Church is one though every way inferiour to the former The first Temple of God is his glorious Majesty altogether infinite and incomprehensihle who as he is void of all bounds and limits in his nature so he is not included within any lists and terms of place His glorious Majesty Thus God dwelt in himself from all eternity In se apud se habitabat It was the answer of an Antient to those smattering Questionists Et apud se est Dens Pet. Lomb. dist 17. ere August and curious Inquisitors who would needs pry into the place of Gods abode ere this visible world was created The second Temple of God is the humane nature of Christ The humane nature of Christ which being hypostatically united to the Godhead it was the seat of the Deity in a most peculiar manner Being replenished with Divine Grace from his first conception as Solomons Temple was filled with a cloud at the dedication and that far above the capacity of the creature Full of Grace and Truth saith Saint John 1 Joh. 14. Of Truth which is the perfection of the understanding Of Grace which is the excellency and beauty of the Will Nor was he only full of habitual grace but of the Divinity it self For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the God-head bodily Col. 2.9 There is not a word in the Text but is dogmatically full and very significant and emphatical 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The very fulness of the God-head in the utmost latitude dwelt in Christ as in a sacred Temple And that personally and essentially not only in regard of the inward gifts and endowments which are imparted and dealt out unto us in measure and proportion This was not only Templum Domini but Templum Dominus as (l) August in Evang. John Augustine distinguished of old betwixt Panem Domini Panem Dominum Christ was both the Temple of the Lord and the Lord of the Temple The third Temple of God is the Church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a living and a walking Temple The Church and from hence it takes its name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because of Gods habitation for though God be every where per divinitatis praesentiam and the whole world be his great presence chamber yet is the Church his privy chamber his withdrawing room where he most frequently converseth Walking in the midst of the golden candlesticks as Christ describes himself Revelations 2.1 abiding onely in the faithful per inhabitationis gratiam as in the place of his habitation And albeit every good creature be in God as in the conserving cause In whom we live and move and have our being which is nothing else then a (m) Id ipsum quod sumus nihil aliud est quam in uno Deo subsistentia Calvin Iust l. 1. subsistence in God and our preservation is but one continued (n) Quamdiu creatura est tamdiu creatur Durand in Senten Creation yet nevertheless God is not in every creature though every creature be in God as in the proper seat and mansion This Christ appropriates to his Disciples by special promise Iohn 14.16 And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you for ever 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is of singular force and denotes (o) Mirâ—â—r in scriptura singularem babet significationem notat enim constantiam penitissimam adhaesionem ejus rei quae dicitur mancre Camer Myr. Evang. in Joh. 14.16 constancy and continuance In which respect the Jews of old called the spirit of God by the name Shechina that is a Mansion or an habitation This is an inseparable priviledge of the Temple as Saint Paul quotes the Text 2 Cor. 6.11 For ye are the Temple of the living God as God hath said I will dwell among them walk there and if we stick not to credit the testimony of Antiquity God dwels no less virtually in the Church then in the Throne of the highest Heaven a devout soul is another heaven upon earth even that heaven which is mentioned in the Preface of the Lords Prayer Our Father which art in Heaven that is in the Saints And herein consists the difference betwixt Physical places (p) Anima beata est eaelum Bernard Pater Noster qui est in coelis id est in Sanctis August and this which is Metaphorical those contain and preserve the body but here the inhabitant includes and upholds the dwelling And as other Temples prove Sanctuaries to such as repair for refuge so is God an Asylum to his Church and a Sanctuary to his Temple And so have we compleatly dispatched and finished the several branches of the Allegory and the doctrinal part of the Proposition Which being thus premised we may from hence infer a threefold Corollary and Conclusion A threefold Corollary 1. The Dignity Of the Church 2. The Duty Of the Church 3. The Danger Of the Church All arising from the consideration of a Temple First we may take notice of the Churches Dignity and that in a double consideration The Churches Dignity in a double consideration 1. Simply and absolutely in it self as being the Temple the mystical Temple of God 2. Comparatively and relatively in reference to the material First then observe the absolute Excellency of the Church Simply and absolutely in it self as being Gods Temple For if as the Heathen Philosopher Menedemus some time spake Those stones were happier then the rest which served for their Altars Surely these Stones in this goe farre beyond them who are deputed to a higher employment to be the receptacle and habitation of the Spirit The entertainment of some Worthy and Noble Guest doth as it were enhaunce the honour of the dwelling Yea the presence of a dead Corps whose Ashes and Memory are for ever sacred and precious doth after a sort honour the Urne and dignifies the Grave that contains it O te beatum cespitem tanto Hospite Calvini Epitaphium Beza O cui invidere cuncta possint marmora As Beza warbled it most sweetly in a funeral Elegie and Epitaph of renowned Calvin What is it then for a poor Christian to harbour the living God not as a stranger or sojourner but a perpetual Residentiary Not to receive Angels into his house with righteous Lot But the holy spirit into his heart There to enjoy the constant presence in the powerful motions and excitations the soveraign and happy effects 1. As an Instructer This is the way walk ye in it Isa 30.21 2. As a Guide As many as are led by the spirit Rom. 8.14 3. As a Coadjâ—tor and Fellow-helper Likewise the spirit helpeth our infirmities Rom 8.26 4. As a Comforter But the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost he will teach you all things John 14.26 The Comforter by way of Excellency above all other The Comforter by way of Propriety in opposition to all other And to have the
