the will and the deed And hereby may yee know that the Lord in mercy is working your saluation when hee worketh in you both a will and a deed to doe all that yee can that yee may be saued sorrowing for sins past euer fearefull for sinnes to come continuall in prayer feruent in thanksgiuing and euery way carefull to keepe your selues in your spirit and so to be at peace vvith GOD and vnder the sence of his loue Their garments or their robes here come to be considered Seeing the garments of Saints is the righteousnesse of Christ according to that Put ye on the Lord Iesus and againe Christ is made vnto vs righteousnes how is it that their garments neede washing Truth it is indeed the righteousnesse of Iesus imputed to vs by which wee are iustified is perfit holy like vnto himselfe without all spot or blemish but our inherent righteousnes which by his Spirit he worketh in vs and whereby we are sanctified in this life is imperfit not without spot but all the defects thereof are destroyed in death by the clensing vertue of the bloud of Iesus and we then shall bee presented blamelesse to the Lord. Our Lord hath fulfilled the righteousnesse of the Law for vs but he shall also fulfill it in vs and this is it which heere is to bee vnderstood by the washing of their garments And made them white in the bloud of c. The Lambe as we haue spoken before is the Lord Iesus who takes away the sinnes of the world his Disciples are also called Lambs Behold I send you forth as Lambs in the middest of Wolues yea all Christians are so called Peter louest thou mee feede my Lambs they are also called the Light of the world but not that true Light which lighteth euery maÌ„ that commeth into the world and so he is called a Lamb in a speciall respect Agnus singulariter solus sine macula non cuius maculae abstersae sunt sed cuius macula nulla fuerit onely without spot not because they are washt away but because he had none to wash away Agnus quem lupi timent qui lâ—…onem occisus occidit a Lambe of whom Wolues are afraid and who being slaine slew the Lyon But of him we haue spoken before As to his bloud the efficacy thereof appeares in this that it is medicinall to them who shed it the same Iewes of whom S. Peter saith that they crucisied Christ by the preaching of his Crosse were conuerted to the faith of Christ three thousand of them at one Sermon Ipsoredempti sanguine quem fuderunt redeemed by the same bloud which theÌ„selues shedde Sic enim Christi sanguis in remissionem peccatorum Iesus est vt ipsum etiam peccatum delâ—…re possit quofusus est For the bloud of Christ was in such sort shed for the remission of sinnes that it is able to put away that same sinne by which it was shed What a wonder is this the Physician comes to cure a frantique patient the frantique slayes the Physician and yet the Phisician of his bloud makes a sufficient medicine to cure the frantique qualis insania eius qui medicum occidit quanta verò bonitas potentia medici qui de sanguine suo insano interfectori suo medicamentum fecit O how great was his madnesse who slewe his mediciner and how great is the goodnes and power of the mediciner who of his owne bloud hath made a healing medicament to him that shed it Yea the very manner of phrase vsed by the Seignior or Elder le ts vs see how the worke of our redemption wrought by the bloud of Iesus is full of miracles for is not this strange that where all other bloud defiles and pollutes that wherevpon it lights this bloud purifies and cleanses them on whom it lighteth Other bloud maketh the whitest linnen vgly vnpleasant and lothsome to behold but this bloud makes a menstruous cloth pleasant white Though your sinnes were as crimson they shal be made white as snow though they were red as scarlet they shall be made white as wooll But to this cleansing of vs there is no need of the naturall or corporall sprinkling of that bloud vpon vs No the sprinkling of that bloud that purifies vs is spirituall Let vs drawe neere with a true heart in assurance of faith sprinkled in our hearts from an euill conscience No word here is as we see of any Papall purgations Indulgences or fire of Purgatorie or holy Water these are the Merchandize and wares of whoorish Babel such trumperie is not knowne in heauenly Ierusalem onely the bloud of Iesus must wash thee All other washing pollutes and defiles thee Though thou wash thee with â—…itre and take thee much Sope yet thine iniquity is marked before me saith the Lord God But the bloud of Iesus cleanseth vs from all sinne With Scripture Fathers are consonant to cry out against this blasphemous purgation of sin by any infernall fire Piorum animâ—… recta in beatas seâ—…es impiorum in gehennam abeunt the soules of godly men goe the high way into heauen the wicked straight vnto hell Anima vbicunque eâ—…olauerit è corpore aut à daemonibus in infernum aut ab Angelis in coelum abripâ—…tur the soule so soone as it fleeth out of the body is either reft and carried to hell by Diuels or to heauen by Angels Sinne they grant is forgiuen here but the punishment of it must be sustained there Against this let them mark what S. Cyprian saies Quando istine excessum fuerit nullus iam poenitentiâ—… locus nullus satisfactionis effectus vita hic aut tenetur aut amittitur from the time we go out of this life there is no more place of repentance nor effect of satisfactioÌ„ by suffering here life is either kept or lost Qualem te inuenit Deus cum vocat talem pariter indicat such as God findes thee when by death he cals on thee such he iudges thee Vnusquisque cum causa sua dormit cum causa sua resurget euery man sleepeth with his cause and with his cause shall he rise againe there is no changing nor bettering of it betweene his death and his resurrection PostquaÌ„ discesserimus non est in nobis situm poenitere neque commissadiluere From time we goe out of this life wee are not able to repent nor to wash away the sinnes which we haue done It were tedious to rehearse all And therfore I returne conclude this point In the bloud of Christ there is a threefold vertue First a purging vertue next a protecting vertue thirdly a pacifying vertue What need haue we theÌ„ of any other thing or to seeke any other merit or bloud beside his Of his purging vertue we haue spoken already His protecting
variance for man hauing become by sin an enemy vnto God had the Angels enemies vnto him a figure whereof wee haue in that Angel who stood with a sword in the entry of Paradise to hold Adam out of it but now man beeing reconciled to God by Iesus Angels are also reconciled with man For it pleased the Father to set at peace through the bloud of his Crosse both the things in earth and the things in heauen so that now they agree in one harmony to praise the Lord. Yea strange it is that they who before were figured by Lyons Bullocks Eagles and men are now brought in singing one song This is to magnifie the effectuall vertue of the Redeemer who hath reconciled God and man Angel and man yea man with man so that most sierce and barbarous natures are now made peaceable meeke and louing one to another by the power of his grace And this is it which was foretold by Esay of the kingdome of the Messia The Wolse shall dwell with the Lambe the Leopard shall lye with the Kidde the Calfe and the Lyon shall feede together Therefore Clemens Alexandrinus speaking of Christ Iesus calls him Nouum quendam Citharaedum What the Grecians spake of their Orpheus that by the sweet harmony of his musike he did mitigate and tame the most wild and furious beasts is onely and in truth done by our Christ Solus ipse feras mansuefacit for wild beasts of all sorts are tamed by him Volucres flying fowles that is wicked men carried aloft vpon the wings of vanitie them he makes solid and establisheth their hearts by grace Serpentes creeping things figuring deceiuers with their subtill wiles them he makes vpright Hee tameth Leones Lupos Lyons rauening wolues cruell and bloudy men he turneth into meeke and mercifull men Such a rauening Wolfe was S. Paul of the Tribe of Beniamin but Christ Iesus of a Persecuter conuerted him to a Preacher Yea lapides et ligna such as worshipped stocks and stones and had no more spiritual life in them then stones haue hath he raised quickned and made them children to Abraham What then shal we say of these men who for small offences by no means can be reconciled to their brethren Surely they are yet strangers from this grace in conceit they flye higher then Angels in stubbornnesse harder then stones in fiercenes of nature more barbarous then beasts are they who by the grace of Iesus are not tamed and made louing to their brethren The second circumstance is their gesture in worshipping noted in these words They fel down before the Lambe for still Saint Iohn speaketh of these things as they appeared to him in the Vision Alwaies by their example they learne vs with humbled hearts and bodies to praise the Lord which as it is a dutie whereunto we are bound for so saith the Apostle Yee are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your body and spirit for they are Gods so it renders to our selues very great cōfort for the time is at hand wherein our bodies must be committed to the graue then the tongue will be silenced the eye closed and no member of the body will be able to doe as now it may So long therefore as we haue the vse of them let vs make them vveapons of righteousnesse for the seruice of our God let the eye mourne for sinne and looke vp for mercy let the hands be lifted vp as an euening sacrifice let the tongue speake to his praise let the knees bow vnto him that made thē Thus if we vse them so long as wee haue them to his honor we may rest assured that he will honor them sith his promise is I will honour them that honour me Euen in the graue shal the Lord watch ouer them to keepe the very dust of them And howsoeuer the body be sowne in dishonour yet shall it be raised in glory it was the temple of the holy Ghost and he will not faile to restore and reedifie it If the Spirit of him that raised vp Iesus from the dead dwell in you hee that raised vp Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortall bodies because that his Spirit dwelleth in you The third circumstance is of the instruments which they vse in his praises It is said Euery one of them had Harps and golden Vials full of odours none of them wants euery one of them haue It contents them not that their companions prayse God beside them euery one of them