not by touching but by beleeving More plainely in this comparison As a jewel included in a ring enricheth a man or healeth him it is not the ring doth it but the jewell and yet none have the jewell without the ring So Jesus Christ is the onely jewell and antidote aginst the deadly poison of sinne This jewell is included in the ring of faith Now it is apparently Christ the jewell that justifieth enricheth cureth but wee cannot have him without the ring of faith which includeth him So as faith saveth and justifieth us onely as a meanes suppose the hand of the soule to convey Christ to us for justification which no other grace can doe So not faith but Christ applied by faith that saveth and cureth us 3. As no Israelite could bee cured but by his owne sight of the Serpent and no man could bee cured by another mans looking or seeing it So must every just man live by his owne faith Hab. 2. 4. No man can be saved by anothers faith or the faith of the Church but by his owne speciall faith beleeving in particular upon assured grounds the remission of his owne sinnes II. By what marks may I know that I have looked on this brazen serpent for cure Answ. By foure marks 1. If thine eye have beene rightly affected which will appeare in foure particulars First if it be a discerning eye cleared to see in Jesus Christ two things the first his power the second his will to cure That hee is able to helpe being the mighty God and that hee is willing to cure being a compassionate Saviour who himselfe was stung to death that he might have compassion on them that are stung Heb. 2. 18. Secondly if it bee a mournefull eye Hee that had seene the Israelites running about the brazen serpent should have seene many a teare falling and heard many a deepe groane and pitifull complaints of their deadly paine and poison Hast thou come to Jesus Christ with sorow in thy heart with teares in thy eyes with lamentable groanes and complaints of thy misery by sinne this is to looke upon him for cure Zach. 12. 10. the members of the Church shall behold him and mourne as a man for his onely sonne Such lookers on him he looketh upon and easeth Matt. 11. 28. Come unto mee all that are weary and heavy laden and I will ease you Thirdly if it bee a wishing and craving eye for there is affection as well as vision in the eye As the lame man that lay in Solomons porch Act. 3. 5. wistly looked on Peter and Iohn expecting to receive something from them so no doubt did the Israelites on the Serpent And so must thou hold on waiting and expecting sound cure from Christ take no deniall till thou bee fully cured for so did the Canaanitish woman prevaile Fourthly if it be a faithfull stedfast eye a beleeving eye carries cure from Christ. Christ was wont to aske some of his patients that came for cure if they did beleeve he could helpe and in the cure According to thy faith bee it unto thee and after the cure goe thy way thy faith hath made thee whole and much more works hee the cure of soules by meanes of the parties faith and not without it 2. If the sting were gone and the poison of the serpent abated this was an infallible signe that the Israelite was cured Consider if the power and rage of sinne be removed the guilt of it gone by justification if the poyson and staine of it bee abated and daily abolished now art thou in the way of cure But if the poison remaine that sinne lives in thee prevailes and raignes in thee and commands thee as formerly thou hast not yet looked on the serpent for cure Justification and sanctification are inseparable 3. A ceasing of paine and ease and comfort restored which when the Israelite felt it was a signe he was cured So if after sense of paine and griefe of spirit thou hast received sound peace of conscience joy of the holy Ghost and comfort of a good estate in Christ that thou art able upon good grounds to challenge thy righteousnesse in Christ and maintaine thy selfe stedfastly assured and cheared in Gods mercie and the goodnesse of an excusing conscience thou hast now looked upon Christ and Christ upon thee for perfect cure 4. When the sting with the paine was gone the Israelite could goe as strongly and chearefully about his businesse as ever before he had new life new strength new motions by which he might be sure he had looked upon the serpent So if thou canst find so happy a change in thy soule as new life new motions new actions new affections and in a word the whole renewed nature all these are the fruits and effects of thy faith and faithfull beholding of Christ and of his looking upon thee Of this new obedience and renewed strength of a Christian having lately spoken I passe it