104.23 When the Sunne riseth man goeth forth to his worke Gen. 1.5 He called the light day by a Trope putting it for the time wherein it is the cause of the day Q. What is night A. If we giue way to evident reason and experience we must needs acknowledge the night to be nothing else but the shadow of the earth that is the privation of light made by the earths thicke body intercepting and cutting off the Sunnes beames They that are of the foresaid opinion define night to be the time wherein the light returneth vpward ascending backe againe to the place where God first created it which is as a paradoxe so an vndefensible Tenent both for the reasons abouesaid as also for that in this description there is no efficient or materiall cause implyed which should make the light returne vpward ascend backe againe Lastly there is no respectiue difference made of the diverse parts of the Globe of the earth Whereupon it may be supposed that he that made this definition did not consider the earth heauens to be sphericall and so to make vicissitude of day and night in the moiety of the earth How called God the Night A. He called it Lailah which signifieth resting because he made the night for man to rest in Q. How did God order these things A. He appointed them to keepe their course making a separation betweene them setting them as it were their limites which they might not passe Gen. 1.4 Q. What is this separation A. The separation betweene the day and the night is the euening betweene the night and the day the morning Gen. 1.5 Euening separates by darkenesse morning by light So that the one dis-ioynes the day from the night and the other the night from the day Onely the first euening separated not because the light was then vncreated yet was it of God appointed even then as apt to stand betwixt light and darkenesse And thus from the euening and the morning was the first day finished consisting of 24. houres In the first evening were heaven and earth created and in the first morning the light or element of fire The observation of time will keepe vs from that foule confusion about heaven and earth which are so frequently expounded of the workes that followed vpon other dayes Q. What is the Creation of the ayre A. Whereby God made it in the next part of the first matter most moyst and of a diffusiue or diffluent nature spreading abroad both for impletion and separation Psal 104.2 He spreadeth the heavens like a curtaine that is the ayre for he had spoken of the light before which is further called a superior chamber very spatious and containes as it were a beame for the hanging of the clouds For water is naturally cold and therefore gathereth it selfe together in the middle region and by helpe of the ayre is held vp which maketh a partition betwixt those waters that are congeled aboue and that are fluide and floating below Gen. 1.7 for the cloudes hang by vertue of cold both in the place and of that which is in vapours being watery and ascending by the violence of the Sunne beames redoubled which when they returne single leaue their vapours behind them which are held by the place till the fire light returning dissolue the bands and send them downe againe in raine or some such like moyst Meteor Iob 38.31 Canst thou bind the sweete influences of Pleiades or loose the bands of Orion This is nothing but the neat and cold that rules in the ayre and earth when these brumall or aestivall starres are most to be seene in our haemisphere Orion is seene all night in the moneth of December and so on till the Spring lesse or more The Pleiades begin with the Spring and last till Autumne when Acturus takes place Iob. 9.9 So then as cold bindes vp all in Winter because of the Sunnes absence so heat looseth againe when the Sunne returneth in the Spring And as below so aboue cold knits the clouds and heat breakes their knots Q. How called he it being made A. By the name in Hebrew Shamaijm which signifies there be waters sealing thereby the office in deviding betwixt the two waters Gen. 1.7.8 Hence it comes to passe that raine water is farre more fruitful to the earth then any other because it is not dissolved by the light but it brings downe with it much ayery moysture which is fatter then leane water and we see by experience that one shower is better then much watering Q. When was it made A. In the second 24. houres God taking as it were a whole day for that which was equally capable of light and darkenesse Gen. 1.8 So the euening and the morning were the second day by an equall succession of light and darkenesse 2. Cor. 4.6 God in the first day made light to shine out of darkenesse when there was no capable subiect for the receiuing of it now he stayes a whole day of 24. houres for light and darkenesse to come and goe in a proper subiect Oh then how should we trust this God to shine in our hearts even when we are most vncapable Q. What is the creation of the colder elements A. Whereby he created them with formes lesse actiue and therefore colder these elements are clogged with more matter then forme and therefore the action of them is much hindred Isa 1.2 Heare O earth the dullest of Gods creatures is brought to convince man of disobedience which should be the most forward Q. What are they A. Water and earth Gen. 1.9 Let the waters be gathered and let the drie appeare Q. What is the Creation of the water A. Whereby it was made in the lower part of the first matter most cold and moist His cold appeares to be greatest by his gathering and his moysture in this that it is fluide and of a spreading nature yet much inferior to the ayre as may appeare by putting our hands into oyle and water as likewise by pictures which hold their colours the longer for that they are laid in oyle Now because water sooner dries vp then oyle it is plaine that ayre which is predominant in oyle is moyster then water Gen. 1.9 Let the waters vnder the heaven be gathered together this is done by the cold of them and therefore no wonder to see the Seas tumble together Q. How is this water devided A. Into the waters aboue and the waters beneath Gen. 1.6 And it is probable that both these waters met together in Noahs flood Gen. 7.20 with 11. Q. What meane you by the waters aboue A. The clouds and whatsoeuer water is aboue in the ayre Gen. 1.6 Psal 104.3 and 148.4 For as cold gathers them below so aboue c. and may very well be called Gods botels as containing all those gatherings Iob 38.37 Q. What meane you by the waters beneath A. The Sea and all the waters here below Psal 33.7 Hee gathereth the waters of the
of time so some others that they might not haue their principles together were to haue something goe before them hence the constancie and inconstancie of Gods creatures The third heauen and the Angels were of necessitie to be created in the first instant that they might haue their perfection of matter and forme together otherwise they should be corruptible for whatsoeuer is of a preexistent matter is resoluble and subiect to corruption But that which is immediately of nothing is perfectly composed hath no other change but by the same hand to returne into nothing againe It was therefore impossible for the world to want a beginning and improbable for the creatures to be all at once and yet some to remaine incorruptible and others corruptible That the worke was of sixe dayes continuance is plaine by Gen. 2.1 Exod 20.11 Q. How is the worke distributed A. Either into the adiuncts of time as a worke of sixe dayes or into the essentiall and integrall parts as into nature constant or inconstant or respecting the agent that gaue all as well matter as forme into Creation immediately perfect or perfect by degrees Gen. 1.1 In the beginning or very first moment of time God created heauen and earth Now by the opposite member in the distribution largely discribed in the whole Chapter we shall be able to vnderstand that which is in silence passed over Earth vpon which wee now tread was made the third day and therefore cannot be this which was made in the very beginning of the first day neither can this heauen be that which was made the second day ver 8. It then remaines by iust consequent to be the highest heauen which at the very first was made most