vpon the crosse and felt the whole burden of the wrath of God vpon him cryed My God my God why hast thou forsaken me And it appeareth in the Epistle to the Hebrewes that Christ was heard in that he feared whereby we are giuen to vnderstand that they shall neuer be vtterly forsaken that take God for their God And King Dauid hauing experience of this vseth most excellent speaches for this ende to shewe that the ground of his comfort was that God was his God And it is said that Daniel had no manner of hurte in the Lyons denne because hee trusted in the Lorde his God And contrariwise such as distrust God are subiect to all miseries and iudgements The Israelites in the wildernesse beleeved not God and trusted not in his helpe therefore God vvas angry and his fire vvas kindled in Iacob and vvrath came vpon Israel God the Father Almightie Some haue thought that these wordes are to be coupled with the former without distinction as if the title of God had bene proper to the first person the Father and not common to the rest and thus haue some heretikes thought But indeed there must a pause or distinction be made that the name or title of God may be set in the fore-front as common to all the three persons following For that is the very intent of the order of this Creed to teach vs to beleeue in one God who is distinct into three subsistances or persons called the Father the Sonne the Holy Ghost And here offers it selfe to be considered euen one of the greatest mysteries of our religion namely that God is the Father the Sonne and the Holy Ghost and againe that the Father the Sonne and the Holy Ghost are one and the same God Some at the first may possibly say that this cannot stande because it is against all reason that one should be three or three one The answere is that indeed if one and the same respect be kept it is not possible but in divers considerations and respectes it may And thus the Father the Sonne the Holy Ghost are three namely in person and againe they three are one not in person but in nature By nature is meant a thing subsisting by it selfe that is common to many as the substance of man consisting of body and soule common to all men which we call the humanity of a man is the nature of man By person is meant a thing or essence subsisting by it selfe not common to many but incommunicable as among men these particulars Peter Iohn Paul are called persons And so in the mysterie of the Trinity the diuine nature is the godhead it selfe simply and absolutely considered and a person is that which subsisteth in this godhead as the Father the Sonne the Holy Ghost Or againe a person is one and the same godhead not absolutely considered but in relation and as it were restrained by personall or caracteristicall proprieties as the Godhead or God begetting is the father God againe considered not simply but so farre foorth as he is begotten is the Sonne and God proceeding of the Father and the Sonne the Holy ghost And if any man would conceiue in mind rightly the divine nature he must conceiue God or the Godhead absolutely if any of the persons then he must conceiue the same godhead relatiuely with personal proprieties Thus the godhead considered with the propriety of fatherhood or begetting is the father cōceiuing the same godhead with the proprietie of generation we conceiue the sonne the godhead with the proprietie of proceeding we conceiue the Holy Ghost Neither must it seeme strange to any that we use the names of nature and person to set forth this misterie by for they haue bene taken up by common consent in the primitive Church that upon weighty consideration to manifest the truth to stop the mouthes of heretikes they are not used against the proper sense of the scriptures nay they are therein contained Thus wee see how it comes to passe that the three things signified by these names Father Sōne holy Ghost are ech of them one the same God And this mistery may well be conceived by a cōparison borowed frō light The light of the sunne the light of the moone the light of the aire for nature and substance are one the same light yet they are 3. distinct lights The light of the sunne being of it selfe from none the light of the moone from the sunne the light of the aire frō them both So the divine nature is one and the persons are three subsisting after a divers maner in one and the same nature And for the further clearing of the point we must yet further marke remember two things namely the vnion the distinction of the persons The vnion is whereby three persons are one not simply but one in nature that is coessentiall or consubstantiall having all one godhead For the father is God the sonne is God the holy ghost is God now there are not 3. distinct Gods but one God because there is one God no more in nature considering that the thing which is infinite is but one is not subiect to multiplicatiō the Father is this one God as also the Sonne and the holy ghost And as these three persons are one in nature so whatsoeuer agrees to God simply considered agrees to them all three They are all coequall and coeternall all most wise iust mercifull omnipotent by one the same wisdome iustice mercie power And because they haue all one godhead therfore they are not only one with another but also ech in other the father in the sonne and the sonne in the father and the holy ghost in them both And we must not imagine that these three are one god as though the father had one part of the godhead the sonne an other part the holy ghost a third For that is most false because the infinite and the most simple godhead is not subiect to composition or division but euery person is whole god subsisting not in a part but in the whole godhead the whole entire godhead is communicated from the father to the sonne from both father sonne to the holy ghost But some may yet say that this doctrine seemes to be impossible because three creatures as for example Peter Paul Timothy being three persons so remaining cannot haue one and the same nature that is the same body the same soule Ans. Three or moe mē may haue the same nature in kind but the truth is they cannot possibly haue a nature which shalbe one the same in number in them all three For a man is a substance created finite the bodies of men are quantities therfore divisible separable one from another Hereupon it comes that the persons of men are not only distinguished by proprieties but also divided
to striue with him for he was neuer yet ouermastered and for this cause we must needes cast downe our selues vnder his hand It is a fearefull thing saith the holy Ghost to fall into the hands of the liuing God therefore if we would escape his heauie terrible displeasure the best way for vs is to abase our selues and be ashamed to follow our sinnes Christ biddeth vs not to feare him that is able to kill the bodie and can goe no further but we must feare him that is able to cast both bodie and soule into hell fire Example of this we haue in David who when he was persecuted by his owne sonne Absalon he said vnto the Lord If he thus say J haue no delite in thee behold here I am let him doe to me as seemeth good in his eyes But some will say I will liue a little longer in my sinnes in lying pride Sabbath-breaking in swearing dicing gaming and wantonnes for God is mercifull and in my olde age I will repent Answ. Well soothe not thy selfe but marke vsually when God holds back his hand for a season he doth as it were fetch a more mightie blow for the greater confusion of a rebellious sinner therefore humble submit and cast downe thy selfe before God and doe not striue against him his hand is mightie and will ouerthrow thee Though thou hadst all learning wisdome might riches c. yet as Christ said to the young man one thing is wanting that thou shouldest be humbled vntill thou be huÌ„bled nothing is to be looked for but Gods iudgement for sinne Secondly seeing God is almightie we must tremble and feare at all his iudgements wee muste stand in awe quake and quiuer at them as the poore child doth when he seeth his father come with the rodde Example of this we haue often in Gods word as when the sonnes of Aaron offered strange fire before the Lord he sent fire from heauen and burned them vp Nowe Aaron he was very sorie for his sonnes but when Moses told him that the Lord would be glorified in all that came neare him then the text â—aith Aaron held his peace So also wee reade that the Apostles reprooued Peter for preaching vnto the Gentiles but when Peter had expounded the things in order which he had seene then they helde their peace and glorified God As also Dauid saith I hâ—ld my tongue O Lord because thou didst it Isaiah saith In hope silence is true fortitude If a man be in trouble he must hope for deliuerance and be quiet and patient at Gods iudgements But the practise of the world is flat contrarie For men are so farre from trembling at them that they will pray to God that plagues curses and vengeance may light vpon them and vpon their seruanâ—s and children Now the Lord beeing a mightie God often doth answearably bring his iudgements vpon them Againe many carried with impaciencie wish themselues hanged or drowned which euils they thinke shall neuer befall them yet at the length God doth in his iustice bring such punishments vpon them Nay further in all ages there are some which doe scorne and mocke at Gods iudgements Hereof wee had not farre hence a most fearefull example One beeing with his companion in a house drinking on the Lords day when he was readie to depart thence there was great lightning and thunder whereupon his fellow requested him to stay but the man mocking and iesting at the thunder and lightning said as report was it was nothing but a knaue cooper knocking on his tubbs come what would he would goe and so went on his iourney but before he came halfe a mile from the house the same hand of the Lorde which before he had mocked in a cracke of thunder stroke him about the girdlestead that he fell downe starke dead Which example is worthie our remembrance to put vs in minde of Gods heauie wrath against those which scorne his iudgements for our duetie is to tremble and feare and it were greatly to be wished that we could with open eye beholde the terriblenesse and fearefulnesse of Gods iudgements it would make a man to quake and to leaue off sinne If a man passe by some high and daungerous place in the night when he cannot see he is not afraid but if yee bring him backe againe in the day and let him see what a stiepe and daungerous way he came he will not be brought to goe the same way againe for any thing so it is in sinning for men liuing in ignorance and blindnes practise any wickednes and do not care for Gods iudgements but when God of his goodnes bringeth them backe and openeth their eyes to see the downefall to the pit of hell and the iudgements of God due to their sinnes then they say they will neuer sinne as they haue done but become newe men and walke in the way to eternall life Thirdly we are taught by the Apostle Paul that if we be to doe any dutie to our brethren as to releeue them we must doe it with chearefulnesse for hee laboureth to perswade the Corinthians to cherefull liberalitie and the reason of his perswasion is because God is able to make all grace to abound towards them Where also this duetie is taught vs that seeing God is omnipotent and therefore able to make vs abound therefore we must giue cherefully to our poore brethren which want Fourthly whereas there are many in euery place which haue liued long in their sinnes eueÌ„ from their cradle some in wantonnesse some in drunkennes some in swearing some in idlenes and such like out of this place to all such there is a good lesson namely that euery one of them doe nowe become new men and repent of all their sinnes for all their life past For marke what Paul saith of the Iewes which cut off from Christ through vnbeleefe haue so continued in hardnes of heart and desperate malice against him almost 16. hundreth yeares If saith he they abide not still in vnbeleefe they may be grafted into their oliue again and his reason is this because God is able to graft them in againe Euen so though we haue liued many yeres in sinne and sure it is a dangerous and fearefull case for a man to liue 20 30 or 40 yeres vnder the power of the deuill yet we must know that if we wil now liue a new life forsake all our sinnes turne to God we may be receiued to grace be made a branch of the true oliue though we haue borne the fruits of the wild oliue all our life long But some will obiect that they haue no hope of Gods fauour because they haue beene so grieuous sinners and continued in them so long Answ. But know it whosoeuer thou art God is able to graft thee in if thou repent he will receiue thee to his loue fauour This must be obserued of all but
thankfulnes but mens hearts are so frozen in the dregges of their sinnes that this dutie comes litle in practise now adaies Our Sauiour Christ clensed ten leapers but there was but one of theÌ„ that returned to giue him thanks this is as true in the leprosie of the soule for though saluation by Christ be offered vnto vs daily by Gods ministers yet not one of ten nay scarse one of a thousand giues praise and thanks to God for it because men take no delite in things which coÌ„cerne the kingdome of heauen they thinke not that they haue need of saluation neither doe they feele any want of a Sauiour But we for our parts must learne to say with David What shall I render vnto the Lord for all his benefits yea we are to practise that which Salomon saith My sonne giue me thy heart for we should giue vnto God both bodie soule in token of our thankfulnes for this wonderful blessing that he hath giueÌ„ his only son to be our sauiour let vs know this for truth that they which are not thaÌ„kfull for it let them say what they wil they haue no soundnes of grace at the heart And thus much of the third title The fourth last title is in these words our Lord. Christ Iesus the only sonne of God is our Lord three waies 1. by creation in that he made vs of nothing when we were not 2. he is our Lord in the â—ight of redemption In former times the custome hath bin that wheÌ„ one is taken prisoner in the fields he that paies his ransome shall become alwaies after his lord so Christ when we were bondslaues vnder hell death condemnation paid the raÌ„some of our redemption and freed vs from the bondage of sinne and satan and therefore in that respect he is our Lord. 3. He is the heade of the Church as the husbande is the wiues head to rule and gouerne the same by his word and spirit And therefore in that respect also Christ is our Lord. And thus much for the meaning Now follow the duties 1. If Christ be our soueraigne Lord we must performe absolute obedience vnto him that is whatsoeuer he commaunds vs that wee must doe And I say absolute obedience because Magistrats Masters Rulers and fathers may command and must be obeyed yet noâ— simply but so farfoorth as that which they command doth agree with the word and commaundement of God but Christs will and word is righteousnes it selfe and therefore the rule and direction of all our actions whatsoeuer and for this cause he must be absolutely obeyed Thus he requires the obedience of the morall law but why because he is the Lord our God And in Malach. he saith If I be your Lord where is my feare And againe we must resigne both bodie and soule heart minde will affections and the course of our whole liues to be ruled by the will of Christ. He is Lord not onely of the bodie but of the spirite and soule of man hee must therefore haue homage of both as we adore him by the knee of the bodie so must the thoughts and the affections of our hearts haue their knees also to worship him and to shew their subiection to his commandements As for such as doe hold him for their Lord in word but will not indeauour to shew their loyaltie in all manner of obedience they are indeede no better then starke rebels Secondly when by the hande of Christ strange iudgements shall come to passe as it is vsuall in all places continually we must stay our selues without murmuring or finding fault because he is an absolute Lord ouer all his creatures all things are in his hands and he may doe with his owne whatsoeuer he will and therefore wee must rather feare and tremble whensoeuer wee see or heare of them so David saith I was dumbe and opened not my mouth because thou didst it And againe My flesh trembleth for feare of thee and I am afraid of thy iudgements Thirdly before we vse any of Gods creatures or ordinances we must sanctifie them by the direction of his word and by praier the reason is this because he is Lord ouer all and therefore from his word we must fetch direction to teach vs whether we may vse them or not and when and how we must vse them and secondly wee must pray to him that he would giue vs libertie and grace to vse them aright in holy maner Also we are so to vse the creatures and ordinances of God as beeing alwaies readie to giue an account for them at the day of iudgement for wee vse that which is the Lords not our owne we are but stewards ouer them we must come to a reckoning for the stewardship Hast thou learning then imploy it to the glorie of God the good of the Church boast not of it as though it were thine owne Hast thou any other gift or blessing of God be it wisdome streÌ„gth riches honour fauour or whatsoeuer then looke thou vse it so as thou maist be alwaies readie to make a good account thereof vnto Christ. Lastly euery one must so lead his life in this world as that at the day of death he may surrender and giue vp his soule into the hands of his Lord and say with Steven Lord Iesus receiue my soule for thy soule is none of thine but his who hath bought it with a price therfore thou must so order and keepe it as that thou maist in good manner restore it into the hands of God at the end of thy life If a man should borrow a thing of his neighbour and vse it so as he doth quite spoile it he would be ashamed to bring it againe to the owner in that manner and if he doe the owner will not receiue it Vngodly men in this life doe so staine their soules with sin as that they can neuer be able to giue them vp into the hands of God at the day of death if they would yet God accepts them not but casts theÌ„ quite away We must therefore labour so to liue in the world that with a ioyfull heart at the day of death we may commend our soules into the handes of our Lord Christ Iesus who gaue them vnto vs. This is a hard thing to be done and he that will doe it truly must first be assured of the pardon of his owne sinnes which a man can neuer haue without true and vnfained faith and repentance wherfore while we haue time let vs purge and clense our soules bodies that they may come home againe to God in good plight And here all gouernours must be put in mind that they an higher Lord that they may not oppresse or deale hardly with their inferiours And this is Pauls reason ye masters saith he doe the same things vnto your seruants putting away threatning and knowe that euen your master is also in heauen neither is
the word of God is the pipe whereby he conveieth into our dead hearts spirit and life As Christ when he raised up dead men did onely speake the word they were made aliue and at the day of iudgement at his voice when the trump shall blowe all that are dead shall rise againe So it is in the first resurrectioÌ„ they that are dead in their sinnes at his voice uttered in the ministerie of the worde shall rise againe To goe further Christ raised three from the deade Iairus daughter newly dead the widowes sonne dead and wound up and lying on the hearse Lazarus dead and buried stinking in the graue and all this he did by his very voice so also by the preaching of his word he raiseth all sortes of sinners euen such as haue lien long in their sinnes as rotting and stinking carrion The Sacraments also are the pipes and conduits wherby God conveigheth grace into the heart if they be rightly used that is if they be receiued in unfained repentance for all our sinnes and with a true and liuely faith in Christ for the pardon of the same sinnes and so I take it they are compared to flagons of wine which reuiue the Church being sicke and fallen into a sownd As for the measure of life derived from Christ it is but small in this life and giuen by little and little as Ose saieth The Lorde hath spoiled vs and he will heale us hee hath wounded us and he will bind us up After two daies he will revive us and in the third he will raise us vp and we shall live in his sight The Prophet Ezechiel in a vision is caried into the middest of a field full of dead bones and hee is caused to Prophesie ouer them and say O ye drie bones heare the vvorde of the Lord and at the first there was a shaking and the bones came togither bone to bone and then sinewes and flesh grew upon them and upon the flesh grewe a skinne Then he prophesied vnto the windes the second time and they liued and stood upon their feete for the breath came upon them and they were an exceeding great armie of men Hereby is signified not only the state of the Iewes after their captivitie but in them the state of the whole Church of God For these temporall deliverances signified further a spirituall deliuerance And we may here see most plainely that God worketh in the heartes of his children the giftes and graces of regeneration by little and little First he giueth no more then flesh sinewes and skin then after he giueth them further graces of his spirite which quickeneth them and maketh them aliue unto God The same also wee may see in the vision of the waters that ranne out of the Temple First a man must wade to the ancles then after to the knees and so to the loines then after the waters grovve to a riuer that can not be passed ouer and so the Lord conueieth his graces by little and little till at the last men haue a full measure thereof Thirdly the resurrection of Christ serueth as an argument to proue unto us our resurrection at the day of iudgement Paul saieth If the spirite of Christ that raised up Iesus from the deade dvvell in you hee that raised Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortall bodies Some will say that this is no benefite for all must rise againe as well the wicked as the godly Ansvver True indeede but yet the wicked rise not againe by the same cause that the godly doe They rise againe by the power of Christ not as hee is a saviour but as hee is a iudge to condemne them For God had saide to Adam that at what time he should eate of the forbidden fruite he should die the death meaning a double death both the first and the second death Nowe then the ungodly rise againe that God may inflict upon them the punishment of the second death which is the rewarde of sinne that so Gods iustice may be satisfied but the godly rise againe by the power of Christ their heade and redeemer who raiseth them up that they may bee partakers of the benefite of his death which is to enioy both in bodie and soule the kingdome of heauen which he haâ—h so dearely bought for them Thus much for the comfortes Now follow the duties and they are also three First as Christ Iesus vvhen he was deade rose againe from death to life by his owne power so we by his grace in imitation of Christ must endeauour our selues to rise up from all our sinnes both originall and actuall vnto newenesse of life This is worthily set downe by the Apostle saying We are buried by baptisme into his death that as Christ was raised vp from the dead by the glorie of the father so we also should walke in newnesse of life and therefore vve must endeauour our selues to shevve the same power to be in us euery day by rising up from ouâ— owne personall sinnes to a reformed life This ought to be remembred of us because howsoeuer many heare know it yet very â—ewe doe practise the same For to speake plainly as dead men buried vvould neuer heare though a man shoulde speake neuet so loude so undoubtedly among us there be also many living men which are almost in the same case The ministers of God may cry unto them daily and iterate the same thing a thousand times and tell them that they must rise up from their sinnes and lead a new life but they heare no more then the deade carkasse that lieth in the graue Indeede men heare with their outward eares but they are so farre from practising this dutie that they iudge it to be a matter of reproch and ignominie And those which make any coÌ„science of this duty how they are laden with nicknames taunts who knoweth not I need not to rehearse theÌ„ so odious a thing now a daies is the rising froÌ„ sinne to newnes of life Sound a trumpet in a dead mans eares he stirres not and let us crie for amendment of life till breath goe out of our bodies no man almost saieth what haue I done And for this cause undoubtedly if it were not for conscience of that dutie which men owe unto God we should haue but fewe ministers in England For it is the ioy of a minister to see his people rise from sinne and to lead a new life whereas alas men generally lie snurting in their corruptions and rather goe forwarde in them still then come to any amendment such is the woonderfull hardnes untovvardnes that hath possessed the heartes of most men He which hath but halfe an eie may see this to be true Oh how exceedes atheisme in all places contempt of Gods worshippe profanation of the Sabbath the whordomes and fornications the crueltie and oppression of this age it cryes euen to heauen for vengeance By these such like
