be entertained and receiued in the closet of the heart III. The least cogitation and motion the which though it procure not consent delighteth and tickleth the heart Of this kinde are these foolish wishes I would such an house were mine such a liuing such a thing c. And hitherto may we referre all vnchast dreames arising from concupiscence The affirmatiue part Couet that onely which is auaileable to thy neighbour Here are commended I. A pure heart towards our neighbour 1. Tim. 1.5 The end of the commandement is loue out of a pure heart a good conscience and faith vnfained II. Holy cogitations and motions of the spirit Paul praieth 1. Thess. 5.23 that the Thessalonians may be holy not onely in bodie and soule but also in spirit Eph. 4.23 III. A conflict against the euill affections and lusts of the flesh Rom. 7.22 I reioyce in the law of God in regard of the inward man 23. But I see another Law in my members rebelling against the Law of my minde and making me captiue to the law of sinne which is in my members 24. Miserable man that I am who shall deliuer me from this bodie of death 2. Cor. 12.7 8 9. CHAP. 30. Of the vse of the Law THe vse of the Law in vnregenerate persons is threefold The first is to lay open sinne and make it knowne Rom. 3.20 By the workes of the Law shall no flesh be iustified in his sight for by the law commeth the knowledge of sinne The second vse is accidentarily to effect and augment sinne by reason of the flesh the which causeth man to decline from that which is commanded and euer to encline to that which is prohibited Rom. 7.8 Sinne tooke occasion by the commandement and wrought in me all manner of concupiscence for without the Law sinne is dead 9. For I once was aliue without the Law but when the commandement came sinne reuiued 10. But I died and that commandement which was ordained vnto life was found to be vnto me vnto death The third vse is to denounce eternall damnation for the least disobedience without offering any hope of pardon This sentence the law pronounceth against offendours and by it partly by threatning partly by terrifying it raigneth and ruleth ouer man Rom. 3.19 Wee know that whatsoeuer the Law saith it saith it to them which are vnder the Lawe that euery mouth may be stopped and all the world be culpable before God Gal. 3.10 As many as are of the workes of the law are vnder the curse for it is written Cursed is euery one that continueth not in all that is written in the booke of the Lawe to doe them 2. Cor. 3.7 If the ministration of death written with letters and ingrauen in stones was glorious 8. Howe shall not the ministration of the spirit be more glorious For if the ministration of condemnation were glorious c. The ende why sinne raigneth in man is to vrge sinners to flie vnto Christ Galat. 3.22 The Scripture hath concluded all vnder sinne that the promise by the faith of Iesus Christ should be giuen to them that beleeue 24. Wherfore the law was our schoolemaster to Christ. Heb. 12.18,19,20 The continuance of this power of the law is perpetuall vnlesse a sinner repent and the very first act of repentance so freeth him that he shall no more be vnder the lawe but vnder grace 2. Sam. 12.13 Then said Dauid to Nathan I haue sinned against the Lord wherfore Nathan said to Dauid The Lord also hath forgiuen thy sinne and thou shalt not die Rom. 6.14 Sinne shall not haue dominion ouer you for ye are not vnder the law but vnder grace If therefore thou desirest seriously eternall life first take a narrowe examination of thy selfe and the course of thy life by the square of Gods lawe then set before thine eies the curse that is due vnto sinne that thus bewailing thy miserie and despairing vtterly of thine own power to attaine euerlasting happinesse thou maiest renounce thy selfe and be prouoked to seeke and sue vnto Christ Iesus The vse of the Law in such as are regenerate is far otherwise for it guideth them to new obedience in the whole course of their life which obedience may be acceptable to God by Christ. Rom. 3.31 Doe we therefore through faith make the Law of none effect God forbid nay we rather establish the Law Psal. 119. 24. Thy testimonies are my delight they are my counsellers v. 105. Thy word is a lantarne vnto my feete and a light vnto my pathes CHAP. 31. Of the couenant of Grace HItherto concerning the couenant of works and of the Law now followeth the couenant of grace The couenant of Grace is that whereby God freely promising Christ and his benefits exacteth againe of man that he would by faith receiue Christ and repent of his sinnes Hos. 2.18 In that daie will I make a couenant for them c. 19. And I will marrie thee vnto me for euer yea I will marrie thee vnto me in righteousnesse and in iudgement and in mercie and in compassion v. 20. I will euen marrie thee vnto me in faithfulnesse and thou shalt knowe the Lord. Ezech. 36.25 I will poure cleane water vpon you and ye shall be cleane yea from all your filthinesse and from all your idols will I clense you v. 26. And I will giue you a newe heart and a newe spirit will I put within you v. 27. And cause you to walke in my statutes Malach 3.1 The Lord whome ye seeke shall speedily come to his temple euen the messenger of the couenant whome ye desire behold he shall come saith the Lord of hosts This couenant is also named a testament for it hath partly the nature and properties of a testament or will First it is confirmed by the death of the testator Heb. 9.16 Where a testament is there must be the death of him that made the testament 17. For the testament is confirmed when men are dead for it is yet of no force so long as he that made it is aliue Secondly in this couenant we doe not offer much and promise small to God but in a manner doe onely receiue euen as the last will and testament of a man is not for the testators but the heires commodity The couenant albeit it be one in substance yet it is distinguished into the old and new testament The olde testament or couenant is that which in types and shadowes prefigured Christ to come and to be exhibited The newe testament declareth Christ already come in the flesh and is apparantly shewed in the Gospel The Gospell is that part of Gods word which cōtaineth a most worthy welcome message namely that mankind is fully redeemed by the blood of Iesus Christ the only begotten sonn of God manifest in the flesh so that now for all such as repent and beleeue in Christ Iesus there is prepared a full remission of all their sinnes togither with saluation and life euerlasting Ioh.
Prophets and yee shall prosper They therefore doe very ill who are still in a doubt of their saluation because as yet they feele not in themselues especiall motions of Gods spirit Thus much concerning the way which God vseth in begetting of faith There are beside this two notable degrees of faith The one is the lowest and as I may speake the positiue degree the other is the highest or superlatiue The lowest degree of faith is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a little or weake faith like a graine of mustard seede or smoking flaxe which can neither giue out heate nor flame but onely smoke Math. 8.25 His Disciples awaked him saying Saue master we perish 26. And he said vnto them Why are ye fearefull O ye of little faith Math. 7.20 If ye haue faith as much as a graine of mustard seede ye shall say vnto the mountaine Mooue and it shall remooue Esay 42.3 The smoking flaxe shall he not quench Faith is then said to be weake and feeble when as of those fiue degrees aboue mentioned either the first which is knowledge or the fift which is application of the promises is very feeble the rest remaining strong Rom. 14.2 One beleeueth that he may eate all things and another which is weake eateth hearbes 3. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not and let not him which eateth not iudge him which eateth for God hath receiued him The Apostles although they beleeued that Christ was the Sonne of the liuing God yet they were ignorant of his death and his resurrection Matth. 16. 16. Ioh. 6.69 Matth. 17. 22. Luk. 9.49 They vnderstood not that word for it was hid from thē so that they could not perceiue it Act. 1.6 They asked him saying Lord wilt thou restore at this time the kingdome of Israel For the better knowledge of this kind of faith we must obserue these two rules I. A serious desire to beleeue and an indeauour to obtaine Gods fauour is the head of faith Mat 5.6 Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousnesse for they shall be satisfied Reu. 21.6 I will giue to him that it is a thirst of the well of the water of life freely Psal. 145.19 He will fulfill the desire of them that feare him he also will heare their crie and will saue them For in such as begin to beleeue and to be renued the minde will lie not idle but being mooued by the holy ghost striue with doubtfulnesse and distrust indeauour to put their assent to the sweete promises made in the Gospell and firmely to apply the same to themselues and in the sense of their weakenesse desire assistance from aboue and thus faith is bestowed II. God doth not despise the least sparke of faith if so be it by little and little doe encrease and men vse the meanes to increase the same Luk. 17.5 The Apostles said vnto the Lord encrease our faith 6. And the Lord said If ye had faith as much as a graine of mustard seed and should saie vnto this mulberrie tree Plucke thy selfe vp by the rootes and plant thy selfe in the sea it should euen obey you Man must therefore stirre vp his faith by meditation of Gods word serious prayers and other exercises belonging vnto faith The highest degree of faith is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a full assurance which is not onely certaine and true but also a full perswasion of the heart whereby a Christian much more firmely taking hold on Christ Iesus maketh full and resolute account that God loueth him and that he will giue to him by name Christ and all his graces pertaining to eternall life Rom. 4.20 Neither did be doubt of the promise of God through vnbeleefe but was strengthened in the faith and gaue glory to God 21. Beeing fully assured that he which had promised was able also to doe it Rom. 8.38 I am perswaded that neither life nor death c. can separate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus 1. Sam. 17.36 Thy seruant slue both the lyon and the beare therfore this vncircumcised Philistim shall be as one of them seeing he hath railed on the hoste of the liuing God Psal. 23.6 Doubtlesse kindnesse and mercy shal follow me all the daies of my life Conferred with v. 1,2,3,4 Man commeth to this high degree after the sense obseruation long experience of Gods fauour and loue Quest. Whether is iustifying faith commanded in the law Answer It is commanded in the lawe of faith namely the Gospel but not in the law of works that is in the morrall law Rom. 3.27 the reasons are these I. That which the law reuealeth not that it commandeth not but the lawe is so farre from reuealing iustifying faith that it neuer knew it II. Adam had fully before his fall written in his heart the morall lawe yet had he not iustifying faith which apprehendeth Christ. Obiect I. Incredulitie is condemned by the law Answer That incredulitie which is toward God is condemned in the lawe but that incredulitie which is against the Messiah Christ Iesus is condemned by the Gospel For as by the Gospel◠not by the law incredulitie in the Sonne as Mediatour appeareth to be a sinne so likewise not by the law is incredulitie in the Messiah condemned but by the Gospel which commandeth vs to heare him and to beleeue in him Mat. 17.5 1. Ioh. 3.23 Thus it is plaine that this sinne not to beleeue in Christ is expressely and distinctly made manifest and condemned by the Gospel And albeit the knowledge of sinne be by the law yet not euery thing which doth reprooue and declare some sinne is the lawe of workes or belongeth thereto Obiect II. But ceremonies belong to the decalogue Answer Ceremonies may be as examples referred to the decalogue but indeede they are appendants to the Gospell CHAP. 37. Concerning the second degree of the declaration of Gods loue THe second degree is iustification whereby such as beleeue are accounted iust before God through the obedience of Christ Iesus 2. Cor. 5.21 He hath made him to be sinne for vs which knewe no sinne that we should bee made the righteousnesse of God in him 1. Cor. 1.30 Rom. 5.19 As by one mans disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one that is Iesus Christ v. 17 shall many also be made righteous Quest. Whether did Christ performe full obedience to the law for vs men alone or for himselfe also Answer I. Not for himselfe as some not rightly would haue him for the flesh of Christ beeing hypostatically vnited to the Word and so in it selfe fully sanctified was euen from the first moment of conception most worthy to be blessed with eternall life Therefore by all that obedience which he performed after his conception Christ he merited nothing for himselfe II. For vs namely for the faithfull he fulfilled all the righteousnes of the law and hence is it that he is called the ende of the law vnto
righteousnes to euery one that beleeueth Rom. 10. Here may be obiected I. Christ as he is man is bound to performe obedience to the law for himselfe Answer He is not bound by nature but of his owne accord for he was not a bare man but God and man And albeit Christ did neither suffer nor fulfill the law but in that flesh which he tooke vpon him yet by reason of the hypostaticall vnion this his passion and obedience hath respect vnto the whole person considered as God and man and therefore his obedience was not due on his part and so was without merit to himselfe yea in that the flesh of Christ is vnited to the person of the Word and so exalted in dignitie and sanctitie aboue all Angels it may seeme to be exempted from this naturall obligation of performing the law II. If then Christ performed the law for vs we are no more now bounden to the obseruance of the same as we doe not vndergoe eternall punishments for our sinnes the which Christ in his person did beare vpon the crosse Answer If we keepe the same respect of performing obedience to the law the consequence is very true otherwise it is not so for Christ performed obedience to the law for vs as it is the satisfaction of the law but the faithfull they are bounden to obedience not as it is satisfactorie but as it is a document of faith and a testimonie of their gratitude towards God or a meanes to edifie their neighbours euen as Christ suffering punishments for our sinnes we also suffer punishments as they are either trialls or chastisments vnto vs. III. The law and iustice of God doth not togither exact both namely obedience and punishment Answer In mans perfect estate the iustice of God requireth onely obedience but in his estate corrupted he requireth both obedience and punishment Punishment as the law is violated obedience that legall iustice may be performed Gal. 3.10 It is therefore plaine that not onely Christs passion but also his legall obedience is our righteousnes before God Iustification hath two parts Remission of sinnes and imputation of Christs righteousnes Remission of sinnes is that part of iustification whereby he that beleeueth is freed from the guilt and punishment of sinne by the merits of the passion of Christ. Coloss. 1.21,22 You hath he now reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to make you holy and vnblameable and without fault in his sight 1. Pet. 2.24 Who in his owne flesh bare our sinnes in his bodie on the tree that we beeing deliuered from sinne should liue in righteousnes by whose stripes ye are healed Imputation of righteousnes is the other part of iustification whereby such as beleeue hauing the guilt of their sinnes couered are accounted iust in the sight of God through Christs righteousnes 2. Cor. 5.21 Psal. 32.1 Blessed is he whose wickednes is forgiuen and whose sinne is couered Rom. 4. the whole chapter where the Apostle repeateth imputation eleuen times Philip. 3.9 I haue counted all things losse and doe iudge them to be domage that I might winne Christ and might be fâ—â—â—d in him that is not hauing mine owne righteousnes which is by the law but that which is through the faith of Christ euen the righteousnes which is of God through faith The forme of iustification is as it were a kinde of translation of the beleeuers sinnes vnto Christ and againe Christs righteousnes vnto the beleeuer by meanes of Gods diuine imputation As is apparant in this picture falling This obedience of Christ is called the Righteousnes of God and of Christ. Of God I. not because it is in God but of God for it taketh all the power and merit it hath from the deitiâ— of the Sonne whence it is that Ieremie saith Iehouah our Righteousnesse II. God doth onely accept of it for vs because that alone maketh vs boldly to approch vnto Gods throne of grace that we may haue pardon for our sinnes and be receiued to eternall life It is also called the Righteousnesse of Christ because being out of vs it is in the humanitie of Christ as in a subiect Obiect I. No man is made iust by another mans iustice Answer This iustice is both an others and ours also An others because it is in Christ as in a subiect ours because by meanes of the forenamed vnion Christ with all his benefits is made ours Obiect II. The ancient fathers neuer dreamed of this imputatiue iustice and it may seeme too of no greater continuance then fiftie yeares Ans. This is both false impious to affirme August 3. Tract vpon Iohn saith All such as are iustified by Christ are iust not in themselues but in him Barnard in his sermon ad milites templi cap 11. Mors in Christi morte fugatur Christi iustitia nobis imputatur that is Death in Christ his death is put to flight and the iustice of Christ is imputed vnto vs. And in his 62. sermon vâ—on the Canticles Where is there any rest saith he but in the wounds of our Sauiour I will further sing but what mine owne iustice nay O Lord I will remember thy iustice alone for that is also my iustice For thou wast made of God vnto me iustice But should I feare whether that one iustice would suffice two nay it is not a short cloake that is not able to couer a couple Thy iustice is iustice for euermore and will both couer thee and me it is largely large and eternall iustice and in me it couereth the multitude of my sinnes c. August lib. de Spiritu litera cap. 9. 26. We must vnderstand this saying so The doers of the Law shall be iustified that we may know that there are no doers of the law but such as are iustified so that they are not first doers of the law and then iustified but first iustified and then doers of the law So it is said they shall be iustified as if it should be said they shall be reputed iust and acâ—ounted iust Iustification hath annexed vnto it Adoption whereby all such as are predestinate to be adopted receiue power to be actually accounted the sonnes of God by Christ. Eph. 1. 5. Who hath predestinate vs to be adopted through Iesus Christ vnto himselfe according to the good pleasure of his will By meanes of adoption God hath bestowed many notable priuiledges vpon his children I. They are the Lords heires apparant Rom. 8.17 If we be children we be also heires euen the heires of God II. They are fellow heires with Christ yea kings Rom. 8. 17. Rev. 1.6 And made vs Kings and Priests euen to God his Father III. All their afflictions yea euen their wants and offences are turned to trials or fatherly chastisments inflicted vpon them for their good Rom. 8.28 We know that all things worke together for the best vnto them that loue God 36. It is written for thy sake are we killed all the day long we are
elect For the better knowing of it there is to bee considered First what faith is Secondly how God doth worke it in the hearts of the elect Thirdly what degrees there be of faith Fourthly what are the fruits and benefits of faith IIII. Faith is a wonderfull grace of God by which the elect doe apprehend and apply Christ and all his benefits vnto themselues particularly Here first it is to be coÌ„sidered that the very nature of faith staÌ„deth in a certaine power of apprehending and applying Christ. This is declared by Paul whe he saith Ye are buried with him through baptisme by whome ye are also risen againe with him by the faith of the power of God who raised him from the dead Where it appeareth that faith is made a meanes to communicate Christ himselfe his death and buriall and so all other benefits to the beleeuer Againe to beleeue in Christ and to receiue or to lay hold on Christ are put one for another by Saint Iohn which declareth that there is a speciall applying of Christ euen as we see when a man hath any thing giuen him he reacheth out his hand and pulleth it to himselfe and so makes it his owne Moreouer faith is called the putting on of Christ which cannot be vnles Christs righteousnes be specially applyed to the heart as the garment to the backe when it is put on Lastly this may appeare in that faith is called the eating and drinking of Christ for there is no eating of meat that nourisheth but first it must be tasted and chewed in the mouth then it must be coÌ„ueyed into the stomack there digested lastly it must be applyed to the parts of the bodie that are to be nourished And Paul praieth for the Ephâ—sians that Christ may dwell in their hearts by faith which plainely importeth this apprehending and applying of Christ. I adde further that faith is a wonderfull grace of God which may appeare first in that Paul calleth it the faith of Gods power because the power of God is especially seene in the begetting of faith Secondly experience sheweth it to be a wonderfull gift of God when a man neither seeth nor feeleth his sinnes then to say hee beleeueth in Gods mercie it is an easie matter but when a man shall feele his heart pressed downe with the waight of his sinnes and the anger of God for them then to apply Gods free mercie to his own soule it is a most hard matter for then it is the propertie of the cursed nature of man to blaspheme God and to despaire of mercie Iudas who no doubt often preached mercy and redemption by Christ in the securitie of his heart when Gods hand was vpon him and the Lord made him see the vilenesse of his treacherie he could not comfort himselfe in Christ if one would haue giuen him ten thousand worlds but in an hellish horror of conscience hanged himselfe desperately which sheweth what a wonderfull hard thing it is at the same instant when a man is touched for his sinnes then to apply Gods mercie to himselfe Yet a true Christian by the power of faith can doe this as it may appeare in Dauid In the day of my trouble saith he I sought the Lord my sore ran and ceased not in the night my soule refused comfort I did thinke vpon God and was troubled I praied and my spirit was full of anguish and hee addeth the word Sebah a note very likelie of some wonderfull thing Againe he being almost in the gulfes of hell euen then cried to the Lord for helpe Iob saith If God should destroy him yet he would for all that beleeue in him still Vndoubtedly strange is the band of faith knitting Christ his members togither which the anguish of spirit cannot and the strokes of Gods hand doe not vnloose V. This apprehending of Christ is not done by any corporall touching of him but spiritually by assuraÌ„ce which is wheÌ„ the elect are perswaded in their hearts by the holy ghost of the forgiueuesse of their owne sinnes and of gods infinit mercie towards them in Iesus Christ. According to that of Paul Now we haue receiued not the spirit of the world but the spirit which is of God that wee might know the things which are giuen vs of God The things which the spirit of God maketh known to the faithfull particularly are their iustification adoption sanctification eternall life and thus when any are perswaded of these things concerning themselues they doe in their hearts distinctly apply and appropriate Christ and his benefits to themselues VI. The maner that God vseth in the begetting of faith is this First he prepareth the heart that it may be capable of faith Secondly he causeth faith by little and litle to spring and to breed in the heart The preparation of the heart is by humbling an softening of it to the doing of this there are foure things requisite The first of them is the knowledge of the word of God both of the lawe and of the gospel without the which there can be no faith according to that saying of Esaiah By his knowledge shall my righteous seruant iustifie many And that of Iohn This is eternall life that they know thee to be the onely very God and whome thou hast sent Iesus Christ. The onely ordinarie meanes to attaine faith by is the word preached which must be heard remembred practised and continually hid in the heart The least measure of knowledge without which a man cannot haue faith is the knowledge of Elements or the fundamentall doctrines of a Christian religionâ— A fundamentall doctrine is that which beeing obstinately denied all religion and all obtaining of saluation is ouerthrown This knowledge hath a generall faith going with it which is an assent of the heart to the known trueth of Gods word This faith when it is grown vp to some great measure it is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the full assurance of vnderstanding and it is to bee seene in the martyrs who maintained Gods trueth against the persecutions of the false Church vnto death VII Although both elect and reprobate may be enlightned to know the word of God yet the elect in this thing goe farre beyond all reprobates for it is specially said of them that God is their schoole-master that he sofeteneth their stony hearts and maketh them pliable that hee draweth them that hee openeth their senses hearts eares vnderstandings that the holy ghost is their annointmeÌ„t and their eie-salue to cleare the eies of their minde to conceiue the mysteries of Gods worde And the difference of illumination in them is threefolde I. First the knowledge which the reprobate hath concerning the kingdoÌ„e of heauen is only a generall and confused knowledge but the knowledge of the elect is pure certaine sure distinct and particular for it is ioyned with a feeling and inward experience of the thing
in their professions callings I am perswaded there would be a thousād vices cut off which in men abound and are committed without shame Timoth. I think the rest of your Christian exercises be the practising of the Commandements of the lawe Euseb. Yea they are indeede Timoth. Me thinkes it is an hard point of the law for a man to loue his enemie Euseb. It is indeede yet in the faithfull it will be so for they haue in their hearts a perswasion that wheras they are damned in themselues yet in Christ the mercie of God is most plentifull to their saluation and al this God confirmeth and sealeth vnto them by his holy spirit and therefore they cannot but loue God againe and that with a feruent loue euen aboue all things in the world and so they loue all Gods creatures and euen their enemies because they beare the image of God whome they loue like as I haue a friend loue him I loue all of his name all his kinred and all that appertain vnto him And by the way here is a good way to know whether we haue faith or not◠though faith onely iustifie and make the mariage betweene our soule and Christ and is properly the marriage garment yea and the signe Tau that defendeth vs from the smiting and power of euill angels and is also the rocke on which Christs church is built and standeth against all weather of wind and tempest yet is faith neuer seuered from hope and charitie then if a man will be sure that his faith is perfect let him examine himselfe whether he loue the law and in like manner if he will know whether he loue the law that is loue God and his neighbour then let him examine himselfe whether he beleeue in Christ onely for the remission of sinne obtaining the promises made in the Scripture And euen so let him compare his hope of the life to come with faith and loue and to the hatred of sinne in his life which hatred the loue of the law ingendreth in him And if they accompanie not one another all three together then let him be sure all is but hypocrisie Timoth. Yet by your leaue faith cannot make a man iust before God without hope and charitie then they also with faith hath some stroke in iustification Euseb. I answer though they be inseparable yet I praise God I doe conceiue how these three haue three separable and sundrie offices Faith which onely is an vndoubted and sure affiance in Christ and in the Father through him certifieth the conscience that the sinne is forgiuen and the damnation of the law taken away And with such perswasions mollifieth the heart and maketh it loue God againe and his law And as oft as we sinne faith onely keepeth that we forsake not our profession and that loue vtterly quench not and hope faile and onely maketh the peace againe for a true beleeuer trusteth in Christ alone and not in his owne workes nor ought els for the remission of sinnes The office of loue is to powre out againe the same goodnes that it hath receiued of God vpon her neighbour to be to him as it feeleth Christ to be to it selfe The office of loue is onely to haue compassion and to beare with her neighbour the burden of his infirmities 1. Pet. 4. Loue couereth the multitude of sinnes that is to say considereth the infirmities and interpreteth all to the best taketh for no sinne at all a thousand things of which the least were enough if a man loued not to goe to law for and to trouble and disquiet an whole towne and somtime a whole realme too The office of hope is to comfort in aduersitie and to make patient that we faint not nor fall downe vnder the crosse or cast it off our backes Thus these three inseparable haue separable offices and effects as heate and drines beeing inseparable in the fire haue yet their separable operations for drines onely expelleth the moystnes of all that is consumed by fire and heate onely destroieth the coldnes And it is not all one to say the drines onely and the drines that is alone neither is it all one to say faith onely and faith that is alone Timoth. You are to be commended you are so perfect in these high points of religion but I know you speake of experience for in you faith and hope towards God and charitie towards your neighbour are inseparable Euseb. I require no commendations shame and confusion befall me eternally that all glorie may be vnto God Timoth. But let vs talke on further of our duties which wee must performe if we wil liue Christian like among men And I pray you tel me what do you meane that you giue so much vnto the poore considering you are so poore your selfe I speake my conscience if you had ability you would do more then an hundred of those rich men doe Euseb. God knowes my heart it is a hell vnto me to see my brother for whom Christ shed his blood to want if I haue any thing in the world to giue him Among Christian men loue maketh all things common euery man is others debter and euery man is bound to minister to his neighbour to supplie his neighbours lacke of that wherewith God hath indued him Christ is Lord ouer all and euery Christian is heire annexed with Christ and therfore Lord ouer all and euery one is Lord of whatsoeuer another hath if then my brother or neighbour neede I haue to helpe him and if I shewe not mercie but withdraw my hands from him then rob I him of his own am a theefe A Christian man hath Christs spirit now Christ is mercifull if I shall not bee mercifull I haue not Christs spirit if I haue not Christs spirit then am I none of his And though I shewe mercie vnto my brother yet if I doe it not with such burning loue as Christ did it vnto me I must knowledge my sinne and desire mercie in Christ. Timotheus If a man must be franke and free then a man must giue of his owne stocke to the poore members of Christ and diminish his own substance Euseb. Yea indeede if neede so require wee are made stewards of those goods which God hath giuen vs shall a steward take all vnto himselfe without reproofe I am sure that they which were conuerted at Peters first Sermō after Christs ascension diminished their substance when they sold them and gaue them to the poore I am sure that the Churches which were in Macedonia which sent reliefe vnto their Churches euen aboue their abilitie they being in extreame pouertie did diminish their possessions and God graunt our conuersatiōs may be like theirs And that we should be like them their examples of great compassion are recorded in the scriptures Timoth. Many of vs haue our selues wife children father mother kinsfolke to relieue so that it will be heard to deale after this manner Euseb.
a queene Luk. 18.11 The Pharisie standing thus praied to himselfe I thanke thee O God that I am not as other men extortioners vniust adulterers nor yet as this Publiâ—an vers 12. I fast twise in the weeke and giue tithe of all my possessions V. That the Gospell of Gods kingdome is meere foolishnes 1. Cor. 2. 14. The naturall man perceiueth not the things of the spirit of God for they are foolishnes vnto him VI. To thinke vncharitably malitiously of such as serue God sincerely Math. 12.24 When the Pharisies heard that they said he casteth not out diuels but by the prince of diuels Psal. 74.2 They said in their heartsâ— Let vs destroy them altogither VII To thinke the day of death farre off Esay 28.15 Ye haue said We haue made a couenant with death and with hell we are at agreement though a scourge runne ouer and passe through it shall not come at vs. VIII That the paines of hell may be eschewed in the place before mentioned they say With hell haue we made agreement IX That God will deferre his both particular and last generall comming to iudgement Luk. 12. 19. I will say vnto my soule soule thou hast much goods laid vp for many yeres and vers 45. If that seruaÌ„t say in his heart my master will deferre his comming c. Many carnall men pretend their good meaning but when God openeth their eies they shall see these rebellious thoughts rising in their minds as sparkles out of a chimney The actuall sinne of both wil and affections is euery wicked motion inclination and desire Gal. 5. The flesh lusteth against the spirit An actuall outward sinne is that to the committing whereof the members of the bodie doe together with the faculties of the soule concurre Such sinns as these are infinite Psal. 40. 12. Innumerable troubles haue compassed me my sins haue taken such hold vpon me that I am not able to looke vp yea they are more in number then the haires of mine head Actuall sinne is of omission or commission Again both these are in words or deedes In the sinne of commission obserue these two points The degrees in committing a sinne and the differences of sinnes committed The degrees are in number foure Iames 1. 14 15. Euery man is tempted when hee is drawne away by his owne concupiscence and is entised Then when lust hath conceiued it bringeth foorth sinne and sinne when it is finished bringeth foorth death The first degree is temptation whereby man is allured to sinne This doth Satan by offering to the mind that which is euill Ioh. 13.2 The diuell had now put into the heart of Iudas Iscariot Simons sonne to betray him Act. 5.3 Peter said to Ananias Why hath Satan filled thine heart that thou shouldest lie c. 1. Chr. 21. 1. And Satan stood vp against Israel and prouoked David to number Israel This also is effected vpon occasion of some externall obiect which the senses perceiue Iob 31.1 I haue made a couenant with mine eyes why then should I looke vpon a maide Tentation hath two parts abstraction and inescation Abstraction is the first cogitation of committing sinne whereby the mind is withdrawne from Gods seruice to the which it should be alwaies readie prest Luk. 10.27 Thou shalt loue the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soule with all thy thought Inescation is that whereby an euill thought conceiued and for a time retained in the minde by delighting the will and affections doth as it were lay a baite for them to draw them to consent The second degree is conception which is nothing els but a consent and resolution to commit sinne Psal. 7. 14. He shall trauaile with wickednes he hath conceiued mischiefe but he shall bring forth a lie The third degree is the birth of sinne namely the committing of sinne by the assistance both of the faculties of the soule and the powers of the bodie The fourth degree is perfection when sinne beeing by custome perfect and as it were ripe the sinner reapeth death that is damnation This appeareth in the example of Pharaoh wherefore custome in any sinne is fearefull Sinne actually committed hath fiue differences First to consent with an offendour and not actually to commit sinne Eph. 5.11 Haue no fellowship with the vnfruitfull works of darknes but reprooue them rather This is done three manner of waies I. When as a man in iudgement somewhat alloweth the sinne of another Numb 20.6,10 Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rocke and Moses said vnto them Heare now ye rebels shall we bring you water out of the rocke vers 12. The Lord spake to Moses and Aaron because ye beleeued me not to sanctifie me in the presence of the children of Israel into the land which I haue giuen them II. When the heart approoueth in affection and consent Hither may we referre both the Ministers and the Magistrates concealing and winking at offences 1. Sam. 2. 23. Ely said Why doe ye such things for of all this people I heare euill of you Doe no more my sonnes c. Now that Elies will agreeth with his sonnes sinnes it is manifest vers 29. Thou honourest thy children aboue me III. Indeede by counsell presence entisement Rom. 1. 31. They doe not onely doe the same but also fauour them that doe them Mark 6.25 26. Shee saide vnto her mother What shall I aske and shee said Iohn Baptists head c. Act. 22. 20. When the blood of thy Martyr Steuen was shed I also stood by and consented vnto his death and kept the clothes of them that slue him The second difference is to sinne ignorantly as when a man doth not expresly and distinctly know whether that which he doth be a sinne or not or if he knew it did not acknowledge and marke it 1. Tim. 1.23 I before was a blasphemer and a persecutor and an oppressour but I was receiued to mercie for I did it ignorantly through vnbeleefe Nomb. 35.22 23 24. If he pushed him vnaduisedly and not of hatred or cast vpon him any thing without laying of waite or any stone whereby he might be slaine and saw him not or caused it to fall vpon him and he die and was not his enemie neither sought him any harme then the congregation shall iudge betweene the slayer and the auenger of blood according to these lawes 1. Cor. 4 4. I know nothing by my selfe yet am I not thereby iustified Psal. 19 13. Cleanse me from my secret sinnes The third difference is to sinne vpon knowledge but of infirmitie as when a man fearing some imminent daunger or amazed at the horrour of death doth against his knowledge denie that truth which otherwise he would acknowledge and embrace Such was Peters fall arising from the ouermuch rashnes of the minde mingled with some feare Thus all men offend when the flesh and inordinate desires so ouerrule the will and euery good endeauour that they prouoke man to
whereby men are iustified in the sight of God The Confutation We doe contrarily hold that the materiall cause of mans iustification is the obedience of Christ in suffering fulfilling the law for vs but as for the formall cause that must needes be Imputation the which is an action of God the Father accepting the obedience of Christ for vs as if it were our owne Reasons I. Looke by what we are absolued from all our sinnes and by which we obtaine eternall life by that alone are we iustified But by Christs perfect obedience imputed vnto vs we are absolued from all our sinnes and through it we are accepted of God to eternall life the which we cannot doe by inherent holinesse Therefore by Christs perfect obedience imputed vnto vs are we alone iustified This will appeare to be true in the exercises of inuocation on Gods name and also of repentance For in tentation and conflicts with sinne and Satan faith doth not reason thus Now I haue charitie and inherent grace and for these God will accept of me But faith doth more rightly behold the sonne of God as he was made a sacrifice for vs and sitteth at the right hand of his Father there making intercession for vs to him I say doth faith flie and is assured that for this his sonne God will forgiue vs all our sinnes and will also be reconciled vnto vs yea and account vs iust in his sight not by any qualitie inherent in vs but rather by the merit of Iesus Christ. Rom. 5.19 II. As Christ is made a sinner so by proportion such as beleeue are made iust But Christ was by imputation onely made and accounted a sinner for vs. 2. Cor. 5. 21. For he became a suretie for vs and a sacrifice for our sinnes vpon which all both the guiltinesse of Gods wrath and punishment for vs was to be laide Hence is it that he is said to become 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a curse for vs Therfore we againe are made iust only by imputation III. The contrarie to condemnation is remission of sinnes and iustification is the opposite of condemnation Rom. 8. 33. It is God that iustifieth who shall condemne Therefore iustification is the remission of sinnes Now remission of sinnes dependeth onely vpon this imputation of Christs merits IV. Albeit infused and inherent iustice may haue his due place his praise and also deserts yet as it is a worke of the holy Ghost it is not in this life complete and by reason of the flesh◠whereto it is vnited it is both imperfect and infected with the dregges of sinne Esai 64. Therfore before Gods iudgement seate it cannot claime this prerogatiue to absolue any from the sentence of condemnation Obiect I. This imputation is nothing els but a vaine cogitation Answ. I. Yes it is a relation or diuine ordinance whereby one relatiue is applied to his correlatiue or as the Logitians say is as the foundation to the Terminus II. As the imputation of our sinnes vnto Christ was indeede something so the imputation of Christs iustice vnto vs must not be thought a bare conceit III. Againe the Church of Rome doth her selfe maintaine imputatiue iustic◠namely when as by Ecclesiasticall authoritie shee doth applie the merits and satisfactions of certain persons vnto other members of that Church Whence it is apparant that euen the Popes indulgences they are imputatiue Obiect II. Imputatiue iustice is not euerlasting but that iustice which the Messiah bringeth is euerlasting Ans. Although after this life there is no pardon of sinnes to be looked for yet that which is giuen vs in this life shall to our saluation continue in the life to come Obiect III. If iustification be by imputation he may before God be iust who indeede is a very wicked man Ans. Not so any waies for he that is once by imputation iustified he is also at that same instant sanctified The XIII errour There is also a second iustification and that is obtained by workes The Confutation That popish deuice of a second iustification is a fantasticall delusion For I. The word of God doth acknowledge no more but one iustification at all and that absolute and complete of it selfe There is but one iustice but one satisfaction of God being offended therefore there cannot be a manifold iustification II. If by reason of the increase of inherent iustice iustification should be distinguished into seuerall kindes or parts we might as well make an hundreth kinds or parts of iustification as two III. That which by order of nature doth follow after full iustification before God it cannot be said to iustifie But good workes doe by order of nature follow mans iustification and his absolution from sinnes because no worke can please God except the person it selfe that worketh the same doe before please him But no mans person can please God but such an one as beeing reconciled to God by the merits of Christ hath peace with him IV. Such workes as are not agreeable to the rule of legall iustice they before the tribunall seat of God cannot iustifie but rather both in and of themselues are subiect to Gods eternall curse For this is the sentence of the Law Cursed is euery one that continueth not in all things written in the booke of the Law to doe them Now the works euen of the regenerate are not squared according to the rule of legall iustice wherefore Dauid being as it were stricken with the cōsideration of this durst not once oppose no not his best works to the iudgement of God that by them he might plead pardon of his sinnes whence it is that he crieth out and saith Enter not into iudgement with thy seruant O Lord for then no flesh liuing shall be iustified in thy sight The like doth Iob 9.3 If he namely such an one as saith he is iust contend with God he cannot answer him one of a thousand And Dan. 9. 18. We doe not present our supplications before thee for our owne righteousnesse but for thy great tender mercies V. Iustification by works let them be whatsoeuer they can be doth quite ouerturne the foundation of our faith Gal. 5.2 If ye be circumcised Christ will profit you nothing and v. 4. Ye are abolished from Christ whosoeuer are iustified by the law ye are fallen from grace In this place the Apostle speaketh of them not which did openly resist Christ and the Gospel but of such as did with the merit of Christ mingle together the workes of the Law as though some part of our saluation consisted in them Exception This place doth onely exclude such morall works of the flesh as doe goe before faith or the workes of the law of Moses Ans. This is vntrue For euen of Abraham being already regenerated and of those his works which were done when he was iustified Paul speaketh thus To him not which worketh but which beleeueth is faith imputed Those works which God hath prepared that the regenerate should walke in
