Christ shall iudge the quicke and dead at his appearing Wherby it is manifest that neither the Saints nor the Angels not God himselfe but mediante Christo by Christ into whose hands hee hath resigned all power and authority shal iudge all the world at the last day Whereunto if any obiect the words of the Apostle in the first to the Corinthians the 6. c. v. 2.3 The Saints shall iudge the world and not onely the world but the Angels too I answere that there is such a narrow band and strict vnion betwixt Christ and the Saints that they make one body so that which is granted vnto the head is not denied vnto the body Christ as the chiefe principall vpon that Bench doth pronounce that sentence already reuealed vnto vs in the Gospel Matth. 25. v. 41. and the Saints as witnesses shall subscribe vnto that sentence and triumph at the iust condemnation of the wicked This is manifest by the mouth of our Sauiour Christ Ye which haue followed me in the regeneration shal sit vpon twelue Thrones and iudge the twelue tribes of Israel Matth. 19. v. 28. or as some of the Fathers doe expound the place Amb. Chry. in hunc locum The Saints shall iudge the world Quia exemplo fidei perfidiam mundi damnabunt as our Sauiour speaketh of the Niniuites and of the Queen of the South that they should rise vp against the Iewes to condemne them at the day of Iudgement that is by the example of their faith they shall condemne them of infidelity Thus Noah is said by preparing the Arke to saue him and his posterity from the generall Deluge of water to condemne the world of infidelity who would not beleeue at the preaching of Noah that the world should bee destroyed with water as many Atheists and Epicures now a dayes at our preaching will not beleeue that the world shall be destroyed with fire Heb. 11. vers 7. and vnto this Origen saith well Orig. Hom. in Numb Non Paulus ipse sed opus Pauli quod faciebat in Euangelio iudicabit mundum So that to conclude the Faith the Life the Doctrine the Death of the Saints for the testimony of the truth shal condemne the wicked at the last day And whereas it is said the Saints shall iudge the Angels leauing Saint Chrysostomes opinion In hunc locum who would by Angels to bee vnderstood Ministers who are called Angels Apoc. 2.1 and so the Bishops of the Churches of Asia are called Angels wee may safely and most truly vnderstand the spirituall powers Angels that fell from their first estate and so are become reprobate Deuils these cursed crue I say that are reserued in euerlasting chaines vnder darknes vnto the iudgement of the great day Iude 6. shall yeeld themselues subiect vnto the censure and sentence of the Saints Thus hauing shewed who that Iudge shall be it remaines that I speake of his Maiesty as farre as it is reuealed vnto vs in his word As a King prouiding for warre maketh choise of such men as may best serue to set forth the royalty of a King and for their valour able to encounter with the best of his approching enemies So Christ when he comes riding vpon the cloudes to encounter with the inhabitants of the earth for sinne he will come in power and great glory Luke 21.27 and this his power doth consist in a glorious multitude of heauenly attendants not silly Fishermen as in the dayes of his infirmity but a glorious troupe of holy Saints and blessed Angels as consorting with him at the appearing of his Maiesty Behold 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iude 14 he commeth saith S. Iude with thousand of his Saints to giue iudgement against all men and to rebuke all the vngodly and as Christ shall come with his many Saints so shall he appeare with his infinite troupe and traine of Angels For thousand thousands shall minister vnto him and ten thousand thousands shall stand before him yea he shall come with all his holy Angels Dan. 7.10 which is to be vnderstood of Christ his comming to Iudgement for in the ninth verse mention is made of the Ancient of dayes sitting downe vpon his Throne that is God the Father and in the thirteenth verse it is added that the Sonne of man approched vnto the Ancient of daies which gaue vnto him power honor and a Kingdome that is Christ into whose hāds God the Father hath giuen power and authority of iudging the quick and the dead at the last day Now if Iehoram was halfe astonished at the furious marching of Iehu his company therefore sent forth horsemen to meet him and enquire whether it were peace or no 2. King 9.16 how much more will it strike the wicked with amazement and dreadfull astonishment when they shall see Christ comming against them with millions of Saints and Legions of Angels and no conditions of peace will be accepted of but he will bruise them with a rod of iron and breake them in peeces like a Potters Vessel Psal 2.9 And hee will not onely come in power but in glory in great glory and no maruaile for the Father hath glorified him will glorifie him againe when he hath gathered together the