admiration of it But we thinke and contend that it is ynough to acknowledge Christ our redeemer and to beleeue in him whom the father hath sent we are much deceiued to call that ynough which is in due respect nothing For the diuell acknowledged Christ to be the sonne of God which the Papists are alwaies ready to obiect when we argue iustification by faith but the text saith that he confessed him with trembling So then before we can acknowledge him our redeemer we must of necessity learne how we became bound and before we can rightly beleeue in him whom the father hath sent we must needs vnderstand some warning of his message which most often and breefly is repeated throughout the body of the old Testament Then must we try whether he came according to the fulnes of time wherin the father promised to send him and afterward when he is come whether his message be of God or not he himselfe exhorteth vs to make trial These seem good ground-works to build our faith vpon for as it is required in vs to beleeue so is it most expedient for vs to know him in whom we do beleeue bicause it separateth vs from death to life as before I alleaged For example Christ saith to the theef Luk. 23. 43. This day shalt thou be with me in paradise and againe of himselfe Father into thine hands I commend my spirit But concerning his body it died in the flesh for it was wrapped in linnen and laid in a tombe by Ioseph a iust man of Arimathaea and Nicodemus according to the manner of the Iewes Luk. 23. 52. and buried and to manifest that his body was dead after the maner of men the women prepared sweet odours and ointments and rested the Saboth day Nicodemus might heer see a cleerer sight of the second birth than he had before neither was his buriall an illusion to deceiue mens sight for the Iewes would not be mocked but commanded a watch and sure fastening to the doore least his disciples should steal him away keeping in mind the words that he spake vpon the earth Math. 27 64. Within three daies I will rise Thus haue I concluded his passion the manner of his passion and also his buriall which was according to the law HE DESCENDED INTO HELL Heer commeth the article that drew me to this whole discourse for that I saw the learned somthing at ods about it yet so as all both the one and the other did firmly hold it necessarily inserted in our Christian faith Neither wil I take vpon me heer so much to reconcile the learned which diuersly allow of it as to debell the vnlearned opinions which admits it not at all holding it a superfluous and needlesse article to be taught among Christian families It is somthing strange when clownes exceed in sophistry This kind of men had rather be followed as Christs of a new church than follow Christ as disciples of the true Church It behooueth them therfore in whom remedy consisteth speedily to redresse such erronious errors least some other soone after should deny that hee ascended into heauen Acts. 23. wherby a sect of Saduces might arise amongst vs Math. 27. denying any resurrection at all and so the latter error become greater than the former Now therfore concerning the misconstruing of these words then touching the abiection of them and lastly how to vnderstand them both in their vtmost force and also how they were first ment in the primitiue Church as appeereth by the indifferency of the penners of them But as concerning his descending or going downe no man I know will deny this word that hath any feeling of the ascension and going vp which is most manifest by Saint Pauls Epistle to the Ephesians which reciteth the prophet Dauids words mentioned in the Psalmes Ephes. 4. 8. Thou art gon vp on high Psal. 68. and hast led captiuity captiue thou hast receiued gifts for men yea euen the rebellious hast thou led that the Lord God may dwell there praised be the Lord which ladeth vs daily Selah But Saint Paules allusion is this that he ascended and captiued captiuity and gaue dwelling places to men Now insomuch that he ascended saith he what is it but that he descended first into the lower parts of the earth and he that went downe is he that went vp aboue al heauens to fulfill all thingâ— If therefore he had been to go downe to the place of the damned as some will he must had descended into the lowest part of the earth as he went vp to the highest heauen for his depth ought to had been answerable to his height nay 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vnder all the earth as he ascended 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 aboue all heauens Reason will that as the Lords glory wherwith he glorified his sonne is aboue all heauens for they were made by him and they are the work of his owne hands and waxe old as doth a garment and shall passe and melt away like wax euen so the damned are to haue their portion below all the earth by opposition Seeing as happines and vnhappines are extremities so are their habitations most extreme and remote one from the other which cannot be in places to be discerned by flesh except we will deuise to make purgatories in the concauities of the earth as Papists haue done or our eies more sharp than Moses eies were For arguments sake then I conclude this that seeing the state of the damned is permanent for euer it is not to be changed by a new creation 2. Pet. 3. 