to assist the Widow and the Orphan obliged to help out the more profitable works of Learned men deceased As God by convincing me of disabilitie hath taken away all hopes and desires of publishing any Work of mine own So he hath given me an extraordinary delight of serving out the works of this Man and this delight hath made me able to take more pains in this then ever I took in any other Book-businesse throughout my whole life Yea God seems to have given me life beyond all expectation partly for effecting this Work I said in the year 1649 I shall certainly go down to the grave God strangely brought me back from the Gates of Death He only knows what more to suffer I cannot see at present what else to do but to publish these Tracts the Quintessence of which is That of The Resurrection of the Dead I have yet Two Things to trouble your patience with The Former is To secure you that I have made no Merchandize no base Gain no gain at all for any would be base in me of those Jewels you committed to my Trust The Later To assure you That I have dealt as carefully and faithfully in the Publication of These Tracts as I would if the Case had so been the Author should have done in mine And yet if this satisfaction be too general to stay that wonderment which haply will arise in your mind when at the end of Chap. 43. you shal find A Fragment of the Authors interserted Be pleased over and above the Reasons there given to accept of this Following The Opinion That the sins of those Jewes who crucified our Saviour persecuted his Apostles and stoned S. Stephen were not visited upon them but that the Plagues respectively due for doing so were fended off or superseded by the signal vertue of Christs Blood speaking better things then that of Abel and special Efficacie of His Prayers for them was new and seemed though quaint yet very useful for us of suffering Condition I confess I am scrupulous of losing any Fragment of this Authors but was highly tender of leaving out in that place the least Grain of weight that might adde any shew of proof to His intended Conclusion which I would fain have rendred as probable as might be That we who are to fill up the leavings of Christs afflictions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 might more willingly and perfectly conform to Our Captain not only in Patience but in Charitie also and be excited earnestly to sollicit and employ the Interest we have in God through Christ chiefly for the Conversion and Salvation of our Adversaries and then for sparing them as to temporal punishments That it may one day appear they fared the better for those that fared worse for them even for those whom they counted the worst of men the Troublers of Israel the Anathemaes or Cursed things If this will not satisfie you I have no Refuge left but to fly to the Sanctuary where the Authors ashes lye and to beg pardon of you in whom by consignment of Will his Person lives which I presume you will the sooner grant upon condition I cease to trouble you further May you please then to sit by a while only to view how I demean my self and to awe me into Reverence in my Addresses to the Common Christian Reader who by what he hath here already heard and shall after read will joyn in thanks to You and Prayers for You With Your Affectionate Humble Servant in Christ B. O. To the CHRISTIAN READER Grace from GOD and Benefit from THIS BOOK COncerning the Author of these Learned and Godly Tracts I have spoke my mind so fully in the Prefaces to the First and Second Volumes Printed in Folio some years ago that I have nothing to do here but to own and avow what I there wrote which by these presents I heartily do And when the Reader hath perused this Book I hope he will confess That I have good reason not only to continue but to increase and advance my good Opinion of Him and say He believed and therefore spake what is here to be read in these Comments upon the Creed and that Being dead by Faith and these Writings faithful and true he yet speaks as the Oracles of God concerning Judgment to come The Resurrection of the Dead and Life Everlasting Touching the Order of the whole Bodie of His Works I have likewise so fully expressed my self in the Preface to the Tenth Book as that to say any thing more of That would be superfluous I can only call to mind One useful Particular which I then forgot though I had inserted it amongst my Memorandums of things necessary to be accounted for to the Reader the Omission whereof is here to be repaired and that is About the Numeration of the Folioes or the Figures set on the tops of the first and following leaves respectively The First Volume in Folio Containing the Three First Books of this Authors Commentaries on the Creed did end with the number 508. The tenth Book which is the second Volume as yet printed in Folio did begin with Number 3001. To the Intelligent Reader asking a Reason of so great a Chasma or Skip I Answer All the Numbers betwixt these Two were left void and allowed according to conjectural Computation for the reprinting in Folio of the 4 5 6 7 8 and 9 th Books only yet printed in Quarto for that the Owner of the Copies may not afford to put them into Folio that so the whole proceeding in a Continued Series might be more capable of a General Index at the last About the Order observed in This Book there is so much said upon sundry occasions in several Transitions as hath prevented for though it follow in reading it was printed before this Preface the pains here So that it is the Matter of this Eleventh Book which must afford me stuff or matter whereon to make a Preface Here is then published for the Readers behoof and to his view A TREATISE of that Knowledg of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ which arises from the right understanding and true Belief of His Sitting at the Right Hand of God the Father Of His Exaltation thereby to be Lord and Christ or to His Lordship and Dominion which being both of Proprietie and Jurisdiction hath annexed unto it the Power of Judging the Quick and the Dead And in order thereunto of Raising the Dead also that both they and those which shall be found alive at His Coming may by His Award or Sentence receive their Final Dooms according to their several Demeanours in the Bodie when they that have done Good shal go into Life Everlasting which is the Gift of God And those that have done Evil and have not their evil deeds done away receiving the wages of sin shal go into Everlasting Fire This is the Short or sum of what is conteined in the Five first Sections The Sixth
and Dignity of Lord and to put on The Affection of a Priest perpetually to make intercession on our behalf for Remission of sins past Rom. 3. 26. and for Grace whereby for the future we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear Seeing then we have so great an High Priest Let us hold fast our Profession And let us come boldly to the Throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and finde grace to help in time of need Worthy is THE LAMB that was slain to receive Power and Riches and Wisdom and Strength and Honor and Glory and Blessing Revel 5. 12. And THE LAMB shall overcome them for He is LORD OF LORDS and KING OF KINGS Rev. 17. 14. SECTION III. Of Christs coming to Judgement 2 Cor. 5. 10. For we must all appear before the Judgement Seat of Christ That every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad Acts 17. 30. But now God commandeth all men every where to repent because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given all men assurance in that he raised him from the dead Daniel 7. 9. Rom. 14. 9. To this end Christ both died and rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living We shal All stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ Every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God Revel 20. 12. CHAP. IX THe First Words contain an undoubted Maxim or principal Article of our Faith yea such a Plurality of Articles of Christian Belief that I could not choose fitter for continuation of my former Argument concerning Christs Lordship or Dominion And His Dominion as was said before was A Dominion both of Property and of Jurisdiction We are his servants not our own Men as we say we may not dispose of our own souls or bodies much less of our bodily imployments or endeavours as We please but as He pleases Or in case we wrong him by alienating the imployments of our bodies or of our souls from his service who hath the full Dominion of Propertie we cannot exempt our selves from his Dominion of Jurisdiction to which all flesh is lyable without Appeal Now of his Dominion of Jurisdiction or of his Royal Power over us the Exercise of Final Judgment is the Principal Part And of this Judgment the general Sum or Abstract is contained in 2 Cor. 5. 10. Before I enter upon the Particulars therein contained I am in General to advertise That albeit the Scripture be such A Compleat Rule of Christian Faith That neither those which are appointed to interpret the Scriptures ought to propose or commend any point or doctrine as an Article of Faith unto others nor are others bound to believe any thing as a Point of Faith unless it be either expresly contained in the Scriptures or may out of the express testimonies of them be deduced by infallible Rules of Reason and Art Yet in the things believed because contained in Scripture there is a Difference to be observed Some things we believe without any Ground at all besides the meer Authority of Scriptures Other things we beleive from the Authority of Scriptures too yet so as we have the truth which the Scriptures teach concerning them ensealed unto us by Experiments answering to the Rules of Scriptures And these Experiments be of two sorts Either Observable in the general Book of Nature and course of times or Observable in our selves Of this later rank are the Articles of the Godhead of the Creation of Divine Providence of Original Sin of Final judgment and of Life and Death everlasting The Being of a Godhead or Divine Power the very Heathens which knew not Scriptures did in some sort believe of Gods Providence and of Judgment after this life the Heathens likewise had divers Notions which were as rude materials or stuffe unwrought The frame or fashioning of which Notions into true and Christian Belief cannot otherwise be effected then by the Rules of Scripture which are The Lines by which the structure or edifice of Faith must be squared or wrought Now whatsoever the Heathens without the help of Scriptures or Divine Revelations did believe or conceive concerning the Points mentioned Every Christian man which doth believe the Scriptures though but by an historical Faith may much better believe and conceive by the help of Scriptures albeit his affections be not as yet sanctified by the Spirit of Grace although he be but in the Estate of a meer Moral or Natural man so he be not delivered up unto a Reprobate sense The Branches then of my Meditations concerning this Grand Article of Christs coming to Judgment shall be in general These First Of the Natural Notions which the Heathens had and which every natural man so his Conscience be not seared may have Experienced in himself of a Final Judgment after this life or of a Recompence according to his wayes or works The Second By what Authoritie of Scriptures the Exercise of this Final Iudgment is appropriated to Christ The Third The manner of Christs coming to Iudgment The Fourth The parties that are to be Iudged to wit the Quick and the Dead The Fifth The Sentence or Award of this great Iudge and that is Everlasting Life or Everlasting Death Thus you see Three Principal Articles of Our Creed to wit This of Christs coming to Iudge the quick and the dead and the Two last viz. The Resurrection of the body and The life everlasting are so link't together that they cannot be so commodiously explained in several as they may be in this proposed Link or Chain CHAP. X. Of the Natural Notions which the Heathens had and the Internal Experiments which every true Christian may have answering to these Notions of a Final Judgment 1. THe Notions which the Heathens had of a Iudgment to passe upon them after this life were of Two Sorts Either Implicite and Indirect such â—s give better Testimony to us then they made of it to themselves or Direct and Express though indefinite and imperfect and mingled for the most part with some errour And these Later are most frequent in the ancient heathen Poets Many of whose Testimonies to this purpose are so Express and direct that they may well seem to have been taken from some scattered Traditions of that truth which God had revealed unto the Patriarchs before the Law was written or from the written Law it self which it is probable Plato with some other Philosophers and Poets had read at the least received at the second hand However unless the truth concerning this point delivered in Scriptures had been imperfectly implanted in mens hearts by nature these meer natural men could not have submitted their Assent or Opinions unto it That not the ancient Poets onely but the ancient Philosophers had an
all the Benefits which God for his Deaths sake bestows upon us by believing only in his death But even This benefit of our Iustification we receive more immediately by our Belief of his Resurrection from the dead This is the doctrine of our Apostle even in that place wherein he handles the doctrine of Justification by Faith alone or by the Imputation of Christs Righteousness Ex Professe as Rom. 4. 23 24. Now it was not written for his sake to wit Abrahams alone that it was imputed to him but for us also to whom it shall be imputed if we beleive on him that raised up Iesus from the dead And he gives the Reason why our Belief of this Article should be imputed unto us in the next words Seeing he was delivered to death for our offences and raised again for our Justification Howbeit even This Belief of His Resurrection is a Grace or Blessing of God which Christ did merit by His Death yet a Grace conveihed unto us by the vertue of His Resurrection or by Christ himself by his Resurrection exalted unto glory in his human nature We were Justified by his Death in as much as The Pardon for our sins was by it purchased and the hand writing or obligation against us cancelled If Christ then had only dyed for us and not risen again we might by Belief in his Death have escaped the Second Death or everlasting pains of hell We should notwithstanding as our Apostle here supposeth have been detained perpetual prisoners in the grave Our bodily or corporal being should have been utterly consumed by the first Death without hope of recovery or restitution And so far as the first Death had dominion over men so far had these Corinthians remained in their sins So long as the first Death remains unconquered sin remains Now if Christ had not been raised from the dead the first Death or death of the body had remained unconquered Belief in Christs death could not utterly have freed them from all the wages of sin For death of the body is in us part of the wages of sin and it was to Christ part of the burden of our sin But in as much as Christ is risen from the dead and raised to an immortal life over which bodily death hath no Rule or dominion but must be put in absolute subjection to Him all that truly believe such a Resurrection are justified not only from the eternal guilt of sin nor only freed from everlasting death but are made heirs by adoption unto a life over which death shall have no power So then by Christs Death we are freed from the everlasting Curse by his Resurrection we are made free Denisons of the heavenly Jerusalem heirs by promise of an everlasting and most blessed life And thus far all that are partakers of the Word and Sacraments are said to be justified by his Resurrection that is they are bound to believe that as He died for their Sins to redeem them from the second death so he rose again for their further Justification to free them from the death of the bodie He therefore rose from the dead that we by believing this Article might receive the Adoption of the Sons of God But yet there is a further degree of Justification that is an Actual Absolution from the Reign or Dominion of sin in our Bodies which is never obtained without some measure of Faith or Sanctifying Grace inherent albeit the true use and end of such Grace and Faith inherent be to sue out the Pardon for our sins in particular not by our works or merits which are none but meerly and solely by the Free-Grace and Favour of God in Christ True it is that even This Gift of Faith by which we must sue out our Pardon in particular and supplicate for the Adoption of the Sons of God was purchased by Christs death nor may we sue for it under any other Stile or Form then propter merita Christi for the merits of Christ Yet after this plea made we may not expect to receive this blessing otherwise then per Jesum Christum through or by Jesus Christ who was raised from the dead This Grace this Faith and whatsoever other blessing of God which Christ by his death hath merited for us whatsoever is any way conducent to our full and final Redemption descends immediately from the Son of God exalted in his human nature as from its proper Fountain He was consecrated by his death and his Consecration was accomplished by his Resurrection to be an inexhaustible fountain of life and salvation to all that truly believe in his death and Resurrection from the dead Thus we are fallen into the Affirmative Inference If Christ be risen from the dead then such as die in Christ shall be raised from death to immortal Glory The same Almighty Power by which Christ was raised unto glorie shall be manifested even in these our mortal bodies But now is Christ risen from the dead and is become the first fruits of them that slept 9. The Inference or implication is That seeing Christ whose mortalitie was clearly testified by his death was raised up to an endless and immortal life Therefore such as die in Christ whatsoever in the mean time become of their bodies shall be raised up to the like life against which death shall never be able to make any attempt or approach For as the Apostle saith Rom. 11. 16. If the first fruit be holy the lump is also holy and if the root be holy so are the branches But we are to remember that there were Two sorts of First fruits appointed by the Law the One of the first corn that was reaped being ground and made up into loaves which were offered at the feast of Pentecost And unto this sort of First fruits the Apostle Rom. 11. 16. hath Reference The other was the offering of green corn when it first begun to bud or ear And unto this sort of First fruits our Apostle here in the twentieth verse hath Reference Christ then is the root and we are the branches he is the First fruits and we are the after-crop and harvest Now as the offering of the First fruits that is of the green corn was the hallowing of the whole crop So the Resurrection of Christ from the grave was the hallowing or consecration of these our mortal bodies unto that glory and immortalitie which shall be at the finall Resurrection If God did accept the offering of the First fruits it was a pledge unto his people that he would extraordinarily bless the after-crop with large increase his people might with confidence expect a joyfull harvest To manifest the meaning or fulfilling of this Type or legal Ceremonie in our Saviour He was raised up from the dead upon that very day in the morning wherein the first fruits of green corn were by the priests of the Law offered unto God His resurrection as was said before was the accomplishment of his
21. verse I speak saith he ver 19. after the manner of men because of the infirmitie of the flesh for as ye have yeilded your members servants unto uncleanness and to iniquitie unto iniquitie even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness For when ye were the servants of sin ye were free to righteousness that is you did acknowledge no service due unto it The implication which he expresseth not is this Being now become the servants of righteousness do as little service unto sin as when you were its servants ye did to righteousness acknowledge none to it for none is due to it especially from you 10. But in the 21. verse if you mark his placing of the words well he puts the case home What fruit had ye then of those things whereof ye are now ashamed What fruit had ye then at that time when ye did them with greediness If the service of sin at any time were fruitful it is questionless then whilst it is a doing For this Dalilah hath the trick to wipe off all shame from her Lovers faces whilst sin is in the action or motion But our Apostle proves this service of sin to be fruitless even then because now when these motions were past it makes them ashamed Nor is the service of sin fruitless only because it bringeth forth shame but therefore more then shamefull full of danger and dread because the shame which it bringeth forth is alwayes the Harbinger or fore-runner of death For so the Apostles adds For the end of those things is death These are the best fruits of their service to sin and sin it self is more then fruitles because the best fruits which it seems to bring are poisonous But now these Romans are called unto the service of a far better master one from whom they have somewhat in re but much more in spe a bountiful earnest for the present of an invaluable recompence and future reward ver 22. But now being free from sin and become servants to God ye have your fruit unto holines and the end everlasting life And finally he binds all his former Exhortations with this undoubted Assertion For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Thus you have seen The dutie whereunto we stand bound by our Baptisme And it is twofold 1. To forsake the Divel the world and the flesh and secondly to betake our selves to the service of God The motives to withdraw us from this service of sin are three The service of it first is fruitless 2. it is shamefull 3. it causeth death to wit a most shamefull bitter and endless death The motives to draw us unto the service of God are Two 1. The present fruit which it yieldeth viz. the peace of conscience or that righteousness which is the flour and Blossom unto Holiness 2. The Final Reward which is a most blessed life without end The First three Motives to withdraw us from the service of sin are as it were linked or mortized one into another The very Fruitlesness of Sins service shuts up into shame and the shame arresting or seazing upon the sinner is no other then the very Harbinger Fore-runner or Serjeant of Death CHAP. XVIII Rom. 6. 21. What Fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed For the end of those things is death c. Of the fruitlesnes of Sin Of the shame That follows and dogs sin as the shadow doth the Body What shame is Whence it ariseth and what Use may be made thereof Of Fame praise and Honour Satans Stales False shame and False Honour The Character of both in Greek and Latine Of Pudor which is alwayes malè Facti of Verecundia which may somtimes be de modo rectè Facti Perijt vir cui Pudor Perijt Erubuit salva res est 1. WE are here to speak somwhat to The First Point which was the fruitlesness of Sin of which more afterwards It was an Ancient saying of a good Writer praestat otiosum esse quam nihil agere it were better to sit still and do nothing then to busie and wearie our selves to no purpose A shame it is in it self but commonly the beginning of a far greater shame to spend our time without any fruit And if we could perswade a man that for the present he labours in vain that for the future he can expect nothing but wearisom trouble for his long pains it would be enough to make him if he have any wit ashamed of what he hath done more then enough unlesse he be impudent to make him give over what he hath begun Yea he is not a wise man that doth not forecast some probable hopes or gainfull issues of his labours before he begin them So our Saviour tels us Luke 14. 28. For which of you intending to build a Tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost whether he have sufficient to finish it Lest haply after he hath laid the foundation and is not able to finish it all that behold it begin to mock him saying This man began to build and was not able to finish If want of forecast to go through with a work which in the beginning promised fruit be a shame or expose men to scorn or mockerie what is it to begin and continue those works whose accomplishing or finishing is more fruitless then the first beginning So that the service of sin is in this respect shamefull because it is Fruitless But if you observe our Apostle well he doth not infer that the works of sin are shamefull because they are Fruitless but that they are Fruitless because they are shamefull Shame and that A positive shame is the natural fruit or issue of all service to sin and not every kinde of positive shame but a shame accompanied or seconded with death That the Apostles Argument may have its full weight or sway upon our souls we are in the First place to examine What shame properly is Secondly What manner of death it is which is the wages of sin 2. Shame is a fear of some evil to ensue Or an impression of some evil present the fear of whose continuance is more greivous than any present smart But though all Shame be a Fear or sense of evil yet every fear or sense of evil doth not cause shame Men naturally fear the loss of goods but as our Saviour intimates Mat. 6. 25. most naturally the loss of their lives Yet if our goods be taken from us by violence we are not ashamed of it the Expectation or sufferance of this evil causeth only sorrow or grief to us it causeth Shame to him that doth it There is no man almost but feareth a violent and undeserved death yet if such a death be set before him it causeth only Sorrow or heaviness of heart a dejection of spirit no Shame or confusion of face Such as die guiltlesse are rather comforted then
were changeable The life it self and the light of the world was in the Son of God John 13. And now dwelleth bodily in Christ who is God and man and when he shall appear the life which is in him shall be imprinted on us we shall be partakers of the life which is unchangeable And as is life he so is he light it self light unchangeable And when we shall see him as he is our knowledge shall from this vision be as He is without possibilitie of change without decay or diminution God saith the Apostle is Love and when we shall see him as he is we shall become like him in this Attribute also that is as his Love to us was everlasting without beginning so our love to him shall be uncessant unchangeable without ending And what expression of true happiness can be more full then to be everlastingly beloved of him who is Love it self and to love him everlastingly The fruition of all things which we desire or love cannot be so much as the the fruition of him who as he is all things else so is he love it self And as was said before although we have all things else which our hearts desire yet till we enjoy his presence we cannot have our hearts desire we cannot have the accomplishment of our love untill we enjoy his presence who is love it self But some will ask What shall we do that we may enjoy the comfort of his everlasting love and presence The Psalmist hath told us in few words Psal 37. 4. Delight thou in the Lord and he shall give thee thy hearts desire But how shall we delight in him whom we have not seen or how should we love him whom we know not We must take notice of our love to God who is invisible from the experience of our love unto our brethren whom we have seen we cannot assure our selves that we delight in him unlesse we delight in his Saints that are on earth This is the Importance of Saint Johns words He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hoth not seen 12. These are the usual Marks or Tokens whereby we are taught to know the truth of Our love towards God and of Our Allegeance to Christ But many there be who call themselves Brethren which have no other bond of brotherhood then Simeon and Levi had Many there be which boast in the Communion of Saints which have no other Union then such as Corah Dathan and Abiram had an Union in Conspiracie against Moses and Aaron against the visible Church and her Governors The Papists will tell you that the Communion of Saints is amongst them in their Church So will the Brownists and other Separatists So will such as live amongst us and yet complain of the burthen of Ceremonies in our Church And how shall men the unlearned specially know which of all these or whether any of these are the true Brethren of Christ or the Saints in which we are bound to delight This as will be replied you may know by their delight in hearing the word for he that loveth God loveth his word he that delights in God delighteth in his word Yea but many delight in the outward letter of the word only or in the word as it is interpreted by Teachers of their own Faction or after their own Fancie men either not able to discern the Evidence of truth or not willing to have it manifested unto them And how then shall any man know whether he love the Lord whether he delight in the Lord by delighting in any of their Societies which pretend themselves to be Christs Brethren to be Gods Saints Surely there is a better way then all these to delight aright in the Lord and to know that we delight in him and yet a way made known unto us by Gods Word A way A direct and plain way which we can not follow but by sincerely delighting in his Word The Word of God doth tell us and all sorts or Sects of men confess it that God is love that he is righteousnesse that he is holinesse that he is the God of all peace that he is good to all that he is merciful and long-suffering Now he that in these things doth imitate God he that is charitable and loving to all he that is merciful and beneficial to all so farre as his means will suffer him he that deals justly and truly with his neighbor he that doth delight in so doing he doth truly delight in the Lord and the Lord in his good time shall give him his hearts desire As there is a sinceritie of Conversation required towards men so likewise there is a Puritie of heart and Conscience towards God and he that delights in this or seeks after this doth delight in the Lord and he only shall truly know that he delights in the Lord or that his hope is stedfast For every one as Saint John saith that hath this hope to wit of seeing God as he is doth purifie his heart as he is pure And our Saviour saith as a blessing to the pure in heart that they shall see God They shall see him in this Life in his Word and in his works and in the life to come they shall see him as he is and be partakers of everlasting life which is the Crown of puritie and holiness CHAP. XXII ROMANS 6. 22 23. But now ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life The Gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Of the Accidental Joyes of the Life to come A particular Terrar or Map of the Kingdom prepared for the Blessed Ones in a Paraphrase upon the Eight Beatitudes or the Blessedness promised to the Eight Qualifications set down in St. Matthew Chapter 5. Eternal Life the strongest obligation to all Duties Satans Two usual wayes of Tempting us Either Per Blanda or per Aspera 1. BUt if in the next life we enjoy His Presence who is Life it self who is Love it self who is All in All at whose right hand is Fulness of pleasures for evermore What need is there of any Access of Accidental or Concomitant Joyes It is true There is no need of them for so they should not be Accidental Therefore are they called Accidental because such as enjoy Gods Presence might be fully happy without them So God himself is most happy in himself he is Happinesse it self Yet even in this that he is Goodnesse it self that he is Happinesse it self he communicates both Goodness and Happiness to his Creatures so far as they are capable of them not by any Necessitie but Freely And when it is said that when we shall see him as he is we shall be like him part of this likeness doth herein consist that we shall communicate this Goodness and happiness to others so far as they are capable of it So that the Accidental or Concomitant Joyes of the life to come whose Essence
you see how the terrour of the last day or fear of everlasting death must work in us an Abstinence from evil or repentance for evil past as the Hope of Everlasting Life doth work patience and constancie in persecution Yet both parts of that brief Receipt Sustine et Abstine may be effected by our serious meditation upon either branch of our belief concerning life and death everlasting For if all the sufferings of this life be not worthy of or equivalent unto the glory which shall be revealed in us we must needs be worthy of and obnoxious to everlasting death if we do not with patience suffer persecution in this life rather then hazard our hopes of Life Eternal Again if the sufferance of everlasting death be much worse then the suffering of all persecutions possible in this life our not repentance at the Terrour of it doth make us uncapable of everlasting life Our hopes of avoiding it by repentance if they be sound and firm will animate and in a manner impell us to follow the wayes of life to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance 4. Seeing then we are thus invironed on the right hand and on the left having the hopes of Eternal Life set before us to encourage us to constancy and resolution and are so strongly beset with inevitable fear of everlasting death if like faint hearted souldiers we should retreat or revoke our vow in Baptisme may not the Lord in Justice take up that complaint against us which sometimes he did against Jerusalem and Judah What could I have done more for my vineyard that I have not done unto it Other means to make men either good men or good Citizens the old world knew none nor could the wit of the wisest Law-givers devise any besides poena et praemium Reward and punishment Now what Kingdom or Common-wealth had either so bountiful Rewards or so dreadful punishments proposed unto them as we Christians have What then is the reason why we of all others are more defective in good duties most fruitful in evil lesse observant or more desperate transgressors of our Princes Lawes then the subjects or Citizens of any other well governed Kingdoms ever were how often do we pawn our hopes of everlasting life upon less occasions then Esau did his birth-right and set Christ our acknowledged Lord and Redeemer to sale at a lower price then Judas did The original of this our desperate neglect or contempt must either be misbelief or unbelief of the Reward promised to well doing or of the Punishment threatned to evil doers And it would be a point very hard to determine Whether of such as make any conscience of their wayes especially since the reformation of Religion more have miscarried through misbelief or through unbelief of this Great Article of our Creed Everlasting life and everlasting death Our Misbelief for the most part concerns the Article of everlasting life Of everlasting death we are rather unbelievers then misbelievers Misbelief alwayes includes a strong belief but the stronger our belief the more dangerous it is if it be wrested or misplaced and the worst way we can misplace our belief of heavenly joyes is when we make our selves certain of our salvation before our time or ranke our selves amongst the elect or heirs not disinheritable of the heavenly kingdom before we have made our Election sure 5. As the absolute infallibilitie of the present Romish Church doth make up the measure of heathenish Idolatry or iniquity So the immature belief of our own salvation or Election doth make up the measure of Jewish or Pharisaical Hypocrisie The manner how it doth so is this If no covetous if no sacrilegious person if no slanderer of his brethren or reviler of his betters can enter into the Kingdom of heaven as it is certain they cannot untill they repent then no man which is certain of his salvation can perswade himself or be perswaded that he is a covetous or sacrilegious person that he is a slanderer of his brethren or a reviler of his betters and hence the Conclusion arising from the Premisses is inevitable that albeit such men as presume of their Election or salvation before their time before they be throughly sanctified do all that covetous or sacrilegious men do be continual slanderers or malicious revilers of their brethren yet it is impossible that they should suspect much less condemn themselves of these crimes until they correct their former errours and rectifie their misbelief or presumption of their immutable estate in grace Yea their errour not being corrected makes them confident in these wicked practises and causes them to mistake hatred to mens persons or envy to others good parts for zeal to Religion and stubbornness in Schisme and faction for Christian charitie or good affection unto truth And if any man of better insight in the Stratagems of Satan shall go about to detect their error or convince them by strength of Reason grounded upon Scripture that their mis-perswasions do branch into Blasphemie and can bring forth no better fruit then Pharisaical hypocrisie yet they usually requite his pains as that young Spanish spark did the Physician which had well nigh cured him of a desperate Phrensie no sooner had he brought him to know what he was indeed no more then a Page though to a great Duke or Grandee of Spain but the Youth instead of a Fee or thankful acknowledgement began to revile and curse the Physician for bringing him out of a pleasant dream of golden mountains much richer then the King of Spain had any it seemed as a kind of hell unto him to see himself to be but a Page who in his raving fits had taken upon him to create Dukes and Earls and to exercise the Acts of Royal Authoritie Very much like him in Horace Epistol Libr. 2. Ep. 2. Fuit haud ignobilis Argis Qui se credebat miros audire Tragoedos In vacuo laetus sessor plausorque Theatro Hic ubi cognatorum opibus curisque refectus Expulit helleboro morbum bilemque meraco Et redit ad sese pol me occidistis amici Non servastis ait cui sic extorta voluptas Et demptus per vim mentis gratissimus Error But with the Originals of Mis-belief besides what is said in our Fifth Book of Comments upon the Creed in this particular we shall have fitter occasion to meet hereafter And the greater part of men amongst us I am perswaded offend more in Unbelief then in Mis-belief 6. And by Unbelief lest we should be mistaken we understand somewhat less then the lowest degree of Infidelity Now of Infidels there be two degrees or ranks Infideles Contradictionis and Infideles purae Negationis He is an Infidel in the former sense that contradicts or opposeth the truth of Scriptures especially concerning Everlasting Life and Everlasting Death and such Infidels I presume there are none amongst us He is an Infidel in the Later Sense that doth not believe the
truth of Scriptures or cannot give a Reason of his Faith or one that neither thinks of Heaven or Hell and such Infidels there be almost in every Congregation But an Unbeliever a man may be although in the General he believe whatsoever the Scripture saith concerning the Resurrection of the Body or Life and Death everlasting unless withall he lay this his Belief to heart unless he have a true estimate as well of the reward proposed to good deeds as of the punishment proposed to evil doers It was a wise Saying of one that was not the wisest Doctor in his time Tractare res humanas norunt plurimi aestimare pauci Many there be that have skill enough in humane affairs that want no wit to atchieve the ends which they propose to themselves and yet but a few which know how to esteem or prize the ends at which they aym aright And of all our Errors and Defects there be but Two General Roots The first An overprizing of secular ends or contentments The second An undervaluing of matters Heavenly specially of Life and Death everlasting The true Reason why many who can discourse well of Heavenly matters and can give a reason of their belief sufficient to convince the Gainsayers of the truth which they believe are not so able to take or give the true Estimate of the things believed is much what the same with that which Philosophers assign Why yong men are no fit Auditors of moral Philosophy or why they prove not so good Proficients in this study as in other Arts and Sciences To learn the Mathematicks as Arithmetick or Geometry yong men or children are as apt as men of mature age And in natural Philosophy they finde no difficulty save onely want of Experience which is never attained unto in just and full measure without length of time or competent number of years Howbeit in the former Studies though all their life time were youth men might attain to the same measure of experience in the same course of time or number of years that they could if all their life were mature age But so it is not in moral Philosophy What is the reason The Philosopher tells us It is because yong men or men whose affections are unsetled can have no taste of moral Goodness or of the sweetness of true vertue And as his Master before him had observed Omnis vita gustu quodam ducitur We must have a Taste or Relish of good or evil or else we shall neither follow the one nor eschew the other with that constancy with that life and courage which is required to Vertue or Morality We may do many good things which a good Christian ought to do and yet not live a Christian life As Herod did Mark 6. 20. who feared and observed Saint John Baptist as a holy Just Man and heard him gladly and when he heard him did many things yet cut off his head 7. To lead a Christian life is more then to be a meer Moral Man although it always includes Morality in it And whatsoever is required to a moral life That and more is necessarily required to a Christian and Godly life And seeing the framing of a true Christian Life depends very much upon the true belief of this Article of Everlasting Life and Everlasting Death the most effectual Method which Gods Ambassadors can use to this end must be to exhibit a true taste or relish of the Goodness contained in the one and of the Evil comprized in the other And this is the Method which by Gods assistance I mean to follow First To set down directions whence or by what means we may take a Tast or Rellish without danger to our souls of Everlasting Death And Secondly How the like Tast or Rellish may be had of Everlasting Life or at the least how we may frame unto our selves a true though a short measure by which we may by diligent meditation take a better Estimate of Both then most men do I will begin with The means how to estimate everlasting Death because it is much easier to have some Tast or Rellish of it then of everlasting Life There is no evil which a man in this life doth suffer no pain or grief but may in some sort serve a diligent meditator to take a view or estimate of the horrors of the second death But alwayes the greater the evil is which we have suffered or have experience of the more fit measure it is for calculating the endless miseries of the Second Death And The very cogitation or remembrance of such particular evils as we have actually suffered or have experience of will be more effectual to withdraw us from those means or practises which procure them then the representation or contemplation of evils in their nature far greater but of which we have had no Tast or experience 8. A Memorable Experiment in this kind we have recorded by Justine and other good Writers of those Scythians which had waged war so long in Asia that their Wives growing weary of their absence did marry with their slaves or bond-men And their slaves being willing to defend the possessions which they had usurpt took arms against their Masters at their return But were quickly routed without stroke of Sword or dint of Lance or other usual weapon of war In stead of these their Masters charged them on horseback with whips in their hands with success according to their own fore-cast or expectation Of hurts or wounds made by Sword or Lance as they wisely did forecast their slaves had formerly had no experience they never had felt the smart or grief of either But their backs had been accustomed to the scourge or lash and the very sight of these weapons reviving the memory of their former smart more affrighted them on a suddain then any terror of war besides could have done To have tried their courage or fortunes either by push of Pike or dint of Sword they would have been more forward then wiser men Dulce bellum inexpertis Want of experience in this kind would have made them for the first brunt at least more insolent and fool-hardy whereas the very sight and noise of the whip whereof they had so often tasted did presently dant them and make them seek their security from it by confused flight The Historical Truth of this Relation and good success of their Stratagem is sealed unto us in the Publick Coin of that Country whose stamp to this day is a man on Horse-back with a whip in his hand 9. It would be a great comfort to us that are Gods Embassadors if we could but perswade men to be as afraid to wrong or deface the monuments of men deceased as the modern Turks are to offer the least indignity unto ordinary papers scattered in the streets or to be as careful in preserving the Goods of the Church as these Infidels are to preserve the least scrap of paper that would otherwise
