pay him a better obedience when he forgives us what is past he intends we should sin no more when he offers us his graces he would have us to make use of them when he causes us to distrust our selves his meaning is we should rely upon him when he enables us to do what he commands us he commands us to do all that we can And therefore this Covenant of Faith and mercy is also a Covenant of holiness and the grace that pardons us does also purifie us for so saith the Apostle He that hath this hope purifies himself even as God is pure And when we are so then we are justified indeed this is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the law of Faith and by works in this sense that is by the works of Faith by Faith working by love and producing fruits worthy of amendment of life we are justified before God And so I have done with the affirmative Proposition of my Text you see that a man is justified by works But there is more in it then this matter yet amounts to For S. James does not say we are justified by works and are not justified by Faith that had been irreconcileable with S. Paul but we are so justified by works that it is not by Faith alone it is Faith and works together that is it is by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the obedience of Faith by the works of Faith by the law of Faith by righteousness Evangelical by the conditions of the Gospel and the measures of Christ. I have many things to say in this particular but because I have but a little time left to say them in I will sum it all up in this Proposition That in the question of justification and salvation Faith and good works are no part of a distinction but members of one intire body Faith and good works together work the righteousness of God That is that I may speak plainly justifying faith contains in it obedience and if this be made good then the two Apostles are reconciled to each other and both of them to the necessity the indispensable necessity of a good life Now that justifying and saving Faith must be defined by something more than an act of understanding appears not only in this that S. Peter reckons Faith as distinctly from knowledge as he does from patience or strength or brotherly kindness saying Add to your faith vertue to vertue knowledge but in this also because an error in life and whatsoever is against holiness is against faith And therefore S. Paul reckons the lawless and the disobedient murders of Parents man-stealing and such things to be against sound doctrines for the doctrine of Faith is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the doctrine that is according to godliness And when S. Paul prayes against ungodly men he adds this reason 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for all men have not Faith meaning that wicked men are Infidels and Unbelievers and particularly he affirms of him that does not provide for his own that he hath denyed the Faith Now from hence it follows that faith is godliness because all wickedness is infidelity it is an Apostacy from the Faith Ille erit Ille nocens qui me tibi fecerat hostem he that sins against God he is the enemy to the Faith of Jesus Christ and therefore we deceive our selves if we place faith in the understanding only it is not that and it does not dwell there but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Apostle the Mystery of Faith is kept no where it dwells no where but in a pure conscience For I consider that since all moral habits are best defined by their operations we can best understand what faith is by seeing what it does To this purpose hear S. Paul By faith Abel offered up to God a more excellent Sacrifice than Cain By faith Noah made an Ark. By faith Abraham left his Country and offered up his Son By faith Moses chose to suffer affliction and accounted the reproach of Christ greater than all the riches of Aegypt In short the children of God by faith subdued Kingdoms and wrought righteousness To work righteousness is as much the duty and work of faith as believing is So that now we may quickly make an end of this great inquiry whether a man is justified by Faith or by works for he is so by both if you take it alone faith does not justifie but take it in the aggregate sense as it is used in the question of Justification by S. Paul and then faith does not only justifie but it sanctifies too and then you need to inquire no further obedience is a part of the definition of faith as much as it is of Charity This is love saith S. John that we keep his Commandments And the very same is affirmed of Faith too by Bensirach He that believeth the Lord will keep his Commandments I have now don with all the Proposiâ—ions expressed and implyed in the Text give me leave to make some practical Considerations and so I shall dismiss you from this Attention The rise I take from the words of S. Epiphanius speaking in praise of the Apostolical and purest Ages of the Church There was at first no distinction of Sects and Opinions in the Church she knew no difference of men but good and bad there was no separation made but what was made by piety or impiety or sayes he which is all one by fidelity and infidelity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For Faith hath in it the Image of godliness engraven and infidelity hath the character of wickedness and prevarication A man was not then esteemed a Saint for disobeying his Bishop or an Apostle nor for misunderstanding the hard sayings of S. Paul about predestination to kick against the laudable customs of the Church was not then accounted a note of the godly party and to despise Government was but an ill mark and weak indication of being a good Christian. The Kingdom of God did not then consist