like and yet this is not all for here must be Flesh to though neither seene felt heard nor vnderstood If it be so let all men iudge For I blush to say more in a point so cleere Secondly we confesse that as God can produce any substance of nothing so he can multiply any one thing into a thousand things Matth. 14.17 as he did the fiue loaues to feede fiue thousand men besides women and children but that he should make that which is numerically one Mar. 6 36. to be fiue thousand things and yet to be but one thing John 6.5 at the very same time that it is fiue thousand things and that that one thing should be but in one place and yet at the same time should be in fiue thousand places we say there cannot be a greater contradiction How Christ multiplied the loaues of Bread for as when the loaues were multiplied if he multiplied them in number he did not multiply them to bee more then fiue and yet to remaine but fiue or if he multiplyed them in quantity which I rather thinke he did not make them to be of a greater quantity and yet to remaine of the same lesser quantity that they were before for this is meerely contradictory to be more in number then fiue and yet to be but fiue or to be augmented in quantity and yet to be but the same in quantity but when any part thereof was diminished he still multiplyed the remaining quantity into the same quantity as it was before or greater as he diâ— the meale in the barrell and the oyle in the cruse of the Widdow of Sarepta in the dayes of Elias 1 King 17.16 That it cannot be that one body should be but in one place and yet to be in a hundred places at the same time And herein is no contradiction euen so if God should multiply that one body of his Sonne to be fiue thousand bodies it cannot be that it should be one and fiue thousand both at once or if hee should cause that body which is in one place to be in fiue thousand places all at once it cannot be that it should be in fiue thousand places and yet but in one place as euery child almost may easily perceiue And therefore seeing it is apparant that Christ hath but one true naturall and Phisicall body else we shall make Christ to be no Christ and that it cannot be that that one should still remaine one and yet be fiue thousand millions of bodies and that that one must still remaine in one place Act. 3.21 as Saint Peter sheweth and yet should be at the same time in many millions of places I hope it is as plaine that these things are meerely contradictory and so simplie impossible to be done as that the Sunne doth shine at noone-day But they instance D. Hall relates it How they relate lies to boulster vp their errors that one Xauier as Tursellian reports it was at the same time seene both in a Ship and in a Boat and I read it alleadged out of Bellarmine that hee relates the like of Saint Antony of Padua that he was seene Preaching in a towne of Italy and at the same time was seene in another place and therefore a body may be commeasured to its place and yet be in other places at the same time To these Instances I say not onely with Plautus Plaut Amphyt Tun'id dicere audes quod nemo vnquam homo vidit nec potest fieri tempore vno homo idem duobus vt locis simul sit How dares any man say that which neuer any man did see nor can be that at the same time one man should be in two seuerall places but I say also with Aquinas of the locality of Angels Thom. in Mag. l 1. d. 32. q. 1. art 1. that by the same reason that he might be in two places he may be in a thousand places at once and therefore if Xauier or Antony was in one place it must needs be the Diuell that was in the other place to teach such lies to delude the credulous But yet still they will reply that we must not conceiue of Diuine things and especially of Gods Power by the rule of humane reason For subtill Philosophy doth many times obscure pure Diuinity and Aristotles Bookes of Nature haue caused many a Doctor to corrupt the Scripture for he made Aetius to follow Arrius saith Socrates Socrat. l. 2. c. 28. Eccles. hist and therefore we must attaine vnto the knowledge of these things not by the reason of man but by the rule of Faith That Faith seeth what Reason cannot conceiue which Philo calleth Fidem oculatum so well-eyed and so sharpe-sighted that as the Eagles eye being aloft in the cloudes can notwithstanding espie Sub frutice leporem sub fluctibus piscem Vnder the waues a Fish and vnder the shrubs a Hare so Faith here in earth can notwithstanding search into the deepe things of God in Heauen and can most perfectly see those things which humane sence can no way perceiue Aug. ep 3. ad Volusian To this I answere with Saint Augustine that wee confesse God is able to doe as he hath done many things which we are not able to vnderstand in all which we beleeue them without searching the reason of them because in such things as Saint Augustine saith Ratio facti est potentia facientis The whole reason of the deede is the Power of the doer but as for the ioyes of Heauen though it passeth all vnderstanding to know positiuely what excellent things are there yet negatiuely wee doe certainely know what is not there for there is no sorrow no sickenesse no euill and as we know not perfectly what God is yet wee doe certainely know what hee is not for hee is not the Sunne Danaeus Isagog de Deo the Moone nor any other creature whatsoeuer Euen so though we know not the height or greatnesse of Gods Power what infinite things he can doe aboue what we can speake or thinke yet we know many things that he cannot doe which I haue shewed vnto you before And therefore that bread should be transubstantiated into flesh and yet remaine bread that accidents should subsist without their subiects that Christ should sit in Heauen and lie in the Bread which we doe eate that hee should be visibly there and inuisibly here and that hee should be one and many continued and discontinued intire in one one place and at the same time intire in a thousand places and such like assertions which doe ouerthrow We beleeue not the assertions of the Iesuites not because we know not how they may be done but because we know they cannot bee done not onely the humanity of our Sauiour Christ but also the order of things and the very principles of Nature and doe exceede the bounds of all sence and reason and repugne indeede the very
things which for the present seeme harsh and bitter vnto vs will in the end proue to our great aduantage Thirdly For the manner of Christ his birth it is recorded Of the manner of Christs birth how meane it was in many respects that it was very poore and meane meaner then ordinary or extraordinary base for he was borne of poore Parents they trauelled on foote they had not an Asse to ride on in a poore Towne little Bethlehem which is by interpretation An House of Bread but such a poore House of Bread that there was scarce any bread in the House And then being come from darkenesse into light Non poterat verbum fari verbum This word could not speake a word but hee was wrapped in poore swadling cloutes it may be his Mothers ragges and then laid in a poore lodging euen in the Manger and so he was indeed made lower then the Angels for he was consorted and laid among the Beasts that perish Quia non erat locus in diuersorio Because there was no roome in the Inne for these poore innocent people among the drunken swaggering companions for these will be sure to haue roome Et pauper vbique iacet And the poore shall bee thrust out of doores And yet Christ was well contented he desired no better Why Christ would be born so meanely Psal 22.6 but chose indeede to come after this meanest manner First To fulfill the Scriptures for the Prophet Dauid said in the person of Christ I am a worme and no man a very scorne of men and the outcast of the people And the Prophet Esay saith He should grow vp as a roote out of a dry ground i. e. wrinckled and almost withered for want of radicall moysture He hath neither forme nor comelinesse and when wee shall see him there is no beauty Esay 53.2.3 that we should desire him he is despised and reiected of men Secondly To teach vs true humility Descendit quo inferius non decuit vt ascenderet quo superius non poterat For he made himselfe of no reputation that he might be exalted Phil. 2.9 and haue a name giuen him about all other names to shew vnto vs Luke 18.14 that Whosoeuer humbleth himselfe shall be exalted Thirdly To condemne the courses and desires of worldly men for they desire nothing so much as wealth honours and promotions and yet all the Monarchs of this World with all their pompe and power with all their riches and greatnesse cannot reconcile one soule to God They must let that alone for euer But Christ poore stript and naked hath so pleased God that through him God cannot be displeased with vs for it is goodnesse and not greatnesse to be void of sinne and not to be full of riches that our God respecteth Fourthly To procure true riches vnto vs for so the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 8.9 that Christ though he was rich yet for our sake he became poore that we through his pouerty might be made rich Fiftly To shew the difference betwixt his first and his second comming for now he came in pouerty but then hee shall come in maiesty Math. 16.27 He shall come on the glory of his Father with his Angels The Earth shall burne the Heauens shall melt and all the powers of the same shall be shaken And therefore seeing as Emyssenus saith Talis tantus sit horror venientis quis poterit terrorem sustinere iudicantis That comming of his shall be so terrible as that all the wicked crue of damned sort shall exceedingly howle and cry and pray the mountaines to fall vpon them and to hide them from that fearefull day let vs make the right vse of this his first comming that wee may escape the terror of his second comming And so you see the manner of his birth weakely poorely and meanely That we should be well contented with any state And this should teach vs to be euer contented with our poore and meane estate for if the Sonne of God who made all things and whose all things are All the Cattle vpon a thousand hilles was well contented and made choyce of this low estate why should we be discontented with the same for wee are vnworthy of the very Bread wee eate and of the very Light of Heauen wherewith we are illuminated we are very base and miserable beggars begging of God the very crummes that wee eate Math. 6.11 saying Giue vs this day our daily bread and yet such is our pride and haughtinesse that wee are ready to snatch it out of his hands and not to stay while he giues it vs Such is our disdaine and discontentednesse that the daintiest fare will scarce please vs and such is our desire and ambition that euery man still cryeth with the Daughters of the Horse-leech More more Our eyes are neuer satisfied with seeing nor our eares with hearing nor our hearts with enioying the vanities of this World But alas Beloued Beware of murmuring Wisedome 1. 11. which is nothing worth and let the same minde be in you herein as was in Christ Iesus If you would be happy remember how he came Phil. 2.5 Math. 8.20 poore and meane remember how he liued meane and miserable for He had not an House wherein to put his head We haue more then that and remember how hee was entertained cold and comfortlesse Math. 10.24.25 for He came amongst his owne and his owne receiued him not And therefore seeing he found such cold entertainement in the world why should wee looke for any better or be any wayes discontented at the like for The Seruant is not aboue his Master but it is enough for the seruant to be as his Master is CHAP. III. Of the testimonies which proue that Christ the Messias is borne THirdly Of the witnesses that testifie the birth and comming of the Messias For the testimony and witnesse whereby he was approued and confirmed vnto the world to be incarnate and made Flesh for to be the Sauiour and Redeemer of the World I finde the same especially to be two-fold 1. The Creatures 2. The Creator First The testimony of the Creature is three-fold 1. The Angels of Heauen 2. The Starres in the Skies 3. Men on Earth First An Angell said vnto the Shepheards Luke 2.11 Vnto you is borne this day in the City of Dauid a Sauiour which is Christ the Lord And immediately there were not sixe Cherubims as Esayas saw nor foure and twenty Elders Esay 6.2 as Saint Iohn saw but a multitude of heauenly Angels that by their heauenly Halelu-iah did confirme the same And therefore the truth hereof is infallible because the Angels though they bee mutable by nature yet they be now cōfirmed by grace Isidorus l. 1. c. 12. de summo bono Ne à veritate voluntatem auerterent That they cannot lye nor fall away from truth as Isidorus saith Secondly The gentile Prophet Baalam prophesied that there
4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 senum of old age till death as Varro distributeth the same Yeares of their age First In our childehood we are all alike the heyre differing nothing from a seruant though hee bee Lord of all all Lords or what you will but they must be vnder Tutors and Gouernors sayth the Apostle and because exultat leuitaete puer children are childish and apish rather delighting in toyes then imbracing instructions therefore they are kept vnder correction and brought vnto vertue by good discipline while they may be taught for as it is prouerbially sayd Flexilis est iuncus salices flectuntur amarae Robora dura minus the tender branch may bee easily bowed but the well-growne Oke Prouer. 29.18 and c. 4.3.4 will bee sooner broken then straitened so wee may teach a childe a trade in his youth but we shall hardly teach an old Horse to amble and therefore the wisest among the sonnes of men aduiseth all men to correct their children though they be neuer so deere in their sight because this is as necessarie vnto the children as their foode and as comfortable vnto the parents as the childe himselfe in as much as to haue a good childe is better then to haue a childe And yet this instruction and especially the correction is such an intollerable burthen so heauie for them to beare What a burthen correction is vnto children as that they thinke no creatures more miserable then themselues when they see all others free and themselues onely as they thinke bound vnder the rod and therefore would they giue all they haue to be once rid out of this seruile bondage Secondly In our youth we are like vntamed colts wilde and wanton vnable to rule our selues and vnwilling to be ruled by others and therefore wee doe loosen our bridles to all licentiousnesse and euery young man is for the most part as the Poet describeth him briefly Inuidus iracundus iners vinosus amator We burne with lust while we be youths How dissolute we are in our youth Ouidius l. 13. Metam Dum mihi laeâ—â— genas conuestit flore inuentus militiae ingredior castra cupido tuâ— and are still inflamed with that vntameable fire of wanton loue neque enim robustior aetas Vlla nec vberior nec quae magis ardeat vlla est Pleasure and youth doe smile on vs to woe vs To taste vaine lusts tasted they vndoe vs. Therefore S. Iere. sayth That it is almost impossible to find a young man that is not sometimes tempted with fleshly lusts and Saint Ambrose sayth Inter omnia certamina christianorum durissima sunt praelia caftitatis Prodigus curae vacuus temerarius audax Omne genus vitae liberioris amo Among all the combats of Christians it is the hardest thing for vs to ouercome and subdue our owne lusts and to keepe our owne flesh a chast and a modest virgin And as we are inflamed with lust so we are drowned in drunkennesse we swell with pride and we fill our selues with all filthynesse and thereby we doe many times as wee daily see in many desperate youthes by drinking whooring swearing quarrelling and such like effects of deboysnesse suddenly cut off our selues in our owne wickednesse and what greater miseries can there be then these and yet behold I will shew thee greater abhominations For The miseries incident to vs in our Manhood Nunc me ludus habet nunc me formosa puella nunc fera pro pacta praelia nocte gâ—ro Sedvelut herba perit sic flos cadit ipse inuentae faelix qui potuit dicere talis eram Thirdly In our manhood we are come to the midst of miseries so that quocunque afpiciam quocunque lumina vertam Wheresoeuer we looke and turne our eyes we shall see nothing but our selues swimming in a Sea of sorrowes and there tumbled and tossed with many waues of woes micat ignibus aether Cloudes of darkenesse are in stead of comforts and about our heads we shall finde haile-stones and coales of fire for now we finde the affaires of the world the feares of enemies the cares for families the discontents at home many times of thy Wife that lyeth in thy bosome many times of thy Children the fruits of thine owne bowels the wrongs of Neighbours abroad the suites of Law and a thousand such bitter fruits of sinne doe so vexe and affright the heart of man that they make him often sleepe like the Nightingale that is said to haue alwayes a pricke before her breast and then to rise vp early and late to goe to bed Psal 127.3 and to eate the bread of carefulnesse and all to no purpose for after we haue wearied and worne out our selues in the pursuite of this world all our workes and labours are but as the Spiders webbe it will make no garment for vs and when wee haue brought our yeares to an end as it were a tale that is tolde then notwithstanding all our former pompe and power wee shall be as poore as when we were borne euen as poore as Iob for The miseries incident to vs in old age Iob. 1.21 as we came naked into the world so naked wee shall returne againe and so this is not onely the misery but also the folly and madnesse of men And yet behold a little more For Fourthly In old age Vsque adeo grauis vxori gnatisque sibique vt captatori moueat fastidia Cosso Wee are troublesome to our selues and others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nunc mihi cum medicis res est iudice summo misere vitam semisepultus ago rixosae inuestant vetula execrabile vulgus inuidus in terra parta recondo sâ—num Eccles 12.1 An old man is troublesome vnto youths saith Menander yea our owne Wiues though they cannot leaue vs yet doe they loathe vs and indeed our selues doe now begin to hate our selues Laudat praeteritos presentes despicit annos For these be the dayes wherein there is no pleasure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Because olde age is like an heauy burthen vnto men that makes them stoope downe to the earth Nec coelum spectare licet sed prona senectus Terram à qua genita est reditura videt and neuer suffers them to rise or scarce to looke vp towards Heauen vntill they returne to the earth Gen. 3.19 from whence they were taken Alas then what a misery is this to consider the miseries of olde age our bodies are weakned our beauty vanished our senses blunted the eyes cannot see the eares cannot heare the hands cannot worke and the feete cannot walke and then besides Circumsilit agmine facto morborum omne genus We are seized vpon by all kinde of diseases our heads ake our hearts faint and all our bodies tremble Coughes Rheumes and Feauers doe now seeme to be our vitall spirits and so the Heathens saw and so they said that no age was free from miseries yet
is omnipotent therefore Christ as man can be present where he will in the Church in the Sacrament in the midst of his enemies or in any other place where hee pleaseth whereas Sadeel on the other side sayth that if God should intend and indeuour to extend all the nerues and synewes of his omnipotencie The error of the Vbiquitaries yet can he not make one numericall and naturall Body to be in many places at one and the selfe same time which in very deede is most true as hereafter I shall shew vnto you Fourthly For the Pontificialls The error of the Church of Rome about Gods power to prooue transubstantiation Bellarmine doth most stoutly withstand vs and to establish his opinion of Transubstantiation he sayth but most falsely that God can make the true and naturall body of Christ though finite numerically one to be substantially present in all those places whersoeuer their Masse is celebrated and to be orally receiued and eaten of all those Men that doe communicate whosoeuer those Men should be and so the rest of them taught herein by that Arch-heriticke the deuil doe striue with all their might to confirme the probabilitie for the veritie they shall neuer doe of that opinion from the omnipotent power of God Augustin in Iohan. And truely this is nothing else but most cunningly to hide their true faults and false errors vnder the pretext and vayle of the power of God Miserable men herein I assure my selfe qui dum volunt esse mali nolunt esse veritatem qua condemnantur mali who while they desire to bee in error doe wholly oppose the light of Trueth whereby their errors are reproued and doe bring their subtilties and fallacies into the Church of God intruding falsehoods into the roome of Trueth and bare names accidents without any subiects euen as Ixion imbraced a Cloud for Iuno to bee receiued of vs for true and reall things and because we will not yeeld to be thus seduced and to bee made fooles they call vs Fooles and Heretickes full of Heresies and I know not as I care not what But it is easier for them to call vs then to proue vs so and they are but parties and not iudges of this controuersie and parties must not be Iudges in the same case wherein they are parties And therefore wee will not iudge of them least wee should bee iudged neither will wee giue them any other names then the members of the Church of Rome the patrons and defenders of her doctrines and such as beseemeth Modestie and Christianitie for we know the spirit of Christ is a spirit of Loue not of hatred a spirit of Meekenesse not of harshnesse and a spirit of Peace not of strife and contention but according to true reason and the iudgement of all antiquitie and especially the diuine veritie of the most holy Scripture whose propertie is iudicium 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 infallibile to giue an absolute and infallible iudgement of trueth wee will by Gods helpe discusse this poynt of the power of God because the knowledge of this poynt is so exceedingly necessary for the Church of God CHAP. II. How many wayes the power of God is to bee considered and how farre the absolute power of God extendeth FOr the second point that is how farre the power of God extendeth we must first note the difference betwixt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Power and Authoritie for Authoritie is that which is established by right and of this our Sauiour speaketh when hee sayth Mihi data est omnis potestas Matth. 28.18 All power is giuen vnto me in Heauen and in Earth i. e. all authority ouer all creatures both in Heauen and Earth and of this I am not to speake in this place it was formerly expressed in the word Lord But Power is that facultie of doing any thing which consisteth in strength and might Wolfg. Muscul de omnipot dei as Musculus sayth and this is that which I am to speake of And it is either 1. Passiue 2. Actiue First A passiue Power is nothing else Power is either Actiue or Passiue but ens in potentia a being in power or else a power to bee such and such a thing and it is opposed to the act And this wee vtterly deny to be in God because God is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vniforme hauing himselfe by himselfe alwayes alike and the selfe same manner and neuer receiuing any wayes any change or alteration being without any shadow of turning James 1.17 as the Apostle sayth Secondly An actiue power is that What Actiue power is whereby such and such acts are fully done and accomplished and this also if wee speake properly is farre from the nature of God because God is a meere and a pure act and nothing aduentitious can bee sayd to be in God But to retaine the vsuall manner of speaking for our better vnderstandings sake we say that an actiue power is in God But then we must further note that an Actiue Power is either 1. Accepta receiued Or 2. Innata inbred The first is of the Creature the second is of the Creator That subsisteth by anothers strength so long as it doth indure as our Sauiour sheweth Without me you can doe nothing because he giueth the power of working This neuer subsisteth by any other strength but by it owne proper might for euer That is particular and limited particular because no creature is so powerfull that it can vniuersally worke all things God giuing not such a perfect power vnto any man saue onely vnto his onely begotten sonne Iesus Christ and limited because to doe infinite things is impossible for any creature and because those things which are possible for them to doe are not so possible vnto them as that they can performe any iot of them John 15.5 That the power of the most powerfull creatures is limited beyond the measure of the limitation giuen of God and therefore the power of Kings Monarchs Potentates yea of the very Angels and Deuils as it is giuen them from aboue so it is limited how farre it shall goe They may slay the bodyes but they cannot touch the Soules and they can for a while and in some measure execute their rage and tyrannie against the Saints of God but if they could doe as much as they would doe not a Righteous man should be left vpon the face of the Earth and therefore often times either by death or by some singular iudgement of God their power is terminated and sometimes turned to their shame and confusion The Second that is the Inbred power of the Creator is to bee considered either 1. In respect of the inward acts Operations Of God 2. In respect of the outward acts Operations Of God First The power of God considered in respect of his inward operations is that whereby God doth inwardly vnderstand loue and
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Created me in stead of possessed me but I thinke this could not be because Iust Martyr that liued before the Arians were hatched and Athanasius himselfe doth reade it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Created me and therefore Secondly Epiphanius Saint Basil Saint Hierome and others Epiphan heres 69 Basil l. 2. contr Eunom Hieron in ep ad Cypr. doe thinke that the vulgar Edition is not well translated for that the Hebrew word which Salomon vseth should not be translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with a iota but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the middest of the word The first is He created me and the other is he possessed me and therefore Aquila translates it thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And Tremellius Whether the Hebrew word bee rightly translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 created Iehoua possidebat me principio viae suae or ab initio operum suorum as others will haue it And so is the vulgar Latine and our owne last English Translation The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way And if this be true then those ancient Fathers Saint Athanasius Saint Basil Saint Cyril and others that were much troubled about this place might haue easily answered vnto this obiection of the Arians if they had corrected the Greeke Translation out of the Hebrew Text. But the Iewes contend that the word in the Originall doth aswell signifie to create as to possesse as Rabbi Shelomo Iarchi vpon Genesis 14.19 doth declare for there Moses vseth the same word which Salomon vseth here and although our last English Translation reades it Possessor of Heauen and Earth yet the vulgar Latine and the Septuagint reades it Creator of Heauen and Earth and therefore Thirdly Fulgentius answereth Fulgent in resp ad hanc ob Arrian that although Salomon should say The Lord created me yet could that make nothing against the eternall being of the Sonne of God for that we may easily see Salomon speaketh here of a two-fold generation of the Sonne of GOD. That Salomon speaketh of a two-fold generation of Christ First Of his Incarnation in these words The Lord created me the beginning of his wayes and then Secondly Least we should with Arians imagine that he was not before he was incarnate He sheweth that Ante colles genitus erat Before the mountaines he was begotten and brought forth i. e. In respect of his Diuinity First of his incarnation to be made man That in the first place he speaketh of his incarnation and this making of him to be flesh there followeth none absurdity for though hee speaketh in the present tense or preterperfect tense after the Latines yet is it set downe for the future tense after the manner of the Hebrewes who doe oftentimes especially in things pertaining to God set downe the future tense for the present because they are as certaine to bee done as if they were already done as Tertullian obserueth And the words immediately following To be the beginning of his wayes doth make this exposition the more apparantly true for what is it to be the beginning of his wayes Nisi quod ipse via nobis est factus but that hee was made to be the way for vs to walke in for hee was not made that hee should create new Creatures but that hee might renue those that were lost And therefore Saint Iames vseth the like speech of the godly James 1.18 saying Of his owne will begate he vs with the Word of Truth that wee might be as the first fruites of his Creatures And the Prophet Dauid vseth the like speech of himselfe Psal 51.10 when he saith Create a new heart in me O God And therefore to be the beginning of the wayes of God is to be the first fruites of those that are renued and not of those that are created for if you looke into the workes of Creation you shall heare him say Before the mountaines were setled and before the hills was I begotten Secondly of his eternall generation as he is God That in the second place hee speaketh of his eternall generation it is most manifest for hee changeth his phrase and saith Ante colles genita eram Before the mountaines was I begotten as the Chalde paraphrase hath it or Filiata eram I was sonned his sonne as some translate it for wee must note that created and begotten in the person of the Sonne of God are to bee distinguished or otherwise if we make created and begotten to be the same wee may say that the World was begotten which is most absurd And therefore seeing hee saith that this wisedome of GOD was both created and begotten and that these two words doe signifie two distinct and speciall things wee should consider in what respect hee is said to be created and in what respect he is said to be begotten and then we should plainely see that he is said to be created as he is the Sonne of man and that he is said to be begotten as hee is the eternall Sonne of God for here Salomon sheweth that he is said to be created in respect of that nature wherin he calleth his Father Lord for the Lord saith hee created me But hee calleth his Father Lord in respect of his humane nature and neuer calleth him Lord in respect of his diuine nature for he that is borne a seruant of his Fathers handmaide according to the saying of the Psalmist Psal 116.14 O Lord I am thy seruant and the sonne of thine hand-maide is also begotten of his Fathers Essence according to the saying of Christ Iohn 8. I and my Father are one And therefore though he calleth his Father Lord in respect of his humanity yet doth he neuer call him so but alwayes Father in respect of his Diuinity as I came from the Father and wee saw his glory John 1. as the glory of the onely begotten Sonne of the Father And so you see that these words of Salomon Naz. or 4. de theolog Athan. ser 3. cont Arr. Cyril l. 5. c. 4. 5. 6. 7. Thesauri Aug. l. 1. c. 12. de trinit The Lord created me are to be vnderstood of his incarnation and therefore can proue nothing against his eternall generation And this exposition of Fulgentius is confirmed by Nazianzen Athanasius Saint Cyril Saint Augustine and others And yet Fourthly Saint Hillary in l. de Synodis Aquinas l. 4. c. 8. contra gentes and Bellarmine l. 1. c. 18. de Christo doe answere that the eternall generation of the Sonne of God is sometimes called generation and sometimes creation because it is so ineffable that it cannot be fully expressed by any one word for generation signifieth a production in the same substance but with a certaine mutation of the begetter How the Word may be said to be both begotten created but creation signifieth a production of another substance but without any mutation of the
if we beleeue Master Harding came into the Chappell to helpe Saint Basil to say Masse though the doores were shut and therefore the opening of the doores by the power of Christs Deitie doth no way prooue the inpalpabilitie of his Body Ob. 3 Thirdly They doe obiect that he walked vpon the Sea like a Spirit Mar. 6.49 and therefore his Body was inuested with the leuity and agility of the Deity Sol. To this I answere that he walked vpon the Seas not by the alleuiating or making light his body or specially by the leesing of the properties of a true naturall body but by the consolidating and confirming or strengthening of the waters through the power of his Deitie to make them able to beare him vp and so they were strengthened to beare vp the body of Saint Peter vntill Saint Peters faith began to faile Ob. 4 Fourthly They doe obiect that the heauens must containe the Body of Christ vntill the restitution of all things Act 9.3 as Saint Peter saith and yet that Christ in respect of his humanity did appeare vnto Saint Paul Act. 22.6 as he went towards Damascus and therefore either the saying of Saint Peter cannot be true or Saint Paul did not see him or else his humanity by reason of the vnion with the Deity hath obtained those Diuine properties to be omniscient and omnipresent with the Deity Sol. To this some doe answere that Christ might for that time and to that end frame a body of the ayre to speake vnto Saint Paul as he did many times vnto the Fathers of the Old Testament and so the Heauens did containe the true and naturall body and he appeared vnto Saint Paul in a body that he assumed for that purpose Others thinke that Christ might for a short space of time leaue the Heauens and descend into the Ayre to speake with Saint Paul and yet the saying of Saint Peter to be still true thus vnderstood that the heauens vsually and alwayes without some rare and speciall dispensation doe containe him vntill the restitution of all things But it is vnlikely that he would assume any created forme vpon him after he had once really vnited himselfe to our nature and we haue no argument to proue that euer he did it and it is not probable that he would leaue his throne voide in heauen for the least moment of time after hee was once seated in that excellent Maiestie and therefore I thinke with Zanchius that Christ remaining in Heauen might appeare vnto Saint Paul as he did vnto Saint Stephen the heauens were opened and his eyes were indued with a most excellent sharpenesse of sight that he saw Christ standing on the right hand of God Act. 7.55 for Saint Paul doth not say that Christ appeared vnto him on earth That Saul saw no body on earth as he went to Damascus but that suddenly there shined round about him a light from Heauen and that he heard the voyce of the Lord saying vnto him Saul Saul why persecutest thou me and all this might be without any presence of Christs Body for Christ might speake in Heauen and cause that same voice to be head here on earth Matth. 3.17 or he might frame a voyce in the Ayre as the Father did at the baptisme of Christ where the voyce was framed and heard but no body seene nor assumed Fiftly They doe obiect that the Body of Christ doth viuifie Ob. 5 vs and raise vs vp and doe such other effects which are onely proper vnto the Godhead and therefore it is inuested with the properties of the Godhead To this Damascen answereth by this similitude Sol. Vrit ignitum ferrum non naturali ratione vstivam possidens actionem How the flesh of Christ is said to doe diuine operations sed ex vnione ignis ad ferrum illud obtinet That as a hot fiery iron will burne any thing not that it hath naturally the facultie or propriety of burning but by reason of the vnion of the fire vnto it So the humanity is said to doe many things not that it hath any property in it selfe to do theÌ„ but being vnited vnto the Deitie Damasc de fide orthodoxa l. 3. c. 17. it is said to doe the same though indeed as it is not the iron that burneth but the fire that is vnited vnto the iron So it is not properly the flesh that doth any of these but the Word vnto which the flesh is hypostatically vnited And therefore it is apparant mauger all that can be said against it that Christ by this communicating of properties hath neither lost the properties of a true naturall body nor that his humanity is really inuested with the properties of the Deity Secondly the benefits of the vnion of the two natures of Christ in respect of vs. Esay 1. Ephes 4.18 Secondly The other effects and benefits of the vnion of these two natures which are in regard of vs are our spirituall vnion with God and thereby the inriching of vs with all those graces that doe prepare vs and bring vs vnto euerlasting happinesse for our sinnes had seperated vs from God and made vs aliens and strangers from the life of God they were and are like a partition wall betwixt God and vs they keepe vs farre from God and make vs indeed to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 men without God in the world but now as God made the personall vnion of soule and body for the constitution and continuation of the whole and common nature of mankind So he vnited the Word with our flesh that our nature might be restored in the person of Christ and that they which before were at variance God and Man might now be reconciled through this vnion of God and man in the person of Iesus Christ for seeing Christ hath personally vnited our nature vnto himselfe he hath thereby naturally vnited vs vnto God Quia natura nobis est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because by nature hee is of the same nature with vs and we are of the same with him though we be not carnally in him but as we are ingraffed Et consortes Christi per fidem Basilius â—p 41. ad Caesariens and pertakers of Christ by faith as Saint Basil saith And so now by reason of this vniting of our nature vnto the Sonne of God and thereby our communion and fellowship with God we receiue as all the members doe receiue life and motion by reason of their vnion with the head all those gracious motions and gifts that are necessary for sustaining of our spiritull life and shall hereafter fully attaine vnto the blessed fruition of God for euer And so you see the particulars of this great mistery of the words incarnation How the word was made flesh CHAP. VI. Of certaine reasons why these deepe doctrinall points were so largely handled NOw if any man doth maruell as no doubt but many doe and blame me too perhaps
