communicating of himself Praesens autem est in quantum praesentat seu praesentem facit beatitudinem quae est in ipso in habitu tantum ut in parvulis in affectu tantum ut in adultis in habitu effectu et intellectu ut in beatis saith that excellent Schoolman Alensis par 3. qu. 61. God is then present with the soul when he represents unto it his own blessedness either in habit or disposition as in children that know him not and yet love him or in desire or affection as to men that know him and love him or in a habit desire and comprehension as to the blessed souls that not only know and love but also enjoy him So that according to the degrees of Gods presence are also the degrees of his communion where his presence is incompleat and imperfect as in grace there his communion is so too where his presence is compleat and perfect as in glory there so also is his communion But it is best for us to examine the effects of our communion with God in the presence of his grace that so we the more may undoubtedly attain to a communion with him in the presence of his glory And these effects are excellently set down in few words by the Casuists saying Spirituale bonum Divinum consistit in amicitia inter Deum hominem ac per hoc in consentire conversari convivere colloqui cum Deo The blessing of the soul consists in this that a man hath friendship or communion with God and consequently that he lives for him by consent lives to him by conversation lives with him by cohabitation lives in him by contentation I will briefly explain them all that the good Christian may know his own happiness in that he is called to live in this communion by vertue whereof First he lives for God by consent Fiat volunt as tuaâ— Thy will be done is a petition twice sanctified unto us by our Saviours own lips in two several prayers One of them taught us by his Doctrine in the Mount Mat. 6. So that we cannot contemn his prayer but we must also contemn his Sermon The other taught us by his practice or example Mat. 26. 42. where he made but one speech yet three prayers he prayed the third time saying the same words ver 44 It was one and the same expression of his voice it was not one and the same elevation of his soul therefore he prayed the third time though he spake but his first words We place the gift of prayer in the volubility of our tongues our Saviour placed it in the groans of his heart He prayed thrice in the same words we use many words scarce pray at all It is the heart that pants it not the tongue that chants it out when we truly say Thy will be done Conformitas in volito formali must be in all our desires where in volito materiali cannot be Here was a conformity of our Saviours will with Gods will in what he desired formally in his intention though a seeming non-formity in what he desired materially in his expression And so it must ever be with us For we are most sure that in this case the Non Conformist cannot be a good Christian but the want of conformity is the want of Christianity The second effect of this communion is that the good Christian lives to God by conversation T is a pleasant contemplation of Aquinas that local distance is no impediment in the Angels conversing one with another or speaking one to the other because that is a meer intellectual operation In loquutione Angelorum nullum impedimentum praestat localis distantia quia est mere intellectualis operatio Aqu. 1. par qu. 107. art 4. But t is a much more comfortable assertion of the Apostle that the distance of heaven from earth cannot hinder the conversation of man with God for so much he plainly asserteth when he saith For our conversation is in heaven for whence also we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ Phil. 3. 20. In which words the Apostle affordeth us three observations concerning the heavenly conversation of good Christians 1. that it is nothing else but a serious study and exercise of Christian piety in imitation of Christ to whom they are always lifting up their eyes and their hearts 2. that they only are true Christians who firmly and constantly exercise this piety for they only have true faith in Christ they only have a firm hope of immortality 3. that we have all two great Motives for this exercise the one is that Christ our Saviour on whom all our hopes rely and in whom all our joys are fixed is in heaven thefore what have we to do on earth The other is that the same Christ will at the last day come from heaven to judge us according to the works that we have done therefore if we will have a favourable judgement we must have an innocent conversation Conversation is but a frequent conversion and requires our often turning to God by our repentance as we often turn away from him by our sins The third effect of this communion is that he lives with God by cohabitation I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God Gal. 2. 20. Saint Paul by this losing his life did indeed save it had he kept his life in himself he might have lost it by a temporal a spiritual an eternal death for he would have been subject to the separation of his body from his soul of his soul from grace and of his soul and body from God But having lost his life in himself that he might keep it in his Saviour he keeps it for ever He keeps his natural life which else he could not but lose for his dissolution is not to him a death but only a change making good his We shall all be changed even before the last day for he had a change only when others had a death Our departure hence if looked upon as a change is our greatest consolation for it must needs be much for the better because our corruptible shall thereby put on incorruption our mortal shall put on immortality But if looked upon as a death must needs be our greatest horror and confusion for that can only tell us of the destroying not of the amending or bettering our present state and condition He keeps also his spiritual life so continuing as moreover improving it His soul being more knit and united with grace then before which is the spiritual life the union of the soul with grace for though we suppose it the same grace yet the soul must needs be united to it the more neerly and the more firmly the longer it abides in the communion of Christ the fountain of grace But we may well suppose the good Christian to grow
life which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ I doubt not but the Church might for her liberty have changed more of those Collects then she thought fit to change but infinitely bless God that she valued her Christian charity above her Christian liberty so that she hath never at all changed but for the better not desiring to depart from other Christians but only to come nearer to our Saviour Christ And truly when the Contest was once broached between the Church and the Scriptures in point of authority the most unhappy Contest that ever was broached among Christians for some Church men by laying aside the Authority of Christ did in effect teach other men to lay aside the authority of the Church I say when this unhappy Contest was once broached between the Church and the Scriptures in point of Authority it was high time for our Church to cleave to the Scriptures that she might profess her desire and intention of remaining truly Christian wherein she did but follow Saint Peters own example saying Lord to whom shall we go Thou hast the words of eternal life John 6 68. For surely our blessed Saviour did not bring down with him the words of eternal life to carry them back again to heaven but to leave them here on Earth and where hath he left them if not in the holy Scriptures Wherefore since Christ himself alledged the Scriptures to confirme the Apostles in their faith who yet believed because they had seen him with their their own eyes John 20. 29 How shall any Christian Church deny the People to read the Scripture c. and not hinder the confimation of their faith in Christ For when the Church hath done all that she can to make true believers she must confess that their faith doth not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God 1 Cor. 2. 5. and that the word of God is the chiefest instrument of his Power according to that of the holy Apostle For the word of God is quick and powerfull and sharper then any two edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of Soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart Heb. 4. 12. In which words the Spirit of God setteth forth the excellency of the word of God from its nature and from its effects from its nature that it is quick and powerfull neither a dull nor a dead letter but quick in motion and powerfull in operation from its effects that it pierceth that it devideth that it discerneth the thoughts and intents of the Heart Piercing the thoughts by entring into the botom of our hearts to make us sound and sincere Christians against Hypocrisie Dividing the thoughts by separating good from evil Truth from falshood in our Religion to make us Orthodox Christians against Heresie and discerning the thoughts by shewing us the first truth and the chiefest good in our religion to make us firm and constant Christians against Apostasie For that man never yet discovered Christ in his Religion who could be perswaded to fall away from it He was at the best but a divider of the truth from falshood He was not a Discerner of the first Truth in that Truth which he professed for then he would have been immovable in his Profession Wherefore if you would indeed perswade or rather tempt me for t is properly a temptation which induceth to evil to leave the Scriptures that I may cleave to the Church you must first be able to shew so much in behalf of the Church as is here said in behalf of the Scriptures or you were as good perswade and tempt me to quit my reason that I may get Religion or to cease to be a man that I may begin to be a Christian SECT II. The Apparition to above five hundered at once cleared And Christ considered in his Instructions before he ascended That these Instructions are more particularly to be observed as more directly conducing to the Constitution and the Conservation of his Church Those Instructions briefly explained as they are set down Mat. 28. 19 20. THE proper work of a Christian is to consider and contemplate his Saviour Christ in all his sayings and in all his doings for never any speak like him who was the eternal word of God never any did like him who was the eternal son of God but more particularly in those which come neerest his Ascention for all those his sayings and doings do more immediately and directly concern the Constitution and the conservation of his Church it pleasing the blessed Redeemer and lover of Souls to give his special directions and instructions to his holy Apostles when he was even now to be taken away from them that so he might leave behind him in their minds the stronger impressions of his all-saving Truth and the greater assurance and perswasions of his everlasting love Wherefore though no one word that ever our blessed Saviour was pleased to speak either concerning his love towards us or our duty towards him should be let fall to the ground without our observation because he was so much our friend yet the words that he spake last of all should most diligently be received most carefully retained and most conscionally regarded because they were the words not only of a loving but also of a parting friend and by consequent such words as should both represent him and comfort us during his absence though never so long and keep him in our remembrance till his coming again when he will undoubtedly exact a severe account both of the Ministers of the people how they have observed those words For this cause though our blessed Saviour did after the day of his Resurrection make five more apparitions before his Ascension as that after eight dayes when S. Thomas was now with the rest of the Apostles Joh. 20. 26. And that to his Disciples who went a fishing Joh. 21. 4. And that to his eleven disciples on the mountain in Galilee Mat. 28. 16. And those two spoken of by S. Paul which are not at all mentioned by the Evangelists the one to above five hundred brethren at once the other to S. James alone 1 Cor. 15. 6 7. Yet I will omit all these because the words he spake to his Apostles were spoken on the very day of his Resurrection as well as at the time of his Ascension Only I cannot but wish that Beza had spared his Criticism upon S. Pauls words 1 Cor. 15. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quod si vero scriptum erat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Quinquaginta Non certè mirum est quingentos hic fratres commemorari quum postea coacto universo coetu numerentur duntaxat centum viginti Act. 1. 15. What if it were at first written by the numeral letter◠which signifies fifty and that fifty come after to be made five hundred for we see that all the
as Master Brerewood hath demonstrated in his enquiries cap. 14. SECT II. That the coming of the Holy Ghost for the communicating of Christ after an extraordinary manner is not now to be expected That preaching and praying with the Spirit come not by infusiâ—ns Enthusiasts are the worst separatists and the greatest blasphemers guilty of the worst kind of sacriledge and Idolatry in robbing God of his publike worship after such a manner as he hath commanded and idolizing their own pretended gifts SInce it is an undoubted truth that the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Christ we may not doubt but his coming unto men alwayes was and still is of purpose to communicate Christ unto them either after an extraordinary manner by immediate infusions and revelations as to the Prophets and Apostles or after an ordinary manner by habitual improvements and assistances as at this day For the extraordinary manner of his coming and the extraordinary manner of his communicating Christ to men by immediate infusions or revelations did both cease together And we may truly say concerning those miraculous and extraordinary dispensations of the spirit what Saint Paul hath said concerning tongues one of the principal effects thereof They were for a sign not to them that believe but to them that believe not 1 Cor. 14. 22. and therefore were to continue and remain no longer then signes and wonders that is till the preaching or publishing of the Gospel or till the planting and setling the Christian Religion For Saint Peter plainly sheweth in the second of the Acts That this Prophecy of Joel In the last dayes saith God I will your out of my spirit upon all flesh was fulfilled in the miraculous descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles that these were the last dayes meant by that Prophet and therefore after those dayes men were not to expect any more such extraordinary dispensations Wherefore those that will now preach or pray by the Spirit may not rely upon infusions for which they have no warrant but must betake themselves diligently to read and consider the word of God that so they may have the assistance of the Spirit of God For they that go about to separate the Spirit from the Word are the most abominable Separists that ever were or can be in the world because they endeavour to separate God from himself for Gods word is Gods truth and Gods truth is himself Be it then taken for granted which may not be doubted it cannot be denyed that they are very wicked Separatists who separate man from man for they fill the world with sedition and privy conspiracy They yet worse Separatists who separate man from God for they fill the world with false doctrine and heresie But yet still they are the worst Separatists of all who separate God from God that is Gods Spirit from Gods Word for they fill the world with hardness of heart contempt of Gods Word and Commandment which is the ready way to make men first impenitent and then unpardonable and what more can be said of the sin against the Holy Ghost Yet these three separations do so naturally and necessarily spring from one another that they may be accounted themselves inseparable For the sedition begets the heresie and the heresie begets the hardness of heart separating man from man by sedition will separate man from God by heresie and that will also in a short time endeavour to separate God from himself by contempt of his Word and Commandments What an unhappy age do we live in wherein men think they do God good service to run away from his Word by pretending to his Spirit But this is the wit of wickedness the order of disorder the method of atheism that the persons of the holy and undivided Trinity should be sinned against by succession and blasphemed in the same order that they are to be confessed first the Father secondly the Son and thirdly the Holy Ghost For under the Law men were generally given to Idolatry took an Idol for God and so more immediately sinned against God the Father he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God of himself Under the first times of the Gospel men were generally addicted to Arrianism denying the Divinity of Christ and so more immediately sinned against God the Son for he is God of God But in these latter times of the Gospel for so it is to be feared our sins have made them men are generally addicted to cry up their own phansies for the dictates of the Spirit and so more immediately sin against God the Holy Ghost not considering how unconscionable a thing it is to grieve the Holy Spirit of God whereby they are sealed to the day of redemption and how impossible a thing it is for those not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God who constantly blaspheme him and what an unsufferable blasphemy it is to entitle those rude and crude impertinencies to the Holy Spirit which few sober men can hear with patience and no zealous man can hear with profit and no conscientious man can hear with piety Well may such a worship profit some men by exercising their patience but yet it scarce deserves the name of worship because it doth not rather exercise their piety so that we must confess that such pretenders to the Spirit are the greatest enemies of the Spirit and whilst they would be thought the best reformers are in truth the worst blasphemers for as much as they impute those imprudencies and indescretions or rather impieties and irreligions for imprudencies in the service of God are impieties and indiscretions are irreligions to Gods Holy Spirit which are meerly their own vaiâ— imaginations and carnal inventions and in the mean time reject and disesteem those prayers and praises which are the undoubted dâ—ctates of that same Holy Spirit as if they rather hindred then helped us to cry Abba Father what is this but in effect to blaspheme God instead of blessing him for giving us so many admirable forms of prayer and praise in the holy Scriptures and for giving us a Church to teach us to pray exactly according to that pattern in the Mount according to those patterns of prayers and praises whâ—ch came immediately either from God the Son or from God the Holy Ghost What is this but in effect to distract and to hinder men instead of setling and helping them in their Religion whilst they are made beleive that nothing is truly from the spirit of prayer but what is new and unknown to them whereby they are taught first to contemn the known prayers of the Church and then the known prayers of the Scriptures for that the spirit is as much confined by the one as by the other and to hunt after novelty instead of certainty which is a way to exercise the phansie before the conscience because the conscience first tries the spirits then follows them 1 John 4. 1. but the phansie first follows the spirits and never at all tries them A way
that the more it busieth the head the less it setleth and establisheth the heart wherefore if that benediction was Apostolical The Lord Jesus Christ himself stablish you in every good word 2 Thes 2. 17 Then this practice must be Apostatical which doth unstablish and unsettle the People in their Prayers the very best words Then was Egypt in a sad case when the locusts did eat up what the hail and thunder had left Exod. 10. And is it not so with Israel when locusts out of the bottomless pit devour that small pittance of Religion which the hail that is their own chill and frozen dispositions or the thunder and lightning that is the tempestuous terrours and troubles of war had left in the Peoples hearts When God suffers such devourers of piety and Religion to come into a land he either looks upon it as Egypt or t is to be feared he intends to make it so The death of the first born is then sure not far off and the drowning of all the rest is not like to belong after it For what can we expect but that the read sea even a sea of blood should cover us all when we persecute the Israel of God for desiring to serve him and say unto those who are zealous for such prayers as they know are either in Gods word or agreeable with it ye are idle ye are idle therefore ye say Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord Exod. 5. 17. as if Praying in known and approved forms were rather a pretence for idleness then a help to devotion This is not only to reproach the Church for teaching us to pray by her Liturgies but also to reproach God himself for teaching the Church to pray by his Scriptures and by this argument we may throw away not only the dictates of the Church but also the dictates of the Spirit of God Sure this is not the part of Christians by one and the same wicked practice to oppose both the authority and the doctrine of Christ the authority of Christ in his Church the doctrine of Christ in his word They pretend to have the spirit of God but yet contemn the word of God They will needs have the spirit of his Son in their hearts and yet care not to have the language of his Son in their mouths giving their Pater noster a quietus est a writ of ease as if the Holy spirit had supplied the servants above the son and taught us better prayers then it had taught our Saviour or as if it were not one and the same spirit that once directed him and still directeth us to call upon the Father Doubless such men cannot take it unkindly that we abstain from communicating with their prayers since they by rejecting the Lords own holy prayer do at the same time reject commnnion not only with all the servants but also with the Spirit and with the Son of God for the Servants of God alwayes used it the Spirit of God indited it the Son of God commanded it T is no wonder if such men be not only Sacrilegious but also perswade themselves there is no such sin as sacriledge and consequently that whatsoever hath been consecrated to Gods Holy name is still unholy and prophane though it hath been conscrated according to Gods own express command in the fourth commandment which is the commandment of consecrations and requires the sanctification of place and of persons and of our substance to Gods publike worship as well as of time Time cannot be sanctified or kept holy to Gods publick worship without these And besides we find these also expresly commanded in other parts of the Bible and since they are all commanded for one and the same end we must reduce the Texts concerning them to one and the same commandment for the ten commandments are Decem summa genera as it were ten predicaments or ten general heads to which is to be reduced whatsoever is commanded as a moral duty in the whole word of God wherefore since it is a moral duty that men should publikely and solemnly call upon the name of God and time alone without place and persons and the maintenance of these cannot serve for the discharge of that duty we must allow the rest of these outward requisites to be commanded in this of time And consequently what of all these alike was common and unholy before it was sanctified to Gods publike worship being once sanctified thereunto is made peculiar and proper to God and therefore to rob or pillage or take away any of these is sacrilegiously to invade Gods property which is a sin of so heavy a burden to press down the soul that the Apostle hath put it in the scale against Idolatry and seems to make this at least to balance if not to out-weigh the other Thou that abhorrest Idols dost thou commit Sacriledge Rom. 2. 22. The argument would be of little consequence if Sacriledge were not a sin at least equal to Idolatry And truly so it is whatever we please to think or to make of it For whereas there are two kinds of Idolatry the one to take an Idol for God the other to make God himself for an Idol the sacrilegious person is in effect guilty of them both For it is impossible that any man should rob God if he did not make money his God there 's taking the Idol for God or if he did not take God for one to be mocked rather then worshipped there 's taking God for an Idol And t is no wonder if they can do all this who can contemn the Lords most holy prayer for the three first petitions of that prayer contain all the Duty of the first table and the least part we can shew of dutifullness is to pray that we may be dutifull and consequently he that will not say Our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name cannot be troubled at that Sin of Sacriledge whose property it is to invade and profane all that is dedicated to the hallowing of the name of God For they that can swallow the Camel have little reason to strain at the gnat they that can be guilty of the greater cannot stick at the lesser Sacriledge they that can rob God of his publike worship cannot easily make any scruple of robbing his Church and to take away such publike prayers as do undoubtedly glorifie the name of God what is it else but to rob God of his worship or of the honour due unto his name For he that doth forbid us to take his name in vain doth withall command us to glorifie his name and consequently to make use of such forms of prayer and of praise as we are sure do most glorifie him These forms being accordingly made for the honour of God after the rule of the two first and in obedience to the third Commandment are set apart for this use in obedience to the fourth and to take away these forms is in effect to
unto me saith Christ not go from me there 's the temper of charity to invite and embrace not to repell and reject others for I am meek and lowly in heart there 's the temper of humility lowly in heart and cannot be of that pride as to forget my self meek in heart and cannot be of that presumption as to disdain and reproach my brother where you find not this temper there you may not seek for Christ where you do find the contrary distemper in the forenamed works of the flesh there you are sure not to find the Spirit of Christ and therefore must come with your libera nos Domine though you care not to have the Letanie and say Good Lord deliver me from such professors and from such a profession of the Christian Religion where I can neither find the temper nor the Spirit of Christ SECT IV. Vnsetledness in Religion shews we have not learned it from our heavenly Master or from Gods Exapostole The Holy Ghost being given us from the Father by the Son sheweth there is no salvation to them who believe not the Trinity The mixture of Praises with Prayers in the Psalms was the Abba Father of the Old Testament and proceeded from joy in the Holy Ghost which is a Joy both unsequestrable and unspeakable The Sacrifices and Hymns answerable to that joy IT is very easie for a man to depart and fall away from God but not so easie to return and to cleave unto him No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him saith our blessed Saviour John 6. 44. The Father draws us before we go unto his Son and he draws us with loving-kindness Jer. 31. 3. with bands of love Hos 11. 4. that is by the power of the Holy Ghost who is the Spirit of love The Father draws by his Spirit to his Son He that believes not the Trinity cannot hope to be thus drawn and he that is not thus drawn cannot hope to come unto God which is plainly shewed by the Apostle when he saith God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba Father Gal. 4. 6. The Greek word is very observable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for here 's another Exapostle even God the Holy Ghost as in the fourth verse we had before one Exapostle God the Son There it was God sent forth his Son here it is God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son that is He sent such a Messenger as was not only an Apostle one sent from God but also an Exapostle One sent out of God There was one Exapostle to plant the Christian Religion in the world God sent forth his Son and there is another Exapostle to plant it in our hearts God hath sent forth the Spirit of his son into your hearts the same word is used in both places 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God made use of Exapostles as well as of Apostles for the planting of the true Religion Messengers sent from God would not have served the turn to make men believe the truth much less to love and practise it unless there had been also Messengers sent out of God Therefore God sent forth his Son and the Spirit of his Son that he might settle and stablish our hearts in the Christian faith So that if we be unsettled in our Religion and carried away with every blast of vain Doctrine as being not firmly established in the truth of the holy Gospel it is a plain case we have not inclined our ears and much less our hearts to those two Messengers who came immediately out of God even his own Son and his own Spirit and therefore it is no wonder if we slightly esteem of all Gods other Messengers God the Father hath sent out God the Son And God the Father and Son hath sent out God the Holy Ghost The salvation of one is the work of three the salvation of one sinful soul is the work of all three persons of the blessed Trinity The Father sending the Son the Father and Son sending the Holy Ghost which of these three persons can we lose or let go and not withall lose or let go our own Salvation which of these three needs not work as God a work of All-mighty power of All seeing wisdom of All-sufficient and All-saving goodness to turn us from our evil waies that we may be sanctified and to keep us in the waies of righteousness that we may be saved God the Son sent out of the Father into your flesh and God the Holy Ghost sent out of the Father and the Son into your hearts His Son and your flesh his Spirit and your hearts both certainly most miraculous conjunctions the one the cause of the other For his Spirit and your hearts could never have met in man had not his Son your flesh met together in God And this produceth yet another miraculous conjunction a conjunction of Prayer and of praise both together in the same mouth and from the same heart and at the same time that a righteous man cannot be so over-burdened with sorrow in himself as not to be relieved and refreshed with joy in his Saviour Thus Hannah was was in bitterness of soul and prayed unto the Lord and wept sore but she found that joy and comfort in her prayer that the Text saith She went her way and did eat and her countenance was no more sad So that in effect she was so of a sorrowful Spirit as also of a joyful Spirit and as her sorrow afforded matter of Prayer so her joy afforded matter of Praise Her own spirit made her sorrowful but Gods Spirit made her joyful And this was indeed the Abba Father of those in the Old Testament who had but dark promises of a Saviour yet did with joy draw water out of the wells of salvation Isa 12. 3. who had scarce any knowledge or revelation of the person yet were very well acquainted with the joyes of the Holy Ghost Hence it is that most of the Psalms as they are exceeding devout prayers wherein Gods own Spirit teacheth us to pray and helpeth our infirmities in praying so they are also most thankful praises wherein the same spirit teacheth us to rejoyce in God for hearing our prayers They are not only prayers but they are also praises concerning the same deliverance whether it be corporal or spiritual whether it be from bodily or from Ghostly enemies as for example The 30. Psalm is a prayer to be delivered from sickness and death and damnation as that noble Champion of Christ both for his Church and for his Truth and for his Authority hath piously and judiciously stated it in his Book of Collects upon the Psalms which should never be out of the hands of good Christians till it be fully imprinted in their hearts I say the 30. Psalm is a Prayer to be delivered from sickness and death and damnation three such sad considerations as were enough to make