to be our Redeemer No Act or work of God no not the first work of Creation was of more free Gift or bounty as the Romanists grant or less merited either de Condigno or de Congruo by any work of ours then the work of our Redemption So that the word Merit how often soever it be used by the Antient Latine Fathers carries no weight to sway us to any conceipt of True Worth in our Works for the purchasing of eternal life 3 But what if the Holy Ghost speak thus in Formal or Equivalent Terms as that Eternal life is the wages or stipend of our Works or that our Works are worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven or of the life to come Shall we not subscribe unto him Yes we will if the Romish Church can prove unto us that He thus spake or meant Now that he thus speaks or means they endeavor thus to prove First from all those places of Scripture in which Eternal life is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Merces that is a reward or stipend Now our Saviour himself thus speaketh Matth. 5. 11 12. Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake Rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your Reward in heaven for so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you From this and the like places they labor to infer that the patience of Martyrs is meritorious of Eternal Life To this and the like places the Answer is easie The Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so the Latin Merces imply no more in the Language of the Holy Ghost then our English word Reward And hence the fruit or issue of our paines so it be grateful to men though no way deserved is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So our Saviour saith that the very Hypocrites which do all their works to be seen of men if they gain applause have their Reward Yet no man will say that a dissembler or hypocrite doth deserve or merit this Reward but rather punishment And Rewards we know are sometimes given freely out of meer bountie and liberalitie as well as by way of desert or merit Yea it is not properly a Reward unlesse it be a Gratuitie or Largesse That which a man works for upon Covenant or that which he receives by way of hire is not a Reward but a just Pay or Stipend and though it be most true that God renders to every one according to all his wayes yet in proprietie of speech he is said to reward none but those whom he remembers in mercie and bountie For so it is said Heb. 11. 5. He that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a Rewarder of them that seek him not so of such as seek him not for them he punisheth and no branch of punishment is any branch of Reward This then we learn from our Apostle That the first thing to be believed in all ages is this That there is a God The second That this God is a Rewarder of those that seek him This truly infers That His Reward is worth the seeking after whether it be bestowed upon us in this or in the life to come but it doth not infer that our seeking after it is meritorious or worthy of the least of his Rewards And though Eternal Life be the Best and Last Reward of such as seek God yet it is not the Only Reward that he bestowes on them that seek him yea he bestowes Eternal Life or the Life of Glorie upon none upon whom he doth not first bestow the Reward of Grace The Kingdom of Grace is but the Entrance into the Kingdom of Glorie And when we teach new Converts to pray in the first Place for The Kingdom of Grace and to pray for it as the Reward or Gift of God Yea and the Romanists themselves do grant that no man can merit the Kingdom of Grace which is properly the Reward of such as seek God so that all their Arguments which they draw from this Topick that Eternal Life is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Merces and may therefore be merited by us are altogether groundless All of them conclude Aut nihil aut nimium either nothing at all or a great deal too much As That the First Grace may be merited which they themselves deny 4. Their next chief Topick is that Our works or endeavors are said to be worthy of Eternal Life and that in Canonical Scriptures To this purpose Cardinal Bellarmine citeth that of our Saviour Luke 10. 7. Dignus est operarius mercede sua The Laborer is worthy of his hire But I am perswaded that he took this upon trust from some idle or ignorant Scholler whom he had imployed to rake testimonies for his present purpose If his leisure had served him to look upon the Circumstances of the Text with his own eyes he might clearly have seen that our Saviour there speaks not of Eternal Life or of the Reward or Gift of God but of that Hire which is due unto the Preachers of the Gospel from such as are instructed in the Gospel The other Testimonies alledged by him are more Pertinent though not Concludent And they are in number Three The First is Luke 20. 35. But they that shall be accounted Worthy to obtain that world and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage The second is 2 Thess 1. 4. We our selves saith he glory in you in the Churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure which is a manifest token of the righteous Judgment of God that ye may be counted Worthy of the Kingdom of God For which ye also suffer The third is Revel 3 4. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white for they are Worthy This last Testimony affords them A new Topick or Frame of Arguments which they draw from this and the like places wherein The works or righteousness of the Saints are assigned as True Causes Why they enter into the Kingdom of heaven So our Saviour saith in the Final Sentence Math. 25. 34. Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world FOR I was an hungry and ye gave me meat I was thirstie and ye gave me drink I was a stranger and ye took me in naked and ye cloathed me I was sick and ye visited me I was in prison and ye came unto me This is as much saith Bellarmine as if he had said Ye are Therefore blessed of my Father ye shall Therefore enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Because ye have done these and the like good Works out of your Love and Charitie towards me Now if these works be The Cause Why they enter into the Kingdom of
of them are but Unprofitable servants 2. It was free then for God to create or not to create man but as it was his pleasure to create him so it was necessary that man being created by him he should be created good and righteous Suppose then the First man had continued in his First Estate that is righteous and good his righteousness could have merited nothing of God much lesse Eternal Life It was as free to God to have annihilated him or to have resolved him into nothing as it was to make him of nothing Indeed to have punished him with everlasting death unlesse he had wilfully and through his own default lost his Orginal righteousness could not have stood with the righteousness or goodness of God There was a morall necessity that his Creator should not punish him with everlasting death unlesse he had transgressed his Law and made himself unworthy of everlasting life But the First Man did wilfully and freely that is without any necessity transgresse the Law of his God and make himself and his posteritie unworthy of eternal life That God upon this transgression did not instantly punish him with everlasting death this was An Act of the Free Grace and mercy of God thus he might have done without any impeachment to his Justice without any disparagement to his Goodnesse That unto man thus ill deserving he made A Promise of Redemption and of Restitution to a better Estate then he lost this was An Act of his Mercie and gracious goodness a more Free Act then his first Creation For that was not deserved and therefore Free But not so Free as the Promise of his Redemption after he had justly deserved the contrary to wit condemnation unto everlasting death But this Promise of Redemption through the Womans Seed being freely made is not the performance of it on Gods part necessary Is he not bound by promise to bestow his Grace on all them to whom he promised Redemption Though he be Debter unto no man yet he is Faithful in himself and cannot deny himself or not perform what he hath promised It is true if the parties to whom he promiseth do so demean themselves as they should or as by the Second Covenant they stand bound But who is he can make this Plea with God Who is he that can truly say there was any necessity at that time when the promise was made to our first Parents in the Womans Seed that he should be begotten or born or that he was such a child of promise from the time of Adams Fall as Isaac was And if there were no necessity then that he should be born what necessity is there that he should be partaker of Grace after he is born Or what necessity is there that after the Grace of Baptism received he should come to be of the number of the Elect No man can plead any worth or merit in himself for the receiving of Grace or any necessity whereby God is tyed by promise or otherwise to bestow Grace or perseverance in Grace upon him in particular These and the like Favours must still be sought for by the Prayer of Faith that is by unfeigned acknowledgement of our own unworthinesse and of Gods Free Mercie not only in making the First Decree concerning mans Redemption but in continual dispensing the Effects of the same Decree or the means of our Salvation This is the only way To lay hold upon the General Promise 3. It was no Contradiction in Cardinal Bellarmine as some conceive it after he had strongly disputed for Merit of Works thus to conclude Tutissimum est It is the safest way to place our Confidence in the Merits of Christ This Resolution of his will truly inferre that albeit the Question concerning Merits were doubtful yet we Protestants take the more useful and safer way and the way which Cardinal Bellarmine himself in his Devotions and as I hope on his death bed did take Yet admit his Doctrine concerning Merits had been true indefinitely taken There had been no Contradiction between his Premisses and Conclusion For many things which are unquestionable in Thesi or in the General are doubtful or vncertain in Hypothesi when we come to make particular Application This Doctrine is most true in Thesi That God is faithful in all his promises that he cannot deny himself or falsifie his promise Yet is it not safe for Thee or Me thus to infer that God cannot deny eternal life to us in particular because he hath promised it as sincerely to Thee or Me as to any others The absolute and unchangeable Fidelity of God will not inferre how strongly soever we believe it That either Thou or I are faithful for the present or shall continue faithfull unto the End or until our finall victory over the divel the world and the flesh which is the True Importance of this Phrase To the End in many places of Scripture Now Gods promise of eternal Life is not immediately terminated To any mans Person or Individual Entity but unto such as continue faithful unto the End or unto such as overcome as you may observe in many places of Scripture especially in the second and third Chapters of The Revelation of St. John Now it is a great deal more easie for a man to assure himself that he is faithful for the present or victorious in respect of instant temptations then to assure himself that he shall continue victorious in respect of temptations that may befal him And yet in respect of the deceitfulness of our own hearts it is not safe for most men to make it as an Article of their Faith or point of Absolute Belief that they are so faithful for the present as that God cannot deny Eternal Life unto them though not in respect of their Merits yet in respect of his Promise if they should instantly depart this life So that such as have as full and perfect Interest in the Promises of God as others have may forfeit their Interest as well by Immature Perswasions or Presumptions that they are of the number of the Elect as by conceit of Merit or Confidence in works Both perswasions are dangerous because both prejudice the Free Mercie and Grace of God in bestowing eternal Life or in dispensing the means required unto it The Romish Church saith it was Free for God to give us Grace or ability to do the works of Grace or not to give it but this Grace being Freely given and the works performed it is not Free but Necessary in respect of Gods Justice to give eternal Life as the Reward of Works Others opposite enough to the Papists say that it was Free for God to Elect or not to Elect us unto eternal Life but being Elected it is not Free for God to deny eternal Life unto us For this in their language were to deny himself or falsifie his promise Yet by their leave If we were thus Elected from Eternity it was never Free
Questions St. Pauls first Answer to both Questions An Objection against the Answer in point of Charitie The Answer to that Objection A second objection in point of sufficiencie The Answer to this objection Exceptions against the Proof The Exceptions answered Works truly miraculous may have a less share of Gods Power then usual works of nature See this Authors Sermons printed at Oxon. Anno 1637. pag. 39 40. The 2 d Difficultie urged Aquinas his Solution true but impertinent The Authors Solution of the former Difficultie The Corinthian Naturalists second Question The answer to this Question See Book 10. Fol. 3113. The general use of this Doctrine ☜ ☜ Christians should chuse such friends as have share in the First and hopes of the second Resurrection The Atheist's Exception The Naturalist his Demand See Book 10. Fol. 3113. The Naturalist's Objections framed into a Bodie See Chap. 13. §. 11. It is the very nature of the Matter not to be unum idem The Answer to the Naturalist his Objections * See the Epistle of the Churches of Vienna and Lyons to the Brethren of Asia and Phrygia in Euseb Hist 5. book 1. chap. ad finem There is much good moralitie to be learned from the contemplating the mixtures and separation of metals The Atheists wilie but not wise Objection against the possibilitie of a Resurrection by Recollection of Reliques The same Objection re-inforced The Atheists Objection answered It hath Two Loops First Loop The Second Loop of the Atheists Objection An Ocular Demonstration that the Atheists principles or supposals be False ☜ The scruple incident into an ingenuous minde Vide Glossam Hugonem in hunc Locum How S. Pauls inferences may be collected A Philosophical Maxim advanced and much improved ☞ ☜ See Chap. 4. §. 12. Christs death said to take away sin in a Twofold Sense The First The second Sense The Benefits punctually arising from Christs Death and from His Resurrection Had Christ only died and not risen again Though we had not come in Hell yet we had never come out of the Grave Two sorts of First fruits appointed by the Law ☞ See Paragraph the 7th How we may try our selves See Book 10. Chapt. 28. 30. The Model or Scope of the whole Chapter Of death to sin A natural and a civil death Death to sin is vowed by us in Baptism Meanes also of dying to sin received in baptisme Of baptismall Grace Difference betwixt the Elect and the Elect people of God ☞ In Baptism there is a mutual Astipulation or promise between God and man Ceremonies used at Baptism and the meaning thereof The Regiment of the Law of Grace Prospers Observation ☜ Of shame what it is and whence arising See Aristotle Rhet. l. 2. cap. 6 Ethic. Nic. lib. 4. cap. 15. Satan's Stales false honor and false shame Shame and Modesty ☞ ☜ Our service is due to God upon several Titles ☞ The service of sin and Righteousness compared in regard of this present Life See Chapter the tenth The emptiness and vanitie of sinful pleasures ☞ Gods Method and Satans practise ☞ Holiness bitter in the root or beginning but sweet in the Fruit. See A. Gellius lib. 16. cap. 1. ☞ Our fruitlesness in Holiness to be imputed only to our own ill use of the Talent of Grace given us Plin Epist lib. 10. Ep. 97. Three Heads of preparation to the holy Sacrament Of Bodily Death or the First Death ☜ Desire of death or self Homicide ☜ Of the second Death wherein it exceeds the First ☞ A double Reason of the vehemency of pain or torment in the second death ☞ The duration or Eternity of the second death and pains of it See M Mede on Pro. 21. 16 of the valley of Rephaim Poena damni Sensus Terms subordinate ☜ See Chap. 4 § 15 And Attrib 1 part p 219. 2 part p 27. See Chapt 4 § 12. Possibilitie repentance Worm of conscience Coel Rodigin lib. 8. cap. 2. lib. 25. cap. 1 The unsatisfaction of our desires in the Contentments of this present life See Book 10. Chap. 17. The hearts desire is True Happiness The Full satisfaction of all senses and Faculties in the Life to come Hippocrates See Book 10. Chap. 9 Accidental joyes The Beauteous Place The Holy Companie First in regard of the Place or Seat of the blessed ☜ In regard of the Company there The Eight Beatitudes Matth. 5. The first Beatitude Poor in Spirit ☜ Second Beatitude for Mourners The third Beatitude to the meek spirited ones See chapt 11. §. 7. The fourth Beatitude to Those that hunger and thirst after righteousness 5. Beatitude to the merciful See Master Medes notion of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon Psal 112. 6. 6. Beatitude to the Pure in heart 7. Beatitude to the Peace-makers Patience and resolution in suffering for righteousness Eternal life the strongest motive and obligation to all duty ☜ See Chapt. 10. Section 7. 1 Cor. 10. See Book 10. Chap. 21. The motives Satan uses to to withdraw us ☞ ☜ The Philosophical Precept Sustine et abstine imperfectly good Belief of this Article will work obedience Of reconciliation Active or Grammatically passive only reconciliation really passive See Book 10. Fol. 3267 and 3278. ☞ Infidels of two sorts Cardanus◠Two Roots of Errors ☞ Unbelief of this Article cause of unchristian careless life ☜ The Story of Biblis ☞ See the Chapt. 20. Motives from meditation of eternal death according to general or more particular tasts of it Parisiensis his storie ☜ ☞ A seasonable lesson collected out of Job 21. Isai 14. Ecclus. 19. Rev. 18. 5 6 7. Meditations of the second death to be fitted to several parts of the body of sin for the mortifying of it ☞ Aristotle ☞ See Chap. 10. § 9 10. ☜ Avoid here the presumptuous perswasion of certain salvation and the conceit of Absolute reprobation See Book 10. Chap. 37. 51. ☞ Purge our Braines of The Erroneous Opinion of the Irrespective Decree Meditations or a Tast of Eternal death here fits us better for a tast of eternal life hereafter The force which the Tast of experienced pleasures hath upon mens souls See Book 10. fol. 3181. The Tast or true rellish of eternal joys how gained The use of affliction to that purpose That Tast is the peace of conscience and joy in the holy Ghost to which the working of righteousness is necessary The work of righteousness universal obedience The use of affliction or chastisement to that purpose ☞ ☜ How the Peace of God passeth all understanding This was written thirtie years ago or more The Tumult and discord of Passions in a natural man See Book 10. Fol. 3056. See Hor. Serm. Lib. 2. Sat. 7. See Pers Sat. 5. Of joy in the Holy Ghost No man can truly enjoy himself until he be reconciled to God The Difference betwixt Joy and gladness True knowledge of God in Christ necessary to this joy A joy in the knowledge of any sort
of Truthes The Philosophers Rapt with Joy in Contemplation and Invention * The former of the Two Philosophers was Pythagoras The later was Archimedes Of both see Plutarch in his Book intituled Non posse hominem suaviter vivere secundum Epicurum Much more Joy in the knowledge of saving truths How this tast'd of eternal life is preserved Of questions touching falling from Grace See the Authors Opinion more fully about Sin against the Holy Ghost Book 8. Chap. 3. which Book though published 21. years since I suppose was written after This. They only enjoy and keep this Tast that diligently seek after it and truly prize it The danger of seeking to enjoy worldly Contentments together with this heavenly Tast See this Fallacie in Aristotles Rhetor. Tast of unlawful pleasures deads and looseth the heavenly Tast Unlawful pleasures and sinful acts destroy the heavenly tast both by Efficiency and Demerit How worldly pleasures and temporal contentments come to prevail against the tast of Eternal life Faculties natural and Grace Two Scales Moderating of worldly desires and natural affections necessary for gaining and preserving the heavenly tast ☜ ☜ Seneca Watchfulness and sobrietie also are necessary Sobrietie consists not only in temperance of meat and drink but in Ruling our thoughts and words The final Recompence of our doings Good or bad Chemnitius's Rule The Romanists Allegation from the force of the word merit Hor. de Arte. The Romanists second proof of Merit The Answer The Rom-third Argument Bellarmine his Reasons The Causal Particles For Because and the like imply not merit of Works And see more of them Book 8. Chap. 15. The Freenesse of the Pardon excludes not all qualification but rather requires sincere performance of good Duties Works not properly meritorious but indeed Unworthy of eternal life How Christs temporal sufferings were of infinite merit Why the pleasures of sin though temporary deserve eternal punishment See this Book Fol. 3498. Of the word Gift or Grace Whether the Grace of God or the Effects of his Eternal Favour can be merited by us See Book 10. Fol. 3285. Gods Justice and righteousness in rewarding us does not imply the merit of our works The divers acceptions of Justice or righteousness Should such a thing be our meriting derogates from Christs merits See the fourth Book Chap. 11 16. c. About merit and justification The place perhaps related to in the next paragraph Of Justification the doctrin whereof is corrupted by the doctrin of Merit ☞ How works are excluded from Justification Two rocks to be avoide here Confid in merit of Works and Praemature conceit or presumption of our Election ☞ Eternal life a most Free Gift of God Gods infinite Freedom The true way of laying hold on General Promises It follows not God cannot deny himself ergo I am in and shall persevere in the state of Salvation Equally dangerous to confide in Merit and to presume of Election See Book 10. Chap. 42. Fol. 3228. The Free Gift of eternal life excludes not due Qualifications in the receiver * This was preached at Newcastle upon Tine For whom was the Kingdom of heaven prepared See the 10. Book Chapt. 42. Fol. 3236. c. Humilitie a necessary qualification The third Point The Qualification for receiving this Free Gift Why Christ instanceth in the Scribes and Pharisees Turkish mercie See the discourses following upon that precept Do as you would be done to Two Generals 1. A sentence and that Twofold 2 The Execution thereof Controversies about the Sentence Three Positive verities or Conclusions See The Fathers cited by this Author in his fourth Book Chap. 11. c. about the inseparableness of Faith and works Good works necessary to Salvation Omission of Good Works forfeit our interest in the promises Damnation awarded for Omissions The Romanists wresting Hebr. 11. 6. to maintain merit of Works The third Positive truth mentioned §. 1. handled Chap. 31. ☞ See this Authors Treatise of Justifying Faith or fourth Book Chap. 15. See this Authors Treatise Of Justifying Faith or fourth Book Chap. 15. A Sinister exposition of Saint James 2. 10. ☞ Why Christ instances in works of Charitie rather then of Pietie ☞ ☞ * About Newcastle upon Tine where these were preached The worse the poor be the more we may be charitable unto them All neglect of the poor is sin This spiritual neglect is a sin exceeding sinful Jansenius his Observation A Catholick verity The Definition of merit The state of the Question Consider three things Increase of Grace no more merited then the First Grace About Free-will See an elaborate Treatise Book X. Chap. 24. c. A Syllogism If there be not Ratio Dati Accepti A promise is no Ground of merit How the Papists and Pharisee agree in this point rather how they exceed him The Objection drawn from the Causal Particle For in the text framed and answered Jansenius his Argument The Author his Answer See the 27th Chapter of this Book where this Argument is most fully answered and that with some variation of what is here The miserie and mistakes of man The short or summe of mans Dutie The Coherence The Authors Method Severus Two Grounds of this Rule or Law of Nature Cyrus Scipio Exceptions against these two Rules The Answer to the former Exceptions ☞ More exceptions against that Rule and Answers to them This Rule must be understood of a 〈◊〉 Will. Rigid censuring a Pronostick of falling Q. If nature alone binde men to do good to their enemies How Christ fulfilled the Law * See §. 8. Rom. 12. 20. The Application ☜ Ps 35. 13 Esai 22. 12. Ezek. 21. 10. How this Precept Do as you c containeth all the Second Table So Christ said to St. Peters Lovest thou me Feed my sheep So David said to God Psal 16 My goodness extendeth not to thee But to the Saints that are in earth and to the excellent in whom is all my delight See St. Aug De Civit. Dei Lib. 10. Cap 4. and 15. Cap. 22. and Lud. vives's Comment An Objection against this precept thus improved and expounded An Answer to the Objection A Second Objection Mens affections are right balanced when they be as ready to do as to receive good A double oversight ☞ Good things are only pleasant whilst they rellish of Gods Goodness ☞ Pro. 16. 8. See the 6. Book 2 part chapt 11. page 95. Titus 2. 11 A Dutie semblable to every desire See §. 13. ☜ See St. Basil de 40. Martyr * See the Sermons upon that Text. Chapt. 35 36. The bestmeans to put the dutie in practise Keep an exact Register or Calendar of our Good and evil dayes Deu. 24. 19 ☞ ☞ Ecclus. 11. 25. 27. Psal 41. 1. Beatus qui intelligit super pauperem ☞ Two great inconveniences of wealth and greatness unduly sought See Fol. 3586. ☞ Such mixt deeds are like a Linsy-wolsey Garment or plowing with an Ox and an Ass yoked or lowing miscellan See Chap.
And I beseech the Infinite Mercie to pardon these and all others as fully freely and upon the same termes I desire pardon for mine own I have but Two Things more to say and the One concernes the Vulgar Reader 1. That this Book seems no way lyable to the Objection of Obscurity which hath been sometimes made against some other parts of this Authors Writings the Style here being more easie and Popular as first prepared for His Charge at Newcastle Though to say the truth The Darkness was most-what in the Readers Eye and not in the Object or Authors Writings 2. That the longer the world lasts the more seasonable every day then other will this Book be yea so it must needs be the Essential parts thereof treating of and proving Christs Coming to Judgement The Resurrection and Life Everlasting If any One shall either by reading the Book or the Preface be any thing bettered I beseech him make his Return in Prayers for the Church of England once the Envie and Fear now by the folly of her own children made the scorn of her Aemula That the Lord would so build up her walls set up her Gates and erect her Towers That Her Militancie in his strength may be victorious for His Truth and at last changed into a Triumph in His Glory Which shall be the earnest Request of Her most Unworthy Son and the Readers Humble Servant in the Lord Jesus B. O. ERRATA In the Tenth Book Fol. 3137. lin 16. read some 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of R. In this Book Fol. 3327. lin 26. read Fifth Chapt. Fol. 3789. lin 16. read Cui à nobis reddenda A TABLE Of the Principal Arguments of the several Sections and Chapters contained in this BOOK SECT I. Of Christs Sitting at the Right Hand of God Of the Grammatical sense of the Words and of the Real Dignity answering thereto CHAP. I. Of the Grammatical sense of the words Heb. 10. 12. But this man after he had offered one Sacrifice c. and whether they be meerly Metaphorical pag. 3307 2. Of the Real Dignitie contained in this Article viz. The Exaltation of Christ That Christ was exalted both as the Son of God and the son of David p. 3311 3. In what sense Christs humane Nature may in what sense it may not be said to be infinitely exalted The Question concerning the Ubiquity of Christs Bodie handled p. 3317 4. A Paraphrase upon the sixth of S. John In what sense Christs flesh is said to be truly meat c. What it is To eat Christs Flesh and drink his Blood Of Eating and Drinking Spiritual and Sacramental and whether of them is meant John 6. 56. Of Communion in one kind and Receiving Christs Blood per Concomitantiam Tollets Exposition of Except ye Eat And Drink by disjunction turning And into Or confuted and Rules given for better expounding like Cases How Christ dwells in Us and We in Him The Application All which be seasonable Meditations upon the Lords Supper p. 3328 5. The Great Attribute of Christ His being the Chief Corner stone handled in the foregoing Chapter prosecuted more amply in this Christ is the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets How Christians being built upon this Foundation do grow into an Holy Temple p. 3348 SECT II. Of Christs Lordship or Dominion Phil. 2. 11. That every tongue should confess c. p. 3358 CHAP. 6. What it is to be a Lord. Though there be many called Lords yet there is but One Absolute Lord. ibid. 7. In what Respects or upon what Grounds Christ by peculiar Title is called The Lord. And first of the Title it self Secondly of the Real Grounds unto this Title 3362 8. What our confession of Christ to be The Lord importeth and how it redoundeth to the glory of God the Father SECT III. Of Christs Coming to Judgment CHAP. 9. 2 Cor. 5. 10. insisted upon p. 3375 10. Of the Natural Notions which the Heathens had and the Internal Experiments which every true Christian may have answering to those Notions of a final Judgment 3377 11. By what Authority of Scripture this exercise of the final Judgment is appropriated unto our Lord Jesus Christ p 3390 12 The manner of Christs coming to Judgment which was the third General proposed in the ninth Chapter p. 3401 SECT IV. Of the Resurrection of the Dead CHAP. 13. The Belief of the Article of the Resurrection of high concernment malignantly impugned by Satan and his Agents needs and deserves our best Fortification The Heathens had Implicite notions of a Resurrection The obstacle of impossibility removed by proof of this Conclusion That though all things were annihilated yet God is able to retrieve or recover The Numerical same p. 3422 14. This Argument drawn from Seed sown 1 Cor. 15. 36. c. is a concludent proof of the resurrection of the Bodie p 3434 15. The Objections of the Atheist and the Exceptions of the Naturalist both put fully home and as fully answered The falsitie of the Supposals and Paradoxes rather then Principles of the Atheist discovered and made even palpable by ocular demonstration and by Instances in Bodies Vegetant and Sensitive A Scruple that might trouble some pious mind after all this satisfied A short Application of the Doctrin contained in the whole Chapter p 3444 16 The Apostles method 1 Cor. 15. 16 17 20. in proving the Resurrection peculiar and yet Artificial His way of Natural or reciprocal Infeference both Negative and Assertive justified and shewed That both these Inferences naturally arise and may concludently be gathered from the Text and from the Principles of Christian Belief Wherein the witness false upon supposition ver 14 15. should consist That Philosophical Principle Deus et Natura nihil faciunt frustra divinely improved Gods special and Admirable works have ever a Correspondent that is some extraordinary end How sin is taken away by Christs Death How by his Resurrection How we are justified by Christs Resurrection How we may try our selves and know whether we rightly believe this Article of the Resurrection or no. p 3455 SECT V. Of the Article of Everlasting Life CHAP. XVII Rom. 6. 21 22 23. What fruit had ye then of those things c. The Connexion of the fifth and sixth Chapters to the Romans A Paraphrase upon the sixth chapter The importance of the phrase Dead to sin No Christians in this life so dead to sin as to come up to the Resemblance of Death natural True Christians dead to sin in a proportion to civil death All Christians at least all the Romans to whom S. Paul writes did so in Baptism professe themselves dead to sin and vow death to sin by a true Mortification thereof All have in Baptism or may have a Talent of Grace as an Antidote or Medicine against the deadly Infection of sin as a strengthning to make us victorious over sin Three Motives to deter us from the service of sin 1. It is fruitless 2. It
place either expresly or implicitly to direct our prayers to God the Father that he would be pleased to forgive us our sins to be reconciled unto us and bestow such blessings upon us as he hath promised to such as shall be reconciled unto him In the Second place either expressly or implicitly we are to beseech him to forgive us our sins to be reconciled and blesse us for the merits of his only Son who hath made satisfaction for us This is a Point which every Christian is bound expressely to believe that God the Father doth neither forgive sins nor vouchsafe any Term or Plea of Reconciliation but only for the merits and satisfaction made by the sacrifice of the Son of God who by the eternal spirit offered himself in our humane nature upon the Crosse In the next place we are to believe and acknowledge that as God the Father doth neither forgive nor vouchsafe Reconciliation but for the merits and satisfaction of his only Son so neither will he vouchsafe to conveigh this or any other blessing unto us which his Son hath purchased for us but only through his Son not only through him as our Advocate or Intercessor but through him as our Mediator that is through His humanitie as the Organ or Conduit or as the only Bond by which we are united and reconciled unto the Divine Nature For although the Holy Spirit or Third Person in Trinitie doth immediately and by Personal Proprietie work faith and other spiritual Graces in our Souls yet doth he not by these Spiritual Graces unite our souls or Spirits immediately unto himself but unto Christs Humane Nature He doth as it were till the ground of our hearts and make it fit to receive the seed of life But this seed of righteousnesse immediately flows from the Sun of Righteousnesse whose sweet influence likewise it is which doth immediately season cherish and ripen it The Spirit of life whereby our Adoption and Election is sealed unto us is the real participation of Christs Bodie which was broken and of Christs Blood which was shed for us This is the true and punctual meaning of our Apostles speech 1 Cor. 15. 45. The first man Adam was made a living soul or as the Syriack hath it Animale Corpus an enlivened bodie but the second Adam was made a quickning spirit and immediately becometh such to all those which as truely bear his image by the Spirit of Regeneration which issues from him as they have born the Image of the first Adam by natural propagation And this again is the true and punctual meaning of our Saviours words John 6. 63. It is the Spirit that quickneth the flesh profiteth nothing the words that I speak unto you are spirit and life For so he had said in the verses before to such as were offended at his words what if you should see the Son of man ascend up where he was before The Implication conteined in the Connexion between these two verses and the precedent is this That Christs Virtual presence or the influence of life which his Humane Nature was to distil from his heavenly Throne should be more profitable to such as were capable of it then his Bodily presence then the bodily Eating of his flesh and blood could be although it had been convertible into their bodily substance This distillation of life and immortalitie from his glorified Humane Nature is that which the Ancient and Orthodoxal Church did mean in their Figurative and lofty speeches of Christs Real presence or of eating His very Flesh and drinking His very Blood in the Sacrament And the Sacramental Bread is called His Bodie and the Sacramental Wine His Blood as for other reasons so especially for This that the vertue or influence of his Bloody Sacrifice is most plentifully and most effectually distilled from heaven unto the worthy Receivers of the Eucharist And unto this Point and no further will most of the Testimonies reach which Bellarmin in his books of the Sacraments or Maldonat in his Comments upon the sixth of Saint John do quote out of the Fathers for Christs Real Presence by Transubstantiation or which Chemnitius that Learned Lutheran in his Books De duabus in Christo naturis and de Fundamentis sanae doctrinae doth avouch for Consubstantiation And if thus much had been as distinctly granted to the Ancient Lutherans as Calvin in some places doth the controversie between the Lutheran and other Reformed Churches had been at an end when it first begun Both Parties acknowledging Saint Cyrill to be the fittest Umpire in this Controversie The end of the Third Chapter A Transition of the Publisher's IT must not be dissembled that I had no Intimation much lesse Commission of the Author's to Insert the Two following Chapters herein this place Yet besides that I knew not of any fitter place where to dispose of them I had these Reasons so to do 1. I held it fit that His Powerful Disputes against the Church of Rome about The Lords Supper in the fourth Chapter and about another Point in the fifth should immediately follow his Learned Argument with the Lutheran 2. The sequence seems very Methodical The Subject of the first Chapter being partly About Christs Exaltation by becoming The Chief Corner-Stone cut out of the Rock or quarrey by his Resurrection from The New Scpulchre lifted up by his Ascension and placed at the Chief Corner by his Sitting at Gods Right-hand and partly about The Union of Christ with true Christians which Union is both a Considerable part of the fourth Chapter and was happily touched upon in the Close of the Third 3. In case any Restive soul should perhaps some faint Dejected Spirit having read Christs Great Exaltation may say Who shall ascend into Heaven that is to bring Christ down from above Such an one besides the quickenings he may hear from other Remembrancers Saint Peter telling us that we are pilgrims here and Saint Paul that we seek a Countrie and look for a Citie Jerusalem that is Free and that being Fellow-Citizens with the Saints and of Gods hous-hold our Conversation or Traffick is to be in heaven for those things which are above where Christ sitteth at Gods Right-hand c. may receive mightie encouragement by Experimenting the Contents of these two next Chapters The avowed neer approach and Intimacie of our Lord Jesus Christ with the Believing and Receiving Christian The word is nigh thee even in thy mouth and in thy heart When the holy Sacramental pledges be in the mouth and Faith in the heart The Word the Eternal Word that was made flesh is nigh indeed For Verily Verily He that eateth my Fesh and drinketh my Blood dwelleth in Me and I in Him CHAP. 1111. A Paraphrase upon the sixth of St. John In what sense Christ's flesh is said to be truly Meat c. What it is To eat Christs Flesh and drink his Blood Of eating and drinking Spiritual and Sacramental And whether of them is meant
John 6. 56. Of Communion in one Kind and receiving Christs Blood per Concomitantiam Tollet's Exposition of Christs words Except ye eat And drink by Disjunction turning And into Or Confuted And Rules given for Better Expounding like places How Christ dwels in us and we in him The Application All which be seasonable Meditations upon the Lords Supper John 6. 56. He that eateth my Flesh and Drinketh my Blood dwelleth in Me and I in Him Or abideth in me and I in him 1. SEeing these words contain the Grand Mystery of godliness not only of God manifested in the Flesh but of God still with us yea dwelling in us and seeing they are withal the Conclusion or Centre of our Saviours long dispute with the murmuring Jews It will be necessarie to unfold the chief Contents of this Chapter At the tenth verse you may read how our Saviour had satisfied five thousand hungry souls with five barley loves and two fishes and filled twelve baskets with the fragments upon the Experience of this strange wonder this great multitude sought to make him their King A good Project I must confesse if we value it onely by the usual measure or aime of popular Elections What people would not be willing to have such an one for their King as were able to feed a whole Armie without Contribution Tax or Toll from them without any further toil and care either on their part or his then giving of thanks and distribution of extemporarie provision by his Ministers But besides this politick motive they had a Prenotion that their expected Messias or King should enter upon his Kingdom at the Feast of the Passover a little before which time this Miracle was wrought And it was a received Opinion as Tacitus telleth us that there should a great King about this time arise in Judah Nor did this people err much in the circumstance of time wherein their Messias should be enthron'd in the Kingdom of David for so he was at or soon after the Passover following But they utterly mistook the nature of his Kingdom and the manner of his Reign Yet in that they sought to make this man for so and no more then so they conceived him to be their King it is more then probable that they took him for their expected Messias And indeed upon sight of the Miracle which he had wrought they expressly confesse so much ver 14. This is of a truth That Prophet which should come into the world But seeing neither his Kingdome was of this world nor was he to be instated in it by the voyces and suffrages of men he who knew all times and seasons knew this was not the time of his Coronation and therfore when he perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a King he departed again into a mountain himself alone ver 15. And his Disciples being for the present discharged of their attendance crost the sea without him to Capernaum which was the place of his and their abode ver 16 17. The people which had been more then eye-witnesses of the former miracle having observed that he could not come to Capernaum where the next day they found him by ship or boat demand of him ver 25. Rabbi when camest thou hither The strange manner of his coming thither before them did it seems no lesse affect them then the former miracle though neither did affect them as was fitting for so our Saviour plainly tells them ver 26. Verily verily I say unto you ye seek me not because ye saw the miracles but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled These were the same men which saw the miracle but in seeing it they did not see it that is they did not in heart consider that he had fed their bodies with corporal bread to no other end save only to stir up the appetite of their souls after celestial food So our Saviour testifies unto them ver 27. Labour not for the meat which perisheth but for that meat which endureth to everlasting life which the Son of man shall give unto you for him hath God the Father sealed that is he was to be a King of Gods appointing not of theirs 2. Now albeit the former miracle of five loaves and two fishes had extorted that confession from them before mentioned Of a truth this is that Prophet which should come into the world yet this reproof of our Saviour's provokes them to question the validitie of their former verdict for they demand a further sign of him before they will acknowledge that he was indeed the Great Prophet or one whom they might believe was sent from God for so they say ver 30 31. What sign shewest thou then that we may see and believe thee What dost thou work our Fathers did eate Manna in the desert as it is written he gave them bread from heaven to eate The question at last comes to this issue Whether the Manna which their Fathers did eate in the wildernesse were the true bread of life or bread from heaven better then which they were not to expect Our Saviour maintaines the negative ver 32 33. Verily Verily I say unto you Moses gave you not that bread from heaven but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world All this they can well brook in Thesi or General for so they reply ver 34. Lord evermore give us this bread But when our Saviour comes from the Thesis to the Hypothesis or from the general Doctrine which they so well approved to make this particular Application I am the bread of life he that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst ver 35. They leave their questioning and fall to murmuring taking a sudden occasion or strange hint of offence at his person or Parentage Whereas before they were forward to make him their King they now reply Is not this Jesus the son of Joseph whose father and mother we know How is it then that he saith I came down from heaven vers 42. 3. Thus their fathers had murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wildernesse one while for want of bread Exod. 16. 2. accounting their estate in Egypt much better than their present condition in the wildernesse Another while they murmur for water Exod. 15. 24. And again Exod. 17. 3. Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our Children and Cattle with thirst Thus they murmured against Moses whom they had seen to work so mightie wonders And thus their foolish posteritie murmured against Him whom for the former miracle they had acknowledged the great Prophet whom God had promised to raise up unto them like unto Moses in all things and therefore like unto him in this in that he endured their murmurings against him with greater patience