of afflicted conscience 129 Commemoration of the creature 55 Commendation for well doing to be vsed 100 Commaundements to man in innocencie 13 Companie 85 want of Compassion 74 Complaints 74 Compunction 165 Concupiscence 100 Conception of sinne 21 Condemnation is by man 164 Confession of sinnes 119 Confidence in creatures 41 Cookes must keepe the sabbath 63 Coniuring 50 Coniunction with God 115 Conscience corrupted 18 not Comforted by a generall election 172 Concealing of sinnes 21,99 Consent in sinne 21 Contentation 92 Contentions 74 Contempt of superiours 71 Contempt of Gods seruice 48 Corne for the poore 75 Conuersation 58 to Couet what â—00 Counterfait wares 89 Countenance austere 74 Couetousnes 89 Couenant of grace and workes 36 102 Couenant with sathan 49 who are in the Couenant 108 Contracts how with whome 88 Contingencie not taken away by gods decree 9 Controuersies how decided 75 Conuersion to God whence 19 Crauing pardon for sinnes 119 Credulitie 98 Creation 10 creatures must not be vsed hardly 74 Cryings 74 Crosses 136 Crueltie 72 Cursings 55 Custome in sinne 21 ConstaÌ„tine what figure he saw 4â— D Damage in goods a punishment 23 Damnation 164,171 Dauncing 85 Death a punishment 23 Death not to be feared 142 Death of the elect 141 Death driuen farre off 20 Decalogue 36 Decree of God 8 it is secret 164 Degrees in sinning 20 Degrees in deuills 15 Defence of a mans selfe 81 Deniall of our selues 1â—8 Derision is persecution 74 Derision of Gods creatures 55 of superiours 71 Desire to please God 40 desires of the flesh how auoided 135 holy Desperation 117 Deuils 36 what they can doe 49 Differences of actuall sinne 21 Disdaine 95 Disobedience 71 Distinction of dominions a punishment 23 Distinction of persons 6 Distrust in God 40 Dissolute life 58 Doubtfulnes 40,132 Dreames 19 Diuination 50 Discerning 126 Duties of man to himselfe 71 E Eares of corne may be pulled to satisfie hunger 80 Eating with circumstances 87 Edict of the law 36 Edification 140 Elders fathers 66 Elect know themselues elect 163 election 23,114,146 by Christ. 24,114 meanes of election 24,36 it is Gods gift 114 it is not generally of all 168 notes of election 177 elect can not finally fall 160 elect haue dominion ouer creatures 124 Elohim what 1 eleuation in the masse 48 enchantments 51 enterludes 85 enuie 74,95 entising to sinne 21 encourage such as feare God 81 equalitie in contracts 93 errours of Predest confuted 149 estate of infidelitie 16 estate of the elect after death 141 143,144 estate of wicked men 175 estimation of our selues 20 eternall life 144 eternall ioy 145 eternall destruction 23,174,175 euangelicall promises indefinite 132 euill things how good with God 9 10 euill thoughts 20 excellencie of gifts reuerenced 69 excuse of sinne whence 18 execution of Gods decree 23 execution of election 25 execution of the decree of reprobation 164 exposition of scripture to xpe 33 externall obseruation of the sabbath 65 extolling of a mans selfe aboue others 72 eyes full of adulterie 84 F the Fall of a christian souldier 130 131 the remedies 131 before my Face what 39 the Fall 14 Falling from God 166 decreed of God 16,173 Faith 117,120,155 a temporarie faith 166 how faith is begotten 33,103 degrees in working it 118 degrees in Faith 120 Faith how shaken 120 not commaunded in the morall law 121 Faires may not be on the sabbath 65 the Faithfull alone haue title to Gods goods 124 False witnesse 95 False sentence 91 Fasting 53,88 Father what 66 Fatherlesse 74 Feare of God 40 of deâ—th 166 to offend God 127 Feasts 87 to idols 45 at Feasts leaue somewhat 87 Feeble not to be inuried 74 Fighting ibid. Flatterie 97 Flight in persecution 140 Forgerie 99 Foreknowledge of God 9 Fornication 82 Found things restore 89,94 Free-will not taken away by Gods decree 9 Free-will 151,153 Frowardnes 74 Funerals how to be solemnized 79 Fulnes of bread 85 G Gaine lawfull 91 vnlawfull ibid. Gaming for gaine ibid. Gate what 63 Gifts of the holy Ghost not saleable 89 Gleanings 80 Glorification 141 perfect Glorie 144 Glorie of God sought aboue all 100 it is the ende of all 146 176 Gospell 103 thought follie 20 God is and what 1 he is denied 20 his nature 1 simplenes 2 infinitenesse 2 he hath neither subiect nor adiunct 2 his essence ibid. immutabilitie ibid. searcher of the heart 3 the life of God ibid. how he willeth euill 3 his loue mercie c. ibid. what God can doe 5 his glorie knowne onely to himselfe ibid how God is knowne to man ibid. God the Father 7 his properties ibid. God the Sonne ibid. he onely incarnate 24 how sent 7 how the Word ibid. his properties 7 God the holy Ghost 8 Gods operation and operatiue permission 9 thy God what 38 others gods what 38 39 Good meaning 20 Good name 99 Goodnes of the creature 11 Gouernment of Christs Church 35 when corrupted 48 Grace can not be extinguished 160 Grapes may be plucked 79 Grief for others our own sins 127 Grauen image 43 Grudges 74 Guiltlesse what 54 H Hallow the sabbath 61 Hardnes of heart 23 Hard and soft heart 42 Hatred of God 42,164 of our neighbour 74 Heauens threefold 11 Hellenisme 40 Heresies spring froÌ„ original sin 17,18 Hell fire 176 Holy Ghost 8 not Christs father 25 Holines of mind 126 of memorie ibid. conscience ibid. will 127 affections ibid. bodie 128 Honour what 83 Hope 39,127 Hope of pardon 118 House coueted 100 Humilitie 40 Hungring after grace 118 Hunting 81 Husbandrie on the sabbath 65 Hypocrisie 47,48 I Idlenes 88 Iealous what 43,44 Iesting at scripture 58 Iewes 35 Idolatrie 45 Idolaters 35 Idol 43 Idolatrous seruice may not be heard 45 Idolaters sorie when they omit their fained worship 18 Illumination 126 Iehouah 38 Image of God 11 how much of Gods Image we reteined 17 Ingrossing commodities 90 Infamie a punishment 23 Infants how saued 114 Infants in the couenant 108 Infants which condemned 164 Ingratitude 72 Inhabitants of the world 11 Inholders dutie 63 Ignorance from Adam 17 sinne of Ignorance 21,22 Impatience in afflictions 41 Impotencie of minde 17 of will 19 Inclination to euill 17 Impuritie of conscience 18,19 Inescation 21 Iniuries 74 Indulgences 47 ImputatioÌ„ of mans sins to Christ. 31 Imputation of Christs righteousnes to man 122 imputatiue iustice prooued 123,156 Iosephs pietie 98 Iourneies on the sabbath day 65 Iudaisme 40 Images in Churches vnlawfull 44 Infirmities to be concealed 78,97,99 Infirmities of the bodie couered by Christ. 33 Infidels how damned 167 Ioy in the holy Ghost 128 Iudgements of God must be regarded 58 Iudging 99 last Iudgement 143 Iust dealing 92 Iugling 51 Iustice. 129 of the faithfull 160 Iustification 121,122 second Iustification confuted 157 Intermission of Gods seruice 48 Interpreting amisse 75 Interpreting wel 98 Iustice inherent 156 K to Kill what who when 73 the Knowledge of Gods law bruiseth the heart 177 the Knowledge of the Gospel 118 Kings are fathers 66
and all his precepts are vnto my wealth and profit and that my father commandeth nothing for any need he hath thereof but seeketh my profit onely and therefore I haue a good faith vnto all my fathers promises and loue all his commandements and doe them with good will and with good will goe euery daie to the schoole And by the waie happely I sawe a company plaie and with the sight was taken and rauished of my memorie and forgot my selfe and stood and beheld and fell to plaie also forgetting father and mother and all their kindnesse all their Lawes and mine owne profit also Howbeit the knowledge of my fathers kindnes the faith of his promises and the loue that I had againe vnto my father and the obedient minde were not vtterly quenched but laie hidde as all things doe when a man sleepeth or lyeth in a trance And as soone as I had played out all my lusts or else by some had beene warned in the meane season I came againe to my olde profession Notwithstanding many tentations went ouer my heart and the law as a right hangman tormented my conscience and went nie to perswade me that my father would thrust me away and hang me if he catched me so that I was like a great while to run away rather then to returne to my father againe Feare and dread of rebuke and of losse of my fathers loue and of punishment wrastled with the trust which I had in my fathers goodnes as it were gaue my faith a fall But I rose againe as soone as the rage of the first brunt was past and my mind was more quiet And the goodnesse of my father and his olde kindnesse came vnto my remembrance either by mine owne courage or by the comfort of another And I beleeued that my father would not put me away or destroy me and he hoped that I would doe no more so And vpon that I gote me home againe dismayed but not altogether faithlesse the old kindnes would not let me despaire howbeit all the world could not set mine heart at rest vntill the paine had beene past and vntill I had heard the voice of my father that all is forgotten Timoth. Seeing that you haue thus plainely and truely shewed the weaknes of yours and consequently of all mens faith shewe me I pray you how by the weaknes of faith a Christian is not rather discomforted then comforted and assured of his saluation Euseb. God doth not so much regard the quantity of his graces as the truth of them hee approueth a little faith if it bee a true faith yea if faith in vs were no more but a grame of mustard seede which is the least of all other seedes it should be effectuall and God would haue respect vnto it The poore diseased begger with a lame hande hauing the palsie also is able neuerthelesse to reach out the same and receiue an almes of a King and so in like manner a weake and languishing faith is sufficiently able to reach out it selfe and to apprehend the infinite mercies of our heauenly king offered vnto vs in Christ. Faith in the 3. of Iohn is cōpared vnto the eie of the Israelite which although it were of dimme sight or looked a squint yet if it could neuer so little behold the brasen serpent it was sufficient to cure the stings of the fierie serpents and to saue life Timoth. Seeing that you satisfie me in euery point so fully shew me I pray you whether a man may be wicked and haue faith and whether faith entring expelleth wickednesse For I haue heard some say that a man might beleeue the word of God and yet be neuer the better in his life or holier then before he was Euseb. Many there are which when they heare or read of faith at once they consent thereunto and haue a certaine imagination and opinion of faith as when a man telleth a storie or a thing done in a strange land that pertaineth not to them at all which yet they beleeue and tell vs a true thing and this imagination or opinion they call faith Therfore as soone as they haue this imagination or opinion in their hearts they say verely this doctrine seemeth true I beleeue it is euen so then they think that the right faith is there but afterward when they feele in themselues no manner of working of the Spirit neither the terrible sentence of the Law and the horrible captiuitie vnder Sathan neither can perceiue any alteration in themselues and that any good workes followe but finde they are altogether as before and abide in their olde estate then thinke they that faith is not sufficient but that workes must be ioyned with faith to iustification but true faith is onely the gift of god is mightie in operation euer working beeing full of vertue it renueth man and begetteth him a fresh altereth him chaungeth him and turneth him altogether into a newe creature and conuersation so that a man shall feele his heart cleane chaunged and farre otherwise disposed then before and hath power to loue that which before he could not but hate delighteth in that which before he abhorred and hateth that which before he could not but loue And it setteth the soule at libertie and maketh her free to follow the will of God and is to the soule as health to the bodie After that a man is pined with long sicknes the legges can not beare him he cannot lift vp his hands to help him his tast is corrupt sugar is bitter in his mouth his stomack lōgeth after slubbersauce swash at which a whole stomacke is ready to cast his gorge when health commeth she changeth and altereth him cleane giueth him strength in all his members lust and will to do of his own accord that which before he could not do neither could suffer that any man should exhort him to doe and hath now lust in wholsom things and his members are free and at libertie haue power to do all things of his owne accord which belong to a sound and whole man to do And faith worketh in the same maner as a tree brings forth fruit of his own accord and as a man need not bid a tree bring forth fruit so is there no law put to him that beleeueth and is iustified through faith to force him to obedience neither is it needefull For the Law is written and grauen in his heart his pleasure is daily therein as without commandement euen of his own nature he eateth drinketh seeth heareth talketh goeth euen so of his own nature without any compulsion of the law he bringeth forth good works and as a whole man whē he is a thirst tarieth but for drinke when he hungreth abideth but for meat then drinketh and eateth naturally euen so is the faithfull euer a thirst and an hungred after the will of God and tarieth but for an occasion whensoeuer an occasion is giuen he worketh naturally the will
of the old and new Testament Reason I. He which is the Lord of conscience by his word and lawes binds conscience but God is the onely Lord of conscience because he once created it and he alone gouernes it and none but he knowes it therefore his word and lawes onely binde conscience properly II. He which hath power to saue or destroy the soule for the keeping or breaking of his lawes hath absolute power to bind the soule and conscience by the same lawes but the first is true of God alone Iam. 3. 12. There is one Lawgiuer which is able to saue and destroy Esa. 33.22 The Lord is our iudge the Lord is our lawgiuer the Lord is our King and he will saue vs. Therefore the word of God alone by an absolute and soueraigne power binds conscience Because this point is cleare of it selfe further proofe is needlesse Hence we are taught sundrie points of instruction I. Such as are ignorant among vs must labour to get knowledge of Gods word because it binds conscience Neither will the plea of ignorance serue for excuse because whether we know Gods lawes or know them not they stil bind vs And we are bound not onely to doe them but when we know them not we are further bound not to be ignorant of them but to seeke to know them If we had no more sinnes our ignorance were sufficient to condemne vs. II. Gods word is to be obeyed though we should offend all men yea loose all mens fauour and suffer the greatest domage that may be euen the losse of our liues And the reason is at hand because Gods word hath this prerogatiue to bridle binde and restraine the conscience III. Whatsoeuer we enterprise or take in hand we must first search whether God giue vs libertie in conscience and warrant to doe it For if we doe otherwise conscience is bound presently to charge vs of sinne before God Lastly we doe here see how daungerous the case is of all Time-seruers that will liue as they list and be of no certen religion till differences and dissentions therein be ended and they haue the determination of a generall Councill for whether these things compasse or no certen it is that they are bound in conscience to receiue and beleeue the auncient Propheticall and Apostolicall doctrine touching the true worship of God and the way to life euerlasting which is the true religion The same is to be said of all drowsie Protestants and luke-warme gospellers that vse religion not with that care and conscience they ought but onely then and so farre forth as it serues for their turnes commonly neglecting or despising the assemblies where the word is preached and seldome frequenting the Lords table vnlesse it be at Easter Like silly wretches they neither see nor feele the constraining power that Gods word hath in their consciences Gods word is either Law or Gospell The Law is a part of Gods word of things to be done or to be left vndone And it is threefolde Morall Iudiciall Ceremoniall Morall lawe concernes duties of loue partly to God and partly towards our neighbour it is contained in the Decalogue or ten commandements and it is the very law of nature written in all mens hearts for substance though not for the manner of propounding in the creation of man and therefore it bindes the consciences of all men at all times euen of blind and ignorant persons that neither knowe the most of it nor care to knowe it Yet here must be remembred three exceptions or cautions I. When two commandements of the morall law are opposite in respect of vs so as we cannot doe them both at the same time then the lesser commandement giues place to the greater and doth not binde or constraine for that instant Example I. God commaunds one thing and the magistrate commands the flat contrarie in this case which of these two commandements is to be obeyed Honour God or Honour the Magistrate the answer is that the latter must giue place to the former and the former alone in this case must be obeyed Act. 4.19 Whether it be right in the sight of God to obey you rather then God iudge ye II. The fourth commandement prescribes rest on the Sabbath day now it falls out that at the same time a whole towne is set on fire and the sixt commandement requires our help in sauing our neighbours life and goods Nowe of these two commandements which must be obeied for both cannot The answer is that the fourth commandement at this time is to giue place and the sixt commandement alone bindes the conscience so as then if neede should require a man might labour all the day without offence to God Math. 9.13 I will haue mercie and not sacrifice And the rule must not be omitted That charitie towards our neighbour is subordinate to the Loue of God and therefore must giue place to it For this cause the commandement concerning charitie must giue place to the cōmandement concerning loue to God and when the case so falls out that wee must either offend our neighbour or God we must rather offend our neighbour then God II. Caution When God giues some particular commandement to his people therein dispensing with some other commandement of the moral law for that time it bindes not For euen the morall commandements must be cōceiued with this condition Except God command otherwise Example I. The sixt commandement is Thou shalt not kill but God giues a particular commandement to Abraham Abraham offer thy sonne Isaac in sacrifice to me And this latter commandement at that instant did binde Abraham and he is therefore commended for his obedience to it II. And when God commanded the children of Israel to compasse Ierico seuen daies and therefore on the Sabbath the fourth commaundement prescribing the sanctifying of rest on the Sabbath for that instant and in that action did not bind conscience III. Caution One and the same commandement in some things binds the conscience more straitly and in doing some other things lesse Gal. 6.10 Doe good to all men but specially to them which are of the houshold of faith Hence it ariseth that though all sinnes be mortall and deserue eternal death yet all are not equall but some more grieuous then others Iudiciall lawes of Moses are all such as prescribe order for the executiō of iustice and iudgement in the common wealth They were specially giuen by God and directed to the Iewes who for this very cause were bound in conscience to keepe them all and if the common wealth of the Iewes were nowe standing in the old estate no doubt they should cōtinue stil to bind as before But touching other nations and specially Christian common wealths in these daies the case is otherwise Some are of opinion that the whole iudiciall lawe is wholly abolished and some againe runne to the other extreame holding that iudiciall lawes bind Christians as straightly as Iewes but no
doubt they are both wide and the safest course is to keepe the meane between both Therefore the iudiciall lawes of Moses according to the substance and scope thereof must be distinguished in which respect they are of two sorts Some of them are lawes of particular equitie some of common equitie Lawes of particular equitie are such as prescribe iustice according to the particular estate and condition of the Iewes common wealth and to the circumstances thereof time place persons things actions Of this kind was the law that the brother should raise vp seed to his brother and many such like and none of them bind vs because they were framed and tempered to a particular people Iudicialls of common equitie are such as are made according to the lawe or instinct of nature coÌ„mon to all men these in respect of their substance bind the consciences not onely of the Iewes but also of the Gentiles for they were not giuen to the Iewes as they are Iewes that is a people receiued into the Couenant aboue all other nations brought from Egypt to the land of Canaan of whome the Messias according to the flesh was to come but they were giuen to them as they were mortall men subiect to the order and lawes of nature as all other nations are Againe iudiciall lawes so farre forth as they haue in them the generall or common equitie of the law of nature are moral and therefore binding in conscience as the morall lawe A iudiciall lawe may be known to be a law of common equitie if either of these two things be found in it First if wise men not onely among the Iewes but also in other nations haue by naturall reason and conscience iudged the same to be equall iust and necessarie and withall haue iustified their iudgement by enacting laws for their common wealths the same in substance with sundrie of the iudicial lawes giuen to the Iewes and the Romane Emperours among the rest haue done this most excellently as will appeare by conferring their lawes with the lawes of God Secondly a Iudicial hath common equitie if it serue directly to explane and confirme any of the ten precepts of the Decalogue or if it serue directly to maintaine and vpholde any of the three estates of the family the common wealth the Church And whether this be so or no it will appeare if we doe but consider the matter of the law and the reasons or considerations vpon which the Lord was mooued to giue the same vnto the Iewes Nowe to make the point in hand more plaine take an example or two It is a iudiciall lawe of God that murderers must bee put to death now the question is whether this lawe for substance be the common equitie of nature binding consciences of Christians or no the answer is that without further doubting it is so For first of all this lawe hath beene by common consent of wise law-giuers enacted in many countries and kingdomes beside the Iewes It was the lawe of the Egyptians and olde Grecians of Draco of Numa and of many of the Romane Emperours Secondly this lawe serues directly to maintaine obedience to the sixt commandement and the consideration vpon which the lawe was made is so weightie that without it a common-wealth cannot stand The murderers blood must bee shedde saith the Lord Num. 35.33.34 because the whole land is defiled with blood and remaineth vncleâ—sed till his blood be shed Againe it was a iudiciall law among the Iewes that the adulterer and adulteresse should die the death nowe let the question be whether this lawe concerne other nations as being deriued from the common lawe of nature and it seemes to bee so For first wise men by the light of reason and naturall conscience haue iudged this punishment equall and iust Iudah before this iudiciall lawe was giuen by Moses appointed Tamar his daughter in law to be burnt to death for playing the whore Nabuchadnezar burnt Echad and Zedechias because they committed adulterie with their neighbours wiues By Dracoes lawe among the Grecians this sin was death and also by the law of the Romanes Againe this law serues directly to maintaine necessarie obedience to the seuenth commandement and the considerations vpon which this lawe was giuen are perpetuall and serue to vphold the common wealth Lev. 20.22 Ye saith the Lord shall keepe all mine ordinances and my iudgements the law of adulterie being one of them Nowe marke the reasons 1. Least the laÌ„d spue you out 2. for the same sins I haue abhorred the natioÌ„s The Ceremoniall lawe is that which prescribes rites and orders in the outward worship of God It must be considered in three times The first is time before the comming and death of Christ the second the time of publishing the gospell by the Apostles the third the time after the publishing of the gospell In the first it did binde the conscience of the Iewes and the obedience of it was the true worship of God But it did not then bind the consciences of the Gentiles for it was the partition wall between them and the Iewes And it did continue to bind the Iewes till the very death and ascension of Christ. For theÌ„ the hand writing of ordinances which was against vs was nailed on the crosse and cancelled And when Christ saith that the lawe and the Prophett indured til Iohn Luk. 16.16 his meaning is not that the ceremoniall law ended then but that things foretold by the Prophets obscurely prefigured by the ceremoniall law began then more plainely to be preached and made manifest The second time was from the ascension of Christ til about the time of the destruction of the Temple and the Citie in which ceremonies ceased to bind conscience and remained indifferent Hereupon Paul circumcised Timothie the Apostles after Christs ascension as occasion was offered were present in the Temple Act. 3.1 And the Council of Hierusalem tendering the weaknes of some beleeuers decreed that the Church for a time should abstaine from strangled and blood And there was good reason of this because the Church of the Iewes was not yet sufficiently conuicted that an end was put to the ceremoniall law by the death of Christ. In the third time which was after the publishing of the gospel ceremonies of the Iewes Church became vnlawfull and so shall continue to the worldes ende By this it appeares what a monstrous and miserable religion the church of Rome teacheth and maintaineth which standes wholly in ceremonies partly heathenish and partly Iewish As for the Gospel I take it for the part of the word of God which promiseth righteousnes and life euerlasting to all that beleeue in Christ and withall commandeth this faith That we may the better knowe howe the gospell bindes conscience two points must be considered one touching the persons bound the other touching the manner of binding Persons are of two sorts some be called some be
vncalled Persons called are all such to whome God in mercie hath offered the meanes of saluation and hath reuealed the doctrine of the Gospell in some measure more or lesse by meanes either ordinarie or extraordinarie All such I thinke are straightly bound in conscience to beleeue and obey the gospel For that word of God whereby men shall be iudged in the day of iudgement must first of all binde their consciences in this life considering absolution and condemnation is according to that which is done in this life but by the gospell all men that haue beene called shall be iudged as Paul saith Rom. 2.16 God shall iudge the secrets of men by Iesus Christ according to my Gospell And our Sauiour Christ saith He that beleeueth hath life euerlasting hee which beleeueth not is alreadie condemned It remaines therefore that the gospell bindes the consciences of such men in this life By this very point we are all put in minde not to content our selues with this that we haue a liking to the gospell and doe beleeue it to bee true though many protestants in these our daies thinke it sufficient both in life and death if they hold that they are to be saued by faith alone in Christ without the merit of mans workes but wee must goe yet further and enter into a practise of the doctrine of the Gospel as wel as of the precepts of the morall lawe knowing that the gospel doeth as well bind conscience as the law and if it be not obeied will as well condemne Men vncalled are such as neuer heard of Christ by reason the gospell was neuer reuealed vnto them nor meanes of reuelation offered That there haue bin such in former ages I make manifest thus The worlde since the creation may be distinguished into foure ages The first frō the creation to the flood the second from the flood to the giuing of the Law the third from the giuing of the Lawe to the death of Christ the fourth from the death of Christ to the last iudgement Nowe in the three former ages there was a distinction of the world into two sorts of men wherof one was a people of God the other no-people In the first age in the families of Seth Noe c. were the sonnes of God in all other families the sonnes of men Gen. 6.2 In the second age were the sonnes of the flesh and the sonnes of the promise Rom. 9.7 In the third Iewes and Gentiles the Iewes beeing the Church of God all nations beside no-church But in the last age this distinction was taken away when the Apostles had a commission giuen them that was neuer giuen before to any namely to goe teach not onely the Iewes but all nations Now this distinction arose of this that the Gospel was not reuealed to the world before the comming of Christ as the Scriptures witnes The prophet Esai saith 52.14 that kings shall shut their mouthes at Christ because that which had not bin told them they shal see and that which they had not heard shall they vnderstand And 55. 5. that a nation that knew him not shall runne vnto him Paul saith to the Ephesians that in former times they were without God and without Christ strangers from the couenāt Eph. 2.12 And to the Athenians he saith that the times before the comming of Christ were times of ignorance Act. 17.30 And that it may not be thought that this ignorance was affected Paul saith further that God in times past suffered the Gentiles to walke in their owne waies Act. 14. 16. and that the mysterie of the Gospell was kept secret from the beginning of the world and is now in the last age reuealed to the whole world Rom. 16.25 Some alleadge that the Iewes beeing the church of God had traffique with all nations and by this means spred some little knowledge of the Messias through the whole world I answer again that the conference and speach of Iewish marchants with forrainers was no sufficient means to publish the promise of saluation by Christ to the whol world first because the Iewes for the most part haue alwaies bin more readie to receiue any new and false religion then to teach their owne secondly because the very Iewes themselues though they were well acquainted with the ceremonies of their religion yet the substance thereof which was Christ figured by externall ceremonies they knew not and hereupon the Pharises when they made a Proselyte they made him tenne times more the child of the deuill then themselues Thirdly because men are seldome or neuer suffered to professe or make any speach of their religion in forraine countries Againe if it be alleadged that the doctrine is set downe in the bookes of the old Testament which men through the whole world might haue read searched and knowne if they would I answer that the keeping of the bookes of the old Testament was committed to the Iewes alone Rom. 3.2 and therefore they were not giuen to the whole world as also the Psalmist testifieth He sheweth his word vnto Iacob his statutes and his iudgements vnto Israel he hath not dealt so with euery nation neither haue they knowne his iudgements Now touching such persons as haue not so much as heard of Christ though they are apt and fitte to be bound in conscience by the Gospell in as much as they are the creatures of God yet are they not indeed actually bound till such time as the Gospel be reuealed or at the least meanes of reuelation offered Reasons hereof may be these I. Whatsoeuer doctrine or law doth bind conscience must in some part be knowne by nature or by grace or by both the vnderstanding must first of all conceiue or at the least haue meanes of conceiuing before conscience can constraine because it bindeth by vertue of known cōclusions in the mind Therfore things that are altogether vnknown and vnconceiued of the vnderstanding doe not bind in conscience now the Gospel is altogether vnknowne and vnconceiued of many as I haue alreadie prooued and therefore it binds not them in conscience II. Paul saith Rom. 2.12 They which sinne without the law written shal be condemned without the law therefore they which sinne without the Gospel shal be condemned without the Gospel and such as shal be condemned without the Gospel after this life were not bound by it in this life Augustine the most iudiciall Diuine of all the auncient fathers vpon these wordes of Christ but now they haue no excuse for their sinne saith on this manner A doubt may be mooued whether they to whome Christ hath not come neither hath spoken vnto them haue an excuse for their sinne For if they haue it not why is it said that these namely the Iewes haue no excuse because he came and spake to them and if they haue it whether it be that their punishment may be taken away quite or in part lessened To these demands to my capacitie as the Lord shall inable me
vs our debts and to it we say Amen that is that our petitions shall without doubt be graunted vnto vs. Aug. serm de Temp. 182. And here note that the Church of Rome in the doctrine of iustification by faith cuts off the principall part and propertie thereof For in iustifying faith two things are required first Knowledge reuealed in the word touching the meanes of saluation secondly an Applying of things knowne vnto our selues which some call affiance Nowe the first they acknowledge but the second which is the very substance and principall part thereof they denie III. Reason The iudgement of the auncient Church August I demande nowe doest thou beleeue in Christ O sinner Thou saiest I beleeue What beleeuest thou that all thy sinnes may freely be pardoned in him Thou hast that which thou beleeuest Bernard The Apostle thinketh that a man is iustified freely by faith If thou beleeuest that thy sinnes cannot bee remitted but by him alone against whome they were committed but goe further and beleeue this too that by him thy sinnes are forgiuen thee This is the testimonie which the holy Ghost giueth in the heart saying thy sinnes are forgiuen thee Cyprian God promiseth thee immortalitie when thou goest out of this world and doest thou doubt This is indeed not to know God and this is for a member of the Church in the house of faith not to haue faith If wee beleeue in Christ let vs beleeue his wordes and promises and wee shall neuer die and shall come to Christ with ioyfull securitie with him to raigne for euer The II. difference touching faith in the act of iustification is this The Papist saith we are iustified by faith because it disposeth a sinner to his iustification after this manner By faith saith he the mind of man is inlightened in the knowledge of the lawe and gospell knowledge stirs vp a feare of hell with a consideration of the promise of happines as also the loue feare of God hope of life eternall Now when the heart is thus prepared God infuseth the habit of charitie other vertues wherby a sinner is iustified before god We say otherwise that faith iustifieth because it is a supernaturall Instrument created by God in the heart of man at his conuersion whereby he apprehendeth and receiueth Christs righteousnes for his iustification In this their doctrine is a twofold error I. that they make faith which iustifieth to goe before iustification it selfe both â—or order of nature as also for time whereas by the worde of God at the very instant when any man beleeueth first he is then iustified and sanctified For he that beleeueth eateth and drinketh the bodie and blood of Christ and is alreadie passed from death to life Ioh. 6.54 The second is that faith beeing nothing else with them but an illumination of the minde stirreth vp the will which beeing mooued helped causeth in the heart many spirituall motions and thereby disposeth man to his future iustification But this indeed is as much as if we should say that dead men onely helped can prepare themselues to their future resurrection For we are all by nature dead in sinne and therefore must not onely be inlightened in mind but also renued in will before we can so much as wil or desire that which is good Nowe we as I haue said teach otherwise that faith iustifieth as it is an instrument to apprehend and apply Christ with his obedience which is the matter of our iustification This is the trueth I prooue it thus In the couenant of grace two things must be considered the substance thereof and the condition The substance of the couenant is that righteousnes and life euerlasting is giuen to Gods Church and people by Christ. The condition is that we for our parts are by faith to receiue the foresaid benefits and this condition is by grace as well as the substance Now then that we may attaine to saluation by Christ he must be giuen vnto vs really as he is propounded in the tenour of the foresaid couenant And for the giuing of Christ God hath appointed speciall ordinances as the preaching of the word and the administration oâ—â—â—e Sacraments The word preached is the power of God to saluation to euery one that beleeues and the end of the sacraments is to communicate Christ with all his benefits to them that come to be partakers thereof as is most plainely to be seene in the supper of the Lord in which the giuing of bread and wine to the seuerall communicants is a pledge and signe of Gods particular giuing of Christs bodie and blood with all his merits vnto them And this giuing on Gods part cannot be effectuall without receiuing on our parts and therfore faith must needes be an instrument or hand to receiue that which God giueth that we may find comfort by this giuing The III. difference concerning faith is this the Papist saith that a man is iustified by faith yet not by faith alone but also by other vertues as hope loue the feare of God c. The reasons which are brought to maintaine their opinion are of no moment I. Reason Luke 7.47 Many sinnes are forgiuen her because shee loued much Whence they gather that the woman here spoken of was iustified and had the pardon of sinnes by loue Ans. In this text loue is not made an impulsiue cause to mooue God to pardon her sinnes but onely a figne to shew and manifest that God had alreadie pardoned them Like to this is the place of Iohn who saith 1. Ioh. 3. 14. We are translated from death to life because wee loue the brethreÌ„ where loue is no cause of the chaÌ„ge but a signe consequent therof II. Reason Gal. 5.6 Neither circumcision nor vncircumeision auaileth any thing but faith that worketh by loue Hence they gather that faith doeth iustifie togither with loue Ans. The propertie of true faith is to apprehend and receiue something vnto it selfe and loue that goes alwaies with faith as a fruite and an vnseparable companion thereof is of another nature For it doeth not receiue in but as it were giue out it selfe in all the duties of the first and second table towards God and man and this thing faith by it selfe cannot doe and therefore Paul saieth that faith worketh by loue The hand hath a propertie to reach out it selfe to lay hold of any thing and to recâ—â—ue a gift but the hand hath no propertie to cut a peece of wood of it selfe without saw or knife or some like instrument yet by help of theÌ„ it can either deuide or cut Euen so it is the nature of faith to goe out of it selfe to receiue Christ into the heart as for the duties of the first and second table faith cannot of it selfe bring them forth no more then the hand can deuide or cut yet ioyne loue to faith then can it practise duties commended concerning God and man
And this I take to be the meaning of this text which speaketh not of iustification by faith but onely of the practice of common duties which faith putteth in execution by the helpe of loue III. Reason Faith is neuer alone therefore it doth not iustifie alone Ans. The reason is naught and they might as well dispute thus The eie is neuer alone from the head and therefore it seeth not alone which is absurd And though in regard of substance the eie be neuer alone yet in regard of seeing it is alone and so though faith subsist not without loue and hope and other graces of god yet in regard of the act of iustification it is alone without thē al. IV. Reason If faith alone doe iustifie then we are saued by faith alone but we are not saued by faith alone and therefore not iustified by faith alone Ans. The proposition is false for more things are requisite to the maine ende then to the subordinate meanes And the assumption is false for wee are saued by faith alone if we speake of faith as it is an instrument apprehending Christ for our saluation V. Reason We are saued by hope therefore not by faith alone Ans. Wee are saued by hope not because it is any cause of our saluation Pauls meaning is onely this that we haue not saluation as yet in possession but waite patiently for it in time to come to be possessed of vs expecting the time of our full deliuerance that is all that can iustly be gathered hence Nowe the doctrine which we teach on the contrarie is That a sinner is iustified before God by faith yea by faith alone The meaning is that nothing within man and nothing that man can do either by nature or by grace concurreth to the act of iustification before God as any cause thereof either efficient material formal or final but faith alone all other gifts graces as hope loue the feare of God are necessarie to saluation as signes thereof cōsequents of faith Nothing in mā cōcurs as any cause to this work but by faith alone And faith it selfe is no principall but onely an instrumentall cause whereby we receiue apprehend and apply Christ and his righteousnesse for our iustificatiō Reason I. Ioh. 3.14,15 As Moses lift vp the serpent in the wildernesse so must the sonne of man be lift vp that whosoeuer beleeueth in him shall not perish but haue euerlasting life In these words Christ makes a comparison on this maner when any one of the Israelites were stung to death by fierie serpents his cure was not by any phisicke surgerie but onely by the casting of his eies vp to the brasen serpent which Moses had erected by Gods commandement euen so in the cure of our soules when we are stung to death by sinne there is nothing required within vs for our recouery but onely that we cast vp and fixe the eye of our faith on Christ and his righteousnes Reason II. The exclusiue formes of speech vsed in scripture prooue thus much We are iustified freely not of the lawe not by the lawe without the lawe without workes not of workes not according to workes not of vs not by the workes of the lawe but by faith Gal. 2.16 All boasting excluded onely beleeue Luk. 8.50 These distinctions whereby workes and the lawe are excluded in the work◠of iustification doe include thus much that faith alone doth iustifie Reason III. Very reason may teach thus much for no gift in man is apt fit as a spirituall hand to receiue apply Christ and his righteousnes vnto a sinner but faith Indeede loue hope the feare of God and repentance haue their seuerall vses in men but none serue for this ende to apprehend Christ and his merits none of them all haue this receiuing propertie and therefore there is nothing in man that iustifieth as a cause but faith alone Reason IV. The iudgement of the auncient Church Ambr. on Rom. 4. They are blessed to whome without any labour or worke done iniquities are remitted and sinne couered no workes or repentance required of them but onely that they beleeue And cap. 3. Neither working any thing nor requiting the like are they iustified by faith alone through the gift of God And 1. Cor. 1. this is appointed of God that whosoeuer beleeueth in Christ shall be saued without any worke by faith alone freely receiuing remission of sinnes Augustine There is one propitiation for all sinnes to beleeue in Christ. Hesyc on Leuit. lib. 1. c. 2. Grace which is of mercy is apprehended by faith alone and not of workes Bernard Whosoeuer is pricked for his sinnes and thirsteth after righteousnes let him beleeue in thee who iustifieth the sinner and beeing iustified by Faith alone he shall haue peace with God Chrysost. on Gal. 3. They said he which resteth on faith alone◠is accursed but Paul sheweth that he is blessed which resteth on faith alone Basil. de Humil. Let man acknowledge himselfe to want true iustice and that he is iustified onely by faith in Christ. Origen on c. 3. Rom. Wee thinke that a man is iustified by faith without the workes of the lawe and he saith iustification by faith alone sufficeth so as a man onely beleeuing may be iustified And therefore it lieth vpon vs to search who was iustified by faith without works And for an exāple I thinke vpon the theife who beeing crucified with Christ cried vnto him Lord remember me when thou cōmest into thy kingdome and there is no other good worke of his mentioned in the Gospell but for this alone faith Iesus saith vnto him This night thou shalt be with me in paradise III. Difference The third difference about iustification is concerning this point namely how farreforth good workes are required thereto The doctrine of the Church of Rome is that there be two kinds of iustification the first and the second as I haue said The first is when one of an euill man is made a good man and in this workes are wholly excluded it beeing wholly of grace The second is when a man of a iust man is made more iust And this they will haue to proceede from workes of grace for say they as a man when he is once borne can by eating and drinking make himselfe a bigger man though he could not at the first make himselfe a man euen so a sinner hauing his first iustification may afterward by grace make himselfe more iust Therefore they hold these two things I. that good works are meritorious causes of the second iustification which they tearme Actual II. that good works are means to increase the first iustificatiō which they cal habitual Now let vs see how farforth we must ioyne with them in this point Our consent therefore stands in three conclusions I. That good workes done by them that are iustified doe please God and are approoued of him and therefore haue a reward II. Good workes are necessarie to saluation two
waies first not as causes thereof either conuersant adiuvant or procreant but onely as consequents of faith in that they are inseparable companions and fruits of that faith which is indeede necessarie to saluation Secondly they are as necessarie as markes in a way and as the way it selfe directing vs vnto eternall life III. We hold and beleeue that the righteous man is in some sort iustified by works for so the holy Ghost speaketh plainely and truly Iam. 2.21 That Abraham was iustified by workes Thus farre we ioyne with them and the very difference is this They say we are iustified by workes as by causes thereof we say that we are iustified by workes as by signes and fruits of our iustification before God and no otherwise and in this sense must the place of S. Iames be vnderstood that Abraham was iustified that is declared and made manifest to be iust indeed by his obedience and that euen before God Now that our doctrine is the truth it will appeare by reasons on both parts Our reasons I. Rom. 3.28 We conclude that a man is iustified by faith without the workes of the law Some answer that ceremoniall workes be excluded here some that morall works some works going before faith But let them deuise what they can for themselues the truth is that Paul excludeth all works whatsoeuer as by the very text will appeare For v. 24. he saith We are iustified freely by his grace that is by the meere gift of God giuing vs to vnderstand that a sinner in his iustification is meerely passiue that is doing nothing on his part whereby God should accept him to life euerlasting And v. 27. he saith iustification by faith excludeth all boasting and therefore all kind of works are thereby excluded and specially such as are most of all the matter of boasting that is good workes For if a sinner after that he is iustified by the merit of Christ were iustified more by his owne workes then might he haue some matter of boasting in himselfe And that we may not doubt of Pauls meaning consider and read Eph. 2.8,9 By grace saith he you are saued tâ—rough faith and that not of your selues it is the gift of God not of workes least any man should boast himselfe Here Paul excludes all and euery worke and directly workes of grace themselues as appeares by the reason following For we are his workemanshippe created in Christ Iesus vnto good workes which God hath ordained that weâ— should walke in them Nowe let the Papists tell me what bee the workes which God hath prepared for men to walke in and to which they are regenerate vnlesse they bee the most excellent workes of grace and let them marke howe Paul excludes them wholly from the worke of iustification and saluation II. Gal. 5.3 If ye be circumcised ye are bound to the whole lawe and ye are abolished from Christ. Here Paul disputeth against such men as would bee saued partly by Christ and partly by the workes of the lawe hence I reason thus If a man will be iustified by workes he is bound to fulfill the whole lawe according to the rigour thereof that is Pauls ground I nowe assume no man can fullfill the lawe according to the rigour thereof for the liues and workes of most righteous men are imperfect and stained with sinne and therefore they are taught euery day to say on this manner forgiue vs our debts Againe our knowledge is imperfect and therefore our faith repentance and sanctifiâ—atioÌ„ is answerable And lastly the regenerate man is partly flesh and partly spirit and therefore his best workes are partly from the flesh and in part onely spirituall Thus then for any man to bee bound to the rigour of the whole lawe is as much as if he were bound to his owne damnation III. Election to saluation is of grace without workes therefore the iustification of a sinner is of grace alone without workes For it is a certen rule that the cause of a cause is the cause of a thing caused Now grace without workes is the cause of election which election is the cause of our iustification therfore grace without workes is the cause of our iustification IV. A man must first be fully iustified before he can doe a good worke for the person must first please God before his works can please him But the person of a sinner cannot please God till he be perfectly iustified and therefore till hee be iustified he cannot doe so much as one good worke And thus good workes cannot be any meritorious causes of iustification after which they are both for time and order of nature In a word whereas they make two distinct iustifications we acknowledge that there be degrees of sanctification yet so as iustification is onely one standing in remission of sinnes and Gods acceptation of vs to life euerlasting by Christ and this iustification hath no degrees but is perfect at the very first Obiections of Papists Psal. 7.8 Iudge me according to my righteousnesse Hence they reason thus if Dauid be iudged according to his righteousnes then may he be iustified therby but Dauid desires to be iudged according to his righteousnes and therefore he was iustified thereby Ans. There be two kindes of righteousnesse one of the person the other of the cause or action The righteousnes of a mans person is whereby it is accepted into the fauour of God into life eternall The â—ighteousnes of the action or cause is when the action or cause is iudged of God to be good and iust Nowe Dauid in this psalme speaketh onely of the righteousnesse of the action or innocency of his cause in that he was falsely charged to haue sought the kingdome In like manner it is said of Phineas Psal. 166.31 that his fact in killing Zimri and Cosbie was imputed to him for righteousnes not because it was a satisfaction to the lawe the rigour whereof could not be fulfilled in that one worke but because God accepted of it as a iust worke and as a token of his righteousnes and zeale for Gods glorie II. Obiect The Scripture saith in sundrie places that men are blessed which doe good workes Psal. 119.1 Blessed is the man that is vpright in heart walketh in the lawe of the Lord. Ans. The man is blessed that indeauoureth to keep Gods commandements Yet is he not blessed simply because hee doth so but because he is in Christ by whome he doeth so and his obedience to the lawe of God is a signe thereof III. Obiect When man confesseth his sinnes and humbleth himselfe by praier and fasting Gods wrath is pacified and staied therefore praier and fasting are causes of iustification before God Answ. Indeede men that truely humble themselues by praier and fasting doe appease the wrath of God yet not properly by these actions but by their faith expressed and testified in theÌ„ whereby they apprehend that which appeaseth Gods wrath euen the merits of Christ in whome the