over more briefly III. Motives to stirre us up to this looking upon our Serpent are 1. Nothing else can cure us but Christ. The Israelits had gold silver Manna from heaven water out of the Rock yea the Arke the Oracle but none of all these can helpe them onely the Serpent must cure them no sight else can cure Thou mayest see gold silver lands friends playes pleasures nay couldst thou see heaven it selfe without Christ there were no helpe or cure in it In respect of this sight the Apostle counted all things losse and dung and desired to see and know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified and lifted on the wood 2. No not Christ himselfe can cure without this looking and faithfull beholding him as the brazen serpent not looked on healed not The want of the eye or sight disabled the Israelites from cure though the serpent were by them so the want of faith disableth God after a sort and Christ himselfe from doing a man any good Mark 6. Christ could doe no great cure in Capernaum because of their unbeliefe Neither can any ordinance of God doe him good that wants faith no more then this serpent ordained by God could doe a blind Israelite good If wee should send a man to the word it must be a word of faith must doe him good that is not onely because it is a begetter of faith but because it must be mingled with faith else it proves unprofitable Heb. 4. 2. If to the Sacraments if hee bring not faith they are not to him the seales of faith but as seales set to blanks If to prayer it must be a prayer of faith that is availeable Iam. 5 15. If to good works and good life it must be a life of faith led by faith for the just must live by his faith If to the Church of God hee must bee of the houshold of faith else he shall be but as Iudas among the Disciples Faith must be every where diffused to walk by faith
bee troden under foot signifying the preciousnesse of the blood of Christ 1. in respect of God 2. of Christ 3. of the Church For 1. God the Father highly prizeth this blood and saves it in a golden vessell that it may be ever before him and that the streames of it may pacifie his displeasure and confirme the Covenant of grace with his Church Whence it is called the blood of the Covenant Heb. 9. 18 2. It was precious in regard of Jesus Christ seeing every drop of it was the blood not of an innocent man onely but of one that was God as well as man Act. 20. 28. God with his owne blood purchased the Church and therefore it was a blood of infinite vertue and infinite merit 3. Every true member of the Church doth most highly esteeme it as the most precious thing in all the world and with great care and reverence receives it into the vessell of precious and saving faith and there keepes it safely as men doe their most precious commodities 2. The blood of the lamb must be sprinkled upon the lintell and side posts of the doores of the Israelites vers 22. 1. In that it must be sprinkled it signified that the blood of Christ must be applied unto us for our righteousnesse stands not in the shedding of Christs blood but in sprinkling and application of Christs blood shed and sprinkled upon our soules and consciences to purge them from dead works 2. It must be sprinkled upon the posts and doores so as the Israelites could neither go out of doores nor in but they must see on all sides the blood of the lamb signifying that they and wee should both at home and abroad going forth and comming in and on all occasions have the passion of Jesus Christ before our eyes in the holy meditation and deep contemplation of it 3. It was not enough for the Jew that the lamb was slaine and the blood shed within the house but it must be sprinkled without doores that every man might see it and signifyed that if Christ blood and the merit of it be shed in the houses of our hearts for justification and righteousnesse the sprinkling of it will appeare and bee seene without in holy life and practise of sanctification 3. This blood of the lamb must not bee sprinkled with the bare hands but with a bunch of hyssope dipt in the blood vers 22 which signified that every one which puts forth his hand is not sprinkled with Christs blood unlesse he have provided this bunch of hyssope Hyssope is faith and faith resembles this herbe in foure things 1. It is a ground herbe low and weake so faith in it selfe and in us is weake fraile feeble and of most despised Neither hath every man that hath hyssope in his garden this bunch of hyssope in his heart 2. Rooting in a rocke for so it used among the Jews whence some thought it to bee Pellitory of the wall Faith roots it selfe upon the rocke Jesus Christ and cannot grow or prosper in any other soile Other hyssope roots in earth this in heaven 3. It is an herbe cleansing and curing Faith onely is an herbe of soveraigne vertue both to purifie the heart Act. 15. 