and the same operation Tres sunt in trinitate non statu sed ordine non essentia sed forma non potestate sed specie unus status essentiae potestatis quia sunt unus Deus There bee three persons in the Trinity not in state and condition but in order not in essence but in forme not in power but in kinde for there is one and the same state of essence and power because these three persons bee but one God But to leave this The persons of the Trinity are here distinguished they are sanctified of God the Father and reserved unto Iesus Christ The persons of the Father and the Sonne are discerned as in all other places Pater quasi fons exuberans filius ut rivus defluens ille ut Sol hic ut radius ille ut os hic ut vox procedens nonautem separantur sicut nec rivus a fonte nec radius a Sole nec vox abore quia aqua fontis est in Rivo solis lumen in radio oris virtus in voce The Father as the fountaine abounding the Sonne as the river flowing he as the Sunne this as the beame hee as the mouth this as the voice proceeding they are not separated as neither the river is separated from the fountaine nor the beame from the Sunne nor the voyce from the mouth for the water in the fountaine is in the river as the light of the Sunne is in the beame and the vertue of the mouth in the voyce The distinction of the persons obscurely delivered in the Old Testament in the New is made clearer than the noone-day For at the Baptisme of Christ the Sonne was seene The holy Ghost descended like a Dove Againe Christ bade them Baptise In the name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost Againe Mat. 3. 16. this was Pauls farewell to the Churches The grace of our Lord Iesus the love of God and the fellowship of the holy Ghost be with you c. Mat. 28. 19. Againe Saint Iohn saith That there are three that beare witnessein Sanctification not available without preservation heaven the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these three are one Also the place Luk. 1. 35. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee therefore also that holy thing that shall be borne of thee shall be called the Sonne of God doth 1 Iohn 5. 7 8. sufficiently prove the Trinity which places the Confession of Belgia quoted against Iewes Mahomitans Marcion Mans Sabellius Samositanus c. The third title of honour here given unto the Elect is reservation that they are reserved unto Christ Iesus that is as St. Peter saith They are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation All former blessings without this is to small purpose 1 Pet. 1. 15. in that God not onely calleth us but sanctifieth us and not only so neither but also reserveth us in Christ Iesus This maketh Luke 6. 38. up the measure of our joy till the Bushell runne over So Paul told the Corinthians that God had called them and would confirme 1 Cor. 1. 8. them unto the end that they may bee blamelesse in the day of Lord Iesus This is the Anchor of our hope as the Sun at noone day as the Moone in the Full that God preserveth us for ever He that keepeth Israel doth neither slumber nor sleepe the Lord is thy keeper the Psal 121. 4 5. Lord is thy defence upon thy right hand the Sunne shall not burne thee by day nor the Moone by night He that keepeth a sicke man sleepeth but he that keepeth us never sleepeth his eyes are alwaies open day and night like the gates of the new Ierusalem Apoc. 20. Christ giveth this reason why his sheepe doe not perish My sheepe saith hee heare my voyce and they follow me and I give unto them eternall life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck Iohn 10. 27 28. them out of my hand Our life is like a Ship in the Sea beaten with winde tossed with waves turmoyled with all kind of troubles and were it not that Christ is in this Ship we were like to sinke nor with Peter into the Sea but with Iudas into hell And this point is most notably handled by Master Calvin who affirmeth that Gods providence is over all the parts of our life we cannot Calvin libro 1. cap. 17. Instit. saith he take heat nor cold without danger by heat wee may surfeit and by colde catch an ague if wee mount up an horse In lapsu unius pedis periclitatur tota vita in the sliding of one foot is the danger of our life if wee enter into a Ship we are but an inch from death if we walke in the streets so many tiles so many deaths hang over our heads walk into the Forrests or Fields so many beasts so many enemies that conspire our destruction shut thy selfe in a Garden there a Serpent may kill thee Latet anguis in herbis And to recapitulate all this Bibulus a noble Romane riding thorough the streets in great pompe a tile fell from the house and strooke him so deepe into the head that it killed him Pope Adrian drinking at a Fountaine was choked with a flye Anacreon the Poet was choked with the graine of a Grape Gregory the 13. was suddenly strangled with a rheume and it is said of Plato that he dyed in a Gods providence watcheth over all especially his dreame and of Publius Crassus that hee dyed laughing Into these dangers might wee have fallen if God had not preserved us Marvellous is the providence of God in our lives Iob in his misery saw the want of it and therefore wished saying Oh that I were as in times past when God preserved me when his light shined upon Iob. 29. 2 3 4 5 6. my head and when by his light I walked through the darkenesse as I was in the dayes of my youth when Gods providence was upon my Tabernacle when the Almighty was with me and my children round about me when I washed my pathes with butter and when the rocke powred me out Rivers of Oyle c. In all the parts of our life God miraculously preserveth us miraculously doth he preserve us in our conception and therefore saith the just man Thou hast powred me out like milke turned me to Curds like Cheese thou hast cloathed mee with skinne and flesh and joyned mee together with bones and sinewes thou hast given me life and grace and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit Miraculously did hee nourish us in our Mothers wombe Psal 8. 2. miraculously nine moneths preserved hee us miraculously did he deliver us out of the wombe of our Mother for at our birth Psal 34. not onely women but Angels did assist us miraculously God keepeth us in our youth For CHRIST speaking
quenched once angry never pleased The Heathens We must love as God doth without desert were wont to say of themen of the primitive Church Ecce ut invicem se diligunt behold how they love one another they knew Christians by that badge but we may say quoth one Ecce Zaneh ut invicem se oderunt behold how they hate one another oppresse one another not Christians but Wolves Lions Leopards Divels nay worse for one Lion eateth not another and the Divels strive not amongst themselves but maintaine their kingdome Let Tygers and Beares and Leopards teare one another Let Scythians and Cannibals eat one another who Mat. 12. know not God nor good humanitie Let them bee without naturall affections but let us love one another and let the Apostle his precept be our practise Be of one minde one suffer with another 2 Tim. 3. 3. love as brethren bee pittifull bee courteous not rendring evill for evill nor rebuke for rebuke but contrariwise blesse knowing that yee are thereunto 1 Pet. 3. 8 9. called that yee should bee heires of blessing But yee will say such and such men deserve no kindnesse nor love at our hands I but see what Christ deserveth his eyes blinded his face smitten his hands nailed his feete pierced his heart thrust through with a speare how ought wee then to love one another Beloved saith the Apostle if God so loved us wee ought to love one another In no quality doe wee resemble God 1 Iohn 4. 11. more than in this Love God the Father is Love God the Son is Love God the holy Ghost is Love God the Father in Love gave his Sonne God the Sonne in Love gave himselfe God the Iohn 3. 16. cap. 10. 16. holy Ghost in Love applyeth all this unto us Charitas Dei diffusa in corda nostra per spiritum But note here what love Iude praying for a true Christian love framed by knowledge for among theeves murderers Drunkards ther is a kind of Love First therefore the love of Atheists is condemned which come from profit or from pleasure which love men as the dog doth the bone but this love proceedeth not Excorde puro from a pure heart therefore to be condemned Secondly the love of Gamesters Drunkards and Pot-companions is here condemned For to glosse play eate drinke game bee no good workes therefore this is not to love wee call it good fellowship but such good fellowes will go to the good fellow the Divell if they repent not Thirdly all carnall love is here condemned For love in man may bee a vice aswell as a grace it is a vice when it is set upon a wrong object or is disordered and that three wayes First when wee love things unlawfull as sinne Secondly when wee love things lawfull but too much as the world Thirdly when love is turned into lust and so it is the mother of fornication adultery incest and such like But if wee will have our love a grace it must be a Christian Our love must be truly Christian Graces must be dayly increased love we must love one another in the Lord for the Lord this love is the badge of Christs disciples By this shall all men know that you are my disciples indeed if yee love one another as I have loved you To this S. Peter exhorteth Above all things have fervent love among your selves for love shall cover a multitude of sinnes Non expiando non veniam Iohn 13. 1 Pet. 4. promerendo sed fraternè condonando non vindicando non diffamando not by purging or satisfying for sinnes not by deserving pardon and binding God to forgive sinnes but by brotherly forgiving trespasses not revenging our selves not defaming others Here also is condemned the love of Papists In cathedra unitatis Deus posuit doctrinam veritatis In the chaire of unity God hath put the doctrine of verity they agree as the false Prophets did not in the Lord but against the Lord they make adoe of their councell of Trident and how they agree in all meetings Alas a few buckrome Bishops of Italy conspired together but thirtie eight Bishops in all not like the councell of Nice where were three hundred and eighteene or of Arimine where were sixe hundred Bishops Nor like the Councell of Constance where were foure Patriarks twenty nine Cardinals two hundred threescore and ten Bishops forty seven Archbishops five hundred threescore and foure Abbots and Doctors at the deposing of Benedict the third But let our love bee as it should bee Christian love Let us love as brethren and then the God of Love and Peace shall bee with us and so much for this love that Saint Iude prayeth for But before I shut up this heavenly doctrine note that the Apostle wisheth an increase of Mercy Peace and Love he would have these things to be multiplyed Mercy Peace and Love be multiplied unto you in that he wisheth a multiplication of these Graces he sheweth that there is no perfection of vertues in this life for there is a double grace of God A Restraining and A Receiving Grace The one to keepe us from sinne the other to increase all vertues in us for in all vertues wee creepe like Snayles wee glide like Wormes wee goe like the Messenger of evill newes but in all vices wee runne like Hazael or the Roe of the field we flie like Doves wee grow like the Lily in a night Paul therefore exclaimed The Law is Spiritual but I Carnall sold under sinne for Rom. 7. 14 15. I allow not that which I doe for what I would that doe I not but what I hate that doe I. Whereupon Saint Augustine saith Impii volunt valent peccare pii volunt sed non valent benè agere quia nequiunt quod desiderant the wicked are willing and able to sinne the August godly are willing but not able to doe well because they cannot doe that which they desire to doe This made this holy Father Never perfect till wee come to Glory to pray Domine dominetur carni anima animae ratio rationi gratia c. Lord let the Soule rule the Flesh Reason the Soule Grace Reason subdue me to thy will inwardly outwardly sharpen my tongue more and more to sound forth thy praises illuminate my mind more and more to see thee inlarge my heart more and more to beleeve in thee c. For we comprehend not the Mercy Peace and Love of God in any measure Beatitude nostra tribus gradibus perficitur in hac vita per spem fidem quotidie crescentem post hanc vitam cum anima Dei praesentia fruetur post extremum judicium cum anima corpore glorificabimur Our happinesse is perfected in three degrees in this life by Faith and Hope increasing and growing daily after this life when the Soule shall enjoy the presence of God after the last Iudgement when as in Body and
Naboth wold not deliver up the vineyard of his fathers he must not deliver up the vineyard of the Lord. 1 Reg. 21. Here note three things 1 That Faith is a gift 2 That it is once given 3 That it is given unto the Saints And first that faith is a gift it is evident by the Apostles owne words where he calleth Christ The author and finisher of our faith as the Athenians were called Inventrices perfectrices omnium doctrinarum the inventers and perfecters of all good learning The Hebr. 12. 2. Romanes had their learning from the Grecians the Grecians from the Aegyptians and the Aegyptians from the Chaldees and they from Adam Seth Noah the old Patriarchs but the Church 1 Cor. 2. 22. Act. 7. 222. hath all her learning religion faith from God he gave it at the first and he confirmed it at the least He gave some to be Apostles some Prophets and some Evangelists some Pastours and teachers for gathering together of the Saints for the worke of the ministerie and for the edification Faith diversly taken of the body of Christ till wee meete together in the unitie of faith and knowledge of the Sonne of God c. Luke having spoken of Stephens faith noteth the cause of it that is that Stephen was full of the Spirit Ephes 4. 11. Act. 7. 55. Gal. 5. 22. 1 Cor. 12. 9. Rom. 3. 3. For God worketh it by his Spirit All good workes are the fruits of the Spirit therefore faith The fruits of the spirit are love ioy peace long-suffering gentlenesse goodnesse faith c. and it is reckoned up among the gifts of the spirit To another is given faith saith the Apostle by the same spirit But faith is in the Scriptures diversly taken sometimes it is given to God and it signifieth his faithfulnesse in his promises In this sense the Apostle useth the word saying Shall their unbeleefe make the faith of God of none effect when it is given to man it is taken seven manner of wayes First it is taken for Fidelity as it is a vertue in the second Mat. 23. 23. table So Christ useth the word where speaking to the Pharisees he saith Yee tythe Mint Anise and Commin and leave the weightie matters of the Law as iudgement and mercie and faith Secondly It is taken for the doctrine of faith and Christian Religion so it is said Many were added unto the faith that is to Act. 6. 7. Christian Religion And againe God opened the doore of faith unto the Gentiles that is of Religion Act. 14. 27. Thirdly It is taken for profession of religion thus Elimas is Act. 13. 8. charged To turne the Deputie from the Faith that is to make no more profession of Religion Fourthly It is taken for Christ himselfe by a Metonymie who is both the object and cause of faith So the Apostle useth the word saying But after that faith is come wee are no longer under a Gal. 325. schoole-master Fifthly It is taken for knowledge only and thus the Divels are said to beleeve Sixthly It is taken for the gift of working miracles If I had 1 Cor. 13. 2. all faith so that I could move mountaines c. Lastly It is taken for that grace by which felicity and the chiefe good is applied and thus it is taken in my Text. And this the Apostle Paul cals the faith of Gods elect For none but the elect have it al the elect have it at one time or another and once had it can never be finally and totally lost but it continueth with them till they come to see the goodnesse of the Lord in the land of the living then they shall have no more need of it It is therfore called Saving faith because it brings us to salvation Ephes 2. 8. And Iustifying faith because it is that meanes or instrument which Gods spirit worketh in us whereby wee apply unto our selves Christ Iesus in and by whom wee are iustified And Sanctifying faith because by it God purifieth our hearts This saving iustifying sanctifying faith is Gods gift for hee is the Authour of this faith From whom every good gift and every perfect gift commeth And that which is said of Lydia is true The meanes to beget faith of all the faithfull That the Lord opened the heart of Lydia so that shee beleeved And Christ saith This is the worke of God that yee beleeve not the worke of the Father alone or of the Sonne alone Iam. 1. 17. Iohn 6. 29. or of the Holy Ghost alone but of the whole Trinity For this is one of the workes of God which are said to bee Ad extra and therefore attributed to all the three persons To the first where Christ saith No man can come unto me that is beleeve except the Iohn 6. 44. Father draw him to the second where the Apostle calleth Iesus The author and finisher of our faith to the third where the Apostle reckoneth faith amongst the fruits of the spirit And the onely Hebr. 12. 2. thing that moved God to worke this precious gift in us is his meere good will So saith our Saviour It is so Father because thy good pleasure was such And the end at which he aymed in working Mat. 11. 26. this grace is first the setting forth of his owne glory secondly the salvation of mankinde and therefore S. Peter calleth salvation The end of our Faith 1 Pet. 1. 9. This doctrine serveth to humble us to let us see that it is not in our power that faith is not hereditary God beginneth it and increaseth it and finisheth it The Apostles prayed Lord increase Luk. 17. our faith The meanes to get this â—aith is double Outward Inward The outward meane is the word hereupon saith the Apostle How shall they beleeve in him of whom they have not heard Rom. 10. 14. Rom. 10. 8. and thereupon thus concludeth faith commeth by hearing and hearing by the Word of God and hereupon it is called The Word of faith And Paul saith of the Ephesians that they beleeved After they Ephes 1. 13. heard the Gospell And finely saith Chrysostome Accenditur fidei lampas igne divini verbi the lampe of our faith is lighted by the fire of the divine word And this faith is wrought in us both by reading and preaching of the word and both are commended and ordeined of God and first for reading God himselfe commandeth it and by reading S. Augustine was converted for he confesseth Deut. 3. 1. 9. of himselfe that being inclined to the heresie of the Manichees he heard a voyce saying Tolle lege take up and read meaning the booke of God which he presently did and so by reading was converted for surely the reading of the word is a meanes appointed of God to the begetting of faith and raising up the Kingdome of God in the hearts of men And to
World for sinne The drowning of the old World the burning of Sodom the destruction of Ierusalem were assured tokens that the Lord would not put up the infinite iniquities of the World but will judge it and punishit the pleading of the Conscience foretelleth a judgement to come the sentence of of death pronounced in Paradise and renewed with such terrour on mount The Lord Iesus Christ shall iudge Sinai did evidently assure us that God meant to call men to judgement the lesser judgements in this life are fore-runners to this great and last judgement the dragging of men out of the World by death is nothing else but an Alarum to judgement God hath promised that there shall be a judgement I will contend with thee in iudgement saith God The nations shall see my iudgements saith God I will sit and iudge the people saith God Now all the promises of God are Yea and Amen so firmely ratified that Heaven and Earth shall passe away but his Word and promise shall not passe The day and the night may faile in their courses the Sunne and Moone may faile in their motions the Earth may faile and totter upon her props the Sea and Rivers may faile and bee emptied of their waters but the promises of God shall not faile God promised a floud and it came Et qui verus erat in diluvio cur non in iudicio He that performed it in the one why should he not performe it in the other The Iustice of God requireth that there shall be a judgement Hîc optimi pessimè agunt Here the best men are the worst used and most wronged Here Iezabel sits braving in a window whilest Ieremy lies sticking in the mud Here Dives sits in his palace cloathed richly faring daintily while Lazarus lies at his gates naked and hungry Here Herod will please Herodias though it be with the head of Iohn the Baptist Nonne visitabit haec shall not God visit come to iudgement for these things Certainly iudgement will come and then downe go the wicked and up the godly horrour hell and death shall be the doome of the wicked heaven ioy and life shall be the lot of the righteous Thus yee see there shall be a Iudgement I will passe on to the next Who shall be the Iudge in this Iudgement The Lord The Lord saith Enoch commeth with thousands of his Saints to give iudgement c. And in that the Lord shall be our Iudge there will be first rectum iudicium a right and true iudgement for the Lord is true and cannot faile either Ignorantia legis as not knowing the Law For he gave the Law and will iudge according to the Law nor yet Ignorantia facti as not seeing the fact for his seven eyes goe thorow the World Yee may interpret them if yee will seven thousand thousand eyes Zach. 4. Againe if the Lord bee the Iudge there will bee aequum iudicium his Iudgement will be righteous and good for Necerrat ipse nec sustinet errantem He can neither sinne himselfe nor yet indure a wilfull sinner wee cannot corrupt him he hath no need of our goods But when he saith The Lord shall be the Iudge and come to iudgement yee shall understand that this word Lord is taken sometime essentially and then it signifieth all the three persons in the Trinity and so it is taken in the Psalme The Lord even the most mighty hath spoken and called the round World c. And indeed in Christ shall iudge in his humanity respect of authority the whole Trinity shall be the Iudge but sometime this word Lord is taken personally and then it signifieth the second person in the Trinity as here in this my Text The Lord shall come to Iudgement For in respect of the execution of this iudgement Christ alone shall iudge And why Christ And not the Father and the Holy Ghost First because Saint Iohn tells us The Father hath given all iudgement to the Sonne Iohn 5. And as Saint Bernard expounds the words non ut Filius suus sed ut Filius Hominis not as hee is the Sonne of God but as hee is the Sonne of the blessed Virgin borne in the world 2. The Sonne iudgeth and not the Father because it best befitteth a King to iudge his owne subiects and we are now the immediate subiects of the Sonne Indeed in our creation wee were absolutely the subjects of God but by rebelling against God we became the slaves and vassals of the Divell and not the subjects of God yet now being redeemed from death and from him that hath the power of death the Divell by the precious bloud of the Sonne of God we are become the subjects of the Sonne not that this is to be understood Exclusive as excluding from the worke of our redemption the Father and the Holy Ghost sed AppretiativeÌ„ as the Schoolemen speake but because the price of our redemption was paid by the Sonne and not by the person of the Father or Holy Ghost and in that the Sonne did sustinere poenas undergoe our punishment et procurare praemia purchase our reward hee must dispensare praemia poenas both dispose of our punishment and reward But forasmuch as there be two natures in Christ the Divine and humane it may be questioned in what forme or Nature hee shall iudge Saint Augustine answereth Eadem forma iudicabit te qua sub Iudice sâ—etit pro te In the same nature he shall iudge thee wherein he stood before the Iudge for thee he shall iudge us not as God but as man according to that in the Gospell Yee shall see the Sonne of Man not of God but of Man comming in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory Veniet qui Deus non qua Deus he that shall iudge us is God but he shall not iudge us as he is God Vrsinus in his Catechisme pag. 451. giveth three reasons of this Quia per eum Mediatorem glorificanda est Ecclesia per quem iustificata est because the Church is to bee glorified by that Mediator by which she was iustified SecundoÌ„ ob consolationem nostram dum scimus illum fore Iudicem qui redimit nos est enim frater noster caro nostra Secondly for our comfort to give us to understand that he shall bee our Iudge which redeemed vs and is our brother and our flesh Tertio propter iustitiam Dei quia filium hominis contumelia affecerunt Thirdly for the Iustice of God because the Sonne of Man hath beene much reproched with many contumelies and slanders If any man will object that Christ saith That Though Christ shall come in humanity yet with power and great glory he came not to iudge the World but to save the World I answere that these words are not to be understood of his second but of his first comming into the World then indeed he came to save the World but now to iudge the
with the milke of wilde beasts If Iacob sorrowed so for Ioseph if David would have dyed for Absalom if Rachel wept for her children and would not be comforted because they were not Let the death of Christ Gen. 37. 35. 2 Sam. 17. Mat. 2. Luke 1. 75. Luke 7. Mat. 26. Psal 51. pierce our hearts and move us to holinesse and let us serve him in holinesse and righteousnesse all the dayes of our life The Lord sustaine our hearts that with Mary we may wash his feet with our teares and with Peter wee may weepe bitterly Create in us Lord a cleane heart and renue in us a right spirit Another reason is taken from our Salvation for without holinesse we cannot be saved For though wee be not saved for it yet we are not saved without it Hereupon saith the Apostle Follow peace with holinesse without the which yee cannot bee saved A Heb. 12. 14. sore a fearefull speech like the thunder in Mount Horeb which I adde the rather because men mocke at holinesse Oh say they you are holy men you are men of the Spirit you are Saints you are Sermon-men The Bastard Ismael flowted at Isaac Gal. 5. 29. 2 Sam. 6. Ier. 18. Michol skorneth at Davids dancing before the Arke the men of Anathoth did smite Ieremy with their tongue the Adversaries of Iuda jested at the people But if thou beest not holy if thou beest not a Saint thou art a divell and know that if ye Esra 4. Rom. 8. 13. Gal. 6. 8. live after the flesh ye shall dye for he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reape corruption As Naomi said Call me not Naomi but Mara So call not these men Christians Gospellers but call them swine dogges that tread pearles under their feet call them Adders that will not be charmed call them Wolves that heare Mat. 7. Psal 58. Iohn 10. Hebr. 12. Iohn 6. not their shepheard call them Bastards and not sonnes yea call them divels as Christ called Iudas and say unto them as Christ said to Peter Come behind me Satan thou understandest not the things that bee of God but of man I marvell that the Sunne that is witnesse of these villanies standeth in the heavens that the heavens raine not downe fire and Brimstone as Gen. 19. 23. that the earth swallow them not up as Numb 16. that the creatures put not on their harnesse as Ioel 1. Lastly wee are sanctified wee must therefore be holy that our names and our natures our calling and conversation may be correspondent if then we will have part with Christ we must live after the example of Christ if wee will have Communion Causes of Sanctification The whole Trinity sanctifie with the Saints on Earth wee must bee Saints on Earth if wee will have the company of Saints in Heaven our conversation on Earth must bee heavenly Partly Wee are chosen in Christ that wee should bee holy and without blame before him and partly because the heavenly Court receiveth none but such as are pure Ephes 7. 4. Apoc. 21. 27. holy innocent David saith holinesse becommeth thy house for ever If holinesse become Gods house much more us which are the servants of his house Wel the God of peace sanctifie you throughout and I pray God that your Spirits Soules and Bodies may bee holy and harmelesse untill the comming of the Lord Iesus For all our sanctification and holinesse is from the Lord as it appeareth plainely by the words of my Text Sanctified of God the Father Causa efficiens sanctitatis the efficient cause of holinesse is God the Father Instrumentalis causa fides the instrumentall cause is Faith for Fides cor purificat Faith purifieth the heart Materialis causa the materiall cause est energia sanctitatis quae est in Act. 15. 9. Iohn 1. 16. Christo for of his fulnes we have all received even grace for grace Formalis causa the formall cause est nostra renovatio ab impuris qualitatibus ad puras integras is our renewing from impure qualities to pure and sound Finalis Dei cultus the final Gods worship to the honour of God and the edifying of our neighbour But yet observe with mee that though sanctification bee attributed to the Father yet the Sonne and the holy Ghost are not excluded for wee hold the principle of the Schoolemen Opera Trinitatis quoad extra sunt indivisa the outward workes of God are common to the whole Trinity and so are we sanctified by Father Sonne and holy Ghost yet sanctification is here ascribed to the Father as being the ground and first author thereof For the Son ne sanctifieth by meriting sanctification the holy Ghost sanctifieth by working it but the Father sanctifieth both by sending his Sonne to merit it and also by giving the holy Spirit to worke Thus Opera Trinitatis the outward workes of God are common to the whole Trinitie Sed opera Trinitatis quoad intus esse singularia the inward workes of God are singular and proper to some persons of the Trinitie Vt patri potentia filio redemptio spiritu sanctificatio tribuitur as power is ascribed to the Father redemption to the Sonne sanctification to the holy Ghost and yet these three now and then bee attributed to all the three persons Quod Vrsinus servato ordine agendi for as the Father and the holy Ghost doe redeeme and yet mediately by the Sonne so the Father and the Sonne doe sanctifie yet mediately by the Holy Ghost The proper or incommunicable workes of the Trinity are the inward eternall and hypostaticall properties as thus Pater generat the Father begetteth the Sonne is begotten and the holy Ghost proceedeth Distinction of persons in the Trinitie and yet the Father is not the Sonne nor the Sonne the Father nor the holy Ghost either Father or Sonne The other workes of the Trinity are indivisible how soever sometimes distinct as Creation to the Father Redemption to the Sonne Sanctification to the holy Ghost Peter Martyr sayth thus Pater ut fons filius ut flumen spiritus ut rivus ab utroque procedens The Father as the Fountaine the Sonne as the flood the Spirit as the River proceeding from them both The fountaine is not the flood nor the flood the fountaine nor the river either fountaine or flood and yet all these bee one water So the Father is not the Sonne nor the Sonne the Father nor the Spirit either Father or Sonne and yet but one God Et hi tres sanctificant and all these three sanctifie quoth Lactantius Ab uno omnia per unum omnia in uno omnia a quo per quem in quo omnia unus a se unus ab uno unus ab ambobus una tamen eadem operatio All things from one all things by one all things in one from whom by whom and in whom are all things one of himselfe one from one one from both and yet one