and meekenesse than Moses did albeit they had no such occasion of murmuring as their forefathers had For their Fathers murmured in their hunger or thirst whereas this great Prophet had prevented this occasion of murmuring by feeding them plenteously before they had sought to him for food That which Moses saith unto the murmuring Israelites Exod. 16. 8. was now exactly fullfilled The Lord saith he heareth your murmurings which you murmur against him and what are wee Your murmurings are not against us but against the Lord. These Jewes murmur against the son as they suppose of Joseph and Mary lesse weening that in murmuring against him they did personally murmur against the Son of God then their Fathers did when they murmured against Moses that they had murmured against their God But the same Lord which heard their murmurings then by the mediate presence or infinite knowledge of his God head heares them now with the eares of man as immediately and as sensibly as Moses heard their Fathers murmur Now as God in the wildernesse though he heard their Fathers murmurings did yet grant them their desire at evening ye shall eat flesh in the morning ye shall be filled with bread and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God Exod. 16. 12 So the same Lord now albeit this foolish people murmur against him to his face not for denying but for proffering them the true food of life is so farre from chiding them as Moses did that he presseth them to make try all of his bountie and to accept his proffer with greater vehemency of words yet with more meeknesse of language than Moses did at any time use Murmur not saith he amongst your selves ver 43. c. I am that bread of life your fathers did eat Manna in the wildernesse and are dead This is the bread which cometh downe from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not dye I am the living bread that came downe from heaven if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever and the bread that I will give is my flesh w ch I will give for the life of the world 48 49 50 51. And here again they increase their murmuring for they strove among themselves saying how can this man give us his flesh to eat v. 52. Thus as their Fathers tempted God in their hearts by asking meat for their Lust Ps 78. 18. so have their posteritie They fought him out that they might have their bellye 's filled with corporal bread and yet when he had given them this in great abundance by meanes miraculous they will not beleive that he is able to give them what he promiseth bread from heaven or his flesh to eate which is the bread or staff of life So incredulous their Fathers had been that after the sight of many miracles in Egypt they would not trust him in the wildernesse after the experience of one miracle in the wildern esse they would not trust him for a second They Spake against God they said can God furnish a table in the wildernesse Behold he smote the Rock that the waters gushed out and the streames over-flowed but can he give bread also can he provide flesh for his people therefore the Lord heard this and was wroth so a fire was kindled against Jacob and anger came up against Israel because they beleived not in God and trusted not in his salvation But now this Salvation of God even God himself made their Jesus or Salvation for all is one is come neerer unto this later people and yet they will not beleeve him they will not trust in him Yet his anger is not presently kindled against them for not beleiving The more they doubt the more they question the more they murmur or strive the more he presseth the necessitie of eating his flesh upon them first Negatively verily verily I say unto you except yee eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood yee have no life in you then Affirmatively Who so eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternall life and I will raise him up at the last day vers 53 54. And lastly he gives the reason as well of the negative as of the affirmative For my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed vers 55. So that in him these Jewes were to expect the fulnesse of the body of all those contentments for whose shadowes their Fathers so greedily longed in the wildernesse and for want of which they so murmured against Moses as these men now do against the Lord which appeared to Moses for giving them assurance of them 4. In what sense Christs flesh is said to be truely meate and his blood to be truely drink I have shewd elswhere The summe was this His flesh is meat indeed his blood is drink indeed non Formaliter sed Eminenter meat indeed and drink indeed not in respect of the natural qualities of corporal meat and drink for these must be swallowed concocted digested and finally converted into our bodily substance That Christs flesh according to these qualities is truely meat or his blood truely drink the Romish Church doth not avouch For if his body should be concocted or digested or converted into our bodily substance it should suffer corruption And to be swallowed only and not concocted is no propertie of meat or drink Christs Flesh then is said truly meat and his blood drink indeed in respect of the End whereto all manner of food is destinated The best End of all bodily food is to preserve or continue bodily life And that is the best food or diet which most effectually procureth this End Howbeit bodily life cannot be first given or implanted by the best bodily meat that is but only continuated or preserved But Christs Flesh was given not only to continue life but to give life unto the world it is the root of life as well as the food of life If we speak of life spiritual or Everlasting which onely is life indeed And in as much as his flesh and blood are the rootes and fountaines of this kind of life the one is most truely said to be meat indeed the other most truely drink indeed That is meat and drink more effectuall and more necessary for the attainement of everlasting life than bodily food is for life temporal Again Temporal or bodily life cannot be continued or preserved otherwise than by the corruption or destruction of the bodily meate which preserves it But Christs flesh and blood preserve life spiritual or our soules and bodies unto everlasting life because they are incorruptible and cannot be changed be not so much as subject to alteration Now if all other meat besides this must suffer corruption and lose its nature before it can become a cause or meanes of preserving bodily life Such meat cannot be truely said to remain in us much lesse can wee be said to remain or abide in it But of Christs flesh and
place of Sacramental eating and drinking was because they saw no possibilitie how to maintain the peremptorie decrees of the Councels of Constance and Basil concerning Communion under one kind if the words of our Saviour ver 53. of this Chapter be to be understood of Sacramental eating and drinking For it is granted by all that the Consecrated bread is Sacramentally his Bodie not his Blood and that the Cup is Sacramentally his Blood not his Bodie And yet our Saviours words are express Except ye eate the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood ye have no life in you So that all which hope to have life must Sacramentally drink his blood aswel as eat his flesh if this place be meant of Sacramental eating That evasion which most oâ—â— modern Priests and Jesuites use for eluding rather then answering this Objection was too palpable in the Judgement of these two great Divines as it since hath seemed to others of that Church which yet maintain that the former words of our Saviour are to be understood of Sacramental eating Christs flesh and drinking Christs blood The evasion of modern Priests and Jesuits is that he which Sacramentally receives Christs Bodie under the shape or form of Sacramental bread doth with it receive his blood per Concomitantiam by way of concomitancie because there is blood conteined in his bodie which they thus receive But this cannot satisfie any Romish Divine which understands himself or the ancient Doctrine which that Church pretends to follow For this device of receiving Christs blood in the bread per concomitantiam was but a late invention little above 200. years before Jansenius or Hessels lived And the newnesse of this imagination or invention which was generally applauded in the Romish Church in his time was one special motive why that Reverend Pastor of Blessed memorie Mr. Gilpin did disclaim the Romish Churches Doctrine in the Point of Transubstantiation as Bishop Tunstall his Uncle before him had done Secondly Admitting the bread were turned into Christs very bodie and after this conversion had blood in it as truly as flesh and bones yet all this would not salve the literal sense of our Saviours words in the 53 d verse if the eating and drinking which he there speaks of were Sacramental For suppose a man should feed upon raw flesh or upon flesh which had visible or material blood in it we might say indeed that he did eat blood per concomitantiam by way of concomitancie because the flesh which he eats had blood in it But no man would say That he did drink blood per concomitantiam For eating and drinking are two distinct acts and incompatible at one and the same time He that eateth flesh with blood in it doth not eat the flesh and drink the blood whilest he only eats but eats both together the one as principal the other as an appurtenance if he eat as a man and not as Swine do draugh which is no more an eating then a drinking Or if a man should drink blood mingled with some small portions of flesh we might say He did drink flesh by way of Concomitancie but no man would say that he did eat blood per concomitantiam albeit there were flesh in the blood which he drinks for he drinks both together he doth not eat either And for these reasons Pope Innocent expressely denies that he which eats Christs bodie whilst he only eats it doth drink his blood In his fourth Book Myster Evangel Legis ac Sacramenti Eucharist Chap. 21. Edit Venet. in quarto 8. The only refuge which the most learned in the Romish Church since Jansenius and Hessels dyed have found out for answering the former Objection of Reformed Writers is That the words of our Saviour Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of man And drink his blood ye have no life in you are to be Expounded disjunctively as thus Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of man Or drink his blood ye have no life in you The use or Corollarie of this Exposition is That if Christian people do Sacramentally Either eat Christs flesh Or drink his Blood as they ought that is with due preparation this will suffice seeing as they pretend there is no Divine precept which enjoynes all Christian People Sacramentally to receive Christs bodie and blood under both kindes Nor all Priests but only such as do Officiate or Consecrate The precept of Institution Bibite ex hoc omnes Drink ye all of this was punctually directed as they alledg to our Saviours Apostles only who were at this time made Priests and authorized to minister Christs bodie and blood after his death Yet were they not by their leave at this time Sacerdotes conficientes Our Saviour Christ himself did Consecrate both the Bread and Wine the Apostles were as much inferior to him as the meanest Lay-people are to the greatest Priest in the Romish Church to the Pope or summus Pontifex himself But the further Discussion of this Point belongs more properly to the words of the Institution The other Point of expounding et by vel or of shuffling in Or for And belongs to the Cognizance of the 53 and 56. verses To justifie this exposition Cardinal Tollet would perswade us That St Johns Greek Text is full of Hebraismes and there is nothing more familiar with Moses or with other sacred Hebrew writers then to use And for Or Et for Vel. And he brings divers instances to this purpose As for example that in Exod. 21. 17. He that curseth father And mother shall surely be put to death So it is word for word in the Hebrew and yet our English Translation as well as the Vulgar Latin renders the Original thus He that curseth father Or mother shall surely be put to death And it would be an ungodly Evasion for any Magistrate not to censure him as a transgressour of this Law which curseth his father albeit he do not curse his mother or which curseth his mother albeit he do not curse but rather blesse his father But must the true interpretation of such as are to judge according to this Law be derived from the peculiar phrase or dialect of the Hebrews No this was Cardinal Tollet's Errour for the Rule of Interpretation so the matter or circumstance be the same would hold as true in any dialect or language whatsoever The Question then is What certain general Rule we have when or in what cases the conjunctive particle And doth produce this or the like disjunctive sense or may warrant this or the like Exposition of this Law He that curseth father And mother shall surely die that is he which curseth Either father Or mother shall surely die For the like Exposition the Rules are Two One General and infallible Rule is this Whensoever the particle And doth couple not two parts of one and the same proposition but two intire propositions together That which is thus conjunctively affirmed of
to me saith the Psalmist Psal 71. 3. my strong habitation whereto I may continually resort thou hast given commandement to save me for thou art my Rock and my Fortresse But that Christ is the Rock of our Salvation of our habitation in distresse is a point which needs no further proof no amplification Yet seeing he is our dwelling place the Rock of our Habitation in whom we dwell How can he be said to dwell in us An house may be said to be in the Citie but may we say that the Citie is in the house Men dwel in Houses or Tents but was it ever heard that Houses or Tents did dwell in men that are the Lords and owners of them The branch may abide in the Tree So may the Graft in the Stock but who would say That the Tree abideth in the Branch or the Stock in the Graft How then is it said That the Rock both of our Salvation and Habitation the Sanctuarie of our Souls in all distresse doth dwell in us How can He who is the Root of Jesse the Root of David Revel 5. 5. The True Vine which Gods own Right-Hand hath planted abide in us who are but wild slips lately ingrafted into the Stem from which the natural Branches were broken off 20. The Difficultie arising from this Doubled Comparison though really but One must be handled in Two First How Christ may be said to dwell in us and we in Him Secondly How He may be said to abide in us and not we in Him onely This mutual Inhabitation and Reciprocal abode or In-Being is very mystical and admirable Yet may our apprehension of it be facilitated by observing some resemblances thereof in other things far different To name that First which is worst That possession of the Bodie of man which evil Spirits did usurp in our Saviours time is in H. Scripture oft set down in terms denoting the Evil Spirits being in the man Matth. 12. 45. They enter in and dwell there and Ch. 8. 31. if thou cast us out suffer us to go into the Herd of swine And Acts. 19. 16. The man in whom the evil spirit was Yet doth S. Mark Chapt. 1. 23. and Chapt. 5. 2. expresse this in the Original as if the man was in an Evil Spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Logick and Philosophie tell us that The whole is in the parts and the parts in the whole whether it be a Totum potentiale or Universale as Genus which is in the Species the Species likewise in the Genus or whether it be Totum Collectivum so the Citie is in the Several Families or Houshoulds and these again are in the Citie Some Good Divines have taken notice of That Speech or expression Enter thou into thy Masters Joy as importing the wondrous amplitude thereof it is such as cannot be comprehended or contained within him but he must enter into it Yet sure that Joy doth both Satiate the Soul and Replenish the Bodie of him that enters into it He is as if we could suppose a large Vessel of Chrystal or transparent Gold let down into a Sea of Nectar or living waters But the expressions of Scripture about God the Father his being in Christ and Christ in Him and in us and of our Being in Him and of Christ his Holy Spirit being in us is various Especially In S. John Chap. 14. verses 10 11 16 17 20 23. and perhaps more easie to be experimented by the Christian Union with God then to be explayned in words more easie then the texts themselves 21. To let these pass then The proposed Difficulties must have their proper Solutions the former from the explication of that Great Attribute of Christ to wit that He is the Chief-corner stone c. The other Difficultie referres to that Metaphor of the vine and the Branches or of the Stock and the Grafts Christ is compared unto A stone or Rock and wee unto living Stones built upon it in respect of the strength and firmness of the foundation and structure of Gods House or Temple He is again rightly compared to the vine to an Olive or other more fruitfull tree and we unto Branches or grafts not springing from the Root but ingrafted into it in respect of our growth in Him and of the Diffusion of His virtue into us and through us That we are built upon Christ as the Apostle saith Eph. 2. 20. this doth argue that we dwell in him that Hee is the Rock of our habitation In that we are built on him as on the Chief Corner-stone not under Him onely as He is Summus angularis lapis the Chief Stone at the Topp but upon Him as Lapis imus the First-Foundation-stone too and that a Living stone which was cut out of the Mountain without Hands and which was to grow into a Mountain filling the whole earth This inferres That he must dwell in us For the stone which Daniel speakes of did not become a great mountain so great a mountain as should fill all the earth by addition or by heaping or building one stone upon another but by the growth of life that is by increase or augmentation of the same stone Did this stone then increase or grow from small beginings unto a mountain overspreading the whole earth If this wee say the rock of our salvation or habitation must receive increase of life and become a greater habitation or dwelling place in this last Age than he had been in any former But how should this be true seeing he is and was the rock of ages the Rock on which the world it self is Founded the rock by which the earth it self which supporteth all other rocks is supported Heb. 1. 3. 22. Such a Rock he was from eternitie as he is God not as he is man As man he was first as a little stone yet a growing stone for he grew in wisdom and stature and favour with God and man Luke 2. 52. As God he could not be the corner-stone which God had promised to lay in Sion Yet was Christ who was both God and man That stone which was layd in Sion And as he which was both God and man did suffer for us was raysed again the third day from the dead not according to his Godhead but according to his manhood So was he the same Christ which was both God and man the stone layd in Sion not according to his Godhead but according to his manhood This gives us the ordinary interpretation of the Prophet Esay Chapt. 28. 16. But A late Interpreter of prophecies or visions hath observed an Hypallage or inversion in these words not infrequent in the Prophets familiar as he alledgeth to the Hebrew writers such an inversion as Grammarians observe in that of the Poet In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas Corpora That is Formes changed into new bodies for bodies changed into new formes Thus saith this late Interpreter when the Prophet saith
meer instinct of nature or would be as far to seek if he were put to give the true reason of it as the poor Pilgrim in the Fable was who being kindly entertained by a Satyr which had found him blowing his fingers for extremity of cold in the woods was unkindly thrust out of his house only for seeking to cool his broth with the same breath wherewith he had warmed his fingers 4. But in what practises or resolutions in the heathen was this divine truth of a Judgment after this life necessarily included The particulars are many but most of them may be reduced unto this General As many of the heathens as either esteemed the love of virtue honestie or godliness more dear then this mortal life with its appurtenances temporal or as many of them as did abhorre the practise of any villani or impietie more than death whatsoever they themselves did expresly say or think concerning this Article of Final Judgment in particular did by these practises or resolutions give authentick testimony unto it Now that virtue or honesty were to be more esteemed then this mortal life with all the commodities of it the most part of heathen Philosophers besides the Sect of Epicures did grant and maintain The Stoicks went further in the esteem of moral virtue then any wise Christian will do in practise then any good Christian ought to do in opinion but of their errors or Hyperboles anon Aristotle the Prince of Philosophers grants that there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that some things be absolutely good so good that a man ought to love them more than life or rather to abandon life than their practise Some things again he grants absolutely evil So evil that a man ought rather to chuse death then adventure upon them such are Treason against our native Country Incest Perjury c. This great Philosopher in expresly granting thus much is necessarily concluded by his own Principles to grant a life after this life ended much better then this and a death or an estate of life much worse than death to such as have lived and died dishonestly Nor is he thus far concluded onely by his own Principles but by the very Principles of Nature whose chief Secretary he was For every thing that hath Being doth by an indispensable Law of nature desire the continuance of such Being as it hath but most of all of its Well-being or bettering of its present estate Now if mans hopes or fears were terminated in this life as needs they must with this life be terminated unless we grant a Judgment after death or an award of the evils which men fear or of the good things which they hope every man were bound in reason and by nature to seek the preservation or continuance of his own life before all things in the world besides Nothing were to be esteemed worse then a bodily death nothing so good as continuation of bodily life with health and competency Much better it were to be a part of this visible world then utterly not to Be. To avoid or put off this utter not-Being so long as were possible no devise could be dishonest no practise amiss We do not blame bruit beasts for making what shift they can for maintaining or saving their lives no means which they can use to this end onely are by us accounted foul for as we say they do but follow kind or do as nature directs them But what is the reason why in thus doing they do not amiss nor deserve blame Because nothing can be so ill to them as death nothing so good as life But for a Man to transform himself into a Beast or to continue beastly or filthy practices for continuance or preservation of his bodily life this the very Heathens did detest as unnatural base and odious What was the reason they saw by light of nature that man had better hopes then beasts are capable of as it were wrapped up for him in the constant practice of honesty and vertue and was capable withal of greater evil which might accrew from a dishonest and filthy life then any evil that is incident to the nature of beasts yet did not that Good which good men did aim at either in practice of virtue or by declining vice always betide them in this life in the Judgement of most Heathen 5. Two things there were which most later Heathens not the Stoicks onely did highly extol in Regulus the one That he did prefer the love of his Countrie before the contentments of this life which he might have enjoyed in plenteous manner The other That he did prefer a lingring and cruel death before the stain or guilt of perjury For being in hold or durance amongst the Carthaginians he was remitted to Rome upon oath That if he did not effect what they had given him in charge to treat for he should return again to Carthage and undergo such punishment as they should think fit to inflict It was in his power to have effected with the Romans that which the Carthaginians did desire but he would not use his power to perswade but rather to disswade the Romans from condescending to their enemies desire because he saw it would be prejudicial to their Commonweal and posterity though advantageous to him in particular But he accounted it rather loss then gain as well to himself as to the Roman State to save the life though of some worthy Peer as he was by breach of Oath or Perjury and in this resolution he returned unto the Carthaginians although he knew they resolved to put him to cruel and lingring torture The Observation upon this resolution of Regulus which will generally serve for all the like by what Heathen soever practised or commended is briefly This No humane practise or resolution can be truly commendable but onely so far as it helps to make the Practitioner a better man then he was before or could continue to be without such practise Was Regulus then a better man by this practise then without it he could have been Or did it truly propagate or continue that goodness which before he had If he by doing this did not continue his former goodness or become a better man his commendations are unjust the Fact it self was not truly commendable was no argument either of reason or wit in the Practiser or of honesty in the Resolution If by this Resolution he became a better man then before he was or without it could have been somewhat of Regulus did after the accomplishment of this fact remain to receive the due reward of this Resolution as either his soul his body or both For every real Accident or Attribute necessarily supposeth a real subject to support it and if no better doom had been reserved for Regulus then that which the Carthaginians his chief Judges on earth did award him he could not possibly either have continued or bettered his well-being by undertaking it it was altogether impossible for him to
become a better man by this practise by which he doth utterly cease to be a man if his hopes had been terminated with this mortal life or if he had not remained capable of reward or punishment after death That very thing was even by the verdict of the Heathen highly magnified in Regulus a wise States-man and good Patriot which in a bruit Beast of what kinde soever would have been accounted and that justly more then unreasonableness a very madness For no beast unless it be altogether mad will evidently expose it self to death That which exempts Regulus his witting exposing of himself to a more cruel death then any sober man could finde in his heart to put a dumb beast unto from censure of Folly was The managing of his undertakings by Resolution and Reason And all the reason that he had thus to resolve was That he hoped not utterly to perish as beasts do although certain he was to die Beasts which run upon their own deaths are therefore accounted mad because by death they utterly cease from being what they were For them to desire death is to desire their utter destruction which they could not desire but seek by all means possible to avoid unless they had first put of all common sense wherein the height of their madness consists Regulus was therefore accounted manly resolute and resolutely wise for that in choosing rather to die then to live with stain of perjury or taint his soul with breach of oath he did not desire his own destruction but the continuation of his well-being or bettering his own or his Countries estate And this his desire or resolution which supposeth another sentence after this life ended the Heathens which so highly magnified his resolution did subscribe unto as good and fit to be imitated by all honest men and true Patriots albeit perhaps most of them were unwilling to be his seconds in like attempts when the matter came to the tryal 6. Nor did the Romans onely commend this Resolution in Regulus whose Memory for well deserving of that Commonweal they had in perpetual Reverence But other Heathens which did detest the very name of Christians and eagerly sought the extirpation of Christs Church on earth did as much admire and commend the like in Christian Bishops Two memorable stories very apposite to this purpose come to my minde the one related by St. Gregory Nazianzen the other by St. Austin Nazianzens story is of Bishop Marcus Arethusus who was sentenced to a cruel death and torture by Julian the Emperor unless he would at his own cost and charges build up an Idol Temple which he had caused to be pulled down After that his persecutors had brought the damages required at his hands so low that if he would be content to give but an Angel or some small piece of Gold currant in those times to the re-edifying of the Temple which he had destroyed he should live yet he persevered so constantly in his former Resolution which was not to give so much as a peny by way of Contribution for building up any house of Iniquity that his Persecutors were ashamed to take life from him Saint Augustine in his Tract against Lying tells us of Bishop Firmus who being pressed to bewray another Christian Brother whose death or Turning the Heathens earnestly sought having strong presumptions that This good Bishop knew where he was after many torments and threats of more with great constancy refused All the words that they could wrest from him were these Mentiri non possum I cannot lie and yet he must haue lyed if he had denyed that he knew where the Party was whose life they sought But as I cannot lie so I cannot become a Traytor or Bewrayer of my Brother do what you will or can unto me This constant Resolution as Saint Austine testifies did so turn the edge of his Persecutors malice into admiration and reverence of his integrity that they dismist him with honor Howbeit there had been no wit or praise-worthiness in the practise unless the Practiser had expected some beter Sentence after Death to which he did thus constantly expose himself then the applause of these Heathens which he could not hope for which he did not expect And the heathens in commending and admiring his constancy and integrity did though faintly or unwittingly yet necessarily subscribe unto the truth of his hopes or belief of a Iudgment after death as also unto that Oracle of God delivered by his Apostle that seeing Christ hath laid down his life for us we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren 1 Iohn 3. 16. At least we ought to expose our selves to bodily death rather then suffer them to be put upon the hazard of death eternal As it is likely this Good Bishop feared lest he should hazard this poor Christian soul whose death or Turning the Heathens sought being not so certain of his Resolution as of his own but doubtful whether he would not deny Christ or renounce the Christian Faith rather then suffer such tortures as he now felt or expose himself to such a violent and cruel death as they threatned him with 7. Again The most wise and learned among the heathen Philosophers did place Felicity or true happiness in the constant practise of Virtue as in Temperance Justice Wisdom c. The Stoicks were so wedded to this Opinion that they held virtue to be a sufficient recompence to it self at what rate soever it was purchased or maintained though with the loss of life and limbs with the most exquisite and lingring tortures that our senses are capable of They esteemed Regulus more happy even in the middest of his torments then his persecutors were or could be in the height of their mirth and prosperity or in the perfect fruition of their health or best contentments of their senses or understandings Yea so far they went that they judged Regulus to perpetual happiness albeit he had been perpetually or everlastingly so tormented as for a time he was But This 〈…〉 as was formerly intimated then any good Christian is bound to believe 〈…〉 we are bound to believe the contrary For so St. Paul who was more virtuously constant then Regulus was in his profession more then virtuously Religiously constant in all the wayes of Godliness tels us 1 Cor. 15. 19. That if in this life only we had hope that is were quite without hopes of a better life then this present is we Christians such good Christians as he himself was were of all men the most miserable The Heathen then the Stoicks especially did well and wisely in acknowledging Felicity to consist in Virtue in acknowleding Virtue to be a full recompence to it self in respect of any temporary evil or punishment that could be opposed unto it They wisely resolved in holding them more happy which did suffer torments for a good Cause then they which made it a part of their pleasure or happiness
and new matter come into their places Augmentation and growth in vegetables necessarily supposeth nutrition and nutrition includes a dayly decay of nutriment gotten or of the matter whereof the body consists and a new supply or reparation of the matter or substance lost or wasted by preparation of some new nutriment A Raven likewise is the self same Fowl when it is ready to die for age that it was when it was first hatched but the matter of it cannot possibly be the self same it is not conceivable that so much as an inch of the same matter which it had when it was first hatched should continue in it the same till death For its natural heat doth perpetually consume or wast some part of its matter or substance and its blood without perpetual nourishment by new food or matter prepared would be dried up by its natural heat For life consists in calido et humido in heat and moisture and cannot be continued in any live creature without continual nutriment more then the fire or flame can be preserved without fewel Nor could the life or natural heat wherein life specially consists stand in such perpetual need of nutrition or new mater whereon to feed unless there were a continual dissolution of some material parts which vanish or expire out of the body though not so visibly yet as certainly as fume or smoak doth out of the fewel wherewith the fire or flame is fed Unless there were some precedent diminution or wasting of the material parts in mans body there could be no proper growth or augmentation of the whole body or of every part For if every least particle did remain the same it was as well for quantitie as for qualitie the whole body could not be augmented in every part but it must be as great again as it was before after every such growth or Augmentation For there can be no Augmentation or growth in any part otherwise then by addition of some sensible nutriment Now if every least part be augmented by addition of some new or sensible matter or substance the addition which is made unto every least part would be as great as the part to which it is added For it is supposed that every least part is augmented and augmented it cannot be but by addition of some other sensible body which cannot be less then the least part sensible of a body or of a sensible body 7. But if we grant as the truth is that the material parts of the body augmented remain not the self same to day which they were yesterday or a week ago but are still fluent and wasting other material parts coming into their place with some addition of quantitie so as the addition in bodies growing by dayly nutriment be still greater then the wast or diminution The manner of natural growth or augmentation may be easily conceived And it was a truth of nature excellently expressed by the great Philosopher Aucto toto augetur quaelibet pars etiam minutissima Whensoever the whole body is augmented every least part is augmented As if the whole body in the space of a year be augmented by the quantitie of a palm or a span the thousandth part of the body must be augmented by the thousandth part of a palm or span But thus the whole body as the same Philosopher observes is in every part augmented non quoad formam sed quoad materiam And his reason is qua materia est in perpetuo fluxu because the material parts of mans body are perpetually fluent alwayes decaying and alwayes repaired It is a maxim again of the same Philosopher that Auctum manet idem numero that every vegetable body being augmented how long soever the growth or augmentation lasts is numerically the same it was The case then is clear out of the Book of Nature by which the Atheist or infidel will only be tryed That the body or bodily life of man how long soever he live remains one and the same from his birth unto his death albeit the matter of which his body is composed and wherein his life is seated do not remain the same As the face or image of the Sun remains the same in a water or river albeit the parts of the water in which it is imprinted do not continue the same but as one portion of water slideth away another comes in its place altogether as apt to take the impression or picture of the Sun as the former Or as the light continues one and the same in a lamp albeit the oil which preserves its light do continually wast For one drop or portion of the same oyl or of new oyl poured in is as apt to continue the light as the former drops were which are wasted The light then remains the self same albeit the oyl continually wast So that unto numerical Identitie of the same light the numerical unitie or Identitie or the same portion of oil is not required cannot possibly be had It sufficeth that the oyl or matter which feeds the lamp be the same by Equivalencie By these and many like unquestionable instances in nature the Atheists or infidels supposition is altogether false to wit That unto the Resurrection of the same body or unto the restauration of the same bodily life the Identitie of matter or of material parts which it formerly had is necessarily required I adde that This Identitie or unitie of matter is less needfull unto the numerical unitie or Identitie of mans body because the soul of man amongst all other vegetables is only immortal and remaineth the same it was after it be severed from the body 8. Taking then the first supposition of the Atheists as True Suppose the bodily matter of some men to have been altogether or intirely transubstantiatea or changed into the bodily substance of some other men and that two or three of such men might have the whole bodily substance of some other man or child in their bodies when they died it is no probable Argument or forcible Objection to say This man or child whose bodily substance is supposed to be converted into the substance of other men cannot arise again with the same body which he had because he cannot have the same matter which he had unless the other lose some part of the matter which they had in them when they died Suppose the material parts of every man were utterly annihilated when they died yet their bodies may be made the self same again which they were not only by Creation of new matter out of nothing but out of any matter or Elements prae-existent so prepared and proportioned to their individual nature or bodily life as the former was For the numerical unitie or individual entitie of every nature consists in the unitie or proportioned correspondencie to that modell whereto the Almighty Creator did frame it To conclude then seeing the Resurrection of the same bodies wherein we die must be wrought by the Power of God