absolute and perfect Secondly the earth that was made at the very same instant as a matter of all that was afterwards to be created being all things in power nothing in act did from his owne center touch the third heauen in euery point and part of his outside that of necessitie least any vacuitie or emptinesse should haue interposed it selfe within the compasse of so great a continent nature abhorring to yeeld nothing a place within the circle of some-thing Therefore were these two as companions and friends immediately made of God in the very beginning of the first day Further it is said of the earth ver 2. that it was without forme and voyd that is as yet it had neither any essentiall or accidentall perfection The Lord afterwards did forme it into the light the expanse improperly called the firmament the water and the earth These foure were mediately created of the earth and yet for their formes immediately from God of nothing Thus was the earth first formed the highest part of it most apt to receiue light the next ayre the third the forme of water and the lowest the forme of earth After the earth had receiued this perfection it was filled in euery part of it with inhabitants as aboue with starres foules below with trees beasts and fishes c. But of these anone I insist here to proue by reason that which is a truth not as yet clearely deliuered and by many contradicted I leaue all to censure according to the evidence I shall giue My meaning is not to binde any man vnto my opinion I onely present things and lay them out as it were vpon a stall neither is it meet I grow into choler with any man that giues me no credit or dis-likes my ware that were to play the Pedant Passion witnesseth that it is not reason so to doe and he that doth any thing out of passion cannot well doe it out of reason Why should any bee angry with mee that I am not altogether of his opinion seeing I am not angry with him because he is not of mine I haue propounded for my example S. Ierome and S. Augustine in their disputations to whom it was no matter who gained the day they would both winne by vnderstanding their errors But why doe I thus draw my selfe from my taske Let truth vphold her selfe by mildnesse and be promoted by patience You haue heard that heaven and earth were made in the very instant and beginning of the first day That they are two opposite members in the worke of God and therefore what is properly giuen to the one must not bee giuen to the other The earth sayth the Text was without forme and voyd Heaven then had at the very first his forme and inhabitant and therefore had the glorious Angels at the same instant created with it other places were in time before their in-dwellers onely the third heaven and the Angels were concreated and the reason is for that their perfections were equally of nothing It could not stand with order after the finishing of the third heauen and entrance made to create of matter afterward to fall off againe and beginne to create substances of no matter I meane integrally for their whole essence otherwise the foure formes of the elements and soule of man were of nothing Q. What is the creation of things immediately made perfect A. Whereby he made them of nothing with their principles together that is their matter and forme were put together of Almightie God not suffering the one to enter the composition before the other Gen. 1.1 In the beginning he made not giuing the one a beginning before the other The same individuall time was the measure of both Our bodies and soules may part asunder because in creation time did separate them c. Q. What followes from hence A. That they are obnoxious and subiect to the motion of their owne nature onely by the power of God No other force is able to worke vpon them or destroy their beings Luk. 12.31 Math. 6.19.20 1. Tim. 6.19 The place and the life therein are both incorruptible subiect to no alteration change or mutation Angels are too quicke and ready in their motion to suffer of any but God he onely is nimble enough to meet them and master them Q. What else A. That they are onely subiect in regard of their essence to creation and annihilation that is by the same hand they may be made nothing as they were of nothing made something Isa 40.15 God can takeaway his creature as easily as the winde doth a little dust Q. What yet further may be obserued A. That they are in themselues no wayes liable to generation or corruption They can neither receiue new formes or loose their old for that matter cannot admit of diverse formes which it selfe was never depriued of his owne So complete is the vnion that the matter hath not so much as the least inclination to any other perfection then it receiues at the first instant by the hand of the Creator and excellencie of his forme Math. 22.30 The idle question of the Sadduces concerning mariage in heauen and procreation of children is fully answered by our Sauiour both in regard of the nature of the place and
preexistent matter or forgoing principles They are not immediately composed but first they haue a matter and then a forme and then their owne being or existing And as time dis-ioynes these things so they are subiect to change with time Gen. 1.2 Out of the voyde and vnformed earth came all inconstant and mutable creatures 2. Pet. 3.5 The earth that now is is sayd to stand out of that Chaos which Gen. 1.2 is called earth water c. This by conversion is as well the ground of confusion as of composition Out of a confusion are they compounded and may by conversion be confounded againe into it Q. What followeth hereupon A. That they are by nature returnable into their former principles and so of a corruptible nature 2 Pet. 3.6 The world that then was perished being over-flowed with the waters that is all that breathed Gen. 7.22 Euery thing vnder the Sunne passeth away Eccl. 1.4 And at the last day the elements with all their inhabitants shall be destroyed 2. Pet. 3.10 As it were a resolution being made into the first Chaos againe as may seeme what a hell were it for a man to be an inhabitant of that first earth The holy Ghost testifieth 2. Pet. 3.7 that the heavens and the earth which are now are kept in store and reserved for fire and perdition of vngodly men at the last day Good reason they should be punished where they sinned and with those creatures they haue abused A fearefull hell to haue all turned into the first Chaos with an addition of the fire of Gods vengeance As if that first matter were then to be formed and filled with nothing but the extremities of Gods curses At the first it was formed and adorned as a Palace and Paradise for man then shall it be left as a dungeon and noysome prison for the torture and torment of all wretched and wicked persons Onely the third heauen with the inhabitants thereof shall then be in blisse and blessed felicitie Q. How manifold is this creation A. It is eyther of the elements or the elementaries Gen. 2.1 Heauen and earth were finished with the host of them All that are placed aboue in the fire and the ayre or below in the waters and the earth are elementaries being composed out of those foure elements and are as the host of this inferiour world Q. What is the creation of the elements A. Whereby he made them of a precedent matter with their formes immediately of nothing That is the matter or earth without forme receiued into euery part and portion of it a simple formation without all mixture yet so that it was formed into foure bodies essentially distinguished which are most simple as hauing nothing in them but one common matter with foure distinct formes immediately created of nothing hence they are in themselues the greatest opposits as fire to water and ayre to earth The maine opposites are fire and water which stickle and striue together and are moderated and compounded by the two other When water would quench the fire earth steps in and helpes to abate his moysture And when fire would dry vp his moysture ayre secondeth the water and prepares a radicall moysture to feed the fire a little longer When the coldnesse of water takes off the edge of heat then ayre with his mild heat helpeth his fellow And when fire over-masters the coldnesse of water then earth