3. thes 1. but that through their contempt and diffidence and abuse of Gods goodnesse by turning the graces of God into wantonnesse they make them all like the vntimely fruit of a woman which perisheth before it seeth the Sunne or like the grasse vpon the house toppe that withereth before it be plucked vp How God is not alike good vnto all men Secondly Though it is most certaine that God is good vnto all yet is it as certaine that hee is not alike good vnto all but as the master of a house is good vnto all that are vnder him and so prouideth for them all men and beasts yet is there a gradation of his loue and goodnesse towards them in as much as he loues his wife and children better then he doth the rest of his familie so God is good vnto all but in a more speciall manner he is good to some rather then vnto others so among the Angels he was good vnto them all in that he made them and indued them with most admirable gifts of nature but he shewed more goodnesse vnto them which he preserued by his grace that they should not fall into condemnation then hee did vnto those which hee suffered to runne into destruction and so among men 2 Tim. 4.3 though he be the Sauiour of all men and doth good vnto all men yet is he specially good to them that beleeue or as the Prophet Dauid sayth Psal 73.1 to them that are of a right conuersation And therefore speaking of Gods goodnesse towards men wee say that although God be good vnto all in respect of his generall goodnesse yet in respect of his speciall goodnesse he is onely good vnto his Church vnto his Saints and chosen children he is good to them that feare him that put their trust in his mercie And this speciall goodnesse of God towards his Saints is chiefely seene in these two things which he extendeth and exhibiteth vnto them and not to others 1. In the decreeing of our eternall election Gods speciall goodnesse towards his Saints is seene in two things Aug. de fide ad Pet. c 35. cont Jul. Pelag. l. 5. c. 3. c. 2. In the executing of this decree for our saluation First God foreseeing all the whole race of Adam in the state of sin wherin they had fallen did before the foundation of the world intend purpose to assume into his fauor a certain number of men out of all that masse of corruption on whom hee would confer more speciall fruits of his goodnes then he meant to do on all the rest that they might be the speciall vessels of his mercie and goodnesse and made fit to follow the Lambe wheresoeuer he goeth And this election of some and not of all is sufficiently shewed in many passages of the holy Scriptures as in Ephes 1.4 Matth. 20.16 where our Sauiour saith God electeth some men and not all Many are called but few are chosen and Ioh. 13.18 I know whom I haue chosen and so the Fathers Schoole-men and all are all of the same iudgement that God decreed to glorifie some and not all Secondly As he shewed his goodnesse towards them more plentifully then the rest in thus purposing to saue them rather then the rest so he doth farre more plentifully shew the same vnto them in the executing of this decree of election and in bringing of them vnto eternall saluation And this hee doth two wayes 1. By effectually calling them 2. By giuing and conferring many singular graces vpon them First though God sent his Sonne to die for all men That God effectually calleth none but his Elect. that whosoeuer beleeued in him should not perish but haue life euerlasting and sends his Preachers to call all men to beleeue in him yet is all this ineffectuall to all those that are not inwardly called by Gods Spirit Quia inanis est sermo docentis nisi intus sit qui docet For we finde many called and often called by the Preachers of the Word which yeeld not obedience vnto the Faith of Christ Matth. 20.16 because as our Sauiour sheweth they are not chosen vnto life But whom God hath decreed to saue he doth inwardly effectually call by his Spirit and when we do outwardly Preach the Word he doth graciously open their hearts as hee did the heart of Lidia Act. 16.14 that they should imbrace and beleeue the same And this Saint Paul sheweth when he saith that whom God did fore-know and predestinate them he called i. e. Inwardly and effectually and so powerfully that when hee doth so call them 1 Sam. 3.10 they doe presently answere Loe I come or with Samuel Speake on Lord for thy seruant heareth And thus he calleth none but those whom he hath decreed to saue for so our Sauiour saith That no man knoweth the Father but the Sonne and he to whom the Sonne reuealeth him i. e. thus effectually by his Spirit And therefore God sheweth more goodnesse vnto them then hee doth vnto all others in that he doth more graciously call them rather then all others Secondly when he hath thus effectually called them he bestoweth many speciall and singular graces vpon them which he doth not vpon all others as chiefly Of certaine speciall graces that God bestoweth vpon his Saints 1. The grace of Preseruation 2. The grace of Iustification 3. The grace of Sanctification 4. The grace of Glorification First the grace of Preseruation is that which keepeth and preserueth these chosen and peculiarly beloued Saints of God from many euils both of 1. Sinne. 2. Punishment For First though as I shewed you before the goodnesse of God preserueth the wicked many times from committing many horrible sinnes which otherwise they would doe yet doth he after a more speciall manner guide the godly with his counsell Psal 73.24 as the Psalmist saith that they runne not with the wicked into the same excesse of riot How God preserueth the Godly from many sinnes Fot seeing by nature we are all equally indifferent to all sinnes how comes it to passe that wee abstaine from may abhominations and haynous impieties that wicked men doe practice is it from our selues or from the goodnesse of our Nature or is it not rather from the goodnesse of God that giueth his holy spirit vnto vs that as he preserued Noah from partaking with the wickednesse of the old world Gen. 6 9. and Lot from following after the abhominations of the Sodomites Gen. 19.7 Gen. 39.8.9 Ioseph from consenting to the lewd inticements of his Mistresse Elias from the Idolatry of Israel and the like so he might preserue vs from those lewd actions that the wicked doe Aug. Soliloq l. 16. Saint Augustine makes it plaine For Tentator defuit saith he Satan was away and time and place was wanting to doe the deed but this was thy goodnesse to preserue mee the Tempter came in time and place
First the generall mercy of God is that which extends it selfe towards all and ouer all Gods works but That God is onely mercifull to them that loue him Secondly the speciall mercy of God is onely extended vnto the godly and wholly denyed vnto the wicked for so the Lord himselfe saith I will haue mercy on whom I will haue mercy that is not vpon all but vpon some whom I will and who are those the Scripture sheweth Exod. 23 36. for Moses saith Miseretur Iehoua seruorum suorum The Lord will repent himselfe or be mercifull vnto his seruants Deut. 32.36 Psal 103.3 and the Prophet Dauid saith that as a father pittieth his owne children so will the Lord be mercifull to them that feare him Exod. 20.6 and so God himselfe saith I will shew mercy on them that loue me but they that feare him not that serue him not that loue him not he will deale with them in his furie and his eye shall not spare them Ezek 8 18. neither will he be mercifull vnto them That the wicked haue no part in the speciall mercie of God And therefore though God be mercifull vnto the wicked and sheweth many singular effects of his mercy vnto them as to create them and to preserue them from many euils yea from many sinnes which otherwise they would fall into and to bestow many gifts and graces vpon them yet haue they no part nor portion in this speciall mercy of God because as the Lord himselfe saith of the wicked Mal. 1.10 Non est mihi voluntas in vobis God hath no pleasure he hath no delight in them And no maruell for seeing the mercie of God springeth from the loue of God as may be collected from the words of those Iewes who seeing how Christ sighed and mourned and wept ouer Lazarus Iohn 11.36 said presently Behold how he loued him and as the Apostle plainely sheweth in the 3. of Titus and the 4. verse and 1 Tim. 1.2 It is most apparant that where there is no speciall loue of God there can be no speciall mercy of God That God loueth not the wicked but the speciall loue of God is onely extended vnto the Saints and chosen children of God and not vnto the wicked reprobates as might be easily shewed from those especiall effects of this speciall loue of God such as are their eternall election their effectuall vocation their singular preseruation and the bountifull donation of many heauenly gifts and graces which he giueth not vnto the reprobates as I purpose by Gods helpe more fully to declare in some other place and therefore the speciall mercy of God is onely shewed vnto Gods Elect and none else for he will haue mercy on whom he will haue mercy Rom 9 18. and whom he will he hardeneth Well then That we should carefully examine whether we loue and serue God or not beloued Brethren seeing the speciall mercy of God pertaineth onely vnto the Saints let vs all examine our selues and if we finde we feare not God we serue not God wee may assure our selues that although we daily feele many infallible arguments of Gods generall mercy and fauour towards vs yet are we destitute of the least assurance of this speciall mercy of God I know many deceiue themselues herein Psal 69.23 and make those things which should be for their aduantage to be vnto them an occasion of falling when as continuing in sinne they notwithstanding doe appropriate vnto themselues this speciall mercie of God which indeed is onely proper vnto those Saints that feare him for though after a generall manner he is mercifull vnto all to make them and to preserue them and to bestow many blessings vpon them yet after this speciall manner to forgiue their sinnes and to bring them to eternall life he is onely mercifull to them that feare him to them that loue him to them that serue him as the Scriptures doe most plainly shew vnto vs And therefore I would aduise all wicked men either to serue the Lord or not to thinke that they haue any part in this mercy of God for I doe here confidently assure them that if they doe still continue in sinne they shall not taste of this Cup of mercy but shall be forced to wring out euen the dregs of thâ—t red Wine of the wrath and indignation of God Psal 75.8 And so much of the first Particle of Gods goodnesse Mercifull CHAP. VI. Of the Grace of God and what the same chiefely signifieth What is meant by the word Gracious THe Second Particle of Gods Goodnesse here expressed is that hee is Gratious a word very large and ample in signification and it is diuersly taken but chiefly it signifieth one that is 1. Amiable 2. Placable 3. Liberall First It signifieth that affability and louelinesse of person whereby the beholders are inflamed with the loue and sweetnesse thereof for when Christ is said to haue increased in wisedome Luk. 2.52 First he that is louely is gracious and stature and in fauour or in grace as the originall hath it with God and man the meaning is that he grew to be more and more amiable and beloued both of God and men and therefore we may say that a sweet affable amiablâ— man is a gracious man Secondly he that easily remitteth offences is gracious Secondly it signifieth that readinesse of minde to forgiue all the offences done against one and to receiue the offender into his fauour againe for when Noah Mary and other are said inuenisse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 apud deum to haue found grace with God it signifieth that they found him fauourable vnto them both in remitting of their offences Gen. 6.8 and in receiuing them into his fauourable countenance Luke 1.30 and therefore we may rightly say that he which easily receiueth offenders into his fauour is a gracious man Thirdly a bountifull man is a gracious man Gen. 33.5 Thirdly It signifieth a bountifull giuing and bestowing of any gifts for so the Scripture sheweth all the gifts of God whether temporall or spirituall to be the graces of God as Iacob said vnto his brother these be the children Quos Deus gratificatus est mihi which God of his free grace and fauour gaue vnto me and so it is said of Barnabas that when hee saw 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the grace of God Acts. 11.23 i. e. the gift of God bestowed vpon the beleeuers he reioyced and therefore a liberall and a bountifull man may be truely said to be a gracious man Now in all these respects wee finde God to bee most gracious For First It is said of Christ That God is gracious in all respects Psal 45.3 that he was fairer then the sonnes of men and that his lips were full of grace yea so full of grace that all men wondred at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth And indeed howsoeuer
to remember nothing to haue nothing but Iesus Christ and him crucified And therefore well might Saint Augustine call him the best Childe of grace because as Saint Iohn that best beloued Disciple was the most louing vnto his brethren and did most of all expresse the loue of God to men and require the loue of men to God so did this chosen vessell of grace best of all suppresse the pride of man and extoll the grace of Christ So did Saint Augustine in his time that was Strenuus defensor gratiae A most valiant Champion to fight for grace so did that worthy Zanchius in these latter times and so will all Christians doe that doe loue Iesus Christ ascribe all good to him and nothing to our selues Quia nostrum nihil est Because nothing that is good is of our selues I reade of one Iohannes Alexandrinus a most excellent holy man that when hee had distributed all that euer he had vnto the poore hee fell downe vpon his knees and thanked God that now hauing nothing left hee desired nothing else The Authors earnest and hearty wish both for the Cleargy and Laity but his Lord and Master Iesus Christ Oh that it might be so with euery one of vs that this word which did all good vnto vs tooke all infirmities from vs suffered all punishments for vs and finished all the workes of our redemption to vs might be all in all within vs all First That we the Preachers of Gods Word would leaue our iarring and our iangling about shaddowes That we should not contest about trifles about things of nothing An ater sit contrarius albo As whether it be better to weare a white Surplesse or a blacke Gowne in the administring of the Sacrament Much like the contention in Rome betwixt the Augustine Friars and the vulgar Canons whether Saint Augustine did weare a blacke weede vpon a white coate or a white weede vpon a blacke coate for by this meanes in stead of bread we shall giue our Children stones to throw at one another and in stead of fish wee shall giue them Scorpions to sting one another And therefore I wish that we would all leaue these things and would be Pythagoricè mundo Ciceronicè Christo Mute vnto the World mute vnto all worldly vanities and vse all our words all our eloquence to expresse the excellency of this super-excellent word And so by the helpe of this word to preach of this word and to write of this word to the eternall prayse and glory of this word that is to preach not our selues but him not for our owne gaine but for his glory That we should imploy all our strength to expresse the glory of Christ It is reported of Saint Bernard that hauing made with great art and study a most curious elegant Sermon he passed home without any applause and the next day making a plaine conscionable and comfortable Sermon vnto his Auditors he receiued many a blessing from those well-edified hearers And being demanded by one of his Colleagues how it happened that his most learned Sermon was so strangely neglected and his farre more playne one so ioyfully imbraced he most humbly answered Heri praedicaui Bernardum hodie Iesum Christum Yesterday I preached my selfe to shew my wit and my learning to day I preached Iesus Christ to shew his grace and his goodnesse I wish that none would preach Saint Bernard that is preach a Sermon rare and seldome filled with words and fine phrases to gaine vnto themselues credit and thereby preferment as the onely rare Schollars of our times and so they are rare indeed for they are but seldome seene to preach like the Swallowes that come but once a yeere but that we would preach Iesus Christ to gaine soules vnto the Church of God And I confesse against my selfe that when I tooke greatest paines to make and compose a Scholler-like Sermon as I thought and saw the same vnregarded and when with lesse diligence but with good conscience I saw other of my poore labours most acceptably receiued That we should preach Iesus Christ and not our selues I deemed it was for want of iudgement in mine Auditors whereas now I perceiue it was an error in my selfe that I did not alwayes so as might best tend for edification and not so as might any wayes sauour of ambition Because our chiefest care should be not to spinne a fine thred but to winne a faire soule to Christ And therefore that is an excellent rule which Saint Augustine giues vnto all Preachers Non delectent verba vestra sed prosint quia sapientes verum magis amant in verbis quam verba That our words should not so much delight the eares as our matter edifie the soules of men because all wise Christians doe loue the truth and excellencie of the matter rather then the fluent elegancie of the words though I denie not but as the Poet sayth est aliqua gloria frondium an excellent matter exprest in fit and decent words is like apples of gold in pictures of siluer And therefore O my Soule so preach thou the Word of God that whatsoeuer men thinke or say of thee this Word God at last may say vnto thee euge serue bone well done thou good and faithfull seruant enter thou into thy Masters ioy Secondly I wish that all hearers would thinke of nothing speake of nothing heare of nothing loue and long for nothing but for this onely one thing that they would villifie and nullifie all things else to magnifie and to omnifie the excellencie of this excellent Word that we would prize and value him aboue all things that wee would loue him and long after him vntill we languish and be compelled to crie with the Spouse Cantic 2.5 Stay me with flaggons and comfort me with apples for I am sicke of loue and that we would so inquire after him as men vndone without him and rather be contented to want all the world then to want this Word which made the world of nothing and still preserues the same that it turne not to nothing for I doe much feare that if we could see the hearts of men we should finde many of them not as we would but rather as Saint Bernard calls them sine Christo Christianos such as haue this word Christ often in their mouthes to sweare and blaspheme him but not in their liues to yeeld any seruice to him Mammon is their chiefest god and this God which is the first and the last is the last and the least in all their thoughts all their delight is in filthie communications and leaude words all words that may doe hurt but they haue no delight in this word God The wise Merchant Matth. 13.46 sold al that euer he had to gaine this inualuable Pearle but as many a foole will leese his best friend rather then his basest iest so will the foolish worldlings sell this and leese all that belongs to
