laid or executed on him that is hanged This most apparantly was a publike punishment executed by the magistrate vpon the body of the offender and because by his open and shamefull death which Moses rightlie calleth the curse of God hee had satisfied the sentence of the Iudiciall lawe God commandeth no farther reproch to be offered his bodie in suffering it to hang in all mens eies any longer but to bee buried the same daie For that by his death the curse of God ceased The difference betwéene these two curses is soone perceiued Euerie sinne receaued the first curse whereof Paul spake before fewe crimes receaued the iudgement of this seconde kinde of curse which was to bee hanged The first was inflicted by God himselfe the second was executed by the magistrate The first touched bodie and soule in this life and the next the second ended with the death of the bodie The first was committing of sinne the seconde was suffering for sinne And therefore Chrysostomes exposition is verie true when hee saieth The people were obnoxious to another curse which was this Cursed is euerie one that continueth not in that which is written in the booke of the lawe for there was not one of them that had fulfilled the whole Lawe but Christ insteede of that tooke vpon him another curse which said cursed is euery one that hangeth on the tree He that should take away the first curse must not bee subiect to the same but vndertake an other in place thereof and by that dissolue the first As if one being adiudged to die for some crime an other no way guilty of the same but willing to die for him should deliuer him from the punishment So did Christ not being subiect to the curse of trāsgression insteede thereof he tooke an other curse and dissolued the curse that laie on them Before a man can be accursed by his death hee must you saie be iustlie hanged for manie Innocents and martyrs are hanged who are most blessed Innocentes and martyrs bee their soules neuer so blessed maie beare in their bodies a shamefull death as Christ did in his and that is a kinde of corporall curse though by men vniustlie inflicted euen as death in the godlie is a remnant of Gods curse vpon sinne though their soules bee blessed before and after death Yea the worde KALAL whence the Hebrewes deriue that which with them signifieth a curse noteth also to make vilde and contemptible as if shame reproch and contempt were the greatest outwarde curse that coulde befall anie man in this life The cause why wee suffer it shall make it iust or vniust but wee must call thinges by those names which GOD first allotted them Nowe death shame wrong reproch and such like God ordayned at first to bee punishmentes of sinne and so partes of the curse due to sinne If wee suffer at mens handes for piety that which God appointed to be the wages of iniquity so wee bee patient and willing to abide the triall which is righteous with God though iniurious from men the name is not altered but the reward increased Yea God it is that causeth iudgement to beginne at his own house oftentimes by the handes of persecutors hee doth vs right when men doe vs wrong and dealeth not with vs according to our sinnes in the greatest wrongs that can be done vs. Therfore martyrs and innocents may do well to remember that God hath cause enough though man haue none and so submit themselues as worthie of worse from Gods handes But none of these thinges may be saide of our Sauiour who alone among all the children of men wanted sinne and suffered wrong and therefore his punishments with God were iust not by his deseruing but by his desiring to suffer for man How then commeth it to passe that martyrs which are sinners before God are vniustlie hanged because they deserue no such thing at mens handes and Christ who was most innocent before men and most righteous before God you wil needs haue to be iustly hanged The suerty you say by his suertiship is a debtor to the creditor and to the law and so Christ though most innocent in himself yet was hee iustlie hanged as our suretie by the iust sentence of the law You mistake Sir Confuter as well the sentence of the lawe as the suertiship of Christ. For though mans lawe permit which is the rule of charitie that men should beare each others burdens and vndertake one for an other in money matters and such like things which God leaueth in each mans will and power yet tell me I praie what lawe Gods or mans permitteth a murderer or like offender to be spared and an other that is willing to bee hanged in his steede I thinke mans law will allow you no such suertiship I am sure Gods lawe will not As I liue saith the Lord the soule that sinneth that soule shall die The wickednes of the wicked shall bee vpon himselfe Hee shall haue then no suerties to die for him much lesse shall his suertie be compelled to die by the sentence of the law Their monie men may giue awaie but their liues they may not till God call for them and if not their liues much lesse their soules by anie sentence of the law The sonne of God did not by LAVV but by LOVE interpose himselfe to beare our sinnes So God loued the worlde that hee gaue his onely begotten sonne that whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue euerlasting life Yea the sonne of God loued vs and gaue himselfe for vs not by anie obligation to the lawe for hee was aboue the lawe and could not be bound by the lawe and we were condemned by the sentence of the law and not put to finde suerties The eternall wisedome and counsell of God then out of his inestimable loue towardes vs without the lawe and before the law decréed as to create vs so to redéeme vs by Christ his sonne And the sonne not as debtour to anie nor for anie but of his good will and fauour toward vs offered himselfe to suffer for vs whatsoeuer the iustice of his father would impose Wherein he became not a Suertie bound to the law but a Mediatour to God and a Redeemer of man Suerties that stand bounde and must paie the debt may not looke to be Mediators and he that redeemeth a prisoner from the enemie is not bound but content so to doe And that the death of Christ should be paide as a debt to the lawe whereto Christ was bounde is to mee a strange position I tooke Christes sufferings all this while for a voluntarie oblation to God and not for a due obligation to the lawe and himselfe to be a mediatour not a debtour his death I reckned to bee a richer offer then man coulde owe and a greater price then the lawe could exact And therefore the newe testament of mercie grace and glorie was made by his bloud which are
