manner and merit of Christs suffering death on the crosse to saue vs from the wrath of God that was kindled against our transgressions And since the scriptures mention none other meanes of our redemption but the DEATH and BLOVD of the SONNE of God I hold them wisest that leaue deuising any better or other help for our saluation then God himselfe hath reuealed And as for the death of the soule I take that to be the greatest hinderance that maybe to the worke of our redemption and to shake the verie foundation of our faith and hope in the crosse of Christ. Which least I should seeme to say no way to proue let vs view the COMFORT of Christes crosse and thereby see howe his soule was affected towardes God euen whiles his bodie suffered that grieuous and opprobrious death of the crosse I haue often mused what made men of great learning and iudgement otherwise to swarue so much from the plain tenor of the scriptures and to imagine in the soule of our sauiour such doubt and feare of Gods fauour such horâ—ors and torments of hell that they sticke not to match them with the paines of the damned considering there is no manifest ground nor euident proofe of so dangerous doctâ—ine in the word of God but contrariwise when the scriptures describe Christ on the crosse they propose his bodie martyred with al kinde of crueltie but his soule cleaning to God with all perfection of constancie Read the xvi and xxii Psalme who will which purposelie treate of Christes passion and tell mee whether there bee so much as a worde importing anie distrust of Gods fauour or anie suspicion of the paines of hell suffered in the soule of Christ The first entrance of the xxii Psalme you will say is My God my God whie hast thou forsaken me This is that Helen that hath bewitched the world I meane the misconstring of these words Of which though I haue spoken before as much as may content any man that is not fastned to his fancies more then to the truth yet let vs shortlie see whether the rest of the Psalme admit their new found exposition or no. It followeth in the same place Thou didst bring me out of my mothers wombe thou gauest mee confidence at my mothers breasts On thee was I cast from my birth THOV ART MY GOD FROM MY MOTHERS BELLIE Bee not farre from mee for trouble is neere and there is none to helpe Bee not farre O Lord my strength hasten to helpe me I will declare thy name vnto my brethren in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee for HE HATH NOT DESPISED nor abhorred the weakenesse or basenesse of the poore neither HATH HE HID HIS FACE FROM HIM but when he called vnto him HE HEARD HIM Is this the praier of a man whose soule is forsaken of God Did he doubt of Gods fauour that with such confidence pronounced Thou gauest me assurance at my mothers breasts thou art my God from my mothers belly Was he perswaded that god had refused and left him when as he saith God hath not DESPISED y e weaknes of the poore he hath not hid his face from him when he called God heard him If these be flat contradictions to their imaginations why wrest they the first verse to euert all the rest Christ therfore in the beginning of the Psalm might well complain that god had for the time of his passion withheld his PROTECTION or diminished his CONSOLATION but in no wise that God had decreased his loue or shut vp his fauor towards the humane soule of his sonne Yea the next words are an explication of the former Why hast thou forsaken me and art so farre from mine helpe Not to helpe in trouble is to forsake though God bee not angrie with the soules of such as suffer affliction The very words agrée to GO FARRE OFF froÌ„ a man is to FORSAKE HIM so he that desireth God not to be far off praieth not to be forsaken but rather to receiue helpe in time of néed Uerilie S. Ambroses iudgement and reason doth satisfie me whatsoeuer it doth others Ille nunquam derelictus est à patre cum quo pater semper erat Sed secundum corpus in quo traditus est passioni vox ista processit quoniam derelinqui nobis videmur quando sumus in periculis constituti Christ was neuer forsaken of his Father with whome the father alwayes was but this complaint came from his bodie which was left to suffer death for so much as wee thinke our selues forsaken when wee are oppressed with anie troubles If the xxii Psalme content vs not let vs examine the sixteenth and there marke what the holie Ghost doth attribute to the soule of Christ in the middes of his sufferings on the Crosse and then iudge which opinion draweth nearest to the truth of the sacred Scriptures I haue alwayes SET the Lord BEFORE ME for hee IS AT MY RIGHT HAND THAT I SHOVLD NOT BE SHAKEN therefore my heart is glad my tongue reioiceth my flesh also shall REST IN HOPE Because thou wilt not leaue my soule in hell nor suffer thine holie one to see corruptioÌ„ Thou wilt SHEVV ME THE VVAY OF LIFE THE FVLNES OF IOY IS IN THY PRESENCE and delectation at thy right hand for euer Thrée plentifull and wonderfull graces of the holie Ghost are here described in our Sauiour as he hung on the crosse in the middest of his miseries abundance of FAITH assurance of HOPE persistance in IOY The ground of our faith is the truth of Gods word sealed in our hearts by the working of his spirite The faith of Christ had a farre stronger foundation and clearer reuelation then ours can possible haue He was hoped for by the Patriarks searched after by the Prophets he was the end of all the lawe and truth of all the former testament He was serued by Angels acknowledged by starres seas windes beasts fishes and trees hee was obeyed by diseases death and diuels the holie Ghost visiblie descended on him when hee was baptised the father by thunder from heauen often proclaimed him to be his welbeloued sonne and commaunded all men to heare him he knewe the thoughts of mens hearts yea the secrets of heauen he was transfigured in the Mount and tasted of that heauenlie glorie prepared for him The confessing him to bee the sonne of God openeth heauen preuaileth agaynst hell supporteth his Church and obtaineth blessednes This he heard with his eares sawe with his eyes and wrought with his hands yea he spake with his mouth knew in his heart that God had sanctified him and sent him to saue the world I aske now a meane diuine was it possible that Christ Iesus after all this intelligence euidence and experience both of his owne person who he was and of his fathers loue and purpose how setled determined and euerlasting it was should feare or