Cantic quem pro nobis bibit nothing in the world makes Christ to be loued of vs more then that Cup which he hath drunke vp for vs. Quia amor amoris magnes durus est qui amorem non rependit Because loue is as a loadstone to draw loue againe and greater loue then this hath no man that a man should giue his life for his friends and therefore the remembrance of this cannot choose but cause vs to loue him againe Euripides in Alceste It is reported subeuntem fata mariti Alcesten that Alcestes was contented to vndergoe the destinies of her husband for when Apollo had obtained of the Fates to spare Admetus life if any one of his friends or kindred would willingly die for him and that all his friends refused the same his wife Alcestes redeemed his life with her owne death So was Pythias ready to die for Damon and Damon likewise for Pythias and so the Codri for the Athenians and the Curtij for the Romans did willingly giue themselues to die Sic fratrem Pollux alterna morte redemit And surely these are arguments of great loue yet farre farre short of the loue of Christ For First these did it for them that loued them as much Lactant. institut l. 5. c. 18. and were as ready to doe as much for them againe but Christ did it for vs when we were his enemies Rom. 5.8 Secondly these owed so much vnto their friends and countrey for in that they were they were from these and whatsoeuer they had they had from them and therefore Cicero l. 1 offic Partem ortus nostri patria partem patres sibi vendicant Our Country our friends and our parents doe rightly challenge no small part of euery man saith Cicero and as Lucan saith Haec duri immota Catonis Lucan l. 2. secta fuit Nec sibi sed toti genitum se credere mundo It was Cato's mind that he was not borne for himselfe but to doe what good he could to others but Christ oweth vs nothing he is a debter to no man for who hath first giuen vnto him Rom. 5 8. and it shall be recompenced vnto him againe And therefore seeing the loue of Christ to vs was so great as when we deserued no good at his hands but deserued so much euill as is due to mortall and perfidious enemies to suffer so many things for vs how can it choose but the remembrance therof should exceedingly kindle our loue towards him againe for who can behold and consider the grâ—â— price that was paid for his redemption and not loue his Redeemer or who can thinke of that bitter potion which he drunke for our saluation and not be inflamed with the loue of his Sauiour There be 3. things saith Mirandula that doe moue vs to loue any one First The vertues of the person Mirand de morte Christi li. 1. c. 17. Secondly The benefits that we haue receiued of him Thirdly The good that we doe expect from him But Christ is the vertue of God his Father the chiefest good and all goodnesse and although euery vertue doth challenge loue yet no vertue deserueth the same so much as liberality and what greater bounty or liberality can there be then this to shedde his precious bloud and to offer vp himselfe vpon the Altar of his Crosse to deliuer vs from eternall death and what greater good can be desired then that eternall happinesse which hee hath purchased for vs and which we doe expect from him And therefore who would not loue so good a Sauiour It is reported of Ignatius Bishop of Antioch that he did so continually meditate vpon those great things which Christ had done and suffered for him Jdem quo supra c. 10. that hee was thereby brought so intirely to loue him as when he was demanded why hee would not forsake and forget Christ rather then suffer himselfe to be torne and deuoured of wilde and sauage Beasts He answered That hee could not forget him because the sufferings of Christ were not onely words transient in his mouth or remoueable obiects before his eyes but they were indelible Characters so engrauen in his heart that all the torments of the Earth could neuer race them out And therefore being commanded by that bloudy Tyrant Traiane to be ript and vnbowelled they found Iesus Christ written vpon his heart in Characters of Gold Oh that it might be so with vs that wee would euer set the sufferings of Christ before our face and with Saint Paul desire to know nothing but Iesus Christ and him crucified that so by the continuall consideration of Christ his great loue to vs we might be induced to loue him againe The meditation of Christs suffering supporteth our hope Thirdly As the continuall meditation of Christs suffering suppresseth sinne and kindleth our loue so it supporteth our hope for though I haue sinned grieuously and my conscience is much troubled yet it shall not be ouer-cha◠〈◊〉 despaire Quoniam vulnerum Domini recordabor â—od ex me mihi deest vsurpo ex visceribus Domini Bernard Ser. 61. in Cant. Becaus◠〈◊〉 will remember the wounds of my Lord Iesus and whatsoeuer is wanting in my selfe I will assume from the bowels of my Sauiour for when my wisedome faileth my righteousnesse sufficeth not my holinesse helpeth not the sufferings of Christ shall suffice for all This shall be my last refuge this shall be mine onely remedy saith Saint Bernard Idem Ser. 22. in Cant. And so Saint Paul after hee had shewed how doe he what he could he serued with his flesh many times the Law of sinne and therefore cryeth out O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from the body of this death He saith I thanke God Rom. 7.24.25 through Christ our Lord As if hee should haue said Seeing I am so prone to sinne and so vnapt to goodnesse I haue none other refuge but onely to flie vnto the sufferings and merits of Iesus Christ and I know that is sufficient for me in stead of all for as Israel sucked honey out of the rocke and oyle out of the flint stone Deut. 32.13 so doe wee sucke all our comforts and refresh our selues with those streames of teares and bloud that gushed out of that stonie Rocke Iesus Christ And as the high hilles are a refuge for the wilde Goates Psal 104.18 and the stony Rockes for the Conies those poore silly fearefull Creatures that haue none other shift to saue their liues but to hide themselues in the holes of the Rockes so the poore silly simple soules of sinnefull men haue none other place to hide themselues in from the wrath of God Cantic 2.14 but onely with the Doue in the Canticles In foraminibus petrae In the clefts of this Rocke in the secret places of his stayres as some translate it that is in the wounds and stripes of Iesus Christ for
loue to thee is and shall be such and so much as I shall be possibly able to expresse Fourthly to make vs willing to suffer with Christ For the fourth Saint Bernard tells vs that in the Passion of Christ there are three things especially to be considered 1. The Worke. 2. The Manner 3. The Cause And he saith that Christ shewed first in the worke singular patience secondly in the manner admirable humility and thirdly in the cause inestimable charity and therefore if wee would truely honour God for the giuing of his Sonne wee must labour what we can to imitate Christ herein First In patience Quia crux non ad impotentiae documentum sed ad exemplum patientiae suscepta est Because as Saint Augustine saith the Crosse of Christ is as a Schoolemaster to teach patience vnto all Christians And so Saint Peter saith 1 Pet. 2.21 Christ suffered for vs leauing vs an example that we should follow his steps That the sufferings of Christ is an example to teach vs how to suffer 1 Mac. 6.34 In the first of the Machabees and the sixt It is said that Antiochus being to fight with Iudas Captaine of the hoste of the Iewes He shewed vnto his Elephants the bloud of Grapes and Mulberies to prouoke them the better vnto the fight and so the Holy Ghost hath set downe vnto vs what iniuries what contumelies what torments our Sauiour Christ did beare and how patiently he did beare them to incourage vs to indure whatsoeuer calamnities shall betide vs during this our pilgrimage here on earth for we see our Sauiour Christ Sine peccato venit tamen sine flagello non exijt Though we doe all know that he came into the world without sinne yet you doe see he went not out of the world without sorrow without suffering and therefore Chrys in 27. Matth. Quae nobis erit contumelia post quam haec Christus passus est What if wee suffer reproaches pouerty shame death what matter what shame is that to vs seeing Christ hath suffered all those things for vs nay what a shame is it vnto vs if we will not be ready to suffer any thing for his Names sake that hath suffered so much for our sinnes But we must note that our suffering with Christ We suffer with Christ two manner of wayes is two wayes to be considered First What we voluntarily assume to be made like vnto Christ Secondly What is malitiously imposed and we patiently suffer for the Name of Christ In the first sense Saint Gregory tels vs that duobus modis crux tollitur aut cum per abstinentiam affligitur corpus aut cum per compassionem animi affligitur animus Wee take vp our crosse two manner of wayes either when through abstinence fastings 1 Cor. 9.27 watchings praying we bring our bodies vnto subiection that they bring not our soules vnto destruction That as members of the same body we should willingly suffer when we see others suffer or else through a compassionate fellow-feeling of others miseries we make our selues copartners with them in all distresses and therefore we should euer crucifie and mortifie all the inordinate lusts of our flesh all our wanton and lasciuious cogitations and we should with all diligence fight against them as they doe fight against our soules and as members of the same body we should all suffer inward griefe when we see any man indure outward paine In the second sense we ought patiently to suffer whatsoeuer God in his wisedome or men in their malice shall lay vpon vs and that not onely because we cannot auoide them but because we are contented to vndergoe them for if the minde resisteth when the body suffereth we rebell in what we can and we doe onely suffer what we cannot helpe and God respecteth not so much the sufferings of the Martyres though their torments were almost intollerable as their meeke patience in suffering and therefore it is noted in our Sauiour Christ Esay 53 7. That God respecteth our patience in suffering more then our suffering that he was carried as a Sheepe to the slaughter and as a Lambe that was dumbe and opened not his mouth to teach vs as Saint Gregory saith that it is not the sword or the flame that makes a Martyr but the patient and willing minde of him that suffereth any thing for the name and truth of Christ Quia sine ferro flamma Martyres esse possumus sine patientia non possumus Because wee may be Martyres without the paine of sword or stake Cyprian de duplici Martyrio but wee cannot be Martyres without patience though wee should suffer by the sword or be burned at the stake as Saint Cyprian doth most excellently declare And therefore seeing Christ hath suffered for vs and hath suffered for our example to teach vs how we should suffer for his sake That we shold be most ready and willing to suffer any thing for the Name of Christ though the world should rage and swell and lay vpon vs all the waight of miseries that it could heape vpon vs pouerty reproaches banishment imprisonment death it selfe or any kinde of death fire sword or whatsoeuer yet let vs patiently suffer whatsoeuer shall be imposed vpon vs and let vs say with holy Iob Though the Lord should kill vs Iob 13.15 yet will we trust in him for seeing he suffered so much for vs to saue our soules from eternall death it were a shame if we should be vnwilling to suffer any thing for him and his truthes sake that it might be well with vs and our children for euer and that wee might haue for our selues eternall life Secondly Matth. 12.29 As we are to imitate Christ in patient suffering vnto death so we are to learne of him true humility to bee meeke and lowly in heart throughout all our life Thirdly We should imbrace that Queene of vertues Diuine charity that as Christ in loue That as Christ loued vs so we should loue him and loue one another for the loue of Christ and for the loue of man descended from Heauen and suffered all this for vs so we should for the loue of him suffer any thing rather then to swarue a nayles-bredth from him and doe what good wee can vnto all our neighbours for if we loue him we must needs loue one another And yet it is a lamentable thing to consider what strifes and contentions what hatred and heart-burning raigneth not onely betwixt the children of this world but also betwixt Christians in the Church of God I pray God we seeke not our owne rather the things that are Iesus Christs and make Religion to be a colour to make way for vs to execute our owne greedy mindes and desires to commit all wrong and oppression It was said of old when the Pope sent his Buls to fulfill his owne will that in nomine dei incipit omne malum
a gift that we haue receiued from God All that wee haue is from God because as Saint Iames saith Euery good thing and euery perfect gift is from aboue and commeth downe from the Father of lights Secondly the Spirituall gifts of God are of two sorts 1. To edifie the Church 2. To sanctifie our soules First Those gifts which he gaue to edifie the Church Ephes 4.11 the Apostle setteth downe in the eleuenth verse saying Hee gaue some Apostles and some Prophets and some Euangelists The gifts that Christ bestoweth to edifie his Church and some Pastors and Teachers for the perfecting of the same for the worke of the Ministery for the edifying of the body of Christ wherein we see that by the gifts whereof the Apostle speaketh in these words are vnderstood either 1. The Ministers of the Church or 2. The gifts wherewith the Ministers are indued or rather as I take it 3. Ministers indued and qualified with such gifts as are necessary for the gathering together of his Church which are specially The gifts 1. Of Tongues Gifts requisite for Preachers 2. Of Knowledge 3. Of Charitie 4. Of Constancy and Perseuerance 5. Of Contempt of all worldly vanities 6. Of perfect power First The gift of tongues First languages and readinesse of speech i. e. that as by the confusion of tongues the world was diuided at the building of Babell so by the helpe of the Preachers tongues the world might bee revnited and made one sheepe-fold in the building of Gods Church Secondly that these men might not offend in their tongues Thirdly that they might be the better able to teach profound and heauenly doctrine which they that want the tongues or languages cannot so easily attaine vnto And fourthly that none might bee able to resist the words of their mouthes Luke 12.11 as our Sauiour saith I will giue vnto you a mouth or tongue which your aduersaries shall not be able to withstand Secondly Knowledge Iohn 16.13 Perfecta virtus non est sine cognitione veritatis Bernard Secondly the gift of Knowledge whereby they might know all truth not of politicke and state matters but of all truth necessary for this office to edifie the Church which is the chiefest knowledge that wee should aime at or else all truth euery way because they should know him which is all truth i. e. Iesus Christ and I desire to know nothing else I will bee contented to be accounted a foole in all things else so he will giue me this gift only to know him alone Thirdly Charity 1 Cor. 8.1 Hugo de S. Vict. misc l. 1. tit 73. Thirdly the gift of Charity Quia quaerentes verum non bonum non inuenient summum bonum because knowledge without charity puffeth vp and the seeking to know the truth and not labouring to be good will neuer bring vs to the chiefest good and because of all men wee are most hated and standered and haue all occasions offered vs to make vs hate all wicked men therefore God diffuseth this gift of loue and charity into our hearts that notwithstanding all our indignity we doe still loue them better then they doe loue themselues and doe spend our whole time to doe them good and are ready to lay downe our liues for the brethren Fourthly Constancy Fourthly the gift of constancy and perseuerance because as knowledge and euery other gift without charity is nothing worth so charity and all other workes without perseuerance will auaile vs nothing Reuel 2.10 because wee must bee faithfull vnto death if wee would haue the crowne of life and therefore God doth giue vs this gift of Constancy to continue so in our vocation that neither want Rom. 8.39 nor contempt nor life nor death nor any other thing shall separate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus Fiftly contempt of vanities Fiftly the gift of contemning worldly vanities for seeing it is the property of the world to esteeme of vs no better then of the scumme and off-scouring of the world euery one of vs except hee be great in wealth and honours is contemned of his owne kinred of his owne people in his owne house where hee dwelleth and of those very men whom he teacheth and for whom as a burning light he consumeth himselfe that they should not bee consumed with sinne therefore the Lord giueth vs this gift and spirit contemnere contemni to despise all contempts and to regard none of the vaine and variable things of this wicked world Sixtly the gift of perfect power Sixtly Perfect power that to the penitent and deiected to the humble and contrite hearts they might open the gates of heauen and let them in in despight of all the deuils of hell and that against the obstinate and rebellious sinners Matth. 16.19 they might close and shut the same that notwithstanding all their wealth and wit their strength and power they may be excluded out of the ioyes of heauen And so these are the gifts Ministers indued with these gifts which God giueth vnto his Church for the gathering together of his Saints And indeed What a great gift it is to bestow able ministers vpon this Church howsoeuer the world vilipendeth them and as the Prophet saith doth make but a iesting song of them yet if we truly obserue it wee shall easily finde it that among all the gifts of God which he now giueth vnto men from heauen the sending of faithfull and able Ministers indued with these gifts to discharge their duties is the chiefest gift and doth obtaine the chiefest place for alas without them what were we vnbaptized still wallowing in our sins and filthinesse vntaught still inuolued in ignorance vnvnited to Christ still chained in the hands of Satan without profession without religion without God And therefore it was not without cause Matth. 9.38 that our Sauiour exhorteth vs to pray vnto God that he would send forth labourers into his vineyard for otherwise hee knew that in a very short time it would grow wilde and in stead of grapes to bring forth wilde grapes in stead of mercy and iudgement to bring forth cruelty and oppession and in stead of piety and religion to bring forth nothing else but idolatry and superstition It is reported of Phillip King of Macedon that he sent vnto the Athenians to send him all their Orators of Athens and he would euer liue in league and peace with them and the wise Senators being ready to deliuer those learned men into the hands of their mortall enemy Demosthenes said vnto them that on a time the Wolues said vnto the Sheepe that they conceiued no ill thought against them but only for retaining those dogs which were their deadly enemies and oftentimes barked against themselues which were their feeders and therefore if they would deliuer vp their dogs into their hands they should free themselues from their barking and they would
