thee a view and picture of this Doctrine composed of these principles and do publish the same that I might to my power help out * Theologia fludiâ—ses those that stick in the difficulties of this doctrine of Predestination and that I might cleere the truth that is as they call it the Caluinists doctrine of those reproches which are cast vpon it and that I might mitigate and appease the mindes of some of our Brethren which haue beene more offended at it then was fit For I do willingly acknowledge and teach vniuersall redemption and grace so farre as it is possible by the word My mind is to pursue after peace which is departing from vs and I would haue all men so interpret my fact I alleadge the testimonies of the auncient euery where not but that euen one euident and perspicuous sentence of sacred Scripture coÌ„cerning any point of Doctrine and Faith is of more value and force then all the testimonies of the Doctours and Schoole-men but because I hold it necessary that there should be had an example of consent and concord in that doctrine which is expounded in holy bookes and is propagated to all posterity And I hope I shall sufficiently perswade an indifferent iudge that these things haue not beene lately hatched at home which wee deliuer in our Congregations and Schooles but that we haue also deriued and fetched them from the Fathers themselues VVilliam Perkins THE ORDER OF PREDESTINATION as it is collected out of the Scriptures by the Author PRedestination is the counsell of God touching the last end or estate of man out of this temporall or natural life For as touching 1. Coâ— 15. 46 natural life we are all alike and this kind of life is in the counsell of God onely a preparation and step vnto the spirituall and heauenly life The supreme end of predestination is the manifestation of Gods glorie partly in his mercie and partly in his iustice And this hath bin the doctrin of the Fathers S. Austen saith that one of those two societies De Ciuit. â—Dei lib. 1â— of men which wee mystically call two cities is that which is predestinated to raigne eternally with God and the other to suffer eternall punishment with the diuell Fulgentius saith also That in Gods predestination there Ad Monymum lib. 1. is prepared either a mercifull remission of sins or a iust punishing And Gregorie saith That God being a iust Creator vnto all after Comment in 1. Reg. Cap. 4. an admirable manner hath foreelected some and forsaken others in their corruptions And the more learned Schoolemen vse to say that God for the more full manifestation of his perfection hath predestinated some in manifesting his goodnes by the rule of mercie and damned others in representing his perfection by the rule of iustice The common meanes of accomplishing this counsell is two-fold the creation and the permission of the fall Creation is that by which God made y e whole man of nothing according to his owne image but yet changeable and endued with a naturall life The permission of the fall is whereby God did iustly suffer Adam and his posteritie to fall away in that he did not hinder them when he was able as being indeed bound to none to hinder And God is said not to hinder euill when he ceaseth after a sort from his operation not illuminating the minde and not inclining the will to obey his voyce This permission of the euill of fault is by Gods foreknowledge and will but yet only for the greater good of all which would bee hindred if God did not suffer euill For if there were not sinne there should bee no place for the patience of Martyrs and for the sacrifice of Christ offered vpon the crosse which doth infinitely exceede all the sinne of the whole world Augustine saith well God hath iudged it better to doe Enchir. cap. 27. good with euils than to permit no euill to be In like manner Gregorie saith In his seuere Expos. 〈◊〉 Reg. cap. 4. iudgement he suffereth euill to be done but withall he doth in mercie forecast what good things he may bring to passe by these euils which hee doth ordaine by his iudgement For what greater sinne is there than that by which we doe all die and what greater goodnesse than that by which we are deliuered from death And doubtlesse but that Adam sinned our Redeemer should not haue taken our flesh vpon him Whiles God was to be borne man the Almightie did foresee that hee would make of that euill for which they were to die a good which should be greater than that euill The greatnesse of which good what faithfull man is there who doth not see how wonderfully it doth excell Surely great are the euils which we suffer by the desert of the first fault but what faithfull man would not rather endure worse than