Elect from the foure corners of the earth and both shall make one glorious body in that Kingdome so full of glory where their Hymnes and Haleluiahs shal be glory and honor c. for euer and for euer It is the obseruation of some vpon the 24. of Matth. that the Sunne shall bee darkned Ferus Spangin and the Moone shall not giue her light at the bright shining glorious appearing of Christ Iesus As greater lights are wont to obscure the lesser as the bright beames of the Sun the glimmering light of a Candle so the exceeding brightnesse and transcendent glory of Christ at his appearing shall darken all those glorious lamps and lights of heauen whose sweet influence cōfortable beames wee now enioy day by day To this S. Iohn the Diuine alludeth 1. Thes 1.7 Act. 1.11 He had in his right hand seuen starres and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword and his face shone as the Sunne shineth in his strength Reuel 1.16 S. Paul setting forth the glory of his comming saith He shall come in flaming fire with the sound of an Archangell he shall come in the cloudes and ride vpon the wings of the winde Saint Matthew thus Then shall he sit vpon a Throne of glory and before him shall bee gathered all Nations Matth. 24.31 The gloriousnesse of which Throne Daniel describeth saying His Throne was like a fiery flame and the wheeles like burning fire Dan. 7.6 And if the Earth and the Sea doe reele too and fro start and stagger and flye away Reuel 20.11 as not being able to behold the glory nor endure the face of this approching Iudge how much lesse shall the wicked bee able to stand which are inutile
euer burning and yet neuer consume euer dying and yet neuer dead for there is death without a death an end without an end because death alwayes begins and knowes not how to end If Death be acceptable vnto the aged whose strength faileth and are vexed with all kinde of euill things Eccles 41. vers 2. and are depriued of all kinde of good belonging vnto a naturall life as of Seeing Hearing Tasting Smelling Feeling how much more welcome would Death bee vnto the wicked at that dreadfull day of iudgement whē they are banished out of the society of Saints excluded out of heauen sent packing to hell where their sight shall bee afflicted with vncomfortable darknesse and vgly Deuils their smelling with noisome stinks their taste with rauenous hunger and bitternesse of gall their hearing with hideous and horrible cryes their feeling with intolerable fire yet notwithstanding death shall bee far from them Hell must be their habitation the Deuils their companions and they must embrace flames of fire in their armes for their inheritance 5. The Prophet Malachie in his fourth Chapter vers 1. prophecying of the terrible day of the Lords comming compares and likens it to an Ouen Behold the day commeth that shall burne as an Ouen and all the proud yea and all that doe wickedly shall be stubble and the day that commeth shall burne them vp so that there shall not bee left neither roote nor branch The Ouen whereinto the three Children were cast was exceeding fearefull being made seuen times more hotte then it was wont to bee and yet not an haire of their head was burnt nor their coates changed nor any smell of fire came vpon them Dan. 3.27 But how dreadfull shall this fornace of hell be being so infinitely hotter then that was Our Sauiour Christ calls it a fornace of fire Mat. 13.42.50 S. Iohn the Diuine a lake of fire and brimstone Reuel 21.8 The Apostle to the Hebrewes a deuouring fire Heb. 10.27 an vnquenchable fire Matth. 3.12 wherein all vnbeleeuers and the abominable and murtherers and whoremongers and sorcerers and all lyars the proud and all that doe wickedly shall be fuell for they shal be bound in sheaues and bundles saith our Sauiour Christ Matth. 13.30 The Adulterer and the Adulteresse in one bundle the Drunkard and the Glutton in another bundle the Couetous and Extortioner in another bundle the Vsurer and the Oppressor in another bundle the Swearer and the false Swearer in another bundle the Contemners of God and Breakers of his Sabbaths in another bundle and shall bee cast as faggots and fire-brands into this Ouen into this fornace into this lake of brimstone into this deuouring and vnquenchable fire vbi nec tortores deficient nec torti miseri morientur where their torments shall neuer cease but there shal be torments alwaies for the body and body alwaies for the torments world without end 6. Our Sauiour Christ setting forth the desperate estate and condition of of the wicked at that day saith Anxietas gentium in consilij inopia Bez. vsque ad desperationem Ierom. that there shall be distresse of nations with perplexitie Luke 21. the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 properly belongs vnto captiues and prisoners that are so shut vp in dungeons or close prisoners and brought vnto such a doubtfull and narrow strait that there is no meanes possible for them to get