belongeth not to any wicked man so long as he remaineth wicked and therefore lest as the men of Bethshemesh were slaine fiftie thousand and threescore and ten men in one day 1 Sam. 6.19 because they looked into the arke which belonged onely vnto the Priests wee be found guiltie of the body and bloud of Christ and so pull vpon our selues swift damnation if we snatch the childrens bread that belongeth not to vs or receiue these blessed Sacraments vnworthily let vs with blinde Bartimaeus cast off our mantles the old raggs of Adam the lusts of the flesh and let vs put on our wedding garment the new man which chiefely consisteth of Faith towards God and loue towards men if Mark 10.50 when we come to receiue these Sacraments wee would receiue the grace of Christ But Mat. 22.11 Secondly though such a hearing of the Word as I haue aboue shewed be a speciall meanes to obtaine grace yet we must know that this meanes is not sufficient vnlesse as God opened the heart of Lydia when Saint Paul Preached vnto her eares so he doth worke faith in your hearts when we doe Preach expound the Word vnto your eares Quia inanis est sermo docentis nisi spiritus adsit cordi audientis because as the Preaching of the Word is the gift of God in vs so the beleeuing of the same is the operation of the same God in you And so likewise though the receiuing of the blessed Sacraments be a singular meanes to worke Faith and all other graces in the right receiuers of the same yet wee must vnderstand that it is not opus operatum the doing of the worke that begetteth grace in any man but the spirit of God onely conuayeth grace through the conduit pipes of these outward meanes and therefore wee should alwayes pray to God not onely for the graces of attention vnto our eares and illumination vnto our eyes but also of sanctification vnto our hearts that what wee doe attentiuely heare with our eares and doe most perfectly see with our eyes Wee may most faithfully beleeue with our hearts and so attaine vnto these gifts and graces of Gods spirit CHAP. VIII On whom God bestoweth these gifts and graces of his spirit FOr the third i e To whom God bestoweth these gifts we must know that he bestoweth neither the graces of edifiying the Church nor the other graces to sanctifie and to saue our soules vpon all men but onely vpon those whom it pleaseth him for as when he was to choose his Apostles it is said that he chose whom he pleased so of the graces of preseruation sanctification and such like he giueth them to whom he pleaseth Mar. 3.13 and though hee giueth liberally vnto all men Iames 1.51 yet he giueth not all of these nor any of them all inconsiderately vnto any man for he lets not his graces drop through his fingers as if he cared not what became of them and so suffer all men to gather them Mat. 10.29 who will but as a sparrow lights not vpon the ground without his prouidence so not one grace falls to any man without his speciall guidance and direction And this the Apostle sheweth when he saith Rom. 9.16 non est currentis neque volentis sed miserentis Dei it is not in him that runneth nor in him that willeth but in God that sheweth mercie and this Christ himselfe declareth when he saith no man commeth vnto me except the Father draw him Iohn so no man can receiue these gifts and graces but they to whom they are giuen and as we finde a gradation of the loue and fauour of God As First he loueth all the things that he hath made and That there is a gradation in Gods loue Secondly he loueth man in a more speciall manner aboue all the things that he made And Thirdly among men he loueth some better then others yea Fourthly among those that he loueth best hee loueth some better then the rest As wee see hee loued Noah and Abraham among the Patriarks Moses among the Prophets and Iohn among the Apostles Why God loueth some men better then others so hee loues these best not because these were in themselues better then any others but because it pleased him to loue them better then others for as if he had made a toad a man and the man a toad the toad had bin the better of the twaine so if hee had bestowed more grace vpon the wicked and with-held the same from the now best men in all respects then no doubt but the wicked had bin the best but he loueth them best because it pleaseth him so to doe and therfore he bestoweth more graces and tokens of his loue vpon them to make them better then all others whatsoeuer for the gifts of God make vs good and our goodnesse maketh not him to bestow his gifts on vs. And this I say What this doctrine teacheth vs. not to accuse God of any niggardlinesse or close-handednesse because he giueth not these gifts vnto all God forbid for he is a debter to no man but may freely without censure doe with his owne what he list But I say this First to shew his exceeding great bountie and fauour First to behold the great goodnesse of God to his elect towards vs that deseruing no more good at Gods hands then all the rest of the race of mankind should notwithstanding when we iustly deserued so much euill it may be as much or more then the rest of men receiue so many great gifts and graces aboue and before all the rest of the world Secondly Secondly to be truely thankfull vnto God and specially to moue vs to all thankefulnesse to this our good and gratious God that with-holding his graces from many thousand others he would notwithstanding so graciously bestow them vpon vs for had not he giuen vs the grace to beleeue in Christ to hate our sinnes and to loue all righteousnesse I see not how the best of vs could doe any of these no more then the wickedest men in the world and therefore I would to God that we would euer praise the Lord for his goodnesse and declare the wonders that hee doth as generally for all men so specially for these chosen children of men Thirdly and lastly to teach vs Thirdly to pray for what we want and to praise our God for euermore that when wee feele our owne wants wee should pray to him for helpe to supply our need and when we see any of our neighbours voyd of grace we should rather piously pittie them and pray for them then proudly to contemne them and to spurne against them for as if God would hee might haue made thee a beast and the beast a man so if it had pleased him hee might haue filled them with that grace which he bestowed on thee and he might haue iustly left thee in that fullnesse of sinne wherein they doe
227 IV Iudas what benefits he receiued from Christ 458 Why chosen to be an Apostle 459 Why made the Purse-bearer ibid. Why he betraied Christ ibid. Why he gaue them a signe 461 How sought to be reclaymed by Christ 461 462 What his treason should teach vs. 461 His arrogancie and iniquitie how great 461 Why he kissed Christ 461 That it is a iust thing to punish sinne 90 Iustice is often peruerted with men 91 God iudgeth all men according to what they haue actually done 95 Euery one according to his desert 92 God most iust proued 91 God in the strictnes of his iustice might inflict more punishmeÌ„t vpon the damned 187 Whatsoeuer he doth is iust 237 Iustice of God taken diuers waies 237 Iustice of God requireth a day of iudgement 245 How it stands with God iustice to punish the fathers sinnes vpon the children 245 Iustice and truth how they pleaded against man 319 That we should as well feare Gods iustice as hope for mercie 244 Iudgements of God must be threatned when his mercies doe not allure vs. 696 Iustification what it is 208 Christ Iustified by his enemies 429 KI KIngdome of heauen could be giuen by none but by God 321 Kisses that there be fiue kindes 460 Kings and Magistrates to be prayed for and why 734 KN. God knoweth best when to helpe vs. 724 Knowledge most necessary for Preachers 642 Adams desire of knowledge brought ignorance vpon vs all 58 Sinnes of knowledge most fearefull inexcusable sinnes 29 And yet we doe what we know to be fearefull sinnes 29 The excellencie of our knowledge makes our sinnes the more horrible 30 All knowledge of God extinguished by sin 64 Three wayes of knowing God 120 We are not able to know him as hee is in himselfe 120 Knowledge of Gods power the foundation of our faith 134 We know many things negatiuely as what God is not which we know not positiuely 176 We know what God cannot doe though we know not what he can doe 176 To know Christ the onely thing that makes vs happy 259 It suppresseth all vices 261 The Gentiles had a measure of the knowledge of God 311 The diuels know God and the mysterie of the Trinitie 314 Knowledge of Christ two-fold 356 Knowledge of Iesus Christ the chiefest knowledge in the world 391 The diuell chiefly laboureth to corrupt it 391 We know not what is good for our selues 726 LA. LAbour vndertaken vpon hope of reward 1 Labourer presently to haue his pâ—ay ibid. Law of nature and of all nations teacheth to punish sinne 90 Lawes of men like a spiders web 91 Law of God like an yron net ibid. Lawes must bee made according to rules of mens abilitie to keepe them 210 Law in the Gospell 224 That the law was not created 286 To keepe Gods lawes made Dauid wiser then his teachers 571 Law of God giuen to be kept not to be talked of 600 Languages and readie speech requisite for preachers 641 LE. Letters how vsed by the ancient to signifie diuers things 473 LI. God the verie life of all things 125 Life of Christ a continuall suffering 437 A good life what it effecteth 601 Bad life what euill it doth 601 The wicked are lifted vp to bee throwne downe 612 Life of Christ a continuall suffering 437 LO Loaues of bread how multiplied by Christ 174 God onely absolute Lord. 131 Lord and Iehoua equiualent ibid. Lord taken two waies ibid. Men may be called Lords 131 Our Lord should bee feared and serued for three speciall reasons 132 Christ most properly called Lord. 132 Logos what it signifieth 306 Why vsed by the Euangelist 310 The best knowne name of Christ among the Iewes 311 God loueth not the wicked 189 Loue of God in giuing Christ to be incarnate how great it was 303 To loue God is not to offend him 305 Loue of the Father seene in giuing Christ to be incarnate 357 Loue of Christ seene in his incarnation 359 Our loue to God increased by the meditation of Christ his Passion 424 Loue of God to mankinde moued him to giue his Sonne to die for man 498 How great his loue was to man ibid. Loue of Christ to man how vnspeakable 499 How deerely we ought to loue Christ 508 To loue one another how wee are bound vnto it 511 Want of loue the cause of all mischiefe in the world 511 We ought to loue all men ibid. Loue of money what it doth 565 Loue shewed foure wayes 693 That there is a gradation in the loue of God 684 Man lost a two-fold good 321 LV Vntamed lusts what an odious sinne 240 Saint Lukes words he shall be called the Sonne of God how vnderstood 248 Lutherans what they teach concerning the vnion of the two natures of Christ 377 Lutheran doctrine what absurdities it brings foorth 377 MA. MAn following his vocation is the safer from Satan 13 Man receiued power to beget man like himselfe 7 Manner how euerie sinne is committed fourefold 26 Sinnes of malice haue two violent properties 32 Malice of Satan restrayned 178 Man what a poore and a miserable thing 104 Manhood described and the miseries therof 70 Manner how the Father begetteth the Sonne or the Holy Ghost proceedeth is ineffable 227 Manner of diuine mysteries not curiously to be searched into ibid No man truly rich 281 Malice of Hereticks seene in denying the God-head of Christ 305 Not to marrie with wicked sinners 109 Mankinde produced three waies before Christ his time 333 Manner how Christ was conceiued 335 It is ineffable 336 Christ made a perfect man 340 Marcion his heresie 343 Macedonius his heresie ibid. Manichaeus his heresie ibid. Manhood of Christ seene by the sufferings of Christ 343 Word made flesh why the Euangelist saith 369 How one thing may be made another thing three waies 37â— Manhood of Christ how adored 383 Mary rightly called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the mother of God 385 Mary of what Tribe she was 397. 398 Mathew and Michoa how reconciled touching the place of Christ his birth 407 Magi what they beleeued Christ to be 4â—3 Man of al creatures most subiect to sufferings 434 Malice of Satan Christ prayed against 456 Malchus how he vsed Christ 467 Masters that are ill make ill seruants 467 Malice of the Iewes against Christ 495 517 Manner of Christs suffering incomprehensible 5â—2 Mary Magdalen a sinnefull woman 529 How shee liued after her conuersion 533 Mary Magdalens how many there were 568 Why not suffered to touch Christ 568 Magistrates in what sence to be feared 538 Manhood of Christ how said to bee euerie where 5â—4 Martyrs how constantly they professed Christ 577 Manna had twelue wonders in it 703 ME. Memorie what an excellent facultie it is 60 Wherein it excelleth all other faculties ibid. God recommendeth all his benefits vnto it ibid. How defiled by sinne 61 How faithfull to record vaine and vile things ibid. How faithlesse to retaine good things 61 What we should alwaies remember 62 Meditation of
Praesbyt Iob 28.24 and his being vnconceiuable saith Thalassus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For he is euery where and he seeth euery thing when as nothing can see him Ob. But here it may be some will say that although now by reason of sinne that blindeth vs we can neither see his Essence nor comprehend his excellency Cor. 15.53 yet when this corruption shall put on incorruption and this vaile of ignorance shall be taken from vs we shall fully see him and comprehend him in his excellency 1 Cor. 13.12 for we shall see him face to face we shall see him as he is and we shall know him as we are knowne And therefore he is neither so inuisible nor so incomprehensible but that hee might bee seene and comprehended were it not for our sinnes and ignorance that doe so blinde our vnderstandings that we cannot perceiue him Sol. That the Essence of God shall not be seene in Heauen but in the face of Iesus Christ To this I answere that if Adam had neuer sinned yet could he neuer haue seene the essence of God vnlesse God would haue taken some visible shape vpon him to appeare vnto him and so I say that in the life to come when the Saints shall be free from all sin and indued with a farre more excellent measure of knowledge and vnderstanding then euer Adam was in Paradise they shall neuer see the Dietie any otherwise then in the face of Iesus Christ for so the Apostle sheweth that God who commanded the light to shine out of darkenesse hath shined in our hearts 2 Cor. 4.6 to giue the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Iesus Christ Iohn 14.7 9. 10. v. And our Sauiour himselfe more plainely saith when Philip desired to see the Father He that knoweth me knoweth the Father and hee that seeth me seeth the Father because I am in the Father and the Father in me And therefore I say that Visio Dei beatifica The blessed fruition of the Godhead which the Saints shall haue in Heauen shall bee no otherwise reueiled vnto vs then in the face of the Man Iesus Christ because the Deitie considered in it selfe Inhabitat lucem inaccessibilem 1 Tim. 6.16 dwelleth in the light that no man can attaine vnto And so you see the occasion of these words that God hauing told Moses he could neither see his Essence nor yet fully vnderstand his Excellency he would notwithstanding so farre satisfie his desire as to shew him all that he could possibly comprehend viz. that he was Iehoua Iehoua strong mercifull and gracious c. Et sic condescendit nobis Deus vt nos consurgamus ei And thus God doth most graciously condescend and make himselfe knowne to man that man might ascend and as much as possibly lyeth in him know his God In all this Diuine description of Almighty God The diuision of the Text. I find these two especiall things set downe 1. Quid est 2. Qualis est Deus i. e. 1. What God is and 2. What manner of God he is And in the handling of these two points I shall by Gods helpe spend and finish this whole Treatise CHAP I. Of the description of God how he maybe knowne what he is Part. 1. and of this speciall Name IEHOVA TOuching the first Part Danda imprimis opera est vt Deum noscamus quotquot faelices esse volumus It must be the chiefest care of all that would bee happy to know God which is the chiefest happinesse of all for to feare God and to keepe his Commandments Hoc est omnis homo This is the dutie and this is the felicity of euery man Bernard At non potes aut amare quem non noueris aut habere quem non amaueris But thou canst not either loue him whom thou dost not know or imoy him whom thou dost not loue Quia ignoti nulla cupido Because Knowledge is the ground of loue and whom we loue not we can neither seeke any helpe from him nor yet render any seruice to him Iohn 17 3. and therefore our Sauiour saith that this is eternall life to know him to be the onely true God and whom he hath sent Iesus Christ And this is the reason why so many thousands shall be destroyed 2 Thess 1.8 because they know not God And this the very Heathens perceiued though they could not attaine it when among all their Precepts this was their chiefest lesson 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Know God That there are three wayes of knowing God Now we must vnderstand that there are three wayes of knowing God I speake not of that knowledge which the Booke of Nature teacheth for that is too small to make vs happy but of that which we doe collect out of the Booke of God and those according to the Schooles are these Exod. 23.19.20.23 The first is according to that which he is in himselfe whereby he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vnspeakeable infinite and incomprehensible and thus none knoweth God but God himselfe and the reason hereof is that although Nihil magis intelligibile quam Deus Nothing of his owne nature is more intelligible then God because he is the first Zanch. de nat Dei l 3. c. 2. p. 199. the perfectest and the truest being most pure and simple and free from any matter yet is our vnderstanding towards God but as the eyes of the Owles or Reremouse which are not able to behold the brightnesse of the Sunne and therefore thus if we seeke to know him That we are not able to know God as he is in himselfe wee shall be but like Symonides that being commanded by the Emperour to tell him what God was demanded three dayes respite for to resolue so great a quaere and when hee came hee required sixe dayes more and being therefore asked why he prolonged so the time and thereby so deluded him he ingeniously answered because the more I search into him the further I finde my selfe from attaining to him And therefore in this respect we should Sapere ad sobrietatem Bee wise vnto sobriety and not curiously search into his ineffable Maiestie but rather with the Cherubims to couer our faces with two of our Wings Esay 6.2 because we are not able to know him as he is The second is according to that which may be knowne of vs and may be any wayes comprehended in our mindes and best vnderstandings And thus we conceiue him to be most admirable but yet by infinite degrees inferior to that which he is in himselfe and therefore we should striue and labour what we can to vnderstand and know him more and more for the more fully that we shall know him the more perfectly we shall loue him and the more perfectly wee loue him the more happinesse wee shall adde vnto our owne felicity The third is according to that which may be
kindred of a Traytor were thereby tainted and disparaged by the Macedonian Law And therefore we must abridge God of that which we see iust in man or else we must yeeld it is iust in God to visite and to punish the sinnes of the Fathers vpon the Children But For the second That for the Fathers sinnes the Child should be spiritually punished or inflicted with criminall punishments it seemeth more then strange and therefore Aquinas and many others thinking thereby to reconcile this place of the Law That God will visite the sinnes of the Fathers vpon the Children And that of Ezechiel where God saith The innocent Childe shall not beare the iniquity of his wicked Father doe say that God here doth vnderstand it of temporall punishment or corporall castigation which God often times layeth vpon the Children for their Fathers sinnes But in Ezechiel God meaneth that he will not spiritually punish or eternally plague the Childe for the Fathers sinne And I confesse that that place of Ezechiel is to be vnderstood that God will not eternally punish the Childe simply for the Fathers sinne for God vseth not to punish any one man for the sinne of any other man But as the Lord saith himselfe The soule which sinneth Ezech. 18.4 A difference betwixt spirituall and eternall punishment that soule shall dye yet I say that in Ezechiel he denyeth not what here he affirmeth and that hee meaneth the same thing in both places if both be rightly vnderstood for I make a great difference betweene a spirituall and an eternall punishment that God will eternally punish the Childe for the Fathers sinne I vtterly denye but that hee will spiritually punish the Childe for the Fathers sinne I see neither place denying it For as here hee doth not say that hee will eternally punish the Childe for his Fathers sinnes so there he doth not say that hee will no way spiritually punish the Childe for the Parents faults but as here his meaning is not that he will inflict any positiue euill vpon the sonnes of the wicked for the wickednesse of their Parents but that for the iniquity of the Parents hee will shut his hands and with-hold his grace from their Children and so willingly and iustly suffer them to commit the like or worse sinnes then their Fathers did because we being all naturally borne in sinne inclined and prone to all euill if God doth not by his sanctifying and preuenting grace preserue vs wee shall be sure enough of our selues without any intrusion or infliction of any positiue euill from God to fall from one wickednesse to another and to commit all sinnes euen with greedinesse So there his meaning is not to deny the with-holding of his grace from the Children of the wicked which is all that here hee threatneth but that he will not inflict any positiue punishment vpon them for their Fathers sinnes And therefore though God saith in Ezechiel that he will not punish the Children for their Fathers faults i. e. by any positiue punishment yet doth hee not denie That God denyeth his graces vnto the Children for the Parents sinnes but that the priuatiue punishment of denying his grace vnto them for their Fathers sinnes should be inflicted vpon them and that suffering of vs to sinne or not hindering of vs to sinne iustly inflicted vpon vs for our Fathers sinnes is a most lamentable and a most fearefull thing because such Children so iustly refused to be helped by GOD and so deseruedly left in the councell of their owne hands shall bee sure of sinnes enough of their owne to be plagued for that they shall neuer neede to say Ezech. 18.2 The Fathers haue eaten sowre grapes and the Childrens teeth are set on edge or that they are punished for their Fathers sinnes And so you see how God visiteth the sinnes of the Fathers vpon the Children and yet punisheth euery man but for his owne sinnes The first he doth by a spirituall desertion and deniall of grace vnto the Children for the Fathers sinnes and The second hee doth by a positiue infliction of punishment vpon euery man according to his owne sinnes for As he promiseth to blesse the Children of the godly for the loue that he beareth vnto their Parents as hee saith vnto Abraham Gen. 17.7 I will be thy God and the God of thy seede after thee So hee denyeth his grace many times vnto the Children of the wicked for the very hatred that he beares against their Fathers sinnes as most innumerable wofull examples doe make it plaine for you see the Iewes forsaking God to be forsaken of God to this very day and that bloud of Christ which their Fathers spilt to remaine vpon the Children of so many generations And we see so many Nations of men suffered Luc. 1.79 To sit in darkenesse and in the shadow of death as the seauen Churches of Asia and many other famous places of Greece and other Countries because their Fore-fathers haue forsaken their first loue and through their negligence haue extinguished the light of Truth And being thus left of God and depriued of grace what can be left in them or deriued from them but the fruits of that naturall corruption which is ingraffed in all men And therefore as it is truly said of all the off-spring of Ieroboam that being bereft of grace and left vnto themselues euen for their Fathers sinnes They walked in the wayes of Ieroboam 1 Kings 15.34 the sonne of Nebat which made Israel to sinne So we may say of the Children of wicked Parents that being left as they were borne in their pure naturals for their Fathers impieties they doe imitate the same workes and tread in the same steppes or worse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then their Fathers did And so it falles out true that as an euill Crow brings forth an euill egge so euill Parents doe bring forth for the most part euill and wicked Children God in iustice visiting the iniquity of the Parents vpon the Children vnto the third and fourth generation And so you see how God visiteth the iniquity of the Fathers vpon the Children Why God with-holdeth his graces from the Children of the wicked by with-holding his grace from them and how iust it is with God to doe the same because hee is a debtor to no man and the reason why he dealeth thus with the sonnes of men is First To shew the height of his hatred against sinne fire is kindled in his wrath and it shall burne to the bottome of hell and if his wrath be kindled yea but a little Blessed are all they that put their trust in him Psal 2.12 Secondly To punish the offenders as I said before in their dearest flesh to see if their loue to their Childrens welfare will make them any wayes feare to sinne for we see many men so obdurate and so hard-hearted vnto themselues as that they care not what is done or what becomes
