some may say wherein standes our vnbeleefe Answer It standes in two thinges I. In distrusting the goodnesse of God that is in giuing to little or no affiance to him or in putting affiance in the creature For the first fewe men will abide to be told of there distrust in God but in deede it is a common and rife corruption and though they soothe themselues neuer so yet their vsuall dealings proclaime their vnbeleefe Goe thorough all places it shall be founde that scarce one of a thousand in his dealings makes conscience of a lie a great part of men gets their wealth by fraud and oppression and all kinde of vniust and vnmercifull dealing VVhat is the cause that they can doe so Alas alas if there be any faith it is pinned vp in some by-corner of the heart and vnbeleefe beares sway as the lorde of the house Againe if a man had as much wealth as the world comes to he could finde in his heart to wish for an other and if he had two worldes he would be casting for the thirde if it might be compassed the cause hereof is men haue not learned to make God their portion and to stay their affections on him which if they could doe a meane portion in temporall blessings would be enough Such men will not yeilde that they doe indeede distrust the Lord vnlesse at some time they be touched in conscience vvith a sense of their sinnes and be thoroughly humbled for the same but indeede distrust of Gods goodnesse is a generall and a mother sinne the ground of all other sinnes and the very first and principall sinne in Adams fall And for the second part of vnbeleefe which is an affiance in the creature reade the whole booke of God and we shall finde it a common sinne in all sorts of men some putting their trust in riches some in strength some in pleasures some placing their felicitie in one sinne some in an other VVhen King Asa was sicke he put his trust in the Phisitians and not in the Lorde And in our daies the common practise is when crosses and calamities fall then there is trotting out to that wise man to this cunning woman to this sorcerer to that wisard that is from God to the deuill and their counsell is receiued and practised without any bones making And this shewes the bitter roote of vnbeleefe and confidence in vaine creatures let men smoothe it ouer with goodly tearmes as long as they will In a worde there is no man in the worlde be hee called or not called if he looke narrowly vnto himselfe hee shall finde his heart almost filled with manifolde doubtings and distrustings whereby hee shall feele him selfe euen carried away from beleeuing in God Therefore the duetie of euery man is that vvill truely say that hee beleeues in God to labour to see his owne vnbeleefe and the fruits thereof in his life As for such as say they haue no vnbeleefe nor feele none more pitifull is their case For so much the greater is their vnbeleefe Secondly considering that wee professe our selues to beleeue in God wee must euery one of vs learne to knowe God As Paul saith Hovv can they beleeue in him of vvhome they have not heard and hovve can they heare vvithout a preacher therefore none can beleeue in God but hee must first of all heare and be taught by the ministerie of the word to know God aright Let this be remembred of young and olde It is not the pattering ouer of the beleefe for a prayer that will make a man a good beleeuer but God must be knowne of vs and acknowledged as hee hath reuealed him selfe partly in his worde and partly in his creatures Blinde ignorance and the right vse of the Apostles Creede will neuer stande together Therefore it stands men in hande to labour and takes paines to get knowledge in religion that knowing God aright they may come steadfastly to beleeue in him Thirdly because wee beleeue in God therefore another duetie is to denie our selues vtterly and to become nothing in our selues Our Sauiour Christ requires of vs to become as little children if wee would beleeue The begger dependes not on the releefe of others till he finde nothing at home and till our hearts be purged of selfe-loue and pride wee can not depende on the fauour and goodnes of God Therefore he that would trust in God must first of all be abased and confounded in him selfe and in regard of him selfe be out of all hope of attaining to the least sparke of the grace of God Fourthly in that we beleeue in God and therefore put our whole trust and assurance in him wee are taught that euery man must commit his bodie his soule goods life yea all that hee hath into the handes of God and to his custodie So Paul saith I am not ashamed of my sufferings for I knowe whome I haue beleeued and am perswaded that he is able to keepe that which I haue committed vnto him against that day A worthie saying for what is the thing which Paul committed vnto the Lorde surely his owne soule and the eternall saluation thereof But what mooues him to trust God surely his perswasion whereby hee knowes that God will keepe it And Peter saith Let them that suffer according to the vvill of God commit their soules to him in well doing as vnto a faithfull creatour Looke as one friende layeth dovvne a thing to be kept of another so must a man giue all that hee hath to the custodie of God Fevve or none can practise this and therefore vvhen any euill befalls them eyther in bodie or in goods or any other vvay then they shewe them selues rather beastes then men in impatience For in prosperitie they vvoulde not trust in God and therefore in aduersitie vvhen crosses come they are voyde of comfort But when a man hath grace to beleeue and trust in God then hee commits all into Gods handes and though all the worlde should perish yet hee would not be dismaide And vndoubtedly if a man will be thankefull for the preseruation of his goods or of his life hee must shewe the same by committing all he hath into Gods handes and suffer him selfe to be ruled by him Nowe followes the consolations and comforts which Gods Church and children reape hereby First he that beleeues in God and takes God for his God may assure him selfe of saluation and of a happie deliuerance in all daungers and necessities When God threatned a plague vpon Israel for their idolatrie good king Iosiah humbled him selfe before the Lorde and he was safe all his daies And so King Hezekiah when Senacherib the king of Ashur offered to inuade Iudah he trusted in the Lorde and praied vnto him and was deliuered VVhereby we see if a man trust in God he shall haue securitie and quietnesse as Iehosaphat saide to the men of Iudah And our Sauiour Christ when he was
Christ teacheth when he saith that the angels of little ones doe alreadie behold the face of the father in heauen And the wicked angels before their fall were placed in heauen for 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 Cherubim 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 three-fold and it respecteth either God himselfe or his Church or his enemies The ministery which they performe to God is first of all to adore praise and glorifie him continually Thus the Cherubims in Esaies vision cry one to another Holy holy holy is the Lord God of hosts the world is full of his glorie And when they were to publish the birth of the Messias they begin on this manner Glorie to God in the highest heauens peace on earth And Iohn in his vision heard the angels about the throne crying with a loud voyce Worthie is the Lambe c. to receiue power riches and strength wisedome and honour and glorie and praise And indeed the heighest ende of the ministerie of angels is the glorie of God The second is to stand in Gods presence euermore readie to do 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. VVe 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 ministring spirits for the good of them which shall be heyres of saluation The good is three-fold in this life in the ende of this life and in the last iudgement againe the good which they procure to the people of God in this life is either in respect of bodie or soule In respect of the bodie in that they doe most carefully performe all manner of duties which doe 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 foorth of Abrahams familie and wandred in the wildernes an angell comes vnto hir and giues hir counsell to returne to hir mistres and humble hir selfe VVhen Elias fled from Iesabel he was both comforted directed and fedde by an angell And an angel bids the same Elias be of good courage and without feare to go to King Achazias reprooue him Angels bring Lot and his familie out of Sodom and Gomorrha before they burne the cities with fire brimstone VVhen Iacob feared his brother Esau he saw angels comming vnto him and he plainly acknowledgeth that they were sent to be his protectours and his guides in his iournie Abraham beeing perswaded of the assistance of Gods angels in all his waies said to his seruant The Lord God of heauen who tooke me from my fathers house c. will send his angell before thee The wise men that came to see Christ are admonished by Angels to returne another way Ioseph by the directiō of an angel fled into Egypt that he might preserue Christ frō the hāds of the cruel tyrāt the tēts of the Israelites was garded by angels The 3. children are deliuered frō the fierie furnace Daniel out of the lyōs den by angels Whē Christ was in heauines they ministred vnto him cōforted him they brought Peter out of prisō set him at liberty Againe the Angels procure good vnto the soules of the godly in that they are maintainers and furtherers of the true worship of God and of all good meanes whereby we attaine to saluation The law was deliuered in mount Sina by angels and a great part of the Reuelation of Iohn They expound to Daniel the 70. weekes They instruct the Apostles touching the returne of Christ to the last iudgement Angels forbid Iohn to worship them but to worship God the creatour of heauen and earth They set the Apostles out of prison and bid them teach in the temple An angel brings Philip to the Eunuch that he may expound the scriptures to him Lastly they reueale the mysteries and the will of God as to Abraham that he should not kil his sonne Isaac to Marie and Elizabeth the natiuitie of Iohn Baptist and of Christ our Sauiour al this they do according vnto the wil of God Gal. 1.8 Beside all this angels reioyce at the conuersion of sinners by the ministerie of the Gospell And for the Churches sake they protect not onely particular men but euen whole nations and kingdomes The ministerie of Angels in the ende of this life is to carie the soules of the godly into Abrahams bosome as they did the soule of Lazarus And in the day of iudgement to gather all the Elect that they may come before Christ and enter into eternall fruition of glorie both in bodie soule The third last part of the minsterie of angels concerns Gods enemies it is to execute iudgements on all wicked persons and impenitent sinners Thus all the first borne of Egypt are slain by an angel VVhen Iosua was about to sack Ierico an angel appeared vnto him as a captaine with a drawn sword to fight for Israel When the host of Senacherib came against Israel the angel of the Lord in one night slue an hundred eightie and fiue thousand Because Herod gaue not glorie vnto God the angel of the Lord smote him so as he was eaten vp of lice and died And thus we see what points we are to marke touching the good Angels Now followeth the vse which we are to make in regard of their creation First whereas they are Gods ministers to inflict punishments vpon the wicked here is a speciall point to be learned of vs that euery man in the feare of God take heede how he liueth and continueth in his sinnes for the case is dangerous considering that God hath armies of angels which stand readie euery where to execute Gods heauie iudgements vpon them that liue thus Whē the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord Moses saith they were naked that is open to all the iudgements of God euen destitute of the guard of his good Angels VVretched Balaam that wizard went to Balaac to curse the children of Israel and as he went it is said the angel of the Lord stood in his way with a drawne sword and if the asse had not beene wiser then his master the
essence of God vnlesse we will make euery mans soule to be God neither doth it spring of the soule of the parents for the soule can no more beget a soule then an angel can beget an angel And Adam is called a liuing soule and not a quickning soule And earthly fathers are called the fathers of our bodies and not of our soules It remaines therefore as beeing most agreeable to the Scriptures that the soules of men are then created by God of nothing when they are infused into the bodie And though the soules of men haue a beginning yet they haue no end but are eternal And when they are said to die it is not because they cease at any time to subsist or haue beeing in nature but because they cease to be righteous or to haue fellowship with God Whereas our bodies are Gods workemanship we must glorifie him in our bodies and all the actions of bodie and soule our eating and drinking our liuing and dying must be referred to his glorie yeâ— we must not hurt or abuse our bodies but present them as holy liuing sacrifices vnto God And whereas God made vs of the dust of the earth we are not to glorie and boast our selues but rather to take occasion to praise the great goodnes of God that hath vouchsafed to honour vs beeing but dust ashes And after that man is created what is his life alas it is nothing but a little breath stop his mouth and his nostrils and he is but a dead man By this we are put in minde to consider of our fraile and vncerten estate and to lay aside all confidence in our selues and for this cause the Prophet Esay teacheth vs to haue no confidence in man because his breath is in his nostrils Againe let vs marke the frame and shape of mans bodie Al other creatures go with their bodies eyes to the ground-ward but man was made to goe vpright whereas all other creatures haue but foure muscles to turne their eyes round about man hath a fifth to pul his eyes vp to heaven-warde Nowe what doth this teach vs surely that how so euer wee seeke for other thinges yet first of all and aboue all wee should seeke for the kingdome of heauen and the righteousnesse thereof and that our whole desire should be set to enioy the blessed estate of Gods children in heauen Secondly it teacheth vs in receiuing Gods creatures to returne thankfulnesse vnto God by lifting vp the heart to heauen for the same These are very needefull and profitable lessons in these daies for most men in deede goe vpright but looke into their liues and they might as vvell goe on all foure for in their conuersation they set their whole hearts vpon the earth as the beast doth and their eyes vpon the thinges of this worlde hereby they doe abase them selues and deface their bodies and beeing men make themselues as beasts we shall see great numbers of men that runne and ride from place to place to prouide for the bodie but to seeke the kingdome of heauen where their soules should dwell after this life in ioy for euer they will not stirre one foote Thirdly mans bodie by creation was made a temple framed by Gods own hands for himselfe to dwell in therefore our dutie is to keepe our bodies pure and cleane and not to suffer them to be instruments whereby to practise the sinne of the heart If a man had a faire house wherein he must entertaine a prince and should make hereof a swinestie or a stable would not all meÌ„ say that he did greatly abuse both the house and the prince euen so mans bodie beeing at the first made a pallace for the euerliuing God if a man shall abuse it by drunkennesse swearing lying fornication or any vncleannesse hee doth make it in stead of a temple for the holy Ghost to be a sâ—ie or stable for the deuill For the more filthie a mans bodie is the more fit it is to be a dwelling place for sinne and Sathan Fourthly man by creation was made a goodly creature in the blessed image of God but by Adams fall men lost the same and are nowe become the deformed children of wrath our dutie therefore is to labour to get againe our first image and endeauour our selues to become new creatures If a noble man should staine his blood by treason after his death the posteritie will neuer be at rest till they haue got away that spot Man by Adams fall is become a limme of the deuill a rebell and traytor against Gods maiestie and this is the state of euery one of vs by nature we are at enmitie with God therefore we ought to labour aboue all things in the world to be restored in Christ to our first estate and perfection that so we may become bone of his bone flesh of his flesh beeing iustified and sanctified by his obedience death and passion Fiftly man was created that there might be a way prepared whereby God might shew his grace and mercie in the saluation of some and his iustice in the deserued damnation of others for their sinnes and in the creation of man Gods eternall counsell begins to come into exequution Hereupon it stands vs in hand to make conscience of euery euill way beeing repentant for all our sinnes past and hauing a constant purpose neuer to sinne more as we haue done that by our good conuersation here in this life wee may haue assurance that we be eternally chosen to saluation by the Lord himselfe Lastly whereas wee haue learned that the soule of man is immortall wee are hereby taught to take more care for the soule then for the bodie For it can not be extinguished When it is condemned euen then it is alwaies in dying and can neuer die But alas in this point the case is â—lat contrarie in the worlde for men will labour all their life long to get for the bodie but for the soule they care little or nothing at all chuse it whether it sinke or swimme goe to heauen or to hell they looke not to it This doth appeare to be true by the practise and behauiour of men on the Lordes day for if the nomber of those which come to heare Gods worde were compared with those which runne about their worldly wealth and pleasure I feare me the better sort would be found to be but a little handfull to a huge heape or as a droppe to the Ocean sea in respect of the other But wilt thou goe an hundred myle for the encrease of thy wealth and delight of thy bodie then think it not much to go ten thousand miles if neede were to take any paines for the good of thy soule and to get foode for the same And thus much for the duties Nowe follow the consolations Although by reason of the fall of man wee can haue but little comfort nowe yet the creation doth conâ—â—rme the vnspeakeable prouidence of