to be without so great a Redeemer And in this respect elsewhere he calleth the fall of Adam foelicem culpam a happie fault That In benedict Cerci Pasc. which I haue said of the permission of the fall I doe also say of the fall permitted sauing that the permission is a meanes of the decree by it selfe but the fall is a meanes of accomplishing the decree onely by the ordination of God who draweth good out of euill This fall permitted commeth not to passe but God being willing neither doth it come to passe contrariwise or otherwise than God permitteth neither can it any further be than hee doth permit Yet the will of God is not the cause of the fall but the will of man left vnto it selfe by God and moued by the suggestion of Sathan which will appeare by this similitude I build a house subiect to change and falling which notwithstaÌ„ding would continue many yeeres if it might bee free from the annoyance of windes yea if I would but vnderprop it when the storme commeth it would continue stable But as soone as the windes begin to rage I do not vnderprop it and it is my will not to vnderprop it because it is my pleasure so to doe thereupon the house being weatherbeaten falleth downe I see the fall and in part I will it because now when I could very easily haue hindred the fall yet I would not And although thus farre I doe will the fall in so much as it is my will not to hinder it yet the cause of the fall is not to be imputed vnto me that did not vnderproppe it but to the winds which cast it downe So God leauing Adam vnto himselfe that hee might be prooued by tentation and that it might appeare what the creature is able to doe the Creator ceasing for a time to helpe and guide is not to bee accounted the cause of this fall For he did not encline the minde to sinne hee did not infuse any corruption neither did he withdraw any gift which he did bestow in the creation onely it pleased
away his children by death that they should not see those euils which he h 〈◊〉 purposed to plague his enemies withall Mercifull men are taken away sayth Isâ— 57. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and no man vnderstandâ—th that the righteous is taken away from the euill to some So the Lord tooke away good Iosiah 〈◊〉 Chrâ—n 84. 28. that his eyes might not see all the euill which hee purposed to bring vpon that place Yea such is his loue vnto his Saints that he cannot doe that to the wicked which he would so long as they liue amongst them As the Angell told Lot that he could do nothing till he was gone out of Sodome euen so it may be â—en 19. â—2 truly sayd that Gods loue is so feruent towards his chosen as that it sometimes keepeth him from scattering his iudgements in those places wherein they liue Therefore he doth often remoue them by death that he may more freely poure out the vials of his wrath vpon the vngodly Fourthly by death God learneth vs to seeke a place of rest and to alieâ—ate our affections from the world which being like vnto bird-lime would otherwise more easily belime our affections that they could not soare vp to the heauens the place of our home Fiftly by death the Lord humbleth vs and teachâ—th vs not to praâ—ke and plume vp our bodies lyke Peacocks as if wee meant to liue euer Sixtly the Lord by their deaths occasioneth their experâ—â—câ— and feeling of the vertue of Christs resurrection Lastly as death is the complement of mortification and endeth the battell betweene the flesh and the spirit so it fully finisheth all earthly calamities and as a â—erry 〈◊〉 it transporteth vs ouer the tempestuous and broad Ocean of tribulations and afflictions into the calme and quiet hauen of endlesse happinesse But as for the Reprobate it is to them as a boat to cary them out of a riuer of earthly miseries into a restlesse bottomlesse sea of infinite ineffable torments And because their felicity if any consisteth in the finite fruition of worldly prosperity God in his appointed time by death as by 〈◊〉 knife cutteth asunder the threed of life and so casteth them out of their paradise and sendeth their soules to the place of the damned where they shall continue terribly tormented till that dolefull and dismall day of vengeance God hath ordeined the writing of his â—riâ—â—l 10 word the preaching of it the administration of the Sacraments and his dispensers of them principally and properly for the beâ—â—fit of the Elect. Sa 〈◊〉 Paul sayth Whatsoeuer things are written aforetâ—me are written for our learning that we â—om 15. 