and businesses among men to which they were by God appointed And the bodies of men which they assumed were no parts of their natures vnited to them as our bodies are to vs but rather they were as garments are to vs which they might put off and on at their pleasure If any shall aske whence they had these bodies the answer is that either they were created of nothing by the power of God or framed of some other matter subsisting before If againe it be asked what became of these bodies when they laid them downe because they vsed them but for a time the answer may be that if they were made of nothing they were againe resolued into nothing if made of other creatures that then they were resolued into the same bodies of which they were first made though indeede we can define nothing certenly in this point III. Angels are reasonable creatures of excellent knowledge and vnderstanding farre surpassing all men saue Christ. Their knowledge is threefold naturall reuealed experimentall Naturall which they receiued from God in the creation Reuealed which God makes manifest to them in processe of time whereas before they knew it not Thus God reuealed to Gabriel the mysterie of the 70. weekes Dan. 8 and 9. And in the Apocalyps many things are reuealed to the Angels that they might reueale theÌ„ to vs. Experimentall knowledge is that which they get by obseruing the dealings of God in the whole world but specially in the Church And thus Paul saith that to principalities and powers in heauenly places is knowne the manifolde wisedome of God by the Church IV. And as the knowledge so also the power of the good Angels is exceeding great They are able to doe more then all men can Therefore Paul calls them mightie Angels 2. Thess. 1.7 Yea their power is farre superiour to the power of the wicked angels who since the fall are vnder them and can not preuaile against them V. The place of the aboad of Angels is the highest heauen vnlesse they be sent thence by the Lord to doe some thing appointed by him This our Saâ—iour Christ teacheth when he saith that the angels of litle ones doe alreadie behold the face of their father in heauen And the wicked angels before their fall were placed in heauen because they were cast thence VI. That there be certaine distinctions and diuersities of angels it is very likely because they are called thrones and principalities and powers Châ—rubim and Seraphim But what be the distinct degrees and orders of Angels and whether they are to be distinguished by their natures gifts or offices no man by scripture can determine VII The ministerie of angels to which the Lord hath set them apart is threefold and it respecteth either God himselfe or his church or his enemies The ministerie which they performe to God it first of al to adore praise and glorifie him continually Thus the Cherubims in Esaies vision crie one to another Holy holy holy is the Lord God of hosts the world is full of his glory And when they were to publish the birth of the Messias they begin on this maner Glory to God in the highest heauens peace on earth And Iohn in his vision heard the angels about the throne crying with a loud voice Worthy is the Lambe c. to receiue power riches and strength wisdome and honour and glory and praise And indeede the highest ende of the ministerie of Angels is the manifestatioÌ„ of the glory of God The second is to stand in Gods presence euermore readie to doe his commandements as Dauid saith Praise the Lord yee his Angels that excell in strength that doe his commandements in obeying the voice of his word And here is a good lesson for vs. Wee pray daily that we may doe the will of God as the Angels in heauen doe it let vs therefore be followers of the holy Angels in praising God and in doing his commandements as they doe The ministerie of Angels concerning the Church standes in this that they are ministering sprits for the good of them which shall be heires of saluation The good is threefold in this life in the ende of this life and in the last iudgemeÌ„t again the good which they procure to the people of god in this life is either in respect of body or soule In respect of the body in that they doe most carefully performe al maner of duties which do necessarily tend to preserue the temporall life of Gods children euen from the beginning of their daies to the ende Dauid saith that they pitch their tents about them that feare the Lord. When Agar was cast forth of Abrahams family and wandered in the wildernesse an angell comes vnto her and giues her counsell to returne to her mistresse and humble her selfe When Elias fled from Iesabel he was both comforted directed and fed by an angel And an angel bidds the same Eliaâ— be of good courage and without feare to goe to King Achazias reproouâ— him Angels bring Lot and his family out of Sodom and Gomorrha before they burne the citties with fire and brimstone When Iacob feared his brother Esau hee sawe angels comming vnto him and he plainely acknowledgeth that they were sent to be his protectours his guides in his iourney Abraham beeing perswaded of the assistance of Gods angels in al his waies said to his seruant The Lord God of heauen who tooke me from my fathers house c. will send his angels before thee The wise men that came to see Christ are admonished by angels to returne another way and Ioseph by the directioÌ„ of an angel fled into Egypt that he might preserue Christ from the hands of the cruel tyrant The tents of the Israelites was garded by angels The three children are deliuered from the fierie furnace and Daniel out of the Lyons denne by angels When Christ was in heauinesse they ministred vnto him and comforted him and they brought Peter out of prison and set him at libertie Againe the angels procure good vnto the soules of the godly in that they are maintainers and furtherers of the true worshippe of God and of all good meanes whereby we attaine to saluation The lawe was deliuered in Mount Sina by angels and a great part of the Reuelation of Iohn They expound to Daniel the seuenty weekes They instruct the Apostles touching the returne of Christ to the last iudgement An angel forbids Iohn to worship him but to worship God the creatour of heauen and earth They fetch the Apostles out of prison and bidde them teach in the temple An angel bringes Philip to the Eunuch that he may expound the Scriptures to him Lastly they reueale the misteries and the will of God as to Abraham that he should not kill his sonne Isaac to Mary and Elizabeth the natiuity of Iohn Baptist of Christ our Sauiour and all this they
spirit the answer is that the spirit signifies the minde whereby men conceiue and vnderstand such things as may be vnderstood and the soule is there taken for the will and affections and therefore these twaine are not two parts but onely two distinct faculties of one and the same soule The bodie of man at the first was formed by God of clay or of the dust of the earth not to be the graue of the bodie as Plato said but to be an excellent and most fit instrument to put in execution the powers and faculties of the soule And howsoeuer in it selfe considered it is mortall because it is compoūded of contrarie natures called Elements yet by the appointment and blessing of God in the creation it became immortall till the fall of man As for the soule it is no accidentarie qualitie but a spirituall and inuisible essence or nature subsisting by it selfe Which plainely appeares in that the soules of men haue beeing and continuance as well forth of the bodies of men as in the same and are as well subiect to torments as the bodie is And whereas we can and doe put in practise sundrie actions of life sense motion vnderstanding we doe it onely by the power and vertue of the soule Hence ariseth the difference betweene the soules of men and beasts The soules of men are substances but the soules of other creatures seeme not to be substances because they haue no beeing out of the bodies in which they are but rather they are certaine peculiar qualities arising of the matter of the bodie and vanishing with it And it may be for this cause that the soule of the beast is said to be in the blood whereas the like is not said of the soule of man And though mens soules be spirits as angels are yet a difference must be made For angels can not be vnited with bodies so as both shall make one whole and entire person whereas mens soules may yea the soule coupled with the bodie is not onely the moouer of the bodie but the principall cause that makes man to be a man The beginning of the soule is not of 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 soule◠of men haue a beginning yet they haue no end but are eternall And when they are saide 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 yea we must not hurt or abuse our bodies but present them as holy and 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 goodnesse of God that hath vouchsafed to honour vs beeing but dust and ashes And after that man is created what is his life alas it is nothing but a little breath stoppe his mouth and his nostrells 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 nostrills Againe let vs marke the frame and shape of mans bodie All other creatures goe with their bodies and eyes to the ground-ward but man was made to goe vpright and whereas all other creatures haue but foure muscles to turne their eyes round about man hath a fifth to pull his eyes vp to heauen-ward Now what doth this teach vs surely that howsoeuer we seeke for other things yet first of all and aboue all we 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 thankfulnes vnto God by lifting vp the heart to heauen for the same These are very needfull and profitable lessons in these daies for most men indeede goe vpright but looke into their liues and they might as well 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 things of this world hereby they doe abase themselues 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 wil not stirre one foote Thirdly mans bodie by creation was made a temple framed by Gods owne 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 wherby 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 men 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 he doth make it in stead of a temple for the holy Ghost to be a stie 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 now become the deformed children of wrath our dutie therefore is to labour to get againe our first image and indeauour our selues to become newe 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 limm 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 and therfore we ought to labour aboue all things in the world to be restored in Christ to our first estate and perfection that
comfort but spend the time in silence gazing and looking on or in vttering wordes to little or no purpose saying to the sicke partie that they are verie sorrie to see him in that case that they would haue him to be of good comfort but wherein by what meanes they cannot tell that they doubt not but that he shall recouer his health and liue with them still and be merrie as in former time that they will pray for him whereas all their praiers are nothing els but the Apostles creed or the ten commandements and the Lords praier vttered without vnderstanding And this is the common comfort that sicke men get at the hands of their neighbours when they come vnto them and all his comes either because meÌ„ liue in ignorance of Gods word or because they falsly thinke that the whole burthen of this dutie lies vpon the shoulders of the minister The second circumstance is when the sicke partie must send for the elders to iâ—struct him and pray for him And that is in the verie first place of all before any other helpe be sought for Where the Diuine endes there the phisition must begin and it is a verie preposterous course that the Diuine should there begin where the physitian makes an ende For till helpe be had for the soule and sinne which is the roote of sicknesse be cured physicke for the bodie is nothing Therefore it is a thing much to be disliked that in all places almost the physitian is first sent for and comes in the beginning of the sicknes and the Minister comes when a man is halfe dead and is then sent for oftententimes when the sicke partie lies drawing on and gasping for breath as though Ministers of the Gospel in these daies were able to worke miracles The second dutie of the sick party is to confesse his sinnes as Iames saith Confesse your sinnes one to another and pray one for another It will be said that this is to bring in againe Popish shrift Ans. Confession of our sinnes and that vnto men was neuer denied of any the question onely is of the manner and order of making confession And for this cause we must put a great difference betweene Popish shrift and the confession of which S. Iames speaketh For he requires onely a confession of that or those sinnes which lie vpon a mans conscience when he is sicke but the Popish doctrine requireth a particular enumeration of all mans sinnes Againe S. Iames enioynes confession onely as a thing necessarie meete and conuenient but the Papists as a thing necessarie to the remission of sinnes Thirdly S. Iames permits that confession be made to any man and by one man to an other mutually whereas Popish shrift is made onely to the priest The second dutie then is that the sicke partie troubled in mind with the memorie and consideration of any of his sinnes past or any manner of way tempted by the deuill shall freely of his owne accord open his case to such as are both able and willing to helpe him that he may receiue comfort and die in peace of conscience Thus much of the sicke mans dutie now follow the duties of helpers The first is to pray ouer him that is in his presence to pray with him and for him and by praier to present his very person and his whole estate vnto God The Prophet Elizeus the Apostle Paul and our Sauiour Christ vsed this manner of praying when they would miraculously restore temporal life and therfore it is very meete that the same should be vsed also of vs that we might the better stirre vp our affections in prayer and our compassion to the sicke when we are about to intreat the Lord for the remission of their sinnes and for the saluation of their soules The second dutie of him that comes as an helper is to annoint the sicke partie with oyle Now this annointing was an outward ceremonie which was vsed with the gift of healing which is now ceased and therefore I omit to speake further of it Thus much of the dutie which the sick man owes to God now follow the duties which he is to performe vnto himselfe and they are twofold one concernes his soule the other his bodie The dutie concerning his soule is that he must arme furnish himselfe against the immoderate feare of present death And the reason hereof is plaine because howsoeuer naturally men feare thorough the course of their liues more or lesse yet in the time of sicknes when death approcheth this naturall feare bred in the bone will most of all shew it selfe euen in such sort as it will astonish the senses of the sicke partie sometime cause desperation Therefore it is necessary that we vse meanes to strengthen our selues against the feare of death The meanes are of two sorts practises and meditations Practises are two especially The first is that the sick man must not so much regard death it selfe as the benefits of God which are obtained after death He must fixe his mind vpon the consideration of the pangs torments of death but all his thoughts and affections must be set vpon that blessed estate that is enioyed after death He that is to passe ouer some great deepe riuer must not looke downward to the streame of the water but if he would preuent feare he must set his foote sure and cast his eie to the banke on the further side and so must he that drawes neare death as it were looke ouer the waues of death and directly fixe the eye of his faith vpon eternall life The second practise is to looke vpon death in the glasse of the Gospel and not in the glasse of the law that is we must consider death not as it is propounded in the law and looke vpon that terrible face which the law giueth vnto it but as it is set forth in the Gospel Death in the law is a curse and the downfall to the pit of destruction in the Gospel it is the entrance to heauen the law sets forth death as death the Gospel sets death as no death but as a sleepe onely because it speaketh of death as it is altered and changed by the death of Christ by the vertue whereof death is properly no death to the seruants of God When men shall haue care on this manner to consider of death it will be a notable means to strengthen and stablish them against all immoderate feares and terrours that vsually rise in sicknes The meditations which serue for this purpose are innumerable but I will touch onely those which are the most principal the grounds of the rest and they are foure in number The first is borrowed from the speciall prouidence of God namely that the death of euery maÌ„ much more of euery child of god is not onely foreseene but also foreappointed of God yea the death of euery man deserued and procured by his sinnes is laide vpon him by God who
when hee had confirmed this by testimonie of Scripturâ— he added This is my faith in which I will die and God will destroy them that teach otherwise This done he shooke hands with all and said Farewell my brethren and deare friends It were easie to quote more examples but these few may be in stead of many and the summe of all that godly men speake is this Some inlightened with a propheticall spirit foretell things to come as the Patriarkes Iacob and Ioseph did and there haue bin some which by name haue testified who should verie shortly come after them and who should remaine aliue and what should be their condition some haue shewed a wonderfull memorie of things past as of their former life and of the benefits of God and no doubt it was giuen them to stirre vp holy affections and thanksgiuing to God some againe rightly iudging of the change of their present estate for a better doe reioyce exceedingly that they must be translated from earth to paradise as Babylas Martyr of Antioch when his head was to be chopped off Returne saith he O my soule vnto thy rest because the Lord hath blessed thee because thou hast deliuered my soule from death mine eies from teares and my foote from falling I shall walke before thee Iehoua in the land of the liuing And some others speake of the vanitie of this life of the imagination of the sorrowes of death of the beginnings of eternall life of the comfort of the holy Ghost which they feele of their departure vnto Christ. Quest. What must we thinke if in the time of death such speeches be wanting and in the stead thereof idle talke be vsed Ans. Wee must consider the kind of sicknes whereof men die whether it be more easie or violent for violent sicknes is vsually accompanied with frensies and with vnseemely motions and gestures which wee are to take in good part euen in this regard because we our selues may be in the like case Thus much of the first dutie which is to die in faith the second is to die in obedience otherwise our death cannot bee aceeptable to God because wee seeme to come vnto God of feare and constraint as slaues to a master not of loue as children to a father Nowe to die in obedience is when a man willing and readie and desirous to goe out of this worlde whensoeuer God shall call him and that without murmuring or repining at what time where and wheÌ„ it shall please god Whether we liue or die saith Paul we do it not to our selues but vnto God and therefore mans dutie is to bee obedient to God in death as in life Christ is our example in this case who in his agonie praied Father let this cup passe from me yet with a submission not my will but thy will be done teaching vs in the very pangs of death to resigne our selues to the good pleasure of God When the prophet told king Ezechiah of death presently without all manner of grudging or repining he addressed himselfe to praier We are commanded to present our selues vnto God as free-will offerings without any limitation of time and therefore as well in death as in life I conclude then that we are to make as much conscience in performing obedience to God in suffering death as we do of any coÌ„scieÌ„ce in the course of our liues The third dutie is to render vp our soules into the handes of God as the most faithfull keeper of all This is the last dutie of a Christian and it is prescribed vnto vs in the example of Christ vpon the crosse who in the very pangs of death when the dissolution of bodie and soule drew on said Father into thy hands I commend my spirit and so gaue vp the ghost The like was done by Steuen who when he was stoned to death said Lord Iesus receiue my spirit And Dauid in his life time being in danger of death vsed the very same words that Christ vttered Thus we see what be the duties which we are to performe in the very paÌ„gs of death that we may come to eternall life Some man will happily say if this be all to die in faith and obedience and to surrender our soules into Gods haÌ„d we will not greatly care for any preparation before hand nor trouble our selues much about the right manner of dying well for we doubt not but that when death shall come we shall be able to perform all the former duties with ease Ans. Let no man deceiue himselfe by any false perswasion thinking with himselfe that the practise of the foresaid duties is a matter of ease for ordinarily they are not neither can they be performed in death vnles there bee much preparation in the life before Hee that will die in faith must first of all liue by faith and there is but one example in all the bible of a man dying in faith that liued without faith namely the theife vpon the crosse The seruants of God that are endued with great measure of grace doe very hardly beleeue in the time of affliction Indeede when Iob was afflicted he said Though the Lord kill me yet will I trust in him yet afterward his faith being ouercast with a cloud he saith that God was become his enemie and that he had set him as a marke to shoot at and sundry times his faith was oppressed with doubting and distrust How then shall they that neuer liued by faith nor inured themselues to beleeue bee able in the pang of death to rest vpon the mercie of God Againe hee that would die in obedience must first of all lead his life in obedience he that hath liued in disobedience can not willingly and in obedience appeare before the iudge when he is cited by death the sergeant of the Lord he dies indeede but that is vpon necesâ—itie because hee must yeelde to the order and course of nature as other creatures do Thirdly he that would surrender his soule into the hands of God must be resolued of two things the one is that God can the other is that God will receiue his soule into heauen and there preserue it till the last iudgement And none can be resolued of this except he haue the spirit of God to certifie his conscience that hee is redeemed iustified sanctified by Christ and shall be glorified He that is not thus perswaded dare not render vp and present his soule vnto God When Dauid said Lord into thy hands I commend my spirit what was the reason of this boldnesse in him surely nothing els but the perswasion of faith as the next words import for thou hast redeemed mee O Lord God of trueth And thus it is manifest that no man ordinarily can performe these duties dying that hath not performed them liuing This beeing so I doe againe renewe my former exhortation beseeching you that ye would practise the duties of preparatioÌ„ in the course of your liues leading