bad They both grow alike 5 The Time and Term of the flourishing estate of the wicked It is but until the Harvest And this until is both a Note of Determination and Termination Till then It doth not end before Till then it doth not continue after 6. The true and proper reason of the being growth and continuance of the Wicked And that is Christ's sufferance and toleration 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Suffer both to grow together until the harvest I shall take them up as they lay in order And first of the first 1. The first Proposition The different nature of good and bad resembled by Wheat and Tares The purblind world judgeth all things amisse and observes no inequality or disparity among the sons of men Homo homini quid praestat stulto intelligens quid interest say they with him in the comedie What difference in point of excellency betwixt one man and another But if we consult with the Oracle of God that resolves us to the contrary The righteous is more Excellent then his neighbour Prov. 12.26 And iâ— there be any creature of greater transcendency then the rest it seems to illustrate their dignity by way of similitude and comparison As being the Lillie among Flower The Dove among Fowls Gold among Meâ—tals And wheat among grain both for the worth and weight of it A fit Emblem of the Faithful who are the chief and choice of men even as Wheat beareth the greatest price and value among grain And the worth of the faithful appears in their weight in in regard of their stedfastness and stability their constancy and continuance which are no way moved much less removed with the gusts and blasts of temptation Even as Wheat which is a ponderous and a heavy substance is not carried away with the force and violence of the wind (d) Cyprian de unit Eccles Sect. 8. Nemo putet bonos de Ecclesia posse discedere Triticum non rap t ventus saith St. Cyprian But as for the ungodly they are as Tares or blasted Ears Tares for their emptiness whose heart is utterly destitute of grace and goodness even as blasted Eares have no inward pith nor substance no food nor foison in them and Tares be for their lightness (e) Avoleâ—t quantum volent Paleae levis fidei quocunque afflatu tentationum eo purior massa frumenti in horrea domini reponetur Tertul. de Praeser adver Haeret. Inanes Paleae Cypr. ibid. Paleae levis fidei as Tertullian stileth them and so subject to fly away being hurried to and fro with every puff of wind The Southern wind of favour and preferment which blowes upon them with a gentle and pleasing blast and though in it self it be but an evil wind yet in their opinion it blows them to good The blustering and boisterous North winds of trial and persecution Each of these winds whether it blows from the North or South doth easily carry away these light and empty Tares out of the Church And those our Saviour he sets forth under the similitude of Tares or blasted Eares in the Parable of the Text. And that in opposition to the Wheat thereby importing their unprofitable and worthless nature Such is the difference betwixt good and bad as betwixt Wheat and Tares 2. The impurity and imperfection of the visible Church The second Proposition consisting of good and bad even as the same field contains both Wheat and Tares The name of the Church is no univocal word wherein there is an agreement both of Name and Nature but an aequivocal voice where things of a most different nature communicate in the same name I speak not this of the Jesuites who in respect of their execrable doctrine of their mental reservations and aequivocations are fitly stiled aequivocal Christians But of the external members of the visible Church the greater part whereof are only commended by the titular profession of Christianity as an empty sign and shadow and yet want the thing signified and are utterly destitute of the substance And as the name of the Church is no univocal but aequivocal voice so the Church it self is no Homogeneal but an Heterogeneal body not like unto the similar parts of men Blood Spirits or the like each portion whereof is suitable and agreeable to the whole But resembling the organical parts as a Leg or Arm which consists of Skin Flesh Bones and Marrow And these far different from each other There are three several places in the world Heaven Hell and Earth In Heaven above there are none but perfectly good the blessed society of Saints and Angels In Hell beneath none but irrecoverably wicked the cursed crue of damned spirits But the visible Church upon Earth is a middle place and state betwixt both a confused mixture and medley both of good and bad like unto Noahs Ark wherein were cooped up both clean and unclean beasts A wide drag-net that closes not only profitable fish but worthless weeds and beggery A common Inne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a receptacle for all commers A great House which affords vessels of gold and silver and some other of wood and earth 2 Tim. 2.20 A Barn or threshing Floor where corn and chaff lie covered in the same heap Mot. 3.12 And here in the Text A vast and open Field that brings forth Wheat and Tares And as it was said of Hantbals Army Colluvies omnium gentium So is the visible Church a promiscuous Company and Congregation a rabble and a rapsody of all sorts corrupt Hereticks who deprave the verity of the faith supercilious and factious Schismaticks that deprive and destrâ—y the unity of the Church disguised and masked Hypocrits meer Scepticks in their opinion Hybrides in their profession Amphibia in their conversation like unto those flying fishes in America that live sometimes in the water and sometimes in the air and are ill accepted in both places the ravenous fishes being ready to devour them below and the Sea fowls continually beating them above And last of all men openly profane and vicious (f) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ignat Epist ad Magnes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ignat ibid. Ignatius reduces the several sorts of men in the visible Church to two Heads and observes the same difference among men that is to be found in coyn 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereof some is true and sound such as can endure the Touch the other is false and counterfeit Holy men are God's coyn that bear his image and superscrip ion But as for proâ—â—ne and wicked men they are adulterate deceitful and corrupt â—oyn that are minted and stamped by the Divel It is St. Chrysoâ—â—omes observation upon the 23. of Saint Matthâ—w that there is somewhat bred and born in every creature that wasts and consumes the substance The soundest Timber engenders worms the finest Garments give life to Moths The most wholesome Herbs bring forth small flies that fret them in pieces Neither fares it otherwise
primitive Church in the New And of all Christian States and Kingdoms Confirmed by the joint attestation of the Heathen and ratified by the cleer evidence of natural reason That a gangrened and incurable member must be cut off and that it 's far () Melius est ut pereat unus quam unitas Bern. Epist â—02 better and safer for one man to perish then unitie it self Yet herein a difference must be observed betwixt those that offend against the first or second Table whether Infidels Hereticks Unbelievers or Misbelievers Infidels and unbelievers such as Turks and Jews deserve rather pity then punishment And though they may be banished out of our Dominions yet are they not to be deprived of their Lives for a negative Infidelity Neither are Heretical misbelievers in Fundamental matters or in accessory Points of Faith to be adjudged and doomed to death meerly for (e) Defendenda est religio non occidendo sed monendo non saevitia sed patientia non scelere sed side illa enim malorum sunt haec bonorum Lact. lib. 5. cap. 20. Errour in Religion And it was a strange mistake of that silly Papist who in reading the Text it may be of set purpose Titus 3.10 made two words of one and turned the verb into a noun Haereticum post unam dut alteram admonitionem devita Supplet Tolle that is their supplement and addition There is no remedy but an Heretick must be put to death And the execrable crueltys of the Church of Rome have served as a Commentary upon the corruption of this