4. through patience and comfort of the Scrip 〈◊〉 s might haue hope Iohn saith he wrote that wee might beleeue in the name of 1. Ioh 5. â—3 Christ. Therefore his writings properly belong to the children of God And the Apestle writing to the 〈◊〉 ans sayth that Christ gaue some to be Apostles and some Prephets and some â—uangelists and some Pastors and Doctors But to what end For the reparation of the Saints and for the edification of Christs Ephâ—â— 4. â—2 body And this is no small prerogatiue for the Sacraments are signes and seales of Gods grace The preaching of the Gospell is the power of God to saluation to all that doe beleeue In his word hee hath recorded his will And his Ministers are as it were his Trumpeters which do sound in our eares the trumpets of his Law and Gospell and instruct vs when to stand still when to retyre and when and how to march forward They are through his assistance our spirituall Fathers by whom he doth procreate and beget vs vnto himselfe for our good and his owne glory Now all these things profit the Reprobate nothing at all but do indeed through the rebellions corruption of theyâ— hearts harden and stiften them as the Sunne doth clay The Lord hath vnited all his elect and Priui 1â— deâ—re children vnto Christ by his Spirit and by a true and liuely faith And by reason of this vnion they are after a sort vnited to the whole Trinity Father Sonne and holy Ghost Yea hence it is that we are partakers of Christs benefits For as the members of the body haue neither sense nor motion vnlesse they be vnited to the head and as the science or griffe receiueth no nourishment except it be set in the stock and grow vp with it Fuen so vnlesse we be vnited vnto Christ our stock and spirituall head we haue no spirituall life and motion neither are we actually partakers of his benefits But being once vnited and knit vnto him we receiue sense and sap life and motion All the elect and faithfull people of God are partakers of the prayers of all Priuil 12. the Godly throughout the world The children of God haue fellowship one with an other as with Christ their head Whereas on the contrary they pray for the confusion and finall destruction of his and their impenitent pestilent and irreconciliable enemies and can not but hate and abandon those whom they see to walke peruersly in wicked and reprobate courses without remorse of conscience and all shew of repentance For GOD hath put a secret antipathy and mortall enâ—â—y betweene his seed and the seed of the Serpent Therefore Salomon sayth A wicked man is an abomination to the iust and he that is vpright in his Prou. 29 27. way is an abomination to the wicked And as Dauid sayth The wicked practiseth against Psal. 37. 12. the iust and gâ—aâ—â—â—eth his tâ—â—th against him So he also sayth thus of himselfe Psal. 3â—â— 6. I haue hated them that giue themselues to deceitfull vanities And againe Doe not I hate them O Lord that hate Psa. 139 21. thee I hate them with the perfection of hatred as if they were mine vtter enemies And in the fifteenth Psalme contemning Psal. 15. 4. of a vile person that is of a wicked wretch and the honouring of the Godly is made an infallible note of a faithfull member of the Church By which it appeareth that there is no sincere and solid communion betweene Gods children and the slaues of the Diuell And therefore it is one of our priuiledges and peculiar dignities to inioy the loue and louely communion of the Saints Faith by which we walke and liue Priuil 13. by which we are iustified and adopted without which it is impossible to please GOD this faith which is a supernaturall Heb. 11. 6. Act. 13. 48. Tâ—â— 1. 1. gift of God aboue corrupt and created nature this faith I saye is peculiar and proper to the Elect therefore Saint Paul â—alieth it The â—aith of the Elect and teacheth the Thessalonians 〈◊〉 Thes. 3 2. that it is not common to all men Secondly Hope is an excellent gift of God for it maketh not ashamed and by Rom. 5. 5 it the Apostle sayth we are saued that is by
hope we expect and wait for that saluation Rom. 8. 24. which by faith we apprehend and assure our selues of for the â—â—ualuable merits of Christ. Now this grace is not giuen to any besides the Elect. For how can the Reprobate hope to be saued seeing they are appointed for the day of euill and are reserued to the day Prou. 16. 4. Iob. 21. 30. 