present vnto you an Exposition of another part of the Catechisme namely the Symbole or Creede of the Apostles which is indeede the very pith and substance of Christian religion taught by the Apostles imbraced by the ancient fathers sealed by the blood of martyrs vsed by Theodosius the Emperour as a meanes to ende the controuersies of his time and hereupon hath beene called the rule of faith the keye of faith And furthermore I hope that your Lordship will accept the same in good part the rather because you vouchsafed when you were in Cambridge to be an hearer thereof when it was taught and deliuered Thus crauing pardon for my boldnes I take my leaue commending your L. and yours to the protection of the Almightie Ann. 1595. Apr. 2. Your L. to command William Perkins The Contents of the booke The Creede pag. 185 Faith 187 God 198 The three persons 202 The Father 205 Gods omnipotencie 212 The Creation 217,221 Gods counsel 218 The creation of heauen 228 The creation of Angels 231 The creation of man 236 Gods prouidence 242 Adams fall and originall sinne 252 The couenant of grace 259 The title Iesus 262 The title Christ. 266 The title Sonne 271 The title Lord. 278 The Incarnation of Christ. 279 Christs humiliation 295 Christs passion 297 Christs arraignment 300 Christs execution 328 Christs sacrifice 350 Christs triumph 356 Christs buriall 367 The descension of Christ. 372 Christs exaltation 378 Christs Resurrection 380 Christs ascension 396 Christs sitting at c. 407 Christs intercession 409 Christs kingdome 417 The last iudgement 420 Of the holy Ghost 436 The Church 451,488 Predestination 453 The mysticall vnion 483 The communion of Saints 500 The forgiuenesse of sinnes 506 The resurrection of the bodie 509 Life euerlasting 516 In handling of the foresaid points for orders sake is considered 1. The meaning or such points of doctrine as are necessarie to bee knowne thereof 2. The duties to be learned thereby 3. The comforts that Gods pleople may gather thence AN EXPOSITION OF THE CREED I beleeue in God c. NO man iustly can be offended at this that I begin to treat of the doctrine of faith without a text though some be of mind that in Catechising the minister is to proceed as in the ordinary course of preaching onely by handling a set portion of scripture therefore that the handling of the Creede beeing no scripture is not conuenient Indeede I graunt that other course to bee commendable yet I doubt not but in Catechising the minister hath his libertie to followe or not to followe a certaine text of scripture as we doe in the vsuall course of preaching My reason is taken from the practise of the Primitiue Church whose Catechisme as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrues sheweth was contained in sixe principles or grounds of religion which were not taken out of any set text in the old Testament but rather was a forme of teaching gathered out of the most cleare places thereof Hence I reason thus That which in this point was the vse and manner of the Primitiue Church is lawfull to be vsed of vs now but in the Primitiue church it was the manner to catechize without handling any set text of scripture and therefore the ministers of the Gospell at this time may with like libertie do the same so be it they doe confirme the doctrine which they teach with places of scripture afterward Nowe to come to the Creede let vs begin with the name or title thereof That which in English we call the Apostles Creed in other tongues is called Symbolum that is a shot or a badge It is called a shot because as in a feast or banquet euery man payeth his part which beeing all gathered the whole which we call the shot amounteth and so out of the seuerall writings of the Apostles ariseth this creed or briefe confession of faith It is a badge because as a souldier in the field by his badge and liuerie is knowne of what band he is and to what captaine he doth belong euen so by this beleefe a christian man may be distinguished and knowne from all Iewes Turkes Atheists and all false professours and for this cause it is called a badge Againe it is called the creed of the Apostles not because they were the peÌ„ners of it conferring to it besides the matter the very style frame of words as we haue theÌ„ now set down Reason I. there are in this creed certen words phrases which are not to be found in the writings of the Apostles and namely these He descended into hell the Catholike Church The latter whereof no doubt first began to be in vse when after the Apostles daies the Church was dispersed into all quarters of the earth Secondly if both matter and wordes hâ—d beene from the Apostles why is not the creede Canonicall Scripture as well as any other of their writings III. The Apostles had a summarie collecollection of the points of Christian religion which they taught and also deliuered to others to teach by consisting of two heads faith and loue as may appeare by Pauls exhortation to Timothie wishing him to keepe the patterne of wholesome wordes which he had heard of him in faith and loue which is in Christ Iesus Nowe the Creed consists not of two heads but of one namely of faith only not of loue also Wherfore I rather think that it is called the Apostles Creede because it doth summarily conteine the cheife and principall points of religion handled and propounded in the doctrine of the Apostles and because the points of the Creede are conformable and agreeable to their doctrine and writings And thus much of the title Now let vs heare what the creed is It is a summe of things to be beleeued concerning God and concerning the Church gathered forth of the scriptures For the opening of this description First I say it is a summe of things to be beleeued or an abridgement It hath beene the practise of teachers both in the newe and olde Testament to abridge and contract summarily the religion of their time This the Prophets vsed For when they had made their sermons to the people they did abridge them and penned theÌ„ briefly setting them in some open place that all the people might reade the same So the Lord bad Habakuk to write the vision which he sawe and to make it plaine vpon tables that he may runne that readeth it And in the newe testament the Apostles did abridge those doctrines which otherwise they did handle at large â—s as may appeare in the place of Timothie afore named Nowe the reason â—hy both in the old and newe Testament the doctrine of religion was abridged is that the vnderstandings of the simple as also their memories might be hereby helped and they better inabled to iudge of the trueth and to discerne the same from falshood And for this ende the Apostles
this temple and in three daies I will build it vp againe more plainly I haue saith he power to lay downe my life and I haue power to take it againe From whence we learne diuers instructions First whereas Christ raiseth himselfe from death to life it serueth to prooue that he was not onely man but also true God For the bodie beeing dead could not bring againe the soule and ioyne it selfe vnto the same and make it selfe aliue againe neither yet the soule that is departed from the bodie can returne againe and quicken the bodie and therefore there was some other nature in Christ namely his godhead which did revnite soule and bodie togither and thereâ—y quicken the manhood Secondly if Christ giue life to himselfe beeing dead in the graue then much more nowe beeing aliue and in heauen glorified is hee able to raise vp his members from death to life Wee are all by nature euen starke dead in sinne as the deade bodie rotten in the graue and therefore our duty is to come to Christ our Lord by humble prayer earnestly intreating him that he would raise vs vp euery day more and more from the graue of our sinnes to newnesse of life He can of men deade in their sinnes make vs aliue vnto himselfe to liue in righteousnes and true holines all the daies of our life The third thing is that Christ rose againe with an earthquake And this serueth to prooue that he lost nothing of his power by death but still remained the absolute Lord and King of heauen and earth to whome therefore the earth vnder his feete trembling doth him homage This also prooueth vnto vs that Christ which lay dead in the graue did raise himselfe againe by his owne almightie power Lastly it serueth to conuince the keepers of the graue the women which came to embalme him and the disciples which came to the sepulchre and would not yet beleeue that he was risen againe But how came this earthquake Ans. Saint Matthew saith there was a great earthquake For the Angel of the Lord descended from heauen c. This shewes that the power of angels is great in that they can mooue and stirre the earth Three angels destroied Sodom and Gomorrha An angel destroied the first borne of Egypt in one night In the hoast of Senacherib one angel slue in one night an hundreth fourescore and fiue thousand men Of like power is the deuill himselfe to shake the earth and to destroy vs all but that God of his goodnesse limits and restraines him of his libertie Well if one angel be able to shake the earth what then will Christ himselfe doe when he shall come to iudgement the second time with many thousand thousands of angels oh how terrible and fearefull will his comming be Not without cause saith the holy Ghost that the wicked at that day shall crie out wishing the hills to fall vpon them and the mountaines to couer them for feare of that great and terrible day of the Lord. The fourth thing is that an Angel ministred to Christ beeing to rise againe in that he came to the graue and rolled away the stone and sate vpon it Where obserue first how the angels of God minister vnto Christ though dead and buried whereby they acknowledge that his power maiestie and authoritie is not included within the bonds of the earth but extends it selfe euen to the heauens themselues and the hosts thereof and that according to his humanitie Wicked men for their parts laboured to close him vp in the earth as the basest of all creatures but the angels of heauen most readily accept him as their soueraigne Lord and king as in like manner they did in his temptation in the wildernes and in his agonie in the garden Secondly that the opinion of the Papists and others which thinke that the bodie of Christ went through the graue-stone when he rose againe is without warrant For the end no doubt why the angel rolled away the stone was that Christ might come forth And indeed it is against the order of nature that one body should passe through another without corruption or alteration of either considering that euery bodie occupies a place and two bodies at the same instant can not be in one proper place Furthermore it is saide that when the angel sate on the stone his countenance was like lightening and his rayment as white as snow and this serued to shew what was the glorie of Christ himselfe For if the seruant and minister be so glorious then endles is the glorie of the lord and master himselfe Lastly it is saide 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 endes 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 and 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 and consider that there is a reuiuing and quickning vertue in the resurrection of Christ wherby he is able not onely to raise our dead bodies vnto life but also when we are dead in sinne to raise vs vp to newnesse of life And in this very point stands a maine difference betweene the resurrection of Christ and 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 and therfore he is called a quickning spirit And let vs marke the order obserued in rising First Christ riseth and theÌ„ the Saints after him And this came to passe to verefie the Scripture which saith that Christ is the first borne of the dead Now he is the first borne of the deadâ— in that he hath this dignitie and priuiledge to rise to eternall life the first of all men It is true indeed that Lazarus and 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 manner And the persons that
see in the vision of the waters that ranne out of the temple First a man must wade to the ankles then after to the knees and so to the loynes then after the waters growe to a riuer that cannot be passed ouer and so the Lord conueyeth his graces by little and little till at the last men haue a full measure thereof Thirdly the resurrection of Christ serues as an argument to prooue vnto vs our resurrection at the day of iudgement Paul saith If the spirit of Christ that raised vp Iesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortall bodies Some will say that this is no benefit for all must rise againe as well the wicked as the godly Answ. True indeed but yet the wicked rise not againe by the same cause that the godly doe They rise againe by the power of Christ not as hee is a Sauiour but as hee is a iudge to condemne them For God had said to Adam at what time he should eate of the forbidden fruite hee should die the death meaning a double death both the first and the second death Nowe then the vngodly rise againe that God may inflict vpon them the punishment of the second death which is the reward of sinne that so Gods iustice may be satisfied but the godly rise againe by the power of Christ their head and redeemer who raiseth them vp that they may be partakers of the benefit of his death which is to enioy both in bodie and soule the kingdome of heauen which he hath so deerely bought for them Thus much for the comforts Nowe followe the duties and they are also three First as Christ Iesus when he was dead rose againe from death to life by his owne power so wee by his grace in imitation of Christ must endeauour our selues to rise vp from all our sinnes both originall and actuall vnto newenesse of life This is worthily set downe by the Apostle saying Wee are buried by baptisme into his death that as Christ was raised vp from the dead by the glorie of the father so wee also should walke in newnesse of life and therefore we must endeauour our selues to shewe the same power to be in vs euery day by rising vp from our owne personall sinnes to a reformed life This ought to be remēbred of vs because howesoeuer many heare and knowe this point yet very fewe doe practise the same For to speake plainly as dead men buried would neuer heare though a man should speake neuer so loud so vndoubtedly amōg vs there be also many liuing men which are almost in the same case The ministers of God may crie vnto them daily and iterate the same thing a thousand times and tell them that they must rise vp from their sinnes and lead a newe life but they heare no more then the dead carkas that lieth in the graue Indeede men heare with their outward eares but they are so farre from practising this dutie that many iudge it to bee a matter of reproch and ignominy And those which make any conscience of this dutie how they are laden with nicknames and taunts who knoweth not I neede not to rehearse them so odious a thing nowe a daies is the rising from sinne to newnesse of life Sound a trumpet in a dead mans eares he stirs not let vs crie for amendment of life till breath go out of our bodies no man almost saith What haue I done And for this cause vndoubtedly if it were not for cōscience of that duty which mē owe vnto God wee should haue but fewe ministers in England For it is the ioy of a minister to see the vnfained conuersion of his people whereas alas men generally lie snorting in their corruptions and rather goe forward in them still then come to any amendment such is the wonderful hardnesse that hath possessed the hearts of most men He which hath but halfe an eie may see this to be true Oh! howe exceedes Atheisme in all places contempt of Gods worship prophanation of the sabbath the whordomes fornications the crueltie and oppression of this age crie to heauen for vengeance By these such like sinnes the world crucifies Christ againe For looke as Pilats souldiers with the wicked Iewes tooke Christ and stripped him of his garments buffeted him and slue him so vngodly men by their wicked behauiour strip him of al honour and slaie him againe If an infidel should come among vs yeeld himselfe to be of our religiō after he had seene the behauiour of men he would peraduenture leaue all religion for hee might say surely it seemes this God whome these men worship is not the true God but a God of licentious libertie And that which is more whereas at all times wee ought to shewe our selues newe creatures and to walke worthie of our Sauiour and redeemer and therefore also ought to rise out of our sinnes and to liue in righteousnes and true holinesse yet we for the most part goe on still forward in sinne and euery day goe deeper then other to hel-ward This hath beene heretofore the common practise but let vs nowe learne after the example of Christ beeing quickened and reuiued by his grace to endeauour our selues especially to come out of the graue of sinne and learne to make conscience of euery bad action True it is a Christian man may vse the creatures of God for his delight in a moderate and godly manner but Christ neuer gaue libertie to any to liue licentiously for he that is free is yet seruant vnto Christ as Paul saith and therefore we must not enterprise any thing but that which may be a worke of some good dutie vnto God to which ende the Apostle saith Awake thou that sleepest and stand vp from the dead and Christ shall giue thee life If this will not mooue vs yet let the iudgements of God drawe vs hereunto Blessed is he saith the holy Ghost that hath part in the first resurrection for on such the second death hath no power where mention is made of a double death the first is the separation of soule and bodie the second is the eternal condemnation of soule and bodie in hell fire Would we nowe escape the second death after this life we must then labour in this life to be partakers of the first resurrection and that on this manner Looke what sinnes we haue liued in heretofore we must endeauour to come out of them all and lead a better life according to all the commandements of God But if it be so that ye wil haue no care of your own soules goe on hardly to your owne perill and so yee shall be sure to enter into the second death which is eternall damnation Secondly we are taught by the example of Saint Paul to labour aboue all things to know Christ and the vertue of his resurrection And this we shall doe when we can say by
who beeing tempted of the deuill and asked how he beleeued answered that he beleeued as the Church beleeued beeing againe asked how the Church beleeued he answered as I beleeue whereupon the deuill as they say was faine to depart Well this fond and ridiculous kind of faith we renounce as being a meanes to nuzle men in blindnes superstition and perpetuall ignorance yet withall we doe not denie but that there is an implicite or infolded faith which is when a man as yet hauing but some little portion of knowledge in the doctrine of the Gospel doth truly performe obedience according to the measure thereof and withall hath care to get more knowledge and shewes good affection to all good meanes whereby it may be increased In this respect a certaine ruler who by a miracle wrought vpon his child was mooued to acknowledge Christ for the Messias and further to submit himselfe to his doctrine is commended for a beleeuer and so are in the like case the Samaritanes And thus much of weake faith which must be vnderstood to be in a man not all the daies of his life but while he is a yong babe in Christ. For as it is in the state of the bodie first we are babes and grow to greater strength as we grow in yeres so it is with a christian man First he is a babe in Christ hauing weake faith but after growes from grace to grace till he come to haue a stroÌ„g faith example wherâ—of we haue in Abraham who was strong and perfect both in knowledge and apprehension This strong faith is when a man is indued with the knowledge of the Gospell and grace to apprehend and apply the righteousnes of Christ vnto himselfe for the remission of his owne sinnes so as he can say distinctly of himselfe and truely that he is fully resolued in his owne conscience that he is reconciled vnto God in Christ for all his sinnes and accepted in him to life euerlasting This degree of faith is proper to him that beginnes to be a tall man and of ripe yeares in Christ. And it commeth not at the first calling of a man vnto grace And if any shall thinke that he can haue it at the first he deceiueth himself For as it is in nature first we are babes then as we increase in yeares so we growe in strength so it is in the life of a Christian first ordinarily he hath a weake faith and after growes from grace to grace till he come to stronger faith and at the last he be able to say he is fully assured in his heart and conscience of the pardon of his sinnes of reconciliation to God in Christ. And this assurance ariseth from many experiences of Gods fauour and loue in the course of his life by manifold preseruations and other blessings which beeing deepely and duly considered bring a man to be fully perswaded that God is his God and God the father his father and Iesus Christ his redeemer and the holy Ghost his sanctifier Now howesoeuer this faith be strong yet is it alwaies imperfect as also our knoweledge is and shall so long as wee liue in this worlde be mingled with contrarie vnbeleefe and sundry doubtings more or lesse A great part of men amongest vs blinded with grosse ignorance say they haue faith and yet indeede haue not For aske them what faith they haue they will answere they beleeue that God is their father and the Sonne their redeemer c. aske them how long they haue had this faith they will answer euer since they could remember aske them whether they euer doubt of Gods fauour they will say they would not once doubt for all the world But the case of these men is to bee pitied for howesoeuer they may perswade themselues yet true it is that they haue no sound faith at all for euen strong faith is assaulted with temptations and doubtings and God will not haue men perfect in this life that they may alwaies goe out of themselues and depend wholly on the merite of Christ. And thus much of these two degrees of faith Nowe in whome soeuer it is whether it be a weake faith or a strong it bringeth forth some fruit as a tree doth in the time of sommer And a speciall fruite of faith is this confession of faith I beleeue in God c. so Paul saith With the heart a man may beleeue vnto righteousnesse and with the mouth man confesseth to saluation Confession of faith is when a man in speech and outwarde profession doth make manifest his faith for these two causes I. That with his mouth outwardly he may glorifie God and doe him seruice both in body and soule II. That by the confession of his faith he may seuer himselfe from all false Christians from Atheists hypocrites and all false seducers whatsoeuer And as this is the dutie of a Christian man to make profession of his faith so here in this Creede of the Apostles wee haue the right order and forme of making confession set downe as we shall see in handling the parts thereof The Creede therefore setts downe two thinges concerning faith namely the action of faith and his obiect which also are the parts of the Creed The action in these wordes I beleeue the obiect in all the wordes following in God the Father Almightie maker c. And first let vs beginne with the action I beleeue in God Wee are taught to saie I beleeue not vvee beleeue for two causes First because as wee touched before in the Primitiue Church this Creede was made to bee an aunswere to a demaunde or question which was demaunded of euery particular man that was baptized for they asked him thus What doest thou beleeue then he aunswered I beleeue in God the Father c. And thus did euerie one of yeares make profession of his faith and it is likely that Peter alluded hereunto saying the stipulation or aunswere of a good conscience maketh request to God The second cause is howesoeuer we are to pray one for another by sayingâ— O our Father c. yet when we come to yeares we must haue a particular faith of our own no man can be saued by another mans faith but by his owne as it is said The iust shall liue by his faith But some will say this is not true because children must be saued by their parents faith the aunswere is this the faith of the parent doth bring the child to haue a title or interest to the Couenant of grace and to all the benefits of Christ yet doth it not applie the benefits of Christs death his obedience his merits and righteousnesse vnto the infant for this the beleeuer doth onely vnto himselfe and to no other Againe some may say if children doe not apprehend Christs benefits by their parents faith howe then is Christs righteousnesse made theirs and they saued Answer By the inwarde working of the holy Ghost who is the principal applier