checks him and abates his fury whence ariseth all elementaries receiuing the common matter and formes of the elements much abated and moderated after their striuing and strugling together and therefore are not so vehemently opposite and contrary in themselues Gen. 1.3 Let there bee light which was the first simple forme that was put into the common matter ver 6. Let there be an expanse or spreading which was next added to light as his fittest neighbour ver 9. Let there be gatherings or waters which contained the third simple forme came as next fellow to the ayre for so God had appointed that by placing it betweene two great adversaries it might be a friend to both ver 9. Let the dry appeare which comes lowest in ranke and gaue the matter the fourth simple forme Thus heat and cold moysture and drinesse did runne through the first common matter which intertaines them all and giues them leaue to diffuse themselues one into another for further mixture and composition Q. But may these things be handled in Divinitie A. Yes because wee so farre speake of them as they concerne creation which is proper to this Art And our rule is this that where Creation endeth nature beginneth and generation succeeds it as in imitation of Gods first composition God by his omnipotent hand giues to euery thing his being and then sets it a worke by his owne nature and vertue Aristotle knew a first matter but he confesseth he had it from Plato and he from the Aegyptians and they from Moses Yet he erred in many things for want of Divinitie beginning onely with nature where creation had ended his worke First he was ignorant that the first matter was of nothing Secondly that it stood certaine houres without a forme Thirdly that all the formes it receiued were immediately of nothing Fourthly that all this was done in time and that there was nothing in the world eternall but the maker of it Gen. 1.1.2 The earth was a subiect of contrary formes and therefore preexistent Q. What is that first matter of all inconstant things A. It was a thing which God made of nothing in the beginning of the first day without forme and voyd and so by his spirit miraculously sustained it for a certaine space Gen. 1.1.2 Q. What followes from hence A. That of it selfe it is permanent for being immediately of nothing it hath no power to worke vpon it but the same that made it therefore God alone can turne it into nothing from whence he brought it and this is the reason why the first matter and foure first formes are not resolved though all things may be resolved into them For in generation and corruption as they begin here to take new formes so here they leaue them againe And death though a privation of life yet it hath no power to annihilate his contrary and therefore as nature begins where creation ends so creation at the last day will begin againe where nature hath ended I meane in our resurrection euery man receiuing againe those very peeces of the elements whereof he was made Iob. 19.27 2. Cor. 15.35.36.37.38 c. the very seed that is sowne dieth and riseth againe out of those very elements into which nature resolueth it springeth it againe Q. When was it made A. In the first beginning of time or the evening of the first day hence it is co-etaneall and of the same time and age with the third heaven and the Angels Gen. 1.1 And the reason was to hinder a vacuitie in the large space and compasse of that highest heaven
The parts whereof would sooner haue fallen together then haue admitted nothing to stand within their circle For nothing and evill are cousin germans and equally opposed to the being of any thing rather would perfection haue imperfection his next neighbour if so be it haue a being from God then to permit nothing to lodge in his bosome And therefore what a degenerate thing is man to admit evill for his best companion Q. How long was this matter voyd and without forme A. All the time that darknesse was vpon the face of it Now the vicissitude of light and darknesse makes the day and night which as it is most probable were then Equinoctiall of an equall length and size that is twelue houres a peece So then the earth or first matter stood in that imperfection a whole night or twelue houres Gen. 1.1.2.5 involved in nothing but palpable darkenesse Q. How was it preserued all that time A. By the Spirit that moued vpon it and which in stead of a forme did cherish and foster it all that time Gen. 1.2 Q. What kind of creature may we tearme it to be A. Some-thing potentially nothing actually It was all things and nothing A matter for all yet nothing in forme It is called earth and water Gen. 1.1.2 And so it was fire and ayre c. Q. What be the kinds of elements A. The higher and hotter which make one globe or the lower and colder which make another So that all the world is folded vp in three severall globes one comprehending another The divine globe of the third heaven in which God is said to sit Psal 2.4 as a place of blessed rest The second is the etheriall or skie globe containing those glorious lampes and burning torches by whose light and brightnesse all this inferior world is comforted and vpon this heaven the Lord is said to ride Psal 68.4 in regard of his swift motion and expedite manner of working The third and inferior globe which is but as a point to the rest is the earthie and watery sphere and the Lord is said to sit vpon the very circle of it Isa 40.22 And to shake the wicked out of it as it were by a canvase or as a man tumbles a thing out of his lap Iob 38.13 Thus is God in all the globes of the world no where included no where excluded he is in their circles and vpon their circles dis-posing all things as he pleaseth Q. What are the higher and hotter elements A. Whereby they were made with formes more actiue and stirring and therefore hotter and higher then the rest Hence in regard of levitie and gravitie heaven is said to be aboue and earth below Exod. 20.4 Much matter and little forme makes creatures waightie whereupon wee see in our selues that man-hood consists not in the bulke of the bones but in the mettall and spirits So that wee may truely say that the elements aboue are formall and they below materiall Q. What are the kinds of the more formall elements A. The fire and the ayre stiled by the holy Ghost light and expanse or as it is called Firmament Gen. 1.3.6 God naming them by that which is most sensible to vs and in them most proper as light is to fire extension and expansion to the ayre For ayre by reason of his moysture doth more dilate and diffuse it selfe then fire though that be the thinner and more subtile substance Q. What is the Creation of the Fire A. Whereby God made it in the top and highest part of the first matter with the most actiue and working forme so that it is most hot and light therefore in the highest roome and because of his shining is called Photisticos With such violence is the fire deiected that it strikes into the bowels of the earth and bottome of the Sea as may well appeare by the generation of stones and fishes Metalls which are ingendered in the earth shew that fire hath beene there otherwise should we never haue gold so purely purified concocted Hence Phylosophers attribute the engendring of gold to the Sunne of silver to Iupiter lead to the Moon copper to Mars c. Likewise pretious stones could not be so resplendent and glorious if it were not for the worke of the light or fire that penetrates into their severall places and veines Gen. 1.3 Let there be light Gen. 11.31 Abraham is called from Vr of the Chaldees The citie hath fires name because they worshipped it Hence wee read Suidas in Canopo Ruffin hist eccl l. 2. c. 26. that the Chaldaeans challenged all other gods of the god-lesse Heathen to fight with their God an Aegyptian encountered and overcame them thus He caused his Canopus to be made full of holes stopped with waxe and filled with water being hollow in the middle The Chaldaeans put vnder their God Vr or fire and the waxe melting opened a full quiver of watery arrowes that cooled and quenched their devouring God c. 2 Cor. 4.6 God is said to make the light shine out of darkenesse that is after the first night hee made it of that matter which was couered with darkenesse Q. How did the light descend from aboue A. For three dayes by the power of God alone afterwards by the Sunne Moone and Starres which were set of God in the element of fire Gen. 1.4 God divided the light from the darkenesse ver 14. Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to devide the day from the night c. Q. What is the day A. If we speake truely and properly it is the time of the Sunnes remaining aboue the Horizon or visible part of the world Some whom I haue cause much to respect and reuerence haue held opinion that light naturally ascendeth and violently descendeth by a kinde of repercussion made by the Sunnes body and motion then accordingly haue defined the day to be the time wherein the light is turned downeward or reflected vpon the lower parts of the world and so by condensation shineth But others vpon more mature consideration iudge that a new devised way For first Light in its owne nature cannot be said to ascend or descend onely but transfuseth it selfe equally spherically in all dimensions from its owne center Secondly if the shining of the Sunne be nothing else but the beating backward of the ascending beames of the whole skie or element of fire surely the Moone would alwayes seeme full as the Sunne doth being that this ascending light must needs in like maner meere with the thicke body of the Moone and suffer repercussion from it Thirdly though light were made visible in the maner imagined yet the day cannot properly be defined the time wherein the light is reflected by the Sunne vpon the lower parts of the world for this is done perpetually and so wee should haue no night Q. Who gaue the name thereunto A. God himselfe called it Iom which signifieth Stirring because be made the day for man to trauaile in Psal
and wicked men feele not the full extent of Gods wrath God will haue them to exercise the graces and vertues of his servants and so by accident they are preserved and reserved to the generall assize and fire of hell Christ shall come in fire and that fire shall be the melting of the elements which shall be confounded as in one masse The ayre is oyly and the earth is full of combustible matter as coales and brimstone Many pits are full of slime and as the Countrey where Sodome and Gomorrah stood was very bituminous clammie clay and glewish ground with store of slime pits and so very fit for the exhaling of that matter which was afterwards rained downe vpon them so the place that God is now a preparing for the damned may very well be in the confusion of all the elements together where fire shall fearefully seize vpon all things and God even prepare all as matter or fuell for his rage I heare not that the fire shall be quenched againe in which Christ shall come And the fire of hell is vnquenchable and may even in this become vtter darknesse because the Starres shall fall and melt away and the powers of heaven shall be shaken and as it were driuen to the earth and therefore the subiect of light being destroyed vpon the earth and within the earth may be this horrible darknesse and woefull fire Ier. 17.13 Some shall haue their names written in the earth and be as the Parables of the dust as others in heaven opposite shall be the places of the elect and damned and as it were a gulfe betwixt them Luk. 16.26 The reprobate shall then be more narrowly confined and more fearefully tormented To conclude learne further by this punishment of the Devils that their first sinne was in tempting of man for we see that the punishment of them is onely inflicted for this their rebellion and their continuing in it yea marke further how God hath punished the rebells in their enuie they enuied mans estate by creation and scorned to serue him they shall now see him advanced into their roomes and themselues imprisoned vpon that miserable earth which they converted from a Paradise into a prison from a delicate palace into a most damnable dungeon Thus whiles enuie feeds on others evils and hath no disease but his neighbours well fare it hath all those favours fall beside it selfe which it grudged to see in others It is nothing but a pale leane carcase quickned with a Fiend it keepes the worst diet for it consumes it selfe and delights in pining A thorne hedge covered with netles that cannot be dealt withall either tenderly or roughly What peevish interpreters of good things were the Devils that had rather step into hell then stoop a little to their Creator in seruing of an inferior creature which now they see more honoured then ever before Q. What punishment was inflicted on the Instruments and first vpon the Serpent A. A curse aboue all the beasts of the field enmitie betweene him and the woman and a sensible feeling of paine in his going vpon his belly and eating of dust Gen. 3.14.15 All things were for man and his comfort therefore it was an odious thing to be his over-thrower God layes a reasonable punishment on the vnreasonable Instrument These wormes were worthy creatures of God but now most wretched and ashamed to appeare abroad and therefore liue in the earth and are seldome to be seene Their skins paine them if they liue long and alwayes it is painefull vnto them to crawle or creepe because the belly is their softest part and oppressed with the guts and body lying vpon it In winter they stirre not being almost dead with cold Their meat is the earth a grieuous diet and the greatest enemie to life consisting of heat and moysture Wee may see by the wormes that feed on the earth how in dry weather they are withered and pined to nothing and what adoe they haue to thrust out their earthy food in a raynie morning Lastly this beast was cursed in this that now woman should take heed how she came neere him and he likewise stricken with a feare of her c. Q. What was inflicted vpon the woman A. Besides that which she hath common with man her inforred subiection to her husband and her manifold griefe in conception bearing and bringing forth Gen. 3.16 She should not now be so bold with her husband her limites were to be shortned and her yoke made more grievous Shee was an instrument of his hurt and is now to feele it by her liuing with him conceiuing by him bearing and bringing forth of his of spring The blessing of God before was great and should haue taken away all paine which now is iustly inflicted for her dissobedience The paine of the belly is to both instruments a memorandum of medling with forbidden fruit Q. What is inflicted vpon Adam and consequently vpon all his posteritie A. Sinne and death One sinne begets another and the second is an effect of the former both properly and accidentally properly as a branch of so bitter a root accidentally as inflicted by divine Iustice One and the selfe same effect may haue diverse causes as for example Iob 1.21 with 15. vers c. Satan Sabeans Chaldeans c. as well as God afflict Iob. Act 2.23 wicked hands as well as Gods crucified Christ Exod. 7.13.14.22 and 8.15.32 and 9.7.12.14.34.35 and 10.20.27 c. Pharaoh and God both harden the one in punishing the other in sinning God wills to punish one sinne with another the sinne he wills by accident the punishment by counsell It enters not into the minde of God to commit sinne Ier. 32.35 and yet it is his minde to punish the abominâ—â—â— with their owne abominations They that are ambitious of their owne destructions never want the plagues of God to seize vpon them He that setteth and selleth himselfe to sinne shall find God as readie to offend him with lustice as he can be to offend God with iniustic As man sowes so shall he reape and if there be a brewing of death tunn'd vp in vessels of sinue it is good reason that the sinner should drinke it CHAPTER XIX Of originall and actuall Sinne. Question WHat sinnes are inflicted Answere Both originall and actuall Adams transgression turned the Chariot of the soule cleane out of the tract of good so that now it is impossible he should ever get into his way againe Small sinnes are like to slips and slidings whereby men fall and hurt themselues but great sinnes are like downefalls which wound lame dis-ioynt or breake some member c. Mans first sinne was a miserable downe-fall for it did wound and wast the whole man and made him euery way vnable to stirre hand or foot to please God Gal. 6.1 Catartizein is to let a ioynt and man is restored againe when God of his goodnesse doth bring euery facultie of soule and member of