haue their owne Harpe and praise God for themselues Let vs learne of them how we should behaue our selues in the assembly of Saints Vnder the Law no man might appeare emptie before the Lord it is now a greater sinne vnder the Gospell to come to the House of God and no sacrifice in our heart to offer vnto the Lord. Let vs take heede to our selues the Lord knowes his owne Israelites in whom there is no guile when they sacrifice then hee smelleth a sweet sauour hypocrites he knoweth also that sit in the seate of sacrificers but offer no sacrifice to the Lord they may maske themselues but the Lord cannot be deceiued for hee knowes them as they are and wil deale with them as they deale with him With the vpright thou wilt shew thy selfe vpright and The Lord will doe well to those that be good and true in their hearts But those that turne aside by their crooked waies the Lord will lead with the workers of iniquitie Their Harps note two things first the great ioy they haue in praysing GOD. There is no ioy on earth comparable to that vvhich is found in the praysing of GOD and praying vnto him When our Sauiour prayed then was his countenance changed when Dauid played vpon the Harpe the euill spirit that troubled Saul departed from him and when wee get hearts to pray or praise the Lord doe we not find by experience that then our troubles are mitigated our perturbations pacified then Satan is confounded and we our selues are comforted these are the sweet effects of the soules harping vnto God Againe it noteth the sweet harmonie and concent that is among them They are many and haue seuerall Harpes but all agree in one sound and Song O how good and how comely a thing it is for brethren to dwell together O how great is the glory of Saints when they all speake one thing and all minde one thing This was the happinesse of the Primitiue Church the multitude of beleeuers was of one heart but shortly after were they diuided by an vnnecessarie schisme Some said I am Pauls and some I am Apollos The like preposterous zeale makes a great distemperature and discordant sound in many Professors of our time without any cause The euill is more then we can mend at least let vs mourne for it and pray
fore-heads and for confirmation thereof they cite Augustine What vse the signe of the Crosse had among the Ancients wee are not now to dispute but to say that the signe of the Crosse is this Seale of the liuing God is a childish and ridiculous folly for the Seale of God here spoken of is proper to Gods Elect and so cannot be the signe of the Crosse wherewith many Reprobates may be marked Qui malè operatur si se emendare noluerit quando se signat peccatum illius non minuitur sed augetur He who liueth euill and amendeth not when he signeth himselfe his sinne is not diminished but augmented And againe Nesciunt miseri quod dum se signant de malo opere se non reuocant includunt in se daemones magis quà m excludunt Those miserable men who will not recall themselues from doing of euill and yet will signe themselues with the signe of the Crosse they know not that by so doing they rather include Deuils within them then exclude them So that the signe of the Crosse cannot bee this Seale of God wherewith none but the seruants of GOD are marked Now that we may know what it is let vs consider that a Seale is a note of appropriation whereby a man marketh that which is his own with his owne marke that it may bee discerned from that which is not his Thus Marchants put their marke on their owne Wares in a Ship and Sheepe-heards likewise put their marke on their owne sheepe to distinguish them from others of the Flock which are not theirs It imports also a conforming of the thing sealed vnto the scale wherewith it is sealed as we shall heare Hitherto tends that of Saint Augustine Signare quid est nisi proprium aliquid ponere Ideo rei ponis signum ne res cum aliis confusa à te non possit agnosci What is it to seale a thing but to put something or some note of thine owne vpon it whereby it may be discerned from others The Father is said to haue sealed the Sonne the Sonne againe is said to seale his Saints and Seruants by the holy Spirit The first is cleere for him hath the Father sealed that is Proprium quiddam dedit ne caeteris comparetur hominibus Hee gaue him something of his owne to distinguish him from other men It is true the Lord Iesus is a Man indeed yet such as hath an incomparable note of super-excellence aboue other men For this Seale of the liuing God Christ hath it first Essentially then Ministerially Essentially hee hath it for hee is the Image of the inuisible God and ingrauen character of his Person Hee hath life in himselfe as the Father hath life in himselfe Hee hath it also as Mediator ministerially to communicate it vnto others not in that degree whereby hee possesseth it himselfe that is impossible but in a certaine similitude for hee giueth life to whom hee will as the Father quickneth whom hee will And thus hee sealeth his owne by imprinting in them his owne similitude and image by the holy Spirit What then is the Seale of the liuing God but the Image of the liuing God which the Lord Iesus by his holy Spirit stampes and engraues in the soules of his Saints This the Apostle tels vs plainely It is God who stablisheth vs with you in Christ and hath anointed vs and hath sealed vs and hath giuen the earnest of his Spirit in our hearts And againe After that yee beleeued ye were sealed with the holy spirit of promise And yet againe Grieue not the holy Spirit of God by whom yee are sealed vnto the day of Redemption Of all these it is cleere that as I haue said The Seale of God is the Image of God stamped in the soules of his children by the holy Spirit This was our first glorie that we were created to the Image of our God Satan and our selues did miserably deface it but now by the grace of Iesus in our Redemption it is againe graciously restored They who want this Seale the Lord will not acknowledge them to be his Away from mee yee workers of iniquitie I know you not And if wee our selues would know whether this Seale hath stamped vs or not let vs looke to our owne disposition for euery seale leaues such an imprinted forme in that which it sealeth as it hath in itselfe The Lord is holy hee is light hee is iust mercifull meeke long-suffering if hee hath communicated his Image to vs then will hee make vs some way to resemble our Father we shall become holy light in the Lord righteous toward all men mercifull meeke long-suffering and readie to forgiue for what else is Christianisinus but imitatio diuinae naturae Christianity but an imitation of the Diuine Nature In a word looke the fruits of the Spirit and of the flesh as they are reckoned out and opposed to other by the Apostle If the Lord haue sealed vs with his Seale then shall the fruits of the Spirit be manifest in vs if otherwise the fruits of the flesh be predominant sure it is thou are not sealed by the holy Spirit for such as are sealed by him hee maketh them like vnto himselfe Now this Seale they are said to haue it in their fore-heads because it emboldeneth them to stand to the publike confession of Christ First as I haue shewed hee sealeth them in their hearts and next in their fore-heads No terrour no intreatment can moue them to deny the Lord Iesus Hee that denyes me before men I shall deny him before my Father in heauen I am not ashamed of the Gospell of Iesus said S. Paul Innumerable proofes hereof we haue in Confessors and Martyrs of all times There is a notable example giuen hereof by Sanctus the Martyr in the persecution vnder Commodus when it was demanded of him what his name was Hee answered Christianus sum and to all questions demanded of him of his Countrey and Parents he gaue onely this answer Christianus sum Let vs try our selues whether we haue this seale or not where wee find a beginning thereof let vs carefully conserue it that the lineaments of that image be not defaced by the deepnesse of Satan and deceit of our owne sinfull corruption for the want of this seale will make the Lord deny his owne creature in that Day Depart from me ye workers of iniquity I know you not The siluer which is not strucken with the Kings stampe is counted adulterous and not receiued in his treasure Sic anima que imaginem Christi non habet in coelestes thesauros non ingredietur so the soule which hath not the image of Christ shall not be layd vp in the heauenly treasures And he cryed By his crying with a loud voice nothing else is noted
vertue may be learned froÌ„ the Paschal Lambe which was a type of Christ Iesus When God slew all the first-borne in euery house of Egypt by his destroying Angell such houses as had the posts of their doores sprinkled with bloud were spared The Lord Iesus shal be a couering to his Saints to saue them from that wrath wherein the wicked shall perish His pacifying vertue is touched by the Apostle Being iustified by faith wee haue peace with God And againe The bloud of Christ cryeth for better things then the bloud of Abel But let vs take heed vnto our selues vnlesse we feele his purging vertue who naturally are vnclean the comfort of his protecting and pacifying vertue cannot be ours VERSE 15. Therfore are they in the presence of the Throne of God and serue him day and night in his Temple and he that sits on the Throne will dwell among them THe Sâ—…ignior hauing declared to Saint Iohn what these were whom he saw clothed in white garments with palmes in their hands to wit redeemed Saints not militant but hauing ended their warrefare and gotten the victory not vnder tribulation but come out of tribulation Hee now proceedeth and shortly describes their felicitic and happy estate wherein now they are and that in two points First in the affluence aboundance which they haue of al good next in their freedom and exemption from all euill In this verse three things are set downe concerning them First where are they In the presence of the Throne of God Next what doe they there they serue him day and night Thirdly what get they for that He that sitteth on the Throne will dwell among them By this phrase the vnspeakeable ioy communicated to them by the Lord is figured This can not be vnderstood of any estate of the Church militant here on earth neither of Iewes conuerted nor other Christians deliuered from the tyrannic of Antichrist as some Interpreters will haue it These words are not competent to Saints militant they hunger no more they thirst no more God shall