as when a thing is to make it at the same time to be and not to be as when the Sunne doth shine to make it at the same instant to shine and not to shine And therefore false is the doctrine of the church which in their transubstaÌ„tiation make the bodie of Christ whose essentiall propertie is to bee onely in one place at once to be circumscribed and not to be circumscribed to be in one place and not to be in one place And thus much for the meaning Nowe follow the duties whereunto wee are mooued by this doctrine of Gods omnipotencie First whereas God the father is said to be almightie we are taught true humiliation Humble your selues vnder the mightie hand of God saith Peter where he giueth an exhortation to humilitie and alleadgeth the cause because God is almightie To make this more plaine Euery one of vs was borne in sinne by nature we are most wretched in our selues now what an one is God Surely he is able to doe whatsoeuer he will yea and more then he will and is able to destroy such as rebell against him euery moment Therefore our dutie is to cast downe our selues for our sinnes in his presence This true humiliation was that which our Sauiour Christ would haue brought the younge man in the Gospell vnto when hee bade him goe sell all that he had and giue to the poore Therefore whosoeuer thou art take heed thou must for if thou runne on in thy wickednesse and still rebell against God it is a thousand to one at length he will destroy thee For he is an almightie God and able to doe whatsoeuer hee will his hand is mightie it boots not a man to striue with him for hee was neuer yet ouermastered and for this cause wee must needs â—ast down our selues vnder his hand It is a fearefull thing saith the holy Ghost to fall into the hands of the liuing God therefore if wee would eâ—cape his heauie and terrible displeasure the best way for vs is to abase our selues and be ashamed to followe our sinnes Christ biddeth vs not to feare him that is able to kill the body and can goe no further but wee must feare him that is able to cast both bodie and soule into hell fire Example of this we haue in Dauid who when he was persecuted by his owne sonne Absolon he said vnto the Lord If he thus say I haue no delight in thee behold here I am let him doe to me as seemeth good in his eies But some will say I will liue a little longer in my sinnes in lying pride Sabbath breaking in swearing dicing gaming and wantonnesse for God is mercifull and in my old age I will repent Ans. Well soothe not thy selfe but marke vsually when God holds backe his hand for a season he doth as it were fetch a more mightie blowe for the greater confusion of a rebellious sinner therefore humble submit and cast downe thy selfe before God and doe not striue against him his hand is mightie and will ouerthrow thee Though thou hadst all learning wisdome might riches c. yet as Christ said to the younge man one thing is wanting that thou shouldest bee humbled and vntill thou bee humbled nothing is to bee looked for but Gods iudgement for sinne Secondly seeing God is almightie we must tremble and feare at all his iudgements we must stand in awe quake and quiuer at them as the poore childe doth when he seeth his father come with the rod. Example of this we haue often in Gods word as when the sonnes of Aaron offered straunge fire before the Lord he sent fire from heauen and burned them vp And though Aaron was very sorry for his sonnes yet when Moses told him that the Lord would be glorified in all that came neere him then the text saith Aaron helde his peace So also we read that the Apostles reprooued Peter for preaching vnto the Gentiles but when Peter had expounded the things in order which he had seene then they held their peace and glorified God As also Dauid saith I held my tongue O Lord because thou didst it Isaiah saieth In hope silence is true fortitude If a man be in trouble he must hope for deliuerance and be quiet and patient at Gods iudgements But the practise of the world is flat contrarie For men are so farre from trembling at them that they vse to pray to god that plagues curses and vengeance may light vpon them and vpon their seruants and childreÌ„ Nowe the Lord being a mighty God often doth answerably bring his iudgements vpon them Againe many caried with impatiencie wish themselues hanged or drowned which euils they thinke shal neuer befall them yet at the length God doth in his iustice bring such punishments vpon them according as they wished And which is more in all ages there haue bene some which haue scorned and mocked at Gods iudgements Hereof we had not far hence a most fearefull example One beeing with his companion in a house drinking on the Lords day when he was readie to depart thence there was great lightening and thunder whereupon his fellow requested him to stay but the man mocking and iesting at the thunder and lightning said as report was it was nothing but a knaue cooper knocking on his tubbes come what woulde hee would goe and so went on his iourney but before hee came halfe a mile from the house the same hand of the Lord which before he had mocked in a crack of thunder stroke him about the girdlestead that he fell downe starke deade Which example is worthy our remembrance to put vs in mind of Gods heauy wrath against those which scorne his iudgements for our dutie is to tremble and feare and it were greatly to be wished that wee coulde with open eye beholde the terriblenesse and fearefulnesse of Gods iudgements it would make a man to quake and to leaue off sinne If a man passe by some high and daungerous place in the night when hee cannot see hee is not affraide but if yee bring him backe againe in the day and let him see what a steepe and dangerous way hee came hee will not be perswaded to passe the same way againe for any thing so it is in sinning for men liuing in ignorance and blindenesse practise any wickednesse and doe not care for Gods iudgements but when God of his goodnesse bringeth them backe and openeth their eies to see the downfall to the pit of hell and the iudgements of God due to their sinnes then they say they will neuer sinne as they haue done but become new men and walke in the way to eternall life Thirdly we are taught by the Apostle Paul that if wee be to doe any duty to our brethren as to releeue them wee must doe it with chearfulnesse for he laboureth to perswade the Corinthians to cheerefull liberalitie and the reason of his perswasion is because God is able
so we may become bone of his bone flesh of his flesh beeing iustified and sanctified by his obedience death and passion Fifthly man was created that there might be a way prepared wherby 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 beginnes to come into execution 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 we may haue assurance that we be eternally chosen to saluation by the Lord himselfe Lastly whereas we haue learned that the soule of man is immortall we 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 flat contrarie in the woâ—ld for men labour all their liues long to get for the bodie but for the soule they care little or nothing at all whether it sinke or swimme goe to heauen or to hell they respect not This doth appeare to be true by the practise and behauiour of men on the Lords day for if the number of those which come to heare Gods word 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 thinke it not much to goe ten thousand myles if neede were to take any paines for the good of thy soule and to get foode for the same it beeing euerlasting And thus much for the duties Now follow the consolationâ— Although by reason of the fall of man we can haue but little comfort now yet the creation doth confirme the vnspeakable prouidence of God ouer his creatures but especially ouer man in that the Lord created him the sixth day and so before he was made prepared for him a Paradise for his dwelling place and all creatures for his vse and comfort And if he were thus carefull for vs when we were not then no doubt he will be much more carefull for vs at this present in which we liue and haue beeing Nay marke further since the fall man eates and drinkes in quantitie a great deale which in common reason should rather kill him then turne to the strength and nourishment of his bodie yet herein doth the wonderfull power of the Creatour most notably appeare who hath made mans stomacke as a lymbecke or still to digest all meates that are hole-some for his nourishment and preseruation And thus much for the Creation Now in these words maker of heauen and earth is more to be vnderstood then the worke of creation namly Gods prouidence in gouerning all things created as he appointed in his eternall decreeâ— and therefore Saint Peter saith God is a faithfull creatour that is God did not onely make heauen and earth and so leaue them as masons and carpenters leaue houses when they are built but by his prouidence doth most wisely gouerne the same Now therefore let vs come to speake of Gods prouidence And first of all the question offers it selfe to be considered whether there be any prouidence of God or no for the mindes of men are troubled with many doubtings hereof And to make the question out of all doubt I will vse foure arguments to confirme the prouidence of God The first is the testimonie of the Scripture which ascribeth the euent of all particular actions euen such as are in themselues casuall as the casting of lots and such like to the disposition of God which very thing also teacheth that euen men themselues indued with reason and vnderstanding haue neede to be guided in all things and gouerned by God and it serueth to confute those that denie Gods prouidence Why saiest thou O Iacob and speakest O Israel my way is hid from the Lord and my iudgement is past ouer by my God The second argument may be taken from the order which appeareth in the whole course of nature First to begin with families there is to be seene and eutaxie or seemely order in which some rule and some obey and the like is to be found in townes cities countries and kingdomes yea euen in the whole world in which all things are so disposed that one serueth for the good of another Trees and hearbs and grasse of the field serue for beasts and cattell beasts and cattell serue for men the heauens aboue serue for them which are beneath and all the creatures which are aboue and beneath serue for God This argueth that God is most wise and prouident in ordering and disposing all things whatsoeuer The third argument is taken from the conscience specially of malefactours Suppose a man that coÌ„mits a murder so closely that no man knowes thereof and that the partie himselfe is free from all the daunger of law yet shall he haue his owne conscience to accuse vpbraid and condemne him yea euen to fright him out of his witte and to giue him no more rest then he can find vpon the racke or gibbet Now this accusation and terrour of conscience is nothing els but the forerunner of an other most terrible iudgement of God who is Lord of all creatures and iudge of all men And this also prooues the prouidence of God For if the conscience can finde a man out and lay his faults to his charge how much more shall God himselfe the creator of the conscience see and consider all his doings The fourth and last argument is this The prophesies of things to come should be vncerten or false if God gouerned not the world But now â—â—â—sidering things many yeares agoe foretold come to passe in the same maner as they were foretold by the Prophets and Apostles hereby we must certenly conclude that there is a prouidence of God whereby all and euerything is gouerned Against the prouidence of God sundrie things be alleadged The first and speciall is that prouidence and disorder confusion and order can not stande together Now in the world there is nothing but disorder and confusion in seditions treasons conspiracies and subuersions of kingdomes where also sinne and wickednesse preuailes Ans. It is true indeede there hath bin confusion in the world euer since the fall of man and angels and it ariseth not from God but from them alone who as they did at the first transgresse the will of God so they doe what they can to turne all vpside downe Now then coufusion disorder is onely in respect of the deuill and his instruments but in regard of God
as Adam was and therefore his sinne is personall whereas Adams is not Yet this which I say must not be vnderstood of all the sinnes of Adam but onely of the first From the fall of Adam springeth originall sinne so commonly called not onely as a fruit thereof but also as a iust punishment of it And after the foresaid fall it is in Adam and his posteritie as the mother and roote of all other sinne yet with this distinction that actuall sinne was first in Adam and then came originall but in vs first is originall sinne and then after followes actuall Originall sinne is tearmed diuersly in Scriptures as the flesh the old man because it is in vs before grace concupiscence sinne that is readie to compasse vs about the sinning sinne and it is tearmed originall because it hath beene in mans nature euer since the fall and because it is in euery man at the very instant of his conception and birth as Dauid plainely saith Behold I was borne in iniquitie and in sinne hath my mother conceiued me not meaning properly his parents sinne for he was borne in lawfull marriage but his owne hereditarie sinne whereof he was guiltie euen in his mothers wombe But let vs a little search the nature of it Considering it hath place in man it must be either the substance of bodie or soule or the faculties of the substance or the corruption of the faculties Now it cannot be the substance of man corrupted for then our Sauiour Christ in taking our nature vpon him should also take vpon him our sinnes and by that meanes should as well haue neede of a redeemer as other men and againe the soules of men should not be immortall Neither is it any one or all the faculties of man For euery one of them as namely the vnderstanding will affections and all other powers of bodie or soule were in man from the first creation whereas sinne was not before the fall Wherefore it remaines that originall sinne is nothing else but a disorder or euill disposition in all the faculties and inclinations of man whereby they are all caried inordinately against the law of God The subiect or place of this sinne is not any part of man but the whole bodie and soule For first of all the naturall appetite to meate and drinke and the power of nourishing is greatly corrupted as appeares by diseases aches surfets but specially by the abuse of meate and drinke Secondly the outward senses are as corrupt and that made Dauid to pray that God would turne his eyes from beholding of vanitie and Saint Iohn to say whatsoeuer is in the world is the lust of the flesh the lust of the eye and the pride of life Thirdly touching the vnderstanding the spirit of God saith that the frame of the heart of man is onely euill continually so as we are not able of our selues to thinke a good thought And therefore withall the will of man and his affections are answerably corrupt and hereupon the doctrine of Christ is that we must renounce our own wills Lastly all mans strength in good things is nothing out of Christ. The propagation of this sinne is the deriuing of it from Adam to all his posteritie whereby it runneth as a leprosie ouer all mankind But in what maner this propagation is made it is hard to define The common opinion of Diuines is that it may be done two waies The first is this God when he created Adam in the beginning set downe this appointment and order touching the estate of man that whatsoeuer Adam receiued of God he should reâ—â—iue it not onely for himselfe but for his posteritie and whatsoeuer grace of God he lost he should loose not onely to himselfe but to all his posteritie And hereupon Adam when he sinned he depriued first of all himself and then secondly all his posteritie of the image of God because all mankind was in â—is loines when he sinned Now then vpon the former appointment when the soules of men are created and placed in the bodie God forsakes them not in respect of the substance of the soule or the faculties but onely in respect of his owne image wherof the soules are depriued after which followes the defect or want of righteousnesse which is originall sinne And God in depriuing man of that which AdaÌ„ lost is not therefore to be thought to be the author or maintainer of sinne but a iust iudge For this depriuation of the image of God so farforth as it is inflicted by him vpon mankind it must be conceiued as a deserued punishment for the sinne of Adam and all men in him which punishment they pulled vpon themselues The second way is that the corruption of nature is deriued from the parents in generation by the bodie for as sweete oyle powred into a fustie vesâ—ell looseth his purenesse and is infected by the vessell so the soule created good put into the corrupt bodie receiues coÌ„tagion theÌ„ce And this coniunction of the pure soule with the corrupt bodie is not against the goodnes of God because it is a iust punishment of the sin of all men in AdaÌ„ It may be this which hath bin said wil not satisfie the minds of all yet if any will be curious to search further into this point let them know that there is an other matter which more concernes them to looke vnto When a mans house is on fire there is no time then to inquire how and which way and whence the fire came but our dutie is with all speed and expedition to vse all good means to stay it And so considering that our whole natures are really infected and poisoned with the loathsome contagion of originall sinne which is a weight sufficient to presse downe the soule to the gulfe of hell it standes vs in hand a thousand fold more to vse the meanes whereby it may be taken away then to dispute how it came Some may alleadge against the propagation of sinne that holy parents beget holy children which are void of originall sinne because it stands not with reason that parents should conuey that to their children which they theÌ„selues want namely the guilt and the punishment and the fault of sinne in part Answ. I. Men are not in this life perfectly holy For sanctification is but in part and therefore they can not possibly beget children pure from all sinne Secondly parents beget children as they are men and not as they are holy men and by generation they deriue vnto their children nature with the corruption thereof and not grace which is aboue nature Take any corne yea the finest wheate that euer was winow it as cleane as possibly may be afterward sow it weede it also when it is sowen and reape it in due time and carie it to the barne when it is thresht you shall finde as much chaffe in it as euer was before and why because God hath set this order in the
nothing regarded A blinde man neuer seeing the sunne is not brought to wonder at it and earthly minded men neither seeing nor feeling what an excellent thing it is to bee the childe of God cannot bee brought to seeke after it But let all such as feare God enter into a serious consideration of the vnspeakeable goodnesse of God comforting themselues in this that God the father hath vouchsafed by his owne sonne to make them of the vassals of satan to be his owne deere children Nowe followe the duties which are two First we beleeue that Iesus Christ who was to be the Sauiour of mankinde must needs be God what is the reason hereof surely because no creature no not all the creatures in heauen and earth were able to saue one man so vile wretched and miserable is our estate by Adams fall And therefore the sonne of God himselfe pitied our estate and beeing king of heauen and earth was faine to come from heauen and lay downe his crowne and become a seruant and taking vpon him our nature was also faine to take vpon him our case and condition and suffer death for our sinnes which otherwise euery one of vs should haue suffered both in bodie and soule world without ende To make this more plaine let vs suppose that some one hath committed an offence against a prince and the trespasse to be so grieuous that no man can appease the kings wrath saue only the kings onely sonne and which is more the kings sonne himselfe cannot release him vnlesse hee suffer the punishment for him in his owne person which is due vnto the malefactour Nowe what is to be thought of this mans estate surely all men will say that he is in a most miserable taking and that his trespasse is notorious and so it is with euery one of vs by nature whatsoeuer we are No man could saue our soules no not all the angels in heauen vnlesse the king of heauen and earth the onely sonne of God had come down from heauen and suffered for vs bearing our punishment Nowe the consideration of this must humble vs and make vs to cast downe our selues vnder the hand of God for our sinnes and pray continually that the Lord would send some Moses or other which might smite the rockes of our hearts that some teares of sorrowe and repentance might gush out for this our wofull miserie Secondly whereas God the Father of Christ gaue his onley sonne to be our Sauiour as we must be thankefull to God for all things so especially for this great and vnspeakable benefit Common blessings of God as meat drinke health wealth and libertie must at all times mooue vs to be thankeful but this that Christ Iesus the onely sonne of God redeemed vs beeing vtterly lost this I say must be the maine point of all our thankfulnes but alas mens hearts are so frozen in the dreggs of their sinnes that this dutie comes little in practise nowe adaies When our Sauiour Christ clensed ten lepers there was but one of them that returned to giue him thankes and 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 tenne nay scarse one of a thousand giues praise and thankes to God for it because men take no delight in things which concerne the kingdome of heauen they thinke not that they haue neede of saluation neither do they feele any want of a Sauiour But we for our parts must learne to say with Dauid 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 and soule in token of our thankefulnesse for this wonderful blessing that he hath giuen his onely sonne to bee our Sauiour and we are to hold this for trueth that they which are not thankfull for it let them say what they will they haue no soundnes of grace or power of religion at the heart And thus much of the third title The fourth and last title is in these wordes our Lord. Christ Iesus the onely sonne of God is our Lord three waies first by creation in that he made vs of nothing when we were not secondly he is our Lord in the right of redemption In former times the custome hath bin when one is taken prisoner in the field he that paies his raunsome shall becom alwaies after his Lord so Christ when we were bondslaues vnder hell death and condemnation paide the ransome of our redemption and freed vs from the bondage of sinne and satan and therfore in that respect he is our Lord. Thirdly he is the head of the Church as the husband 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 Nowe followe the duties And first of al if Christ be our Soueraigne Lord we must performe absolute obedience vnto him that is whatsoeuer he commandes vs that must we doe And I say absolute obedience because Magistrates Masters Rulers and fathers may command and must bee obeyed yet not simply but so farre foorth as that which they command doth agree with the word and commandement of God but Christs will and word is righteousnesse it selfe and therfore it is a 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 lawe but why because he is the Lord our god And in Malachie he saith If I be your Lord where is my feare And againe we must resigne both bodie and soule heart mind wil 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 spirit and soule of man he must therefore haue homage of both As wee 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 shewe their subiection to his commandements As for such as doe hold him for their Lord in word but in the meane season will not indeauour to shewe their loyaltie in all manner of obedience they are indeede no better then starke rebels Secondly when by the hande of Christ straunge iudgements shall come to passe as it is vsuall in all places continually we must stay ourselues without murmuring or finding fault because he is an absolute Lorde ouer all his creatures all things are in his handes and hee may doe with his owne whatsoeuer he will and therefore wee must rather feare and tremble whensoeuer we see or heare of them so Dauid 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 wee vse