turne betime from our sinnes and become the friends of Christ that so we may escape these fearefull iudgements And whereas Christ in this manner gouernes all things in heauen and earth we are bound to performe vnto him three duties reuerence obedience thankfulnes For the first Paul saith God hath exalted him and giuen him a name aboue all names that at the name of Iesus which name is his exaltation in heauen in full power and glorie should euery knee bowe We dare not so much as speake of an earthly king vnreuerently what reuerence then doe we owe vnto Christ the king of heauen and earth Dauids heart was touched in that he had cut off but the lappe of Sauls garment when he might haue slaine him because he was the Lords annointed Oh then howe much more ought our hearts to be touched if we shall in the least measure dishonour Christ Iesus our Lord and king Secondly we are here taught to performe obedience to him and to do him all the homage we can The master of the familie in all his lawfull commaundements must be obeied now the Church of Christ is a familie therfore we must yeild obedience to him in al things for al his coÌ„mandemeÌ„ts are iust WheÌ„ Saul was chosen king ouer Israel certain men which feared God whose hearts God had touched followed him to Gibea brought him presents but the wicked despised him the same is much more to be verified in vs towarde Christ our Lord. We must haue our hearts touched with desire to performe obedience vnto him if not we are men of Belial that despise him and refuse to bring our presents vnto him If this obedience were put in practise the Gospell would haue better successe in the hearts of the people and the Lords sabbath would be better kept and men would beare greater loue both to God and to their neighbours then now they doe The third dutie which we owe vnto him is thankfulnes for the endlesse care which he sheweth in the gouerning and preseruing of vs. VVhen Dauid waxed old and had made Salomon his sonne king in his stead all the people shouted and cried God saue king Salomon God saue king Salomon so as the earth rang againe Shall the people of Israel thus reioyce at the crowning of Salomon shal not we much more reioyce when as Christ Iesus is placed in heauen at the right hand of his father and hath the euerlasting scepter of his kingdome put into his hand And we are to shew this thankfulnes vnto him by doing any thing in this world that may tend to his honour and glorie though it be with the aduenture of our liues VVhen Dauid desired to drinke of the water of the well of Bethlem three of his mightie men went and brake into the host of the Philistims and brought him water Thus they ventured their liues for Dauids sake and shall not we much more willingly venture our liues to doe Christ seruice in token of thankfulnes for his continuall preseruing of vs Thus much of the highest degree of Christs exaltation in his kingdome now followeth the last point to be beleeued concerning Christ in these words From thenâ—e he shall come to iudge the quicke and the deade And they containe a proofe or a particular declaration of the former article For as on earth those that are set at the right hand of kings doe execute iustice in courts or assises for the maintenance of the state and peace of the kingdome so Christ Iesus sitting at the right hande of his father that is being made soueraigne Lord of all things both in heauen earth is to hold a court or assise in which he shall come to iudge both the quicke and the dead Now in handling the last iudgement we are to consider these points I. whether there shall be a iudgement or not II. the time of it III. the signes therof IV. the manner of it V. the vse which is to be made thereof Of these in order For the first point whether there shall be a iudgement or not the question is needefull for as Saint Peter saith There shall come in the last daies mockers which shall walke after their lusts and say Where is the promise of his comming which daies are now The answeare is set downe in this article in which we professe that the coÌ„ming of Christ to the last iudgement is a point of religion specially to be held and auouched The reasons to prooue it are principally two first the testimonie of God himselfe in the books of the old and new testament which affoard vnto vs plentifull testimonies touching the last iudgement so as he which will but lightly reade the same shall not neede to doubt thereof The second reason is taken from the iustice and goodnes of God the propertie wherof is to punish wicked and vngodly men and to honour and reward the godly but in this world the godly maÌ„ is most of al in misery for iudgement beginneth at Gods house and the vngodly haue their hearts ease Wicked Diues hath the world at will but pore Lazarus is hunger bitten full of soares miserable euery way This being so it remaineth that after this life there must needes be a iudgement and a second comming of Christ when the godly must receiue fulnes of ioy glorie and the vngodly fulnes of woe and miserie This second reason may stoppe the mouthes of all gainesayers in the worlde whatsoeuer But it may be obiected that the whole world stands either of beleeuers or vnbeleeuers and that there is no last iudgement for either of these for the beleeuer as Christ saith hath euerlasting life shal not come into iudgement and the vnbeleeuer is condemned alreadie and therefore needeth no further iudgement Answ. Where it is said he that beleeueth shall not come into iudgement it must be vnderstood of the iudgement of condemnation not the iudgement of absolution he that beleeueth not is condemned alreadie in effect substance three waies I. in the counsel of God who did foresee appoint his condemnation as it is a punishment of sinne and an execution of his iustice II. in the word of God where he hath his condemnation set down III. he is condemned in his own conscience for euery vngodly mans conscience is a iudge vnto himselfe which doth euery houre condemne him and it is a forerunner of the last iudgement And notwithstaÌ„ding all this there may remain a second iudgement which is a manifestatioÌ„ finishing of that which was beguÌ„ in this world therefore the meaning of that place is this he that beleeueth not is alreadie iudged in part but so as the full manifestation thereof shall be at the second comming of Christ. The second circumstance is the time of his iudgement in handling whereof I. we will see what is the iudgement of men II. what is the truth For the first two opinions touching this
time take place The first is that the second comming of Christ shall be about sixe thousand yeares from the beginning of the world that for the elects sake some of these daies must be shortned now since the beginning of the world are passed fiue thousand almost sixe huÌ„dred yeares so as there remaine but foure hundreds The grouÌ„ds of this opinion are these First the testimonie of Elias two thousand yeares before the law two thousand yeares vnder the law and two thousand yeres vnder Christ. And for the elects sake some of these yeares shalbe shortned Answ. This was not the senteÌ„ce of Elias the Thisbite but of another Elias which was a Iew no Prophet And wheras he saith two thousand yeares before the law two thousand yeres vnder the law he faileth From the giuing of the law to the comming of Christ was about one thousand fiue hundred yeares and from the law to the creation aboue two thousand Now if Elias can not set downe a iust number for the time past which a meane man may doe what shall we think that he can doe for the time to come And if he deceiue vs in that which is more easie to finde howe shall wee trust him in things that be harder The second reason is this howe long God was in creating the worlde so long he shall be in gouerning the same but he was sixe daies in creating the worlde and in the seuenth he rested and so proportionally he shall be sixe thousand yeares in gouerning the world euery day answearing to a thousand yeares as Peter saith A thousand yeares are but as one day with God and then shall the ende be Answer This reason likewise hath no ground in Gods word as for that place of Peter the meaning is that innumerable yeares are but as a short time with God and we may as well say two thousand or tenne thousand yeares are but as one day with God For Peter meant not to speake any thing distinctly of a thousand yeares but of a long time Thirdly it is alleadged that within sixe thousand yeares from the creation of the worlde shall appeare in the heauens straunge coniunctions and positions of the starres which signifie nothing else but the subversion of the state of the world nay some haue noted that the ende thereof should haue beene in the yeare of our Lord a thousand fiue hundred eightie eight their writings are manifest but we finde by experience that this opinion is false and friuolous and their groundes be as friuolous For no man can gather by the ordinarie course of the heauens the extraordinarie change of the whole world The second is that the end of the world shall be three yeares and an halfe after the reuealing of Antichrist And it is gathered out of places in Daniel and the Revelation abused Where a time and times and halfâ— a time signifie not three yeares and an halfe but a short time And therefore to take the words properly is farre from the meaning of the holy Ghost For marke if the end shall be three yeares an halfe after the reuealing of Antichrist then may any man knowe before hand the particular moneth wherein the ende of the world should be which is not possiblâ— Now the truth which is to be auouched against all is this that no man can know or set downe or coniecture the day the weeke the moneth the yeare or the age wherein the second comming of Christ and the last day of iudgement shall be For Christ himselfe saith of that day and houre knoweth no man no not the angels in heauen but God onely nay Christ himselfe as he is man knoweth it not And when the disciples asked Christ at his ascensioÌ„ whether he would restore the kingdoÌ„ vnto Israel he answered It is not for you to know the times and seasons which the father hath put in his owne power And Paul saith Of the times and seasons brethren you haue no neede that I write vnto you For you your selues knâ—w perfectly that the day of the Lord shall come euen as a thiefe in the night Now we know thaâ— a man that keepeth his house can not coniecture or imagine when a thiefe will come and therefore no man can set downe the particular time or age when Christ shal come to iudgement This must we hold steadfastly and if wee reade the contrarie in the writings of men we are not to beleeue their sayings but accouÌ„t of them as of the deuices of meÌ„ which haue no ground in Gods word To come to the third point namely the signes of the last iudgement they are of two sorts some goe before the comming of Christ and some are ioyned with it The signes that goe before are in number seuen recorded distinctly by the holy Ghost The first is the preaching of the Gospell through the whole worlde So our Sauiour Christ saith This Gospell of the kingdome must be preached through the whole world for a witnesse vnto all nations and then shall the ende come Which place must thus be vnderstoode not that the Gospell must be preached to the whole world at any one time for that as I take it was neuer yet seene neither shalbe but that it shall be published distinctly and successiuely at seuerall times and thus vnderstanding the words of Christ if we consider the time since the Apostles daies we shall finde this to be true that the Gospell hath bin preached to all the world and therefore this first signe of Christs comming is alreadie past and accomplished The second signe of his comming is the reuealing of Antichrist as Paul saith The day of Christ shall not come before there be a departure first and that man of sinne be disclosed euen the sonne of perdition which is Antichrist Concerning this signe in the yeare of our Lord 602. Gregorie the eight Pope of Rome auouched this solemnly as a manifest 〈◊〉 that whosoeuer did take to him selfe the name of Vniuersall Bishop the same was Antichrist Now fiue yeares after Boniface succeeding him was by Pâ—ocas the Emperour entituled Vniversall Bishop pastor of the Catholicke Church in the yeare of our Lord 607. of all Popes he was the first knowne Antichrist since him all his successours haue taken vnto them the same title of Vniuersall Catholick Bishop whereby it doth plainly appeare that at Rome hath bin and is the Antichrist And this signe is also past The third is a generall departing of most men from the faith For it is said in the place before named Let no man deceiue you for the day of Christ shall not come except there come a departing first Generall departure hath bin in former ages When Arius spied his heresie it tooke such place that the whole world became an Arian And during the space of 900 yeares from the time of Boniface the popish heresie spread it selfe ouer the whole earth and the faithful seruants of
God were but as an handfull of wheat in a mountaine of chaffe which can scarce be discerned This signe is in part alreadie past neuerthelesse it shall continue to the ende because men shall continually depart from the faith And the nearer the ende of the world is the more satan rageth and seekes to bring men into his kingdome Therefore it standeth vs in hand to labour for the knowledge of true religion and hauing learned it most heartily to loue the same The fourth signe is a generall corruption in maners This point the Apostle sets downe at large saying Toward the latter daies shall come perilous times wherein men shalbe louers of themselues couetous boasters proud cursed speakers disobedieÌ„t to parents vnthankefull vnholy and without naturall affection truce-breakers false accusers intemperate fierce despisers of them which are good traytours headie high minded louers of pleasures more then louers of God c. This generall corruption in the manners of men is noted by our Sauiour Christ when he saith When he commeth he shall scarce finde faith vpon the earth This signe hath bin in former ages and is no doubt at this day in the world For it is hard to finde a man that walketh iustly soberly and faithfully doing the duties of his calling to God and man The fifth signe of Christs comming stands in terrible grieuous calamities For Christs disciples asking him a signe of his coÌ„ming of the end of the world he saith There shal be warres rumours of warres nation shall rise against nation realme against realme and there shalbe pâ—stilence and famine earthquakes in diuers places meÌ„ shalbe at their wits ends These haue bin in former ages In the first 3. hundred yeres after Christ were ten most fearefull persecutions and since in Europe the Church of God hath bin woÌ„derfully persecuted by the Antichrist of Rome in the huÌ„dred yeres last past The sixth signe is an exceeding deadnes of heart so as neither iudgements from heauen nor the preaching of the word shall mooue the hearts of men So Christ saith It shal be in the coÌ„ming of the sonne of maÌ„ as it was in the daies of Noe in the daies of SodoÌ„ they knew nothing til the flood came fire froÌ„ heaueÌ„ destroied theÌ„ all This signe undoubtedly is manifest in these our daies howsoeuer it hath bin also in former times For where are any almost that are moued with Gods iudgements or touched at the preaching of the word nay rather men hardeÌ„ their hearts become secure and careles The small fruit that the word of God bringeth foorth in the liues of men shews this to be most true The seuenth last signe set down by the Apostle Paul is that there shall be a calling of the Iewes before the Lord come to iudgemeÌ„t but of the time wheÌ„ this calling shal be of the maner how or the number of them that shalbe called there is no mention made in the word of God Now it is likely that this signe is yet to come These are the signes that go before the coÌ„ming of Christ all which are almost past and therefore the end can not be farre off Now follows the signe that is ioyned with the coÌ„ming of Christ called the signe of the sonne of man What this signe is we find not in the Scriptures Some thinke it to be the signe of the crosse but that is friuolous some the glorie maiestie of Christ which shal be made manifest in his appearance which seemes to be otherwise by the very words of Christ. Then saith he shall appeare the signe of the sonne of man c. and then they shall see him come in the cloudes of heauen vvith povver and great glorie distinguishing the one from the other But I rather coniecture it to be the burning of heauen and earth with fire at the very instant of Christs comming mentioned by Peter VVe must not here dispute whence this fire shal come or how it shall be kindled for that the word of God hath concealed and where God hath not a mouth to speake there we must not haue an eare to heare The vses to be made hereof are these VVhen S. Peter had set downe the change that shall be at the comming of Christ and that heauen and earth must be purged with fire he makes this vse thereof Seeing all things must be dissolued what manner of men ought we to be in holy conuersation godlines and the reason is good For if heauen earth must be changed and purged at Christs comming then much more ought we to be changed to put off the old man of sinne to become new creatures created after the image of God in righteousnes and true holines If the bruit creatures must be renewed by fire then much more are we to labour that the fire of Gods spirite may burne vp sinne corruption in vs so change vs that we may be ready for him against his coÌ„ming els heaueÌ„ earth it selfe shal stand vp in iudgemeÌ„t against vs to our condemnation Secondly the consideration of this that the world shall be consumed with fire teacheth vs moderation and sobrietie in the vse of Gods creatures as in costly buildings gorgeous attire and such like VVhat madnes is this to bestow all that we haue on such things as at the day of iudgement shall be consumed with fire For looke whatsoeuer abuse shall come to Gods creatures by our follie the same shal then be abolished Thirdly we must consider that the cause why heauen earth must be consumed with fire is mans sinne by means wherof they are made subiect to vanitie corruption Here theÌ„ we haue iust occasion to acknowledge the greatnes wretchednes of our sinnes If any of vs had but seene the Iewes leprosie it would haue made vs to woÌ„der for the contagion thereof did infect not only the whole maÌ„ but his garmeÌ„ts also that were about him somtime the walls of his house but howsoeuer we caÌ„not now see that leprosie amoÌ„g vs yet we may see a worse For the leprosie of our sins doth not onely infect our garmeÌ„ts the things about us with our bodies but euen the high heaueÌ„s the earth are slained with the contagion thereof and are made subiect to vanitie and corruption yea by sinne in us the most glorious creatures in them as the Sunne Moone and Starres are become subiect to vanitie Oh then how wretched is the heart of man that makes no bones of sinne which is the most noisome thing in all the worlde the stinke whereof hath infected both heauen and earth If we could consider this we would not be so slacke in humbling our selues for the same as wee are Wee can not abide to looke on a poore lazar full of blanes and sores but if wee could see our sinnes in their right colours they would make us seem unto our selues ten thousaÌ„d times more
to obey the voice of Christ in the ministerie of the worde For if we rebell against his voice in this world vvhen in the day of iudgemeÌ„t sentence shal be pronounced against us we shall heare another voice at the giuing whereof vve must obey whether vve will or no and thereupon go to euerlasting paine whither vve vvould not Let us therfore in time denie our selues for our sinnes past and onely relie upon Christ Iesus for the free remission of them all and for the time to come leade a nevv reformed life Thus much of the order of Christ his proceeding at the day of iudgement Novv follovv the uses thereof vvhich are either comforts to gods church or duties for all meÌ„ The first comforte or benefite is this that the same person vvhich died for us upon the crosse to work ouâ— redemption must also be our â—udge And hence vve reape tvvo speciall comfortes I. The people of God shall hereby inioy full redemption from all miseries and calamities which they had in this life So Christ himselfe speaking of the signes of the end of the world saith to his disciples When you see thâ—se things lift vp your heads for your redemptioÌ„ draweth nere TheÌ„ he shall wipe all teares from their eies Secondly we shall hereby haue a finall deliuerance from all sinne Now what a ioyfull thing it is to be freed from sinne may plainely appeare by the cry of Saint Paul Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from this bodie of death And certen iâ— is that he which knowes what sinne is and seriously repents him of the same would wish with all his heart to be ouâ— of this world that he might leaue off to sinne and thereby to displease God The second comfort is this the godly in this worlde haue many enemies they are reuiled slaundred and oftentimes put to death well Christ Iesus at the day of iudgement will take euery mans case into his owne hand he will then heare the complaint of the godly howsoeuer in this world they found no remedie and then he will reuenge their blood that is shed vpon the earth according to their praier This comfort is to be considered especially of all those that are any way persecuted or molested by the wicked of this world Now follow the duties to be learned of euery one of vs and they are diuerse First the consideration of the last iudgement serueth to teach all ignorant persons and impenitent sinners repentance and humiliation for their sinnes and to mooue them with all speede to seeke vnto Christ for the pardon of the same When Paul preached to the Athenians he willed them to repent vpon this ground reason because the Lord hath appointed a day wherin he will iudge the world in righteousnes To speake plainly we can be content to heare the worde and to honour him with our lippes yet for the most part all is done but for fashions sake for still we liue in our old sinnes our hearts are not turned but in the feare of God let vs bethinke our selues of the time when we shall come before the iudge of heauen and earth and haue all our sinnes laide open and wee must answer for them all This is the point which the holy Ghost vseth as a reason to mooue men vnto repentance and assuredly if this will not mooue vs there is nothing in the world will Secondly to this purpose Paul saith If we would iudge our selues we should not be iudged Wouldest thou then escape the iudgement of Christ at the last day then in this life iudge thy selfe Now a man in iudging of himselfe must performe foure things I. he must examine himselfe of his owne sinnes II. he must confesse them before the Lord. III. he must condemne himselfe and as a iudge vpon the bench giue sentence against himselfe Lastly he must plead pardon and cry vnto God as for life and death for the remission of all his sinnes and he that doth this vnfainedly shall neuer be iudged of the Lord at the last day but if we slacke and neglect this dutie in this life then vndoubtedly there remaines nothing but eternall woe in the world to come Thirdly by this we may learne one not to iudge or condemne another as Paul saith Iudge nothing before the time vntill the Lord come who lighten things that are hidde in darknes and make the counsells of the hearts manifest And Christ saith Iudgement is mine and Iudge not and ye shall not be iudged And againe Paul saith to the Romanes Why doest thou iudge thy brother for we must all appeare before the iudgement seat of Christ but some will aske how doth one iudge another Answer Thus I. when a man doth well to say of him that he doth euill II. when a man doth euill then to make it worse III. when a thing is doubtfull to take it in the worst part And by any of these three waies we are not to iudge either of mens persons or of their actions Fourthly we must endeauour our selues to keepe a good conscience before God and before all men This is the practise of Saint Paul who in consideration and hope of a resurrection vnto iudgement as well of the iust as of the vniust endeauoured himselfe to haue alwaies a cleare conscience both towards God and towards men His example is worthie our marking and imitation for fewe there be that vpon this occasion make any conscience either of dutie to God or to their brethren Fifthly the last iudgement must stirre vs vp to a reuerend feare of God and cause vs to glorifie him as the angel saith in the Revelation Feare God and giue glorie to him for the houre of his iudgement is come And doubtles if any thing in the world will mooue a man to feare the Lord it is this to remember the fearefull and terrible day of iudgement Now hauing spoken hitherto of the first person the father and also of the sonne it followeth in the next place to speake of the third person in these words J beleeue in the holy Ghost In which we may consider two things the title of the person and the action of faith repeated from the beginning The title is holy Ghost or Spirit It may here be demaunded how this title can be fit to expresse the third person which seemes to be common to the rest for the father is holy and the sonne is holy againe the father is a spirit and the sonne is a spirite Answer Indeede the father and the Sonne are as well to be tearmed holy in respect of their natures as the third person for all three subsisting in one and the same Godhead are consequently holy by one and the same holines but the third person is called holy because beside the holines of natures his office is to sanctifie the Church of God Nowe if it be said that sanctification is a worke of the whole Trinitie the