of the World to them all Venite benedicti come yee blessed of my Father inherit the kingdome Mat. 25. 34. prepared for you and therefore as the Hart desireth the water-brookes so long their Soules after God their Soules after God yea after the living God and they cry day and night Come Lord Jesus come quickely Thou which art our Lord by right of creation by right of redemption by right of gubernation Apoc. 22. by right of preservation Come come away quickely and crown us with glory receive us into thy kingdome where is Gaudium sine fine sine metu finis Ioy without end without feare of end Thus much of the Persons saluted their vocation sanctification and reservation to Iesus Christ THE FOVRTH SERMON VERS II. Mercie unto you and Peace and Love c. Mercy Peace and Love from Father Sonne holy Ghost I Am now come to the Salutation wherein the Apostle wisheth and prayeth for three things 1 Mercy 2 Peace 3 Love Three things more excellent than Mat. 2. the three gifts which the Wisemen bestowed on Christ Gold Frankincense 2 Sam. 23. and Myrrh three things more puissant to overthrow the Divell than the three mighty men that were in the hoast of Israel to overthrow the Philistines and to fetch water out of the well of Bethelem that David longed for three things more comely than the three things that Salomon commended that is a Lion Prov. 30. among beasts a Gray-hound and a Goat Mercy which is the first thing here wished for is ascribed to God the Creator Peace which is the second to Christ the 2 Cor. 1. 3. Ephes 2. 14. Rom. 5. 5. Reconciler Love which is the third to the holy Ghost the Comforter For God hee is called The Father of Mercies Christ is called Our Peace and the holy Ghost Love The Apostle therefore in saying Mercy Peace and Love be multiplied is as if he should have said The God of Mercy forgive you your sinnes the God of Peace give you Peace that passeth all understanding and the God of Love grant that your Love may abound more and more that yee may bee rooted and grounded in Love And yet all this proceedeth from one and the same person Generall and speciall Mercies of God for albeit Mercy be ascribed to the Father Peace to the Sonne and Love to the holy Ghost Creation to the Father Redemption to the Sonne and Sanctification to the holy Ghost yet all these create redeeme and sanctifie For wee worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Vnity wee confound neither the persons nor yet their worke Mercie be unto you Mercy in God is not passive but active Non quoad affectum sed quoad effectum No suffering with us in our wants but succouring us in them Mercy is here taken for grace and the meere favour of God The Apostle therefore in wishing Mercy Peace and Love to the Saints teacheth us Quales esse debent Christianorum salutationes nos literis nostris epistolis honorem opulentiam salutem longam vitam amicis optamus Iudas verò misericordiam pacem charitatem dona coelestia his tribus Ecclesia opus est aliter actum esset And first hee beginneth with Mercie For instead of Grace used by the Apostle Paul in sundry of his Epistles Iude heere nameth Mercy which is all one Mercy and Grace is that whereby all good is conveyed to us therefore an excellent blessing to bee prayed for and this Grace and Mercy of God is fourefold 1 Generall 2 Speciall 3 Temporall 4 Eternall The generall Grace and Mercy of God are those graces and mercies that hee bestoweth upon all men Hence is it that hee causeth the Sun to shine upon good and bad and his Raine to fall upon the just and unjust For there bee some good things which God giveth indifferently both to the good bad as Riches Honour Strength Beautie Health c. And there be some good things which God giveth onely to the good and not to the wicked as saving Faith saving Grace a new Heart a right Spirit peace of Conscience joy in the holy Ghost eternall Life And there are some evill things whereof the good taste as well as the bad as Sickenesse Sorrow Weakenesse of body Imprisonment Famine Sword losse of Friends c. And there are some evill things which God layeth upon the wicked and not upon the good as intolerable horror of conscience desperation Psal 104. 17 18. damnation c. This generall Grace and Mercy of God is over all his cratures the Fowles of the Aire the Fishes in the Psal 145. 9. Sea the beasts of the Fields His Mercie is over all his Workes His speciall Mercy is that whereby hee succoureth his elect This was the Mercy of God that preserved Lot from the burning of Sodome Daniel from the devouring jawes of the hungrie Gen. 19. Lions David from the cruelty of Saul and the Israelites Dan. 6. from the firy Furnace This is that Grace and Mercy which the child of God above all things desireth Lord lift thou up Psal 4. the light of thy countenance upon us His temporall Mercie is that whereby hee spareth sinners and standeth at their doores expecting and waiting their conversion Temporall and eternall Mercies Hereupon one descanteth very finely saying When vaine pleasure biddeth us to sell God and be gone his Mercy and Grace will not so part with us when we are lost in our selves his Mercy and Grace findeth us out when wee lye long in our sinnes his Mercy and Grace raiseth us up when wee come unto him his Mercy and Grace receiveth us when wee come not his Mercy and Grace draweth us when we repent his Mercy and Grace pardoneth us when wee repent not his Mercy and Grace waiteth our repentance The eternall Mercy and Grace of God is that which concerneth our everlasting Salvation this is that Mercy and Grace principally wished for By Grace wee are saved through Faith not of Ephes 2. our selves for it is the gift of God This word Mercy or Grace teacheth us to looke up unto God not unto our selves if wee looke to bee saved wee choose not the Lord but he us Vt salus esset penes figulum non penes lutum Aug. Paul ascriberh all to Grace and Mercy By the Grace of God saith hee I am that I am and his Grace which is in me was not in vaine and thus he taught the Romanes At this present there is a remnant through the election of Grace and if it bee of Grace it is no more of Workes or Rom. 11. 5 6. else Grace were no more Grace but if it bee of Workes it is no more Grace or else were worke no more worke an invincible Argument Peter letteth the Iewes see Terminum a quo terminum ad quem pervenerunt their state under the Law and under Grace Hee hath called you saith
or Life or death Whether they be things present or things to come even all are yours and yee are Christs and Christ 1 Cor. 3. 21 22 23. Psal 112. 6 7. 9. Gods an elegant Climax or gradation For he riseth by steppes Such a like figure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is 2 Cor. 6. 9. 10. Obiter now that peace and plentie are so farre given unto the Church as is profitable for it and expedient for the setting out of Gods glory The Church sometime eateth ashes as bread and mingleth her drinke with weeping she is as a Pelicane in the wildernesse and like an Owle that is in the desart She is as a Sparrow that sitteth alone upon the house top and her enemies revile her all the day long Sometime she is eaten up like a Sheep and scattered among the Heathen she is sold for nought and made a rebuke Psal 44. 9. 11 12. rebuked of her neighbours laughed to scorne and derided of all Nay sometime she is smitten into the place of Dragons and covered with the shadow of death The Church is oftentimes more hurt by plentie than penurie according to the voice in Constantines dayes Hodie venenum effusum est in Ecclesiam this day is poison powred into the Hierom. Church The Church when it came to Christian Princes to be defended Major erat divitiis virtutibus minor Againe God putteth off her sackcloath and girdeth her with gladnesse He giveth her beauty for ashes and rich apparell instead of sackcloath Psal 30. 12. Esa 61. 3. as he seeth it expedient Non audit ad voluntatem ut audiat ad salutem THE FIFTH SERMON VERS II. And Love bee multiplied Gods love the cause of all good THe third and last blessing which the Apostle here prayeth for is Love which of some learned men is thought to bee the cause of Mercie and Peace For Mercy and Peace are the fruits of Love Love is the fountaine Mercie and Peace the water that floweth from the fountaine Love is as the mother Mercy and Peace as her daughters Love as the cause Mercy and Peace as the effects yea Love is the cause of al blessings as I may say the cause of it selfe yea Causa causarum the cause of causes or Causa causae the cause of the cause or Causa causati the cause of the thing caused God is mercifull because he loveth us and hee loveth us because hee loveth us Eligit quia diligit ideo diligit quia diligit thee hath chosen us because hee loveth us Aug. and therefore hee loveth us because hee loveth us No reason can bee rendred of the love of God but the love of God Let us not buzze too neere the candle with the flye Farsalla lest we burne Let us not soare too high with the Eagle lest wee melt let us not wade too deep with the Elephant lest we drown Let us not bee curious in these things It is enough that Moses setteth downe Love to bee the cause of all blessings So God turned Balaams curse into a blessing unto Israel The cause Moses affirmeth to bee Gods love saying Because the Lord thy God Deut. 23. 5. loved thee So Moses telleth Israel that God did set his Love upon them and did chuse them not because they were more in number than any people For they were the fewest of all people but Because hee loved them Iude here prayeth for it as a most excellent blessing without which all is nothing For as Deut. 7. 7 8. wee say In triviis Hee is poore whom God hateth so hee is rich and happy whom God loveth his favour is as the dew of the Gods love abundant unmeasurable immutable morning as the shadow in the heate and as an haven to them that are tossed as the Cities of refuge to them that are pursued In thy presence saith David is fulnesse of ioy That is where God loveth and favoureth there is perfect felicitie Iohn calleth all men to behold the love of God Behold what love the Father hath shewed us that we should be called the Sonnes of God behold his love that hee calleth us his servants and behold a 1 Iohn 3. 1. 2 Cor. 6. Ephes 2. greater love in that hee calleth us his Sonnes and yet behold a greater love that he calleth us his heyres and coheyres with Christ and yet behold a greater love in an higher degree that he calleth us his Mother Brethren and Sisters but behold the greatest love of all that he calleth us his Spouse or Wife to note that he loveth us with all loves with the masters love as Abraham loved Eleazar with the friends love as David loved Ionathan with the Childes love as Ruth loved Naomi with the Gen. 15. 1 Sam. 16. Ruth 1. Gen 29. husbands love as Iacob loved Rachel What heart of stone is not moved with this love Nati sumus è silice nutriti lacte ferino This love of God is gratuitall free partly because it floweth from his grace and goodnesse and partly because he loveth not for his owne but for our good And it is unmeasurable therefore saith the Apostle Herein is love not that wee loved God but that hee 1 Iohn 4. 10. loved us and sent his Sonne to be a reconciliation for our sinnes greater love could not the Father shew than to send his Sonne out of his owne bosome and greater love could not the Sonne shew than to die for his enemies Yea this love of his it is immutable and constant For whom he loveth he loveth to the end hereupon the Apostle calleth God love God is love saith he and not only love for there are many properties and attributes in God as Truth Mercie Iustice Power Eternitie Novit omnia ut veritas tuetur ut salus Iohn 13. 1 Iohn 4. 16. sedat ut aequitas dominatur ut majestas operatur ut potentia manet ut aeternitas he knoweth all things as veritie defendeth all things as health and salvation appeaseth all things as equitie ruleth all things as Majestie worketh all things as omnipotencie and abideth and remaineth as eternitie God is not made of love only as wood of trees as a fountaine of water as a plaister of Balme but all these attributes are in the Lord equally But because God delighteth in love and he reposeth a great part of his glory in love therfore is he described by that attribute of Love by this attribute the Evangelist describeth him God so loved the Iohn 3. 16. Cap. 10. 16. 1 Iohn 4. 18. World that he gave his only begotten Sonne c. And by this attribute the beloved disciple describeth him saying God is love and hee that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him By this attribute David describeth him As a Father hath compassion on his children so hath the Lord compassion on them that love him And againe The loving Psal 103. 13. 17. kindnesse of the
Soule wee shall be glorified and when as wee shall sing the songs of triumph such as none can understand save the hundred and forty foure thousand which are Apoc. 14. 3. brought from the Earth Let us therefore pray for grace to increase in us and say with Augustine Si quando steti per Dominum steti si quando cecidi per me cecidi c. If at any time I stood I stood by the Lord if at any time I fell I fell of my selfe his Grace did prevent me saving me from evils past preserving me from evils present and defending me from evils to come But I will follow this point no further but as Iude prayed that Mercy Grace and Love might be multiplied So shall I pray Mercy Peace and Love bee unto you Mercie from God the Father the Father of Mercies Peace from God the Sonne the Prince of Peace Love from God the holy Ghost the Love of the Father and the Sonne Mercy unto you releasing your sinnes Peace unto you quieting your consciences Love unto you joyning you to God and one unto another Now the very God of Mercy Peace and Love give you Mercy Peace and Love Amen THE SIXTH SERMON VERS III. Beloved when I gave c. Faith and Gods worship must be maintained HAving spoken of the Title or Inscription of this Epistle I am now come unto the second part thereof namely the Proposition which is a stirring of them up to maintaine the Faith worship and religion of God which was now at an ebbe like the Sea and eclipsed like the Sunne with false Apostles had shaken her leaves like a tree in winter Where note two things 1 That they must labour for Faith 2 The reasons why they must so labour The Reasons be three The first taken from the person of the Apostle The second from the person of God The third from the person of the Adversaries From the person of the Apostle three wayes From 1 His love 2 His paines 3 His mildnesse The second reason is taken from the person of God in that he gave this Faith where note three things The necessitie and excellencie of Faith That it is 1 His gift 2 Once given 3 Given to the Saints The last reason is taken from the Adversarie where note two things 1 The qualities 2 The end of the Adversarie But first for Faith all men must labour for it that they may say on their death-beds with Paul I have fought a good fight I 2 Tim. 7 8. have finished my course I have kept the faith from hence-forth there is laid up for me a Crowne of righteousnesse which the Lord the righteous Iudge will give me at that day and not to me onely but unto them also that love his appearing None can speake of a Crowne of glorie but he that can say that he hath kept the Faith For without Faith it is impossible to please God Wilt thou please God as Enoch did and Hebr. 11. 6. not grieve God like Israel then get faith Quod enim non est a fide peccatum est whatsoever is not of faith is sinne Paul describing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christiani the armour of a Christian compareth faith unto a shield all armour is necessarie but specially a shield Therefore saith the Apostle Above all things take the shield of faith Ephes 6. 17. wherewith we shall bee able to 〈◊〉 all â—he 〈…〉 of the wicked Where note that the Apostle contenteth not himselfe with a bare exhortation to stirre us up to labour for faith but with weighty reasons presseth his exhortation before and behind before comparatively preferring it before all other graces Above all behind simply declaring the vertue and efficacie of it Wherby yee shall bee able to quench c. By the first hee maketh way to his exhortation by the last he knocketh it downe fast even to the head as wee use for to say And the Apostle writing to Timothie willeth him to get faith 1 Tim. 1. 19. and a good conscience naming two fearefull examples One of Hymenaeus another of Alexander who had made shipwracke of faith and a good conscience And therefore Paul delivereth them up to Satan That they might learne not to blaspheme that is he did excommunicate them Faith is the vertue of all vertues As all rivers runne into the Sea so all vertues come of faith It giveth light to all vertues as the Sunne doth to all planets therefore the Apostle is so prolix in it Faith maketh us the sonnes of God else are we bastards illegitimate So many as received him to them gave he power to be the Hebr. 11. 4 5. Iohn 1. 12. Epist ad Adimanth Gen. 26. 2 Tim. 1 Cor. 4. 15. Gal. 4. Sonnes of God even to them that beleeve in his name Augustine distinguisheth of Sonnes that they are threefold sonnes by Nature so Esau was the sonne of Isaak sonnes by doctrine or imitation so Timothie was Pauls sonne so he begat the Corinths so hee travelled of Galatia Lastly sonnes by inspiration or faith so are we the sonnes of God Christ is the naturall wee the adopted sonnes of the Almightie The third is best for well is hee that hath God to his Father for the Sonne abideth in the house for Faith must be striven and laboured for ever Faith is the life of the soule as the soule is the life of the body Quod carni esca hoc animae fides what food is to the flesh the same is Faith to the soule quod cibus corpori hoc verbum spiritui what meat is to the body the same is the word to the Spirit Iohn 8. 35. To stirre us up to strive for this Faith the Holy Ghost adorneth it with many Epithetes he calleth it Rich faith 1 Pet. 1. Holy faith Iude vers 20. strong faith 1 pet 5. 8. a saving faith Ephes 2. 8. a pure faith Act. 15. 9. a precious faith 1 Pet. 1. 7. If their we regard riches strength holinesse salvation puritie let us maintaine Faith which hath all graces in it as Paradise had all fruites in it as Lapis Indicus hath all cures in it And note that they must contend strive for faith for all they are accursed that doe the worke of the Lord negligently and all Ier. 48. they shall be spued out of Gods mouth who are key-cold luke-warme and not fervent in the faith Most men therefore shall Apoc. 3. 15. goe unto the Divell and be vomited out of Gods mouth for they are Tepidi in Fide they care not what become of faith and religion so they may prosper in the world they say unto God Ioh 21. 14 15. Depart from us for we desire not the knowledge of thy wayes Who is the Almightie that we should serve him and what profit shall we have if we should pray unto him they say with Alexander Borgia Da mihi divitias caetera tolle tibi fidem spem charitatem
which are given by our Pastour that is God the word of God is the water of life the more it is waved the fresher it runneth it is the fire of Gods glory the more it is blowen the clearer it burneth it is the bread of heaven the more it is broken the more remaineth as it did in the five loaves and two fishes wherewith Christ fed five thousand men in the wildernes the more it is repeated the more knowledge it breedeth the more faith it begetteth the more consolation it affordeth Therfore Paul rubbeth the memories of the Corinths in the things 1 Cor. 6. 2 3. 9. 19. that they knew doe yee not know that the Saints shall iudge the world know yee not that we shall iudge the Angells know yee not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdome of God know yee not that your bodies are the temples of the holy Ghost As if he should say yee know these things yet I helpe your memories otherwise yee may forget even that yee know This order Paul as a carefull master prescribeth to Timothie a painefull Scholler saying If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things thou shalt be a good minister 1 Tim. 4. 6. of Iesus Christ c. The Ephesians where Paul had preached three yeares day and night knew much yet Paul would have them put in remembrance and thereupon he chargeth them to Watch and Act. 20. 31. to remember that by the space of three yeares he ceased not to warne every one of them So said S. Peter of the Iewes seeing his race was at an end his life short and his tabernacle ready to be laid downe I will not saith he be negligent to put you alwayes in remembrance of 2 Pet. 1. 12 13. these things though that yee have knowledge and be established in the present truth For I thinke it meete so long as I am in this tabernacle to stirre you up by putting you in remembrance Gutta cavat lapidem non vi sed saepè cadendo Sic homo fit fidelis non vi sed saepè audiendo As the drops of water make a hole in the stone not by force but by often falling so man becommeth faithfull not by force but by often hearing Et idem audiendo in hearing the same we are like flint or marble that is not easily pierced like sieves which in the water are full but out of it are empty So in the Church our eares are full of doctrine but it is scattered in the Church-yard by and by wee are emptie Ne apicem tenemus we carry not a tittle home But as to eate meate and not to keep it in the stomacke is a signe of the death of the body so to heare and not to remember that argueth the death of the soule For whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God but hee Variety delighteth but the same thing repeated profiteth that continueth in the doctrine of Christ he hath both the Father and the Son Remember then how thou hast received and heard and hold fast and repent Let no man say I wil not come to the Sermon I know the man I know his gifts I know what hee will say though wee doe 2 Iohn 9. Apoc 3. 3. yet may we be remembred The incarnation of Christ was revealed to Marie by an Angell and yet afterwards it was revealed by the shepheards If Marie had beene curious shee would have said Dic quod nescio tell me that I know not I have heard this Luk. 1. Luk. 2. already why tell you me it againe here is Cooleworts twice sodden Crambe bis posita mors est t is as bad as death to heare a thing twice repeated Wee cannot abide to heare one doctrine twice wee surfet of preaching as Israel did of Manna Numb 11. 2 Tim. 4. 3. we have itching eares many cannot abide wholesome doctrine but after their owne lusts get them an heape of teachers Wee come to the Church as the Athenians did ad forum Iulium to heare newes like Perillus that would not heare one sound of musicke Act. 17. twice like Heliogabalus that fed of nightingales tongues provided that he might not eat twice of one meate like Xerxes which propounded great rewards to them that could devise new pleasures and therefore wee crie out unjustly of vaine repetitions idle Anaphoraes and Tautologie We come to the preacher as men come to a minstrell to have our eares tickled So saith God to his Prophet They come unto thee as people use to come and my people sit before thee and heare thy Words but they will not doe them Ezech. 33. 31. For with their mouthes they make jests and their heart goeth after their covetousnesse It is no Sermon except there bee some new and strange thing in it that wee never heard before that may bring us into a wonderment of that we understand not Then the preacher hath with Esay a learned tongue with Peter a fiery cloven tongue and with Apollo a fine eloquent tongue or else hee is Esa 50. Act. 2. Act. 18. but a plaine man an English Doctor a Dunce c. But wee say with Paul That we have cast from us the cloakes of shame and walke not in craftinesse neither handle we the word of God decetfully The oft preaching of the word serveth to put us in remembrance of all things that concerne God and our dutie to him otherwise wee soone forget all as the Israelites did Who made a Calfe in Horeb Psal 106. 19 20 21. and worshipped the molten Image thus they turned their glorie into the similitude of a bullocke that eateth grasse and forgat God their Saviour The Israelites in forty dayes forgat God so bee you forty dayes absent from a Sermon and you will forget God Come therefore to be put in remembrance A number say Sermons are too oft wee heare too many Communia sordent Common things waxe vile they must come as strawberries once a yeare Rara praeclara seldome things are excellent things But I wonder that any blasphemous mouth dare say that there is too much preaching once a quarter or once a The preaching of the Word alwayes necessary moneth is enough but this is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to preach in season and out of season Paul did not so Hee night and day for the space of three yeares ceased not to warne every one Moses was but forty dayes absent and the people that had tasted 2 Tim. 4. 2. Act. 20. 31. Exod. 32. so lately and miraculously of Gods goodnesse fell to Idolatrie To prosecute this point If men could indent with the Divell to tempt but once in a moneth or once in a quarter preaching once in a Moneth were sufficient but if hee tempt continually wee must preach continually and you must heare continually and wee all must be sober and watch so long as our adversary the Divell goeth about
