tels the Corinthians that they should have no such feare for saith he whosoever you shall commend such as shall be fit men they should be appointed for the carriage of this money Indeed he must be a fit man that may be trusted with money as he saith in the Comedie if thou findest a man that is faithfull in money he may easily be beleeved on in any word of counsell for he that may bee trusted with the one may be trusted with the other and they are excellent men indeed that can bee faithfull in those things that are committed to their charge especially in money where the craft and subtiltie may be easily hidde and can hardly be boltted out Therefore he saith there shall be fit men chosen men of conscience men fearing God and hating covetousnesse as Moses father speakes of officers not such as were collectors afterward men that were carelesse that will spend the whole yeare in out-laying and will worke all that while out of the poore mens stocke they care not how much men that will come here with a Briefe and stay upon pleasure in the Citie and spend out their time that they care not when they returne to the poore men for whom they gather much lesse shall they bee such men as those that shall barter their Briefes and sell their Patent and take a certaine summe of money beforehand of some hide-bound fellows of such wretches that will extort and gather farre more then they could do these must be no such companions but they must be men fit faithfull men chosen of the Corinthians themselves for he saith those that you shall approve by your letters by them will I send the money So from hence wee understand first that there ought officers for the poore collectors for the poore alwayes to bee chosen among the parties with whom they live indeed some officers cannot bee chosen by the common people spirituall officers cannot be chosen by them for the people cannot chuse their Bishop they cannot chuse their Minister they must not they cannot meddle with it because it belongs not to them to be judges of gifts and abilities of the spirit wherein they have no insight But for temporall things the Lord hath given them power to elect and make Officers and the Civill Law gives them leave to chuse their Pleaders their Physitians and their Schoolmasters and Officers of the like kinde So that in this the Church hath authoritie and power as we see by the Apostles words And it is with great care and conscience to be left to them unlesse higher authority interpose which must be hearkened unto or else I say it is left to them therefore the Apostle saith They shall chuse because they were knowne to them they were not knowne to the Apostle except it were by revelation he knew not by a mans face whether he were honest or no. Therefore the Corinthians were to make choice of them and them that they chose he would not reject and put by but whom they should nominate he would allow and confirme them in their election and choise By this we learne that it is no small honour for a man to bee chosen a collector for the poore It is thought of men to be a poore and base office but it is that place that God puts a man into and that God and the Church trusts him withall It is a place that is gotten by the grace of God that shines in a man and therefore it is not to be balked and put off and rejected as a matter of basenesse but to be accounted a faire degree in the Church of God as the Apostle speaks of the Deacons office which is like unto this of collection for the poore 3. Motive Letters of commendation But now how shall these men be commended they must not onely be chosen but they must be commended by their letters and Epistles The Corinthians must write letters testimoniall to commend these as faithfull brethren to the Saints at Ierusalem The Church of God alwayes had a great care of letters testimoniall they would have no man go or travell without them they would have no man go into a strange place to receive the Sacrament but he must have a letter of testimony with him Letters of commendation have beene of ancient use in the Church of God which are still to be honoured and to be kept with much care Three sorts of letters These kinde of letters were of three sorts 1 Letters of peace They were either letters of peace which were such as a man must needs have with him if he came to the King or to the Bishop he had still a letter of peace that was to shew that such a man was in the peace of the Church that he was a member of Christ that he was a professour of the faith that he received the Sacrament duely that he was in the communion of the body if he had these letters he might come into the presence of the King or of the Bishop or else he might not 2 Letters of form And then there were letters of forme by which the Church used to commend a man to the Presbyter or to the people to whom they must come with these and by no meanes without them A man could not travell out of his countrey but he must have of these letters to commend him And then there were these letters testimoniall 3 Letters testimoniall which the Apostle here speaks of that these brethren that should be supposed faithfull that should administer the portion that God had vouchsafed them that they should deliver it