the same sence as the word ascendit for hee descended as God and God filleth all places and therefore it is not phisically to be vnderstood of any locall descent but for his exinination and the assumption of our flesh but hee ascended as God and Man and therefore must phisically be vnderstood of a locall ascent and whole Christ is said to ascend by reason of the communication of the properties and the vnion of both natures into one person Secondly the action or ascending of Christ Secondly Saint Paul hauing thus fully described and shewed the person ascending i. e. he that descended expresseth the verie acte or motion in this word ascendit hee ascended vp on high touching which wee must consider these three especiall points 1. The time of his ascention 2. The place of his ascention 3. The manner of his ascention All which are fully shewed by Saint Luke in the first of the Acts. Acts 1.3 First he saith that hee shewed himselfe aliue after his Passion by many infallible proofes for the space of forty dayes touching which number The time when Christ ascended why he remained on earth iust forty dayes many men haue collected many mysteries Moses was in the Mount with God forty dayes the children of Israel wandered in the wildernesse forty yeeres Elias fasted forty dayes Niniue had time of repentance forty dayes our Sauiour fasted forty dayes and many other like examples might bee found of this iust period of forty dayes Bosquierus de monomachia Christi and I will not here search into the reason of these things he that will let him looke into Bosquierus but I will onely note those two reasons why he continued so long on earth after his resurrection which Saint Luke setteth downe vnto vs First to prooue the certanity of his resurrection therefore he saith thâ—t hee appeared vnto them Secondly to instruct his Apostles in faith hope charitie and all other points concerning the Kingdome of God as Eusebius noteth and the Euangelist plainely expresseth saying Eusebius l. 4. de praeparat Euang. that he was seene of his Apostles forty dayes speaking of the things pertayning to the Kingdome of God But here we must obserue that for this space of forty dayes he was not with his Apostles and Disciples after the same manner as he was with them before his Passion for that now hee was not continually conuersant with them but did onely at some times appeare vnto them If then you demaund where he was for that space while hee was not with his Disciples whetherin the Wildernesse as some doe thinke or in the terrestriall Paradise which Bellarmine affirmeth to remaine still though Pererius saith it was quite abolished by the deluge or in what place he secluded himselfe I will no wayes venter to determine for I will alwayes hold that excellent rule of Prosper Quae deus occulta esse voluit Prosper de vocat gentium non sunt scrutanda quae autem manifesta fecit non sunt negligenda ne in illis illicite curiosi in his damnabiliter inueniamur ingrati What God hath concealed they are not to be searched and what hee hath declared they are not to be neglected lest that in the former we shall be found to be vnlawfully curious and in the latter most damnably carelesse Secondly For the place from whence he ascended it is said The place from whence he ascended that he went from Galilee to Bethanie from Bethanie to Mount Oliuet and from Mount Oliuet vnto Heauen Galilee signifieth transmigration and Bethanie is interpreted the House of obdience to shew that as he descended by reason of our disobedience to suffer for our sins and to giue vs an example of obedience thereby parare nos mansioni to prepare vs for Heauen so by reason of his most perfect obedience in fulfilling all righteousnesse He ascended into Heauen Parare mansionem nobis Act. 14.12 to prepare a place for vs or else Bethanie may signifie the House of affliction to shew that by many afflictions and tribulations we must enter into the Kingdome of God And he ascended from Mount Oliuet because he would vse no miracle while the strength of nature serued and whosoeuer doth otherwise The manner of Christ his ascending Luke 24.51 tempteth God rather then trust in God Thirdly For the Manner Bonauenture obserueth that hee ascended First Blessing his Apostles as the Euangelist saith While he blessed them he was parted from them which is an exceeding comfort vnto vs the poore distressed Ministers of Iesus Christ for though the world hate vs and curse vs and say all manner of euill against vs yet behold Christ parting left his blessing with vs to defend vs against all their malice And he blessed them with his hands lifted vp to teach vs that in our prayers we doe with Moses fight with God we hold his hands and suffer him not to strike vs with the sword of vengeance and this is the Victory which ouercomes our God euen our prayers and to teach vs that when our mouth prayeth to God we should likewise moue our hands to doe the workes of God and further to teach vs that by this manner of praying with our hands spread and lifted vp Prudentius hymno 6. we should professe Christ crucified as Prudentius saith Secondly He was not suddenly snatcht from them as Elias nor secretly taken away as Enoch was Sed videntibus illis but in the presence of them all his Apostles and Disciples he ascended vp to Heauen Act. 1.9 Thirdly That as he ascended the cloudes receiued him out of their sight to shew that he was the Lord of alâ— his creatures he had already trampled vpon the earth walked vpon the Sea vanquished Hell Bern. Ser. 2. de ascent p. 192. and subdued all infernall things vnder his feet and therefore now the cloudes receiued him and the Heauens are opened to make way for this King of glory to enter in Fourthly He ascended in voce tubae in the sound of a Trumpet not on earth sounding Hosanna but in Heauen crying Haleluiah for God is gone vp with a merry noise and the Lord with the sound of a trumpet Psal 46.5 saith the Psalmist So You haue heard how he went and you shall see him comming after the same manner saith the Angell First With the sound of a trumpet that shall raise the dead and this great trumpet of God is the voyce of the Angels a voyce fearefully crying Surgite mortui venite ad iudicium Arise ye dead and come vnto iudgement a voyce that alwayes made Saint Hierome to quake and tremble whatsoeuer â—ee was a doing Secondly He shall come in the cloudes and we shall be taken vp into the cloudes 1 Thes 4.14 that as we see the cloudes protect vs from the heate of the Sunne so we may be ouershadowed from the heate of the wrath of God by that true cloude Iesus
Christ Thirdly He shall come though vnlookt-for by the wicked as a theefe in the night yet so apparantly that he shall be seene of all the world and with a great company of Angels 2 Pet. 3.10 Et cum milibus sanctorum and with thousands of his Saints as the Apostle saith for the chariots of God are twenty thousands Psal 68.17 euen thousands of Angels and the Lord shall be among them as in the holy place of Sinâ—y Fourthly he shall come with a blessing to reioyce the hearts of his Elect when he shall say vnto them Matth. 25. Come ye blessed of my Father receiue the Kingdome that was prepared for you before the beginning of the world And so much for the motion or his ascending vp CHAP. IIII. The place into which Christ ascended THirdly We are to consider terminus ad quem the place whether he ascended Quò inquit Augustinus nisi quô scimus Aug. in Psal 46. p. 174. b. 2. quô eum Iudaej non sunt secutâ— Where is hee gone but where wee know and where the Iewes shall not be able to follow after Quia in cruce exaltatum irriserunt ideo in coelum ascendentem non viderunt Because they mocked him being nailed on the Crosse therefore they saw him not when hee ascended vp to Heauen and where is he gone saith the Prophet Dauid but on high for thou art gone vp on high that is aboue all Heauens saith the Apostle And therefore by this one little sentence we find three damnable Heresies brought to death First Of them which said his body vanished in the aire Three heresies confuted before he ascended into Heauen for he ascended aboue all heauens Secondly Of them that said he ascended into the Orbe and Circle of the Sunne because it is said in solem posuit tabernaculum suum Psal 19.5 He hath set his Tabernacle in the Sunne which was the opinion of the Hermians and the Passionists as both Nazianzen and Saint Augustine doe affirme for here wee see hee is gone aboue all Heauens and therefore aboue the Orbe of the Sunne and they mistake that place of the Psalmist which is in them hath he set a Tabernacle for the Sunne and not he hath set his Tabernacle in the Sunne Thirdly Of them which teach an vbiquitary Heauen because he is ascended aboue such Heauens Ob. But then it may be obiected that if he be ascended aboue all Heauens then is he in no certaine place because as Aristotle saith Beyond Heauen Arist l. 1. de coelo there is no place Sol. I answere that the Scripture maketh mention of three Heauens That there be three Heauens First Of the Ayre as the Foules of Heauen Secondly Of the Coelestiall Orbes as the Starres of Heauen Thirdly Of the Receptacle of the blessed soules which is called the Kingdome of Heauen And this we must vnderstand to be either 1. Materiall 2. Spirituall 3. Supersubstantiall Christ ascended aboue the materiall Heauens First For the Materiall Heauen he is said to ascend aboue the same First In respect of Glory because the Body of Christ is more glorious then any Materiall Heauen Secondly In respect of the Continency because in nature it is infallible that contentuÌ„ superius est continente the thing contained must be higher then the place contayning Thirdly In respect of his blessed soule because the soule of Christ is more blessed then all things else whatsoeuer Christ ascended aboue the spirituall Heauens Secondly For the spirituall heauens i. e. all Angelicall or Heauenly perfections he is said to ascend aboue them all First In respect of perfection because the body of Christ is more noble and more excellent then any creature not in regard of his corporall substance but in regard of the hypostaticall vnion because it is vnited vnto the Godhead Secondly In respect of his humiliation because he hath vilified himselfe below all things therefore he is worthily exalted aboue all things Thirdly For the supersubstantiall Heauen i. e. God himselfe the place of God he is said in respect of his person to ascend into the same not that the humane nature is ascended to the equality of the Godhead for he is still inferiour to the Father and shall be still subiect to the Father as touching his Manhood but that the person of Christ God and Man sitteth on the right hand of God that is doth rest and raigne exalted aboue all things Vsque ad aequalitatem Maiestatis dei To be in all things equall vnto the Maiesty of God as Saint Augustine expoundeth it Descendit enim quo inferius non decuit ideo ascendit quo altius non potuit For he descended so low as it was not fit for him to goe lower and therefore he ascended so high as it was not possible for him to goe higher saith Saint Bernard And therefore Christ is ascended higher then all created things whatsoeuer Christ higher then all created things First In respect of the place because aboue all Heauens Secondly In respect of power Psal â— 6 because God the Father hath subiected all things vnder his feete i. e. as well things in Heauen as things in Earth Thirdly In respect of Dignity Heb. 1. because he is made more excellent then the Angels Fourthly In respect of this equality euen with God himselfe And so we see how Christ in respect of his person That Christ in respect of his manhood is in the highest part of the emperiall heauens is aboue all Heauens because he is an immeasurable and infinite person which the Heauen of Heauens cannot containe and therefore must needs be euery where but in respect of his humane nature assumed hee is in the highest part or place of the Emperiall Heauen which is the seate of the blessed soules for if he were in no place then much lesse should he be in the Earth in the Sunne or in euery place but Saint Augustine doth most excellently shew Aug. in ep ad Dardan that Vbi corpus ibi locum esse necesse est that wheresoeuer a body is there must needs be place because if we take away dimensions and places from bodies they shall be no where Et sinusquam erunt non erunt and if they be no where they shall not be at all and Saint Peter doth as plainely shew this truth when he saith that the Heauens shall and must containe him Act. 3.21 i. e. In respect of his Manhood for in respect of his Godhead it cannot vntill the restitution of all things and so we professe in our Creede that he sitteth on the right hand of God from whence he shall come i. e. in respect of his humanity for his Deity being euery where cannot be said to goe or to come any where to iudge both the quicke and the dead And therefore it is most certaine that the Body of Christ is in a place that is in the highest part of
Heauen which Oecumenius calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The receptacle of him that is sent Aug. l de fide symbolo c. 6. Cyril in Leuit. l. 9. Vigilius contra Eutych l. 4. and this the Fathers Saint Augustine Cyrillus Alexandrinus Vigilius Theodoret and others haue most fully shewed and proued vnto vs and that for these three speciall ends First That we might be assured our Sauiour Christ remaineth still a true and a perfect man in glory Secondly That we might know where to seeke and where to finde our Sauiour Christ Nam pontifex noster non vtique in terrà quaerendus Orig. in leuit sed in coelo For our high Priest Iesus Christ is not to be sought for in Earth but in Heauen saith Origen therefore as S. Augustine said of Mary Magdalen Aug. de tempore Ser. 133. Quid quaeris in tumulo quem adorare debes in coelo Why seekest thou him in the graue below whom thou shouldest adore in the Heauens aboue so much better might I now say vnto many men Alas why seeke you Christ here on Earth in Bread and Wine and I know not where when as he is no where to be found in respect of his Manhood but in Heauen there is the place where he sitteth on the right hand of the Maiesty of God Thirdly That we might know where we shall be for so our Sauiour saith Iohn 17.24 Father I will that they also whom thou hast giuen mee be with me where I am Ob. But against this it may be obiected that Christ himselfe saith No man ascendeth vnto Heauen but hee that descended from Heauen Iohn 3.13 the Sonne of man which is in Heauen And therefore how shall we haue any hope to ascend vp vnto Heauen Sol. Saint Augustine answereth that we are not therefore to despaire because he ascendeth alone i. e. by his proper strength and power for we shall be eleuated and taken vp by the power of Christ who came therefore downe from Heauen that he might carry vs vp into Heauen that were falling downe into Hell or as the same Saint Augustine saith We ought therefore to be vnited vnto him That we must be vnited to Christ if we will ascend where Christ is that so it might be but one Christ which descended and ascended he descended as the head of his Church and he ascendeth with his whole body which is his Church hee descended naked and he ascendeth clothed with our flesh and he descended as a husband without a wife but he ascendeth married vnto his Church and so he and vs is but one one body one flesh Vnitas nos compaginat vni Aug. in Psal 122. p. 591. Our vnity with him makes vs one with him and therefore they onely shall not ascend which are not nor will not be made one with him but our conuersation is in Heauen and our life is hid with Christ in God and therefore he might well say No man ascendeth but he that descendeth if you vnderstand it of Christ mystically that is of him wholly of him and all his members because none but his members shall ascend into Heauen And so you see the place where Christ ascended into heauen Rupertus de offic diuin c. 8. Quomodo autem sit in coelo corpus domini curiosissimum est quaerere But to inquire how the body of Christ is in Heauen whether sitting or standing whether naked or clothed Aug. l. de fide sym which Clemens Alexandrinus denyeth because the Saints in Heauen shall haue no need of clothing or how he ascended into Heauen whether in a purple robe as Fredernus Nausea supposeth out of Esay Esay 63.2 whose meaning is far otherwise then Nausea thinketh and many other curious questions they are farre fitter to be buried in silence then to be once determined by any modest Christian because as Saint Augustine saith Curious questions ought not to be discussed Non est nostrae fragilitatis secreta coelorum discutere sed est fidei nostra de dominici corporis dignitate sublimia honesta sapere It is not possible for our weakenesse to vnderstand the secrets of Heauen it is inough that by faith we beleeue and conceiue worthy things Idem quo sup de fide symb and that holily and modestly concerning Christ And so much for the explication of the first part which is of the Ascention of our Sauiour Christ. Branch 2. BRANCH II. CHAP. V. Of the application of this Doctrine of the Ascention of Christ vnto our selues both in respect of consolation and imitation The Doctrine of Christs Ascention may serue for a double end SEcondly For the application of this Doctrine vnto our selues you must note that it may serue for a double end 1. Of Consolation 2. Of Imitation First Our Consolation is likewise twofold 1. That he is gone to Heauen For 2. That he is not vnmindfull of vs on earth For Aug. in Act. First Dum naturam humanam syderibus Christus importauit credentibus coelum patere posse monstrauit Whereas Christ hath caried our humane nature vnto heauen he hath thereby shewed that now Heauen is open for all beleeuers saith Saint Augustine O then how much should we reioyce hereat because now onely we see indeed which before we onely saw in hope the Chyrography and hand-writing of our damnation blotted out and the sentence of our corruption quite changed for now we see that nature Gen. 3.19 to whom it was said Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt returne to haue gone to Heauen and there to raigne without end Neither are wee onely made possessors of Heauen but we doe receiue more ample and more excellent things by this most ineffable glory of Christ then we haue lost by that inueterate enuy of the Deuill Nam quos diabolus de Paradiso eiecit Leo in Ser. de Ascent hos dei filius in coelo collocauit For whom Satan hath cast out of Paradise Christ hath brought them vnto euerlasting happinesse Secondly As it is our comfort that he hath giuen vs possession of heauen so it is as great a comfort vnto vs That Christ in Heauen forgetteth not his seruants here on earth that he being in Heauen is not vnmindfull of vs that are here on earth Indeed Pharaoh's butler forgat Ioseph when he ascended vnto his masters fauour and so it is an vsuall thing in the world for all great men that haue beene raised vp of nothing to be most vnmindefull of their poore friends and acquaintance they hold it a point of pollicie to know them not or at least to looke strangley and sternely vpon them whereupon it is most truely sayd Asperius nihil est humili cum surgit in altum None so disdainfull none so proud as they that haue ascended vp on high from meane estate but it is not so with Christ for though he be gone vp on high from
those daily heapes of our actuall transgressions And therefore you must giue me leaue to insist a little vpon this point and to take a further view of this our immortall enemie this actuall sinne that bringeth death I confesse it is an Hydrian beast that hath many heads it is like a continued quantitie that admits of infinite sections I cannot touch them all yet for methods sake and the furtherance of our memory I desire you to consider these three points Three things considered in the handling of actuall sin 1. The nature of it how it is defined 2. The degrees whereby it is increased 3. The manner how it is committed CHAP. II. Of actuall sinne what it is and by what degrees it inwardly increaseth Aug. contra faustum lib. 22. cap. 27. What actuall sinne is SAint Augustine defineth sinne to be factum aut dictum aut concupitum contra legem Dei any fact or word or thought that is contrary to the Law of God and Saint Ambrose briefer sayth that sinne is the breach of Gods Law but Zanchius fuller Zanch. de peccato actuali lib. 1. thes 1. pag. 161. and to my content playner sayth that an actuall sinne is an anomie * A want of rule whereby those humane acts that doe proceede from the corruption of our flesh are contrary to the Will of God ingraffed in the mindes of men and especially reuealed in the word of trueth for heerein is expressed both the matter and the forme of sinne The matter of sinne must be a humane act First Materiale peccati the matter of sinne is sayd to be a humane act whether thought word or deede for otherwise it cannot be sayd to be an actuall sinne where there is no act and therefore not onely in sinnes of commission as adultery murther theft and such like but also in those sinnes which are called sinnes of omission as not to pray not to doe that seruice vnto God which we owe vnto him there is not onely a meere priuation but there must be also aliquid positiuum some act that makes the sinne as when thou omittest thy duety either because thou wilt not doe it and there is an act of thy will or because thou canst not remember and hast forgotten to doe it and there is an act of thy memorie or else thy vnwillingnesse thy vnablenesse and thy forgetfulnesse doe proceede from some act and occasion either present or precedent Furor iraque mentem precipitant which makes thee to omitte the things commaunded and so to sinne as when thy feare blindes thy iudgement that thou canst not discerne the trueth or thy drunkennesse causeth thee to sleepe when thou shouldest be hearing the word of God But you must not thinke euery humane act to bee a sinne but onely those that doe proceede from the corruption of our flesh and are contrarie to the Will of God For Secondly Formale peccati The very being of sinne is an erring from the will of God Psal 40.10 as the Schoolemen call it the very being of sinne is a deuiation from the Will of God For the Will of God is to be alwayes set before our eyes as the onely rule whereby we are to square all our actions and therefore euery man should say with the Psalmist In the volume of thy booke it is written of me that I should fulfill thy will O my God I am content to doe it and euery man should doe as he saith Thy will be done in earth as it is Heauen for whosoeuer erreth from his Will sinneth against his owne Soule but whosoeuer doth the will of my Father the same is my brother and my sister and my mother Mar. 3.35 sayth our Sauiour Christ But because the will of God is not alwayes knowne to vs neither can we search into that which hee concealeth from vs therefore you must vnderstand that the reuealed will of God is lydius-lapis that touch-stone which trieth euery action and makes it either iust or sinnefull The will of God is reuealed in our consciences and in the Scriptures Now this will of God is reuealed in the booke of euery mans conscience and in the booke of holy Scriptures For of the first the Apostle saith that the Gentiles though they had not the written Law of Moses yet had they the Law of God written in their hearts because there consciences bare them witnesse what was to be performed and what was to be eschewed and did accuse them when they did ill and excuse them when they did well and therefore whatsoeuer they did against their owne conscience they did the same against the will of God reuealed and ingrauen in their hearts and therefore the Apostle saith that as many as haue sinned without the law Rom. 2.14 verse 14. i. e. without the written law of Moses shall also perish without the Law because they hauing not the law were a law vnto themselues And The word of God is diuided into two parts id est 1. The law 2. The Gospel For the 2. wee must not onely vnderstand the Law of decalogue or 10. commandements although that bee the chiefest rule to expresse all sinne but we must also consider the Gospel as a part of that booke wherin the reuealed will of God is expressed for there are many things forbidden and many things commaunded in the Gospell which are not plainely expressed or mentioned in the Law as to beleeue Iesus the sonne of Mary to be the Messias whereby all sinnes are taken away and without whom all sinnes doe remaine for so Christ himselfe testifieth Iohn 6.9 that the holy Ghost should reprooue the world of sinne because they did not beleeue in him and therfore whatsoeuer act is done against the will of God reuealed either in the Law or the Gospell the same is sinne Secondly For the degrees whereby sin is increased we must note Bernardus de grad humilitatis that nemo repentinè fit pessimus sed paulatim descendit no man is suddenly desperately euil but he descendeth to hel by little and little for the deuill is like a serpent creeping and sliding by little and little when wee cannot perceiue his pathes and therefore we should be very wary to marke his footesteps Now as euery sinne is committed either inwardly or outwardly Jsidorus de summo bono Sinne is inwardly increased by three degrees so euery sinne is increased either inwardly in our mindes or outwardly in our actions 1. Inwardly it increaseth and groweth by 3. degrees 1. By the suggestion of Satan 2. By the delight of the Flesh 3. By the consent of the Spirit The first we cannot well auoyde because Satan is euer busie to suggest sinne into vs Satan suggesteth sinne diuers wayes sometimes horribly to prodigious villanies sometimes secretly hee insinuates himselfe vnder the shape of an Angel of Light and suggesteth sinne vnder the shew of Vertue and thus in euery member of our Bodies
those things that are dâ—ne of vs in darkenesse and therefore wee will vse all our skill to couer it and conceale it vnder the shâ—dow of the fig-leaues that if it be possible neither God nor the world may espie the same For sinne of it selfe is so vgly and so deformed a thing that the sinner himselfe if hee could but truely see the same would truely lothe it How Satan seekes by all meanes to conceale the light of Gods Word And therefore Satan laboureth by all meanes to put out either verbum predicatum the preaching of Gods Word which is the true light and candle that shineth vnto euery man and sheweth him the right wayes of godlinesse or else verbum applicatum the applying of this word vnto our soules which is as the eyes whereby we doe perceiue this light without which we are like blinde men that can see nothing in the clearest day the first of these he put out in the dayes of superstition when men walked in darkenesse and knew not where they went they knew not what was sinne And the second hee puts out now in the Sun-shine of the Gospell when the light shineth in darkenesse John 1. and the darkenesse comprehendeth it not and therefore he causeth more sinnes and more horrible sinnes to be committed now in the light of the Gospell We care not what great sinnes we doe so we may conceale them then euer were done heretofore in the night of ignorance for now hauing our owne eyes of the application of Gods light put out by that myst of malice which blindeth vs we care not how much how great sinnes wee doe commit so wee could put out the eyes of perspection that the world might not see the same As the Hypocrites care was altogether that their good works might be seene of men so all our care is that our euill works may not be seene of men Sinne creepes into vs as the Serpent crept into Paradise we know not how we may well demaund the question quomodâ— intrasti how camest thou in hither but we shall finde the resolution that it was most secretly and insensibly and therefore we will conceale it as cunningly either like Appollonius the Iugler who as soone as he was before the Iudge was presently vanished out of his fight Wee hide our sinnes that none mâ—y see them and we will stand in sinne that we haue not sinned and as Salomons harlot would wipe her mouth and it was not shee or as Pilate would wash his hands when he had condemned the Innocent blood So now the drunkard when he cannot stand will stand to it that he is not drunke and the swearer sweares and out-sweares all and if you tell him of it he presently sweares he swore not at all And thus as Rachel hid her fathers Teraphim vnder a smooth pretence Gen. 31.35 that it was with her after the manner of women or as Achan hid his wedge so doth euery sinner seeke to hide his sinnes And if we cannot hide them but that sinne it selfe like Abels blood will cry so loud that it must be heard then presently we will either lessen our sinnes with Saul and say we did it indeed but it was with no ill intent I saued the fattest but it was for a sacrifice for the Lord or else with Adam we will transferre our sinnes from our selues to others light where they will though it were on God himselfe For the woman that thou gauest me gaue it me and I did eate So cunning is euery man to conceale his sinne But alas Quid ille qui mundum quatit vibrans coruscat fulmen Aetneum manu stator deorum credis hoc posse effici inter videntes omnia vt lateas avos Senec. in Hipol act 1. Iohn 1. That we cannot possibly hide our sins from the eyes of God Psal 139. Iohn 1.18 Iohn 1.48 Melissa par 1. serm 16. Quid ille rebus lumen infundens suum matris parens What if thou couldest escape the eyes of men is it possible for thee to blinde the all-seeing eyes of God for hee is the true light that shineth and giueth light to euery thing and he beholdeth the ends of the world and seeth all things that are vnder Heauen saith holy Iob He is about our beds and about our pathes and espieth out all our wayes saith the Prophet Dauid and his name is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Because hee seeth and beholdeth all things all things are naked in his eyes and therefore what aduantageth it thee to conceale thy sinnes from the knowledge of men when thou canst no wayes hide them from the eyes of God For though no man saw God at any time yet God seeth man at all times He saw Nathanael vnder the figge-tree when Nathanael saw not him and hee seeth thee committing sinne when thou seest no man but thy selfe And therefore beware of sinne though no man seeth thee Nam quemadmodum ignis si tunica tegatur For as the fire that is hid vnder thy coat or in the straw may bee concealed for a time but at last it will burst out to thy cost so thy sinne which thou doest in secret may be kept secret for a while but at last like an vnwedded Virgins pregnancy it will appeare to thy shame Claudian de 4. consul honorij Nam lux altissima fati occultum nil esse sinit latebrasque per omnes intrat obstrusos explorat fama recessus For there is no thought so secret that it shall goe for nought Sap. 1.7.10 because the Spirit of the Lord filleth the world and hath knowledge of the voyce and the eare of ielousie heareth all things the voyce of murmurings is not hid and therefore our Sauiour saith That whatsoeuer is done in secret shall be preached openly It may be in this life as the adultery of Dauid and almost all other horrible facts as Treasons Adulteryes Murthers and such like whereof we see almost none but God strangely and by vnknowne wayes doth bring to light or assuredly in the next life when God shall shew the Nations our shame and discouer all our most secret sinnes in the sight of men and Angels The longer we practice sinne the more impudent we grow in sinne 2. After that the Sinner hath accustomed himselfe to priuate and secret sinnes then he begins to grow bolder and bolder and as further and further from all goodnesse so worse and worse in all wickednesse For as Seneca saith Seneca in Hip. Obstare primum est velle nec labi via pudor est secundus nosse peccandi modum When we haue cast off all shame of sinne we are past all hope of goodnesse To withstand the sinne is the best and not to fall but if we haue fallen to be ashamed that we haue learned the way to sinne is the best planke after shipwracke to saue a man but when a man hath cast off all shame of his ill-doing
making but a mocke of God and of all godlinesse And therefore the Prophet sayth of such sinners that they haue made a couenant with death and an agreement with hell it selfe i. e. neuer to forsake that sinfull course of life till death doth send them quicke to Hell But I could wish that they would be herein false and as they haue broken the couenant of their God That wee should breake the couenant which we haue made with Hell if euer we would goe to Heauen which they haue made with him in Baptisme so they would break this agreement with Hell and cast off these cords from them for the reward of sinne is death and therefore much more of such fearefull sinnes as these bee And so you see the degrees by which sinne is increased CHAP. IV. Of the manner how euery Sinne is committed THirdly hauing seene how sinne is augmented The manner how euery sinne is committed is foure-fold and groweth more and more haynous by degrees like the Cockatrice egge that in a short time prooues to be a destroying fiery Serpent you must now vnderstand the manner how euery sin is committed and that we find to be 1. Of Ignorance 2. Of Knowledge 3. Of Infirmitie 4. Of Malice First The heathen man sayth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whosoeuer knoweth nothing sinneth nothing and Diuines say he that knoweth least sinneth least That ignorance is twofold But here you must vnderstand Ignorance to be twofold First Simple when a man therefore knowes not because he cannot learne Secondly Affected when a man therefore knowes not because he will not learne as those in Iob who said vnto God Discede à nobis quia scientiam viarum tuarū nolumus Job 21.14 Depart from vs for we will not haue knowledge of thy wayes and therefore the Prophet complaineth of such ignorant men quod noluerunt intelligere vt bene agerent that they refused to learne that they might doe well quod caeci licet ducem tamen non modo non quaerunt sed oblatum respuunt and that although they were starke blind and could see nothing Bern in ep ad magist Vincent yet not onely sought no guide but refused and contemned them that were offered as Saint Bernard speaketh The first may excuse vs à tanto licet non à toto That simple ignorance doth extenuate the sinne Acts 17.30 1. Tim. from the greater punishment though not from blame as Saint Paul sheweth of the Gentiles saying The times of this ignorance God regarded not and of himselfe That God had mercy vpon him because in persecuting the Church Hee did it ignorantly For this circumstance doth much extenuate a sinne when a man can pleade for himselfe with Abimelech Gen. 20.4 Lord wilt thou slay the righteous Nation As if he should haue sayd O Lord lay not this sinne to my charge for if I had knowne her to be his wife I would neuer haue intended to make her mine And therefore this moued our Sauiour at the time of his passion to say Father forgiue them Luke 23.43 for they know not what they doe Which is as if he should haue said if they knew that I were the Messias the sonne of God and the Sauiour of the world and would notwithstanding crucifie me Luke 24.43 then would I not desire thee to pardon them but now these things are concealed from them and therefore I desire thee that this sinne may not be imputed vnto them And so Saint Peter after he had declared their sinne how They had denied the Holy and Iust and had preferred before him a most vniust and wicked murtherer he deliuereth their comfort that if they would repent and beleeue in him they should obtaine remission and haue their sinnes done away at the time of refreshing Acts 3.17 Because they had done all this through ignorance And so the Lord himselfe sheweth this to be the reason why he spared Niniueh after the denouncement of her iudgement because There were sixescore thousand persons therein Ionas 4.11 which could not iudge betwixt good and bad which could not discerne betwixt their right hand and their left For a simple ignorance in a deuoted and well-meaning man such as Saint Augustine calls fidelis ignorantia a faithfull ignorance or the ignorance of a good faithfull man whose heart like Iehosophat 2 Chron. 20.32.33 is vpright towards God though he faile in many particular duties is either passed ouer in mercy as was the superstition of our forefathers Acts 10. or else is illuminated with knowledge in Gods appointed time Psal 50. vlt. as we reade of Cornelius and as the Apostle sheweth and the Psalmist promiseth To him that ordereth his conuersation right will I shew the Saluation of God Bosq de finibus bonarum l. 2. conc 12. p. 123. But the 2. that is affected ignorance Scaelus adcusat grauius non excusat augetque non minuit supplicium it doth inlarge the sin increase the punishment and it should treble the same sayth Bosquierus First For committing the sinne Secondly For neglecting to learne and Thirdly For affecting ignorance for when things are not knowne because men will not learne such ignorance is without excuse Quia aliud est nescire aliud est nolle scire Bernard in ep ad Valent Chrysost nescire ignorantia est scire noluisse superbia est Because this refusing to know is rather Arrogancie then Ignorancie as Saint Bernad sayth Gregor in Moral And therefore of such ignorant men quibus fuit inveniendi facultas si fuisset quaerendi voluntas Which had the meanes to know How dangerous a thing it is to be wilfully ignorant of the will of God if they had had the desire to learne the Apostle sayth si quis ignorat ignorabitur if any man know not God the same shall not be knowne of God for as the blinde and lame were not to enter into the Temple so the iudge biddeth vs educere foras populum caecum occulos habentes to bring forth and shut out of his kingdome those men which haue eyes and cannot see and which haue eares and doe not heare that is which are borne to know but will not learne and which are capable of discipline and yet will remaine vntaught Cokus de iure regis ecclesiastico And so in humane lawes we find the same truth Nam tantum abest vt ignorantia excuset c. For it is so far from reason that ignorance should any wayes excuse the fault of him which might know the truth that hee ought necessarily to haue knowne but through his negligence or wilfulnesse would not learne the same as that there is very great reason that he should be the more seuerely punished because that to be ignorant of those things which a man ought to know but will not learne non pro ignorantia sed pro contemptu haberi debet is rather to bee