therefore this is not so truly a priviledge as t is a property for Gods Sons to be his heirs Accordingly all our care must be to keep our selves in the obedience that we may be in the acceptance of sons for then we shall have no cause to doubt of our inheritance And the best way to keep our selves in the obedience of Sons is to keep our selves in the communion of his Spirit for if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his Rom. 8. 9. And this is indeed another priviledge of the Saints that being made the Sons of God they have the Spirit of his Son And that Spirit is sent forth into their hearts to testifie unto them his fatherly care and kindness For the tongue could not truly say Abba Father if the heart did not truly believe it We must therefore observe the Apostles Doctrine concerning the Spirit of adoption that it so moveth in the tongue as much rather in the heart Ye have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father there 's Abba Father in the mouth and The spirit it self beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God there 's Abba Father in the heart Rom. 8. 15 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Saint Chrysostome When the spirit of God is our witness who can misdoubt the testimony All the fault in truth is that we do not so devote our selves to the love of God and the practice of piety and godliness as that the Spirit either will or can be our witness For we often gâ—eve the Holy Spirit of God by our multiplied transgressions and hence it is we do not see that he hath sealed us to the day of redemption Ephes 5. 30. His seal is alwayes sure and good though not alwayes clear and visible He doth still imprint it though we do not still perceive it the reason is because our sins do cast a mist before our eyes nay more a dismal darkness upon our hearts and this mist this darkness interposeth it self betwixt us and the everlasting light Therefore saith the Apostle And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure 1 John 3 3. Every man that hath this hope in him viz. truly and really not presumptuously and phantastically purifieth himself even as he is pure and t is no more then needs because he cannot have this hope in him unless he purifie himself For the same Holy Spirit that maketh the Son of God dwell in us by consolation doth also make us dwell in him by affection and no longer then we dwell in him can we be assured that he dwelleth in us hereby we know that we dwell in him and he in us they go both together because he hath given us of his spirit 1 John 4. 13. And that holy Spirit as it maketh him dwel in us by consolation so it maketh us dwell in him by affection God hath joyned these two together and we may not separate them even walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost Act. 9. 31. Thus doth our own Church teach us to pray That we may evermore dwell in him and he in us which when it shall be fully brought to pass we shall fully understand and more fully enjoy that benediction of the Psalmist Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and receivest unto thee he shall dwell in thy Courts and shall be satisfied with the pleasures of thy house even of thy holy Temple Psal 65. 4. Nay his dwelling shall be much bettered for he shall dwell not in thy Court but in thy self and be satisfied with the pleasures not of thy house but of thy Son nor of thy holy Temple but of thy holy Spirit Thus doth Hierusalem get up thither indeed whieher Babel got up only in design even to heaven Nay yet much higher Is there any thing higher then heaven Yes there is The God of heaven A true Citizen of Hierusalem never leaves ascending in heart and mind till he get up to God And this makes him so given to his deâ—otions that he cares to say nothing else but Abba Father which is yet another priviledge of the Saints of Gods not of their own making for they though called Saints here will be found sinners hereafter that having the Spirit of his Son they have also the language of his Son and cry Abba Father For the priviledge of Gods Sons who have the Spirit of his Son in their hearts is also to have the same Spirit in their mouths crying Abba Father as their heart is true to God by inward affection so their mouth is true unto their heart by outward profession and consequently that mans religion is not true which wants either part of this truth for if his heart be false to his God he is an hypocrite If his tongue be false to his heart he is little less then an Apostate So hath the irrefragable Doctor determined concerning one that lives among the Turks or Saracens who still retaineth the Faith in his heart but not the confession of it in his mouth Potest tamen dici Apostata communi nomine quia à confessione fidei retrocedit Alensis par 2. qu. 153. memb 2. He may in a general sense be called an Apostate because he is fallen away from the confession of his Faith So then a true believer hath not only his heart true to God by affection but also his tongue true to his heart by profession being bound to the one by the first to the other by the third Commandment of the decalogue If his heart be false to his God he will one day be ashamed of himself If his tongue be false to his heart his Saviour will one day be ashamed of him so himself hath told us Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy Angels Mar. 8 38. of him shall the Son of man be ashamed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He shall blush for the shame of him O our blessed Redeemer let us never put thee to the blush let us never force that precious blood into thy lovely face which thou camest to bestow upon our sinful souls But as with our hearts we beleive unto righteousness so with our mouths let us make confession to salvation This is Saint Pauls definition of a true Christian A man that with the heart believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confesseth to salvation Rom. 10. 10. The heart believing brings the righteousness the mouth confessing brings the salvation As t is vain to have a Faith without righteousness for that is the hypocrites faith so t is vain to have a righteousness without salvation for that may be an Apostates righteousness But the true and constant Christian hath both the heart to believe and the mouth
know not a man Luke 1. 34. I answer then according to this distinction First If the doubt concerning our being in the state of true Christianity proceed from piety or admiration it is exceeding commendable we have an excellent president for it the man after Gods own heart who twice spoke these words from Gods own mouth for surely with his spirit What is man that thou hast such respect unto him or the son of man that thou so regardest him Psalm 8. 4. and 144. 3. Nor is it possible for any one that hath indeed the Spirit of God when he considers the immensity of Gods goodness and of his own unworthiness not to make this doubt of admiration unto his own soul What is man what am I a sinful man in my person that thou hast such respect unto me or What is the son of man what am I a sinful man in my nature that thou so regardest me Secondly If the doubt concerning our being in the state of true Christianity proceed from infirmity it is at all times excusable because though the spirit be willing yet the flesh is weak Mat. 26. 41. and at sometimes almost commendable when either by our omissions of piety we have quenched or by our commissions of impiety we have grieved the Holy Spirit of God whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption In this case of spiritual leprosie Gods answer to Moses concerning Miriam may be taken as a full determination concerning us If her Father had but spit in her face should she not be ashamed seven days Let her be shut out of the camp seven days and after that let her be received in again Numb 12. 14. Si pater terrenus aliquod gravis in eam irae signum edidisset puderet eam saltem septem Dies redire in conspectum ejus saith Junius If her father on earth had shewed some great sign of anger against her she would for shame not presently rush into his sight but would forbear to come before him for one seven days The explanation is very punctual and we cannot but see that in God Almighties own Logick the argument is good from our Father on earth to our Father in heaven Hence that prayer of sorrowful David Cast me not away from thy presence He confesseth he durst not come into his sight and prays that he might not be for ever banished from it Psal 51. 11. and again redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation Having grievously offended his God he could not but discover in his own soul the signs and tokens of that offence therefore he prayes God to restore unto him the joy of his salvation For had he not in his blood-guiltiness lost the joy of his salvation he might in his impenitency have lost the enjoyment of it Good Lord that we should so out-strip this holy man in our sin and come so short of him in our repentance This is certainly a ready way not to strengthen our faith but to weaken it not to lessen our doubtings but to increase them yea to turn our doubtings into distresses and our distresses into despair and our despair into damnation Thirdly and lastly if the doubt concerning our being in the state of true Christianity proceed from infidelity it is neither commendable nor excusable in any nay it is so far from being commendable in any that t is altogether inexcusable in all For such a doubt supposeth not a weakness but a want of faith and consequently sheweth the man that hath it to distrust his Saviour not himself and to remain still in the state of infidelity notwithstanding God calleth him so earnestly to the state of faith Wherefore since without faith it is impossible to please God Heb. 11. 6. such a doubting of infidelity must needs leave him that hath it under Gods most heavy and more just displeasure under his most heavy displeasure because he embraceth not reconciliation when it is offered under his most just displeasure because he believeth not him that offereth it This is the reason of the Apostles exceeding pathetical exhortation Take heed brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God Heb. 3. 12. The heart is made evil by unbelief and shews it is so by departing from the living God so that we are advised and exhorted to take heed of unbelief as we would take heed of an evil heart and of departing from the living God T is at first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an evil heart oâ—â—nfidelity t is at last 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an evil heart of apoâ—tacy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in apostatizing from the living God But we must here take heed that we confound not together the doubtings of infirmity and of infidelity The one saith Lord I believe help thou my unbelief the other cannot say Lord I believe The one dare not trust himself but the other will not trust his Saviour a doubting of infidelity rejecteth faith but a doubting of infirmity desireth it For though doubting cannot be in faith yet it may be in him that hath faith Saint Peters faith could not doubt yet himself doubted so saith the text when he saw the wind boistrous he was afraid and beginning to sink he cryed saying Lord save me Mat. 14. 13. Though he was full of fear yet he was not empty of faith For he cryed saying Lord save me And therefore we may not say of any other in his case more then our Saviour Christ did say of him O thou of little faith wherefore didst thou doubt Mat. 14. 31. O thou of little faith not O thou of no faith for he did fully believe in Christ and did only misdoubt himself And surely it would not be much amiss if every confident man would do so too and ask himself the question which Christ asks Saint Peter Lovest thou me John 21. 17. and ask it again and again and not be grieved at the often asking it dost thou indeed love thy Saviour lovest thou him who died for thee lovest thou him who loved thee with an everlasting love For the more you are assured in your own heart that you love your Saviour the more will he assure you of his everlasting love CAP. II. Of the knowledge of the state of true Christianity SECT I. The knowledge of our being in the state of true Christianity is from our keeping the words of Christ And that Antinomians cannot truly be and much less know they be in the state of true Christianity HE that is in the state of true Christianity cannot but desire to know it and he that knows himself to be so cannot but exceedingly rejoyce and triumph in that knowledge Accordingly after the discourse of the state of true Christianity in the next place we ought to enquire concerning our own knowledge of that state for that man can scarce be thought to believe the life everlasting who labours not
indear it self withall Christians to remember and much more to practice it for then all outrages in words and deeds which are now so scandalously heightned would be peaceably composed because every one would look upon anothers injury as his own and consequently would be afraid of wronging his brother that he might not wrong himself Thus would the peace of God rule in all our hands and tongues if it did first rule in all our hearts which is also required as the cheifest means whereby to preserve Christian communion and let the peace of God rule in your hearts to the which also ye are called in one body and be ye thankful ver 15. Where the Apostle exhorteth us to Christian unity and concord for three reasons First because God is the author and lover of it whence it is called the peace of God and we may be amazed to see that men should say in their dayly prayers Deus author pacis amator O God which art the author of peace and lover of concord and yet not love it themselves Secondly because it is a badge or rather an ingredient and part of our Christian calling whence it is said To the which also ye are called in one body that as there is no schism in the body but the members have the same care one for another and whether one member suffer all the members suffer with it or one member be honoured all the members rejoice with it so it might also be with us now we are the body of Christ and members in particular 1 Cor. 12. 27. For Christ hath called us to be of one body and how then shall we not be of one mind Thirdly because it is an expression of that thankfulness which we owe to God for giving us that peace which this world were it never so quiet could not give and be it never so quarrelsome cannot take away whence it is said and be ye thankful to wit for that peace of a good conscience here and a blessed eternity hereafter which Christ hath purchased for you of which the same Apostle speaketh Rom. 5. 1. Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ We can never be truly thankful for that peace of God which our blessed Saviour hath purchased for us unless we labour earnestly to have peace one with another Nor may we pretend that the love of truth makes us to have but little regard of peace for the Apostle supposeth that peace and truth may very well be joyned together in our conversation in that after the command for peace he giveth the command for truth and first saith Let the peace of God rule in your hearts and after that Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom He first requireth the peace and then the truth inverting the order by confirming the authority of the Prophet Zachariah who first requireth the truth and then the peace therefore love the truth and peace Zach. 8. 19. For as it is an undeniable argument that the tenth Commandment of the decalogue cannot fitly be divided into two several precepts because the order of the words being changed in Exodus and in Deuteronomy it could not be known which of the two precepts were to be set down first for Exod. 20. 17. first is forbidden the desire of our neighbours house but Deut. 5. 21. First is forbidden the desire of our neighbours wife so that in both places is forbidden but one inordinate desire in regard of the act though two in regard of the object and consequently both inordinate desires come under one and the same precept or we must be posed to shew which of the two prohibitions makes the ninth which makes the tenth commandment So is it in this command of loving peace and truth the Prophet first names the Truth the Apostle first names the Peace that we not knowing which of the two we are bound to follow first might be the more industrious to follow both being as much afraid of forsaking the peace to follow the truth as of forsaking the truth to follow the peace for that we can do neither but we must invert the order and pervert the intent of Gods command which yet more plainly appears from the words of the same Apostle Saint Paul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eph. 4. 15. Speaking the truth in love or doing the truth in love for so the Vulgar Latine veritatem facientes in charitate we may render the words Be ye true in love shew your selves true men in that you are charitable men for here is plainly but one precept for the exercise of both virtues to shew we cannot be defective in the love but we must also be defective in the truth I will then be as zealous for Christian love as for Christian truth and not think I can do my Saviour good service whilst I am so intent upon the truth of his Religion as not to regard the peace of his communion Communicant and Christian must be to me terms convertible as far as reacheth the Christianity so far also reacheth the communion For he that is a good Christian doth communicate with Christ and how can I exclude the one without excluding the other out of my communion What is truly Christian in the worst of Christians is lovely for Christs sake and though I exceedingly rejoyce in old Simeons happiness to take my Saviour from the arms of a pure Virgin Church as he did from the arms of his pure Virgin Mother Luke 2. yet I will not run from him if I find him talking with a woman of Samaria revealing himself to her that liveth in the state of incontinency John 4. It shall be my desire to meet with him dayly in mine own Church that is not defiled either with superstition or with faction but it shall be my joy to meet with him in any other Church though she be actually defiled with both and run a whoring after her own inventions For I may not refuse to communicate with any Church in that wherein she is truely Christian unless I will venter to divide and separate from Christ himself Wherefore I will communicate with all Christian Churches as far as they are so in the disposition of my soul though I cannot in the presence of my body so shall I be sure neither to be a schismatick in a Church that is truly Catholick and moreover I shall be a Catholick in a Church that may be guilty of schism Animus Catholicus in Ecclesia Schismatica is in my account a better temper then Animus schismaticus in Ecclesia Catholica I had rather have a Catholick spirit in a schismatical Church then a schismatical spirit in a Catholick Church for the one is an antidote to allay the poyson I meet withall the other is able to turn an antidote into poyson To have a Catholick Spirit in an Anticatholick Church may keep me a true Catholick in the communion of Schismaticks
Apostles rule Hold fast that which is good is not to be observed in all good but only in the very best The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words and that which was written was upright even words of Truth Eccles 12. â—10 If he that preacheth ought to seek for acceptable words that is words sutable both to the matters he speaks of and the persons he speaks to then much more he that prayeth since praying ought to be more carefully provided and more conscionably performed then preaching For in preaching a man speaks to men but in praying a man speaks to God And for this cause the Church thinks it her duty to provide for us acceptable words in praying whilst she leaves us to provide our own acceptable words in preaching The Prophet Hosea exhorteth the Israelites to take with them words and turn to the Lord Hos 14. 2. He asks not Gold nor Silver not burnt offerings saith Rabbi David but good words from you that with them you will confess your sins and return unto the Lord with all your heart and not only with your lips Here t is plain by his Gloss that the Prophet enjoyns a form of confession and bids them take good words that they may have good hearts nay t is plain by the Text it self for those good words or that form of confession is particularly expressed as well as enjoyned in the next words Say unto him Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously But it were in vain to pray unto God to receive us graciously if we did pray ungraciously therefore taking with us words according to Gods command in Hosea must needs well agree with the Spirit of grace and of supplications according to his promise in Zechariah Zech. 12. 10. And as the Papists do vainly arrogate and more vainly appropriated the Title of Religion to their monastical vows so the Enthusiasts do as vainly arrogate and more vainly appropriate the Title of the Spirit to their phantastical prayers and good Protestants have no more reason to think they want these prayers to make them spiritual then that they want those vows to make them Religious I do not discourage or discountenance any particular mans gifts for I do heartily wish as Moses did I would to God all the Lords people were Prophets but I must needs profess that he which ascended on high led captivity captive to give gifts unto men hath given the greatest gifts where he hath given the greatest promises and he hath given greater promises to his Church then to any member or Minster of the same If I follow the Church making use of the gift of prayer which God hath given her I do that which God hath required of me For the Church hath commission from God to teach me to pray or that of Luk. 11. 1. was not written for our instruction But if I follow any other mans gifts who hath not that commission I may justly fear that God who will one day say to him Who hath required this at your hands for making such prayers will not say much less to me for hearing them As for that slight objection of deadness formality men are subject to more from set forms then from conceived prayers t is in its consequence a blasphemy against the holy Scriptures for it reacheth the prayers penned there by the Holy Ghost as well as penned here by the Church so that I hope none will blame me for calling the objection slight now I have proved it wicked For how is it possible for any man to say that prayer by book is flat and dead without undervaluing all the prayers in the holy Bible and contemning the very Book of books Let him next say Evangelium Atramentarium away with this Inkie-Gospel but withal let him know that he cannot thus turn Enthusiast unless he will first turn Papist So he shall turn to the worse for his person and he cannot depend upon suggestions instead of books but he must turn prayer from being an act of Reason nay from being an act of Faith to be an act of phansie if not of faction And so he shall turn to the worse also for his prayers yet all this while we cannot but take notice that our adversaries are very hard put to it for an accusation when they are fain to fetch it from our hearts which they cannot know should not judge dealing with us as some of the Rabbies dealt with Job for when the Text had said of him In all this Job sinned not with his lips as we doubt not but it doth also in effect say of our Church concerning her Common Prayers two of them sc Ralbag and Jarchi are pleased to add this gloss 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Abal belibbo Chata But yet sure he sinned in his heart To conclude a set form of Doctrine we must have or be Heretical A set form of Discipline we must have or be irregular and why not also have a set form of devotion or be irreligious for we cannot well be unanimously Religious without a set form of publick prayer and the want of unanimity will soon beget the want of Religion for God is love and therefore we cannot be without love but we must be without God and consequently men cannot be long without true charity but they will also be without true piety And as for making the Common Prayer Book an Idol if it be not an objection of great impiety by calling true Religion Idolatry yet it is an argument of great absurdity because it may cast the Bible must cast the Sabbath out of the Church For men may Idolize one good Book as well as another so the Bible may go ere long but some have already Idolized the Sabbath so that must stay no longer I do the rather instance upon this latter for that it comes neerest our present case 1. Because publick prayer is the duty of the Sabbath and that ought to be publick in its substance that is in its matter and form as well as in its Accidents that is time place and persons 2. Because the same Method is to be observed in words as in time Gods consecration is to be the rule of ours in them both he hath consecrated we may what he hath consecrated we must he hath said make holy we may he hath said make holy the Sabbath day we must he hath said when ye pray say thus we must he hath said after this manner therefore pray we may Had he not given us that latitude we might not have taken it but must have only used such prayers in his publick worship as his holy Spirit had left us in the holy Scriptures Now he hath given this latitude we must make the best use of it by making and using such prayers as we know are after this manner though not in these Words we have as great need of set forms of prayers to find our tongues as of set forms of Laws to bind our heads to