the third day then by his ascending into heauen and sitting at the right hand of God his coming to Judge quicke dead holy Ghost of the Church which is holy Catholicke whose benefits are in this life Communion of Saints foriuenesse of sinnes in the life to come Resurrection of the body Life euerlasting The workes of faith The Law the rule of holinesse which is the worship of God Table 1. who is to be worshipped alone Commandment 1. with his owne worship 2. which must be handled with all reuerence 3. leanred with all diligence 4. Iustice which is our dutie to man Table 2. In speciall our Parents Commandement 5. general when we must preserue life Commandment 6. then his chastitie 7. and goods 8. good name 9. with the whole man 10. and prayer where there is a reuerend place whose parts are eyther petition where we craue graces Spiritiall The Hallowing of his name 1. or the enlargemēt of his kīgdome 2. doing of his will as in heauen so in earth 3. Temporall the giuing of vs our daily bread this day 4. deprecation Forgiuenesse of sinnes as we orgiue others 5. Not to be deliuered into temptation but deliuered from euill 6 thankesgiuving wherein we acknowledge that to God belongeth for ever The gouernment of all things for thine is the kingdome as also power glory the shutting vp thereof Amen Sacraments Baptisme The Lords Supper ⧠The Catechisme defined and distributed CHAPTER I. Of Faith in God Question WHat inducements to Religion are prefixed before your Catechisme Answere Foure first the giuing vp of my name to God in Baptisme and that in the dreadfull name of Father Sonne and holy Ghost Secondly that being not able to giue it vp my selfe it was done by others according to the auncient custome of the Church ever conioyning Baptisme and confession together Math. 3.6 Aug. epist 24. Papists would haue it to contract spirituall kindred but surely it maketh honest loue amongst neighbours Thirdly they that gaue it vp for me did promise in my name that I should liue according to Religion Fourthly I beleeue in conscience that I am bound to performe what they haue promised Thus because I am Gods and bound to him by sureties vowes promises and Conscience it selfe It is my dutie being now come to yeares of discretion to learne to beleeue in him and obey him Q. What then is Religion A. It is the acknowledgement of the truth which is after godlinesse Tit. 1.1 Q. What are the parts A. Faith and workes the summe of the one is contained in the Creed of the other in the ten Commandements Lords Prayer and the Sacraments Tit. 3.8 Q. What is Faith A. A confidence in God grounded vpon knowledge Ioh. 16.30 We know and by this beleeue Q. How is faith grounded vpon knowledge A. In regard of God and his Church the maker of the Covenant and the people with whom it is made Ier. 31.33 Q. How in respect of God A. As we beleeue in one God and three persons for our happinesse Ioh. 14.1 Q. How in one God A. In respect of nature essence and being Deut. 4.35 Q. How in three persons A. Three in regard of divine relation or reall respects in that one most pure essence Math. 28.19 Q. What is the essence A. That whereby God is of himselfe the most absolute and first being Isa 41.4 Q. What is a person A. That one pure God with the relation of a Father Sonne and holy Ghost 1 Ioh. 5.7 Q. Doth the relation adde any thing to the essence A. Nothing but respect or relation as Abraham the Father of the faithful hath the same nature as he is a Father and as he is a man Q. What is the Relation A. It is either to send or be sent and both these are done either by nature or counsell Ioh. 15.26 the spirit proceedeth from the Father and Sonne by nature and is sent to vs by counsell Q. Is there no other Relation A. Yes either to beget or be begotten and the Father begets his onely Sonne by nature and the rest of his children by Counsell Heb. 1.3 Iam. 1.18 A man hauing the relation of a Father is said to beget Children by nature or counsell as adopted children are freely begotten not of the bodie but the will Iam. 1.18 Of his owne will beget he vs not so his onely Sonne who is as naturall to his Father as burning to the fire and as Isaac to Abraham Q. What then is the first person A. God the Father who by nature begets his Sonne and by his counsell creats the world Heb. 1.2.5 Q. What is the propertie of the Father A. To beget and not to be begotten Ioh. 3.16 Q. What is his manner of subsisting A. To be the first person for the begetter is before the begotten and yet being Relatiues they are together in nature for no man is a Father before he haue a sonne though in order the Father be first Q. What is the Fathers worke A. Creation for I beleeue in him as maker of heauen and earth and the reason is because he is the first person to whom the first worke belongs Q. What is Creation A. A worke of the Father who of himselfe by his sonne and spirit makes the world of nothing exceeding Good Gen. 1.31 Heb. 1.3 Q. What is giuen to the Father in respect of Creation A. Almightie power for the Father in himselfe is pure act which act is power as it may be felt of his creatures which are in power to be Q. What is omnipotencie A. It is that whereby the Father is able to doe all that he doth and more then he doth if it contradict not his owne nature or the nature of things Q. How is Creation divided A. Into heauen and earth Gen. 1.1 Q. What meane you by heauen A. The third heauen with the Angels both which were made perfect in the very first beginning of time Gen. 1.1 Q. What meane you by earth A. All that matter which was closed and compassed about with the third heauen and was made at the same instant with it to prohibite keepe out vacuitie or emptinesse and fill vp the whole compasse of it otherwise the parts of themselues would haue fallen together to haue kept out that enemy of nature Gen. 1.1 Q. Are we to vnderstand no more by earth then that first matter A. Yes wee are to vnderstand the forming of it into the foure elements fire ayre water and earth as likewise the filling of it and them with inhabitants both aboue and below as also the providence of the Father in preseruing and governing of them all to their ends and vses for the Father carries the worke according to his proper manner of working vntill we come to Redemption and there the Sonne takes it vpon him in a peculiar manner Q. What is the second person A. The Sonne who is begotten of the Father by nature and by counsell redeemes mankind Q. What is the Relatiue
to the fruits qualitie to the seeds temper to the seasons God therefore that can doe all is the best husbandman Man therefore that hath expired his first life must haue God to inspire him againe or else hee cannot liue And this will appeare in the very name wee giue our rule Religion is to tie againe Our loue to God like the new cords of Sampson was quickly snapt asunder God therfore that he might bind vs to himselfe by a stronger cord hath chosen the grace of faith to revnite vs againe to himselfe And so Religion hath his notation from the first part of our rule which is faith in God Or else may it take his denomination from the second part which is obedience towards God The law that was to be read by creation was obliterated and in a manner scraped our by corruption but now againe by religion is written in our hearts Ier. 31.33 and so is to be read againe Life consists in vnion and action now by faith wee haue the one and by the law we performe the other The rule of life is called Diuinitie in regard of God the end of it Theologie in regard of the subiect matter 1. Pet. 4.11 logia Theou words of God but of all names this comes neerest the forme of our Art which signifies either our tying againe to God or reading againe the things of God This bond is the surest Isa 54.10 Ier. 32.40 And this booke is the plainest Deut. 30.14 Rom. 10.8 For as faith binds vs to God so it giues and gaines such power from him as wee may walke acceptably before him Luke 1.74 And here we see how pittifull and plentiful a God we haue in raising of vs from corruption to greater perfection