is expressed in the morall law The Morall Law is that part of Gods word which commandeth perfect obedience vnto man as well â—n his nature as in his actions and forbiddeth the contrarie Rom. 10.5 Moses thus describeth the righteousnes which is of the Law that the man which doth these things shall liue thereby 1. Tim. 1.5 The end of the commandement is loue out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and faith vnfained Luk. 16.27 Thou shalt loue the Lord thy God with all thine heart with all thy soule and with all thy strength Rom. 7. We know that the law is spirituall The Law hath two parts The Edict commanding obedience and the condition binding to obedience The condition is eternall life to such as fulfill the law but to transgressours euerlasting death The Decalogue or ten Commandements is an abridgement of the whole Law and the couenant of workes Exod. 34.27 And the Lord said vnto Moses Write thou these words for after the tenour of these words I haue made a covenant with thee and with Israel And was there with the Lord fourtie daies and fourtie nights and did neither eate bread nor drinke water and he wrote in the Tables the words of the covenant euen the tenne Commandements 1. King 8.9 Nothing was in the Arke saue the two Tables of stone which Moses had put there at Horeb where the Lord made a couenant with the children of Israel when he brought them out of the land of Egypt Matth. 22.40 On these two commandements hangeth the whole Law and the Prophets The true interpretation of the Decalogue must be according to these rules I. In the negatiue the affirmatiue must be vnderstood and in the affirmatiue the negatiue II. The negatiue bindeth at all times and to all times and the affirmatiue bindeth at all times but not to all times and therefore negatiues are of more force III. Vnder one vice expressely forbidden are comprehended all of that kind yea the least cause occasion or entisement thereto is as well forbidden as that 1. Ioh. 3.15 Whosoeuer hateth his brother is a manslayer Matth. 5.21 to the ende Euill thoughts are condemned as well as euill actions IV. The smallest sinnes are entituled with the same names that that sinne is which is expressely forbidden in that commandement to which they appertaine As in the former places hatred is named murther and to looke after a woman with a lusting eye is adulterie V. We must vnderstand euery commandement of the law so as that we annex this condition vnlesse God command the contrarie For God being an absolute Lord and so aboue the law may command that which his law forbiddeth so he commanded Isaac to be offered the Egyptians to be spoiled the brasen Serpent to be erected which was a figure of Christ c. The Decalogue is described in two Tables The summe of the first Table is that we loue God with our mind memorie affections and all our strength Matth. 22. 37. This is the first to wit in nature and order and great commandement namely in excellencie and dignitie CHAP. 20. Of the first commandement THe first table hath foure commandements The first teacheth vs to haue and choose the true God for our God The words are these I am Iehouah thy God which brought thee out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of bondage Thou shalt haue none other God but me The Resolution I am If any man rather iudge that these words are a preface to al the commandements then a part of the first I hinder him not neuerthelesse it is like that they are a perswasion to the keeping of the first commandement that they are set before it to make way vnto it as being more hard to be receiued then the rest And this may appeare in that the three commandements next following haue their seuerall reasons Iehouah This word signifieth three things I. Him who of himselfe and in himselfe was from all eternitie Reuel 1.8 Who is who was and who is to come II. Him which giueth being to all things when they were not partly by creating partly by preseruing them III. Him which mightily causeth that those things which he hath promised should both be made and continued Exod. 6.1 Rom. 4. 17. Here beginneth the first reason of the first commandement taken from the name of God it is thus framed He that is Iehouah must alone be thy God But I am Iehouah Therefore I alone must be thy God This proposition is wanting the assumption is in these words I am Iehouah the conclusion is the commandement Thy God These are the words of the couenant of grace Ier. 32.33 wherby the Lord promiseth to his people remission of sinnes and eternall life Yea these words are as a second reason of the commandements drawne from the equalitie of that relation which is betweene God and his people If I be thy God thou againe must be my people and take me alone for thy God But I am thy God Therefore thou must be my people and take me alone for thy God The assumption or second part of this reason is confirmed by an argumeÌ„t taken from Gods effects when he deliuered his people out of Egypt as it were from the seruitude of a most tyrannous master This deliuerie was not appropriate onely to the Israelites but in some sort to the Church of God in all ages in that it was a typâ—â—f a more surpassing deliuerie from that fearefull kingdome of darkenes 1. Cor. 10.1,2 I would not haue you ignorant brethren that all our Fathers were vnder the cloude and all passed through the red sea and were all baptized vnto Moses in the cloude and in the sea Coloss. 1.13 Who hath deliuered vs from the power of darkenes and translated vs into the kingdome of his deare sonne Other Gods or strange gods They are so called not that they by nature are such or can be but because the corrupt and more then diuelish heart of carnall man esteemeth so of them Phil. 3.19 Whose God is their bellie 1. Cor. 4.4 Whose mindes the God of this world hath bewitched Before my face That is figuratiuely in my sight or presence to whom the secret imaginations of the heart are knowne and this is the third reason of the first commandement as if he should say If thou in my presence reiect me it is an heinous offence see therfore thou doe it not After the same manner reasoneth the Lord. Gen. 17.1 I am God almightie therefore walke vpright The affirmatiue part Make choice of Iehouah to be thy God The duties here commanded are these I. To acknowledge God that is to know and confesse him to bee such a God as he hath reuealed himselfe to be in his worde and creatures Col. 1.10 Increasing in the knowledge of God Ierem. 24. 7. And I will giue them an heart to know me that I am the Lord and they shall be my people and I will be their God for they
other and not in receiuing it Rom. 12. 10. Submitting your selues one to another in the feare of God To salute one an other with holy signes whereby may appeare the loue which we haue one to another in Christ. 1. Pet. 5.14 Greet ye one another with the kisse of loue Rom. 16. 16. Salute one another with an holy kisse Exod. 18.7 And Moses went out to meete his father in law and did obeysance and kissed him Ruth 2.4 And beholde Boaz came from Bethlehem and said vnto the Reapers the Lord be with you And they answered The Lord blesse thee Fiftly the duties of all Superiours towards their inferiours to yeeld to them in good matters as to their brethren Deut. 17. 20. That his heart be not lifted vp aboue his brethren and that he turne not from the commaundement to the right hand or to the left Iob. 31.13 If I did contemne the iudgement of my seruant and of my maide 2. King 5.13 And his seruant came and spake vnto him and said 14. Then he went downe and washed himselfe seuen times in Iordan c. To shine before their inferiours by an ensample of a blamelesse life Titus 2.2 That the elder men bee sober honest discreete sound in the faith in loue and in patience 3. The elder women likewise that they be in such behauiour as becommeth holines not false accusers not giuen to much wine but teachers of honest things 1. Pet. 5.3 Not as though ye were Lords ouer Gods heritage but that ye may be ensamples to the flock Phil. 4.9 To shewe forth grauitie ioyned with dignitie by their countenance gesture deedes and wordes Tit. 2. 3,4,5,6,7 Iob. 29.8 The younge men saw me and hid themselues the aged arose and stood vp Sixtly towards inferiours in obedience that is toward their subiects 1. To rule them in the Lord that they doe not offend 1. Pet. 2.13 Submit your selues vnto all manner of ordinance of man for the Lords sake whether it be vnto kings as vnto superiours 14. or vnto gouernours as vnto them that are sent of the king for the punishment of euill doers and for the praise of them that doe well Deut. 17.19 And it shall be with him namely the booke of the lawe and he shal read therein all the daies of his life that he may learne to feare the Lord his God and to keepe all the wordes of this lawe and those ordinances to doe them Col. 4. 1. Ye masters doe vnto your seruants that which is iust and equall knowing that ye also haue a master in heauen 2. To prouide such things as shall be to the good of their subiects whether they belong to the bodie or to the soule Rom. 13.4 For he is the minister of god for thy wealth Esa. 49.23 And kings shall be thy nursing Fathers Queenes shall be thy nurses Psal. 132.1 Lord remember Dauid with all his troubles 2. Who sware vnto the Lord and vowed vnto the mightie God of Iaacob saying 3. I will not enter into the tabernacle of mine house nor come vpon my pallet or bed 4. nor suffer mine eies to sleepe nor mine eie lids to slumber 5. vntil I finde out a place for the Lord an habitation for the mightie God of Iacob 3. To punish their faults the lighter by rebuking the greater by correction that is by inflicting reall or bodily punishment There is an holy maner of punishing the guilty whereunto is required I. After diligent and wise examination be had to be assured of the crime committed II. To shewe forth of Gods word the offence of the sin that the conscience of the offender may be touched III. It is conuenient to deferre or omit the punishment if thereby any hope of amendment may appeare Eccl. 7.23 Giue not thy heart also to all the words that men speake least thou doe heare thy seruant cursing thee 24. For oftentimes also thine heart knoweth that thou likewise hast cursed others 1. Sam. 10. vers 27. But the wicked men said Howe shall he saue vs so they despised him and brought him no presents but he held his tongue IV. To inflict deserued punishment not in his owne name but in Gods name adding the same holily and reuerently Iosh. 7. 19. Then Ioshua said vnto Achan My sonne I beseech thee giue glorie to the Lord God of Israel and make confession vnto him and shew me nowe what thou hast done hide it not from me 20. And Achan answered Ioshua and said Indeede I haue sinned against the Lord God of Israel and thus and thus haue I done 25. And Ioshua said In as much as thou hast troubled vs the Lord shall trouble thee this day and all Israel threwe stones at him and burned them with fire and stoned them with stones V. and lastly When thou punishest aime at this one onely thing that the euill may be purged and amended and that the offender by sorrowing for his sinne may vnfainedly repent for the same Prou. 20.30 The blewnesse of the wound serueth to purge the euill and the stripes within the bowels of the belly Seuenthly and lastly there is a certaine duty of a man to bee performed toward himselfe which is that a man should preserue and maintaine with modestie the dignitie and worthinesse which is inherent in his own person Phil. 4.8 Furthermore brethren whatsoeuer things are true whatsoeuer things are honest whatsoeuer things are iust whatsoeuer things are pure whatsoeuer thinges pertaine to loue whatsoeuer things are of good report if there be any vertue or if there be any praise thinke on these things The negatiue part Diminish not the excellencie or dignitie which is in the person of thy neighbour Hither are referred these sinnes First against our superiours I. Vnreuerent behauiour and contempt of them The sinnes hereof are deriding our superiours Gen. 9. 22. And when Ham the Father of Canaan sawe the nakednesse of his father he told his two brethren without Prou. 20.17 The eie that mocketh his father and despiseth the instruction of his mother let the rauens of the valley picke it out and the young eagles eate it To speake euill of or reuile our superiours Exod. 21.17 And he that curseth his father or his mother shall die the death II. Disobedience whereby we contemne their iust commādements Rom. 1.30 Disobedient to Parents 2. Tim. 3.3 No striker but gentle no fighter The sinnes hereof are To make contracts of mariage without the counsel consent of the Parents Gen. 6. 2. Then the sonnes of God saw the daughters of men that they were faire and they tooke them wiues of all that they liked Gen. 28.6,9 And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan displeased Izhac his father then went Esau to Ishmael and tooke vnto the wiues which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abrahams sonne the sister of Nabaioth to be his wife The eie seruice of seruants Coloss. 3.22 Seruant◠be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh in all things
was minded to put her away secretly A man would suppose that by this means we should be partakers of other mens sins But we must know that we ought to conceale our neighbours imperfections least he should be prouoked to offence yet in the meane season he must be admonished that he may amend Gal. 6.1 Iam. 5.19 Brethren if any of you haue erred from the trueth and some man hath conuerted him 20. Let him know that he which hath conuerted the sinner from going astray out of his way shall saue a soule from death and shall hide a multitude of sinnes But if the sin which is concealed cannot thereby be taken away then must we in loue and charitie declare the same to those which may remooue and amend the same Gen. 37.2 When Ioseph was seuenteene yere olde he kept sheepe with his brethren and the child was with the sonnes of Bilhah and with the sonnes of Zilpah his fathers wiues and Ioseph tolde vnto their father their euill sayings 1. Cor. 1.11 For it hath beene declared vnto me my brethren of you by them that are of the house of Cloe that there are contentions among you Mat. 18.16 But if hee heare thee not take with thee one or two that by the mouth of two or three witnesses euery word may be confirmed To get a good name and estimation amongst men and to keepe the same when we haue gotten it Phil. 4.8 Furthermore brethren whatsoeuer things are true whatsoeuer things are honest whatsoeuer things are iust whatsoeuer things are pure whatsoeuer things pertaine to loue whatsoeuer things are of good report if there be any vertue if there be any praise thinke on these things A good name is gotten 1. If we seeking the kingdome of God before all things doe repent vs of all our sinnes and with an earnest desire imbrace and follow after righteousnesse Prou. 10.7 The memoriall of the iust shall be blessed but the name of the wicked shall rot Mar. 14.9 Verily I say vnto you wheresoeuer this Gospell shall bee preached throughout the whole world this also that she hath done shall be spoken of in remembrance of her 2. Wee must haue a care both to iudge and speake well of others Mat. 7.2 With what iudgement ye iudge yee shall be iudged Eccl. 7.23 Giue not thine heart also to all the wordes that men speake least thou doe heare thy seruant cursing thee 24. For oftentimes also thine heart knowethâ— that thou likewise hast cursed others 3. Wee must abstaine from all kinde of wickednesse for one onely vice or sinne doth obscure and darken a mans good name Eccles. 10.1 Dead flies cause to stinke and putrifie the ointment of the Apothecarie so doth a little follie him that is in estimation for wisdome and for glorie 4. We must in all things earnestly seeke for the glorie of God onely and not our owne Matth. 6.5 And when thou praiest bee not as the hypocrites for they loue to stand and praie in the Synagogues and in the corners of the streetes because they would bee seene of men verily I say vnto youâ— they haue their reward 6. But when thou praiest enter into thy chamber and when thou hast shut thy doore pray vnto thy father which is in secret and thy father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly But ifâ— when we seeke the glory of God honest and godly men doe praise and testifie well of vs we must not despise this their testimonie and commendation although they neuer praise vs nor testifie of vs at all yet must wee take it in good part 2. Cor. 1.12 For our reioysing is this the testimonie of our coÌ„science that in simplicitie and godly purenes and not in fleshly wisdome but by the grace of God we haue had our conuersation in the world most of all to you wards And chap. 10.13 But we will not reioice of things which are not within our measure but according to the measure of the line whereof God hath distributed to vs a measure to attaine euen vnto you Psal. 16.5 The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup thou shalt maintaine my lot 6. The lines are fallen vnto me in pleasant places yea I haue a faire heritage 1. Cor. 1.31 He that reioiceth let him reioice in the Lord. CHAP. 29. Of the tenth Commandement THe tenth Commaundement concerneth concupiscences committed against our neighbour The wordes are these Thou shalt not couet thy neighbours house thou shalt not couet thy neighbours wife nor his seruant nor his maide nor his oxe nor his asse nor any thing thy neighbour hath The Resolution Couet The cogitation or motion of the heart is of three sorts The first is some glancing or suddaine thought suggested to the minde by Satan which suddenly vanisheth away and is not receiued of the minde This is no sinne For it was in Christ when he was tempted by the deuill Matth. 4. v. 1. The second is a more permanent thought or motion the which as it were tickleth inueigleth the mind with some inward ioy The third is a cogitation drawing from the will and affection full assent to sinne We are to vnderstand this commandement of the second sort of motions onely not of the first or of the last to which the fiue former commandements doe belong Now then to couet is to think inwardly and also to desire any thing wherby our neighbour may be hindered albeit there ensue no assent of the will to commit that euill For the very Philosophers condemne couetousnesse of the very heart and Ciuilians disallow a purpose onely to doe euill if it be conioyned with a manifest deliberation And as for the concupiscence in this place forbidden we may well thinke it is more close and secret because S. Paul a doctour of the law was altogither ignorant of it Rom. 7.7 I had not knowne lust except the Law had said Thou shalt not lust Againe if that concupiscence immediately going before the consent were not prohibited in this place there must bee a great confuâ—ion in the decalogue For the seuenth commandement forbiddeth some kinde of coueting of our neighbours wife Houâ—e The commandement is illustrated by an argument drawne from the distribution of the obiects of concupiscence whence it is apparent that onely euill concupiscence is condemned in this place Coloss. 3.5 For there is a good concupiscence or desire as of meate and drinke and that of the spirit Gal. 5.17 The spirit lusteth against the flesh The negatiue part Thou shalt not couet that which is thy neighbours Here are prohibited I. Concupiscence it selfe namely originall corruption in as much as it is hurtfull to our neighbour Iam. 1.14 II. Each corrupt and sudden cogitation passion of the heart springing out of the bitter roote of concupiscence Gal. 5.17 The flesh lusteth against the spirit Luk. 10.27 Thou shalt loue the Lord with all thy soule To this place appertaineth Satans suggestion if after the first offer it
of himselfe saith Psal. 22.1 My God my God why hast thou forsaken me and art so farre from my health and from the words of my roring The remedie is double First the operatioÌ„ of the holy spirit stirring vp faith increasing the same Phil. 1.6 I am perswaded of this same thing that he that hath begunne this good worke in you will performe it vntill the day of Iesus Christ. Luk. 17.5 And the Apostles said vnto the Lord Increase our faith The second is an holy meditation which is manifold I. That it is the commandement of God that we should beleeue in Christ. 1. Ioh. 3.22 This is then his commandement that we beleeue in the name of his Sonne Iesus Christ and loue one another as he gaue commandement II. That the Euangelicall promises are indefinite and doe exclude no man vnlesse peraduenture any man doe exclude himselfe Esay 55. 1. Ho euery one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and ye that haue no siluer come buie and eate come I say buie wine and milke without siluer and without money Matth. 11.28 Come vnto me all ye that are wearie and laden and I will ease you Ioh. 3.15 That whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue eternall life Also the Sacraments of Baptisme and the Lords Supper doe to euery one seuerally applie indefinite promises and therefore are very effectuall to enforce particular assurance or plerophorie of forgiuenes of sinnes III. That doubtfulnes and despaire are most grieuous sinnes IV. That contrarie to hope men must vnder hope beleeue with Abraham Rom. 4.18 Which Abraham aboue hope beleeued vnder hope that he should be the father of many nations according to that which was spoken to him so shall thy seede be V. That the mercie of God and the merit of Christs obedience beeing both God and man are infinite Esai 54.10 For the mountaines shall remooue and the hills shal fall downe but my mercie shall not depart from thee neither shal my couenant of peace fall away saith the Lord that hath compassion on thee Psal. 103.11 For as high as the heauen is aboue the earth so great is his mercie toward them that feare him 1. Ioh. 2.1 My babes these things write I vnto you that ye sinne not and if any man sinne we haue an aduocate with the Father Iesus Christ the iust 2. And he is the reconciliation for our sinnes and not for ours onely but also for the sinnes of the whole world Psal. 130.7 Let Israel wait on the Lord for the Lord is mercie and with him is great redemption VI. That God measureth the obedience due vnto him rather by the affection and desire to obey then by the act and performance of it Rom. 8.5 For they that are after the flesh sauour the things of the flesh but they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit 7. Because the wisdome of the flesh is enmitie against God for it is not subiect to the law of God neither indeede can be Rom. 7.20 Now if I doe that I would not it is no more I that doe it but the sinne that dwâ—lleth in me 21. I find then by the law that when I would doe good euill is present with me 22. For I delight in the law of God concerning the inner man Mal. 3.17 I will spare them as a man spareth his sonne that reuerenceth him VII When one sinne is forgiuen all the rest are remitted also for remission being giuen once without any prescriptioÌ„ of time is giuen for euer Rom. 11.29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance Act. 10.43 To him also giue all the Prophets witnes that through his name all that beleeue in him shall receiue remission of sinnes VIII That grace and faith are not taken away by falls of infirmitie but thereby are declared and made manifest Rom. 5.20 Moreouer the law entred thereupon that the offence should abound neuerthelesse when sinne abounded there grace abounded much more 2. Cor. 12.7 And least I should be exalted out of measure c. there was giuen vnto me a pricke in the flesh the messenger of Satan to buffet me 8. For this thing I besought the Lord thrise that it might depart from me 9. He said May grace is sufficient for thee IX That all the workes of God are by contrarie meanes 2. Cor. 12.9 My power is made perfect through weakenesse CHAP. 43. Of the third Assault THe third Assault is concerning Sanctificatioâ— The tentation is a prouoking to sinne according as the disposition of eâ—â—ry man and as occasion shall offer it selfe 1. Chron. 21.1 And Satan stâ—â—d vp against Israel and prouoked Dauid to number Israel Ioh. 13.2 And when supper was done the deuill had now put into the heart of Iudas Iscariot Simons sonne to betray him In this tentation the deuil doth wonderfully diminish and extenuate those sinnes which men are about to commit partly by obiecting closely the mercy of god and partly by couering or hiding the punishment which is due for the sinne Then there are helpes to further the deuill in this his tentation First the flesh which lusteth against the spirit sometimes by begetting euill motions and affections and sometimes by ouerwhelming and oppressing the good intentents and motions Gal. 5.17 For the flesh lusteth against the spirit the spirit against the flesh and thesâ— are contrarie one to another so that ye cannot doe the same things that ye would 19. Moreouer the works of the flesh are manifest which are adulterie fornication vncleannesse wantonnesse 20. Idolatrie witchcraft hatred debate emulations wrath contentions seditioÌ„s heresies 21. Enuy murthers drunkennesse gluttonie and such like whereof I tell you before as I also haue told you before that they which doe such things shall not inherit the kingdome of god Iam. 1.14 But euery man is tempted when he is drawne away by his owne concupiscence and is entised Secondly the world which bringeth men to disobedience through pleasure profit honour and euill examples Eph. 2.3 Among whom we also had our conuersation in time past in the lusts of our flesh in fulfilling the will of the flesh and of the minde and were by nature the children of wrath as well as others 1. Ioh. 2. 16. For all that is in the world as the lusts of the flesh and the lust of the eies and the pride of life is not of the father but is of the world Resistance is made by the desire of the spirit which worketh good motioÌ„s and affections in the faithfull and driueth forth the euill Gal. 5.22 But the fruite of the spirit is loue ioy peace long suffering gentlenes goodnes faith 23. Meeknes temperancie against such there is no law 24. For they that are Christs haue crucified the flesh with the affections and the lusts thereof 26. Let vs not be desirous of vaine glory prouoking one another enuying one another The preseruatiues are these whereby Men are strengthened in resisting I. To account no sinne
considered it is imperfect but as God doth exact it of our frailtie it is perfect Answer This is but the fansie of some doting Iesuite For this sentence of the Law is simple eternall and immooueable Cursed is euery one that continueth not in all things which are written in this booke to do them Neither may we imagine that God will not therefore exact the ful accomplishing of the law because we are fraile For we are creatures and debters now we know that the debt doth not decrease by reason of the debters pouertie Obiect The faithfull are said to be perfect in this life Ans. There is a twofold perfection the one incomplete the which is an endeauor or care to obey God in the obseruation of all his precepts the other is tearmed complet this is that iustice which the lawe requireth namely a perfect and absolute iustice according to that measure which man performed to God in his innocency In the first sense the faithfull are said to be perfect not in this latter The XVI errour Workes done in grace doe ex condigno condignely merit eternall life The Confutation I. Eternall life is the free gift of God Rom. 6.23 The wages of sinne is death but the gift of God is eternall life through Christ Iesus Therefore it is not obtained by the merit of workes II. The merit of condignitie is an action belonging to such an nature as is both God and man not to a bare creature For the Angels themselues cannot merit any thing at Gods hands yea and Adam also if he had stood in his first innocencie could haue deserued nothing of god because it is the bounden dutie of the creature to performe obedience vnto his Creator The merit therefore of condignitie doth only agree vnto Christ God and man in whome each nature doth to the effecting of this merit performe that which belongeth to it For the humanitie it doth minister matter vnto the meritorious worke by suffering and performing obedience but the Deitie of Christ whereunto the humanitie is hypostatically vnited doth conferre full and sufficient worthinesse vnto the worke Hence is it that the Father doth speake thus of his sonne Mat. 3.17 This is my beloued Sonne in whom I am well pleased 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 III. In the second commandement God doth promise eternall life to the keepers of his commandements yet he saith not that they shall obtaine it by desart but that he will shew mercy to thousands of them that loue him and keepe his commandements IV. That a worke may be meritorious first there must be an equall proportion betwixt it and legall iustice or eternal life secondly merite doth presuppose this also that in God there must bee a due debt towards man for God then ought on dutie not by fauour to accept of the person of man But all our workes yea our most holy workes they cannot come neere vnto legall righteousnesse For seeing all the regenerate are partly carnall and partly spirituall all their workes in like sort are imperfectly good For looke what the causes are and such must the effects needs be So then good workes doe presuppose a due debt in man none in God V. The auncient Fathers doe not acknowledge this merite of condignitie as currant August in his manuel chap. 22. My merite is Gods mercie Bernard ser. 63. vpon the Cant. It is sufficient to knowe this that merits are not sufficient And ser. 61. Cant. Mans iustice is Gods goodnesse And epist. 190. That the satisfaction of one may be imputed to all as the sinnes of all were borne by one And as for ancient doctours merit was nothing els to them but a good worke acceptable to God Aug. epist. 105. to Sixtus If it be grace then is it not bestowed by reason of any merit but vpon free mercie What merits of his owne can he that is set at libertie bragge of who if he had his merits should haue beene condemned So the word merite doth signifie to doe wel to be acceptable to please as the old interpreter hath for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying to please God vsed this Latine word promereri To merit Obiect I. Works haue attributed vnto them reward Answer Reward is not so much attributed to the work as to the worker and to him not for himselfe but for Christs merits apprehended by faith Therefore not our merit or personall merit but Christs merit and our reward are correlatiues Obiect II. 2. Thess. 1.6 It is a righteous thing with God to recompence tribulations c. Ans. It is righteous not because God ought so to doe of duty but because he promised now for God to stand to his word it is a part of iustice Obiect III. Christ hath merited that workes might merit Ans. I. This taketh quite away the intercession of Christ. II. It is against the nature of a legall worke to merit ex condigno condignly because both the lawe of nature and creation doe bind man to performe legall workes vnto God And further all workes are very imperfect and mixed with sinne III. This doctrine concerning works doth obscure and darken the merit of Christ because that the obtaining of eternall life is withdrawne from his death and obedience attributed vnto workes For they say thus that Christ by his passion did merit indeede for the sinner iustification but a sinner once iustified doth for himselfe by his owne merits euen condignly merit eternall life Obiect IV. The works of the regenerate are the workes of the holy Ghost therfore perfect and pure Ans. I. The workes of God are all perfect but yet in their time and by degrees therefore sanctification which is a worke of god must in this life remaine incomplete is made perfect in the world to come II. The works of God are pure as they are the workes of God alone not of God and impure man but nowe good workes they doe come immediatly from the naturall faculties of the soule namely from the vnderstanding and the wil in which they being as yet but partly regenerated some corrupt qualities of sinne doe yet remaine and are not immediatly and simply or wholly deriued from Gods spirit And hence it is that they are all stained with sinne The XVII errour Man knoweth not but by especiall reuelation whether hee be predestinated or not The Confutation The contrarie to this is a plaine trueth Reasons I. That which a man must certainly beleeue that may he also certainely know without an especiall reuelation but euery faithful man must beleeue that he is elected It is Gods commandement that we should beleeue in Christ. 1. Ioh. 3.23 Now to beleeue in Christ is not onely to beleeue that we are adopted iustified and redeemed by him but also in him elected from eternitie II. That which is sealed vnto vs by the spirit of God of that we are very sure without speciall reuelation but our adoption and so consequently our election is sealed vnto vs by the spirit of God
cause but for that it so pleased him Rom. 9.18 V. If this opinion should be true then would it follow that men should be condemned for nothing else but incredulitie the which is not so Ioh. 3.36 Christ speaking of vnbeleefe saith not that for it the wrath of God came vpon man but remaineth vpon him And why should we daily aske pardon for our sinnes if nothing but incredulitie or vnbeleefe condemned vs nay although that there were neuer any contempt of the Gospell yet that corruption of originall sinne were sufficient enough to condemne men VI. Also that admiration which Paul hath Rom. 9.20 O man who art thou which disputest with Godâ— doth plainly shew that the cause of the decree of God in reiecting some is vnsearchable and that it doth not at all depend vpon any foreseene contumacie towards the grace of God offered in the Gospel For if it were otherwise we might easily giue a reason of Gods decree August epist. 105. saith very well Who saith he created the reprobates but God and why but because it pleased him but why pleased it him O man who art thou that disputest with God! Some Diuines perceiuing that this is an hard sentence they goe about to mitigate it in this sort The matter say they or obiect of predestination is a reasonable creature and that not simply or absolutely considered but partly as it fell partly as of it selfe it was subiect to fall and thereupon God preordaining men from euerlasting considered them not simply as he was to make them men but as they were such men as might fall into sinne and againe be redeemed by Christ and after called to the light of the Gospel The efficient or first motiue cause was not any foreknowne cause either this or that but the meere will of God For he disposeth all things not of and by his foreknowledge but rather according to the same But these things albeit they may seeme to be subtile deuises yet are they not altogether true Reasons I. The potter when he purposeth to make some vessell doth not consider the clay and regard in it some inherent qualitie to make such a vessell but he maketh it of such and such a forme to this or that vse euen of his alone free-will and pleasure II. Rom. 9.21 Hath not the potter power to make of the same lumpe one vessell to honour and another to dishonour In which place we may not vnderstand by the name lumpe all mankinde corrupted and fallen and so to be redeemed in Christ for then Paul would not haue said that God made vessels of wrath but rather that he did forsake them after they were made III. This seemeth preposterous that God did first foreknow mankind created fallen and redeemed in Christ and that afterward he ordained them so foreknown to life or to death For the ende is the first thing in the intention of the agent neither will a most skilfull workman first prepare meanes by which he may be helped to doe a thing before he hath set downe in his minde all the endes both such as are most neere and them that are very farre off Now we know this that mans creation and his fall in Adam are but meanes to execute Gods predestination and therefore are subordinate vnto it but the ende of Gods decree is the manifestation of his glorie in sauing some and condemning others Therefore we may not once imagine that God did first consult of the meanes whereby he determined to execute his decree before he deliberated of the election and reprobation of man The IIII. errour Gods calling to the knowledge of the Gospell is vniuersall yea of all men and euery singular person without exception The Confutation This is a very vnreasonable position Reasons I. God would not haue all men called Math. 20.16 Many are called but few are chosen He saith not that all but many are called Christ in his Disciples first ambassage chargeth them that they should not preach to the Gentiles of his comming and to the Cananitish woman he saith It is not lawfull to giue that which is holy vnto dogges Mat. 13.11 It is not giuen to euery one to know the mysteries of the kingdome of God Rom. 16. 25. The mysterie of the Gospel whether it be meant of Christ or the calling of the Gentiles was kept secret from the beginning of the world II. There be many millions of men which haue not so much as heard of Christ. Act. 14.16 God in times past suffered all the Gentiles to walke in their owne waies III. The greatest part of the world hath euer beene out of the Couenant Eph. 2. 12. Ye were I say at that time without Christ and were aliants from the common-wealth of Israel and strangers from the couenants of promise and had no hope and were without God in the world but now ye are no more strangers and forrenners but citizens with the Saints Obiect They are said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not simply alienated but abalienated from God now how could they be abalienated except either they or their predecessors had beene in the couenant Ans. The Gentiles are not said to be abalienated from the couenant but from the common-wealth of Israel because that God had then by certaine lawes rites and ceremonies vtterly seuered and distinguished the people of the Iewes from all other nations Obiect This generall calling is not to be vnderstood simply of the ministerie of the word but of the will of God deliuered presently after the fall in his vnwritten word but afterward in his written word and this all men ought to know although many through their owne default know it not Ans. But the Scriptures were committed to the custodie of the Church of God and euery one was not credited with them Rom. 3.2 Vnto the Iewes were of credit committed the Oracles of God 1. Tim. 3. 15. The Church is the pillar and ground of truth Psal. 147. 19. He shewed his words vnto Iacob and his statutes and lawes to the house of Israel 20. He hath not dealt so with euery nation therefore they haue not knowne his lawâ—s Psal. 76. 1. The Lord is famous in Iudea and in Israel is his name great Obiect The couenant of Grace was made with Adam and Eue and in them all mankind was receiued both into the Church and couenant and also called to the knowledge of God Ans. I. This reason wanteth euen common reason and sense to say that God giuing his promise in the daies of Adam and Noah did in them call all mankind that should come after II. Adam before his fall did indeede receiue the grace both for himselfe and for others also and in the fall he lost it both for himselfe and for all others but after the fall he receiued the promise for himselfe alone and not for the whole world otherwise the first Adam should not onely haue beene a liuing creature but a quickning spirit the which is proper to the second
assent vnto the same knowledge and it is to be found in the deuill and his angels So Saint Iames saith the deuills beleeue and tremble Some will say what a faith haue they Ans. Such as thereby they vnderstand both the Law and the Gospell besides they giue assent to it to be true and they doe more yet in that they tremble and feare And many a man hath not so much For amongst vs there is many a one which hath no knowledge of God at all more thâ—n he hath learned by the common talke of the world as namely that there is a God and that he is mercifull c. and yet this man will say that he beleeueth with all his heart but without knowledge it can not be that any should truly beleeue and therefore he deceiuâ—th himselfe Quest. But whence haue the deuils historical faith were they illuminated by the light of the spirit Ans. No but when the Gospell was preached they did acknowledge it and beleeued it to be true and that by the vertue of the reliques of Gods image which remained in them since their fall And therefore this their faith doth not arise from any speciall illumination by his spirit but they attaine to it euen by the very light of nature which was left in them from the beginning The second kinde of faith is Temporarie faith so called because it lasteth but for a time and season and commonly not to the ende of a mans life This kinde of faith is noted vnto vs in the parable of the seede that fell in the stonie ground And there be two differences or kindes of this faith The first kinde of temporarie faith hath in it three degrees The first is to knowe the Word of God and particularly the Gospell The second to giue an assent vnto it The third to professe it but to goe no further and all this may be done without any loue to the word This faith hath one degree more then historicall faith Examples of it we haue in Simon Magus Acts 8.13 who is saide to beleeue because he held the doctrine of the Apostle to be true and withall professed the same and in the deuils also who in some sort confessed that Christ was the sonne of the most highest and yet looked for no saluation by him Mark 5.7 Act. 19.15 And this is the common faith that abounds in this land Men say they beleeue as the Prince beleeueth and if religion change they will change For by reason of the authoritie of princes lawes they are made to learne some litle knowledge of the word they beleeue it to be good and they professe it thus for the space of thirtie or fourtie yeares men heare the word preached and receiue the sacraments beeing for all this as voide of grace as euer they were at the first day and the reason is because they doe barely professe it without either liking or loue of the same The second kinde of temporarie faith hath in it fiue degrees For by it first a man knowes the word SecoÌ„dly he assenteth vnto it Thirdly he professeth it Forthly he reioiceth inwardly in it Fiftly he bringeth forth some kind of fruit and yet for all this hath no more in him but a faith that will faile in the ende because he wanteth the effectuall application of the promise of the Gospel and is without all manner of sound conuersion This faith is like corne in the house top which groweth for a while but when heate of sommer commeth it withereth And this is also set forth vnto vs in the parable of the seede which fell in a stonie ground which is hastie in springing vp but because of the stones which will not suffer it to take deepe roote it withereth And this is a very common faith in the Church of God by which many reioyce in the preaching of the word and for a time bring forth some fruits accordingly with shewe of great forwardnesse yet afterward shake off religion and all But some will say how can this be a temporarie faith seeing it hath such fruits Ans. Such a kind of faith is temporarie because it is grounded on temporarie causes which are three I. A desire to get knowledge of some straunge points of religion For many a man doth labour for the fiue former degrees of temporarie faith onely because he desires to get more knowledge in Scripture then other men haue The second cause is a desire of praise among men which is of that force that it will make a man put on a shewe of all the graces which God bestoweth vpon his owne children though otherwise he want them and to goe very farre in religion which appeareth thus Some there are which seeme very bitterly to weepe for the sinnes of other men and yet haue neither sorrow nor touch of conscience for their owne and the cause hereof is nothing else but pride For he that sheddes teares for an other mans sinnes should much more weepe for his owne if he had grace Againe a man for his owne sinnes will pray very slackly and dully when he prayeth priuately and yet when he is in the companie of others he praies very feruently and earnestly From whence is this difference surely often it springeth from the pride of heart and from a desire and praise among men The third cause of temporarie faith is profit commoditie the getting of wealth and riches which are common occasions to mooue to choose or refuse religion as the time serueth but such kinde of beleeuers embrace not the Gospell because it is the Gospell that is the gladde tydings of saluation but because it brings wealth peace and libertie with it And these are the three causes of temporarie faith The third kinde of faith is the faith of Miracles when a man grounding himselfe on some speciall promise or reuelation from God doth beleeue that some straunge and extraordinarie thing which he hath desired or foretold shall come to passe by the worke of God This must be distinguished from historicall and temporarie faith For Simon Magus hauing both these kinds of faith wanted this faith of miracles and therefore would haue bought the same of the Apostles for money Yet we must know that this faith of miracles may be in hypocrites as it was in Iudas and at the last iudgement it shall be found to haue bin in the wicked and reprobate which shall say to Christ Lord in thy name we haue prophesied and cast out deuills and done many great miracles And thus much for the three sorts of common faith Now we come to the true faith which is called the Faith of the Elect. It is thus defined Faith is a supernaturall gift of God in the minde apprehending the sauing promise with all the promises that depend on it First I say it is a gift of God Philip. 1.29 to confute the blinde opinion of our people that thinke that the faith whereby they are to be saued is