wipe away allteares from their eyes In this valley of teares when shall we when shuld we be without teares Blessed are they who hunger thirst now for righteousnesse they shall be satisfied Now we hunger are blessed there they hunger no more but are fully satisfied The Millenaries of old had an opinion somewhat like this that Saints after Christ his comming for a thousand yeeres should possesse the earth by themselues without all tribulation but neither before his comming nor after is any such quiet estate of the Church here vpon earth warranted by the holy Scripture Therefore This is relatiue to the words immediatly preceding They haue made their robes white in the bloud of the Lambe therefore are they in the presence of God There is no fellowship vvith God but by the Lord Iesus Euery man in this presumptuous age saith that he hath Iesus but Iesus is a Physician of great value If thou haue him he will cleanse thee from the filthy leprosie of thy sinnes Art thou not cleansed then hast thou not Iesus and without him thou canst not be admitted into the comfortable presence of God The last Chapter was concluded with the tragicall and fearfull end of the wicked The day of the Lords wrath is come who can stand said they The wicked shall not stand in iudgement but shall bee banished from the presence of his glory But here wee see how the godlystand before the Throne are in the presence of God As their courses in their life are coÌ„trary to other so shal their ends be God giue vs grace to make choice of the best For we see before vs the way wherein they walked and the order which they obserued who now are in the kingdome of heauen first they are washed in the blood of Christ and then they are in the presence of God if we would come where they are let vs keepe the course wherein they walked Before Ioseph was presented vnto Pharao his head was shauen his nailes were pared his garments changed and must not wee cut away from vs our superfluities before wee be admitted into the presence of God Esther was six moneths purified with oile of myrrhe and other six moneths with sweet odors before she was married with Ahasuerus And shall wee thinke to be where the Lord is without a similitude with him Or what similitude can wee haue with that holy One except that first we be washed and cleansed from our naturall vncleanenes In the presence of God There is a threefold presence of God First a presence of his goodnesse next a presence of his grace and thirdly a presence of his glory whereof here is spoken The presence of his goodnesse he grants vnto all men in the vtter Court of his Palace for he maketh the Sunne to shine and the raine to fall vpon the iust and the vniust Who may not see the goodnesse of the Lord in the manifold good creatures which hee hath created The earth is full of his goodnesse yea the inuisible things of God that is his eternall power and godhead are seene in the creation of the world The light of this presence hath learned natural men many things concerning God by it the Platonies saw Deum omnia ista fecisse à nullâ—… fieri potuisse that God had made all these things and could not be made of any other himselfe yea they ascended farre higher to vnderstand much more coÌ„cerning the nature of God as more at large is set down in that same place by Saint Augustine And yet all this knowledge gotten in the court or schoole of the creature did but make them to be without excuse because that when they knew God they glorified him not as God The presence of his grace hee giueth to his Saints specially in their holy assemblies there by the preaching of his Word and operation of his holy Spirit hee sheweth himselfe a gracious mercifull and reconciled God to them in Christ they seeke him and worship him in Spirit and truth and he speakes peace vnto them and secretly by his holy Spirit witnesses vnto their hearts that hee is their Father that is his little Sanctuarie I meane his Church narrower by much then the vtter great court as I haue called it in that wherein all men see his goodnesse in this hee is familiar with his Saints and they onely see and feele his grace Of this presence speaketh Dauid for in his banishment hee longed for it My soule thirsteth for GOD euen for the liuing God when shall I come and appeare before the presence of God and what presence he meanes of he expounds himselfe That he might goe with the multitude and lead them into the house of God with the voyce of singing and praise for God in a speciall manner appeares in
seuocate their mindes from their bodies the function of the soule being suspended toward the body that she might intend all her powers toward the Lord. So did hee with Ezechiel and Daniel Yea euen in our daily Christian conuersation we find that as the fish Remora when it cleaues to the side of the ship vnder saile retardeth the course thereof so is it with the body when the soule would ascend and mount vp to the Lord the body drawes it backe and holds it downe therefore Caro animae est Remora said Nazianzen flesh is the stay and hinderance of the soule And this may be best seene in the exercise of prayer when the spirituall life is strongest then is the naturall weake If the desires of the soule be feruently intended toward God the eye sees not those obiects the eare heares not those sounds which are neere vnto them But when againe naturall necessity forces the soule to returne to a familiarity with the body then her familiarity with the Lord relents and is interrupted This lets vs see first that heauenly Mysteries transcend the capacity of man till God make vs able to conceiue them aboue any ability that is in nature if S. Iohn had not beene rauished in the spirit after a diuine manner he could not haue vnderstood these diuine things And againe we may perceiue the truth of that No man can see the Lord and liue This should make vs well content in the day of death to lay aside our bodies that we may ascend to the Lord for as S. Luke said of the death of Christ it is true of all Christians The day of our death is the day of our assumption vp into heauen And behold a Throne Before Godspake to the eare of S. Iohn now hee offers a Vision to his eye This is the Lords order and we must obserue it Wouldst thou see the Lord bee content first to heare him Auditus gradus est ad visum hearing is a step to seeing As we haue heard so haue wee seene If first we heare as we should no doubt but next we shall see what we would They who delight not now to heare the Lord shall not be delighted hereafter with the sight of his ioyfull face And this for the order now to the matter We haue here in a Vision represented the glorious Maiestie of the Ruler of the world gouerning all things therein according to his gracious pleasure And first S. Iohn sees a Throne figuring Kingly Power and Authority Next a Throne in heauen expressing the supremacy and height of his Gouernment his Throne is aboue all the Thrones of Kings in the world By him the decrees of men are established hee ratifies or reuokes them at his pleasure and is countable vnto none His Holinesse also hereby is expressed God will not do wickedly neither will hee peruert iudgement hee renders the worke of a man vnto him and causes euery man to finde according to his wayes said Elihu The Iudge of all the world cannot do vnrighteously said Abraham Thirdly aboue the Throne is a Raine-bow like a stately seeling Fourthly about the Throne are twenty and foure Elders figuring the Church of the liuing God a glorious Court wherein there are none but Seniors and Kings farre surmounting in glory all the Courts of the world Fiftly between the Throne and the circle of Seniors in the midst of the Throne and round about the Throne were foure liuing creatures full of eyes all hauing wings shadowing the company of innumerable Angels Salomon his Throne was of Iuory vnderpropped with carued Lyons but nothing comparable to these liuing vnderstanding and speedily flying Cherubims which execute the will of this great and euerliuing King Sixthly before the Throne there is a glassie Sea like Christall representing this sragill and waltring world which as it was made by the Lord so also is it ruled and gouerned by him hee sees all things in it and gouerneth all the incident mutations and changes thereof vnto his owne determinate end This is the summe of the Vision Which as I said is a preparatoire vision for the subsequent visions of prediction wherein because the Lord is to foreshew sore troubles many changes greâ—…uous accidents that were to fal out in the world for the exercise of his poore Church In the entry he drawes vs vp to looke to himselfe as vnto a glorious King sitting on his Throne ruling the world which is before him with great power and wisedom so that nothing falls out in it by chance but according to his prouidence neither is it satans malice nor man his vvit that carries sway in the world to drawe the euent of things which way they wil. No no satan and men in all their purposes plots are ouer-ruled by the Lord and he worketh all things according to the good pleasure of his owne will for his owne glory and comfort of his Church Thus in the beginning haue wee a strong confirmation of our faith and are conueniently prepared to receiue the Prophecie following vvith faith and reuerence assuring our selues that according to it the euent of things will be because it comes and is reuealed from him who rules the world And doubtlesse if our eyes were opened to see that glorious sight of the supreme Maiesty ruling all things at his will as here saint Iohn saw it or at least if we will looke into it with the eyes of faith it would dissipate all these doubtings and feares which come in our minds arising from the greatnesse of Mahomet the power of the Pope and of blinded Princes enemies to the Gospel of Christ banding and confederating themselues against the Lord and his anointed When the seruant of Elisha was afraid at the huge Army of Aramites which compassed Dothan his Master comforted him Feare not said he there are moe with vs then are against vs. And when according to the prayer of Elisha the Lord opened his eyes then hee saw that the Mountaines were full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha stronger to defend him then the Aramites were to pursue him No lesse should wee be comforted against all terror of flesh if our eyes were opened to see this glorious Maiestie that saint Iohn saw for what are all Kings of the earth compared with him When he pleases he cuts off the spirit of Princes and is terrible vnto them Let vs rest in him God is our hope and strength and helpe in trouble ready to be found Wee will not feare though the earth should be mooued and Mountaines fall in the middes of the Sea For the Throne of our God stands stable It is a pittifull blindnes that wormes of the earth should take vp a banner against him whose Throne is in heauen Their Propositions are proud Let vs cast off the yoke of the Lord. And againe Let vs build a