as hee which beleeueth in Christ as sayth the Apostle and prouideth not for his familie hath denied the faith and is worse then an Infidell and as he which professeth Christian Religion and with his knowledge and Faith and Baptisme hath no good maners no holinesse of life and conuersation which may expresse the liuelihood of this doctrine but hath onely a certaine shew of Religion hauing denied the power thereof is farte worse then an Infidell so is he which sinneth wittingly through knowledge by so much worse then he is which sinneth through ignorance as an inexcusable sinne is worse then that which hath a iust excuse And so Saint Isidore sayth Jsidorus de summo bono l 2. that tanto maius peccatum esse cognoscitur quanto maior qui peccat habetur according to the quality of the offender so is the qualitie of the offence Criminostor culpa est vbi honestior status the greater the man is which sinneth the greater is the sinne which he committeth for as Plato sayth that ignorantia potentum robustorumque hominum hostilis atque teterrima res est the ignorance of great and mighty men is a most vile and hatefull thing Why the sins of great men of eminent place are the greatest sins because it may bee very hurtfull vnto many so may we say that the sinnes of great men and of those that are in place and authoritie are exceedingly sinnefull and doe deserue the greater condemnation not onely because their sinnes are exemplarie sinnes as the old verse sayth Regis ad exemplum totus componitur orbis and as the prouerbe is like Priest like People Matth. 6.23 but also because in them is required the more eminent vertue wee should bee the light of the world and the great men should be the defenders of the distressed and the helpers of the needy and therefore Si lumen quod in te est tenebrae sunt ipsae tenebrae quatae erunt If thou which shouldest be at patterne of all vertue committest sinne how great is thy sin and if they which should be Patrons of the poore Preachers become robbers of the Church and they which should be Releeuers of the needy become oppressors of their neighbours how intollerable is that cruelty Surely though these things should be but small sinnes in others yet in vs they are horrible transgressions Chrysost hom 24 in c. 7. Matth. Quia impossibile omnino nobis est ad ignorantiae praesidium aliquando confugere Because it is vnpossible for vs to finde any excuse for our selues And therefore though Gentlemen and Courtiers Citizens and worldlings doe leade their liues in lewdnesse and turne the graces of God into wantonnesse and thinke it no great sinnes but either the infirmities of their youth or but the custome of their times yet in vs that are the Preachers of Gods Word or in those that are the Gouernours of the people the least sinne or mis-cariage of our selues which perhaps alijs ignoscitur nobis imputatur is but a veniall sinne in others and shall be pardoned will be found a haynous sinne in vs for which we shall be surely punished Bern. l. 2. de consid ad Eugen. for so Saint Bernard saith Inter seculares nugae nugae sunt in ore sacerdotis sunt blasphemiae Triffles are but triffles among secular men but in the mouth of the Priests triffles proue to be blasphemies and therfore the wise man saith that the meane and the simple man shall obtaine mercy Wis 6.6 when the wise and the mighty shall be mightily punished CHAP. VI. How euery sinne and the least sinne of euery one bringeth death YOu haue heard the diuersity of sinners and the inequality of sinnes and therfore I might now proceed vnto the second part which is the reward of sinne but that I may not forget to obserue that the Apostle saith indefinitely the reward of sinne is death to teach vs these three speciall lessons 1. That euery One sinne brings death 2. That the sinne of euery one brings death 3. That the least sin of any one brings death for First He sayth the reward of sinne is death not of sinnes That any one sinne is sufficient to bring death vnto the Sinner 1 Sam. 17. 2 Sam. 20 9. Sueton. in vit Caesar One is inough if there were no more For as one leake in a shippe is sufficient to sinke it and one vaynes bleeding is inough to let out all the vitall spirits and one wound may kill Golias and Amasa as well as 23 did Caesar So one proud disdainefull thought may cast Lucifer out of Heauen one Apple may cast Adam out of Paradise and one sinne may bring death vpon any one of the sonnes of Adam And therefore seeing the puritie of God can abide no sinne and his iustice will so seuerely punish euery sinne Gen. 3.24 we should not giue way to any sinne for though we keepe the royall Law James 2.10 yet if we fail but in any one point we are guilty of all not that he which committeth any one sin committeh all sinnes but that he is as guilty of death by that one sinne as if hee had committed all sinnes and God can as easily spie out one sinne in man though he had no more as well as he could spie out one man amongst his guests which had not on his wedding garment Matth. 22.12 Secondly as One sinne so the sinne of any one brings death That the sin of any one man be he great or small brings death Gal. 3.10 Jerem 22 24. for cursed is euery one whosoeuer he be that continueth not in all things that are written in the Booke of the Law for to doe them saith the Lord and the soule which sinneth that soule shall die saith the Prophet and Coniah if he offend though he were as the Signet on Gods right hand yet will God cut him off saith the Lord. But what haue not Kings and Princes Lords and Ladies great men Knights and rich men haue not they any priuiledge to haue their pleasures nor any prerogatiue to commit any sinne must they haue no more liberty then the poorest peasant Yes that they haue for when the meane men cannot offend but presently they shall be reprooued and it may be punished whereby many times they are brought to repentance and are themselues cleansed and haue their sinnes pardoned the great men The dangerous estate of Great men because many of vs dare not reproue them for feare to offend them and so to be offended by them may goe on in their sinnes without controulement they may doe it without feare though with the more danger for though it be true of a poore fearefull Preacher dat veniam coruis vexat censura columbas that he dares not reprooue these mighty men yet with God there is no respect of persons but Veniam laeso numine nullus habet If Moses the Prince of Gods people
but it stingeth vs to death And so indeed it is like the Deuill Cyprian l. 1. ep 8. a lyer and the father of lies Quia peccatum mentitur vt fallat vitam pollicetur vt perimat Because euery sinne lies that it may deceiue vs and proposeth pleasure that it may bring vs into paine Venerab Beda l. exhort 4 5. Venerable Bede compareth sinne vnto a Witch which transformeth euery man vnto a Monster as Lust maketh a man like a Syren or an Horse to yeane after his neighbours wife Sloth makes him like an Asse or Ostridge Crueltie like a Wolfe or Hyenna Couetousnesse like the rauening Harpies and so euery other sinne makes the poore Sinner to become Monstrum horrendum ingens cui lumen ademptum The most vgly Monster vpon the face of the earth Why then should we not hate this sinne which speaketh friendly vnto vs and promiseth great felicity but in the end brings vs to the extreamest misery Bern. insentent Quia via peccati ingredientes contaminat progredientes obstinat egredientes exterminat Because as Saint Bernard saith sinne in the first entrance defileth in the progresse hardneth and in its going out destroyeth euery Sinner and as Salomon saith of the Harlot her wayes leade vnto death and her footsteps take hold of Hell so the same is most true of sinne and therefore if any man should be asked what hee doth in sinne hee might iustly answer as an old Courtier did when he wâ—s demanded Euery sinne payeth the same wages though it promiseth seuerall pleasures what he did in Court I doe nothing but vndoe my selfe For the reward of sinne is death And here likewise you may obserue that although euery sinne doth not promise the same thing for some sinnes promise pleasure some profit some honour and some one thing and some another yet euery sinne brings vs to the same end and in the end payeth vs with the same reward for the reward of sinne of any sinne is death But because Thriuerus Apoth 19. as many doe make none account of most deadly diseases by reason that they are ignorant of the dangerous effects of the same Ita multi euidenter peccant quia turpitudinem consequentiam peccati perspectam non habent So many men feare not to sinne but doe as smoothly drinke vp the same as pleasant Wine because they doe not vnderstand the filthinesse and wretched effects of sinne and because as if a man might with his outward eyes behold the beauty of vertue and goodnesse mirabilem amorem excitaret sui It would wonderfully inflame their hearts with the loue thereof So if we did behold the loathsomnesse of sinne and consider well the fearefull euents thereof it would make vs with Iob Iob 42 6. to abhorre our selues in Dust and Ashes Therefore I will search a little further into this Labyrinth of sinne and take a little more paines to vnfold the miserable effects of the same for the reward of Sinne is Death When sinne is first committed it wil presently gall and wound our consciences and it will continually shew vnto vs how good a Law is violated how great a Maiestie is offended and how grieuous a punishment we haue deserued and a the Poet saith Occultum quatiante animo tortore flagellum Juven Satyr 13. When the great Tormentor will shake his hidden whip in the soule of the offender then is he troubled night and day walking in the hands of his executioner and sleeping like the Nightingall which hath alwayes a pricke before her breast Neither is this all for the reward of sinne is death Now by Death By Death are vnderstood all the miseries contayned vnder the curse of God we must vnderstand not onely the separation of the body and soule of man but all other things that are comprehended vnder the curse of God for the curse of God and the Death of Man are Voces aequipollentes equiualent termes and doe signifie the same thing and therefore as Saint Paul saith here The wages of sinne is Death So he saith else-where out of Moses Gal. 3.10 Cursed is euery one that continueth not in all things that are written in the Booke of the Law for to doe them And we find that the curse of God for the sinne of man extendeth it selfe 1. To all those creatures that were created and made for the vse of man 2. To all the properties and faculties of each part of man Rom 8 20. and 22. First The creature was made subiect vnto vanity and groaneth and trauelleth in paine vntill now not of it owne accord but by reason of the transgression of man the earth was accursed for his sake and the very Heauens were subiected vnto vanity and as then hee dealt with Adam so euer since he dealeth in like manner with all the sonnes of Adam Psal 107.34 for he maketh a fruitfull land barren for the iniquity of them that dwell therein that is either such as bringeth forth no fruits at all or else such as where Infaelix lolium steriles dominantur auenae How the earth is accursed and her fruits by reason of our sinnes The good seed is ouergrowen with darnell smothered with thornes or spoyled with cockle for though the earth was made to yeeld vs fruits of increase yet instantly vpon our sinning the grounds denied to pay her tribute vnlesse as the Poet sayth iuncto boue aratra trahuntur we doe rippe vp her bowells to fetch it out of her bellie And yet this is not all for though we manure the ground and plant the seede neuer so fayre yet except the Lord giues the increase all our labour is but in vaine And the Lord tells vs plainely that if we cease to sinne and serue our God Psal 107.35 he will make the Wildernesse a standing water and water springs of a drie ground but if we continue in sinne and sow iniquitie Hosea 8.7 hee tells vs plainely wee shall reape but vanitie and if we sow the wind wee shall reape but whirlewind for our haruest And therefore if God stoppeth the windowes of Heauen and withholdeth the raine from vs 1 Reg. 17.1 as he did in the dayes of Elias and so causeth the Heauens to be as brasse and the earth to be as iron vnder our feete the one yeelding no dew the other bearing no fruit or if God openeth the Cataracts and floodgates of Heauen Gen. 7.11 as hee did in the dayes of Noah and so cause the Heauens to weepe and the floods to cary away our fruits before we can carry them into our barnes then must we know Saluian Massaliâ— de guber dei that all this and whatsoeuer of this kinde happeneth to vs is inflicted vpon vs for our sinnes quia ira diuinitatis est paena peccantis because all the grieuous effects of Gods wrath Gen. 3 17. are the iust deserts of mans sinne for cursed is the Earth for
Praesbyt Iob 28.24 and his being vnconceiuable saith Thalassus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For he is euery where and he seeth euery thing when as nothing can see him Ob. But here it may be some will say that although now by reason of sinne that blindeth vs we can neither see his Essence nor comprehend his excellency Cor. 15.53 yet when this corruption shall put on incorruption and this vaile of ignorance shall be taken from vs we shall fully see him and comprehend him in his excellency 1 Cor. 13.12 for we shall see him face to face we shall see him as he is and we shall know him as we are knowne And therefore he is neither so inuisible nor so incomprehensible but that hee might bee seene and comprehended were it not for our sinnes and ignorance that doe so blinde our vnderstandings that we cannot perceiue him Sol. That the Essence of God shall not be seene in Heauen but in the face of Iesus Christ To this I answere that if Adam had neuer sinned yet could he neuer haue seene the essence of God vnlesse God would haue taken some visible shape vpon him to appeare vnto him and so I say that in the life to come when the Saints shall be free from all sin and indued with a farre more excellent measure of knowledge and vnderstanding then euer Adam was in Paradise they shall neuer see the Dietie any otherwise then in the face of Iesus Christ for so the Apostle sheweth that God who commanded the light to shine out of darkenesse hath shined in our hearts 2 Cor. 4.6 to giue the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Iesus Christ Iohn 14.7 9. 10. v. And our Sauiour himselfe more plainely saith when Philip desired to see the Father He that knoweth me knoweth the Father and hee that seeth me seeth the Father because I am in the Father and the Father in me And therefore I say that Visio Dei beatifica The blessed fruition of the Godhead which the Saints shall haue in Heauen shall bee no otherwise reueiled vnto vs then in the face of the Man Iesus Christ because the Deitie considered in it selfe Inhabitat lucem inaccessibilem 1 Tim. 6.16 dwelleth in the light that no man can attaine vnto And so you see the occasion of these words that God hauing told Moses he could neither see his Essence nor yet fully vnderstand his Excellency he would notwithstanding so farre satisfie his desire as to shew him all that he could possibly comprehend viz. that he was Iehoua Iehoua strong mercifull and gracious c. Et sic condescendit nobis Deus vt nos consurgamus ei And thus God doth most graciously condescend and make himselfe knowne to man that man might ascend and as much as possibly lyeth in him know his God In all this Diuine description of Almighty God The diuision of the Text. I find these two especiall things set downe 1. Quid est 2. Qualis est Deus i. e. 1. What God is and 2. What manner of God he is And in the handling of these two points I shall by Gods helpe spend and finish this whole Treatise CHAP I. Of the description of God how he maybe knowne what he is Part. 1. and of this speciall Name IEHOVA TOuching the first Part Danda imprimis opera est vt Deum noscamus quotquot faelices esse volumus It must be the chiefest care of all that would bee happy to know God which is the chiefest happinesse of all for to feare God and to keepe his Commandments Hoc est omnis homo This is the dutie and this is the felicity of euery man Bernard At non potes aut amare quem non noueris aut habere quem non amaueris But thou canst not either loue him whom thou dost not know or imoy him whom thou dost not loue Quia ignoti nulla cupido Because Knowledge is the ground of loue and whom we loue not we can neither seeke any helpe from him nor yet render any seruice to him Iohn 17 3. and therefore our Sauiour saith that this is eternall life to know him to be the onely true God and whom he hath sent Iesus Christ And this is the reason why so many thousands shall be destroyed 2 Thess 1.8 because they know not God And this the very Heathens perceiued though they could not attaine it when among all their Precepts this was their chiefest lesson 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Know God That there are three wayes of knowing God Now we must vnderstand that there are three wayes of knowing God I speake not of that knowledge which the Booke of Nature teacheth for that is too small to make vs happy but of that which we doe collect out of the Booke of God and those according to the Schooles are these Exod. 23.19.20.23 The first is according to that which he is in himselfe whereby he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vnspeakeable infinite and incomprehensible and thus none knoweth God but God himselfe and the reason hereof is that although Nihil magis intelligibile quam Deus Nothing of his owne nature is more intelligible then God because he is the first Zanch. de nat Dei l 3. c. 2. p. 199. the perfectest and the truest being most pure and simple and free from any matter yet is our vnderstanding towards God but as the eyes of the Owles or Reremouse which are not able to behold the brightnesse of the Sunne and therefore thus if we seeke to know him That we are not able to know God as he is in himselfe wee shall be but like Symonides that being commanded by the Emperour to tell him what God was demanded three dayes respite for to resolue so great a quaere and when hee came hee required sixe dayes more and being therefore asked why he prolonged so the time and thereby so deluded him he ingeniously answered because the more I search into him the further I finde my selfe from attaining to him And therefore in this respect we should Sapere ad sobrietatem Bee wise vnto sobriety and not curiously search into his ineffable Maiestie but rather with the Cherubims to couer our faces with two of our Wings Esay 6.2 because we are not able to know him as he is The second is according to that which may be knowne of vs and may be any wayes comprehended in our mindes and best vnderstandings And thus we conceiue him to be most admirable but yet by infinite degrees inferior to that which he is in himselfe and therefore we should striue and labour what we can to vnderstand and know him more and more for the more fully that we shall know him the more perfectly we shall loue him and the more perfectly wee loue him the more happinesse wee shall adde vnto our owne felicity The third is according to that which may be
neque sua natura simpliciter sunt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which are neither contrary to the Nature of God nor yet of their owne Nature simply impossible to be done What things are repugnant to the Nature of God First of the first kinde are all those actions which though they may be done of the creatures yet haue they no place with God and such are to sinne to moue to die to walke to eate and all other humane acts and so whatsoeuer doth repugne the nature of God or be any wayes contrary to his essentiall or personall properties because to be able to doe these things were to euert and destroy the nature and properties of God And therefore God cannot imagine any folly because this doth contradict his Wisedome August ser 119. de temp he cannot suffer any sinne to goe vnpunished because that is contrary to his Iustice neither can he lye because that is contrary to his Truth neither can he doe but he must be iust good wise pure inuisible incorporeall so forth not onely because that to be able to doe this would argue a defect of power but especially because the denyall and sublation or taking away of these properties is the negation and destruction of the Essence of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For the taking away of the essentiall properties Theodor. Dialog 3. is the abolishing of the nature saith Theodoret And therefore these and the like things which doe repugne with the essentiall or personall properties of God cannot be done on Gods part nor by God though they may be done by the creatures because in very deede he cannot by any meanes will to doe these things for none can naturally will That God cannot will those things that are contrary to his nature to bee contrary to that which naturally he willeth to be as no man can naturally will himselfe to be miserable because euery man naturally willeth felicitie and therefore seeing God is naturally Wise True and Good it is most absolutely necessarie that hee should alwayes Will Wisedome Trueth and Goodnesse and cannot possibly Will the contrary as Theodoret doth most excellently say Dominus Deus nihil vult eorum quae non sibi suapte natura insunt potest quaecunque vult vult quae naturae suae apta conuenientia sunt God cannot will any of those things which are not naturally agreeable vnto him he can doe what he will Jdem quo supra and he can will whatsoeuer is apt and agreeable to his nature Secondly Of the second kinde are all those things How contradictories doe destroy each other which implie a contradiction as for a thing to bee and not to bee together because all such things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sunt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are simply and absolutely impossible as contradictorily repugning and so destroying one another and therefore can no wayes be done Quia res talis non potest habere rationem factibilis Because such a thing hath not the reason nor way nor possibilitie of being done as Thomas sayth and therefore wee doe say that God can neither doe nor will contraries as good and euill which in a nature absolutely and euery way simple cannot subsist Trelcatius in thesi de Deo Amand Polan in Synt nor yet contradictories as to make a thing to be and not to be which in the essence of God voide and cleere from all falsehood and most perfect in all trueth can haue no place sayth Trelcatius And so we doe affirme that God cannot make that a triangle should be a triangle and yet not to haue three angles or corners or that a triangle should haue three angles and not three angles that that which is while it is should not be that those things which haue beene made How all antiquitie teacheth that God cannot doe contradictories Mark 10.27 should not haue beene made that a body should be a true naturall body and yet destitute and free from all those naturall proprieties which doe as it were constitute the very being of the thing and without which the very diffinition of the thing is taken away and all other such things which doe simplie implie a contradiction And we finde all Men in all ages to haue confest and to haue taught the same trueth for venerable Bede expounding those words of Marke All things are possible with God sayth it is not so to bee vnderstood that the couetous proud men can with their pride and couetousnesse enter into the kingdome of Heauen because this is impossible vnto God because neither the Couetous nor the Proud as God himselfe doth testifie by the mouth of his Apostle 1 Cor. 6.9.10 shall inherite the kingdome of God but that it is possible for God as often it hath beene done and we daily see it to bee done so to worke in the hearts of these wicked and vngodly Men that by the preaching of his Word and the working of his spirit they should be conuerted and weaned from the loue of worldly things and be inflamed with the longing desire of Heauenly things Venera Bede in Marc. C. 11. Et à perniciosa superbia ad humilitatem saluberrimam reducantur And bee reduced from their aspiring and pernicious pride vnto that most wholesome practise of humilitie in which words hee plainely sheweth that God cannot doe those things which doe implie a contradiction So S. Augustine against Faustus the Manachie and in many other places and so Aquinas The most horrible impieties of them which say God can worke all contradictories and all Schoole-Diuinitie doe all of them teach the same trueth And they that say otherwise doe but mocke both God and Man and take away all trueth from Diuine and Humane things and lay open a most vnsufferable and vnrepairable gappe for all wicked Hereticks for God which is immutably and infallibly true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the verie trueth it selfe can neither will nor suffer that an affirmation should bee a negation that an yea should bee a nay or that trueth and falshood should bee mixed together in the very selfe-same simplest subiect as this is fire and not water and this very selfe-same thing is water and not fire at the same time and in the same respect or this is bread and not flesh and this is flesh and not bread that is one thing to bee two distinct things at the selfe-same time and in the selfe-same respect I say it is vnpossible for the trueth of God to doe Aug. cont Faustum l. 26. c. 81 as Saint Augustine doth most excellently and largely shew against Faustus Manichaeus And therefore I cannot sufficiently wonder who hath bewitched our Vbiquitaries which doe so stiffely contend that the Body of Christ remayning a true body and yet notwithstanding may bee and is euery where illocall inuisible and so forth for if these things be not meerely contradictorie
praecipua laudatio est c. This is one of the chiefest commendations of God that he hath no meane nor measure in him for his power his vertue his Maiestie How the Fathers doe extoll the power of God cannot be contained in place determined by time expressed in words nor conceiued in our best vnderstandings our sence is too narrow our wit is too blunt and our tongue too mute to performe so great a taske because as the Psalmist speaketh Psal 145.3 There is no end of his greatnesse And therefore Saint Augustine saith excellently well Demus Deum multa posse nos intelligere non posse That we must grant that God can doe many things Aug. ep 3. ad Volusian which we must confesse wee can neither search out the cause nor vnderstand the things because the power of God is not to be straitned within the compasse of our shallow apprehensions How great a sinne it is to say any thing derogatory to the Power of God And therefore we ought to take great heed that we neither say nor conceiue any thing derogatory to the power of God for if it be ordained by humane Lawes that he which should offend the Maiestie of a King though but a man should leese his head for his offence Quis finis contemnentium diuinam omnipotentiam erit Bernard in cant What should become of those that contemne or speake against the Diuine Omnipotency of God saith Saint Bernard Fourthly the very Heathens Poets Phylosophers and all of the learneder sort haue confest as much as is sufficient to proue the Omnipotent power of God Homer Odyss 3. p. 65. for Homer brings in Minerua speaking vnto Telemachus and saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which is as much as if shee said That God can doe what hee will and none can hinder him because as one saith Ille potest solis currus inhibere volantes How the very Heathens haue extolled the Omnipotency of God Ille velut scopulos flumina stare facit He can hold still great Phoebus wayne as he did in the days of Ioshua at he did at thered Sea And stoutest streames he can restraine For though as another saith Astra regunt mundum These sublunary Creatures are generally guided by the influences of the higher Orbes yet to conclude the verse he saith Sed regit astra Deus The God of Heauen doth rule the Heauens and rideth vpon the same as vpon an Horse And therefore an Indian Gymnosophist being demanded by Alexander what God did answered What he will Et quod nulla creatura facere potest And what no mortall man nor any other creature can doe for they daily saw how by his strength vnlikely matters haue come to passe the greatest imaginations haue beene dissolued with a blaste and dying hopes haue beene reuiued from their graues and therefore they all concluded that Ludit in humanis diuina potentia rebus It was an easie matter for Gods power to deale with all Creatures as he listed and How the very Diuels haue confest the Power of God Fiftly the very Diuels doe acknowledge and confesse and obey the power of God For Apollo being demanded of one by what meanes he might with-draw his wise from Christianitie He answered That he might easier flie through the Ayre or write in the Sea then plucke her away from Christ because God was so powerfull to preserue her Heydelf de Deo c. 2. and the Diuell so weake to striue against him and being requested by Augustus to informe him who should succeede him in his Empire hee saide Peucerus de Oracul p. 251. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. The Hebrew Childe hath inioyned me to silence and I must hence-forth obey his voyce And so the Scripture saith That the vncleane Spirits were obedient vnto Christ and as the winde and the waues so did they yeeld and doe whatsoeuer Christ commanded them Much more might be said to confirme this point Quid satis est cui Roma parum but all is but to light a candle before the Sunne And therefore seeing I am no wayes able to speake what I ought to expresse this truth I will proceede to see what the sonnes of darkenesse can say against this truth And as I distributed the adversaries into foure Classies so I finde their obiections to be foure-fold Obiect The Obiections that are made against the truth of Gods Power answered Sol. That there be three sorts of Agents First the Naturalists say that Ex nihilo nihil fit Of nothing nothing can be made And therefore God is not so powerfull as to be able to produce things of nothing and to create this Vniuerse out of no subsistent matter To this I answere that there be three sorts of workers 1. The lowest 2. The middlemost 3. The highest or else 1. Artificers 2. Nature 3. God First Artificers can doe nothing but of some body composed of the first matter and a substantiall forme into which they doe induce an accidentall forme as the Baker out of his Dowe makes Bread or the Potter out of his tempered clay makes his Potts Secondly Nature or naturall Agents can likewise produce nothing into being vnlesse there be first some matter or subiect whereunto it induceth a naturall forme so from any naturall seede is composed the fruit of each seede in his kinde as from the seede of man is ingendered man and so of all other things whatsoeuer And in these two sorts of Agents the axiome is most true That God can produce any thing of nothing that of nothing nothing can be made but of the third agent that is God it is most false for as he did create all things of nothing so he can yet as easily of no being produce any being as he can change any compleat being into another And therefore to argue from the creature vnto the Creator or from the faculty of the inferior agent vnto the faculty of the superior as the Artificer cannot doe it therefore Nature cannot doe it or Nature cannot doe it therefore the God of Nature cannot doe it is most absurd and foolish Euery Childe can perceiue the weakenesse of this childish reasoning Secondly Obiect the desperate men doe obiect against their owne soules that Gods Iustice is so strict that it requires euery sinne and the least sinne to be punished with eternall death and their sinnes are not onely few and small but most infinite in number euen as Manasses saith My sinnes are more innumerable then the sands of the Sea and most haynous for quality euen as Caine saith My sinne is greater Quam vt venia merear Gen. 4.13 Then I can deserue pardon or they be greater then can be pardoned And therefore say they God cannot pardon our sinnes but we must die and die eternally for our sinnes To this I answere first Sol. that it had beene very good for them they had reasoned
his graue and so forth if his body was not limited in any one place but incircumscriptiuely in euery place Therefore it is most manifest that the Body of Christ though glorified in Heauen is still a true Phisicall body limited with his dimensions and locally seated in his appointed place and therefore also seeing to be in one place and to be in euery place at the same time and in the same respect is such a palpable and grosse contradiction I conclude that it is vnpossible that God should be able to make the Body of Christ to be euery where in Heauen and in earth both at once What the Iesuites say to proue Transubstantiation Fourthly The pontificialls and Iesuites doe obiect that to transubstantiate bread into flesh or to make the Body of Christ to be in all those places where the Masse is celebrated and receiued of all those that doe communicate doth no wayes implie a contradiction Bellar de Euch l. 3. c. 4. p. 7. 297. in 8â—â— Quia ad esse circumscriptiue in loco nihil requiritur nisi vt locatum sit commensuratum suo loco non vt sit alibi in alio loco For that it is inough to shew the veritie of a body that it be circumscribed and limited with its place and time and not that it cannot bee in many places so it bee circumscribed in euery place where it is sayth Cardinall Bellarmine and therefore God can make the body of Christ to bee in many places though not to be in all places for to bee in many places doth include that he must be prescribed and limited in all those places where he is which is agreeable to the definition of a true Phisicall body but to be in all places doth necessarily conclude that he must be vnlimited and indefinite which is altogether contrarie to the definition of a true body and thus Clodius accusat Maechum Catilina Caethegum Ephraim will bee against Manasses and Manasses against Ephraim and both against Iuda Sol. But to this I answere First That to proue the vbiquitie of the body of Christ That we must not argue from the power of God vnlesse we can prooue it from the will of God or the transubstantiating of the bread into the flesh of Christ or any other point of Diuinitie Non licet theologicè positiuè argumentari ab omnipotentia Dei nisi praecedat voluntas Dei It is no wayes sufficient to argue Theologically and positiuely from the power of God that he can doe such a thing vnlesse wee haue some testimony of the Will of God that hee hath done or will doe such a thing for the secret things belong vnto the Lord our God Deut. 29.29 but those things which are reueiled belong to vs and to our Children for euer Secondly I say that in this their assertion of transubstantiation That there is a double contradiction in the doctrine of Transubstantiation there is a double contradiction which is vnpossible by all the wit of man to be reconciled First that Bread still remaining Bread should be notwithstanding transubstantiated into Flesh Secondly that the Body of Christ numerically one and locally in Heauen should be notwithstanding many thousand complete bodies and in many thousand places all at once and what greater contradictories can there be then these for First we confesse God can produce any thing of nothing God can change any substance into another substance Gen. 19.26 Iohn 2.9 Matth. 4.3 and reduce any thing into nothing and he can change any thing into any thing as to make stones Bread Bread flesh Lots wife a pillar of salt or any such like thing for wee see God hath done it and Christ changed the Water into Wine and the very diuell knew he could doe it when he said vnto our Sauiour If thou beest the Son of God command that these stones be made bread But that God should change one substance into another and yet that this thing which is said to be changed should remaine still the same thing which it was before it was changed and be also the substance of the thing into which it was changed it is so impossible as that there can be nothing more for when the Lord changed one substance into another Exod. 4.3 as Moses his rodde into a Serpent or Lots wife into a pillar of Salt or the Water into Wine Neither of these That the substance changed cannot be what it was and what it is both at once were both the things at the same time but when Moses rod was a rod it was no Serpent and when it was a Serpent it was no rod so when Lots wife was a Woman and Lots wife she was no pillar of Salt and when she was a pillar of Salt she was no more a Woman nor Lots wife and so when the Water was Water it was no Wine and when it was Wine it was no Water and therefore to say that the bread remaining bread should be transubstantiated or changed into Flesh and so for the same substance at the selfe-same time to bee two seuerall and distinct things Bread and Flesh I say that as it is incredible for vs to beleeue it so it is vnpossible for God to effect it For if these things be not direct contradictories I know not how any man can name any contradictories in the world But to this they answere that they doe not say that the same thing is both Bread and Flesh for they all know that this is vnpossible to be done but they say that the substance of the bread is vanished and reduced into nothing which God can doe as we all confesse and that the sole substance of the Flesh is there remaining to be receiued of the beleeuer of the Communicant be he faithfull or Infidell yea of Rattes Kattes Dogges and Serpents if they can come by it I answere that I doe admire the subtilty of Satan to sow such seed of strong delusions to deceiue simple soules and the more I follow these sophisticall shifts the more I doe abhorre these vile deceits for I beseech you marke what absurdities what contradictions what impossibilities doe still more and more accrew for The most ridiculous absurdities that must follow the doctrine of transubstantiation First the substance of the Bread is gone Nihil est It is reduced to nothing and yet behold the colour of it is there the forme of it is there the taste of it is there thine eye sees it Bread thy hand feeles it Bread thy mouth findes it Bread and yet it is no Bread I would faine know what Aristotle or all the Schoole of Philosophers would define this to be Bread and no Bread Bread in the iudgement of all the world and no Bread in the iudgement of all the Iesuites of the world a strange thing that God should worke such strong delusions I finde that Satan did them often but neuer that God did euer the
power Prou. 25.11 but both ioyned together it is like apples of gold in pictures of siluer And therefore as before he had shewed his power that hee was able to helpe vs so now hee sheweth his goodnesse that he is most willing to releeue vs And to shew how plenteous his goodnesse is he expresseth the same by seauen speciall and seuerall particles I will handle them by Gods helpe as they lye in order The first particle of Gods goodnesse here expressed is that hee is Mercifull Touching which we must vnderstand that Mercy in God is no passion nor any griefe of minde conceiued through the miserie of another Cicero in 4. Tusc Senec. de clem Aug de ciuit Dei l. 9. c. 5. Jer. 31.20 as mercy is commonly defined to be vnlesse you vnderstand it per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 improperly spoken onely for our better apprehension as when he saith My bowels are troubled for Ephraim Or as it is ascribed to the Sonne of God Christ Iesus who doth indeed condole our miseries and sympathize in our afflictions because he is man as we are and subiect to all like passions as we be sinne onely excepted Heb. 2.17 But mercy in God signifieth a propensitie and a readinesse of minde to helpe not onely the miserie but also the wants and all the defects of man Mouet enim pium iudicem fragilitas considerata peccantium Cassiod in Psal What mercy in God signifieth For he remembreth that we are but dust and therefore he pittieth our frailties and he helpeth our infirmities yea hee cryeth and calleth and seeketh after vs when wee by our sinnes doe runne away and flie apace from him For When Adam by the wisedome that he got by the Serpent had found him a way to runne away from God and so to fall into the depth of despaire and as a man without helpe without hope voide of grace and full of sinne to become free amongst the dead excluded from God and exiled from the Land of the liuing a slaue of Satan which makes me abhorre to thinke of it and a fire-brand of eternall destruction which makes me tremble for feare of it yet then behold the neuer-dying mercy of the God of all mercy did presently finde the meanes to bring him backe againe by repentance and to make him an example of his mercie to many babes that were as then vnborne for he thâ—t doth neither slumber nor sleepe would not suffer him to lye and sleepe in sinne but presently runnes after him that was running from him and cries Adam where art thou Gene. 3.9 and what is become of thee and he did this not because he knew not where Adam was which knoweth euery thing but because he would haue Adam to know where himselfe was in a state destitute of all grace and replenished with all miseries that so finding himselfe in the depth of such miseries hee might the more earnestly seeke vnto God for mercies So he did to Dauid Examples of Gods infinite mercies in the speedy seeking after his Saints when they hâ—d sinned against him 2 Sam. 24.10 Jonas 1.4 when Dauid had offended him in numbring Israel hee stirred vp his heart that it presently smote him that he might not be smitten of God so to Ionas when hee began his iourney to flie from God he sent the windes to flie after him and as a purseuant to arest him and to bring him backe againe to him who otherwise would haue posted to hell so to Peter when he denied his Master and swore that hee knew him not to whom a little before hee had sworne thâ—t hee would die with him he looked backe vpon him to bring him backe againe to repentance and hee caused the Cocke to crowe Matth. 26.74 the dumbe Beast to crie vnto him to send him out to crie vnto God for mercie and to weepe so bitterly for his sinnes vt lachrymae lauarent delictum that God seeing his sorrow and teares might bee inclined to heare his prayers and so he doth vnto vs all when we doe fall and sinne and sleepe and sinne he sends his Preachers still to call vs and his owne spirit into our hearts to moue vs to repentance not to bee repented of and to promise to shew compassion on vs and to receiue vs into his grace if wee would shew our contrition and promise to leaue and to forsake our sinnes O then that this mercifull seeking of vs That the goodnesse of God seeking after vs should moue vs to seeke vnto God would make vs to seeke vnto him while he may bee found and that this calling after vs to recall vs from our miseries would make vs call vnto him for mercie for if wee doe seeke and pray for Grace wee may assure our selues that our Saluation is neerer then wee thinke but if we still continue in sinne we may be sure our damnation is neerer then we feare for the day of grace passeth away and the night of death commeth when no man can worke and therefore while it is to day let vs heare his voyce John 9.4 so louingly calling vs so carefully seeking vs so mercifully offering to receiue vs to kisse vs with the kisses of his mouth to deliuer vs froÌ„ the shadow of death and to bring vs vnto the land of euerlasting life such is the neuer-dying streames of the mercie of God it is like a boundlesse Ocean there is no end of his goodnesse and therefore Saint Bernard in admiration thereof crieth out vnto God saying Quam diues es in misericordia magnificus in iustitia munificus in gratia Domine Deus noster O how rich art thou in Mercy how magnificent in Iustice and how bountifull in Grace O Lord our God Nam tu munerator copiosissimus remunerator aequissimus liberator pijssimus For thou art a most liberall bestower of Heauenly gifts thou art a most righteous rewarder of humane workes â—nd thou art a most gracious deliuerer of all that trust in thee Yea and besides all this Tu gratis respicis humiles tu iustè iudicas innocentes tu misericorditer saluas peccatores thou doest freely exalt the lowly thou doest iustly deliuer the innocent and thou doest most mercifully saue those sinners that doe put their trust in thy sufferings and therefore Quis similis tibi O Lord our God who is like vnto thee that when there was not a righteous man vpon the face of the earth August in p. 48 not one that did good no not one thou sentest one from Heauen that by him wee might bee all brought vnto Heauen So great is the Mercy of God towards vs poore wretched Men. And it is obserued by Diuines that the Mercy of God consisteth chiefely in these three things viz. In Wherein the mercie of God doth chiefely consist 1. Giuing of Graces 2. Forgiuing of sinnes 3. Qualifying punishments The first extendeth it selfe vnto all creatures the second