of themselues but as Dauid was much moued when he saw the people smitten for his sinnes 2 Sam. 2â— 17 and as Iacob halted when the Angell smote him on the thigh Gen. 32.31 so are we many times more grieued to see and more affraid to heare that our Children and the fruits of our loynes shall be punished then our selues And therefore seeing that fearefull curse of the Prophet To serue God is the greatest good that wee can doe vnto our Children Let the iniquity of his Father be had in remembrance and let not the sinne of his Mother be done away doth light so heauily vpon the Children of the wicked it should teach all Parents that loue their Children To feare the Lord and to striue more to get Gods blessing rather then the greatest patrimony vnto our Children for they may assure themselues that as the old verse saith De male quaesitis vix gaudet tertius haeres If they haue inlarged their substance by wicked meanes it will be the onely meanes to cut off all their posterity as may be seene in Saul Achab Ieroboam and the like but the blessing of the Lord perpetuateth the same And therefore as some for the loue that they beare vnto their Children will giue themselues vnto the Diuell by committing all sinnes in oppressing others to inrich them so let vs if we loue our Children cease to sinne for this will free our selues from woe and bring the best blessing vnto them and Secondly It should teach all Children to be humbled and to pray to God with our lyturgy saying Remember not Lord our offences nor the offences of our Fore-fathers but spare vs good Lord spare thy people and giue vs thy grace and forgiue vs all our sinnes through Iesus Christ our Lord Amen And thus I haue shewed thee O man Quid sit optimum What is the chiefest good and what we may learne concerning God that he is an Omnipotent eternall being good vnto all specially vnto his Saints and iust vnto sinners And now Quid nisi vota supersunt What remaineth but to apply all this vnto our soules to beleeue in him to loue him and to feare him and to prayse his name his blessed name for euermore for it is a good thing to sing prayses vnto our God yea and it becommeth well the iust to be thankefull Psal vlt. Verse vlt. And therefore prayse thou the Lord O my soule and all that is within me prayse his holy name and let euery thing that hath breath prayse the Lord through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen Amen A Prayer O Eternall God whom to know as thou art is vnpossible as thou hast reuealed in thy Word eternall life wee most humbly beseech thee to open the eyes of our vnderstanding that wee may see thee at all times in all places and in all our actions and giue vs O Lord thy heauenly grace that seeing thee wee may loue thee with all our hearts feare thy power extoll thy goodnesse and admire thy iustice to preserue vs from all sinnes and to retaine vs in thy wayes to thine eternall glory and to our endlesse comfort Amen IEHOVAE LIBERATORI FINIS The Third Golden Candlesticke HOLDING The Third greatest Light of Christian RELIGION Of the Incarnation of the WORD IOHN 1.14 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the Word was made Flesh I Haue described in my formost Treatise O Theophilus The coherence of this Treatise with the former Treatises O dearely beloued of God the miserable estate of that poore man that was eiected out of Paradise and left halfe dead betweene Ierusalem and Iericho betwixt Heauen and Hell being already excluded out of Heauen but not fully thrust and intruded into Hell and in my next Treatise I haue shewed vnto thee a poole of Bethesda John 5.2 and brought vnto thee a good Samaritan that is onely able and willing to heale all thy maladies but as yet thou wantest an Angel to stirre the Waters and this good Samaritan hath not alighted and therefore I must now shew you how to apply the salue vnto the sore and how the Angel of the Couenant Iesus Christ alighted and descended from the throne of his Maiestie which is his horse for he â—ideth vpon the Heauens Psal 68.4 as vpon an horse to releeue this poore distressed and afflicted man And this by Gods helpe I shall doe out of these words The Word was made flesh for here is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Esay 7.14 the salue laid vnto the sore here is Emmanuel God with vs the blessed God which I haue described in my last Treatise vnited and made one with vs which in my first Tract I haue shewed to be so miserably afflicted and therefore we may now reioyce and be assured of our health and saluation because the Word is made flesh CHAP. I. Of the excellency of the Knowledge of Iesus Christ God hath fixed many impressions of his goodnesse in the creatures WHosoeuer will religiously and seriously obserue those manifold impressions of the Diuine goodnesse which the Lord God hath not slightly planted in the natures of all liuing creatures for a short space to be preached but hath also indelibly fixed in the memory of all ages most seriously to be considered he shall surely finde sufficient matter of reuerence loue and admiration but he shall be neuer able sufficiently to comprehend the excellency of so huge an Ocean of goodnesse within the straight and narrow compasse of his vnderstanding This were but with Saint Augustines Boy to empty the Ocean Sea with an Oyster-shell into an hole and therefore the serious and continuall contemplation of such plentifull and farre-spread goodnesse of God did so inuade and fill the thoughts of that Kingly Prophet Dauid that being as it were rauished or wrapt in an extacie at the inexplicable expression and vnconceiueable consideration of the same hee breaketh forth into these heauenly acclamations saying O Iehoua In coelis est benignitas tua Psal 36.5.6.7 O Lord our Gouernour How excellent is thy Name in all the world thou that hast set thy glory aboue the Heauens thy faithfulnesse reacheth vnto the cloudes thy righteousnesse is like the strong mountaines Psal 147. thy iudgements are like the great deepe thou sauest O Lord both man and beast But I will not suffer my speech at this time to enter into that infinite Ocean of Gods goodnesse whereby he giueth food vnto all flesh feeding the young Rauens that call vpon him and whereby he adorneth the fields with all kinde of fruitfull trees and pleasant flowers and all flowers with sweet smels and delicate colours neither will I enter into any part or parcell of his excellent prouidence whereby he gouerneth the whole world by his wisedome sustaineth all things by his power and relieueth all things by his goodnesse for this is too large a field for me to post ouer in so short a space as is now allotted me to
aegroti quantum ad iustitiam Dei In regard of the state of the patient to free him from sinne and to satisfie the Iustice of God For it behoued the Mediator betweene God and man Ne in vtroque deo similis longe esset ab homine aut in vtroque homini similis longe esset à Deo to haue something like vnto GOD and to haue something like vnto man lest that in all things being like vnto man hee might be so too farre from God or being in all things like vnto God hee might be so too farre from man and therefore Christ betwixt sinfull mortall men and the iust immortall God did appeare a mortall man with men and a iust God with God 1 Tim 2.5 and so the Mediator betwixt God and men was God and man Christ Iesus and fitly too saith Saint Augustine Quia ille congruè satisfacit qui potest debet Because that is most agreeable to reason that he should make satisfaction Two speciall reasons why Christ was made man which ought and can satisfie but we know that none ought to doe it but man and none can doe it but God and therefore God was contented to be made man and that for these two especiall reasons First to shew the greatnesse of his Loue to man First to shew the greatnesse of his loue for hee had seemed to haue loued vs the lesse if he had done lesse for vs but now Quid tam pietate plenum quam filium Dei pro nobis factum esse faenum What can more commend the loue of God to man then to see the word God made flesh for man Iohn 3.16 and therefore the Euangelist to shew the greatnesse of Gods loue to mankinde saith God so loued the world that he gaue his onely begotten Sonne that is to bee incarnate to be made flesh and to suffer death that whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue euerlasting life Secondly to erect our hope that was already deiected Secondly to erect the hope and to strengthen the faith of man and to strengthen our faith which was alwayes wauering for wee saw two things that were to be done for man and yet could not be done by any man but such a one as should be God and Man The first was a remoueall of that great euill which suppressed vs. The second was a restoring of that great good that we were depriued of First Magnitude mali The euill that oppressed all men was foure-fold the greatnesse of that euill which suppressed euery man and could not be taken away by any man consisted in foure things 1. The waight of sinne 2. The height of Gods wrath 3. The power of death 4. The tyranny of the diuell And these could not be abolished by any creature but onely by him that created all creatures and can worke all things mightily according to the purpose of his owne will Secondly Magnitudo boni The good that man lost was two-fold the greatnesse of that good which was taken away from all men and could be restored by no man consisted in two things 1. The repairing of Gods image here in this life 2. The enioying of the blessed vision of God in the next life For none could restore the image of God to man but hee that was the liuing image of God Heb. 1.3 and the ingrauen forme of his person and the Kingdome of Heauen none could giue but God that giues it to all that loue him and therefore to take away the euill which we had deserued and to restore vnto vs that good whereof we were depriued God himselfe that made vs was contented to redeeme vs by taking our flesh vpon him Vt natura offendens satisfaceret That the nature offending might make satisfaction and because satisfaction could not be made without bloud for without bloud there is no remission Heb. 9.22 saith the Apostle he was made flesh that he might die and shed his bloud for vs Aug. serm 101. de tempore Vt iniusta mors iustam vinceret mortem liberaret nos iustè dum pro nobis occiditur iniustè That so his vniustly inflicted death might ouercome our iustly deserued death and might most rightly free and deliuer vs because he was most wrongfully slaine for vs as Saint Augustine speaketh Quest 2 Secondly It will be demaunded why the word that is the Sonne should be incarnate and made flesh rather then the Father or the Holy Ghost Resp Why the Son rather then the Father or the Holy Ghost was made man Saint Augustine thinketh that the cause pertained more specially vnto the Sonne then to the Father or to the Holy Ghost for that the Diuell attempted to vsurpe the dignitie and authority of the Sonne of God saying in his heart that he would be like vnto the most highest that is the image of the Father and sought to intrude himselfe into his glory to be the Prince of this world and the Head of euery creature which things were onely proper vnto the Sonne of God and therfore it behoued the Sonne to come into the world to ouercome the Diuell that would haue wronged him and all other men that were to be members of him But we finde many other reasons to shew why the Word was made flesh rather then the Father or the Holy Ghost As First because it is the office of the Word to declare the minde of God First because the Incarnation of God was made for the manifestation of God but we declare and manifest things by words and Christ is the word of the Father the wisedome the knowledge and the interpreter of his Fathers will euen as our word is the interpreter of our minde as Origen and Clemens Alexandrinus doe declare and therefore the word was rightly incarnate that God in him might be seene and heard and vnderstood of vs according to that saying of the Euangelist that which wee haue heard and seene 1 Iohn 1.1 and our hands haue handled of the word of life that declare we vnto you For as he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word in respect of his person which is a name of relation vnto the minde as Sonne is to the Father so is he the word in respect of his office i. e. of his office as he is the second person of the Trinitie for as it is the propertie and office of the eternall minde i. e. the Father to beget the word i. e. the Sonne so it is the propertie and the office of the Word to declare the Minde but because this spirituall inuisible and ineffable Word as he is God could neuer be seene nor heard nor vnderstood of vs therefore was he made flesh that he might be heard and seene And this the Apostle seemes to shew vnto vs when hee saith God heretofore at sundry times Heb. 1.1 and in diuers manners spake vnto the Fathers by the Prophets but in these last
made flesh that is a true and a naturall man in all things like vnto his brethren sinne onely excepted CHAP. V. Of the comfortable instructions that we may collect from this Doctrine of the incarnation of the Word YOu heard what the Word was made Flesh What we may learne from this doctrine of Christ his Incarnation and from thence we may learne many comfortable excellent lessons for our instruction especially in respect 1. Of God 2. Of Christ 3. Of our Selues First in respect of God we may see and we ought seriously to consider it first his great loue and charity towards vs First Gods loue to man that he should giue his onely Sonne to be made flesh for our sake and therefore seeing he gaue his Sonne for vs and that while we were yet sinners while we were yet enemies vnto God how can it be but that he should giue vs all things together with his Sonne especially now being reconniled vnto him through his Sonne Rom. 5.10 for in him he is well pleased and through him he cannot bee offended with vs and therefore Christ to shew how dearely God loueth vs through him saith Whatsoeuer you aske the Father in my Name it shall be giuen you Secondly we may from hence see the faithfulnesse and truth of God in performing his promise Luke 1.73 and the oath that he sware vnto our Fathers Secondly that God is a true performer of all his promises Numb 23.19 touching the giuing of this Word to be made Flesh and therefore wee may assure our selues that whatsoeuer hee saith shall come to passe for he is not as man that he should lie or as the Sonne of Man that he should alter the thing that is gone out of his lipâ— Secondly in respect of Christ we may from hence see these two things First Christs perfect obedience First His great obedience in that he was contented in all things to submit himselfe vnto his Fathers Will and therefore we that doe beleeue in Christ should herein follow the example of Christ to be obedient vnto our heauenly Father Secondly how Christ humbled himselfe Secondly his rare and singular humilitie in that he being the Sonne of God and the eternall Word of God that could haue commanded all the Angels and by his stretched-out-arme without the assumption of our weakenesse haue made all his enemies his footstoole was notwithstanding contented Exininare seipsum to emptie himselfe as it were of his diuine riches and to clothe himselfe with our humane nakednesse and so to become the Sonne of Man and to be made flesh i. e. a vile a base and an abiect thing for vs Psal 144.4 for man is like a thing of naught his time passeth away like a shadow And therâ—fore we should not lift vp our hornes on high Phil. 2. nor speake with a stiffe necke but we should labour to haue the same minde in vs which was in Christ Iesus and learne of him to be meeke and lowly in heart Matth. 11. It was an humble speech of King Dauid when hee said I am a worme and no man a very shame Psal 22.6 or scorne of men and the out-cast of the people Hee was lowly in his owne eyes and did imitate herein our Sauiour Christ who as I shewed you before was not onely contented to be made a true man but also in the iudgement of the World to become no better then one of the basest of the people so rare a patterne of humility did he leaue vnto vs And yet now as the Poet saith Maxima quaeque domus seruis est plena superbis How farre we are from true humilitie Euery man is full of pride and as the prouerbe is euery Iacke will be a Gentleman Proijcit ampullas sesquipedalia verba It is strange to see how we strout our selues and speake great swelling words magnifying our selues by contemning others swaggering them out of countenance and thinking our selues to be gods and not men and with the Church of Laodicea to be rich and want nothing to be wise and valiant Reuel 3.17 and neither our manifold sinnes which are as the sands of the Sea nor our miserable estate which is most fraile and feeble so weake that a little sickenesse will euen vs downe with the dust can humble vs before the mighty hand of God so farre are we from learning true humility And Thirdly we see from hence our Sauiours loue Thirdly the great loue of Christ Bernard ser 1. de Epiphan and his aboundant great charity towards vs for quanto pro me vilior tanto mihi charior The viler and baser he made himselfe for me the dearer he shewed that he loued me but how could he euer debase himselfe more then he did not onely to appeare for a time in the visible shape of a man but also to assume for euer the true nature of man and though we be loath to take his sweet and easie yoke vpon vs yet he willingly tooke our heauy and bitter yoke on him for he tooke our infirmities and carried all our sorrowes Esay 53.4 and therefore O thou sweet Iesus that vsest to clothe thy selfe with the cloudes as with a garment and now clothest thy selfe with my naturall nakednesse that I might be adorned with thy supernaturall riches we beseech thee inflame our spirits with the loue of thee that nothing but thy selfe may be deare vnto vs because it so pleased thee to vilifie thy selfe for vs. Thirdly in respect of our selues we may from this doctrine of the words incarnation collect vnto our selues these singular comforts As First generally what fruits and benefits we haue What great benefits we receiue by the incarnation of the Word from this incarnation of the Sonne of God Beneficia nimis copiosa multa magna priuata positiua and they are exceeding great blessings innumerable and inualuable as repentance remission of our sinnes Grace Faith Righteousnesse Wisedome Sanctification and Redemption and in a word whatsoeuer blessing grace or goodnesse we haue we haue the same from this incarnate Word for Collos 2.3 in him are hidden all the treasures of wisedome and knowledge and from his fulnesse we all receiue and grace for grace Iohn 1.16 For neither his Deitie onely Quia non debuit Because he ought not nor his humanity onely Quia non potuit Aug. c 12. hom de â—vibus Because that could not was sufficient to bee a Mediator betwixt God and man Sed inter diuinitatem solam humanitatem solam mediatrix est diuina humanitas humana diuinitas Christi but betweene the bare humanity and the bare diuinity the diuine humanity and the humane diuinity of our Sauiour Christ doth mediate for vs vnto God and therefore by reason of this Incarnation of the Word God we are made Kings and Priests and a peculiar people vnto God Reuel 1.7 How Christ hath performed all