bredde and borne with them I adde that this is a gift supernaturall not onely because it is aboue that corrupt nature in which we are borne but also because it is aboue that pure nature in which our first parents were created For in the state of innocencie they wanted this faith neither had they then any neede of faith in the same God as he is Messias but this faith is a new grace of God added to regeneration after the fall and first prescribed and taught in the couenant of grace And by this one thing faith differeth from the rest of the gifts of God as the feare of God the loue of God the loue of our brethrē c. for these were in mans nature before the fall and after it when it pleaseth God to call vs they are but renewed but iustifying faith admits no renuing For the first ingrafting of it into the heart in the conuersion of a sinner after his fall The place and seate of faith as I thinke is the minde of man not the will for it stands in a kind of particular knowledge or perswasion and there is no perswasion but in the minde Paul saith indeede that we beleeue with the heart Rom. 10. but by the heart he vnderstands the soule without limitation to any part Some doe place faith in the minde and partly in the will because it hath two parts knowledge and affiance but it seemes not greatly to stand with reason that one particular and single grace should be seated in diuerse parts or faculties of the soules The forme of faith is to apprehend the promise Gal. 3. 14. that we might receiue the promise of the spirit through faith and Ioh. 1.12 to receiue Christ and to beleeue are put one for another and to beleeue is to eate and drinke the bodie and blood of Christ. To apprehend properly is an action of the hand of man which laies hold of a thing and pulls it to himselfe and by resemblāce it agrees to faith which is the hand of the soule receiuing and applying the sauing promise This apprehension of faith is not performed by any affection of the will but by a certen and particular perswasion whereby a man is resolued that the promise of saluation belongs vnto him Which perswasion is wrought in the minde by the holy Ghost 1. Cor. 2.12 And by this the promise which is generall is applied particularly to one subiect By this one action sauing faith differeth from all other kindes of faith From historicall for it wanteth all apprehension and standeth onely in a generall assent From temporarie faith which though it make a man to professe the Gospell and to reioyce in the same yet doth it not throughly applie Christ with his benefits For it neuer brings with it any thorough touch of conscience or liuely sense of Gods grace in the heart And the same may be said of the rest The principall and maine obiect of this faith is the sauing promise God so loued the world that he gaue his onely begotten sonne that whosoeuer beleeues in him shall not perish but haue euerlasting life But some will say Christ is commonly said to be the obiect of faith Ans. In effect it is all one to say the sauing promise and Christ promised who is the substance of the couenant Christ then as he is set forth vnto vs in the word Sacraments is the obiect of faith And here certaine questions offer themselues to be skanned The first What is that particular thing which faith apprehendeth Answ. Faith apprehendeth whole Christ God and man For his godhead without his manhoode and his manhoode without his godhead doth not reconcile vs to God Yet this which I say must be conceiued with some distinction according to the difference of his two natures His godhead is apprehended not in respect of his essence or nature but in respect of his efficacie manifested in the manhood whereby the obedience thereof is made meritorious before God as for his manhoode it is apprehended both in respect of the substance or thing it selfe and also in respect of the efficacie and benefits thereof The second In what order faith apprehends Christ Answ. First of all it apprehendes the very bodie and bloode of Christ and then in the second place the vertue and benefits of his bodie and blood as a man that would feele in his bodie the vertue of meate and drinke must first of all receiue the substance thereof To goe forward Besides this mayne promise which concernes righteousnesse and life euerlasting in Christ there be other particular promises touching strength in temptations comfort in afflictions and such like which depend on the former and they also are the obiect of iustifying faith and with the very same faith we beleeue them wherewith we beleeue our saluation Thus Abraham by the same faith wherewith he was iustified beleeued that he should haue a sonne in his olde age Rom. 4.19,22 And Noe by that faith whereby he was made heyre of righteousnes beleeued that he and his familie should be preserued in the floode this conclusion beeing alwaies laide downe that To whome God giues Christ to them also he giues all things needefull for this life or the life to come in and by Christ. And hereupon it comes to passe that in our prayers besides the desire of things promised we must bring faith whereby we must be certenly perswaded that God will graunt vs such things as he hath promised and this faith is not a newe kind or distinct faith from iustifying faith Thus we see plainly what sauing faith is Whereas some are of opinion that faith is an affiance or confidence that seemes to be otherwise for it is a fruit of faith and indeede no man can put any confidence in God till he be first of all perswaded of Gods mercie in Christ towards him Some againe are of minde that loue is the very nature and forme of faith but it is otherwise For as confidence in God so also loue is an effect which proceedeth from faith 1. Tim. 1.5 The ende of the law is loue from a pure heart and good conscience and faith vnfained And in nature they differ greatly Christ is the fountaine of the waters of life Faith in the heart is as the pipes and leads that receiue in and hold the water and loue in some part is as the cocke of the conduit that lets out the water to euery commer The propertie of the hand is to hold and of it selfe it can not cut yet by a knife or other instrument put into the hand it cuts the hand of the soule is faith and his propertie is to apprehend Christ with all his benefits and by it selfe it can doe nothing else yet ioyne loue vnto it and by loue it will be effectuall in all good duties Now to proceede further first we are to consider how faith is wrought secondly what be the differences of it For the first faith is
disciples whereas notwithstanding he might haue said that one of them betraied him another denied him and the rest fled away whereby we note that it is not our dutie at all times and in all places to speake of the faults and wants that we knowe by others Secondly the aunswere which hee makes is onely concerning his doctrine whereby the ministers of God and al men els are taught that beeing called before their enimies to giue reason of their doctrine they are as Saint Peter saith to be alwaies readie to giue an account of the hope that is in them And further we are to consider the wisdome that Christ vseth in answering for he saith nothing of his doctrine in particular but said I speake openly to the worlde I euer taught in the Synagogue and in the temple whither the Iewes resorted in secret haue I taught nothing aske them therfore what I said which heard me Behold they can tell you what I said Now the reason why he answered thus sparingly in generall tearmes is because their examination serued onely to intangle him and out of his words to gather matter of accusation After whose example wee may learne that beeing called to make answere of our faith and doctrine before our enemies wee are to doe it so as thereby we doe not intangle our selues nor giue any aduantage vnto our enemies and hereof we haue a notable example in the Apostle Paul Act. 23. 6. Againe in the words of Christs answere we must obserue two things First that the place where Christ taught was publike Now hence it may be demanmanded whether ministers may handle the worde of God priuately or no Ans. The state of Gods Church is two-fold peaceable or troublesome In the time of peace ministers must preach the word publikely but in time of persecution for the safeâ—â— and preseruation of the Church of God they may with good warrant prâ—â—h priuately and indeede at such times the assemblies of the church make priuate places publike And hence we learne that in time of peace all those that are called to the office of the ministerie must if it be possible spend their labour publikely so as they may doe most good Secondly whereas Christ saith he preached in their synagogues and temple which at that time were places full of disorder in so much as he called the temple a den of theeues and the Scribes and Pharisies had corrupted the doctrine of the Lawe transgressing the commandements of God in their owne traditions and they taught iustification by the workes of the lawe as Paul saith they being ignorant of the righteousnes of God and going about to stablish their owne righteousnesse which is by workes and not submitted themselues to the righteousnesse of God Besides all this they were loose and wicked men in their liues and conuersations and therefore Christ commanded the people that they should obserue and doe whatsoeuer the Scribes and Pharisies bidde them sitting in Moses chaire but after their workes they must not doe because they say and doe not Nowe although these corruptions and deformities were in the Iewish Church yet our Sauiour Christ made no separation from it but came and preached both in their temple and synagogues where these seducers and false teachers were And hence we gather that the practise of all those men in our Church which separate themselues from all assemblies for the wants therof holding that our Church is no Church that the grace which is wrought by the preaching of the word among vs is nothing els but a sathanicall illusion that our Sacraments are no Sacraments I say this their practise is condemned by our Sauiour Christs conuersing among the Iewes For if Christ should haue followed their opinion he ought to haue fled from amongst the Iewes not so much as once to haue come into the temple or taught in their Synagogues but contrariwise he ioyned himselfe with them and therfore we can not in good conscience disioyne our selues from the Church of England The second thing to be obserued in Christs answer is that he referres Caiphas to the iudgement of his hearers being resolued of the trueth 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 sincerely that if they be called into question about the same they may bee bold to appeale to the coÌ„scieÌ„ces of their hearers although they be wicked meÌ„ Nowe 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 apprentises and seruants because there are so many lewd masters Many masters complaine of seruants nowe 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 being smitten makes this answer 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 Nowe hereupon scoffing Iulian the Apostata saith Christ keepes not his owne lawes but goeth against his owne precept when as he said If one strike thee on the one cheeke turne to him the other also But we must knowe that in these wordes Christs meaning is that a man must rather suffer a double wrong then seeke a priuate reuenge And before Christ spake in his owne defence which a man may lawefully doe and not seeke any reuenge for it is one thing to defend his owne cause and another to seeke reuenge Nowe followes the second point in their proceeding which is the producing of false witnesses against him as Saint Mathew saith The whole Counsell sought false witnesse against him and thongh many came yet found they none for they could not agree togither because they alleadged false thinges against him which they could not prooue And thus the members of Christ haue often such enemies as make no bones shamefully to auouch that against them which they cannot 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 and therefore slewe 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 Sunne and Moone 6. that they were traitours and sought to vndermine the Romane Empire and lastly
to another from the toe to the foote from the foote to the legge from the legge to the thigh til it haue wasted and destroyed the life of the bodie so giue any sinne but an entrance and it will soone ouerspread the whole man and if the deuill may be suffered but to put one talent into thy heart he will presently winde himselfe into thee his head his bodie and all The Psalmist saith that he is blessed that taketh the children of the Babylonians and dasheth them against the stones and as truely it may be said blessed is the man that dasheth the head of his sinnes against the ground while they are young before they get strength to ouermaster him Thus haue we seene the pollicies of Pilate now followeth the absolution of Christ for when Pilate had vsed many meanes to deliuer him and none would preuaile then he absolues him by giuing diuers testimonies of his innocency for he came forth three times and bare witnesse thereof and last of all he testified the same by washing of his handes which rite signifieth properly the defiling of the handes before but as yet Pilate had not defiled his handes and therefore he vsed it as a token to shewe that Christ was innocent and that he would not defile his owne hands with innocent bloode There were three causes that mooued Pilate to absolue Christ. First he sawe that hee was a iust man as Saint Matthew noteth and that the high priests and people had deliuered him vp of enuie as Saint Marke saith By this it is plaine that a very Pagan or infidell may in some things goe beyond such as be in Gods Church hauing better conscience and dealing more iustly then they Pontius Pilate was a heathen man and a Gentile the Iewes were the Church and people of the liuing God yet he sees plainely that Christ was a iust man and therupon is mooued to absolue him whereas the Iewes which should be men of conscience and religion seeke his death And thus a very Pagan may otherwhiles see more into a matter then those that be reputed of the Church And this must admonish all such as professe the Gospell to looke vnto their proceedings that they doe al things with vpright conscience for if we deale vniustly in our proceedings we may haue neighbours men of no religion that wil looke through vs and see the grosâ—e hypocrisie of our profession which also would be loath to doe those things which wee doe The second cause that mooued Pilate to absolue Christ was his wiues dreame for when he was set downe vpon the iudgement seate shee sent vnto him saying Haue thou nothing to doe with that iust man for I haue suffered many things in a dreame by reason of him Dreames are of three sortes naturall rising from the constitution of the bodie diabolicall such as come by the suggestion of the deuill diuine which are from God Some haue thought that this dreame was of the deuill as though he had laboured thereby to hinder the death of Christ and consequently our saluation but I rather thinke it was occasioned by the things which shee had heard before of Christ or that it was immediatly from God as the dreames of Pharao and Nabuchodonoser and serued for a further manifestation of Christs innocency Here it may be asked whether we may regard our dreames now as Pilates wife did or no Ans. We haue the bookes of the olde and newe testament to be our direction as Esai saith to the lawe to the testimonie they must be our rule and guide In these daies we must not looke to be taught by visions and dreames yet shal it not be amisse to obserue this caueat concerning dreames that by them wee may gesse the constitution of our bodies and oftentimes 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 said he was the sonne of God And the text saith when Pilate heard that he was afraid Marke how a poore Painym that knewe not Gods word at the hearing of the name of the sonne of God is stricken with feare No doubt hee shall rise in iudgement against many among vs that without all feare rend the name of god in peeces by swearing blaspheming cursed speaking But let all those that feare the Lord learne to tremble and be afraid at his blessed name Thus much for the causes that mooued Pilate to absolue Christ as also for the second part of Christs arraignment namely his accusation Now followes the third part which is his condemnation and that is twofold The first by the Ecclesiasticall assemblie and counsell of the Iewes at Ierusalem in the high priests hal before Caiphas The tenour of his condemnation was this He hath blasphemed what haue we any more neede of witnesses he is worthie to die The cause why they saie not he shall die but he is worthy to die is this The Iewes had two iurisdictions the one Ecclesiasticall the other ciuill both prescribed and distinctly executed by the commandement of God till the time of the Machabees in which both iointly together came into the handes 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 prouince 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 he might bring them bound to Ierusalem and imprison them but kill or condemne they could not By the fact of this Counsell wee learne sundrie 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 the time of Christs arraignment vpon the face of the whole 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 Math. 4.5 and 27.53 Yet for al 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 counsell at Ierusalem Christ the head of the Catholike Church and the redeemer of mankinde is accused of blasphemie and condemned as worthie of death Wherefore it is a meere dotage of mans braine to auouch that the Pope cannot possibly erre in giuing a definitiue sentence in matters either of faith or maners Neither can the Church of Rome plead priuiledge for Ierusalem had as many prerogatiues as any people in the worlde could haue Againe by this we see there is no reason why we should ascribe to any man or
when he is come which is the spirit of truth he will lead you into all truth Ans. The promise is directed to the Apostles who with their Apostolicall authoritie had this priuiledge granted them that in the teaching and penning of the gospel they should not erre and therefore in the councell at Ierusalem they conclude thus It seemes good vnto vs and to the holy Ghost And if the promise be further extended to all the Church it must be vnderstood with a limitation that God will giue his spirit vnto the meâ—bers thereof to lead them into all truth so farre forth as shall be needfull for their saluation The second question is wherein stands the dignitie and excellencie of the Church Ans. It stands in subiection and obedience vnto the will and word of his spouse and head Christ Iesus And hence it followes that the Church is not to chalenge vnto her selfe authoritie ouer the Scriptures but onely a ministerie or ministeriall seruice whereby shee is appointed of God to preserue and keepe to publish and preach them and to giue testimonie of them And for this cause it is called the pillar and ground of truth The church of Rome not content with this saith further that the authoritie of the Church in respect of vs is aboue the authoritie of the Scripture because say they we can not know Scripture to be Scripture but by the testimonie of the Church But indeede they speake an vntruth For the testimonie of men that are subiect to errour can not be greater and of more force with vs then the testimonie of God who can not erre Againe the Church hath her beginning from the word for there can not be a Church without faith there is no faith without the word there is no word out of the Scriptures and therefore the Church in respect of vs depends on the Scripture and not the Scripture on the Church And as the lawyer which hath no further power but to expound the law is vnder the law so the Church which hath authoritie onely to publish and expound the Scriptures can not authorize them vnto vs but must submit her selfe vnto them And whereas it is alleadged that faith comes by hearing and this hearing is in respect of the voice of the Church and that therefore faith comes by the voice of the Church the answer is that the place must be vnderstood not of that generall faith whereby we are resolued that Scripture is Scripture but of iustifying faith whereby we attaine vnto saluation And faith comes by hearing the voice of the Church not as it is the Churches voice but as it is a ministerie or meanes to publish the word of God which is both the cause and obiect of our beleeuing Now on the contrarie we must hold that as the carpenter knowes his rule to be straight not by any other rule applied vnto it but by it selfe for casting his eye vpon it he presently discernes whether it be straight or no so we know and are resolued that Scripture is Scripture euen by the Scripture it selfe though the Church say nothing so be it we haue the spirit of discerning when we read heare and consider the Scripture And yet the testimonie of the Church is not to be despised for though it breede not a a perswasion in vs of the certenty of the Scripture yet is it a very good inducement thereto The militant Church hath many parts For as the Ocean sea which is but one is deuided into parts according to the regions and countries against which it lieth as into the English Spanish Italian sea c. so the Church dispersed ouer the face of the whole earth is deuided into other particular churches according as the countries are seuerall in which it is seated as into the Church of England and Ireland the Church of France the Church of Germanie c. Againâ— particulaâ— Churches are in a twofold estate sometime lie hid in persecution wanting the publike preaching of the word and the administration of the Sacraments and sometimes againe they are visible carrying before the eyes of the world an open profession of the name of Christ as the moone is sometime eclipsed and sometime shineth in the full In the first estate was the Church of Israel in the daies of Eliah when he wished to die because the people had forsaken the couenant of the Lord broken downe his altars slaine his Prophets with the sword and he was left alone and they sought to take his life also Behold a lamentable estate when so worthie a Prophet could not finde an other beside himselfe that feared God yet marke what the Lord saith vnto him I haue left seuen thousand in Israel euen all the knees that haue not bowed vnto Baal and euery mouth that hath not kissed him Againe it is said That Israel had beene a long season without the true God without priest to teach and without the law Neither must this trouble any that God should so farre forth forsake his Church for when ordinarie meanes of saluation faile he then gathereth his Elect by extraordinarie meanes as when the children of Israel wandered in the wildernes wanting both circumcision and the Passeouer he made a supplie by Manna and by the pillar of a cloud Hence we haue direction to answer the Papists who demand of vs where our Church was three-score yeares agoe before the daies of Luther we say that then for the space of many hundred yeares an vniuersall Apostasie ouerspread the whole face of the earth and that our Church then was not visible to the world but lay hid 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 not that the faith and secret election of men can be seene for no man can discerne these things but by outward signes but because it is apparant in respect of the outward assemblies gathered to the preaching of the word 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 wheate and chaffe it is a band of men in which beside those that be of valour and 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 nuÌ„ber fewe As for the vngodly though they be in the Church yet they are no more parts of it indeede then the superfluous humours in the vaines are parts of the bodie But to proceede
giue consent and in his heart subscribeth to the equitie of Gods law as may appeare by the saying of Medea Video meliora probóque deteriora sequor That is I know what is best to be done and like it yet I doe the worst This approbation in the Reprobate commeth from constraint and is ioyned with a disliking of the lawe in the elect being called the approbation of the law proceedeth from a willing and ready mind and is ioyned with loue and liking IV. And by reason of this light of nature a meere natural man and a reprobate may be subiect to some temptations for example hee may be tempted of the deuill and of his owne corrupt flesh to beleeue that there is no God at all As Ouid saith of himself Eleg. 3. Sollicitor nullos esse putare deos I am often tempted to thinke there is no God V. The reprobate for all this knowledge in his heart may bee an Atheist as Dauid saith The foole hath said in his heart there is no God And a man may now a daies find houses and townes full of such fooles Nay this glimmering light of nature except it bee preserued with good bringing vp with diligent instruction and with good companie it will be so darkened that a man shall know verie litle and lead a life like a very beast as experience telleth and Dauid knewe very well who saith Man is in honour and vnderstandeth not he is like to beasts that perish VI. Wherefore this knowledge which the reprobate receiueth from nature and from the creatures albeit it is not sufficient to make him doe that which shall please God yet before Gods iudgement seat it cutteth off all excuse which he might alleadge why he should not be condemned VII Beside this naturall knowledge the reprobate may be made partaker of the preaching of the word be illuminated by the holy ghost and so may come to the knowledge of the reuealed will of God in his word VIII Thus when they heare the preaching of the word god profereth saluation to them and calleth them yet this calling is not so effectuall in them as it is in the elect children of God For the reprobate when he is called he liketh himselfe in his owne blindnes and therefore neither will he and if he would yet could he not answer and be obedient to the calling of God The elect beeing called with speed he answereth and commeth to the Lord and his heart beeing readie giueth a strong and loud eccho to the voice of the Lord. This eccho we see in Dauids heart Whē saith he thou saidst Seek ye my face mine heart answered vnto thee O Lord I will seek thy face And god himself speaketh the same of his children Zach. 13.9 They shall call on my name and I wil heare them I wil say it is my people nowe marke the eccho and they shall say the Lord is my God IX After that he hath an vnderstanding of Gods word hee may acknowledge the truth of it and confesse it and if neede require be a defender of it As Iudas was and Iulian the Apostata X. The reprobate may haue a feeling of his sinnes and so acknowledge them and the punishment due vnto them as Saul did who said I haue sinned come againe my sonne Dauid for I will doe thee no harme because my soule was precious in thine eies this day Behold I haue done foolishly and haue erred exceedingly Thus did Caine when he said My punishment is greater then I can beare Galerius Maximinus a vile persecutor of Christians had his bowels rotting within him so that an infinit number of wormes continually crawled forth of his bodie and such a poysoning stinke came from him that no man coulde abide him being thus plagued with the hand of God he began to perceiue his wickednes in persecuting Christians and he confessed his sinnes to the true God and assembling the chiefe rulers about him he commanded that all within his dominions should cease to trouble Christians and in all haste he made a lawe for the peace and libertie and the publike meetings of Christians XI The reprobate hath oftentimes feare and terrour of conscience but this is onlie because he considereth the wrath and vengeance of God which is most terrible When Paul preached before Foelix and by the maiestie of Gods spirit did as it were thunder from heauen against his sinnes◠doubtlesse he made his heart to ake and euery ioynt of him to tremble Ecebolius a Philosopher of Constantinople in the daies of Constantius professed Christian religion went beyond all other in zeale for the same religion yet afterward vnder Iulian he fell from that religion vnto Gentilisme But after Iulians death making meanes to bee receiued into the Church againe ouerwhelmed with the horror of his own conscience for his wicked reuolting he cast himselfe down on the groūd before the doores of the church crying aloud Calcate me salē insipidum Trample on me vnsauerie salt And the deuill beleeueth the worde of God and at his owne damnation he trembleth These seruile feares though they harden the heart of the reprobate as heate doth the yron after it hath bin in the furnace yet these feares in the children of God are very good preparations to make them fitte to receiue grace like as we see the needle which soweth not the cloath yet it maketh a passage and entrance for the thread which serueth for this vse to sowe cloath togither XII A reprobate before he commit a sin is often vexed within himselfe feareth to commit it not because he hateth and disliketh the sin for it selfe but because he cānot abide the punishment due vnto the sin When the daughter of Herodias danced before Herod and pleased him that hee might doe her a pleasure he bad her aske what she would shee asked Iohn Baptists head in a platter Herod did grant her request but yet he had a grudging in heart he was sore grieued at it In like maner Pilate was very much troubled inwardly before he condemned our Sauiour Christ. XIII After he hath committed a sin he sorroweth and repenteth yet this repentance hath two wants in it First he doth not detest his sin and his former conversation when he repenteth he doth bewaile the losse of many things which he once enioyed he crieth out through very anguish through the perplexities which God in his iudgement layeth on him yet for his life he is not able to leaue his filthy sinne if he might be deliuered he would sinne as before Esau wept before his father with great yelling and crying but after hee was gone from his fathers presence he hated his brother who had got his blessing and in contempt of his father chose him a wife against his liking Pharao as oft as the Lord laid any calamitie on him he euermore desired to be deliuered from it
saluation but with feare and trembling Phil. 2.12 8 He burneth with zeale of the spirit c. And so the rest of the affections are exercised about the promises of God in Christ and by this meanes is the deepe rooting of the word in the heart Thus it commeth to passe that the Reprobate falleth away from faith in the day of triall and temptation but the Elect cannot be changed XXXIIII Thus it appeareth how farre a reprobate may proceed in religion the consideration of this point I direct vnto two sorts of men Carnall gospellers and Papists Carnall gospellers are such among vs as know the word but obey it not or such as bearing a profession neither know it nor obey it And the best of these come short of reprobates in two points 1. In faith they come short of the deuill most of them The deuill beleeueth and trembleth but they contrariwise liuing in their sinnes beleeue and hope How comes this to passe The deuill knoweth the Gospel and the points of it and withall he beleeueth the terrible threatnings of the law and therefore trembleth Drowsie Protestants beleeue the Gospel as the deuill doth though he conceiues the points of it better then they doe as for the law and the threatnings thereof they doe not beleeue them and that makes them euen when they liue in their sinnes to hope and presume of mercie Therefore the deuill beleeues more of Gods word then they doe Secondly they come short of wicked men in outward obedience The young man not yet conuerted to Christ when he was bidden to keepe the commaundements of the second Table answered that he had kept them from his youth and therefore our Sauiour Christ looked vpon him and loued him although this externall obedience was not sufficient for Christ telleth him that one thing is wanting vnto him And in another place he saith except your righteousnes exceede the righteousnes of the Scribes and Pharisies you cannot enter into the kingdome of heauen Now the carelesse Gospeller is farre from performing this in so much that commonly he makes an open practise of sinne one way or other The causes of their carelesnes are first a perswasion that a man may repent when he will because the Scripture saith At what time soeuer a sinner doth repent him of his sinne from the bottome of his heart God will put all their wickednesse out of his remembrance But indeed late repentance is seldome true repentance and it may be iustly feared least that repentance which men when they are dying frame to themselues die also with them Secondly they flatter themselues imagining that the best man that is hath seuen falles euery day into grosse sinnes whereas the place which they abuse out of the Prouerbs The righteous man falleth seuen times in a day and riseth againe it is rather to be vnderstood of falls into affliction then falls into actuall sinnes Thirdly they deceiue themselues most falsly thinking small sinnes or hidden sinnes to be no sinnes and grossest sinnes in which they liue and lie most dangerously to be but sinnes of infirmitie XXXV By this which hath bin said the professours of Christian religion are admonished of two things First that they vse most painfull diligence in working their saluation in attaining to faith in dying to sinne in liuing to newnesse of life and that their hearts be neuer at rest till such time as they goe beyond all reprobates in the profession of Christ Iesus Seest thou how farre a reprobate may goe presse on to the straight gate with maine and might with all violence lay hold on the kingdome of heauen Slial Herod feare and reuerence Iohn Baptist and heare him gladly and wilt thou neglect the Ministers and the preaching of the word shall Pharao confesse his sinne nay shall Satan beleeue and tremble And wilt not thou bewaile and lament thy sinnes and thy wicked conuersation It behooueth thee to feare and take heed least wicked men and the deuill himselfe rise in iudgement and condemne thee For if thou shalt come short of the duties of a reprobate and doe not goe beyond him in the profession of the Gospel sure it is thou must looke for the reward of a reprobate The second thing is that the professour of the Gospell diligently trie and examine himselfe whether he is in the state of damnation or in the state of grace whether he yet beare the yoke of Satan or is the adopted child of God Thou wilt say this need not thou professest the Gospell and art taken for a Christian yet marke and consider that this often befalleth reprobates to be esteemed Christians and they are often so like them that none but Christ can discerne the sheepe from the goates true Christians from apparant Christians Wherefore it behooueth all men that shew themselues to be Christians to lay aside all pride and all selfeloue and with singlenes of heart to put themselues into the ballance of Gods word and to make iust triall whether in thē repentance faith mortification sanctification c. giue waight answerable to their outward profession which if they doe let them praise God if not let them with all speede vse the meanes that they may be borne anew to the lord and may be inwardly guided by his holy spirit to giue obedience to his will least in the day of Gods trial they start aside from him like a broken bow and fall againe to their first vncleannesse XXXVI To come to the second sort of men and to conclude let the most zealous Papist that is trie himselfe and his whole estate with a single heart as in the presence of Gods maiestie and he shall finde that by his whole religion and profession he doth come short of a reprobate or at the least not goe beyond him in these points before named The Lord open their eyes that they may see it Amen THE ESTATE OF A CHRISTIAN MAN IN this life which also sheweth how farre the Elect may goe beyond the Reprobate in Christianitie and that by many degrees I THe Elect are they whome God of the good pleasure of his will hath decreed in himselfe to choose to eternall life for the praise of the glorie of his grace For this cause the Elect onely are saide to haue their names written in the booke of life II Whome God electeth them he calleth in the time appointed for the same purpose This calling of the Elect is nothing els but a singling and a seuering of them out of this vile world and the customes thereof to be citizens of the kingdome of glorie after this life And the time of their calling is tearmed in Scriptures the day of visitation the day of saluation the time of grace III. This seuering and choosing of the elect out of the worlde is then performed when God by his holy spirit indueth them with true sauing faith a wonderfull gift peculiar to the
known though indeed the minde of man is able to conceiue more then any Christian heart can feele and this is to be seene in Paul who vseth not only to deliuer the points of Gods word in a generall manner but also setteth them downe specially in his own experience So that the enlightning of the reprobate may be compared to the sight of the blind man who saw men walking like vnto trees that is in motion like men but in forme like trees and the elect are like the same blind man who afterward saw men a farre off cleerely II. Secondly the knowledge of the wicked puffeth them vp but the knoweledge of the godly humbleth them III. Lastly the elect besides the knowledge of Gods worde haue a free and franke heart to performe it in their liues and conuersations which no reprobate can haue for their illumination is not ioyned with true and sincere obedience By this it is easie to discerne of the illumination of Anabaptistes or Familists and many other which brag of the spirit VIII The second is the sight of sinne arising of the knowledge of the lawe To this Ieremie exhorteth the Iewes of his time saying Know thine iniquitie for thou hast rebelled against the Lord thy God c. The chiefe cauie of the sight of sinne is Christ by his holy spirit who detecteth the thoughts of many heartes iudgeth the world of sinne The manner of seeing our sinnes must bee to knowe them particularlie for the vilest wretch in the world can generally and confusedly say he is a sinner but that the sight of sinne may be effectuall to saluation it must be more special distinct euen in particular sinnes so that a man may say with Dauid My sinnes haue taken such hold of me that I am not able to look vp they are more in number then the haires of mine head therefore my heart hath failed me Againe a man must not barely see his particular sinnes but hee must also see the circumstances of them as namely the fearefull curses and iudgements of God which accompanie euerie sinne for the consciences of many tell of their sinnes in particular yet they cannot be humbled for them leaue them because they haue not seene that ougly taile of the curse of God that euery sinne draweth after it IX The meanes to attaine to the sight of sinne is by a diligent examination of a mans own selfe This was the practise of the children of Israel in affliction Let vs trie say they and search our waies and turne againe to the Lord. And Dauid giueth the same counsell to Sauls Courtiers Tremble and sin not examine your own heart on your bed be still This examination must be made by the commandements of the Law but specially by the tenth which ransacketh the heart to the very quick was the meanes of Pauls conuersion For he being a proud pharisie this commandement shewed him some â—innes which otherwise he had not knowne and it killed him that is it humbled him If so bee it that after examination a man cannot find out his sinnes as no man shal find out all his sinnes for the heart of man is a vast gulfe of sinne without either bottom or bank and hath infinit hidden corruptions in it then hee must in a godly iealousie suspect himselfe of his vnknowne sinnes as Dauid did saying Who can vnderstand his faults clense me from my secret faults And as Paul did I know nothing by my selfe yet I am not thereby iustified And good reason it is why men should suspect themselues of those sinnes which as yet they neuer sawe in themselues For that which is highly esteemed amongst men is abomination in the sight of God and the very Angels are not cleane in his sight X. The third is a sorrowe for sinne which is a paine and pricking in the heart arising of the feeling of the displeasure of god of the iust damnation which followeth after sinne This was in the Iewes after Peters first sermon and in Habacuck at the hearing of Gods iudgements When I heard saith he my belly trembled my lips shooke at thy voice rottennes entred into my bones and I trembled in my selfe that I might rest in the daie of trouble This sorrow is called the spirit of bondage to feare because when the spirit hath made a man see his sins he seeth further the curse of the Law and so he findes himselfe to bee in bondage vnder satan hell death and damnation at which most terrible sight his heart is smitten with feare and trembling through the consideration of his hellish and damnable estate This sorrow if it continue and increase to some great measure hath certain Symptomes in the bodie as burning heate rowling of the intralls a pining and fainting of the solide parts XI In the feeling of this sorrowe three things are to bee obserued The first all men must looke that it be seriously and soundly wrought in their hearts for looke as men vse to breake hard stones into many small peeces and into dust so must this feeling of Gods anger for sinne bruise the heart of a poore sinner and bring it to nothing And that this may be so sorrow is not to bee felt for a brunt but very often before the end of a mans life The godly man from his youth suffereth the terrors of god Iacob wrestling with the Angel gets the victorie of him but yet he is faine to goe halting to his graue and traile one of his loynes after him continually The paschall Lamb was neuer eaten without sowre hearbs to signifie that they which wil be free from the wrath of God by Iesus Christ must feele continually the smart and bitternesse of their owne sinnes The second all men must take heede least when they are touched for their sinnes they besnare their owne consciences for if the sorrowe bee somewhat ouer sharp they shall see themselues euen brought to the gates of hell and to feele the pangs of death And when a man is in this perplexitie he shall find it a most hard matter to be freed from it without the marueilous power and strength of Christ Iesus who only is able to helpe him and comfort him yea many when they are once plunged in this distresse and anguish of soule shall neuer escape it as may appeare in Cain Saul Achitophel Iudas now of late in Iohn Hoffmeister a Monke and Latomus who for the space of certaine daies neuer left crying that he was damned because that he had wilfully persecuted the Gospell of Christ and so he ended his life Therefore most worthie is Pauls counsell for the moderating of this sorrow It is sufficient saith he vnto the incestuous man that he was rebuked of many so that now contrariwise ye ought rather to forgiue him and comfort him least he should be
by his heauenly power maketh him to doe the good which he doth And as from the stocke sappe is deriued to the grift that it may liue and grow and bring forth fruit in his kind so doe all the faithfull that are grafted into Christ the true vine And as the grift loseth his wild nature and is changed into the nature of the stocke and bringeth forth good fruit so in like manner it is with them that are in Christ who by little and little are wholly renued from euill to good XXIII The Elect beeing thus ioyned vnto Christ receiue three wonderfull benefits from him Iustification Adoption Sanctification Iustification is when the Elect beeing in themselues rebellious sinners and therefore firebrands of hell fire and Gods owne enemies yet by Christ they are accepted of the Lord as perfectly pure and righteous before him XXIIII This Iustification is wrought in this manner Sinne is that which maketh a man vnrighteous the child of wrath vengeance In sinne there are three things which are hurtfull to man the first is condemnation which commeth of â—inne the second is actuall disobedience of the law in sinne the third is the root and fountaine of sinne originall corruption These are three deadly woundes and three running sores in the hearts and consciences of all sinners Now Christ Iesus is perfectly righteous and in him a sinner may finde three inestimable benefits answerable to the three former euills First the sufferings of Christ vpon the crosse sufficient for all mens sinnes Secondly the obedience of Christ in fulfilling the law Thirdly the perfect holines of the humane nature of Christ these are three soueraigne medecines to heale all wounded consciences and they are as three running streames of liuing water to bathe and to supple the bruised and contrite heart Now then commeth faith and first laieth hold of the sufferings of Christ and so a sinner is freed from the punishment and guilt of sinne and from eternall damnation thus the first deadly wound is cured Againe faith laieth hold on the perfect obedience of Christ in fulfilling the law and thus the second wound is cured Thirdly faith applieth the holines of Christs humane nature to the sinner and then he is accepted of God as perfectly righteous and so his third deadly wound is cured Thus a sinner is made righteous by the righteousnes of Christ imputed to him XXV From true iustification proceede many other benefits and they are either outward or inward Outward benefits are three The first is Reconciliation by which a man iustified is perfectly reconciled to God because his sinne is done away and he is arayed with the perfect righteousnes of Christ. The second is that afflictions to the faithfull are no punishments for sinne but onely fatherly and louing chastisments For the guilt and punishment of sinne was borne of Christ. Now therefore if a Christian be afflicted it is no punishment for then God should punish one fault twise once in Christ and the second time vpon the Christian which thing doth not agree with his iustice it remaineth therefore that afflictions are onely corrections in the faithfull The third benefit is that the man iustified doth deserue and merit at Gods hands the kingdom of heauen For being made perfectly righteous in Christ and by his righteousnes he must needs merit eternall life in and by the merits of Christ. And therefore Paul calleth it the iustification of life Rom. 5.18 XXVI Inward benefits proceeding from iustification are those which are inwardly â—elt in the heart and serue for the better assurance of iustification and they are principally fiue The â—irst is Peace and quietnes of conscience As all men naturally in Adam are corrupt so all men naturally haue corrupt and defiled consciences accusing them and arraigning them before Gods iudgement for their sinnes in such wise that euery suspition of death and feare of imminent daunger maketh a naturall man stand agast at his wits end knowing not what to doe but by faith in Christ the Christian is perswaded of remission of his sinnes and so the disquietnes of his conscience is appeased and he hath an inward peace in all extremities which can not be taken from him XXVII The slumbering and dead conscience is much like to the good conscience pacified many through ignorance take the one for the other But they may be seuered and discerned thus First let the beleeuing Christian examine himselfe whether his conscience was afflicted with the sense of Gods iudgements and pressed downe with the burthen of his sinne before he came to that quietnesse for then he may be in good hope that it was the Spirit of God who brought that peace because God hath promised That he will dwell with the humble and contrite to reuiue and quicken them But if he haue alwaies had that peace from the beginning of his daies he may easily deceiue himselfe by taking the numnesse and securitie of a defiled conscience for the true peace of conscience Secondly let him search from whence this peace of his conscience proceedeth For if it come from any thing else but from the certaintie of the remission of sinne it is no true peace as many flattering theÌ„selues in sinne dreaming of a pardon are thereupon quieted and the deuill is readie enough to put this into their minds but this can be no true peace Thirdly let him examine himselfe if he haue a care to keepe a good conscience which if he haue he hath also receiued from the Lord a good and a quiet conscience For if God bestow vpon any man a gift concerning his saluation he giueth him also a care to keepe it XXVIII The second inward benefit is An entrance into Gods fauour and a perseuerance in it which is indeede a wonderfull benefit When a man commeth into fauour with his Prince then he is bold to come vnto him and he may haue free accesse vnto his presence and he may sue to his Prince for any benefit or preferment whereof he standeth in neede may obtaine it before any other so they which are in Gods fauour by reason that they are freely pardoned and iustified in Christ doe boldly approach into Gods presence and they are readie to aske and sure to obtaine any benefit that is for their good The third is a spirituall ioy in their hearts euen then when they are afflicted because they looke certenly to obtaine the kingdome of heauen The fourth is that the loue of God is shed in the hearts of the faithfull by the holy Ghost that is that the holy Ghost doth make the faithfull very euidently to feele the loue of God towards them and doth as it were fill their hearts with it XXIX The second maine benefit is Adoption whereby they which are iustified are also accepted of God as his