he was contented to become Sanguinolentus propter te without forme or beauty for our sake Esay 52.3 Quando velauerunt faciem eius when the accursed Iewes buffeted and bespitted his glorious face yet was he alwayes gloriesissimus in se most gracious and glorious in himselfe and so the Apostles testifie that they saw his glory Iohn 1.14 as the glory of the onely begotten Son of God full of grace and truth And yet they saw the same but in part because of the infirmitie of their Flesh while they liued here in this life But Christ is the image of the Father Heb 1.3 That God is of an incomprehensible beauty and the ingraued forme of his person and therfore God must needs be gracious and amiable yea so amiable so louely that it is no maruell the very Saints Angels do so vehemently desire to see the face of God in Iesus Christ do esteem it their chiefest happinesse to be alwaies contemplating vpon the same And the reason why all men are not inflamed with the loue of his excellent Maiestie is because they know him not they haue not tasted how sweet the Lord is Quia ignoti nulla cupido for if men did know how graecious and how amiable the Lord is they would with Saint Paul long to be dissolued that they might but see him Secondly God is not onely gracious in himselfe That God is easie to be reconciled but he is also placable reconcileable vnto vs for though God be prouoked euery day yet doth his wrath indure but the twinckling of an eye he is ready to receiue vs into his fatherly fauour Psal 77.7.8.9 if we would but be willing to be reconciled vnto his Maiestie therfore the Prophet Dauid examining this point saying Will the Lord absent himselfe for euer and will he be no more intreated Is his mercy cleane gone for euer and is his promise come vtterly to an end for euermore Hath God forgotten to be gracious and will he shut vp his louing kindnesse in displeasure At last he concludeth Psal 77. v. 10. that it was his owne infirmity that is his vnablenesse to returne to God and not Gods vnwillingnes to be reconciled vnto him for the Lord is euer gracious ready to forgiue vs if wee were ready to receiue his grace yea hee beseecheth vs to be reconciled vnto himselfe and not wilfully to refuse his grace and fauour which he so louingly offereth vnto vs And therefore I wish to God that we had but that grace to accept his grace when it is so graciously offered vnto vs. That God is most bountiful vnto all his people Ezech. 16.7 Thirdly he is not onely ready to receiue vs into his fauour but he is also willing to inrich vs with all kinde of graces for though we be polluted in our owne bloud i. e. Loathsome in our selues and odious in his sight yet doth he wash v◠in the bloud of Christ and then indue vs with his most excellent graces faith hope and charitie and all the other vertues and good things that are in vs And though we be come naked into this World yet doth he clothe vs Job 1.21 and feede vs inrich vs and raise vs to all that we haue And in this kinde he is not onely gracious vnto the godly but also vnto the wicked for what hath any of them which he hath not receiued of the Lord It is he that filleth the Barnes of Diues as well as the Pallace of Dauid And therefore Saint Iames saith That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euery good giuing i. e. Euery temporall gift Iames 1.17 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and euery perfect gift that is Euery spirituall grace that is giuen to bring vs to perfection is from aboue and commeth downe from the Father of Lights The difference betwixt the gifts that God giueth to the godly and to the wicked Math. 6.16 But herein is the difference he bestoweth temporall graces vpon the wicked yea many times more plentifully then to the godly for hee seeth their desire is onely set on worldly things Therefore as he said of hypocriticall Fasters They haue receiued their reward that is Acceperunt suam sed amiserunt meam They haue what they would haue though they leese thereby what I would haue giuen them which is a losse not counteruailed with any gaine So he dealeth with the Worldlings God giueth temporall riches vnto the worldlings He filleth their hearts with his hidden treasure and he giues them often times especially to most of them their hearts desire that is the riches and the vanities of this life So foolish are they and ignorant euen as it were a beast before him But to the godly who loue not this World nor the things of this World hee shewes himselfe gracious after a more speciall manner in giuing them his heauenly graces that is graces which will bring them vnto Heauen and in giuing them worldly blessings too so much as hee sees needfull and conuenient for them Because Godlinesse hath the promise of the life that now is 1 Tim. 4.8 and of that which is to come And so you see how God is gracious in all respects amiable in himselfe placable vnto men and liberall vnto all his Creatures and in all these respects gracious after a speciall manner vnto his elected Saints and Seruants Psal 107.8.15 O that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodnesse and declare the wonders that he doth for the Children of men And that as the Apostle saith We would not receiue the grace of God in vaine i. e. That wee would not vainely abuse the good gifts and graces which our most gracious God doth so freely and so graciously bestow vpon vs. And so much for the second particle of Gods goodnesse Gracious CHAP. VII Of the patience and long sufferance of God THe third Particle of Gods goodnesse here expressed is that he is slow to anger that is How slow the Lord is to reuenge our sinnes that he is such a one that although we by our daily sinnes doe giue most iust occasions to prouoke his wrath and indignation against vs to destroy vs and to consume vs from off the face of the Earth yet the fire of his wrath is not suddenly kindled and his furious vengeance is not speedily executed But he is slow to anger full of patience long suffering and in a word such a one as reioyceth not to see the sinne committed that he may punish but still expecteth if the sinner will at any time repent and amend that he may spare him For so the Prophet saith The Lord will waite that he may be gracious vnto vs i. e. Esay 30.18 He doth tary and stay and looke if at any time or by any meanes we will forsake our sinnes that hee may stay his iudgements and be gracious vnto vs. O most sweete and
and more fauour to deliuer me from my miserie then onely to remaine with me in my prosperity c. And therefore if we be free from troubles it is Quia bonus Deus Israeli from the goodnesse of God that preserueth vs if we be punished and afflicted repose thy trust in God Forti animo mala fer nec bis miser esto dolore and bee not deiected to adde griefe vnto griefe but thinke it is because it is good for vs to be afflicted and if we be deliuered from our afflictions and preserued from that poyson of despaire and other euils that they bring on others it is from this goodnesse of God Rom. 8.28 which worketh all things together for the best for them that loue him What the grace of Iustification is Secondly the grace of Iustification is that infused Faith which hee worketh in the hearts of his Elect whereby they doe lay hold and apply vnto themselues all the merits of Iesus Christ and doe by that imputatiue righteousnesse of him stand iustified in the sight of God What the grace of Sanctification is Thirdly the grace of Sanctification is that whereby we are heartily sorry for all our fore-passed sinnes and doe euery day indeuour more and more to liue in all holinesse and righteousnesse to the prayse and glory of God What the grace of Glorification is Fourthly the grace of Glorification is that whereby we liue holily in this life and shall liue happily in the life to come because as Aquinas saith God glorifieth his Saints Per profectum virtutis gratiae per exaltationem gloriae By making them holy here on Earth and bringing them to the happinesse of Heauen All these graces and what grace soeuer else is dependant vpon any of these are â—rought in the Saints by this speciall goodnesse of God Rom. 8.30 for whom God did predestinate them he also called and whom he called them he also iustified and whom he iustified them he also glorified This is the golden way and the royall degrees of Gods goodnesse whereby the Saints of God are saued And therefore if any of vs doe finde these graces in our selues let vs not ascribe them to our selues but to the grace and goodnesse of God for this is the worke of God that ye beleeue in him whom he hath sent Philip. 1.29 saith our Sauiour Christ And it is giuen to beleeue That if there be any goodnesse in vs we should ascribe it all to God saith the Apostle And herein let vs admire with reuerence and acknowledge with all thankefulnesse his speciall and his singular goodnesse towards vs more then towards others which perhaps naturally are aswell if not better deseruing then our selues for had he bestowed faith and repentance vpon them they would haue beleeued on him and serued him euen as we doe and had hee not bestowed these graces on vs wee should haue beene poore and naked of all goodnesse euen as they are But then here it may be obiected that if we doe no good but what God giueth vs to doe and that the very reprobates would beleeue in God and serue him if God would bestow those effectuall and powerfull graces vpon them which he bestoweth vpon his Saints then it must needes follow that the wicked are not altogether so culpable for the omission of those required duties because God giues them not the grace and ability to performe them Quia nullus actus potest excedere potentiam agentis Because no act can exceede the power of the Agent And therefore whosoeuer limiteth the power is the cause of the intermission of the consequent act and of the euent that floweth thereby And therefore God circumscribing our ability must needes be the cause of our deficiency To this I answere Sol. that we ascribe all the goodnesse of the Saints vnto the grace and goodnesse of God to magnifie Gods goodnesse and to vilifie our owne basenesse to shew that wee haue nothing in the World whereof to boast And we thinke our Sauiours words sufficient to confirme this truth where he saith A man can receiue nothing except it be giuen him from aboue Iohn 15.5 That of our selues we can doe nothing that is good And againe Without me ye can doe nothing And we say that the wicked would doe these things if God would giue them I say not sufficient but effectuall grace to doe them because it is vnpossible but the same measure of effectuall grace should produce the same measure of effects for if God would worke in them that sanctifie which he doth in his Saints how could they resist his will Or is it possible that this will of man should withstand the will of God no wayes And I see no reason why any man should except against this truth but that hereby they feare that imputation of iniustice which as they thinke must needes light on God if hee should condemne them for not seruing him and yet not giue them the grace or ability to serue him or at least wise of partiality if he without any manner of desert of the one more then the other should notwithstanding choose the one sort and inrich them and leaue the other sort and condemne them But to this I answere that if God should require such duties as are not due to him or command them to doe that which they neuer receiued power from him to fulfill we might perhaps thinke him vniust in his demands For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lawes must be made according to the rule of mens ability to performe them or if God did take away this power againe from the Agent then might he likewise be said to be the cause of the deficiency of the subsequent act but if God requires nothing at our hands God taketh not the power of seruing him from any man but that which is our duety to doe what he made vs able to performe and we through our owne default and wilfulnesse Male vtentes potestate Abusing this ability which God hath giuen vs like those that spend their wealth on whores which they should imploy to mainetaine their Wiues and Children haue lost this power that wee had receiued and brought vpon our selues an ineuitable impotency the very Law of humane reason will here take part with God against vs Non habere excusationem c. that he hath no excuse for himselfe which is the cause of his owne impediment as a Father saith And therefore seeing man lost the power of seruing God by his owne fault in offending God and that God is not bound to restore it againe God in not giuing it is no efficient cause of their not seruing him but as the Sunne is the cause of darkenesse Non per se sed per accidens Not because properly it effecteth darkenesse but accidentally by reason of its departure from vs So is God onely the cause why the wicked serue him not not because he worketh any
hath most seuerely punished for their sinnes Ezek 18. and so in briefe he saith of euery one The soule that sinneth that soule shall die And therefore this should teach vs. First Not to frame vnto our selues a God all of Mercie and not to sing of mercy alone but of mercy and iudgement together that as we are to loue his mercy to be filled with grace so we might feare his Iustice to preserue vs from sinne For these be the two feet of God saith Saint Bernard whereupon hee walketh all his wayes That we should as well feare Gods Iustice as hope for his Mercie and these be the two wings of a Christian whereby he may flie vp into heauen Therefore seeing the one without the other is vnauaileable to support vs let vs not seperate those which God hath here euery where else ioyned together but let vs imbrace Gods goodnesse to keepe vs from despaire and let vs feare Gods Iustice to preserue vs from presumption Secondly This teacheth vs to expect a day of retribution for seeing the Iustice of God requireth that wicked men should bee punished as the Apostle sheweth and that here many of them doe scarce taste of Gods anger it must needs be That the Iustice of God requireth there should be a day of retribution 2 Cor. 5.10 Rom 2.5 2 Pet. 2.11 that all must appeare before the Iudgement seat of Christ that euery one may receiue the things done in his body according to that hee hath done whether it be good or bad and therefore what manner of men ought we to be in holy conuersation and godlinesse Secondly God will not onely punish wicked men in themselues for their sinnes That God punisheth wicked men in their children but he will also punish them in their children Tanquam in carne sua charissima As in the deerest things that they loue for he will visite the sinnes of the Fathers vpon the children And so punishing their children he plagueth them because euery man herein is like the woman of Canaan who said vnto our Sauiour Miserere mei Domine O Lord be mercifull vnto me my daughter is grieuously vexed with a diuel Matth. 15.22 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil sel ser 19. For that the Deuils being in her daughter was a torment and a misery vnto her selfe Simon de Cassia in Euang. l. ◠c. 24. Quia amor natorum dolorem traijcit in parentes Because the loue which the parents beare vnto their children doth transferre the griefe of the children vnto the parents and therefore doth God punish a wicked man both in himselfe and in his children But although it be Iust with God to visite the sinnes of the fathers vpon the children yet this seemeth strange with men especially considering the Prophet saith Filius non portabit iniquitatem patris The sonne shall not beare the fathers sinnes neither shall it be said any more Ezek. 18. that the fathers haue eaten sower Grapes and the childrens teeth are set on edge but euery man shall beare his owne sinne and the soule which sinneth that soule shall die And therefore to reconcile this clause of the Law with that of the Prophet wee must discusse this point more at large Saint Augustine disputes it How it stands with Gods Iustice to punish the fathers sinnes vpon the children how the child should beare his fathers sinnes but hee doth not directly as I finde conclude it Saint Gregory concludes it that if a child follow the sinnes of his fathers he shall not onely be punished for his owne sinnes but also for his fathers sinnes but he did not sufficiently dispute it And therefore that we may rightly conclude vpon sure premises I must with the Schooles distinguish 1. Of Fathers 2. Of Sinnes 3. Of children 4. Of Punishments First Fathers are either proximiores those that beget vs or remotiores those from whence we are deriued as Adam That the sinne of Adam was not onely imputed but also deriued into his posteritie experience it selfe makes it plaine and the reason is as Aquinas truely saith because Adam now stood not as a personall man but as specificall i e. as one bearing in himselfe as the stocke of a tree doth beare all the branches the whole species or race of all mankinde and therefore if this roote had continued holy Rom 11.16 the branches had beene likewise holy but hee sinning he produced a most sinfull of-spring like himselfe because an euill tree could neuer bring forth good fruit Matth. 7.18 but in euery other man there is onely the person of this or that indiuiduall man Sinnes are not traduced from the Parents vnto the children and therefore the Schooles conclude that no actuall sinne can be traduced from the next fathers vnto the children not vertue frō the good not vice from the bad for so experience sheweth that a good man doth not alwayes beget a vertuous child nor a drunkard alwayes beget a drunkard but sometimes the cleane contrary as when the sonne of a miserable wretched niggard proues to be the most dissolute prodigall spend-thrift in the world else would they ingrosse the whole world to themselues and their posteritie or when an euill man begetteth a most vertuous and a godly child which doth not vnusually happen among men And yet we say that seeing in euery child there is the elementall seed of all vices which we haue naturally and originally traduced from Adam there be two especiall things which doe commonly cherish and preserue the immediate and next fathers sinnes in their children Two things that further the sinnes of the Parents to continue in the children that is 1. Inclination 2. Immitation For First seeing we receiue our whole substance from our parents we are naturally inclined to follow either the vertues or the vices Sepesolet similis filius esse patri either the good qualities or the bad qualities of the same substance from whence we are produced as the child of a good father to be good and the child of a vitious father to be euill Secondly seeing children are like Apes apt to imitate Children very apt to imitate their Parents vices and the examples of our Parents are like Spurres to driue their children on to follow what they see the good carriage of a godly father is a great incitement and a most effectuall meanes to worke goodnesse in his children and the bad example of wicked Parents is as a hammer to driue sinne and wickednesse into their children for we see Quo semel est imbuta recens seruabitodorem testa diu Whatsoeuer vertues or vices doe take roote in our bones when we are children will hardly be rooted out of our flesh when we are men And if to these two wee adde instruction either in good or euill things I know nothing more that can be said to make a perfect man or a perfect sinner These be the inducements and the causes why
in Heauen Heb. 11.14 And secondly I say that these worldly riches are no true riches but onely vaine and imaginarie riches for they haue made many proude That the riches of this life are not the true riches none better if they had why did the wisest Philosopher so pronounced by the voice of the Oracle cast all his gold into the sea that he might be happie and the wisest among the sonnes of men so pronounced by the voyce of God pray aswell against riches as pouertie Prou. 30.8 and the best kings in this Iland and many other princes in many other countreyes besides the Apostles that forsooke all to follow Christ Matth. 19.27 change their princely thrones for poore cells and their kingly scepter for the diuine Scriptures and therefore he was a better husband then Philosopher that termed these riches goods but hee mended the matter well that called them goods of fortune false goods ascribed to a false patrone for as there is no goodnesse in them so there is no fortune to giue them the meaning therefore as I take it is this Doctor Hall that it is a chance if euer these riches proue good to any for many times they hurt the owners and disquiet others and as many time and ofnter too the worse men haue them and the best men want them and yet they are neuer the better for hauing them nor the other neuer the worse for wanting them for I heare Saint Peter and Saint Iohn the eldest and deerest Apostles say gold and siluer haue I none and I reade that Iudas the youngest and the worst Apostle bare the bagge and I reade that the Deuill sayd all these things will I giue thee and they are mine to giue and that Diues was rich and Lazarus poore and yet now the poore is made rich and caried vp to Heauen and the rich is poore and sent downe to Hell and therefore it is apparant that these false goods can be no true riches and so consequently that none is truely rich but onely God Now to proue that Christ is rich besides the foresaid testimonie of the Apostle our Sauiour himselfe sayth all that the Father hath Iohn 16. are mine of the holy Ghost he sayth he shall receiue of mine and declare vnto you and so the Euangelist sayth that of his fulnesse we haue all receiued Iohn 1.16 and grace for grace and therefore Christ being truely rich inriched with all the riches of the Dietie power strength wisedome goodnesse mercie and such like he must needs be the true and eternall God Fourthly from the proper workes of God Fourthly from the vniuersall effects and proper workes of God for he that created and preserueth and gouerneth all the things that are created is the true and euerlasting God but this word Created all things and doth still sustaine and gouerne all things and therefore he must needs be the true God The maior is cleere of it selfe Gene. 1.1 because as Moses sayth In the beginning God created the Heauen and the earth And The minor is confirmed That Christ created all things Psal 45.7 Psal 102.25 by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures which sayth Thy throne O God is for euer and euer the Scepter of thy kingdome is a right Scepter and in an other Psalm he sayth And thou Lord in the beginning hast layd the foundation of the Earth and the Heauens are the workes of thy hands so the Euangelist sayth that all things are made by this Word Iohn 1.2 and without this Word was made nothing that was made so Saint Paul sayth that all things were created by him aswell those things which are in Heauen as those things which are in Earth Colloss 1.16 And so all the orthodoxe fathers doe subscribe vnto the same trueth for Ignatius speaking of Christ vseth the verie words of the Euangelist that he was in the world and the world was made by him Jgnatius in ep ad Tarsenses Iust Mart orat 1. ad graecos and yet the world knew him not and Iustin Martyr sayth that by this Word both Heauen and Earth and all other creatures were created and Irenaeus l. 2. c. 2. against heresies Athenagoras in his apollogie for the Christians Clemens Alexandrinus l. 1. Pedagogi Tertullian in his Apollogetico Saint Cyprian in his second Booke against the Iewes and many more doe largely That Christ gouerneth all things and plainely proue by inanswerable arguments that all things were created by this Word And that Christ gouerneth all things the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrewes sayth Heb. 1.2.3 that he beareth vp all things with his mighty Word and our Sauiour sayth vnto the Iewes my father worketh yet and I worke Iohn 5.17 and Saint Paul sayth that hee is before all things 1 Colloss 17. and that by him all things doe consist Fiftly from the prayers which all Saints haue made Fiftly from the prayers of the Saints and that Diuine worship which they exhibited and which indeed is due to him for we are to pray to none but to God because wee beleeue in none but in God and because none but God can at all times heare vs and at any time helpe vs Iohn 5.23 but prayers shall bee euer made vnto Christ and dayly shall be praysed 1 Ioh. 2.22.23 sayth the Psalmist and so the Saints doe and euer haue prayed vnto him Rom. 14.11 as vnto the onely God Philip. 2.10 which can deliuer them out of their distresse and therefore this Word that was made flesh did make all flesh and is indeede the true and eternall God as wee may see in Prouerbes 8.12 Iohn 1.1 Apoc. 1.8 and as I haue by these inanswerable arguments sufficiently proued vnto you The obiections of the Arians against the eternall Godhead of Christ But against this eternall generation and euerlasting Godhead of this Sonne of God both the old Arians and the new vpstarte Ministers of Transiluania that like euill weeds did spring vp out of Arius his ashes doe obiect and indeuour with the witt of hell to proue that this God of Heauen was no God before his incarnation and was made man for Ob. 1 First They doe obiect that Saint Luke sayth hee shall be called the Sonne of God therefore he was not called before his incarnation Esay 9. and so Esayas saith that vnto vs a child is borne and vnto vs a sonne is giuen and he shall be called wonderfull the mighty God and the prince of Peace and therefore as Magistrates are not called Magistrates before they are made Magistrates so was not hee called the mighty God before hee was borne and giuen vnto vs This was the opinion of Arrius and Seruetus that the Sonne of God was nothing before his incarnation but onely a decree in the mynde of God to make this man Iesus Christ and to replenish him with abundant gifts of the Dietie
Creator and the Sonne of God is so produced as that hee receiued the substance of the begetter And therefore in that respect he is said to be begotten but he receiueth it without any mutation or alteration of the begetter and therefore in that respect he may be saide to be created And so he is sometimes said to be begotten and sometimes said to bee created not that any man should thereby denie his eternity and thinke him to be a creature but that from both these words wee might receiue what is fitting and reiect what seemeth to be vnfit for the declaration of this ineffable and inexplicable mystery Ob. 4 Fourthly They doe obiect the words of Dauid Thou art my sonne this day haue I begotten thee And therefore before that day wherein hee was begotten his sonne hee was not his sonne Sol. The words of Dauid are spoken of Christ in respect of his manhood I answere That the words Inquire of me and I will giue thee the Heathen for thine Inheritance and the vttermost parts of the Earth for thy possessions doe sufficiently proue that these words are spoken of his incarnation and not of his eternall generation for how should he according to his Diuinity demand the ends of the Earth for his possessions when as hee giueth the Kingdome of Heauen which is a thousand times more then the Earth to them that loue him And therefore he which according to his God-head possesseth all things with his Father according to the forme of a seruant which hee assumed for our saluation he requireth of his Father that hee might haue The Gentiles for his inheritance and the vttermost parts of the Earth for his possessions Act. 13. And thus the Apostle doth expound this place in the 13. Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles Ob. 5 Fiftly They doe obiect the words of the Apostle that he is The first-borne of euery Creature Coloss â— 15 and therefore created in the number of the Creatures Sol. That the words of the Apostle are to be vnderstood of the humanity of Christ Rom. 8.29 I answere That this is also meant of his humanity for that the Apostle speaketh here of the Creatures restored and not created because he is said to be Primogenitus ex mortuis The first fruites of the dead for if he were called The first fruites of euery Creature according to his Deity by what testimonies can it be shewed that he is The first-borne of the dead before all Creatures when as they could not be said to be dead which were not yet created And therefore the Apostle saith That whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate to be conformed to the Image of his Sonne Iohn 1. that he might be the first-borne among many brethren To shew that he which according to his Deity is the onely begotten Sonne of God without brethren is according to his humanitie c. 3. the first-borne among many brethren for we must vnderstand this difference betwixt the first-begotten Sonne of God and the onely begotten Sonne of God that the first sheweth his humanity whereby he became man the first and chiefest among many brethren and the second his Diuinitie Iohn 1. whereby hee is the eternall Sonne of God without any brethren or otherwise it were in vaine to call him the onely begotten Sonne of God for that hee gaue power vnto others euen as many as beleeue in him to bee made the Sonnes of God and therefore if hee be not his Sonne by nature then without doubt he lost the name and the truth of being the onely begotten Sonne of God after he began to haue many brethren But because none of his sonnes by adoption Fulgen. in resp ad ob Arrian can be said to be the onely begotten sonne of God nor to be the Son of God â—ather then the rest be because the same name of sonnes is acommodated vnto them all although diuers rewards of retribution is promised vnto them according to the diuersitie of â—heir labours therefore is Christ still said to be the onely begotten Sonne of God because though there be many sonnes of God by grace yet there is none but he alone his Sonne by Nature And this difference doth our Sauiour Christ himselfe shew vnto vs when he saith I goe to my Father and to your Father Iohn 20.17 to my God and to your God because he is otherwise my Father and my God then he is your Father and your God for he is my Father eternally by nature and he is yours in time by grace and therefore hee that is first begotten in respect of his man-hood among many brethren is likewise still the onely begotten Sonne of God in respect of his God-head without any brethren And so you see that maugre all the spite of Hell it is most apparantly true that this Word is the true God for time coeternall vnto his Father CHAP. IIII. Of the coessentiality of the word with the Father and the obiections that are made against the same sufficiently answered SEcondly you haue heard of the eternall Godhead of this Word it followeth that I should shew vnto you how for nature he is coessentiall vnto his Father touching which point Athanasius saith Non res quaepiam extrinsecus adinuenta est filij substantia neque ex nihilo inducta est sed ex patris essentia nata est The substance of the Sonne is no outward thing either found or created but begotten of the very Essence of his Father euen as you see the brightnesse springing from the light or the vapour from the water Neque enim splendor neque vapor est ipsa aqua aut ipse sol neque res aliena For neither the light is the Sunne it selfe nor the vapour the water it selfe and yet they are none other things of another kind then be the substances from whence they spring euen so the Sonne issueth from the substance of his Father Et tamen patris sustantia non perpessa est partitionem And yet the substance of the father aâ—mits no partition for as the Sunne remaineth still the same Athanas in ep cont Eusebium and is no way lessened or diminished in respect of those beames that flow from him so the Father suffereth no mutation by hauing begetting Suam ipsius imaginem filium This his Son and eternall image but remaining still the same he begetteth his Son of the same Essence and we find not only all the Orthodox fathers but also the Scriptures plain enough to confirm the same truth for our Sauiour saith I and my Father are one And so S. Iohn hauing spoken of the Father Iohn 10 3â— the Word and the Spirit 1 Iohn 5.7 saith That these three are one And reason it selfe must needs confirme the same for seeing the Diuine Essence is most simple impartible and indiuisible and that the Father is God as none denyeth and that the Sonne is God as I haue already
Euthymius vpon those words of the Apostle doe affirme Others translate it sermo which I translate speech as Prudentius Ades pater supreme patrisque sermo Christe So Beza In principio erat sermo and so Tertullian Saint Cyprian Saint Hillarie Saint Ambrose Saint Augustine Saint Hierome and diuers others and some call him the voyce of God according to that of the Psalmist The voyce of God is a glorious voyce as Claudian Christe potens redcuntis conditor aevi Vox summi sensusque Dei quem fudit ab alta Mente pater O mighty Christ maker of the world thou voyce and sence of the highest God which the Father begets in his most inward minde But most commonly the Fathers and almost all the Schoole of Diuinity following the vulgar Latine doe expound 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to signifie verbum the Word because Sermo speech doth seeme to consist of many words whereas a word doth altogether denotate and declare vnity But then it may bee obiected Ob. that none can expresse his whole minde by one simple word and therefore that speech is more likely to be the meaning of the Euangelist I answere That man indeed with one conceiued word Sol. can hardly expresse his whole minde and wisedome That as God is one act so he can expresse himselfe with one word but it is not so with God for as he is but Vnus simplicissimus actus One most simple act so hee doth apprehend and vnderstand all things Vno ictu vno conceptu at one instant and can expresse himselfe with one word And multiplicity of words doth shew the infirmity of man that with few words cannot expresse himselfe but the vnity and simplicity of Gods Word denoteth the superexcellencie of God that so briefly and so easily can doe all things Secondly We are to note why Christ is termed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Why Christ is tearmed the Word the Word Touching which point we must vnderstand that whatsoeuer speaketh vttereth forth words And wee finde that God Angels and Men doe speake though after a different and a diuers manner for though God being a Spirit wanteth mouth lippes and tongue and that the Apostle speaketh hyperbolically of the tongues of Angels Zanch. l. 3. c. 19. de operibus sex dierum as Zanchius noteth yet this is certaine that God and Angels doe often speake as we reade Genesis 1. Zach. 2. Esay 6.2.3 Although the speeches and the communications of the Angels be farre vnlike to ours Hieron to 7. p. 187. in c. 24. Jobi as Saint Hierome saith and that we can neither know nor vnderstand after what manner they either doe or haue heretofore spoken at any time either outwardly vnto the eare or inwardly in the minde of any man as Saint Augustine saith And therefore we say that there is a Diuine Angelicall and a humane word And to each of these i. e. God Angels and Men wee doe ascribe a two-fold word 1. One inward of the minde and vnderstanding That there is a two-fold Word 2. Another outward of the voyce and tongue After the first manner we are saide to speake when wee doe conceiue certaine thoughts and cogitations within our minde As Psal 53.1 Sap 2.1 Matth. 9. the foole hath saide in his heart there is no God and they saide within themselues but not aright And After the second manner wee are saide to speake when by any outward word Fulgent in resp ad ob Arr. or voyce we doe expresse and declare our inward cogitations And this is said to be onely the outward signe and voyce of the inward word for that the inward conception of any word is most properly said to bee the Word as Saint Augustine affirmeth Hilarius l. de Synod How in some things the Word God resembleth our outward word Now Christ is not any outward vocall word nor any transient voyce of God as diuers Heretikes said hee was but he is the inward essentiall and permanent word of God as Epiphanius Saint Basil and Saint Augustine doe declare And yet as Saint Basil saith hee hath some certaine similitudes and resemblances with our outward word for as the same springeth from our inward minde because the tongue vttereth what our minde conceiueth Matth. 12.14 for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh So is the Word God begotten from the minde of the Father and as the vocall Word is the liuely Character of the inward thought and doth represent the image of the same so is the Word God the liuing Image of the begetter and the very effigies or the ingrauen forme of his person Heb. 1.3 as the Apostle speaketh But he hath a farre more propinquity and likenesse with our inward and mentall Word as Saint Augustine teacheth For The likenesse of the Word with our inward word Aug de Trinitate l. 15. c. 10. c. 11. First As a man conceiueth and brings forth this Word in his minde so doth the Father beget his Sonne by his vnderstanding Secondly As the Word of the minde is from our knowledge our knowledge from reason and reason from the minde immaterially produced 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without any passion or corruption so is the Word God begotten of the Father as Saint Basil and Nazianzene doe declare Nazian orat 4. de Theolog. Thirdly As the minde doth so beget the Word within in selfe as that still the same remaineth in the minde Fulgentius ad Monimum as Fulgentius noteth So the Word God is so begotten of his Father as that he remaineth alwayes with the Father as The Sonne which is in the bosome of his Father he declared vnto vs and No man hath ascended vp to Heauen Iohn 3.13 but hee that came downe from Heauen euen the Sonne of man which is in Heauen Nam cum ad terrena descendit coelestia non dereliquit For when hee descended to the Earth and was made flesh he left not Heauen but as the word of the minde doth alwayes remaine in the minde so doth this Word God alwayes remaine in the bosome of God Fourthly as the conceiued word of the minde is the beginning of all working so is this word God the beginning of all creatures for by it all things were made John 1. and without it was nothing made that was made Fiftly as the mentall word is shewed by the voyce so is the word God manifested by the assuming of our flesh And yet because it is vnpossible to accommodate little vile How the Word God differeth from our word Basilius contra Eun. Aug. Ser. 190. de tempore and terrene things fully to expresse or in all things to agree with diuine and eternall things as Saint Augustine doth most excellently declare saying Cum Deus comparatur non potest comparari aequali scilicet comparatione When God is compared he cannot be compared with any equall comparison for to whom will you compare