is not offended in him Why then O thou incredulous Iew wilt thou not receiue thy Sauiour is it because he came poore without any shew of worldly pompe why that should make all men the rather to imbrace him and the more thankefully to acknowledge him because that he which might haue come in Maiestie Cum caelestibus Attended on by Angels would come in pouerty and haue his bed made cum iumentis among the beasts that perish that so by his comming poore we might be all made rich through him and therefore O Iew I doe aduice thee that as thy Fathers accomplished the decree of God in condemning him so doe thou according to the will of God in beleeuing on him and thou shalt be happy for he that beleeueth in him shall neuer perish To whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be ascribed all Honour Thankes and Praise both now and for euermore Amen A Prayer O Eternall God who as in all things else so more especially in giuing thy dearest Sonne co-eternall coequall and co-essentiall vnto thy selfe to be made flesh subiect to our humane frailties and in all things like vnto vs sinne onely excepted hast shewed thy goodnesse and thy loue to man to be like thy selfe infinite and incomprehensible we most humbly beseech thee to giue vs grace to know thee and whom thou hast sent Iesus Christ to be the onely true God whom to know is eternall life through the said Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen IEHOVAE LIBERATORI FINIS The Fourth Golden Candlesticke HOLDING The Fourth greatest Light of Christian RELIGION Of the Passion of the MESSIAS LVKE 24.46 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And thus it behoued Christ to suffer YOu haue heard dearely beloued how miserably man is distressed by sinne The coherence of this Treatise with the former Treatises how he may be releeued onely by the Mercy of God and how this reliefe is applied vnto vs by the Incarnate Word for he is the true Samaritan that doth helpe the wounded man he is the blessed Angell that doth stirre the poole of Bethesda and giue vertue vnto the water to heale our sores to helpe our soules But alas this Angell as yet is but descended and the waters are not troubled and this Samaritan is but alighted and the poore semi-dead Traueller is not set vp vpon his horse to be carryed towards his Inne that is hee hath not yet entred into the waters of tribulations to saue our soules from drowning in Hell neither hath he put our sinnes vpon his backe that we being freed from the burthen might walke on towards Heauen this resteth yet behind and this Tragedie is yet vnheard and therefore though he much humbled himselfe by his Incarnation yet is that nothing it is but the beginning of sorrowes in respect of his sore and bitter Passion For to redeeme our soules from sinne the deepe waters must enter into his soule and all our sinnes must be laid vpon his backe and for our sinnes It behoueth Christ to suffer Hic labor hoc opus est And this is that which we are now to treat of Thus it behoued Christ to suffer CHAP. I. Of the manifold vse and commodities that we reape by the continuall meditation of the sufferings of Christ Three things that mooue attention THere be three speciall things that doe vse to moue attention 1. An eloquent Author 2. An important matter 3. A compendious breuity And all these three doe here ioyne and meete together in this Text of Scripture For First the Author of these words is Christ Luk. 11.49 First the Author of these words is Iesus Christ the wisedome of God Wisedome it selfe so incomprehensibly wise that all men wondred at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth Secondly the summe of these words is the Tragedy of Iesus Christ Secondly the matter is the Tragedie of himselfe the laborious life and the dolorous death of the Sonne of God the chiefest Tragedy of all Tragedies for the Catastrophe hereof hath the effusion of bloud and the mourning not onely of the Sufferer or Parents and Friends but of Heauen and Earth and all the whole world farre more dolefull then the mourning of Hadadrimmon in Valley of Mâ—gyddo The Actors of this Tragedy are Kings Vice-Royes Dukes Scribes Pharises High-Priests Elders of the people The Actors of this Tragedy the Apostles themselues and others all great Christ the King of Kings Herod the great King Pilate the Vice-Roy Annas and Cayphas high Priests Peter and Iudas great Apostles and those that were mute as the Sun the Earth the Stones the Vaile of the Temple and the very Graues did by apparant signes most dolefully bewayle the nefarious death of the Son of God yea more the Angels mourned and the Diuels trembled to behold the same The Theater on which it was acted was Ierusalem The Theater was Ierusalem the very midst and heart of the earth as some imagine according to that saying of the Psalmist Operatus est deus salutem in medio terrae GOD hath wrought saluation in the midst of the Earth Heere is the place where it was acted Hic hic mors vita duello Conflixere mirando Here life and death did striue for victory and here the beholders were men of all Nations Hebrewes Greekes and Romans and the time was their most solemne feast wherein all did â—eete to eate their Paschall Lambe And therefore if there be any Theame that may challenge our eares to lysten and our hearts to meditate vpon the same it is this for this is one of those things that was once done that it might be thought of for euer that it might be had in euerlasting remembrance And the continuall meditation thereof is 1. Acceptable vnto Christ 2. Profitable for vs. For First The continuall meditation of Christs passion what it doth if the rod of Moses which wrought so many miracles in Aegypt and the Manna which fed the children of Israel 40. yeares in the Wildernesse and the Booke of the Law which was deliuered vnto Moses vpon Mount Sinai were to be preserued in the Arke First It is most acceptable vnto Christ as testimonies of Gods loue throughout all generations how much more should we keepe the remembrance of the Crosse of Christ of the Body and Bloud of Christ and of the glad tidings of saluation which we haue by the death of Christ in the Church of God for euermore Our Sauiour gaue but two Sacraments vnto his Church and one of them is chiefely instituted to this end for a remembrance of his suffering for as often as you eate this Bread and drinke this Cup Luc. 22. you shew the Lords death vntill he come 1 Cor. 11.1 And the remembrance of Christs death saith Saint Chrysostome Est beneficij maximi recordatio Chrys hom 8. in Matth. caputque diuinae erga nos charitatis Is the commemoration of the greatest benefit that euer we receiued
of Christ differ from ours in three respects First In respect of the obiect for we many times feare where there is no feare and we doe loue the things which we should despise but he onely feared the things that are to be feared and loued the things that are to be loued indeed Secondly In respect of the manner for will wee will we these affections will inuade vs and when they haue once taken hold vpon vs we doe many times feare and loue and hate if not against reason yet surely beyond and beside all reason and so that as we cannot guide them so we cannot leaue them when we would but CHRIST is angry reioyceth feareth loueth when and where and so much as iust reason directeth him for these affections master vs but he mastereth them and therefore Saint Augustine saith that Aug. in Johan potestate non infirmitate turbauit seipsum These affections are rather signes of his omnipotency then arguments of his infirmitie because he mastereth their willingnesse to oppresse him when they cannot find any weakenesse in him to be oppressed Thirdly In respect of the effects for our passions and affections blinde vs so that we cannot see the light of truth in whom we loue we see no sinne our loue is blinde and in whom we hate we can see no goodnesse for malitia corum exaecauit eos the malice of the wicked blindeth them saith the wise man and as the Poet saith of wrath Impedit ira animum ne possit cernere verum That it blindeth our eyes and disturbeth our senses so as wee know not what is what So might I say of feare of loue and of euery other vehement passion Non modo memoriam excutit Plutarch in l. de Fortuna Alexand. sed quoduis constitutum quemuis conatum impedit It doth not onely disturbe our memories but it hindereth all our purposes and indeuours so that in respect of these we forget many times and are hindered oftentimes to doe those things which our selues most of all desire to effect Psal 55.5 and therefore the Psalmist according to the vulgar Latine saith Timor hebetudo mentis venerunt super me contexerunt me tenebrae Fearefulnesse and trembling came vpon me and then darkenesse hath inuironed me or an horrible dread hath ouer-whelmed me and the reason hereof is truely rendred by the Philosopher Auicen rer nat lib. 6. c 5. Quia potentiae naturales intensae mutuo se impediunt The naturall powers stretched to the highest straine doe mutually disturbe and hinder each other to discharge their right functions and therefore exceeding ioy swalloweth vp griefe and so of all the rest Arist aethic l. 7. c. 14. the more intentiue we are to see any thing the lesse able wee are to heare any other thing according to that vulgar saying Pluribus intentus minor est ad singula sensus The sense intent to many things To each one truth it neuer brings But in Christ they could neuer diuert him from his desire they could neuer darken his vnderstanding nor any wayes hinder the execution of his Office Neither concourse of many yea of most contrary passions and affections as loue and hatred ioy and griefe and such like any wayes mitigate or stupifie the sharpenesse or liuely-hood each of other but that euen now when he most feareth this deadly Cup he exceedingly reioyceth at the benefits that he seeth shall accrew thereby And therefore though I easily grant that nature it selfe abhorreth death the soule and body being euer loth to part and euery thing desirous of life yet that death should be thus feared thus prayed against thus melt our Sauiour Christ into such a bloudy sweat I cannot willingly yeeld For Iohn 8.20 First Desiderio desiderauit With a longing desire did hee wish this houre and he calleth it his houre as if in that houre he were to inioy his longing and he makes no more account of his death then of his dipping in the water Luke 12 5. for be calleth the same a Baptisme John 2.4 saying I must be baptized with a baptisme and how am I troubled till that be ended i. e. How am I payned and grieued Iohn 11. not because I must vndergoe it for that is my chiefest desire but because I must stay yet a while Mine houre being not yet come before I may doe it and therefore to this end Quasi ambiens mortem as one that would euer keepe himselfe in his enemies sight or as one desirous to be dissolued he goeth vp vnto Ierusalem he raiseth Lazarus from the dead that the wrath of the Iewes Iohn 13.27 being stirred vp by this present miracle he might be the sooner condemned vnto death he biddeth Iudas to doe quickely what he meant to doe not commanding the Act but as desiring the speedinesse of the Act as Caietan saith and knowing that his howre was at hand and his enemies neere hee saith vnto his Disciples Come let vs goe meet them because they were not so desirous to take him Matth. 26.46 as he was to be taken by them And therefore I cannot see how so much feare of death as to cause such an agony and such a greedy desire of death can stand together especially in such a person whose Passions cannot inuade him beyond the limits of his owne Commission but that we must ascribe farre greater matters to be the causes of this great and fearefull agony Seconly We see his Saints and seruants not onely willing to die but also running with Ignatius vnto the beasts and singing with the Salamander in the midst of the fire and therefore shall we thinke that this heauenly Physitian which healed others would not heale himselfe and which strengthened others to call and cry for death would thus vehemently pray and cry onely for feare of death But to this it is answered The Saints at their death were supported by God that the Saints were supported by the power of his grace and they were enabled by the helpe of his Spirit and therefore no wonder though they desired it but Christ though he was both God and Man yet was he now lest destitute of tâ—e helpe both of God and Man for all his friends forsak't him and the God-head himselfe which was himselfe did now sequester and withdraw all his helpe from this poore destitute and distressed man Iesus Christ and therefore no maruell that he being wholly left to himselfe nay not himselfe but the Humanitie it selfe should be thus moued and troubled at the sight of death I confesse that although Martyres non eripuit God did not deliuer his Martyres from death yet nunquam deseruit He did neuer forsake them at their death Whether Christ was wholly destitute of all assistance from the Godhead but distilled still into their hearts abundant comforts of his heauenly Spirit and it is most true that very much of the influence of Gods comfort and of the
of him yet would not be be offended He doth here accumulate and heape one sinne vpon another for First He fled with the rest and left our Sauiour all alone First he fled Secondly He waxeth cold Secondly he waxeth cold in loue not onely through the coldnesse of the night but also through feare which driueth away the bloud and causeth the same to hide and to congeale it selfe as it were in some secret corners as the Poet saith Gelidusque per ima cucurrit ossa tremor Virgil. Aeneid 2. A trembling feare makes all the members cold and especially through want of loue and affection vnto Christ Nam si amore in deum corda inflammareÌ„tur perparum aut nihil vis frigorum corporibus esset nocitura Frigora ne possim gelidâ— sentire profundi Qui calet in câ—pido pectore praestat amor Ouidius ep Leand. Heron. For as carnall loue driueth away all cold as Leander saith vnto Hero So much more he that burneth with the heauenly loue of Christ will scarce feele any outward cold and therefore Christ saith vnto his beloued spouse My head is full of dew and my lockes with the drops of the night and yet because he loued her he patiently bore it all but Peter it may be hearing the wicked seruants relating how one had cast him downe to the ground another had thrown him into the brook of Cedron and a third had smote him vpon the cheeke then begins to waxe pale and fearefull and to forsake his first loue and therefore he had need to warme his hands at the high Priests fire when his heart was cold in the loue of God Thirdly hee denieth and forsweareth his Master Thirdly He denyed Christ with a lie with an oath with a curse and that presently at the voyce of a Woman a silly wench not any of the greatest Ladies but a poore seruing-maide that kept the doores O quantum mutatus ab illo Hectore What dost thou Peter deny Christ who then will confesse him for thou saidst Matth. 16.16 that he was the Sonne of the liuing God and dost thou now sweare thou knowest not whence he is Why Christ suffered Saint Peter for to fall And yet Christ though to humble him now that was so arrogant before and to teach vs to be afraid to fall for if so great a pillar fell how much easier may we be hurled downe if we be not wary to erect our hope that if with this Apostle through infirmity we do fal we shold not despaire with Iudas but still vpon our repentance trust in God Matth. 14.31 yet as formerly when he walked vpon the water and began to sinke Christ vpheld him with an outstretched arme so now when he walked through the pathes of death and was well-nigh swallowed in the gulfe of perdition Christ looketh vpon him with the eyes of mercy and saueth his soule by his compassionate grace for he causeth the Cock to crow Numbers â—2 28 the dumb beast like Balaams Asse to reproue the iniquity of the Apostle and as not respecting his owne indignity so much as his seruants infelicity How mercifully Christ preserueth Saint Peter hee looketh backe on him that had forgot himselfe and thereby reuiuing his memory to thinke vpon his masters words he sent him out to weepe bitterly that so he might restore him mercifully Fourthly Hee is falsly accused How Christ is falsely accused of his enemies and charged with the things that he neuer knew that he neuer said for they sought false witnesses for true witnesses they could haue none and there came many witnesses against him but they could not agree some saying one thing some another yet at last comes two sonnes of Belial children of their Father the Diuell that peruerting our Sauiours sence and changing his words said they heard him saying that he could destroy that Temple made with hands Marke 14.58 and build another in three dayes then the high-Priest adiured him by God to tell them what he was and when Christ did meekely and mâ—ldely say the truth he furiously rent his cloathes and said hee blasphemed against God as if God could or would blaspheme himselfe then all the foolish Clearkes of this wicked Priest did say Amen Et quae sibi quisque timebat Vnius in miseri exitium conuersa tulere And approuing what they knew not How all consent to crucifie Christ as a iust reward for sauing many of their wretched liues they all consent to put him to an accursed death and then followeth their acclamation Crucifie him crucifie him their saying is doubled and redoubled he must be put to death there is nothing else will satisfie these bloud-thirsty men and therefore he is now to be kept by the base Sargiants and the most barbarous Souldiers as a condemned man and to make themselues merry as at a banquet of Wine or as if they had beene at an enterlude play What grieuous things Christ suffered after he was condemned by Cayphas to passe away this tedious night they doe eterchangeably sport at him and first they mocke him secondly they beat him thirdly they spit in his glorious face and so make that face which the Angels desire to behold to become so deformed by reason of their blowes and spitles that it seemed as in a leprosie Esay 53.4 and as hauing neither forme nor beauty fourthly they hoodwinke him fiftly they beat him with their hands and fists sixtly they scoffingly say prophesie vnto vs who hath strocken thee O sweet Iesus Christ Quis cladem illius noctis quis funera fando Explicet aut possit lachrymis aequare dolorem Who is able to expresse thy bitter sufferings to declare thy heauy thoughts and to shew forth all thy griefe which thou endurest throughout all that long and tedious night And yet though he could haue easily stayed their fury and haue suddenly strucken them all starke dead with the least word of his mouth he opened not his mouth but he did patiently suffer whatsoeuer they did violently offer vnto him and when they had done what they would they consulted and consented to send him vnto Pilate How and whereof Christ was accused before Pilate And here before Pilate they doe accuse him of two speciall things First Of his impiety against God because as they sayd they found him peruerting the Nations and people of the Iewes and teaching them strange and pernitious doctrines breaking the Sabbaoth condemning their traditions and no wayes obseruing Moses his Law Secondly Of iniquity against man no lesse then high Treason against their soueraigne Emperour because he denyed to pay tribute vnto Caesar and said that himselfe was King And the more to induce Pilate to beleeue them to incense him against Christ they said that he began in Galilee because Galilee had brought forth many seditious and rebellious persons Act. 5. as Iudas Galileus Theudas and others and because Pilate