to be damned therefore I will liue as I list for it is not possible for me to alter Gods decree Blasphemous mouthes of men make nothing of this and like speeches and yet they speake flatt contraries For whom God hath purposed in his eternall counsell to refuse them also he hath purposed for their sinnes to leaue to the blindnesse of their mindes and hardnesse of their heartes so as they neither will nor can liue a godly life Secondly this rule doeth as it were leade us by the hande to the consideration of the fearefull estate of many people among us Wee haue had for the space of thirtie yeeres and more the preaching of the Gospell of Christ and the more plentifully by reason of the schooles of learning But what hath beene the issue of it I doubt not but in many it hath beene the meanes of their conversion and saluation but to speake generally of the greater parte there is little or no fruite to be seene The most after this long preaching remaine as blinde as impenitent as harde hearted and as unreformed in their liues as euer they vvere though they haue hearde the Lorde calling them to repentance from day to day and from yeere to yeere Well if this rule be the trueth of God as no doubt it is then I say plainely that there is a most fearefull iudgement of God amongst vs. My meaning is not to determine or giue sentence of any mans person of any towne or people neuerthelesse this may be auouched that it is a terrible and daungerous signe of the wrath of God that after this long and daily preaching there is still remaining a generall hardenesse of heart impenitencie and want of reformation in the liues of men The smithes stithie the more it is beaten the harder it is made and commonly the heartes of men the more they are beaten with the hammer of Gods worde the more dull secure and senslesse they are This beeing so it standes euery man in hande to looke to his owne estate Wee are carefull to flie the infection of the bodily plague oh then how carefull shoulde wee bee to flie the common blindenesse of minde and hardnesse of heart which is the verie plague of all plauges a thousande folde worse then all the plagues of Egypt And it is so much the more fearefull because the more it takes place the lesse it is perceiued When a malefactour on the day of assise is brought foorth of the iayle with great boltes and fetters to come before the iudge as hee is going all men pitie him and speake comfortably unto him But why so because hee is now to be arraigned at the barre of an earthly Iudge Nowe the case of all impenitent sinners is farre more miserable then the case of this man for they lie fettred in bondage vnder sin satan and this short life is the way in which they are going euerie houre to the barre of Gods iustice who is the King of kings and Lord of lords there to be arraigned to haue sentence of condemnation giuen against them Now canst thou pitie a man that is before an earthly iudge and wilt thou not be touched with the miserie of thine owne estate who goest euery day forward to the barre of Gods iustice whether thou be sleeping or waking sitting or standing as a man on the sea in a ship goes continually toward the hauen though he himselfe stirre not his foote Begin now at length to lay this point to your hearts that so long as ye run on in your blind wayes without repentance as much as yee can yee make poste hast to hell-warde and so long as you continue in this miserable condition as Peter saieth Your iudgement is not farre off and your damnation sleepeth not Thirdly seeing those whome God hath purposed to refuse shall be left unto themselues and neuer come to repentance we are to loue and embrace the word of God preached taught unto us by the ministers of the gospell withall submitting our selues unto it and suffering the Lord to humble us thereby that we may come at length out of the broad way of blindnesse of minde and hardnesse of heart leading to destruction into the straight way of true repentance and reformation of life which leadeth to saluation For so long as a man lives in this world after the lusts of his own heart he goes on walking in the very same broad way to hell in which all that are ordained to condemnation walke and what a fearefull thing is it but for a litle while to be a companion in the way of destruction with them that perish and therefore I say once againe let us all in the feare of God lay his word unto our heartes and heare it with such reuerence as that it may be in us the sworde of the spirite to cut downe the sinnes and corruptions of our natures and worke in us a reformation of life and true repentance The third point concerning the decree of Reprobation is the Iudgement to be giuen of it This iudgement belongeth to God principally and properly because hee knoweth best what he hath determined cōcerning the estate of euery man none but he knowes who they be which are ordained to due deserued dānation And againe he only knoweth the hearts and willes of men and what grace he hath giuen them what they are and what all their sinnes be and so doth no angell nor creature in the world beside As for men it belongs not to them to giue iudgement of reprobation in themselues or in others unlesse God reveale his will unto them and giue them a gift of discerning This gift was bestowed on sundry of the Prophets in the old Testament and in the new Testament on the Apostles Dauid in many Psalmes makes request for the confusion of his enemies not praying only against their sinnes which we may do but euen against their persons which we may not do No doubt he was guided by gods spirit receiued thence an extraordinarie gift to iudge of the obstinate malice of his aduersaries And Paul praies against the persō of Demetrius saying The Lord reward him according to his doings And such kinde of praiers were lawfull in them because they were caried with pure upright zeale had no doubt a speciall gift whereby they were able to discerne of the finall estate of their enemies Againe God sometimes giues this gift of discerning of some mens finall impenitencie to the Church upon earth I say not to this or that priuate person but to the bodie of the Church or greater part thereof S. Iohn writing unto the Churches saith There is a sinne unto death that is against the H. ghost I say not that thou shouldest pray for it in which words he takes it for granted that the sinne might be discerned by the Church in those daies And Paul saieth If any man beleeue not the Lord Iesus let him be had in
is the gift of God through Iesus Christ Now they of the Church of Rome teach the flatte contrarie they make two iustifications the first whereby a man of an euill man is made a good man the second whereby of a good man hee is made better The first they ascribe to grace but so as the seconde is by workes Secondly hence wee learne that the arte of Iudiciall astrologie is vaine and frivolous They that practise it doe professe themselues to tell of thinges to come almost whatsoeuer and this they doe by casting of figures and the speciall point of their art is to iudge of mens nativities For if they may know but the time of a mans byrth they take vpon them to tell the whole course of his life from yeare to yeare from weeke to weeke and from day to day from the day of his birth to the houre of his death yea that which is more they professe themselues to tell all things that shall befall men either in bodie goods or good name and what kinde of death they shall die But that this their practise is not of God but indeede vnlawfull it may appeare by this because it stands not with the doctrine of Gods predestination Two twinnes begotten of the same parents and borne both at one and the same time by the iudgement of Astrologians must haue both the same life and the same death and be euery way alike both in goods and in good name yet we see the contrarie to be true in Iacob and Esau who were borne both at one time of the same parents For Iacob tooke Esau by the heele so as there could not be much difference betweene them in time yet for all this Esau was a fierce man and wilde giuen to hunting but Iaacob was milde of nature and liued at home the one had fauour at Gods hand and was in the couenant but God kept backe that mercie froÌ„ the other Againe in a pitcht field are slaine a thousand men at one and the same time now if we consider the time of their births it may be they were borne at a thousand sundrie times and therefore vnder so many diuerse positions of the heauens and so by the iudgement of all Astrologers should haue all diuers and sundrie liues and ends but we see according to the determination of the counsell of God they haue all one and the same ende and therefore this must admonish all those that are brought vp in schooles of learning to haue care to spend there times in better studies and it teacheth those that are fallen into any manner of distresse not to haue recourse to these fond figure-casters For their astrologicall iudgements are false and foolish as we may see by the two former examples Thirdly the knowledge of God is one of the most speciall points in Christian religion and therefore the Lord saith Let him that reioyce reioyce in this that he vnderstandeth and knoweth me For I am the Lord which shew mercie and iudgement in the earth And our Sauiour Christ saith This is life eternall to know thee the onely very God and whome thou hast sent Jesus Christ. Nowe Gods predestination is a glasse wherein we may behold his maiestie For first by it we see the wonderfull wisdome of God who in his eternall counsell did foresee and most wisely set downe the state of euery man secondly his omnipotencie in that he hath power to saue and power to refuse whome he will thirdly his iustice and mercie hoth ioyned together in the exequution of election his mercie in that he saueth those which were vtterly lost his iustice in that he ordained Christ to be a mediatour to suffer the curse of the law and to satisfie his iustice for the Elect. Fourthly his iustice in the exequution of the decree of Reprobation for though he decreed to hold back his mercie from some men because it so pleased him yet he condemneth no man but for his sinnes Now the coÌ„sideration of these the like points bring vs to the knowledge of the true God The vses which concerne our affections are these First the doctrine of predestination ministers to all the people of God matter of endlesse consolation For because Gods election in vnchangeable therefore they which are predestinate to saluation can not perish though the gates of hell preuaile against them so as they be hardly saued yet shall they certenly be saued therefore our Sauiour Christ saith that in the latter daies shall arise false Christs and false prophets which shall shew great signes and wonders so that if it were possible they should deceiue the very elect In which words he takes it for graunted that the elect of God can neuer finally fall away And hereupon he saith to his disciples when they reioyced that the deuils were subiect to them rather reioyce that your names are written in heauen And S. Paul speaking of Hymeneus Alexander which had falne away from the faith least the Church would be discouraged by their fall because they were thought to be worthie men pillars of the Church he doth comfort theÌ„ from the very ground of election saying The foundation of God remaineth sure and hath this seale The Lord knoweth who are his Where Gods election is compared to the foundatioÌ„ of an house the building whereof may be shaken but the ground-work standeth fast therefore Paul saith further Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect Nowe then that we may haue comfort in distresse some thing to stay vpon in al our troubles we in this world are as strangers in a farre countrie our passage homeward is ouer the sea of this world the ship wherin we saile is the Church satan stirres vp many blasts of troubles teÌ„ptations his purpose is to sink the ship or to driue it on the rock but we must take the anchor of hope fasten it in heauen vpon the foundation of Gods Election which being done we shal passe in safetie reioyce in the midst of all stormes tempests Secondly whereas God refuseth some men and leaues them to themselues it serues to strike a feare into â—uery one of vs whatsoeuer as Saint Paul in the like case saith the Iewes being the naturall braunches are broken off through vnbeliefe and thou standest by faith be not high minded but feare This indeed was spoken to the Romanes but we must also lay it vnto our hearts For what is the best of vs but a lump of clay how soeuer in Gods counsell we are chosen to saluation yet in our selues we are all shut vp vnder vnbeliefe and are fit to make vessels of wrath Our Sauiour Christ calleth Iudas a deuil we know his leud life fearful end now what are we better then Iudas by nature If we had bin in his steade without the special blessing of God we should haue don as he did he betraied Christ
the resurrection of the dead should be both of the iust vniust Now what did this mooue him vnto Marke herein saith he that is in this respect I endeauour my self to haue alwaies a cleare coÌ„science towards God and towards man And let vs for our parts likewise remember the last iudgement that it may be a meanes to mooue vs so to behaue our selues in all our actions that we may keep a good conscience before God and before men and let it also be a bridle vnto vs to keepe vs backe from all manner of sinne For what is the cause why men daily defile their bodies soules with so many damnable practises without any remorse of conscience Surely they neuer seriously remember the day of the resurrection after this life wherin they must stand before Christ to giue an account of that which they haue done in this life whether it be good or badde Thus much of the duties now marke it is further said The resurrection of the bodie If the bodie rise it must first fal Here then this point is wrapped vp as a confessed truth that all men must die the first death And yet considering that the members of the Church haue the pardon of their sinnes which are the cause of death it may be demaunded why they must die Ansvveâ—re VVee are to know that when they die death doth not seaze vpon theÌ„ as it is in his own nature a curse for in that respect it was borne of Christ vpon the crosse and that for vs but for two other causes which wee must thinke vpon as beeing speciall meanes to make a man willing to die I. They must die that originall corruption may be vtterly abolished for no man liuing on earth is perfectly sanctified and originall sinne is remaining for speciall causes to the last moment of this life then it is abolished and not before II. The godly die that by death as by a straight gate they may passe from this vale of miserie to eternall life And thus Christ by his death makes death to be no death and turnes a curse into a blessing And to proceede It is not here said the resurrection of the soule but of the bodie onely what then will some say becommeth of the soule Diuers haue thought that the soules then though they doe not die yet are still kept within the bodie beeing as it were a sleepe till the last day But Gods word saith to the contrarie For in the Revelation it is said The soules of the godly lie vnder the altar and cry How long Lord Iesus And in the Gospel of Luke Dives in soule did suffer woe and torments in hell and Lazarus had ioy in AbrahaÌ„s bosom Againe some others think that mens soules after this life doe passe from one mans bodie to another and Herod may seeme to haue beene of this opinion for when newes was brought him of Christ he said that Iohn Baptist beeing beheaded was risen againe thinking that the soule of Iohn Baptist was put into the bodie of some other man And for proofe herof some alledge the example of Nebuchadnezzar who forsaking the societie of man liued as a beast and did eate grasse like a beast and they imagine that his owne soule went out of him and that the soule of a beast entred in the roome thereof But this indeede is a fonde conceit for euen then he had the soule of a man when he liued as a beast being only strickeÌ„ by the hand of God with an exceeding madnes whereby he was bereft of common reason as doth appeare by that clause in the text where it is saide that his vnderstanding or knowledge returned to him againe Againe some other thinke that the soule neither dieth nor sleepeth nor passeth out of one bodie into an other but wandereth here on earth amoÌ„g men ofteÌ„times appeareth to this or that maÌ„ this is the opinion of some hereticks of the common people which thinke that dead men walke and for proofe hereof some alleadge the practise of the witch of Endor who is said to make Samuel to appeare before Saul but the truth is it was not Samuel in deede but onely a counterfait of him For not all the witches in the world nor all the deuils in hell are able to disquiet the soules of the faithfull departed which are in the keeping of the Lord without wandring from place to place For when men die in the faith their soules are immediatly translated into heauen there abide till the last iudgement and contrariwise if men die in their sinnes their soules goe straight to the place of eternall condemnation and there abide as in a prison as Peter saith In a word when the breath goeth out of the bodie the soule of euery man goeth straight either to heaueÌ„ or hel and there is no third place of aboad meÌ„tioned in scripture To conclude the resurrection of the bodie is expressely mentioned in the Creede to shew that there is no resurrection of the soule which neither dieth nor sleepeth but is a spirituall and inuisible substance liuing and abiding for euer as well forth of the bodie as in the same Thus much of the third prerogatiue or benefit now followeth the fourth last in these words And life euerlasting To handle this point to the full and to open the nature of it as it deserueth is not in the power of man For both the Prophet Esai and Saint Paul say that the eye hath not seene and the eare hath not heard neither came it into mans heart to thinke of those things which God hath prepared for those that loue him Again Paul when he was wrapt into the third heauen saith that he saw things not to be vttered Neuerthelesse we may in some part describe the same so farre forth as God in this case hath reuealed his wil vnto vs. Wherefore in this last prerogatiue I consider two things the first is life it selfe the second is the continuance of life noted in the word euerlasting Life it selfe is that whereby any thing acteth liueth moueth it selfe it is twofold vncreated or created Vncreated life is the very godhead it selfe wherby God liueth absolutely in himselfe from himselfe by himselfe giuing life and being to all things that liue and haue beeing this life is not meant here because it is not communicable to any creature Created life is a qualitie in the creature and its againe twofold natural spiritual Natural life is that wherby men in this world liue by meat drinke al such means as are ministred by Gods prouidence Spirituall life is that most blessed and happie estate in which all the Elect shall raigne with Christ their head in the heauens after this life after the day of iudgemeÌ„t for euer and euer And this alone is the life which in the Creed we confesse and beleeue it consisteth in an immediate coniunctioÌ„ and communion
that God can make trees plants herbs to grow without the meanes of raine and vvithout the vertue and operation of the Sunne the Moone the Starres III. he made the worlde in sixe distinct dayes and framed all things in this order to teach us his wonderfull providence of his creatures for before man was created he prouided for him a dwelling place and all things necessarie for his perpetuall preseruation and perfect happinesse and felicitie So also he created beasts and cattell but not before he had made hearbs plants and grasse and all meanes whereby they are preserued And if God had this care ouer man when as yet hee was not much more will God haue care ouer him now when hee is and hath a being in nature And thus much concerning the pointes of doctrine touching the creation The duties follow And first by the worke of creation we may discerne the true Iehouah from all false gods idols in the world This Esaiah maketh plain bringing in the Lorde reasoning thus I am God and there is no other God besides me How is that prooued thus I forme the light and create darkenesse I make peace and create evill I the Lord doe all these things If a man aske thee how thou knowest the true God from all false gods thou must answere by the worke of â—â—eation for he alone is the maker of heauen and earth and all things in them This propertie can not agree to any creature to any man saint or Angell nay not to all men and all Angels they can not giue being to a creature which before was nothing Secondly wheras God the Father is the Creatour of all things and hath giuen unto man reason understanding and abilitie more then to other creatures we are taught to consider and meditate of the worke of Gods creation This the wise man teacheth vs saying Consider the worke of God And indeed it is a speciall dutie of euery man which professeth himselfe to be a member of Gods Church as he acknowledgeth God to be the Creatour so to looke upon his workemanshippe and view and consider all creatures A skilfull workeman can haue no greater a disgrace then when hee hath done some famous thing to haue his friende passe by his worke and not so much as looke upon it If it be demaunded for what ende must we looke upon the worke of Gods creation I ansvvere that in it vvee may see and discerne Gods power wisedome loue mercie and providence and all his attributes and in all things his glorie This is a most necessarie dutie to be learned of euery man we thinke nothing too much or to good to bestow on vaine shewes plaies idle sportes and pastimes which are the vanities of men and we doe most willingly beholde them in the meane season utterly neglecting and contemning the glorious worke of Gods creation Well the Lorde God hath appointed his Sabaoth to be sanctified not only by the publique ministerie of the worde and by private prayer but also by an especiall consideration and meditation of gods creatures and therefore the duetie of euery man is this distinctly and seriously to view and consider the creatures of God and thereby take occasion to glorifie his name by ascribing vnto him the vvisedome glorie povver and omnipotencie that is due unto him for the same Thirdly wee must giue God the glorie in all his creatures because hee is the creatour of them all So in the Revelation the foure and tvventie Elders fall downe before him and say Thou art vvorthy O Lorde to receive glorie and honour and povver giuing this reason for thou hast created all things and for thy vvills sake they are and haue beene created Reade the Psalmes 147. and 148. both vvhich tende to this that God may be praised because he is the Creatour of all things and therefore must haue all the glorie VVee knowe that when men beholde any curious vvorke of a cunning and skillfull craftesman straightway they vvill leaue the vvorke and inquire after him that made it that they may praise his skill The same is our dutie in this case when we come abroad and beholde every where in all the creatures the admirable and unspeakeable vvisedome goodnesse and povver of God then vvee must make hast from the creature and goe forvvarde to the Creatour to praise and glorifie him and herein must vvee shevve our selues to differ from bruite beasts in that in the vse and view of Gods creatures we doe returne due glory praise and honour unto the creatour Our fourth duty is set downe by the Prophet Amos who moouing the people to meete God by repentance addeth a reason taken froÌ„ the creation He that fourmeth the mountaines createth the winds which declareth unto man what is his thought which maketh the morning darkenesse c. the Lord God of hosts is his name The meaning of the Prophet is this God is a terrible iudge we are as traitors rebels against him therfore the best way that we can take is this he is coÌ„ming to iudgement let us therfore meete him fall downe before him humble our selues under his mighty haÌ„d And the holy ghost by the prophet would mooue the people to meete God by serious repeÌ„tance by a reason framed thus If God who is their iudge be able to create the winds and to forme the mouÌ„taines to make the morning darknes then he is also able to make an eternall iudgement for their confusion And therfore all such as be impenitent sinners let theÌ„ prepare themselues to turne unto him surely if men had grace to lay this to their hearts they would not liue so loÌ„g in their sinnes without repentance as they do nay rather they would prepare themselues to meet him in the way before he come to iudgement because he is a creator therefore able to bring infinite punishments upon them at his pleasure and to bring them to nothing as he made them of nothing And let them know it whosoeuer they be that go forwarde in their sinnes that God the creator whensoeuer hee will can opeÌ„ hell to deuoure them that he can shew him selfe as mightie in his iudgement to mens destruction as he vvas in the beginning in giuing us a being vvhen vve vvere nothing Wherefore notable is the practise of David vvho ineures himself to the feare of god by the consideration of his creation saying I am fearefully and wonderfully made c. Lastly those vvhich haue bin impenitent sinners all their life past must not only learne to repent for their sinnes but also endeauour to perfourme obedience unto gods vvord God is a creatour and the thing created shoulde in all respectes be conformable to his vvill for David saith Thine hands have fashioned me framed me give me vnderstanding therfore that I may learne thy coÌ„mandemeÌ„ts And good reasoÌ„ for there is no man of any trade but hee vvould faine haue