in words but in power the power of godliness though now we are fallen into another method we have turned all Religion into Faith and our Faith is nothing but the productions of interest or disputing it is adhering to a party and a wrangling against all the world beside and when it is asked of what Religion he is of we understand the meaning to be what faction does he follow what are the articles of his Sect not what is the manner of his life and if men be zealous for their party and that interest then they are precious men though otherwise they be Covetous as the grave factious as Dathan Schismatical as Corah or proud as the falling Angels Alas these things will but deceive us the faith of a Christian cannnot consist in strifes about words and perverse disputings of men These things the Apostle calls prophane and vain Bablings and mark what he sayes of them these things will encrease 〈◊〉
insinuating it self into the most dull and unactive Element produces Gold and Pearls Life and motion and brisk activities in all things that can receive the influence and heavenly blessing so it is in the Holy Spirit of God and the word of God and the grace of God which S. John calls the seed of God it is a law of righteousness and it is a law of the Spirit of Life and changes nature into Grace and dulness into zeal and fear into love and sinful habits into innocence and passes on from grace to grace till we arrive at the full measures of the stature of Christ and into the perfect liberty of the sons of God so that we shall no more say The evil that I would not that I do but we shall hate what God hates and the evil that is forbidden we shall not do not because we are strong of our selves but because Christ is our strength and he is in us and Christs strength shall be perfected in our weakness and his grace will be sufficient for us and he will of his own good pleasure work in us not only to will but also to do velle perficere saith the Apostle to will and to do it throughly and fully being sanctified throughout to the glory of his Holy name and the eternal salvation of our Souls through Jesus Christ our Lord to whom with the Father c. FIDES FORMATA OR Faith working by Love James II. 24. You see then how that by works a Man is justified and not by Faith only THat we are justified by Faith S. Paul tells us that we are also justified by works we are told in my Text and both may be true But that this justification is wrought by Faith without works to him that worketh not but believeth saith S. Paul that this is not wrought without works S. James is as express for his negative as S. Paul was for his affirmative and how both these should be true is something harder to unriddle But affirmanti incumbit probatio he that affirms must prove and therefore S. Paul proves his Doctrine by the example of Abraham to whom faith was imputed for righteousness and therefore not by works And what can be answered to this Nothing but this that S. James uses the very same argument to prove that our justification is by works also For our Father Abraham was justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac Now which of these sayes true Certainly both of them but neither of them have been well understood insomuch that they have not only made divisions of heart among the faithful but one party relies on faith to the disparagement of good life and the other makes works to be the main ground of our hope and confidence and consequently to exclude the efficacy of faith The one makes Christian Religion a lazy and unactive institution and the other a bold presumption on our selves while the first tempts us to live like Heathens and the other recals us to live the life of Jews while one sayes I am of Paul and another I am of S. James and both of them put it in danger of evacuating the institution and the death of Christ one looking on Christ only as a law-giver and the other only as a Saviour The effects of these are very sad and by all means to be diverted by all the wise considerations of the Spirit My purpose is not with subtile arts to reconcile them that never disagreed the two Apostles spake by the same Spirit and to the same last design though to differing intermedial purposes but because the great end of Faith the design the definition the State the Oeconomy of it is that all believers should not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit before I fall to the close handling of the Text I shall premise some preliminary considerations to prepare the way of holiness to explicate the differing senses of the Apostles to understand the question and the duty by removing the causes of the vulgar mistakes of most men in this Article and then proceed to the main inquiry 1. That no man may abuse himself or others by mistaking of hard words spoken in mystery with allegorical expressions to secret senses wrapt up in a cloud such as are Faith and Justification and Imputation and Righâ—eousness and Works be pleased to consider that the very word Faith is in Scripture infinitely ambiguous in so much that in the Latin Concordances of S. Hieroms Bible published by Robert Stephens you may see no less than twenty two several senses and acceptations of the word Faith set down with the several places of Scripture referring to them To which if out of my own observation I could add no more yet these are an abundant demonstration that whatsoever is said of the efficacy of Faith for Justification is not to be taken in such a sense as will weaken the necessity and our carefulness of good life when the word may in so many other senses be taken to verifie the affirmation of S. Paul of Justification by Faith so as to reconcile it to the necessity of Obedience 2. As it is in the