Text who as they brand and stigmatize the reformed party with the note of Hereticks so they forthwith add Devita And their language hath been no other against them then the outcries of the Jews against Christ Tolle Away with them Away with them Occide trucida vivat missa vivat missa Kill burn kill burn it matters not so the masse may take place And were we guilty either of blasphemy against God or any treasonable practice against the State there might be some colourable equity in their Sentence and to make it justice and not (f) Longe diversa sunt carnificina pietat nec potest aut veritas cum vi aut justitia cum crudelitate conjungi Lact. lib. 5. cap. 20. cruelty For in this double case only it is lawful to bring Hereticks to the Faggot 1. (f) It is possible to see a Campian at Tyburn or a Garnets head upon a pole Treasonable practises not meer Religion are guilty of those executions But howsoever our Church is thus favourable in the case of those Heresies which are either simple or secondary and consequential yet in the cases of heretical blasphemy her holy zeal hath not feared to shed bloud Witness the flames of Ket and Let at and some other Arrians in our memory Bish Hall Christ Moderation pag. 143.144 Blasphemy 2. Treason When either one or the other is intwined and interweaved with the cause of religion and marked under the disguise of a false belief which is the just Apology of the Church of England against the unjust challenges and criminations of the scarlet whore upbraiding her cruelties and casting in her face the blood of some Popish shamelings Garnet Campian and some few other Tyburn Martyrs Martyrs of treason and not of religion Never was their any haltered or Gybbeted here in England Causa religionis merae sed mixtae That is the profession of our Church being first Fugitives out of the land then sent home as Spies and Emissaries Seducers and Seminaries to sow Tares like unto the Divel in the Text. Assassinates of Kings Incendiaries of States and powder-pioners to undermine and blow up the House of Parliament It were indeed much to be wished that gentleness and clemency might reclaim this stubborn Generation and each Christian Prince should be of the Emperour Severus mind (g) Tertul. Apol. cap. 4. Vtinam errorem non â—â—tain deposuiâ—â—â—t Auguâ—tini votum sib 2. contra Gaudent cap. 12 cui affine iâ—ad Hicron Vâ—â—â—â— siliâ—s 〈◊〉 â—â—m 〈…〉 qui 〈…〉 niss 〈◊〉 spiritualibus Hicron â—â—â—es l 5. c. 14. suffundere maluit Hominis sanguinem quam effundere Rather to keep their blood within their veins then to det or pour it out And to second good Theodosius in his desire Vtina â— mortuos ab inforis possem revocare That they could bring men from the dead But seeing that mildness and moderation doth for the most part eneourage and animate offenders and as it is not more commonly then truly said Too much pity spoils the City and Country both And the Futhers of the Country have just cause to complain with the Father in the Comedy Nimis male docuit te mea facilitas multa (h) Sâ—ut est aliquan so mijericâ—â— dia puntens ita crudelicas parcens August ad Macedonium Epist 5â— They must in this respect unsheath and draw out the sword of justice set an odge upon it to make it sharp and keen and taking up David's Heroical resolution Cut off all the workers of iniquity from the City of the Lord Psal 101.8 I read of the Landgrave of Hesse a sweet and a gracious Prince whose clemency was much abused that being cast by adventure upon a Smiths Forge overheard what the Smith said all the while he was striking his iron Duresce duresoe inquam utinam Langravius durescat I forbear to make any further application of the story then to joyn with the Smith in his utinam would to God that Christian Kings and Magistrates those especially the candor of whose disposition inclines them to a uimium of lenity and compassion would hearten their zeal and harden their courage against the brazen brows and iron sinews and steeled hearts of the sons of Belial That they would pluck up these Tares of wickedness by the roots and since they will not grow better 〈…〉 they may not grow at all Secondly Secondly the Ecclefiastical Judge The Ecclesiastical Judge must imploy and improve his power to weed out Tares by the orderly use of the spiritual keyes the just censures of the Church The power of the keyes is meerly spiritually exercised upon the soul and conscience as the proper object which as it is a more transcendent and soveraign authority than God hath delegated unto Soveraigns upon earth or the glorious Angels themselves So the punishments thereby inflicted are of all other the most dreadful as being a cutting off from the mystical body of Christ a shutting out of the Kingdom of Heaven Et summum extremi judicii praejudicium an anticipation or prevention of the latter judgement And they who are intrusted with the custody of the keys had need be in this respect the most accomplished among men for extraordinary qualifications and endowments perfection of wisdom excess of charity unswayed integrity abundance of caution and circumspection in the use of the keys That they turn them not the wrong
Thus saith the Lord The Heaven is my Throne and the earth is my footstool Isa 65.1 And therefore it was advisedly and religiously answered by a profound Christian to an inquisitive and busy-headed Philosopher who overcuriously demanded touching the place of the Godhead Dic tu prius O Philosophe ubi non sit Tell us first O Philosopher where God is not Such was his resolution This the purblind Heathen discerned by the glimmering and dim light of nature And Heraclitus one of that rank thus invited his friends that came to visit him in his Stove with this assurance perswasion (a) Arist de Histor Arimal 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the Historian reports of the Antient Germans that they consecrated to their false and fained Gods (b) Tacit. Hist Lucos nemora Groves and shady places As supposing they could not be comprehended and included within the precincts and compass of any Habitation And yet God who is all center without circumference and knows no limitation of his nature power or presence makes choice nevertheless by way of appropriation to himself My House of a peculiar place and dwelling God challenges a house 1. Such was the Tabernacle for a time which was ambulatory in the Wildernesse unsetled in the land of Canaan The Tabernacle 2. So was the Temple afterward which was sixed at Hierusalem There kept he his fire and chimney as Ezekiel phraseth it The Temple at Hierusalem And dwelt as a Honsholder in his Mansion or proper Tenement And hereunto was annexed that solemn promise Psal 132.14 This is my rest for ever That is for many successions and generations There being Aeternitas Absoluta and Periodica And Aevum oftimes passes in Scripture language for Eternity which determined and expired with the coming of Christ who laid the foundation of another world by the publishing of the Gospel And thus was the Temple God's rest for ever Here did he dwell for he had a delight therein 3. And God dwels in our Temples and Churches where his name is publickly called upon and Religious Rites and Ceremonies duly celebrated and administred Our Temples and Churches yet with a difference and distinction The Temple at Hierusalem was not Locus ut locus The difference between them A bare and naked place But Locus ut sic A place in such a respect as the Schoolmen