The whole curse of the law containeth infatuation of minde obduration of heart desperation damnation and what not did Paul meane that Christ was made these thinges for vs or could hee haue redéemed vs if in these things he had beene yoked with vs But that I thinke Sir Refuter you sinne of ignorance not meaning to maintaine these blasphemies and yet including them within the largenesse of your words through the weaknesse of your wit I must by the duty which I owe to God and his truth haue giuen you other termes then now I do but I had rather fatherly warne you to take heede of these â—â—ies in time least they bring the whole curse of God vpon your owne souâ—e which you would so â—ame fasten on Christs Notwithstanding your follie thus to presume without all proofe vpon the Apostles meaning besides his wordes you haue a good conceit of your self like a proper man you say I vrge then let it be noted Christ is said to be made a curse for vs and before I shewed this curse was Gods curse And againe The Scripture it selfe affirmeth hee did all that for vs therefore who dareth denie it Who either man or Angel shall presume to say nay You haue vrged it I haue noted it and so haue manie wise and good men more and will you heare what I conceiue Trulie this you haue more néede of Phisicke to cure your braines then of labour to rebate your arguments So many and those speciall reasons so proudlie proposed so weaklie performed so â—alselie concluded did I neuer reade as long as I haue liued Thou wilt thinke perchance christian Reader I speake this to disgrace the encounterer and so to preiudice his cause with thee mine heart God knoweth but if thou bee not of the same minde with mee before I ende with his speciall reasons as hee calleth them I much deceiue my selfe speciallie if thou thy selfe bee intelligent and indifferent I hope though I vaunt not as he doth there can bee no doubt but the curse of God for sinne containeth these partes which I propose to wit the externall corporall spirituall eternall plagues and punishments wherewith God pursueth the wicked that rebell against him I count it as cleare that neither the eternall nor the true spirituall curse of God couâ—d take hold on the soule of our Sauiour For as the greatest blessings that God giueth vs in this life after he hath by mercie pardoned our sinnes are the faith of his truth to direct vs the strength of his grace to assist vs the earnest of his spirite to perswade our hearts of his fatherlie clemencie to vs and to inflame vs againe with the loue of his name hope of his promises and desire of his kingdome so the greatest curse for sinne that in this life maie befall men is to haue his holie spirite taken from them with all his graces and gifts that anie waie tende to saluation and to bee giuen ouer into a reprobate sense that with blindnesse and hardnesse of heart they may runne headlong to their owne destruction With these impieties and blasphemies I trust no Christian will burthen the soule of our Sauiour and yet these are the true spirituall curses of God against sinne If then the soule of Christ were alwayes full of grace and truth and the abundance of his spirite such that wee all receiue of his fulnesse If in the perfection of his holinesse innocencie and obedience there coulde bee no defect nor anie feare or doubt in that stedfast assurance of faith hope and loue which our Sauiour alwayes retained howe could hee beeing so fullie and perpetuallie blessed of God bâ—e also trulie accursed of him The curse of God is not in wordes but in déedes Then euidentlie saint Paules meaning is and must be that Christ voluntarilie vndertaking some part of the curse due to our sinnes for the whole hee could not vndertake without reprobation and damnation not onlie discharged vs of the whole but gaue vs the blessing of God promised to Abraham And to this ende I brought the testimonies of saint Austen Chrysostome and others fullie confirming that I said to which you replie as your custome is It is vaine and senselesse to thinke that the Apostle here speaketh of two seuerall kinds of curses Indeede it is vaine and fruitlesse to reason with him that preferreth his ignorant imagination before the iudgements of all the learned and auncient fathers in Christs church but Sir your follies will sticke fast by you when their expositions shall passe with all wise men for currant and good You quarrell as your manner is with those parts of the curse which I say Christ indured For where I proposed a SHAMEFVL VVRONGFVL PAINFVL death to be that part of the curse which Christ suffered for vs you skirre at euerie one of these And of the first you say Will any man of common reason affirme that to be openly hanged on a tree was all the curse that Christ bore for vs Nothing but the shame of the world because it was an ignominious death Whether you account saint Austen and saint Chrysostome men of common reason I know not The Church this 1200. yeeres hath taken them for reuerend and learned fathers You adde It is more then absurd so to say Iudge thou Christian reader whether this Prater be well in his wits that in his â—renzie thus reprocheth not onelie the fathers of Christes church but euen the Prophets and Apostles themselues as men more then absurd and not of common reason Moses from Gods mouth threatneth such as transgresse the lawe that God will send them trouble and shame and will make them a wonder a prouerbe and a common talke among all people Esay foreshewing Christs sufferings reckoneth this not for one of the least He was despised reiected numbred among sinners we did iudge him plagued and smitten of God and turned our faces from him Dauid in the person of Christ complaining of the wrongs receiued at the time of his passion putteth this as the first and the chiefest I am as a worme and not a man a shame of men and the contempt of the people All they that see mee haue mee in derision they make a mowe and nod the heade saying he trusted in God let him deliuer him let him saue him They gape vpon mee with their mouthes Saint Paule himselfe vrgeth as much the shame as the paine of the crosse Looke to Iesus the authour and finisher of your faith who for the ioy set before him endured the crosse and despised the SHAME He endured such contradiction of sinners least you should faint in your mindes How often doth God threaten shame and confusion of face to those that fall from him How earnestly doth Dauid euery where pray against it Howe truly doth Daniel make this confession to god O Lord to vs belongeth OPEN SHAME because we haue sinned against thee the
The effect of certaine Sermons TOVCHING THE FVLL REDEMPTION of mankind by the death and bloud of CHRIST IESVS WHEREIN Besides the merite of Christs suffering the manner of his offering the power of his death the comfort of his Crosse the glorie of his resurrection Are handled What paines Christ suffered in his soule on the Crosse Together With the place and purpose of his descent to hel after death Preached at Paules Crosse and else where in London by the right Reuerend Father Thomas Bilson Bishop of Winchester With a conclusion to the Reader for the cleering of certaine obiections made against the said doctrine 1. Corinth 3. I esteeme not to knowe any thing saue Christ Iesus and him crucified Athanasius de Incarnatione verbi dei Therefore the sonne of God tooke to him a bodie that might die that enduing it with a reasonable soule it might suffice for a full satisfaction to Death for all Imprinted at London by Peter Short for Walter Burre and are to be sold in Paules Churchyard at the signe of the Flower deluce 1599. To the Christian Reader IT is some time since good Christian Reader that lying in London and preaching at Paules Crosse as the feast of Easter drawing neer did admonish mee I made choice to speake of the redemption of mankinde by the death and bloud of Christ Iesus And because that Citie then had and yet hath as manie learned and religious preachers so some conceited and too much addicted to nouelties who spared not in their Catechisings and readings to vrge the suffering of the verie paines of hell in the soul of Christ on the crosse as the chiefest part and maine ground of our Redemption by Christ I finding how fast that opinion had increased since it was first deuised and doubting where it would