then ever we enioyed by creation This second bond is invincible for so it becomes the Almightie to proceed in his workes He that hath shewed man what he can doe for himselfe shall now see what God can doe for him And God were not faithfull if there were either finall or fatall Apostasie from a iustifying faith It is folly to imagine that God should goe from one imperfection to another Loue was for try-all faith is for trust God hath tried the weaknesse and wickednesse of our loue It is now for vs to trust him vpon the faith of our saluation Water cannot suddenly be cleared but with leisure and by degrees and some time must necessarily be required to beare and beate backe those abuses wherunto we haue a long time beene envred Time and industry will eate euen thorow Marbles Giue God credence and he will in his due time giue thee riddance of all the rubbish of thy sinnes But to this our owne safety our owne sedulitie is required for as it is in vaine Psal 127.1 for men to watch except God keepe the citie so will it be in vaine for God to keepe except wee watch The husbandman must not burne his Plough or the Marchant neglect his Trade because God hath said I will not forsake thee Father keepe them in thy name Ioh. 17.11 doth not intimate that wee should be carelesse to keepe our selues Indeed till the Lord inspire wee but lamely and blindly re-aspire to any good We liue groaping as the Sodomites after lifes doore and hauing wearied our selues goe away wanting the thing we both wished and waited for Take away the Sunne from the world and the soule from the body and earth becomes earth as it was at the first Gen. 1.2 So sever God from the soule and what is man but a dead carrion All the elements and elementaries lighten and darken coole and warme die and reviue as the Sunne presents or absents it selfe from them so wee liue or die feele or faint as the Sunne of righteousnesse parts or revnites himselfe vnto vs. Whereby we are taught that primarily and principally we liue by God as the soule of our soules and secondarily by faith as the Spirits The bond of soule and body here is that heat or heauenly breath that knitts God and man together in an indivisible and insoluble knott If the Lyons Dan. 6.16 ravenous beasts by nature and made keene with hunger adore the flesh of a faithfull man shall any worldly thing change his heart alter his affection or Gods to him Rom. 8. the earth shall sooner shake the pillars of the world tremble the countenance of heauen apale the Sunne loose his light the Moone her beautie the Starres their glory c. then a man knit to God by Religion be once seperated from him againe The fire hath proclaimed it selfe vnable so much as to singe an haire of the head of the godly Dan. 3.27 Thus then you see how Religion may put vs in minde of the wonderfull mercy of God Now heare how it remembers vs of our wofull misery we are found of God as rotten roots without any life or vertue as barren ground bringing forth no fruit but sinne shame and damnation As a dead body or decaying bough cut off from the tree perishing and withering to nothing yea wee are so much more miserable by how much wee were once more excellent and eminent The more vnnaturall any qualitie is the more extreame will it be a cold win de from the South is intollerable and the purest wine becomes the sharpest vineger The few sparkes of good that lie couered vnder heapes of cold ashes are no wayes able t kindle the fire of a godly life no not so much as to giue a glimmering light to lead to heauen The wisest Philosophers never so much as ghessed at this Art the doctrine of it never came within the fadome of their reason If they few any thing it was a farre off even as heauen it selfe vpon which they looked with desire and admiration knowing not the right way thither Natures skill is something in the end nothing in the meanes It hath taught without controlement that there is a blessednesse for man to seeke after but what or where was remoued from their Academie assuring vs that not Athens but Ierusalem must reach vs this lesson The wisest Ethnick doth but as S. Peter speaketh Mnoopazein see glimmeringly and vncertainly in this Theame 2. Pet. 1.9 And like Zebul in holy Story either take men for mountaines or mountaines for men Iudg. 9.36 and for inconstancy like Absolon and the Elders of Israel come off and on in their opinions and alwayes beleeues the worst Sometimes the counsell of Achitophell is approued and then presently the aduice of Hushai the Archite is a great deale better 2. Sam. 17.4.14 The Barbarians almost with one breath curse and blesse the Apostle Act. 28.6 Shall we therefore praise nature or trust it in this No wee prayse it not With what presumption hath it vndertaken to write bookes of the soules tranquilitie but that must needs be performed with much imperfection which is practised without a rule Sundry capricious fancies and fables are handsomly framed glued together by morall Philosophie
yet God our most skilfull Pilote can straight send an Halcyon to let vs on shoare Q. What learne we in the third place A. That his Attributes are not in him by participation imperfectly but at the first hand and by themselues most perfectly God needs to borrow from none that which hee meanes to bestow vpon vs but being rich in grace giues vs of his owne Gen. 17.1 Psal 36.9 Rom. 11.3 Ephes 1.7 As one Diamond fashions another so is this sequele wrought out of the former for hee that is goodnesse it selfe receiues none from others That mans face is hatcht all over with impudence that dare arrogate the least good to himselfe It is vertue that will alwayes cleere her way as shee goes but vice will be ever behind hand with it selfe I know that God requires of our debts a reckoning not payment And I beleeue heauen to be the easiest purchase for wee are the richer for the disbursing Q. What followes in the fourth place A. That all his attributes are in him in the highest degree and can no wayes be intended or remitted though in regard of the obiect about which they are exercised they may lesse or more appeare Psal 125.4.5 Rom. 9.13 For as fire burneth not in dry wood and greene wood alike so Gods grace is not to euery person in the same measure His abundance is infinite and therefore cannot admit decrease Take a drop out of the Sea and the water will be so much the lesse but here the very flouds of Gods bountie running all abroad doe nothing lessen his store If wee receiue sparingly it is not for want either of plentie in him or liberalitie to vs but for very want of capacitie in our selues even as they that come to the riuer to draw water receiue so much as their vessell will hold Psal 81.19 Open thy mouth wide sayth God and I will fill it And here the Rule in nature holds That all causes doe worke according to the disposition of the subiect Saue with this caution that God can dispose of the subiect as he pleaseth for the holding of his mercy Happinesse and misery are Antipodes and God can bring them into another world that walke in the kingdome of darknesse O pitty not inferior to plenty loue towards distressed sinners no lesse then infinite A degree doth either extend the quantitie as great greater the greatest or intend the qualitie as good better the best and God is a degree aboue the Superlatiue as greatnesse or goodnesse it selfe God is Great Psal 77.13 Greater Iob 33.12 Greatest Psal 95.3 Greatnesse it selfe Psal 145.3 Good Psal 106.1 Better Psal 108.9 Best Phil. 1.23 Goodnesse it selfe Math. 19.17 Gen. 15.1 To Abraham God is a reward a great reward yea an exceeding great reward I see it is difficult to avoyd varietie I will not bee curious in traversing opinions I studie for simple truth as one that will not lead you out of the rode way to shew you the turnings Q. May there any thing yet follow in the fift place A. Yes That all the Attributes of God are equall betweene themselues though they appeare not so to euery man Exod. 34.5.6 Psal 103.8 Ezek. 18.25.29 Slow to anger much in mercy Is not my way equall Yours vnequall Mans strength is but the vicissitude of rising and falling His titles of honour are as rattles to still ambition his greatnesse is fames Butt and feares Quiver It is onely God that