and moste sufficient reasons there are why Christ neither did nor might die the death of the soule thou hast good Reader before in the Treatise it selfe if this fumbler either will skippe them or can not answere them I must not repeate them as often as hee will neglect them Yet to ease thee of going backe I will here giue thee the effect thereof The life and death of the soule is in manie hundred places learnedlie and trulie vouched and prooued by Saint Austen Mori carni tuae est amittere vitam suam mori animae tuae est amittere vitam suam Vita carnis tuae anima tua vitae animae tuae Deus tuus Quomodo moritur caro amissa anima quae vita eius est sic moritur anima amisso Deo qui vita est eius For thy bodie to die is to loose his life and for thy soule to die is to loose her life The life of thy bodie is thy soule The life of thy soule is thy God As the bodie dieth when the soule is departed which is his life so the soule dieth when God is departed which is her life And againe Quomodo ergo mortua est anima de qua viuit corpus Audi ergo disce corpus hominis creatura Dei est anima hominis creatura dei est De anima deus viuificat carnem ipsam autem animam viuificat de seipso non de seipsa Vita ergo corporis anima est vita animae Deus est moritur corpus cum recedit anima moritur ergo anima si recedit Deus Carnem iacentem sine anima vides animam miseram sine Deo videre non potes Crede ergo adhibe oculos fidei How dieth the soule then by which the bodie liueth Hearken and learne The bodie of man is the creature of God so is the soule By the soule God giueth life to the flesh but the soule her selfe God quickeneth by himselfe and not by herselfe The life of the bodie then is the soule the life of the soule is God The bodie dieth when the soule departeth ergo the soule dieth if God depart from her Thou seest the flesh lying dead without a soule and canst thou not see the soule wretched without God Beleeue then and open the eies of faith And speaking of the particular consequents to the life and death of the soule the same father saith Quomodo cum anima est in corpore praestat illi vigorem decorem mobilitatem Sic cum vita eius Deus est in ipsa praestat illi sapientiam pietatem iustitiam charitatem veniente itaque verbo audientibus infuso resurgit anima à morte sua ad vitam suam hoc est ab iniquitate ab insipientia ab impietate ad Deum suum qui est illi sapientia iustitia charitas As when the soule is in the bodie shee giueth vigour comelinesse and motion to the bodie so when God her life is in the soule he giueth her wisedome pietie righteousnesse and charitie The worde of God then sounding and infused to the hearers the soule riseth from her death to her life that is from iniquitie follie and impietie to her God who is to her wisedome righteousnesse and charitie If this were not plaine inough the Scriptures themselues are so euident that no man can mistake the life of the soule except hee will purposelie blinde himselfe least hee shoulde come to the knowledge of the truth For the sonne of God is life and comming down from heauen gaue life to the world quickning whom hee would with the waters of life that is by the spirite of life yea whosoeuer beleeueth and abideth in him hath life and beareth fruite in him For the iust shall liue by faith and he that dwelleth in loue dwelleth in God and God in him for God is loue So that not onely Christ is our life and he that hath the sonne hath life but with him and in him alwaies was and alwaies will bee the fountaine of life which neuer did nor can drie vp how then could Christ die the death of the soule whose soule was personallie vnited vnto the worde that was life in it selfe And if the grace and spirite of God in vs make vs liue by God and in God if faith and loue knitte men to the life of God howe coulde the soule of Christ alwaies full of grace and truth alwaies full of faith and loue and of the holie Ghost bee deade But this Refuter meaneth another death of the soule What his meaning is is not materiall but whether hee meane truth or no. If he wil frame vs a monster in christian religion what haue I to do with that but to detest it There is another death after this life mentioned both in scriptures and fathers which is the second death But I hope this Confuter will eate and sléepe vpon the cause before hee wrappe our Sauiour within euerlasting damnation That is a death in déed from which God blesse and saue vs all They must néedes bee good Christians that labour to bring Christes soule within the compasse of the second death Haec mortalitas est vmbra mortis vera mors est damnatio cum Diabolo Our death is here but a shadow of death the true death indeede is damnation with the diuell saith Austen And againe Quid est istamors Est relictio corporis depositio sarcinae grauis mors secunda mors aeterna mors gehennarum mors damnationis cum Diabolo ipsa est vera mors