Lorde is eternall and this thirde heauen hath alwaies beene the place of the Lords abode and therefore it is also eternall Ansvver True it is that God doeth shewe his glorie and maiestie in the thirde heauen but yet that cannot obtaine his godhead as Salomon saith Beholde the heavens and the heavens of heavens are not able to containe thee Wherefore though God doeth manifest his eternall glorie in this thirde heauen yet it doeth not follow that therefore it shoulde be eternall for he needes no place to dvvell in for hee is every where filling all things with his presence excluded from no place The seconde question where this thirde heauen is Ansvvere There are some protestants say it is euery where and they hold this opinion to maintaine the reall presence of the Lordes body in or about the Sacrament But if it vvere euery where then hell shoulde be in heauen which no man will say but heauen indeed is aboue these visible heauens which we see with our eyes so the Apostle saith Christ ascended on high farre above all heauens c. And againe it is saide of Steven that beeing full of the holy ghost He looked up steadfastly into the heauens and sawe them open and the sonne of man standing at the right hand of God Thirdly it may be demanded why God created this thirde heauen Ansvver God made it for this cause that there might be a certaine place wherein he might make manifest his glorie and maiestie to his elect angels and men for the which cause it was created a thousand folde more glorious then the two former heavens are in which respect it is called Paradise by reason of the ioy and pleasure arising from Gods glorious presence And our Sauiour Christ calleth it the house of God his father because into it must be gathered all Gods children It is called the kingdome of heaven because God is the King thereof and ruleth there in perfect glorie True it is God hath his kingdome here on earth but he ruleth not so fully and gloriously here as hee shall in heauen for this is the kingdome of grace but that is the kingdome of his glorie where he so reigneth that he will be all in all first in Christ and then in the elect both Angels and men Now followes the duties wherunto we are moved principally in consideration of the making of the third heauen First if God created it especially for the manifestation of his glorie unto men that at the ende of this world by the fruition of Gods most glorious presence there they might haue perfect ioye and felicitie wee haue occasion here to consider the wonderfull madnesse of the vvorlde that reigneth euery where among men which onely haue regarde to the state of this life and cast all their care on this world and neuer so much as dreame of the ioyfull and blessed estate which is prepared for Gods children in the highest heauen If a man hauing two houses one but a homely cottage and the other a princely pallace should leaue the better and take all the care and paines for the dressing up of the first would not euerie man say he were a mad man yes undoubtedly And yet this is the spirituall madnesse that reigneth euery where among men for God hath prepared for us two houses one is this our bodie which we beare about us which is an house of clay as Iob saith VVee dvvell in houses of clay whose foundation is dust which shall be destroyed before the moth and as Peter saith a Tabernacle or tent which wee must shortly take downe and wherein we abide but as pilgrimes and strangers Againe the same God of his wonderfull goodnesse hath provided for us a second house in the third heauen wherein we must not abide for a time and so depart but for euermore enioy the blessed felicitie of his glorious presence For all this marke a spirituall phrensie possessing the mindes of men for they imploy all their care and industrie for the maintaining of this house of claye whose foundation is but dust but for the blessed estate of the second house which is prepared for them in the kingdome of heauen they haue no regarde or care They vvill both runne and ride from place to place day and night both by Sea and lande but for vvhat Is it for the preparing of a mansion place in the heauenly Ierusalem Nothing lesse for they will scarse goe forth of the doore to use any meanes whereby they may come unto it but all their studie is to patch vp the ruines and breaches of their earthly cabbine Now let all men iudge in their owne consciences whether as I haue saide this be not more then senselesse madnesse Againe the body is but a tabernacle wherein we must rest as it were for a night as a stranger doeth in an Inne and so away but the second house is eternall in the heavens an everlasting seate of all felicitie And therefore our dutie is aboue all things to seeke the kingdome of heauen and the righteousnesse thereof as Christ himselfe biddeth us And if the Lorde haue there prepared such a place for vs then wee must in this worlde use all good meanes whereby we may be made worthy the fruition of it also fitte and ready at the day of death to enter into it which at the day of iudgement we shall fully possesse both in soule and body and there reigne eternally in all happinesse with God Almightie our creatour the father the sonne and the holy ghost But some may say how shall a man so prepare himselfe that he may be fitte for that place Ansvver This the holy ghost teacheth us for speaking of this heauenly Ierusalem hee saith There shall enter into it none uncleane thing neither whatsoever vvorketh abomination or lyes The meanes then to make our selues fitte is to seeke to be reconciled to God in Christ for our sinnes past and withall to indeauour to haue an assurance of the free remission and pardon of them all in the blood of Christ. And as touching that part of life which is to come wee must remember what S. Iohn saith Euery one that hath this hope purifieth himselfe meaning that he which hath hope to reigne with Christ in heauen vseth the meanes whereby he may purifie and keepe himselfe from sinne as also he saith after that he which is borne of God keepeth himselfe and the wicked one toucheth him not Signifying that all such persons as are truly iustified and sanctified carrie such a narrowe and straite watch ouer the whole course of their liues and conuersations that the deuill can neuer giue them deadlie wounds and wholly ouercome them Now the man that is resolued in his conscience of the pardon of his sinne for the time past and hath a steadfast purpose in his heart to keepe himselfe upright and continually to walke in righteousnesse and true holinesse all the daies
Christ teacheth when he saith that the angels of little ones doe alreadie behold the face of the father in heauen And the wicked angels before their fall were placed in heauen for they were cast thence VI. That there be certaine distinctions and diuersities of angels it is very likely because they are called thrones and principalities and powers Cherubim and Seraphim But what be the distinct degrees and orders of angels and whether they are to be distinguished by their natures gifts or offices no man by Scripture can determine VII The ministerie of angels to which the Lord hath set them apart is three-fold and it respecteth either God himselfe or his Church or his enemies The ministery which they performe to God is first of all to adore praise and glorifie him continually Thus the Cherubims in Esaies vision cry one to another Holy holy holy is the Lord God of hosts the world is full of his glorie And when they were to publish the birth of the Messias they begin on this manner Glorie to God in the highest heauens peace on earth And Iohn in his vision heard the angels about the throne crying with a loud voyce Worthie is the Lambe c. to receiue power riches and strength wisedome and honour and glorie and praise And indeed the heighest ende of the ministerie of angels is the glorie of God The second is to stand in Gods presence euermore readie to do his commandements as Dauid saith Praise the Lord yee his Angels that excell in strength that doe his commandements in obeying the voice of his word And here is a good lesson for vs. VVe pray daily that we may doe the will of God as the Angels in heauen doe it let vs therefore be followers of the holy angels in praising God and in doing his commandements as they doe The ministerie of angels concerning the Church standes in this that they are ministring spirits for the good of them which shall be heyres of saluation The good is three-fold in this life in the ende of this life and in the last iudgement againe the good which they procure to the people of God in this life is either in respect of bodie or soule In respect of the bodie in that they doe most carefully performe all manner of duties which doe necessarily tend to preserue the temporall life of Gods children euen from the beginning of their daies to the ende Dauid saith that they pitch their tents about them that feare the Lord. When Agar was cast foorth of Abrahams familie and wandred in the wildernes an angell comes vnto hir and giues hir counsell to returne to hir mistres and humble hir selfe VVhen Elias fled from Iesabel he was both comforted directed and fedde by an angell And an angel bids the same Elias be of good courage and without feare to go to King Achazias reprooue him Angels bring Lot and his familie out of Sodom and Gomorrha before they burne the cities with fire brimstone VVhen Iacob feared his brother Esau he saw angels comming vnto him and he plainly acknowledgeth that they were sent to be his protectours and his guides in his iournie Abraham beeing perswaded of the assistance of Gods angels in all his waies said to his seruant The Lord God of heauen who tooke me from my fathers house c. will send his angell before thee The wise men that came to see Christ are admonished by Angels to returne another way Ioseph by the directiō of an angel fled into Egypt that he might preserue Christ frō the hāds of the cruel tyrāt the tēts of the Israelites was garded by angels The 3. children are deliuered frō the fierie furnace Daniel out of the lyōs den by angels Whē Christ was in heauines they ministred vnto him cōforted him they brought Peter out of prisō set him at liberty Againe the Angels procure good vnto the soules of the godly in that they are maintainers and furtherers of the true worship of God and of all good meanes whereby we attaine to saluation The law was deliuered in mount Sina by angels and a great part of the Reuelation of Iohn They expound to Daniel the 70. weekes They instruct the Apostles touching the returne of Christ to the last iudgement Angels forbid Iohn to worship them but to worship God the creatour of heauen and earth They set the Apostles out of prison and bid them teach in the temple An angel brings Philip to the Eunuch that he may expound the scriptures to him Lastly they reueale the mysteries and the will of God as to Abraham that he should not kil his sonne Isaac to Marie and Elizabeth the natiuitie of Iohn Baptist and of Christ our Sauiour al this they do according vnto the wil of God Gal. 1.8 Beside all this angels reioyce at the conuersion of sinners by the ministerie of the Gospell And for the Churches sake they protect not onely particular men but euen whole nations and kingdomes The ministerie of Angels in the ende of this life is to carie the soules of the godly into Abrahams bosome as they did the soule of Lazarus And in the day of iudgement to gather all the Elect that they may come before Christ and enter into eternall fruition of glorie both in bodie soule The third last part of the minsterie of angels concerns Gods enemies it is to execute iudgements on all wicked persons and impenitent sinners Thus all the first borne of Egypt are slain by an angel VVhen Iosua was about to sack Ierico an angel appeared vnto him as a captaine with a drawn sword to fight for Israel When the host of Senacherib came against Israel the angel of the Lord in one night slue an hundred eightie and fiue thousand Because Herod gaue not glorie vnto God the angel of the Lord smote him so as he was eaten vp of lice and died And thus we see what points we are to marke touching the good Angels Now followeth the vse which we are to make in regard of their creation First whereas they are Gods ministers to inflict punishments vpon the wicked here is a speciall point to be learned of vs that euery man in the feare of God take heede how he liueth and continueth in his sinnes for the case is dangerous considering that God hath armies of angels which stand readie euery where to execute Gods heauie iudgements vpon them that liue thus Whē the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord Moses saith they were naked that is open to all the iudgements of God euen destitute of the guard of his good Angels VVretched Balaam that wizard went to Balaac to curse the children of Israel and as he went it is said the angel of the Lord stood in his way with a drawne sword and if the asse had not beene wiser then his master the
God ouer his creatures but especially ouer man in that the Lord created him the sixth day and so before hee was made prepared for him a Paradise for his dwelling and all creatures both for his vse and comfort And if he were thus carefull for vs when we were not then no doubt he will be much more carefull for vs at this present in which we liue and haue beeing Nay marke further since the fall man eates and drinks in quantitie a great deale which in common reason should rather kill him then turne to the strength and nourishment of his bodie yet herein doth the wonderfull power of the Creatour most notably appeare who hath made mans stomacke as a lymbecke or styll to digest all meats that are holesome for his nourishment and preservation And thus much for the Creation Now in these words Maker of heauen and earth is more to be vnderstoode then the worke of creation namely Gods prouidence in gouerning all things created as he appointed in his eternall decree and therefore Saint Peter saith God is a faithfull creatour that is God did not onely make heauen and earth and so leaue them as masons and carpenters leaue houses when they are built but by his prouidence doeth most wisely gouerne the same Now therefore let us come to speake of Gods prouidence And first of all the question offers it selfe to be considered whether there be any prouidence of God or no for the mindes of men are troubled with many doubtings hereof And to make the question out of all doubt I will vse foure arguments to confirme the providence of God The first is the testimonie of the scripture which ascribeth the euent of all particular actions euen such as are in themselues casuall as the casting of lots and such like to the disposition of God which also teacheth that euen men themselues which are endued with reason and understanding haue neede to be guided in all things and gouerned by God and blameth those that denie Gods prouidence Why sayest thou O Iacob and speakest O Israel my way is hid frō the Lord my iudgement is past ouer by my God The secōd argumēt may be taken frō the order which appeareth in the whole course of nature First to begin with families there is to be seen an eutaxy or seemely order in which some rule some obey the like is to be found in townes cities cuntries and kingdoms yea euen in the whole world in which all things are so disposed that one serueth for the good of another Trees and hearbs and grasse of the fieldes serue for beasts and cattell and beastes and cattell serve for men the heauens aboue serue for them which are beneath and all the creatures which are aboue and beneath serue for God This argueth that God is most wise and provident in ordering and disposing all things whatsoeuer The third argument is taken from the conscience specially of malefactours Suppose a man that commits a murder so closely that no man knowes thereof and that the partie himselfe is free from all the daunger of lawe yet shall he haue his owne conscience to accuse upbraid and condemne him yea euen to freight him out of his wit and to giue him no more rest then hee can finde upon the racke or gibbet Nowe this accusation and terrour of conscience is nothing else but the forerunner of an other most terrible iudgement of God vvho is Lorde of all creatures and Iudge of all men And this also prooues the prouidence of god For if the conscience can finde a man out and lay his faults to his charge how much more shall god himselfe the creatour of the conscience see and consider all his doings The fourth and last argument is this The prophesies of things to come should be uncerten or false if god gouerned not the world But now considering things many yeeres agoe foretold come to passe in the same maner as they vvere foretold by the Prophets and Apostles hereby vve must certenly conclude that there is a prouidence of god vvhereby all euery thing is gouerned Against the prouidence of god sundrie things be alledged The first and speciall is that prouidence and disorder confusion and order can not stand together Nowe in the worlde there is nothing but disorder and confusion in seditions treasons conspiracies and subuersions of kingdomes vvhere also sinne and vvickednesse prevailes Answere It is true indeed there hath beene confusion in the worlde euer since the fall of man and angels and it ariseth not from God but from them alone who as they did at the first transgresse the will of God so they doe what they can to turne all upside downe Now then confusion and disorder is onely in respect of the deuill and his instruments but in regard of God in the very middest of all confusion there is order to be found because hee can and doeth dispose it to the glorie of his owne name and to the good and saluation of his chosen as also to the confusion of his enemies Againe it may be obiected that with ungodly and wicked men all things goe well and contrariwise with the godly all things goe hardly For through the worlde none are more molested and more vnder outward miserie then they but if there were any prouidence of God then it should be otherwise the godly should florish the wicked perish Ans. The consideration of the outward estate of men in the world was to David an occasion of a sore temptation For when he savv the wicked to prosper alway and their riches to increase he brake foorth and said Certenly I haue cleansed my heart in vaine and vvashed mine hands in innocencie Now if vve would repell this temptation as David afterward did then vve must goe into the Lords sanctuary with him learne to be resolued in these points I. Though the godly be laden with miseries yet euen that by the especiall prouidence of God turnes to their great good For euerie man since the fall of Adam is stained vvith the lothsome contagion of sinne Nowe the childe of God that is truly regenerate and must be fellowe heire with Christ after this life in the kingdome of glorie must in this life be cast into the Lords furnace that in the fire of affliction hee may more and more be scoured and purified from the corruption of his nature be estranged from the wickednes of the world II. The prosperous successe of the wicked their spoiles their reuenewes and all their honour turnes to their greater woe and miserie in the end as doth appeare in Iobs historie and in the examples of the Chaldeans of Davids enemies and of Dives and Lazarus Thirdly it may be obiected that many things came to passe by chance therfore not by gods prouidēce because chance providence cānot stand together Ans. We must distinguish between chance mere chance Chāce is whē any thing comes to passe
Sacraments are no Sacraments I say this their practise is condemned by our Sauiour Christs conversing among the Iewes For if Christ should haue followed their opinion hee ought to haue fled from amongst the Iewes and not so much as once to haue come into the tēple or taught in their Synagogues but contrariwise he ioyned himselfe with them and therefore wee can not in good conscience disjoyne our selues from the Church of England The second thing to be obserued in Christs answeare is that he referres Caiphas to the iudgement of his hearers beeing resolued of the truth of his owne doctrine though sundrie of them were his vtter enemies Behold then a good example for all the ministers of Gods word to follow teaching them to deliuer Gods word so purely and syncerely that if they be called into question about the same they may be bolde to appeale to the consciences of their hearers although they be wicked men Now after this answer one of the seruants of Caiphas smites Christ with a rodde in whome the saying is verified Like master like seruant that is if the master be wicked seruants commonly will be wicked also if the master be an enemie to Christ his seruant will be Christs enemie also And this is the cause why there are so many lewd prentises and seruants because there are so many lewd masters Many masters complaine of seruants now adaies but there is more cause why they should complaine of themselues for vsually seruants will not become obedient to their masters till their masters first become obedient vnto Christ therefore let masters learne to obey God and then their seruants will obey them also Further Christ beeing smitten makes this answeare If I haue euill spoken beare witnesse of the euill but if I haue well spoken why smitest thou me making complaint of an iniurie done vnto him Now hereupon scoffing Iulian the apostata saith Christ keepes not his owne laws but goeth against his owne precept when as he saide If one strike thee on the one cheeke turn to him the other also But we must know that in these words Christs meaning is that a mā must rather suffer a double wrong then seeke a priuate reuenge And before Christ spake in his owne defence which a man may lawfully doe and not seeke any reuenge for it is one thing to defend his owne cause and an other to seeke reuenge Now follows the secōd point in their proceeding which is the producing of false witnesses against him as S. Matthew saith The whole Councell sought false witnesse against him and though many came yet found they none for they could not agree together because they alleadged false things against him which they could not prooue And thus the mēbers of Christ haue often such enemies as make no bones shamefully to auouch that against them which they cā not be able to iustifie The ten persecutions which were in the first 300. yeares after Christ arose oftentimes of shamelesse reports that men gaue out which said that Christians liued of mans flesh therfore slew their owne children 2. that they liued on rawe-flesh 3. that they committed incest one with another in their assemblies 4. that they worshipped the head of an asse 5. that they worshipped the sūne moone 6. that they were traytours sought to vndermine the Romane Empyre lastly wheresoeuer was thunder or earthquakes seditiōs or tumults or any disquietnes or trouble Christians were accused as the authors thereof Such enemies haue they had in all ages and in these our daies the same is practised will be to the worlds end Now when the first witnesses could not agree among themselues then two other false witnesses came forth which auouched that Christ said I will destroy this temple made with hands within three daies will build another made without hāds Indeed Christ said some such wordes for saith he Destroy this temple and within three daies I will build it vp againe But he spake this of the temple of his bodie whereas they maliciously did interpret him to haue spoken of the temple in Ierusalem And againe they chaunge the words for Christ said Destroy this temple c. but these witnesses say he said I will destroy this temple made with hands c. And thus they chaunge both words and meaning and therefore the holy Ghost calleth them false witnesses By this we must be aduertised to take heede how we report mens words for if we chaunge the meaning though in part we retaine the words we may soone become slaunderers and false witnesses and as this duetie must be performed towards all men so especially towards the ministers of the Gospell the neglect of this dutie procureth many slaunderers to thē in this our Church whereof indeed the reporters are the cause and not the ministers themselues Now at this false accusation Christ was silent so as Caiphas asked him why he answeared nothing Herein wee are to consider many things I. why Christ was silent The causes be two first he was to shew himselfe a patterne of true humilitie and patience therefore euen then would he be silent when he was most falsely accused of his aduersaries Secondly he is silent that standing before the iudge to be condemned the sentence might proceede against him and he might suffer the death appointed which was due vnto vs and so become our redeemer And in Christs example we must note that it is a speciall dutie to knowe when to speake and when to be silent The ordering of the tongue is a rare gift and few attaine vnto it Some will peradventure aske what rule we haue to direct vs herein Answer The generall rule for the ordering of the tongue is the law of God We are commaunded to seeke the glorie of God in the first table and in the second the good of our neighbour when thy speach therefore will serue either for Gods glorie or the good of thy neighbour then thou must speake if it serue for neither then be silent Againe if thy silence be either for Gods glorie or the good of thy neighbour then be silent if it will not then speake And because it is hard for a man to know when his speach or silence will serue for these two ends therefore we must pray vnto God that he would teach and direct vs herein as Dauid doth Set a watch saith he O Lord before my mouth and keepe the doore of my lippes and againe open thou my lippes O Lord and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise Thus much for the false witnesses produced Now followeth the third point which is the adjuring of Christ for Caiphas the high Priest charged him to tell him whether he were the Christ the Sonne of God or no. To adiure a man is to charge and commaund him in the name of God to declare a truth not onely because God is witnesse thereof but also because he is iudge to reuenge