truely enioyes himselfe and is best to be enioyed of men who shall ever be found most equall and like himselfe If I were dumbe these sweete meditations would make me finde a tongue If it be low water the mill may stand still but such abundance of heartie thoughts will set the wheeles on going I would be ashamed that the earnest Discourses of vnlearned Mariners of their voyages or Huntsmen of their game should exceed our divine Meditations on this Theame Q. Is there yet any thing that may further be learned from the definition of Gods Attributes A. This yet remaineth that all the attributes are in him together though they appeare not together in his creatures Rom. 1.20 Act. 17.17 Luk. 10.21 Some appeare in creation some in corruption some in redemption Iustice and mercy are as absolute in God as wisedome and power though they appeare not to vs before the application of Christ to the Church where predestination may most safely be handled Ier. 31.3 I haue loued thee with an euerlasting loue Therefore with louing kindnesse haue I drawne thee It alwayes appeares not what loue God beares his Saints and Sonnes This life I count as a throng in a narrow passage he that is first out finds ease he in the middle worst hemmed in with troubles the hindmost that driues both out before him though not suffering wrong hath his part in doing it Alas where shall a man mew vp himselfe that he may not be a witnesse of what hee would not What can he heare or see and not be either sad or guilty Oathes striue for number with words scoffes with oaths vaine speeches with both Alas is not God serued with mouthes full of curses and bitternesse with heads full of wine with eyes full of lust hands full of blond backes full of pride panches full of gluttony soules and liues full of horrible sinnes Stewes and Tauernes are better serued with customers then Gods house with beleeuers Well that is in God already that shall one day make these monsters of men smart for it If with much pressure I can get through the strait passage and leaue but my superfluous ragges as torne from mee in the crowd I am happy I beleeue the destiny of all my sorrowes is written in heauen by a wise and eternall decree and that no evils either come by chance or are let loose to light where they list and therefore it shall content mee that the faithfull God that hath ordained moderates them How euer they appeare for the present their beginning and their ending are both together in God I care not what become of this frayle Barke of my flesh so I may saue the Passenger And here Icast Anchor Q. How many kind of attributes be there A. Two Exod. 3.13 which shew either what he is or who he is Moses desires to know what is his name and Pharaoh will know who he is Exod. 5.2 before he will let Israel goe To the first question God gaue a short answere I am To the second he made a large reply till Pharaoh was compelled to answere himselfe the Lord is righteous Exod. 9.22 When we desire to be acquainted with some great Personage wee vsually inquire who or what is such a Person euen thirsting till wee heare his name or titles So Faith cannot be satisfied without some knowledge of the nature or properties of God 2. Tim. 1.12 And must be inquiring whom or what she hath beleeued And here I know
our proceedings hauing learned by experience the wisedome and holinesse of our God It is for them to murmure and mutter that either know not God or know him displeased with them Alas foolish wormes what doe wee turning againe when hee â—eads vpon vs If we be his why pine we at that which is good for vs yea best for that must ever bee best to vs which he seeth best and that he sees best which he sendeth His will is the rule of his actions and his goodnesse of his will It is therefore our dutie to submit vnto him in all things If he strike the rod must be kissed in silence and glory giuen to the hand that rules it It is no small part of his rare vertues to worke our good by affliction and therefore wee may be incouraged to rest vpon him in all estates Q. What followes from hence A. Gods most absolute happinesse both in action and contemplation Whereby he is freed from all evill abounding with all good sufficiently contenting himselfe with himselfe and no wayes standing in need of any other 1. Tim. 1.11 and 6.15.1 Ioh. 1.5 Psal 16.2 vnd 50.7 to 14. Hag. 2.8 Behold now yee ambitious spirits how ye may truely rise to more then ever the sonnes of Zebedee desired to aspire vnto Waiting is the way to raigning serue him which is thus happy though without apparent wages he will pay sure if slow Liue well and thou mayest liue in expectation as those which after some terme of their cottage expired are assured they shall haue a marble palace built for them O let vs thinke that the dayes and moneths passe slowly away till then ever looking vp to him that is the finisher of our faith and remembring that for the new heavens our hearts must be made new before hand Let worldlings like a company of idle boyes scramble for the figges of this life it is for wise men to take them if they fall in their bosomes whose maine care is to be found acceptable in the day of the Lord. Worldly vanities which are alwayes ther owne cut-throats by their owne crossing and contrarietie are to be abandoned of Christians who casting away all weake diffidences know how to trust God with his owne Waite thou on the Lord and keepe his way and he shall exalt thee Psal 37.34 It is he that will fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodnesse and the worke of faith with power 2. Thess 1.11 O that hee would purge out of our minds and memories that ambition and vanitie which so bewitches them with the loue of pompes and glories of this perishing and ending world which in the breathing of a breath wee may loath loose leaue and despise as nothing and would graffe in them a pure and single eye to behold the eternall blisse which seene breedeth loue and loued conducts vs to heaven Here to as high a tide as wee shall rise in our desires of wealth and well-fare to as low an ebbe shall we fall in our hopes thereof Seeing then we looke for better things in the heavens let vs be diligent that we may be found of him in peace without spot and blamelesse 2. Pet. 3.14 Doe wee beleeue that all things shall be made new and our hearts onely remaine olde As if our blessed God intended nothing but our soules to be out of fashion Be assured that as no man puts new wine into olde vessels no more will God put the new wine of his glory into the olde veslels of our corruption Looke wee therefore to him that hath sayd he will giue vs new hearts Ezek. 11.19 And remember that all our glory begins in grace and that God will haue none to dwell with him in happinesse that will not vouchsafe him to dwell with them in holinesse Roote out deare God all gall and acerbitie amongst brethren and bend their hearts to charitie that being re-vnited in the pilgrimage of this life this country of our terrestriall bodies wee may after our service and course therein accomplished ascend vnder the conduct of our Sauiour before ascended to our everlasting rest in the countrey of our celestiall Soules there in societie and vnitie of Saints and Angels to enioy the happy vision of the all-glorious Deitie and to sing his prayse for ever CHAPTER VIII Of the Subsistences or three Persons Question HItherto of the essence what are the Subsistences Answere That one most pure essence with the relatiue properties Relation addes nothing to the divine essence but respect or mutuall affection God with the relation of begetting is the Father of begotten the Sonne of proceeding the Spirit One and the same essence hath all these respects but peradventure wee haue mis-taken our Cue for there is not so much in the divine essence as any inherent qualitie I answere I marvaile so learned a disputer should moote no better Qualitie and relation are distinct predicaments Wisedome and father-hood in the same man are not two qualities for the one because a qualitie is some thing in it selfe but the other because a relatiue is nothing without another A father is nothing without a sonne neither is the sonne in being without a father They are mutuall beings And yet one being