie such like This distinction is made by the holy Ghost who saith expressely that the doctrines of repentance and faith and baptismes and laying on of hands and the resurrection and the
last iudgement are the foundation namely of religion and againe that Christ is the foundation and that other doctrines consonant to the word are as gold and siluer laid thereupon Secondly persons erring are of two sorts some erre of weakenes beeing carried away by others or of simple ignorance not yet beeing conuicted and informed concerning the truth Some againe erre of obstinacie or affected ignorance which hauing bin admonished and conuicted still perseuere in their forged opinions This beeing said wee nowe come to the point If any man or Church shall hold an errour of the lighter kinde he still remaines a member of the Church of God and so must be reputed of vs. As when a Lutherane shall hold that images are still to be retained in the Church that there is an Vniuersall Election of all men c. for these and such like opinions may be maintained the foundation of saluation vnraced This which I say is flatly auouched by Paul If any man saith he build on this foundation gold siluer precious stones timber hay or stubble his work shall be made manifest by the fire c. and if any mans worke burne he shall loose but yet he shall be safe himselfe And therefore the hay and stubble of mens errours beside the foundation on which they are laide doe not debarre them from beeing Christians or members of the Church A man breakes downe the windowes of his house the house standes he breakes downe the roofe or the walles the house yet stands though deformed he pulls vp the foundation the house it selfe falls and ceaseth to be an house Now religion which we professe is like an house or building and some points thereof are like windowes dores walls roofes and some are the foundation and the former may be battered the foundation standing Againe if the errour be directly or by necessarie consequent euen in common sense against the foundation consideration must be had whether the Church or partie erreth of weaknes or malice if of weaknes the partie is to be esteemed as a member of the Catholicke Church And thus Paul writes vnto the Church of Galatia as to a Church of God though by false teachers it had bin turned a way to another Gospel and imbraced the fundamentall errour of iustification by works But when any man or Church shal hold fundamentall errours in obstinacie or affected ignorance we are then not bound to repute them any loÌ„ger as Churches or Christians but as such to whom condemnation belongs as Paul sheweth by the example of Iannes and Iambres And as IaÌ„nes and Iambres saith he withstood Moses so doe these also resist the truth men of corrupt mindes reprobate concerning the faith Yet withall this caueat must euer be remembred that we rather condemne the errour then the person that erreth because Gods mercie is like a bottomlesse sea whereby he worketh what he will and when he will in the hearts of miserable sinners The second question is where at this day we may finde such visible Churches as are indeede sound members of the Catholick Church And for the resoluing of it we are to go through all countries and religions in the world And first to beginne with Turkes and Iewes wee are not in any wise to acknowledge their assemblies for Churches because they worship not God in Christ who is the heade of the Church As for the Assemblies of Papists which haue bin a great part of the world if thereby we vnderstand companies of men holding the Pope for their head and beleeuing the doctrine established in the councill of Trent in name they are called churches but indeed they are no true or sound members of the Catholick Church For both in their doctrine in the worship of God they race the very foundation of religion which will appeare by these three points First of all they hold iustification by works of grace auouching that they are not only iustified before god by the merit of Christ but also by their owne doings Which opinion flatly ouerâ—urneth iustification by Christ. For as Paul saith to the Galatians If ye be circumâ—ised Christ profiteth you nothing that is if yee looke to be iustified by the works of the ceremoniall law yee are fallen from Christ ioyne Circumcision Christ together in the matter of iustification and yee doe quite ouerthrow iustification by Christ. Now if this be true which is the word of God that can not lie then we say to the Papists If yee will needes be iustified by works of grace ye are fallen from grace The second point is that they maintaine a daily reall sacrifice of the bodie of Christ in the Masse for the sinnes of the quicke and dead And this is also a fundamentall heresie For Christs sacrifice on the crosse must either be a perfect sacrifice or no sacrifice and if it be often iterated and repeated by the Masse-priest it is not perfect but imperfect The third point is