〈◊〉 Tim. 1 5 of destruction and shall be brought foorth to the day of wrath Thirdly Loue which springeth out of a pure heart and floweth from a good conscience and faith vnfeigned is giuen only to Gods Elect. For it is not possible for the Reprobate to loue God to that end and in that manner which God requireth seeing he hath cast them off from all eternity and purposed not to giue them any sauing grace considering also that they are by nature voyd of puâ—itie and do liue and dye in sinne Now this priuiledge is the greater because this grace is very rare and excellent Loue is as it were a knife wherewith faith shareth and cutteth out the duties which we doe owe vnto God and man in some good and acceptable manner Loue is the cock which letteth out the water of Gods graces out of the cisterne of our hearts Loue is the nurse of humanitie the mother of equitie the maintainer of vertue the daughter of faith the preseruer of pietie the mistresse of modestie the badge of Christianitie the bane of discord the staffe of concord Col. 3. 14. Iob. 13. 35. 1. Cor. 1â— 13. the keeper of the Crowne the bond of perfection and the note of a true disciple Saint Paul in some sort prefers it to faith and hope when he saith Now abideth faith hope and loue but the chiesest of these is Loue. By which we see that the Lord hath highly honoured vs in that hee conferreth this glorious grace vnto none but vs. Lastly that filiall Prou. 9. 10. Prou. 1â— 27. feare which is the beginning of wisdome and the well-spring of life to auoyd the snares of death and which makes a man to keepe the golden rule of mediocritie is giuen onely to Gods Elect. For how can the Reprobate who doe loue sinne and doe not loue God how I say can they feare to displease him because they hate sinne and loue him or how can the Reprobate who are all ordeined to ineuitable and eternall perdition be sayd to feare God as a Sonne feareth his louing Father seeing they be slaues and considering that the word of God pronounceth him happy and blessed who standeth Psa. 112 〈◊〉 in awe of GOD and feareth to offend him If the Reprobate be blessed then of all men the Elect are most accursed But wee shall say that those are blessed whom the Lord hath accursed if we shall say that the Reprobate doe feare God with that feare whereof I now speake Priuil 14. 〈◊〉 Chron. 14. 11. Nahum 1. 9. Act. 〈◊〉 4 GOD accounteth those iniuries as done vnto himselfe which the wicked offer vnto his faithfull seruants Saul persecuted the true professors of Christ yet Christ told him from heauen that he persecuted him The afflictions of Gods children are called in the Scriptures Col. 1. 24 Christs afflictions For such is the vnion and communion betwixt the head and the members that if any of Reuel 11 8. them smart the head is partaker of the griefe If any part be crazed or annoyed the heart is ready to mourne the head to consult the tongue to bewayle and vtter it the foot to run to the Surgeon and the hand is ready to do her duety Euen so it is betweene Christ and his members If any of them bee iniuriously vexed and troubled hee takes the wrong as done vnto himselfe And so Christ may be sayd to be crucified in that great city which is mystically called Sodom and Babylon that is Rome because hee is there put to death in his members and is in them as it were slayne continually by * Romish authority is either heathenish or Popish Christ died by the former but in hiâ— members he hath died by both and yet doth by the latter Zach. 〈◊〉 8. Math. 25 Romish authority as hee was by it if wee speake properly crucifyed and put to death So in lyke manner the Lord sayeth He which toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eye And as Christ esteemeth of those good deeds which men do vnto them as done vnto himselfe euen so hee accounteth the bare neglecting and the not relieuing of them in their wants as if the wicked had been in this kind of duety faultie vnto himselfe God will shorten the World and hasten the comming of his Sonne for the Priui 15 Elect. And so that speach of Christ may be vnderstood For the Elects sake those Math. 24 22. euill dayes shall be shortened Moreouer such is the patience and good wil of God vnto his Elect as that hee stayeth his comming for a time because he would as Peter affirmeth haue none of them to perish but come vnto repentance 2. Pet. 3. 9. that when hee commeth they may bee welcome vnto him and hee to them God doth effectually call the Elect and none besides them and they alone Priui 16 are iustifyed in his sight For hee doth pardon them alone and they only are Rom. 8. 30. clothed with the spotlesse roabes of Christs perfect righteousnes Therefore the Prophet saith The châ—stisement of our Isa. 53. 5 6. peace was vpon him The Lord hath layed vpon him the iniquitie of vs all For the 〈◊〉 transgression of my people was he plagued By his knowledge shall my righteous seruant 11. 12. Math. 1. 21. Iohn 17. 9. iustifie many He bare the sinne of many He doth not say all For he came to saue his owne people only from their sinnes He did not so much as pray for the Reprobate Now this is a very great and admirable priuiledge and honour that God should send his only Sonne to dye for vs few despicable wretches and that Christ should lose his life and shead his heart blood for vs only whereas it was in Act 20. 