Serpents head Gen. 3.15 Dan. 9.26 and that the Messias should suffer for our sinnes and be broken for our transgressions Esay 53.5 And the Father promised this for none other cause The loue of God to mankinde moued God to doe all this for vs. but this Because he loued vs For God seeing vs in such a miserable state as we had made our selues by sinne was moued with compassion ouer vs and was contented to giue his onely begotten Sonne to be crucified for vs rather then we should be eternally separated from him So our Sauiour saith God so loued the World i. e. So admirably so exceedingly and so incomprehensibly John 3.16 That he gaue his onely begotten Sonne that is to die for vs That whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue euerlasting life And so Saint Paul saith God setteth out his loue towards vs seeing that while we were yet sinners Christ died for vs. And surely it was a farre greater argument of his loue to giue his Sonne to die for vs then if hee had forgiuen our sinnes and acquitted vs without any satisfaction at all And therefore Saint Paul speaking of this loue of God calles it Too much loue as the vulgar Latine reades it Deus propter nimiam charitatem God through his great Ephes 2.4 or too much loue wherewith he loued vs hath quickened vs with Iesus Christ And this great loue of God will appeare the greater if wee consider that this Sonne of God which hee gaue to die for vs Omnis in Ascanio Charistat cura parentis was not onely his onely begotten Sonne which was very great that hauing but one onely Sonne he would giue that one to die for vs but was also such a Sonne in whom onely God was well pleased and with whom he was neuer offended as I shewed vnto you before And as the Father shewed Tantam charitatem so great loue in giuing his Sonne to die for vs so the Sonne shewed the like equall loue in being so willing as he was to suffer for vs for in the beginning or in the volume of the Booke it is written of me saith Christ that I should fulfill thy will O God Hebrewes 10.7 and I am content to doe it That is I am as willing and as ready to fulfill it as thou art to conceiue it yea I am grieued I am pained till I haue fulfilled it For it is meate and drinke to me saith Christ to doe my Fathers will And therefore once againe behold the great loue wherewith Christ hath loued vs Surely saith Saint Bernard Dilexisti me magis quam teipsum quia pro me mori voluisti Thou hast loued me more then thou didst thy selfe because thou gauest thy selfe to die for me For greater loue then this hath no man John 15.13 that a man should giue his life for his friends especially for his enemies Rom. 5.8 as he did for vs Cum inimici essemus While we were yet sinners â—nd regarded neither him nor our selues Bern. de Caena Domini Ser. 13. And therefore Saint Bernard doth most truly say that he did this Tanto dignantius quanto pro minus dignis So much the more wonderfully worthy of loue by how much the lesse worthy we were of his loue And in very deede there is no man breathing No Creature able to express the great loue of Christ to mankinde that is able to expresse how great was the loue of Christ towards mankinde But my conscience is my witnesse O my Sauiour what I haue done to thee and thy Crosse doth witnesse what thou hast done for me for thou wast God and I a man and yet thou a God wouldest be made man for me yea to become exiled poore and base for vs that were the vilest of all Creatures poore and base miserable sinners And not onely so but also to die a most cruell bitter and a shamefull death to deliuer vs from eternall death O what couldest thou haue done more for vs that thou hast not done The like example cannot be found in any History Rom. 5.7 for one will scarce die for a righteous man It may be they will ride and runne to saue a good mans life but to die for another we shall scarce finde any that will venter it Titus Liu. Decad 1. l. 2. Val. Max. l. 5. c. 6. It is true that the Curiatij and the Horatij are reported to haue aduentured their liues for the libertie of their Countrey And so Decius Curtius and Codrus did freely offer themselues to death for to preserue their peoples life but they did this either for ambition to be honoured for their facts and to be numbred among the Gods or else in desperation of their liues to be ridde out of their griefe when they saw none other helpe of their miseries but Christ when there was no necessity to compell him did all this and farre much more then I haue shewed for vs And that not onely Sine nostris meritis sed cum nostris demeritis When we deserued no good Bern. Ser. 15. in Cant. but especially when we were worthy of so much euill at his hands as was due to most deadly enemies as Saint Bernard saith CHAP. III. Of the finall causes why Christ suffered both in respect of Men and in respect of God himselfe AND so you haue seene the instrumentall causes of Christ his death and you heard the efficient cause why God punished Christ for vs and for our sinnes and why for vs because he loued vs with a great exceeding incomprehensible loue And how this should teach vs that as our hearts doe hate Iudas Pilate and all the rest of our Sauiours bloudie persecutors which were but the Instruments of his death so much more should we loath and detest our owne sinnes and wickednesse which were the maine principall cause that moued God thus seuerely to punish him And now it resteth The final cause of Christ his death that we consider the finall cause thereof and I finde that to be two-fold 1. In respect of Men. 2. In regard of God 1. In respect of Men. First In respect of Men I finde it likewise to be two-fold 1. The sauing of all the Elect. 2. To make the reprobate without excuse Math. 20.28 For the first Our Sauiour faith That he came to giue his life a ransome for many and to saue those that were lost And so Saint Paul saith Gal 4.4 That Christ was made vnder the Law to redeeme them that were vnder the Law and that Iesus Christ was sent into the World to saue sinners Now wee must know that as Bellarmine noteth there are diuers kindes of redemption as That there were diuers kindes of redemption First By Manumission as when the Lord did willingly of his owne accord let his slaues goe free Secondly By permutation as when one prisoner was exchanged for another Thirdly By
the ceremonies of the Law are now ended but especially all that is to bee suffered for the sinnes of men is now fully accomplished But the sufferings of the Saints doe profit the Church not by way of satisfaction for their sinnes but by way of example and consolation to strengthen them in their faith Aquinas par 3. sum q. 48. art penult and to confirme them saith the Glosse In gratia dei in doctrina Euangelij In the grace of God and in the doctrine of the Gospell and they are called the rest of the afflictions of Christ How the sufferings of the Saints doe profit the Church not because the sufferings of Christ were imperfect or not sufficient to satisfie for all sinnes but because of that simpathy and fellow-feeling that Christ hath of all the sufferings of his Saints in which respect he saith vnto Saint Paul vnconuerted Saul Saul why persecutest thou me Act 9.4 because he accounteth all euill or good done vnto them to be as done vnto himselfe and therefore though we should reioyce in our afflictions Rom. 5.3 because he doth account vs worthy to suffer for the name of Christ yet seeing the suffering of all the miseries that can befall a man cannot make vs worthy of this glory of Heauen as Origen saith Act. 5.41 we should wholly relie vpon the all-sufficient merits of Christ his sufferings for the saluation of our soules because all sacrifices ended in this selfe-sufficient sacrifice which was not onely the abolishment of all other oblations whatsoeuer but was also the most perfect and most absolute holocaust yea and the one onely hylasticall and propitiatory sacrifice that was to be offered for the sinnes of the whole world Suet. in vit Aug. Caesaris Suetonius tels vs that when Augustus Caesar either out of Humility or Policy desired that the Senate would adioyne two Consuls with him for the gouernment of the State the Senate answered that they held it a diminution of his dignity a disparagement of their owne iudgement to ioyne any one with so worthy a one as Augustus was and surely it would much more derogate from the worth of our Sauiours sufferings and shew vs to bee meerely fooles if with the inualuable sufferings â—nd sacrifice of Christ to satisfie the wrath of God we would ioyne the momentaric affliction of any man The sufferings of Christ comforteth and confiâ—meth all Christians And as this Doctrine of his suffering for the satisfaction of all sinnes doth confute all them that ioyne the afflictions of the Saints with the sufferings of Christ for the making vp of the price of our redemption so it doth sufficiently confirme and comfort all those that do most faithfully put their trust in Christ For though our sinnes be very great and though we haue sate in darkenesse and in the shadow of death yet seeing Christ hath suffered for vs both what God in Iustice could require and what our sinnes could iustly deserue we should not despaire wee should not feare because the bloud of Christ as the Apostle noteth speaketh better things then the bloud of Abel Heb. 12.24 that crying for vengeance this for pardon vnto his brethren And as it serueth to confirme vs against despaire so it may be applyed to assure vs of whatsoeuer we need Rom. 8.32 for so the Apostle reasoneth he that spared not his owne Sonne but gaue him for vs all to death how shall he not with him also freely giue vs all things hee that loued vs so deare as to giue vs his onely Sonne what will he thinke too deare for vs and therefore if we want any thing let vs aske of God James 1.5 and he giueth vnto all men liberally whatsoeuer he seeth fit and conuenient for them How the death of Christ maketh the wicked without excuse Secondly As our Sauiour dyed thus to satisfie the wrath of God for the sinnes of all men and to bring his Saints vnto euerlasting glory so he did it to make the wicked without excuse because they tread vnder feet the Sonne of God and account the bloud of the couenant as an vnholy thing and will not lay hold and beleeue in Iesus Christ But if any man should demaund whether Christ suffered and dyed for all men without exception or for those elected Saints onely which he had chosen vnto saluation or whether hee dyed sufficiently for all and effectually onely for his elect which in my minde is but a poore distinction because it is most certaine that his death and suffering if it had pleased God to giue them that grace to apprehend it and by a liuely faith to apply it vnto their soules is of sufficient value to ransome the sinnes of all men and diuels and many other such like questions about the generality and efficacy of Christs death See the Delights of the Saints par 1. pag. 30. I referre him to my Treatise of the Delights of the Saints where I haue handled this point more at large And so you see why Christ suffered in respect of men Secondly He suffered all this in respect of God for the praise and glory of his owne blessed Name for as God hath made and created all things so he hath redeemed all men for his owne sake that his wisedome his power and his goodnesse might bee knowne vnto men and so praised and magnified of men for euermore And therefore this should teach vs to doe what lyeth in vs to glorifie the Name of God for all these great things that Christ hath done and hath suffered for vs. CHAP. IIII. Of the vsefull application of this Doctrine of the sufferings of Christ what we ought principally to learne from the consideration thereof ANd as generally this suffering of Christ The consideration of Christs sufferings should worke in vs foure speciall effects out of his meere loue to man should moue vs all to praise the Lord and to serue him so more especially it should worke in vs these foure speciall things 1. To moue vs to compassion 2. To make vs thankefull 3. To cause vs to loue him 4. To worke in vs a readinesse to suffer any thing with him and for his sake that suffered all this for vs. First to moue vs to compassion Iob 10. For the first the Prophet Dauid musing of Gods great loue towards mankinde saith O Lord what is man that thou art so mindefull of him And to this holy Iob answereth saying Thou hast made me as the Clay vers 11. vers 9. and thou wilt bring me into the dust and I shall be consumed as a rotten thing and as a garment that is moth-eaten And yet to saue this poore contemptible thing Christ tooke vpon him our nature in the wombe and vndertooke our death vpon the Crosse yea and whatsoeuer he suffered as man he suffered for man Omnis creatura compatitur Christo morienti sol obscuratur c. Solus
How the want of loue is the cause of many mischiefes in the world I onely pray it may neuer be so with any Christian soule that we make not the truth of God with all reuerence be it spoken as a Packe-horse to support our vile desires I am sure if there were more loue and charity among Christians lesse faults lesse errours would appeare to bee in the Church of God then now there seemes to be 1 Cor. 13. for charity suffereth all things beleeueth all things and is euer willing to make faults and errours lesser then they be whereas the want of loue will make the worst of euery thing euery errour to be an Heresie and euery infirmity to be hainous impiety nay want of loue will make sinnes where God made none We ought to loue all men and to hate all vices in whomsoeuer they be and make vertues to be vices whereas perfect charity will neuer hate the man though he be full of iniquity and therefore my conclusion of this point is that as Christ hath loued vs and gaue himselfe for vs so let vs loue Christ and loue one another for Christ his sake and he that doth these things shall neuer fall Part. 4 PART IIII. CHAP. Of the manner of Christs suffering how he suffered all that I haue shewed so as the Prophets fore-told and as the Apostles had seene the same with their eyes The incomprehensible manner of Christ his sufferings FOurthly Hauing heard of the person suffering Christ of the chiefest things that he suffered which are recorded by the Euangelists and of the necessity of that suffering in respect of those causes which did necessitate the same wee are now to cōsider the maner how he suffered expressed in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so to suffer that is so humbly so louingly so meekely so patiently and so euery way in respect of himselfe as that neither the tongues of men nor Angels are neuer able by any like to expresse it by any words to declare it That all predictions touching the Messias were all accomplished in Iesus Christ or by any apprehensions or thoughts of man to conceiue it And so in regard of men as the Prophets had foretold and the Apostles had already seene for so it pleased Almighty God before the comming of the Messias to fore-tell almost euery thing that should happen throughout all the whole life of the Messias euen from the first moment of his conception vnto the very last act of his Ascention that so all men might beleeue in him in whom they saw all those predictions fulfilled none other for the Prophet Esay had said that a Virgin should conceiue and beare a sonne Esay 7.14 Mich. 5.2 Hos 11.1 Esay 9.1 Micheas said that hee should be borne in Bethlehem-Iuda Hoseas foretold of his flight into Egypt and to be briefe the place of his dwelling in the borders of Nepthali the manner of his liuing Healing all manner of infirmities Cap. 53.4 and preaching the glad tydings of saluation and almost euery one of the least particulars that should happen vnto him at his death Zach. 2.9 as how he should be sold and betrayed by his owne Disciple Psal 41 2. how all his followers should flie from him how craftily and maliciously he should be apprehended Esay 53.10 how falsly he should be accused how basely he should be handled buffeted whipped and spitted vpon how vniustly hee should bee condemned and how cruelly he should be fastned vnto the Crosse to die an accursed death and as most accursed betwixt the wicked and how he should be generally mocked his garments taken from him and haue Gall to eate and Vinegar to drinke and what not all was fore-shewed that should happen vnto the Messias and therefore it behoued Christ so to suffer because it was prophesied that he should so suffer And as the Prophets did fore-shew how the Messias should suffer so the Euangelists and Apostles testifie how Christ did suffer all and euery one of those things that were written of him for they were eye-witnesses of the same 1 Iohn 1.1 and soth ey testifie vnto vs that which was from the beginning which we haue heard and seene and our hands haue handled of the Word of life that testifie wee vnto you i. e. that all the things that were written of him which was promised from the beginning wee haue seene them fully accomplished fulfilled in him which liued and conuersed amongst vs and which we preach vnto you Iesus Christ S. Mathew recollects 32. seuerall Prophesies that he saw fulfilled in our Sauiour Christ Saint Iohn addes many other and so doe the rest diuers more So that whosoeuer would with the men of Berea search the Scriptures from the first Booke of Moses vnto the last Prophet Malachy and marke out all the things that were spoken of the Messias that was for to come we shall if we doe but looke finde them all recorded in the writings of the Apostles and Euangelists to be most fully fulfilled in the person of Iesus Christ A sufficient condemnation to all Iewes that still looke for another Christ for why should not they beleeue their owne Prophets they said the Messiah should suffer these things Christ suffered them so as they were prophesied who then can be the Messias but he in whom all these prophecies were fulfilled but Saint Paul tels vs why they will not beleeue in him Why the Iewes beleeue not in Christ Rom. 11. because partly blindnesse is come vpon them vntill the fulnesse of the Gentiles be come in And now Lord if it be thy will open their eyes that they may see this truth and circumcise all infidelity from their hearts that they may beleeue thy Sonne Iesus Christ to be the Sauiour of the world And as this condemneth all vnbeleeuing Iewes so it confirmeth all true Christians in the faith of Christ and I wish to God that as the seeing of all these things fulfilled in Christ makes vs all to beleeue in Christ so the suffering of all these things for vs would make vs all to praise this our Lord Iesus Christ for his goodnesse to feare him in all our wayes to loue him with all our hearts and to serue him truly and faithfully all the dayes of our life O blessed God grant this vnto vs for Iesus Christ his sake To whom with thee O Father and the Holy Spirit three distinct persons of that one indiuided essence be ascribed all praise and glory both now and for euermore Amen A Prayer O Most blessed God that hast giuen thy dearest and thine onely Sonne not onely to be made man subiect to all infirmities but also to suffer all miseries throughout his whole life and in the end to be put vnto a most shamefull painefull and accursed death by wicked men for sinnefull men that hee suffering what wee deserued wee might be deliuered from thy wrath we most humbly beseech