may be mutually many of them as one and the selfe same man may be a father a master and a subiect so one pure God may be a father sonne and holy Ghost 1. Ioh. 5.7 Wee call them Subsistences because by their singular individuall and personall properties they subsist in one and the same essence Could we now but through a crevis or lettice see those things which the eye of faith seeth here with open face how would wee loath all Epicurisme and Atheisme in comparison of our Baptisme in the name of these three worthies Had we but tasted with the tip of our tongues these dainties we would pray with Dauid even against the worlds delicates Psal 141.4 Here shall wee not haue our liues composed of ieiune and emptie contemplations but so full of contentment that wee shall need to wish no other measure of pleasure then to be wholly taken vp with this divine taske Here is the exaltation of Isaacs delight in walking forth into the pleasant fields of sacred meditations on the blessed Trinitie O let our Soules haue two or three walkes a day vpon this mount Taber and with holy Moses conuerse with one God in three persons on the Horeb of both Testaments till wee haue found out vnto our selues the pure law of life As these three exhibite it vnto vs. And if the one brest let not downe this nourishing liquor so freely so easily as our strength will beare it then may we refresh our selues with the other and by such a small varietie wee shall finde them yeelde milke equally wholesome equally pleasant to vs weake Infants and nurselings If mount Sinai covered with darkenesse tremble the father being offended the Gospell calmes and lightens it presently the sonne hauing satisfied Ioh. 17.3
Life consisting in the moysture of ayre is to be nourished not in the spirit of fire Animall spirits if they were not generated of the vitall and daily restored by them they might liue by their fiery nature as well as starres Let this then be granted that all elementarie soules are either the formall spirits of the ayre or fire and then starres hauing the one and not the other may liue without nourishment The influences of the Starres are as vitall as the animall spirits in man and both comfort and beget life c. Againe their motion shewes they liue for nothing is moued from place to place without it If God and Moses may be heard Phylosophers shall easily haue their mouthes stopped Scripture euery where testifieth of the motion of the Starres Which must either be by counsell or nature or violence or fortune Not by counsell for their motion is regular and alwayes the same and this were sufficient to proue the cause next vnder God to be naturall But the opinion is they are moued by the externall force of Angels as a wheele by a dog or a Crane by walking men I reade indeed that the Angels are ministring spirits for the good of the elect but no where in Gods booke that they turne the wheeles of heaven And againe the light being common to good and bad the good Angels should minister daily as well for reprobates as Gods elect But to still all cackling in this cause let the Text cleare it selfe Gen. 1.14.15.16.17.18 That which God saw to be good answers Gods intention in his motion to his end Therefore the Starres had so much by their creation that they were able to devide giue light rule dayes and nights the which they were vnable to doe without motion God therefore gaue them a power to moue that they might obtaine these ends which if they should assume from any other then God would argue the imperfection of his owne worke It may well be thought they receiue this life in their centers as other things doe in the circumference For being round heat and spirit will most vnite themselues within as in a silver spoone turne the hollow side to the fire and it will be very hot But in plaine bodies heat is receiued in a cleane contrary fashion as in Andyrons where they be round are very cold but where they be plaine they be very hot and will burne soone Starres therefore are round like globes that heat may the better center in them and make them the more actiue and liuely in their motion Why they should neither ascend nor descend is their equall temper with the place where they stay Why they moue round is the actiue spirit and soule that will not suffer them to rest It is said of the Sunne Psal 19.4.5.6 that God hath set him a tabernacle or proper place out of which he cannot goe and yet he comes out of the chambers thereof and in the strength of his motiue spirit reioyceth to runne his race not tumble it as some dreame for running a brest in the fire hee pusheth and shoueth it from him that nothing can be hid from his heat light His circuit is from one end of heaven to another and by his quicke dispatch euery day either drawes a little nearer or goes a little farther off not that at any time he comes nearer the earth but by fleeting a little his chambers he comes sometime in the yeere to dwell more directly over our heads then other He devids night and day euery 24. houres with vs and by running from one point to another the whole yeere And it is as naturall to the Sunne to runne a circuit euery day as another in a whole yeere not that he is pulled contrary wayes by two diverse orbes but that which he doth euery day in part that hee doth wholly and completely in a yeare Now the part and the whole may agree in the same motion and euery dayes race is but a part of the whole yeeres course which the Sunne may as truely keepe in the whole as in the parts and that without all contrary motions But seeing euery man will fancie his owne fiction I leaue this without all further prosecution Q. How many sort of Starres haue we A. Two The greater and the lesser not for quantitie of bodie but qualitie of light for the originall word Meoroth is Makers of light Luminaries shiners And so the Sunne and Moone are greatest as giuing to the earth the greatest quantitie of light How great the Starres are is a coniecture and guesse at the iust proportion of any one yet they are very bigge and it is evident that the Sunne is bigger then the earth by the Eclipses and because it enlightneth more then halfe the earth at once Gen. 1.16 Q. What are the greater A. The Sunne and the Moone These two cast downe the greatest light vpon the face of the earth Genesis 1.16 Psal 104.19 Q. What is the Creation of the Sunne A. Whereby he made it to rule the day c. And it is called the greater light because it darkens all Starres by his shining yea and casts light in the face of them all hence the Moone which hath such a changeable light receiues her splendor from the Sunne according to that face which is opposite to the body of the Sunne for the one halfe of it is ever illuminated and illustrated by the same and in receiuing and casting downe that light seemes to haue spots in her face Gen. 1.16 Psal 19.5.6 Q What is the creation of the Moone A. Whereby it was made to rule the night Gen. 1.16 Yet shee hath the assistence of the Starres for her selfe is often absent in the night Q. What are the lesser lights A. The Starres Gen. 1.16 These carry downe a lesser quantitie of light yet if it were not for them our nights would be palpable darkenesse which is the greatest enemy to the eye for it is a comfortable thing to see the light Eccl. 11.7 Q. When were all these made A. In the fourth day euening and morning succeeding as before in the compasse of 24. houres Gen. 1.19 Q. What is the creation of things with a compound life A. Whereby they were made not onely with a growing and mouing life but also with sense externall and internall the one serving as glasse windowes for the other The first sense which is most necessary is our feeling and is dispersed through the whole body excepting the bones and sinewes Bones are the sustentacles of our bodies and therefore would be painfull to vs if they were tender of feeling The sinewes they are the organs and instruments and carry in them the sensitiue spirits and man is most ticklish where his skin is thinnest With the tips of the fingers Physitians feele their patients as being most sensible of the pulses motion The tangible obiects are heat cold drought and moysture principally secondarily the qualities that hence arise Tast is next