28. it selfe being the blood of God sufficieÌ„t to haue redeemed a thousand thousand worlds of sinners If a man had a medicine able to cure all diseases and would not giue it any sauing some few they were wonderfully indebted to him The blood of Christ is able to heale all our soule-sicknesses and to deliuer vs from all our sinnes and it hath pleased him to wash vs alone in it and to withhold it from the far greater part of mankind By which we see how highly hee hath honoured vs and how deep we are in his debt If three men were in danger of drowning or burning and a man should come and deliuer one of them and leaue the other two to the danger all men might well say that he fauoured him more then the other By our sinnes we
operation is infinite but yet it must be distinguished for it is either potentiall or actuall The potentiall efficacie is wherby the price is in it selfe sufficient to redeeme euery one without exception from his sins albeit there were a thousand worlds of men But if we consider that actuall efficacie the price is payd in the counsell of God and as touching the euent only for those which are elected and predestinated For the Sonne doth not sacrifice for those for whom hee doth not pray because to make intercession and to sacrifice are conioyned but hee prayeth onely for the elect and for beleeuers Ioh. 17. 9. and by praying he offereth himselfe to his Father verse 19. For as Illyricus hath well obserued this whole prayer in the 17. chapter is indeed as he speaketh an oblatory and expiatory prayer or as the Papists call that blasphemous forme a Canon or rule of sacrifice by which Christ hath offered himselfe a sacrifice to the Father for the sinnes of the world Therefore the price is appointed and limited to the elect alone by the Fathers decree and the Sons intercession and oblation Secondly Christ bare their person and stood in their roome vpon the crosse for whom he is a mediator and consequently whatsoeuer Christ did as a redeemer the same did all Ephes. 1. 6. Coloss. 3. 1. those in him with him which are redeemed Christ dying rising again ascending sitting at the right hand of the Father they also die with him rise againe ascend and sit at the right hand of God Now that all these things can be truly said of the elect only and of such as beleeue I proue it thus To say that any one of the wicked which are to perish for euer is raised vp in Christ rising againe is flat against the truth because the raysing vp of Christ is that I may so speake his actuall absolution from their sins for whom he died for euen as the Father by deliuering Christ to death did in very deede condemne their sins imputed vnto Christ for whom he died so by raysing him vp from death euen ipso facto he did absolue Christ from their sinnes and did withall absolue them in Christ but being absolued from their sins they shall not perish but be saued Therefore that wicked man which perisheth for his sin cannot be said to haue risen againe with Christ and therefore Christ did not beare his person vpon the crosse Thirdly the expiatory sacrifice sanctifieth those for whom it is a sacrifice as the holie Ghost plainly and absolutely auoucheth Heb. 9. 13. 14. The sacrifice and sanctification appertaine to the same persons and Christ is their perfect Sauiour whom he saueth not only by meriting their saluation but also by working it effectually But Christ doth sanctifie only the elect and such as beleeue therefore he was a sacrifice only for them And this was the iudgment of the ancient Church in this point Augustine saith He which spared not his Jn Iohan. tract 45. owne Sonne but gaue him for vs all how hath he not also with him giuen vs all good things but for what vs for vs which are foreknown Tract 2. predestinated iustified and glorified Againe Those whom he pleased to make his brethren De recta fide ad Regin In Ioan. lib. 11. cap. 14. he hath released and made fellow heires Cyril saith If God who is most worthy was in the flesh he was of right sufficient to redeeme the whole world Againe The Lord Iesus separating his owne from those which were not his saith I pray only for those which keepe my word and cary my yoke For he doth make them alone and that iustly partakers of the benefit of his mediation whose Mediator and high Priest he is Gregorie saith The author 2. Hom. in Ezek. lib. 1. of life gaue himselfe to death for the life of the elect Againe The Lord will redeeme In Psal. 33. the soules of his seruants