speak As being Medium divini cultus Scotus in Senten The place that God had chosen above all other to put his name there particularly allotted and appointed for divine Worship and honoured with many choice priviledges and special promises of audience and benediction whereunto they were to direct and turn their faces though far distant and removed from it in a forrain and strange Country even in their private devotions and supplications This was a lively Type and representation of the Body of Christ as himself is pleased to stile it Destroy this Temple John 2.19 In all which respects the Jewish Temple was God's House 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so called by way of Excellency But as for our Christian Temples and Churches they are consecrated to God's sacred worship and service and so made holy though not with an inherent holiness as Bellarmine presses it too far For how should timber and stones be capable not only of a spiritual quality but of saving grace which like unto the Leprosie must needs cleave unto the Walls yet do they partake of an adherent and relative holiness in regard of their use and end so long as they continue dedicate and must not at any time be perverted to profane and common Offices no not when the Assembly is dissolved which nevertheless can no way match and parallel either in outward glory or inward dignity and preheminence but must of necessity give place to that same special place Locus ut sic The Temple at Hierusalem For whereas the Temple sanctified the Congregation and meeting to the Jews our Temples are sanctified by vertue of the Assembly and Congregation Neither is the promise simply entailed to the place but to the persons and performances The joint participation of the Word and Sacraments the united devotion of the People the force of whose prayers prove like a great thunder-clap as Saint Hierom resembles it Or as the roaring of the enraged Sea so Saint Basil phraseth it To these I say doth the promise appertain Matth. 18.20 Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them Which occasioned that common by word among the Jews (c) Dâ—usius Apotheg p. 20. Vbi duo sunt qui de Lege colloquuntur ibi Divinitas est inter eos as the Learned Drusius relates it So then both the Jewish Temple and the Christian Churches are but material Temples And God dwels not in Temples made with hands Acts 7.48 Both which I must passe over as Samuel did the seven Sons of Ishai These are not they which the Lord hath chosen It is the mystical and living Temple which God prefers as he did sometimes little David and wherein he principally resides The mysticall and living Temple And it is well observed by judicious Cameron that the word (d) Ecclesia hic non locum in quo convenitur sed caetum significat Cam. in 1. ad Carincap 11.18 et 22. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is never taken Topically nor doth the Church signifie throughout the New Testament any certain place but either an Ecclesiastical assembly and meeting or the spiritual society of the faithful The Church of the living God And to them alone St. Paul applies the words in the text For the Temple of God is Holy which ye are And he speaks not to stones but men These These are Gods Temples not only in their spiritual and better part their soul that same Divinae particula aurae 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A sprig and branch of the Divinity it self pluckt of as it were from the tree of Life But even in the outward frame and constitution of their Bodies St. Paul affirms no lesse 1 Cor. 6.19 Know ye not that your Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you Which bodies of ours though far different from the material Temples as being of a more excellent and Divine nature yet do they represent and resemble them by way of Analogy and proportion For as Salomons Temple was severed parted in Atrium populi the tabernacle of the Congregation the Sanctuary and the Sanctum sanctorum the Holy of Holies whereunto the Prophet Jeremiah alludes as some conceive in a threesold rehearsal and repetition The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord Jer. 7.4 In an apish imitation whereof the Heathenish Temples consisted of a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Porch A Body and a Quire Even so the outward parts of the Bodies
of the Saints the hands and arms are the Court and Porch of this Temple The legs are so many Marble Pillars that support and bear it up the eyes in the forehead the supreme and highest place like windows that transmit and convey light And as for the inward cells of the Brain and Heart they are as the Sanctuary and Body of the Temple But the soul with the several powers and faculties the understanding Will Affections this is the Sanctum Sanctorum the most Holy of all other For as there is and ought to be a correspondence betwixt the nature of God and the manner of his service so must there be likewise an agreement betwixt it and the place God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in Truth John 4.24 And as he is worshipped in Spirit for the manner so will he also be worshipped in spirit the for the place in the spirits souls of Believers Though God dwels in the Body yet chiefly in the Soul this is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and by way of excellency Gods Temple And thus are we at last come into Gods Temple by many degrees and steps as they ascended into that of Solomon Or as they climb up some long ladder by several staves which rise each higher then the other and like unto Jacobs ladder the foot whereof stood upon the ground so doth the material Temple but the top thereof which is the mystical reacheth unto Heaven Ingrediturque solo et caput inter nubila condit That is the spirit and soul of man (e) Arist de Anima Lib. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Philosopher teacheth Hierusalem which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 above the mother of us all The Congregation of the first born whose names are written in Heaven And in two respects is the Church assimilated and compared to a Temple The Church a Temple in two respects 1. Ratione structurae et aedificationis 2. Ratione usus et inhabitationis First The Church is Gods Temple in regard of the structure or the building Ratione structurae et aedificationis For every house is built of some man but he that buildeth all things is God Heb. 3.4 God who is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Architect of heaven earth he likewise frames and fashions his Church which is as it were a Heaven here on Earth And as the soul in the Body doth Fabricare sibi domiclium so God who is the soul of the Church prepares and formes his own dwelling Nor shall we need over-curiously to enquire touching the manner of the workmanship Qui vectes quae ferramenta What tools and instruments God had to effect it which were the several Queries of the Epicure in Tully concerning the Creation of the world For as in the Creation Dixit et fact a sunt He spake the word and it was done he commanded and it was created So God doth but speak the word in the mouth of his Ministers there is but a Dixit on Gods part and forthwith there followes a factum est without more adoe There is neither noise of axe nor sound of hammer to be heard in the building of this Temple no more nay far less then in that sumptuous and stately Temple of Hierusalem The foundation