of the deuill But least this fearefull sentence be verefied of vs it is the duety of euerie man that maketh this confession that hee beleeues God to be his father first to labour to knovve Gods will and secondly to perfourme continuall obedience unto the same Like unto a good childe that would faine please his father and therefore is alwaies ready to do the best he can And without doubt that man which unfainedly takes God for his father is then most grieued when as by any sinne he displeaseth him no other crosse or calamity is so grieuous unto him The greatest grief that the prodigall sonne had was that he had offēded his father by sinning against heauē against him the same also must be our griefe and all our care set on this how we may be obedient children to this our louing father Thirdly that mā that beleeues God to be his father must imitate and follow him for it is the will of God that his children should be like vnto himselfe Now we follow God especially in 2. things I. In doing good to them that persecute vs so saith our Sauiour Christ Pray for them that hurt you that you may be the children of your father which is in heaven for hee maketh the sunne to rise on the evill and on the good and sendeth raine on the iust and uniust II. Our heavenly father is mercifull for he is a father of the fatherlesse and therefore he that will be a sonne of this father must be mercifull to his poore breethren as Iob saith of himselfe I vvas the eyes to the blind I vvas the feete unto the lame I vvas a father unto the poore Fourthly seeing wee beleeue God to be our father we are hereby taught onely to vse moderate care for the things of this life for if a man know himselfe to be the child of God then he also knowes that God will provide for him as wee know in a family the father provideth for all Now God is a father and his Church is his family therefore if thou wilt be a mēber of Gods Church a child of God thou must cast thy care on god follow the counsell of Christ Be not to carefull for your life what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink And mark his reason drawen from the point which we haue in hand The fowles of the heauen saith he they neither sow nor reape nor carrie into barnes and yet your heavenly father feedeth them are not ye much better then they But alas the practise of the worlde is contrarie for men haue no care for the knowledge of Gods worde nor the meanes of their salvation all their mindes are set on the things of this life when as Christ saith First seeke the kingdome of heaven and the righteousnesse thereof and all these things shall be ministred vnto you If you shoulde see a young man provide for himselfe and no man else for him wee woulde say surely his father is deade euen so when a mans care is set wholly both day and night for the things of this life it argues that God hath either cast him off or else that he takes him for no father of his Fiftly if God he our father then wee must learne to beare any crosse patiently that he shall lay upon us either in bodie or in minde and alwaies looke for deliverance from him for whome the Lorde loueth them hee chastiseth and if yee endure chastising saith the Apostle God offereth himselfe unto you as vnto children which may appeare more plainly by this comparison If two children shoulde fight and a man comming by shoulde parte them and after beate the one and let the other goe free euerie man that seeth this will say that that childe which hee beates is his owne sonne Euen so when God chastiseth vs he shevveth himselfe unto us as a father if we submit our selues Nowe if our earthly fathers corrected us and we gaue them reverence taking it patiently should vve not much rather be in subiection to the father of spirits that wee may liue Therefore the conclusion is this if we displease God be ye sure he will correct us when his hand is upon us we must not murmure against him but beare it with a milde spirite and furthermore when vvee are under the crosse we must alwaies looke for deliverance from this our father onely If a sonne vvhen hee is beaten should flee to his fathers enemies for helpe and counsell it woulde argue that hee were but a gracelesse childe Sundry and divers calamities and crosses befall men in this life which they can not brooke and therefore it is a common practise of many among us in these dayes vvhen Gods hande is upon them to goe for helpe to the deuill they seeke for counsell at witches and vvise men as I haue said but let them looke unto it for that is the right vvay to double their miserie and to shewe themselues levvde children Lastly if wee confesse and beleeue god to be the father of Christ and in him our father also then in regarde of our conuersation wee must not frame our selves like unto the world but the course of our liues must be in righteousnesse and true holinesse Paul exhorteth the Corinthians to separate themselues from Idolaters alledging the place out of the olde Testament where the Lorde biddeth the Israelites to come out from Idolaters and to touch no vncleane thing and the reason followeth out of Ieremie that if they doe so then God vvill be their father and they shall be his children even his sonnes and daughters which reason Paul vrgeth in the next chapter to this effect considering wee haue these promises that therefore wee shoulde cleanse our selues from all filthinesse of the flesh and spirite and growe up unto holines in the feare of the Lorde where if wee marke the place diligently wee shall finde this lesson that euerie man who takes God for his father must not onely in this sinne of Idolatrie but in all other sinnes separate himselfe that men by his godly life may knowe whose childe he is But some will say this exhortation is needlesse amongst vs for wee haue no cause to separate our selues from others because all amongst vs are Christians all beleeve in God and are baptised and hope to be saved by Christ. Ansvver In outvvard profession I confesse wee carrie the shewe of Christians but in deede and trueth by our lives and conversations very many among vs denie Christ for in euerie place the common practise is to spende the time in drunkennesse and surfetting in chambering and wantonnesse yea great is the companie of those that make a trade of it take this conversation from many men and take away their liues And on the Lordes day it may bee seene both publiquely and priuately in houses and in the open streetes there is such reuell as though there were no
finite for his humane nature beeing but a creature and therefore finite could not receiue infinite graces and gifts of glorie And hence it is more then manifest that the opinion of those men is false which hold that Christs bodie glorified is omnipotent and infinite euery way able to doe whatsoeuer he will for this is to make a creature to be the creator Thus much of Christs exaltation in generall Now let vs come to the degrees thereof as they are noted in the Creede which are in number three I. He rose againe the third day II. He ascended vnto heauen III. He sitteth at the right hand of God the father almightie In the handling of Christs resurrection we must consider these points I. why Christ ought to rise againe II. the manner of his rising III. the time when he rose IV. the place where V. the vses thereof For the first it was necessarie that Christ should rise againe and that for three especiall causes First that hereby he might shew to all the people of God that he had fully ouercome death For els if Christ had not risen how should we haue bin perswaded in our coÌ„sciences that he had made a full perfect satisfactioÌ„ for vs nay rather we should haue reasoned thus Christ is not risen therefore he hath not ouercome death but death hath ouercome him Secondly Christ Iesus which died was the sonne of God therefore the author of life it selfe and for this cause it was neither meet nor possible for him to be holdeÌ„ of death but he must needes rise from death to life Thirdly Christs priesthood hath 2. parts one to make satisfaction for sinne by his one onely sacrifice vpon the crosse the other to apply the vertue of this sacrifice vnto euery beleeuer Now he offred the sacrifice for sinne vpon the crosse before his death and therefore beeing deade must needes rise againe to performe the second part of his priesthood namely to applie the vertue thereof vnto all that shall beleeue in him and to make intercession in heauen vnto his father for vs here on earth And thus much of the first point Nowe to come to the manner of Christs resurrection fiue things are to be considered in it The first that Christ rose againe not as euery priuate man doth but as a publike person representing all men that are to come to life eternall For as in his passion so also in his resurrection he stood in our roome and place and therefore when he rose from death we all yea the whole Church rose in him and together with him And this point not considered we doe not conceiue aright of Christs resurrection neither can we reap sound comfort by it The second is that Christ himselfe and no other for him did by his owne power raise himselfe to life This was the thing which he meant when he said Destroy this temple in three daies I will build it vp againe more plainly I haue saith he power to lay down my life and I haue power to take it again FroÌ„ wheÌ„ce we learn diuers instructions First wheras Christ raiseth himselfe from death to life it serueth to proue that he was not only maÌ„ but also true god For the body being dead could not bring again the soule ioyn it self vnto the same make it selfe aliue againe neither yet the soule that is departed from the bodie can returne againe quicken the bodie and therefore there was some other nature in Christ namely his Godhead which did revnite soule and bodie together and thereby quickned the manhoode Secondly if Christ giue life to himselfe being dead in the graue then much more now being aliue and in heauen glorified is he able to raise vp his members from death to life We are all by nature starke dead in sinne as the dead bodie rotten in the graue and therfore our dutie is to come to Christ our Lord by praier intreating him that he would raise vs vp euery day more and more from the graue of our sinnes to newnes of life He can of men dead 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 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 embaulme him and the disciples which came to the sepulchre would not yet beleue that he was risen againe But how came this earthquake Answer Saint Matthew saith there was a great earthquake For the angell 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 Gomorha An angel destroied the first borne of Egypt in one â—ight In the host of Senacherib one angel slue in one night 14500 meÌ„ Of like power is the deuil himself to shake the earth and to destroy vs all but that God of his goodnes limits restrains him of his libertie Well if one angel be able to shake the earth what then wil Christ himselfe do when he shal come to iudgemeÌ„t the secoÌ„d time with many thousand thousaÌ„ds of angels oh how terrible will his comming be Not without cause saith the holy Ghost that the wicked at that day shall cry out wishing the hills to fall vpon them and the mountains to couer them for feare of that great and terrible day of the Lord The 4. thing is that an angel ministred to Christ being to rise again in that he came to the graue rolled away the stone sate vpoÌ„ it Where obserue first how the angels of God minister vnto Christ though dead buried whereby they acknowledge that his power maiestie authoritie is not included within the bondes 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 basesâ— 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 think that the bodie of Christ went through the graue-stone when he rose againe is without warrant For the ende no doubt why the angel rolled away the stone was that Christ might come foorth And indeede it is against the order of nature that one bodie should passe through another without corruption or alteration of either
the word of God is the pipe whereby he conveieth into our dead hearts spirit and life As Christ when he raised up dead men did onely speake the word they were made aliue and at the day of iudgement at his voice when the trump shall blowe all that are dead shall rise againe So it is in the first resurrectioÌ„ they that are dead in their sinnes at his voice uttered in the ministerie of the worde shall rise againe To goe further Christ raised three from the deade Iairus daughter newly dead the widowes sonne dead and wound up and lying on the hearse Lazarus dead and buried stinking in the graue and all this he did by his very voice so also by the preaching of his word he raiseth all sortes of sinners euen such as haue lien long in their sinnes as rotting and stinking carrion The Sacraments also are the pipes and conduits wherby God conveigheth grace into the heart if they be rightly used that is if they be receiued in unfained repentance for all our sinnes and with a true and liuely faith in Christ for the pardon of the same sinnes and so I take it they are compared to flagons of wine which reuiue the Church being sicke and fallen into a sownd As for the measure of life derived from Christ it is but small in this life and giuen by little and little as Ose saieth The Lorde hath spoiled vs and he will heale us hee hath wounded us and he will bind us up After two daies he will revive us and in the third he will raise us vp and we shall live in his sight The Prophet Ezechiel in a vision is caried into the middest of a field full of dead bones and hee is caused to Prophesie ouer them and say O ye drie bones heare the vvorde of the Lord and at the first there was a shaking and the bones came togither bone to bone and then sinewes and flesh grew upon them and upon the flesh grewe a skinne Then he prophesied vnto the windes the second time and they liued and stood upon their feete for the breath came upon them and they were an exceeding great armie of men Hereby is signified not only the state of the Iewes after their captivitie but in them the state of the whole Church of God For these temporall deliverances signified further a spirituall deliuerance And we may here see most plainely that God worketh in the heartes of his children the giftes and graces of regeneration by little and little First he giueth no more then flesh sinewes and skin then after he giueth them further graces of his spirite which quickeneth them and maketh them aliue unto God The same also wee may see in the vision of the waters that ranne out of the Temple First a man must wade to the ancles then after to the knees and so to the loines then after the waters grovve to a riuer that can not be passed ouer and so the Lord