be evill company and therefore the Holy Ghost gives this rule to those that would not bee ensnared with the strange woman Walke thou in the way of good men and keep the way of the righteous Prov. 3. 29. A fifth hand to pull downe this sinne upon them might bee their high estimation of earthly things and their too great liking of them for this love brings in lust This the Apostle affirmeth That the love of money and riches breeds noysome lusts which in short Sodomes sins abound in England time drawne men in perdition And thus yee see the meanes how Sodome came to this uncleanenesse and Hell full of uncleane persons For if yee could see into Hell ye should find it so full of 1 Tim. 6. 9. whoremongers adulterers fornicators that scarce there is any roome left for idolaters blasphemers cursed Sabath breakers damnable mocke-preachers biting usurers cruell murderers c. Many are of the Corinthians minde that whordome is a thing indifferent and of the Gentiles opinion which maintayned the same thing that the Corinthians did But contrariewise 1 Cor. 7. Act. 15. the Counsell of Gangra affirmed that the Church admired virginitie honored mariage praised widowe-hood and condemned fornication And so must we For every man must keepe his vessell in holynesse and not in the lust of concupiscence as doe the heathen our bodies are The temples of the holy Ghost If the materiall temple must 1 Thess 4. 1 Cor. 6. 19. be kept cleane much more the mysticall Finely saith a Father Quia templum dei sumus c. because we are the temple of God and the chiefe chaplaine of this temple is chastitie we must not Tertull. suffer any uncleane or unworthy thing to be brought thither lest God who dwelleth there taking displeasure to see his mansion defiled should forsake it Well Sodome was destroyed and the Cities about it it was the Metropoliticall Citie and the little townes about it learned of it but God destroyed them both Wee see therefore those to bee most vile Cities which are most large and great and most subject to ruine as Babylon Ninive Ierusalem Carthage Constantinople Corinth Athens Rome under Tiberius the Emperor thirteene Cities of Asia fell downe with an earth-quake and six under Trajan and twelve under Constantine in Campania Ferraria In Italy Anno 1569. in the space of forty houres by reason of an earth-quake many palaces temples houses were overthrown Fardentius in hunc locum with the losse of many a man amounting to forty hundred thousand pounds Burdeaux was mightily shaken with an earth-quake which reached to Spaine and marveilously shooke the Pyrenean hils What a mighty earth-quake was in the yeere 1171. that the City Tripolis and a great part of Damascus in Antiochia and Hulcipre the chiefe City in the kingdome of Loradin and other cities of the Saracens either perished utterly or were wonderfully defaced At Venice Florence and divers other places there were great earth-quakes in the yeere 1539. and did much harme When Arrius heresie was entertained at Antioch God punished it with earth-quakes I passe over with silence Paris Antwerpe Gant Magline c. all which Cities and many others God hath punished for their sinnes Little townes of the Countrey learne of the greater and shall perish together with them and therefore the Prophet having denounced Gods judgements against some Countries and Cities he maketh this demand What is the The greatest Cities as most sinfull so most punished wickednesse of Iacob is not Samaria and which are the high places of Iuda is not Ierusalem meaning that Samaria and Ierusalem which should have beene an example to all Israell of true repentance holinesse was the puddle and stewes of all idolatry Malach. 5 6. and corruption Therefore will I make Samaria saith God as an heape of the field and for the planting of a vineyard and I will cause the stones thereof to tumble downe into the Vallie and will discover the foundations thereof And as the Prophet saith What is the sinne of Iacob is not Samaria and what is the sinne of Iuda is not Ierusalem So say I What is the sinne of Norffolke is not Norwich and what is the sinne of England is not London For men are led by example more than by doctrines But let not our little townes follow our great Cities in evill lest God come in judgement against them as hee did against Sodome and the Cities about it Foelix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum Happy is hee whom other mens harmes make to beware THE FIFTEENTH SERMON VERS VII Are set forth for example and suffer the vengeance of eternall fire Sodomes punishment an example to all uncleane persons THE Apostle having laid fourth the sinne of Sodome which was uncleannesse for They followed strange flesh and most horrible pollutions hee commeth now to the second part of this verse which containeth Sodomes punishment and Gods judgements upon the Cities round about But before he commeth to Sodomes punishment he setteth downe unto us the end thereof and saith They are set forth for an example For howsoever every example is not our imitation yet every example is our instruction It teacheth whoremongers to take heed of whoredome and all men of turpitude and filthinesse Gods judgements Esa 26. 9. are in the earth to teach the inhabitants of the world to learn righteousnesse to learne them to feare God and to sinne no more Paul applyed every example of Israel to the Corinthians saying These are ensamples for us that we should not lust after evill things as 1 Cor. 10 11. c they lusted neither be ye idolaters as were some of them as it is written The people sat downe to eat and drinke and rose up to play Neither let us commit fornication as some of them have committed fornication and fell in one day three and twenty thousand neither let us tempt Christ as some of them have tempted him and were destroyed of Serpents neither murmure yee as some of them also murmured and were destroyed of All examples are lor instructions and cautions the destroyer now all these things came upon them for ensamples and were written to admonish us upon whom the latter ends of the world are come that he will plague us as he punished them if we be subject to the like vices Thus Daniel aggravated the sinne of Balthasar by this that he profited not by the example of his father For Daniel told him that his fathers heart was puffed up and his mind hardened in pride whereupon he was deposed of his Kingdome and honour and he was driven from the Sonnes of men and his heart was made like the beasts his dwelling was with the wilde Asses he was fed with grasse like an Oxe and his body was wet with the dewe of heaven c. But saith he Thou hast not humbled thy heart though thou knew est all these things but hast lift
Woe be to them that joyne Esa 5. 8. to house and lay field to field till there be no place that they may bee placed by their selves in the middest of the earth And againe Esay 30. 1. Woe to the rebellious children saith the Lord that take councell and Esa 30. 1. not at mee and cover with a covering but not by my Spirit c. And Habakuk 2. 9. Woe be to him that coveteth an evill covetousnesse to his Hab. 2. 9. house that he may set his nest on high and escape from the power of evill And Amos 6. 1. Woe to them that are at ease in Sion and trust in the mountaine of Samaria And Luke 6. 24. Woe bee to you that are Amos 6. rich for yee have received your consolation And Saint Iames saith Luke 6. 24. Iam. 5. 1 2 3. Plorate divites Goe to now ye rich men weepe and howle for the miseries that shall come upon you your riches are corrupt your garments moth-eaten your gold and silver is cankered and the rust of them shall be a witnesse against you and shall eat your flesh as it were fire And no marvell though so many woes are threatned against this sinne of covetousnesse for it is the originall of all sinne committed against God or man Against God the covetous man maketh gold his hope and saith to the wedge of Gold Thou art my confidence His Oxen his wealth his Iob 31. 24. riches is his creator redeemer and sanctifier his God the Father his God the Sonne his God the Holy Ghost His Creator for when he gets abundance of riches he thinks himselfe made but when by some accident he loseth a yoake of Oxen or some other temporall thing hee thinkes himselfe undone The Father Almighty maker of heaven and earth is not his Creator he sings that old song Sol re me fa sola res me facit only his wealth makes him God the Sonne is not his Redeemer his money delivers him from evill Hath he escaped any danger He thankes not God he thankes his gold Is he like to fall into any mischiefe hee puts his trust in his uncertaine riches Soule thou hast much goods in store take thy rest Luke 12. The Holy Ghost is none of his Sanctifier Ille sanctior qui ditior he is best that hath most he is good enough that hath gold enough goods enough And as covetousnesse is hatefull to God so is it to men Avarus nemini bonus sibi verò pessimus hee is good to none but worst to himselfe for covetousnesse exposeth the heatt to all manner of lothsome sinnes for the divell hath the covetous alwayes upon Covetousnesse makes uncapable of all the eight beatitudes the hip as we speak that is ever at such advantage that he will be sure to overthrow him for whatsoever sinne hee will have him to commit let him but hollow and cast up the lure of commodity he stoopes presently and falls upon it Would ye have him lye promise him but profit and he will tippe his tongue with lyes Will ye have him forsweare himselfe shew him but a commodity use silver perswasions he will pollute the name of God with a thousand othes Would ye have him murther shead blood the glistring shew of gold will make him wade up to the chin in a streame of blood This mercinary souldier doth never thinke himselfe too good for any service the Divell will command him Covetousnesse is the Divels great Ordnance wherewith he hath battered the wals of mens consciences as it is most pittifull to consider yea and farther a man may fall into other sinnes and repent for them but this sinne of covetousnesse is like the harlot a deepe and a narrow ditch and like the wicked woman Prov. 23. 27. Prov. 5. that Salomon calls more bitter than death whose heart is as nets and snares and her hands as bands to keepe a man fast in the ward and prison of the divell For whosoever is overtaken with this sin cannot set one step to heauen his couetous desires are as lead to pull him downe Yee know that our Saviour hath Mat. 5. 3 4 c. eight beatitudes The first to be poore in spirit The second to mourne inwardly The third to be meeke The fourth to hunger and thirst after righteousnesse The fifth to be mercifull The sixth to be pure in heart The seventh to be a peace maker The eighth to suffer persecution for righteousnesse sake These are the steps and stayres to bring men to Heaven and and therefore so long as men be covetous it is impossible for them to come there First poore in spirit he cannot be for he so feareth purse-poverty that he feeles not the misery into which the fall of Adam and his owne sinnes have cast him Secondly he cannot mourne for his sinnes for worldly sorrow and vexation doe turne the streame of weeping quite another way Thirdly he cannot be meeke in spirit for the Spirit of God calls him a trouble-house saying Hee that is greedy of gaine troubleth Prov. 15. 27. his owne house and it is impossible that his heart should bee mâ—eke and quiet when hee cannot suffer his owne house so to bee Fourthly for hungring and thirsting after righteousnesse it cannot be that his appetite should stand that way for the dogs-hunger and the dropsie-thirst of wealth doth so gnaw and torment his The covetous subiect to all the curses contrary to the eight beatitudes soule that hee makes no account of CHRISTS righteousnesse Fifthly to bee mercifull stands not in any sort with his profession to open his heart to pitty and his purse to relieve a poore man he thinkes will undoe him a piece of money goes from him as a drop of blood from him heart with griefe and sorrow enough Sixthly Pure in heart hee cannot be for he that hath the root of all evill in his heart cannot have a pure heart Seventhly he is no peacemaker crosse him in his penny and he will trouble all the world for all the world can tell that covetousnesse is the father mother and nurse of most debates and strifes that are in the world covetousnesse wil not lose a penny he will give the Lawyer a pound first Eighthly the covetous man will never suffer persecution for righteousnesse sake his goods are his god and if he come to those termes that he must either leave riches or righteousnesse 't is righteousnesse that hee will forsake before riches the world is his Mistresse hee must embrace her then farewell righteousnesse So that now a man may very truely turne the speech of our Saviour against the covetous man and say Cursed be the covetous for he is not poore in spirit and therefore the kingdome of Hell is his Cursed be the covetous for he cannot mourne for his sinnes but for his losses onely therefore hee shall never bee comforted Cursed be the covetous for he is not meeke but froward
did undoe in the night so wee learne and unlearne whatsoever wee learne on the Sunday wee forget in the weeke day we may say of our comming to Church as Peter said of his fishing Master wee have Luke 5. 5. travelled all night and have taken nothing So wee have come to the Church twenty thirty forty fifty sixty yeeres some more and have gotten nothing have learned nothing got no Faith no Zeale no Knowledge But to proceed As they must edifie themselves increase and goe forward so the thing that they must increase and goe forward in is Faith for that is the foundation of all Christian Vertues it is Alpha and O mega absque ea nemo potest placere Deo Heb. 11. 6. Rom. 14. 23. Without it no man can please God for whatsoever is not of faith is sinne Omnia ergo splendida opera Paganorum Infidelium sant splendida peccata all the glistering workes of Pagans and Infidels bee glistering sinnes their prayers almes fastings the patience of Socrates the justice of Aristides the piety of Epaminondas Faith the originall of all good workes the constancie of Phocion they were but bastard-workes not right workes they are begotten of Hagar not of Sara the free-woman they spring from the waters of Marah not of Siloh from the bitter poole Exanthe not the sweet flood of Hispanis they proceed from feare or vaineglory not from faith For as unto the Tit. 1. 15. pure all things are pure so unto them that are defiled and unbeleeving is nothing pure but their mindes and consciences are defiled It is true in all workes that Paul said of prayer How shall they call on him in whom Rom. 10. 14. they have not beleeved Even so how can they glorifie God or love God or serve God in whom they never beleeved Paul making a Catalogue of good men beginneth with Faith and saith By faith Abel offered to God a greater sacrifice than Cain Heb. 11. 4 5 7. 8 20 21 33-34 By faith Enoch was taken away that hee should not see death c. By Faith Noah being warned of God of the things which were not yet seene moved with reverence prepared the Arke c. By Faith Abraham when hee was called obeyed God offered Isaac c. By Faith Isaac blessed Iacob and Esau By Faith Iacob when hee was a dying blessed the sonnes of Ioseph and thus hee goeth on and at the last concludeth that by faith they subdued Kingdomes wrought righteousnesse obtained the promises stopped the mouthes of Lions quenched the violence of fire escaped the edge of the sword of weake were made strong waxed valiant in battell turned to flight the armies of the Aliants c. In every good worke three things are to be considered Origo Finis Vsus The beginning The end and Vse The originall or beginning of every good worke is faith faith is as the Mother and the holy Ghost the Father of all good workes Faith begetteth Love and Love blossometh forth in Vertue and Vertue buddeth foorth in good Workes whereupon Saint Peter inferreth this exhortation Ioyne moreover Vertue with your Faith and with Vertue Knowledge and with Knowledge 2 Pet. 1. 5 7 8. Temperance and with Temperance Patience and with Patience Godlinesse and with Godlinesse Brotherly-kindnesse and with Brotherly-kindnesse Love Secondly the end is the glory of God Hereupon saith the Apostle Whether yee eate or drinke or whatsoever yee doe doe all to the glory of God 1 Cor. 1 3â— Thirdly the use is manifold First they are unto us signes of our election and therefore Saint Peter would have us to make our election calling sure by them Indeed our election is sure in it selfe 2 Pet. 1. 10. for God cannot change yet we must confirme it in our selves by the fruits of the Spirit Secondly they edifie others Hereupon saith our Saviour Let your light so shine before men that they may see No life of grace without Faith your good works and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven Thirdly that they may stop the mouth of the Adversary For which cause we are willed to have honest conversation among the Gentiles that wheras they doe backbite us as evill doers they may see our good works and glorify Mat. 5. 16. 1 Pet. 2. 12. our Father which is in Heaven Here is the triall of a Christian that proveth us either sonnes or bastards this proveth us dead or alive by Faith wee live this is the spirit and soule of the inner man wee have a name to live yet are wee dead if wee want Iohn 1. 12. Faith There is a double life of grace and of nature Infidels Vnbeleevers are strangers from the life of grace As a tree liveth not without Ephes 4. 18. moysture nor a bird without aire nor the fish without water nor a body without a soule so neither the soule without faith For in that wee live now in the flesh wee live by the Faith of the Sonne of God who hath loved us and gave himselfe for us Yee see Infidels eating Gal. 2. 20. drinking sporting playing yet are they dead they are alive to the world but dead unto God but the faithfull they are dead with Christ unto the world but their life is hid with Christ with God and when Christ which is their life shall appeare then shall they Col. 2 3 4. also appeare with him in glory Pandora carried deadly poyson in a painted boxe and Lusimachus the cutter a leaden sword in a golden sheath and many men a dead soule in a living body the body is alive but the soule is dead as Paul said of the voluptuous widow But shee that liveth in pleasure is dead while shee liveth To conclude faith joyneth us to Christ For Christ dwelleth in 1 Tim. 5. 6. our hearts by Faith Christ uniteth us to God 1 Iohn 5. God assureth Ephes 3. 17. us of life For in him wee live and move and have our being So that no faith no Christ no Christ no God no God no life God Act. 17. 28. so loved the world that hee gave his only be gotten Sonne that whosoever Iohn 3. 16 18. beleeveth in him should not perish but have life everlasting hee that beleeveth in him shall not bee condemned but hee that beleeveth not is condemned already because hee beleeveth not in the name of the only begotten Sonne of God Knowledge is the fountaine of all vertue and Faith is the sea in which they all runne and where they jointly end their course But it is to bee observed that hee calleth it not simply Faith but holy Faith yea most holy Faith he riseth to the superlative degree as David extolled Bashan above all mountaines saying The mountaine of God is like the mountaine of Bashan it is a high mountaine Psal 68. 15. as the mount Bashan As Salomon extolled his huswife above all women saying Many daughters
heart knoweth what is the meaning of the Spirit for hee maketh requests for the Saints according to the Will of God The fire which God would have continually to burne upon his Altar came out from the Lord. Levit. 9. 24. If sacrifices were offered up with any other fire the fire was counted strange and the sacrifices no whit acceptable but abominable Cap. 10. 1 c. to the Lord. The Heavenly fire whereby our spirituall sacrifices of prayer must be offered up is that holy Spirit which commeth out from God we must therefore pray in the Spirit yea all good gifts proceede from the Spirit so saith the Apostle The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit 1 Cor. 12 7 8 9 10 11. withall for to one is given by the Spirit the word of Wisedome to another the word of Knowledge by the same Spirit to another is given Faith by the same Spirit to another the gift of healing by the same Spirit to another operations of great workes to another Prophecy to another discerning of spirits and to another diversity of tongues to another interpretation of tongues and all these worketh even the selfe-same Spirit distributing to every man severally as hee will So Christ told his Apostles that they spake not but the Spirit of his Father It is not you saith he that speake but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you Paul compareth the Spirit of God to a tree that like the Tree of life yeeldeth all graces The fruit of the Spirit Ephes 1. 18. is Love Ioy Peace Long-suffering Gentlenesse Goodnesse Faith Meeknesse Temperance against such there is no Law for they are under the Spirit of grace The Antithesis is betweene the flesh and the Spirit Paul calleth it the Spirit of Wisdome And Esay nameth it The Spirit of Wisdome Counsell Power Strength Because all these are the effects of it for Bezaliel Esay 11. 2. Exod. 31. 3. and Aholiab had their knowledge from Gods Spirit in the works of brasse and silver how much more have we in heavenly things There is no Art no cunning no science but from the Spirit even in the most wicked If you say Quid Spiritui Sancto impys What have the wicked to doe with the Spirit I can answere it thus The wicked have the spirit of illumination as had Achitophel 2 Sam. 16. Mat. 18. Act. 23. and Iudas and Tertullus but not the Spirit of Sanctification and adoption It is said of all the Iudges and Kings The Holy Ghost the Author of all excellent gifts in any that the Spirit of God came upon them so it is said that the Spirit of God came upon Gedeon so it is said of Saul that the Spirit of the Lord should come upon him and he should prophesy and of David that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day forward Iudg. 6. 34. 1 Sam. 10. 6. 1 Sam. 10. 13. Al the rare excellent things of God are judged by the Spirit The naturall wise man perceiveth not the things that are of the Spirit of God But he that is spirituall judgeth all things It is Gods Spirit that frameth all our actions and works and all good things 1 Cor. 14. 15. in us Hitherto tendeth the ceremony used in the Law that in the sacrifices things without life were consecrated with oyle which thing had a double reference first to Christ to note that hee was anointed with the gifts of the Spirit to performe his three offices for so we read The Spirit of the Lord God is upon mee therefore hath the Lord anointed mee a. And againe Thou hast loved Esay 61. 1. Heb. 1. 9. righteousnesse and hated iniquity wherefore God even thy God hath anointed thee with the oyle of gladnesse above thy fellowes Secondly it had reference unto us to note that all our duties are accepted of God as they are wrought in us by the Spirit but nothing no not prayer is accepted otherwise then it is a worke of the Spirit and commeth from his motion For this purpose note what the Prophet saith in the person of God to Ierusalem I will powre upon them the Spirit of supplications He calleth the gift of prayer the Spirit Zach. 12. 10. of supplications because it is Gods Spirit which worketh in us this gift and maketh us to call upon God but more directly is this point proved by that phrase which Saint Iude here useth praying in the Holy Ghost And this yet farther confirmed in that it is said The Spirit in our hearts crieth Abba Father And Paul layeth downe this point first Affirmatively saying The Spirit helpeth Gal. 4. 6. Rom. 8. 16 27. our infirmities and maketh intercession for us then Negatively Wee know not what to pray yet must wee not thinke that the Holy Ghost doth indeed pray for us as Christ doth or as one of us doth for another For then should the Holy Ghost bee our Mediator which was one of Arrius his heresies but the meaning is that the Holy Ghost stirreth us up to pray and putteth life into our dead and dull spirits to make our prayers fervent Well then prayer is a gift of the Spirit not common to all but proper and peculiar to Gods elect who have the Spirit of God if no man can say that Iesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost Surely no 1 Cor. 12. 3. man can pray and call upon God but by the Spirit of God Let us then labour for Gods sanctifying Spirit and having it Let us goe along with him and follow his motions powring forth those prayers which he suggesteth unto us and let us take heed that we grieve not the Holy Spirit of God which is done by quenching the good motions thereof through our carelesnes or by Ephes 4. 36. 1 Thess 5. 19. resisting the Spirit through our rebellion But yet note further that howsoever prayer is attributed to the Spirit yet it is a worke of the whole Trinity the Holy Trinity hath a hand in this holy exercise of prayer The holy Ghost The whole Trinity concurres in prayer frameth our requests the Son offreth them to his Father the Father accepteth them thus framed and offered up For the works of the Trinity are invisible yet distinguished so that unto the Father is ascribed the originall beginning of all actions Ille agit Hebr. 11. a se per Filium Spiritum he worketh of himselfe by the Son and the Spirit to the Sonne is ascribed the disposing of the action Iob. 26. 7 8 9. from the Father by the Spirit to the Holy Ghost is attributed the consummating and as it were perfecting of things seeing he worketh from the Father and the Sonne Pater agit ase Filius per se Spiritus Sanctus à Patre Filio The Father worketh by himselfe 1 Cor. 12. 11. the Sonne by him the Holy Ghost from the
Non tamen pugnat ejus potentia cum voluntate his power fighteth Tart. adversus Prax. not with his will Lay thy hand on thy mouth with Iob reason not against God Quis es qui litigas cum Deo Who art thou that strivest with God so much for the attributes Wisdome Salvation Glory Majesty Dominion and Power But it is further to bee noted that in naming God To God only wise c. Hee comprehendeth the three persons for these attributes are due to all the whole Trinity Wisdome Salvation Glory Majesty Power and Dominion The Scripture speaketh diversly of the Trinity sometime ascribing things to one person sometime to another sometimes to all joyntly as power to the Father wisdome to the Sonne goodnesse to the Holy Ghost Psal 104. 1. Prov. 14. Greeve not the good Spirit of God saith the Apostle Yet power wisdome goodnes are due to all the persons of the whole Trinity in a Gods glory dominion power is eternall more strict sence signification Againe yee shall see the creation of all things ascribed to the omnipotency of the Father the administration of all ascribed to the Sonne the sanctification Ephes 4. 30. Gen. 1. Prov. 9. 1. 1 Cor. 6. â—1 of all ascribed to the Holy Ghost yet all three create preserve and sanctify the Church Pater à se Filius per se Sanctus Spiritus à Patre Filio The Father of himselfe the Sonne by him and the Holy Ghost from the Father and the Sonne Augustine speaketh Aug. thus Sicut ex intellectu generatur voluntas ex his ambobus procedit memoria in anima ipsa As the will springing from the understanding and from them both the memory in the soule it selfe so the Sonne is begotten of the Father and from both these proceedeth the Holy Ghost This causeth the Scriptures to speake so diversly of the Trinity Power is attributed to the Father but not exclusivè exclusively quoth Vrsinus in his Catechisme sed inclusivè but inclusively for all three are of equall power sed Patri potentia tribuitur Vrsinus quia est fons origo but power is given to the Father because hee is the fountaine the originall the rest of the persons are from him but not as touching their essence but person and manner of existing To conclude the works of the Trinity quoad extra are indivisible but quoad intus they bee singuler as the Father begetteth the Sonne is begotten the Holy Ghost proceedeth from them both hold this Axiome in divinity and learne to speake wisely and soberly of the Trinity Well this glory Majesty dominion and power must be yeelded now and ever for the glory of God endeth not with the end of the world it is for ever here and in heaven the continuance of this world before God is but as a day the Morning of this day was the creation of the Heaven and of Adam untill the flood the Noone of this day was the comming of Christ the Evening is the end of the world a thousand and six hundred yeeres S. Iohn cals but one yeere A thousand and six hundred yeeres are past as 1 Iohn 2. an houre but the glory of the Lord is from eternity to eternity from everlasting to everlasting from eternity as touching election quae est sine principio to eternity quoad reprobationem as touching reprobation for it shall abide without end but in that hee saith both now and for ever this teacheth us that there must be no end of praising God his praises must bee ever in our mouth First for spirituall blessings bestowed here in earth in Heaven as Election Redemption Adoption Vocation Iustification Sanctification Psal 86. Glorification for every one of these commeth from God therefore hee is to be praised both now and for ever Now in this life wee must sing Hosanna to the Sonne of David and hereafter we shall sing Allelujah in Heaven with all the Saints For all spirituall blessings wee must say with the Apostle Blessed be God which hath blessed us with all spirituall blessings For temporall blessings Ephes 1. 3. glory and praise is to bee given to God Christ gave thanks for God is to bee prayed to and praysed for all things food Anna for a child Iacob for riches Abrahams servant for prospering his journey and in a word for all other temporall blessings as health wealth peace prosperity God is to be praised now and ever As there is no end of his benefits towards us Iohn 6. 12. 2 Sam. 2. 1. Gen. 32. 10. Gen. 24. 48. so there should bee no end of our praises towards him but wee must praise him both now and ever To conclude this point here is a secret comparison betweene the glory of man and the glory dominion and power of God mans glory is as a flowre All flesh is grasse and all the glory thereof as the flowre of grasse for so Esay was willed to cry but though hee Esa 40. 6. cry it few will beleeve it wee trust not the Lord one speaketh of an Epitaph graven in the tombe of a great man Hic fuit hic fecit pugnavit vicit amauit Composuis libros gentes populósque subegit Quid mihi cum fuit aut erit est valet vnum He was he did he fought he conquer'd lov'd Wrote books nations and people hee subdu'd But what have I to do with was or Shall With me the Present only is worth all Things past bee gone things to come are uncerten that which is and is for ever goeth for all glory present will bee past and glory future will bee for ever haec vita haec gloria non est vita non est gloria this life this glory is neither life nor glory for wee are dead and our life is hid with Christ in God and when Christ which is our life shall appeare then shall we appeare with him in glory AMEN This word is an Hebrew word and it is taken in the Scriptures three manner of wayes sometime as a Nowne signifying Christ himselfe sometime as an Adverbe so Christ useth the word saying Amen Amen that is Verily Verily I say unto you and sometime as a Verbe as in this place signifying So be it or be it so So that this word Amen contayneth more than the prayer it Apoc. 1. Iohn 3. selfe For in the prayer wee testify our desire how that wee desire Glory Majesty Dominion and Power to bee given unto God but in this word Amen wee witnes our faith that wee believe Glory and Majesty Dominion and Power to bee his So that from hence wee have to observe to pray with faith to beleeve we shall receive those things wee have prayed for This appeareth in the Prophet Praised bee the Lord for evermore so bee it even so be it And Christ hath taught us thus to shut up our prayers Psal 89. 52. Mat. 6. 13. and the Apostle closeth