out Regiomentaenus in Brussia or alluding vnto some kind of prisons wherein the partie imprisoned is in such a perplexitie that he can neither sit stand vpright nor lye vpon the ground such is the estate of the wicked at that day they are in such a strait in such a perplexitie euen vnto desperation that they see no meanes possible to escape the hand of God If they looke vpward there is Index iratus Greg. an angry Iudge if they looke downeward there is horrendum inferni chaos the horrible wide gaping mouth of hell if they looke on the one side of them there are peccata accusantia their sinnes accusing them if they looke on the other side of them there are infinita daemonia ad supplicium trahentia Anselm a Legion of deuils ready to draw them to execution if they looke without them there is mundus ardens a world of fire burning round about them ready to deuoure them if they looke within them there is conscientia vrens a griping conscience the worme that neuer dieth Latere erit impossibile to lye hid it wil be impossible apparere erit intolerabile to goe forward 't will be intolerable No maruell therefore though at the worlds end men bee at their wits end Luke 21.26 Hinc illae lachrimae hence arise Esaus teares to no end nor purpose Hinc eiulatuum angustiae hence ariseth a horrible howling when all the wicked shall be gathered together as prisoners in the pit and shal be shut vp inprison Isaiah 23 22. to be arraigned at the barre of Gods tribunall and to receiue according to those things which they haue done in the flesh 2. Cor. 5.10 Then tribulation and anguish nay desperation shal be vpon the soule of euery one that doth euil Rom. 2.9 then shall the wicked not bee able to stand because they haue walked in the counsell of the wicked and stood too long in the way of sinners Psa 1.1 They cannot sit because they haue been too long sit fast in sin and Moablike haue weltred in the dregges of their owne impieties or as the Psalmist speaketh haue sit too long in the seate of the scornefull They cannot lye along vpon the ground because they haue had a sufficient portion of rest already they haue liued at case all their life long and done nothing but stretch themselues vpon their beds of downe spent their daies in chambering and wantonnes taking thought for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof and like the Israelites sit downe to eate and drinke and so rise vp to play but now their ioy shall be turned into heauinesse their mirth into mourning their singing into sighing their case and rest into caselesse paines and restlesse torments for the wicked shall be turned into hell and so shal al they that doe forget God If wee looke backe againe vnto the Text the Parent of my doctrine wee shall finde that it will yeeld much strength to the confirmation of this truth then shall the Kings of the earth and great men and rich men c. They that in their life time haue beene able to controle whole Kingdoms with their countenance and chase before them millions of men shal be compeld to seeke such weak shelters such bootlesse refuges as to hide themselues in dennes creepe into the craggie rockes and hollow vaults of the earth as though that the infinitely-discerning eye of Almighty God could not finde them out though they could goe downe into the very depth of the sea or center of the earth whither can they goe or clime
from the al-discerning eie of Almightie God though in their life time they thinke that they shall neuer be remooued but are as seemingly safe as Nebuchadnezar or as secure from danger as Edom though now their greatnesse reacheth vnto heauen and their dominion to the ends of the earth Dan. 4.19 though now they build themselues stately houses for the honour of their Maiesty vers 27. Though now they seeme to dwell in the clefts of the rocks secure and farre inough remote out of danger mounting aloft like Eagles in the aire making their nest among the Starres Obad. v. 3. as though no danger should euer come nigh their dwellings Yet Kings with their Armies then shall flie and be discomfited and yet cannot flie from the presence of God nor from beyond the reach of his arme Thus you see that the truth of this doctrine is confirmed by many proofes that the estate and condition of the wicked is full of horror at the dreadfull day of Iudgement Reason 1 Ob signorum multitudinem Now the reasons of this doctrine are many the first is this by reason of the manifold signes and fearefull apparitions both in heauen and earth which will strike an horror dread and amazednesse into the hearts of the wicked Saint Matthew describes them thus the Sunne shall bee darkened and the Moone shall not giue her light the Stars shall fall from heauen and the Powers of heauen shall be shaken Mat. 24.29 The words are to be vnderstood not metaphorically but properly of the alteration of the works of nature as adiuncts circumstances and fearefull presages of that dismall day when the Sunne shall not stand still only as at the prayer of Iosuah Ios 10.12 neither shall it onely goe backward ten degrees as vpon Ahaz Diall Isa 38.8 but it shall be as blacke as a sackcloth of haire Reuel 6.12 We reade that there was an exceeding great darknesse of the Sunne at our Sauiours Passion throughout all the land and many bodies of the Saints which slept arose Matth. 