that they worship the Images of the Trinitie and of Saints departed and their Breaden-god which is as vile an abomination as euer was among the Gentiles all beeing directly against the true meaning of the second Commandement and defacing the worship of God in the very substance thereof Thus then it appeares that the old Church of Rome is changed and is now at this day of a spouse of Christ become an harlot and therefore no more a Church of Christ indeed then the carkasse of a deade man that weareth a liuing mans garment is a liuing man though he looke neuer so like him And whereas they pleade for themselues that they haue succession from the Apostles the answeare is that succession of person is nothing without succession of doctrine which they want and we see that Heretikes haue succeeded lawfull Ministers Secondly whereas it is alleadged that in the Popish assemblies the Sacrament of Baptisme is rightly for substance administred and that also it is a note of a Church three things may be answered First that Baptisme seuered from the preaching of the Gospel is no more a signe of a Church then the seale seuered from the Indenture is of force and that is nothing Circumcision was vsed in Colchis yet no Church among the Samaritans yet no people SecoÌ„dly Baptisme is in the assemblies of the Church of Rome as the purse of the true man in the hand of the thiefe indeed it doth no more argue them to be churches then the true mans purse argues the thiefe to be a true man For baptisme though it be in their assemblies yet doth it appertaine not vnto them but vnto an other hidden Church of God which he hath in all ages gathered forth of the midst of them Thirdly though they haue the outward Baptisme yet they by necessarie consequent of doctrine ouerturne the inward baptisme that stands in iustification and sanctification Moreouer whereas it is alledged that they maintaine the booke of the old and new Testament
that God can make trees plants herbs to grow without the meanes of raine and vvithout the vertue and operation of the Sunne the Moone the Starres III. he made the worlde in sixe distinct dayes and framed all things in this order to teach us his wonderfull providence of his creatures for before man was created he prouided for him a dwelling place and all things necessarie for his perpetuall preseruation and perfect happinesse and felicitie So also he created beasts and cattell but not before he had made hearbs plants and grasse and all meanes whereby they are preserued And if God had this care ouer man when as yet hee was not much more will God haue care ouer him now when hee is and hath a being in nature And thus much concerning the pointes of doctrine touching the creation The duties follow And first by the worke of creation we may discerne the true Iehouah from all false gods idols in the world This Esaiah maketh plain bringing in the Lorde reasoning thus I am God and there is no other God besides me How is that prooued thus I forme the light and create darkenesse I make peace and create evill I the Lord doe all these things If a man aske thee how thou knowest the true God from all false gods thou must answere by the worke of â—â—eation for he alone is the maker of heauen and earth and all things in them This propertie can not agree to any creature to any man saint or Angell nay not to all men and all Angels they can not giue being to a creature which before was nothing Secondly wheras God the Father is the Creatour of all things and hath giuen unto man reason understanding and abilitie more then to other creatures we are taught to consider and meditate of the worke of Gods creation This the wise man teacheth vs saying Consider the worke of God And indeed it is a speciall dutie of euery man which professeth himselfe to be a member of Gods Church as he acknowledgeth God to be the Creatour so to looke upon his workemanshippe and view and consider all creatures A skilfull workeman can haue no greater a disgrace then when hee hath done some famous thing to haue his friende passe by his worke and not so much as looke upon it If it be demaunded for what ende must we looke upon the worke of Gods creation I ansvvere that in it vvee may see and discerne Gods power wisedome loue mercie and providence and all his attributes and in all things his glorie This is a most necessarie dutie to be learned of euery man we thinke nothing too much or to good to bestow on vaine shewes plaies idle sportes and pastimes which are the vanities of men and we doe most willingly beholde them in the meane season utterly neglecting and contemning the glorious worke of Gods creation Well the Lorde God hath appointed his Sabaoth to be sanctified not only by the publique ministerie of the worde and by private prayer but also by an especiall consideration and meditation of gods creatures and therefore the duetie of euery man is this distinctly and seriously to view and consider the creatures of God and thereby