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
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
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
gape and thrust out their Tongues against profession and purity it self And because all is not gold that glisters they from hence take occasion to reject and condemn the most orient and shining colour of the purest gold Needs must it be as a racking pain and torture yea as the torments of Hell to God's faithful Servants The word signifies no less and so it proved unto just Lot 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Pet. 2 8 He racked and tortured and tormented his righteous soul in Sodome as if he had been in Hell it self in seeing and hearing their unlawful deeds And where shall we find a Lot either without his Sodome or without racking the joynts of his soul with inward grief and sorrow To hear the blasphemy of the common multitude in every street which makes their ears to tingle who by their cursed oaths in each Fair and Market crucifie the Lord of life the second time open his wounds cause his blood to stream forth a fresh yea rend and tear asunder his sacred Body Like unto a company of Blood-hounds or Hellhounds rather having seized upon a poor Hare which they soon dispatch and pull one joynt from another That the lascivious and lustful livers should defile the Temples of the Holy Spirit and make the members of Christ the members of an Harlot That the voluptuous and sensual Glutton the swinish Drunkard should ordinarily abuse the good creatures of God to riot and excesse making their bodies no other then (n) Cribra ciborum potuum Senec. Colanders and strainers for meats and drinks meer graves to bury both the creatures and themselves alive and even dig their Graves with their Teeth And who is there among the people of God that doth seriously consider and lay to heart their calamity that they are even constrained not onely to breath in the same open air but to abide in the same Church with such men or beasts rather and renews not this sad and mournful complaint of David Woe is me that I remain in Meshech and have my habitation in the Tents of Kedar How should this inflame the hearts of the faithful with an uncessant and unsatisfied desire of removing out of this world of exchanging the company of wicked and ungodly for the Spirits of just and perfect men the Society of Saints and Angels How should this provoke and excite them to a vehement and earnest longing of being Members in the Church Triumphant and of sharing in the accomplishment of that promise Cant 4.8 Come with me from Lebanon my spouse even with me from Lebanon and look from the Top of Amana from the Top of Shenir and Hermon from the Dens of the Lyons and from the mountains of the Leopards A threefold promise that Christ passes unto his Church 1. Of Delivery 2. Of Victory 3. Of Safety 1. A promise of delivery out of the world Lebanon which is a part of it being put for the whole 2. A promise of victory whereby the Church shall be exalted upon the Tops of the highest Hills and shall triumphantly look upon her vanquisht enemies that shall be trodden under feet 3. A promise of safety from Lyons and Leopards cruel and blood-thirsty men and from dissembling and coloured Hypocrites that have as many contrary forms and guises as a Leopards skin hath spots Saint Austin reports of his mother Monica that having discoursed and reasoned together of the joys of Heaven she being ravished with the consideration of them sent forth this ejaculation as a Harbinger to Heaven before her (o) August Conf. lib. 9. cap. 10. Fili quantum ad me attinet nuliâ jam re delector in hac vitâ Quid hic faciam adhuc cur hîc sim nescio I am delighted with nothing of this life And what do I and why am I here Hieron Epist And Saint Hierom relates of the Monks in Egypt that when they heard any mention of the Kingdom of Christ and of the glory of the life to come they all stole a secret sigh and lifting up their eyes to Heaven repeated the words of the Psalmist Psal 55.6 Quis dabit mihi pennas sicut columbae O that I had the wings of a Dove then would I flee away and be at rest And why should not the meditation of this worlds misery in regard of the association of the godly with the wicked beget in us the same desire that the apprehension of the glory of Heaven wrought in them why should it not move us to flie to Heaven not with the wings of a Dove but with our ardent wishes and devout affections which are the wings of the Soul Why should we not long after the end of the world when Christ will gather out of his Kingdome all things that offend and them that doe iniquity When he will pluck up these Tares by the roots which till then must of necessity grow together And this is the fourth point that falls in course 4. The Temporal prosperity and felicity of good and bad They both grow alike The Fourth Proposition The things of this life are neither morally good nor evil but of an indifferent and middle nature and indifferently dispensed to all sorts of men Vt nec mala turpiter evitentur That neither the crosses thereof should be abhorred as sins wherein thebest of God's Servants have their greatest share and portion Nec bona cupâ—dius appetantur Nor the comforts thereof too too eagerly desired and coveted whereof the most profane wicked are proprietaries and possessors Sometimes God pours forth with a liberal hand and heaps those external blessings in an abundant incasure upon the heads of the righteous as he did upon (p) Constantinum Imperatorem tantis teirenis implevit muneribus quanta optare nullus auderet August de Civ Dei lib. 5. c. 25. Constantine the great so that it is the height of boldness and presumption for any man to pray for the like It is the expression of St. Austin And yet for the most part the men of the world who have their portion in this life as the Psalmist describes them surpass and outstrip the godly in this respect The Tares stand boult-upright with an high and a lofty Top when as the good corn hangs down the head and is bowed to the ground I have seen the wicked strong and spreading himself like a green Bay Tree It is David's observation Psal 37.35 Tanquam arbor indigena virens as Junius renders it out of the original As a Tree that grows out of the soyl of the earth of its own accord whereof the earth is the natural mother and so more indulgent in affording it plenty of juyce and moisture Then unto those whereof she is an hard or unkind stepmother and planted by the hand of another This resemblance we find in nature and we need not seek far for the like in the course of the world even as in the structure of a house the chimney is designed to