the Iewes and all nations vnder his dominions to signifie that Christ was borne at the very time foretold by Iaacob when the crowne and scepter was taken from Iuda and withall to shew that his kingdome was not of this world And it was the good pleasure of God that Christ should not be borne either later or sooner but so many ages from the beginning of the world And this consideration of the very time it selfe serues greatly for the confirmation of our faith For thus may we reason with our selues If God who in the beginning made a promise to our first parents concerning the seede of the woman deferred it almost 4000 yeares and yet at length accomplished the same to the very full then no doubt God hauing promised the resurrection of the dead and life euerlasting will in his good time bring them to passe though as yet we see them not And thus by the accomplishment of all things past should we confirme our hope concerning things to come The place was not at Ierusalem 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 thousands of Iuda yet out of thee shall he come forth vnto me that shal be the ruler in Israel And here we may obserue a memorable example of Gods prouidence which ouerruleth the proceedings of cruell tyrants 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 should goe to his owne citie to be taxed and hereupon Ioseph and Marie take their iourney from Nazareth to Bethleem which iourney God himselfe appointed and disposed to this ende that the Messias might be borne in the place which he preordained and foretold by his Prophet The manner of Christs birth was very base and poore for the place where he was borne was a stable and the cradle where he lay was a cratch And he willingly tooke vpon him this pouertie for sundrie causes I. That the Scripture might be fulfilled which saith that he should be the shame and contempt of the people and that he shall grow vp as a roote out of a drie ground and haue neither forme nor beautie II. That he might afterward from this base condition be exalted euen in his manhoode 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 world 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 wealth wheras Christ himselfe hath done the same both in pouertie and weaknesse and can enlarge and preserue his kingdome without earthly helps When he hung vpon the crosse the souldiers stript him of his garments and beeing naked he brought that to passe which all the Monarchs of the earth in all their royalties could neuer haue performed And whether Christ lie in the manger betweene the Oxe and the Asse or in the pallace of the King it matters not in regard of our saluation IV. He came in this maner that there might be a difference betweene his first comming in the flesh and his last oomming to iudgement In the first he came onely for this ende not to make any outward alterations in the world but to chaunge the conscience and to put in execution the worke of our spirituall redemption and therefore he hath reserued the ouerturning of all earthly estates with the manifestation of his owne glorie to the latter V. Lastly he was borne in a poore estate that he might procure true riches for vs in heauen and withall sanctifie vnto vs our pouertie vpon earth As Paul saith Ye know the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ that he beeing rich for your sakes became poore that ye thorough his pouertie might be made rich He was content to lie in the manger that we might rest in heauen This serues to teach vs to be content to beare any meane condition that the Lord shall send vpon vs for this is the very estate of the sonne of God himselfe And if for our cause he did not refuse the basest condition that euer was why should we murmure at the same for what is the best of vs but miserable sinners and therfore vtterly vnworthie either to go or lie vpon the bare earth and though we fare and lie better then our Lord himselfe yet such is our daintinesse we are not pleased therewith whereas he for his part disdained not the manger of the Oxe And if the Lord of heauen and earth comming into the world finde so little entertainment or fauour we for our parts beeing his members should willingly prepare our selues to take as hard measure at the hands of men The last point is the manifestation of Christs birth that it might be known to the world Where consider two circumstances the first to whome namely to poore shepheards tending their flockes by night and not to great or mightie men louers of this world nor to the priests at Ierusalem contemners of Gods grace and that for two causes one because the shepheards were the fittest persons to publish the same at Bethlehem the other it was Gods pleasure to manifest that in the birth of Christ which Paul saith Not many wise men after the flesh not many mightie not many noble are called but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise The second is by whome by the angels of the Lord appearing in great glorie vnto the shepheards For the priests of Ierusalem and the rulers of the Synagogues to whome this oâ—fice did belong held their peace beeing blinded in their manifold errours wicked waies The duties to be learned of the birth of Christ are these First we are admonished hereby to magnifie and praise the name of God saying with Mary My soule doth magnifie the Lord and my spirit reioyceth in God my Sauiour And with Zacharie Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his people And with the Angels of heauen Glorie to God in the highest heauens For in this birth is made manifest the wisdome the truth the iustice and mercy and goodnesse of God towards vs more then euer it was before yea as Christ God and man is more excellent then the first Adam created according to Gods owne image and as the spirituall life is better then the naturall life and as the eternall and most holy marriage of Christ the husband and his spouse the Church arising as it were out of the bloode that trickled out of his side is more wonderfull then the creation of Eve of the rib of
which is done by giuing all the members of our bodies to be instruments of the seruice of God in righteosnesse and holinesse Secondly we must indeauour to keepe in the corruption of nature as it were choking and smothering it in the heart that by it neither the world nor the deuill preuaile against vs. And this must be done by hauing a narrowe regard vnto all the powers and faculties of bodie and soule setting a watch before our eies eares lippes and all other parts of the bodie that are in any action the instrumentes of the soule and aboue all as Salomon saith by countergarding the heart with all diligence By the outward senses of the bodie as through open windowes the deuill creeps into the heart and therefore our dutie is to stoppe all such waies of entrance Thirdly when original corruption begins to rebel either in the minde will or any of the affections then must we drawe out the sword of the spirit which is the word of God and incounter with that hydeous gyant laying loade vpon him by the iudgements and threatnings of the lawe and as it were beating him downe with clubbes as Paul speaketh And if it fall out that concupiscence begin to conceiue and bring forth any sinne we must cruise it in the head and dash it against the ground as a bird in the shell least it grow vp to our vtter confusion These are the duties which wee should learne by the passion of Christ. But lamentable are our daies in which all for the most part goes contrarie for commonly men are so farre from killing and subduing the rebellion of the naturall concupiscence that all their studie and care is howe they may feede and cherish it and make it stronger then the mightie Goliah But let vs for our parts be conformable to Christ in his passion suffering in our flesh as he suffered in bodie and soule for And let vs daily more and more by the hand of faith apprehend and apply to our hearts and consciences the passion of Christ that it may as a fretting corasiue eate out the poison of our sinfull natures and consume it Nowe followeth the second point concerning the passion of Christ which is vnder whome he suffered namely vnder Pontius Pilate And Christ may be saide to suffer vnder him in two respects First because he was then the president of Iurie For a little before the birth of Christ the kingdome of the Iewes was taken away by the Romane Emperour and reduced into a Prouince and Pontius Pilate was placed ouer the Iewes not as king but as the Romane Emperours deputie And this circumstance is noted in the history of the Gospell and here specified in the Creed to shewe that the Messias was exhibited in the time foretold by the Prophets Iacob foretold that Shilo must be borne after the scepter is remooued from Iudah Isaiah saith that the family of Ishai shall be worne as it were to the roote before Christ as a braunch shall spring out of it Againe Christ suffered vnder Pontius Pilate as he was a iudge whereby we are giuen to vnderstand of a wonder namely that Christ the sonne of God King of heauen and earth was arraigned at the barre of an earthly iudge and there condemned For thus much the words in meaning import that Pontius Pilate sate as iudge vpon Christ to examine him to arraigne him and giue sentence against him Wherefore before wee come to speake of the degrees of the passion of Christ we must needs intreat of his arraignment vpon earth In handling whereof we must generally consider these points First that when he was arraigned before Pilate he was not as a priuate man but as a pledge and surety that stood in the place and stead of vs miserable sinners as the Prophet Isaiah saith He bare our infirmities and carried our sorrowes and withall in him was mankind arraigned before God Secondly this arraignment was made not priuately in a corner but openly in the publike court and that in a great feast of the Iewes as it were in the hearing of the whole world Thirdly though Pilate in citing examining and condemning Christ intended not to worke any part of mans redemption yet was this wholly set downe in the counsell and good pleasure of God in whose roome Pilate sate and whose iudgement he exercised The generall vse of Christs arraignment is two-fold First it is a terrour to all impenitent sinners for there is no freedome or protection from the iudgement of God but by the arraignment of Christ and therefore such as in this life receiue him not by faith must at the ende of this world be brought out to the most terrible barre of the last iudgement there to be arraigned before the King of heauen and earth And marke the equitie hereof Christ himselfe could not haue beene our Sauiour and redeemer vnlesse he had bin brought out to the barre of an earthly iudge and arraigned as a guilty malefactour and therefore there is no man vpon earth that liues and dies out of Christ but he must whether he will or no hold vp his hand at the barre of the great iudge of all mankind where he shall see hell vnderneath him burning redde hotte and opening it selfe wide to swallow him vp and on the right hand of God standing all the Prophets Apostles and Saints of God giuing iudgement against him on the left hand the deuill and all his angels accusing him and within him a guilty conscience condemning him And thus one day shal the arraignment of those persons be that with full purpose of heart cleaue not to Christ and yet alas huge and infinite is the number of those which make more account of transitorie and earthly matters euen of their pigges with the Gaderens then of him and his benefits and such persons should rather be pitied then despised of vs all considering their estate is such that euery day they are going as traytours pinnioned to their owne iudgement that they may goe thence to eternall execution Secondly Christs arraignment is a comfort to the godly For he was arraigned before Pilate that all such as truly beleeue in him might not be arraigned before God at the day of the last iudgement he was accused before an earthly iudge that they might be cleared and excused before the heauenly iudge lastly he was here condemned on earth that we might receiue the sentence of absolution and be eternally saued in heauen The arraignment of Christ hath three parts his apprehension his accusation his condemnation In the apprehension we must consider two things the dealing of Christ and the dealing of Iudas and the Iewes The dealing and proceeding of Christ was this when he saw that the time of his apprehension and death was neere he solemnly prepared himselfe thereto And his example must teach euery one of vs who know not the shortnesse of our daies euery houre to prepare our selues against the day
his keeper and said Into thy handes O Lord do I commend my spirit Nowe our Sauiour Christ being in the like distresse both by reason of the Iewes who euery way sought his final destruction confusion especially because he felt the full wrath of God seazing vpon him doth make choice of Dauids words and apply them to himselfe in his distresse And by his example was are taught not onely to reade the generall history of the bible but also to obserue the things commanded and forbidden and to apply the same vnto our selues and to our particular estates and dealings whatsoeuer thus the prophet Dauid saith God! How can this be for no part of Scripture penned before the daies of Dauid saith thus of him True indeede but as I take it Dauids meaning is that he read the booke of the lawe and found generall precepts and commandements giuen to Kings and Princes that they should keepe all the ordinances and commandements of God which he beeing a King applyes particularly to his owne person and thereupon saith In the volume of the booke it is written of me c. And this dutie is well practised by the people of God at this day for the Psalmes of Dauid were penned according to the estate of the Church in his time and in these daies the Church of God doeth sing the same with the same spirit that Dauid did and doth apply their seueral estates and conditions Nowe in that Christ commends his soule into the handes of his father hee doth it to testifie that he died not by constraint but willingly and by his own practise he doth teach vs to do the like namly to giue vp our own soules into the hands of god because this dutie is of some difficultie we must obserue three motiues or preparatiues which may induce vs to the better doing of it The first is to consider that God the father of Christ is the creatour of our soules and therefore he is called the father of spirits And if he be a creatour of them then is he also a faithfull preseruer of them For sure it is that God will preserue his owne workemanship Who is or can be so carefull for the ornament preseruation of any worke as the craftes-master and shall not God be more carefull then man Wherefore S. Peter exhorteth vs to committe our soules vnto God as vnto a faithfull creatour The second motiue is this wee must looke to be resolued in our consciences that â—od the father of Christ is our father euery man for himselfe must labour to haue the assurance of the pardon of his owne sinnes and that the corruption of his soule bee washed away in the blood of Christ that he may say I am iustified sanctified and adopted by Christ. And when any man can say thus he shall be most desirous and willing to commit his soule into the handes of God This was the reason which mooued Christ to lay down his soule into the handes of God because he is his father The third motiue or preparatiue is a continuall experience obseruation of Gods loue and fauour towards vs in keeping and preseruing him as appeares by Dauids example Into thy hands saith he I commit my soule for thou hast redeemed me O thou God of trueth The time when we are specially to commend our soules into the hand of God is first of all the time of any affliction or danger This was the time wheÌ„ Dauid commended his soule into the hands of God in the Psalme before named We knowe that in any common danger or perill as the sacking of a citty or burning of an house if a man haue any pretious iewell therein he will first fetch that out and make choise of a faithfull friende to whose custodie he will commit the same euen so in coÌ„mon perils and daungers we must alwaies remember to commit our soules as a most pretious iewell into the handes of God who is a faithfull creatour Another more speciall and necessarie time of practising this dutie is the houre of death as here Christ doth and Steuen who when the Iewes stoned him to death called on God and said Lord Iesus receiue my spirit And as this dutie is very requisite and necessarie at all times so most especially in the houre of death becaâ—se the danger is great by reason that Satan will then chiefely assault vs and the guilt of sinne will especially then wound the conscience Lastly at al times we must commit our soules into Gods handes for though we be not alwaies in afflictioâ— yet we are alwaies in great danger and when a man lieth downe to rest he knoweth not whether he shall rise againe or no and when he ariseth he knoweth not whether hee shall lie downe againe Yea at this very houre we knowe not what will befall the next And great are the comforts which arise by the practise of this dutie When Dauid was in great danger of his life and his owne people would haue stoned him because their hearts were vexed for their sonnes and daughters which the Amalekites had taken it is said hee comforted himselfe in the Lord his God And the practise of Paul in this case is most excellent for the which cause saith he I suffer those things but I am not ashamed for I knowe whome I haue beleeued and I am perswaded that hee is able to keâ—pe that which I haue committed vnto him againâ—t that day This worthie seruant of God had committed his life and soule into Gods hand and therefore he saith In all my sufferings I am not ashamed where we see that if a man haue grace in his life-time to commit his soule into Gods hand it will make him bold euen at the point of death And this must be a motiue to cause euery man daily and hourely to lay downe his soule into the handes of God although by the course of nature he may liue twentie or fourtie yeares longer But howsoeuer this dutie be both necessarie and comfortable yet few there be that practise the same Men that haue children are very carefull and diligent to bring them vp vnder some mans tuition if they haue cattel sheep or oxen they prouide keepers to tend them but in the meane season for their owne soules they haue no care they may sinke or swimme or doe what they will This shewes the wonderfull blindnes or rather madnesse of men in the world that haue more care for their cattell then for their owne soules but as Christ hath taught vs by his example so let euery one of vs in the feare of God learne to commit our soules into the hand of God Againe in that Christ layes downe his owne soule and withall the soules of all the faithfull into the hands of the father we further learne three things The first that the soule of man doth not vanish away as the soules of beasts and other creatures there is gâ—eat difference