take occasion to glorifie his name by ascribing vnto him the vvisedome glorie povver and omnipotencie that is due unto him for the same Thirdly wee must giue God the glorie in all his creatures because hee is the creatour of them all So in the Revelation the foure and tvventie Elders fall downe before him and say Thou art vvorthy O Lorde to receive glorie and honour and povver giuing this reason for thou hast created all things and for thy vvills sake they are and haue beene created Reade the Psalmes 147. and 148. both vvhich tende to this that God may be praised because he is the Creatour of all things and therefore must haue all the glorie VVee knowe that when men beholde any curious vvorke of a cunning and skillfull craftesman straightway they vvill leaue the vvorke and inquire after him that made it that they may praise his skill The same is our dutie in this case when we come abroad and beholde every where in all the creatures the admirable and unspeakeable vvisedome goodnesse and povver of God then vvee must make hast from the creature and goe forvvarde to the Creatour to praise and glorifie him and herein must vvee shevve our selues to differ from bruite beasts in that in the vse and view of Gods creatures we doe returne due glory praise and honour unto the creatour Our fourth duty is set downe by the Prophet Amos who moouing the people to meete God by repentance addeth a reason taken froÌ„ the creation He that fourmeth the mountaines createth the winds which declareth unto man what is his thought which maketh the morning darkenesse c. the Lord God of hosts is his name The meaning of the Prophet is this God is a terrible iudge we are as traitors rebels against him therfore the best way that we can take is this he is coÌ„ming to iudgement let us therfore meete him fall downe before him humble our selues under his mighty haÌ„d And the holy ghost by the prophet would mooue the people to meete God by serious repeÌ„tance by a reason framed thus If God who is their iudge be able to create the winds and to forme the mouÌ„taines to make the morning darknes then he is also able to make an eternall iudgement for their confusion And therfore all such as be impenitent sinners let theÌ„ prepare themselues to turne unto him surely if men had grace to lay this to their hearts they would not liue so loÌ„g in their sinnes without repentance as they do nay rather they would prepare themselues to meet him in the way before he come to iudgement because he is a creator therefore able to bring infinite punishments upon them at his pleasure and to bring them to nothing as he made them of nothing And let them know it whosoeuer they be that go forwarde in their sinnes that God the creator whensoeuer hee will can opeÌ„ hell to deuoure them that he can shew him selfe as mightie in his iudgement to mens destruction as he vvas in the beginning in giuing us a being vvhen vve vvere nothing Wherefore notable is the practise of David vvho ineures himself to the feare of god by the consideration of his creation saying I am fearefully and wonderfully made c. Lastly those vvhich haue bin impenitent sinners all their life past must not only learne to repent for their sinnes but also endeauour to perfourme obedience unto gods vvord God is a creatour and the thing created shoulde in all respectes be conformable to his vvill for David saith Thine hands have fashioned me framed me give me vnderstanding therfore that I may learne thy coÌ„mandemeÌ„ts And good reasoÌ„ for there is no man of any trade but hee vvould faine haue
of the pardon of their sins and yet himselfe not to apprehend the same by faith A lumpe of vvax if you keepe it from heate or from the fire it keepes his ovvne forme still but if it be helde to the fire it melts and runnes abroad so ministers who by reason of their callings come neare God if they be lumps of iniquity liue in their sins they shall find that the corruptions of their hearts wil melt abroad as wax at the fire And therfore every one that is designed to this calling must first purge him selfe of his ovvne sinnes or else Gods iudgements vvill fall on him as they did on Iudas that betraied Christ. Secondly let vs consider vvhat mooued Iudas to betray his master namely the desire of vvealth and gaine this couetousnesse vvhich is an insatiable desire of mony is the roote of all sinne not that all sinnes came of it but because vvhere it is there all other sinnes are preserved and doe get strength The desire of thirtie peeces of siluer caused Iudas to make an agreement with the Iewes and to betray his master But some will say this practise of Iudas is strange and no man that liueth now would do the like for any money Ansvver Iudas is dead indeede but his practise is yet aliue for in the high and waightie calling of the ministery he that hath charge of soules and either cannot teach and feed his flock or else will not though he betray not Christ yet he betrayes the members of