end thought it my dutie publikelie to warne them that were forward in defending this fansie to take heed how farre they waded in that late sprong speculation For as these words of Dauid The sorrowes of hell besieged me and these of Ionas Out of the belly of hel I cried thou heardest my voice may be tolerablie applied to Christ if they be metaphorically interpreted of Christ as the scriptures meane them in Dauid and Ionas so if wee grow from the figuratiue vse of the worde HELL to the proper signification thereof and rise from the degrees of sorrowes and feares which pursue the Saints in this life to the highest sense and suffering of ALL and THE VERIE SAME paines and punishments which the damned do and shall endure for euer freeing Christ from nothing but from the place and continuance of hell vve make not a curious and superfluous but an erroneous and daungerous addition to the mysterie of our Saluation The better to slacke their inconsiderate heate I laboured to prooue these foure pointes vnto them First that it was no where recorded in the holie Scriptures nor iustlie to bee concluded by the Scriptures that Christ suffered the true paines of hell and so the Consciences of the faythfull coulde not iustlie bee forced to the necessarie beleeuing of anie such strange assertion Secondlie that as the Scriptures describe to vs the paines of the damned and of hell there are manie terrors and torments which without euident impietie cannot be ascribed to the Sonne of God as namely extreame Darkenesse Desperation Confusion vtter separation reiection and exclusion from the grace fauour and kingdome of God remembrance of sinne gnawing the conscience horrour of Diuels tormented and tormenting and flame of fire intolerablie burning both bodie and soule Thirdlie that the death and bloud of Christ Iesus were euidentlie frequentlie constantlie set downe in the writinges of the Apostles as the sufficient price of our Redemption and true meane of our reconciliation to God and the verie same proposed in the figures resembled in the sacrifices of the Lawe and sealed with the Sacraments of the new Testament as the verie grounde worke of our saluation by Christ and so haue beene receaued and beleeued in the Church of God fourteene hundred yeares before anie man euer made mention of hell paines to bee suffered in the soule of Christ. Lastlie where the Scriptures are plaine and pregnant that Christ DIED for our sinnes and by his DEATH destroied him that had power of death euen the Diuell and reconciled vs when we were strangers and enemies IN THE BODIE OF HIS FLESH THROVGH DEATH for wee are reconciled to God by the DEATH of his sonne and sanctified by THE OFFERING OF THE BODIE of Iesus Christ once who himselfe bare our sinnes in his BODIE on the Tree where hee was put to death concerning the FLESH Besides that the holie Ghost in these places by expresse wordes nameth the bodilie death of Christ as the meane of our redemption and reconciliation to God no considerate diuine might affirme or imagine Christ suffered the Death of the soule for so much as the Death of the soule must exclude Christ from the grace spirit and life of God and leaue in him neither faith hope nor loue sanctitie nor innocencie which God forbid anie Christian man shoulde so much as dreame Wee shoulde therefore do well to reuerence the manifest wordes of Gods Spirit in so high a pointe of Religion and suffer our selues as schollers to bee taught by the leader into all trueth what to beleeue and confesse in the mystery of our redemption and not to controle or correct the doctrine so cleerelie deliuered in the Scriptures so consonantlie retained of all learned and vnlearned in the Church of Christ for so many hundred yeares And if anie man to maintaine his deuise woulde inuent a newe hell and another death of the soule then either scriptures or fathers euer heard or spake of they shoulde keepe their inuentions to themselues it sufficed me to beleeue what I read and consequently not to beleeue what I did not read in the word of God which is and ought to be the foundation of our faith Thus farre I purposed when I first entered by Gods grace to proceede in this cause according to y e simple vnderstanding wherwith god hath endued me for the good of his Church The article of the Creed Christ DESCENDED INTO HELL I meant not to meddle with choosing rather to leaue y t vntouched then to presse any sense as a point of faith for vvhich I had not so full and faire warrant as for the redemption of man by the death and blood of Christ Iesus but the vehemencie of some contradicting that I taught and the importunitie of others requesting to knowe what they might safelie beleeue of that article made mee to alter my minde For whē some vrged others doubted that if Christ did not suffer the paines of hell whiles he hung on the Crosse that part of the Creed was added in vaine and the wordes of Dauid Thou wilt not leaue my soule in hell applied by Peter vnto Christ in
hope For he that beléeueth and hopeth in God cannot trulie saie that God hath forsaken his soule he may complaine that God doth not deliuer him from dangers and troubles assaulting him which the weakenesse of man thinketh a kinde of forsaking Mine enemies saith Dauid take counsell saying God hath forsaken him pursue him there is none to deliuer him But this is no forsaking of the soule so long as that part of man trusteth in God which is created chiefelie to enioie God Nowe by faith hope and loue the soule of man enioieth God in this life and hee that enioieth God is not forsaken of God Yea whosoeuer hopeth in him neither is nor euer shall be forsaken For hope doth not confound was there euer any confounded that put his trust in the Lorde or who hath continued in his feare and hath beene forsaken or whome did he euer despise that called vpon him Then if out of these wordes we will infer that Christes soule was truelie forsaken of God it cannot bee auoided but this inwarde perswasion in Christ that his soule was forsaken during from the time of his agonie in the garden till his complaint on the crosse which was aboue 18. houres was manifest desperation vnlesse wee saie Christ was deceiued in so thinking which is as great an errour on the other side For if his faith hope and loue were still fixed on God and no waie decaied he could with no truth saie that his soule was vtterlie forsaken Againe the soule that is forsaken of God must néedes be separated from God For he that cleaueth vnto the Lorde is one spirit with him so not forsaken of him Yf then Christs soule were seuered from God it could haue no mutuall congruence much lesse naturall coherence with God There must bee a spirituall communion in grace or else there can be no personall vnion in nature As the soule doth communicate her effects to the bodie with which shee is coupled so must the deitie make the humane nature of Christ partaker of those graces and giftes which maie come from the godhead before we can trulie saie that the one is personallie ioyned with the other The participation and fruition of God is not in words or thoughtes but in déedes and effects In whom then the spirit of God dwelleth not with his force and fruites let him neuer deceiue his hart that he hath any fellowship with God Nowe in Christ was the fulnesse of Gods spirit and grace God measured not his spirit to him but of his fulnesse we all haue receaued So that