followes a larger description of them who sit on the Seats they are called Elders they are said to be clothed in white Rayment and to haue Crownes of gold vpon their heads See what a glorious Court the Court of Heauen is all the Courtiers there are Seniors Kings and Priests first they are said to be Seniors not for their number of yeeres but for the ripenesse of their iudgement Here we are Infants and the little Babes of Iesus but his grace makes vs to grow till we become Seniors by this grace children now die as if they were an hundred yeeres old and the efficacie of his blessing shall complete vs there none ignorant through yong age none impotent through old age shall be there all shall attaine to the fulnesse of Christs age and be perfect in him Clothed in white rayment Their garments declare them to be Priests also This white Rayment is afterward called Finelynnen and is there expounded to be the Righteousnesse of Saints and this is two-fold one imputed by which Saints are iustified and this is perfect for it is the righteousnesse of Christ giuen vnto Saints by the free gift of God and apprehended of them by faith and in this sense it is not aliena as Papists tauntingly and ignorantly call it but propria sanctorum iustitia it is not the righteousnesse of another but their owne by as good right as any other good they haue may be called their owne namely by the free donation of God The other righteousnesse is inherent in Saints and this in such as are Triumphant is perfect as concerning their soules wherein no spot nor wrinkle remaines but in such as are Militant is imperfect yet growing and encreasing daily to perfection More concerning this white linnen and where from the similitude seemes to be borrowed see chap. 15. ver 6. And on their heads Crownes of gold This betokeneth their Royall or Kingly dignity all the Saints are Kings to their God Such as haue foughten the battell do now enioy the Crowne such whose war-fare is not yet accomplished are sure of the victorie for we runne not as vncertaine but certaine and we know that through him who loued vs we are more then Conquerors VERSE 5. And out of the Throne proceeded lightnings and thundrings and Voices and there were seuen Lampes of fire burning before the Throne which are the seuen Spirits of God HEre is shadowed to vs a two-fold operation of the Maiestie of God sitting on the Throne the one terrible to his enemies the other gracious and comfortable to his Saints his iudgements vpon the aduersaries are exprest by three names Lightnings Thundrings Voices they are compared to Lightnings because they are speedy and incuitable for this same cause also they are compared to Arrowes â—…ee sâ—… out his â—…rrowes and scattered them and hee sent out Lightnings and discoâ—…sited them Next they are compared to Thundrings because they terrifie and afray men The Lord thundred in the heauens and the Highest gaue his voice haiâ—…e-stones and coales of fire Hee proclaimed his Law with Thunder and Israel was afraid yea Moses trembled for feare If the Proclamation be so terrible what will the execution thereof be For this cause Amos speaking of God comming to iudgement vseth these words The Lord shall reare from Sion and vtter his voice from Ierusalem The two sonnes of Zebedeus Iames and Iohn were called Boanerges the sonnes of Thunder for their dreadfull and powerfull deliuery of the fearefull iudgements of God It is a beastly stupidity in man not to humble himselfe when the God of glory thundreth It is recorded of Caligula albeit he despised all Diuinity yet was hee afraid of the Thunder and that hee was wont Ad minima fulgura caput obuoluere ad maiora vero proripere se ex strato sub lectum se condere at the least Thunder to couer his head and at the noise of the greater to hurle out of his resting place and hide himselfe vnder his bed but the wrath figured heere by Thunder is much more to be feared Thirdly they are called Voices namely such voices whereby hee speakes to the wicked in displeasure Then shall hee speake to them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure The other operation is figured by seuen burning Lampes of fire expounded to be the seuen Spirits of God Thus are represented the working of God in communicating by his seuenfold Spirit grace to his Saints to illuminate to quicken and to purge them That grace is compared to fire is plaine in holy Scripture One commeth after mee who shall baptize you with the holy Ghost and with fire At the feast of Pentecost the holy Ghost descended vpon the Apostles in the similitude of firie clouen tongues And this Spirit beeing one is said to bee seuen or seuen-fold to expresse that fulnesse and perfection of grace which is in him to Saints communicat by him And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest vpon him the spirit of wisedome and vnderstanding the spirit of counsel and of might the spirit of knowledge and of the feare of the Lord. There are diuersity of graces but flowing all from one Spirit Againe they are expressed by seuen to note the continuall influence and communication of grace by the Spirit vnto Saints VERSE 6. And before the Throne there was a Sea of glasse like vnto Christall and in the midds of the Throne and round about the Throne wâ—…re foure beasts full of eyes before and behind HItherto we haue heard a description of those creatures ouer whom and in whom GOD ruleth as King of Saints Now followes a description of another sort of creatures ouer whom hee rules for this Glassie sea figureth not Angels as saith Arethas nor yet Baptisme as Victorine Beda and Haymo say nor yet the holy Scripture as thinks Ioachimus Which two last opinions are followed by many late Writers but it figures this World all creatures therein who like a round Christall Globe are before the Throne That waters in this Prophecie figure people see in that place The waters which thou sawest are people Nations multitudes and tongues Sometime the Lord figureth the world by the Moone which is subiect to continuall changes The woman representing the Church is clothed with the Sunne but hath the Moone vnder her feete to shadow vnto vs how all true-hearted Christians are contemners of the world they trample vpon it contenting themselues with Iesus Christ and resting in him as in their glory Sometime also the world is figured by the Sea as here and in the fourteenth chapter the sea is alway tumbling and waltring it stands neuer stable in one estate the waues thereof which now are highest are incontinent lowest ouercome as it were with the force and furie of others thus they dash one against another
mundi veniet in me nihil invenâ—…et de sâ—…o dici poterat qui non nouerat peccatum Onely Iesus could say Behold the Prince of this vvorld commeth and findeth nothing in mee It could bee said of none but of him vvho knevv no sinne Againe Licet Christi conceptio sit munda absque carnalis delectationis peccato Virgo tamen ipsa vnde assumptus est in iniquitatibus concâ—…pta est quia ipsa in Adamo peccauit in quo omnes peccauerunt Albeit the conception of Christ was cleane and without all sinne of carnall delectation yet the Virgin of whom he came was herselfe conceiued in sinne begotten and borne a sinfull woman of sinfull Parents And who can bring a cleane thing out of silthinesse there is not one to wit among men This is the onely prerogatiue of Iesus that he was conceiued of the holy Ghost VERSE 6. Then I beheld and loe in the midst of the Throne and of the foure liuing creatures and in the midst of the Elders stood a Lambe as if hee had beene killed which had seuen hornes and seuen eyes which are the seuen Spirits of God sent into all the world AS before S. Iohn heard of Christ by the eare so now he sees him by the eye Information of the Church by the Word is necessary to goe before but then get we sure comfort when God openeth our heart and our eyes to see to feele those things which we haue heard but in this age there are many Christians by outward information who as yet haue not beene taught of God by by inward inspiration these heare the Testimony of God but it is not confirmed in them Now the place where S. Iohn sees the Lord Iesus is the midst of the throne O what a comfort is heere for vs that our Sauiour and elder brother clothed with our nature sitteth now in the midst of the throne Hee hath sent his Spirit downe into the earth and carried our flesh vp into heauen and thereby hath possessed vs in our heauenly inheritance And againe since wee haue him there an Aduocate an Agent for vs what should we feare or what neede is there to seeke any other to intreate for vs A Lambe Vnder the Law was our Sauiour figured oftentimes by a Lambe and the Paschall Lambe and the Lambe offered in the daily sacrifice morning and euening these were types of Christ Iesus and according thereunto is He heere represented to S. Iohn and by this type first his meekenesse in patient suffering is expressed vnto vs for as a Lambe he was dumbe before the shearer And next the great profit and vtility redounding to vs by him is declared vnto vs for all the good that is in him is imparted and communicate vnto vs Lacte eius pascimur vellere tegimur sanguine purgamur By his milke we are nourished by his bloud wee are purged by the fleece of his wooll we are couered wee put him on as the garment of our righteousnesse Sith Iason and his Argonautâ—…e endured such trauailes for obtaining that golden fleece at Colchis so did fabulous writers call it what shame is it for vs to refuse greater paines that wee may be made partakers of this golden and indeede most precious fleece of the Lambe in whom we may haue all good things whereof we stand in need As if hee had beene slaine This speech renders no patrocinie to those phantastick men who thinke Christ was not slaine but some other for him for in the ninth verse following the chiefe reason why Saints acknowledge praise to be due to the Lambe is Because thou wast killed We are