conueieth his graces by little and little till at the last men haue a full measure thereof Thirdly the resurrection of Christ serueth as an argument to proue unto us our resurrection at the day of iudgement Paul saieth If the spirite of Christ that raised up Iesus from the deade dvvell in you hee that raised Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortall bodies Some will say that this is no benefite for all must rise againe as well the wicked as the godly Ansvver True indeede 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 saviour but as hee is a iudge to condemne them For God had saide to Adam that at what time he should eate of the forbidden fruite he should die the death meaning a double death both the first and the second death Nowe then the ungodly rise againe that God may inflict upon them the punishment of the second death which is the rewarde of sinne that so Gods iustice may be satisfied but the godly rise againe by the power of Christ their heade and redeemer who raiseth them up that they may bee partakers of the benefite of his death which is to enioy both in bodie and soule the kingdome of heauen which he haâ—h so dearely bought for them Thus much for the comfortes Now follow the duties and they are also three First as Christ Iesus vvhen he was deade rose againe from death to life by his owne power so we by his grace in imitation of Christ must endeauour our selues to rise up from all our sinnes both originall and actuall vnto newenesse of life This is worthily set downe by the Apostle saying We are buried by baptisme into his death that as Christ was raised vp from the dead by the glorie of the father so we also should walke in newnesse of life and therefore vve must endeauour our selues to shevve the same power to be in us euery day by rising up from ouâ— owne personall sinnes to a reformed life This ought to be remembred of us because howsoeuer many heare know it yet very â—ewe doe practise the same For to speake plainly as dead men buried vvould neuer heare though a man shoulde speake neuet so loude so undoubtedly among us there be also many living men which are almost in the same case The ministers of God may cry unto them daily and iterate the same thing a thousand times and tell them that they must rise up from their sinnes and lead a new life but they heare no more then the deade carkasse that lieth in the graue Indeede men heare with their outward eares but they are so farre from practising this dutie that they iudge it to be a matter of reproch and ignominie And those which make any coÌ„science of this duty how they are laden with nicknames taunts who knoweth not I need not to rehearse theÌ„ so odious a thing now a daies is the rising froÌ„ sinne to newnes of life Sound a trumpet in a dead mans eares he stirres not and let us crie for amendment of life till breath goe out of our bodies no man almost saieth what haue I done And for this cause undoubtedly if it were not for conscience of that dutie which men owe unto God we should haue but fewe ministers in England For it is the ioy of a minister to see his people rise from sinne and to lead a new life whereas alas men generally lie snurting in their corruptions and rather goe forwarde in them still then come to any amendment such is the woonderfull hardnes untovvardnes that hath possessed the heartes of most men He which hath but halfe an eie may see this to be true Oh how exceedes atheisme in all places contempt of Gods worshippe profanation of the Sabbath the whordomes and fornications the crueltie and oppression of this age it cryes euen to heauen for vengeance By these such like
commended for a beleeuer and 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 body first we are babes grow to greater strength as we growe 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 strong faith example whereof we haue in Abraham who was strong and perfect both in knowledge and apprehension This strong faith is when a man is endued with the knowledge of the Gospel grace to apprehend and applie the righteousnes of Christ vnto himselfe for the remission of his own sinnes so as he can say distinctly of himselfe and truly that he is fully resolued in his own conscience that he is recōciled vnto God in Christ for all his sinnes accepted in him to life euerlasting This degree of faith is proper to him that begins 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 him selfe For as it is no nature first wee are babes and then as we encrease in yeares so wee growe in strength so it is in the life of a Christian first ordinarily hee 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 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 his life and preseruation which brings a man to this that he is 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 howsoeuer this faith be strong yet is it alwaies imperfect as also our knowledge is and shall so long as we liue in this world be mingled with contrarie vnbeliefe and sundrie doubtings more or lesse A great part of men amōgst vs blinded with grosse ignorance say they haue faith yet indeed haue not For aske them what faith they haue they will answer they beleeue that God is their father the Son 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 worlde But the case of these men is to be pitied for howsoeuer 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 merit of Christ. And thus much of these two degrees of faith Nowe in whom so euer it is whether it be a weake faith or a strōg it bringeth forth some fruit as a tree doth in the time of sommer And a speciall fruit of faith is this confession of faith I beleeue in God c. so Paul saith With the heart a man may beleeue vnto righteousnes and with the mouth man confesseth to saluation Confession of faith is when a man in speach and outwarde profession doth make manifest his faith for these two causes I. That with his mouth outwardly he may glorifie God both in bodie 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 we haue the right order and forme of making it set downe as we shal see in hādling the parts therof The Creede therefore sets downe two things concerning faith namely the action of faith and his obiect which also are the parts of the Creede The action in these words I beleeue the obiect in all the words following in God the Father almightie maker c. And first let vs begin with the action I beleeue in God We are taught to say I beleeue not we beleeue for two causes First because as we touched before in the Primitiue Church this Creede was made to be an answer made vnto a question which was demanded of euery particular man that was baptized for they asked him thus What dost thou beleeue then he answered I beleeue in God the Father c. and thus did euery one of yeares make profession of his faith and it is likely that Peter alluded hereunto saying the stipulation or answer of a good conscience maketh request to God The secōd cause is howsoeuer we are to pray one for another by saying O our father c. yet when wee come to yeres we must haue a particular faith of our own no mā can be saued by anothers mans faith but by his own so it is said The iust shall liue by his faith But some will say this is not true For children must be saued by their parents faith the answer is this the faith of the parents doth bring the child to haue a title or interest to the couenant of grace and to all the benefits of Christ but yet it doth not applie the benefits of Christs death his obedience his merits and righteousnes vnto the infant for this the beleeuer doth only vnto himselfe to no other Againe some may say if they doe not apprehend Christs benefits by their parents faith how then is Christs righteousnes made theirs Answ. By the inward working of the holy Ghost who is the principall applier of all graces whereas faith is but the instrumēt And this is true men of yeares are iustified by their own faith the infāt by some other special working of Gods holy spirit Furthermore to beleeue signifieth two things to conceiue or vnderstand any thing and withall to giue assent vnto it to be true and therefore in this place to beleeue signifieth to know and acknowledge that all the points of religion which followe are the truth of God Here therefore we must remember that this clause I beleeue placed in the beginning of the Creede must be particularly applied to euery article following For so the case stands that if faith faile in one maine point it faileth a man in all and therefore faith is said to be wholly copulatiue It is not sufficient to hold one article but he that will hold any of them for his good must hold them all and he which holdes them all in shewe of words if he ouerturne but one of them in deede he ouerturnes them all Againe to beleeue
teach and hold that a man must come to speake to god by prayer through the intercession of saintes for say they the presence of god is so glorious that we may not be so bolde as of our selues to speake unto him but needs must haue the intercession of others Lastly God will provide for all his Church and children all things needfull both for their bodies and soules so our Sauiour Christ bids his disciples take no thought what they should eate or what they shold drinke or wherewith they should be clothed adding this reason For your heavenly Father knovveth all your vvants And if we take thought it must be moderate and not distrustfull it is a part of the fathers dutie to provide for his family and children and not the children for the father Now shall an earthly father haue this care for his children and shall not our heauenly father much more provide for those that feare and loue him Nay marke further in Gods Church there be many hypocrites which receiue infinite benefites from God by reason of his elect children with whome they liue and we shall see this to be true that the wicked man hath ever fared better for the godly mans cause Sodome and Gommorrha receiued many benefites by reason of righteous Lot and when the Lord was purposed to destroy Sodome he was faine to pull Lot forth of the citie for the text saith the angell of the Lorde coulde not doe any thing till he vvas come out of it So also in Pauls daungerous voyage towardes Rome all the men in it fared better for Pauls company for the Lord told Paul by an angel that there should be no losse of any mans life for the Lord had given to him all that sailed with him And undoubtedly if it were not for some few that feare God hee would poure downe his vengeance upon many nations and kingdomes there is such excesse of wickednesse in all sortes Againe if the Lord doe thus carefully provide for his children all kind of benefites what a wonderfull wickednesse is this for men to get their liuing by ungodly meanes as vsurie carding dicing and such like exercises If a man were perswaded that God were his father and would provide sufficiently both for his body and soule so that using lawfull meanes he should euer haue enough out of all doubt hee woulde neuer after the fashion of the world use unlawfull and profane meanes to get a liuing But this prooveth that howsoeuer such men say God is their father yet indeede they deny him And thus much of this title father the first thing whereby the first person is described Now followeth the second point namely his attribute of omnipotencie in this worde almightie And whereas the father is saide to be almightie it is not so to be vnderstood as though the Sonne were not almightie or the holy Ghost not almightie for euery propertie and attribute saue the personall properties is cōmon to all the three persons For as God the Father doth impart his Godhead vnto the Sonne and to the holy Ghost so also he doeth communicate the proprieties thereof to them God is omnipotent two waies I. Because he is able to doe whatsoeuer he will II. Because he is able to doe more then he will doe For the first that God is able to doe whatsoeuer he will Dauid saith Our God is in heauen and he doth whatsoeuer he will for there is nothing that can hinder God but as he willeth so euery thing is done Secondly that God can doe more then hee willeth to be done it is plaine where Iohn Baptist saith God is able of these stones to raise vp children vnto Abraham though God can doe this thing yet he will not doe it So likewise when Christ was betraied the Father could haue giuen him more then 12. legions of Angels to haue deliuered him out of their hands but yet he would not and the like may be said of many other things The father is was able to haue created another world yea a thousand worlds but he would not nor will not And likewise Christ beeing vpon the crosse was able at their bidding to haue come downe and saued himselfe from death but he would not and therefore this is true the Lord can doe any thing that he willeth to be done actually yea and more then he will But some will say God can not doe some things which man can doe as God can not lie nor denie himselfe and therefore he is not omnipotent Answ. Although some haue thought God could doe these things and that he did them not because he would not yet we must knowe and beleeue that God can neither lie nor denie himselfe indeede man can doe both but these and many other such things if he could doe them he could not be God God indeede can doe all things which shewe foorth his glorie and maiestie but such things as are against his nature he can not doe as for example God can not sinne and therefore can not lie and because he can not doe those things therefore he is omnipotent for these and such like are workes of impotencie which if God could doe he were but an impotent God Secondly he can not doe that which implies contradiction 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 transubstantiation make the body of Christ whose essētiall propertie is to be only 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 Now follow the dueties wherunto we 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 alledgeth the cause because God is almightie To make this more plaine Euery one of vs was borne in sinne and by nature we are most wretched in our selues nowe 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 duetie 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 young man in the Gospell vnto when he bad him goe sell all that he had and giue to the poore Therfore whosoeuer thou art take heede thou must for if thou runne on in thy wickednes 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 he will his hand is mightie it boots not a man