to wit with his precious blood because he which beleeueth rightly In Ephes. cap. 1. in him is redeemed from the due thraldome of his sins Sedulius All things are restored which are in the earth * Or when seeing that the men themselues who are predestinated vnto eternall life are renewed from the corruption of the old man Beda The flesh of the Hom. in sab post reminise Lord is furnished with spirituall vertue that it might be a sweet sauor sufficient for the saluation of the whole world Againe Our Lord Hom in vigil Pâ—sâ— and redeemer to the elect-whom he knew to be placed in his flesh yea and to vs also whom he foresaw should beleeue in the last times he Jn Reuel part 1. hath procured the remedie of saluation by his death and resurrection Ioachim the Abbat The word All which for the most part is vniuersall doth not alwaies signifie so much as it seemeth as in that place When I shall be lift Col. 1. 19. 20 vp I will draw all things to my selfe And by him he hath pleased that all things should be reconciled in him It seemeth that in these In 2. Reg. cap. 7. places Elect Things onely are vnderstood Angelomus What other nation is there in the earth besides the elect people for which God the Son of God vouchsafed to come into this world as it were into Aegypt that taking vpon him the forme of a seruant he might with the merchandize of his blood redeeme vnto himselfe an acceptable people zealous of good workes Ruperâ—us In that houre he washed those only from sin whom his death Jn Exod. lib. 2. cap. 6. findeth faithfull whether dead or liuing Againe The passion of Christ is the iudgement In Ioan. cap. 12. of the world that is saluation seuering the whole number of the elect which were from the beginning of the world to the houre of the same passion from the reprobate And the casting out of the prince of this world is the reconciliation of the nations of the elect Againe I will draw all things to my selfe what all things namely All Elect Things as all the members follow their head Haimo Christ hath taken away in the Elect not onely originall In cap. 5 ad Rom. but all actuall sins also and hath ouer and besides giuen them eternall life Radulphus The blood of the high Priest Christ was the purgation of all beleeuers Innocentius In Leuit. lib. 17. cap. 2 Lib. 4. de Myst. Missae cap. 4. Christ blood was shed effectually for those only who are predestinated but for all men in regard of sufficiencie for the shedding of the blood of that iust one for the vniust was so rich in price that if euery one had beleeued in the redeemer none at all had been held captiue of the diuell Arnoldus Carnotensis He redeemeth none but those whom he calleth Ben 〈◊〉 allis tract 7. de verbis Domini and washeth by grace neither doth the Spirit
7. Greg. 14 Innoc. 9. Clemon 8 nine or tenne Monsters her mortall enemies though their slaues continually plotted and practised against her and thought the Prince of the aire thundered against her in his * Pius 5. Greg. 13. Sixtus 〈◊〉 Lieutenants as it were from the clouds with curses and cursed Excommunications Lately also he hath vouchsafed an admirable deliuerance to his Anointed our gracious King and to vs all from a most barbarous and horrible confusion And of this kinde of fauour and fauourable dealing vsed of the Lord we may reade plentifully in Diuine and Ecciesiasticall stories And no doubt the wicked haue sometimes fared the better for the Electsake as Laban did Gen. 30. 27. Gen. 39. 5. Act. 27. 24. Gen. 18. 32. Iob. 22. â—0 for Iacob and Potiphar for Ioseph and those which say led in that dangerous voyage to Rome for Paul who was in their companie God told Abraham that if there were but ten righteous persons in Sodom hee would not destroy it for their sakes Eliphaez saith that the innocent shall deliuer the Iland meaning that God doth often deliuer a whole countrey from perill for the iust mâ—ns sake For his Elect GOD hath altered the course of nature He diuided the waters Priuil 6. of the red sea that his people might passe dry-shod through it He caused the Sunne Exo. 14. 22. Iâ—sh 10. 12. to stay and the Moone to stand still till his people had auenged themselues vpon their enemies For Gideons sake he caused the dew to fall only vpon a fleece of wooll and kept it from falling vpon the ground Iud. 8. 38 40. and afterwards at his request he let it fall on the earth and kept the fleece drie For Hezekiah his sake he brought the shadow in the dyall of Ahaz ten degrees Isa. 38. 8 backward by the which degrees the Sunne was gone downe GOD doth often preserue his chosen Priuil 7. children from peâ—â—is then when he doth persecute the wicked Many sorowes Psal. 32. 10. 