good and to bring them vnto the true sauing knowledge of their Sauiour but as God by his true Prophets did foreshew the comming and incarnation of this Word so would Sathan play the Ape and by his Prophets teach them like as Oedipus Seneca in Oedipo blindly seeking his Father did vnfortunately slay his Father by seeking thus after Christ to worship himselfe in stead of Christ and so to offer sacrifices vnto Diuels as the Apostle saith and not to God Thirdly They might by the continuall tradition of their Elders retaine some reliques of that promise made vnto Adam That the seede of the woman should come Gen. 3.15 and breake the Serpents head for wee finde by their rites and ceremonies their Priests and Sacrifices and such like that they had a kinde of corrupted Diuinity still remaining amongst them and that they did conceiue some thing by these outward things that should expiate their sinnes and appease the wrath of God for them Fourthly Their owne great diligence That the Phylosophers were wonderfull diligent to attain vnto all kinde of knowledge might bring no small knowledge and vnderstanding of diuine things vnto them for they were exceeding great searchers of all antiquities and most wonderfully greedy of all kinde of knowledge and learning and therefore they did search into the Oracles of the Caldeans Aegyptians and Hebrewes that so much as they could they might find out the truth both of humane and diuine things And so Theodoret Clemens Alexandrinus and Iustin Martyr doe plainely affirme that Plato read the Bookes of Moses and the Prophets and both Saint Ambrose and Eusebius say that Numenius a Platonist was wont to say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That Plato was none else but Moses in the Graecian Tongue And Saint Augustine himselfe saith That Plato learned the Diuine Scriptures from the Prophet Ieremie Aug de Doct. Christa l. 2. c. 28. Jdem de ciuit Dei l. 8. c. 11. when the Iewes were in their captiuity at Babylon but I finde he retracted this opinion in his eight Booke and eleuenth Chapter De ciuitate Dei for there by the computation of their yeeres and times wherein both of them liued he findes that Ieremie dyed almost a hundred yeeres before that Plato was borne the captiuity being in the time of Cyrus and Darius Kings of Persia and Plato borne but a little before Alexander King of Macedon yet there he denies not but that Plato by his industry when he trauelled into Egypt might by some Interpreters learne the Scriptures for as yet the Septuagint had not translated them into the Greeke Tongue and yet Aristobulus as Eusebius citeth him saith that certaine parts and parcels of the Scriptures were translated by others before the Septuagint out of which Plato might learne many points of the diuine Truth Or if this knowledge was not had out of the Hebrew Bookes yet might hee learne much as Herodotus did in other points from the Egyptian Priests for it is not likely that the Egyptians had lost all knowledge of Diuinitie but that still there remained some reliques of that verity which Ioseph and the Children of Israel when they dwelt in Egypt did spread and leaue amongst them Psal 105.22 for God sent Ioseph to instruct the Princes of Pharaoh and to teach his Senators wisedome not onely to prouide foode for their bodies but also for the happinesse of their soules All these things being well considered it seemeth not absurd vnto me to say that Plato and other learned men among the Gentiles were not altogether ignorant of the knowledge of this truth concerning this eternall Word Nay they could not be ignorant of the same That the Gentiles expected the comming of a Messiah for it is well knowne that the Gentiles did expect the comming of the Messias as well as the Iewes though for want of the Diuine Oracles they had not the knowledge of many particulars of his comming so well as the Iewes had And therefore he is called Expectatio gentium The hope and expectation of the Gentiles And so those many multitudes that became Proselites of the Iewish Religion those Sybils and Prophets Zoroastres Baalam and others that prophecyed of his comming Numb 24.17 and those Magi that came from the East To worship him as soone as euer he was borne doe sufficiently proue that the Gentiles expected the comming of this Word Math. 2.1 c. before hee was made flesh And therefore seeing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Word was most chiefly knowne or likeliest to be knowne both among the Iewes and Gentiles and that the Euangelist desired to apply himselfe to both Nations that he might winne and gaine the more to Christ he vseth the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and saith The Word was made flesh And Secondly The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was the fittest word that hee could choose to make way for him to expresse what hee meant immediately to declare for he intended presently to say that all things were made by him but he could not call him by whom all things were made by any fitter terme then the Word because all men did know that God made all things by his Word for by the Word of the Lord were the Heauens made Psal 32. when God spake the Word and they were made hee commanded Psal 148.5 and they stood fast And so you see these few obseruations touching 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Word here vsed by the Euangelist to expresse the person that was made flesh Now seeing this Word What a shame it is for vs to be ignorant of this Word now already incarnate is the chiefest Word in the World and was the Word best knowne to all the best men of the World Kings Priests Prophets Phylosophers Orators and the like it should put vs euer in minde neuer to neglect the knowledge of this Word for what a shame is this to vs that we are so full of idle words yea of leud and wicked words and this Word God should be so strange vnto vs and that the very Heathens knew it euen before he came into the World and we should be so ignorant of it now after hee is come and is preached throughout all the whole World that they were so diligent to finde him out and we so negligent to accept him offered vnto vs and preached euery where to euery one of vs without doubt they shall rise in iudgement against vs and condemne vs. And so much for this Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here vsed and why that word is here chosen by the Euangelist CHAP. VII Of the chiefest Causes why this Word was made Flesh THirdly We are to consider why this Word was incarnate and made flesh Touching which I say that First Causa 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Why the Word was made Flesh the impulsiue cause in respect of vs was our most wofull miserable case and condition wherein we lay all depriued
of the grace and fauour of God and causa 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the impulsiue cause in respect of God was his great loue and tender compassion towards mankinde so lying in misery vnder the tyranny and bondage of the Diuell and the performing of his promise Gen. 3 15. which he made vnto Adam Abraham Isaac and Iacob that the seede of the Woman should breake the Serpents head And therefore because he would not alter the thing that was gone out of his mouth Luke 1.72 nor suffer his truth to faile hee remembred his holy Couenant and the Oath that hee sware vnto our Fathers and at the fulnesse of time he sent this Word to be made flesh Secondly The finall cause in respect of vs was the restoring of mankind vnto the fauor of God againe And therfore we professe in our Creede Concil Nic. that for vs men and for our saluation he came downe from Heauen Matth. 20.28 and was made man And so our Sauiour saith Iohn 12.46 that he came not to be serued but to serue and to giue his life a ransome for many Aug. in Joh. gloss in 1 Tim. 1. And Saint Augustine saith Non eum de coelo ad terram merita nostra sed peccata nostra traxerunt It was not our goodnesse but our wickednesse our sinnes our grieuous sinnes that brought downe Iesus Christ out of Heauen And so Hugo saith Hugo in l. de sacrament Nulla causa veniendi fuit nisi peccatores saluos facere tolle morbos tolle vulnera nulla est causa medicinae There was no cause that he should come to vs but to saue vs for where there is no wounds where there is no diseases there is no neede of medicines there is no vse of playsters because the whole neede not the Physician To shew the errour of Osiander who saide that if man had not sinned this Word had beene incarnate because there was nothing that could bring him out of Heauen or to moue him to be made man but onely to bring vs into Heauen and to make vs the Sonnes of God through him And the finall cause in respect of God was his owne glory for hee made all things for his owne sake and he gaue his Sonne for vs that wee might ascribe all praise and thankes vnto him And therefore the Angels said vnto the Shepheards Luke 2.14 Glory be to God on high peace vpon Earth and good will towards men And reason good that seeing wee haue peace with God God should haue glory and praise from vs. Why God decreed the Incarnation of the Word for the saluation of man Gen. 1.26 But here first it will be demanded as Saint Augustine saith Quare non potuit Dei sapientia aliter homines liberare c. Why could not the wisedome of God deuise and the power of God effect some other way to deliuer and saue sinnefull men then by sending his Sonne to be made man to be borne of a woman and to suffer such shamefull things of shamelesse sinners To this Saint Bernard frameth this witty answere that as in the creation of man God did as it were consult with his wisdom how to make him when he said Let vs make man in our image So after the transgression of man there was as it were a consultation in Heauen what should become of man for truth and Iustice stood vp against him and said that man had sinned and therefore man must die Cap. 2.17 or else that they must needs be violated for thou saidst say they to God In what day thou eatest of the tree of knowledge of good and euill thou shalt die the death But Mercie and Peace rose vp for man and said Quo quisque est maior magis est placabilis ira regia crede mihi res est succurrere lapsis It is a royal thing to releeue the distressed and the greater any one is the more placable and gentle hee should be and that God himselfe had said he was the God of Peace and the Father of Mercies and therefore they concluded that although man had sinned yet man must be pardoned or else they must needes be abandoned therefore the wisedome of God became an vmpire and deuised this way to reconcile them that as one man had sinned and thereby destroyed all men So Vnus homo nobis patiendo restituet rem Bosquier de pass domini ser 13. p. 793. One righteous man should suffer for all men and so Iustice should be satisfied and then all that beleeued in that man should be pardoned and so Mercie should be shewed Then all thus contented God looked downe from Heauen vpon the children of men to see if there were any that would vnderstand and seeke after God Psal 14.4 but they were all corrupted and become abhominable and there was none that did good no not one and therefore the wisedome of God that had found out this way was contented to performe this worke himselfe and to be made man that mercy might bee extended and to suffer death for man that Iustice might be satisfied and so in him Mercie and Truth met together Righteousnesse and Peace kissed each other But Saint Augustine Aug. de trinit l. â—3 c 10. Gregor moral l. 20. c. 26. and Saint Gregory doe more solydly answere saying Omnia Deus poterat si voluisset That in regard of his wisedome God could haue deuised another way and in regard of his power he could haue performed the saluation of man without the incarnation of his Sonne But if he had done it otherwise it would no doubt haue likewise displeased our foolishnesse for God appeared visibly saith Saint Augustine that he might prepare vs to inuisible things and therein hee displeased the couetous man How hard it is for the wisedome of God to please foolish man because he brought not a body of gold he displeased the lasciuious because hee was borne of a woman he displeased the Iewes because he came so poore and the wise men of this world because he erecteth his Kingdome by the foolishnesse of preaching and so he should haue displeased man what other way soeuer he had inuented to saue man for the wisdom of God is not sufficient to satisfie the foolishnes of men Aug. de annunt Domini ser 3. And therefore he that knowes all things best Sic voluit ruinam vasis fragilis reformare vt nec peccatum hominis dimitteret impunitum quia iustus erat nec insanabile quia misericors So God would repaire the ruine of fraile and fickle man that neither the sinne of man should escape vnpunished because God is iust nor yet miserable man remaine vncured because he is mercifull and although he could otherwise haue saued man Quantum ad potentiam medici in respect of the power and skill of the Phisitian yet he saw there was no fitter way to doe it Quantum ad medicinam
Iesus Christ First because the Apostle saith Verse 7. that he was greater then Abraham which is said to be the Father of the faithfull Secondly Heb. c. 5. v. 11. because the Apostle going to speake of this Melchisedecke saith that he had many things to say concerning him which were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hard to be explained which certainly he would neuer haue said had he not vnderstood this Melchisedeck to haue beene some excellent and ineffable person Thirdly because the Apostle saith not Verse 8. whose death is not mentioned by Moses for so he might be dead though his death is not spoken of but he saith that Dauid testifieth of him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that he liueth to shew the difference betwixt this Priest and those Leuiticall Priests which dyed Heb. 7 3. Fourthly because the Apostle saith that this Melchisedeck was like vnto the Sonne of God euen as Nebuchadnezzer saith that the fourth man which walked with the three children in the fiery furnace was like vnto the Sonne of God So here the Apostle saying that he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dan. 3.25 like the Sonne of God meaneth no doubt that he assumed a body of the same likenesse and habite and countenance as afterward he meant to vnite personally vnto himselfe for that it is an vsuall thing in Scripture to say that he which is is like vnto himselfe as where the Apostle saith Phil. 2.7.8 that he was found in shape as a man and tooke vpon him the forme of a seruant and was made in the likenesse of men that is he was made indeed a true and a naturall man Fiftly because Abraham did giue vnto him Tythe of all as perceiuing vnder that visible forme and shape of man an inuisible Diety to subsist to whom Tythe is only due and euerlastingly due because he is an euerlasting Priest And therefore I say that this Melchisedeck was no mortall man but the immortall Sonne of God which assuming this visible shape did appeare vnto Abraham and offered as a type of our blessed Sacrament of the Lords Supper Bread and Wine vnto him after his victory ouer his enemies And it may be that our Sauiour had respect hereunto Iohn 8.56 when he said that Abraham saw his dayes and reioyced i. e. not onely with the eyes of faith as all the rest of the Patriarchs and Prophets did but also in a visible shape which he assumed like vnto that whereunto he was afterward to be vnited So that man which wrestled with Iacob was none other but the man Christ Iesus for himselfe said that Iacob should be called Israel Gen. 32.28.30 a wrestler and preuailer with God and Iacob called the name of the place Peniel because he had seene God face to face And so that man which appeared vnto Iosua and came as a Captaine of the heast of the Lord Josua 5.14 was none other then Iesus Christ as Peter Martyr doth most excellently by many arguments confirme Whereby you see Christ did heretofore assume vnto himselfe humane formes wherein he appeared vnto the Fathers to be as a praeludium of his Incarnation but in none of these apparitions and assumptions of such formes was he euer said to be made the thing that he assumed or to vnite himselfe hypostatically vnto any of the said formes for those bodies he formed of the ayre or of nothing and when he had finished the worke for which he had assumed them Tum redit in nihilum quod fuit ante nihil Then it returned into that out of which it was framed But now the Euangelist saith The conception of the Word that this word did not onely appeare or assume vnto himselfe our flesh for a time to discharge some speciall offices and then to depose and to lay aside the same againe but that he was made flesh that is really made man like one of vs sinne onely excepted and eternally to remaine man for euer and euer And therefore that we may truely vnderstand this point how this word was made flesh we must well consider these two especiall things 1. The manner of his conception Two things to be considered for the vnderstanding of Christs conception 2. The matter or substance from which he was formed First the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 made here vsed doth plainly shew vnto vs as both Saint Chrysostome and Tolet doe obserue Mirabilem eius conceptionem non virili virtute sed diuina potentia eum esse conceptum His wonderfull conception that he was made not by any vertue of mans seede but by the power of Gods Spirit who without any seede of man did frame and make the man Christ in the wombe of his Mother and therefore we are to obserue Of this wonderfull and diuine conception 1. The reason 2. The manner 3. The end First Neuer any one was made as Christ was made we reade that mankinde before Christ his comming was made three manner of wayes First without any man to be his father or any woman to be his mother as Adam Secondly of a man without a woman as Euah Thirdly of man and woman as all the off-spring of Adam but Christ after a fourth a more wonderfull manner was made of a woman without the helpe of a man and so we neuer reade of any other before him nor of any other after him for as the Flowers saith Protagoras Solummodo habent in coelo patrem in terra solummodo matrem Haue onely a Father in Heauen that is the Sunne by whose heate and vertue they grow and a mother onely in earth i. e. the ground from whence they spring so Christ the flower of the roote of Iesse hath onely a Father in Heauen without a mother and a mother onely in earth without a father and yet he is not another from his father and another from his mother Sed aliter est a patre aliter est ex matre But he is otherwise from his father and otherwise from his mother that is a true God of God his father and a true man of the Virgin his mother of two natures subsisting in one and the selfe-same person And the reason why he was borne of a woman Ambros in Luc. 24. Why Christ was borne of a Woman as Saint Ambrose saith was Ne perpetui reatus apud viros opprobrium sustinerent mulieres Lest women should still suffer the reproach of perpetuall guiltinesse and blame in the sight of men for their first transgression for her yeelding vnto the Serpent and the seducing of her Husband made her and all her Sexe to bee deseruedly subiect vnto much reproach and therefore though because the mankinde is more noble Christ would be made a Man yet because women should not be contemned he was contented to be borne of a woman Et sic formam viri assumendo Aug. cont faust de foemina nascendo vtrumque sexum hoc modo honorandum
vnto her sonne and what is it to be the fruit of the wombe but to be of the same substance as his mother was of for how can that be called the fruit of a tree that neuer had the nature of a tree for I would suppose it to bee madnesse to call a Pomegranate the fruit of the Orange tree and therefore it was as great a madnesse to call Christ the fruit of Maries wombe if he had brought his body with him either from Heauen or from any other place and the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrewes saith Heb. 2.14 That for as much as the children were partakers of flesh and bloud he himselfe also tooke part of the same And againe Heb. 10.5 he bringeth in Christ himselfe saying Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not but a body hast thou prepared me And therefore when the Apostles thought that they had seene a phantasme Luke 24.39 or a Spirit he said vnto them Handle me and see because a Spirit hath not flesh and bones as you see me haue and aboue all Gal. 4.4 the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vsed by Saint Paul and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here vsed by the Euangelist which signifie to take our nature vpon him and to be made flesh if they be diligently marked and well vnderstood doe make it most apparantly plaine that the Sonne of God tooke vnto himselfe personally the true nature of man and the very substance of his mother for the Apostle doth not say Factus de muliere sed factus ex muliere Made in a woman but made of a woman as Nicolaus de Gorram well obserueth euen as the bread is made of the wheate and Wine of Grapes and therefore though Christ had his Principium formale His formall beginning from the Holy Ghost yet it is most certaine that hee had Principium materiale his whole matter and substance from the body of his Mother Thirdly the same truth is confirmed by the vniforme consent of all Orthodoxe antiquity as the great Councell of Chalcedon that had in it 630. Bishops Fulgentius l. 2. de persona Christi the Councell of Lateran the Councell of Toledo Tertullian in his booke De Carne Christi Fulgentius Saint Basil Saint Augustine Venerable Bede and diuers others whose pithy sayings Basilius in l. de hum Christi generat and vnanswerable arguments to confirme this point I might here alledge but that Theodoret Leo Vigilius and Gelasius haue so fully collected what the Fathers before them had written hereof Aug de trinit l. 13. c. 18. that more proofe neede not be required and more excellent arguments cannot be composed for the manifestation of any truth Beda in 11. Luc. l. 4. c. 48. and therefore not willing to write Iliads after Homer I referre my Reader vnto them if hee desires any further comprobation of this point And yet for all this Macedonius and Valentinus affirmed L. 2. de trinitate L. de diuina maiest humanitatis Christi that Christ brought with him a celestiall body from Heauen and that Dogge Seruetus and his fellow Memnon taught that the Body of Christ was begotten of the substance and essence of his Father and so Apelles Marcion and Apollinaris auouched that he had an aeriall body and a syderiall flesh So Gasper Swenkfeldius saith that Christ in respect of his humanity is a true God as if his very flesh had beene begotten of God as Seruetus said Bucanus lo. 2. p. 21. Loc. com so Manichaeus saith that he had but an imaginary body a phantasme only in shew and no true body in substance and so the Anabaptists of our time do now auouch it that he tooke not vpon him the very nature of man nor the very flesh of the Virgin but that he had onely the shew and phantasme of a man which passed the wombe of his Mother Cochlaeus in l. de erroribus Monaster Anabap. as water passeth through a Conduit and this is one of their most principall points as Iohannes Chochlaeus witnesseth And therfore to maintaine their damnable errors to obscure this cleere light of veritie and to shew themselues Grand Captaines of that Arch-Hereticke and aduersary of Christ and all Christians the Diuell they doe obiect Ob. 1 First that Christ himselfe saith No man ascendeth into Heauen but he that descended from Heauen Iohn 3.13 the Sonne of Man which is in Heauen And againe speaking of the Iewes he saith You are from below Iohn 8.23 1 Cor 15.47 I am from aboue you are of this world I am not of this world And that Saint Paul saith The first man is of the Earth Earthy but the second Man i. e. Christ was from heauen heauenly and therefore say they he had the substance of his flesh from Heauen and not from the substance of his Mother Sol. I answere that all these and the like places are spoken of the whole person of Christ to whom the properties of each nature in respect of the communication of properties which hereafter I shall more fully declare vnto you may be fitly ascribed and they teach vs that the Sonne of God descended from heauen not by any change of place but by his voluntary humbling of himselfe That we must not referre that to the body of Christ which is spoken of the whole person of Christ to receiue the forme of a seruant and that hee was conceiued after a Heauenly manner by the operation of the Holy Ghost and not after any Earthly generation and therefore they doe impiously and most falsly referre that to the substance of his flesh which is indeed spoken of the whole person of Christ and of the heauenly manner of his conception for though it be true that I should say I am a reasonable creature which doth both heare and vnderstand yet doth this no way proue that my Body alone without the soule is such or can doe either of these euen so though Christ saith that he descended from Heauen because he was a God that euer was in Heauen yet that doth no way proue that his flesh which he assumed on earth descended from heauen because hee had that from his Mother and brought it not downe from aboue And that he is not of this world but from aboue or from Heauen heauenly is nothing else but that he is not worldly minded or swayed with the lusts of the flesh or any wayes earthly affected and this though in a farre inferiour degree to him hee saith of the Apostles You are not of this world Iohn 15.19 because as Saint Paul saith of all Christians they minde not the things of this world but haue their conuersation in Heauen Phil. 3.30.20 Secondly they say that in what body he appeared to the Fathers Ob. 2 of the Old Testament he appeared in the like body to the Apostles and Disciples in the New Testament but he appeared vnto the Patriarchs in no true
body but onely in the shew and shape of a body therefore he appeared in no true body to the Apostles To this I answere first that the minor is false Sol. That Christ appeared to the Patriarchs in a true body for he appeared vnto the Fathers in a true body as may be easily proued from those actions of eating drinking walking and such like and when he had ended that businesse for which he was sent of his Father he deposed that body which for that end hee had assumed and so he laid downe his body againe because hee had not as yet really and hypostatically vnited himselfe vnto the same Secondly Christ in former times did but assume a body for some speciall end now he was made flesh to remaine man for euer I say that if it were so that he appeared vnto the Fathers in a phantasme yet it followeth not that he did so likewise vnto the Apostles for before he assumed it onely for a time to performe some one speciall act but now he is made flesh which he hath really vnited vnto himselfe for euer to performe the greatest worke in the world the redemption of mankinde and therefore S. Iohn to expresse the truth thereof so fully as words could doe it saith that himselfe and the rest of his fellow Apostles did beare witnesse of that which they saw with their eyes and heard with their eares 1 John 21. and their hands had handled of the word of life and that this word was made flesh and dwelt among vs Iohn 1.14 which was neuer spoken of any of the formes that hee assumed in the Old Testament For though wee reade that hee appeared vnto the Fathers at sundry times and in diuers formes Heb. 1.1 yet we doe neuer reade that he made himselfe of no reputation by taking those formes vpon him Phil. â— 7 or that therefore he was made to be the things that he appeared to be because he neuer assumed them vnto himselfe as to vnite them personally vnto himselfe Ob. 3 Thirdly they say that the Scriptures teach not that he had a true naturall body but onely the shew and likenesse of a body for Saint Paul saith Phil 2.78 that Christ tooke vpon him the forme of a seruant and that God sent his Sonne in the similitude of the flesh of sinne Rom. 8 3. or of sinfull flesh and Saint Iohn saw one walking among the seauen golden Candlesticks Reuel 1.13 which was like vnto the Sonne of Man therefore he assumed no true body but onely a shew and a likenesse of a body Sol. I answere that these words and the like doe giue them no such ground nor any shew of reason to build any such conclusion thereupon for the Scripture saith that Adam did beget Caine Gen. 5.3 Christ in regard of his meane condition did appeare like a sinfull man but was without sinne Abel Seth in his owne image and likenesse but we might iustly account them very foolish that would hereupon inferre that neither Caine or Seth had not the very nature of Adam but onely a bare shadow and similitude thereof and therefore the Apostle in saying that hee was sent in the similitude of sinfull flesh giues vs to vnderstand that he was conceiued and borne without sinne and yet to haue flesh like vnto sinfull flesh because though it was without sinne yet it seemed to be full of sinnes by reason of the punishment that he was contented to vndergoe for our sinnes And this is most excellently declared by Tertullian Tertul. in l. de carne Christi c. 17. where he saith that Saint Paul affirmeth Christ to be made in the similitude of sinfull flesh not that he tooke the likenesse of flesh or the image of a body and not a true body but that he would giue vs to vnderstand that Christ tooke vpon him true flesh in the similitude of sinfull flesh Quia similitudo ad titulum peccati pertinebit Idem l. 5. contra Marcion Because the word similitude is to be referred to the iniquitie of sinne and not to deny the veritie of his substance for he would not haue added the word sinne if he had vnderstood and meant that the word similitude should be referred to the substance of his flesh to deny the veritie of the same but when he thus frameth his speech saying That hee came and tooke vpon him the likenesse of the flesh of sinne or of sinfull flesh Et substantiam confirmauit i. e. carnem similitudinem ad vitium substantiae retulit i. e. peccatum Hee doth confirme the veritie of his substance that is his flesh and he referreth similitude to the vitiousnes of the substance i. e. sin which in the sight of the Iewes he seemed to haue though in very deed hee had none So Cassianus saith Cassian collat 22. c. 11. that Similitudo non ad carnis veritatem sed ad peccati imaginem referenda est The word similitude hath relation not to flesh to denie the truth thereof for that was true flesh but to this word sinfull Quia in veritate corporis sed sine veritate peccati suscepit dominus speciem peccatoris Because that in the true nature of man without any sinne hee appeared and was so esteemed of many like a sinfull man Amb. de spiritu Sancto l. 3. c. 9. saith Saint Ambrose And so when the Apostle saith that Christ was made in the similitude of Man he doth not meane so to referre the word similitude Ad naturam humanam as that we should vnderstand him to be made onely in the likenesse of our humane nature The manhood of Christ seene by the sufferings of Christ but by the similitude of man he vnderstandeth Conditionem abiectam that abiect and meane condition of man whereby Christ was made like vnto all other men and therefore Saint Paul doth hereby more confirme the truth of his humane nature then any wayes weaken the same Iustin Martyr in expos fidei because as Iustin Martyr speaketh Deus quidem intelligitur ex prodigiorum operatione homo autem ostenditur ex aequalibus nostrae naturae perpessionibus His Godhead is sufficiently seene by the working of his miracles but his Manhood is chiefly seene by the like sufferings and infirmities of our nature And to that place of the Apocalyps I say that Saint Iohn saw him in a Propheticall vision his body being in heauen and not on earth and therefore this of all other is alledged most improperly to deny the truth of that flesh which Saint Iohn of all other had so plainely declared vnto vs. And so you may see that neither these places nor any other place though neuer so much wringed and wrested from the true meaning of the Holy Ghost no nor the gates of Hell it selfe can disproue the truth of this point that Christ hath a true and a naturall body CHAP. III. Of Christ his true and perfect
therefore hee must needes haue two natures in him according to one whereof he was before Abraham and according to the other he was after Abraham And further Vigilius l. 2. cont Eutych Philip. 2. we finde the same confirmed and confessed by all antiquity for Vigilius writing vpon those words of the Apostle who being in the forme of God tooke vpon him the forme of a seruant saith Mirum est c. It is a wonder to thinke why some are afraide to say that Christ had two natures when as the Apostle saith that he had two formes and the great oecumenicall Councell of Calcedon wherein were 630 Bishops Concil Calced Act. 5. in Symb. fidei left this confession vnto all posterity Confitemur in nouissimis diebus filium Dei vnigenitum in duabus naturis inconfuse immutabiliter indiuise inseparabiliter agnoscendum nunquam sublata differentia propter vnionem We confesse that the onely begotten Sonne of God which came in the last dayes to be incarnate is now to be acknowledged to be and to subsist of two natures i. e. Diuine and humane inconfused immutably inseperably and vndiuidedly vnited together and that the differences or distinction of these natures is neuer to be abolished and taken away by reason of the vnion of the same All the actions of Christ doe manifestly shew the two natures of Christ And so in very deed we finde all the actions of our Sauiour Christ while he liued here on earth to make inanswerable proofe of the same truth for as Saint Augustine saith Iacebat Christus quantum ad carnem mortuus in sepulchro mortuos suscitans in inferno vitam tribuens vniuersis in caelo Christ according to the flesh lay dead in his graue yet did he then in Hell i. e. in respect of his soule according to his Godhead raise the dead here on earth Aug. sup Mat. 5. contra Foelicem and giue life to all them that were in heauen Quia vt nec mundum dimittens ad coelum ascendit ita nec coelum deserens venit ad nos sed vno atque eodem tempore totum totus impleuit Because that as now he hath not left the world though he be ascended into Heauen so then he did not leaue the Heauens when hee came to be made flesh on earth but was wholly at one and the selfe-same time in all places replenishing and filling all things And Gregorie Nazianzen doth most excellently shew how the properties of both his natures concurred together and might be easily discerned in him from the very beginning of his dayes Luc. 2.7 to the last end of his being here on earth for he is borne of his mother and wrapped in swadling clouts as being a man but a starre doth manifest him Matth. 2.11 and the wise men adore him as being a God Matth. 3.16 he is baptized in Iordan as being a man but the Holy Ghost descends vpon him from Heauen as being a God he is tempted of the Deuill Mar. 1.12 as he is a man but he ouercomes and expels the Diuels Iohn 4.6 as he is a God he trauels and is thirstie he is hungry and is weary as he is a man but he refresheth the wearie hee feedeth the hungry Iohn 7. and he giueth drinke vnto the thirstie as hee is a God Matth. 24.26 he sleepes in the ship and his Disciples awake him as he is a man but he rebukes the windes and stilleth the rage of the Seas Matth. 8.20 as he is a God he is poore and needy and hath not an house to put his head in as he is a man but he is rich and mighty and cannot be contained in the heauens as he is a God he his sorrowfull and sad he weepes and he prayes as he is a man but he heareth our prayers and comforteth the sorrowfull Matth. 26. as hee is a God he is subiect to infirmities as he is a man Iohn 14. but he healeth all our infirmitie as he is a God he is whipped and crucified as hee is a man but he renteth the vaile of the Temple Esay 53. and causeth the Sunne to hide his face for shame to see him crucified as hee is a God he saith Eloi Eloi Lamasabachthani My God my God Matth. 27.46 why hast thou forsaken me as he is a man but hee saith vnto the theefe This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise as he is a God Luke 23.43 he dyeth and is buryed and lyeth in his graue as he is a man but he ouercommeth Death and destroyeth the Diuels Matt. 27.50.60 and raiseth himselfe vnto life againe as he is a God and being risen he appeares vnto his Disciples and eates and talkes with them Luke 24. v 15. 31. as he is a man but he vanisheth out of their sight and ascendeth vp vnto Heauen as he is a God and so now the Heauens doe containe him and he sitteth there on the right hand of God Psal 68.4 as he is a man but he sustaineth the Heauens and rideth vpon the same as vpon an horse as he is a God and so Fulgentius saith Fulgent ser de Epiphan Iste puer in praesepi quidem paruulus collocatur sed magnus in coelo mirabiliter operatur permittit se manibus in terra portari sed praecipit sibi coelestia famulari That little child is laid in a cratch i. e. as he is a man but he doth wonderfully worke in heauen i. e. as he is a God and he suffereth himselfe to be carryed in their armes as he is a man but he supporteth all things and commandeth all the hoast of Heauen to doe him seruice as he is a God And therefore it is most apparant that the person of Christ so subsisteth Vt cum in homine Christo videtur veritas hominis Idem de persona Christi l. 2. ad Tamrisi in eodem Deo Christo cognoscatur paternae veritas deitatis as when we see the veritie of the Manhood in the Man Christ Iesus we must know and acknowledge the eternall Deitie in the same God Christ Iesus because he is still a perfect God and a perfect man and of these two natures subsisting in one person inconfused But against this Eutyches and his followers What the Eutychian heretickes say against this truth haue and doe most impiously affirme that in Christ after his Incarnation there is but one onely nature made of the Word and of the flesh by the conuersion of the Deitie into the humanitie because the Euangelist saith that the Word was made flesh euen as when the Water was made Wine it was no more Water but was presently conuerted into Wine Nazian in Ep. ad Clidonium or else by the conuersion of the flesh into the Deitie because Gregory Nazianzen and Gregory Nyssen say that Caro Christi est deificata the flesh of Christ is now deified and to confirme