Lorde is eternall and this thirde heauen hath alwaies beene the place of the Lords abode and therefore it is also eternall Ansvver True it is that God doeth shewe his glorie and maiestie in the thirde heauen but yet that cannot obtaine his godhead as Salomon saith Beholde the heavens and the heavens of heavens are not able to containe thee Wherefore though God doeth manifest his eternall glorie in this thirde heauen yet it doeth not follow that therefore it shoulde be eternall for he needes no place to dvvell in for hee is every where filling all things with his presence excluded from no place The seconde question where this thirde heauen is Ansvvere There are some protestants say it is euery where and they hold this opinion to maintaine the reall presence of the Lordes body in or about the Sacrament But if it vvere euery where then hell shoulde be in heauen which no man will say but heauen indeed is aboue these visible heauens which we see with our eyes so the Apostle saith Christ ascended on high farre above all heauens c. And againe it is saide of Steven that beeing full of the holy ghost He looked up steadfastly into the heauens and sawe them open and the sonne of man standing at the right hand of God Thirdly it may be demanded why God created this thirde heauen Ansvver God made it for this cause that there might be 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 folde more glorious then the two former heavens are in which 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 heaven 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 gloriously here as hee shall in heauen for this is the kingdome of grace but that is the kingdome of his glorie where he so reigneth that he will be all in all first in Christ and then in the elect both Angels and men Now followes the duties wherunto we are moved principally in consideration of the making of the third heauen First if God created it especially for the manifestation of his glorie unto men that at the ende of this world by the fruition of Gods most glorious presence there they might haue perfect ioye and felicitie wee haue occasion here to consider the wonderfull madnesse of the vvorlde that reigneth euery where among men which onely haue regarde to the state of this life and cast all their care on this world and neuer so much as dreame of the ioyfull and blessed estate which is prepared for Gods children in the highest heauen If a man hauing two houses 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 up of the first would not euerie man say he were a mad man yes undoubtedly And yet this is the spirituall madnesse that reigneth euery where among men for God hath prepared for us two houses one is this our bodie which we beare about us which is an house of clay as Iob saith VVee dvvell in houses of clay whose foundation is dust which shall be destroyed before the moth and as Peter saith a Tabernacle or tent which wee must shortly take downe and wherein we abide but as pilgrimes and strangers Againe the same God of his wonderfull goodnesse hath provided for us a second house in the third heauen wherein we 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 claye whose foundation is but dust but for the blessed estate of the second house which is prepared for them in the kingdome of heauen they haue no regarde or care They vvill both runne and ride from place to place day and night both by Sea and lande but for vvhat 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 use any meanes whereby they may come unto 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 saide this be not more then senselesse madnesse Againe the body is but a tabernacle wherein we must rest as it were for a night as a stranger doeth in an Inne and so away but the second house is eternall in the heavens an everlasting seate of all felicitie And therefore our dutie is aboue all things to seeke the kingdome of heauen and the righteousnesse thereof as Christ himselfe biddeth us And if the Lorde haue there prepared such a place for vs then wee must in this worlde use all good meanes whereby we may be made worthy the fruition of it also fitte and ready at the day of death to enter into it which at the day of iudgement we shall fully possesse both in soule and body and there reigne 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 he may be fitte for that place Ansvver This the holy ghost teacheth us for speaking of this heauenly Ierusalem hee saith There shall enter into it none uncleane thing neither whatsoever vvorketh abomination or lyes The meanes then to make our selues fitte is to seeke to be reconciled to God in Christ for our sinnes past and withall to indeauour 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 wee must remember what S. Iohn saith Euery one that hath this hope purifieth himselfe meaning that he which hath hope to reigne 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 truly 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 deadlie wounds and wholly ouercome them Now the man that is 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 upright and continually to walke in righteousnesse and true holinesse all the daies
diseases aches surfetts but specially by the abuse of meat 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 renownce our owne 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 mankinde But in what manner 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 receiue 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 did depriue first of all himselfe and then secondly all his posteritie of the image of God because all mankinde was in his loynes when he sinned Now then vpon the former appointment when the soules of men are created and placed in the body God forsakes them not in respect of the substance of the soule or the faculties but onely in respect of his owne image whereof the soules are depriued after which followes the defect or want of righteousnes which is originall sinne And God in depriuing man of that which Adam 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 farfoorth as it is inflicted by him vpon mankinde it must be conceiued as a deserued punishment for the sinne of Adam and all men in him which 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 poured into a fustie vessell looseth his purenes and is infected by the vessell so the soule created good and put into the corrupt bodie receiues contagion thence 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 sinne of all men in Adam It may be this which hath bin saide will not satisfie the mindes of all yet if any will be curious to search further into this point let them know that there is another matter which more concerns them to looke vnto When a mans house is on fire there is no time then to inquire howe and which way and whence the fire came but our dutie is with all speede and expedition to vse all good meanes to stay it And so considering that our whole natures are really infected and poisoned with the loathesome contagion of original sinne which is a weight sufficient to presse down the soule to the gulfe of hell it stands vs in hand a thousand fold more to the vse 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 conveigh that to their children which they them selues want namely the guilt and the punishment and the fault of sinne in part Answer I. Men are not in this life perfectly holy For sanctification is but in part and therefore they cannot 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 wheat that euer was wiâ—now it as cleane as possibly may be afterward sow it weede it also when it is sowne and reape it in due time and carrie 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 creation that it shall spring and grow with the stalke eare blade and all so likewise though the parents be neuer so holy the children as they come of them are conceiued and borne wholly corrupt because God tooke this order in the creation that whatsoeuer euill Adam procured he should bring it not onely on himselfe but vpon all his posteritie by vertue of which decree the propagation of sinne is continued without any interruption though parents themselues be borne anew by the spirit of God And here we must not omit to speake of the quantitie or greatnes of originall sinne for the opening whereof we must consider three points The first that originall sinne is not diuers but one and the same in kinde in euery man as the generall and common nature of man is one and the same in all men The second that this sinne is not in some men more in some men lesse but in euery man equally as all men doe equally from Adam participate the nature of man and are equally the children of wrath Some it may be will say that this can not be true because some men are of better natures then others are some of disposition cruell and seuere some againe gentle and milde some very licentious and disordered some very ciuill Answer The differences that be in men that want the feare of God arise not of this that they haue more or lesse originall corruption but of the restraint and limitation of mans corruption For in some God brideleth sinne more then in others and in them is found ciuilitie and againe in some lesse and in such the rebellion of nature breakes foorth vnto all misdemeanour And indeede if God should not keepe the vntoward dispositions of men within compasse otherwhiles more otherwhiles lesse as it shall seeme good vnto his maiestie impietie crueltie iniustice and all manner of sinnes would breake out into such a measure that there should be no quiet liuing for men in the world and no place for Gods Church And thus it is manifest that although all men be not equall in the practise of wickednes yet they may be equall in the corruption of nature it selfe The third point is that Originall sinne is so huge and large euery way that it may truly be tearmed the roote or seede not of some fewe sinnes but of all sinnes whatsoeuer euen of the very sinne against the holy Ghost We
thankfulnes but mens hearts are so frozen in the dregges of their sinnes that this dutie comes litle in practise now adaies Our Sauiour Christ clensed ten leapers but there was but one of theÌ„ that returned to giue him thanks this is as true in the leprosie of the soule for though saluation by Christ be offered vnto vs daily by Gods ministers yet not one of ten nay scarse one of a thousand giues praise and thanks to God for it because men take no delite in things which coÌ„cerne the kingdome of heauen they thinke not that they haue need of saluation neither doe they feele any want of a Sauiour But we for our parts must learne to say with David What shall I render vnto the Lord for all his benefits yea we are to practise that which Salomon saith My sonne giue me thy heart for we should giue vnto God both bodie soule in token of our thankfulnes for this wonderful blessing that he hath giueÌ„ his only son to be our sauiour let vs know this for truth that they which are not thaÌ„kfull for it let them say what they wil they haue no soundnes of grace at the heart And thus much of the third title The fourth last title is in these words our Lord. Christ Iesus the only sonne of God is our Lord three waies 1. by creation in that he made vs of nothing when we were not 2. he is our Lord in the â—ight of redemption In former times the custome hath bin that wheÌ„ one is taken prisoner in the fields he that paies his ransome shall become alwaies after his lord so Christ when we were bondslaues vnder hell death condemnation paid the raÌ„some of our redemption and freed vs from the bondage of sinne and satan and therefore in that respect he is our Lord. 3. He is the heade of the Church as the husbande is the wiues head to rule and gouerne the same by his word and spirit And therefore in that respect also Christ is our Lord. And thus much for the meaning Now follow the duties 1. If Christ be our soueraigne Lord we must performe absolute obedience vnto him that is whatsoeuer he commaunds vs that wee must doe And I say absolute obedience because Magistrats Masters Rulers and fathers may command and must be obeyed yet noâ— simply but so farfoorth as that which they command doth agree with the word and commaundement of God but Christs will and word is righteousnes it selfe and therefore the rule and direction of all our actions whatsoeuer and for this cause he must be absolutely obeyed Thus he requires the obedience of the morall law but why because he is the Lord our God And in Malach. he saith If I be your Lord where is my feare And againe we must resigne both bodie and soule heart minde will affections and the course of our whole liues to be ruled by the will of Christ. He is Lord not onely of the bodie but of the spirite and soule of man hee must therefore haue homage of both as we adore him by the knee of the bodie so must the thoughts and the affections of our hearts haue their knees also to worship him and to shew their subiection to his commandements As for such as doe hold him for their Lord in word but will not indeauour to shew their loyaltie in all manner of obedience they are indeede no better then starke rebels Secondly when by the hande of Christ strange iudgements shall come to passe as it is vsuall in all places continually we must stay our selues without murmuring or finding fault because he is an absolute Lord ouer all his creatures all things are in his hands and he may doe with his owne whatsoeuer he will and therefore wee must rather feare and tremble whensoeuer wee see or heare of them so David saith I was dumbe and opened not my mouth because thou didst it And againe My flesh trembleth for feare of thee and I am afraid of thy iudgements Thirdly before we vse any of Gods creatures or ordinances we must sanctifie them by the direction of his word and by praier the reason is this because he is Lord ouer all and therefore from his word we must fetch direction to teach vs whether we may vse them or not and when and how we must vse them and secondly wee must pray to him that he would giue vs libertie and grace to vse them aright in holy maner Also we are so to vse the creatures and ordinances of God as beeing alwaies readie to giue an account for them at the day of iudgement for wee vse that which is the Lords not our owne we are but stewards ouer them we must come to a reckoning for the stewardship Hast thou learning then imploy it to the glorie of God the good of the Church boast not of it as though it were thine owne Hast thou any other gift or blessing of God be it wisdome streÌ„gth riches honour fauour or whatsoeuer then looke thou vse it so as thou maist be alwaies readie to make a good account thereof vnto Christ. Lastly euery one must so lead his life in this world as that at the day of death he may surrender and giue vp his soule into the hands of his Lord and say with Steven Lord Iesus receiue my soule for thy soule is none of thine but his who hath bought it with a price therfore thou must so order and keepe it as that thou maist in good manner restore it into the hands of God at the end of thy life If a man should borrow a thing of his neighbour and vse it so as he doth quite spoile it he would be ashamed to bring it againe to the owner in that manner and if he doe the owner will not receiue it Vngodly men in this life doe so staine their soules with sin as that they can neuer be able to giue them vp into the hands of God at the day of death if they would yet God accepts them not but casts theÌ„ quite away We must therefore labour so to liue in the world that with a ioyfull heart at the day of death we may commend our soules into the handes of our Lord Christ Iesus who gaue them vnto vs. This is a hard thing to be done and he that will doe it truly must first be assured of the pardon of his owne sinnes which a man can neuer haue without true and vnfained faith and repentance wherfore while we haue time let vs purge and clense our soules bodies that they may come home againe to God in good plight And here all gouernours must be put in mind that they an higher Lord that they may not oppresse or deale hardly with their inferiours And this is Pauls reason ye masters saith he doe the same things vnto your seruants putting away threatning and knowe that euen your master is also in heauen neither is
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 IIII. He came in this maner that there might be a difference betweene his first comming in the flesh and his last comming to iudgement In the first he came onely for this end not to make any outward alterations in the worlde but to change the conscience and to put in execution the worke of our spirituall redemption and therfore he hath reserued the ouerturning of all earthly estates with the manifestation of his owne glorie to the latter V. Lastly hee was borne in a poore estate that hee might procure true riches for vs in heauen and withall sanctifie vnto us our pouertie upon earth As Paul saith Ye know the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ that he being rich for your sakes became poore that ye through his povertie might be made rich Hee was content to lie in the manger that wee might rest in heauen This serues to teach us to be content to beare any mean condition that the Lorde shall sende upon vs for this is the verie estate of the sonne of God him-selfe 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 therefore utterly unworthy either to goe or lie upon the bare earth and though wee fare and lie better then our Lorde himselfe yet such is our daintinesse we are not pleased therewith whereas hee for his part disdained not the manger of the Oxe And if the Lord of heauen and earth comming into the worlde finde so little entertainment or fauour we for our parts being his members should willingly prepare our selues to take as hard measure at the hands of men The last point is the manifestation of Christes birth that it might be knowen to the worlde 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 worlde nor to the priests of Ierusalem contemners of Gods grace and that for two causes one because the shepheards were the fittest persons to publish the same at Bethleem 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 angell of the Lorde appearing in great glorie unto the shepheardes For the priests of Ierusalem and the rulers of the synagogues to whome this office did belong helde their peace beeing blinded in their manifolde errours and wicked waies The duties to be learned of the birth of Christ are these First wee are admonished hereby to magnifie and praise the name of God saying with Mary My soule doth magnifie the Lord and my spirite reioyceth in God my saviour And with Zacharie Blessed be the Lorde God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his people And with the angell of the Lord Glory to God in the highest heavens For in this birth is made manifest the wisedome the truth