therefore to obserue that these articles do not alway import a similitude but the very certainety and truth of the thing it selfe as when Saint Iohn saith We saw his glory as the glory of the onely begotten Sonne of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The meaning is we saw him shining in such glory as is competent to the onely begotten Sonne of God And againe when the Apostle saith Wee are changed into the same image from glory to glory as by the Spirit of the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is according to the powerfull operation of the Spirit of the Lord. And so here when he saith I saw 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Lambe as if hee had beene killed the meaning is I saw a Lambe who indeed and verily was killed And this manner of speech imports these things first that albeit our Lord was slaine and that Satan and his Instruments thought that by death they had vtterly vndone him yet was it far otherwise for by his resurrection on the third day Hee was declared mightily to bee the Sonne of God and not vnder the power of death and therefore in this Vision hee is represented rather like vnto one that was slaine then vtterly slaine indeed Next as our Sauiour after his resurrection appeared to S. Thomas with the scarres of his wounds in his blessed Body so may wee religiously thinke he appeareth in this Vision to S. Iohn yea euen in the last Day hee shall shew his Body which was pierced to the great terrour of his enemies and comfort of his owne Neither is this to bee thought any dishonour to Christ or impotency that hee appeares in the similitude of a wounded man but rather the high praise of his loue in that for his Church her sake hee was content to be wounded to the death And no lesse great commendation of his power who ouercame his enemies by that same death by which they thought to ouercome him Serpens mortuus viâ—…os Serpentes superabat Christus mortuus Serpentem in corde viuentem superauit That Serpent which had no life ouercame those liuing Serpents which stung the Israelites and Christ by dying ouercame that Serpent the deuill who liued in our heart Magna quidem infirmitas mori sed planè sic mori virtus immensa est It is indeed a great infirmity to die but so to die as by dying to destroy death is an exceeding great power Which had seuen Hornes Hornes in holy Scripture oftentimes signifie power fortitude and Empyring they are taken both in good and in cuill part for to the wicked are ascribed Hornes whereby they push the Saints and here seuen Hornes are ascribed to Christ figuring the perfection of his strength and power and absolute authority whereby he protects his Saints Sometime there is attributed to him onely one Horne for so the Kingdome of the Messia and his exaltation to it is compared by Dauid to the lifting vp of the Horne of the Vnicorne Thou shalt exalt my Horne like the Vnicornes and I shall be anointed with fresh oile Naturalists write of the Vnicornes Horne that of all other it is the most firme and solid secondly the most pleasant and thirdly the most profitable as being
a soueraigne preseruatiue against all poyson The Beasts of the field as they record attend till the Vnicorne dip his horne in the water then come they and drink Properly therefore is the Kingdome of Christ expressed by the Vnicornes Horne of all other the most firme and durable the most beautifull the most profitable Hee hath changed the bitter waters of Marah and made them sweete neither is there any thing so deadly which his Horne healeth not and makes it to serue for the saluation of his owne And seuen eyes As in his seuen Hornes his complete power is signified so in his seuen Eyes his complete Wisedome These two do greatly commend the royall authority of our King Hee is wise and will do nothing that he should not for hee sees all and knowes perfectly the quality of euery creature the estate of euery cause Againe he is strong and able to do whatsoeuer he will His Eyes are of two sorts Eyes of Prouidence and Eyes of Grace by his eyes of Prouidence hee lookes vnto all things and there is no place nor people in the world to whom these Eyes are not extended but by the Eyes of his Grace hee lookes to his owne as hee did to Ierusalem restored and sends them this blessing Grace Grace be vnto it And heerein hath the Lord magnified his mercy toward vs aboue many other more mighty Kingdomes in the world that where by the Eyes of his Prouidence hee lookes vnto the rest he hath cast the Eyes of his Mercy and Grace vpon vs The Lord hath not dealt so with euery Nation Yet more plainely In the Text these seuen Eyes are expounded to be the seuen Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth Seuen is the number of perfection noting that fulnesse of grace which is in the Lambe for hee receiued not the Spirit by measure and what hee hath receiued hee retaines not to himselfe but as here is said hee sends it out that of his fulnesse we might all receiue grace for grace And hereof commeth the continuance and conseruation of the Church vpon earth because it is continually furnished with grace frō the Lamb hee hath the seuen Starres in his hand and holds them out to such parts of the world as pleaseth him he furnishes graces of his Spirit to his seruants the Preachers according to the times wherein they liue yea and to euery one of his Saints in particular This same Lord who once according to his promise sent downe the holy Spirit in a visible manner vpon his Apostles in the similitude of fierie clouen Tongues doth daily send him from the Throne of Grace in an inuisible manner And this was properly figured in a Vision to Zacharie wherein hee saw a golden Candlestick with seuen Lampes euery Lampe hauing a seuerall pipe through the which Oyle for intertainement of the light in euery Lampe is conueied from the two Oliues which stand before the Ruler of the world Let therefore Satan and his instruments rage as they list let them labour what they can to put out the light of the Candlestick yea let them presume that it is possible for them to roote out the very name of Israel from vnder heauen yet it cannot be for the stability and continuance of the holy Ministerie in the Church with light and grace in it stands in this that it is furnished from heauen the Eyes of the Lamb looke on his Saints and he sends downe his Spirit vpon them and from the Ruler of the world the oyle of Grace is by secret pipes and conduits conueied to his Candlesticke on earth And who is able to interrupt the course thereof VERSE 7. And he came and tooke the Booke out of the right hand of him that sitteth vpon the Trone HEre in effect no other thing is represented then that which was openly proclaimed from heauen first at Iordan next vpon Mount Tab◅ This is my beloued Sonne in whom I am well pleased heare him For by this Type the Lord Iesus is declared to bee the onely Doctor of his Church who receiues the Booke from the Father and out of it reueales to his Church the counsell of God which neither Angell nor man was able to doe As Moses went vp to the Mount and receiued the Tables of the Law and gaue them to Israel so our Mediator who came from the bosome of the Father hath brought downe to vs the knowledge of his Will Let vs not presume to go vp to the Mountaine to enquire any thing which our Moses hath not taught vs left wee die let vs remember our place and stand low wee are disciples bound by diuine Proclamation to heare him whom the Father hath sent vnto vs if we would be saued VERSE 8. And when hee had taken the Booke the foure liuing creatures and the foure and twenty Elders fell downe before the Lambe hauing euery one harps golden vials full of odours which are the prayers of the Saints NOw followes the third part of this Chapter containing a three-fold thanksgiuing for the benefit of this Reuelation The first song is sung by Angels and redeemed Saints coniunctly in the eight ninth and tenth verses The second is sung by Angels seuerally in the eleuenth and twelfth verses The third by all creatures in their kind in the thirteenth verse whereunto Angels againe and redeemed Saints say Amen in the last verse Cotterius confesseth that this place did trouble him greatly and no maruell for the foure beastes he expounds to be Veritas Euangelit quadri◅ormis the fourefold verity of the Gospell No maruell therefore as I haue said that both he and others who expound the foure and twentie Elders to be foure and twenty bookes find themselues straited with this place wherin the Spirit of God plainly expoundeth himselfe that the foure and twenty Elders are they whom God hath redeemed by his bloud out of euery kindred tongue people and Nation But leauing them this comes heere first to bee obserued that as before they fell downe and worshipped the Ruler of the World that sits vpon the Throne so now they fall downe and worship the Lambe Saint Paul vseth this as an argument to proue the diuinitie of Christ Iesus taken out of the 97. Psalme Consider how great is hee of whom it is said Let all the Angels of heauen worship him Let Heretiques therefore be silent sith the vvhole Congregation of Angels and Saints redeemed worship him as GOD. In this thanksgiuing these foure circumstances are to be considered First who are the Musicians that sing Next with what gesture Thirdly what are their musicall instruments And lastly vvhat is their song The Musicians are foure liuing creatures representing the principall order of Angels neerest vnto the Throne and foure and twenty Elders representing the whole Church and companie of Saints redeemed By nature Angels and men were at