honour of Christ where we learne that if we truly loue Christ and our hearts be â—et to beleeue in him we will neuer refuse to performe the basest seruice that may be for his honour nothing shall hinder vs. It is further said that he was a good man and a iust and also a rich man And the first appeareth in this that he would neither consent to the counsell nor fact of the Iewes in crucifying Christ. It is rare to finde the like man in these daies From this example we learne these lessons I. that a rich man remaining a rich man may be a seruant of God and also be saued for riches are the good blessings of God and in themselues doe no whit hinder a man in comming to Christ. But some will say Christ himselfe saith It is easier for a cable to goe through the eye of a needleâ— then a rich man to enter into the kingdome of heauen Answ. It is to be vnderstood of a rich man so long as he swelleth with a confidence in his wealth but we know that if a cable be vntwisted and drawne into small threeds it may be drawne through the eye of a needle so he that is rich let him denie himselfe abase himselfe and lay aside all confidence in himselfe in his riches and honour be as it were made small as twine threed and with this good Senatour Ioseph become the disciple of Christ he may enter into the kingdome of heauen But Christ saith in the parable that riches are thornes which choke the grace of God Answ. It is true they are thornes in that subiect or in that man that putteth his trust in them not in their owne nature but by reason of the corruption of mans heart who makes of them his God Saint Iohn saith further that Ioseph was a disciple of Christ but yet a close disciple for feare of the Iewes And this shewes that Christ is most ready to receiue them that come vnto him though they come laden with manifold wants I say not this that any hereby should take boldnes to liue in their sinnes but my meaning is that though men be weake in the faith yet are they not to be dismaied but to come to Christ who refuseth none that come to him Draw neere to God saith S. Iames and he will draw neere to you Christ doth not forsake any till they forsake him first Lastly the holy Ghost saith of him that he waited for the kingdome of God that is he did beleeue in the Messias to come and therefore did waite daily till the time was come wheÌ„ the Messias by his death and passion should abolish the kingdome of sinne and Satan and establish his owne kingdome throughout the whole world The same is said of Simeon that he was a good man and feared God and waited for the consolation of Israel This was the most principall vertue of all that Ioseph had and the very roote of all his goodnes and righteousnes that he waited for the kingdome of God For it is the propertie of faith whereby we haue confidence in the Messias to change our nature and to purifie the heart and to make it bring forth works of righteousnes There be many among vs that can talke of Christs kingdome and of redemption by him and yet make no conscience of sinne haue little care to liue according to the Gospel which they professe and all is because they doe not soundly beleeue in the Messias and they waite not for the kingdome of heauen therefore there is no change in them but we for our parts must labour to haue this affiance in the Messias with Ioseph and to waite for the second appearance that thereby we may be made new creatures hauing the kingdome of Satan battered and beaten downe in vs and the kingdome of God erected in our hearts Touching Nichodemus Saint Iohn saith that he came to Iesus by night Many men build vpon this example that it is lawfull to be present at the Masse so be it in the meane season we keepe our hearts to God and indeede such men are like Nichodemus in that they labour to burie Christ as much as they can though now after his resurrection he should not be buried againe But though Nichodemus durst not opeÌ„ly at the first professe the name of Christ yet after his death when there is most daunger he doth and by this meanes he reformeth his former action Thus much of the persons that buried Christ. The third thing to be obserued is the manner of Christs buriall which standeth in these foure points First they take downe his body from the crosse secondly they winde it thirdly they lay it in a tombe fourthly the tombe is made sure Of these in order First Ioseph taketh downe the bodie of Christ from the crosse whereon he was executed but marke in what maner he doth it not on his own head without leaue but he goeth to Pilate and beggeth the bodie of Christ and craueth libertie to take it downe because the disposing of dead bodies was in Pilates hand he beeing deputie at that time whereby we learne that in all our dealings and actions though they haue neuer so good an end our dutie is to proceede as peaceably with all men as may be as Saint Iames saith the wisdome that is from aboue is first pure then peaceable gentle c. Againe this teacheth vs that in all things which concerne the authoritie of the Magistrate and belong vnto him by the rule of Gods word we must attempt or doe whatsoeuer we doe by leaue And by this we see what vnaduised courses they take that being priuate men in this our Church will notwithstanding take vpon them to plant Churches without the leaue of the Magistrate beeing a Christian Prince Hauing thus taken the bodie of Christ downe they goe on to winde it And Ioseph for his part brought linnen cloathes and Nichodemus a mixture of myrrhe and aloes to the quantitie of an hundred pounds for the honourable buriall of Christ. His winding was on this manner they wrapped his bodie hastily in linnen clothes sweete odours put thereto Besides all this in the Iewes burialls there was embalming and washing of the bodie but Christs body was not embalmed or washed because they had no time to doe it for the preparation to the Passeouer drew neare And whereas these two men burie Christ at their owne cost and charges we are taught to be like affected to the liuing members of Christ when they want we must releeue and comfort theÌ„ liberallyâ— and freely It may here be demanded whether men may not be at cost in making funerals considering euen Christ himselfe is with much cost buried Ans. The bodies of all dead men are to be buried in seemely and honest manner and if they be honourable they may be buried honourably yet now there is no cause why mens bodies should be washed anointed and embalmed as
is his house of grace heauen is his house of glorie Nowe if thou wouldst bring thy child to 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 vp so in the feare of God that both in life and conuersation he may shew 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 freeman for euer in the kingdome of heauen And if thou shalt thus prouide for thy childe thou shalt not leaue him as an orphan when thou diest but he shall haue God for his father and Christ for his brother and the holy Ghost his comforter And therefore first of all and aboue all remember to make thy child a member of Gods Church Let the example of Dauid excite all parents hereunto I had rather saith he be a dore keeper in the houâ—e of God then to dwell in the tabernacles of wickednesse For a day in thy courts is better then a thousand â—lse where Lastly hence we may finde remedâ—e against the tediousnes of sicknes and feare of death Thou which fearest death remember that Christ is gone to heuen to prepare a place for thy bodie where it must be glorified and liue for euer with the blessed Trinitie and all the Saints and angels though for a while it lie dead and rot in the graue Remember this also thou which continuest in any lingring sicknesse Christ Iesus hath prepared a place for thee wherein thou shalt rest in ioy and blisse without all paine or faintnes The fourth benefit is that Christ ascended vp to heauen to send the comforter vnto his Church This was a speciall ende of his ascension as appeares by Christs owne wordes It is saith he expedient that I goe away for if I goe not the Comforter will not come but if I depart I will sende him vnto you And againe I will pray vnto the Father and he shall giue you another comforter which shall abide with you for euer euen the spirit of trueth But some wil say howe can Christ send his spirit vnto his Church for the person sending and the person sent are vnequall whereas all three persons in trinitie are equall none greater or lesser then another none inferiour or superiour to other Ans. It is true indeede but we must knowe that the action of sending in the Trinitie makes not the persons vnequall but onely shewes a distinction and order among equalls The father sends 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 vpon mutuall consent one send another But it may be further demanded howe the holy Ghost can be sent which is euery where Ans. The Holy Ghost indeed is euery where therefore 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. Nowe then this beeing so here first we haue occasion to consider the miserie of the world When a man is troubled in his minde as no vngodly man but sometime he feeleth the terrour of conscience for his sinnes then hee labours to remooue it by merie company and pleasant bookes whereas Christ at his ascension sent his holy spirit to bee the comforter of his Church and therefore when wee are troubled in conscience for our sinnes we should not seeke ease by such slender meanes but rather seeke for the helpe and comfort of the holy ghost and labour to haue our sinnes washed away and our hearts purified and clensed by the bloode of Christ. As for wine and mirth and such like meanes of comfort neither at the day of death nor at the day of iudgement shall they stand vs in stead or bee able to comfort vs. Againe when crosses and calamities fall the counsell of the minister is not sought for but the helpe of such as are called cunning men and cunning women is that is of charmers inchanters and figure-casters a badde practise Christ at his ascension sent his holy spirit vnto his Church and people to be their guide and comforter in their calamities and miseries and therfore when any man is in distresse he should haue recourse to the right meanes of comfort namly the word and Sacraments and there he should find the assistance of the holy Ghost Thus the prophet Isai informeth the Iewes when they shall say vnto you inquire at them which haue a spirit of diuination and at the southsayers which whisper and murmure Should not a people inquire at their God from the liuing to the dead to the lawe and to the testimonie Rebecca when the two twinnes stroue in her wombe what did shee the text saith shee sent to aske the Lord. Yet commonly the men of these daies leaue God seeke to the instruments of the deuill To goe yet further god vseth for sundrie causes most of all to afflict his dearest children Iudgement saith Peter beginnes at Gods house S. Luke saith that a certaine woman was bound of Satan eighteene yeeres but what was shee a daughter of Abraham that is a child of God When the like condition shall befall any of vs let vs remember the ende why Christ ascended vp to heauen and pray vnto God that he will giue vs his spirit that thereby we may be eased and deliuered or else inabled to perseuere continue in patience and this is the true way and meanes to lighten ease the burden of all afflictions And for this cause Paul praieth that the Colossians might be strengthened with all might through his glorious power vnto all patience and long suffering with ioyfulnesse For to whomesoeuer God giueth grace to beleeue to them also he giues power to suffer affliction by the inward worke of his spirit Secondly if Christ haue sent vnto his church the holy spirit to be our comforter our dutie is to prepare our bodies and soules to bee fitte temples and houses for so worthie a guest If a man were certified that a prince would come to his house he would dresse it vp and haue all things in as good order as might bee and shall not wee much more endeauour to purifie and clense our soules and bodies from all sinne that they may be fitte temples for the entertainment of the Holy Ghost whome Christ Iesus hath sent to be our comforter The Shunamite was carefull to entertaine the man of God Elisha for shee said to her husband Let vs make him a little chamber I pray thee with walls and let vs set him there a bed and a stoole a table and
creatures some are proper to men The benefit of the Holy Ghost common to all creatures is the worke of creation and preseruation For all things were created and made and afterwarde perserued by the holy Ghost So Elihu saith The spirit of God hath made me And Moses saith In the beginning the spirit mooued vpon the waters The phrase is borrowed from a bird who in hatching of her young ones sits vpon the egges mooues her selfe vpon them and heats them And so likewise the holy Ghost in the beginning did by his own power cherish and preserue the masse or lumpe whereof all things were made and caused it to bring forth the creatures This beeing euident that the Holy Ghost hath a stroke in the worke of creation and preseruation wee must vnfainedly acknowledge that we were first created and since that time continually preserued by the benefit euen of the third person The benefits proper vnto men are of two sorts some are common to all men both good and bad and some proper to the elect and faithfull The benefits common to all men are diuers I. the gift of practising a particular calling As in the bodie seuerall members haue seuerall vses so in euery societie seuerall men haue seuerall offices and callings and the gifts whereby they are inabled to performe the duties thereof are from the holy Ghost When Gedeon became a valiant captaine to deliuer the Israelites it is said he was clothed with the spirit Bezaleel and Aholiab beeing set apart to build the tabernacle were filled with the spirit of God in wisdome and in vnderstanding and in all workemanship to finde out curious works to worke in gold and in siluer in brasse also in the art to set stones and to carue in timber c. By this it is manifest that the skill of any handicraft is not in the power of man but comes by the holy Ghost And by this we are taught to vse al those gifts wel wherby we are inabled to discharge our particular callings that they may serue for the glorie of God and the good of his Church and those that in their callings vse fraud and deceit or else liue inordinately doe most vnthankfully abuse the gifts of God and dishonour the spirit of God the author of their gifts for which thing they must giue an account one day The second gift common to all is Illumination whereby a man is inabled to vnderstand the will of God in his word The Iewes in the reading of the old testament had a vaile ouer their hearts and the like haue all men by nature to whome the word of God is foolishnes Paul at his conuersion was smitten blind skales were vpon his eyes the like also be ouer the eyes of our mindes and they must fall away before we can vnderstand the will of God Now it is the worke of the holy Ghost to remooue these skales and filmes from our eyes And for this very cause he is called the annointing and eye-salue for as it doth cleare the eyes and take away the dimmenes from them so doth the holy Ghost take away blindnes from our mindes that we may see into the truth of Gods word This beeing a common gift and receiued both of good and bad it standeth vs in hand not to content our selues with the bare knowledge of the word but therewithall we must ioyne obedience and make conscience thereof or else that will besall vs which Christ foretold that he which knoweth his masters will and doth it not shall be beaten with many stripes The third gift of the holy Ghost is the gift of prophecie whereby a man is made able to interpret and expound the Scriptures Now albeit this gift be very excellent and not giuen to euery man yet is it common both to good and badde For in the day of iudgement when men shall come to Christ and say Master we haue prophecied in thy name he shall answer againe I neuer knew you depart from me ye workers of iniquitie Hereupon those that are in the calling of the ministerie and haue receiued the gift of prophecie must not herewithall be puffed vp For if they be not as well doers of Gods will as teachers their gifts will turne to their further condemnation As the carpenters that built Noahs arke when the flood came were drowned because they would not obey Noahs preaching so those that haue the gifts of prophecie and are builders in Gods house if they build not themselues as well as others for all their preaching at the day of iudgement they shall be condemned and therefore it standeth them in hand not to content themselues with this that they know and teach others Gods will but they themselues must be the first doers of the same The fourth common gift of the Holy Ghost is Abilitie to bridle and restraine some affections so as they shall not breake out into outragions behauiour Haman a wicked man and an enemie to Gods Church when he sawe Mordecai the Iewe sitting in the kings gate and that hee would not stand vp nor mooue vnto him he was full of indignatiō neuertheles the text saith that he refrained himselfe And when Abimelech an heathen king had taken Sara Abrahams wife God said vnto him I knowe that thou didst this with an vpright heart and the text addeth further I haue kept thee that thou shouldest not sinne against me And thus the Lord giueth to men as yet without the spirit of sanctification this gift to bridle themselues so as in outward action they shall not practise this or that sinne For why did not Abimelech commit adulterie surely because God kept him from it Againe in the histories of the heathen we may read of many that were iust liberall meeke continent c. and that by a generall operation of the holy Ghost that represseth the corruption of nature for the common good Here then if any man aske howe it commeth to passe that some men are more modest and ciuil then others seeing all men by nature are equally wicked the answer may be not as the common saying is because some are of better nature then others for all the sonnes of Adam are equall in regard of nature the child newe borne in that respect is as wicked as the eldest man that euer liued but the reason is because God giues this common gift of restraining the affections more to some then to others This must be considered of vs all For a man may haue the spirit of God to bridle many sinnes and yet neuer haue the spirit to mortifie the same and to make him a newe creature And this beeing so we must take heede that we deceiue not our selues For it is not sufficient for a man to liue in outward ciuility and to keepe in some of his affections vpon some occasion for that a wicked man may doe but we must further labour to feele in our selues the spirit
loue In these daies it is hard to finde these duties performed in any place For both practise and prouerb is commonly this Euery man for himselfe and God for vs all but it is a graceles saying and the contrarie must be practised of all that desire to be guided by the spirit The seuenth fruit is faith Faith or fidelitie standeth in these two duties One to make conscience of a lie and to speake euery thing whereof we speake as we thinke it is and not to speake one thing and thinke an other A rare thing it is to finde this vertue in the world now adaies who is he that maketh conscience of a lie and is not truth banished out of our coasts considering that for gaines and outward commodities men make no bones of glosing and dissembling but alas the practise is damnable and the contrarie is the fruit of the holy Ghost namely to speake the truth from the heart he that can doe this by the testimonie of God himselfe shall rest in the mountaine of his holines euen in the kingdome of heauen The second point wherein 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 indeede it is a fruit of the flesh and contrariwise a fruit of the spirit to performe a lawfull promise and a mans word should be as sure as an obligation and in conscience a man is bound to keepe promise so farre forth as he will to whome the promise is made Indeede if a man be released of his promise he is then free otherwise if we promise and doe not performe we doe not onely cracke our credit before men but also sinne before God The eight fruit 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 stands in three duties The first is to interpret the sayings and doings of other men in better part as much as possibly may be The second when men mistake and misconsture our sayings and doings if the matter be of smaller moment to be silent patient as Christ was when he was accused before the high priests Pharises this being withal remembred that if the matter be of weight and moment we may defend our selues by soft and mild answers The third is not to contend in word or deed with any man but when we are to deale with others to speake our minde and so an ende The last fruit 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 obserued I. Eating and drinking must be ioyned with continuall fasting after this manner We must not glut our selues but rather abstaine from that which nature desireth and as some vse to speake leaue our stomackes crauing II. A man must so eate and drinke as afterward he may the better be inabled for Gods worship Creatures are abused when they make vs vnfit to serue God The common fault is on the Sabbath day men so pamper themselues as that they are made vnfit both to heare and learne Gods word and fitte for nothing but to slumber and sleepe but following this rule of temperance these faults shall be amended III. This must be a caueat in our apparell that we be attired according to our callings in holy comelinesse The Lord hath threatned to visit all those that are cloathed in strange apparrell And holy comelinesse is this when the apparell is both for fashion and matter so made and worne that it may expresse shew forth the graces of God in the heart as sobrietie temperance 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 read their sinnes written in great letters on their apparell as intemperance pride and wantonnesse Euery day new fashions please the world but indeede that holy comelines which the holy Ghost doth commend to vs is the right fashion when all is done And these are the nine fruits of the spirit which we must put in practise in our liues and conuersations Fourthly if we beleeue in the holy Ghost and thereupon doe perswade our selues that he will dwell in vs we must daily labour as we are commaunded to keepe our vessells in holinesse and honour vnto the Lord and the reason is good If a man be to entertaine but an earthly prince or some man of state he would be sure to haue his house in a readines and all matters in order against his comming so as euery thing might be pleasing vnto so worthy a guest well now behold we put our confidence and affiance in the holy Ghost and doe beleeue that he wil come vnto vs and â—anctifie vs and lodge in our hearts He is higher then all states in the world whatsoeuer and therefore we must looke that our bodies and soules be kept in an honourable and holy manner so as they may be fit temples for him to dwell in S. Paul biddeth vsâ— not to grieue the holy spirit where the holy Ghost is compared to a guest and ouâ— bodies and soules vnto Innes and as men vse their guests friendly and courteously shewing vnto them all seruice and dutie so must we doe to Gods spirit which is come to dwell and abide in vs doing nothing in any case which may disquiet or molest him Now there is nothing so grieuous vnto him as our sinnes and therefore we must make conscience of all manner of sinne least by abusing of our selues we doe cause the holy Ghost as it were with greefe to depart from vs. When the arke of the couenant which was a signe of the presence of God was in the house of Obed Edom the text saith that the Lord blessed him and all his house but when the holy Ghost dwels in a mans heart there is more then the arke of the Lord present euen God himselfe and therfore may we looke for a greater blessing Now then shall we grieue the holy Ghost by sinning seeing we reape such benefit by his aboad It is said that our Sauiour Christ was angrie when he came into the temple at Ierusalem and saw the abuses therein Now shall he be angrie for the abuses that are done in a temple of stone and seeing the temples of our bodies which are not made of stone but are spirituall figured by that earthly temple seeing them I say abused by sinne will he not be much more angrie Yea we may assure our selues he can not abide that And therefore if we beleeue in the holy Ghost we must hereupon be mooued to keepe our bodies and soules pure and cleane And further to perswade vs hereunto we must remember this that when