9 and to heale all the wounds of conscience Act. 16. 31. the Gaoler wounded and pricked in heart must beleeve in the Lord Iesus Christ and bee saved Our Lord himselfe was wont to say to distressed persons According to thy faith bee it to thee 4. It was fitter then other herbes for the receiving and sprinkling of liquor so faith although a low and weake plant is onely fit to receive the precious liquor of the blood of Christ. Onely faith draws vertue from Christ as in the poore woman that stood behind Christ Marke 5. 34. And the want of this bunch of hyssope disables Christ from doing thee any good Christ could doe nothing in Capernaum for their unbelief I. Note hence how wee are to prize and magnifie the blood of Christ. For if the shadow of this precious blood must be so preserved so carefully saved in a costly vessell how much more ought the blood it selfe Quest. How may I prize the blood of Christ Answ. 1 Consider with the dignity of the person the infinite value of it That it is able to purchase the whole Church of God Act. 20. 28. which a thousand worlds of wealth could not doe No wealth in heaven or earth besides this can redeeme one soule And therefore the Apostle 1. Pet. 1. 19. sets this precious blood against all corruptible things as gold and silver and things so much set by amongst men 2. Consider the precious things which it procures us both in earth and in heaven 1. Here below it procures us foure things 1. Reconciliation and peace with God Rom. 3. 25. and Ephes. 2. 13. wee which were farre off are made neere by the blood of Christ. 2. A sweet tranquillity of mind and peace of conscience which all worldly treasure cannot purchase because now wee are within the Covenant of God living in his love which is better then life and in this love is no lacke but an abundant supply of all needfull things All which Covenant of grace is made and ratified by this blood therefore called the blood of the Covenant Heb. 9. 3. Victory against all the malignity of our spirituall enemies even the greatest Satan himselfe who is overcome by the blood of the lamb Revel 12. 11. 4. Immunity and safety from all the judgements and dangers threatned against our sinnes else had we died without mercy for despising Moses law Heb. 10. 28. For if there were such force in the blood of the type that by the effusion of it the Israelites lay safe and untouched of the revenging Angel Heb. 11. 28 much more in this blood of Jesus Christ to cover beleevers in his Name from the hand of Gods revenge due to our transgressions 2. This precious blood now in heaven procures us the most needfull and excellent good things above all that wee can imagine Especially two wayes 1. By opening heaven for our prayers for this blood pleads for us now in heaven and speaks better things for us then the blood of Abel Heb. 12. 24. That called for vengeante against the sinner this intreateth for daily grace for daily sinnes and procures daily mercies for daily supplies 2. As to our prayers so this blood openeth heaven to our persons This blood onely rents the vaile asunder and makes a way into the holy of holies and gives entrance into the kingdome of heaven Heb. 10. 19. by the blood of Jesus we are bold to enter into the holy place This blood is the onely key that unlocks heaven for else the Lord dwells in light which no flesh can have accesse to 1 Tim. 6. 16. namely without Christ and the shedding of his blood II. Is the blood of Christ so precious
Ierusalem for sinne and for uncleannesse Here we have Christ himselfe the true water out of the Rock who onely refresheth dry and weary soules and comforteth the fainting heart with the sweet promises flowing from the Gospell And that wee may see the excellency and benefit of this fountaine we will a little compare this Rock with the other and set the truth above the type to draw our eyes and desires after it 1. In that rocke the rocke was one thing the water another here Christ is both the rocke and water both the giver and water given 2. That rock refreshed wicked men and beasts this is bestowed upon and comforteth onely beleevers 3. That rock refreshed bodyes onely this both soules and bodies That preserved naturall life but this torrent preserves the supernaturall life of grace so as a leafe withers not nor falls from a tree of righteousnesse planted by this river of water Psa. 1. 3. 