the iustice and mercie and goodnes of God towards us more then euer it was before yea as Christ God and man is more excellent then the first Adam created according to Gods own image and as the spirituall life is better then the naturall life and as the eternall and most holy mariage of Christ the husband and his spouse the Church rising as it were out of the bloode that trickled out of his side is more wonderfull then the creation of Eue of the rib of Adam Lastly as it is a far greater matter by death to overcome death and to turne it into eternall life then to command that to exist and be which was not before so is the worke of redemption begun in the birth of Christ more unspeakeable and admirable then the first creation of man Hereupon not 6. cherubims as in the vision of Isaiah not 24. elders as in the Apocalyps but a great multitude of Angels like armies were heard to praise God at the birth of Christ and no doubt the like sight was not seene since the beginning of the world And the angels by their example put vs in minde to consider aright of this benefite and to praise God for it But alas this practise is verie rare in this fruitlesse and barren age of the worlde where sinne and iniquitie abounds as may be seene by experience for by an old custom we reteine still in the Church the feast of the nativity of Christ so commonly called which neuerthelesse is not spent in praising the name of God that he hath sent his sonne from his owne bosome to be our redeemer but contrariwise in rifling dicing carding masking mumming in all licentious libertie for the most part as though it were some heathen feast of Ceres or Bacchus Secondly Christ was conceiued and borne in bodily maner that there might be a spirituall conception and birth of him in our hearts as Paul saith My litle children of whome I travell till Christ be formed in you and that is when we are made new creatures by Christ and performe obedience to our creatour When the people said to Christ that his mother and his brethren sought him he answered He that doth the will of God is my brother my sister and mother Therefore let us go with the shepheards to Bethleem and finding our blessed sauiour swadled and lying in the cratch let us bring him thence and make our owne heartes to be his cradle that we may he able to say that we liue not but Christ liues in vs and let vs present unto him ourselues our bodies and soules as the best gold myrrhe and frankincense that may be and thus conceiuing him by faith he remaining without change we shalbe changed into him and made bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh The world I know neuer so much as dreameth of this kind of conception and birth for as Dauid saith Men travell with wickednesse conceive mischiefe bring forth a lye And S. Iames saith Men are drawn away by their owne concupiscense which when it hath conceived bringeth forth sinne And these are the ougly and monstrous birthes of these daies But let us I pray you contrariwise waile and mourne for the barrennesse of our heartes that doe so little conceiue the grace of Christ in heart and bring it foorth in action The mother of Christ vndoubtedly was a blessed woman but if shee had not as well conceiued Christ in her heart as shee did in her womb shee had not beene saved and no more can wee unlesse we doe the same The birth of Christ to them that haue touched hearts is the comfort of comforts and the sweetest balme or confection
this First of all we must set it before our eyes as a looking glasse in which we may cleerely behold the horriblenes of our sinnes that could not be pardoned without the passion of the sonne of God and the vnspeakeable loue of Christ that dyed for vs and therefore loued his owne enemies more then his owne selfe and lastly our endles peace with God and happines in that considering the person of our redeemer who suffered the pangs of hell we may after a sort finde our paradise euen in the middest of hell Secondly the meditation of Christs passion serues as a most worthie meanes to beginne and to confirme grace specially when it is mingled with faith and that tâ—o waies For first it serues to breede in our hearts a godly sorrowe for our sinnes past when we doe seriously with our selues consider that our owne sinnes were the cause of all the paines and sorrowes and calamities which he suffered in life and death When any man had sinned vnder the Law he brought vnto the temple or tabernacle some kinde of beast for an offering according as he was prescribed laying his hande vpon the heade of it and afterward slaying it before the Lord. Now by the ceremonie of laying on the hand he testified that he for his part had deserued death and not the beast and that it beeing slaine and sacrificed was a signe vnto him of the sacrifice of Christ offered vpon the crosse for his sinnes And hereby we are taught that so oft as we remember the passion of Christ we should lay our hands as it were vpon our owne heads vtterly accusing and condemning ourselues euermore keeping this in heart that Christ suffered not for himselfe but for our offences which were the proper cause of all his woe and miserie And as Christs passion was grieuous and bitter vnto him so should our sinnes likewise be grieuous and bitter vnto vs let vs alwaies remember this otherwise we shall neuer reape any sound benefit by the passion of Christ. Againe the passion of Christ is a notable meanes to stirre vp in our hearts a purpose and a care to reforme our selues and liue in holines and newnes of life on this manner Hath the Sonne of God so mercifully dealt with me as to suffer the curse of the whole law for my manifold iniquities and to deliuer me from iust and deserued damnation yea no doubt he hath I am resolued of it if I should goe on in mine old course I should be the most vngratefull of all creatures to this my louing Sauiour I will therefore by his grace returne and reforme my life And in this very point of reformation the passion of Christ is set before vs as a most liuely patterne and example to follow For as much saith Saint Peter as Christ hath suffered for vs in the flesh arme your selues likewise with the same minde which is that hee which hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sinne Where hee teacheth that there must be in vs a spirituall passion answearable to the passion of Christ. For as his enemies did lade him with miseries euen to the death of the crosse so should we lade our owne flesh that is the corruption of our natures with all such meanes as may subdue and weaken crucifie and kill it To the doing of this three things especially are required First we must consider that the corruption of our rebellious natures is like the great and mightie Goliath and the grace of God which we haue receiued like young and little Dauid and therefore if wee desire that grace should preuaile against corruption we must disarme the strong man and strippe him of all his weapons which is done by giuing all the members of our bodies to be instruments of the seruice of God in righteousnes and holines Secondly we must indeauour to keepe in the corruption of nature as it were choking and smothering at the heart that by it neither the worlde nor the deuill preuaile against vs. And this must be done by hauing a narrow regard vnto all the powers and faculties of bodie and soule setting a watch before our eyes eares lippes and all other parts of the bodie that are in any action the instruments 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 windows the deuill creepes into the heart and therefore our duetie is to stoppe all such waies of entrance Thirdly when originall corruption begins to rebell either in the minde will or any of the affections then must we draw out the sword of the spirit which is the word of God and incounter with that hidious gyant laying load vpoÌ„ him by the iudgements and threatnings of the law as it were beating him down with clubbes as Paul speaketh And if it fall out that concupiscence beginne to conceiue and bring foorth any sinne we must cruise it in the head dash it against the ground as a bird in the shell least it growe vp to our vtter confusion These are the dueties 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 feeede 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 vs. And let vs daily more and more by the hand of faith apprehend and applie to our hearts and consciences the passion of Christ that it may as a fretting corasive eate out the poyson of our sinnefull natures and to consume it Now followeth the second point concerning the passion of Christ which is vnder whome he suffered namely vnder Pontius Pilate And Christ may be said 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 Province Pontius Pilate was placed ouer the Iewes not as king but as the Romane Emperours deputie And this circuÌ„stance is noted in the historie of the Gospell here specified in the Creede to shew that the Messias was exhibited in the time foretold by the Prophets Iacob foretold that Shilo must be borne after the scepter is removed from Iuda Isaiah saith that the familie of Ishai shall be worne as it were to the root before Christ as a branch shall spring out of it Againe Christ suffered vnder Pontius Pilate as he was a iudge whereby we are giuen to vnderstand of a woonder namely that Christ the sonne of God King of heauen and earth was arraigned at the barre of an earthly iudge there condeÌ„ned
be Gods will so long as we live and by this shall we most notably resemble our Saviour Christ. Thirdly when Christ had carried his crosse so long till he coulde 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 Simon 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 wearied with the burthen of our afflictions God will give good issue and send as it were some Simon of Cyrene to help us and to be our comforter The fourth points is that when Christ was carrying his owne crosse and was now passing on tovvards Golgotha certaine women mette him and pitying his case wept for him but Christ answered them and said Daughters of Ierusalem weep not for me but for your selves your childrē c. By this wee 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 bonds as though you vvere bound with them and them that are in affliction as though you were afflicted with them In this land by Gods especiall blessing wee haue enioyed the gospell of Christ with peace a long time whereas other cuntries Churches are in great distresse some wallow in palpable ignorance superstition others haue libertie to enioy the gospell and want teachers and some haue both the word teachers and yet want peace and are in continuall persecution Now when we that haue the Gospell with peace do heare of these miseries in our neighbour Churches we ought to be mooued with compassion towardes them as though we our selues were in the same afflictions Secondly whereas Christ saith Weepe not for me but for your selves he doth teach vs to take occasion by other mens miseries to bewaile our owne estate to turne our worldly griefes into godly sorow for our sinnes whereby wee doe rather weepe for our offences then for our friends although euen that may also be done in a godly manner When a man by bleeding at the nose is brought into daunger of his life the Phisition lets him blood in an other place as in the arme and turnes the course of the blood an other way to saue his life and so must we turne our worldly sorows for losse of goods or friends to a godly sorrow for our offences against God for as S. Paul saith Godly sorrow causeth repentance unto salvatiō not to be repented of but worldly sorow 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 which if it were true we may here behold in these Iewes a most wicked part that at the point of death when they were to take away his life they had no care of his soule For this is a dutie to be observed of all magistrates that whē they are to execute malefactours they must haue an especiall care of the salvation of their soules But some thinke rather that it was to shorten and end his torments quickely Some of vs may peradventure thinke hardly of the Iewes for giving this bitter potiō to Christ at the time of his death but the same thing doth every sinner that repēteth not For whensoever we sin we do as much as tēper a cup of gal or the poisō of aspes as it vvere giue it to god to drink for so God him selfe cōpareth the sin of the vvicked Iewes to poison saying Their vine is of the vine of Sodom of the vines of Gomorra their grapes are grapes of gal their clusters be bitter their wine is the poison of dragons and the cruell gall of aspes And for this cause wee ought to thinke as hardly of our selues as of the Iewes because so oft as we cōmit any offence against God we do as much as mingle ranke poison bring it to Christ to drinke Now whē this cup was given him he tasted of it but drank not because hee 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 vve see in vvhat maner Christ vvas brought forth to the place of execution Now followeth his crucifying Christ in the providence of god was to be crucified for two causes one that the figures of the olde testament might be accomplished and verified For the heave offering lifted up and shaked from the right hand to the left and the brasen serpent erected vpon a pole in the wildernes prefigured the exalting of Christ upon the crosse The seconde that wee might in conscience be resolved that Christ became under the lawe suffered the curse therof for us bare in his ovvne bodie and soule the extremitie of the vvrath of God for our offences And though other kinds of punishments were notes of the curse of God as stoning and such like yet vvas the death of the crosse in speciall maner aboue the rest accursed not by the nature of the punishment not by the opinions of men not by the civill lavves of cuntries and kingdoms but by the vertue of a particular commandement of God foreseeing what manner of death Christ our redeemer should die And hereupon among the Ievves in all ages this kind of punishment hath bene branded with speciall ignominie as Paul signifieth vvhen hee saieth Hee abased him selfe to the death even to the death of the crosse it hath beene allotted as a most grievous punishment to most notorious malefactours If it be said that the repentant theefe upon the crosse died the same death vvith Christ and yet vvas not accursed the answere 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 hee repented his sinnes were pardoned and the curse removed It may further be said that crucifying was not knowen in Moses daies and therefore not accursed by any speciall commandement of God in Deuteronomy Ans. Moses indeed speakes nothing in particular of crucifying yet neverthelesse he doth include the same under the generall For if euery one which hangs upon a tree be accursed then hee 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 coulde not be accursed by the lawe of Moses because he was no malefactour Ans. 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 every way due unto us by