Christ unto the deuill If a nource should take a mans child to bring up and yet neuer giue it milke insomuch that the childe dieth for hunger is not shee the murtherer of it yes verely And so it is with him that taketh upon him the charge of Gods people and neuer feedes them with the milke of Gods vvorde or els so seldome that their soules doe famish he is the murtherer of them and hath betraied them into the handes of their enemie and shall be condemned for them as a traitour unto God unlesse he repent Besides those that liue by traffique in buying and selling make gaine by lying swearing and breaking the Lordes Sabaoth they are also Iudasses for they choppe avvay their soules with the deuill for a litle gaine And more lamentable is their case because it is harde to finde one of an hundred in the worlde that makes conscience of a lye or of any bad dealing if any gaine at all may come thereby Men use to crie out on Iudas for betraying Christ and well yet they themselues for a litle worldely pelfe betray their owne soules And if such would not be counted Iudasses they must leaue off to sinne keepe a good conscience in Gods worship the works of their callings Thirdly let us note what course Iudas tooke in betraying Christ hee was verie submisse saying Haile Master and kissed him VVhy did he so Herein hee played the most palpable hypocrite for hauing gotten a peece of money he thought that neither Christ nor any of his fellowe disciples should haue knowne of it though Christ knew it well enough therefore he comes in this manner to him thinking that he would haue conveighed him-selfe from amongst them at the verie pinch as he had done often times before And this practise also of Iudas is common in the world Iudas an enymie vnto Christ speakes him faire and salutes him and so do most of our secure and drowsie protestāts in England they will salute Christ both by hearing his worde and receauing his sacramentes and as the prophet saith they honour god with their lips but their heartes are farre from him Wee may see daylie experience of this everie man will say Lord Lord but in there lives conversations few there be that deny him not both in the dutyes which they owe unto god and also towardes there brethren Many wil come to heare gods word because they are compelled by the magistrates laws but when they are come they worship not god in therehearts which is plainly seene by the breach of gods holie saboth in euerie place and that they make more account of a messe of pottage with Esau then of their birth right and of 30 peices of siluer than of Christ The 3 pointe to be handled in Christes apprehension is that they lay hand on him wherein we must consider 2 things I. the resistance made by Christs disciples II. their flight For the first Christs disciples resisted and principally Peter drawing his sword stroke one of the hye priests seruāts cut off his eare This fact our sauiour Christ reproues that for these causes I. because his disciples were priuat men they that came to apprehend him were magistrates Secondly he was to worke the worke of mans redemption now Peter by this did what he could to hinder him And frō this practise of Peter we may learn that nothing in the worlde is so hard unto a man as to take vp his crosse follow Christ. One would thinke it should be a harde matter for him to encounter with enemies especially they being strōger then hee but Peter stoutly resisting makes nothinge of yt whereas a litle before when Christ tould him the rest concerning his passion they were so heavie with griefe that they could not hold vp there heads so hard a thing it is to beare the crosse and for this cause afterward when Christ reprooued him for striking both he all the rest of the disciples fledde away Secondly Peter in all mens reason was to be cōmended because he strake in the defēce of his master but Christ reproves him for it Whence we learne that if a mā be zealous for Christ he must be zealous within the cōpasse of his calling and not be zealous first then look for a calling but first looke for a calling then be zealous which thinge if Peter had marked he had not delt so rashlie for being without the compasse of his calling hee could not but doe amisse Heere it may be demaūded whether Christ and his religion may not be maintained by the sworde I Answere that the magistrate which is the vicegerent of the lord is the keeper of both tables therfore is to maintaine religion with the sworde and so may put to death both Atheistes which hold there is no god of which sorte there is many in these daies and hertiques which maliciously maintaine hold any thing that ouerthrowes religiō in the Churches whereof they were members But some obiect that in the parable of the field the seruants are commanded not to pluck up the tares from the wheat but to suffer both to grow till haruest and that therefore there must be no separation of heritiques and true christians before the last daye of iudgement Answer The scope of that place is not to forbid the execution of heritiques but it speaks only of the finall separation which must be in