to the full that they should not balke a peny nor spend of the Churches store any more then needs must nor stay by the way longer then need required but that they should in all parts be faithfull dispensers those that made conscience and those that would give an account and answer to God for the things they had beene trusted withall The Church had this care of letters because they would have no falsaries to go up and downe no idle vagabonds to pretend poverty and to collogue and cozen the world to whom they were to send for those that wanted And the Church was also carefull to see that undoubted seale from those whom the letters were sent that it were no counterfeit lest there should be any deceit any forged letters and lest there should be any cause of trouble in the Church by unnecessary letters that should be sent to no purpose as many now adayes that gad about upon their pleasure and men will send letters with a beggar to maintaine his gadding the Church of God could not endure this but had a speciall regard to the letters of the Saints and took them still as so many appendixes as so many seales as writings applyed to their faith they received them with as great reverence as an Angell from heaven this was the antiquitie of letters Now a dayes they
DOOMES-DAY OR A TREATISE OF THE RESURRECTION of the BODY Delivered in 22. Sermons on 1. Cor. 15. Whereunto are added 7. other Sermons on 1. Cor. 16. BY The late Learned and Iudicious Divine MARTIN DAY Doctor in Divinity Chaplaine in Ordinarie to his Majestie and sometimes Rector of S. Faiths LONDON Matth. 22.31 Have you not read what God hath spoken to you touching the Resurrection of the Dead LONDON Printed by T. H. and M. F. for Nathanael Butter and are to be sold at the signe of the Pide Bull neere Saint Austins gate 1636. To the Right Reverend Father in God and his most Ho. Lord JOSEPH By the Divine Providence Lord Bishop of EXCESTER MY LORD REligious spirits are usually Indulgent Patrons to Orphanes They imitate in this Act him who sayd I will bee a Father to the Fatherlesse I doubt not but that I shall finde your Honour of this generous disposition to these printed Posthumes of Doctor Dayes licensed by Authority and now seeking to your Lordship for protection I have adventured to present these papers comming to my hands to your Honour hoping the childe wil be wel liked for his Fathers sake who was wel known unto and entirely beloved of your Hon. in his primitive time in Cambridge as also while hee was our Pastor heere continued it towards him in his charge in your Lo. Diocesse even untill his dissolution however I have done this to shew my readines upon any occasion of service to your Lordship Thus craving your favour to shelter and fence this worke from open depravers and to continue your love to the Authors memory I humbly take leave being Your Lordships Servant NATH BUTTER To the Readers YOu cannot expect that these Sermons should have such exact politenesse and neat dressing as if the Authour had lived to revise them Yet you may discover Dr Dayes spirit expression method and matter to speake in all of them praesentemque refert concio quaeque patrem I would wish you then to read them without any prejudicate opinion as thâ—y are exercises whose Authour was famous in his time and which cannot chuse but yeeld you matter of counsell and comfort You have but few Authours in English upon this Epistle and fewer upon these subjects Lose by reading of them you cannot gaine you may I doubt not but they will proove beneficiall to the whole Church for whose sake I have published them Thus wishing you to gather hony out of these where it may be had I rest Yours N. B. 1 COR. 15.29 What shall they doe that are baptised over the dead if the dead rise not at all Why therefore are they baptised over the dead THis gratious Apostle the blessed organ and instrument of the holy Ghost doth so wondrously dispute his cause and contrive his arguments for the maintaining of this holy article of our faith the resurrection of the body that as Saint Chrysostome saith Chrysost in locum he leaves nothing unfetched either from God or men for in five or sixe verses before the text he disputes from the omnipotencie of God in raising Christ his Sonne He hath discoursed also of Christs kingdome and of the delivery of the kingdome of his mediation and of the end of all things the perfect consummation of all that God may governe and be all in all Now he descends to a lower kinde of sphere to arguments taken from the actions of men and presidents here below upon the earth And he saith that there were certaine men in the world that were baptised for dead that is they are baptised in a certaine hope of the resurrection of the dead whose labour is lost and their faith frustrate and to no purpose if they have not the end of that whereof they now make profession here So some expound it But that is to bring us backe into the same labyrinth we were in before Verse 14. for he saith before that our hope is vaine and our Preaching vaine if there be no resurrection Therefore waving that opinion I take it that the Apostle speakes of some other more peculiar and particular cause that is concerning the state of the Church of God in