〈◊〉 Dauid shall be fall the wicked but he that trusteth in the Lord shall be compassed of mercy Noah was deliuered when the wicked were drowned The Israelites Gen. 19. 16. passed wheÌ„ the Egiptians perished WheÌ„ Sodoâ— was burned Lot was brought foorth When Ierico was sacked Rahaâ— was saued When Abab was slaine Iebosaphâ—t escaped When Ierusalem was to be destroyed the Lord commanded Ezek. 9. 4. the godly to be braÌ„ded that they might be preserued Moreouer when the Lord deliuereth his own people then he doth sometimes thrust the wicked into their dangers The righteous sayth Salomon Prâ—â— 11. 8. escapeth out of trouble and the wicked shall come in his stead And as he doth vsually crosse their cursed counsels so he doth often times curse theyr malicious and bloudie enterprises and cracks them vpoÌ„ their owne crownes and breakes them vpon their own backs Haman was hanged on that galowes which he himselfe Hest. 7. 9 had prepared for Mordecai whom the King did greatly aduance Daniel was broughtâ—om the Lions and his accusers Dan. 6. 23 24. being cast into the den amongst them were deuoured of them God preserued Shadrak Meshak Abednego in the hot Dan 3. 22. fiery furnace and â—lew the men with the flame of the fire that brought them forth to be burned The Lord deliuered good Iehâ—shaphat and caused his enemies that 2. Chron. 20. 23. came against him to help forward their owne destruction The Lord hath deliuered vs froÌ„ their barbarous and blood-thirsty Catholiques and hath for the honour of his mercy pulled the rotten house of their diuelish muentions vpon their owne heads His name be praysed for euer and euer Amen Christ hath altered the nature of affsictions Priuil 8. vnto his elect and faithfull members For whereas they are cast vpon the wicked as punishments due vnto them for their sinnes wherein they liue they are inflicted vpon the Godly by Psal. 8â— 31 32. Hab. 12. 6. God as a mercifull Father that desireth the amendment of his children Because our hearts are drossy the Lord as our most skilfull founder casteth vs into the furnace of afflictions that he might refine vs. Because we are subiect to transgresse and goe astray the Lord imparketh vs within the pales of aduersitie and hedgeth vs about with the thorny quick-set of the crosse that we might be kept in some compasse Dauid sayth Psa. 119 67. Before I was afflicted I went astray but now I keepe thy word Because wee are by nature vntoward to that which is good the Lord vseth the crosse as a Schoolemaster to instruct vs. Therefore Dauid sayth It is good for me that I haue beene afflicted that I may learne Psa. 11â— 71. thy Statutes Because wee are by nature inclined to the loue of the world the Lord as our Nurse doth weane vs from the loue thereof by affliction as the Mother or Nurse driueth her Child from the brest by rubbing it with some bitter thing To be briefe the Lord by afflictions ex 〈◊〉 eth our faith and patience â—â—aâ—neth vs humility and teacheth 〈◊〉 to esteeme of prosperity By aff 〈◊〉 s bee maketh vs to take experience or his loue and of those graces which he hath giuen vs. By afflictions he learneth vs to be mercifull vnto the miserable for the sense of sicknes and the feeling of pouerty through Gods blessing is a notable meanes to make vs pity the poore and the sick The Apostle sayth Our light afflâ—ction which is but for 2 Cor. 4. 17. a moment worketh vnto vs a far most excellent and an eternall weight of glory though not as a cause procuring it for wee are Ephes. 2. 8. Rom. 6. 23. saued by grace and euerlasting life is the free gift of God in Christ yet as a way and meanes directing and leading vs thereto Christ hath two Crownes the one of thornes the other of glory hee that will be honoured with the last must bee humbled and tryed with the first Thus it is euident that God sheweth himselfe a Father in afflicting his Children But as for the Reprobate his erosses are curses and his afflictions are fore-runners of further iudgements inflicted and sent of God as a seuere and dreadfull Iudge God hath altered the nature of death Priuil 9. vnto all the elect For Christ by his death hath been the death of death and the death of sinne which is the sting and strength of death First of all God by death teacheth vs to detest sinne and to acknowledge the seu 〈◊〉 ty and sharpnes of his anger against it Secondly by death he deliuereth vs vtterly from the body of sinne Till death we attaine not vnto perfection and at death sinne is wholy con 〈◊〉 ed. When we dye sinne dyeth For sinne is so nething like â—uy which falleth downe and dyeth when the tree on which it hanged is cuâ— d 〈◊〉 Thirdly the Lord doth sometimes take