4. That rock might preserve and comfort the living but could not helpe a dead man but this quickneth the dead soule with new and heavenly life 5. The waters of that rock quenched natural thirst but this quencheth all unnaturall One drop of it tasted by Zacheus quenched all his unnaturall thirst after the world and in Paul all the thirst of revenge and furie against the Saints 6. The rock gave water twice this rock gives waters of comfort alwaies The water of that rock followed them a great while but at length were dryed up but the waters of this rock are never dried up The blood of CHRIST is alwaies running and a fresh fountaine never dry 7 The Israelites dranke of that water and were contented for a little while but by and by did thirst againe But he that drinkes of this water shall never thirst againe Ioh. 4. 14. that is miserably as they however he shall desire it still yet his very desire is his happinesse and saciety II. How we are to carry our selves to this rock and fountaine namely as Israel to that rock 1. The Israelites thirst and call for water they see and feele their need and want so we must feele our want of Christ and get a fervent desire after Christ and his graces because onely the thirsty are called Isa. 55. 1. and onely they in want see the worth of the thing wanting Now we may not thinke that every wish after Christ is this thirst for the worst can wish a part in Christ but this thirst and desire must have three conditions 1. It must be fervent and eager as Sampsons Give me water or I die Iud. 15. 18. As the chased Hart panteth after the rivers of water so doth my soule after thee Ps. 42. 1. 2. It must be faithfull We must not thirst with repining and diffidence as the Israelites but with faith and confidence This drawes vertue from Christ According to thy faith be it to thee 3. It must be constant The Israelites thirst still till they obtaine their desire so we must not content our selves with desire or to come where this water is and goe without it but we must never be content with our estate though it be never so well with us for the world till we taste the sweet comfort strength of Christ and his merits To continue thy thirst observe two rules 1. So long as God hath any grace to give or is not weary of giving thou must not be weary of thirsting begging asking 2. So long as thou wantest any grace or any measure of grace received thou must thirst still Ever be desiring one good thing after another and one measure of grace after another till thou beest compleat and then shalt thou never give over this thirst while thou livest here 2. Israel thirsty runs to the rock so in thy thirst run thou to the rock Dost thou thirst for pardon of sinne for grace of sanctification for sence of Gods love for assurance of eternall life come to this Rock for supply Art thou ready to faint in thy soule for want of grace and comfort art thou ready to sinke in sorrows feares faintings wants dangers runne to this fountaine which God hath opened for thee To move thee hereto consider 1. the rock it selfe calls thee which art thirsty which that rock could not doe Ioh. 7. 37. If any man thirst let him come to me and drinke 2. That to runne any whither else is to forsake the fountaine of living waters and dig pits that will hold no water Let Papists runne to the puddle waters of their owne merits or seek other Mediators or Intercessors say thou with the Apostles Lord thou hast the words of eternall life and whither should we goe Let others runne to humane helpes and remedies in their sorrowes to cards dice merry company let them runne to devils and witches and make them their rock Let thy heart say The Lord is my Rock and if the word were not my comfort I were sure to sinke in my trouble 3. Israel comming to the rock did not onely draw from thence but drinke heartily so we must not onely come to the place where Christ is preached but we must beleeve in him and specially apply to our selves the merit of his death For as drinking is a speciall application of water to the thirsty body so by beleeving in Christ we specially apply the waters of grace to the refreshing of the soule To beleeve is to drinke this water Ioh. 7. 38. with Ioh. 4. 