Christ and his Church OR Christianity Explained Vnder seven Evangelical and Ecclesiastical Heads VIZ. CHRIST I. Welcomed in his Nativity II. Admired in his Passion III. Adored in his Resurrection IV. Glorified in his Ascension V. Communicated in the coming of the Holy Ghost VI. Received in the state of true Christianity VII Reteined in the true Christian Communion WITH A Justification of the Church of England according to the true Principles of Christian Religion and of Christian Communion Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 13. 14. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain Phil. 1. 21. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 S. Cyril in Ep. ad Coelest Papam in act Concil Ephes par 1. If Christ be evil spoken of how shall we that are his Ministers hold our Peace And if we hold our Peace now what shall we say in the day of Judgement By Ed. Hyde Dr. of Divinity sometimes fellow of Trinity Colledge in Cambridge and late Rector Resident at Brightwell in Berks. Printed by R. W. for Rich. Davis in Oxford 1658. To the Christian Reader WHen conscientious Ministers cannot officiate in the Church and conscientious Christians cannot go to Church and customary Christians go thither either to little purpose because to no true worship or to great shame because to no true Ministers t is fit the Church should come to private houses that 's reason enough for this Treatise of Christianity to see the Press But t is in vain for the Church to come to any man till he come to himself and desire to come to his Saviour that 's caution enough for them who shall see this Treatise of Christianity For unless they have Christ in their hearts they cannot have him in their eyes They will scarce find him in the writings of his own infallible Apostles and much less of his unworthy Ministers Do not then complain of these Vnchristian times though there was never greater reason for that complaint but take heed your own heart be not Vnchristian Then will God in worse times then these if worse can be never let you be destitute of those means which will be able to root and build you up in your Saviour If as you have received Christ Iesus the Lord so you do also walk in him Col. 2. 6 7. For this is the only way to have true faith in Christ even to have stedfastness in that faith since that Faith cannot be true which cares not to be stedfast Without doubt there is nothing more sure in it self then the Truth of Christian Religion and therefore there should be nothing more sure to us Domine si error est a Te decepti sumus Scot. Prol. in sent If our Christian Religion be a device or a deceit as too many men now make it or use it t is Thou O Lord hast deceived us said that acute Divine most boldly and yet more truly And we must be as ready to say Because Thou Lord canst not deceive us we are sure in what we have from Thee we are not we cannot be deceived As the certainty of the object is so the certainty of the subject should be the greatest in matters of Religion Since it is undenyable on all hands That man is much more bound by the obligations both of Nature and of Grace to look to the certainty and to compass the assurance of his internal then of his external tenure of his eternal then of his temporal of his spiritual then o◠his corporal good estate and condition For if Christ be indeed our author for what we do and suffer then will he also be our Advocate in all our doings and all our sufferings And so will our cause be certainly justifiable both in this world and in the next as having a twofold goodness one from it self the other from its Advocate The first goodness of our cause will justifie us before men but the latter will also justifie us before God The first will keep men that though they may oppress us yet they shall not be able to condemn us The latter will keep us from the sentence of Gods eternal condemnation So happy is it with that man who knows he serves Christ and will not for any fear or love whatsoever start aside from his service Yet now a daies we take a quite contrary course which cannot be observed without bitterness of soul and ought to be reproved with bitterness of words for when there is dead flesh on the heart the stile ought to be very sharp at least to pierce it if not to cut it off most men making sure of their salvation before they have made sure of their Religion and not at all desiring to make sure of their Repentance that they may have either Religion or Salvation They will needs be walking upon the Battlements of Heaven before they have found out the true Iacobs ladder to climb up thither I speak to and of those men especially who are so ready not only to forsake but also to contemn their poor Mother This distressed Church of England once flourishing to the envy of her friends now seemingly withered for extirpated she cannot be to the joy and scorn of her enemies And I ask them seriously Were they sure of their Religion heretofore or no For not the perswasion and knowledge but the profession and practise of Religion is Religion according to that of Saint Iames Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only deceiving your own souls Iam. 1. 22. If they were not sure of their Religion why did they then serve God without their consciences as Hypocrites If they were why are they since fallen from that service against their consciences as Apostates Here seems yet to be a very bad certainty of their Religion and how can there be a better certainty of their salvation unless that we may gratifie their singularity more then our own Veracity we will say There may be a company of good Christians out of the Communion of Saints or a Communion of Saints out of Christs Catholick Church Whereas in truth a man that goes alone in a perswasion by himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 like Ajax in the Tragedian is in the Poets sense One out of his wits in the Casuists sense One out of his Conscience and must be in the good Christians sense One out of his Religion Pude◠haec opprobria nobis dici potuisse non potuisse refelli The intent of this Treatise of Christianity which labours for such a Zeal as may enflame devotion and for such a simplicity as may satisfie it is To bring these men back again to their Saviour Christ and to the ordinary way of their salvation His Church To Christ their Saviour whiles it sets out the Christians knowledge of and joy in Christ To Christs Church the ordinary way of their salvation whiles it keeps in memory the antient festivals of the Church not only professing that knowledge but also embracing and expressing
too much of our time in those Christian Duties and Devotions which tend immediatly to the Honour of our Saviour Christ that so we may not be defective either in our preparation before them or in our Affections in them or in our Thanksgivings after them First That we be not defective in our preparation before our Christian devotions for this is a main cause of our great shame and greater sin that we have been hitherto so bad Christians in so good a state of Christianity that whereas Christ hath been so long and so powerfully applyed unto us both in Prayers and Word and Sacraments yet we have been so little benefited by that Application as scarce to perceive the loss of it or at least scarce to grieve for that loss A shrewd sign of Edomites rather then of Israelites to be content to lose our Prayers our true spiritual Birth-right that we might keep our Pottage our Temporal interests of which we may now truly say as he did Gen. 25. 30. Feed me with that Red with that Red for the just vengeance of God hath lately made it so with our own Blood or at least a shrewd sign of Ephraimites if not of Edomites for they being armed and carrying bows turned back in the day of battle Psalm 78. 9. The reason is given in the verse before they were a generation that prepared not their heart and whose spirit was not stedfast with God They did not set their heart right by preparation and therefore could not keep their spirit stedfast by perseverance and it is to be feared this is our case For it had scarce been possible for so admirable a form of publike Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments which had in it the most pithy Devotions both of Greek and Latine Churches and the superstitions of neither to have been so long amongst us to so little advantage of our souls had there been good things found in us and had we prepared our hearts to seek our God as that good King did 2 Chron. 19. 3. and hath left his example as a mandate for us so to do since no Scripture is of private Interpretation and much less of private Jurisdiction The old Testament in all precepts and precedents of morality no less commanding the Christian then it did the Jew but if any be contentious touching the Old Testament though we have no such custome nor the Churches of God yet we have both a Precept and a Precedent in the New Testament to reprove and to reproach his contention and the fittest that can be alledged for this Argument even that of Saint John Baptist the forerunner of Christ For he came preaching saith the Text and his Sermon consisted so much of this doctrine of Preparation that he was chiefly to be known by this character The Voice of one crying in the wilderness Prepare ye the way of the Lord Mat. 3. Secondly We need imploy our time readily and carefully in those Christian duties which immediately concern the honour of Christ that we be not defective in our Affections whiles we are at our Christian Devotions actually conversing with our blessed Saviour For our Affections have been so long standing on the lees and dregs of the earth that they are not to be refined and much less to be elevated and lifted up to Heaven without multiplied Essays of most holy meditations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Priest to the people in the Greek Liturgie And they answer him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let us lift up our hearts we lift them up unto the Lord so we in our Liturgy from theirs But it is observable that neither Greek Church nor ours used these words till after many prayers were past in which the Communicants had poured out their souls before God to be sanctified by his Grace And so likewise the Apostle requiring us to seek those things which are above doth as it were pass through all the Creed to the Article of the Resurrection before he hopes throughly to raise our Affections Col. 3. 1 2. If ye be then risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right Hand of God set your Affection on things above c. He doth not only say Christ is risen but also if ye be risen with Christ he is fain to presuppose and as it were to antedate the day of the Resurrection of the bodies that so he may perswade them to a Resurrection of their souls O God work in us this great miracle of thy Grace to raise our souls that we may all rejoyce in that great miracle of thy power which thou wilt at the last day work on us in the raising of our bodies Thirdly and lastly we need imploy our time readily and carefully in those Christian Duties which immediately concern the honour of Christ that we be not defective in our thankfulness after our Devotions after we have had the honour and the happiness to converse with our blessed Saviour For if I may not give mine alms without a full purpose of my heart 2 Cor. 9. 7. Shall I think that I may give my self without it or doth God indeed love a cheerful giver of the hand and not much rather a cheerful giver of the Heart To what purpose is ihis wast Mat. 26. 8 9. seems in it self a question of Piety and in its reason For this ointment might have been sold for much and given to the poor a question of charity yet St. John brands him that made it That for his Piety he was a Traytor ready to betray Christ And for his Charity he was a Thief not ready to relieve but to pillage his poor members John 12. 4 6. so dangerous a thing is it for men to begrutch any expence either of Time or of Pains or of Patrimony that is bestowed upon Christ and much more to disturb the woman the Church that bestoweth it For wheresoever this Gospel of the great condescention and greater goodness of the Son of God shall be Preached in the whole world there also shall this be told for a memorial of her Duty that wrought the good work upon her Saviour but of their undutifulness who opposed her in working it Mat. 26. 10 13. Gods mercies in our Saviour Christ are too many and great to come all Ex tempore to us so should our Devotions be to thank him for their coming since it is every jot as good Divinity for our Prayers and Sermons which we offer up for the parts of Gods publick worship as it was for Davids sacrifice Neither will I offer burnt-offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing 2 Sam. 24. 24. For what can I profess by the unworthiness of my offering but either That I have a less worthy esteem of God then David had to whom I offer that which he would not offer or that I have a more worthy esteem of my self then he had as if forsooth God would at
cadit sub actu Amoris Scotus in 1. lib. sent dist 18. The first gift which every one gives to him whom he loves is his love which is indeed the only reason of all his other gifts for nothing can have the nature of a gift but as it proceeds from love And therefore God first gives us his love before he gives us any thing else and he gives nothing as a blessing but what he gives in love as for example Government is the best temporal gift to any Nation yet given in anger is no blessing and consequently no gift so saith the Prophet Dedi Regem iratus eis Hos 13. 11. I gave them a King in mine anger This was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A gift that was no gift because not given in love And as it is in Regal so also in Popular Government as appears from the 94. Psalm the 20. ver For whether we read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the Septuagint A Throne of wickedness when Kings and Princes sit thereon or sedes iniquitatis with the Vulgar Latine a seat or stool of wickedness when mean People are got up to it it is still a curse not a blessing if the Government be not given in love For then whosoever be the Governors They will imagine mischief as a Law and gather them together against the soul of the righteous and condemn innocent blood So Musculus an excellent Protestant Divine glosseth those words of the Psalmist That they do note unto us judiciary meetings of wicked men to oppress the Righteous and to Condemn innocent blood by vertue of some unjust Laws or Constitutions not at consensus Judiciarios Hominum iniquâ—rum qui ad hoc conglobantur ut Justâ—s opprimerent sanguinem innocentem vigore Legum injustarum condemnarent Thus that Author glosseth upon the place and we cannot gainsay his gloss since it is undeniable that truth and righteousness doth hold only of Christ not of mans Government whether it be by one or by many Again the Gospel of Christ is the best spiritual gift that can be given to any People yet given not in love oft-times proves no Blessing and consequently no gift Like Manna to the Israelites in Psal 78. Manna was a type of Christ so owned by Christ himself Joh. 6. 32. That was the Typical this is the real Bread from Heaven which nourisheth our souls to eternal Life And it is with this as it was with that bread with the Gospel of Christ as it was with the Manna If given not in love but in anger it will scarce turn to our spiritual nourishment And we may justly fear it is now with the Gospel as it was then with that Manna God gives it without his love to those that either tempt him in their hearts as the Jews did ver 18. asking meat for their lusts looking after the Word more for curiosity then for conscience or that tempt him with their mouths as the Jews did ver 19 20. They spake against God and said Can God furnish a Table in the wilderness can he give bread also can he provide flesh for his people A sin that contentious men are too much guilty of who in the midst of Eden cry out as if they were in in a wilderdess in the midst of plenty repine as if they were in want they do in effect say that God cannot prepare them a table good enough unless their own hands help to make it or will not prepare them a table soon enough unless they overhasten his preparation To complain against God instead of rendring humble hearty thanks unto him to complain against him out of meer wantonness not out of any want save only of a thankful heart within our selves is to do as the Jews did in this place and then we must look to fare as they did for a fire was kindled amongst them and anger came up against them ver 21. And if we make God angry as they did we cannot but expect to feel the same sad effects of his Anger as it is said ver 30 31. But while the meat was yet in their mouths the wrath of God came upon them and slew the fastest of them and smote down the chosen men of Israel Just so is it with those that are of a quarrelsom religion that will not receive Christ in the way that God offers him they commonly have Christ not in love but in anger not to make them the more happy but the more inexcusable not to make them the better Christians but to bring them under a stricter account for their defiance of Christ and their abuse of Christianity they know more of their Masters will but it is to do the less of it that so they may be beaten with many stripes Luke 12. 47. Nay indeed they know less of their Masters will though they would be thought to know more of it For those know least of Christ who seek to know most of him by contention and by faction since he that said learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart Mat. 11. 29. will never take contention for meekness nor faction for lowliness and therefore will not teach such as love to be contentious and factions Saint Paul indeed tell us of some who preached Christ out of Envy Phil. 1. 15 16. but he doth not tell us of any that ever learned him so he said to the Galatians Christ shall profit you nothing and Christ is become of none effect to you Gal. 5. 24. but he had given the reason of that saying before he said it in the first chapter and sixth and seventh ver I marvail that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another Gospel which is not another but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the Gospel of Christ wherefore let those that make nothing of removing from the Church by which they have been called to the Grace of Christ take heed lest they cause Christ to remove himself and his Gospel from them let those that surfet of one Christ take heed they have not many Christs for one for there are many false Christs spoken of Mat. 24. 24. who though they shall not deceive the elect who are constant to themselves and to their Saviour yet may not onely deceive and delude but also destroy the wicked that love to gad after their own Inventions and please themselves in their own imaginations For Christ himself if he be indeed given to such men is not given in love and that is the reason that he profits them nothing and becomes of none effect to them though to others he be all in all working with great power to the establishment of their hearts here and with greater mercy to the salvation of their souls hereafter SECT II. Gods love in Christ though it be universal in the diffusion yet is it particular in the obligation IT is observable that Saint Paul first rejoyceth in the
teach and redeem us The title of the chief corner stone blasphemously applyed to the Pope Christ was not an Apostle one sent from God but an Exapostle one sent out of God I must needs confess that being in this Eden of God in this Paradise contemplating the tree of life I am unwilling to divert my eyes from that tree and much more my heart from that contemplation but am desious to perswade my self that I see the Prophet Isaiahs vision turned into action and God acting it in heaven no less then the Prophet acting it on earth Isa 6. 8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying whom shall I send or who will go for us then I said here am I send me For God the Father did as it were consult with himself saying whom shall I send and God the Son did forthwith answer him Here am I send me For as there was faciamus hominem Gen. 1. 26. God consulting and deliberating with his Son his eternal wisdom and with his Spirit his eternal power about our creation so there was redimamus hominem God consulting and deliberating with his Son his eternal righteousness and with his spirit his eternal love about our redemption For Gods goodness is as infinite as himself and that hath made him impart to man not only his goodness but also himself Hence that saying of the sublime Areopagite quod ipse Deus propter amorem est exstasin passus That love made God as it were go out of himself For great love is never without some kind of exstasie and therefore as it makes man go out of himself and be not where he lives but where he loves so it also made God the Son as it were go out of himself and come and be in man whom he had loved with an eternal love Thus hath love brought God from God to be in man and thus should it also bring man from man to be in God For this is the end of that blessed Mysterie and more blessed mercy which we commemorate when we celebrate the incarnation of the Son of God he was made of us that we might be new made by him he made one flesh with us that we should be one spirit with him Saint Peter accounted it a great mercy that God had sent his Angel to deliver him from the hand of Herod Act. 12. 11. How much more ought we to account it a great mercy that he hath sent his only Son to deliver us from the power of sin and Satan which persued us much more fiercely and would have wounded us much more desperately He considers his deliverance ver 12. and shall not we especially since the Apostle hath shewed us the way how to enlarge this consideration Heb. 1. 1 2. God who at sundry times and in divers maaners spake in time past unto the Fathers by the Prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son It was a great mercy that he spake to the Fathers by holy men a greater that he spake to them by the holy Angels for that was one of the divers manners of his speaking But the greatest mercy of all was that he hath spoken to us by his son and the reason is intimated in the following words for in time past was the beginning the inchoation of his love when he spake by his Prophets and Angels but in these last dayes hath been the accomplishment and consummation of it when he spake to us by his Son Before he had made the world and upheld all things by the word of his power but now he hath redeemed the world and having purged our sins upholds it by the hand of his mercy For till our sins were purged it was only the power of God upheld the world that he might purge it But now our sins are purged t is the mercy of God upholds the world that he may save it This is the only reason Saint Peter gives us why the last day that shall destroy all things by fire is so long in coming 2 Pet. 3. 9. The Lord is not slack but is long-suffering to us-ward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance The same mercy that made him hasten his first coming makes him delay his second And was it not a mercy not only beyond our expression but also beyond our admiration that the Son of God who was the brightness of his glory should become the brightness of his enemies and the glory of his people Yet so saith Saint Luke 2. 32. to be a light to lighten the Gentiles there he was the Bridegroom of his enemies and to be the glory of thy people Israel there he was the glory of his own people It was a mercy that we could never deserve and therefore must ever acknowledge that God was pleased to send his Apostles to teach us his saving truth and to shew the way of salvation for they were the pillars of the Church Gal. 2. 9. But infinitely greater was the mercy that he pleased to send his own Son to teach the Apostles for he is the cheif corner stone 1 Pet. 2. 5. For it is observable that Saint Peter himself was content to be accounted a pillar of the Church and leaves it only for Christ to be called the chief corner stone And therefore that Preface of Bellarmine which he once made in the Roman Schools Praefatio habita in gymnasio Romano and hath since prefixed before the third general controversie of his first Tome which is de summo Pontifice had need of all the waters of Tiber to wash it from gross flattery if not from detestable blasphemy since he is pleased therein to wrest those words of the Prophet Isaiah Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone a tryed stone a precious corner stone a sure foundation and to apply them to Saint Peters Successor which Saint Peter durst not apply unto himself but leaves them only for Christ the eternal Son of God We cannot too much prize the voice of the Apostles as for example Saint Pauls Epistles cannot be in too great esteem which saith Saint Hierom bring him every day more glory as Christ more converts But the voice of the eternal word calling to Saint Paul from heaven Act. 9. 4 5. and in him to us who can ever hear with sufficient care and attention who can embrace with sufficient reverence and estimation who can follow with sufficient alacrity and devotion Saint Paul was but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one sent from God and yet how greatly doth he magnifie that office in every one of his Epistles but our Saviour Christ was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one sent out of God to man for so saith Paul Gal. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God sent forth his son that is God sent him not only from himself as he sent the Apostles but also out of himself as he sent none but only his beloved Son SECT VIII The Mother of Christ so
remarkable circumstances we shall then see how properly our blessed Saviour was called the Lamb of God First the Paschal Lamb was one of the flock Exod. 12. 5. So Christ was one of us and dwelt among us Saint John 1. 14. And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us This consideration That the word was made flesh as it may inflame our devotions because our Saviour is in our own flesh to pitty us and to relieve us so it must cool and allay our distempers That he is in that same flesh which we so easily suffer in our selves to be excessively passionate and either distracted by sinful factions or distempered by sinful affections So that now what sins I commit in the flesh I commit not only against that flesh which in my self goes creeping and growling on the earth but also against that flesh which in my Saviour is exalted into heaven and there sitteth at the right hand of God This is the Apostles most pathetical argument against all the sins of uncleanness and should be mine in the like case or temptation Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of an Harlot God forbid 1 Cor. 6. 15. as if he had said I must abandon abhor all uncleannesses of the flesh in that thereby I shall sin against mine own body How much more in that thereby I shall sin against my Saviours body Secondly the Paschal Lamb was without blemish so Christ was without sin the only spot and blemish of the soul In peccato sunt reatus macula saith the School All sin as it brings a guiltiness with it so it leaves a spot and blemish after it Our Saviour Christ was without this spot and we must labour to be without it likewise by being made conformable to him So should we rightly understand the hidden mysterie of predestination more by our practise then we can possibly by our speculations or disputes if every one of us would really endeavour to fulfill that part of it To be conformed to the image of his Son Rom. 8. 29. For whom he did fore-know he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son The great quarrel of Christendom at this day is about conformity that all Churches will not be conformed to one And yet even that conformity if it were brought to pass would not could not put an end to other differences But here is such a conformity that would soon end all quarrels whatsoever if men would make it their study and business to conform themselves to the image of the Son of God If men would seriously endeavour a conformity with Christ by holiness meekness patience obedience vertues so much out of our use that they are almost out of our knowledge but quite out of our remembrance they would never be Non-conformists in any lawful thing nor require conformity in any that is unlawful much less would they brand one another as reprobates but every one would strive to make his own Election sure Hope well of anothers so we should all forth with prove unerring students unblamable proficients in that grand controverted Doctrine of Predestination if we did but truly follow the meekness of this Lamb. Thirdly the Paschal Lamb was slain as a memorial of the Jews deliverance from the bondage of Egypt So was Christs death our deliverance from the bondage of sin and Satan Let me then stand fast in that spiritual liberty wherewith Christ hath made me free and be no less afraid of returning to my former sins then the Israelites were of returning to their former bondage alwaies remembring that dreadful sentence in the Apostle who in that he had fallen himself was the more careful to keep others from a relapse the latter end is worse with them then the beginning 2 Pet. 2. 20. Fourthly the blood of the Paschal Lamb sprinkled on the door posts made the destroying Angel pass over the Israelites when he smote the Egyptians So the blood of Christ sprinkled upon our souls preserveth us from the destroying Angel A mercy to be remembred with an everlasting thankfulness and to be commemorated with an everlasting thanksgiving for this is a part of the new song in heaven Rev. 5. 9. Thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God with thy blood What was the ground of their thanksgiving in heaven must be the ground of our supplication on earth that we lose not the benefit of this blood which is the price of our Redemption that neither through the infirmities of the flesh nor the anguishes of the Spirit nor the backslidings of the world nor the temptations of the Devil we be drawn or driven from faith in the blood of our dearest Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ And accordingly we must take care that we be not driven or drawn from the outward profession and exercise of this faith least we come by degrees to be driven or drawn from the inward settlement and assurance of it Fifthly the Paschal Lamb was to be eaten with bitter herbs and without leaven so Christ is to be received with repentance and without malice or hypocrisie which is the most common but the most unsavoury leaven of the soul for a small parcell of either of these will infect and corrupt all our best Religious performances even as a little leaven leaventh the whole lump Accordingly the Apostle is most industrious to chase this leaven out of our hearts when he biddeth us to keep the feast not with old leaeven that is the leaven of hypocrisie when we pretend to be new men but are not Nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth 1 Cor. 5. 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in azymis sinceritatis veritatis for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sincerity is a righteous judgement against the sophistications or delusions of malice and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Truth is a righteous practise for there is a moral as well as a Metaphysical truth against the prevarications of Hypocrisie They generally go both together hypocrisie in the tongue and malice in the heart fair pretences and foul intentions The hypocrite being most commonly malicious as having the Devil in his heart and the malicious needing the hypocrite to disguise his malice by seeming to be an Angel in his tongue But what ever the leaven be whether these or any other infectious sins our care must be first to find it and then to cleanse it wherein it will not be amiss if we follow the great scrupulosity of the Jews who to the intent that not so much as the suspition of leaven should be amongst them at their feast of the Passeover did first cleanse their ordinary vessels of it then searched every cranny or chink of their houses after it then burnt all they found then execrated or cursed all that might possibly be left behind which they could