panteth after thee O Lord and the benefits of thy death The second that a sponge full of vineger tied vpon an hyssope stalke was reached to Christ vpon the crosse Now it may be demaunded how this could be considering the stalke of the hyssope is not past a foote long Answer As the tree of mustard seede with the Iewes is farre greater and taller then with vs in so much that the birds of heauen build their nests in it so it may be that hyssope groweth much longer in those countries then with vs. Or as I take it rather the hyssope stalke was put vpon a reede and by that meanes the sponge was put vp to the mouth of Christ. The third point is that Christ drinketh the vineger offered but when Not before all things were finished that were to be done on the crosse And by this he shewes his exceeding care for our saluation He laide aside all thinges that would turne to his owne ease that he might fully worke our redemption and fulfill the will of his father who sent him into the world for that ende The like care must euery one of vs haue to walke dutifully and as it were to goe with thorough-stitch in our particular callings that God may be glorified by vs. When Abrahams seruant came to Bethuel to get a wife for Isaac meâ—t was set before him but he said I will not eate before I haue said my message so likewise we must first see Gods glorie procured in our affaires and then in the second place if commoditie or praise redound to vs we must afterward take it The last point is that when Christ had drunke the vineger he said It is finished VVhich words may haue a double sense one that such things as were figured by the sacrifices of the old testament are accomplished the other that now vpon the crosse he had finished his satisfaction to the iustice of his father for mans sinne And this of the twaine I rather thinke to be his meaning If it be said that the buriall and resurrection and ascension of Christ c. which are very necessarie to mans redemption were not yet begunne the answer is that the works of Christs priesthoode which follow his death serue not to make any satisfaction to Gods iustice for sinne but onely to confirme or applie it after it is made and accomplished on the crosse And if this be so that Christ in his owne person accomplished the worke of redemption and made a full and perfect satisfaction for vs as these words import It is finished then humane satisfactions to Gods iustice for sinne are altogether superfluous The fifth euent that fell out when Christ was vpon the crosse was that he cryed with a loud voice and said Father into thy handes I lay downe my spirite that is I commende my soule as being the most pretious thing which I haue in this worlde into thy custodie who art a most faithfull keeper therof These words are taken by Christ out of the Psalmes for when Dauid was in daunger of his life by reason of Saul and had no friend to trust he makes choice of God to be his keeper and said Into thy hands O Lord doe J commend my spirite Nowe our Sauiour Christ beeing in the like distresse both by reason of the Iewes who euery way sought his finall destruction and confusion and especially because he felt the full wrath of God seazing vpon him doth make choice of Davids words and applie them to himselfe in his distresse And by his example we are taught not onely to read the generall historie of the Bible but also to obserue the things commaunded and forbidden and to applie the same vnto our selues and to our particular estates and dealings whatsoeuer thus the Prophet Dauid saith In the rolle of the booke it is written of me that I should doe thy will O my God! Howe 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 commaundements giuen to Kings and Princes that they should keepe all the ordinances and commaundements of God which he beeing a King applies 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 doth sing the same with the same spirite that Dauid did and doth applie them to their seuerall estates and conditions Now in that Christ commends his soule into the hands of his father he doth it to testifie that he died not by constraint but willingly and by his owne practise he doeth teach vs to doe the like namely to giue vp our owne soules into the hands of God And 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 creator of our soules and therefore he is called the father of spirits And if he be a creator of them then is he also a faithfull preseruer of them For sure it is that God will preserue his own workmanship Who is or caÌ„ be so careful for the ornament and preseruation of any worke as the crafts-master and shall not God be more carefull then man wherefore Saint Peter exhorteth vs to commit our soules vnto God as vnto a faithfull creator The second motiue is this we must looke to be resolued in our consciences that God 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 be 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 hands of God This was the reason which mooued Christ to lay downe his soule into the handes of God because he is his Father The third motiue or preparatiue is a continuall experience and obseruation of Gods loue and fauour towardes vs in keeping and preseruing him as appeares by Dauids example Into thy handes saith he I commit my soule for thou hast redeemed me O thou God of truth The time when wee are specially to commende our soules into the hande of God is first of all the time of any affliction or daunger This was the time when Dauid commended his soule into the handes of God in the Psalme before named VVee knowe that in any common daunger or perill as the sacking of a citie or burning of an house if a man haue any pretious iewell therein
he will first fetch that out and make choice of a faithfull friend to whose custodie he will commit the same euen so in common perils and daungers we must alwaies remember to commit our soules as a most pretious iewell into the hands of God who is a faithfull creator An other 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 saide 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 because the daunger is great by reason that Sathan will then chiefly assault vs and the guilt of sinne will especially then wounde the conscience Lastly at all times we must commit our soules into Gods hands for though we be not alwaies in affliction yet we are alwaies in great daunger and when a man lieth downe to rest he knoweth not whether he shall rise againe or no and when he riseth he knoweth not whether he shall lie downe againe Yea at this very houre we know not what will befall the next And great are the comforts which arise by the practise of this dutie When Dauid was in great daunger 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 he comforted himselfe in the Lord his God And the practise of Paul in this case is most excellent For the which cause saith he J suffer those things but I am not ashamed for I know whome I haue beleeued and I am perswaded that he is able to keepe that which I haue committed vnto him against 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 may 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 euery day and houre to lay downe his soule into the hands of God although by the course of nature he may liue twentie 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 and if they haue cattell sheepe 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 sheweth 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 hande of God Againe in that Christ laies downe his owne soule and withall the soules of all the faithfull into the handes of the father we further learne three things The first that the soule of man doth not vanish avvay as the soules of beastes and other creatures there is great difference betvveene them for vvhen the beast dieth his soule dieth also but the soule of man is immortall The consideration wherof must mooue euery man aboue al things in this vvorld to be carefull for his soule if it vvere to vanish avvay at the day of death as the soule of beastes doe the neglect thereof vvere no great matter but seeing it must liue for ever either in eternall ioy or els in endlesse paines and torments it standes vs upon euery man for himselfe so to provide for his soule in this life that at the day of death when it shall depart from his bodie it may live in eternall ioy and happinesse The second that there is an especiall and particular prouidence of God because the particular soule of Christ is committed into the hands of his father and so answerably the soules of euery one of the faithfull are The thirde that euerie one which beleeues him selfe to be a member of Christ must be willing to die vvhen God shall call him thereunto For vvhen vvee die in Christ the bodie is but laide asleepe and the soule is receiued into the handes of a most loving God and mercifull Father as the soule of Christ was Lastly vvhereas Christ surrendring his soule into his fathers hands calles it a spirite we note that the soule of man is a spirit that is a spirituall invisible simple essence without coÌ„position created as the angels of God are The question vvhether the soule of a child come from the soule of the parents as the body doth come from their bodies may easily bee resolued For the soule of man beeing a spirite can not beget another spirit as the Angels being spirituall doe not beget Angels for one spirit begetteth not another Nay vvhich is more one simple element begetteth not another as the vvater begetteth not water nor aire begetteth aire and therefore much lesse can one soule beget an other Againe if the soule of the child come from the soule of the parentes then there is a propagation of the whole soul of the parent or of some part thereof If it be said that the whole soule of the parents be propagated then the parents should want their owne soules and could not liue If it be said that a part of the parents soule is propagated I answer that the soule being a spirit or a simple substance can not be parted and therfore it is the safest to conclude that the bodie indeed is of the bodie of the parents that the soule of man while the bodie is in making is created of nothing and for this verie cause God is called the Father of spirites Thus much of the crucifying of Christ Now followeth his death For hauing laid downe his soule into the handes of his Father the holy Ghost saith he gave vp the ghost to giue us to understand that his death was no fantasticall but a reall death in that his bodie and soule were severed as truly as when any of vs die In treating of Christes death we must consider many pointes The first that it was needfull that hee should die and that for tvvo causes First to satisfie Gods iustice for sinne is so odious a thing in Gods â—ight that he will punish it with an extreame punishment therefore Christ standing in our roome must not only suffer the miseries of this life but also die on the crosse that the verie extremitie of punishment which wee shoulde haue borne might be laide on him and so we in Christ might fully satisfie Gods iustice for the wages of sinne is death Secondly Christ died that he might fulfill the truth of Gods worde which had saide that man for eating the forbidden fruit should die
he came to Iesus by night Many men build upon this example that it is lawfull to be present at the Masse so be it in the mean seasoÌ„ we keepe our heartes to God and indeede such men are like Nichodemus in that they labour to burie Christ as much as they caÌ„ though now after his resurrectioÌ„ he should not be buried againe But though Nichodemus durst not openly at the first professe the name of Christ yet after his death vvhen there is most daunger hee doeth and by this meanes reformeth his former doing Thus much of the persons that buried Christ The third thing to be obserued is the maner of Christs buriall which standeth in these 4. 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 body of Christ from the crosse whereon hee was executed but marke in what maner he doth it not on his owne head without leaue but he goeth to Pilate and beggeth the body of Christ asketh leaue to take it downe because the disposing of dead bodies was in Pilates hand hee being deputie at that time wherby we learn that in all our dealings actioÌ„s though they haue neuer so good an ende our dutie is to proceede as peaceably with all men as may be as S. Iames saith The wisdom that is from aboue is first pure then peaceable geÌ„tle c. Againe this â—eacheth us that in all things which concerne the authoritie of the Magistrate and belong unto him by the rule of Gods worde wee must attempt or doe whatsoeuer we doe by leaue And here we may see of what courses they take that beeing priuate men in this our Church will notwithstanding take upon them to plante Churches without the leaue of the Magistrate being a christian prince Hauing thus taken the body of Christ downe they go on to wind it And Ioseph for his part brought linnen clothes and Nichodemus a mixture of myrâ—he aloes to the quantitie of an hundred poundes 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 burials there was embalming washing of the body but Christs body was not embalmed or washed because they had no time to do it for the preparatioÌ„ to the passeouer drew nere And wheras these 2. meÌ„ burie Christ at their own cost charges we are taught to be like affected to the liuing meÌ„bers of Christ when they want we must relieue comfort them liberally 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 deade men are to be buried in seemely honest maner if they be honorable they may be buried honorably yet now ther is no cause why mens bodies should be washed annointed embalmed as the vse was amoÌ„g the Iewes for they used embalming as a pledge signe of the resurrectioÌ„ but now since Christs comming we haue a more certen pledge therof euen the resurrection of Christ himself therfore there is no cause why we should use embaulming and washing as the Iewes did And the clause which is specified in Saint Matthew is not to be omitted that Ioseph wrapped Christs body in a cleane linnen cloth whereby we learne that howsoeuer the strange fashions fetched from Spaine and Italy are moÌ„strous to be abhoâ—red yet seing the body of a maÌ„ is the creature of God therefore it must be arayed in cleanly maner in holy comelines Paul requires that the minister of the Gospell in all things be seemely or comely herein he ought to be a patterne of sobriety unto all men Thirdly after they haue wouÌ„d the body of Christ they lay it in a toÌ„b lastly they make it sure closing it up with a stone rolled ouer the mouth of it Also the Iewes request Pilat to seale it that none might presume to open it besides they set a band of soldiers to watch the tomb to keepe it that his bodie be not stolleÌ„ away Many reasons might be alledged of this their dealing but principally it came to passe by the providence of God that hereby he might confirme the resurrection of Christ. For whereas the Iewes would neither be mooued by his doctrine nor by his workes miracles to beleeue he causeth this to be done that by the certenty of his resurrection hee might conuince them of hardnesse of heart and prooue that he was the sonne of God Thus much of the maner of his buriall Now followes the place where Christ was buried In the place we are to mark 3. things I. that Christ was laid in Iosephs tomb wherby we may gather the greatnes of Christs pouertie in that he had not so much grouÌ„d as to make himself a graue in this must be a comfort to the members of Christ that are in pouertie And it teacheth them if they haue no more but foode and raiment to be there with content knowing that Christ their head and king hath coÌ„secrated this very estate unto them Secondly the tombe wherein Christ was laide was a newe tomb wherein neuer any man lay before And it was the speciall appointment of Gods prouidence that it should be so because if any man had bene buried there aforetime the malitious Iewes would haue pleaded that it was not Christ that rose againe but some other Thirdly we must obserue that this tombe was in a garden as the fall of man was in a garden as the apprehension of Christ in a gardeÌ„ beyond the brooke Cedron And here we must note the practise of a good man This garden vvas the place of Iosephs delight holy recreation wherin he used to solace himselfe in beholding the good creatures of God yet in the same place doth he make his owne graue long before he dyed whereby it appeares that his recreation was ioyned with a meditatioÌ„ of his end and his example must be followed of us True it is God hath giuen us his creatures not only for necessity but also for our lawfull delight but yet our duty is to mingle therewith serious meditation and consideration of our last end It is a brutish part to vse the blessings and creatures of God and not at all to be bettered in regard of our last end by a further vse thereof The time when Christ was buried vvas the euening wherein the Sabbath vvas to begin according to the maner of the Iewes which beganne their daies at sunne-setting from euening to euening according to that in Genesis the evening and the morning was the first day Now Ioseph commeth a litle before euening beggeth the body of Christ and burieth it where note that howsoeuer vve are not bound