14. Nothing could quench Israels thirst being bodily but water and onely faith quencheth our spirituall thirst And therefore as they to Moses we must say to Christ Lord give us faith to quench our spirituall thirst Let these motives provoke us to drinke these waters 1. As Israel was by drinking that water revived and refreshed so onely these waters from Christ quicken us with new life and coole the heat of raging and accusing consciences Every beleever hath true tranquillity of heart and joyes of the holy Ghost within him yea so plentifully doe these waters of consolation rise from the Rock that he that drinkes them is said to have the kingdome of God in him which stands in righteousnesse peace joy c. 2. What madnesse and folly is it to lay about us so eagerly for this puddle water in comparison and catching with all greedinesse at the bitter-sweet comforts of this life which prove poyson to the most and neglect the sweet and pure streames of saving waters of grace flowing from the true Rock JESUS CHRIST Wee reade what strife and contention was among the Jewes for wells of spring water and now no man will lose a dishfull of well water but he will know to whom and shall we onely not care for the water of saving grace which cost Christ so deare before he could open the well of it for us 3. When the woman of Samaria heard Christ say that he that dranke of this water should
and poyson so the devill casts out nothing but virulent words against God and his Saints and spewes out after the Church a flood of poyson to drowne her How hee blasphemed Iob how he is the accuser of the brethren how of the head Christ himselfe the Scripture declares Fiftly as a serpent is cursed above all beasts so is the devill The first cursed creature in the world was this serpent and hath ever since remained the cursed head of all cursed rebells and wicked ones to whose custody and condemnation they shall all be gathered in the last day Mat. 25. 41. goe ye cursed c. 2. Why called fiery serpents Answ. 1. From their colour Through abundance of poison they had a shining and glistring skinne and they seemed as if they had been made of fire A resemblance wee have in our snakes that seeme to shine and sparkle against the Sunne 2. From their effect For with their sting they infused such poison into the bodies of the Israelites as stirred up in them an outragious heat and fire Now these diseases are most painfull and so tormentfull as if a wild-fire were in the bowels feeding upon the bones marrow and members 3. From their end First because they were appointed by God and after a sort inflamed and kindled with desire of revenge of the Lords wrongs and they so fiercely assaulted the Israelites as if a raging and devouring fire had seased upon them which no way they could avoid Secondly that in their punishment they might bee admonished both what a fearefull fire of Gods wrath they had kindled by their sin against themselves as also that they had deserved a more fearefull fire in hell to seize upon their whole man everlastingly 3. Why stinging serpents Answ. To imply unto us First that sinne is the sting of this old serpent even a poisoned sting that hee hath thrust into all mankind But with this difference in that this poison is farre more generall and the wounds infinitely more mischievous then were those of the fiery serpents For 1. They stung a few Israelites but not all but this serpent hath stung all mankind none excepted 2. They stung the bodies onely but these soules and bodies also 3. They stung one part of the body this serpent all parts and whole man 4. They to a temporall death this to an eternall Secondly to imply that sinne is the sting of a fiery serpent 1. Set on fire with wrath and cruelty and desire to poison and destroy us Revel 12. 17. 2. Setting on us with fiery darts For so his temptations are called Ephes. 6. 16. for three reasons 1. From the manner and custome of souldiers in times past which cast poisoned darts the poison of which inflamed the wounded bodies and made the wounds incurable As now many out of desperate malice poison their weapons and bullets to make sure with their enemy So doth Satan by all meanes poison his darts to speed the Christians soule 2. Because as fiery darts they inflame and kindle in the heart all manner of burning lusts and sinnes one of them being but as a sparke or firebrand to kindle another 3. Because they leave for most part a cauterized and seared conscience behind them as if they were burnt with an hot iron which makes the sinner stung senslesse of his wound Whence is another miserable difference betweene the stung Israelite and the stung sinner The former was alwayes felt with griefe and paine but this often not felt and so more desperate Thirdly the effect of this stinging was death in many And so the effect of sinne is death in all The stung Israelite had death in his bosome and no other could be expected so the guilty sinner is stung to death In his nature is every man the sonne of death and can expect nothing but death every moment And as the stung person in the wildernesse had no meanes in himselfe nor from others to avoid either the serpent or death from it till God appointed them the brazen serpent So the poore sinner was destitute of all helpe in himselfe and others till the Lord appointed Jesus Christ the promised seed to breake the serpents head There is given no name else whereby we must be saved Act. 4. 