alone when these things are taken away then we shall vtterly forsake Christ in like manner The second point is that Herod desires Christ to worke a miracle He can be content to see the works of Christ but he can not abide to heare his word to beare his yoke Like to him are many in these daies which gladly desire to heare the Gospell of Christ preached onely because they would heare speach of some strange things laying aside all care and conscience to obey that which they heare Yea many in England delite to read the strange histories of the bible and therefore can rehearse the most part of it and it were to be wished that all could doe it yet come to the practise of it the same persons are commonly found as bad in life and conuersation yea rather worse then others Let vs therefore labour that with our knowledge we may ioyne obedience practise with our learning and as well to be affected with the word of Christ as with his works The third point is that Herod derides Christ and sends him away cloathed in a white garment This is that Herod whome Christ called a foxe who also when hee heard Iohn Baptist preach did many things heard him gladly How then comes Herod to this outrage of wickednes thus to abuse Christ Answer We must knowe that although Herod at the first heard Iohn preach yet withall hee followed his owne affections and sought how to fulfill the lustes of his flesh For when Iohn told him that it was not lawfull for him to haue his brother Philips wife he cast him in prison and after cut off his head for it after which offence he is grown to this height of impietie that he now despiseth Christ cānot abide to heare him Where we learne that as we are willing to heare Gods word preached so withall we must take heede that we practise no maner of sinne but make conscience of euery thing that may displease God Thou maist I graunt be one that feares and fauours Iohn Baptist for a time wallowing in thy old sinnes but after a while yeilding to the swinge of thy corrupt heart thou wilt neuer heare Iohn nor Christ himselfe but hate and despise them both This is the cause why some which haue beene professours of religion heretofore and haue had great measure of knowledge are now become very loose persons and can not abide to heare the worde preached vnto them the reason is because they could not abide to leaue their sinnes Therefore that wee may begin in the spirit and not end in the flesh let euery one that calls on the name of the Lord depart from iniquitie Now follows the second pollicie of Pilate For when he saw the first would not preuaile then hee tooke a newe course for he tooke Iesus into the common hall and scourged him and the souldiers platted a crowne of thornes and pur it on his head and they put on him a purple garment and saide Haile King of the Iewes and smote him with their roddes And thus he brought him foorth before the Iewes perswading himselfe that when they sawe him so abased and so ignominiously abused they vvould be content therevvith and exact no greater punishment at his handes thinking thus to haue pacified the rage of the Ievves and so to haue deliuered Christ from death by inflicting vpon him some lesser punishment This pollicie is as it vvere a looking glasse in vvhich vve may behold of vvhat nature cōdition all plotts pollicies of mē are which are deuised practised vvithout the directiō of Gods vvord In it we may obserue 2. things the first is the ground thereof vvhich is a most silly simple or rather sensles argument For he reasoneth thus I finde no fault in this man therefore I will chastise him and let him goe A man vvould hardly haue thought that one hauing but his common sense vvould not haue made such a reason much lesse a great iudge sitting in the roome of God But in him vve may behold see the ground of all humane pollicie vvhich is beside the vvord of God namely the foolish and blind reason of men The 2. thing to be considered is the proceeding and issue of this pollicie Pilat must either vvhip Christ beeing innocent or put him to death vvhich are both sinnes and great offences Novve hee maketh choice of the lesser vvhich is to whippe him and is perswaded that he ought to doe so whereas of two sinnes or euils a man ought to doe neither And in doing this Pilate begins to make a breach in his conscience and that is the fruit that all politicks reape of their deuises which proceede by the light of their owne reason without the word of God By this example we are admonished of two things first that before we enterprize any businesse wee must rectifie our iudgements by Gods worde Dauid was a most wise King and no doubt had withall a graue and wise councell but yet he preferred the word of God before all saying Thy testimonies are my counsellers Secondly in our proceedings we must keepe an vpright pure and vnblameable conscience as Paul exhorteth Timothie to haue the mysterie of faith in a pure conscience giuing vs thereby to vnderstand that a good conscience is as it were a chest or cupboard in which we are to keepe and locke vp our religion and all other graces of God as the most pretious iewels that can be and that if we suffer this chest to be broken vp all our riches and iewels are gone But let vs yet view the dealing of Pilate more particularly he whippes Christ puts on him a purple garment puts a reede in his hand sets a crowne of thornes vpon his head and causes the souldiers to mocke him and spit in his face Now in this that Christ standing in our roome was thus shamefully abused we must consider what was due vnto euery one of vs for our sinnes namely shame and reproch in this life and in the life to come endles confusion And we see the confession of Christ to be true which he made to Pilate that his kingdome was not of this world for if it had beene so they would haue put a crowne of gold vpon his head and not a crowne of thornes nothing at all beseeming an earthly king and in stead of a reede they would haue put a scepter into his hand and in stead of buffetting and spitting on him they would haue adored him falne downe before him Againe whereas Christ our heade in this world ware no other crowne but one made of thornes it serueth to teach all those that are the members of Christ that they must not look for a crown of glory in this life because that is reserued for the life to come And if we would then weare the crown of glorie with Christ we must here in this life weare a crown of thorns as he did for as
must not looke to be taught by visions and dreames yet shall it not be amisse to obserue this caveat concerning dreames that by them we may gesse at the constitution of our bodies and often times at the sinnes whereunto we are inclined The last motiue which caused Pilate to absolue Christ was a speech of the Iewes for they said that Christ ought to die by their law because he saide he was the sonne of God And the text saith when Pilate hearde that hee was afraide Marke how a poore Painym that knew not Gods word at the hearing of the name of the sonne of God is striken with feare No doubt he shall rise in iudgement against many among us that without all feare rend the name of God in peeces by swearing blaspheming cursed speaking But let all those that feare the Lorde learne to tremble and be afraide at his blessed name Thus much for the causes that moued Pilate to absolue Christ as also for the second part of Christs arraignement namely his accusation Now followes the third part which is his condemnation and that is twofolde The first by the Ecclesiasticall assembly and councell of the Iewes at Ierusalem in the high priests hall before Caiphas The tenour of his condemnation was this He hath blasphemed vvhat have we any more neede of witnesses he is worthy to die The cause why they say not he shall die but he is worthy to die is this The Iewes had two iurisdictions the one Ecclesiasticall the other civill both prescribed and distinctly executed by the commaundement of God till the time of the Machabees in which both ioyntly togither came into the haÌ„ds of the priests but afterward about the daies of Herod the great the Romane Emperour tooke away both iurisdictions from the Iewes and made their kingdome a province so as they could doe no more but apprehend accuse and imprison as doth appeare by the example of Saul who gate letters from the high priest to Damascus that if hee found any either man or woman that beleeued in Christ hee might bring them bound to Ierusalem and imprison them but kill or condemne they could not By the fact of this counsell we learne sundry points first that generall counsels and the Pope himselfe sitting iudicially in his consistorie may erre If there were any visible Church of God at that day upon the face of the whol world it was no doubt the Church of the Iewes For Caiphas the high priest was a figure of Christ the Scribes and Pharises sate in Moses chaire and Ierusalem is called by Christ the holy citie Mat. 4.5 27.53 Yet for all this that which was foretold is now verified namely that the chiefe corner stone should be reiected of master builders For by the generall consent of the councell at Ierusalem Christ the head of the Catholike Church and the redeemer of mankind is accused of blasphemy and condemned as worthy of death Wherefore it is a meere dotage of mans braine to avouch that the Pope cannot possibly erre in giuing a definitive sentence in matters either of faith or manners Neither can the Church of Rome pleade priviledge for Ierusalem had as many prerogatiues as any people in the worlde coulde haue Againe by this wee see there is no reason why wee should ascribe to any man or to oecumenicall counsels themselves absolute and soveraigne power to determine giue iudgement in matters of religion considering they are in danger to be ouertaken with notable slippes and errours And therefore the soueraigntie of iudgement is peculiar to the sonne of God who is the only doctour and law-giuer of the Church and he puts the same in execution in and by the written word As for the speech of the Papistes calling the scriptures a dumb Iudge it is little to be regarded For they are as it were the letter of the living sent from heauen to his Church upon earth and therefore the scriptures speake as plainly and as sufficiently unto vs of all matters of faith as a man can speake unto his friend by letter so be it we haue the gift of discerning Yet doe weâ— not barre the Church of God from all iudgement For the ministeriall power of giuing iudgement both publiquely and priuately is graunted 〈◊〉 of God and that is to determine and giue sentence of matters in question according to the worde as the lawyer giues iudgement not according as he wil but according to the tenour of the law Thirdly we learne that personall succession is no unfallible marke of the true faith and of true pastours vnlesse withall be ioyned succession in the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles For Caiphas held his office by succession from Aaron and yet in publike assembly condemned the Messias spoken of by Moses and the Prophets Therefore the succession of the bishops of Rome from Peter is of no moment vnlesse they can prooue that their religion is the religion of Peter which they can neuer doe And thus much for Christs first condemnation The second was by Pontius Pilate who sate in an other court as a civill iudge and the tâ—noâ—â— of his sentence was that the Iewes should take him and crucifie him Here we must consider the reasons that mooved Pilate to determine thus the first was the impatience of the Iewes he for his parte was loth to defile his hands with innocent blood but the Iewes cryed his blood be upon us and on our children which according to their wish came upon them within fewe yeres after and so remaineth still unto this day By which we are taught to take heede of imprecations against our selues our children or seruants or any other creatures for God heareth mens prayers two waies either in his mercy or in his wrath and anger If thou curse thy selfe or any other except thou turne unto the Lorde by speedie repentance hee may heare thy prayer in his wrath and verifie thy curse upon thee to thy utter confusion The second reason that mooued Pilate to condemne Christ was because he feared men more then God for being deputie vnder Tyberius Caesar ouer the province of Iudea for feare of loosing his office and of displeasing the Iewes hee condemned Christ after he had absolued him whereby wee see that it is a grieuous sinne to feare dust and ashes more then the living God And therefore S. Iohn saith that the fearefull shall have their portion in the burning lake that is such as are more afraid of man then of God And this sinne in Pilate wanted not his iust towarde for not long after hee lost his deputy-ship and Cesars favour and fledde to Vienna where liuing in banishment hee killed himselfe And thus God meetes with them that feare the creature more then the Creatour That we may therefore avoid the heauie hand of God let us learne to feare God aboue all els we shall dishonour God and shame the religion which we professe The
cunning men cunning women is that is of charmers inchanters figure casters a bad practise Christ at his ascensiō sēt his holy spirit vnto his Church people to be their guide comforter in their calamities and miseries and therefore when any man is in distresse he should haue recourse to the right meanes of comfort namely the word sacraments there he shall finde the assistance of the holy ghost Thus the prophet Isai informeth the Iewes when they shall say unto you inquire at them which haue a spirit of divination at the soothsayers which whisper and murmure Should not a people inquire at their God from the living to the dead to the law and to the testimony Rebecca when the two twinnes stroue in her womb what did she the text saith she sent to aske the Lorde Yet commonly the men of these daies leaue God seeke to the instruments of the deuill To goe yet further God useth for sundrie causes most of all to afflict his deerest children Iudgement saieth Peter beginnes at Gods house S. Luke saieth that a certaine woman was bound of satan eighteene yeeres but what was shee a daughter of Abraham that is a child of God When the like condition shall befall any of vs let us remember the end why Christ ascended up to heauen and pray unto God that hee will giue us his spirit that therby we may be eased deliuered or els inabled to perseuere and continue in patience and this is the true way and meanes to lighten and ease the burden of all afflictions And for this cause Paul prayeth that the Colossians might be strengthened with all might through his glorious power unto all patience and long suffering with ioyfulnesse For to whomsoeuer God giueth grace to beleeue to them also he giues power to suffer affliction by the inward worke of his spirite Secondly if Christ haue sent unto his church the holy spirite to be our comforter our duty is to prepare our bodies and soules to be fitte temples and houses for so worthy a guest If a man were certified that a prince would come to his house he would dresse it up haue all things in as good order as might be and shall not we much more endeauour to purifie and clense our soules and bodies from all sinne that they may be fitte temples for the entertainment of the holy ghost whom Christ Iesus hath sent to be our comforter The Shunamite was carefull to entertaine the man of God Elisha for shee saide to her husbande Let vs make him a litle chamber I pray thee with vvalles and let vs set him there a bed and a stoole a table and a candlesticke Now how much more carefull ought we be to entertaine God himselfe who is content to come and dwell with us and therefore we must adorne our bodies and soules with grace that he may lodge and suppe and dine with us as he hath promised but on the contrarie if we defile our bodies with sinne wee banish the holy ghost out of our hearts and suffer the diuell to dwell in us For the more a man defileth his bodie the fitter and cleaner it is for him And to conclude this point let us remember that saying which is used of some that Christ when hee went hence gaue us his pawne namely his spirit to assure us that hee woulde come to us againe and also hee tooke with him our pawne namely his flesh to assure us further that wee should ascend up to him Thus much for the benefites of Christes ascension Now follow the duties whereunto we are mooued and they are two First we must be here admonished to renounce the ubiquitie and the errour of the reall and essentiall presence of the bodie of Christ in the Sacrament of the Lordes supper as flatly oppugning this article of Christs ascension into heauen For it is flat against the nature of a true body to subsist in many places at once Secondly as the Apostles then did whē they saw Christ ascending up into heauen so must we do also while he was present with them they gaue him honour but when they saw him ascending they adored him with farre greater reuerence and so must we now for the same cause bow the knees of our hearts unto him Thus much of the second degree of the exaltation of Christ Now follow the third in these wordes And sitteth at the right hand of God the father almightie In the handling whereof we are first to shewe the meaning of the wordes secondly the comforts and benefits that redound to Gods Church thirdly the duties that we are mooued unto For the meaning of the wordes if we speake properly God hath neither right hand nor left neither can he be saide to sit or stand for God is not a bodie but a spirite the words therefore containe a borrowed speech from earthly kings potentates whose manner and custome hath beene to place such persons at their right hands whome they purposed to advance to any speciall office or dignitie So king Salomon when his mother came to speake with him rose up from his throne and mette her and caused a seate to be set at his owne right hand and set her upon it in token no doubt of honour which he gaue unto her To the same purpose Dauid saith Vpon thy right hand did stand the Queene in a vesture of golde And the sonnes of Zebedeus made sute to Christ that one of them might sit at his right hand and the other at his left in his kingdome Now their request was to haue the two speciall and principall dignities of his kingdome Thus we see it is manifest that the sitting at the right hand of an earthly prince signifieth aduancement into authority and honour and therefore the same phrase of speech applied to Christ signifieth two things First his full and manifest exaltation in dignitie honour and glorie and in this sense it is saide that to him is given a name that is above all names that at the name of Iesus every knee should bovve Secondly it signifieth his full and manifest exaltation into the authoritie and gouernment of his kingdome which spreadeth it selfe ouer heauen and earth So Dauid saieth The Lorde saide vnto my Lorde Sit thou at my right hand untill I make thine enimies thy footstoole Which place beeing alledged by Saint Paul repeating the wordes but changing the phrase is thus set downe He shall raigne till he have put all his enemies under his feete And to speake in breefe the scope of the wordes is to shewe that Christ God and man after his ascension is advanced to such an estate in which hee hath fulnesse of glorie power maiestie and authoritie in the presence of his father and all the saintes and holy angels Furthermore in the words three circumstances must be obserued The first is the place where Christ is thus aduāced noted in
alwaies For looke as the day and night doe one follow another so likewise in the administration of the Church here vpon earth Christ suffereth a continuall intercourse betweene peace and persecution Thus he hath done from the beginning hitherto and we may resolue our selues that so it will continue till the end and therefore it shall be good for vs in these daies of our peace to prepare our selues for troubles and afflictions and when troubles come we must still remember the fourth worke of Christ in the gouernment of his Church namely that in all daungers he will defend vs against the â—age of our enemies as well by giuing vs power streÌ„gth to beare with patience and ioy whatsoeuer shall be laide vpon vs as also bridle the rage of the world the flesh and the deuill so as they shall not be able to exercise their power and malice to the full against vs. Thus much of the dealing of Christ toward his owne Church and people Nowe followeth the second point namely his dealing toward his enemies and here by enemies I vnderaÌ„std al creatures but especially meÌ„ that as they are by nature enemies to Christ and his kingdome so they perseuere in the same enimitie vnto the end Now his dealing towards them is in his good time to work their confusion as he himselfe saith Those mine enemies that would not that I should raigne ouer them bring them hither and slay them before me And Dauid saith The Lord will bruise his enemies with a rodde of iron and breake them in pieces like a potters veâ—sell And againe I will make thine enemies thy footestoole As Iosuah dealt with the fiue kings that were hidde in the cave he first makes a slaughter of their armies then he brings them foorth and makes the people to set their feete on their neckes and to hang them on fiue trees So Christ deales with his enemies he treads them vnder his feete and makes a slaughter not so much of their bodies as of their soules And this the Church of God findes to be true by experience as wel as it findes the loue of Christ towards it selfe Now he confounds his enemies two waies The first is by hardnes of heart which ariseth when God withdraweth his grace from man and leaueth him to himself so as he goeth on forward from sinne to sinne and neuer repenteth to the last gaspe And we must esteeme of it as a most fearefull and terrible iudgement of God for when the heart is possessed there with it becomes so flintie and rebellious that a man will neuer relent and turne to God This is manifest in Pharao for though god sent most grieuous plagues both vpon him and all the land of Egypt yet would he not submit himself saue only for a fit while the haÌ„d of God was vpon him but after he returned to the former obstinacie in which he continued till he was drowned in the sea And this iudgement of God is the more fearefull because when a man is in the middest of all his miserie he feeles no miserie And as in some kinde of sicknes a man may die languishing so where hardnes of heart raignes wholly and finally a man may descend to the pit of hell triumphing and reioycing And to come neere to our selues it is to be feared least this iudgement of all iudgements be among vs in these our daies For where is any turning to God by repentance Still men goe forward in sinne without remorse We haue had the word preached among vs a long time but it taketh no place in mens hearts They are not softned with the haÌ„mer of Gods word nay they are like the smithes stithie or anvil which the more it is beate with the hammer the harder it is But in the feare of God let vs seeke to be changed and take heede the deceitfulnes of sinne is wonderfull Let vs not be caried away with an ouerweening of our selues a man may haue good gifts of God as the gift of knowledge the gift of prophecie the gift of conceiuing a praier I say not of praying truly and hereupon think himselfe in good case and yet for all this haue nothing but an impenitent flintie heart For this cause it standes euery man vpon to looke vnto it least this iudgement of God take hold on him And that we may auoide the same we must labour for two things I. to feele the heauie burden of our sinnes and be touched in conscience for them euen as we are troubled in our bodies with the aches and paines thereof this is a token of grace II. We must labour to feele in our owne soules the want of Christ we say indeede that we feele it but it is a very great matter to haue an heart that doth open it selfe and as it were gape after Christ as the drie thirstie lande where no water is Though we haue knowledge and learning neuer so much and many other gifts of God yet if we haue not broken hearts that feele the burden of our sinnes and the want of Christ and that we stand in neede of euery droppe of his blood for the washing away of all these our sinnes our case is miserable And the rather we must preueÌ„t this hardnes of heart because Christ Iesus in heauen sits at the right hand of his father in full power and authoritie to kill confound all those that be his enemies will not submit theÌ„selues to beare his yoke The second way is by finall desperation I say finall because all kinde of desperation is not euill For when a man despaireth of himselfe and of his owne power in the matter of his saluation it tends to his eternall comfort But finall desperation is when a man vtterly despaires of the pardon of his owne sinnes and of life euerlasting Examples hereof we haue in Saul that slue himselfe and in Achitophel and Iudas that hanged themselues This sinne is caused thus So many sinnes as a man committeth without repentance so many most bloodie woundes he giueth vnto his owne soule and either in death or life God makes him feele the smart and the huge weight of them all whereby the soule sinkes downe into the gulfe of despaire withou recouerie God said to Caine If thou doe amisse sinne lieth at thy dore Where he vseth a borrowed speach from wilde beasts who so long as they are sleeping stirre not but beeing awaked they flie in a mans face rend out his throat In like manner the sinnes which thou committest lie at the dore of thine heart though thou feele them not and if thou doe not preuent the daunger by speedie repentance God will make thee to feele them once before thou die and raise vp such terrours in thy conscience that thou shalt thinke thy selfe to be in hell before thou art in hell and therefore it is good for euery man to take heede howe he continues an enemie to Christ. The best course is to