What is this death It is the leauing of the bodie and the laying downe of an heauier burthen for the second death the death that is eternall the death of hell the death of condemnation with the Diuell that is the true death Which of these two deathes of the soules you will haue the soule of Christ subiected vnto you must tell vs Sir Refuter if you will néedes haue him die the death of the soule and the choise is so good that take which you will you inâ—ur hainous and horrible blasphemie I wish you to bee better aduised then to procéede to the defence of so wilfull a frensie As for new deaths of the soule you haue no commission to inuent anie shewe what scripture or Father spake it before you or you must giue the godlie leaue to thinke you no fit founder of a newe faith S. Austen was of opinion that no Christian durst auouch that Christ died the death of the soule Nam quod Iesus anima mortificatus fuerat quis audcat dicere cum mors animae non sit nisi peccatum a quo ille omnino immunis fuit That Christ was dead in soule VVHO DARES AFFIRME IT whereas the death of the soule in this life is nothing but sinne from which hee was altogether free you not onelie auouch it but you thinke no man sober that will not consent to it
I haue fullie shewed before the worthinesse of the person is the surest ground of our saluation and chiefest weight of our redemption and therefore his death is of infinite force and his bloude of infinite price euen as his person is For since all mens actions are and ought to bee esteemed according to the giftes which they haue and place which they holde from GOD whie shoulde not the death and bloud of Christ bee valued in Gods iustice according to the height and worth of his person and if in all thinges wee receaue honour not due to our fleshe wherein wee partake with Beastes but fitte for the soule wherein wee communicate with Angels howe seemeth it strange in our eyes that the dooinges and sufferinges of Christ Iesus which hath the natures of God and man in a surer and nearer coniunction then wee haue our soules and bodies shoulde not bee reckned and accepted in GODS iustice as the ACTIONS and PASSIONS of HIS OVVNE SONNE and haue their value from the diuiner and worthier parte of Christ As the death of Christes flesh ONELIE doth more expresse the TRVETH POVVER AND IVSTICE of God then if the death of the soule had beene ioyned with it so the same setteth forth Christes merites namelie his OBEDIENCE PATIENCE and LOVE in farre better sorte then if wee adde vnto it the death of the spirite which is the rewarde of all the reprobate and damned For what a man vnwillinglie suffereth that sheweth neyther obedience nor patience Obedience hath readinesse and patience if it bee perfect hath gladnesse both haus willingnesse If then wee bee forced against our willes to endure that which wee woulde gladlie auoide it is violence it is neither obedience nor patience and consequentlie it hath neither merits nor thankes with GOD. The death then of the soule which is a separation from the fauour and grace of God did Christ suffer it willinglie or vnwillinglie if willinglie there coulde bee no greater neglect of GOD then to bee willing to bee separated from God It were disobedience and insolence in the highest degree to be glad and forwarde to forsake God or to bee forsaken of him Christ therefore must not bee willing to suffer the death of the soule least wee wrap him within the compasse of contemning and reiecting the grace and fauour of GOD which are sinnefull enormities Was hee vnwilling to suffer it then coulde hee bee neither obedient nor patient in suffering it All vertue is voluntarie compulsion hath no merite God loueth a cheerefull giuer and sufferer Hee that murmureth in heart rebelleth though hee holde still his tongue So likewise I must aske if Christ suffered the death of the soule did hee suffer it iustlie or vniustlie if vniustlie God could not be the sole and immediate agent in imposing it and besides God no creature canne bereaue the soule of life Did hee suffer it iustlie then must hee be voide of all vertue for nothing but sinne deserueth the death of the soule Obedience and patience merite thankes with God and cannot wante the blessing of God where the death of the soule is the greatest curse that God inflicteth heere on earth And where they thinke it woulde greatelie increase the loue of Christ towardes vs if hee vouchsafed to taste the death of the soule for our sakes I replie that supposition woulde make Christ a sinner if not a lyar which God forbid shoulde once enter our thoughtes For â—irst Christ saieth Greater loue then this hath no man that one should laie downe his life for his friendes But God commendeth his loue towards vs that whiles we were yet sinners Christ died for vs. If it be loue for a man to loose his soule for his friend then is there found a greater loue then Christ euer knew for he saith there is no greater loue theÌ„ for a maÌ„ to laie downe his life And the Apostle applying it to Christ saith The height of Gods loue was this that Christ died for sinners that is for his enemies not for his friendes sinne beeing enmitie to God and sinners enemies to the holinesse of his will and glory of his kingdome This loue of Christ by which he died for vs we reiect as little worth vnlesse hee endured the losse of Gods fauour for vs which I take to bee sinne and not loue For loue is due first and aboue all to God then to men this order of loue if we breake it is no charitie it is iniquitie What doe all wicked ones but preferre the loue of themselues or of others before the loue of God to loue men so well that wee waxe willing to forsake the fauour and fellowship of God is transgression against