wherein thou shalt not be yet shalt thou be made again All times are alike to God His power to make thee again cannot be restrained by thy weakness or not Being it cannot be shortened by any length of time All of us that now are all the Generations that hereafter shall be must appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ that all may receive in the body according to the things done in the body whether they be good or bad For he shall recompence every man according to all his works Yea so recompence That both those which now deny it and those that now believe and confess it shall from experience then say Verily there is a Reward for the Righteous Doubtlesse there is a God that judgeth the earth CHAP. XVI 1. COR. 15 16 17 20. 16. For if the dead Rise not then is not Christ raised 17. And if Christ be not raised your faith is vain you are yet in your sins c. 20. But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the First-Fruits of them that slept The Apostles Method in proving The Resurrection peculiar and yet artificial His way of mutual or reciprocal Inference both Negative and Assertive justified and shewed That both these Inferences naturally arise and may concludently be gathered from the Text and from the Principles of Christian Belief Wherein the witness false upon supposition verse 14 15. should consist That Philosophical Principle Deus natura nihil faciunt frustrà divinely improved Gods special and admirable works have ever A Correspondent That is some extraordinarie rare End How sin is taken away by Christ's death How by His Resurrection How we are justified by Christ's Resurrection How we may try our selves and know Whether we rightly believe this Article Of the Resurrection of the Dead or No. 1. THat the Resurrection from death to life is in nature possible as implying no Contradiction though unto nature or any natural Agent most impossible hath been discussed at large before That there shall De Facto be a Resurrection unto Glorie meerly depends upon the Will and Pleasure or powerful Ordinance of God who as we believe is able to effect whatsoever His Will or Pleasure is should be wrought And our Belief of this Resurrection unto Glorie must be grounded upon His Will and pleasure revealed in Scriptures How Gods Will and Pleasure to raise up the Dead in Christ to an endless immortal and most happy Life hath been clearly revealed by his Prophets in The Old Testament I have shewed other-where and any one of ordinary observation in Reading the Scriptures and Commentators may Collect. Especially taking Example and light from our blessed Saviour his managing that Text Exod. 3. 6. I am the God of Abraham c. in his Argument with the Sadduces who both denied the Resurrection and disputed as they thought subtilly and irrefragably against it And observing the great dexteritie of St. Peter in the second and of St. Paul in the thirteenth of the Acts in proving the Resurrection of Christ out of the Psalms and out of the Prophet Isaiah and how fitly St. Paul in the 54. and 55. verses of this Chapter makes application of the Prophecie of Hosea Chap. 13. v. 14. unto the proper matter and season wherein it shall Consummativè be fulfilled I shall here make such observations as naturally arise from the verses before recited and from other verses in that Chapter wherein The Apostle useth such a method or manner of Argument to prove the Resurrection from the Dead as neither Moses nor any Prophet had used before They indeed foretold and fore-signified respectively that Christ should die and rise again and that all which believe in him should be raised to a life immortal with him But the Connexion betwixt these two Assertions which we are bound severally to believe from the authoritie of Moses and the Prophets as That Christs Resurrection from the grave should be the necessarie Cause of our Resurrection or That our future Resurrection should necessarily infer Christs Resurrection from the dead or that the denial or doubt of our Resurrection should infer a denial or doubt of his Resurrection is more then can easily be gathered out of Moses or the Prophets This mutual Inference of the ones Resurrection by the other whether Negatively or Assertively was first made by our Apostle in this place at least in expresse Terms though implicitely made by our Saviour before Our Apostle in making this mutual Inference seems in the Judgment of some to transgress or violate the Laws of Argumentation generally agreed upon in the School of nature which notwithstanding he elsewhere and usually more exquisitely observes then any Naturalist doth The Inferences made by our Apostle are radically and generally Two The One Negative Per Reductionem ad impossibile aut absurdum The other Affirmative by Positive Proof The Negative hath many branches The First is ver 13. If there be no Resurrection of the dead then is Christ not risen The Second springs out of this in the 14. verse And if Christ be not risen then is our preaching vain and your faith is also vain And yet of this their Faith One Branch was Their Belief in Christs death and passion The Third Branch seems to spring out of both these verse 15. Yea and we are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ whom he raised not up if so be that the dead rise not The First Branch is resumed again by our Apostle in the sixteenth verse and the Second likewise in the seventeenth with this Addition that If Christ be not raised then such as believe in Christ are yet in their sins And ver 18. Then they which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished not only frustrated of their hopes of the life to come but deprived or couzened of such pleasures or contentments of this life as the unbelievers injoy and without loss or detriment might injoy if the dead were not to be raised up or if Christ were not already raised from the dead For he saith ver 19. If in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable The affirmative inference is contained in ver 12. 20. Now if Christ be Preached that he rose from the dead how say some among you that there is no Resurrection from the dead This interrogation resolved into an Affirmative imports thus much If we truly Preach and you truly believe that Christ was raised from the dead then we must of necessity Preach and you of necessity believe that there shall be a general Resurrection of the dead and that such as die in Christ shall be raised up to immortal Glory And this affirmative is expressly assumed by our Apostle ver 20. But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept And afterward by him powerfully re-inforced as may be seen in the 21 22
23. verses That this is our Apostles intent and meaning there can be no question All The difficultie is how either the Negative inferences or inconveniences which he presseth upon such as deny the Resurrection of the dead or the affirmative points which he chargeth these Corinthians and in them us undoubtedly to believe can be concludently gathered from the principles of our beleif 2. To begin with the Negative Inferences and in particular with the third Branch ver 15. Yea and We are found false witnesses of God c. Let us examine wherein did wherein could the falshood of this Testimonie consist Some perhaps would reply that We are not to say any thing of God though not benefitting his Majestie but that which is most true We are not indeed so far as we know or believe But albeit we fail in that we speak of him yet this is not enough to convince us of bearing false Testimony of Him To say or speak that of any which we take to be the Truth and to say it not with purpose to caluminate or slander but rather to his praise or commendations is not to bear false Testimonie of him much less against him albeit we be out of charitie mistaken in that which we say of him Admit then That the Apostle had been in some errour concerning the Resurrection when he first taught the Romans and these Corinthians That As Christ was raised from the dead to life immortal so we also in good time shall be raised to the same or like imortal life and that as he So we also should be raised by the immediate power of God his supposed mistake in the latter could not convince him of bearing false Testimonie on Gods behalf seeing that which he saith concerning the Resurrection of others besides Christ from the dead doth tend to Gods glory For to bear false Testimony of or against any Doth alwayes include some mater of imputation of aspersion or prejudice Whether we bear such testimony of God or of man What imputation or prejudice was it then to affirm that God had raised up Christ from the dead if there were no general Resurrection of others from the dead or wherein doth the falshood of the testimonie which our Apostle seeks to avert from himself punctually consist Did it consist in saying That he raised up Christ whom he did not raise up if so be the dead rise not The Apostle doth not suppose it as questionable much lesse simply deny it That God did raise up Christ from the dead but only deduceth his adversary to this inconvenience or absurditie that if the dead were not raised up then Christ was not raised and that he had born false witness of God in saying that he had raised up Christ So that The ground of the false Testimony lies in the denying of others Resurrection from the dead Yea to avouch that God did raise up Christ from the dead although the fact were true and unquestionable that God did raise him up were in our Apostles Divinitie to lay an imputation or slander on God if so be that such as beleive in Christ and die in Christ should not be raised up unto blisse and glory Better it were or at least less evil in our Apostles Judgement to deny that Christ was risen from the dead then granting This to deny The Resurrection of such as sleep in Christ For to grant the former and to deny the Latter were to cast an imputation of folly upon God and an aspersion of imposture upon the Son of God Christ Jesus our Lord. What imputation then is it unto God or how doth this Aspersion rise and fall upon Christ or his Apostle by granting that Christ was indeed raised up and yet denying that the dead shall be raised up again 3. It is a Maxim in Philosophie generally acknowledged if not first conceived by the heathens Deus et natura nihil frustra Faciunt God and nature work nothing in vain From this principle such of the heathens as knew not God such as denyed His providence or knew not how to distinguish him or it from nature held it an impietie or prophaness to slander nature either of Errour in her working or of folly in producing effects to no good end or purpose Some there were which did question whether Monsters as children which are born with two heads with more Toes or fingers then are usual c. were not Errata naturae errours imperfections or oversights of nature But they finally resolve that albeit such events might fall out by the errour or contrary to the intentions or indeavours of That particular nature wherein these misfigurations were found yet they were intended by a more General nature and intended by it to some good use and purpose As commonly prodigious births do portend somewhat whose knowledge is usefull and good for others Now the Heathens erred in ascribing that to general or universal Nature which was peculiar unto God who is the Author Moderator and guide of Nature whether general or particular And if by general or Universal nature they meant no other thing then we do by the guide and God of nature Mentem teneant Linguam corrigant their meaning was good but their expression of it much amiss This we know that God doth suffer or cause nature oft times to miscarry in her course or projects for ends best known to himself No man is born blind or deaf or dumb without some errour or defect in that particular nature whereof or by which his body is framed All these and the like effects are besides the intention or contrary to the endeavour of nature which alwayes aymes at the best Hence our Saviours Disciples as we read John 9. ver 2. When they saw a man which was blind from his birth asked of their master who did sin this man or his parents that he was born blind They had not moved this Question unless by light of nature they had known that blindness from his birth was contrarie to the ordinarie and common course of nature though not contrarie but consonant to the Will of God in this particular For it is more then probable that they had read though then perhaps they did not actually remember who made the dumb or the deaf him that seeth or the blind Have not I the Lord Exod. 4. 11. God they likewise knew did for some good end or just cause either suffer or cause nature to miscarry in this man And they likewise knew sin to be a just cause of many miscarriages in the humane nature And hence they question Whether God had punished this man with blindness from the birth for his own or for his parents sins But they themselves did erre in collecting That extraordinarie blindness had befallen him either for some extraordinarie sins of his own or of his parents and this error our Saviour rectifies ver 3. Neither hath this man sinned nor his parents that is neither of them
consecration to the priesthood after the order of Melchisedec His presentation of himself to his Father as our High-Priest and as the First fruits from the dead was the most acceptable offering or sacrifice that ever was offered unto God a matter of greater joy and triumph to all the inhabitants of Heaven then Isaac's safe return from the intended sacrifice was to Abrahams familie or then Josephs advancement in Egypt was to old Jacob. Now if the First fruits from the dead were thus acceptable unto God we cannot distrust but that the after-crop shall prosper and shall be gathered by the Angels of God when the the time of ripeness shall come into everlasting habitations However in the mean time it be sown it shall be reaped in Glory and possesse its glory in immortalitie This Article then of Christs Resurrection from the dead and of his becoming the First fruits of them that sleep is the ground or root of all our Apostles Inferences from vers 35 to the end of this chapter concerning the Resurrection or the estate of their bodies that shall be raised to life but of these we have spoken at large before The sum of all is intimated by our Saviour himself John 12. 23 24. The hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified Verily I say unto you except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die it abideth alone but if it die it bringeth forth muh fruit Thus much likewise was foretold by the Prophet Esay in that Evangelical Prophecie Esay 53. 10. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his Seed he shall prolong his dayes and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand Now this pleasure of the Lord was our full Redemption 10. To conclude this point Albeit our Sins were taken away by Christs death in both the Senses before mentioned and albeit in this life we be Actually Justified that is actually acquitted from the guilt of sins past by Belief in Christs Death and Resurrection and freed likewise from the rage and tyrannie of sin by Participation of his Grace and Inhabitation of his Spirit in us yet shall we not be Absolutely and Finally Justified that is freed from all Reliques of sin inherent until we be made partakers of his Glorie This must be the Accomplishment of our Justification by Faith in this life And it is no Paradox or strange opinion to say that We sinful men shall be finally Justified by utter extirpation of sin out of our nature at our last Resurrection When as Christ himself in whom sin never took any root much less bore any branch into whom no seed of sin did ever fall is said to be Justified by His Resurrection from the Dead that is acquitted from all burthen of our sins But where is Christ said in this sense to be Justified In the 1 Tim. 3. 16 Without controversie Great is the mysterie of godlinesse God was manifested in the flesh and Justified in the Spirit To omit all other interpretation of this phrase St. Paul means the very self same thing by saying Christ is Justified in the Spirit that St. Peter means when he saith He was quickened in the Spirit 1 Pet. 3. 18. Both mean That he was Justified or freed by the Spirit or Power of the Godhead from death or any other further burthen of our sins Christ saith St. Paul Heb. 9. 28. was once offered to bear the sins of many and unto them that look for him he shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation that is to free us from the power of death and all burthen of sin from which he himself was freed at His Resurrection So then it is in its time and place most true which the Romish Church doth most untruly teach that there is a Justification by inherent righteousnesse But this Justification cannot be had may not be expected in this life it cannot be accomplished in us until that Change be wrought whereof our Apostle speaks verse 51. of this Chapter This Final Justification by this blessed Change is the full Effect or final issue of Christs Resurrection from the dead he that doth not believe this future change or final issue of Christs Resurrection doth bear false Testimonie of God or against him even whilst he saith that he believeth that Christ was raised from the dead For to grant Christs Resurrection from the dead and to deny or doubt of this Final Justification or Absolution of all true believers in his Resurrection from the reliques of sin is to cast an Aspersion upon God himself as if he had wrought this great work of Christs Resurrection frustra that is to no Use or End correspondent to such a mighty Ground-work or Foundation 11. Every man then is bound to believe That all true Beleivers of Christs Resurrection from the dead shall be undoubted partakers of that endlesse and immortal glory unto which Christ hath been raised But no man is bound to beleive his own Resurrection in particular unto such glory any further or upon more certain terms then he can upon just and deliberate Examination find that he himself doth truly and stedfastly believe this Fundamental Article of Christs Resurrection from the dead Now if it were certainly determined and agreed upon by all what it were truly and stedfastly to believe this Article all the controversies concerning the Certaintie of Salvation or Irrevocable Justification in this life by Faith would determine themselves and be at an end But of the Examination of our Faith or of its truth sincerity or strength we shall have fitter occasion and more full time to speak in unfolding of the last part of the Article of Christs coming to Judgment that is the manner of the Process in the Award of final Sentence In the mean time it shall suffice to admonish the Reader That he rate not the truth or measure the strength of his Belief in this main Article of Christs Resurrection only by the strength of his perswasions of its Speculative and General Truth specially in the absence of temptations to the contrarie or whiles it is opposed to the exceptions of Atheists or Insidels which deny or oppugn it How then must the truth or strength of our Belief or Faith in this Article be measured Only by our stedfast and constant practise of the Special Duties whereunto the belief of it doth bind all professors of it Now the Special Duties whereunto the Belief of it doth bind us are succinctly and pithily set down by our Apostle Col. 3. 1 2. If then ye be risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God set your affections on things above not on things on earth c. And verse the 5. Mortifie therefore your members which are upon earth fornication uncleannesse inordinate affection evil concupiscence and covetousness which is Idolatry And verse 8. Put off all these anger
life is but a walking prison or moveable Cage unto the immortal soul yet the soul being long accustomed to this prison doth naturally chuse to continue in it still rather then to be uncertain whither to repair after it go hence That some Heathens have taken upon them to let their souls out of their bodies before the time appointed by course of nature or doom given upon them by their supream Judge This was but such a delusion of Sathan as one man somtimes in malice puts upon another For so oftimes a secret enemie or false friend hath perswaded others to break the prison whereto they were upon presumption rather then on evidence of any notorious fact committed to make them by this means unquestionably lyable unto the punishment of death which without such an escape they might have escaped For any man wittingly and willingly to separate the soul and body which God hath joyned is A damnable presumption an usurpation of Gods own office or Authoritie To sollicit or sue for a divorce betwixt them is not safe for any save only for such as have Good Assurance or probable hopes that when they are dissolved they shall be with Christ Now the souls of such as die in him have no desire to return unto the former prison of the body But such as have not in this life been espoused unto him would chuse rather to remain in or to return unto their former prison then to be held in custody by their spiritual enemies Their estate for the present is worse then the sufferance of bodily death being charged both with perpetual sufferance and expectation to suffer the second death 3. And this death differs more from the First death then inter numerandum that is more then in order of accompt or rank of place What then is not the second death a privation of life Yes it is all this and somewhat more besides Every vice includes a privation of the contrary vertue and is a great deal worse then want of vertue So every sickness includes a privation of some branch of health and is much worse then a Neutralitie or middle temper if any such there be between health and sickness So doth the Second death include an extream contrarietie to life and all the contentments of it Blindness is a meer privation of sight and the eye which cannot see is dead in respect of this branch of life and this death or deprivation of this sense is only matter of losse The eye or subject of sight oft-times after the loss of sight suffers no pain no more doth the ear after it becomes deaf nor the sense of feeling after it be numm'd A man stricken with the palsie feels no smart in that part which it possesseth Whilest any part of our body is sensible of pain it is an argument that it is yet alive not quite dead And yet is all pain rather a branch of death then of life For much better it were to die the first death then to live continually in deadly pain No man but would be willing to loose a tooth rather then to have it perpetually tormented with the tooth-ach Now the second death is no other then a perpetual living unto deadly pain or torture Bodily death or not being is not so much worse then life natural with all its contentments as the second death is worse then the First or the bodily pains which can accompany it The parts or branches of the first death are altogether as many as the parts of life natural The seat or subject of the second death is larger There is no member of the body or facultie of the soul whether sensitive or rational which becomes not the seat or subject of the second death As this death is the wages of sin so it is for Extention commensurable unto the body of sin Now there is no part or facultie in man which in this life hath been free from sin And whatsoever part or facultie hath in this life been polluted with sin becomes the seat dwelling place of the second death Wheresoever sin did enter it did enter but as an Harbinger to take up so many several Roomes for that death Who is he that can say that lust hath not sometimes entred in at the eye that the seeds of lust of Envy of murther and of other sins have not taken possession of the ear that his tongue or tast hath not given entertainment to ryot gluttony and excesse in meat and drink That his sense of smell hath not been sometimes a pander to these and the like Exorbitances And the other fifth or grosse sense of Touch is as the common bed of sin for it spreads it self throughout all the rest and is the foundation of every other external sense 4. To give you then a true map of the second death and more then a Map of it or of their estate that are subject unto it we cannot exhibit The Map with the true scale for measuring the Region of death with the miserable estate of its inhabitants is thus Nature and common Experience afford us These general un-erring Rules That all pain and grief are improved by one of these two means or by both As First by enlarging the capacitie of every sense or facultie which is capable of pain or discontent Secondly by the vehemency or violence of the object or agent which makes the impression upon the passive sense or capacitie One and the same Agent aswell for qualitie as for intention of its active force doth not make the same impression upon different subjects though both capable of impression As one and the same flame and steam of fire hath not one and the same effect on iron steel and wax though all of them be in the same distance from it Quicquid recipitur recipitur ad modum recipientis How powerful soever any Agent be the Patient can receive or retein no more of its power then it is capable of Again how capable soever the Patient be of any violent impression yet the capacitie of it is not filled unlesse the force of the Agent be proportionable unto it And though it be able to receive never so much yet it is true again Nihil dat quod non habet nec plus dat quam habet No creature no Agent whatsoever can bestow any greater measure whether of good or evil whether of pain or pleasure then is conteined within the sphere of its activitie From these unquestionable Principles this Universal Conclusion will undoubtedly follow That all excesse or full measure of pain of grief or woe of every branch of malum poenae must amount from the improved capacitie of the sense or facultie which receives impression and from the strength and potencie of the Object which makes the impression 5. There is no humane body which is not by nature capable of the Gout yet such as are accustomed to courser fare to moderate dyet and hard labour are lesse capable
presence is of the two the worse And certain it is that it cannot be less seeing that Everlasting Life which is The Gift of God and Crown of holiness is at the least so much better as the second death or pains of hell are worse then this mortal life But if I mistake not the Members of this Distinction concerning the punishment of losse and the punishment of sense by pain are not altogether Opposite but Co-incident The very conceit or remembrance of this infinite loss and of their folly in procuring it cannot but breed an insufferable measure of grief and sorrow unto the damned which will be fully equivalent to all their bodily pain And this fretting remembrance and perpetual reflection upon the folly of their former wayes is as I take it That Worm of Conscience that never dies But of this hereafter The miserable estate of the damned or such as shall suffer the second death may be reduced to these two Heads to Punishment Essential or to Punishment Accidental or concomitant The Essential Punishment comprehends both Poena damni and Poena sensus The positive pains of that brimstone Lake and the Worm of Conscience which gnaweth upon their souls The Punishment Accidental or concomitant is that Loathsomnesse of the Region or place wherein they are tormented and of their Companions in these torments In this life that Saying is generally true Solamen miseris Socios habuisse doloris it is alwayes some comfort to have Consorts in our pain or distress But this Saying is out of date in the Region of death the more there be that suffer these pains the less comfort there is to every one in particular For there is no concord or consort but perpetual discord which is alwayes so much greater by how much the parties discording are more in number And to live in continual discord though with but some few is a kind of Hell on earth And thus much in brief of the second death wherein it exceeds the First 10. If any one that shall read this should but suspect or fear that God had inevitably ordained him unto this death or created him to no better end then to the day of wrath This very cogitation could not but much abate his love towards God Whom no man can truly love unless he be first perswaded That God is good and loving not towards his Elect only but toward all men towards himself in particular But this opinion of Absolute Reprobation or ordination to the day of wrath I pray may never enter into any mans brains But flesh and blood though not polluted with this Opinion will if not repine and murmur yet perhaps demur a while upon another Point more questionable to wit How it may stand with the Justice of the most righteous Judge to recompence the pleasures of sin in this life which is but short with such exquisite and everlasting torments in the life to come Specially seeing the pleasures of sin are but transient neither enjoyed nor pursued but by interposed Fits whereas the torments of that Lake are uncessantly perpetual and admit no intermission The usual Answer to this Quaere is That every sin deserves a punishment infinite as being committed against an infinite Majestie But seeing this answer hath no Ground or warrant from the Rule of Faith in which neither the Maxim it self is expresly contained nor can it be deduced thence by any good Consequence we may examine it by the Rule of Reason Now by the Rule of Reason and proportion the punishment due to offences as committed against an infinite Majestie should not be punishment infinite for time and duration but infinite for qualitie or extremitie of pain whiles it continues If every minute of sinful pleasures in this world should be recompenced with a thousand years of Hell-pains this might seem rigorous and harsh to be conceived of him that is as infinite in Goodness as in Greatness as full of Mercie as of Majestie But whatsoever our thoughts or wayes be his wayes we know are equal and just most equal not in themselves only but even unto such as in sobrietie of spirit consider them But wherein doth the equalitie of his wayes or justice appear when he recompenceth the momentany pleasures of sin with such unspeakable everlasting torments It appears in this That he sentenceth no creatures unto such endlesse pains but only such as he had first ordained unto an endlesse life so much better at least then this bodily and mortal life as the second death is worse then it Adam had an immortal life as a pledge or earnest of an eternal life in possession and had not lost it either for himself or us if he had not wilfully declined unto the wayes of death of which the righteous Judge had fore-warned him Now when life and death are so set before us as that Hold is given us of life to recompence the wilful choice of death with death it self this is most equal and just And if the righteous Lord had sentenced our first Parents unto the second death immediately upon their first transgression his sentence had been but just and equal their destruction had been from themselves Yet as all this had been no more then just so it had been less then justice moderated or rather over-ruled by mercie Now instead of executing justice upon our first Parents the righteous Lord did immediately promise a gratious redemption and as one of the Antients said Foelix peccatum quod talem meruit Redemptorem it was a happy sin which gave occasion of the promise of such a Redeemer 11. But did this extraordinary mercy promised to Adam extend it self to all or to Adam only or to some few that should proceed from him Our publick Liturgie our Articles of Religion and other Acts of our Church extend it to Adam and to all that came after him But how the Nations whom God as yet hath not called unto the light of his Gospel or whose fore-elders he did not call unto the knowledge of his Laws given unto Israel how either Fathers or Children came to forsake the mercies wherein the whole humane nature in our first Parents was interested is A Secret known to God and not fit to be disputed in particular This we are sure of in the General That God did not forsake them till they had forsaken their own mercies But for our selves All of us have been by Baptism re-ordained unto a better estate then Adam lost Now if upon our first second third or fourth open breach or wilful contempt of our Vow in Baptism the Lord had sentenced us unto everlasting death or given Satan a Commission or warrant to pay us the wages of sin this had been but just and right his wayes in this had been equal because our wayes were so unequal But now he hath so long time spared us and given us so large a time of repentance seeking to win us unto his love by many blessings and
favours bestowed upon us This as the Apostle speakes is the riches of his bountie certainly exceeding great mercy much greater then justice even mercy triumphing against judgment Now if after all this we shall continue to provoke him and defer our repentance turning his Grace into wantonness making the plentifulness of his word the nurse and fuel of Schism and faction no judgement can be too great no pain too grievous either for Qualitie or for Continuance 12. The Doctrine of such Catechists as would perswade or occasion men to suspect that God hath not yet mercy in store or that there is no possibilitie for all that hear the word to repent to beleive and be saved whatsoever it do to the Authors and followers of it in this life it shall in the life to come appear even to such as perish to have been erroneons For one special branch of their punishment and that wherein the punishment of such as hear the word and repent not doth specially exceed the punishment of the Heathen or infidels shall be their continual cogitation how possible it was for them to have repented How possible for them how much more possible for them then for infidels to have been saved The bodily pains of Hell fire shall be as is probable equal to all but the worm of Conscience which is no other then the reflection of their thoughts upon their madness in following the pleasures of sin and neglecting the promises of Grace shall be more grievous to impenitent Christians A true Scale or scantling of these torments we may take from the consideration how apt we are to grieve at our extraordinarie folly or Retchlesness in this life whether that have turned to the prejudice of our temporal estate of our health or bodily life of our credit or good name There is not a man on earth but if he would enter into his own heart might find that he had many times committed greater folly then Esau did when he sold his Birth-right for a messe of pottage He set his Birth-right that is his Interest in the Land of Canaan on sale without the hazard of that inheritance which God had elswhere provided for him for he became Lord of Mount Seir. He did not contract for his own imprisonment or captivitie but we daily set Heaven to sale and hazard our everlasting exclusion from Gods presence for toyes less worth at least less necessarie for us then bodily meat was for Esau in his hunger And yet by such foolish bargains we enter a Covenant with death and contract though not expressly yet implicitely for an everlasting inheritance in Hell Now unto such as thus live and die without repentance the most cruell torments that can be imagined cannot be so grievous as the continual cogitation how they did bind themselves without any necessitie laid upon them to receive the wages of sin by receiving such base earnest as in this life was given them 13. A more exact Scale of the reward for this their folly we have in Two Fictions of the Heathen The one is That of Sisyphus his uncessant labour in rolling a huge stone which still turns upon him with greater force The other is of Prometheus whose Liver as they imagined was continually gnawen upon by a vultur or Cormorant without wasting the substance of it or deading its capacitie of pain The continuall reflection of such as perish upon their former folly is as the rolling of Sisyphus's stone a grievous labour a perpetual torment still resumed by them but still more and more in vain for no sorrow bringeth forth repentance there And every such Reflection or Revolution of their thoughts upon their former wayes is The gnawing of the worm of Conscience more grievous by much unto their souls then if a vultur should so continually gnaw their hearts CHAP. XXI ROMANS 6. 22. 23. But now ye have your fruit unto Holiness and the end everlasting life The Gift of God is Eternall Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Eternal Life Compared with this present Life The several Tenures of Both. The method proposed The instabilitie of this present Life The contentments of it short and the capacities of man to injoy such contentments as this life affords narrower In the life to come the capacitie of every facultie shall be inlarged some senses shall receive their former contentments only Eminenter as if one should receive the weight in Gold for dross Some Formaliter Joy Essential and Joy Accidental 1. THe Point remaining is that This Eternal Life which is the Crown of Holiness is so much better then this present life and its best contentments as the second death is worse then this present life however taken at the best or worst Now both sorts of life and death may be compared either in respect of their proper qualitie or of their Duration That in respect of Duration or continuance this good and happy life which is the Crown of Holiness and that miserable death which is the wages of sin are equall no Christian may deny may suspect for both are endless That this life was endless that such as are once possessed of it shall never be dispossessed of it even Origen and his followers did never question who not withstanding did deny that this death which was opposed unto it was absolutely endless though in Scripture often said to be everlasting For That in their interpretation was no more then to be of exceeding long continuance But this Heresie hath been long buried in the Church and his sin be upon him that shall seek to revive it The Method then which we mean to observe is this First to set forth the excellencie of everlasting life in respect of this life present Secondly to unfold the Reasons why neither the hope of everlasting life nor the fear of an endless miserable death do sway so much with most Christians as in reason they ought either for deterring them from the fruitless service of sin or for incouraging them to proceed in holy and godly courses whose end is everlasting life In this later we shall take occasion to unfold the Fallacies or Sophisms which Satan in his temptations puts upon us with some brief rules or directions how to avoid them A work questionless of much use and fruit though handled by a few either so seriously or so largely as the matter requires In comparing this life with the life to come we are in the first place to set forth the different Tenures of them Secondly to compare the several joys or contentments 2. This present life even at the best is in comparison but a kind of death For as the Heathen Philosopher had observed it is alwayes in fluxu like a stream or current it runs as fast from us as it comes unto us That part of our life which is past saith Seneca is as it were resigned up to death That part which is yet to come is not yet ours nor can we make any sure
reckoning of it That part which we account as present is equally divided between death and us Not unconsonantly to that of David Psalm 103. 15. The dayes of man are but as grasse He flourisheth as a Flour of the Field As soon as the wind goeth over it it is gone c. Or to that of Job Man that is born of a woman is of few dayes and full of trouble he cometh forth like a flower and is cut down he fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not The Addition or Comment upon this in our Liturgie is That in the midst of life we be in death that is we die as fast as we live The first part of our life is the beginning of our death and death it self differs from life but as the Point doth from the Line which it terminates or as the line doth from the surface or the surface from the body whose surface it is Mors ultima line a rerum est The whole course of our life is full of interpunctions or Commaes death is but the Period or full point Take it at the very best it is in respect of true life or stedfast Being but as the Reflex or Image of a star in a flowing stream The seat or subject of life doth not continue the same it was no not for a moment it is but one by continuation or fresh supply of the like As an Army is said to be the same which consists of the like number of men though most of the Commanders and Souldiers of the first levie be slain So Darius the Persian had a Legion which they called Immortal because it was continually supplied with the like number of new Souldiers when the old ones failed For the same reason some have compared the life of man unto a Lamp which burneth so long as it hath supply of oyl but is presently extinguished when the oyl doth fail And indeed as the oyl and light is to the Lamp wherein the one is contained the other shineth so is the natural heat and moisture unto the soul especially as to life sensitive But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption our souls shall then be in our glorified bodies as light is in the stars in their proper sphere Our life shall be one and the same not by continuation or succession of bodily parts So as this first life and that other life which we expect differ for their Tenure and manner as the representation or figure of the Sun in the water and the Sun in its sphere The Tenure of the one is fluent and transitory The Tenure of the other is solid and permanent And proportionable to this difference of their Tenures or durations are the different joyes or contentments If all the possible contentments in this life suppose they were far more in number then they are were put together they could not equalize the Contentments of one minute in the life to come 3. Our desires in this life are vast and our capacities to enjoy the good of what we desire but narrow and slender They consort no better than a decrepit gluttons eye or appetite with his digestive facultie Now it is a miserie to have vast or strong desires and not to be able to give them satisfaction most miserable to take those courses which exclude them from possibilitie of satisfaction Hence an Heathen Philosopher took the want or Emptinesse of this miserie to be the compleat Sphere of true happinesse and out of this conceit defined a happy man briefly this Beatus est qui vivit ut vult He is happy or blessed which hath all the contentments that he desires or wishes But St. Austine tells us that another Heathen whom he names not but whose saying he often applauds corrected this Definition thus Beatus est qui vivit ut vult modo nihil velit quod non debet He is a happy man that hath all that he desireth so he desire nothing but what he ought to desire And certain it is that the former Definition without this Correction comes far short of that true happiness which is contained in everlasting life or which all men by nature confusedly desire For a man in this life may have every thing which in this life his heart desires and yet not have his hearts desire This no man can have in this life nor doth the meer natural man find the way or entrance to it See Christs Answer to Johns Disciples pag. 17. Solomon had tried as great varietie of particular contentments as any man living can project unto himself and yet after long experience of every particular that he could propose unto himself gives up this general verdict Vanity of vanities all is vanity and vexation of mind Yet is this vanitie seated in the unsetled and fluctuant desires of man not in the things themselves which he desires for these have their right Use so they be referred to their proper End which is no other then true happiness and no man can have his hearts desire until his heart do pitch and settle on this as its Center Hence some would Define True happiness to be Plenitudo desideriorum the full satisfaction of our desires This all seek after without cessation and some print some Sent or rellish of it we find in most desires of it Somewhat there is in the right use of every Creature which would lead us the right way unto it did we not run Counter striving to make up a full measure of joy by the abundant fruition of these materials wherein we delight Whereas the delight and contentment which we find in any Creatures should turn our thoughts from them unto the inexhaustible fountain whence all the goodness that we find in them or in our selves is derived The neerer we draw to him the neerer we are to true happiness truly happy we cannot be until we enjoy his presence Irrequietum est cor nostrum ad te Domine donec quiescat in te Our hearts are restless in the pursuit of happiness until they rest in thee O Lord. 4. The first step to happiness which we can make is to be perswaded That true happinesse cannot in this life be obtained Our Senses are uncapable of the Accidental joyes or concomitant glory which attend this happiness And our Reasonable Soul how magnificently soever Philosophers speak of its nature is more uncapable of Essential joy and happiness That consists in the Fruition or enjoyment of the Divine Nature which is Happiness it self All the Contentments of this life will serve to no other use then to be as a Foyl to set forth the happinesse of the life to come All the Contentments possible of this life are entertained either by our bodily Senses or by the internal faculties of our Souls Now by the discovery of the imperfections of such Contentments we may ascend by degrees to some competent Scale or view for discovering the perfection of Joyes in the Life to come