persecution wherin men despairing of helpe in this world despairing of any life or contentment they did come and offer themselves in a voluntary martyrdome and tooke the baptisme of death that is they were baptised to this purpose being willing to offer themselves as dead men to persecution for the Gospell sake which they would not have done unlesse they had beene certainly assured of the resurrection of the body Other sences there be but I must proceed in order from one to another and labour to finde out the likeliest for in truth there are innumerable many and the place is very difficult Onely two things we are most sure of in this argument and discourse here set downe to our hand First that whatsoever this baptising over the dead was and therein is all the difficultie yet it was a thing that was publike notorious and knowne to the Corinthians it was a matter that was not obscure to them although it be to us For the Apostle speakes not to them in clouds but by way of familiar and evident example thereby to winne their judgements to this conclusion concerning the bodies resurrection Secondly another thing is that whatsoever this baptisme was yet certainly it was a thing of much force it was a great argument to prove that which the Apostle intended For it is not his manner to deale weakely in proving and disputing but he useth all the strength of the holy Ghost as Chrysostome saith Chrysost that is as much strength and demonstration and evidence of the spirit as a man can be capable of And so upon this ground we must gather that that opinion is most likely and to be imbraced that maketh most for the resurrection of the body And if there be any sence of more force then other or any sence more pertinent than other to prove that maine conclusion certainely that is the sence which the Apostle intends For all those that be of lesser weight and smaller moment they are besides the Apostles purpose Questionlesse if there be any vigour or power in any more than another we must imagine that that is it the Apostle aymed at and that he would have us to ayme at All the doubt comes out of the ambiguitie of this one word Baptisme While some take this baptisme for the sacramentall washing others againe take it for a ceremoniall washing either such as were in the Law among the legall ceremonies or such as were knowne in the common course of life the washing of the bodies and corpes of the dead when they were layd forth for the Coffin Concerning these words for the dead there is also some doubt some expounding it for sinne some for sinners and some for them that are naturally dead that is when the spirit in the common course of nature is
and he had power being Lord of the Sabbath to make a new day to make a new consecration which the Church of God hath alway followed Saint Ambrose Ambrose 2. Cor. 16.2 upon this place saith he this one of the Sabbaths or the first of the Sabbath is the Lords day as it is written every where in the Gospell that Christ rose on the first day of the weeke Leo on the Collects Leo on the Collects speaking to the Saints to give bountifully now is the time saith he now is the Lords day now shew your thankfulnesse and your love to God in Christ by your bountie to those that are the members of Christ Greg. Epist 3. Saint Gregory in his third Epistle If any man saith he say that the Iews sabbath should be reduced and brought backe let them reduce all the ceremonies with it and if the one be abhominable the other is abhominable also therefore take heed you be not seduced despise the words of fooles weigh every thing in the ballance of reason and that revelation that you have received the sabbath is made the day of the Lord that looke what errours we commit the week before we should make amends by expiation and confession and sorrow and contrition upon the Lords day Damâ—scene Damascene We celebrate the Lords day as the perfect rest of humane nature for the Iews sabbath was a carnall rest a temporall and figurative rest of that which was to come but this is the perfect rest of nature to have an assured promise of our resurrection which we could not have but by the memoriall of a resurrection and that could not be done but in the resurrection of Christ therefore we celebrate this day in memory of Christs resurrection and in token of the assurance of our resurrection Beza and Musculus Beza and Muscuâ—us and other late writers unlesse one or two which I spake of before which indeed are singular men in their place and degree I say these men dissent from them and they say and acknowledge that these two places of Scripture make it apparant the authoritie of the change of the Sabbath I have beene too long on this subject Now I come to that which is more plaine and easie After he had told them on what time this should be done and we see the time was upon the Lords day and we see the reasons why it was changed from the seventh day from the creation to the eighth day Now let us go to the next that follows in the order of the words By what reasons The motives to charitie by what arguments would the Apostle perswade them to this act What arguments doth he use It is a hard matter to bring a churles money out of his purse and even those that bee