the duties of religion Fifthly hence we haue the protection of Gods angels for they alwaies waite and attend on Christ and because we are made one with him they attend vpon vs also Lastly by reason of this vnion with Christ euery beleeuer commeth to haue interest to recouer his title in the creatures of God and to haue the holy and lawfull vse of them all For we must consider that although Adam created in the image of God was made lord ouer all things in heauen and earth yet when hee fel by eating the forbidden fruite he and in him all mankind lost the title and vse of them all Nowe therefore that a man may recouer his interest he must first of all be vnited and made one with Christ and then by Christ who is Lord and King ouer all shall hee recouer that title in the creatures of God which hee had by creation and be made lord ouer them againe But some will say if this bee so then a Christian man may haue and enioy all creatures at his pleasure and therefore the goods of other men Ans. The reason is not good for in this life we haue no more but right vnto the creature and right in it that is actuall possession is reserued for the life to come Therefore we must content our selues with our allowed portions giuen vnto vs by god by his grace vsing them in holy manner expecting by hope the full fruition of all things till after this life Againe if all title to the creatures be rocouered by Christ it may bee demanded whether infidels haue any interest to their goods or no Ans. Infidels before men are right lords of all their landes and possessions which they haue obtained by lawefull meanes and in the courts of men they are not to be depriued of them but before God they are but vsurpers because they holde them not in capite that is in Christ neither haue they any holy and right vse of them for to the vncleane all things are vncleane And they must first of all become members of Christ before they can hold and enioyâ— them aright and vse them with good conscience The duties which are to be learned of the doctrine of this vnion are manifolde And first of all we are taught to purge our hands and heartes of all our sinnes and especially to auoid all those sinnes whereby mens bodies are defiled as drunkennesse vncleannes fornication for they driue away the spirit of God from his own house and dissolue the bond of the coniunction between Christ vs. Secondly we must euerie one of vs which professe our selues to be members of Christ labour to become conformable vnto him in holinesse of life and to become newe creatures for this vnion requireth thus much Let a man take the grifts of a crabtree and set them into good stockes yet will they not change their sap but bring forth fruit according to their own nature euen sowre crabs but it must not be so with vs we are indeede wilde oliues the branches of wilde vines yet seeing we are perswaded that wee are grafted into Christ and made one with him we must lay aside our wilde and sowre nature and take vpon vs the nature of the true vine beare good fruite haue good iuyce in vs and render sweete wine Thirdly we are taught hence to bee plentifull in all good workes considering wee are ioyned to him that is the fountaine of grace And therefore Christ saith I am the true vine and my father is the husbaÌ„d man euery braunch that beareth not fruite in me he taketh away euery one that beareth fruite he purgeth it that it may beare more fruite And the Prophet Esai compares the Church of God to a vineyard with a tower and a wine-presse in it And God himselfe comes often downe vnto it to see the fruits of the valley to see if the vine budde and the Pomegranets flourish And further we must bring forth fruite with patience For the Lord of this vineyarde comes with crosses and afflictions as with a pruning knife in his hand to pare and to dresse vs that we may be fit to bring forth fruite plentifull in duties of pietie to God and in duties of loue to all men yea to our enemies Christian men are trees of righteousnesse growing by the waters of the sanctuarie but what trees not like ours for they are rooted vpward in heauen in Christ and their graines and branches grow downward that they may beare fruit among men Hitherto we haue heard what the Church is nowe to beleeue the Church is nothing els but to beleeue that there is a companie of the predestinate made one in Christ and that withall we are in the number of them Before wee proceede any further three rules must be obserued touching the Church in generall The first that Christ alone is the head of the Catholike Church and that he neither hath nor can haue any creature in heauen or earth to be his fellowe herein For the Church is his bodie and none but hee can performe the dutie of an head vnto it which dutie standes in two things the first is to gouerne the Church by such power and authoritie whereby he can and doeth prescribe lawes properly binding the consciences of all his members the second is by grace to quicken and to put spirituall life into theÌ„ so as they shall be able to saie that they liue not but Christ in them As for the Supremacie of the sea of Rome whereby the Pope will needes stand ministeriall head to the Catholike Church it is a satanicall forgerie For the headship as I may tearme it of Christ is of that nature or qualitie that it can admitte no deputy Whether we respect the commanding or the quickening power of Christ before named Nay Christ needes no vicar or deputie for he is al sufficient in himselfe and alwaies present with his Church as he himselfe testifieth saying Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the middest among them And whereas all commissions cease in the presence of him that giues the commission it is as much pride and arrogancie for the Pope to take vnto himselfe the title of the head and vniuersall Bishop of the Church as it is for a subiect to keepe himselfe in commission in the presence of his King The second rule is that there is no saluation out of the Church and that therefore euery one which is to be saued must become a member a citizen of the Catholike and Apostolike Church and such as remaine for euer out of the same perish eternally Therefore S. Iohn saith They went out of vs they were not of vâ—â— for if they had beene of vs they would haue remained with vs but this commeth to passe that it might appeare that they are not all of vs. And againe that such as be holy are in the citie of
all are grieued when one reioyceth all reioyce as in the bodie when one member suffereth all suffer The second branch of their communion is in the gifts of Gods spirit as loue hope feare c. And this is shewed when one man doth imploy the graces of God bestowed on him for the good and saluation of another As a candle spendeth it selfe to giue light to others so must Gods people spend those gifts which God hath giuen them for the benefit of their brethren A Christian man howesoeuer he bee the freest man vpon earth yet is he seruant to all men especially to the Church of God to doe seruice vnto the members of it by loue for the good of all And this good is procured when we conuey the graces of God bestowed on vs to our brethren and that is done fiue waies I. by example II. by admonition III. by exhortation IV. by consolation V. by praier The first which is good example we are enioyned by Christ saying Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorifie your father which in heauen And that our hearts might be touched with speciall care of this dutie the Lord sets before vs his owne blessed example saying Be ye holy as I am holy and Learne of me that I am meeke and lowely And Paul sayeth Bee yee followers of me as I followe Christ and the higher men are exalted the more carefull ought they to be in giuing good example For let a man of note or estimation doe euill and he shall presently haue many followers Euill example runnes from one to an other lâ—ke a leprosie or infection this Christ signified when he said that the figtree planted in the vineyard If it beares no fruite makes all the ground barren The second meanes of communication of the gifts of god vnto others is admonition which is an ordinance of God whereby christian men are to recouer their brethren from their sinnes A man by occasion fallen into the water is in danger of his life the reaching of the hand by another is the meanes to saue him Nowe euery man when he sinneth doth as much as in him lieth cast his soule into the very pitte of hell and wholesome admonitions are as the reaching out of the hand to recouer him againe But it will peraduenture be saide howe must wee proceede in admonishing of others Ans. Wee are to obserue three things The first is to search whether we that are to reprooue be faultie our selues in the same thing or no. First we must take out the beame that is in our own eye and so shall we see clearely to pul out the mote in our brothers eie Secondly before we reprooue we must be sure that the fault is committed we must not goe vpon heare-saie or likelihoods and therefore the holy Ghost saith Let vs consider or obserue one another to prouoke vnto loue or good workes Thirdly before we reprooue we must in Christian wisdome make choice of time and place for all times and places â—erue not to this purpose And therefore Salomon saith It is the glorie of a man to passe by an offence Furthermore in the act of admonishing two things are to bee obserued I. a man must deliuer the wordes of his admonition so farre forth as he can out of the worde of God so as the partie which is admonished may in the person of man see God himselfe to reprooue him II. his reproofe must bee made with as much compassion and fellowe feeling of other mens wants as may be As Paul saith If any man be fallen by occasion into any fault ye which are spirituall restore such an one with the spirit of meekenesse The third way of communicating good things to others is exhortation and it is a meanes to excite and stirre them on forward which doe alreadie walke in the waie of godlinesse Therefore the holy Ghost saith Exhort one another daily least any of you be hardened through the deceitfulnes of sinne But alasâ— the practise of this dutie as also of the former is hard to be found among men for it is vsuall in families that masters and fathers in stead of admonishing their seruants and children teach them the practise of sinne in swearing blaspheming slaundering c. and as for exhortation it is not vsed Let a man that hath the feare of God offend neuer so little in stead of brotherlie exhortation hee shall heare his profession cast in his teeth and his hearing of sermons this practise is so generall that many beginning newely to tread in the steppes of godlinesse are hereby daunted and quite driuen back The fourth way is consolation which is a meanes appointed by God whereby one man should with words of heauenly comfort refresh the soules of others afflicted with sickenesse or any other way feeling the hand of God either in bodie or in minde And this dutie is as little regarded as any of the former In time of mens sickenesse neighbours come in but what say they I am sorrie to see you in this case I hope to see you well againe I would bee sorry else c. Not one of an hundred can speake a word of comfort to the wearie but we are faultie herein For with what affection doe wee beleeue the communion of Saints when we our selues are as drie fountaines that doe scarse conuey a drop of refreshing to others The last meanes is praier wherby gods Church procureth blessings for the seuerall members thereof and they againe for the whole And herein lies a principal point of the Communion of saints which ministreth notable comfort to euery Christian heart For hence wee may reason thus I am indeede a member of the Catholike Church of God and therefore though my owne praiers bee weake yet my comfort is this I knowe that I am partaker of all the good praiers of all the people of God dispersed ouer the face of the whole earth my fâ—llowe members and of all the blessings which God bestowes on them This will make vs in all our troubles to say with Elisha Feare not for they that be with vs are more then they that be with them When the people of Israel had sinned in worshipping the goldeÌ„ calfe the wrath of the Lord was kindled and made a breach into them as canon shot against a wall but Moses the seruant of God stood in the breach before the Lord to turne away his wrath least he should destroy them And the praier of Moses was so effectual that the Lord said Let me alone as though Moses by praier had held the hand of God that he could not punish the people And some thinke that Steuens praier for his enemies when he was stoned was a means of Pauls conuersioÌ„ And surely though there were no other reason yet this were sufficient to mooue a man to imbrace Christian religion considering that being a member of
of the miseries of the poore Church and seruants of God elsewhere in affliction which euery man ought to shew forth in the practise of all duties of loue and therefore Paul saith Pray alwaies with all manner of prayers and supplications in the spirit and watch thereunto with all perseuerance and supplications for the saints And he highly commendeth the Philippians for communicating to his afflictions And further he biddeth Philemon to comfort Onesimus his bowels in the Lord. And S. Iohn saith If a mans life would saue his neighbours soule he must lay it downe if neede require We haue all of vs daily occasion to practise this dutie towards the afflicted members of Gods Church in other countries For howsoeuer we enioy the Gospel with peace yet they are vnder persecution for the same and so oft as we heare report of this we should suffer our hearts to be grieued with them and pray to God for them We must here be admonished not to seeke our owne things but to referre the labours of our callings to the common good especially of the Church whereof we are members As for them that seeke for nothing but to maintain their owne estate and wealth and therfore in their trades vse false weights and measures the ingrossing corrupting mingling of wares glozing lying smoothing swearing forswearing dissembling griping oppressing of the poore c. they may plead for themselues what they will but in truth they neuer yet knew what the communion of Saints meant Lastly considering we are all knit into one mystical body haue mutuall fellowship in the same our dutie is both to redresse the faults of our brethren and to couer them as the hand in the body laies plaister vpon the sore in the foot or in the legge and withal couers it Loue couers the multitude of sinnes And when men disgrace their bretheren for their wants and blase them to the world they doe not the dutie of fellow members Thus much for the first benefit bestowed on the Church the second is Forgiuenesse of sinnes which may be thus described Forgiuenesse of sinnes is a blessing of God vpon his Church procured by the death and passion of Christ whereby God esteemes of sinne as no sinne or as not committed In this description I haue couched fiue points which we are seuerally to consider The first who is the author of forgiuenes of sinnes Ans. God whose blessing it is for sinne is onely committed against God the violating of his laws and commandements are properly sinnes And the offence done to any man or creature is no more in it selfe but an offence or iniurie yea the breach of mans commandement is no sinne vnlesse it doe imply withall the breach of Gods commandement Therfore it is a prerogatiue belonging to God alone to pardon sinne and when we are taught to say Forgiue vs our trespasses as we forgiue them that trespasse against vs the meaning is not that we forgiue sinnes as they are sinnes but onely as trespasses that is losses hurts and damages done vnto vs by men It may be further said God hath giuen this power and commandement to his ministers to forgiue sinnes saying Whose sinnes yee remit they are remitted Ans. Gods ministers doe not properly forgiue sinnes but onely in the name of God according to his word pronounce to a penitent sinner that his sinnes are pardoned and forgiuen of God and therefore it is a most certen truth that none can forgiue sinnes but God onely it was auouched by the Pharisies and not denied by Christ. Hence it followes that remission of sinne beeing once graunted remaines for euer because Gods loue vnto the elect is vnchangeable and his decree concerning their saluation can not be altered The second point is to whom remission of sinnes is giuen Ans. To the Catholike church that is to the whole companie of men predestinate to saluation as Esai saith The people that dwell therein that is the Church shall haue their sinnes forgiuen And they shall call them the holy people the redeemed of the Lord and thou shalt be named a citie sought out and not forsaken And if there had beene an vniuersall remission of sinnes to all men as some doe dreame it should not here haue beene made a peculiar prerogatiue of the Church The third point is what is the meanes whereby pardon of sinne is procured at Gods hand Ans. The death and passion of Christ so Paul saith Christ died for our sinns that is Christ died to be a paiment and satisfaction to Gods iustice for our sinnes And S. Iohn saith The blood of Iesus Christ his sonne clenseth vs from all sinne And Peter saith Knowing that yee were not redeemed with corruptible things as siluer and gâ—ld from your vaine conuersation c. but with the pretious blood of Christ as of a â—â—mbe vndefiled and without spot The fourth point is after what manner sinne is forgiuen Ans. By an action of God whereby for the merit of Christ he esteemes and accounts sinne as no sinne or as if it had neuer beene committed Therefore Dauid saith Blessed is the man to whome the Lord imputeth no sinne And in Esai the Lord saith I haue put away thy transgressions like a cloud and thy sinnes as a myst Now we know that cloudes and mystes which appeare for a time are afterward by the sunne vtterly dispersed And King Hezekias when he would shew that the Lord had forgiueÌ„ him his sinnes saith God hath cast them behinde his backe alluding to the manner of men who when they will not remember or regard a thing doe turne their backes vpon it And Micheas saith that God doth cast all the sinnes of his people into the bottome of the sea alluding to Pharao whome the Lord drowned in the bottome of the redde sea And Christ hath taught vs to pray thus Forgiue vs our debts as we forgiue our debters in which words is an alluding to creditours who then forgiue debts when they account that which is debt as no debt crosse the booke Hence it appeares that damnable and vile is the opinion of the church of Rome which holdeth that there is a remission of the fault without a remission of the punishment and here withall fall to the ground the doctrines of humane satisfactions and indulgences and purgatorie and prayer for the dead built vpon this foundation are of the same kinde Moreouer we must remember to adde too this clause I beleeue and then the meaning is this I doe not onely beleeue that God doth giue pardon of sinne to his Church and people for that the very deuills beleeue but withall I beleeue the forgiuenes of mine owne particular sinnes Hence it appeares that it was the iudgement of the Primitiue Church that men should beleeue the forgiuenesse of their owne sinnes By this prerogatiue we reape endlesse comfort for the pardon of sinne is a most wonderfull blessing and
of God and according to the tenour thereof must we frame and square our petitions Things promised absolutely as all graces necessarie to saluation may be asked absolutely and things promised with condition as graces lesse necessarie and temporall blessings are to be asked with condition namely so farforth as they shal be for Gods glorie in vs and for our good except it be so that God promise any temporall blessing absolutely as he promised issue to Abraham in his old age The kingdome to Dauid after Saul A deliuerance from captiuitie in Babylon after 70. yeres to the Israelites Againe the preface serues to stirre vp loue and feare in the hearts of them that are about to pray Loue because they pray to a father feare because he is full of maiestie in heauen Hallowed be thy Name 1. The Coherence THus much of the preface now follow the petitions They be sixe in number the three first concerne God the three last our selues The three former petitions are again deuided into two parts the first concernes Gods glorie it selfe the other two the meanes whereby Gods glorie is manifested and inlarged among men For Gods name is glorified among men when his kingdome doth come and his will is done Quest. Why is this petition Hallowed be thy name set in the first place Ans. Because Gods glorie must be preferred before all things because it is the end of all creatures and of all the counsels of God Prov. 16.4 The Lord hath made all things for his owne sake yea euen the wicked for the day of euill And from the order of the petitions here ariseth a worthie instruction namely that euery one in all things they take in hand are to propound to themselues and to intend the glorie of God The reason is this The ende which God hath appointed to all our doings we are to propound to our selues but God hath appointed that the highest ende of all his doings should be his glorie therefore our hearts must be set to seeke it first of all That God will haue his name glorified by vs appeareth in this that he punisheth those which of obstinacie set themselues to dishonour him or by negligence did not sanctifie him when they should haue done so Herod sitting in his royaltie made such an oration that the people cried The voice of a god and not of a man and immediately the Angel of the Lord smote him because he gaue not glorie to God Act. 12. 12. And Moses because he did not sanctifie the Lord in the presence of the children of Israel therefore he came not into the land of promise yet he did not altogether faile in doing of it Thus we may see by these punishments and also by the order of the petitions that it is our duties to preferre the glorie of God before all thing els Quest. Whether are we to preferre the glorie of God before the saluation of our soules Ans. If the cause stand thus that Gods name must be dishonoâ—red or our soules condemned we must account the glorie of God more pretious then the saluation of our soules This is manifest in the order of the petitions The petitions that concerne Gods glorie is first and the petitions that concerne directly our saluation are the fift and sixt Whereby we are taught that before God should want any part of his glorie we must let bodie and soule and all goe that God may haue all his glorie This affection had Moses Exod. 32.32 when he said Either forgiue them or if thou wilt not blot my name out of thy booke In this petition as also in the rest we must obserue three things the first is the meaning of the wordes the second the wants which men must learne to bewaile the third the graces of God which are to be desired 2. The meaning VEry few among the people can giue the right meaning of the wordes of this prayer They pretend that seeing God knowes their good meaning it is sufficient for them to say the wordes and to meane well But faith beeing one of the grounds of praier and there beeing no faith without knowledge neither can there be praier without knowledge and therefore ignorant men are to learne the right meaning of the words Name Name in this place signifieth 1 God himselfe 1. King 5.5 He shall build an house to my Name 2 His attributes as his iustice mercie c. 3 His workes creatures and iudgements 4 His word 5 His honour and praise arising from all these For God is knowne to vs by all these as men are knowne by their names and as all a mans praise and glorie lies in his name so all the glorie of God is in these Hallowed TO hallow is to seuer or set apart any thing from the common vse to some proper and peculiar end as the Temple was hallowed that is set apart to an holy vse and the Priests were sanctified that is set apart to the seruice of God And all that beleeue in Christ are sanctified that is set apart from sinne to serue God In like manner Gods name is hallowed when it is put apart froÌ„ obliuion contempt prophanation pollution blasphemie and all abuses to an holy reuerent and honorable vse whether we thinke speake of it or vse it any manner of way Leuit. 10.3 Ezech. 38.23 Quest. How can a sinfull man hallow Gods name which is pure and holy in it selfe Ans. We doe not here pray that we might make Gods name holy as though we could adde something vnto it to make it holy but that we might be meanes to declare and make manifest to the world by the right vsage of it that it is holy pure and honourable The like phrase is vsed Luke 7. 9. Wisdome is iustified by her children that is acknowledged and declared to be iust Ezech. 38.23 The scope therefore of the first petition is an earnest desire that we might set forth Gods glory whatsoeuer become of vs and it may be expressed thus O Lord open our eyes that we may aright know thee and acknowledge the greatnes of thy power wisdome iustice and mercy which appeares in thy titles words creatures iudgements and grant that when we vse any of these we may therein honour thee and vse them reuerently to thy glorie 3. The wants which are to be bewailed 1. THE wants which we in this place are taught to bewaile are specially foure The first is an inward and spirituall pride of our hearts a sinne that none or very fewe can see in themselues vnlesse the Lord open their eies When our first parents were tempted in paradise the deuill told them they should be as Gods which lesson not onely they but we haue learned and wee conceiue of our selues as little gods though to the world we shew it not This hidden pride when other sinnes die it begins to get strength and to shewe it selfe and appeares in vaine thoughts continually on euery occasion ascending in the mind As may appeare