with God God is no accepter of persons but in every nation hee that feareth him and worketh righteousnes Act. 10. 34 35. is accepted with him Many will glory of their alliance and kindred and albeit they haue neither Learning nor Living nor Wisedome nor Civility nor Honesty nor Piety at all yet if they can fetch their Pedigree from some Noble or Worshipfull House they boast thereof and hold themselves worthy of reverence and honour The Iewes gloried that Abraham was their Father but what gained they by it When Christ told them Vos estis ex patre Iohn 8. 44. diabolo You are of your Father the devill and his workes yee doe 2 Reg. 21. 2. Reg. 20. David had Absolom Salomon Rehoboham Amon a wicked Father had Iosiah to his sonne a good man and Ezekiah a good father had Manasses to his sonne a vile man Ismaell had Isaac to his brother so had Esau Iacob Caine had Abell Absolom had Salomon But Caine was a Vagabond Ismaell a persecutor Absolom a Rebell Esau a Reprobate 'T is follie in men to glory in Gen. 4. Gal. 4. stocke or kindred If they will glory let them glorie in this that they are the servants of Iesus Christ for outward titles without inward vertues availe nothing for what shall it profit Not to glory in Alliance and Kindred us to bee intituled Christians and yet live as prophanely as Infidels to be called the Church of God and yet in conversation to resemble the Synagogue of Satan to bee counted the children of God and yet spend our times like the sonnes of Belial to bee reputed the servants of Christ Iesus and serve the World the Flesh and the Divell to descend of noble godly Parents and yet degenerate from their noble godly wayes God is not pleased with shadowes but with substance not with outward titles but with truth in the inward parts If then Psal 51. thou wilt boast of thine honourable Kindred labour strive endevour that thou mayest glory and say That God is thy Father the Church thy Mother Christ Iesus thy elder Brother that is most High Holy Honourable Kindred Thus much for the Person writing his Name his Calling his Kindred THE SECOND SERMON VERS I. To them which are Called and Sanctified c. Vocation the beginning of Salvation I Am now come to the persons to whom he wrote this Epistle and they are described three wayes 1 By their Calling 2 By their Sanctification 3 By their Preservation But first they are described by their calling To them that are called saith hee The beginning of our Salvation is that wee are first called of God wee come not of our selves God calleth us Nemo venit ad Christum nisi pater traxerit Iohn 6. 44. No man commeth unto Christ except the Father draw him Et ista attractio est nostra vocatio per Evangelium Spiritum sanctum and this drawing is our calling by the Gospel and holy Spirit Caro sanguis non revelat c. Flesh and Bloud doe not reveale these Mat. 16. 17. things but God our Father by our calling in the Gospel As the Sheepheard with his whistle calleth his sheepe as the two silver trumpets called Israel to warre as the master-Bee calleth the Num. 10. whole hyve together with his humming So God calleth his Church running from him by his Word and Spirit Wisedome saith Salomon cryeth without shee uttereth her voyce in Prov. 1. 20. the streets shee calleth in the high street among the prease in the entrings of the gates and uttereth her words in the City And againe he saith Wisedome hath built her house and hewen out her seven Pillars she hath killed her Victuals drawne her Wine and prepared her Table she hath Prov. 9. 1 c. sent forth her Maidens and cryeth in the highest places of the City saying Whoso is simple let him come hither and to him that is destitute of Wisedome shee saith Come and eate of my Meat and drinke of the Christ profitable to none but to them that are called Wine that I have drawne Wisedome there is Christ Iesus who calleth us by his Gospel The lowest staffe or step of Salvation is Vocation the highest is Glorification For whom hee predestinated them also hee called and whom hee called them also hee justified and whom he justified Rom. 8. 30. them also hee glorified I speake in respect of men For with God praescientia his prescience is the first step of salvation For those which he knew before he predestinated Wee runne from God but he Rom. 8. 29. calleth us and cryeth after us as the Canaanite did after Christ hee seeketh us being lost hee calleth us being deafe he lighteneth Luke 4. 18. 1 Sam. 26. 14. us being blind hee freeth us being slaves hee healeth us being lame he quickeneth us being dead he awaketh us by his Gospell as David did Abner with his showting The top the roote the foundation and the roofe the beginning increasing and finishing of our salvation is of God Coepit perficiet Hee hath begunne and he will finish it So saith the Apostle Hee that hath begun this good worke in you will performe it untill the day of Iesus Christ Paul arrogateth nothing to himselfe but placeth himselfe in the ranck of the Wicked till God called him his words are We are by nature the children of wrath as well as others And to the Ephes 2. 3. Gal. 1. 13. 15. Galathians hee writeth thus Yee have heard of my conversation in times past in the Iewish Religion how that I persecuted the Church of God extreamely and wasted it But when it had pleased God which had separated me from my mothers womb called me by his Grace c. The Galathians were Idolaters knew not God til God called them The Ephesians were darkenesse but being called they were lux Gal. 4. 8. Ephes 5. 9. in Domino Light in the Lord The same is said of the Corinthians But what doe I light a candle at noone-day or adde legges 1 Cor. 12. to the Dromedarie who runneth most swiftly or powre water into the Sea which overfloweth or prove a knowne truth received of all men But to proceede Christ is not profitable but unto them that are called otherwise hee is as a Medicine not taken as a Plaister not applied as Meate not eaten as Light to them that are in a dungeon Hereupon saith Paul Wee preach Christ crucified to the Iewes a stumbling-blocke to the Gentiles foolishnesse but to them that are called of God the Wisedome of God and the Power of God Persius wept when he saw a Toade that hee had not given thanks to God who made him not a Toade but a Man Socrates thanked Nature that had made him a reasonable creature and not a Beast and among them a Man and not a Woman and among men an Athenian not a Thebane Philip rejoyced that
Alexander was borne in the dayes of Aristotle The Queene of Sheba pronounced Salomons men happy for hearing him How happy 1 Reg. 10. are wee then that live in the call of the Gospel Blessed are the eyes saith our Saviour to his Disciples which see that yee see for I A little part of the World called tell you that Prophets and Kings have desired to see those things which yee see and have not seene them and to heare those things that yee heare and have not heard them O terque quaterque beati oculi nostri O Luke 10. 23. thrice and foure times blessed are our eyes For as God called a little angle of Iewry and passed over all the World besides For hee suffered all the Gentiles to walke in their owne wayes So God Act. 14. 16. hath passed over all Africa Asia America and called a little piece of Europe all nations else are polluted The Grecians adore the Virgin Mary and Saints painted the Creature for the Creator The Aethiopians adore the Emperour Presbyter Iohannes The Tartarians the Great Cham. The Persians the Fire and the Sunne The Turkes Mahomet The Borussians many gods as Antrimpus Protrimpus Pelintus c. The Indians spirits called Zemes. The Papists Images But wee adore the true God They worship they know not what we worship that which wee know God hath given his Iohn 4. 22. Word to Europe hee hath given to other Nations other blessings To the Muscovites hides and precious skinnes to the Moores of Barbarie sugar and sweet spices to the Spaniards wine and fruits to the Indians gold and silver to them of Cathai pearle and precious stones to the Persians silke and margarites to them of Island Finland Greenland fish and fowles But to us hee hath given his Gospel Blessed be the day and happy bee the houre wherein it came to us Let that day be as the day wherein Israel came out of Aegypt let it bee the head of the yeare let no cloud staine it nor darkenesse possesse it If we had as many tongues as Argus had eyes if every haire of our head were a life and every life as long as Methuselahs all were too little to praise God Thanke God that thou livest in this time of the Gospel Let thy soule praise God Let all that is Psal 103. 1. within thee praise his holy name Thus must God call us by his Word else wee are reprobates in the Church but not of the Church For as excrements are in the body and not of the body so reprobates are in the Church but not of the Church They wet 1 Iohn 2. 19. out from us but are not of us for if they had bin of us they would have continued with us Many that heare this Sermō are among us but not Mat. 25. of us and the time shall come that the Goats shall be separated from the Sheepe the Dogs from the Lambes the Crowes from the Doves the Bastards from the Children the Chaffe from the Corne. Oh then heare the call of Gods Ministers Calling is of two sorts Externall Internall Externall is either common to all by the instinct of nature and workes of God or not common to all by the Word preached Internall and effectuall is the worke of the whole Trinitie whereby God the Father through the Sonne by the holy Ghost not onely offers Grace but giveth it to the Elect. Vocantur electi Calling externall and internall Externall calling vnprofitable without the Internall vel foris per externam praedicationem vel intus efficaci operatione spiritus Sancti The Elect are called either without by outward preaching of the Word or within by the inward effectuall operation of the holy Ghost This hath two parts The one Invitement The other Admission Invitement is when God offers remission and life everlasting to all that doe beleeve and this outwardly by the preaching of the Word and inwardly by inspiration of heavenly desires Admission is when men are entred into the kingdome of Grace and this outwardly by Baptisme and inwardly by the spirit engraffing them into Christ and making them reall members of Gods Kingdome Of this effectuall calling speaketh Iude here the greatest blessing in the World For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance Spiritus Dei non amittitur totaliter finaliter quos semel Rom. 11. 29. Iohn 13. semper diligit Deus The spirit of God cannot totally and finally bee lost for whom God loveth once hee loveth ever Et quos semel semper vocat deus ejus vocatio irrita fieri non potest And whom God once hee ever calleth for his calling cannot be frustrate For all things worke for the best to them that love God even to them that are called of purpose Rom. 8. 28. The externall calling is often unprofitable because it is not joyned with the internall the Ministery of man in the Church wanteth the Ministery of the spirit in the heart Paul planteth Apollo watereth but God giveth the increase Wee call you but 1 Cor. 3. God chooseth you We light a candle often before them that Mat 22. 14. Eccles 24. Psal 58. are blind as Christ did to the Pharisees Wee cry to them that are deafe as David did to Abner Wee set meate on the graves of dead men that cannot eate We charme deafe Adders which will not heare Wee mourne to them that will not weepe Wee pipe to them that will not dance Wee preach to them that will not repent Luke 7. Laterem crudam lavamus We wash a raw brike For if the internall calling wanteth wee may preach all our life and you may heare ten thousand Sermons and yet bee never the better except the inward Schoole-master the Spirit of God joyne with the Preacher We cannot command Grace For to one is given by the Spirit the word of Wisedome to another the word of Knowledge by the same Spirit to another is given Faith by the same Spirit to another the gift of Healing by the same Spirit and 1 Cor. 12. 8 9 10 11. to another the operation of Great workes to another Prophecie to another the discerning of Spirits to another diversity of Tongues and to another the Interpretation of tongues and all these things worketh even the selfe same Spirit distributing to every man severally even as he will The Blacke-moore will not change his skin nor the Leopard alter his spots the Panther will not be tamed nor the Adder The Gospell powerfull to them that are called charmed nor the crooked Serpent made straight nor the salt Sea made fresh and wicked men will not bee taught wee can but preach to you God by his Spirit must call you Lactantius speaking of the Word and the Minister meaneth the inward calling joined with the outward Da mihi inquit Libro 3. de falsa sapientia hominem iracundum uno verbo Dei reddam placidum ut ovem da
Christ as though God did beseech you through us wee pray you in Christs stead that ye be reconciled unto God For hee hath made himselfe Iustification upon remission of sinnes and Christs righteousnesse imputed sinne for us that we might be made the righteousnesse of God through him Remission of sinne is the first part of Reconciliation whereby the guiltinesse and punishment of our sinnes is removed from us by Christs sufferings For thus it is written and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise againe the third day that Repentance and Remission of sinnes might bee preached in his name to all nations And Hee through Death hath destroyed him that had the power of Death that is the Divell and that hee might deliver all them which for feare of Death Hebr. 2. 14 15. were all their life time subject to bondage Yea it is Christ alone That Apoc. 1. 5. hath washed us from our sinnes with his bloud Yea His bloud it is that cleanseth us from all sinne 1 Iohn 1. 7. Imputation of righteousnesse is the other part of Reconciliation whereby by Christs righteousnesse being imputed unto us we appeare just and blamelesse before God our Father For by him wee have received the attonement And as by the offence of Rom. 5. 11 16. one the fault came on all men to condemnation So by the justifying of one the benefit abounded towards all men to the justification of life And Hee hath now reconciled us in the body of Col. 1. 22. his flesh through Death to make us holy and unblameable and without fault in the sight of God his Father Now againe of Remission and Imputation spring Iustification and Adoption For Being justified by Faith wee have Peace Rom. 5. 1. towards God through our Lord Iesus Christ For when the fulnesse of time was come God sent foorth his Sonne made of a woman and made under the Law that hee might redeeme them which were under the Law that wee might receive the adoption of Sonnes Iustification is that wherby we being delivered before God of the guiltinesse of sin are accounted just For Who shall lay any thing Rom. 8. 33. to the charge of Gods chosen It is God that justifieth who shall condemne As by one mans disobedience many are made sinners so by the obedience Rom. 5. 19. of one shall many also bee made righteous Adoption is that whereby wee are accounted Sonnes and heires of God For yee have not saith Paul received the spirit of Rom. 8. 15. bondage to feare againe but yee have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby we crie Abba Father And hee further affirmeth That we are all the Sonnes of God by Faith in Christ Iesus From these two wee obtaine these two blessings First that all crosses turne to us to the best so saith the Apostle All Rom. 8. 28 things worke together for the best â—o them even them that are called of purpose For though hee visit 〈◊〉 sinnes with rods and our offences with scourges yet his loving kindnesse will hee never take from us nor suffer his truth to faile Secondly by Iustification and Adoption wee obtaine a chiefety or rule over all Creatures except Angels For so saith David Thou hast made him little lower than Angels and crowned him Psal 8. 5 6. with glory and worship Thou hast made him to have dominion in the Workes of thy hands thou hast put all things under his feete And the Sanctification in Mortification and viyification Sanctification imperfect in this life same also the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrewes affirmeth Now for Sanctification whereby God beginneth in us holinesse that hath two members Mortification to sinne and Resurrection to righteousnesse Mortification is the first part whereby the power of sinne is killed in us and of this Mortification Paul speaketh thus Our old man is crucified within that the body of sinne might bee destroyed that henceforth wee should not serve sinne And againe That Rom. 6. 6. Gal. 2. 19. I might live unto God I am crucified with Christ Resurrection unto righteousnesse is whereby sanctity holinesse is really inherent and begun in us and is increased dayly more and more For Wee are buried with Christ by Baptisme unto his death that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of his Rom. 6. 4. Father So wee also should walke in newnesse of life These parts of Sanctification referred unto the Soule are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but referred to the Body they are called frustus seu 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fruits This 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a renewing of all the faculties of the Soule a converting them from evill to good A bringing foorth of fruits worthy amendment of life And Luke 3. 8. this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath his Initium beginning comitem and his companion His beginning is is godly sorrow for whose heart Gods spirit doth touch is sorry for his sinnes committed against so mercifull a Father His Companion is a spirituall combate for the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh Gal. 5. 17. This Sanctification being the second principall part of our Redemption is the quallity whereby Gods spirit doth renew us and begin in us newnesse of life but it is not perfect absolute in us Paenitentia amor sequuntur noticiam nostram Repentance and Love follow our Knowledge but our knowledge is 1 Cor. 13. 9. but in part And this I note against the blasphemy of Osiander who saith that the essentiall righteousnesse of Christ is in us but the righteousnesse of Christ is without us not within us and is apprehended by Faith And therefore Pauls care was to bee found in him that is in Christ Not having saith Paul mine Phil. 3. 9. own righteousnes which is of the Law but that which is through the Faith of Christ even the righteousnesse which is of God through Faith For the righteousnesse whereby wee are justified is the meere imputation of Christs worke unto us and therefore this word Imputation is tenne times recited in one Chapter When a friend Rom. 5. of his owne goods and not of mine payeth debt that I owe that payment or satisfaction is mine it is imputed to mee when as yet it is the worke of my friend and none of mine After the same manner the righteousnesse of Christ is ours This righteousnesse therefore whereby wee are justified is Grace and not Nature Imputation not Essence it is a Communication of the benefit of Christ not a commixion of essence it is Holinesse is said in diverse senses an effect of the proper worke of Christ non substantia ipsa Christi not the very substance of Christ The other righteousnesse wherewith he sanctifieth us is but begun onely it is not absolute For as the Sunne shineth and as the fire warmeth us and yet doe not transferre their essence into us
So Christ doth regenerate and sanctifie us by the vertue of his Spirit quo homo Deus est as he is man and God not as he is man alone or as he is God alone and yet he doth not transferre his essence into us and therefore Osiander is much deceived The place of Paul quoted by him helpeth him nothing for we are the righteousnesse 2 Cor. 5. 21. of Christ ut ille fuit peccatum pro nobis as he was sinne for us but sinne was not really in Christ no more is Christs righteousnesse really in us but onely imputatively faith as the hand applyeth it unto us and flyeth into heaven and there maketh us partakers of his Sanctity Our faith wrastleth with God in heaven our charity wrastleth with men here below on earth both of them are exercised neither idle nor unfruitfull and therefore the Apostle joyneth Faith in Christ and love toward Col. 1. 4. all Saints together O Brethren how many bee there that can tell a smooth tale of Christ and yet cannot speak one wise word of Iustification and Sanctification and yet Peter requireth it of all Hence am I to derive an exhortation to all men to holinesse and sanctification seeing that Rahabs house was knowne by a Ios ◠Iudg. 11. Mat. 26. 2 Reg. 9. red thread and the Ephramites by lisping and Peter by speaking and Iehu by driving his Chariot So Christians are knowne by sanctification Every child of God is sanctified Secundum plus aut minus either more or lesse But first let me speake of the diverse acceptions of the word ne inpingamus ubi non est lapis lest we stumble where there is no stone 1. It is taken for that which is pure and perfect and cleane Levit. 19. 2. So God alone is said to be holy 2. It is taken for that which is lawfull as 1 Cor. 7. 14. The unbeleeving husband is sanctified by the wife and the unbeleeving wife is sanctified by the Husband else were your children uncleane but now they are holy 3. For that which is separated and set apart from common uses and reserved to sacred and holy uses Thus in the Law those things were called holy and sanctified which were taken from the common use of the people and set apart for the use and service of God as the Oyle Shew bread first fruits vessels of the Tabernacle In this sense the Priests were called holy because they were separate from the common life of men to serve in the Tabernacle Thus the people of Israel separated from the rest of the Nations were called by Moses a sanctified people to the Lord and by Ieremy a thing hallowed to the Lord. 4. For that which is consecrated to a godly and holy use Wee must bee holy because God is holy In which respect it is opposite to prophanenesse So the Temple was holy Ieremy was sanctified that is consecrated to be a Prophet So Christ sanctified himselfe that is dedicated himselfe to be a sacrifice for the sinnes of the world 5. It is taken for purity of body and minde as 2 Cor. 7. 5. So it is taken here And that wee should bee holy that is pure both in body and in minde it is the will and commandement of God Would you know his will and doe it that thou maist enter into heaven For not every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into heaven but hee that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven then be holy For Mat. 7. 21. this is the will of God even your holinesse 1 Thes 4. 3. There be many reasons to move us to Sanctification to Holinesse whereof one is often used drawne from the person of God our Father that children must resemble their Father else are they Bastards rather than sonnes So reasoneth God Ye shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy repeated by Peter As hee Levit. 19. 2. which hath called you is holy so be ye holy in all manner of conversation because it is written Be ye holy for I am holy All that is in God our Father is holy all that pertaineth to Gods name is holy Holy is his name His person is holy Hereupon the Seraphins cryed Luke 1. 49. one unto another and said Holy holy holy is the Lord of Hosts the whole world is full of his glory his workes are holy So saith David Esay 6. 3. The Lord is righteous in all his wayes and holy in all his Workes His Iudgements are holy O my God saith the Prophet in his distresse Psal 45. 17. I cryed by day but thou hearest not and by night but have no audience but thou art holy c. His Temple or House is holy so Psal 22. 1 2. saith Paul The Temple of God is holy which ye are His Mountaine is holy and therfore called A holy Mountaine His Kingdome is 1 Cor. 3. 17. holy for no uncleane thing shall enter his Kingdome neither whatsoever Psal 15. worketh abomination or lyes Therefore we must be holy if wee Apoc. 21. 27. looke to live with God Extra sunt Canes without bee dogges prophane and polluted persons Apoc. 22. 15. The same reason holdeth for holinesse that doth for mercy clemency love meeknesse and all other attributes of the Lord. Let mee reason as the Scripture reasoneth God is mercifull therefore wee must bee mercifull God forgiveth his enemies therefore we must forgive So reasoneth Christ himselfe Love your enemies blesse them that curse you doe good to them that hate you and pray for them that hurt you and persecute you that you may bee the Children of your Father which is in Heaven God is love therefore we must love So reasoneth Saint Iohn Beloved let us love one another 1 Iohn 4. 7 8. for love commeth of God and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God he that loveth not knoweth not God for God is love God is meek therfore we must be meek Learn of me saith Christ for I am meek c. So God is holy therefore we must be holy Mat. 11. 29. Another reason is taken from the end of our Redemption urged Holinesse the end of our Redemption without it wee shall not see God by the Apostle saying The grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men hath appeared and teacheth us that we should deny ungodlinesse and worldly lusts and that wee should live soberly righteously and holily in this present world Hath Christ sweat water and blood hath his heart beene molten like waxe his strength dryed up Tit. 2. 11 12. Psal 22. 14 15. like a potsheard hath his tongue cloven to his iawes and brought to the dust of the earth that wee should be wantons O caecas hominum mentes O pectora caeca nati sumus è silice nutriti lacte ferino O blinde mindes of men O blind hearts wee are borne of a flint-stone and nourished
Hereupon saith David All my delight is upon Psal 16. 3. Psal 37 28. Ephes 3. 8. the Saints in Earth and on such as excell in Vertue And againe Hee forsaketh not his Saints And Saint Paul calleth himselfe The least of all Saints And Saint Iude here speaketh of Faith given unto the Saints The Papists will acknowledge no Saints till three things come unto them first they must bee canonized by the Pope secondly they must bee dead first and thirdly it must be an hundred yeeres after death Risum teneatis amici But to leave all this In that this Faith is given unto the Saints wee learne that holy things are not to be given to Dogs Mat. 7. 6. a Gold ring becommeth not a Swines snout Cardui benedicti are not for the mouthes of Mules the songs of Nightingales are not for the eares of Asses Faith is not given to the Reprobate God hath made other Pro. 11. 22. things for them they for other things He hath made them For Prov. 16. 4. Deut. 4. Jer. 6. the day of evill God gave the Law yet to the Israelites not to the Hittites Canaanites Peresites Hee gave the Arke but not to the Philistines He gave Incense to Sheba Balme to Gilead fine Spices to Arabia Ezek. 37. Milke and Honey to Canaan Silver to Tharsis Gold to Ophir but Hee gave his word to Iacob Ier. 9. Ezec. 37. Deut. 6. 1 Cbr. 29. Psal 147. Mat. 13. 11. 13. 1 Cor. 10. 15. his Statutes and his Ordinances unto Israel hee hath not dealt so with every nation neither had the Heathen knowledge of his Lawe Christ speakes mysteries but hee explaned them only to his Apostles Paul spake but yet unto them that had knowledge I spake to them saith Paul that have understanding judge yee what I saw So wee speake but not to them that are wilfully ignorant that shut their eyes stoppe our eares and harden their hearts against the Word with such men we meddle not but in the sin wherein we finde them in that we leave them we speake onely to beare witnesse of their sinne against the day of the Lord they have sinned and their sinne will finde them out as Moses said to the two tribes Behold yee have sinned against the Lord Numb 32. 25. and be sure your sinne will finde you out and yee shall bee assuredly punished for your sinne All things are given unto the Saints and nothing is given to the Reprobate but in Gods wrath and for the elects sake for their sake God made the world for their sakes hee redeemed it For God so loved the World that hee Gen. 1. gave his onely begotten Sonne that who soever beleeveth in him might not perish but have life everlasting For their sakes he preserveth it and Iohn 3. 16. when the body of Christ is made perfect the number of the The wicked usurpers of Gods gifts Saints accomplished God will dissolve the frame of this evill World and therefore when the soules of the Saints that were killed cryed out How long Lord holy and true tariest thou to iudge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the Earth Answere was made that they should rest for a little season untill their fellow servants Apoc. 6. 10 11. and their brethren that should bee killed even as they were were fulfilled That the wicked live they may thanke the Saints the Godly how soever they hate them yet they enjoy all for their sakes the wicked are but usurpers and intruders to gift of God is due unto them but plagues onely Vpon them hee shall raine snares fire and brimstone storme and tempests this shall be their Psal 11. portion to drinke For judgements are prepared for the scornefull and stripes for the fooles backe For tribulation and anguish shall be upon the Soule of every man that doth evill Rom. 2. 9. As Elisha would not have spoken but for Iehosaphats sake so wee would not speake unto you but for some good mens sake that are amongst you otherwise you should dye in your sinne and rot and dye in your sinne you have neither part nor fellowship Act. 8. Apoc. 22. in Iesus Christ as Philip said to Simon Magus Let him therefore that is filthy be filthy still THE EIGHTH SERMON VERS IV. For there are certaine men crept in c. The Church and Religion hath their adversares WEE are now come to the third reason taken from the person of the Adversaries and it lyeth thus The adversaries impugne the Faith therefore the Saints must stand for it The Church hath many adversaries like Bees in an hyve like Moates in the Sunne like Pismires on a molehill Iohn saith That Apoc. 12. 7. he saw a great battel in Heaven that is in the Church Michael and his Angels fought against the Dragon and the Dragonfought and his Angels And Paul said There were many 1 Cor. 16. 9. adversaries Wee may say of the Church the Faith and Religion of God as David said of his owne person Mine enemies Psal 38. 19. live and are mightie and they that hate mee wrongfully are many in number As there is a contrary in all day and night cold and heate sicknesse and health life and death so in Religion Chrysostome In ser de nequitat depulsa saith Ferrum rubigo laedit lanam tinea ovem lupus Polium segetes grando vineam c. Rust hurteth Iron the Moth Wooll the Woolfe the Sheepe the Leopard the Kidde the Haile the Vine the Cockle the Corne the Caterpillar the Fruits few but have their adversaries So Faith and Religion Atheists Papists Pagans Heretickes Schismatickes Sectaries all these barke against the Saints as dogges against the Moone Religion divideth men in an house I am come saith Christ Secret enemies most dangerous that pretend Love to put fire on the Earth and what is my desire if it be already kindled Thinke yee that I am come to give peace in earth I tell you nay but rather debate From henceforth there shall bee five in one house divided three against two and two against three The Father shall be divided against the Sonne and the Sonne against the Father the Mother Luke 12. 49 51 52. 53. against the Daughter and the Daughter against the Mother the mother in law against the daughter in law and the daughter in law against the mother in law The godly the faithfull are as Lambes amongst wolves as Lilies amongst Thornes as Doves amongst Ravens Mat. 10. 16. many oppugne the Faith therefore wee must be ready to defend it yea strive for it unto death as Ioab fought for God so let us speake for God and write for God If wee had as many tongues and pennes as Argus had eyes let them all speake and Eccles 4. 2. Sam. 10. write for the Truth yea if wee had as many as haires on our heads as Ierome said to Helvidius Si veritas