the end of the world For there the Master of the familie doth signifie God him-selfe and the field the Church militant spread ouer the face of the whole earth by tares is ment not only heritiques but also all those that are forth of the church the seruantes are gods holie Angels and the haruest is the last iudgement Here further it may be demaunded who may use the sworde Answere That man may use the sworde to strike and to kill into whose hands God putteth the sworde Now God putteth it into the hand first and principally of the publicke magistrate who when iust occasion serues may draw it out And againe into a private mans hand sometime A priuate man when he is assailed of his enemie may take the sword in way of his owne defence and may kill his enemie therewith if there be no other helpe not doing it upon malice but because he can not otherwise escape and saue his owne life and so for want of a magistrate he is a magistrate unto himselfe In the flight of the disciples vve may consider 2. things the time and the qualitie of the persons The time was at the apprehension of our Lord and Sauiour And this came to passe not without the speciall providence of God that it might be knowen that Christ had no helper or fellowe in the accomplishment of the worke of our redemption that whereas we for our sinnes deserued to be forsaken of all creatures hee being our pledge and suretie might be forsaken for vs. As for the qualitie of the persons that flie they were the chosen disciples of Christ such as had beleeved in him confessed him and preached in his name And this serueth to teach vs that God will otherwiles forsake his owne children and seruants and leaue them to themselues in some part that they may feele their wants miseries and their weaknes in themselues and by that means be hūbled throughly be touched with an hungering desire after Christ. As a mother sets downe her young child hides her selfe suffering it to crie breake the face not because she hates it but that she may teach it to depend upon her loue her so God giueth grace to his children yet againe somtime he doth in part withdraw it from them then they faile in their duties sundry waies this he doth to make them ashamed of themselues to cause them to put all their cōfidēce out of thēselues in the merits of Christ. The fourth thing to be considered in Christes apprehension is their binding of him In which action of theirs wee are to obserue first of all the circumstance of time when this binding vvas VVhen our Sauiour Christ had saide unto them I am hee they being astonished fell to the ground and vvithall vvhen Peter had smitten off Malchus eare with his sworde Christ healed the same miraculously Yet after all this though they saw his wonderfull povver both in vvorde and deede they proceede in malice against him and lay hands on him and binde him as a malefactour In this wee note what a fearefull sinne hardnesse of heart is the danger whereof appeareth in this that if a man be taken vvith it there is nothing that can stay or daunt him in his wicked proceedings no not the povverfull vvordes and deedes of Christ himselfe And indeed among Gods iudgements there is none more fearefull then this and hovv fearefull soeuer it be it is to be founde amongst us in these daies For it is verie euident by common experience that the more men are taught the doctrine of the lawe and of the Gospell the more hard and senselesse are their hearts like unto the stithie which the more it is beaten upon with the iron hammer the harder it is And againe it is hard to finde men that sorrow for their sinnes and feele the vvant of Christ which argueth the exceeding deadnesse of spirit And let vs be resolued that it is a most terrible iudgement of God the rather to be feared because it is like a pleasant sleepe into which when a man is fallen he feeles neither paine nor griefe And therfore we for our parts must looke unto it with feare trembling lest it take such hold of us that we be past all hope of recoverie Furthermore this binding of Christ was prefigured unto us in the sacrifices of the old testament for the beast that was to be sacrificed vvas tyed vvith cords and bound so brought to the altar And wheras Christ is bound vve must not consider him in his owne person but as he standing in our roome and steade beares the person of all sinners and therefore vvhereas he is thus taken captive by his enemies to be brought before a mortall iudge there to be arraigned for us hence we learne two good instructions First here is a comfort to all the people of god Christ was bound by his enemies that they might be unloosed from the bondage of Satan sinne their owne corruptions under which they lie bound by nature and might have free libertie in by him Secondly all impenitent sinners are taught hereby to