are yet stand wee debt-bound to him in so much more as hee that died for vs is more then we are What then shall we talke of any worthinesse but his And hath redeemed vs. There is the effect of Christs death to wit our Redemption We were vnder a most fearefull seruitude and bondage of Satan and sinne we sold our selues to them most foolishly now hath our Lord bought vs againe and redeemed vs Not with any corruptible thing as gold or siluer but by the precious bloud of the Lambe of God vnspotted The greatnesse of the price giuen for vs may tell vs how great his loue was toward vs who hath redeemed vs as also how desperate our danger was from which wee could not bee any other way deliuered Other Kings make conquest by sheading the bloud of their people but Iesus Christ hath conquered for vs by the sheading of his own bloud A most rare and maruellous thing and such as hath not beene heard of before The Physician drinkes the bitter potion and the Patient is cured But of this and many notable maruels to bee marked in the worke of our Redemption wee haue spoken in that Treatise on the eighth to the Romanes and elsewhere Vnto God We are loosed from the bondage of Satan that wee should be bound seruants to our God So Zacharie in his Song God hath shewed mercy toward vs that wee being deliuered out of the hands of our enemies should serue him without feare Let Libertines marke it who turne the grace of God into wantonnesse liuing a loose and dissolute life in as much as they are not bound vnto God they manifestly declare that they are not as yet loosed from the Diuell Si Christianus es vt nominaris sicut particeps es nominis eris etiam particeps vnctionis If thou beest a Christian as thou art named one as thou art partaker of the name so wilt thou also be of the vnction If thou be a Christian then Put on the Lord Iesus and study to be like vnto him For Christianisâ—…nus imitatio est Diuinae Naturae True Christianity is an imitation of the Diuine Nature Out of euery kindred There is the amplitude of this Redemption it is not limited within any Kingdome not within Canaan Now of a truth I perceiue that God is no accepter of persons Yet vniuersality is here excluded They say not Hee hath redeemed euery Nation and Tribe but some out of euery Nation and Tribe The secret Decree of God his ElectioÌ„ is executed by his Calling wherby out of the whole lumpe and masse of lost mankinde hee separateth culleth and chuseth out to himselfe so many as in his secret counsell hee hath chosen to saluation But to eschew repetition the Reader who pleaseth may looke concerning this purpose that which is written of the golden Chaine on the eighth to the Romanes verse thirty VERSE 10. And hath made vs vnto our God Kings and Priests and we shall raigne vpon earth THE benefites we haue by our Redemption are two-fold for not onely are we deliuered from that euill and miserable estate wherein wee were but are also aduanced to an high and glorious estate whereof here is mention made hee hath saued vs from wrath we iustly deserued and hath aduanced vs to grace and glory which we could neuer deserue Pharaoh his Baker would haue thought it great fauour if the King had but spared his life but the Butler was not onely deliuered from death but aduanced to the seruice of his King Not vnlike is our case God make vs thankfull for it And hath made vs. What we are in goodnesse the Lord hath made vs Wee made not our selues wee helped nothing to our first creation farre lesse to our second It is folly to dreame of a power in Nature by which man of his owne free-will is able to do good and make himselfe congruous for the receiuing of grace Noli te extollere supra Deum Confitere illi qui fecit te Extoll not thy selfe aboue God but giue glory to him that made thee Nam si ille nos fecit homines nos autem ipsi nos fecimus saluos aliquid maius illo fecimus For if hee made vs men and we haue made our selues righteous men then haue wee done somewhat more then hee Nâ—…mo recreat nisi qui creat nemo reficit nisi qui fecit None can create ouer againe but hee who created vs first none can renew vs but he who made vs. Deus est qui operatur in nobis velle perficere It is God who worketh in vs the will and the deed that thou mightst haue a will inclined to good his Calling went before thee to worke it and his Mercy did preuent thee To thinke otherwise is as Augustine said Superbus error A proud errour Firmiter rene nâ—…llam tibi facultatem inesse posse voluntatis aâ—…t operis nisi id gratuitò munere diuinae miserationis accipias Hold this for certaine that there can be in thee no power either to will or worke any thing that good is vnlesse thou receiue it freely of the mercy of God I conclude all with the testimony of that famous Councell Si quis per naturae vigorem bonum aliquod quod ad salutem pertinet vitae aeternae cogitare aut eligere se posse confirmat absque illuminatione inspiratione Sp. Sancti haereticâ—… fallitur spiritu If any man affirme that by the strength of Nature he is able to thinke or chuse any good pertaining to eternall saluation without the illumination and inspiration of the holy Spirit he is deceiued with an hereticall spirit Ab eo quod formauit Deus mutauit Adam sed in peius per iniquitatem suam Adam changed himselfe from that which God made him but he changed himselfe to the worse by his iniquity Ab â—…o quod operatur iniquitas mutatur fidelis sed in melâ—…s per gratiam Dei from that which iniquity worketh the Christian is changed but to the better by the grace of God Illa mutatio fuit praeuaricatoris primi haec secundum Psalmistam mutatio dexterae Excelsi The first change from good to euill was made by the first Transgressor the second change as the Psalmist saith from euill to good is made by the right hand of the most High And so in this Hymne redeemed Saints confesse it Thou hast made vs. Kings and Priests There is the dignity whereunto we are called inclosed in two the most honorable Offices that euer were in the world to wit the Kingdome and Priest-hood S. Peter ioynes them both in one when he cals vs A Royall Priesthood As Kings we should fight the battels of the Lord against Satan and Sinne. And here fortitude especially is required with spirituall wisedome Non enim viribus sed prudentiâ—… Diuina vincitur serpens So long as we are wise in God
the Lambe be turned to them in the terrible face of a Lyon and as I said mercy despised shall torment them more then iudgement inflicted The other thing that perturbes the wicked is within them a sensible infirmity in themselues through the guiltie conscience that makes them vnable to stand before the Lord Who can stand The wicked are as the chaffe which the winde driueth away they shall not stand in iudgement Let vs beware of both these see wee despise not mercy offered let vs carefully purge our conscience Who shall ascend into the Mountaine of the Lord Who shall stand in his holy place He that hath innocent hands and a pure heart So shall that Day of the Lord fearefull to the wicked be vnto vs a ioyfull day of Redemption and of sweet Refreshment The Lord grant we may so finde it CHAP. VII VERSE 1. And after that I saw foure Angels stand on the foure corners of the earth holding the foure windes of the earth that the winds should not blow on Earth nor Sea nor any Tree THIS Chapter is a pendicle of the precedent and appertaines to the first Prophecie of this Booke which we called Generall In it per Anabasin we haue a larger explication of the fifth and sixth Seales with a notable consolation for the godly presently subioyned after the Prediction of that most fearefull desperate and comfortlesse end of the wicked which shortly will come vpon them For there we heard all manner of reprobate men sorrowfully lamenting and crying that Mountaines might couer them Here we are all told that the godly shall not be inuolued with them in their desperate estate the Lord by his owne Seale separates them from the wicked and foreshewes that happy estate wherein they shall liue for euer and euer The Chapter hath two parts the first enlarges that which hath beene briefly set downe in the fift and sixt Seale for in the fift Seale Saints cry for a dissolution of the world and for finall iudgement to auenge their bloud on them who dwell on earth there they are desired to rest vntill their fellow-seruants were fulfilled In the sixt Seale that dissolution of the world and iudgement on the wicked craued by Saints and promised by the Lord is represented to S. Iohn Both these in the first part of this seuenth Chapter are more cleerely expounded For first S. Iohn sees foure Angels standing at the foure corners of the earth ready to ouerturne the world and to fold it vp like an old Vesture as was figured in the sixt Seale and this we haue ver 1. Next these Angels are inhibited and forbidden to destroy the world vntill the seruants of God be first sealed and secured as was promised in the fift Seale and this we haue ver 2. 3. together with the number of them that are sealed till we come to the thirteenth verse From that to the end is described the happie condition of Saints set downe in plaine termes and directly opposite to that wofull condition of Reprobates mentioned in the sixt Seale so this from ver 15. to the end makes vp the second part of this Chapter The first part letting vs see how the world is conserued till Saints be fulfilled and sealed the other part shewing vs their ioyfull and happy estate Wherein it is very comfortable to obserue the opposition which is made betweene the miserable estate of the wicked in the end of the sixt chapter and happy estate of Saints in the end of this seuenth They had shed the bloud of the seruants of God and therefore the Moone with a bloudie face lookes vpon them and all creatures concurre to bee auenged of them Heere the Saints come safe through all these tribulations and make their Robes white in the bloud of the Lambe There the Sunne waxed black and withdrew his light from the wicked heere Saints haue no need of the light of the Sunne for the Lamb gouernes them ver 16. 17. And the glory of God and the Lamb is their light Againe there the wicked flie from the presence of God and may not abide it but here Saints are in the presence of the Throne of God ver 15. There the wicked cry that Mountaines might hide them from him that sits on the Throne but here hee that sitteth on the Throne dwelleth among his Saints and they serue him for euer ver 15. These things thus compared together may let the iudicious Reader see how this Chapter is a proper pendicle of the sixt explaining at length some things shortly and obscurely set downe in the former So that in these two Chapters we haue the first Prophecie of this Booke which I call generall absolued and in the beginning of the eighth Chapter we are to looke for a second Prophecie which continues to the twelfth And I saw foure Angels This Verse as I haue said lets vs see how the Angels standing at the foure corners of the earth are ready to ouerturne the world and to fold it vp like an old Vesture if the Lord did not stay them That they are said to be foure is a certaine number for an vncertaine yet imports it that they are sufficient for one at euery corner of a sheet or vesture as the Psalmist termeth this Vniuerse are able enough to fold it vp What these Angels are whether good or euill is disputed among the Diuines but without a cause for sometime by good Angels the Lord punisheth euill men as was done to the Egyptians Sodomites and Assyrians sometime by euill Angels hee exerciseth good men so S. Paul was buffeted with an Angell of Satan for maruellous is the Lord in working with his Saints Satan in his fighting against them fights for them and destroies himselfe into them But that these are good Angels appeares by the speech which Christ vseth vnto them ver 2. Hurt not the earth till wee haue sealed the seruants of our God in their fore-head hee speakes to Angels hee speakes of Saints redeemed and inuolueth them both in the fellowship of one God with himselfe Beside this the execution of that last Iudgement is commonly ascribed to the holy Angels The Lord shall descend from heauen with a showt and with the Voice of the Arch-Angell and with the Trumpet of God And againe When the Sonne of man shall come in his glory the holy Angels shall also come with him then shall the sheepe bee separated from the Goates That this shall be done by Angels is euident in the Parable of the Haruest The Haruest is the end of the world the Reapers are the Angels And to this same purpose Angels here are brought in as executors of the last Iudgement to ouer-turne the world Holding the foure windes of the earth I leaue here those allegoricall interpretations whereby this is expounded to be the restraint of the Gospell which is the breathing of the holy Spirit for