disarme him make him altogither vnable to preuaile against vs. Now to finde out this matter we neede not to vse the counsell of any Delilah for wee haue the worde of God which teacheth vs plainly where the strength of death consists namely in our sinnes as Paul saith The sting of death is sinne Well then we knowing certainly that the power and force of euery mans particular death lies in his owne sinnes must spend our time and studie in vsing good meanes that our sinnes may be remooued and pardoned And therefore wee must daily inure our selues in the practise of two duties One is to humble our selues for all our sins past partly confessing them against our selues partly in prayer crying to heauen for the pardon of them The other is for time to come to turne vnto god and to carrie a purpose resolution and indeauour in al things to reforme both heart and life according to Gods worde These are the verie principall and proper duties whereby the strength of death is much rebated and he is made of a mightie and bloodie enemie so farre forth friendly and tractable that we may with comfort incounter with him and preuaile too Therefore I commend these duties to your Christian considerations and carefull practise desiring that ye would spend your daies euer hereafter in doing of them If a maÌ„ were to deale with a mightie dragon or serpent hand to hand in such wise as he must either kill or bee killed the best thing were to bereaue him of his sting or of that part of his bodie where his poyson lies nowe death it selfe is a serpent dragon or scorpion and sinne is the sting or poison whereby hee woundes and kills vs. Wherefore without any more delay see that yee pull out his sting the practise of the foresaid duties is as it were a fitte and worthie instrument to doe the deede Hast thou beene a person ignorant of Gods wil a contemner of his word and worship a blasphemer of his name a breaker of his sabbaths disobedient to parents and magistrates a murderer a fornicator a railer a slanderer a couetous person c. reforme these thy sinnes and all other like vnto them pull them out by the rootes from thy heart and cast them off So many sinnes as bee in thee so many stings of death bee also in thee to wound thy soule to eternall death Therefore let no one sinne remaine for which thou hast not humbled thy selfe and repented seriously When death hurts any man it takes the weapons whereby he is hurt from his owne hand It cannot doe vs the least hurt but by the force of our owne sinnes Wherefore I say again againe lay this point to your hearts spend our strength life and health that ye may before ye die abolish the strength of death A man may put a serpent in his bosome when the sting is out and wee may let death creepe into our bosoms and gripe vs with his legs and stab vs at the heart so long as he brings not his venime and poison with him And because the former duties are so necessarie as none can be more I wil vse some reasons yet further to enforce them Whatsoeuer a man would doe when he is dying the â—ame he ought to doe euerie daie while he is liuing now the most notorious and wicked person that euer was when hee is dying will praie and desire others to praie for him and promise amendement of life protesting that if he might liue he would becom a practitioner in al the good duties of faith repentance and reformation of life Oh therefore bee carefull to doe this euerie daie Againe the saying is true hee that would liue when hee is dead must die while he is aliue namely to his sinnes Wouldest thou then liue eternally sue to heauen for thy pardon and see that now in thy life time thou die to thine owne sinnes Lastly wicked Balaam would faine die the death of the righteous but alas it was to smal purpose for he would by no meanes liue the life of the righteous For his continuall purpose and meaning was to followe his old waies in sorceries and couetousnesse Nowe the life of a righteous man standes in the humbling of himselfe for his sinnes past and in a careful reformation of life to come Wouldest thou then die the death of the righteous then look vnto it that thy life be the life of the righteous if ye will needs liue the life of the vnrighteous yee must looke to die the death of the vnrighteous Remember this and content not your selues to heare the word but bee doers of it for ye learne no more indeede what measure of knowledge soeuer ye haue then ye practise The third dutie in our generall preparation is in this life to enter into the first degree of life eternall For as I haue said there bee three degrees of life euerlasting and the first of them is in this present life For he that would liue in eternall happinesse for euer must begin in this world to rise out of the graue of his owne sinnes in which by nature hee lies buried and liue in newnesse of life as it is said in the Reuelation Hee that will escape the second death must bee made partaker of the first resurrectioÌ„ And Paul saith to the Colossians that they were in this life deliuered from the power of darkenesse and translated into the kingdome of Christ. And Christ saith to the Church of the Iewes the kingdome of heauen is amongst you Nowe this first degree of life is when a man can say with Paul I liue not but Christ liues in me that is I finde partly by the testimonie of my sanctified conscience and partly by experience that Christ my redeemer by his spirit guideth and gouerneth my thoughts will affectionsâ— all the powers of body and soule according to the blessed direction of his holy will Now that we might be able to say this we must haue three gifts graces of God wherein especially this first degree of life consists The first is sauing knowledge wherebâ— we doe truely resolue our selues that God the father of Christ is our fatherâ— Christ his sonne our redeemer and the holy ghost our comforter That this knowledge is one part of life eternall it appeares by the saying of Christ in Iohn This is life eternall that is the beginning and entrance into life eternall to know thee the onely God and whome thou hast sent Iesus Christ. The second grace is peace of conscience which passeth al vnderstanding and therefore Paul saith that the kingdome of heauen is righteousnes peace of conscience and ioy in the holy Ghost The horror of a guiltie conscience is the beginning of death destruction therefore peace of conscience deriued from the death of Christ is life and happinesse The third is the regiment of the spirit whereby the heart and life of man is ordered according to the
families must principally bestowe their goods vpon their owne children and them that be of their own kindred This man saith God to Abraham of Eleazar a stranger shall not bee thine heire but the sonne which shall come of thy loynes And this was Gods commandement to the Israelites that when any man dies his sonne should bee his heire and if hee had no sonne then his daughter if he haue no daughter then his brethren and if he haue no brethren then his fathers brethren if there be none then the next of his kinne whosoeuer And Paul saith If ye be sonnes then also heires And againe He that prouides not for his owne and namly for them of his houshold is worse then an infidel Therefore it is a fault for any man to alienate his goods or landes wholly and finally from his blood and posteritie It is a thing which the verie lawe of nature it selfe hath condemned Againe it is a fault to giue all to the eldest and nothing in respect to the rest as though the eldest were born to be gentlemen and yonger brethren borne to beare the wallet Yet in equitie the eldest must haue more then any euen because hee is the eldest and because stockes and families in their persons are to bee maintained and because there must alwaies be some that must be fit to doe speciall seruice in the peace of the common-weale or in the time of warre which could not bee if goods should bee equally parted to all The fourth and last rule is that no Will is of force till the testatour bee dead for so long as hee is aliue hee may alter and change it These rules must bee remembred because they are recorded in Scripture the opening of other points and circumstances belongeth to the profession of the law The second dutie of the master of the family concerneth the soules of such as be vnder his gouernmēt and that is to giue charge to them that they learn beleeue and obey the true religion that is the doctrine of saluation set downe in the writings of the Prophets and Apostles The Lord himselfe commends Abraham for this I know Abraham saith he that he will command his sonnes his houshold after him that they keepe the waie of the Lord to doe righteousnes and iudgement And Dauid giues Salomon on his death bed a most notable and solemne charge the summe and substance whereof is to knowe the God of his fathers and to serue him which being done he further commends him to God by praier for which purpose the 72. psalme was made This practise of his is to be followed of all Thus gouernours whē they shall carefully dispose of their goods and giue charge to their posteritie touching the worship of God shall greatly honour God dying as well as liuing Hitherto I haue intreated of the two-folde preparation which is to goe before death nowe follows the second part of Dying-wel namely the disposition in death This disposition is nothing else but a religious and holy behauiour specially towards God when wee are in or neere the agonie or pang of death This behauiour containes three special duties The first is to die in or by faith To die by faith is when a man in the time of death doeth with all his heart relie himselfe wholly on Gods speciall loue and fauour and mercie in Christ as it is reuealed in the word And though their bee no part of mans life voide of iust occasions whereby we may put faith in practise yet the speciall time of all is the pang of death when friendes and riches and pleasures and the outward senses and temporall life and all earthly helps forsake vs. For thē true faith maketh vs to goe wholly out of our selues and to despaire of comfort and saluation in respect of any earthly thing and with all the power and strength of the heart to rest on the pure mercie of God This made Luther both thinke and say that men were best Christians in death An example of this faith wee haue in Dauid who when hee sawe nothing before his eies but present death the people intending to stone him comforted him at that very instant as the text saieth in the Lord his God And this comfort he reaped in that by faith he applied vnto his owne soule the mercifull promises of God as hee testifieth of himself Remember saith he the promise made to thy seruant wherin thou hast caused me to trust It is my comfort in trouble for thy promise hath quickened me Againe My flesh failed and my heart also but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for euer Now looke what Dauid here did the same must euery one of vs doe in the like case When the Israelites in the wildernes were stung with fierie serpents and lay at the point of death they looked vp to the brasen serpent which was erected by the appointment of God and were presently healed euen so when any man feeles death to drawe neere and his fiery sting to pierce the heart he must fixe the eye of a true and liuely faith vpon Christ exalted crucified on the crosse which beeing done he shall by death enter into eternall life Nowe because true faith is no dead thing it must bee expressed by speciall actions the principal whereof is Inuocation whereby either praier or thanksgiuing is directed vnto God When death had seazed vpon the bodie of Iacob he raised vp himselfe and turning his face towards the beds head leaned on the toppe of his staffe by reason of his feeblenesse and praied vnto God which praier of his was an excellent fruite of his faith Iobs wife in the midst of his affliction saide vnto him to very good purpose Blesse God and die I know and grant that the words are commonly translated otherwise Curse god and die but as I take it the former is the best For it is not like that in so excellent a family any one person much lesse a matrone and principall gouernour thereof would giue such lewd and wretched counsell which the most wicked mā vpon earth hauing no more but the light of nature would not once giue but rather much abhorre and condemne And though Iob cal her a foolish woman yet he doth it not because shee wēt about to perswade him to blaspheme God but because shee was of the mind of Iobs friends and thought that hee stood too much in a conceit of his owne righteousnes Nowe the effect and meaning of her counsell is this Blesse God that is husband no doubt thou art by the extremitie of thine affliction at deaths dore therefore beginne nowe at length to lay aside the great ouerweening which thou hast of thine owne righteousnes acknowledge the hand of God vpon thee for thy sinnes confesse them vnto him giuing him the glorie pray for the pardon of them and end thy daies This counsell is very good and to be
is a creatour of heauen and earth of both which wee will speake in order and first of the creation of heauen Heauen in Gods worde signifieth all that is aboue the earth for the ayre wherein we breath is called heauen And according to this acceptation of the word there are three heauens as Paul saith He was taken vp into the third heauen The first of these heauens is that space which is from the earth vpwarde vnto the firmament where the starrs are Thus the birds which flie in the aire betweene the earth and the starres are called the foules of the heauen and when God sent the flood to drowne the olde world Moses saith the windows of heauen were opened meaning that God powred downe raine from the cloudes aboundantly for the making of a flood to drowne the world The second heauen is that which containeth the Sunne the Moone and the starres so Moses saith that God in the beginning created the Sunne the Moone and the starrs and placed them in the firmament of heauen Besides these two heauens there is a third which is inuisible and yet it is the worke of Gods handes and it is that glorious place where Christ euen in his manhoode sitteth at the right hand of the father and whither the soules of the faithfull departed are carried and placed and in which at the ende of the world shall all the elect both in body and soule haue perfect ioy and blisse in the glorious sight and presence of God for euer But for the better conceiuing the trueth wee are to skanne and consider diligently three questions First whether this third heauen be a creature for many haue thought it was neuer created but was eternall with God himselfe but it is a grosse errour contrarie to Gods word For the Scripture saith Abraham looked for a cittie meaning the heauenly Ierusalem this third heauen hauing a foundation whose builder and maker is God Further if it be eternall it must either be Creator or a creature but it is no creator for then it should be God and therefore it must needs be a creature But some will say the Lord is eternall and this third heauen hath alwaies beene the place of the Lordes aboade and therefore it is also eternall Answer True it is indeede that God doth shewe his glorie and maiestie in the third heauen but yet that cannot possibly containe his Godhead as Salomon saith Beholde the heauens and the heauens of heauens are not able to containe thee Wherefore though God doth manifest his eternall glorie in this third heauen yet doth it not followe that therefore this place should bee eternall for hee needes no habitation to dwell in hee is euery where filling all things with his presence excluded from no place The second question is where this third heauen is Aâ—â—were There are some protestants say it is euery where and they holde this opinion to maintaine the reall presence of the Lordes bodie in or about the Sacrament But if it were euery where then hell should be in heauen which no man will say but heauen indeede is aboue these visible heauens which wee see with our eies so the Apostle saith Christ ascended on high farre aboue all heauens c. And againe it is said of Steuen that beeing full of the holy Ghost Hee looked vp steadfastly into the heauens and sawe them open and the sonne of man standing at the right hand of God Thirdly it may bee demaunded why God created this third heauen Answer God made it for this cause that there might bee a certaine place wherein he might make manifest his glorie and maiestie to his elect angels and men for the which cause it was created a thousand fold more glorious then the two former heauens are and in this respect it is called Paradise by reason of the ioy and pleasure arising from Gods glorious presence And our Sauiour Christ calleth it the house of God his father because into it must be gathered all gods children It is called the kingdome of heauen because God is the king thereof and ruleth there in perfect glorie True it is God hath his kingdome here on earth but he ruleth not so fully and gloriouslie here as he â—hall in heauen for this is the kingdome of grace but that is the kingdome of his glorie where he so raigneth that he will be all in all first in Christ then in the elect both angels and men Nowe followe the duties whereunto we are mooued principally in consideration of the making of the third heauen First if God created it especially for the manifestion of his glory vnto men that at the ende of this worlde by the fruition of Gods most glorious presence there they might haue perfect ioy and felicitie we haue occasion here to consider the wonderfull madnesse and forgetfulnesse that raigneth euery where among men which onely haue regard to the estate of this life and cast all their care on this worlde and neuer so much as once dreame of the ioyfull and blessed estate which is prepared for Gods children in the highest heauen If a man hauing two housesâ— one but a homely cottage and the other a princely pallace should leaue the better and take all the care and paines for the dressing vp of the first would not euery man say he were a madde man yes vndoubtedly And yet this is the spirituall madnesse that takes place euery where among men for God hath prepared for vs two houses one is this our bodie which we beare about vs which is an house of clay as Iob saith We dwell in houses of clay whose foundation is dust which shal be destroyed before the moth as Peter saith a tabernacle or tent which we must shortly take downe and wherein we abide but as pilgrimes and straungers Againe the same God of his wonderfull goodnesse hath prouided for vs a second house in the third heauen wherein wee must not abide for a time and so depart but for euermore enioy the blessed felicitie of his glorious presence For all this marke a spirituall phrensie possessing the mindes of men for they imploy all their care and industrie for the maintaining of this house of clay whose foundation is but dust but for the blessed estate of the second house which is prepared for them in the kingdom of heauen they haue little regard or care They will both runne and ride from place to place day and night both by sea and land but for what Is it for the preparing of a mansion place in the heauenly Ierusalem Nothing lesse for they will scarse goe forth of the doore to vse any meanes whereby they may come vnto it but all their studie is to patch vp the ruines and breaches of their earthly cabbine Now let all men iudge in their owne consciences whether as I haue said this be not more then senselesse madnesse Againe the bodie is but a tabernacle