reforme and amend their hearts and liues For vvhat exceeding madnesse is this that they by Christs bonds being set at libertie will yet liue and die in their sinnes and take pleasure to lie bound hand and foote vnder the power of sinne sathan And indeed this sheweth unto us the fearefull dangerous estate of all those that goe on still in their sinnes For what can they say for themselues at the day of iudgement when as now they haue freedome offered and will not accept of it Thus much of Christes apprehension Now followeth the inditement For they proceed against him iudicially after the custome of the Iewes Christs inditement was twofold One before Caiphas the high priest in the great councell at Ierusalem the second before the civill Iudge Pontius Pilate as is plainely set forth by all the Euangelistes And Christs arraignement before Caiphas was a preparation to the second before Pontius Pilate that the Iewes might throughly proceed against him In the first we are to consider these points I. The time in which Christ was indited II. the end of his inditement III. the whole tenour proceeding thereof For the first Christ was indited earely in the morning at the breake of the day for he was apprehended in the night with all hast brought into Caiphas his hall there they kept him all night at the breake of the day Caiphas the high priest the Elders with the Scribes Pharises held a solemne councell against him there they had accused him and condemned him before morning sent him then to the common hall as S. Matthew saith When the morning was come all the chiefe Priestes elders of the people tooke counsell against Iesus to put him to death and lead him away bound deliuered him to Pontius Pilate In which
thy transgressions like a cloud and thy sinnes as a myst Now wee know that cloudes and mystes which appeare for a time are afterwarde by the sunne utterly dispersed And king Hezekias when he would shewe that the Lord had forgiuen him his sinnes saith God hath cast them behind his backe alluding to the maner of men who when they will not remember or regard a thing doe turne their backes upon it And Micheas saieth that God doth cast all the sinnes of his people into the bottome of the sea alluding to Pharao whom the Lord drowned in the bottome of the redde sea And Christ hath taught us to pray thus Forgive vs our debtes as wee forgive our debters in which wordes is an allusion to creditours who then forgiue debts when they account that which is debt as no debt and crosse the booke Hence it appeares that damnable vile is the opinioÌ„ of the Church of Rome which holdeth that there is a remission of the fault without a remission of the punishment withall the doctrines of humane satisfactions indulgencies and purgatorie praier for the dead built upon this foundatioÌ„ are of the same kind Moreouer wee must remember to adde too this clause I beleeve and then the meaning is this I do not only beleeue that god doth giue pardon of sinne to his church people for that the verie deuils beleeue but withall I beleeue the forgiuenes of mine owne particular sins Hence it appeares that it was the iudgement of the Primitiue Church that men should beleeue the forgiuenesse of their owne sinnes By this prerogative we reape endlesse comfort for the pardon of sinne is a most wonderfull blessing and without it euery man is more miserable and wretched then the most vile creature that euer was We loathe the serpent or the toade but if a man haue not the pardon of his sinnes procured by the death and passion of Christ hee is a thousand folde worse then they For when they die there is the end of their woe and miserie but when man dieth without this benefite there is the beginning of his For first in soule till the day of iudgement and then both in body and soule for euermore he shall enter into the endlesse paines and tormentes of hell in which if one shoulde continue so many thousand yeres as there are drops in the Ocean sea and then be deliuered it were some â—ase but hauing continued so long which is an unspeakeable length of time he must remaine there as long againe and after that for euer and euer without release and therefore among all the benefits that euer were or can be thought of this is the greatest most pretious Among all the burdens that can befall a man what is the greatest Some wil say sickenesse some ignominie some pouertie some contempt but indeed among all the heauiest and the greatest is the burden of a mans owne sinnes lying upon the conscience and pressing it downe without any assurance of pardon Dauid being a King had no doubt all that heart could wish and yet hee laying aside all the roialties and pleasures of his kingdome saith this one thing aboue all that he is a blessed maÌ„ that is eased of the burdeÌ„ of his sinnes A lazar man full of sores is vgly to the sight and we can not abide to looke upon him but no lazar is so lothsome to us as all sinners are in the sight of God therfore