The imperfection of all Contentments incident to this life discovers it self these Two Wayes First The several capacities are too narrow and feeble in themselves to give entertainment to any portion of sincere and true joy the very best Contentments which here they find in any Object are mingled with dregs Secondly The satisfying of one capacitie defrauds another of that measure of contentment whereof in this life it was otherwayes capable And commonly the satisfying of the baser facultie or meanest capacitie doth deprive the more noble facultie of its due Men given to their bellies or solicitous in purveying for the grosser senses of taste or touch defraud the sense of sight which is the gate of knowledge and the ear which is the sense of discipline of their best Contentments For as the old saying is Venter non habet aures the Belly hath no ears And too much insight in the means which procure bodily pleasures doth blind or darken the Common sense Others not so solicitous to feed the belly with meat as the ear with pleasant sounds or the eye with delightful spectacles do by both means rob the reasonable soul of her best solace and as it were block up these ports and havens by which provision should come into her Every handy-craft or art of husbandry requires an ordinary capacitie not of the Common sense only but of the understanding And yet such as have their minds exercised in these and the like imployments are thereby dis-enabled for bearing Rule or Government over more civil and ingenuous men as may be collected from the wise Son of Sirach Ecclus. 38. from the 25. to the 33. Even amongst the capacities or faculties of the reasonable soul there is not that harmony or concord which were requisite for her better contentment Some men in a manner freed from the servitude of their outward senses and able to command their service for contemplation by too much contemplating upon one sort of objects make themselves uncapable of reaping that delight which other objects would more plentifully afford to these Contemplators Some by studying the Mathematicks too much do benum their apprehensive faculties or capacities of prudence or civil knowledge Others whiles they seek to give too much satisfaction to their desires or capacities of civil wisdom or humane Prudence do infeeble their capacities and starve their desires of divine Mysteries or spiritual understanding Quite contrary it is in the life to come First The Capacitie of every sense or facultie is improved to the uttermost and no object shall intrude or offer it self but such as are able to give severally full Contentment without satietie Secondly The Harmony or Consent between the several Capacities and desires of every Sense and Facultie is most exact the satisfying of one doth no way prejudice but rather further another Every one is apt to bear its part for making up of that full harmony which is required to true happiness And For those grosser Senses of Touch and Taste â—ith the Appetite of meat and drink All the pleasures in this life wherewith that are commonly overtaken are as we said before medicines of diseases rather than any true Contentments The first degree or step to happiness is To be freed from those diseases wherewith they now are pestered For though it be a miserie for a man to want food when he is an hungry or drink when he is thirstie or rayment when he is cold or needs it for ornament yet we all conceive it to be a far greater happiness to enjoy continual health and liveliness without either hunger or thirst or to have perfect comeliness without clothing or rayment And for this reason that branch of happiness which consists in satisfying the Capacities of these Senses is in Scripture described by Negatives As there shall be no hunger there no thirst no greif no pain These are the Symptomes of those grosser Senses in this life which in the life to come shall not enjoy the pleasures or Contentments which are contrary to these annoyances as we say in kind but by a happy Exchange by such an exchange as he that turns lead into silver doth forego a great deal of dross or baser metal but gains that which contains the full value of it in a small waight or compass Of all and every one of the bodily Contentments we can possibly imagine the very immortalitie of glorified Bodies is for qualitie more then the Quintessence or Extraction It containeth health and chearfulness of Spirit with all the pleasures that accompany them as we say Eminenter that is As one pound waight of Gold fully contains in its worth many hundreds of lead so one Moment of immortalitie the least waight of glory we can imagine is worth a full Age of all the health and happinesse that can be had on earth Instead of material food which perisheth with the use and whose fulness doth alwayes breed satietie the appetite of meat and drink shall be continually satisfied with the Tree of Life which or rather the Emblem or Type of which our First Parents were not admitted to touch in Paradise 6. When the Sadduces captiously demanded Which of those seven brethren should have that woman to his wife in the world to come which had been successively married to all the seven Our Saviour answers The children of this world marry and are given in marriage but they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage neither can they die any more for they are equal to the Angels What then shall such as have enjoyed the comfort of wedlock be utterly deprived of that comfort in heaven which was allotted to Adam in Paradise even in the state of innocencie They shall not have it in kind for seeing flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven there shall not be there any Two in one flesh but in lieu of this comfort such as observe the Commandements of Christ shall be more neerly espoused and joyned in spirit unto Christ For as man and wife make one body so he that is joyned unto the Lord is one spirit 1 Cor. 6. 17. This is the consummation of that Great Mystery which is here begun on earth and whereof the first marriage in Paradise was but the visible sign or shadow This is the very perfection of all pure and chast love As for those other purer Senses of Sight and Hearing they shall enjoy their former Contentments both Eminenter and Formaliter both in kind and by happy exchange Though enabled they shall be to see far more glorious sights and to hear more heavenly sounds then in this life they could either hear or see Yet shall they not be disenabled to see the same sights or hear the same sounds which sometimes in this life they did But these they shall hear and see with infinite more delight and joy because the Capacitie of these senses shall
be improved as far as life it self is improved which of mortal becomes immortal The light was truly heavenly which did shine about Saint Paul and the voice was heavenly which spake unto him as he was journeying towards Damascus but the light did strike him blind and the voice astonished him What was the reason Being yet in the flesh his Senses were not capable of these celestial impressions But this you will say was a judgement upon Saint Paul because he was yet a Persecuter So was not Saint Peter when he saw our Saviours Transfiguration upon the Mount This was but a glimpse of that glory which shall be revealed and yet it so overcharged his senses that it put him in a manner besides himself besides his wit or understanding for he knew not what he said when he said Let us make here three tabernacles one for thee and one for Moses and another for Elias Only this he was sure of in the general That it was good being there or that if he should alwayes have been as for the present he was he should have been a most happy man specially if his capacitie to receive or entertain what he then heard or saw had been any way proportionable unto them Saint Paul likewise after his conversion was so Rapt in spirit with the Celestial words which he heard that it seemed he knew not whether he were in the body or out of the body when he heard them that is whether he were locally present in Paradise whence those words were spoken or whether his spirit were Elevated to hear them in such distance whether of the two it was certainly such words they were that they could not be uttered by him or be made known unto others 2 Cor. 12. 4. And as the words were unutterable so the joyes which then possessed him were unexpressible by any known similitude or resemblance O how great then shall those joyes be when the sense of hearing shall be as capable of these Celestial voyces as it now is of earthly when our sense of sight shall be as fitly proportioned to the spectacles of paradise as it is now unto the stars of the firmament when all our faculties shall be as capable of Celestial influences as they are now of sublunary impressions 7. Briefly all the joyes or contentments of The life to come even compleat happiness it self may be reduced to these Two First to joy or happiness Essential Secondly to joy or happiness concomitant or Accidental Of both in their order and how they are set forth unto us in Scripture Joy or happiness Essential consists in the fruition of Gods presence But seeing the Deitie or Divine nature is every where present is it not now present with us on earth sure it is but we are far from it A light or candle may be present to a blind man and yet he as far from enjoying any comfort of its presence as if it were put under a bushel at the Antipodes Such is the case of all whose sins have made a separation betwixt their God and them He is present with them present in them but they are further removed from the comfort of his presence then the Center of the earth is from the Highest Heavens The three children were in the fierie furnace but it made no impression upon them they felt no smart or pain from it because the heat of it did not enter into them Thus the Diuine Nature or essence doth incompass all good and bad more truly then the furnace did their bodies yet he that could withdraw the force or influence of heat from the fire can likewise withhold the joy or comfort of his presence from such as love him not But wheresoever it is it is the fountain of all joy and happiness and shall any man be in the fountain of joy and happiness and shall this fountain be in them and they not made happy by it Yes it is not enough that the fountain of happiness is in them they must enter into the joy of this Fountain before they become happy by it Now that servant which hath once entred into his masters joy needs no other external contentment or object to satisfie the particular capacities of sense or of any internal faculties For as the Being of every creature is contained in the Omnipotent nature in a more excellent manner then in it self so all the goodness or comfortable influence which the creatures can communicate unto others is contained in a manner far more excellent in Gods infinite goodness which is likewise more communicative then any finite goodness can be This infinite goodness dwelleth in Christ bodily the spirit of all joy and gladness is given unto him but without measure It pleased God that in him should all fulness dwell That as we in this life from his fulness receive grace for grace so in the better life or life to come we should receive jor for joy that is joy upon joy without ceasing without end even as much as we shall be capable of yea above all that we are able to desire or conceive 8. Our life saith the Apostle Coloss 3. 3. is hid with Christ in God when Christ who is our life shall appear then shall ye also appear with him in Glorie All as many as have their fruit unto Holiness in this life have the pledge the earnest or the Cocket of the next But the life it self whereof Holiness is the pledge or Cocket is treasured up in Christ and may not be delivered unto us untill we be changed untill he appear in glory unchangeable Whilest we see not him we see not our selves or that life which is treasured up for us in him This sight is deferred or reserved until his appearance Then this sight shall grow into a perfect tast So saith the same Apostle 1 Cor. 13. 12. Now we see through a glass that is indistinctly or as we see a truth lockt up in a Riddle But then When that which is perfect shall come then shall we see face to face Now saith the Apostle of himself I know in part but then shall I know even as I am known Saint John hath the like mysterie more fully 1 John 3. 2. beloved now are we the sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like to him for we shall see him as he is From all these places but chiefly from the last it is apparent That the fulness of our joyes and happiness is from the vision or sight of God in Christ And hence is this Sight by the learned and such as have insight in these mysteries called Visio Beatifica the Blessed vision or the vision which makes us happy yet happy it makes us in that by it we become like unto him who is most happie blessed yea blessedness it self This is Saint Johns inference we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is that
is not through a glass but in a glass Our understanding or intellective facultie is as a Glass wherein this vision is made Now the understanding as the Philosopher observed is as a glass apt to receive the impression of all things intelligible And as he imagined could not be perfected could never understand its own nature aright untill it were made all things until it had received the images or stamps of all things And hence it is that the more men know the more they desire to know The knowledge of many particulars doth but excite our imbred desire of knowing more and this desire can never be satisfied until we know all things Now to know all things successively or one after another is impossile It was the complaint of the father of the Physitians Ars longa vita breuis The true knowledge of any Art or science or the subject of it is long in getting whereas mans life is short There is no end saith Solomon of writing many books and much reading which is but the hunting after knowledge is a weariness unto the body 9. But it being taken as possible or as granted That we could come to know the nature of all things which we see hear or read of that we could be as prompt and perfect in this visible book of nature as we are in the first elements of the easiest book that can be printed for us that we knew the nature of Heaven of earth and of every creature in them as distinctly as children do one letter from another and the nature of mixt bodies as well as they know the just value of letters or Syllables put together yet could not such knowledge make us happie For these things how perfectly soever known could not infuse any new life into us could not make us partakers of any greater joy or goodness then is in themselves But in the life of glorie our souls become living polished glasses wherein the Divine nature wherein Christ God and Man may be seen as he is and he is truth it self life it self and goodness it self and we are transformed into the similitude of all these his Attributes There is no picture-maker that can express either the colour or proportion of a mans body or countenance so exactly as these do themselves in a true glass It receives the true image and similitude of any thing visible as more easily so more exactly then wax doth the stamp and character of the seal For That receives only the Mathematical Form or figure without the matter or any real qualitie As a golden seal leaves no tincture of gold nor a seal of brass any propertie of brass in the wax but only the figure Whereas a glass besides the figure or proportion receives the colour but no other real qualitie But the eye which is a kinde of living glass takes some tincture not of the shape or colour only but of other real qualities or properties of things seen By looking on Green or Azure the eye is much refreshed because the natural constitution of it resembles these most Yet finds it not the like contentment either in colours too sad or too bright because these have less affinitie with its native temper Nor is the effect or efficacy of colours seen terminated only in the eye though the eye sees them That reacheth unto other internal faculties unto the very Seat or Center of the Affections The impression which colors perfectly red as scarlet of the ancient die make upon the eyes of living creatures which abound in blood doth stir the blood and inrage their spirits to fight when as otherwise they would be quiet And to the end they might provoke the Elephants to fight they shewed them the blood of grapes and mulberies 1 Mac. 6. 34. And some good Philosphers have observed that Bears or others creatures which abound with Melancholick blood are more inraged at the sight of colours more dark then scarlet or perfect red So that the eyes of living creatures which see things as they are not through a glass but in themselves as in a perfect glass are apt to take others impressions besides the figure proportion or colour of those things which they stedfastly behold 10. There is no creature in the world more apt to receive the shape or figure of another then man in his first creation was to receive the image or likeness of his Creator who hath no figure or shape whereby he may be visibly represented as the seal is in the wax or as a mans face is in a glass He is infinite in all his Attributes and his infinity cannot be represented must be admired The similitude though of his goodness or of his righteousness wherein happiness consists was truly represented in the First man for he was created Just and holy and wanted nothing to his happiness save onely perseverance in that righteousness wherein he was created But he stained his soul with sin And so far as it was stained with sin it was more apt to take the image of Gods adversarie who was the Father of sin the author of all iniquitie which men commit And so we all are by nature more apt to take this image of the wicked one then the purest glass is to receive the image the proportion and colours of men that look upon it more apt to take the impression of his bad qualities then the eye of any living creature is to take the impression of any qualitie which shall be presented unto it But as the first Adam was made a living soul so the second Adam was made a quickning Spirit A spirit of life to revive the Reliques of Gods image in mens souls And by the reviving of them to expell or blot out the expressions of Satans image in them All this he doth in part even in this life in such as fear and love him And in These Two to wit in the Reviving of Gods image in us and in the Expunction and wiping out the stain of sin which is no other then the image of Satan doth our Regeneration consist And by the spirit of Regeneration we see in part we know God in part but after that which is perfect is come that is when Christ shall appear in glory and we shall be changed Then shall that which is imperfect be done away then shall our souls be as a glass clear and polished apt to receive the image of God wherein we were created in a far better manner then the soul of our first Progenitor in his integritie was 11. We know God by Hear-say in this life we see him not or if we see him in part in his word yet this is but like the sight of things a far off it makes too little impression upon our souls it works too small alteration in our affections Our sight is not effectual until it grow into a kinde of Tast Adam was indued with life with knowledge with righteousness but his life his knowledge and righteousness
consists in the Fruition of God as he is Love although super-abundant yet are they not superfluous There is no wast there is nothing poured out from one which shall not be received in the same measure or manner by another But wherein do these Concomitant or Accidental Joyes consist Especially in these Two Particulars First In the Glorious Beautie of the Place which is called Sedes Beatorum the Seat or Mansion of the Blessed Secondly In the Society or companie of such as are so seated and made partakers of that Essential Blessedness which consists in the sight and vision of God as he is Happinesse it self For Visio amati est fruitio This is that which the Schools call The Fruition or enjoying of Gods presence Now that either the Place or the Societie of Saints and Angels can add or conferre any thing to our happiness this proceeds from Gods special presence in Both. 2. To begin with The Place or Seat of the Blessed How pleasant soever our Seat on earth may be yet this world it self is but Vallis lachrymarum A Valley of tears wherein some ruful spectacles are daily presented to our eyes wherein some woful news or unpleasant sounds possess our ears To hear and see what we now daily hear and see though we were Spectators only but no Actors would abate our Joy would be an Alloy to our present happiness Hence it is that St. John describing the Accidental Joys of the life to come saith Rev. 21. 1. I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more Sea And again verse 4. God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are past away His meaning is not only That no man there shall have occasion to cry or that no sorrow or pain shall breed there But that there shall be no sorrow no cry there by way of Sympathie that is no ungrateful sound or spectacle shall approach their dwelling in the holy City which he describes at large in the same Chapter verse 11. unto the end The Compass and Form of it you have verse 16. It lyeth four square the length as large as the breath twelve thousand furlongs and the building of the wall of it was of Jasper and the City was pure gold like unto clear glasse Verse 18. c. Thus he describes The Beautiful Materials of the Place by the most glorious and most precious materials which this world affords And yet that is true of this Description which the Apostle saith of the Rites and Ceremonies of the Law The gates of pearl and the streets of gold transparent as glasse are no better then shadows of the good things to come which are treasured up in that heavenly Kingdom for all such as love Christ Jesus and the glory of his coming Now though it be true that in Gods house there be many Mansions Yet is not the Beautie or Glorie of them appropriated to one nor divisible amongst some few but alike Common to all One hath not the less comfort There because another hath more Those Two quarrelling Pronounes Meum and Tuum shall be excluded thence as common Barretters One cannot say to another This part of this glorious Kingdom is mine That is yours for every one that shall be accompted worthy to be an heir of that Kingdom shall be as Intire an Heir as if he were sole Heir So it is not amongst the Kings of the earth the greater Dominions one hath or the further he extends them the less he leaves unto his neighbors There is some small Resemblance of the Condition of the Blessed Ones in Heaven to be found in our Hearing sight and knowledge of things which we have here on earth A great multitude may hear a speech and every one hear all No man hath less comfort from the light or heat of the Sun by anothers injoying it unless he purposely stand between the Sun and him No man is prejudiced but rather furthered by another mans extraordinary knowledge specially of matters heavenly and not divisible into parts Howbeit here is a vast difference whilst we live on earth even when there is no matter of prejudice to any other but rather of benefit or advantage to many yet there is matter too much of envy for that breeds within mans self it comes not by infection from without But so it is not in the place of blisse in the heavenly City into which no unclean thing no unclean thought specially no envie no uncharitablenesse shall enter 3. As is the Place so is the Company or Societie Every one is Loving Every one is Lovely All be Sons of Peace their Love and Peace is mutual Ye are come unto Mount Sion and unto the City of the Living God the heaveniy Jerusalem and to an innumerable company of Angels To the general Assembly and Church of the First-born which are written in heaven and to God the Judge of all and to the spirits of just men made perfect and to Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant and to the blood of sprinkling Heb. 12. 22. c. There is no Question at least there ought none to be but that the Essential Ioy or blessedness of the life to come shall not be Arithmetically Equall that is the measure of it shall not be one and the same in all for every man shall be rewarded according to his wayes The Eternal Life which is the Gift of God is the Award not of Commutative Justice nor of Distributive though if so it were it should be awarded according to Geometrical Proportion But it is an Act of mercy or bountie and being such there is no Question but he that loved God more in this world then others shall have a greater proportion in his love No Question but he which hath received a greater Talent and hath imployed it as well or better then he that hath received lesse shall have a greater reward And he which hath been more faithful in his Masters service or he in whom the Kingdom of Grace hath entred further in this life shall enter further into his Masters Ioy shall partake more fully of the Kingdom of Heaven And according to the lesser or greater measure of Essential happiness shall the measure of their expressions of joy or thanksgiving be And yet the Joy which amounts from their mutual expressions shall be equal and the same to all For though every one cannot so fully expresse his joy or thanksgiving as another doth yet he that comes short of others in this expression shall joy even in this that God is more or better glorified by another then by himself and such is the disposition of these heavenly inhabitants that so Gods name be truly glorified by all they respect not by whom it be comparatively most
when occasion or exigences of time require it should be This Qualification includes somewhat more or somewhat besides Poornesse in spirit or humility or patience in mourning Meeknesse is a moderation of anger in some special Cases such a Temper as our Saviour requires in his Followers when he commands them to turn the right cheek to him that smites them on the left and to be willing to redeem their peace with a troublesome neighbor that would take away the coat though it be with the losse of the cloak also Now this kind of Temper exposeth men to many kinds of Inconveniences hard to be digested by flesh and blood Many otherwise humble and ingenuous when they are toucht as we say in their Coppp-hold or in their inheritance will take courage and boldness sometimes more then were fitting though necessarie if they be resolved to defend their own without respect to the occasions or exigences of time For facies hominis in causa propriatanquam facies Leonis A mans face or presence in his own cause is as the face of a Lyon And he that cannot take his own part in his own cause and set the best Foot forwards may easily be turned out of house and home And yet there is no true Disciple of Christ but must expect to have his patience exercised in this kind to be injuriously vexed and molested by Others for that which is not Theirs Now he that in this Case will not vex or molest others again nor himself he is truly meek and unto men thus qualified or to encourage all to be thus qualified the Blessednesse of the life to come is promised not under the Title of a Kingdom or of Comfort but under the Title most contrary to the course and custom of this world wherein Meeknesse is commonly Accursed with loss of their own possession But Blessed saith our Saviour are the meek for they shall inherit or possesse the earth or the Land even that good Land where there is no Ejection no dis-inheriting of such as are possessed of it and therefore are the meek blessed because Meeknesse or quietnesse is the Way or Title to get Possession thereof 9. But the poor in spirit may have more honor then they can desire so may such as mourn have as much Comfort and the meek as large and durable an Inheritance as their hearts could wish But if this were all they could not be satisfied Every one of these have in this life their several Thirsts or Longings As he that mourns thirsts after Comfort the poor in spirit and the meek hunger and thirst after their Contentment in some kind or other But without all hope of satisfaction unlesse they hunger and thirst after somewhat else besides these particular contentments Man in his first estate was created righteous and unlesse there be a longing after that Righteousnesse which our first Parents lost whatsoever we gain or get besides cannot satisfie our desire either In Re or In Spe. Hence saith our Savior in the Fourth place Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse for they shall be satisfied There is a thirst after honor preferment and ease and there is Auri sacra fames an unquenchable hunger after gold and Pelf but this cannot be satisfied all these are tortures to the soul wherein they harbour For though honour be Gods though gold and silver as the Prophet speaks be his yet he is not these these are not the same that He is but as we said lately God is righteousness He is Peace He is Love He is mercy and therefore whosoever delights in these he truely delights in the Lord and shall assuredly have his hearts desire he only shall be satisfied 10. But no man in this life doth or can delight in these works as he ought the most righteous man that ever lived on earth if God should enter into Judgement with him could not be absolved from the sentence of the Law and so long as he stands unabsolved or uncertain of his Absolution he cannot be satisfied he cannot have his hearts desire he alwayes stands in need of mercy And mercy he shall have that is merciful For it is Remarkable that this qualification of mercifulness is the only qualification or condition which is rewarded in kind in this we most perfectly resemble the goodness of God Hence saith our Saviour Blessed are the merciful But why are they blessed Not because they shall receive a Kingdom not because they shall possesse the Land not because they shall be satisfied but because they shall obtain mercy Without the exceeding mercy of God no man can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven neither into the Kingdom of Grace in this life nor into the Kingdom of Glory in the life to come and he that means to enter in at the Gate of mercy must bring his Ticket or rather his * Counter-part indented with him he must be merciful as his heavenly Father is mercifull otherwise he shall be excluded Righteousness towards God if it were possible to be severed from mercy towards man could not suffice 11. But that which comes nearest to true blesledness it self is Puritie of heart This contains the Root whereof Holiness is the fruit that Holiness whose End is Everlasting life Now he that desires to keep this puritie of heart must deprive his eyes of many pleasant sights and his ears of many delightful sounds and every sense of those particular contentments wherein the world most delighteth But in lieu of this loss he hath A blessing promised not only of this life but of the life to come In the life to come he shall see God as he is face to face and in this life he shall see him as through a glass and so he shall see him in his Word and in his Attributes And the best knowledge that in this life can be had The knowledge of God and of his Attributes without transforming the Divine nature into the similitude of our corrupt affections is To see his righteousnes and Justice without derogation from his Mercy or Goodness or to see him to be goodness it self and mercy it self without any diminution of his Justice To see his gracious and peculiar favour towards some without suspition or imagination of rigour or crueltie towards others To know him to be love it self without admixture of hatred towards any thing that he hath made 12. It is this sight of God or this apprehension of this uniformity be-between his Attributes which must transform us into such a similitude of his divine nature as in this life can be had that is such as may make us the children of peace This is the immediat fruit of purity of heart And unto men thus disposed to preserve peace as for their own particulars and to make peace between such as are at variance the blessedness of the life to come could not be promised under a more grateful Title then under the style
perish What is the reason why they are so careful in these Toyes and we so negligent in matters of such moment and the like They have a Tradition whether received from Mahomet himself or from his Successors their Mufties I know not but a Tradition they have which they strongly believe That before they can enter into such a heaven as they dream of they must pass over a long iron grate red hot without any other fence to save their naked feet from scorching save only so much paper as they shall preserve from perishing Now of the pains or tortures which the violent heat of Iron produceth in naked bodies they have a kind of feeling or experience The conceit or Notion of this pain is fresh and lively and works more strongly upon their affections then the dread of hell fire doth upon many Christians albeit there is no Christian which doth not believe the fire of hell to be everlasting whereas the Turk thinks this his supposed Purgatory to be but temporary and between pains temporary and pains everlasting there is no proportion How then comes it to pass that this superstitious fear of pains but temporary should so far exceed our true fear or belief of pains uncessant and everlasting Many which truly believe there is a Hell whose fire never goeth out yet conceive this fire to be an immaterial fire a fire of whose heat or violence they have no sense or feeling in this life a fire altogether unknown unto them And as no man much desireth that good which he knoweth not how great soever it be so no man much feareth that evil whereof he hath no sense or feeling no experimental knowledge whereby to measure the greatness of it but only believes it confusedly or in gross and hence it is that the acknowledgment or belief of such a fire how great soever it may seem to be in the General abstract conceit is but like a spacious Mathematical body which hath neither weight nor motion which can produce no real effects in the soul or affections of man For this reason I have alwayes held it a fruitless pains or a needless curiosity to dispute the Question Whether the fire of hell be a material fire or no that is such a fire as may be felt by bodily senses seeing most men conceive no otherwise of things immaterial or spiritual then as of Abstract Notions or of Mathematical Magnitudes As the determination of this Question were it possible in this life to be determined would be fruitless So the chief reason which some have brought to prove the Negative to wit That it is not a material fire is of no force in true Philosophie much less in Divinitie 10. Their chief Reason is This That if hell fire were a material or bodily fire it could not immediately work upon the soul which is an immaterial or spiritual substance But let them tell us how it is possible That the soul of man which is an immortal substance should be truly wedded to the body or material substance and I shall as easily answer them That it is as possible for the same soul to be as really wrought upon by a material fire As possible it is for material fire to propagate death without End to both body and soul as it is for the immaterial or immortal soul to communicate life without end to the material substance of the body For the bodies of the damned shall never cease to be material substances and they shall live to everlasting pains by a life communicated unto them from their immaterial and immortal souls And as the bodies do live continually by reason of their continual union with their living immaterial souls so the soul may die the second death continually by its union with or imprisonment in material but everlasting fire Or if any man be of opinion that hell fire is no material fire or hath no resemblance of that fire which we see and know yet let him believe that it is a great deal worse and that the greatest torture which in this life can come by fire is though a true yet but an imperfect scantling of the torments of the life to come and the danger will be less Of this opinion were the Antients and this conceit or notion of hell fire did in some bring forth very good effects So Eusebius in his Fifth Book and first Chapter of his Ecclesiastical Story tels of one Biblis a woman which had professed Christianity but was so danted with the cruel persecutions of Christians that she renounced her profession and was brought unto the place where the Christians were executed with purpose to withdraw others from constancie in their profession by her expected blasphemie against Christ and reproachful aspersions upon Christians But the very sight of those flames wherein the Martyrs were tortured did throughly awake her out of her former slumber her very fear or rather conceit of such torments which they for the time suffered did afford her a measure or scantling to calculate the incomparable torments of hell fire which being now awaked she began to bethink her self that she must suffer them without hope of release if she should deny Christ or renounce her calling and thus expelling the lesser fear by the greater she resolutely professed her self to be a true Christian in heart and so contrary to the expectation of the persecutors and her own former resolution increased the number of the glorious Martyrs and incouraged others after her to endure the Cross 11. But albeit the Scripture usually describes the horrour of the second death by a fire which never goeth out or by a lake of fire and brimstone and so describes it either because that fire is of such nature and quality as these descriptions literally and without Metaphor import or because these are the most obvious and most conspicuous representations of the pains and horrours of hell which flesh and blood are generally most acquainted with most afraid of yet many other branches of pains and tortures there be besides those which fire of what kind soever can inflict and of these several pains most men respectively may have as true a rellish or sensible representation as they can have of hell fire You have read before that as there is in this life A body of sin which hath as many members as there be several senses or several faculties of the soul So there is a body of the second death every way proportionable to the body of sin The extreamitie or deadliness of all the pains discontents or grievances which are incident to any bodily sense or facultie of the soul in this life are contained either Formaliter that is as we say in kind in the body of the second death or Eminenter that is either in a worse kind or in a greater measure then in this life they could be endured though but for a minute and yet must be endured everlastingly in the life to come
more then the Pharisee confest when he said Lord I thank thee that I am not as other men are nor as this Publicane Here was a true acknowledgement that he received this Grace by whose good use he thought himself better then other men freely from God But in making this Comparison he gloried as if he had not received it or as if having received it he was not so great a Debter unto God as the Publicane was nor liable to the same Account for his sins past or present Questionlesse this Pharisee had been partaker of better Grace at least of better means of salvation then the Publican had been And if this conceit of his own worth in comparison of other men had not polluted his works there is no Question but that he had been more righteous then the Publican yet the Publican went home more justified then the Pharisee not for the worth of any good works which he had done but by unfeigned acknowledgment of his own Unworthiness if God should have entered into Judgment with him That Form of Prayer or acknowledgment which the Publican made would at this day well beseem even those which have received a greater measure of Grace then either he or the Pharisee had done even those which have been more fruitful in Good Works then both of them were Or if the Publican be no fit person for sanctified men to imitate certainly the Prophet Daniel is a fit one and yet his confession of his own unworthiness if God should have dealt in Justice with him was more pathetically humble then the Publicans was Dan. 9. 8 9. Oh Lord to us belongeth confusion of face to our Kings to our Princes and to our Fathers because we have sinned against thee to thee O Lord our God belongeth mercies and forgivenesses though we have rebelled against thee He placeth no part of his Confidence in the Merit either of his prayer or fasting which yet were both excellent works proceeding from charity and excellently performed by him but how excellently soever these Duties be performed by him or any they neither can Merit ought for their own worth in themselves nor from the vertue of Gods promises for all his promises are promises of Mercie and he that seeks for mercie though promised by God must sincerely and seriously renounce all works even the best works which he hath done that is he must disclaim all Merit or confidence in works otherwise he cannot take hold of Gods promises of mercie but solliciteth God to deal in justice with him 10. And yet here I must request the Reader to call that to mind which hath been often inculcated before that whensoever our Apostle excludes all works from Justification or Election he is to be understood only of Confidence in Works or Conceit of Merit He excludes not their Presence but necessarily requires it to our Justification as to the making of our Election sure He only denies any Causal Efficiencie in them for procuring these or the like blessings of God least of all for obtaining of eternal life unto which Good works are most necessary For our Apostle takes it as granted that we must deny our selves before we can do any good works but we must do good works before we can renounce them and we must renounce them in all our suits and pleas specially for those blessings which God out of his Free Grace and mercie promised us A Doctrine which would to God some late Writers of Reformed Churches had taken into serious consideration whilst they earnestly pleaded for the Free Grace of God in our Election For so they would never have taught us as to my apprehension they do that our Election to Eternal life is a more free grace of God then the donation of Eternal life it self then which as no blessing of God is more Great so none can be more Free But the absolute Freedom of the Gift doth no way exclude but rather require some Qualifications in the Donee and for this Reason it is that the practise of Good works is in special sort required for the attaining of Eternal Life Because That is the greatest and most Free Act of Grace which The God of Mercie hath to bestow upon us in respect of it our best deeds are most unworthy and the lesse worthy they are the more unfeignedly they are to be renounced And seeing our Apostle when he excludes works from any plea of mercie doth only exclude Confidence or Conceit of Merit in them in whatsoever sense he excludes them from Election or Justification he excludes them in an higher degree of the same sense from the Donation of eternal Life Otherwise that could not be as our Apostle saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Free Gift of God 11. But as in all other points of Controversie betwixt Us and the Romish Church so in this specially concerning Merits I am alwayes jealous of both Readers and Hearers lest whilst they hear one Error refuted they take occasion to run into the Contrary For preventing this inconvenience in this present point I must Request all in the First Place to Observe that Both of us fully agree in this General that God is a Rewarder of them that seek him and no man can truly seek him but by a true and lively working Faith The Question betwixt us is only this Whether God Reward such as seek him according to the Rule of Justice or according to the Rule of his boundlesse Mercy or whether our works his Grace and promise presupposed be worthy of his Reward or only make us not altogether unworthy or not uncapable of his Mercie The Second Point which I would commend to all mens Consideration is This that as our Apostle in the fore-cited place Heb. 6. doth not ground his hope of those Hebrews recovery upon Gods Justice so he doth not ground it upon the Infallibility or immutable estate of their Election He doth not so much as intimate that they could not possibly fall because their persons were Elected for this was more then either he or they knew more then most men can possibly know more then any man in their Case may safely perswade himself He that makes his personal Election the only Anchor of his Faith in such temptations as these Hebrews at that time were overtaken with shall fall into as bad perhaps a worse Error then if he held That his Good works formerly done might merit his Recovery unto his former estate so he will but address himself to do the like This Conceit of merit though we take men in their best estate or when they are least conscious of grosser sins is a Symptom of heathenish pride or ignorance For the Heathens thought they could make the Gods or divine Powers beholding unto them But to stay our selves in the consciousness of grievous sins lately committed upon perswasions of our personal Election is the most dangerous root of Hypocritical Pride that can be planted in our corrupt