9. For there shall be a new heauen and a new earth so that this heauen which we see is as a vaile before our eies to keep vs from the sight of God whose face would be so glorious that we should not be able to look vp for he appeered in a flame of fire Exod. 3. 6. which God our sauiour maketh himself vsing his fathers owne words shewing Exod. â—2 â—2 that it is he that sitteth on the firy throne this earth but a bar to defend vs from the outrage of the damned spirits which would consume vs with horror and there were no helpe for vs. But for the places of Gods existence and of the euerlasting prison the diuine scripture in no language hath affoorded names except circumstantiall or metaphoricall nay God himselfe hath forborne to name the place of the happy or vnhappy and much lesse was man able to perform it for he neuer went and came againe Neither in our sight can any proper resemblance be made of it Therfore let vs thinke of Christs descension that he went first into the lower parts of the earth which Saint Paul alluding Ezechiels words Ezec. 32. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 writeth in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is all one as to say What is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth Heer he said
greater subiection can there be than for euer yea for euer and euer to abide a slauish vassall in all seruitude horror trembling Therfore suppose not that the Holy one saw other corruption than in flesh for he droue the prince of darknes into a corner where the sink of all corruption is Now what perfection he could draw out of this sink that he himself had cursed let the consciences of all men try and iudge and be warned with Peter that they defile not the things that the Lord hath purified and that they cleaue not so fast to corruption as to peruert the Lords waies and besot their own vnderstanding Concerning the word Apoc. 6. 8. Hell it is written Behold a pale horse and his name that sate on him was Death and Hell followed after him and power was giuen to them ouer the fourth part of the earth to kill with sword and with hunger with death and with the beasts of the earth Heer we see that our expositors plainly take Hel for the graue that is alwaies woont to follow after death Pet. 2. 13. So when the day of the Lord shall come by which the heauens being on fire shall be dissolued and the elements shall melt away with heat and a new heauen and a new earth established wherin dwelleth righteousnes Apoc. 21. 1. and the first heauen and the first earth passed away and when the Lord shall creat new heauens and a new earth and the former not remembred For Isai. 65. 19. saith the Lord as the new heauens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before me Isai. 66. 22. so shall your seed and your name continue and from moneth to moneth and from sabaoth to sabaoth shall all flesh come to worship before me saith the Lord and they shall go forth and looke vpon the carkases of men that haue transgressed for their worm shall not dy neither shall their fire be quenched and they shall be an abhorring vnto all flesh This is the miserable condition of the wicked ones the second death the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone Apoc. 2. 8. at the opening of the books the resurrection of all flesh which is to say when the sea death and Hell shall giue vp their dead Apoc. 20. 1. which are in them and they shall bee iudged according to their works then both death and Hell which haue all this while had power ouer flesh to cut it off from inheritance of this life through the curse shall at the last resurrection be vanquished to all flesh and cast into the burning lake by our Lord sauiour Iesus Christ our forerunner In this world shall the cursed endure his damnation and the happy shall feel his blessednes He that liueth in this world an hundred yeeres shall dy a yoong man neither shall any be called a child of yeers but he that buildeth in this world shall inhabit and they that plant vineyards shall eat of the fruit neither shall they plant and another eat but they shal inioy the works of their own hands and shall not be made to labour in vaine and bring foorth in fear for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord and their buds with them Yet concerning his descension remaineth this one thing he made his graue with the wicked with the â—ich in his death though he had done no wickednes neither was any deceit in his mouth Now in that it is said he made him a graue he chose him a place in the earth whereinto he vouchsafed to descend and be buried for our saluation though many wicked and rich men lay as glorious as he whom the cell of the earth was far vnworthy to conteine Dan. 12. 