God and not compassion towards men and therefore wee maie not bring the sonne of God within the listes of this loue no not for an houre by reason the loue of God afore all others may not faile in the hart of Christ not for a moment bee it neuer so short For our loue then he tooke flesh when he was God which was infinite humilitie and gaue his life for his enemies which was exceeding charitie and in the course thereof referred himself wholie to the wil and pleasure of God which was exact obedience willinglie but wrongfullie suffering whatsoeuer the malice of Satan and rage of the wicked contriued against him the wise and gracious counsell of God so turning the mischiefe of the diuell and his members to the generall good of mankind that Christes innocent and righteous bloud being furiously and vniustly shed by the hands of his enemies became the true sacrifice for sinne and the full price of mans redemption Farther then this if we will force the sonne of God with our fancies as namelie to the death or curse of the soule wee doe not onelie diminish the strength of his loue towardes God but we debase the price of his bloud and make it rather detestable then acceptable in Gods sight For nothing can please God but that which is RIGHTEOVS INNOCENT HOLIE VNDEPILED And in a dead or cursed soule what place leaue we for these giftes and graces of the holie Ghost Since then our high Priest must be holie harmelesse vndefiled and separate from sinners before his sacrifice coulde bee accepted the soule of Christ must necessarilie bee replenished with all goodnesse and embraced with all fauour before the death of his bodie could be an offering of a sweete sauour vnto God and so the power of Christes death is no whitte encreased but altogither weakened if wee conioyne it with the death of the soule The death of the soule then doth not encrease the obedience patience and loue of Christ towardes vs but doth rather decrease and endanger all the vertues of our Sauiour For if Christ suffered the death of the soule which is Gods immediate action since God will offer his owne sonne neither violence nor wrong wee must confesse that Christ deserued the death
of the soule and admitted it as due vnto him to which absurdities if wee come wee leaue nothing sound in our saluation Caâ—â— we him iust that deserueth or holie that desireth to be forsaken of God I thinke not Then all Christs sufferings must be INIVRIOVS before hee can be IVST and VOLVNTARIE before they can be a SACRIFICE vnto God Both which are witnessed by the worde of God as likewise by the ancient fathers THIS IS THANK-VVORTHIE saith Peter if a man for conscience towards God endure grief SVFFERING VVRONGFVLLY For what praise is it if when ye be BVFFETED for your FAVLTS ye take it PATIENTLIE But if when ye doe well ye suffer patientlie this is acceptable vnto God For hereunto are ye called for so CHRIST SVFFERED FOR VS leauing vs an example that we should follow his steppes Christ therfore suffered as well VVRONGFVLLY as PATIENTLY Malefactors may be patient but that is no merit with God He must be both innocent and patient that will haue thanks from God So was Christ He did no sin and so was innocent when he was reuiled he reuiled not againe when he suffered he threatned not which proueth his patience This verie testimonie the theefe on the crosse giueth him We receiue punishment worthie of that we haue done but this maÌ„ hath done nothing amisse Quod iuste debebat Adam Christus iniusté mortem suscipiendo persoluit What Adam iustly owed saith Austen that Christ vniustlie paied by suffering death Pergit ad passionem vt pro debitoribus nobis quod ipse noÌ„ debebat exsolueret Christ goeth to his passion to pay that for vs debtors which hee did not owe. De humanitate suscepta tantum beneficij collatum est hominibus vt à dei sempiterno filio eodemque hominis filio mors temporalis indebita redderetur qua eos a sempiternâ morte debità liberaret Peccata nostra Diabolus tenebat per illanos merito figebat in morte Demisit ea ille qui sua non habebat ab illo immeritó est perductus ad mortem Tantum valuit sanguis ille vt neminem Christo indutum in aeterna morte debita detinere debuerit qui Christum morte indebita vel ad tempus occidit By Christ taking mans nature this benefite men get that the eternall Sonne of God and the same also the sonne of man suffered a temporall death not due to deliuer them from an euerlasting death due The Diuell laide sure holde on our sinnes and by them helde vs deseruedlie in death Those hee remitted that had no sinnes of his owne and was without anie desert brought by the Diuell vnto death But such was the force of Christes bloud that the Diuell had no right to detaine anie man that put on Christ in eternall death due for so much as hee slue Christ with death for the time which was no way due Mediator noster punirâ— pro se ipso non debuit quia nullum culpae contagium perpetrauit Sed si ipse indebitam mortem non susciperet nunquam nos à debita morte liberaret Our Mediatour for himselfe ought not to bee punished because hee neuer sinned But if hee had not suffered a death not due hee coulde neuer haue freed vs from the death that was due If the temporall death of the bodie were not due to our Sauiour much lesse was the death of the soule due vnto him And if no death were due that which hee suffered was wrongfull Then might God bee the permitter directer orderer and accepter of Christes death on the Crosse but hee coulde not bee the immediate inflicter of it because it was wrongfull and vndeserued much lesse might GOD in iustice forsake his soule that with so great obedience patience and innocencie humbled himselfe to the will of his heauenlie father That likewise hee