of which Temple is not the Church The foundation of this Temple Not the Church that being the Temple it self This were to confound the building with the foundation and how should the Church be accounted the Pillar and ground of faith which relies and rests upon it or if the text seems to favour it and imports as much in express terms 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Tim. 3.15 yet is it onely Columna forensis like unto the Pillars of of the Heathen whereunto their solemn Laws and constitutions were publickly affixed and so made manifest and legible to the people It is not Columna architectonica that supports and bears up the weight of the frame Not St. Peter Nor is St. Peter the Pillar of the Church which he no more sustaines then ever St. Christopher carried Christ whom nevertheless the Romish faction injuriously honour as the great Atlas of the universal Church firmely leaning upon the strength of his shoulders and though St. Peter bestiled a pillar yet is that title given in common to the rest Galations the second Chapter and the nine verse And when Iames Cophas and Iohn who seemed to be pillars And it as worth the observing that St. Paul purposely inverts the order Iames Cophas and Iohn placeing James and not Cophas in the forefront least he should have seemed thereby to have conferred the Primacy upon him and made Peter Metropolitan over his Brethren Nor doth he join the Sons of Zebedee hand in hand who were surnamed Bonaerges and accompanied Christ in his transfiguration but ranks Saint Peter in the midst that he might no way be suspected to ascribe unto them the like authority and jurisdiction Let Peter then continue his name yet is he Petrus non Petra the chief corner Stone and Rock of our Salvation Christ builds not upon Saint Peter but builds Saint Peter upon himself (f) August in Mat. 16.18 Super me aedifieabo te non me super te as Augustine upon the place And let him for ever enjoy his title of Cephas and be deservedly honoured as a choice stone yet is he not the chief coâ—ner stone or the foundation of the building But Christ is the foundation of the Church two ways For other foundations can no man lay then that is laid which is Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 3.11 A Doctrinal Foundation Respectu doctâ—inae reveâ—atae The supernatural and divine Truth of the Scriptures wherewith he inspired the Church in all Ages by the ministry of his messengers and in the fulness of Time instructed it by word of mouth Respectu doctrinae revelatae immediately in his own Person as being the Eternal Wisdom and Essential Word of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Who was sent from the bosom of the Father 1. A personal foundation Respectu gratiae salutiferae which by the satisfaction and merits Respectu gratiae salutiserae whereby he trod the wine-press alone he hath effectually purchased procured And herein it far exceeds and altogether differs from earthy foundations which are in imo laid low and deep within the ground but Christ is Fundamentum in summo the uppermost part of that new Hierusalem which commeth down from Heaven 2. Descend we therefore from the foundation to the walls the society and company of the faithful The people of God are the walls of the Temple all of them disposed and couched together as so many lively stones in a mystical and spiritual Temple This is that elegant strain and metaphos wherewith Saint Peter seems to be much affected and delighted to whom ye come as unto a living stone disallowed of by men but chosen of God
Spirit of God thus present is an Excellency without match or parallel A Praeludium of the joyes of Heaven and a fore-taste of future Happiness Like to that White Stone with a new Name engraven which to man knoweth but he that receiveth it Revel 2.17 And as it is observed of the City of Venice that none can imagine the surpassing beauty of the place but the native Citizens and Inhabitants no more can they conceive the ineffable happiness and comfort of a Christian in this respect who have not sensibly found it by experience nor shall a stranger meddle with it This is one of that (q) 1 Deus Homo 2. Mater Virgo 3. Fides cor Humanum Bernard in Vigil Nativit triple Union and Conjunction all which are singulariter mirabilia mirabiliter singularia Singularly wonderful and wonderfully singular in the judgement of Saint Bernard 1. God become Man 2. A Virgin and yet a Mother 3. Faith and Mans Heart incorporated into each other And it is not the least of the the three that the spirit of man should be as it were espoused and married to the Spirit of God That our blessed Saviour the High Priest of our profession should dwell in the Soul as in his Temple Such honour have all his Saints Secondly We may collect and gather the relative dignity of the Church in reference to the material Temple Relatively in reference to the material For Respublica non est in parietibus As he sometime spake Nor doth the Church consist in the outward frame and walls of the Temple And as great a difference there is betwixt the Church and the Church in point of excellency as betwixt senseless and living stones A Mason and a Minister the Mason builds the one but the Minister of God as a wise master builder is the Architect of the other Let there be granted to the material Temple that it is a consecrate place Holy ground yea the Beauty of holiness as the Psalmist calls it and a Sanctuary yet if that be the sanctuary which was the middle part of the temple the Church the saints are the Sanctum sanctorum the more inward part most holy of all other And if we herewith compare Solomons temple which was the perfection of beauty and the glory of the whole world wherat the Divel pointed as some conjecture in that temptation And he shewed him all the Kingdoms of the world and the glory of them Mat. 4.8 that is the Temple of Jerusalem yet shall we find verified of the place which our Saviour affirms of the person A greater then Solomons Temple is here in my text And in all the royalty it was not cleathed like unto one of these living Temples For as it was not the Gold that sanctified the Temple under the Law but the Temple that sanctified the Gold so we read in the Gospel no more is it the outward pomp and bravery of the place that sanctifies the person but the inward sanctity of the person that sanctifies the comely beauty and decent apparrel of the place And as Cornelia the Mother of the Roman Gracchi spake of her children so may our Mother Church of her natural children in the faith Hi sunt ornamenta mea These are my chiefest ornaments As for their rich attire and costly furniture I mean in the extremity excess they were in a manner peculiar to the infancy of the Jewish Church being trained up under the Paedagogie and beggerly Rudiments of the ceremonial law which nevertheless were then made authentical by Gods ordinance both strict and punctual in their behalf and were typical in part Or else the blind devotion of succeding declining age cast them into the Churches Treasury with a liberal hand in the time of the Gospel and that in the palpable darkness of Popish ignorance and prevailing superstition Which escaped not the prudent observation and grave reproofe of some of their own party Witnesse that speech of (r) Calicibus contenta ligneis sacerdotibus ecclesia fruebatur aureis Walafrid Strab. de reb ecclesiae pag. 2â— Boniface Archbishop of Mentz That in the Golden