generous and excellent well minded yet they cannot endure to heare much of almes for charitie is soone wearie and being once wearie there must needs come infinite danger to the soule For the heart grows hard if charity bee weary And therefore to the intent it may hold out good arguments and reasons must be devised to feed and incourage it for charitie of it selfe will lagge and faile except it be well supported Therefore the Apostle gives such motives as that nothing could be found more opportune and fit to keepe men in practise then this And first from the example of other Churches As I have appointed in the Churches of Galatia so do ye that which other Churches do surely that you will do especially that which poorer Churches have done that are not able to come neere you in state and meanes you will be ashamed to come behinde them but the Churches of Galatia which are more ancient then you and withall poorer then you they have done this Therefore I pray do you so too that is one great incentive wherein we are to consider what the Church of Galatia was and also what his authoritie was among them I have appointed I have commanded saith he saith S. Chrysostome he did not counsell them he did not exhort them by faire words to do it but he appointed them by his power Apostolicall by his Apostolicall authoritie whereby it appeares that the Church hath power to dispose of mens goods in the generall though not in the speciall quantitie that is one motive to draw them on Another is taken from the faire carriage that should be in the businesse a man will more easily be intreated to do something if he be perswaded that there shall be no false play in it but that every thing shall be done according to the Donors intention and that the parties appointed shall be sure to receive that which they have given without any fraud or deceit for that the Apostle gives them satisfaction and tels them that when hee comes the money shall be sent and transmitted to Ierusalem to the poore Saints of Ierusalem for whom he begged as we heard before it should be sent to them and it should be sent by those that they should chuse themselves and if need were he himselfe also would go with them So that here is a full certaintie made that it should not be balked that it should not be interverted nor kept in private mens hands or be turned to the private good of a few but it should redound to the benefit of those for whom it was intended and for that purpose hee tels them there should be certaine men chosen and chosen of the Corinthians themselves men that should be approved by their letters and Epistles and if there were further necessitie he himselfe would go to be a witnesse and testifie of this their great grace which God had done by them This is the second motive whereby he incites them The third is the glorious title he gives them for charitie although it be not proud yet notwithstanding it looks that there should be some thankfull remembrance of it it desires no glorious titles nor no blazing yet the Lord God in mercie hath appointed that if the poore woman shall poure upon the body of Christ such a box of oyntment the Lord saith Verily I say unto you wheresoever the Gospell shall be preached a memoriall shall be made of her of this that she hath done her box shall go with her for a memoriall of her The Lord will not have the good deeds of his Saints to be buried in oblivion but hee will have them famous he will have them carried through the world therefore the Apostle gives it a glorious name a glorious title and saith your grace They shall carry your benefit or your grace your benefit as the word signifieth at large But the Apostle speakes here in another minde as of a thing that comes from the grace of God that ruled and reigned in them and moved them to this gracious worke And then the last is from the inconvenience that would come otherwise hee desires that it might be done with all speed for hee
saith hee would have none to gather when he came because it would tend both to his and to their shame if they should be found unready Vnreadinesse is a fault in all the parts of Christianitie and there was no man that ought to be so forward as they therefore he prayes them to do it before hand These are the parcels of this Text. Of these things briefly and in order as it shall please God to give assistance 2 Motive from the Churches authority First concerning the motive from the Church It hath alway beene a strong argument that is taken from the Churches authority He that heares you heares me and he that scornes you scornes me saith our Lord Christ and tell it to the Church and if he will not heare the Church let him be to thee as a heathen and a publicane or sinner Hee that will not do as the Church doth he is out of the Church of God he is a banished man from heaven and a cast-away from all hope of salvation This argument therefore must be of speciall consideration with us what the ancient Church hath done before times we must follow their steps if we meane to partake of the reward that they and we both looke for We see that antiquitie is a great and a maine reason to induce any good understanding for if the Church of God have authoritie to perswade all her children and