suffered nothing agaynst his owne liking his owne mouth testified when he said Nemo tollit animam meam à me sed pono eam à meipso No man taketh my life from mee but I lay it downe of my selfe And else where The sonne of God loued mee and gaue himselfe for mee Loue your wiues as Christ loued the Church and gaue himselfe for it If it were loue then was it no constraint nor violence that forced him thereto If hee gaue himselfe for vs it must needes bee voluntarie whatsoeuer hee suffered Demonstrauit spiritus mediatoris quà m nulla poena peccati vsque ad mortem carnis accessorit quia non eam deseruit inuitus sed QVIA VOLVIT QVANDO VOLVIT QVOMODO VOLVIT The spirite of the Mediator shewed that without anie punishment of sinne it came euen to the death of the flesh which hee did not leaue agaynst his will but BECAVSE HE VVOVLDE VVHEN HE VVOVLDE AND HOVVE HE VVOVLDE Et natus passus mortuus est nulla sua necessitate sed voluntate potestate Christ was borne and suffered and died not for anie necessitie that vrged him but of his owne will and hauing it in his owne power If Christ might suffer nothing but what hee woulde and as hee would the death of the soule hee did neuer suffer for thereto hee coulde not be willing without sinne by reason it is a separation from God and a losse both of his heauenlie fauour and holie spirite from which Christ willinglie would neuer be excluded The summe is since the TRVTH and IVSTICE of God might not release the sin of man without fulfilling the sentence of the Iudge THOV SHALT DIE THE DEATH and that by man for so much as man was the trespasser God so loued the world when none of the sonnes of Adam was able to restore his owne soule much lesse to ransome others that hee sent his owne sonne to become man and as by the dignitie and puritie of his person to counteruaile and ouerweigh the soules of all men so by his paines and death on the Crosse to verifie and satisfie the iudgement of God pronounced against man and to quit him from all danger following death And to trie the obedience shew the patience and augment the merits of the Redeemer the wisedome of God decreed that his sonne in our substance should violentlie and wrongfullie bee put to death euen by their handes for whose sakes he laid downe his life that his loue might so much the more excéede in praying for his persecutours and dying for his tormentors The shame and sharpenesse of the crosse so iniuriouslie imposed on the holinesse and worthinesse of Christes person and yet so obedientlie and patientlie endured by him God so highlie esteemed and recompenced that hee made his death the ransome of all mankinde and his bloud to bee the purgation and propitiation of our sinnes his obedience wyping awaie our disobedience his fauour quenching the displeasure his blessednesse alâ—ering the curse his death finishing the vengeance that was due to our iniquities This is the
doubt least he should be forsaken or want the fauor and help of god in those afflictions which he willingly suffered for our safetie For vs to distrust or doubt Gods promise coÌ„firmed by his word perswaded to our spirits by his spirit is diffideÌ„ce and incredulitie What hainous and horrible sinne then were it for the soule of Christ after so cleare perspicuitie so full certaintie so fiâ—â—e stabilitie of Gods COVNSEL and PROMISE OATH PERFORMANCE that in him all nations of the earth should be blessed to haue so much as a feare doubt or thought that God would faile him or forsake him Let me fatherlie aduise and brotherly intreate you all in the bowels of Christ Iesus that you take good héed how you venter on any such doctrine Ioine rather with S. Peter and stedfastlie beléeue that Dauid spake concerning Christ when he said I saw the Lord alwayes before me for he is at my right hande that I should not be mooued If ALVVAIES then was there no intermission If BEFORE HIS FACE then was there no obscuration If A HIS RIGHT HAND then God was neuer absent If hee COVLD NOT BE MOOVED then could he not be forsaken But Christ himselfe sayth he was forsaken hee doth not say he was forsaken either in soule or else of Gods fauour and grace as some in our dayes woulde faine make him speake but he saith My God my God why hast thou forsaken me And his words stand true if any kind of dereliction be confessed Quasi quaedam ibi derelictio fuit vbi nulla fuit in tanta necessitate virtutis exhibitio nulla maiestatis ostensio There was on the crosse a kind of forsaking in as much as there was in so great necessitie no declaring of his power no shewing of his maiestie Diuers other kindes of forsaking may bee verie well allowed and beleeued in the sufferings of our Sauiour but that he should be destitute of FAITH HOPE LOVE or IOY or forsaken of Gods FAVOVR GRACE or SPIRIT that is so dangerous to the office and pernicious to the person of Christ that it may in no wise bee admitted Whatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne Then howe much we decrease faith in Christ so much wee increase sinne in Christ. VVAVERING STICKING DOVBTING are all rebatements of faith and degrées of diffidence and greater sinnes in Christ then in any other man because of his infallible REVELATION FROM GOD vnspeakeable FRVITION OF GOD and inseparable COMMVNION VVITH GOD. Modicae fidei quare dubitasti O thou of LITTLE saith why diddest thou DOVBT saith Christ to Peter Then doubting is the diminishing of faith Abraham saieth the Apostle did not DVBT of the promise of God THROVGH VNBELIEFE but was strengthned in faith and gaue the glorie vnto God being fullie assured that hee which had promised was able to performe it Then doubting by the expresse â—â—le of the holie ghost is VNBELIEFE and a DISHONOR VNTO GOD as if he were