age of the Church there were Wooden Chalices and Golden Priests but Golden Chalices were afterward transubstantiated into wooden Priests and empty sconces were graced with pretious mytres So that it formerly passed for a proverbial form in Bavaria and other parts of Germany (Å¿) Gum templa obsoura erant lucida corda tum lueida templa obscura corda Aventin dark Temples were enlightned with bright and cleer â—â—uning Hearts and light Temples were obscured with dark hearts I speak not this to derogate in the least measure either from the right ornament or due respect of Churches Which I shall alwaies esteem and magnifie as Jacob did his Bethel Gen. 28.17 Quam reverendus est hic locus How fearful is this place this is no other then the house of God this is the gates of Heaven Chrysost 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as sweetly St. Chrysostom So that heaven and the Temple seem to interchange names and are put promiscuously for each other Psal 11. â— The Lord is in his Holy Temple the Lords throne is in heaven And certainly this is one of the Epidemical diseases of the Nation Malum quod semper vit abitur et somper retinebitur Yea the opprobry and shame of our Religion that Temples are now ruinated and laid wast in many places and nor one stone left upon another or else they are converted into Barnes and Stables and the lay Patron like a greedy Harpy having seiz'd the tiths to his own use swallowed up Gods demaines and portion He contrives transformes the Church into a Barn as the fittest place An holy place for holy things to harbour and receive them Questionless these men are not eaten up with the zeal of Gods House as David was but rather cat it up as if the stones of the Temple at the request of the Divel were turned into bread These men I say are not of Davids stamp and strain yet they pray in Davids form Psal 27.4 One thing have I desired of the Lord de praeterite for the time past And that I will seek after de futuro for Time to come And what is that not to behold the beauty of the Lord and to vifit his Temple with David But to dwell in the house of the Lord all the daies of their life To dwell in a literal sence and to leave it as a Farm or manner House to their posterity This puts the difference betwixt the primitive devotion of our forefathers and the unheard of sacriledge of this latter age (t) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrys in 1 Cor. 14. Hom. 36. the time was when houses were dedicated into Churches but now churches are prophaned into houses yea worse then houses which was the just complaint of St. Chrysostome Now are they made Dove-coats and cages of unclean birds And as
are not to be received or exercised among Christians it is their own tenet and it may be occasioned and furthered from the defaults and defects of the Ministers and their opinion well accords and suites with their practice one while chusing Knipperdoling for their Consul and not long after advancing him to the high office of a Hangman But as tyranny which is an extremity of government is far better then an headlesse Anarchy Even so it is to be preferred of the two (t) Praestat illie esse ubi omnia licent quam ubi nihil to live under irregular rulers then utterly to be destitute God himself determines it by his own testimony I gave them a King in mine anger but took him away in my wrath Hos 13.11 a wicked King such as Saul was may be given in Gods anger but is taken away in his wrath which is the fierceness and fury of it and it is a greater judgment to be without a Governour then to have one that is ungodly and unworthy Two means of reformation Two wayes there are to redresse errours and rectifie abuses 1. By a total abolition The one by a total abolition not onely of the corruption but of the thing it self thus Moses stampt the molten â—alf and Hezekiah brake the brasen Serpent and did grind it into powder taking away all mention and memorial 2. The other by separating the pretious from the vile and removal of the abuse By separation as in the cleansing of the leprous houses which were scraped and pared and some stones if need required were pulled out yet the Pile and frame continued entire and undemolisht This is the most soveraign means as being freest from violence and disorder and needs must it be so when God himself is pleased to make choice of it thy silver is become drosse so he tells the Jewes v. 22. the places of their Governours were as pure as silver but the unequal managing and execution impure drosse and will God consume and melt both promiscuously in the fiery trial as if there were no difference no his word which is as silver fined seven times in the furnace affirms the contrary I will purely take away thy drosse and purge out all thy tin v. 25. and then as the wise man speaks take away the drosse from the silver and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer Prov. 25.4 The Emperour Domitian therefore took a wrong course in banishing all promoters out of Italy and Pope Nicholas the third erred for all his infallibility in thrusting all practisers at law out of Rome for that as he said they lived upon the blood of the poor people who were soon recalled by Pope Martin his successour because they brought grist to his Mill. Since then as St. Paul speaks of the law so it may be said of the profession the law is good if a man use it lawfully 1 Tim. 1.8 and as Bodin well reasons the case there are no other means to decide controversies (u) Bodin de Republ. Seâ— Lege aut Armis and the sound of the Laws cannot be heard amidst the clashing of Arms and neighing of Horses The calling it self must still be retained and maintained in due honour And if at any time there be need of censure it must not be a rigid removal or an utter extirpation but only as God here promises in the Text A restoring the Iudges as at the first and the Councellors as at the beginning Secondly The act of Gods restoring relates to mens persons It may be by some pecuniary mulct The second reference to their persons by a just displacing or degrading them from the dignity of their office which with such indignity they had administred or at least correct them with some milder chastisement not utterly consume or destroy their persons Extrema primo nemo tentavit loco they are only desperate diseases that must have desperate cures He were an unskilful Physician and cruel Chyrurgion that cared not to deprive the body of life being only ulcevous and diseased or delighted in applying corrosives and causticks when gentle lenitives would serve the turn in bruising or breaking bones being dislocated and out of joint which he should rather 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a word borrowed from the practice of that Art set them in their place and socket and as St. Paul renders it Gal. 6.1 Restore them in the spirit of meekness It is (x) Colum. de re Rustic Columella's advice touching Landlords not to exact forfeitures and to warn their Tenants out for every lesser breach of Covenant for that Summum jus est summa crix and the extremity of the Law is a lawless extremity A good caveat for greater Lords then they that they enforce not matters in the strictest rigour and cause not the Law to be written in blood like unto those of Draco and were therefore surnamed (y) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Not the Laws of men but of Draco And are there not many like that Athenian Law-giver that draw