nothing to say but this The Lord increase the number of them And the Lord fullfill them with the knowledge of his will in all wisdome and spirituall vnderstanding that they may walke worthie of him and please him in all things being fruitfull in all good works and increasing in the knowledge of God And wheras they are at continual warre against the flesh the world and the deuil Lord Iesus strengthen them with all might through thy glorious power vnto all patience and long suffering with ioyfulnes And deare father of all mercie plant that gouernment in thy Church euery where which thou hast reuealed in thy worde that thy Saints may worship thee in those means in that order and comelines which thou hast appointed abounding in righteousnesse peace of conscience and ioy of the holy ghost Amen Amen A DIALOGVE OF THE STATE OF A CHRISTIan man gathered here and there out of the sweet and sauorie writings of Master Tindall and Master Bradford TImotheus Because of our ancient acquaintance and familiaritie deare friend Eusebius I will make bold with you to aske such questiōs as may be for my edification cōfort and of no other matters but euen of religion whereof I see you are an olde professour And the first of all let me bee bold to aske this question of you howe it pleased God to make you a true Christian and a member of Christ Iesus whome I see you serue continually with a feruent zeale Eusebius For that old acquaintance that was betweene vs and for that you are desirous to liue a godly life in Christ Iesus I will not conceale the good worke of my God in me therfore I pray you marke a little what I shall say I will declare vnto you the trueth euen forth of the feeling of mine own conscience The fall of Adam did make me the heire of vengeance and wrath of God and heire of eternall damnation and did bring mee into captiuitie and bondage vnder the deuil and the deuill was my Lord my ruler my head my gouernour and my prince yea and my God And my will was locked knit faster vnto the will of the deuil then could a hundred thousand chaines binde a man vnto a poast Vnto the deuils will did I consent with all my heart with all my mind with all my might power strength will and life so that the Lawe and will of the deuil was written as well in my heart as in my members and I ran headlong after the deuill with full saile and the whole swing of all the power I had as a stone cast into the aire commeth downe naturally of it selfe with all the violent swing of his own weight O with what a deadly and venemous heart did I hate mine enemies With how great malice of mind inwardly did I sley and murther With what violence and rage yea with what feruēt lust committed I adulterie fornication and such like vncleannes With what pleasure and delectation like a glutton serued I my bellie With what diligence deceiued I How busily sought I the things of the world Whatsoeuer I did work imagine or speake was abominable in the sight of God for I could referre nothing vnto the honour of God neither was his law or will written in my members or in my heart neither was their any more power in me to followe the will of God then in a stone ascend vpward of it selfe And besides that I was asleep in so deep blindnes that I could neither see nor feele in what miserie thraldome and wretchednesse I was till Moses came and awaked me and published the lawe When I heard the law truely preached howe that I ought to loue and honour God with all my strength and might from the lowe bottome of the heart because he did create me Lord ouer it and my neighbor yea mine enemies as my selfe inwardly from the groūd of my heart because God hath made them after the likenesse of his owne image and they are his sonnes as well as I and Christ hath bought them with his blood and made them heires of euerlasting life as wel as I and how I ought to do whatsoeuer God biddeth and to abstaine from whatsoeuer God forbiddeth with all loue and meekenes with a feruent and burning lust from the center of the heart Then began my conscience to rage against the Lawe and against God No sea be it neuer so great a tēpest was so vnquiet for it was not possible for me a naturall man to consent to the Law that it should bee good or that God should be righteous which made the law in as much as it was contrarie vnto my nature and damned me and all that I could doe and neuer shewed mee where to fetch helpe nor preached any mercie but onely set me at variance with God prouoked stirred me to raile on god and to blaspheme him as a cruel tyrant And indeed it was not possible to doe otherwise to thinke that God made me of so poysoned a nature and gaue me an impossible law to performe I being not borne againe by the spirit and my wit reason and will being so fast glewed yea nailed and chained vnto the will of the deuil This was the captiuitie and bondage whence Christ deliuered me redeemed and loosed me His blood his death his patience in suffering rebukes wronges and the full wrath of God his prayers and fastings his meekenes fulfilling the vttermost points of the law appeased the wrath of God brought the fauour of god to me againe obtained that God should loue me first and bee my father and that a mercifull father that would consider my infirmitie and weaknes would giue me his spirit againe which he had taken away in Adam to rule gouerne and strengthen me and to breake the bands of Satan wherein I was so straight bound When Christ was on this wise preached and the promises rehearsed which are contained in the booke of God which preaching is called the Gospell or glad tydings and I had deepely considered the same then my heart began to waxe soft and melt at the bounteous mercie of God and kindnes shewed of Christ. For when the gospel was preached the spirit of God mee thought entred into my heart and opened my inwarde eies and wrought a liuely faith in me and made my woofull conscience feele and tast how sweet a thing the bitter death of Christ is and how mercifull and louing God is through Christs purchasing and merits and made me to beginne to loue againe and to consent to the lawe of God how that it is good ought so to be and that God is righteous that made it lastly it wrought in me a desire to be whole and to hunger and thirst after more righteousnesse and more strength to fulfill the law more perfectly and in all that I do or leaue vndone to seeke Gods honour and his will with meekenesse euermore condemning the imperfectnes of my deedes
wil I shewe it you And first of al the dealing of God towards me is a good argumēt to me In the first commandement God hath commanded me to take him to be my God and in the Lords prayer he teacheth me to call him father he hath created the world generally and euery creature particularly for man and so for me to serue for my commoditie necessitie admonition Also he hath made me for his owne image hauing a reasonable soule bodie shape where hee might haue made me a Toad a Serpent a swine deformed franticke Moreouer he hath wonderfully preserued me in my infancie childhood youth middle age hitherto from manifold dangers and perils all which doe confirme in me a perswasion of Gods fatherly loue and that I should not doubt hereof where I might haue beene borne of Turkes loe it was the will of God that I should be borne of Christian parents and be brought into Gods Church by baptisme which is the Sacrament of adoption and requireth faith as well of the remission of my sinnes as of sanctification and holinesse to be wrought of God in me by his grace and holy spirit where I might haue beene borne in an ignorant time and religion God would that I should be borne in these daies and in this countrie where is more knowledge reuealed then euer was here or in many places els is Where I might haue beene of a corrupt iudgement and intangled with many errours of Papistrie and of the Familie of Loue and of the schisme of Browne by Gods goodnes my iudgement is reformed and he hath lightened mine eies to see and my heart to imbrace his sincere trueth By all which things I doe confirme my faith of this that God alwaies hath bin is and will be for euer my father and at my departing forth of this worlde will giue me the crowne of euerlasting glorie Secondly when as man is euermore doubting of the promises of God be they neuer so certaine God of his infinit mercie to preuent al occasions of doubting promiseth to giue his own spirit as a pledge pawne or earnest pennie vnto his children of their adoption election to saluation Nowe since it pleased God to call me from hypocrisie to be a member of his Church I feele that in my selfe which I neuer felt or heard of before In times past I came to praiers and to the preaching of gods word euen as a Beare commeth to the stake nowe the word of God is meate and drinke to me and praier is no burden vnto me but my ordinarie exercise If I rise in the morning I am not well till I haue praied and giuen thankes to God if I do any thing it commeth into my mind to pray In my praiers I find great ioy and comfort and exceeding fauour of God I neuer thinke I can wel take my rest or doe any thing els except first I aske it at Gods hand in Christ. Lastly when my mind and heart is wholly occupied in worldly matters I am stirred vp and as it were drawn to pray vnto god for the remission of my sins and the assurance of my saluation in praier I haue had those grones which for their greatnes cannot be expressed Now from whence commeth all this From the deuil No. In these actions I haue found him my enemie and a continuall hinderer of them For he by his craft when I haue beene heauie and weake hath assailed to prouoke me to some sinnes whereunto my cursed nature was most giuen and I hauing yeelded to him haue beene so hardened blinded by those sinnes that for a time I haue made light account of the word of God and praier Well then peraduenture this came from mine owne selfe No neither This cursed nature of mine hath beene more pleased and delighted with sinne and with the pleasures of the world then with such exercises from which it draweth me and presseth me downe as lead I cannot think that such a poysoning Cockatrice can lay such good egs or that wilde crab trees such as all men are in Adam can bring foorth sweete fruites according to the will of God except God plucke them forth of Adam and plant them in the garden of his mercie and stocke them and graft the spirit of Christ in them Wherefore these are the workes of Gods spirit and my conscience is thereby certified that God hath giuen me the spirit of adoption and therefore that his fauour and mercie shal continue towards me for euer For the gifts of God are without repentance and whome God once loueth him hee loueth for euer Thirdly there be certaine fruits of Gods children which I find in me by which I am confirmed in Gods fauour S. Iohn in his first Epistle saith that hereby we know that we are translated from death to life because we loue the brethren Truely I feele in my heart a burning loue towards them which are good Christians though I neuer knew them nor saw them and I am very desirous to doe any good for them and if drops of my heart blood would doe them good they should haue them Moreouer I hate all sinne and wickednes with a bitter hatred and I long to see the comming of my Sauiour Christ to iudgement I am grieued and disquieted because I cannot fulfil the law of god as I ought all which I haue learned forth of Gods word to be tokens of Gods children And thus you see what euidence I haue to shewe that I am a true member of the Church militant and in the fauour of God Timoth. Haue you a steadfast faith in Christ as these arguments seeme to prooue without all wauering doubting and distrusting of Gods mercy Euseb. No no. This my faith which I haue in Christ is euen fought against with doubting and euer assailed with desperation not when I sinne only but also in tentations of aduersitie into which God bringeth me to nurture me to shewe me mine owne heart the hypocrisie and false thoughts that there lie hidde my almost no faith at all and as little loue◠euen then happely when I thought my selfe most perfect of all for when temptations come I cannot stand when I haue sinned faith is feeble when wrong is done vnto me I cannot forgiue in sickenesse in losse of goods in all tribulation I am vnpatient when my neighbour needeth my helpe that I must depart with him of mine owne then loue is cold And thus I learne and feele that there is no power to do good but of god only And in al such tēptations my faith perisheth not vtterly neither my loue and consent to the law of God but they be weake sick wounded and not cleane dead As I dealt with my parents being a childe so nowe deale I towards God my louing father When I was a childe my father and mother taught me nurture and wisdome I loued my father and all his commandements and perceiued the goodnes he shewed me that my father loued me
set vp his Sacrament as a signe vpon a high hill whence it may be seene on euery side farre and neere to call againe them that be runne away And with this Sacrament he as it were clocketh to them as a hen doth for her chickens to gather them vnder the wings of his mercy and hath commaunded his Sacrament to be had iâ—â— continuall vse to put vs in minde of his continuall mercie laid vp for vs in Christ blood and to witneâ—â—e and teâ—tifie it vnto them and to be the seale thereof For the Sacrament doth much more liuely print the faith and make it sinke downe into the heart then doe bare wordes onely Now when the words of the testament and promises are spoken ouer the bread this my bodie that was broken for you this is my bloode that was shed for you they confirme the faith but much more when the Saâ—rament is seene with the eies and the bread broken the wine powred out looked on yet more when I taste it smell it As you see when a man maketh a promise vnto another with light words betweene themselues and so they departed he to whome the promise is made beginneth to doubt whether the other spake earnestly or mocked and doubteth whether he will remmber his promise to abide by it or no. But when any man speaketh with aduisemeÌ„t the words are more credible if he sweare it confirmeth the thing more and yet the more if he strike hands if he giue earnest if hee call record if he giue hand writing seale it so is he the more and more beleeued for the heart gathereth lo he spake with aduisement deliberation and good sadnesse he clapped hands called record and put to his hand and seale the man cannot be so faint without the feare of God as to denie all this shame shall make him abide his promise though hee were such a man as I could not compell him if hee would denie it And thus we dispute god sent his sonne in our nature made him feele our infirmities and named his name Iesus that is a Sauiour because he should saue his people from their sinnes and after his death he sent his Apostles to preach these glad tydings to thrust them in at the eares of vs set vp a Sacrament of them to testifie them and to seale them and to thrust them in not at the eares onely by rehearsing the promises of the testament ouer its neither at our eies only in beholding it but beat them in through our feeling tasting and smelling also and to be repeated daiely and to be ministred to vs. He would not thinke we make halfe so much a do with vs if he loued vs not and would not haue his Sacrament to be a witnesse and testimonie betweene him and vs to confirme the faith of his promises that wee should not doubt in them when we looke on the seales of his obligations wherewith he hath bouÌ„d himselfe and this to keepe the promises and couenants better in mind and to make them the more deepely to sinke into our hearts and bee more earnestly regarded Timoth. Considering that this which you say is too plaine great shame it is that there is such neglect of the Sacrament as there is and that it is so seldome vsed but surely want of faith and the securitie which ouerspreadeth this our countrie is the cause of it the Lord if it be his will remooue the same Now let me heare a little how you lead your life and haue your conuersation among men Euseb. I haue my conuersation among men as sincere as I can in righteousnes and holines which is after Gods commandements our Sauiour saith Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good workes and glorifie your father which is in heauen Timoth. It is but a dim light which we can carrie before men and small are our good workes and to be esteemed of no value if wee were preachers or rich men or noble men then we might saue soules giue good counsell helpe many by your almes but you and I are poore men of base birth and of lowe degree how can we then doe any good workes Euseb. As touching good workes by that measure of knowledge that god hath giuen me I thinke that all workes are good which are done according to the obedience of Gods law in faith and with thanksgiuing to God and with a minde desirous of his glorie alone and I thinke that I or any man els in doing them please God whatsoeuer I doe within the lawe of God as when I make water And trust me if either wind or water were stopped I should feele what a pretious thing it were to doe either of both and what thankes ought to bee giuen God therefore Moreouer I put no difference betweene workes but whatsoeuer commeth into my hands that I doe as time place and occasion giueth and according to my degree For as touching to please God there is no worke better then other God looketh not first on my workes as the worlde doth or as though he had neede of them but God looketh first on my heart what faith I haue to his word how I beleeue him trust him and howe I loue him for his mercie that he hath shewed to me hee looketh with what heart I worke and not what I worke how I accept the degree he hath put me in not of what degree I am Let vs take example You are a minister and preach the word I am a kitchin boy and wash my masters dishes Of the Ministery harke what the Apostle saith If I preach I haue naught to reioice in for necessity is put vpon me If I preach not the gospel as who should say God hath made me so woe is to me if I preach not If I do it willingly saith he then I haue my reward that is then I am sure that Gods spirit is in me and that I am elect to eternall life If I doe it against my will the office is committed to me that is I doe it not of loue to God but to get a liuing thereby and for a worldly purpose and had rather otherwise liue then doe I that office which God hath put vpon me but doe not please God So then if you preached not or in preaching had not your heart aright you minisâ—er the office and they that haue the spirit of God heare his word yea though it were spoken by an Asse and the woe belongeth to you but and if you preach willingly with a true heart and conscience to God then you shall feele the earnest of eternal life and the working of the spirit of God in you and your preaching is a good worke in you Now I that minister in the kitchin and am but a kitchin boy receiue all things at the hand of God know that God hath put me in such an office submit my selfe to his wil and serue my master not as a
man but as Christ himselfe with a pure heart according as Paul teacheth me putting my trust in God of him seeke my reward Moreouer there is not a good deede done but mine heart reioyceth therein yea when I heare that the word of God is preached by you and see the people turne vnto God I consent to this deede my heart breaketh out in me yea it springeth and leapeth in my breast that God is honoured and in my heart I do the same that you doe with the like delectation and feruency of spirit Now he that receiueth a Prophet in the name of a prophet receiueth a prophets reward that is hee that consenteth to the deede of a prophet and maintaineth it the same hath the spirit and earnest of euerlasting life which the prophet hath and is elect as the prophet is Now if we compare worke to worke there is a difference betwixt washing of dishes and preaching the word of God but as touching to please God none at all For neither that nor this pleaseth God but as farre forth as God hath chosen a man and hath put his spirit in him and purified his heart by faith and trust in Christ. As the scriptures call him carnall which is not renued by the spirit and borne againe in Christs flesh all his works like euen the very motions of his heart mind as his learning doctrine and contemplation of hie things his preaching teaching and studie in the scripture building of Churches founding of Colledges giuing of almes and whatsoeuer he doeth though they seeme spiritual after the law of God neuer so much So contrariwise hee is spirituall which is renued in Christ and all his workes which spring from faith seeme they neuer so grosse as the washing of the disciples feete done by our Sauiour Christ Peters fishing after the resurrection yea deedes of matrimony are pure spirituall if they proceede of faith and whatsoeuer is done within the lawes of god though it be wrought by the body as the wiping of shoes and such like howsoeuer grosse they appeare outwardly yet are sanctified Timoth. What bee the speciall things in which you leade your conuersation Euseb. One thing is the reading of the scripture Timoth. It is dangerous to read the scriptures you that haue no learning may easily fall into errors and heresies Euseb. As he which knoweth his letters perfectly and can spell cannot but read if he be diligent and as he which hath cleere eies without impediment or let and walketh thereto in the light and open day cannot but see if hee attend and take heede euen so I hauing the profession of my Baptisme onely written in my heart and feeling it sealed vp in my conscience by the holy Ghost cannot but vnderstand the scripture because I exercise my selfe therein and compare one place with another and marke the manner of speech and aske here and there the meaning of a sentence of them that bee better exercised then I for I feele in my heart and haue a sensible experience of that inwardly which the spirit of God hath deliuered in the scriptures So that I find mine inward experience as a commentarie vnto me Timoth. We are all baptized belike then we shall all vnderstand the Scripture Euseb. But alas very fewe there be that are taught and feele their ingrafting into Christ their iustification their inward dying vnto sinne and liuing vnto righteousnesse which is the meaning of their Baptisme And therefore we remaine all blind generally as well the great Rabbins which brag of their learning as the poore vnlearned lay man And the scripture is become so darke vnto them that they grope for the doore and can finde no way in and it is become a maze vnto them in which they wander as a mist or as as wee say led by Robbin goodfellow And their darknes cānot comprehend the light of the Scriptures but they read them as men doe tales of Robbin hood as riddles or as olde Priests read their Ladies Mattins which they vnderstoode not And vntill a man be taught his Baptisme that his heart feele the sweetnes of it the scriptures are shut vp from him and so darke that hee could not vnderstand it though Peter Paul or Christ himselfe did expound it vnto him no more then a man starke blind can see though thou set a candle before him or shew him the sunne or point with thy finger vnto that thou wouldst haue him looke vpon As for heresie there is no danger if a man come to the scripture with a meeke spirit seeking there to fashion himselfe like vnto Christ according to the profession and vowe of his baptisme but contrariwise he shall there find the mightie power of God to alter and change him in the inner mā by little and little till in processe he be ful shapen after the image of our Sauiour in knowledge and loue of all trueth and power to worke thereafter Heresies spring not of Scripture no more then darkenesse of the Sunne but are darke cloudes which spring out of the blinde hearts of hypocrites giuen to pride and singularitie and doe couer the face of the Scripture and blind their eies that they cannot behold the bright beames of the scripture Timoth. By this I also can gather that the Papists which cannot reade the Scriptures except they fall into errors haue not the spirit of Christ working in them and teaching them but the lying spirit of Antichrist the deuill that if God would giue them any true feeling and open their eies they would quite change their mindes But what other exercises haue you Euseb. Praier and thanksgiuing to God For God hath promised very boūtifully vnto them which praie in trueth and it is one of the greatest comforts I haue at all times Againe God which commanded me not to steale commandeth me also to praie and his will is that one commandement should bee as well kept as another and therefore I am perswaded that condemnation will befall a man as well for the one as for the other And that prayer ought to bee continually euen in euery busines a man doth me thinketh it most agreeable to Gods will For if I should come into my neighbours house and take his goods and vse them not borrowing them or asking any leaue they would lay handes on me and make me a theefe The worlde and all the things in the world are the Lords not mine so then if I shall daily vse them neuer seeking to the Lord by praier for the vse of them before God I am an vsurper nay a ranke theefe therefore I desire of God hartely that I may vse all his good creatures with feare and reuerence and that I may sanctifie his name in them which Paul sheweth me to be done by the word of God and praier the word shewing me the lawefull vse of his creatures praier obtaining at Gods hands that I may vse them aright If this practise were vsed of men
body They obiect that God is omnipotent True indeede but there bee some things the doing of which agreeth not with Gods power as to make contradicentia things contradictorie to be both true of which sort these are For that Christs bodie is a true bodie and that it is in many places at once are flatte contrarie beccause as hath bin shewed it is essential to all magnitudes to be in one place and therefore to a bodie And God cannot take away that which is essentiall to a thing the essence remaining whole 2. Againe transubstantiation maketh the Accidents of bread and wine to remaine without the substance Here also is another contradiction as impossible as the former for it is a common saying in schooles Accident is esse est inesse It is of the essence of an Accident to bee in the substance Now therefore if the Accidents bee there is also the bread and wine and if there bee no substance of bread or wine neither can there be any accidents 3. It holdeth that bread is turned into the bodie of Christ and therfore it must needs holde that Christs bodie is made of bakers bread and yet it holdeth and teacheth that Christs bodie is onely made of the seede of Marie quite ouerthrowing the former Transubstantiation V. It teacheth that a man must alwaies doubt of his saluation and likewise it teacheth that in praying we are to cal GOD father which are things quite contrarie For who can truly call GOD father vnlesse hee haue the spirit of adoption and be assured that he is the child of God For if a man shall call god father yet in his heart doubt whether he be his father or not he playeth the dissembling hypocrite wherefore to doubt of saluation and to say Our father c. in truth are contrarie VI. The Church of Rome maketh praier to bee one of the chiefe meanes to satisfie for sinnes But praier indeede is an asking of pardon for sinne Now asking of pardon satisfaction for sinne are contrarie therfore by the iudgement of the Papists praier which is a satisfaction is no satisfactiō And indeed let vs consider what madnes is contained in this popish diuinitie the poore begger commeth very hungrie to the rich mans doore to craue his almes and straightwaies by his begging he will merit and deserue it The same doeth the papist he prayeth verie poorely for the thing which he wanteth yet he looketh very proudly to merit no lesse then the kingdome of heauen by it VII Doubting of saluation hope cannot agree together for hope maketh a man not to be ashamed that is it neuer disappointeth him of the thing which he looketh for And therefore it is called the anchor of the soule both sure and steadfast which entereth into that which is within the vaile So that true hope and the certaine assurance of saluation goe togither VIII True praier and iustification by works cannot stand togither For hee which prayeth truly must be touched inwardly with a liuely feeling of his owne miserie and of the want of that grace whereof he standes in neede Now this cannot be in the heart of that man that looketh to merit the kingdome of heauen by his workes for he that can doe this may iustly conceiue somewhat of his owne excellencie IX Papists teach that it is great boldnes to come immediately vnto God without the intercession of Saints and therefore they vse to pray to Marie that shee would pray to Christ to helpe them yet on the contrarie when they haue so done they pray to God immediatly that he would receiue the intercession of Marie for them And thus they are become intercessors betweene Marie and God Yea when they offer vp Christ praying God to accept their gifts and sacrifices the humble priest that wil not pray to God but by the mediation of Saints is then a mediator between Christ Iesus God the father X. It holdeth that in the masse the Priest offereth vp Christ to his father an vnbloodie sacrifice This is a thing impossible for if Christ in the masse be sacrificed for sin then he must die his blood must be shed Heb. 9.22 And in the Scriptures these two sayings Christ is dead Christ is offered vp in Sacrifice are all one So then the Papist when he supposeth that there may be an vnbloodie sacrifice in effect he saith thus much There is a sacrifice which is no sacrifice And it is not possible that a bloodie sacrifice should be offered in an vnbloodie manner XI In the Canon of the masse the Church of Rome praieth on this wise We humbly beseech thee most merciful father by Iesus Christ thy sonne and our Lord that that thou wouldest accept these gifts and oblations and these holy Sacrifices which thy Church offer to thee c. where first they offer vp Christ to God the father in the name of Christ and so they make Christ to be his owne mediatour Againe they desire God to blesse and to accept his own sonne for they offer vp Christ. If they say he needeth now the blessing of his father they make Christ a weake and imperfect Christ if he need not the blessing of his father their praier is needelesse Also they desire God to accept not one gift or one sacrifice but in the plurall number these gifts and sacrifices whereas they hold that Christs bodie is one only bodie and therefore but one sacrifice And thus they are at variance with themselues XII Papists in word they say that they beleeue put thei◠trust in God yet whereas they looke to be saued by their workes they set the confidence of their hearts in truth vpon their owne doings XIII They put such holines in matrimonie that they make it one of their 7. Sacraments which conferre grace to the partakers of them yet they forbid their Cleargie to marrie because to liue in marriage is to liue according to the flesh and the Councell of Trent opposeth marriage and chastitie XIV It teacheth that soules kept in purgatorie may be redeemed by Sacrifices and Suffrages Against this is a Canon of their lawe taken out of Saint Hierome we know that in this life we may help one another either by praiers or by good counsell but when we shall come before the iudgement seate of Christ neither Iob nor Daniel nor Noe may intreat for any but euery mā is to beare his own burthen And according to another Canon going vnder the name of Gelasius Bishop of Rome Either there is no Purgatorie or the soules which goe thither shall neuer returne XV. And to conclude the most points of their religion are contrarie to their Canons as by searching may appeare in these examples 1 The dead cannot heare the praiers of them which call vpon him 2 Peter and Paul were two of the chiefe Apostles and it is hard to say which was aboue the other 3 Leo the fourth
law Sathan Be it so for all this thou art farre enough from the kingdome of heauen into which no vncleane thing shall euer enter then although that Christ hath suffered death and fulfilled the law for thee yet thou art in part vncleane thy cursed nature and the seedes of sinne are yet remaining in thee Christian. Christ in the virgins wombe was perfectly sanctified by the holy Ghost and this perfect holines of his humane nature is imputed to me euen as Iaacob put on Esaus garments to get his fathers blessing so I haue put on the righteousnes of Christ as a long white robe couering my sinnes and making me appeare perfectly righteous euen before Gods iudgement seate Sathan Indeede God hath made promise vnto mankinde of all these mercies and benefites in Christ but the condition of this promise is faith which thou wantest and therefore canst not make any account that Christs sufferings Christs fulfilling the law Christs perfect holinesse can doe thee any good Christian. I haue true sauing faith The conflicts of Sathan with the strong Christian. Sathan THou saiest that thou hast true faith but I shall sift thee and disprooue thee Christian. The gates of hell shall neuer preuaile against my faith doe what thou canst Sathan Tell me then doest thou thinke that all the world shall be saued Christian. No. Sathan What shall some be saued and some condemned Christian. So saith the word of God Sathan Thou then art perswaded that God is true euen in his merciful promises and that he will saue some men as Peter and Paul and Dauid c. and this is the onely beleefe by which thou wilt be saued Christian. Nay this I beleeue and more too that I particularly am in the number of those men which shall be saued by the merit of Christs death and passion and this is the beleefe that saueth me Sathan It may be thou art perswaded that God is able to saue thee but that God will saue thee that is that he hath determined to aduance this thy bodie and this thy soule into his kingdome and that he is most willing to performe it in his good time herein thou wauerest and doubtest Christian. Nay Sathan I in mine owne heart am fully perswaded that I shall be saued and that Christ is specially my redeemer and O Lord for Christs sake helpe thou my doubting and vnbeleefe Sathan This thy full perswasion is onely a phantasie and a strong imagination of thine owne head it goeth not with thee as thou thinkest Christian. It is no imagination but truth which I speake For me thinkes I am as certen of my saluation as though my name were registred in the Scriptures as Dauids and Pauls are to be an elect vessell of God and this is the testimonie of the holy spirit of Iesus Christ assuring me inwardly of my adoption and making me with boldnes and confidence in Christ to pray vnto god the Father Sathan Still thou dreamest and imaginest thou louest and likest thy selfe and therefore thou thinkest the best of thy selfe Christian. Yea but God of his goodnesse hath brought forth such tokens of faith in me that I cannot be deceiued I. I am displeased with my selfe for my manifold sinnes in which somtime I haue delighted and bathed my selfe Rom. 7.15.24 II. I purpose neuer to commit them againe if God giue me strength as I trust he will III. I haue a very great desire to be doing those things which God commandeth IV. Those that be the children of God if I doe but heare of them I loue them with my heart and wish vnto them as to my selfe 1. Ioh. 3.14 V. My heart leapeth for gladnesse when I heare of the preaching of the word VI. I long to see the comming of Christ Iesus that an end may be made of sinning and of displeasing God Apoc. 22.70 VII I feele in my heart the fruits of the spirit ioy loue peace gentlenes meeknes patience temperance the works of the flesh I abhorre them fornication adulterie vncleannes wantonnes idolatry strife enuie anger drunkennes bibbing and quaffing and all such like Gal. 5. 19,20,22 All these cannot proceede from thee Sathan or from my flesh but onely from faith which is wrought in me by Gods holy spirit Sathan If this were so God would neuer suffer thee to sinne as thou doest Christian. I shall sinne as long as I liue in this world I am sure of it because I am taught to aske remission of my sinnes continually But the manner of my sinning now is otherwaies then it hath beene in times past I haue sinned heretofore with full purpose and consent of will but now doubtles I doe not Before I commit any sinne I doe not goe to the practising of it with deliberation as the carnall man doth who taketh care to fulfill the lusts of the flesh but if I doe it it is flat beside my minde and purpose in the doing of any sinne I would not doe it my heart is against it and I hate it and yet by the tyrannie of my flesh being ouercome I doe it afterward when it is committed I am grieued and displeased at my selfe and doe earnestly with teares aske at Gods hand forgiuenes of the same sinne Sathan Indeede this is very true in the children of God but thou art solde vnder sinne and with great pleasure doest commit sinne and louest it with thy whole heart otherwise thou wouldest not fall to sinne againe after repentance and commit euen one and the same sinne so often as thou doest Thou hypocrite this thy behauiour turneth all the fauour of God from thee Christian. Indeed it is dangerous to fall againe into the same sinne after repentance yet it is the order of the Prophets to call men to repentance which haue fallen from the feare of God and from the repentance which they professed and God in thus calling them putteth them in hope of obtaining mercie And the law had sacrifices offered euery day for the sinnes of all the people and for particular men both for their ignorances and their voluntary sins which signifieth that God is readie to forgiue the sinnes of his childrē though they sinne often Abraham twise lied and swore that Sara was not his wife Ioseph sware twise by the life of Pharao Dauid committed adulterie often because he tooke vnto him Bathsheba Vriahs wife and also kept sixe wiues and ten concubines Gods will is that men forgiue till seuentie seuen times and therefore he will haue much more mercie And for my part so oft as I shal fall into the same sinne so oft I shall haue Christ my aduocate and intercessour to the Father for me who will not damne me for the infirmitie which he findeth in me I will abstaine from externall iniquitie and I will not make my members seruants vnto sinne and so long I trust my imperfections shall haue no power to damne me for Christs perfection is reputed to be mine by
and vndiscret companie that would seeme to crie out for discipline their whole talke is of it and yet they neither knowe it nor will be reformed by it and yet they are enemies to it as for the lawe of God and the promises of the Gospell they little regard they maintain vile sinnes in refusing to heare the reading or the preaching of the word and this is great contempt of Gods benefits and vnthankefulnesse to him They are full of pride thinking themselues to be full when they are emptie to haue all knowledge when they are ignorant and had neede to bee catechized the poyson of Aspes is vnder their lippes they refuse not to speake euill of the blessed seruants of God Well doe they aboue all things seeke the kingdome of GOD then let them be sincere seekers of it which they shall doe if in seeking Christs kingdome they seeke the righteousnesse thereof vnto which they can neuer come but by the applying of the threatnings of the lawe and the comforts of the gospel to their own consciences But whereas they seeke the one and not the other they giue all men to vnderstand with what spirit they speake CONSOLATIONS FOR THE TROVBLED consciences of repentant Sinners Sinner GOod sir I know the Lord hath giuen you the tongue of the learned to be able to minister a word in time to him that is wearie therefore I pray you helpe me in my miserie Minister Ah my good brother what is the matter with you and what aile you Sinner I liued a long time the Lord he knoweth it after the manner of the world in all the lusts of my filthie flesh then I was neuer troubled but it hath plesed GOD of his mercie to touch my heart and to send his owne sonne that good sheapheard Iesus Christ to fetch me home to his owne fold euen vpon his own necke and since that time it is a wonder to see howe my poore heart hath beene troubled my corruption so boyles in me and Sathan will neuer let me alone Minister Your case is a blessed case for not to be troubled of Satan is to be possessed of him that is to be held captiue vnder the power of darkenes and to be a slaue and vassall of Sathan for as long as the strong man keepes the hold all things are is peace Contrariwise hee that hath receiued any sparkle of true faith shall see the gates of hell that is the deuill and his angels in their full strengthâ— to stand vp against him and to fight with an endles hatred for his finall confusion Sinner But this my trouble of mind hath made me oftentimes feare least God would reiect me and vtterly depriue me of the kingdome of heauen Minister But there is no cause why it should so doe For how should heauen bee your resting place if on earth you were not troubled how could god wipe away your teares from your eies in heauen if on earth you shead them not You would be freâ— from miseries you looke for heauen vpon earth But if you will go to heauen the right waie is to saile by hel If you wil sit at Christs table in his kingdome you must bee with him in his temptations You are as Gods corne you must therefore goe vnder the fâ—aile the fanne the milstone and the ouen before you can be Gods bread You are one of Christs Lambes looke therefore to be fleeced and to haue the bloodie knife at your throat all the daie long If you were a market sheepe bought to be solde you should be stalled and kept in a fat pasture but you are for Gods owne occupying therfore you must pasture on the bare common abiding stormes tempests Sathans snatches the worlds woundes contempt of conscience and frettes of the flesh But in this your miserie I will be a Simon vnto you to helpe you to carrie your crosse so be it you will reueale your mind vnto me Christian. I will doe it willingly my temptations are either against my faith in Christ or against repentance for my sinnes Minister What is your temptation as touching faith Christian. Ah woe is me I am much afraid least I haue no faith in Christ my Sauiour Minister What causeth this feare Christian. Diuers things Minister What is one Christian. I am troubled with many doubtings of my saluation and so it comes into my minde to thinke that by my incredulitie I should quite cut off my selfe from the fauour of God Minister But you must knowe this one thing that he that neuer doubted of his saluation neuer beleeued and that hee which beleeueth in trueth feeleth many doubtings and wauerings euen as the sound man feels many grudgings of diseases which if he had not health he could not feele Christian. But you neuer knewe any that hauing true faith doubted of their saluation Minister What will you then say of the man that said Lord I beleeue Lord helpe mine vnbeleefe And of Dauid who made his moane after this manner Is his mercy cleane gone for euer Doth his promise faile for euermore Hath God forgotten to be mercifull Hath he shut vp his tender mercie in displeasure Yea hee goeth on further as a man in despaire And I said this is my death Hereby it is manifest that a man indued with true faith may haue not onely assaults of doubting but of desperation This further appeareth in that he saith in an other place Why art thou cast downe my soule Why art thou disquieted within me Waite on God for I will yet giue thankes he is my present helpe and my God And in very truth you may perswade your selfe that they are but vnreasonable men that say they haue long beleeued in Christ without any doubting of their saluation Christian. But Dauid had more in him then I haue for me thinkes there is nothing in this wicked heart of mine but rebellion against GOD nothing but doubting of his mercie Minister Let me know but one thing of you these doubtings which you feele doe you like them or doe you take any pleasure in them and doe you cherish them Christian. Nay nay they appeare very vile in mine eies and I do abhorre them from my heart and I would faine beleeue Minister In man we must consider his estate by nature and his estate by grace In the first hee and his flesh are all one for they are as man wife therfore one is accessarie to the doings of the other When the flesh sinneth the man also sinneth that is in subiection to the flesh yea when the flesh perisheth the man likewise perisheth beeing in this estate with the flesh a louing couple they are they liue and die together But in the estate of grace though a man haue the flesh in him yet hee and his flesh are diuorced asunder This diuorcement is made when a man begins to dislike and to hate his flesh and the euil fruits of it this separation