the loue humility and meekenesse of Christ that thereby we may know we are his such as bite one another and deuoure one another are as yet but carnall and strangers from the fellowship of Iesus And hee shall leade them to the Fountaine c. Waters signifie refreshing ioyes which Saints shall haue there in great aboundance Hee that drinketh of the water that I shall giue him shall neuer thirst any more but the water that I shall giue him shall bee in him a Well of water springing vp into eternall life The springing and flowing of the water noteth the aboundance of it according to that I am come that they might haue life and haue it in aboundance therefore is their exceeding great ioy called Riuers of pleasure and againe A pure Riuer of the water of life proceeding from the Throne of God runneth through the streetes of heauenly Ierusalem But here mention is made of the Fountaine from which these waters flow to shew that our ioy there shall not come mediately from the creature as we haue said but immediately from God the Author and Fountaine of all our felicity Shall leade them Euen in this life the Lord leads vs. All the sonnes of God are led by the Spirit of God they all cry to be gouerned by him Send thy Light and thy Truth let them lead mee and now we feele that he leades vs monendo monendo as we haue shewed on the eighth to the Romanes But how hee shall gouerne vs and leade vs there how we shall follow the Lambe where-euer hee goeth we shall best know when we come there it is a ioyfull thing now to be led by him we shall find it more ioyfull then Si sic bonus es quaerentibus te qualis eris assequentibus sith he is so good to theÌ„ who seeke him as we haue all cause to confess how good wil he be to theÌ„ who find him And God shall wipe away all teares c. This manner of speech imports a most comfortable change of their estate from miserie and all cause of mourning to ioy and all fulnesse of felicitie and this the Spirit of God expresseth by a most significant phrase when hee saith Mortality shall be swallowed vp of immortalitie that is it shall be deuoured and vtterly abolished as if it had neuer beene no foote-step of mortality or misery shall be seen there no voice of mourning heard there Some of the Ancients by proper similitudes do illustrate this Sicut stilla aquae modico infusa vino deficere à se tota videtur dum saporem vini induit colorem as a drop of water infused into wine lookes no more like that which it was but takes on it both the taste and colour of the wine Et sicut ferrum ignitum candens igni simillimum fit pristina propriaque forma exutum And as yron put in a hot burning fire becommeth most like vnto the fire and loseth the old and proper forme thereof Et sicut solis luce perfusâ—…s aer in eandem transformatur luminis claritatem adeâ—… vt non tam illuminatus quam lumen ipsum esse videatur And as the Aire when the light of the Sunne is diffunded through it is trans-formed into the brightnesse of his light so that it seemeth to bee not so much enlightned as a light it selfe At midnight the aire is a darke body in the day it is lightsome and lookes as if it were light it selfe so shall the Saints of God glorified in heauen be changed from that which they are now and transformed into the similitude of that glory whereunto they shall be aduanced then Alway mourning heere is meetest for Saints for how shall the Lord wipe away teares from their eyes who neuer shed them and how shall hee gather these teares into his bottell which thou neuer powredst out The world counts it a womanly affection to mourne but our Sauiour hath said Blessed are they who mourne now for they shall be comforted Dauid was a very valiant man hee slew the Lyon and ouercame Goliah the Philistim and yet Hee watered his bedde vvith teares in the night and in the day mingled his cuppe with teares Simon the Pharise at one time made a banquet to the Lord of the best delicates hee had and Marie gaue him a Desart of teares from her penitent heart Our Lord was better pleased with Marie her teares then with Simon his delicates Though wee were not compassed with many miseries and ouerladen with a heauy burden of sinnes in both which we haue great matter and cause of mourning yet our very absence from that great felicity which in this life wee cannot enioy should mooue vs to mourne Non satis futura gandia concupiscis si â—…a quotidie non postulas cum lachrymis minus tibi not a sunt si non renuit consolari anima tua donâ—…c veniant Thou desirest not as thou shouldst these ioyes to come if thou doe not craue them euery day with teares thou knowst them not if thy soule refuse not all other comfort till thou enioy them to replenish thee fruitlesse and vaine yea quickly vanishing are the greatest pleasures of this life Hardnes of heart and senselesse securitie is the Mother-sinne of this age The children of Cain by the light of nature learned how to worke in brasse and Iron and men by their wit and ingene can make the hardest metals receiue impression but cannot in like maner molliâ—…ie their hard hearts to receiue the stampe of holy Impression from the Lord. At the third stroke the Rocke rendred water vnto Moses but alas for many strokes will not our hearts render teares of contrition to the Lord. It requires a continuall care to worke vpon the heart to labour it make it soft that it may yeeld to the seale of God and receiue the portraiture of his image If wee in a good conscience vse the meanes diligently the Lord will not let vs want a blessing but wil graciously performe vnto his children that promise made in the new Couenant I shall take the stony heart away from them and giue them a heart of flesh To conclude all sith we heare so great and glorious things spoken of that Citie of our God that new and heauenly Ierusalem both here and in the twenty one and twenty Chapters of this prophesic is it not a lamentable folly to forget Sion and to sit down and sing by the riuers of Babel wherein we are but captiues Shall we neglect that life for the loue of any thing which we can enioy here It is a pretty meditation of S. Basil If thou had st sayes he two children where of the yonger by certaine knowledge were not able to liue the elder again were most liuely wouldst thou be so foolish as to spend all thy eare thy substance vpon the
the seuenth head of the first beast and yet the second beast also 51. His opposite is Christ. ibid. Q QVestion for Papists 168. R RAinebow 86 Redemption is maruellous and what benefits wee haue by it 170. 171. It 〈◊〉 vâ—… debtors to Christ in more then wee are worth 169. It is not vniuersall 171. wonderfull many waies 321 Religion bastard is alway cruell 204. wants not its owne Martyrs 241 Recusants rebuked 292 Righteousnesse imputed and inherent 319. 320 Romane Doctors cannot vnderstand the Reuelation and why 80. How they are to be handled in handling this booke 11. They are rauening Wolues 214 Roman state opposite to Christ vnder Emperours is the first beast vnder Popes the second 50. 51 S SAluation the glory thereof is the Lords 300 Sanctus the Martyr 280 Saints sealed in their harts and foreheads 280. 283. Particularly they are known to God 284. their stability in glory fauor with God 299. Felicity of Saints glorified 224. 328 329. They need no creature 339. Saints are both seruants and sonnes to God 333. How they shall know others in heauen 237. 238. Saints some neerer the Throne then others 93. Militant Saints how they are said to haue crowns 93. 94 Saints triumphant not yet perfected 161. 162. How they pray 158. How said to reigne vpon earth 177. 178. Al Saints are fellow-seruants 249. Their number ibid. Sanctification 326 Sacrifices of a Christian are three 175 Sardine stone 83 Satan a restlesse enemy 50. His predictions 72. None should consult with him ibid. Hee is a sore enemy to our Peace 213. He is a Lyon but chayned 216 Satan thirsts for bloud and bloud is his destruction 214 215 Seale what it is in generall 274. Seale of God what it is ibid. How Christ is sealed of the Father 278. He hath the seale of God two wayes ibid. How wee may know if God hath sealed vs. 279. 280. Such as want his Seale are not his 281. Seale internall Christ keepes it his seruants haue the externall 276 Seales seuen contain a generall prognostication of things to come 39. The first seale too narrowly limited by some 29. 31. It continues to the worlds end 30. None of al the seales but the sixt is bound to a particular time 40. Sixt seale how to be accoÌ„modated 40. 41. 251. 252. Summe of the seales 190. Fist sixt seales explaned in the seuenth chapter 43. Seales limited to seuen yeares 221 Seuenth chapter a pendicle of the sixt 43. 268 Seruice of God commended 329. 