the very life blood from those Laws that were first written in ink And whilest they press the breasts of the Laws too hard as Volusian complains touching the Scriptures they bring forth blood that strangles in stead of milk that nourisheth and so make the Law a killing Letter God forbade his people to eat the blood of brute beasts for that vita in sanguine The life is in the blood How much more heinous yea barbarous is it for men in place to glut and gorge their cruelty with their own flesh and blood after the manner of the Horse-leech The Heathen man cries out against his Rulers for that they were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 devourers of rewards What would he have said and done had they been 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and fed upon their own kind It is Saint Gregories observation from the benediction of God upon Noah and his posterity The fear and dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and every foul of the heaven and upon all that moveth upon the earth and upon all the fishes of the sea Gen. 9.2 (z) Gregor in loc That at first men were Governours of beasts alone and not of men but now is the order quite inverted they are Governours of men and not of beasts and must not convert the dreadful seat of Justice into a Shambles or a Slaughter-house For man is a noble creature his life dear and precious be their manners never so debaucht and dissolute their crime heinous and horrible yet still they continue men and call and claim some pity and compassion for the common interest of humanity And there must be a reflexion from the Magistrate of the eye of pity and compassion upon the offender whilest he darts forth the flaming eye of jealousie and fierce indignation upon the danger of the example Physitians will not take away a few drops of blood from the body natural but
the head of an Army as Junius glosseth upon the place There are several kinds of punishments 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Three kinds of punishments There are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that respect the instruction and correction of the party and there are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that seem to intend the confusion and destruction of the offender And there are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that serve as patterns and presidents unto others (q) Optat. lib. 1. Deus in singulis rebus posuit exemplorum formam ut sit quod imputet imitantibus prima peccata saith Optatus God hath set the seal and stamp of examples upon the action and sufferings of wicked men that so he might the more justly impute unto those the imitation of former sins who will not be forewarned and amended by their punishments And it is very remarkable that God never punished any sin in a more exemplary and severe manner then that of Corah and his Rebels For the earth opened her mouth swallowed them up quick and then shut her mouth upon them (r) Et ne beneficium de mortis compendi consequi viderentur dum non essent digni vivere iis nec mori concessum est Optat. lib. 1. And lest the suddainness of their death should seem a benefit as they were not deemed worthy to live so neither had they the priviledge to die They were forthwith inclosed and shut up in the prison of the grave Ante sepulti quà m mortui as Optatus hath it and buried before dead True indeed may some men say it was so in former times but such like instances are long since antiquated and out of date There is now no earth to swallow men up quick as it did Korah and his Rebetious Rout there is now no fire that comes down from Heaven to consume men as it did the two hundred and fifty that offered incense If there be any that reason in this manner they may be returned the same answer that was sometimes rendered by Optatus to Parmenion the Donatist (Å¿) Optat ibid. An quia talis vindicta modo cessat ideo tibi cum tuis vindicas innocentiam And is it even so that because divine vengeance forbears to display manifest it self as in former times therefore thou and thine presume themselves innocent nothing less For even as Fathers are not wont to correct their unruly children in the self same manner and fashion being grown up to riper years as when they were young and tender Even so God hath not the same discipline and method of punishment under the Gospel which he sometime had under the Paedagogie of the Law It is St. Chrysostorus compatison God doth not now so frequently scourge men with the rods of temporal chastisements but in the stead thereof inflicteth spiritual judgements in giving men up to their own hearts lusts to vile affections which is worst of all to a reprobate sense as he dealt with the Gentiles and so reserves men to eternal punishment (t) Optat. lib. 1. Ad exempluÌ„ praesens poena praecessit secunda judicio reservabitur saith Optatus As the place is well restored and corrected by Merick Causaubon God's present pnnishment goes before as an example but as for the second it is deferred and delayed until the latter judgement I conclude all with the Oracle of the Wise man Prov. 20.25 It is a snare to a man who devours that which is holy There are three properties of a snare 1. It is laid secretly 2. It catcheth suddenly 3. It holds surely And as a bird being taken in a snare is oft-times held by the leg or wing until the evening or the coming of the Fowler Such a snare is an usurpation of the office of the Ministry such a snare is the invading the part and portion of the Minister wherein men may lie hampered and intangled till the evening of death till the coming of God to a purticular or a general judgement Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written It is a snare to a man to devour that which is holy and will end in destruction The Christian Mans TASK EXPLAINED APPLIED IN TWO SERMONS THE FORMER Preached before the Maior and Court of Aldermen of the City of Norwich in Newhall Chappel in the Forenoon THE LATTER In St. Andrews Parish in the Afternoon the same day Nisi ego mihi quis mibi cum ego mihi quid ego nisi nunc quando Hillel senex apud Drusium Apothegm Ebraeor pag. 9. LONDON Printed by T. C. for Will. Rands at Fleet-bridge 1659. The Christian Mans TASK PHIL. 2.12 Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling HOw beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings that publisheth peace The Introduction that bringeth good tidings of good things that publisheth salvation Isa 5â— 7 And what the Prophet Isaiah stiles the publishing salvation the Apostle Saint Paul who copies out the substance of the same sentence Rom 10.15 renders the preaching of the Gospel of peace the Ministry of reconciliation 〈…〉 and the joyful message of mans salvation And herein lies the difference betwixt the terms and tenor of the first and second Covenant The promise of the first Covenant of works was life Do this and thou shalt live as being the just reward of Adams obedience had he continued in the state of innocence and integrity But the priviledge of the second Covenant of grace is salvation and runs in this mannen Believe and thou shalt be saved which is the restauration of a lapsed creature a decayed and a destroved sinner by wilful Apostasie and disobedience And how beautiful are the feet of him that publisheth salvation Eâ— si Pedes â—â—d ora and if their feet are thus beautiful what then are their mouths that are as silver Trumpets to sound it forth in our ears So that a Gospel Text that treats of salvation as theâ— argument and subject matter cannot but fiâ—d welcome entertainment and prove worthy of all acceptation And yet there is somewhat required on our part by way of Duty to intereâ— us in this salvation work out And this duty hath a condition appendant and annexed with fear and trembling But I must not open my sacks by the way and yet as Joseph's brethren upon the opening of their sacks found every man his money in the mouth of it Soluto sacco re uxit Argentum as Ambrose speaks of that of Benjamin even so upon the first opening of the Text there appears Silver in the mouth of it there is choice and pretious matter contained in Not to trouble you or spend time about the connexion and coherence of the words Therein following the example of Wire drawers who further and forward their work by going backward The Text as it lies before you contains in it an Apostolical precept and injunction of a
