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B12254
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PhÅsphoros or A most heauenly and fruitfull sermon, preached the sixt of August. 1615 At the translation of the right Reuerend Father in God, the Archbishop of St. Andrewes to the sea thereof. By Mr. William Covvper B. of Galloway.
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Cowper, William, 1568-1619.
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1616
(1616)
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STC 5932; ESTC S114580
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30,693
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94
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10 by well doing As euery tree is knowne by the fruit so works of grace proue those that haue them to be a tree planted by predestination in the Paradise of God Psal 1. by that riuer of the water of life and that therefore thy leafe shall not fade and thy roote shall not perish because thou art rooted and grounded in Christ Iesus and growest in him who shall for euer conserue the sappe of grace in thy soule The aduersaries calumniate We are no enemies to good workes but to the opinion of meriting by them vs and call vs enemies to good workes but God forbid wee were so Wee condemne no good works only we condemne their presumptuous opinion of the merit of good workes Meriting causes of saluation they are not yet are they witnessing effects thereof without which a man cannot bee saued not that wee are saued by them but because that iustifying faith which whereby wee are saued cannot bee without them for Faith workes by loue In the act Our workes haue no place in Iustification but haue all place in sanctification of iustification we affirme good workes haue no place for a man must first be iustified before he doe any good Nam sequuntur iustificatum in the worke againe of Sanctification they want no place this doctrine they challenge of noueltie but indeed it is Apostolicke consonant also to the doctrine of the ancient and primitiue Church For that assertion of the Apostle This doctrine is warranted by the Apostle Rom. 3. 28 wee conclude that a man is iustified by faith without the works of the Lawe is equiualent to this that a man is iustified by faith only And from the Apostle the ancient Fathers haue drawn this position Sola fide iustificamur Basil de Confess fidei And Apostolick doctors of the Church Basil in his Treatise De Confessione fidei hath it Nos non habemus vnde quicquam gloriemur de iustitia cum ex sola fide in Christum iustificemur We haue not wherof to glorie of righteousnesse seeing wee are iustified by faith onely in Christ Iesus and more notable is that testimony of Ambrose Ambros in Epist ad Rom. cap. 3. Iustificātur gratis quia nihil operantes neque vicem reddētes sola fide iustificati sunt dono Dei by this one sentence he cuts away from iustification their workes both of congruitie and condignity and annulleth their vain distinction of a first and second iustification and in plaine termes hee ascribes our iustification to faith only in Christ With these concurres Augustine Quod autem sequitur propterea vos non auditis Aug. in Ioan cap. 8. Tract 42. quia ex Deo non estis jis dictum est qui non fuerant credituri ea fide qua sola possent a peccatorum obligatione liberari And passing by many others we adde onely the testimony of Bernard Quisquis Ber. in Cant ser 22. pro peccatis compunctus esurit sitit iustitiam credat in te qui iustificas impium solam iustificatus per fidem pacem habebit ad Deum Whosoeuer hee be that is pricked in his heart with sorrow for his sinnes and hungers thirsts Iustification by faith only is the ancient doctrine of the Church for righteousnesse let him beleeue in thee who iustifiest sinners and so being iustified by faith onely hee shall haue peace with God Let them now cease to glory of antiquity let them thinke shame to charge vs with nouelty if they bee not past all bounds of shame for it is manifest to the indifferent reader that we teach no other way now then the Apostles and approued Doctors of elder times haue taught before vs. But leauing this I wish disputing Good workes are witnesses of our faith seales of our saluation about good workes were turned into doing we haue all learned in this age to put good workes out of the chaire of merit and iustly for none should sit in that chaire but Christ Iesus but wee haue not all learned to giue them their owne place in the matter of saluation though they bee not as I sayd meriting causes yet are they witnesses of thy faith and seales of thy saluation thou art not now iustified by them yet shalt thou bee iudged by them and tryed whether if or not thou wert iustified in CHRIST IESVS Oh that our A iust reproofe of fruitlesse professors fruitlesse professors would consider this Tell me I pray you what haue yee to witnesse with you that yee are Christians your word sayes ye are so but all your works witnesse against you your vncleane eyes your dissolute speech your vaine apparell your polluted hands your wandring feete all these proclaime Chrysost in Math. hom 4. you to be Pagans onely with your tongues ye say ye are Christians yee feed not the hungry ye cloath not the naked ye visit not the sick these are the works and such like that wil be brought out as witnesses either with vs and for vs or then against vs. Be not then deceiued to thinke that thy naked word wil proue thee a Christian when none of the workes of Christ can bee seene in thee But it seems many Professors These haue not learned to shew their faith by works are feared for the curse of the Pharisies on whom Christ pronounced a woe because they did their workes to be seene of men they say they do good but neuer man saw it they haue not learned that lesson of S. Iames to Iam. 2. 18. shewe their faith out of their workes for whom it were better that they should be afraid lest they bee cursed with that figge-tree which a farre off seemed fruitful but when our Lord came neere and looked into it longing for some fruit he found none at all and therefore cursed it It was well obserued by Augustine A good worke sincerely done the more publicke it be is the more profitable that a good work if it be done in sincerity the more puhlicke it be the more profitable it is as namely when almes out of a good heart is giuen in publick not only is he benefited that gets it but such as see it are edified thereby Seeing it is so that our works must be our witnesses let vs all indeuour to be more abundant in them To moue vs hereunto I conclude this point with this two-fold consideration First when thy soule shall be sundred from thy body the good thou hast done in thy body shall neuer bee sundred from thy selfe but shall goe with thee Blessed Reuel 19 A twofold cōfortable fruit of good works are the dead that dye in the Lord for they rest from their labour and their works follow them Secondly when thou art dead in thy body and sundred from men yet shalt thou still liue in thy workes and haue thy memory conserued among men Therefore so long as we haue time let vs do good In