word Faith so it is in works for by works is meant sometimes the thing done sometimes the labour of doing sometimes the good will it is sometimes taken for a state of good life sometimes for the Covenant of works it sometimes means the works of the Law sometimes the works of the Gospel sometimes it is taken for a perfect actual unsinning obedience sometimes for a sincere endeavour to please God sometimes they are meant to be such which can challenge the reward as of Debt sometimes they mean only a disposition of the person to recieve the favour and the grace of God Now since our good works can be but of one kind for ours cannot be meritorious ours cannot be without sin all our life they cannot be such as to need no repentance it is no wonder if we must be justified without works in this sense for by such works no man living can be justified And these S. Paul calls the works of the Law and sometimes he calls them our righteousness and these are the Covenant of works But because we came into the world to serve God and God will be obeyed and Jesus Christ came into the world to save us from sin and to redeem to himself a people zealous of good works and hath to this purpose revealed to us all his Fathers will and destroyed the works of the Devil and gives us his holy Spirit and by him we shall be justified in this obedience therefore when works signifie a sincere hearty endeavour to keep all Gods commands out of a belief in Christ that if we endeavour to do so we shall be helped by his grace and if we really do so we shall be pardoned for what is past and if we continue to do so we shall receive a Crown of Glory therefore
Propositions a negative and an affirmative The negative is this 1. By Faith only a man is not justified The affirmative 2. By works also a man is justified When I have briefly discoursed of these I shall only adde such practical considerations as shall make the Doctrines useful and tangible and material 1. By faith only a man is not justified By faith only here is meant faith without Obedience For what do we think of those that detain the faith in Unrighteousness they have faith they could not else keep it in so ill a Cabinet but yet the Apostle reckons them amongst the Reprobates for the abominable the Reprobates and the disobedient are all one and therefore such persons for all their faith shall have no part with faithful Abraham for none are his Children but they that do the works of Abraham Abraham's faith without Abraham's works is nothing for of him that hath faith and hath not works S. James askes Can Faith save him Meaning that it is impossible For what think we of those that did miracles in Christs name and in his name cast out Devils Have not they Faith Yes omnem fidem all faith that is alone for they could remove Mountains but yet to many of them Christ will say Depart from me ye workers of iniquity I know you not Nay at last what think we of the Devils themselves have not they faith yes and this faith is not fides miraculorum neither but it is an Operative faith it works a little for it makes them tremble and it may be that is more than thy faith does to thee and yet dost thou hope to be saved by a faith that does less to thee than the Devils faith does to him That 's impossible For Faith without works is dead saith S. James It is manus arida saith S. Austin it is a wither'd hand and that which is dead cannot work the lâ—fe of grace in us much less obtain eternal life for us In short a man may have faith and yet do the works of unrighteousness he may have faith and be a Devil and then what can such a faith do to him or for him It can do him no good in the present constitution of affairs S. Paul from whose mistaken words much noise hath been made in this question is clear in this particular Nothing in Christ Jesus can avail but Faith working by Charity that is as he expounds himself once and again nothing but a new creature nothing but keeping the Commandments of God If faith be defin'd to be any thing that does not change our natures and make us to be a new Creation unto God if keeping the Commandments be not in the definition of faith it avails nothing at all Therefore deceive not your selves they are the words of our Blessed Lord himself Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord that is not every one that confesses Christ and believes in him calling Christ Master and Lord shall be sav'd but he that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven These things are so plain that they need no Commentary so evident that they cannot be denyied and to these I add but this one truth that faith alone without a good life is so far from justifying a sinner that it is one of the greatest aggravations of his condemnation in the whole World For no man can be so greatly damned as he that hath faith for unless he knows his masters will that is by faith be convinced and assents to the revelations of the will of God he can be beaten but with few stripes but he that believes hath no excuse he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 condemn'd by the sentence of his own heart and therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 many stripes the greater condemnation shall be his portion Natural reason is a light to the Conscience but faith is a greater and therefore if it be not followed it damns deeper than the Hell of the Infidels and uninstructed And so I have done with the Negative Proposition of my Text a man is not justified by faith alone that is by faith which hath not in it Charity and Obedience 2. If faith alone will not do it what will The affirmative part of the Text answers not faith alone but works must be an ingredient a man is justified by works and that is now