27.52 How fearefull then and how wonderfull shall the comming of Christ vnto Iudgement be when the Sunne the Moone and the Starres and all the powerfull influences of heauen shal grow blacke duskie and vtterly be obscured when all the dead Saints and sinners great and small both in Sea and land shall come forth of their graues whereof the first was a type and figure Mat. 24.31 when the Lord himselfe shall descend from heauen with a shoute and with the voice of the Archangell and with the trumpet of God 1. Thes 4.16 Saint Luke likewise describes the circumstances of that day thus There shall be signes in the Sunne and in the Moone and in the Starres the Sea and the waters shal roare mens harts shall faile them for feare and for looking after these things that shall come vpon the world Luk. 21. vers 25. An Earthquake of it selfe is very fearefull as threatning the ruines of Citties hazarding the subuersion of many stately buildings shaking the very foundations of Kings Palaces and the inundation of waters hath beene very terrible as our Westerne parts can very well witnesse when men euen wisht for Noahs Arke againe and sought the highest places for refuge against the mercilesse waues of the Sea some climbing the clifts of craggy rockes some steeples some the tops of houses some trees some floated vpon the waters like Paul his companions many were drowned But now when the Seas shall roare Rockes shall rent Mountaines shake and shiuer and the glorious Heauens become darke and dusky how shall the hearts of men be appaled with dread and terrour to behold the same and yet notwithstanding these things are but the beginning of sorrowes saith our Sauiour Christ but a Preamble but a Proem but a Prologue to the Tragedy I am not ignorant but that the darkning of the Sunne the Moone and the Starres in the holy Scripture may sometimes bee taken for some kind of calamity ready to fall vpon some particular Kingdome and that these signes doe not alway denotate properly the last day of Iudgement but may be referd to some other particular times of iudgement as the great ouerthrow of the Babylonish Kingdome Isa 13. or the last totall and finall destruction of the Iewes by the Romanes Luk. 21. or that celestiall and truely Diuine victory of Constantine the Great against Maxentius and the Romane Gouernours in the which the great power of almighty God miraculously shone from heauen in reuenging the precious bloud of the blessed Martyrs So the Wise-man exhorting vs to thinke on God in youth and not to deferre repentance vntill we be old drawes one of his motiues and arguments to induce vs thereunto ab incommodo from the manifold inconueniences and impediments accompanying old age that will hinder vs from the true performance of so waighty a worke Repent saith he and turne to God while the Sun is not darke nor the Moone nor the Starres Eccles 12.2 that is before old age approacheth when thou shalt haue no more pleasure in thy dayes then if thou wert shut vp in a darke dungeon and debard of the comfort and benefit of those great and glorious lights of Heauen The second reason Why the state and condition of the wicked is full of horrour at the day of Iudgement Ob Iudicis Maiestatem is the Maiesty of the Iudge the beholding of whose countenance so full of glory and maiesty shall possesse the hearts of the wicked with amazement and astonishment Now the Iudge at this great Assise and generall Audit is Christ himselfe he that once stood before the iudgement seat of Pontius Pilate to receiue his sentence shall now summon Pontius Piliate and all the Potentates of the earth vnto his Consistory to receiue their dreadful doome That Christ is the sole Iudge at the last day they are his owne words The Father iudgeth no man but hath committed all iudgement vnto the Sonne Iohn 5. v. 22. And hath committed vnto him all power and authority to execute iudgement because he is the Sonne of man v. 27. Because hee is the Sonne of man and this cause yeelds vs comfort else were we in a miserable case hee doth partake of our nature and therefore is pittifull compassionate yea farre beyond humane reach or reason the Apostles likewise were commanded to testifie this truth and to preach this point that Christ is ordained by God to bee Iudge of the quicke and dead Act. 10. v. 42. So likewise in the 17. Act. 31. Paul preaching to the Athenians presseth repentance and the argument which he vseth to prouoke them thereunto is the consideration of the day of Iudgement when God will iudge the world in righteousnesse by that man that is Christ whom hee hath ordained So likewise the Apostle in the second to the Romanes ver 16. God shall iudge the secrets of men by Iesus Christ And in the second to Timothy c. 4. vers 1. Iesus