if the fulnesse of grace failed in the soule of Christ the vnitie of his person was vtterly dissolued For without a communion there can be no coniunctioÌ„ of two natures in Christ. If there were an effectuall and full communion there could be no reall nor generall dereliction Insomuch that the verie flesh of Christ though it were left vnto death yet was it not vtterlie forsaken of the deitie but preserued euen in the graue from corruption and raised againe with greater perfection then before besides the wonderfull conquest it had ouer death Which plainelie proue the Godheade was neuer separated from the bodie of Christ though the soule for a time departed that death and hell might bee destroied If the deitie did neuer forsake the bodie no not in death much lesse did it euer forsake the soule which alwaies had an vnseparable coniunction and vnceaseable communion with the godhead of Christ. Lastlie no sence could bee deuised more repugnant and opposite to all that Christ saide or did after his agonie then this last found exposition or rather deprauation of his words To the high priest asking him whether he were Christ the son of y e blessed God he answered I am and ye shall see the son of man sit at the right hande of the power of God and come in the cloudes of heauen Christ was and must be farre from distrusting or doubting that which he resolutelie affirmeth shal come to passe euen in the eies of his enemies When they fastened him to the crosse hee said Father forgiue them they know not what they do Could he intreate and obtaine pardon for others that found himselfe to be forsaken of God To the thiefe that hung by him and desired to be remembred when he came to his kingdome he answered Verilie I saie to thee thou shalt this day bee with me in paradise Could hee giue paradise to others with so great confidence that coulde not then assure himselfe of Gods fauour yea as these men will haue it that was abandoned and forsaken of God The Centurion that had the charge to see him put to death and heard him speake these words neuer conceiued that he was reiected or estranged from God but contrariwise confessed Truelie this man was the sonne of God Christ himselfe Knowing all thinges that should come vnto him saide to his disciples Behold the houre is come that ye shall be scattered and leaue me alone but I am not alone for the father is with me Now if God were with him when his disciples left him as he himselfe witnesseth howe could his soule be forsaken of God of Christ crucified Dauid saith as Peter expoundeth his wordes I alwaies beheld the Lord before me euen at my right hand that I should not bee shaken If Christ had all the time of his passion the fauour of God so constant and the power of God so present that hee coulde not be so much as mooued or swaied to and fro for so the wordes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doe signifie that I should not waue vp and downe but stâ—nd fired and assured how could that parte of Christ which enioied so manifestlie the sight of Gods countenance and strength of Gods assistance be forsaken or refused of God And out of this complaint that he was forsaken if we inferre the paines of hell wee conclude directlie against Christes wordes in the 16. psalme Non derelinques animam meam in inferno Thou wilt not forsake my soule in hell Christs soule was not forsaken in hell if then it were forsaken on the crosse it is euident that there it suffered not hell for in hell it was neuer forsaken And therefore turne and winde the wordes of Christ which way they will or can this expositionâ—punc which they fasten vnto them is a manifest contradiction to all that Christ did or saide on the crosse and namelie to that assertion of Dauid in the person of Christ Thou wilt not forsake my soule in hell Then are there in the sacred scriptures neither anie predictions that Christ shoulde suffer the paines of hell in his soule here on earth nor causes why he must suffer them nor Signes that he did suffer them and consequentlie whatsoeuer is pretended no proofe that these sufferings must be added to the crosse of Christ before the worke of our saluation can be perfect And for my
pono pro ouibus meis I lay down my LIFE for my sheep Diligit me pater quia pono animaÌ„ meaÌ„ vt iteruÌ„ sumaÌ„ eam My father loueth me because I lay downe my life to take it againe And indéed that phrase PONTRE ANIMAM in the Scriptures doth alwaies note a voluntary yeelding of the life which is A LAYING ASIDE OF THE SOVLE for y e loue of others as where Peter saith Ponam animam meaÌ„ pro te he did not meane he would go to hel for his master there was no cause nor néede thereof but I wil lay down MY LIFE for thee And when S. Iohn telleth vs Quoniam ille animaÌ„ suaÌ„ posuit pro nobis nos debemus animas ponere pro fratribus hee doth not charge vs to hazard our soules by sin or hel for others but insomuch as Christ gaue HIS LIFE for vs wee ought to GIVE OVR LIVES for our brethren So that for Christ to LAY ASIDE HIS SOVLE or to POVRE IT OVT VNTO DEATH was not to suffer hell paines for our sakes but to die for our sins al those places are rather coherent theÌ„ dissident to the rest of y e scriptures which I alleaged And yet because the ancient fathers some times saie that Christ gaue his soule for our soules as hee did his flesh for our flesh the scriptures often affirme hee gaue himselfe I will come to the third effect of Christs crosse which is the MIGHTY POVVER OF HIS DEATH and there examine what part of Christ died for our sinnes and howe by his death the guilt of sinne the curse of the lawe the sting of death and the strength of Satan are not onelie weakened and wasted but extinguished and abolished that they shal neuer preuaile against him or his elect That the Sonne of God loued vs gaue himselfe for vs making the purgatioÌ„ of our sinnes in his own person by the sacrifice of himself to put away sinne is a case so cléere that it néed not to be prooued much lesse may be doubted without apparant subuersion of the christian faith but whether Christ suffered the death of the whole man his soule tasting for the time an inwarde and spirituall death in satisfaction of our sinnes as his flesh did an externall corporall dissolution of nature this by some men is questioned in our daies That for our sakes he humbled himself was obedient vnto death euen the death of y e crosse is out of al doubt the Euangelists describe the maner of his death the apostles the cause to wit the REDEMPTION of our sins the CONFIRMATION of the new testament the RECONCILIATION of man to God the DESTRVCTION of him that was ruler of death the IMITATION of his obedience who suffered for vs leauing an exaÌ„ple y t we should follow his steps Al this he performed with y e death of his flesh the Scriptures no where mentioning anie other kinde of death that I can read Where a testament is there must be the death of him that made the testament r For the testameÌ„t is confirmed when men are dead Christ is the mediator of the new Testament that through death which was for the redemption of the trespasses in the former Testament they which are called might receiue the promise of eternall inheritance This plainelie expresseth the death of the bodie For God forbid mens Testaments should be frustrate till their soules haue tasted the second death but from the death of the bodie all testaments take their force Wherefore the new