in the â—orrest which feedeth on the mast but neuer looketh vp to the tree whence it falleth Thirdly he vseth Gods gifts to euiâ—l endes because either he makes an idol of them by setting his heart on them or els he imploieth them to riot pride and the oppression of godly men A master of musick hath his house furnished with musicall instruments of all sorts and he teacheth his owne schollers artificially to vse them both in right tuning of them as also in playing on them there comes in straungers who admiring the faide instruments haue leaue giuen them of the master to handle them as the schollers doe but when they come to practise they neither tune them aright neither are they able to strike one stroke as they oughtâ— so as they may please the master and haue his commendation This world is as a large sumptuous pallace into which are receiued not onely the sonnes and daughters of God but also wicked and vngodly men it is furnished with goodly creatures in vse more excellent then all musicall instruments the vse of them is common to all but the godly man taught by Gods spirit and directed by faith so vseth them as that the vse thereof is acceptable to God as for the impure and vnbeleeuing indeede they enioy the creatures and gifts of God but the pure vse is wanting for they cannot but abuse them and therefore the wicked and the reprobate though they should commit no other sinnes in the world yet for the vse of their wealth and honour for their very eating and drinking which in themselues are most lawful shal be damned II. Concerning spirituall blessings first God ceaseth to graunt so much as an outward calling to many men For how many nations since the beginning of the world much more particular men haue their bin are shall be which neuer heard the preaching of the Gospell nay not so much as the name of Christ God is knowne in Iurie saith Dauid and he hath not done so to any nation And often in Moses and the Prophets it is mentioned that the couenant was in former times made peculiar to the Iewes And Paul in the Acts saith that God suffered the Gentiles in former times to walke in their owne waies and of the Ephesians before their calling he saith that they were strangers from the promises and without God in the world III. He graunts the outward meanes of saluation namely the Word Praier Sacraments Discipline abundantly but yet he quite withdraweth the operation of his spirit whereby a conuersion might be wrought For they neuer haue that pearcing of the eare which Dauid mentioneth nor the opening of the heart with Lydia nor that teaching of God when they are drawne of the father to Christ. And in so doing indeed onely he offreth grace but doth not exhibite and conferre it not that he mocketh any but that in so doing he may euery way conuince and bereaue them of excuse As the Lord speaketh to Esay Goe and say to this people ye shall heare indeede but ye shall not vnderstand ye shall plainly see but not perceiue make the heart of this people fat make their eares heauie and shut their eyes least they see with their eyes and heare with their eares and vnderstand with their hearts and conuert and he heale them If our Gospell be hid saith Paul it is hid in them that perish Men that haue long liued vnder the preaching of the Gospel and yet still remaine ignorant and impenitent let them beware and take heede of this desertion and they are with trembling to lay to their hearts that which the holy Ghost speaketh of Hophni and Phinehas They obeyed not the voice of their father because the Lord would destroy them IIII. To goe further he bestoweth on them many worthie properties of faith As first a knowledge of the diuine truth in the Law and the Gospel Secondly an assent to the said truth Thirdly a ioyfull reioycing and boasting in speaking and hearing of it Fourthly an outward profession of it for a time But he doth not bestow that qualitie and vertue of faith which is as it were the very soule of it without which faith is dead and saueth none namely the inward assurance and certificate of his loue and fauour in Christ with a sense and feeling of the same in heart Neither are the former duties of faith perpetuall and sound in them for the reprobate is not induced to them by any assurance of Gods mercie but by other sinister occasions as are First desire of knowledge in diuine mysteries Secondly a delight in it Thirdly praise and commendation among men Fourthly the maintaining of wealth and honor Fiftly the getting of wealth or honour Sixtly a desire to be at vnitie and concord with the Nation or people where the Gospell is preached Therefore when these ends and occasions of their beleeuing cease then also their faith profession cease In this kind of desertion it is to be feared that most men are All in our Church will professe faith in Christ yet seeing the sound conuersion to God and the sinceritie of life and doctrine is very rare we may presume that that maine propertie of faith which is the receiuing and apprehension of Christ is wanting in most therefore let euery man looke to himselfe and betime labour to turne his temporarie faith if he finde it in himselfe into a true sauing faith wherfore he must striue first to feele his extreame need of Christ and his merits Secondly to hunger and thirst after him as after meate and drinke Thirdly to be nothing in himselfe that he may be all in all out of himselfe in Christ. Fourthly to be able to say that he liueth not but Christ liueth in him by faith Fifthly to loathe his owne sinnes with a most vehement hatred and to prize and value Christ and the least drop of his blood aboue a thousand worlds V. Againe in repentance he bestoweth first a sight of sinne secondly a kinde of sorrow for it thirdly a confession of it fourthly a resolution for a time to sinne no more But that part of repentance which hath the promise of mercie annexed that is a conuersion of the whole man to God he neuer giueth it VI. Lastly God giueth to the reprobate his spirit but so farre forth as it shall not any whit regenerate or renew his nature but onely in the outward action represse the act of sinne so as thereby without any inward change he shall be as ciuily iust vpright in outward conuersation as any in the world Thus much of those desertions which befall the deuill and his angels and all reprobates now follow those wherewith God exerciseth euen his owne elect children for the blessings that God bestoweth on them are of two sorts either positiue or priuatiue positiue are reall graces wrought in the heart by the spirit of God priuatiue are such meanes whereby God
which hath fellowship with God Ioh. If we walke in the light lead the course of our liues in sinceritie of life and doctrine we haue fellowship one with another Ch. We are so defiled with sinne that we often doubt least we haue no fellowship with God Ioh. The blood of Iesus Christ his sonne clenseth vs from all sinne Ch. Some among vs are come to that passe that they say they haue no sinne and that this estate is a signe of fellowship with God Ioh. If we say we haue no sinne we deceiue our selues imagining that to bee true which is otherwise and the trueth is not in vs. Ch. How then may we knowe that our sinnes are washed away by Christ Ioh. If we confesse our sinnes namely with an humbled heart desiring pardon he is faithfull and iust in keeping his promise to forgiue vs our sinnes and to clense vs from all vnrighteousnesse If we say as they before named doe wee haue not sinned we make him a lier whose word speakes the contrary and his word is not in vs his doctrine hath no place in our hearts CHAP. II. Ch. IF this bee true which hath beene said that the blood of Christ doth clense from all sinne and that if we doe confesse them they shall be pardoned our corruption tels vs that we may sinne freely Ioh. My little children these things I write vnto you that yee sinne not Ch. Alas we fall oft by infirmitie what shall we then doe Ioh. If any man sinne we haue an aduocate who in his owne name and by his owne merits pleads our cause to the Father Iesus Christ the iust and therefore fit to make intercession Ch. But how may euery one of vs in particular know that Christ is his aduocate Ioh. He is the propitiation i. a couering of sin or reconciliation as the propuiatorie of the Arke couered the lawe and not for our sinnes onely but also for the sinnes of the whole world not onely Iewes but also Gentiles of all sorts Ch. Be it that I knowe him to be my aduocate may I not be deceiued howe may I knowe that this my knowledge is effectuall to saluation Ioh. Hereby are we sure that wee knowe him here that knowledge is meant whereby a man applies Christ and all his benefits to his owne soule If we keepe to keepe is not to fulfil but to haue a care and desire to doe it for God of his mercie to his seruants accepts the will for the deede his commandements Ch. Many among vs professe that they knowe Christ but their liues be not according Ioh. He that saith I know him and keepes not his commandements is a lier and the truth is not in him Ch. How may it be prooued that the endeauour to keepe Gods commandements is a marke of faith and fellowship with Christ. Ioh. He in whom the loue of god is perfect may hereby know that he is in Christ. But he that keepeth his word in him is the loue of God i. not that loue wherewith God loueth him but that whereby he loueth God is perfect indeed i. sincere and sound perfection being opposed not to imperfection but to hypocrisie hereby therefore we know that we are in him He that saieth he remaineth in him ought to walke euen so as he hath walked and therefore he must needes indeauour himselfe in the commandements Ch. Declare vnto vs some of the principall of these commandements Ioh. Brerhren I write no newe commandement vnto you But an old commandement which yee haue heard from the beginning this olde commandement is the word which ye haue heard from the beginning Againe a newe commandement I write vnto you that which is true to wit that the commandement is newe which he will not write in him who renueth the commandement of old giuen to Moses and also in you for the darkenes is past i. the hardening of the minds of men vnder the old testament wherby they did but in a small measure vnderstand the word and that true light a greater measure of illumination as also the writing of Gods lawes not in tables of stone but in the fleshie hearts so as they be transformed into the obedience thereof now shineth Ch. Well set downe this commandement which is so ancient and is now renued Ioh. He that saith as many among you doe that he is in that light than is that he is both plentifully enlightened and borne anew hates his brother is in darkenesse vnder the estate of damnation not yet truely regenerate vntil this time He that loueth his brother abideth in that light is truely enlightened and regenerate◠and there is no offence i. he will giue no occasion of euill in him But on the contrarie he that hateth his brother is in darkenes and walketh in darkenesse leadeth his life in ignorance and vngodlinesse and knoweth not whither he goeth because that darkenesse hath blinded his eies Ch. What mooneth you to deliuer vnto vs all these notes and signes of our newe birth and communion with Christ Ioh. Little children I write vnto you because your sinnes are forgiuen you for his names sake i. by Christ and his merite that ye may be certified to your comfort of this And that no kind of men among you might doubt of this I write vnto you Fathers because ye delighting to tell and heare of olde and auncient matters haue knowne him that is Christ that is from the beginning◠I write vnto you young men because ye delighting to shewe your valour and strength haue ouercome the euil one that is Sathan I write vnto you litle childrē who delight alwaies to be vnder the fathers wing because ye haue knowne the father And againe because we are dull to mark◠and remember that which is good for vs I haue written vnto you Fathers because ye haue known him that is from the beginning I haue written vnto you young men because yee are strong and the word of God abideth in you and ye haue ouercome that wicked one Ch. If wee bee in the estate of grace vnder Gods fauour in Christ howe may wee abide in it Ioh. Loue not this world the corrupt estate of mankind out of Christ neither the things that are in the world for first of all to giue reasons if any man loue this worlde the loue of the Father wherewith he loued the father is not in him Secondly for all that is in this world as the lust of the flesh the corruption of nature which chiefly breaketh out in euill concupiscence the lusts of the eies the fruite of the former stirred vp by outward prouocations especially in the eie as it is manifest in adulterie or couetousnesse and the pride of life i. Arrogancy and ambition among men in common conuersation of life is not of the father but of the world And thirdly this world passeth away and the lust thereof
but he that fulfilleth the will of God abideth for euer Ch. What other things are we to doe that we may continue Ioh. Little children it is the last time and as ye haue heard that Antichrist shall come a speciall Antichrist the chiefe of all other who is now manifest to be the Pope of Rome euen now are there many Antichrists heretickes denying either the natures of Christ or his offices or the vnioÌ„ the distinction of his natures whereby we know that it is the last time Ch. Those whome you call Antichrists were of our companie and professed as we doe Ioh. They went out from vs but they were not of vs for if they had beene of vs they should haue continued with vs. But this commeth to passe that it might appeare that they are not all of vs. Ch. How can we be assured of our continuance in grace for we may fall as well as they doe Ioh. But ye haue annointment the grace of Gods holy spirit resembled by the annointings in the old Testament from that holy one Christ Luke 1. 15. and know all things Ch. If we know all things then you neede not write vnto vs of these matters Ioh. I haue not writteÌ„ vnto you because ye know not the truth but because you know it and that no lie is of the truth i. ye can distinguish betweene the sound doctrine of the Gospel and errours Ch. What is this lie which you speake of Ioh. Who is a lier a deceiuer a seducer but he that denieth that Iesus is Christ the Messias or Sauiour of mankind The same is that Antichrist that denieth the Father and the Sonne Ch. These whome you meane say they defend the doctrine of God as well as we and they vse to call him Father Ioh. Who so denieth the Sonne hath not the Father Ch. What doe you inferre vpon this if it be the last time as you haue saide Ioh. Let therefore abide in you that same doctrine concerning Christ which ye haue heard from the beginning which the Apostles preached and before them the Prophets since the beginning of the world If that which ye haue heard from the beginning remaine ye beleeuing and obeying it in you ye also shall continue in the same and in the father And this is the promise which he hath promised vs euen life eternall Ch. We cannot perswade our selues of perseuerance seeing men so commonly fall away from Christ among vs Ioh. These things haue I written vnto you concerning them that deceiue you not meaning them of you as you seeme to take it But that annointing the spirit which ye haue receiued of Christ and which hath led you into all truth which ye haue receiued of him dwelleth in you ubideth in you and will so continue and ye neede not that any man teach you any other doctrine beside this which ye haue learned alreadie but as the same Annointing teacheth you all things and is true and not lying and as it taught you ye shall abide in him And now little children abide in him that when he shall appeare we being iustified in Christ. may haue boldnes and not be ashamed neither Sathan nor our consciences accusing vs for sinne before him at his comming Ch. We are still in doubt to returne backe to that which you said before how an endeuour to keepe the commandements should be a signe of fellowship with Christ. Ioh. If we know that he God is righteous know ye that he which worketh righteousnes is borne of him as a child is knowne to haue such a man for his father because he resembleth him CHAP. II. Ch. ARe not we then borne of God Ioh. Behold what loue the Father hath giuen to vs that we should be called the sonnes of God Ch. The world doth not report vs as the sonnes and daughters of God but for the refuse and offscouring of the world Ioh. For this cause the world knoweth not you because it knoweth not him Ch. Can Gods children be subiect to such infirmities and miseries as we are Ioh. Dearely beloued now are we the sonnes of God but yet it is not made manifest what we shall be and we know that when he shal be made manifest we shall be like him hauing not equalitie but likenesse of holinesse and glorie for we shall see him as he is for now we see him as it were through spectacles in the word and Sacraments Ch. Alas poore wretches we are not like Gods children for we are euen sold vnder sinne and daily carrie a masse of corruption about vs. Ioh. Euery one that hath this hope to see him as he is purifieth i. though he be subiect to sinne yet he desireth and vseth the meanes to clense himselfe from sinne euen as he is pure setting before him Christ as a patterne to follow Ch. How prooue you that an endeuour to purifie our selues is a note of adoption Ioh. By the contrarie whosoeuer committeth sinne pâ—actiseth sinne with full consent of will not endeuouring himselfe in holinesse of life transgresseth also the law and for that cause being vnder the curse of the law can not be Gods children for sinne is the transgression of the Law vnderstand by Law not morall Law but any commandement of God whether it be in the law or Gospel And againe ye know that he was made manifest tooke our nature on him that he might take away our sinnes the guilt and punishment at once and the corruption by little and little and in him is no sinne Thirdly whosoeuer abideth in him sinneth not he doth not giue himselfe to sinne so as it should raigne in him Whosoeuer sinneth hath not seene him nor knowne him to wit effectually so as he can applie Christ and all his benefits to himselfe Ch. But some teach that faith is sufficient and they embolden vs to liue as we will Ioh. Little children let no man deceiue you he that worketh righteousnes is righteous as he is righteous He that committeth sinne though he say he doth beleeue and therfore thinkes himselfe iustified before God is of the Deuill i. resembleth the Deuil as the child doth the father and is gouerned by his spirit for the deuill sinneth froÌ„ the beginning of the world which appeareth that for this purpose was made manifest the Son of God that he might dissolue the works for the beginning and continuance of all rebellion and disobedience to God of the Deuill And further to display thâ—se seducers whosoeuer is borne of God sinneth not i. doth not keepe a course in sinne howsoeuer he fall by infirmitie for his seed i. Gods word cast into the heart by the operation of the Spirit making a man to spring vp into a new creature remaineth in him neither can he sinne because he is borne of God Ch. Briefly to come to the point how may it be knowne who is Gods childe and who is to be
minde that if there were no conscience to accuse no diuell to terrifie no iudge to arraigne condemne no hel to torment yet he would be humbled brought on his knees for his sinnes because he hath offended a louing mercifull and long suffering God Further I say that repentance stands in turning againe to God Man at the first was made a goodly creature in the image of God hauing fellowship with him whereby he dwelt in God and God in him By sinne there is a partition made betweene God and man who is alienated and estranged from God and is become the childe of wrath a firebrand of hell the prodigall child going from his father into a farre countrey the straying nay the lost sheepe Now when men haue grace to repent then they begin to renew this fellowship and turne againe to God And the very essence or nature of repentance consists in this turning Which Paul doth seeme to intimate when he saith That he shewed both to Iew and Gentile that they should repent and turne to God and do works worthie amendment of life In which words he sets downe vnto vs a ful description of repentance Againe I say that repentance is a turning from sinne because it doth not abolish or change the substance of bodie or soule or any of the faculties therof either in whole or part but onely rectifie and amend them by remoouing the corruption It turnes the sadnesse of melancholy to godly sorrow choller to good zeale softnesse of nature to meekenes of spirit madnesse and lightnâ—sse to Christian mirth it reformes euery man according to his naturall constitution not abolishing it but redressing the fault of it Further I put downe that repentance is a turning from all sinne to God that I may exclude many false turnings The first when a man turnes from God to sinne as when one of a Protestant becomes a Papist an Arrian a â—â—milist The second when a man turnes from one sinne to an other As when the riotous person leaues his prodigalitie and giues himselfe to the practise of couetousnes this can be no repentaÌ„ce because it is a going from one extreame to an other whereas repentance is to leaue the extreames keepe the meane The third is not when a man turnes from sinne but sinne turnes from him and leaues him As when the drunkard leaues drunkennesse because his stomacke is decaied the fornicatour his vncleannes because the strength of nature failes him the quarreller his fighting because he is maymed on legge or arme The last is when men turne from many sinnes but will not turne from all As Herod did many things at the aduertisement of Iohn Baptist but could not be brought to leaue incest in hauing his brother Philips wife This repentance is nothing For as he which is truly regenerate is wholly in bodie soule and spirit regenerate so he which truly repents turnes from all sinne and turnes wholly to God Neither is this to trouble any that they can not know all their sinnes for sound repentance for one speciall sinne brings with it repentance of all sinne And as God requires particular repentance for knowne sinnes so he accepts a generall repentance for such as be vnknowne To proceede further the conuersion of a sinner in repentance hath three parts The first a purpose and resolution in the mind the second an inclination in the will and affections the third an indeauour in life and conuersation to abandon and leaue all his former sinnes and to imploy himselfe in obedience to Gods commandements Lastly this repentance must bring forth fruits worthie amendment of life because it cannot be knowne to be sincere vnlesse it bring forth fruit Repentant sinners are trees of righteousnes of Gods owne planting and they grow by the waters that flow out of the sanctuarie and therefore they must beare fruit that may serue for meate leafe for medicine otherwise the axe of Gods iudgment is laid to their rootes to stocke them vp CHAP. II. Of the causes of Repentance THe principall cause of Repentance is the Spirit of God as Paul saith Instructing them with meekenesse that are contrarie minded proouing if God at any time will giue them repentance And Ieremie Conuert thou me and I shall be conuerted The instrument of the holy Ghost in working repentance is the ministery of the Gospell onely and not the law Reasons hereof are these I. Faith is engendred by the preaching not of the Law but of the Gospell as Paul saith The Gospel is the power of God to saluation to all that beleeue from faith to faith therefore repentance which follows faith as a fruit thereof must needes come by the preaching of the Gospel onely II. The Law is the ministerie of death and damnation because it shewes a man his wretched estate but shewes him no remedie therefore it can not be an instrumentall cause of that repentance which is effectuall to saluation III. The doctrine of repentance is a part of the Gospel which appeares in this that the preaching of repentance and the preaching of the Gospel are put one for an other And our Sauiour Christ deuides the Gospel into two parts the preaching of repentance and remission of sinnes in his name IV. That part of the word which workes repentance must reueale the nature of it and set out the promise of life which belongs vnto it But the Law neither reueales faith nor repentance this is a proper worke of the Gospel If it be said that the Law is a schoolemaster to bring vs to Christ the answer is it brings men to Christ not by teaching the way or by alluring them but by forcing and vrging them Neither doe we abolish the law in ascribing the worke of repentance to the Gospel onely for though it be no cause yet is it an occasion of true repentance Because it represents vnto the eye of the soule our damnable estate smites the conscience with dolefull terrours and feares which though they be no tokens of grace for they are in their owne nature the very gates and the downefall to the pit of hell yet they are certaine occasions of receiuing grace The phisitian is otherwhiles constrained to recouer the health of his patient by casting him into some fits of an ague so man because he is deadly sicke of the disease of sinne must be cast into some fits of Legal terrors by the ministerie of the law that he may recouer his former estate come to life euerlasting Repentance also is furthered by calamities which in this case often come in the roome stead of the law Iosephs brethren when they were in distresse in Egypt said one to another Wee haue verely sinned against our brother in that we sawe the anguish of his soule when he besought vs and we would not heare him therefore is this trouble come vpon vs. And the Lord saith in Oseah I will goe
returne to my place till they acknowledge their fault and seeke me in their affliction will they seeke me diligently And the Israelites say My soule had them many afflictions in remembrance and is humbled in me Example of Manasses And wheÌ„ he was in tribulation he praied to the Lord his God and humbled himselfe greatly And Dauid saith It is good for me that I haue beene afflicted that I might learne thy statutes CHAP. III. Howe Repentance is wrought REpentance is wrought in the heart by certaine steps and degrees First of all a man must haue knowledge of foure things namely of the law of god of sinne against the lawe of the guilt of sinne and of the iudgement of God â—gainst sinne which is the eternall wrath of God Then in the second place must follow the Application of the former knowledge to a mans owne person by the worke of the conscience assisted by the holy Ghost which for that cause is called the spirit of bondage and this application is made in a forme of reasoning called a practical syllogisme on this manner The breaker of the lawe is guiltie of eternall death saith the minde But I am a breaker of the lawe of God saith the conscience as a witnesse and an accuser Therefore I am guilty of eternall death saith the same conscience as a iudge Thirdly from this application thus made ariseth feare and sorrow in respect of Gods iudgements against sinne commonly called the sting of the conscience or penitence and the compunction of heart Now this compunction vnlesse it be delayed by the comforts of the Gospell brings men to desperation and to eternall damnation Therefore he that wil repent to life euerlasting must goe foure steps further First he must haue knowledge of the gospel and enter into a serious consideration of the mercy of God therein reuealed Then must follow the application of the former knowledge by the conscience renewed and assisted by the spirit of adoption on this manner He that is guiltie of eternall death if he denie himselfe and put his affiance on the death of Christ shall haue righteousnesse and life eternall saith the minde enlightned by the knowledge of the Gospell But I beeing guiltie of eternall death denie my selfe and put all my affiance in the death of Christ saith the conscience renued by the spirit of adoption Therefore I shall haue righteousnesse and life euerlasting by Christ. Thirdly after this application there followes ioy and sorrow ioy because a mans sinnes are pardoned in Christ sorrow because a man by his sinnes hath displeased him which hath beene so louing and mercifull a God vnto him Lastly after this godly sorrow â—ollowes Repentance called a Transmentatation or turning of the minde whereby a man determines and râ—solues with himselfe to sinne no more as he hath done but to liue in newnes of life CHAP. IV. Of the parts of Repentance REpentance hath two parts Mortification and Rising to newnes of life MortificatioÌ„ is the first part of repeÌ„tance which coÌ„cerns turning froÌ„ sin Men turne from sinne when they doe not onely abstaine from actuall sin but also vse all meanes wherby they may both weaken and suppresse the corruption of nature Chirurgions when they must cut off any part of the bodie vse to lay plaisters to it to mortifie it that beeing without sense and feeling it may be cut off with lesse paine In the same manner we are to vse all helps remedies prescribed in the worde which serue to weakeÌ„ or kill sinne that in death it may be abolished And it must not seeme strange that I say wee must vse meanes to mortifie our owne sinnes For howesoeuer by nature we can not doe anything acceptable to God yet beeing quickened and mooued by the holy Ghost we stirre and mooue our selues to doe that which is truely good And therefore repentant sinners haue grace in them whereby they mortifie their own sinnes Paul saith I beate downe my bodie and bring it in subiection And they which are Christs haue crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof And Mortifie therefore your earthly members fornication vncleannesse the inordinate affection euil coÌ„cupiscence and couetousnesse And If any man purge himselfe from these he shall be a vessell vnto honour And S. Iohn saith Euery one which hath this hope in him purgeth himselfe euen as he is pure And he which is begotten of God preserueth himselfe and the wicked one toucheth him not Mortification hath three parts A purpose in mind an inclination in will and an indeauour in life and conuersation to leaue all sinne Rising to newnesse of life is the second part of repentance concerning sincere obedience to God And it hath also three parts The two first are a resolution in the mind and an inclination or lust in the will to obey God in all things Barnabas exhorts them of Antiochia that with purpose of heart they would cleane vnto the Lord. Examples of both these are many in Scriptures Of Ioshua If it seeme enill vnto you to serue the Lord choose you thiâ— daie whome you will serue whether the gods which your fathers serued or the gods of the Amorites c. but I my houshold wil serue the Lord. Of Dauid O Lord thou art my portion I haue determined to keep thy commandements And I haue sworne and will performe it that I will keepe thy righteous iudgements And When thou saidst seeke my face mine heart answered vnto thee O Lord I will seeke thy face And I haue applied mine heart to fulfil thy statutes alwaies euen to the end The third part is an indeauour in life and conuersation to obey God Example of Paul And herein I take paines to haue alwaies a cleare conscience towards God and towards men Of Dauid I hauâ— respect to all thy commandements And I haue chosen the waie of trueth and thy iudgements haue I laid before me And I haue cleaued to thy testimonies And direct me in the path of thy commandements for therein is my delight No man must here thinke that a repentant sinner fullfils the lawe in his obedience for their best works are faultie before God And wheras the faithful in scriptures are said to be perfect we must knowe that there be two degrees of perfection perfection in substance and perfection in the highest degree Perfection is substance is when a man doth sincerely endeauour to performe perfect obedience to God not in some but in all his commaundements And this is the onely perfection that any man can haue in this life A Christian mans perfection is to bewaile his imperfection his obedience more consists in the good will then in the worke and is more to be measured by the affection then by the effect CHAP. V. Of the degrees of Repentance REpentance hath two degrees It is either ordinarie or extraordinarie Ordinarie repentance is that which euery christian is to performe euery day for as men
repentance must be sufficient A thing impossible For sinne doth so greatly offend Gods maiestie that no man can euer mourne enough for it The fourth that contrition doth merit remission of sinne An opinion that doth derogate much from the all-sufficient merits of Christ. The fifth that he that repents must confesse al the sinnes that he can remēber with all their circumstances to his owne priest or one in his stead if he will receiue pardon This kind of confession is a meere forgerie of mans brain I. There is neither precept nor example of it in the Scriptures II. Dauid and others haue repented and haue receiued remission of their sinnes without confessing of their sinnes in particular to any man The last that the sinner by his workes and sufferings must make satisfaction to God for the temporall punishment of his sinnes A flat blasphemie The Scriptures mention no other satisfaction but Christs and if his be sufficiēt ours is needles if ours needfull his imperfect Papists write that both may stand togither Christs satisfaction they say is a plaister in a boxe vnapplied mans satisfaction as a meanes to apply it because it prepares vs to receiue it Ah good diuinitie for euen in common sense the satisfaction of Christ must first bee applied to the person of man that it may please God before the workes which they tearme satisfactions can any way bee acceptable to God To conclude the Romish doctrine of Repentance is the right way to hell For when a sinner shall be taught that he must haue sufficient sorrowe for his sinnes and withall that he must not beleeue the remission of his owne sinnes particularly when sorrow comes vpon him and hee wants sound comfort in Gods mercie he must needs fal into desperation without recouerie Therfore the Papists in the houre of death as we haue experience are glad to leaue the trumperie of humane sattsfactions and to rest onely for their iustification on the obedience of Christ. LAVS DEO THE COMBAT OF THE FLESH AND SPIRIT Gal. 5.17 For the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrarie one to an other so that yee can not doe the things which yee would THe Apostle Paul from the beginning of this chapter to the 13. verse exhorts the Galathians to maintaine their Christian libertie and from thence to the end of the chapter he perswades them to other speciall duties of godlinesse In the 13. verse hee stirres them vp to be seruiceable one to another by loue in the 15. verse he disswades them from contentions and doing of iniuries In the 16. verse he shewes the remedie of the former sinnes which is to walke according to the spirit In this 17. verse he renders a reason of the remedie the force whereof is this The flesh and the spirit are contrarie wherefore if ye walke according to the spirit it will hinder the flesh that it shal not carrie you forward to doe iniuries and liue in contentions as otherwise it would In this verse we haue to obserue fiue points The first that there is a combat betweene the flesh and the spirit in these words The flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh The second is the matter of this combat which stands in the contrary lusting of the flesh and the spirit The third is the cause of the combate in these words and those are contrarie The fourth is the subiect or person in whome this combat is noted in these wordes So that yee the Galathians The last is the effect of the combate in the last words that they cannot doe c. Touching the combat it selfe diuers points are to be considered The first what these two which make combat namely the flesh the spirit are They haue diuers significations First of all the spirit is taken for the soule and the flesh for the bodie But so they are not taken in this place For there is no such combat betweene the bodie and the soule both which agree togither to make the person of one man Secondly the spirit signifies natural reason the flesh the naturall appetite or concupiscence But they cannot be so vnderstood in this place For the spirit here mentioned doth fight euen against naturall reason which though it serue to make a man without excuse yet is it an enemie to the spirit Thirdly the spirit signifies the Godhead of Christ and the flesh the manhood but it must not be so taken here For then euery mā regenerate should bee deified Lastly the spirit signifies a created qualitie of holinesse which by the holy Ghost is wrought in the minde wil and affections of man and the flesh the naturall corruption or inclination of the minde will and affections to that which is against the lawe In this sense these twaine are taken in this place Secondly it is to be considered howe these twaine the flesh and the spirit can fight togither beeing but meere qualities And wee must know that they are not seuered asunder as though the flesh were placed in one part of the soule and the spirit in another but they are ioyned and mingled togither in al the faculties of the soule The minde or vnderstanding part is not one part flesh and another spirit but the whole minde is flesh and the whole minde is spirit partly one and partly the other The whole will is partly flesh and partly spirit the flesh and the spirit that is grace and corruption not seuered in place but onely in reason to be distinguished As the aire in the dawning of the day is not wholly light or wholly darke as at midnight and at noone day neither is it in one part light in another part darke but the whole aire is partly light and partly dark throughout In a vessel of luke warme water the water it selfe is not onely hote or onely cold or in one part hote and in another part colde but heate and colde are mixt togither in euery part of the water So is the flesh and the spirit mingled togither in the soule of man and this is the cause why these two contrarie qualities fight togither Thirdly in this combat we are to consider what equalitie there is betweene these two combaters the flesh and the spirit And we must know that the flesh vsually is more in measure then the spirit The flesh is like the mightie gyant Goliah and the spirit is litle and small like young Dauid Hence it is that Paul calls the Corinthians which were men iustified and sanctified carnall I could not saith he brethren speake vnto you as vnto spirituall but as vnto carnall as vnto babes in Christ. And none can come to be tall men in Christ according to the age of the fulnesse of Christ till after this life And the speech which is vsed of some diuines that the man regenerate hath but the reliques of sinne in him must be vnderstood warily else it may
comfort but spend the time in silence gazing and looking on or in vttering wordes to little or no purpose saying to the sicke partie that they are verie sorrie to see him in that case that they would haue him to be of good comfort but wherein by what meanes they cannot tell that they doubt not but that he shall recouer his health and liue with them still and be merrie as in former time that they will pray for him whereas all their praiers are nothing els but the Apostles creed or the ten commandements and the Lords praier vttered without vnderstanding And this is the common comfort that sicke men get at the hands of their neighbours when they come vnto them and all his comes either because meÌ„ liue in ignorance of Gods word or because they falsly thinke that the whole burthen of this dutie lies vpon the shoulders of the minister The second circumstance is when the sicke partie must send for the elders to iâ—struct him and pray for him And that is in the verie first place of all before any other helpe be sought for Where the Diuine endes there the phisition must begin and it is a verie preposterous course that the Diuine should there begin where the physitian makes an ende For till helpe be had for the soule and sinne which is the roote of sicknesse be cured physicke for the bodie is nothing Therefore it is a thing much to be disliked that in all places almost the physitian is first sent for and comes in the beginning of the sicknes and the Minister comes when a man is halfe dead and is then sent for oftententimes when the sicke partie lies drawing on and gasping for breath as though Ministers of the Gospel in these daies were able to worke miracles The second dutie of the sick party is to confesse his sinnes as Iames saith Confesse your sinnes one to another and pray one for another It will be said that this is to bring in againe Popish shrift Ans. Confession of our sinnes and that vnto men was neuer denied of any the question onely is of the manner and order of making confession And for this cause we must put a great difference betweene Popish shrift and the confession of which S. Iames speaketh For he requires onely a confession of that or those sinnes which lie vpon a mans conscience when he is sicke but the Popish doctrine requireth a particular enumeration of all mans sinnes Againe S. Iames enioynes confession onely as a thing necessarie meete and conuenient but the Papists as a thing necessarie to the remission of sinnes Thirdly S. Iames permits that confession be made to any man and by one man to an other mutually whereas Popish shrift is made onely to the priest The second dutie then is that the sicke partie troubled in mind with the memorie and consideration of any of his sinnes past or any manner of way tempted by the deuill shall freely of his owne accord open his case to such as are both able and willing to helpe him that he may receiue comfort and die in peace of conscience Thus much of the sicke mans dutie now follow the duties of helpers The first is to pray ouer him that is in his presence to pray with him and for him and by praier to present his very person and his whole estate vnto God The Prophet Elizeus the Apostle Paul and our Sauiour Christ vsed this manner of praying when they would miraculously restore temporal life and therfore it is very meete that the same should be vsed also of vs that we might the better stirre vp our affections in prayer and our compassion to the sicke when we are about to intreat the Lord for the remission of their sinnes and for the saluation of their soules The second dutie of him that comes as an helper is to annoint the sicke partie with oyle Now this annointing was an outward ceremonie which was vsed with the gift of healing which is now ceased and therefore I omit to speake further of it Thus much of the dutie which the sick man owes to God now follow the duties which he is to performe vnto himselfe and they are twofold one concernes his soule the other his bodie The dutie concerning his soule is that he must arme furnish himselfe against the immoderate feare of present death And the reason hereof is plaine because howsoeuer naturally men feare thorough the course of their liues more or lesse yet in the time of sicknes when death approcheth this naturall feare bred in the bone will most of all shew it selfe euen in such sort as it will astonish the senses of the sicke partie sometime cause desperation Therefore it is necessary that we vse meanes to strengthen our selues against the feare of death The meanes are of two sorts practises and meditations Practises are two especially The first is that the sick man must not so much regard death it selfe as the benefits of God which are obtained after death He must fixe his mind vpon the consideration of the pangs torments of death but all his thoughts and affections must be set vpon that blessed estate that is enioyed after death He that is to passe ouer some great deepe riuer must not looke downward to the streame of the water but if he would preuent feare he must set his foote sure and cast his eie to the banke on the further side and so must he that drawes neare death as it were looke ouer the waues of death and directly fixe the eye of his faith vpon eternall life The second practise is to looke vpon death in the glasse of the Gospel and not in the glasse of the law that is we must consider death not as it is propounded in the law and looke vpon that terrible face which the law giueth vnto it but as it is set forth in the Gospel Death in the law is a curse and the downfall to the pit of destruction in the Gospel it is the entrance to heauen the law sets forth death as death the Gospel sets death as no death but as a sleepe onely because it speaketh of death as it is altered and changed by the death of Christ by the vertue whereof death is properly no death to the seruants of God When men shall haue care on this manner to consider of death it will be a notable means to strengthen and stablish them against all immoderate feares and terrours that vsually rise in sicknes The meditations which serue for this purpose are innumerable but I will touch onely those which are the most principal the grounds of the rest and they are foure in number The first is borrowed from the speciall prouidence of God namely that the death of euery maÌ„ much more of euery child of god is not onely foreseene but also foreappointed of God yea the death of euery man deserued and procured by his sinnes is laide vpon him by God who