terrae pondus the very chaffe the drosse the off-scouring of the earth and therefore no maruaile though they goe into the holes of the Rocks and into the Caues of the earth from before the feare of the Lord and from the glory of his Maiesty when he shall arise to destroy the earth Isaiah 2.19 Mallent enim impij esse in inferno quà m videre faciem irati Iudicis The wicked had rather be throwne downe to hell where is vtter darkenesse then endure the glorious presence of so angry a Iudge If S. Iohn the blessed Reuelator of heauens secrets fell at the feet of Christ as dead when he beheld him Reu. 1. v. 17. If Moses that man of God could not indure the face of God but couered his eyes with a vaile If the Seraphins that stand about the Throne of God couer their faces with two of their wings as not being able to behold the glorious Maiesty of God how shall the Maiesty of this our great God euer our Sauiour Iesus Christ Tit. 2.13 daunt the hearts of the wicked at his appearing euen more then can be expressed The third reason why the estate and condition of the wicked is so full of horrour at the Day of Iudgement is by reason of the strict account that they must render All men without any exception Adam and all his posterity as many as haue beene dead before as many as are then liuing and they that are then liuing shall not preuent them that sleepe I say all men and so saith the Apostle Wee shall all appeare before the Iudgement seat of Christ Rom. 14. v. 10. Euery one of vs shall giue an account of himselfe to God v. 12. And euery man shall receiue the things which are done in his body according to that he hath done whether it bee good or euill 2. Cor. 5. v. 10. And not onely all men but all the Angels which kept not their first estate but left their owne habitation 2. Pet. 3.4 are reserued in euerlasting chaines vnder darknesse vnto the Iudgement of the Great Day Iude vers 6. This truth the Deuils themselues did confirme by their desperate crying out fearing their present executiō vnto the which they themselues know they are reserued Quid nobis tibi What haue we to doe with thee Iesus thou Sonne of God art thou come to torment vs before the time Matth. 8. v. 29. And this feare is the chaines and fetters before mentioned in the which the Deuils are manacled vntill they bee brought forth vnto the full execution of the wrath of God in Hell the place of Deuils and all the damned And not onely men and Deuils but vnreasonable creatures the heauen and the earth and whatsoeuer is contained within this spacious Vniuerse shall be iudged also after their manner at that day So saith Saint Peter The heauens and the earth are reserued vnto fire against the day of Iudgement and of the destruction of vngodly men and the heauens shall passe away with a noise that is they shall passe away from a mutable condition vnto an immutable degree of perfection The Elements shall melt with heat and the earth with the workes that are therein shall bee burnt vp Not that the great Fabricke and glorious workmanship of heauen and earth shal be burnt and brought to nothing for the earth remaineth for euer Eccles 1. v. 3. Sed ab ea quae nunc habet specie per ignem tergetur ea tamen in sua natura seruatur Greg. l. 17. Moral c. 5. They shall bee purged of their corruptible qualities and purified from the filth of their imperfectiōs as the Sun Moon shall be no more eclipsed and sublunary things shall be no more subiect to generation and corruption but as the gold cast into the fire is purged frō the drosse whereby it becomes a refined substance so the heauens and the earth shall put on as it were new apparell adorned with a new fashion for the * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fashion of this world passeth away 1. Cor. 7.31 but not the nature and substance Hierom prooueth as much by that place Isa 30.26 The light of the Moone shall be as the light of the Sunne and the light of the Sunne shall be seuen-fold non interitum significat pristinorum sed commutationem in melius Whereby the holy Ghost doth signifie not a destruction of those lights which were before but a change into a better Caluin goeth farther saying that they shall bee fellowes with the Saints in that glorious estate And so saith the Apostle the * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Non singula generum sed genera singulorum Ordi Gloss 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Creature that is the world shall be deliuered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the Sonnes of God Rom. 8. v. 21. So Acts 3.21 there is promised a * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Non singula generum sed genera singulorum Ordi Gloss 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 restauration of all