Dauid counted him blessed whose sinnes were câ—vered It may be some will say there is no cause why a man should thus magnifie the pardon of sinne considering it is but a common benefite Thus indeede men may imagine which neuer knewe vvhat sinne meant but let a man onely as it vvere but vvith the tippe of his finger haue a little feeling of the smarte of his sinnes hee shall finde his estate so fearefull that if the vvhole vvorlde were set before him on the one side and the pardon of sins on the other hee would choose the pardon of his sinne before ten thousand worldes Though many drowsie protestants esteeme nothing of it yet to the touched conscience it is a treasure which when a man findes he hides it and goes home and selles all that hee hath and buyes it Therefore this benefit is most excellent and for it the members of Gods Church haue great cause to giue God thankes without ceasing The duties to be learned hence are these And first of all here comes a common fault of men to be rebuked Every one will say that he beleeueth the remission of sins yet no man almost laboureth for a true certen persvvasion hereof in his owne conscience for proofe hereof propound this question to the common Christian Doest thou persvvade thy selfe that God giues remission of sinnes unto his Church The answer will be I know and beleeue it But aske him further Doest thou beleeue the pardon of thine owne sinnes and then comes in a blinde answer I haue a good hope to God ward but I can not tell I thinke no man can say so much for God saieth to no man thy sinnes are pardoned But this is to speake flat contraries to say they beleeue and they can not tell and it bewraies exceeding negligence in matters of saluation But let them that feare God or loue their owne soules health giue all diligence to make sure the remission of their owne sinnes withall avoiding hardnesse of heart and drowsinesse of spirit the most fearefull iudgements of God which euery where take place The foolish virgines went forth to meete the bridegroome with lampes in their handes as well as the wise but they neuer so much as dreamed of the horne of oile till the comming of the bridegrome So many men live in the Church of God as members thereof holding up the lampe of glorious profession but in the meane season they seeke onely for the thinges of this life neuer casting how they may assure them selues in conscience touching their reconciliation with God till the day of death come Secondly if we be here bound to beleeue the pardon of all our sinnes then wee must euerie day humble our selues before God and seeke pardon for our daily offences for he giues grace to the humble or contrite he fâ—â—les the hungrie with good things when the rich are sent empty away When Benhadad the king of Syria was discomfited and ouercome by the king of Israel by the counsell of his seruants who tolde him that the kings of Israel were mercifull men hee sent them cloathed in sackcloath with ropes about their neckes to intreate for peace and fauour Now when the king saw their submission he made couenant of peace with him We by our sinnes must iustly deserue hell death and condemnation euerie day and therefore it standeth us in hand to come into the presence of God and to humble our selues before him in sackcloath and ashes craving and intreating for
nothing in the worlde so much as for pardon of our sinnes and that day by day without ceasing till the Lorde giue this blessed answere to our consciences that all our sinnes are put out of his remembrance We must not thinke that God putteth grace into mens heartes when they lie snurting upon their elbowes and either not use or despise the meanes but wee must first use the meanes partly by making confession of our sinnes to God and partly by crying to heauen for pardon and then when by his grace wee begin to desire grace hee giues further grace Lastly if we beleeue the pardon of our sinnes then wee must chaunge the tenour and course of our liues and take heede of breaking Gods commaundementes by doing any of those things whereof our consciences doe accuse us and tell us that by them we haue displeased God heretofore A man that for some misdemeanour hath bene cast into prison and lyen there many yeeres winter and sommer in cold irons when he obtaines libertie hee will often bethinke himselfe of his old miserie and take heede for eueâ— least hee fall into the same offence againe and hee which hath seene his owne sinnes and felt the smart of them and withall by Gods goodnes obtained assurance touching the pardon of them will neuer wittingly and willingly commit the like sinnes any more but in all things chaunge the course of his life As for such as say that they haue the pardon of their sinnes and yet liue in them still they deceiue themselues and haue no faith at all Thus much for the second benefite which God bestoweth on his Church namely remission of sinnes now followeth the third in these wordes The