330 Seruants of Satan and sin how 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The profit of all seruice we doe to God redounds to our seluâ—… 335. Not to God ibid. Yet hee craues it that he may doe vs good for it 336 Scripture hath three sorts of bookes 1. Obscurity thereof 128. Why Papists call it obscure 129. Perfection of it 132 Sight three-fold 161. Naturall sight is no comfort without the spirituall 63. Sight which S. Iohn saw was internall imaginary and intellectuall 61. Sight of God what it doth 79. Who shall get it 178. Sight that Saints haue â—…ur of the body 237 â—…igne of the Crosse. 277 Similitudes of holy Scripture are from most excellent things in Nature 300 â—…inne an vncleanenesse 317 Song of Saints why called a new Song 165 Soules immortality 238 Spirit how S. Iohn was in the Spirit 75 Spanish Army handled not vnlike the Syrians of old 213 Starres falling like figges what they signifie 258 Sunne darkened 249. The heat thereof hurtfull to mâ—…ny 340 T THankesgiuing 160. 310 Throne of God 77. Court about it and before it 78 Threatnings most generall admit exceptions 292 Three things men would haue from God and hee will not giue them 235. Because men will not receiue one thing which God offereth to men Ibid. Tribulation in this life 315. It is Nebuchadnezzars fire Gods Flayle and Wine-presse 314. As it hath an in-gate so an out-gate 305. It is measured by God 307 Trinity in the God-head 84. 113 Types should be rightly accommodated 77. 78 V VAriety with vnity makes the sweeter Harmony 305 Victory cannot be without fighting 302. Figured by the Palme-tree 294 Victory is sure to Saints yer euer they fight 209. 210 Vision preparatory in the fourth and fifth chapter 57. Properly preparing for the Visions of Prediction 59. 79 Voice of God calleth men vpward Satans on the contrary 70. Voice of Gods mercy sounded to apostate man neuer to apostate Angell 71 Now it is a Trumpet and a Thunder 194. 68. The Voice which S. Iohn heard how it was vttored 67. Loud and liâ—…ely 69. Miserable are they who heare it not 67 Vials and Trumpets how they differ 46. 47 W WAlking here is by faith not by sight 1â—…4 Washing three-fold whereof we stand in need 317. How is it that Saints need washing sith Christ is their garment 319. And how Saints are said to wash themselues 318 White Rayment 95. 247. 299. 300 Wicked men why some of them are plagued now and some spared 233. They want the Creator now and shortly shall also want the creature 256. 257. In their trouble they runne to the creature 256 Words last of our Lord should be best remembred 4 Worke with God should we in the worke of our saluation 319 World figured by a glassic Sea and the Moone 98. 99. Best pleasures thereof like waters of the salt Sea 101. It shal fall yer it be ripâ—… â—…58 How all creatures in it shall bee changed in the lost Day 259 Worldlings called Inhabitants of the earth and why â—…46 Worship due to God onely 308 Wrath of God is a fire 227 FINIS 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hebr. 1. 3. Luk. 1. 78. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ioseph Antiquit lib. 3. c. 12. Sigon de repub Heb. lib. 5. Psalm 127. 3. Psalm 116. 12. Psalm 16. 2. Sam. 9. 1. 2. Vers. 11. 13. The bookes of holy Scripture are of three rankes rendring a threefold fruit 1 Of Conuersion Psal. 19. 7. Rom. 15. 4. 2 Of Consolation Psal. 34. 19. 3 Of Confirmation Ioh. 16. 4. This booke of the Reuelation is Prophetical And it serues especially to confirme vs in the faith This book the Father giues to the Son the Son to an Angel and the Angel to Saint Iohn that hee might giue it to the Church Reuel 1. 1. The generall matter of this Prophecie Reu. 3. 10. The time wheÌ„ this book was written commends it greatly to vs. The last words of our Lord should be best remembred Luke 16. 31. An answer to Atheists who will haue one from the dead to teach them About threescore yeeres after his ascension our Lord sent this Reuelation Ephe. 4. 8. 〈◊〉 lib. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bucholâ—…er chronol To keepe his Church from fainting vnder trouble till he come himself By two scandals would satan scarre vs froÌ„ this book 1 By denying authority of it Reu. 1. 3. Iustin. Marâ—…n Dialog 〈◊〉 tryph cont Iudcos Iren. lib. 5. cont Valen. Ambros. lib. 3. de S. Sancto cap. 21. Aug. de
Hugo Card. in Apoc. Psal. 121. 1. 1. Cor. 6. 2. 1. Cor. 3. 11 12. The desperate folly of reprobates they cry to the creature as if it could hide them from the Lord. They liued not in Gods presence and now they cannot abide it Psal. 139. 7. Psal. 16. 8. Two feares trouble two sorts of men The godly feare their sinnes and therfore feare not death when it comes Rom. 7. 24. Pro. 10. 23. The wicked feare not sin but death but in the end they shall be faine to seek death Psal. 37. 13. The last Day a great Day of wrath why Amos 6. 3. 2. Pet. 3. 3. Iudgement to come scorned by the wicked vainely Two things shall terrifie the wicked in that last Day 1 Without theÌ„ the sight of the Iudge ☜ 2 Within them a guilty conscience Psal. 1. 4 5. Psal. 24. 4. The dependance of the seuenth Chapter vpon the sixt It hath a larger explication of the fift and sixt Seales Two parts of this chapter 1 In the first is declared how the last Iudgement is delayed till Saints be sealed 2 In the second the happy condition of Saints is declared directly contrary to the miserable condition of the wicked in the sixt Seale A short opposition marked of these two for the greater comfort of Saints Reu. 21. 23. This euidently shewes the seuenth Chapter to bee a pendicle of the sixt What the foure Angels at the foure corners of the earth doe signifie Psal. 102. 26. God doth his worke both by good and euill Angels But that these are good Angels may appeare out of the Text. 1. Thess. 4. 16. Math. 25. 32. Math. 13. 39. This verse is not to be expounded allegorically The restraining of the winde is a type of the dissolution of the world No liuing thing can endure without motion of the Aire An inhibition serued on these Angels who are ready to fold vp this world A description of him who serues the inhibition This Angell is Iesus Christ. Mal. 3. 1. A ridiculous thing to expound it of Constantine Heb. 2. 16. Esay 9. 6. Christ is an Angell or Embassadour sent from God to wormes of the earth A dangerous thing to despise him Mat. 21. 36 37 38. Christ is said to come from the East Mal. 2. 4. Luke 1. 78. To shew that hee is the bright Sunne of Righteousness Esay 9. 2. Math. 4. 16. What a great mercy of God is it that this Sun arising from the Orient shineth vnto vs. Rom. 13. 12. Ioh. 3. 19. The Lord Iesus keeps the priuie Seale of the great King his Father The Ministerie of externall Seales he concredits to his seruants 1. Cor. 3. 6. Math. 3. 11. The Rhemists make this Seale to be the signe of the Crosse. Aug. in Ioan. tract 43. Which cannot bee for many Reprobates may be signed with the signe of the Crosse. Aug. de temp ser. 215. Ibid. Whereas this Seale of God belongs to the Elect onely What a Seale is how it serues to discerne one thing from another And to conforme the thing sealed to the Seale Aug. in Ioan. c. 6. tract 25. How Christ is sealed of the Father Ioh. 6. August ibid. Hee hath the Seale of God two waies 1 Essentially Col. 1. 15. Heb. 1. 3. Ioh. 5. 26. 2 Ministerially Ioh. 5. 21. What the Seale of God is 2. Cor. 1. 21 22. Ephes. 1. 13. Ephes. 4. 30. The Image of God was our first and will bee our last glorie Math. 7. 23. How we may know if God haue sealed vs. Gregor Nyssen de professione Christianâ—… Gal. 5. 19 20. This Seale Saints haue it first in their hearts next in their foreheads Math. 10. Rom. 1. A memorable example of the Martyr Sanctus God will not acknowledge those for his who want this seale Luke 13. 27. Macar hom 30. Christ his crying notes his feruent loue to his owne Psal. 121. 4. And his absolute authority ouer the creatures Mat. 8. 8 9. The tenor of Christs inhibition Christ Angels and Saints redeemed al are in one fellowship Iohn 20. 17. Our God doeth what hee saith he will doe Cant. 8. 6. How Christ sealeth his Saints in their heart forehead and in their arme Amb. lib. de Isai. anima cap. 8. Ibid. Few such now in this age Mat. 12. 10. Saints of God are particularly knowne to himselfe Mat. 10. 30. The persons sealed are partly Iewes partly Gentiles Rom. 1. 16. The Iewes are numbred first because they were first in the couenant Rom. 11. 25. Gen. 9. 27. Rom. 11. Their number first generally then particularly is set downe Of all rankes of people God hath his owne Many are the Elect but Reprobates many moe 1. Chro. 21. 5 6. How the few number of them who are saued should waken vs. August hoin 48. Ieremy 3. 14. Esay 10. 21. Rom. 9. 27. Mat. 7. 13 14. 2. Peter 1. 10. Why one order in reckoning out the tribes of Israel is not alwayes obserued by the holy Spirit Prerogatiues of flesh and bloud respected in earth not so in heauen Gal. 3. 28. Leui had no inheritance in earthly Canaan but hath here a portion in heauenly Canaan Deut. 33. 10. A comfort for preachers who are hardly entreated here The Tribe of Leui taught the Tribes yet no moe of theÌ„ are sealed then of the rest A warning to Preachers Dan. 12. 2. Comfort for Professors let them not be discouraged because they are not Preachers Heb. 13. Rom. 16. Why the Tribe of Dan is here omitted The dreame of Papists that Antichrist should come of Dan is confuted 1. Sam. 15. 2. When the Iewes shall get another Christ then the Iesuites shall get another Antichrist Amb. de benidict Patriarch cap. 7. Vincent de Nonat hareâ—… ca. 23. Dan omitted for two causes 1 For their Idolatry Iudg. 18. 30. Iudg. 18. 1. 2 For their neglect to possesse themselues in Canaan A dangerous thing to despise any type of God his mercy offered Heb. 11. A warning to Non-recu sants Most generall threatnings haue in them included exceptions Heb. 11. Ephraim why omitted out of this catalogue The endurance of Israels Kingdome with the number of their Kings Hos. 5. It was founded on Idolatry could not stand Abac. 2. 12. 1. Ki. 15. c. 16 The tragicall and tuâ—…ultary state of Israels Kingdome from the beginning of it to the end Their Bloud Royall changed nine or ten times being of all but ninteene Kings Neuer a one of their stockes but two continewes to the third generation 2. Kings 15. 23. 2. Kings 17. Why Ephraims Tribe is more guilty then the rest A warning to Kingdomes houses to beware of Idolatry Followes the sealing of the Gentiles Concerning them three things are set downe 1 Their multitude Gen 22. 17. 〈…〉 How multitude encreases the glory of Saints Gen. 1. 31. 2 Their variety The Church is not bound to any one natioÌ„ or place as Papists will haue it onely Romane The Greeke Church a famous Church albeit no Romane Orat.