ougly then any lazar man can be the contagioÌ„ thereof is so great noisome that the verie heauens which are many thousand miles distant from us are infected therwith Yet here we are to know that this fire shall not consume the substance of heauen and earth but onely change the qualitie and abolish the corruption which our sinnes haue brought upon them The fourth point to be considered is the manner of the last iudgement in which wee may obserue two things I. who shall be iudge II. the proceeding of this iudge The first is expressed in this article From thence hee shall come to iudge Hee that is Christ Iesus the second person in trinitie For the father hath committed all iudgement unto him It is indeede an action common to all the three persons in trinitie but yet the execution thereof appertaines unto the sonne The father indeed doth iudge the world but yet by the sonne But some may obiect that the Apostles shall sit on â—velve thrones and iudge the twelve tribes of Israel And S. Paul saith The saintes shall iudge the world How then is this true that Christ is the onely iudge of the world Answer The authoritie of iudgement and giuing sentence at the last day is proper to Christ alone and doth not belong either to the Apostles or to the saints and they shall iudge at the last day only as witnesses and apprpouers of Christs iudgement at the great day of assise beside the iudge the iustices on the bench are also in a maner iudges not that they giue sentence but because by their presence they approoue and witnesse the equitie of the sentence of the iudge so the definitive sentence doth belong to Christ and the Apostles and saintes doe nothing but approoue his righteous sentence The whole proceeding of the last iudgement may be reduced to seuen pointes or heades The first is the comming of the iudge in the cloudes Here at the first it may be demaunded why Christ holdes the last iudgement rather on earth then in heauen Ansvver He doth it for two causes One the creature to be iudged hath sinned here upon earth and he proceeds after the maner of earthly iudges who hold their sessions and assises there where trespasses are commonly committed The seconde because the deuill and his angels are to be iudged and it is a parte of their punishment to be cast out of heauen For no uncleane thing may come into this heauenly Ierusalem and therefore they now remaine in the lower parts of the world there must be iudged Furthermore the second comming of Christ is sudden as the comming of a thiefe in the night He will come when the worlde thinketh not of him as the snare doeth on the birde The consideration whereof must teach us the same duties which our Sauiour Christ taught the men of his time First hee teacheth them what they must not doe For hee knowing all things knewe also the disposition of mans heart and therefore saieth Take heede to your selves least at any time your hearts be oppressed vvith surfetting and drunkennesse and the cares of this life least that day come vpon you unavvares For these sinnes benumme the heart and steale away all grace This exhortation in these our daies is most needefull For mens heartes are like the smithes stiâ—hie the more they are beaten with the hammer of Gods worde the harder they are Secondly hee teacheth them what they must doe Watch therefore saieth hee and pray continually That yee may be counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to passe and that ye may stand before the sonne of man But you will say how may wee be founde worthy to stande before Christ at that day Answere Doe but this one thing for your liues past be humbled before God and come unto him by true hearty and unfained repentance be changed and become newe creatures pray unto him earnestly for the pardon of your sinnes in Christ and pray continually that God will turne your heartes from your olde sinnes euerie day more and more and then come the last iudgement when it will ye shall be founde worthy to stand before Christ at his comming The repentant sinner is hee that shall finde fauour in the sight of God at that day The consideration hereof may mooue us to change our liues Those which were neuer yet humbled for their sinnes let them now begin and those which haue alreadie begon let them goe forwarde and continue But the deuill will crie in the hearts of some men that this exhortation is as yet needelesse for the day of iudgement is not neare because all the signes thereof are not yet passed Answere Suppose the day of iudgement be farre off yet the day of thy death can not be so for the common saying is true to day a man to morrow none Now looke as death leaveth thee so shall the day of iudgement finde thee Impenitent Cain died long since and yet the day of iudgement when it commeth shall finde him impenitent still The same thing may be saide of Saul Achitophel and Iudas They died desperately and impenitent and the Lord shall finde them so at his comming So it will be with thee whatsoeuer thou art that repentest not Death may come upon thee the next day or the next houre therefore watch and pray Prepare thy selfe against the day of death that at the day of iudgement thou maiest be â—ounde worthy to obtaine fauour in the sight of the Lorde Securitie doeth ouerwhelme the vvorlde but let us for our parts learne to prepare our selues daily For if the day of death do leaue thee unworthy then the Lord Iesus at his comming shall find thee unworthy and the deuill shal stand before thee accuse thee thy conscience shall condemne thee hell shalbe ready to swallow thee up If this admonition take no place in thy heart then at the day of iudgement it shall stand against thee and be a bill of inditement to thy further condemnation The second point followeth that Christ after that hee is come in the cloudes shall sit in a throne of glorie as the soueraigne iudge of heauen and earth after the manner of earthly kings who when they will shew themselues unto their subiectes in maiestie power and glorie use to ascende into the thrones of their kingdomes and there to shewe themselues and appeare in state vnto all the people Now what this throne is and how Christ sittes in the same the scripture hath not revealed and therefore I will not stand to search Yet here must we further marke that this appearance of his in endlesse glory and maiestie shalbe most terrible and dreadfull to the ungodly and therefore in Daniel his throne is said to be like a flame of fire and at the verie sight hereof men shall desire the mountaines to fall upon them and the hilles to couer them The third point is the citing of all men and of
the angels before his maiestie in that daie there to answer for themselues This citing shall be done by the voice of Christ as he himselfe saith In that day all that are in the graues shall heare his voice and they shall come forth And here we are to consider two things I. the power of this voice II. the ministerie whereby it shall be uttered For the first No doubt the power of this voice shall be unspeakable and therefore it is compared to a trumpet the loudest and shrillest of all musicall instrumentes and to the crie of the mariners whose manner hath bene in the doing of any businesse with all their strength at one instant to make a common shout And sensible experience shall manifest the force thereof For it shall cause all the deade euen from the beginning of the worlde to rise againe though they haue lien rotten in the earth many thousande yeres and all uncleane spirites shall be forced and compelled will they nill they to come before Christ who shalbe unto them a most fearefull and terrible iudge neither man nor angell shal be able to absent or hide himselfe all without exception must appeare as well high as low rich as poore none shalbe able to withdraw themselues no not the mightie Monarches of the earth Furthermore this voice shall be uttered by angels As in the Church Christ useth men as his ministers by whome he speakes unto his people so at the last day he shall use the ministerie of angels whome hee shall sende forth into the foure windes to gather his elect togither and therefore it is likely that this voice shalbe uttered by them And by this which hath bene saide we must be mooued to make conscience of all sinne For there is no avoiding of this iudgement we can not absent our selues no excuse will serue the turne euen the most rebellious of all creatures whether mā or angell shall be forced to appeare and therefore it stands us in hand while wee haue time in this life to looke unto our estates and to practise the duties of Christianitie that when we shall be cited before his glorious maiestie at the last day we may be cleared and absolued The fourth point is the separation of the sheepe from the goates the good from the bad for when all the kinreds of the earth all uncleane spirits shall stand before Christ sitting in the throne of his glorie then as a good shepheard hee shall separate them one from another the righteous from the wicked the elect from the reprobate He which knoweth the heartes of all men knoweth also how to doe this and he will doe it This full and finall separation is reserued to Christ and shall not be accomplished till the last day For so it is in the parable that the tares must grow with the wheate till haruest and then the reapers must separate them and gather the wheate into the barne but the tares must be burned with unquenchable fire By the consideration of this one point wee learne diuers things I. that in the Church of God in this world good and badde are mingled togither elect and reprobate and we are not to imagine any perfection of the Church of God upon earth as many haue dreamed which when they could not find they haue therefore forsaken all assemblies I confesse indeede that the preaching of the word is the Lords fanne whereby he clenseth his Church in part but yet the finishing of this worke shall not be before the last iudgement For when the ministers of God haue done all that they can yet shall the wicked be mingled with the godly Therefore the Church is compared to a barne store where is both wheate and chaffe a corne field where there is both tares and good corne and a draw net wherein is both good fish and bad Secondly whereas this separation must not be before the end of the world hence we learne the state of Gods church in this life It is like a flock of sheep mingled with goates therefore the condition of Gods people in this worlde is to be troubled many waies by those with whome they liue For goates use to strike the sheepe to annoy their pasture to make their water muddie that they can not drinke of it therefore wee must prepare our selues to beare all annoiances crosses and calamities that shall befall us in this world by the wicked ones among whome we liue Thirdly we are taught that howsoeuer the goates and the sheepe be very like feed in one pasture lie in one fold all their life time yet Christ can will seuer them asunder at the last day Therefore considering as wee are borne of Adam wee haue the nature of the goate yea of the wild beast not of the sheep it stands us in hand to lay aside our goatish conditions and to take unto us the properties of the sheepe of Christ which hee expresseth in these wordes My sheepe saith he heare my voice I know them they follow me And the properties are three to know him to be known of him and to follow him namely in obedience and he that finds them all in himselfe weareth the brand and marke of the true sheepe of Christ but contrariwise they that make profession of Christ yet therewithall ioyne not obedience howsoeuer the worlde may account of them they are but goates no sheep Let us therefore with the knowledge of Christ ioyne obedience to his word that when the day shall come that the goats must be separated from the sheep we may be found to be in the nūber of the true sheep of Christ. Wee may deceiue men both in life death beare them in hand that we are sheepe but when the iudgement shall come we can not deceiue Christ he it is that formed us he knowes our harts therfore cā easily discern what we are The fift thing is the triall of euery mans particular cause a point especially to be considered For as at the barre of an earthly iudge the malefactour is brought out of prison and set before the iudge and there examined euen so in that great day shall euery man without exception be brought before the Lord to be tried But how shal this trial be made Ans. By workes as the Apostle saith Wee must all appeare before the iudgement seate of Christ that every man may receiue the thinges vvhich are done in his body according to that hee hath done whether it be good or evil And the reason is because workes are the outward signes of inward grace and godlinesse And though we be iustified by faith alone without workes yet may we be iudged both by faith and workes For the last iudgement doeth not serue to make men iust that are not but onely to manifest them to be iust indeed which were iust before and in this life truely iustified The consideration of this very
point should moue us all to repent us of our sins past to reforme our selues throughout to be plentifull in all good works And undoubtedly if wee seriously thinke upon it it will holde us more straitly to all good duties then if with the Papistes we held iustification by workes Furthermore in this triall tvvo things must be skanned I. how all mens workes shall be made manifest II. by what meanes they shall be examined Of the manifestation of euery mans vvork S. Iohn speaketh And I saw saith he the deade both great and small stande before God and the bookes were opened and another booke was opened which is the booke of life and the dead were iudged of these things which vvere written in the bookes according to their workes God is saide to haue books not properly but because al things are as certen and manifest to him as if he had his Registers in heauen to keepe rolles and recordes of them His bookes are three the book of Prouidence the book of Iudgement the book of Life The book of his providence is the knowledge of all particular things past present to come Of this the Psalmist speaketh Thine eyes did see me when I vvas vvithout forme for in thy booke vvere all things vvritten vvhich in continuance vvere fashioned vvhen there was none of them before The booke of iudgement is that whereby he giues iudgement and it is two-folde The first is Gods knowledge or prescience in which all the affaires of men their thoughts wordes and deedes are as certenly knowen and set downe as if they were put in bookes of record Wee may forget our sinnes but God keepes them in a register he knovves them euery one The seconde booke is euery mans particular conscience which also brings to remembrence and testifies what men haue done and what they haue not done The booke of life is nothing els but the decree of Gods election in which God hath set downe who be ordained to life eternall Now the opening of these bookes is a thing wherin the endlesse power of God shall most notably shewe it selfe For when we shall stand before the iudgement seate of Christ he then knowing all things in his eternall counsell shall reueale unto euery man his owne particular sinnes whether they were in thought worde or deede and then also by his mightie power hee shall so touch mens consciences that they shall a fresh remember what they haue done Now indeede the wicked mans conscience is shut up as a closed booke but then it shall be so touched and as it were opened that he shall plainly see and remember all the particular offences which at any time he hath committed his very coÌ„science shall be as good as a thousand witnesses whereupon hee shall accuse and utterly condemne himselfe The consideration of this ought to terrifie all those that liue in their sinnes For howsoeuer they may hide them from the worlde yet at the last day God will be sure to reveale them all Now after that mens workes are made manifest they must further be tried whether they be good or euill And that shall be done on this maner They that neuer heard of Christ must be tried by the law of nature which serues to make them inexcusable before God As for those that liue in the Church they shall be tried by the Law and the Gospell as Paul saith As many as have lived in the law shall be iudged by the law And againe At the day of iudgement God shall iudge the secrets of our hearts according to his gospell And By faith Noah builded an arke whereby he condemned the olde world If this be true then we must in the feare of God heare his word preached taught with all reuerence make coÌ„science to profit by it For otherwise in the day of iudgement when all our workes shalbe tried by it the same word of God shall be a bill of indiâ—ement and the fearefull sentence of condemnation against us Therefore let us be humbled by the doctrine of the lawe and willingly embrace the sweete promises of the gospell considering it is the onely touchstone whereby all our wordes thoughts workes must be examined The sixt pointe in the proceeding of the last iudgement is the giuing of sentence which is twofolde the sentence of absolution and the sentence of condemnation both which are to be obserued diligently that we may receiue profit therby And first of al Christ shal begin his iudgemeÌ„t with the seÌ„teÌ„ce of absolutioÌ„ which shews that he is ready to shew mercy slow to wrath In this sentence wee are to consider foure pointes I. a calling of the elect to the kingdome of heauen II. the reason thereof III. a reply of the elect IV. the answere of Christ to them againe The calling of the elect is set downe in these wordes Come yee blessed of my father inherit the kingdome prepared for you from the beginning of the world And the wordes are to be obserued one by one Come ye blessed Though Christ now sit in glorie and maiestie in iudgement yet hee ceaseth not to shew his tender affection of loue unto his chosen And this ouerthroweth the opinion of the Church of Rome which would haue us rather to come vnto Christ by the intercession of saints then by our selues immediatly because he is now exalted in glorie and maiestie But mark when he was heare on earth hee saide Come vnto me all yee that are heavy laden and I vvill ease you And when hee shall be most glorious in maiestie and power at the day of iudgement hee will then also say Come ye blessed of my father and therfore we may resolue our selues that it is his will now that we should come unto him without any intercessioÌ„ of saints Yee blessed of my father The elect are here called the blessed of God because their righteousnes saluation and all that they haue springs of the meere blessing of God Nothing therefore must be ascribed to the workes of man Inherit that is receiue as your inheritance therefore the kingdome of heauen is Gods meere gifte A father giueth no inheritance unto his sonne of merite but of his free gifte whereupon it followes that no man can merit the kingdome of heauen by his workes The kingdome that is the eternall estate of glorie and happinesse in heauen therfore in this life we must so use this worlde as though we used it not all that we haue here is but vaine and transitorie and all our studie and endeauour must be to come to the kingdome of heauen Prepared Here note the unspeakeable care of God for the faithfull Had he such care to prouide a kingdome for his children before they were then wee may assure our selues he will haue greater care ouer them now when they haue a being For you that is for the elect and faithfull Hence it appeares that there is no uniuersall election whereby God decrees
that all and euery man shal be saued Indeed if he had said Come ye blessed of my father inherite the kingdome prepared for all but received of you it had beene something but he saieth onely Prepared for you and therefore all were not chosen to saluation The reason of this calling is taken from workes as from signes in these wordes For I vvas hungry and yee gave mee meate c. When he saith for I was hungry hee meanes his poore members upon earth and thereby he signifies unto us that the miseries of his members are his owne miseries Thus the Lord saith in Zachary He which toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eye And when Saul was going to persecute them that called on the name of Christ in Damascus hee cried from heauen Saul Saul why persecutest thou me And this is a notable comfort to Gods Church and people that they haue an high priest that is touched with the feeling of our infirmities and if hee accompt our miseries his owne miseries then no doubt hee will pity our estate and make us able to beare the worst And yee gave mee meate Here wee note that the principall workes of men are those which are done to the poore members of Christ wee are indeed to helpe all in as much as they are our verie flesh and the creatures of God the rule of S. Paul being remembred Doe good to all but especially to those that are of the houshold of faith Many are of mind that the best works are to build Churches Monasteries but Christ tells us here that the best work of all is to relieue those that be the liuing members of his mysticall body The third point is the reply of the saints to Christ againe in these wordes Lorde when saw we thee an hungred and fed thee c. They doe not denie that which Christ auouched but doe as I take it standing before the tribunall seat of God humble themselues hauing stil an after consideration of the infirmities and offences of their liues past Here note then that it is a Satanicall practise for a man to bragge of workes and to stand upon them in the matter of iustification before God And wee must rather doe as the saintes of God doe abase our selues in regard of our sinnes past The last point is the answere of Christ to them againe in these wordes Verily I say unto you in as much as yee did it to the least of these my breethren you did it to me A most notable sentence and it serueth to teach us how wee should and ought to behaue our selues in doing workes of mercie which are duties to bee perfourmed in this life We are not to doe them of any sinister respect as for praise of men or commodity but wee must propound unto our selues the party to whome wee doe any good and in him looke on Christ and so doe it as unto Christ and for Christes sake onely and this is a good worke indeede Christ saith Whosoever shall give a cup of cold water to a disciple in the name of a disciple shall not loose his reward It is but a small gift but yet the maner of doing it namely in the name of a disciple that is in respect that he is a member of Christ doth make it an excellent worke of mercie It is a speciall marke of a childe of God to shew mercy on a christian because he is a christian If any would know whether he be a christian or no let him search himselfe whether he loue a man and can doe good unto him because he is a childe of God and a member of Christ For this is a plaine argument that he also is the childe of God Many can loue because they are loued againe but to loâ—e for Christ his sake is a worke of Christ in us and a speciall gift of God The sentence of condemnation followes in the seconde place and it containes foure points I. the reiection of the ungooly II. the reason of their reiection III. the defence which the wicked make for themselues lastly the answere of Christ to them againe The reiection of the wicked is uttered by a terrible sentence Away from mee yee cursed into hell fire The use hereof in generall is twofold First it serves to awake and excite all men and women in the worlde whosoeuer they be that shall heare it to looke unto their owne estates It is wonderfull to see what great securitie reigneth euery where in these our daies Men goe on in sinne from day to day and from yere to yere without repentance nothing at all fearing the sentence of condemnation at the last day like unto many which for the obtaining of other mens goods are neither by the feare of arraignment or imprisonment kept in good order The occasions of securitie are twofolde I. the prosperitie of the wicked who of all men liue most at ease without trouble either in body or in minde II. Gods patience and long suffering as Salomon saith Because sentence against an evill worke is not executed speedily therefore the hearts of the children of men is fully set in them to doe evill But to avvake all those which liue in this securitie they must remember that howsoeuer the Lord God doth now deferre his iudgement yet there is a day wherin he wil no way shew mercy long suffering when they shall heare this fearfull senteÌ„ce of condeÌ„nation pronounced against them Away from me yeâ— cursed The second use is to the godly It serues to nurture them to keep theÌ„ in awe before god no doubt this was a principall cause why this sentence was here penned by the holy ghost A wise master of a family will checke his seruant and if the cause require correct him in his childes presence that the childe it selfe may learne thereby to feare and stand in awe of his father so Christ the most carefull and wise gouernour of his Church hath set downe this sentence of condemnation against the wicked that the children of God in this world whensoeuer they shall heare or reade the same might be mooued thereby to stande in great feare of God and more dutifully perfourme obedience to his commaundements Away from me Here wee may learne what a blessed thing it is for a man to haue true fellowship with Christ in this worlde For in the day of iudgement the punishment of the wicked is to be cut off from him and driuen away from his presence Now hee that would haue fellowship with God after this life and escape that punishment must seeke to haue it in this life and hee that will not seeke to haue fellowship with him in this life shal neuer haue it after in the day of iudgement Again let us mark that it is nothing to draw nere unto Christ with our lippes if the heart be not with him for such as come nere with the lippe and haue kept aloofe in the heart