especially of two sorts 1. Some in respect of Christ 2. Others in respect of Christians First Those in respect of Christ are likewise three-fold 1. The benefit of the vnion of the two natures in respect of Christ is three-fold Esay 53.12 1 Pet. 2.22 1. An exemption of all sinne and corruption from Christ 2. The collation of ineffable graces into the humanity of Christ 3. The communication of the properties of each Nature to the person of Christ First We finde that although Christ appeared like a sinfull man and was numbred among the wicked yet in very deede he did no sinne neither was any guile found in his mouth for though In carnis assumptione condescendit mihi in culpae tamen vitatione consului◠sibi 1. To free the manhood from all sinne He assumed the true nature of man yet by reason of his pure conception and of this hypostaticall vnion hee was conceiued and liued without sinne and so as Leo saith Qui non alienus ab hominum genere alienus fuit à crimine He tooke vpon him the seede of man but not the sinne of man he vnited himselfe to our nature but he shunned all the iniquity of our nature Secondly The graces callated vnto the humanity of Christ by reason of this vnion of the two natures are very many especially these sixe 2. To inrich the manhood with these and the like speciall graces First His subsistence and that in the second person of the Trinity whereof it selfe as of it selfe is destitute Secondly An extraordinary dignity in that it is a peculiar Temple for the Deity of Christ to dwell in and the place where the Godhead shewes it selfe more manifestly and more gloriously then in any other Creature whatsoeuer for though God sheweth himselfe by his prouidence to be in all his Creatures and by his grace to be after a more speciall manner in his Saints yet is he onely most gloriously eternally inhabiting according to the fulnesse of his Deity by an hypostaticall vnion in the humanity of Christ for In him dwelleth the fulnesse of the Godhead bodily Collos 2.9 And as now in this life No man commeth vnto God but by Christ so hereafter in the next life No man can see God but in the face of Iesus Christ Thirdly A more neere familiarity with the Godhead then any other Creature whether Men or Angels either had or haue or can haue for that to all other Creatures he is adioyned onely by the presence of his grace or glory but to the humanity of Christ he hath personally vnited himselfe for euer So that as he said My Father and I are one that is one essence he may as truly say the Manhood and I are one that is one onely person for euer Fourthly An extraordinary measure without measure of habituall graces wisedome vnderstanding holinesse and the like such as dwels not in that measure in any other Creature whatsoeuer no not in the very chiefest Angels of God for to all them were giuen grace by measure but to the humanity of Christ Ephes 4 7. was giuen grace without measure Iohn 3.34 saith the Baptist euen so much as a Creature is any wayes capable of Fiftly A partner agent with the Godhead according to its measure in the workes of redemption mediation and such like Sixtly To be adored and worshipped with diuine honour not as it is considered in it selfe without respect vnto the Deity but as it is vnited with the Godhead Neque tamen creaturam adoramus Athanas Orat. 5. contra Arrianos Wee worship not the flesh alone considered but wee adore the person of Christ which consisteth of the Word and our Flesh absit sed dominum rerum creatarum incarnatum verbum deum adoramus And yet we adore no Creature God forbid but we worship and adore the Lord of all Creatures the incarnate Word God Iesus Christ saith Athanasius Nam veluti si quis nostrum c. For as if any one of vs should finde a purple roabe or a Kingly Diademe lying vpon the ground would he worship the same trow you but when the King is clothed and decked with the same he is guilty of death that despiseth and refuseth to worship and honour them together with the King that weareth them euen so in our Sauiour Christ wee doe not adore the sole and bare humanity Aug. de verbis Domini sec Joh. Ser. 58. but being vnited vnto the Deity whosoeuer shall despise to adore with diuine worship that onely Sonne of God true God and true man hee shall vndoubtedly suffer the paines of eternall death saith Saint Augustine 3. To haue the properties of each nature to bee indifferently predicated of the whole person of Christ Thirdly For the communicating of the properties we are to consider it First In respect of those properties which are common to both natures ioyntly considered Secondly In respect of those properties which are peculiar to either nature seuerally considered First The Office of a Mediator is ascribed to Christ in respect of both natures Quia totus Christus secundum diuinitatem humanitatem est Mediator Intercessor because whole Christ according to his Deity and humanity is our Mediator and Intercessor saith Saint Augustine Secondly The peculiar properties of either nature are said to be communicated when they are predicated or spoken of the whole person of Christ in the concrete and largest extent and this communicating of properties is nothing else but a forme of speech whereby those things are spoken of the whole person of Christ which indeede are proper to either one nature and not to the other for oftentimes it comes to passe that by reason of the personall vnion of these two natures each one of them doth interchangeably take the concrete names each of other in predication Acts 20.28 as when it is said That God purchased the Church with his owne bloud not that the Godhead shed bloud but because that person which was a God did shed bloud to procure redemption not which it had as God but which it had in respect of the Manhood vnited vnto it So the Sonne of man talking with Nicodemus Iohn 3.13 is said To be in Heauen not that hee was in Heauen as he was man while he was on earth but because that person which was the Sonne of man was by something that was in his person that is his Deity in Heauen So Saint Paul in the first Chapter to the Romans Rom. 1.4 Verse 3.4 doth giue vs a perfect patterne how to interpret all such alternate predications for there hee saith That the Sonne of God was made of the seede of Dauid but how not according to his diuine Sonneship or Deity which hee had from all eternity but in respect of his humane nature which was personally vnited vnto the Sonne of God And therefore though it be most vsuall in the Scripture to heare things properly appertaining to the
or grieue the good by vpbraiding them with the faults of the bad Secondly to shew vnto vs Nazian orat 4. de theol that men may be called to eminent and holy places yet be cast-awayes because it is not the excellency or the Sanctity of the calling but our holy and vpright conuersation in our callings that makes vs acceptable in the sight of God Thirdly To testifie Christ his innocencie that had alwaies his enemie to behold his conuersation Fourthly For our example to be patient Aug. li. 18. c. 49 de Ciuitat to suffer wicked men amongst vs. But againe it may be demanded why he made him his Purse-bearer knowing him to be a thiefe To this Aquinas answereth Thom. in Iohn 12. that God vseth to commit his spirituall graces to his best seruants and his temporall gifts to those that are more worldly minded to see if by any meanes he may gaine them to serue him Why Christ made Iudas his Purse-bearer for the worldlings will serue God many times when God blesseth them with all manner of store therefore Christ knowing Iudas to be a couetous wretch he made him his steward and committed to his hands all their wealth to see if this might moue him to bee true and faithfull vnto him All this Christ did for him and yet as the Prouerbe is Improbus à nullo flectitur obsequio saue a thiefe from the Gallowes and he will be the first that will seeke to hang thee so Iudas had put all these blessings in a riuen dish and as the Leopard is saide to be most sauage vnto them that doe most good to him so doth Iudas here first betray his Master that was his best friend and had done most good vnto him but wee must consider Secondly why Iudas betrayed Christ Why Judas betrayed Christ The Euangelist sheweth briefly that because the oyntment which was poured on Christ was not solde for 300. pence and put into his bagge he went vnto the high Priests Lex talionis and sels Christ for 30. pence decorum pretium a goodly price to haue for the Lord of heauen and earth and therefore cleane contrarie we reade that 30. Iewes were sold for one pennie but for Iudas we see how the desire of money is the roote of all mischiefe What a horrible sinne is couetousnesse quid non mortalia pectora cogit auri sacra fames Or as Iuuenall saith Iuuen. Sat. 14. quae reuerentia legum quis metus aut pudor est vnquam properantis auari What will not couetousnesse cause a man to doe what feare of Law what loue of Vertue what shame or honestie can you finde in couetous wretches Boet. 2 5. Nam saeuior ignibus aetnae feruens amor ardet habendi For it made Achan hide the wedge of gold to the losse of his owne life it made Achab a murtherer of innocent Nabaoth it made Polymnestor kill his Nephew Polydorus and here it makes Iudas to betray his owne Lord and Master Iesus Christ yea and to bee the formost man of all the wicked companie to shew withall that as the old distich saith Non audet stygius daemon tentare quod audet Effraenus monachus plenaque fraudis ánus Jerem. 24.2 None is so bad as wicked Priests for they are like Ieremies figges either exceeding good or extreame euill either most faithfull for Christ or most feruent for Antichrist Thirdly the Euangelist tells vs how he did bring to passe his wicked fact for he gaue them a signe that whosoeuer hee should kisse That there are fiue kindes of kisses the same was he and wee finde that there are fiue kindes of kisses the first a whoorish kisse as Salomon saith of the Harlot that she caught a young man and kissed him the second a chaste kisse Prou. 7.13 Gen. 29.11 as Iacob kissed Rachel the third is a kisse of courtesie as our Sauiour said vnto Simon the Pharise Thou gauest me no kisse the fourth is a Symbolicall kisse for a signe of loue as the Apostle saith Luc. 7.45 Greet one another with an holy kisse the fift is a treacherous kisse 2 Cor. 13.12 as Ioab kissed Amasa and presently killed him whom he kissed and thus Iudas kissed Christ for he had said Whomsoeuer I shall kisse 2 Sam. 20. the same is he hold him fast Where obserue First That he gaue them a signe to know him Why Iudas gaue them a signe because it was night when they tooke him and because Iames that was called the brother of the Lord and was afterward Bishop of Ierusalem was so like him Ignat. in ep ad Joh. si vera ep Ignat. that it was very hard to know the one from the other and therefore lest they should mistake him and take â—ames or some other for him hee gaue them a signe to know him Secondly That this signe was a kisse Why the signe that Judas gaue was a kisse that he might the more cunningly worke his purpose Nam doli non sunt doli nisi astu colas for deceits are no deceits vnlesse they be cunningly carried and that if this way fayled he might as he thought haue still retained his place and credit because he had but dutifully saluted him And therefore he comes and kissed him saying Aue Rabbi Master God saue you but herein we see 1. His arrogancy 2. His iniquity First His arrogancy that he would presume with those lippes vnder which was the Poyson of Aspes to kisse those lippes in which was found no guile Iohn Baptist thought himselfe vnworthy to vntie the laâ—ched of his shooes and Iudas will presume to kisse his mouth and so all wicked men are euer more presumptuous then the godly and they are bold and impudent when the Saints doe feare and tremble Secondly His iniquitie is herein seene that in two words hee vttereth forth two lyes for hee saith Aue God saue you to him whom he desired to perish and he saith Rabbi Master to him whom he refused to follow and so you see sweet words from a poysoned heart a praying for his life and a betraying of him to death Ille mihi tam exosus est quam inferni portae Qui aliud animo occultat aliud ore profert An Act so horribly base that the very Heathen man could say he hates him as the gates of Hell that will say one thing and doe another thing And yet behold how our Sauiour deales with this wicked Traitor he kisseth him with the kisses of his mouth How our Sauiour sought to reclaime Iudas and to bring him to repentance and what greater signe of loue and whereas he might haue angerly and iustly reuiled him for his treachery he doth mildly and kindly salute him by the name of friend and what better name could hee vse for Father Wife or Children are but vaine names vnlesse they be friends O then Si honoras dulcis domine Inimicum
miser homo non compatitur pro quo solo deus patitur Hiron in Mat. and therefore how can we behold his head resting vpon a pillow of thornes his hands pierced with iron nayles and his heart bleeding for our sinnes and not to bee moued to a godly sorrow for those our horrible sinnes that caused all his sorrowes It is reported in the Gospell that when our Sauiour suffered the Sun withdrew his light as being ashamed to see so wofull a spectacle the earth quaked and trembled as it were for feare to see her Creator put to death and the stones did cleaue in sunder yea wicked Iudas that betrayed and sold our Sauiour when he saw the indignities that were offered vnto him did repent and grieue that he had betrayed that innocent bloud and therefore what strange hearts haue wee worse then Iudas and harder then stones if we can behold the torments of his Passion and not be touched with compassion The naturalist telleth vs that the Adamant stone is of an impenetrable hardnesse Plinius l. 37. c. 4. and yet he saith that if it be steeped in the warme bloud of a Goate it will be mollified and therefore if the bloud of Christ which is farre more excellent then the bloud of Buls or of Goates cannot intenerate our hard hearts wee are worse then the Adamants and no better then the Diuels That Christ should bleed for vs and we not weepe for our owne sinnes Secondly To make vs thankefull For the second Our Sauiour hauing suffered all this for sin to saue sinfull men and to eternize mortall men He hath broken the head of the Serpent he hath wounded the great Leuiathan and by the merit of his Passion he hath subdued Hell conquered the graue rebated the sting of death taken away the force and guilt of sinne and remoued those Cherubims and that flaming sword which was placed to afright vs and to keepe the way of the tree of life Gen. 2.2 and he hath blotted out the hand-writing of ordinances that was against vs and laid open vnto vs the gates of eternall life and therefore now we should all say with the Psalmist What shall we render vnto the Lord for all his benefits that hee hath done vnto vs Psal 116 11. for we must not thinke it inough to weepe in commiseration of Christ his paine but we must be also thankefull for Christ his suffering The whole world knoweth what great loue hee hath shewed to vs and what bitter Passion he hath suffered for vs and therefore vae tacentibus de te domine Woe be vnto them whose ingratitude hath silenced them from praising thee Sed faelix lingua quae non nouit nisi de te Sermonem texere but most happy is that tongue which can praise thee O Lord though it should be able to speake of nothing else because not onely nothing can be carried better in our mindes nothing can be sweeter in our mouthes nothing more melodious to our eares as Saint Augustine saith then deo gratias to ascribe all praise and to render thankes vnto the Lord our God but especially because as Saint Bernard saith no sacrifice can be more acceptable vnto God for who so offereth me thankes and praise hee honoureth mee and nothing can be more offensiue vnto Satan then to praise the Lord for though thou watchest he careth not because himselfe neuer sleepeth though thou fastest hee regards it not because himselfe neuer eateth any thing but if thou beest thankefull vnto God for his great loue to thee then is Satan grieued because thou being a silly worme on earth dost performe that here in the vally of misery which he being a glorious Angell in Heauen could not performe in that seat of Maiestie and therefore as the Prophet Dauid saith Psal 107.15 that he would rise at midnight to praise the Lord for his righteous iudgements so with the Prophet Dauid I wish to God that men would praise the Lord for his goodnesse especially for this great goodnesse and declare the wonders that he hath done and especially this suffering this great suffering that he vnderwent for the children of men and that they would praise him from the ground of the heart And because virtus nisi cum re vilior alga That we should shew our thankfulnesse to Christ by our workes Luke 2. Matth. 2. thankefulnesse consisteth more in workes then in words therefore let vs not onely with the Angels sing Glory be to God on high but let vs with the wise men present our gifts vnto him gold to clothe the naked and to feede the hungry soule Frankinsence to maintaine the preaching of Gods Word and Myrrhe to be prepared for our death Macrob. Saturnal l. 2. c. 4. that we may liue for euer with him Macrobius tels vs that a certaine souldiour of Augustus Band that had often aduentured his life in Caesars cause being to appeare before those Iudges whom he feared he desired Augustus for to assist him and the Emperour presently wished him to choose whom he would and he would appoint him for his aduocate but the Souldier replyed O Caesar I appointed no Deputy when your life was in danger to be lost but I hazarded mine owne life and receiued all these scarres which he then shewed in his body to preserue you from all hurt and doe you now appoint another to pleade for me what haue I done so much for you and will you refuse to do so small a kindnes for me euen so beloued brethren Christ did not onely hazard his life but gaue himselfe to death and suffered scarres and wounds and the shedding of all his bloud of his dearest bloud for vs and shall wee doe nothing for him Matth. 25 40. O yes beloued let vs euer doe what lyeth in vs for the poore members of Iesus Christ for whatsoeuer you doe to any one of them you doe it vnto me saith our Sauiour Thirdly to teach vs how dearely and how truely we ought to loue our Sauiour Christ For the third as Christ hath so dearely loued vs as to suffer all these things for vs so we should truely loue Christ againe and we should the rather loue him not onely because hee hath done all these things for vs but also because he requireth nothing for all these things but loue he exacts no tribute hee requires no homage he expects no requitall but loue O then let vs not say with the vncleane spirits in the Gospell What haue wee to doe with thee Marke 1.24 O Iesus thou Sonne of God but let vs rather say with the Church Cantic 2.5 in the Canticles Stay me with flagons and comfort mee with apples Bern. in Ser. de pass dom for I am sicke of loue and as thy loue to me Erat talis tantus vt nesciret habere modum was such and so great that it could not containe it selfe within the compasse of any bounds so my
saith of that valiant Scaeua Lucan l. 6. Quâ—m non mille modi mortis c. So these fearelesse Women feared not a thousand sorts of death So should euery Christian soule be vnwearied to seeke and vndaunted to professe our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ For whosoeuer will be ashamed of him here on Earth Marke 8.38 he will be ashamed of him before his Father which is in Heauen 2. Faecundity How these Women labour to increase the number of true beleeuers Secondly For the faecundity of the Church shee is like Sara that bringeth forth more fruite in her age then shee could doe in her youth her seede is as the sand of the Sea which cannot be numbred So these Women they runne and tell his Friends and Disciples that Christ is risen from the dead and so by this meanes they doe what lyeth in them to increase the number of Gods Children and so should euery man doe when he is confirmed to strengthen his brethren for it is our dutie to incite all others to beleeue in Christ and to declare Christ vnto them That they also may haue fellowship with vs 1 Iohn 1.3 in the fellowship which we haue with tâ—e Father and with his Sonne Iesus Christ 3. Peace How peâ—ceably the women came to seeke for Christ Thirdly For the peaceablenesse of the Church the Scripture saith thâ—t it is a vision of peace the Daughter of peace and the Mother of peace So these Women they came peaceably not armed like the Souldiers but harmelesly like Noahs Doue with nothing in their hands but sweete flowers nothing in their mouthes but sweete words Iohn 20 15. good Sir If thou hast taken him away then tell vs where thou hast laide him and as the Church saith Vbi pascit vbi cubat in meridie That wee may know where he is where he lyeth So should euery Christian man lay aside all bitternesse all maliciousnesse and put on the garment of meekenesse and gentlenesse for seeing God is a God of peace and the Church a vision of peace a City at vnitie within it selfe that man can neuer be the Sonne of God which is not the Childe of peace Euery Son of God must be the Childe of peace And so you see that as these Women so euery man or woman that seeketh Christ must be valiant fruitfull and peaceable And yet Secondly As these Women though they had each one of them all these graces in a good measure yet each one of them had not these or the like graces in the like measure for as Mary Magdalen was lesse fearefull so Mary Iacobi was more fruitfull then the rest How God bestoweth his gifts diuersly vnto men So God distributeth his gifts and graces euen as pleaseth him to one he giueth the gift of prophecying to another the gift of healing to Iohn the gift to speake of his Diuinity against Ebion to Marke the gift of handling his humanity against Marcion to Saint Peter the gift to worke mightily in the conuersion of the Iewes to Saint Paul in the conuersion of the Gentiles to some he giues the gift to be famous Orators excellent in perswasions like Apollo to others to be iudicious expositors of more positiue instructiâ—ns as beneficiall vnto the Church though perhaps more preiudiciall vnto themselues to some he giues the gift like Mary Iacobi to be fruitfull in number to preach often and to bring forth many Sermons to others like Mary Salome to be more peacefull yet no lesse faithfull then the rest to doe it seldome yet to doe as well as their fellowes And so in all the rest of Gods graces hee giues not the same gifts to all persons for Lactantius was good to confute the Gentiles but hee was not so good to confirme the Christians Origen was famous in the mysticall interpretation but not so iudicious in the literall exposition of the Scriptures Saint Augustine most excellent to discusse controuersies to confound Heretickes and most iudicious to interpret all positiue points but he was not so millifluous in his exhortations so among the practitioners of Religion some are faithfull to suffer some are painefull to worke some zealous to pray some are desirous to heare some like Mary Salome blessed peacemakers others like Mary Iacobi painefull inlargers of Gods Church and others like Mary Magdalen faithfull sufferers for Gods truth all good but not all the same gifts for as among Dauids Worthies all reached not to the first three so among the Worthies of Christ all haue not the same measure of grace That euery man should be contâ—nted with the gifts that God doth giue him And this should teach vs euery man to be contented with those gifts and with that measure of grace as God hath giuen him and euery man to labour according to the grace he hath receiued in his owne element whereto he is most inclined and not in other mens straine whereto perhaps he is more affected for the fruites of affectation can neuer be so sweete vnto the palate of an other as are the fruites of our speciall inclination And this should teach vs all so to affect one grace as not to reiect the other so to magnifie one man indued with such gifts as not to vilifie another inabled with some other gifts for this were to receiue the faith of our Lord Iesus Christ Iames 2.1 with respect of persons and it is not in man to haue what gift he pleaseth but it is God that distributeth and disposeth of his graces euen as it pleaseth him CHAP. II. Of the action of these Women which was a right seeking of our Sauiour Christ Three properties required to make euery action good THirdly The action of these Women is here expressed according to those three essentiall properties of euery good and godly action 1. The matter iust 2. The manner lawfull 3. The end pious All men are euer seeking for some thing First The matter and substance of their worke is said by the Angell to be an inquisition a seeking ye seeke saith he and so we doe all seeke for since Adam like a griping Vsurer who extorting more then his due leeseth principall and all desiring to be as God lost both God and himselfe the whole World is at a quare and in a continuall seeking but most of vs doe seeke amisse For Some seeke for wealth Some seeke for wealth Quaerenda pecunia primum And they preferre that before the health of their soules And therefore surely they may well feare because they carrie two heauy burthens vpon their backes the one is deliciarum putredo the rust of their couetous desires and the other is Curarum magnitudo The greatnesse of worldly cares Quorum vnumquodque ad subigendum nauigium sufficit Whereof each one is able to sinke a Ship the rust of our riches to be a witnesse against vs and the cares of this World to choake vs and drowne vs in
of feare is euill for we loue and desire the good and we feare onely that which is euill And therefore how can it be that we should feare him which is the chiefest good I answere That it is true that the obiect of feare is euill and that euill to come for what is past we call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heauinesse which is the relique and the effect of that euill which we haue suffered but that which is to come we call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Feare And yet I say that wee may feare that which is good in two respects First We may feare that which is good In what sense we may be said to feare God which is the chiefest good Ne bonum à nobis per malum auferatur Lest that good be taken away from vs by reason of our euill So the body feareth death lest by that death it should be depriued of the fruition of the soule So we feare God thâ—t is good lest that for our euill he will leaue vs and depriue vs of the fruition of his most blessed Societie Secondly We may feare that which is good Ne per bonum propter malum malum nobis inferatur Lest that which is good should inflict some euill vpon vs for our euill So the Malefactor feareth the Iudge lest the vprightnesse of the Iudge should cause punishment to be inflicted vpon him for his euill deedes So we feare the good God lest he should punish vs for our euill And so in very deede the thing that we feare is not his goodnesse but the iust desert of our owne wickednesse For to speake properly God as he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a louer of man and the chiefest good cannot be feared but he is onely to be feared as he is a iust Iudge 2 Thess 1.8 which rendereth vengeance to them that know not God And therefore though the obiect of feare be euill yet in tâ—ese respects we ought while we liue on earth for in Heauen there is no feare 1 Iohn 4.18 because perfect charity expelleth feare to feare God the chiefest good And blessed is he that alwayes feareth for he that feareth the Lord will doe no euill But as the bankes of a Riuer doe bound in the waters from ouer-flowing so doth the feare of God hedge in our affections that it suffereth not our soules to sinne whereas the bankes being broken and troden downe the waters then Velut agmine facto Will rush in heapes and soone couer the whole face of the plaines So the feare of God being once reiected Bloud toucheth bloud Hosea 4.2 as the Prophet saith and all sinnes and wickednesse will be committed euen with greedinesse Secondly The Angell doth herein denotate who ought and who ought not to feare for he saith vnto the Women Feare you not because you seeke Iesus of Nazareth that was crucified which is all one as if he said They that seeke Christ or goe about to doe the will of Christ to honour him to imbalme him with their odoriferous prayers and the sweete swelling flowers of pious and religious workes as you doe they neede not feare no euill can happen vnto them because God is vnto such a most louing Father that will doe them good and not euill all the dayes of their life but they that seeke to presse him downe and to trample him vnder feete like the Tyrants or to suppresse his truth like the Heretickes or seeke him not crucified but to crucifie him againe and to make a mocke of him by their wicked sinnes as the Apostle saith Heb. 6. â— They may well with these cursed Keepers feare and tremble because God will be vnto such a most iust Iudge Rom. 2.6 that will render vnto euery one according to his deedes And so you see who neede not feare those good and godly Saints that seeke for Christ that liue like Christians for the more godly we are the lesse we neede to feare If we had no sinne we had neede of no feare for in Heauen among the Saints there is no feare because there is no sinne Sinne brought feare into the World but there is perfect loue and perfect loue expelleth feare because feare is the defect of loue and the effect of sinne for if Adam had neuer sinned Adam needed neuer to haue feared but when he had once transgressed then assoone as euer he heard the voyce of God Gen. 3.10 he feared For so he saith I heard thy voyce in the Garden and I was afraide But they that goe on in sinne and drinke iniquity like water they may well feare and tremble and the more they sinne the more they should feare Psal 5.5 Heb. 10.31 The more sinfull we are the more we ought to feare because the Lord hateth all them that worke wickednesse and it is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the liuing God And therefore Saint Iames saith That the Diuels feare and tremble and no doubt but their feare is exceeding great because their sinnes are great And therefore Feare not O Iacob my seruant saith the Lord but reioyce O ye Righteous and be glad all ye that are true of heart For the more you feare the lesse you neede to feare the more you feare your selues to fall to sinne the lesse you neede to feare my wrath to punish you for your sinnes this blessed feare to sinne expelleth feare of vengeance But goe-to-now you carelesse wicked wretches weepe and howle Iames 5.1 for your miseries that shall come vpon you For seeing you haue no feare to sinne you should feare and tremble at the consideration of that punishment which you must suffer for your sinnes for so our Sauiour saith Luke 12.5 You should feare to haue both body and soule cast into Hell fire As if he said Though you feare not to sinne yet you may and should feare this punishment for sinne Thirdly The Angell perhaps herein How or after what manner we ought to feare God would intimate how we ought to feare for there is too little feare and this proceedeth Ex carentia fidei through want of faith and there is too much feare and this springeth Ex superabundantia spei through too much confidence and excesse of hope and both these sorts of men Tum sperando tum desperando miserè pereunt By hoping vainely or fearing desperately doe miserably perish And therefore the Angell might well disswade these Women from both these kindes of feare and say Feare you not Too little you doe not for I see you affrighted and too much you may not you neede not because you seeke Iesus that was crucified but in a meane and a middle sort you may and you should feare for Blessed is the man that alwayes feareth Because there bee three states of a Christian man 1. Of grace 2. Of laps 3. Of recouerie and Feare must be wanting in none of these For That God ought to be feared in
Surely this would euert all the Articles of our Faith that we doe professe touching the humanity of our Sauiour Christ and make Christ indeede to be no Christ at all Secondly The Angell confirmeth his assertion of Christs not being in his graue by a sufficient reason For he is risen for if he had said Luc. 24.6 But he is risen as Saint Luke saith it it had beene a further affirmation of his Resurrection but saying For he is risen it is likewise a confirmation of his former assertion He is not here And the reason is naturall and in nature it is vnanswerable He is risen and gone to another place therefore hee cannot be here in this place he is aliue on Earth and therefore not dead here in the graue And therefore Why seeke ye the liuing among the dead why seeke you Christ where he is not A doctrine surely to be well obserued Not to looke for Christ where he is not either in respect of 1. His spirituall 2. His corporall presence First For his spirituall presence we know where he is Gregor moral l. 18. c. 15. In sinu matris Ecclesiae In the bosome of our Mother the Church For where two or three are gathered together in my name Matth. 18.20 there am I in the middest of them And therefore If thus we would finde Christ Luke 2.44 let vs not with Ioseph and Mary seeke him among our Kinsmen and Acquaintance and worldly Friends Nam quomodo That Christ is no where to be found but in the Church O bone Iesu inter cognatos meos te inueniam qui inter tuos minimè es inuentus For how is it possible O sweete Iesu saith Saint Bernard that I should finde thee among my Kindred when thy Mother could not finde thee among thine owne Kinsmen and I would to God all the Bernards of our time would thinke on this but let vs with the Church in the Canticles Lyra ad loc cant 1.8 follow the foote-steppes of the Flockes vnto the Tents of the Shepheards that is Vestigia fidelium ad sedes doctorum The foote-steps of the faithfull to the seats of the Doctors and Teachers of Iesus Christ There he was found by his Mother and there he is still to be found of his Children And Secondly For his corporall presence we know where he is That Christ is no where corporally but in heauen Act. 3.21 sitting at the right hand of God in Heauen not in Earth for the Heauens must containe him vntill the restitution of all things Indeede Mary Magdalen and the rest of these Women here thought him to be in his graue but as yet he had not ascended into Heauen and they knew not what was become of him And therefore their ignorance may be excused for seeking Christ where he was not but we know where he is and therefore our negligence and preposterousnesse must needes be condemned and our selues shall be found void of all excuse Si quaeramus in tumulo Aug de tempore Serm. 133. quem adorare debemus in coelo If we seeke him not where he is and not still looke for him where he is not Our Sauiour tells vs and I cannot here omit it That there should arise false Prophets and they should say vnto you Loe here is Christ or loe there is Christ but he aduiseth vs to beleeue it not And surely wee haue many such false and deceitfull Prophets euen all the patrones of transubstantiation that teach vs to seeke for Christ where he is not Looke Doctor Sheldon in a Sermon preached before the King intituled Christ sitting on his throne and not in popish secrets where this is largely handled Aug. l. de vnit eccl cap. 3. Aquinas in cat sup Matth c. 24. for I doe assure my selfe as Master Doctor Sheldon hath most learnedly and largely proued that the prediction of Christ concerning the practise of those pseudochristians whereof he speaketh Matth. 24.26 saying that they should say vnto vs behold he is in the secrets is principally to be vnderstood of these men For Although diuers of the ancient interpreters as Origen Saint Augustine Aquinas and others doe expound those words of Christ mystically of the priuate conuenticles of hereticks that doe challenge vnto themselues only the spirituall presence of Christ and I confesse this to be true yet I say that this is not all the truth nor yet the chiefest intention of our Sauiour Christ and it is no maruell that the Fathers attained not vnto the full meaning of our Sauiours words because euery prophesie is as a riddle or a booke sealed vp hard to be interpreted as Ireneus saith contra heres lib. 4. cap. 43. but I say that Christ forewarneth vs to take heed of such as would pretend to teach him the true Christ to be personally present in most hidden and secret places wherein I beseech you to obserue these three particulars That Christ warneth vs to beware of thē that would seeme to teach the true Christ First that I say Christ forewarneth vs to take heed of such as pretend to teach the true Christ for he saith that these false prophets shall preuaile so farre in their perswasions as that the very elect shall be in danger to be seduced by their subtilties and therefore this doth plainly proue to me that they shall not denie the true Christ nor pretend to preach any other Christ for if they did so the elect might be said to be more in danger of persecution then seduction but that they should with lying arguments out of Christs owne words and in Christ his owne name as they will professe in the latter day teach and seeke to proue him the true Christ to be in secrets that is in those places That Christ warneth vs to beware of thē that teach his bodily presence any where but in heauen where he is not Secondly that I say Christ forewarneth vs to beware of such as teach him the true Christ to be personally and corporally present in those secret places wherein they auouch him to be for Christ bidding vs not to beleeue that hee is in such secrets setteth downe these two reasons to shew why we should not beleeue it First That Christ vseth two speciall reasons to proue that hee wil neuer come bodily to any secrets till the day of iudgement because that as the lightening commeth from the East and shineth vnto the West so shall the comming of the sonne of man be which is all one as if he had said when they shall tell you that I am personally present in any place beleeue it not because I shall neuer come personally spiritually I doe euery day vntill I come as a lightening i. e. suddenly gloriously manifestly which shall be his comming to iudgement Secondly because that wheresoeuer the body is thither will the Eagles be gathered together for though Origen senseth the body Origen tract 30 in Matth. to be