whatsoever they pretend in words Quid dicta audiam cum facta videam what doe I heare thee talke when I see thy deeds Not every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdome of Heaven saith Christ but he that Mat. 7. 23. doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven Those men are come to the height of sin For there be sixe degrees of sin first Neglectus Ephes 4. 2 Thes 2. Rom. 1. Esa 40. notitiae Dei the neglect of the knowledge of God the second is Execatio execation blindnesse the third is Idolatry a fruit of execation of blindnesse the fourth outragious wickednesse the effect of idolatry the fifth a reprobate mind the sixth the fruits of a reprobate mind that is an universall injustice in all their workes for they deny God in every worke The wicked deny God and yet all his creatues declare him and Psal 19. 1. that foure wayes saith Hemingius in his Enchiridion First In the Varietie of them They that here feele not Gods graces shall feele his power Secondly In the Vtility of them Thirdly In the Order of Creation And fourthly In the End of their Creation The first declareth his Power The second his Iustice The third his Wisedome The last his Glory Seeing all things are made for man it cannot bee but man is made for another and that is God onely but the wicked shall find God and feele God when it is too late though here they doe deny him Therefore Hemingius distinguisheth of Gods presence that it is fourefold A presence of Power in all men even in the Reprobate a presence of Grace even in the Elect only a presence of glory in the Angels Saints departed and an hypostaticall presence of the Father with the Sonne Quoad essentiam as touching his essence The wicked that deny God here shall feele his power one day and say Wee have erred from the way of Truth the light of Righteousnesse hath not shined unto us Wis 5 6. 7. and the Sunne of Vnderstanding rose not upon us We have wearied our selves in the wayes of wickednesse and destruction and wee have gone through dangerous wayes but wee have not knowne the wayes of the Lord c. Thus God complained of Israel and Iuda saying They have grievosly trespassed against me saith the Lord they have denyed the Lord and said It is not hee c. Thus may wee complaine Therefore Ier. 5. 11. 12. I say to England as hee said to Iuda O daughter of my people gird thee with Sackcloth and wallow thy selfe in the ashes make lamentation and bitter mourning as for thine onely sonne for the destroyer shall suddenly come upon us They deny the onely God c. God here is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the onely God to note the Trinity in Vnity there is one God one Essence of the three persons Deus unus trinus unus Essentia trinus Hierom. personis God is one and three one in Essence and three in persons Thus Moses taught Israel The Lord our God is Lord onely Deut. 6. 4. Malachi asketh the Iewes if one God hath not created them As if hee should say yee know well enough for the question Mal. 2. 10. is more Emphaticall than a simple proposition In this point Paul noteth a great difference betwixt the Christians and the Heathen saying Though there be many that are called gods in Heaven or in Earth as there bee many gods and many Lords yet unto us 1 Cor. 8. 6 7. there is but one God which is the Father of whom are all things and wee in him and one Lord Iesus Christ by whom are all things and wee by him Againe hee speaketh of the Deitie as of the Mediatorship Vnus Deus unus Mediator c. There is one God and one Mediator 1 Tim. 6. betweene God and Man even the Man Christ Iesus And a number of vnities he commendeth to the Ephesians There is one Body andone Spirit one hope of your Vocation there is one Lord one Faith Ephes 4. 4 5 6. one Baptisme one God and Father over all c. We must neither confound Many resemblances to illustrate the Vnity and Trinitie the persons nor divide the Essence but hold the plurality of persons and the unity of the Essence The Heathen thought it impossible for one God to governe this great world therefore they made one God for Heaven as Iupiter another for Hell as Pluto one for Bread as Ceres another for Wine as Bacchus one for the Sea as Neptune another for the Winde as Aeolus one for Learning as Minerva another for Merchandize as Mercury Thus the Heathen vowed Tenths to Hercules that they might be rich they killed a Cock to Aesculapius that they might recover their health they sacrificed a Bull to Neptune that they might saile prosperously But what doe I name the Heathen when the Papists multiplied to themselves many gods they prayed to Sebastian for helpe from the Plague to Anthony for the Gangrene to Patronilla for Agues to Apolonia for the Touth ache to Benedict for the Stone to Hubert for the biting of a madde Dog yea they have made a severall God for every Countrey as Saint George for England Saint Iaques for Spaine Saint Dennis for France Saint Patricke for Ireland Saint Palladius for Scotland Yea for every beast a severall God as Loye for Horses Anthony for Pigges Wendeline for Sheepe But their madnesse is evident to all 2 Tim. 3. 9. men If they say they make not these Gods I aske why pray they unto them How shall they call on him in whom they have not beleeved But wee beleeve in God alone therefore must we pray to Rom. 10. 14. him alone There is but one Sunne in the Heavens one Phaenix in Arabia one master-Bee in an Hyve one Pilot in a Ship one God in the World The Trinity of Persons the Fathers have shadowed forth unto us by divers similitudes as in the Rainebow in which is one substance namely the cloud and yet three differences which thou art not able to discerne In the Fountain where there is Scaturigo the boyling or rising up of the water out of the Spring Rivus the River Stagnum and the Poole In the Minde where there is Intellectus Vnderstanding Voluntas the Will Memoria and the Memory In the Soule where there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Soule 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Minde and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Spirit and yet there bee not three Mindes nor three Soules but one Minde and one Soule but three powers in the Minde and Soule In the Sun where there is Corpus the Body Calor Heate Splendor Light or Brightnesse and yet not three Sunnes but three distinct things in the Sunne The Orthodoxe Fathers said truely and wisely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 One Godhead and one God in Trinity and Trinity in Vnity And God is
that they know him it is evident Col. 3. 1 2 3. by the testimony of the Apostle Behold thou art called a Iew and restest in the Law and gloriest in God but that they did not know him truly the same Apostle also testifieth saying The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you yea the Rom. 2. 17. 24. Divels knew him and his death but yet idly historically onely not unto Salvation And many so beleeve historically no further than the very Divels themselves doe For sinne still raigneth Iam. 2. 19. in them notwithstanding the commandement of the Apostle Let not sinne raigne in your mortall bodies that yee should obey it in the lusts thereof Rom. 6. 12. But to returne to our Papists who have opened their mouth against Heaven whose tongue walketh through the world for pride is to them as a chaine they are found to be notable hereticks denying not in words but in truth the Lord Iesus First they make him no Iesus by ascribing purging of sin to the bloud of Martyrs which they call Thesaurum Ecclesiae the treasure of the Church out of which they grant their Indulgences They make him no Christ by denying his Offices first they make no Priest by erecting a daily unbloudy sacrifice they rob him of his intercession by praying to Saints They make him no Prophet by ascribing so much to their traditions by giving the Pope authority over the Gospell to coyne Lawes as they list by bringing in with Cyrill the Monke Evangelium aeternum an everlasting Gospel which say they abolisheth the Gospell of the Father in the time of the Law and the Gospell of Christ in the time of Grace They make him no King by giving all power to the Pope to save to destroy to pull out of Heaven to pluck down to Hell Such a Cerberus is this of Rome not with three heads but with three crownes boasting De plenitudine potestatis of the fulnesse of power whose comming is by the working of Sathan with all power and signes and lying wonders and in all deceivablenesse of unrighteousnesse among them that perish This hath Sathan parted his Kingdome that the Turke in the 2 Thess 2. 9. East should deny Christs Natures and the Pope in the West his Offices and Merits For the former Romane Empire stood on Injustice the latter of Impiety the first injuring Men the other God yet not so much 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 against God as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 against Christ The Papists alleage the words of the Apostle Hereby shall yee know the spirit of God every spirit that confesseth that Iesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God but by the Spirit there is meant the doctrine not of men the doctrine is of God though not the man They quote also another place of Iohn Whosoever Christ alone paid the whole ransome of our Redemption beleeveth that Iesus is Christ is borne of God but Saint Iohn speaketh not of a bare confession but of a right beleefe for the Divels confessed Christ To conclude they hold not the foundation with us For other 1 Iohn 5. 1. Luke 4. 1 Cor. 3. 11. Gal. 5. 2. foundation can no man lay than that which is laid which is Christ Iesus For if the Galathians joyning Circumcision with Christ overthrew all for so saith the Apostle If yee circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing The Papists joyning workes with faith nature with Grace the Law with the Gospell the Sacrifice with the Sacrament Moses with Christ must needs overthrow all for whole Christ or no Christ Totus Christus aut nullus Christus Hee payd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Ransome and either hee paid all or not a 1 Tit. 2. Act. 4. penny Non est aliud nomen there is no other name given unto men whereby they shall bee saved save onely by the name of Iesus One compareth Christ to a man that purchaseth a Lease with his owne money and lets it to his successors to hold it by a Pepper kernell or a Rose leafe Christ hath paid for our Salvation For we are redeemed not with corruptible things as Silver and Gold c. But with the precious bloud of Christ as of a Lambe undefiled all our 1 Pet. 1. 18 19. workes are but as a pepper kernell yea as nothing For when we have done all those things that are commanded us wee may say that wee are unprofitable servants we have done that which was our duties to do Luke 17. 10. If the fathers of these men had never sinned yet could they not doe greater injury to the Church of God than to beget such sonnes or monsters rather as Tully said of Catiline Ecce ecclesiam apostaticam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 non Catholicam utinam Deus Nestorem excitaret qui lites inter nos illos componeret Behold a Church Apostolicall and strife-stirring not Catholike I would God were pleased to raise some Nestor up to compose these jarres betweene us and them But to leave this note that Christ here is called our Lord which he is two wayes Iure creationis Iure redemptionis First By right of Creation for by him God made the World Hebr. 1. 2. Secondly By the right of Redemption for God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Sonne to save the World Hereupon Iohn 3. 16. 1 Cor. 6. 20. saith Paul Yee are bought with a price Now redeeming is either by price and paying or by power and force Christ hath done both hee gave a price to God And gave himselfe a ransome for all 1 Tim. 2. 6. men Hee came by water and bloud not by water onely but by water 1 Iohn 5. and bloud In water is signified washing by bloud Redemption Secondly by his Power he redeemeth and hath taken us from the Divell So saith the Author to the Hebrewes Hee hath delivered Hebr. 2. us from death and him that hath the Lordship of death And Saint Iohn saith that Hee saw a great battell in Heaven Micbael and his Divers effusions of Christs bloud Angels fought against the Dragon and the Dragon fought and his Angels but prevailed not neither was their place any more found in Heaven It was a greater matter to Christ to redeeme the World Apoc. 12. 7. than to make the World Hee made it in six dayes but he was thirtie and three yeeres in redeeming it hee made all with a word yea with a breath By the word of the Lord were the Heavens made and the hoast of them by the breath of his mouth For the letter Psal 33. 6. ◠He in the Hebrew is but a breath But hee redeemed it with a great price not with silver and gold but with bloud not with bloud of Buls Goats but with his own precious Bloud 1 Pet. 1. 18. Gold and silver are but red earth and white earth which the error of
Satanam ut ipsi etiam suas agunt partes non per illos agit ut per truncos lapides sed ut per creaturas rationales qui sponte ruunt First God so worketh by the wicked and by Satan as that they also play their owne parts hee worketh not by them as by blockes or stones but as by reasonable creatures which runne headlong of their owne accord Secundò magnam esse differentiam inter opus Dei impiorum there is great difference betweene God Satan Men concurre in the same action but have different ends the worke of God and the worke of the wicked in respect of the end of their worke The Sunne draweth stench out of a dead carkase Non immittit he doth not send it in So God worketh by the wicked and yet so that his justice doth not justifie them nor their wickednesse contaminate him as it appeareth in Iobs example God Satan and the Chaldees concurre move Iob 1. worke yet is God cleare and they guilty Inspecto fine agendi considering the end of their worke God did it to trie Iob Satan to destroy Iob and the Chaldees to inrich themselves So saith S. Augustine of Christ Pater tradidit filium filius corpus Iudas magistrum In hac traditione cur Deus justus homo injustus nisi quod in re una quam fecerunt non est causa una ob quam fecerunt The Father delivered the Sonne the Son his body Iudas his master in this tradition or delivering why is God just and man unjust because that in that one thing which they did there was not one cause for the which they did it Deus in dilectione Christus in obedientia Iudas ab avaritia Iudaei ob invidiam God delivered him in love Christ delivered himselfe in obedience Iudas of covetousnesse the Iewes of envy Thus they all did one action but not to one end And yet true is the saying of Fulgentius Malos ad poenam non culpam praedestinari the wicked to be predestinate to punishment not to sinne non ad hoc quod malè operantur sed ad hoc quod justè patiuntur not to this that they worke evilly but to this end that they suffer justly For God ordaines no man to be evil though he hath ordained the evill unto punishmēt for should God ordaine men unto sin then should God be the Author of sin he ordaines indeed the incitements and occasions of sin to try men withall he also orders sins committed and does limit them and in these regards is said as before to worke in them and to will them in which regards also they are in Scripture attributed unto him sometimes as 2 Sam. 12. 11 12. and 15. 16. But yet wee must not say as some do that God is the Author of sinne or predestinates men unto it Sed quia Dei mysteria non capimus corripimus because wee cannot conceive Gods mysteries wee will cavell and carpe at them Nunquid negandum quod verum est quia comprehendi non potest quod occultum est Is that to be damned which is true because it cannot be comprehended for that it is secret Eate hony but not too much hony so search Gods mysteries but not too far I say of the proud men of this age as Chrysostome said of the Hereticks called Anomei Hanc arborem Anomaeorum Paulus nec plantavit Apollo non rigavit this tree of the Anomaei neither hath Paul planted nor Apollo watered nor God increased but curiosity planted it pride watered it and ambition increased it Lipsius Lipsius de constantia pag. 36. useth all these similitudes A man rideth upon a lame horse and stirs him the rider is the cause of the motion but the horse himselfe of the halting motion so God is the Author of every action but not of the evill of the action The like is in the striking All sinne from Saten or evill men none from God of a jarring and untuned Harpe the fingering is thine the jarring or discord is in the Harpe or instrument The earth giveth fatnesse and juyce to all kind of plants some of these plants yeeld pestilent and noysome fruits where is the fault in the nourishment of the ground or in the nature of the hearbe which by the native corruption decocteth the goodnes of the ground into venime and poyson the goodnes moisture is from the earth the venime from the hearbe the sounding from the hand the jarring from the instrument So the action is from God the evill in the action from the impure fountaine of thy owne heart I will conclude this point with the saying of the Learned Impossibile est Deum Confessie qui est lux justitia veritas sapientia bonitas vita causam esse tenebrarum peccati mendacii ignorantiae maliciae mortis sed horum omnium causa Satanas homines sunt It is impossible that God who is Light Iustice Truth Wisedome Goodnesse Life to bee the cause of Darkenesse Sinne Dissembling Ignorance Malice and Death but the Divell and Men are the cause of all these THE ELEVENTH SERMON VERS V. I will therefore put you in remembrance forasmuch as yee once knew this c. The often inculcating the same doctrine needfull WEE are now come unto the third part of this Epistle which containeth a confirmation of Iudes purpose by divers examples The first of the Israelites The second of the Angels The third of the Sodomites In the first he noteth their Infidelitie In the second their Apostasie In the third their Adultery and Buggery The first were destroyed of God in the wildernesse The second fell from Heaven The third were burned and thus much for their sinnes and their punishments Now for the first he saith that they Knew it howbeit he will put them in remembrance saying they had forgotten it We may not thinke much to heare that which we have heard and known were our knowledge never so great like Salomons who had A large heart hee was filled with understanding as a floud his minde compassed the Earth hee filled it full of darke and grave sentences yet wee 1 Reg. 4. Ecclus 47. 14 15 may be remembred of it againe Paul was not ashamed to write The memorie must be often admonished one thing often For so hee saith to the Philippians It grieveth me not to write the same thing unto you viz. that which yee have often heard of me for unto you it is a sure thing and we are not ashamed to preach one thing often it leaveth a surer print and a deeper Phil. 3. 1. stampe in our minds doctrine delivered is as a nayle driven but doctrine repeated is as a nayle rivetted then it sticketh sure Such a Simile Salomon useth saying The words of the wise are like goods and like nayles fastened by the masters of the assemblies that is Eccles 12. 11. Ezech. 36. Ier. 23. Iohn 6. 27. Iohn 6. the Ministers
it otherwise it will not be sure and stedfast It is a sheild but God must frame it and strengthen it So that the slaunder of the Papists redoundeth to God not to us But I may say to Act. 13. 48. Hebr. 6. 19. Ephes 6. 17. 2 Thess 2. 11 12. you as Paul said to the Thessalonians God shall send them strong delusion that they should beleeve lyes that all they might be damned which beleeved not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousnesse God hath fed them with lyes because they received not the truth they beleeve not But to leave this and to returne againe to these Israelites These Israelites wanted faith and so all the parts of a Christian as the root giveth sappe to all the branches the Sunne light to all the Planets the earth nourishment to all plants the water life to all fishes So faith giveth life and allowance to all our actions For without it splendida opera sunt splendida peccata our glistering works are but glistering sinnes therefore is it said that by faith Abel offered unto God a greater sacrifice than Caine c. by faith Hebr. 11. 4 5. 7 8. Enoch was taken away that he should not see death By faith Noah being warned of God and moved with reverence prepared the Arke By faith Abraham when he was called obeyed God c. Faith is the eye wherewith we see God it is the mouth wherby we speake to God the hand whereby wee touch him the foote whereby wee goe unto him saith Ambrose Thus Stephen the ring leader of Martyrs saw Ambros Act. 6. Luk. 18. Luk 2. Iohn 1. him with the eyes of faith The Publicane spake to him with the mouth of faith Simeon embraced him with the armes of faith Thus Andrew walked to Christ with the foote of a lively faith Thus all must come to Christ not with the legges of their body but of faith We must draw neere with a true heart in assurance of faith Hebr. 10. 22. being sprinkled in our hearts from an evill conscience and washed in our bodies with pure water But the Infidells like Polypheme the Giant want eyes like the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at the river Ganges they want mouthes like the Cripple in the third of the Acts they want legges For by faith Christ dwelleth in us by faith we eate him by faith we put him on by Ephes 3. Iohn 6. Gal. 3. Gal. 2. 20. faith we live in him therefore wanting faith we want all Many therefore want all the parts of Christianity for few beleeve but are Cyphers in the Church of God and shall be Cyphers in the Kingdome of God But to cut up the veines and arteries of this vice and make an Anatomie of it we can all say I beleeve in God the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost yet few beleeve and are perswaded of the love and power of God but rest in the creature not in the Creator if they see not meanes If God give us friends wee make Idols of them and trust in them as the Iewes did in Esay 31. Psal 52. 7. Ier. 5. 2 Chro. 16. the Aegyptians if money we thinke never to want as it is said of Doeg hee trusted in the multitude of his riches and strengthened himselfe in his malice if armour we trust in them as the Iewes did if Physitians wee trust in them as Asa did if wisdome wee thinke to smooth all causes and to wade thorough all bad matters Want of faith the cause of al sinne and misery as the false Prophets These are our treasures and our hearts are upon them as Mat. 6. We make flesh our arme Thus what for friends money munition physicke cunning God is not regarded the helpelesse trust in friends the poore in money the souldier Ier. 18. Jer. 17. in armour the sicke in Physitians the cunning in their wisdome like Achitophel But of all others our infidelity appeareth in our running to witches wherein I say with Elisha Is it not because there is no King in England as 2 Reg. 1. Here I could wish my voice as a trumpet or as the voice of Stentor who had the voice of fifty men Satan is a deceiver and shall we trust in him A lyer and shall we beleeve him an enemy and shall wee crave ayde of him Absit God forbid Most men beleeve not For our faith hath a triple foundation First that Christ is true God and therefore can help 1 Tim. 2. Secondly true Man and therefore will helpe Hebr. 4. Thirdly that he is one Person not by confusion of substance but by the union of natures for God and man make but one Christ and Mat. 11. 11. Psal 30. will help us for if a Father will helpe his Sonne in his wants how much more will hee helpe us Let us therefore put off our sackecloath and girde us with gladnesse let us rejoice for ever For now is salvation in Heaven and strength and the Kingdome of our Apoc. 12. 10. God and the power of his Christ for the accuser of our brethren is throwne downe c. Hence commeth all mischiefe that wee beleeve not God which appeareth in our life If a sicke man should have two Physitians the one prescribing a present remedy the other a present poison if he should follow the latter would wee not conclude that either he would not be healed or else that hee beleeved not the other so standeth the case betwixt God and us either wee would not bee saved or else wee doe not beleeve God This is manifest in two men Adam and Abraham the one the father of all men the other of the faithfull Now Adam eate of Gen. 3. the tree which God forbad and why because he beleeved not Act. 7. God but Satan and so doe most men But Abraham when God commanded him to leave his Countrey and kindred he did so Gen. 22. when God commanded him to offer his Sonne he did it For he Esa 1. beleeved God and so doe few men But let us not listen to Satan and our owne flesh but to God promising happinesse if we obey him Thou hast here two counsellors the flesh and the spirit The flesh bids thee follow thy lustes but the spirit saith if thou doest so thou shalt perish For he that soweth in the flesh shall of the flesh reape corruption but hee that soweth in the spirit shall of the spirit Gal. 6. 8. reape life everlasting now whether of these wilt thou beleeve Yet in all this I doe not speake of the justifying faith but that the wicked have not no not so much as the Historicall faith to beleeve the Scriptures Nam Faith a chiefe instrumentall cause of salvation Fidestriplex Iustificans Miraculosa Historica For faith is threefold There is a lively justifying Faith a miraculous and an historicall faith but the former is most rare like a blacke swanne or Phoenix in Arabia In all