the eternal Spirit be all honour and glory now and for ever Amen Christ glorified in his Ascention The Prooeme That our blessed Saviours Ascention is not so truly observed by our commemoration as by our imitation and the manner how to consider the History of his Ascention THere is no blessing of Christ but imposeth upon a Christian the necessity of commemorating it and withall affords him exceeding great joy in its commemoration if he so observe it with other Christians as also to imitate it with good Christians For at Saint Luke gives a full definition of Christs Gospel when he calleth it a Treatise of those things which Jesus did do and teach Acts 1. 1. as if he had said A Book that containeth Christs sayings and doings so may we give this definition of a true Gospeller or of a good Christian He is a lively representer of the sayings and doings of Christ of the sayings of Christ by his profession of the doings of Christ by his practise and imitation For that man alone hath a true faith in the Passion Resurrection and Ascention of Christ who sheweth his faith by his works dying with Christ that he may live to him rising with Christ that he may live with him and ascending to Christ that he may live in him who sheweth his faith in Christs Cross by crucifying his own sinful lusts in Christs resurrection by rising to newness of life and in Christs ascention by ascending thither in heart and mind whiher his Saviour is gone before him Thus did the holy Apostles follow their Master with their eyes and with their hearts when they could not follow him with their bodies They looked stedfastly towards heaven as he went up Acts 1. 10. Surely the more to fix their hearts on him when he was above And so must we too we must go up with him thither that we may tarry with him there accordingly as Christs own Church hath taught us to pray Grant we beseech thee Almighty God that like as we do believe thine only begotten Son our Lord to have ascended into the heavens so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend and with him continually dwell who liveth and raigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost one God world without end which is such an heavenly prayer That we are infinitely bound to bless God for putting it into our devotions but yet more bound to beseech him that he will also put it into our lives and conversations For which cause I will enlarge my considerations concerning the ascention of our blessed Saviour And as Binius in setting down that vast and voluminous Council of Ephesus digesteth his work into three Tomes in the first tome reciting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the acts before the Council in the second Tome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the acts done in the Council in the third Tome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the acts done after the Council So will I consider the history of our blessed Saviours Ascention first insisting upon those things which are recorded before it His apparitions his instructions his consolations and his benedictions Secondly insisting upon those things which are recorded concerning the manner of his ascending And lastly insisting upon that one thing which is recorded of him after he was ascended viz. his sitting at the right hand of God And I have warrant enough so to do from the two Pen-men of that very History For Saint Mark describeth the Ascention with reference to Christs Apparitions upon the very day of his resurrection though that was full fourty daies before he ascended for so we read Mar. 16. 14. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sate at meat and upbraided their unbelief and hardness of heart which apparition was clearly on the very day of his Resurrection unless we will say that unbelief and hardness of heart remained in the Apostles when it scarce remained in any of the other Disciples for he had appeared unto them no less then five several times on that very day for the confirmation of their faith And yet without any mention of more apparitions it followeth v. 19. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them he was received up into heaven But Saint Luke describeth the Ascention with the sending down of the Holy Ghost which was not till ten daies after our Saviour Christ was actually ascended as appears Acts 1. 8 9. But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you And when he had spoken these things he was taken up The Ascention is so placed in the narrations of these Evangelists as both to look backward to the Feast of Easter and forward to the Feast of Pentecost To look backward upon the Resurrection of God the Son to look forward upon the Descention of God the Holy Ghost Happily to teach all Christians That they must first arise from sin before they can ascend up to God there 's the Resurrection before the Ascention And that they must ascend up to God before they can receive the gifts and graces of his Holy Spirit there 's the Ascention before the coming of the Holy Ghost However this is ground enough for me to look a little backward and a little forward in my considerations of the Ascention because the Evangelists have thus related it with its antecedent apparitions and words and with its consequent exaltation or sitting on the right hand of God CAP. I. Christ Considered before his Ascention SECT I. Christ considered in his Apparitions before he ascended as to Mary Magdalen and to Saint Peter c. The wrong use that hath been made the right use that may be made of those Apparitions IT is much to be observed That since in the Gospel are mentioned but ten apparitions of Christ between his Resurrection and his Ascention yet no less then five of them are recorded on the very day of his Resurrection For he appeared five several times to several persons on that same day which Durand would perswade us the Latine Church did intimate in her very Church musick of that day singing that Invitatory Hymn The Lord is risen indeed in the fift musical tone Et est quinti toni propter quinque apparitiones Domini in ill◠die saith he This Anthymne Surrexit Dominus verè The Lord is risen indeed is sung in the fift Tone because the Lord appeared five times on that very day This is an elegant way of teaching mysteries by musical tones somewhat above that gross invention of turning pictures into Lay-mens books but yet whatsoever is to be said of the musick we are sure the thing it self is consonant to the Truth For our blessed Saviour did appear five several times on the very day of his resurrection that as soon as he had raised his own body from the Grave he might raise his Apostles souls from incredulity and prepare them to receive those Heavenly doctrines pertaining to the kingdom of God concerning which he resolved to speak with them
or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He was received up as unto that which he had so fully merited and deserved Again the same twofold expression shews a twofold miracle if we consider Christ in the unity of his person as those two natures of God and man made but one Christ the first miracle was the conquest over earth in his body which was taught to ascend upwards contrary to the nature of Earth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He went up in that body The second miracle was the conquest over heaven in his soul which for his singular piety was taught in some sort to descend downwards contrary to the nature of heaven in that the light clouds were made to come down that they might minister to his Ascension So that these must be our considerations of our blessed Saviour from the act and manner of his Ascending his twofold Title in claiming heaven and his twofold miracle in possessing it his first title to heaven was as the Son of God for so he claimed heaven by inheritance and the word used in the Apostles Creed intimates that claim or title 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he went up sc to take possession of his own he went by his own power to enter upon his own right claiming heaven as his natural inheritance because he was the Son of God And this right of his Saint Paul exactly describes Heb. 1. 2 3. Where he saith God hath appointed his son heir of all things by whom also he made the world who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power when he had by himself purged our sins sate down on the right hand of the Majesty on high In which words the Apostle teacheth us to say to the son of God what the Son taught us to say unto the Father For thine is the Kingdom the power and the glory For he fully setteth forth unto us the Kingdom of Christ both as Redeemer and as Creator As Redeemer when he saith God appointed him heir of all things in which respect Christ himself saith All things are delivered unto me of my father Mat. 11. 27. and all power is given unto me Mat. 28. 18. and the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into his hand John 3. 35. And he setteth forth unto us the Kingdom of Christ as Creator when he saith By whom also he made the worlds for in that respect our Saviour had all power in heaven and in earth without its being given or delivered unto him as he was the eternal Son of God coequal with his Father Which his coequality the Apostle expresseth from three particulars First in that he was the brightness of his glory that is the natural brightness of his glory by necessary generation not by voluntary communication even as the Sun naturally begets brightness and not voluntarily upon choice or deliberation Secondly In that he was the express Image or character of his person not only representing his essential glory as God of which representation it is said No man hath seen God at any time the only begotten Son which is in the bosome of the Father he hath declared him John 1. 18. but also representing his personal glory as father because the person of the Father is wholly and fully expressed in the person of the Son as in a lively Image or Character thereof in which respect Christ himself saith If ye had known me ye should have known my Father also and from henceforth ye know him and have seen him John 14. 7. and again he that hath seen me hath seen the Father ver 9. Thirdly In that he upheld all things by the word of his power to wit by the same word by which he had made them ver 2. All this being said t is no wonder if it follow immediately after that he sate down on the right hand of the Majesty on high as taking that place in the nature of man which was his proper right as the Son of God But what comfort is this to us who are born the Sons of wrath and so have title only to the place of wrath and vengeance as to our inheritance T is true we have no title from our selves save only to hell such a title as we care not to claim though we labour to make good But we have also a title of inheritance to heaven from our blessed Saviour as saith the Apostle And if children then heirs heirs of God and joynt heirs with Christ Rom. 8. 17. For the Son by adoption is admitted to the inheritance as if he were a Son by nature And we being adopted in Christ cannot be denyed to have a title to his Inheritance But we were best take heed that we abuse not this title or at least mistake it not as some do who cry Abba Father and are no sons or who are so the Sons of God as not led by the Spirit of God or so led by the Spirit of God as not doing the works of the Spirit but of the flesh being guilty of hatred variance emulations wrath strife seditions heresies envyings murders such horrid murders as have out-faced heaven and amazed the earth and will not believe the Apostle though he tell it before and after though he say it and say it again that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Gal. 5. 21. Let the man after Gods own heart both ask and answer this question for us Psalm 24. ver 3 4. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord or who shall rise up in his holy place Even he that hath clean hands not defiled with blood and a pure heart not corrupted with Faction or Sedition and that hath not lift up his mind to vanity by taking fancie for faith or vain imaginations for holy inspirations nor sworn to deceive his neighbour convenanting for spoil and robbery to be not only impiously but also blasphemously guilty of theft He shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation For such a man as hath clean hands and a pure heart is led by the Spirit of God and with his pure heart thinks the thoughts with his clean hands doth the works of the Spirit This man is heir to an inheritance in heaven because he is the Son of God and he is the Son of God because he is led not by his own private Spirit but by the Spirit of God for as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the Sons of God Rom. 8. 14. He that saith as many doth in effect say no more they are and none but they are the Sons of God who are led by the Spirit of God He that lifts up his mind to vanity cannot lift up his mind to heaven he that hath sworn to deceive his neighbour is sure to deceive himself he that hath no share in the righteousness may not look
all will-worship in his service though proceeding out of never so good intentions because it is without and therefore against his Commission And if it were an act of profanation and provocation to uphold his Ark without his leave when it was shaken what is it to help shake it or rather to throw it down I pray God speedily make such men to see how much they have out-gone Vzzah in their sin and therefore cannot come short of him in their punishment For he that struck Vzzah with a corporal can strike them with a spiritual death and except they repent will undoubtedly so strike them unless it may be feared he hath already so stricken them because they have not repented To affront Christ in his Priest-hood whereby he reconciled man to God is the ready way to lose the benefit of that reconciliation He will not have his Priestly office invaded by Angels much less will he have it invaded by men He will not let Angels preach his Gospel least their preaching should beget uncertainties whiles the Devils might come and preach among them And much less will he have men that are not called of God to preach his Gospel because their preaching can beget nothing but Impieties whiles the Devils may come and preach in them He will have no other witnesses of his truth but such as are of his own choice For thus he declared his own will and hath never since reversed that declaration Acts 10. 40 41. Him God raised up the third day and shewed him openly not to all the people but unto witnesses chosen before of God He would then have his choice and select witnesses and would not entrust his Sacred Mysteries with all in common least they should be neglected of all But he chose such men for his witnesses as should rather lay down their lives then the profession of the Christian Faith And we cannot reasonably deny but that he still hath his choice witnesses whom he hath entrusted with his truth whom he hath enabled to discharge that trust whom he will call to a strict account for not discharging it so that we must say God is still pleased to shew his Son openly as he did then not to all the people but only to some chosen witnesses And he will have the people still to depend upon those witnesses to be instructed and informed in the Sacred truths concerning his Son or in the mysteries of the Christian Religion And the gadding humour which now possesseth the people to run from Gods witnesses is the ready way for them to fall into all kinds of false Doctrine and heresie and that will in a short time bring them to hardness of heart and contempt of Gods word and commandments especially since they are not now taught to pray against it but rather to expell and revile such heavenly prayers And thus we plainly see that the more Christs Ministers have of late been hindred from being the witnesses of his saving Truth the more they have been forced to be the witnesses of this sad Truth even of the encreasing of Heresies and hardnesses in his people And though they may be denyed to be Christs witnesses to the people for their conversion yet they cannot be denyed to be his witnesses against the people for their condemnation Jesu God what an infinite misery is it for thy Ministers to be such witnesses and yet infinitely more miserable are thy people in that thy Ministers must bear thee such witness Surely when thou didst first say And ye shall be witnesses unto me unto the uttermost parts of the earth Acts 1. 8. thou didst intend a succession of witnesses whereby the uttermost parts of the earth should come to hear of thee and that no sort of men should stop their mouthes from testifying or witnessing concerning thee nor stop their own ears against their testimony And doubtless Saint Peter advising the Elders to feed the flock of God under so many introductive perswasions That he was also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed 1 Pet. 5. 1. did use that strain which is called by Rhetoritians Titulus argumentosus a title that hath as many arguments as words for an Elder is fit for the office of looking to others and may not neglect his office a witness of Christs sufferings may not shrink from his testimony unless he will betray his trust And a partaker of Christs glory may not renege that blessed Communion unless he will betray his own soul T is true that his first witnesses forsook him and fled Mar. 14. 50. and one of them also denyed him yet after his resurrection he neither upbraids the one nor the other as if they had been scandalous Ministers but pitties their infirmities and encourages and confirms them in their Ministry They had parted with him before his death but would not part with him again after his resurrection till he was taken away from them For they found it sadness enough unto their souls that they had forsook him once and durst not so much as go out of his sight for fear they should be tempted to forsake him again Good God what a deep sadness would possess if not over-whelm our guilty consciences should we but seriously consider how often we have out of meer peevishness forsaken our blessed Saviour Running away from him in his Nativity Passion Resurrection for we look upon Sunday more as the Sabbath then as the Lords day and Ascention as if either these Festivals did not invite us to converse with Christ or conversing with Christ were not the best platform and exactest practise of Christianity Then all the Disciples forsook him and fled saith Saint Matthew Mat. 26. 56. Then that is when they were possessed with carnal fear but we forsake him meerly out of spiritual pride and presumption and we forsake him in his Authority in his Church and in his Ordinances as if we needed no good examples to move us no instructions to inform us no directions to guide us no duties to sanctifie us no affections to inflame us God grant that we come not at last to think that we need not no Word to govern us and no Christ to save us Then the Disciples forsook him and fled In this we can be as good Disciples as the best in forsaking our blessed Saviour and in flying from him but not so in returning and in cleaving unto him again Alfonsus is so bold as to say that during the time of our blessed Saviours Passion till his Resurrection true faith remained only in the blessed Virgin And this seems not to have been his private opinion for the Missale ad usum Sarum gives this for the main reason why chiefly on Saturday or the seventh day of the week there called the Sabbath day as indeed in all other antient Missals or Liturgies the office made in honour of the Virgin Mary is appointed to be said Quia
to confess his belief and therefore so hath the Faith as that also he hath both the righteousness and the salvation For not being guilty of hypocrisie in confessing his faith whereby to lose the righteousness he will not be guilty of Apostacy in falling away from his confession whereby to lose the salvation SECT VI. The having the Spirit and language of the Son further explained by three questions 1. How Abba father is called the language of the Son and whether Saint Mark borrowed not that expression from Saint Paul 2. Who it is that cryes Abba Father or prayes by the Spirit whether he that hath most cordial affections or he that hath most voluble effusions 3. Whether the spirit may be in the heart believing whilst t is not in the mouth crying Abba Father or whether the Spirit of adoption once truly had be not retained to the end SAint Paul saying to the Galatians and because ye are Sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba Father Gal. 4. 6. hath joyned three eminent priviledges of the Saints altogether in few words And because ye are sons there 's their first priviledge that of enemies they are made servants of servants they are made sons God hath sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts there 's their second priviledge that being made Sons they have the Spirit of his Son whereby we cry Abba Father there 's their third priviledge that having the Spirit of his Son they have also the language of his Son But it may not unfitly be demanded how Abba Father is called the language of the Son I answer because Christ himself used it in his prayer to the Father and he said Abba Father all things are possible unto thee Mar. 14. 36. And the Spirit of Christ teacheth us to use it as appears Rom. 8. 15. Ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father and Gal. 4. 6. God hath sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba Father And it is to be observed that this kind of expression is never at all used in the Old Testament as if it had been reserved of purpose for our Saviour Christ and but thrice used in the new Testament in the places forecited as if it could not rightly be used but only by some few very good Christians who having entirely devoted themselves to all dutifulness and obedience can hope for a greater portion of love and kindness from God then other men as if he were more a Father to them then to others For so would Syrus interpres have us understand the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Abba Pater mi O Father my Father Father of all in general but my Father in particular which is doubtless the application of a true and lively faith and cannot belong unto those who have not applied themselves to this Father as most dutiful and obedient children But why 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Abba Father the one is Syriack the other in Greek was our blessed Saviour at so much leasure in his agony as to look after variety of languages in his prayer That 's not to be supposed but t is most probable that our Saviour used only the Syriake word Abba when he prayed because he commonly used that language and he doubled that word to express the zeal and earnestness of his affection in his prayer So Grotius duplex autem vox posita est affectus testandi causâ simile illud 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Apoc. 1. There is a double word set down to shew the strength of his affection as Revel 1. 7. Even so Amen This may happily be a reason of the duplication but t is not a reason of the variety that doubt still remains why Abba Father in two several languages I answer happily to teach us that Christ and the good Christian do call upon God with one and the same Spirit and therefore Saint Mark agreeth with Saint Paul in the use of one and the same expression For though Saint Mark writ his Gospel from Saint Peter yet t is probable he borrowed this emphatical expression from Saint Paul since it is undeniable that Saint Paul had written his Epistles to the Romans and to the Galatians in which two he useth this Abba Father long before Saint Mark published his Gospel For Saint Chrysostome in the argument or Hypothesis before the Epistle to the Romans wherein he takes great pains to shew in what order Saint Pauls Epistles were written and that by observations collected out of the Epistles themselves plainly saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It seems to me that the Epistle to the Galatians was writ before the Epistle to the Romans and t is past all doubt that the Epistle to the Romans was writ long before Saint Paul was carried prisoner to Rome but the Gospel of Saint Mark was writ af-after that as may be gathered out of Epiphanius his words in Haer Alog. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 next after S. Mathew comes S. Mark who following S. Peter to Rome was there permitted to write his Gospel But Saint Peter came not to Rome till after Saint Pauls first answer under Nero unless you will comprize him amongst those of whom Saint Paul complains 2 Tim. 4. 16. At my first answer no man stood with me but all men forsooke me I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge That Saint Peter came soon enough to Rome to die there with Saint Paul for the Gospel of Christ we may not doubt since all antiquity asserteth it But that he sate there as Bishop 25. years sc from the second year of Claudius to the 13. year of Nero in which he was put to death seems an unreasonable assertion for if he were then Bishop of Rome when Saint Paul was brought to his first answer before Nero he did plainly forsake Saint Paul and t is more just to say he had rather forsake his Bishoprick nay indeed his life And this being laid for a ground that Saint Peter did not forsake Saint Paul at his first answer it must needs follow that he came not to Rome till after it and by consequent Saint Mark writ not his Gospel till after Saint Pauls first answer that is long after Saint Paul had writ his two Epistles to the Romans and to the Galatians So that Saint Marks Abba Father may not improbably seem to have been derived from Saint Pauls Abba Father and that for this reason to assure us that good Christians have the same Father that Christ had and call upon God with the very same spirit that he did nay in the very same words as having their prayers both exemplified and sanctified through his intercession For as some Protestant Divines are willing to believe that the Baptism of John and of Christ were both one because else we now say they should not be baptized with the same baptism wherewith Christ was baptized and we