death in our selues because we should not trust in our selues but in God which raiseth the dead Hauing thus seene what bee the duties of the sicke man to himselfe let vs nowe see what bee the duties which hee oweth to his neighbour and they are two The first is the dutie of reconciliation whereby he is freely to forgiue all men and to desire to be forgiuen of all In the olde testament when a man was to offer a bullocke or lambe in sacrifice to God he must leaue his offering at the altar first go be reconciled to his brethren if they had ought against him much more then must this be done when we are in death to offer vp our selues our bodies and soules as an acceptable sacrifice vnto god Quest. What if a man cannot come to the speech of them with whome he would be reconciled or if he doe what if they will not be reconciled Ansvv. When any shall in their sicknesse seeke and desire reconciliation and can not obtaine it either because the parties are absent or because they will not relent they haue discharged their conscience and God will accept their will for their deed As put case a man lying sicke on his death bedde is at enmitie with one that is then beyond the sea so as hee can not possibly haue any speech with him if he would neuer so faine howe shall he stay his minde why he must remember that in this case a will and desire to bee reconciled is reconciliation it selfe The second dutie is that those which are rulers and gouernours of others must haue care and take order that their charges committed to them by God be left in good estate after their death and here come three duties to be handled the first of the Magistrate the second of the Minister the third of the master of the familie The Magistrates dutie is before he die to prouide as much as he can for the godly and peaceable estate of the towne citie or common-wealth and that is done partly by procuring the maintenance of sound religion vertue partly by establishing of the execution of ciuil iustice outward peace Examples of this practise in Gods word are these When Moses was an hundred and twentie yeare olde and was no more able to goe in and out before the people of Israel he called them before him and signified that the time of his departure was at hand and thereupon tooke order for their wel-fare after his death And first of all he placed Iosua ouer them in his stead to be their guide to the promised land secondly he giues speciall charge to all the people to bee valiant and couragious against their enemies and to obey the commandements of God And Iosua followes the same course For hee calls the people togither and shews thē that the time of his death is at hand and giues them a charge to be couragious to worship the true God which done he endes his daies as a worthie captaine When king Dauid was to goe the way of al flesh and lay sicke on his death bedde he placed his owne sonne Salomon vpon his throne and giues him charge both for maintenance of region and exequution of iustice The dutie of ministers whē they are dying is as much as they can to cast prouide for the continuance of the good estate of the Church ouer which they are placed Consider the example of Peter I will saith hee indeauour alwaies that ye also may be able to haue remembrance of these things after my departure If this had beene well obserued there could not haue bin such aboundance of schismes errors and heresies as hath beene and the Church of God could not haue suffered so great hauocke But because men haue had more care to maintaine personall succession then the right succession which stands in the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles therfore wolues haue come into the roomes of faithfull teachers and the Apostasie of which Paul speakes hath ouerspread the face of the Church Thirdly housholders must set their families in order before they die as the Prophet Esai saith to Ezechiah Set thine house in order for thou must die For the procuring of good order in the family after death two things are to bee done The first concernes this life and that is to dispose of lands and goods And that this may bee well and wisely done if the Will bee vnmade it is with godly aduise and counsell to be made in the time of sicknes according to the practise of auncient and worthie men Abraham before his death makes his Will and giues legacies so did Isaac and Iacob in whose last will and testamēt are contained many worthie blessings and prophesies of the estate of his children And Christ our Sauiour when he was vpon the crosse prouided for his mother specially commending her to his disciple Iohn whom he loued And indeede this dutie of making a will is a matter of great weight and importāce for it cuts off much hatred and contention in families staies many suites in law It is not therefore alwaies a matter of indifferencie which may bee done or not done as many falsly think who vpon blind sinister respects abstaine from making wills either because their wealth should not bee knowne or because they would haue their decaied estate to bee concealed or because they feare they shall die the sooner if the will be once made Now though the making of wills belong to another place and profession yet so much may be spoken here as the holy ghost hath vttered in the worde and that I will reduce to certaine rules The first is that the will must be made according to the lawe of nature and the written worde of God and the good and holesome positiue lawes of that kingdome or countrie whereof a man is a member The will of God must be the rule of mans will And therefore the will that is made against any of these is faultie The second is that if goods euill gotten be not restored before they must euen then be restored by will or by some other way It is the practise of couetous men to bequeath their soules when they die to God their goods euill gotten to their children friends which in al equitie should be restored to them to whome they belong Quest. Howe if a mans conscience tell him that his goods bee euill gotten and hee knowes not where or to whom to make restitution Ansvv. The case is common the answer is this When the partie is known whom thou hast wronged restore to him particularly if the partie bee vnknowne or dead restore to his executors or assignes or to his next kinne if there be none yet keepe not goods euill gotten to thy selfe but restore to God that is in way of recompence and ciuill satisfaction bestowe them on the Church or common-wealth The third rule is that heads of
that Christ crucified is thine beeing really giuen thee of God the father euen as truly as houses and land are giuen of earthly fathers to their children this thou must firmely hold and beleeue and hence is it that the benefits of Christ are before God ours indeede for our iustification and saluation The third point in liuely knowledge is that by all the affections of our hearts we must be carried to Christ and as it were transformed into him Whereas he gaue himselfe wholly for vs we can doe no lesse then bestow our hearts vpon him We must therefore labour aboue all following the Martyr Ignatius who said that Christ his loue was crucified We must value him at so high a price that he must be vnto vs better then ten thousand worldes yea all things which we enioy must be but as drosse and dung vnto vs in respect of him Lastly all our ioy reioycing comfort and confidence must be placed in him And that thus much is requisite in knowledge it appeares by the common rule of expounding Scripture that words of knowledge implie affection And indeede it is but a knowledge swimming in the braine which doth not alter and dispose the affections and the whole man Thus much of our knowledge Now follows the second point how Christ is to be knowne He must not be knowne barely as God or as man or as a Iew borne in the tribe of Iudah or as a terrible and iust iudge but as he is our Redeemer and the very price of our redemption and in this respect he must be considered as the common Treasurie and storehouse of Gods Church as Paul testifieth when he saith In him are all the treasures of knowledge and wisdome hid and againe Blessed be God which hath blessed vs with all spirituall blessings in Christ. And S. Iohn saith that of his fulnesse we receiue grace for grace Here then let vs marke that all the blessings of God whether spirituall or temporall all I say without exception are conuaied vnto vs from the Father by Christ and so they must be receiued of vs and no otherwise That this point may be further cleared the benefits which we receiue from Christ are to be handled and the manner of knowing of them The benefits of Christ are three his Merit his Vertue his Example The merit of Christ is the value and price of his death and Passion whereby any man is perfectly reconciled to god This recōciliation hath two parts Remission of sinnes and acceptation to life euerlasting Remission of sinnes is the remoouing or the abolishing both of the guilt and punishment of mans sinnes By guilt I vnderstand a subiection or obligation to punishmēt according to the order of diuine iustice And the punishment of sinne is the malediction or curse of the whole lawe which is the suffering of the first and second death Acceptation to life euerlasting is a giuing of right and title to the kingdome of heauen and that for the merit of Christs obedience imputed Now this benefit of reconciliation must be knowne not by conceit and imagination nor by carnall presumption but by the inward testimonie of Gods spirit certifying our consciences thereof which for this cause is called the spirit of Reuelation And that we may attaine to infallible assurance of this benefit we must call to mind the promises of the gospel touching remission of sinnes and life euerlasting this beeing done we must further striue and indeauour by the assurance of Gods spirit to apply them to our selues and to beleeue that they belong vnto vs and we must also put our selues often to all the exercises of inuocatiō and true repentance For in and by our crying vnto heauen to God for recōciliation comes the assurance thereof as Scriptures and Christian experience makes manifest And if it so fall out that any man in temptation apprehend and feele nothing but the furious indignation and wrath of God against all reason and feeling he must hold to the merit of Christ and knowe a point of religion hard to be learned that God is a most louing father to thē that haue care to serue him euen at that instant when he shewes himselfe a most fierce and terrible enemie From the benefit of reconciliation proceede foure benefits First that excellent peace of God that passeth all vnderstanding which hath sixe parts The first is peace with God the blessed Trinitie Rom. 5.1 Being iustified we haue peace with God The second peace with the good angels Ioh. 1. 51. Ye shall see the Angels of God ascending and descending vpon the sonne of man And that Angels like armies of souldiers in campe about the seruants of God and as nources beare them in their armes that they bee neither hurt by the deuill and his angels nor by his instruments it proceedes of this that they beeing in Christ are partakers of his merits The third is peace with all such as feare God and beleeue in Christ. This Esai foretold when hee saide that the woolfe shall dwell with the lambe and the leopard with the kidde and the calfe and the lyon and a fatte beast togither and that a little child should lead them c. 11. v. 6. The fourth is peace with a mans owne selfe when the conscience washed in the blood of Christ ceaseth to accuse and terrifie and when the will affections and inclinations of the whole man are obedient to the mind enlightned by the spirit word of God Coloss. 3. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts The fifth is peace with enemies and that two waies First in that such as beleeue in Christ seeke to haue peace with all men hurting none but doing good to all secondly in that God restraines the malice of the enemies and inclines their hearts to be peaceable Thus God brought Daniel into loue and fauour with the chiefe of the Eunuches The last is peace with all creatures in heauen and earth in that they serue for mans saluation Psal. 91.13 Thou shalt walke vpon the lyon the Aspe the yong lyon the dragō shalt thou tread vnder foot Hos. 2.18 And in that day will I make a couenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the foules of heauen Now this benefit of peace is knowne partly by the testimonie of the spirit and partly by a daily experience thereof The second benefit is a recouerie of that right and title which man hath to all creatures in heauen and earth and all temporall blessings which right Adam lost to himselfe and euery one of his posteritie 1. Cor. 3.22 Whether it be the world or life or death whether they be things present or things to come all are yours Nowe the right way of knowing this one benefit is this When God vouchsafeth meate drinke apparell houses lands c. we must not barely cōsider them as blessings of God for that very heathen men which knowe not Christ can doe but we must
acknowledge and esteeme them as blessings proceeding from the special loue of god the father wherby he loues vs in Christ and procured vnto vs by the merit of Christ crucified and we must labour in this point to be setled and perswaded and so oft as we see and vse the creatures of God for our owne benefit this point should come to our mindes Blessings conceiued apart from Christ are misconceiued whatsoeuer they are in themselues they are no blessings to vs but in and by Christs merit Therefore this order must be obserued touching earthly blessings first we must haue part in the merit of Christ and then secondly by meanes of that merit a right before God and comfortable vse of the things wee enioy All men that haue and vse the creatures of God otherwise as gifts of God but not by Christ vse theÌ„ but as flat vsurpers and theeues For this cause it is not sufficient for vs generally confusedly to knowe Christ to bee our redeemer but wee must learne to see knowe and acknowledge him in euery particular gift and blessing of God If men vsing the creatures of meate and drinke could when they behold them withall by the eie of faith beholde in them the merit of Christs passion there would not be so much excesse and riot so much â—urfetting and drunkennes as there is and if men could consider their houses and lands c. as blessings to them that by the fountaine of blessing the merits of Christ there should not be so much fraud and deceit so much iniustice and oppression in bargaining as there is That which I haue now said of meates drinkes apparell must likewise bee vnderstood of gentrie and nobilitie in as much as noble-birth without newe birth in Christ is but an earthly vanitie the like may be said of phisicke sleepe health libertie yea of the very breathing in the ayre And to go yet further in our Recreations Christ must be knowne For al recreation stands in the vse of things indifferent and the holy vse of all things indifferent is purchased vnto vs by the blood of Christ. For this cause it is very meete that Christian men and women should with their earthly recreations ioyne spirituall meditation of the death of Christ and from the one take occasion to bethinke themselues of the other If this were practised there should not bee so many vnlawefull sports and delights and so much abuse of lawfull recreation as there is The third benefit is that al crosses afflictions and iudgements whatsoeuer cease to be curses and punishments to them that are in Christ and are onely meanes of correction or triall because his death hath taken away not some few parts but all and euery part of the curse of the whole lawe Nowe in all crosses Christ is to be known of vs on this manner We must iudge of our afflictions as chastisements or trials proceeding not from a reuenging iudge but from the hand of a bountiful and louing father and therefore they must be conceiued in and with the merit of Christ and if we doe otherwise regard them we take them as curses and punishments of sinne And hence it followes that subiection to Gods hand in all crosses is a marke and badge of the true Church The last benefit is that death is properly no death but a rest or sleepe Death therefore must be knowne and considered not as it is set foorth in the lawe but as it is altered and changed by the death of Christ and when death comes wee must then looke vpon it through Christs death as through a glasse and thus it will appeare to be but a passage from this life to euerlasting life Thus much of the merit of Christ crucified Now follows his vertue which is the power of his godhead whereby he creates newe hearts in all them that beleeue in him and makes them newe creatures This vertue is double the first is the power of his death whereby he freed himselfe from the punishment and imputation of our sinnes and the same vertue serueth to mortifie and crucifie the corruptions of our mindes wills affections euen as a corasiue doeth wast and consume the rotten and dead flesh in any part of mans bodie The second is the vertue of Christs resurrection which is also the power of his Godhead whereby he raised himselfe from death to life the verie same power serueth to raise those that belong to Christ from their sinnes in this life and from the graue in the daie of the last iudgement Now the knowledge of this double vertue must not be onely speculatiue that is barely conceiued in the braine but it must be experimentall because we ought to haue experience of it in our hearts and liues and we should labour by all meanes possible to feele the power of Christs death killing and mortifying our sinnes and the vertue of his resurrection in the putting of spirituall life into vs that we might be able to say that we liue not but that Christ liues in vs. This was one of the most excellent and principall things which Paul sought for who saith I haue counted all things losse and do iudge them to be dung that I may knowe him and the vertue of his resurrection Phil. 3.10 And he saith that this is the right waie to know and learne Christ to cast off the olde man which is corrupt through the deceiueable lusts and to put on the new man which is created in righteousnes true holines Eph. 4.24 The third benefit is the example of Christ. Wee deceiue our selues if wee thinke that he is onely to be knowne of vs as a Redeemer and not as a spectacle or patterne of al good duties to which we ought to conform our selues Good men indeede that haue beene or in present are vpon the earth the seruants of God must be followed of vs but they must be followed no otherwise then they follow Christ Christ must be followed in the practise of euery good dutie that may concerne vs without exception simply and absolutely 1. Cor. 11.1 Our conformitie with Christ standes either in the framing of our inwarde and spirituall life or in the practise of outward and morall duties Conformitie of spirituall life is not by doing that which Christ did vpon the crosse and afterward but a doing of the like by a certaine kinde of imitation And it hath foure parts The first is a spirituall oblation For as Christ in the garden and vpon the crosse by praier made with strong cries and teares presented and resigned himselfe vp to be a sacrifice of propitiation to the iustice of his father for mans sinne so must we also in praier present and resigne our selues our soules our bodies our vnderstanding will memorie affections all we haue to the seruice of God in the generall calling of a Christian and in the particular callings in which hee hath placed vs. Take an example in Dauid Sacrifice burnt
as possibly they can agreeable to the equitie of Gods lawe yet can they not assure themselues and others that they haue failed in no point or circumstance Therefore it is against reason that humane lawes beeing subiect to defects faults errours and manifold imperfections should truely bind conscience as Gods lawes doe which are the rule of righteousnes All gouernours in the world by reason that to their old lawes they are constrained to put restrictions ampliations and modifications of all kinds with new readings and interpretations vpon their daily experience see and acknowledge this to bee true which I say sauing the Bishop of Rome so falsly tearmed which perswades himselfe to haue when he is in his consistorie such an infallible assistance of the spirit that he cannot possibly erre in iudgement Argum. 6. If mens lawes by inward vertue bindes conscience properly as Gods lawes then our dutie is to learne studie and remember them as well as Gods laws yea ministers must be diligent to preach them as they are diligent in preaching the doctrine of the gospell because euery one of them bindes to mortall sinne as the Papists teach But that they should be taught and learned as Gods lawes it is most absurd in the iudgement of all men Papists theÌ„selues not excepted Argum. 7. Inferiour authoritie cannot bind the superiour nowe the courts of men and their authority are vnder conscience For God in the heart of euery man hath erected a tribunall seate and in his stead hee hath placed neither Saint nor Angell nor any other creature whatsoeuer but conscience it selfe who therefore is the highest Iudge that is or can be vnder God by whose direction also courts are kept and lawes are made Thus much of the Popish opinion by which it appeares that one of the principall notes of Antichrist agrees fittely to the Pope of Rome Paul 2. Thess. 2. makes it a speciall propertie of Antichrist to exalt himselfe against or aboue all that is called God or worshipped Now what doth the Pope els when he takes vpon him authoritie to make such lawes as shall bind the coÌ„science as properly and truely as Gods lawes and what doth he els when hee ascribes to himselfe power to free mens consciences froÌ„ the bond of such laws of God as are vnchangeable as may appeare in a Canon of the Councill of Trent the words are these If any shal say that those degrees of consanguinitie that be expressed in Lâ—uiticus doe onely hinder matrimonie to be made and breake it being made and that the Church cannot dispense with some of them or appoint that more degrees may hinder or breake marriage let him be accursed O sacrilegious impietie considering the lawes of affinitie and consanguinitie Leuiticus 18. are not ceremoniall or iudiciall lawes peculiar to the Iewes but the very laws of nature What is this Canon else but a publike proclamation to the world that the pope church of Rome do sit as lords or rather idols in the hearts conscieÌ„ces of men This wil yet more fully appeare to any man if we read popish bookes of practicall or Case-diuinitie in which the common manner is to binde conscience where God looseth it and to loose where he binds but a declaration of this requires long time Now I come as neere as possibly I can to set down the true manner how mens lawes by the common iudgement of Diuines may be said to binde conscience That this point may be cleared two things must be handled By what meanes they binde and How farre forth Touching the meanes I set downe this rule Wholesome lawes of men made of things indifferent so farre forth bind conscience by vertne of the generall commaÌ„dement of God which ordaineth the Magistrates authoritie that whosoâ—uer shall wittingly and willingly with a disloyall minde either breake or omit such lawes is guiltie of sinne before By wholesome lawes I vnderstand such positiue constitutions as are not against the lawe of God and withall tend to maintaine the peaceable estate and common good of men Furthermore I adde this clause made of things indifferent to note the peculiar matter whereof humane lawes properly intreat namely such things as are neither expressely commanded or forbidden by God Now such kind of laws haue no vertue or power in theÌ„selues to constraine conscience but they binde onely by vertue of an higher commandement Let euery soule be subiect to the higher powers Rom. 13.1 or Honour father and mother Exod. 20. which commandements binds vs in conscience to performe obedience to the goodlawes of men As S. Peter saith Submit your selues to euery humane ordinance for the Lord. 1. Pet. 2.13 that is for conscience of God as he sayeth afterward v. 19. whereby he signifieth two things first that God hath ordained the authoritie of gouernours secondly that he hath appointed in his word and thereby bound men in conscience to obey their gouernours lawful commandements If the case fall out otherwise as commonly it doeth that humane lawes bee not inacted of things indiffereÌ„t but of things that be good in themselues that is commanded by God then are they not humane properly but diuine lawes Mens lawes intreating of things that are morally good and the parts of Gods worship are the same with Gods lawes and therefore bind conscience not because they were inacted by men but because they were first made by God meÌ„ beeing no more but instruments and ministers in his name to reuiue renewe and to put in exequution such precepts and lawes as prescribe the worship of God standing in the practise of true religion and vertue Of this kinde are all positiue lawes touching articles of faith and the duties of the morall law And the man that breakes such lawes sinnes two waies first because he breaks that which is in conscience a lawe of God secondly because in disobeying his lawfull Magistrate he disobeyes the generall commandement of God touching magistracie But if it shall fall out that mens lawes bee made of things that are euill and forbidden by God then is there no bond of conscience at al but contrariwise men are bound in conscience not to obey Act. 4.19 And hereupon the three children are commended for not obeying Nabuchadnezzar when he gaue a particular commandement vnto them to fall downe and worship the golden image Dan. 3. Moreouer in that mans law bindes not but by the authoritie of Gods law hence it followes that Gods law alone hath this priuiledge that the breach of it should be a sinne S. Iohn saith 1. epist. 3. Sinne is the anomie or transgression of the law vnderstanding Gods law When Dauid by adulterie and murder had offended many men and that many waies he saith Psal. 51. Against thee against thee haue I sinned And Augustine defined sinne to be some thing said done or desired against the lawe of God Some man may say if this bee so belike then we may breake mens laws without sinne I answer that men in breaking
lesse importance and not vttered precisely in commanding tearmes doth onely declare and shew what is to be done or conditionally require this or that with respect to the punishment on this manner If any person doe this or that then he shall forfeit thus or thus This kind of law bindes especially to the punishment and that in the very intent of the lawgiuer and he that is readie in omitting the law to pay the fine or punishment is not to be charged with sinne before God the penaltie beeing answerable to the losse that comes by the neglect of the law Here a question may be demanded whether a man that hath taken his oath to keepe all the laws or orders of any towne or corporation and yet afterward omits the doing of some of them be periured or no. The answer may be this that the lawes of euery societie and corporation must be distinguished Some are very weightie as I haue said beeing of the very foundation and state of a bodie so as it can not well stand without them and whosoeuer wittingly and willingly breakes any of these they beeing good and lawfull can not be freed from periurie Againe there be lawes of lesser importance that tend onely to maintaine decent order and comelines in the societies of men and they are of that nature that the estate of the corporation or towne may stand without them and whosoeuer vpon occasion omits the doing of any of these is not therefore periured so be it he carrie a loyall mind and be content to pay the fine or penaltie For such kind of orders and constitutions require first of all obedience and if that be omitted they require a mulct or fine which if it be willingly paied the law is satisfied Thus we see how farre forth mens lawes bind conscience The vse of this point is this I. Hence we learne that the immunitie of the Popish cleargie whereby they take themselues exempted from ciuill courts and from ciuill authoritie in criminall causes hath no warrant because Gods cōmandements binds euery man whatsoeuer to be subiect to the magistrate Rom. 13.1 Let euery soule be subiect to the higher powers II. Hence we see also what notorious rebells those are that beeing borne subiects of this land yet choose rather to die then to acknowledge as they are bound in conscience the Queenes Maiestie to be supreame gouernour vnder God in all causes ouer all persons III. Lastly we are taught hereby to be willing to giue subiection obedience reuerence and all other duties to Magistrates whether they be superiour or inferiour yea with chearefulnes to pay taxes and subsidies and all such lawfull charges as are appointed by them Giue to Cesar that which is Cesars to God that which is Gods Giue to all men their duties tribute to whom tribute custome to whome custome Rom. 13.7 Now follows the Oath which is either assertorie or promissorie Assertorie by which a man auoucheth that a thing was done or not done Promissorie by which a man promiseth to doe a thing or not to doe it Of both these I meane to speake but specially of the second And here two points must be considered the first by whāt meanes an oath bindeth the second when it bindeth An oath bindeth by vertue of such particular commandements as require the keeping of othes lawfully taken Num. 30.3 Whosoeuer sweareth an oath to binde his soule by a bond he shall not breake his word but shall doe according to all that proceede out of his mouth This beeing so a question may be made whether the oathes of Infidels bind conscience and by what vertue cōsidering they neither know the Scriptures nor the true God Ans. They doe bind in conscience For example Iacob and Laban make a couenant confirmed by oath Iacob sweares by the true God Laban by the gods of Nachor that is by his idols Now Iacob though he approoue not the forme of this oath yet he accepts it for a ciuill bond of the couenant and no doubt though Laban beleeued not Gods word reuealed to the Patriarkes yet he was bound in conscience to keepe this oath euen by the law of nature and though he knew not the true God yet he reputed the false god of Nachor to be the true God Gen. 31.53 Againe if a lawfull oath by vertue of Gods commandements bind conscience then it must needes be that the Romane Church hath long erred in that shee teacheth and maintaineth that gouernours as namely the Pope and other inferiour Bishops haue power to giue relaxations and dispensations not onely for oathes vnlawfull from which the word of God doth sufficiently free vs though they should neuer giue absolution but from a true and lawfull oath made wittingly and willingly without error or deceit of a thing honest and possible as when the Pope frees the subiects of this land as occasion is offered from their sworne allegiance and loyaltie to which they are bound not onely by the law of nature but also by a solemne and particular oath to the Supremacie which none euer deemed vnlawfull but such as carrie traytours hearts Now this erronious diuinitie would easily be reuoked if men did but consider the nature of an oath one part whereof is Inuocation in which we pray vnto God first that he would become a witnes vnto vs that we speake the truth and purpose not to deceiue secondly if we faile and breake our promise that he would take reuenge vpon vs and in both these petitions we bind our selues immediatly to God himselfe and God againe who is the ordainer of the oath accepts this bond and knits it by his commandement till it be accomplished Hence it follows that no creature can haue power to vntie the bond of an oath that is truly and lawfully an oath vnlesse we will exalt the creatures aboue God himselfe And the Iewish teachers gaue better counsell when they commanded the people to performe their oathes to the Lord for the preuenting of periurie and our Sauiour Christ in that gainesaies them not Math. 5.33 Next let vs consider the time when an oath bindeth or bindeth not An oath bindeth then when it is made of things certen and possible in truth iustice iudgement for the glorie of God the good of our neighbour Quest. I. Whether doth an oath bind conscience if by the keeping of it there follow losses and hindrances Ans. If it be of a thing that is lawfull and the damages be priuate to him that sweareth then doth it bind conscience For example A man makes a purchase of land at the sea side his bargaine is confirmed onely by oath and it falls out that before he doe enter possession the sea breakes in and drownes a part of that purchase Now he is in conscience to stand to his bargaine because the thing is lawfull and the damage is priuate and great reuerence must be had of the name of God which hath bin vsed in the bargaine making Dauid
they keepe themselues froÌ„ periurie blasphemie murder theft whoredome all is well with them but the trueth is that so long as they liue in ignorance they want right and true direction of conscience out of Gods worde and therefore their best actions are sinnes euen their eating and drinking their sleeping and waking their buying and selling their speech and silence yea their praying and seruing of god For they do these actions either of custome or example or necessitie as beasts doe and not of faith because they know not Gods will touching things to be done or left vndone The consideration of this point should make euery man most carefull to seeke for knowledge of Gods word and daily to increase in it that hee may in all his affaires haue Gods lawes to bee the men of his counsell Psal. 116. 24. that hee may giue heede to them as to the light shining in a darke place 2. Pet. 1.19 that he may say with Peter when Christ commanded him to launch forth into the deepe and to cast forth his nette Lord we haue bin all night and haue catched nothing yet in thy word will I let downe my nette Luk. 5.5 CHAP. III. Of the kindes of conscience and of conscience regenerate COnscience is either good or badde Good conscience is that which rightly according to Gods word excuseth and comforteth For the excellency goodnesse and dignitie of conscience standes not in accusing but in excusing And by doing any sinne whatsoeuer to giue an occasion to the conscience to accuse and condemne is to wound it and to offend it Thus Paul saith that the Corinthians wounded the consciences of their weake breathren when they vsed their libertie as an occasion of offence to them 1. Cor. 8,9 12. Againe hee calleth a good conscience a conscience without offence that is which hath no stop or impedimeÌ„t to hinder it from excusing Act. 24. 19. Good conscience is either good by creation or regeneration Good by creation was the conscience of Adam which in the estate of innocency did onely excuse and could not accuse him for any thing though it may be an aptnes to accuse was not wanting if afterward an occasion should be offered And hence we haue further direction to consider what a good coÌ„science is namely such an one as by the order set downe in the creation excuseth onely without accusing Yea to accuse is a defect in true conscieÌ„ce following after the first creation For naturally there is an agreement and harmonie betweene the parts and the whole but if the conscience should naturally accuse there should be a dissent and disagreement and diuision between the conscience and the man himselfe Regenerate conscience is that which beeing corrupt by nature is renewed and purged by faith in the blood of Christ. For to the regenerating of the coÌ„science there is required a conuersion or change because by nature all mens consciences since the fall are euill and none are good but by grace The instrument seruing to make this change is faith Act. 15.19 Faith purifieth the heart The meritorious cause is the blood of Christ. Heb. 9.14 Howe much more shall the blood of Christ c. purge your conscience from dead workes to serue the liuing God The propertie of regenerate conscience is twofold Christian libertie and Certentie of saluation Because both these haue their place not in the outward man but in the spirit and conscience Christian libertie is a spirituall and holy freedome purchased by Christ. I say it is spirituall first to put a difference betweene it and ciuill libertie which standes in outward and bodily freedomes and priuiledges secondly to confute the Iewes that looke for earthly libertie by Christ and the Anabaptists who imagine a freedome from all authoritie of Magistrates in the kingdome of Christ. Againe I say it is an holy freedome to confute the Libertines who thinke that by the death of Christ they haue libertie to liue as they list Lastly I say it is purchased by Christ to shewe the authoritie thereof Gal. 5. 1. Stand fast in the libertie wherewith Christ hath made you free And to confute the Papists whose doctrine in effect is thus much that this libertie is procured indeede by Christ but is continued partly by Christ and partly by the man himselfe Christian libertie hath three parts The first is a freedome from the iustification of the morall law For he that is a member of Christ is not bound in conscience to bring the perfect righteousnes of the lawe in his owne person for his iustification before God Gal. 5. 1. with v. 3. Hence it followeth that he that is a Christian is likewise freed from the curse and condemnation of the law Rom. 8.1 There is no condemnation to theÌ„ that are in Christ. Gal. 3. 13. Christ hath redeemed vs from the curse of the lawe when he was made a curse for vs. By this first part of Christian libertie it appeares that there cannot be any iustification of a sinner by works of grace before God For he that wil be iustified but by one worke is debter to the whole lawe Gal. 3.3 but no man that is a member of Christ is debter to the whole law for his libertie is to be free in that point therefore no man is iustified so much as by one worke of his own The second part is freedome from the rigour of the lawe which exacteth perfect obedience and condemneth all imperfection Rom. 6. 14. Sinne hath no more dominioÌ„ ouer you for ye are not vnder the law but vnder grace 1. Ioh. 5.3 This is the loue of God that ye keepe his commandements and his commandements are not grieuous Hence it followeth that God will accept of our imperfect obedience if it be sincere yea he accepts the will desire and indeauour to obey for obedieÌ„ce it selfe Malach. 3.17 And I will spare them as a man spareth his owne sonne that serueth him The third part is that the conscieÌ„ce is freed from the bond of the ceremoniall law Gal. 3.25 But after that faith is come wee are no more vnder a schoolemaster Eph. 2. 15. And hath broken the stoppe of the partition wall in abrogating through his flesh the lawe of commandements which standeth in ordinances Coloss. 2.14 And hath put out the hand writing of ordinances which was against vs. v. 26. Let no man therefore condemne you in meat and drinke or in respect of any holy day or of the newe moone c. Hence it followeth that all Christians may freely without scruple of conscience vse all things indifferent so be it the manner of vsing them be good And first when I say thâ—t all may vse them I vnderstand a two-folde vse naturall or spirituall The naturall vse is either to releeue our necessities or for honest delite Thus the Psalmist saith that God giues not onely bread to strengthen the heart of man but also wine to make glad the heart and oyle to make the face to
ye were sealed with the Spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance 2. Cor. 1.21 It is God that hath sealed vs and giuen vs the earnest of his Spirit in our hearts Here the words of sealing and earnest are to be considered For things that passe too and fro among men though they be in question yet when the seale is put too they are made out of doubt and therefore when God by his spirit is saide to seale the promise in the heart of euery particular beleeuer it signifieth that he giues vnto them euident assurance that the promise of life belongs vnto them And the giuing of earnest is an vnfallible token vnto him that receiueth it that the bargaine is ratified and that he shall receiue the things agreed vpon And it were a great dishonour vnto God to thinke that the earnest of his owne Spirit giuen vnto vs should be an euidence of eternall life not vnfallible but coniecturall Arg. 2. The faith of the Elect or sauing faith is a certen perswasion and a particular perswasion of remission of sinne and life euerlasting Touching the first of these twaine namely that faith is a certen perswasion yea that certentie is of the nature of faith it appeares by expresse testimonie of Scripture Mat. 14.31 O thou of little faith why hast thou doubted and â— 1. v. 21. If ye haue faith and doubt not Iam. 1.6 Let him aske in faith and wauer not for he that wauereth is like a waue of the sea â—ust of the wind and carried away Rom. 4.20 Neither did be doubt of the promise of God through vnbeleefe but was strengthened in faith I will not stand longer on this point which is not denied of any Touching the second part of my reason that faith is a particular perswasion applying things beleeued I prooue it thus The property of faith is to receiue the promise Gal. 3.14 and the thing promised which is Christ with his spirit Joh. 1.12 Now Christ is receiued by a particular application as will appeare if we doe but marke the ende and vse of the ministerie of the word and of the Sacraments For when God giues any blessing to man it is to be receiued by man as God giueth it Now God giues Christ or at the least offereth him not generally to mankind but to the seuerall and particular members of the Church In the Lords Supper as in euery sacrament there is a relation or analogie betweene the outward signes and the things signified The action of the minister giuing the bread and wine to the hands of particular communicants representeth Gods action in giuing Christ with his benefits to the same particular communicants Againe the action of receiuing the bread and wine particularly representeth an other spirituall action of the beleeuing heart which applieth Christ vnto it selfe for the pardon of sinne and life euerlasting Papists yeeld not to this yet if they refuse to maintaine this analogie they ouerturne the sacrament and dissent from antiquitie Augustine saith The bodie of Christ is ascended into heauen some may answer and say How shall I hold him beeing absent how shall I reach vp mine hand to heauen that I may lay hold of him sitting there Send vp thy faith and thou hast laid hold of him And what is more common then an other saying of his What meanest thou to prepare thy bellie and teeth Beleeue and thou hast eaten Againe Eph. 3.12 Paul saith By Christ we haue boldnes and entrance with confidence by faith in him In which words are set downe two notable effects and fruits of faith boldnes and confidence Boldnes is when a poore sinner dare come into the presence of God not beeing terrified with the threatnings of the law nor with the consideration of his owne vnworthines nor with the manifold assaults of the deuill and it is more then certentie of Gods fauour Now whereas Papists answer that this libertie or boldnes in comming vnto God proceedes of a generall faith they are farre wide It is not possible that a generall perswasion of the goodnes and truth of God and of his mercie in Christ should breed confidence and boldnes in the heart of a guiltie sinner and no example can be brought thereof This generall faith concerning the articles of our beleefe was no doubt in Caine Saul Achitophel Iudas yea in the deuill himselfe and yet they despaired and some of them made away themselues and the deuill for all his faith trembleth before God Wherefore that faith which is the roote of these excellent vertues of boldnes and confidence must needes be a speciall faith that is a large and plentifull perswasion of the pardon of a mans owne sinnes and of life euerlasting Againe Heb. 11. 1. faith is called hypostasis that is a substance or subsistance of things hoped for where faith in the matter of our saluation and other like things is made to goe beyond hope for hope waites for things to come till they haue a beeing in the person hoping but faith in present giues a subsisting or beeing vnto them This can not be that generall faith of Papists tearmed Catholicke for it comes short of hope but it must needes be a speciall faith that makes vs vndoubtedly beleeue our owne election adoption iustification and saluation by Christ. And to this purpose haue some of the fathers said excellent well Augustine saith I demand of thee O sinner doest thou beleeue Christ or no thou saiest I beleeue What beleeuest thou that he can freely forgiue thee all thy sinnes Thou hast that which thou hast beleeued Ambrose saith This is a thing ordained of God that he which beleeueth in Christ should be saued without any worke by faith alone freely receiuing remission of sinnes And with Ambrose I ioyne the testimonie of Hesichius vpon Leuiticus who saith God pitying mankind when he saw it disabled for the fulfilling of the works of the law willed that man should be saued by grace without the workes of the law And grace proceeding of mercie is apprehended by faith alone without workes Whereas in the two last testimonies faith is opposed generally to all works and is withall said to apprehend and receiue yea alone to apprehend and receiue grace and remission of sinnes they can not be vnderstood of a generall but of a special applying faith Bernard hath these words If thou beleeuest that thy sinnes can not be blotted out but by him against whome thou hast sinned thou dost well but goe yet further and beleeue that he pardoneth thy sinnes This is the testimonie which the holy Ghost giueth in our hearts saying Thy sinnes are forgiuen thee For so the Apostle thinketh that a man is iustified freely by faith Papists beeing much choked with this place make answer that S. Bernard doth not say that we must beleeue the pardon of our sinns absolutely without respect of works but that he requires the condition of our conuersation and repentance as signes whereby
thus Though Christ hath freed thee from death by his death yet thou art quite barred from heauen because thou neuer didst fulfil the law The conscience answereth I know that Christ is my righteousnes and hath fulfilled the law for me Thirdly the deuill replies and saith Christs benefits belong not to thee thou art but an hypocrite and wantest faith Now when a man is driuen to this straight it is neither wit nor learning nor fauour nor honour that can repulse this temptation but onely the poore conscience directed and sanctified by the Spirit of God which boldly and constantly answereth I know that I beleeue And though it be the office of the conscience after it is renued principally to excuse yet doth it also in part accuse When Dauid had numbred the people his heart smote him 2. Sam. 24.10 Iob saith in his affâ—iction that God did write bitter things against him and made him possesse the sinnes of his youth Iob 13. 26. The reason hereof is because the whole man and the very conscience is onely in part regenerate and therefore in some part remaines still corrupt Neither must it seeme straunge that one and the same conscience should both accuse and excuse because it doth it not in one and the same respect It excuseth in that it assureth a man that his person stands righteous before God and that he hath an indeauour in the generall course of his life to please God it accuseth him for his particular slippes and for the wants that be in his good actions If any shall demaund why God doth not perfectly regenerate the conscience and cause it onely to excuse the answer is this God doth it for the preuenting of great misâ—hiefes When the Israelites came into the land of Canaan the Cananites were not at the first wholly displacedâ— Why Moses rendreth the reason least wild beasts come and inhabit some parts of the land that were dispeopled and more annoy them then the Cananites In like manner God renues the conscience but so as it shall still accuse when occasion serueth for the preuenting of many dangerous sinnes which like wild beasts would make hauocke of the soule Thus much of good conscience now follows euill conscience and that is so called partly because it is defiled and corrupted by originall sinne partly because it is euill that is troublesome and painefull in our sense and feeling as all sorrowes calamities and miseries are which for this very cause also are called euills And though conscience be thus tearmed euill yet hath it some respects of generall goodnes in as much as it is an instrument of the execution of diuine iustice because it serues to accuse them before God which are iustly to be accused It hath spread it selfe ouer mankind as generally as originall sinne therefore it is to be found in all men that come of Adam by ordinarie generation The propertie of it is with all the power it hath to accuse and condemne and thereby to make a man afraid of the presence of God and to cause him to flie from God as from an enemie This the Lord signified when he said to Adam Adam where art thou When Peter saw some little glimbring of the power and maiestie of God in the great draught of fish he fell on his knees and saide to Christ Lord goe from me for I am a sinnefullman Euill conscience is either dead or stirring Dead conscience is that which though it can doe nothing but accuse yet commonly it lies quiet accusing little or nothing at all The causes why conscience lieth dead in all men either more or lesse are many I. Defect of reason or vnderstanding in crased braines II. Violence and strength of affections which as a cloud doe ouercast the minde and as a gulfe of water swallow vp the iudgement and reason and thereby hinder the conscience from accusing for when reason can not doe his part then conscience doth nothing For example some one in his rage behaues himselfe like a madde man and willingly commits any mischiefe without controlment of conscience but when choller is downe he beginnes to be ashamed and troubled in himselfe not alwaies by grace but euen by the force of his naturall conscience which when affection is calmed beginnes to stirre as appeareth in the example of Cain III. Ignorance of Gods will and errours in iudgement cause the conscience to be quiet when it ought to accuse This we find by experience in the deaths of obstinate heretikes which suffer for their damnable opinions without checke of conscience Dead conscience hath two degrees The first is the slumbring or the benummed conscience the second is the seared conscience The benummed conscience is that which doth not accuse a man for any sinne vnlesse it be grieuous or capitall and not alwaies for that but onely in the time of some grieuous sicknes or calamitie Iosephs brethren were not much troubled in conscience for their villanie in selling their brother till afterward when they were afflicted with famine and distressed in Egypt Gen. 42. 2. This is the conscience that commonly raignes in the hearts of drousie Protestants of all carnall and lukewarme gospellers and of such as are commonly tearmed ciuill honest men whose apparant integritie will not free them from guiltie consciences Such a conscience is to be taken heede of vs as beeing most daâ—gerous It is like a wild beast which so long as he lies asleepe seemes very tame and gentle and hurts no man but when he is roused he then awakes and flies in a mans face and offers to pull out his throate And so it is the manner of dead conscience to lie still and quiet euen through the course of a mans life and hereupon a man would thinke as most doe that it were a good conscience indeede but when sicknes or death approcheth it beeing awaked by the hand of God beginnes to stand vp on his legges and shewes his fierce eyes and offers to rend out euen the very throat of the soule And heathen Poets knowing this right well haue compared euill conscience to Furies pursuing men with firebrands The seared conscience is that which doth not accuse for any sinne no not for great sinnes It is compared by Paul 1. Tim. 4.2 to the part of a mans bodie which is not onely bereft of sense life and motion by the gangrene but also is burnt with a searing yron and therefore must needes be vtterly past all feeling This kind of conscience is not in all men but in such persons as are become obstinate heretikes and notorious malefactours And it is not in them by nature but by an increase of the corruption of nature and that by certaine steppes and degrees For naturally euery man hath in him blindnes of minde and obstinacie or frowardnes of heart yet so as with the blindnes and ignorance of minde are ioyned some remnants of the light of nature shewing vs what is