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
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
nimirum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 qui salutem dedit He saves who gives life to the Dead Secondly Salvation is a Dignity and high Priviledge in the several degrees and steps of it 1. In the inchoation and beginning 2. In the consummation and perfection First Salvation is a dignity and high priviledge in the inchoation and beginning of it A dignity and high priviledge The foundation whereof is laid in this world but the roof set up in another Who hath saved and called us with an holy calling 2 Tim. 1 9. Salvation and calling go hand in hand In the inchoation and beginning and effectual vocation is the first fruits the earnest the Livery and seizin of our salvation This day is salvation come to thy house saith Christ to Zachous Luke 19.9 That man who is not saved in this life by receiving Christ into his heart as Zacheus into his house shall never be saved in another by being received into those eternal habitations Secondly In the consummation perfection Salvation is a dignity and high priviledge in the consummation and perfection An aggregation of all good a confluence and affluence of all comforts and contentments The making us free Denizons of the new Hierusalem the possessors of the highest Heavens the linking us in society with Saints and Angels the beatifical vision of God and divine transformation into the image of his glory Salvation is one of Saint Paul's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Cor. 12.4 It is all we can conceive and utter and all we cannot conceive and utter coelum non patitur hyperbolem the highest hyperbole cannot reach the highest Heaven We can never speak enough or too much of it As therefore Gregory Nyssen treating on the Preface in the Lords Prayer Our Father which art in Heaven wisht himself wings wherewith to mount and fly a pitch proportionable to the height of the Argument So were there need of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 winged words in preaching of salvation to soar a loft according to the sublimity of the matter And as Hierom reports of the Monks in Egypt that when they heard any mention of the Kingdom of Heaven and of the glory of the world to come they all stole a secret sigh and lifting up their eyes to Heaven repeated the words of the Psalmist Psal 55.6 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Naz. Orat. 17. Quis dabit mihi pennas sicut columbe Oh that I had the wings of a Dove then would I fly and be at rest Even so the devour meditation of that great salvation presented and held forth in the Text should work as vehement a desire in us to flye unto Heaven not with the wings of a Dove but with the most ardent affections and extatical raptures which are the wings of the soul that so we may have a full fruition and enjoyment of it Thus have you heard the specification and appropriation of the object and what it is We must work out our own salvation But least I should seem to leave so mysterious and sublime a point so excellent and so necessary a Truth like unto Ezekiels dry bones without life and breath Give me leave to prophesie to these dry bones and breath upon them once more with the spirit of Application And to collect and gather from hence a threefold Corollary and Conclusion 1. By way of supposition 2. A threefold Corollary or conclusion By way of inference 3. By way of exhortation First seeing it is salvation that is here recommended by the Apostle First by way of supposition as the reward of our obedience And salvation is an immunity and freedom from the state of sin and misery We may from hence observe That all men by nature are at a loss and in a destitute and desperate condition For as the Apostle reasons the case 2 Cor. 5 14. We thus judge that if Christ died for all then were all dead Had not we been dead in trespasse and sins there had been no outward cause or motive reason in the object That the Captain of our Salvation and Lord of Life should purchase our life with the price of his own death had not we been the lost Sheep and the lost Groat in the Parable there had been no need for Christ to go after that which is lost and to seek diligently till he find it This was the end of his coming into the world as himself professes Luke 19.10 The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost Salvation necessarily presupposes and implies a loss on our part sins guilt and a just obligation to wrath to come And as we are lost in our selves so must we find our selves to be such in our own apprehension We must be deeply sensible and throughly convinced of our woe and wretchedness we must hunger and thirst after Christ's righteousness and even look and long for his salvation Being ready to sink into the bottomless gulf of dispair each one in his own person must cry out with Saint Peter Matth. 14.31 Lord save me Being tempested upon the Sea of God's fierce wrath and the ship of our souls well neer covered and overwhelmed with the stormy waves of his indignation we must go unto Christ awake him with the importunity of our prayers and say in the language of Christ's Disciples Matth. c. 8. v. 25. Lord save us we perish Secondly If it be a Christians task and charge to work out his salvation A second Corrollary by way of inference Then may we from hence deduct and infer That it is lawful to doe good out of hope of reward as an incentive of desire and duty and a spur unto diligence An Argument that God propounds and holds forth in the School of Christianity Even as prudent Schoolmasters are wont to train up and draw on their younger Scholars with fair and gentle promises Pueris dant crustula blandi Doctores elementa velint ut discere prima Horat. Serm. lib. 1. Satyr 1. * Licet omnium consensu in operibus temporalibus spectare temporalem finem ut pharmacum sumerigratia sanitate arare serere spe fructus percipiendi currere vel decertare in stadio causa chrinendae victoriae Cur igitur non liceat in opere spirituali in cursu certamine ab ipso Deo proposito ad pramium supernae vocationis attendere Bellarm. de Justit lib. 5. cap. 8. It is not only lawful but laudable and in some sort necessary to have respect and reference to the fruition of our own happinesse as the guerdon of our labours even as he that runs in a race hath his eye full fixed on the Garland and the most generous souldier in the hottest shock the most fierce and fiery encounter hath his thoughts prepossessed and swallowed up in the hope of victory For salvation being the End of our operation as Saint Peter speaks of it 1 Pet. 1.9 Receiving the end of your faith the