not able to make good his promise So that wee must in spite of our heartes either CLEERE CHRIST FROM DOVBTING or CHARGE HIM VVITH VNBELIEVING and DISHONOVRING GOD. If any man lacke wisedome saith Iames let him aske of God and it shall be giuen him but let him aske in faith and not doubt or dispute with himselfe for he that doubteth is like a waue of the Sea tost with the winde neither let that man thinke he shall receaue anything of the Lorde Doubtfulnesse differeth from incrodulitie in this that the incredulous as yet beleeueth not the doubtfull wauereth betwixt faith and infidelitie as a waue of the sea doth that is tost with the winde enclining sometimes one way sometimes another way But this man for his inconstancie shall obtaine nothing at Gods handes whose truth when we but DOVBT wee DENIE and whose promise when wee DISPVTE wee DISBELEEVE The soule of Christ then maie not bee touched VVITH ANIE DOVBT much lesse distrust of Gods fauour and loue towards him and to imagine or affirme so much of Christes person is to drawe him within the compasse of inconstancie infidelitie and Apostasie from GOD which I assure my selfe no Christian Diuine will attempt or endure If the humane soule of Christ must bee so setled and resolued in faith that it might not doubt of Gods fauour much lesse might it be perplexed or amazed with the feare terror or sense of Gods displeasure against himselfe as our surety For to that ende did it please the sonne of God to take our nature into the vnitie of his person that it shoulde vtterlie bee impossible for sinne death or hell to separate vs from him or him from God Whereof because hee was infalliblie assured hee must néedes be throughlie perswaded and in that perfect perswasion knowledge and assurance of Gods euerlasting purpose fauour and loue towardes him that he should be the Sauiour of the world if doubting bee not tolerable howe inexcuseable is feare and terror as if hee were forsaken of God which could not bee except God would breake his promise and othe giuen to Abraham and Dauid and falsifie his truth expressed with his own voice from heauen yea and reuerse his eternall counsell and decree forspoken by the mouthes of so many Prophets coÌ„firmed with so manie miracles and executed and accomplished so euidentlie in the birth of our Sauiour The soule of Christ must therefore bee farre from fearing or doubting least God woulde change his minde recall his worde frustrate his promise and violate his oath for these are blasphemies against God in the higest degrée wee must rather receaue Saint Peters assertion out of Dauid that Christ did ALVVAIES see God on HIS RIGHT HANDE that hee shoulde NOT BEE MOOVED And therefore his heart was gladde and his tongue ioyfull yea wee must not onelie leaue him faith but so perpetuall constant and strong that nothing might shake it or abate it For if wee giue vnto men faith that shal withstand and conquere al temptations much more must we allow the Sauior of the world faith as farre aboue ours in validitie stability and certainty as the rest of his virtues and graces exceede the measure of our gifts As therefore in wisdome and holines power and prudence counsell and strength righteousnesse and faithfulnesse no creature might excéed the humane soule of Christ so in patience and assurance hope and loue courage and confidence no earthlie wight might come néere him For hee had the fulnesse of Gods spirite as much as the creature was capable of we haue but a portion according to the measure of the gifte of Christ. Since then God did not giue him the spirit by measure it is an euident absurditie if not impietie to diminish his faith with doubting his loue with feare his hope with horrour of reiection alienation or separation from GOD but as constant faith STAGGERETH NOT perfect loue FEARETH NOT assured hope TREMBLETH NOT so the faith hope and loue of Christ
but relieued supported inwardly by the power of gods spirit in which he reioiced whiles his flesh indured bitter and sharpe torments And this rule When I am weake then am I strong was true in Christ and after his example shall be in all his members For Gods power is perfited in infirmitie Very gladly therefore must all the godlie reioice and take pleasure in their infirmities that the power of Christ may dwell in them How can this be called Christs power if he wanted it in his infirmities and afflictions And if we haue it from him why presume we to take it from him in the time of his sufferinges Shall the scholler be aboue his maister or the seruant more perfect then his Lord Yea then God manifested in the flesh But I hope men learned will take good héede howe they diminish the comfort of Christs crosse we must looke to Iesus the authour and finisher of our faith If he were amazed perplexed and forsaken in his afflictions who shal raise and comfort vs in our extremities Hee that himselfe was astonished and ouerwhelmed with his sufferings on the crosse It may then be said vnto him Phisition heale thy selfe Shall hee comfort vs that could NOT COMFORT himselfe Can wee REIOICE AND TAKE PLEASVRE in following his steppes when hee sanke vnder the burthen and suffered both his fayth and hope for the time to faile But farre be from vs these vnsauorie thoughts and vnséemelie spéeches It was fit that hee from whom and by whom are all things should CONSVMMATE BY AFFLICTIONS THE PRINCE OF OVR SALVATION that shoulde bring many sons vnto glorie the selfe same way that he went before them Which cannot be by doubting distrusting the fauor and help of god much lesse by suffering induring the paines of the damned but by desiring through loue and reioicing vnder hope to take vp Christs crosse and follow him delighting in reproches