to be explicated and prov'd It will be absolutely to no purpose to say that faith alone does justifie if when a man is justified he is never the nearer to be sav'd Now that without Obedience no man can go to Heaven is so evident in holy Scripture that he that denyes it hath no faith There is no peace saith my God unto the wicked and I will not justifie a sinner saith God unless faith purges away our sins it can never justifie Let a man believe all the revelations of God if that belief ends in its sâ—lf and goes no further it is like physick taken to purge the stomach if it do not work it is so far from bringing health that it self is a new sickness Faith is a great purger and purifier of the soul purifying your hearts by Faith faith the Apostle It is the best physick in the World for a sinful soul but if it does not work it corrupts in the stomach it makes us to rely upon weak Propositions and trifling confidences it is but a dreaming 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Phantastick dream and introduces Pride or superstition swelling thoughts and presumptions of the Divine favour But what saith the Apostle Follow Peace with all men and holiness without which no man can see God Mark that If faith does not make you charitable and holy talk no more of justification by it for you shall never see the glorious face of God Faith indeed is a title and relation to Christ it is a naming of his names but what then Why than saith the Apostle Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity For let any man consider can the Faith of Christ and the hatred of God stand together Can any man be justified that does not love God Or can any man love God and sin at the same time And does not he love sin that falls under its temptation and obeyes it in the lusts thereof and delights in the vanity and makes excuses for it and returns to it with passion and abides with pleasure This will not do it such a man cannot be justified for all his believing But therefore the Apostle shews us a more excellent way This is a true saying and I will that thou affirm constantly that they who have believed in God be careful to maintain good works The Apostle puts great force on this Doctrine he arms it with a double Preface the saying is true and it is to be constantly affirmed that is it is not only true but necessary it is like Pharaoh's dream doubled because it is bound upon
DIEV ET MON DROIT HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE ἙΒΔΟΜᾺΣ ἘΜΒΟΛΙΜΙΟΣ A Supplement TO THE ΕÎΙΑΥΤΟΣ Or Course of Sermons for the whole year BEING SEVEN SERMONS Explaining the Nature of Faith and Obedience in relation to God and the Ecclesiastical and Secular Powers respectively All that have been Preached and Published since the Restauration By the Right Reverend Father in God JEREMY Lord Bishop of Down and Connor To which is adjoyned His Advice to the Clergy of his Diocese LONDON Printed for Richard Royston Bookseller to the Kings most Sacred Majesty 1663. THE Righteousness Evangelical DESCRIB'D THE CHRISTIANS CONQUEST Over the Body of Sin FIDES FORMATA OR FAITH working by LOVE IN THREE SERMONS PREACHED AT CHRIST CHURCH DVBLIN By the Right Reverend Father in God JEREMIAH Lord Bishop of Down and Connor The second Edition London Printed for R. Royston Book-seller to the Kings most Excellent Majesty 1663. Imprimatur M. Franck. S. T. P. R. in Christ. Pat. ac D. D. Archiep. Cant. à Sac. Dom. Sept. 21. 1663. TO THE Most Noble and Vertuous Princess The Lady Dutchess OF ORMONDE HER GRACE Madam I Present your Grace here with a Testimony of my Obedience and of your own Zeal for the good of Souls You were in your great Charity not only pleased to pardon the weakness of this discourse but to hope it might serve as a memorial to thâ—se that need it of the great necessity of living vertuously and by the measures of Christianity Madam you are too Gâ—eat and too good to have any ambition for the things of this World but I cannot but observe that in your designs for the other World you by your Charity and Zeal adopt your self into the portion of those Ecclesiasticks who humbly hope and truly labour for the reward that is promised to those wise persons who convert souls If our prayers and your desires that every one should be profited in their eternal concerns cast in a Symbol towards this great work and will give you a title to that great reward But Madam when I received your commands for dispersing some Copies of this Sermon I perceived it was too little to be presented to your Eminence and if it were accompanied with something else of the like nature it might with more profit advance that end which your Grace so piously designed and therefore I have taken this opportunity to satisfie the desire of some very Honourable and very Reverend Personages who required that the two following Sermons should also be made fit for the use of those who hop'd to receive profit by them I humbly lay them all at your Graces Feet begging of God that even as many may receive advantages by the perusing of them as either your Grace will desire or He that preached them did intend And if your Grace will accept of this first Testimony of my concurrence with all the World that know you in paying those great regards which your piety so highly merits I will endeavour hereafter in some greater instance to pursue the intentions of Your zeal of souls and by such a service endeavour to do more benefit to others and by it as by that which is most acceptable to your Grace endear the Obedience and Services of Madam Your Graces most humble and Obedient Servant J. D. The Titles and Texts of the several Sermons SERM. I. The Righteousness Evangelical Matth. 