compunction or satisfaction And Here is all remission of sinne here be temptations that mooue vs to sinne lastly here is the euill from which we desire to be deliuered but there is none of all these And We are not here without sinne but we shall goe hence without sinne Cyril saith They which are once dead can adde nothing to the things which they haue done but shall remaine as they were left and waite for the time of the last iudgement Chrysost. After the ende of this life there be no occasions of merits Secondly we differ from them touching the meanes of Purgation They say that men are purged by suffering of paines in Purgatorie whereby they satisfie for their veniall sinnes and for the temporal punishment of their mortall sinnes We teach the contrarie holding that nothing can free vs from the least punishment of the smallest sinne but the sufferings of Christ and purge vs from the least taint of corruption sauing the blood of Christ. Indeede they say that our sufferings in themselues considered doe not purge and satisfie but as they are made meritorious by the sufferings of Christ but to this I oppose one text of Scripture Heb. 1. 3. where it is said that Christ hath purged our sinnes by himselfe where the last clause cuts the throat of all humane satisfactions and merits and it giueth vs to vnderstand that whatsoeuer thing purgeth vs from our sinnes is not to be found in vs but in Christ alone otherwise it should haue bin saide that Christ purgeth the sinnes of men by themselues as well as by himselfe and he should merit by his death that we should become our owne Sauiours in part To this place I may well referre praier for the dead of which I will propound two conclusions affirmatiue and one negatiue Conclus I. We hold that Christian charitie is to extend it selfe to the very dead and it must shew it selfe in their honest buriall in the preseruation of their good names in the helpe and releefe of their posteritie as time and occasion shall be offered Ruth 1.8 Ioh. 19.23 II. Conclus We pray further in generall manner for the faithfull departed that God would hasten their ioyfull resurrection and the full accomplishment of their happines both for the bodie and the soule and thus much we aske in saying Thy kingdome come that is not onely the kingdome of grace but also the kingdome of glorie in heauen Thus farre we come but nearer the gates of Babylon we dare not approch III. Conclus To pray for particular men departed and to pray for their deliuerance out of purgatorie we thinke it vnlawfull because we haue neither promise nor commandement so to doe The eighteenth point Of the Supremacie in causes Ecclesiasticall Our consent Touching the point of Supremacie Ecclesiasticall I will set downe how neare we may come to the Romane Church in two conclusions Conclus I. For the founding of the primitiue Church the ministerie of the word was distinguished by degrees not onely of order but also of power and Peter was called to the highest degree Eph. 4.11 Christ ascended vp on high and gaue gifts vnto men for the good of his Church as some to be Apostles some Prophets some Euangelists some Pastours and Doctours Now howsoeuer one Apostle be not aboue an other or one Euangelist aboue an other or one Pastour aboue an other yet an Apostle was aboue an Euangelist and an Euangelist aboue all pastours and teachers And Peter was by calling an Apostle and therefore aboue all Euangelists and Pastors hauing the highest roome in the ministerie of the newe testament both for order and authoritie Conclus II. Among the twelue Apostles Peter had a threefold priuiledge or prerogatiue I. The prerogatiue of authoritie II. Of primacie III. Of principalitie For the first by the priuiledge of authoritie I meane a preheminence in regard of estimation wherby he was had in reuerence aboue the rest of the twelue Apostles for Cephas with Iames and Iohn are called Pillars seemed to be great Gal. 2.6.9 Againe hee had the preheminence of primacie because he was the first named as the foreman of the quest Math. 10.2 The names of the twelue Apostles are these the first is Simon called Peter Thirdly hee had the preheminence of principality among the twelue because in regard of the measure of grace he excelled the rest for when Christ asked his disciples whome they said he was Peter as beeing of greatest abilitie and zeale answered for them all Math. 16.16 I vse this clause among the twelue because Paul excelled Peter euery way in learning zeale vnderstanding as far as Peter excelled the rest And thus neere we come to popish supremacie The difference The Church of Rome giues to Peter a supremacie vnder Christ aboue all causes and persons that is full power to gouerne and order the Catholike Church vpon the whole earth both for doctrine and regiment This supremacie standes as they teach in a power or iudgement to determine of the true sense of all places of Scripture to determine all causes of faith to assemble generall counsels to ratifie the decrees of the said councels to excommunicate any man vpon earth that liues within the Church euen princes and nations properly to absolue and forgiue sinnes to decide causes brought to him by appeale from all the parts of the earth lastly to make lawes that shall bind the conscience This fulnes of power with one consent is ascribed to Peter the Bishops of Rome that followe him in a supposed succession Nowe we holde on the contrarie that neither Peter nor any Bishop of Rome hath any supremacie ouer the Catholike Church but that al supremacie vnder Christ is pertaining to kings and princes within their dominions And that this our doctrine is good and theirs false and forged I will make it manifest by sundrie reasons I. Christ must be considered of vs as a king two waies First as he is God and so is he an absolute king ouer all things in heauen and earth with the Father and the Holy Ghost by the right of creation Secondly he is a king as hee is a redeemer of mankind and by the right of redemption he is a soueraigne king ouer the whole Church and that in speciall manner Nowe as Christ is God with the father and the holy ghost hee hath his deputies on earth to gouerne the world as namely kings and princes who are therefore in Scriptures called Gods But as Christ is Mediatour and consequently a king ouer his redeemed ones hee hath neither fellowe nor deputie No fellowe for then hee should be an imperfect mediatour No deputie for no creature is capable of this office to doe in the roome and steade of Christ that which hee himselfe doth because euery work of the Mediatour is a compound worke arising of the effects of two natures concurring in one and the same action namely the godhead and the manhood and therefore to the effecting of
kind of feare or sorrow is commanded Malac. 1.6 If I be a father where is my feare if I be a lord where is my feare And Chrysostome saith that the feare of hell in the heart of a iust man is a strong man armed against theeues and robbers to driue them from the house And Ambrose saith that Martyrs in the time of their sufferings confirmed themselues against the crueltie of persecuters by setting the feare of hell before their eyes Abuses touching Confession are these The first is that they vse a forme of confession of their sinnes vnto God vttered in an vnknowne language beeing therefore foolish and ridiculous withall requiring the aide and intercession of dead men and such as be absent whereas there is but one Mediatour betweene God and man the man Iesus Christ. The second is that they in practise make confession of their sinnes not onely to God but to the Saints departed in that they make praier to them in which they aske their intercession for the pardon of their sinnes and this is not onely to match them with God in seeing and knowing the heart but also to giue a part of his diuine worship vnto them The third and principall abuse is that they haue corrupted Canonicall confession by turning it into a priuate auricular confession binding all men in conscience by a law made to confesse all their mortall sinnes with all circumstances that change the kind of the sinne as farre as possibly they can remember once euery yeare at the least and that to a priest vnlesse it be in the case of extreame necessitie But in the word of God there is no warrant for this confession nor in the writings of Orthodoxe antiquitie for the space of many hundred yeares after Christ as one of their owne side auoucheth And the commandement of the holy Ghost Confesse one for an other and pray one for an other Iam. 5.17 bindes as well the priest to make confession vnto vs as any of vs to the priest And whereas it is said Math. 3. that many were baptised confessing their sinnes and Act. 19.18 Many that beleeued came and confessed and shewed their workes the confession was voluntarie and not constrained it was also generall and not particular of all and euery sinne with the necessarie circumstances thereof And in this libertie of confession the Church remained 1200. yeares till the Councill of Lateran in which the law of auricular confession was first inacted beeing a notable inuention seruing to discouer the secrets of men and to inrich that couetous and ambitious See with the reuenewes of the world It was not knowne to Augustine when he said What haue I to doe with men that they should heare my confessions as though they should heale my diseases nor to Chrysostome when he saith I doe not compell thee to confesse thy sinnes to others And If thou be ashamed to confesse them to any man because thou hast sinned say them daily in thine owne minde I doe not bid thee confesse them to thy fellow seruant that he should mocke thee confesse them to God that cureth them The abuse of Satisfaction is that they haue turned canonicall satisfaction which was made to the congregation by open offenders into a satisfaction of the iustice of God for the temporall punishment of their sinnes Behold here a most horrible prophanation of the whole Gospel and specially of the satisfaction of Christ which of it selfe without any supplie is sufficient euery way for the remission both of fault and punishment But of this point I haue spoken before Hitherto I haue handled and prooued by induction of sundrie particulars that we are to make a separation from the present Church of Rome in respect of the foundation and substance of true religion Many more things might be added to this very purpose but here I conclude this first point adding onely this one caueat that we make separation from the Romane religion without hatred of the persons that are maintainers of it Nay we ioyne in affection more with them then they with vs. They die with vs not for their religion though they deserue it but for the treasons which they intend and enterprise we are readie to doe the duties of loue vnto them inioyned vs in the word we reuerence the good gifts in many of them we pray for them wishing their repentance and eternall saluation Now I meane to proceede and to touch briefly other points of doctrine contained in this portion of Scripture which I haue now in hand In the second place therefore out of this commaundement Goe out of her my people I gather that the true Church of God is and hath beene in the present Romane Church as corne in the heape of chaffe Though Poperie raigned and ouerspread the face of the earth for many hundred yeares yet in the middest thereof God reserued a people vnto himselfe that truly worshipped him and to this effect the holy Ghost saith that the Dragon which is the deuill caused the woman that is the Church to flie into the wildernesse where he sought to destroy her but could not and shee still retaines a remnant of her seede which kept the commaundements of God and haue the testimonie of Iesus Christ. Now this which I speake of the Church of Rome can not be saide in like manner of the congregations of Turkes and other infidels that the hidden Church of God is preserued among them because there is no meanes of saluation at all whereas the Church of Rome hath the Scriptures though in a straunge language and baptisme for the outward forme which helpes God in all ages preserued that his Elect might be gathered out of the middest of Babylon This serues to stoppe the mouthes of Papists which demaund of vs where our Church was fourescore yeares agoe before the daies of Luther whereby they would insinuate to the world that our Church and religion is greene or newe but they are answered out of this very text that our Church hath euer beene since the daies of the Apostles and that in the very midst of the papacie It hath bin alwaies a Church and did not first begin to be in Luthers time but onely then began to shew it selfe as hauing bin hid by an vniuersall Apostasie for many hundred yeares together Againe we haue here occasion to consider the dealing of God with his owne church and people He will not haue them for externall societie to be mixed with their enemies and that for speciall purpose namely to exercise the humilitie and patience of his few seruants When Elias saw idolatrie spred ouer all Israel he went a part into the wildernes and in griefe desired to die And Dauid cried out Woe is me that I am constrained to dwell in Mesheck and to haue my habitation in the tents of Kedar Psal. 120.5 And iust Lot must haue his righteous soule vexed with seeing and hearing the abhominations of Sodom Thirdly by this
is plainely ouerthrowne the excuse which they make that they worshippe not images but God and Saints in images for neither God nor the Saints doe acknowledge this kinde of honour but they abhorre it Whence it followes necessarily that they worship nothing beside the image or the deuise of their owne braine in which they faine to themselues such a god as will be worshipped and receiue our praiers at images It will be saide that the Papists doe no otherwise tie the worship and inuocation of God to images then God tied himselfe to the sanctuarie and the temple of Salomon And I say againe it was the will of God that he would shew his presence and be worshipped at the Sanctuarie and the Iewes had the warrant of Gods word for it but we haue no like warrant either by promise or commandement to tie Gods presence to an image or crucifix Againe reason yet further may discouer their idolatrie They which worship they know not what worship an idol but the Papists worship they know not what I prooue it thus To the consecration of the host there is required the intention of the Priest at the least vertually as they say and if this be true it followes that none of them can come to the Masse or pray in faith but he must alwaies doubt of that which is lifted vp by the hands of the priest in the masse whether it be bread or the bodie and blood of Christ. For none can haue any certentie of the intention of the priest in consecrating this bread and this wine but rather may haue a iust occasion of doubting by reason of the common ignorance and loosenesse of life in such persons Thirdly the commaundement touching the Sabbath giues a libertie to worke sixe daies in the ordinarie affaires of our callings and this libertie cannot be repealed by any creature The Church of Rome therefore erreth in that it prescribeth set and ordinarie festiuall daies not onely to God but also to Saints inioyning them as straitly and with as much solemnitie to be obserued as the Sabbath of the Lord. Fourthly the third commaundement or as they say the fourth inioynes children to obey father and mother in all things specially in matters of moment as in their marriage and choice of their callings and that euen to death and yet the church of Rome against the intent of this commaundement allowes that clandestine marriages and the vowe of religion shall be in force though they be without and against the consent of wise and carefull parents Fiftly the last commandement of lust forbiddes the first motions to sinne that are before consent I prooue it thus Lusting is forbidden in the former commandements as well as in the last yea lusting that is ioyned with consent as in the commandement Thou shalt not commit adulterie is forbidden lusting after our neighbours wife in the next lusting after our neighbours goods c. Now if the last commandement also forbid no more but lust with consent it is confounded with the rest and by this meanes there shall not be ten distinct words or commandements which to say is absurd it remaines therefore that the lust here forbidden goes before consent Againe the Philosophers knew that lust with consent was euill euen by the light of nature but Paul a learned Pharise and therefore more then a Philosopher knew not lust to be sinne that is forbidden in this commandement Rom. 7. Lust therefore that is forbidden here is without consent Wicked then is the doctrine of the Romane Church teaching that in euery mortall sinne is required an act commaÌ„ded of the will and hence they say many thoughts against faith and vncleane imaginations are no sinnes 6 Lastly the words of the second commandement And shew mercie to thousands on them that loue me and keepe my commandements ouerthrowes all humane merits For if the reward be giuen of mercie to them that keepe the law it is not giuen for the merit of the worke done To come to the third part of the Catechisme the Lords praier is a most absolute and perfect forme of praier For which cause it was called of Tertullian The breuiarie of the Gospel and Coelestinus saith the law of praying is the law of beleeuing and the law of working Now in this prayer we are taught to direct our praiers to God alone Our father c. and that onely in the name and mediation of Christ. For God is our father onely by Christ. It is needelesse therefore to vse any inuocation of Saints or to make them our mediatours of intercession vnto God and it is sufficient if we pray onely vnto God in the name of Christ alone 2 In the fourth petition we say thus Giue vs our daily bread In which words we acknowledge that euery morsell of bread is the meere gift of God What madnes then is it for vs to thinke that we should merit the kingdome of heauen by works that can not merit so much as bread 3 In the next petition Forgiue vs our debts foure opinions of the Romane religion are directly ouerthrowne The first is concerning humane Satisfactions For the child of God is here after his conuersion taught to humble himselfe day by day and to pray for the pardon of his daily sinnes now to make satisfaction and to sue for pardon be contrarie The second opinion here ouerthrowne is touching merits For we doe acknowledge our selues to be debters vnto God yea bankrupts and that beside the maine summe of many thousand talents we daily increase the debt therefore we can not possibly merit any of the blessings of God It is meere madnes to thinke that they which cannot pay their debts but rather increase them day by day should deferue or purchase any of the goods of the creditours or the pardoÌ„ of their debts if any fauour be shewed theÌ„ it comes of meere goodwil without the least desert In a word this must be thought vpon that if all we can doe will not keep vs froÌ„ increasing the maine summe of our debt much lesâ—e shall we be able by any merit to diminish the same By good right therfore do al gods seruaÌ„ts caâ—t downe themselues and pray Forgiue vs our debts The third opinion is that punishment may be retained the fault beeing wholly remitted but this can not stand for here sinne is called our debt because by nature we owe vnto God obedience and for the defect of this paiment we further owe vnto him the forfiture of punishment Sinne then is called our debt in respect of the punishment And therefore when we pray for the pardon of sinne we require the pardon not onely of fault but of the whole punishment And when a debt is pardoned it is absurd to thinke that the least paiment should remaine The fourth opinion is that a man in this life may fulfill the law whereas in this place euery seruant of God is taught to aske a daily pardon for the breach of the
law Answer is made that our daily sinnes are veniall and not against the law but beside the law But this which they say is against the petition for a debt that comes by forfiture is against the bond or obligation Now euery sinne is a debt causing the forfiture of punishment and therefore is not beside but directly against the law 4 In this clause as we forgiue our debters it is taken for graunted that we may certenly know that we are in loue and charitie with men when we make reconciliation why then may not we know certenly that we repent and beleeue and are reconciled to God which all Romane Catholikes denie 5 In the last wordes and lead vs not into temptation we pray not that God should free vs from temptation for it is otherwhiles good to be tempted Psal. 26.1 but that we be not left to the malice of Sathan and held captiue of the temptation for here to be lead into temptation and to be deliuered are opposed Now hence I gather that he which is the child of God truly iustified and sanctified shall neuer fall wholly and finally from the grace of God and I conclude on this manner That which we aske according to the will of God shall be graunted 1. Ioh. 5. but this the child of God asketh that he might neuer be wholly forsaken of his father and left captiue in temptation This therfore shall be graunted 6 This clause Amen signifies a speciall faith touching all the former petitions that they shall be graunted and therefore a speciall faith concerning remission of sinnes which the Romane Church denieth To come to the last place to the Institution of the sacrament of the Lords Supper 1. Cor. 11.23 In which first of all the Reall presence is by many circumstances ouerthrowne Out of the wordes he tooke and brake it is plaine that that which Christ tooke was not his bodie because he can not be saide with his owne hands to haue taken held and broken himselfe but the very bread Againe Christ said not vnder the forme of bread or in bread but This that is bread is my bodie 3. Bread was not giuen for vs but onely the bodie of Christ and in this first institution the bodie of Christ was not really giuen to death 4. The cup is the new testament by a figure why may not the bread be the bodie of Christ by a figure also 5. Christ did eate the supper but not him selfe 6. We are bidden to doe it till he come Christ then is not bodily present 7. Christ biddes the bread to be eaten in a remembrance of him but signes of remembrance are of things absent 8. If the Popish reall presence be granted then the bodie and blood of Christ are either seuered or ioyned together If seuered then Christ is still crucified If ioyned together then the bread is both the bodie and blood of Christ whereas the institution saith the bread is the bodie and the wine is the blood 2 Againe here is condemned the administration of the saâ—ramâ—nt vnder one onely kind For the commandement of Christ is Drinke ye all of this Mat. 26.27 And this commaundement is rehearsed to the Church of Corinth in these wordes Doe this as oft as ye drinke in remembrance of me v. 25. And no power can reuerse this commandement because it was established by the soueraigne head of the Church These fewe lines as also the former treatise I offer to the vew and reading of them that fauour the Romane religion willing them with patience to coÌ„sider this one thing that their religion if it were Catholike and Apostolike as they pretende it could not be contrarie so much as in one point to the groundes of all Catechismes that haue beene vsed in all Churches confessing the name of Christ euer since the Apostles daies And whereas it crosseth the said groundes in sundrie points of doctrine as I haue prooued it is a plaine argument that the present Romane religion is degenerate I write not this despising or hating their persons for their religion but wishing vnfainedly their conuersion in this world and their saluation in the world to come FINIS THE FOVNDATION OF CHRISTIAN RELIgion gathered into sixe Principles And it is to be learned of ignorant people that they may be fit to heare Sermons with profit and to receiue the Lords Supper with comfort Psalme 119. 30. The entrance into thy words sheweth light and giueth vnderstanding to the simple Printed for I.L. and I.P. 1600. To all ignorant people that desire to be instructed POore people your manner is to sooth vp your selues as though yee were in a most happie estate but if the matter come to a iust triall it will fall out farre otherwise For you lead your liues in great ignorance as may appeare by these your common opinions which follow 1 That faith is a mans good meaning and his good seruing of God 2 That God is serued by the rehearsing of the ten Commandements the Lords prayer and the Creede 3 That ye haue beleeued in Christ euer since you could remember 4 That it is pitie he should liue which doth any whit doubt of his saluation 5 That none can tell whether he shall be saued or no certainely 〈◊〉 that all men must be of a good beleefe 6 That howsoeuer a man liue yet if he call vpon God on his death-bed and say Lord haue mercie vpon me and so goe away like a lambe he is certainely saued 7 That if any be strangely visited he is either taken with a Planet or bewitched 8 That a man may lawfully sweare when he speakes nothing but the truth and sweares by nothing but that which is good as by his faith or troth 9 That a Preacher is a good man no longer then he is in the pulpit They thinke all like themselues 10 That a man may repent when he will because the Scripture saith At what time soeuer a sinner doth repent him of his sinne c. 11 That it is an easier thing to please God then to please our neighbour 12 That ye can keepe the commandements as well as God will giue you leaue 13 That it is the safest to doe in Religion as most doe 14 That merrie ballads and books as Scogin Bevis of Southampton c. are good to driue away time and to remooue heart-quames 15 That ye can serue God with all your hearts that ye would be sory els 16 That a man neede not heare so many sermons except he could followe them better 17 That a man which commeth at no sermons may as well beleeue as he which heares all the sermons in the world 18 That ye know all the Preacher can tell you For he can say nothing but that euery man is a sinner that we must loue our neighbours as our selues that euery man must be saued by Christ and all this ye can tell as well as he 19 That it was a good world when the olde Religion was because
Christ. 1. Cor. 3.1 II. Conclusion The first material beginnings of the conuersion of a sinner or the smallest measure of renewing grace haue the promises of this life and the life to come The exposition THE beginnings of conuersion must bee distinguished some are beginnings of preparations some beginnings of composition Beginnings of preparation are such as bring vnder tame and subdue the stubburnenesse of mans nature without making any change at all of this sort are the accusations of the conscience by the ministerie of the lawe feares and terrors arising thence coÌ„punction of heart which is the apprehension of gods anger against sin Now these and the like I exclude in the conclusion for though they goe before to prepare a sinner to his conuersion followingâ— yet are they no graces of God but fruites of the law that is the ministerie of death of an accusing conscience Beginnings of composition I tearme all those inwarde motions and inclinations of Gods spirit that follow after the worke of the law vpon the conscience and rise vpon the meditation of the Gospel that promiseth righteousnes and life euerlasting by Christ out of which motions the conuersion of a sinner ariseth and of this it consisteth what these are it shall afterward appeare Againe grace must be distinguished it is twofold restraining grace or renuing grace Restraining grace I tearme certaine common giftes of God seruing onely to order and frame the outward conuersation of men to the lawe of God or seruing to bereaâ—e men of excuse in the daie of iudgement By this kind of grace heathen men haue beene liberall iust sober valiant By it men liuing in the Church of God haue beene inlightened and hauing tasted of the good worde of God haue reioyced therein and for a time outwardly conformed themselues thereto renewing grace is not common to al men but proper to the elect and it is a gift of Gods spirit whereby the corruption of sinne is not onely restrained but also mortified and the decaied Image of God restored Now then the conclusion must onely be vnderstood of the second and not of the first for though a man haue neuer so much of this restraining grace yet vnlesse he haue the spirit of Christ to create faith in the heart and to sanctifie him he is as farre from saluation as any other Now then the sense and meaning of the conclusion is that the very least meanes of sauing grace and the very beginnings or seedes of regeneration doe declare and after a sort giue title to men of all the mercifull promises of God whether they concerne this life or the life to come and therefore are approoued of God if they be in trueth and accepted as greater measures of grace That which our Sauiour Christ saieth of the worke of miracles â—f you haue faith as a graine of Musterd seede ye shall say vnto this mountaine remooue hence to yonder place and it shall remooue must by the lawe of equall proportion be applyed to faith repentance the feare of God and all other graces if they bee truely wrought in the heart though they bee but as small as one little graine of musterd-seede they shall be sufficiently effectuall to bring forth good workes for which they were ordained The Prophet Esay 42.3 saith that Christ shall not quench the smoaking flaxe nor breake the bruised reede Let the comparison be marked fire in flaxe must be both little and weake in quantitie as a sparke or twaine that cannot cause a flame but onely a smoake specially in a matter â—o easie to burne Here then is signified that the gifts and graces of Gods spirit that are both for measure and strength as a sparke or twaine of fire shall not be neglected but rather accepted and cherished by Christ. When our Sauiour Christ heard the young man make a confession of a practise but of outward and ciuill righteousnes he looked vpon him and loued him and when he heard the Scribe to speake discreetely but one good speach that to louâ— God with all his heart is aboue all sacrifices he said vnto him That he was not farre from the kingdome of heauen Therefore no doubt hee will loue with a more special loue and accept as the good subiects of his kingdome those that haue receiued a further mercie of God to be borne anew of water and of the spirit III. Conclusion A constant and earnest desire to be reconciled to God to beleeue and to repent if it be in a touched heart is in acceptation with God as reconciliation faith repentance it selfe The Exposition LVst or desire is twofold naturall and supernaturall Naturall is that whose beginning and obiect is in nature that is which ariseth of the naturall will of man and anecteth such things as are thought to be good according to the light of nature And this kind of desire hath his degrees yet so as they are all limited within the compasse of nature Some desire riches honours pleasures some learning and knowledge because it is the light and perfection of the minde some goe further and seeke after the vertues of iustice temperance liberalitie c. and thus many heathen men haue excelled Some againe desire true happinesse as Balaam did who wished to die the death of the righteous because it is the propertie of nature to seeke the preseruation of it selfe But here nature staies it selfe for where the minde reueales not the will affects not Supernaturall desires are such as both for their beginning and obiect are aboue nature for their beginning is from the holy Ghost and the obiect or matter about which they are conuersant are things diuine and spirituall which concerne the kingdome of heauen and of this kind are the desires of which I speake in this place Againe that we may not be deceiued in our desires but may the better discerne them from flittering fleeting motions I adde three restraints First of all the desire of reconciliation the desire to beleeue or the desire to repent c. must be constant and haue continuance otherwise it may iustly be suspected Secondly it must be earnest and serious though not alwaies yet at sometimes that we may be able to say with Dauid My soule desireth after thee O Lord as the thirstie laÌ„d And as the heart braieth after the riuers of water so panteth my soule after thee O God my soule thirsteth for God euen the liuing god Thirdly it must be in a touched heart for when a man is touched in conscience the heart is cast down and as much as it can it withdrawes it selfe from God For this cause if then there be any spirituall motions whereby the heart is lift vp vnto God they are without doubt from the spirit of God Thus then I auouch that the desire of reconciliation with God in Christ is reconciliation it selfe the desire to beleeue is faith indeede and the desire to repent repentance it selfe But marke how A desire to be reconciled is not
holy spirit who bringeth it forth onely in such as he dwells in c. Then these holy desires and praiers beeing the motions of the holy Ghost in vs are testimonies of our faith although they seeme to vs small and weake As the woman that feeleth the mooning of a childe in her body though very weak assureth her selfe that shee hath conceiued and that shee goeth with a liue childe so if we haue these motions these holy affections and desires before mentioned let vs not doubt but that we haue the holy Ghost who is the author of them dwelling in vs and consequently that we haue also faith Againe he saith If thou hast begun to hate and flee sinne if thou feelest that thou art displeased at thine infirmities corruptions if hauing offended God thou feelest a griefe and a sorrow for it if thou desire to abstaine if thou thou auoidest the occasions if thou trauailest to doe thy endeauour if thou praiest to God to giue thee grace all these holy affections proceeding from none other then from the spirit of God ought to be so many pledges and testimonies that hee is in thee Master Knokes saith Albeit your paines sometimes bee so horrible that you finde no release nor comfort neither in spirit nor bodie yet if thy heart can onely sob vnto God despaire not you shall obtaine your hearts desire And destitute you are not of faith for at such time as the flesh naturall reason the lawe of God the present torment the deuill at one doe crie God is angrie and therefore there is neither helpe nor remedie to be hoped for at his handes at such time I say to sob vnto God is the demonstration of the secret seede of God which is hidde in Gods elect children and that onely sob is vnto God a more acceptable sacrifice then without this crosse to giue our bodies to be burnt euen for the truthes sake More testimonies might be alleadged but these shall suâ—fice Against this point of doctrine it may bee alleadged that if desire to beleeue in our weakenesse bee faith indeede then some are iustified and may be saued wanting a liuely apprehension and full perswasion of Gods mercie in Christ. Answere Iustifying faith in regard of his nature is alwaies one and the same and the essentiall propertie thereof is to apprehend Christ with his benefits and to assure the very conscience thereof And therefore without some apprehension and assuranee there can be no iustification or saluation in them that for age are able to beleeue Yet there be certaine degrees and measures of true faith There is a strong faith which causeth a full apprehension and perswasion of Gods mercy in Christ. This measure of faith the Lord vouchsafed Abraham Dauid Paul the Prophets and Apostles and Martyrs of God It were a blessed thing if all beleeuers might attaine to this height of liuely faith to say with Paul I am perswaded that neither life nor death nor any thing else shall be able to separate vs from the loue of God in Christ but all cannot therefore there is another degree of faith lower then the former and yet true faith called a little or weake faith and it also hath a power to apprehend and apply the promise of saluation but as yet by reason of weakenesse it is infolded as it were and wrapt vp in the heart as the leafe and blossome in the budde For such persons as haue this weake faith can say indeede that they beleeue their sinnes to bee pardonable and that they desire to haue them pardoned but as yet they cannot say that they are without all doubt pardoned And yet the mercie of God is not wanting vnto themâ—â—or in that they doe and can desire and indeauour to apprehend they doe indeede apprehend God accepting the desire to doe the thing for the thing done This which I say will the better appeare if the groundes thereof bee considered Faith doeth not iustifie in respect of it selfe because it is an action or vertue or because it is strong liuely and perfect but in respect of the obiect thereof namely Christ crucified whome faith apprehendeth as hee is set forth vnto vs in the word and sacraments It is Christ that is the author matter of our iustice and it is he that applieth the same vnto vs as for faith in vs it is but an instrument to apprehend and receiue that which Christ for his part offereth and giueth Therefore if faith erre not in his proper obiect but followe the promise of God though it doe weakly apprehend or at the least cause a man onely to endeauour and desire to apprehend it is true faith and iustifieth Though our apprehension be necessarie yet our saluation standes rather in this that God apprehendes vs for his owne then that we apprehend him Phil. 3.12 Out of this conclusion springes another not to bee omitted that God accepts the indeauour of the whole man to obey for perfect obedience it selfe THat is if men indeauour to please God in all things God will not iudge their doings by the rigour of the lawe but will accept their little and weake indeauour to doe that which they can doe by his grace as if they had perfectly fulfilled the lawe But here remember I put this caueat that this indeauour must be in and by the whole man the very minde conscience wil affections doing that which they can in their kinds and thus this indeauour which is a fruite of the spirit shall be distinguished from ciuill righteousnes which may bee in heathen men The trueth of this conclusion appeares by that which the Prophet Malachi saith that God will spare them that feare him as a father spares his childe who accepts the thing done as well done if the child shewe his good will to please his father and to doe what he can IV. Conclusion To see and feele in our selues the want of any grace and to be grieued therefore is the grace it selfe The Exposition VNderstand this conclusion as the former namely that griefe of heart for the want of any grace necessarie to saluation is as much with God as the grace it selfe When being in distresse wee cannot pray as we ought God accepts the very groanes sobbes and sighes of the perplexed heart as the praier it selfe Rom. 8. 26. When we are grieued because we cannot bee grieued for our sinnes it is a degree and measure of godly sorrowe before God Augustine saith well Sometimes our praier is luke-warme or rather colde and almost no praier nay sometime it is altogither no praier at all and yet we cannot with griefe perceiue this in our selues for if we can but grieue because we cannot pray we nowe pray indeede Hierome saith Then we are iust when wee acknowledge our selues to be sinners Againe this is the true wisdome of man to knowe himselfe to be imperfect And that I may so speake the perfection of all iust men in the flesh is imperfect
Act. 1. 13. a Ezech 16.6 When I passed by thee I saw thee polluted in thine owne blood and I said vnto thee when thou wast in thy blood thou shalt liue Esai 55.1 Hâ— euery one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and ye that haue no siluer come buie and eate comeâ— I say and buie wine and milke without siluer and without money Ioh. 1.12 As many as receiued him to them he gaue this priuiledge that they should become the sonnes of God namely to them which beleeued in his name b Rom. 7.7 I knew not sinne but by the Law for I had not knowne lust except the Law had said Thou shalt not lust c 1. Ioh. 2.27 But the annointing which ye receiued of him dwelleth in you and ye neede not that any man teach you but as the same annointing teacheth you of all things and is true and is not lying and as it is taught you ye shall abide in him d Act. 16.14 A certaine woman named Lydia a seller of purple of the citie of the Tâ—yatirians a worshipper of God heard vs whose heart God opened that shee attended to the things that Paul spake Psalâ— 40. v. 6. Thou art not delighted with sacrifice and burnt offerings but mine eares hast thou opened Ioh. 6.44 No man can come vnto me except the Father which hath sent me draw him and I will raise him vp at the last day Esai 54.6 The Lord hath called thee beeing as a woman forsaken and as a young wife when thou wast refused saith the Lord. a 1. Cor. 15.18 If Christ be not raised they which are asleepe in Christ are perished Act. 7.60 When he had thus spoken he slept b 1. Cor. 15 3â— O foole that which thou sowest is not quickned except it die c Reu. 21.27 There shal enter into it none vnclean thing neither whatsoeuer worketh abomination or lies but they which are written in the Lambs book of life Rom. 7.25 I my selfe in my mind serue the law of God but in my flesh the law of sinne d Luk. 23.42 He saide to Iesus Lord remember me when thou commest into thy kingdome 43. Then Iesus said to him This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise Reu. 14.13 Then I heard a voice from heauen saying vnto me Write Blessed are the dead which hereafter die in the Lord. Euen so saith the Spirit for they rest from their labours and their workes follow them a Matth. 24. 29. Immediately after the tribulation of those daies shall the Sunne be darkened and the Moone shall not giue her light the starres shall fall from heauen and the powers of heauen shall be shaken 30. And then shall appeare the signe of the Sonne of man in heauen and then shall all the kinreds of the earth mourne and they shal see the Son of man come in the cloudes of heauen with power and great glorie b Luk. 21. 26. Mens hearts shall faile them for feare and for looking after those things which shall come on the world 28. And when these things beginne to come to passe then looke vp and lift vp your heads for your redemption draweth neare 2. Tim. 4.8 Henceforth is laide vp for me the crowne of righteousnes which the Lord the righteous iudge shall give me at that day and not to me onely but vnto them also that loue his appearing a Matth. chap. 24. vers 31. And he shall sende his Angels with a great sound of a trumpet 1. Thess. chap. 4. vers 16. The Lord himselfe shall descend from heauen with a shout euen with the voice of the Archangel and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first b Matth. 24. 30. 1. Thess. 4. 17. Then shall we vvhich liue and remaine be caught vp vvith them also in the cloudes to meete the Lord in the ayre and so shall we euer be with the Lord. a 1. Cor. 15. 52. We shall not all sleepe but we shall be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet 43. b It is sowne in dishonour it is raised in honour it is sowne in weakenes it is raised in power 44. It is sowne a naturall bodie it is raised â— spirituall bodie c. a Ioh. 14. 23. If any man loue me he will keepe my word and my Father will loue him and we will come vnto him and dwell with him 1. Ioh. 4. 15. Whosoeuer confesseth that Iesus Christ is the Sonne of God God dwelleth in him and he in God Reuel 21.3 And I heard a voyce saying Behold the Tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himselfe shall be their God with them 23. And that citie hath no neede of sunne or moone to shine in it for the glorie of God did light it and the Lambe is the light of it Reuel 22.2 In the middes of the streete of it and of either side of the riuer was the tree of life which bare twelue manner of fruits and gaue fruit euery moneth and the leaues of the tree serued to heale the nations with 5. And there shall be no night there and they neede no candle nor light of the sunne for the Lord giueth them light and they shall reigne for euermore 1. Cor. 15.45 Rom. 8.11 If the spirit of him that raised vp Iesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised vp Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortall bodies because that his spirit dwelleth in you Tit. 1.15 Act. 15.10 2. Tim. 4.3 1. Sam. â— 22.26 Psal. 2.12 Prov. 3.9,10 Luk. 2.25 a Socrat. hist. eccl l. 5. c. 10. b August de Temp. ser. 119. d Ambr. ser. 38. Heb. 6. â— 2â—â—â— a â—uâ—fâ—n in expos Symb â—â—erony ad â—am a Paciâ—nâ—s epiâ—t 1. ad Symâ—ro â— Tim. 1.13 Hab. 1â—1 â— Tim. 1.13 b Aug. seâ—m 119. de temp Caâ—sian li. 6. de incâ—râ—t domini a Cyril Catec 1. Mystag Tertull. de resurrect Origen hom 5. in Num. Act. 8.38 Hâ—b â—◠◠〈◊〉 â—1 〈…〉 Luk. 8.23 Act. 8.19 Math. 7.22 2. Cor. 13. â— 1 pâ—â— 3.12 Gal. 5.6 Math. 7.7 Math. 16 16â— Math. 8.10 and 16. â— Ioh. 4.33 â— 2 Rom. 10.10 â— Pet. 3.21 Heb. â— 4 â—ides estâ—oâ—a copulatiua Exod. 3â— Exo. 3.6.14 1. Tim. 1.17 a Psal. 82.6 b Exod. 4.16 c â— Cor. 4.4 â— Cor. 8.4 â—oâ— 17.3 Mark 9.24 â—sal 42.12 2. Chr. 16.12 Rom. 10. â—â— â— Tim. 1.12 â— Pet. 4.19 â— Chr. 34.27 â— Chr. 3â— â— Chr. 20.20 Hebr. 5.7 Psal. â—â— Dan. 6 2â— Psal. 78 21,2â— a Hebr. 1.3 Gal. 4.8 b Specie c Numero Math. 3. 16,17 a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The meaning Math. 23.9 a Heb. 12.9 b Luk. 3.38 c Esa. 9.6 d Esa. 53.10 e Esa. 8.18 Ier. 3.4,19 Matth. 6.4 Iob 17.14 Ioh. 8.44 Prov. 10.1 Math. 12.50 Mal. 1.6 Math. 5.45 Psal. 68.5 Iob 29 1â— â—6 Math. 6.26 Heb. 12â—â— 2.