things So Psal 10. The heauens shall all wax old as doth a garment and they shall be changed that is into a better forme and fashion So S. Iohn saw a new Heauen and a new earth Apo. 21.1 So S. Peter We looke for a new heauen and a new earth according to his promise c. v. 13. Hence is it that the perpetuity of Christ his spirituall Kingdome is shadowed out vnto vs by the continuance of the Sun and Moone His Throne shall be as the Sun Psal 89. v. 36.37 and shall be established for euermore as the Moone Psal 72. ve s 5. Gods children shall feare him so long as the Sunne and Moone indureth vers 7. And Christ his name shall indure so long as the Sunne vers 17. Therefore it must bee granted that these creatures shall be restored and so continue without decay or corruption or else it must must bee yeelded that Christs Kingdome must haue an end which may not bee granted But after what manner this instauration shall be it is not manifested vnto vs in the word of God and to what end they shall serue whether as Monuments of Gods glory it were curiosity to search or determine sufficient is it to know that they shall bee iudged after their kind But if any should obiect against what hath bin spoken as namely that al men shall giue an account The sixt verse of the first Psalme the wicked shall not stand in Iudgement And that of Iohn 5.24 He that beleeueth in him that sent me hath euerlasting life and shall not come into Iudgement Lombardus ex Gregorio binos facit ordines Iudicandorum alij iudicantur pereunt alij non iudicantur pereunt alij iudicantur regnant alij non iudicantur regnant Lomb. l. 4. dist 49. These places indeed haue much troubled the Fathers in so much that Hillarie and Origen were of opinion that neither the godly Faithfull nor the
qui exaudiet In hell there is sorrow mourning crying and yet none that will heare Then shall the wicked wish that they had neuer been borne or that God in their first creation had made them some creatures of another kinde as Todes Serpents or Cockatrices for then their miseries and shame should haue ended with their liues Then shall the rent-racking Lādlord wish that he had neuer oppressed his poore Tenāts Then shall the couetous Patron wish that hee had neuer made a prey of the Leuites portion Then shall the carelesse Pastor wish that he had neuer left his flock vnto the hyrelings who instead of Preaching the word of God in season and cut of season doe tye their flock vnto a slender dyet either a few cold dead Homilies or some certayne monethly Sermons yet thinke their charge is very sufficiently discharged Then shall the couetous Lawyer wish that hee had neuer sold his tongue for bribes to pleade against the fatherlesse and widdowes Then shall the gourmandizing Epicure wish that hee had neuer surfetted at his table and suffer the poore to starue at his gate Then shall the carnall Protestant wish that he had neuer prattled so much of Religion and practised so little Then shall the drunkard wish that hee had neuer turned so much liquor ouer his tongue wantonly wastfully and now want a drop of cold water for to coole his tongue Then shall the wanton fornicator wish that hee had neuer wasted his body and his goods vpon the body of a strange woman and withall shall confesse that breuis est volupt as fornicationis sed perpetua est poena fornicatoris short is the pleasure of fornication but perpetuall is the payne of the fornicator O consider this in time all ye that forget God! I will conclude with Chrysostomes meditation Vtinam homines Hom. 13. in Epist ad Rom. in tabernis vinarijs reliquisque commessationibus balneis imo vbique de gehenna disputarent I would to God that men euen in wine Tauernes Ale-houses in their bāquets in their baths I will adde in bawdy houses yea euery where would dispute of Hell Non enim sinet in Gehennam incidere Gehennae meminisse Men would not run so headlong to hell did they but remember hell did they but meditate on that fire our common kinde of fire is but painted fire in respect of that and yet how hardly can we endure our finger neere it an houre how much lesse shall wee be able to dwell eternally in that euerlastingly burning Lake of fire and brimstone With the Deuil and his Angels The wicked haue serued the Deuill all the dayes of their life and therefore now they must haue an irksome habitation with the Deuils and portion of torments with his Angels as it is said that the beast and the false Prophet were cast into the place of eternall torments with the Deuil Reuel 20.10 And indeede this conclusion of the wicked doth agree well with their conuersation as they haue forsaken God and followed Satan in obeying his sinnefull suggestions now therefore they shall goe their way with Satan as companions in sinne so partakers in suffering The body shall bee tormented because it would not obey the soule the soule because it would follow the rebellious body both soule and body because they obeyed the instigation of Satan and left the directions of Gods holy Spirit Secondly this Iudge is so vpright in iudgement that in giuing of sentence against the wicked first hee cannot erre through ignorance for he searcheth the heart and tryeth the reines to giue vnto euery man according to his wayes and according to the fruit of his workes Heb. 4.13 Ierem. 