cunning men cunning women is that is of charmers inchanters figure casters a bad practise Christ at his ascensiō sēt his holy spirit vnto his Church people to be their guide comforter in their calamities and miseries and therefore when any man is in distresse he should haue recourse to the right meanes of comfort namely the word sacraments there he shall finde the assistance of the holy ghost Thus the prophet Isai informeth the Iewes when they shall say unto you inquire at them which haue a spirit of divination at the soothsayers which whisper and murmure Should not a people inquire at their God from the living to the dead to the law and to the testimony Rebecca when the two twinnes stroue in her womb what did she the text saith she sent to aske the Lorde Yet commonly the men of these daies leaue God seeke to the instruments of the deuill To goe yet further God useth for sundrie causes most of all to afflict his deerest children Iudgement saieth Peter beginnes at Gods house S. Luke saieth 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 us remember the end why Christ ascended up to heauen and pray unto God that hee will giue us his spirit that therby we may be eased deliuered or els inabled to perseuere and continue in patience and this is the true way and meanes to lighten and ease the burden of all afflictions And for this cause Paul prayeth that the Colossians might be strengthened with all might through his glorious power unto all patience and long suffering with ioyfulnesse For to whomsoeuer God giueth grace to beleeue to them also he giues power to suffer affliction by the inward worke of his spirite Secondly if Christ haue sent unto his church the holy spirite to be our comforter our duty is to prepare our bodies and soules to be fitte temples and houses for so worthy a guest If a man were certified that a prince would come to his house he would dresse it up haue all things in as good order as might be and shall not we 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 whom Christ Iesus hath sent to be our comforter The Shunamite was carefull to entertaine the man of God Elisha for shee saide to her husbande Let vs make him a litle chamber I pray thee with vvalles and let vs set him there a bed and a stoole a table and a candlesticke Now how much more carefull ought we be to entertaine God himselfe who is content to come and dwell with us and therefore we must adorne our bodies and soules with grace that he may lodge and suppe and dine with us as he hath promised but on the contrarie if we defile our bodies with sinne wee banish the holy ghost out of our hearts and suffer the diuell to dwell in us For the more a man defileth his bodie the fitter and cleaner it is for him And to conclude this point let us remember that saying which is used of some that Christ when hee went hence gaue us his pawne namely his spirit to assure us that hee woulde come to us againe and also hee tooke with him our pawne namely his flesh to assure us further that wee should ascend up to him Thus much for the benefites of Christes ascension Now follow the duties whereunto we are mooued and they are two First we must be here admonished to renounce the ubiquitie and the errour of the reall and essentiall presence of the bodie of Christ in the Sacrament of the Lordes supper as flatly oppugning this article of Christs ascension into heauen For it is flat against the nature of a true body to subsist in many places at once Secondly as the Apostles then did whē they saw Christ ascending up into heauen so must we do also while he was present with them they gaue him honour but when they saw him ascending they adored him with farre greater reuerence and so must we now for the same cause bow the knees of our hearts unto him Thus much of the second degree of the exaltation of Christ Now follow the third in these wordes And sitteth at the right hand of God the father almightie In the handling whereof we are first to shewe the meaning of the wordes secondly the comforts and benefits that redound to Gods Church thirdly the duties that we are mooued unto For the meaning of the wordes if we speake properly God hath neither right hand nor left neither can he be saide to sit or stand for God is not a bodie but a spirite the words therefore containe a borrowed speech from earthly kings potentates whose manner and custome hath beene to place such persons at their right hands whome they purposed to advance to any speciall office or dignitie So king Salomon when his mother came to speake with him rose up from his throne and mette her and caused a seate to be set at his owne right hand and set her upon it in token no doubt of honour which he gaue unto her To the same purpose Dauid saith Vpon thy right hand did stand the Queene in a vesture of golde And the sonnes of Zebedeus made sute to Christ that one of them might sit at his right hand and the other at his left in his kingdome Now their request was to haue the two speciall and principall dignities of his kingdome Thus we see it is manifest that the sitting at the right hand of an earthly prince signifieth aduancement into authority and honour and therefore the same phrase of speech applied to Christ signifieth two things First his full and manifest exaltation in dignitie honour and glorie and in this sense it is saide that to him is given a name that is above all names that at the name of Iesus every knee should bovve Secondly it signifieth his full and manifest exaltation into the authoritie and gouernment of his kingdome which spreadeth it selfe ouer heauen and earth So Dauid saieth The Lorde saide vnto my Lorde Sit thou at my right hand untill I make thine enimies thy footstoole Which place beeing alledged by Saint Paul repeating the wordes but changing the phrase is thus set downe He shall raigne till he have put all his enemies under his feete And to speake in breefe the scope of the wordes is to shewe that Christ God and man after his ascension is advanced to such an estate in which hee hath fulnesse of glorie power maiestie and authoritie in the presence of his father and all the saintes and holy angels Furthermore in the words three circumstances must be obserued The first is the place where Christ is thus aduāced noted in
shall send vnto you from the father euen the spirit of truth which proceedeth of the father he shall testifie of mee And therefore likewise he is the spirit of the sonne not onely because he is sent of the sonne but also because he proceedeth from him Againe in the trinitie the person sending doth communicate his whole essence and substance to the person sent As the father sending the sonne doth communicate his essence and substance to the sonne For sending doth presuppose a communication of essence Now the father and the sonne send the holy Ghost therefore both of them communicate their substance and essence vnto the same person Thirdly Christ saith The holy Ghost hath receiued of mine which he shall shew vnto you namely knowledge and truth to be reuealed vnto his Church Whēce we may reason thus the person receiuing knowledge from an other receiues essence also the H. Ghost receiueth truth knowledge from Christ to be reuealed vnto the Church therfore first of all he hath receiued substance and essence from the sonne But some peraduenture will say where is it written in all the Bible in expresse words that the holy Ghost proceeds frō the sōne as he proceeds frō the father Ans. The Scripture saith not so much in plaine tearmes yet we must know that that which is gathered forth of thē by iust cōsequēt is no lesse the truth of God then that which is expressed in words Hereupon all Churches saue those in Greece with one consent acknowledge the truth of this point The fourth and last point is that the holy Ghost is equal to the father the sōne And this we are taught to acknowledge in the Creede in that we doe as well beleeue in the holy Ghost as in the father and the sonne And though the holy Ghost be sent of the father the sonne yet as I haue said before that argues no inequalitie for one equal may send an other by consent but order onely wherby the Holy Ghost is last of all the three persons Againe in that the H. Ghost receiueth from the sonne it prooues no inferioritie Because he receiues from the sonne whatsoeuer he receiues by nature and not by grace And he receiues not a part but all that the sonne hath sauing the proprietie of his person Now follow the benefits which are giuen by th H. ghost they are of 2. sorts some are cōmō to all creatures some are proper to men The benefit of the H. Ghost common to all creatures is the worke of creation preseruation For all things were created made afterward preserued by the H. 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 heates them And so likewise the holy Ghost in the beginning did by his owne power cherish and preserue the masse or lumpe whereof all things were made and caused it to bring foorth the creatures This beeing euident that the holy Ghost hath a stroake in the worke of creation and preseruation we 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 badde and some proper to the elect and faithfull The benefits common to all men are diuerse 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 cloathed with the spirit Bezaleel and Aholiab beeing set apart to build the tabernacle were filled with the spirit of God in wisedome and in vnderstanding and in all workemanship to finde out curious workes to worke in gold and in siluer and 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 all those gifts well 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 the holy Ghost which one day they must answeare for 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 blinde and skales were vpon his eyes the like also be ouer the eies 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 eies And for this very cause hee is called the annointing and eyesalue for as it doth cleare the eyes and take away dimnesse 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 badde 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 befall 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 again 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 wel doers of Gods will as teachers their gifts wil turne to their further condemnation As the carpenters that built Noahs arke when the floode 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 shal be condemned
sure to haue his house in a readinesse all matters in order against his comming so as euery thing might be pleasing unto so worthy a guest well now behold wee put our confidence and affiance in the holy ghost and doe beleeue that he will come unto us and sanctifie us 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 fitte temples for him to dwell in S. Paul biddeth us not to grieve the holy spirite where the holy ghost is compared to a guest our bodies and soules unto Innes and as men use their guestes friendly and courteously shewing unto them all seruice and dutie so must wee doe to gods spirite which is come to dwell and abide in us doing nothing in any case which may disquiet or molest him Now there is nothing so grieuous unto him as our sinnes and therefore we must make conscience of all manner of sinne least by abusing of our selues we do cause the holy ghost as it were with griefe to depart froÌ„ us When the arke of the couenant which was a signe of the presence of God was in the house of Obed Edom the text saieth that the Lord blessed him and all his house but whâ—n the holy ghost dwelles in a mans heart there is more then the arke of the Lorde present euen God him selfe and therefore may we looke for a greater blessing Now then shall we grieue the holy goost by sinning seeing we reape such benefite by his abode It is saide that our Sauiour Christ was angrie when hee came into the temple at Ierusalem and saw the abuses therein Now shall hee 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 angry Yea we may assure our selues he can not abide that And therefore if wee beleeue in the holy ghost wee must hereupon be mooued to keepe our bodies and soules pure cleane And further to perswade us hereunto we must remember this that when we pollute our soules and bodies with any manner of sinne wee make them euen stables and styes for our wretched enemie the deuill to harbour in For when Sathan is once cast out if afterward wee fall againe to our olde sinnes and loosenesse of life and so defile our bodies they are then most cleane and neate for him to dwell in whereupon he wil come and bring seuen other deuils worse then himselfe and so a mans last ende shall be worse then his beginning Now what a fearefull thing is this that the body which should be a temple for the holy ghost by our sinnes should be made a stable for the devill Further S. Paul biddeth us not to quench the spirit The graces of the holy spirite in this life are like sparks of fire which may soone be quenched with a little water Now so oft as we sinne we cast water upon the grace of God and as much as wee can put out the same therefore it standes us in hand to make conscience of euery thing wherein wee may offende and displease God And wee may assure our selues that so long as wee liue and lie in our corruptions and sinnes the Holy Ghost will neuer come and dwell with us Hee is a pure spirite and therefore must haue an undefiled temple to dwell in Thus we haue heard what is to be beleeued concerning the father sonne holy ghost now looke as we beleeue in God distinguished into â— persons so we must remember that when wee perfourme diuine worshippe to him we may distinguish the persons but wee are not to seuer them when wee pray to the father wee must not omit the sonne or the Holy Ghost but make our praiers to them all for as in nature they are one and in person not deuided but distinguished so in all worshippe wee must neuer confounde or seuer the persons but distinguish them and worship the trinitie in unitie and untie in trinitie one God in three persons and three persons in one God Hitherto we haue intreated of the first part of the Creed concerning God now followeth the second part thereof concerning the Church and it was added to the former upon speciall consideration For the right order of a confession did require that after the Trinitie the Church should be mentioned as the house after the owner the temple after God and the citie after the builder Againe the Creed is concluded with pointes of doctrine concerning the Church because whosoeuer is out of it is also forth of the number of Gods children and he cannot haue God for his father which hath not the Church for his mother Question is made what the wordes are which are to be supplied in this article the holy Catholike Church whether I beleeve or I beleeve in and ancient expositours haue sufficiently determined the matter One saieth In these vvordes in which is set forth our faith of the godhead it is said In God the father in the sonne and in the holy ghost but in the rest where the speech is not of the godhead but of creatures and mysteries the preposition In is not added that it should be in the holy Church but that we should beleeve there is an an holy Church not as God but as a companie gathered to God And men should beleeve that there is remission of sinnes not in the remission of sinnes and they shoulde beleeve the resurrection of the body not in the resurrection of the body therefore by this preposition the Creatour is distinguished from the creatures and thinges pertaining to God from things pertaining to men Another upon these wordes This is the worke of God that yee beleeue in him saith If yee beleeve in him ye beleeve him not if yee beleeve him yee beleeve in him for the devils beleeved God but did not beleeue in him Againe of the Apostles we may say we beleeve Paul but vvee doe not beleeve in Paul wee beleeve Peter but wee beleeve not in Peter For his faith that beleeveth in him which iustifieth the ungodly is imputed to him for righteousnesse What is it therefore to beleeve in him by beleeving to love and like and as it vvere to passe into him and to be incorporated into his members Novv the reasons which some Papistes bring to the contrarie to prooue that wee may beleeue in the creatures and in the Church are of no moment First they alledge the phrase of scripture Exod 14.31 They beleeved in God and in Moses 1. Sam. 27.12 And Achis beleeved in David 2. Chron. 20.20 Beleeve in the Prophets and prosper Answer The Hebrewe phrase in which the servile letter Beth is used must not be translated