cannot be too desirous to receive our Baptism in our Saviours communion for what is communicated from him is also sanctified by him So is it in our prayers we may very comfortably perswade our selves that Saint Mark used the same Abba Father for Christ which Saint Paul had used for us Christians least any man should think we Christians â—ad not the same right to pray or at least not the same spirit of prayer that was in Christ therefore to assure us that both do pray in the communion of the same Spirit both are set down praying in the communion of the same words But yet whether S. Mark borrowed this from S. Paul or not the doubt still remains why this Abba Father is in two several languages when as the reduplication might happily have been as emphatical in one tongue as in two I answer with Saint Augustine Abba propter illorum linguam pater propter nostram Aug. in Psal 78. To shew that Christ did no less belong to the Gentiles then he did to the Jews he useth a Greek word that signifies father for the Gentiles as well as a Syriack word that signifies father for the Jews for at that time the Jews themselves commonly spake Syriack having in the Babylonian captivity learned to mix Chaldee with Hebrew which mixture begat the Syriack The effect of Saint Augustines answer is this Syriack and Greek are both joined together to shew the communion of Jew and Gentile in Christ we may add and not only so but also to shew the cause of that communion even the communication of the same spirit to them both which when it descended visibly upon the Apostles endued them with the gift of tongues and the scripture still retaining the variety of languages in this Abba Father doth not only commemorate that miraculous discent of the Holy Ghost upon them but doth also confirm his continual descending upon us with as good success though not with as great a miracle For he teacheth us no less then he taught them to cry Abba Father which puts me upon a second question who it is that cries Abba Father is it his spirit or our own I answer t is his Spirit not our own t is indeed our voice but t is his breath for we cannot say Abba Father by the breath and power of our own but only by the breath and power of his Spirit and by that we can say it with an undaunted courage and do say it with an immortal comfort because with a hope full of immortality T is then his Spirit that crieth Abba Father though in our mouths And this crying Abba Father is more fully expressed Rom. 8. 26. The spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered whence it may be gathered that the gift of prayer is more in groans then in words more in groans which cannot then in words which can be uttered for Moses cried unto the Lord when he spake not one word And the Lord said unto Moses Wherefore criest thou unto me Exod. 14. 15. So that he prayed by the Spirit whiles his tongue stood still and consequently the gift or spirit of prayer here meant by crying Abba Father may not be placed in voluble effusions but in strong affections not so much in the tongue as in the heart for else many adopted Sons must be denied to have the Spirit of Christ who cannot pour out their conceptions in multiplicity of words And which is as bad many must be affirmed to have the Spirit of Christ who are enemies to the cross of Christ whose end is destruction whose God is their belly and whose glory is in their shame who mind earthly things for many of these men may and do attain to a great perfection in extemporary effusions we dare not then say that all those who take upon them to be eminent in the gift of prayer do truly cry Abba Father or do pray by the Spirit of Christ because we see that many of them by their works do oppose the name and blaspheme the truth of Christ and bring themselves under that terrible reproof and more terrible reproach They profess that they know God but in works they deny him being abominable and disobedient and unto every good work reprobate Tit. 1. 16. But there are doubtless many others more concerned in the gift though less in the pretence of the Spirit who make not so many words but yet make more prayers even whiles they make use of those prayers which their Church hath made for them for these bring their groans though not their words and those groans are the groans of the Spirit which without doubt may as well if not better accompany a prayer that we are sure is according to the mind of Christ as a prayer that we cannot tell whether it will be so or no However we cannot deny but every one who truly prayeth by the spirit of Christ may say what holy David hath put into his mouth and the Holy Spirit put into the mouth of David Oh come hither and hearken all ye that fear God and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul I called upon him with my mouth and gave him praises with my tongue If I incline unto wickedness with my heart the Lord will not hear me But God hath heard me and considered the voice of my prayer praised be God which hath not cast out my prayer nor turned his mercy from me Psal 66. v. 14 c. As if he had said This great miracle of mercy hath God done for my soul which I cannot but speak all you that fear him shall do well to hear he gave me his spirit to call upon him with my mouth to give him praises with my tongue and because praise is not commonly in the mouth of a sinner and cannot be acceptable from it he gave me his spirit also to sanctifie my heart that it should not incline to wickedness hence it is that I do heartily praise him for enabling me to pray because praying in the spirit of his Son I can pray in comfort that he will not cast away my prayer because he cannot cast away his only Son nor turn away his mercy from me because he cannot turn away froÌ„ his own Spirit which by his mercy is now becoÌ„e mine Thus it is said The spirit of the Lord cloatheth Amasai 1 Chro. 12. 18. t is in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the Septuagint translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Saint Hierom induit that is The spirit of the Lord cloathed Amasai not barely came upon him but also stuck close to him and covered him all over And indeed so doth the spirit come upon us to cloath our souls as our garments do our bodies that there be neither chilness nor nakedness neither want of zeal nor of holiness in our
Act of sin doth not prevail against the habit of righteousness and much less above it So that the habit of righteousness cannot be captivated under an everlasting lethargie that it should alwaies forget its own act The Spirit of Christ which at first infused the habit so working in all those who belong to him that either they still retain the act of righteousness by their innocency or in due time recover it by their repentance God of his infinite mercy give unto us all this Spirit and continue unto us his own gift that we being his adopted sons may so honour and obey him as our Father that we may have the comfortable assurance of our adoption in this life and the glorious fruition of our inheritance in the life to come The one by the Spirit the other by the merits of his only begotten Son Jesus Christ our Lord who liveth and reigneth with the Father in the unity of the same Spirit one God world without end Amen Christ received in the state of true Christianity CAP. I. Of the state of true Christianity SECT I. The happiness of Christians who have their conversation with Christ That lovers of themselves or of the world have not this happiness For though Christ speaks to all yet he answers only to good Christians that is to Sheep not to Wolves to Christians not to Heathens for such he accounteth all Persecutors teaching the one to their instruction and contentation the other only to their conviction and condemnation the reason why so many Christians come not to the state of true Christianity IT is the special priviledge of Christians not only to have their appellation or name from Christ the eternal Son of God but also to have their Religion from him and their conversation with him The Jews could begin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with God and the Heathen learned it from them But we Christians can begin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the salvation of God even with Jesus who had that name from salvation for he shall save his people from their sins Mat. 1. 21. Happy soul that is so well acquainted with the dialect of heaven as to understand the language of Jesus and so wholly taken up with that acquaintance as to maintain familiar colloquies with him to hear and to know and to love his voice For if the Psalmist could say with great admiration and greater comfort O how amiable are thy dwellings thou Lord of hosts Psal 84. 1. Then much more O how amiable art thou O Lord who makest thy dwellings so The hope of men and the joy of Angels the salvation of earth and the beauty of heaven No wonder if it follow in the next verse My soul hath a desire and a longing to enter into the Courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh rejoyce in the living God But where is the soul that enjoyeth this happiness for even one of his Apostles who daily seemed to converse with him enjoyed it not Saint John plainly excludes him in these words Judas saith unto him not Iscariot John 14. 22. As if the Spirit of God had been afraid least we should think that a Traytor could familiarly converse with Christ though he dipped with him in the same dish or have any comfort from that conversation Tremelius glosseth the word Iscariot two waies mercede inducitur ad defectionem ultro declinavit ad strangulationem Mat. 10. 4. The hopes of gain made him a Traitor the thought of his treason made him hang himself Such was this Iscariot A man whose heart was so settled and fixed on money as to sell his Saviour for the love of it Therefore he could not comfortably and much less familiarly converse with Christ by questions and answers For he durst not ask Christ a question to be informed of his Doctrine for fear the answer should have proved an Indictment to convine him of his treason whereof he knew himself already guilty in his heart which made him afraid least he should disclose the same who was the searcher of hearts Therefore he desired not to make any particular addresses to his Master when as the other Judas who had none of this Treachery or covetousness did as it were continually hang upon his lips and was wholly ravished with his Doctrine saying within himself How sweet are thy words unto my taste yea sweeter then honâ—y to my mouth Psal 119. v. 103. And accordingly our blessed Saviour answers the Jude but not the Iscariot answers the Confessor but not the Traytor For Jude was a name imposed from confession and praise Now will I praise the Lord therefore she called his name Judah Gen. 29. 35. that is praise or confession whence the Vulgar Latine doth often say Confitebor tibi Domine I will confess unto thee O Lord for I will praise thee O Lord because the same word in the Hebrew signifies both confession and praise Be it so then Christ will answer one that confesseth him but he will not answer one that betrayeth him This is the reason that though he speak so loud yet so few hear his voice That though his love be greatly extended yet it is but little diffused in our hearts For though he be most lovely in himself yet is he not so to them whose breast is filled with another love The Text tells us of a fourfold lover 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A lover of himself A lover of his pleasure A lover of his profit and A lover of his God The first lover will not hearken to Christs voice for self-love and Saviour-love cannot be together since self ends and Saviour-ends are so far asunder The second and third lovers though they may a little hearken to Christs voice yet they cannot much regard it for if any man love the world that is his pleasure or his profit the whole world consisting of nothing else the love of the Father is not in him 1 John 2. 15. It is only the last lover the lover of God who heareth Christs voice and rejoyceth to hear it for every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him 1 John 5. 1. To such lovers he will not only speak but he will also answer which shews a familiarity of speaking For though he speak to very many yet he answers to very few that is only to those who are willing to discourse and advise with him He speaks to all that are Christians by outward profession calling aloud to them now in his Word as once he did to the Jews in his person and saying Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand Mat. 4. 1. But he answers only to Christians by inward affection because indeed they only do hear his voice for why should he answer to those that will not give him the hearing Thus himself hath told us my sheep hear my voice John 10. 27. He must be a sheep that will hear the voice of Christ not a wolf one more ready
to devour his Pastor then to follow him one more ready to scatter and tear the flock then to associate and joyn with them I must take heed of being a Wolf towards my Brother If I desire to be a Sheep towards my Saviour Homo homini lupus Christo agâ—â—â— were a strange proverb and more strange Divinitâ— That he who is a Wolf to man should be a Lamb to Christ It was an evil Spirit that made Saul a Wolf to David 1 Sam. 19. 9. And the same evil spirit shewed him to be none of Gods sheep He watches to catch David but to lose himself and whiles he seeks to destroy Gods servant he doth indeed destroy his own soul This makes the spirit of God look upon him as a heathen not as an Israelite as appears from Psal 59. 5. Thou therefore O Lord God of hosts the God of Israel awake to visit all the heathen This Psalm was made upon that occasion that Saul had sent and watched Davids house to kill him and we must expound these words according to that occasion So Tremelius Ad visitandum omnes gentes ist as i. e. Copias Saulis quae eodem animo Davidem persequebantur quo gentes aliene à populo Dei facturae fuissent Awake to visit the heathen that is the Armies of Saul which did persecute David with as malicious a Spirit as the very heatheÌ„ who knew not God would have persecuted him Thou which laughest the heathen to scorn saith Isacides wilt also laugh those men to scorn And Ezra shews how he is able to do it saying that he is the Lord of hosts of the Armies of Angels that are above in heaven 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no less then of the armies of Israel that are below on the earth God is not said to laugh any to scorn but only heathen as in this Psal ver 8. And in the second Psalm v. 4 or such as make themselves like heathen by raging as furiously as they against the Church of Christ and the ministers of his Gospel as appears Acts 4. where the Apostles being persecuted for preaching Christ make use of this very Psalm in their prayer Why did the heathen rage and the people imagine vain things For such men whether they be Jews or Christians are no better then heathen in Gods account and accordingly he that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn the Lord shall have them in derision He laughs them to scorn because of their vain imaginations of opposition against Christ and much more because of their vain endeavours in opposing him and his laughing ends in their weeping and their weeping ends as their cruelty began in gnashing of teeth They gnashed on him with their teeth Acts 5. 54. there 's their sin which shewed them be men little better then Wolves and again there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth Mat. 8. 12. there 's their punishment which will shew them to be men worse then nothing The first gnashing of teeth was from the fierceness the last shall be from the anguish of their hearts And the spirit of God seemeth to pray that it may be so saying and be not mercifull unto them that offend of malicious wickedness Psal 59. v. 5. So that we need not wonder why so many Christians now a dayes come not to the state of true Christianity which alone puts them in a capacity of mercy for the reason is plain t is because they sin out of malicious wickedness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Be not mercifull to any wicked prevaricator Selah Tremelius renders the words thus Ne gratiam facias ullis perfidè agentibus iniquitatem summe He finds a new signification for Selah to shew he had found a new Selah for their sin that is a new hight or exaltation in the sin of those men who are praevaricatores iniquitatis who do not only continue but also prevaricate in their iniquity Qui Deum cultu honore Davidem prosequi simulantes perfidè ea perpetrabant quae sequuntur saith he who pretending to fear God and to honour David did perfidiously act all that follows in the Psalm against them both How are such men like to come to Salvation when the Son of God will not preach for it and the Spirit of God doth pray against it Be not mercifull unto them that offend of malicious wickedness Surely OLord mercy is thy delight no less then it is our desire It is above all thy works and shall it not much more be above all ours shall there be any sin which is properly our work of so vast an extent as to reach beyond thy mercy or of so loud a cry as to make thee stop thine ears against the prayer of a distressed sinner Oh no t is not iniquity but prevaricating in iniquity that makes man not care to pray T is not sin but impenitency in sin that makes God not hear his prayers Your iniquit es have separated betwixt you and your God Isa 59. 2. that is your multiplied your malicious sins committed wth a shameless face with a stiff neck with a high hand and with a hard heart which first fill your Souls with iniquity and then with impeniteney such iniquities as these whiles unrepented and t is like they will be unrepented whiles they would be unreproved do separate betwixt you and your God For froward thoughts separate from God there 's the separation of a perverse sinner from God the Father who is God of himself and again into a malicious soul wisdom will not enter there 's his Separation from God the Son who is the wisdom of the Father And lastly wisdom is a loving spirit there 's his separation from God the Holy Ghost who is the Spirit of the Father and of the Son the spirit of love Wisdom 1. 3 4 6. This is the reason why not Iscariot is annexed to that Judas who spake to our blessed Saviour and whom our Saviour Christ was pleased to answer God the Son did not answer such an Apostate such a Traitor as Iscariot was and God the Holy Ghost would not have us think that he did answer him he that once thought it better to be a Traitor then to be a Disciple doth now think it better not to be then to have been a traytor He that once was willing from an Apostle to become a Divel is now much more willing from a Divel to become nothing He then would not hear the voice of Christ and now he cannot hear it unless it be that voice which hath already filled his heart with the horror though it shall not till the last day fill his ears with the noise of it Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire Mat 25. 41. A voice that Christ hath reserved as a Judge for those who would not hear him as a Saviour A voice which he will utter to the goates on his left hand not to the sheep on his right hand Lord make me consider in
have applied unto Christ proving he was that Prophet to whom Moses had bid them hearken Act. 3. 22. Act. 7 37. so that the Jews themselves were no longer to hearken to Moses by Moses his own appointment then till the comming of Christ 2. That the Jews who would not believe Moses his writings concerning Christ were not like to believe any other Prophets words concerning him which is still a good proof that no man can possibly reject the authority of the Scripture and yet truly beleive in Christ from the authority of the Church for if the writings of Moses or of the Old Testament then much more the writings of the Apostles or of the New Testament must needs be above any other Prophets words since these writings as well as those are looked upon as the undoubted word of God And therefore if the Church hath not found Christ in the Scriptures how shall we hope to find Christ in the Church and by consequent if we will be good Christians we must above all things take heed of cavilling or rather blaspheming against the word of Christ for that is in effect to say that we will have a state of Christianity not of Gods but of our own making we question not but the Christian Religion as it hath an excellency above all other religions so it hath a certainty agreeable to its excellency And this Certainty is grounded meerly on the written word in the judgement of Saint Peter who tels us indeed that there came such a voice from the most excellent glory This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased and that he and some others heard this voice when they were with Christ in the holy mount but yet that the Scriptures were a more certain ground of the Christian Faith then was this Voice for so he saith after all We have also a more sure word of prophecy whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a lâ—ght that shineth in a dark place untill the day dawn and the day-star arise in your hearts 2 Pet. 1. 17 18 19. The voice from heaven was sure but yet the word of Prophecy was more sure for notwithstanding that voice did say Hear ye him Mat. 17. 5. yet they would have suspended their hearing but for the word of Prophecy which had said before Vnto him ye shall hearken Deut. 18. 15. So that the voice from heaven had in effect all its certainty from the word of Prophecy Therefore he said we have also a more sure word of Prophecy His full intent was to make us seek after Christ in the Old Testament much more in the New He saith we shall do well to take heed unto that much more unto this that will guide us unto Christ as a light that shineth in a dark place but this will guide us to him as a morning Star that ushereth in the day And this is no more then our Saviour himself had said before Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see For I tell you that many Prophets and Kings have desired to see those things which ye see and have not seen them and to hear those things which ye hear and have not heard them Luke 10. 23 24. The comparison is betwixt those under the Law and those under the Gospel and they under the Gospel are declared the more blessed For they under the Law had but a dim light which made them see Christ so imperfectly as if they had not seen him But we that are under the Gospel have a clear shining light clearly and perfectly to see our Saviour Christ and therefore are much more blessed then they if we can but see our own blessedness and will be heartily thankfull for it therefore saith Saint John The Law was given by Moses but Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ John 1. 17. whereby he excludes the Law both from Grace and Truth from Grace absolutely but from Truth only comparatively The Law did neither teach Grace nor give Grace it only gave a rule of righteousness but not grace to keep it and therefore only shewed our want of a Redeemer but shewed not the way of our redemption Thus the Law was opposed to grace absolutely and left that to come wholly and entirely by Christ and it was also opposed to Truth comparatively for many truths were but obscurely and figuratively propounded in the Law which are plainly and substantially revealed in the Gospel as the doctrine of the blessed Trinity of the incarnation passion resurrection and ascension of the Son of God and indeed all the other articles of our Christian faith So that Truth substantially or compleatly that is in its full revelation and accomplishment came only by Jesus Christ Wherefore if our Saviour Christ himself who without doubt best understood the state of true Christianity sent the Jews to the Law of Moses to be assured of the truth of the Christian Religion much more doth he send us Christians to his own holy Gospel to be assured of the same truth And as Moses his writings were then so the Apostles writings are now a greater ground of assurance to us then any Prophets words can be for as Moses wished That all the Lords People were Prophets so am I willing to believe that his Church is to be accounted as a Prophet so that it commonly fareth with Christians in their coming unto Christ as it did with the Samaritans John 4. who first believed on our blessed Saviour for the saying of the woman but afterwards believed because of his own word So do we generally first believe in Christ by the testimony of the Church which he hath in mercy appointed to lead us to his Word for else it were impossible we should ever come neer it But when once we come to see and understand his Word then we believe in Christ not for his Church but for himself and may justly say to the Church as the Samaritans said to the woman Now we believe not because of thy saying for we have heard him our selves and know that this is indeed the Christ the Saviour of the world John 4. 42. This may we justly say not to the undervaluing of the Church to which we are so much obliged for bringing us to the knowledge of the Word for had not she preserved and translated it we could never have known it but rather to the overvaluing of the word above the Church to shew we are infinitely more obliged to God for giving his word then we can be to his Church either for preserving or for expounding it Therefore we cannot but prefer the word above the Church and we know this may be done without either undutifulness or unthankfulness since God hath appointed that his Church should wholly rely upon his word and prove her self to be his Church from the Testimony of his Word as appears plainly in the case of the Bereans who are commended for searching the Scriptures and believing the Word
sins The Second positive argument why we should communicate with our Saviour is our fruitfulness in all good works ver 5. He that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit that is fruits of piety and religion towards God fruits of temperance and sobriety towards himself fruits of justice and charity towards his neighbour for he is like a tree planted by the water side bringing forth at all times and seasons the fruits of a holy a chaste and an upright conversation The third reason why we should communicate with our Saviour Christ is our own contentation ver 7. Ye shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you For he that abideth in Christ conformeth his will to the will of Christ and is sure to obtain what he asketh because he asketh such things as please him according to that excellent prayer of our own Church That they may obtain their petitions make them to ask such things as shall please thee Collect for 10. Sunday after Trin. So Saint Augustine glosseth the words Manendo quippe in Christo quid velle possunt nisi quod convenit Christo quid velle possunt manendo in salvatore nisi quod alienum non est à salute He that abideth in Christ what can he ask against Christ He that abideth in his Saviour what can he ask that is destructive of salvation Therefore if he beg any thing of God that is not granted him he begs it as he is in himself not as he is in his Saviour so the same Father Quia si hoc petimus quod non fit non hoe petimus quod habet mansâ—o in Christo sed quod habet cupiditas aut infirmitas carnis If we ask that which God will not do for us we ask not according to our being and abiding in Christ but according to our being and abiding in our own fleshly lusts and infirmities Wherefore this being a certain truth that the good Christian desires to live rather according to the will of Christ then his own will he can never be discontented for whatsoever befals him because he knows that though God hear him not according to his prayer yet he heareth him according to his profit si non audit ad voluntatem audit ad utilitatem as saith Saint Augustine and being perswaded that all things work together for good to them that love God Rom. 8. 28. he resolves to be thankful for what God gives him and for what he denies him and he that resolves to be thankfull is sure not to be miserable The fourth reason why we should communicate with our Saviour Christ is Gods glory ver 8. Herein is my father glorified that ye bear much fruit which is agreeable with that Doctrine in his first Sermon upon the Mount Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorifie your Father which is in heaven Mat. 5. 16. An argument so powerfull that we may call it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or violentum because it offereth force or violence to our consciences which cannot but tell us that unless we do glorifie our God here we may not hope to be glorified by him hereafter The fifth reason why we should communicate with our blessed Saviour is rather privative then positive because it is taken from the punishment of those who are not in his communion and that reason is urged in the sixth ver If a man abide not in me he is cast forth as a branch and is withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned Where the punishment of those who abide not in Christ is the same which those endure that are in hell For it is a punishment of loss and a punishment of sense The punishment of loss is twofold 1. The loss of glory he is cast forth 2. The loss of nourishment he is withered The punishment of sense is also twofold 1. He is confined to ill company men gather them he is gathered together with other branches as rotten as himself he can have no other company but of wicked men and of evil spirits which we cannot but see in our late outrages was a most unsufferable mischeif and if it be so tedious for an hour what is it for ever 2 He is cast into a place of torment to be there tormented and cast them into the fire and they are burned Hence Saint Augustine most excellently Vnum è duobus Palmiti congruit aut vitis aut ignis si in vite non est in igne erit ut ergo in igne non sit maneat in vite One of those two things must needs befall every branch either he is in the Vine or he is in the fire therefore that he may not be in the fire he were best abide in the Vine Thirdly the cause of this communion ver 9. As the Father hath loved me so I have loved you continue ye in my love Gods love to us in Christ is the first efficient cause of our communion with Christ even as his grace is the secundary or instrumental cause of it and Saint Augustine hath found that also in these words manete in dilectione mea id est in gratia mea saith he continue ye in my love that is in my grace He that is an enemy to the grace of God is not yet fitted for communion with Christ Fourthly and lastly our blessed Saviour sheweth the proofs or evidences of our communion with him that we may rejoyce when we have it and repent when we have it not and those proofs are three The first proof of our communion with Christ is this that Christs words abide in us ver 7. If ye abide in me and my words abide in you the one alwayes accompanies the other so that those men give an ill proof of their communion with Christ who make it their business to revile and reproach his word Tunc dicenda sunt verba ejus in nobis manere quando facimus qua praecepit diligimus que promisit saith Saint Augustine Then is it to be said that his words do abide in us when we do what he hath commanded and desire what he hath promised But Aquinas tells us that Christs words do abide in us when we believe them when we love them when we consider them and when we obey them Amando credendo meditando implendo And he proves this his Exposition from Prov. 4. 20 21. My son attend to my words that you may believe them Encline thine ear unto my sayings that you may obey and fulfill them Let them not depart from thine eyes that you may consider and meditate upon them Keep them in the midst of thine heart that you may entirely affect and love them If the words of Christ do thus abide in us by faith by love by meditation and by obedience then we have a sure token that we our selves do abide in him so saith Saint Bern. Serm.