2. Where the many that sleep shall awake to euerlasting life and some to shame and perpetuall contempt Againe that he was buried and descended also into hell read the ancient Christian meaning of the word Hell in the example of the rich man written by Luke the Euangelist translated into Saxonish many yeeres ago which saith thus ha peand re peleza dead and paer on Hell bebynzed which is now as much as to say And the rich man died and was buried in hel I should think it very absurd therfore farther to vrge any comment or exposition for the word Hell seeing no doubt these expositors of the Gospels sufficiently vnderstood what they said in their owne language Nay whosoeuer will not yeeld vnto so plain a testimony of truth the mark of controuersie he may be thought little zealous yea obstinate in his own profession Now of such as would haue Hell to be in the earth and to meane the place of the damned and would prooue it by the word Luk. 16. 26. Gulf that was betweene Abraham and the rich man the worde in the Greek originall is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 HIATVS FISSVRA a gap or cliffe as Virgil citeth the word properly foorth of Homer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 TELLVS IMA DEHISCAT Let the earth cleaue But we vnderstand the word Gulf a concaue and a deuouring place which is hardly argued by the circumstance following seeing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signify neither vp nor downe but passing ouer as it were from shore to shore as TRANSCENDERE and TRANSRIMARE agreeing with the prophets words before recited they shall go foorth and look vpon the carcases of men c. And beside Saint Iohn proueth a further punishment to insue after death and hell which is to say the burning lake Let vs absteine therfore farther to inquire of the places which the Lord hath shut vp from vs and our vnderstanding For saith the Lord Gen 3. 22. Behold the man is becom as one of vs to know good and euill And now least he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and liue for euer therfore the Lord God sent him foorth from the garden of Eden to till the earth whence he was taken And the Lord hath set Cherubims and the blade of a sword shaking to keep the way of the tree of life Heer we see that the iealous God excluded Adam out of the garden least he should attain to see the state of the eternall Wherfore the plaine and open things are for vs and our children to obserue and do but the secret and hidden things pertaine vnto God only The prophet Ionah was a most excellent figure of our sauiour if a man do diligently mark his prophesie 2. King 14. 25. First his name signifieth a doue in the Hebrue voice in the likenes wherof Iesus receiued the spirit of his father from heauen wher he himself confesseth Math. 3. 16. that he saw the heauens open and the spirit of God descending like a doue Psal. 74. 16. and lighting vpon him the true turtle doue whose soule the beast had neuer power of Ionah his message was to
Iailor saying Do thy selfe no harmme we are all heer and lastly by the admonition of Paul and Silas to saluation wishing him to beleeue in the Lord Iesus Christ and both he and his house should be saued wherupon both he and his house were baptized out of hand and were saued For our owne sakes I thought it not amisse to lay downe the strong faith of this so soon-conuerted Iailor before as it were a meer stranger to christianity to incite vs to a more stedy conuersation in our owne profession likewise the faith of the Centurion is to be noted Math. 8. by our sauiours approbation saying Not in Israel haue I found the like faith So the faith of the two blind men that cried incessantly Math. 9. Sonne of Dauid haue mercy vpon vs who euen as Christ bad them beleeued his power and receiued their sight With many other like places in scripture to fortify our weak faith to extinguish infidelity and root out Atheisme throughout the whole body of all Christian churches Wherfore let vs say It is Iesus that we follow he is our master we fear not and not mistrust at euery little tempest of this world when the wicked rise vp against vs Psal. 2. 1. imagining vaine things Peter failed of faith at the beginning of the wind wherby he began to sink but then that the Lords saluation might seem more manifest he cried Lord saue me and he passed safely Heer the Lord made the very floods a sufficient rock to build his church vpon for through his faith he passed them as on the firm ground Now that Iesus was called Christ the true Messiah or annointed whom the Lord annointed with the oile of gladnes aboue his fellowes Heb. 1. 