beleeueth in Christ by reason of this union hath an unspeakeable prerogatiue for hereby he is first united to Christ and by reason thereof is also ioyned to the whole trinitie the father the sonne and the holy ghost and shall haue eternall fellowshippe with them Thirdly sundrie men specially Papistes deride the doctrine of iustification by imputed righteousnesse thinking it as absurd that a maÌ„ should be iust by that righteousnesse which is inherent in the person of Christ as if we should say that one man may liue by the soule of another or be learned by the learning of another But here we may see that it hath sufficient foundation For there is a most nere and straite union betweene Christ and all that beleeue in him and in this union Christ with all his benefites according to the tenour of the couenant of grace is made ours really therefore we may stand iust before God by his righteousnes it being indeed his because it is in him as in a subiect yet so as it is also ours because it is giuen unto us of God Now there is no such union betwene man maÌ„ for that cause one man can not liue by the soule of another or be learned by the learning of another Fourthly from this fountaine springs our sanctification whereby wee die to sinne are renewed in righteousnes and holines Wormes and flies that haue lyen dead all winter if they be laid in the sunne in the spring time begin to reuiue by vertue thereof euen so when we are united to Christ are as it were laide in the beames of thiâ— blessed sonne of righteousnesse vertue is deriued thence which warmeth our benummed heartes deade in sinne and reviveth us to newenesse of life whereby we begin to affect and like good things and put in practise all the duties of religion Firstly hence we haue the protection of Gods angels for they alwaies wait and attend on Christ and because wee are made one with him they attend upon us also Lastly by reason of this union with Christ euery beleeuer commeth to haue interest and to recouer his title in the creatures of God and to haue the holy and lawfull use of them all For we must consider that although Adam created in the image of God was made Lord over all things in heauen earth yet when he fell by eaâ—ing the forbidden fruite he and in him all mankinde lost the title and use of them all Now therefore that a man may recover his interest hee must first of all be united and made one with Christ and then by Christ who is Lord and King ouer all shall he recouer that title in the creatures of God which hee had by creation and be made Lorde ouer them againe But some will say if this be 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 unto the creature right in it that is actuall possession is reserued for the life to come Therefore wee content our selues with our allowed portions giuen unto us by God by his grace using them in holy manner expecting by hope the full fruition of all thinges till after this life Againe if all title to the creatures be recouered by Christ it may be demanded whether infidels haue any interest to their goods or no Ans. Infidels before men are right lordes of all their landes and possessions which they haue obtained by lawfull meanes and in the courtes of men they are not to be depriued of them but before God they are but vsurpers because they hold them not in capite that is in Christ neither haue they any holy and right use of them for to the uncleane all things are vncleane And they must first of all become members of Christ before they can hold enioy them aright use them wel The duties which are to be learned of the doctrine of this vnion are manifolde And first of all wee are taught to purge our handes and heartes of all our sinnes and especially to auoide all those sinnes whereby mens bodies are defiled as drunkennesse uncleannesse fornication for they driue away the spirit of God from his owne house and dissolue the bond of the coniunction betweene Christ and vs. Secondly we must euery one of us which professe our selues to be members of Christ labour to become conformable unto him in holinesse of life and to become new creatures for this union requireth thus much Let a man take the griftes of a crabbe-tree and set them into good stockes yet will they not chaunge their sappe but bring foorth fruite according to their owne nature euen sowre crabbes but it must not be so with us wee are indeed wild oliues and the braunches of wilde vines yet seeing we are perswaded that wee are grafted into Christ and made one with him we must lay aside our wild and soure nature and take upon us the nature of the true vine beare good fruite haue good iuyce in us and render sweete wine Thirdly wee are taught hence to be plentifull in all good workes consideriag wee are ioyned to him that is the fountaine of grace And therefore Christ saieth I am the true vine and my Father is the husbande man every braunch that beareth not fruite in mee hee taketh avvay and everie one that beareth fruite hee purgeth it that it may beare more fruite And the Prophet Esai compares the Church of God to a vineyarde with a tower and a wine-presse in it And God himselfe comes often downe vnto it to see the fruites of the valley to see if the vine budde and the Pomegranates flourish And further wee must bring forth fruite vvith patience For the Lorde of this vineyarde comes with crosses and afflictions as with a pruning knife in his hand to pare and to dresse us that wee may be fit to bring foorth fruite plentifully in duties of pietie to God and in duties of loue to all men yea to our enemies Crhistian men are trees of righteousnes growing by the waters of the sanctuary but what trees not like ours for they are rooted upwarde in heauen in Christ and their graines and branches growe downward that they may beare fruite among men Hitherto we haue heard what the Church is now to beleeue the Church is nothing else 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 that hee neither hath nor can haue any creature in heauen or earth to be his fellow herein For the Church is his body and none but he can perfourme the duty of an head unto it which dutie
for the most part one like another and brought up alike euen so it is in Gods familie which is his Church the members thereof are all alike in heart and affection and the reason is because they haue one spirite to guide them all and therefore S. Peter saieth The multitude of them that beleeved were of one heart and of one soule neither any of them said that any thing of that which he possessed was his owne but they had all things common And the Prophet Esai foretelling the unitie which should be in the kingdome of Christ saieth The wolfe shall dwell vvith the lambe and the leopard shall lye with the kidde and the calfe and the lyon and the fatte beast togither and a litle childe shall leade them The covve and the beare shall feede and their yong ones shall lye togither and the lyon shall eate strawe like the bullocke The sucking child shall play vpon the hole of the aspe and the wayned child shall put his hand into the cockatrice hole By these beastes are signified men that be of a wicked brutish nature which when they shall be brought into the kingdome of Christ shall lay aside the same become louing gentle curteous all of one minde And S. Peter requires of the Church the practise of brotherly loue and that is to carrie a tender affection to men not because they are of the same flesh but because they are ioyned in the bond of one spirit with us Furthermore by reason of this that all the children of God are of one heart there followes another duty of this communion whereby they beare one the burdens of another when one mēber of the Church is grieued all are grieued when one reioyceth all reioyce as in the body when one member suffereth all suffer The second braunch of their communion is in the giftes of Gods spirite as loue hope feare c. And this is shewed when one man doth employ 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 benefite of their brethren A christian man howsoeuer hee be the freest man upon earth yet is he seruant to all men especially to the Church of God to doe seruice unto the members of it by loue for the good of all And this good is procured when vvee convey the graces of God bestowed on us to our breethren and that is done fiue waies I. by example II. by admonition III. by exhortation IIII. by consolation V. by prayer The first which is good example wee are inioyned by Christ saying Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good vvorkes and glorifie your Father vvhich is in heauen And that our hartes might be touched with speciall care of this dutie the Lord settes before us his owne blessed example saying Be yee holy as I am holy and Learne of me that I am meeke and lowly And Paul saith Be ye follovvers of me as I follovv 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 hee shall presently haue many followers Euill example runnes from one to another like a leprosie or infection and this Christ signified when hee said that the figge-tree planted in the vineyarde If it beare no fruite makes all the ground barren The second meanes of communication of the giftes of God vnto others is admonition which is an ordinance of God whereby Christian men are to recouer their breethren from their sinnes A man by occasion fallen into the water is in danger of his life and the reaching of the hande by another is the meanes to saue him Now euerie man when hee sinneth doeth as much as in him lieth cast his soule into the very pit of hell and wholesome admonitions are as the reaching out of the hande to recover him againe But it will peraduenture be saide how must wee proceede in admonishing of others Answer We 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 ou◠the beame that is in our owne eye and so we shall see clearely to put out the mote in our brothers eye II. before wee reprooue wee must be sure that the fault is committed we must not go upon heare-say or likelihoods and therefore the Holy ghost saith Let us consider or observe one another to provoke vnto love or good workes III. before we reproove wee must in Christian wisdome make choice of time and place for all times and places serue not to this purpose And therefore Salomon saith It is the glory of a man to passe by an offence Furthermore in the act of admonishing two things are to be obserued I. a man must deliuer the words of his admonition so farre foorth as hee can out of the word 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 be made with as much compassion and fellow-feeling of other mens wants as may be As Paul saieth If any man be fallen by occasion into any fault ye which are spirituall restore such an one with the spirit of meekenes The third way of communicating good things to others is exhortation and it is a meanes to excite and stirre them on forwarde which doe alreadie walke in the way of godlinesse Therefore the Holy Ghost saith Exhort one another daily least any of you be hardened through the deceitfulnesse of sinne But alas the practise of this dutie as also of the former is hard to be found among men for it is usuall in families that masters and fathers in stead of admonishing their servants and children teach them the practise of sinne in swearing blaspheming slaundering c. and as for exhortation it is not used Let a man that hath the feare of God offend neuer so little in stead of brotherly exhortation hee shall heare his profession cast in his teeth and his hearing of Sermons this practise is so generall that many beginning newly to tread in the steppes of godlinesse are hereby daunted and quite driuen backe The fourth way is consolation which is a meanes appointed by God wherby one man shoulde vvith vvords of heavenly comforte refresh the soules of others afflicted with sicknesse or any other way feeling the hand of God either in body or in mind And this dutie is as little regarded as any of the former In time of mens sicknesse neighbours come in but what say they I am sorie to see you in this case I hope to see you well againe I would be sory else c. Not one of an hundred can speake a worde of comfort to the
men professing the same religion must be linked in societie and converse togither in Christian loue meekenesse gentlenesse patience as S. Paul taught the Philippians If there be any fellowship of the spirit if there be any compassion and mercy fulfill my ioy that we may be like minded having the same love beeing of one accord and of like iudgement And againe Keepe saith he the vnitie of the spirit in the bond of peace Why Marke how his reason is feâ—ched from this communion Because there is one body one spirit even as you are called into the hope of your vocation one Lorde one faith one hope one baptisme one God and father of all which is above all and in all And no doubt the same reason made Dauid say All my delight is in the saints which be vpon earth Thirdly euery christian man that acknowledgeth this communion must carrie about with him a fellow·feeling that is an heart touched with compassion in regard of all the miseries that befall either the whole Church or any meÌ„ber thereof as Christ our head teacheth us by his owne exaÌ„ple when he called to Saul said Saul Saul why persecutest thou me giving him to understand that he is touched with the abuses done to his Church as if they had directly beene done to his owne person The Prophet Amos reproueth the people because they dranke wine in bowles and annointed themselues with the chiefe ointments but why was it not lawfull for them to doe so yes but the cause for which they are reprooved followeth No man saith he is sory for the affliction of Ioseph In the middest of their delightes and pleasures they had no regard or compassion of the miseries of the poore Church and seruants of God elsewhere in affliction which euery man ought to shew â—orth in the practise of all duties of loue and therefore Paul saith Pray alwaies with all maner of praiers and supplications in the spirit and watch thereunto with all perseverance 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 Lorde And S. Iohn saieth If a mans life woulde saue his neighbours soule hee must lay it downe for him if need require Wee haue all of us daily occasion to practise this duty towards the afflicted members of Gods Church in other cuntries For howsoeuer we enioy the gospell with peace yet they are under persecution for the same and so oft as wee heare report of this we should suffer our hearts to be grieued with them and pray to God for them Wee must heâ—e 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 maintaine their owne estate and wealth and therefore in their trades use false weights and measures the ingrossing corrupting mingling of wares glosing 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 wee are all knitte into one mysticall body and haue mutuall fellowship in the same our dutie is both to redresse the faultes of our breethren and to couer them as the hande in the bodie laies the plaister upon the sore in the foote or in the legge and withall couers it Loue couers the multitude of sinnes And when men disgrace their brethren 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 Forgivenesse of sinnes which may be thus described Forgivenesse of sins is a blessing of God upon his Church procured by the death 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 authour of forgiuenesse of sinnes Ansvv. God whose blessing it is for sinne is onely committed against God and the violating of his lawes 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 coÌ„mandement is no sinne unlesse it doe imply withall the breach of Gods commandement Therefore it is a prerogatiue belonging to God alone to pardon sinne and when wee are taught to say Forgiue us our trespasses as wee forgive them that trespasse against vs the meaning is not that we forgiue sinnes as they are sinnes but onely as trespasses that is losses hurtes and damages done unto us by men It may be further saide God hath giuen this power and commaundement to his ministers to forgiue sinnes saying Whose sinnes yee remitte they are remitted Ansvvere Gods ministers doe not properly forgiue sinnes but onely in the name of God according to his worde pronounce to a penitent sinner that his sinnes are pardoned and forgiuen of God and therefore it is a most certaen trueth that none can forgiue sinnes but God onely it was auouched by the Pharisies and not denied by Christ. Hence it followeth that remission of sinne being once granted remaines for euer because Gods loue unto the elect is unchangeable and his decree concerning their saluation can not be altered The second point is to whome remission of sinnes is giuen Answer To the Catholike Church that is to the whole company of men predestinate to saluation as Esai saieth The people that dvvell therein that is in the Church shall have 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 bene an uniuersall remission of sinnes to all men as some doe dreame it should not here haue bin made a peculiar prerogatiue of the Church The thirde point is what is the means wherby pardoÌ„ of sin is procured at Gods hand Ans. The death passion of Christ so Paul saith Christ dyed for our sinnes that is Christ died to be a paiment satisfaction to Gods iustice for our sins And S. Iohn saith The blood of Iesus Christ his sonne clenseth vs froÌ„ all sinne And Peter saith Knowing that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver gold froÌ„ your vaine conversation c. but with the pretious blood of Christ as of a lamb undefiled without spot The fourth point is after what maner sinne is forgiuen Answ. By an action of God whereby for the merite of Christ hee esteemes and accountes sinne as no sinne or as if it had neuer beene committed Therefore Dauid saieth Blessed is the man to whome the Lorde imputeth no sinne And in Esai the Lorde saieth I have put avvay