words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 concord part agreement which are in effect so many pledges to us and testimonials to others of our internal communion with our blessed Saviour for that causeth us to have concord part and agreement with him Concord as being united with Christ in the same affections Part as being united with him in the same promises Agreement as being united with him in the same professions Wherefore this rule as it may increase our knowledge so it must increase our comfort as it may be for our instruction so it must be for our consolation that as far as we partake of Christ so far we communicate with him and as far as we communicate with Christ so far we partake of him If our participation of Christ be only external as is that of hypocrites who draw neer him with their lips but their heart is far from him who hear his Word and receive his Sacraments meerly for custom or for curiosity or for some other external consideration then is our communion with Christ only external and we only do help to make up that visible body whereof man is the Head But if our participation of Christ be internal as is that of good Christians who hear his Word and receive his Sacraments out of conscience that they may hear him speaking to them in his Word and find him nourishing them in his Sacraments then is our communion with Christ not only external but also and much rather internal and we do help make up that mystical body whereof Christ alone is the Head For t is our heart makes our Head as we are Christians if our heart be with man more then with God in our religion then man is our head in it but if our heart be with Christ more then with man in our religion then Christ is our Head in it And hence it comes to pass that some men are better Christians under a more corrupt then others are under a more incorrupt form of doctrine and discipline because it is not communion with the Church but with Christ in the Church that makes the good Christian He that looks more after Christ then after his Church in the profession of Christianity may haply be a good Christian in a bad Church for Christ is able to make him a good Christian without his Church nay indeed against it He that looks more after his Church then after Christ must needs be a bad Christian in a good Church for his Church cannot make him a good Christian without Christ Accordingly a man may be a better Christian in an unreformed Church if his religion be above his faction then in a reformed Church if his faction be above his religion and I had much rather have a Christian mind in an unchristian or antichristian Church then an unchristian mind in the purest Christian Church that is For though Christ be never so much in my Church yet that will do me no good unless he be also in my heart And if Christ be in my heart t is not my Churches being Antichristian or unchristian in some particulars which I do lament but cannot help that can drive him out of it or deprive me of the state and comfort of true Christianity T is sin if Christ be not in mine heart whiles I profess my self to be a Christian T is my misery if Christ be not in all the professions and practices of my Church by which I have been brought to Christianity Let me keep my self from being sinful by making sure of Christ in my heart and my God will keep me from being miserable because of some mistakes or defects of Christianity in my Church Saint Paul saith to the Corinthians but of him are ye in Christ Jesus notwithstanding at that time there was both heresie and schism in the Church of Corinth Heresie for some denied the resurrection 1 Cor. 15. 12. Schism for some said they were of Paul others of Apollos others of Cephas 1 Cor. 1. 12. Their communion with a bad Church when they could not help it did not hinder their communion with Christ and their communion with Christ did make them partakers of Christ for he was made unto them wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption 1 Cor. 1. 30. wisdom to direct them righteousness to acquit them sanctification to purge them and redemption to save them Thus was Christ made unto them either externally in his Word and Sacraments or internally in his Spirit and graces accordingly as they did communicate with him and participate of him If they brought only an outside to him they received only an outside from him such a wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption as did only shew them to be Christians not make them good Christians But if they brought their inner man to Christ he perfected their inner man by an internal communion with and participation of his wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption Wherefore if our communion with Christ or participation of Christ be only external and not also internal we ought to quarrel with our selves not with our Church and much less with our God for without doubt God is faithful who offers us Christ by his Church in his word and Sacraments For is the Spirit of the Lord straitned do not his words do good to him that walketh uprightly Mich. 2. 7. is a question as unanswerable now as it was then and it is meerly from our own unfaithfulness if we receive not Christ when he is offered or retein him not when he is received SECT III. That our internal communion with Christ is through his Spirit and our faith which may not be a phansie or fiction much less a faction but a faith knowing by evidence approving by adherence applying by affection and working by practice That such a faith will make our communion with Christ real and substantial in the thing it self though in the manner it be only spiritual and mystical THE union of two extreams is necessarily by some other third thing betwixt them both which brings the said extreams together and that in regard of Christ is his spirit which brings him down to us in regard of us is our faith which carries us up to Christ Both are alike required in our internal communion with Christ For though his Spirit be never so powerfully with his own ordinances that to resist the one is to resist the other as saith Saint Stephen ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears ye do alwayes resist the Holy Ghost Acts 7. 51. Yet if our faith be not with his Spirit we cannot have communion with him in his word For so is the same truth spoken by anothers mouth But the word preached did not profit them not being mixed with faith in them that heard it Heb. 4. 2. Their not being profited was not for want of Gods Spirit with his word but for want of their faith with Gods Spirit The spirit was not is not wanting to
the word for the word of God is quick and powerful sharper then any two edgedsword peircing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joynts and marrow and is a discoverer of the thoughts and intents of the heart ver 12. All which force and activity cannot be from the dead letter which constitutes the word but from the quick spirit which accompanies and enlivens it But their faith was and our faith is wanting to the Spirit of God which brings us all under that sharp reproof of our blessed Saviour O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken Luke 24. 25. For if we be not slow to believe yet generally we believe by an historical faith proceeding from the conviction of the understanding meerly through the evidence of truth as the Devils believe and tremble not by a justifying faith proceeding from the conversion of the will through the love of truth And hence it is that though the cheif corner stone be rightly laid in all Christian Churches all alike confessing Christ to be the eternal Son of God and the Mediator betwixt God and man for if any deny this they are neither to be thought nor to be called Christians yet the building is not rightly raised in many Churches the reason is because there be many mockers in these last times who walk after their own ungodly lusts separating themselves sensual not having the Spirit as Saint Jude admonisheth But in no wise building up themselves in their most holy faith or praying in the Holy Ghost or keeping themselves in the love of God as Saint Jude adviseth No wonder if such a faith as this came far short of its proper object Christ with all the blessings and mercies of God since indeed it comes far short of it self For a faith that maketh men not build up but pull down the practice of religion and pray not in Gods Holy Spirit but in their own perverse spirits and keep themselves not in the love of God and consequently of his Church but in the love of their own self-interests and advantages such a faith or rather such a phansie or fiction and faction as this is and must be called comes far short of faith and therefore cannot but come far short of Christ the proper object of faith Saint Paul tells us of another kind of faith which to them under the Law was the evidence of things not seen and must be so to us under the Gospel saying these all died in faith not having received the promises but having seen them afar off and were perswaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth Heb. 11. 13. They died in that faith in the which we ought to live and dye though the object of it be more clearly revealed to us then it was to them a faith which is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen A faith knowing by evidence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they did see the promises a faith approving by adherence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they were perswaded of them A faith applying by affection 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they embraced them and lastly a faith working and persevering by profession practice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they confessed the same promises not only in their words but also in their deeds in their life and conversation accounting themselves strangers and Pilgrims on earth when they considered those heavenly promises And that made them like Pilgrims earnestly to long after their own country and not do or desire any thing for love of earth which might hinder or delay their passage to heaven So that a faith thus seeing thus applying thus approving thus confessing the promises of salvation by Christ is the faith which our Apostle defineth to be the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen that is to say a faith that now maketh Christ present with the soul by the communion of his grace and will hereafter make the soul present with Christ in the communion of his glory Oh for such a faith to bring my Saviour into my soul and to keep him there till faith it self be no longer faith but be turned into vision A faith that engageth the whole man in all his powers and faculties both of soul and body For only such a faith as taketh up the whole man in his understanding will affections actions can take a right and lay a fast hold on Christ such a faith though it cannot miraculously now open the heavens as it did once to Saint Stephen yet it can and will pierce the heavens and there see the son of man standing on the right hand of God ready to defend us on earth and as ready to receive us into heaven Whence we may very well conclude that this communion of good Christians with Christ or of the body with the head though at so great a distance is in the thing it self most real and substantial though in the manner it be only spiritual and mystical Christ and his Church nay every true member of his Church are as substantially united together as man and wife Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church Ephes 5. 25. that is to say his wife And therefore as no distance can keep the man and his wife from being one flesh so neither Christ and his Church from being one spirit He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit 1 Cor. 6. 17. And to put us out of doubt that we whilst we live here on earth if we live unto him are thus joyned unto him Saint John saith plainly Hereby we know that he abideth in us by the spirit which he hath given us 1 John 3. 24. There cannot be a more substantial union then is of the soul with the body because the soul abideth in the body and the same union is of Christ with the soul because he abideth in the soul and as we know the soul abideth in the body by the spirit or breath which it giveth to the body so we know that Christ abideth in the soul by the spirit which he giveth to the soul Yet is this union of Christ with his body not carnal but spiritual not to be discerned by the strength of the outer but of the inner man such an union as Saint Paul describeth to all but wisheth only to good Christians for though he might wish the Son of righteousness to shine upon a dunghill yet he might not wish him to be joyned to it that God would grant you to be strengthned with might by his spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your heart by faith Ephes 3. 16 17 Here is a most real and substantial union and communion betwixt Christ and good Christians for the spirit strengtheneth them and Christ dwelleth in them but t is only spiritual for the spirit strengtheneth their inner man and mystical for Christ dwelleth
consequently if the Scriptures have in any wise lost their authority they have lost it by the Church and it were a wonder if the Church should cause the Scriptures to lose their authority and yet keep her own We will then take it for granted that the Catholick Church cannot be fully and infallibly proved to be Christian but only by the Holy Scriptures and that she her self seeks for no other and cannot find a better proof And from hence it must neede follow that every particular Church as far as it is truly Christian is willing to submit it self to be tryed by the written Word of God and that if nothing but true Cbristianity had gotten into the Church men would never have withdrawn their necks and much less their hearts from that known and certain tryal for that all the world is not able to prove any thing that is unwritten whether it be Tradition or Revelation to be the undoubted Word of God but only as far as it is agreeable with what is written according to that admirable Rule delivered by Saint Athanasius who having been vexed by the Arrian hereticks above forty years together hath taught us how best to confute that and all other heresie saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Athanasius in Epist de decretis Nic. Synodi ad finem There are much more exact and perfect proofs of the divine truth to be taken from the Scripture alone then all the whole world beside is able to afford us wherefore it must needs follow again that the best way for a particular Church to keep communion with the Catholick Church is to keep close to the Scriptures wherein alone are revealed those Truths the bare profession whereof makes a Church and the entire profession whereof makes it truly Catholick That Curch which hath the written Word of God for the foundation of her faith and practice is sure to have communion with all good Christians in what she truly believeth and practiseth according to that word And in case she deviate through humane error or infirmity in some particular deductions yet that deviation or mistake shall not overthrow her faith because it is sure and certain in the foundation and consequently shall not break off her communion with Christ the head nor with the Catholick Church his body because that same holy Spirit on whose dictates she relies is the sole author and maintainer of that communion whereas if a Church should believe all the Articles of the Christian faith upon any other ground then that of Divine revelation which we cannot now be assured of but only from the written Word of God as she could not have a true Divine saith not being grounded upon a Divine foundation so she could not in that faith have communion with those Christian Churches who allowed no other ground of their belief And such were all the Christian Churches of the Primitive times for though Saint Athanasius in the place fore-alledged doth on the Arrians behalf bring in an objection against the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as not being used in the Text and therefore not to be used concerning Christ for that we may not speak otherwise of him then he in his word hath spoken of himself yet he alloweth this very objection to be according to his own heart and sure he was a very good Chatholike and enforceth it with the reason afore cited That the most exact proofs of Divine truths were to be taken from the Scriptures and withal avoweth that those about Eusebius who was a chief upholder of the Arrians were such egregious turn-cotes and cavillers that the Bishops assembled in the Council of Nice were in a manner compelled more clearly to expound those words of the text which did immediately strike at the root of their heresie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whereby it appears that the Nicene Fathers did assume to themselves only the power of Exposition in matters of faith not of Addition or of Invention They did expound that more clearly which they found in the Scriptures and in the Apostles Creed they did not ad or invent that which they found not As they were expounders they might and did hold communion with the Catholike Church whereof they were then the Representative which did wholly rely up-the word of God for all the Doctrines of faith whereas if they had taken upon them to be Inventers they must have forsaken the main ground of Christian communion the undoubted word of Christ and have been the authors of a faction and of a division And for this cause we see that in that famous Council of Chalcedon wherein were assembled six hundred Christian Bishops The Holy Gospel was placed in the midst of them as that on which they relyed and to which they appealed in all their determinations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are the words found in the first action of that Council The most holy and most pure Gospel being set before them And Baronius tells us that the same had been done before in the Council of Nice and gives the reason why it was done out of Saint Cyril who saith thus concerning the Council of Ephesus Christum assessorem capitis loco adjunxit venerandum enim Evangelium in throno collocavit tantum non in aures sacerdotum clamans Justum judicium judicate Liber igitur ille in sede regia collocatus divinam prae se ferebat personam secundum illud Psalmi Deus stetit in synagoga Deorum in medio autem Deos dijudicat They looked upon Christ as head or president of their assembly for they placed his holy Gospel on a throne amongst them that it might represent the person of God the Judge of all men and they placed it in the midst that all might cast their eyes upon it and be afraid in the presence of their Judge to pass an unrighteous judgement Thus saith the Psalmist God stood in the midst of the congregation of Gods and he that was in the midst judged the other Gods Baron An. 325. num 66. And the same saith Binius in his notes upon the Council of Ephesus In medio Patrum consessu sedem enm Evangelio collocarunt cujus intuitu omnes admonerentur Christum omnium inspectorem ac judicem adesse Synodique praesidem agere In the midst of the fathers of the Ephesine Council was the Holy Gospel placed on a throne that all the Fathers seeing it might be admonished of Christs own presence to overlook them as their Judge and to overawe them as president of their Council and he saith no more then is truth for that form of adjuration mentioned by Fidus the Bishop of Joppe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whom we beseech and adjure by the Holy Gospel here set before us Council Eph. par 2. act 1. doth plainly witness as much although at the first session of the Bishops there is no mention of the Holy Gospels being placed among them as was afterwards at the first session of the Council of Chalcedon But
enjoyning duties shewing us that we cannot take any of either but we must take all And this is most evident in the present case for the fourth Commandment plâ—inly presupposeth all that is enjoyned in the three former commandments concerning holy duties or the whole substance of Religion both internal and external and then also farther addeth an obligation of consecrating time and other adjuncts for the publick exercise thereof that God may be the more solemnly glorified and men the more truely edified whilst the duties of Religion are all practised together in a full communion of Saints the Church Militant being obliged in this to imitate the Church Triumphant that it invite men on earth to glorifie God with one accord as the Angels do glorifie him in heaven And in this respect we may easily believe and readily confess the first Sabbath to have been both instituted and kept in Paradise for the Church was there founded and the Communion of Saints there first established That is the communion of holy men with the holy Angels and with themselves joyning together to sing Halleluiahs to God their blessed Creator which was indeed the principal end of their creation And accordingly men were at first enabled to the discharge of this great duty as well as the Angels having the right and acceptable forms of praising God imprinted in their hearts and when through transgression they had disabled themselves it pleased God of his infinite goodness to grant them as it were a new impression and to give them a second edition of those praises in his holy Scriptures which before had been written in their own hearts but were now very much slurred and defaced if not quite obliterated and blotted out This great and undeserved mercy of God those men either shamefully forget or ineffectually remember who cry up the Sabbath day but beat down the Sabbath Duty making little or no use of the written Word of God in their publick worship and making little or no account of those forms of praâ—er and praise which are either contained therein or agreeable thereto but setting up their own private gifts against that publick communion which should be in Gods house and service by virtue of this fourth Commandment discountenancing the exercise of Religion in known forms of heavenly prayers able to establish the heart and encouraging new-fangled devices which are only fit to busie and tickle the phansie By which ungodly practice for so it must be called though it pretend to the greatest measure of godliness they in effect throw the fourth Commandment out of the Church whilst they pretend to set it up over the Altar since not sitting still or keeping an outward rest but comming together that we may all labour inwardly in Hallowing the name of our Father which is in heaven is the cheif moral duty of the Sabbath For as in the promise of the fifth so in the precept of the fourth Commandment the Lawgivers expression containeth the least part of his intention and we may no more confine this precept in the duty then we may that promise in the reward Therefore as we would be loth to look no farther then the Land of Canaan for our inheritance so we should be wary how we assert that God looks no farther then the Sabbath day for our obedience Truth is it pleased God to train up the Jews in his fear by types and figures and as it were to wrap up heaven in earth spirituals in temporals morals in ceremonials substances in circumstances to them as well in his precepts as in his promises particularly in that precept which concerned his publick worship because that amongst the Jews was for the most part Ceremonial and figurative Wherefore if we desire rightly and fully to understand the fourth Commandment we must conceive it in so great a latitude as to comprize all those Commissions injunctions invitations and exhortations which we find in the Old and New Testament given either to Kings or Ministers or People concerning the ordering establishing reforming practicing professing or promoting the solemn publick worship of Almighty God which is in truth the principal end thereof unless we will say that all those moral duties are reducible to none of the ten commandments in the decalogue and consequently that all they were will-worshippers who either professed or promoted or practised them For as such duties of Religion are to be done publickly and solemnly by many together in one communion they are not reducible to any of the three first commandments which speak to single persons but only to the fourth which alone speaketh to whole families or to many persons joyned together in one community And therefore it is not amiss to say that Hallowed be thy name is that Petition which most directly prayes for Grace to perform the duty of the fourth Commandment since all other things are hallowed for his names sake God sanctifying times places persons and forms of prayers and praise unto us that he may sanctifie us unto himself nor is it amiss to say that the holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints is that Article of faith which most directly professeth to believe the truth of the fourth Commandment for it is only the Catholick Church the Communion of Saints which doth rightly hallow and praise Gods holy name The Hallowing of Gods most holy name belonging equally to the decalogue and to the Creed and to the Lords most holy prayer belonging to the decalogue as it is a duty to be performed belonging to the Creed as it is a truth to be believed and belonging to the Lords Prayer as it is a good to be desired as we are all bound to pray that we may perform this duty and believe this truth For Faith Hope and Charity are not to be separated from one another but do alike belong to supernatural Truths and to religious or moral duties because both truths and duties do equally call for our faith to know and believe them and for our hope to crave and desire them and for our Charity to love and embrace them But if we take the outward sanctification of a day for the principal morality of the Sabbath we shall scarce find a Petition in the Lords most holy and most perfect prayer relating to such a Duty nor an Article in the Apostles Creed relating to such a Truth and so we shall phansie to our selves such a morality as is without a good to be desired and without a truth to be believed for without doubt The Lords Prayer briefly containeth all the good we are bound to desire and the Apostles Creed briefly containeth all the Truths we are bound to believe as well as the Decalogue briefly containeth all the Duties we are bound to practise and perform Whereas on the other side if we look upon hallowing the name of God in our publick worship as upon the principal moral duty that is enjoyned in the fourth Commandment we shall find the Decalogue and the Creed and
Genesis as if it had been given immediately after the Creation but are sure it was written with the finger of God among the rest of the Moral Law which is a strong proof that the substance of it was written in mans heart before it was writ in Moses his Tables And what can be the substance of it but this that God ought to be publickly worshipped in the congregations and therefore all those things are made and are to be reputed holy which necessarily belong to his publick worship For sure that was no will-worship in the Jews which we find recorded for our example Nehem. 8. And all the people gathered themselves together as one man I ask by what Commandment if not by the fourth so it is apparent that communion in Gods worship is a duty of the fourth Commandment And Saint Peter will have this communion extend it self to the whole body of Christians wheresoever dispersed for he writes to the strangers scattered abroad in several Countries when he saith But ye are a chosen generation a royal Priesthood an holy Nation a peculiar people that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light 1 Pet. 2. 9. Be good Christians never so far asunder in time and place yet they are all joyned together in one chosen generation in one royal Priest-hood in one holy Nation in one peculiar people and the reason why they are so joyned together is to shew forth the praises of him who hath called them out of darkness into his marvelous light And this as far as may be they must all do together as one man no less then did the Jews according to that of Saint Paul Now I beseech you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ as you desire to be thought and called Christians that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no schisms or divisions among you but that ye be perfectly joyned together in the same mind and in the same judgement 1 Cor. 1 10. as if he had said I beseech you altogether to make but one man amongst you all in the business of Religion but one outward man whilst you all speak the same thing and there be no schisms or divisions among you which is best done by having a set and known form of prayer and but one inward man whilst you are perfectly joyned together in the same mind and in the same judgement heâ—e is not only a most powerful exhortation but also as it were a most powerful exorcism By the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to cast out from us all the evil spirit of schism Now I beseech you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ nor can the Church of Christ now use a more powerful exorcism against Schismaticks then that which was once used by the vagabond Jews such as Schismaticks now strive to make their Ministers and the more to make them vagabonds because they cannot make them Jews saying We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth Acts 19. 13. For there cannot be a stronger adjuration to unity and concord then the name of Jesus who joyned God and man together and therefore will not suffer man and man to be asunder nor can we more powerfully adjure by that Jesus then as Paul preached him or in the words of Saint Paul that they would all speak the same thing all have one confession of faith all have one form of prayer and praise who are of one and the same communion and not be like that confused assembly of the Ephesians wherein some cryed one thing and some another and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together Acts 19. 32. That 's for their external union and communion And again that they would all be perfectly joyned together in the same mind and in the same judgement In the same mind by unity of love in the same judgement by unity of faith in the same mind in regard of their affections in the same judgement in regard of their opinions that 's for their internal union and communion To speak the same thing is the ready way to be of the same mind and the same judgement and consequently to break off external communion in worship is to break off internal communion in faith and charity for worship is the profession of faith and the exercise of charity Here Saint Paul preacheth communion in Christ so as to have it begin in the mouth and to end in the mind they should first speak the same thing and after that be of the same mind and of the same judgement But in his Epistle to the Romans he will have this communion in Christ begin in the mind and end in the mouth Rom. 15. 5 6. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one towards another according to Christ Jesus That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorifie God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ He first prays that they may have one mind in Doctrine and then that they may have one mouth in prayer They both so much conduce to each other that t is indifferent to him which he names first whether the mind or the mouth for Hierusalem is a City that is at unity in it self as well in Mouth as in mind and if Babel if Confusion once get into the Tongue it will from thence easily get into the Heart And now tell me ye that are possessed with the evil spirit of Schism is not this word of adjuration being by the holy Apostle made the word of God quick and powerfull and sharper then any two-edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit in you whiles you procèed to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit in Christs Church we adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth thus plainly thus powerfully that you will endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace not violating that internal Communion which ought to be among Christians in the unity of the Spirit nor that external communion which ought to be among them in the bond of peace Nay more we adjure by Jesus by whom Paul adjureth you when he saith I beseech you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Oecùmenius I commanding or exhorting in mine own name perchance am not sufficent to perswade you therefore I command and exhort you in the name of Christ that is to say Christ himself who is injured by you doth by me command and exhort you to unity and concord in his worship The words in themselves are no more then a pathetical exhortation but in regard of the evil spirits of some men they may be taken for an Adjuration Saint Paul as it were leaving the Apostle and taking the Exorcist to allay the furious outrages and distempers of those who make it their work not only to rend Christs coat which yet the