The question is betwixt vs and the Iewes whether Iesus the Sonne of Mary whom they crucified and buried and whom we preach and beleeue in be the true Messias or not and whether he raysed himselfe from his graue yea or no. To both these the Iewes answere no Not the Messias not raysed from the dead First Not the Messias because hee came not downe from the Crosse when he was fast nayled vnto the same for If he be the King of Israel said the chiefe of them their high Priests and Elders of the people Let him now come downe frrom the Crosse Math. 27.42 and we will beleeue in him Ah foolish Nation a Nation voide of vnderstanding and Children of your Father the Diuell Namque haud tibi vultus humanus nec vox hominum sonat For here you sing the same song Math. 4.6 and you harpe vpon the same string as he did If thou beest the Sonne of God cast thy selfe downeward saith the Diuell and if he be the King of Israel let him come downe from the Crosse say these Children of the Diuell Chrysost hom de cruce So you see the one would haue him to descend from the Temple the other from the Crosse the one from seruing God the other from suffering for man and both to descend whereas God made man to ascend Os homini sublime dedit caelumque tueri inssit And of all his Creatures he made him onely straight God made man to ascend to looke vp towards Heauen and bids men alwayes to haue Sursum corda Their hearts like their heads lifted vp their thoughts in Heauen and their conuersations in Heauen Phil. 3.20 And therefore whensoeuer we are inticed to descend from the height of Gods seruice or suffering vpon our Crosse and to settle our affections here vpon the base things of this World let vs know it is the voyce of Satan not of God Math. 27.42 I but let him come downe and we will beleeue in him saith this people and let vs enioy the pleasures and the vanities of the Earth and we will serue him saith the generation of this World Luke 16.31 But as our Sauiour saith vnto them in another case If you will not beleeue Moses and the Prophets neither will you beleeue though one should arise from the dead So Saint Bernard saith in this case If now you will not beleeue in him that raysed himselfe from the graue you would neuer haue beleeued in him if he had then descended from the Crosse Greg. Hom. 21. in Euang. Quia plus erat de sepulchro surgere quam de cruce descendere plus mortem resurgendo destruere That it was a greater matter to rise from the dead then to come downe from the Crosse quam vitam descendendo seruare Because it was a greater matter to raise himselfe from the graue then to descend from the Crosse and a farre more excellent argument of inuincible omnipotency being dead to destroy death by rising againe from the dead then being aliue to saue his life by descending from the Crosse And so I say to the base descending worldlings if they will not stay vpon the Crosse to suffer with Christ here they are not worthy to be exalted to raigne with Christ hereafter and if they will not beleeue in him and serue him for the hope of the ioyes of Heauen they are not worthy to be receiued into the number of his seruants because such men loue the World more then God and will not loue God but for the Worlds sake August de ver Dom. Serm. Like vnto the Woman Quae non maritum amat sed aurum mariti Which loues her Husbands wealth more then her Husband or not her Husband but for his wealths sake Secondly They say he raysed not himselfe from the graue but his Disciples came by night and stole him away and if this be true he could not be the true Messias Whether the Disciples stole away Christ from his graue or not But what his Disciples that forsooke him and forsware him while he was yet aliue and could if he had would haue rescued himselfe out of the hands of all his enemies Alas poore men durst they now silly Fishermen thrust themselues among the pikes of armed Souldiers to steale away a dead carkasse that could neither helpe himselfe nor them No no they were readier to hide themselues in graues then to aduenture to take him out of the graue And therefore Mary Magdalen that knew his Disciples did not nor durst not take him away thought rather when shee found him not in his Tombe that they which left him no rest in his life did also take him and tosse him now out of his graue Sic multum terris iactatus alto And so left him not neither in life nor death Dementia insanabilis So implacable was their rage against him But though shee was in the right that his Disciples did not meddle with him yet herein shee was deceiued Ambros in hunc locum lucae Putando Christum sublatum esse de monumento When shee thought that the Souldiers had remoued him saith Saint Ambrose because this victorious Lyon did Sampson-like carrie away the gates of Gaza Iudg. 16.3 and burst open the doores of his Sepulcher that his glorious Body might come forth yet the Womans weakenesse may be excused Quia cum pietate societus est Because her error proceeded of ignorance and was accompanied with an vpright conscience but who can extenuate or who will not aggrauate that extreame folly and horrible impiety of this wretched and malicious people How the High Priests did what possibly they could to hinder the Resurrection of Christ For they not onely refused to receiue him for their Sauiour and said Nolumus hunc regnare super nos Wee will haue none of this man we will haue none other man but Caesar to be our King But they did also persecute him as a seducer and crucified him as a false vsurper and then buried him without honor There were no Widowes to make lamentation nor any of his friends that durst shew it and being buried they locked fast his Sepulcher Molemque montes insuper altos imposuere They prest him downe with a mighty stone and they hired a band of armed Souldiers to watch him that he should neither rise himselfe nor his Disciples come and take him away And therefore his Disciples that were so lately amazed at his passion were now so stupified at this obsignation this sealing and watching and warding of him that they durst not once passe out of doores to looke after his Resurrection vntill these three Women which esteemed themselues more free from violence and thereupon presumed first to see the Sepulcher had informed them that this one had chaste a thousand and had put all that band of men to flight Or if their hearts had serued them to aduenture so great a danger and
should carry vs vp vnto God because God is loue and loue brought downe God vnto men Huc me syderio descendere fecit olympo Hic me crudeli vulnere fixit amor And therefore no maruell that loue should carry vs vp into Heauen Aug. in Psal 83. p. 376. d. 1. wherefore Saint Augustine sayth that by loue we doe either ascend to Heauen or descend to Hell quia amando Deum ascendis in Coelum amando seculum descendis vsque ad abyssum because by louing God wee ascend to Heauen and by louing the world we descend downe to Hell Saint Gregory saith these wings are 1. The contempt of worldly things 2. The desire of heauenly things And this may well stand with Saint Augustines saying because as the same Saint Gregorie saith tanto ab inferioribus disiungimur quanto superioribus delectamur by how much the more earnestly we loue heauenly things by so much we are ascended and sequestred from earthly things And therefore if you would ascend 1. Iohn 2.15 Colos 3.2 then loue not the world nor the things of this world but set your affections on those things that are aboue and because our life is iust like a clocke that vnlesse his waight be alwayes wynded vp will soone stand therefore wee must be euer winding vp our affections and weaning them from these worldly things and with Noahs doue neuer suffer the soales of our feete to rest vntill our hearts and soules returne to him that gaue them vs. Thirdly for the signes whereby wee may know whether we haue ascended or doe ascend towards Heauen or not I might shew you many How we may know whether our hearts ascendeth to Heauen or not but now take this for all if things aboue our heads shew greater vnto vs then they did before and things beneath vs lesser that is an apparant argument that we ascend and grow higher and higher for so Saint Gregorie saith if a man were aloft in the cloudes it would appeare vnto him quam abiecta sunt quae iam alta videntur how base are the things of this earth which to a man on earth doe seeme so great for then hee should see mountaines no bigger then Mole-hills and the Sunne which before while hee was on earth did seeme but instar pilae pedalis like a footeball hee should now finde it to be a great and immens glorious body all bodies aboue him would seeme greater and all below him would seeme lesser euen so if our hearts and affections be ascended vp to Heauen then surely the things of this world doe seeme vnto vs but as they are indeede damnum stercora Dung and drosse Phil. 3.8 or as nothing and worth nothing as Nazianzen saith and the things of Heauen are the onely desires of our hearts and the delights of our soules but if folia venti lilia agri the vanities and the pleasures of this world the Titles of Honour and the confluence of wealth be the desires and delights of our hearts then certainely wee are fast bound in misery and iron wee are fastened and fettered here on earth and it may bee with Golden chaynes but fast inough from ascending vp to Heauen I will not iudge of any by this rule you may all iudge your selues if you doe highly esteeme of the preaching and Preachers of Gods Word If you make much of them that feare the Lord and loue good men and a good conscience and make none account of this world nor of the things of this world then is your heart ascended vp to Heauen but if not Nudus humi iaces Thou lyest poore and miserable fettered here in earth a flaue and captiue of the Deuill and hast neede to cry and call for Christ to lead captiuitie captiue which is the second part of my Text. And so much for the Ascention of our Sauiour Christ Part. 2 PART II. CHAP. Of the victory and triumph of Christ ouer our enemies of our deliuerance from them and of our restoring into the seruice of God againe SEcondly Touching the victory and triumph of Christ set downe in these words Thou hast led captiuity captiue we must vnderstand that this is taken two wayes 1. Passiuely 2. Actiuely And I say first Passiuely because our enemies must be vanquished before we can be deliuered and therefore How Christ ouercame death Hell sinne and Satan First This phrase may be taken Passiuely for the World Death and Hell and all other enemies of Mankinde which Christ hath conquered and led captiue that they should not raigne and rule ouer his seruants any more And thus Saint Augustine doth expound it saying Quid est captiuauit captiuitatem vicit mortem mortem procurauit diabolus ipse diabolus de morte Christi est captiuatus What is he led captiuity captiue but he ouercame death for the Diuell had procured death for sinne and now the Diuell himselfe is captiuated by the death of Christ For as Victors were wont to doe to leade in triumph those Tyrants that opprest their subiects or those enemies that they had vanquished being fast bound with chaines with their heads and feet bare for their greater shame and reproach so the Psalmist alludeth vnto the same when he saith Coloss 2.15 Thou hast led captiuity captiue and the Apostle doth more cleerely expresse it when hee saith that Christ hauing spoyled Principalities and Powers hath made a shew of them openly tryumphing ouer them in it Quest But here it may be demaunded how are they captiuated when as the Diuell compasseth the earth like a roaring Lion seeking whom he may deuoure And so doth the world still oppresse vs 1 Pet. 5.8 our flesh lusteth against the spirit and Death still raigneth ouer vs all I answere that Christ hath destroyed their Power Resp hee hath taken away their strength and hee hath quite subuerted the Kingdome of sinne and Satan and taken away the sting of death and yet they compasse about not as hauing any power ouer vs but as a Lyon tyed will teare vs in pieces if he can catch vs within his clawes so will sinne and Satan if wee yeeld vnto them for though Christ ouercame all our enemies yet hee hath not quite taken them out of our wayes but left them as it were aliue though bound that we might still beware to come within their reach if we would escape their teeth and therefore wee say that sinne is so taken away that it doth not raigne ouer the Saints though perhaps through their negligence it doth often wound them so Satan is bound though like a bridled horse he often fumes against vs and sometimes bites vs too 1 Cor. 15.54 if we beware not of him and so death is swallowed vp into victory and the sting thereof is taken away so that it can neuer hurt the Saints of God though it layes them stil into a sleepe because they shall all awake at the last day But if sinne and
haec similitudinem corporis refert illa cordis vnanimitatem demonstrat Aug. in apend de diuersis Ser. 10. Psal 647. to 10. haec interdum sibi inimica illa sine intermissione pacifica est for that sheweth onely the likenesse and similitude of the body and the sympathy of naturall dispositions but this sheweth the vnanimity of the heart and a concurrent desire in all holy affections those are sometimes contrary vnto themselues but these haue alwayes cor vnum animam vnam one heart and one minde to loue the same things and to agree in the same points and therefore of all brethren the loue of Christian brethren should excell and exceed all other loue of brethren 1 Iohn 3.16 and these of all others should be ready to lay downe their liues for the Brethren How gentile brethren loued one another And yet in former times the loue of naturall brethren was such that when a souldier which was in the army of Pompey had vnawares vnto himselfe slaine his brother that was in the company of Sertorius Val Max. l. 5. Aug. de ciuit l. 5. Aug. de ciuit Dei l. 2. c. 25. Idem de ciuit l. 8. c 5. and knew the same when he bestript his body seipsum ibi perimens fraterno corpori adiunxit he slew himselfe for very griefe and left his owne body vpon his brothers carkeise and Saint Augustine reports of the sonnes of Tyndarus that when Castor was slaine by Idas Pollux besought Iupiter that hee might impart halfe his owne life vnto his brother Sic fratrem Pollux alterna morte redemit And so we reade of these signes Castor and Pollux that vterque alternis diebus lucet each one of them appeareth euery second day and so the Poet saith of Pylades and Orestes Extitit hoc vnuÌ„ quod non conuenerat illis caetera par concors sine lite fuit Ire iubet Pylades charus periturus Orestem Hic negat inque vicem pugnat vterque mori They neuer disagreed but onely in this which of them should first lay downe his life for the other And now amongst Christian brethren we finde Ouids saying to be true Fratrum quoque gratia rara est They doe shew lesse loue among themselues then the heathen did the loue of most is waxen cold all are become louers of themselues Bern. de aduent dominiser 3. p. â— and no man remembreth the afflictions of Ioseph for although as Saint Bernard saith Iure fraternitatis consilij sumus auxilij fratribus debitores consilij quo erudiatur ignorantia auxilij quo iuuetur infirmitas in respect of our brotherhood we doe owe vnto our brethren both aid and aduice aid to helpe his infirmity and aduice to direct his simplicity yet al fâ—e Of the great want of vnity among Christian brethren the whole world seeth how we doe insult ouer the weake and lay stumbling blockes before the blinde what wrongs and oppressions in the Common-wealth what more hostility then among Christian Princes where now more bloudy warres then among the Christians that doe imbrew their swords in the bloud of each other which should rather ioyne their strength against the enemies of the Lord and what bitter contentions doe we likewise see in the very Church of Christ Oh how many bitter lines haue ambitious spirits so contentiously scattered in euery place to obscure the cleare light of verity Idem ser in ad in Pasto Synod O poore Church and distressed Spouse of Christ Pax ab extranijs pax à paganis sed filij nequam filij scelerati scauiunt in eam Shee hath peace from strangers peace from pagans peace from all but her owne children her owne wicked children doe raile and rage against her they struggle in her wombe like Rebeccaes twinnes they sharpen their tongues and blunt their pens in writing either against the other and so they make the Church of Christ Iohn 19.23 1 Reg. 11.30 1 Reg. 16.21 which should be like the coat of Christ without a seame to be torne in pieces like Iereboams garment for as in Israel one halfe followed Tibni and the other halfe followed Omry or as in Rome the wiser followed Pompey the middle sort tooke part with Caesar and the rest followed Crassus or in Attica the people of the mountaines ranne after Pysistratus Plut. in vit Crass those of the valley chose Lycurgus and those of the Sea-coast Megacles euen so in the Church of God one is of Paul 1 Cor. 1.3 4. another is of Apollo one is of this minde and another is of that minde and as the Poet said of the vulgar sort Scinditur incertum studia in contraria vulgus We may now say of the better sort Scinditur incertus studia in contraria clerus They are full of all oppositions each one inuenteth some new points each one dissenteth from the rest and so by this their dissentions and multiplicity of opinions they make grieuous contentions in euery place and cause many men with the effusion of a little inke haue inuented in their Cells for I doe assure my selfe if there were more charity and vnanimity among the Clergy there would be lesse controuersie and more vnity among the Laytie But it was enough for Abraham to disswade from all contention betwixt him and Lot to say wee bee brethren and I wish that it were enough for vs for we be brethren and there be enough against vs we neede not be against our selues and therefore Ignat. ep 9. ad Philadel Fugite vt filij lucis sectionem vnitatis we should by all meanes shunne dissentions because there bee many Wolues abroad in sheepes clothing but if we keepe vnity and brotherly loue among vs they shall neuer preuaile against vs but otherwise Salust coniurat Catel vt concordia crescunt minutissima ita discordia dilabuntur maxima as in the time of peace through vnity the smallest things doe grow happy so in the time of discord the greatest things doe come to ruine and therefore we say that peace and vnity are the best of all earthly blessings that God bestoweth on men during their pilgrimage in the state of mortality Pax optima rerum quas homini nouisse datum est pax vna triumphis innumeris potior Sylius Ital. Aug. in Psal 29. and so Brunfelsius saith that a Christians life is nothing else but mutuall charity or a continuall louing of God and of our neighbours Quia omnis homo est vnus homo because all men in Christ Iesus should be as one man like Hypocrates twinnes which willed and nilled the same things for the whole Church of Christ is nothing else but Ecclesia multorum fratrum an vnited company of louing brethren and therefore they should euer owe this duty of loue and charity one towards another for though the Apostle biddeth vs to owe nothing vnto any man yet he excepteth this to loue one another because
all Christians being brethren they must needes owe this mutuall duty of loue and charity Idem ep 93. ad Caelestin Quae sola etiam reddita semper detinet debitores which though it be neuer so much paid yet it is euer owing vnto our brethren saith Saint Augustine And so you see the loue of the Apostle to his brethren which should teach these brethren to loue our Apostle againe Quia amor amoris magnes durus est qui amorem non rependit because loue is a loadstone to draw loue againe and he is vnworthy of loue that requiteth not his louer with the same measure of loue as he receiueth for he should loue much to whom much is forgiuen saith our Sauiour and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hee that desires much loue saith Isidor Isidor Pelus l. 2. ep 148. Pelus must shew much loue and therefore as the people doe require loue from the ministers so the ministers should receiue loue from the people for wee giue them panem sanctuarij the spirituall bread of life and therefore we should haue from them panem promptuarij bread enough to sustaine our life But alas such is our case they are ready enough to demand what is due to them but they are backward enough to pay what they owe to vs Loue is shewed foure wayes for whereas true loue is shewed foure manner of wayes First In words when wee speake friendly vnto our neighbours and beseech them to be reconciled vnto God 2 Cor. 5.20 Secondly In workes Quia probatio dilectionis exhibitio est operis when by our outward workes Gregor hom 30. in Euang. Mat. 20.28 we testifie our inward affection vnto our brethren Thirdly by our seruice one to another when wee desire not so much to be ministred vnto as to minister as our Sauiour saith Fourthly In being ready to lay downe our liues for the brethren which is the greatest signe of loue and the highest degree of affection for greater loue then this hath no man that a man should lay downe his life for his friend Iohn 15.13 and therefore our Sauiour Christ tooke vpon him non solum formam serui vt subesset Bernard ter quart hebd poenos sed quasi mali serui vt vapularet not onely the forme of a seruant that he might minister but also was contented to be accounted as an euill seruant that he might suffer for vs and all this to shew his loue vnto vs euery manner of way Whereas I say loue is thus shewed let vs say and doe and die for our people as we daily doe weare and consume our selues like Iohn Baptist that was a burning and a shining light like the candle that consumeth it selfe in giuing light to others yet are we sure to haue loue little enough from them good words is almost all we haue and alwayes we haue not that from all for our soules are filled with the scornefull reproofe of the wealthy and with the despightfulnesse of the proud but this much shall serue touching the Apostles affection and that vnity which should be amongst vs all because we are brethren Part. 2 PART II. CHAP. II. Of the Apostles wisdome and godly pollicy in seeking for to winne the Thessalonians to performe this duty and of three sorts of Preachers whereof two sorts are defectiue in this point That a gentle louing intreatie is the best way to perswade men to doe any thing SEcondly Saint Paul herein sheweth his discretion by this manner of speech that he vseth vnto them hee tels the Corinthians that he caught them with a guile not to beguile them but to saue them and so here and in all places he vseth all his wit all his pollicy and all the wisedome that hee hath to winne men vnto Christ 2 Cor. 12.16 and being wonne to make them to serue Christ for being desirous of their Prayers hee comes vnto them in spiritu mansuetudinis in the spirit of meekenesse he creepes into their hearts with termes of loue and seekes to lead them tanquam oues leni spiritu non dura manu rather as sheepe by an inward sweet influence then as goats to be driuen by an outward extreame violence so God himselfe dealt with our forefathers and all their posterity he heaped vpon them beneficia nimis copiosa multa magna priuata positiua wonderous great benefits and blessings to see if he could so draw them vnto himselfe in the chaines of loue and to allure them by all faire meanes and all the allectiues vnder heauen vnto his blessed seruice Hos 11.4 hee spake them faire hee vsed them kindly he promised them much he gaue them more and all to perswade them to their owne happinesse so Christ the Sonne of God alleadgeth this for a reason why all men should bee willing to come vnto him Matth. 11.29 because hee is meeke and lowly of heart and Moses the man of God was mitissimus super terram Numb 12.3 the meekest and the mildest man that was vpon the face of the earth and so the fittest man to guide the people of God and Titus Vespasian for his curtesie and affability was called deliciae generis humani the delight of mankinde hee was so curteous vnto all that he was wont to say Non opertet quenquam à Caesaris colloquio tristem discedere it was not fit for any man to depart sad from Caesar for hee knew this was the way to winne them Mollis responsio frangit iram a soft answere appeaseth wrath a gentle intreaty will soone perswade men Syluestres homines sacer interpresque Deorum Horarius de arte poetica Caedibus faedo victu deterruit Orpheus Dictus ab hoc lenire Tygres rapidosque Leones The faire spoken Orpheus and Amphion by their sweet perswasions are said to haue mollified the most sauage natures Dictus Amphion Thebanae conditor vrbis saxa mouere sono testudinis prece blando ducere quo vellet and to haue brought vnto ciuility the rudest and the wildest men and therefore Saint Paul here doth so louingly intreat them and so friendly beseech them with this sweetest name of Brethren to pray for them Brethren pray for vs. To teach vs that as we be Pascendo Pastores the Teachers of our people so we should be diligendo Patres 1 Cor. 2.4 aswel fathers for affection as teachers for instruction and that wee should intreat and beseech our people in the bowels of Christ Iesus when we might command them in the Name of the great Iehoua for it is most certaine that when bitter reprehensions doth harden men in iniquity a gentle intreaty will often win them vnto piety for it was but the alluring speech of Apollo that made many to affect him rather then Saint Paul and it is dayly seene that a golden mouthed Chrysostome with his sweet perswasions will winne more men to Christ then any one can doe with