shall heare the sentence pronounced Away fâ—om me ye cursed shall be seuered as farre from Christ as hell from heauen Therefore let us not content our selues with formall profession but open the dores of our heartes that the king of glory may come in Yee cursed They are cursed who are borne in sinne and liue in their sinnes and all the daies of their liues so perseuere to the last gaspe without seeking recouerie Whosoeuer he be that is in this estate the curse of God hangeth ouer his head and will so do till hee get reconciliation with God in Christ. This being so aboue all things in this world we must labor to be at peace with God and neuer cease nor be quiet with our selues till we haue the same wrought and sealed in our hearts For before such time as we be in Gods fauour his fearfull curse hangs ouer our heads if we so perseuere without repentance the day will come when we shall heare this fearefull sentence pronounced against us Away from me ye cursed into hell fire What hell fire is we must not curiously search but rather giue our whole endeauour to learne how we may auoid it as when a mans house is on fire his care must be not to search how it came but rather how to quench it yet we are to know thus much that by hell fire is not meant any bodily flame but it signifies the seazing of the fearful terrible wrath of God both on body and soule for euer For howsoeuer the body be subiect to burning with fire yet the soule being spiritual can not burn therfore hell fire is not a materiall fire but a grieuous tormeÌ„t fit resembled therby Prepared for the divell and his angels There is in euery maÌ„s heart by nature this corruption whereby when he sinneth he thinkes that there is no daunger but all is well having as Esai saieth made a covenat with hell But here consider that although the deuill was once an angell of light yet when he had sinned he could not escape hell it was prepared euen for him Now then shall ungodly men which are not halfe so wily thinke to escape Nowe followeth the reason of their reiection in these wordes For I was an hungred and ye gave me no meate c. Hence we learne these two points I. that all mans religioÌ„ seruing of God is in vaine if so be we shew no coÌ„passion towarde the poore members of Christ in feeding clothing lodging visiting of them For we must thinke that many of those against whom this reason shalbe brought did know religioÌ„ professe the same yea they prophesied in the name of Christ called on him saying Lord Lord yet the sentence of condemnation goeth against them because they shewed no coÌ„passion toward the meÌ„bers of Christ therfore it is a principall vertue a speciall note of a christian to shew the bowels of coÌ„passion towardes his needy breethren Here againe we note that it is not sufficient for us to abstaine froÌ„ euil but we must also do good For it is not said I was an hungred and ye tooke meate from me but When I was huÌ„gry ye gave me no meat They are not charged with doing euill but for not doing good S. Iohn saith The axe is laid to the root of the tree the reason followes not because the tree bare euil fruite but because it bare not good fruit therfore it must be cast into the fire This condemnes a bad opinion of all worldly men who thinke that all is well that God will be mercifull unto them because they do no man harme Thus we see how the deuill blindes the eyes of men for it will not stand for paiment at the day of iudgement to say I haue hurt no man unlesse we further doe all the good we can The third point is the defence which impenitent sinners make for themselues in these wordes Lorde when saw we thee an hungred or thirstie or naked or in prison or sicke and did not minister unto thee Thus in their owne defence that which Christ saith they gainsay iustifie themselues Here mark the nature of all impenitent sinners which is to sooth flatter theÌ„selues in sinne to maintaine their own righteousnes like to the proude Pharisie in his praier who bragged of his goodnes said Lord I thanke thee that I am not as other men are extortioners c. and in the very same manner ignorant persons of all sortes among us iustifie themselues in their strong faith and bragge of their zeale of gods glory and of their loue to their brethren and yet indeede shew no signes thereof And truly wee are not to maruell when we se such persons to iustifie themselues before men whereas they shall not be ashamed to doe it at the day of iudgement before the Lord Iesus himselfe The last point is Christes answere to them againe in these wordes Verily I say vnto you in as much as yee did it not to one of the least of these yee did it not to me This sentence beeing repeated againe doeth teach us the lesson which wee learned before that when wee are to shewe compassion to any man especially if hee be a member of Gods Church we must not coÌ„sider his outward estate or his basenesse in that he vvantes foode or raiment but beholde Christ in him not respecting him as a man but as a member of Christ. This it is that must mooue us to compassion and cause us to make a supply of his wants more theÌ„ any respect in the worlde besides And surely when Christ in his members comes to our doâ—es and complaines that he is hungry and sicke and naked if our bowels came not towardes him there is not so much as a dramine of the loue of God in vs. The seventh point in the proceeding of the last iudgement is the retribution or reward in these words and they shall goe into everlasting paine and the righteous into life eternall How doe the wicked enter into hell and the godly into heaven Answ. By the powerfull commaunding voice of Christ which is of that force that neither the greatest rebell that euer was among men nor all the diuels in hell shal be able to withstand it And seeing that after the day of iudgement we must remaine for euer either in heauen or in hell we are to looke about us and to take heede unto our hearts Indeed if the time vvere but a thousand or two thousand yeres then with more reason men might take libertie to themselues but seeing it is without end we must be most carefull through the whole course of our lives so to liue behaue our selues that when the day of iudgement shall come we may auoid that fearful senteÌ„ce of euerlasting woe condeÌ„nation which shalbe pronounced against the wicked And wheras all wicked men shall go to hell at Christs commandement it teacheth us willingly
other whereas God conceiues all things at once with one acte of vnderstanding and all things both past and to come are present with him and therefore in his eternall counsell he decrees not one thing after an other but all things at once Neuerthelesse for our vnderstandings sake we may distinguish the counsell of God concerning man into two acts or degrees the first is the purpose of God in him selfe in which he determines what he will doe and the end of all his doings and that is to create all things specially man for his owne glorie partly by shewing on some men his mercie and vpon others his iustice The second is an other purpose whereby he decrees the exequution of the former and laies downe meanes of accomplishing the ende thereof These two acts of the counsell of God are not to be seuered in any wise nor confounded but distinctly considered with some difference For in the first God decrees some men to honour and some to dishonour and this man more then that vpon his will and pleasure and there is no other cause hereof knowne to vs. In the second knowne and manifest causes are set downe of the exequution of the former decree For no man is actually condemned but for their sinnes and no man is actually saued but for the merit of Christ. Furthermore this latter acte of the counsell of God must be conceiued of vs in the second place and not in the first For euermore the first thing to be intended is the ende it selfe and then afterward the subordinate meanes and causes whereby the end is accomplished Againe the second acte of Gods counsell containes two other one which sets downe the preparation of the means whereby Gods Predestination begins to come in exequution and they are two the creation of man righteous after the image of God the voluntarie fall of Adam and withall the shutting vp of all men vnder damnation the other appoints the applying of the seuerall meanes to the persons of men that Gods decree which was set downe before all times may in time be fully accomplished as shall afterward in particular appeare Predestination hath two parts the Decree of Election the Decree of Reprobation or No-election This diuision is plaine by that which hath bene said out of the 9. cap. to the Rom. and it may be further confirmed by other testimonies Of some it is said that the Lord knowes who are his and of some others Christ shall say in the day of iudgement J neuer knew you In the Acts it is said that as many of the Gentiles as were ordâ—ined to life euerlasting beleeued And Iude saith of false prophets that they were ordained to condemnation In handling the decree of Election I will consider three things I. what Election is II. the exequution thereof III. the knowledge of particular Election For the first Gods Election is a decree in which according to the good pleasure of his will he hath certenly chosen some meÌ„ to life eternal in Christ for the praise of the glorie of his grace This is the same which Paul saith to the Ephesians God hath chosen vs in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in loue who hath predestinate vs to be adopted through Jesus Christ vnto himselfe according to the good pleasure of his will Nowe that we may the better conceiue this doctrine let vs come to a consideration of the seuerall points thereof First of all I say Election is Gods decree For there is nothing in the world that comes to pasâ—e either vniuersally or particularly without the eternall vnchangeable decree of God And therefore whereas men are actually chosen brought to life euerlasting it is because God did purpose with himselfe and decree the same before all worlds Now touching the decree it selfe sixe things are to be obserued The first what was the motiue or impulsiue cause that mooued God to decree the saluation of any maÌ„ Answer The good pleasure of God For Paul saith he will haue mercie on whome he will haue mercie and he hath predestinate vs according to the good pleasure of God As for the opinion of them that say that foreseene faith and good workes are the cause that mooued God to choose men to saluatioÌ„ it is friuolous For faith and good works are the fruits and effects of Gods election Paul saith he hath chosen vs not because he did foresee that we would become holy but that we might be holy And he hath predestinate vs to adoption Which is all one as if he had said he hath predestinate vs to beleeue because adoption comes by beleeuing Now if men are elected that they might beleeue then are they not elected because they would beleeue For it can not be that one thing should be both the cause the effect of another The second point is that Gods ElectioÌ„ is vnchangeable so as they which are indeed chosen to saluation can not perish but shall without faile attaine to life euerlasting Paul takes it for a conclusion that the purpose of God according to Election must remaine firme and sure and againe that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance And Samuel saith The strength of Israel will not lie or repent For he is not a man that he should repent Such as Gods nature is such is his will and counsell but his nature is vnchangeable I am Iehovah saith he and I chaunge not therefore his will likewise and his counsells be vnchangeable And therefore whensoeuer the spirit of God shall testifie vnto our spirits that we are iustified in Christ and chosen to saluation it must be a meanes to comfort vs and to stablish our hearts in the loue of God As for the opinion of them that say the Elect may fall from grace and be damned it is full of hellish discomfort and no doubt from the deuill And the reasons commonly alleadged for this purpose are of no moment as may appeare by the skanning of them First they obiect that the Churches of the Ephesians Thessalonians and the dispersed Iewes are all called Elect by the Apostles themselues yet sundrie of them afterward fell away Answ. I. There are two kinds of iudgemeÌ„t to be giuen of men the iudgement of certentie the iudgement of charitie By the first indeed is giuen an infallible determination of any mans Election but it belongs vnto God principally properly to men but in part namely so farforth as God shal reueale the estate of one man vnto an other Now the iudgement of charitie belongs vnto all men by it leauing all secret iudgemeÌ„ts vnto God we are charitably to think that al those that liue in the Church of God professing themselues to be members of Christ are indeede elect to saluation till God make manifest otherwise And on this manner not otherwise do the Apostles cal whole
execration Mara-natha that is pronounced accursed to euerlasting destruction Whence it appeares that the Church hath power to pronounce men reiected to euerlasting damnation upon some special occasions though I dare not say ordinarily and usually The primitiue Church with one consent praied against Iulian the Apostata the praiers made were not in vaine as appeared by his fearefull end As for priuate and ordinary men for the tempering and rectifying of their iudgements in this case they must follow two rules The one is that euerie member of the Church is bound to beleeue his owne election It is the commandement of God binding the very conscience that we should beleeue in Christ Now to beleeue in Christ is not onely to put our affiance in him and to be resolued that we are iustified and sanctified and shalbe glorified by him but also that we were elect to saluatioa in him before the beginning of the world which is the foundation of the rest Againe if of things that haue necessarie dependance one upon another we are to beleeue the one then we are to beleeue the other Now electiō adoptiō are things conioyned the one necessarily dependes upon the other For all the elect as Paul saith are predestinate to adoption wee are to beleeue our owne adoption therefore also our election The second rule is that concerning the persons of those that be of the Church wee must put in practise the iudgement of charitie that is to esteeme of them as of the elect of God till God make manifest otherwise By vertue of this rule the ministers of Gods word are to publish and preach the Gospell to all without exceptiō It is true indeed there is both wheat darnell in Gods field chaffe corne in Gods barne fish drosse in Gods net sheep goates in Christs fold but secret iudgements belong unto God and the rule of loue which is to thinke and wish the best of others is to be followed of us that professe faith working by loue It may be demanded what we are to iudge of them that as yet are enemies of Christ. Ans. Our duty is to suspēd our iudgements concerning their finall estate for we know not whether God will call them or no and therefore we must rather pray for their conversion then for their confusion Againe it may be demanded what is to be thought of all our ancetours forefathers that liued died in the times whē Popery took place Ans. We may well hope the best thinke that they were saued for though the Papacie be not the Church of God and though the doctrine of popery race the foundation yet neuerthelesse in the very midst of the Romane papacie God hath alwaies had a remnant which haue in some measure truly serued him In the olde Testament when open idolatrie took place in all Israel God saith to Eliah I have reserved 7. thousand to my self that never bowed knee to Baal the like is hath bin in the generall apostasie under Antichrist S. Iohn saith that when the woman fled into the vvildernes for a time euen then there was a remnant of her seed which kept the cōmandements of God have testimony of Iesus Christ. And againe when ordinary meanes of saluation faile then God can doth make a supply by means extraordinary therfore there is no cause why we should say that they were condemned Thirdly it may be demāded whether the cōmō iudgemēt giuen of F. Spira that hee is a reprobate be good or no Ans. we may with better warrāt say no then any mā say yea For what gifts of discerning had they which came to visit him in his extremitie what reasons induced them to giue this peremptorie iudgement He said himselfe that he was a reprobate that is nothing a sick mans iudgement of himselfe is not to be regarded Yea but he despaired a senslesse reasō for so doth many a man yeere by yeere that very often as deeply as euer Spira did yet by the good help of the ministery of the worde both are may be recouered And they which wil auouch Spira to be a reprobate must go further prooue 2. things that he despaired both wholly and finally which if they can not proue we for our parts must suspende our iudgementes and they were much to blame that first published the booke Lastly it may be demādend what is to be thought of thē that make very fearful ends in rauing blaspheming Ans. Such strāge behauiours are oftētimes the fruites of violent diseases which torment the body bereaue the minde of sense reason therfore if the persons liued wel we must thinke the best for we are not by outward things to iudge of the estate of any man Salomon saith that all things come alike to all the same condition to the iust to the wicked Thus much of the parts of predestination Now followes the use thereof it concernes partly our iudgemēts partly our affectiōs partly our liues The uses which concerne iudgement are 3. And first by the doctrine of predestinatiō we learne that there cā not be any iustification of a sinner before God by his workes For Gods election is the cause of iustification because whome God electeth to saluation after this life them he electeth to be iustified in this life Now election it selfe is of grace and of grace alone as Paul saieth Election is by grace and if it be of grace it is no more of workes or else were grace no grace therefore iustification is of grace and of grace alone And I reason thus The cause of a cause is the cause of all things caused but grace alone is the cause of predestination which is the cause of our vocation iustification sanctification c. Grace therefore is also the alone cause of all these Therefore the scriptures ascribe not onely the beginning but also the continuāce accomplishment of all our happinesse to grace For first as election so vocation is of grace Paul saieth God hath called vs not according to our vvorkes but according to his purpose and grace Againe faith in Christ is of grace So it is saide To you it is given to beleeve in Christ. Also the iustification of a sinner is of grace So Paul saieth plainely to the Romanes you are iustified freely by his grace Againe sanctification and the doing of good workes is of grace So it is saide Wee are his vvorkemanshippe created in Christ Iesus vnto good vvorkes vvhich God hath ordained that vvee shoulde vvalke in them Also perseverance in good workes and godlinesse is of grace So the Lorde saieth I vvill make an everlasting covenant vvith them that I will neuer turne avvay from them to doe them good but I will put my feare in their heartes that they shall not depart from mee Lastly life euerlasting is of grace So Paul saieth Life everlasting
but if God leaue vs to our selues we shal not onely betray him but by our sinnes euen crucifie him a thousand waies Furthermore let vs bethinke our selues of this whether there be not alreadie condemned in hel who in their liues were not more grieuous offendours then we Esay calleth the people of his time a people of Sodom Gomorrha giuing the Iewes then liuing to vnderstād that they were as bad as the Sodomites as the people of Gomorrha on whome the Lord had shewed his iudgements long before If this be true then let vs with feare and trembling be thākful to his maiestie that he hath preserued vs hitherto frō deserued dānation The vses which respects our liues and conuersations are manifold First seeing God hath elected some to saluation and hath also laid downe the meanes in his holy worde whereby we may come to the knowledge of our particular election we must therefore as Saint Paul counselleth vs giue all diligence to make our election sure In the world men are carefull and painefull ynough to make assurance of lands and goods to themselues and their posteritie what a shame is it then for vs that we should be slacke in making sure to our selues the election of God which is more worth then all the world beside and if we shall continue to be slacke herein the leases of our lands and houses and all other temporall assurances shall be billes of accusation against vs at the day of iudgement to condemne vs. Secondly by this doctrine we are taught to liue godly and righteously in this present world because all those whome God hath chosen to saluation he hath also appointed to liue in newnes of life as Saint Paul saith God hath chosen vs in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him And againe We are created in Christ Iesus vnto good workes which God hath ordained that we should walke in them And God hath chosen you to saluation through sanctification of the spirite and faith of the truth The Elect are vessells of honour and therefore all those that will be of the number of the Elect must carrie themselues as vessells of honour For so long as they lie in their sinnes they be like vessells of dishonour imploying themselues to the most base seruice that can be euen to the seruice of the deuill The sunne was ordained to shine in the day and the moone in the night and that order they keepe yea euery creature in his kind obserueth the course appointed vnto it by creation as the grasse to grow and trees to bring forth fruit now the elect were ordained to this ende to lead a godly life and therefore if we would either perswade our selues or the world that we are indeede chosen to saluation we must be plentifull in all good works make conscience of euery euill way and to doe otherwise is as much as to chaunge the order of nature and as if the sunne should cease to shine by day and the moone by night Thirdly when God shall send vpon any of vs in this world crosses and afflictions either in bodie or in minde or any way else as this life is the vaile of miserie and teares and iudgement must begin at Gods house we must learne to beare them with all submission and contentation of mind For whome God knew before them he hath predestinate to be made like vnto his sonne But wherein is this likenes Paul saith in the fellowship of his afflictions and in a conformitie to his death And the consideration of this that afflictions were ordained for vs in the eternal predestination of God must comfort our hearts and restraine our impatience so oft as we shall goe vnder the burden of them Hence againe we learne that they which perswade themselues that they are in the fauour of God because they liue at ease in wealth and prosperitie are farre deceiued For Saint Paul saith God suffereth with long patience the vessells of wrath prepared to destruction to make knowne his power and to shew forth his wrath on them Which beeing so then no man by outward blessings ought to plead that he hath the loue of God Sheepe that goe in fat pastures come sooner to the slaughterhouse then those which are kept vpon the bare 〈◊〉 and they which are pampered with the wealth of this worlde sooner forsake God and therefore are sooner forsaken of God then others Salomon saith No man knoweth loue or hatred that is by outward things for all things come alike to all the same condition is to the iust and to the vniust to the wicked and good to the pure and polluted Lastly it may be an offence vnto vs when we consider that the doctrine of the Gospel is either not knowne or else despised and persecuted of the whole world but we must stay our selues with this consideration that nothing comes to passe by chance that God knowes who are his and that there must be some in the world on whome God hath in his eternall counsell purposed to manifest his power and iustice Againe Ministers of the Gospell may be discouraged when after long preaching they see little or no fruit of their labours the people whome they teach remaining as blinde impenitent and vnreformed as euer they were But they must also consider that it is the purpose of God to chose some to saluation and to refuse others and that of the first some are called sooner some later and that the second being left to themselues neuer come to repentance To this Paul had regard when he saide If our Gospell be hid it is hid to them that perish And againe We are vnto God the sweete sauour of Christ in them that are saued and in them that perish Hitherto I haue deliuered the truth of this weightie point of religion which also is the doctrine of the Church of England now it followeth that wee should consider the falshoode Sundrie Divines haue deuised and in their writings published a new frame or platforme of the doctrine of Predestination the effect and substance whereof is this The nature of God say they is infinite loue goodnes and mercie it selfe and therefore he propoundes vnto himselfe an ende answearable thereunto and that is the communication of his loue and goodnes vnto all his creatures Now for the accomplishing of this supreame absolute ende he did foure things First he decreed to create man righteous in his own image secondly he foresaw the fall of man after his creatiō yet so as he neither willed nor decreed it thirdly he decreed the vniuersall Redemption of all euery man effectually by Christ so be it they wil beleeue in him fourthly he decreed to call all euery man effectually so as if they will they may be saued This being done he in his eternall counsell foreseeing who would beleeue in Christ did thereupon Elect them