the Church the Eagles to be the Doctors and their gathering together to be their harmonious and ioynt-consent in truth and though Saint Ierome Theophylact and others Hieron in Matth. 4. and Theophylact. in Matth. 24. do by the body conceiue Christ crucified by the Eagles all the Saints and by their gathering together the applying of the merits of his passion vnto our soules yet Saint Chryostome Stella Ferus and Maldonate and many more euen of our Iesuites doe interpret these words of Christ his comming to iudgement and say that the body signifieth the personall presence of Christ the Eagles the Saints and their gathering together the meeting of him in iudgement and therefore by this reason Christ doth plainly intimate that they should not looke nor beleeue any personall presence of him in any secret places because hee is that body or that carkeise as both Theophilact and Beza vse the word vnto whom all the Saints shall be visibly gathered together and he at no time come bodily vnto them vntill they likewise come and be gathered vnto him And in both these reasons as you see he speaketh of a personall presence of himselfe publikely shewed and in this last nameth his body or carkeise and therefore in his predictions he forewarneth vs to beleeue not them which teach any personall or bodily presence of him in any secrets for otherwise it had beene to no purpose to bring these reasons of his not comming bodily vntill he should visibly come to iudgement to disswade vs from beleeuing any his spirituall comming for his not comming personally till the day of iudgement doth no way proue but hee may as he doth come spiritually euery day to bee present with his Saints in many secrets but his not comming personally till then is a sufficient reason to disswade vs from beleeuing any personall comming of him in secrets And That Christ willeth vs to beware of them that teach him to be bodily present in many places at once Thirdly that I say Christ forewarneth vs to take heed of such as teach him the true Christ to be thus personally present in many secret vnknowne places all at once for the very word which our Sauiour vseth to expresse the subtilties of these false prophets doth proue as much for First hee sheweth vs that they shall say he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in secrets which is a word that signifieth a most secret vnknowne place a little cupboord where they vse to set their bread and so the word vsed to expresse the same in the vulgar Latine in penetralibus doth signifie the most inward and most hidden place of any place Secondly he sheweth vs that those false prophets should tell vs that the true Christ is not onely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in some one secret place but in penetralibus in secrets i. e. in many places and in diuers secrets all at once That the defenders of Transubstantiation teach all these points which Christ bad vs herein to beware of And I say that I could neuer see how this prediction can be more properly applied to any heretickes old or new then to the teachers and defenders of Transubstantiation for First they perswade vs to beleeue no other Christ but onely the true Christ to bee there vnder the formes of bread and wine Secondly they perswade vs that he is personally and bodily there flesh bloud bones and all Thirdly they teach that he is there in so secret hidden and inuisible manner as that it can no wayes by any humane sense be conceiued but onely by a diuine faith to be beleeued And I am sure no false prophets in the world could or euer can teach a more mysticall and secret presence of Christ personally and bodily then this manner is and Fourthly they teach that he is thus wholly and hiddenly in many thousand places all at once euen wheresoeuer any bread in the Masse is consecrated there is Christ personally in all such secrets according to their ancient distich Constat in altari carnem de pane creari Hic panis Deus est qui negat hoc reus est The bread on th' altar as wee say is turned by the Priest his breath To be Christs flesh who euer saith nay is guilty of his death And therefore seeing the prediction of Christ concerning the practise of the false apostles is so plainely seene to be fully accomplished in these deceiued and deceitfull teachers I aduise all men to follow our Sauiours councell beleeue them not beleeue them not for though we doe acknowledge a true reall sacramentall presence of Christ effectually and really working How the body of Christ may be said to bee truly and really in the Sacrament by a true and liuely faith in all the worthy receiuers of that blessed bread because as the Angells are said truely and really to be not only where they diffinitiuely are but also where they doe effectually worke and as the Sunne is said truly and really to be not onely where he is locally fixed in heauen but also where it doth virtually shine and worke here on earth so the bodie of Christ may bee said to bee truly and really not onely in the heauens where it is locally present but also here in the sacred mysteries where he effectually worketh in all the worthy receiuers of the same yet for any other reall bodily presence of Christ in the bread and wine we vtterly deny he is not here for the same reason that the Angell vseth to proue hee was not in his graue because he was risen and gone to another place so we say he is not here because we know he is in heauen where he sitteth on the right hand of God and from thence he will not come personally into any hidden and secret place vntill hee comes apparantly like the lightening that commeth from the East and suddenly shineth vnto the West as himselfe doth testifie And so much for the confirmation of this Angells assertion that Christ was not there in the graue because hee was risen and gone to another place and so likewise of my application and inference thereupon that we are not to beleeue Christ to bee in the secret places of bread and wine because hee is ascended to another place where he sitteth on the right hand of God He that hath eares to heare let him heare for here I doe professe What the Author thinketh of transubstantiation before almighty God and before his sonne Iesus Christ that in all my poore reading which I desired might bee so much as my time and ability would giue mee leaue I did neuer finde a point more contrary to the truth more derogatory to the honour of God more destroying the nature of Christ and more dangerous vnto men in all the writings of our aduersaries then is this incredible and impossible point of Transubstantiation loe I haue told you what I beleeue And here likewise we must further note that as I
imbraced and most willingly granted vnto the Axe but the successe answered not the expectation of the Trees for instead of pruining the corrupted branches it soone wasted stocke and roote vntill it made way for the Plow vncontrolably to passe through the middest of the Forrest And so I feare saith Roffensis your Maiesty will proceede with the possessions of the Church So he did and so doth sinne deale with euery Man it demands but little but it still incroacheth vntill it destroyeth our soules And therefore we should withstand sinne at the first and neuer suffer it so much as to enter into our soules And we should follow the councell of the Bridegroome Cant. 2.10 Arise my Loue my Doue my faire one Make haste as the Angell said vnto Lot Gen. 19.22 to saue thy selfe and come away O come come with me from Lebanon my Spouse with me from Lebanon Cant. 4.8 looke from the top of Amana from the top of Sheâ—ir and Hermon from the Lyons dennes and from the Mountaines of the Leopards Secondly We ought to make haste to rise from sinne and to beginne betimes to serue the Lord by reason of the shortnesse and vncertainty of our life for as Hugo Cardinalis saith The way that we are to passe is long the place that we are to goe vnto farre and our time short and wee know not how soone God will call for vs And therefore we ought to worke the worke of God while it is day Iohn 9.4 For the night commeth when no man can worke That we should striue to be first in Gods seruice And here we must further obserue that as he rose early so he rose first of all for He is the first fruits of them that sleepe To teach vs that we should also striue to be the first in all goodnesse but we are loath to doe this we will doe as others doe we cannot abide to be singular such is our Nature we striue with the Pharisees to be first in honors Nec quenquam iam fere potest Caesarue priorem Pompeius ve parem We would faine be the first in reputation but we neuer striue to be the first in performing the duties of Religion It was otherwise with Iosua who called all Israel together and perswaded them all to serue their God or if they would not he told them plainely That he and his House would serue the Lord Iosua 24.15 And I would it were so with vs for it is our greatest honour to be the first in Gods seruice Thirdly In respect of his owne person Christ rose First Truly without hypocrisie not fainedly but certainly So should we for woe be vnto you hypocrites Matth. 23.13 and woe to him that goeth two manner of wayes that holds vp his hands and lifts vp his eyes to Heauen and yet hath his heart full of all vnrighteousnesse for though with men things are iudged as they seeme yet God seeth our hearts and we deceiue our selues if we thinke to deceiue him It is obserued in Nature that the Foxe nips the necke the Mastiue the throate the Ferret the liuer but God careth onely for the heart for he saith Sonne giue me thy heart Ecclus 2.12 That we shold raise our selues truely and not hypocritically from sinne and he is said to be a searcher and a tryer of the hearts And therefore we must not make Saint Pauls shew of godlinesse to be Saint Peters cloake of wickednesse to rise from sinne in shew and not in truth for these rise like Samuel fainedly not truly by a Witch not by God It is that Witch hypocrisie worse then the Witches of Thessalie that raiseth them vp a little to deceiue the World and to make vs beleeue they are true Samuels whereas indeede they be very Diuels Our Sauiour bids vs to beware of such 2 Tim. 3.5 that haue Iacobs voyce and Esaues hands the words of Saints and the workes of Iewes And I bid them beware of Satan 1 Pet. 2.16 for being raised vp by him and not by the power of Christ he will at last vnmaske their hypocriticall faces and then he will cast them downe and destroy them for though it is reported that in a certaine battell some lost their liuings for running away which notwithstanding were bestowed vpon others that fled ten leagues further yet it is not so with God for 2 Cor. 5.10 He will render vnto euery man according to his worke Secondly Christ rose totally without partition That we shold raise our selues from all sinnes for he left no part behind him So should we rise from all sinnes or else all is but in vaine for we reade that Herod at the preaching of Iohn Baptist did raise himselfe from many sinnes but from his deerely beloued Herodias he would not rise so many men can be perswaded by the Preachers to forsake many sinnes but from their bosome darling vsuall customary sinnes they will not rise And â—urely euery man is naturally inclined to some sinnes more then to others as some men to good-fellowship and drunkennesse some to wantonnesse and these could willingly be contented to refraine as they doe sometimes from all or most other sinnes but from these their naturally beloued or vsually practised sinnes they cannot they will not abstaine It is their infirmity and they cannot leaue them and therefore as Naaman the Syrian said vnto Elizeus 2 Reg 5.18 onely in this thing the Lord pardon thy seruant so say these men but in a worse manner onely in this sinne the Lord be mercifull vnto me and I will striue to raise my selfe from all other sinnes whatsoeuer Aulus Gellius attic noct l. 12. c. 1. It is reported by Gellius that Phauorinus seeing a mother sharing her duties betwixt her selfe and her nurse said Quodnam est hoc contra naturam imperfectum dimidiatum matrum genus What a strange halfe-kinde of mother against nature is this to bring forth and presently to cast forth from her the fruit of her owne wombe such halfe-kinde of Christians haue wee now a dayes that will scarce performe halfe their duties it were well if they were like Naaman Act. 26.28 or like Agrippa almost Christians if they were so and could goe in sincere practice as the young man in the Gospell went in proud profession all these things haue I done from my youth vp Matth. 19.20 yet because with that young man they want one thing all the other things will auaile them nothing for to be behinde in no gift as Saint Paul speaketh is the generall description of euery truly renued Christian and we know that as on what part soeuer of a man a Lion catcheth hold he will hold it fast and draw vs by that part vnto himselfe or we must suffer that part to be torne off from our selues and what gate soeuer the enemy findeth open hee can through that one gate leade in all his Army into our Citie euen so
iot of misery and therefore Saint Augustine saith very well that Sicut contra rationem nemo sobrius contra ecclesiam nemo Catholicus ita contra Scripturas nemo Christianus as no man that is sober will speake against reason no man that is a Catholike will kicke against the Church so no man that is a Christian will contradict any thing that is said in Scriptures For the second that is the Prophesie of Dauid we may obserue these three things 1. The Glory 2. The Victory 3. The Bounty of the Messias and the Sauiour of the world Iesus Christ Or else 1. The Ascention of Christ 2. The Subiection of our Enemies The whole Treatise diuided into three parts 3. The Donation of the Holy Ghost First The Glory of Christ or his Ascention is set downe in these words When he ascended vp on high Secondly The Victory of Christ or the subduing of our enemies is set downe in these words He led captiuity captiue Thirdly The Bounty of Christ or the sending downe of the Holy Ghost is set downe in these words He gaue gifts vnto men The first part hath two Branches Branch 1. BRANCH I. CHAP. I. Of foure sorts of ascenders and how each one of them ascendeth TOuching the first that is the Ascention of Christ I will by Gods helpe handle it two wayes First by way of explication of the words Secondly by way of application of the same vnto our selues And in the first respect we must consider these three points Three points to be considered touching the ascention of Christ 1. The person Ascending who he is 2. The Action or Motion of the person going vp 3. The Place where he is gone on high Thou art gone vp on high First the person ascending First For the person ascending the Psalmist saith in the second person ascendisti in altum caepisti captiuitatem accepisti dona Be-Adam Thou art gone vp on high thou hast taken captiuity and thou hast receiued gifts for the sonnes of Adam And the Apostle here in the 3. person saith When he ascended vp on high he led captiuity captiue et dedit dona and he gaue gifts vnto men Who is that thou or this he who is this King of glory that hath ascended vp on high and what a strange thing is this to find such difference in the Scriptures Iohn 3. he receiued gifts saith the Prophet he gaue gifts saith the Apostle Haud bene conueniunt We may say with Nicodemus How can these things be for the difference betwixt the Prophets saying he receiued gifts and the Apostles saying he gaue gifts I shall reconcile it hereafter when I shall come to speake of the 3. point i. e. the bounty of the Messias and therefore it resteth now that we should discusse onely of the person who he is that is here meant to haue ascended for Bonauenture saith that there be foure sorts of ascenders 1. Angels That there be foure sorts of ascenders 2. Diuels 3. Men both good and bad 4. The God and Man Christ Iesus First Gen. 28.12 To what end the good Angels doe ascend Iacob saw the Angels ascending and descending vpon a ladder whose foot was on earth and the toppe thereof reached vnto heauen carrying vp our prayers and supplications and presenting them vnto God as Raphael did the prayers of Tobias and bringing vnto vs the gifts and graces of God as Gabriel did the Message of saluation vnto the blessed Virgin not in respect of any office of Mediatorship that they should execute betwixt God and Man but in respect of that seruice which they are to doe vnto man at the command of God and therefore they are said to ascend and descend along the ladder that is through Iesus Christ for he is that ladder by whom we ascend and clime vp to God and through whom we receiue all blessings from God He is the Way the Truth and the Life Iohn 14.6 the two sides of this ladder are his two natures the staues are the proprieties of each nature and the knitting of them together is that indissoluble vnion of these two natures in the vnity of his Person Now when Iacob saw this vision of Angels ascending and descending vpon this ladder dormiuit supra lapidem Who they be that shall see the Angels descending for their comfort it is not said that he laid his hard head vpon a soft pillow but that hee laid his tender head for he was but a young man and as yet neuer vsed to any hardnesse vpon a hard stone to signifie vnto vs that not those which lay their hard hearts and stiffe neckes vpon beds of downe and lie wallowing in all the pleasures of this world but those rather which sleepe in sorrow and griefe for their sinnes and lie vpon the hard and rough stone of true repentance spending their time with Iohn Baptist in austere conuersation shall see the Angels of God descending downe to comfort them and ascending vp to carry their soules like Lazarus into Abrahams bosome Secondly Satan said in his heart Esay 14.13 I will exalt my selfe aboue the skies and I will be like vnto the most highest and of this fastidious and proud ascender Rupertus Tuicensis writeth excellently and largely in his bookes De victoria verbi Dei Bern in Psal qui habitat Ser. 12. and Saint Bernard saith that this wicked spirit doth emulate and imitate those heauenly Angels but most lewdly quia ascendit studio vanitatis How wickedly Satan doth ascend descendit liuore malignitatis because he ascendeth in a vaine desire of dignity to bee equall with God and hee descendeth with an odious heart full of wrath and malignity to destroy silly men sic mendax ascentio crudelis descentio est and so his ascending is but a lying vanity and his descending a cruell indignity Gregor in lib. 1. reg c. 17. pag. 279. c. or else as Saint Gregory saith they are said to ascend and descend quia ad expugnanda alâ—a per caeleste desiderium corda subuenire de innocentis vitae sublimitate nos deponere appetunt because they seeke to ouertop the Saints of God and to deiect their desires from the sublimity of heauenly things and to bring downe their hearts and affections to bee fixed on the things of this base and wretched world and therefore pro inani suo ascensu tam immane praecipitium sortitus est for such vaine ascending he hath obtained a most fearefull tumbling of himselfe into the bottomlesse pit of hell Such is the reward of pride But seeing their ascending and descending is to subuert vs and to cast vs downe to hell wee ought to bee very thankâ—full vnto him i. e. Iesus Christ at whose command the good Angels doe ascend and descend and continually attend vpon vs Bernar. de ascen ser 4. p. 199. to defend vs from them as Saint Bernard saith and to preserue vs in all
all heauens we must learne the way of him if wee would ascend to heauen for hee came downe from heauen and he is gone vp into heauen and now he sitteth in heauen vpon the right hand of God CHAP. II. That Iesus Christ the Sonne of God is hee that is meant by the Prophet Dauid and Saint Paul to haue ascended vpon high Quest BVt who is he of whom it is written that hee ascended vp on high for many ascend as you heare but which is he that is here meant I confesse the 68. Psalme Resp Psalme 68. wherein these words are first written is literally to be vnderstood not of any triumph for the slaughter of the hoste of Senacherib which was done in the time of King Hezekias as the Iewes doe most fabulously dreame when the very Title of this Psalme that ascribeth it vnto Dauid doth sufficiently confute this vanity nor yet for any of the victories of Dauid which he obtained against his bordering enemies the Ammonites Literally these words were spoken of the Arke of the Couenant the Moabites the Idumeans and the Philistines as some would haue it but of that great and glorious pompe which was then done and shewed when King Dauid with great ioy and triumph did bring the Arke of the Couenant into the hill of Sion and therefore these words thou art gone vpon high Mollerus in Psalme 68. doe signifie that the Arke which formerly had layne in an obscure place was transported from one place to another was now ascended and seated in a most illustrious and conspicuous place euen in the Kingly pallace and these words thou hast led captiuitie captiue to signifie those enemies which formerly had spoiled and wasted diuers Countreyes but now being vanquished by King Dauid were led captiue in this triumph for so it was the manner of those times as Plutarch doth excellently declare in the life of Paulus Aemilius and the other words thou hast receiued gifts for men Plutarch in vita Pauli Aemilij doe signifie those spoyles that were freely offered for conditions of peace and were triumphantly carried about in this pompous showe for the greater solemnitie of the same and then as the manner was among the chiefftaines when they triumphed Bellica laudatis dona dedisse viris to bestow warlike gifts vpon worthie men were bestowed on seuerall men in seuerall manner as Sigonius sheweth Sigon l. 2. de antiquo iure pro. Yet I say that mystically this Psalme is an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or a tryumphall song penned by King Dauid vpon the foresight of Iesus Christ arising from the dead and with great ioy and triumph ascending vp into Heauen Mystically these words were first spoken of Christ ascending vp into Heauen and thence sending his holy spirit vnto his Apostles and Disciples and hauing ouercome all his enimies collecting by the ministerie of his Preachers his Church and chosen seruants together and so guiding and defending them heere in this life vntill he doth receaue them into eternall glorie for so the authoritie of Saint Paul interpreting them and all other Diuines with one consent doth compell vs to vnderstand them and to know that that pompous shew and tryumph of King Dauid was but the praeludium and type of this triumph of our Sauiour Christ whereof the Apostle speaketh in this place and it was an vsuall thing for the Prophet Dauid in all his chiefest and most glorious acts so to behold the Proto-type that is the Messias whose type he knew he was and so to accommodate all his actions vnto what the Messias should doe that all men might perceiue these things to be done not through any humane inuention All the chiefest acts of Dauid were types of Christ but as he was moued and guided by the inward inspiration of Gods spirit and that for the instruction and edification of the whole Church when by these outward perspicuous acts of Dauid as by certaine visible lectures all men might see and reade those things that should be done by Iesus Christ And therfore I say that the person prophesied of by King Dauid and here spoken of by Saint Paul to haue ascended vp on high is our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ who hauing vanquished and ouercome sinne death Hell and all our enemies did most gloriously ascend vp to Heauen in the presence of all his Apostles and Disciples and thence sent the holy Ghost to replenish and fill their hearts with all spirituall gifts and graces and this will more fully appeare vnto vs out of the second point which is the action or the motion of this person set downe in the word ascendit when hee ascended vp on high CHAP. II. A fuller declaration of the person ascending and of the time place and manner of his ascention Saint Paul collecteth two things out of the word he ascended YOV haue heard of the person ascending who he is Iesus Christ we are now to consider of his ascention out of this word ascendit when hee ascended vp on high but first we must obserue that our Apostle out of this Word he ascended doth collect both the humiliation and the exaltation of Christ First the humiliation of Christ First his humiliation in the 9. v for that he saith he ascended what is it but that hee descended first into the lower parts of the earth wherein the Apostle would haue Dauid when hee forespake of the glorification and the ascention of Christ into Heauen to haue foreseene his humiliation and descention from Heauen to bee incarnate and made man Secondly the exaltation of Christ Secondly his exaltation in the tenth verse hee that descended is the same also that ascended farre aboue all heauens for these two verses are read by a parenthesis and are added by the Apostle for the fuller explication of those hidden mysteries that are included in the word he ascended First touching the descention the Apostle setteth downe two things 1. The descent it selfe that he descended 2. The extent of his descent into the lower parts of the earth The first sheweth vs that hee was first in Heauen Christ first descended i. e. was incarnate before he could ascend i. e. according to his God-head or else he could neuer haue descended out of Heauen and that he descended to be incarnate and mâ—de man before the man Christ could ascend vp into Heauen and therefore the Prophet Dauid fore-seeing the ascention of the man Christ must needs foresee the humiliation of the Sonne of God to be made man The second is a point more controuerted for first some doe expound the lower parts of the earth to signifie his mothers wombe because the descent of the Sonne of God is nothing else but his incarnation and that was done in his mothers wombe and because the Prophet Dauid vseth the like saying of himself I was formed beneath in the earth i. e. in my mothers wombe In inferioribus terra secondly
the meanest among men to be equall with God yet there he is not vnmindfull of vs but sitting on the right hand of God he maketh continuall intercession for vs and sendeth his spirit to comfort vs for though corpus intulit Coelo he hath placed his body in Heauen yet maiestatem non abstulit mundo hee leaues his spirit which filleth all places heere on earth Mat. 28. vlt. for loe saith he I am with you vntill the end of the world that is to deliuer vs from all miseries and to giue vs all those good things that hee seeth good for vs And therefore though Abraham should forget vs or Israell be ignorant of vs or as Mardoceus sayd vnto Queene Hester if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time Hester 4.14 and doest nothing in the world for vs yet shall there inlargement and deliuerance arise vnto the Iewes from another place euen so though we should feare men will forsake vs and forget vs and do nothing for vs either to deliuer vs from any troubles feared or to helpe vs vnto any good desired yet this our good God which neither slumbereth nor sleepeth though he be ascended to heauen yet he will defend vs on earth and hee will lift vs vp out of the mire if we put our trust in him hee will send vs comfort out of some other place Feare you not but stand still Exod. 14 13. and see the saluation of God which he will shew vnto you Secondly the resurrection of Christ is our hope but his ascention is our glorification Si ergo rectè si fideliter si deuotè ascentionem domini celebramus ascendere debemus cum illo and therefore if we doe rightly if we doe faithfully and deuoutly celebrate and make a right vse of the ascention of Christ then must wâ—e labour and striue to ascend with him That in heart and affection we should alwayes ascend to Heauen and if by reason of the infirmitie of our flesh we are so detained and kept backe that we cannot ascend as we would to be where he is yet let vs indeauour to follow after passibus amoris et affectu cordis with the best paces of loue and the most earnest desires of our hearts And indeede it is not the lifting vp of our eyes nor the holding vp of our hands that is the right ascending into Heauen for this may bee as it is many times meere hypocrisie euen as the witch of Endor lifted vp Samuell to deceiue Saule so doth this witch hypocrisie cause many a one to lift vp their hands and eyes to Heauen to deceiue the world and to make vs beleeue they are true Saints whereas in deede they be very Diuells but we must haue sursum corda our hearts lifted vp for this is that chieffest place of man which both God and the Diuell laboreth most of all to attaine Prouerb 23.26 for God saith Sonne giue mee thy heart and lift vp the same to Heauen and so the Diuell seekes but the heart if riches increase set your hearts vpon them and therefore the heart of man is called by Macarius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Throne of God or els 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Throne of Satan for if we lift vp the same to God and set our affections on the things that are aboue then is our hearts the Throne of God but if our loue and affections bee on the things of this world then is our hearts the seat of the scornefull and the habitation of Diuells Psal 1.1 And therefore that we may the better learne how to ascend and to lift vp our hearts to God I will desire you to consider these three things first terminum secondly modum thirdly signum Three things to be considered touching our spirituall ascention vnto Heauen 1. The place from whence and vnto what we must ascend 2. By what meanes we shall raise vp our selues vnto God 3. The signe whereby wee may know whether wee haue ascended any way towards Heauen or not First the place from whence we must ascend is this world behold saith Christ I leaue the world and I goe to the Father so if we would goe to Christ we must leaue the world and neuer enuie at the prosperity of them quorum tectorum gloria attenditur labes autem animorum non attenditur whose outward glorie we doe see but whos inward miseries wee doe not see And the place where we must ascend is in altum vnto the Kingdome of Heauen where the eye hath not seene 1 Cor. 2.9 and the eare hath not heard the things which God hath prepared for them that loue him Secondly the meanes how to raise our selues from this valley of miseries vnto the height of Heauen is by casting from vs all the things that may presse vs downe and assuming the things that may helpe vs vp And you knowe that whatsoeuer is heauie presseth downe Nothing is so heauie as sin and we know that there is nothing so heauie vpon the soule as sinne this is like a Talent of lead it makes the whole world to reele to and fro like a drunken man Atlas en ipse laborat and it was so heauie vpon Christ his shoulders Mat. 27.46 that in the Garden it made him to sweate the drops of blood and vpon the Crosse it made him to crie out my God my God why hast thou forsaken mee and therefore if wee would ascend to Heauen then as Elias did throwe downe his mantle 2. Kings 2.13 and as the blinde man in the Gospell did cast offe his beggars cloake when hee would runne to Christ so must we cast offe the mantle of hypocrisie and disrobe our selues of all the beggarly ragges of sinne or els they will presse vs downe to Hell And as wee know sinne is that weight which keepes vs downe so we knowe wings are the best meanes to helpe vs vp and therefore Dauid prayes that hee had wings like a doue Psal 55.6 that hee might flie away and be at rest and Christ himselfe is said to haue fledde super pennas ventorum vpon the wings of the winde so must wee wee must get vs wings if wee will ascend to Heauen But what are those wings that will carrie vs thither Bern. in Ser. de asc they must not bee like Icarus his waxen wings the wings of pride and ambition but as Saint Bernard sayth they must bee What are the wings whereby we ascend to Heauen 1. Meditatio Consideration 2. Oratio Prayer for Meditatio quid desit docet oratio ne desit obtinet Meditation sheweth vs what wee want and prayer obtayneth whatsoeuer we want but we neuer knowe our estate because wee neuer consider in what estate wee are and wee haue not grace nor goodnesse because we aske not Saint Augustine saith these wings must be 1. The loue of God 2. The loue of our neighbours And it is not vnlikely that loue
should carry vs vp vnto God because God is loue and loue brought downe God vnto men Huc me syderio descendere fecit olympo Hic me crudeli vulnere fixit amor And therefore no maruell that loue should carry vs vp into Heauen Aug. in Psal 83. p. 376. d. 1. wherefore Saint Augustine sayth that by loue we doe either ascend to Heauen or descend to Hell quia amando Deum ascendis in Coelum amando seculum descendis vsque ad abyssum because by louing God wee ascend to Heauen and by louing the world we descend downe to Hell Saint Gregory saith these wings are 1. The contempt of worldly things 2. The desire of heauenly things And this may well stand with Saint Augustines saying because as the same Saint Gregorie saith tanto ab inferioribus disiungimur quanto superioribus delectamur by how much the more earnestly we loue heauenly things by so much we are ascended and sequestred from earthly things And therefore if you would ascend 1. Iohn 2.15 Colos 3.2 then loue not the world nor the things of this world but set your affections on those things that are aboue and because our life is iust like a clocke that vnlesse his waight be alwayes wynded vp will soone stand therefore wee must be euer winding vp our affections and weaning them from these worldly things and with Noahs doue neuer suffer the soales of our feete to rest vntill our hearts and soules returne to him that gaue them vs. Thirdly for the signes whereby wee may know whether we haue ascended or doe ascend towards Heauen or not I might shew you many How we may know whether our hearts ascendeth to Heauen or not but now take this for all if things aboue our heads shew greater vnto vs then they did before and things beneath vs lesser that is an apparant argument that we ascend and grow higher and higher for so Saint Gregorie saith if a man were aloft in the cloudes it would appeare vnto him quam abiecta sunt quae iam alta videntur how base are the things of this earth which to a man on earth doe seeme so great for then hee should see mountaines no bigger then Mole-hills and the Sunne which before while hee was on earth did seeme but instar pilae pedalis like a footeball hee should now finde it to be a great and immens glorious body all bodies aboue him would seeme greater and all below him would seeme lesser euen so if our hearts and affections be ascended vp to Heauen then surely the things of this world doe seeme vnto vs but as they are indeede damnum stercora Dung and drosse Phil. 3.8 or as nothing and worth nothing as Nazianzen saith and the things of Heauen are the onely desires of our hearts and the delights of our soules but if folia venti lilia agri the vanities and the pleasures of this world the Titles of Honour and the confluence of wealth be the desires and delights of our hearts then certainely wee are fast bound in misery and iron wee are fastened and fettered here on earth and it may bee with Golden chaynes but fast inough from ascending vp to Heauen I will not iudge of any by this rule you may all iudge your selues if you doe highly esteeme of the preaching and Preachers of Gods Word If you make much of them that feare the Lord and loue good men and a good conscience and make none account of this world nor of the things of this world then is your heart ascended vp to Heauen but if not Nudus humi iaces Thou lyest poore and miserable fettered here in earth a flaue and captiue of the Deuill and hast neede to cry and call for Christ to lead captiuitie captiue which is the second part of my Text. And so much for the Ascention of our Sauiour Christ Part. 2 PART II. CHAP. Of the victory and triumph of Christ ouer our enemies of our deliuerance from them and of our restoring into the seruice of God againe SEcondly Touching the victory and triumph of Christ set downe in these words Thou hast led captiuity captiue we must vnderstand that this is taken two wayes 1. Passiuely 2. Actiuely And I say first Passiuely because our enemies must be vanquished before we can be deliuered and therefore How Christ ouercame death Hell sinne and Satan First This phrase may be taken Passiuely for the World Death and Hell and all other enemies of Mankinde which Christ hath conquered and led captiue that they should not raigne and rule ouer his seruants any more And thus Saint Augustine doth expound it saying Quid est captiuauit captiuitatem vicit mortem mortem procurauit diabolus ipse diabolus de morte Christi est captiuatus What is he led captiuity captiue but he ouercame death for the Diuell had procured death for sinne and now the Diuell himselfe is captiuated by the death of Christ For as Victors were wont to doe to leade in triumph those Tyrants that opprest their subiects or those enemies that they had vanquished being fast bound with chaines with their heads and feet bare for their greater shame and reproach so the Psalmist alludeth vnto the same when he saith Coloss 2.15 Thou hast led captiuity captiue and the Apostle doth more cleerely expresse it when hee saith that Christ hauing spoyled Principalities and Powers hath made a shew of them openly tryumphing ouer them in it Quest But here it may be demaunded how are they captiuated when as the Diuell compasseth the earth like a roaring Lion seeking whom he may deuoure And so doth the world still oppresse vs 1 Pet. 5.8 our flesh lusteth against the spirit and Death still raigneth ouer vs all I answere that Christ hath destroyed their Power Resp hee hath taken away their strength and hee hath quite subuerted the Kingdome of sinne and Satan and taken away the sting of death and yet they compasse about not as hauing any power ouer vs but as a Lyon tyed will teare vs in pieces if he can catch vs within his clawes so will sinne and Satan if wee yeeld vnto them for though Christ ouercame all our enemies yet hee hath not quite taken them out of our wayes but left them as it were aliue though bound that we might still beware to come within their reach if we would escape their teeth and therefore wee say that sinne is so taken away that it doth not raigne ouer the Saints though perhaps through their negligence it doth often wound them so Satan is bound though like a bridled horse he often fumes against vs and sometimes bites vs too 1 Cor. 15.54 if we beware not of him and so death is swallowed vp into victory and the sting thereof is taken away so that it can neuer hurt the Saints of God though it layes them stil into a sleepe because they shall all awake at the last day But if sinne and
Triumph of Christ Part. 3 PART III. CHAP. I. Of the speciall ends why Christ ascended into heauen and of the gifts which he giueth to edifie the Church THirdly touching the bounty of Christ set downe in these words and he gaue gifts vnto men we must first reconcile the difference betwixt the Prophet and the Apostle about the same for Dauid saith thou hast receiued gifts for men and Saint Paul saith he giueth gifts to men and I answer that if we vnderstand it literally Dauid receiued gifts which for feare of his power were freely offered vnto him and if we vnderstand it mystically of Christ we finde the saying of both to be true for the Apostle speaketh of the things which Christ doth as God sending forth the holy Ghost and bestowing gifts on men and the Psalmist speaketh of him according to that which the same Christ doth in his body August in Psal 67. p. 289. a. i. which is his Church Thus no doubt saith Saint Augustine but as he is persecuted in his Church so accepit in membris qua dona membra eius accipiunt he receiued and receiueth gifts in men for whatsoeuer is done to them that beleeue in him the same is done to him or else we may say that the Son of God as he was man receiued those gifts from his Father which hee was afterwards to distribute and to giue vnto his Church for so we reade that he being exalted and hauing receiued of the Father the promise of the holy Ghost Act. 2.33 hee hath shed foorth this which we now see and heare and so the originall word which the Psalmist vseth signifieth to receiue that which wee must presently distribute saith Mollerus Mollerus in Psal 68. and therefore the difference is soone ended and the matter in both is true he receiued gifts and he gaue those gifts to men for wee finde as Bonauenture tels vs that our Sauiour ascended for foure speciall ends Christ ascended for foure speciall ends First to receiue his kingdome as himselfe intimateth vnto vs in the nineteenth of Luke and the twelfth verse Secondly to make vs the more earnestly to long for him Quia abijt occultat se Deus vt ardentius quaeratur à nobis because God doth therefore hide himselfe from vs that he may be the more earnestly sought of vs saith Saint Bernard Bernard in cant Thirdly to prepare a place for vs for though in respect of Gods purpose it was prepared for vs before the beginning of the world yet in respect of the effecting and bringing to passe the said purpose it was specially prepared for vs by Christ because he remoued all hinderances and made way for vs to enter into glory 1. by appeasing his fathers wrath 2. by cleansing our consciences from dead workes 3. by opening vnto vs the gates of heauen and 4. by making continuall intercession for vs As Bonauenture speaketh Fourthly to send downe his holy Spirit vnto vs Ioh. 16.17 for so our Sauiour saith It is expedient for you that I goe away Quia nisi dederitis quod amatis non habebitis quod desideratis for vnlesse I goe away the comforter will not come vnto you but if I depart I will send him vnto you Tertul. l. de carne Christi for now saith Tertullian Graetum quoddam commercium inter coelum terram existit celebratum a most gratefull exchange and a friendly louing bargaine was made betwixt heauen and earth that to the inhabitants of heauen should be giuen the flesh of Christ and to vs on earth should be bestowed the comforts of Gods holy Spirit and so the Spirit of God should remaine with vs on earth and our flesh should dwell with them for euer in heauen and then all things to be common betwixt vs eternally and therefore he did not send his Spirit vnto vs before he had ascended into heauen Why Christ would not bestow his gifts on men before his ascention non propter impotentiam sed quia habuerunt corporalem prasentiam not in respect of any impotency that he could not doe it but because we had his corporall presence and because as the raine doth not descend vntill the mist and dew doe first ascend so the gratious raine of Gods Spirit did not fall vpon Gods inheritance to refresh it when it was weary vntill this fruit of the wombe which was as the dew of the morning had first ascended into heauen but as when that little cloud like a mans hand 1 Kings 11. did rise out of the sea there was a sound of much raine so when that humble flesh of Christ was ascended out of this world into heauen then he gaue gifts vnto men Aug. de verbis domini p. 63. b. 1. to 10. But what are these gifts which he giueth Saint Augustine saith it is his holy Spirit Tale donum qualis ipse est such a gift as himselfe is for he gaue himselfe and he giues a gift equall to himselfe because the gift of Christ is the Spirit of Christ but heare the Apostle saith hee gaue gifts and not a gift and therefore though I doe confesse that this holy and blessed Spirit is the author and fountaine of all gifts by whom wee haue remission of sinnes subiection of our enemies and all other gifts of grace and glory sealed vnto vs yet I say that the Apostle herein meaneth not so much the spirit himselfe as the gifts and graces of his Spirit And therefore that wee may the better vnderstand the fulnesse of this point of the bounty of Christ we must consider these foure speciall things Foure points to be considered 1. What manner of gifts they are 2. What gifts are here meant 3. How he doth bestow them 4. On whom he doth bestow them First that the gifts of God are free gifts For the first wee must know that they were gratuita free gifts so the words dedit dona he gaue them and he gaue them as gifts doe sufficiently declare or otherwise si praememeruisti tum emisti non gratis accepisti if thou hadst done any thing to deserue these gifts then hadst thou bought them and not freely receiued them and God had sold them and not giuen them and so they had beene praemia non dona rewards for thy good deedes and not gifts of his meere grace but this point is so cleere that I neede not stand on it Matth. 10.8 Freely you haue receiued saith our Sauiour freely giue for euery one may take of these waters of life freely and may haue these gifts Esay 51.1 like Esayas milke without money or moneyes worth For the second wee must note that the gifts of God are either 1. Temporall Secondly the the gifts of God are of two sorts 2. Spirituall First The temporall gifts he gaue vnto all sorts of men aswell before as after his ascention for wee must note that euery thing which we haue is