cruel for out of this compassionate affection towards dumb creatures they will be ready to kill a Christian man if he chance to wrong or harm them It is a good thing then to be zealous of good works but unless this zeal be uniform that is unless it proportionably if not equally respect good works of every kind partial or deformed zeal will bring forth compleat Hypocrisie 10. But it is an easie matter to tell men that their zeal must be uniform and unpartial the point wherein satisfaction will be desired is this How this uniformity of zeal in good works must be wrought and planted in men This men must learn from that fundamental Rule of our Saviour Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you so do to them for this the Law and the Prophets All of Us desire or wish that not this or that man only but that every man should deal justly friendly and kindly with us should think or speak well of us whilst we do or intend well should Judge charitably of us when they know nothing to the contrary and censure us charitably if we chance to do amisse The Rule of practise then in brief is this that we make payment by the same measure by which we borrow that is do good as occasions or abilities serve to every man as he is a man or our fellow creature though in more abundant measure unto such as are our Christian brethren and of the same Church and Religion To be charitable in word indeed in thought towards all even towards such as deserve punishment or censure Another branch of the same Rule is this If any have really shewed themselves kind unto us to do unto them as they have done If any have dealt rigidly or unkindly with us not to do as they have done but as we desired they should have done unto us for our desires to be well dealt withall are just but so were not their dealings with us And why should we make other mens unjust dealing with us rather then our own just desires of being friendly dealt withall the Rule of our future actions or dealings with the same men For God will judge us by the former Rule the Tenour whereof is this not to do as we have been done unto specially if we have been unjustly dealt withall but to do to every man as we desire they should have done unto us The same Rule may be yet further extended thus we must do to every man not only as we desire that every man should do to us but as we desire that God should do to us or for us So when we pray that God would forgive us our trespasses we must be ready to forgive them that have trespassed against us If we desire that God would relieve us in distress comfort us in sorrow or succour us in need we must be ready to relieve our neighbors in their distress to succour and comfort them as we are able in time of need not thus in some good measure qualified we do not pray in faith our prayers are not truly religious For as St. James tels us Chap. 1. verse the last Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visit the fatherlesse and widdows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted of the world CHAP. XXX MATTH 25. 34 c. 41. c. Then shall the King say unto them on his Right hand Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world FOR I was an hungred and you gave me meat c. Then shall he say also to them on the left hand Depart from me ye cursed FOR I was an hungred and ye gave me no meat I was thirstie and ye gave me no drink I was a stranger sick and in prison c. Two General Heads of the Discourse 1. A Sentence 2. The Execution thereof Controversies about the Sentence Three Conclusions in order to the Decision of those Controversies 1. The Sentence of Life is awarded Secundum Opera not excluding Faith 2. Good works are necessary to Salvation necessitate praecepti Medij And to Iustification too as some say quoad praesentiam non quoad efficientiam The Third Handled in the next Chapter Good works though necessarie are not Causes of but the Way to the Kingdom Damnation awarded for Omissions St. Augustines saying Bona Opera sequuntur Justificatum c. expounded St. James 2. 10. He that keeps the whole Law and yet offends in one Point c. expounded Why Christ in the final Doom instances only in works of Charitie not of pietie and sanctitie An Exhortation to do good to the poor and miserable and the rather because some of those Duties may be done by the meanest of men 1. THis portion of Scripture is divided by our Saviour himself into These two Generals the first A Sentence which for the matter is Two-fold Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you verse 34. c. And again ver 41. Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels But many Sentences are given which are not put in Execution Yet this being the Final Sentence that shall be given upon all men and upon all their works there is no question but it shall be put in Execution If reason grounded upon Scripture be not sufficient to inforce our belief as well concerning the Execution of the Sentence as the Equitie thereof we have an Expresse Testimonie of the Judge himself for the certaintie of this Execution ver 46. And these to wit the Goats which were placed on his left hand that is all workers of iniquitie or fruitless hearers of the word of life shall go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into life eternal The Sentence it self hath by the perversness of mans will or by the curiositie of some wits been made the matter of many controversies especially in latter times Of which we shall deliver our Opinion as it shall fall out in the prosecution of the Positive Truth which we are bound to believe The Positive Truthes which I would commend unto the Readers meditation are Three The First That Life everlasting shall be awarded Secundum opera or that all men shall receive their final doom according to their works The second which will necessarily follow upon this That good Works are necessarie to salvation or to the inheritance of this Kingdom here promised The third That good works are necessarie to our admission into this kingdom Non tanqnam Causa regnandi sed quia Via ad regnum not as meritorious Causes for which this kingdom is by right due to us or to any but as the necessarie Way or path by which all such as seek to enter into this Kingdom must passe To begin with the First Point That the Final reward or retribution shall be Secundum opera according to mens works
2. About this Position Controversie between us and the Romish Church there needed to have been none unless some in that Church had been more desirous to open a gap to new contentions then ready to bring the controversies already set on foot to a Tryable Issue by reducing them to some Point of Contradiction But some of good Note in that Church for learning and moderation have left this Animadversion upon These words of Saint Matthew That this place alone doth sufficiently evince that the Final Award or retribution shall be made Secundum Opera non Secundum Fidem according to works not according to Faith That God should render to every man either in this life or at the last day according unto his works yea according to all his works we never denied For Solomon had long since said as much in his prayer to God 2 Chron. 6. 30. Yea all works even the most secret works those of the heart not excepted shall have their Proper Award and every man shall reap according to that he hath sowen Whether he hath sowen unto the flesh or unto the spirit But that this Final Retribution should be made Secundum Opera non Secundum Fidem according to works only not according to Faith we cannot grant without contradiction to the truth delivered by our Saviour and Saint Paul For Faith and Works by both their Doctrines are so strictly linkt together that if the Final Retribution be made according to mens works it must likewise be awarded according to mens Faith And unlesse the Advocates of the modern Romish Church had been diposed to follow those Hypocrites against whom Saint James disputes in his second Chapter in their notions or apprehensions of Faith more then Saint James yea more then Saint Paul Nay more then our Saviour himself they could not be ignorant of that contradiction which is implied in their Assertion That the Final Retribution is made according to Works not according to Faith Know ye saith our Apostle Gal. 3. 7. that they which are of faith the same are the children of Abraham so Abraham is called The father of the faithful And none can be his sons or children but by propagation or participation of his faith Our Saviour saith unto the Jewes John 8. 39. If ye were Abrahams children ye would do the works of Abraham And if they had done the works they should have had the Reward of Abraham Yet as the Apostle saith They that be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham So then it is true that God rewarded Abraham according to his Works and yet withall according to his Faith yea he was therefore rewarded with blessing according to his works because his works were done in Faith or because he was faithful in his works But do these Romanists which say that we shall be rewarded according to Works not according to Faith as evidently contradict their pretended Patron Saint Iames as they do Saint Paul They do without Question if we look into his intent and scope in that very place from which they seek to magnifie Works above Faith as well in point of Justification as in respect of salvation or Final Retribution 3. Was not Abraham our Father saith Saint James Chap. 2. 21. justified by works when he offered Isaac his son upon the Altar Yet the same Apostle doth not deny but rather suppose that Abraham offered up Isaac by Faith for so he addes ver 23. that by this work that Scripture was fulfilled which saith Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness If this Scripture were fulfilled by this work then Abrahams Faith did work in this work or rather did work this work it was his working Faith or belief which was imputed unto him for righteousness and it was impossible that Abraham should be rewarded according to this work and not be rewarded as well according to his Faith as according to his Work Indeed if Abraham had profest only in General That he did believe God and his word but had started back from this or the like Service which God had enjoyned him he had not been justified But why not justified only because he had no works nay rather because not having such works as God required at his hands his Faith had not been sound and perfect and his Faith being not sound and perfect had not been imputed unto him for righteousness Now the Scripture plainly affirms and St. James takes it as granted that Abraham's belief not his works was imputed to him for righteousness Albeit Saint James doth say that the Belief was perfected by the work yet all the perfection was the perfection of his Faith the use and End of his work or of his Tryal was to perfect or strengthen his Faith as we say exercise of body doth perfect or confirm health but it will not therefore follow that Exercise of body is better then health seeing all the perfection that it hath is at the service of health So far was this work of Abraham by which Saint James saith his faith was perfected from being a distinct perfection from the perfection of his faith that Saint Paul includes the very Work in his Faith Heb. 11. 17. By faith Abraham when he was tryed offered up Isaac The reason why he ascribes this work unto his faith is given ver 19. He accounted that God was able to raise him up from the dead from whence also he received him in a figure It was a Great and difficult matter for Abraham to believe that he should become the Father of many nations Rom. 4. 18. Not to consider his own being now about an 100. years old neither yet the deadnes of Sarahs womb But it was a greater work after he had received Isaac upon the threed of whose life the blessing promised Gen. 15. 5. of being the Father of many nations did wholly depend to offer him up in sacrifice this was more then to believe in hope against hope The ready way for ought that humane wisdom or any experience till that time manifested unto the world could inform him to cut the very throat of all his hopes or future blessings But how great soever this work were the strength by which it was wrought was meerly the strength of his Faith so the Apostle saith Rom. 4. 20. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief but was strong in faith giving glory to God and being fully perswaded that what God had promised he was also able to perform and therefore was it imputed to him for righteousness So that if any man do not the works of Abraham it is because he hath not the faith of Abraham Impossible it were for any man that hath the same measure of Faith which Abraham had not to do the like works which Abraham did What measure of works truly good any man doth so much or so great a measure he hath of true Faith And so far as any man is Rewarded according to his works
he be hungry we should give him meat if thirstie drink as the Apostle commands In sum we must feed Him but seek to starve his Humor by substracting all occasions of exasperating his mind and seeking occasions to do him good so the heat of his malice having nothing to work upon will by little and little die as fire goes out when the fewel fails 16. For a Friends sake that has indeared us to him for many of whom we yet expect more kindnesses we think it good manners to tolerate many things which otherwise we would not And shall not Christian Faith and true Religion teach us much more to remit all for Gods sake of whom we have received our selves our very bodies and souls and all that we have of whom we yet expect much more then we have received even everlasting life and immortal bodies to be crowned with Glory What if our Enemies have sought to take away this miserable and mortal life God freely gave it us who likewise at his pleasure may justly challenge it And if we cannot justly complain if he should take it from us is it an hard Precept that he wills us not to revenge yea not to complain by way of revenge of such as would but could not take it from us The Lord may as justly command us to forbear all desire of revenge all complaint of such as would take away our Life as he himself can take it That they would so have done was their own That they could not do so unto us is the Lords doing to whom we owe all thankfulness for preserving it and this may be the best occasion of shewing our thankfulness if we for his sake forgive such as sought to take away our Lives Nay if we would but examine this Precept by exact Reason passion set aside in as much as God hath freely given us life he might most Justly command us not to murmur against such as should take it from us For who can appoint him his Time or who can refuse any for his Executioner whom the Supream Judge of Heaven and Earth shall permit But in as much as God hath preserved our lives which our Enemies sought he may justly command and we must obey him so commanding to do any good unto them that sought our evil God is a a more Absolute Lord over the lives of Kings and Princes then they are over their Lands or goods he hath a more absolute interest in all mens actions and affections then any man hath in his own goods or fruits of his ground Now what Lord or Master is there that would indure such a servant as would not bestow his goods or benevolence on whomsoever it pleased him to appoint albeit he were his servants enemie If this we refuse and yet acknowledge our selves to be Gods servants may not God justly say unto us Ex tuo ipsius ore judicaberis If any refuse to set his affections on whomsoever God shall appoint him to employ his actions for whose good it pleaseth him albeit he be our open enemie How much more ought we to do it if we consider the Hope of reward in the life to come 17. Thus you see The First ground of this precept drawn from The equalitie of all men by nature improved and fortified by the Doctrine of Faith that is by The acknowledgement of One Father and Creator and yet may it be further confirmed if we consider what Affinitie nay what Consanguinitie we all have in Christ and what he hath done for us We are saith the Apostle if we be Christs flesh of his Flesh and bone of his Bone Our conjunction with him if we be or would be conjoyned with Him although it be spiritual and mystical yet is it a True a real and lively conjunction He is a True and lively Head we are true and lively members of him and one of another And must have as true a fellow feeling one of anothers harms or sorrows as one part of our own body hath of the pain of another No body Politick ever on earth not the most united in place in Lawes customes or any other Bond of Civil Societie whatsoever had or can have the like union or so near conjunction as all that are members of Christs mystical Bodie truly have as all that professe themselves members thereof should in practise testifie that they have otherwise as the Lawyers say Protestatio non valet contra factum It is in vain to professe thou art a Christian in vain to protest thou art a true professor or Protestant if thy deeds and resolution if thy practice do not seal the truth of thy profession or Protestation for not doing this as the Apostle saith thou shalt confesse Christ and Christianitie with thy lips but deny both Him and it in thy deeds and in thy practise and so thou shalt be judged not according to thy sayings but according to thy works and resolution or omissions of working Would you know then what some of the Heathen have thought of the duties of every member in a body Politick Plato in his fifth Book De Republica hath a comparison to this purpose If a man receive a wound in any part as in his foot or hand or have but some pain or grief in his finger we will not say That his hand or foot is wounded or that his finger feels pain But The man himself hath suffered a wound in his hand or foot That he himself hath a great pain c. For albeit the pain or grief spring first from this or that part yet it overflowes and affects the whole bodie The branches of it spread throughout all parts and every part is worse because one part is so ill Yea every part forbears its natural function or recreation in some measure for the ease of this The head wants its sleep other parts their rest by reason of the spirits recourse thither as so many comforters sent from them to visit their sick friend or fellow member In like manner Plato thought it meet that in every City or Common-weal as often as any good or harm did happen to any Citizen or Free denizon thereof it should not be counted that mans good or harm only but the good or harm of the whole City and every member thereof should be alike affected If this the Heathens by meer light of nature could discern to be the dutie of the meer natural man what tongue of man or Angel can expresse in Terms befitting so high A mysterie what Brotherhood what fellowship what Sympathie and what affection should be between the members of Christs Body for no society like this no fellowship like to that in Him This union exceeds all other much more then the union of one part of our heart with another doth the union of the heart with the foot Doubtless our Saviour spake according to the duty if not according to the custome of honest hartie neighbours in the good old world in the Parable
of the lost sheep and Groat His rejoycing for the recoverie of his strayed sheep was not his alone but his neighbours also Her sorrow for losse of her money was not only hers but her Gossips as after the finding it her joy was theirs too It is worth the consideration and I beseech you to consider what a madness it would seem to a wise man if because the finger did ake or pain him a mans head or heart and inward thoughts should presently resolve to cut it off or vex it more because it did vex them Yet such is our malice and madness if because our brother or fellow member in Christ so we must account all that Communicate with us in the same Sacraments doth vex or torment us we should therefore resolve to vex and torment him again This is A Symptome of such hellish Phrenzie as the Poet describes Ipse suos Artus lacero divellere morsu Certat As monstrous and pitifull a Spectacle to the eyes of Faith as it would be to the eyes of the Body to see as we have heard of some hanged quick in irons ready to starve for hunger and destitute of hopes of other food to eat the flesh of their armes to satisfie their gnawing entrals So monstrous is their sin so miserable their estate that to satiate their revengeful minds or to wreck their imbred spite do harm vex or torment their Fellow-members in Christ If you bite and devour one another saith the Apostle Gal. 5. 16. see that ye be not not consumed one of another His meaning is Whosoever doth vex or harm his brother shall feel the smart of it himself one time or other as certainly as the heart or soul that wounds or cuts an outward member shall feel the smart or want of it And again that whosoever yeelds any comfort to his distressed or comfortless brother shall as certainly be partaker of the good he does to him as the heart which directs or the hand which applies the medicine to any ill affected part shall find ease and rest by the mitigation of the sickly members pain 18. Would you then know the most certain compendious way to do your selves most good seek as far as in you lies to do good to all other men seek not your own good so much as the good of others or rather seek your own good especially by the means of doing good to others Consider that there is a great reward promised to such as do good to others but there is no promise made for doing good to our selves If we seek to inrich our selves or advance our estate we have our reward if we obtain riches or advancement but if we relieve those that be in necessitie if we assist or direct into good wayes those that for want of means may be tempted to ill courses To this double good work which both relieves the Body and rescues the soul There is appointed a great reward There is a reward promised to such as relieve the poor none to such as inrich themselves There is a reward promised to such as comfort the broken hearted none to such as solace themselves with mirth and passe their Time in pleasures There is a reward for those that raise Up them that fall none to them that being in competent estate seek to advance themselves If such as seek riches get riches if such as seek advancement get advancement verily they have their full reward But if they get or seek it to the prejudice of their poor brethren their sin is grievous And our Saviour Christ pronounceth A wo unto them Luke 6. 24. Wo unto you that are rich for you have received your consolation Is this the condition of all such as be rich no but of such rich ones as regard not understand not the poor Of such as seek to enrich themselves more then to relieve others Wo be to you that be full to wit when others are hungry and you give them not to eat Wo unto you that laugh to wit in time of Publick calamitie and wo when you should mourn with your brethren that do mourn for thus not doing unto them as you would be done unto in the like case God shall do that to you which you would not and give them their hearts desire God will turn their mourning into joy and your laughter into tears A False Balance saith Solomon is abomination to the Lord but a perfect weight pleaseth Him Pro. 11. 1. Now to be more desirous to do good to our selves then to others is as it were to buy with a greater measure and sell with a less For even this practise were no cousenage in Hucksters and marketters unless the Balance of their hearts and minds were unequally set before that is unless the measure of their desire of private gain were greater then their desire of doing good to others This is the point wherein their own Beam differs from or disagrees with Gods Balance hung up in their consciences Love thy neighbour as thy self Do as you would be done unto God that tryeth the very heart and reines doth weigh all our secret thoughts more exactly and curiously then we would weigh Gold and by how much we are more desirous to receive good from others then to do Them Good so much more shall we want of our hearts desire This is the second point wherein the Doctrine of Grace exceeds the Law of nature The Heathen had a surmise or fear that some like evil might befall them as they had done to others yet was not their expectation of punishment so certain but they thought it might be and often was prevented with policie or if they escaped unpunished in this life they thought themselves safe enough whereas we certainly know and believe that God will certainly bring all to equalitie and it shall go worst with them that go unpunished in this life for usually his punishments in this life bring men as it were to a composition with their adversaries both teaching them to do as they would be done unto and to repent for the wrongs they have committed but such as passe this life unpunished and impenitent are arrested at their first entry into the other they fall immediately into the Jaylors hands from whence there is no Redemption 19. Thus much of the First Point according to the method proposed § 5. that is Of the equitie of the Precept and of the Grounds or motives which might incite us to the performance of it either drawn from the Law of Nature or from the Law of Grace the Holy Gospel Of the Second Point that is In what sense The Observation of it is the fulfilling the Law and Prophets or How The Command it self contains the Summe of the Law and Prophets afterward Here only for A Ground to Application I take it as granted That natural Reason and the written Law teach every man what is good for himself and whereon to set his desires And this Rule of Nature and
servant Mat. 18. 23. We are in many respects bound most strictly to render unto God himself according to his reward It was Hezekiahs sin that he did not so 2 Chro. 32. 24 First because he hath prevented us with his blessings he gave us Being before we could desire it and with it He gave us a desire of continuing it Secondly he gave it Us of his meer freewill and abundant kindness And therefore in all equitie we are bound First to render what possibly we can unto Him and that with greater alacritie and cheerfulness then unto man for his sake as Reason teacheth us to perform our personal duties and services to our Parents Patrons and Benefactors with greater care and forwardness then such offices as for their sakes we owe to their Followers or Favorites Hence may we descry the equitie of those two main Commandments on which the whole Law and Prophets depend Love God above all and thy neighbor as thy self All the services of worship of praise thankfulness or the like which we return immediately to God himself belong unto the First Table All the duties we perform to men either because we have received or could desire like kindness from them or because we expect some greater matters from God belong unto the second Table It remains we see how this Rule doth direct our thoughts for the true practice of every particular Commandment What I omitt your own meditation may easily supply 8. None of us as in charity I presume is so ignorant of God or his Goodness but often prayes that he would continue his blessings of life and health unto us desiring withall that he would do some other good unto us which yet we want Could we in the next place take a perfect measure of our own desires of what we want whilst they are fresh and at the height and withall duly weigh those Blessings of life and health considering the full and sole dependence they have on the good-wil and pleasure of our God the strength of the one and weight of the other could not but impell and sway our minds to performance of such duties towards God as his Law and this Rule of Reason require These are good Beginnings of such performances as this Rule requires But here we usually commit a double oversight First We do not weigh blessings received as duly and truly as we should For who is he that truly considers what life is till he come in danger of death Or how pleasant health is till he be pained with some grievous sickness wound or other maladie Or if we come by such occasions duly to esteem of life and health or other blessings already injoyed or to take a true measure of our desires of what we want whilst they are fresh and at the height yet either we apprehend not or we consider not what absolute and intire dependance the beginning or continuance of benefits received or the compleating of others desired have on the good-will and pleasure of our God We think we are in part beholden to our Parents for our Life to our Physician to our strength of nature or good diet for recovery of health to our own wit or friends for obtaining such things as we desire These or like conceits arising from ignorance of Gods providence or want of faith in his Goodness are as so many props or stayes that hinder the weight of his best Blessings or the strength of our desires of further good to have their full shock upon our souls and minds Otherwise the true consideration or feeling of their dependence on Gods will and pleasure would sway and impel us to do our duty to him with the same alacritie we desire good from him to love him with all our heart with all our souls with all our strength yea we would be as desirous to do his will and pleasure as we are to obtain the things that please us as unwilling any way to displease him as we are to forgo any thing we have from him As willing to consecrate our lives and actions to his service as we are to injoy life and use of limbs If a Land-lord should command his Tenant at will to do him such a business perhaps to go some errand of importance for him or else he should go without his Tenement but promise him a better if he did it faithfully The sweetness as well of what he injoyed as of the Reward he looked for would disperse it self throughout his thoughts and season his labour with chearfulness and make all his very pains sweet unto him But if he had lately received an Estate for Lives and could not hope for any further good shortly to come from him although perhaps he would do what his Lord bad him least he should be upbraided with unthankfulness Yet his service would but be faint and cold in respect of the former like his that wrought as we say for the dead Horse This may serve to set forth the difference betwixt the faithful or true believers and the unfaithful or unbelievers heart in the performance of this great Commandment The unbeliever although he acknowledge in some sort That he received all he hath and must expect all he hopes for from God and in this respect must do what God commands yet if at any time he do his Will it is without all Devotion or Chearfulness partly because he thinks the Blessings he looks for must be gotten by his own indeavor and such as he hath have been improved by his own good husbandrie nor doth he fear that the Lord should dispossess him of life or health but there will be time enough to gain or renue his Favour before his Lease as he takes it of life of health and prosperitie be run out The faithful man stedfastly believes and knows that God is the Lord and giver of life that he kils and makes alive that he wounds and alone makes whole that we have no hold of either but only during the Term of his Will and Pleasure he firmly believes all the threatnings of his Law as that either God will punish sinners with sudden and unexpected death saying unto them as he did unto the rich man in the Gospel Thou Fool this night shall thy soul be taken from thee or else suffers them to injoy life and health and other Blessings to their greater condemnation He believes likewise all his promises to the righteous to such as do his will Whence as well the Goodness of all the Blessings he injoyes life health wealth and estate as of those which he hopes for whether in this life or in the life to come do as it were provoke a desire in him of worshipping God and doing his will equal at least to his desire of either having present blessings continued or greater bestowed upon him His joy in praysing God and keeping his Laws is greater then in the injoying of life of his soul his strength or other endowments His life is
good to him because it is from God His soul is good because he knows and as it were feels it to be created by God his health seems good because it springs from him who is The Fountain of Salvation He loves these because they are good But he loves God above all because he is better then all even then the best of all his Blessings These are only Good because they are seasoned with a spice or savor of Gods Goodness Now as it recreates an hungry man to smell meat but much more to tast it so is it a matter to be more desired to tast the Goodness of God as the Psalmist speaks then to enjoy the sweet Savor or Fragrance of him in his Creatures And we best tast the Goodness of God by doing His Will and pleasure as our Saviour saith John 4. 34. My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work As we de desire our Spirit at the hour of death should return to God not only because he gave it but because also he is our Blisse so even in this life the sweetest joy that can be found is when we are lifted up in Spirit to behold and tast the Goodness of God when we can say with the Blessed Virgin My soul doth magnifie the Lord. We should never desire Him to do us any Good but with an instant Return of a more earnest desire to be inabled to do what he would have us do to love him above all and all other things for his sake Having our thoughts and desires thus composed although we have not the particular things we desire yet shall we have our Hearts desire because we delight in the Lord who alone can satisfie our hearts otherwise unsatiable Whereas the wicked albeit he get possession of what he most desired yet hath he not his hearts desire because the desire of it was like a good arm as we say cast awâ—â— being set upon a wrong Object not on the goodness of his God nor on his blessings for his sake but for themselves He setteth his eyes upon that which is nothing Prov. 23. 5. and so cannot satisfie This gives witness to the truth of what the Psalmist saith Psal 37. 16. A small thing that the righteous hath is better then great riches of the ungodly To the godly The loving kindness of the Lord is better not only then all the means of life but then life it self his soul is satisfied as it were which marrow and fatness and his mouth praiseth God with joyful lips As Saint John saith we cannot love God whom we have not seen unlesse we love our brother whom we have seen So neither can we delight in God who is a Spirit unless we first delight purely and aright in his blessings which are sensible and agreeable to nature For it is true in this sense First is that which is natural and then that which is spiritual And the more we delight in them so we duly consider they are his blessings and that as well the continuance of them as of our abilitie to delight in them depends upon His pleasure the more still we delight in Him 10. It is an excellent Rule which Solomon hath given in this case Remember thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth while the evil dayes come not nor the years approach wherein thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them Eccles 12. 1. To be a Creator in Solomons Language imports as much as to be the maker of our Bodies and souls the Sole giver of all things wherein we can delight and sole Author of all the abilities and faculties which make us apt to take delight therein sole disposer of all opportunities that bring about the matters wherein we most delight And To remember our Creator in his Language also is diligently and continually to ponder these things and to be affected or moved with them according to their weight and importance But why doth he charge us to remember God in the dayes of our youth Because in that age we are apt to take greatest delight in our selves or any thing truly delightfull our spirits being then most fresh and lively so that the measure of our delight whether in our selves or in things without us being then truly taken would impell us to a equal delight in Him that was Author and Creator of Both and to correspondent Gratulation whereas deferring of this Remembrance or notice of our Creator till old age come upon us wherein life growes to be a burden and the wonted delights of life either irksom or insipid unpleasant or without all tast or rellish our thankfulness for them will be but faint our gratulation worthless our devotion cold and lumpish The former due estimate of our Creators goodness being planted in youth our delight in him would grow as our bodily abilities for all natural performances did decay we might truely say with the Apostle when I am weak then I am strong and with the Psalmist They shall bring forth more fruit in their Age c. 11. Thus it was with Abraham he had feared God in his youth and obeyed him in his Mature age and though he obtained a son by miraculous means in his old age yet was he not more joyful at his Birth and growth then ready to give him Again to God in his best age He did unto God in this particular as God had done to him nay he did as he desired God should do to him and God did to him above what he could desire because he was so Ready to do what God commanded him He took and offered Isaac his son his only son in whom both he and all the nations of the earth as he hoped should be blessed and God in lieu of this his obedience and thankfulness promiseth and in the fulness of Time sendeth his only son in whom he was well pleased to assume Abrahams seed and to offer himself in sacrifice for the sins of the world a sacrifice for a blessing to all mankind Thus if we shew our selves truly thankful for blessings past God gives us over and above what we could desire do we but what he would have done by us he doth more then we could wish should be done for us As he offered Isaac his only Son whom he loved in hope to receive him again in a Joyful Resurrection so must we offer our dearest affections our chief desires yea our bodies and souls in sacrifice to him in hope to receive them glorified and crowned with immortalitie in the life to come This is to love God with all our heart withall our soul and with all our strength There should be the same mind in us which was in Christ Jesus He laid down his life for us and we should be willing to lay down ours for our Brethren which is the chief and most Transcendent part of the second Table but much more should we be willing to offer our
more merciful unto man his fellow-creature but much more unto his brother in Christ most of all to his fellow members in any civil and Christian Societie For all these are included essentially in the Object of this dutie of loving our neighbor as our selves These are nearer bonds of brotherhood and neigborhood and the more such bonds we have the more we are Neighbors 9. The modern Turks are very observant of this Rule of Solomon in one part for no man was ever more merciful to his beast then they are to some domestick creatures but not upon such motives or considerations as are directly contained in the complete Object of true pitie and mercie for they are so folishly affectionate to Doggs that for a small harm done to them they will not stick to kill an honest man such crueltie is in their mercy It may justly be denominated from the Object A dogged pitie These Rules or Caveats Beloved in our Lord First Of respecting the Exigencies of mens lawful desires Secondly Of not doing to some one man as we would have done to us without consideration what may befall another which we would not have befall us This again Of doing according to the Essential grounds or motives of performing this dutie As they concern all for inlarging the affections and directing any Readiness to do good to others so do they most of all concern such as have the oversight of our souls such as are put in trust with the dispensation of the good things belonging thereto amongst such as have a common right to them They especially should have a care that they do not more affect One then another in bestowing of any publick Favours but according to the Exigence of their estates or according to their obedience and performance of the publick constitutions by which they live As this concerns all such Societies so most of all Societies of Students For such as are given to Attick studies are usually subject to Attick affections Qui vult ingenio cedere rarus erit Every excesse of favours in such Cases is a Testimonie of excesse of worth in those things wherein they can hardliest brook comparisons Hence Manet alta mente repostum Judicium Paridis spretaeque injuria formae As the wound is deep and grievous so is it very dangerous in such as live daily together in one house and meet at one dish for living apart the wound might quickly close and heal without a skar whilst the sight of his Aemulus or competitor doth rub and grate upon his sore and causeth such bitter Exulcerations as oft bewray their inward grief or disdaign in outward gestures yea oft-times I am affraid have caused His wounds to bleed a fresh by whose stripes we were healed and by whose blood which was shed for us we hope to be cleansed Those persons who are of this disposiition must needs be intreated to study moderation of Desires and to think of others better then their selves at least of such as are in place before them And you that are in place of Authoritie unto whose care and trust the dispensation of the good things of this place are left let me in the Bowels of Christ Jesus beseech you even as you will answer it at the last day not to have the Faith of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ in respect of persons I speack chiefly to the sons of Levi Let me beseech you for a Close to remember what was our father Levi his praise or rather what the Commendation of his Function in the Abstract what was the Foundation of his Peace the Ground of Gods Covenant of mercy and long life with him was it not this as Moses tels us Deut. 33. 9. He said unto his father and to his mother I have not seen him neither knew he his brethren nor acknowledged his own children for they observed thy word O Lord and kept thy Covenant They shall teach Jacob thy Judgements and Israel thy Law They shall put incense before thy face and the Burnt-offering upon thine Altar Lord Let thine Urim and thy Thummim be still with thine Holy one Blesse O Lord his substance and accept the work of his hands smite through the Loines of them that rise against him and of them that hate him that they rise not again Amen The Former Sermon upon this Text. CHAP. XXXV JEREM. 45. v. 2. Thus saith the Lord unto thee O Baruch Verse 3. Thou didst say wo is me now for the Lord hath added grief to my sorrow I fainted in my sighing and find no rest Verse 4. Thus shalt thou say unto him Behold that which I have built will I break down and that which I have planted will I pluck up even this whole Land Verse 5. And seekest Thou great things for thy self seek them not For behold I will bring evil upon all Flesh saith the Lord But thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest Little and Great Termes of Relation Two Doctrines One Corollarie Times and occasions alter the nature of Things otherwise Lawful Good men should take the help of The Antiperistasis of bad times to make themselves Better Sympathy with others in miserie injoyned in Scripture practised by Heathens Argia and Portia The Corollarie proved by Instance and That made the Application of the Former doctrine 1. IT is as true in matter of desire as in materials subject to sight or other bodily sense Magnum aut parvum non dicitur nisi cum respectu The different bounds of Great and Little cannot be determined but by their References The least body that is is not little in respect of the several parts whereinto it may be divided No Part can be said Great in respect of the whole whence it is taken Of the largest Country in Europe we may say Quota pars terrarum Little England is a competent style for our native Country compared with France Spain or Germanie And yet Armorica with reference to England is truly instiled Little Britain Within the lesse of these two Provinces it would be matter of no long search to find Huge Mole-hils and such petty hils as cannot deserve the name of Mountains And in the Revolutions of times the exigence of some peculiar seasons may truly argue Extraordinary favours in ordinarie Gifts large bounties in small Donatives yea great excess as well in the matter as in the manner of such desires as at other times would come short of mediocritie For a man descended and qualified so well as Baruch to whom this message was here directed to set up his staff at a Levites lodging door resolved to live contented with a poor bed a stool and a Candlestick in a corner of some Country village may with Reference to modern Practises seem to argue rather great moderation of desires then any immoderate desire of great matters But such are the streights whereinto Jerusalem and Juda his native Country now are brought That to use