man and woman are as fire and stubble diabolus sufflare non cessat ut accendatur the divell never leaveth blowing till it be kindled For the lips of a strange woman drop as an hony-combe and her mouth is more soft than oyle but the end of her is as bitter as Wormewood and sharpe as a two-edged sword her feet goe downe Pro. 5. 3 4 5. to death and her steps take hold of hell All her doings lead to destruction Si sanctus es non tamen securus es if thou be sanctified yet be not secure For He hath overcome the wisest as Salomon the strongest as Sampson the fairest as Absalom the holiest as 1 Reg 11. Iudg. 15. 1 Sam. 16. 1 Sam. 16. 2 Sam. 12. Gen. 2. Iob. 31 9. David the faithfullest as Abraham and surely thou art a happy man if thou hast not fallen downe at any time under this sinne if thou canst protest with Iob If my heart hath been deceived by a woman or if I have laid wait at the doore of my Neighbour let my wife grinde unto another man and let other men bow down upon for this is a wickednesse and an iniquity to be condemned The wrath of God hath smoked against this sinne above all other sinnes of the last table David for whoredome was driven out of his Countrey but what should I name one man the whole City of Sichem was put to the sword for it But what should I name one towne foure Cities were consumed with fire and brimstone for it and the stinking lake of Asphaltes neere to Sodome is left as a perpetuall monument of that plague killing all fish that swimmeth in it and fowles that flye over it But what are five Cities to twelve tribes for the twelve Princes of the tribes were hanged up against the Sunne and twenty foure thousand slaine for it and many wounded in Israel and Beniamin for the defiling of one Levites wife And yet behold a Many like the Corinthians thinke fornication indifferent greater plague than that For for Idolatry Oppression and Adultry was the whole nation of the Iewes carried to Babylon And yet behold a greater plague For seven nations of the Canaanites were destroyed for it And yet behold a greater plague not one Iud. 20. Ier. 229. man as David nor one City as Sichem nor many Cities as Sodome Gomorrah Zeboiim Admah nor many kingdmes as these of Canaan but the whole world destroyed for it Will God then spare this Levit. 18. 24. Gen 6. sinnefull wanton whorish polluted kingdome of England Ierusalem justified Sodome and wee have justified Ierusalem England is become Sodome most townes are full of bastardy most men are like stoned horses neighing after another mans wife So saith the Prophet They rise early in the morning like fed horses every one neighed after his neighbours wife like the oven of a baker so saith Ezech. 16. the Prophet They are all Adulterers and as a verie oven heated by Ier. 5. 8 9. the baker For as that is never cooled so these mens lusts are never satisfied The daughters of England are like the daughters of Sion haughty and Walkewith stretched out neckes Walking and minsing as they goe and make a tinckling with their feete As Ephraim was full of Hos 7. 4. Esa 3. 16. Esa 26. Mich. 7. Tit. 1. Act. 17. Esa 30. 27 28. Nah. 13. 4 5 6. drunkards Ierusalem full of oppressors Crete full of liars Athens full of idolaters so England is full of adulterers The Lords face is therefore burning his lips are full of indignation and his toogue is as a devouring fire and his spirit is as a river that overfloweth up to the necke Hee hath way in the whirlewind and in the storme and the clouds are the dust of his feet Hee rebuketh the Sea and it dryeth and he drieth up all the Rivers Bashan is wasted and Carmel the flower of Lebanon is wasted the mountaines trembled for him and the earth is burnt at his sight yea the world and all that dwell therein who can stand before his wrath or who can abide the fiercenesse of his wrath his wrath is powred out like fire and the rockes are broken by him We are almost of the minde of the Corinths that it is indifferent to whom Paul said The body is not for fornication but for the Lord and the Lord for the body Of that minde were the Gentiles 1 Cor. 6. 13. as it appeareth by the Apostles determination to the Churches where it was decreed that they should Abstaine from filthinesse of Idols and fornication c. For the Heathen thought this no vice Act. 15. 20. but made it a common custome and were wont to pray Dii angeant numerum meretricum the Gods increase the number of Harlots But it is a vile sinne and God hateth it extremely note his speech How should I spare thee for this thy children have forsaken mee and sworne by them that are no Gods Though I fed them to the Ier. 5. 7. 9. full yet they committed adultery and assembled themselves by companies in harlots houses Shall I not visit for these things saith the Lord shall not my soule bee avenged on such a nation as this Though hee winked at many of our sinnes yet will he not spare this God will Prov. 10. Wiâ—d 3. bee revenged of the whoremonger in his name Nam nomen eius putrescet his name shall rot in his posterity Non enim radices agent they shall haue no rooting in his body for it shall bee full of The Adulterer punished many wayes ulcers as the Poxe and the disease called Morbus Neapolitanus In his soule for it shall fry in Hell For though adulterers escape all maner of judgement from men yet it is certaine That the whoremongers Hebr. 13. 4. Psal 50. 21 22. and adulterers God will iudge Because God for a time holdeth his tongue therefore they thinke that God is like unto them but certainely the time hasteth when the Lord will set all their filthinesse in order before them and if they consider it not he will seise upon them when no man shall deliver them especially they are assured to lose the Kingdome of Heaven and to feele the smart Apoc. 22. 8. of Gods eternall wrath in the Lake that burneth with fire and brimestone Bet to strip this strumpet Whoredome and uncleanesse ouerthrow the state of mankind while no man knoweth his owne wife no wife her husband no father his children For whoredome confounds the World and utterly overthroweth the state of marriage Affinitates enim totius mundi sunt compagines Affinities and consanguinities are the joynts and sinewes of the Word Lose these lose all Totus mundus ruit all the World goeth to wracke Now what affinities or consanguinities can there be when there is nothing but confusion of bloud The sonne knoweth not his father nor the father the sonne Sed promiscuus est
concubitus there is such a promiscuous companying Then are wee as beasts The Turtle knoweth her mate but men doe not Therefore Lady Vertue of all plants in her garden hath watered Continencie lest the World should bee confounded saith a learned man But because many abuse the example of Noah David Salomon c. saying were they not Adulteres first I say Vivimus praeceptis non factis We live by precepts not by examples For saith God Deutr. 12. 32. 2 Sam. 12. 10. Whatsoever I command you that shall yee doe Thou shalt put nothing thereto nor take ought there from Secondly I say that God plagued it in these men their sweet meat had soure sawce Thirdly David command it neuer but but once thefore saith the holy Ghost David did that which was upright in the sight of the Lord and turned from 1 Reg. 15. 5. nothing that hee commanded him all the daies of his life save onely in the matter of Vriah the Hittite But our men will fall with David but not rise with David they will sinne with him but not repent with him Thus like Eeles they bee ever in the mudde like Dogges they wallow in carrion like Munkies they feed on venome like Spiders they sucke poyson from sweete flowers and abuse all examples If any alledge the Poligamy of the Fathers I say that they were Mala tolerata abnitio non fuit sic tolerated evils from the beginning Mat 19. 8. Mal. 2. 1 Tim. 3 2. it was not so For as the Prophet affirmeth Hee made one he made man and woman as one flesh not many And a man must be the husband of one wife not of many wives but of one And againe For the avoyding of fornication saith the Apostle let every man have Polygamie of the Fathers not lawfull originaliy yet tollerated his wife and every woman her husband one man one wife Into Noabs Arke there entred Noah and his wife his sonnes and their wives and of beasts both cleane and uncleane the male and the female This coupling of creatures both reasonable and unreasonable sheweth that Nature in her Seminary condemnes Poligamie 1 Cor. 7. 2. Gen. 7. 7 8. furthermore there be two Axiomes or Maximes in Nature The first Quod tibi fieri non vis alteri nefeceris doe not that to another which thou wouldst not have done unto thy selfe The second Ne quod alterius est invito eripiatur let nothing which belongs to another man bee taken from him against his will How then can the man without offering manifest wrong unto his Wife bestow his body upon another woman Thus by the Law of God and Nature Poligamie is condemned I but how came it to passe that the Fathers had many wives It is answered diversly First this came to passe by Gods dispensation for God according to the state of those times dispensed with the Patriarks for the Law which hee made in the beginning and this is evident by the examples of Abraham Jacob and Elcâ—nah and other godly Fathers who were not reproved by any Prophet for their multiplicity of wives Nay which is more God gave Sauls wives as Nathan saith into the bosome of 1 Sam. 12. 8. David Now if God gave David wives notwithstanding his first institution to the contrary we may conclude that hee dispenseth with his owne law and gave the Patriarchs liberty for Polygamie The reason of this dispensation was this God in those times had chosen the seed of Abraham to be his people in whose linage the true worship of the Deity was preserved for all other people were given to idolatry and went a whoring after strange Gods Now to that intent that that people whom God had chosen namely Israel might be many in number Poligamie was permitted Againe though the Fathers had many wives yet they were not hereunto led by lust but by a chast desire to augment and multiply Gods family From this Polygamie of the Fathers some have concluded that Polygamie is lawfull unto us let such Opinionists know that a generall canon cannot bee infringed by a particular example If we can claime the same dispensation the Patriarchs had then I grant a man may have many wives for now there is no Nation more peculiarly Gods people than another But in every Nation Act. 10. 35. hee that feareth him and worketh righttousnesse is accepted with him Furthermore our Saviour hath cancelled this dispensation when hee said concerning the husband and the wife They twaine Mat. 19. 5. shall be one flesh Not onely now the Law of God is against Polygamie Polygamie not lawfull dispensed with but it seemeth also that the Law of Nature which one calleth a permanent and firme Edict of God And by Saint Paul The Law written in our members caused the Romane Emperours Socrates Rom. being infidels to make decrees against Polygamie branding such with infamy as had more wives than one And when as Valentinian a Christian Emperour to cover his owne filthinesse having besides his legitimate wife Severa taken to wife also a young maid called Iustina made a law that every man might Cod. lib. 3. de incestis inutilibus nuptiis lawfully have two wives but this law was rejectd and condemned as contrary to the Law of Nature and therefore I conclude this point with Clemens Alexandrinus saying that Polygamie which was granted to the fathers is not lawfull unto us and Clemens Alexan. in Strâ—m lib. 4. therefore he that hath two wives is like to wicked Lamech and his second wife like unto Sela which by interpretation is umbra ejus his shadow because she is rather to be esteemed the shadow of a wife than a wife indeed And followed strange flesh The word in the originall is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 strange flesh for uncleannesse hath many branches furnication adultery incest buggery beastiality Fornication is betwixt single persons as it was betwixt Zimri and Cosbi adultery betwixt the married as betweene David and Bathsheba incest is in the degrees prohibited Numb 25. 2 Sam. 11. 4. Levit. 18. Rom. 1. Levit. 20. 16. buggery is in the contrary sexe beastialitie is with beasts Solon would make no lawes for Parricide lest he should name that which afterwards might bee done So I wish that there were no cause to name these sinnes much lesse to punish them But iniquity doth abound Pietas friget Piety waxeth cold Veni Domine Iesu veni cito Come Lord Iesus come quickly Psal 4. 9. And crush them with a scepter of iron and breake them in peices like a Potters vessell Yea Lord Let thy hand finde out out all thy enemies and thy right hand them that hate thee make them like a firy Oven in Psal 2. 8 9. the time of thy wrath and let the fire consume them if they will not repent and turne from their filthinesse If you aske how Sodome came to this uncleannesse the Prophet Ezechiel answereth you for
chiefe commander one chiefe Iudge of a Province one governour of all in the Ship one master in an house in an army be it never so great the Ensigne of one is specially regarded and attended on In the body of Man though the Lims and parts thereof be many yet they all obey one head Secondly most fit for cutting off seditions and rebellions and therefore the Romanes in all their greatest dangers had recourse unto this Tanquam ad anchoram sacram as to their shot-anchor as to their best and last refuge as Livie witnesseth for when Hannibal pressed the Romanes Ad Dictatorem dicendum Remedium jam diu desideratum Civitas confugit The City went to the pronouncing of a Dictator which was the remedy they long expected because as in another place he writeth Dictatoris edictum pro numine semper observatum est the proclamation of the Dictator was esteemed to be the voyce of God Thirdly The government of one doth seeme to resemble most lively the image of Gods Power and Majestie For as in the Firmament the Sunne Moone and Starres doe as it were represent some image of the glory of the eternall Majestie So the rule of Monarchs in their severall Kingdomes upon the earth doe call to our considerations the government and rule of the Almighty But whether the government of one or many be best I dare not define but this I say that it is a most singular token of the mighty Power and Providence of God that so many severall Nations over the face of the World are upholden and maintained by so many severall sorts of government that Quemadmodum non nisi in aequali temperatura elementa inter se cohaerent Ita hae Regiones sua quadam in aequalitate optimè continentur As in bodily essences the foure Elements doe cleaue together by unequall temperatures as it were by a certaine inequality all the several Countries are holden together Nay which of all these governments is the best Otiosum est disputare it is a very idle thing to dispute but most yeeld to this that a Monarchy is the most perfect and the blessing of God seene in that chiefly Perme Reges regnant By me Kings raigne Noble men beare rule saith Wisedome He therefore that resisteth Resisteth not man but God also True it is that man was made to rule not to serve he was Rebellion brings destructiō to Rebels themselves made to rule over fowles fishes cattell but not men At the first men were pecorum pastores potius quà m Reges hominum feeders of cattell than rulers over men that we might discerne the order of creation from the merit of sinne So we reade not of any servant Gen. 1. 20. Gen. 9. Gen. 3. before Cham saith Augustine For as sinne brought in the first death the first sorow the first nakednesse the first flood So it brought in the first service If man had not sinned Moses had not needed in the kingdome nor Aaron in the Church the one to rule the bodies the other the soules of men Rebellion of all sins is unnaturall for what can be more unnaturall then the child to rebell against the father the wife against the husband the servant against the Master and no lesse unnaturall is it for the subject to rebell against his Soveraigne Rebellion God never prospered hereupon saith Salomon My sonne feare God and the King and keepe no companie with the seditious for their destruction shall Pro. 24. 21 22. arise suddenly c. The seditious Israelites were destroyed somtime with fire from Heaven sometime with fiery serpents somtime by Numb 21. the earth For the earth hath opened and swallowed them quicke to Hell Seditious Miriam was strooken with leprosy seditious Absalon Numb 12. was hanged by the haire of the head on an oke as one spewed out of heaven and vomited out of the earth seditious Achitophel for want of an hangman a convenient servitour for such a Rebell went and hanged himselfe seditious Sheba was arrested by a woman Sam. 20. 22. who cut off his head and sent it to Ioab seditious Zimri burnt himselfe in the kings house which he had set on fire Hereupon 1. Reg. 16. 9. said Iezabel Had Zimri peace that slew his Master seditious Shallum 2 Reg. 15. 16. perished in Samaria being slaine by Menahem the sonne of Gadi Never Rebell went unpunished For though God oftentimes doth prosper just and lawfull enemies which be no subjects against forraine enemies yet did he never prosper Rebels who have taken armes against their Prince were they never so great in authority or many in number In Genesis we reade that five kings with their armies could not prevaile against Chodorlaomer unto whom they Gen. 14. promised loyalty and obedience but they were all overthrown and taken prisoners by him but Abraham with his family kinsfolkes an handfull of men in respect owing no subjection to Chedorlaomer overthrew him and his hoast in battell Thus God prospereth in battell some few against many thousands but he never prospered Rebels against their owne Prince were they never so great or noble so stout so politick but alwayes they were overthrowne and came to most shamefull ends And to instance but upon a few One Brennus captaine of the Gaules besieging Ephesus had the City betraied into his hands by a treacherous woman for the greedy desire of a Iewell that a Captaine wore but when she had plaied this tteasonable part he overwhelmed her with gold A certaine traytour offred Fabritius the Romane to poison his enemy Pyrrhus but worthy Fabritius sent God hath confounded Rebels in all ages the traytour bound to Pyrrhus who was enemy to the Romane Empire In Anno 1381. in Rich the 2. his tyme sixty thousand rebelled whose Captaines were Wat Tiler Iack Strawe but they were overthrowne and brought to nought In Anno 1275. Lewellin prince of Wales rebelled against Edward the first but he prospered not but was overthrowne and his head strooken off and set on London bridge In the raigne of Henry the 4. divers noble men and kings rebelled and came every one of them to a miserable end The persidious and treacherous part of Bannister servant to the Duke of Buckingham is most odious the Duke had brought him up of nought but fleeing from the face of usurping Richard to Bannister for succour this wicked man for hope of one thousand pounds betrayed his Master the Duke but never had one penny For said usurping Richard he that will betray so good a Master will betray any other and in his old age the wretch was accused of Murther In the raigne of Queene Elizabeth were many treasons conspired but God ever delivered his worthy Servant but executed his just judgements upon those trayterous conspirators All men know the miserable ends of the Earles of Northumberland and Westmerland the one beheaded at Yorke the other fled the land and left his house to destruction Many of
World and he shall not iudge it as God because that as Esay saith Tollatur impius The wicked must be taken away that he may never see the glory of God but Iohn 12. 47. as man Vt homines videant that men might see the Iudge of men August saith Quamvis non recedat pater à filio unum enim sunt tamen ad iudicium veniet filius non Pater although the Father departeth not from the Sonne for they are one yet the Sonne shall come to iudgement and not the Father Quia ibi nec Deitas Filij nec Patris videbitur for there neither the Deity of the Father nor of the Sonne shall be seene The third thing to bee handled is the manner of his comming to iudgement it will be a most fearefull yet a glorious comming he will come with thousands of his Saints For if other Benches be furnished with Iustices of Peace Gods Bench shall bee furnished with Angels Thousand thousands shall minister unto him and tenne thousand thousand shall stand before him and when hee shall thus come in his glory fulminabit è Coelo the Lord will thunder from Heauen and the highest will give his voyce Now if the thunder and and crackling of a cloud be so terrible what terror shall there be when hee shall thunder that sitteth above the clouds The thunder doth but demolish Mountaines and roote up trees but when God shall thunder out his judgements hee will crush and cast downe King Prince and People that have not made him their fortresse and their tower The thunder doth but shake the clouds make them to flye up and downe as birds in the ayre but when God shall thunder out his judgements hee will shake and astonish the heart and conscience Yet shall there bee then a great difference betwixt a good and a guilty conscience for a good conscience shall bee moved sed ut folium but as a leafe with a little winde and breath of Gods displeasure but the guilty shall bee removed as the foundations of the Earth are shaken with the full rigour of Gods wrath For then as Saint Ierome hath it Terra tremet mare mugiet the Earth shall quake the Sea roare the Ayre ring the World burne And all this all becommeth as a fire-brand or burning coale O miserable sinner how wilt thou tremble when the Lord shall come with thousands of his Saints to judgement and if the just and upright man Iob was afraid of this judgement and therefore cryed out and said Quid agam quo me convertam cum veniet Dominus ad iudicum What shall I doe or whither shall I turne Iob 31. 14. me when the Lord commeth to judgement If Blessed Hillary who from the fourteenth yeere of his age served the Lord in feare and rejoyced before him with trembling as David did By the terror of particular iudgements we may gather the generall who was affraid of this day as it appeareth by his speech upon his death-bed Egredere anima egredere quid dubitas quid times Goe forth O soule go forth why art thou afraid why doubtest thou thou hast served God these seventy yeeres and art thou Psal 14. afraid now to depart If these holy men were afraid of this day how oughtest thou O sinner which hast drunke iniquity like water hast not served thy God one day as thou oughtest to doe I say how oughtest thou to quake and to tremble If the iust shall scarce be saved where shall the poore wretch appeare then thou wilt cry to the Mountaines Fallon us and to the Hils Cover us hide us from the presence of the Lord and from the wrath of the Lambe For the great day of the Lords wrath is come and who can abide it but all will be in vaine If Zephanie spake so tragically of the particular judgement of God by Nebuchadnezar saying The great day of the Lord Zeph. 1. 14 15. is come a day of wrath a day of trouble and heavinesse a day of destruction and desolation a day of obscurity and darkenesse a day of cloudes and blackenesse a day of the trumpet and alarme If Ieremy spake sorrowfully and lamentably of the particular judgement of God upon Ierusalem saying How is the gold become dimme the most fine gold is changed and the stones of the Sanctuary are scattered in the corner of Lament 4. 1. 2 4 5 10 11. every streete The noble men of Sion comparable to fine gold how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers the tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roofe of his mouth for thirst and the young children aske bread and no man breaketh unto them They that did feed dilicately perish in the streets and they that were brought up in scarlet imbrace the dung The hands of the pittifull women have sodden their Children which were their meate in the destruction of the daughter of my people The Lord hath accomplished his indignation he hath powred out his fierce wrath he hath kindled a fire in Sion which hath devoured the foundations thereof what may be said of the generall judgement when not one Citie but all Cities shall bee destroyed The reprobates shall see above them an angry Iudge beneath them Hell fire on the right hand their Sinnes accusing them on the left hand the Divels tormenting them within them their gnawing conscience without them the damned spirits bewayling on every side the World burning Vbi regredi impossibile progredi intolerabile where to goe backeward it is impossible and to goe forward intolerable The glorious manner of Christs comming is described by the Apostle The Lord saith hee shall descend from Heaven with a shout and with the voyce of the Archangell and with the trumpet of God then hee shall come not with twelve poore Apostles but with twelve thousand thousand Angels Wel the Lord shall come with thousands of his Angels where note that his second comming shal not be like his first At the first he came in poverty now shall he In Christs humility his glory appeared come in glory at the first he came in humility now shall hee come in Majestie at the first he came with the tongues of men now shall he come with the voice of an Archangell and trumpe of God At the first he came in misery now shall he come in Mat. 24. Luk. 9. 58. Majesty at the first he came with Glory be to God on high now shall he come with vae vae vae with a threefold woe upon them that dwell upon the face of the earth At the first he came with tidings of great joy that shall come upon all people now shall he come with feare and trembling upon all the nations of the earth At the first he came 1 Tim. 1. 17. Apoc. 1. 7. Apoc. 5. as a servant now shall he come as a King At the first he came as a prisoner betweene two theeves now shall he come as a Iudge
At the first he came as a Lambe now shall he come as a Lion Venit tunc salvare nunc iudicare he came then to save us now he shall come to judge us And yet to speake fully his first comming was not without glory two contraries were conjoyned Summa humilitas summa sublimitas the deepest humility and the highest sublimity Aug. he lay among the beasts yet praised of Angels which sung Gloria in excelsis Glory bee to God on high What is hee Luk 2. that is so base and so glorious so little and so great so poore and so rich poore in the flesh poore in the manger poore in the stable but great and rich and glorious in heaven whom the starres obey great and glorious in the aire Mat. 2. where the Angels sing great and glorious in earth for Herod and all Ierusalem were moved at the tidings of him It is the greatest basenesse Luk 2. for God to bee conceived and the greatest glory to bee conceived by the Holy Ghost the greatest basenesse to be borne Esay 7. of a Woman and the greatest glory to be borne of a Virgin the greatest basenesse to be borne in a stable and the greatest glory to shine in the Heavens the greatest basenesse to deplore among beasts and the greatest glory to be sung of Angels the greatest basenesse to be baptized among sinners and the greatest glory to have the heavens open the spirit to descend and to heare the Father of heaven speaking from heaven This is my beloved Sonne Mat. 3. 16. in whom I am well pleased It is the greatest basenesse to suffer death upon the Crosse and the greatest glory to rise againe from the dead formosus erat in Coelis formosus erat in terra he was faire and beautifull in heaven faire and beautifull in earth faire and beautifull in his throne of glory faire and beautifull in the manger faire and beautifull among the Angels faire and beautifull among the beasts Quid facitis ô Magi puerum ne adoratis What doe yee ô yee Wise-men doe yee worship the child Is he not therefore a King I but where is the Kings Court Where is his Throne Where the continuall resort and haunt of this Court Is not his Court the stable his Throne the Manger They that resort and haunt this Court the Oxe and the Asse Yet vndique formosus est on every side he was faire and glorious The Lords two Courts one of Mercy the other of Iustice For when he spake the sea was calme when he commanded the windes were whist when he called the dead did rise and when he died the Sunne was eclipsed when he rose the earth trembled when he ascended the heavens opened so farre Augustine Thus his first comming was not without glory but his second shall be glorious indeed He shall come in the glory of his Father with Mat. 24. all the holy Angels One speaking of this comming of Christ to iudgement saith Posterior Christi adventus non erit mitis sed terribilis Christs latter comming shall not bee gentle but terrible and fearefull For measure me the greatnesse of one arme by the quantity of another the Iustice of God by the mercy of God If he was so mercifull in his first comming as to take our flesh and to suffer death upon the Crosse for us and how iust how severe will hee bee in his second comming to all those that have either contemned or abused his mercy Quam facilis fuit in primo adventu Looke how facile gentle and propice he was in his first comming tam difficilis erit in secundo adventu so hard so uneasy to bee intreated will he be in his second comming infinit in mercy infinit in Iustice ready to pardon and ready to punish God shall arise and his enemies shall be scattered they also that hate him shall fly before him As Psal 88. 1 2. the smoke vanisheth so shalt thou drive them away and as Wax melteth before the fire so shall the wicked perish at the presence of God And as the Prophet saith God is jealous and the Lord revengeth even the Lord of anger the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries and he reserveth Nahum 1. 1 2. wrath for his enemies the Lord is slow to anger but great in power and will not surely cleere the wicked As we treasure up our sinnes so hee treasureth up his wrath Indies crescunt peccata indies crescit ira our sinnes increase daily and his wrath daily Bernard saith that the Lord hath two Courts the one of mercy the other of iustice the one in this life the other in the life to come when he shall come with thousands of his Saints to judgement Here is forum miscricordiae the Court of mercy there shall be forum Iustitiae the Court of Iustice for there he will reward every man according to his Works Augustine bringeth in Christ thus Rom. 2. 6. speaking at the last day Ecce fabri Filium quem irrisistis Behold the Carpenters Sonne whom yee have derided Ecce eum in quem non credidistis Behold him in whom yee have not beleeved behold the wounds which yee have made in my hands and feet behold the side which yee have pierced behold the face which you have beraide with your spittle Behold the glory that shall presse and overwhelme you and the Majesty that shall breake and bruise you For our Iudge will iudge righteously and iustly Hee will reward every man according to his worke that is to them which by continuance Rom. 2. 6 7. in well doing seeke glory and honour and immortality eternall life but unto them that are contentious and disobey the truth and obey Wee must meditate as well on the Iustice of God as on his mercy unrighteousnesse shall be indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish shall be upon the soule of every man that doth evill And here note the blindnesse of the World All men prate of mercy but few talke of Iustice like the Benjamites we cast stones with one hand like Iudg. 19. Mat. 26. Polipheme we see but with one eye with Malchus wee heare but with one eare like the Vnicorne we defend our selves with one horne from God like the Amazones many brethren give sucke to the Church with one pap delivering but one doctrine namely that of mercy But let me speake familiarly If a fellon will not trust only on the mercy of the Iudge at the Assise Let us not deceive our selves against that great Assise day Whatsoever Gal. 6 7 8. a man soweth that shall he reape for he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reape corruption but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reape life everlasting In quo statu novissimus vitae dies relinquet in eo resurrectionis primus dies inveniet qualis in isto die quisque moritur talis in die illo iudicabitur In