12. First note hence how deceitfull are the pleasures of sinne It is as a sweet poison Iob 20. 12. sweet in the mouth but poison in the bowels What wise man would drink a draught of poison for the sweet taste of it Wicked men hold sinne as a sweet morsell but sower sauce followes it Secondly what little cause we have to love our sinnes for that is to love our owne bane Prov. 8. 35. Hee that sinneth against mee hurteth his owne soule and all that hate mee loue death No sinne but the more pleasing the more poisoning the more delicate the more deadly Sinne never so much disguised never the lesse deadly Thirdly that sinners are but dead men while they live 1. Tim. 5. 6. An Israelite stung was but a dead man So although the reasonable soule in a sinner makes him a man yet the want of the Spirit of grace makes him a dead man Death waits upon sinne as the wages on the worke and hell upon death that comes before repentance Fourthly A foole hee is that makes a mocke of sinne Who would play with a deadly serpent or make a jest of his owne death or drink up the poison of a serpent in merriment or cast darts firebrands about him to burne himselfe and others and say Am I not in sport See Prov. 26. 18. and 10. 23. and 14. 9. Oh that wee could discerne our wounds as sensibly as we are certainly stung It would make us runne to God and get Moses to goe to God for us and pray that these serpents and painfull wounds might be removed If wee saw death as present and as ghastly in our sins as Israel did in their stinging we would hasten our repentance and seeke after meanes of cure Sect. II. The remedy is First prescribed Num. 21. 8. Secondly applied vers 9. Thirdly in the same verse is the effect they recovered and lived So then in the remedy are I. ordination 2. application 3. sanation or cure 1. The appointing hath First the person appointing which was God himselfe who devised it and prescribed it to Moses for God will save onely in his owne meanes So God himselfe so loved the world that hee gave his onely begotten Sonne c. Ioh. 3. 16. This way of remedy and cure could bee no devise of man nor Angel For 1. The Angels stand still admiring and amazed at it 1. Pet. 1. 12. 2. Men without a superiour teacher cannot conceive it 1. Cor. 2. 14. much lesse invent it Secondly the thing appointed a serpent of brasse resembling Christ in the matter and the forme 1. The matter was of brasse not gold for five reasons 1. God ties not himselfe
of God looke confidently upon it be it never so unreasonable 〈…〉 There bee foure things which a man shaâ—â— never attaine till the eye of his faith close up the eye of his reason 1. Hee shall never attaine the true knowledge of divine things Gods wisdome hath no greater enemy then humane wisdome not sanctified No men hardlier nor seldomer converted then worldly wise men as the Scriptures which say not many wise and experience shewes daily What wiser men in the world then the Philosophers and Stoicks of Athens but when Paul came to dispute among them of doctrine of religion he was called ababler Act. 17. 18 what will this babler say and reasoning among them of the resurrection hee was derided and mocked ver 32. Was not Festus a wise man and a prudent governour and yet when Paul preached to him no other things then Moses and the Prophets had foretold of these sufferings death and resurrection Festus tells him too much learning had made him mad Act. 26. 24. Ioh. 9. 6 Christ to cure a blinde man tempered clay and spittle together and applyed it to his eyes and bids him goe to Siloe A remedie likelier to put out a mans eyes then to recover sight There was no reason in the earth of the remedy but onely to try whether the blinde man did constantly beleeve Yet if the blinde man had not wholly resigned himselfe to Christ and shut up his owne reason had not he acknowledged Christ able to do what hee would by what hee would and to bee the same God who at first put all sences into a piece of clay and now by a piece of clay would recover his sence he had never seene but remained blinde still So every naturall man borne as blinde as he in spirituall things till he wholly submit himselfe and subdue his reason to the meanes appointed shall never see any thing to salvation but abide in naturall blindnesse still What hope hath he to be taught by the spirit that must give lawes to the Spirit of God or what a short metwand is naturall reason to measure divine things by 1 Cor. 1. 