which knows no Law could make the use of the Law unlawful to him because most unexpedient for the present So the Lord had said Jerem. 16. 9. Behold I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes even in your dayes the voice of mirth and the voyce of gladness the voyce of the Bridegroom and the voyce of the Bride And seeing the Lord at this time had determined not to pipe unto this people Ieremy had greatly offended if he had been taken in their marriage Dances He knew Children were an heritage which cometh from the Lord that the fruit of the womb was his reward and that in the multitude of sons was store of blessings Marriage he knew to be honorable amongst all but at this time unseasonable for him Good seed is well sown when it is likely the Crop may stand and prosper He planteth well that plants in hope to reap the fruits of his own Labours But who sowes wheat unto the winter floods or plants a vineyard for his fuel why then should Jeremy at this time become an Husband to beget Sons unto the sword Or take a Wife to bring forth Daughters to destruction To this purpose the Lord had inhibited Jeremy in particular But the Reason of the inhibition in like times is perpetually General Yhou shalt not take thee a VVife nor have Sons nor Daughters in this place For thus saith the Lord concerning the Sons and concerning the Daughters that are born in this place and concerning their Mothers that bear them and concerning their fathers that beget them in this Land They shall die of grievous deathes and diseases they shall not be lamented neither shall they be buried but they shall be as dung upon the earth and they shall be consumed by the sword and by famine and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven and for the beasts of the earth Ier. 16. 1. The Prophets and sweet singers of Ierusalem and Iudah had sometimes brought them such joyful Ambassages of their espousals unto their God Their Princes and people had formerly known such happy dayes of joy securitie and peace that for Ieremy and Baruch to have then affected this rigid course of life which now they follow would have been but as the taking up of a sad or doleful Madrigall at a marriage feast or as the acting of some ominous direful Tragedy upon a Coronation day But seeing the glory is now departing from Israel the Bridegroom leaving their coasts their mother whom the Lord had once betrothed unto himself in surest bonds of dearest love stands liable to the sentence of final divorce The Children of the Bride-chamber specially Ieremiah and Baruch must betake themselves to fasting prayer and mourning Now to have used their wonted solace mirth or feasting would have been all one as if the one had piped the other had danced a wanton Jigge or Corranto in the Solemnities of their mothers Funerals or as if they had marcht together in a morisce-dance over their fathers Grave 6. Had that late Fugitive or other his Fellow Postillers learned thus to distinguish times and seasons The supposed difference between Precepts necessary to all and Evangelical Counsels peculiar to such as aim at Extraordinary perfection would clearly appear to be but a Dream or imagination which hath no root but ignorance Their error perhaps may thus be rectified if to discover the Original thereof be enough to rectifie it Many Divine Precepts there be from whose absolute and soveraign Necessitie no powers on earth can plead exemption and yet the practises enjoyned by them are neither necessary to all nor expedient for any at sometimes or in some places Because the Precepts themselves may be Disjunctive or opposite branches of some more General Mandate It will not follow This or That man in former Ages hath done many Good works pleasant and acceptable unto God such as not the godliest man living is bound at this time to do Ergo he did supererogate in doing them that is in plain English he did more then he was bound to do For though rebus sic stantibus no man be bound yet every man say we stands bound by the Eternal and unchangeable Law of God to do the like as often as the same external occasions shall be offered or the like internal suggestions be made unto him by The signes of the Times or disposition of Gods providence But here By the Eternal Law of God we are not bound to understand only the Ten Commandments The Decalogue if without offence Gods Words may be so compared contains only the Praedicamental Rules or Precepts of the eternal Law Other divine precepts there be more Transcendental which have the same Use in matters of Christian practise or true Observation of the ten Commandments as General maxims have in particular Sciences Such a Precept in respect of the second Table is that Love thy neighbor as thy self By this precept every man stands necessarily bound to perform more then ordinary Charitie toward his neighbour as often as his neighbours occasions to use his charitable help are more then ordinary The same Use in respect of both the Tables hath that other Precept Whatsoever ye would have done to you so do ye to others Most General likewise and most indispensable are these Two mandates Let every man walk as he is called Time must be redeemed when dayes are evil And seeing the inhabitants of every Country stand bound Jointly and severally to glorifie God by due observation of his Commandments The more licentiously others violate any one or more negative precepts his Children alwayes know themselves tyed in conscience to so much more strickt observance of the contrary Affirmatives which are alwayes understood in the Negative The measure of their sobrietie and devotion must be taken from others excess in Luxury and prophaneness Briefly the prohibitions or injunctions expresly contained in the Decalogue or others parts of the moral Law describe the General bounds or limits without which we may not within which we must continually walk Our observation of Gods Providence and signes of the times will best direct us to such particulars within those Limits as are most expedient for the present The several exigence of every season and the necessitie and conditions of the parties with whom we live will notifie the definite measure or exact quantitie of such good offices or performances as the eternal Law requireth of us To be well instructed what is most fitting for the season every man must ask counsel of his own heart but after his heart examined by the Rules of the eternal Law hath informed him what is fit and expedient it is no matter of Counsel but of necessary Precept to do it and that in such measure as the Exigence of time of place and persons require Albeit others which have not had the like occasions to consult their own hearts be not bound to do the like And some it may be
little ado as their Example may seem a just Temptation unto braver spirits to dis-esteem the proffer here made to Baruch as scarce worth the acceptance unless the conditions were more ample then have been intimated 2. But if that be true whereof some of Natures Principal Secretaries have given us notice In ipso mortis articulo sumus vitae avidissimi Many such as have rusht upon extream danger without dismay or outward sign of fear could their tongues have been their hearts interpreters whilst their souls did take their farewell or whilst their heads were severed from their bodies as Homer relates of his Heroicks their last Ditty I am perswaded would have been Dulce bellum inexpertis It was well observed by the younger Plinie Impetu quodam instinctu procurrere ad mortem commune cum multis deliberare vero causas ejus expendere utque suaserit ratio vitae mortisque consilium suscipere ponere ingentis est animi For his sick friend to weigh life though laden with grief and death not fully apprehended but approaching in steady calm and quiet cogitations not suffering his mind to be so farre byassed or cast with the conceit of the one or other but that the voice of Physician or Friend should sway his choyce to accept of either did in this Romans judgment argue a truly resolute and noble spirit God sometimes in mercy in justice often so appoints that death shall fully attach men before they apprehend the least Terror of it which without the special Assistance of his Spirit is one time or other terrible to flesh and blood without exception That many are never heard expresly to recal their stubborn resolutions for abandoning discontented or disgraced life doth not sufficiently argue they did not finally mislike their choice They might mislike it when it was too late the door of repentance being shut upon them whilest with the foolish Virgins they sought for the oil of mercie to renew the decaying lamps of life For albeit the unwieldy desires of lofty minds may overturn the very foundation whereon they are built ere notice can be taken which way they sway yet at the very moment of dissolution on which the Conceits of what they are and what they must be move upon equal terms as upon an indivisible Centre they will relent And although they had formerly been perswaded that souls might be annihilated by death yet to live although with never so little yea even to live because life is something must needs seem better then to be utterly nothing He that can see no mean betwixt the members of that division Aut Caesar aut nihil is questionless subject to some strange suffusion of his internal eye-sight or hath his hopes hoysted with wine the usual bellows to enflame the heart with rash and desperate resolutions Many for true valour better able to win an Empire and for wisdom more fit to manage it then Caesar Borgia either first Author or chief Practitioner of this false Logick have been content to beg life and liberty at their insolent enemies hands whose presence they never did nor ever would have feared in Battel 3. To give you A full Induction in One Instance It shall be in that Famous Spanish Leader which had Italy France Germany unpartial Witnesses and his professed Enemies professed Admirers of his heroical Worth Alvares de Sande under whose Colours not one of his Country-men but was more afraid to play the Coward then to encounter the fiercest Enemy that durst affront him Or least this his courage might be suspected to be of Cravons kind or the Sohaere of his valor terminated within the bounds of Europe his Africane Exploits against the Moors would hardly be credited by modern Souldiers unless Lanoue a man without the reach of suspition either for Ignorance or vulgar Credulity in matters Martial had given them undoubted Credence and used this Great Spanish Commanders Performance as an Experiment or Probatum to evince the truth of the seeming Paradox Concerning the use of the Pike in warre For what Captain almost since the ancient Romans times would have undertaken to maintain that in the Schools as possible which this Noble Spaniard proved by practise To conduct four thousand pikes over a plain of four or five miles length in despight of eighteen thousand horse appointed of purpose to prevent their passage Yet after six fierce encounters upon the best advantage that so great distance could afford unto his barbarous enemies He brought his company all save 80. safe unto the place intended leaving seven or eight hundred of his assaylants dead on the field the rest repulsed I should not have given so much credence unto La-Noue's reports or discourse unless that Noble English Generall Sir John Norice who intitled Lanoue to the Father of modern Wars had put in execution the rules prescribed by Lanoue for use of the Pike and harquebuse or musket with better success then either Alvarez de Sandè or that well trained Spanish band which slew that Noble Peer of France Guaston de Fois in that uncelebrated yet most famous Retreat at Gant never be forgotten by the English Nation Or if some yong Gallant or hard-bred souldier should here except against Sandeus as the Aramites did against the God of the Israelites It may be he was a man of an intrepid spirit in the field but perhaps more faint hearted then many others of his time to endure a lingering siedge I will refer such to his Defence of Gerbis where having brought himself to the common souldiers stint as well for the qualitie as for the quantity of his meat he perswades the feeble remnant being but one thousand left of many which had been consumed by famine and such languishing diseases as scarcitie or homeliness of diet usually breed to honour their death with the enemies blood rather then to yield themselves into their hands Albeit the successe did not answer his Resolution yet the attempt was on his part so valorous that the Turkish General whose Tent he sought to surprize by night being stricken with admiration of his worth did wooe him upon honourable Terms to become servant to great Solyman his master as Solyman himself afterward did upon the Fame But he whose carriage for any terror or calamitie of Warres was thus invincible was by a short captivitie though not half so miserable as the Princes and nobles of Judah were now to suffer brought to deprecate death in humble sort and afterward to esteem of life as a more welcome prey then the richest spoils of all his former victories then the greatest Kingdom that could have been offered him in the dayes of his prosperitie How easily the Almighty can teach the haughty stomack or intrepid heart to esteem his favour here profer'd to Baruch as they ought we need no better testimonie for no better can be brought then Busbequius his relation of this Noble Spaniards miserable perplexitie during
came to Elijah the Tishbite saying seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me for he rent his clothes and put sackcloth upon his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went softly because he humbleth himself before me I not will bring the evil in his dayes but in his sons dayes will I bring the evil upon his house Such was that Message which Hulda the prophetesse delivered unto Josiahs messengers But to the King of Judah which sent you to enquire of The Lord thus shall ye say to him Thus saith the Lord God of Israel as touching the words which thou hast heard because thine heart was tender and thou hast humbled thy self before the Lord when thou heardest what I spake against this place and against the inhabitants thereof that they should become a desolation and a curse and hast rent thy clothes and wept before me I also have heard thee saith the Lord Behold therefore I will gather thee unto thy fathers and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace and thine eye shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place Yet did the arrowes of Israels and Judahs most inveterate enemies the arrowes of the Aramites and Aegyptians make violent entrance for death into both these Princes bodies long before the time by ordinary course of nature prefixed for dispossession of their souls How then should life be unto Baruch as a welcome Prey being to be fully charged with all these hard conditions and bitter grieviances whose release or avoidance made untimely bloody death become A kind of gracious Pardon unto Ahab and a grateful Boon or Booty to good Josias For what evil did the Lord either threaten or afterward bring upon Iosiahs posteritie or people which Baruchs eyes did not behold Nor did this lease of life and libertie here bequeathed unto him expire till long after Jerusalems glasse was quite run out till after her whitest Towers were covered with dust and all the cities of Judah and Benjamin laid wast till the King the Princes and nobles were led captives or slain and the remnant which War had left in Iudah as a gleaning after harvest disperst and sowen throughout the Land of Egypt never to be reapt but by the Sword which even there pursues them excepting a very small number that escaped Ierem. 44. 28. And what greater evil could Iosias's eyes have seen though he had lived as long as Baruch The Difficulty therefore seems unanswerable How life should be a more grateful prey unto Baruch then it might have been unto Josias 6. But here if we rightly distinguish the Times the Persons and Offices We may easily derive the violent shortning of good Josias his dayes and this lengthening of Baruch's to see the evil which Josias desired rather to be sightless then to see from one and the same loving kindness of the Lord. Josias we must consider was The Great Leader of Gods People and could not but wish their Fall should be under some other then himself It was a Donative more magnificent then the long reign of Augustus that being slain in warre he should go to his grave in peace For this included his peoples present safety whose extirpation had been till this time deferred for his sake though now at length he must be taken out of the way that the Messengers of Gods wrath which could forbear no longer may have a freer passage throughout the Land No marvel if after thirtie one years raign in prosperitie and peace he patiently suffered violent death being thus graced with greater honour then either Codrus the last King of Athens or the Roman Decius purchased by voluntary sacrificing themselves for their people Perhaps the plagues which these men feared might otherwise have been avoided Or it may be the fear it self was but some vain delusion of Satan alwayes delighted with such sacrifices But that Ierusalem and Iudah standing condemned before Iosias's birth were so long reprieved so well intreated for his sake we have the great Judges Sentence for our warrant And therefore the Word of The Lord which Huldah the Prophetess had sent must needs seem good to him It was a message more unwelcome then such a death as Iosias suffered which Isaias brought to his great Grand-father Hezekiah lately delivered from the Assyrian and miraculously restored to life but more forward to receive Presents from Berodash King of Babylon then to render praise and thanksgiving to his God according to the Reward bestowed upon him Behold the dayes come saith Isaias that all that is in thine house and that which thy Fathers have laid up in store unto this day shall be carried unto Babylon nothing shall be left saith the Lord. And of thy sons which shall issue from thee which thou shalt beget shall they take away and they shall be Eunuchs in the Palace of the King of Babylon Doth he repine or mutter at this ungrateful Message No But with great submission replies Good is the Word of the Lord which Thou hast spoken And he said Is it not good if peace and truth be in my dayes Isaiah 39. 8. Shall we hence collect that this Good King was of that wicked Tyrants mind who as he had shortened her dayes from whom he had beginning of life so did he envie his Mother Nature should survive him wishing the world might be dissolved at his death and that Old Chaos might be his Tomb God forbid we should wrong the memory of so Gracious a Prince by the least suspicion of such ungracious thoughts Rather his heart did smite him for shewing his Treasury his Armory and other provision wherein he had gloried too much unto the King of Babels Messengers This sin he knew to be such as his Father Davids had been in numbring the Hosts of Israel The plagues now threatened by his God he could not but acknowledge to be most just and great therefore must his mercy toward him needs seem to be in that for his sake who had so ill requited this strange Delivery and Recovery he would yet deferre them But seeing the wickedness of Manasseh and the mighty encrease of this peoples iniquity from Hezekiah's death did earnestly sollicit the Day of Visitation the former adjourning of it must cost Iosiah dear And Gods Arrows being flesht in him No marvel if they return not empty from the blood of the slain or from the fat of the mighty Having begun with so good A King it might well be expected they would make an end of so naughty a people This was he of whom not the people only but the Prophet hath said Under his shadow we shall be safe As he was a shadow without question of that Great Shepheard which was to be smitten ere the flock were scattered upon the occasion of whose death his Disciples likewise said We trusted it had been he which should have redeemed Israel And for Josias to become the true shadow or the bloody
picture of that Great Shepheards death was a greater honour then if the shadow in the Dial of Ahaz had returned backward ten degrees in token of prolonging his dayes as long as Hezekiah's had been specially if we consider that the Saying fulfilled in the Great Prophet was verified in him Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none Though he were slain yet his Army returned home safe and he went to his grave in peace being buried in his own Sepulcher by his Servants 7. But alas Baruch lives in an Age super-annuated for any such Grace or Favour as Hezekiah or Iosias found in a City in which though Noah Iob and Daniel lived together yet as I live saith the Lord God they shall deliver neither son nor daughter they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness And shall not the Word of the Lord which Ieremy hath spoken unto Baruch be good For is it not good that when the Lord hath determined to send his four sore judgments upon Ierusalem the Sword and the Famine and the noysom Beast and the Pestilence to cut off from it man and beast yet his life shall be a prey not unto these but to himself Yes this is much better considering the season then if he had been sole heir to Hezekiah or Iosias Three or four of whose Successors all in their turns Kings of Judah he lived to see led bound in chains and their Nobles linkt in fetters of Iron For Baruch with reference unto these mens persons and present calamity to have such an ample safe Conduct as no Monarch living could have granted him License to travel whither he listed with full assurance of life was An Honour peculiar to Gods Saints A Reward wherein at this time my Prophet Ieremy and Ebedmelech which had received Ieremy in the name of a Prophet ministring bread and water c. unto his necessities were to be his only partners 8. But though they had liberty to travell whither they please will they be as careless passengers without all regard of their mothers sorrows wherewith the Lord had afflicted her in the day of his fierce anger Jeremie doubtless would have endured all the tortures cruel Babylon could have devised upon condition Jerusalem and Judah might still have dwelt in saftie The Galatians were not more affectionate towards Paul then Jeremy was to the meanest branch that sprang from good Josias willingly would he have pluckt out his own to have redeemed Zedekiah's eyes or to have prevented that lamentable Farewel which they were to take of sight the barbarous massacre of his dearest children And how then can this short prolongation of life be sweet to Jeremy the Aged or unto Baruch the Scribe being now to see such miserie fall upon their native Country King and people as they might justly wish their mothers wombs had been their graves rather then they should have been brought forth to behold it A thousand lives had been well spent upon condition such calamity had never been seen in Jury and yet the prorogation of Baruchs and Ieremies life though certain to see the execution of all the plagues here threatned these becoming now at length without any fault or negligence in them but rather by others neglect of their forewarnings altogether Fatal and inevitable is much better then a thousand years spent in mirth and jollity But would they not sorrow day and night for the slain of the daughter of their people The Book of the Lamentations will witness tears not sweet wine to have been the drink of him that wrote them And shall life though it have continuall sorrow for its sauce be sweet whose heart among us would not be sad even full of sorrow whose eyes would not overflow with tears at the Tragical representation of their disasters and calamities whose living persons we had alwayes honoured whose memory and never dying Fame we reverence And yet to minds deckt with more polite literature or mollified with the Muses songs the secret delight which in this Case ariseth from the Poets Art and contrivance much more from our Observation of the strange concurrence of real causes conspiring to work designes worthy of God whether for mercy or for vengeance is infinitely more sweet and pleasant then the profuse mirth of lascivious Comedies on any other positive delight whereof humane senses whether external on internal are capable And if with Reverence any may be thereto compared This secret placid delight which is thus accompanied with sighes and composed sadnesse most perfectly resembles the internal comfort of the spirit alwayes rejoycing in tribulation Such truly was the joy and comfort which Ieremy and Baruch found who had now been admitted spectators twentie years and more of a true unfained Tragedy whose Catastrophe was to contain the most doleful spectacle the great eye of the world since it first rolled in his sphere untill this time had ever beheld Had they lookt upon the several parts of this Tragedy the last Scene especially with natural eyes the gastly sight had doubtless inspired them with some desperate Romane Resolution to have acted the like crueltie upon themselves as the Babylonians had done upon their brethren to have set a full and Capital Period to all the woes which they had written against this people with their own blood spilt in the ruines of the Temple or mingled with the ashes of the Altar But now that The Lord hath enlightned their hearts to discern the sweet disposition of his all-seeing Providence still counterplotting the subtle Projects of man and making the Politicians which had accounted his Prophets silly fools unexperienced Idiots or raving Bedlames more curiously cunning then the spider to weave the net which he had ordained to spread upon them the more they sorrowed to see the desolation of their country the greater still was their solace in contemplating the justice power and wisdom of their God in accomplishing his indignation contrary to Prince and peoples expectation but agreeable to their predictions Finally as men compacted of flesh and blood they could not but sympathize with miserable men even their brethren their flesh and bones As faithfull men they could not but be in mind and affection conformable to The Lord their God by whose good spirit their hearts were toucht and their souls illuminated to fore-see the contrivance of his designes upon these his disobedient children which had so often refused the wayes of peace which he would have led them in but they would not follow 9. From this Double Aspect the One of Nature the other of Grace and this Twofold Sympathie thence arising the one with their Creator the other with their fellow-Creatures doth the Lord frame this Pathetical and forcible Charge vnto Baruch Behold that which I have built will I break down and that which I have planted will I pluck up even this whole Land and seekest thou great things for thy self Seek them not The Exegesis or Implication fully unfolded
matter at least to the Prophets foresight of question But that the Lord would repent him of the plagues denounced so they would pray in faith was Iuris liquidi a point whereof he never doubted Nor is it possible our hearts should ever be throughly pierced with the right conceit either of our own or of our Countries sins without this undoubted Perswasion of Gods infinite love towards all and every one of us Impossible it is for us his Embassadors to be armed with such indefatigable Courage and diligence as the times require either for discharge of our duty in denouncing his plagues against the impenitent or in averting men from impenitency and exciting them to true repentance until our souls be firmly possessed with the Prophets Doctrine Of Gods immutable Facility to repent him of such plagues as without our repentance are eternally and immutably decreed against us These Alternations of Gods loving kindness and severitie towards the Same People yea towards the same Individual Persons are as the Tropicks under which the Messengers of Peace must constantly run their contrary courses sometime exhorting with all long-suffering to embrace his mercies otherwhile sharply reproving and powerfully threatning his fearful Judgements Constancy in truly observing and duly entertaining the just occasions of this contrariety in the matter of our message is as the Centre on which our souls being throughly setled the whole Frame of our affections whether of love unto their persons or of hate unto their sins over whom he hath made us over-seers becomes parallel to the Almighties Will who though he punish the impenitent with death temporal and eternal yet doth he not will their impenitencie but useth all meanes possible to bring them unto true repentance 12. It is I confess A matter hard for flesh and blood to conceive so much as may satisfie this desire of knowing the manner how Omnipotency should for many generations be possessed with an eager longing after a peoples safety which in the end must be destroyed How the great Creator of Heaven and Earth which gave Being to all things by his Word and made our souls immortal by his breath should be as it were in a continual childbirth of sinful men seeking to fashion and quicken them with the Spirit of Life and yet they after all this travel prove but abortive and mis-shapen like the untimely fruit of a woman which never saw the Sun never to be seen amongst the living But no marvel if we poor Worms of the earth blind and naked perceive not the force or nature of those burning flames of eternal and unchangeable Love such is the very nature of our God seeing they are seated in that glorious inaccessible light Yet of that eternal and glorious Sun whose brightness no mortal eye may look upon and live we may behold a true and perfect Module in the Ocean of mercy and compassion in the watry eyes of the Son of God with sighs bewailing impoenitent Jerusalems woful Case If thou hadst known even thou at least in this thy day the things that belong unto thy peace but now they are hid from thine eyes Luke 19. 42. And elsewhere O Hierusalem Hierusalem thou that killest the Prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee how often would I have gathered thy children together even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings and ye would not Matth. 23. 37. If Christ Jesus as truly God as man did thus thirst after Ierusalems peace after Ierusalem thus glutted with the Prophets blood did thirst most eagerly after his farre be it from us to think his loving kindness is utterly estranged from us albeit our sins have made a great separation betwixt him and us Let us not then trifle out the time with Curious Disputes concerning the manner of his Decree but rather seek him with all speed and diligence whilest he may be found laying sure hold on his mercie before the swift approach of his iudgements violently haled down each day more than other by the grievous weight of our sins remove it without the reach of Ordinary Repentance 13. It is a truth most delightful and comfortable to Contemplate That The Immensitie of our God is as full of mercy and compassion as the Sea is of water or the body of the Sun of light But let us withall consider That the more abundant his loving kindness towards us the more sweet and fragrant his invitations have been the more grievously have we provoked his fierce wrath and indignation by our continual wilful refusal to be gathered under the shadow of his wings daily stretcht out in mercy for our safety Be we sure God knows his own as well as we do ours and will not be over-reached by us The longer we deferre the renewing of his wonted favours the dearer we must account it will cost us our suit at death will be more difficult Those prayers those tears those sighs or other attendants or concomitants of true repentance which in times past would have gone for currant will hereafter be esteemed light or counterfeit And yet alas Who is he in Court or Country in the City or in the Village in the Academy or among the Ignorant or illiterate that layes his own or others sins to heart as he should Or poures forth such fervent prayers and supplications unto his God as our Predecessors have done upon lesse signification of his displeasure and fewer fore-warnings of his judgements then we have had continually these divers years past Yea who is he amongst all the Sons of Levi that with Jeremy and Baruch hath utterly disavowed all care or study of his own advancement or contentment that he may entirely consecrate his soul his thoughts and best imployments to his Masters will to take away the precious from the vile to be as Gods mouth to cause others to conform themselves to him not to conform himself to them To set himself as a wall of brass for this rebellious people to fight against whilst he thunders out Gods judgments against great and small without all respect of persons Nay doth not Nobility Gentry and Commonalty Clergy and Laity yea I dare say it as well singula generum as genera singulorum so mightily set their minds on great matters and so stretch their inventions either for getting more or for improving what they have gotten to the utmost value as if we would give God and men to understand that we had no inheritance in that Good Land wherein The Lord placed our Fathers But only a short Remainder of an expiring Estate which we despere to renew or as if we would have it proclaimed in Gath or published in Askalon that the fear of them is already fallen upon the natural Inhabitants of this Land now labouring only to prevent them in gathering up the present commodities or to defeat them of their expected spoil We demean our selves just as the manner is when Enemies more potent then can safely be forthwith
for conferring the Order of the Priesthood and for the efficacie of the Sacrament of Confirmation Secondly The Necessitie of the ordinarie Priests Intention in administring the Sacrament of Baptism of the Lords Supper and of Extreme Unction we need not be afraid or ashamed to Charge their Doctrine in making the Intention of the Priest or Minister of the Sacrament to be an Essential part of the Sacrament with nursing a perpetual distrust or doubt not only of salvation or perseverance in Grace but with distrust or Doubt whether men have the ordinary Meanes for attaining unto the First or Second Grace For of these Meanes they can be no more certain no better assured then they are of the Priests Intention 6. The Second Point which I undertook to shew you was How some in Reformed Churches by seeking the Cure of this maladie to wit Doubt or distrust of salvation by the Contrary did conceive a doctrine which either nurseth a Doubt or distrust not of salvation only but of meanes necessarie unto it as bad or worse then the former Doubt of the Romish Church or else occasioneth a Presumption in many which is worse then both The doctrine which they conceived to be the fittest medicine for curing the Romish Maladie to wit distrust or Doubt of salvation was The Certainty or Assurance of salvation That Fides was Fiducia That Faith did include a certainty of salvation which if every man could assume none should Doubt or distrust of salvation Mistake me not I pray as if I did absolutely deny or condemn this Doctrine which I acknowledge to be wholsome and true in its Time and Place I only mislike the mis-placing or mis-application of this Truth As he said Beneficia male collocata male facta arbitror Good offices evil bestowed part-take more of evil Turns then of good deeds So may I say That the mis-placing of Truth is oft-times more dangerous then a gross Error But how or wherein hath this Doctrinal Truth concerning The Certaintie or Full Assurance of Faith been mis-placed by some Writers of Reformed Churches In this especially That they have taught or maintained this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this Full Assurance or Certitudo Fidei which is somewhat more then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be as Essential to the Nature of Faith of that Faith which distinguisheth a Christian from an Infidel or a Faithful man from a Reprobate as the Intention of the Priest is by the Doctrine of the Romish Church to the Essence or efficacie of the Sacrament Such an Essential Propertie would they have This Certaintie of salvation to be of true Faith that whosoever doth truly believe must be Certain of his salvation and whosoever is not certain of his salvation is no true Believer And to this Point or purpose that Saying of the Apostle 2 Cor. 13. 5. hath been alleged by many Know you not your own selves how that Jesus Christ is in you except you be Reprobates The former Extent of this Certaintie of salvation to All true Believers did give the forest blow to Reformed Religion that ever it received a wound more grievous than all our Adversaries could have given it had not her friends and lovers given them this Advantage Now this Negative or Exclusive Interpretation of this place of St. Paul as if all were Reprobates or without hope which one time or other after meanes of salvation have been offered cannot assure themselves of their present estate in Grace or Salvation hath more deeply wounded the Consciences of private men then the consciousness of all their other mis-deeds or practises And the Doctrine is for this reason the more to be misliked for that it specially wounds such as are of an humble and dejected spirit and most afraid to offend God either by unbelief or by misdeeds 7 Both parts of my Conclusion to wit That This Doctrine admitteth either Doubt of salvation or Presumption will be made clear or cast upon you from the Confluence of these two Errors mentioned The One which makes The Certaintie of Salvation an Essential or reciprocal Property of Faith The Other which ranks all that have not this Assurance or Certaintie in the state or condition of Reprobates which is indeed but a Branch of another usual Error of which I must request and admonish you to beware in whomsoever you find it of them Who divide all mankind without Limitation into two ranks into sheep or goats Reprobates Though this be in due time and place most true yet it is a truth much mis-placed if we make this Division of all men before the hour of death or day of Judgment But you expect a clear Explication of the manner how these Two Opinions nurse either a Doubt of Salvation or Presumption which is worse then Doubt Take it then Thus. If it were a Truth to be taught or if it be taken as true That whosoever doth not attain unto the Certaintie of Salvation is none of the Elect or That of all mankind the one sort is irrevisibly ordained to life the other irreversibly ordained to death Then All such as have heard the Word preached and received the Sacraments and are not as yet assured that they are in the Estate of Grace or number of the Elect must of necessitie doubt whether there be any possibility left for them to attain unto such an Estate or whether they be not in the number of Reprobates I know the usual Reply to this Objection is That albeit some men be irreversibly appointed to death eternal before they be made part-takers of life temporal yet because it is unknown unto us who they be that be thus ordained or appointed therefore we must preach the Word and administer the Sacraments indifferently to all whom we see willing to hear the Word or receive the Sacraments But all this doth no way diminish the former Doubt or distrust in most hearers for if it still be true as the former Doctrine supposeth that some men the farre greater part of men which hear the Word preached are irreversibly ordained to death every man which as yet apprehends not his own estate in Grace or his Ordination to life eternal cannot be Certain must still doubt whether he be or ever shall be in the number of them which are or shall be irreversibly ordained to life The Romish Church did never deny but that the Priest may actually or virtually intend to do what the Church appoints him to do when he administreth the Sacraments And yet in as much as they teach withall That if he do not intend to do as the Church of Christ appoints him to do the Sacramental Act is void we hence justly charge their doctrine with breeding or nursing continual Distrust or Doubt of Salvation But if we withdraw or substract the Intention or purpose of God or of Christ from concurring with the Word and Sacrament which we exhibit unto all or from concurring with any part or the
greater part of men we do necessarily breed a greater scruple or nurse a more dangerous Doubt of salvation in all men as yet not effectually called then the Romish Church doth For Gods Intention or purpose to save men is without all question more Essential to the Efficacie of the Word preached or of the Sacraments administred then the Romish Church can conceive the Intention of her Priests to be Besides all this If their Doctrine were true who teach That all such men as in the issue prove Goats or Reprobates were such from their birth or irreversibly destinated to death before they were born God should with-hold or withdraw his Purpose or Intention of Salvation from farre more hearers of the Word and partakers of the Sacraments then the Romish Priests usually do 8. But many you will say which hear the Word are already assured of their Estate in Grace or of their salvation And this Doctrine cannot occasion any doubt or distrust in them It cannot indeed whilst they are thus perswaded But even this Perswasion it self if it be immature or conceived before its time doth secretly nurse A Presumption which is far worse then Doubt or distrust of salvation And sometimes occasions a worse kinde of distrust or Doubt then the former doctrine of the Romish Church doth For suppose A man which is to day strongly perswaded of his present Estate in saving Grace and certain of his salvation should to morrow or the next day fall into some grosse or grievous sin and continue in it or the like for many dayes together If his former assurance remain the same it was it is No Assurance of Faith No true Confidence but Presumption Or if his former Confidence or Assurance upon consciousness of new sins fail or abate The Former Division of All Mankinde into Goates and sheep into Elect and Reprobates will thrust him into Despere For the Consciousnesse of freedom from grosser sins or of practise of good works cannot be a surer token of his Estate in Grace or salvation then the consciousness of foul and grievous sins is of Rejection or Reprobation if it were true that every man is at all times either in the state or condition of an Elect person or a Reprobate For The Rule of life and Faith is as plain and peremptory that no Adulterer no murtherer no foul or grievous offender shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven as it is That all such as live a godly and a sober life shall enter into it And yet our own consciences can give a surer Testimony that we have committed grosse and greivous sins then that they are cleansed from the guilt of former sins Seeing the heart of man is more deceitful or more deceivable in its perswasions or Judgement of its good deeds or resolutions then in its apprehension of grosser facts committed by us And for this Reason I cannot perswade my self That any man which hath any sense or feeling of True Religion or rightly understands himself in these or the like Points can in the consciousness of grosse and fouler sins rest perswaded that he is in the same Estate of Grace wherein he was or in the same way to life Howbeit even in the consciousness of foulest sins he may and ought to have hope that he may be renewed by repentance And yet to have such an hope were impossible unlesse he were perswaded that there is a Mean or middle Estate or condition between the estate and condition of the Elect and the Reprobates 9. But let us take a man that hath been long perswaded that he is and hath been in the irreversible state of salvation and is not conscious to himself of any grosse or palpable sin or at least of continuance in any such sins since this perswasion did possesse him Yet if he have embraced this opinion or perswasion before his soul were adorned with that golden chain of spiritual vertues which St. Peter requires 2 Pet. 1. whether for making our election sure in it self or for assuring it unto us This immature or misplaced perswasion may fill his soul with the self same presumption which the absolute infallibilitie of the present Romish Church doth breed or occasion in all such as beleeve it And that is A presumption worse then heathenish For though an Heathen or Infidel kill men uncondemned by law live in incest and fall down before stocks and stones or other dumb creatures Yet such a man being called in question for killing men uncondemned by Law will not justifie his Action If his incest be detected he will be ashamed of it or being challenged for worshipping stocks and stones he will not allege any sacred Authoritie for his warrant But if you challenge a Romanist with some like practises and tell him that he transgresseth the Law of God in those particulars as grossly as the Heathens do his Reply will be Though our facts be outwardly the same yet our practises are most dislike Our practises cannot be against the Law of God seeing they are warranted by the authoritie of the Church and Pope who is the faithful Interpreter of Gods Laws and cannot erre in matters of faith or practice authorized by him In the like case if you shall oppose a man that makes himself thus certain of his salvation before his time in this or the like manner Sir you are as covetous as great an oppressor of the poor as uncharitable as malitious as proud and envious as are the Heathen or others whom you condemn for Infidels and no good Christians And press him with such evident particulars in every kind as would amate or appall an ingenuous Heathen or other meer moral man that were conscious of the like yet you shall find him as surely locked up in his sins by this his immature perswasion of his own infallible estate in Grace as the Romanist is by his Implicit Belief or the Churches absolute Infallibilitie So long as this Perswasion lasts that he shall certainly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven no Messenger of God shall ever perswade him that he hath done or continues to do those things which whosoever continues to do shall never enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Grosse and palpable or open sins might happily shake or break this perswasion how stiffe soever it had been before but so will not secret or lurking sins It rather animates or quickens those secret sins of envy ambition pride or malice And of all other fruits of this preposterous perswasion or misplaced Truth this is the worst that it makes men mistake their malice towards men whose good parts or fame they envy to be zeal towards God or to his Truth 10. Unless Sathan had put this Fallacie upon some men in our times it were impossible that they could sleep upon the consciousness of such uncivil behaviour as they use or such unjust aspersions as they cast upon all others without respect of persons which dissent from them in Opinions often disputed between