allurements to induce them to embrace it but in this as they are not vnlike to that young man who sayd vnto our Lord All these CommandemeÌ„ts haue I kept from my youth esteeming themselues much Mar. 10. 21 more perfect then indeed they are yet let them bee content with his answere Any good that they doe we loue it yea for the loue of good we do euen loue the appearance of it as by the contrarie we are taught not only to hate euill but to abstaine But no good worke can be where wholsome doctrine is not from appearance of euill And thus farre let them be loued with that young man but here-withall let them know that one thing yet is lacking vnto them and such an one thing as without which all other things are nothing for true holinesse cannot bee where wholsome doctrine is not If they would consider this All will worship is abomination to the Lord. matter and lay by a little their owne preiudicate and forestalled opinions the similitude that Heretickes haue with them in these chiefest points wherein they place their greatest sanctity they might easily see that all their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which in their darkned iudgement is the true worship of God is nothing els but the birth of mans braine the fruit of his own inuention whervnto corrupt nature hath led others who were neuer illuminate with the true light of God but is not pietie which floweth from faith and is warranted by the word and acceptable to God in Christ Iesus For I pray you what is there Nothing this day concerning austere life among Rom. Eremits which was not of old among Iewish Essaei to bee found this day euen among their Separate and Solitary men which was not of old in the corrupt Church of the Iewes among the Haeretiques called Essaei resembling very neerely their Monkes and religious Hermits Of whom Philo the learned Iew writes in this manner In Palaestina sunt quidam nomine Philo. lib. quem inscribit omnes bonos esse liberos Essaei numero vltra 400. a voce graeca Essaei quasi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sancti vocati quoniam dei cultores praecipui sant nulla ammalia sacrificantes sed mentes sacras deo offerentes hi vicatim habitant vrbes vitantes perpetuam castitatem adhibent ius iurandum mendacium non dicunt pecuniam gloriam negligunt aurum argentum non recondunt neque latos agros parant cupiditate reddituuÌ„ sed necessitate victus vna omnibus est domus vna vestis denique communis victus vita In Palestina sayth he A description of the religious manners of Essaei are a sort of men called Essaei as much as to say holy men they are more in number then foure hundreth they sacrifice no beasts but holy mindes to the Lord they come not in Cities nor Townes they professe Chastity they will neither sweare nor lye they despise gold and glory crauing no more then may serue their necessity they haue all one house one kind of garment they haue all the same food and the same manner of life Iosephus addeth thus much more of them Quod nuptiâ—s respuant bonasua cum sociis communicent nec vestitum Ioseph Antiquit nec calceum nouum misi veteribus attritis sumant inter vescendum summum silentium adhibeant that they despise mariage How these are reuiued againe by the Monkes and Eremits of our time all good things are common among them they take no new garment nor new shooes till the old bee worne and when they are at dinner or supper there is great silence among them In a word if a man would diligently consider euery thing written of them and compare their time with this he would verily thinke that the very image of these Hereticks were reuiued and quickned againe by Monkes and Hermites of our time Among many reasons alleged by a certaine Iesuite Christianus Franken which induced him to The consideration that Papistrie is but a naturall religion hath moued Iesuites to reuolt from it conuert to the true ancient Catholicke and Apostolicke religion professed by vs this was one by the similitude which naturall men not illuminated with the light of the Euangel haue with the Romish religion hee was moued to thinke it was not diuine but humane seeing they by natures light onely had attained vnto it He makes mentioÌ„ of a certaine letter written to their society from one of their owne Order trauelled among our Antipodes called Iaponii wherein is declared that among them there is a religious sort of men named Iamambuxae that is milites conuallium who haue a religion formed out of Natures light very like to Romish Religion For first to purchase to themselues the name of sanctity they Our Antipodes Iaponij by natures darkned light haue framed a religion very like the Papistick greatly punish their owne bodies they are much giuen to watching and long fasting their exercise is in certaine meditations composed by themselues wherein they profit so farre that oftentimes they are thought inspired with a heauenly Spirit to poure out diuine Oracles and are esteemed to be holy and perfect men This is one point the iust similitude wherof is cleare in the Church of Rome for they haue their owne superstitious Saints whom they worship for holy and perfect men whose Enthusiasmes dreames visions and pretented reuelations are in stead of diuine Oracles vnto their poore blinded people These haue ouer them a certaine Vnder the two poles are two Popes a Iaponian and an Italian head whom they worship almost as a God his people reputes him and stiles him to be most holy they suffer him not to touch the earth with his feet he hath large dominions oft-times makes battaile with profane Kings What can a man thinke when he reades this but as our Antipodes haue a pole against our pole so haue they a Iaponian Pope ouer against an Italian Pope who when he shall heare of Peters keyes will thinke hee hath as good right to the one key for gouernment of the Churches vnder the South pole as the Italian Pope hath to the other These two wil not agree that one of them should haue both the keyes of S. Peter whereby hee pretends a power ouer Churches vnder the North pole And verily I thinke the Italian Pope contending for both may happily loose both And for my own part I haue no doubt seeing I am warranted by the Word that before the Lord moue the poles and fold vp the heauens like a garment hee will first remoue this Beast out of his throne and consume him like snow that melteth before the Sunne His greatest defenders the most learned of the Iesuites Blas-viega Fran. Ribera in Apocal. say it yea they plainly confesse it The Lord hasten the time wherein his Maiesty will performe it This head vnder him againe Vnder the Iaponian Pope are