17.10 Yea all things are naked and open to his eyes before whom we must appeare Hee that knew Iohn the Baptist in the wombe and saw Nathanael vnder the Fig-tree doth also know and see our goings out and our commings in he discernes Esau from Iacob and knowes faire Rahel from bleare-eyed Leah hee knowes the thoughts and intents of our hearts the words of our mouthes and the workes of our hands Psal 139.1.2.3.4 and is able to set before vs euen our most secret sinnes Secondly he cannot be ouer-swayed with fauour or friendship Indeede in earthly Courts amongst the sonnes of men wickednesse may bee in the place of Iudgement Eccles 3. ver 16. but in this great Court of heauen the Iudge will not be parciall to any God hath no respect of persons Rom. 2. v. 21. but euery one that feareth God and worketh righteousnesse shall bee accepted at that day Nothing will then preuaile but a pure heart and an vpright spirit and as for the Iudge with righteousnesse will hee iudge the world Causa non persona iudicabitur Martyr and the people with equity Psal 58.9 If great men bee found in great sinnes they shall be adiudged vnto great torments Tophet is prepared for the King and the poorest begger shall then haue as good audience in this Court of Iustice as the mightiest Monarch in the world Thirdly this Iudge cannot be ouercome with power Indeede amongst the sonnes of men might oftentimes ouer-comes the right but vnto this Iudge all power is giuen both in heauen and earth Matth. 28.18 He it was that threw the Angels out of heauen Adam out of Paradise Saul out of his Kingdome Nebuchadnezzar out of mens society to conuerse with beasts and he it is that wil humble the high lookes of man and abase the loftinesse of men in that day Isa 2.11 As this Iudge cannot be ouer-swayed with power so can he not be bowed with pity and compassion The time was indeede when our Sauiour wept ouer Ierusalem and made a Sermon full of teares O Ierusalem Ierusalem Luke 19.41 But now alas there is no place for pardon though Ierusalem should seek it with teares Could thine eyes then shead as many teares as there are drops of water in the Sea yet thou couldest not bee able to moue Christ vnto compassion The day before the trumpet sound mercy shal be preached to the penitent and beleeuers by the Gospell but from the time that the sentence is once giuen there shall neuer be more offring of mercy the dore shall be closed though the wicked cry for mercy with Esau seeke the blessing with many teares yet shall they neuer finde it But as Christ doth now weepe for the sinners conuersion so wil hee then laugh at the sinners destruction 5. Lastly this Iudge cannot be corrupted with bribes which amongst the sonnes of men peruert iustice blinde the eyes of those that sit in Iudgement for the richest in the world must appeare naked and empty-hāded before Christ as naked as euer wee came into the world and nakeder then euer we went out of the world by as much as a winding sheet comes vnto Riches Pro. 11.4 gold and siluer auaileth not in the day of wrath but righteousnes saueth the soule I will conclude
verbum patris doce me facere volūtatem tuam vt à spiritu tuo bono ductus ad beatam illam proueniam ciuitatem O sweet Iesus thou that art the word of the Father teach me thy wil that being guided by thy good Spirit I may bee brought vnto that Citty where there is Certa securitas secura aeternitas aeterna tranquillitas tranquilla foelicitas foelix suauitas suauis iucūditas Where there is Security Eternity Tranquillity Felicity Vbi tu Deus cum Patre Spiritu Sancto regnas per infinita secula Greg. in Psal sept Where thou dost raigne as God with the holy Ghost world without end Let vs therefore stand with our loynes girded like good seruants waiting for their master Let vs pray that this Kingdome would come let vs ingeminate that of the Spouse the Church of Christ Come Lord Iesu come quickly Apoc. 22. And here let vs rest our thoughts a while and settle our meditations on serious consideration of this great day not curiously to define or determine how farre or how neere the day or yeere when these things shall be it being lockt from vs and kept vnreueyled in the secret counsell of God yet wading herein as farre as Hercules Pillars that is as farre as the word of God will conduct but where the holy Ghost is silent and hath not a tongue to speake my penne shall not indite nor my eare listen thereunto And first I will set downe the opinions and coniectures of others touching the end of the world Augustine reckoneth vp six Ages of the world August l. 1. in Gen. con Manichaeos the first from