rendered in the Passive Act. 2.40 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Be ye saved And the Apostle Saint Paul puts the matter out of question Eph. 2.8 By Grace ye are saved through Faith (e) Hoc est opus Dei ut credatis in eum quem misit ille Joh 6.29 Non dixit hoc est opus vestrum sed hoc est opus Dei ut credatis in illum quem misit ille ut qui gloriatur in Domino glorietur Aug. in Joh. Tract 25. not of your selves it is the gift of God This was the common opinion of the Heathen that there was a principle of vertue implanted in mans nature without going out of himself and borrowing ability from another (f) Deorum munus est quod vivimus nostrum quod faelicem Senec. That we live is the gift of God fancte vivimus Turpe est fatigare Deos Quid votis opus est Fac te Epist 31. that we live well is of our selves And to what end should we trouble and tire God with the importunity of our prayers Fac te saelicem Thou mayst be happy if thou wilt * Eum ut faceret homines liberos jecisse sacrilegos August de Cicer De civit Dei Lib. 5. Thus while they made men free they made them sacrilegious And there is much of the sume rank blood that runs in the veins of professing Christians the Pelagian and the Papist and if we compare the words of the Text with those that follow they will soon stop the mouth of both The Pelagian challenging Saint Pauls precept even at the first syllable Work out as a pregnant proof of the liberty of the Will And the Papist concluding the merit of Works from the working out of our salvation And yet both cunningly suppress what Saint Paul subjoins and immediately inferrs For it is God that works to will He doth not give power alone and leaves the will to elicite its own Act but works 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where then is the Free will of the Pelagian And to do how then can the Papist evince their Works to be meritorious Let no man then put asunder these two parcels of Scripture whom St. Paul yea God himself hath thus joined together And as our Saviour speaks in another case Joh. 5.17 My Father works hitherto and I work so Gods working and mans working his efficiency and our concurrence and co-operation must both go hand in hand for though it be God that works the Will yet are not we stocks and stones that have no Will at all and albeit it be he that works the deed (g) Totum ex Deo non tamen dormientis non quasi ut non conemur non quasi ut non velimus Aug. de verb. Apost serm 15. Non quasi ut dormientes non quasi ut non conemur yet not that we should snort after the manner of sleepers (h) Qui fecit te sine te non justiâ—â—cat te sine te Ibid. and no way second it with our endeavours That God who made us without us will not save us without us but we likewise must work out Secondly Necessity in the work the Act of working imports the necessity of the duty for the attaining of salvation as the end It is the speech of Eliphaz in Job 5.7 Man is born to trouble as sparks flie upward that is naturally and of their own accord And many men by nature are of an unquiet and restless disposition like unto Quick-silver that hath a principle of motion but not of rest Or as a Mill if no grist be cast into it it then grinds it self There is no earthly commodity that can be procured or purchased without the price of labour No penny can be expected at night unless men take pains in the vineyard and bear the burden and heat of the day Nor will the penny of eternal life be afforded upon other terms and conditions no salvation without working It is not enough to desire it and to let fall Balaams wish Num. 23.10 Let me die the death of the righteous and my last end be like his Yea it is altogether unreasonable and preposterous to bestow an hankering and faint velleity upon the end without the lawful use of the means Nor must we say of the water of Life as David sometime spake of the water of the well of Bethlem 2 Sam. 23.15.16 O that one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlem which is by the gate But as the three mighty men brake through the Host of the Philistines and drew water and took it and brought it to David Even so we must not long and linger after Davids example O that some would give me to drink of the water of Life but we must break through all opposition and intervening difficulties that obstruct and block up the way and hinder us in the undertaking For as in nature the concupiscible and irascible faculties are both joyned and twisted together like to several threds of the same cord and cable in the inferiour and sensitive part of the soul So must the desire of the ultimate end be enforced and seconded with the use of the most propoitionate and proper means in the working out of our salvation God hath three several places in the World saith Saint Basil 1. Heaven that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gods Store-house or Treasure the place of reward and recompence 2. Hell that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gods Gaole or Prison where men are fast bound in chains of darkness 3. Earth a middle place betwixt both and that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gods Work-house for the working out of our salvation The necessity whereof is commended unto us under a threefold consideration First To evidence the truth of our profession to evidence and exemplifie the truth of our profession by the effects and fruits of it for as Faith justifies the person in the sight of God so do Works justifie our Faith in the eyes of men And hence it is that as Saint Pauls former Epistles contain confirm at large our entire justification by faith alone against the legal and Jewish Justitiary so the later Epistles of Saint James Peter and John precisely press and earnestly urge the exercise of Works and new obedience against the carnal Gospeller and loose Libertine as is well observed by Chemnitius It was a scornful Sarcasme that was cast upon the professors and profession of Christianity by him who was a second Elymas full of all subtilty and mischief that enemy of all righteousness Julian the Apostate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Gregory Nazianzen reports it You Christians have nothing else at your tongues end nothing in your mouths and hearts but Faith Faith Believe and then all is well And the selfe same charge and challenge that stale frump and jeer is renewed by our Adversaries of the Church of Rome the Papists who stick not to proclame us to the world with