5.20 For I say unto you that except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven SERM. II. The Christians Conquest over the Body of Sin Rom. 7.19 For the good that I would I doe not but the evil which I would not that I doe SERM. III. Faith working by Love James 2.4 You see then how that by works a man is justified and not by faith alone SERM. IV. Preached at an Episcopal Consecration Luke 12.42 And the Lord said Who then is that faithful and wise steward whom his Lord shall make ruler over his houshold to give them their portion of meat in due season 43. Blessed is that servant whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing SERM. V. Preached at the Opening the Parliament of Ireland 1 Sam. 15.22 Behold to obey is better then sacrifice and to hearken then the fat of rams 23. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry SERM. VI. Via Intelligentiae John 7.17 If any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of my self SERM. VII Preached at the Funeral of the L. Primate of Ireland 1 Cor. 15.23 But every man in his own order Christ the first fruits and after they that are Christ's at his coming Rules and Advices to the Clergy of the Diocese of Down and Connor THE Righteousness Evangelical DESCRIB'D MATTH V. 20. For I say unto you that except your Righteousness exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven REwards and Punishments are the best Sanction of Laws and although the Guardians of Laws strike sometimes with the softest part of the hand in their Executions of sad Sentences yet in the Sanction they make no abatements but so proportion the Duty to the Reward and the Punishment to the Crime that by these we can best tell what Value the Law-giver puts upon the Obedience Joshuah put a great rate upon the taking of Kiriath-Sepher when the Reward of the Service was his Daughter and a Dower But when the Young men ventured to fetch David the waters of Bethlehem they had nothing but the praise of their Boldness because their Service was no more than the satisfaction of a Curiosity But as Law-givers by their Rewards declare the value of the Obedience so do Subjects also by the grandeur of what they expect set a value on the Law and the Law-giver and do their Services accordingly And therefore the Law of Moses whose endearment was nothing but temporal goods and transient evils could never make the comers thereunto perfect but the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Superinduction of a better Hope hath endeared a more perfect Obedience When Christ brought Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel and hath promised to us things greater than all our explicit Desires bigger than the thoughts of our heart then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Apostle then we draw near to God and by these we are enabled to do all that God requires and then he requires all that we can do more Love and more Obediâ—nce than he did of those who for want of these Helps and these Revelations and these Promises which we have but they had not were but imperfect persons and could do but little more than humane Services Christ hath taught us more and given us more and promis'd to us more than ever was in the world known or believ'd before
God a Divine vigour and life whereby we are enabled with joy and cheerfulness to walk in the way of God By this you may try your faith if you please and make an end of this question Do you believe in the Lord Jesus yea or no God forbid else but if your Faith be good it will abide the trial There are but three things that make the integrity of Christian faith believing the words of God confidence in his goodness and keeping his commandments For the first it is evident that every man pretâ—nds to it if he calls himself Christian he believes all that is in the Canon of the Scriptures and if he did not he were indeed no Christian. But now consider what think we of this Proposition All shall be damned who believe not the truth but have pleasure in unrighteousness Does not every man believe this Is it possible they can believe there is any such thing as unrighteousness in the World or any such thing as damnation and yet commit that which the Scriptures call unrighteousness and which all laws and all good men say is so Consider how many unrighteous men there are in the world and yet how few of them think they shall be damned I know not how it comes to pass but men go upon strange principles and they have made Christianity to be a very odd Institution if it had not better measures than they are pleased to afford it There are two great roots of all evil Covetousness and Pride and they have infected the greatest parts of mankind and yet no man thinks himself to be either covetous or proud And therefore whatever you discourse against these sins it never hits any man but like Jonathans arrows to David they fall short or they fly beyond Salvian complained of it in his time Hoc ad crimina nostra addimus ut cum in omnibus rei simus etiam bonos nos sanctos esse credamus This we add unto our crimes we are the vilest persons in the world and yet we think our selves to be good people and when we dy make no question but we shall go to Heaven There is no cause of this but because we have not so much Faith as believing comes to and yet most men will pretend not only to believe but to love Christ all this while And how do they prove this Truly they hate the memory of Judas and curse the Jews that crucified Christ and think Pilate a very miserable man and that all the Turks are damned and to be called Cajaphas is a word of reproach and indeed there are many that do not much more for Christ than this comes to things to as little purpose and of as little signification But so the Jews did hate the memory