Adam to Noah the second from Noah to Abraham the third from Abraham to Dauid the fourth from Dauid to the captiuity of Babylon the fift frō the captiuity of Babylon vnto Christ the sixt from Christ vnto the end of all things the day of Iudgement So that this Age in which we liue is the last Age and may bee termed the decrepit and old-age of the world and if Saint Iohns time was the last howre then surely these our times are the last minutes Then now the end of all things is at hand and wee are they vpon whom the ends of the world are come and Christ is ready to iudge the quick and the dead But how long this last Age being the dotage of the world will continue it is conceald from men and Angels Augustine told his friend Heschius curiously inquiring of the end of the world that hee durst not measure limit or determine the times and seasons which God hath put in his owne power it may be euery mans answere vnto all such curious questionists There are very many of the learned Rabbins Oraculum a schola Eliae who being ledde by their owne vaine and weake coniectures would seeme to set downe a certaine set time of the end of the world positiuely affirming the world shall indure six thousand yeeres and those yeeres they doe distribute into two thousand before the Law two thousand vnder the Law two thousand after the Law wherevpon some other faine that the world shall indure six dayes as it was made in six dayes the length of euery day to bee a thousand yeeres as if it had beene Dauids meaning where he saith that A thousand yeeres in thy sight are as yesterday Psal 90 v. 4. Whereas his meaning is that all things past and to come are present with God Indeede it is the Deuils policy because hee would haue vs to put off farre from vs the euill day and with the sluggard in the Prouerbs desire yet a little more sleepe a little more slumber to busie vs with an infinite many of friuolous idle and vnprofitable questions that we may neglect that one thing which is necessary as namely a careful preparation rather then a curious inquiry to watch and pray according to our Sauiours counsell lest that day come on vs vnawares and we found sleeping for as Augustine truly Prophecies are sooner fulfilled then vnderstood Prophetias impleri quā intelligi Aug. Of that day and houre knoweth no man no not the Angels in heauen neither the Sonne but the Father Mark 13.32 If our Sauiour would haue reuealed this day vnto any doubtlesse hee would haue reuealed it vnto his Apostles his secretaries his fauourites his followers vnto whom hee imparted greater things and better things yet hee tels them flatly Non est vestrum nosse tempora c. It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his owne power Act. 1.7 Of the day and houre knoweth no man no not the Angels The Angels abound with much knowledge naturall experimentall and reuealed vnto whom God himselfe doth reueale certaine Ambassages to conuay vnto his children and hauing farre better meanes of knowledge then wee haue for as much as they know God intuendo by his looking in his face Matth. 18.10 But wee haue our knowledge discurrendo by discussing reasoning disputing and that not a priori neither but a posteriori by his backe parts as hee hath manifested himselfe in his works being mirabilis in maximis mirabilis in minimis wonderfull in all his workes The inuisible things of him are clearely seen in the creation of the world and are vnderstood by the things that are made Rom. 1.20 And yet of that day and houre knoweth no man no not the Angels in heauen neither the Sonne To let passe Epiphanius interpretation Epiphanij in illum locum expositio est valdè arguta detorta Martyr his witty but wrested distinction of a twofold knowledge * Executionis Scientiae I will vnder the correction of the Learned shew how Christ knowes the day yet how he is ignorant of it It should seeme strange that the wisedome of God should bee ignorant of those things which are in God neither can it be said that Christ being GOD and man in one person together 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his Deity should not informe his Humanity as our soule doth the body but leaue it destitute of knowledge for in Christ saith the Apostle i. in his humane nature dwelleth the fulnesse of the Godhead bodily Colos 2.9 Christ himselfe being the best and truest interpretour of his owne words thus expounds himselfe As the Father gaue me commandement euen so I doe Iohn 14.31 Therefore because Christ was sent as an Ambassadour to declare and manifest the will of the Father hee would neither do or speake any thing but that vnto the which end hee was sent as therefore hee was an Ambassadour sent out of the bosome of the Father he is said to be ignorant because he had no commission to reueale it Aquinas part 3. q. 10. Art 2. According to that of Aquinas Dicitur nescire quia non facit scire He is said not to know because hee would not haue vs to know thus hee told his