necessities persecutions and anguish for Christs sake that when his glorie shal appeare we may be glad and reioice with fulnesse of euerlasting ioy Do we then exempt the Lord Christ from all sense of his fathers wrath against our sins whiles we defend in him peace and ioy of the holie ghost as he hung on the crosse There is a feeling of gods wrath which may stand with the pacification consolation of the inward man and there is a sense of Gods wrath which ouerthroweth both and bréedeth a fearful apprehension of Gods displeasure towards vs in which is neither peace nor comfort All the miseries of mans life whatsoeuer they be came first froÌ„ the force of gods wrath reuenging sin and therfore not only death damnation but al kinds of troubles paines griefs in our states bodies and minds which shorten or sower this present life are degrees of gods wrath chasticements of our transgression and corruption When the plague was kindled amongst the people for murmuring against Moses AaroÌ„ Moses said to Aaron take y e censer put fire incense therein go quickly vnto the congregation and make an atonemeÌ„t for theÌ„ for there IS VVRATH GONE OVT FROM THE LORD the plague is begun When the prophet Iehu reproued Iehosaphat for aiding Achab the king of Israel he said wouldst thou help the wicked and loue them that hate the lord euen for this cause WAS THE VVRATH OF THE LORD VPON THEE The prophet Esay comforting the church saith Awake awake and stand vp ô Ierusalem which hast drunke at the hand of the Lord THE CVP OF HIS VVRATH By the prophet Micheas the Church humbleth her selfe vnder the hande of God in these wordes I will BEARE THE VVRATH of the Lord because I haue sinned against him vntill he plead my cause and execute iudgement for me Euerie where the like is vsed in the scriptures I VVAS VVROTH with my people and gaue them into thine hand saith God to Babylon and thou didst shewe them no mercie but didst lay a verie heauie yoke vpon the auncient So Ieremie complaineth to God Thou hast vtterly reiected vs thou art EXCEEDINGLY ANGRY VVITH VS These and many such places more mention the wrath of God which the saints seruants of god tasted and felt for their sinnes but they do not import that Gods eternall fauour and loue towards his children in heauenlie things was vanished or changed The foundation of God standeth sure yea the gifts and calling of God are without repentance And therefore it is vtterlie impossible that Gods election should alter or that hee should not loue his owne vnto the end but iudgement beginning at the house of God wee are chastened of the Lord that wee should not be coÌ„demned with the world And albeit y t bitternes of affliction some time bite so neere that the conscience of our sinnes accusing vs as vnworthie to bee the sonnes of God feare calleth Gods fauour in question for the time yet that temptation riseth from the guiltines of our hearts and weaknesse of our faith which giueth way to the diuel otherwise as we ought to béene god will be merciful to our iniquities remember our sinnes no more for his couenant made with vs in the bloud of his sonne so should we bee fallie perswaded that when we endure chastening bee it neuer so sharpe God offereth himselfe vnto vs as vnto sonnes for what sonne is it whome the father chasteneth not So that if wee bee without correction whereof all are partakers wee are bastards and not sonnes since God chasteneth vs for our profite that wee might be partakers of his holines This correction and chastisement of God because it seemeth greeuous for the present and not ioyous is called in the scriptures the rodde and wrath of God not that Gods loue ceaseth when he correcteth his children for whom the Lord loueth he chasteneth and he scourgeth euery sonne that hee receiueth But as the blessings which he abundantly bestoweth on vs do manifest his gracious and vndeserued mercy so the plagues with which he visiteth our sinnes do witnes his righteous and prouoked iudgement And in that sense must we reckon them to be the signes and effects of Gods wrath For as he is iustly offended with our iniquities because they resist his will dishonour his name and grieue his holie spirit by whoÌ„ we are sealed vnto the day of redemption so when hee chasteneth our transgressions the scourge which we feele is trulie said to be the wrath of God not that God is touched with anie peâ—turbation or alteration in himselfe but his iustice leadeth him to inflict that punishment on vs as well to bring vs to hate that we haue done by godlie sorrow as to make vs more warie how we attempt the like which is religious feare restraining vs from often and easie offending the maiesty and sanctitie of God But this vengeance of our sinnes because
to his suffering them for the time he might breake them and dissolue them for euer Naturall infirmities which are outragious in vs by reason of our corruption Christ might suffer to arise within him and there temper them as Cyrill other ancient fathers do teach but sinfull extremities as desperation confusion reiection damnation Christ must conquere by repelling not by suffering least the fellowship of our sinnes be more hainous in him then in vs. For as his faith hope and loue must by manie degrées exceed ours in perfection so the quenching or slaking of these graces in him is greater sinne then in vs. Doubt and distrust is farre more impious in Angels by reason of their excellent knowledge and strength then in men and most impious in the soule of Christ who by his personall vnion with God deriued clearer intelligence in knowing Gods will and greater assurance to persist therein then either man or Angell For the verie Angels haue but the condition of their creation from which