21 1 Cor. 2. 14 Why else did these Jewes esteeme the doctrine of the Gospell scandall but that reason of flesh would not nor could behold life and glory in such a base life and ignominious death as Christs was nor could hold him the Messiah who was made a curse upon the Crosse as if hee had beene crucified through infirmity and this vaile as to them remaineth at this day unremooved And why was Christ foolishnesse to the Graecian but that reason would not yeeld that life should be fetched out of death or salvation to be sought in curse and malediction 2. Hee that shuts not the eye of reason can never attaine faith There bee sixe things which a man cannot beleeve so long as he sticks to naturall reason First he cannot beleeve the word of God nor depend upon but scorne the ordinances of God in the word preached and Sacraments administred which is the visible word Reason unrenewed cares not for this foolishnesse of preaching 1. Cor 1. 21. And to a carnall man the threatnings of God are like Lots warning to his kinsmen he was as one that mocked or jested A promise to a carnall heart is as tastelesse as the white of an egge The wiser men are the further off they are from beleeving in a crucified God or conceiving that by the foolishnesse of preaching God will save such as beleeve Flesh and blood reveileth nothing Secondly hee cannot beleeve the maine promises of God which cannot bee comprehended but by the eye of faith and not by that till the eye of reason bee shut up God hath promised his presence favour and love with his children how can reason conceive the truth of this promise seeing them in hunger thirst wants hearing them reviled slandered disgraced observing them cast out of companies and societies as refuse and out-sweeping that were their hopes here onely they were of all men most miserable Reason will not bee perswaded that God can send us by hell to heaven yet that is his promise Humane reason will never pray My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee How could Abraham have beleeved the promise of a sonne by Sarah had he looked to naturall reason Thirdly he cannot beleeve the maine Articles of faith that hath not resigned up his reason Example Reason will not beleeve an happy resurrection seeing the body raked up in dust and corruption but denies this Article Reason cannot conceive or beleeve an eternall life because it sees it not given but to dead men It cannot apprehend how the Sonne of God should become the son of man or that this Sonne of man was borne of a virgin without man And so of the rest Fourthly he cannot beleeve the miracles of Scripture for confirmation of Gods truth and our faith Naturall reason cannot beleeve that the Sunne ever stood still as in Giâ—eah much lesse went back ten degrees as in Hezekiahs time 2. King 20. 11. Or that fire should descend which naturally ascendeth and feed upon water contrary to nature as at Elias prayer 1. King 18. 39. Or that fire should raine downe as on Sodome which is proper to water Or that fire should not burne the three children Or that water should stand as a wall as in the Red sea and in the river Jordan whose property is to be fluid Fiftly he cannot beleeve the worke of creation if he will beleeve reason the universall consent of which is That of nothing nothing can bee made and not any thing much lesse all things out of nothing To reason therefore it will be incredible that there should be light before the Sunne or fruits before any raine as in the Creation Heb. 11. 3. By faith wee know not by reason that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that things which are seene were not made of things which doe appeere Sixtly he cannot beleeve the great work of Redemption For naturall reason thinks it unreasonable that the life of the Church can bee fetched out of the death of Christ. That a man can be justified by the imputed righteousnesse of another and yet there dwell so many sinnes in him Reason will not beleeve that one man can recover life by anothers death no more then one man can live by anothers soule or be wise by anothers learning or be cured and brought to health by anothers disease 3. So long as the eye of reason is open a man shall never attaine sound obedience unto God For much of that obedience required at our hands is cleane against corrupt nature As the whole doctrine of repentance of mortification or watchfull and carefull conversation of restraining our selves in unlawfull liberties yea and in lawfull all crosses reason Had Abraham ever sacrificed his sonne had he consulted with reason Had Paul ever joyned to the disciples to