9. foreshewed in all ages from the beginning of the world vntill he came to be annointed the most holy Dan. 9. 24. Neither among men is there any other name giuen vnder the cope of heauen by which we can be saued he being the end of Iubiles or ioyfull yeeres the sealing vp of all prophesies visions miracles and of all ceremonies whom the Lord annointed with glory and honor Heb. 2. 7. and set him ouer the work of his own hands The Paschall lambe being now offered vp once for all Ioh. 1. 29. He was called the annointed Ioh. 3. 6. bicause it was the manner of the Iewes coronation and election both of kings and priests it pertained vnto him for he was their lawfull king apparent whom the wise men from the East visited to worship at Ierusalem Math. 2. 1. saying Where is he that is borne king of the Iewes Mich. 5. 2. Thou Bethleem art little to be among the thousands of Iuda yet out of thee shall com the ruler in Israel whose goings foorth were from the beginning euerlasting that is to say out of the house of bread shall proceed the bread of life food for our soules vnto euerlasting life Our fathers did eat Manna and died but whoso eateth of this Manna shall liue for euer Psal. 110. 4. As he was also high sacrificer after the order of Melchizedek it pertained vnto him but the Iewes receiued him not as king bicause he was Iosephs sonne and a Carpenter and came not like a king in white raiment neither as a sacrificer bicause he was to imitate Melchizedek in his priesthood and not Aaron Neither did their blinde harts conceiue that the law should be changed and dreamed of none other priesthood but Aarons when as in deed Melchizedek was a figure of the true Messiah as in a large prophecy is expounded Isai. 9. 6. by the prince of peace for Melchizedek was king of Salem Gen. 14. 18. Sem and Melchizedek are both one who for his vprightnes might be called the king of righteousnes Malchi-zedek Hebr. 7. 1. and for his antiquity without father and without mother without beginning or end of daies His birth was vnserchable bicause he was born before the flood and his end of daies not seen bicause he out-liued all his owne posterity of the next age Therefore saith Noah Blessed be the God of Sem Gen. 9. 26. and God will perswade Iapheth to dwell in the house of Sem. So the priesthood of Melchizedek remained in Sem that had this blessing of God Gen. 14. 19. and he blessed Abraham Gen. 14. 20. who paid him tithe of all Thus much of Iesus which was called Christ in whom we also beleeue of whom his disciples first receiued the cognizance of Christianitie in Antiochia where they were presently persecuted by Herod Such Herods haue been euer vntill this day but they are such whose darknes vanquisheth their light Let vs therfore be euer glad to say We haue found the Messiah Ioh. 1. 41. which is the Christ. To this end therfore God sent his onely begotten sonne that whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue euerlasting life He it is that declareth God Ioh. 1. 18. for he is in the bosom of his father for this Christ is sent a sauiour to the beleeuers of saluation but to the vnbeleeuers a speedy iudge of condemnation which shall be thus they saw the light and being ashamed of their ill works Gen. 3. 8. hid themselues in darknes the mother of all errors and vntruthes for truth loueth the light and the light doth glorify it HIS ONLY SONNE Math. 3. 17. This is my welbeloued sonne in whom I am well pleased Psal. 118. 22. this is the head corner stone that ioineth togither the building of Iapheth and Sem. Iohn 3. 35. The father loueth the sonne and hath giuen all things into his hands He that beleeueth in the sonne hath euerlasting life Iohn 7. 38. and out of his belly shall gush floods of liuing waters Deut. 18. 15. but he that obeieth not the sonne shall not see life and the wrath of God abideth in him Iohn 4. 14. this is the well of waters springing vp vnto eternall life that whosoeuer drinketh therof should not thirst againe Now to wit what the thing is that we worship and beleeue in It is the only sonne of God begotten of his father before all worlds spiritually for God is spirit and to be worshipped in spirit and truth And as the Iewes beleeued that this Messiah the son of God should com so we must know and beleeue that he is com they refused him in the flesh and we may not plead IGNORAMVS in spirit let our spirits then be guided with knowledge otherwise our beleef is no beleef for no credit can be giuen to an vncertain hope Wherfore Iohn 5. 39. let vs search the scriptures for in them we thinke to haue eternall life and it is they that testifie of him otherwise but a few by ignorance can be excused Rom. 15. 4. bicause these things are written for our learning and aedification As the father raiseth vp from death and quickeneth