testament is confirmed by the bodilie death of Christ and there neede no paines of hell before it can be good You y â— in times past were strangers and enemies in mind by euill works hath he nowe reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to make you holie vndefiled and faultlesse before him Paul thought it not enough to saie Wee were reconciled vnto God by the death of his sonne but that death he addeth was IN THE BODY OF HIS FLESH to exclude all supposals of the death of the soule since THE BLOVD OF CHRISTS CROSSE did PACIFY thinges in earth and in heauen For so much as the children were partakers of flesh and bloud hee also did therein partake with them that through death hee might destroy him that had power of death euen the deuill The death of the spirit maie bee without fâ—esh and bloud as we see in the Deuils who are dead in spirite But Christ tooke flesh and bloud that by the death of his flesh hee might destroie the deuill that insulted and raigned ouer the weakenesse of mans flesh Wee are buried with Christ by baptisme into his death and if we bee grafted with him into the similitude of his death we shalbe likewise into his resurrection knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sinne might bee destroied that henceforth wee shoulde not serue sinne for hee that is dead is freed from sinne So manie wordes so manie reasons to prooue that Christ died not for vs the death of the soule but onelie of the bodie Wee are buried with him by Baptisme his bodie not his soule was buried Wee are grafted into the similitude of his death not the soule but sinne dieth in vs when we are grafted into Christ for hee quickeneth our spirits Our olde man was crucified with him his soule was not crucified but his flesh that the body of sinne might be destroied by the death of the soule the body of sinne is strengthned and encreased That henceforth we should not serue sinne they must needes serue sinne whose soules are deade with sinne He that is dead is freed from sinne but he that is deade in spirit is subiected to the force furie of sinne The death of Christ then is mentioned no where in the Scriptures but the verie words or circumstances doe cléerely confirme that they speake of the death which he suffered for vs on the crosse IN THE BODY OF HIS FLESH That Christ did or could suffer the death of the soule is a position far from the words but farther from the groundes of the sacred scriptures For in God there is no death and without God there is no life of the soule So that it is neither possible for the soule ioyned with God to die nor for the soule separated from God to liue Then if Christs soule were at anie time deade it lost all coniunction and communion with God and consequentlie the personall vnion of God and man in Christ was for that time dissolued and the grace and presence of Gods spirit were vtterlie taken from him and so during that space there coulde bee in Christ neither obedience humility patieÌ„ce holines nor loue which are the fruits of Gods spirit yea the soule of Christ if it were but for an houre depriued of Gods grace and spirit must néedes for that time be subiected to all
I haue fullie shewed before the worthinesse of the person is the surest ground of our saluation and chiefest weight of our redemption and therefore his death is of infinite force and his bloude of infinite price euen as his person is For since all mens actions are and ought to bee esteemed according to the giftes which they haue and place which they holde from GOD whie shoulde not the death and bloud of Christ bee valued in Gods iustice according to the height and worth of his person and if in all thinges wee receaue honour not due to our fleshe wherein wee partake with Beastes but fitte for the soule wherein wee communicate with Angels howe seemeth it strange in our eyes that the dooinges and sufferinges of Christ Iesus which hath the natures of God and man in a surer and nearer coniunction then wee haue our soules and bodies shoulde not bee reckned and accepted in GODS iustice as the ACTIONS and PASSIONS of HIS OVVNE SONNE and haue their value from the diuiner and worthier parte of Christ As the death of Christes flesh ONELIE doth more expresse the TRVETH POVVER AND IVSTICE of God then if the death of the soule had beene ioyned with it so the same setteth forth Christes merites namelie his OBEDIENCE PATIENCE and LOVE in farre better sorte then if wee adde vnto it the death of the spirite which is the rewarde of all the reprobate and damned For what a man vnwillinglie suffereth that sheweth neyther obedience nor patience Obedience hath readinesse and patience if it bee perfect hath gladnesse both haus willingnesse If then wee bee forced against our willes to endure that which wee woulde gladlie auoide it is violence it is neither obedience nor patience and consequentlie it hath neither merits nor thankes with GOD. The death then of the soule which is a separation from the fauour and grace of God did Christ suffer it willinglie or vnwillinglie if willinglie there coulde bee no greater neglect of GOD then to bee willing to bee separated from God It were disobedience and insolence in the highest degree to be glad and forwarde to forsake God or to bee forsaken of him Christ therefore must not bee willing to suffer the death of the soule least wee wrap him within the compasse of contemning and reiecting the grace and fauour of GOD which are sinnefull enormities Was hee vnwilling to suffer it then coulde hee bee neither obedient nor patient in suffering it All vertue is voluntarie compulsion hath no merite God loueth a cheerefull giuer and sufferer Hee that murmureth in heart rebelleth though hee holde still his tongue So likewise I must aske if Christ suffered the death of the soule did hee suffer it iustlie or vniustlie if vniustlie God could not be the sole and immediate agent in imposing it and besides God no creature canne bereaue the soule of life Did hee suffer it iustlie then must hee be voide of all vertue for nothing but sinne deserueth the death of the soule Obedience and patience merite thankes with God and cannot wante the blessing of God where the death of the soule is the greatest curse that God inflicteth heere on earth And where they thinke it woulde greatelie increase the loue of Christ towardes vs if hee vouchsafed to taste the death of the soule for our sakes I replie that supposition woulde make Christ a sinner if not a lyar which God forbid shoulde once enter our thoughtes For â—irst Christ saieth Greater loue then this hath no man that one should laie downe his life for his friendes But God commendeth his loue towards vs that whiles we were yet sinners Christ died for vs. If it be loue for a man to loose his soule for his friend then is there found a greater loue then Christ euer knew for he saith there is no greater loue theÌ„ for a maÌ„ to laie downe his life And the Apostle applying it to Christ saith The height of Gods loue was this that Christ died for sinners that is for his enemies not for his friendes sinne beeing enmitie to God and sinners enemies to the holinesse of his will and glory of his kingdome This loue of Christ by which he died for vs we reiect as little worth vnlesse hee endured the losse of Gods fauour for vs which I take to bee sinne and not loue For loue is due first and aboue all to God then to men this order of loue if we breake it