I am sure I have the true Christian Religion for I cannot oppose such a Communion because of its authority but I shall be guilty of faction nor because of its excellency but I shall be guilty of Blasphemy nor because of its sincerity but I shall be guilty of Irreligion And I cannot be either Factious or Blasphemous or Irreligious much less all three together but I shall sin grievously against the glory of my God scandalously against the good of my neighbour dangerously against the salvation of mine own soul In a word since God of his infinite goodness which I could not deserve may not abuse hath made me an Israelite I will not strive to make my self an Idumaean a Babylonian or an Aegyptian Saint Bernard finds all these three in one persecutor or opposer of that Church which professeth and practiceth the true Christian Religion saying thus Herodiana malitia Babylonica crudelitas est nascentem extinguere velle Religionem allidere parvulos Israel Si quid enim ad salutem pertinens si quid Religionis oritur quicunque resistit quicunque repugnat planè cum Aegyptiis parvulos Israelitici germinis necare conatur imo cum Herode nascentem persequitur salvatorem It is the malice of a Herod who was an Idumaean and no less then Babylonian cruelty to labour to suppress Religion and to dash the children of Israel against the stones For if indeed what is brought forth doth conduce to salvation or belong to true piety who ever resisteth or opposeth it doth plainly endeavour with the Aegyptians to slay the young children of Israel nay with Herod he doth seek out his new born Saviour to destroy him And he that doth this forgets all the curses denounced against Edom in the Prophets for persecuting his brother Jacob particularly that of Obadiah v. 10. For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee and thou shalt be cut off for ever A Text the fittest that can be alledged in this case because the Jews tell us that this Obadiah from being Ahabs Steward was made a Prophet of the Lord for the kindness which he had shewed to the Lords Prophets when they were persecuted by Jezebel Hic igitur quia centum Prophetas paverat accepit gratiam Prophetalem de duce exercitus fit dux Ecclesiae Tunc in Samaria parvum gregem paverat nunc in toto orbe Christi pascit Ecclesias saith Saint Hierom prol in Abdian Proph. This man because he fed an hundred Prophets received the Grace of Prophecy and from being a Captain under Ahab was made a Captain under Christ Then he fed but a small number in Samaria now he feedeth many millions in all the world and I doubt not but God hath still reserved the same blessing for all those who have hitherto sustained his persecuted Prophets not to give them the Spirit of Prophecy for he will not violate his own orders and institutions but to give them the Spirit of Grace in this ungracious the Spirit of perseverance in this backsliding age of ours So that we may be truly say The reason why they have not lost their faith as well as others is because they would not lose their Charity whereas many that were of an other temper as at first they lost their charity so now at last they have lost their faith and know not whither to go to seek it but may truly say with Mary Magdalen and so much the more truly by how much the less sorrowfully for they would with her have more tears in their eyes if they had grace in their hearts They have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid him John 20. 13. They who were among the head-men of Tekoa Amos 1. 1. and taught to keep cattell from their youth Zach. 13. 5. and so made themselves Prophets without the Lord Nay they who were among Sauls messengers sent to take David 1 Sam. 1. 20. and so made themselves Prophets against the Lord They have taken away my Lord my Saviour from me and I know not where they have laid him A very sad complaint which they now least make who have most reason who from their Sedition and privy conspiracy have fallen into false doctrine and heresie and from their hardness of heart towards men have fallen into contempt of Gods word and commandments from which we pray God to deliver them and to keep us For since his mercy hath made us Christians we may not let our own Unthankfulness make us Antichristian and such are all they who will needs be of a Religion fitter to serve themselves then to serve their God It is Musculus his observation upon Ps 52. Saul hic typum gerit â—ntichristi qui habet in regno suo Sacerdotes tabernaculum cultum Dei verum haec omnia vult sui Juris esse sib ministrare Vult Sacerdotes Domini esse iniquitatis suae Ministres Non indicastis mihi inquit quod David venerit ad vos Saul was the very type of Antcâ—hrist who had indeed Priests and Tabernacle and the worship of God in his kingdom but would have them all under his command and would make them all serve his designs He would have the Priests of the Lord become Ministers of his wickedness and destroyed them because they had not been so Turn and slay the Priests of the Lord saith he because their hand also is with David and because they knew when he fled and did not shew it to me 1 Sam. 22. 17. This Sin of Antichrist in striving to make Religion stoop to Interest that is in effect to make God serve Mammon to make Christ serve Belial being most directly against the end of the fourth Commandment plainly shews that the end of that Commandment is chiefly to set up the honour of Christ the eternal Son of God All the Jews service did all the Christians service should tend only to this end Do this in remembrance of me concerned their Sacrifices no less then our Sacraments Their Sabbaths no less then our Lords dayes their weekly on less then our weekly their anniversary no less then our anniversary festivals and all by vertue of the fourth commandment Do this in remembrance of me concerned the Jews in the general reason of it no less then it concerneth us Christians only it concerned them in types and shadows it concerneth us in body and substance So saith Saint Paul of their Sabbaths which are a shaddow of things to come but the body is of Christ Col. 2. 17. They were to look after the shaddow but we are to look after the Body they were to look after the types but we are to look after Christ They were to be zealous for the Sabbath Day but we are to be most zealous for the Sabbath Duty which is to do all in remembrance of Christ to magnifie our Redeemer in the first place and for his sake to magnifie the memorials of our Redemption
communion Thus doth Saint Paul briefly but pithily define a Christian Church 1 Thes 1. 1. To the Church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ We cannot imagine the Thessalonians were in God before they were with God so that the one presupposeth the other and we may hence collect this definition of a true Christian Church that it is a company of men Ministers and People though here Saint Paul chiefly write to the Ministers calling them the Church as appears in that he chargeth them to read this Epistle to all the Holy brethren cap. 5. v. 27. which sheweth that he sent it only to the Ministers I say that a true Christian Church is a company of Men Ministers and People who are with the God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ by their Religion nay more who are in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ by their communion And all the men in the world who are thus with and in God the Father and God the Son by the power of God the Holy Ghost do make up the whole present Christian or Catholick Church They may be several Churches in their Denominations and Jurisdictions They are but one Church in their Religion and in their spiritual communion Thus faith the same Saint Paul Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular 1 Cor. 12. 27. that is ye Christians of all Nations are the mystical body of Christ aud ye Christians of Corinth of this or that Nation are members in particular of that body and members in particular one of another as all together make up that body or as all particular Churches make up the Catholick Church SECT IX What Trust is given to other particular Churches in the Holy Scriptures is also given to our particular Church of England from God the Father Son and Holy-Ghost That our Church is accordingly bound to magnifie her Trust and therefore we bound not to vilifie it And that it is both Rational and Religious to maintain the Trust and Authority of our own particular Church IF he be justly reproached for dishonesty who doth not carefully discharge his Trust which he hath received from man how much more they who do not carefully discharge their Trust which they have received from God And this is the case of Ministers above all other men who have received such a Trust from God as all the power of the world could not give them and all the malice of the world cannot deny them Indeed it is the case of every particular Minister much more of the whole Ministry or of a whole Church which is more eminently Gods Trustee and hath a much greater Trust then either the arrogancy of any one can challenge or the ability of any one can discharge And therefore if the spirit of God give that charge to one particular Archippus Take heed to the Ministery which thou hast received in the Lord that thou fulfill it Col. 4. 17. much more doth it give the same charge to the whole Church of Colosse which had in a more ample manner and for a more general end received the same Ministery And though the Church of Colosse it self was soon after swallowed up with an Earth-quake in the dayes of Nero as saith Orosius yet not so the Instructions nor the authority given to it they must remain till the worlds end Take heed to the Ministery which thou hast received in the Lord is not to be swallowed up by the cleaving and dividing of the earth no more then it is to be revoked or recalled by any voice from heaven And so was it also with the Church of Ephesus as appears from Saint Pauls charge to the first Bishop of that Church I give thee charge in the sight of God and before Christ Jesus that thou keep this commandment without spot unrebukeable untill the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Tim. 6 13 14. In that he chargeth him to keep the commandments he had received concerning Religion without spot unrebukeable he sheweth the Churches trust in that he addeth to his charge untill the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ he sheweth that Trust is to continue till the worlds end For in this case we must alwayes remember those words of our Saviour Mar. 13. 37. And what I say unto you I say unto all Watch For what Saint Paul said to the first Bishop of Ephesus he said to all Bishops that ever should be after him as well as to all that were then with him For the Apostolical Epistles though in their inscriptions or Title they concerned some special Churches yet in their Instructions and use they concerned all Churches as plainly appears from Saint Pauls own words Col. 4. 16. And when this Epistle is read amongst you cause that it be read also in the Church of the Laodiceans and that yee likewise read the Epistle from Laodicea So that what Instruction or Authority or charge was given to one Church was given to all Churches in that one And consequently we may thus argue by way of Induction The Trust of Religion was given by God to the Church of Rome and of Corinth and of Galatia and of Ephesus and of Philippi and of Colosse and of Thessalonica therefore the same trust is given by God to our own Church of England and indeed to all the several particular Churches in the Christian world For if each particular Bishop and Presbyter have his Trust originally from the Holy-Ghost though derived by the hands of men Then much more have all the Bishops and Presbyters their Trust from the Holy Ghost Hence that expression in the first Council of Bishops Act. 15. 28. It seemeth good to the Holy Ghost and to us Which hath in some sort been followed by other Councils since Particularly the sixth which confirming the five oecumenical before doth it in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This our holy and Oecumenical Synod hath by inspiration from God confirmed those former Councils Which is in effect as much as if they had said It seemeth good to the Holy Ghost and us to confirm them Concil Constant 3. Act. 17. Graece sed 18. Latine A sufficient proof that the Apostles spake not those words for themselves alone but also for the Church after them which was thereby authorized as to act by the power so to act in the name of the Holy-Ghost And if any shall be so refractory as to say otherwise he may look upon another place not only as a confirmation of this truth but also as a confutation of his own refractoriness Acts 7. 51. Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears ye do always resist the Holy Ghost For whosoever is stiff-necked and will not hear nor obey the word of truth though in the mouth of a weak and sinful man sent from God to speak it doth make himself guilty of this detestable and damnable resistance even of resisting the Holy Ghost For
set day may not as much hinder and obstruct his gift of prayer in respect of time as a set form can hinder and obstruct his gift of prayer in respect of words For it is as strict and as strong a confinement both to the spirit and gift of prayer to say Pray on this day as to say Pray in these words and we may as justly blame the Church for prescribing a set day as for prescribing a set form of prayer in both which notwithstanding she hath exactly followed our blessed Saviours own example and in prescribing the set form hath moreover followed his command SECT VI. The Church hath God the Holy-Ghosts Precedent and Preâ—ept for making and using set forms of Prayer IT is a heavenly prayer and much befitting a Christian Divine which is hinted by Saint Dionysius in the beginning of his sublime book concerning mystical Theologie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. O thou holy and blessed Trinity super abundant in essence in deity and in Goodness the Overseer of our Christian Divinity which is a wisdom of from and for God be pleased to direct us in the search of those more then hidden mysteries which we can neither find without thy guidance nor see without thy light nor utter without thy power He beginneth his book as many antient Divines began their Sermons In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost And though we of late have used longer prayers before our Sermons I will not say out of pretence but I must say Not out of Obedience for our Church did not command it and t is probable did scarce approve it yet we have not filled the world with much better Piety and sure we have filled it with much worse divinity For we have given occasion to many ignorant people to deny that Trinity which we our selves do disown in that we neither will begin in his name nor will end with his glory Tell me if there be any Jew in the world that will not pray to the great and dreadfull God or in the acknowledgement of his incomprehensible Majesty as well as we If therefore we our selves would not be thought nor have others to be made Jews or which is as bad Anti-trinitarians let us not think we pray as Christians unless in our prayers we do indeed glorifie God the Father Son and Holy Ghost For we are alike indebted to all three Persons of the blessed Trinity in regard of our prayers The Father accepteth the Son recommendeth the Holy Ghost suggesteth them nay indeed if they be truly acceptable they are suggested to us from the Father for the Son and by the Holy-Ghost And this was the grand reason that the primitive Christians did gather out of the holy Scriptures the greatest part of their publlike if not of their private devotions because they were sure that all such prayers as they found in the holy Bible came to them from the Holy Ghost and they could not desire better expressions then his in their mouths as not better motions then his in their hearts not doubting but God would readily hear the words as he would readily own the motions of his own spirit For this is the confidence that we all have in the Son of God that if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us 1 Joh. 5. 14. and we cannot but think that one ready way to ask any thing according to his will is to ask it according to his words And his are all the words that are written either by the Prophers or by the Apostles for our instruction for they all came from they all lead to the eternal word So that in truth all those heavenly forms of prayer and praise which we meet with in the Old and New Testament are no other then so many set forms of infallible and impeccable Liturgy given to the Church from God the Father through God the Son and by God the Holy Ghost and the Church would shew but little dutifulness and less thankfulness if she did not accordingly make a frequent and a good use of them in her own Liturgies or if she did not make Liturgies of her own both in imitation of those and in obedience to those Liturgies which she hath received from God And as for the using set forms it is no less recommended to the Church by the Spirit of God then is the making them Thus in the ninth of Nehemiah we find eight several Levites Praying and Preaching at one time each in his several congregation for the multitude was so great that it was divided into eight congregations saith Tremelius But t is evident there was but one Form of prayer and praise for them all whether at one time in several congregations or at several times in one congregation for one of these must be granted to avoid confusion still they all had but one form for the text saith expresly then the Levites Jeshua and Kadmiel c. said Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever and blessed be thy glorious name which is exalted above all blessing and praise v. 5. Thou even thou art Lord alone c. v. 6. and so along to the end of the chapter where all the eight Levites named together in the fift verse do make a most religious confession of Gods goodness a confession of Praise and of their Fathers and their own wickedness a confession of sin and all of them make but one and the same confession using exactly the same words For when the Text saith expresly Then the Levites naming all eight of them said Stand up and bless the Lord c. t is not for us to imagine that one of all the eight did not say these or did say other then these very words Again it is said Neh. 12. 46. For in the dayes of David and Asaph of old there were chief of the Singers and Songs of praise and thanksgivings unto God No man can doubt who reads the inscriptions of the Psalms and obâ—â—râ—eâ— what he reads but that the Songs were as publikely known and as particularly appointed as the singers And â—aâ—â— David tells us plainly in his comment upon the third Psalm that the Psalms were not called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Songs at the time they were made but at the time they were sung and that they were accordingly in process of time sung in the Temple some before some after the Captivity However it is undeniable that the Psalms were the greatest part of the Jews Liturgie or publike worship and the matter is not great whether we look on them as Songs or as Supplications For if there were particular forms of praise without stinting of the Spirit as without doubt the spirit which appointed and commanded the use of these forms stinted not himself I say if there were particular forms of praise without stinting of the spirit why not also forms of Prayer Since it is evident the same
in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils and in thy name have done many wonderful works And then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity Mat. 7. See here how Gifted men may be Hypocrites not only gifted for Praying Many will say unto me Lord Lord which repetition shews a familiarity they thought they had contracted with him by their frequent addresses in Prayer but also gifted for Preaching Have we not prophesied in thy name Nay gifted for casting out Devils out of others though not out of themselves And in thy name have cast out Devils And yet to these gifted men will our blessed Saviour return this answer I never knew you whence we may justly infer they never truly knew him Depart from me ye that work iniquity whence we may as justly infer that they did never really come near him by piety but only seemingly by hypocrisie God forbid but we should firmly believe and willingly confess that the Spirit and the Gift of Prayer though separated in Hypocrites are often joyned together in good Christians for in truth the gift of Prayer is not perfect and compleat so as to be worth the looking after without the Spirit of it For then only is the gift of Prayer compleat when not only natural abilities are improved by study or industry and personal abilities are acquired by art or exercise which two alone do properly constitute the very essence of the Gift of Prayer But also the heart is sanctified by Grace which properly belongs only to the Spirit of Prayer so that in truth the Gift of prayer which makes all the noise is perfected only by the Spirit of Prayer which saith nothing or speaketh so softly that none can hear its voice but he that searcheth the hearts and knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit Rom. 8. 27. The word of the mind Verbum mentis may be without the word of the mouth Verbum oris So Hannah continued praying before the Lord and yet she spake in her heart only her lips moved but her voice was not heard 1 Sam. 1. 13 14. So Moses cryed unto the Lord when yet he did not speak nor so much as move his lips Exod. 14. 15 Again the word of the mouth may be without the word of the mind for they must needs make many words who make many prayers and yet they could not be said to utter one prayer from their hearts to whom God did say When ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you yea when ye make many prayers I will not hear your hands are full of blood Isa 1. 15. For when the Text hath set this down as a proper compellation of God O thou that hearest prayer Psal 65. 2. it is most evident that from his saying he would not hear we may safely conclude they did not Pray though they did make never so many prayers But we will suppose such a gifted man as hath the compleat gift of prayer that is the Spirit and the Gift of Prayer both together yet even such a man is not thereby qualified to be the mouth of others in publick Assemblies because publick prayer is to have a publick Person to perform it And none can be a publick Person in Gods service but whom God himself hath made so by some notorious and undoubted Commission such as others are bound to acknowledge and therefore bound not to usurp For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain but they most take his name in vain who speak in his name without his allowance They are most properly said to take his name because he hath not given it and to take it in vain because they take it rather to serve themselves then to serve him 'T is all one for strange Persons to offer themselves before the Lord instead of the sons of Aaron and for the sons of Aaron to offer strange fire before the Lord instead of that from his own Altar for of both alike it may be said which he commanded them not Numb 10. 1. and for both alike it hath been said And they dyed before the Lord Ver. 2. and again This is it that the Lord spake saying I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me and before all the people I will be glorified Ver. 3. If he be not sanctified in them that come nigh him he is not like to be glorified before all the people If the Priests be unsanctified the Lord will be unglorified for his Majesty will be contemned as if it were lawful for any that are not sanctified to come nigh him Therefore his Priests were first sanctified to the Priesthood then sanctified by it They were first sanctified by being called then sanctified by their calling And so ought their successors to be till the worlds end for it is an universal negative which denies as well for all times as for all persons No man taketh this honour unto himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron Heb. 5. 4. Now Aaron was called not only internally to satisfie himself but also externally to satisfie all the Congregation that he was called of God For God is the God of order not of confusion and consequently forbids those men to officiate as his Ministers though of never so great abilities whom he hath not outwardly called to the Ministry For he will have order not confusion in his Church whereas if any one might officiate in the Ministry upon any pretence whatsoever without Gods outward call others might as well as he and so we must needs have an irremediable confusion both in the Ministers and in their ministrations Dares any man to be a Princes Ambassador though most able to do him service without his appointment But the Ministers are Gods Ambassadors 2 Cor. 5. 20. There needs no variety of arguments in this case for till earthly Potentates shall declare it to be no rebellion against themselves for men to turn uncommissioned souldiers under pretence of fighting their battles they must acknowledge it to be grand rebellion against the King of heaven for men to turn uncommissioned Ministers under pretence of doing him service For Saint Paul having said The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds 2 Cor. 10. 4. hath in effect told us that the Minister is Gods souldier and therefore is sure of his Commission But let us further examine this gift of Prayer in relation to the publick worship of God and as we find no just reason to admit them to the work of the Ministry who are not Ministers because they have that gift so we shall find no just reason to reject those that are true Ministers as insufficient or unfit for the work of the Ministry because they have it not nor to allow such Ministers who have it to reject the set forms established and approved by the Church
that written word was that all Christians might have the grounds of One Communion And the right way of edification for all Churches is certainly to lay their foundation upon these grounds which God hath given them that is to establish a set form of Doctrine whereby to maintain the Truth of Religion and a set form of devotion whereby to maintain the Peace of Communion 3. It is requisite that the publick worship of God should not relie upon the personal abilities of the Ministers in praying but should be performed by constant set forms of prayer in regard of the Ministers themselves that they be not led into temptation either through pride vilifying others or through vain glory magnifying themselves and that they be not led into sin particularly the sins of heresie and schism which are desperate sins in private men but damnable sins in Ministers yet must needs be incident to those who rely upon their own gifts in praying more then upon Gods or their Churches prayers For if their gift forsake them as who dares promise its certain continuance they may easily fall into an erroneous expression which rather then recant they may as stiffly maintain by perverse argumentation there 's the danger of heresie And if they abuse their gift they may easily fall into the humour and love of ostentation and so scorn to be regulated and confined by their Church upholding their abominable ostentation by a more abominable separation there 's the danger of schism Besides such men commonly refuse to tie themselves so precisely to any particular form of words though it be of their own making but they may sometimes add alwayes alter according as any emergen occasion offered or affection suggested shall require so that they can never truly say with the Psalmist Paratum cor meum Deus Paratum cor meum O God my heart is ready my heart is ready which yet the Psalmist thought twice worth his saying sc Psal 57. ver 7. Psal 108. ver 1. And much less can they say O God my tongue is ready my tongue is ready though that be the readiness they most labour for and most glory in for every new affection may unsettle their heart and every new phansie may unsettle their tongue so that either the heart must be false to its own preparation because it may be changed by a new affection or the tongue must be false to the heart because it may take a new expression I have a very good precedent though a bad occasion to put the gift of prayer in the lowest forms of Gods gifts that concern the exercise of Religion For Saint Paul in effect hath done it before me who put diversitie of tongues not only after the gift of healing but also after helps in government 1 Cor. 12. 28. or helps and governments that is lay-Elders and Deacons if some late glosses may be embraced and surely the gift of prayer must come under the gift of tongues as comprehended in it or come below the gift of tongues as outpassed by it so I may well put it below the Desk when Saint Paul according to them puts it below the poor mens Box And Saint Chrysostome gives this reason for it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost hom 29. 32. in Corinth Because they thought so highly of themselves for the gift of tongues therefore Saint Paul alwayes nameth that in the last place after all the rest There is the same reason now why Saint Pauls Successors in the Ministry should do the like concerning the gift of prayer yet I would have laid my hand upon my mouth before I would have spoken so unkindly to or of my brethren were it not to make them lay their hands upon their hearts before they speak so confidently nay indeed so uncomely to Our Father For as it were better my tongue should cleave to the roof of my mouth then I should disparage the gift of prayer so it were better their tongues should cleave to the roofs of their mouths then they should abuse that gift either to ostentation or to faction or which is yet worse to Irreligion For by such abuse not only man is grosly deceived but also God is grievously dishonoured Doubtless he that bids both Priests and people keep their feet when they go to the house of God that they may be more ready to hear then to give the sacrifices of fools doth much more bid the Priests keep their hearts and their mouths that they may not tempt the people to give the fools sacrifice for want either of such affections or of such expressions as may truly be fit to be offered upon Gods Altar And this is plain from the ensuing words Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God Eccles 5. 1. 2. Hebr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Al Tebahal gnal Pica ne feâ—tines super tuo ore Do not make haste upon your mouth Here may easily be much more haste then good speed For your mouth may make haste upon your heart uttering what is scarce yet suggested and you may make haste upon your mouth uttering what is scarce yet digested The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bahal is sometimes to be fearful sometimes to be hasty and thence signifies to make such haste as men use to make in frights when fear hath wholly surprized their wits And such a haste as goes without wit perchance without fear too for men who are audacious are seldom timorous is in a mans own house great imprudence but in Gods house t is moreover great impiety And let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God The better to keep us from the haste of the tongue he disswades us from the haste of the heart for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh therefore if the heart be fraught with hasty affections the tongue will soon be fraught with hasty expressions For he that will permit his heart to love without deliberation will also permit his mouth to speak without it since it is very easie for the heart to come into the mouth when once the assent is come into the heart Therefore he saith Let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing though utterance belongs properly to the mouth the reason is because if the heart hath once spoken it within the mouth will hardly refrain from speaking it without Accordingly the Psalmist when he prayed set a watch O Lord before my mouth and keep the door of â—y lips he did also pray Incline not mine heart to any evil thing Psal 141. 3 4. for there could be no watch set upon his mouth unless it were first set upon his heart And indeed here is such a reason alledged as is enough to set a watch both upon all our mouths and upon all our hearts in that it is said For God is in heaven thou upon earth therefore let thy words be few Were he on earth with thee
particular supplication that they may be remedied and yet none are more averse from particular Confession then those that are most angry with the Church for the want of such particular Petitions But to say the truth The Church hath sufficiently provided for such particulars in that she hath taken the Psalms of David into her publick Devotions which Book is a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or to use Epiphanius his word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arcula medica a Box of Medicines for all diseases Here he that hath a dead heart shall find affections to enliven it he that hath a slow tongue expressions to quicken it Nor is it possible for that man to want either faith or repentance or thankfulness or any other true spiritual good to comfort and strengthen him either against the evil of sin or the evil of punishment who can truly apply the prayers of the Psalmist to his own heart and truly apply his heart to God and no Prayer whatsoever can either comfort or strengthen him without this twofold application viz. of the Prayer to his own heart and of his heart to God And as for variety of words let him not trouble himself for he were better cordially say with David Have mercy upon me O God after thy great goodness or In thee O Lord have I put my trust let me never be put to confusion then verbally expatiate in greater discourses but lesser desires of this Mercy or of this Trust He will find more true contentment to his soul from the use of one short ejaculation of Gods then in the use of many enlargements of his own making And he were better in brief say with the Publican God be merciful to me a sinner which equally concerns any other true Penitent then make a long prayer with the Pharisee which may only concern himself For it is more like Heathen then like Christians for men to think they shall be heard for their much speaking Mat. 6. 7. and yet if they will needs speak much it is more probable God will hear them speaking in his words then in their own So that if God hath sufficiently provided for our occasional necessities in the holy Scriptures our Church hath likewise sufficiently provided for the same in translating those holy Scriptures and making them a great part of her publick service that we may know how to use them upon and how to apply them to our several occasions For as that general promise whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed Rom. 10. 11. doth warrant every good Christian to make particular application of Gods promises to his own soul by special faith so that other general promise whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved Rom. 10. 13. doth warrant every good Christian to make particular application of his own soul to God by special Prayer And as the holy Scriptures are most abundantly sufficient in the rules and examples of special faith so also in the rules and examples of special prayers And as we justly say That the holy Scriptures do shew their original to have been from God because they speak so much in so little containing so many Truths in so few words for only he that understood all things at once was able to intend and comprize so many things together so we as justly say The Church hath taken the best course she could to improve our understandings in those divine Truths in that she hath made it easie for us to understand the holy Scriptures And consequently though she had devised millions of particular prayers for no other purpose but to instruct us to pray upon particular occasions yet she could not have instructed us half so well as now she hath meerly by imparting to us Gods own Instructions And till the Church of Rome shall do the same it will be vain for her Champions to object that she hath out-gone the Protestant Churches in the care of the peoples souls but this by the way to shew the grounds we go upon in our Religion are equally good against the Papists and against the Enthusiasts But neither is this all that we can say for our Church in this behalf for in truth she hath provided such admirable prayers as are not only according to the Rule of Gods holy Word but also very much according to the Genius of it comprizing much in little having more of Faith Hope and Charity in one of her little collects then is to be found in many of their long prayers who either revile her Devotions or renounce her Communion So that if we will not be as wasps good for nothing but to buz and sting but rather as Bees ready to gather honey even from weeds and much more from the roses of Sharon we shall easily find to the joy of our own hearts and the stopping of others mouths That our Church in her Common-Prayers hath taught us such Generals as may sufficiently supply for all particulars And hath taught us such eternals as ought to be in our account as they are in themselves infinitely beyond all Occasionals our blessed Saviour himself hath taught us this lesson concerning the manner of our prayers Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him Mat. 6. 8. as if he had said you need not ask your heavenly Father as you need your earthly parents in many words but only with true and upright hearts this made our Church delight in short prayers because she rather desired to shew a relenting heart then an over-flowing tongue as praying to him that weigheth only hearts not words in the ballance of his Sanctuary A short prayer best suits with an hearty desire which is too earnest to be long in uttering and also with the desires of our hearts in regard of heavenly things which most commonly are too weak to be long in desiring The Church in her short prayers hath taken a great care for our earnestness and withal provided a certain cure for our weakness and if any man think that Through Jesus Christ our Lord comes in too soon because the Prayers are short or too often because they are many let him know That this one single observation in these five words speaks more to God for us then we by thousands of continued Periods in our longest prayers are able to speak for our own selves and if there were no other reason but this yet for this reason alone were many short prayers to be preferred before one long prayer both in our private and in our publick Devotions Again our blessed Saviour hath also taught us this lesson concerning the matter of our Prayers Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you Mat. 6. 33. as if he had said Regard chiefly your Continual not your Occasional your Spiritual not your Temporal necessities in your Prayers be earnest with God to give you Faith Hope Charity Religion Repentance Obedience