those that follow after certainly then the ancientest Churches are of the greatest authoritie Now the Church of Galatia was a more ancient Church then Corinth Therefore the Apostle alledgeth the authority of that Church to bring this on So we see also in persons not only in Churches but in particular persons Rom. 16.6 Salute Andronicus and Iunia that were before me in the Lord they were Christians before Saint Paul therefore Saint Paul gave them honour as his predecessors as his glorious and honourable Ancestors that were in the Lord before him Therefore hee saith honour them and salute them much So in this case Galatia was the more ancient Church therefore it was to be the rule of Churches afterward in all good things in all things belonging to the propagation of the Gospell to the maintenance of a good conscience The authoritie of the Church is the greatest argument one of them under heaven and it is certaine if our mother Church which was once the Church of Rome if it had not proved extreamly cruell and tyrannous in her proceedings there ought no Church to have fallen away from her communitie for by separation from her if she had continued a true mother they had separated from their father too the God of all comfort the God of heaven and earth for a man cannot have his fathers blessing if he go from his mothers bosome but now when all things were turned to pride to worldly covetousnesse to ambition and vaine glory and their own greatnesse without the true aime and without respect to the right end when all was turned to pride and selfe-love that they would depose Kings and Princes out of their seats and kingdomes it grew then to be a monster and ceased to be a mother and thence it is not lawfull to have any communion with them that are so blasphemous But else I say if they had continued in that modest humilitie which they were first bred in Rome a true Church 500 yeares after Christ continued in for the space of foure or five hundred yeares surely the authoritie of the Church had beene a rule for the whole world for where they do well the Apostle makes a law from their doings As the Churches of Galatia do so do ye 2 What the Church of Galatia was Secondly here is to bee observed what this Church of Galatia was it was a famous but yet it was but a poore Church it was so famous in zeale that the Apostle protests that they would have given him their eyes to have done him good wherein he signified their infinite ardor and fervencie to the Gospell of Christ at his first comming although afterwards by his absence they were seduced and drawne away by circumcision by some creeping Iewes that stole in among them But as it was famous for the greatnesse of the graces of the spirit so it was but meane in condition Therefore the Apostle might well draw an argument from it for the Corinthians could not object and say What do you tell us of Galatia Galatia is a potent kingdome a rich kingdome full of meanes and full of glory above our Citie but this they could not do for it appeared to all the world to be but a poore place a place of no trafficke except it were a little in the Euxine sea for it is a middle-land place And although the countries of Asia-minor whereof Galatia is one can maintaine themselves Galatia in Asia minor yet for any great superfluitie and abundance to send to others they cannot do it especially the Citie of Galatia which is excluded and kept from the Pamphilian Sea by the border of the South which lyeth betweene it and Pamphilia So we see here that according as God hath given Churches meanes and abilitie so they should exceed those that are poorer the richer sort must do after a rich manner and if the poore should at any time seeke to transcend them it were a shame to them that are greater and more able The Citie of Corinth it was the Mart of all the world Corinth the Mart of the world Hom. Iliad 2. therefore Homer in his time which was one of the ancientest Writers that ever was among the Heathen there is none like him in his second Iliad he saith three times over Rich Corinth The reason of it is because of the scituation which is betweene two seas from whence all the traffick of the world flocked flowed to it Therefore it followed that seeing the Church of Galatia had farre lesse meanes then Corinth and yet they had done thus Therefore Corinth must much more obey this precept And it is a lesson that I would that men of sence and reason would lay to their owne consciences both in the Church and in their private persons for we have a great number of poore Churches even in this Citie that are sessed oft times to pay farre more then richer places do and there are many poore persons that are truer pay-masters that pay scot and lot better then many greater men do which the Apostle intimates here to be a shame it is a shame that poore Churches should go before rich it is a shame that Galatia should go before Corinth and exceed them it is a thing that God will have a saying for and these great ones that have their thousands and their ten thousands about them and yet they will not pay that which belongs to their poore officers to their poore servants such as belong to them poore Church-men that will not pay that which belongs to them