of Corah as we do of Caiphas and they builded the Sepulchres of the Prophets and we also are angry at them that killed the Apostles and the Martyrs But in the mean time we neither love Christ nor his Saints for we neither obey him nor imitate them And yet we should think our selves highly injured if one should call us Infidels and haters of Christ. But I pray consider what is hating of any man but designing and doing him all the injury and spite we can Does not he hate Christ that dishonours him that makes Christs members the members of an harlot That doth not feed clothe these members If the Jews did hate Christ when they crucified him then so does a Christian too when he crucifies him again Let us not deceive our selves a Christian may be damned as well as a Turk and Christians may with as much malice crucifie Christ as the Jews did And so does every man that sins wilfully he spills the blood of Christ making it to be spent in vain He that hateth you hateth me he that receives you receives me said Christ to his Apostles I wish the world had so much faith as to believe that and by this try whether we love Christ and believe in him or no I shall for the tryal of our Faith ask one easy question Do we believe that the story of David and Jonathan is true Have we so much faith as to think it possible that two Rivals of a Crown should love so dearly Can any man believe this and not be infinitely ashamed to see Christians almost all Christians to be irreconcileably angry and ready to pull their brothers heart out when he offers to take our Land or money from us Why do almost all men that go to law for right hate one anothers persons Why cannot men with patience hear their titles questioned But if Christianity be so excellent a Religion why are so very many Christians so very wicked Certainly they do not so much as believe the propositions and principles of their own Religion For the body of Christians is so universally wicked that it would be a greater change to see Christians generally live according to their profession than it was at first from infidelity to see them to turn Believers The conversion from Christian to Christian from Christian in title to Christian in sincerity would be a greater miracle then it was when they were converted from Heathen and Jew to Christian. What is the matter Is not repentance from dead works reckoned by S. Paul in the 6. Hebr. as one of the fundamental points of Christian Religion Is it not a piece of our Catechism the first thing we are taught and is it not the last thing that we practise We had better be without Baptism than without repentance and yet both are necessary and therefore if we were not without faith we should be without neither Is not Repentance a forsaking all sin and an intire returning unto God Who can deny this And is it not plainly said in Scripture Vnless ye repent ye shall all perish But shew me the man that believes these things heartily that is shew me a true penitent he only believes the doctrines of repentance If I had time I should examine your faith by your confidence in God and by your obedience But if we fall in the meer believing it is not likely we should do better in the other But because all the promises of God are conditional and there can be no confidence in the particular without a promise or revelation it is not possible that any man that does not live well should reasonably put his trust in God To live a wicked life and then to be confident that in the day of our death God will give us pardon is not faith but a direct want of faith If we did believe the promises upon their proper conditions or believe that Gods commandments were righteous and true or that the threatnings were as really intended as they are terribly spoken we should not dare to live at the rate we do But wicked men have not faith saith S. Paul and then the wonder ceases But there are such palpable contradictions between mens practices
the Apostles should have a rod and a staff at first it would be more necessary afterwards when the Family was more numerous and their first zeal abated and their native simplicity perverted into arts of hypocrisy and forms of godliness when Heresies should arise and the love of many should wax cold The Apostles had also a power of Ordination and that the very power it self does denote for it makes perpetuity that could not expire in the dayes of the Apostles for by it they themselves propagated a succession And Christ having promised his spirit to abide with his Church for ever and made his Apostles the Channels the Ministers and conveyances of it that it might descend as the inheritance and eternal portion of the Family it cannot be imagined that when the first Ministers were gone there should not others rise up in the same places some like to the first in the same Office and Ministery of the Spirit But the thing is plain and evident in the matter of fact also Quod in Ecclesiâ nunc geritur hoc olim fecerunt Apostoli said S. Cyprian What the Apostles did at first that the Church does to this day and shall do so for ever For when S. Paul had given to the Bishop of Ephesus rules of Government in this Family he commands that they should be observed till the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and therefore these authorities and charges are given to him and to his Successors it is the observation of S. Ambrose upon the warranty of that Text and is obvious and undeniable Well then The Apostles were the first Stewards and this Office dies not with them but must for ever be succeeded in and now begins the inquiry who are the Successors of the Apostles for they are they must evidently be the Stewards to feed and to rule this Family There are some that say