they believe in his Almighty power and in his all-saving mercy therefore it is that they make their prayers unto him And since they cannot believe in the Saints as such Almighty and All-saving Lords they may not call upon them or pray unto them suo modo credere will not serve the turn it must be omni modo For why not as well say I may have a Saint or Angel after some sort for my God though God himself hath said Thou shalt have no other Gods but me as say I may after some sort believe in a Saint or Angel since the Text saith plainly have faith in God Mar. 11. 22. and again Abraham believed God it was counted to him for righteousness Rom. 4. 3. and again To him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness Rom. 4. 5. Can any Saint or Angel justifie a sinner and why should I have faith in him if I cannot have Justistcation from him and again Abraham was strong in faith giving glory to God Rom. 4. 20. Ought any Saint or Angel to have that glory which is proper only to God And what glory is proper only to God but for a man to believe in him as the first Truth and to put his whole trust in him as the chiefest good We must degrade faith and suffer it no longer to be a Theological Vertue if it may have any other but only God for its object And the like also may be said of Prayer We must deny that to be an elicite act of the understanding apprehending Gods infinity and make it only a little lip-labour before we can bring it down so low as to befit a Saint or Angel For mental prayer which is only in the heart without which the Verbal is no more then an empty sound is in vain offered up to any but only to him that is the searcher of Hearts And he that saith Give me thy Heart hath not said Give another thy Tongue when it expresseth the elevation or lifting up of thy heart Sancte Petre miserere mei salva me aperi mihi aditum coeli and that Prayer to the blessed Virgin Tu nos ab hoste protege hora mortis suscipe and the like if spoken only in the heart are spoken surely in vain for they know not our hearts and are moreover spoken in sin because they know them not So the very sense of the prayer is wicked because it supposeth a man a God And how then can any Divine excuse the words from wickedness whereby alone we are able to judge of the sense Yet Bellarmine hath found out an excuse for them saying Non agitur de verbis sed de sensu verborum nam quantum ad verba licet dicere Sancte Petre miserere mei salva me Item Da mihi sanitatem corporis da patientiam c. Dummodo intelligamus Salva me miserere mei orando pro me Da mihi hoc illud tuis precibus meritis lib. 1. de beatitudine sanctorum cap. 17. 'T is no matter for the words of the Prayers so as the sense be right For in words we may say O Saint Peter have mercy upon me and save me as long as our meaning is save me and have mercy upon me by praying for me or O Saint Peter give me health or patience c. as long as our meaning is give it me by thy prayers and merits If this Interpretation may be allowed to add new words that we may make a new sense farewell to Aristotles Book De Interpretatione for only he that is the prolocutor can be the Interpreter we must overthrow the ground of all reason to make good sense out of bad words Conceptus sunt signa verum verba conceptuum is the first ground in Logick Conceits or apprehensions are the expresses of things as words are of conceits or apprehensions Take away this ground and take away the use of all Logick and consequently the exercise of Reason for if a mans speech be other then his meaning how shall another understand him If his meaning be other then the thing how shall he understand himself Nay we must overthrow the ground of all Religion as far as 't is expressed in words to make hese and the like good Prayers For Religion as far as 't is expressed in words is regulated by the third Commandment that bids us not take the name of the Lord our God in vain in the manner of our speaking meddles not with our thinking or with our meaning so that if the manner of our speaking be faulty when we pray we do take the name of God in vain or there is no obligation there can be no violation of the third Commandment Who can meet with such elusions as these in matters of Religion and not be moved out of the zeal of godliness to exclaim with the Prophet Hear ye now O House not of David but of Goliah Is it a small thing for you to weary men but will you weary my God also Isa 7. 13. Is it not enough and too much that ye teach us to equivocate with men but will ye also teach us to equivocate with our God Will ye at the same time maintain a Liturgie and set up a Directory a Liturgie in words but a Directory in sense Your Liturgie is O Saint Mary O Saint Peter give me health and salvation But your Directory is O Lord help me O Lord save me or is this Catholick in you to have your Directory better then your Liturgie your meaning better then your words your intention better then your expression or is it fitting if it were possible for men to say in words and unsay in sense the same things especially in their prayers and not palpably collude with God and men And what have we done else but reformed that in words which you your selves do reform in sense and why then do you so uncessantly revile so unconscionably oppose our Reformation Is it not affected Atheism not to reform what is really superstitious as it is abominable blasphemie to call that superstition which is indeed true Religion May any Christian abjure and renounce such Prayers as the Spirit of God hath taught and the Son of God doth assist without abjuring and renouncing God himself Is not this indeed the most dreadful and most formidable kind of abjuration that ever was to abjure the intercession of God the Son and the Communion of God the Holy Ghost or is it lawful to deal with a true Christian form of Prayer as the Jews did with Christ who when Pilate said Why what evil hath he done cryed out so much the more exceedingly Crucifie him Mar. 15. 14. We dare not think of wishing an Interdict upon Religion for that is to crucifie Christ but we are bound to wish an Interdict upon Idolatry and Blasphemy for that is to crucifie the two thieves which rob God of his honour and Gods
Church of her Truth and Peace For I ask seriously of any Christian and Conscientious Divine who cares either for Christianity or for Conscience May we blaspheme God with our mouthes and say That we honour him in our hearts and think thereby to excuse our blasphemie May we invocate the creature as the Creator in our prayers and say we mean the Creator and think thereby to excuse our Idolatry Doth it not indeed concern our Religion to be truly Christian in words as well as in sense that if there came in one unlearned he may be convinced of all he may be judged of all and falling down on his face may worship God 1 Cor. 14. 24 25. and not worship the Saints in word and say He worships God in sense This is the unhappiness of those who are obliged to a superstitious form of publick worship if they mean as they speak they are guilty of Idolatry and of Blasphemie if they do not mean as they speak they are guilty of falsness and of hypocrisie So necessary was it for our Church to reform the Liturgie in those Prayers which were directed to the Saints instead of God And so happy are we if at least we know our own happiness who do enjoy the benefit of that Reformation For surely it is no more lawful to honour him as God who is not God then it is not to honour him as God who is so 'T is one proof of the Deity of the Holy Ghost that he hath a Temple 1 Cor. 6. 19. And since the worship is greater then the Temple How shall we worship any that is not God Franciscus Davidis was justly condemned for denying the Divinity of Christ because he denyed his Invocation and how then can we bestow Invocation upon the Saints and not acknowledge their Divinity Doubtless though they are Gods nearest and dearest friends yet such honour to them is too great to be due And since it is not due because they are his friends we may be sure it is not acceptable So that if there were no other argument but this alone to prove that the Saints do not hear them that pray this were enough to prove it That they do not openly reject and reprove their prayers for else without doubt they would say now as the Angel did heretofore See thou do it not for I am thy fellow-servant worship God Rev. 19. 10. 22. 9. The reason is plain and undenyable for I am thy fellow-servant and must exclude Saints and Angels both alike out of our Liturgies Thus doth Justine Martyr describe the worship which was professed and practised by the Primitive Christians saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Apol. 2. We worship God the Creator of the universe in the first and his Son in the second place and his Prophetical Spirit in the third No mention at all of Saints or Angels to be worshipped in any place much less to come in before the Holy Ghost as by a false comma upon the same authors words not two leaves before Bellarmine would prove the Angels were antiently worshipped the words are these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We reverence and worship the true God and his Son which came from him and taught us these things and the Host of the good Angels and also the Prophetical Spirit The meaning of the Martyr is this That they worshipped God the Father Son and Holy Ghost only he describes the Son more at large as one who had revealed his Fathers will and made known the Hoast of Angels amongst other his Revelations but the Jesuite by a comma parting the Hoast of Angels from the things revealed reckons them up as things worshipped which comma we may not allow though it be now in the Paris Edition First because it is absolutely against the fore-cited place which saith the Holy Ghost was worshipped in the third place viz. with the Father and the Son whereas if the Angels may step in before him he must be contented with the fourth place Secondly Because it is an Article of our Christian Faith that the Vnity in Trinity and Trinity in Vnity is to be worshipped but if the Angels may step in before the Holy Ghost we must say not the Trinity in Vnity but the Quaternity in Community is to be worshipped Thirdly Because this exposition supposeth the blessed Martyr to prefer the Angels before if not above God the Holy Ghost which were to expunge him out of the Catalogue of the Fathers and leave him among the grossest Hereticks whereas on the contrary he is so far from asserting the worship of Angels That in his Dialogue with Trypho the Jew He proves the Angel which appeared to Lot was indeed the Son of God because Lot worshipped him which proof had been nothing worth had he thought it lawful to worship Angels 4. Because the Greek Text will not bear this comma without some confusion in the words and more in the sense which the Latine interpreter well observing hath thus rendred the place Verum hunc ipsum so Deum Patrem qui ab eo venit atque iste nos bonorum Angelorum exercitum docuit Filium Spiritum Propheticum colimus adoramus Fifthly If the comma should be allowed yet would it not justifie Bellarmines conclusion for he maketh this Inference from it That some kind of worship greater then Civil less then Divine is due to Angels whereas if they be indeed to be worshipped by vertue of this quotation They have equal worship with God the Father and the Son and they must have it before God the Holy Ghost I will not here insist upon arguments from the uncertainty of this worship because I meet with too too many from the Impiety of it 'T is uncertain whether all that are cannonized are Saints wherefore it may be imprudent but t is certain they are not Gods wherefore it must be impious to offer up our Prayers unto them For that is a spiritual sacrifice which is due only unto God Haec est Christiana Religio ut colatur unus Deus quia non facit animan◠beatam nisi unus Deus saith Saint Augustine Tract 23. in Evang. Johan This is the Christian Religion that we worship one God because none can make the soul blessed but only God None else made the soul but only God therefore none else may have the homage of the soul none else can make the soul blessed therefore to none else should be the desire of the soul So saith the Prophet Isaiah O Lord we have waited for thee the desire of our soul is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee with my soul have I desired thee in the night yea with my Spirit within me will I seek thee early Isa 26. 8 9. Till I can in my Prayers have too much desire of my soul for thee I may not bestow the least part of that desire away from thee All the desire of my soul is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee
Doctrine and to practise our Devotion and consequently are not only obliged to our internal but also to our external Communion And this obligation is so great as to reach the very Conscience and so strong as to bind it For where Religion binds the conscience by vertue of the three first Commandments there Communion must needs bind the Conscience by vertue of the fourth Commandment that not only every man in private but also all men in publick may glorifie God in Heart and Body and Words and Works This being the undoubted End for which God instituted the Sabbath and therefore the undoubted Duty which belongs to its institution And this would God have the meanest of his people know and practise and accordingly put the Psalms concerning it into an Alphabetical method that they might be the more diligently observed and the more easily remembred by all the Jews as for example the 111. Psalm is written Alphabetically the whole argument whereof is nothing else but the Praise of God for his works of Creation Preservation Redemption and teacheth us to praise him not only privately in our own houses but also publickly in his for so it is said ver 1. I will give thanks unto the Lord with my whole heart secretly among the faithful that is according to the duty of Religion in the three first Commandments and in the Congregation that is openly among the faithful according to the duty of Communion in the fourth Commandment so also the hundred forty and fifth is written Alphabetically which is so properly a Psalm of praise that the Title of it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tehillah Laus because it is nothing else but the praise of God whence the Jews called him a son of the world to come who did every day say this Psalm not only with his mouth but also with his heart And this Psalm is not contented with private praises I will magnifie thee O God my King and I will praise thy name for ever and ever ver 1. but requireth also publick praises so that men shall speak of the might of thy marvellous acts ver 6. and all thy works praise thee O Lord and thy Saints give thanks unto thee ver 10. The private praise is according to the duty of Religion in the three first the publick praise is according to the duty of Communion in the fourth Commandment Wherefore since the fourth Commandment presupposeth the three former in its observation it can do no less then presuppose them also in its obligation so that a true and right publick worship of Almighty God obligeth all to come who are called to it by no less then four of Gods own Commandments and we may be sure that our blessed Saviour who will condemn us at the last day or our wilfull omissions of any one Commandment belonging to the second will much more condemn us for our wilful omissions of all the Commandments belonging to the First Table If he will say Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire because ye gave me no meat ye gave me no drink then much more because ye gave me no honour ye gave me no praise If because ye took me not into your houses then much more because ye took me not into your hearts If because ye cloathed me not then much more because ye glorified me not If because ye visited me not in the prison then much more because ye visited me not in the Temple Thus we have as much obligation upon the conscience as can be from the first Table of the Decalogue to keep Communion with our Church in the publick worship of God because she inviteth us to nothing but what is our indisputable and indispensable duty towards God even to profess our belief in him our fear of him our love to him with all our heart with all our mind and with all our soul and to practice what we profess by giving him thanks by calling upon him by honouring his holy Name and his Word and by serving him truly all the days of our life And we have also as much obligation upon the conscience as well can be from the second Table of the Decalogue to keep Communion with our Church in the same publick worship of Almighty God I speak of such obligations as arise from the order and relation of man to his neighbour which all flow from the fifth Commandment whereby every man is obliged to submit himself to those spiritual Pastors and Guides which God hath set over him and much more when they all agree in one which we call the authority of this our Church Then Obedite praepositis vestris Obey them that have the guide or rule you and submit your selves Heb. 13. 17. obligeth most certainly to an undeniable and were not this age given to question every thing but its own inventions I would also have said to an unquestionable obedience And this obligation which binds us to our spiritual Pastors and Guides hath not lost its force and vertue though we may think we have lost our Church First because of the authority which the Church hath to bind us secondly because of the duty to which we are bound First because of the authority which the Church hath to bind us since God hath committed us to her charge For Christ taught as one having authority Mat. 7. 29. So doth his Church He taught as one having authority from God she teacheth as one having authority from Christ T is not matter of custome or of conveniency that the Church doth teach and we do learn but matter of command and of conscience Therefore saith Saint Paul to Titus These things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority Tit. 2. 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cum omnis imperio with all power and command for as Prudence hath three acts consiliari judicare praecipere to consult to judge and to command so hath the Church which God hath appointed as an external Prudence to guide and govern us in the exercise of Religion t is not enough for her to advise and to judge but she must also command in the name of God And this is Beza his own gloss upon the place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cum omni imperio id est cum autoritate summa tanquam Dei legatus nequesuo sed illius nomine agens omnia itaque adiecit Nemo te Despiciat Quibus verbis grex potius videtur à Paulo quam Pastor ipse officii admoneri with all power and command that is with the highest authority as Gods Legate saying and doing nothing in his own but all in Gods Name And therefore he addeth Let no man despiso thee By which words the Apostle seems not to admonish the Priests but the people of their duty So Beza and most truly for to say in relation to the Priest that hath nothing but prayers and tears for his defence Let no man despise thee were the ready way to make him most despicable But to say it
give an ear to the holy Prophets Exhortation O Praise the Lord with me and let us magnifie his name together Psal 34. 3. For where God is praised and magnified in the Religion I am very strictly bound to joyn my self in the Communion Nay more Let me alwaies give my heart to the holy Prophets resolution I was glad when they said unto me We will go into the house of the Lord Psal 122. 1. where God calleth to the practice of godliness t is not for another to say to me You shall not go nor for me to say to my self I will not For I must be glad of the Call and much more of the Practice Now Christ the eternal Son of God calleth us to the practice of the true Christian Religion three several waies By his Word by his Example and by his Communion By his Word for he commandeth us to perform all the duties of Religion By his Example for himself whiles he was upon earth did perform them And by his Communion for now he is in heaven he recommendeth to his Father all our Religious performances so making intercession to God for us as also with us How shall I answer him at the last day if I neglect his Word if I reject his Example if I renounce his Communion His Word pierceth mine Ear his Example pierceth mine Eye but his Communion pierceth my Heart His Word and his Example pierce my sense but his Communion pierceth my soul For if it were said of Sauls Messengers nay of Saul himself when they saw the company of the Prophets prophecying and Samuel standing as appointed over them that the Spirit of God was upon them and they also prophesied 1 Sam. 19. 20. Then surely when I see a company of Christians praying and Christ himself standing as appointed over them for so himself hath avowed where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them Mat. 18. 20. if the Spirit of God be in me I will also pray with them and it must be some evil Spirit in me that makes me either reject or renounce their prayers For if there be indeed The Communion of Saints saying unto me We will go into the house of the Lord I am bound to have the affection which is due to that Communion and say I was glad when they said unto me we will go for this indefinite Particle When not defining one set time will suffer me to exclude no time T is like a general Commission which not prescribing what day to do the business leaves it to be done any day and to neglect no opportunity of doing it Indefinitum in materià necessarià aequipollet universali when the duty it self is absolutely necessary though it be set down as indifinite yet we must look upon it as universal for though the Casuists do tell us concerning affirmative precepts Ligant semper sed non ad semper That they bind us at all times but not to all times yet we must understand their meaning only of our actual exercise and performance of those duties not of our habitual disposition and desire to perform them For there is not one minute of our life wherein we are not bound to be in a disposition and desire of serving God And thus doth Solomon Jarchi expound the Prophets 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Shamacti Laetatus sum I was glad I did hear saith he the sons of men saying When will this David die that his son Solomon may succeed and build the Temple that so we may go to the house of the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vaani Shomeach And I was very glad to hear them say so Thus saith he David preferred Gods service before his life And so will every man who knoweth he hath such a Religion as if he rightly follow it will bring him to salvation Aben Ezra goes further in his gloss and saith That All the people of Israel was of Davids mind and that every one of them did say as well as he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I was glad when they said unto me we will go into the house of the Lord Why should we Christians have a worse Zeal upon better Hopes For he that will not be glad when others say unto him We will go into the house of the Lord may live to be sorry That there is not a house of God for him to go to But O Thou who camest to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death Remove not the Candlestick away from us because we have neglected and abused the light of Grace But let the Priests of the Lord still serve the Lord between the Porch and the Altar weeping and saying Be favourable O Lord be favourable unto thy People Let not thine heritage be brought to such confusion lest the Heathen be Lords thereof Wherefore should they say among the Heathen where is now their God And let us thy undutiful unthankful unworthy people still enjoy the inestimable freedom of thy Gospel Publick Communions in thy Church and Publick Prayers and Praises in thy Name Heal our back-slidings and repair those great and wide breaches which we have lately made in our Piety in our Fidelity and in our Charity And amidst the many inconstancies and many more impieties of this wicked world make thine own sheep still hear thy voice and thine own people still secure and glad in thee That notwithstanding all obstacles and oppositions they shall yet more and more worthily praise and adore thy most holy and Reverend name among the faithful in this life and in the great Congregation of Saints and Angels in the life to come being all of us joyned now in affection hereafter in possession with that heavenly consort and holy Communion which is alwaies saying Hallelujah Salvation and glory and honour and power unto the Lord our God Father Son and Holy Ghost world without end Amen Una est in trepida mihi re medicina Jehovae Cor patrium Os verax omnipotensque manus FINIS Deo Trinuni Gloria in aeternum
69. super Cantic Si sensero aperiri mihi sensum ut intelligâ—m Scripturas aut uberiores desursum influere animo meditationum imbres non ambigo sponsum adesse Verbi siquidem hae copiae sunt de plenitudine ejus ista accipimus If I perceive my understanding opened to understand the Scripture or the influence and distillation of heavenly meditations upon my soul I cannot doubt but the Bridegroom is at hand for these are the armies that the word doth march withall and it is from his fulness that my soul is thus filled The second proof of our communion with Christ is this that we continue and abide in his love and this is a consequent of the former as it is said ver 10. If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love No keeping of his commandments no abiding in his love Wherefore the Solifidian is in a dangerous condition who seeks not to joyn obedience to his faith For he abides not in the love of Christ and how then can he expect that Christ should interpose his death and passion betwixt the judgement of God and his sinful soul since that interposition is clearly the greatest effect that can be of Christs love Greater love hath no man then this that a man lay down his life for his friends John 15. 13. Our blessed Saviour dyed for his enemies but none shall have the benefit of his death in the day of Judgement but only his friends and none are his friends but they that abide in his love and none abide in his love but they that keep his commandments if not by their righteousness yet at least by their repentance The third proof of our communion with Christ is this that his joy remaineth in us ver 11. These things have I spoken unto you sc the things that belong to your abiding in me that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full Lord what a mercy is it that thy joy doth come unto us much more that it doth remain in us And from whence coâ—â—â—h thy joy but from the testimony of thy Holy Spirit that thou hast reconciled us unto the Father and from the testimony of our own consciences that we do not abide in any sin to hinder the comfort and hazard the fruit of that reconciliation This is the very joy of the Holy Ghost a joy not heard of but amongst Christian a joy not found but amongst good Christians who have the Spirit of Christ witnessing with their spirits that they are the children of God and if children then heirs heirs of God and joynt-heirs with Christ if so be that they suffer with him that they may be also glorified together Rom. 8. 16 17. T is not all the losses of the earth can discourage those who are the heirs of heaven t is not all the sufferings of this world can dismay those who have the joy of the next world because they know they can be losers and sufferers only for a time but they are sure they shall have gain and glory for ever SECT II. That our communion with Christ is as our participation of Christ exteral or internal The one may be the communion of hypocrites the other only of good Christians The way to be a good Christian in a bad Church NO man can hope to be wise without wisdom righteous without righteousness holy without holiness true without truth or to see without light or to live without life And therefore no man can hope to be wise righteous holy true or to see or to live without Christ for he of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification 1 Cor. 1. 30. and he alone is the light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world John 1. 9. and he alone is the truth and the life John 14. 6. Therefore we must have Communion with him or we cannot have wisdom righteousness sanctification truth light or life from him But how can we have communion with Christ since He is in heaven and we are on earth I answer as we can partake of him so we can communicate with him For participation and communion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are in Saint Pauls language equipollent one and the same thing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quae participatio quae communio are set down as terms convertible 2 Cor. 6. 14. So far therefore as we participate of Christ so far forth we communicate with Christ If we participate of him only externally whether in his Word or in his Sacraments we communicate with him only externally If we participate of him internally we communicate also with him internally according to that excellent determination of that irrefragable Doctor upon this question An mali pertineant ad unionem capitis cum corpore Ecclesiae whether wicked men belong to that Union of the Church wherein Christ as head is united with the body which question he determines in the negative saying thus Mali quidem sunt in unitate Ecclesiae dummodo habent fidem rectam ut zizania cum tritico Mat. 13. sed non sunt in unitate corporis Ecclesiae sunt ergo de Ecclesia sed non de corpore Ecclesiae nam ut in corpore humano est unio membrorum duplex sc materialis per nervos formalis per vitam sic in corpore Ecclesiae est duplex unio membrorum una quasi materialis quae est per fidem alia formalis quae est per charitatem Alâ—n. par 3. qu. 12. m. 2. ar 3. Wicked men are in the Unity of the Church as long as they profess the true faith as the tares are with the wheat Mat. 13. But they are not in the unity of the body of the Church therefore they are of the Church but not of the body of the Church For as in the body of a man there is a twofold Union of the members to wit a material union by nerves ligaments and a formal union by spirit and life so in the body of the Church there is a twofold union of the members the one as it were a material union in the outward profession of the same Christian Faith the other a formal union in the inward affection and love of that Faith which they profess And hence is that distinction of Aquinas for Stapleton and the later writers have it from him Quidam sunt de Ecclesiae numero tantum quidam merito numero Some men are members of the Christian Church only in their number or in their persons some also in their merit or in their Dispositions some men partake of the Word and Sacraments only with their ears and with their mouths but others partake of them also with their hearts as it is said of the blessed Virgin-mother She kept all these sayings in her heart Luke 2. 51. the one we may say are Christs external the other his internal communicants And the Apostle in the same place useth three other