thy lusts Sequere carnem ducet te adinteritum Follow the flesh and it will lead thee to destruction For if yee live after the flesh yee shall dye Now to live Rom. 8. 13. after the flesh is to commit the workes of the flesh and the Gal. 5. 19 20 21. workes of the flesh are first Adultery secondly Fornication thirdly Vncleanenesse fourthly Wantonnesse fifthly Idolatrie sixthly Witch-craft seventhly Hatred eighthly Debate ninthly Emulations tenthly Wrath eleventhly Contentions twelfthly Seditions thirteenthly Here sies fourteenthly Envy fifteenthly Murders sixteenthly Drunkennesse last of all Gluttony and they that doe these things shall not inherit the Kingdome of God Divide the World into an hundred parts and scarce one is Christian and among a hundred Lust promiseth pleasure but brings damnation that are called Christians scarce one can say with Paul Miserable man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of sinne The flesh speaketh guilefully to the Spirit that hath left her with her lusts as Laban did to Iacob to cause him to retire and goe Rom. 7. 24. home againe with him so saith the flesh to the spirit and body I would have filled thine eyes with goodly sights thine eares with sweete musicke thy palat with dainty dishes thy appetite with all lusts and pleasures So Augustine bringeth in his affections lusts and concupiscences thus speaking unto him and crying Dimittes ne nos nunc Wilt thou leave us now and shall we not be with thee for ever The flesh fighteth against the spirit herein it resembleth Eva alluring Adam to the forbidden fruit like Gal. 5. 16. Gen. 3. Gen. 39. Iudg. 4. Iudg. 16. Putiphars wife solliciting Ioseph to all filthinesse like Iael who slew Sisera under the shew of love like Dalila who delivered Samson sleeping in her lap into the hands of the Philistians Sed opera carnis damnabilia the workes of the flesh are damnable Gal. 5. â—2 If wee live after the flesh wee shall dye Seneca a Gentile could say Major sum ad majora natus quà m ut carnis mancipium fiam I am greater and borne to greater things than to bee a slave unto the flesh So must a Christian say I am borne to greater things than to serve the flesh which yeeldeth nothing but corruption For hee that soweth in the flesh shall of the flesh reape corruption I Gal. 6. 8. Gen. 2. 1 Pet. 1. 18. 1 Cor. 6. 11. Ephes 4. 1 Cor. 10. 3. Phil. 3. 21. am created after Gods image redeemed with his Bloud sanctified by his Spirit instructed by his Word fed by his Sacraments appointed to be glorified that I may live to God here in Heaven hereafter What man having two servants the one wise the other foolish wold have the foole to over-rule the wiseman So we let the flesh over-ruel the Spirit Our lusts are as fire unquenchable as a devouring beast that is not satisfied as the horse-leech which sucketh till she burst Quod solatiuÌ„ habere potest pater What coÌ„fort or joy can a Father have that having 10 or 12 hungry sons ready to starve for want heare them cry out for food succor hath not wherwith to feed still them So what quiet can a man have whose appetites desires cry out yet caÌ„not satisfie nor suffice theÌ„ Clamat luxuria Leachery crieth Give me women yet thy strength caÌ„not performe that thou lustest after Clamat superbia Pride cryeth Be liberall a good companion Tuae tamen facultates hoc negant Thy wealth denyeth this Clamat invidia Envy cryeth Revenge thy selfe of such such injury yet thy weakenesse will not suffer thee to bee revenged Clamat voluptas Pleasure cryeth Ede bibe Eate drinke fish fowle hunt hawke rush ride reclamat tamen senectus but old age cryeth againe Desunt vires Strength is wanting to performe these things hee must sit coughing in his chaire and grunting in his bed his will is good to follow these delights but poore man he wanteth strenght Miserè torquentur isti libidinosi nunquam explentur these libidinous men are miserably tormented but never filled like the horse-leech daughters they are never satiate quot sensus tot arma so Lust poysons all the powers of the soule many senses so many weapons our words blow our works wound our eyes and eares open gates for the Divell to send loads of sinne into our mind our taste and senses and feeling are Prov. 30. 15. Rom 6. 1 Cor. 6. tinder and fewell to feed the fire of our concupiscence our bodies which should have beene Templum Spiritus Sancti the Temple of the Holy Ghost a haunt of Divels and a sepulcher of a corrupted soule the soule betrothed to Christ in Baptisme a 1 Cor. 2. 14. riotous disloyall losell our understanding darkened our will with her affections a common Curtisan lusting after every offer Ephes 2. 3. of the flesh in so much as one Father bringeth in the Divel speaking thus to Christ I have more right to this man than thou Iudge him to be mine I never loved him and yet he served me I never did him good yet hath he obeyed me what I suggested he performed what I proffered he imbraced Meus est per naturam tuus est per gratiam he is mine by nature he should have been thine by grace mine he is by transgression but thine he should have been by redemption but he gave himselfe to lust and lust being conceived brought forth sin therefore he is mine mine mine An elegant Prosopopeia without us are our affections to seduce us within our conscience to accuse us above us Gods justice beneath us hell fire Let us not therefore lust after evill things but crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts Where lust is there is no mortification and where no mortification is there is no rising againe with Christ where there is no rising againe with Christ there is no salvation For Peter Martyr devided mortification into two members patience in bearing aduersity and temperancy in brideling the lusts of the flesh Now measure our Christianity by this and Lord how little would be found in the world as one said Call on houses and chambers under which thou hast lived aske the fields gardens where thou hast walked summon seates whereon thou hast sitten examine thy pillowes upon which thy head hath rested all these will cry with one mouth that we have walked after our lusts that we have lived at randon that wee have followed our pleasures that we have lived in gluttony in chambring and wantonnesse that we take no thought but for the flesh To fulfill the lusts of it this is not to walke honestly as in the day time The Image of God is not restored in us till our lusts be subdued and we cease to walke after our lusts Imaginis Dei duae sunt partes sanctitas intellectus sanctitas voluntatis
out and the young Eagles eateit what shall the tongue doe that mocketh God his heavenly Father the 2 Cor. 5. 20. Church his Mother the Saints his fellow brethren members of Christs Body the holy Ghost his Schoole-master the Preachers the messengers of God the Gospell the Word of life the two Sacraments the two dugges of life the Food of our soules Into their secrets let not my soule come saith old father Iacob Many Scoffers and railers smite with the tongue condemne us of singularity precisenesse puritanisme they would not have us so odde but to be good fellowes boone companions sport and play drinke and swill like other men and to Gen. 49. 6. walke as the world doth But let us answere these men as Alexander answered Parmenio counselling him to a thing undecent and unseemely Facerem si Parmenio essem at Alexandro neutiquam licet I would doe this if I were Parmenio but it is no way beseeming Alexander to doe it So will wee answere Atheists Papists Worldlings We would doe such and such things we would drinke with the drunkard sweare with the swaggerer and runne into all excesse of riot if wee were Atheists Papists prophane worldlings At Protestantibus Christianis non licet But it is not lawfull for Christians and Protestants so to doe God bee thanked wee are free now from open persecution the Moone is not turned into bloud the Dragon pursueth not the woman the daughters of Sion are not Apoc. 6. Cap. 12. Lament 2. 1. 2 Reg. 21. darkened the Church is not blacke as Cant. 1. our bloud is not powred out like water as in Ierusalem the Preachers are not scattred abroad as Moses in Madian Daniel in Chaldaea Hosea in Israel Ieremy in Iuda Iohn in Asia Peter in Samaria Philip in Alexandria Thomas in Aethiopia Bartholomew in India Andrew in Scythia SimoÌ„ in Persia Iudas in Mesopotamia Marcus in Colonia Nathanael in France Ioseph of Aramathia in Scotland and Paul in England yet are we not free from all persecution for wee are persecuted with the toung the woolf cannot bite yet can he barke the wicked cannot smite with the fist yet can he smite with the toung these serpents cannot sting yet can they hisse as they said of Ieremy Come let Ier. 18. 18. us smite him with the tongue and let â—â— not give heed to any of his Words so good men shall be sure to bee smitten with the tongue These voices are oftentimes heard Oh these holy men oh these Bible-men oh these precisians Puritans mortified men men of the spiritlare not others holy and honest and good as well as they Oh take heed Dathan Corah and Abiram went to hell for as liâ—lle as Numb 6. 16. that and thither shall these go if they repent not The first Christians wanted not these derisions mockings and scoffings Tertullian in Apologetico saith that they in the Primitive Church were called Asinarij Semissij homines Crucifixi discipuli Galilaei Nazareni heards of Asses vile Fellowes the disciples of a man crucified Galilaeans Nazarites eaters of mans flesh drinkers of mans bloud for that they received the Sacraments Libanus scholler to Iulian the Apostata scoffed at Christ asking what the Sonne of the Carpenter did then in heaven To whom the Schoole-master of Antioch answered Concinnat loculos Iuliano he was making coffins for Iulian. So he died within 3. daies saith the Tripartite History The same Tripartite History telleth of one Lucius Lib. 7. cap. 12. Samasatensis who mocking at Christianity said that he got nothing by it but the increase of his name in one syllable For The godly usually mocked for well doing before he was christened hee was called Lucius but after that he was called Lucianuâ— but he mocked and barked so long at Christ that in fine he was torne in pieces of dogs one dog are another A wicked witnesse mocketh Iudgement saith Salomon but judgements Prov. 19. 28 29. 2 Sam. 6. 21 21. are prepared for the scornefull that is mockers Finely did David answere Michol It was before the Lord which chose me rather then thy Fathers house c. And I will yet bee more vile then thus and will bee low in my owne sight c. So let us answere these huswifes dames scoffers mockers God hath not chosen them nor their Fathers house and we wil be yet more vile seeing it is before our God But yet howsoever Iulian flowt at Christ Diagoras jest at religion Dionysius scoffe at the last Iudgement Ismael the bastard 2 Reg. 2. 19. mocke Isaac Senacherib laugh at the virgin Sion and nod his head at Ierusalem yet how le they weep they and lament this sinne in hell Oh brethren hee that heard our men how in their secret meetings they deride the Preacher the Word the Auditors the Church the assemblies how they canvice every professour his life how they censure all men how they open their mouth against heaven and their tongues walke thorow the earth how they talke on their Ale-bench sparing neither Magistrate not Minister nor private man would wonder that such iniquitie should be in the world yet are they no sooner in danger but they tremble But the vilenesse of this sinne of mocking shall yet more plainely appeare if yee marke the cause of it it is ever lightly for doing well and refraining evill For this cavse Cain disdained and hated his brother Abell because his owne works were evil 1 Iohn 3. 12. his brothers good a vile spirit that cannot abide vertue but so greedily thirsteth after sinne which is of the Divell drinke not with the drunkard and they mocke thee sweare not with the swearers and they mocke thee be not vaine in words in apparell in behaviour and they mocke thee Heare the Word read of it talke of it and by and by a yong Saint and an old Divell you will to Heaven ere your bones bee cold with a number of such mockes and divellish taunts but Iudgements are prepared for these Prov. 19. 29. sinne seene and sorrowed for hath pardon promised but sinne jested at and played withall hath vengeacne threatened It is the 2 Sam. 24. voice of a Christian to say I have sinned but it is the voice of a reprobate to say Tush let them preach I will sinne still and Prov. 14. 9. so verifieth the saying of Salomon The foole maketh a mocke of sinne he doth not know the grievousnesse thereof nor Gods judgements against the same It is strange that one reporteth that in Collecke a towne in Germany Anno. 1505. certaine vaine persons hopping and dancing in the Church-yard being admonished by the minister to cease and contemning it ranne round about till at last they fell all downe dead And note that these vile men shall be in the It is damnable to scoffe at the Saints last times they have beene at all times For sinne is as ancient as Satan who was a murtherer from
will be tristitia pudor confusion and punishment but the other thinkes of nothing but his present joy merriment Let others therefore live as they list we must edifie our selves and build up our selves in our most holy Faith let other serve Mammon or Bacchus or Venus wee must serve none of them but the Lord Iesus But of this I have spoken before in the seventeenth Verse But yee beloved edifie your selves This word edifie signifieth to build the metaphor is taken from Carpenters from builders who by little little reare up their worke until it come to a certain height and perfection this metaphor is not improperly applied to the Saints for building edification is proper to houses Now the Church and Saints of God are as houses therfore may be said to bee builded and edified Saint Peter calleth the Saints an house saying The time is come that iudgement must beginne at the house of God And againe And yee as lively stones are 1 Pet. 4. 17. 1 Pet. 2. 5. made a spirituall house So spake Paul Now therefore yee are no more strangers and forreners but Citizens with the Saints and of the houshold Ephes 2. 19 20. of God and are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Iesus Christ himselfe being the chiefe corner stone And againe writing to the Hebrewes he saith Christ is as the Sonne over his own Hebr. 3. 6 house whose house wee are For in obeying the Sonne wee are made the house of God But most plainely in his Epistle unto the the Saints at Corinth Yee are Gods husbandry and Gods building 1 Cor. 3. 9. This teacheth us two things first that all Christians should bee edifiers builders that is should make themselves a seemely house for God to dwell in Wee read what care David had to build a Temple but God would not suffer him but now every man must build a Temple for God even his own soule We read The Word of God must be the square wherewith we must build what cost Salomon bestowed upon the Temple but now God careth not for such Temples made of stone he will have a Temple made of lively stones For howsoever Heaven is his seate and the Earth his foot-stole yet his most principall princely palace of 1 Chro. 17. 1 4. 1 Pet. 2. 5. pleasure is mans heart hereupon saith a father Quà m excelsus es Domine humiles corde sunt domus tuae O how high how Soveraigne art thou O Lord yet the humble-hearted are the houses wherein thou dwellest For as the Lord loved the gates of Sion more than all the dwellings of Iacob so hee loveth a faithfull heart a devout soule more than all the pavillions of Princes All true Christians must bee builders therefore saith Paul Let all bee to edification 1. Cor. 14. 27. but before they build they 1 Cor. 14 27. must know how to build and the way to come to this knowledge is the Scripture No Carpenter will build an house without rule and square and the rule and square of Christian building is the Word of God by it our hearts and soules are squared and made fit for Gods house and therefore Saint Paul taking his leave of the Church of Ephesus commendeth them to God and to the Act. 20. 32. Word of his grace which is able to build further and to give them an inheritance with all them that are sanctified Where withall saith David Psal 1 19. shall a young man cleanse his way Even by ruling himselfe after thy Word Timothy knew the Scriptures from a child his grandmother 2 Tim. 3. 15. Lois and his mother Eunica taught him them Without the knowledge of the Scripture wee can no more edifie and build than a Carpenter can build without tooles or a Mariner saile without his compasse or a bird flye without his feathers it is the Word of God that is able to make the man of God perfect it is that that will make him become a fit house and Temple for the Lord Of this building Saint Peter speaketh thus Yee are come to the Lord Iesus as a living stone reiected of men but precious and chosen of God wherefore you your selves bee built as lively 1 Pet. 2. 4. stones a spirituall house And Saint Paul Let all things be done to edification 1 Cor. 14. 27. that is Let this be the end of all thy workes the building of Gods spirituall Temple bee more carefull to build it than Salomon was for his Temple If Salomons workemen were one moneth in Libanus about the worke of the Temple and 1 Reg. 5. 14. two moneths at home about their owne businesse Let us exceed them let us imploy two moneths about the Lords building and but one about our owne businesse Let us first seeke the Kingdome of God for as Elias said unto the widow of Sarepta Bake me a cake Mat. 6. 33. 1 Reg. 17. 13. first and after provide for thee and thine so saith Almighty God to us Build me an house first and after for thee and thine And as wee must edifie and build houses for ourselves so for our brethren also so saith the Apostle Exhort one another and edifie one another but especially wee must edifie our children a 1 Thess 5. 11. sonne in Hebrew is called Ben that is a building because the father should especially build his sonne in Religion and Vertue Parents must edifâ—e their children by godly instâ—uction Nature teacheth all men this the Savage Beare fashioneth her whelpes being deformed with her tongue so should all Christians with gentle admonitions frame the deformed manners of their children That commandement which injoyneth fathers to teach their children what the Passe-over meant teacheth them Deut. 6. 10. this building and all Parents if they will have their Children lead a pure life if they will have them strong in the Lord and through the power of his might if they will have them to overcome the Divell if they will have them true Saints Sonnes of Abraham they must edifie them with instruction and see that the Word of God dwell plentifully in them in all Wisedome Papists were great builders they built Churches Religious houses as Col. 3. 16. Abbeyes Nunneries c. but they left the principall worke undone they did not build themselves by the Word of God in their most holy faith neither would they suffer others to build but their guides and leaders tooke away from the people the levell and square of the Word without which men cannot build but God bee blessed the Word is restored wee have the levell to build by let us not bee idle but build up an holy house for God that hee may dwell with us and that wee may dwell with him hereafter for ever Secondly this teacheth us that it is not ynough to begin to build in faith and good workes but wee must goe on goe forward
we shall never be better then when by prayer we creep as it were into our Heavenly Fathers bosome And thus wee see the profit power and pleasure of prayer the experience of this hath made good men to spend their dayes in prayer David rose at midnight to pray Daniel prayed three Psal 119. Dan. 6. Hist tripart times a day It is reported of Saint Iames that his knees were horne-hoofed with prayer and Nazianzene writeth of his sister Gorgonia that shee was so given to prayer that her knees seemed to cleave to the earth by reason of her continuall kneeling at prayer and Gregory in his dialogues writeth of his Aunt Trasilla being dead that shee was found to have her elbowes as hard as hornes which hardnesse she got by leaning to a deske at which shee used to pray and Saint Ierome writing of Paul the Hermite affirmeth that hee was found dead kneeling upon his knees holding up his hands and lifting up his eyes so that the very dead corps seemed yet to live and by a kind of religious gesture to pray still to God The Iewes beganne the day and ended it with Levit. 1. prayer It is said of Anthony the Hermite that having spent the whole night in prayer hee chid the Sunne at the rising of it saying O Sol mimis properè nobis redijsti O Sunne thou hast returned to us over-soone I am troubled with thy light the greatnesse of Divers kinds of prayer in respect of matter thy light hindreth mee from contemplation and the light of my God and of Bessarion that hee passed twelve dayes and nights in contemplation pavimentum erat lectus the pavement was his bed water his drinke barly his bread and rootes his dainties If we compare with these men we shall be found like the Pigmaei in respect of the great Giants Wee be not men of prayer wee rise in the morning as the wild Asse to his prey and we lie downe at night as dogges do in their kennell The Euchites pray too much wee too little or not at all the Papists prayed in the night but wee neither day nor night But of prayer in respect of the matter there bee divers kindes Petition Deprecation Intercession Expostulation Petition is for good things Deprecation to remove evill things Intercession for others Expostulation against others The Apostle Paul devideth prayer into Supplications Prayers Intercessions 1 Tim. 2. 2. Thankesgiving Supplications are for the removing of evill whether it bee malum culpae or Malum poenae the evill of sinne or the evill of punishment Prayers are for the obtayning of good for God will give good Mat. 7. 11. things to them that aske of him Intercessions are in the behalfe of others so Moses made intercession for the people saying Forgive them or els race mee out of Exod. 32. the booke of life which thou hast written So Christ made intercession for his crucifiers Father forgive them they know not what they doe Thankesgivings are for benefits received Mat. 27. And these foure the Apostle referreth in another place to two heads 1. Requests 2. Thankesgiving Phil. 4. 6. Vnder request hee comprehendeth supplication prayer and intercession But the most usuall distinction is grounded on 1 Thess 5. 17 18. which is Petition and Thankesgiving And in all these kindes of prayer a Christian must be conversant and use them as occasion serves and thus yee see the distinct kindes of prayer in respect of the matter There are other distinctions in regard of the manner the first Mentall and Vocall Mentall is an inward lifting up of the heart to God without any outward manifestation of the same by word such as Moses was when God said unto him Why cryest thou to me yet hee spake Prayer divers in respect of the manner never a word with his tongue onely he sighed and groned Vocall is that which is uttered with words as was the Publicans Exod 14. 15. Luk. 18. when hee cried God be mercifull unto me a sinner Secondly A prayer in regard of the manner of it is Sudden or Composed Sudden when as upon some occasion the heart is lifted up to God either by sighing or speaking such as was Nehemiahs prayer Nehe. 2. 4. and these are called the ejaculations of the heart which as one saith are to bee used as salt with meate with every bit of meate wee commonly take a little salt to season it so when wee doe any thing we must lift up our hearts to God and season our busines by prayer Composed prayer is the powring forth of some solemne prayer to God privately by our selves and such were the prayers that Daniel used to make three times a day Dan. 6. 10. Thirdly prayer is either Conceived or Prescribed Conceived prayer is that which hee who uttereth the prayer inventeth and conceiveth of himselfe and such are most of the prayers recorded in the Scripture Prescribed is when a set constant forme of prayer is layed downe before-hand a thing very frequent in the Scriptures in Numbers God prescribed a set forme of blessing for the Priests continually Numb 6. 23 24. to use and the 92. Psalme was prescribed A song for the Sabbath Mat. 6. day and Christ himselfe prescribed an excellent forme of prayer and S. Paul observes a set forme of blessing in the beginning and end of his Epistles Fourthly prayer is either Publike or Private Publike when a whole Congregation with one joint consent call upon God Private is that which is made by some few together as Elisha 2 Reg. 4. 33. and his servant were alone in a chamber praying for the Shunamites child or when a man prayeth by himselfe alone as did Cornelius and of this kinde of prayer Christ speaketh thus When thou Act. 10. 30. prayest enter into thy chamber and shut the dore and pray to thy Father in secret and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly All these prayers must wee send up to God in the mediation of Christ Nam quid dulcius quà m Genitorem in nomine Vnigeniti invocare Aug. What is sweeter then to call upon the Father in the name of his onely begotten Sonne And they must bee powred out with feare and reverence Our hearts must bee raised from the dunghill of the earth to the glorious Throne of Heaven as the Prophet saith Let our hearts be lifted up Our gestures must be reverent and humble and kneeling is the fittest gesture in prayer Lament 3. 41. and they must bee delivered with fervency For the prayer of Iam. 5. the righteous avayleth much if it bee fervent Prayer is for all times and all things Yea in prayer wee must bee diligent Paul would have the Thessalonians to pray alwayes nay indesinenter orare to pray without ceasing but if any man say they cannot spend so much time 1 Thess 5. 17. in prayer they have other things to attend I