resurrection of the body In the handling wherof sundry points must be considered The first whether there be a resurrection or no This question must needs be handled because Epicures and Atheists in all ages and at this day some doe call this article in question Now that there is a resurrection of the body after death it may be prooued by many arguments whereof I will onely touch the principall The first is taken from the worke of redemption Saint Iohn writeth that Christ came to dissolue the workes of the devill which are sinne and by sinne death and hence I reason thus If sinne and death are to be dissolued utterly then the bodies of the faithfull which are dead in the graue must needes be made aliue otherwise death is not abolished but sinne and death must be utterly abolished therefore there shall be a resurrection Secondly God had made a couenaÌ„t with his church the tenor wherof is this I will be thy God thou shalt be my people This couenaÌ„t is not for a day or an age or for a thousande yeeres or ages but it is euerlasting without end so as Gods people may say of God for euer God is our God likewise God will say of his Church for euermore this people is my people Now if Gods couenant be euerlasting then all the faithfull departed from the beginning of the world must be raised again to life And if god should leaue his people in the graue under death for euer how could they be called the people of God for he is a God of mercy and of life it selfe therefore though they abide long in the earth yet they must at length be reuiued againe This argument Christ useth against the Sadduces which denied the resurrection God is not the god of the dead but of the living but god is the god of AbrahaÌ„ Isaac Iacob which are dead and therfore they must rise againe The third argument may be taken from the tenour and order of Gods iustice It is an especiall part of Gods glory to shewe forth his mercie on the godly and his iustice upon the wicked in rewarding them according to their workes as the Apostle saith God will reward every man according to his workes to them that by continuance in vvell doing seeke glorie and honour and immortalitie life eternall but vnto them that disobey the trueth that be contentious and obey vnrighteousnesse shall be indignation and wrath But in this life God rewardeth not men according to their doings and therefore Salomon speaking of the estate of all men in this world saith All things come alike to all and the same condition is to the iust and vniust to the good and bad to the pure and polluted to him that offereth sâ—crifice and to him that offreth none Nay which is more here the wicked flourish and the godly are afflicted The ungodly haue hearts ease and all things at will whereas the godly are oppressed and ouerwhelmed with all kinde of miseries and are as sheepe appointed for the slaughter It remaines therefore that there must needes be a generall resurrection of all men after this life that the righteous may obtaine a reward of Gods free mercie and the wicked utter shame and confusion But some will say It is sufficient that God doe this to the soule of euery man the body needeth not to rise againe I answer that the ungodly man doeth not worke wickednes only in his soule but his body also is an instrument thereof and the godly doe not onely practise righteousnes in their soules but in their bodies also The bodies of the wicked are the instrumentes of sinne and the bodies of the righteous are the weapons of righteousnesse and therefore their bodies must rise againe that both in bodie and soule they may receiue a rewarde according to that which they haue wrought in them The fourth argument which is also used by Paul is this Christ himselfe is risen and therefore all the faithfull shall rise againe for he rose not for himselfe as a priuat man but in our roome and steade and for us If the head be risen then the meÌ„bers also shal rise againe for by the same power whereby Christ raised himselfe he both can will raise all those that be of his mysticall bodie he beeing the first fruits of them that sleepe The fifth argument is taken from expresse testimonie of Scripture Iob hath an excellent place for this purpose I am sure saith he that my Redeemer liueth and he shall stande the last on the earth and though after my skinne wormes destroy this bodie yet J shall see God in my flesh whom I my selfe shall see and mine eies shall behold and none other for me And Saint Paul to the Corinthians auoucheth and prooueth this point at large by sundrie arguments which I will not stand to repeat this one remembered If saith he the dead rise not againe then your faith is vaine our preaching is in vaine and the godly departed are perished The sixth argument may be taken from the order of nature which ministreth certain resemblances of the resurrection which though they be no sufficient proofes yet may they be inducements to the truth Both Philosophers and also Divines haue