innocent man yet his hope will neuer leaue him but as the Poet saith Iam mala finissem Letho sed credula vitam Spes fouet melius cras fore semper ait Hope still doth promise better fortunes vnto him and therefore this is a most excellent vertue though like other humane vertues it is defectiue in many points as first in respect of the things that they hope for wealth honours and such like So Alexander hauing giuen away almost all that hee had in Greece and being demanded what hee left for himselfe said hope i. e. of more honours and kingdomes and secondly in respect of the cause from whence they doe expect these things from themselues or such like but not from God whereas indeed that man is accursed which putteth his hope in man quia de Creatore desperare est Ierem. 17.5 spem in creatura ponere because that to hope in man is to forsake our God But Secondly diuine Hope The second i. e. the diuine hope which is wrought in vs by the Spirit of God is infallible for whosoeuer hopeth in him shall neuer be confounded Psal 22.4 5 6. Prou. 14.32 The wicked saith Salomon shall be cast away for his malice but the righteous hath hope in his death and what can be more then this for many things doe discourage vs in death for the dying man seeth his body is weake his friends weeping his Phisicians despayring and his conscience shewing him the Catalogue of his sinnes O wretched man that he is who shall comfort him yet hee whose hope is in the Lord his God doth euen then see the heauens open and the Angels ready to receiue him and though he knoweth his body is to be laide in the graue yet doth his flesh rest in hope and therefore what can be sweeter then hope O dearely beloued remember what the Psalmist saith blessed is the man whose hope is in the Lord his God But here you must know that all kindes of hope in God Euery hope maketh not happy makes not all men happy for there is a bold and a presumptuous hope a hope of wicked hypocrites that liue in sinne and yet doe hope for heauen And therefore wee must distinguish that there is a two-fold hope in God 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an opinionatiue hope 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a true infallible hope The first is the hope of wicked men Iob 8. Prou. 10. Wisd 5. and this shall melt away like a winter snow for the hope of the wicked shall perish they may looke for much but they shall haue nothing The second is the hope of the righteous and this shall neuer perish because it is grounded vpon a good foundation True hope springeth from the true feare of God that is the promise of God to them that feare him for so the Psalmist saith qui timetis Dominum sperate in illum you that feare the Lord hope in him And therefore if you would be sure to haue the true hope in God then feare the Lord because the testimony of a good conscience must be the ground of hope for so Saint Paul sheweth euen by his owne example saying I haue fought a good fight and I haue kept the faith there is the ground and therefore is laid vp for me the crowne of righteousnesse and there is the Anchor of his hope cast vpon that sure foundation and hee that thus hopeth in God is truely happy Thirdly Charity is rectissima animi affectio Thirdly of Charity the rightest affection of the minde whereby wee loue God for his owne sake and our neighbours for Gods sake Aug. de doct Christ and as Saint Augustine doth obserue it is proper onely vnto the Saints of God because as Saint Chrysostome saith Chris hom de char charity is optimum amoris genus the best kinde of loue and therefore Saint Augustine saith that habere omnia sacramenta malus esse potest habere autem charitatem malus esse non potest a man may be partaker of all Sacraments and be wicked but to haue charity and to be wicked is vnpossible and Saint Paul saith enough in the praise of this most excellent grace to write Iliads after Homer were to commend it after him and therefore I le say no more but what Saint Augustine saith charitas est quae vincit omnia sine qua non valent omnia charity is that which ouercommeth all things and without which all things will auaile vs nothing because as the Christian Poet saith Christicolas veros exprimit vnus amor It is loue and charity alone that proues vs to bee true Christians Well then wouldest thou know thy state whether thou beest in the state of grace or not thou needest not to ascend to heauen and search into the secret councell of God to see whether thy name be written in the booke of life but descend into thine owne heart and see whether thou hast perfect charity both towards God and man for if thou louest God with all thy heart The surest signe that wee shall be saued and thy neighbour as thy selfe I dare assure thee that in all the booke of God I could neuer finde yet a surer note or a more infallible signe of our eternall saluation then the same For hereby we know saith the Apostle that we are passed from death to life because we loue the brethren and hereby shall all men know that you are my Disciples 1 Iohn 3. saith our Sauiour if you loue one another but if thou louest not God or if thou louest not all men say what thou wilt doe what you will lift vp thine eyes hold vp thy hands and pray in euery corner yet I know no signe thou hast of sauing grace But here you must obserue that all kinde of loue towards God and men will not serue our turne for there is a generall kinde of loue to God which all wicked men in respect of their being and that manifold good which they receiue from him doe beare towards God and there is a speciall loue to God in a most vehement and a most excellent manner and there is an inordinate loue of men either too much or too little or not after the right manner and there is a true discreet and a fruitfull loue to be shewed towards them and this is properly called charity and therefore if we would be sure of Gods fauour we must vse no mediocrity in louing God we must vse no measure Quia modus diligendi Deum est sine modo because hee is to bee loued beyond measure with all our hearts with all our soules and with all our strength so as if we were rauished with the loue of God euen as the Church saith in the Canticles Stay me with flagons Cantic 2.5 and comfort me with apples for I am sicke of loue And so much for these three diuine graces which Christ giueth vs to sanctifie our
of twelue Starres is the Symbole of her faith containing twelue articles of her beleife And fourthly her paine to be deliuered is that earnest desire and loue which euery Christian soule hath to increase and multiply the number of Gods children And so the holy Ghost hauing descended vpon the Apostles and remaining in their hearts it caused them first to beleeue and to compose that crowne of twelue Starres which is the glory of euery Christian soule i. e. the twelue Articles of our faith as the Church receiueth it Secondly to forsake all the world and to follow Christ as S. Peter sheweth Thirdly Matth. 19.27 to lead a most vpright and a godly life as Saint Paul auoucheth Heb. 13.18 And fourthly to labour incessantly night and day to send out their voyces into all lands and their words vnto the ends of the world as now the whole world testifieth And so you see how in the first beginning of the Church the gifts of the holy Ghost were visibly and abundantly giuen vnto these seruants of Iesus Christ according as it was prophecied long before Ioel 2.28 that he would powre out his Spirit vpon all flesh and so their sonnes and their daughters should prophesie But CHAP. VI. How the gifts and graces of Gods Spirit are now giuen vnto vs and how wee may know whether wee haue the same or not SEcondly Christ doth now giue his Spirit otherwise vnto the Pastors of his Church How God bestoweth his graces vpon vs sufficiently for the edifying of the same but through great paines and diligent searching after knowledge for now we must not looke for Exthusiasmes nor thinke to attaine vnto learning and knowledge by reuelations but orando quaerendo bene viuendo by earnest praiers by continuall watching and tumbling and tossing of many bookes and by wearing and wearying out our selues in reading musing and writing of many lines we must seeke to attaine to a little learning and when wee haue done all we can wee can get nothing but what this blessed Spirit please to giue vs for except the Lord build the house the builder laboureth but in vaine so except he doth blesse our studies Psal 127.1 all our paines and industry will proue no better then Aethiopum lauare to wash a blacke Moore a breaking of our braines but an attaining to no true knowledge But we may be certaine that if we do our duties in all humility to seeke and search for grace our God will most surely giue vs grace yea and the same graces though not in the same manner or according to the same measure which hee did giue vnto his Apostles And as here it was apparantly seene that these Apostles had the gifts of this Spirit by these signes and effects of this Spirit so wee may most certainely know if we will diligently search whether we haue these gifts and graces of Gods Spirit or not by the works that we doe and by the things that we finde in our selues for Si iniurias dimittimus The signes whereby we may know whether we haue the Spirit of God or not quod denotat columba si paenitentiae lachrymis irrigamur quod nubes si desiderium habemus rerum aeternarum quod ignis si magnalia Dei annuntiamus quod lingua tum habemus signum praesentiae Spiritus sancti If we water our couch with our teares and bee truly sorry for our sinnes which is signified by the cloud if we be purged from all the drosse of sinne and be eleuated to desire and loue heauenly things which is noted in the fire if wee bee carried against the naturall streame and current of our owne corruptions which is shewed by the winde if we remit and forgiue all wrongs done vnto vs and bee meeke and gentle vnto all men harsh and sullen vnto none which are the properties of the Doue and if we zealously preach and pray and talke of God and of his will his grace and goodnesse towards vs and render thankes and praise vnto him for the same which is the office of a fiery tongue then we doe with the Apostles shew the effects of Gods Spirit and we may to our endlesse comforts assure our selues that the Spirit of God is in vs. 1 Cor. 3.85 But if we finde none of these things no hatred of sinne no loue of vertue no loathing of the vanities of this world no lifting vp of our hearts to heauen no meekenesse with men no praising of God but rather finde our selues cleane contrary defiled with sinne deboist in our liues iniuring men offending God blaspheming his name with wicked oathes and breaking his Sabboths with great contempt then wee should not onely wonder to see the gifts and graces of Gods Spirit in others as the people did when they saw what had happened vnto the Apostles vpon the day of Pentecost but we should rather bewaile and lament the want of the same in our selues for it is vnpossible that they should haue any part or portion of Gods Spirit that doe shew no signe nor fruit of Gods grace And therefore euery man should try and examine himselfe whether he finde in himselfe the fruits and effects of Gods Spirit or not For First the holy Ghost being like water if he be in you That we should diligently examine whether we haue Gods Spirit or not Psalme 1.3 then you are washed and cleansed from all filthinesse and you are like the trees that are planted by the waters side and doe bring forth their fruits in due season but if you bee like a barren and drie ground where no water is or like fruitlesse trees that beare nothing but leaues then certainely the Spirit of God is not in you and you are fit for nothing but to be hewne downe Matth. 3.10 and to be cast into the fire Secondly the holy Ghost being like fire if he be in vs hee illuminateth the eyes of our vnderstanding and hee giueth light to them that sit in darkenesse and in the shadow of death that they may walke without stumbling in the way of peace but if our vnderstanding bee so darkened that wee neither know God nor the will of God then certainely the Spirit of God is not in vs 2 Cor. 4.3 for if our Gospell be hid saith the Apostle it is hid to them that are lost that being depriued and void of Gods Spirit are filled with the spirit of darknesse A most fearefull saying against them that vnderstand not the great mystery of godlinesse that they haue the marke of lost ones and if hee be in vs then we must needes be feruent and zealous to doe all good seruice vnto God as Apollo was who is said to be hot in spirit or as the twelue tribes were who serued God night and day instantly Act. 18.28 c. 26.7 saith the Apostle but if we be cold and carelesse to serue the Lord then surely we are destitute of this Spirit of God for
to be bountifull sixtly to be faithfull and true in all his promises and so forth Secondly In respect of our selues we ought to seeke vnto God by prayer because of the necessity and vtilitie of prayer for Mat. 7.7 this is the onely way to obtaine good things aske and you shall haue seeke and you shall finde saith our Sauiour and you haue not because you aske not saith the Apostle Iames 4.3 Prayer how auaileable it is for men And if we aske and pray we shall finde the same profitable First to obtaine whatsoeuer we aske more then we aske and better then we aske For First hee will giue vs whatsoeuer wee aske as our Sauiour sheweth Hetheâ—to you haue asked nothing but now Ioh. 16.23 Whatsoeuer you aske the Father in my name he will giue it you For though there be many semblances betwixt vs and Lazarus he being a beggar full of sores and we beggers full of sinnes Luke 16.21 and he desiring to be refreshed with the crummes of bread which fell from the rich mans boord Prayer obtaineth whatsoeuer we aske and wee hauing neede to be relieued with the crummes of mercy that fall from our masters Table yet herein we are in a farre better case then Lazarus was it was his hard hap to knocke at the doore of a cruell and a miserable Caityffe that would at no time open vnto him nor yet giue him any thing the least thing the crummes of bread that hee desired to saue his life but we knocke at the doore of a most kinde and mercifull Father who saith Aske Matth. 7.7 and you shall haue Seeke and you shall find Knocke and it shall be opened vnto you that you may enter into eternall life And so we finde the Publican did but aske for mercy and hee had it and went home more iustified then the Pharisee Luke 18.14 and Stephen did but knocke at the doore of Heauen and presently the heauenly gates were opened vnto him Act. 7.56 and he saw Iesus standing at the right hand of God and so whosoeuer truely and humbly besought Christ for any thing we neuer reade in all the Gospell that he was denyed it But it may be some will say I haue often called vpon God Ob. and he heareth not I haue asked and he granteth not and therefore how doth hee performe his promise to giue vnto vs whatsoeuer we aske I answere Sol. that God sometimes makes as though he heareth not not because hee resolueth to deny vs Why God deferreth to giue vs what we desire but he deferreth to grant our requests either First to let vs further know our owne wants and miseries which if he would helpe at the first wee should neuer perceiue it to the full Secondly to trie our faith and patience whether we will continue constant in relying on him though he kill vs as Iob speaketh or if he presently relieue vs not whether we be ready to kill our selues as desperate Saul hath done Thirdly to kindle in vs the feruor of greater deuotion and desire to obtaine the things that we perceiue wee want Et quod a nobis auidius desideratur eo de nobis suauius laetatur Greg in Moral Quia desideria dilatione crescunt because delayes doe increase desires Et diu desiderata dulcius obtinentur and the more earnestly we desire any thing the more ioyous it is being obtained and therefore as Laban kept Iacob a long while from his yongest daughter whom he loued best that his loue might be the more increased continually towards her so God oftentimes holdeth vs for a time in suspence that so he may the more sharpen our appetite and inflame our desire more and more to the thing that we doe desire And this the Prophet Dauid knew when he said I cry vnto thee in the day time and thou hearest not and in the night season and yet this is not to be thought folly in me as the Septuagint reades it For though the world perhaps might deeme it a point of great simplicity to call and cry to him that makes as though he heareth not by regarding not our prayers as it seemeth by not granting our requests yet he knew this folly of the faithfull to be farre wiser then all the wisedome of the world because as the same Prophet Dauid speaketh The Lord is a sure refuge in due time of trouble God knoweth best when to relieue vs. he is a sure refuge in trouble but especially in due time of trouble because as we know our troubles so the Lord knowes the due time to helpe vs out of our troubles when we our selues doe not well know the same And therefore if we call vpon God and God maketh as though he heareth not yet let vs not say Deus meus quare me dereliquisti My God my God why hast thou forsaken me but let vs still call and cry to God and say vnto our soules Quare dereliquisti deum Why hast thou forsaken God and giuen ouer to pray vnto him when it is an infallible rule that nunquam deus deserit hominem quovsque homo deserat deum that God neuer denies to heare man vntill man giues ouer and ceaseth to pray to God Or else I answere as Saint Iames saith that you aske and receiue not because you aske amisse Aut propter verbum aut non propter verbum either not for Christ his sake or not according to the word of Christ not as I shewed thee before in humility Why God denieth what we aske in faith in charitie in piety but as the Church in the Canticles sought him whom her soule loued and found him not because she sought him in her bed that is carelesly and negligently shee sought him where he was not Christ being not so easily found especially vpon beds of Downe but rather in the Temple where his Father found him or vpon the Crosse where the thiefe did finde him or in the bramble bush where Moses saw him so many men doe seeke many times and finde not because they seeke amisse it may be for worldly things where as they should first seeke for the Kingdome of Heauen as our Sauiour teacheth and then all other things should be giuen vnto them and they knocke and it is not opened vnto them because they knock amisse it may be too late when the doore of grace and of mercy is shut for otherwise it is most certaine that neuer man asked any thing at the hands of God but hee had his request granted vnlesse he fainted and grew weary of asking because the words of Christ must hold infallible Whatsoeuer you aske the Father in my Name he will giue it you Yea Secondly if we pray vnto him he will giue vs more then we aske for the Centurion besought Christ onely to speake a word that his seruant might be whole but he had not onely the word wherby his seruant was healed but also
children of the wicked not punished for their fathers sinnes 247 A childe how conceiued in the wombe 337 God chooseth no man in respect of any thing that is in man 211 Christ the word the summe of all things 258 Signified by all the most memorable things of the old Testament 258 Christ would not reueale himselfe to the world all at once â—59 To know him is the onely thing that makes vs happy ibid. Christ despised all vanities 260 Suffered all miseries ibid. Christ the most perfect patterne of all vertue 260 Christ knowne suppresseth all vices 261 He alone is all sufficient to supply all our neede 262 Without Christ the whole world will auaile vs nothing 263 Christ onely should be preached by all Preachers 266 The Name of Christ should be alwayes in our mouthes to be honored not to be blasphemed 267 Christ in the Father not as we are in the Father 270 Christ a true God proued 278. 279. c. Christ is truely rich 281 Christ created all things and gouerneth all things 283 Christ prayed vnto 283 Christ began to be a God existing in the manhood when he was made flesh 248 Christ no accidental but an essential word 285 Christ how he may be said to be created and begotten 289 Christ made the beginning of our wayes 288 Christ demaunds the earth as man and giueth heauen as God 290 Christ how the first begotten and how the onely begotten Sonne of God 291 Christ how God of himselfe 293 How said to be with God and in God 298 Christ equall to the Father 299 Christ after what manner conceiued 335. Not of the Essence but by the vertue of the Holy Ghost ibid. Christ conceiued a perfect man in the first moment of his conception 337 How wonderfully he was made man ibid. Christ why conceiued of a Virgin 338 How he commeth from Adam ibid. Christ made a perfect man 340 That he had a true body 341 c. Christ made subiect to all humane frailties 351 Christ how hee hath performed all things for vs. 360 Christ an infallible patterne for all men to imitate 360 Christ brought vs more good then we lost in Adam 361 Christ how made inuisible vnto the Iewes 387 Christ how he came in the dores being shut ibid. How he walked vpon the seas 388 How he appeared to S. Paul 388. 389. c. Christ came from Nathan and not from Salomon 3â—8 Christ why born in the raigne of Augustus 404 Why in the sixt age of the world 403 Why in December 405 Christ what manner of person he was 429 That he was a man ibid. A iust man ibid. A good man 430 A King a Priest a Prophet 431 A true and eternall God 432 Christ his sufferings expressed 436. c. His whole life a continuall suffering 437 Christs sufferings chiefly in three places 437 Christ suffered in soule ibid. Christs first degree of suffering in being made passible 438 Christs sufferings most admirable 439 Christ why he went out to be taken 439 Why out of the citie 440 Why into the garden 441 Christ whether wholly destitute of all diuine assistance 447 How lightly he esteemed of death 446 Christ how by his death he ouercame death 84 Christ deliuered from what he feared 448 Christ to vndergoe the punishment of all others ibid. Christ how he sought to reclaime Iudas 461. c. Christ how handled presently after he was taken 464 Christ why he chose Iudas to be his Apostle 459 Christ how crowned with thornes 475 Christ why he came not down from the Crosse 481 Christ dead is still persecuted raged at 482 Christ how said to be euery where 540 Christ no where to be found but in the Church 545 Church the fittest place for publique prayers 711 Church how to rule her children 520 Church how subiect to afflictions 520 CL. Clytoriaâ— Well what it effecteth 528 Cloathing Christ in white what it signified 473 CO. Comforts that we haue from Christ his being subiect to infirmities 361. 362 Whatsoeuer God commandeth is no sinne 166 God compelleth not his seruants to doe good 530 To compell others to sinne the practise of most wicked sinners 25 Manner of Christ his comming to iudgement 622 623 Gods commandements few short light and profitable 99 The least comfort denied in hell 87 What communicates most goodnesse vnto others is euer best 197 That we should confesse our sinnes 113 Conuersion to God not to be deferred 24 That we should confesse our sinnes the diuell cannot abide 28 An excellent consideration of Saint Augustine 51 Consciences of the wicked opened before they die 80 We can conceiue but the least part of Gods excellencie 118 What are contrariâ— to the nature of God 152 How contradictories destroy each other 153 God cannot doe contradictories proued 154 That we should not contest about trifles 265 Consultation in heauen about the restitution of man 319 God worketh one contrarie out of another 351 Contentednesse requisite in any state 410 Conception of Christ ineffable 336 Consideration of Christs sufferings most admirable 439 Condemnation of all the infidels that would not beleeue in Christ grieued Christ 454 That we should condole the sufferings of Christ 506 Conuersion of a sinner first wrought by God 529 Conuersion of any man not to be despaired of 533 Contempt of vanities most requisite for Preachers 642 Constancie most requisite for Preachers 642 643 Conquest of Christ ouer Satan not onely by suffering but also trampling him vnder feete 583 Couetousnesse what a horrible sinne 460 To be auoided 704 Couenant with hell should be broken 26 Colours vsed by the ancients to expresse diuers things 474 The great courage of the Apostles presently after the resurrection of Christ 576 Corporall presence of Christ no where now but in heauen 545 Christ not corporally present in any secrets 546 547 Correction how burthensome to children 69 No cost to be spared to get truth 217 CR. All creatures heape miseries on man 74 All creatures haue their being from God 125 The creatures haue many impressions of Gods goodnesse infixed in them 256 All creatures how inriched with good 201 Foure crying sinnes 41 No creature can be capable of infinitenesse or of infinite perfections 156 Crueltie of Satan against the Preachers 644 CV Custome of ancient times to expresse our mindes by visible signes 680 Cup that Christ was to drinke of what it was 444 Cup which dranke vp killed Christ but ouerceme not Christ 449 Curiositie to be shunned in searching out the manner of diuine mysteries 277 Curiositie to be auoided in searching what God is 122 124 Custome of sinning makes the sinner bold to sinne 20 It makes the greatest sinnes seeme no sins 21 It bindeth vs in sinne 22 It indammageth the soule 23 And makes the sinners almost incurable 65 DA. DAmage receiued by Adam two-fold 3 What a danger it is to neglect publique prayers 717 Dauids words This day haue I begotten thee how to be vnderstood 290 Dangerous to
reproue great men 233 Who most subiect to dangers 433 Daughters of sinne are two 82 In the day of Christs natiuitie three things obseruable 435 DE. Death the fruit of sinne 2 Seauen deadly sinnes 40 By death is contained all that is vnder the curse of God 47 67 Death three-fold 49 Death of the soule three-fold 53 Death what it is 67 How largely it extendeth it selfe 75 How vnresistable it is ibid. How expressed by the Egyptians 76 How it shortens life diuers wayes 77 How it taketh men of all ages 78 How it smiteth in euery place 79 How comfortable it is to the godly 79 How terrible to the wicked 80 How it equalizeth the bodies of all men 81 Death of Christ the sole cause that maketh our death happy vnto vs. 84 Death eternall what it is 86 Death of Christ a sufficient satisfaction for the greatest sinnes 164 Death how little Christ respected it 446 Saints at their death supported by God 447 Death of the crosse grieuous in foure respects 479 480 Death of Christ maketh the wicked without excuse 504 Certainty of Christs death shewed in that her rose not til the third day 556 Deceit of sinne how great 44 Deceits no deceits vnlesse cunningly carried 461 Deformitie of sinne greater then we can comprehend 107 Deferring of Christs suffering grieued Christ 451 Wicked men how they deceiue themselues 517 God a debter to no man 531 To defend the truth with the hazard of all that we haue 217 Why God deferreth to giue vs what we desire 723 Delight in sinne maketh vs exceeding sinfull 15 Our deliuerances from punishments to be ascribed to Gods goodnesse 203 God deliuereth not alwaies his deerest Saints from afflictions 206 Christ deliuered from what he feared 448 To derogate from Gods power how great a sinne 161 God denieth his grace vnto the children for their Fathers sinnes 251. Why. 252 Why God denieth what we aske 725 To descend from the crosse easier then to rise from the graue 562 Descention of Christ into hell handled 580. 581 c. proued by Scripture and by the stimonie of antiquitie 484. 618 That Christ descended before hee could ascend 609 Why Christ descended not from the crosse 481 We ought to despaire of no mans conuersion 533 Descending of Christ signifieth the assuming of our flesh 301 Description of God by way of negation affirmation and super eminencie 121 Desire to sinne is an act done 96 Desperate men thinke God cannot forgiue them 139 We ought neuer to despaire of mercie 226 To despaire what a haynous sinne 228 Saints desired nothihg but Christ 264 Demosthenes his Parable vnto the Athenians of the wolues request vnto the sheepe 644 Of the young man that hired an Asse to Megara 678 DI. Christ whether hee died for all men and how 505 To die to sinne what it is 50 a punishment for sinne ibid. To die in sinne what it is 51 Difference betwixt spirituall and eternall punishment 250 How the word God differeth from our Word 309 A great difference betwixt appearing in the forme of man and to be made man 329 Difference betwixt assuming flesh and to bee made flesh 345 Difference betwixt the two-fold generations of Christ and of the Saints 364 Difference betwixt Law and Gospell 3â—4 Difference betwixt the sinnes of the godly and the wicked three-folde 35 Difference betwixt feare and sorrow 449 Philosophers most diligent to attaine to all kinde of knowledge 315 How diligent we ought to be to know Christ 393 Dirt nothing so foule as sinne 52 Diseases of the soule what they be 63 Discontent with God what a heauie sinne 239 Disobedience to God what a haynous sinne 293 Disobedience to parents what a fearefull sinne 240 To distinguish of Gods power reconcileth diuers Authors 150 Dispertion of the Apostles grieued Christ 453 In distresse how wee ought to seeke vnto God 488 Disciples whether they stole Christ from the graue or not 562 Discretion how needfull for Preachers 696 Diuels know God and Christ and the mysterie of the Trinitie 314 Confest Gods power 162 DO Doctrine touching the person of Christ how alwaies opposed by Satan 304 Doctrine of diuinitie how deepe and difficult 392 Whatsoeuer God doth is no sinne 166 Doores being shut how Christ came in 387 Doubting of Gods goodnesse what a fearefull sinne 239 That we should neuer doubt of Gods promises 130 DR To draw neere to vs how God is said 165 M. Drusus desired all men might see what he did 604 EA EArth accursed for the sinne of man 48 EF. The effects that Christs sufferings should worke in vs. 505 EG Egyptians how they expressed death 76 EL. Electionis of some men not of all 203 The elect onely are effectually called 203 Elizabeth the wife of Zacharias of what Tribe she was 397 EN Enemies that besot the godly 177 Enuie of Satan against Christ 493 and why he enuied him 434 Enemies of Christ ascribe to him in mockery what he was in deed 432 433 Enemies of Christ what they testified of him 578 Enemies of man especially three 582 EP. Epicurus confest the world had beginning and shall haue ending 137 EQ Equalitie of sinnes confuted 37 Equitie of eternall punishment for a temporarie sinne shewed in two respects 97 Christ equall with the Father 299 ER. Error of the Philosophers touching the etertie of the world 136 Error of the Vbiquitaries touching the power of God 141 Error of the Iesuites about the power of God 141 Error of Pellagius about the abilitie of mans nature 63 64 Error of Nouatus about sins after Baptisme 112 Errors of the vulgar about the absolute power of God 151 Errors expelled by truth 215 Errors boulstered with lies 175 Error of Saint Gregorie and Saint Bernard confuted 94. 95 Error of Lactantius and Pellagius confuted 63 Error of the Philosophers Stoicks Arist Seleucus Hermias Hermog confuted 136 137 c. Error of the Vbiquitaries shewed 141 Confuted 155. Their Obiect anws 165 Error of Bellarmine and the Iesuites shewed 141. Their Obiections answered 172 c. Error of Saint Hierom. 330 ES. Essence of God in heauen cannot bee seene but in the face of Iesus Christ 118 Essence of God not safe to search too farre into it 124 Essence of God distinguished into three persons 272 The word essence deriued our of Scripture and vsed in Scripture 294 Christ of the same essence with his Father 292. Vnpossible to escape out of the hands of the Angels 337 ET Eternity of Christ proued and the obiections against the same answered 278 279 280 c. Eternall punishment how inflicted for a temporary sinne 94 EV. Eua beleeueth the Deuill 3 The euill that oppresseth euery sinner two-fold 321 Euangelist why hee saith the Word was made flesh rather then man 349 Eutichian heresie what it was 367 c. EX Excuses of sinners to iustifie themselues 24 Excuses of sinners to lessen sinne 110 Examples of wilfull and spitefull sinners 33 Excellency of God cannot be conceiued
obuiously meete Secondly by vnanswerable reasons drawne from Scripture First from the incommunicable properties of God and would be here tedious to relate Secondly We may shew the same by infallible and vnanswerable reasons drawne from Scriptures as First From those incommunicable properties of the Deity which are properly ascribed vnto him as First To be Omnipotent Iohn 3.31 Heb. 1.3 Philip. 3.21 Apoc. 1.18 Secondly To remit sinnes not onely instrumentally as the Ministers doe as we see in Mathew 16.19 Iohn 20.23 But absolutely by his owne proper power and authority as wee see in Mathew 9.6 Mar. 2.5.7.9 Luc. 5.20 Thirdly To be in many places at the same instant as Mathew 18.20.28.20 Fourthly To haue the same equall power with the Father Iohn 5.17 c. 16.15 Fiftly To raise himselfe from the graue Rom. 1.4 Ioh. 10.18 Sixthly To send forth and to giue the Holy Ghost Zach. 12.10 Iohn 16.7 Secondly From those relations that he hath with God Secondly from the relations that he hath with God as to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The onely begotten Sonne of God Iohn 1.18 To be the Image of the Father Iohn 14.7.8 9. 2 Cor. 4.4 Coloss 1.15 And to be the very forme of God for the Apostle saith That He being in the forme of God thought it no robbery to be equall with God Therefore he must needes be true God First Because the forme of God is most simple and essentiall and not compounded or accidentall for that in God there is no composition no accidents Et nihil est in Deo quod non sit ipse Deus Nor any other thing which is not God Gabriel Biel. super 1. sentent dist 1. q. 5. Because the Diuine Essence Identificat sibi omnia quae sunt in Diuinis Doth identifie or deifie all things that are in the De ty To bee the forme of God is to be a very God Secondly because the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one existing and being in the forme of God doth plainely signifie the verie nature of God for as his being in the forme of man proueth that hee was a verie man so his being in the forme of God and his iust and lawfull thinking that it was no wrong or robberie to bee equalâ— with God doth most substantially proue that hee was a very God by nature before hee was incarnate and made man for who can bee in the forme of God but verie God or who can rightly be aequall with God Esay 40.18 but God For to whom will yee liken God or what likenesse will yee compare vnto him sayth the Prophet and therefore Saint Basil sayth that to bee in the forme of God is as much Basilius l. 1. cont Eunomium as to exist in the essence of God for that as to take vpon him the forme of a seruant signifieth that our Lord was made partaker of the humane nature so by saying that hee was in the forme of God hee ascribeth vnto him the proprietie of the nature of God Colloss 1.15 and so discussing the words of the Apostle which is the image of the inuisible God he sayth that this image was not made with hands Ambros l. 7. Ep. 47. Aug. l. de fide ad Petrum l. 1. c. 1. de trinit Hiâ—ar l. 12 de trinit Lombard l. 3. dist 5. neither was it the worke of any arte or cogitation but a liuing image yea life it selfe retayning the identitie of the Godhead not in the similitude of any figure but in the substance of the same and so Saint Ambrose Saint Augustine Saint Hillarie Pet. Lombard and diuers others doe most truely interpret this being of him in the forme of God to proue him to be a true and eternall God Thirdly From those Epithets which are ascribed vnto him and are onely agreeable to the Diuine nature Thirdly from the Epithets ascribed vnto him as First To be the author of our Election Iohn 13.18 Secondly To know the secrets of our hearts Matth. 9.4.5 Mar. 2.8 Luke 5.22 Thirdly To Illuminate vs. Iohn 1.9 Fourthly To heare the prayers of them that call vpon him Iohn 14.14 Fiftly To Iudge the quicke and the dead Iohn 5.22 Sixtly To giue vnto his seruants euerlasting life Iohn 5.24 Seauenthly To bee truely rich and so able to doe and to bestow these great rewards vpon his seruants for he that is truely rich must needs be the true and eternall God but Christ sayth the Apostle is rich for hee being rich for our sakes became poore 2 Cor. 8.9 therefore hee must needs bee the true God That Go dis truely rich it appearth hence that he onely is El shadai a God of all sufficiencie and therefore hee sayth Psal 50.12 If I bee hungry I will not tell thee for all the world is myne and all that therein is and he onely may most truely say Mille meae siculis errant in montibus agnae All the beasts of the forrest are mine and so are the cattell vpon a thousand hills Neither is he onely rich in temporall riches Rom. 2.11 but in spirituall gifts and graces also for Saint Paul speaketh of the riches of the Benignitie and Lenitie and long sufferance of God and in Ephes 1.18 He speaketh of the riches of his grace where hee calleth God rich in Mercie or rich in glorie and Rom. 11.33 He crieth out O the deepenesse of the riches both of the Wisedome and Knowledge of God and therefore it is most playne that God is truely rich And that none else is rich but God it may bee as easily confirmed for that euery man if hee doth but consider his owne estate may say with the Prophet Dauid I am poore and in miserie and our wants are a great deale more then our wealth and what we haue wee haue not of our selues but wee haue receiued them from God for what hast thou that thou hast not receiued sayth the Apostle 1 Cor. 4.7 and what thou hast receiued is properly none of thine and therefore as thou camest naked and broughtest nothing into the world so thou shalt returne naked Job 1.21 and carrie nothing out of the world againe But against this you will obiect that the Scripture sayth Ob Abraham Lot Iob and diuers others were very rich and yet no Gods and therefore that euery one which is rich is not a God I answere first that these men were not truely rich Sol. No man in this world is truely rich but were so thought to bee in the opinion of men and therefore so called after the manner of men for he onely is a rich man qui nihil quaerat nihil appetat nihil optet amplius which neither doth nor can seeke nor wish nor desire any more then he hath as Cicero sayth but none of these were such for Abraham and the rest of them did professe that they were pilgrimes and strangers here on earth and therefore sought their countrey aboue