wherein we must rest as it were for a night as a straunger doth in an Inne and so away but the second house is eternall in the heauens an euerlasting seate of all felicitie and happinesse And therefore our dutie is aboue al things to seeke the kingdome of God and his righteousnesse as Christ himselfe biddeth vs. And if the Lord haue there prepared such a place for vs theÌ„ we must in this world vse all good meanes whereby we may be made worthie the fruition of it and also fitte and readie at the day of death to enter into it which at the day of iudgement we shall fully possesse both in soule and bodie and there raigne eternally in all happinesse with God Almightie our creatour the Father the Sonne and the Holy Ghost But some may say how shall a man so prepare himselfe that hee may bee fitte for that place Answere This the holy Ghost teacheth vs for speaking of this heauenly Ierusalem he saith There shall enter into it none vncleane thing neither whatsoeuer worketh abomination or lies The meanes then to make our selues fitte is to seeke to bee reconciled to God in Christ for our sinnes past and withall to endeauour to haue an assurance of the free remission and pardon of them all in the blood of Christ. And as touching that part of life which is to come we must remember what Saint Iohn saith Euery one that hath this hope purifieth himselfe meaning that he which hath hope to raigne with Christ in heauen vseth the meanes whereby he may purifie and keepe himselfe from sinne as also he saith after that he which is borne of God keepeth himselfe and the wicked one toucheth him not Signifying that all such persons as are truely iustified and sanctified carrie such a narrowe and straite watch ouer the whole course of their liues and conuersations that the deuill can neuer giue them deadly woundes and wholly ouercome them Nowe the man that iâ— resolued in his conscience of the pardon of his sinne for the time past and hath a steadfast purpose in his heart to keepe himselfe vpright continually to walke in righteousnesse and true holinesse all the daies of his life this man I say is prepared and made fit to enter into the heauenly Ierusalem come death when it will he is readie And howesoeuer he must not looke for heauen here vpon earth yet he is as it were in the suburbes of this heauenly cittie and at the end of this life the king thereof the Lord Iesus will open the gates and receiue him into his kingdome for he is alreadie entred into the kingdome of grace To conclude this point let euery man in the feare of god be mooued hereby to set his heart to prepare himselfe that when God shall call him hence he may be fitte to enter into that glorie Secondly seeing God hath prepared the third heauen for vs it teacheth euery man in this worlde to be content with the estate wherein God hath placed him whether it bee high or lowe rich or poore why so because here he is but a pilgrime and liues in a cottage of clay and in a tent wherein he must abide but a while as a pilgrime doth oftentimes carrying his house about with him and we shall in better sort accept the afflictions which God sendes vs in this life if we remember that there is prepared for vs a place of ioy which must bee our resting place and perfect felicitie for euermore This was the practise of the chidren of God especially of Abraham for when the Lord called him out of his own country he obeyed and by faith abode in the promised land as in a straunge countrie as one that dwelt in tents with Isaac and Iaakob heires with him in the same promise and the reason followeth for he looked for a cittie hauing a foundation whose builder and maker is God They beleeued that these things which the Lord promised were shaddowes of better things and hereon staied themselues beeing well content with that estate whereto God had called them So Paul was coÌ„tented to beare the afflictions which God had laid vpon him and his reason was Because saith he we looke not on things which are seene but on things which are not seene for the things which are seene are temporall but the things which are not seene are eternall And in the next chapter We knowe saith he that if our earthly house of this Tabernacle be destroyed we haue a dwelling giuen vs of God that is an house not made with hands but eternall in the heauens And for this cause his desire was rather to remooue out of this body and to be with the Lord. And thus much concerning heauen Nowe followeth the second part of Gods creation in these wordes And earth Earth signifieth the huge masse or body standing of sea and land on which we liue and all things that be in or vpon the earth whatsoeuer as Paul saith For by him were created all things that are in heauen or in earth c. In other Creeds which were made since this of the Apostles beeing expositioÌ„s of that there is added maker of all things visible and invisible Here we haue occasion to speake of all creatures but that were infinite therefore I will make choice of these two good Angels and Men. I. That Angels had a beginning it is no question for Paul saith that by God all things were created in heauen and earth things visible and inuisible whether thrones principalities or powers And in respect of the creation angels are called the sonnes of God But the time day of their creatioÌ„ cannot be set down further theÌ„ this that they were created in the coÌ„passe of the sixe daies For Moses saith Thus namely in the compasse of the first sixe daies the heauens and the earth were fashioned and all the hâ—ast of them that is all varietie of creatures in heauen and earth seruing for the beauty and glory thereof whereof no doubt the Angels are the principall II. Touching the nature of Angels some haue thought that they are nothing but qualities and motions in the mindes of men as the Sadduces and the Libertines of this time but the truth is that they are spirits that is spirituall and inuisible substances created by God and really subsisting for the Scripture ascribes vnto them such kinde of actions which can not be performed by the creatures saue onely such as be substances as to stande before the throne of God to behold the face of the Father to carie mens soules to heauen c. yet must we not imagine that they are bodily substances consisting of flesh and bone And though they tooke vpon them visible shapes and formes and did eate and drinke in the companie of men and thereupon are called Men in Scripture yet they did this by diuine dispensation for a time that they might the better performe the actions
who begin their artificiall day as I said at the sunne rising The fourth and last point is the order and whole proceding of Christs execution which may be reduced to foure heades the I. his going to execution the II. his crucifying the III. his death the IV. the consequents of his death Againe in his going to execution we may consider many points The first that he is brought out of Ierusalem as a malefactour For the old and ancient custome of the Iewes was to put those whome they iudged to be notorious offenders to death without their teâ—ts when they wandered in the wildernesse and without the walls of Ierusalem least they should any way be defiled with their blood And this fell out by the speciall prouidence of God that that might be fulfilled in Christ which was prefigured in the sacrifices of the old testament when the bodies of beasts were not eaten of the priests but burnt without the campe therefore saith the holy Ghost euen Iesus that hee might sanctifie the people with his owne blood suffered without the gates Hence may all Christians learne to knowe their owne estate and condition first in this worlde they must looke to be accounted the ofscouring of the earth and the filth of the word as the Apostle saith and wee must all prepare our selues to beare this estate They that will be Gods children must not look to be better accepted of in the world then Christ was Secondly by this euery one of vs must learne to bee content to vse this worlde as straungers and pilgrimes beeing euery daie and houre and readie to leaue the same For if Christ the sonne of God himselfe was brought out of Ierusalem as not beeing worthie to haue his aboade there then must euery christian man looke much more for the like extremitie And therefore it is not good for vs to haue our hearts tied to the world and to seeke alwaies to be approoued of the same for that argueth that we are not like to Christ but we must rather doe as poore pilgrimes in straunge countries and that is onely to looke for safe conduct thorough the miseries in this world hauing in the meane season our hearts wills and affections set on the kingdome which is in heauen The second thing is that Christ was made to beare his owne crosse for so it seemes the manner of the Romans was to deale with malefactours And this must put vs in minde of that notable lesson which Christ himselfe taught his disciples namely that if any man will be his disciple hee must denie himselfe take vp his owne crosse dâ—ily and followe him where by the crosse we must vnderstand that portion of affliction which god hath alotted to euery one of his children for there is no child of God to whome he hath not measured out as it were some bitter cup of miserie in this life And therefore Paul saith Nowe reioice I in my suffering for you and fulfill the rest of the fuâ—ferings of Christ in my fleâ—â— By Christs sufferings he meaneth not the passion of Christ but the sufferings of the bodie of Christ that is the Church whereof Christ is the head Moreouer we must suffer as he did that daily because as one day followeth another so one crosse comes in the necke of another And whereas Christ beares the crosse that was laid on him by the handes of the souldiers it must teach vs not to pull crosses vpon our selues but waite til God lay them on vs and when that time comes we must willingly bend our shoulders stoope downe and take them vp whether they be in bodie or in soule and that euery daie if it be Gods will so long as we liue and by this shall we most notably resemble our Sauiour Christ. Thirdly when Christ had carried his crosse so long til he could carrie it no longer by reason of the faintnesse of his bodie which came by buffets whippings and manifold other iniuries then the souldiers meeting with one SimoÌ„ of Cyrene a stranger made him to beare the crosse where we are put in mind that if we faint in the way and be weariâ—ed with the burden of our affâ—â—ctions God will giue good issue and send as it were some Simon of Cyrene to helpe vs and to be our comforter The fourth point is that when Christ was carrying his owne crosse and was nowe passing on towards Golgotha certaine women met him and pitying his case wept for him but Christ answered them and said Daughters of Ierusalem weepe not for me but for your selues and your children c. By this we are first of all taught to pitie the state of those that be in affliction and miserie especially those that be the children of God as the Apostle exhorteth vs saying Remember them that are in bondes as though you were bound with them and them that are in affliction as though you were afflicted with them In this lande by Gods especiall blessing we haue enioied the Gospell of Christ with peace a long time whereas other countries and churches are in great distresse some wallowe in palpable ignorance and superstition others haue libertie to enioy the Gospell and want teachers and some haue both the word and teachers yet want peace and are in continuall persecution Nowe when we that haue the Gospel with peace doe heare of these miseries in our neighbour churches wee ought to bee mooued with compassion towards them as though wee our selues were in the same afflictions Secondly whereas Christ saith Weepe not for me but for your selues he doth teach vs to take occasion by other mens miseries to bewaile our owne estate to turne our worldly griefes into godly sorrowe for our sinnes which causeth vs rather to weepe for our offences theÌ„ for our friends although euen this may also be done in a godly maner When a man by bleeding at the nose is brought into danger of his life the Phisitian lets him bloode in another place as in the arme and turnes the course of the blood another waie to saue his life so must we turne our worldly sorrowes for losse of goods or friendes to a godly sorrowe for our offences against God for as S. Paul saith Godly sorrowe causeth repentance vnto saluation not to be repented of but worldly sorrow causeth death The fift point is that when Christ was brought to the place of execution they gaue him vineger to drinke mingled with mirrhe and gall some say it was to intoxicate his braine and to take away his senses and memorie If this be true we may here behold in the Iewes a most wicked part that at the point of death when they were to take away the life of Christ they for their partes had no care of his soule For this is a dutie to be obserued of all magistrates that when they are to execute malefactors they must haue a speciall regard to the good and saluation
of their soules But some thinke rather that this potion was to shorten and ende his torments quickly Some of vs may peraduenture thinke hardly of the Iewes for giuing so bitter a potion of Christ at the time of his death but the same doth euery sinner that repenteth not For whensoeuer wee sinne we doe as much as temper a cup of gall or the poison of aspes and as it were giue it to God to drinke for so God himselfe compareth the sinne of the wicked Iewes to poyson saying There vine is of the vine of Sodom and of the vines of Gomorrha their grapes are grapes of gall their clusters be bitter their wine is the poison of dragons and the cruell gall of aspes And for this cause we ought to thinke as hardly of our selues as of the Iewes because so oft as we commit any offence against God we doe as much as mingle ranke poison and bring it to Christ to drink Now afterward when this cup was giuen him he tasted of it but dranke not because he was willing to suffer all things that his father had appointed him to suffer on the crosse without any shortening or lessening of his paine Thus we see in what manner Christ was brought â—orth to the place of execution Now followeth his crucifying Christ in the prouidence of God was to be crucified for two causes one that the â—igures of the old testament might be accomplished and verified For the heaue-offering lifted vp and shaked from the right hand to the left and the brasen serpent erected vpon a pole in the wildernesse prefigured the exalting of Christ vpon the crosse The second that we might in conscience be resolued that Christ became vnder the law and suffered the curse thereof for vs and bare in his owne bodie and soule the extremitie of the wrath of God for our offences And though other kinds of punishments were notes of the curse of God as stoning and such like yet was the death of the crosse in speciall manner aboue the rest accursed not by the nature of the punishment not by the opinions of men not by the ciuill lawes of countries and kingdomes but by the vertue of a particular commandement of God foreseeing what maner of death Christ our redeemer should die And hereupon among the Iewes in all ages this kind of punishment hath beene branded with speciall ignominie as Paul signifieth when he saith He abased himselfe to the death euen to the death of the crosse and it hath beene allotted as a most grieuous punishment to most notorious malefactours If it be said that the repentant thiefe vpon the crosse dyed the same death with Christ and yet was not accursed the answer is that in regard of his offences he deserued the curse and was actually accursed and the signe of this was the death which he suffered and that in his owne confession but because he repented his sinnes were pardoned and the curse remooued It may further be said that crucifying was not knowne in Moses daies and therefore not accursed by any speciall commandement of God in Deuteronomie Answ. Moses indeede speakes nothing in particular of crucifying yet neuerthelesse he doth include the same vnder the generall For if euery one which hangs vpon a tree be accursed then he also which is crucified for crucifying is a particular kinde of hanging on the tree Lastly it may be alleadged that Christ in his death could not be accursed by the law of Moses becavse he was no malefactour Answ. Though in regard of himselfe he was no sinner yet as he was our suretie he became sinne for vs and consequently the curse of the law for vs in that the curse euery way due vnto vs by imputation and application was made his Furthermore Christ was crucified not after the manner of the Iewes who vsed to hang malefactours vpon a tree binding them thereto with cords and that when they were dead but after the vsuall maner of the Romanes his bodie being partly nayled to the crosse and partly in the nayling extreamely racked otherwise I see not but that a man might remaine many daies togither aliue vpon the crosse And here we haue occasion to remeÌ„ber that the Papists who are so deuout and zealous towardes crucifixes are farre deceiued in the making of them For first of all the crosse was made of three pieces of wood one fastened vpright in the ground to which the bodie back leaned the second fastened towards the top of the first ouerthwart to which the haÌ„ds were nailed the third fastened towards the bottome of the first on which the feete were set and nailed whereas contrariwise popish caruers and painters fasten both the feet of the crosse to the first secondly the feete of Christ were nailed asunder with two distinct nailes and not nailed one vpon another with one naile alone as Papists imagine and that to the very bodie of the crosse for then the souldiers could not haue broken both the legges of the theeues but onely the outmost because one of them lay vpon the other Let vs now come to the vse which may be made of the crucifying of Christ. First of all here we learne with bitternesse to bewaile our sinnes for Christ was thus cruelly nailed on the crosse and there suffered the whole wrath of God not for any offence that euer he committed but beeing our pledge and suretie vnto God he suffered all for vs and therefore iust cause haue we to mourne for our offences which brought our Sauiour Christ to this lowe estate If a man should be so farre in debt that he could not be freed vnlesse the suretie should be cast into prison for his sake nay which is more be cruelly put to death for his debt it would make him at his wits end and his very heart to bleed And so is the case with vs by reason of our sinnes we are Gods debters yea bankrupts before him yet haue we gotten a good suretie euen the son of God himselfe who to recouer vs to our former libertie was crucified for the discharge of our debt And therefore good cause haue we to bewaile our estate euery day as by the prophet it is said They shall looke on him whome they haue pearced they shall lâ—ment for him as one mourneth for his owne sonne they shall be â—orie for him as one is sorie for his first borne Looke as the blood followed the nailes that were stricken through the blessed hands and feete of Christ so should the meditation of the crosse and passion of our Redeemer be as it were nayles and speares to pierce vs that our hearts might bleed for our sinnes and we are not to thinke more hardly of the Iewes for crucifying him then of our selues because euen by our sinnes we also crucified him These are the very nayles which pierce his hands and feete and these are the speares which pierce through his side For the losse
them daily in faith and obedience and from time to time commending our soules into the hand of God casting all our works vpon his prouidence They which haue done this haue made most happie blessed ends Enoch by faith walked walked with God as one that was alwaies in his presence leading an vpright and godly life and the Lord tookeâ— him away that hee should not see death And this which befell Enoch shall after a sort befall them also that liue in faith and obedience because death shall bee no death but a sleepe vnto them and no enemie but a friende to bodie and soule On the contrarie let vs consider the wretched and miserable endes of them that haue spent their daies in their sinnes without keeping faith and good conscience The people of the olde worlde were drowned in the floode the filthie Sodomites and Gomorrheans were destroyed with fire from heauen Dathan and Abiram with the companie of Core swallowed vp of the earth Core himself as it seemes by the text beeing burnt with fire wicked Saul and Achitophel and Iudas destroy themselues Herod is eaten vp of wormes and gaue vp the ghost Iulian the Apostata smitten with a dart in the fielde died casting vp his blood into the aire and blaspheming the name of Christ. Arius the hereticke died vpon the stoole scouring foorth his verie entralls And this veriâ— age affoards store of like examples Hofâ—meister a great Papist as he was going to the councill of Ralisbone to dispute against the defenders of the gospell was suddenly in his iourney preuented by the hand of God and miserably died with horrible roaring and crying out in the vniuersity of Louaine Guarlacus a learned Papist falling sicke when he perceiued no way with him but death he sel into a miserable agony and perturbation of spirit crying out of his sinsâ— howe miserably he had liued and that he was not able to abide the iudgement of God and so casting out wordes of miserable desperation said his sinnes were greater then they could be pardoned and in that desperation ended his daies Iacobus Latromus of the same Vniuersitie of Louaine after that hee had beene at Bruxels and there thinking to doe a great act against Luther and his fellowes made an oration before the Emperour so foolishly and ridiculously that he was laughed to scorne almost of the whole court then returning from thence to Louaine againe in his publike lecture hee fell into open madnesse vttering such words of desperation and blasphemous impietie that other diuines which were present were faine to carrie him away as he was rauing to shut him into a close chamber From that time to his verie last breath hee had neuer any thing else in his mouth but that he was damned reiected of god and that there was no hope of saluation for him because that wittingly and against his knowledge he withstood the maniest truth of Gods word Crescentius the Popes Legate and vicegerent in the Council of Trent was â—itting all the daie long vntill darke night in writing of letters to the Pope after his labour when night was come thinking to refresh himselfe he began to rise and at his rising behold there appeared to him a mightie blacke dogge of an huge bignesse his eies flaming with fire and his eares hanging low down wel neere to the ground which began to enter in and straight to come towards him so to couch vnder the boord The Cardinall not a little amased at the sight thereof somewhat recouering himselfe called to his seruants which were in the outward chamber next by to bring in a candle and to seek for the dogge But when the dogge could not bee found there nor in any other chamber about the Cardinall thereupon stricken with a sudden conceit of minde immediately fell into such a sickenes whereof his Phisitians which he had about him could not with all their industrie and cunning cure him and thereupon he died Steuen Gardiner when a certaine bishop came vnto him and put him in minde of Peter denying his master answered again that he had denied with Peter but neuer repented with Peter so to vse M. Foxes words stinkingly vnrepentantly died More examples might be added but these shall suffice Againe that wee may bee further induced to the practise of these duties let vs call to minde the vncertaintie of our daies though we now liue yet who can say that hee shall bee aliue the next daieâ— or the next houre No man hath a lease of his life Nowe marke as death leaues a man so shall the last iudgement find him and therfore if death take him away vnprepared eternal damnation followes without recouerie If a theife bee brought from prison either to the barre to be arraigned before the iudge or to the place of exequâ—tion he will bewaile his misdeameanour past and promise all reformation of life so be it he might be deliuered though he be the most arrant theefe that euer was In this case we are as fellons or theeues for we are euery day going to the barre of Gods iudgement there is no stay nor standing in the way euen as the shippe in the sea continues on his course day and night whether the marriners be sleeping or waking therefore let vs all prepare our selues and amend our liues betime that in death we may make a blessed ende Ministers of the Gospel doe daily call for the performance of this dutie but where almost shall we finde the practise and obedience of it in mens liues and conuersations Alas alas to lend our eares for the space of an houre to heare the will of God is common but to giue heart and hand to doe the same is rare And the reason hereof is at hand we are all most grieuous sinners and euery sinner in the tearmes of Scripture is a foole and a principall part of this follie is to care for the things of this world and to neglect the kingdome of heauen to prouide for the bodie and not for the soule to cast and forecast how we may liue in wealth and honour and ease and not to vse the last forecast to die well This folly our Sauiour Christ noted in the rich man that was carefull to inlarge his barnes but had no care at all for his ende or for the saluation of his soule Such an one was Achitophel who as the Scripture tearmes him was as the very oracle of God for counsell beeing a man of great wisdome and forecast in the matters of the common-wealth and in his owne priuate worldly affaires and yet for all this he had not so much as common sense and reason to consider how he might die the death of the righteous and come to life euerlasting And this follie the holy Ghost hath noted in him For the text saith when he saw that his counsell was despised he sadled his asse and arose and went home into his citie