members of the same Church without dissension And of all the Points in Divinity this day controverted in any Church or betwixt the members of any Church there is no one that doth naturally better brook diversitie of Opinions or acurate sifting without hazard of breaking the bond of Christian peace and charitie then the Controversie about the Certaintie of Salvation or of Perseverance in the state of Grace For Christian charity would presume that every man which hath his senses exercised in these or the like Points is desirous to be as certain of his own Salvation or estate in Grace as with safety of conscience his own understanding or rule of reason will permit him or can make him Such as know their own Estate in Grace by experience or otherwise stand bound in equity in Christian charity and in humanity rather to pity then to exasperate their brethrens weakness which have not the skill or like Experience to conclude for themselves so well as they do or which doubt whether the doctrine in Thesi in the General be true or false And yet we see by woful experience that the Contentions about these Points have been so bitter and so uncivil that no Papist or other Adversary shall ever be able to say more against the Certaintie of Salvation or mens Irreversible Estate in Grace then many such as have written for it have said against themselves For if by the Grace which they hold impossible for men to fall from they mean the Spirit of wisdom or understanding in matters spiritual or the Spirit of meekness of sobrietie and Christian charitie every man that hath any branch of the Spirit of Grace implanted in him may conclude without sin that many which contend most earnestly for Absolute perseverance in it either never had this Grace or else are totally fallen from it 11. The Third Point proposed was the Golden Mean which the Church of England mainteins as opposite to these Contrary Extremes but most consonant to the Evangelical Truth First Our Church doth acknowledge That Fides is Fiducia That the very nature of that Faith which differenceth a Believer from an Infidel or a Christian from a meer natural man doth necessarily include a Certaintie or full Assurance in it It must be without wavering without distrust or Doubt The only Question is About the right or orderly placing of this Certaintie of Faith or full Assurance Or What be the Points whereon it first must be pitched These questionless must be Points Fundamental and such is that That the Son of God did die for us that he did fully pay the price of our Redemption This every man is firmly to beleive otherwise he builds without a Foundation This Certainty of Faith or full assurance you shall find continually prest upon all hearers in the Book of Homilies and other Acts of the Church But how shall every private man be fully assured that Christ did die for him and that he fully paid the price of his redemption Sure no man can have a right or full assurance of this Particular unless he first assuredly believe that the Son of God did die for all men that he hath redeemed all mankind He that firmly and constantly believes this Proposition in some respect universal The Son of God did die for all men can never doubt or waver in Faith whether he died for him or whether he hath paid the full Price of his Redemption He which believes the General by an Historical or Moral Faith cannot chuse but believe the particular by the same Faith He that believes the General by a spiritual and true Christian Faith must believe the particular by the same Faith If the first Proposition Christ died for All men be De Fide The Second likewise Christ died for me must be De Fide too But how any man should have Assurance of Faith That Christ did die for him or hath redeemed him unless he be first assured by Certaintie of Faith That Christ did die for all men This I confess is a Point which I could never be assured of nor be satisfied in by any that plead for Special Faith 12. Sure I am that the Church our Mother doth teach us to begin our Faith or Assurance from the General Christ died for All men he hath redeemed all mankind And this General She grounds upon that Saying of our Saviour John 3. 16. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life The Application or Use of this place you may find pithily prest in the third Part of the Homily Upon the Death and Passion of our Saviour To whom saith the Author of the Homily did he give his Son To the whole world that is to say to Adam and to all that come after him He was not given to Adam nor to such as come after him until Adam and all that came after him were lost until mankind were become his enemies And this is that which sets forth The wonderful love of God unto the world that he would give his only Son whom he loved for all of us which were his enemies Scarcely for a righteous man will one die saith the Apostle Rom. 5. 7. yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die But God commendeth his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners he died for us 13. But when we are taught to beleive that Christ died as well for every one of us as he died for any we are bound to beleive not only that he shed as much blood for every one of us as he did for St. Peter or St. Paul but that he shed as much blood for every one of us as he did for all men That he paid as great a price for my redemption as he paid for the Redemption of all mankind It was not the Quantitie of his blood shed but the infinite Value of each drop which he shed that did pay the price of our Redemption Had the whole stream of his blood been much greater then it was if it had been of value less then infinite it could not have payed the price of one mans redemption and of price more then infinite his blood what-ever quantitie had been shed could not be for all So that he did as much for thee as he did for both thee and me as much for either of us as he did for the whole world His deservings of every one of us are infinite Were this apprehension or belief of the infinite and undivided love of God in Christ toward all and every man rightly planted in mans heart it would bring forth the fruits of Love he which is thus perswaded of Christs love towards him in particular would love Christ and would keep his Commandements would trust in Christ and in all temptations rely upon him 14. To conclude all concerning The right ordering or placing of that Certaintie or full
in his time yet herein indued with wisdom in an higher rank then the stateliest Potentates are wont to trouble themselves withal in that he could so well foresee There was no counsel against the Lord whose Decrees concerning any Land or People then usually take place when as Posterity seeks earnestly by secular Policie to patch up the rents and breaches of a State decayed ruinate by the heavie burthen of their Predecessors sins Such was the temper of Iosiah's States-men Princes though his heart was of another metal and had been fashioned in another mold Wherefore the Book of the Law which had long laid buried is now risen out of the dust to proclaim Ierusalems downfal and Sions burial in her ashes And this sentence of the Law now found is ratified by the Prophetess Huldahs mouth Gods wrath shall presently be kindled against this place and shall not be quenched But unto good Josiah who sought the Prophetesses and not the Politicians advice is this sole comfort left To the King of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord so shall ye say unto him Because thine heart did melt and thou hast humbled thy self before the Lord when thou heardest what I spake against this place and against the Inhabitants of the same to wit that it should be destroyed and accursed and hast rent thy clothes and wept before me I have also heard it saith the Lord. Behold therefore I will gather thee to thy fathers and thou shalt be put in thy grave in peace and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place 2 King 22. 18. 8. But should not his righteousness have saved him Or is this to be put in his grave in peace to be slain by his enemies Yes this his burial was in peace in that he was buried in the Sepulchres of his Fathers and mourned for by all his people without the molestation of their enemies This was a blessing of peace which none of his Sons or Successors enjoyed For of them all not one but dies captive in the enemies Land or in their own without the decencie of Princely funerals And who knows Whether Iosiah's violent death was deserved by going to battel without the Lords advice Yea who knows whether the Lord did not thus suddenly take him away partly to prevent the increase of that disease wherewith no Prince of all the stock of Iudah but had been more or less infected and which now as it seemeth was growing on him All of them in their prosperity began to trade in secular Policie whose practise was Jerusalems ruine and Iudahs wreck howsoever right dear in the sight of the Lord was the death of this holy and religious King who if he had lived the longer should have died the oftner His Childrens and peoples sins are now full ripe for the sword and their vengeance hastens on so fast that either he must suddenly die or else see their manifold miseries farre worse then so many several deaths For what pangs would it have caused in his tender heart which melted even whilest the noise of Ierusalems curse did but approach his ears if his eyes should have beheld the flames of Gods fierce wrath devouring her gates and his ears had been filled with her woful out-cries in the dayes of mourning For Ieremie or Baruch two Prophets so poor that their fore-warnings of these miseries could not merit any credit with this politick generation to live and see the event was a blessing of God and bare life given them a bountiful prey But what benefit could so great a Prince have reaped by life What comfort in length of dayes to have seen the children of his loins born unto higher hopes then any Princes of the world besides either led captive into the enemies land or made a prey unto the birds of heaven in their own Much better an enemies arrow stick once for all fast in his side then that the sword should continually pierce thorow his soul whilst he should see his dearest people cut down like grass and Iudah the Lords inclosure laid open like a common field to their bordering enemies spoil and Ierusalem his hearts joy which the Lord had hedged and walled about laid waste like a forlorn vineyard whose grapes were wild and naught Yet such are the dayes which immediately ensue his death The Land is one while ransackt by the Egyptian another while made tributary to the Chaldean another while forraged by the Aramite Ammonite and Moabite until it was utterly laid waste For judgment is here begun already at the house of God and in godly Iosiah's fall might the ungodly Iudah read her Fatal Destiny registred in Characters of blood And doubtlesse at this his sudden unexpected end the execution of Gods fierce and violent wrath did begin Of the successive degrees whereof I shall God willing hereafter speak For the Manner of it I only note thus much now in general That not all the wisdom of their most Politick Enemies albeit the Lord had given them libertie to have plotted this peoples overthrow at their pleasure could have invented so readie and sure a course for their swift destruction as this people themselves in great Policie to their seeming still make choice of Not one project which they can forecast but proves an inevitablegin to intrap themselves and is as a fatal snare unto their owne feet 9. First good Josias without Warrant from God or his Prophets advice thinks it in Policie the safest course to assault the Egyptian in the confines of his Country lest afterwards he should be enforced to defend himselfe upon harder termes nearer to the heart of Judah from his Enemie strengthned with the spoile of her borders so jealous he is of Nechoh's purpose which meant him no harm that his word will not serve him for warrant albeit his words as the Text saith were from the mouth of God The issue of his policie is that he himself is slain and Pharaoh Nechoh by this his unseasonable provocation took a fair pretence of invading the Land after his death and condemns it in an hundred talents of Silver and a talent of gold And for the effecting of this his purpose the people themselves had given occasion for they no doubt out of some politick purpose had preferred the * younger brother Iehoahaz to the Kingdom who poor Caitiff in stead of swaying Davids Scepter in the promised Land is after three months space led Captive in chains like a Bond-slave into Egypt whence the Lord had redeemed the meanest of this peoples forefathers So contrary hath Iudah been in all her courses that all the glorious hopes of Davids Line run backwards So farre is the Calendar of Ierusalems good dayes run out of date such are the revolutions of times that this Light which they had set up for David hath taken darkness for its habitation The Sun of their Comfort is set before it came to the
Prophets Wise men and Apostles to reclaim them if they would have hearkned to him or his Messengers Admonitions S. Luke puts this out of Controversie for repeating part of this story he saith expresly Therefore also said the Wisdom of God I will send them Prophets c. And Christ is styled The Wisdom of God not as man but as God and Consequently He spake these words not as man only but as God The same compassion and burning Love the same thirst and longing after Jerusalems safety which we see here manifested by a manner comprehensible to flesh and blood in these words of our Saviour in my Text or the like uttered by him Luke 19 with tears and sobs we must believe to be as truly as really and unfeignedly in the Divine Nature though by a manner incomprehensible to flesh and blood How any such flagrant desire of their welfare which finally perish should be in God we cannot conceive because our minds are more dazeled with that inaccessible Light which he inhabits then the eyes of Batts and Owles are by gazing on the Sun To qualifie this Incomprehensible Glorie of the Deitie the Wisdom of God was made Flesh that we might safely behold the true module or proportion of Divine Goodness in our Nature as the eye which cannot look upon the Sun in his strength or as it shines in the Firmament may without offence behold it in the water being an Element homogeneal to its own substance Thus should all Christs Prayers desires or pathetical wishes of mans safetie be to us as so many visible pledges or sensible Evidences of Gods Invisible and Incomprehensible Love and so he concludes his last Invitation of the Jewes I have not spoken of my selfe but the Father which sent me he gave me Commandment what I should say and what I should speak And I know that his Commandment is everlasting life whatsoever I spake therefore even as the Father said unto me so I spake Joh. 12. ver 49 50. And what saith our Saviour more in his own then the Prophet had done in the Name and Person of his God Isai 49. v. 14. Sion complained the Lord hath for saken me and my Lord hath forgotten me But he answered Can a woman forget her sucking Child that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb yea they may forget yet will I not forget thee Behold I have graven thee upon the palmes of my hands c. These and the like Places of the Prophets compared with our Saviours speech here in my Text give us plainly to understand That whatsoever Love any mother can bear to the fruit of her womb unto whom her bowels of compassion are more tender then the fathers can be or whatsoever affection any dumb Creature can afford unto their tender brood the like but greater doth God bear unto his children Unto the Elect most will grant But is his Love so tender towards such as perish Yes the Lord carried the whole Hoste of Israel even the stubborne and most disobedient as the Eagle doth her young ones upon her wings Exod. 19. 4. Earthly Parents will not vouchsafe to wait perpetually upon their children The Hen continueth not her Call from morning to night nor can she endure to hold out her wings all day for a shelter to her young ones as they grow great and refuse to come she gives over to invite them But saith the Lord by his Prophet I have spred out my hand all the day unto a rebellious people which walketh in a way that was not good after their own thoughts A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face that sacrificeth in gardens and burneth incense upon Altars of bricks which remain among the graves and lodg in the monuments which eat Swines flesh and broth of abominable things is in their vessels which say adding hypocrisie unto filthinesse and Idolatry stand by thy self come not neer unto me for I am holier then thou Isai 65. ver 2 3 4. Such they were and so conceited of our Saviour with whom he had in his life time oft to deal and for whose safetie he prayed with teares before his Passion These and many like passages of Scripture are pathetically set forth by the Spirit to assure us That there is no desire like unto the Almighties desire of sinful mans Repentance no Longing to his Longing after our Salvation If Gods Love to Iudah comen to the height of rebellion had beene lesse then mans or other Creatures Love to what they affect most dearely If the Meanes he used to reclaim her had been fewer or lesse probable then any others had attempted for obtaining their most wished End his Demand to which the Prophet thought no possible Answer could be given might easily have been put off by these incredulous Jewes unto whom he had not referred the judgment in their own Cause if they could have instanced in man or other Creature more willing to do what possibly they could do either for themselves or others then he was to do whatsoever was possible to be done for them And now O Inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah judg I pray you betwixt me and my Vineyard what could more have been done to my vineyard that I have not done to it Wherefore when I looked that it should bring forth grapes brought it forth wild grapes Isa 5. v. 3 4. 6. But the greater we make the Truth and Extent of Gods Love the more we increase the difficultie of the Second Point proposed For amongst women many there be that would amongst dumb Creatures scarce any that would not redeeme their sucklings from death by dying themselves Yet what is it that they can do which they would not do to save their owne lives And did not God so love the world that he gave his only begotten Son for it Yes for the world of the Elect I see not why any should be excluded from the number But to let that passe Gods desire of their repentance which perish is undoubtedly such as hath been said Yet should we say that he hath done all that could be done for them How chanceth it that all are not saved Was the Vineyard more barren then Sarah the fruit of whose womb he made like the Stars of the sky or as the sands by the Sea shore innumerable Was it a matter more hard to make the impenitent Jew bring forth fruits worthy of Repentance then to make a Virgin conceive and beare a son If it were not how chanceth it the Word of the Lord and that but a short one should bring the One to joyful Issue whilst the other the repentance of the Jewes and other ungodly men after so many exhortations and threatnings after so many promises of comfort and so many denunciations of woes as the Prophets the Apostles and their Successors have used is not to this day nor ever will be accomplished If repentance of men born and brought up in
as it respects this Point that is if we will not suffer our selves to be saved the same delight or pleasure is set upon our punishment and fulfilled upon us and if we would but enter into our own hearts we might see the Image of Gods Will hitherto manifested by his Word distinctly written in them and that the Rule which his infinite Justice observes in punishing the wicked and reprobate is to measure out their plagues and punishments according to the measure of their neglecting his Will or contradicting his delight in their salvation that as the riches of his Goodness leading them to repentance hath been more plentiful so they by their impenitencie still treasure up greater store of wrath against the day of wrath To this purpose doth the Lord threaten the obstinate people before mentioned Isai 65. 5. These are as a smoke in my nose a fire that burneth all the day Behold it is written before me I will not keep silence but will recompense even recompense into their bosom your iniquities and the iniquities of your Fathers together saith the Lord which have burnt Incense upon the mountains and blasphemed me upon the Hils therefore wil I measure their former work into their bosom Both these parts of Gods delight are fully expressed by Solomon Prov. 1. 21. VVisdom crieth without she hath uttered her voice in the streets she crieth in the chief place of the Concourse in the opening of the gates in the Citie she uttereth her words saying How long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity and the scorners delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledg Turn you at my reproof Behold I wil pour out my spirit upon you I wil make knowne my words unto you These passages infallibly argue an unfeigned delight in their repentance and such a desire of their salvation as the Wisdome of God hath expressed in my Text. But what followes Because I have called and ye refused I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded But ye have set at naught all my counsel and would none of my reproof I also wil laugh at your calamity I wil mock when your fear cometh Thus his delight remaines the same but is set upon another Object To the same purpose Isai 65. 12. Therefore I wil number you to the sword and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter because when I called ye did not answer when I spake ye did not hear but did evil before mine eyes and did chuse that wherein I delighted not So then whether by the destruction of the wicked or the salvation of his Chosen Gods name is still alike glorified His Justice exacts what should have been but was not payed unto his Mercie He can be no loser by mans unthankfulness or ungratiousnesse The Case is all one as if we should take that from a thief with the left hand which he had picked out of our right hand Thus much of the two Points proposed 13. I do desire no more then that the Tree may be judged by the Fruit. And questionless the Use of these Resolutions whether for convincing our selves of sin or quelling despere or for encouraging the careless and impenitent unto repentance by giving them right hold of the means of life is much greater then can be conceived without admittance of their truth First Seeing the end of our preaching is not so much to instruct the Elect as to call sinners to repentance not so much to confirm their faith that are already certain of salvation as to give Hope to the Unregenerate that they may be saved How shall we accomplish either intendment By magnifying Gods Love towards the Elect who these are God and themselves know How shal he which lives yet in sin perswade himself there is any probabilitie he may be saved Because God hath infallibly decreed to save some few Rather seeing by the contrary Doctrine the most part of mankind must necessarily perish he hath more reason to fear least he be one of those many then to hope that he is one of those few The bare possibility of his salvation cannot be inferred but from indefinite Premisses from which no certain Conclusion can possibly follow And without certain apprehension or conceit of Possibilitie there can be no sure Ground of Hope But if we admit the former Extent of Gods unspeakable love to all and his desire of their eternal safetie which desperately perish every man may nay must undoubtedly thus Conclude Ergo Gods Love extends to me It is his good will and pleasure to have me saved amongst the rest as well as any other and whatsoever he unfeignedly wills his power is able effectually to bring to passe The danger of sin and terrour of that dreadful day being first made known unto our Auditors the pressing of these Points as effectually as they might be were this Doctrine held for current would kindle the Love of God in our hearts and inflame them with desires answerable to Gods ardent Will of our Salvation and these once kindled would breed sure hope and in a manner inforce us to imbrace the infallible means thereto ordained 14. Without admission of the Former Doctrine it is impossible for any man rightly to measure the heinousnesse of his own or others sins Such as gather the infinitie of sins demerit from the infinite Majestie against which it is committed give us the surface of sin infinite in length and breadth but not in soliditie The will or pleasure of a Prince in matters meanly affected by him or in respect of which he is little more then indifferent may be neglected without greater offence then meaner persons may justly take for foul indignities or grievous wrongs But if a Princes Soveraign Command in a matter which he desired as much as his own life should be contemned a Loyal Subject conscious of such contempt though happening through Riot or perswasions of ill company would in his sober thoughts be ready to take revenge upon himself specially if he knew his Soveraigns Love or liking of him to be more then ordinary Consider then that as the Majestie and Goodnesse of our God so his Love and Mercie towards us is truly infinite That he desires our repentance as earnestly as we can desire meat or drink in the extremity of thirst or hunger as we can do life it self while we are beset with death That this our God manifested in our flesh did not desire his own life so much as our redemption We must therefore measure the heinousness of our sins by the abundance of Gods Love by the heighth and depth of our Saviours Humiliation Thus they will appear infinite not only because committed against an infinite Majestie but because with this dimension they further include a wilful neglect of infinite mercie and Incomprehensible desires of our Salvation We are by nature the seed of Rebels which had lift their hands against the infinite Goodness of their Creator in taking the forbidden
the words of the Text. ☞ What it is to punish Children for their fathers sins What it it is to visit the sins of fathers c. Two particulars hastening and justifying the visiting of the Fathers sins upon the children Note here 1. That God made this Covenant with them and their Posterity in successive Generations as with one man or one aggregate Body or Corporation 2. It was not only a Covenant of Life and Promises but of Threatnings and Death also God left Israel a Register of Good and Evil How neglect of Gods Forewarnings past hastens judgements See this Author's second Sermon upon Ier. 26. How Children are bound to repent of Fathers sins See this Authors second Sermon on Jerem. 26. A short Application This referres to the third Question propounded Fol. 3729. handled Fol. 3733. See Fol. 3341. and Book 8. in quarto pag. 142. Luke 23. 34. They know not what they do Doth God punish men for what they would have done in such and such Cases Quaye According to this opinion Matth. 12. 32. may have a very commodious Interpretation This relates to the fifth Question This relates to the third Question After the Citation of Levit 26. 14 c. and multiplication of the plagues by seven This followed relating to the fourth Question Le. 26. 38. ☞ See one example in the next Sermon ☜ See St. Chrysost upon the fifth of Isaiah Judahs Climacterical Seasons 1. at the death of Zechariah Second Climacterical of Judah at the carrying into Babylon This Referres to the sixth Question The Third Climacterical Period of Judah at Christs coming Though there be a Sermon upon Matth. 23 37. yet I thought it best to intersert This here before it Levit. 26. Deut. 7. 14. and 28. Amos 3. 2. Confession of fore-fathers sins a necessary Ingredient of Repentance ☞ Reasons why a people lesse actually sinful is more plagued Psal 78. ver 34. ☜ A view of the Kingdom of Judah through out David Solomon Rehoboam 1 Kin. 14. 25. Abijam Asa Vid. Ecclus. Cap. 49. 4. All except David Hezekias and Iosias committed wickedness for even the Kings of Iudah forsook the Law of the most High and failed Iehoshaphat Ahaziah Athaliah Ioash Amaziah Uzziah Iotham Ahaz Hezekiah Manasses 2 King 21. 16. Amon. Good Iosiah See this Auchor's Sermons on Jer. 26. Ezek. 14. 14. Ier. 15. Francis Sforza It is significantly added He should be put in his grave in peace because he is the last King of Judah whose Funeral Rites are not at their enemies disposing See the foregoing Sermon upon Jer. 45. fol. 3668. ☞ 2 Chr. 35 22 Iohanan or Iehoahaz Iehoiakim * Quaere See 1 Chr. 3. 15 where Johanan is called the first-born yet Josephus l. 10. c. 5. in english sayes that Eliakim who is also Jehoiakim was elder brother to Iehoahaz ☜ See the foregoing Sermon on Matth. 23. 34. See Signs of the Times pag. 24. Two Points propounded God earnestly desires the conversion of such as perish The former Point Isai 56. 4 About this distinction see Book 6. or Attributes chap. 15. and Book 9. chap. 5. An odd Glosse refuted Luke 11. 39 The 2 d Point How is it possible they should not be gathered if God so earnestly will c. as fol. 3 769. Quare whether he mean not Jer. 44. 22. Three Objections against this Doctrine Answer to the first Second Objection and Answer The third Objection Answer Another Objection with the Answer thereto See this Authors 6 Book or Attributes Chap. 16. and Chap. 20. See Book the 6. The whole Use of this Doctrin See Fol. 3341. See Book 8. cha 6 7. c. See Fol. 3412 c. a Discourse upon this Subject The Question What Word is here meant Verbum Domini or Verbum Dominus Paraeus his Reason why he denies it to be meant of God the Word Yet doth S. John 1 Ep. 1. 1. call Him The Word of Life and Rev 19. 13. The Word of God Two Points proposed Iustin Martyr expresses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Ratio Rationem reddere S. Chrysostom Theophylact
the first day preserved but here was a new creation out of that which Philosophers properly term The mater that is the common mother of generation or corruption And thus God at the last day shall command not the earth only but the Sea also with the other Elements to give up their dead Rev. 20. 13. Lastly they extended this similitude too far which hence imagined that as the corn often dies and is often quickned and dies again So by the doctrine of Christians there should be a death after the Resurrection and a Resurrection after death or such a continual vicissitude between life and death as is between light and darkness This objection is punctually resolved by Tertullian in the 48. Chapt. of his Apologie The sum of his answer is That so it might be if the Omnipotent Creator had so appointed for he is able to work this continual interchange or vicissitude of life and death as well in mens bodies as in the bodies of corn sown or reaped or as he doth the perpetual vicissitude of light and darkness in the two Hemispheres of the world but he hath revealed his Will to the contrary And the reason is not the same but rather contrary in Gods crop or harvest as it is in the crops or harvests of mortal men As men in this life are mortal so is their food or nutriment and for this reason their nutriment must be supplied by continual sowing and reaping But God is immortal and so shall the crop of his harvest be Our Resurrection from the dead is his general crop or harvest and this needs to be no more then One because our bodies being once raised up to life again shall never die but enjoy immortalitie in his presence Heaven is his Granary and what is gathered into it cannot perish or consume 10. The general use of this Doctrine is punctually made to our hands by our Apostle in the last verse of this Chapt. Therefore my beloved brethren be ye stedfast unmoveable alwayes abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. And more particulary 1 Thessal 4. 13. c. I would not have you ignorant brethren concerning them which are a sleep that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope c. The Apostle there doth not forbid all mourning for the dead but the manner of mourning only that they mourn not as they which have no hope no expectation of any Resurrection after death Nature will teach us as it did these Thessalonians to mourn for the death of our friends and kindred And our belief of this Article will give us the true mean and prescribe the due manner or measure of mourning Our sorrow though natural and just yet if it be truly Christian and seasoned with Grace will still be mingled with comfort and supported by hope To be either impatient towards God or immoderatly dejected for the death of our dearest friends whose bodies God hath in mercy committed to the custody of the earth of the sea or other Elements is but A Symptome of heathenish ignorance or infidelity of this Article A Barbarism in Christianitie If we of this Land should live amongst Barbarians whom we had taught to make bread of Corn and accustomed to the tast of this bread as unknown to their forefathers as Manna at first appearance was to the Israelites but not acquainted them with the mystery of sowing and reaping they would be as ready in their hunger or scarcitie of bread to stone us as the Israelites were to stone Moses in their thirst if they should see us offer to bury that corn in the earth with which their bowels might be comforted yet if they were but so far capable of reason as to be perswaded or we so capable of trust or credit with them as to perswade them that there were no possibilitie left either to have bread without supply of corn or for corn to increase and multiply unless it did first die and putrifie in the ground hope of a more plentiful crop or harvest would naturally incline them to brook the present scarcity w th patience and to be thankfull towards such as would so carefully provide for them Now besides that the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God the committing of their bodies to the grave is but as a solemn preparation of seed for a future crop or harvest If in these premisses we do rely and trust in God our sorrow and heaviness for the dead though it may endure for a while will be swallowed up in comfort our mournfull tears and weeping will be still accompanied with praises and thanksgiving unto him that hath so well provided for them that live in his fear and die in his favour 11. But as this Doctrine administreth plentie of comfort in respect of friends deceased so it should move us to make choice of such only for our dearest friends as we see inclined to live in the fear of the Lord. Or if we have prevented our selves and this advice in making such choice yet let us never be prevented by others for making the main and principal end of our friendship or delight in any mans company to be this A serious study and endevour to prepare others and to be prepared by them to live and die in the Lord. As there is no greater comfort in this life then a faithfull and hearty friend So can no greater grief befall a man at the hour of death then to have had a friend trusty and hearty in other offices and services but negligent and backward in cherishing the seeds of faith of love or fear of the Lord or other provision of our way-fare towards the life to come No practise of the most malicious or most inveterate or most provoked foe can breed half so much danger to any man as the affectionate intentions of a carnal friend always officious to entertain him with pleasant impertinences which will draw his mind from the fear and love of God and either divert or effeminat his cogitations from resolute pitching upon the means and hopes of a joyfull Resurrection to everlasting life Even to minds and affections already sweetned with sure hope of that life to come what grief must it needs breed in this life if he be a loving husband to think he shall be by death eternally divorced from the companie of his dearest consort Or if he be an affectionate friend to consider that the league of mutual amitie in this life never interrupted but secured from danger of impairment whilst their pilgramage lasts here on earth should be everlastingly dissolved after the one hath taken up his lodging in the dust that all former dearest kindness should not only be forgotten but be further estranged from performance of any common courtesie then any Christian in this life can be in regard of any Jew or Turk or any Jew or
Turk from them For what Jew or Turk is there that would not be ready to relieve a Christian with some off-fals from his Table whom he sees ready to pull the flesh off his own arms to satiate hunger yet this is more then the most loving Husband may do unto his dearest Wife then a Father may wish to his Son or any Friend that dies in the Lord may do unto another after death unless they both repair to one Home and be not divided by that Gulf which was set between Dives and Lazarus You know the Story how that Lazarus was not permitted to minister so much as a drop of water unto Dives to cool his tongue Nor shall the Father which dies in the Lord be permitted to do or wish so great a kindness unto the Son nor the Husband to the Wife which live and die in their sins What remedie then can be prescribed for preventing the just occasions of this grief but that Husband and Wife Father and Son Mother and Daughter and others linkt in any bend of love and friendship do mutually labour to wain each others Affections from earth and earthly things and each lend other their helping hand to fasten their affections on things that are above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God CHAP. XV. The Objections of the Atheist and the Exceptions of the Naturalist Both put fully Home and as fully Answered The falsitie of the Supposals and Paradoxes rather then Principles of the Atheist discovered and made even Palpable by ocular demonstration and by Instances in bodies vegetant and sensitive A Scruple that might trouble some Pious mind after all this satisfied A short Application of the Doctrine contained in the whole Chapter 1. BUt here the Atheist will except That the former Reasons are Concludent only in Case the whole substance or bodily part of man be annihilated That indeed which is annihilated is as if it had never been and is as capable of Creation as it was at the first or at the time when it was Nothing For Creation makes that to be which is not and that is most properly said to be created which is made of nothing or without any matter or stuffe pre-existent But thus it is not in the Bodies of men that are dead these are not annihilated or resolved into nothing the matter of them still remaineth though not in the same Place or shape but some part of it in This Body some part in That Of a mans Body which died twenty years ago some part is changed or transformed into the nature of earth some part resolved into vapors or Exhalations Some part into grosser moisture whereof other live creatures are produced No part of it returns into meer Nothing Whatsoever bodily substance hath been by God created out of Nothing hath all its reliques one where or other still remaining And the very least Fragment of the meanest of them is a great deal more then Nothing And here the subtil Naturalist coming in demands What possibilitie can be conceived that the self same Bodies which were consumed a thousand years ago should be intirely restored again This supposed Restauration must either be by a New Creation or it must be only by a Recollection or gathering together of the reliques or matter which have been dispersed and scattered through divers places and transformed into so many several bodies 2. That the bodies which have been dissolved should at the last day be made the self same they were by a new Creation properly so called seems impossible For every bodie must have its proper and immediate Matter and no bodie can be created without the Creation of such a Matter The soul of man may be created in the Body without creation of the Matter whereto it is annexed because the soul is no material substance But the creation of a bodily or material substance essentially includes a Creation of the Matter and this Matter may be either created before The Compound into which it is afterward formed as the Body and Matter of the First Man was created out of the earth before it was wrought by the breath of God into a living or sensitive substance or this Matter may be concreated with the body or Compound whose matter it is Thus the Fishes in the Sea and the Plants in the Earth were each of them created by one intire Creation there was not one creation of their proper Matter and another of their proper Form The bulks or stems of trees were not made or created out of the earth before the vegetable or vital facultie was infused into them Both were made at once The several branches of the Difficulty in this Argument may be framed thus If the bodies of men which have been resolved into dust perhaps into as many several bodies as there be men now living must all be created again and every one created again the self same it was Then either the matter must be the self same which it was or else it must have some new matter equivalent or of the self same use or service in respect of the soul unto which the former matter had been and this new matter not altogether the same but the same by Equivalencie is or is to be united That the self same matter which was in a mans body when he died should become the same again by a new creation ex nihilo implies a Contradiction For that very material substance which was in Adam at his death is not to this day annihilated not the least scrap or fragment of it but is now existent in some body or other And that which at this very hour actually is or existeth in some other body cannot at this very hour begin to Be cannot at this very hour be made of nothing because it self already is something If the matter of Adams bodie which we suppose not to be utterly annihilated could be created again whiles it so continues it should be existent and not existent it should begin to be and not begin to be at the same point of time Both which imply a manifest Contradiction and all Contradictions though in matters meerly speculative are as contrary to the Unitie and truth of the Godhead as dissimulation fraud or cozenage are to the Holiness of God To make both parts of a Contradiction true fals not under the Object or exercise of His Almighty Power If then the Body of Adam cannot be created the same it was unless the self same matter whereof his bodie was first made be restored it is clear that the self same matter cannot be intirely restored by Creation unless those bodies wherein it is be first annihilated or turned into nothing For whilest they remain something or rather whilest the matter which was in Adam remaineth in them the same matter being something in them cannot properly be Created again or begin to Be out of Nothing 3. But that the Body of Adam should be