that all who have any portion of work in the Family all the Ministers of the Gospel are these Stewards and so all will be Rulers The Presbyters surely for say they Presbyter and Bishop is the same thing and have the same name in Scripture and therefore the Office cannot be distinguished To this I shall very briefly say two things which will quickly clear our way through this bush of thorns I. That the word Presbyter is but an honourable appellative used amongst the Jews as Alderman amongst us but it signifies no order at all nor was ever usâ—d in Scripture to signify any distinct company or order of Clergy And this appears not only by an induction in all the enumerations of the Offices Ministerial in the New Testament where to be a Presbyter is never reckoned either as a distinct Office or a distinct order but by its being indifferently communicated to all the Superior Clergy and all the Princes of the people II. The second thing I intended to say is this that although all the Superior Clergy had not only one but divers common appellatives all being called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 even the Apostolate it self being called a Deaconship yet it is evident that before the common appellations were fixt into names of propriety they were as evidently distinguished in their offices and powers as they are at this day in their Names and Titles To this purpose S. Paul gave to Titus the Bishop of Crete a special commission command and power to make Ordinations and in him and in the person of Timothy he did erect a Court of Judicature even over some of the Clergy who yet were called Presbyters against a Presbyter receive not an accusation but before two or three witnesses there is the measure and the warranty of the Audientia Episcopalis the Bishops Audience Court and when the accused were found guilty he gives in charge to proceed to censures 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 You must rebuke them sharply and you must silence them stop their mouths that 's S. Pauls word that they may no more scatter their venom in the ears and hearts of the people These Bishops were commanded to set in order things that were wanting in the Churches the same with that power of S. Paul other things will I set in order when I come said he to the Corinthian Churches in which there were many who were called Presbyters who nevertheless for all that name had not that power To the same purpose it is plain in Scripture that some would have been Apostles that were not such were those whom the spirit of God notes in the Revelation and some did love preeminence that had it not for so did Diotrephes and some were Judges of questions and all were not for therefore they appealed to the Apostles at Jerusalem and S. Philip though he was an Evangelist yet he could not give confirmation to the Samaritans whom he had baptized but the Apostles were sent for for that was part of the power reserved to the Episcopal or Apostolick order Now from these premises the conclusion is plain and easy 1. Christ left a Government in his Church and founded it in the persons of the Apostles 2. The Apostles received this power for the perpetual use and benefit for the comfort and edification of the Church for ever 3. The Apostles had this Government but all that were taken into the Ministry and all that were called Presbyters had it not If therefore this Government in which there is so much disparity in the very nature and exercise and first original of it must abide for ever then so must that disparity If the Apostolate in the first stabiliment was this eminency of power then it must be so that is it must be the same in the succession that it was in the foundation For after the Church is founded upon its Governours we are to expect no change of Government If Christ was the Author of it then as Christ left it so it must abide for ever forever there must be the Governing and the Governed the superior and the subordinate the Ordainer and the ordained the confirmer and the confirmed Thus far the way is straight and the path is plain The Apostles were the Stewards and the ordinary Rulers of Christs Family by virtue of the order and office Apostolical and although this must be succeeded to for ever yet no man for his now or at any time being called a Presbyter or Elder can pretend to it for besides his being a Presbyter he must be an Apostle too else though he be called in partem sollicitudinis and may do the offices of assistance and understewardship yet the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Government and Rule of the Family belongs not to him But then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who are these Stewards and Rulers over the houshold now To this the answer is also certain and easy Christ hath made the same Governours to day as heretofore Apostles still For though the twelve