is no charitie it is iniquitie What doe all wicked ones but preferre the loue of themselues or of others before the loue of God to loue men so well that wee waxe willing to forsake the fauour and fellowship of God is transgression against God and not compassion towards men and therefore wee maie not bring the sonne of God within the listes of this loue no not for an houre by reason the loue of God afore all others may not faile in the hart of Christ not for a moment bee it neuer so short For our loue then he tooke flesh when he was God which was infinite humilitie and gaue his life for his enemies which was exceeding charitie and in the course thereof referred himself wholie to the wil and pleasure of God which was exact obedience willinglie but wrongfullie suffering whatsoeuer the malice of Satan and rage of the wicked contriued against him the wise and gracious counsell of God so turning the mischiefe of the diuell and his members to the generall good of mankind that Christes innocent and righteous bloud being furiously and vniustly shed by the hands of his enemies became the true sacrifice for sinne and the full price of mans redemption Farther then this if we will force the sonne of God with our fancies as namelie to the death or curse of the soule wee doe not onelie diminish the strength of his loue towardes God but we debase the price of his bloud and make it rather detestable then acceptable in Gods sight For nothing can please God but that which is RIGHTEOVS INNOCENT HOLIE VNDEPILED And in a dead or cursed soule what place leaue we for these giftes and graces of the holie Ghost Since then our high Priest must be holie harmelesse vndefiled and separate from sinners before his sacrifice coulde bee accepted the soule of Christ must necessarilie bee replenished with all goodnesse and embraced with all fauour before the death of his bodie could be an offering of a sweete sauour vnto God and so the power of Christes death is no whitte encreased but altogither weakened if wee conioyne it with the death of the soule The death of the soule then doth not encrease the obedience patience and loue of Christ towardes vs but doth rather decrease and endanger all the vertues of our Sauiour For if Christ suffered the death of the soule which is Gods immediate action since God will offer his owne sonne neither violence nor wrong wee must confesse that Christ deserued the death
doubt least he should be forsaken or want the fauor and help of god in those afflictions which he willingly suffered for our safetie For vs to distrust or doubt Gods promise coÌ„firmed by his word perswaded to our spirits by his spirit is diffideÌ„ce and incredulitie What hainous and horrible sinne then were it for the soule of Christ after so cleare perspicuitie so full certaintie so fiâ—â—e stabilitie of Gods COVNSEL and PROMISE OATH PERFORMANCE that in him all nations of the earth should be blessed to haue so much as a feare doubt or thought that God would faile him or forsake him Let me fatherlie aduise and brotherly intreate you all in the bowels of Christ Iesus that you take good héed how you venter on any such doctrine Ioine rather with S. Peter and stedfastlie beléeue that Dauid spake concerning Christ when he said I saw the Lord alwayes before me for he is at my right hande that I should not be mooued If ALVVAIES then was there no intermission If BEFORE HIS FACE then was there no obscuration If A HIS RIGHT HAND then God was neuer absent If hee COVLD NOT BE MOOVED then could he not be forsaken But Christ himselfe sayth he was forsaken hee doth not say he was forsaken either in soule or else of Gods fauour and grace as some in our dayes woulde faine make him speake but he saith My God my God why hast thou forsaken me And his words stand true if any kind of dereliction be confessed Quasi quaedam ibi derelictio fuit vbi nulla fuit in tanta necessitate virtutis exhibitio nulla maiestatis ostensio There was on the crosse a kind of forsaking in as much as there was in so great necessitie no declaring of his power no shewing of his maiestie Diuers other kindes of forsaking may bee verie well allowed and beleeued in the sufferings of our Sauiour but that he should be destitute of FAITH HOPE LOVE or IOY or forsaken of Gods FAVOVR GRACE or SPIRIT that is so dangerous to the office and pernicious to the person of Christ that it may in no wise bee admitted Whatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne Then howe much we decrease faith in Christ so much wee increase sinne in Christ. VVAVERING STICKING DOVBTING are all rebatements of faith and degrées of diffidence and greater sinnes in Christ then in any other man because of his infallible REVELATION FROM GOD vnspeakeable FRVITION OF GOD and inseparable COMMVNION VVITH GOD. Modicae fidei quare dubitasti O thou of LITTLE saith why diddest thou DOVBT saith Christ to Peter Then doubting is the diminishing of faith Abraham saieth the Apostle did not DVBT of the promise of God THROVGH VNBELIEFE but was strengthned in faith and gaue the glorie vnto God being fullie assured that hee which had promised was able to performe it Then doubting by the expresse â—â—le of the holie ghost is VNBELIEFE and a DISHONOR VNTO GOD as if he were not able to make good his promise So that wee must in spite of our heartes either CLEERE CHRIST FROM DOVBTING or CHARGE HIM VVITH VNBELIEVING and DISHONOVRING GOD. If any man lacke wisedome saith Iames let him aske of God and it shall be giuen him but let him aske in faith and not doubt or dispute with himselfe for he that doubteth is like a waue of the Sea tost with the winde neither let that man thinke he shall receaue anything of the Lorde Doubtfulnesse differeth from incrodulitie in this that the incredulous as yet beleeueth not the doubtfull wauereth betwixt faith and infidelitie as a waue of the sea doth that is tost with the winde enclining sometimes one way sometimes another way But this man for his inconstancie shall obtaine nothing at Gods handes whose truth when we but DOVBT wee DENIE and whose promise when wee DISPVTE wee DISBELEEVE The soule of Christ then maie not bee touched VVITH ANIE DOVBT much lesse distrust of Gods fauour and loue towards him and to imagine or affirme so much of Christes person is to drawe him within the compasse of inconstancie infidelitie and Apostasie from GOD which I assure my selfe no Christian Diuine will attempt or endure If the humane soule of Christ must bee so setled and resolued in faith that it might not doubt of Gods fauour much lesse might it be perplexed or amazed with the feare terror or sense of Gods displeasure against himselfe as our surety For to that ende did it please the sonne of God to take our nature into the vnitie of his person that it shoulde vtterlie bee impossible for sinne death or hell to separate vs from him or him from God Whereof because hee was infalliblie assured hee must néedes be throughlie perswaded and in that perfect perswasion knowledge and assurance of Gods euerlasting purpose fauour and loue towardes him that he should be the Sauiour of the world if doubting bee not tolerable howe inexcuseable is feare and terror as if hee were forsaken of God which could not bee except God would breake his promise and othe giuen to Abraham and Dauid and falsifie his truth expressed with his own voice from heauen yea and reuerse his eternall counsell and decree forspoken by