Father and the Sonne so that prayer is a worke of the Trinity as are all good works O noble worke ad quod tanti artifices concurrunt to Visinu◠the performing whereof so many Artisans doe concurre and meet the Omnipotency of the Father the wisdome of the Son and goodnesse of the Holy Ghost where goodnesse willeth wisdom disposeth Omnipotency performeth potens est sapiens est bonus est tamen unus Deus est qui omnia in omnibus operatur hee is mighty hee is wise hee is good and yet but one God that worketh all in all Or these words Orate in spiritu Pray in the spirit may bee meant of the quality of prayer that it must be spirituall not carnall proceed from the heart not from the lippes from the soule 1 Sam. 1. 15. not the mouth only Hence is it that they which pray in the Spirit are said to powre out their soules and their heart unto God The Virgin Mary who without all question praised God in the Spirit saith My soule magnifieth the Lord my Spirit rejoiceth in God Luk. 1. 46. Rom. 8. 26. And Paul telleth us that the Spirit maketh intercession with groanes Now groanes proceed from the heart and Spirit not from the tongue and lippes And the Apostle telleth us that the Spirit which crieth Abba Father is sent into our hearts The Iewes prayed with their lippes but not with their hearts therefore God complaineth of them saying This people draw neere unto mee Esay 29. 13. with their lippes but their hearts are farre from me Our prayers must be fervent like the spirit Be fervent in spirit saith the Apostle our hearts in prayer must be lifted up to God the heart of man is as it were Gods chaire of estate whereunto no creature can come it is proper to God alone it is his Palace wherein hee most delighteth wherfore Gods Spirit maketh his abode there and stirreth it up to pray The prayer that commeth not from the heart and spirit it is a key cold prayer it is frozen before it commeth half-way to heaven David to note his earnestnes in prayer said that he rored he spake not but rored cried out and indeed Psal 38. the Spirit of God is a crying Spirit not a cold spirit Hereby then may wee judge whether the Spirit of God bee Rom. 8. 15. in us and move us to pray or no If thy prayer come but from Fervent prayer prevailes with God the teeth though it be never so well framed in regard of words and though thy gestures bee never so reverent and humble yet all is nothing the Spirit of God hath no part in this worke if thy spirit pray not thou doest but babble a kind of praying condemned by our Saviour Paul would have us to pray in the Spirit Mat. 6. 7. 1 Cor. 14. and to pray with the understanding that is earnestly from the heart and yet intelligibly of the Church and congregation he had reference to this when writing to the Saints of Ephesus he biddeth them to be filled with the Spirit speaking unto your selves saith hee in Psalmes and Hymnes and spirituall songs singing and making melody Ephes 5. 18 19. to God in your hearts Hearty singing hearty praying hearty speaking unto God is the thing that God accepteth My Sonne saith Prov. 23. hee give mee thy heart It is of the essence of prayer to be hearty spirituall and servent As a painted fire is no fire a dead man no man so a cold lip-labour prayer no prayer in a painted fire there is no heate in a dead man no life in a cold prayer no devotion no blessing The prayer of the righteous availeth much if it bee Iam. 5. 16 17 18. fervent it is that that makes and marres all And he exemplifieth this by the prayer of Elias hee prayed that it might not raine and it rained not on the earth for three yeeres and six moneths and he prayed againe Heaven gave rayne the earth brought forth her fruit A cold prayer could not have locked up heaven three yeeres nor opened heaven such a prayer made Hanna 1. Sam. 2. her lippes went yet spake nothing Loquebatur non voce sed corde prece occulta sed manifesta fide She spake not with the mouth but with the heart Aug. her prayer was hid her faith made manifest such a prayer made Moses yet spake not a word with his mouth his heart spake but his tongue was silent such must our prayers bee or els they rebound Exod. 14. backe againe as a tennis ball yea they turne to bee sinne Psal 109. 7. unto us What Is hony turned into gall And balme into wormewood Is treakle become poyson is prayer become sin Yea a plaine sinne a notable sinne if wee doe it not rightly quot preces tot peccata As physicke killeth the body if it worke not in the body so prayer killeth the soule if it proceed not aright from the soule For we have two Axiomes in Divinity 1. That God regardeth not only the matter but the manner 2. Quod non actibus sed finibus pensantur officia That duties are esteemed not by their acts but by their ends The manner must be good and the end good The Church of Rome saith that virtualis intentio nonex necessitate requiritur in precibus sed actualis intentio a vertuous intent is not of necessity required in prayer but an actuall But better said the Papist Criton who said that God loved better Adverbes then Nownes not to pray only but to praywell Non bonum sed bene agere Not to doe good but to doe it well for wee may doe bona good things and yet goe to hell as did the Pharises Oratio nec timida nec temeraria Mat. 23. nec tepida sit Prayer must be neither false-hearted nor They that call upon God must depart from iniquity foole-hardy nor luke-warme Oratio timida coelos non penetrat A false-hearted prayer cannot pierce the Heavens temeraria resilet ut pila palmaria a foole-hardy a rash prayer reboundeth backe againe like an hand-ball tepida frigescit conglaciatur priusquam coelos ascendit the luke-warme prayer is cooled and frozen up before it can get heaven In prayer two things are required Tempus cor time and the heart much businesse steales away the time and a multitude of cogitations the heart so that we cannot conferre quietly with God Here therefore the prayers of the wicked are rejected I will saith Paul that men pray every where lifting up pure hands to God 1 Tim. 2. 8. without wrath or doubting but the hands which they lift up in prayer are impure hands and so are the hearts also Pretily said Bias to the Grecians in a naufrage in a ship-wracke when they prayed and cried out to their gods Silete ne orate ne dij vos nebulones hîc navigantes sentiant Be silent pray not that the
6. 13. their love is nothing else but a mony love Come with us say they we will lay wait for bloud and lye privily for the innocent without a Prov. 1. 11 12 13 14. cause Wee will swallow them up alive like the grave even whole as those that goe downe into the pit wee shall find all precious riches and fill our houses with spoile cast in thy lot amongst us wee will have all one purse Atheists love their brethren as Flies love the pot as Dionysius loved his bottles so long as there is any meate in the pot the Flie loves and Dionysius loved his bottles when they were full but hurled them away when they were empty so wee play with our friends Iob said when I washed my pathes with butter when the rocke Iob 29. 6 8. powred mee out rivers of oyle the yong men saw mee and hid themselves and the aged arose and stood up but now they that are yonger than I mocke Iob 30. 1. mee yea and they whose Fathers I have refused to set with the dogges of my flockes But let us no longer love from the teeth outward but from the heart inward we speake faire as Cain did to Abel wee give good words as Iacobs Sonnes did to the Sichemites we salute Gen. 4. Gen. 35. men as Ioab did Abner we shead Crocodiles teares as Ismael did to Godoliah wee kisse one another with Iudas but with no true 2 Sam. 3. Ier. 41. Mat. 26. love all is but Court-holy water This made David to complaine saying Surely mine enemy did not defame me for I could have borne it neither did my adversary exalt himselfe against me for I would have hid Psal 55. 12 13 14. me from him but it was thou ô man my companion and my familiar wee delighted in consulting together and went into the house of God as companions and againe If he come to see me hee speaketh lies for pretending love and good will unto mee he desireth my destruction Psal 41. 6. in his heart We love men for profit Voluntatis duo sunt calcaria There bee two spurres of the will honesty and utility but utility profit is the stronger spurre we should carry holy Love religious love towards our parents delectable love towards our neighbours The love of Papists is also condemned In cathedra unitatis Deus posuit doctrinam veritatis God hath placed the doctrine of verity Vnity without verity is nothing but conspiracy in the chaire of unity unity without verity is but conspiracy for so it is called their brotherhood is in evill as Iacob said of Simeon and Levi they consent against the Gospell as the high Priests did against Christ they have neither unity nor verity they agree Esay 8. 12. Gen. 49. 5. Act. 4. 27. as the false prophets did not in the Lord but against the Lord they make adoe of their Councell of Trident and how they agree in all meetings Alas a few buckeram Bishops of Italy conspired together but thirty eight Bishops in all not like the Councell of Nice wherein were 318. Bishops or that of Arimine where were 600. Bishops nor like the Councell of Constance where were 4. Patriarches 29. Cardinals 47. Archbishops 270. Bishops 564. Abbots and Doctors at the deposing of Benedict the third But to leave all this Keep your selves in the Love of God And first of Gods Love towards us next of our love towards God but in speaking of the Love of God to us I shall enter into a labyrinth without end into a sea without bottome For his Love is so much as there is no affection in nature no proportion in the whole world hath been found fit to expresse it the height of heaven above the earth the distance of the East from the West the affection of Fathers towards their childrē of mothers towards the fruit of their wombe of nurses towards their sucklings of Eagles towards their yong ones of hennes towards their chickens all these are but the shadowes of Gods Love Love in God is in the abstract it is not in him as in us by accident and participation but by essence only And God hath an immanent Love in him whereby he loveth himselfe by the necessity of his owne nature and hath a transient love flowing from him whereby hee loveth his creatures some more and some lesse according to the liberty of his owne will He hath a generall Love to all For all are his creatures and the workemanship of his hands but hee hath a speciall Love to some as unto his Elect and chosen and his Love towards them is both Temporary and Sempiternall Temporarie Sustentando Regendo Conservando By Sustaining Ruling Preserving Sempiternall gloriam dando in giving them eternall glory and the more holy men are the more hee loveth them wherupon Saint Augustine doth excellently observe that God loved the humanity of Christ more than any man because hee was full of August Tract in Iohn Iob. 1. 14. grace and truth Yea Gods Love hath all the dimensions Thy mercy ô God reacheth unto the Heavens there is the height of his Love Great is thy goodnesse and thou hast delivered my soule from the Psal 36. 5. Psal 86. 13. Psal 104. 24. nethermost Hell There is the depth of his love The earth is full of thy goodnesse saith David there is the breadth of his Love All the No love to be compared to Gods love ends of the world have seene the salvation of God There is the length of his Love Yea Gods Love is transcendent it can no more bee measured then yee can measure the water with your fist For Psal 104. 24. Psal 98. 4. Esa 40. what love shall I compare unto his Love The love of a woman It is great indeed but yet the love of Ionathan to David was greater than it Thy love to mee was wonderfull yea passing the love of 2 Sam. 1. 26. women The love of a mother Here is a greater degree than in the former but yet this love is not so certaine and infallible as Gods Love Can a woman forget her child and not have compassion of Esa 49. 15. the sonne of her wombe If they should forget as some may bee and some have been so unnaturall yet will not I forget thee saith God to his disconsolate and afflicted Sion For as none can be compared to God so no love can be compared to his Love as Ieremy spake literally of his owne griefe but typically of Christ Was there ever griefe as my griefe So may I say of Gods Love Was there Lament 1. 12. ever love like his Love No no his Love passeth all understanding Let us then labour to obtaine and retaine this Love of God and keep our selves in his Love which we shall doe if wee conforme our wills to his will and labour to bee like him to be holy as hee is holy mercifull as hee is mercifull righteous
tendeth the exhortation of Saint Iames See that yee bee doors of the Word not hearers only deceiuing your owne selves So did the Thessalonians Iam. 1. 22. they received the Word not as the word of man but as it is 1 Thess 2. 1. indeed the Word of God 4. It must expell dishonest things as namely all maliciousnes and all guile all dissimulation and envy and all evill speaking So did 1 Pet. 2. 1. the Antiochians for the hand of the Lord was with them so that a great Act. 11. 21. number beleeved and turned unto the Lord. All these benefits come by the teacher under God For as the nurse hath two brests to give milke to the Infant so the Minister hath two also doctrine and life the one for example the other for instruction touching both wee will say as Paul said Yee are witnesses and God also how 1 Thess 2. 10. holily and justly and unblameably wee behaved our selves among them that beleeve Wee appeale not to the Infidels but to the beleevers For if an inquest of Infidels bee impannelled on us certenly wee goe downe Elias shall be said to trouble Israel the Apostles shall bee seditious Iohn Baptist shall have the Divell 1 Reg. 18. Christ is an enemy to Caesar wee appeale therefore from Infidels to beleevers and wee hope they will acquite us for wee may labi in domo fall in the house but not à domo from the house they shall find us sine crimine without offensive fault though not sine peccato without fault Ministery the meanes of salvation Well said the women of Rome to Constantius the Emperour when hee would have deposed Foelix the Bishop or have joyned with him Liberius the hereticke Vâ—us Deus unus Christus una fides unus Episcopus One God one Christ one faith one Bishop quoth he Pretty is the fable of Demostenes how the woolves made league of peace with the sheepe so that the dogges might bee removed but when the dogges were removed the sheep were woorried so the Divell maketh league with worldlings so that they will put away their Ministers but when they are removed bee sure the Diuell will woorry and devoure the soules of the people as the woolves did the sheepe For the great redde Dragon that hath seven heads and ten hornes and seven crownes upon his heads and who with his taile drawes down the third part of the starres of Heaven and casts them to the earth stands before the woman travelling with Child to devoure the Child as soone as it is brought forth For when the shepheard is smitten the flocke will be scattered and your adversary Mat. 26. 1 Pet. 5. 8. the Divell as a roaring Lion goeth about seeking to devoure Well of all the indignities offered to us we will say as Mauritus said to Phocas murdering his children Videat Dominus judicet So let God judge betwixt you and us wee labour to save you and you are like the dogge in the water who biteth him by the hands who would save him from drowning When Fulvius cóquered over the French Scipio over Numantia the people cried 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Saviour A Saviour the earth rebounded and the birds of the ayre fell down dead with the resound of the earth yet these saved but mens bodies Ministers save mens soules As wee cannot have trees without planting 1 Tim. 4. 13. nor corne without sowing nor houses without building so wee cannot come to heaven without teaching the clowds powre downe rayne and make the earth fruitfull Ministers are the Ephes 4. 20. Deuter. 32. clowds and their doctrines as the dew to make our hearts fruitfull Can a bird live without aire or a fish without water or a body without a soule No more can the soule without the Word It is Verbum vitae the Word of life Triplex est vita there is a threefold life Vitanaturae brutis peculiaris a life of nature peculiar Iobn 6. Eccles 2. Col 3. 3. Ephes 4. 18. to beasts Vita gloriae Angelis A life of glory proper to the Angels Vita gratia elect is and life of grace to the elect and this life is had by the Word of God Pregnant are the similitudes that the Holy Ghost useth in the Scriptures where hee compareth Ministers to Fathers to mothers nurses watchmen 1 Cor. 4. 15. Gal. 4. Ezeeb 3. 1 Reg. 13. Hebr. 13. 7. Apoc. 12. 2. and souldiers overseers starres Children cannot bee without fathers nor brought up without mothers nor tended without nurses Cities in warre cannot bee kept without watchmen nor kingdomes without souldiers nor men walk in the dark without sta-light Solem mundo tollunt qui Verbum Dei tollunt They take the Sunne out of world that take away the Word they are the Without the light of the Ministery all in darkenesse light of the world the salt of the earth all would wander and ranckle in their affections if they were not they should bee as the men of Cimmeria who never saw the Sunne men should sit in the Church as the Aegyptians did in their houses not able to Exod. 10. Wisd 5. 6. arise in three dayes Men might say We have erred from the light of trueth the light of righteousnesse hath not shined unto us and the Sunne of Vnderstanding rose not up uponus Philip rejoiced that Alexander was borne in the dayes of Arislotle Socrates rejoiced that he was borne an Atheuian and rejoice thou that thou art a Christian that thou livest in the dayes of a learned Ministery The Queene of Sheba pronounced Salomons servants happy for hearing him 1 Reg. 10. how happy then shall wee thinke our selves that heare God speake to us by a Minister O blessed men that may heare God speake to us every Sunday and every Thursday for the increase of faith and repentance in every one of us Blessed bee that day and happy bee that houre wherein God speaketh unto thee by a man How happy was Galatia then How did all the Churches count that a blessed Church Philip thought Alexander happy that hee was borne in the dayes of Aristotle and wee thinke our selves unhappy that wee are borne in the time of Light and doctrine We wish a change we wish Mariana tempora we say that it was a good world then men loved one another yet then they knew no love no faith no hope no God no Christ they beleeved as the Church beleeved and the Church beleeved as they beleeve and neither could tell what they beleeved O blind times ô vile dayes If a Prince should send an Ambassadour to Rebels to proclaime pardon and they should take and abuse him would it not kindle the ire of the Prince So standeth the case betwixt God and his people Ministers being Gods Legats Gods Harolds men having runne all the dayes of their life the broad way when death commeth then they call for a Guide but then
evill communications that is often conversation with the wicked noted by the plurall number corrupt good manners yea the Apostle is so severe in this point that hee will not have a wicked person suffered in the Congregation and therefore hee commandeth the incestuous Corinthian to bee cast out that is excommunicated and hee giveth the reason Know yee not that a 1 Cor. 5. 5. little leaven sowreth a whole lumpe Intimating thereby that one evill person might corrupt the whole Church and a little Colloquintida marreth a whole messe of pottage one scabbed sheepe 1 Reg. 4. 39. infecteth a flocke one sparke of fire may burne an house and one infected house may spoyle a Citie one roote of bitternesse Hebr. 12. 15. suffered to spring up may trouble and defile many sinne is as contagious as any disease and wee are as apt to take the contagion of sinne as of the plague This knew David well enough and We must hate sinne because God hates it in all therefore hee crieth out Depart from me yee wicked keepe aloofe come not neere me to infect my Royall person For I tell you plainely I will keepe the Commandements of my God Even so wee Psal 16. should not brooke the society of them that bee vile and wicked and hate to bee reformed and cast Gods Words behind them Psal 50. 17. But some will say This is a doctrine of precisenesse they say wee need not be so severe against sinners peccata eorum sunt parva pauca their sinnes be but small and few But small sinnes may wound the conscience and damne us if wee looke not to them to strive against them A mouse is but litle yet killeth he an Elephant if he get into his truncke a Scorpion is little yet able to sting a Lion unto death the Leopard being great is poysoned with an head of garlicke a little spittle of a man fasting will kill a serpent and the Divell by little sinnes will wound us to death The sinne and the coate of the sinne is to be hated quoth Ambrose Lib. 6. Hexameron A reason may be drawne from the blessed Trinity God the Father hateth sinne The foolish shall not stand in his sight and hee hateth them that worke iniquity Therefore we his children must hate Psal 5. 5. it God the Sonne hateth sinne saith the Apostle Thou hast loved righteousnesse and hated iniquity therefore we his fellow brethren Hebr. 1. 9. fellow heires must hate it that wee may be like our elder brother God the Holy Ghost hateth it therefore it is said Greeve not the Spirit by whom we are sealed unto the day of Redemption Ephes 4. Gen. 3. 15. Therefore wee the temples of him must hate it wee must hate the serpent and the seed of the serpent By the hatred of God against the sinne of Achan judge of all sinne As great as the Eagle is yet one may see her vertue in a feather for it consumeth all feathers as mighty as the fire of Aetna is yet one may feele the heate of it in a sparke as huge as the sea is yet one may taste the saltnesse of it in a droppe as great as the Whale is yet we may feele the power of him in one breath Hercules body was knowne by the length of his foote and wee by this sinne of Achan may know Gods hatred against all sinnes For the theft of Achan buried close under the ground brake forth such a stinch in the nostrils of God as that his garment brought the plague to the whole host and God no lesse hateth it in all men Finely saith Augustine Deus in non renatis odit peccata personas God hateth in the not regenerate both their sinnes and also their persons in renatis verò odit peccata non personas in the regenerate hee truly hateth their sinnes but not their persons as the physician hateth the disease of the sicke man not his person or body of the sicke Againe From whence commeth sinne but from the Divell What meane we then to joyne with Satan our enemy and the enemy of God Hee that committeth sinne is of the Divell for the Divell sinneth from the beginning Resist the Divell therefore give 1 Iohn 3. 8. no place to him He is an adversary and shall wee love him Hee Sinne must be hated as it tends to Gods dishonor is a serpent and shall we trust him Hee is a murderer and shall we intertaine him Sin is furthered by him therefore let us hate it I grant that some enemies are to bee loved because they are our enemies onely whereupon saith our Saviour Love your Iam. 4. 7. 1 Pet. 5. 8. Apoc. 10. â—ohn 8. 44. Mat. 5. 44. enemies doe good to them that hate you pray for them that persecute you And some are to be hated because they are Gods enemies and the friends of Satan so Iohn the sonne of Hanani the Seer went out to meete Iehosaphat and said unto him Wouldest thou helpe the 2 Chro. 19. 2. wicked and love them that hate the Lord Therefore for this thing the wrath of the Lord is upon thee And so the wrath and judgement of God is over all those that support the wicked and will not shew themselves enemies to all such as hate the Lord. Wicked men must be hated but yet for their evill not as the evill concerneth any way us but as the evill tendeth to the dishonour of God Simeon and Levi hated the Sychemites for the Gen. 34. 25. sinne of their sister Dinah but this hatred sprang not in that God was dishonoured by this sinne but from a regard of themselves because that hereby they might receive some disgrace So Absalon is said to have hated his brother Amnon because hee had forced his sister Tamar and two yeeres after he murdered his 2 Sam. 23. 22. brother for this fact this hatred of Absalon against Amnon though it were for Amnons wickednesse yet it was not good but wicked for the originall of this his hatred was not simply the sinne of Amnon as committed against God but because Absalon had some speciall disgrace hereby For Tamar was borne to David of the same woman that was mother also to Absalon But we must hate the wicked for their dishonoring of God and not suffer them to goe unreproved nor unpunished Immmunity and impunity cause much iniquity I would learne this Are Papists the friends of God or his enemies If they bee friends Why have wee professed otherwise these many yeeres If they bee enemies then doe wee well not to suffer them You know what Christ said to the Church of Pergamus I have a few things against Apoc. 2. 14. thee because thou hast there them that maintaine the doctrine of Balaam which taught Balac to put a stumbling blocke before the children of Israel Vers 15. that they should eate of things sacrificed unto Idols and commit fornication even so
ever Amen So concluded the other Apostles The God of peace that brought againe from the dead the Lord Iesus the great Shepheard of the sheepe through the Heb. 13. 20 21. bloud of his everlasting covenant make you perfect in all good workes to doe his will working in you that which is pleasing in his sight through Iesus Christ to whom bee praise for ever and ever Amen And thus concluded Saint Peter Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ to him be glory both now and evermore 2 Pet. 3. 18. Amen Augustine said Tu Domine sic excitas ut laudare te delectet fecisti nos pro te inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te thou August lib. 1. confess cap. 1. Lord doest so excite mee that to praise thee it delighteth mee thou hast made us for thee and our heart cannot be quiet till it rest in thee Vae tacentibus de te taceat laâ—des tuas qui miserationes tuas non novit Woe bee to them which speake not of thee hee setteth not foorth thy praise who is ignorant of thy mercies Again saith the father Si omnia membra nostra verteventur in linguas si tot haberemus quot Argus oculos nequaquam sufficerent If all our August lib. Meditationum members were converted into tongues if wee had as many tongues as Argus had eyes they were not sufficient to set foorth thy praises thou art a Lord exceeding great and infinite without measure and end and oughtest to be praised and beloved of all Paul could not name Christ but abruptly but breaketh out into thankesgiving having often other matters inhand yet cannot he stay but soundeth out his gratitude as with a trumpet as writing to Timothy handling other matters on a sudden he leaveth the thing in hand and crieth out Now unto the King everlasting immortall invisible unto God onely wise be honour and glory for 1 Tim. 16. 17. ever and ever Amen So writing to the Romans and handling the priviledges of the Iewes on a sudden he leaveth off and breaketh out into thankesgiving saying Of whom concerning the flesh Christ came who is God over all blessed for ever Amen So writing Rom. 9. 5. to the Corinthians and handling the resurrection from the dead on a sudden hee breaketh out to gratitude saying Thankes bee to God which hath given us victorie through Iesus Christ 1 Cor. 15. 57. our Lord. Iude here useth a figure called Pleâ—nasmus to expresse his zeale hee doubleth and redoubleth tripleth and multiplieth his words till they be many in number hee is full as the Moone he Iob 32. floweth as the Sea hee is as the new vessels which have no vent for if the fountaine be full the channels cannot bee empty if The Saints plentifull in thanksgiving there bee moysture in the roote the branches cannot wither if there bee heate in the chimney the house cannot bee cold if the heart abound the mouth will bee full of Gods praises Ex abundantia cordis os loquitur out of the abundance of the heart Luke 6. the mouth speaketh Note this in all the Saints of God how plentifully doth David describe his thankefulnesse My soule praise thou the Lord and forget not all his benefits And againe Praise the Lord ô my Psal 103. 1 2. Psal 146. 1. soule I will praise the Lord during my life as long as I have any being I will sing unto my God With how many words commendeth hee the Law What variety hee useth What cornucopia hee hath Marke his words The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soule the testimony of the Lord is sure and giveth wisedome Psal 19. 7 8 9. unto the simple The Statutes of the Lord are right and rejoce the heart the Commandement of the Lord is pure and giveth light unto the eyes The feare of the Lord is cleane and indureth for ever the judgements of the Lord are truth and righteous altogether Marke I pray you how hee calleth it the Law the Testimonies the Statutes the Commandements the Feare the Iudgements of the Lord then what Epithites hee giveth it the Law Perfect the Testimonies sure the Statutes Right the feare Cleane the iudgements Truth then what fruits he ascribeth to it that it converteth the soule giveth wisedome rejoyceth the heart endureth for ever Thus let us learne to measure our selves and to know the goodnesse of our hearts by the mouth if wee can speake scantly of God and good things plentifully of the world and the vanities of it our heart is naught it is withered like grasse all the dewes of Gods grace are dryed up in it but wee must rowze up both our hearts and tongues and say with David My heart is prepared O my Psal 57. 7 8 9. God my heart is prepared I will sing and give praise Awake my tongue awake viole and harpe I will awake right early I will praise thee O Lord among the people and I will sing unto thee among the nations But to come to a more particular description of Gods attributes and the attributes wherewith hee is described are Wisedome Salvation Glory Majestie Dominion and Power And yet this description is but in part not a full description for who can describe him perfectly hee is shadowed out unto us by the holy Ghost after this manner The Lord the Lord strong Exod. 34. 6 7. mercifull and gracious slow to anger and abundant in goodnesse and truth reserving mercie for thousands forgiving iniquity and transgression and sinne not making the wicked innocent visiting the iniquity of the Fathers upon their Children unto the third and fourth generation And againe Salomon King Salomon wise King Salomon shadoweth him out after this manner Who hath ascended up to Heaven and Prov. 30. 4. descended Who hath gathered the Winde in his fist Who hath bound All men ignorant till inlightened the Waters in a garment Who hath established all the ends of the World What is his name or what is his Sonnes name if thou canst tell Oh who can tell his name or his Sonnes name Est bonus sine qualitate magnus sine quantitate praesens sine situ sempiternus sine tempore sine initio sine fine Hee is good without quality great without quantitie present without situation everlasting without time without beginning and without end Seditut aequitas dominatur ut majestas novit ut veritas amat ut charitas hee sitteth as equity ruleth as majesty knoweth as verity and loveth as charitie For these be not qualities but of the essence of God Of Rom. 11. him and for him and through him are all things Hee calleth him onely wise wherein hee bestrippeth all men and bereaveth them of wisedome as the Cumane Asse of the Lions skinne as Aesops Crow of her feathers except they have it of God Hereupon saith the Apostle If any man want