at the eternal supper of the Lamb. And ever remember this that beastly pleasures and lying lips and a deceitful tongue and a heart that sendeth forth proud things are no good dispositions to a blessed Resurrection 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is not good that in the body we live a life of Dissolution for that 's no good harmony with that purpose of glory which God designs the body 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 said Phocyllides for we hope that from our beds of darkness we shall rise into Regions of light and shall become like unto God They shall partake of a Resurrection to life and what this can infer is very obvious For if it be so hard to believe a Resurrection from one death let us not be dead in trespasses and sins for a Resurrection from two deaths will be harder to be believ'd and harder to be effected But if any of you have lost the life of Grace and so forfeited all your title to a life of Glory betake your selves to an early and an entire piety that when by this first Resurrection you have made this way plain before your face you may with confidence expect a happy Resurrection from your graves For if it be possible that the spirit when it is dead in sin can arise to a life of righteousness much more it is easie to suppose that the body after death is capable of being restor'd again And this is a consequent of S. Pauls argument If when ye were enemies ye were reconciled by his death much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life plainly declaring that it is a harder and more wonderful thing for a wicked man to become the friend of God then for one that is so to be carried up to heaven and partake of his glory The first Resurrection is certainly the greater miracle But he that hath risen once may rise again and this is as sure as that he that dies once may die again and die for ever But he who partakes of the death of Christ by Mortification and of his Resurrection by holiness of life and a holy Faith shall according to the expression of the Prophet Isaiah Enter into his chamber of death when Nature and Gods decree shall shut the doors upon him and there he shall be hidden for a little moment But then shall they that dwell in dust awake and sing with Christs dead body shall they arise all shall rise but every man in his own order Christ the first fruits then they that are Christs at his coming Amen I have now done with my Meditation of the Resurrection but we have a new and a sadder subject to consider It is glorious and brave when a Christian contemplates those glories which stand at the foot of the Account of all God's Servants but when we consider that before all or any thing of this happens every Christian must twice exuere hominem put off the Old man and then lie down in dust and the dishonours of the Grave it is Vinum Myrrhatum there is Myrrhe put into our Wine it is wholsom but it will allay all our pleasures of that glorious expectation But no man can escape it After that the Great Cyrus had rul'd long in a mighty Empire yet there came a Message from Heaven not so sad it may be yet as decretory as the Hand-writing on the wall that arrested his Successor Darius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Prepare thy self O Cyrus and then go unto the Gods he laid aside his Tiar and his beauteous Diadem and cover'd his face with a cloth and in a single Linen laid his honour'd head in a poor humble Grave and none of us all can avoid this sentence For if Wit and Learning great Fame and great Experience if wise Notices of things and an honourable Fortune if Courage and Skill if Prelacy and an honourable Age if any thing that could give Greatness and Immunity to a wise and prudent man could have been put in bar against a sad day and have gone for good plea this sad Scene of Sorrows had not been the entertainment of this Assembly But tell me where are those great Masters who while they liv'd flourish'd in their studies Jam eorum praebendas alii possident nescio utrum de iis cogitant Other men have got their Prebends and their Dignities and who knows whether ever they remember them or no While they liv'd they seem'd nothing when they are dead every man for a while speaks of them what they please and afterwards they are as if they had not been But the piety of the Christian Church hath made some little provision towards an artificial Immortality for brave and worthy persons and the Friendships which our dead contracted while they were alive require us to continue a fair memory as long as we can but they expire in monethly minds or at most in a faint and declining Anniversary 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And we have great reason so to do in this present sad accident of the death of our late most Reverend Primate whose death the Church of Ireland hath very great reason to deplore and we have great obligation to remember his very many worthy Deeds done for this poor afflicted and despised Church S. Paul made an excellent Funeral Oration as it were instituting a Feast of All Saints Who all died having obtained a good report and that excellent Preacher in the 11. chap. of the Hebrews made a Sermon of their Commemoration For since good men while they are alive have their conversation in Heaven when they are in Heaven 't is also fit that they should in their good names live upon Earth And as their great Examples are an excellent Sermon to the living and the praising them when Envy and Flattery can have no Interest to interpose as it is the best and most vigorous Sermon and Incentive to great things so to conceal what good God hath wrought by them is great unthankfulness to God and to good men When Dorcas died the Apostle came to see the dead Corps and the friends of the deceased expressed their grief and their love by shewing the Coats that she whilest she lived wrought with her own hands She was a good Needle-woman and a good Huswife and did good to Mankind in her little way and that it self ought not to be forgotten and the Apostle himself was not displeased with their little Sermons and that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the women made upon that sad interview But if we may have the same liberty to record the worthy things of this our most venerable Father and Brother and if there remains no more of that Envy which usually obscures the splendour of living Hero's if you can with your charitable though weeping eyes behold the great gifts of God with which he adorned this great Prelate aâ—d not object the failings of Humanity to the participation of the