the meanest among men to be equall with God yet there he is not vnmindfull of vs but sitting on the right hand of God he maketh continuall intercession for vs and sendeth his spirit to comfort vs for though corpus intulit Coelo he hath placed his body in Heauen yet maiestatem non abstulit mundo hee leaues his spirit which filleth all places heere on earth Mat. 28. vlt. for loe saith he I am with you vntill the end of the world that is to deliuer vs from all miseries and to giue vs all those good things that hee seeth good for vs And therefore though Abraham should forget vs or Israell be ignorant of vs or as Mardoceus sayd vnto Queene Hester if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time Hester 4.14 and doest nothing in the world for vs yet shall there inlargement and deliuerance arise vnto the Iewes from another place euen so though we should feare men will forsake vs and forget vs and do nothing for vs either to deliuer vs from any troubles feared or to helpe vs vnto any good desired yet this our good God which neither slumbereth nor sleepeth though he be ascended to heauen yet he will defend vs on earth and hee will lift vs vp out of the mire if we put our trust in him hee will send vs comfort out of some other place Feare you not but stand still Exod. 14 13. and see the saluation of God which he will shew vnto you Secondly the resurrection of Christ is our hope but his ascention is our glorification Si ergo rectè si fideliter si deuotè ascentionem domini celebramus ascendere debemus cum illo and therefore if we doe rightly if we doe faithfully and deuoutly celebrate and make a right vse of the ascention of Christ then must wâ—e labour and striue to ascend with him That in heart and affection we should alwayes ascend to Heauen and if by reason of the infirmitie of our flesh we are so detained and kept backe that we cannot ascend as we would to be where he is yet let vs indeauour to follow after passibus amoris et affectu cordis with the best paces of loue and the most earnest desires of our hearts And indeede it is not the lifting vp of our eyes nor the holding vp of our hands that is the right ascending into Heauen for this may bee as it is many times meere hypocrisie euen as the witch of Endor lifted vp Samuell to deceiue Saule so doth this witch hypocrisie cause many a one to lift vp their hands and eyes to Heauen to deceiue the world and to make vs beleeue they are true Saints whereas in deede they be very Diuells but we must haue sursum corda our hearts lifted vp for this is that chieffest place of man which both God and the Diuell laboreth most of all to attaine Prouerb 23.26 for God saith Sonne giue mee thy heart and lift vp the same to Heauen and so the Diuell seekes but the heart if riches increase set your hearts vpon them and therefore the heart of man is called by Macarius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Throne of God or els 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Throne of Satan for if we lift vp the same to God and set our affections on the things that are aboue then is our hearts the Throne of God but if our loue and affections bee on the things of this world then is our hearts the seat of the scornefull and the habitation of Diuells Psal 1.1 And therefore that we may the better learne how to ascend and to lift vp our hearts to God I will desire you to consider these three things first terminum secondly modum thirdly signum Three things to be considered touching our spirituall ascention vnto Heauen 1. The place from whence and vnto what we must ascend 2. By what meanes we shall raise vp our selues vnto God 3. The signe whereby wee may know whether wee haue ascended any way towards Heauen or not First the place from whence we must ascend is this world behold saith Christ I leaue the world and I goe to the Father so if we would goe to Christ we must leaue the world and neuer enuie at the prosperity of them quorum tectorum gloria attenditur labes autem animorum non attenditur whose outward glorie we doe see but whos inward miseries wee doe not see And the place where we must ascend is in altum vnto the Kingdome of Heauen where the eye hath not seene 1 Cor. 2.9 and the eare hath not heard the things which God hath prepared for them that loue him Secondly the meanes how to raise our selues from this valley of miseries vnto the height of Heauen is by casting from vs all the things that may presse vs downe and assuming the things that may helpe vs vp And you knowe that whatsoeuer is heauie presseth downe Nothing is so heauie as sin and we know that there is nothing so heauie vpon the soule as sinne this is like a Talent of lead it makes the whole world to reele to and fro like a drunken man Atlas en ipse laborat and it was so heauie vpon Christ his shoulders Mat. 27.46 that in the Garden it made him to sweate the drops of blood and vpon the Crosse it made him to crie out my God my God why hast thou forsaken mee and therefore if wee would ascend to Heauen then as Elias did throwe downe his mantle 2. Kings 2.13 and as the blinde man in the Gospell did cast offe his beggars cloake when hee would runne to Christ so must we cast offe the mantle of hypocrisie and disrobe our selues of all the beggarly ragges of sinne or els they will presse vs downe to Hell And as wee know sinne is that weight which keepes vs downe so we knowe wings are the best meanes to helpe vs vp and therefore Dauid prayes that hee had wings like a doue Psal 55.6 that hee might flie away and be at rest and Christ himselfe is said to haue fledde super pennas ventorum vpon the wings of the winde so must wee wee must get vs wings if wee will ascend to Heauen But what are those wings that will carrie vs thither Bern. in Ser. de asc they must not bee like Icarus his waxen wings the wings of pride and ambition but as Saint Bernard sayth they must bee What are the wings whereby we ascend to Heauen 1. Meditatio Consideration 2. Oratio Prayer for Meditatio quid desit docet oratio ne desit obtinet Meditation sheweth vs what wee want and prayer obtayneth whatsoeuer we want but we neuer knowe our estate because wee neuer consider in what estate wee are and wee haue not grace nor goodnesse because we aske not Saint Augustine saith these wings must be 1. The loue of God 2. The loue of our neighbours And it is not vnlikely that loue
innocent man yet his hope will neuer leaue him but as the Poet saith Iam mala finissem Letho sed credula vitam Spes fouet melius cras fore semper ait Hope still doth promise better fortunes vnto him and therefore this is a most excellent vertue though like other humane vertues it is defectiue in many points as first in respect of the things that they hope for wealth honours and such like So Alexander hauing giuen away almost all that hee had in Greece and being demanded what hee left for himselfe said hope i. e. of more honours and kingdomes and secondly in respect of the cause from whence they doe expect these things from themselues or such like but not from God whereas indeed that man is accursed which putteth his hope in man quia de Creatore desperare est Ierem. 17.5 spem in creatura ponere because that to hope in man is to forsake our God But Secondly diuine Hope The second i. e. the diuine hope which is wrought in vs by the Spirit of God is infallible for whosoeuer hopeth in him shall neuer be confounded Psal 22.4 5 6. Prou. 14.32 The wicked saith Salomon shall be cast away for his malice but the righteous hath hope in his death and what can be more then this for many things doe discourage vs in death for the dying man seeth his body is weake his friends weeping his Phisicians despayring and his conscience shewing him the Catalogue of his sinnes O wretched man that he is who shall comfort him yet hee whose hope is in the Lord his God doth euen then see the heauens open and the Angels ready to receiue him and though he knoweth his body is to be laide in the graue yet doth his flesh rest in hope and therefore what can be sweeter then hope O dearely beloued remember what the Psalmist saith blessed is the man whose hope is in the Lord his God But here you must know that all kindes of hope in God Euery hope maketh not happy makes not all men happy for there is a bold and a presumptuous hope a hope of wicked hypocrites that liue in sinne and yet doe hope for heauen And therefore wee must distinguish that there is a two-fold hope in God 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an opinionatiue hope 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a true infallible hope The first is the hope of wicked men Iob 8. Prou. 10. Wisd 5. and this shall melt away like a winter snow for the hope of the wicked shall perish they may looke for much but they shall haue nothing The second is the hope of the righteous and this shall neuer perish because it is grounded vpon a good foundation True hope springeth from the true feare of God that is the promise of God to them that feare him for so the Psalmist saith qui timetis Dominum sperate in illum you that feare the Lord hope in him And therefore if you would be sure to haue the true hope in God then feare the Lord because the testimony of a good conscience must be the ground of hope for so Saint Paul sheweth euen by his owne example saying I haue fought a good fight and I haue kept the faith there is the ground and therefore is laid vp for me the crowne of righteousnesse and there is the Anchor of his hope cast vpon that sure foundation and hee that thus hopeth in God is truely happy Thirdly Charity is rectissima animi affectio Thirdly of Charity the rightest affection of the minde whereby wee loue God for his owne sake and our neighbours for Gods sake Aug. de doct Christ and as Saint Augustine doth obserue it is proper onely vnto the Saints of God because as Saint Chrysostome saith Chris hom de char charity is optimum amoris genus the best kinde of loue and therefore Saint Augustine saith that habere omnia sacramenta malus esse potest habere autem charitatem malus esse non potest a man may be partaker of all Sacraments and be wicked but to haue charity and to be wicked is vnpossible and Saint Paul saith enough in the praise of this most excellent grace to write Iliads after Homer were to commend it after him and therefore I le say no more but what Saint Augustine saith charitas est quae vincit omnia sine qua non valent omnia charity is that which ouercommeth all things and without which all things will auaile vs nothing because as the Christian Poet saith Christicolas veros exprimit vnus amor It is loue and charity alone that proues vs to bee true Christians Well then wouldest thou know thy state whether thou beest in the state of grace or not thou needest not to ascend to heauen and search into the secret councell of God to see whether thy name be written in the booke of life but descend into thine owne heart and see whether thou hast perfect charity both towards God and man for if thou louest God with all thy heart The surest signe that wee shall be saued and thy neighbour as thy selfe I dare assure thee that in all the booke of God I could neuer finde yet a surer note or a more infallible signe of our eternall saluation then the same For hereby we know saith the Apostle that we are passed from death to life because we loue the brethren and hereby shall all men know that you are my Disciples 1 Iohn 3. saith our Sauiour if you loue one another but if thou louest not God or if thou louest not all men say what thou wilt doe what you will lift vp thine eyes hold vp thy hands and pray in euery corner yet I know no signe thou hast of sauing grace But here you must obserue that all kinde of loue towards God and men will not serue our turne for there is a generall kinde of loue to God which all wicked men in respect of their being and that manifold good which they receiue from him doe beare towards God and there is a speciall loue to God in a most vehement and a most excellent manner and there is an inordinate loue of men either too much or too little or not after the right manner and there is a true discreet and a fruitfull loue to be shewed towards them and this is properly called charity and therefore if we would be sure of Gods fauour we must vse no mediocrity in louing God we must vse no measure Quia modus diligendi Deum est sine modo because hee is to bee loued beyond measure with all our hearts with all our soules and with all our strength so as if we were rauished with the loue of God euen as the Church saith in the Canticles Stay me with flagons Cantic 2.5 and comfort me with apples for I am sicke of loue And so much for these three diuine graces which Christ giueth vs to sanctifie our
soules Now after the holy Ghost bestoweth vpon the Saints faith to beleeue in him hope to expect all happinesse from him and charity most feruently to loue him and all men for his sake then hee worketh many other graces in the hearts of his Elect to preserue them blamelesse in the sight of God and to defend them from the malice of that roaring Lion as a filiall feare neuer to offend him and a speciall care alwaies to please him and beside and aboue all the rest he infuseth into their soules these two excellent gifts viz. 1. Prouidence to fore-see 2. Patience to indure all things First Moses in his last speech and best song that hee made vnto the children of Israel saith O that they were wise Deut. 31. that they vnderstood this that they would consider their latter end that is that they would remember things past vnderstand things present and consider things to come for this is the onely difference betwixt man and beast the one craues for the present time the other fore-seeth and prouideth for the times to come and the want or neglect of this consideratiue fore-sight is the cause of many miseries for as hee that fore-seeth euill either preuenteth it or prepareth himselfe for it and so it is more easily borne of him because it doth not suddenly apprehend him so he that neuer seeth it till it strikes him is the more amazed with it because hee feeleth that which hee neuer feared and therefore as Iob saith that he was surprised with that which he feared so the Saints of God haue this grace giuen them by God to expect and fore see miseries before they come that they may be the more tollerable vnto them if they come And as they haue one eye open to feare and fore-see euill before it commeth so they haue the other eye open to fore-see and to hope for good that when it comes it may be the more welcome to them and that vsing all lawfull meanes to compasse it they may the sooner attaine vnto it But here it may be some wil obiect say as it was said of old Ob. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Scire si liceret quae debes subire non subire pulchrum sit scire Sed si subire oportet quae licet scire quorsum scire nam debes subire That is Doctor Euerard in his Aâ—rere han p. 76. as Doctor Euerard doth as wittily translate them as they were prettily composed If a man might know the ill that hee must vndergoe and shunne it so then were it good to know But if he vndergoe it though he know it what bootes him know it he must vndergoe it And so of good things if he might the sooner obtaine them by fore-seeing them it were worth our paines to looke after them but seeing no care no prouidence can either helpe vs vnto the good we desire or preuent the euill we feare because as one truly saith What shall be shall be sure there is no chance For the eye eterne all things fore-sees And all must come to passe as he decrees And therefore to what end should wee trouble our selues in vaine to fore-see that which we cannot forbid Sol. To this I answere briefly that although God worketh all things according to his will yet it is his wil ordinarily to work by ordinary meanes and secondary causes as we may see in the second of Osee 21. Osee 2.21 I will heare the Heauens and they shall heare the Earth and the Earth shall heare the Corne and the Wine and the Oyle and they shall heare Israel And therefore whom God hath decreed shall escape euill or attaine vnto any good God decreeth the meanes as well as the end of any thing he hath also decreed that they should by their care and diligence the one to preuent it and the other to vse all lawfull meanes to procure it and they that will not vse all possible care to obtaine these ends doe most apparantly shew an infallible argument against themselues they shall neuer attaine vnto their desired end because it is a sure rule that whatsoeuer end God hath decreed hee hath also decreed the meanes to bring to passe that end And therefore as he hath decreed the saluation of his Saints so he hath decreed to giue them his grace to fore-see all things that are necessary for them to know that they may the better vse all diligence to eschew the euill and to obtaine the good Secondly seeing our estate in this life is a state full of miseries and that we are long expecting good before we can inioy it therefore wee haue neede of patience Heb. 10.36 that after wee haue done the will of God wee might receiue the promise and therefore God seeing how needfull patience is for his seruants hee giueth this gift vnto vs and it is indeed a most excellent gift without which I know not how the Saints could well subsist that we might patiently and contentedly suffer whatsoeuer happeneth vnto vs and as Iob saith quietly to waite all our dayes Iob. vntill our change shall come It is recorded in the books of the Gentiles that in the Olympian combates that Champion wan the Garland that bestowed most blowes vpon his Antagonist but in the warres of the Lord where God himselfe is our rewarder wee finde that hee beares away the Crowne which beareth patiently the most blowes from his aduersaries and in lieu thereof returneth nothing but good words But here we must vnderstand patience is vsed either Patience is taken two waies 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 abusiuely and improperly 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rightly and properly and In the first sence wee finde the word vsed foure manner of wayes First for a sinnefull carelesnesse when men per patientiam asininam will suffer themselues like lazie asses to bee drawne and compelled by lewd companie to drinking swaggering or any other sinne whatsoeuer Secondly for a stoicall apathie when men will locke vp all naturall passions and striue to bee insensible of any thing that shall befall them Thirdly for a customarie induring of all stormes when like children in the Schoole which doe so much the lesse care for whipping the oftner they are whipped we grow insensible of all crosses by a continuall custome of bearing crosses Fourthly for a naturall fortitude when through the strength of nature and the courage of a heroick minde men will vndergoe whatsoeuer aduersities shall betide them and will seeme to beare the same as if their strength were the strength of stones Iob. 6.12 and their flesh of brasse as Iob speaketh In the second sence we doe likewise finde the word vsed many wayes as Rom. 2.4 First for a contayning of our selues from the reuenging of any iniuries done vnto vs. Secondly for a contented waiting and a most quiet expecting of what we desire Rom. 2.7 Heb. 10.36 Psal 9.18 without muttering