the Passeouer he made a supplie by Manna and by the pillar of a cloude Hence we haue direction to answeare the Papists who demaunde of vs where our Church was threescore yeares agoe before the daies of Luther we say that then for the space of many hundred yeares an vniuersall Apostasie ouerspread the face of the whole earth and that our Church then was not visible to the worlde but lay hidde vnder the chaffe of Poperie And the truth of this the Records of all ages manifest The second estate of the Church is when it flourisheth and is visible nor that the faith and secret Election of men can be seene for no man can discerne these thinges but by outward signes but because it is apparant in respect of the outwarde assemblies gathered to the preaching of the worde and the administration of the Sacraments for the praise and glorie of God and their mutuall edification And the visible Church may be thus described It is a mixt companie of men professing the faith assembled together by the preaching of the word First of all I call it a mixt companie because in it there be true beleeuers and hypocrites Elect and Reprobate good and badde The Church is the Lords field in which the enemie soweth his tares it is the corne flore in which lieth wheat and chaffe it is a bād of men in which beside those that be of valour courage there be white liuered souldiours And it is called a Church of the better part namely the Elect whereof it consisteth though they be in number fewe As for the vngodly though they be in the Church yet they are no more parts of it indeed thē the superfluous humours in the vains are parts of the body But to proceed how are the members of the visible Church qualified and discerned the answear followeth in the definition professing the faith whereby I meane the profession of that religion which hath beene taught from the beginning and is now recorded in the writings of the Prophets and Apostles And this profession is a signe and marke whereby a man is declared and made manifest to be a member of the Church Againe because the profession of the faith is otherwhiles true and syncere and otherwhiles onely in shew therefore there be also two sorts of members of the visible Church members before God and members before men A member of the Church before God is he that beside the outward profession of the faith hath inwardly a pure heart good conscience and faith vnfained whereby he is indeede a true member of the Church Members before men whome we may call reputed members are such as haue nothing els but the outward profession wanting the good conscience and the faith vnfained The reason why they are to be esteemed members of vs is because we are bound by the rule of charitie to thinke of men as they appeare vnto vs leauing secret iudgements vnto God I added in the last place that the Church is gathered by the word preached to shew that the cause whereby it is begunne and continued is the word which for that cause is called the immortall seede whereby we are borne anew and milke whereby we are fedde and cherished to life euerlasting And hence it followeth necessarily that the preaching of the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles ioyned with any measure of faith and obedience is an vnfallible marke of a true Church Indeede it is true there be three things required to the good estate of a Church the preaching of the Gospell the administration of the Sacraments and due exequution of Discipline according to the word yet if the two latter be wanting if there be preaching of the worde with obedience in the people there is for substance a true Church of God For it is the banner of Christ displaied vnder which all that warre against the flesh the deuill the worlde must range themselues As the Lord saith by the Prophet Isai I will lift vp my hand to the Gentiles and set vp my standard vnto the people and they shall bring their sonnes in their armes and their daughters shall be carried vpon their shoulders Hence it followeth that men which want the preaching of the Gospell must either procure the same vnto themselues or if that cannot be because they liue in the middest of idolatrous nations as in Spaine and Italie it is requisite that they should ioyne themselues to those places where with libertie of conscience they may inioy this happie blessing Men are not to haue their hearts glued to the honours and riches of this worlde but they should be of Dauids minde and rather desire to be dorekeepers in the house of God then to dwell in the tents of vngodlinesse In the Canticles the spouse of Christ saith Shew mercie O thou whome my soule loueth where thou feedest where thou liest at noone for why should I be as shee that turneth aside to the flockes of thy companions To whome he answeareth thus If thou knowe not O thou the fairest among women get thee forth by the steppes of the flocke and feede thy kiddes by the tents of the shepheards that is in those places where the doctrine of righteousnes and life euerlasting by the Messias is published When the Shunamites child was dead shee told her husband that she would goe to the man of God to whom he answeared thus Why wilt thou goe to him to day it is neither nevve moone nor sabbath day whereby is signified that when teaching was skarse in Israel the people did resort to the Prophets for instruction and consolation And Dauid saith that the people wheresoeuer their aboad was went from strength to strength till they appeared before God in Sion And oftentimes they beeing Proselytes there aboad must needs be out of the precincts of Iewrie Thus we see what the visible Church is nowe further concerning it three questions are to be skāned The first is how we may discerne whether particular men and particular Churches holding errours be sound members of the Catholicke Church or no. For the answearing of this wee must make a double distinction one of errours the other of persons that erre Of errours some are destroyers of the faith some only weakners of it A destroier is that which ouerturneth any fundamentall point of religion which is of that nature that if it be denied religion it selfe is ouerturned as the deniall of the death of Christ the immortalitie of the soule and such like and the summe of these fundamentall points is comprised in the Creede of the Apostles and the Decalogue A weakning errour is that the holding whereof doth not ouerturne any point in the foundation of saluation as the errour of free will and sundrie such like This distinction is made by the holy Ghost who saith expressely that the doctrines of repentance and faith and baptismes and laying on of hands and the resurrection and the
last iudgement are the foundation namely of religion and againe that Christ is the foundation and that other doctrines consonant to the word are as gold and siluer laid thereupon Secondly persons erring are of two sorts some erre of weakenes beeing carried away by others or of simple ignorance not yet beeing conuicted and informed concerning the truth Some againe erre of obstinacie or affected ignorance which hauing bin admonished and conuicted still perseuere in their forged opinions This beeing said wee nowe come to the point If any man or Church shall hold an errour of the lighter kinde he still remaines a member of the Church of God and so must be reputed of vs. As when a Lutherane shall hold that images are still to be retained in the Church that there is an Vniuersall Election of all men c. for these and such like opinions may be maintained the foundation of saluation vnraced This which I say is flatly auouched by Paul If any man saith he build on this foundation gold siluer precious stones timber hay or stubble his work shall be made manifest by the fire c. and if any mans worke burne he shall loose but yet he shall be safe himselfe And therefore the hay and stubble of mens errours beside the foundation on which they are laide doe not debarre them from beeing Christians or members of the Church A man breakes downe the windowes of his house the house standes he breakes downe the roofe or the walles the house yet stands though deformed he pulls vp the foundation the house it selfe falls and ceaseth to be an house Now religion which we professe is like an house or building and some points thereof are like windowes dores walls roofes and some are the foundation and the former may be battered the foundation standing Againe if the errour be directly or by necessarie consequent euen in common sense against the foundation consideration must be had whether the Church or partie erreth of weaknes or malice if of weaknes the partie is to be esteemed as a member of the Catholicke Church And thus Paul writes vnto the Church of Galatia as to a Church of God though by false teachers it had bin turned a way to another Gospel and imbraced the fundamentall errour of iustification by works But when any man or Church shal hold fundamentall errours in obstinacie or affected ignorance we are then not bound to repute them any loÌ„ger as Churches or Christians but as such to whom condemnation belongs as Paul sheweth by the example of Iannes and Iambres And as IaÌ„nes and Iambres saith he withstood Moses so doe these also resist the truth men of corrupt mindes reprobate concerning the faith Yet withall this caueat must euer be remembred that we rather condemne the errour then the person that erreth because Gods mercie is like a bottomlesse sea whereby he worketh what he will and when he will in the hearts of miserable sinners The second question is where at this day we may finde such visible Churches as are indeede sound members of the Catholick Church And for the resoluing of it we are to go through all countries and religions in the world And first to beginne with Turkes and Iewes wee are not in any wise to acknowledge their assemblies for Churches because they worship not God in Christ who is the heade of the Church As for the Assemblies of Papists which haue bin a great part of the world if thereby we vnderstand companies of men holding the Pope for their head and beleeuing the doctrine established in the councill of Trent in name they are called churches but indeed they are no true or sound members of the Catholick Church For both in their doctrine in the worship of God they race the very foundation of religion which will appeare by these three points First of all they hold iustification by works of grace auouching that they are not only iustified before god by the merit of Christ but also by their owne doings Which opinion flatly ouerâ—urneth iustification by Christ. For as Paul saith to the Galatians If ye be circumâ—ised Christ profiteth you nothing that is if yee looke to be iustified by the works of the ceremoniall law yee are fallen from Christ ioyne Circumcision Christ together in the matter of iustification and yee doe quite ouerthrow iustification by Christ. Now if this be true which is the word of God that can not lie then we say to the Papists If yee will needes be iustified by works of grace ye are fallen from grace The second point is that they maintaine a daily reall sacrifice of the bodie of Christ in the Masse for the sinnes of the quicke and dead And this is also a fundamentall heresie For Christs sacrifice on the crosse must either be a perfect sacrifice or no sacrifice and if it be often iterated and repeated by the Masse-priest it is not perfect but imperfect The third point is that they worship the Images of the Trinitie and of Saints departed and their Breaden-god which is as vile an abomination as euer was among the Gentiles all beeing directly against the true meaning of the second Commandement and defacing the worship of God in the very substance thereof Thus then it appeares that the old Church of Rome is changed and is now at this day of a spouse of Christ become an harlot and therefore no more a Church of Christ indeed then the carkasse of a deade man that weareth a liuing mans garment is a liuing man though he looke neuer so like him And whereas they pleade for themselues that they haue succession from the Apostles the answeare is that succession of person is nothing without succession of doctrine which they want and we see that Heretikes haue succeeded lawfull Ministers Secondly whereas it is alleadged that in the Popish assemblies the Sacrament of Baptisme is rightly for substance administred and that also it is a note of a Church three things may be answered First that Baptisme seuered from the preaching of the Gospel is no more a signe of a Church then the seale seuered from the Indenture is of force and that is nothing Circumcision was vsed in Colchis yet no Church among the Samaritans yet no people SecoÌ„dly Baptisme is in the assemblies of the Church of Rome as the purse of the true man in the hand of the thiefe indeed it doth no more argue them to be churches then the true mans purse argues the thiefe to be a true man For baptisme though it be in their assemblies yet doth it appertaine not vnto them but vnto an other hidden Church of God which he hath in all ages gathered forth of the midst of them Thirdly though they haue the outward Baptisme yet they by necessarie consequent of doctrine ouerturne the inward baptisme that stands in iustification and sanctification Moreouer whereas it is alledged that they maintaine the booke of the old and new Testament
written of the Phoenix that first shee is consumed to ashes by the heat of the sunne and that afterward of her ashes riseth a young one and on this manner is her kinde preserued Againe swallowes wormes and flyes which haue lien dead in the winter season in the spring by vertue of the sunnes heat reuiue againe so likewise men fall in sounes and traunses beeing for a time without breath or shew of life and yet afterward come againe and to vse Pauls example before the corne can grow and beare fruit it must first be cast into the ground and there rotte And if this were not seene by experience men would not beleeue it Againe euery present day is as it were dead and buried in the night following and yet afterward it returns againe the next morning Lastly we reade how the old Prophet◠raised some from death and our Sauiour Christ raised Lazarus among the rest that had lien foure daies in the graue and stanke why then should any thinke it impossible for God to raise all men to life But let vs see what reasons may be alleadged to the contrarie First it is alleadged that the resurrection of bodies resolued to dust and ashes is against common sense reason Answeare It is aboue reason but not against reason For if impotent and miserable men as experience sheweth can by art euen of ashes make the most curious workemanship of glasse why may we not in reason thinke that the omnipotent and euerliuing God is able to raise mens bodies out of the dust Secondly it is said that mens bodies beeing dead are turned into dust and so are mingled with the bodies of beasts and other creatures and one mans bodie with another and that by reason of this confusion men cannot possibly rise with their own bodies Answ. Howsoeuer this is impossible with men yet it is possible with God For he that in the beginning was able to create all things of nothing is much more able to make euery mans body at the resurrectiō of his own matter to distinguish the dust of mens bodies from the dust of beasts and the dust of one mans bodie from another The goldsmith by his art cā sunder diuers metells one frō another some men out of one metell can draw another why then should we thinke it vnpossible for the almightie God to do the like It may be further obiected thus A man is eaten by a wolfe the wolfe is eaten by a lyon the lyon by the foules of the ayre and the foules of the ayre eaten againe by men againe one man is eaten of another as it is vsuall among the Canibals Nowe the body of that man which is turned into so many substāces especially into the bodie of another man cannot rise againe if the one doth the other doth not Ans. This reason is but a cavill of mans braine for we must not think that whatsoeuer entreth into the bodie is turned into the substance therof must rise again become a part of the bodie at the day of iudgement but euery man shall then haue so much substance of his own as shal make his bodie to be entire perfect though another mans flesh once eaten be no part therof Againe it is vrged that because flesh and blood cannot enter into the kingdom of God therfore the bodies of men shall not rise againe Answ. By flesh blood is not meant the bodies of men simple but the bodies of men as they are in weaknes without glorie subiect to corruption For flesh blood in scripture signifies sometime the originall sinne corruption of nature sometime mans nature subiect to miseries infirmities or the bodie in corruption before it be glorified and so it must be vnderstoode in this place Lastly it is obiected that Salomon saith The condition of the children of men and the condition of beasts are euen as one condition Now beasts rise not againe after this life therefore there is no resurrection of men Answer In that place Salomon expoundeth himselfe They are like in dying for so he saith as the one dieth so dieth the other he speaketh not of their estate after death The second point to be considered is the cause of the resurrection In mankinde we must consider two parts the Elect the Reprobate and they both shall rise againe at the day of iudgement but by diuers causes The godly haue one cause of their resurrection the vngodly another The cause why the godly rise again is the Resurrection of Christ yea it is the proper cause which procureth and effecteth their resurrection In the Scripture Adam Christ are compared together Christ is called the second Adam these were two roots The first Adam was the root of all mākind and he conuaieth sinne by sinne death to all that sprang of him Christ onely excepted the second Adam which is the root of all the Elect cōuaieth life both in body soule to all that are vnited to him by the vertue of his resurrection they shall rise againe after this life For looke as the power of the Godhead of Christ when he was dead in the graue raised his bodie the third day so shall the same power of Christ his Godhead conuaie it selfe vnto all the faithfull which euē in death remain vnited vnto him raise thē vp at the last day And for this cause Christ is called a quickning spirit Nowe the cause why the wicked rise againe is not the vertue of Christs resurrection but the vertue of Gods curse set downe in his word In the day that thou shalt eate of the tree of the knowledge of good and euill thou shalt die the death that is a double death both of bodie and soule And therefore they arise onely by the power of Christ as he is a iudge that this sentence may be verified on them and that they may suffer both in bodie and soule eternall punishment in hell fire Furthermore Saint Iohn setteth downe the outwarde meanes whereby the dead shalbe raised namely the voyce of Christ The houre shall come saith he in which all that are in the graues shall heare his voice and they shall come forth For as he created all things by his word so at the day of iudgement by the same voice all shalbe raised againe This may be a good reason to mooue vs to heare the ministers of God reuerently for that which they teach is the very word of God and therefore we are to pray that it may be as effectuall in raising vs vp from the graue of sinne in this life as it shalbe after this life in raising vs vp from the graue of death vnto iudgement Thirdly we are to consider what manner of bodies shal rise at the last day Answeare The same bodies for substance this Iob knew well when he said I shall see him at the last day in my flesh whome I my selfe shall see and none other
for me with these same eies Neuerthelesse the bodies of the Elect shalbe altered in qualitie being made incorruptible and filled with glorie The last point to be considered is the ende why these bodies shall rise againe The principall ende which God intendeth is his owne glorie in the manifestation of his iustice and mercie Now at the last day when all men shall be raised to iudgement by the voice of Christ the godly to life and the wicked to condemnation there shall be a full manifestation both of his mercie and iustice and therefore by consequent a full manifestation of his glorie Thus much for the doctrines touching the Resurrection now followe the vses First it serueth wonderfully for the comfort of all Christian hearts Dauid speaking not onely of Christ but also of himselfe saith most notably Mine heart is glad my tongue reioyceth and my flesh also doth rest in hope Why so For saith he thou shalt not leaue my soule in graue neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption Though the daies of this life be daies of woe and miserie yet the day of the resurrection shall be vnto all the children of God a time of reioycing and felicitie and as Peter saith it is the time of refreshing Whosoeuer is now an hungred shall then eate and be filled with the fruit of the tree of life and whosoeuer is now naked shalbe then cloathed with the white garments dipped in the bloode of the lambe and whosoeuer is now lame shal haue all his meÌ„bers restored perfectly And as this day is ioyfull to the godly so on the contrarie it is a day of woe and miserie to the vngodly as Saint Iohn saith they that haue done euill shall come forth to the resurrection of condemnation If they might cease to liue after this life and die as the beast doth O then it would be well with them for then they might haue an ende of their miserie but the wicked must after this life rise againe to condemnation which is the accomplishment of their eternall woe and wretchednes a rufull and dolefull case to consider and yet is it the state of all vnbeleeuing and vnrepentant sinners If a man were bidden to goe to bedde that after he had slept and was risen againe he might goe to execution it would make his heart to ake within him yet this yea a thousand fold worse is the state of all impenitent sinners they must sleepe in the graue for a while and then rise againe that a second death may be inflicted vpon them in bodie and soule which is the suffering of the full wrath of God both in bodie and soule eternally This beeing so let vs imbrace the good counsell of Saint Peter who saith Amende your liues and turne that your sinnes may be done away when the time of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. If a man die repentant for his sinnes it is a day of refreshing but if he die in his sinnes impenitent and hard hearted it is a day of eternall horrour desperation and confusion Againe if wee beleeue that our bodies shall rise againe after this life and stand before God at the last day of iudgement wee must daily enter into a serious consideration of this time and haue in minde that one day we must meete the Lord face to face A trauailer comes into an Inne hauing but a pennie in his purse he sits downe and call for all store of prouision and dainties now what is to be thought of him surely in the iudgemeÌ„t of all men his behauiour bekens follie or rather madnes But why because he spends freely and hath not regard to the reckoning which must follow how foolish then and madde is the practise of euery man that liueth in his sinnes bathing himselfe in his pleasures in this worlde neuer bethinking how he shall meete God at the last day of iudgement there make reckoning for all his doings An ancient Divine writes of himself that this saying ranne in his minde and sounded alwaies in his eares Arise ye dead and come vnto iudgement And this ought alwaies to be souÌ„ding in our eares that while we haue time we should prepare our selues to meete God at the last day Thirdly if we beleeue the resurrection of the bodie we are not to weepe and mourne immoderately for our friends deceased Our Sauiour Christ did weepe for Lazarus and when Stephen was stoned to death certaine men that feared God buried him and made great lamentation for him and therefore mourning is not condemned we must not be as stocks that are bereft of all compassion yet remember we must what Saint Paul saith to the Thessalonians I would not brethren haue you ignorant concerning those which are asleepe that ye sorrow not as others which haue no hope For the godly man properly dieth not but laies himselfe down to take a sleepe after his manifold labours in this life which beeing ended he must rise againe to ioyes euerlasting and therefore we must moderate and mingle our mourning for the deceased with this and such like comforts Fourthly we are taught hence to labour and striue against the naturall feare of death for if there be a resurrection of our bodies after this life then death is but a passage or middle way from this life to eternall life If a begger should be commanded to put off his old ragges that he might be cloâ—hed with rich and costly garments would he be sorie because he should stand naked a while till he were wholly bestripped of his ragges No surely well thus doth God when he calls a man to death he bids him put off his old ragges of sinne corruption be clothed with the glorious robe of Christs righteousnes our abode in the graue is but for a space while corruption be put off This is Pauls argument saying We know that when our earthly house of this tabernacle shalbe dissolued we haue a building giuen of God which is an house not made with hands but eternall in the heauens Fifthly whereas the godly are subiect to manifold afflictions miseries both in bodie and minde in this life here they shal find a sufficient stay to quiet calme their minds if they consider that after this short life is ended there will insue a ioyfull resurrection Iob in the extremitie of all his temptations made this the comfort to his soule that one day he should rise again in which he should enioy the glorious presence of his Creator And the H. Ghost saith that the seruants of God in the daies of Antiochus were racked and tormented and would not be deliuered why so because they looked for a better resurrection Lastly the consideration of this point serueth to be a bridle to restrain a man from sinne a spurre to make him go forward in all godlines of life and conuersation S. Paul had hope toward God that