the mouthes of so many Prophets coÌ„firmed with so manie miracles and executed and accomplished so euidentlie in the birth of our Sauiour The soule of Christ must therefore bee farre from fearing or doubting least God woulde change his minde recall his worde frustrate his promise and violate his oath for these are blasphemies against God in the higest degrée wee must rather receaue Saint Peters assertion out of Dauid that Christ did ALVVAIES see God on HIS RIGHT HANDE that hee shoulde NOT BEE MOOVED And therefore his heart was gladde and his tongue ioyfull yea wee must not onelie leaue him faith but so perpetuall constant and strong that nothing might shake it or abate it For if wee giue vnto men faith that shal withstand and conquere al temptations much more must we allow the Sauior of the world faith as farre aboue ours in validitie stability and certainty as the rest of his virtues and graces exceede the measure of our gifts As therefore in wisdome and holines power and prudence counsell and strength righteousnesse and faithfulnesse no creature might excéed the humane soule of Christ so in patience and assurance hope and loue courage and confidence no earthlie wight might come néere him For hee had the fulnesse of Gods spirite as much as the creature was capable of we haue but a portion according to the measure of the gifte of Christ. Since then God did not giue him the spirit by measure it is an euident absurditie if not impietie to diminish his faith with doubting his loue with feare his hope with horrour of reiection alienation or separation from GOD but as constant faith STAGGERETH NOT perfect loue FEARETH NOT assured hope TREMBLETH NOT so the faith hope and loue of Christ
the redemption of mankind is altogither vncertain and vnsufficient if our head being God and man could doe no more but by long struggling wind himselfe out of Satans clawes We must confesse an other kind of conquest before the kingdome of Christ can ouerrule all as it must and his Church bee secure from the gates of hell to wit that ALL POVVER in heauen and earth was giuen vnto him that EVERIE KNEE in heauen and earth and hell bowed vnto him that he had and hath THE KEIES of death and OF HELL and could RVLE his enemies with a rodde of yron and breake them like a potters vessell that by his death hee DESTROIED him that was the ruler of death euen the diuell This conquest Christ purchased by his passion but he did not execute it till his resurrection otherwise he could not haue died if death on the crosse had beene throughlie conquered But hee was humbled and exinanited on the crosse euen vnto death that he might after in his resurrection bee exalted and replenished with all honour power and principalitie in heauen earth and hell Howbeit of the time VVHEN hee triumphed wee shall afterwarde speake we nowe obserue VVHAT hee did in his triumph ouer hell and Satan and by the Scriptures wee finde that Christ ENTERED Satans house TIED him and SPOILED his goodes or as the Apostle expresseth it hee SPOILED POVVERS PRINCIPALITIES MADE AN OPEN SHEVV of them and TRIVMPHED OVER THEM IN HIS OVVNE PERSON And least I be thought to pretend an ancient and vniforme reading of Paules wordes in this place without iust proofe let vs see what ancient fathers haue followed the same The Siriacke translation of the newe Testament which is of no small antiquitie readeth IN SEMETIPSO IN HIS OVVNE PERSON as I doe So do Origen in Epistola ad Romanos lib. 5. cap. 5. Epiphanius in Anchorato contra Pneumatomacheos haeres 74. Chrysostome homili 6. in 2. ca. ad Colos and Theodorete likewise in 2. cap. ad Colos. Of the Latine Fathers in whome it maie better bee distinguished the booke de Trinitate vnder Tertullians name Augustine contra Faustum lib. 16. cap. 29. Epistola 59. a Hilarius de Trinitate lib. 1. lib. 9. Fulgentius ad Thrasimundum lib. 3. Hieronymus in cap. 2. ad Colos. Ambrose vpon the same place Ruffinus in Symbolum Apostolicum and so throughout the Latine Church without anie dissenting Onelie the Greeke collections vnder Oâ—cumenius name referre that triumph which saint Paul here speaketh of to the Crosse saying that Christ shamed and confounded the diuell on the crosse in that he was openlie crucified in the eies of all the people And although I condemne not the sense as false that Christ wrestled with Satan on the crosse and euen there ouermaistred his power yet that Christ had no further or greater triumph ouer hell and Satan then by dying on the crosse in the sight of men doth vtterlie abolish the glorie of his resurrection and contradicteth the whole course of the scriptures By his suffering and dying on the crosse hee deserued and purchased the exaltation and triumph which he had afterwards when he rose from the dead and euen before he died he was fullie assured that neither his soule should be left in hell nor his flesh see corruption but that God would raise him again and giue him all power in heauen and earth and make all knees in heauen earth and hell to bow vnto him and place him at his right hand in the brightnesse of eternall glorie It may therefore be confessed beléeued that Christ ouerthrew Satan on the crosse and so triumphed in spirit against him or had a spirituall triumph ouer him as Dauid foretolde when he said in the person of Christ Mine heart was glad and my tongue ioyfull yea my flesh shall rest in hope but that the glorie of his resurrection did not farre excell the shame of his passion and that his rising from the deade was no more victorious and triumphant then his yeelding himselfe vnto death is directlie repugnant to the truth of the scriptures Though he were CRVCIFIED THROVGH INFIRMITIE yet liueth he saith Paul through THE POVVER of God So that to die euen in Christ was infirmitie though voluntarie to liue againe as hee liueth in the height of celestiall glorie was a cleare demonstration of the power of God in him He was declared to be the son of God in power by the resurrection from the dead Insomuch that if Christ had died and not risen againe his conquest had not beene woorth the speaking of If Christ bee not raised your faith is in vaine saith Paule and ye are yet in your sinnes Christes death then without his resurrection had béene a full conquest of Satan ouer Christ and all his members That which Paule sayeth is true as well in Christ as in vs It is sowen in dishonour it is raised in glorie it is sowen in VVEAKENESSE it is raised in power Since then in the death and crosse of Christ the holie ghost noteth reproach shame and weakenesse wee do foulie erre if wee ascribe no greater nor other triumph to Christ ouer death and hell then his crosse and passion These things Christ was to suffer and so to enter into his glorie but we must make as great difference betwixt his dying and his rising againe as wee woulde betwixt his weakenesse and his power his conflict and his conquest his depression and his exaltation his suffering in reproch and his raigning in glorie For the better euidence whereof you shall see the holie scriptures at large expresse the verie same parts and the verie same time which I obserued vnto you Christ humbled himselfe and became obedient vnto the death euen the death of the crosse WHEREFORE God also highly EXALTED him and gaue him a name aboue euery name that at the name of Iesus euery KNEE SHOVLD BOVV of things IN HEAVEN IN EARTH AND BENEATH THE EARTH Under the earth are no reasonable creatures to kneele to Christs person and scepter but the damned spirits and soules in hell except we take holde of Purgatorie or Limbus patrum the elect in heauen doe willinglie serue him such as liue on earth doe endure his iustice or loue his mercie the spirits beneath doe finde his truth and feele his hand the most aduerse acknowledge his name and feare his force This exaltation of Christ to raigne ouer heauen earth and hell came after his death as being the rewarde and effect of his obedience vnto death So saith the Apostle He humbled himselfe and became obedient to the death euen the death of the Crosse. WHEREFORE or for which cause God highlie exalted him that in the name of Iesus all knees in heauen earth and hell should bowe Then on the crosse or afore his death the time was not yet come that Christ should be thus exalted but there rather was the time