some fell and confirmation of grace in which the rest stand but no creature euer had so fast coniunction and full communion with the godhead as the soule of Christ. And therefore DVBITATION DESPERATION TREPIDATION in his soule are more hainous sinnes then in any other creature for somuch as they beleeue not y e truth trust not the promise rest not secured in the VOICE and OATH of God which all are immutable and impossible to bee false and feare least Gods goodnesse and loue will faile and in fine doe depriue him of his diuine nature since without veritie bonitie and constancie there can be no God It then Christs soule could not be infected with sinne nor haue anie societie with euill no not for an instant these doubts and feares of Gods fauour and his saluation must be farre from him and in the full perswasion and steadfast expectation of eternall ioy and blisse howe desperation should lodge I yet vnderstand not God might reueale and the soule of Christ in this life beholde as all ours shall when we appeare before the face of God after this life what cup was prepared for the wicked to drinke and the sight thereof as it is most fearefull so might it make him tremble though he were neuer so frée from it but more then the VISION of Gods wrath and COMMISERATION of mans danger if wee attribute to the soule of Christ we must either grant he was tempted as well with our iniquities through lacke of grace as with our infirmities through want of strength or else cast him into a traunce at the time of his passion as some doe to excuse him from sinne For that in the fulnesse of Gods fauour grace and spirite the soule of Christ shoulde feele the flames of hell fire can neither bee prooued nor defended by the worde of God The proofe I leaue to them that like the position which if anie man affirme he were best bee sure of his footing It is no small arrogancie and blasphemie to sit Iudge in Gods place and to condemne Christs soule to hell fire without a sounde and cleare commission to warrant that assertion Besides hell fire in the Scriptures being ETERNALL by what authoritie will they quench it at their pleasure and make it temporarie And if Christes soule beeing personallie ioyned to the Deitie notwithstanding might feele the furie of hell fire when shall the Saints of God that can neuer bee so vnited vnto his glorie nor assured of his societie nor so endued with his sanctitie bee free from the flames of hell If that vnion and communion which Christ had with God coulde not exclude hell fire what shall hinder but that the Angels in heauen maie for the time likewise feele the flames thereof Can they haue faster coherence or fuller presence of God then hee which was ioyned with God in vnitie of person They come not neere the fauour and grace knowledge and truth power stedfastnes of the manhoode of Christ which here on earth they did serue and adore But none of these things can be intended in the Creede for there the articles are placed in ORDER and TIME as they were performed And therfore when Christ was DEAD AND BVRIED he then DESCENDED INTO HELL The second opinion is that Christs descent to hell is all one with his buriall for that SHEOL in the olde testament doth most commonlie if not continuallie signifie the graue But this is nothing to the Creede whose authoritie and antiquitie if wee reuerence it is soone concluded that hell there doth not signifie the graue For first it is absurde that in a short rehearsall of the faith made for the simplest to conceiue one article shoulde bee twice repeated and after a plaine and knowne worde hee was buried which no man could doubt of a darke and enigmaticall phrase of spéech HE DESCENDED INTO HELL which fewe men did vnderstande should bee added rather to obscure then to expound the former Againe HE DESCENDED signifieth a voluntarie motion where as the bodie dead hath neither VVILL nor MOTION Thirdlie HELL in the new testament is so vnusuall for the graue that I thinke no example can be shewed thereof Though therefore this exposition cannot be charged with falsitie for Christ was trulie buried yet may it not bee endured by reason of the idle repetition and strange circumloquution which troubleth and confoundeth the hearer besides the improprietie and incoherence of the worde that a deade corps should descend and speciallie vnto hell The third opinion doth neither mistake the TIME nor the PART which descended for they referre the words of the Creede to Christes SOVLE after DEATH but they change the name of hell into the state of the deade and so conâ—esse that Christes soule after separation from the bodie endured THE STATE OF THE DEAD To this a number of learned men incline because they would auoyde Limbus patrum disliking by all meanes that the soules of the righteous and faithfull before Christes suffering shoulde be kept in a region or part of hell and thence deliuered by his descent I see well enough what they woulde faine decline but what if by their farre fet exposition they fall into that errour which they seeke to flie Doe they not fairelie profer and quite besides the marke Let vs looke a little into their conceite Christ descended into hell that is saie they his soule after death conuersed among the soules of the iust that were dead before him But where were the soules of the iust In a place or no Without a place can nothing be but onelie God All creatures be they soules or angels are desined with place though they doe not replenish their places as bodies do yea what soeuer is not circumscribed within a place is infinite which no creature can bee The soules then of the righteous must of necesstie bee in a place And what call you that place by your opinion Forsooth euen HELL For Christs