from the life of God of which death the Diuell is sayde to haue the power and execution Therefore in the former place death signifieth so to euen the death of the soule that is the torments and sorrowes due to the damned and consequently Christ suffered the death of the soule And because this reason will seeme altogether vnreasonable and harsh in the eares of some to saie the least of it let them soberlie consider it and it is most true and euident Or if this will not perswade men to beleeue that Christ died the death of the soule men liuing being surprised with grieuous sorrowes and paines will saie as Terence witnesseth occidi perij interij they die they perish So likewise the death of the soule sometimes maie bee vnderstoode and that most sitlie for the paines and sufferinges of Gods wrath which alwayes accompanie them that are separated from the grace and loue of God And if Terence bee not authoritie sufficient Saint Peter against whome lieth no exception saith that Christ in his suffering for vs was done to death in the flesh but made aliue by the spirite And in the Scripture whensoeuer the fleshe and the spirite are opposed togither the flesh is alwayes Christes whole humanitie I saie not his bodie onelie but his soule also From hence nowe it followeth that Christes soule also died and was crucified according to the death and crucifying which soules are subiect vnto and capable of I haue Christian Reader neither peruerted the reasons nor pared the authorities on which this Confuter groundeth his conclusion that Christ died the death of the soule and that Christs soule was also crucified as well as his bodie I haue onelie sette them togither that thou maiest with one view behold both the deepnes and soundnesse of this vpstart writer and in thy secrete and vpright iudgement is it not patience enough to heare and endure a two legged creature to talke in this sort without all learning religion or discretion controlling all the fathers as fooles for thinking otherwise then hee doth commaunding the Scriptures pretor-like to serue his ignorant and lewd assertions and estéeming none to be sober or considerate except they confesse his shamefull absurdities to bee most true and euident But I haue not learned nor vsed to giue reuiling spéeches the Lorde reprooue his follie Though it bee not worth the answering yet for their sakes that bee simple I will not refuse to speake to it and to let them see what difference there is betwixt truth and errour Your maine reason Sir Refuter is this in these wordes of the Apostle Christ through death abolished the diuell that had power of death This worde DEATH say you hath the same meaning in both places the proofe you make for it is this verie fond it were to take it here otherwise Your assumption is but death in the latter place questionlesse signifieth the death of the soule Therefore Christ died the death of the soule It were as easie for mee to saie it is not so as for you to saie it is so but that course which you holde is but prating of euerie thing it is no proouing of anie thing Howe manie kinds of death there are wee shall better learne by the graue father Saint Austen then by the young louers in Terence Dicitur mors prima dicitur secunda Primae mortis duae sunt partes vna qua peccatrix anima per culpam discessit a creatore suo altera qua indicante Deo exclusa est per poenam à corpore suo Mors autem secunda ipsa est corporis animae punitio sempiterna There is a first death and a second Death Of the first death there be two parts one when the sinfull soule by offending departed from her Creator the other whereby the soule for her punishment was excluded from her bodie by Gods iustice The second death is the euerlasting torment of bodie and soule The same partes and kindes of death are often repeated by him in his 13. booke de ciuitate Dei as namelie Mors animae fit cum eam deserit Deus sicut corporis cum id deserit anima Ergo vtriusque rei id est totius hominis mors est cum anima à Deo deserta deserit corpus Ita enim nec ipsa vixit ex deo nec corpus ex ipsa Huiusmodi autem totius hominis mortem illa sequitur quam secundam mortem diuinorum eloquiorum appellat authoritas Nam illa poena vltima sempiterna recte mors animae dicitur The death of the soule is when God forsaketh her as the death of the bodie is when the soule forsaketh the bodie So y e death of both that is of the whole man is when the soule forsaken of God forsaketh her bodie For so neither she liueth by God nor the bodie by her This death of the whole man that other death followeth which the diuine scriptures call the second death for that last and euerlasting punishment is rightlie called the death of the soule Here are thrée kinds of death sinne which separateth vs from God bodilie death which separateth the soule from the body and eternall damnation which tormenteth body and soule for euer In the Apostles words to the Hebrues that Christ through death abolished y e diuell that had power of death you wil by no meanes haue the death of the bodie intended that is a benefite and gaine to the godlie Then of sinne and eternall damnation the diuell must be said to haue power and indeede so he hath For hee is the perswader and leader to sinne and the executioner and tormentor in damnation And so by your diuinitie Christ must sinne and be euerlastinglie condemned to hell fire before he can abolish the Diuell that hath power of both these For he must abolish him by the same kind of death whereof hee hath power Looke Sir Refuter what an wholsome exposition of the Apostles words you haue made vs which the diuell himselfe durst not aduenture it is so blasphemous God forbid you will say this should be anie part of your meaning But if such bee your ignorant rashnesse that you will so expound scriptures as these consequents shall necessarie followe you must leaue writing and fall to learning an other while till you be able to foresée what may iustly be inferred vpon your positions Deaths of the soule there are none mentioned in anie Scripture or father but sinne and eternall damnation Leaue the patheticall hyperbolicall metaphoricall phrases of Terence to boies in the Grammer schoole speake at least like a diuine though you bee none If your cause bee so holie a truth as you talke of it hath both foundation and approbation in the Scriptures You shall not neede to runne to heathen Poets to prooue that the Sauiour of the worlde died the death of the soule What the death of the soule is what consequentes it hath and what maine